Articuno (Offensive)

[col49]

But really though, I literally just c/p NU sets and change the partners 'n stuff (seriously, I don't do this on purpose I just feel as though these deserve sets, especially 'cuz spdef art totally isn't worth the dedicated spin support lol). Also I like berd.

i am artist

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Ice Beam
move 2: Hurricane
move 3: Substitute / Hidden Power Ground
move 4: Roost
item: Life Orb
ability: Pressure
nature: Modest
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

• Due to its naturally high Special Attack and good bulk, backed by strong, high-power STAB moves, Articuno can be a very dangerous offensive threat despite its crippling SR weakness
• [Longish-winded blah on its pros & cons against Moltres]
• STAB Ice Beam is super chill (i'm funny) in RU due to limited long-lasting responses to them, and generally pops stuff
• Hurricane gives Art something most Ice-types could only dream of: a solid secondary STAB move. This allows it to smash most relevant Ice resists, including Entei, Esca, and Slowking (solid chance to 2HKO w/SR, guaranteed by a layer of Spikes), making the shaky acc. somewhat of a necessary evil
• Articuno finds several opportunities to set up Substitute, at which point it can effectively avoid status that would otherwise cripple it, notably Scald burns and Toxic from bulky Water-types that switch in (even though they basically all lose 1v1 barring really bad luck '~'), PP stall Stone Edges, Fire Blasts, and such (thanks to Pressure !_!), force would-be checks such as Lanturn to Volt Switch out and take hazards damage, etc. It also minimizes the risk associated with missing Hurricane
• HP Ground is worse, use Sub HP Ground allows Articuno a more immediate method of damaging Steel-types+Lanturn / Kabutops while also hitting Fire-types hard without having to risk Hurricane missing, and although most Steel-types are being hit neutrally by one of Art's STAB moves it is the better option if the team can't afford Spikes support to wear down such Pokemon
• Roost allows Articuno to remain healthy and even occasionally switch in on weaker special attackers with SR up, allowing to maintain its HP throughout a match, PP stall certain threats, and so forth

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

• A Timid nature can be used to get the jump on + Speed Base 80's such as Gallade and Kabutops, as well as outpacing Smeargle and Timid Nidoqueen
• More EVs can be pooled into bulk to beef up Aritcuno's subs, allowing it to more comfortably take attacks from Slowking and such
• HP Fighting / Fire can both be used over HP Ground to hit Ice-types such as Cryogonal and Glaceon without having to resort to Hurricane while maintaining coverage against Steel-types
• Articuno can be used in the context of hail teams, with its good secondary STAB and reliable recovery helping to distinguish it from other Ice-types (though Ice Body would be really cool for giving more reason to use it over Rotom-F :[ ), in which case it could run Blizzard reliably
• Rapid Spin. Kabutops is the most suitable partner for this end, offering solid synergy offensively a ok synergy defensively and consistently removing hazards while retaining a good offensive presence
• As with most berds, Articuno appreciates Spikes support since 90% of its checks and counters are worn down by them. Smeargle is usually the one-stop shop for faster hazards, though Scollipede and Qwilfish are equally viable partners
• CB Spiritomb is really cool for eliminating / wearing down special walls without having to rely on consecutive Hurricane hits while also doubling as a spin-blocker. Also soft-checks Cincinno, whose multi-hit moves (Rock Blast in particular obviously) donk Articuno regardless of sub
• Checks for Klinklang don't hurt, since it has the bulk to take a hit or two and set up a Shift Gear and proceed to smash through it sub or no. Entei, Emboar, and Rotom-C all accomplish this fairly well

Why This Set Deserves To Be On-Site:
Since I know the biggest point of contention is going to be "Why use this over Moltres?", since they're very similar, I'll just make this section about that, ok? Ok. If there are other issues than be sure to bring them up so I can do what I can to answer them ^_^

• Handles Water-types better: While both Articuno and Moltres' non-Flying STABs are resisted by Water-types, Articuno, unlike Moltres, can stay in on such Pokemon and even beat a fair amount of them 1v1 instead of being scared out. Articuno is very capable of subbing up on several common bulky Water-types, with all but Slowking and Lanturn consistently failing to break Articuno's uninvested Substitutes with their STAB attacks, with the latter being forced to switch out (Volt Switch) and take another round of hazards damage as well as Ibeam / Hurricane damage only to break its sub and with a moderate investment in bulk (80 HP EVs to be precise) even Slowking's Scald never breaks its sub. Moreover, not being constantly scared out by Aqua Jet is really nice.
• Generally Bulkier: Though this slightly overlaps with the first point, it really does deserve its own section. Articuno's better defenses are really critical, as they allow it more leniency switching in, which really counts when hard-pressed to spin away Stealth Rock (since Articuno can switch into a fair chunk of defensive Pokemon with SR up and just Roost off the damage later). This also helps in taking priority attacks from Pokemon such as Absol, even taking a Volt Switch from Scarf Rotom-C and Roosting off most of the damage. This also makes Articuno much better at capitalizing on Pressure, since it can often take a hit in a pinch if need be.
• Ice STAB =/= Fire STAB: Kinda obvious, but it's a big deal .-. Having Ice STAB grants Articuno certain liberties that Moltres can't afford. For instance, Articuno can actually use Substitute to good effect without having to be constantly weary of Rhydon switching in and taking it out. Being able to handily punch through Pokemon such as Druddigon, that has [finally] increased in usage substantially is also a pretty big deal.

 

[august]

Meh.

articuno takes just as much to support as moltres and is so much weaker. this set actually doesnt really handle bulky waters better either, the hurricane is weaker than moltres' and stuff like slowking shakes it off anyway. if you're gonna use articuno to handle bulky waters you might as well use sub roost toxic or sub roost whirlwind considering that set decimates bulky waters by simply stalling them out with pressure... i mean i guess articuno hits moderately hard but i honestly think this set in particular is outclassed by general sub roost lefties articuno... i mean i guess this can surprise fighters with an ohko...

feel free to provide logs though as always to disprove me

 

[Oglemi]

Eh, I'm just going to reject this outright

- The power isn't there, at least Moltres has the ability to get past Slowking sometimes, and can easily get past stuff like Druddigon anyway even without a super effective hit. Most Lanturn have Tbolt and most Slowking should be carrying Fire Blast anyway.
- The Speed is actually a huge deal. Being able to actually outspeed Lilligant when it counts (cuz of the IV Speed drop) is a major selling point of Moltres.
- The typing is a huge deal. Not being able to take hits from stuff like Klinklang, Fighting-types, and the extra damage from Grass-type attacks makes a difference in the long-run.
- Finally, the difference in power is actually extremely significant. Base 90 to Base 125 is a HUGE leap, leaving even the chip damage from Moltres to be far more significant than that from Articuno.

QC Rejected 1/3

 

[Arkian]

Articuno is very capable of subbing up on several common bulky Water-types, with all but Slowking and Lanturn consistently failing to break Articuno's uninvested Substitutes with their STAB attacks

Slowking and Lanturn are the two most common bulky waters in RU, so this really doesn't mean much. Besides:

0 Atk Qwilfish Waterfall vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Articuno: 84-99 (26.08 - 30.74%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

Qwilfish also breaks through Articuno's subs (but it really can't take its attacks well). Aside from that, I kinda like the sound of this set even though QC doesn't approve of it. I'll try it out for sure :)

 

[DittoCrow]

Talked with august over IRC and we both agree that this should be rejected. It doesn't have that good of coverage, Ice Beam is pretty weak coming off of only base 95 SpA, Hurricane is unreliable, and there are other great mons with Ice STAB that can make use of hail. Articuno is much better off putting its bulk to use.

QC Rejected