What is a good moveset for Ceruledge?

Question

If you have a good competitive moveset for Ceruledge, post an answer below and upvote the best ones. Movesets for any of its pre-evolutions can also be shared on this thread.

Be sure to include full 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.

Ceruledge Pokedex & learnset for reference.

Answer 1

Gen 9 OU

Ceruledge @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Tera Type: Steel / Fairy
EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bitter Blade
- Shadow Sneak
- Flame Charge
- Bulk Up / Swords Dance

It's been like two weeks of SV OU and new toy syndrome has worn off for some Pokemon like Maushold, Lokix, Tinkaton, and Cetitan. Ceruledge looks like it could drop down a tier, because Swords Dance Weak Armor has some very apparent flaws, but recently there has been some optimization to Ceruledge and a terastal Bulk Up set has been created. This set takes advantage of Flash Fire better by turning into a Steel type and getting rid of its Fire weakness, while gaining a good defensive typing. Bitter Blade is amazing STAB which compliments Bulk Up very nicely. Shadow Sneak is priority which hits Ghosts and Espathra hard so that's always good. Flame Charge is for the nice Speed Boost. Bulk Up is preferred over Swords Dance because this is a more defensively inclined Ceruledge set which takes advantage of its many nice traits like Bitter Blade, Flash Fire, and Terastilization potential. The Speed EVs let Ceruledge notably outspeed Meowscarada and unboosted Iron Valiant, while not sacrificing on bulk or power.

Good teammates for Ceruledge

Entry hazard support from Glimmora or Garchomp chips switch-ins. Ceruledge likes having strong wallbreakers like Chien-Pao, Chi-Yu, Scarf Great Tusk, Iron Valiant, and Breloom to immediately threaten other Pokemon. Breloom crucially can revengekill or force out Roaring Moon due to the threat of its Mach Punch. Grimmsnarl and Cyclizar are also great teammates, as they can give Ceruledge essentially free setup opportunities. It can fit on hazard stacking and screens teams alike, making it a good hyper offense asset.

Comments

I respect your opinion and i'm happy that you took your time to share it and try to help, but in most situations (including this one) is better to have the EV spread in two stats only (with the excepetion of the remaining four).

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+1 good set

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The answer explains why the EVs are distributed in three stats. I think it's better to explain why you still think it's bad instead of making a really broad comment about how to use EVs.

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Is because in most situations, including the one he mentioned having the EV spread like that, make the pokémon lack the stats he needs to compete.

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Another good teamate for ceruledge is quaquaval with aqua step+moxie

Answer 2

Gen 9 Monotype Swords Dance (Fire/Ghost)

Ceruledge @ Focus Sash / Colbur Berry / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Weak Armor
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bitter Blade
- Close Combat
- Shadow Sneak

This is the Swords Dance set Ceruledge uses in Gen 9 Monotype. Swords Dance raises your attack so you can break through teams. Bitter Blade is used for Fire STAB since it allows Ceruledge to recover some HP. Close Combat is used to hit Dark-types such as Kingambit, Roaring Moon, Tyranitar, and Ting-Lu. Shadow Sneak is used for priority Ghost STAB that allows you to pick off weakened fast Pokemon such as Flutter Mane and Dragapult. If you have hazard removal on your team, you can use Focus Sash to live a hit and get off a Swords Dance. Colbur Berry can be used to bait in Dark-types such as Kingambit so you can get rid of them with Close Combat. Heavy-Duty Boots is also an option to prevent you from getting chipped by entry hazards should they be on your side. Weak Armor is used to double your speed upon getting hit by a physical move.

Comments

Not bad, upvote!

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Bitter Blade to me is part of the top 5 best signature moves, it is like drain punch but stronger

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You could also add Brick Break so ceruledge doesn't have to deal with an extra defense drop + weak armor, AND can break reflect, which could nerf it severely

Answer 3

Gen 9 OU strong, bulky yet speedy singles set
Item: Focus Sash/Life Orb
Ability: Weak Armor
Tera Type: Fire/Ghost (chose them because I couldn’t be bothered)
EVs: 252 Atk, 192 SpD, 66 Spe
Nature: Careful (lowers SpA, boosts SpD)
- Bitter Blade
- Shadow Claw
- Swords Dance
- Psycho Cut/Brick Break/Dragon Claw/Iron Head/X-scissor

Bitter Blade is strong, STAB, and heals it. Shadow Claw is only a bit less weak than Phantom Force, the Spell Tag boosts it’s power, and has an high crit ratio. Swords Dance is a great set up move. The last moveslot could be Psycho Cut or Dragon Claw for coverage, or Brick Break, Iron Head, or X-scissor to handle Fighting, Dark, and/or Rock types, respectively.

Comments

Any thoughts?

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There are much better items to put on a Ceruledge than a Spell Tag, which only boosts Ghost-type moves only by 20%. How about Life Orb or Focus Sash?

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Your opinion is interesting, thanks for sharing it! There are exceptions of course, but having the EV spread that much make him not having the stats he needs to compete with fully EV trained pokémon, if you focus better your EV spread and use a nature that is more related with damage or speed since his ability is weak armor, he will become better.

Answer 4

Gen 9, Tera Raids

Ceruledge @ Charcoal
Ability: Flash Fire
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bitter Blade
- Clear Smog
- Shadow Sneak

This build is a balanced attacker for Tera Raids. It is designed to be both self-reliant (regarding stat manipulation and healing) as well as consistent (i.e. attack every round and don't faint).

The basic gameplan is to first buff yourself with one or two Swords Dance and then continually attack with Bitter Blade, which simultaneously recovers your health the more damage you deal. If the opponent resets your stats, then repeat.

If the opponent buffs their own stats too much, then use Clear Smog to reset their stats. This will indirectly benefit the rest of your raid party as well.

If you expect to faint from your opponent's immediate next attack and your opponent is faster than you, then use the priority attack Shadow Sneak to deal one last hit before you faint and lose your Atk buffs.

Comments

It will work well, upvote!

Answer 5

Standarth specialized setup

Nature: Adamant
Ability: Flash fire
Item: Life orb
EV: 252 Attack, 252 Sp def, 4 HP
Tera type: Fire

Moves:
Swords dance
Flare blitz/Bitter blade
Phantom force/Shadow sneak
Close combat/Shadow sneak

The point here is to make the most of Ceruledge innate higher stats and moves combination, so he can fulfill with excelence roles that make use of them.

If you think your opponent is too sturdy, may surive hits from bitter blade often and may be using this openings to benefit himself and make the battle difficult for you, use Flare blitz to maximize your damage and minimize the chances of you leaving openings. But if is a situation where bitter blade is enought, use bitter blade for the sole benefit that it heals you, and moves that cause damage and heal at the same time pair well with bruiser setups. After all setups like this combine defensive and offensive attributes, so you will often survive hits and having the benefit of healing himself will extend this further.

By standarth use Phantom force and Close combat for maximize damage and minimize openings, but in situations where you need to adapt and a priority move will do the trick, use Shadow sneak in the place of the move that will be needed less in such a specific situation.

And if your opponent gives you an opening, uses this specific moment to buff yourself with Swords dance to give you an advantage.

Phantom force should be used in situations where you know that a two-turn move won't be a problem and the damage will be worthy, otherwise use Flarez blitz, Close combat, Bitter blade, Shadow sneak.

Comments

I think you should have bitter blade instead if flare blitz because that could REALLY start to add up along with life orb.

Answer 6

Standarth versatile setup

Nature: Adamant
Ability: Flash fire
Item: Life orb
EV: 252 Attack, 252 Defense, 4 HP
Tera type: Fire

Moves:
Bulk up
Flare blitz/Bitter blade
Phantom force/Shadow sneak
Close combat/Shadow sneak

If you find yourself in a situation where you don't need to be fully specialized or being adaptable is the best approach, run this setup.

If you think your opponent is too sturdy, may surive hits from bitter blade often and may be using this openings to benefit himself and make the battle difficult for you, use Flare blitz to maximize your damage and minimize the chances of you leaving openings. But if is a situation where bitter blade is enought, use bitter blade for the sole benefit that it heals you, and moves that cause damage and heal at the same time pair well with bruiser setups. After all setups like this combine defensive and offensive attributes, so you will often survive hits and having the benefit of healing himself will extend this further.

By standarth use Phantom force and Close combat for maximize damage and minimize openings, but in situations where you need to adapt and a priority move will do the trick, use Shadow sneak in the place of the move that will be needed less in such a specific situation.

And if your opponent gives you an opening, uses this specific moment to buff yourself with bulk up to give you an advantage.

Phantom force should be used in situations where you know that a two-turn move won't be a problem and the damage will be worthy, otherwise use Flarez blitz, Close combat, Bitter blade, Shadow sneak.

Answer 7

Gen 9 National Dex UU Swords Dance

Ceruledge @ Focus Sash / Air Balloon / Shuca Berry
Ability: Weak Armor
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bitter Blade
- Poltergeist
- Close Combat / Shadow Sneak

A Swords Dance set Ceruledge can use in Gen 9 NatDex UU in the current meta. Ceruledge can be used on Screens HO teams to help it setup, or just HO teams in general. Swords Dance boosting Ceruledge makes it a scary threat. Bitter Blade is used as Ceruledge's Fire STAB due to its ability to recover HP so it can stay around to clean through teams longer. Ceruledge has Poltergeist now, giving Ceruledge a really powerful Ghost STAB that to use on its Swords Dance set. Close Combat allows Ceruledge to hit Pokemon Tyranitar/Mega Tyranitar and Hydreigon super effectively. Shadow Sneak can be used instead if you want to have a priority Ghost STAB. Focus Sash lets Ceruledge survive a powerful hit provided it is at full HP. Air Balloon can be used instead to give Ceruledge a temporary Ground immunity. Shuca Berry is an option to let Ceruledge take less damage from an incoming Ground move. Weak Armor is the ability to potentially let Ceruledge outspeed faster Pokemon. Jolly Nature lets Ceruledge have more speed, while Adamant Nature gives Ceruledge more power.

Answer 8

Gen 9 Combo build ideas

Ceruledge @ Heat Rock / Life Orb / Leftovers / Power Herb
Ability: Flash Fire
Tera Type: Grass / Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Bitter Blade
- Shadow Claw / Phantom Force / Shadow Sneak
- Sunny Day / Swords Dance
- Solar Blade / Close Combat

Bitter Blade is an obvious one, it’s Ceruledge’s signature. It has STAB bonus and also lifesteals.

Shadow Claw is a solid ghost move for dealing decent amounts of damage. Phantom Force is good if you want to deal larger chunks per hit. If you use phantom force you might want to give it a power herb so you can use it in one turn. Shadow Sneak is good if your opponent is low on health and you want priority to take it out faster.

Swords Dance raises attack, making Ceruledge a beast if you can get one or two in. This pairs with Close Combat, making this strong move hit even harder. You can pair it with leftovers to make up for taking increased damage after using close combat. Or you can use a life orb and absolutely shred your opponent.

The other path is to go with Sunny Day and Solar Blade. Sunny Day increases fire moves and decreases water moves, and also lets you use Solar Blade in one move versus two without sunny weather. The sunny weather will also power up Bitter Blade which also means that you regen more per hit. The heat rock will also let you have a longer period of sunny weather.

Comments

since Poltergeist exists, Phantom Force is just... unnecessary

Answer 9

Standarth specialized setup

Nature: Adamant
Ability: Weak armor
Item: Life orb/Focus sash
EV: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 defense
Tera type: Fire

Moves:
Swords dance
Flare blitz
Phantom force/Shadow sneak
Close combat/Shadow sneak

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The point here is making the most of Ceruledge innate stats, moves combination and his hidden ability, to do what he usualy does better.

By standarth use Life orb because it pair well with his strong moves to maximize the damage output, if you think your opponents will be faster than you and not given you the chance to attack them, choose focus sash as a conter for that. With this you should be able to beat your opponent fairly easy and minimize the chance of leaving openings that he can use to do something that can benefit him in battle.

If your opponent is giving you an opening (like using status moves on the wrong situation, using weak moves that you can easily withstand, trading pokémon or the alike) use this moment to buff yourself with sword dances to maximize your damage output and facilitate your role. If your opponent happened to use an physical move and you withstand it, you have yourself in a sweet spot where you get a boost to damage and speed and can easily defeat them attacking first and beating them in one hit in most situations.

By standarth use Close combat or phantom force, but if you think you will face specific opponents that will not give you the chance to attack them or can attack you first and defeat you in one hit and focus sash is not enought, use shadow sneak to deal with this.

Also Phantom force should be used in situations where you know that a two-turn move won't be a problem and the damage will be worthy, otherwise use Flarez blitz, Close combat, Shadow sneak.

Comments

What tera type?
Why flare blitz over bitter blade?
Why phantom force?

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Oh yeah, i have forgoten to include that!
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Because this setup is making use of the speed stat instead of HP, defense, or sp def. In this situation Flare blitz is better.
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Phantom force is because his role here is to cause the higher amount of damage possible and don't leave openings. And since Phantom force on his case is a STAB and has 90 base power, is one of the moves that he can cause more damage with. Shadow sneak is only for emergencies, like where a priority move is a must.

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Flare blitz just seems utterly counterintuitive when focus sash is one of the options, and it’s pretty much just suicide paired with a life orb. It makes no sense over bitter blade when bitter blade’s BP is absolutely adequate, and bitter blade’s healing paired with the attack boost is incredibly useful.



As for phantom force, the opponent can simply switch to something that can tank it. It can also give the opponent a free turn to set hazards, heal, or set up something else. Hard to justify over shadow claw, even with the power.

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Also, you need to add at least two sentences explaining the set per due to this:
https://pokemondb.net/pokebase/meta/80798/2022-moveset-threads-overhaul-new-requirements-new-threads?show=80798#q80798

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OceanTempest - I respect your opinion, but i believe you wrong. Even if i create the best setup possible, of course that setup will still have his downsides, is almost impossible to create a perfect setup (maybe even 100% impossible), is the way the game is and we don't controll over that. What you have to do is see the setup on is own terms and see if it is good or not, but you will probably not find a perfect one. So, with all due respect, the points you mentioned doesn't make sense because it falls into the: "Even if i create the best setup possible, of course that setup will still have his downsides, is almost impossible to create a perfect setup (maybe even 100% impossible), is the way the game is and we don't controll over that"


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-VoltMadness- - Thanks for showing me, i was unaware of those changes.