Obstagoon Movesets & Competitive Sets

Knock Off has a high chance to 2HKO specially defensive Necrozma-DM, OHKOes Calyrex-S, and has the great advantage of removing the foes' precious items, such as Ho-Oh and Yveltal's Heavy-Duty Boots, leaving them susceptible to Stealth Rock. Facade becomes extremely powerful once Obstagoon is burned, 2HKOing most foes that don't resist it, such as Eternatus, Yveltal, defensive Xerneas, and physically defensive Ho-Oh. Switcheroo lets it exchange its Flame Orb after it has been activated for a more useful item such as Leftovers, which mitigates the damage Obstagoon takes from its burn, greatly increasing its longevity. Meanwhile, Obstagoon can Bulk Up against Ghost-types that fail to damage it like non-Focus Sash Calyrex-S, physically offensive Giratina-O, and Shedinja, which makes it extremely menacing against most physical walls; at +1, Ice Punch OHKOes Zygarde before Power Construct, and Fire Punch Obstagoon OHKOes Ferrothorn. Obstagoon can opt for Parting Shot to become an offensive pivot. An Adamant nature maximizes its offensive presence, and once boosted, allows it to OHKO Lunala with Knock Off and offers a decent chance to OHKO Yveltal and specially defensive Necrozma-DM with a burn-boosted Facade or Knock Off, respectively. A Jolly nature allows it to Speed tie with Rayquaza and always outrun many foes with less than 95 base Speed like Groudon, Kyogre, Zekrom, and Ho-Oh; however, Obstagoon prefers the consistent wallbreaking power that an Adamant nature provides. Obstagoon is mostly used on bulky offense teams, where its ability to threaten defensive staples like Xerneas, Lunala, Kyogre, and Yveltal is appreciated by offensive cleaners like Bulk Up Marshadow, Dragon Dance Zekrom, and Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM. Also, they break through Eternatus with more ease than Obstagoon, and in return, Obstagoon can either give its teammates more setup opportunities with Parting Shot or wear down its teammates' checks with its STAB moves. It also serves as the best answer to Choice-locked Calyrex-S; on top of being immune to both its Psychic- and Ghost-type moves, Calyrex-S will be crippled by Flame Orb if it uses Trick on Obstagoon, while Obstagoon can later Trick its received Choice item back to another foe thanks to Switcheroo. While using Obstagoon, it's extremely important to play cautiously around Knock Off users before it has activated its Flame Orb, as Obstagoon is dead weight prior to activation. Yveltal is able to choose between more offensive sets featuring Life Orb, Hone Claws, or even a Choice item because Obstagoon's presence relieves some of the pressure on it. Obstagoon is hindered by entry hazards, so it appreciates Defog support: Ho-Oh, in particular, melts entry hazard setters like Ferrothorn and Necrozma-DM and can Thunder Wave foes like Eternatus and Yveltal, which lets Obstagoon outspeed and 2HKO them reliably with Facade. Wish support from Clefable and Blissey vastly increase Obstagoon's longevity, letting it break through the opposing team more reliably. Blissey can also Thunder Wave foes like Marshadow and Yveltal on an anticipated switch in, which Obstagoon can capitalizes on to KO them. Glare Zygarde is another great paralysis spreader that switches into Marshadow for Obstagoon, while Substitute + Dragon Dance Zygarde takes advantage of burned foes like Yveltal, Necrozma-DM, and Groudon to use Substitute. SubSeed Calyrex-S and SubSeed Calyrex-I take advantage of burned foes like Yveltal and Necrozma-DM to put immense pressure on the opposing team; also, they can OHKO Eternatus with their STAB moves. The latter especially likes the support Obstagoon offers in dealing with opposing Calyrex-S. Obstagoon can also be used in Sticky Web teams, which make up for its middling Speed and makes a Guts-boosted Obstagoon extremely difficult to stop. In return, Obstagoon is an excellent Calyrex-S switch-in, one of the best anti-offense tools which can easily revenge kill Obstagoon's teammates. It also threatens the most common Defog users in the tier, such as Yveltal, Ho-Oh, and Lunala, but can't switch into them repeatedly.

With Guts, Obstagoon is an excellent wallbreaker on Normal teams because it is able to reliably take on prominent walls like Toxapex, Mandibuzz, and Galarian Corsola. An above-average Speed tier means Obstagoon is also a useful attacker against offensive teams, being able to outspeed and OHKO threats such as Crawdaunt, Gallade, and Diggersby. Taunt enables Obstagoon to stallbreak defensive Pokemon by disabling their forms of recovery and prevents opposing entry hazards from going up, which Normal usually has trouble removing. Facade and Knock Off hit any non-resistant Pokemon hard after the Guts boost. Close Combat rounds off this set, allowing Obstagoon to have a better presence against Steel and Dark by nailing Ferrothorn, Tyranitar, and Bisharp. Flame Orb is used to activate Guts, also letting Obstagoon act as a status absorber. All of Obstagoon's teammates naturally benefit from its presence, as it can absorb much-hated status with Guts. Wallbreakers like Choice Band Diggersby, Choice Specs Indeedee, and Heliolisk are able to weaken or beat defensive Pokemon like Hippowdon and Corviknight for Obstagoon, therefore taking pressure off it versus bulkier teams. Particularly, Diggersby can also set up Spikes to further increase Obstagoon's effectiveness, while Heliolisk can check most Water-types, notably Keldeo, with its coverage for the team. Choice Scarf users like Ditto and Braviary are excellent partners because they can revenge kill threats like Hydreigon and Keldeo, respectively. In return, Obstagoon deals with the likes of Toxapex and Aegislash for them. Lastly, Snorlax appreciates Obstagoon's capability to take on the aforementioned walls to sweep late-game with its Curse set.