QC: Steve Angello / /
GP: /
Overview
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- Access to Water Absorb, a good typing in Water / Ground alongside good bulk lets Seismitoad check a several Pokemon including non-Grass Knot Mega Metagross, Mega Scizor, Rotom-W, and Mega Manectric
- Swift Swim makes Seismitoad a good offensive late-game cleaner in the rain, but when used on Seismitoad, it is very reliant on rain.
- A 4x Grass-type weakness leaves Seismitoad easily beaten by Grass-types and any Pokemon that has powerful Grass-type coverage.
- The lack of reliable recovery means Seismitoad's longevity is limited, and Seismitoad has to rely on the passive recovery from Leftovers.
- Underaverage offensive presence because of Seismitoad's low Attack and Special Attack, which can be used to an advantage for foes to set up.
- Faces stiff competition from bulky Water-types such as Quagsire and Gastrodon because of them having other utility, though its niche lies into its own good utility options in Stealth Rock and Knock Off.
Defensive
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name: Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Scald
move 3: Earthquake / Earth Power
move 4: Toxic / Knock Off / Sludge Wave
ability: Water Absorb
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
nature: Relaxed / Bold
Moves
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- Stealth Rock is a great utility move to punish and wear down switch-ins, especially those types that are weak to Rock-types.
- Scald is a good spammable STAB that has a very good chance of burning foes that can come in, such as Breloom.
- Earthquake is Seismitoad's physical Ground STAB move and hits Pokemon such as Azumarill and Keldeo harder as well as 2HKOing Mega Charizard X.
- Earth Power could also be used but doesn't achieve any additional KOs that Earthquake misses out on, and allows Seismitoad to run a Bold nature.
- Toxic puts a timer on set-up sweepers such as Mega Charizard X and also wears down bulky Water-, Grass- and Dragon-type Pokemon switch-ins.
- Knock Off provides great utility and cripples Pokemon such as Chansey, Ferrothorn and Rotom-W which are item-reliant by removing their item.
- Sludge Wave is a good option to use because it covers Seismitoad's Grass weakness, as it inflicts high damage on Grass-types switch-ins.
Set Details
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- Maximum EV investment in HP and Defense allow for as much physical bulk as possible to take on offensive Pokemon such as non-Grass Knot Metagross, Dragon Dance Altaria and Charizard, Mega Lopunny and Keldeo.
- Water Absorb is the chosen ability to provide a valuable immunity to Water-type moves and makes Seismitoad a solid check to them.
- Leftovers give Seismitoad some passive recovery and is important as Seismitoad does not have any form of recovery aside from them.
- Either a Relaxed or Bold nature should be used. A Relaxed one should be used if Earthquake is ran, but a Bold nature should be ran if Earth Power is used to minimize confusion and Foul Play damage and also not reducing Speed. It doesn't matter with Knock Off, since that isn't meant for damage anyway.
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- Set up rocks as soon as possible to punish switches, but only when Seismitoad is in a safe position, for example, if it forces a switch.
- Don't switch Seismitoad in repeatedly since it is worn down easily by attacks and hazards because of a lack of reliable recovery.
- Utilise Seismitoad's good bulk to check many threats both early- and mid-game.
- Scald is the most spammable move as it cripples a wide array of foes with burns.
- Knock Off should be used against item-reliant Pokemon such as Chansey and Gliscor to cripple them. In general, it is a safe move to go for, because not many Pokemon like having their item removed.
- Seismitoad can pivot into quite a few Choice-locked Pokemon such as Victini and Landorus-T and gain momentum from there.
Team Options
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- In general, offensive Pokemon such as Talonflame, Mega Charizard Y, Volcarona, Scizor, and Mega Venusaur, make for good partners as they can beat the Grass-types which consistently force Seismitoad out. Additionally, they all appreciate the Stealth Rock support Seismitoad gives.
- Set-up sweepers such as Mega Charizard X, Breloom and Scizor appreciate Seismitoad spreading burns with Scald, and can use this as an opportunity to set up. They also have relatively good synergy with Seismitoad.
- VoltTurn users such as Rotom-W and Scizor gain momentum and give Seismitoad chances to switch in easier. Scizor in particular is a great partner, wearing down Fairy-types that Seismitoad may struggle to deal with such as Mega Altaria and Clefable whilst providing U-turn support so that Seismitoad can safely switch in. Seismitoad in return deals with Fire-types such as Talonflame that Scizor are demolished by.
- Steel-types such as Bisharp, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory make for good partners because Seismitoad completely stops their biggest check in Magnezone. Bisharp, in particular, is good because it punishes the Defog users with Defiant, and Ferrothorn can complete the hazards. They also appreciate Seismitoad switching into Fire-type attacks with relative ease.
- Wish users such as Chansey and Sylveon are also quite good partners because they can pass Wishes to Seismitoad which is great because Seismitoad lacks reliable recovery on its own. They can also provide cleric support which is handy because increased Toxic damage will wear Seismitoad down, as well as burns.
Rain Sweeper
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name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Sludge Wave
move 4: Focus Blast
ability: Swift Swim
item: Life Orb
evs: 60 HP / 252 SpA / 196 Spe
nature: Modest
Moves
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- Hydro Pump is a very powerful STAB attack which becomes even more powerful after the boost of Rain. However, it is a bit inaccurate.
- Earth Power is a secondary STAB move with great coverage and hits a wide range of types for super effective damage, such as Steel and Fire.
- Sludge Wave is a coverage move because it allows Seismitoad to hit Grass-types for great damage which resist its dual STAB combination.
- Focus Blast can be used in the fourth slot for high Base Power and great coverage on the overall, but has a bit low accuracy.
- Knock Off could be opted to use as well because it lets Seismitoad hit Latias and Latios quite well, as they have no trouble taking Hydro Pump and Sludge Wave, and are immune to Earth Power. It also is useful for crippling item-reliant Pokemon such as Chansey, because Chansey can be 2HKOed with Hydro Pump after removal of her Eviolite.
Set Details
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- The given EV spread gives a boost to Seismitoad's offensive capabilities. The Speed EVs let it outspeed everything up to Choice Scarf Landorus-T, with the remaining EVs dumped into HP.
- Swift Swim is the reason to use offensive Seismitoad, because it is a solid late-game cleaner in the rain because the Swift Swim doubles Seismitoad's Speed under rain.
- Life Orb is the used item because it significantly boosts Seismitoad's damaging moves which is appreciated because of Seismitoad's low Special Attack stat.
- A Modest nature gives another boost to Seismitoad's Special Attack, but if Knock Off is ran, a Rash nature should be ran, because with Modest, you cannot 2HKO Latios and Latias.
Usage Tips
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- Fits best on Rain-teams because of the rain supporting Seismitoad to plow through opposing teams.
- This Seismitoad is a good late-game cleaner, so try and remove the specially defensive Pokemon first before attempting a sweep.
- Only sent it in to sweep when Rain is up, because then, Seismitoad's Speed will be doubled and otherwise foes can easily wear it down with their attacks. Also, senting it in when rain is up as soon as possible is good because Rain is only up for a limited amount of turns.
- Seismitoad's solid typing lets it check offensive Fire- and Electric-types very well, so switching it into them is a decent idea to beat them.
- Aim to set up hazards before attempting to sweep, because this will greatly help Seismitoad during its sweep.
- Sending Seismitoad in with a slow Volt Switch or U-turn is good, as well as sending it in after a teammate has been KOed is good, because Seismitoad lacks reliable recovery and is easily worn down by repeated attacks.
Team Options
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- Politoed is by far Seismitoad's best teammate, because it can set up rain for Seismitoad with Drizzle, which is mandatory to have.
- Other backup rain setters such as Thundurus make for good teammates too just in case Politoed faints if it's used as a teammate.
- Hazard support from Pokemon such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Celebi is very useful for Seismitoad for it to KO with more ease. Ferrothorn and Celebi also fit decent on rain teams because the rain weakens Fire-type attacks and the rain sweepers can all take out Fire-types.
- Seismitoad works well with other rain sweepers such as Kabutops because Seismitoad can beat physically defensive Pokemon which trouble Kabutops. Kabutops can in return beat up specially defensive Pokemon such as Chansey.
- Grass-type switch ins such as Thundurus and Tornadus-T make solid partners too. They both fit well on rain teams as well.
- Seismitoad is troubled by bulky Water-types, so an Electric-type such as Tornadus and Magnezone are good teammates to beat them.
- Bulky Dragon-types are a huge problem for Seismitoad, so Pokemon such as Mamoswine, Kyurem-B and Bisharp are great choices because they can beat these bulky Dragon-types.
- Fighting-types such as Conkeldurr and Keldeo threaten Chansey and Blissey, both of which are problems for Seismitoad. Conkeldurr can restore HP from beating them with Drain Punch, while Keldeo can take advantage of the rain.
Other Options
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- Refresh allows Seismitoad to completely shut down Rotom-W because it lets it cure the burn from Will-O-Wisp. It also helps it recover from other status, but, Seismitoad is better off using other utility moves.
- Rain Dance lets Seismitoad set up rain for itself and sweep, but has only 5 turns to last because Seismitoad needs Life Orb, and with this, it also loses out on an important coverage attack.
- A physically offensive set is a possibility, but Seismitoad lacks a powerful physical Water-type move and Mega Swampert completely outclasses it.
- Infestation could be used to trap the Pokemon Seismitoad checks, but since it usually forces them out already, it won't have much effect. It is also not very effective due to Seismitoad's lack of recovery.
- Rest + Sleep Talk gives Seismitoad recovery, but this means it misses out on several coverage options, making it not good enough to warrant its own set.
- Power-Up Punch lets Seismitoad boosts its Attack stat, but due to its low power, it is not very useful.
Checks & Counters
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**Grass-types**: Because of Seismitoad's 4x weakness to Grass-type attacks, Grass-types such as Mega Venusaur, Serperior and Breloom can beat it. Breloom and Serperior are additionally resistant to Seismitoad's dual STAB.
**Bulky Water-types**: Bulky Water-types can also take Seismitoad's attacks quite easily and stall it out with poison or set up on it. Examples include Slowbro and Gastrodon.
**Bulky Dragon-types**: Bulky Dragon-types, such as Latias, Latios, and Goodra, have no trouble taking Seismitoad's attacks. However, the former two, Latias and Latios, should be wary of Knock Off.
**Offensive Pressure**: Due to Seismitoad's lack of recovery, offensive Pokemon such as Azumarill, Mega Gallade, and Gengar can take Seismitoad out by consistenly putting offensive pressure on Seismitoad. However, Azumarill and Mega Gallade are crippled by burns Scald can inflict.
**Status**: While an immunity to paralysis is very handy for Seismitoad, it is very susceptible to poison and burn, because they will easily wear it down.
**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: Chansey can take any hits from the offensive set and stall Seismitoad out. However, it is 2HKOed if its Eviolite has been removed. Mega Venusaur also can take Seismitoad's attacks and KO it while also recovering with Giga Drain. Latias can easily take Seismitoad's attacks, but must be wary of Knock Off.
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