Overview
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Azumarill may look unassuming, but it's actually one of Battle Spot's most enduring mainstays. Its stellar defensive typing, small but perfect movepool, and its incredible ability in Huge Power make it a poster boy for bulky offense and arguably Battle Spot's best available Water-type. Its ability to go toe-to-toe against threatening Pokemon such as Garchomp, Mamoswine, and Heatran and come out on top makes it a valuable asset for many players; however, while Azumarill is capable of doing a lot of damage to unprepared teams, its small movepool makes it vulnerable to several common threats, and it sometimes has difficulty taking out even some frail attackers. Also, its pitiful base 50 Speed means that it has to rely on Aqua Jet quite often to KO faster opponents or it risks losing a chunk of its HP - or even being KOed - as there are some situations that even its above-average 100 / 80 / 80 bulk can't save it from. In spite of its flaws, however, Azumarill makes a fine offensive and defensive cornerstone for a lot of teams and excels in most matchups and situations.
Belly Drum
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name: Belly Drum
move 1: Belly Drum
move 2: Aqua Jet
move 3: Play Rough
move 4: Waterfall / Knock Off / Superpower
ability: Huge Power
item: Sitrus Berry
evs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpD / 4 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
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Belly Drum is used for boosting Azumarill's Attack stat at the cost of half of its health. Aqua Jet is a priority move and Azumarill's main means of damaging faster opponents. Play Rough is Azumarill's secondary STAB attack and achieves decent neutral coverage with Aqua Jet. The choice between the last three moves depends on your team structure; Waterfall is an alternative STAB option that is more accurate than Play Rough, Knock Off removes troublesome items such as Eviolite and Rocky Helmet, and Superpower gives Azumarill the coverage necessary to get past Ferrothorn.
Set Details
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This EV spread maximizes Azumarill's Attack and overall bulk whilst also giving an even HP stat at level 50; this is important, as it puts it into Sitrus Berry's activation range after Belly Drum is used. The leftover 4 EVs are put into Speed to allow Azumarill to outpace opposing base 50s, such as Chansey, Aggron, Tangrowth and Mega Mawile. The EV spread can be tweaked depending on what you want Azumarill to outspeed; 228 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpD / 4 Spe with an Adamant nature is the safest due to the large amount of bulk, but points can be moved from HP into Speed to outpace faster threats; for instance, 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe with an Adamant nature allows Azumarill to outspeed Pokemon with an uninvested base 65 Speed stat while still keeping Azumarill's HP at an even number. This jump point encompasses Pokemon such as Scizor, Tyranitar, Abomasnow, and Clefable, greatly improving Azumarill's matchup against them and making it less dependent on Aqua Jet. Huge Power is Azumarill's preferred ability for all of its sets, as it doubles Azumarill's Attack stat, bringing it from a middling 112 to a much more impressive stat of 224, allowing it to do much greater damage than it would be capable of with either of its other two abilities. Sitrus Berry synergizes well with Belly Drum, recovering 25% of Azumarill's health when it has 50% HP or less remaining. This leaves Azumarill at the maximum possible amount of HP after boosting and makes it more likely to survive oncoming attacks during its sweep.
Usage Tips
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Despite its bulk, Belly Drum Azumarill can sometimes be a risky Pokemon to play with due to the health lost while setting up and the free turn required to do so. However, there are several Pokemon in the format that cannot significantly hurt Azumarill with certain attacks and as such make good setup opportunities: examples include Heatran, Mega Sableye, Hydreigon, Tyranitar, and Garchomp locked into Outrage or Rock Tomb. Because the list of setup opportunities for Azumarill is quite specific, some scouting is usually required before Azumarill can commit to a sweep by clicking Belly Drum. However, if you have other viable win conditions, Azumarill can be used effectively as an early hole puncher. At +6, Azumarill's Aqua Jets are strong enough to do solid damage to a significant portion of the format. Due to this, it makes a fine win condition, especially against slower teams. However, Azumarill still has difficulty breaking through Pokemon such as Cresselia, Mega Venusaur, Zapdos, Ferrothorn, and Porygon2 without prior damage. This is where scouting can be useful: if these threatening Pokemon can be knocked out or sufficiently damaged, Azumarill can easily clean up with its moves. While clicking Belly Drum and spamming Aqua Jet can be tempting, there are occasions where Azumarill can hold off on boosting and save its item (and its health) for a later opportunity. Aqua Jet makes Azumarill a fairly effective revenge killer, and there will also be occasions where it's wiser to simply damage the opponent rather than go for the boost and risk having Azumarill faint.
Team Options
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While Azumarill is strong, its base 50 Speed is lackluster and makes it easy to revenge kill. As such, plenty of faster Pokemon can stop its sweep, either by resisting Aqua Jet or possessing faster priority. Azumarill's main concern is opposing Grass-types: if they outspeed it, they are capable of easily taking a +6 Aqua Jet and OHKOing in return with a STAB Grass-type move. Azumarill also has trouble with Talonflame, as Choice Band Brave Bird easily does enough damage to OHKO Azumarill after the HP loss from Belly Drum. For these reasons, Heatran makes a very effective teammate for Azumarill, as it resists both of Talonflame's STAB types and also walls many common Grass-types, including Venusaur, Ferrothorn, and Roserade. They also synergize defensively and Azumarill can beat Heatran's answers, including Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Conkeldurr, in return. Electric-types make good teammates for Azumarill thanks to their above-average Speed stats, passable physical bulk, and resistance to priority moves such as Bullet Punch and Brave Bird. Mega Manectric in particular excels at this role thanks to its ability, Intimidate, which allows it to switch in on priority for Azumarill and remove the threat with its coverage. Pokemon like Garchomp, Mamoswine, Excadrill, and Landorus-T are useful supporters for Azumarill thanks to their positive matchup against Electric-types with their immunity to Electric-type moves and STAB Earthquake; however, Garchomp and Landorus must take care around carriers of Hidden Power Ice. Azumarill doesn't like to take damage if it can avoid it, as too much can keep it from successfully getting a Belly Drum off. For this reason it appreciates Volt Switch or U-turn support from teammates such as Assault Vest Landorus-T and Raikou. Finally, this variant of Azumarill benefits a lot from Mega Gengar, which can switch in on Grass- and Poison-type moves and trap and remove problematic Pokemon such as Zapdos, Cresselia, Mega Slowbro, Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Venusaur, Ferrothorn, and Serperior for Azumarill. In turn, Azumarill can dispatch Dark-type Pokemon that threaten Gengar, such as Hydreigon and Tyranitar.
All Out Attacker
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name: All Out Attacker
move 1: Aqua Jet
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Play Rough
move 4: Knock Off / Superpower
ability: Huge Power
item: Assault Vest / Lum Berry
evs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpD / 4 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
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Aqua Jet is a STAB priority move that allows Azumarill to bypass its low Speed, hit faster attackers, and finish off weakened attackers. Waterfall and Play Rough are its main STAB options and main means of dealing damage. Knock Off gives Azumarill a utility option in removing key items such as Leftovers, Sitrus Berry, Choice items, Eviolite, and Rocky Helmet, while the main alternative, Superpower, gives it a way to hit Ferrothorn and Porygon2 super effectively.
Set Details
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An Adamant nature and maximum Attack investment help to make Azumarill as threatening as possible. The EV spread maximizes Azumarill's overall bulk and allows it to outspeed opposing base 50s. An alternative spread of 100 HP / 252 Atk / 156 Def with an Adamant nature can be used to guarantee that Azumarill survive a 252+ Mega Salamence Double-Edge from full HP and KO back most of the time with Play Rough and Aqua Jet. The choice of item is determined by the purpose you want Azumarill to fulfill: Lum Berry is a technical option that allows Azumarill to get the jump on Pokemon like Breloom and Sableye, which otherwise threaten it with their status moves, while Assault Vest boosts Special Defense and grants Azumarill the ability to check both of Charizard's Mega Evolutions - the Assault Vest allows Azumarill to comfortably survive Mega Charizard Y's Solar Beam and KO back with Waterfall followed by Aqua Jet. A third option that can be considered is Life Orb: the damage boost allows Azumarill to do upwards of 90% to Life Orb Blaziken with Aqua Jet and makes Azumarill harder to switch into overall; however, it loses out on a lot of its bulk thanks to the recoil and makes moves such as Toxic, Will-O-Wisp, and Scald much more of a concern for Azumarill.
Usage Tips
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This variant of Azumarill is geared less towards sweeping and extreme power and more towards being a reliable switch-in to attacks aimed at Azumarill's teammates. This means that this variant of Azumarill isn't quite as reliant on support from it's teammates as other variants are; the all out attacker set should therefore be used as a bulky pivot and hole-puncher, switching in on resisted attacks and getting immediate damage off with its moves. This set is similar to the Belly Drum set in that it has a positive matchup against Dragon-, Dark- and Fire-types like Hydreigon, Tyranitar, Heatran and Mega Charizard X, but takes a more immediate approach to attacking: while the Belly Drum build sets up on a Pokemon it threatens and then attempts to take out the switch-in with a +6 attack, the all out attacker simply fires off an attack into the switch-in and then responds accordingly. For this reason, this set isn't as scared of Pokemon like Zapdos and Ferrothorn, as it can damage them on the switch-in and then respond by either switching into a teammate to take an incoming attack or attacking again, depending on how much prior damage they've taken.
Team Options
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While this Azumarill set is quite resilient, it still suffers from a few issues inherent in physical Water-type attackers: Grass-types, priority abuse, physical tanks, and Electric-types still give it a hard time. However, all-out attacker Azumarill makes for a more reliable switch-in, so it can support it's teammates as well. Landorus-T, Zapdos, Garchomp, Thundurus, Mega Manectric, Raikou, Aegislash, and Heatran are all solid Pokemon that complement Azumarill's weaknesses and that can get strong hits off on the things that beat it, while Azumarill can do the same in kind.
Choice Band
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name: Choice Band
move 1: Aqua Jet
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Play Rough
move 4: Knock Off / Superpower
ability: Huge Power
item: Choice Band
evs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpD / 4 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
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Aqua Jet is Azumarill's priority STAB attack and its main revenge killing tool; Waterfall doesn't benefit from increased priority like Aqua Jet does, but it is a much more powerful attack; Play Rough has stellar coverage with Azumarill's Water-type move and is the hardest-hitting attack on the set; Knock Off removes the items of Pokémon like Porygon2; and Superpower allows Azumarill to hit Kangaskhan, Ferrothorn and Mega Aggron for super-effective damage.
Set Details
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Huge Power is mandatory on a physical attacker, set as it doubles Azumarill's otherwise mediocre base 50 attack stat, making Azumarill into a formidable threat, especially when equipped with a Choice Band, which adds a further multiplier of 1.5x, making Azumarill's attacks monstrously strong. With this level of power, there's no reason not to max out Attack; otherwise, you can adjust Azumarill's HP and Speed investment depending on what you want to creep, but the hit-and-run nature of the set makes maxing out bulk the most practical choice. Therefore, running 228 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpD / 4 Spe is your safest bet, as it maximises Azumarill's bulk while still maintaining the maximum possible power. Other options include a 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Spe spread which grants Azumarill another point of Speed, giving you more assurance against other base 50s that may be trying to Speed creep. 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe is another spread to consider for outpacing uninvested base 65 Pokemon such as bulky Scizor.
Usage Tips
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Choice Band Azumarill works rather differently to the All-Out Attacker despite being almost identical in every way other than the item choice; it trades the flexibility of a defensive item for the immediate strength of a Choice Band. The biggest draw of the Choice Band set is the ability to switch in and do immediate damage with a very powerful Aqua Jet, which can 2HKO many of the targets hit neutrally in the format and can OHKO some frailer threats such as Mega Blaziken. On top of that, Azumarill's Play Rough is incredibly hard to switch into when boosted by a Choice Band. With great power, however, comes great responsibility; the move-locking side-effect of the Choice Band places much more emphasis on predicting correctly, as it is very easy to force Azumarill out if the opponent does have a switch-in for it's moves (such as Ferrothorn or Zapdos). Be sure to take advantage of Azumarill's typing and natural bulk to bring it in on things that cannot threaten it (such as Hydreigon or Blaziken) and use the free turn to damage the switch-in with a powerful STAB Waterfall or Play Rough.
Team Options
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Choice Band Azumarill needs to switch in and out a lot, but it lacks recovery; while it can switch in on a hit and tank it well, it can't do so repeatedly. For this reason, it's a good idea to bring some methods of getting Azumarill safely onto the field with minimal damage. Pokemon that bait attacks that Azumarill doesn't mind taking are useful here; for example, Salamence can lure in Dragon-type moves or weak Rock-type coverage from Garchomp and switch to Azumarill, which can shrug off either option easily. U-turn, Volt Switch, and Baton Pass are also good for getting Azumarill safely onto the field when used by slow, bulky Pokemon such as Scizor, Sylveon, and Rotom-W. As with the Belly Drum set, Choice Band Azumarill really appreciates the support of Mega Gengar, as it can trap problematic Pokemon such as Cresselia, Ferrothorn, and Zapdos and remove them so that they can't switch in on Azumarill and force it out. Likewise, Azumarill deals with Dark-type attackers for Gengar.
Other Options
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Azumarill can use its other two abilities, Sap Sipper and Thick Fat, in a defensive set with moves like Scald, Toxic, Encore, and Perish Song. However, while these Azumarill variants are quite effective at catching people off-guard, they have no recovery and are often too passive to have any lasting impact on a battle. On top of that, Encore is incompatible with Aqua Jet, so it cannot find a place on an offensive set. Bounce is an interesting option that Azumarill can use in the fourth slot of the Belly Drum or all-out attacker set as a way of getting past Mega Venusaur, but Venusaur is very uncommon nowadays and Bounce leaves Azumarill vulnerable to more common answers such as Ferrothorn and Porygon2. It's usually better just to leave Venusaur to a teammate like Talonflame.
Checks & Counters
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**Grass-types**: Grass-types such as Mega Venusaur, Ferrothorn, and Breloom can give Azumarill some trouble thanks to their resistance to Aqua Jet, generally superior Speed, and super effective STAB moves. Grass / Poison types are capable of hard-walling Azumarill, as none of its common attacks hit any better than neutrally.
**Electric-types**: Electric-types such as Rotom-W, Zapdos, Mega Manectric, and Magnezone are all capable of taking an Aqua Jet at full health and dispatching Azumarill with their STAB Electric-type moves. However, they are less effective against Belly Drum variants due to the lack of a resistance to Water (aside from Rotom-W), meaning that a +6 Aqua Jet does a lot of damage to them.
**Water-types**: Most of the Water-types give Azumarill issues due to their good physical bulk and resistance to Aqua Jet; bulky Water-types such as opposing Azumarill, Suicune, Mega Slowbro, and Rotom-W can tank Azumarill's hits comfortably and threaten it with a burn from Scald or Will-O-Wisp, whereas the most popular offensive Water-type, Greninja, can survive even a +6 Aqua Jet (if it hasn't changed type via Protean) and OHKO Azumarill comfortably with Life Orb Gunk Shot or Grass Knot.
**Faster Priority**: While Azumarill's strong defensive typing gives it resistances to most common priority moves such as Ice Shard, Sucker Punch, Aqua Jet, and Mach Punch, powerful priority users like Talonflame and Mega Lucario can outspeed Azumarill's Aqua Jet and finish it off, cutting its sweep short. All-out attacker variants are less worried about these Pokemon than Belly Drum variants are, but they are still capable of doing significant damage to Azumarill.
**Rocky Helmet**: As all of Azumarill's commonly used attacks are contact moves, Pokemon like Cresselia, Porygon2, Slowbro, Suicune, Zapdos, and Ferrothorn, all of which commonly hold Rocky Helmet, are very effective for repeatedly taking Azumarill's hits and essentially causing it to deplete its own HP with passive damage. Knock Off Azumarill is capable of stopping this before it gets too problematic; however, many of these Pokemon are still capable of crippling or damaging Azumarill outside of their item with moves like Scald, Thunder Wave, Power Whip, and Thunderbolt.
**Faster Bulky Attackers**: Azumarill is easily overwhelmed by powerful neutral attacks such as Mega Kangaskhan's Double-Edge, Scizor's Bullet Punch, and Mega Salamence's Double-Edge, especially when it can't do enough damage to overcome the situation with Aqua Jet.
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