Walrein (Update) [GP 0/2]

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Bluewind

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Ok, here is another of franky’s old analyses that never saw the light of day and that Oglemi allowed me to take over. I removed all the mentions to Froslass, fixed EV spreads, the order of moves and applied Draco Zephir’s GP check, as well as fixing some other mistakes and changing the Overview (it was heavily geared towards OU play). His old threat can be locked here: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63850.

http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/walrein



EDIT: PLEASE DO NOT BOTHER GP CHECKING IT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.
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[OVERVIEW]
<h4>UU</h4>

<p>Walrein's secondary Ice-typing is very much a mixed blessing. In exchange for gaining STAB on Ice-type moves, Walrein receives an unfortunate number of additional weaknesses. Stealth Rock can hinder its ability to function as a tank, chipping off 25% of Walrein's health every time it switches in. However, even with these drawbacks, Walrein is a fine tank in UU, boasting handy resistances to Ice and Water. While its offensive stats are nothing special, they are more than enough for a predominantly defensive Pokemon.</p>

<p>What really turns Walrein into an unique Pokemon, however, is its nearly exclusive ability Ice Body, which enables the walrus to stall its enemies for no less than 32 turns through a combination of Substitute and Protect. All in all, when given proper support, Walrein becomes a fierce stalling machine, able to shut down entire teams in no time.</p>

[SET]
name: Stallrein UU
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Protect
move 3: Super Fang / Roar / Toxic
move 4: Surf / Blizzard
item: Leftovers
ability: Ice Body
nature: Bold
evs: 220 HP / 232 Def / 56 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This infamous set reaches its full potential when used in tandem with hail support from Snover. This specific set shines well in conjunction with Toxic Spikes, increasing poison damage by alternating between Protect and Substitute. Surf or Blizzard ensures Walrein has has a means of offense if it encounters a Taunt user. Super Fang is a great move for halving the opponent's health. With Ice Body and Leftovers, coupled with its 110 / 90 / 90 defensive stats, Walrein becomes incredibly durable despite its terrible defensive typing. It is worth noting that this set requires heavy support to function to its full extent.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Selecting the move for the third slot totally relies on what Walrein plans to do. Super Fang makes the stalling process much faster by slicing the opponent’s health in half. Ultimately, with Toxic Spikes on the field, Super Fang Walrein can bring down teams in a matter of turns. Roar serves as a viable alternative, allowing Walrein to force out threats and rack up residual damage on its opponents. Toxic is another good alternative due to the high amount of Flying- and Poison-types that might render Toxic Spikes useless. The final choice is a toss-up between Blizzard and Surf. Surf is the more reliable option, hitting Steel-types, who are immune to Toxic Spikes, neutrally. On the other hand, Blizzard provides more power to speed up the stalling process. However, Blizzard suffers from meager PP and dicey accuracy if hail is discontinued. Blizzard's low PP increases Walrein's susceptibility to Taunt users.</p>

<p> 220 HP EVs gives Walrein an HP stat of 416, which is divisible by 16. An HP stat that is divisible by 16 is necessary to allow Walrein to stall indefinitely (or at least until its PP runs out). The 56 Speed EVs give Walrein the jump on neutral natured base 70s that don’t invest on Speed, most notably Hitmontop, and on Adamant Rhyperior. This allows Walrein to poison stall the former by alternating between Substitute and Protect without getting hit by Close Combat; and just outright OHKO the latter before it can hit Walrein with Stone Edge.</p>

<p>Nidoqueen is excellent when paired alongside Walrein for several reasons. Nidoqueen provides Toxic Spikes support and can reliably place two layers thanks to its bulk. Not only that, Nidoqueen covers Walrein’s weaknesses by taking Electric-, Rock-,and Fighting-type hits. Last but not least, poison will severely hinder Walrein’s chances of stalling,and Nidoqueen can easily absorb Toxic Spikes for Walrein. As an added bonus, Nidoqueen also provides Stealth Rock to help Walrein deal with Flying-types.</p>

<p>Walrein will appreciate spinblocking support because it generally needs entry hazards to stay on the field. Rotom is an ideal partner because its Ghost-typing allows it to block Rapid Spin and switch in on Fighting-type attacks directed at Walrein. Spiritomb is another good option due to its ability of trapping and beating Mismagius and Alakazam with Pursuit, two Pokemon that can easily shut Walrein down through Taunt or, on the latter’s case, Encore.</p>

[Team Options]
<h4>UU</h4>

<p>For starters, Snover is absolutely mandatory on any team that includes Walrein. Walrein needs hail in play in order to perform its signature stalling procedure. Toxic Spikes support is vital to Walrein’s strategy, and it simply can’t accomplish this task without the right support. Nidoqueen makes an excellent partner thanks to its convenient resistances to Fighting-, Rock-, and Electric-type attacks. Furthermore, Nidoqueen has both Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock in its arsenal to help Walrein run circles around teams with Roar. There are several other candidates for Toxic Spikes, but most of them share the same weaknesses as Walrein, which makes it hard to set up more than one layer.</p>

<p>It is quite evident that Walrein needs Spin blocking in order to keep entry hazards on the field. Spin blockers also provide a valuable resistance to Fighting-type hits dished at Walrein. Mismagius perfectly fits the bill due to its ability of threatening common Rapid Spin like Donphan, Hitmontop, and Blastoise. Furthermore, Mismagius has Taunt to prevent Hitmontop or Blastoise from using Foresight to bypass its Ghost-typing. Speaking of spinners, Walrein loves to have one by his side in order to rid the field of Stealth Rock or Toxic Spikes, both of which severely hinder Walrein’s durability. In addition to that, Cloyster’s Ice typing makes it immune to Hail, and it has the option of running Spikes to further enhance Walrein’s effectiveness.</p>

[Optional Changes]
<h4>UU</h4>

<p>There were many possible sets left out in the main options due to Walrein’s poor defensive typing. Walrein can run a set with Curse / Avalanche / Earthquake / Rest, but its poor defensive typing along with unreliable healing move makes the set’s effectiveness questionable. Walrein can run a decent RestTalk set with Thick Fat, but don’t expect it to stick around for a long time. Walrein can also run an Encore set that helps set up its teammates, stop stat boosters and force switches.</p>

<p>A Choice Band set is plausible, but Walrein is usually better off stalling rather than attacking. If you want a Choice Band set then Crunch, Body Slam, Rock Slide, Ice Fang, and Waterfall are available for physical attacks. A Choice Specs set could also work, especially with hail on your side to provide 100% accuracy for Blizzard.</p>

[Counters]
<h4>UU</h4>

<p>Your best bet of taking on Walrein is preventing Toxic Spikes from being dropped on the field. If Toxic Spikes are absent, then Poliwrath does well thanks to its decent defenses, Ice resistance, STAB Fighting attacks, access to Encore and ability to score some free healing from Surf with his Water Absorb ability. Toxicroak also work in a similar fashion to Poliwrath, but it lacks an Ice resistance; however, it does boast an immunity to Toxic, which prevents Walrein from poison stalling it and renders Toxic Spikes useless. Lapras is also blessed with Water Absorb, a 4x Ice resistance and can wear down Walrein with Thunderbolts. Lanturn can beat Walrein unless it carries Earthquake. Qwilfish can set up Swords Dances against Walrein if it doesn't have Earthquake to 2HKO it. Qwilfish has the added advantage of being immune to Toxic and is also capable of absorbing any Toxic Spikes laid out on the field.</p>

<p>From a defensive standpoint, Clefable does well thanks to its convenient ability, Magic Guard. Clefable can prevent Walrein it from stalling by using Encore to limit its options. Walrein can’t do anything back to Clefable thanks to its high Special Defense stat. If Walrein has Blizzard, Registeel can come in stall it out of Blizzard PPs, forcing it to switch out most of the time. Milotic does well against Walrein if Toxic Spikes are not present.</p>
 

Komodo

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Spotted one or two small things, will edit this post shortly. Also, I'm going to standardize all the apostrophes as some are different to others :)

Edit: or maybe I missed the notice x.x
 

Bluewind

GIVE EO WARSTORY
is a Top Contributor Alumnus
Please do not GP check this, I have made a huge mistake. It seems franky has uploaded his old UU analysis as an OU one with some structural changes. However, they are basically the same, so Walrein will need a brand new write-up. Sorry for the mess, please someone lock this down.
 
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