Krookodile
With these checks, I am done! (Calm Pokemaster, wekhter, jc104)
[Overview]
<p>Krookodile has a good base 117 Attack and a slightly below-average base 92 Speed. It has access to two excellent abilities in Moxie, which boosts its Attack stat by one stage after a direct KO, and Intimidate, which effectively gives this sand crocodile a temporary +1 in its Defense stat. Its Ground / Dark typing gives it valuable STAB, and excellent coverage being provided by the EdgeQuake combo alongside Crunch or Krookodile's semi-exclusive move Foul Play, which works by using the target's Attack stat to deal damage. When equipped with a Choice Scarf, Krookodile becomes a revenge killer that can tear unprepared teams apart.</p>
<p>Despite all of Krookodile's perks, a few potentially debilitating problems still plague the sand crocodile. Its average bulk leaves it vulnerable to most forms of priority attack, especially from Pokemon such as Conkeldurr and Azumarill. It also has a concerning lack of reliable boosting moves, although Bulk Up and Hone Claws are usually enough to get the job done. It also faces competition from Tyranitar and Hydreigon as a team's Dark-type of choice, and from Conkeldurr and Scrafty as a Bulk Up abuser. Despite these problems, Krookodile can cause quite a bit of hurt if underestimated.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Crunch
move 3: Pursuit
move 4: Stone Edge
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>Equipped with a Choice Scarf, Krookodile is capable of outpacing most of the OU metagame. With Moxie, it has a chance to sweep after getting even one KO. Its advantages over its main rival, Tyranitar, are its higher Speed, its abilities, and not bringing up sandstorm. Earthquake is used because it is Krookodile's most reliable move. Crunch lets it KO the Psychic-types rampant in the OU metagame. Stone Edge is used to hit the various Flying-types that will inevitably switch in expecting Earthquake. Pursuit allows Krookodile to trap Ghost- and Psychic-type Pokemon switching out in fear of Crunch or Earthquake. The EVs are simple: Speed and Attack are maximized with the remaining 4 EVs thrown into HP. With the EVs given, Krookodile reaches 366 Attack and 424 Speed with the Choice Scarf. After a direct KO, Krookodile's Attack stat reaches 549 with Moxie. However, its decidedly average defenses leave it vulnerable to priority attacks and faster Choice Scarf users such as Terrakion.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>A Jolly nature could be used to outspeed even more Pokemon, but nothing notable is outsped and OHKOed by Krookodile that lies between 424 and 466 Speed. Jolly also costs Krookodile a bit of power. Outrage could be used to land surprise KOs on Dragon-types that switch in. However, this allows Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Skarmory to come in on Krookodile and set up entry hazards. Fire Fang or Thunder Fang could be used for additional coverage, but their mediocre power is usually a turn-off. A Choice Band could be used for more immediate Attack at the cost of revenge-killing ability. If Choice Band is used, Foul Play won't be an option because Krookodile will most likely have more Attack than the opponent. Foul Play could be used with a Scarf, but is at best unreliable as it uses the Attack stat of the opponent. Intimidate lets Krookodile switch in more easily on weak physical attacks, while Moxie lets Krookodile potentially sweep weakened teams.</p>
<p>Thundurus and Zapdos can switch in on most attacks thrown at Krookodile, absorb them with relative ease, and threaten many of its counters with a boosted Thunderbolt and, in the case of Thundurus, a priority Thunder Wave. They must carry Toxic or Hidden Power Grass in order to beat Unaware Quagsire, though. Alternatively, a Grass-type such as Breloom or Virizion could be used to beat Quagsire. However, note that opposing Breloom and Virizion can also pose a threat to Krookodile with their STAB attacks. In this regard, Latios, Latias, Reuniclus, and Tornadus are good teammates for Krookodile, as they can dispose of the aforementioned threats with ease. Skarmory and Gyarados can switch in on every move that Krookodile packs (except Stone Edge in the case of Gyarados), Skarmory setting up Spikes and phazing, and Gyarados threatening with STAB Water-type attacks. Excadrill with an Air Balloon can switch in on most of Krookodile's moves under sandstorm, outspeed it, and smack it with Earthquake.</p>
[SET]
name: Bulk Up
move 1: Bulk Up
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Crunch
move 4: Stone Edge / Taunt
item: Leftovers
nature: Adamant
evs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 100 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>While Krookodile's main niche in this metagame is being a fast, relatively solid revenge killer, it can also assume the guise of a bulky setup sweeper. Bulk Up is one of Krookodile's only few boosting moves, the other being Hone Claws, and allows Krookodile to raise its Attack stat while boosting its modest Defense. Earthquake serves as Krookodile's main STAB attack, while Crunch and Substitute could be used in the third slot. Crunch gives Krookodile a way to hit levitating Ghost-types such as Gengar. In the last slot, Stone Edge is the preferred option to round out Krookodile's coverage. However, Taunt could be used to prevent Pokemon such as Skarmory and Ferrothorn from setting up entry hazards, inflicting a status condition, or phazing Krookodile out. The EVs allow Krookodile to outspeed all non-Scarfed Tyranitar, and give it 370 HP, 264 Defense, and 176 Special Defense with Intimidate in play.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>A Jolly nature could be used to outpace most of this set's counters, but Krookodile loses out on a bit of power. Similarly, you can run an EV spread of 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe, but Krookodile misses out on decisively important bulk. Fire Fang and Thunder Fang could be used, but their mediocre power, especially when hitting neutrally, is a turn-off. Substitute allows Krookodile to scout for status, and, in conjunction with Dragon Tail, beat most of its usual counters, including Skarmory and Bronzong. Intimidate lets Krookodile switch in more easily, while Moxie lets Krookodile further boost its Attack stat after it scores a direct KO.</p>
<p>As this Krookodile plays differently from the Choice set, different teammates are needed as different counters arise. Unaware Quagsire, however, remains a universal counter, as it ignores all of Krookodile's Bulk Up boosts and threatens with Scald. A Grass-type of your own, such as Ferrothorn or Rotom-C, can be used to threaten Quagsire. Ferrothorn is especially notable as it can lay Spikes or Stealth Rock, which makes Krookodile's job easier. Faster special attackers, such as Latios and Virizion, threaten with attacks that hit Krookodile's unboosted Special Defense. Thundurus can cripple both with a priority Thunder Wave or its own powerful special attacks.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Dragon Claw and Outrage can be used on the Choice Scarf set to nail various Dragon-types on the switch-in, but Pokemon that are resistant to the QuakeEdge combo can usually take Outrage as well. Hone Claws is Krookodile's other boosting move, but the only move that would benefit more than Bulk Up is Stone Edge. Fire Fang and Thunder Fang could be used for more super effective coverage, but their lack of power is discouraging. Rock Slide could be used over Stone Edge for accuracy reasons, but keep in mind that Krookodile will miss out on various KOs because of Rock Slide's 75 Base Power. Foul Play is Krookodile's other main Dark-type move, but it is unreliable at best because it uses the opponent's Attack stat rather than Krookodile's. Choice Band can be used if you wish to play Krookodile in a similar way to its Ground- and Dark-type brethren, but keep in mind that it lacks the power of Tyranitar and Excadrill.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Conkeldurr, Scizor, Azumarill, and Mamoswine all threaten Krookodile with boosted priority attacks that bypass its the Choice Scarf set's excellent Speed. Excadrill, when in the sand and holding an Air Balloon, can revenge kill Krookodile with its superior Speed and Attack stats. Virizion and Breloom are especially deadly to Krookodile because they resist both of his its STAB moves and Stone Edge, and immediately threaten to KO with STAB Grass- and Fighting-type moves.</p>
<p>A few Pokemon can also use their defenses to take whatever Krookodile throws at them with ease. Skarmory can use its Steel typing and base 140 Defense to Whirlwind Krookodile out and reset its stat boosts. However, Skarmory will lose against the Bulk Up set if Krookodile is using Taunt or both Substitute and Dragon Tail. With Unaware, Quagsire can switch into any of Krookodile's attacks and threaten it with Toxic or a Water-type move. Other bulky Water-types such as Gyarados can do this as well, but must be wary if Krookodile has acquired more than one Attack boost. Alternatively, Poison Heal Gliscor can switch in and threaten Krookodile with Fling or Ice Fang.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Anger Point, Krookodile's Dream World ability, has not been released yet. It is useless compared to Moxie and Intimidate, because those abilities are what distinguish Krookodile from its fellow Dark-types.</p>
