|
-
Damp
- Prevents the use of Selfdestruct or Explosion. Prevents Aftermath from doing damage.
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Water Absorb
- Heals 25% HP when hit by a Water-type attack.
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Level 50 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
90
|
- |
165 |
197 |
- |
| Atk |
75
|
85 |
95 |
127 |
139 |
| Def |
75
|
85 |
95 |
127 |
139 |
| SpA |
90
|
99 |
110 |
142 |
156 |
| SpD |
100
|
108 |
120 |
152 |
167 |
| Spe |
70
|
81 |
90 |
122 |
134 |
Overview
Politoed is often overlooked in UU, as it is faced with competition for a team slot from its bulky Water rivals Milotic, Slowbro, and Blastoise. What Politoed does have and what sets it apart from its rivals are its ability, Water Absorb, and useful support moves, including Encore, Haze, and Hypnosis. Politoed also has excellent Special Defense, high HP, and a decent typing, and can even pose as a powerful offensive threat thanks to its impressive Special Attack and good offensive movepool. The downside to using Politoed are its below-average Speed and lack of recovery outside of Rest and Water Absorb. However, if you provide it with adequate support and play to its strengths, Politoed can become quite an effective addition to your team.
This set takes advantage of Politoed's great defenses and dangerous support moves by using a combination of Encore and Toxic to mess with the opponent's strategy. Although Politoed isn't the fastest Encore user, it has enough Speed to outrun common walls and slower set-up sweepers, such as Spiritomb, Clefable, and Registeel, and Toxic them to inflict residual damage on your opponent's Pokemon. Surf is the essential STAB move, and allows Politoed to retain some usefulness after it is struck by Taunt, while Ice Beam is used to damage Grass-types such as Venusaur, who resist Surf and are immune to Toxic. Protect can also be used in the fourth slot in place of Ice Beam, which stalls the opponent and increases their torture to Toxic while also bying Politoed time to recover damage with Leftovers. Finally, Refresh is helpful, as it can remove damaging status such as poison or burn.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
This set is designed to stick around for some time, so maximizing HP and Special Defense is the best way to go for the EV spread; a Pokemon sporting 384 HP and 328 Special Defense is nothing to scoff at. As for the item choice, Politoed can also decide to use Lum Berry to block status a single time. This is best used when Politoed is without Refresh; otherwise, it would be a waste of an item slot.
Entry hazard support is especially helpful when using Politoed, as Encore and Toxic will cause a lot of switches, causing the opposing Pokemon to take damage on the switch-in. Stealth Rock is the most dangerous entry hazard, hitting all Pokemon and even causing some to lose half their health upon switching in. Donphan is an excellent option to set it up, as it also serves as a lure for bulky Water-types and has Assurance to hit Ghost-types who switch in. Toxic Spikes are also useful alongside Politoed, and with two layers, steadily increasing poison damage will cripple the likes of Milotic, Chansey, and Spiritomb. These are best set up by Drapion or Qwilfish, who both have high Speed and access to Taunt. If using Toxic Spikes, Toxic can be dropped for either Protect or Refresh. Finally, Spikes are also dangerous, depending on how many layers you've set up; three layers can prove devastating to the opponent's team. Cloyster is a fine choice for setting up Spikes due to its massive Defense and access to Explosion. When using entry hazards, a spinblocker is essential for keeping them on the field, making bulky Ghost-types such as Spiritomb excellent partners.
Setup sweepers can take advantage of an opponent locked into a weak or resisted attack, especially those who become dangerous after a single boost. Dragon Dance Altaria is an excellent choice, as it can switch into Grass-type moves aimed at Politoed, and has an immunity to Earthquake to take advantage of. Nasty Plot Mismagius is an excellent option as well, boasting immunities to Ground-, Fighting-, and Normal-type attacks. Other Pokemon can take advantage of their abilities to set up on Encored attacks; Houndoom can easily set up on opponents locked into Fire-type attacks, while SubCharge Lanturn can start boosting on an Electric-type attack.
Grass-types also make great partners, as they share great defensive synergy with Politoed, being able to switch into Electric- and Grass-type attacks while Politoed can easily take Fire-type hits. Venusaur is an excellent choice, as it has great defenses, powerful STAB moves, access to Sleep Powder, and the ability to take on bulky Water-types with ease. Sceptile is another great option, as it can set up Leech Seed and fast Substitutes against the opponent; Politoed appreciates the health recovered from Leech Seed. On the other hand, Politoed has trouble getting past Grass-types as well, making Fire-types great additions to your team. Moltres is one of the best choices for this role due to its massive Special Attack, decent Speed, and powerful STAB moves; however, Rapid Spin support is essential to Moltres's success, as it loses half of its health upon switching into Stealth Rock. Blaziken is another good choice if you wish to go the physical or mixed route, pounding the opponent with STAB Superpower and Flare Blitz.
This set is played offensively, using Politoed's base 90 Special Attack and Choice Specs to cause a lot of damage. Surf and Hydro Pump are both reliable STAB moves, so the choice between them ultimately comes down to whether you would rather have power or accuracy. Hydro Pump will always score a 2HKO on defensive Clefable, while Surf misses out. Ice Beam is used to hit Grass-types such as Venusaur, while Hidden Power Grass is used to smash Water-types, especially Lanturn, Quagsire, and Milotic. In the last slot, Focus Blast can 2HKO Registeel and Clefable, while Psychic deals more damage to Poison- and Fighting-types, specifically Toxicroak.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
This Politoed runs enough Speed to outrun positive-natured base 50 Pokemon such as Aggron and neutral-natured max Speed Torterra. Max Special Attack turns Politoed into a dangerous threat, and the remaining 84 EVs are placed into HP, giving Politoed extra bulk. Alternatively, you might decide to maximize Speed investment, outrunning Ludicolo outside of rain and tying at worst with other base 70s.
As this set requires a lot of prediction, it's better used for late-game sweeping; you should also consider adding a scout Pokemon to your team to ease prediction. Scyther is a good example of an effective scout, as it causes a lot of switches while escaping to another teammate with U-turn; other options include Swellow, Ambipom, and Moltres. Another way to scout the opponent's team is to use a dry Baton Passer. Good choices for this role include Ambipom, Scyther, and Espeon.
Because this set is completely based on special attacks, Chansey is a troublesome Pokemon. With its huge HP and decent Special Defense, it walls Politoed comfortably, even if Politoed tries to nail it with a powerful Focus Blast. To get past Chansey, you can carry Dugtrio on your team; with its ability, Arena Trap, Chansey is unable to escape while Dugtrio demolishes it with STAB Earthquake or Beat Up. Alternatively, you can use a strong Fighting-type such as Blaziken or Hariyama to take out Chansey. As much as Chansey is an awful nemesis to special sweepers, it is an excellent teammate for Politoed, as it can take on bulky Water-types such as Milotic and Grass-types such as Venusaur. Bulky Water-types are difficult to break through, making Toxic Spikes an excellent option to wear them down; Qwilfish and Nidoqueen are excellent Pokemon to set them up. Finally, Venusaur is an excellent way to break through bulky Water-types, with its powerful Leaf Storm and crippling Sleep Powder.
Other Options
Politoed can remedy its lack of recovery with a RestTalk strategy, though it's unreliable, and Politoed lacks the sheer bulk to pull it off. Perish Song is an interesting option for Politoed, as it forces many switches, racking up damage from entry hazards and acting as a win condition against the opponent's last Pokemon. Whirlpool can be used alongside Perish Song to trap the opponent, but it's accuracy and reliablity becomes an issue, as you have no guarantee it'll last the three turns you need. Haze is another great choice to erase any stat boosts the opponent has accumulated, and it isn't hard to pull off due to Politoed's good defensive stats. Politoed also has a few physical options; it has access to Belly Drum, though it lacks the Speed to use it effectively, and it also lacks a secondary STAB, making Poliwrath a better user of this move. It might be tempting to run a completely physical set of Earthquake, Waterfall, Return, and Bounce, but again, Politoed lacks a secondary STAB, and its Attack isn't particularly impressive.
Checks and Counters
Due to Politoed's special nature, Chansey and Clefable can take on most sets with their huge HP, good Special Defense, and access to recovery moves. Lanturn is another good counter, as it can switch into most attacks and threaten Politoed with Thunderbolt, though Toxic and Hidden Power Grass are troublesome. Uxie and Mismagius can set up against special sets, as Politoed is unable to hit them super effectively; they can also inflict status on Politoed with Thunder Wave or Toxic. Grass-types such as Venusaur and Sceptile can take on Politoed, with their resistance to Water-type attacks, powerful STAB moves, and Leech Seed to drain Politoed's HP; Venusaur even has Sleep Powder to shut Politoed down temporarily.
