Ludicolo dance dance
qc'd: erisia, Steamroll, tennisace, DTC
gp'd:
[Overview]
- gurl look at that body
- dance champion of hoenn
- generally average stats, base 100 spD is the only thing that really stands out
- two excellent rain-centric abilities and great stab moves make it amazing in rain
- ludicrous coverage, too (thanks erisia)
- sadly we only have 70 / 90 attacking stats to work with, and swords dance as the only boosty move
- regardless, can shred through teams in rain (modest lo hydro pump 2hkoes every special wall in nu, can do crazy shit like ohko offensive cryogonal after SR)
- performs as an excellent check to rain teams too, only really beaten by swanna's hurricane (and seismitoad's sludge wave to a lesser extent, it cant switch in)
- 80 / 100 defenses are pretty good on that side, base 70 def holds it back a bit though
- one of our few legitimate "bulky Water-types", and the only other one is really Alomomola
- basically ludicolo is a staple of rain teams and balanced teams that want a solid rain counter
[SET]
name: Special Rain
move 1: Hydro Pump / Surf
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Rain Dance / Focus Blast
item: Life Orb
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Modest
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
- literally rips teams apart under rain, and even without
- also self-supporting, as it can set rain again on its own and has the bulk and typing to do so
- hpump devastates every wall in the game and can often clear the path for its fellow rainy teammates
- surf is more reliable but infinitely less powerful, makes ludi more of a lategame cleaner than a powerhouse
- giga for other stab, recovery
- ice beam fucks grass-types who resist ludi's stab moves
- rain dance allows ludi to keep rain up on its own and makes it more self-supporting
- focus blast..... is used to hit cryogonal and regice i guess, although hydro pump is more accurate and does more in rain. best to be used with surf, i guess
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
- pretty basic spread, 252+/252
- don't use timid, there's nothing important to outspeed beyond what you already do w/ modest; likewise don't invest in bulk because you really need the power
- damp rock / lefties could be used, life orb is infinitely better
- no other move options really, the listed moves give basically perfect coverage and you don't want to stray from them
- okay so teammates: rain setters (volbeat, gardevoir, probopass, whatever)
- obviously rain-abusing partners, like gorebyss, floatzel, seismitoad
- swanna gets special mention as it breaks through opposing bulky ludicolo, something that this fellow cannot do on his own
- hazards can push a few pkmn to the edge of ohkos and 2hkos, especially if you're running surf; cacturne, garbodor, etc
- really not sure what else to say, lol. basically you should really use this with a rain team
[SET]
name: Bulky Attacker
move 1: Scald
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Toxic / Ice Beam
move 4: Synthesis / Leech Seed
item: Leftovers
ability: Rain Dish
nature: Modest
evs: 252 HP / 152 SpA / 104 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
- best rain counter available in nu by far
- can tank even the strongest rain sweepers in rain (fun fact: it can even switch in on a Modest LO Gorebyss using Shell Smash, tank an Ice Beam (66.48 - 78.57%), and recover nearly all the damage with Giga Drain + Rain Dish + Leftovers)
- also notably is pretty much the only fullstop to opposing rain ludicolo (giga drain does 33.79 - 39.83% to this spread and takes LO recoil, while this spread does the same amount back and gets rain dish + lefties recovery)
- scald is for burnsies + stab
- giga drain for recovery and fucking up all da rain
- toxic is probably best here, since it's a reliable status spreader and that fucks up cryogonal who otherwise has a free switch
- ice beam can be used to hit grassers, dragons (altaria) who resist your stab moves though
- synthesis for reliable recovery, since this isn't meant to solely be used in rain it works out a-ok in general
- however if you are fearful of synthesis only recovering 33% or you like to take advantage of stuff like lickilicky, you can use leech seed (leech seeding that and switching out is really cool cos you get a ton of health back, also leech seed forces a lot of switches)
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
- spread is a solid mix of power and bulk, enough power to OHKO all non-neutral rain abusers and bulk enough to not even be 4HKOed by modest LO gorebyss in rain, counting lefties + rain dish
- could use surf/hydro pump over scald, mostly personal preference (notable: in rain, Hydro Pump has a 56.3% chance to OHKO standard Swanna after SR)
- speed evs could be used to try to tie standard samurott before it ohkoes you w/ megahorn but not worth detracting from its good bulk
- is essentially spinner bait, cannot do anything to cryogonal except toxic it (and tentacool too, although that's not seen at all)
- so carry a ghostie if you plan on using hazards
- also despises toxic spikes/status of its own, bring a poison-type or perhaps a heal beller (skuntank can pursuit cryogonal & pick up tspikes, miltank/lickilicky can heal bell and wish or whatever, vileplume can use both aromatherapy and pick up tspikes although they share a flying-type weak)
- while it handles rain really well, it needs a solid defensive core around it because it can't take much in the way of powerful neutral attacks (especially on the physical end). definitely worth considering physical walls + stuff to handle powerful sun sweepers like charizard (altaria?)
- mention more stuff to the extent of defensive cores, it shares good synergy with flareon, etc
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Seed Bomb
move 4: Ice Punch
item: Life Orb
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
- can dispose of several common rain checks/counters, including bulky ludicolo (+2 seed bomb can ohko after SR)
- generally very unexpected and can catch an opponent off-guard, especially after they dump their physical wall to a special sweeper earlier in the match
- however it's less common because base 70 attack is not exactly good, much better as a lategame sweeper w/ hazards up to ensure ohkoes
- sd for boosties
- waterfall is its strongest stab move in rain
- seed bomb is its second strongest stab move and provides good coverage
- ice punch gives you rly good coverage overall basically
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
- don't change the spread, ludicolo needs as much power as it can get. even after a boost it's still sorta lacking
- zen headbutt/drain punch give you neat coverage options although neither are super useful
- nature power; dodges absol's sucker punch and OHKOes it at +2
- needs external rain support (volbeat, drifblim, miltank?? idk give me some new rain setters to mention, maybe rotom-s since it can volt switch into ludi after setting rain)
- needs hazard support (yeah hazard setters, w/e)
- obviously use with rainy rain partners
- struggling to think of other things to mention so do tell me if you think of something!
[SET]
name: SubSeed
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Leech Seed
move 3: Toxic / Scald
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Leftovers
ability: Rain Dish
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
- subseed is subseed, pretty straightforward
- ludicolo is good at it because it has good bulk and great typing (neutrality to fire/ice)
- it's also generally very offensive so it can force something out and prop up a sub, easy
- also few common weaknesses
- sub for protextion of status
- leech seed for good recovery, gets insane recovery in rain although that only lasts eight turns or so
- toxic allows you to wear out pkmns
- scald can hit steel-types
- ice beam fucks grassers who could come in on leech seed
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
- could use rain dance on this set
- could also use swsw to be the fastest subseeder in nu, although it's not as good as rain dish at all
- forces switches, pairs well w/ hazards (although they are easily spun while ludi is still out)
- physically defensive spread!
- protect
- toxic spikes are really good, can prevent sub mons from coming in for free
- aromatherapy/heal bell support is good, because toxic means doom for ludi
- same with something to get rid of tspikes (poison-type, or a spinner)
[Other Options]
- haze
- resttalk
- teeter dance + own tempo
- fake out
- choice specs
- sunny day + solarbeam...... lol
[Checks and Counters]
- ludicolo counters the rain sweeper variant
- tangela beats the sd set even w/ ice punch (+2 ice punch only 3hkoes....)
- toxic spikes are very very good as they defeat all ludicolo sets and force it on an unwanted timer
- swanna ohkoes guaranteed w/ bb, ohkoes with hurricane w/ sr
- fast scarfers (cinccino, zebra) can outspeed it even in rain, although neither can outright OHKO it
- priority in absol, ohkoes after sr + lo
- much much much easier to deal with outside of rain
- outside of rain anything with a super-effective attack will do a ton (ie swellow, braviary, pinsir, etc)
- can't think of anything else
samurott will be up tomorrow or the day after!
