QC: WhiteDMist / Anty / 3
GP: 0 / 2
Overview
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- One of the few Rapid Spin users in the tier, and the best offensive one.
- Pretty high Attack stat for PU, allowing it to hit quite hard.
- Has a wide movepool with a lot of coverage options and multiple utility moves, such as Knock Off for Ghosts.
- Has Swift Swim, making it a cool rain sweeper that outspeeds and OHKOes most Pokemon on offense.
- Extreme four moveslot syndrome.
- Poliwrath is very popular, which is annoying for Armaldo because it walls Armaldo.
- Lackluster typing leaves it with only two resistances and a weakness to the common Water-types.
- Low speed and only has non-STAB Aqua Jet to make up for it. Even in the rain Armaldo is not that fast.
- Weakness to all entry hazards, which is very annoying for a Pokemon that is supposed to remove them.
Offensive Support
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name: Offensive Support
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Blast
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Earthquake / Toxic
ability: Swift Swim
item: Leftovers / Lum Berry
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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- Rapid Spin gets rid of entry hazards on your side of the field, which is especially nice if you have Pokemon with weaknesses to Stealth Rock.
- Stone Edge is Armaldo's main STAB move, and helps dealing with leads such as Dwebble and Whirlipede by bringing them to 1 HP and then using Rapid Spin to remove their entry hazards. However, Whirlipede can use Endeavor to bring Armaldo down to 1 HP as well.
- Rock Blast is a weaker yet more accurate Rock-type STAB move that also defeats the aforementioned leads in one attack but does not get a chance to use Rapid Spin against them. However, it does avoid being brought down to 1 HP by Endeavor, and also gets around Substitute from Rotom-F, Ninetales, and Chatot among others.
- Knock Off hits Ghost-types such as Misdreavus and Gourgeist that switch in to block a Rapid Spin, and is generally a spammable move because it removes items from the foe.
- Earthquake defeats Steel-types such as Probopass and Pawniard that would otherwise get a safe switch in against Armaldo, and hits Fighting-types for more damage than any other move Armaldo carries.
- Toxic cripples Pokemon that can wall Armaldo, most notably Poliwrath and defensive Carracosta.
- X-Scissor can also be used in this moveslot as a secondary STAB attack that hits bulky Grass-types and Psychic-types such as Torterra and Grumpig for super effective damage, as well as Ground-types for neutral damage. However, Armaldo's Rock attacks already hit Psychic-types hard and most Grass-types are already crippled by Knock Off.
- Stealth Rock can be used if you cannot fit it anywhere else in the team as Armaldo actually hits a lot of common entry hazard removers for super effective damage, but Armaldo already has four moveslot syndrome.
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- Maximized Attack EVs make Armaldo hit hard, and maximized Speed EVs make it capable of outspeeding most walls. A Jolly nature is used to outspeed Adamant Marowak and Golem so Armaldo can use Rapid Spin against them without having to worry about speed ties. A lot of Pokemon such as Poliwrath and Roselia also use just enough Speed to outspeed invested base 45 Speed Pokemon without a boosting nature.
- Swift Swim is not particularily useful without rain support, but can help against opposing rain teams.
- Leftovers grant Armaldo more longevity, allowing it to switch into entry hazards without getting worn down really fast. However, Lum Berry is also good because it can get rid of a burn from Misdreavus once, and hit it with a Knock Off.
Usage Tips
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- Even with a Lum Berry predicting a Ghost-type switching in to block a Rapid Spin is important, because they can still do a lot of damage with their STABs, and most of them do not get OHKOed by Knock Off.
- If the opponent has a Dwebble or Whirlipede, lead with Armaldo and use Rock Blast to limit the hazards they can set.
- Use Armaldo to get rid of annoying entry hazards for teammates the foe has set up.
- Rapid Spin against Pokemon such as Roselia, non-Stone Edge Torterra, and Stoutland, which cannot harm Armaldo too much.
- If the opponent has a counter in their team, use Toxic as they switch in to cripple them.
- Do not play Armaldo as a tank, because its bulk is actually not that great and coupled with a weakness to all the entry hazards it is supposed to remove and a lack of reliable recovery, it usually can only check threats such as Stoutland once in the game.
- Do not be afraid to sack Armaldo to get off a Rapid Spin, because the teams which Armaldo is usually used on often rely on entry hazards to be removed to function properly.
Team Options
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- Offensive Pokemon weak to entry hazards such as Rotom-F and Dodrio appreciate Armaldo's Rapid Spin support.
- Pokemon with Focus Sash such as Raichu also like Armaldo removing entry hazards for them.
- Pokemon that can defeat Fighting-types such as Jumpluff and Arbok are good teammates because Armaldo loathes Fighting-types.
- Pokemon that can defeat Water-types such as Roselia and Poliwrath are also great teammates because Water-types are very popular in PU and they all check Armaldo.
- Pawniard can Pursuit trap Ghost-types if you are worried about them blocking Rapid Spin.
- Poliwrath has exceptional type synergy with Armaldo, covering all of Armaldo's weaknesses while Armaldo covers Poliwrath's Grass-type weakness.
Rain Sweeper
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name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Aqua Jet / X-Scissor
ability: Swift Swim
item: Life Orb / Lum Berry
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
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- Swords Dance boosts Armaldo's attack, making it better capable of wallbreaking and sweeping.
- Stone Edge is a powerful STAB attack.
- Earthquake OHKOes Probopass, has generally good coverage with Stone Edge, and can break through offensive Poliwrath variants after a Swords Dance boost and with a little residual damage.
- Even in the rain Armaldo is not that fast, so Aqua Jet is useful priority that also gets an 1.5 boost from the rain.
- X-Scissor is a secondary STAB that hits the Grass-types such as Tangela that tend to annoy rain teams.
- Rapid Spin can remove entry hazards if you have teammates weak to them.
- Knock Off hits bulky Ghost-types such as Gourgeist and defensive Misdreavus hard, and is generally a good utility attack to remove items. It is especially recommended to use Knock Off if you run Rapid Spin, to defeat Ghost-types more easily.
Set Details
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- Maximized Attack EVs and maximized Speed EVs make Armaldo hit as hard as possible and as fast as possible, respectively. An Adamant nature is preferred for extra power, as Armaldo does not achieve anything notable with the additional Speed from Jolly.
- Swift Swim is needed because the speed boost the whole reason why Armaldo functions well in rain teams in the first place.
- Life Orb is the item of choice as it makes Armaldo hit much harder.
- Lum Berry is an option as it protects Armaldo from status such as Volbeat's Thunder Wave and Misdreavus's Will-O-Wisp once.
Usage Tips
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- Make sure that rain is up as much as possible when Armaldo is in the field, as without rain this set is lackluster.
- If the opponent has a Poliwrath that is not defensive and does not have Swift Swim, Armaldo can lure it by using Swords Dance as Poliwrath switches in and KOing it with a boosted Earthquake.
- This set works best mid- and late-game to either break walls or to clean up the opposing team.
- Use Armaldo to defeat Grass-types such as Roselia and Tangela that trouble rain teams. However, it is recommended to avoid switching in as much as possible as entry hazard damage + Life Orb recoil already wears Armaldo down fast enough, and switching into a Sleep Powder is terrible.
Team Options
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- Rain setters such as Volbeat, Golem, Electrode, and Relicanth can provide Armaldo with rain to activate Swift Swim. Relicanth can also set up Stealth Rock for the team.
- At least one other Swift Swim user, such as Poliwrath, Golduck, Floatzel, or Carracosta is mandatory because with only one Swift Swim user rain is not nearly as threatening. Especially Poliwrath is a great teammate because it covers all of Armaldo's type weaknesses and Armaldo covers Poliwrath's problems with Grass-types.
- Water-types without Swift Swim such as Swanna and Simipour can also benefit from the rain as their Water-type STAB is boosted. Swanna can also make good use of Hydration in combination with Rest if rain is up.
- Entry hazard setters such as the aforementioned Golem and Stunfisk help Armaldo score some extra KOes, such as the guaranteed OHKO with Stone Edge against offensive Roselia after Stealth Rock damage. Spikes users such as Roselia are also very helpful as they grant Armaldo a much higher chance to OHKO offensive Poliwrath with a Swords Dance-boosted Earthquake.
Other Options
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- A Life Orb-boosted Aerial Ace lures in non-defensive variants of Poliwrath and 2HKOes it on the switch provided that Stealth Rock or at least one layer of Spikes is up.
- Aqua Tail gets a 1.5 boost in rain, and hits Machoke for neutral damage and Ground-types such as Marowak for super effective damage.
- Superpower does more damage than Earthquake and hits the same targets, but lowers Attack and Defense after use.
- Rock Slide is an alternative to Stone Edge if 80% is not your thing, but it's much weaker.
- The offensive support set can use HP investment over Speed because even with investment Armaldo is not outspeeding a lot, and has decent bulk to make good use of HP EVs.
- A physically defensive set is an option to Rapid Spin against Pokemon such as Stoutland and Ursaring, but does worse against spinblockers and is much more passive than offensive sets. It also faces competition from other defensive entry hazard removers such as Avalugg, Pelipper, and Torkoal.
- Armaldo could also be a possible user of Assault Vest but the Special Defense boost doesn't help it take any particular attack and having to lose Stealth Rock and Toxic as well as Leftovers recovery is incredibly detrimental to a Pokemon which is susceptible to all entry hazards and weak to Stealth Rock. For this reason that set is not recommended
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**Ghost-types**: Although they hate switching into a Knock Off, Ghost-types such as Misdreavus, Gourgeist, Haunter, and Dusknoir can block Armaldo's Rapid Spin, preventing it from doing its primary job. However, they do not take on the rain sweeper set particularly well.
**Fighting-types**: Poliwrath and Machoke can wall all Armaldo sets except lure sets with Aerial Ace, and can set up a Rain Dance or Bulk Up on Armaldo. They have a slightly harder time walling the rain sweeper set but can still check it at the very least.
**Faster Pokemon**: Armaldo is easy to wear down because it often takes hazard damage, and coupled with its low Speed and potential Life Orb recoil, faster Pokemon such as Swanna, Pawniard, and Aurorus can usually revenge kill it quite easily. Opposing Swift Swim users such as Golduck and Poliwrath and fast Choice Scarf users such as Raichu and Simipour can also revenge kill Armaldo even in the rain. Especially faster special attackers are problematic because of Armaldo's low Special Defense.
**Status**: Armaldo is vulnerable to all kinds of status. Burns make Armaldo very easy to wall, paralysis makes the rain sweeper set very easy to revenge kill, and Toxic makes both sets even easier to wear down.
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