[OVERVIEW]
Milotic finds a good niche in the tier through its good defensive stats, pure-Water typing, and reliable recovery. Milotic is also not overly passive due to Scald threatening a burn on switch-ins such as Ferrothorn and Tentacruel, allowing it to blanket check various threats such as Tyranitar, Gliscor, Landorus-T, Heatran, Scizor, Mamoswine, and Keldeo. However, Milotic is heavily susceptible to all forms of residual damage, often forcing it into using Recover and becoming relatively passive. The likes of Alakazam and Jirachi can easily wear it down and overwhelm it, as can threats it is supposed to check such as Mamoswine and Keldeo, with Heatran and Keldeo even possibly using Toxic to cripple Milotic. Its power is somewhat lacking against bulkier threats like Reuniclus and Jellicent. Additionally, it faces competition from other bulky Water-types such as Jellicent, Rotom-W, Seismitoad, and Gastrodon, as Jellicent performs a similar niche with the added benefit of blocking Rapid Spin, Rotom-W acts as a stronger check against the likes of Excadrill and Mamoswine while keeping momentum with Volt Switch, Seismitoad is immune to Electric and Water while having more utility options such as Stealth Rock and Knock Off, and Gastrodon acts as a stronger check against Water-types such as Politoed and Keldeo while also boasting an Electric immunity.
[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Recover
move 2: Scald
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Toxic / Refresh
item: Leftovers
ability: Marvel Scale
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Ice Beam is the ideal coverage move for this set, nailing Dragon-types such as Garchomp, Dragonite, and Salamence, as well as hitting Breloom, Gliscor, and Landorus-T. Toxic is great for preventing bulky Water-types such as Jellicent, Gastrodon, Rotom-W, and Politoed variants that lack Refresh from switching in for free. Refresh is a great option to alleviate Milotic's vulnerability to status at the cost of losing momentum when still at low health, becoming more vulnerable to the likes of Calm Mind Latios and Quiver Dance Volcarona and making it difficult to achieve progress against bulky Water-types.
Set Details
========
This set fully invests in Defense to better fend off threats such as Mamoswine and Tyranitar. The remaining EVs are put into Special Attack to guarantee an OHKO on Salamence with Ice Beam.
Team Options
========
Milotic is mostly featured on sand teams, where it acts as a defensive pivot that can easily keep itself healthy while spreading status. Milotic has great defensive synergy with Tyranitar, as Milotic retains good longevity in sand while checking Keldeo and Gliscor. In return, Tyranitar can Pursuit trap threats that can overload Milotic such as Latios, Alakazam, and Reuniclus and can set Stealth Rock and sand, bringing more residual damage to work in tandem with the status Milotic spreads. Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Skarmory appreciate Milotic switching into Fire-type moves from Pokemon such as Heatran and Tyranitar. Both of these Steel-types can bring even more residual damage to the table with Spikes, and they also check Latios and Excadrill, respectively. In a similar manner, Dragon-types such as Latios, Garchomp, and Substitute + Dragon Dance Dragonite appreciate Milotic taking Ice-type moves from the likes of Mamoswine, Heatran, and Keldeo. Latios in particular works very well with Milotic, as Choice Scarf sets can revenge kill Pokemon Milotic is unable to handle such as Volcarona and Alakazam. Breloom is able to absorb status for Milotic due to Poison Heal and check the likes of Rotom-W. Gliscor heavily appreciates Milotic taking Ice- and Water-type attacks, and in return, it provides practical status immunity with Poison Heal, an Electric immunity, Stealth Rock, and Knock Off to remove foes' Leftovers, further accentuating Milotic's chip damage. Landorus-T can set Stealth Rock and brings an Electric immunity while checking Terrakion and Excadrill. It can also use U-turn to allow Milotic to switch in with more ease more easily. Rapid Spin support from Excadrill is crucial, as entry hazards are one of the most consistent ways to chip Milotic and make its job difficult. Heatran can also set Stealth Rock and spread more status in Toxic and burn in tandem with Milotic, and it can check Thundurus-T, Jirachi, and Latios while also being a better check to Volcarona. In return, Milotic is able to stomach a solid amount of the Ground- and Water-type coverage within the tier. Magnezone can trap and remove Steel-type Pokemon such as Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Excadrill if it runs Air Balloon, preventing the former two from setting up entry hazards—further helping Milotic’s longevity—and heavily appreciating Milotic switching in on Ground- and Fire-type attacks from Pokemon such as Mamoswine, Gliscor, Landorus-T, and Heatran. Celebi appreciates Milotic coming in on Fire- and Ice-type attacks and can perform as a more consistent Keldeo check and Water-resistant Pokemon.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Haze is an option to thwart setup sweepers such as Volcarona and Calm Mind Reuniclus. Dragon Tail acts similarly while accumulating chip damage when combined with entry hazard support.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Electric-types and Electric-type Coverage**: Rotom-W takes very little from anything Milotic can throw at it and can either cripple it with Will-O-Wisp or get free momentum with Volt Switch. Thundurus-T can easily outspeed and OHKO Milotic with its STAB Thunder, while Electric-type moves from the likes of Magnezone, Reuniclus, Starmie, and Jirachi can 2HKO Milotic after minor chip damage. However, these Pokemon need to exercise caution while switching in, as most don't appreciate either burn or Toxic.
**Status**: Burn and poison force Milotic into using Recover more often and prevent it from properly checking what it is supposed to. Paralysis makes Milotic easier to exploit for offensive Pokemon such as Breloom. However This being said, Refresh variants of Milotic are capable of handling status.
**Passive Damage**: Passive damage from entry hazards and sand can eventually overwhelm Milotic and force it into using Recover, somewhat compromising its defensive utility and making it relatively passive. Faster offensive threats such as Terrakion, Alakazam, Latios, and Volcarona can take advantage of Milotic after it has been worn down.
**Water-types**: Bulkier Water-types such as Jellicent, Politoed, Tentacruel, and Gastrodon can easily take Milotic’s hits and punish it with status. Jellicent in particular can also use Taunt to completely shut down Milotic. However, none of these options like being inflicted with status from Scald or Toxic.
**Setup Sweepers**: Powerful setup sweepers such as Agility Thundurus, Calm Mind Reuniclus, and Calm Mind Jirachi can use Milotic as setup fodder if it lacks the rare Haze or Dragon Tail and eventually overwhelm it.
**Grass-types**: Ferrothorn can switch into anything Milotic can throw at it and remove its Leftovers with Knock Off, heavily hindering its longevity, freely set entry hazards on it, or 2HKO it with Power Whip. However, despite its Toxic immunity, Ferrothorn dislikes burn, meaning it has to switch in carefully. Celebi can handle any attack Milotic throws at it and can force it out with Giga Drain. It can also heal off Milotic’s status thanks to Natural Cure. Breloom can set up on Milotic and overwhelm it with its STAB moves while only truly fearing Ice Beam.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[BT89, 487308]]
- Quality checked by: [[Ophion, 433215], [BluBirD252, 347088]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [dex, 277988]]
Milotic finds a good niche in the tier through its good defensive stats, pure-Water typing, and reliable recovery. Milotic is also not overly passive due to Scald threatening a burn on switch-ins such as Ferrothorn and Tentacruel, allowing it to blanket check various threats such as Tyranitar, Gliscor, Landorus-T, Heatran, Scizor, Mamoswine, and Keldeo. However, Milotic is heavily susceptible to all forms of residual damage, often forcing it into using Recover and becoming relatively passive. The likes of Alakazam and Jirachi can easily wear it down and overwhelm it, as can threats it is supposed to check such as Mamoswine and Keldeo, with Heatran and Keldeo even possibly using Toxic to cripple Milotic. Its power is somewhat lacking against bulkier threats like Reuniclus and Jellicent. Additionally, it faces competition from other bulky Water-types such as Jellicent, Rotom-W, Seismitoad, and Gastrodon, as Jellicent performs a similar niche with the added benefit of blocking Rapid Spin, Rotom-W acts as a stronger check against the likes of Excadrill and Mamoswine while keeping momentum with Volt Switch, Seismitoad is immune to Electric and Water while having more utility options such as Stealth Rock and Knock Off, and Gastrodon acts as a stronger check against Water-types such as Politoed and Keldeo while also boasting an Electric immunity.
[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Recover
move 2: Scald
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Toxic / Refresh
item: Leftovers
ability: Marvel Scale
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Ice Beam is the ideal coverage move for this set, nailing Dragon-types such as Garchomp, Dragonite, and Salamence, as well as hitting Breloom, Gliscor, and Landorus-T. Toxic is great for preventing bulky Water-types such as Jellicent, Gastrodon, Rotom-W, and Politoed variants that lack Refresh from switching in for free. Refresh is a great option to alleviate Milotic's vulnerability to status at the cost of losing momentum when still at low health, becoming more vulnerable to the likes of Calm Mind Latios and Quiver Dance Volcarona and making it difficult to achieve progress against bulky Water-types.
Set Details
========
This set fully invests in Defense to better fend off threats such as Mamoswine and Tyranitar. The remaining EVs are put into Special Attack to guarantee an OHKO on Salamence with Ice Beam.
Team Options
========
Milotic is mostly featured on sand teams, where it acts as a defensive pivot that can easily keep itself healthy while spreading status. Milotic has great defensive synergy with Tyranitar, as Milotic retains good longevity in sand while checking Keldeo and Gliscor. In return, Tyranitar can Pursuit trap threats that can overload Milotic such as Latios, Alakazam, and Reuniclus and can set Stealth Rock and sand, bringing more residual damage to work in tandem with the status Milotic spreads. Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Skarmory appreciate Milotic switching into Fire-type moves from Pokemon such as Heatran and Tyranitar. Both of these Steel-types can bring even more residual damage to the table with Spikes, and they also check Latios and Excadrill, respectively. In a similar manner, Dragon-types such as Latios, Garchomp, and Substitute + Dragon Dance Dragonite appreciate Milotic taking Ice-type moves from the likes of Mamoswine, Heatran, and Keldeo. Latios in particular works very well with Milotic, as Choice Scarf sets can revenge kill Pokemon Milotic is unable to handle such as Volcarona and Alakazam. Breloom is able to absorb status for Milotic due to Poison Heal and check the likes of Rotom-W. Gliscor heavily appreciates Milotic taking Ice- and Water-type attacks, and in return, it provides practical status immunity with Poison Heal, an Electric immunity, Stealth Rock, and Knock Off to remove foes' Leftovers, further accentuating Milotic's chip damage. Landorus-T can set Stealth Rock and brings an Electric immunity while checking Terrakion and Excadrill. It can also use U-turn to allow Milotic to switch in with more ease more easily. Rapid Spin support from Excadrill is crucial, as entry hazards are one of the most consistent ways to chip Milotic and make its job difficult. Heatran can also set Stealth Rock and spread more status in Toxic and burn in tandem with Milotic, and it can check Thundurus-T, Jirachi, and Latios while also being a better check to Volcarona. In return, Milotic is able to stomach a solid amount of the Ground- and Water-type coverage within the tier. Magnezone can trap and remove Steel-type Pokemon such as Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Excadrill if it runs Air Balloon, preventing the former two from setting up entry hazards—further helping Milotic’s longevity—and heavily appreciating Milotic switching in on Ground- and Fire-type attacks from Pokemon such as Mamoswine, Gliscor, Landorus-T, and Heatran. Celebi appreciates Milotic coming in on Fire- and Ice-type attacks and can perform as a more consistent Keldeo check and Water-resistant Pokemon.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Haze is an option to thwart setup sweepers such as Volcarona and Calm Mind Reuniclus. Dragon Tail acts similarly while accumulating chip damage when combined with entry hazard support.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Electric-types and Electric-type Coverage**: Rotom-W takes very little from anything Milotic can throw at it and can either cripple it with Will-O-Wisp or get free momentum with Volt Switch. Thundurus-T can easily outspeed and OHKO Milotic with its STAB Thunder, while Electric-type moves from the likes of Magnezone, Reuniclus, Starmie, and Jirachi can 2HKO Milotic after minor chip damage. However, these Pokemon need to exercise caution while switching in, as most don't appreciate either burn or Toxic.
**Status**: Burn and poison force Milotic into using Recover more often and prevent it from properly checking what it is supposed to. Paralysis makes Milotic easier to exploit for offensive Pokemon such as Breloom. However This being said, Refresh variants of Milotic are capable of handling status.
**Passive Damage**: Passive damage from entry hazards and sand can eventually overwhelm Milotic and force it into using Recover, somewhat compromising its defensive utility and making it relatively passive. Faster offensive threats such as Terrakion, Alakazam, Latios, and Volcarona can take advantage of Milotic after it has been worn down.
**Water-types**: Bulkier Water-types such as Jellicent, Politoed, Tentacruel, and Gastrodon can easily take Milotic’s hits and punish it with status. Jellicent in particular can also use Taunt to completely shut down Milotic. However, none of these options like being inflicted with status from Scald or Toxic.
**Setup Sweepers**: Powerful setup sweepers such as Agility Thundurus, Calm Mind Reuniclus, and Calm Mind Jirachi can use Milotic as setup fodder if it lacks the rare Haze or Dragon Tail and eventually overwhelm it.
**Grass-types**: Ferrothorn can switch into anything Milotic can throw at it and remove its Leftovers with Knock Off, heavily hindering its longevity, freely set entry hazards on it, or 2HKO it with Power Whip. However, despite its Toxic immunity, Ferrothorn dislikes burn, meaning it has to switch in carefully. Celebi can handle any attack Milotic throws at it and can force it out with Giga Drain. It can also heal off Milotic’s status thanks to Natural Cure. Breloom can set up on Milotic and overwhelm it with its STAB moves while only truly fearing Ice Beam.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[BT89, 487308]]
- Quality checked by: [[Ophion, 433215], [BluBirD252, 347088]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [dex, 277988]]
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