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6 votes
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If you have a good competitive moveset for Lycanroc, post an answer below and upvote the best ones. Movesets for its pre-evolutions, if any, can also be shared on this thread.

Be sure to include full set details in your post, e.g. items, abilities, natures and EVs. Some detail, including the intended game mode for your set, is also appreciated. Access the full list of guidelines here.

Lycanroc Pokédex and learnset for reference.

Lycanroc sprite Lycanroc sprite Lycanroc sprite

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31 Answers

7 votes

Gen 8 AG

Lycanroc
Lycanroc @ Focus Sash
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Tomb
- Endeavor
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt

A new strategy that is becoming popular in AG is Lycanroc Hyper Offense, with Lycanroc being a highly reliable Stealth Rock setter and the rest of the team being Hyper Offense. Rock Tomb slows the opponent down, making threats such as Zacian far less threatening and forcing them to switch to lose the speed boost so a teammate doesn’t revenge kill them. Endeavor brings the opponent down to 1 HP, which is helpful against bulkier opponents like Necrozma-DM and Zygarde to help the rest of your team. Stealth Rocks is Stealth Rocks. Taunt stops other opponents from setting rocks or other hazards, as well as setup.

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Awesome man awesome. 1+
6 votes

Lycanroc

Lycanroc @ Choice Band
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Accelerock
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Fire Fang

While Swords Dance may seem more attractive, Lycanroc may be OHKO'ed by a Super Effective move without STAB due to its low bulk. So I decided to run Choice Band. Stone Edge is STAB, so does Accelerock which is more reliable for a quick KO. Crunch is needed to deal with some Ghost types, while Fire Fang deals with Ferrothorn and Scizor which are some common threats. Steadfast takes advantage of Fake Out which is used to break Focus Sash, raising his speed. He can outspeed majority of the average speed attackers. However, some of them may be carrying a Scarf, so it's advised to be careful of those Scarfers and faster attackers, also Priority move users.

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4 votes

Not seeing a lot of potential in either of these Pokemon. Defensively, both forms are terrible, as Rock by itself is a poor defensive typing, being weak to common attacking types such as Water, Ground, and Fighting, priority moves such as Mach Punch, Aqua Jet and Bullet Punch, and having poor synergy. This is only compounded by both forms' terrible bulk. Offensively, Midday Lycanroc might've been decent - it could utilize a Choice Band well given its high Speed and good Attack, but its movepool is extremely barren - the only notable coverage moves are Crunch, Fire Fang, Brick Break, and Thunder Fang, all which are relatively weak in the latter's case or provide bad coverage in the former's case.

One of the only viable sets I can think of right now is a suicide Stealth Rock lead for hyper offensive teams, which Midday Lycanroc could perform well due to its high Speed and access to both Taunt and Stealth Rock, although even this is severely outclassed by already popular suicide Stealth Rock leads such as Azelf and Garchomp.

Suicide Stealth Rock Lead

Lycanroc @ Focus Sash
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Taunt
- Fire Fang

A Focus Sash is the preferred item as it guarantees Lycanroc two turns on the field, which it probably wouldn't have otherwise due to its terrible bulk. Steadfast is the only viable ability for this set, although it can be useful in some instances. For example, if Mega Lopunny tries to use Fake Out to break the sash, Lycanroc's Speed will rise and it will be able to outspeed Mega Lopunny on the next turn and get Stealth Rock up. 252 Speed EVs and a Jolly Nature allow Lycanroc to take advantage of its Speed tier.

Investing in Lycanroc's bulk would be a waste because it is so bad; as such, Attack is maxed out to give Lycanroc an offensive presence. The last EVs are put into Defense so Lycanroc can survive priority better, although offensive Scizor, Breloom and Azumarill still OHKO with Bullet Punch, Mach Punch and Aqua Jet respectively, so it really doesn't matter. Stone Edge is a good STAB move. Taunt stops slower Pokemon from setting up their hazards as well or removing the Stealth Rocks that Lycanroc sets up. Fire Fang hits popular hazard setters such as Ferrothorn and Skarmory super-effectively, doing a whopping 25% to Skarmory.

Why you would use this over Garchomp or Azelf, I have no idea, as Garchomp has better Attack, better bulk, a better defensive typing, and a better movepool, while Azelf has better bulk, better offense, higher Speed, and a vast array of utility moves such as Taunt, Skill Swap, and Explosion.

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2 votes

Suicide Lead (RU)

LycanPaul (Lycanroc-Dusk) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Endeavor
- Taunt / Crunch
- Accelarock

This is a lead that is supposed to set up Stealth Rock, and bring down opponents’ HP with Endeavor. Taunt is used to stop opposing leads, Defoggers, etc. Crunch can be used to hit ghost types such as Doublade, but Taunt is usually the superior option. Focus Sash is implemented to allow Lycanroc to surive attacks at 1 HP, making Endeavor very powerful. Accelarock can finish weakened opponents.

This set works best on Hyper Offense teams. While it does face competition with other suicide leads such as Archeops, this set can catch unprepared opponents off guard.

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2 votes

Suicide Anti-Lead


Lycanroc-Dusk @ Focus Sash
Ability: Tough Claws
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Accelerock
- Counter / Endeavor / Stone Edge
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock

- Accelerock is STAB priority and allows for the opportunity to revenge kill or finish off a weakened Pokemon as well as OHKO any Fire Flying types that come its way.
- Counter is the move that allows this Lycanroc to function as an anti-lead. Anything that hits it with a physical move that would otherwise kill it, will be countered with twice the power that being multiplied by its ability tough claws. This really helps generate momentum against physical threats like primal Groudon and the like.
- Taunt is used to prevent other Pokemon from setting up their hazards and also gives you a chance to counter since they won't be able to use any status moves.
- Stone Edge increases Lycanroc's offensive options and is best used if you already have a scout lead on your team, otherwise Taunt is your best option to prevent them from punishing your stealth rock with other hazards or set-up.
- Stealth Rock is to set up a hazard that will soften up the other team allowing for an easier time getting rid of their members.

Focus Sash is the preferred item as it gurantees Lycanroc at least 1 turn for stealth rock or counter due to its terrible bulk and defensive typing.

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perfect-o
2 votes

Lycanroc is well known for its two main forms: Midday and Midnight. However, up in the glaring sunset, a third, rarer form of the Wolf Pokémon emerges, ready to slash its opponents with its sharp, tough claws.

Gen VIII UU
Swords Dance
Lycanroc-Dusk @ Life Orb
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 SpD/ 252 Spe
Adamant/ Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Accelerock
- Close Combat/ Stone Edge
- Crunch/ Psychic Fangs/ Drill Run

Thanks to its superb Speed, Attack and Tough Claws, Lycanroc-D can do a great job as Sword Dance Sweeper. Just make sure to setup on mons that it scares out like Chansey and Moltres and you are good to go!

Accelerock is good for its priority and it's boosted by Tough Claws.
Stone Edge is a powerful STAB move, but Close Combat is actually more powerful than it thanks to Tough Claws.
The last move is coverage of your choice.

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If you choose Stone Edge and want Drill Run, then choose Stomping Tantrum instead of Drill Run since it will double in power if you miss Stone Edge. (Dusk form doesn't have the ability No Guard, unlike Midnight form)
1 vote

Lycanroc-Midday @ Focus Sash
Ability: Steadfast
EVs : 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Accelerock
- Fire Fang / Crunch / Thunder Fang
- Stone Edge

Focus Sash ensures that it uses Swords Dance before attacking and Steadfast takes advantage of Fake Out. Lycanroc has Jolly nature and Max speed which allows him to outspeed majority of the attackers. Some of them may be carrying a scarf and can be faster though, so it's advised to keep away from Scarfers and quicker attackers. Fire Fang and Thunder Fang is needed to deal with some mons like Ferrothorn and Gyarados and 2HKOes or sometimes OHKO them. Crunch deals with Ghost and Psychic types. Stone Edge provides more power than Accelerock, but has Low accuracy and no priority. Its necessary to deal massive damage.

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1 vote

Lycanroc-Midnight @ Choice Scarf
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Brick Break
- Return

I don't see any midnight form sets here, so time to post one! This set is pretty much just stone edge spamming until you cant anymore. I've seen it deal with a few tanky Pokemon. Another way I use it is knocking out everything that stone edge cant deal with and KOing it. Crunch and Brick Break to deal with the rest of the team. I couldn't find another move that would be good for Lycanroc midnight though. Sadly, Lycanroc Midnight falls short of it's other form because of it's bad speed, not a very diverse movepool, ect.
(on a side note though I had to go to the animation and capture it with gyazo myself)

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Crush Claw is not that good on Lycanroc. It just lowers Defence though. Lycanroc-Midnight is not really that good. It has Low speed but just more bulk than Lycanroc-Midday. The extra bulk was useless for Lycanroc-Midnight if running Choice Scarf. Why use Scarf Lycanroc-Midnight when you can use Lycanroc-Midday. I prefer Lycanroc-Midday.
I didn't really know what else to put on it. No-Guard is a good ability, but its so slow. The only way I thought I could run it is with a scarf. It's actually help me win a few battles though.
why  3 moves only?
@ heecat there are 4 moves: Stone Edge, Crunch, Brick Break, and Return
what heecat means is the one before editing. before editing there were 3 moves, now it's 4 moves.
oh ok i get it
1 vote


Lycanroc-Midnight @ Fightium-Z
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 Def
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Counter
- Stone Edge
- Sucker Punch

Lycanroc is a hard Pokemon to use, for sure. What's worse is that it doesn't learn any moves to cover Ground or Fighting Types, both of which resist its STAB. On the other hand it can try to use Counter to take them out by reflecting back the super effective hit; Max HP and the +1 Defense from Bulk Up is enough to let Lycanroc tank super effective hits such as a STAB Earthquake without needing to use a Focus Sash.

A Fightium-Z is great because it adds a huge angle of versatility to this moveset. Z-Counter turns into All-Out Pummeling, which means that Lycanroc is granted access to Fighting-Type coverage without losing a moveslot. On top of that Z-Bulk Up is basically a stronger version of Swords Dance since it gives +2 Attack and +1 Defense instead of +2 Attack (Or the +1 Atk +1 Def of regular Bulk Up, which is useful if it doesn't have the time to use Bulk Up twice). Simply put you should use Z-Bulk Up if you don't think you'll need Fighting-coverage and ready your Z-Counter if you think you do.

Sucker Punch is a decent way to round off this set by giving it the ability to attack first, though it doesn't hit very hard and is only particularly strong against weakened Pokemon. It deals more damage than Accelrock, so that's something, not that Midnight Lycanroc wouldn't prefer using it.

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You can't have 6 EVs in Defense, only 4.
You can have 6, because the maximum number of EVs is 510 (252 + 252 + 6 = 512), but it only yields 1 EV. Technically speaking, a 252//252/4 spread has 2 unused EV points. They're just useless with that setup.
Wait... 252 + 252 + 6 = 510.
Sorry, you're right, I got the EV max wrong.
1 vote

Lycanroc-Midnight @ Lum Berry
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Brick Break
- Rock Polish

Simple set-up 'n sweep set. Your best time to set up is when your opponent is obviously gonna swap. Vital Spirit can be used instead, but I personally would rather not have my Stone Edge miss when it needs to hit. You use a Lum Berry to heal status conditions that would ruin your sweep attempt.

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1 vote

I have used this Pokemon a lot (Midday, at least) and have found that it is more malleable than people think. That said, the most reliable offensive set is the one posted by Orange Gaimer (although I'd argue Brick Break is more useful than Crunch since most Ghost Types are frail and will fall to a Stone Edge). You can also run Adamant for a considerable power boost, but Speed-natured base 98 Pokemon will outsped you and you'll be spamming Accelrock a lot. That said, a good Swords Dance set that has worked for me is as follows:

Lycanroc

Lycanroc @ Life Orb / Lum Berry / Rockinium Z
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge / Rock Slide
- Accelerock
- Fire Fang
- Swords Dance

The ability is not very important, as Sand Rush can also be of use.

While Lycanroc Midday is frail and usually does not appreciate getting hit, there are instances in which you can buff, such as on a predicted switch or a Pokemon that does very little damage, such as Chansey. Certain Pokemon are quite allergic to Lycanroc's STAB and his ability to use priority for it, so they will most likely run away, such as Charizard (Especially Mega Y), or weakened Pokemon. Even if you cannot buff, this set can still put out decent revenge kill power, especially if you run Life Orb, and won't be death weight. Be careful of checks should you decide to buff, as there unfortunately very little you can do to Pokemon such as Garchomp or Zygarde.

Edit: I forgot to mention: Brick Break helps you cover Tyranitar and Porygon Z, which is why I disagree with Crunch.

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1 vote

Lycanroc-Dusk @ Lycanium Z
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
- Stone Edge
- Drill Run
- Fire Fang / Accelerock
- Swords Dance

Stone Edge is strong STAB and lets you use Splintered Stormshards. Drill Run and Fire Fang are Tough Claws-boosted coverage and give you perfect neutral coverage with Stone Edge. Accelerock is Tough-Claws boosted STAB priority. Swords Dance makes you hit a lot harder. Choice Band (with no Swords Dance obviously) and Life Orb can also be used, but then you miss out on Splintered Stormshards.

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1 vote

Dusk Lycanroc with its own Z-move is just OP.
Lycanroc-Dusk @ Lycanium Z
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature / Adamant Nature
- Accelerock (STAB priority)
- Swords Dance (Your probably gonna need it)
- Stone Edge (STAB, high power, used for the Z-move)
- Crunch (Yep :T)

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1 vote

Lycanroc
Lycanroc-Dusk @ Lycanium Z
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Accelerock
- Fire Fang / Drill Run / Sucker Punch
- Sucker Punch / Swords Dance
- Stone Edge

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crunch is better than sucker punch, and accelerock already has priority. also crunch is boosted by tough claws
Neither Crunch nor Sucker Punch are STAB. Also, Sucker Punch is boosted by Tough Claws.
1 vote

Lycanroc
Lycanroc-Dusk @ Lycanium Z
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Accelerock
- Drill Run / Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch / Crunch / Swords Dance

Stone Edge is the main STAB for this set, and can also be used for the z-move.
Accelerock is for priority and to take advantage of Tough Claws.
Drill Run is for ground coverage, and pairs well with Stone Edge, while making use of its ability, while Swords Dance is for possible sweeping.
Sucker Punch and Crunch are both Tough Claws boosted, Sucker Punch is more priority, while Crunch is stronger and more reliable. Swords Dance can also go in this slot if you chose Drill Run above.

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you dont need 2 priority moves
1 vote

Midday Form
Gen 8 NU
Lycanroc
Lycanroc @ Wide Lens
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Accelerock
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance

This set should be used on Sand teams in NU. Swords Dance boosts Lycanroc's attack to allow you to do more damage. Stone Edge is used as a powerful rock STAB. Accelerock is used to revenge kill opposite Pokemon and provides speed control outside of sand. Close Combat is useful to hit Steel-types such as Stakataka, Copperajah, and Galarian Stunfisk super effectively. Wide Lens to boost Stone Edge's accuracy up to 88%, which is better than having 80% accuracy.

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0 votes

I have swept teams with Lycanroc he's a monster.

Lycanroc @ Focus sash
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch / Crunch
- Protect

I do realize for this kind of set Midday or Dusk is better but I just like Midnight more. So the sash=free setup for swords dance, sucker punch for priority or crunch for a bit more damage. No Guard is good for stone edge and protect is for protect. It's not that hard.

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Protect is a waste of a moveslot. You should use Close Combat instead
yes i realized that thank you. i think though that reversal would be good
0 votes

I tried another one and swept 5 teams with it

Lycanroc-Dusk @ Focus Sash
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Atk /252 Spe
Ability: Tough Claws
Jolly Nature
- Accelerock
- Swords Dance
- Crunch
- Reversal

Same strat pretty much. Swords dance, then if you didn't get hit to 1 hp then do it again. Once you set up max atk or they hit you and your at 1 hp, attack. Reversal does HEAVY damage, accelerock for priority and crunch for coverage.

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0 votes

Gen 7 ZU

Lycanroc-Midnight @ Lycanium Z
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish
- Stone Edge
- Stomping Tantrum / Brick Break

Dual Dance set to be used under dual screens to help you set up. Swords Dance is to boost your attack. Rock Polish boosts your speed. Stone Edge is STAB and doesn't miss thanks to No Guard. Stone Edge can be powered up to a one time nuke move in Splintered Stormshards with Lycanium Z. Stomping Tantrum is for coverage. Brick Break can be used instead if you want to hit Bronzor for nuetral damage.

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Why Jolly with Rock Polish?
0 votes

Lycanroc-Dusk @ Assault Vest
Ability: Tough Claws
Evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Accelerock
- Sucker Punch
- Psychic Fangs / Play Rough
- Iron Head

Assault Vest for a little extra bulk. Adamant Nature because he has priority with Sucker Punch and Accelerock. Psychic Fangs is my preference because it does decent damage, has 100 accuracy, and removes reflects/light screens from the opponent's side of the field. Iron Head for coverage.

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