Seismitoad (Analysis)

[Chillarmy]

...

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<doduo> if that's the case
<doduo> then seismitoad deserves an ou analysis
<Lavos> seismitoad is actually good
<Lavos> lol
<doduo> oh wait
<doduo> you agree?
<Lavos> yeah
<doduo> anyone else?
<dodrio> no
<Lavos> defensive SR with scald
<dodrio> anything that gets set up on by ferro
<doduo> I'm willing to push this through QC
<dodrio> recieves hate
<Lavos> i keep confusing you two
<ginganinja> yea lol its pretty neat

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(jc104) (AccidentalGreed) (Lavos)
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(REJECTION!) (Kacaw!)
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Status: Writing this sexy babe up
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My apologies for the delay; technical issues greatly slowed down the progress of this analysis, as well as a many other things. Anyway, here's everyone's favorite wart cushion!


All hail the Seismitoad!

[Overview]



[SET]
name: All Hail The Seismitoad (Defensive)
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Scald
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Toxic / Ice Punch
item: Leftovers
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

Thanks to its handy immunities and passable defenses, a more passive set will utilize Seismitoad's potential most.

• The best you're ever going to be able to squeeze out of Seismitoad
• Still, Seismitoad does a pretty good job at what this moveset aims to do: function as a pivot for specific offensive threats -- usually backed up by Drizzle support -- and throwing a wrench in VoltTurn while also setting up Stealth Rock
• In addition to this, Seismitoad gets Scald, which is very useful in this metagame since everything hates burns
• STAB Earthquake is also very useful in checking CM Jirachi and Starmie while preventing stupid things like SubCM Keldeo from setting up on Seismitoad
• Toxic is definitely the best option to use in the fourth slot
• Seismitoad tends to lure in things like Latias, bulky Dragonite, Jellicent, Celebi, and many other sturdy Pokemon (it also checks Rotom-W very well); Toxic can greatly cripple said Pokemon, easily paving the way for a sweep from something like Keldeo
• Ice Punch is however, an usable if Seismitoad's team has a weakness to more offensive threats, such as Breloom, Dragonite, Latios, Garchomp, and Landorus

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

• Refresh and Hidden Power are neat alternatives to Toxic / Ice Punch, ridding Seismitoad of troublesome status on command and granting the toad with greater coverage, respectively
• 80 Def EVs prevent LO Starmie from ever 2HKOing with Psyshock after one layer of Spikes damage and Leftovers have been accounted for; this prevents balanced rain (Natt + Starmie in this case) from running a train all over Seismitoad
• 32 Def EVs prevent the same Starmie from 2HKOing with Psyshock after damage from Stealth Rock and Leftovers have been taken into account
• Running a Calm nature is acceptable if you want to take advantage of Seismitoad's odd, but pleasant Speed stat; using Earth Power alongside a -Atk nature makes more sense, but Earthquake is much more reliable when taking into consideration which Pokemon Seismitoad is being sent in to check
• Due to its rather independent nature -- only filling in a team's more notable holes -- Seismitoad is a pretty versatile Pokemon, being able to fit on anywhere between, and including, balanced and semi-stall teams
• However, there are some Pokemon which stand out as good partners for our slippery wart pole
• Jirachi can pass its large Wishes with U-turn; in return, Seismitoad can take the brunt of certain special attacks, ensuring that Jirachi won't be under as much pressure
• Tentacruel is cool for getting rid of Toxic Spikes upon entry and guaranteed spins while rain is active; Tentacruel can also help spread around burns with its own Scald and even abuse them with Substitute + Rain Dish
• Grounded Poison-types in general are good partners, noticeably increasing Seismitoad's life span
• Similarly, Xatu can keep entry hazards off of the field and is a hard counter to some of the things which usually will not hesitate to switch into Seismitoad
• Substitute boosters such as Keldeo and Gyarados can take advantage of potential Scald burns and definitely appreciate Stealth Rock support
• Rain support from Politoed is also pretty nice as, at cost of a team slot, it greatly buffs the aforementioned Pokemon and gives Seismitoad even more of a reason to be used (taking 100% accurate Thunders, boosted Hydro Pumps / Scalds, etc)
• Seismitoad can be played either conservatively or liberally -- and neither playstyle choice is really superior to the other
• It's really up to the player and how their team functions, so don't be hesitant of prioritizing Wish support to Seismitoad or sacrificing it to a Nattorei in order to get a clutch burn / another Pokemon in safely

[Other Options]

• Knock Off is actually a decent option, neutering most offensive threats and swatting away more defensive Pokemon's Leftovers, effectively gimping their survivability
• Icy Wind and Bulldoze are also nice if Seismitoad is to be used alongside a powerful, moderately fast threat, such as Choice Band Garchomp
• Hydro Pump if you really, really want the kick in power, but Scald is usually much better
• Low Kick and Focus Blast are options for hitting Nattorei, but neither are generally worth it due to being unreliable
• Grass Knot whacks Jellicent and, uh, Quagsire for a good amount of damage, but has little use otherwise
• Gastro Acid is pretty funny, forcing Reuniclus to take damage from burn or poison status, leaving Baton Pass teams vulnerable to Roar, laughing at Magic Bounce Pokemon -- it's just a very fun option without much practical use

(Rain Dance is pathetic and doesn't even deserve OO, just imo)

[Checks and Counters]

• Nattorei can take anything Seismitoad can toss out, set up entry hazards and deliver instant BDSM with Power Whip -- needs to watch out for a Scald burn, though
• Reuniclus and Latias laugh at Seismitoad's attempts to bring them down with its STAB moves and can quickly become nuisances with Calm Mind and Recover (Toxic will do away with Latias however)
• Gyarados falls in a similar boat, but it can evade status altogether with Substitute and can just spam boosts
• If you have a Pokemon that doesn't care much about Earthquake, Scald burns, or Toxic, then it has a good shot at defeating Seismitoad

[jc104]

QC Approved 1/3

This looks pretty good. Just please promise me not to oversell this guy.

edit: actually you should probably mention earth power and/or a calm nature in ac. Decent Speed might come in useful somewhere I suppose.

[Chillarmy]

Updated the OP and thanks for the first approval!

and yeah, I'll keep a cap on the Seismitoad hype

[Swamp-Rocket]

Nattorei is Ferrothorn's Jappanese name... you may want to fix all the instances of that. On the subject of Ferrothorn, running Magnezone as a partner would probably be a good idea considering it traps and kills it, which lets Seismitoad have a much easier time with doing everything.

It would probably also be worth it to mention what it has over Gastrodon (Stealth Rock, speed?) and how Water Absorb would be an alternative to Storm Drain for free healing. Be warned that Gastro gets Recover, so Stealth Rock should be emphasized a lot. In most other cases I would rather use Gastrodon...

[AccidentalGreed]

Originally Posted by Fat Swamp-Rocket

Nattorei is Ferrothorn's Jappanese name... you may want to fix all the instances of that.

Don't worry about it, it's just personal preference (from what I have seen).

Don't oversell it, Stealth Rock shenanigans, etc.

QC Approved 2/3

[ballabrown24]

QC Rejection 1/2

seismitoad isnt good in the slightest. water + ground rain counter is outdone by gastrodon, and if you are arguing that seismitoad has the benefit of having stealth rock, then you also have to realize that it is a sitting duck for almost every pokemon out there. not only does it not get recovery, but its bulk is far from stellar. you get beat by the majority of rain (ferrothorn tornadus-t genesect) and youd have to be pretty damn lucky to check thundurus-t with the lack of recovery seeing as how it can just focus blast on you cause you cant ko it back. probably the only rain pokemon you beat are politoed (lacking hp grass or toxic) and calm mind thunder water pulse jirachi (which has been seeing decreased usage in favor for other jirachi sets).

all youre getting is a less bulky swampert that has water absorb, and to be honest that does not seem like an analysis worthy pokemon. also seeing as how it is set up on by literally every spikes user kind of makes it a nuisance to the team more often than not. stealth rock + typing and ability are not enough to warrant an analysis for seismitoad and frankly im surprised people are approving it

edit: oh yeah and this is discounting the fact that seismitoad is trying to find a slot in such an offensive metagame, something that obviously doesnt work in its favor

[Lavos Spawn]

QC Approved 3/3

heh

[A dude]

I do not like acronyms, but LOL. Seismitoad getting an OU analysis because of a very specific niche. Anyways, on checks and counters, you need to mention that Grass types scare the snot out of Seismitoad, as they do with Swampert, Gastrodon, and Quagsire.

[AccidentalGreed]

Hi, Chillarmy.

I apologize, but I'm gonna have to lock this due to extended inactivity. If you still want to finish it yourself, you may create a new thread.

For anybody considering taking Seismitoed, the QC checks will still be in effect when you make a new thread, so just get on to copyediting. Be sure you know what you're talking about (be aware of what Seismitoed does and what teammates/counters it has) if you choose to take this, though, since we've had a couple of instances where the opposite was the case.