Jolly or Adamant on Zeraora?

Question

ou

Comments

High-rating OU players almost always use a Speed-raising nature on Zeraora. https://www.smogon.com/stats/2018-08/moveset/gen7ou-1825.txt

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I am pretty sure Zeraora is nature locked

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No it isnt

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Use Pheromosa (or Tapu Koko), instead. And not in the OU format. It's not like I think Zeraora isn't good enough ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).

Answer 1

Jolly is usually Zeraora's best nature. A jolly Zeraora can easily outspeed and one-shot things like scarf Heatran, mega Lopunny, mega Alakazam, Ash Greninja, scarf Bisharp, and Gyarados after 1 dragon dance.
source

Comments

How come? You answered an opinion question. I would go with adamant for sure

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Why do you think adamant is better? An adamant Zeraora can't outspeed jolly mega Lopunny, can it?

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It can get past the rest of that list, but if both Zeraora and Mega Alakazam are going for all the speed they can get, Alakazam wins.

Answer 2

Adamant. Zeraora's speed is already over 300 with 0 speed EVs and an Adamant nature, give it 252 speed and 252 attack, and it's attack would be 355, and it's speed would be 380, aren't those decent stats compared to a Jolly Zeraora, now a Jolly Zeraora has 423 speed (that's pretty high), but for the high speed, it costs it's attack to drop to 323.

I find a lot of times that 300 speed really isn't enough to out-speed most important/fairly common fast things - Stakatakcool

I don't get it, If 300 speed isn't enough to out-speed Pokémon, then 300 attack is just the same, right? If you have high speed, sure you can out-speed Pokémon, but you only have 323 attack, what are you gonna do if you find an Aggron, Slowbro, or Cloyster? They all have higher defenses than your attack. I'm pretty sure Adamant is the best Nature for Zeraora unless you use Bulk Up like mine, then I suggest a Impish/Careful Nature.

Comments

I find a lot of times that 300 speed really isn't enough to out-speed most important/fairly common fast things.

Only used Adamant if you have Zerora hold a Choice Scarf/a weird Focus Sash revenge kill (but makes Zerora much less reliable from then on, because it only has around 1 HP) :P

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I know it's not enough speed, but that's what EVs are for, right? I just said how it starts out, not what his speed actually looks like. I know most of you guys believe Smogon knows everything, but since only my Zeraora is bulky, this Zeraora would have 252 speed and attack, right? A Zeraora with an Adamant Nature and 252 speed and attack would have almost 400 speed (380).

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That still drops it a speed tier. Tbh, Zerora isn't the greatest in OU and often needs it's high Speed to be useful.

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But it still doesn't have enough attack to do much without Bulk Up or something.

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It can be Choice Banded, or use a super-effective attack. Speed tiers and the Speed stat are very different from Attack/Special Attack, because you have to account for types, Special Defense/Defense, and HP as well (and damage formula).

Even if it hasn't much Attack, support it with Spikes/Stealth Rock/Toxic Spikes.

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If a Zeraora had the Choice Band, then it would be stuck using the same move over and over. That's why I don't like the Choice items, you have to be lucky for them to actually work.

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Jolly is better than Adamant in most scenarios. If a Pokémon has a very high speed stat, that doesn't mean you don't have to give it a speed-raising nature. The extra speed from Jolly benefits Zeraora a lot, as it can outspeed things like Ash-Greninja and Lopunny that also have speed boosting natures. Usually, Adamant/Modest are only used instead Jolly/Timid if you're a tank or wallbreaker. For a sweeper like Zeraora, the extra speed is much more beneficial than the extra attack from Adamant.

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@X-Scizor - A jolly Zeraora can out-speed other Pokémon but can't hurt them much. An adamant Zeraora can actually make a dent but can't out-speed many Pokémon without 252 speed EVs. Pheromosa is way better.

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>Jolly Zeraora can out-speed other Pokemon but can’t hurt them much.

+1 252 Atk Zeraora Plasma Fists vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Lopunny: 255-301 (94 - 111%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

Also, Pheremosa is banned in OU.

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Lol. That Lopunny has 0 HP and 0 Defence, of course it fainted.

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It has no HP or Defense investment because Loppuny is a fast, all-out attacker. My point is that Zeraora powerful enough, even without Adamant. Jolly is better, and is used more often according to usage stats.

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If you don't like Choice Band, use a Life Orb/Z-Crystal. Life Orb increases damage, while the right Z-crystal can OHKO most walls you are concerned about. :P

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@X-Scizor, Are you assuming all Lopunny are sweepers? It is very possible to find a Cosmic Power.

@Stakatacool, Thank you for the suggestion, but I already have a Zeraora strategy I made. This is KirbyCuteKing!'s question, not mine. He doesn't not know what Nature to use, but I decided myself  that Adamant is the best (for sweepers of course, because I know that's what you guys mostly use...). But If you are talking about my Zeraora, then, it has a Careful Nature.

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@Staka - Ah yes, the Life Orb. Great thinking Staka. Now Zeraora could hit hard(er) and have a jolly nature.

@A.V. - Typos plus general errors. Do you see them?

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Where are they, Azelf?

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Cosmic Power Loppuny is extremely unviable and uncommon, especially in OU. Besides, a Jolly Zeraora can beat it extremely easily because it will be able to attack before it gets off a Cosmic Power, and Plasma Fists easily 2HKOes it.

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Of all the threats that are common enough to appear in https://www.smogon.com/stats/2018-08/moveset/gen7ou-1825.txt , are there any that adamant Zeraora can 1HKO but jolly can only 2HKO, or any that adamant can 2HKO but jolly can only 3HKO? Only jolly Zeraora can outspeed Ash Greninja, which is probably more common than everything else mentioned in this comment thread combined.

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I have one of the Pokémon that an Adamant Zeraora can 1HKO while Jolly Zeraora can only 2HKO it.

Here's how a Jolly Zeraora would handle it: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-815735902 (2HKO, does it count as a 3HKO since the Blissy used Protect?)

Here's how a Adamant Zeraora would handle it: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-815737085 (1HKO)

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One Pokemon doesn't constitute the many fast Pokemon Jolly Zerora counters. And, teammates like Landorus take care of Chancey more effectively.

We aren't saying Adamant Zerora is bad, we are saying Jolly Zerora is more reliable. You are free to use Adamant Zerora, so long as you know what your doing. :P

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@Stakatacool, Yus. Also, I know this is just one Pokémon that doesn't really prove much, would you like me to find more Pokémon that Adamant Zeraora can 1HKO?

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No :P

Zeraora's Most used spreads:

 | Jolly:0/252/0/0/4/252 48.279%         
 | Hasty:0/252/0/4/0/252 15.010%          
 | Naive:0/252/0/4/0/252  4.344%          
 | Adamant:0/252/0/0/4/252  3.669%       
 | Adamant:0/252/0/0/8/248  2.726%        
 | Jolly:0/252/4/0/0/252  2.362%          
 | Other 23.610%                          

Zeraora is most Popular with a Jolly spread, But Naive, Hasty,  and Adamant are all also viable.
Source: Same as sumwun's ^^

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No, I didn't mean one Pokémon does constitute the many fast Pokémon Jolly Zeraora counters when I said yes, I said yes responding to this sentence, "We aren't saying Adamant Zerora is bad, we are saying Jolly Zerora is more reliable. You are free to use Adamant Zerora, so long as you know what your doing. :P".

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Also, I don't think Hasty is good for Zeraora because it lowers defense, but then again, all you guys mostly use are sweeper Zeraora, so I guess defenses don't matter.

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If you want to raise a stat, which in this case is the only way to reach benchmarks like "outspeeds Mega Lopunny", you have to lower *something*. Zeraora can conceivably put attacks on both sides of the spectrum at a serviceable level, so unless you want to forgo one side entirely, or cut into that side, you have nowhere left to drop except a defensive stat.

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Chansey without max physical defense are pretty rare, and adamant Zeraora can't one-shot Chansey with max physical defense.
252+ Atk Life Orb Zeraora Close Combat vs. 244 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 447-528 (63.6 - 75.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
With jolly, it's still a 2HKO.
252 Atk Life Orb Zeraora Close Combat vs. 244 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 406-478 (57.8 - 68%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

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Look, guys, I'm not saying Jolly Zeraora are bad, it's just in my opinion, I think Adamant Zeraora are better, if they are sweepers.

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Are there good reasons why you think adamant Zeraora is better than jolly Zeraora? Because being able to one-shot the extremely rare 0 defense Chansey is not a good reason.

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TBH, now that Zeraora has dropped to UU, Adamant would probably be better in UU than in OU (but Jolly/Hasty will still be better than Adamant). But, as this question asks, Jolly is generally better for Zeraora in OU .

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@sumwun, I been arguing about the reasons why Adamant Zeraora is better. Also, I used a Blissy (not a Chansey), with 252 Defence and HP to prove that Adamant hade more potential.

@Stakatacool, poor Zeraora, it's now it UU.

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Are you more likely to run into an Ash Greninja that only jolly Zeraora can outspeed, or run into anything that only an adamatn Zeraora can one-shot? Ash Greninja is more common than Blissey, in case you were wondering.

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How did this argument even start up again? I thought I ended it.