Floatzel @ Flame Orb
Ability: Water Veil
EV's: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -Sp. Atk) or Jolly Nature (+Spe, -Sp. Atk)
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch / Crunch / Brick Break
- Switcheroo
- Taunt
Lead Type: Mixed Lead
What it does: Stops Stealth Rock and cripples anyone that it gives its item to, especially if they're a physical attacker. Also has enough power and speed to pack a punch with its STAB Waterfall, ensuring that it doesn't go down without a fight.
Why it is good: Floatzel is fast. Really fast. Faster than most Pokemon in NU, and certainly faster than every Stealth Rock user in the Tier. What people don't realize is that it's also deceptively strong, capable of taking down many lead Pokemon given the opportunity. With Floatzel at the head of your team, you can ensure that Stealth Rocks will not be set up on your side of the field for the first turn, and anything that switches into him is either going to take a huge fall by losing its item for a Flame Orb or getting a huge chunk of health taken off by its surprisingly hard hitting attacks. Many people don't expect a Flame Orb / Switcheroo set, so the surprise factor is really great here, and you can bet that a lot of the people you take by surprise will be really angry. Very fun lead, very effective in the right hands.
What counters it: Regirock. Regirock can take any hit from Floatzel and cripple it with a Stone Edge, however, it won't be left unscathed (pun not intended) as it will usually have a Flame Orb switched onto it. Anything with Water Veil can usually tank all of Floatzel's hits, isn't really bothered by a Flame Orb, and take it out either by withering away at its HP slowly, or stalling it out with Toxic damage. Special attackers that resist Floatzel's moves are also good counters, capable of taking hits well and not having as severe a drawback from taking a Flame Orb. Amoongus works well here, as even an Ice Punch from Floazel isn't really that much of a problem for it.