This set is the first version of the tanking turtle. Blastoise doesn't make a bad Rapid Spinner at all if you need one for UU environment. He's hardly afraid of Cloyster, can take unboosted beatings from Froslass and Qwilfish decently enough and he's not weak to Stealth Rock unlike some of his colleagues (Cloyster and Torkoal, I'm looking at you). Besides that, he also functions as a good switch-in for Solrock, Sandslash and other assorted Grounds, Rocks and Fires. Toxic compliments Blastoise's stally feel and wears down other Waters and anything else that isn't immune. Yawn is good for sleep support, or pseudo-phazing. Lay down some Spikes and/or Stealth Rock first to get the best out of it. Ice Beam hurts Grassers, specifically Grass/Poisons such as Roserade and Vileplume, who are immune to Toxic. Rest is good with Aromatherapy or Heal Bell on your team, but a risky maneuver otherwise. Protect scouts Choice users and Explosion, and gives you Leftovers recovery. It also works well alongside both of the status options.
Using Rest on the previous set was somewhat risky, so this attempts to make up for that by allowing him to attack while he sleeps. Ice Beam is once again a handy tool for hitting Grass-types, and lets Blastoise take on Altaria with some success. Toxic helps to wear down your enemies. Thanks to the ability to remove status with Rest, this set has an easier time coming in to spin away Toxic Spikes than the Utility set. You'll need some guts to come in on a Grasser to absorb a Sleep Powder though; otherwise, use a secondary Sleep Talker on your team.
If you don't like how Blastoise drags matches, perhaps you should give this set a shot. With some good prediction you can actually hurt things thanks to Choice Specs. Hidden Power Electric takes out Mantine and Gyarados. Hidden Power Grass covers Quagsire and Lanturn more effectively (although Focus Blast does some decent damage to both of them, if it hits), but leaves you almost helpless against the Water/Flying-types. Earthquake, despite running off a mere 181 Attack on this set, still leaves a nice dent in Lanturn and Toxicroak.
I bet you knew this was coming, but does your opponent? Smack special walls and Electrics with the moves they don't expect but have all reasons to fear. Ice Punch is the superior choice as it carries more initial power, and therefore does more damage to incoming Grass-types. However, Ice Punch is illegal with Aqua Jet, so if you want the priority move in the last slot, you are stuck with Avalanche. Rock Slide is helpful against Gyarados and Mantine, while Body Slam offers some paralysis support. Other OptionsRoar and Haze can get rid of stat-upping opponents for you. They both have their obvious merits, but the ability to abuse Spikes and Stealth Rock with Roar is the most notable one. Mirror Coat was always good for bouncing back Electric attacks—beware of Substitute users like Manectric though. Counter is fun to use on something that expects to beat Blastoise by powering up and then hitting him hard, or just against a cocky Choice Banded Fearow or Stantler. Aqua Ring provides a little more healing, but is hard to justify giving up a moveslot for. Aqua Tail or Hydro Pump can be used in place of Waterfall or Surf if you want more power at the expense of accuracy. Stay away from Hydro Cannon. The high base power may be appealing, but the recharge turn is not. EVsBlastoise makes an excellent tank with max HP, a healthy dose of Defense, and a Bold nature. In OU, you may want to invest 56 EVs in Special Attack, so Ice Beam has a good shot at OHKOing most Salamence. If you're using a Choice set you'll likely want to max out the attacking stat he's using. You can use 240 Speed (192 EVs) to outrun Adamant Luxray, if you wish. OpinionAs fun as the Choice sets look, Blastoise is best off with one of the first two sets. If you're looking for an UU "bulky Water", he generally only has Quagsire and Gastrodon to compete with. He is usable in OU battles if you desire a Rapid Spinner, and unlike Starmie he is not weak to Pursuit, nor is he trapped by Magnezone, like Forretress. He usually doesn't hurt much, but then again, he makes sure your team doesn't get hurt either! CountersThose damn French with their turtle soup. Also, other Waters stall him very well, and Lanturn is probably his best counter. Toxic blows Blastoise's tanking potential if he's not using Rest. Rotom blocks Rapid Spin and has STAB Thunderbolt to use. Other Ghosts (Banette and Froslass, just to name a few) can block Rapid Spin too, but are less effective at that. Sableye does pretty well with Recover though, and can Knock Off your Leftovers. Grassers do well; there's always Meganium, but in the case of a Toxic Blastoise, Vileplume is preferred. STAB Thunderbolts tend not to be taken likely, but good luck getting the frail Manectric to come into Blastoise. Grumpig and Hypno tend to have few problems walling Blastoise. |
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