I've played against his team a few times and Politoed is more important for him as a Helping Hander that survives longer than 4 turns than as a weather reactivater. He also predicts well enough with Protect to stall 4 turns. I think it might be better with Scald though.Pwnemon I would much rather run Sitrus Berry or an Iron Ball on that set. You aren't going to be staying in nearly long enough for lefties to be worthwhile with both Politoed's bulk and the fact that it needs to keep swapping in and out, and the fact that the enemy is likely to try and just flat out kill the frog rather then worry about it staying around to cause mayhem since Toed's power is something to be feared.
Also, why not run Scald over Hydro Pump on a set like that? It still has great power while giving you a decent chance at some burn hax while removing the chance to be misshax'd by hydro miss.
^Yes this exactly. Prediction and stopping powerful plays from being successful is the key to doing well. That is why HITMONTOP is so great. It focuses on dismantling 99% of possible opposing strategies AND creates free turns for you to wreak havoc. It also feeds into Gastrodon's success by being able to switch into EITHER teamslot and redirect a Hydro Pump for a +1 boost. It also feeds into the success of Thunder Wave(particularly Prankster t-wave) by shutting down fast sweeps completely AND scoring parahaxes to hinder their strategy.Second, and for most established singles players I cannot stress this enough, STRONGLY CONSIDER WHAT YOUR OPPONENT IS LIKELY DOING WHEN MAKING A MOVE.
So in essence, look around for established doubles/VGC players, practice on PS/GBU, and remember the game is NOT about executing your strategy, but how well you are able to deal with your opponent's team/moves/strategy.
Habibs just made me see the light with Mantine on that replay.. I think it might be the best walling water type. The only thing I see troubling it(outside of the obvious Thunder/Thunderbolt) is Dragon Claw. Mantine is conveniently a fantastic abuser of Leftovers too haha. It also shows that people actually do use Toxic and as more than a way to shut down Cress.
I'd like to make another point about Leftovers. If you realize that your opponent doesn't have it, then you can switch your playstyle mentality to stall on the fly and get yourself an advantage with extra healing/residual damage on them.