|
-
Water Absorb
- Heals 25% HP when hit by a Water-type attack.
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Cursed Body
- The wielder has a 30% chance to disable any move that hits it.
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Damp
- Prevents the use of Selfdestruct or Explosion. Prevents Aftermath from doing damage.
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Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
55
|
- |
251 |
314 |
- |
| Atk |
40
|
104 |
116 |
179 |
196 |
| Def |
50
|
122 |
136 |
199 |
218 |
| SpA |
65
|
149 |
166 |
229 |
251 |
| SpD |
85
|
185 |
206 |
269 |
295 |
| Spe |
40
|
104 |
116 |
179 |
196 |
Overview
Frillish is a very strange Pokemon, both in its appearence and how it is used. It cannot fit into most normal teams, mostly due to being excessively weak and possessing close to zero offensive presence. The one style of play where Frillish does excel, however, is stall. It can reliably beat all common Rapid Spin users in NU such as Torkoal and Armaldo, meaning that a stall team with Frillish is almost guaranteed to keep its hazards up, which is an incredible niche to possess. On top of this, it is one of the most reliable counters to Samurott, a Pokemon that stall teams will typically have a huge amount of trouble with. While many stall teams will use Misdreavus as their spinblocker, Frillish has one great advantage over it: the ability to use Recover. A reliable recovery move is such a rare commodity on Eviolite users, and Frillish makes great use of it.
There is only one set that Frillish can pull off effectively, and this is it. Any other set fails to do what Frillish needs to do: beat all of the common Rapid Spin users in NU. Frillish lacks the offensive prowess to effectively use conventional attacks, and will almost always do more damage with Night Shade. It can easily 3HKO or 4HKO both Armaldo and Torkoal, defeating them before they can get past Frillish in order to use Rapid Spin. Recover is the move that sets Frillish apart from other NU spinblockers, and with it, Frillish can easily keep up entry hazards for an entire match. Will-O-Wisp stops Frillish from becoming absolute Pursuit bait, as it can burn Skuntank as it switches in. Surprisingly, Frillish can also act as a somewhat effective stallbreaker with Will-O-Wisp and Taunt. Taunt lets Frillish shut down slow Calm Mind users such as Musharna and Duosion, and Frillish can beat them with Night Shade.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The EV spread is designed to maximize Frillish's bulk and enable it to outspeed a few common threats. 248 EVs in HP mean that Frillish has an odd HP number, so it will take less damage from entry hazards and status; the Speed EVs mean that Frillish is faster than minimum speed Golem and any other Pokemon aiming for that benchmark. The remaining EVs are put into Defense so that Frillish can beat physical Rapid Spin users such as Armaldo, as well as check Samurott with more consistency. Even more Speed EVs can be used in order to outrun Tangela or another specific threat, but Frillish really does need all the Defense it can get. Eviolite is the only viable item here, and it makes Frillish incredibly bulky despite its poor base stats. Scald is a decent alternative to Night Shade, primarily for its ability to burn the target. However, Night Shade is much more reliable, and Frillish can burn opponents with Will-O-Wisp. Toxic is another reliable way for Frillish to deal damage, and is a better option than Will-O-Wisp if you are using Scald.
The sole purpose of using Frillish is to keep up entry hazards, so obviously teammates that set up entry hazards are essential. Cacturne has excellent synergy with Frillish, and finds many opportunities to set up Spikes. Many Stealth Rock users also pair very well with Frillish, including Probopass, Bastiodon, Miltank, and Golem. Garbodor can also set up both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, the latter of which can be very potent when combined with Frillish. Despite its many good qualities, Frillish can become setup bait for a number of Pokemon. In particular, Guts users can easily switch in with no trouble and promptly threaten Frillish with powerful attacks. Both Ursaring and Swellow are especially adept at this due to their immunity to Night Shade.
Other Options
Frillish has an incredibly limited movepool, and it is made even smaller when you consider how much of it is actually usable. Shadow Ball and Ice Beam are possible options, but are so weak because of Frillish's Special Attack stat that they are not really worthwhile. Support options such as Trick Room, Acid Armor, and Refresh are also available, but again, Frillish will not be particularly effective while using them. Magic Coat is a more viable move than the others, as it can be used to bounce back both Taunt and status moves, but Frillish struggles to fit it into its moveset. Finally, a specially defensive spread is usable, but it fails to capitalize on Frillish's main niche: blocking Rapid Spin.
Checks and Counters
If your team has no need to get rid of entry hazards, you will have little trouble with Frillish. Any Pokemon with recovery that doesn't mind burns will make a great defensive counter; Lickilicky and Audino are good counters in particular, as they are also immune to Night Shade. Ursaring, Swellow, and Zangoose are great offensive checks, as all three can switch in on Night Shade and Will-O-Wisp, provided that Toxic Orb is activated on Zangoose. Misdreavus can outspeed Frillish and Taunt it, which means it can outstall Frillish or just KO it with Shadow Ball. Armaldo is the only Rapid Spin user with a hope of beating Frillish, and to do so it needs to use Swords Dance with a Lum Berry; however, it often comes out of then encounter with such little HP it cannot get a Rapid Spin off. Toxic Spikes, and indeed all entry hazards severely limit Frillish's ability to switch in. Exeggutor and Ludicolo can easily set up Sunny Day or Rain Dance, respectively, on Frillish, or just KO with powerful Grass-type moves. Vileplume can also easily switch in and threaten Frillish with STAB Grass-type moves, while also having Aromatherapy to get rid of any burns from Will-O-Wisp.
