[OVERVIEW]
With its unique access to Cloud Nine, Golduck is one of the very few sand-immune Calm Mind users in ADV OU. This gives it a near-unique niche as a Salac Berry sweeper that does not care about Tyranitar's Sand Stream, enabling it to be used as a late game sweeper that does not require weather clear support on offensive builds; even more uniquely, Golduck is able to check weakened weather sweepers like Ludicolo, Kingdra, and Exeggutor that would otherwise rely on Swift Swim or Chlorophyll to outspeed it. However, its low Special Attack and unimpressive bulk severely restricts its viability as a win condition, with special walls like Blissey or Snorlax able to shrug off its attacks and handle it with ease, while its limited movepool struggles to hit opposing Water-types like Suicune. Another unfortunate consequence of its ability is that it gives sand-weak opponents the opportunity to chip heal, leaving Golduck as a less-than-desirable setup sweeper with a single set that only borders on viability, barely managing to eke out an existence on the edge of special offense.
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Surf / Hydro Pump
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Endure / Substitute
item: Salac Berry
ability: Cloud Nine
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Using Calm Mind to boost its otherwise mediocre offensive presence, Golduck can fire off a Surf powerful enough to 2HKO Skarmory and even defensive Swampert at +1; alternatively, Hydro Pump gives it a stronger but more inconsistent option to threaten 2HKOs on more resilient neutral targets like Metagross or bulky Gengar, going so far as to 3HKO Snorlax after a single Calm Mind. Ice Beam is a necessity to give Golduck a way to deal with Dragon- and Grass-types that could shrug off its Water-type STAB, crucially securing an unboosted OHKO against Salamence while being its strongest option against key threats like Zapdos and Celebi.
Endure fills Golduck's last moveslot by giving it a reliable way to activate its Salac Berry, bypassing its issues with both middling speed and bulk by letting it take a single hit from faster foes like Aerodactyl, Salamence, or even a Dragon Dance-boosted Tyranitar. Golduck's Salac Berry will then proc so that it can outspeed on the next turn, with Cloud Nine preventing sand chip from finishing Golduck off. However, status moves like Toxic or Leech Seed can devastate this strategy by placing Golduck on a timer that Endure cannot protect from, while Thunder Wave is able to more than negate any boost that Salac Berry provides. Substitute can instead be used to take advantage of this perceived flaw by blocking these status moves, activating Salac Berry in a pinch, and giving Golduck the free turns that it so desperately needs, coming at the expense of losing reliable berry activation against faster threats.
This EV spread is selected to help to compensate for Golduck's lack of firepower, and a Modest nature best accentuates this. Running a Timid nature instead forfeits key damage thresholds against targets like Swampert and Metagross, but the increase in speed pushes it past benchmarks like Adamant Heracross and certain variants of Celebi and Salamence; on the other hand, Golduck can elect to drop its Speed even further with a Modest nature and a 24 HP / 252 SpA / 232 Spe EV spread, losing its speed tie against Heracross but guaranteeing that it will survive a non-Choice Band Megahorn and maintaining its speed advantage over Aerodactyl and Jolteon at +1, as well as outspeeding any Metagross set.
Team Options
========
Golduck isn't the most threatening Pokemon itself and can struggle to generate free turns to set up Calm Mind boosts on its own, and Baton Pass support from teammates like Substitute Zapdos and Calm Mind Celebi can give it at least a fighting chance. Notably, both of these Pokemon are able to threaten Suicune, while Celebi makes for a good switch-in to opposing Zapdos and Jolteon. Offensive Spikes setters are also much appreciated to help break through grounded walls like Jirachi or Blissey, with Smeargle or Cloyster serving as dedicated leads to set Spikes while Gengar does its usual job of blocking Rapid Spin. Jolteon is a key partner on these teams as not only can it rack up Spikes chip against Golduck checks like Blissey and Snorlax with Roar, it can also switch in on opposing Zapdos and check Water-types like Starmie that Golduck struggles to threaten.
More direct ways of dealing with these threats can also be considered, and bulky Dugtrio serves to provide Golduck teams a clear path towards eliminating Blissey or Jirachi that could otherwise soak attacks from the duck with ease. Another way of providing this is with explicit counterplay like Tyranitar or Metagross as dedicated switch-ins to special walls like Snorlax, Blissey, and Regice, and Tyranitar's Sand Stream is key in preventing these from being able to chip heal freely. Explosion users like Gengar and Claydol can provide key resources to trade with defensive Pokemon, particularly with their respective propensities to lure in Blissey or even Rest Zapdos and knock them out of commission.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
For a more offensive playstyle, Golduck can opt to run Hidden Power as coverage rather than packing Endure or Substitute. Hidden Power Grass lets Golduck hit Water-types like Suicune and Starmie, with this coverage able to OHKO Swampert at +1 and prevent it from being able to hit Golduck with a powerful Earthquake or Roar it out. Hidden Power Electric can instead be used to still handle the aforementioned bulky Water-types while dealing massive damage to Gyarados, a less common answer that would otherwise be able to wall Golduck and even use it as setup fodder. However, opting to run no utility option in this slot makes Salac Berry extremely inconsistent and often a wasted item slot if Golduck is unable to activate it safely. These more aggressive sets may opt to run Lum Berry instead, giving Golduck the ability to set up on status moves from checks like Blissey, Milotic, and Registeel without being punished by sand.
Golduck does have access to some utility options that it can run on a set that drops Calm Mind, with a moderately fast Hypnosis that allows it to be a disruption tool to facilitate other Pokemon that appreciate their checks being put to sleep. Salac Berry can still be used to get off one fast sleep 60% of the time, but Leftovers can also be considered to give it more opportunities to chip heal even in the face of sand and fish for a Hypnosis; checks like Celebi, Blissey, and offensive Starmie having Natural Cure, however, limit the effectiveness of this strategy. Leftovers can even be used on a Calm Mind set for a setup sweeper that heals in the sand, but its vastly inferior bulk compared to Suicune means that it will typically still have far less longevity regardless of any healing gained.
Though its main shot at viability lies in some combination of Calm Mind and Salac Berry's interaction with Cloud Nine, a mixed set can be used to lure special walls with a strong Fighting-type move in Cross Chop. An EV spread of 224 Atk / 52 SpA / 232 Spe with a Rash nature lets Golduck 2HKO Blissey after one layer of Spikes and crucially 3HKO Snorlax switching in, with the given speed investment letting it still outspeed Aerodactyl after a Salac Berry boost. Golduck can also opt to run Focus Punch as a more conditional but higher power hit, with lower Attack investments required to lure its checks; for example, 88 Atk / 188 SpA / 232 Spe and a Rash nature secures the 2HKO on Modest Blissey with Focus Punch into Hydro Pump. This can be used as a third attack with Calm Mind, but synergises in particular with Substitute on an all-out-attacking set. Unfortunately, Golduck's subpar offenses means that it struggles to achieve much past surprising these threats, and the loss of Special Attack investment leaves Golduck even more vulnerable to Pokemon that it already struggles to threaten like Celebi or Zapdos. The position of mixed attacking threat is hotly contested in ADV OU, and Golduck is far from any team's most optimal choice to fulfil this role.
Conversely, Golduck can opt to run a set without making use of this combination by dropping Cloud Nine in favor of Damp. This gives it an excellent matchup into Cloyster and Glalie, turning these otherwise boom-threatening Spikes setters into fodder that grant Golduck free opportunities to set up, while Damp also lets Golduck switch in against a low HP Metagross without the fear of being immediately OHKOed by Explosion. This does forsake its sand immunity and forces Golduck to run Leftovers, meaning that outside of these edge cases, Golduck is a strict downgrade to Suicune and outclassed by any other OU-viable Calm Mind sweeper. Damp does have a single additional niche though, as bulkier sets with Calm Mind and Rest can opt to slot the very rare Mud Sport; this makes it a unique Water-type sweeper with a positive matchup into Zapdos and the inability to be removed from the field with Explosion, but limited coverage with no Sleep Talk makes this set vulnerable to crits, phasing, and opposing setup sweepers resistant to Water like Salamence, Celebi, and Gyarados.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Electric-types**: Being a Water-type setup sweeper, Golduck is particularly vulnerable to Zapdos; it cannot reliably OHKO even a bulkless Zapdos with even a +1 Modest Ice Beam, while Zapdos is naturally faster and can either 2HKO back or bring Golduck down to its Salac Berry, take a hit and knock it out with ease. Jolteon is also able to threaten Golduck with its own Thunderbolt, though its lower Special Attack and frailty means that Golduck carrying Hydro Pump can cleanly KO it back with a single boost. Raikou is even more of a threat with its much higher statline, as it can use its own Calm Mind to reduce Golduck's damage output and take advantage of Cloud Nine itself to heal up with its Leftovers.
**Water-types**: Without a Hidden Power type to hit them, Golduck is hard walled by bulkier Water-types like Suicune, Starmie, and Milotic. Suicune is able to easily 1v1 Golduck due to its much better statline and access to reliable recovery in Rest and Leftovers, and Roar sets can phase it at any point of the game. Starmie is also very hard for Golduck to deal with, as offensive variants carry Thunderbolt to deal massive damage while defensive Starmie can outspeed and paralyze Golduck with Thunder Wave before it can get its Salac Berry boost. Golduck at least has tools to deal with Milotic by using Substitute, but Endure variants will immediately lose to Toxic, and Gyarados can freely paralyze Golduck or use it as setup fodder. Vaporeon isn't even 2HKOed by a +6 Ice Beam and can pass Substitutes and Wishes in its face, and Cloyster can get 3 layers of Spikes up before Golduck is ever able to take it down.
**Celebi**: Celebi is very difficult for Golduck to break through without support from Spikes or Dugtrio, as defensive variants dodge the 2HKO from Ice Beam while offensive sets can threaten Golduck with their Grass-type STAB. Leech Seed is particularly annoying as it denies any attempt at a sweep from Golduck, as entering Salac Berry range is an immediate death sentence to the incoming chip, while Celebi is free to Recover or even Calm Mind in Golduck's face to defeat it with ease.
**Status:** Golduck is extremely vulnerable to status, with Endure sets shut down immediately by Toxic to finish it off after proc'ing its Salac Berry. Thunder Wave is similarly debilitating as any boost to speed is more than negated, leaving even a Salac-boosted Golduck able to be easily picked off by anything faster than a Snorlax. Substitute variants are better equipped to take this on, though Pokemon like Starmie can outspeed Golduck and Thunder Wave it before it can set up a Substitute, while slower status users like Blissey and Registeel can easily break a Substitute and status it on the next turn without giving it the chance to sweep.
**Special walls**: Golduck has no way of breaking through the bulkiest of targets without brute force, and unfortunately it does not have much brute force to go around. Even 3 layers of Spikes isn't enough to secure a 3HKO on CurseLax with a Modest Hydro Pump, while two Returns is more than enough to KO back, and Blissey can freely switch in to click Thunder Wave, Toxic, or set up its own Calm Minds and neutralise it entirely. Defensive Jirachi is able to take an unboosted hit and threaten paralysis with Body Slam, though Toxic variants are thwarted by Substitute, and Regice takes very little from any hit while being free to strike back with a Thunderbolt or Explosion. Even Skarmory, in a pinch, is able to take any hit from +1 Golduck and phase it out with Roar, removing its Salac Berry boost and any subsequent chance of it sweeping.
[CREDITS]
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