Troll fish
[Overview]
<p>For a Pokemon with a constant "troll" smile, and a name that makes you wish you had the money to buy the latest Pokemon game, Whiscash seems extremely unappealing. Seemingly, a 110 base HP stat is the only thing going for it; its Speed is pathetic, and the rest of its stats are average at best. The fact that Quagsire outclasses the fish defensively doesn't help its case either. All of these factors combined give most people the impression that Whiscash is simply a joke of a Pokemon. However, this first impression changes dramatically when you realize that Whiscash has Water / Ground typing, combined with one of the best boosting moves in the game: Dragon Dance. This boosting move, combined with its excellent coverage in the form of EdgeQuake + STAB Waterfall turns Whiscash into a threatening sweeper. Furthermore, Whiscash is difficult to take down with simple priority attacks, due in large part to its excellent base 110 HP stat. It may seem like an utter joke at first, but Whiscash has potential as a devastating sweeper in the RU environment.</p>
[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Waterfall / Aqua Tail
move 4: Stone Edge / Rest
item: Life Orb
ability: Hydration
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 236 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Dragon Dance turns Whiscash into a threatening sweeper, boosting its otherwise lackluster Attack and Speed stats to 383 and 354, respectively. This means that Whiscash can outrun all positively-natured base 110 Pokemon and below after a boost, including Archeops and Galvantula. EdgeQuake coverage combined with STAB Waterfall lets Whiscash hit all of RU at least neutrally, making it that much more deadly. Stone Edge lets it deal more damage to the likes of Mandibuzz, Galvantula, and Scyther, while Earthquake and Waterfall are great STAB options. Aqua Tail can be used over Waterfall due to its higher power, but it also has 10% less accuracy, making it less reliable. Whiscash's ability, Hydration, allows it to free itself from status effects such as poison and burn; the lack of permanent rain in RU makes this much less useful, however. Nevertheless, if used on a rain team, Rest is a great option over Stone Edge, as it will let Whiscash restore all of its HP in a single turn while avoiding the problems that sleep causes; this will let Whiscash boost almost fearlessly.</p>
<p>An Adamant nature can also be used in order to give Whiscash more attacking power, but the drop in Speed lets Pokemon such as Hidden Power Grass Galvantula outspeed and OHKO it, even after a Dragon Dance. Sadly, however, threats such as Sceptile, Accelgor, and all of the commonly used Choice Scarf Pokemon in RU will easily outspeed +1 Whiscash due to its pathetic base 60 Speed. However, this flaw is almost negated by the fact that unlike other set-up sweepers in RU, such as Lilligant and Crawdaunt, Whiscash has a good amount of bulk, allowing it to survive priority moves such as Honchkrow's Sucker Punch and Entei's ExtremeSpeed.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Thanks to its Ground typing, Whiscash can easily set up on Pokemon that rely on paralysis, such as Uxie. In addition, Whiscash's STAB Water-type moves will scare off Gligar, allowing for an easy Dragon Dance. If you are using an Adamant nature, max Speed should be run in order to Speed tie with positively-natured base 100s after a boost.</p>
<p>Rain support would be beneficial to Whiscash since it would allow the fish to make full use of its superb ability: Hydration. Uxie is an excellent partner for this reason, as not only can it set up Rain Dance, but it can provide entry hazard support in the form of Stealth Rock, or run a dual screens set in order to let Whiscash set up much more easily. Entry hazards in general are also very helpful, so Pokemon such as Qwilfish and Omastar make good teammates; Qwilfish has the added bonus of absorbing Toxic Spikes, which can be very beneficial to any Whiscash that is not part of a rain team. A cleric would be of assistance to any Whiscash not on a rain team as well.</p>
<p>Bulky Grass-types such as Ferroseed are a major threat to Whiscash, so they should be taken out right away. Fire-types such as Moltres are great partners as they can obliterate Grass-types, but should not be used on rain teams. Fighting-types such as Hitmonlee can also prove to be an asset, annihilating Ferroseed while being able to weaken the opposition's physical walls and tanks for Whiscash. Pokemon such as Bouffalant and Sawsbuck are also great partners as they can switch into enemy Grass-type moves and nab an Attack boost. Bug- and Flying-types can also prove to be great partners for Whiscash.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Whiscash's remaining movepool is extremely poor. A defensive set utilizing Rest can be used for recovery, but is largely outclassed by Quagsire due to the lack of permanent rain and Quagsire's access to Unaware and Recover. A RestTalk set could also be used, but again, is largely outclassed by Quagsire, especially since RestTalk is not a very reliable form of recovery. Whiscash can also run a special set, but it lacks a boosting move to boost its subpar Special Attack and Speed stats with. Hidden Power Fire could be used on the Dragon Dance set, but Whiscash's Special Attack stat is only 188 without any investment, so this is not advised. Return is an option over Stone Edge on the Dragon Dance set, but the combination of Waterfall, Earthquake, and Stone Edge covers more than Whiscash would with Return. Substitute can be used in order to block status, but Whiscash's low Speed makes this less usable.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Due to its amazing typing and good coverage moves, Whiscash is harder to counter than you might think. However, it is extremely weak to Grass-types, meaning that walls such as Tangrowth and extremely fast threats such as Sceptile destroy it. Any Pokemon carrying a Choice Scarf with 60 base Speed and a positive Speed nature outspeeds Whiscash, even after a Dragon Dance. Pokemon such as Cofagrigus and Dusknoir can take a couple of hits and burn Whiscash, but must be careful in rain since Hydration will cure the burn. Mandibuzz can also take a hit or two and phaze Whiscash away. Accelgor also outruns +1 Whiscash, and can score a surprise KO on it with Giga Drain.</p>
