Volcarona - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle

Volcarona Movesets in Other Games
SV	SWSH

This is a strategy guide for using Volcarona in competitive play for the games Pokemon Sword and Shield. Read on for tips on the best Nature, EV spreads, Movesets, and Held Items to use with Volcarona, as well as its strengths and weak points.

Volcarona - Related Guides
Evolution and Learnset	Build for Ranked Battle

Basic Information for Volcarona

Types and Abilities

Pokemon	Type 1	Type 2
Volcarona
Abilities
Flame Body	Contact with the Pokemon may burn the attacker.
Swarm	Powers up Bug-type moves in a pinch.

Volcarona Weaknesses and Resistances

	Type
Takes 4x damage
Takes 2x damage
Takes 0.5x damage
Takes 1/4x damage
Takes 0x damage	-

What is Type Effectiveness?

Base Stats

Best Nature for Volcarona

What are Natures?

Singles Movesets for Volcarona

Quiver Dance Moveset & Best Build

Gain stat advantage by using Quiver Dance to boost Sp. Atk, Sp. Def., and Speed stats. Use Max Airstream after Dynamaxing to increase its Speed more, making Volcarona an ace attacker.

Other Viable Moves

Choice Scarf Moveset & Best Build

By using the Choice Scarf on Volcarona, you can ready it for switch-heavy battles. Although Volcarona is typically used with Quiver Dance, this set changes focus to allow for quick-switching. It can use U-turn to change the flow of battle, and hit first with powerful moves like Overheat without worrying about the stat drop.

Other Viable Moves

Focus Sash Moveset & Best Build

This Volcarona build was used by Kindoku, who placed 7th in season 10. The Timid nature allows it to outspeed most Pokemon. Take advatange of Focus Sash to set up a first turn Quiver Dance. Bug Buzz and Fiery Dance are great STAB moves while Giga Drain is a coverage move against Rock and Water-Types.

Doubles Movesets for Volcarona

Doubles Support Moveset & Best Build

Volcarona can also function as a bulky offensive Pokemon that can also support its teammates in Doubles.

About Volcarona's Moves

Rage Powder allows Volcarona to function as redirection support for its team. Unlike other Rage Powder users that struggle with Grass-type Pokemon that are unaffected by the move, Volcarona can directly counter them with its STAB Fiery Dance.

Giga Drain allows Volcarona to hit Water-type Pokemon for super effective damage and is its only form of recovery. Finally, Whirlwind allows it to phase opposing set-up sweepers and prevent them from accruing stat boosts.

About Volcarona's EV Spread

We're using a custom EV Spread for this Volcarona. 168 Defense EVs balance out its Defenses while 44 Speed EVs allow it to outrun slower sweepers and opposing walls. 56 Special Attack EVs helps boost Volcarona's naturally high Sp.Attack while the remaining HP EVs round out its bulk.

About Volcarona's Ability

Flame Body gives Volcarona a 30% chance to burn opposing Pokemon that hit it with a contact move. This works great with Rage Powder as you can force opposing physical sweepers to hit Volcarona and potentially cripple them with a burn.

About Volcarona's Held Item

Sitrus Berry restores Volcarona's HP by 25% of its maximum HP when its HP falls to critical levels.

Other Viable Moves

How to Use Volcarona Effectively

Attacker with Stat Stacking Abilities

Volcarona overpowers its opponents by stacking stat boosts with Quiver Dance. It also has a wide variety of moves that you can choose from to counter most Pokemon types.

Watch Out for Rock-type Moves

Since Volcarona is a Bug/Fire-type Pokemon, it receives 4x damage from Rock-type moves. If you face an opponent which is likely to have Rock moves, use other Pokemon for the meantime until it is cleared.

How to Build a Team with Volcarona

Volcarona is a powerful special sweeper that can function as a straightforward attacker or bulky support. Though it faces competition from faster sweepers, access to boosting moves and great dual typing make it a great option for teams looking for extra type coverage.

A Powerful Set-Up Sweeper

Volcarona is a popular choice for set-up sweeper in Hyper Offense teams. Great dual Bug/Fire STAB and natural bulk give it plenty of chances to set up with Quiver Dance and sweep.

Check out our article below to learn how to build an offensive team with Volcarona.

How to Build an Offensive Team | Best Hyper Offense Team

Counters for Volcarona

Weakness

Set Up Stealth Rocks

Since Volcarona is a Bug/Fire-type Pokemon, it has a dual weakness against Rock-type moves, making it receive 4x damage. This means that you can make Volcarona less useful by using Rock-type moves, especially Stealth Rock, which will deal a whopping 50% of its HP when striking it.

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon	Description
Tyranitar	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Can deal high damage with Rock-type moves, especially Stealth Rock ・High durability Tyranitar - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle
Hippowdon	Ranking: ★★★★☆ ・Counter Volcarona with Stealth Rocks and Yawns ・Only has a few weaknesses Hippowdon - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle
Mamoswine	Ranking: ★★★☆☆ ・Can reduce the damage of Fire-type moves with Thick Fat ・Can use Stealth Rock Mamoswine - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle

Prevent Volcarona from Stacking Stats with Quiver Dance

Volcarona has access to the powerful Quiver Dance move, but it can be preventing from using status moves and increasing its stats with Taunt.

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon	Description
Gyarados	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Can be both offensive and defensive against Volcarona ・Can prevent Volcarona from using Quiver Dance with Taunt Gyarados - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle
Grimmsnarl	Ranking: ★★★☆☆ ・Taunt will be prioritized because of its Prankster ability ・Has no weakness against Volcarona Grimmsnarl - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle

Related Links

All Competitive Builds for Ranked Battle

Competitive Guides for Pokemon Sword and Shield

Competitive Pokemon Battle Guides
Tier List		Best Builds		Series 10 List of Contenders
Doubles Tier List		Team Building		Rental Teams

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Starmie	Heracross	Comfey
Porygon-Z	Alakazam	Politoed