[Overview]
<p>To say the least, Seel is quite the unorthodox Pokemon in Little Cup. It has decent defenses, along with a nice typing in Water. However, it lacks an instant recovery move, so it cannot be as bulky as other Water-types such as Slowpoke. It also has plenty of priority attacks to mitigate its mediocre Speed, though it doesn't have the attacking stats to make the most of said priority attacks. Finally, it has a decent support movepool as well, but the lack of Speed and instant recovery prevents it from being a better Pokemon in that regard. All in all, Seel is a decent Pokemon that lacks anything really great, preventing it from being an otherwise fantastic Little Cup Pokemon.</p>
[SET]
name: Priority Abuse
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Aqua Jet
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Waterfall / Return
item: Life Orb
ability: Thick Fat / Hydration
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 236 Atk / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set attempts to make the most of the offensive movepool Seel has. The priority attacks compensate for lack of Speed, but unfortunately have quite low power. Fake Out induces flinching, something very important when up against other faster Pokemon. Aqua Jet gets STAB, and is Seel's best option when it comes to revenge killing. Ice Shard hits Dragon-types for super effective damage. Waterfall gives Seel a more powerful STAB attack, while Return gets good coverage alongside Aqua Jet, meaning that Seel will hit everything neutrally with its four attacks, bar Frillish. Life Orb is the best item, remedying the low attack power of Seel's priority attacks. Both of Seel's abilities aren't too useful,but Thick Fat provides extra resistance to Fire- and Ice-type attacks. Hydration isn't very effective because of the prevalence of sandstorm and hail, hindering its usefulness. In addition, this set doesn't mind most status conditions, except for burn.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs on this set maximize Attack and Speed while the rest is put into Special Defense in order to make the most out of Seel's base stats. Good partners for this set need to be able to beat Ferroseed and Bronzor, two Pokemon that are real trouble for Seel. Magnemite can trap and KO both without much trouble, but must be wary of Earthquake from the latter. In addition, Magnemite is also good at stopping Frillish, a Pokemon that will wall this set without any trouble at all. Wynaut is another good teammate because it doesn't fear any attack from any of the aforementioned threats, and it can Encore a support move. This set also needs a teammate that can easily take out Chinchou; Munchlax and Lileep are great partners for that reason.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Seel has a multitude of other moves at its disposal, but it cannot effectively use some or even most of them. It can use Rain Dance + Hydration abuse with Rest, Toxic, and Eviolite as a support set, but Rain Dance isn't permanent and the set would be beaten all too easily by Giga Drain Snover. However, it could use the combination with Perish Song over Toxic and Whirlpool to trap and KO Pokemon, but the set is very gimmicky. However, it is an effective way to trap and KO Dragon Dance Scraggy. It has a decent special movepool with Surf, Ice Beam, Hidden Power, and Signal Beam, but its Special Attack and Speed aren't great, and this set would be easily outclassed by Chinchou. It has access to Stockpile, a reliable move to increase its defenses, but it lacks a recovery move outside of Rest. Disable is an option to possibly prevent an opponent from boosting its stats, but the move is too risky and gimmicky for it to work effectively. Seel has Encore, but both Cottonee and Wynaut are much better users of the moves. It can use Endure with a Liechi Berry in addition to priority attacks to inflict a good amount of damage while not losing to other priority users, but it would still be countered by a lot of Pokemon.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Physical walls such as Slowpoke, Bronzor, and Ferroseed are the best possible counters to Seel, since they can easily sponge its attacks and set up in its face. Chinchou is also great, since it is able to threaten a super effective Thunderbolt and easily OHKO. Electric-types in general fare well against Seel, since most can stave off an Aqua Jet then retaliate with an Electric-type attack. Grass-types are in the same boat, with most able to take an Ice Shard and KO back with a super effective attack. Snover is a great option, since it can easily KO and heal any damage with Giga Drain. Wynaut traps Seel, and can take it down with Counter.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Through the Dream World, Seel acquires Ice Body, an interesting option as Seel will actually gain health while Hail is up. Seel covers Snover's glaring Fire-type weakness easily, so they could work together well.</p>
<p>To say the least, Seel is quite the unorthodox Pokemon in Little Cup. It has decent defenses, along with a nice typing in Water. However, it lacks an instant recovery move, so it cannot be as bulky as other Water-types such as Slowpoke. It also has plenty of priority attacks to mitigate its mediocre Speed, though it doesn't have the attacking stats to make the most of said priority attacks. Finally, it has a decent support movepool as well, but the lack of Speed and instant recovery prevents it from being a better Pokemon in that regard. All in all, Seel is a decent Pokemon that lacks anything really great, preventing it from being an otherwise fantastic Little Cup Pokemon.</p>
[SET]
name: Priority Abuse
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Aqua Jet
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Waterfall / Return
item: Life Orb
ability: Thick Fat / Hydration
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 236 Atk / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set attempts to make the most of the offensive movepool Seel has. The priority attacks compensate for lack of Speed, but unfortunately have quite low power. Fake Out induces flinching, something very important when up against other faster Pokemon. Aqua Jet gets STAB, and is Seel's best option when it comes to revenge killing. Ice Shard hits Dragon-types for super effective damage. Waterfall gives Seel a more powerful STAB attack, while Return gets good coverage alongside Aqua Jet, meaning that Seel will hit everything neutrally with its four attacks, bar Frillish. Life Orb is the best item, remedying the low attack power of Seel's priority attacks. Both of Seel's abilities aren't too useful,but Thick Fat provides extra resistance to Fire- and Ice-type attacks. Hydration isn't very effective because of the prevalence of sandstorm and hail, hindering its usefulness. In addition, this set doesn't mind most status conditions, except for burn.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs on this set maximize Attack and Speed while the rest is put into Special Defense in order to make the most out of Seel's base stats. Good partners for this set need to be able to beat Ferroseed and Bronzor, two Pokemon that are real trouble for Seel. Magnemite can trap and KO both without much trouble, but must be wary of Earthquake from the latter. In addition, Magnemite is also good at stopping Frillish, a Pokemon that will wall this set without any trouble at all. Wynaut is another good teammate because it doesn't fear any attack from any of the aforementioned threats, and it can Encore a support move. This set also needs a teammate that can easily take out Chinchou; Munchlax and Lileep are great partners for that reason.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Seel has a multitude of other moves at its disposal, but it cannot effectively use some or even most of them. It can use Rain Dance + Hydration abuse with Rest, Toxic, and Eviolite as a support set, but Rain Dance isn't permanent and the set would be beaten all too easily by Giga Drain Snover. However, it could use the combination with Perish Song over Toxic and Whirlpool to trap and KO Pokemon, but the set is very gimmicky. However, it is an effective way to trap and KO Dragon Dance Scraggy. It has a decent special movepool with Surf, Ice Beam, Hidden Power, and Signal Beam, but its Special Attack and Speed aren't great, and this set would be easily outclassed by Chinchou. It has access to Stockpile, a reliable move to increase its defenses, but it lacks a recovery move outside of Rest. Disable is an option to possibly prevent an opponent from boosting its stats, but the move is too risky and gimmicky for it to work effectively. Seel has Encore, but both Cottonee and Wynaut are much better users of the moves. It can use Endure with a Liechi Berry in addition to priority attacks to inflict a good amount of damage while not losing to other priority users, but it would still be countered by a lot of Pokemon.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Physical walls such as Slowpoke, Bronzor, and Ferroseed are the best possible counters to Seel, since they can easily sponge its attacks and set up in its face. Chinchou is also great, since it is able to threaten a super effective Thunderbolt and easily OHKO. Electric-types in general fare well against Seel, since most can stave off an Aqua Jet then retaliate with an Electric-type attack. Grass-types are in the same boat, with most able to take an Ice Shard and KO back with a super effective attack. Snover is a great option, since it can easily KO and heal any damage with Giga Drain. Wynaut traps Seel, and can take it down with Counter.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Through the Dream World, Seel acquires Ice Body, an interesting option as Seel will actually gain health while Hail is up. Seel covers Snover's glaring Fire-type weakness easily, so they could work together well.</p>
