And while you don't *need* speed--a Pokemon with 0 base Speed and 1000 base in everything else, for example--it's clearly and obviously beneficial to an offensive Pokemon, and I really don't think that can be denied.
You’re completely missing the point here. What you said can just as easily apply to defensive Pokemon:
And while you don't *need* speed--a Pokemon with 0 base Speed and 1000 base in everything else, for example--it's clearly and obviously beneficial to a defensive Pokemon, and I really don't think that can be denied.
Which is true. Whilst walls don’t need to outrun the Pokemon they are walling, in many cases it would certainly be beneficial if they could, whether it be for fast recovery, status, screens or just killing them before they can get off the next hit. Crobat is actually the perfect example of this in UU (with Lugia obviously being the best overall example). Whilst Crobat has decent defenses to compliment its great resistances, its most valuable asset defensively is its speed, which allows it to recover before the second attack, sometimes halving damage in the process, or OHKO back first.
Similarly, there is such a thing as ‘bulky offense’, namely slow but very powerful Pokemon that can easily take hits that much faster Pokemon simply cannot. Pokemon like Rhydon and Relicanth are perfect for this role as they are very destructive and incredibly difficult to safely switch in to, but most importantly they can easily exploit Pokemon such as Crobat that all the fast but frail Pokemon have trouble with. Therefore there is no reason why these Pokemon cannot have good synergy with ‘typical’ offensive Pokemon. In fact, I have no sympathy for people who use nothing but fast, frail Pokemon for offense, i.e. the only kind you consider ‘viable’, if it means they are ignoring such an obvious metagame threat, nor would I hold that against Crobat in any way. It is not Crobat’s fault if people are stupid.
Rhydon has no SpD at all and its typing is downright bad for use in UU.
Yeah, Rock / Ground is a bad defensive typing overall, but offensively it is virtually unparalleled, especially when you consider that anything that resists it is mauled by Megahorn. Plus in the context of offensive teams, Rhydon has plenty of utility, because those ’dedicated’ defensive Pokemon you mentioned, as well as Crobat, are just the kind of Pokemon that typical offensive Pokes will have trouble with in the first place. Who cares if tons of Pokemon aren’t bothered by them? The fact remains that those bulky Pokemon with real punch to them like Rhydon are easily the best at taking advantage of the presence of these Pokemon in order to put the opponent on the back foot. If you don’t understand that concept then I honestly can’t help you.
And once again, stop using the U-turn argument as a get-out-of-jail-free card, for reasons stated throughout the thread. If Crobat keeps switching in on attacks and immediately spams U-turn, it will eventually die because it is not recovering any damage.
Yeah, you might kill something, if you predict right.
Correction: you WILL kill something if you predict right. That is the beauty of powerhouses like Rhydon, and the popularity of Crobat and other things that can’t hurt it one-in-one allows it a much easier time in making an impact.