Overview
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- Fast, hits a nice 17 Speed
- Protean, obviously. 1.5x STAB boost on every attacking move is great.
- Its special movepool is predictable, but effective
- Has quite a few physical attacking and support options to take advantage of as well
- Bulk -- not so great
Life Orb
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name: Life Orb
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Hidden Power Ground / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: U-turn
ability: Protean
item: Life Orb
evs: 68 Atk / 28 Def / 184 SpA / 188 Spe
ivs: 0 HP / 30 SpA / 30 SpD or 0 HP / 30 SpA
nature: Naive
Moves
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- Hydro Pump is Froakie’s hardest hitting move (tied with Blizzard actually), backed by STAB and Life Orb
- Ice Beam hits Grass-types hard, as well as removing Froakie’s weakness to Grass
- Hidden Power Ground is very important for hitting Chinchou. Not only does it deal super-effective damage, but it also makes Froakie immune to Electric.
- U-turn is important for scouting purposes, and it gets the Protean boost as well
- Hidden Power Grass can be used over ground to hit other Water-types harder
Set Details
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- Special Attack and Speed are maxed out so he can hit as hard and as fast as possible
- 68 EVs then go into attack to boost U-turn’s power
- The remaining EVs go into Defense, which helps against opposing priority (and it’s the only stat left that can be boosted)
- Froakie’s base stats are pretty weird, so the EVs are clunky and some are left over
- The IV spreads allows for 19 HP (only 1 HP of LO recoil) and Hidden Power Ground/Grass.
- The given EV spread is compatible with both IV spreads without wasting any EVs.
Usage Tips
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- Froakie has a hard time switching into non-resisted attacks; so bring it in after a teammate has fallen or lead off with it
- Go easy on the prediction with Froakie. Protean/Life Orb boosted attacks will still do a good amount to switch-ins, and a misprediction can cost Froakie its life
- If in doubt, U-turn outta there
Team Options
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- A slow VoltTurn partner can help Froakie come in safely and threaten the opponent
- Defog/Rapid Spin is good since Froakie will otherwise get worn down quickly by Life Orb and entry hazards.
- A team mate that can handle priority moves aimed at Froakie is greatly appreciated. Larvesta resists several common priority moves and threatens to burn their users with Flame Body. Spritzee also makes a good team mate, since its great bulk and typing allows it to take on several.
Choice Scarf
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name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Hidden Power Ground / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: U-turn
ability: Protean
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 28 HP / 68 Atk / 28 Def / 184 SpA / 188 Spe
nature: Rash / Naive
Moves
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- Hydro Pump is Froakie’s hardest hitting move and is a useful revenge-killing tool
- Ice Beam is for blasting those Grass- and Flying-types
- Hidden Power Ground is great for Chinchou (and Volt Switch users in general), giving you the upper hand in the match early on.
- Hidden Power Grass secures the OHKO on Tirtouga, and is Froakie’s best option against most Water-types
- U-turn because, U-turn
Set Details
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- With full investment in Special Attack / Speed and Rash nature, Froakie hits 16 SpA and 24 Speed
- Naive nature can be used to give Froakie an extra point in speed in exchange for a point in SpA
- 68 EVs in Attack to give U-turn a little oomph
- The remaining EVs go into HP and defense
Usage Tips
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- Froakie hits a great 24 speed, so in addition to outrunning the entire unboosted metagame, it can outspeed boosted mons such as +2 Adamant Tirtouga, as well as other common Choice Scarf users such as Chinchou and Mienfoo.
- Naive nature allows Froakie to outspeed +2 Jolly Tirtouga.
- Scarf Froakie outspeeds threats that would normally check it such as Ponyta and Staryu, allowing it to do good damage against them and/or pivot on them with U-turn.
- Scarf Froakie is a momentum grabber early match, and a revenge killer mid-late match, and should be played as such
- Froakie is still very frail, so don't go haywire with the predictions. U-turn if there is any doubt in your mind.
Team Options
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- A fast Volt Switcher naturally pairs well with a fast U-turner, so Elekid and Chinchou make good teammates.
- Hazard support from mons like Dwebble helps turn 2HKOs into OHKOs, which is important because Froakie isn't meant to be taking hits.
- Scarf Froakie is just as prone to priority as Life Orb Froakie, so team mates who can tank priority are very helpful. Joltik (lol) resists Mach Punch and Bullet Punch, and can form a super fast VoltTurn core with Froakie.
Mixed Attacker
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name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Acrobatics
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Substitute / U-turn
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Quick Attack
ability: Protean
item: Berry Juice / [No Item]
evs: 28 HP / 152 Atk / 28 Def / 104 SpA / 188 Spe
nature: Naive
Moves
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- Once Berry Juice has been consumed, Acrobatics becomes a fearsome 110 BP STAB move
- Froakie can also opt to run no item à la Fletchling, so Acrobatics is at full power right off the bat.
- Hydro Pump hits impressively hard even without full investment
- Substitute is a great move to set up on an opponent’s switch, and it also provides Froakie with a decently reliable way of activating Berry Juice and powering up Acrobatics
- U-turn is a reliable way to get Froakie out of unfavorable situations while still doing some damage to the opponent
- Hidden Power Grass is preferred in the last slot as it provides Froakie with a method of hitting Chinchou and Tirtouga while also providing Froakie with resistances to Electric, Water, and Grass.
- Even though it's not the strongest, Quick Attack is a solid choice for picking off that last bit of HP from a faster mon.
- Thief can be run in the last slot to steal an item, but this has synergy issues alongside Acrobatics.
Set Details
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- Speed is maxed out, and the Att/SpA EVs provide Froakie with decent mixed offenses
- The rest go into HP and Defense so Froakie can tank hits a little better.
Usage Tips
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- Try and set up Subtitute on Froakie forces out, and preferably outspeeds. If they stay in, no worries, you’ll be able to trigger Berry Juice faster.
- As always, consider possible negative effects of Protean's type changing mechanic. For example, trying to set up Substitute on something like Timburr will lead to you being KO'd by Mach Punch.
Team Options
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- Hazard support is once again appreciated since Froakie doesn't have Life Orb's power backing it up on this set.
- Substitute/Quick Attack turn Froakie into a Normal-type, making it vulnerable to Fighting-types, so something that can switch in on Mach Punch/Vacuum Wave such as Larvesta or Spritzee pairs well with Froakie. Trubbish also gets a special mention, since it doesn't mind Knock Off used on a predicted switch-out.
Other Options
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- Toxic can be used, which gets 100% accuracy thanks to Protean
- Froakie can run a full physical set with options such as Waterfall, Return, Acrobatics, Thief, Power-Up-Punch, Rock Slide, and U-turn
- Froakie gets Toxic Spikes (but not Spikes) and Taunt for additional team support
- I really hope the move tutors are kind to this frowg...
Checks & Counters
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**Faster Pokemon**: Anything that can beat Froakie's 17 speed such as Misdreavus, Ponyta, Staryu, Taillow etc. will outspeed non Scarf Froakie and deal massive damage.
**Priority Users**: Since it's frail with no priority outside of Quick Attack, Froakie struggles against opposing priority users. Froakie is particularly prone after it has just used Ice Beam, since it can be easily revenged by Timburr and Croagunk with their super-effective priority. Fletchling can't switch in, but it can easily revenge kill Froakie, as long as it's not behind a Substitute.
**Tentacool**: Tentacool can tank anything Froakie throws at it, including HP Ground and 110 BP Acrobatics, and heal up with Berry Juice. It can then retaliate with Scald, which will OHKO Froakie if it just used HP Ground.
**Specially bulky mons**: Munchlax and Lickitung in particular are bulky enough to easily handle all of Froakie's moves.
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