QC: Anty, Magnemite, TRC
GP: The Dutch Plumberjack, GatoDelFuego
[OVERVIEW]
Floatzel is one of the premier offensive Pokemon in the tier. Its high offensive stats, great Speed, and very expansive coverage combined with high unpredictability make it a great option on balanced and offensive teams. It can function as both a wallbreaker and cleaner, can run physical or special sets, has support options and priority, and can function as an effective mixed attacking lure. This, combined with the lack of Pokemon that resist its moves, makes it an incredibly potent attacker. Its few drawbacks are being slower than only the common Zebstrika and somewhat rarer Electrode and Ninjask and its occasionally underwhelming power and slightly weak coverage options.
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Hidden Power Electric
move 4: Surf / Switcheroo / Baton Pass
item: Life Orb / Choice Specs
ability: Water Veil
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Hydro Pump is Floatzel's STAB move of choice. Ice Beam gives great coverage with Hydro Pump, covering the Grass-types that resist Floatzel's Water-type moves, such as Tangela, Jumpluff, and the ubiquitous Roselia, although it falls just short of the 2HKO on defensive variants. Hidden Power Electric covers the few Pokemon that resist Floatzel's other two moves, most notably Water-types. These include Politoed, Lapras, and Pelipper, which take very little from Ice Beam. The final slot depends on personal preference. Surf provides an accurate STAB option in order to safely KO Pokemon in a late-game scenario. Switcheroo is to be used with Choice Specs only; it enables Floatzel to cripple some of its sturdier counters, such as Clefairy. Baton Pass can be used to provide momentum on predicted switches, but its application is very limited and it isn't worth it for most teams. Focus Blast can be run to 2HKO Assault Vest Bouffalant on the switch, as well as netting the OHKO on Stoutland and doing more damage to Vigoroth and Lapras. Taunt can be used to cripple walls such as Clefairy trying to recover health or cripple Floatzel with status. Finally, Ice Punch can be run on Life Orb sets with a Naive nature in order to lure and 2HKO Roselia.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed investment is used to allow Floatzel to wallbreak and clean up more efficiently. A Timid nature allows Floatzel to outspeed a plethora of barely slower attackers thanks to its excellent base Speed, including Jumpluff and Rapidash. Water Veil, while having much less merit on this set than physical variations, is still beneficial occasionally to prevent burn damage. Life Orb is generally the preferred item, as it allows Floatzel to switch up moves and opens up options such as Ice Punch and Taunt, but Choice Specs is also run to increase Floatzel's power and allow it to effectively use Switcheroo.
Usage Tips
========
Keep bringing Floatzel in a lot, as it pressures opposing teams a ton and can easily rack up KOs with repeated attacks. If facing a team with a Pokemon immune to Water such as Politoed, avoid locking Floatzel into a Water-type attack if possible. Floatzel is generally used to revenge kill slower threats, which constitute most of the metagame, while making it hard for the opponent to try to preserve those threats.
Team Options
========
Floatzel will generally be run on more offensive teams that need a strong attacker as well as extra speed control to fare better versus opposing offense teams. Pokemon that can check Zebstrika, Electrode, and Ninjask are useful, as they are the only unboosted threats capable of outspeeding and KOing Floatzel. Stunfisk is the most notable example that checks all three. Setup sweepers such as Fraxure that can struggle with bulkier teams appreciate Floatzel's ability to cripple opposing walls to more easily sweep late-game. Both Stealth Rock setters such as Probopass and Spikes setters such as Roselia can help wear down Floatzel switch-ins such as Bouffalant more quickly. Pokemon such as Arbok and Dodrio that can pressure Roselia are greatly appreciated, as Floatzel can have a lot of trouble breaking past specially defensive variants.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Waterfall
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Aqua Jet
move 4: Return / Switcheroo / Pursuit
item: Choice Band
ability: Water Veil
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Waterfall is Floatzel's most reliable attack, and it is used most often to clean late-game once the foes that resist it have been KOed or weakened. Ice Punch is for Grass-types such as Gogoat, Simisage, and especially Roselia, which like to switch in on special Floatzel. Aqua Jet is a tool to revenge kill weakened, faster Pokemon such as Zebstrika, Choice Scarf Chatot, and other Pokemon offense struggles with. The last move is entirely based on team support options. Return 2HKOes Politoed, one of Floatzel's main and most common counters. Switcheroo cripples Tangela as well as Floatzel's other counters somewhat, though Tangela is the main one that is crippled by only Switcheroo. Pursuit is usable as well to force damage on some of the Pokemon that want to switch from Floatzel, although it has very limited use, as Floatzel generally does not force out Pokemon weak to Dark.
Set Details
========
A Choice Band and maximum Attack investment keep Floatzel hitting hard, while maximum Speed investment allows it to outspeed as much as possible when cleaning. Water Veil gives a handy immunity to Scald burns as well as the ability to switch into predicted Will-O-Wisps.
Usage Tips
========
This Floatzel will typically be used to lure whichever Pokemon is crippled or KOed by the move it carries in the last slot, such as Politoed for Return variants, before sweeping late-game. The same applies when using this just to lure Pokemon such as Clefairy, Roselia, and Grumpig, which are all good switch-ins to special Floatzel variants but are KOed by physical sets. Use Aqua Jet against lead Golem to beat both Custap Berry and Sucker Punch variants. Floatzel should also be preserved when facing a problematic setup sweeper to act as a final line of defense with Aqua Jet.
Team Options
========
A secondary Water-type such as Simipour goes well with Floatzel, as it forces in and can cripple or KO most Water checks, although the shared weakness forces the team to prepare more for Grass- and Electric-types. Depending on which move it carries, Floatzel needs checks to the Pokemon it fails to cover, such as Roselia to set Spikes on Politoed or Tangela. Toxic Stoutland, Knock Off Purugly, or other Tangela lures work nicely for Floatzel to clean more easily.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Floatzel is a highly effective Choice Scarf user, being only three points slower than Choice Scarf Simipour and Simisage and slightly stronger than Simipour with a Modest nature. Physical variants are possible, but the better coverage of special sets makes them more effective at revenge killing. Choice Band Floatzel has several more niche attacking options such as Iron Tail for Avalugg and Clefairy and Low Kick for Stoutland and Bouffalant, but they tend to be mostly outclassed by its regular moves in terms of coverage. Agility, Rain Dance, or Tailwind can boost Floatzel's Speed to sweep, but such sets are generally done better by Golduck or Gorebyss, although Rain Dance sets can function on full rain teams. Aqua Jet can be run in the fourth slot of the special Life Orb set with a Hasty nature to provide extra priority and occasionally catch foes off-guard as well. A Bulk Up + Baton Pass set with two attacks can be used to pass boosts to teammates, although it is not as immediately threatening as Floatzel's other sets. Offensive Bulk Up sets can also attempt to sweep, although they face competition from other Water-type sweepers such as Relicanth and Gorebyss and should only be used if Floatzel's immediate Speed is desperately needed over the other two. Ice Beam can be run on physical sets to lure and KO physically defensive Grass-types in a similar manner to Ice Punch on special Floatzel.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Pokemon Immune to Water**: As Floatzel generally prefers to run Choice sets, Water Absorb Politoed and Lapras make it difficult for Floatzel to effectively spam its STAB attacks. It can deal significant damage to them by predicting the switch and using Return or Hidden Power Electric, but this makes Floatzel far more pressured to wallbreak efficiently.
**Grass-types**: Defensive Grass-types can take on Floatzel depending on which set it is running. Specially defensive Roselia is an excellent switch-in for special Floatzel sets, although it will lose to physical ones. Similarly, Quilladin, Tangela, and Gourgeist-XL take little from a physical Ice Punch but cannot switch into special Floatzel's Ice Beam.
**Electric-types**: All Electric-types are obviously capable of OHKOing Floatzel with their super effective STAB moves. Floatzel is also slower than Zebstrika, Electrode, and Choice Scarf Electric-types such as Rotom-F and Raichu and can be lured and KOed by Passho Berry Stunfisk.
**Bulky Pokemon**: PU has a large amount of bulky Pokemon capable of taking a hit from Floatzel and crippling it with status or simply KOing it. Assault Vest Bouffalant is an excellent check to the special set, while other bulky Pokemon such as Clefairy, Machoke, Regice, and Relicanth can check both sets.
**Faster Pokemon**: Due to Floatzel's poor bulk, all Pokemon faster than Floatzel can at least 2HKO it or revenge kill it with only a little prior damage. Although it is only slower than Electrode, Ninjask, and Zebstrika unboosted, it can also be threatened by Choice Scarf users and outsped when Sticky Web is up.
GP: The Dutch Plumberjack, GatoDelFuego
[OVERVIEW]
Floatzel is one of the premier offensive Pokemon in the tier. Its high offensive stats, great Speed, and very expansive coverage combined with high unpredictability make it a great option on balanced and offensive teams. It can function as both a wallbreaker and cleaner, can run physical or special sets, has support options and priority, and can function as an effective mixed attacking lure. This, combined with the lack of Pokemon that resist its moves, makes it an incredibly potent attacker. Its few drawbacks are being slower than only the common Zebstrika and somewhat rarer Electrode and Ninjask and its occasionally underwhelming power and slightly weak coverage options.
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Hidden Power Electric
move 4: Surf / Switcheroo / Baton Pass
item: Life Orb / Choice Specs
ability: Water Veil
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Hydro Pump is Floatzel's STAB move of choice. Ice Beam gives great coverage with Hydro Pump, covering the Grass-types that resist Floatzel's Water-type moves, such as Tangela, Jumpluff, and the ubiquitous Roselia, although it falls just short of the 2HKO on defensive variants. Hidden Power Electric covers the few Pokemon that resist Floatzel's other two moves, most notably Water-types. These include Politoed, Lapras, and Pelipper, which take very little from Ice Beam. The final slot depends on personal preference. Surf provides an accurate STAB option in order to safely KO Pokemon in a late-game scenario. Switcheroo is to be used with Choice Specs only; it enables Floatzel to cripple some of its sturdier counters, such as Clefairy. Baton Pass can be used to provide momentum on predicted switches, but its application is very limited and it isn't worth it for most teams. Focus Blast can be run to 2HKO Assault Vest Bouffalant on the switch, as well as netting the OHKO on Stoutland and doing more damage to Vigoroth and Lapras. Taunt can be used to cripple walls such as Clefairy trying to recover health or cripple Floatzel with status. Finally, Ice Punch can be run on Life Orb sets with a Naive nature in order to lure and 2HKO Roselia.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed investment is used to allow Floatzel to wallbreak and clean up more efficiently. A Timid nature allows Floatzel to outspeed a plethora of barely slower attackers thanks to its excellent base Speed, including Jumpluff and Rapidash. Water Veil, while having much less merit on this set than physical variations, is still beneficial occasionally to prevent burn damage. Life Orb is generally the preferred item, as it allows Floatzel to switch up moves and opens up options such as Ice Punch and Taunt, but Choice Specs is also run to increase Floatzel's power and allow it to effectively use Switcheroo.
Usage Tips
========
Keep bringing Floatzel in a lot, as it pressures opposing teams a ton and can easily rack up KOs with repeated attacks. If facing a team with a Pokemon immune to Water such as Politoed, avoid locking Floatzel into a Water-type attack if possible. Floatzel is generally used to revenge kill slower threats, which constitute most of the metagame, while making it hard for the opponent to try to preserve those threats.
Team Options
========
Floatzel will generally be run on more offensive teams that need a strong attacker as well as extra speed control to fare better versus opposing offense teams. Pokemon that can check Zebstrika, Electrode, and Ninjask are useful, as they are the only unboosted threats capable of outspeeding and KOing Floatzel. Stunfisk is the most notable example that checks all three. Setup sweepers such as Fraxure that can struggle with bulkier teams appreciate Floatzel's ability to cripple opposing walls to more easily sweep late-game. Both Stealth Rock setters such as Probopass and Spikes setters such as Roselia can help wear down Floatzel switch-ins such as Bouffalant more quickly. Pokemon such as Arbok and Dodrio that can pressure Roselia are greatly appreciated, as Floatzel can have a lot of trouble breaking past specially defensive variants.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Waterfall
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Aqua Jet
move 4: Return / Switcheroo / Pursuit
item: Choice Band
ability: Water Veil
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Waterfall is Floatzel's most reliable attack, and it is used most often to clean late-game once the foes that resist it have been KOed or weakened. Ice Punch is for Grass-types such as Gogoat, Simisage, and especially Roselia, which like to switch in on special Floatzel. Aqua Jet is a tool to revenge kill weakened, faster Pokemon such as Zebstrika, Choice Scarf Chatot, and other Pokemon offense struggles with. The last move is entirely based on team support options. Return 2HKOes Politoed, one of Floatzel's main and most common counters. Switcheroo cripples Tangela as well as Floatzel's other counters somewhat, though Tangela is the main one that is crippled by only Switcheroo. Pursuit is usable as well to force damage on some of the Pokemon that want to switch from Floatzel, although it has very limited use, as Floatzel generally does not force out Pokemon weak to Dark.
Set Details
========
A Choice Band and maximum Attack investment keep Floatzel hitting hard, while maximum Speed investment allows it to outspeed as much as possible when cleaning. Water Veil gives a handy immunity to Scald burns as well as the ability to switch into predicted Will-O-Wisps.
Usage Tips
========
This Floatzel will typically be used to lure whichever Pokemon is crippled or KOed by the move it carries in the last slot, such as Politoed for Return variants, before sweeping late-game. The same applies when using this just to lure Pokemon such as Clefairy, Roselia, and Grumpig, which are all good switch-ins to special Floatzel variants but are KOed by physical sets. Use Aqua Jet against lead Golem to beat both Custap Berry and Sucker Punch variants. Floatzel should also be preserved when facing a problematic setup sweeper to act as a final line of defense with Aqua Jet.
Team Options
========
A secondary Water-type such as Simipour goes well with Floatzel, as it forces in and can cripple or KO most Water checks, although the shared weakness forces the team to prepare more for Grass- and Electric-types. Depending on which move it carries, Floatzel needs checks to the Pokemon it fails to cover, such as Roselia to set Spikes on Politoed or Tangela. Toxic Stoutland, Knock Off Purugly, or other Tangela lures work nicely for Floatzel to clean more easily.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Floatzel is a highly effective Choice Scarf user, being only three points slower than Choice Scarf Simipour and Simisage and slightly stronger than Simipour with a Modest nature. Physical variants are possible, but the better coverage of special sets makes them more effective at revenge killing. Choice Band Floatzel has several more niche attacking options such as Iron Tail for Avalugg and Clefairy and Low Kick for Stoutland and Bouffalant, but they tend to be mostly outclassed by its regular moves in terms of coverage. Agility, Rain Dance, or Tailwind can boost Floatzel's Speed to sweep, but such sets are generally done better by Golduck or Gorebyss, although Rain Dance sets can function on full rain teams. Aqua Jet can be run in the fourth slot of the special Life Orb set with a Hasty nature to provide extra priority and occasionally catch foes off-guard as well. A Bulk Up + Baton Pass set with two attacks can be used to pass boosts to teammates, although it is not as immediately threatening as Floatzel's other sets. Offensive Bulk Up sets can also attempt to sweep, although they face competition from other Water-type sweepers such as Relicanth and Gorebyss and should only be used if Floatzel's immediate Speed is desperately needed over the other two. Ice Beam can be run on physical sets to lure and KO physically defensive Grass-types in a similar manner to Ice Punch on special Floatzel.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Pokemon Immune to Water**: As Floatzel generally prefers to run Choice sets, Water Absorb Politoed and Lapras make it difficult for Floatzel to effectively spam its STAB attacks. It can deal significant damage to them by predicting the switch and using Return or Hidden Power Electric, but this makes Floatzel far more pressured to wallbreak efficiently.
**Grass-types**: Defensive Grass-types can take on Floatzel depending on which set it is running. Specially defensive Roselia is an excellent switch-in for special Floatzel sets, although it will lose to physical ones. Similarly, Quilladin, Tangela, and Gourgeist-XL take little from a physical Ice Punch but cannot switch into special Floatzel's Ice Beam.
**Electric-types**: All Electric-types are obviously capable of OHKOing Floatzel with their super effective STAB moves. Floatzel is also slower than Zebstrika, Electrode, and Choice Scarf Electric-types such as Rotom-F and Raichu and can be lured and KOed by Passho Berry Stunfisk.
**Bulky Pokemon**: PU has a large amount of bulky Pokemon capable of taking a hit from Floatzel and crippling it with status or simply KOing it. Assault Vest Bouffalant is an excellent check to the special set, while other bulky Pokemon such as Clefairy, Machoke, Regice, and Relicanth can check both sets.
**Faster Pokemon**: Due to Floatzel's poor bulk, all Pokemon faster than Floatzel can at least 2HKO it or revenge kill it with only a little prior damage. Although it is only slower than Electrode, Ninjask, and Zebstrika unboosted, it can also be threatened by Choice Scarf users and outsped when Sticky Web is up.
Last edited:
