[Overview]
<p>Meet the fastest Water-type in NU,
who has complete with usable enough offensive stats and a movepool to present itself as a threat.
After it Having acquired Hydro Pump and resolved some move illegalities with Water Veil,
namely most importantly Ice Punch, Floatzel can now combat numerous threats at once without sacrificing its effectiveness. Sporting good coverage
on the tier with its access to Water, Ice, Dark and Fighting moves, Floatzel can take on a wide variety of Pokemon by itself, blasting them before they can move. Unfortunately, its frailty means it often loses to most neutral matchups and bulky walls. It also faces competition with Simipour and Basculin for teams wanting a fast, hard-hitting Water-type, and its awkward mix of higher physical Attack
but and stronger special movepool doesn't help it in that regard.</p>
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Ice Beam / Ice Punch
move 3: Crunch
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Low Kick
item: Life Orb
ability: Water Veil / Swift Swim
nature: Naive
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>
Floatzel's Speed is a major selling point over Simipour, who can pull off a similar set. (moving to AC) A For Floatzel, a mixed set offers
the best overall
combination of power and coverage against threats due to
the its ability to hit
from both ends of the spectrum, physical or special hard both physically and specially. Hydro Pump is Floatzel's strongest move against neutral targets, striking down Pokemon that Waterfall would fail to KO,
(remove comma) namely such as Piloswine, Torkoal, and Scolipede,
(remove comma) among others. Ice Beam is stronger than Ice Punch against targets of equal defenses,
(remove comma) as well as hitting and hits Tangela, Torterra, and Exeggutor much harder; however, Ice Punch still has its uses, as it 2HKOes Roselia and +1 Calm Mind Serperior even with no investment, which Ice Beam fails to do. Crunch maims Jynx and specially bulky
Psychics Psychic-types such as Gardevoir and Grumpig that can easily take Floatzel's other attacks. Hidden Power Grass is used for opposing Water-types that would otherwise wall Floatzel, such as Seismitoad, Wartortle, and Alomomola, whereas Low Kick dents specially bulky Pokemon such as Licklicky, Munchlax, Lapras,and Regice
for solid damage.
</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Maximum Special Attack investment is necessary to give Floatzel the power it needs to hit threats hard, while max Speed takes advantage of Floatzel's greatest quality
and major selling point over Simipour, who can pull off a similar set. The last 4 EVs go into Attack to give its physical attack(s) a bit more bite. Floatzel's better Attack stat means it can still opt for a physically inclined set, which can be more consistent but is much easier to wall. If you choose to go that route, Return should go over Crunch if fully invested in Attack, as a Life Orb-boosted Return easily OHKOes Jynx anyway and is
its Floatzel's best attack against opposing Water-types, though Crunch can still be used to combat Misdreavus better
while it cannot burn you.
Physical Floatzel can also make use of STAB Aqua Jet to pick off faster foes. Swift Swim is an option to
allows allow Floatzel to combat
Rain rain, but
the problem is that it doesn't do too good at that job and Water Veil gives Floatzel free switch-ins to burn-inducing moves.
Physical Floatzel can also make use of STAB Aqua Jet to pick off faster foes. Teammates that can handle special walls, such as Mantine and Regice, for mixed Floatzel and physical walls
for physical Floatzel, such as Alomomola and Tangela,
for physical Floatzel are highly recommended. Floatzel's susceptibility to revenge killing and priority prompts the use of a bulky teammate such as Gurdurr, which deals with priority users
in such as Kangaskhan
or and Skuntank very well. Floatzel highly appreciates Grass-type partners, such as Tangela, Vileplume, Serperior, and Sawsbuck, as they resist its weaknesses and either support it passively with Sleep Powder, dual screens, or Aromatherapy, or offensively by weakening problem Pokemon with offensive pressure.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Waterfall
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Return
move 4: Switcheroo / Aqua Jet
item: Choice Band
ability: Water Veil / Swift Swim
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>When equipped with a Choice Band, Floatzel's Attack gets boosted to very high levels. While this set looks to
be competing with suffer significant competition from the stronger Basculin, Floatzel has higher Speed and access to Switcheroo
, which is one of this set's major selling points to set itself apart. Waterfall is Floatzel's main STAB and can strike down numerous targets when boosted. Ice Punch nails Grass-types and Dragon-types wanting to
resist switch in on a resisted Waterfall and retaliate. Return is Floatzel's strongest attack against opposing Water-types and has more than enough power to take down Jynx.
The coverage of Water, Ice and Normal provides unresisted coverage bar Frillish and Shedinja
(add comma) who which are so rare that hitting them is irrelevant. Switcheroo, a unique move Floatzel has among Water-types, can steal the items of walls and lock them into one move
via your Choice item to render (add comma) rendering them useless
or to simply ditch the item for the freedom to switch moves, making Floatzel a good Choice Band user. This allows
for free reign for your
set-up setup sweepers
free reign to boost, unhindered by the crippled wall's efforts to retaliate or survive. On the other hand, Choice Banded Aqua Jet packs a punch and can pick off fast foes, although one must be wary about being locked into it
or and consider if Basculin is a better alternative
for this due to its access to Adaptability.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>
Since Because Choice Band Return destroys Jynx, Crunch's only real use would be
against to hit Frillish
or and Shedinja,
(remove comma) or a and land a stronger hit on Exeggutor and Misdreavus
, and thus is unneccesary.Choice Scarf Floatzel could outrun other Choice
Scarfers Scarf users bar Zebstrika and run an Adamant nature, but Floatzel's already immense Speed and need for power makes this not as effective as it could be. Choice Floatzel, like other Choice Pokemon, tends to switch out a lot, so having teammates that can deal with opponents that resist Floatzel's moves is ideal. For example, Jynx can deal with Water-, Grass- and Dragon-types all at once,
(remove comma) and greatly appreciates setup opportunities granted by Floatzel's Switcheroo.
Again, Grass-types make for fantastic partners, as they provide a good safety buffer in case Floatzel screws up a prediction: dual screens Serperior
or and Meganium can improve Floatzel's durability to prolong its rampage, Leech Seed and
/or Aromatherapy
from Tangela
or and Vileplume
alleviates can alleviate health
or and status issues,
while and Spikes Roselia and Cacturne can
provide Spikes, which help
to nab certain OHKOes and 2HKOes
which could not be achieved without their setup. A possible route to take would be to employ Rain Dance on the team, allowing Floatzel the freedom to run Adamant, thanks to Swift Swim, to further augment its
rain-boosted STAB attacks.</p>
[SET]
name: Bulk Up
move 1: Bulk Up
move 2: Baton Pass
move 3: Waterfall
move 4: Taunt / Return / Ice Punch
item: Leftovers
ability: Water Veil
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While its frailty
may might indicate Bulk Up won't help Floatzel much at all,
Floatzel it has the tools it needs to make
it this work. Bulk Up not only raises Floatzel's respectable Attack,
(remove comma) but
also beefs up its Defense so that it can better take physical hits, which is important for the set to function. Baton Pass is also vital to Bulk Up Floatzel's success, allowing
Floatzel it to bestow
the its boosts to a fellow sweeper to initiate a sweep,
(remove comma) or just
to get away from danger without losing momentum
by wasting the boosts. Waterfall is Floatzel's STAB move and thus is its most reliable move. Floatzel also holds the distinction of being the only fully evolved Pokemon in NU that can Baton Pass Bulk Ups, so it can help out a variety of physical sweepers that either cannot boost for themselves or appreciate the defense boost to prolong their rampage. Floatzel also has access to Taunt, which is incredibly useful to prevent status, phazing, healing, or opposing boosting. The main selling point of Taunt is how it turns the tables on bulky
Waters Water-types that would wall Floatzel really well otherwise, notably defensive Seismitoad with
Scald + Earthquake + Toxic, that would have walled Floatzel really well Scald, Earthquake, and Toxic, meaning Bulk Up Floatzel can actually lure in opponents for it to set up on. Other Pokemon such as Wartortle, Alomomola, Misdreavus, and Torkoal are fair game to start setting up Bulk Up on and pass the boosts away. Note that Floatzel can take a good deal of damage from the likes of Scolipede's Megahorn even with Bulk Up boosts, which is usually your cue to pass the boost to a teammate that can handle the threat better.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>With max HP investment and a respectable base
85 HP, Floatzel can set up Bulk Up on foes such as Samurott, Scolipede, Piloswine
(add comma) and Kangaskhan with health to spare,
(start new sentence) while Bulk Up makes up for the lack of Attack investment,
reaching as Floatzel reaches 370 Attack after just one boost, the equivalent of fully invested positive natured base 119
Attack, so Floatzel can still fight back if need be. Leftovers
allow allows Floatzel to accumulate more boosts, though usually not more than two. Water Veil has significant use on this set, as it prevents Scald
or and Lava Plume burns, further easing
its setup. Obviously, teammates that appreciate the boosts are welcome
teammates for Floatzel. Scolipede and Drifblim resist Grass for Floatzel, and can even learn Baton Pass as a way to double back to Floatzel in case they encounter roadblocks
in such as Torkoal
or and Misdreavus
(add comma) which can burn them; Golurk takes Electric attacks for Floatzel,
and can hurt things
with its boost even more while being harder to bring down with physical attacks
if passed to,
or and can even stack boosts with Rock Polish. In terms of defensive synergy,
Grass-types are still there, but this time Grass-types that can take advantage of the Bulk Up boosts
are preferred, such as Swords Dance Jumpluff, Rock Polish Torterra, and Sawsbuck
(add comma) are excellent. Sweeping with Floatzel itself is a perfectly viable option, though you'll need to sacrifice
Floatzel's its great utility in Taunt. The usual EV spread of 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe is best for optimum sweeping,
(remove comma) but
as a result, Floatzel would be leaves Floatzel too frail to set up more than one Bulk Up most of the time,
(remove comma) due to no bulk investment. Return offers great neutral coverage alongside Water with very few Pokemon resisting both; Ice Punch can hit
Grass and Dragons Grass- and Dragon-types hard at the cost of being walled by Water-types, though with Baton Pass this is less of an issue. Note that even with Taunt, moves such as Dragon Tail, Circle Throw
(add comma) and Clear Smog can still remove the boosts, so a powerful offensive partner, such as Golurk, Jynx, or Sawk,
can should generally be used to quickly dispatch these threats.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Me First is situationally useful for reflecting back
certain moves
of from slower opponents
with 1.5 times the power (the equivalent of STAB), occasionally outdamaging Floatzel's own attacks, but is useless against moves its counters use and fails against faster opponents
/ and attacks. Focus Blast is an option, but most of its targets are specially defensive or are hit harder by Hydro Pump anyway, limiting its usefulness. Aqua Tail can go over Waterfall
on anywhere it is mentioned, but trading flinching and accuracy just for power is generally not worth it, especially when Floatzel can easily make use of the flinch chance with its good
speed Speed. Pursuit can be used to trap
pokemon Pokemon such as Jynx, but Sneasel does this better due to STAB and
resists resisting its targets' STABs. Rain Dance can be used to power up Floatzel's STAB while doubling its
speed Speed, but Floatzel doesn't have the bulk to set up
Rain rain for itself and must rely on teammates for the job. Agility should hardly be considered as it is usually outclassed by Rain Dance + Swift Swim, and
there are Ninjask is a better Pokemon for Baton Passing
speed Speed boosts
, namely Ninjask. Floatzel has the movepool to try a specially offensive set, but that is outclassed by
Simipour's Simipour with its greater Special Attack, coverage, and Nasty Plot. Aqua Ring is a possible option on the Baton Pass set, but Floatzel usually prefers Taunt or
the extra coverage in that last moveslot. Flame Orb + Switcheroo is a gimmick, as it only burns once and at the end of the turn to boot, meaning Floatzel isn't taking weakened damage on the turn it Switcheroos.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Floatzel
relies mostly relies on quick clean
KOes, KOs or a setup opportunity in Bulk Up's case. Water-types with strong neutral
/ or super effective moves, such as Ludicolo, Samurott, and Earth Power Seismitoad, generally make for the best counters, provided they can take Floatzel's other attacks well. Be warned that the same defensive Water-types that wall offensive Floatzel to hell and back, such as Alomomola, Earthquake Seismitoad, Frillish, and Wartortle
(add comma) risk being turned into setup fodder for Bulk Up Floatzel. Grass-types and Electric-types can easily dispatch Floatzel, but
the only issue is that all Grass-types are slower than Floatzel,
(remove comma) whereas and only
one Electric-type two Electric-types in Zebstrika
outspeeds Floatzel and Electrode outspeed it. Grass-types with more balanced defenses that can tank Ice-type attacks, such as Meganium, Ludicolo, and Cradily, are
considered considerably better answers than Tangela and Roselia, who
fears fear Ice Beam and Ice Punch, respectively. All other Electric-types bar Zebstrika
and Electrode usually have to take at least one unresisted hit (which they usually can if at good health) before KOing Floatzel,
(remove comma) or utilize Choice Scarf to outspeed it, making them better checks than counters. Eviolite Electabuzz can take a strong hit relatively well and OHKO with Thunderbolt.</p>
<p>Bulk Up sets are a bit trickier to stop
since as their incredible
speed Speed means stopping them with Taunt, status, or a KO before Baton Pass is difficult. Simply weakening Floatzel to the point where it can no longer set up can be considered sufficient though. Choice
Scarfers Scarf users can threaten Floatzel with powerful neutral STAB or coverage moves
(add comma) whereas and priority can whittle down Floatzel greatly,
but though note that Bulk Up Floatzel is
more resilient to this harder to take down this way. Floatzel cannot be burned thanks to Water Veil,
(remove comma) but absolutely despises paralysis from Pokemon such as Stun Spore Vileplume, Thunder Wave Audino
/ and Liepard, and Body Slam Lickilicky, which neuters its greatest advantage in Speed and makes
Floatzel it dead weight.</p>
