Volcarona (Uber Analysis)

[Dr. Alpha]

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Approved- 0/2
Rejected- 0/2
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Volcarona

HP 85 / Atk 60 / Def 65 / SpA 135 / 105 SpD / 100 Spe
Flame Body- 30% chance to Burn when made physical contact
Swarm (Unreleased)- Boosts the power of bug type moves by 1.5x when HP is equal or less then 1/3 maximum

[Overview]

<p>Volcarona has always been seen as an impressive special sweeper in OU thanks to its good stats, decent STAB, and the extremely useful Butterfly Dance. However, Volcarona could also be a threat in the Uber metagame thanks mostly to Bug STAB, good 135 Special Attack, decent 105 base SpD allowing it to take some special hits, 100 base speed allowing to out run notable threats like Reshiram, Zekrom, Palkia, Dialga, Kyogre, Scizor, Heatran, and Groudon and tie with others like Manaphy, and the exclusive Butterfly Dance. Its worth noting that, Unlike Reshiram and Ho-oh, Volcarona can stand up the the mighty Kyorge, being able to 2HKO Kyorge with Bug Buzz after a boost from Butterfly dance and prior Stealth Rock damage without having to use risky moves like Brave Bird and Draco meteor respectively. However, Volcarona does have some notable problems. Stealth Rocks stripes Volcarona's Hp by 50% with every switch-in, it absolutely hates status like paralyze and toxic poison (especially from Toxic Spikes), and has a hard time against certain threats like Heatran and Kyorge if Volcarona failed to get a boost. However with proper support, Volcarona can sweep whole teams with little effort, so don't underestimate it.</p>

<p>

[SET]
name: Uber Offensive Dance
move 1: Butterfly Dance
move 2: Bug Buzz
move 3: Fire Blast/Flame Dance
move 4: Hidden Power[Rock]/Will-o-wisp
item: Life Orb/Lum Berry
nature: Timid/Modest
evs: 4 HP/ 252 SpA/ 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Straight forward offensive set to exploit its key pros. Butterfly Dance is the main focus on this set, boosting its already good Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed to high levels after a single usage. Bug Buzz is Volcarona's primary STAB move it Ubers, allowing to severely damage the varies Psychic and Dark types that lurk in the tier like Mewtwo, Wobbuffet, Tyranitar, Darkrai, Deoxys, and the Lati@s twins. Bug Buzz is also its strongest move against opposing Palkia and Kyogre. The choice between Fire Blast and Flame Dance is up to choice, Fire Blast is the preferred choice due to the higher base power allowing for an easier time KOing certain threats, but Flame Dance has better accuracy and a decent chance to boost Special Attack one stage at the cost of power. Hidden Power Rock is the final slot, being able to hit Rayquaza, Reshiram, and Ho-oh for decent damage, being able to 1HKO the former and 2HKO the two latters. Though Will-o-wisp could be used if you want to cripple certain switch-ins like Zekrom and Groudon.</p>

<p>Timid is preferred as it allows Volcarona to guarantee at least one Butterfly Dance before a large portion of the Uber tier metagame. Modest could be used if you really want to at least 2HKO certain threats like Reshiram and Kyogre, but you loss lots of speed ties if Pokemon are using Max speed with a positive nature if you fail to get off a butterfly Dance. The item of choice is up to preference. Life Orb pumps up Volcaorna's moves and allows it to go head on against Kyogre and Reshiram with more confidence. However if Status makes you nervous then Lum Berry is a decent option, as it allows Volcarona to surprise status spreaders like Darkrai and Whimsicott and KO them.

<p>This is the only set that works for Ubers, as this set is designed to plow through teams as much as possible before fainting or revenge killed at the cost of less bulk when compared to other Ubers. Volcarona's generic stat lay out maximizes its sweeping potential, allowing it to out speed common threats and maximize damage. To ensure safety switching in, its recommended to switch into a weak special attack, such as Draco Meteor at -2 or something it can resist like Ice, Fighting, or Bug type moves. After it gets in, Butterfly Dance and start attacking as much as possible. Note that this is far more vulnerable to status then the Bulky Dance set, which is why it needs to be careful of status crippling a sweep if it lacks the Lum Berry, especially from Mischievous Heart wielders like Whimsicott. </p>

[Team Options]
<p>Volcarona can plow through the Uber tier, but it still needs some assistance to reach full potential. Volcarona appreciates Stealth Rock support to turn certain 2HKO's to OHKO's and to break Focus Sash and Sturdy wielders. Groudon is probably the best choice for a Stealth Rock User, since it can not only use Stealth Rock but also summon permanent Sunshine, phaze with Roar or Dragon Tail, and takes physical hits and hit back Volcarona's counters. Likewise, Volcaorna doesn't want Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes on the field, so Rapid Spin support or Magic Coat abuse is also recommended to keep away Entry Hazards from the field. Excadrill and Forretress are decent choices for Rapid Spin support, each with their own pros and cons.</p>

[Optional Changes]
<p>Volcarona could run Hidden Power [Ice] instead of Hidden Power [Rock] to handle Rayquaza and Giratina better, but you lose against Ho-oh and Heatran by a great amount. Hidden Power[Ground] does handle Heatran but then you can't touch Rayquaza and Ho-oh much. Psychic and Hurricane are other moves that could be used, but they offer no notable coverage. Light Screen boosts Special Defense for both Volcarona and team mates, but is usually not worth a slot. Solar Beam in Sunshine could be used, but Kyogre and Tyranitar can jump in and ruin Volcarona. Morning Sun is the only reliable recovery it has, but its hindered by Rain and Sandstorm making it unreliable. Whirlwind allows Volcarona to phaze some counters, but it must take a hit before hand which can hurt you in certain situations. A Choice Scarf set could be used with U-turn/Fire Blast/Bug Buzz/Hidden Power [Rock] if you want a more hit-and-run tactic, though the potential of Butterfly Dance often overshadows it. A more bulky Butterfly Dance set with EV's in HP, defense, and possibly special defense could be used, but you loss a lot of raw power and is vulnerable to phazing and entry hazards like Stealth Rocks and Toxic Spikes. </p>

[Counters]

<p>In general, Volcarona hates Stealth Rocks and Toxic Spikes as it severely hinders it's longevity by a long shot, so try to set up ether as quickly as possible. Heatran is one of Volcarona's biggest counters, being very resistant to both of its STABs and being able to roar it out, though it does have to watch out for Hidden Power Ground at times. Ho-oh is another decent counter thanks to its resistances and naturally high special defense, though Hidden Power Rock can really scar Ho-oh if not careful. Kyorge can plow through Volcarona if it didn't set up Butterfly dance. Rock Polish Groudon with Stone Edge can destroy Volcarona, but must watch out for Will-o-wisp and Fire Blast. Rayquaza resists both of Volcaronas STABs and can use ExtremeSpeed regardless of the amount of Butterfly dances, but once again it must be careful of Hidden Power Rock or Ice and Burns. Giratina can jump in all day into Volcarona's STABs and phaze out Volcarona with Roar, but not with Dragon Tail if Volcarona packs Substitute. Mischievous Heart users like Whimsicoot and Thunderus can inflict status regardless of speed differences to hinder a sweep, though both have to be careful of jumping in.</p>

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First time making one of these by the way, so any criticizes are appreciated.

 

[IcyMan28]

I think the Bulky Dance set should use Calm@Chesto Berry + Butterfly Dance / Fire Dance / Bug Buzz / Rest.

Even when Bold and having defensive investment, preventing the OHKOs isn't particularly special as Volcarona will be left crippled and lacks recovery of its own. I'd much rather use Calm to boost the SpD against the likes of Scarf Palkia / Skymin / Dialga's attacks than try to stop Bulky Groudon from OHKOing (offensive Groudon will OHKO through the burn regardless). Just a thought.

 

[Sphyxius]

Using Bold on a pokemon with base 65 defense is a waste. It boosts the stat by a paltry 13 points (according to serebii) without EVs. EV investment would boost it by FAR far more allowing it to actually not be OHKO'd by certain physical attacks, depending on type and HP investment, while leaving you with the option to use a SpA/Spe boosting nature which would net you a base point increase of nearly double the Bold boost.

The SpA EVs on the bulky set boost the stat less than a nature boost would but the nature boost is affording you an insignificant defensive boost compared to EVs. Its inefficient based on numbers alone; I would suggest pouring the majority of your EVs into HP and Def and saving the nature boost for your offensive stats.

tl;dr I would use Timid and subtract enough speed EVs to get down to that minimum benchmark you set and then dump those back in HP/Def where they belong; the EV boost is far more efficient defensively than the nature boost.

 

[Great Sage]

I recommend removing the bulky set; even though Volcarona's Special Defense is decent, its Defense is poor even after investment and it simply can't weather many high-power Uber attacks. Its best usage is offense; it conveniently sits just above many base 90-95 Speed Ubers, so optimally it gets one Butterfly Dance and then blasts away with high-power attacks: sun-boosted Fire Blast and Bug Buzz, which hits many Ubers super-effectively. In the same vein, Flame Dance is AC/OC material. Volcarona needs to hit extremely hard immediately, or it will probably die.

 

[AccidentalGreed]

An offensive variant of IcyMan's Chesto combination would be good in the Additional Comments. Volcarona certainly has enough time to set up and hit slightly harder with multiple boosts rather than +1 Life Orb.

 

[Fireburn]

I think the Bulky Dance set should use Calm@Chesto Berry + Butterfly Dance / Fire Dance / Bug Buzz / Rest.

Even when Bold and having defensive investment, preventing the OHKOs isn't particularly special as Volcarona will be left crippled and lacks recovery of its own. I'd much rather use Calm to boost the SpD against the likes of Scarf Palkia / Skymin / Dialga's attacks than try to stop Bulky Groudon from OHKOing (offensive Groudon will OHKO through the burn regardless). Just a thought.

Volcarona actually does get access to Morning Sun.

I'm not sold on the Bulky Set. Volcarona's defenses aren't great for Ubers and Fire/Bug alone is really easy to wall. (Reshiram, Zekrom, Rayquaza, Garchomp, Giratina-O, Giratina, Heatran, Ho-Oh, Terakion all come to mind...)

Unlike Reshiram and Ho-oh, Volcarona can stand up the the mighty Kyorge, being able to 2HKO Kyorge with Bug Buzz after a boost from Butterfly dance and prior Stealth Rock damage.

Not true. Reshiram is capable of 2HKOing Kyogre with Draco Meteor and/or Outrage, and there is no way on God's green earth Kyogre is eating a Brave Bird from Ho-Oh.

That said, I'm not sure Volcarona is terribly worth it because it seems to be outclassed in most ways by Ho-Oh, who also gets Nitro Charge and Tailwind to boost its Speed, is bulkier than Volcarona after 1 BD without any boosts, and has a better offensive and defensive type combo. (The only common Uber Pokemon who resist Fire/Flying are Tyranitar, Zekrom, and Heatran, whereas Fire/Bug is walled by Reshiram, Zekrom, Rayquaza, Garchomp, Giratina-O, Giratina, Heatran, Ho-Oh, Terakion, etc. Defensively, Ho-Oh is immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes, which gives it far more freedom in switching in, the natural bulk to take a hit after SR if need be, more reliable healing, and all of the same resistances Volcarona (minus the Ice one) has plus a Fire-resist and a Ground-immunity.) Volcarona's only real advantages are better Speed, Bug STAB (kinda), Butterfly Dance, and a resistance to Ice-type attacks (it can set up on choiced Ice Beams I guess), so I'm not sure if those things make Volcarona stand out enough.

 

[trickroom]

there is no way on God's green earth Kyogre is eating a Brave Bird from Ho-Oh.

Uhm, I am sure defensive Kyogre can stomach one Brave Bird from Ho-Oh at worst :)

As for Volcarona, I tried it. It did average because it actually swept some teams. Stealth Rock or Toxic Spikes will greatly hamper it's sweeping potential though so keeping those off is a great idea or Volcarona will suck. Defensive Kyogre will be Volcarona's nightmare and Chansey or Blissey stops it as well. If you drop Hidden Power Rock, Ho-Oh laughs at you. HP Rock also fails to OHKO Ho-Oh while Brave Bird is a guaranteed KO on Volcarono.

Butterfly Dance can be useful for setting up on weaker Special attacks. While Fire Blast in the sun is powerful, Reshiram is still more powerful. The Bug typing allows it to hurt Latias but Fire Blast in the sun is stronger than a super effective Bug Buzz.

Remove the bulky Dancer it is bad. Bold nature just sucks for it. Just use Leftovers if you want to be bulkier. Surprisingly Hidden Power Rock is very useful to KO Ho-Oh and Reshiram. Outspeeding Rayquaza is useful but Rayquaza OHKOes you with +2 ExtremeSpeed.

The usefulness of Volcarona is still iffy in Ubers though.

 

[Sphyxius]

As much as I love this mon I'm starting to agree with what's been said. Volcarona is a boosting sweeper and how many of those do you see having successful careers in ubers (that don't have mammoth defensive stats, such as Groudon or Kyogre)? In OU the bulky dancer is great, its the only set I run in fact. But ubers is a totally different ball park. There aren't any light hits to shrug off while you boost. Fireburn's comparison of Ho-oh and Volcarona speaks volumes.

In the analysis I'd like to see more calc's demonstrating Volcarona's ability to OHKO/2KO premiere threats and additionally its ability to take hits from common assaults in the metagame after boosting, if such abilities exist. The latter I'm not convinced of at all although the former I think there is hope for, considering that Bug is a great STAB type in ubers and Fire is buttered up by Groudon nicely.

Someone ought to test a Bulky Dancer or Chestorest set running max speed, with remaining EVs divided between bulk and SpA (favoring the former). Volcarona's speed tier is in my opinion the deciding factor here as many of the uber metagame's hardest hitters are indeed slower than it (while those faster, such as Mewtwo, Shaymin-S, Lati@s, and Darkrai for instance, are weak to its STAB).

Great in OU... dunno about ubers though, sadly.

 

[Dr. Alpha]

I have updated the analyse, most notably moving the Bulky Set to the optional changes section because it can be viable but it really sucks most of the time in Ubers.

 

[fuck you all]

You could slash in Hurricane in the last slot since Kyogre and it's rain will always be everywhere. Hurricane hits quite a few things hard, especially when something that resists bug comes in while it's raining and your fire moves are weakened (fighting Arceus, Reshiram, and Blaziken come to mind).

Zekrom is also a good partner for it's ability to destroy Ho-oh and Kyogre.

 

[Sargatanas]

Change your fire attack to Flamethrower for accuracy once you have used Quiver dance once you won't need the 5 point difference. Rock hidden is good but Electric hidden is even better. (Gyarados)

 

[hamiltonion]

Change your fire attack to Flamethrower for accuracy once you have used Quiver dance once you won't need the 5 point difference. Rock hidden is good but Electric hidden is even better. (Gyarados)

Knock Knock this is Ubers and not OU. Here Ho-oh and Reshiram are far more common than Gyarados(who doesnt even get an Ubers analysis lol !!! sorry trickroom).

 

[calze6]

Tell that to trickroom. GO GYARA!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, trickroom, remember latias is very rare in standard ubers reducing further its usefulness. I really only see use in butterfly dance and besides, reshi can pretty do better.

 

[shrang]

Rock Arceus is a fantastic check to Volcarona by the way, especially in the sand.

 

[hamiltonion]

Rock Arceus is a fantastic check to Volcarona by the way, especially in the sand.

I know I shouldnt be asking this here but would you get over your fascination to Rock Arceus ????????????????

 

[Misa]

Rock Arceus is a fantastic check to Volcarona by the way, especially in the sand.

Specially Defensive or Offensive? Just a reminder that Rock doesnt resist bug and a BD boosted Bug Buzz could do a lot of damage to Rock arceus (although Specially Defensive versions would work)

Is sandstorm even common in Ubers btw?

 

[Fireburn]

Okay so, I tested several teams with Volcarona on them, and it did okay.

Then I put Flame Charge/Tailwind Ho-Oh right over Volcarona without making any other changes, and the team performed exponentially better, mainly for the reasons I posted earlier.

I think its safe to say Volcarona is plain outclassed. Its not bad but its got too many problems to make using it worth it.

QC REJECTED (1/2)

 

[trickroom]

I like Volcarona, Fireburn is bad when he isn't serious. Volcarona doesn't suck that hard. It can outrun Garchomp, Arceus, Mewtwo, Arceus, Darkrai after just one Quiver Dance and OHKO all of them with Fire Blast, assuming sun of course. It isn't weak to Electric like Ho-Oh and strikes from the special side.

Anyway, Volcarona did fine for me and I liked it. It even swept teams which lack Kyogre.
HP Rock OHKOes Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock or a +1 LO HP Rock can bring the fire turkey down. Another advantage Volcarona has over Ho-OH is the ability to OHKO Groudon with LO Fire Blast. Ho-Oh 2HKOes Groudon at best with LO Sacred Fire.

In the right hands, Volcarona is awesome at least that's what I think. It can even sweep firecape's amazing Burn All team. The extreme vulnerability to hazards is just horrible. After Stealth Rock damage, don't even think of sweeping with Volcarona.

In the end, Ho-Oh's existence made Volcarona sad. Ho-Oh is a such a large chicky and it is way more threatening than Volcarona because Bulky Kyogre and pink blobs can switch in on Volcarona without too much problem. Ho-Oh has no safe switch in other than Giratina. Lugia works too and Rock Arceus is rare but it counters Ho-Oh easily provided you avoid repeated Earthquakes.

I am sorry and I felt sad supporting Fireburn rejecting something who looks awesome :(
Fireburn is still Fireburn. He is way more experienced than me so I usually agrees with what he says unless it's something too much. I tested Volcarona myself too, it did well but Ho-Oh stole the butterflies chance to shine in Ubers.

QC REJECTED (2/2)

 

[Fireburn]

Moving to L&O.