Octillery's ability, Suction Cups, as well as its amazing movepool and poor Speed make it a prime receiver of Speed boosts in UU. Its respectable base 105 Special Attack combined with effective coverage makes Octillery a top-notch sweeper in UU after it is passed some Speed. Surf is there for powerful STAB - it will 2HKO most Pokemon that don't resist it, which includes the majority of the special walls in UU. Ice Beam covers bulky Grass-types such as Meganium, Vileplume, and Bellossom that resist Surf. Energy Ball covers Water-types such as Blastoise, Poliwrath, Quagsire, Gastrodon, and most importantly Lanturn. Charge Beam, however, is the fundamental reason this set works as well as it does. After a Charge Beam boost, Octillery has the ability to OHKO much of the metagame with its high Special Attack and excellent coverage. Furthermore, Charge Beam covers Mantine, a Pokemon who otherwise walls this set to kingdom come. Lum Berry is the suggested item for a number of reasons. First, it allows Octillery to come in on expected status moves and shrug them off, especially in the case of Weezing. It also protects against specially defensive Clefable and Mantine, who usually resort to Toxic in order to damage Octillery. Life Orb is also viable for a boost in power, but the reliance on Charge Beam for boosts means that Octillery tends to wear itself thin with Life Orb.
Octillery's excellent movepool and above-average attacking stats makes a Choice Specs set a no-brainer. STABbed, Choice Specs-boosted Surf is incredibly powerful when used with a 105 base Special Attack in UU. Ice Beam hits the bulky Grass-types that resist Surf, as well as Altaria. Energy Ball clears the field of opposing Water-types that resist the above moves. Finally, Hidden Power Electric covers Mantine, which once again walls the above moves. Alternately, Psychic can be used to cover Muk and Toxicroak, which are both capable of absorbing Octillery's STAB Surfs.
Octillery's base 105 Attack is also usable, though its physical movepool is rather underwhelming when compared to its special move pool. Waterfall is a reliable STAB, while Seed Bomb hits bulky Water-types such as Blastoise, Lanturn, and Gastrodon. Return combines with Waterfall for nearly unresisted coverage, and is the best attack Octillery can use against Toxicroak. The last slot is a matter of choice. Gunk Shot is powerful and can deal heavy damage to Meganium, Bellossom, and Altaria if they switch in on it, though its accuracy is admittedly shaky. Rock Blast makes short work of Articuno, specifically SubRoost variants, as well as Shedinja, which otherwise walls this set completely. It also deals with Altaria if it tries to switch in and resist Waterfall or Seed Bomb. EVsJust max its Speed and its offensive stat of choice. Its defenses are fair, but don't really warrant boosting at the expense of losing the ability to outspeed common walls. Other OptionsOctillery has a great deal of other moves at its disposal, but most of them aren't worth mentioning. Flamethrower and Fire Blast can catch Grass-types on their way in, but Ice Beam is consistently better for the coverage on other threats such as Altaria. Psychic provides for good neutral coverage and hits Toxicroak as well, but Octillery relies on its ability to hit much of the game for super effective damage in order to wreak havoc and cannot afford to rely on neutrality for its damage. Bounce is a somewhat gimmicky option that can work on the Choice Bander. Focus Energy and Scope Lens can work with Sniper for a gimmicky critical hit-based set, but it's hardly a dependable choice. It's possible to create a physical set to be the recipient of a Baton Pass, but in terms of maintenance, the Special Baton Pass Recipient is the easiest, as it only needs to receive a Speed boost in order to sweep due to the presence of Charge Beam, which can boost Octillery's Special Attack, as well as the fact that Octillery's Special movepool is much more diverse than its Physical movepool. Still, if you can manage to Baton Pass a Swords Dance in addition to Speed to it, Octillery has plenty of power to punch holes into opposing teams. OpinionOctillery has always been a mixed bag. On one hand, its offenses are potent and its movepool is phenomenal. On the other hand, its low speed tends to hold it back from offensive stardom. That said, its Suction Cups ability, combined with its amazing movepool, above-average offensive stats, and its access to Charge Beam makes it a top-notch receiver of Speed boosts, and unprepared foes will often be swept by it before they know what sucked them in. CountersIf it gets Baton Passed some Speed, Octillery's amazing movepool makes it hard to find effective counters. Grumpig and Hypno work well as long as Octillery hasn't amassed too many Charge Beam boosts. Electrode outspeeds even +2 Modest Octillery and OHKOs with Thunderbolt. Mantine is immune to Surf and neutral to its other coverage moves, and Charge Beam fails to 2HKO if the first hit doesn't get a Special Attack boost, though with Stealth Rock up, Mantine will need to come in on Surf or be 2HKOed regardless. Blastoise can come in on Surf or Ice Beam and Haze away any boosts that Octillery has accrued. The Choice sets are a little easier to deal with. Mantine can come in on anything the Choice Specs set packs except Hidden Power Electric, which still fails to OHKO. Grumpig can come in on anything except Surf with ease, especially Ice Beam, with its high defenses and Thick Fat. Gastrodon can switch in on anything except Energy Ball with its impressive defenses and good typing. Quagsire can do the same thanks to Water Absorb and attack with a powerful Earthquake. Bulky Grass-types come in and scoff at anything except Ice Beam or a possible (but unlikely) Fire-type attack. The Choice Band set is beaten with the same prediction. Quagsire is immune to Waterfall and resists both Gunk Shot and Rock Blast with good defenses, but needs to watch out for Seed Bomb. Bulky Grass-types such as Vileplume and Meganium can switch in with relative ease, but need to watch out for Gunk Shot or Bounce. |
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