Taking this over Bad Ass, who wrote this up, and Flashrider57, who got this through QC.
STAMPS
Quality Control: 2/2:
(Bluewind)
(uragg)
Grammar Prose: 2/2:
(Floglemi)
(Zystral)
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http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/carnivine
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[Overview]
<p>Carnivine is an odd Grass-type, sporting some good base attacking stats, some weaker defensive stats, a horrible Speed, and Levitate, which is what really separates Carnivine from its Grass-type brethren. While almost completely outclassed by other Grass-types, Carnivine does have a niche in its Swords Dance set which, while almost always inferior to Leafeon or Venusaur, can work with Levitate. Levitate makes Carnivine completely immune to Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Earthquake, allowing it some unique opportunities to set up a Swords Dance, such as on a Choice Rhyperior's Earthquake (something Venusaur could only ever dream of doing). In short, Carnivine has a niche, but is usually harshly outclassed.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Power Whip
move 3: Return / Substitute
move 4: Sleep Powder / Synthesis
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set takes advantage of Carnivine's best stat, its Attack, and boosts it with Swords Dance before attempting a sweep. Levitate gives Carnivine a unique immunity to Toxic Spikes and Spikes, which when combined with the Ground immunity that Carnivine is afforded, allows it to take hits, conserve more health, and afford more opportunities for it to set up a Swords Dance. Sleep Powder can potentially remove one of Carnivine's counters from the match, which can mean a sweep or a key threat eliminated.</p>
<p>Power Whip is Carnivine's main STAB attack, having an effective Base Power of 180 after the STAB boost, and it will be hitting like a truck even without a Swords Dance. Return is a powerful coverage move, and garners good coverage alongside Power Whip, denting Pokemon like Arcanine, Leafeon, Scyther, and Swellow hard before attempting a sweep. A mono-attacker approach can be attempted with Substitute and Leftovers over Return and Life Orb, but it is not encouraged as mono-Grass is walled by quite a few of the top UU Pokemon, and without Swords Dance or Life Orb, Carnivine will not be hitting nearly as hard as it needs to be.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>As it stands, Carnivine outspeeds standard Milotic and can OHKO it with a boosted Power Whip, or 2HKO with an unboosted one. An option for using Carnivine in a Trick Room team is to remove all Speed EVs, place them in HP, and run a Relaxed nature to become as slow as possible. Carnivine is not recommended on a dedicated Trick Room team, though, since after a Sleep Powder and a Swords Dance, it only gets one turn to use an attack. Synthesis is another option to use in the last slot to give Carnivine a means of easy recovery. On the other hand, Stun Spore can paralyze common switch-ins, such as Venusaur, Mismagius, Scyther, and Swellow (before its Orb activates). Once they are paralyzed, Carnivine can come in later in the game, Swords Dance, and sweep through the paralyzed Pokemon. Sleep Powder is generally superior, however, as it can completely remove a counter from the game.</p>
<p>Carnivine, like all offensive Pokemon, enjoys entry hazards to help gain KOs and do more overall damage to the opposing team. Omastar is a notable teammate because it can easily come in on the Fire-types, such as Arcanine, that plague Carnivine and set up any one of the three entry hazards. Rhyperior can also deal with Fire-types, while also being able to handle Bug-types, due to its natural physical bulk, and Flying-types, due to a resistance. In addition, Rhyperior can easily switch into Registeel, a common Carnivine counter, and set up Stealth Rock to aid in Carnivine's sweep. Most Water-types can sponge the Fire Blasts and Flamethrowers that are sure to be thrown at Carnivine.</p>
<p>Offensively, Fire-types are an excellent complement to Carnivine. Arcanine can get a free Flash Fire boost on many Fire-types and draws out Pokemon like Milotic, who can be easily set up on by Carnivine. Arcanine also easily handles any Steel-types and can lure out and KO Pokemon such as Moltres with a Flash Fire-boosted Flare Blitz. Slowking is also a great partner offensively, as it can switch into Fire-types and set up Trick Room to remedy Carnivine's low Speed. It can also lure out Grass- and Electric-types for Carnivine to set up on.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>While Carnivine's defenses are not top-notch, access to Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, Knock Off, and reliable healing in Synthesis means that Carnivine can viably run a support set. Leech Seed can also be used to slowly sap health from opponents, an especially deadly strategy when combined with entry hazards. Although Carnivine can utilize Growth along with its base 90 Special Attack, it is not recommended as Carnivine has a bad special movepool and a lack of power compared to Swords Dance. Crunch can be used over Return on the Swords Dance set to hit Ghost-types more reliably, but Return overshadows it due to its higher Base Power and better coverage when combined with Power Whip. Stockpile can raise Carnivine's defenses, but the prevalence of moves like Sludge Bomb and Flare Blitz, combined with Carnivine's less-than-stellar defenses remove most of its viability. Finally, Gastro Acid and Worry Seed can render opposing Pokemon who rely on an ability near-useless, such as Swellow (though Brave Bird will still do a number on Carnivine).</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Carnivine is easily countered by most Fire-types. Moltres and Arcanine are prime choices due to their bulk and reliable healing. Moltres, however, will have to be careful about switching in too often if Stealth Rock is on the field. Houndoom and Blaziken can also reliably check Carnivine, but their lack of bulk and reliable recovery make them less-than-desirable. Most Flying-types are extremely dangerous offensively, and afford themselves a free switch on Carnivine's STAB attacks. Swellow and Scyther especially can come in on Power Whip and wreak havoc with STAB Facade and U-turn, respectively. Once again, they are rather frail, so they should make sure that Stealth Rock is off the field and that they are not switching into Return. Bulky Grass-types such as Venusaur, Tangrowth, and Leafeon can easily take any of Carnivine's attacks, heal off the damage, and retaliate. Registeel resists almost everything Carnivine can possibly throw at it, but doesn't appreciate Sleep Powder.</p>
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Credits
STAMPS
Quality Control: 2/2:
Grammar Prose: 2/2:
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http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/carnivine
======
[Overview]
<p>Carnivine is an odd Grass-type, sporting some good base attacking stats, some weaker defensive stats, a horrible Speed, and Levitate, which is what really separates Carnivine from its Grass-type brethren. While almost completely outclassed by other Grass-types, Carnivine does have a niche in its Swords Dance set which, while almost always inferior to Leafeon or Venusaur, can work with Levitate. Levitate makes Carnivine completely immune to Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Earthquake, allowing it some unique opportunities to set up a Swords Dance, such as on a Choice Rhyperior's Earthquake (something Venusaur could only ever dream of doing). In short, Carnivine has a niche, but is usually harshly outclassed.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Power Whip
move 3: Return / Substitute
move 4: Sleep Powder / Synthesis
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set takes advantage of Carnivine's best stat, its Attack, and boosts it with Swords Dance before attempting a sweep. Levitate gives Carnivine a unique immunity to Toxic Spikes and Spikes, which when combined with the Ground immunity that Carnivine is afforded, allows it to take hits, conserve more health, and afford more opportunities for it to set up a Swords Dance. Sleep Powder can potentially remove one of Carnivine's counters from the match, which can mean a sweep or a key threat eliminated.</p>
<p>Power Whip is Carnivine's main STAB attack, having an effective Base Power of 180 after the STAB boost, and it will be hitting like a truck even without a Swords Dance. Return is a powerful coverage move, and garners good coverage alongside Power Whip, denting Pokemon like Arcanine, Leafeon, Scyther, and Swellow hard before attempting a sweep. A mono-attacker approach can be attempted with Substitute and Leftovers over Return and Life Orb, but it is not encouraged as mono-Grass is walled by quite a few of the top UU Pokemon, and without Swords Dance or Life Orb, Carnivine will not be hitting nearly as hard as it needs to be.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>As it stands, Carnivine outspeeds standard Milotic and can OHKO it with a boosted Power Whip, or 2HKO with an unboosted one. An option for using Carnivine in a Trick Room team is to remove all Speed EVs, place them in HP, and run a Relaxed nature to become as slow as possible. Carnivine is not recommended on a dedicated Trick Room team, though, since after a Sleep Powder and a Swords Dance, it only gets one turn to use an attack. Synthesis is another option to use in the last slot to give Carnivine a means of easy recovery. On the other hand, Stun Spore can paralyze common switch-ins, such as Venusaur, Mismagius, Scyther, and Swellow (before its Orb activates). Once they are paralyzed, Carnivine can come in later in the game, Swords Dance, and sweep through the paralyzed Pokemon. Sleep Powder is generally superior, however, as it can completely remove a counter from the game.</p>
<p>Carnivine, like all offensive Pokemon, enjoys entry hazards to help gain KOs and do more overall damage to the opposing team. Omastar is a notable teammate because it can easily come in on the Fire-types, such as Arcanine, that plague Carnivine and set up any one of the three entry hazards. Rhyperior can also deal with Fire-types, while also being able to handle Bug-types, due to its natural physical bulk, and Flying-types, due to a resistance. In addition, Rhyperior can easily switch into Registeel, a common Carnivine counter, and set up Stealth Rock to aid in Carnivine's sweep. Most Water-types can sponge the Fire Blasts and Flamethrowers that are sure to be thrown at Carnivine.</p>
<p>Offensively, Fire-types are an excellent complement to Carnivine. Arcanine can get a free Flash Fire boost on many Fire-types and draws out Pokemon like Milotic, who can be easily set up on by Carnivine. Arcanine also easily handles any Steel-types and can lure out and KO Pokemon such as Moltres with a Flash Fire-boosted Flare Blitz. Slowking is also a great partner offensively, as it can switch into Fire-types and set up Trick Room to remedy Carnivine's low Speed. It can also lure out Grass- and Electric-types for Carnivine to set up on.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>While Carnivine's defenses are not top-notch, access to Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, Knock Off, and reliable healing in Synthesis means that Carnivine can viably run a support set. Leech Seed can also be used to slowly sap health from opponents, an especially deadly strategy when combined with entry hazards. Although Carnivine can utilize Growth along with its base 90 Special Attack, it is not recommended as Carnivine has a bad special movepool and a lack of power compared to Swords Dance. Crunch can be used over Return on the Swords Dance set to hit Ghost-types more reliably, but Return overshadows it due to its higher Base Power and better coverage when combined with Power Whip. Stockpile can raise Carnivine's defenses, but the prevalence of moves like Sludge Bomb and Flare Blitz, combined with Carnivine's less-than-stellar defenses remove most of its viability. Finally, Gastro Acid and Worry Seed can render opposing Pokemon who rely on an ability near-useless, such as Swellow (though Brave Bird will still do a number on Carnivine).</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Carnivine is easily countered by most Fire-types. Moltres and Arcanine are prime choices due to their bulk and reliable healing. Moltres, however, will have to be careful about switching in too often if Stealth Rock is on the field. Houndoom and Blaziken can also reliably check Carnivine, but their lack of bulk and reliable recovery make them less-than-desirable. Most Flying-types are extremely dangerous offensively, and afford themselves a free switch on Carnivine's STAB attacks. Swellow and Scyther especially can come in on Power Whip and wreak havoc with STAB Facade and U-turn, respectively. Once again, they are rather frail, so they should make sure that Stealth Rock is off the field and that they are not switching into Return. Bulky Grass-types such as Venusaur, Tangrowth, and Leafeon can easily take any of Carnivine's attacks, heal off the damage, and retaliate. Registeel resists almost everything Carnivine can possibly throw at it, but doesn't appreciate Sleep Powder.</p>
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Credits
- QC Period - Flashrider57
- Write-up - Bad Ass
- GP Check 1 - Flora / Oglemi
- GP Check 1.5 - Aeron Ee1 <- doesn't actually count T_T
- GP Check 2 - Zystral