[OVERVIEW]
Ludicolo's unique Water / Grass typing and good special bulk allow it to check Kyogre extremely effectively; it is one of the few viable Pokemon that can safely switch into Kyogre's Water Spout multiple times, allowing the rest of your team to focus on checking other threats. In addition, its access to Leech Seed and Rain Dance makes it a massive pain to take down if rain is up and Ludicolo finds a turn to safely use Leech Seed. In conjunction with Substitute, Ludicolo is capable of stalling the foe with Substitute + Leech Seed + Protect for long periods of time. In a pinch, Ludicolo can even attempt to check Pokemon such as Palkia and support Groudon. However, Ludicolo is extremely physically frail, so even neutral attacks such as Giratina-O's Dragon Claw are capable of inflicting severe damage. Ludicolo also lacks many resistances, which limits the pool of Pokemon it can check, although the Water and Ground resistances are useful.
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Protect
move 4: Ice Beam / Surf
item: Life Orb
ability: Rain Dish
nature: Calm
evs: 200 HP / 56 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Leech Seed grants Ludicolo significant recovery in conjunction with Rain Dish and Leftovers while slowly wearing down the foe. Substitute is useful on Ludicolo to shield it from status while it sets up a Leech Seed cycle; because Ludicolo can restore approximately 25% of its health per turn so long as the foe is seeded, it can continue to use Substitute indefinitely until the opponent's Pokemon either faints or switches out. Protect increases Ludicolo's ability to stall and allows it to last longer. It also allows Ludicolo to scout Choice-locked Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Palkia. The last moveslot is dedicated to an attack of your choice. Ice Beam is probably Ludicolo's best option, as it OHKOes Rayquaza after Stealth Rock and always breaks Giratina-O's Substitute. On more offensive teams, Icy Wind can be used over Ice Beam to slow down the opponent's Pokemon to assist its teammates. Surf is another STAB option that has the added benefit of being boosted by rain. It is Ludicolo's only move that can break Ho-Oh's Substitute, and it can also chip away at Pokemon like Taunt Mewtwo, Skarmory, Forretress, and Scizor. Grass Knot is a reliable and strong move that can be used to, at worst, 3HKO all Kyogre variants while also hitting Groudon and Tyranitar hard. However, it has rather poor coverage and is generally inferior to the other moves listed.
[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]
Try to keep Ludicolo hidden in the early parts of the game, as the element of surprise is critical to getting a free Substitute against a Pokemon such as Kyogre or Choice Scarf Palkia; your opponent is more likely to lock themselves into Water-type moves if they are not aware that you are using a Ludicolo. Ludicolo greatly appreciates Toxic Spikes support, as it allows Ludicolo to wear down the opposing team with passive damage much more quickly. Forretress is a good option as a Toxic Spikes user due to its access to Rapid Spin, which is greatly appreciated because Ludicolo despises Toxic Spikes itself. Kyogre is a mandatory teammate to allow Ludicolo to take advantage of Rain Dish, which dramatically increases Ludicolo's potency as a wall. Surprisingly, Groudon is also a good teammate due to its ability to handle Pokemon that threaten Ludicolo, such as Taunt Heatran and Bulk Up Dialga. Do note that while Ludicolo is not completely useless outside of rain, the sun Groudon provides is obviously a downside to using it as a teammate. Another good partner is Roar Heatran, which can deal with Substitute users such as Ho-Oh and Shaymin-S lacking Ground-type coverage. Heatran also provides excellent defensive synergy with Ludicolo in general due to its immunity to Poison, resistance to Flying, and quadruple resistance to Bug. In return, Ludicolo resists common Water- and Ground-type attacks aimed at Heatran.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
========
Toxic is an option if you cannot fit a Toxic Spikes user onto your team, but Ludicolo really doesn't have room for it. Giga Drain might look attractive at first to grant Ludicolo extra recovery, but it is very weak (60 Base Power is underwhelming in Ubers) and Ludicolo does not need the extra recovery. Focus Blast garners a super effective hit on Dialga but is inaccurate and cannot even 3HKO specially defensive Dialga variants. Finally, Ludicolo can attempt to run a Swift Swim set, with Grass-type STAB moves and access to Focus Blast setting it apart from other swift swim users. However, Ludicolo's underwhelming base 90 Special Attack and inability to outrun fast Choice Scarf users such as Palkia and Garchomp significantly hinder its performance in this role. Kabutops, Kingdra, and Omastar are almost always better choices if you want to use a Swift Swim user. Never use Swords Dance Ludicolo; it is far too weak to accomplish anything of note. Overall, it is generally best to stick with the listed set, as Ludicolo functions worse if one of its main moves is replaced.
Checks and Counters
========
RestTalk Dialga with Bulk Up can easily set up on Ludicolo and PP stall it with Pressure, and even the rare Focus Blast Ludicolo cannot break through it. Opposing Substitute users that have an immunity to Toxic Spikes are a massive hassle for Ludicolo, unless its coverage move can break their Substitute. Ho-Oh, Heatran, and Giratina-O are all extremely threatening to Ludicolo and its team if they set up a Substitute on Ludicolo that it cannot break. Taunt users such as Mewtwo and Heatran can also stop Ludicolo from landing a Leech Seed, although the latter fears Surf if rain is up. Toxic Spikes dramatically impacts Ludicolo's ability to last very long, especially if two layers are up by the time Ludicolo enters the field of play. Ludicolo should generally switch out of entry hazard setters, as it will surrender multiple layers to them before finally knocking them out. Forretress is of particular concern, as Rapid Spin can remove both Ludicolo's Leech Seed and entry hazards from its own side of the field. Specially defensive Skarmory and Deoxys-D can set up Spikes while using Recover to stay healthy. Shaymin-S is immune to Leech Seed, resists both of Ludicolo's STAB moves, and can threaten Ludicolo back with its STAB Air Slash, but it must make sure Ludicolo does not carry Ice coverage before attempting to switch in. Calm Mind Latias and Latios dislike Icy Wind and Leech Seed but can set up Calm Minds on Ludicolo fairly easily. Changing the weather will not completely shut down Ludicolo, but that can at least cut off its Rain Dish recovery. Finally, if all else fails, Ludicolo is very physically frail and takes solid damage from even resisted attacks; powerful neutral attacks such as Life Orb Rayquaza's Outrage will take down Ludicolo in one hit.
[Overview]
-Unique typing and good special bulk allows it to check Kyogre extremely effectively
-Access to Leech Seed and Rain Dish make it a massive pain to take down if rain is up
-Very vulnerable on the physical side
-Not many useful resistances, but Water and Ground are good
[Set]
Ludicolo @ Leftovers
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Protect
- Ice Beam / Surf
[Set Comments]
-Based Kyogre check, also does OK vs. stuff like Palkia 1-1
-Leech Seed provides an additional form of recovery while slowly draining away the opponent's health
-Substitute on something can cannot threaten Ludicolo much...after a Leech Seed, Ludicolo will recover 25% of its health if rain is up, so Substitute is more spammable on this than most other Pokemon
-Protect increases Ludicolo's ability to stall, allows it to live longer and scouts Choice-locked pokemon such as Scarf Palkia
-Last move is dedicated to an attack; Ice Beam hits Dragons (can break Giratina-O's Substitute and destroys Rayquaza after SR for example) whereas Surf will hit most targets for acceptable chip damage if rain is up
-Grass Knot? (Or should this be OO)
[Additional Comments]
-Toxic Spikes support is excellent with this, as once it gets behind a Substitute -- and it will usually find opportunities in this metagame -- it can quickly wear out the opponent with Poison+Leech Seed damage
-Generally try to keep this hidden in the early parts of the game, as the element of surprise is useful for attaining a free Substitute on something like Scarf Kyogre/Palkia (they are more like to use a Water move if they don't know you have a Ludicolo)
-Kyogre is a necessary teammate when using this since Ludicolo enjoys the Rain Dish recovery to increase its longevity and help stall out the opponent; Ludicolo isn't useless outside of rain though
-Groudon threatens Rest/Bulk Up Dialga and Taunt Heatran, two Pokemon that Ludicolo struggles against
-Roar Heatran deals with Ho-Oh and Shaymin-S lacking Earth Power...it has an immunity to Poison, quadruple resistance to Bug and a resistance to Flying moves, all of which Ludicolo are weak to, and in turn Ludicolo resists Water and Ground moves
[Other Options]
-Toxic can help stall if you lack Toxic Spikes, but Ludi doesn't really have room for it
-Giga Drain may look attractive but 60 BP is terrible and Ludi has enough recovery as is
-Focus Blast helps wear down Dialga but is inaccurate and lacks STAB
-Swift Swim set has very nice coverage but is weaker and slower than Kabutops and Kingdra
-Generally best to stick to listed set
[Checks & Counters]
-Rest/Sleep Talk/Bulk Up Dialga
-Opposing Substitute users immune to Toxic Spikes, like Ho-Oh and CM Giratina-O
-Taunt Mewtwo/Heatran (latter fears Surf in the rain)
-Hazard layers like Forretress, which can spin/set up hazards (Surf will dent Careful variant in rain but it doesn't 2HKO) also Skarmory Deoxys-D may not win vs ludi 1-1 but can set up plenty of hazards
-Toxic Spikes
-Shaymin-S (can't switch into/take an Ice Beam)
-Changing the weather
-Most strong physical attackers (Lucario/Rayquaza/Heracross)
-Unique typing and good special bulk allows it to check Kyogre extremely effectively
-Access to Leech Seed and Rain Dish make it a massive pain to take down if rain is up
-Very vulnerable on the physical side
-Not many useful resistances, but Water and Ground are good
[Set]
Ludicolo @ Leftovers
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Protect
- Ice Beam / Surf
[Set Comments]
-Based Kyogre check, also does OK vs. stuff like Palkia 1-1
-Leech Seed provides an additional form of recovery while slowly draining away the opponent's health
-Substitute on something can cannot threaten Ludicolo much...after a Leech Seed, Ludicolo will recover 25% of its health if rain is up, so Substitute is more spammable on this than most other Pokemon
-Protect increases Ludicolo's ability to stall, allows it to live longer and scouts Choice-locked pokemon such as Scarf Palkia
-Last move is dedicated to an attack; Ice Beam hits Dragons (can break Giratina-O's Substitute and destroys Rayquaza after SR for example) whereas Surf will hit most targets for acceptable chip damage if rain is up
-Grass Knot? (Or should this be OO)
[Additional Comments]
-Toxic Spikes support is excellent with this, as once it gets behind a Substitute -- and it will usually find opportunities in this metagame -- it can quickly wear out the opponent with Poison+Leech Seed damage
-Generally try to keep this hidden in the early parts of the game, as the element of surprise is useful for attaining a free Substitute on something like Scarf Kyogre/Palkia (they are more like to use a Water move if they don't know you have a Ludicolo)
-Kyogre is a necessary teammate when using this since Ludicolo enjoys the Rain Dish recovery to increase its longevity and help stall out the opponent; Ludicolo isn't useless outside of rain though
-Groudon threatens Rest/Bulk Up Dialga and Taunt Heatran, two Pokemon that Ludicolo struggles against
-Roar Heatran deals with Ho-Oh and Shaymin-S lacking Earth Power...it has an immunity to Poison, quadruple resistance to Bug and a resistance to Flying moves, all of which Ludicolo are weak to, and in turn Ludicolo resists Water and Ground moves
[Other Options]
-Toxic can help stall if you lack Toxic Spikes, but Ludi doesn't really have room for it
-Giga Drain may look attractive but 60 BP is terrible and Ludi has enough recovery as is
-Focus Blast helps wear down Dialga but is inaccurate and lacks STAB
-Swift Swim set has very nice coverage but is weaker and slower than Kabutops and Kingdra
-Generally best to stick to listed set
[Checks & Counters]
-Rest/Sleep Talk/Bulk Up Dialga
-Opposing Substitute users immune to Toxic Spikes, like Ho-Oh and CM Giratina-O
-Taunt Mewtwo/Heatran (latter fears Surf in the rain)
-Hazard layers like Forretress, which can spin/set up hazards (Surf will dent Careful variant in rain but it doesn't 2HKO) also Skarmory Deoxys-D may not win vs ludi 1-1 but can set up plenty of hazards
-Toxic Spikes
-Shaymin-S (can't switch into/take an Ice Beam)
-Changing the weather
-Most strong physical attackers (Lucario/Rayquaza/Heracross)
Last edited: