[OVERVIEW]
<p>Huntail is an unfortunate Pokemon. He's stuck in a sea of Water-types that share his ability, Swift Swim, and with no shining stat or quirk to separate him from the pack. As a physical rain sweeper, Huntail is generally outclassed by the likes of Kabutops, Qwilfish, and Ludicolo; and as a special rain sweeper, he's outclassed by Omastar and his pink
counterpart, Gorebyss. Huntail, however, has one saving grace available to him, and that's his ability to
act as a mixed rain sweeper.</p>
[SET]
name: Mixed Rain Sweeper
move 1: Aqua Tail / Waterfall
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Hydro Pump
move 4: Hidden Power Grass
item: Life Orb
nature: Naughty
evs: 88 Atk / 200 SpA / 220 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set is designed for Huntail to come in late-game and finish off the remainder of the opponent's team, hitting the final
few Pokemon in their weaker defensive stat. In order to be effective, Huntail needs to have
rain falling, which not only doubles Huntail's awful Speed with Swift Swim, but also increases the power of his STAB moves. Aqua Tail is Huntail's strongest physical
STAB, and with
it, he can 2HKO 252/0 Registeel and
OHKO Chansey after Stealth Rock. Waterfall can be used in place of Aqua Tail if you're worried about accuracy
issues; however, Waterfall misses out on a lot of KOs that Aqua Tail provides. Ice Beam is for any Grass-type that would
otherwise try to wall Huntail, such as Tangrowth and Leafeon, and deals
an OHKO to each after Stealth Rock. A combination of Aqua Tail and Ice Beam also
KOes 252/252 Calm Venusaur.</p>
<p>Hydro Pump deals a clean 2HKO on
physically defensive Uxie and Registeel, who would normally wall this set entirely. Hidden Power Grass is for weaker Water-types who would normally have their way with
Huntail; however, it still isn't strong enough to break through
bulkier Water-
types, such as Milotic, Blastoise, Poliwrath, and Slowking.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs given allow Huntail to get the KOs listed and ensure Huntail is dealing the most damage as possible from both attacking stats. With this spread, Huntail reaches a Speed stat of 390, enough to outpace everything in the tier
under rain bar Electrode and certain Choice
Scarfers, such as Rotom and positive Speed Venusaur.</p>
<p>Huntail thrives on Stealth Rock support, which allows him to accumulate the KOs listed, so a
lead such as Uxie who can reliably set up both Stealth Rock and Rain Dance is recommended. Huntail can set up his own Rain Dance with his decent defensive stats protecting him from whatever onslaught may
ensue; however,
he needs as much coverage as possible to allow him to sweep, and Huntail is usually too slow to set himself up.</p>
<p>Other notable moves available to Huntail include Sucker Punch and Super Fang. Super Fang can be used in place of Hydro Pump
to strip Huntail's counters of half of their health
and force them to heal themselves, during which one of Huntail's
teammates, such as Ludicolo, can come in for free. However, without Hydro Pump, Huntail misses out on the KOs on Uxie and
Registeel, who can then proceed to paralyze Huntail with Thunder Wave, effectively ending his sweep. Sucker Punch can be used in place of Hidden Power Grass, giving Huntail some utility and priority outside of
rain; however, Sucker Punch doesn't give Huntail any further coverage and has little use
under rain, which is where Huntail should stay.</p>
<p>As a mixed rain sweeper, Huntail faces competition from Floatzel, who can use almost the same set
and is faster than Huntail even without any Speed investment. Huntail, however, has a few notable perks over Floatzel. First, Huntail has far greater bulk than Floatzel, protecting him from random unboosted attacks like Mach Punch from Hitmontop and Earthquake from Tangrowth. Second, Huntail has access to Hydro Pump and a slightly higher Special Attack stat, allowing him to bypass
physically defensive Uxie and Registeel, which Floatzel can't do. And lastly, Huntail's priority in Sucker Punch provides greater power than Floatzel's Aqua Jet outside of
rain, though in
rain, Aqua Jet proves more powerful.</p>
<p>As mentioned earlier, Huntail is stopped cold by
bulky Water-types, so teammates who can dispose of them make good partners to Huntail. Ludicolo in particular can easily dispose of the pesky Water-types and also makes a good sweeping partner to Huntail, either softening up the team and removing the Water-types for Huntail to sweep, or sweeping after Huntail has disposed of problem Pokemon such as Uxie,
Registeel, or Venusaur. Lanturn also makes a good partner to Huntail, absorbing any Electric attacks or Thunder Waves that may come in Huntail's direction. Lanturn also enjoys Huntail's ability to remove special walls such as Chansey from play, who would normally wall Lanturn to oblivion and back.</p>
<p>Gardevoir with Trace, Golduck with Cloud Nine, Toxicroak with Dry
Skin, and Electrode
have few problems countering this
set, so bulky Pokemon who can withstand their attacks make good partners to Huntail. Uxie again makes a good partner, taking little damage from whatever they may throw at Huntail, and paralyzing them with Thunder
Wave (or in Toxicroak's case removing him with Psychic
) to allow Huntail to come in later in the match
and dispose of them.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Rain Sweeper
move 1: Aqua Tail
move 2: Double-Edge
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Crunch / Sucker Punch
item: Life Orb
nature: Naughty
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Unlike the previous set, this one focuses on Huntail's higher base 104 Attack stat.
While weaker offensively than Kabutops, Huntail sports better typing and a way to bypass
bulky Grass-types. Because of this, Huntail and Kabutops
can be used on the same team, with Huntail softening up the opposing team and Kabutops coming in later to finish the job. Aqua Tail and Double-Edge are the crux of this set, providing Huntail with the awesome type combination of Water/Normal, which is only resisted by Shedinja in UU. Ice Beam is for any
bulky Grass-types who are bull-headed enough to think they can counter this set. Crunch makes an appearance in this set to allow Huntail to dispose of Slowking and also deals decent damage to his counterpart Slowbro. Sucker Punch gives Huntail some use outside of
rain and is a nice way to
KO things like Scarf Rotom or Mismagius who would
otherwise outpace Huntail
even in the
rain and KO with Thunderbolt.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs are simple and maximize Huntail's physical prowess. With this spread, Huntail reaches a Speed stat of 406 under the rain, outrunning the standard
lead Electrode by two points. Naughty is the
recommended nature to allow Ice Beam to get the 2HKO on Leafeon and Tangrowth while still raising Huntail's attack stat.</p>
<p>Unlike the previous set, this one has some troubles with
physically defensive Uxie, who can paralyze Huntail and end his sweep.
Therefore, partners who can set up on or wall Uxie such as Mismagius or Registeel make good teammates to Huntail. However, Mismagius must also be wary of Thunder Wave, and Registeel has to watch out for Trick
sets. Ludicolo and Lanturn again make good partners to
Huntail, removing any
bulky Water-types that block Huntail's path. Special sweepers such as Gorebyss or Omastar who enjoy special walls such as Chansey out of the picture also make good teammates as they in turn remove Pokemon such as Toxicroak,
Uxie, and Registeel with little trouble.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Huntail needs Rain Dance in play to be effective, so Pokemon who can reliably set up
rain make good partners to Huntail. Uxie makes an awesome teammate for Huntail,
capable of setting up both Rain Dance and Stealth Rock with little trouble
and switching into stronger attacks aimed at Huntail outside of
rain. Claydol also makes an interesting partner for Huntail,
as it can absorb any Electric attacks aimed at Huntail
and set up both Rain Dance and Stealth Rock as well as remove any entry hazards on Huntail's side of the field with Rapid Spin. However, they both share a glaring Grass-type weakness, so another
pairing them with a Pokemon such as Registeel who can absorb those attacks with little trouble is recommended.</p>
<p>Bulky Water-types, such as Milotic, Blastoise, Poliwrath, and Slowking, are the bane of Huntail's existence, so anything that can remove them from play
is Huntail's best friend. Ludicolo and Lanturn make awesome partners to Huntail, easily removing
Water-types from
play and allowing Huntail to come in later to sweep. Huntail also makes a good partner to things like Kabutops, Gorebyss, and Omastar, softening up or removing their counters, allowing them to come in later in the match to finish the job.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Huntail doesn't have many other moves available to it. Super Fang has its merits on either set, allowing Huntail to strip his counters, such as Milotic and Toxicroak, of half of their health, allowing something like Ludicolo or Gorebyss to come in and finish the job. Huntail also has access to Bounce, which grants the great type combination of Water/Flying, though the lack of STAB and the two turns required to use it usually leave it out of favor to something like Return. Huntail has Baton Pass but can only offer to pass Iron Defense and Substitute. Hidden Power Psychic can be used to annihilate Toxicroak and get a strong hit on Poliwrath, but the other moves listed are usually more helpful.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Bulky Water-types, like Milotic, Blastoise, Poliwrath, Slowbro, and Slowking have little trouble with either of Huntail's sets and take little damage from Hidden Power Grass. Milotic and Slowbro/Slowking don't even mind Super Fang as they can just recover off the damage and continue to whittle down Huntail's health. Toxicroak
can take anything from the
mixed sweeper set
and Swords Dance or Nasty Plot in Huntail's face. However, Toxicroak takes massive damage from Double-Edge on the
physical set, and Huntail can surprise Toxicroak with Hidden Power Psychic for a OHKO.</p>
<p>Physically
defensive Uxie and Registeel take little damage from anything on the
physical sweeper, but both take massive damage from Hydro Pump on the
mixed set. Gardevoir with Trace and Golduck with Cloud Nine can both end Huntail's sweep. Gardevoir cannot switch into both Stealth Rock and Aqua Tail but can outspeed Huntail once in and KO with either Thunderbolt or Energy Ball. Golduck can 2HKO Huntail with Hidden Power Grass if he switches into Aqua Tail and Encores
it; however, if Golduck switches into Double-Edge or Hidden Power Grass,
he will be KOed before he can KO Huntail. Electrode can outpace the
mixed set and OHKO with Thunder or Thunderbolt,
but unless he runs maximum Speed, he will be outsped by the
physical sweeper and take massive damage from Aqua Tail before KOing Huntail. Scarf Rotom and positive Speed Scarf Venusaur can both outrun either set and OHKO Huntail with Thunderbolt or Leaf Storm
respectively; however, Rotom must be wary of Sucker Punch and Venusaur will be maimed by Ice Beam if it switches into it.</p>
