Competitive Information for Zarude [Sword/Shield]
Dark / Grass
Abilities:
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Zarude? These builds have been optimized for Pokemon competing in Sword/Shield Single Battles. The movesets and EVs have been specifically calibrated to deal the most amount of damage to the largest group of potentially common opponents and typing threats for the Sword/Shield generation metagame.
Zarude is a sensational Dark and Grass-typed Pokemon. It's not-uncommon to find yourself dealing with Zarude when battling in the 8th generation meta. Zarude is typically seen in the UU tier (Underused). Zarude is weak to Bug, Fairy, Fighting, Fire, Flying, Ice, and Poison-typed attacks.
Item: Focus Sash / Tanga Berry
Ability: Leaf Guard
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
EVs: 52 Hp / 252 Atk / 204 Spe
Moveset:
- Darkest Lariat / Crunch
- Seed Bomb / Grassy Glide
- Close Combat / Hammer Arm
- Stomping Tantrum / Body Slam
Physical Sweeper Zarude (Leaf Guard)
Zarude is a legendary Physical Sweeper in single battles. It tries to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Focus Sash helps protect Zarude from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. With Leaf Guard, if sunny day is active Zarude cannot be statused and rest will fail for it. Stomping Tantrum was added to provide additional threat coverage.With a Tanga Berry equipped, halves damage taken from a supereffective bug-type attack then the Tanga Berry gets consumed.
♦ Crunch is a physical STAB-boosted 80-base power Dark-type move (20% chance to lower the target's defense by 1 stage).
♦ Seed Bomb is a physical STAB-boosted 80-base power Grass-type move that deals a nice amount of damage.
♦ Grassy Glide is a physical STAB-boosted 70-base power Grass-type move (Zarude on grassy terrain: +1 priority).
♦ Close Combat is a physical 120-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Zarude's defense and special defense by 1 stage).
♦ Hammer Arm is a physical 100-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Zarude's speed by 1 stage).
♦ Stomping Tantrum is a physical 75-base power Ground-type move (power doubles if your Zarude's last move failed).
♦ Body Slam is a physical 85-base power Normal-type move (30% chance to paralyze the target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is10a37d
Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Zarude? These builds have been optimized for Sword/Shield Double Battles. They have movesets and EVs specifically calibrated to generally work best versus multiple Pokemon at once as well as helping to support other team members and allys in the Sword/Shield generation metagame.
Item: Focus Sash / Tanga Berry
Ability: Leaf Guard
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
EVs: 52 Hp / 252 Atk / 204 Spe
Moveset:
- Rock Slide
- Brutal Swing / Darkest Lariat
- Close Combat / Hammer Arm
- Seed Bomb / Grassy Glide
Doubles Physical Sweeper Zarude (Leaf Guard)
Zarude is a legendary Physical Sweeper in double battles. It was designed to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Focus Sash helps protect Zarude from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. With Leaf Guard, if sunny day is active Zarude cannot be statused and rest will fail for it. With a Tanga Berry equipped, halves damage taken from a supereffective bug-type attack then the Tanga Berry gets consumed.
♦ Brutal Swing is a physical STAB-boosted 60-base power Dark-type move (no additional effect. Hits adjacent pokemon).
♦ Darkest Lariat is a physical STAB-boosted 85-base power Dark-type move (ignores the target's stat stage changes).
♦ Close Combat is a physical 120-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Zarude's defense and special defense by 1 stage).
♦ Hammer Arm is a physical 100-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Zarude's speed by 1 stage).
♦ Seed Bomb is a physical STAB-boosted 80-base power Grass-type move that deals a mighty amount of damage.
♦ Grassy Glide is a physical STAB-boosted 70-base power Grass-type move (Zarude on grassy terrain: +1 priority).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/id10a37d
Movepool
Wondering what moves can Zarude learn? Here is the list of moves this Pokemon can learn in this selected generation.
Sort and organize the learnset by move type, category, accuracy, and power. Bolded moves will gain the same-type attack bonus (STAB) if this Pokemon uses them.
Damage Modifiers:
Combo List
These are a list of several common move combinations Zarude can perform in Sword/Shield. Not every combo going to be game-changing, but some can be pretty fun to play with. Sometimes these can be easily overlooked or forgotten, hence why we find and list them here. Discover what items, abilities, and moves this Pokemon can use in combination with each other to gain a strategic advantage in competitive battles.
Competitive SS Move and Ability Combos for Zarude
- Moves: Sunny day + Solar beam
- Moves: Sunny day + Growth
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Moves: Rest + Snore
- Moves: Substitute + Drain punch
- Ability: Leaf guard + Move: Growth
- Move: Swagger + Item: Mirror Herb
- Move: Assurance + Item: Rocky Helmet
- Move: Fling + Item: King's Rock
- Move: Facade + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Facade + Item: Toxic Orb
- Move: Acrobatics + Item: Red Card
- Move: Acrobatics + Item: Flying Gem
- Moves with Priority: Endure, Protect
- Moves that Break Screens: Brick Break
Moves that boost Zarude's stats
- Bulk Up
- Growth
- Nasty Plot
Most notable and possible best moves for Zarude
- Protect
- Rest
- Snarl
- Taunt
- U-turn
Common Effort Values for Zarude in Sword and Shield
- Adamant Nature ( 0/252/0/0/0/252 )
- Modest Nature ( 0/0/0/252/0/252 )
- Optimize Zarude's EV spread for Pokemon Sword and Shield
Related Videos
Here are various how-to-use and competitive moveset analysis video guides for Zarude in Sword/Shield. These featured videos will most likely contain additional strategies and combos not listed on our site. Disclaimer: All videos belong to their respective owners along with the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the videos. They belong solely to the author and not to us.
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Here are the best movesets for Zarude. Top rated Zarude Sword/Shield movesets. You can find Zarude builds Sword/Shield. Zarude movesets Sword/Shield are listed here. VGC Zarude Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Zarude in Sword/Shield along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for evolution