Coalossal Movesets & Competitive Sets

Coalossal finds a distinct niche in ZU as a Spikes setter that provides good defensive utility against common foes such as Froslass, Articuno, and Rotom. It can force the aforementioned foes out to set up Spikes or remove entry hazards with Rapid Spin. Stealth Rock can be used if Coalossal is not paired with a Stealth Rock setter or if there is already a Rapid Spin user on the team. Rock Blast allows Coalossal to threaten Substitute users such as Rotom and Articuno and entry hazard removers such as Rotom-S and Altaria. Flamethrower lets Coalossal force out Tangela and Klinklang, giving it the opportunity to reliably use Rapid Spin. Flame Body deters physical attackers like Froslass and Silvally from spamming their STAB moves, and it can potentially cripple threats such as Sawk and Kabutops in an emergency situation. Coalossal can provide both entry hazard setting and removal for certain bulky offense teams. As Coalossal has 4x weaknesses to both Water and Ground, it is recommended to pair Coalossal with Grass-types such as Tangela and Thwackey. Tangela is also able to tank hits from Fighting-types such as Sawk and Poliwrath, while Thwackey is able to provide passive recovery and reduce damage from Earthquake. Knock Off absorbers such as Uxie and Alolan Persian can preserve Coalossal's Heavy-Duty Boots, letting it consistently pivot in to remove entry hazards; Uxie can also threaten the aforementioned Fighting-types.

A strong offensive typing, Steam Engine, access to G-Max Volcalith, and good bulk make Coalossal one of the most powerful Gigantamax Pokemon in the format. Coalossal runs Heat Wave as opposed to other Fire-type attacks for a strong spread damage option outside of Dynamax, threatening common Pokemon in the format such as Zacian-C, Amoonguss, and Venusaur. Max Flare also sets up sun to further boost its power. Meteor Beam provides Coalossal with the strongest G-Max Volcalith, threatening to OHKO metagame staples like Incineroar while also dealing 1/6th of both opposing Pokemon's health as passive chip damage. One of Solar Beam and Earth Power is chosen as a coverage move. The former is very useful to threaten bulky Water-types such as Kyogre and Gastrodon, OHKOing the former when it is not Dynamaxed. However, Earth Power allows Coalossal to OHKO the opposing Coalossal in a mirror matchup and turns into Max Quake under Dynamax, boosting Coalossal and its allies' Special Defense. Coalossal uses a Weakness Policy as its item of choice because in combination with the Speed boost from Steam Engine, Coalossal's Special Attack is also doubled, making it a formidable threat. Coalossal wants game plans centered around activating its Weakness Policy and sweeping opposing teams, or setting G-Max Volcalith and letting its partners do the rest. Common partners include Urshifu-R and Dragapult, which are among the best Pokemon to activate Coalossal’s Weakness Policy with Aqua Jet or fast Surf, giving Coalossal the Steam Engine boost. Urshifu also helps Coalossal by providing strong damage that piles up as G-Max Volcalith turns go on and defeating common checks, such as Dynamaxed Landorus-T, with strong super effective attacks. Dragapult is also a good ally, as it can be used in either a supportive role defensively aiding Coalossal by using Light Screen, Will-O-Wisp, or Breaking Swipe to weaken opposing Pokemon’s damage output, or as a secondary Dynamax candidate, helping Zacian-C or Urshifu-R deal out increased damage after Max Phantasm drops both opposing Pokemon's Defense. Incineroar and Rillaboom or Amoonguss are used as a defensive backbone. Incineroar provides Coalossal with Intimidate support, weakening threats such as Zacian-C, while Rillaboom offers a pivot into Water- and Ground-type attacks and useful priority with Grassy Glide, to chip opposing Pokemon into range of Coalossal’s attacks, or faint after G-Max Volcalith’s residual does its work. Amoonguss is used to further support Coalossal by redirecting attacks and applying pressure with Spore, as well as pivot into Water-type attacks like Rillaboom. There are two main restricted partners that Coalossal is run together with, Zacian-C and Yveltal. Zacian-C is used usually on faster-paced Coalossal teams with an offensive Dragapult set, so that it can provide strong, fast damage that is incredibly useful combined with G-Max Volcalith’s passive chip damage. Yveltal is used usually on more defensive style teams with a defensive Dragapult set as well and helps Coalossal against Calyrex-S and Urshifu-R, both of which threaten it. Coalossal functionally cannot play without Dynamaxing, which is why many teams run a secondary Dynamax option, in case Coalossal has a hard time against opposing Pokemon and cannot reliably be used.

Coalossal is great on Rock-type teams because of its access to Spikes and Rapid Spin enabling it to both set and remove entry hazards and its Fire typing allowing it to threaten Steel- and Grass-types like Ferrothorn and Rotom-C, come in on Grass-type attacks from Venusaur and Celebi, and troublesome Fairy-types like Hatterene. Spikes allows it to help chip opposing Pokemon on the switch in to help offensive teammates like Barbaracle and Tyranitar sweep. Fire Blast takes care of troublesome Steel- and Grass-types such as Ferrothorn, Jirachi, and Celebi. Heavy Slam allows Coalossal to greatly damage Fairy-types like Togekiss, Hatterene, and Mimikyu. Rapid Spin gives Rock teams a way to remove hazards like Sticky Web and Toxic Spikes in matchups such as Poison and Bug that could stop a teammate from sweeping. Flame Body is very good against physical attackers such as Jirachi and Bisharp to hinder them with a burn. Use Coalossal early-game to get down Spikes to make it easier for its teammates to sweep. It is also useful mid-game to help get rid of troublesome entry hazards. 252 HP and 252 Special Defense EVs with a Sassy nature let Coalossal take hits from Mew and Hatterene. Setup sweepers such as Terrakion, Rhyperior, and Tyranitar appreciate Coalossal removing entry hazards like Sticky Web and Toxic Spikes that could stop them from sweeping. Barbaracle is an excellent teammate to take care of Ground-types such as Seismitoad and Mamoswine with Grass Knot and Liquidation, and it appreciates Coalossal to break Dugtrio's Focus Sash with Spikes. Shuckle can form a hazard stacking duo with Coalossal to further support setup Pokemon, setting Stealth Rock and Sticky Web to help its teammates such as Shell Smash Barbaracle, Swords Dance Terrakion, and Dragon Dance Tyranitar sweep. Tyranitar is also useful for setting sand that helps Coalossal stomach special attacks even better. Rhyperior is great for taking care of Corviknight with Smack Down + Earthquake, which Coalossal struggles to deal with. Terrakion can greatly help with taking care of Excadrill, Urshifu-S, and Hydreigon with Close Combat. Lycanroc-D helps to handle Poison-types such as Toxapex and can use Accelerock to finish off Pokemon like Volcarona and Scolipede. Lunatone can also be a good partner, as it can come in on Ground-type attacks due to Levitate and take care of troubling Pokemon like Toxapex thanks to its Psychic typing.