Changes in bold and removals in red.[Overview]
<p>Milotic may have appeared to have fallen from grace in the transition from ADV to DP, but it still fills a rare and valuable niche in the OU metagame as the only "Bulky Water" with instant recovery. In fact, the ability to regain a consistent 50% of its health through just one move slot with single Water typing is perhaps the only reason to use it in OU. Still, Milotic has quite a bit going for it in the higher levels of play with Special Attack on par with Starmie and a massive Special Defense stat. In particular, its unique ability, Marvel Scale lets it absorb status, giving it the potential to have better physical walling abilities than even Skarmory. Despite its UU status, Milotic is still a reliable defensive check and a great choice for teams that need a Bulky Water with extra coverage. </p>
[SET]
name: OU Bulky Water
move 1: Surf
move 2: Ice Beam/Haze
move 3: Hidden Power Electric
move 4: Recover
item: Leftovers
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Special Attack
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Recover makes Milotic an amazing commodity(strange word choice here – Milotic is most definitely not a commodity), precisely because it frees up an extra move slot. Rather than lose two spots for Rest and Sleep Talk or Wish and Protect, Milotic can instead focus on the almost perfect neutral coverage trinity of provided by Water-, Ice-, and Electric-type attacks or disruption in the form of Hazing.</p>
<p> The Water type as usual makes Milotic a great switch into anything it resists Milotic’s Water typing allows it to switch into many different types of move, while Marvel Scale lets it absorb Will-O-Wisps, Thunder Waves, and the first layer of Toxic Spikes without any hassle. In the past, Milotic relied on the fairly inaccurate Hypnosis, leaving it wide open for a Taunt. However, with several offensive options at its disposal Milotic can handle many users of Taunt—especially Gyarados. </p>
<p>.(remove period) Milotic is not by any means invincible, but it can still act as a pivot against the likes of Dragonite, Gliscor, Heatran, and Gyarados well, and generally takes unboosted neutral and resisted hits with ease. Even stat-uppers like Scizor and Lucario who think they can set up on you with relative impunity will not enjoy taking a hit off of 236 Special Attack, and will find themselves in a stalemate if Haze is in your repertoire. </p>
[Additional Comments]
<p> In previous metagames, Milotic tried to run hefty helping a large number of Special Attack EVs to eliminate Garchomp and attempted to attain a "magic leftovers number." But with that monstrosity gone, Milotic can instead focus its stats on HP and Defense. The result is an impressive mixed wall with 394 HP/282 Defense/286 Special Defense. In UU, Milotic runs eight speed EVs to outspeed outrun max speed base 50 Pokemon such as Aggron, but since none of these have quite made it into OU, Milotic can again pour everything into its defenses.</p>
<p>Particularly, Milotic can work either in bulky offense with its wonderful coverage or stall as having both Haze and Recover lets it effectively wall any stat-uppers that don't utilize Electric or Grass moves. Do not make the mistake of just slapping Milotic into a team space Vaporeon would fit better--if you need a wall that can keep itself alive longer as opposed to a teammate player then Milotic is the Bulky Water for you. </p>
[Team Options]
<p> Milotic is best used with Pokemon who both complement its resistances and back it up in the coverage department. Pokemon who shrug off Electric-type and Grass-type moves are the most important; the many Grass-types of OU that plague Milotic can ironically make decent partners. Pokemon who are absolutely terrified of being burned can also find a teammate in Milotic, who takes advantage of status with Marvel Scale. Since Milotic was graced with Recover instead of Wish, its teammates should be similar to it: powerful and flexible, with the ability to be self-sufficient. </p>
<p> In terms of defensively-oriented teammates, Roserade makes a good lead for teams utilizing Milotic, although it shouldn’t necessarily faint early in the game. It has decent Special Defense and can make Milotic’s life easier as it lays down Toxic Spikes and absorbs the opponent's own. Coverage-wise, Leaf Storm and Hidden Power Fire have perfect synergy with Surf, Hidden Power Electric, and Ice Beam. Also, a defensive core of Heatran and Celebi with Milotic makes for a combination that resists just about everything as each covers the others’ weaknesses perfectly</p>
<p> Offensively, Milotic enjoys teammates that can hit hard on the physical end of the spectrum, who certainly appreciate having Milotic take an Ice Beam for them. Just about any Dragonite variant will shine with Milotic. Cleric dancing Dragonite gets special mention though, making a good offensive and defensive complement as it handles grass moves with ease and electric moves decently while Milotic can take the ice moves aimed at it. Heal Bell allows it to eliminate the status Milotic doesn’t enjoy, mainly Toxic and Sleep. Milotic also does decently against the various steel types who won’t mind STAB Dragon Claw, but will mind STAB Surf, namely Heatran. Despite acting as one of Milotic’s best counters, Breloom can handle both of Milotic’s weaknesses and switches into Toxic just fine. Milotic stops the threatening Dragonite, Heatran, and Gyarados while Breloom can dish out serious damage to pokemon who would normally try to stall Milotic to death like Blissey. Gliscor is an excellent user of stealth rock on teams with Milotic. Just about any of its sets work well here because of Milotic’s resistances to its weaknesses and its useful support and offense movepool.</p>
<p> Steel Types like Scizor, Forretress, and Bronzong enjoy Milotic taking fire and water hits for them; many of them also dominate on the physical side of the spectrum, allowing them to eliminate Milotic’s enemy special walls. Forretress in particular, can Rapid Spin away entry hazards that dent Milotic’s staying power, set up those that help guarantee it a smoother kill, and attack with powerful physical moves (Forretress moves, bar explosion, are quite weak). Earthquake will most certainly be a requirement to stop Magnezone, who may try to rain on your parade, although one must be wary of Magnet Rise variants.. </p>
[Optional Changes]
<p> A Calm nature with 252 HP/200 Defense/56 Special Defense is also highly recommended because it takes full advantage of Milotic’s special bulk while still leaving it hardy enough for the physical attackers and more than tough enough for mixed attackers. This spread also makes Milotic ideal for taking on its fellow bulky waters. </p>
<p>60% accuracy has made Hypnosis all but obsolete, but if your team is desperate for a sleep-inducer that can take a hit, it’s not total suicide. (period) Mirror Coat can score a surprise KO on an opposing special sweeper, but it requires both prediction and heavy investment in Special Defense if Milotic is hoping to survive Grass- and Electric-type assaults. Hidden Power Grass is an option too, but with more prevalent Flying-types in the tier, and Swampert being taken care of with Surf, it’s situational at best. </p>
<p> Without a stat-boosting move, Milotic just can't keep up with the rest of the sleep talkers of OU, but if you do want to take full advantage of Marvel Scale, try a moveset of Surf, Rest, Sleep Talk, and Recover--despite only being able to attack 33% of the time, it'll will still be able to keep its health up with its increased defense from Marvel Scale while sleeping. (period) </p>
[Counters]
<p>Milotic’s OU counters are pretty straightforward as it falls to the STAB moves of Zapdos, Celebi, Jolteon, Shaymin, the Rotom appliances, and Breloom, although Ice Beam will punish a good number of these. Other Bulky Waters will most certainly need Hidden Power Electric and Toxic to deal with Milotic, Tentacruel standing out as a decent counter due to its high Special Defense. Blissey and Cresselia with Charge Beam and Blissey can also outstall Milotic. Metagross and Infernape can do a number with super-effective hits, although neither of these should normally be switching in, albeit acting as "checks" instead of counters. (these are really poor checks) </p>
GP Check 1
