Stamps:
(Bad Ass)
(Bluewind)
NB. Second stamp from IRC discussion by all UU QC members, delivered by Bluewind
(Oglemi)
(Aeron Ee1)
My first ever analysis to be uploaded to Smogon... *sniff* the memories...
By special request from Oglemi, I'm updating what is arguably my last unadulterated analysis (as in, hasn't changed much since I wrote it), before the days of QC and GP. I'm not changing any of the sets currently on-site, and I'm trying to keep this analysis as consistent with the original as possible - not only was it arguably one of the main reasons I got my first badge, but it is also one of the only analyses on site by virtue of its virtual inexistence to have survived "Project Concise" and as such is one of my only extra-long-paragraph analyses that still survives, after Ninjask, Heracross, and Breloom were brutally assimilated by rewrites - I would even venture to say that the Swords Dance set is the last surviving analysis that is longer vertically than the web browser used to view it (So GP checkers, you should be in for a treat).
So, I attach a lot of sentimental value to it. I haven't made many changes - Rhyperior has replaced Rhydon in the set comments, and obviously all the new format changes have been made. Also, the grammar standards were very different back then, so please bear this in mind, since there are likely to be plenty of grammatical 'mistakes' that were simply never corrected. I have also slightly chopped the paragraphs to make it more obvious where is where, and I may add some extra information if I feel it needs it. Another peculiarity that grammar checkers should definitely be aware of is that at the time of writing I had an extreme aversion to American spellings, so you may see things like 'physical defensive stat' rather than 'Defense'. I'll try to take these out as they just sound wrong, but if you see any, you'll know why they're there.
So yeah, the thing I'm proudest of on Smogon. Please feel free to destroy it.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/armaldo
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[Overview]
<p>Armaldo is one of those Pokémon who seems to try to do too much with just too little a stat total. It can be defensive or offensive, but not both, with the result that it is left all too easily discarded in favor of more specialized options. On the defensive side, it has just two resistances to rarely seen attacking types, a weakness to Stealth Rock, and a lack of reliable recovery. On the offensive side, Armaldo's horrible Speed comes back to haunt it with a resounding clang. Even past that, there are many who feel that Rhyperior can do everything that Armaldo does better, and with good reason. Unlike Armaldo, Rhyperior has no Stealth Rock weakness, a higher Attack stat, and STAB on Earthquake, while also having access to Megahorn, which is more powerful than Armaldo's STAB X-Scissor, as well as Solid Rock to compensate for its higher slew of resistances.</p>
<p>However, one should not put down Armaldo all that quickly. It has a fantastic support movepool that can be used in all sorts of situations, and it still has its powerful Attack stat, backed up by useful boosting moves and an excellent offensive STAB combination. And make no mistake, it has its own advantages over Rhyperior, most importantly a lack of quad weaknesses, making it less easily revenge killed, as well as higher Special Defense and Speed stats, allowing it to outspeed both Milotic and opposing Rhyperior. All in all, it has to be said that Armaldo is, whatever its shortcomings, a powerful Pokemon with acceptable defensive stats and a good movepool, so don't take this arthropod too lightly.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: X-Scissor
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Earthquake
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Armaldo returns for another bout of carnage in DPP with little change as far as the basic idea behind it—attempt to sweep, or support, but not both. This set is the most ambiguous of all its potential sets to identify in this context—while Rock Polish constitutes a straightforward sweep and the support variant is so named for obvious reasons, this Armaldo can attempt to sweep slower or weakened teams, as well as punch holes in the walls of the opponent's team, supporting its own team. Thus, it can modify its game to suit any opponent, not only making it the most easily adaptable of Armaldo's sets, but often the most profitable when used competitively.</p>
<p>Swords Dance is naturally the most important move on this set, boosting Armaldo's Attack as far as it can go in preparation for a sweep. After Armaldo has set up, you can show off its excellent STAB moves. Stone Edge and X-Scissor are both decently powered and provide a wide range of coverage together, resisted only by Fighting- and Steel-types. Earthquake is placed in the final slot to deal with Steel-types, as well as Toxicroak and Nidoking, and it is Armaldo's best bet against Fighting-types such as Primeape and Hitmontop. Between these three moves is a conglomeration of "EdgeQuake" and Bug-type STAB that hits every Pokémon in the game for at least neutral damage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs and nature are the standard sweeper spread. A Jolly nature and 252 Speed EVs are necessary to allow Armaldo to outrun defensive Milotic and other slower Pokemon, such as Aggron and Rhyperior. The ability to outrun Milotic is something Rhyperior does not share, and is hence a massive advantage in competitive play. Attack is then maximized, and the remaining EVs are placed in Defense to give Armaldo a HP number indivisible by four, which allows Armaldo to switch into Stealth Rock 5 times at most without fainting. Life Orb is recommended in the item slot to make up for the loss of the Adamant nature, allowing Armaldo to OHKO Milotic with Stone Edge and Tangrowth with X-Scissor after a Swords Dance; however, its recoil makes Armaldo far easier to revenge kill. Leftovers is another good choice in order to make the most of Armaldo's bulk, especially if you pair it with sandstorm support, but the loss in power is significant.</p>
<p>Stealth Rock is always useful support to have, since as powerful as Armaldo is, it simply does not have the power even after a Swords Dance to OHKO most bulky Pokémon. Armaldo is also easily outsped and revenge killed by faster threats. For these reasons, Hippopotas is recommended as a partner to set up sandstorm and Stealth Rock, the former of which gives a very useful defensive boost to Armaldo's weaker special side, which makes it so that standard Milotic cannot OHKO Armaldo with Surf even with Stealth Rock damage; however, you should make sure you are aware of the potential damage it can do to the rest of your team if they are not immune to it. In all cases, Armaldo will be glad of some extra Speed to work with, since its low Speed stat is its biggest complaint as a sweeper. This can be mitigated in three ways: Baton Passed Speed boosts from something like Scyther or Gligar, paralysis support from Uxie or Tangrowth, or Trick Room. For the latter, you will want to run a Brave nature and shift all Armaldo's Speed EVs to HP in order to maximize Trick Room's effectiveness.</p>
<p>In the way of troublemaking bulky Pokémon, Weezing can survive a Swords Danced Stone Edge, just barely, and cripple Armaldo with Will-O-Wisp. Without it, though, Flamethrower will not even 3HKO Armaldo, and if you run Leftovers, neither will Fire Blast. Aside from this, Fighting-types cause Armaldo the most trouble, notably Hitmontop and Hariyama, since Toxicroak, Medicham, and Blaziken can be taken care of with its other moves. Both Hariyama and Hitmontop resist Armaldo's STAB moves and take little from Earthquake; Hitmontop in particular has Intimidate and Bullet Punch to take care of him with, and both have STAB Close Combat. To combat these threats, a sturdy Psychic-type, such as Uxie or Claydol, or Spiritomb is worth consideration.</p>
[SET]
name: Rock Polish
move 1: Rock Polish
move 2: X-Scissor
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Earthquake
item: Life Orb
nature: Adamant
evs: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 244 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set is far more concentrated upon sweeping, and getting the job done, than simply going for as much power as possible. Rock Polish allows Armaldo to boost its Speed to respectable levels at the cost of a moveslot that could have been used for Swords Dance, and thus allowing it to outpace and hopefully run through the opponent's team. This set should be played similarly to Rock Polish Rhyperior, with the difference that Armaldo has STAB X-Scissor and Stone Edge with Earthquake for coverage, while Rhyperior has STAB Earthquake and Stone Edge with Megahorn for coverage. Armaldo also has slightly higher initial Speed to compensate for Rhyperior's extra attacking power, which means that it can afford to run an Adamant nature and still outpace Alakazam and Dugtrio after a Rock Polish, which is a massive plus.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>With 244 EVs in Speed, a Rock Polish grants Armaldo a Speed stat of 374, allowing it to outpace everything up to Adamant Choice Scarf Absol and Timid Alakazam, and hopefully to tear apart a weakened team, while the remaining 12 EVs are allocated to HP to provide some bulk. Alternatively, you can use a Jolly nature to hit the same Speed tiers as Jolly Rhyperior, while retaining plenty of EVs to give Armaldo some bulk. Since this set is different to the Swords Dancer in that a sweep is the single greatest objective for it, and not wallbreaking or playing with resistances, this Armaldo should be saved for late-game when most walls are either weakened or gone, and Swellow and Sceptile are hopefully absent and unable to revenge kill Armaldo. The surprise factor for Armaldo is critical – and once the surprise is gone, a sweep becomes a far more difficult task. For all these reasons, as well as the much-needed power it provides, Life Orb is heavily recommended as the item of choice.</p>
<p>Stealth Rock is still useful support to have, and is critical in wearing down your opponents to KO range for Armaldo at the time of the sweep. Faster Pokémon are now less of an issue – Blaziken will not enjoy eating an Earthquake after attempting to switch in on an X-Scissor. However, at the same time bulky Pokémon become greater threats – Weezing and Spiritomb have no difficulty burning Armaldo with Will-O-Wisp, while Registeel can ruin its sweep with Thunder Wave and beat it up with STAB Iron Head. Regirock has an even higher Defense stat and a more powerful STAB Stone Edge to use against Armaldo, and Steelix has the potential to carry Gyro Ball, which can hurt badly after a Rock Polish, or simply Roar Armaldo out. Not far behind are bulky Water-types such as Milotic, who have reliable recovery and can use status moves or simply STAB Surf to end Armaldo for good. For these reasons, Blaziken can make a useful ally, as it is immune to Will-O-Wisp and has STAB Fire Blast and Superpower to beat Regirock, Registeel, and Steelix, while Weezing and Spiritomb dislike Fire Blast and can do nothing significant back. Bulky Water-types also help, as they can deal with such Pokémon as Weezing, Steelix, and Regirock with ease, provided none of them pack Explosion. Claydol can use STAB Earthquake or Earth Power on Steelix, Regirock, and Registeel, as well as ridding Armaldo of entry hazards with Rapid Spin—which is useful because Armaldo will take heavy damage from Stealth Rock over time—and can also set up its own Stealth Rock to aid Armaldo's sweep.</p>
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Rock Slide / Rock Blast
move 2: Stealth Rock
move 3: Rapid Spin
move 4: Knock Off / Toxic
item: Leftovers
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Armaldo has serious potential to support its teammates rather than lean on them for a sweeping opportunity, by virtue of its excellent support movepool. One would expect that, with the many ways it can support its team coupled onto its reasonable defensive stats and lack of Speed making it a less potent offensive threat than it could be, this would be its most used set, however its typing gives it a mere two resistances, to Normal- and Poison-type moves, widely accepted as the worst attacking types outside of STAB, while it has weaknesses to Rock-, Water-, and Steel-type moves, which is incredibly detrimental. The Rock-type weakness is really the killer, whereby Armaldo obtains the infamous 'Cloyster syndrome' (being a Rapid Spinner weak to Stealth Rock), and this weakness both limits its survivability and also undercuts its utility as a Rapid Spinner. However, this should not discourage you from using support Armaldo, as it can be a very useful tool when a lot of jobs need doing.</p>
<p>Rock Slide is advised as your attacking option for reliability, though there are always other options. Rock Blast may seem an odd choice when Stone Edge and Rock Slide are available, but it can also be used to support the team in a way Armaldo's other STAB moves cannot. Similar to Marowak's Bonemerang, Rock Blast can be used to break Substitutes; for example, against a Substitute + Toxic Moltres, Armaldo can break the Substitute with its first Rock Blast, then follow it up with up to four more 4x super effective STAB hits. Its accuracy is shaky at best, but then again Stone Edge has the same accuracy anyway. Stealth Rock is, naturally, a useful entry hazard with which to build up damage, and can be useful if you have no other Pokémon on your team capable of using it themselves, and having it on the field will aid a sweep for any Pokémon. Rapid Spin removes the opponent's entry hazards, which is beneficial to those that have to keep switching as well as those weak to it, including Armaldo itself. Knock Off was illegal with Rapid Spin in ADV, which was a shame as they are two excellent moves; however, now that Knock Off is a tutor move as well as an Egg move, they can legally be used together. Knock Off is best used by removing the item from more specialized Pokémon – walls such as Slowbro hate to lose their Leftovers, and sweepers will also miss the extra kick from their Life Orb or Choice item. Lastly, Toxic can go over either of the previous moves, its main use being to cripple walls as well as Spiritomb that attempt to block Armaldo's Rapid Spin attempts.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Armaldo is naturally physically defensive, and so the EVs serve to reinforce that. Its Special Defense can be patched up with sandstorm if you feel it is exposed, but this may harm your other team members, so be sure to take it into account. The remaining EVs are placed in Attack.</p>
<p>Armaldo can support a great variety of Pokémon with its moves, and so can cater to a great variety of strategies that require adequate support. For example, as a Rapid Spin user it can clear the field of Stealth Rock, which is a great help to Pokémon such as Moltres and Scyther who are quite crippled by it, as well as giving more switch-in opportunities for Pokémon like Arcanine. One of its notable advantages over its fellow Rapid Spinners is, on offensive teams especially, that unlike Claydol or Cloyster, the opponent will not always assume that it is a Rapid Spinner, and so Ghosts will not always converge upon Armaldo in masses – after all, even 252/252 Bold Spiritomb takes hefty damage from a +2 Stone Edge, and Mismagius is not exactly the first choice to defeat the Rock Polish set. Thus, in a similar vein to Kabutops, Armaldo can often find itself clearing the field of entry hazards set up by stall teams, though this facade will only work once, and without the power of the offensive sets, it cannot get past Spiritomb (though Toxic can remedy this). Armaldo will still almost always break a Mismagius Substitute with Rock Blast, however, and more often than not can deal damage past it through consecutive hits.</p>
<p>In the vein of offensive teams, Toxic, Stealth Rock, and Knock Off all hamper the opponent's walls and can indeed aid in a sweep for any offensive Pokémon, yet they also have utility on stall teams as well, so make sure to choose your Armaldo's moves not only on personal preference, but what also benefits your team the most. In terms of bulkiness, Armaldo is fairly good physically, but a lack of useful resistances as well as recovery hurts it badly, so it is best to relegate him to a simple secondary physical shock absorber. Lastly, a note about Hippopotas – Armaldo certainly benefits from sandstorm, but be cautious about its impact on the rest of your team – Armaldo can often play its role more readily without sandstorm than the rest of your team could with sandstorm.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: X-Scissor
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Aqua Tail / Superpower
item: Choice Band
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>There is rarely an offensive Pokémon who cannot in theory run a viable Choice set, and Armaldo is no exception to the rule. A Choice Band allows Armaldo to hit hard off the bat, which can be handy since the Swords Dancer can often be forced out before it has had the chance to wreak havoc thanks to everything vaguely popular being able to outspeed it, and this gives Armaldo the opportunity to hit its switch-in with a very painful, boosted attack. The downside to this is, of course, that Armaldo loses the ability to change moves, and so a misprediction can be a fatal mistake. Armaldo has a real potential to get stuck on the wrong move, as its STAB moves do not have a great deal of neutral coverage individually. Even then, if Armaldo uses Stone Edge on the switch and nails Moltres, expecting an X-Scissor, Pokémon like Torterra then essentially get a free turn on Armaldo, which can be terminal to your chances in the battle if you don't have a way to stop them.</p>
<p>The first three moves should be self-explanatory: a three slot combination that hits every Pokémon in the game for at least neutral coverage. The fourth move is somewhat a filler option, and does not really affect your battle chances should you leave the house with one but not the other. Aqua Tail, as demonstrated by Tyranitar in OU, is a good move to defeat its great counters, Hippowdon and Gliscor, who are indifferent to its other moves and can generally wall the tar out of it, literally. Armaldo would no doubt put this to good use if either Gliscor or Hippowdon were allowed in UU, or else you intend to use this in OU. In a normal UU context, it is only really useful for Donphan, Rhyperior, and the odd Gligar or Hippopotas. All other Pokémon mostly take higher damage from its other moves. Superpower is a more powerful attack than Earthquake to use against Steel-types, though its coverage is somewhat redundant, but because it is as powerful as STAB X-Scissor when hitting for neutral damage, it is worth consideration.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>For the EVs, 252 EVs and a Jolly nature are again necessary to allow Armaldo to outrun defensive Milotic and everything slower, and the EVs in Defense leave Armaldo with a HP stat that allows it to switch into Stealth Rock a maximum of five times, which is handy as Armaldo will be switching a lot, as is often the case with Choice sets. On the other hand, if you want to bulk Armaldo up a bit, you can run 216 Speed EVs and an Adamant nature, which not only nets you more power but also an extra 40 HP EVs, while still allowing Armaldo to outrun Adamant Rhyperior. Again, Rhyperior is a competitor for this sort of spot on a team, but it has to be said that Rhyperior can use a Choice set slightly better, since it resists Stealth Rock and so is not limited to five switches, and is often a wiser choice. Do not let this discourage you from using Armaldo, though, as it still has the strong points of outspeeding Milotic and others around that area, as well as a somewhat more advantageous defensive typing.</p>
<p>As previously mentioned, Armaldo has a lifeline of five switches in the presence of Stealth Rock, which isn't much. Therefore, a Rapid Spinner is heavily advised for use with Armaldo, as well as a Pokémon that can remove Ghosts. As already noted, Claydol makes a good partner, checking Hitmontop and Hariyama while spinning away Stealth Rock, and also being able to set up its own Stealth Rock in order to aid Armaldo's episode of chaos. Wish support from a Pokémon like Hypno or Chansey can also be a worthwhile investment by simultaneously healing it and also patching up its weaker defensive side.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>As far as physical options go, Rock Slide is an option if you want more accuracy than Stone Edge and Rock Blast, Superpower is more powerful than Earthquake initially but has a disadvantageous side-effect, and Cross Poison has completely redundant coverage with X-Scissor. Curse is a pretty useful boosting move, especially considering that sandstorm boosts Armaldo's Special Defense and as such allows it to be surprisingly bulky. However, Cradily does that sort of set much better thanks to Suction Cups and Recover, despite Armaldo's higher Attack stat. In any case, generally Rock Polish or Swords Dance is preferable as a boosting move anyway. Screech may force switches, and can be useful on a team with Spikes support. Armaldo has a more-or-less decent Special Attack stat of 70, which would make a gimmick mixed sweeper set possible if it wasn't for the absence of nearly any sort of decent special move, the most remarkable of which is Earth Power. Brick Break is also available, more for its utility than its power, as per its ability to break dual screens. Lastly, Substitute is always available to scout out switches and enable Armaldo to hit the switch-in with the appropriate attack, in a similar vein to the infamous Substitute Rhyperior. However, Stealth Rock means that Armaldo is unlikely to have all that much HP to spare, so unless you are running a Rapid Spinner, it is generally not worth it.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>In general, Armaldo's worst enemy is its own poor Speed. Failing to outrun such a wide range of Pokémon hinders its ability to sweep and forces it to switch out on Pokémon it could otherwise KO, like Blaziken. In general, however, finding a semi-solid counter to the set depends largely on discovering the set. After this, it is not too difficult to stop with the appropriate moveset. Hitmontop is probably the best universal counter, having decent defensive stats, resistances to both of Armaldo's STAB moves, and Intimidate, as well as a range of moves with which to defeat Armaldo, such as Close Combat and Bullet Punch. Hariyama has the same resistances, is also quite defensive, and can beat down Armaldo with STAB Fighting-type attacks.</p>
<p>For the Swords Dancer, the best option is really to revenge kill with a faster Pokémon. In terms of bulkier Pokemon, Weezing can take a +2 Stone Edge and burn Armaldo with Will-O-Wisp, while Steelix and Rhyperior can easily take a hit and attack back with their respective STAB moves. For the Rock Polish set, the list of paper counters extends much further, where reasonably defensive Pokémon like Registeel and Milotic can counter effectively.</p>
-------------------------
Post-critique changes:
- Added Curse and Substitute in Optional Changes
- Removed Choice Scarf
- Changed EVs on Swords Dance, Support, and Choice Band
- Slashed Rock Slide with Rock Blast on Support
- Grammar check 1, thanks to Aeron Ee1
- Removed EVs from OC, removed Milotic from SD counters.
- GP Grammar-Prose Check #1, thanks to Oglemi
- Changed to new format
- GP Grammar-Prose Check #2, thanks to Aeron Ee1
NB. Second stamp from IRC discussion by all UU QC members, delivered by Bluewind
My first ever analysis to be uploaded to Smogon... *sniff* the memories...
By special request from Oglemi, I'm updating what is arguably my last unadulterated analysis (as in, hasn't changed much since I wrote it), before the days of QC and GP. I'm not changing any of the sets currently on-site, and I'm trying to keep this analysis as consistent with the original as possible - not only was it arguably one of the main reasons I got my first badge, but it is also one of the only analyses on site by virtue of its virtual inexistence to have survived "Project Concise" and as such is one of my only extra-long-paragraph analyses that still survives, after Ninjask, Heracross, and Breloom were brutally assimilated by rewrites - I would even venture to say that the Swords Dance set is the last surviving analysis that is longer vertically than the web browser used to view it (So GP checkers, you should be in for a treat).
So, I attach a lot of sentimental value to it. I haven't made many changes - Rhyperior has replaced Rhydon in the set comments, and obviously all the new format changes have been made. Also, the grammar standards were very different back then, so please bear this in mind, since there are likely to be plenty of grammatical 'mistakes' that were simply never corrected. I have also slightly chopped the paragraphs to make it more obvious where is where, and I may add some extra information if I feel it needs it. Another peculiarity that grammar checkers should definitely be aware of is that at the time of writing I had an extreme aversion to American spellings, so you may see things like 'physical defensive stat' rather than 'Defense'. I'll try to take these out as they just sound wrong, but if you see any, you'll know why they're there.
So yeah, the thing I'm proudest of on Smogon. Please feel free to destroy it.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/armaldo
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[Overview]
<p>Armaldo is one of those Pokémon who seems to try to do too much with just too little a stat total. It can be defensive or offensive, but not both, with the result that it is left all too easily discarded in favor of more specialized options. On the defensive side, it has just two resistances to rarely seen attacking types, a weakness to Stealth Rock, and a lack of reliable recovery. On the offensive side, Armaldo's horrible Speed comes back to haunt it with a resounding clang. Even past that, there are many who feel that Rhyperior can do everything that Armaldo does better, and with good reason. Unlike Armaldo, Rhyperior has no Stealth Rock weakness, a higher Attack stat, and STAB on Earthquake, while also having access to Megahorn, which is more powerful than Armaldo's STAB X-Scissor, as well as Solid Rock to compensate for its higher slew of resistances.</p>
<p>However, one should not put down Armaldo all that quickly. It has a fantastic support movepool that can be used in all sorts of situations, and it still has its powerful Attack stat, backed up by useful boosting moves and an excellent offensive STAB combination. And make no mistake, it has its own advantages over Rhyperior, most importantly a lack of quad weaknesses, making it less easily revenge killed, as well as higher Special Defense and Speed stats, allowing it to outspeed both Milotic and opposing Rhyperior. All in all, it has to be said that Armaldo is, whatever its shortcomings, a powerful Pokemon with acceptable defensive stats and a good movepool, so don't take this arthropod too lightly.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: X-Scissor
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Earthquake
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Armaldo returns for another bout of carnage in DPP with little change as far as the basic idea behind it—attempt to sweep, or support, but not both. This set is the most ambiguous of all its potential sets to identify in this context—while Rock Polish constitutes a straightforward sweep and the support variant is so named for obvious reasons, this Armaldo can attempt to sweep slower or weakened teams, as well as punch holes in the walls of the opponent's team, supporting its own team. Thus, it can modify its game to suit any opponent, not only making it the most easily adaptable of Armaldo's sets, but often the most profitable when used competitively.</p>
<p>Swords Dance is naturally the most important move on this set, boosting Armaldo's Attack as far as it can go in preparation for a sweep. After Armaldo has set up, you can show off its excellent STAB moves. Stone Edge and X-Scissor are both decently powered and provide a wide range of coverage together, resisted only by Fighting- and Steel-types. Earthquake is placed in the final slot to deal with Steel-types, as well as Toxicroak and Nidoking, and it is Armaldo's best bet against Fighting-types such as Primeape and Hitmontop. Between these three moves is a conglomeration of "EdgeQuake" and Bug-type STAB that hits every Pokémon in the game for at least neutral damage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs and nature are the standard sweeper spread. A Jolly nature and 252 Speed EVs are necessary to allow Armaldo to outrun defensive Milotic and other slower Pokemon, such as Aggron and Rhyperior. The ability to outrun Milotic is something Rhyperior does not share, and is hence a massive advantage in competitive play. Attack is then maximized, and the remaining EVs are placed in Defense to give Armaldo a HP number indivisible by four, which allows Armaldo to switch into Stealth Rock 5 times at most without fainting. Life Orb is recommended in the item slot to make up for the loss of the Adamant nature, allowing Armaldo to OHKO Milotic with Stone Edge and Tangrowth with X-Scissor after a Swords Dance; however, its recoil makes Armaldo far easier to revenge kill. Leftovers is another good choice in order to make the most of Armaldo's bulk, especially if you pair it with sandstorm support, but the loss in power is significant.</p>
<p>Stealth Rock is always useful support to have, since as powerful as Armaldo is, it simply does not have the power even after a Swords Dance to OHKO most bulky Pokémon. Armaldo is also easily outsped and revenge killed by faster threats. For these reasons, Hippopotas is recommended as a partner to set up sandstorm and Stealth Rock, the former of which gives a very useful defensive boost to Armaldo's weaker special side, which makes it so that standard Milotic cannot OHKO Armaldo with Surf even with Stealth Rock damage; however, you should make sure you are aware of the potential damage it can do to the rest of your team if they are not immune to it. In all cases, Armaldo will be glad of some extra Speed to work with, since its low Speed stat is its biggest complaint as a sweeper. This can be mitigated in three ways: Baton Passed Speed boosts from something like Scyther or Gligar, paralysis support from Uxie or Tangrowth, or Trick Room. For the latter, you will want to run a Brave nature and shift all Armaldo's Speed EVs to HP in order to maximize Trick Room's effectiveness.</p>
<p>In the way of troublemaking bulky Pokémon, Weezing can survive a Swords Danced Stone Edge, just barely, and cripple Armaldo with Will-O-Wisp. Without it, though, Flamethrower will not even 3HKO Armaldo, and if you run Leftovers, neither will Fire Blast. Aside from this, Fighting-types cause Armaldo the most trouble, notably Hitmontop and Hariyama, since Toxicroak, Medicham, and Blaziken can be taken care of with its other moves. Both Hariyama and Hitmontop resist Armaldo's STAB moves and take little from Earthquake; Hitmontop in particular has Intimidate and Bullet Punch to take care of him with, and both have STAB Close Combat. To combat these threats, a sturdy Psychic-type, such as Uxie or Claydol, or Spiritomb is worth consideration.</p>
[SET]
name: Rock Polish
move 1: Rock Polish
move 2: X-Scissor
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Earthquake
item: Life Orb
nature: Adamant
evs: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 244 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set is far more concentrated upon sweeping, and getting the job done, than simply going for as much power as possible. Rock Polish allows Armaldo to boost its Speed to respectable levels at the cost of a moveslot that could have been used for Swords Dance, and thus allowing it to outpace and hopefully run through the opponent's team. This set should be played similarly to Rock Polish Rhyperior, with the difference that Armaldo has STAB X-Scissor and Stone Edge with Earthquake for coverage, while Rhyperior has STAB Earthquake and Stone Edge with Megahorn for coverage. Armaldo also has slightly higher initial Speed to compensate for Rhyperior's extra attacking power, which means that it can afford to run an Adamant nature and still outpace Alakazam and Dugtrio after a Rock Polish, which is a massive plus.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>With 244 EVs in Speed, a Rock Polish grants Armaldo a Speed stat of 374, allowing it to outpace everything up to Adamant Choice Scarf Absol and Timid Alakazam, and hopefully to tear apart a weakened team, while the remaining 12 EVs are allocated to HP to provide some bulk. Alternatively, you can use a Jolly nature to hit the same Speed tiers as Jolly Rhyperior, while retaining plenty of EVs to give Armaldo some bulk. Since this set is different to the Swords Dancer in that a sweep is the single greatest objective for it, and not wallbreaking or playing with resistances, this Armaldo should be saved for late-game when most walls are either weakened or gone, and Swellow and Sceptile are hopefully absent and unable to revenge kill Armaldo. The surprise factor for Armaldo is critical – and once the surprise is gone, a sweep becomes a far more difficult task. For all these reasons, as well as the much-needed power it provides, Life Orb is heavily recommended as the item of choice.</p>
<p>Stealth Rock is still useful support to have, and is critical in wearing down your opponents to KO range for Armaldo at the time of the sweep. Faster Pokémon are now less of an issue – Blaziken will not enjoy eating an Earthquake after attempting to switch in on an X-Scissor. However, at the same time bulky Pokémon become greater threats – Weezing and Spiritomb have no difficulty burning Armaldo with Will-O-Wisp, while Registeel can ruin its sweep with Thunder Wave and beat it up with STAB Iron Head. Regirock has an even higher Defense stat and a more powerful STAB Stone Edge to use against Armaldo, and Steelix has the potential to carry Gyro Ball, which can hurt badly after a Rock Polish, or simply Roar Armaldo out. Not far behind are bulky Water-types such as Milotic, who have reliable recovery and can use status moves or simply STAB Surf to end Armaldo for good. For these reasons, Blaziken can make a useful ally, as it is immune to Will-O-Wisp and has STAB Fire Blast and Superpower to beat Regirock, Registeel, and Steelix, while Weezing and Spiritomb dislike Fire Blast and can do nothing significant back. Bulky Water-types also help, as they can deal with such Pokémon as Weezing, Steelix, and Regirock with ease, provided none of them pack Explosion. Claydol can use STAB Earthquake or Earth Power on Steelix, Regirock, and Registeel, as well as ridding Armaldo of entry hazards with Rapid Spin—which is useful because Armaldo will take heavy damage from Stealth Rock over time—and can also set up its own Stealth Rock to aid Armaldo's sweep.</p>
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Rock Slide / Rock Blast
move 2: Stealth Rock
move 3: Rapid Spin
move 4: Knock Off / Toxic
item: Leftovers
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Armaldo has serious potential to support its teammates rather than lean on them for a sweeping opportunity, by virtue of its excellent support movepool. One would expect that, with the many ways it can support its team coupled onto its reasonable defensive stats and lack of Speed making it a less potent offensive threat than it could be, this would be its most used set, however its typing gives it a mere two resistances, to Normal- and Poison-type moves, widely accepted as the worst attacking types outside of STAB, while it has weaknesses to Rock-, Water-, and Steel-type moves, which is incredibly detrimental. The Rock-type weakness is really the killer, whereby Armaldo obtains the infamous 'Cloyster syndrome' (being a Rapid Spinner weak to Stealth Rock), and this weakness both limits its survivability and also undercuts its utility as a Rapid Spinner. However, this should not discourage you from using support Armaldo, as it can be a very useful tool when a lot of jobs need doing.</p>
<p>Rock Slide is advised as your attacking option for reliability, though there are always other options. Rock Blast may seem an odd choice when Stone Edge and Rock Slide are available, but it can also be used to support the team in a way Armaldo's other STAB moves cannot. Similar to Marowak's Bonemerang, Rock Blast can be used to break Substitutes; for example, against a Substitute + Toxic Moltres, Armaldo can break the Substitute with its first Rock Blast, then follow it up with up to four more 4x super effective STAB hits. Its accuracy is shaky at best, but then again Stone Edge has the same accuracy anyway. Stealth Rock is, naturally, a useful entry hazard with which to build up damage, and can be useful if you have no other Pokémon on your team capable of using it themselves, and having it on the field will aid a sweep for any Pokémon. Rapid Spin removes the opponent's entry hazards, which is beneficial to those that have to keep switching as well as those weak to it, including Armaldo itself. Knock Off was illegal with Rapid Spin in ADV, which was a shame as they are two excellent moves; however, now that Knock Off is a tutor move as well as an Egg move, they can legally be used together. Knock Off is best used by removing the item from more specialized Pokémon – walls such as Slowbro hate to lose their Leftovers, and sweepers will also miss the extra kick from their Life Orb or Choice item. Lastly, Toxic can go over either of the previous moves, its main use being to cripple walls as well as Spiritomb that attempt to block Armaldo's Rapid Spin attempts.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Armaldo is naturally physically defensive, and so the EVs serve to reinforce that. Its Special Defense can be patched up with sandstorm if you feel it is exposed, but this may harm your other team members, so be sure to take it into account. The remaining EVs are placed in Attack.</p>
<p>Armaldo can support a great variety of Pokémon with its moves, and so can cater to a great variety of strategies that require adequate support. For example, as a Rapid Spin user it can clear the field of Stealth Rock, which is a great help to Pokémon such as Moltres and Scyther who are quite crippled by it, as well as giving more switch-in opportunities for Pokémon like Arcanine. One of its notable advantages over its fellow Rapid Spinners is, on offensive teams especially, that unlike Claydol or Cloyster, the opponent will not always assume that it is a Rapid Spinner, and so Ghosts will not always converge upon Armaldo in masses – after all, even 252/252 Bold Spiritomb takes hefty damage from a +2 Stone Edge, and Mismagius is not exactly the first choice to defeat the Rock Polish set. Thus, in a similar vein to Kabutops, Armaldo can often find itself clearing the field of entry hazards set up by stall teams, though this facade will only work once, and without the power of the offensive sets, it cannot get past Spiritomb (though Toxic can remedy this). Armaldo will still almost always break a Mismagius Substitute with Rock Blast, however, and more often than not can deal damage past it through consecutive hits.</p>
<p>In the vein of offensive teams, Toxic, Stealth Rock, and Knock Off all hamper the opponent's walls and can indeed aid in a sweep for any offensive Pokémon, yet they also have utility on stall teams as well, so make sure to choose your Armaldo's moves not only on personal preference, but what also benefits your team the most. In terms of bulkiness, Armaldo is fairly good physically, but a lack of useful resistances as well as recovery hurts it badly, so it is best to relegate him to a simple secondary physical shock absorber. Lastly, a note about Hippopotas – Armaldo certainly benefits from sandstorm, but be cautious about its impact on the rest of your team – Armaldo can often play its role more readily without sandstorm than the rest of your team could with sandstorm.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: X-Scissor
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Aqua Tail / Superpower
item: Choice Band
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>There is rarely an offensive Pokémon who cannot in theory run a viable Choice set, and Armaldo is no exception to the rule. A Choice Band allows Armaldo to hit hard off the bat, which can be handy since the Swords Dancer can often be forced out before it has had the chance to wreak havoc thanks to everything vaguely popular being able to outspeed it, and this gives Armaldo the opportunity to hit its switch-in with a very painful, boosted attack. The downside to this is, of course, that Armaldo loses the ability to change moves, and so a misprediction can be a fatal mistake. Armaldo has a real potential to get stuck on the wrong move, as its STAB moves do not have a great deal of neutral coverage individually. Even then, if Armaldo uses Stone Edge on the switch and nails Moltres, expecting an X-Scissor, Pokémon like Torterra then essentially get a free turn on Armaldo, which can be terminal to your chances in the battle if you don't have a way to stop them.</p>
<p>The first three moves should be self-explanatory: a three slot combination that hits every Pokémon in the game for at least neutral coverage. The fourth move is somewhat a filler option, and does not really affect your battle chances should you leave the house with one but not the other. Aqua Tail, as demonstrated by Tyranitar in OU, is a good move to defeat its great counters, Hippowdon and Gliscor, who are indifferent to its other moves and can generally wall the tar out of it, literally. Armaldo would no doubt put this to good use if either Gliscor or Hippowdon were allowed in UU, or else you intend to use this in OU. In a normal UU context, it is only really useful for Donphan, Rhyperior, and the odd Gligar or Hippopotas. All other Pokémon mostly take higher damage from its other moves. Superpower is a more powerful attack than Earthquake to use against Steel-types, though its coverage is somewhat redundant, but because it is as powerful as STAB X-Scissor when hitting for neutral damage, it is worth consideration.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>For the EVs, 252 EVs and a Jolly nature are again necessary to allow Armaldo to outrun defensive Milotic and everything slower, and the EVs in Defense leave Armaldo with a HP stat that allows it to switch into Stealth Rock a maximum of five times, which is handy as Armaldo will be switching a lot, as is often the case with Choice sets. On the other hand, if you want to bulk Armaldo up a bit, you can run 216 Speed EVs and an Adamant nature, which not only nets you more power but also an extra 40 HP EVs, while still allowing Armaldo to outrun Adamant Rhyperior. Again, Rhyperior is a competitor for this sort of spot on a team, but it has to be said that Rhyperior can use a Choice set slightly better, since it resists Stealth Rock and so is not limited to five switches, and is often a wiser choice. Do not let this discourage you from using Armaldo, though, as it still has the strong points of outspeeding Milotic and others around that area, as well as a somewhat more advantageous defensive typing.</p>
<p>As previously mentioned, Armaldo has a lifeline of five switches in the presence of Stealth Rock, which isn't much. Therefore, a Rapid Spinner is heavily advised for use with Armaldo, as well as a Pokémon that can remove Ghosts. As already noted, Claydol makes a good partner, checking Hitmontop and Hariyama while spinning away Stealth Rock, and also being able to set up its own Stealth Rock in order to aid Armaldo's episode of chaos. Wish support from a Pokémon like Hypno or Chansey can also be a worthwhile investment by simultaneously healing it and also patching up its weaker defensive side.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>As far as physical options go, Rock Slide is an option if you want more accuracy than Stone Edge and Rock Blast, Superpower is more powerful than Earthquake initially but has a disadvantageous side-effect, and Cross Poison has completely redundant coverage with X-Scissor. Curse is a pretty useful boosting move, especially considering that sandstorm boosts Armaldo's Special Defense and as such allows it to be surprisingly bulky. However, Cradily does that sort of set much better thanks to Suction Cups and Recover, despite Armaldo's higher Attack stat. In any case, generally Rock Polish or Swords Dance is preferable as a boosting move anyway. Screech may force switches, and can be useful on a team with Spikes support. Armaldo has a more-or-less decent Special Attack stat of 70, which would make a gimmick mixed sweeper set possible if it wasn't for the absence of nearly any sort of decent special move, the most remarkable of which is Earth Power. Brick Break is also available, more for its utility than its power, as per its ability to break dual screens. Lastly, Substitute is always available to scout out switches and enable Armaldo to hit the switch-in with the appropriate attack, in a similar vein to the infamous Substitute Rhyperior. However, Stealth Rock means that Armaldo is unlikely to have all that much HP to spare, so unless you are running a Rapid Spinner, it is generally not worth it.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>In general, Armaldo's worst enemy is its own poor Speed. Failing to outrun such a wide range of Pokémon hinders its ability to sweep and forces it to switch out on Pokémon it could otherwise KO, like Blaziken. In general, however, finding a semi-solid counter to the set depends largely on discovering the set. After this, it is not too difficult to stop with the appropriate moveset. Hitmontop is probably the best universal counter, having decent defensive stats, resistances to both of Armaldo's STAB moves, and Intimidate, as well as a range of moves with which to defeat Armaldo, such as Close Combat and Bullet Punch. Hariyama has the same resistances, is also quite defensive, and can beat down Armaldo with STAB Fighting-type attacks.</p>
<p>For the Swords Dancer, the best option is really to revenge kill with a faster Pokémon. In terms of bulkier Pokemon, Weezing can take a +2 Stone Edge and burn Armaldo with Will-O-Wisp, while Steelix and Rhyperior can easily take a hit and attack back with their respective STAB moves. For the Rock Polish set, the list of paper counters extends much further, where reasonably defensive Pokémon like Registeel and Milotic can counter effectively.</p>
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Post-critique changes:
- Added Curse and Substitute in Optional Changes
- Removed Choice Scarf
- Changed EVs on Swords Dance, Support, and Choice Band
- Slashed Rock Slide with Rock Blast on Support
- Grammar check 1, thanks to Aeron Ee1
- Removed EVs from OC, removed Milotic from SD counters.
- GP Grammar-Prose Check #1, thanks to Oglemi
- Changed to new format
- GP Grammar-Prose Check #2, thanks to Aeron Ee1
