Porygon-Z - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle

This is a strategy guide for using Porygon-Z 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 Porygon-Z, as well as its strengths and weak points.

Porygon-Z - Related Guides
Evolution and Learnset	Build for Ranked Battle

Basic Information for Porygon-Z

Types and Abilities

Pokemon	Type 1	Type 2
Porygon-Z
Abilities
Adaptability	Powers up moves of the same type.
Download	Compares an opposing Pokémon's Defense and Sp. Def stats before raising its own Attack or Sp. Atk stat, whichever will be more effective.
Analytic (Hidden)	Boosts move power when the pokemon moves last.

Porygon-Z 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 Porygon-Z

Singles Movesets for Porygon-Z

Life Orb Attacker Moveset & Best Build

Porygon-Z is a powerful special attacker that teams should not underestimated. High special attack, powerful abilities, and a wide special movepool allow it to fit comfortably in teams that require a special sweeper.

About Porygon-Z's Moves

Tri Attack is Porygon-Z's STAB move and has a 20% chance to inflict Paralyze, Freeze, or a Burn. Dark Pulse allows it to hit Ghost-type Pokemon that are immune to its STAB move.

It's last two attacks are for coverage. Thunderbolt and Ice Beam form the fabled BoltBeam coverage, allowing Porygon-Z to hit several types for super-effective damage.

About Porygon-Z's EV Spread

We're using a straightforward EV spread with full investment in Special Attack and Speed so that Porygon-Z can as hard and as fast as possible. The remaining 4 EVs are allocated to HP to improve its overall bulk.

About Porygon-Z's Ability

We're using the Download ability for this build. This raises Porgyon-Z's attack or special attack by one stage.

The boost it gets depends on the opposing Pokemon's defensive stat. If Porygon-Z is facing a Pokemon with a lower special defense, it will get a special attack boost and vice-versa.

About Porygon-Z's Held Item

We're giving Porygon-Z Life Orb, which boosts the power of all of its moves by 30% at the cost of sustaining residual damage.

Other Viable Moves

Hyper Beam Moveset & Best Build

This is a variant special attacking set that centers around a high-risk, high-reward gameplay by unleashing one of the most powerful Hyper Beams in the metagame.

About Porygon-Z's Moves

Dark Pulse allows Porygon-Z to hit Ghost-type Pokemon that are immune to its STAB move and has a 20% chance to flinch the opposing Pokemon.

Thunderbolt and Ice Beam form the fabled BoltBeam coverage, allowing Porygon-Z to hit several types for super-effective damage.

The crux of this set is Hyper Beam, a 150 base power STAB move that requires Porygon-Z to recharge on its next turn. Although it leaves Porygon-Z vulnerable, the move allows it to KO opposing Pokemon that can otherwise shrug off its main attacks!

About Porygon-Z's EV Spread

We're using a straightforward EV spread with full investment in Special Attack and Speed so that Porygon-Z can as hard and as fast as possible. The remaining 4 EVs are allocated to HP to improve its overall bulk.

About Porygon-Z's Ability

We're using Adaptability to further boost the power of Porygon-Z's Hyper Beam. Instead of a 1.5x STAB boost, Porgyon-Z gets a 2x STAB Boost with this ability.

About Porygon-Z's Held Item

Wise Glasses boosts the power of Porygon-Z's special moves by 10%. Alternatively, you can give it Life Orb for more power at the cost of residual damage.

Other Viable Moves

How to Use Porygon-Z Effectively

Switch in to a Physically Defensive Pokemon

To ensure that Porygon-Z gets the special attack boost from its Download ability, it's a good idea to switch in to an opposing Pokemon with a lower special defense stat. Even if the opponent switches, Porygon-Z still retains its special attack boost!

Use Hyper Beam as a Finishing Move

Although it's tempting to use Porygon-Z's Hyper Beam whenever you get the chance, it's best used sparingly and only as a finishing attack as the move leaves Porygon-Z in a prone state afterwards.

How to Build a Team with Porygon-Z

Porgyon-Z faces stiff competition in both Singles and Doubles due to its relatively mediocre speed stat. Despite this, it's a powerful special sweeper and a good choice for teams looking to round out its coverage.

A Powerful Sweeper for Defensive Teams

Porygon-Z thrives in balanced or defensive teams that have ways to boost its teams defenses. It's likely that Porygon-Z will be the fastest Pokemon in a team composed of slow, bulky attackers. This proves the team some form of offensive momentum that can turn the tide of the battle!

Check out our guide below to learn how to build a Defensive Team.

How to Build a Defensive Team

A Doubles Sweeper

Porygon-Z is a great choice for special attacker in Doubles. It's teammate can patch up its speed with Tailwind or protect it from damage using Follow Me or Rage Powder.

Counters for Porygon-Z

Weakness

Outspeed and KO It

Porygon-Z has a relatively mediocre speed stat and is easily outspeed by the metagame's premiere special attackers.

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon	Description
Urshifu Single-Strike Style	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Outspeeds Porygon-Z and easily KOs with Close Combat Moveset & Best Build for Urshifu Single-Strike Style

Wall it with a Bulky Pokemon

Despite its special attacking prowess, there are bulky Pokemon that can withstand Porygon-Z's powerful attacks and cripple it for the rest of the match.

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon	Description
Porygon2	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Can survive Life Orb, Adaptability boosted Hyper Beam and cripple Porygon-Z with Thunder Wave. ・Can withstand and heal damage from its other special attacks thanks to Recover and Eviolite. Moveset & Best Build for Porygon2

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

Best Builds for The Isle of Armor Pokemon

Movesets & Best Builds for The Isle of Armor Pokemon
Scizor	Kingdra	Magnezone
Volcarona	Chansey	Blissey
Talonflame	Azumarill	Galarian Slowbro
Porygon2	Urshifu Single-Strike Style	Urshifu Rapid-Strike Style
Slowbro	Alolan Marowak	Dragalge
Klefki	Lycanroc	Amoonguss
Poliwrath	Palossand	Mienshao
Starmie	Heracross	Comfey
Porygon-Z	Alakazam	Politoed