http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/huntail
[OVERVIEW]
<p>Huntail is an unfortunate Pokemon. He's stuck in a sea of Water-types who share his ability, Swift Swim, and has no shining stat or quirk to separate him from the pack. As a physical rain sweeper, Huntail is generally outclassed by the likes of Kabutops, Qwilfish, and Ludicolo; as a special rain sweeper, he's outclassed by Omastar and his pink counterpart, Gorebyss. Huntail, however, has one saving grace available to him: his ability to act as a mixed rain sweeper.</p>
[SET]
name: Mixed Rain Sweeper
move 1: Aqua Tail / Waterfall
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Hydro Pump
move 4: Hidden Power Grass
item: Life Orb
nature: Naughty
evs: 88 Atk / 200 SpA / 220 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set is designed for Huntail to come in late-game and finish off the remainder of an opponent's team, hitting the final few Pokemon in their weaker defensive stats. In order to be effective, Huntail needs to have rain falling, which not only doubles Huntail's awful Speed with Swift Swim, but also increases the power of his STAB moves.</p>
<p>Aqua Tail is Huntail's strongest physical STAB move, and with it, he can 2HKO 252/0 Registeel and OHKO Chansey after Stealth Rock. Waterfall can be used instead if you're worried about accuracy issues; however, it misses out on many KOs that Aqua Tail provides, making it an inferior choice. Ice Beam is for any Grass-type who would otherwise wall Huntail, such as Tangrowth and Leafeon, dealing an OHKO to each after Stealth Rock. A combination of Aqua Tail and Ice Beam also KOes 252/252 Calm Venusaur. Hydro Pump deals a clean 2HKO on physically defensive Uxie and Registeel, who would normally wall this set entirely. Hidden Power Grass is for weaker Water-types who would normally have their way with Huntail; however, it still isn't strong enough to break through bulkier Water-types, such as Milotic, Blastoise, Poliwrath, and Slowking.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The given EVs allow Huntail to get the KOs listed and ensure that he is dealing the most damage as possible from both attacking stats. With this spread, Huntail reaches a Speed stat of 390, enough to outpace everyone in the tier under rain bar Electrode and certain Choice Scarf users, such as Rotom and positive Speed Venusaur.</p>
<p>Other notable moves available to Huntail include Sucker Punch and Super Fang. Super Fang can be used in place of Hydro Pump to strip Huntail's counters of half of their health and force them to heal themselves, during which one of Huntail's teammates, such as Ludicolo, can come in for free. However, without Hydro Pump, Huntail misses out on the KOs on Uxie and Registeel, who can then proceed to paralyze Huntail with Thunder Wave, effectively ending his sweep. Sucker Punch can be used in place of Hidden Power Grass, giving Huntail some utility and priority outside of rain; however, it doesn't give Huntail any further coverage and has little use under rain, which is where Huntail should always be used. Huntail can set up his own Rain Dance, with his decent defensive stats protecting him from whatever onslaught may ensue; however, he needs as much coverage as possible to allow him to sweep, and Huntail is usually too slow to set up himself.</p>
<p>As a mixed rain sweeper, Huntail faces competition from Floatzel, who can use almost the same set and is faster than Huntail even without any Speed investment. Huntail, however, has a few notable perks over Floatzel. Firstly, Huntail has far greater bulk than Floatzel, which protects him from random weak attacks like Mach Punch from Hitmontop and Earthquake from Tangrowth. Second, Huntail has access to Hydro Pump and a slightly higher Special Attack stat, allowing him to bypass physically defensive Uxie and Registeel, which Floatzel can't do. And lastly, Huntail's priority in Sucker Punch provides greater power than Floatzel's Aqua Jet outside of rain, though in rain, Aqua Jet proves more powerful.</p>
<p>As mentioned earlier, Huntail is stopped cold by bulky Water-types, so teammates who can dispose of them make good partners to Huntail. Ludicolo in particular can easily dispose of the pesky Water-types and also makes a good sweeping partner to Huntail, either softening up the opposing team and removing Water-types who would otherwise prevent Huntail from sweeping, or sweeping after Huntail has disposed of problematic Pokemon such as Uxie, Registeel, or Venusaur. Lanturn also makes a good partner to Huntail, absorbing any Electric attacks or Thunder Waves that may come in Huntail's direction. Lanturn also enjoys Huntail's ability to remove special walls such as Chansey from play, who would normally wall Lanturn to oblivion and back.</p>
<p>Gardevoir with Trace, Golduck with Cloud Nine, Toxicroak with Dry Skin, and Electrode have few problems countering this set, so bulky Pokemon who can withstand their attacks make good partners to Huntail. Uxie makes a good partner, taking little damage from whatever the opposing Pokemon may throw at Huntail and paralyzing them with Thunder Wave (or in Toxicroak's case, removing him with Psychic) to allow Huntail to come in later in the match and dispose of them. Uxie can also provide Stealth Rock support, which Huntail thrives on, as it allows him to accumulate many of the listed KOs.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Rain Sweeper
move 1: Aqua Tail
move 2: Double-Edge
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Crunch / Sucker Punch
item: Life Orb
nature: Naughty
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Unlike the previous set, this one focuses on Huntail's higher base 104 Attack stat. While offensively weaker than Kabutops, Huntail sports better typing and a way to bypass bulky Grass-types. Because of this, Huntail and Kabutops can be used on the same team, with Huntail softening up the opposing team and Kabutops coming in later to finish the job. Aqua Tail and Double-Edge are the crux of this set, providing Huntail with the awesome type combination of Water/Normal, resisted only by Shedinja in UU. Ice Beam is for any bulky Grass-types who are bull-headed enough to think they can counter this set. Crunch makes an appearance on this set to allow Huntail to dispose of Slowking and also deals decent damage to his counterpart, Slowbro. Sucker Punch gives Huntail some use outside of rain and is a nice way to hit Pokemon like Scarf Rotom or Mismagius, who would otherwise outpace Huntail even in the rain and KO with Thunderbolt.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs are simple and maximize Huntail's physical prowess. With this spread, Huntail reaches a Speed stat of 406 under the rain, outrunning the standard lead Electrode by two points. Naughty is the recommended nature to allow Ice Beam to get the 2HKO on Leafeon and Tangrowth while still raising Huntail's attack stat.</p>
<p>Unlike the previous set, this one has some troubles with physically defensive Uxie, who can paralyze Huntail and end his sweep. Therefore, partners who can set up on or wall Uxie, such as Mismagius or Registeel, make good teammates for Huntail. However, Mismagius must also be wary of Thunder Wave, and Registeel has to watch out for Trick sets. Ludicolo and Lanturn make good partners to Huntail, removing any bulky Water-types who block Huntail's path. Special sweepers who enjoy special walls such as Chansey out of the picture, such as Omastar and Gorebyss, also make good teammates, as they in turn remove Pokemon such as Toxicroak, Uxie, and Registeel with little trouble.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Huntail needs Rain Dance in play to be effective, so Pokemon who can reliably set up rain make good partners for Huntail. Uxie makes an awesome teammate for Huntail, capable of setting up both Rain Dance and Stealth Rock with little trouble and switching into stronger attacks aimed at Huntail outside of rain. Claydol also makes a decent partner for Huntail, as it can absorb any Electric attacks aimed at Huntail and can set up both Rain Dance and Stealth Rock as well as remove any entry hazards on Huntail's side of the field with Rapid Spin. However, they both share a glaring weakness to Grass-type attacks, so pairing them with a Pokemon who can absorb them with little trouble, such as Registeel, is recommended.</p>
<p>Bulky Water-types, such as Milotic, Blastoise, Poliwrath, and Slowking, are the bane of Huntail's existence, so anyone who can remove them from play is Huntail's best friend. Ludicolo and Lanturn make awesome partners to Huntail, easily removing Water-types from play and allowing Huntail to come in later to sweep. Huntail also makes a good partner to Pokemon like Kabutops, Gorebyss, and Omastar, softening up or removing their counters, allowing them to come in later in the match to finish the job.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Huntail doesn't have many other moves available to him. Super Fang has its merits on both sets, allowing Huntail to strip his counters, such as Milotic and Toxicroak, of half of their health, which can let someone like Ludicolo or Gorebyss to come in without taking damage and finish the job. Huntail also has access to Bounce, which grants Huntail the great type combination of Water/Flying, though the lack of STAB and the two turns required to use it usually leave it out of favor to moves like Return or Double-Edge. Huntail has Baton Pass, but can only pass Iron Defense and Substitute. Hidden Power Psychic can be used to annihilate Toxicroak and get a strong hit in on Poliwrath, but the other moves listed are usually more helpful.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Bulky Water-types, such as Milotic, Blastoise, Poliwrath, Slowbro, and Slowking, have little trouble with either of Huntail's sets and take little damage from Hidden Power Grass. Milotic and Slowbro/Slowking don't even mind Super Fang as they can just recover off the damage and continue to whittle down Huntail's health. Toxicroak can take anything from the Mixed Sweeper set and Swords Dance or Nasty Plot in Huntail's face. However, Toxicroak takes massive damage from Double-Edge on the Physical Sweeper set, and Huntail can surprise Toxicroak with Hidden Power Psychic for a OHKO.</p>
<p>Physically defensive Uxie and Registeel take little damage from anything from the Physical Sweeper set, but both take massive damage from Hydro Pump on the Mixed Sweeper set. Gardevoir with Trace and Golduck with Cloud Nine can both end Huntail's sweep. Gardevoir cannot switch into both Stealth Rock and Aqua Tail, but can outspeed Huntail once in and KO with either Thunderbolt or Energy Ball. Golduck can 2HKO Huntail with Hidden Power Grass if he switches into Aqua Tail and Encores it; however, if Golduck switches into Double-Edge or Hidden Power Grass, he will be KOed before he can KO Huntail. Electrode can outpace the Mixed Sweeper set and OHKO with Thunder or Thunderbolt, but unless he runs maximum Speed, he will be outsped by the physical sweeper and take massive damage from Aqua Tail before KOing Huntail. Scarf Rotom and positive Speed Scarf Venusaur can both outrun either set and OHKO Huntail with Thunderbolt or Leaf Storm respectively; however, Rotom must be wary of Sucker Punch and Venusaur will be maimed by Ice Beam if he switches into it.</p>
