Full Offense, ResTalk, or Other for this Mega Gyarados?

Question

I'm currently raising a Gyarados for competititve use in Omega Ruby. But I am at a loss as to what moveset to put on him. Even after searching Smogon and Serebii, I still have no idea what to do. His build so far is:

Gyarados@ Gyaradosite
Trait: Intimidate --> Mold Breaker
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk/188 SDef/20 Def/48 HP
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Rest/Stone Edge/Earthquake/Roar
- Sleep Talk/Dragon Dance/Thunder Wave

My initial idea was a bulky ResTalk set with Crunch and Waterfall for dual STABs. But then I thought of pairing his stellar Attack and modest uninvested Speed with DDance, and either EQuake or Stone Edge for coverage. But then my mind wandered to a more support/phazer role with Waterfall, Crunch, Thunder Wave, and either Roar or Dragon Tail. I also considered removing the Gyaradosite and giving it Leftovers. In other words, I'm terribly confused and I'm hoping someone can give me a nudge in the right direction.

Comments

We might need the rest of the team btw. You have options for the last two moves,
Rest and Sleep Talk
Substitute and Dragon Dance
Earthquake and Dragon Dance

It's a good idea to have Earthquake instead of Crunch though, to get rid of pesky Levitate pokemon (Rotom-W). If so, the most preferred moveset is Dragon Dance, Substitute, Earthquake and Waterfall.

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Would the above set work with the given EVs? I spent a good chunk of time thinking them through, and it would take even more time to grow the proper Berries.

Answer 1

Hmmm...

This is completely personal preference, but I never really liked ResTalk. I find it too unreliable and unpredictable to use, and one time I lost a game due to Sleep Talk selecting Rest both sleep turns. I also think phasing should be left to stuff with better defenses- although it does have great bulk, its high Attack just screams "SWEEPER!" for me. Here's the set I would use:

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate -> Mold Breaker
Jolly Nature
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
-Substitute
-Dragon Dance
-Waterfall
-Crunch / Earthquake

The last moveslot is up to you: more STAB, or coverage? I would go with Earthquake, to be honest, to smack around stuff like non Air Balloon Excadrill and Rotom-Wash.

Hope I helped!

Comments

I'm gonna go Substitute/Crunch/Earthquake/Waterfall for now, and if it doesn't carry it's weight I'll go Substitute/Earthquake/Waterfall/Dragon Dance. Thanks for the tips!

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No problem! Good luck and happy battling!