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Marvel Scale
- Boosts Defense 50% when hit with a status move.
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Statistics
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
95
|
- |
331 |
394 |
- |
| Atk |
60
|
140 |
156 |
219 |
240 |
| Def |
79
|
174 |
194 |
257 |
282 |
| SpA |
100
|
212 |
236 |
299 |
328 |
| SpD |
125
|
257 |
286 |
349 |
383 |
| Spe |
81
|
178 |
198 |
261 |
287 |
Milotic can easily put things to sleep with Hypnosis. Recover off the damage and Hypnosis until it hits, then switch into a friendly sweeper such as Heracross or Medicham! Switching it into a Thunder Wave or Will-O-Wisp is actually a great idea due to its Marvel Scale ability. This increases its Defense when it has a status effect. A paralyzed Milotic will stop things like Salamence and Aerodactyl dead cold. Note that although Toxic will increase its Defense by activating Marvel Scale, the increasing damage as you stay in can hamper Milotic's tanking abilities.
With this set, Milotic is very difficult to take down. Rest allows it to take advantage of its Marvel Scale ability boosting its Defense to help absorb physical hits while sleeping. Surf for STAB and you can also use Ice Beam for things like Salamence. You can use Toxic to try and outstall your opponent if they have no ways of recovering from status afflictions.
Milotic was never easy to take down, but with Light Screen, it gives its defenses a new dimension. It also helps the rest of your team switch in on special sweepers and set up or kill them. That's basically what Light Screen is for on any team, anyway. It is useful and Milotic has good Special Defense so Light Screen also allows you to invest more in Defense and Special Attack. It is durable, but, like all Milotic with Recover, it is susceptible to status such as Toxic if your team lacks status-healing support.
EVs
It is usually good to max out HP and pump Defense. It already has great Special Defense anyways, and the only special attacks it will generally be taking are things it resists: Surf, Ice Beam, and Flamethrower. Milotic is one of those Pokémon that Bold is a good nature for. This is because Milotic is meant to take hard physical hits from Metagross, Salamence, Aerodactyl and their ilk, and if you don't stack enough EVs they might 2HKO you or force you to Recover more often.
You'll generally only want to bring it up to around 210 Speed max, as this beats out Jolly Marowak, some Dragon Dance Tyranitar (many sit at 200 Speed), and all but unusually speedy Suicune. Its Special Attack starts at 236 which is the exact amount you need to KO the standard Choice Band Salamence with Ice Beam, but if you want to KO the more durable Dragon Dancers, you will need 108 EVs for the magic 263. It isn't needed, though.
Other Options
Confuse Ray can force a switch, Hidden Power Electric can be nice to 2HKO Gyarados. Hidden Power Grass 2HKOs Swampert, but Milotic will usually outstall Swampert anyway thanks to Toxic or repeated Surf damage, and without Curse Swampert isn't killing Milotic anytime soon. Mirror Coat is good with Milotic's great HP and Special Defense. Toxic can Poison to outstall enemy Waters and such.
Opinion
If there is one word to describe Milotic, that word would be resilient. This is because Milotic does not die easily, thanks to Recover, Marvel Scale, and great defenses. Hypnosis makes it extra special as it can shut down a main counter. It doesn't get 2HKOed by Choice Band Salamence Hidden Power Flying, and it can outstall most versions of Blissey if it wants to. A great bulky Water.
Counters
Most Electric-types can stop it easily with their STAB Thunderbolts, though Raikou and Jolteon don't like being worn down by Surfs or being statused, while Zapdos can only take so many Ice Beams. Lanturn does great against Milotic, however. They can still be surprised by Mirror Coat, however, as it is impossible for any of them to OHKO Milotic without boosting their Special Attack somehow. Espeon does a good job, as does something like Regice because they don't take much damage from Surf at all. The standard Blissey doesn't really do much to it because of Recover, but will prevent it from doing much to the team. Starmie is a great counter because it can sop up status with Natural Cure, and Surf / Ice Beam do nothing at all, though you'll need Thunderbolt to do some good damage. Note that Natural Cure will not help against Hypnosis so much as Toxic Milotic, because with Hypnosis, you won't activate the Sleep Clause when you switch out, so you just use up one more PP than usual, or give them a free switch and let them Hypnosis something later. Tentacruel can usually switch in and Swords Dance on it, then Sludge Bomb it to hell. Note that since Milotic usually goes with Hypnosis first, any counter that is sent in will be put to Sleep a lot of the time, making Sleep Talk Heracross another good choice, with its surprisingly high Special Defense stat. With a Choice Band or Guts activated, Megahorn 2HKOs Milotic.