Zamazenta - Crowned Shield
Attack
Defense
Stamina
Dynamax
Adventure Effect
5,000Stardust
Best Movesets
Analysis
Behold the Crowned Shield in all of its glory. For a long time, Crowned Shield Zamazenta was expected to be very much the lesser Pokemon of its duo due to Zacian - Crowned Sword's absurd raw power. However, something changed along the way:
Behemoth Bash.
This move turned out to be absolutely insane. This move catapults Zamazenta's performance, and makes it a strong contender for the Steel Type crown. True, it can't quite meet Zacian's absurd DPS, but its tremendous TDO backed up with a DPS that is surprisingly close to the Crowned Sword means it is definitely competitive in its own right.
Offense
- Metal Claw and Behemoth Bash come together to make this shield capable of causing horrible blunt-force trauma.
- Ice Fang, Moonblast, Giga Impact, Close Combat.... none of them compare to THE BASH!
NOTE: Behemoth Bash cannot be TMed away!
Ice Fang tends to pull ahead as a Fast Move due to the fact that it threatens most of the Dragons that plague the Master League more than Metal Claw, though the latter has similar damage output in neutral matchups thanks to STAB and superior energy generation, so it's worth considering situationally.
Behemoth Bash and Close Combat are both STAB moves with a moderately low energy cost and impressive DPE. Moonblast can be used as a surprise coverage option to delete certain Dragon- or Dark-type opponents. Giga Impact is a little too unwieldy...
Zamazenta's shield is a little too wide to fit in the Great League.....
Zamazenta - Crowned Shield has the semi-unique advantage of acting as a Dynamax Pokemon without being able to actually Dynamax. In this role, it's EASILY one of the absolute strongest tanks in the entire game, especially when backed by its strong typing and a 0.5 second Fast Move. This thing can keep your team safe with ease, and can also throw out some decently strong damage with its Max Move version of Behemoth Bash when the moments come that it has a Max Move to spare.
Additionally, Zamazenta has two unique abilities:
- If Zamazenta has unlocked Guard, it starts with one shield in a Max Battle
- Zamazenta can have 4 shields active at one time. Other Pokemon can only have 3.
Starting the Max Battle with a shield not only bolsters Zamazenta's already impressive tankiness, it also immediately protect teammates from dangerous targeted attacks by redirecting towards itself.
Note that Zamazenta does not benefit from Eternatus's Dynamax Cannon Adventure Effect, so it may underperform a little if you're thinking about trying to turn its power up to eleven, but it's still outstanding. It's also worth mentioning that Zamazenta is not a great user of Max Spirit due to its relatively low HP, so it's best to plan with whoever you're working with to try to have Zamazenta focus on shields and Behemoth Bash, while someone else with a Blissey or Snorlax focuses on healing.
Dynamax Roles
Zamazenta is a strong Steel Type option, but Behemoth Bash has the power of a Max Move, not a G-Max Move. For this reason it hits hard, but it's also not on a par with something like Zacian in terms of raw damage. Still, Zamazenta Is among the best non-Zacian Dynamax attackers, and its role compression is extremely nice!
If we had a 6/5 rating, that's where we'd rate Zamazenta on the defensive side of things. This thing has a 0.5 second Fast move, titanic Defense, and its innate and enhanced Max Guard capabilities. Very little can compete with Zamazenta's Crowned Shield when it comes to raw defensive performance.
Zamazenta... doesn't heal very much. With a sub-200 HP stat, it's not going to do a whole lot with Max Spirit. However, it's still worth having as it gives Zamazenta at least something extra to do if the team needs that bit of help.
Max Guard should be unlocked and maxed immediately, as this is the move that differentiates Zamazenta from things like Blissey, to be certain. After that, work on Behemoth Bash for role compression, and Max Spirit to take Zamazenta's team-supporting capabilities to the absolute max.
Offensive
Defensive
- Just spam Metal Claw and turn your team virtually immortal with Max Guard and Max Spirit. It's as simple as that.
- Behemoth Bash has a relatively short 1.5 second duration and can be used without sacrificing too much Max Meter charging speed.
