What is a good moveset for Zacian?

If you have a good competitive moveset for Zacian,post an answer below and upvote the best ones.

Be sure to includefull set details in your post, e.g. items, abilities, natures and EVs. Some explanation, including the intended game mode for your set, is also appreciated.Access the full list of guidelines here.

Zacian Pokédex and learnsetfor reference.

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Fast Physical Sweeper

Zacian-Crowned @ Rusted SwordAbility: Intrepid SwordEVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 SpeJolly Nature- Behemoth Blade- Sacred Sword- Play Rough- Swords Dance

Fast runner doggo!Zacian-Crowned @ Rusted SwordAbility: Intrepid SwordEVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpDAdamant Nature- Agility- Behemoth Blade- Wild Charge- Close Combat

With 252 HP, you can now take a +1 Astral Barrage, Life Orb-boosted Max Flare from Yveltal, as well as Max Lightning from Xerneas which would previously kill you. In return, set-up Agility and boom! Use Agility on something like Defensive Yveltal that can’t touch you. Then kill the opponent’s wish of using Scarf Kyogre or Calyrex-Shadow to outspeed you, because you’re faster!

Me big dumb for this set, but it many times catches the opponent by surprise :P

Set to invalidate all of its countersSun Zacian-C. I mean why not?Zacian-Crowned @ Rusted SwordAbility: Intrepid SwordEVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 SpeAdamant Nature- Behemoth Blade- Solar Blade- Fire Fang- Close Combat / Play Rough

Usage tips:Use this set in Gen 8 AG. First, you need a Sun setter. Drought Groudon is your best way right now. Just be aware that due to the Primals and Mega Rayquaza’s ability which invalidates weather, this set can’t be run in Nat Dex AG. However, it works good in Galar AG.Why these options:Behemoth Blade is standard and necessary. Solar Blade OHKOes Quaqsire the moment it tries to switch-in to it. Fire Fang 2OHKOes fully physical defense Necrozma-Dusk Mane, which makes this set heat! Close Combat is not much necessary, while Play Rough is chosen to hit Giratina and Zygarde-C which are common walls to Groudon and wall non-Fairy STAB Zacian-C.Handy calculations.

+1 252 Atk Zacian-Crowned Solar Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Unaware Quagsire: 536-632 (136 - 160.4%) – guaranteed OHKO

Quaq quaq dead.

+1 252+ Atk Zacian-Crowned Fire Fang vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Prism Armor Necrozma-Dusk-Mane in Sun: 195-231 (48.9 - 58%) – 96.1% chance to 2HKO

2OHKOing this is impressive. Close Combat tends to 3HKO, so this has higher damage output than it in sun.

Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

National Dex Anything-Goes

Dig DogGo brrLoser of many battles (Zacian) @ Groundium ZAbility: Intrepid SwordEVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpeAdamant Nature- Swords Dance- Play Rough- Close Combat- Dig

Does this thing requires any explanation? I guess no. One of the most under-explored sets for it, Z-Moves are what that distinguish this from Zacian-Crowned. This set is capable of punching holes through slower teams, but take care of opposing Calyrex-Shadow, Zacian-C and Jolly Marshadow for which you need some speed control. But, after doing a Swords Dance this just wrecks Dusk Mane lion as well as Earth’s living entity.

Close Combat for other non-Z purposes, though Wild Charge is required to hit Ho-Oh which resists all of these moves. Since there are not many viable users of Z-Moves in Nat Dex AG, allocating one set to it is fine. Beware Ditto, but since Dig is a two-turn move you have the advantage.

Gen 9 Ubers Wincon + Wallbreaker

Zacian-Crowned @ Rusted SwordAbility: Intrepid SwordTera Type: GrassEVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 SpeJolly Nature- Swords Dance- Behemoth Blade- Play Rough- Trailblaze

Zacian-C got Trailblaze in SV, so now it has a damaging way to outspeed all of the (viable) meta, even Scarfers. Tera Grass + Trailblaze flips the Ground weakness and OHKOs Kyogre. The Intrepid Sword nerf hurts, but SD fixes that a bit. Behemoth Blade and Play Rough serve as STAB, BB OHKOing Clodsire. Pairs well with hazard stackers like Ting-Lu to guarantee more OHKOs. Watch out for Skeledirge, which hardwalls almost all Zacian-C sets this gen.

Zacian-Crowned @ Rusted SwordAbility: Intrepid SwordEVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 SpeJolly Nature- Swords Dance / Substitute- Behemoth Blade- Play Rough- Close Combat / Sacred Sword / Psychic Fangs

Swords Dance for setup / Substitute to avoid status, dual STABs, and Close Combat for coverage, or Sacred Sword to avoid defense drops, or Psychic Fangs to hit Toxapex.

Zacian-Crowned @ Rusted SwordAbility: Intrepid SwordEVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 SpeAdamant Nature- Behemoth Blade- Sacred Sword- Play Rough- Psychic Fangs / Wild Charge

Behemoth Blade has high power. Play Rough can lower the opponent’s Attack, Sacred Sword can counter Fire types and Psychic Fangs for breaking shields. Wild Charge can take out Ubers such as Multiscale Lugia which can be troublesome to take out, or Ho-Oh, a popular Galar AG mon.

Here is the Showdown link:Zacian Sweeping Replay

Sword doggo (Zacian-Crowned) @ Rusted SwordAbility: Intrepid SwordEVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpeAdamant Nature- Behemoth Blade- Close Combat- Wild Charge- Substitute

Smeargle grows more popular higher you go into the NDAG ladder so you’re basically forced to come up with a goods solution to shut Smeargle down. Turns out, no one uses attacking moves on a Pokemon with a 20 BST on both its offensive stats so Substitute basically shuts it down entirely. However, it’s hard to predict a Smeargle switchin sometimes.

Zacian-Crowned @ Rusted SwordAbility: Intrepid SwordEVs: 112 HP / 144 Atk / 76 Def / 172 SpD / 4 SpeAdamant Nature- Behemoth Blade- Sacred Sword- Protect- Substitute / Swords Dance

Bulky zacian has a lot of EV value.

I don’t remember most of the calcs tbh, but they are quite important. 4 Spe actually outspeeds max speed Landorus-Incarnate by 1. Using Rillaboom is to kill Lando with zacian is really nice. Grassy Glide and Behemoth Blade into it, it dies.

Format: Gen 8 Anything Goes

Zacian-Crowned @ Rusted SwordAbility: Intrepid SwordEVs: 216 HP / 156 Atk / 136 SpeJolly Nature- Play Rough- Fire Fang- Rest- Sleep Talk / Wild Charge

Rest + Sleep Talk is a pretty interesting combination for Zacian-Crowned. Between Rocky Helmet chip damage, hazards as a whole and pivoting aggressively into Yveltal / Necrozma-DM / Eternatus, Zacian tends to get worn down extremely quickly. Rest grants it the longevity factor while retaining the ability to beat its common checks in Necrozma-DM and Ho-Oh.

The moves are pretty simple here. Play Rough is the chosen STAB option than Behemoth Blade because if the latter is opted, Kyogre would straight-up hard wall the set, which I didn’t want. Play Rough also sports more PP than Zacian’s other premier STAB option, Behemoth Blade (8 as compared to 16), and for a set which is supposed to last in long-term games the latter felt pretty restrictive and counterproductive. Fire Fang was chosen over Close Combat for the reasons which are already stated above; the former sports more PP which helps in longer games.

As you’ll usually be pairing this Zacian-C with Groudon, the Sun would be boosting Fire Fang’s base power to 130. With the increased power, Zacian-C’s most common check, Necrozma-DM, has a nice chance of being 2HKO’d after a layer of Spikes, and without any prior damage, Necrozma-DM is getting 3HKO’d by it, and with Rest + Sleep Talk, it would get worn down eventually, thus making it easier for you to break NDM. Fire Fang also hits Physically defensive Ferrothorn for a clean OHKO in Sun, and a 2HKO without Sun’s boost, though Ferrothorn staying in against Zacian-C is pretty rare.

The last move is more of a filler; you can run Wild Charge for Ho-Oh, but usually, Sleep Talk is a better option when you’re not running any Pokémon which can provide the Zacian-C with clerical support, such as Calyrex-Shadow, Xerneas and Blissey (or exotic options such as Magearna).

The EVs allow the Zacian-C to survive a +2 Max Lightning from Xerneas, and KO a chipped one (<50% HP), or bring it to Necrozma-DM’s Sunsteel Strike range. The Speed EVs aid it to creep Adamant Zacian and the vast majority of other Jolly Zacians creeping for the 395 benchmark, as well as max Speed base 130s such as Eternatus. If you’re running the Zacian-C on a bulky balance, where it is your fastest Pokémon, the Speed EVs would surely help against the aforementioned threats, and is pretty important to run too.

Pokémon which can take care of Groudon, Necrozma-DM, Ho-Oh and opposing Zacian-C are appreciated. As you’ll be struggling to break past these Pokémon, especially Ho-Oh if not running Wild Charge, Pokémon such as Zygarde-Complete, Giratina-Altered and Groudon make for great partners. Life Orb Zygarde-Complete can also take down all the aforementioned Pokémon with ease, whereas Zacian-C can slowly chip Lunala and take over Ferrothorn for the Zygarde-C. Giratina-A is fun to use, and it can burn Necrozma-DM, making it even easier to chip it slowly.

Groudon is pretty much mandatory with this Zacian-C, as it summons Sun, which helps in hitting Necrozma-DM for more than 45%, and otherwise getting past it would get pretty difficult. Groudon can also straightaway go for the rolls on the aforementioned Pokémon, while Zacian-C cripples opposing Zygarde-C and Lunala, eventually.

Hereis a team build around this Zacian-Crowned set. The team was build by baconeatinassassin for hisAGPL game vs. lotiasite. He initially used it as a tool against Choice Band Yveltal, which was gaining heat at that time, and it worked well too. As you can see in the replay, lotiasite had to eventually sack the Eternatus because he couldn’t risk the Sun-boosted Fire Fang rolls on NDM, as that would’ve ended the game then and there. Afterwards, Groudon cleaned, and Zacian’s initial wallbreaking was very vital for it to win end-game.

This set can catch the opponent off-guard easily, and with the correct plays and predicts, it becomes a demon late-game. Have fun using it!

Zacian-Crowned @ Rusted SwordAbility: Intrepid SwordEVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpeAdamant / Jolly Nature- Behemoth Blade- Play Rough- Sacred Sword- Crunch / Swords Dance

The first two moves are STABs and the latter two are coverage options.

The choice between Crunch or Swords Dance is dependent on whether you want more coverage or more damage on top of the 1.5x boost. Now on to the Nature. If you’re fighting a lot of Zacians, I would recommend Adamant since a Behemoth Blade will usually OHKO other Zacians if you run Adamant. However, If you aren’t fighting many Zacians, then maybe run Jolly for the extra Speed. Just as a quick warning, if you get a low roll with Behemoth Blade on an Adamant Zacian, you won’t 1 shot the other Zacian, so be careful.

Fast sweeper zacianZacian-Crowned @ Rusted SwordAbility: Intrepid SwordEVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpeJolly Nature- Agility- Swords Dance- Behemoth Blade- Play Rough

1 agility, if they still aren’t attacking then swords dance. You can outspeed almost anything and kill most things almost instantly with a +1 attack boost

Zacian-Crowned @ Rusted SwordAbility: Intrepid SwordEVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpeJolly Nature- Behemoth Blade- Play Rough- Psychic Fangs- Close Combat

Being the fastest Mon in gen 8 Ubers currently, with the exception of scarfers, you will need the extra power in Close Combat over Sacred Sword. Psychic Fangs works as nice coverage against Eternatus, or any other coverage move works well too.

Fast Physical Sweeper

Zacian-Crowned @ Rusted SwordAbility: Intrepid SwordEVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpeAdamant Nature- Behemoth Blade- Crunch / Psychic Fangs- Play Rough- Close Combat

I have Behemoth Blade for obvious reasons. It’s super strong against Dmax or Gmax Pokémon, has good power, and gets STAB. Crunch and Psyhcic Fangs are good coverage, and Psychic Fangs can break shields, like when annoying walls put reflect up against Zacian. Play Rough has good power plus STAB, and has a chance to lower the target’s attack, if they survive the hit somehow, which is quite rare. Close Combat is very strong, and gives coverage. Sometimes it doesn’t matter if her defense is lowered because she can 1 shot almost any Pokémon before they attack and they won’t have time to attack you even with lowered defense. At least that’s always true with NPCs. In the end, it comes down to what works best for you.

National Dex AG

Zacian-Crowned @ Rusted SwordAbility: Intrepid SwordEVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpeAdamant / Jolly Nature- Behemoth Blade- Close Combat- Swords Dance / Assurance / Play Rough- Wild Charge

Behemoth Blade is powerful STAB that also does a lot to Dynamaxers. Close Combat is coverage for most Steel types and hits Primal Groudon for quite a lot. Swords Dance lets you beat almost anything that outspeeds you except for Necrozma-Dusk Mane, Primal Groudon, Lunala, and Shedinja, Assurance beats all of those with hazards up, and Play Rough does a lot to Zygarde and gets rid of Mega Rayquaza. Wild Charge removes Ho-oh and Primal Kyogre, as well as Toxapex and (after a Swords Dance) Lugia if you ever see those.

+1 252 Atk Zacian-Crowned Behemoth Blade vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dynamax Yveltal: 624-734 (79.3 - 93.3%) – guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

+1 252 Atk Zacian-Crowned Wild Charge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Kyogre-Primal: 392-462 (114.9 - 135.4%) – guaranteed OHKO

+1 252+ Atk Zacian-Crowned Assurance vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Prism Armor Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: 240-283 (60.3 - 71.1%) – guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

+1 252+ Atk Zacian-Crowned Assurance vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Groudon-Primal: 175-206 (51.3 - 60.4%) – guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

(Using Close Combat after Assurance with hazards up finishes Dusk Mane and Primal Groudon)

+1 252+ Atk Zacian-Crowned Assurance vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Shadow Shield Lunala: 290-342 (60.6 - 71.5%) – guaranteed 2HKO

Gen 8 Ubers

Zacian @ Babiri BerryAbility: Intrepid SwordEVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 SpeJolly Nature- Swords Dance- Close Combat- Play Rough- Wild Charge

Now Zacian-Hero is getting suspect tested for Ubers, so use it while you still can. This is a set that apparently has been popping up more lately; being able to beat its standard check in Necrozma-DM. It SD’s on switchin, and with Babiri Berry it is able to live a Sunsteel Strike and fire back with 2 +3 Close Combats to knock it out, or try to set up in its face if it has been chipped. Of course, it can still be revenge-killed and worn down by Helmet, but if the opponent doesn’t have Marshadow or Calyrex-S they can be in huge trouble.

0 Atk Necrozma-Dusk-Mane Sunsteel Strike vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Babiri Berry Zacian: 142-168 (43.6 - 51.6%) – 9% chance to 2HKO

0 Atk Necrozma-Dusk-Mane Sunsteel Strike vs. -1 0 HP / 0 Def Babiri Berry Zacian: 213-252 (65.5 - 77.5%) – guaranteed 2HKO

+3 252 Atk Zacian Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: 199-235 (50 - 59%) – guaranteed 2HKO

+5 252 Atk Zacian Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: 278-328 (69.8 - 82.4%) – guaranteed 2HKO

A Jolly Nature is chosen over Adamant to outspeed max Speed Marshadow and Eternatus.

Nat Dex AGSince Zacian has fallen into a much less powerful state… I have realized it is the thing that was keeping me safe from Calyrex Shadow…Zacian @ Choice ScarfAbility: Intrepid SwordTera Type: SteelEVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 SpeJolly Nature- Iron Head- Play Rough- Close Combat- CrunchPlay Rough and Close Comabat are obvious, and Iron Head and Crunch will try and threaten Calyrex in trying times…You know, I never expected Zacian to be a more fun Pokemon than it was unbalanced