|
-
Torrent
- Boosts power of Water-type moves 50% when at 1/3 HP or less.
|
Level 5 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
85
|
- |
25 |
28 |
- |
| Atk |
105
|
15 |
17 |
20 |
22 |
| Def |
100
|
14 |
16 |
19 |
20 |
| SpA |
79
|
12 |
14 |
17 |
18 |
| SpD |
83
|
12 |
14 |
18 |
19 |
| Spe |
78
|
12 |
14 |
17 |
18 |
Overview
Feraligatr is known as the "Gyarados of UU" because his battling style is much the same as Gyarados's. Feraligatr has a high base 105 Attack stat, a decent Speed stat, reasonable physical bulk, and Dragon Dance to boost both his Speed and Attack at the same time. Unlike Gyarados, however, Feraligatr has access to Swords Dance and Aqua Jet, which allow him to quickly double his Attack and still pick off faster foes. The combination of power and Speed provided by both of Feraligatr's setup options easily push him into the top tier of UU sweepers.
Feraligatr received a couple of new toys to play with this generation. Dragon Dance is the largest addition; it allows Feraligatr to boost both his Speed and Attack at once and then proceed to OHKO much of the UU metagame. On top of that, Waterfall became a physical STAB option to complement his higher Attack stat, dealing massive damage to many of UU's top threats. Ice Punch allows Feraligatr to smack Grass-types who resist Waterfall, Sceptile and Venusaur in particular, while Earthquake rounds off his coverage by hitting Water-types and Registeel. With Low Kick, Feraligatr can OHKO Registeel (after Stealth Rock) before it paralyzes Feraligatr, but Feraligatr loses coverage and power on Toxicroak and some Water-types such as Azumarill, Slowbro, and Slowking.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The given EV spread allows Feraligatr to reach a Speed stat of 373 after one Dragon Dance, outrunning positive nature base 120 Speed Pokemon like Sceptile and Alakazam. Max Attack is mandatory for Feraligatr to be as threatening as possible, while the 28 HP EVs are used to add more bulk. An alternative spread of 92 HP / 252 Attack / 164 Speed with a Jolly nature can be used to outspeed Swellow and KO him with Ice Punch before he OHKOes Feraligatr with Facade; a noticeable amount of power is lost with this spread, though.
Providing Feraligatr with dual screen support is recommended, as it will make his job as a sweeper much easier. Gardevoir and Clefable are great options since they both have decent bulk and access to Wish, which helps Feraligatr immensely in the long run. Dragon Dance Feraligatr has problems with Pokemon such as Milotic, Weezing, and Slowbro. With their great physical bulk, they can switch in on Feraligatr as he Dragon Dances and proceed to cripple him with Toxic, Will-O-Wisp, or Thunder Wave, respectively. A Pokemon such as Blaziken can pave the way for a Feraligatr sweep by weakening Milotic, Slowbro, and Weezing with his 120 Base Power STABs in Superpower and Fire Blast. Defensively, Venusaur has great synergy with Feraligatr as he can switch in on most of the Pokemon who might end his sweep and incapacitate or KO them them with Sleep Powder and Power Whip, respectively. However, Weezing still poses a problem for this combination.
Rather than boosting both Attack and Speed at once, Feraligatr is able to use Swords Dance to gain more immediate power against the Pokemon who Dragon Dance Feraligatr has trouble breaking through. STAB Waterfall off of 678 Attack is monstrous, and if Feraligatr finds himself in Torrent range, it decimates anyone who doesn't resist it. Return combines with Waterfall for neutral coverage on everyone in UU bar Shedinja. Because Waterfall and Return have near-perfect type coverage when used together, the final slot is free to be used on Aqua Jet without losing any coverage. Faster threats who otherwise would revenge kill Feraligatr, such as Mismagius, Swellow, and Alakazam, are all OHKOed by Aqua Jet if Stealth Rock is on the field.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The Speed EVs are designed to outspeed Jolly Aggron. An Adamant nature and max Attack EVs provide the highest Attack stat Feraligatr can muster. The rest are dumped into HP to capitalize on Feraligatr's decent bulk. Alternatively, you can add some bulk and run 44 EVs in Speed to outspeed defensive Milotic in order to 2HKO her with Return.
The teammates mentioned in the Dragon Dance set can be used with this set as well. Dual screen support becomes more useful since it allows Feraligatr to achieve more than one Swords Dance boost much easier, so Feraligatr can start a sweep with enough health to take a hit or two. Clefable is a great candidate for setting up dual screens because of her great bulk in Special Defense, meaning that she can switch in on Thunderbolt or Grass Knot aimed at Feraligatr. Entry hazard support can also be used to allow Feraligatr to score more KOs on opposing Pokemon whom he would otherwise have trouble KOing. Registeel is superb at setting up Stealth Rock with his bulk and access to crippling moves that greatly ease Feraligatr's sweep. Additionally, Pokemon around the base 80 speed tier, such as Venusaur, Kabutops, and Blaziken, give this set more trouble than they do with the Dragon Dance set. Packing solid counters for these Pokemon, such as Altaria, Tangrowth, and Slowking, can help immensely in enabling a Swords Dance Feraligatr sweep later in the match.
Substitute allows Feraligatr to work around the defensive threats who plague his other sets. Registeel lacking Seismic Toss, Milotic with Toxic but not Hidden Power Grass, and common Will-O-Wisp users such as Weezing and Spiritomb all become setup bait for Substitute Feraligatr. Once behind a Substitute, he can proceed to boost his Speed and Attack with Dragon Dance to his heart's content while recovering HP with Leftovers. As an added bonus, Substitute allows Feraligatr to push himself into Torrent range for an immensely powerful attack or two as needed. The extra power given by Torrent can provide him with the last-minute power needed to finish a sweep.
Feraligatr's physical bulk is often forgotten in lieu of his great Attack stat, but by placing extra EVs in HP rather than Speed, it becomes much easier to set up an extra Dragon Dance. The HP EVs are a Substitute number, allowing Feraligatr to make five Substitutes rather than four after Leftovers recovery. The Speed EVs are designed to outpace Pokemon in the base 105 speed tier after just one Dragon Dance. The rest are dumped into Attack to pack some punch after a couple Dragon Dances, but they can be placed in his Defense to instead strengthen his Substitutes.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Because of the added bulk and the ability to block status, you may find that this Feraligatr has multiple chances to come in and set up Substitutes and Dragon Dances. Because of this, Feraligatr can benefit greatly from Wish support, restoring any health he might have lost from entry hazards and enemy attacks. Wish will help him get a second sweep in if he cannot finish the job the first time around. Leafeon is a prime candidate at providing Feraligatr with Wish support with his decent bulk and access to other support moves such as Yawn. Additionally, he attracts Fire-type moves for Feraligatr to set up on and resists Feraligatr's Electric- and Grass-type weaknesses.
Feraligatr has always had problems dealing with bulky status inducers such as Milotic and Weezing. This set attempts to remedy that problem. The combination of Chesto Berry and Rest allows Feraligatr to set up Dragon Dance regardless of any status inflicted on him until he is at a point where he cannot take any more hits. From there, Rest is used to heal Feraligatr of any status ailments while simultaneously restoring him to full health. Chesto Berry awakens him instantly; thus you have an alligator at full health with several boosts in both his Attack and Speed. Waterfall is Feraligatr's best physical STAB option, dealing massive damage to many of UU's top threats, and is best paired up with either Return or Earthquake. The former has great coverage with Waterfall, the combination hitting every Pokemon in the UU tier for neutral damage (except Shedinja of course). Earthquake does not bring as much to the table as Return because most of the types it hits for super effective damage are still hit for almost the same damage with Waterfall. However, using it over Return does enable Feraligatr to hit bulky Poison-types, such as Drapion, for super effective damage and it gets a clean 2HKO on all Registeel variants after a single Dragon Dance.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The given Speed EVs allow Feraligatr to outspeed base 105 Speed Pokemon after a single Dragon Dance. The rest of the EVs are invested in Feraligatr's Attack and HP, thereby significantly increasing his overall bulk. Feraligatr's bulk is often forgotten in lieu of his great Attack stat, but by placing extra EVs in his HP rather than Speed, it becomes much easier to set up an extra Dragon Dance. In fact, both Weezing's Thunderbolt and Milotic's Hidden Power Grass will fail to 2HKO Feraligatr with the investment. Since Feraligatr is expected to get more than one Dragon Dance, an Adamant nature is used as there won't be much that can outspeed the fearsome beast after several Speed boosts. An alternative spread of 96 HP / 252 Atk / 160 Spe makes sure that Feraligatr isn't outsped by Scarfed positively natured Rotom after two Dragon Dance boosts. Since this set has its own type of instant recovery, it requires less support to function efficiently.
Speaking of support, Venusaur has great synergy with Feraligatr and can temporarily incapacitate opposing Pokemon who threaten Feraligatr with Sleep Powder. Both Passho Berry Houndoom and Arcanine can lure in the primary check to Feraligatr, Milotic. Arcanine can set a timer on Milotic lacking Rest with Toxic while Houndoom can switch in on a Pokemon it threatens and set up Nasty Plot twice before its Passho Berry is used and destroy Milotic with +4 Hidden Power Grass. Toxic Spikes, despite being a rather unreliable variety of entry hazard due to the omnipresence of Poison-types in the UU metagame, can prove useful by crippling bulky Water-type walls such as Slowbro and Blastoise, thereby significantly limiting the number of times they can hit Feraligatr as he sets up; a critical hit or even Special Defense drop from Psychic is inevitable as the number of hits increases. Both Drapion and Qwilfish are ideal candidates for this role as they can both set up Toxic Spikes as well as get rid of any Toxic Spikes placed by the opponent's Pokemon. Haze Milotic is the primary counter to Feraligatr in general and can effortlessly remove all the stat boosts the alligator has gained.
This set focuses on putting Feraligatr into both Liechi Berry and Torrent range at the same time by using Substitute. If properly set up, Feraligatr is then free to rampage through teams with a "double STAB" Waterfall and the complementary Return.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The HP EVs yield a stat divisible by four, which means it takes only three Substitutes to put Feraligatr in Liechi Berry activation range. This also means he is left at the maximum possible HP after the Liechi boost to take any weak priority moves thrown at him. The Speed EVs with a Jolly nature are enough to beat Swellow after a Dragon Dance. Attack is then maximized to allow for as much sweeping potential as possible, and the rest are placed into Defense.
As with all Substitute sweepers who rely on Pinch Berries, Feraligatr is vulnerable to both priority moves and Pokemon holding a Choice Scarf. Common Pokemon who carry priority moves such as Ambipom and Hitmontop can be taken care of or weakened by Weezing with Will-O-Wisp. Others who often carry a Choice Scarf such as Hitmonlee and Rotom are countered by Spiritomb, who is immune to Hitmonlee's Close Combat, can take hits from Rotom, and proceed to hit them with Will-O-Wisp and Pursuit, respectively.
Flail is an interesting alternative to Return. After setup, although Feraligatr loses the ability to take weaker priority moves that come at him, he gains the ability to OHKO all forms of Venusaur and 2HKO even the most physically defensive Milotic. This is helpful, but any plans for a 200 Base Power Flail are ruined by Stealth Rock, sandstorm, or hail. Return is better in terms of consistency, but if you can guarantee that the field is clear of all forms of residual damage, Flail is an option. If you are planning to run Flail, use an EV spread of 88 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 164 Spe to leave Feraligatr at one HP after four Substitutes.
Other Options
Feraligatr does have a stronger move than Waterfall in Aqua Tail; however, Waterfall is preferable for a number of reasons. Waterfall has a chance to flinch, which can help Feraligatr score some lucky 2HKOs without being hit by an attack. Aqua Tail also has a chance to miss which could end Feraligatr's sweep. Finally, Aqua Tail fails to achieve any notable OHKOs or 2HKOs in the standard UU metagame.
Feraligatr can become a "bulky Water" with Rest, Sleep Talk, and defenses on par with Blastoise, but there are many other Pokemon who do this better than Feraligatr. The only advantage Feraligatr has is that he can use a RestTalk set with Dragon Dance included, allowing him to boost his stats as he sleeps and potentially sweep at the same time.
Crunch can be used to smack bulky Ghost- and Psychic-types such as Mismagius and Slowbro. Feraligatr can make use of a Substitute and Focus Punch set, but once again, there are Pokemon who are much better choices for this, like Poliwrath. Besides using Focus Punch, Feraligatr has another powerful Fighting-type attack he could use: Superpower. Using Superpower on Feraligatr is not recommended, as it lowers Feraligatr's Attack (which Dragon Dance and Swords Dance both boost, making it a bit of a waste) and Defense stats, leaving him vulnerable to faster physical threats or Pokemon who have access to priority moves.
Besides Feraligatr's vast number of physical options, there are a couple of special attacks he can use on a mixed attacker set. Surf can act as a powerful STAB attack; AncientPower has a potential six stat boost; Dragon Pulse can hit Altaria and others who resist Water-type moves; Focus Blast can be used to nail bulky Steel-types; finally, Ice Beam can be used to hurt the Grass-types who resist Feraligatr's Water-type STAB moves. Even though he has many eye-catching moves on the special side, his lackluster Special Attack stat, when compared to his Attack, makes these options unfavorable.
Checks and Counters
Milotic with Haze is the best counter to any Feraligatr. She can take any attack that Feraligatr throws at her and negate any boosts he has achieved, and then proceed to either Life Orb stall or use Hidden Power Grass to get rid of him. Defensive Tangrowth and Leafeon can take any attack and KO back with their STAB Grass-type moves. Slowbro is also able to take any of Feraligatr's moves and cripple him with Thunder Wave. Priority moves are capable of ending Feraligatr's impending sweep, as are Choice Scarf users. Sceptile and offensive Venusaur can stop Swords Dance Feraligatr with their resistance to Aqua Jet and ability to OHKO him with their choice of STAB Grass-type move. Weezing can take on most sets and incapacitate Feraligatr for the rest of the match with Will-o-Wisp, while Registeel can take anything Feraligatr throws at him bar a Dragon Dance Low Kick and cripple him with Thunder Wave. Relying on status to beat Feraligatr is dangerous, however, as Feraligatr with Substitute can turn such moves into setup opportunities.
