[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 5 onwards
**Price Range**: 10-11 points
**Overview**: Boasting a strong Fire / Water STAB combination in conjunction with its high Special Attack, Volcanion carves its niche as an oddly difficult wallbreaker to switch into. Regardless of the item it holds, there's very few interactions where the foe leaves the field without having incurred a burn, thanks to its plethora of burn-inducing moves. When used in conjunction with its good natural bulk, Volcanion becomes an incredibly hard tank to deal with— at least, it hopes to become one, but in reality, it's held back by the combination of a Stealth Rock weakness, incredibly average Speed, and an inability to muscle past opposing Water-types, leading to it sadly being a rather niche and hard-to-fit Pokemon.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Wallbreaker**: When paired with a damage-boosting item, Volcanion becomes an incredibly threatening wallbreaker. Thanks to high-power attacks such as Steam Eruption and Fire Blast, it's able to dent opposing teams, and it can even muscle past bulkier structures thanks to Taunt.
**Tank**: This set aims to utilize Volcanion's strong defensive profile to its advantage, tending to use moves such as Roar and Haze to prevent opposing threats from getting out of hand. It can also burn foes more reliably with Will-O-Wisp in scenarios where Scald and Steam Eruption fail to suffice.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Steam Eruption, Scald, Liquidation, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Overheat, Flare Blitz
**Setup Moves**: Flame Charge
**Utility Moves**: Taunt, Will-O-Wisp, Roar, Haze, Brick Break, Fire Spin
**Coverage**: Earth Power, Flash Cannon, Focus Blast, Scorching Sands, Sludge Bomb, Sludge Wave, Tera Blast, Earthquake, Heavy Slam, Stone Edge, Wild Charge
Niche Moves
========
**Solar Beam**: When coupled with sun or a Power Herb, Solar Beam acts as a reliable way to damage opposing Water-types, which can otherwise stonewall Volcanion.
**Explosion**: Acting as a one-time form of momentum, Explosion allows Volcanion to safely get its teammates in. While it does come at the expense of all of Volcanion's remaining HP, it can be useful in certain endgame scenarios.
**Body Press**: Since Volcanion has a very respectable Defense stat, Body Press can be a useful option against specially defensive tanks such as Blissey and Dudunsparce, especially when it's investing in Defense already to act as a tank.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Since Volcanion is weak to Stealth Rock, Heavy-Duty Boots allows it to safely hit the field multiple times throughout the course of the battle.
**Choice Specs**: Thanks to Volcanion's great Special Attack and powerful STAB options, Choice Specs turns it into a phenomenally strong wallbreaker that becomes incredibly hard to safely switch into.
Niche Items
========
**Damage-boosting Items**: Other damage-boosting items such as Mystic Water and Expert Belt can be used to let Volcanion hit specific damage benchmarks while still maintaining the flexibility of changing attacks.
**Leftovers**: In matchups where the opponent lacks good entry hazard setters, Leftovers can be used to passively regain HP, which can be especially helpful when paired with Protect to give Volcanion further longevity.
**Resistance Berries**: Resistance Berries allow Volcanion to act as a lure, notably allowing it to take on faster Ground- and Rock- types much more effectively.
**Choice Scarf**: Against slightly slower teams, Choice Scarf allows Volcanion to become an adequate cleaner or sweeper without having to use a turn to boost with Flame Charge.
**Assault Vest**: If Volcanion is required to act as a specially defensive tank and is paired with strong entry hazard removers, Assault Vest allows it to take special attacks well while maintaining a strong offensive presence.
Tera
========
While Volcanion does benefit a lot from access to Tera, it's usually not the best option for a Tera Captain, as it tends to lock you out of picking one of the better high-cost Tera Captains. That being said, if you do make it a Tera Captain, it can use Tera effectively both offensively and defensively. Tera Ground gives it an immunity to Electric-type attacks while also boosting its Earth Powers, all while Volcanion is still immune to Water-type attacks thanks to Water Absorb. Other strong Tera type options include Tera Fairy, Grass, and Steel, with the first two allowing Volcanion to circumvent its natural checks and the last allowing it to further utilize its strong defensive stats.
Draft Strategy
========
Volcanion does require a lot of support options, but they are thankfully not too unique to it, meaning that it can be used on a wide variety of teams. This means that it's usually drafted to help support its teammates, not the other way around.
**Speed Control**: Volcanion suffers from having an incredibly middling Speed tier, so faster teammates such as Iron Valiant, Sneasler, and Meowscarada can help its team beat faster threats that it struggles against.
**Entry Hazard Removal**: While Heavy-Duty Boots is a more-than-reliable item choice, having item flexibility is incredibly useful to Volcanion. It greatly appreciates strong entry hazard removal options such as Iron Treads, Corviknight, and Mandibuzz.
**Water-weak Teammates**: Thanks to its ability, Volcanion acts as a great switch-in to Water-type attacks and can be a great supportive option for the likes of Landorus-T, Gliscor, and Iron Treads.
Checks and Counters
========
**Bulky Water- and Dragon-types**: Volcanion lacks the ability to hit both Water- and Dragon-type Pokemon for meaningful damage. Both are commonly able to switch into it, especially bulkier ones such as Slowking and Alomomola. These can become even harder to deal with when they're coupled with an Assault Vest, and Assault Vest also enables options without reliable recovery such as Hydreigon and Blastoise to act as a blanket check to Volcanion for most of the game.
**Chip Damage**: Since Volcanion has no form of reliable recovery and can rarely run Leftovers, it ends up becoming prone to chip damage throughout the game, worsening its ability to take big hits. Most notably, it finds itself worn down by Toxic and Knock Off, with Knock Off usually removing its Heavy-Duty Boots, forcing it to take entry hazard damage.
**Encore**: Volcanion's STAB combination is relatively easy to check, making it susceptible to Encore from the likes of Palafin, Dragonite, and Hisuian Samurott, which can then use it as a free chance to set up.
**Covert Cloak**: A large portion of Volcanion's kit revolves around burning foes, and Covert Cloak can allow most special walls and tanks, including physically and mixed offensive ones such as Roaring Moon, Swampert, and Goodra, to come in safely against it without fearing a burn.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/nyx.564960/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sablolol.466715/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
**Draft Order**: Round 5 onwards
**Price Range**: 10-11 points
**Overview**: Boasting a strong Fire / Water STAB combination in conjunction with its high Special Attack, Volcanion carves its niche as an oddly difficult wallbreaker to switch into. Regardless of the item it holds, there's very few interactions where the foe leaves the field without having incurred a burn, thanks to its plethora of burn-inducing moves. When used in conjunction with its good natural bulk, Volcanion becomes an incredibly hard tank to deal with— at least, it hopes to become one, but in reality, it's held back by the combination of a Stealth Rock weakness, incredibly average Speed, and an inability to muscle past opposing Water-types, leading to it sadly being a rather niche and hard-to-fit Pokemon.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Wallbreaker**: When paired with a damage-boosting item, Volcanion becomes an incredibly threatening wallbreaker. Thanks to high-power attacks such as Steam Eruption and Fire Blast, it's able to dent opposing teams, and it can even muscle past bulkier structures thanks to Taunt.
**Tank**: This set aims to utilize Volcanion's strong defensive profile to its advantage, tending to use moves such as Roar and Haze to prevent opposing threats from getting out of hand. It can also burn foes more reliably with Will-O-Wisp in scenarios where Scald and Steam Eruption fail to suffice.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Steam Eruption, Scald, Liquidation, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Overheat, Flare Blitz
**Setup Moves**: Flame Charge
**Utility Moves**: Taunt, Will-O-Wisp, Roar, Haze, Brick Break, Fire Spin
**Coverage**: Earth Power, Flash Cannon, Focus Blast, Scorching Sands, Sludge Bomb, Sludge Wave, Tera Blast, Earthquake, Heavy Slam, Stone Edge, Wild Charge
Niche Moves
========
**Solar Beam**: When coupled with sun or a Power Herb, Solar Beam acts as a reliable way to damage opposing Water-types, which can otherwise stonewall Volcanion.
**Explosion**: Acting as a one-time form of momentum, Explosion allows Volcanion to safely get its teammates in. While it does come at the expense of all of Volcanion's remaining HP, it can be useful in certain endgame scenarios.
**Body Press**: Since Volcanion has a very respectable Defense stat, Body Press can be a useful option against specially defensive tanks such as Blissey and Dudunsparce, especially when it's investing in Defense already to act as a tank.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Since Volcanion is weak to Stealth Rock, Heavy-Duty Boots allows it to safely hit the field multiple times throughout the course of the battle.
**Choice Specs**: Thanks to Volcanion's great Special Attack and powerful STAB options, Choice Specs turns it into a phenomenally strong wallbreaker that becomes incredibly hard to safely switch into.
Niche Items
========
**Damage-boosting Items**: Other damage-boosting items such as Mystic Water and Expert Belt can be used to let Volcanion hit specific damage benchmarks while still maintaining the flexibility of changing attacks.
**Leftovers**: In matchups where the opponent lacks good entry hazard setters, Leftovers can be used to passively regain HP, which can be especially helpful when paired with Protect to give Volcanion further longevity.
**Resistance Berries**: Resistance Berries allow Volcanion to act as a lure, notably allowing it to take on faster Ground- and Rock- types much more effectively.
**Choice Scarf**: Against slightly slower teams, Choice Scarf allows Volcanion to become an adequate cleaner or sweeper without having to use a turn to boost with Flame Charge.
**Assault Vest**: If Volcanion is required to act as a specially defensive tank and is paired with strong entry hazard removers, Assault Vest allows it to take special attacks well while maintaining a strong offensive presence.
Tera
========
While Volcanion does benefit a lot from access to Tera, it's usually not the best option for a Tera Captain, as it tends to lock you out of picking one of the better high-cost Tera Captains. That being said, if you do make it a Tera Captain, it can use Tera effectively both offensively and defensively. Tera Ground gives it an immunity to Electric-type attacks while also boosting its Earth Powers, all while Volcanion is still immune to Water-type attacks thanks to Water Absorb. Other strong Tera type options include Tera Fairy, Grass, and Steel, with the first two allowing Volcanion to circumvent its natural checks and the last allowing it to further utilize its strong defensive stats.
Draft Strategy
========
Volcanion does require a lot of support options, but they are thankfully not too unique to it, meaning that it can be used on a wide variety of teams. This means that it's usually drafted to help support its teammates, not the other way around.
**Speed Control**: Volcanion suffers from having an incredibly middling Speed tier, so faster teammates such as Iron Valiant, Sneasler, and Meowscarada can help its team beat faster threats that it struggles against.
**Entry Hazard Removal**: While Heavy-Duty Boots is a more-than-reliable item choice, having item flexibility is incredibly useful to Volcanion. It greatly appreciates strong entry hazard removal options such as Iron Treads, Corviknight, and Mandibuzz.
**Water-weak Teammates**: Thanks to its ability, Volcanion acts as a great switch-in to Water-type attacks and can be a great supportive option for the likes of Landorus-T, Gliscor, and Iron Treads.
Checks and Counters
========
**Bulky Water- and Dragon-types**: Volcanion lacks the ability to hit both Water- and Dragon-type Pokemon for meaningful damage. Both are commonly able to switch into it, especially bulkier ones such as Slowking and Alomomola. These can become even harder to deal with when they're coupled with an Assault Vest, and Assault Vest also enables options without reliable recovery such as Hydreigon and Blastoise to act as a blanket check to Volcanion for most of the game.
**Chip Damage**: Since Volcanion has no form of reliable recovery and can rarely run Leftovers, it ends up becoming prone to chip damage throughout the game, worsening its ability to take big hits. Most notably, it finds itself worn down by Toxic and Knock Off, with Knock Off usually removing its Heavy-Duty Boots, forcing it to take entry hazard damage.
**Encore**: Volcanion's STAB combination is relatively easy to check, making it susceptible to Encore from the likes of Palafin, Dragonite, and Hisuian Samurott, which can then use it as a free chance to set up.
**Covert Cloak**: A large portion of Volcanion's kit revolves around burning foes, and Covert Cloak can allow most special walls and tanks, including physically and mixed offensive ones such as Roaring Moon, Swampert, and Goodra, to come in safely against it without fearing a burn.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/nyx.564960/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sablolol.466715/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Last edited:
