Samurott (QC 3/3)

[Scoopapa]

Samurott

[Overview]
Whenever a new generation of pokemon games is announced, speculation abounds on what the new starters will be like. Will they be amazing contenders like those of the Diamond and Pearl era, or will they be disappointing like those of the Gold and Silver era? Will we get yet another Fire/Fighting dual type, or will we see something new and useful? Well, the latest generation of pokemon games has been out for more than a year now, and we can say with some certainty that the new set of starters was a flop. None are remotely OU-worthy and their usefulness in UU is niche at best. Samurott leads the pack with his ability to be a solid contender in the RU tier.

Samurott is most often seen as a highly offensive tank, putting his above average offenses and bulk to great use in a tier where his base low base 70 speed still allows him to outspeed a majority of walls and pivots. Thanks to this fact, Samurott poses a massive threat to defensive teams with the ability to shut down or overpower them with Taunt or Swords Dance, respectively. Adding to his usefulness is the fact that your opponent must guess whether he will be running special or physical attacks in order to counter him properly.


[SET]
name: Stallbreaker
move 1: Taunt
move 2: Hydro Pump / Surf
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Grass Knot
item: Leftovers
ability: Torrent
nature: Modest
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

• Can outspeed and Taunt most defensive pokemon
• Plenty of power and great coverage make it difficult to switch in to
• Ferroseed can't touch you and won't be setting up any hazards
• Outspeeds Adamant Aggron

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

• Avoids a 2HKO from CB Entei's Flare Blitz and survives Scarf Medicham's High Jump Kick
• With Stealth Rock up, you can OHKO Rotom with Hydro Pump and Liligant and Sawsbuck with Ice Beam.
• Torrent activation is very common and causes all kinds of wreckage
• This set is pretty damn effective

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Megahorn
move 4: Aqua Jet
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Torrent
nature: Adamant
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

• Decent Water-Bug coverage and a Priority move make a decent Swords Dancer
• Hit faster Grass-types on the switch with Megahorn, and use Swords Dance on the switch to slower Grass-types

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

• Megahorn is really the only reason to use this instead of Feraligatr
• OHKOes Tangrowth at +2, a feat Feraligatr cannot match
• Walled by Poliwrath

[Other Options]

• Taunt > Specs
• Dragon Tail - Lack of Sleep Talk really prevents an effective defensive set

[Checks and Counters]

• Prey on his low Speed
• Roselia, Amoongus aren't 2HKOed by Ice Beam but can't OHKO back either. They hate +2 Megahorn.
• Rotom-C can survive one Ice Beam and is hard to predict around thanks to the dual threat of Grass and Electric
• Sawsbuck and Liligant are good checks but will die if they switch in on Ice Beam or Megahorn
• Munchlax can defeat the special set if he manages to score a little bit of Hydro Pump miss / paralysis, which is fairly likely in the long run
• Specially defensive Electric-types like Ampharos and Electabuzz are uncommon but great counters to the special set
• Poliwrath walls the physical set
• Porygon-Z can't switch in but loves to revenge kill with Downloaded SpA bonuses

 

[PK Gaming]

QC APPROVED (1/3)

 

[Heysup]

Is there any reason that Hydro Pump is 100% better than Surf on that set? Most of the times I've faced it, Surf would have done the trick. I merely suggest a slash, I'm sure Hydro Pump is on there for a reason.

 

[Scoopapa]

Hydro Pump just reaches the OHKO (or sometimes OHKO and always with SR) mark on a ton of random stuff where Surf doesn't. Pretty much all your run on the mill "kind of frail" stuff like Rotom, Medicham, Tauros, Kabutops, and Manectric (that spider thing, too). It also 3HKOes Clefable, though you don't always get it if you have to Taunt on turn 2. I don't know that it's 100% better, though, since there's something to be said for not taking too many risks. I don't want blood on my hands if someone who's suicidal is pushed over the edge when Hydro Pump misses 3 times in a row, so I'll slash Surf to absolve myself of responsibility.

Also, I've chosen 200 as a decent speed cutoff to outspeed defensive pokemon in the tier, but I'm open to suggestions in that regard. I do notice the difference in bulk as even when I ran 208 speed it was less comfortable to switch into Entei.

@ Below:
You must run some bulk on Rotom, then. I ran a calc just now and Rotom has around a 50% chance of dying. At any rate, I slashed it on.

 

[Heysup]

Yea that's the best cutoff, outpaces everything up to Adamant Aggron.

About Surf, I recall my rotom "comfortably" surviving (like with 20% left) Hydro Pump, then thinking that Surf might be a better choice some of the time because Hydro Pump didn't seem to be completely getting any OHKOes or not.

Slash is safe.

 

[Oglemi]

QC APPROVED (2/3)

Stallbreaker is one word btw

 

[Honko]

QC APPROVED 3/3

 

[Komodo]

I'm going to write this analysis for Scoopapa, I got permission through PM. Would someone be so kind to move it to L&O.