taken over from Aurosis
QC: erisia / DTC / Punchshroom
GP: Haund / P Squared
[OVERVIEW]
Floatzel's excellent Speed tier allows it to outspeed almost all relevant Pokemon in the tier bar Swellow, including potent offensive threats such as Tauros, Archeops, and Pyroar. It also has a decent enough movepool that allows it to hit most of the tier hard. Floatzel's abilities are useful in some cases, as Swift Swim allows it to outpace and OHKO Kabutops and Omastar under rain, while Water Veil can be used to avoid getting burned by Scald from Lanturn and Will-O-Wisp from Mismagius. Although its strong coverage moves mostly make up for it, Floatzel's Special Attack isn't very high, leaving it struggling to pressure Pokemon like Lanturn and Pokemon immune to Water without having to rely on Focus Blast hitting multiple times. Floatzel is also quite frail, leaving it vulnerable to being revenge killed by priority from Pokemon such as Kangaskhan, Hitmonchan, and Shiftry. Lastly, Floatzel faces competition from other Water-types such as Samurott and Ludicolo, as they are bulkier and have better movepools.
[SET]
name: Life Orb Special Attacker
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Baton Pass / Taunt
item: Life Orb
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
STAB Hydro Pump does solid damage to anything that doesn't resist it. Ice Beam provides great coverage alongside Hydro Pump, nailing Grass-types such as Vileplume, Gourgeist-XL, and Lilligant for super effective damage. Focus Blast rounds out Floatzel's coverage, hitting Ferroseed, Abomasnow for super effective damage, notably OHKOing Kangaskhan; it also provides neutral coverage on other Water-type Pokemon, and almost always 2HKOes Jynx with it. Baton Pass keeps up offensive momentum, providing a free switch in to wallbreakers such as Magmortar, Abomasnow, and Aurorus, while also letting Floatzel avoid Sucker Punch or Pursuit mind games versus Skuntank. Taunt is an alternative that allows Floatzel to break through bulkier Pokemon such as Musharna and Mega Audino by preventing them from healing up; it also prevents Pokemon such as Mantine from removing entry hazards from the field with Defog. Hidden Power Electric can be used to lure in and 2HKO Mantine, as well as allowing Floatzel to reliably hit Water-types for the same damage as Focus Blast. Lastly, Substitute + Baton Pass, although heavily decreasing Floatzel's longevity due to repeated Life Orb and Substitute damage, is a nice way to pass a Substitute to a Pokemon that has a hard time setting it up itself and can come in on weaker checks to Floatzel such as Lanturn, like Abomasnow.
Set Details
========
Life Orb provides Floatzel with a necessary power boost while also allowing it to take full advantage of its coverage options. Maximum Speed and Special Attack EVs allow Floatzel to hit as hard and fast as possible. A Timid nature is necessary to outspeed Tauros and Archeops, one of Floatzel's main perks. Swift Swim is chosen to give Floatzel a better matchup versus dedicated rain teams, and the ability to avoid burns with Water Veil is not as useful for this set.
Usage Tips
========
Floatzel is best used as a late-game cleaner, when it can run through weakened teams with its fantastic Speed and coverage moves. Floatzel also has utility in being able to revenge kill fast offensive threats such as Archeops, Scyther, and Tauros.
In situations where your opponent has a counter to Floatzel such as Lanturn at high HP, it is often optimal to use Baton Pass to generate momentum and switch to a Pokemon that can handle said counter safely. Floatzel can also use Ice Beam to pick off weakened targets without having to risk inaccurate Hydro Pumps. Try to avoid switching Floatzel in on anything other than weak resisted attacks, as its pitiful defenses combined with continual Life Orb damage cause it to faint quickly.
Team Options
========
Strong wallbreakers such as Primeape and Archeops are great partners for Floatzel, as Floatzel helps them get past annoying Pokemon like Steelix and Piloswine, while Stone Edge from both Primeape and Archeops helps Floatzel deal with Pokemon against which it struggles. These wallbreakers also appreciate the free switches Floatzel may give them via Baton Pass. Grass-types like Lilligant and Vileplume can make quick work of Water-types that Floatzel struggles with such as Lanturn and Poliwrath, while Floatzel can conversely demolish the Fire-types that threaten them. Floatzel also greatly appreciates entry hazard support from Pokemon like Ferroseed and Garbodor, as most of Floatzel's checks and counters lack reliable recovery, making them fairly easy to wear down. Mesprit is another great partner, as it helps bring Floatzel in safely and provides support in both Thunder Wave and Healing Wish.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Floatzel can run a Bulk Up + Baton Pass set to decent success, as its naturally high base Speed combined with increased bulk allows it to pass boosts efficiently. Water Veil is the preferred ability on this set, as it allows Floatzel to avoid some annoying burns. The set is often less reliable than the specially offensive set, however, as it lacks the ability to effectively revenge kill faster offensive threats and relies only on mono-Water coverage to actually deal damage, as the fourth move is normally either Substitute or Taunt. A Choice Band set capitalizes on Floatzel's naturally higher Attack stat, although this set is usually suboptimal, as Choice Band Floatzel is unable to switch attacks, which restricts its coverage. Besides that, Floatzel's physical movepool is far less impressive than its special one. Crunch can be used on the specially offensive set to OHKO Jynx, which otherwise has a chance to switch into Floatzel, as it can only 2HKO Jynx with Focus Blast, which is inaccurate and unreliable.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types**: Floatzel can struggle to reliably damage Water-types such as Mantine and Poliwrath, as it has to rely on Focus Blast or Hidden Power Electric, to hit them. Lanturn is especially annoying, as it has great Special Defense, is immune to Hidden Power Electric and has a super effective STAB move to hit Floatzel with.
**Faster Attackers**: Floatzel's low defenses mean almost all Choice Scarf Pokemon, as well as strong priority attacks such as Fake Out and Sucker Punch, can act before it and either KO or greatly damage it. Swellow outright outspeeds and OHKOes Floatzel with Choice Specs-boosted Boomburst.
**Grass-types**: All Grass-type Pokemon can take on Floatzel with their respective STAB moves. Not all of them can safely switch in on it, but Lilligant, Vileplume, and Roselia can survive an Ice Beam from full HP and OHKO Floatzel with Giga Drain or any other Grass-type attack.
**Bulky Pokemon**: Bulky Pokemon such as Hariyama, Musharna, and Mega Audino can all tank multiple hits from Floatzel and proceed to hit it hard or set up on it. The latter two have to be wary of Taunt, though, as it can pressure both of them to switch out if they are low on HP.
QC: erisia / DTC / Punchshroom
GP: Haund / P Squared
[OVERVIEW]
Floatzel's excellent Speed tier allows it to outspeed almost all relevant Pokemon in the tier bar Swellow, including potent offensive threats such as Tauros, Archeops, and Pyroar. It also has a decent enough movepool that allows it to hit most of the tier hard. Floatzel's abilities are useful in some cases, as Swift Swim allows it to outpace and OHKO Kabutops and Omastar under rain, while Water Veil can be used to avoid getting burned by Scald from Lanturn and Will-O-Wisp from Mismagius. Although its strong coverage moves mostly make up for it, Floatzel's Special Attack isn't very high, leaving it struggling to pressure Pokemon like Lanturn and Pokemon immune to Water without having to rely on Focus Blast hitting multiple times. Floatzel is also quite frail, leaving it vulnerable to being revenge killed by priority from Pokemon such as Kangaskhan, Hitmonchan, and Shiftry. Lastly, Floatzel faces competition from other Water-types such as Samurott and Ludicolo, as they are bulkier and have better movepools.
[SET]
name: Life Orb Special Attacker
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Baton Pass / Taunt
item: Life Orb
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
STAB Hydro Pump does solid damage to anything that doesn't resist it. Ice Beam provides great coverage alongside Hydro Pump, nailing Grass-types such as Vileplume, Gourgeist-XL, and Lilligant for super effective damage. Focus Blast rounds out Floatzel's coverage, hitting Ferroseed, Abomasnow for super effective damage, notably OHKOing Kangaskhan; it also provides neutral coverage on other Water-type Pokemon, and almost always 2HKOes Jynx with it. Baton Pass keeps up offensive momentum, providing a free switch in to wallbreakers such as Magmortar, Abomasnow, and Aurorus, while also letting Floatzel avoid Sucker Punch or Pursuit mind games versus Skuntank. Taunt is an alternative that allows Floatzel to break through bulkier Pokemon such as Musharna and Mega Audino by preventing them from healing up; it also prevents Pokemon such as Mantine from removing entry hazards from the field with Defog. Hidden Power Electric can be used to lure in and 2HKO Mantine, as well as allowing Floatzel to reliably hit Water-types for the same damage as Focus Blast. Lastly, Substitute + Baton Pass, although heavily decreasing Floatzel's longevity due to repeated Life Orb and Substitute damage, is a nice way to pass a Substitute to a Pokemon that has a hard time setting it up itself and can come in on weaker checks to Floatzel such as Lanturn, like Abomasnow.
Set Details
========
Life Orb provides Floatzel with a necessary power boost while also allowing it to take full advantage of its coverage options. Maximum Speed and Special Attack EVs allow Floatzel to hit as hard and fast as possible. A Timid nature is necessary to outspeed Tauros and Archeops, one of Floatzel's main perks. Swift Swim is chosen to give Floatzel a better matchup versus dedicated rain teams, and the ability to avoid burns with Water Veil is not as useful for this set.
Usage Tips
========
Floatzel is best used as a late-game cleaner, when it can run through weakened teams with its fantastic Speed and coverage moves. Floatzel also has utility in being able to revenge kill fast offensive threats such as Archeops, Scyther, and Tauros.
In situations where your opponent has a counter to Floatzel such as Lanturn at high HP, it is often optimal to use Baton Pass to generate momentum and switch to a Pokemon that can handle said counter safely. Floatzel can also use Ice Beam to pick off weakened targets without having to risk inaccurate Hydro Pumps. Try to avoid switching Floatzel in on anything other than weak resisted attacks, as its pitiful defenses combined with continual Life Orb damage cause it to faint quickly.
Team Options
========
Strong wallbreakers such as Primeape and Archeops are great partners for Floatzel, as Floatzel helps them get past annoying Pokemon like Steelix and Piloswine, while Stone Edge from both Primeape and Archeops helps Floatzel deal with Pokemon against which it struggles. These wallbreakers also appreciate the free switches Floatzel may give them via Baton Pass. Grass-types like Lilligant and Vileplume can make quick work of Water-types that Floatzel struggles with such as Lanturn and Poliwrath, while Floatzel can conversely demolish the Fire-types that threaten them. Floatzel also greatly appreciates entry hazard support from Pokemon like Ferroseed and Garbodor, as most of Floatzel's checks and counters lack reliable recovery, making them fairly easy to wear down. Mesprit is another great partner, as it helps bring Floatzel in safely and provides support in both Thunder Wave and Healing Wish.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Floatzel can run a Bulk Up + Baton Pass set to decent success, as its naturally high base Speed combined with increased bulk allows it to pass boosts efficiently. Water Veil is the preferred ability on this set, as it allows Floatzel to avoid some annoying burns. The set is often less reliable than the specially offensive set, however, as it lacks the ability to effectively revenge kill faster offensive threats and relies only on mono-Water coverage to actually deal damage, as the fourth move is normally either Substitute or Taunt. A Choice Band set capitalizes on Floatzel's naturally higher Attack stat, although this set is usually suboptimal, as Choice Band Floatzel is unable to switch attacks, which restricts its coverage. Besides that, Floatzel's physical movepool is far less impressive than its special one. Crunch can be used on the specially offensive set to OHKO Jynx, which otherwise has a chance to switch into Floatzel, as it can only 2HKO Jynx with Focus Blast, which is inaccurate and unreliable.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types**: Floatzel can struggle to reliably damage Water-types such as Mantine and Poliwrath, as it has to rely on Focus Blast or Hidden Power Electric, to hit them. Lanturn is especially annoying, as it has great Special Defense, is immune to Hidden Power Electric and has a super effective STAB move to hit Floatzel with.
**Faster Attackers**: Floatzel's low defenses mean almost all Choice Scarf Pokemon, as well as strong priority attacks such as Fake Out and Sucker Punch, can act before it and either KO or greatly damage it. Swellow outright outspeeds and OHKOes Floatzel with Choice Specs-boosted Boomburst.
**Grass-types**: All Grass-type Pokemon can take on Floatzel with their respective STAB moves. Not all of them can safely switch in on it, but Lilligant, Vileplume, and Roselia can survive an Ice Beam from full HP and OHKO Floatzel with Giga Drain or any other Grass-type attack.
**Bulky Pokemon**: Bulky Pokemon such as Hariyama, Musharna, and Mega Audino can all tank multiple hits from Floatzel and proceed to hit it hard or set up on it. The latter two have to be wary of Taunt, though, as it can pressure both of them to switch out if they are low on HP.
Last edited:
