Komodo
Huff
[Overview]
<p>Although its abilities are somewhat limited, Beartic is surprisingly good at what it does. Beartic's Attack stat is decent enough to abuse, and its defenses are passable as well. Furthermore, Beartic's movepool provides it with perfect type coverage; combined with its decent STAB, it can seriously dent the opponent's team. Mono-Ice typing is relatively poor, leaving Beartic vulnerable to Stealth Rock and many common attacking types. Beartic's Speed is nothing to write home about either; sitting at a pitiful base 50 Speed, Beartic is hard-pressed to sweep, and very prone to revenge killing. Beartic doesn't have a lot going for it, but if you'd like to rock the bearded yeti, you'll earn some serious cool points.</p>
[SET]
name: SubPunch
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Icicle Crash
move 4: Night Slash
item: Leftovers
nature: Adamant
evs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is probably the only reason to run Beartic over other offensive Ice-types. The idea is to switch into a weaker attacker, force a switch, set up a Substitute, and fire off powerful attacks. Focus Punch destroys common special walls, easily OHKOing Cryogonal and Munchlax with residual damage. Icicle Crash provides respectable coverage alongside Focus Punch, and the additional STAB boost makes it extremely powerful. Night Slash can net a 2HKO on Slowking, and hits Uxie harder than Icicle Crash.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>84 Speed EVs allow Beartic to outspeed Clefable and Weezing before they can status it, maximum Attack helps it deal as much damage as possible, and the remaining EVs are placed into HP for additional bulk. Avalanche is a decent alternative considering Beartic's low Speed, though its inconsistency is rather offsetting. Bulldoze can be used to hit Qwilfish, but it's rather situational and a waste of a moveslot. Bulk Up can be used to boost its Attack and brazen up his Substitutes a bit, but Beartic is better off attacking. Toxic is also viable to cripple Pokemon like Uxie and Slowking, but again, it's a waste of a moveslot most of the time.</p>
<p>Poliwrath is an excellent partner as it can switch into Beartic's weaknesses and threaten Fire- and Rock-types with its STAB. Sceptile is another great partner as it can break through bulky Water-types that get in Beartic's way. Claydol and Sandslash can switch into physical sweepers, set up Stealth Rock, and spin away entry hazards. Though not entirely frail, Beartic's defenses aren't anything special, so dual screens is always a nice boon for him, allowing him to keep his Substitutes up and switch in easier.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>A pure offensive set is viable, but as Beartic is rather slow and lacks priority, it's pretty difficult to pull off. Rest and Sleep Talk can be used alongside Bulk Up to form a mono-attacking set, but due to its Ice typing, it's fairly difficult to set up. Stone Edge can be used to hit Fire-types super effectively, but it doesn't provide any additional coverage outside of that. Taunt and Encore slow the opponent down, but Beartic is too slow to use them effectively. Finally, Beartic's special movepool isn't too shabby, but coming off a base 70 Special Attack, it won't be dealing tons of damage.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>On a defensive front, the biggest Beartic counters are bulky Water-types, such as Qwilfish and Slowking, that resist Beartic's STAB and have the potential to burn it via Scald or set up hazards all over him. Physically defensive Pokemon such as Uxie and Cofagrigus can set up on it, but unfortunately they can't deal a lot of damage in return. Poliwrath can switch into Icicle Crash or Night Slash and threaten Beartic with its STAB Fighting moves, but it can't switch into Focus Punch without taking a serious amount of damage. Dusknoir and Spiritomb are immune to Focus Punch, take little damage from Icicle Crash, and have access to Will-O-Wisp to burn Beartic. Moltres can switch into any of Beartic's attacks bar Stone Edge and blast it with powerful Fire-type moves, but it must beware of Stealth Rock on the field. Klinklang can switch into Ice-type attacks and hit Beartic with Gear Grind, but it needs to watch out for Focus Punch. Crustle and Armaldo can take a hit and muscle their way through Beartic with Rock Blast, while Fighting-types can smash Beartic's beard with their brute force. Beartic isn't the most powerful Pokemon in the tier, and it isn't difficult to counter; just avoid Focus Punch and you'll have no problem taking it out.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Swift Swim gives Beartic potential as a rain sweeper, but it's still slow even with doubled Speed. Regardless, it's more useful than Snow Cloak as there are no permanent hail-inducers in the tier.<p>