Hydreigon Movesets and Best Builds

Hydreigon Movesets in Other Games
SV	SWSH

This is a guide to movesets and best builds for using Hydreigon in competitive play for the games Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (SV). Read on for tips on the best Nature, EV spreads, Movesets, Tera Type, and Held Items to use with Hydreigon, as well as its strengths and weakness.

Hydreigon - Related Guides
Evolution and Learnset	Moveset for Ranked Battle	Tera Raid Build

Hydreigon Base Stats, Type, Ability and Weakness

Paldea #372		Type
Hydreigon
		Abilities
		Levitate
Weak to:	(4x)
	(2x)
Damaged Normally By:	(1x)
Resists:	(0.5x)
Immune to:	(0x)

What is Type Effectiveness?

Base Stats

Hydreigon's Strengths

Large consistent damage output with Dark Pulse thanks to a high 125 Sp. Atk base stat. Has a lot of resistances, making it a great switch in. By changing its Tera Type, Hydreigon is able to deal with a much larger range of threats.

Best Nature for Hydreigon

What are Natures?

Singles Movesets for Hydreigon

Explanation and Comparison of Each Build Type

Choice Scarf Build	Strengths ・Choice Scarf allows Hydreigon to outspeed other sweepers. ・Excellent surprise attacker and opposing sweeper stopper ・Can use U-Turn to scope opponent's strategy and moveset ・Can confirm opponent's Tera Type and switch out to a better counter Weaknesses ・Its damage output is not as high ・Is weak against other Choice Scarf users with higher speed stats. ・May get locked in to an undesirable move due to unexpected Tera Type or switch in.
Choice Specs Build	Strengths ・Damage output is very high ・Top class wall-breaker ・Can deal decent damage without setting up, so it is able to one shot many opposing threats without wasting a turn ・Able to cover its weaknesses with the right Tera Type Weaknesses ・Very average speed ・Weak to faster opposing sweepers
Assault Vest Build	Strengths ・Can freely use any of its moves without being locked in. ・Can fit in to a phasing strategy against Special Attackers. ・Can still funtion well despite sacrificing Speed. Weaknesses ・Countered easily by Physical Attackers ・Quite slow. ・Lacking in damage output.
Nasty Plot Build	Strengths ・Can easily break through opposing walls ・Increases its viability against other leads thanks to Terastallization. Weaknesses ・Unaware users are common in the current meta. ・Can not deal good damage without setting up ・Only performs well against walls, does not do as well against sweepers.

Best Used as a Steel Tera Type

Hydreigon benefits immensely from the introduction of the Terastal Phenomenon, which allows it to function as both a sweeper and counter/stopper. Of particular note is Hydreigon's synergy with the Steel Tera Type, arguably the best compatibility of any Pokemon in Scarlet and Violet.

Can Break Through Walls Without any Setup

Skeledirge

Dondozo

Clodsire

In Series 1 of ranked battle, there are 3 Unaware users that are seeing a lot of play. Setting up with a move like Nasty Plot against these Pokemon is pointless, as their Ability allows them to ignore the stat changes. Therefore its better to go with a Choice Specs build if you are worried about these Pokemon.

Choice Scarf Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
EV Spread	252 Sp. Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 252 Spe
Final Stat Values	167 HP / 112 Atk / 110 Def / 177 Sp. Atk / 111 Sp. Def / 165 Spe
Ability	Levitate
Tera Type	★★★★★ ・Turns the tables on its unfavorable Fairy and Dragon Type matchups. ・Immune to Ground thanks to Levitate, eliminating one of its Tera weaknesses ★★★★ ・Can raise the damage output of Dark Pulse making it a powerful wall breaker with Choice Scarf. ★★★★ ・With a Fairy Tera Type, Hydreigon gains a favorable matchup against Fighting Types and can ignore the Priority move Mach Punch. It also gains a favorable mirror matchup against opposing Hydreigon (Dark Tera Type).
Held Item	Choice Scarf
Moveset	・ Draco Meteor ・ Dark Pulse ・ Flash Cannon ・ U-turn

Good Synergy With Bulky Walls

Amoonguss

Gholdengo

Garganacl

As Hydreigon can outspeed most opponents while holding a Choice Scarf, it is almost always able to use U-Turn to get out of an unfavorable matchup, scope the situation or realign the matchup better. As Terastallizing a Pokemon can reverse the matchups for almost every Pokemon, it is always a good idea to use U-Turn first to scope the Tera Type.

Key Damage Calculations

Dark Pulse
163 HP｜95 Sp. Def No Defensive EV Investment	168 ~ 200 (103 ~ 122.6%) Guaranteed OHKO
193 HP｜112 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 244 HP｜4 Def	144 ~ 170 (74.6 ~ 88%) Guaranteed 2-Hit KO
207 HP｜111 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 252 HP｜4 Def	73 ~ 87 (35.2 ~ 42%) Guaranteed 3-Hit KO
U-Turn
167 HP｜110 Sp. Def No Defensive EV Investment	56 ~ 66 (33.5 ~ 39.5%) Guaranteed 3-Hit KO
Damage Received by Hydreigon
(Make It Rain) Final Special Attack Value (EV's): 203 Sp. Atk (+252 Sp. Atk)	124 ~ 147 (74.2 ~ 88%) Guaranteed 2-Hit KO

Other Viable Moves

Choice Specs Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
EV Spread	252 Sp. Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 252 Spe
Final Stat Values	167 HP / 112 Atk / 110 Def / 177 Sp. Atk / 111 Sp. Def / 165 Spe
Ability	Levitate
Tera Type	★★★★★ ・Turns the tables on its unfavorable Fairy and Dragon Type matchups. ・Immune to Ground thanks to Levitate, eliminating one of its Tera weaknesses ★★★★ ・Can raise the damage output of Dark Pulse making it a powerful wall breaker with Choice Specs. ★★★★ ・With a Fairy Tera Type, Hydreigon gains a favorable matchup against Fighting Types and can ignore the Priority move Mach Punch. It also gains a favorable mirror matchup against opposing Hydreigon (Dark Tera Type).
Held Item	Choice Specs
Moveset	・ Draco Meteor ・ Dark Pulse ・ Flash Cannon ・ U-turn

High Performing Wall Breaker

Garganacl

Dondozo

Gholdengo

Almost no Pokemon can safely switch in to Choice Spec Hydreigon's Dark Pulse, making it one of the best counters to phasing and stalling teams. It also does well against other types of teams as well so is a highly recommended asset to any team.

Key Damage Calculations

Dark Pulse
257 HP｜86 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 252 HP｜4 Def	139 ~ 165 (54 ~ 64.2%) Guaranteed 2-Hit KO
193 HP｜112 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 244 HP｜4 Def	216 ~ 254 (111.9 ~ 131.6%) Guaranteed OHKO
207 HP｜111 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 252 HP｜4 Def	109 ~ 129 (52.6 ~ 62.3%) Guaranteed 2-Hit KO
Damage Received by Hydreigon
(Make It Rain) Final Special Attack Value (EV's): 203 Sp. Atk (+252 Sp. Atk)	124 ~ 147 (74.2 ~ 88%) Guaranteed 2-Hit KO

Other Viable Moves

Assault Vest Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Modest Nature (+Sp. Atk, -Atk)
EV Spread	236 HP / 4 Def / 100 Sp. Atk / 132 Sp. Def / 44 Spe
Final Stat Values	197 HP / 112 Atk / 111 Def / 173 Sp. Atk / 127 Sp. Def / 123 Spe
Ability	Levitate
Tera Type	★★★★★ ・Turns the tables on its unfavorable Fairy and Dragon Type matchups. ・Immune to Ground thanks to Levitate, eliminating one of its Tera weaknesses ★★★★ ・Can raise the damage output of Dark Pulse making it a powerful wall breaker with Choice Specs. ★★★★ ・With a Fairy Tera Type, Hydreigon gains a favorable matchup against Fighting Types and can ignore the Priority move Mach Punch. It also gains a favorable mirror matchup against opposing Hydreigon (Dark Tera Type).
Held Item	Assault Vest
Moveset	・ Draco Meteor ・ Dark Pulse ・ Flash Cannon ・ Rock Tomb

This stat spread guarantees Hydreigon to survive a Fairy Type Tera Blast from a Wash Rotom with 172 Sp. Atk EVs.

Not Getting Locked In to One Move is a Key Strength

Volcarona

Gholdengo

Wash Rotom

Not being restricted to the use of just one move is a great bonus to the Special Defense boost that Hydreigon gets from holding the Assault Vest. It is able to freely change moves for the situation, using the above team as an example, Hydreigon could knock out Gholdengo with Dark Pulse and follow up with a Rock Tomb to deal 4x super-effective damage and knock out an incoming Volcarona.

Key Damage Calculations

Dark Pulse
193 HP｜112 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 244 HP｜4 Def	216 ~ 254 (111.9 ~ 131.6%) Guaranteed OHKO
Flash Cannon
157 HP｜127 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 252 HP Tera Type:	82 ~ 98 (52.2 ~ 62.4%) Guaranteed 2-Hit KO
Damage Received by Hydreigon
(Tera Blast) Final Special Attack Value (EV's): 172 Sp. Atk (+252 Sp. Atk) Tera Type:	168 ~ 196 (85.2 ~ 99.4%) Guaranteed 2-Hit KO
(Draco Meteor) Final Special Attack Value (EV's): 194 Sp. Atk (+252 Sp. Atk)	150 ~ 176 (76.1 ~ 89.3%) Guaranteed 2-Hit KO

Nasty Plot Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
EV Spread	252 Sp. Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 252 Spe
Final Stat Values	167 HP / 112 Atk / 110 Def / 177 Sp. Atk / 111 Sp. Def / 165 Spe
Ability	Levitate
Tera Type	★★★★★ ・Turns the tables on its unfavorable Fairy and Dragon Type matchups. ・Immune to Ground thanks to Levitate, eliminating one of its Tera weaknesses ★★★★ ・Can raise the damage output of Dark Pulse making it a powerful wall breaker with Choice Specs. ★★★★ ・With a Fairy Tera Type, Hydreigon gains a favorable matchup against Fighting Types and can ignore the Priority move Mach Punch. It also gains a favorable mirror matchup against opposing Hydreigon (Dark Tera Type).
Held Item	Lum Berry
Moveset	・ Dark Pulse ・ Flash Cannon ・ Taunt ・ Nasty Plot

Resistant to Stall Teams With Taunt + Lum Berry Combination

Dondozo

Hippowdon

Amoonguss

By holding the Lum Berry and using the move Taunt, Hydreigon can foil stall teams' tactics. Once they have come to a stand-still, build Hydreigon up with a couple of Nasty Plots and sweep. Beware of Unaware users though, as they will be unfazed by Nasty Plot, so remember to just attack them straight away.

Key Damage Calculations

Dark Pulse
163 HP｜95 Sp. Def No Defensive EV Investment	168 ~ 200 (103 ~ 122.6%) Guaranteed OHKO
193 HP｜112 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 244 HP｜4 Def	144 ~ 170 (74.6 ~ 88%) Guaranteed 2-Hit KO
207 HP｜111 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 252 HP｜4 Def	73 ~ 87 (35.2 ~ 42%) Guaranteed 3-Hit KO
Damage Received by Hydreigon
(Make It Rain) Final Special Attack Value (EV's): 203 Sp. Atk (+252 Sp. Atk)	124 ~ 147 (74.2 ~ 88%) Guaranteed 2-Hit KO

Other Viable Moves

Doubles Movesets for Hydreigon

Specially Offensive Hydreigon & Best Build

Nature	Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
EV Spread	252 Sp. Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 252 Spe
Final Stat Values	167 HP / 112 Atk / 110 Def / 177 Sp. Atk / 111 Sp. Def / 165 Spe
Ability	Levitate
Tera Type
Held Item	Life Orb
Moveset	・ Draco Meteor ・ Dark Pulse ・ Nasty Plot ・ Protect

Hydreigon finds itself in a comfortable spot in the Series 1 metagame, being able to have great coverage in Dragon and Dark, being able to boost with Nasty Plot, and being able to avoid getting KOd by using Terastallization defensively.

It can KO other Dragons or heavily dent even the most defensive Pokemon with Draco Meteor, and put a hurting on Trick Room Setting Psychic Pokemon.

Giving Hydreigon Tera Poison lets you take resisted damage from otherwise super-effective hits from Fairy-types and Fighting-types, however, this makes you susceptible to getting knocked out by Armarouge.

Other Viable Moves

How to Use Hydreigon Effectively

Use U-Turn

U-Turn is a great move with a wide range of applications. If Hydreigon is Choice Specced or Scarfed, U-Turn allows it to attack, switch out and use a different attack next time it comes in. U-Turn also allows you to scope the opponents' strategy safely while switching out to a better counter.

Even in favorable matchups, Terastallization can flip the cards, so you should always start with U-Turn and then reassess the situation.

Give it the Steel Tera Type

While Hydreigon has good compatibility with other Types like Dark and Fairy, having a Steel Tera Type allows it to remove 4 of its 5 weaknesses, including its 4x Fairy weakness. It also has access to Flash Cannon, a strong Special move to take advantage of its Steel Tera Type and high Sp. Atk stat.

How to Build a Team with Hydreigon

Hydreigon teams well with Bulky Walls that it can switch into with its U-Turn move. It also does well with a Pokemon that can attack on the Physical side while covering its weaknesses.

Mixed Offense

Lead	Physical Wall	Backup Attacker
Hydreigon	Garganacl	Mimikyu

Alternative Mixed Offense

Lead	Physical Wall	Backup Attacker
Hydreigon	Dondozo	Breloom

Sample Doubles Team

Support	Special Attacker
Murkrow	Hydreigon
Special Attacker	Physical Attacker
Gholdengo	Garchomp

Murkrow and Hydreigon are great leads especially when there are plenty of Armarouge and Indeedee-F in the format. Murkrow can also turn Hydreigon Mirrors in your favor by setting up Tailwind.

Gholdengo is a great counter to Fairy-types who Hydreigon typically doesn't want to go up against. Having another Dragon in your team in the form of Garchomp gives you another Attacker late game.

Counters for Hydreigon

Counter with a Faster Choice Scarfed Pokemon

Hydreigon can be countered by a Pokemon with a higher speed stat than it, if it is also choice scarfed, such as Dragapult, Meowscarada or Garchomp.

Example Choice Scarf Counters
Dragapult	Meowscarada	Garchomp

Take Advantage of Choice Limitations

Switch to a Pokemon that can take advantage of Hydreigon being locked in to an unfavorable move. This works particularly well if your switch in can also resist Steel.

Example 'Lock-In' Counters
Volcarona	Dragonite	Azumarill

Counter with Fighting Types

As Hydreigon is weak to Fighting in its regular Typing, as well as its Steel Tera Typing, this can be a very effective counter strategy. Be cautios of Fairy Tera Type Hydreigon though.

Example Fighting Counters
Breloom	Annihilape	Pawmot

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon	Description
Garchomp	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Outspeeds in the Choice Scarf item mirror matchup. ・Can hit for STAB super-effective damage in and out of Terastallization. ▶️Garchomp Best Movesets
Volcarona	Ranking: ★★★★ ・Can deal STAB super-effective damage in and out of Terastallization. ・Has good bulk on the Special Defense side to tank hits.
Breloom	Ranking: ★★★★ ・Can deal STAB super-effective damage in and out of Terastallization. ・Can put it to sleep with Spore ▶️Breloom Best Movesets

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