Introduced at the beginning of Generation 6, Zygarde was a disappointment at first. Fast forward to Generation 7, and Zygarde is one of the most prominent threats in the OU tier. Aside from favorable metagame trends, the main thing that has changed for Zygarde is access to Thousand Arrows. Thousand Arrows, a high base power Ground-type STAB move capable of hitting Flying-types and Levitaters such as Skarmory and Rotom Wash makes Zygarde a nightmare to switch into for all team archetypes. Zygarde is also a rather versatile Pokemon, capable of running a multitude of sets such as Coil, Dragon Dance, and Choice Band. Not only is Zygarde a prolific offensive threat, but also provides significant defensive utility as a check to Pokemon such as Heatran and Volcarona.
Zygarde @ Choice Band
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Toxic / Iron Tail
Maximum Attack and Spped investment with an Adamant nature allow Zygarde to hit as hard and as fast as possible. Thousand Arrows is hard hitting Ground-type STAB, and due to how spammable this move is, it has fantastic synergy alongside Choice Band as being locked into Thousand Arrows is usually optimal. Outrage should only be used sparsely, but is incredibly powerful Dragon-type STAB capable of nuking Dragons such as Garchomp and opposing Zygarde, and provides good neutral coverage in conjunction with Thousand Arrows. Extreme Speed is useful priority capable of picking off faster threats such as Pheromosa, Ash Greninja and Mega Alakazam. With the boost from Choice Band, Extreme Speed is even capable of OHKO'ing Pheromosa from full HP. Lastly, Toxic, while seemingly an odd option for a Choice locked Pokemon, is very useful for whittling away at very bulky Pokemon that resist Thousand Arrows such as Tangrowth, Buzzwole, and Slowbro. Alternatively, Iron Tail can be used in this slot to lure in and smack Fairy-types such as Clefable and Tapu Bulu for super effective damage, however Iron Tail is fairly inaccurate and is niche in comparison to Toxic. Choice Band Zygarde is a prolific Balance breaker, but struggles to break through the increasingly popular Tangrowth. Teammates such as Rockium Z Breloom and Hidden Power Fire Serperior who can lure in and heavily weaken Tangrowth make for excellent partners.
Zygarde @ Leftovers
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 240 HP / 212 SpD / 56 Spe
Careful Nature
- Substitute
- Coil
- Thousand Arrows
- Toxic
240 HP EVs brings Zygarde's HP stat to 404, thus allowing its Substitutes to survive a Seismic Toss. 56 Speed EVs ensure Zygarde outspeeds base 70's and below such as Bisharp, Breloom, and Magearna, while the rest of the EVs are poured into Special Defense to aid Zygarde in tanking strong Special Attacks from Pokemon such as Mega Charizard Y and Volcarona. These Special Defense EVs along with a Careful nature also assist Zygarde versus stray 4x super effective HP Ice's from Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Zapdos. Substitute allows Zygarde to dodge status ailments from the likes of Mega Sabeleye and Chansey and also eases prediction. Coil is vital for this set, allowing Zygarde to more easily break through bulky teams by boosting its Attack, Defense, and Accuracy by 1 stage all in the same turn. Thousand Arrows is necessary for every Zygarde, and works well even as the sole attacking move due to its lack of reliable resistances in the OU tier. Finally, Toxic chips away at Unaware walls such as Quagsire and Clefable, as well as greatly bothering Thousand Arrows switch ins such as Tangrowth and Tapu Bulu. This set is incredibly self sufficient and as such, does not require too much team support. However, Healing Wish support from Latias can provide Zygarde a second chance at sweeping after it has already weakened the opposing team.
Although Zygarde is a terrific Pokemon in the OU metagame, it is not without its flaws. Due to its immense prevelance, any properly built team will be carrying at least one solid check to Zyagrde such as Hidden Power Ice Landorus-T or Tangrowth. Similarly, aside from its 4x weakness to Ice-type attacks, Zygarde is also weak to common Dragon- and Fairy-type moves which can threaten to end Zygarde's rampage prematurely. These flaws are rather miniscule though and greatly overshadowed by Zygarde's numerous positive attributes.
Overall, Zygarde is a dominating force in the OU metagame, capable of running a multitude of sets effectively and performing well versus all team archetypes. Give Zygarde a shot if you already haven't! Be sure to check out a more in depth competitive analysis on Zygarde here:
http://www.smogon.com/dex/sm/pokemon/zygarde/