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[Overview]
<p>Lickitung has always been a balanced Pokemon. While it has excellent defenses and a good movepool, these assets are offset by low Speed and average attacking stats. Lickitung is also one of the few Pokemon who can make good use of Wish, especially when considering its excellent bulk and defensively neutral typing, something that most other Wish users lack. When you look into the diversity and unpredictability of Lickitung's sets, as well as its bulk, you will find that it is a difficult Pokémon to counter. If you play Lickitung to its strengths, it might just surprise you!</p>
[SET]
name: Wall Breaker
move 1: Body Slam / Return
move 2: Power Whip
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Oran Berry / Expert Belt
ability: Own Tempo
nature: Brave
evs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 196 SpA / 36 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Lickitung can break nearly every wall in Little Cup with this set. Gligar, along with other physically defensive Ground- or Rock-types, are disposed of with Ice Beam. Fire Blast deals with the various Steel-types in Little Cup, particularly Bronzor. Return offers you the most power, but Body Slam is the preferred option as the paralysis chance helps accommodate Lickitung's abysmal Speed and the power drop isn't too big. Power Whip is used to handle Water-types, such as Chinchou and Wooper, who will take a hefty amount of damage and may even be OHKOed. Munchlax is one of the few Pokémon who can deal with Lickitung, but even it doesn't last long against repeated STAB attacks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Wall Breaker Lickitung is best used to make openings in the opponent's team for other sweepers, such as Dratini and Staryu. Croagunk and the various other Fighting-types in Little Cup give Lickitung trouble, so pairing it with Gligar, a Pokémon who can soak up Fighting attacks and benefits from a fainted Bronzor, is a good idea.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Power Whip
move 3: Body Slam / Return
move 4: Fire Punch
item: Oran Berry
ability: Own Tempo
nature: Adamant
evs: 236 HP / 236 Atk / 36 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set takes a much different approach than the Wall Breaker set. Instead of destroying walls, Lickitung sets up on them. After a Swords Dance, Lickitung reaches a destructive 32 Attack stat, making sure that nearly no one can survive its boosted attacks. Return and Fire Punch are Lickitung's main attacks. Return has great neutral coverage, while Fire Punch checks the Steel-types who would normally wall this set. Power Whip is chosen in the last slot to allow Lickitung to defeat bulky Water-, Ground-, and Rock-type Pokemon, such as Chinchou, Onix, and Kabuto. Another advantage this set has over the Wall Breaker set is the ability to invest heavily in bulk, whereas the other set has to invest in Special Attack.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Swords Dance Lickitung appreciates Wynaut support so it can potentially come in for a free Swords Dance. Much like the last set, this set needs Croagunk to be killed before it can pull off a successful sweep. Wynaut once again comes to mind, as it can trap and pick off Croagunk, especially those without Dark Pulse. Swords Dance Lickitung doesn't like Gligar either, so Pokemon who can get rid of Gligar are also excellent to pair with this set. Snover is an excellent candidate for removing Gligar with its STAB Ice Shard and can also set up Swords Dance against a fleeing Gligar.</p>
[SET]
name: Munchlax with Weight Gain
move 1: Wish
move 2: Protect
move 3: Body Slam
move 4: Shadow Ball / Fire Blast
item: Oran Berry
ability: Own Tempo
nature: Sassy
evs: 236 HP / 36 SpA / 236 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Munchlax has always been the premier special wall of Little Cup, sporting insane HP and Special Defense along with Thick Fat; however, it suffers from lack of recovery outside of the one-time Oran Berry. Lickitung can play a very similar set to Munchlax's Special Wall, but with a form of recovery in Wish. Wish and Protect is a very effective way of healing both Lickitung and its teammates, and provides more survivability than Munchlax in the long run . While Oran Berry might seem a tad strange on a set with self recovery, it prevents Pokémon like Modest Gastly with Hidden Power Fighting from 2HKOing Lickitung, while Lickitung fires back with Shadow Ball for the KO. Fire Blast can also be used in the last slot to hit Bronzor and the various Grass-types of Little Cup. However, Shadow Ball is the preferred option, as Ghosts are one of the main things this set is built to wall. Body Slam is chosen over Return on this set as the paralysis chance is extremely helpful considering Lickitung's pathetic Speed and the fact that Body Slam provides enough power to deal with frail threats.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>There are a few options that could go over Shadow Ball or Fire Blast in the fourth slot. Ice Beam is a perfectly viable option to be able to defeat the Grass-types Fire Blast hits along with Gligar, who laughs at this set outside of Body Slam's 30% paralysis chance. Most Pokémon who switch in will attempt to exploit Lickitung's lower Defense stat, so Counter could give them a run for their money. Heal Bell is a unique move, but should be considered a lesser option since status isn't widely used in Little Cup.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Wynaut is a superb teammate to pair with Lickitung for its ability to trap and kill Croagunk, along with other Fighting-type Pokemon. Gligar also comes to mind for its ability to soak up Fighting attacks and benefit from fainted walls. The various Ghost-types of Little Cup are also very helpful for Lickitung, as they can come in on Fighting attacks and cripple their users with a nasty burn. Duskull comes to mind as the best Ghost for this job considering its exceptional bulk.<p/>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Lickitung's movepool is absolutely massive and has many moves that have not been mentioned in any of its sets. Lickitung has access to Thunderbolt, but the reason it is not listed is because Power Whip is superior most of the time. Heal Bell can be used to heal status, but is generally bad in Little Cup since status effects are rare. Knock Off could work on the support set, but it's really difficult to find a place to put it. One of Lickitung's most interesting options is Belly Drum. A set consisting of Substitute, Belly Drum, Return, and Fire Punch with a Jolly Nature and 236 Speed EVs along with a Salac Berry would be very threatening, but of course, Croagunk and other strong priority users must be removed for this to work. Curse is a decent move for increasing its Attack and Defense, but in general, it is worse than Swords Dance. While Munchlax usually outclasses Lickitung as a Trick Room sweeper, Lickitung's better movepool and access to Swords Dance may prove more useful. Lickitung's final workable option is Earthquake, but it's pretty much in the same boat as Thunderbolt - outclassed by many of Lickitung's other moves.</p>
[Counters]
<p>As listed many times in this analysis, Croagunk is a Lickitung check. A combination of Fake Out and Vacuum Wave will do severe damage to Lickitung, crippling its ability to sweep. Most Fighting-types in general will be able to lay the hurt on Lickitung, including but not limited to Machop, Mankey, and Makuhita. Immensely powerful STAB attacks such as Dratini's Outrage or Draco Meteor are also very harmful to Lickitung. Other than that, Lickitung is pretty hard to beat considering how diverse it is.</p>
