Huntail
[Overview]
<p>While one may look at Huntail's positive stats—104 base Attack, 105 base Defense, and 94 base Special Attack—one must also observe its meager 55 base HP, 52 base Speed, and average 75 base Special Defense. On top of this, Gorebyss overshadows it almost entirely as a sweeper with better Special Attack. However, Huntail does have one merit in its superior mixed offensive stats. Thanks to its 94 base Special Attack, it can utilize Ice Beam, which covers its Grass-type weakness and allows it to hit physical walls that would otherwise end a sweep.</p>
[SET]
name: Mixed Shell Smash
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Crunch / Return
item: White Herb / Life Orb
ability: Water Veil
nature: Lonely / Naughty
evs: 252 Atk / 36 SpA / 222 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Once Huntail sets up a Shell Smash, it turns into a powerful sweeper. At +2, Huntail hits 674 attack, turning it into a formidable threat when coupled with STAB Waterfall. Crunch and Return are for coverage, both sporting decent advantages. Crunch can hit Pokemon such as Claydol, Cofagrigus, and Dusknoir for super effective damage, but Return is more powerful and has better coverage, hitting Pokemon such as Poliwrath neutrally. Ice Beam is meant to KO Tangrowth and Ferroseed, who would otherwise wall Huntail, harder than its other options, in addition to Tangela, whose sturdy defense allows it to survive Crunch or Return. Even though it's powerful and has decent coverage, Huntail still struggles with its poor Speed. At +2 Speed and a Naughty nature, Huntail is still outsped by many Choice Scarf revenge killers, such as Jolly Archeops, who almost always OHKOs it. It is also outsped by non-Choice Scarf positively natured base 130s or higher, such as Accelgor. This can be fixed, however, by giving Huntail a Naive nature, but this hurts its attacking capabilities.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The recommended item for this set depends on which nature Huntail has. If it has a Naughty nature, a White Herb is more useful to negate the defense drops, letting Huntail take attacks better. If you choose a Naive nature for Huntail, it is recommended to go with a Life Orb to mitigate loss of attack, but this is risky as Huntail will most likely take damage when on the turn it uses Shell Smash, and the recoil makes Huntail's survivability drop. Huntail holds two excellent abilities in Swift Swim and Water Veil. Water Veil prevents Huntail from being burned and therefore makes it harder to cripple, and Swift Swim remedies Huntail's poor speed. Huntail also appreciates the boosted damage Waterfall dishes out in the rain. Some good partners to help set up rain are Gorebyss, Electrode, (although it is mostly deemed suitable for NU) or Claydol.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Huntail has few other options outside of those listed. If it fears revenge killers, you can give it Sucker Punch over Crunch or Return, but it then is much more easily beat by walls. It also does little good against Honchrow, a powerful user of priority who also resists the attack. If you want to maximize Huntail's Speed, you can trade out Ice Beam for Bounce; however, even though it's super effective, Tangrowth easily walls it. It does, however, provide a chance to paralyze the foe, which is useful considering its speed issues. It also forces switches, which helps if you have hazards on the field. If paralyzing Pokemon is what you seek, you can trade Return or Crunch for Body Slam, but Body Slam is weaker than Return and lacks the super effective potential of Crunch.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>If Huntail lacks Water Veil, a burn can easily cripple Huntail. If Huntail isn't burned, it can also be crippled by paralysis, from moves such as Thunder Wave, which reduces Huntail's already poor speed to exceedingly low levels. Strong special attackers such as Accelgor can also beat Huntail with their powerful special attacks. Because of Huntail's poor Speed, it is easily revenge killed even at +2 by means of faster Pokemon or priority attacks. Huntail hates revenge killers and priority users, such as Honchrow and Archeops, especially if it lacks a White Herb. Finally, without Ice Beam, Huntail gets walled by the likes of bulky physical Pokemon such as Tangrowth and Ferroseed.</p>
[Overview]
<p>While one may look at Huntail's positive stats—104 base Attack, 105 base Defense, and 94 base Special Attack—one must also observe its meager 55 base HP, 52 base Speed, and average 75 base Special Defense. On top of this, Gorebyss overshadows it almost entirely as a sweeper with better Special Attack. However, Huntail does have one merit in its superior mixed offensive stats. Thanks to its 94 base Special Attack, it can utilize Ice Beam, which covers its Grass-type weakness and allows it to hit physical walls that would otherwise end a sweep.</p>
[SET]
name: Mixed Shell Smash
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Crunch / Return
item: White Herb / Life Orb
ability: Water Veil
nature: Lonely / Naughty
evs: 252 Atk / 36 SpA / 222 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Once Huntail sets up a Shell Smash, it turns into a powerful sweeper. At +2, Huntail hits 674 attack, turning it into a formidable threat when coupled with STAB Waterfall. Crunch and Return are for coverage, both sporting decent advantages. Crunch can hit Pokemon such as Claydol, Cofagrigus, and Dusknoir for super effective damage, but Return is more powerful and has better coverage, hitting Pokemon such as Poliwrath neutrally. Ice Beam is meant to KO Tangrowth and Ferroseed, who would otherwise wall Huntail, harder than its other options, in addition to Tangela, whose sturdy defense allows it to survive Crunch or Return. Even though it's powerful and has decent coverage, Huntail still struggles with its poor Speed. At +2 Speed and a Naughty nature, Huntail is still outsped by many Choice Scarf revenge killers, such as Jolly Archeops, who almost always OHKOs it. It is also outsped by non-Choice Scarf positively natured base 130s or higher, such as Accelgor. This can be fixed, however, by giving Huntail a Naive nature, but this hurts its attacking capabilities.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The recommended item for this set depends on which nature Huntail has. If it has a Naughty nature, a White Herb is more useful to negate the defense drops, letting Huntail take attacks better. If you choose a Naive nature for Huntail, it is recommended to go with a Life Orb to mitigate loss of attack, but this is risky as Huntail will most likely take damage when on the turn it uses Shell Smash, and the recoil makes Huntail's survivability drop. Huntail holds two excellent abilities in Swift Swim and Water Veil. Water Veil prevents Huntail from being burned and therefore makes it harder to cripple, and Swift Swim remedies Huntail's poor speed. Huntail also appreciates the boosted damage Waterfall dishes out in the rain. Some good partners to help set up rain are Gorebyss, Electrode, (although it is mostly deemed suitable for NU) or Claydol.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Huntail has few other options outside of those listed. If it fears revenge killers, you can give it Sucker Punch over Crunch or Return, but it then is much more easily beat by walls. It also does little good against Honchrow, a powerful user of priority who also resists the attack. If you want to maximize Huntail's Speed, you can trade out Ice Beam for Bounce; however, even though it's super effective, Tangrowth easily walls it. It does, however, provide a chance to paralyze the foe, which is useful considering its speed issues. It also forces switches, which helps if you have hazards on the field. If paralyzing Pokemon is what you seek, you can trade Return or Crunch for Body Slam, but Body Slam is weaker than Return and lacks the super effective potential of Crunch.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>If Huntail lacks Water Veil, a burn can easily cripple Huntail. If Huntail isn't burned, it can also be crippled by paralysis, from moves such as Thunder Wave, which reduces Huntail's already poor speed to exceedingly low levels. Strong special attackers such as Accelgor can also beat Huntail with their powerful special attacks. Because of Huntail's poor Speed, it is easily revenge killed even at +2 by means of faster Pokemon or priority attacks. Huntail hates revenge killers and priority users, such as Honchrow and Archeops, especially if it lacks a White Herb. Finally, without Ice Beam, Huntail gets walled by the likes of bulky physical Pokemon such as Tangrowth and Ferroseed.</p>
