[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Outrage
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Fire Blast
item: Life Orb
ability: Intimidate / Moxie
nature: Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Salamence's combination of Speed, ability, and typing allow it to be a potent sweeper, capable of swiftly setting up and stealing the opponent's momentum. Once it has set up, Salamence is nigh unstoppable due to its excellent coverage; this is augmented by its excellent base 100 Speed, which allows it to outspeed many of the common Uber Choice Scarf users at +1. Unfortunately, without a boost Salamence's Attack is noticeably lacking when compared to Uber behemoths like Groudon, Zekrom, and Rayquaza. The choice of ability will help Salamence either get going or stay going; Moxie enables Salamence to break through walls that would ordinarily be able to sponge its attacks, while Intimidate is immensely helpful while setting up. Without Intimidate, Salamence has an incredibly hard time setting up without Wobbuffet or dual screens support, but without Moxie it can be difficult to put a full-fledged sweep into action. Really, it's up to personal preference, although in general Intimidate tends to be more effective due to its utility.</p>
<p>Due to Salamence's apparent inferiority in this role to Rayquaza, many would choose to run the latter if picking between the two. Because of this, the best way to utilize Dragon Dance Salamence is as a partner to Rayquaza. The reasoning behind this logic goes as follows: the opponent will rarely carry more than one hard check to the generic "Dragon Dancing Dragon / Flying type"; by carrying both Salamence and Rayquaza, one can overwhelm this check by way of sheer pressure and force. Any variant of Rayquaza will do, really, but they all perform slightly different roles: mixed shreds Salamence's counters to pieces, Dragon Dance aims to get rid of its own checks (and, by extension, Salamence's), and Swords Dance works like a combination of the two.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Max Speed is incredibly important for Dragon Dance Salamence, as going lower will open it up to all sorts of revenge killers at +1. This is especially important for beating Genesect; at +1 Attack, Salamence outspeeds and 2HKOes it on the switch. At +2—presumably attained by Moxie after a kill—Genesect is outsped and OHKOed. This is one of the biggest reasons to use Salamence over, say, Rayquaza. While Salamence lacks the raw mixed attacking power of our favorite meteorological serpent, its higher Speed means that it can assuredly avoid revenge kills from common Choice Scarf users like Genesect and Kyurem-W. Unfortunately for Salamence, its high Speed means nothing against priority, nor can its paltry bulk stand up to many of the powerful revenge killers that still outrun it at +1.</p>
<p>Within Salamence's diverse movepool, there are several alternate move choices that are viable. Because of their similar coverage, Brick Break and Earthquake are somewhat interchangeable; Brick Break allows Salamence to hit Chansey without locking itself into Outrage and to break Ferrothorn at +2 regardless of weather. It also hits Air Balloon Heatran which, though rare, is nonetheless a threat. Earthquake has more general utility, however, as it hits threats like Jirachi, Steel Arceus, and Dialga harder. Stone Edge and Aqua Tail could be used to hit Lugia and Skarmory (under rain) hard, respectively. However, Salamence's need for neutral coverage usually discourages this choice—no matter what one does, running one of them will cause certain walls to be able to counter Salamence with increased ease. Finally, Dragon Claw could be run over Outrage to pick off miscellaneous Dragon-types that Salamence conveniently outspeeds. However, such a role is better left to a Choice Scarf set; Dragon Claw simply lacks the raw power that Dragon Dance Salamence requires to sweep.</p>
<p>While Dragon Dance Salamence greatly appreciates the boost that Life Orb grants it, other items deserve mention due to their ability to enhance Salamence's ability to set up. Lum Berry allows Salamence to shrug off miscellaneous status; this can be pivotal when Salamence requires a free turn to set up or land an attack. Dragon Gem could also be used to get the ball rolling, due to the powerful Outrage that it grants Salamence (so powerful, in fact, that it OHKOes specially defensive Giratina at +0!). When running one of these items, it's still important to provide Salamence with plenty of opportunities to set up. Though it will be easier, getting a sweep going still requires near-perfect timing when using something as frail as Salamence.</p>
<p>Due to its relative lack of offensive power, Salamence greatly appreciates hazards to facilitate its sweep. Deoxys-S is a great choice for setting these up, being able to provide both hazards and screens; especially when running Moxie, dual screens give Salamence the opportunities it needs to set up effectively. Forretress, Skarmory, and Groudon are also viable partners. Forretress and Skarmory have excellent defensive synergy with Salamence, being able to sponge ExtremeSpeeds and Scarf Dragon-type attacks. Forretress also has the notable ability to spin, which is incredibly useful due to Salamence's frailty and weakness to Stealth Rock. Groudon powers up Fire Blast, as well as being able to take priority aimed at Salamence.</p>
<p>When running Salamence, it's important to recognize that its lack of power means that it has several counters that need to be accounted for. Groudon can give this set major problems, especially if it's carrying Stone Edge. Wallceus, Skarmory in rain, and Lugia can all counter Salamence as well; Skarmory in particular is one of the few things that can stall out a +2 Outrage, even after Stealth Rock. This is where carrying Rayquaza along with Salamence is helpful. When running Dragon Dance Salamence, a mixed, Swords Dance, or even Dragon Dance Rayquaza can come in immensely handy for dealing with these opponents; due to its ability to carry different coverage moves and sheer attacking power, all of the threats mentioned above can be dealt with with relative ease.</p>
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Outrage
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Fire Blast
item: Life Orb
ability: Intimidate / Moxie
nature: Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Salamence's combination of Speed, ability, and typing allow it to be a potent sweeper, capable of swiftly setting up and stealing the opponent's momentum. Once it has set up, Salamence is nigh unstoppable due to its excellent coverage; this is augmented by its excellent base 100 Speed, which allows it to outspeed many of the common Uber Choice Scarf users at +1. Unfortunately, without a boost Salamence's Attack is noticeably lacking when compared to Uber behemoths like Groudon, Zekrom, and Rayquaza. The choice of ability will help Salamence either get going or stay going; Moxie enables Salamence to break through walls that would ordinarily be able to sponge its attacks, while Intimidate is immensely helpful while setting up. Without Intimidate, Salamence has an incredibly hard time setting up without Wobbuffet or dual screens support, but without Moxie it can be difficult to put a full-fledged sweep into action. Really, it's up to personal preference, although in general Intimidate tends to be more effective due to its utility.</p>
<p>Due to Salamence's apparent inferiority in this role to Rayquaza, many would choose to run the latter if picking between the two. Because of this, the best way to utilize Dragon Dance Salamence is as a partner to Rayquaza. The reasoning behind this logic goes as follows: the opponent will rarely carry more than one hard check to the generic "Dragon Dancing Dragon / Flying type"; by carrying both Salamence and Rayquaza, one can overwhelm this check by way of sheer pressure and force. Any variant of Rayquaza will do, really, but they all perform slightly different roles: mixed shreds Salamence's counters to pieces, Dragon Dance aims to get rid of its own checks (and, by extension, Salamence's), and Swords Dance works like a combination of the two.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Max Speed is incredibly important for Dragon Dance Salamence, as going lower will open it up to all sorts of revenge killers at +1. This is especially important for beating Genesect; at +1 Attack, Salamence outspeeds and 2HKOes it on the switch. At +2—presumably attained by Moxie after a kill—Genesect is outsped and OHKOed. This is one of the biggest reasons to use Salamence over, say, Rayquaza. While Salamence lacks the raw mixed attacking power of our favorite meteorological serpent, its higher Speed means that it can assuredly avoid revenge kills from common Choice Scarf users like Genesect and Kyurem-W. Unfortunately for Salamence, its high Speed means nothing against priority, nor can its paltry bulk stand up to many of the powerful revenge killers that still outrun it at +1.</p>
<p>Within Salamence's diverse movepool, there are several alternate move choices that are viable. Because of their similar coverage, Brick Break and Earthquake are somewhat interchangeable; Brick Break allows Salamence to hit Chansey without locking itself into Outrage and to break Ferrothorn at +2 regardless of weather. It also hits Air Balloon Heatran which, though rare, is nonetheless a threat. Earthquake has more general utility, however, as it hits threats like Jirachi, Steel Arceus, and Dialga harder. Stone Edge and Aqua Tail could be used to hit Lugia and Skarmory (under rain) hard, respectively. However, Salamence's need for neutral coverage usually discourages this choice—no matter what one does, running one of them will cause certain walls to be able to counter Salamence with increased ease. Finally, Dragon Claw could be run over Outrage to pick off miscellaneous Dragon-types that Salamence conveniently outspeeds. However, such a role is better left to a Choice Scarf set; Dragon Claw simply lacks the raw power that Dragon Dance Salamence requires to sweep.</p>
<p>While Dragon Dance Salamence greatly appreciates the boost that Life Orb grants it, other items deserve mention due to their ability to enhance Salamence's ability to set up. Lum Berry allows Salamence to shrug off miscellaneous status; this can be pivotal when Salamence requires a free turn to set up or land an attack. Dragon Gem could also be used to get the ball rolling, due to the powerful Outrage that it grants Salamence (so powerful, in fact, that it OHKOes specially defensive Giratina at +0!). When running one of these items, it's still important to provide Salamence with plenty of opportunities to set up. Though it will be easier, getting a sweep going still requires near-perfect timing when using something as frail as Salamence.</p>
<p>Due to its relative lack of offensive power, Salamence greatly appreciates hazards to facilitate its sweep. Deoxys-S is a great choice for setting these up, being able to provide both hazards and screens; especially when running Moxie, dual screens give Salamence the opportunities it needs to set up effectively. Forretress, Skarmory, and Groudon are also viable partners. Forretress and Skarmory have excellent defensive synergy with Salamence, being able to sponge ExtremeSpeeds and Scarf Dragon-type attacks. Forretress also has the notable ability to spin, which is incredibly useful due to Salamence's frailty and weakness to Stealth Rock. Groudon powers up Fire Blast, as well as being able to take priority aimed at Salamence.</p>
<p>When running Salamence, it's important to recognize that its lack of power means that it has several counters that need to be accounted for. Groudon can give this set major problems, especially if it's carrying Stone Edge. Wallceus, Skarmory in rain, and Lugia can all counter Salamence as well; Skarmory in particular is one of the few things that can stall out a +2 Outrage, even after Stealth Rock. This is where carrying Rayquaza along with Salamence is helpful. When running Dragon Dance Salamence, a mixed, Swords Dance, or even Dragon Dance Rayquaza can come in immensely handy for dealing with these opponents; due to its ability to carry different coverage moves and sheer attacking power, all of the threats mentioned above can be dealt with with relative ease.</p>