(Alakazam is jealous of my whispers!)
QC: 3/3 (ebeast / WhiteDMist / Treecko )
GP: 2/2 ( sirndpt / melvni )
[Overview]
<p>Whiscash has access to the uncommon Dragon Dance, which it can use quite effectively to sweep late-game thanks to its good bulk and great defensive typing that leaves it with just one weakness. However, it faces competition from Samurott and Carracosta as a boosting sweeper, as the former is also bulky, has better offensive stats, and has access to Aqua Jet to beat faster threats and Megahorn to destroy Grass-types, and the latter can use Shell Smash to become an immediate threat. Whiscash is also quite slow—many Pokemon and almost every Choice Scarf user outspeed it even after a Dragon Dance boost—and its Attack is average, meaning it will need a few boosts in order to become a threatening sweeper.</p>
[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Waterfall
item: Leftovers
ability: Hydration
nature: Adamant
evs: 172 HP / 80 Atk / 32 Def / 224 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is Whiscash's best option for achieving a sweep late-game, but it needs some team support to work. It uses Substitute, its good natural bulk, and its great typing to get as many Dragon Dance boosts as possible and then smash the opposing team with its STAB moves. Dragon Dance is Whiscash's most important move, as it boosts Whiscash's offensive stats to respectable levels. Earthquake is Whiscash's strongest STAB, and it will deal good damage to most Pokemon that do not resist it. Waterfall complements Earthquake pretty well, providing Whiscash with coverage against most non-Grass-types. It also has a nice flinch rate that Whiscash can take advantage of with Speed boosts from Dragon Dance.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread allows Whiscash to create 101 HP Substitutes and ensures Alomomola's Waterfall never breaks its Substitute. The spread also enables Whiscash to outspeed non-Choice Scarf Jynx, Haunter, and Primeape after a Dragon Dance boost. Whiscash can also run full offensive investment with a Life Orb, a Jolly nature, and Stone Edge over Substitute. However, that set, while stronger, finds setting up much harder, and because it also needs a few boosts to be threatening, it is generally a less reliably way for Whiscash to sweep. This more offensive approach lets Whiscash outspeed Pokemon such as Serperior, Charizard, and Swoobat after a Dragon Dance boost, though, so it's not to be dismissed. Hydration is used as Whiscash's main ability; while it might be situational, it's the least useless of the three abilities Whiscash has access to and is very useful if rain is up. Anticipation would be nice if it warned about Hidden Power Grass, but Hidden Power is always taken to be a Normal-type move and the ability only activates when you send Whiscash out, making it a poor choice.</p>
<p>Whiscash has trouble getting past Grass-type Pokemon such as Torterra, Tangela, and Ludicolo, so teammates that can beat those Pokemon are necessary. Scolipede and Roselia make great partners for Whiscash, as they boast a superb 4x resistance to Grass-type moves and can also provide Whiscash with Spikes and Toxic Spikes support, easing its sweep, and opportunities to switch in and set up against Fire-type attacks aimed at them. Garbodor is also a nice teammate, as it resists Grass-type moves and can also reliably set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes. These three Pokemon can also absorb Toxic Spikes, which is incredibly helpful for Whiscash outside of rain. Braviary and Charizard deal with Grass-type Pokemon easily, as they can switch in on a predicted Grass-type move and destroy them with Brave Bird and Fire Blast, respectively. LumRest Exeggutor makes a nice partner for Whiscash as well, as it can beat most Grass-type Pokemon easily and it doesn't fear being put to sleep thanks to Lum Berry and Harvest. Meanwhile, Whiscash can deal with the Fire-type Pokemon that threaten Exeggutor. Specially offensive Water-types are also difficult for Whiscash to deal with, so Regice and Ludicolo make good partners. Ludicolo can also provide Whiscash with rain support, making Waterfall a much stronger move and activating Hydration.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>A tank set might seem appealing because of Whiscash's nice bulk and great typing, but such a set would be outclassed by Seismitoad, which has a Water immunity, access to Stealth Rock, and better offensive prowess. However, Whiscash has access to Hydration + Rest, which in conjunction with Rain Dance gives Whiscash reliable recovery and a way to avoid status, something Seismitoad doesn't have. On such a set, Whiscash should be running special attacks such as Earth Power, Ice Beam, and Hydro Pump. Whiscash can also run Ice Beam on physical sets to catch Torterra and Tangela off guard. Aqua Tail can replace Waterfall if you want more power, but the inferior accuracy and lack of flinch chance make it unappealing. Zen Headbutt can be used to hit Weezing, but it's not worth giving up a moveslot for it. Return has great coverage with Waterfall, but Stone Edge and Zen Headbutt are better coverage options. Bounce can be used to hit Grass-type Pokemon super effectively, but the charging turn makes it easy to avoid. Finally, Whiscash can run Toxic to inflict status on its opponents, something that can be useful against an incoming Grass-type Pokemon or Alomomola.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Almost any Grass-type Pokemon can threaten Whiscash, as they can normally take a hit and then OHKO Whiscash with a STAB move. Ludicolo resists Whiscash's STAB moves and can OHKO it using Giga Drain. Torterra and Tangela make great counters due to their bulk and typing, but they must be wary of the rare Ice Beam. Serperior and Exeggutor can also deal with Whiscash without much trouble with good physical bulk and access to Giga Drain; Serperior can even outspeed most +1 Whiscash. Cradily can take a boosted Earthquake well and destroy Whiscash with Giga Drain. Mantine deserves a special mention as a counter if Whiscash only uses its STAB moves, as Water Absorb variants are immune to both of them. Physically defensive Misdreavus doesn't take much damage from Whiscash's attacks and can hit it with a strong Foul Play or burn it with Will-O-Wisp. Misdreavus can even outspeed and Taunt Whiscash if it hasn't set up yet. Gurdurr can set up Bulk Up at the same time Whiscash uses Dragon Dance, and it will always win that war if Whiscash doesn't get a critical hit or multiple flinches. Swellow can switch in on a predicted Earthquake or after a KO and proceed to outspeed and deal massive damage to Whiscash even after a Dragon Dance, making it a nice offensive check. Prankster Encore users, such as Liepard and Volbeat, can switch in on a predicted Dragon Dance or Substitute and force Whiscash out. Toxic Spikes reduces Whiscash's potential considerably as it needs many setup turns to be a threat, so being poisoned significantly reduces the time it has to sweep. Common users of this move include Roselia, Garbodor, and Scolipede.</p>
<p>Whiscash's main problem is that, even after a boost, it lacks the power to OHKO or even 2HKO bulky Pokemon, especially if they resist Earthquake, meaning that even if it has managed to set up a Dragon Dance, many Pokemon, such as Musharna and Mandibuzz, while not capable of switching in safely, can come in after a KO and beat Whiscash one-on-one. If you don't allow Whiscash to set up many Dragon Dances, you should do fine against it.</p>
Skeleton:
[Overview]
name: Bulky Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Waterfall
item: Leftovers
ability: Hydration
nature: Adamant
evs: 172 HP / 80 Atk / 32 Def / 224 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
- Great defensive typing that leaves it with just one weakness (Grass) and many resistances.
- It learns the uncommon Dragon Dance, and has good bulk to use it effectively. Furthermore, its typing gives it many chances to set up.
- Faces competition from Samurott as a boosting Pokémon as Samurott is also bulky, has better offensive stats, and has access to Aqua Jet to beat faster threats and Megahorn to destroy Grass-types, while Whiscash uses speed boosts from Dragon Dance, has STAB Earthquake, and a better defensive typing.
- Its Speed is bad, meaning that even after a Dragon Dance many Pokémon and almost every Choice Scarf user will outspeed it.
- Its Attack is average, so it will lack power to outdamage bulky Pokémon before setting up a few Dragon Dances.
name: Bulky Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Waterfall
item: Leftovers
ability: Hydration
nature: Adamant
evs: 172 HP / 80 Atk / 32 Def / 224 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
- This is Whiscash's best option for getting as many boosts as possible, but it needs a lot of team support to work.
- Via the use of Substitute, Whiscash tries to get as many boosts as possible with Dragon Dance and then sweep.
- Whiscash can create quite sturdy Substitutes with 101 HP, so Seismic Toss and Night Shade won't break them. Besides, it allows Whiscash to avoid status and Sucker Punch.
- Earthquake is Whiscash's strongest move.
- Waterfall is also a very reliable move with a nice flinch rate.
- The EV spread allows Whiscash to create 101 HP Substitutes and ensures Alomomola's Waterfall never breaks Whiscash's Substitute. It also enables Whiscash to outspeed non-Scarf Jynx, Haunter and Primeape after a Dragon Dance boost. The rest goes to Attack to maximize Whiscash's power.
- An Adamant nature is used as Whiscash needs to be as strong as possible.
- A more offensive Whiscash can be used with the spread 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe, with a Life Orb, a Jolly nature, and with Stone Edge instead of Substitute. However, that Whiscash, while stronger, will find setting up much harder, and also needs a few boosts to be threatening, thus making the bulky set the most reliable way Whiscash can set up some Dragon Dances and sweep.
- The offensive spread, however, lets Whiscash outspeed Pokémon such as Serperior, Charizard and Swoobat after a Dragon Dance boost, and also gives Whiscash better coverage thanks to Stone Edge.
- Hydration is used because, while it's situational, it's the less useless of the three abilities. Anticipation would be nice if it warned about Hidden Power Grass, but it doesn't, and only activates when you send Whiscash to fight.
- This set cannot deal with Grass-types like Tangela, Exeggutor, or Ludicolo.
- Scolipede and Roselia make great teammates for Whiscash as they boast a great x4 resistance to Grass and can support Whiscash via Spikes and Toxic Spikes, and Scolipede can even Baton Pass an Attack or Speed boost to it.
- Garbodor can take Grass-type attacks too and set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes to ease Whiscash's sweep.
- Braviary makes a good teamate as well, as it switch in on Grass-types and destroy them via a super effective Brave Bird.
- LumRest Exeggutor is great as it can take both Alomomola and Tangela rather easily.
- Regice and Ludicolo can deal with special attacking Water-type Pokémon, so they make good partners. Ludicolo can provide Whiscash with Rain as well, making Whiscash's Waterfall much stronger and making Whiscash immune to status thanks to Hydration.
- Stealth Rock support from the likes of Golurk, Regirock, Golem is nice as it nets Whiscash some OHKOs and 2HKOs after a Dragon Dance such as Regirock, Eelektross...
- There are not many more viable options, as Whiscash will probably be outclassed by Seismitoad when running other sets.
- A tank set may seem appealing, but Seismitoad does it better thanks to its Water immunity, access to Stealth Rock and better offensive prowess.
- Whiscash has, however, access to Hydration + Rest over Seismitoad, which in conjunction with Rain Dance, give it a way to avoid status.
- In such a set, Whiscash should run special attacks such as Scald, Earth Power, Hydro Pump, or Ice Beam.
- Ice Beam is a good option even on physical sets to catch Tangela and Torterra off guard.
- Whiscash can run Aqua Tail instead of Waterfall, but the latter's better accuracy and good secondary effect make it a better choice most times.
- Whiscash learns Zen Headbutt, and it is his best move against Weezing, Roselia, Vileplume and Fighting-types so it can be a nice option.
- Return has great coverage with Waterfall, but Stone Edge and Earthquake are better coverage options.
- Bounce hits Grass-types super effectively, but the charging turn makes it less appealing and easy to avoid.
- Finally, Whiscash can run Toxic to inflict status on its opponents.
- Almost every Grass-type Pokémon can threaten Whiscash, as they can normally take a hit and then OHKO Whiscash with Giga Drain, recovering the HP they may have lost.
- Torterra and Tangela make great counters, the former due to its typing, and the latter for its gargantuan Defense, but they must be wary of Ice Beam.
- Exeggutor, Serperior, and Ludicolo also work, but they must be wary of a boosted Stone Edge (they can recover the lost health by using Giga Drain though).
- Cradily can take Whiscash's attacks easily and OHKO it with Giga Drain, regaining most of its lost health.
- Physically defensive Seismitoad also does well in countering Whiscash.
- Prankster Encore users, such as Liepard or Volbeat, can switch in on a predicted Dragon Dance or Substitute and force it out.
- Swellow can switch in on a predicted Earthquake and proceed to outspeed and KO +1 Speed Whiscash with its powerful Facade if Whiscash isn't at full health.
- Toxic Spikes reduce Whiscash's lifespan considerably.
- Physically defensive Misdreavus is also a great counter as it can take Whiscash hits easily, and doesn't allow Whiscash to set up easily thanks to Foul Play.
- Whiscash's main problem is that even after a boost, it lacks the power to OHKO bulky Pokémon, especially if they resist Earthquake, meaning that even if it has managed to set up a Dragon Dance, many Pokémon (such us Musharna, or Gurdurr), while not capable of switching safely in on Whiscash, can come after a KO and beat Whiscash.
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