Overview
########
+ Very good speed allowing it to outspeed the likes of Keldeo and Terrakion.
+ Respectable overall bulk letting it take hits from quite powerful threats such as Landorus-T and Greninja, and enabling it to set up relatively easily.
+ The combination of its STABs and Knock Off lends it very good coverage.
+ 165 Base Attack makes it hit hard even without a boost.
+ Swords Dance makes it very scary to switch into and extremely strong against balanced teams, and combined with its bulk, it can set up relatively easily.
+ Has a few utility options such as Substitute, Taunt and Will-O-Wisp, so isn't exactly a one-trick-pony.
+ Decent defensive typing, enabling it to switch into Fighting and Rock type moves from the likes of Terrakion, Tyranitar, and Keldeo.
- Crowded speed tier means it has to risk a speed tie with the likes of Latios, Latias, and Mega-Metagross
- Slightly less effective against stall than you would think due to the popularity of Mega-Sableye, Unaware Clefable, and Mega-Slowbro (all of which are very solid counters) on that playstyle.
- Vulnerable to Priority, particularly Talonflame's Brave Bird.
- May have trouble mega-evolving due to the mediocre speed of its base form.
Swords Dance
########
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Zen Headbutt / Psycho Cut
move 4: Knock Off
ability: Justified
item: Galladite
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
========
- Swords Dance turn it into a deadly wallbreaker, who can easily set up against the likes of Ferrothorn and non-WoW Heatran and clean slower teams that don't have a good counter to it.
- Close Combat hits hard as hell, as 100% accurate and its only drawback is for the most part negligible.
- The choice between Zen Headbutt and Psycho Cut is basically a choice of power+better secondary effect vs accuracy. Both are your best options to hit Fairy and Poison types
- Knock Off enables you not to be walled by Psychic types
- Ice Punch is usable but generally inferior to the other options since its main target, Landorus-T, is easy to wear down especially given that you carry Knock Off.
- Drain Punch is okay but not very good since Gallade generally just wants to hit as hard as it can.
Set Details
========
- Max Attack to hit as hard as possibly, Max Speed with Jolly to outsped with base 108s and tie with base 110s (also outspeed HP Fire Latis)
- Justified lets you gain a boost from switching into Dark-type moves, particularly Knock Off, which can come in handy
Usage Tips
========
- Try to MEvo as soon as possible vs Offense.
- Don't SD against offensive teams : instead, just click your STABs to hit even resists hard
- Fee free to SD against bulkier and slower teams which you think you can clean from there.
- Be careful when setting up : although Gallade can take a few hits, it often only has one good opportunity to set up especially against more offensive teams.
Team Options
========
- Bisharp smacks Fairy and Psychic types which can cause Gallade trouble.
- Specs Sylveon counters MSableye and baits in Steel types, so it can Baton Pass to Gallade who can just smash them to pieces.
- Rotom-W and Landorus-T are excellent partners since they can slow pivot into it, potentially while luring out Mega-Venusaur, Amoonguss, Ferrothorn, and Air Balloon Heatran, all of which Gallade can hit very hard with one of its STABs. Not only that, but they also check Talonflame and Pinsir, both of which are good checks to Gallade.
- Heatran deals with Unaware Clefable and deal with Talonflame, and is also notable for being one of the few Rock setters with the ability to 2HKO standard Mega-Sableye
- Really enjoys SR and Spikes support in general, since that enables it to wear down its checks
Substitute Attacker
########
name: Substitute Attacker
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Swords Dance / Zen Headbutt / Psycho Cut
ability: Justified
item: Galladite
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
========
- Substitute lets it abuse defensive Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Rotom-W and Mew who generally want to status you if they stay in, basically giving you a free turn. It also holds nice utility against offensive teams, taking advantage of switches and easing prediction.
- Close Combat is your main STAB and just hits very hard.
- Knock Off gives you good coverage alongside Close Combat in general, specifically it
- Swords Dance, in combination with Substitute, lets you fully take advantage of defensive Pokemon
- If you prefer the ability to hit Fairy types over the ability to set up, Psychic STAB is good too.
- Ice Punch can be used but once again, it isn't all that great.
- Stone Edge gets perfect coverage alongside Close Combat so it can be used on a Sub SD set, but Gallade's lack of STAB on the move makes its damage output less than stellar.
- Drain Punch looks ideal on this set since it pairs up well with Substitute, and althugh it is usable, the purpose of the set is to set up a Substitute and then tear holes in the opposing team, so Close Combat is overall better.
Set Details
========
- same spread for same reasons
Usage Tips
========
- Set up on forced switches/defensive Pokemon that can't really do much to you
- Try to get Pokemon locked into Fighting/Rock type moves, this lets you get up an easy free substitute.
- When you're behind a Sub, whether you SD or not boil down to whether or not you can outspeed the opposing Pokemon. If you can't, just let it break your sub and hopefully deal a significant amount of damage to it.
Team Options
========
- Same as the SD 3 Attacks set pretty much
Other Options
########
- Taunt is an okay option for stallbreaking but is generally inferior to Substitute.
- Sub+Bulk Up+Drain Punch
- Skill Swap is a nice way to deal with Sableye, its best counter, by stopping it from Burning you and bouncing said Burn back onto it.
- Leaf Blade hits Slowbro, Quagsire and Hippowdon but is generally inferior to most other moves it can run.
- Shadow Sneak sucks
- i'm sure there's a legit reason to run WoW on this thing but I can't find it
- DBond is okay I guess? as I said, bunch of utility options
Checks & Counters
########
**Mega-Sableye**
**Bulky Psychics**
**Fairy Types**
**Faster Attackers**
**Priority Users**
########
+ Very good speed allowing it to outspeed the likes of Keldeo and Terrakion.
+ Respectable overall bulk letting it take hits from quite powerful threats such as Landorus-T and Greninja, and enabling it to set up relatively easily.
+ The combination of its STABs and Knock Off lends it very good coverage.
+ 165 Base Attack makes it hit hard even without a boost.
+ Swords Dance makes it very scary to switch into and extremely strong against balanced teams, and combined with its bulk, it can set up relatively easily.
+ Has a few utility options such as Substitute, Taunt and Will-O-Wisp, so isn't exactly a one-trick-pony.
+ Decent defensive typing, enabling it to switch into Fighting and Rock type moves from the likes of Terrakion, Tyranitar, and Keldeo.
- Crowded speed tier means it has to risk a speed tie with the likes of Latios, Latias, and Mega-Metagross
- Slightly less effective against stall than you would think due to the popularity of Mega-Sableye, Unaware Clefable, and Mega-Slowbro (all of which are very solid counters) on that playstyle.
- Vulnerable to Priority, particularly Talonflame's Brave Bird.
- May have trouble mega-evolving due to the mediocre speed of its base form.
Swords Dance
########
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Zen Headbutt / Psycho Cut
move 4: Knock Off
ability: Justified
item: Galladite
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
========
- Swords Dance turn it into a deadly wallbreaker, who can easily set up against the likes of Ferrothorn and non-WoW Heatran and clean slower teams that don't have a good counter to it.
- Close Combat hits hard as hell, as 100% accurate and its only drawback is for the most part negligible.
- The choice between Zen Headbutt and Psycho Cut is basically a choice of power+better secondary effect vs accuracy. Both are your best options to hit Fairy and Poison types
- Knock Off enables you not to be walled by Psychic types
- Ice Punch is usable but generally inferior to the other options since its main target, Landorus-T, is easy to wear down especially given that you carry Knock Off.
- Drain Punch is okay but not very good since Gallade generally just wants to hit as hard as it can.
Set Details
========
- Max Attack to hit as hard as possibly, Max Speed with Jolly to outsped with base 108s and tie with base 110s (also outspeed HP Fire Latis)
- Justified lets you gain a boost from switching into Dark-type moves, particularly Knock Off, which can come in handy
Usage Tips
========
- Try to MEvo as soon as possible vs Offense.
- Don't SD against offensive teams : instead, just click your STABs to hit even resists hard
- Fee free to SD against bulkier and slower teams which you think you can clean from there.
- Be careful when setting up : although Gallade can take a few hits, it often only has one good opportunity to set up especially against more offensive teams.
Team Options
========
- Bisharp smacks Fairy and Psychic types which can cause Gallade trouble.
- Specs Sylveon counters MSableye and baits in Steel types, so it can Baton Pass to Gallade who can just smash them to pieces.
- Rotom-W and Landorus-T are excellent partners since they can slow pivot into it, potentially while luring out Mega-Venusaur, Amoonguss, Ferrothorn, and Air Balloon Heatran, all of which Gallade can hit very hard with one of its STABs. Not only that, but they also check Talonflame and Pinsir, both of which are good checks to Gallade.
- Heatran deals with Unaware Clefable and deal with Talonflame, and is also notable for being one of the few Rock setters with the ability to 2HKO standard Mega-Sableye
- Really enjoys SR and Spikes support in general, since that enables it to wear down its checks
Substitute Attacker
########
name: Substitute Attacker
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Swords Dance / Zen Headbutt / Psycho Cut
ability: Justified
item: Galladite
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
========
- Substitute lets it abuse defensive Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Rotom-W and Mew who generally want to status you if they stay in, basically giving you a free turn. It also holds nice utility against offensive teams, taking advantage of switches and easing prediction.
- Close Combat is your main STAB and just hits very hard.
- Knock Off gives you good coverage alongside Close Combat in general, specifically it
- Swords Dance, in combination with Substitute, lets you fully take advantage of defensive Pokemon
- If you prefer the ability to hit Fairy types over the ability to set up, Psychic STAB is good too.
- Ice Punch can be used but once again, it isn't all that great.
- Stone Edge gets perfect coverage alongside Close Combat so it can be used on a Sub SD set, but Gallade's lack of STAB on the move makes its damage output less than stellar.
- Drain Punch looks ideal on this set since it pairs up well with Substitute, and althugh it is usable, the purpose of the set is to set up a Substitute and then tear holes in the opposing team, so Close Combat is overall better.
Set Details
========
- same spread for same reasons
Usage Tips
========
- Set up on forced switches/defensive Pokemon that can't really do much to you
- Try to get Pokemon locked into Fighting/Rock type moves, this lets you get up an easy free substitute.
- When you're behind a Sub, whether you SD or not boil down to whether or not you can outspeed the opposing Pokemon. If you can't, just let it break your sub and hopefully deal a significant amount of damage to it.
Team Options
========
- Same as the SD 3 Attacks set pretty much
Other Options
########
- Taunt is an okay option for stallbreaking but is generally inferior to Substitute.
- Sub+Bulk Up+Drain Punch
- Skill Swap is a nice way to deal with Sableye, its best counter, by stopping it from Burning you and bouncing said Burn back onto it.
- Leaf Blade hits Slowbro, Quagsire and Hippowdon but is generally inferior to most other moves it can run.
- Shadow Sneak sucks
- i'm sure there's a legit reason to run WoW on this thing but I can't find it
- DBond is okay I guess? as I said, bunch of utility options
Checks & Counters
########
**Mega-Sableye**
**Bulky Psychics**
**Fairy Types**
**Faster Attackers**
**Priority Users**
Last edited:
