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 compared to THE BASH!
NOTE: Behemoth Bash cannot be TMed away!
Metal Claw generally stands out due to its high average performance, especially its high Energy Generation. Ice Fang also works due to its great offensive coverage and high raw power; it also helps better distinguish Zamazenta from Zacian.
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 healthy with ease, and can also throw out some surprisingly 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 if you're specifically looking for the absolute strongest options to take down certain incredibly tough Max Battles. Even so, it is very tough to outperform Zamazenta's defensive capabilities.
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.
