Competitive Pokemon: Kommo-O (Special)

Kommo-O is a very interesting Pokemon. During the summer of 2016 when new Pokemon were being revealed, I had hoped that Sun and Moon would have a Pokemon based on a Komodo Dragon. Though to be honest, I was actually hoping that it would've been the evolution for Salandit, given how it is able to poison even Steel and Poison-types (which would be like how Komodo Dragons are venomous). But instead, we got the sexy seductress lizard Salazzle (which is more than fine, as she is awesome). But I guess I technically I got my wish as Kommo-O is sort of based off of a Komodo Dragon, though it really is in its name only since it really looks more like some sort of dinosaur adorned with metallic scaly armor (but that's an even cooler design than what I had planned). Really my only complaint about Kommo-O is just its size. Seriously, why in the hell did they make this thing 5'03 feet tall? That's just a few inches shorter than the average height of a human. Totem Kommo-O's height is listed as being 7'10 feet tall, which is a much more appropriate size for regular Kommo-O (and interestingly enough it puts it around the average size of female Komodo Dragons, with the males just being a foot longer). Again, this is why I personally prefer the sizes the anime gives to Pokemon as they feel more appropriate. Fortunately, the anime came through and made Totem Kommo-O frikkin' huge! img00.deviantart.net/01a7/i/20… Seriously, it must be around the size of 2005 King Kong because this thing looks huge compared to the Jangmo-O and Hakamo-O next to it. Sure it ended up being OHKO'd by Gladion's Silvally's Multi Attack once it became Fairy-type, but it's honestly appropriate given Kommo-O's x4 weakness to Fairy-types. But what I really love the most about this is that this is just Kommo-O's Totem size in the anime, so it gives me hope that when a regular-sized Kommo-O eventually appears (hopefully one will) it'll be larger than the 5'07 height given to it in the games. 


Speaking of Totem Pokemon, Totem Kommo-O's actually pretty tough to defeat, well at least it is now in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Back in the first Sun and Moon games, Kommo-O really was pretty easy to beat so long as you had a Fairy-type Pokemon or move on your team (because it is x4 weak to Fairy-types and a single Moonblast or Play Rough OHKO's it). So it was really disappointing how this was the last Totem Pokemon you face in the games and it was so easy to defeat. Fortunately, that's all changed now in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, as Totem Kommo-O is a much tougher opponent to beat thanks to couple upgrades it got. For starters its now holding a Roseli Berry that enables it to withstand a x4 super effective Fairy-type attack, which is usually all that it needs. Its allies are also stronger than they were in Sun and Moon, which were only level 32, as they're now level 46. Its Scizor ally runs Light Screen to weaken special Fairy-type moves and of course, runs STAB + priority Bullet Punch to handle Fairies quickly. Kommo-O also has got Noivern as an ally now which spams Boomburst, and Totem Kommo-O is unaffected by it due to having the ability Soundproof. It also has Dragon Pulse to handle opposing Dragons. But Noivern's main strategy is using Screech to harshly lower your Pokémon's defense, softening them up so that Kommo-O can take them out. Totem Kommo-O's got a powerful moveset as well. Dragon Claw to handle opposing Dragons, Poison Jab to deal with Fairies (which will be OHKO'd after Noivern's hit them with Screech), Thunder Punch for Flying-types, and Drain Punch for both STAB and recovery. I myself actually struggled to defeat Totem Kommo-O in Ultra Sun, so I speak from experience that this thing is a lot tougher now. I personally love that they gave Totem Kommo-O so many good buffs as it has made it so much more challenging than it was in the first Sun and Moon games.  


Now onto its competitive viability. When Kommo-O first came out, I actually found it really difficult to determine just how well it would stand in the competitive metagame. As Alola's pseudo-legendary, Kommo-O is blessed with having a base stat total of 600 like all the others that have preceded it. So one would expect that this Pokemon would be very powerful and would now be used often in competitive play. Unfortunately, the pros and cons of Kommo-O's overall viability and versatility were even across the board. While that's not exactly a bad thing, it's not necessarily a good thing either given Kommo-O's position as a pseudo-legendary. Now while many of the pseudo-legendaries are quite versatile, Kommo-O's problem was that it really didn't have an efficient enough movepool to go with its versatility (which was another one of its problems). So this ended up being a bad thing for it to have considering its position as a pseudo-legendary Pokemon. There wasn't really anything about it that made it worth using in the VGC17 metagame (and the competitive metagame in general) over its fellow pseudo-legendaries like Garchomp, Dragonite, Salamence, and Goodra. So it seemed that Kommo-O was doomed to be first ever runt of pseudo-legendaries, the one that was inferior to all the others. Which was a shame because I've actually grown quite fond of Kommo-O and it's actually become my second favorite pseudo-legendary Pokemon after Salamence, my second favorite Dragon-type after Haxorus, and both my favorite Fighting-type Pokemon as well my favorite Gen. 7 Pokemon overall!   

Then, as though it were some sort of godsend, Gamefreak decided to bestow Kommo-O a glorious gift in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, something that would skyrocket it back to the top and give it the chance to contend against its fellow Pseudo Legendary kin. This gift was not only it's own unique Z-Move, but one of the most broken Z-Moves in the game! Holding the new Kommonium-Z Crystal enables Kommo-O to unleash its new signature Z-Move, Clangorous Soulblaze. This Z-Move is Dragon-type and enables Kommo-O to unleash deadly amounts of STAB damage to BOTH of your opponent's Pokemon in double battles! That's right, this is the first Z-Move that targets more than one of your opponent's Pokemon in double battles, how awesome is that?! But it doesn't end there because after both of your opponent's Pokemon have taken damage, Kommo-O then receives a +1 in every single one of its stats. So not only does this move deal a huge amount of damage to both of your opponent's Pokemon (which the only way they can avoid taking any damage whatsoever is by having Fairy-types that are immune to it) but Kommo-O gets all of its stats raised by 1 as well. I'm serious when I say this is quite possibly the greatest thing to ever happen to Kommo-O. It struggled to carve a niche for itself (which, being a pseudo-legendary Pokemon, is a very difficult thing to do) and this Z-Move has finally enabled it to do so. Now it truly has something to combat fellow pseudo-legendaries like Dragonite, Garchomp, and Salamence.  

Though that's not to say Kommo-O is still without its flaws, though they were mainly due to its stats and having them all raised by its new Z-Move helps correct a lot of what hindered it. It's now faster, can hit things harder, and can tank hits better than before. But just make sure that you've taken out your opponent's Fairy-type Pokemon. Not only are they immune to Kommo-O's Z-Move, but can still OHKO it with a Moonblast, Dazzling Gleam, or Play Rough. Other than that, watch out if you're on the receiving end because this scaly dragon becomes a juggernaut after it has been powered up by its Z-Move.   
     

Here’s my special Kommo-O's summary.
Nature: Modest or Timid
Held Item: Kommonium-Z
Ability: Soundproof
EVs:  244 HP / 252 SpAtk / 12 Spe
-Clanging Scales
-Focus Blast
-Flamethrower
-Flash Cannon / Protect

Now as I've stated before, because of Kommo-O's even offensive and defensive stats make it that it can pretty much be whatever you want it to. You can have it be a physical attacker, a special attacker, or a defensive tank. This is something very few Pokemon are capable of doing, but I'd say none do it equally well in all the categories as Kommo-O does. However, due to how much it ends up benefitting from its new signature Z-Move, the best option now is to raise a special attacking Kommo-O if you truly desire it to be a threat in the metagame. Makes me super glad that I already raised a special attacking Kommo-O back in Sun and Moon. All I had to do was give it its signature Z-Crystal and it was ready for battle.  

Clanging Scales is Kommo-O's signature move and it is quite a powerful one. It is a special Dragon STAB move with 110 base power, however, it will lower Kommo-O's physical defense stat by 1 when it is used. Best of all is that it is the move required for Kommo-O to perform its signature Z-Move, 
Clangorous Soulblaze. As previously mentioned, Clangorous Soulblaze is a base 185 STAB Dragon-type Z-Move that is both capable of hitting both of your opponent's Pokemon in a double battle as well as raising all of Kommo-O's stats by 1 after it has been used. You should typically use Kommo-O's Z-Move when your opponent is not running any Fairy-type Pokemon or after you've taken out all the Fairy-types on their team. Clanging Scales and Focus Blast are both very high damaging STAB moves with great overall coverage. Flamethrower is your main way of hitting Aegislash, and also has added benefits of being a more accurate way to hit other prominent Steel-types such as Scizor and Ferrothorn. Flash Cannon rounds out the coverage by allowing you to hit any Fairy-types that might potentially come in. Though Protect is an alternate option if you want to keep Kommo-O safe while its partner takes out the Fairy-types out on the field that threaten it. 

Kommonium-Z is the obvious item of choice since it enables Kommo-O to unleash its OP signature Z-Move. Timid or Modest natures both work here, but I prefer the power from Modest since Kommo-O really needs it. Besides, Clangorous Soulblaze raises all of Kommo-O's stats by 1. So whichever nature you decide to give it, the Z-Move sort of helps even out what it ends up lacking in (whether it be speed or power). Because of Kommo-O's high defenses, I decided to invest EV's into its bulk to better enable it to tank hits while still being able to hit things as hard as possible. Soundproof is the ability I recommend as it gives Kommo-O the absolute best protection against super effective moves commonly used in the metagame. It even helps protect it from opposing Kommo-O's Clanging Scales (which you are definitely going to see more of). 



Of course a special Kommo-O can run a variety of other moves (given its super high offensive and defensive stats, it can function as either an offensive attacker or a defensive tank/support Pokemon). Here are some suggestions: 
-Normally I would list alternate Dragon-type move options like Dragon Pulse or even Draco Meteor. But Kommo-O is the sole case where you actually don't want to run any other special Dragon-type attack other than its signature move, Clanging Scales (since it can't use its OP signature Z-Move without it). Though I suppose running Dragon Pulse is an option if you don't like Clanging Scales lowering Kommo-O's defense stat (just be aware you won't be able to use its signature Z-Move).
-Hyper Voice gives Kommo-O some decent neutral coverage and hits both opponent's Pokemon in double battles. But Clanging Scales already does that, is stronger in both power and gets STAB off of it, and enables Kommo-O to use its powerful new Z-Move (which also gives it a +1 in all of its stats). So stick with running Clanging Scales since its a superior option. 
-Shock Wave and Water Pulse are Kommo-O's only other special attack options. Neither exactly are that great, but Kommo-O's got enough powerful special move options to get by without them.
-Autotomize increases Kommo-O's speed dramatically (and its something none of the other pseudo-legendaries have access to). In fact a single boost from Autotomize can enable a Timid nature Kommo-O to outspeed a Modest Kingdra in rain (even after its speed has been doubled by Swift Swim)!
-Rock Polish is another option to raise Kommo-O's speed, though it doesn't boost it as quickly as Automize does. 
-Noble Roar is a pretty good support move to lower both of an opposing Pokemon's offensive stats by 1. 
-Scary Face can drastically lower your opponent's Pokemon's speed. This is your best speed control option since Kommo-O does not have access to any paralysis-inducing moves like Glare or Thunder Wave (it does get Dragon Breath, but it's too weak of a move to even consider using).
-Screech and Metal Sound work well in lowering your opponent's Pokemon's physical and special defenses. Good moves to consider using if you want to run a more support based Kommo-O. 
-Iron Defense increases Kommo-O's already super high physical defense. Enabling it to better tank super effective Brave Birds, Psyshocks, and Ice Punches. 
-Toxic always remains an option as Kommo-O does have the defenses to wait it out (plus it would make it even more like a Komodo Dragon XD).
-A Life Orb can be held to further increases its damage output.
-You can also have Kommo-O run an Assault Vest so that it is better able to tank special hits.
-Running Kommo-O's alternate ability Bulletproof is an option as well. As it makes it immune to certain bomb and blast moves. 

*This isn't any particular move or strategy, but if you just so happen to have Pokemon Ultra Moon Version, you can collect Totem stickers and obtain the Totem Kommo-O you faced in Pokemon Sun and Moon and Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Nothing about it is drastically different, as it will possess the same stats and can learn the moves any Kommo-O could (barring egg moves since it wasn't bred). The main difference is that since it's a Totem Pokemon, its sprite is twice as big as an ordinary Kommo-O, thus making it bigger than even your character. Which again is the size I wish they'd given to regular Kommo-O as it makes it look way more intimidating given how it outsizes a lot of the Pseudo-Legendary Pokemon (even the ones with Mega Evolutions). It will also come with its hidden ability Overcoat, which while not the greatest ability compared to Soundproof, makes Kommo-O immune to weather effects like Sandstorm or Hail as well as being unaffected by powder moves like Spore and Rage Powder. Like I said, aside from its increased size, it's really no different from any other Kommo-O (though having Overcoat does mean it'll be affected by its exclusive Z-Move Clangorous Soulblaze used by opposing Kommo-O). But it's still cool to have if you want to show off a big one that works well in competitive play. 




Do you have your own Kommo-O moveset and strategy? Comment below with your moveset!

To see my Competitive summary on Hakamo-O, click here: strikerprime.deviantart.com/ar…
Click here to see my physical Kommo-O summary: strikerprime.deviantart.com/ar…