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Swift Swim
- Speed doubles in rain.
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Poison Touch
- The wielder has a 30% chance to poison the opponent when it uses a contact move.
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Water Absorb
- Heals 25% HP when hit by a Water-type attack.
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Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
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Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
105
|
- |
351 |
414 |
- |
| Atk |
85
|
185 |
206 |
269 |
295 |
| Def |
75
|
167 |
186 |
249 |
273 |
| SpA |
85
|
185 |
206 |
269 |
295 |
| SpD |
75
|
167 |
186 |
249 |
273 |
| Spe |
74
|
165 |
184 |
247 |
271 |
Overview
Seismitoad is the only BW Pokemon that possesses the ability Swift Swim, making it somewhat unique in that respect. It also has a great Water / Ground dual typing, which gives it only one weakness (albeit a 4x one) to Grass-type moves. Although its offensive stats may pale in comparison to other rain sweepers such as Gorebyss, Kabutops, and Omastar, it has an amazing STAB combination and has access to powerful moves such as Hydro Pump and Earth Power. Seismitoad also has great coverage moves in Grass Knot and Sludge Wave, which take care of opposing Water- and Grass-types, respectively. Sadly, unlike most other Water-types, Seismitoad lacks Ice Beam, which makes Dragon-types such as Altaria quite tough opponents to beat. While Omastar and friends may possess a much higher Special Attack stat, Seismitoad makes up for that with its great Speed. In the rain, Seismitoad can outrun Choice Scarf Pokemon with base 86 Speed and below, even with a Modest nature. With a Timid nature, virtually no Choice Scarf user can outspeed it, and no other Swift Swimmer with the exception of Kabutops can outspeed it. Seismitoad is a really underrated rain sweeper, as it can easily outspeed nearly everything in the tier in the rain and OHKO with Life Orb-boosted Hydro Pump. Despite its lowly NU status, Seismitoad can definitely shine in RU on rain teams if given the chance.
Seismitoad may have just one viable set, but it can be extremely threatening if given the chance to set up. This set aims to set up Rain Dance and then quickly proceed to sweep with a powerful STAB Hydro Pump. Surf can be used over Hydro Pump depending on your preferences, as one boasts more power at the cost of less accuracy and PP, while the other is 100% accurate but significantly less powerful. Earth Power is a great secondary STAB that hits many other types for super effective damage. Grass Knot is an option over Earth Power in order to hit opposing Water-types, as Hydro Pump already hits Rock-, Steel-, Electric-, and Fire-types quite hard. Sludge Wave is the best option in the last moveslot in order to destroy any Grass-types coming in to wall Seismitoad's dual STAB moves.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
A Modest nature, along with maximum investment in Speed and Special Attack, allows Seismitoad to hit as hard as possible and outspeed even positive-natured base 100 Speed Choice Scarf users, such as Typhlosion and Charizard. A Timid nature can be used; however, the damage output is significantly lower and Seismitoad doesn't need the excess Speed in the rain. Life Orb can be used for a higher damage output, as Seismitoad's offenses are mediocre at best and the power boost is greatly appreciated. However, should you choose to forgo Damp Rock for Life Orb, Seismitoad will have less turns with which it can abuse rain. For that reason, Seismitoad also appreciates teammates that are able to set up rain, such as Uxie, Volbeat, and Rotom-C. Seismitoad can easily run a Life Orb + four attacks set, with teammates to set up rain for it. This provides Seismitoad with better overall coverage, as it can now utilize both Earth Power and Grass Knot. Strangely enough, Seismitoad is perhaps the only fully evolved Water-type that does not receive the move Ice Beam, meaning that it must resort to using Hidden Power Ice instead. Unfortunately, Seismitoad is stopped completely by bulky special walls such as Slowking, Altaria, Roselia, and Ferroseed. For this reason, powerful physical attackers, such as Gallade and Absol, are useful teammates for breaking down these special walls in order to allow Seismitoad to sweep more easily.
Other Options
Seismitoad's other options are extremely limited. It has virtually no other useful attacking options, as even Hidden Power Ice is rather unnecessary due to the sheer power of a rain- and Life Orb-boosted Hydro Pump. A physical set with Waterfall, Earthquake, and Rock Slide could work, but is incredibly outclassed by Kabutops, which sports a much higher Attack stat, access to Stone Edge, and priority in Aqua Jet, as well as higher Speed. Seismitoad is one of the few Pokemon introduced in BW that has access to Sleep Talk, but it really shouldn't be attempting anything other than offense.
Checks and Counters
In the rain, the list of Pokemon that counter Seismitoad is surprisingly small. Hydro Pump hits like a truck, doing insane amounts of damage to even Pokemon resistant to Water such as Feraligatr, Crawdaunt, and Tangrowth. Earth Power hits everything except Grass-types, which are usually covered by Sludge Wave. However, despite Hydro Pump's ridiculous power, there are still several hard counters to Seismitoad; Slowking, Altaria, and Ferroseed among them. All three sport a great Special Defense stat and are not weak to any of Seismitoad's attacks bar Slowking to Grass Knot, which does minimal damage to Slowking anyway. They can strike back with their powerful STAB moves, and the former two have access to instant recovery as well, making it much easier for them to repeatedly take attacks from Seismitoad. Pokemon with Water Absorb or Dry Skin are also decent counters, although Jynx is 2HKOed by a Life Orb-boosted Earth Power unless it invests in HP.
