Overview
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- Politoed is currently the only rain setter in the metagame.
- Politoed is pretty bulky, with having 90/75/100 defenses.
- It can live many hits with his bulk, and the access it has to Scald makes Politoed a pretty good physical wall.
- It can be beaten by the numerous Electric- and Grass-types in the metagame such as Rotom-Wash and Venusaur, while Water- and Grass-types take advantage of Politoed too.
- Politoed's resistance to Fire and the ability to induce rain makes it able to switch into Heat Waves from Heatrans or Charizards.
- Basically the only reason to run Politoed is to support and to set rain.
- Outside of setting rain, Politoed is outclassed by many Water-types such as Rotom-Wash and Keldeo.
- Although Water-, Electric- and Grass-types beat it, they absolutely hate to switch in into Politoed, because rain boosted Scald is a powerful move which burns fairly quickly. This is especially annoying for Pokemon like Amoonguss and Ferrothorn.
- Really even though Politoed made an entire archetype viable, the Pokemon itself sadly sucks.
- A big downside of Politoed it is deadweight in a lot of matchups outside of setting rain. Rain teams are always hyper offensive and Politoed does not fit the role of a hyper offense Pokemon. Even though it is a good support with Helping Hand and Encore, it doesn't offer offensive pressure as Ludicolo or Mega-Swampert do. Other weather setters like Mega-Charizard-Y and Tyranitar don't have this problem.
Rain Setter
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name: Rain Setter
move 1: Scald
move 2: Icy Wind
move 3: Helping Hand / Encore
move 4: Protect
ability: Drizzle
item: Sitrus Berry / Damp Rock
evs: 252 hp / 252 def / 4 spd
nature: bold
Moves
========
* Scald is a rain-boosted STAB move that has a chance to cripple and burn threats such as Mega-Kangaskhan and Mega-Metagross.
* Icy Wind is a nice spread move that drops the opponents speed, it's a move that can be used to support, but it does a fair amount damage to Landorus-Therian and some dragons such as Hydreigon and Latios.
* Helping Hand works well with attacking partners, Swift Swim sweepers in particular, by boosting their damage output and letting them get key KOs, considering Helping Hand will always go first due to its priority. Having +5 priority makes it so you outprioritize any other move, even moves such as Fake Out and Protect.
* Encore is a good way for locking foes into non-threatening moves such as Protect, Substitute, and Fake Out.
* Protect is a move used for yielding damage, scouting, burning turns of Tailwind, Trick Room, or let the opponent be crippled of their Poison or Burn. You could also let your teammate get a KO, while not giving up Politoeds position.
Set Details
========
* The EV spread makes it so that you're able to tank as much physical hits as possible, as well as getting significantly bulkier.
* Again, Bold makes it so that you're able to live physical attacks easier.
* Sitrus Berry makes it so that you will live longer, whereas Damp Rock makes it so that the rain stays around for longer.
* Drizzle is the only ability you should use on Politoed, because the rest of the abilities are not useful, especially not for a Pokemon such as Politoed.
* If you're using Choice Specs you can use 252 spa / 252 hp / 4 spd with a Quiet nature to get as much offensive power possible.
Usage Tips
========
* Politoed can be used to cancel other weathers such as Sun and Sand out.
* Encore makes it more difficult for the opponent to use supporting moves, due to the fact it can get locked in when predicted properly.
* Scald is able to cripple your opponent's physical Pokemon and whittling away the foe's HP.
* Helping Hand is a great asset if you want to put extra power behind a move of your teammate. It can net you important kills.
* Politoed is a good switch-in to Mega-Charizard-Y as it removes the sun and forces to switch Charizard out.
* Damp Rock is useful if you want to take more advantage of the Rain.
* Keep it healthy as long as you can in order for it to support its teammates with Rain.
* Use Icy Wind against two fast threats in order to gain the Speed advantage.
Team Options
========
* Swift Swimmers work well with Politoed. Ludicolo, Kingdra and Mega-Swampert are the best Pokemon to fulfill this role.
* A fast and strong Electric-type such as Thundurus, Raikou and Thundurus-Therian are very effective, to fulfill the role of a Mega-Charizard-Y killer. They're also used for their damage output with moves such as Thunder, that has an accuracy boost in rain, for checking other things than only Charizard.
* Bulky Steel-types such as Mega-Metagross, Mega-Mawile and Scizor, are used to resist Dragon and Fairy attack, and the fact that their Fire weakness gets removed is just the icing on the cake. Having a Steel on your team also grants the ability to beat Kyurem-Black, which is a Pokemon often used for beating Rain.
* Having a Pokemon with Intimidate on your team helps Politoed live longer, which is really what you want. An example for this is Landorus-Therian.
* Teammates that can check opposing Electric- and Grass-types such as Kyurem-Black and Hydreigon work really well together with Politoed.
* Talonflame and Shaymin-Sky are very useful on Rain teams because they can clear up bulkier Grass Pokemon
Other Options
########
* Perish Song can be used to force notable threats out, as well as force more bulky threats such as Cresselia out.
* Ice Beam does even a better amount of damage than Icy Wind, so it is able to kill Landorus-Therian, and has a 25% chance to OHKO Shaymin-Sky without using Choice Specs. Ice Beam should also only be used with Choice Specs!
* Hydro Pump should also be used only when you're using the Choice Specs set.
* A playstyle you could use is Rainroom, using Choice Specs Politoed, to deal a lot of damage. You'd be able to use Mega-Ampharos, Mega-Scizor and Escavalier well. Some good Trick Room setters are Jellicent and Gourgeist-Super.
* The opposite of that though is Choice Scarf Politoed. It's less bulky than other Politoed sets because of the EVs you have to invest in speed in special attack, but you will be able to catch opponents off guard by surprising them with this set. Note that this set is more for teams that aren't reliant on rain. You also have to run a Timid nature to be able to outspeed Shaymin-Sky.
Checks & Counters
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**Opposing Weather**
* Water-type attacks have halved base power when Sun is up. Avoid Scalding opposing Mega-Charizard-Ys or other Fire-typed Pokemon when Sun is up.
* Mega-Charizard-Y and Venusaur are able to use Grass moves on you.
* Politoed does no damage while Sun is up.
* Hail can also be fairly annoying because Abomasnow resists Politoed's attacks and do a ton of damage with his Grass moves in return.
**Typing Advantage**
* Electric- and Grass-types such as Thundurus, Rotom-Wash and Amoonguss are all major threats for Politoed.
* Thundurus has the ability to 2HKO Politoed with Thunderbolt
* Amoonguss doesn't care about Politoed, especially if it's not Encored.
########
- Politoed is currently the only rain setter in the metagame.
- Politoed is pretty bulky, with having 90/75/100 defenses.
- It can live many hits with his bulk, and the access it has to Scald makes Politoed a pretty good physical wall.
- It can be beaten by the numerous Electric- and Grass-types in the metagame such as Rotom-Wash and Venusaur, while Water- and Grass-types take advantage of Politoed too.
- Politoed's resistance to Fire and the ability to induce rain makes it able to switch into Heat Waves from Heatrans or Charizards.
- Basically the only reason to run Politoed is to support and to set rain.
- Outside of setting rain, Politoed is outclassed by many Water-types such as Rotom-Wash and Keldeo.
- Although Water-, Electric- and Grass-types beat it, they absolutely hate to switch in into Politoed, because rain boosted Scald is a powerful move which burns fairly quickly. This is especially annoying for Pokemon like Amoonguss and Ferrothorn.
- Really even though Politoed made an entire archetype viable, the Pokemon itself sadly sucks.
- A big downside of Politoed it is deadweight in a lot of matchups outside of setting rain. Rain teams are always hyper offensive and Politoed does not fit the role of a hyper offense Pokemon. Even though it is a good support with Helping Hand and Encore, it doesn't offer offensive pressure as Ludicolo or Mega-Swampert do. Other weather setters like Mega-Charizard-Y and Tyranitar don't have this problem.
Rain Setter
########
name: Rain Setter
move 1: Scald
move 2: Icy Wind
move 3: Helping Hand / Encore
move 4: Protect
ability: Drizzle
item: Sitrus Berry / Damp Rock
evs: 252 hp / 252 def / 4 spd
nature: bold
Moves
========
* Scald is a rain-boosted STAB move that has a chance to cripple and burn threats such as Mega-Kangaskhan and Mega-Metagross.
* Icy Wind is a nice spread move that drops the opponents speed, it's a move that can be used to support, but it does a fair amount damage to Landorus-Therian and some dragons such as Hydreigon and Latios.
* Helping Hand works well with attacking partners, Swift Swim sweepers in particular, by boosting their damage output and letting them get key KOs, considering Helping Hand will always go first due to its priority. Having +5 priority makes it so you outprioritize any other move, even moves such as Fake Out and Protect.
* Encore is a good way for locking foes into non-threatening moves such as Protect, Substitute, and Fake Out.
* Protect is a move used for yielding damage, scouting, burning turns of Tailwind, Trick Room, or let the opponent be crippled of their Poison or Burn. You could also let your teammate get a KO, while not giving up Politoeds position.
Set Details
========
* The EV spread makes it so that you're able to tank as much physical hits as possible, as well as getting significantly bulkier.
* Again, Bold makes it so that you're able to live physical attacks easier.
* Sitrus Berry makes it so that you will live longer, whereas Damp Rock makes it so that the rain stays around for longer.
* Drizzle is the only ability you should use on Politoed, because the rest of the abilities are not useful, especially not for a Pokemon such as Politoed.
* If you're using Choice Specs you can use 252 spa / 252 hp / 4 spd with a Quiet nature to get as much offensive power possible.
Usage Tips
========
* Politoed can be used to cancel other weathers such as Sun and Sand out.
* Encore makes it more difficult for the opponent to use supporting moves, due to the fact it can get locked in when predicted properly.
* Scald is able to cripple your opponent's physical Pokemon and whittling away the foe's HP.
* Helping Hand is a great asset if you want to put extra power behind a move of your teammate. It can net you important kills.
* Politoed is a good switch-in to Mega-Charizard-Y as it removes the sun and forces to switch Charizard out.
* Damp Rock is useful if you want to take more advantage of the Rain.
* Keep it healthy as long as you can in order for it to support its teammates with Rain.
* Use Icy Wind against two fast threats in order to gain the Speed advantage.
Team Options
========
* Swift Swimmers work well with Politoed. Ludicolo, Kingdra and Mega-Swampert are the best Pokemon to fulfill this role.
* A fast and strong Electric-type such as Thundurus, Raikou and Thundurus-Therian are very effective, to fulfill the role of a Mega-Charizard-Y killer. They're also used for their damage output with moves such as Thunder, that has an accuracy boost in rain, for checking other things than only Charizard.
* Bulky Steel-types such as Mega-Metagross, Mega-Mawile and Scizor, are used to resist Dragon and Fairy attack, and the fact that their Fire weakness gets removed is just the icing on the cake. Having a Steel on your team also grants the ability to beat Kyurem-Black, which is a Pokemon often used for beating Rain.
* Having a Pokemon with Intimidate on your team helps Politoed live longer, which is really what you want. An example for this is Landorus-Therian.
* Teammates that can check opposing Electric- and Grass-types such as Kyurem-Black and Hydreigon work really well together with Politoed.
* Talonflame and Shaymin-Sky are very useful on Rain teams because they can clear up bulkier Grass Pokemon
Other Options
########
* Perish Song can be used to force notable threats out, as well as force more bulky threats such as Cresselia out.
* Ice Beam does even a better amount of damage than Icy Wind, so it is able to kill Landorus-Therian, and has a 25% chance to OHKO Shaymin-Sky without using Choice Specs. Ice Beam should also only be used with Choice Specs!
* Hydro Pump should also be used only when you're using the Choice Specs set.
* A playstyle you could use is Rainroom, using Choice Specs Politoed, to deal a lot of damage. You'd be able to use Mega-Ampharos, Mega-Scizor and Escavalier well. Some good Trick Room setters are Jellicent and Gourgeist-Super.
* The opposite of that though is Choice Scarf Politoed. It's less bulky than other Politoed sets because of the EVs you have to invest in speed in special attack, but you will be able to catch opponents off guard by surprising them with this set. Note that this set is more for teams that aren't reliant on rain. You also have to run a Timid nature to be able to outspeed Shaymin-Sky.
Checks & Counters
########
**Opposing Weather**
* Water-type attacks have halved base power when Sun is up. Avoid Scalding opposing Mega-Charizard-Ys or other Fire-typed Pokemon when Sun is up.
* Mega-Charizard-Y and Venusaur are able to use Grass moves on you.
* Politoed does no damage while Sun is up.
* Hail can also be fairly annoying because Abomasnow resists Politoed's attacks and do a ton of damage with his Grass moves in return.
**Typing Advantage**
* Electric- and Grass-types such as Thundurus, Rotom-Wash and Amoonguss are all major threats for Politoed.
* Thundurus has the ability to 2HKO Politoed with Thunderbolt
* Amoonguss doesn't care about Politoed, especially if it's not Encored.
[OVERVIEW]
Politoed's resistance to Fire and ability to induce rain allow it to switch into Heat Wave from Heatran and Mega Charizard Y, which is basically the only edge that rain has over sand and sun: the typing advantage. Politoed is mostly viable as a bulky rain setter, as its 90 / 75 / 100 bulk allows it to survive many hits, and rain's power boost to Scald lets Politoed fully invest EVs into its defenses without losing out on too much power. Outside of being bulky and having Drizzle, it usually fits no other role than supporting. A big downside to Politoed is the fact that it is dead weight in a lot of matchups. Rain teams are always hyper offense, and Politoed does not fit the mold of a hyper offense Pokemon. Even though it is a viable support Pokemon with Helping Hand and Encore, it doesn't offer offensive pressure like Ludicolo and Mega Swampert do. Rain struggles to match the power of many other weather archetypes, which have an easier time maintaining momentum because of the offensive pressure that Mega Charizard Y and Tyranitar can impose on the field. Politoed itself, however, struggles to match the utility or power of other Water-types such as Rotom-W and Keldeo, respectively. Additionally, Politoed gets beaten by the numerous Electric- and Grass-types in the metagame such as Rotom-W and Ferrothorn, and Water- and Grass-types can take advantage of Politoed as well because it cannot threaten them. However, although Water-, Electric-, and Grass-types beat it, they absolutely hate switching into Politoed because rain-boosted Scald is a powerful move with a high burn chance. This is especially annoying for Pokemon such as Amoonguss and Ferrothorn because being burned means they will not be able to keep their utility during the game, as well as Ferrothorn losing out on damage. While Politoed is a decent support Pokemon, it can also run a Choice Specs set that can deal tons of damage, even though you'll trade all its utility away for it. Choice Specs Politoed essentially converts Politoed into both a weather setter and a respectable attacker. Because rain often makes Politoed's partner very threatening, having a slower but still hard-hitting Politoed creates a two-on-two situation rather than allowing your opponent to essentially ignore Politoed. That said, Choice Specs Politoed has its strengths but also its weaknesses, such as being unable to switch moves, lacking Speed, and having less bulk.
[SET]
name: Rain Setter
move 1: Scald
move 2: Icy Wind
move 3: Helping Hand / Encore
move 4: Protect
item: Sitrus Berry / Damp Rock
ability: Drizzle
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Scald provides Politoed with a reliable STAB attack that has a chance to cripple and burn threats such as Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Metagross, which otherwise could be threatening for your team. Icy Wind is a spread move that drops the foes' Speed by one stage. It's mainly used to support the team, but it does a decent amount of damage to Landorus-T and Dragon-types such as Hydreigon and Latios. Helping Hand works well with offensive partners, especially Swift Swim sweepers, by boosting their damage output and letting them get key KOs. Encore is an alternative too, allowing Politoed to lock foes into non-threatening moves such as Protect, Substitute, and Fake Out. Protect lets Politoed scout, stall out field conditions, rack up chip and burn damage, and avoid taking an otherwise deadly attack.
Set Details
========
A standard 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD EV spread with a Bold nature allows Politoed to tank as many physical hits as possible and significantly boosts its overall bulk. Sitrus Berry allows Politoed to survive for longer, while Damp Rock allows Politoed to support its team even better by offering more turns of rain. Drizzle immediately sets up rain as Politoed switches in, which is the only reason to use Politoed. You can use 0 Speed IVs on Politoed so that it can lock Trick Room setters such as Cresselia and Chandelure into Trick Room with Encore.
Usage Tips
========
Politoed can use Drizzle to cancel other weather conditions such as sun and sand. Politoed is especially a great switch-in to Mega Charizard Y, as it removes the sun from Drought and forces Mega Charizard Y to switch out with the threat of Scald. It will still have to be careful, though, because if Mega Charizard Y switches back in while Politoed is still on the field, your team is in trouble until rain is up again. It is important to note that to support its teammates as long as possible, Politoed has to stay alive for as long as possible to keep rain up.
Use Encore to lock foes into support moves or other harmless moves. Use Helping Hand for a power boost only if necessary. If you use a Pokemon with a sleep-inducing move on your team, be careful with using Scald, as it might burn a foe that you would rather put to sleep.
Team Options
========
Swift Swim sweepers such as Ludicolo, Kingdra, and Mega Swampert work well with Politoed, because their Speed stats get doubled by Drizzle. Even though Mega Charizard Y doesn't like to face Politoed, a fast and strong Electric-type such as Thundurus, Raikou, or Thundurus-T is often beneficial to get rid of it. Their offensive presence and perfectly accurate Thunder allow them to check other foes besides Mega Charizard Y, such as opposing Keldeo and Talonflame. The only downside to Electric-types is that they have a lot of trouble switching in directly. Bulky Steel-types such as Mega Metagross, Mega Mawile, and non-Mega Scizor resist Dragon- and Fairy-type attacks and benefit from the rain removing their weakness to Fire. Having a Steel-type on your team also helps to check Kyurem-B, which is often used for beating rain teams. However, Kyurem-B still hits really hard with Earth Power and Steel-types have trouble switching in directly. Intimidate support from the likes of Landorus-T can help Politoed survive longer. Teammates that can check opposing Electric- and Grass-types, such as Kyurem-B and Hydreigon, also work really well because they can soak up attacks aimed at Politoed. Other strong Flying-types such as Talonflame and Togekiss are very useful for cleaning up bulkier Grass-type Pokemon. Fast Dragon-types such as Kyurem-B, Hydreigon, Latios, and Garchomp to an extent are good picks to beat sun teams and opposing rain teams. Surprisingly, Fire-types such as Talonflame and Heatran are great on rain teams because they check Grass-types and are even stronger when rain faces sun. Fairies such as Mega Gardevoir and Mega Diancie are good picks because they can also beat Kyurem-B. Mega Diancie also beats Thundurus and Mega Charizard Y, both of which are big threats to rain too.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Scald
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Focus Blast / Psychic
item: Choice Specs
ability: Drizzle
nature: Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Hydro Pump is usually Politoed's go-to move due to its high power and the STAB boost. Even though it has somewhat shaky accuracy, it deals tons of damage to foes that don't expect it, and having a Choice Specs-boosted Hydro Pump makes it difficult for opposing Pokemon to switch into Politoed. Use Scald when you don't want to risk a miss; it is also a nice move for crippling physical attackers such as Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Metagross, hitting them hard and possibly even burning them. Ice Beam deals tons of damage to Grass-types such as Amoonguss and non-Mega Venusaur, Ground-types such as Landorus-T, Flying-types such as Thundurus, and Dragon-types such as Hydreigon and Latios. For the fourth moveslot, you can decide between Focus Blast, which hits a few quite notable threats to rain teams in Ferrothorn and Kyurem-B, and Psychic, which hits Keldeo and Mega Venusaur super effectively.
Set Details
========
A 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA EV spread allows Politoed to do a lot of damage and increases its bulk significantly. A Quiet nature with 0 Speed IVs allows Politoed to check Trick Room teams more easily, as most opposing non-Trick Room Pokemon would outspeed Politoed anyway; notably, it makes Politoed slower than Cresselia, which can be nice. Politoed generally should not use Speed EVs, as it is unlikely to benefit from them; however, 84 Speed EVs with a Modest nature allow Politoed to outspeed uninvested Togekiss, and 112 Speed EVs with a Modest nature allow Politoed to outspeed Adamant Choice Scarf Landorus-T under Tailwind. Choice Specs maximizes Politoed's damage output, and Drizzle is the only reason to use Politoed, providing rain and powering up Politoed's STAB moves.
Usage Tips
========
Usually, Hydro Pump is the best move to use, unless a foe is 4x weak to one of Politoed's other moves. Be wary of opposing sun teams, though, as even though Politoed is still fairly strong thanks to Choice Specs, sun will drastically cut its damage output.
Team Options
========
Considering that this set focuses on dealing damage instead of providing rain support, having a second rain setter is appreciated; examples include Rain Dance Kingdra, Rain Dance Thundurus, and Rain Dance Tornadus. Even though your team is usually far less reliant on rain when using Choice Specs Politoed, you can still use Swift Swim sweepers effectively, mainly Ludicolo, Kingdra, and Mega Swampert. Ludicolo is the best Swift Swim sweeper alongside Politoed because it beats other Water-types that try to soak up Hydro Pumps. Other Grass-types such as Venusaur and Serperior can still be put on the team, though they are less useful. Talonflame or Heatran is a good partner to get rid of opposing Grass- and Steel-types that wall Politoed.
Due to Politoed's low Speed, it fits well on Trick Room teams. Some decent Trick Room setters are Slowbro and Jellicent because Drizzle's rain boosts their Water-type moves too; however, they will stack weaknesses with Politoed. Other viable setters include Gourgeist-XL, as its weakness to Fire is removed in rain, and Chandelure, as rain teams often like having a Fire-type to take care of Grass-types that can easily take Politoed's strong Hydro Pump. Good teammates on Trick Room teams are Fairy-types such as Mega Mawile, Sylveon, and Azumarill because they are able to get rid of Dragon-types such as Kyurem-B, Latios, and Hydreigon; taking out Kyurem-B is particularly important because it walls rain teams. Mega Diancie also gets rid of other Flying-types in addition to some Electric-types that are dangerous to Politoed, such as Thundurus and Zapdos. You can also use your own Dragon-types such as Latios, Hydreigon, and Kyurem-B to get rid of other Dragon-types and to beat sun teams, which is important because sun negates a lot of Politoed's damage. Kyurem-B also has a strong Ice-type attack to get rid of Zapdos and Thundurus. Escavalier is a good partner as well because it can take care of Grass-types, such as opposing Ludicolo and Venusaur, and Ice-types, notably being able to take out Kyurem-B with Iron Head. If you want another Steel-type, you can also use Mega Scizor. An Electric-type such as Mega Ampharos is also appreciated to get rid of other Water-types.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
========
Perish Song can be used to force notable threats out, especially bulky threats such as Cresselia. Choice Specs sets can also use Hyper Voice as a spread move to break Focus Sash, but it is usually less effective than other moves. Choice Scarf can also be used; although it requires full Speed and Special Attack investment, but you will be able to catch opponents off guard. Note that this set is better suited for teams that aren't reliant on rain and is usually less effective than Politoed's other sets.
Checks and Counters
========
**Opposing Weather**: Because sun halves the Base Power of Water-type attacks, opposing Mega Charizard Y and other Fire-type Pokemon don't mind Scald when sun is up. The pair of Mega Charizard Y and Venusaur is able to use strong Grass-type moves on Politoed, and Politoed does hardly any damage in return while sun is up. Hail can also be fairly annoying because Mega-Abomasnow resists Politoed's attacks and can do a ton of damage with its Grass-type moves in return.
**Typing Advantage**: Electric- and Grass-types such as Thundurus, Rotom-W, Ferrothorn, and Amoonguss are all major threats to Politoed. Thundurus has the ability to 2HKO Politoed with Thunderbolt, and Amoonguss doesn't care about Politoed, even if Politoed locks it into an unfavorable move with Encore.
**Strong Attackers**: Politoed has trouble with strong attackers such as Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Gardevoir, and Hydreigon, all of which can take it out with their sheer power.
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