Poliwrath (WRITTEN) (GP 2/2)

Poliwrath

[Overview]
<p>Poliwrath's Water/Fighting typing is unique,which gives it resistances to many common offensive types such as Rock, Water, and Dark. This, combined with Poliwrath's well-balanced stats, makes it one of the bulkiest Fighting-types in the tier, and enables it to counter physical threats such as Sharpedo, Crawdaunt, and Kabutops. Poliwrath also gained a new tool in the 5th generation: Circle Throw, a STAB phazing move that allows Poliwrath to shuffle the opposing team while dealing solid damage. Water Absorb grants Poliwrath the ability to switch into Scald without consequence. Although Poliwrath is not deficient in any stat, it isn't exceptional in any stat either; it won't hit extremely hard or fast, or take a gigantic number of hits. Despite this, Poliwrath still has a solid niche in RU and it is most likely here to stay.</p>

[SET]
name: SubPunch
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Waterfall
move 4: Encore / Bulk Up / Toxic
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Nature: Adamant
evs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This set takes advantage of Poliwrath's resistances, usable Speed, and the ability to switch in on many Pokemon and set up a Substitute. Substitute shields Poliwrath from crippling status such as burn or poison, while allowing it to fire off powerful STAB Focus Punches. Even though Poliwrath has a mediocre 85 base Attack, Focus Punch still hits for excellent damage. Waterfall serves as Poliwrath's secondary STAB, and it also gives Poliwrath an attack option while it does not have a Substitute up. The final slot allows Poliwrath to utilize one of its support moves. Encore is the most useful, allowing Poliwrath to lock an opposing Pokemon into a stat up or support move. This gives Poliwrath more opportunities to set up, and also foils Pokemon from setting up on it. Bulk Up, on the other hand, allows Poliwrath to increase its Attack and Defense, which, in turn, makes its Substitutes harder to break, and makes Waterfall and Focus Punch hit harder. Finally, Toxic allows Poliwrath to cripple Pokemon such as Tangrowth that would be unfazed by any of Poliwrath's other options. The EVs for this set allow Poliwrath to outspeed minimum Speed Gligar and proceed to set up a Substitute to block Toxic, and use Encore when it Roosts.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Rock Slide or Ice Punch can be used over Waterfall for superior coverage with Focus Punch; however, it lacks power without STAB. Even with Ice Punch or Rock Slide, Poliwrath is countered by bulky Grass-types such as Tangrowth, as well as Pokemon that can take a Focus Punch and phaze Poliwrath out, such as Slowking. Slowking can also hit Poliwrath for super effective damage should it carry Psychic or Psyshock. Fire-types such as Moltres make good teammates, as they can easily switch into Grass-types and eliminate them; in return, Poliwrath resists Rock and is immune to Water. Galvantula is another good partner for Poliwrath; Galvantula resists Grass and Electric while threatening Slowking and other Water- and Psychic-types. Poliwrath returns the favor by easily switching into Fire- and Rock-type attacks, as well as beating the Ground-types that Galvantula has difficulty against. Since this set forces a lot of switches with Encore and its resistances, it appreciates teammates that can lay entry hazards. Crustle synergizes well with Poliwrath, threatening Psychic-types with its Bug-type STAB and setting up Stealth Rock and Spikes; in return, Poliwrath resists the Water- and Rock-type attacks that plague Crustle.</p>

[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Rest
move 2: Sleep Talk
move 3: Circle Throw
move 4: Waterfall / Toxic
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>By running a set with Rest and Sleep Talk, Poliwrath can overcome its lack of recovery outside of Water Absorb and become an effective physical wall, easily countering physical threats such as Sharpedo, Kabutops, and Crawdaunt. A max Attack Life Orb Earthquake from Sharpedo is a 4HKO at best, while Poliwrath OHKOes with Circle Throw after Sharpedo takes Life Orb and Stealth Rock damage. This set functions as both a phazer and a status absorber; Circle Throw, a new tool Poliwrath gained with the advent of Black and White, allows Poliwrath to shuffle the opposing team, reset the opponent's stat boosts, and rack up residual damage. Poliwrath can also serve as a status absorber thanks to Rest and Sleep Talk. In the final slot, Waterfall allows Poliwrath to counter Fire-, Rock-, and Ground-type Pokemon, while Toxic somewhat alleviates Poliwrath's inability to hit Pokemon that either resist or are immune to its STABs. Bulk Up can also be run over Waterfall to make Poliwrath into a RestTalk booster, but Circle Throw is inadvisable as Poliwrath's only attack, because Ghost-types would completely wall Poliwrath.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>While this set is very bulky physically thanks to Poliwrath's typing and good defenses, Poliwrath will quickly run into trouble against special attackers, especially Grass- and Electric-typed ones. Rotom-C and Rotom-S in particular can switch in easily, as they each resist one of Poliwrath's STAB moves, and force Poliwrath out. Moltres is again a great partner for Poliwrath; while they share an Electric weakness, Moltres easily switches in and threatens out Grass-types. Snover also synergizes well with Poliwrath, as it resists Grass- and Electric-type moves, while Poliwrath takes Rock, Steel, Fire, and Bug moves for Snover. Snover's decent Special Defense also allows it to deal with the special attackers that Poliwrath has trouble defeating. With this set, Poliwrath can force a lot of switches by using Circle Throw. Consequently, entry hazards are extremely beneficial. Ferroseed is an excellent partner for Poliwrath; it can easily switch in on Grass-, Electric-, and Psychic-typed moves and set up Stealth Rock or Spikes. Poliwrath, in return, resists any Fire-type moves aimed at Ferroseed and can phaze Pokemon that attempt to set up on the miniature durian.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>While the previous sets are Poliwrath's most viable options for RU, Poliwrath does have some other tricks in its movepool. Poliwrath can use Belly Drum to quadruple its Attack in one turn; however, Belly Drum is extremely difficult to set up, and makes Poliwrath easily revenge killed. Hypnosis allows Poliwrath to incapacitate would-be counters, but has unreliable accuracy. Poliwrath also gets Swift Swim from the Dream World, which helps it bypass its mediocre Speed under rain. However, Kabutops and Ludicolo are far better sweepers on a rain team.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Tangrowth doesn't care about anything Poliwrath can do except Toxic. In general, any bulky Pokemon that resists or takes neutral damage from Poliwrath's attacks will be able to defeat it. Ghosts, such as Dusknoir and Rotom, can burn Poliwrath, as can Weezing; however, they will be hard pressed to do so if Poliwrath has a Substitute up, and RestTalk variants of Poliwrath are indifferent to burns. Slowking deserves a special mention as a counter, as it resists Poliwrath's STAB and threatens to KO with Psychic or Psyshock. Qwilfish also resists Poliwrath's STAB and can easily set up Spikes or Toxic Spikes, and is not threatened by any of Poliwrath's options. Virtually every Grass- or Electric-typed Pokemon can cause Poliwrath issues, as long as the frailer Pokemon avoid a Focus Punch from the SubPunch variant.</p>

iirc Poliwrath has access to Swift Swim so that should probably get in somewhere

Some nitpicks, Cress and Dusclops are UU, Dusknoir is RU so that can replace it in the analysis

Amended, though I might want to drop a few speed points as Gligar isn't that important to Encore.
I already listed Swift Swim and I have _extensively_ tested it.
It's not very good at all, these are Poliwrath's best two sets.

Must've missed it, sorry about that. You probably should drop those speed points for some lower number, but I can't think of anything noteworthy to outspeed without investing fully : \

As per discussion with Nails and a short bit of introspection I've placed SubPunch in front, it's very effective and I like it more than RestTalk myself.
And Encoring Gliscor is pretty important to avoid Toxic so I'll leave that as is.
(thank you nails)

You may want to mention Qwilfish (especially physically bulky variants) in Checks/Counters. He resists his stab, is immune to Toxic, can Taunt/TWave you, and can set rain or Tspikes up on him with ease.

Edit: I suppose Tentacool should get a mention too, but with his lower physical bulk and lack of reliable recovery he is definitely not as reliable a check.

I suppose, but Qwilfish can't really touch Poliwrath at all if it's behind a substitute, lol

and tentacool isn't really doing anything to Poliwrath at all

Woodchuck said:

I suppose, but Qwilfish can't really touch Poliwrath at all if it's behind a substitute, lol

Click to expand...

Be careful with those super strong Qwilfish with bounce.

Didn't know Quwilfish learns that.

QC 3/3

written

In the checks & counters, Spiritomb is UU. I'd also mention Uxie as one of the counters to the SubPunch set, but it already passed QC & I'm not a qc member anyways.

Add
Remove
Comment

Woodchuck said:

Poliwrath

[Overview]
<p>Poliwrath's Water/Fighting typing is unique, resisting and resists many common types of attacks offensive types such as Rock, Water, and Dark. This, combined with Poliwrath's well-balanced stats, makes Poliwrath one of the bulkiest Fighting-types, being able to counter physical threats such as Sharpedo, Crawdaunt, and Kabutops. Poliwrath also gained a new tool in the 5th generation: Circle Throw, an a STAB phazing move that allows Poliwrath to shuffle the opposing team while dealing solid damage. Water Absorb grants Poliwrath the ability to switch into Scalds without consequence(period) another niche in being able to switch in on Scalds without fear of being burned. However, Poliwrath's evenly-spread status, while not giving it a large weakness in any area, are also its main flaw. Poliwrath is simply not exceptional in any area; although Poliwrath is not deficient in any stat, it isn't exceptional in any stat either(semicolon) it won't be hitting hit extremely hard or fast, or taking take a gigantic number of hits. Despite this, Poliwrath still has a solid niche in RU and it is most likely here to stay.</p>

[SET]
name: SubPunch
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Waterfall
move 4: Encore / Bulk Up / Toxic
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Nature: Adamant
evs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This set takes advantage of Poliwrath's resistances and usable speed to switch in on many Pokemon and set up a Substitute. Substitute shields Poliwrath from crippling status such as Burn or Toxic, while allowing it to fire off powerful STAB Focus Punches. Even off Poliwrath's mediocre 85 base Attack, Even though Poliwrath has mediocre 85 Base Attack(comma) Focus Punch still hits for excellent damage. Waterfall serves as Poliwrath's secondary STAB; it also gives Poliwrath an attack option to attack with while it does not have a Substitute up. The final slot allows Poliwrath to utilize one of its support moves. Encore is the most useful, allowing Poliwrath to lock an opposing Pokemon into a stat up or support move. This affords Poliwrath more setup opportunities and also foils Pokemon from setting up on it. Bulk Up, on the other hand, allows Poliwrath to increase its Attack and Defense, helping which help its Substitutes to survive physical blows better while making and make Waterfall and Focus Punch hit harder. Finally, Toxic allows Poliwrath to cripple Pokemon such as Tangrowth that would be unfazed by any of its Poliwrath's other options. The EVs for this set allow Poliwrath to outspeed minimum speed Gligar, setting and proceed to set up a Substitute to block Toxic or Encoring its Roosts.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Rock Slide or Ice Punch can be used over Waterfall for superior coverage with Focus Punch; however, it lacks power without STAB. Ice Punch is also an option but suffers from the same lack of power. Even with Ice Punch or Rock Slide, Poliwrath is countered by bulky Grass-types such as Tangrowth, as well as Pokemon that can take a Focus Punch and phaze Poliwrath out, such as Slowking. Slowking can also hit Poliwrath super effectively for super effective damage should it be carrying carry Psychic or Psyshock. Fire-types such as Moltres make good teammates, as they can easily switch into Grass-types and eliminate them; in return, Poliwrath resists Rock and is immune to Water. Galvantula is another good partner for Poliwrath; Galvantula resists Grass and Electric while threatening out Slowking and other Water- and Psychic-types. Poliwrath helps Galvantula returns the favour by easily switching into Fire- and Rock-type attacks, as well as beating the Ground-types that Galvantula has difficulty against(period) hitting. technically Galvantula can hit them, just not very hard Since this set forces a lot of switches thanks to Encore and its resistances, it appreciates having teammates that can lay hazards. Crustle synergizes well with Poliwrath, threatening Psychic-types with its Bug-type STAB and setting up Stealth Rock and Spikes; in return, Poliwrath resists the Water- and Rock-type attacks that plague Crustle.</p>

[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Rest
move 2: Sleep Talk
move 3: Circle Throw
move 4: Waterfall / Toxic
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>By running a set with Rest and Sleep Talk, Poliwrath can overcome its lack of recovery outside of Water Absorb and become an effective physical wall, easily countering physical threats such as Sharpedo, Kabutops, and Crawdaunt. A max Attack Life Orb Earthquake from Sharpedo is a 4HKO at best, while Poliwrath OHKOes with Circle Throw after Sharpedo takes Life Orb and Stealth Rock damage. This set functions as both a phazer and a status absorber; Circle Throw, a new tool Poliwrath gained with the advent of Black and White(comma) the 5th generation, allows Poliwrath to shuffle the opposing team, resetting the opponent's stat boosts(comma) and racking up residual damage. Poliwrath can also serve as a status absorber for the team thanks to Rest and Sleep Talk. In the final slot, Waterfall allows Poliwrath to counter Fire-, Rock-, and Ground-typoed trololol, typo indeed :P Pokemon, while Toxic helps to somewhat alleviate alleviates Poliwrath's inability to hit Pokemon that either resist or are immune to its STABs. Bulk Up can also be run over Waterfall to make Poliwrath into a pseudo-Crocune RestTalk booster, but Circle Throw is inadvisable as Poliwrath's only attack(semicolon)(comma) because Ghost types would be able to completely wall Poliwrath.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>While this set is very bulky physically thanks to Poliwrath's typing and good defenses, Poliwrath will quickly run into trouble against special attackers, especially Grass- and Electric-typed ones. Rotom-C and Rotom-S in particular can easily switch in, resisting as they resist one of Poliwrath's STAB moves, and threaten force Poliwrath out. Moltres is again a great partner for Poliwrath; while they share an Electric weakness, Moltres easily switches in and threatens out Grass-types. Snover also synergizes well with Poliwrath, as it resists Poliwrath's weaknesses to Grass- and Electric-type moves, while Poliwrath resists Snover's weaknesses to takes Rock, Steel, Fire, and Bug moves for Snover. Snover's decent Special Defense also allows it to deal with the special attackers that Poliwrath has trouble defeating. With this set, Poliwrath can force a lot of switches by using Circle Throw. Consequently, entry hazards are extremely beneficial. Ferroseed is an excellent partner for Poliwrath; it can easily switch in on Grass-, Electric-, and Psychic-typed moves and set up Stealth Rock or Spikes. Poliwrath, in return, resists any Fire-type moves aimed at Ferroseed and can phaze Pokemon that attempt to set up on the miniature durian.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>While the previous sets are Poliwrath's most viable options for RU, Poliwrath does have some other tricks in its movepool. Poliwrath can use Belly Drum to quadruple its attack in one turn; however, it Belly Drum is extremely difficult to set up, and is easily revenge killed. Hypnosis allows Poliwrath to incapacitate would-be counters, but has unreliable accuracy. Poliwrath also gets Swift Swim in from the Dream World, helping which helps it to bypass its mediocre speed while under rain. However, Kabutops and Ludicolo are far better sweepers on a rain team.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Tangrowth doesn't care about anything Poliwrath can do except Toxic. In general, any bulky Pokemon that resists or takes neutral damage from Poliwrath's attacks will be able to defeat it. Ghosts(comma) such as like Dusknoir and Spiritomb can burn Poliwrath, as can Weezing; however, they will be hard pressed to do so if Poliwrath has a Substitute up, and RestTalk variants of Poliwrath are indifferent to burns. Slowking deserves a special mention as a counter, as it resists Poliwrath's STAB and threatens to KO with Psychic or Psyshock. Qwilfish also resists Poliwrath's STAB and can easily set up Spikes or Toxic Spikes, not being threatened and is not threatened by any of Poliwrath's options. Virtually every Grass- or Electric-typed Pokemon can cause Poliwrath issues, as long as the frailer Pokemon avoid a Focus Punch from the SubPunch variant.</p>

Click to expand...

Quick Note, either go with X-types or just X. For example, you would sometimes use "resist Electric-types" to begin a sentence, and finish with "resists Electric". Its just a consistency thing.

GP Approved (1/2)

implemented

2/2



Edit
Remove

DONE
two analyses in one day
i guess i'm on a roll, hooray

uploading :)