Frillish** [QC: 0/3]

Ssin

Ssin

Original analysis written by Ssin. This analysis, among others, had to be completed and submitted in a hurry for Smogon's new dex. The OP here has been fully changed to reflect QC's version of this, written by Heysup.

Overview
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  • Unique typing and abilities.
  • Only bulky Ghost-type with Recover.
  • Decent SpA as well.
  • Knock Off is rampant and makes Frillish's job quite limited.
Defensive
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name: Defensive
move 1: Scald / Surf
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Recover
move 4: Will-O-Wisp / Toxic
ability: Cursed Body / Water Absorb
item: Eviolite
evs: 236 HP / 116 Def / 76 SpA / 76 SpD
nature: Bold

Moves
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  • Scald is Frillish's main STAB attack and is useful for checking Pokemon such as Mienfoo while also nailing Fire-types who may be switching into a predicted Will-O-Wisp.
  • Shadow Ball is a good coverage move, hitting Meditite hard and Slowpoke super effectively.
  • Recover is an obvious move as it gives Frillish longevity.
  • Will-O-Wisp is a very useful status for Frillish as it still allows it to beat Pokemon such as Mienfoo who cannot break Frillish even with Knock Off.
  • Toxic and Surf can be used as well, though it does not have the Attack-reducing effect.
Set Details
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  • EVs maximize bulk with even numbers for Eviolite. The rest are invested in SpA.
  • Cursed Body and Water Absorb come down to personal preference. Water Absorb works best if there is no other Water-type resist on the team, but otherwise Cursed Body is generally more useful.
Usage Tips
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  • Frillish is best used as a check for certain Fighting-, Fire-, and Normal-types.
  • It is usually best to use Frillish as a check, since it has trouble switching in on predicted attacks, but has no trouble forcing Pokemon out.
Team Options
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  • Frillish can barely dent Pokemon such as Chinchou on the switch, so any Pokemon immune to Volt Switch would make a good teammate for Frillish.
  • While Frillish can absorb most Fighting-type attacks, it cannot effectively take Knock Off. With this in mind, Pokemon such as Trubbish or itemless Fletchling work well with Frillish.
Choice Scarf
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name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Water Spout
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Energy Ball / Surf
move 4: Trick
ability: Cursed Body / Water Absorb
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 76 HP / 236 SpA / 196 Spe
nature: Timid

Moves
========
  • Water Spout is Frillish's highest damage attack.
  • Shadow Ball is a good coverage move, hitting Meditite hard and Slowpoke super effectively.
  • Energy Ball hits Chinchou and Tirtouga hard.
  • Since Shadow Ball hits those Pokemon neutrally, Surf can be used as a backup Water-type move.
  • Trick lets Frillish severely dampen the usefulness of special walls.
Set Details
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  • EVs maximize Speed to reach 14, while the rest are put in SpA to maximized damage. There are 76 EVs leftover that can be put into HP.
  • Water Absorb and Cursed Body both have their merits and come down to personal preference.
Usage Tips
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  • This Frillish set is best used as an early-game revenge killer before Stealth Rock is down to weaken Water Spout.
  • If hazards are removed late game, it can sweep a weakened team with Water Spout.
Team Options
========

  • Frillish can barely dent Pokemon such as Chinchou on the switch, even with Energy Ball, so any Pokemon immune to Volt Switch would make a good teammate for Frillish.
  • While Frillish can absorb most Fighting-type attacks, it cannot effectively take Knock Off. With this in mind, Pokemon such as Trubbish or itemless Fletchling work well with Frillish.
  • Anything that removes hazards reliably works well with Frillish, since it needs its full HP to deal maximum damage with Water Spout.
Other Options
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  • Choice Specs can be used, but it lacks the Speed to be used effectively.
  • Trick Room can be set up effectively by Frillish.
Counters
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  • **Chinchou**: Chinchou is bulky enough to not care too much about Shadow Ball or Energy Ball and can use any Electric-type attack to deal major damage to Frillish.
  • **Timburr**: Timburr cannot be neutralized buy Will-O-Wisp and can deal damage back with Knock Off.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
SCARF!!

Really though, Scarf is way more than just a fun gimmick. It's really, really good, and Scarf Water Spout cleans so many teams because 1. not many popular bulky Water-types right now because of Tangles and 2. lots of frail stuff floating around out there. Set would be Water Spout / Shadow Ball / Trick / Ice Beam if QC approves it.

Also as a minor note, the EV section should be in HP / Atk / Def / SpA / SpD / Spe order, so for this set, it should be 156 HP / 196 Def / 156 SpD.

It'd probably be a good idea to mention under Usage Tips some of the things that Frillish walls as well. It's really not that great defensively right now because that list is pretty small, but it's still a good thing to make a note of.
 
scarf is 100% better than bulky Frillish right now. The one difference I have compared to Treecko's set is Hydro Pump > Ice Beam. Though as long as both are slashed I wouldn't be opposed to either order.

The big flaw with defensive Frillish right now, is that it just doesn't wall much. Dark-types are huge, and it is just bait for them to come in for free.

Frillish @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Cursed Body
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Spd / 236 SAtk / 76 SDef
Timid Nature
- Water Spout
- Shadow Ball
- Trick
- Hydro Pump / Ice Beam

is the set I use, and it really is a lot of fun, and a very effective cleaner lategame. I really think offensive Frillish deserves a set in this metagame, and I hope QC agrees with me :)
 
Trick Room mention.

Dazzing Gleam might be cool on the Scarf set, hits Dark-types and has perfect coverage with Shadow Ball outside of Litleo (although its STABs are pretty great by themselves)

Also Murkrow and Pawniard fear burns.
 
Water Absorb should be the ability of choice for the Choice Scarf set, that is if QC is cool with it, because not only does it provide more switch-in opportunities, but it also has the potential to heal Frillish so Water Spout is powered up. For this same reason, I think Giga Drain deserves a mention on Scarf (but not necessarily a slash) since it does a lot of damage to Chinchou/Staryu while healing up Frillish for later Water Spout usage.
 
This Pokemon, as is the case with many others, was on a list of Pokemon that were high priority and needed to have completed skeletons for Smogon's new dex as soon as possible. As such, the OP of the thread has been fully edited to reflect the QC team's writeup of this Pokemon, as it will make things run a lot faster.

Thank you for understanding. :)
 
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