Articuno (Update)

http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/articuno

QC 2/2

GP 2/2
[Overview]
<p>With its sheer bulk and excellent support movepool, Articuno definitely lives up to its reputation as one of the legendary birds. Unfortunately, its Ice / Flying typing gives it a 4x weakness to Rock-type moves, including the ubiquitous Stealth Rock, which removes 50% of Articuno's health upon entry. Despite this disadvantage, Articuno's enormous base 125 Special Defense and respectable base 90 HP give it more than enough reason to be considered when making a team. It also makes an incredible team player since it has access to Heal Bell, allowing it to remove status ailments from fellow teammates. Articuno reaches a modest Speed of 295, enough to outspeed a respectable amount of Pokemon, and to Pressure stall opposing teams with Toxic and Substitute.</p>

[SET]
name: SubRoost
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Roost
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Toxic
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
ability: Pressure
evs: 252 HP / 32 SpD / 224 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set aims to utilize Articuno's excellent natural bulk and great Speed to stall opposing Pokemon. The idea is to come into an attack that you resist or take little damage from, force a switch, and get a Substitute up. From there you can use Toxic on the opponent and outstall it using a combination of Roost and Substitute. Taking Articuno's ability Pressure into account, the opponent will likely run out of PP before it manages to KO Articuno. Steel-types are immune to Toxic so there is no point in trying to outstall them unless they have moves with low PP. Poison-types are immune as well, although most Poison-type Pokemon have secondary typings that are weak to Ice. For example, Venusaur, probably the most common Poison-type Pokemon in the metagame, is outsped and destroyed by Articuno’s Ice Beam. Other Pokemon that are immune to Toxic, such as Toxicroak, are mostly fragile and can be taken out with relative ease.</p>


[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The given Speed EVs enable Articuno to outspeed base 80 Speed Pokemon such as Venusaur, Blaziken, and Life Orb Milotic. This allows you to switch in regardless of whether Stealth Rock is up and Roost off any damage. 248 HP EVs can be considered as they also allow you to switch into Stealth Rock more than once.</p>

<p>Steel-types cause problems for Articuno as they are immune to Toxic and resistant to Ice Beam. Bulky Fighting- and Ground-types such as Hitmontop and Donphan make excellent teammates since they both have access to Rapid Spin to remove the lethal Stealth Rock, as well as powerful STAB moves to deal with Steel-types.</p>

[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Ice Beam
move 2: Roost
move 3: Roar
move 4: Heal Bell / Toxic
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
ability: Pressure
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Articuno has enough bulk to support its team efficiently. With access to Heal Bell, it can heal itself and its fellow teammates of status ailments. Heal Bell also complements Articuno's ability to stall other Pokemon with Roost and its ability, Pressure. Toxic is an alternative to Heal Bell and is great for dismantling bulky walls such as Chansey and Milotic, forcing them to switch out. Ice Beam is Articuno's sole reliable STAB move and has great overall coverage. Roar is especially annoying if you have entry hazards up; as it shuffles the opponent's team, it allows you to scout as well as rack up residual damage.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Due to Articuno's typing, it lacks the ability to switch into most physical attacks. For this reason, emphasizing its Defense stat is often a waste of EVs. Investing 252 EVs into Articuno's Special Defense stat allows Articuno to be a great tank, taking almost any special attack with ease. Articuno is also helpful against Rain Dance teams as both Ludicolo and Gorebyss fail to 2HKO it.</p>

<p>This set appreciates entry hazards to maximize Roar's effectiveness. Donphan and Rhyperior make good teammates as they both have excellent Defense, a resistance to Rock-type moves, and the ability to set up Stealth Rock. Light Screen and Reflect are decent alternatives for the fourth moveslot, as they can help sweepers set up with greater ease.</p>


[TEAM OPTIONS]
<p>Rapid Spin support is essential when using Articuno, as losing 50% health every time it switches in is not desirable. Both Hitmontop and Donphan make great partners, covering Articuno's weaknesses and providing Rapid Spin support. Both are also bulky enough to take physical hits from Steel- and Rock-type attacks aimed at Articuno and hit back hard with Close Combat and Earthquake, respectively. Quagsire is another excellent partner for Articuno as it has useful resistances to Rock-, Steel-, and Fire-type attacks, as well as an immunity to Electric-type moves.</p>

<p>Offensively, Dugtrio and Spiritomb make great partners for Articuno. Dugtrio can easily switch into Electric-type attacks and proceed to eliminate opponents with a STAB Earthquake. Spiritomb can switch in on bulky walls such as Chansey and Clefable and either Trick them a Choice item or set up Calm Mind. It can also use STAB Pursuit to trap and pick off Ghost-type Pokemon such as Rotom and Mismagius, two annoying threats that Articuno would like to avoid facing.</p>

[OPTIONAL CHANGES]
<p>Besides what has already been mentioned, there aren't a lot of other options. Articuno has usable Speed and Special Attack stats, which could work on a Life Orb set with a moveset of Ice Beam / Hidden Power Flying / Roost / AncientPower. As for support options, Articuno may use Haze to remove stat boosts from slower opponents like Curse Registeel or Calm Mind Slowbro, or set up Sunny Day or Rain Dance for a teammate. However, Pokemon like Registeel and Uxie can also set up weather, and have the advantage of not being weak to Stealth Rock. A RestTalk set could be used with Ice Beam and Roar, but Articuno's Stealth Rock weakness severely hampers its effectiveness.</p>

[COUNTERS]
<p>Articuno lacks a solid offensive movepool, meaning there are plenty of Pokemon that can comfortably switch into its attacks. However, due to its ability to function as a great Toxic staller, Articuno's "counters" can have trouble dealing with it. Steel-types in general have little to fear as they are immune to Toxic, take pitiful damage from Ice Beam, and can severely dent Articuno with super effective Steel- or Rock-type moves such as Iron Head or Stone Edge. Electric-type Pokemon such as Rotom and Manectric outspeed Articuno and can either use Substitute to block an incoming Toxic or fire off Thunderbolts. Encore users such as Clefable, who is also immune to Toxic, can cause severe problems for Articuno, locking it into one move for several turns. Opposing sweepers can take advantage of such opportunities to set up on Articuno; alternatively, bulky walls can cripple Articuno with a status-inducing move such as Toxic or Thunder Wave.</p>
 

Nexus

Forever the Recusant
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I think the EVs should be reconsidered and kept at 252 HP, while it does let you live two stealth rock switch ins there are some cons associated with it, you lose the magic 384 HP which maximized Leftovers recovery, and now your subs have 95 HP instead of 96. The second isn't as important but the first is worth considering. Also, the EVs you have listed are wasting 4 EVs that could go elsewhere perhaps into speed to at least tie with max speed milotic. Finally, you mentioned in the set comments that this ties with base 85 speed sweepers but it only reaches a Speed of 286 while a positive natured max EVed base 85 speed Pokemon reaches 295, which applies to Heracross at the moment, who tend to be jolly natured and have max Speed EVs.
 
I think the EVs should be reconsidered and kept at 252 HP, while it does let you live two stealth rock switch ins there are some cons associated with it, you lose the magic 384 HP which maximized Leftovers recovery, and now your subs have 95 HP instead of 96. The second isn't as important but the first is worth considering. Also, the EVs you have listed are wasting 4 EVs that could go elsewhere perhaps into speed to at least tie with max speed milotic. Finally, you mentioned in the set comments that this ties with base 85 speed sweepers but it only reaches a Speed of 286 while a positive natured max EVed base 85 speed Pokemon reaches 295, which applies to Heracross at the moment, who tend to be jolly natured and have max Speed EVs.
Thanks alot gosh I'm blind, I checked Nidoking's speed and my dumbass read the number '285' instead of 295 haha. Also I'll keep the original EV spread and put 248 HP evs in AC. thanks boss.
 

Eo Ut Mortus

Elodin Smells
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Actually, he said he was okay with you taking over. Feel free to use his analysis as a base.

Are you updating the whole thing or just this set? If you're updating the whole thing, you should include the other viable sets, which need to be re-written in the proper format (AC and such).
 

shrang

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I think the EVs should be reconsidered and kept at 252 HP, while it does let you live two stealth rock switch ins there are some cons associated with it, you lose the magic 384 HP which maximized Leftovers recovery, and now your subs have 95 HP instead of 96.
I think being able to switch into Stealth Rock more than once is much more important than having slightly more Leftovers recovery (385 would be the Leftovers number by the way) and 1 HP more on the Sub.

Anyway, consider 224 Spe to outspeed LO Milotic, since she 2HKOs after you switch into SR at the moment, and if you outspeed, you can Roost before she lays the 2nd hit. Also, I'd slash Heal Bell on with Substitute, I've heard that works pretty well from various people who've used Articuno.
 
Actually, he said he was okay with you taking over. Feel free to use his analysis as a base.

Are you updating the whole thing or just this set? If you're updating the whole thing, you should include the other viable sets, which need to be re-written in the proper format (AC and such).
I'm basically rewriting the set comments and counters since there is little to no reference to Articuno in the UU tier, mainly standard. I don't know if you'd agree but the life orb agility one, I've tested and everytime I get an agility I get faced with a Clefable/Chansey (both come in and set up stealth rock+force me to switch)/Arcanine even water types such as Feraligatr come in and take their chance to set-up. Unlike Moltres it lacks good coverage and is countered by a lot more more Pokemon depending which Hidden power it is holding.

The rain Dance set doesn't need editing I reckon. I'll test the support set and see if the EVs/set needs tweaking.

Also thanks, I'll definitely use his analysis as a base

PS. thanks Komodo ;)

@Shrang

Yeah at first I was thinking to use an odd number, I'll probably see what other QC members have to say about it;)
 

shrang

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@Shrang

Yeah at first I was thinking to use an odd number, I'll probably see what other QC members have to say about it;)
Definitely use the odd number. 4x weakness to Stealth Rock isn't fun.
 

Bluewind

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Why do you need 248 HP Evs to survive Stealth Rocks twice when switching in if you got Leftovers and you'll do that anyways no matter what your HP is? 252 HP might give you an even HP number, but raises the amount of HP you get from Leftovers and Roosting. Articuno isn't Moltres, he doesn't hold a Life Orb, and sandstorm isn't common enough to even be considered in this case. This set should also mention Heal Bell as an option over Substitute. Finally, I'd just max the Speed on this thing, but for the time being just fix the two aformentioned factors.
 
Why do you need 248 HP Evs to survive Stealth Rocks twice when switching in if you got Leftovers and you'll do that anyways no matter what your HP is? 252 HP might give you an even HP number, but raises the amount of HP you get from Leftovers and Roosting. Articuno isn't Moltres, he doesn't hold a Life Orb, and sandstorm isn't common enough to even be considered in this case. This set should also mention Heal Bell as an option over Substitute. Finally, I'd just max the Speed on this thing, but for the time being just fix the two aformentioned factors.
-Changed the HP Evs back
-Will mention 248 HP investment option in additional comments.
-Removed 4 Sp.Atk Evs and invested them into Speed.
-Slashed Heal Bell with Substitute.

I've tried the resttalk set a few minutes ago...The only positives it has it the ability to stall out toxic stalling Pokemon for instance and loss the negative priority of Roar while asleep. Apart from that I see no reason why Rest+Sleep talk should be used over Roost+Heal Bell...Maybe sleeptalk could be mentioned in AC in the new 'Phazer' set.

Articuno@Leftovers
-Roar
-Ice Beam
-Roost
-Heal Bell / Toxic
252HP / 252Sp.def / 4Speed Calm
 
A couple of things:
- for SubRoost, those 36 EV's left over from Speed can also do well in Special Defense (since sometimes Milotic can break your subs) or Defense.
- the support set definitely needs to be in the analysis - with proper spin support it's more than capable of performing it's support duties and countering a variety of threats.
 

shrang

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Why do you need 248 HP Evs to survive Stealth Rocks twice when switching in if you got Leftovers and you'll do that anyways no matter what your HP is? 252 HP might give you an even HP number, but raises the amount of HP you get from Leftovers and Roosting. Articuno isn't Moltres, he doesn't hold a Life Orb, and sandstorm isn't common enough to even be considered in this case. This set should also mention Heal Bell as an option over Substitute. Finally, I'd just max the Speed on this thing, but for the time being just fix the two aformentioned factors.
I'd have to disagree with this. While Sandstorm is reasonably rare, having the ability to switch in twice when you meet it is important. Hippopotas is used 2.89% of the time, which is enough to consider running an odd number. I'm quite sure having 1 extra HP Leftovers recovery (Which is negligible, really) is not worth being heavily disadvantaged in 2.89% of battles.

EDIT: Oh, by the way, 220 Spe speed-ties with LO Milotic, you'll need 224.
 
A couple of things:
- for SubRoost, those 36 EV's left over from Speed can also do well in Special Defense (since sometimes Milotic can break your subs) or Defense.
- the support set definitely needs to be in the analysis - with proper spin support it's more than capable of performing it's support duties and countering a variety of threats.
LO Milotic already breaks your substitutes even with the extra special defense so the speed investments for at least outspeeding it will be worthwile.

EDIT: Oh i think you meant special attack, in that case i agree those 40 sp.att evs do not make any notable 2HKO into an OHKO(you don't even OHKO nidoking 100% of the time). I'll put them in sp.def do some calcs then into defs and do some calcs.

@Shrang I agree with you having a magic leftovers number rarely helps seeing as you'd almost always witch into attacks meaning your not at full Hp and will not necessarily have an even amount of Hit points. I'll ask Heysup and see what he has to say also.
 

shrang

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LO Milotic already breaks your substitutes even with the extra special defense so the speed investments for at least outspeeding it will be worthwile.
LO Milotic breaks your Subs, yes, but the extra Special Defense makes it harder for standard defensive Milotic to break your Substitute with Surf. With 36 SpD EVs, Milotic does 21.41% - 25.33%, so it would need a very high damage roll to break you Subs, while with 0 SpD EVs, it does 21.93% - 26.11%, which still isn't breaking your Sub most of the time, but has a better chance, no?? Anyway, the spread I run (Which I would recommend) is 248 HP/36 SpD/224 Spe, which still outspeeds LO Milotic anyway.
 
LO Milotic breaks your Subs, yes, but the extra Special Defense makes it harder for standard defensive Milotic to break your Substitute with Surf. With 36 SpD EVs, Milotic does 21.41% - 25.33%, so it would need a very high damage roll to break you Subs, while with 0 SpD EVs, it does 21.93% - 26.11%, which still isn't breaking your Sub most of the time, but has a better chance, no?? Anyway, the spread I run (Which I would recommend) is 248 HP/36 SpD/224 Spe, which still outspeeds LO Milotic anyway.
Yeah sorry since he said 'speed' at first he meant remove speed investment and put them in Sp.def when he really meant sp.att probably. i agree the special attack investment is pointless.;)
 
I think I miscommunicated, I was talking about the support set in Komodo's update, not the one on-site! They are very similar except for the EV spreads, but I don't know enough about that EV spread to make a judgement. I know the 252 HP / 252 SpDef spread is fantastic as it allows you to counter some unexpected threats such as standard variants of Lanturn, Rotom, and Alakazam (and that new defensive Flareon) and survive a hit from +2 Life Orb Mismagius, Life Orb Moltres, and Choice Specs Manectric. If 252 HP / 252 SpDef seems better, it's really so similar to the pHazer set (a pHazer is a support set, anyway) that it might be better to just use that set to encompass both (Heal Bell + Toxic is a worthy combo, though - maybe a mention?).

At the time I requested that I thought you were only including the SubRoost set, so the pHazer set is pretty much what I was looking for, at any rate.

Edit: Okay I was confused just earlier. What I said was "those 36 EV's left over from Speed. I was referring to them that way because I swear it comes up any time SubRoost cuno is mentioned (but maybe it's always me : P).
 
I think I miscommunicated, I was talking about the support set in Komodo's update, not the one on-site! The only difference is the EV spread, but I don't know enough about that EV spread to make a judgement. I know the 252 HP / 252 SpDef spread is fantastic as it allows you to counter some unexpected threats such as standard variants of Lanturn, Rotom, and Alakazam (and that new defensive Flareon) and survive a hit from +2 Life Orb Mismagius, Life Orb Moltres, and Choice Specs Manectric. If 252 HP / 252 SpDef seems better, it's really so similar to the pHazer set (a pHazer is a support set, anyway) that it might be better to just use that set to encompass both.

At the time I requested that I thought you were only including the SubRoost set, so the pHazer set is pretty much what I was looking for, at any rate.

Also yeah Speed was a typo - sorry for all the confusion that caused!
Yep I see your point man;) Kind of a waste to have two seperate sets which have everything similiar apart from the EV spread. The 252 Sp.def set has alot more viability aiding you greatly not only against common UU special sweepers and tanks but also against Rain dance teams.

I'll remove the Phazer set and slash Heal Bell with Roar on the 'Support' set and use the 248 HP / 252 Sp.def / 8 Speed Calm Spread.

Log#1:
Begin turn #3
Somalia withdrew Spiritomb!
Somalia sent out Articuno (lvl 100 Articuno)!
Articuno is exerting its Pressure!
Ludicolo used Surf!
Articuno lost 184/383 (48%) of its health!
Ludicolo lost 10% of its health!
Rain continues to fall.
Articuno's Leftovers restored its health a little!
Articuno regained 23/383 (6%) of its health!
===============
Begin turn #4
Ludicolo used Surf!
Articuno lost 165/383 (43%) of its health!
Ludicolo lost 10% of its health!
Articuno used Roost!
Articuno regained 191/383 (49%) of its health!
Rain continues to fall.
Articuno's Leftovers restored its health a little!
Articuno regained 23/383 (6%) of its health!

[Skipped the boring parts]

Begin turn #35
Somalia withdrew Weezing!
Somalia sent out Blastoise (lvl 100 Blastoise ?)!
Caymen withdrew Floatzel!
Caymen sent out Gorebyss (lvl 100 Gorebyss ?)!
Pointed stones dug into Gorebyss!
Gorebyss lost 12% of its health!
Rain continues to fall.
Blastoise's Leftovers restored its health a little!
Blastoise regained 22/362 (6%) of its health!
===============
Begin turn #36
Somalia withdrew Blastoise!
Somalia sent out Articuno (lvl 100 Articuno)!
Articuno is exerting its Pressure!
Gorebyss used Secret Power!
Articuno lost 56/383 (14%) of its health!
Articuno is paralysed! It may be unable to move!
Gorebyss lost 10% of its health!
Rain continues to fall.
Articuno's Leftovers restored its health a little!
Articuno regained 23/383 (6%) of its health!
===============
Begin turn #37
Gorebyss used Surf!
Articuno lost 192/383 (50%) of its health!
Gorebyss lost 10% of its health!
Articuno used Ice Beam!
It's not very effective...
Gorebyss lost 6% of its health!
Gorebyss fainted!
Rain continues to fall.
Articuno's Leftovers restored its health a little!
Articuno regained 23/383 (6%) of its health!
Caymen sent out Floatzel (lvl 100 Floatzel ?)!
Pointed stones dug into Floatzel!
Floatzel lost 12% of its health!
===============
Begin turn #38
Somalia withdrew Articuno!
Somalia sent out Blastoise (lvl 100 Blastoise ?)!
Floatzel used Waterfall!
It's not very effective...
Blastoise lost 101/362 (27%) of its health!
Floatzel lost 10% of its health!
Rain continues to fall.
Blastoise's Leftovers restored its health a little!
Blastoise regained 22/362 (6%) of its health!
===============
Begin turn #39
Floatzel used Brick Break!
Blastoise lost 84/362 (23%) of its health!
Floatzel lost 10% of its health!
Blastoise used Rest!
Blastoise fell asleep!
Blastoise regained 263/362 (72%) of its health!
The rain stopped.
===============
Begin turn #40
Floatzel used Waterfall!
It's not very effective...
Blastoise lost 72/362 (19%) of its health!
Floatzel lost 4% of its health!
Floatzel fainted!
Blastoise used Sleep Talk!
Blastoise used Rest!
But it failed!
Blastoise's Leftovers restored its health a little!
Blastoise regained 22/362 (6%) of its health!
Caymen sent out Registeel (lvl 100 Registeel)!
Pointed stones dug into Registeel!
Registeel lost 6% of its health!
===============
Begin turn #41
Blastoise used Sleep Talk!
Blastoise used Surf!
Registeel lost 14% of its health!
Registeel used Explosion!
Registeel lost 25% of its health!
Registeel fainted!
Blastoise lost 234/362 (64%) of its health!
Somalia wins!


This is only one match but goes to show the usefulness of having maximum investment for the special defense stat, investing in defense is not worthwile for several good reasons:
1)The majority of the rampant UU sweepers in the current metagame always have Rock-type moves or STAB super effective moves in their arsenal (Aggron, Hitmonlee, Blaziken, Heracross, Arcanine, Heck even LO physical Sceptile which is common packs Rock Slide).
2)Losing out sp.def evs means you cannot avoid being 2HKO'd by specially based rain sweepers. Also specially orientated LO venusaur can 2HKO you guaranteed if you waste 96 evs on defense.
 
Why is Heal Bell slashed with Substitute on the SubRoost set? You can't have a SubRoost set without Substitute. Maybe a mention in AC or it being slashed with something else would be better.
 

Bluewind

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Just fix the part in which you said "248 EVs allow Articuno to switch in more than one" because even with 252 EVs it can do the same. You should probably add when sand is up (and even then it must get a "clean" switch-in, as weather would damage you by the end of the turn and kill you before Leftovers). Outside of that:

QC Approved 2/2
 
grammar edits in pink
prose edits in blue

[box][Overview]
<p>With its sheer bulk and excellent supportive movepool, Articuno definitely lives up to its reputation as one of the legendary birds. Unfortunately, its Ice / Flying typing brings a 4x weakness to Rock-type moves, including the commonly used Stealth Rock. Despite this disadvantage, Articuno's enormous base 125 Special Defense and respectable base 90 HP stats give it more than enough reason to be considered when making a team. It also makes an incredible team player since it has access to Heal Bell, allowing it to remove status ailments from fellow teammates. Articuno reaches a modest speed of 295, enough to outspeed a respectable amount of Pokemon and stall opposing teams with Toxic and Substitute in conjunction with its ability Pressure.</p>

[SET]
name: SubRoost
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Roost
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Toxic
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
ability: Pressure
evs: 252 HP / 224 Spe / 34 Sp.Def

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set aims to utilize Articuno's excellent natural bulk and great Speed to stall opposing Pokemon. The idea is to come into an attack that you resist or take little damage from, force a switch and get a Substitute up. From there you can use Toxic on the opponent and outstall it using a combination of Roost and Substitute. Taking Articuno's ability Pressure into account, the opponent will likely run out of PP before it manages to hit Articuno. Steel-types are immune to Toxic so there is no point trying to outstall them unless they have moves with low PP. Poison-types are immune as well although most Poison-type Pokemon have secondary typings that are weak to Ice. For example, Venusaur is probably the most common Poison-type Pokemon in the metagame and is outsped and destroyed by Articuno. Other Pokemon that are immune to Toxic, such as Toxicroak, are mostly fragile and can be taken out with relative ease.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The given Speed EVs enable Articuno to outspeed base 80 Pokemon such as Venusar and Blaziken and most importantly, Life Orb Milotic. This allows you to switch in regardless of whether Stealth Rock is up and Roost off any damage. 248 HP EVs can be considered as they allow you to switch into Stealth Rock more than once.</p>

<p>Steel-types cause problems for Articuno as they are immune to Toxic and resistant to Ice Beam. Bulky Fighting- and Ground-types such as Hitmontop and Donphan make excellent teammates since they both have access to Rapid Spin as well as STAB moves that deal with Steel-types well.</p>

[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Ice Beam
move 2: Roost
move 3: Roar
move 4: Heal Bell / Toxic
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
ability: Pressure
evs: 252 HP / 252 Sp.Def / 6 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Articuno has enough bulk to support its team efficiently. With access to Heal Bell, it can heal itself and fellow teammates from status ailments. Heal Bell also compliments Articuno's ability to stall other Pokemon with Roost and its ability, Pressure. Toxic is an alternative to Heal Bell and is great for dismantling bulky walls such as Chansey and Milotic, forcing them to switch out. Ice Beam is Articuno's sole reliable STAB move and has great overall coverage. Roar is especially annoying if you have entry hazards up. While it shuffles the opponent's team, it also allows you to scout unrevealed members of the opposing team as well as rack up a nice chunk of residual damage.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Due to Articuno's typing, it lacks the ability to switch into most physical attacks. For this reason, emphasizing its Defense stat is often a waste of EVs. Investing 252 EVs into Articuno's Special Defense stat allows Articuno to be a great tank, taking almost any Special Attack. Articuno is also helpful against Rain Dance teams as both Ludicolo and Gorebyss fail to 2HKO it.

<p>This set appreciates entry hazards to maximize Roar's effectiveness. Donphan and Rhyperior make good teammates as they both have excellent defenses, resistances to Rock-type moves aimed at Articuno, and the ability to set up Stealth Rock. Light Screen and Reflect are decent alternatives for the fourth moveslot that can help fellow sweepers set up with more ease.</p>

[TEAM OPTIONS]
<p>Rapid Spin support is essential when using Articuno as losing 50% on each switch-in is not desirable. Both Hitmontop and Donphan make great partners, covering Articuno's weaknesses and providing Rapid Spin support. Both are also bulky enough to take physical hits from Steel- and Rock-type attacks aimed at Articuno and hit back with Close Combat and Earthquake, respectively. Quagsire is another excellent partner for Articuno as it has resistances to Rock- and Fire-type attacks, as well as an immunity to Electric-type moves.</p>

<p>Offensively, Dugtrio and Spiritomb make great partners for Articuno. Dugtrio can easily switch into Electric-type attacks and proceed to eliminate opponents wtih a STAB Earthquake. Spiritomb can switch in on bulky walls such as Chansey and Clefable and either Trick them a Choice item or set up Calm Mind. It can also trap and pick off Ghost-type Pokemon such as Rotom and Mismagius, two annoying threats that Articuno would like to avoid facing.</p>

[OPTIONAL CHANGES]
<p>Besides what has already been mentioned, there aren't a lot of other options. Articuno has usable Speed and Special Attack stats, which could work on a Life Orb set with a moveset of Ice Beam / Hidden Power Flying / Roost / AncientPower. As for support options, Articuno may use Haze to remove stat boosts from slower opponents like Curse Registeel or Calm Mind Slowbro, or use Sunny Day in place of Rain Dance to set up for a teammate. However, Pokemon like Registeel and Uxie, can also set up weather and are not weak to Stealth Rock. A RestTalk set could be used with Ice Beam, Roar, and Toxic, but Articuno's Stealth Rock weakness severely hampers its effectiveness.</p>

[COUNTERS]
<p>Articuno lacks a solid offensive movepool, meaning there are plenty of Pokemon that can comfortably switch into its attacks. However, due to its ability to function as a great Toxic staller, Articuno's "counters" can have trouble dealing with it. Steel-types in general have little to fear as they are immune to Toxic and take pitiful damage from Ice Beam and can severely dent Articuno with super-effective Steel- or Rock-type moves such as Iron Head or Stone Edge. Electric-type Pokemon such as Rotom and Manectric outspeed Articuno and can Substitute on an incoming Toxic or fire off Thunderbolts. Encore users such as Clefable, who is also immune to Toxic, can cause severe problems for Articuno, locking it into one move for several turns. Opposing sweepers can take advantage of such opportunities to set up on or hit Articuno with a status-inducing move such as Toxic or Thunder Wave.</p>[/box]
 

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[Overview]

<p>With its sheer bulk and excellent supportive support movepool, Articuno definitely lives up to its reputation as one of the legendary birds. Unfortunately, its Ice / Flying typing brings gives it a 4x weakness to Rock-type moves, including the commonly used Stealth Rock. Despite this disadvantage, Articuno's enormous base 125 Special Defense and respectable base 90 HP stats give it more than enough reason to be considered when making a team. It also makes an incredible team player since it has access to Heal Bell, allowing it to remove status ailments from fellow teammates. Articuno reaches a modest speed Speed of 295, enough to outspeed a respectable amount of Pokemon and to stall opposing teams with Toxic and Substitute in conjunction with its ability Pressure.</p>

[SET]
name: SubRoost
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Roost
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Toxic
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
ability: Pressure
evs: 252 HP / 224 Spe / 34 Sp.Def 252 HP / 32 SpD / 224 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This set aims to utilize Articuno's excellent natural bulk and great Speed to stall opposing Pokemon. The idea is to come into an attack that you resist or take little damage from, force a switch,(comma) and get a Substitute up. From there you can use Toxic on the opponent and outstall it using a combination of Roost and Substitute. Taking Articuno's ability Pressure into account, the opponent will likely run out of PP before it manages to hit KO Articuno. Steel-types are immune to Toxic so there is no point trying to outstall them unless they have moves with low PP. Poison-types are immune as well although most Poison-type Pokemon have secondary typings that are weak to Ice. For example, Venusaur is probably the most common Poison-type Pokemon in the metagame and is outsped and destroyed by Articuno’s Ice Beam. Other Pokemon that are immune to Toxic, such as Toxicroak, are mostly fragile and can be taken out with relative ease.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The given Speed EVs enable Articuno to outspeed base 80 Speed Pokemon such as Venusar Venusaur, and Blaziken,(comma) and most importantly, Life Orb Milotic. This allows you to switch in regardless of whether Stealth Rock is up and Roost off any damage. 248 HP EVs can be considered as they allow you to switch into Stealth Rock more than once.</p>

<p>Steel-types cause problems for Articuno as they are immune to Toxic and resistant to Ice Beam. Bulky Fighting- and Ground-types such as Hitmontop and Donphan make excellent teammates since they both have access to Rapid Spin as well as STAB moves that to deal with Steel-types well.</p>

[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Ice Beam
move 2: Roost
move 3: Roar
move 4: Heal Bell / Toxic
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
ability: Pressure
evs: 252 HP / 252 Sp.Def / 6 Spe 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Articuno has enough bulk to support its team efficiently. With access to Heal Bell, it can heal itself and its fellow teammates from status ailments. Heal Bell also compliments complements Articuno's ability to stall other Pokemon with Roost and its ability, Pressure. Toxic is an alternative to Heal Bell and is great for dismantling bulky walls such as Chansey and Milotic, forcing them to switch out. Ice Beam is Articuno's sole reliable STAB move and has great overall coverage. Roar is especially annoying if you have entry hazards up. While it shuffles the opponent's team, it also allows you to scout unrevealed unknown members of the opposing team as well as rack up a nice chunk of residual damage.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Due to Articuno's typing, it lacks the ability to switch into most physical attacks. For this reason, emphasizing its Defense stat is often a waste of EVs. Investing 252 EVs into Articuno's Special Defense stat allows Articuno to be a great tank, taking almost any Special Attack with ease. Articuno is also helpful against Rain Dance teams as both Ludicolo and Gorebyss fail to 2HKO it.

<p>This set appreciates entry hazards to maximize Roar's effectiveness. Donphan and Rhyperior make good teammates as they both have excellent defenses Defense, resistances to Rock-type moves aimed at Articuno, and the ability to set up Stealth Rock. Light Screen and Reflect are decent alternatives for the fourth moveslot that can help fellow sweepers set up with more greater ease.</p>

[TEAM OPTIONS]

<p>Rapid Spin support is essential when using Articuno as losing 50% on each switch-in every time it switches in is not desirable. Both Hitmontop and Donphan make great partners, covering Articuno's weaknesses and providing Rapid Spin support. Both are also bulky enough to take physical hits from Steel- and Rock-type attacks aimed at Articuno and hit back with Close Combat and Earthquake, respectively. Quagsire is another excellent partner for Articuno as it has resistances to Rock-, Steel-, and Fire-type attacks, as well as an immunity to Electric-type moves.</p>

<p>Offensively, Dugtrio and Spiritomb make great partners for Articuno. Dugtrio can easily switch into Electric-type attacks and proceed to eliminate opponents wtih with a STAB Earthquake. Spiritomb can switch in on bulky walls such as Chansey and Clefable and either Trick them a Choice item or set up Calm Mind. It can also trap and pick off Ghost-type Pokemon such as Rotom and Mismagius, two annoying threats that Articuno would like to avoid facing.</p>

[OPTIONAL CHANGES]

<p>Besides what has already been mentioned, there aren't a lot of other options. Articuno has usable Speed and Special Attack stats, which could work on a Life Orb set with a moveset of Ice Beam / Hidden Power Flying / Roost / AncientPower. As for support options, Articuno may use Haze to remove stat boosts from slower opponents like Curse Registeel or Calm Mind Slowbro, or use set up Sunny Day in place of or Rain Dance to set up for a teammate. However, Pokemon like Registeel and Uxie,(remove) can also set up weather and are not weak to Stealth Rock. A RestTalk set could be used with Ice Beam, Roar, and Toxic, [Um, isn’t that five moves?] but Articuno's Stealth Rock weakness severely hampers its effectiveness.</p>

[COUNTERS]

<p>Articuno lacks a solid offensive movepool, meaning there are plenty of Pokemon that can comfortably switch into its attacks. However, due to its ability to function as a great Toxic staller, Articuno's "counters" can have trouble dealing with it. Steel-types in general have little to fear as they are immune to Toxic,(comma)and take pitiful damage from Ice Beam,(comma) and can severely dent Articuno with super effective Steel- or Rock-type moves such as Iron Head or Stone Edge. Electric-type Pokemon such as Rotom and Manectric outspeed Articuno and can Substitute on an incoming Toxic or fire off Thunderbolts. Encore users such as Clefable, who is also immune to Toxic, can cause severe problems for Articuno, locking it into one move for several turns. Opposing sweepers can take advantage of such opportunities to set up on Articuno, or alternatively bulky walls can hit Articuno with a status-inducing move such as Toxic or Thunder Wave.</p>


 

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