So I talked to Deinosaur on IRC, and he told me he wanted to contribute, but didn't know how, so we decided to do this analysis together. =)
Deinosaur has written the Overview, Optional Changes, and Counters section, so he deserves half credit. Those 3 sections are in post 2.
http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/118.shtml
[OVERVIEW]
[SET]
name: Swift Swim
move 1: Rain Dance
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Megahorn
move 4: Return
item: Life Orb
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Adamant
evs: 220 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 196 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
- Rain Dance is the only set Goldeen can utilize without being fully outclassed
- Waterfall gains STAB, and is quite powerful when boosted by Life Orb and Rain, backed up by a decent Attack stat
- Megahorn provides good coverage, hurting Grass-types hard
- Is also Goldeen’s best option against opposing Water-types, especially Slowpoke
- Return provides good neutral coverage, and when paired up with Waterfall, is only resisted by Frillish and Ferroseed, Ferroseed who takes neutral damage from Megahorn
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
- Life Orb provides Goldeen with some much needed power
- Turns some 3HKOes into 2HKOes
- Swift Swim allows it to hurt or sweep Pokemon much easier thanks to the boost in Speed
- Adamant increases Goldeen’s Attack slightly, more important than Speed, since Goldeen is already very fast under Rain
- EV spread maximizes Attack and Speed, and increases both defenses by one point
- Ferroseed sets up Spikes on Frillish, a great counter to Goldeen
- Shed Skin Zuruggu also sets up on Frillish
- Pawniard can hit Frillish hard with a Dark-type STAB attack
- Magnemite can trap Ferroseed, and defeat it with a STAB Thunder in the rain
- Bronzor has good synergy with Goldeen, and can provide Rain Dance, which also removes it’s only weakness
[OTHER OPTIONS]
[COUNTERS]
Deinosaur has written the Overview, Optional Changes, and Counters section, so he deserves half credit. Those 3 sections are in post 2.
http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/118.shtml
[OVERVIEW]
- Good speed and decent attack
- Can run a good rain dance set with Swift Swim
- Small movepool with just enough to run an attacking set
- Only two weaknesses
- Hits 17 attack and 15 speed [30 in rain]
[SET]
name: Swift Swim
move 1: Rain Dance
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Megahorn
move 4: Return
item: Life Orb
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Adamant
evs: 220 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 196 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
- Rain Dance is the only set Goldeen can utilize without being fully outclassed
- Waterfall gains STAB, and is quite powerful when boosted by Life Orb and Rain, backed up by a decent Attack stat
- Megahorn provides good coverage, hurting Grass-types hard
- Is also Goldeen’s best option against opposing Water-types, especially Slowpoke
- Return provides good neutral coverage, and when paired up with Waterfall, is only resisted by Frillish and Ferroseed, Ferroseed who takes neutral damage from Megahorn
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
- Life Orb provides Goldeen with some much needed power
- Turns some 3HKOes into 2HKOes
- Swift Swim allows it to hurt or sweep Pokemon much easier thanks to the boost in Speed
- Adamant increases Goldeen’s Attack slightly, more important than Speed, since Goldeen is already very fast under Rain
- EV spread maximizes Attack and Speed, and increases both defenses by one point
- Ferroseed sets up Spikes on Frillish, a great counter to Goldeen
- Shed Skin Zuruggu also sets up on Frillish
- Pawniard can hit Frillish hard with a Dark-type STAB attack
- Magnemite can trap Ferroseed, and defeat it with a STAB Thunder in the rain
- Bronzor has good synergy with Goldeen, and can provide Rain Dance, which also removes it’s only weakness
[OTHER OPTIONS]
- Special set with Hydro Pump, HP Grass, Ice Beam and Rain Dance, but Special Attack only hits 14 maximum
- Bounce, but doesn’t offer much coverage, and not reliable
Aqua Tail for more power, but the extra accuracy and chance of flinch is useful - Poison Jab, but only hits Grass-types for super effective, something Megahorn already achieves
- Agility, outclassed by Rain Dance, which also boosts the power of it's STAB attacks
- Rain Dance support set with a bulky EV spread, but Goldeen is better off attacking
- Damp Rock can be used for 3 more turns of rain, but the loss of power from Life Orb is not worth it
- Lightning Rod can be used as an ability, but Rain Dance is not compatible with Lightning Rod, so a filler move can be used over Rain Dance, and a teammate can set up Rain Dance instead
[COUNTERS]
- Ferroseed walls this set almost without problem unless you get lucky with a Megahorn
- Frillish also can take this set pretty easily with Evolution Stone
- Faster Swift Swimmers such as Buizel, Poliwag, and Anorith can outspeed Goldeen and KO with appropriate move