[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 7 onwards
**Price Range**: 5-6 points
**Overview**: Araquanid brings Sticky Web to a draft, offering a better defensive profile tham its competition in this department. Even if it struggles to justify being brought to most matches, its defensive and offensive capabilities provide it some value to teams with strong entry hazard control and slow wallbreakers. Since it can only deal decent damage with Water-type attacks and no reliable recovery, Araquanid is often more of a threat in the teambuilder rather than a Pokemon worth bringing.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Sticky Web Setter**: Araquanid is blessed with the limited Sticky Web, and its stats also allow it to be more than just a suicide lead to set it up, enabling it to potentially set it up multiple times over the course of a game if necessary while also being able to deal good amounts of damage to foes.
**Special Tank**: With a great Special Defense stat and a powerful ability in Water Bubble, Araquanid can limit the potential of specially offensive Pokemon like Volcarona and Armarouge.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Leech Life, Liquidation
**Setup Moves**: Iron Defense
**Utility Moves**: Substitute, Sticky Web, Rest, Sleep Talk, Reflect
**Coverage**: Crunch, Poison Jab
Niche Moves
========
**Infestation**: Araquanid can trap spinners like Iron Treads and Corviknight that switch in expecting Sticky Web, allowing defensive sets to safely remove them from the battle. Additionally, Infestation can ensure that a teammate can get in safely without the fear of a double switch.
**Endure**: Araquanid can serve as an emergency option to remove a dangerous sweeper, pairing with Custap Berry to ensure one turn of moving first against faster foes. Endeavor can be paired with Endure to quickly reduce a Pokemon's HP, but in many cases, Water Bubble-boosted Liquidation can deal more damage.
**Pounce**: Pounce can provide a surprise decrease in Speed to enable a teammate to come in more safely.
**Mirror Coat**: With solid Special Defense, Araquanid can take powerful hits from specially offensive foes and deal lots of damage to them in return.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Taking outsized damage from Stealth Rock and being vulnerable to all other entry hazards, Araquanid needs Heavy-Duty Boots if it wants to switch in multiple times during a game.
**Focus Sash**: Araquanid's defenses are not extraordinary, meaning there are plenty of powerful attacks that can outright OHKO it. Focus Sash ensures that lead sets have a turn to set up Sticky Web or accomplish another task.
**Leftovers**: Araquanid can spend several turns on the battlefield, but it lacks strong recovery outside of Leech Life. Leftovers can provide passive healing to enhance its longevity.
Niche Items
========
**Mental Herb**: With low Speed, Araquanid can find itself hindered by Taunt when trying to set up Sticky Web. Mental Herb can avoid this limitation, ensuring that Sticky Web can go up at the start of the battle.
**Choice Band**: With a Choice Band, Araquanid can turn into a powerful wallbreaker. Liquidation backed by a Choice Band and potentially Tera can turn even resisted hits into 2HKOs. Pokemon that switch in to remove Sticky Web, such as Corviknight and Tentacruel, can be significantly weakened by a powerful Liquidation.
**Red Card**: With decent enough defenses, Araquanid can use Red Card to force out a boosted sweeper, and it can be paired with Endure to guarantee activation if the foe is strong enough to KO it.
**Resistance Berries**: With strong enough defenses to take neutral hits, Araquanid can benefit from a targeted resistance berry to survive a hit it normally wouldn't, ensuring a powerful hit back or a placing of Sticky Web.
**Sitrus Berry**: Araquanid is able to stomach most hits without fainting, but it can often find itself too weak after an encounter to reliably stomach further hits. Sitrus Berry can turn 2HKOs into 3HKOs, providing it with more turns on the field.
Tera
========
Araquanid has a satisfactory typing that does not require a Tera Captain position. However, it can make decent use of Tera in the few opportunities it may get to use it as a secondary Captain. A defensive typing that shifts its weaknesses can allow it to turn an unfavorable encounter into its favor, providing it some longevity. With Water Bubble reducing Fire-type damage, defensive types that are weak to Fire, such as Tera Steel, are even stronger. An offensive Tera type in Tera Water can be utilized to further power up its Water-type attacks, which can already be difficult for many Pokemon to safely switch in on.
Draft Strategy
========
Araquanid stands apart from other Sticky Web setters by providing good wallbreaking and decent defenses to a draft. Sticky Web makes a significant impact on a team's strategy, which can appreciate its other contributions as opposed to being pigeon-holed into setting up a single entry hazard once. However, as Araquanid is often difficult to bring to every single match, much of its presence is felt in the teambuilder. Teams should not be overly reliant on Sticky Web's presence, but a Sticky Web setter that doesn't fold to neutral hits is appreciated by many different Pokemon.
**Wallbreakers**: Pokemon like Metagross, Chi-Yu, and Great Tusk appreciate moving before their foes, further enabling them to fire off powerful attacks more freely. Additionally, faster wallbreakers like Meowscarada and Ogerpon-W appreciate Sticky Web for negating revenge killers that run Choice Scarf to outspeed them.
**Swords Dance / Nasty Plot Sweepers**: Sweepers that do not rely on boosting their Speed can benefit from not needing to take a faster hit every turn, hitting with boosted attacks before opposing Pokemon can even act.
**Ghost-types**: Araquanid has the ability to set up Sticky Web more than once, but it prefers Pokemon like Gholdengo and Gengar to entirely prevent Defog or Rapid Spin from removing it from the field.
Checks and Counters
========
**Hazard removal**: Araquanid's value is primarily Sticky Web, so Pokemon like Galarian Weezing and Iron Treads that can successfully use Defog or Rapid Spin after it has left the battlefield removes its primary contribution.
**Water-resistant Pokemon**: Araquanid's offensive capabilities are severely limited when it cannot deal much damage with its Water-type moves, allowing switch-ins like Volcanion, Salamence, and Palafin to hinder any progress from it on an offensive front.
**Taunt / Encore**: Whether it is forced to use Sticky Web multiple times or entirely prevented from using it, Araquanid can quickly become a momentum sink. Being locked into a specific attacking move can also open the door for a Pokemon that does not mind it to switch in and begin to set up.
**Wallbreakers**: Without good recovery and Speed, Araquanid eventually crumbles against the powerful hits from wallbreakers like Iron Hands, Tornadus-T, and Urshifu-S.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-fairy.57965/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scionicle.599989/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
**Draft Order**: Round 7 onwards
**Price Range**: 5-6 points
**Overview**: Araquanid brings Sticky Web to a draft, offering a better defensive profile tham its competition in this department. Even if it struggles to justify being brought to most matches, its defensive and offensive capabilities provide it some value to teams with strong entry hazard control and slow wallbreakers. Since it can only deal decent damage with Water-type attacks and no reliable recovery, Araquanid is often more of a threat in the teambuilder rather than a Pokemon worth bringing.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Sticky Web Setter**: Araquanid is blessed with the limited Sticky Web, and its stats also allow it to be more than just a suicide lead to set it up, enabling it to potentially set it up multiple times over the course of a game if necessary while also being able to deal good amounts of damage to foes.
**Special Tank**: With a great Special Defense stat and a powerful ability in Water Bubble, Araquanid can limit the potential of specially offensive Pokemon like Volcarona and Armarouge.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Leech Life, Liquidation
**Setup Moves**: Iron Defense
**Utility Moves**: Substitute, Sticky Web, Rest, Sleep Talk, Reflect
**Coverage**: Crunch, Poison Jab
Niche Moves
========
**Infestation**: Araquanid can trap spinners like Iron Treads and Corviknight that switch in expecting Sticky Web, allowing defensive sets to safely remove them from the battle. Additionally, Infestation can ensure that a teammate can get in safely without the fear of a double switch.
**Endure**: Araquanid can serve as an emergency option to remove a dangerous sweeper, pairing with Custap Berry to ensure one turn of moving first against faster foes. Endeavor can be paired with Endure to quickly reduce a Pokemon's HP, but in many cases, Water Bubble-boosted Liquidation can deal more damage.
**Pounce**: Pounce can provide a surprise decrease in Speed to enable a teammate to come in more safely.
**Mirror Coat**: With solid Special Defense, Araquanid can take powerful hits from specially offensive foes and deal lots of damage to them in return.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Taking outsized damage from Stealth Rock and being vulnerable to all other entry hazards, Araquanid needs Heavy-Duty Boots if it wants to switch in multiple times during a game.
**Focus Sash**: Araquanid's defenses are not extraordinary, meaning there are plenty of powerful attacks that can outright OHKO it. Focus Sash ensures that lead sets have a turn to set up Sticky Web or accomplish another task.
**Leftovers**: Araquanid can spend several turns on the battlefield, but it lacks strong recovery outside of Leech Life. Leftovers can provide passive healing to enhance its longevity.
Niche Items
========
**Mental Herb**: With low Speed, Araquanid can find itself hindered by Taunt when trying to set up Sticky Web. Mental Herb can avoid this limitation, ensuring that Sticky Web can go up at the start of the battle.
**Choice Band**: With a Choice Band, Araquanid can turn into a powerful wallbreaker. Liquidation backed by a Choice Band and potentially Tera can turn even resisted hits into 2HKOs. Pokemon that switch in to remove Sticky Web, such as Corviknight and Tentacruel, can be significantly weakened by a powerful Liquidation.
**Red Card**: With decent enough defenses, Araquanid can use Red Card to force out a boosted sweeper, and it can be paired with Endure to guarantee activation if the foe is strong enough to KO it.
**Resistance Berries**: With strong enough defenses to take neutral hits, Araquanid can benefit from a targeted resistance berry to survive a hit it normally wouldn't, ensuring a powerful hit back or a placing of Sticky Web.
**Sitrus Berry**: Araquanid is able to stomach most hits without fainting, but it can often find itself too weak after an encounter to reliably stomach further hits. Sitrus Berry can turn 2HKOs into 3HKOs, providing it with more turns on the field.
Tera
========
Araquanid has a satisfactory typing that does not require a Tera Captain position. However, it can make decent use of Tera in the few opportunities it may get to use it as a secondary Captain. A defensive typing that shifts its weaknesses can allow it to turn an unfavorable encounter into its favor, providing it some longevity. With Water Bubble reducing Fire-type damage, defensive types that are weak to Fire, such as Tera Steel, are even stronger. An offensive Tera type in Tera Water can be utilized to further power up its Water-type attacks, which can already be difficult for many Pokemon to safely switch in on.
Draft Strategy
========
Araquanid stands apart from other Sticky Web setters by providing good wallbreaking and decent defenses to a draft. Sticky Web makes a significant impact on a team's strategy, which can appreciate its other contributions as opposed to being pigeon-holed into setting up a single entry hazard once. However, as Araquanid is often difficult to bring to every single match, much of its presence is felt in the teambuilder. Teams should not be overly reliant on Sticky Web's presence, but a Sticky Web setter that doesn't fold to neutral hits is appreciated by many different Pokemon.
**Wallbreakers**: Pokemon like Metagross, Chi-Yu, and Great Tusk appreciate moving before their foes, further enabling them to fire off powerful attacks more freely. Additionally, faster wallbreakers like Meowscarada and Ogerpon-W appreciate Sticky Web for negating revenge killers that run Choice Scarf to outspeed them.
**Swords Dance / Nasty Plot Sweepers**: Sweepers that do not rely on boosting their Speed can benefit from not needing to take a faster hit every turn, hitting with boosted attacks before opposing Pokemon can even act.
**Ghost-types**: Araquanid has the ability to set up Sticky Web more than once, but it prefers Pokemon like Gholdengo and Gengar to entirely prevent Defog or Rapid Spin from removing it from the field.
Checks and Counters
========
**Hazard removal**: Araquanid's value is primarily Sticky Web, so Pokemon like Galarian Weezing and Iron Treads that can successfully use Defog or Rapid Spin after it has left the battlefield removes its primary contribution.
**Water-resistant Pokemon**: Araquanid's offensive capabilities are severely limited when it cannot deal much damage with its Water-type moves, allowing switch-ins like Volcanion, Salamence, and Palafin to hinder any progress from it on an offensive front.
**Taunt / Encore**: Whether it is forced to use Sticky Web multiple times or entirely prevented from using it, Araquanid can quickly become a momentum sink. Being locked into a specific attacking move can also open the door for a Pokemon that does not mind it to switch in and begin to set up.
**Wallbreakers**: Without good recovery and Speed, Araquanid eventually crumbles against the powerful hits from wallbreakers like Iron Hands, Tornadus-T, and Urshifu-S.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-fairy.57965/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scionicle.599989/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
Last edited:
