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This is a guide to movesets and best builds for using Zacian 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 Zacian, as well as its strengths and weaknesses.
| Zacian (Crowned Sword) - Related Guides | |
|---|---|
List of Contents
| Nat. Dex #888 | Type | |
|---|---|---|
Zacian (Crowned Sword)
|
||
| Abilities | ||
|
Intrepid Sword |
||
| Weak to: | ||
| (2x) | ||
| Damaged Normally By: |
(1x) | |
| Resists: | (0.5x) | |
| (0.25x) | ||
| Immune to: | (0x) | |
| Ability Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Intrepid Sword | Boosts the Pokémon’s Attack stat the first time the Pokémon enters a battle. | |
| Stat | Value | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| HP | 92 | 157 |
| Atk | 150 | 10 |
| Def | 115 | 63 |
| SpAtk | 80 | 301 |
| SpDef | 115 | 52 |
| Speed | 148 | 8 |
| Total | 700 | 2 |
| Stat | Max | 0Nat | 0EV | -Nat | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HP | 199 | 199 | 167 | 167 | 152 |
| Atk | 222 | 202 | 170 | 153 | 139 |
| Def | 183 | 167 | 135 | 121 | 108 |
| SpAtk | 145 | 132 | 100 | 90 | 76 |
| SpDef | 183 | 167 | 135 | 121 | 108 |
| Spd | 220 | 200 | 168 | 151 | 137 |
| Best Natures | ||
|---|---|---|
| Adamant (+Atk, -Sp. Atk) |
Jolly (+Spe, -Sp. Atk) |
|
| Build Name | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Swords Dance | ★★★★★ |
| Nature | Jolly (+Spe, -Sp. Atk) |
|---|---|
| EV Spread | HP 4 / Atk 252 / Spe 252 |
| Final Stat Values | HP 168 / Atk 202 / Def 135 / Sp. Def 135 / Spe 220 |
| Ability | Intrepid Sword |
| Tera Type |
|
| Held Item | Rusted Sword |
| Moveset | ・
Behemoth Blade
・ Play Rough ・ Sacred Sword ・ Swords Dance |
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Ability | Held Item | |
| Intrepid Sword |
|
|
Zacian can only have Intrepid Sword and a Rusted Sword while it is in its Crowned form. The Rusty Sword changes Zacian into its Crowned Form, while Intrepid Sword boosts its Attack by one stage when it enters battle for the first time.
| Behemoth Blade | Play Rough |
| Sacred Sword | Swords Dance |
Behemoth Blade and Play Rough are its strongest STAB moves with no downsides, except that Play Rough only has 90% accuracy.
Sacred Sword is its best coverage move that helps it deal with Defense boosting Pokemon that use moves like Bulk Up or Iron Defense since it ignores stat changes.
Swords Dance punishes more passive Pokemon by boosting Zacian's Attack by two stages, potentially boosting it to +3 if it still has its Intrepid Sword boost.
| Steel Tera Type Matchup | ||
|---|---|---|
| Weak to: | ||
| (2x) | ||
| Damaged Normally By: |
(1x) | |
| Resists: | (0.5x) | |
| Immune to: | (0x) | |
Steel is the best Tera Type for this build because Zacian gets to keep the best defensive type in the game while also boosting the damage of Behemoth Blade.
Best Steel (Tera) Type Pokemon for Ranked Battle
A full 252 EVs are placed in Zacian's Attack and Speed to make it hit as hard and fast as possible. The extra 4 EVs are put into its HP to help round out its bulk.
A Jolly nature is preferred to help Zacian outspeed as many Pokemon as possible.
| Trailblaze | A good utility option to increase Zacian's Speed, helping it outspeed Pokemon who have their Speed boosted. |
|---|---|
| Close Combat | A more offensive Fighting move, but it reduces Zacian's defenses by one stage every time it's used. |
| Build Name | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Regulation I Substitute | ★★★★ |
| Nature | Jolly (+Spe, -Sp. Atk) |
|---|---|
| EV Spread | Atk 252 / 4 Sp. Def / 252 Spe |
| Final Stat Values | HP 167 / Atk 222 / Def 135 / Sp. Def 136 / Spe 200 |
| Ability | Intrepid Sword |
| Tera Type |
|
| Held Item | Rusted Sword |
| Moveset | ・
Behemoth Blade
・ Play Rough ・ Substitute ・ Protect |
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Ability | Held Item | |
| Intrepid Sword |
|
|
Zacian can only have Intrepid Sword and a Rusted Sword while it is in its Crowned form. The Rusty Sword changes Zacian into its Crowned Form, while Intrepid Sword boosts its Attack by one stage when it enters battle for the first time.
| Behemoth Blade | Play Rough |
| Substitute | Protect |
Behemoth Blade and Play Rough are its strongest STAB moves with no downsides, except that Play Rough only has 90% accuracy.
Substitute works as a way to both punish passive turns and give Zacian more staying power in a match.
Protect is a great way to keep Zacian healthy while you set up an advantageous situation for it.
| Steel Tera Type Matchup | ||
|---|---|---|
| Weak to: | ||
| (2x) | ||
| Damaged Normally By: |
(1x) | |
| Resists: | (0.5x) | |
| Immune to: | (0x) | |
Steel is the best Tera Type for this build because Zacian gets to keep the best defensive type in the game while also boosting the damage of Behemoth Blade.
Best Steel (Tera) Type Pokemon for Ranked Battle
A full 252 EVs are placed in Zacian's Attack and Speed to make it hit as hard and fast as possible. The extra 4 EVs are put into its Special Defense to help round out its bulk.
An Adamant nature is preferred to help Zacian deal as much damage as possible.
| Close Combat | A more offensive Fighting move, but it reduces Zacian's defenses by one stage every time it's used. |
|---|---|
| Swords Dance | Swords Dance can give Zacian another option for punishing passive turns, by boosting its Attack and mitigating Intimidate debuffs. |
As much as you'd want to keep the Attack boost from Intrepid Sword, it's sometimes smarter to switch it out to preserve it to outspeed your opponent in the endgame.
It is recommended to learn and recognize when it is best to keep in Zacian to get knockouts and when to keep it safe to secure a win at the end of the battle.
Zacian is best used on more hyper-offensive teams that can get quick knockouts before the opponent can respond.
| Screens Setter | Physical Attacker | Physical Attacker |
|---|---|---|
Alolan Ninetales
|
Zacian (Crowned Sword)
|
Urshifu Rapid-Strike Style
|
Alolan Ninetales is both a strong attacker and great support since it can set screens with Aurora Veil making it safer for Zacian and Urshifu to set up with Swords Dance and sweep the enemy team.
Zacian and Urshifu also both create a good duo with both Pokemon being able to deal with each other's weaknesses.
| Physical Attacker | Physical Attacker |
|---|---|
Zacian (Crowned Sword)
|
Kingambit
|
| Support / Physical Attacker | Support / Physical Attacker |
Incineroar
|
Rillaboom
|
Kingambit is a good partner for Zacian in Regulation I as it can work as a deterrent for Incineroar's Intimidate. It also matches up favorably against both Calyrex forms.
Rillaboom is strong against opposing Calyrex (Shadow Rider), while Incineroar offers a resistance to opposing Astral Barrage, as well as Intimidate for opposing Groudon and Calyrex (Ice Rider).
| Pokemon | Description |
|---|---|
Chi-Yu
|
Ranking: ★★★★★
・Commonly runs a Choice Scarf set, which outspeeds Zacian even if it's Modest. ・A Tera Fire Overheat is guaranteed to OHKO Zacian unless it Terastallizes to resist it. ▶️ Chi-Yu Best Movesets |
Landorus (Therian Forme)
|
Ranking: ★★★★
・Has Intimidate to help it tank Zacian's attacks. ・Needs to be Jolly with a Choice Scarf to outspeed a max Speed Zacian. ▶️ Landorus Best Movesets |
Incineroar
|
Ranking: ★★★★
・Can survive a Behemoth Blade from Zacian even with a boost from Intrepid Sword. ・Can easily switch in and out and continuously debuff with Intimidate. ▶️ Incineroar Best Movesets |

Movesets & Best Builds for Ranked Battle
| Mythical/Restricted Builds |
|---|
Ranked Battle Regulation J: Rules and Banned Pokemon
| New Indigo Disk Pokemon Builds |
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| New Indigo Disk Pokemon Builds |
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| Returning Indigo Disk Pokemon Builds |
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Blueberry Pokedex: List of All Indigo Disk Pokemon
| All Teal Mask DLC Builds |
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Kitakami Pokedex: List of All Teal Mask DLC Pokemon
| All Pokemon HOME Builds |
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All Pokemon HOME Transferable Pokemon
| All Treasures of Ruin Builds |
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Best Treasures of Ruin Builds for Ranked Battle and Raids
| All Paradox Pokemon Builds |
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Paradox Pokemon Builds for Competitive Battles and Tera Raids
| All Other Gen 9 Meta Pokemon Builds |
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Gen 9 Pokemon: All New Pokemon
| All Gen 1~8 Meta Pokemon Builds |
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| All Off-Meta Pokemon Builds |
|---|
Zacian Movesets and Best Builds



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