[OVERVIEW]
Arghonaut is the premier bulky Water-type in the CAP metagame, as it's capable of handling some of the most threatening Pokemon around such as Volkraken, Ash-Greninja, Heatran, Syclant, and Mega Crucibelle. It also provides its team with valuable Spikes and potential Circle Throw support, which can quickly weaken the opposition. Its vast movepool lets it run quite a few different attacking moves such as Earthquake, Knock Off, Circle Throw, and Ice Punch, letting it personalize its sets to better fit its team. Arghonaut's Unaware prevents it from being setup fodder for threats like Mega Charizard X, offensive Dragon Dance Zygarde, and Revenankh. Its great bulk allows it to act as either a mixed or a special wall depending on your team needs. However, Arghonaut is vulnerable to some very common threats like Mega Mawile, Mega Alakazam, and Tornadus-T. Despite its great movepool and ability, it is still rather passive, and depending on the moves it runs, it can be setup bait for sweepers like Zygarde, Aurumoth, and Necturna. Finally, Arghonaut faces competition from Toxapex, which trades Unaware, Spikes, and a better matchup against Zygarde, Mega Crucibelle, and Colossoil for the ability to wall offensive Tomohawk, Tornadus-T, and Magearna, neutrality to Necturna's Power Whip, and greater resistance to being worn down thanks to Regenerator.
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Knock Off / Ice Punch
move 3: Earthquake / Circle Throw / Toxic
move 4: Recover
item: Leftovers
ability: Unaware
nature: Careful
252 HP / 124 Def / 132 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
One of Knock Off or Ice Punch is necessary to prevent Shell Smash Necturna from freely setting up a Substitute and potentially winning the game. The former is preferred, as it cripples some of the most common switch-ins to Arghonaut such as Tapu Lele, Krilowatt, and Kartana by removing their items and 2HKOes Z-Move Pajantom after Stealth Rock damage. Ice Punch, on the other hand, is Arghonaut's only move capable of breaking Zygarde's Substitute and deals significant damage to Landorus-T. Earthquake OHKOes Heatran after a bit of prior damage and Mega Crucibelle without any while still dealing significant damage to Volkraken, Krilowatt, and Tapu Koko. Circle Throw doesn't cover as much as Earthquake, but its ability to phaze allows Arghonaut to rack up Spikes damage and serve as an emergency check to setup sweepers that would otherwise beat it like Aurumoth, Cawmodore, and Hawlucha. Toxic its a more defensively oriented choice that cripples bulky threats like Tomohawk and Jumbao.
Set Details
========
124 Defense EVs allow Arghonaut to avoid a 2HKO from Choice Band Zygarde's Thousand Arrows, Earthquake from offensive Landorus-T, or Gunk Shot from Mega Crucibelle. The rest of the EVs are invested in Special Defense with a Careful nature to better check threats like Volkraken and Greninja. If your team can already check the aforementioned physical attackers, maximum Special Defense can be used to minimize the damage taken from Choice Specs Volkraken, even allowing Arghonaut to always survive its Hidden Power Grass on the switch when at full health. Unaware allows Arghonaut to better check setup sweepers like Naviathan.
Usage Tips
========
Early in the game, prioritize setting up one layer of Spikes to pressure the opponent's team or Knock Off to cripple any switch-in. Avoid setting up multiple layers until the opponent's entry hazard control is worn down unless you need the extra pressure. Earthquake should be used to take care of threats like Heatran and Volkraken or surprise an Electric-type switching in like Tapu Koko or Krilowatt. However, it should be used carefully, as it can let dangerous threats like Tomohawk, Tornadus-T, Mega Latios, and Mega Latias come in freely. If running Circle Throw, it can be spammed after Spikes is set to wear down the opposition. If Arghonaut is required to stop a certain threat like Cawmodore or Hawlucha, which usually only gets once chance at sweeping, prioritize keeping it at full health so it can phaze the sweeper before getting KOed. Always try to avoid switching Arghonaut in if Spikes or Toxic Spikes is on the field, as it will be quickly worn down. When using Toxic, wait for a clear chance to hit a vulnerable foe, preferably a bulky Pokemon that would otherwise be hard to deal with; Arghonaut has the bulk to take even some uninvested super effective attacks, so it doesn't have to play aggressively. If you use Toxic too soon, the opponent will become much more cautious and instead send in Pokemon not affected by the status.
Team Options
========
Bulky Grass-types like Tangrowth, Jumbao, Mega Venusaur, Ferrothorn, and Pyroak are some of the best possible teammates for Arghonaut, as they can check Fairy- and Electric-types, while Arghonaut handles Heatran and Volkraken in return. The latter two can also use Stealth Rock to further stack up entry hazards. Steel-types can check a lot of types that threaten Arghonaut, resisting Flying, Fairy, and Psychic, and appreciate Arghonaut taking on Ground- and Fire-types. Besides the aforementioned Ferrothorn, Heatran, Celesteela, and Magearna are great picks for this role. Ground-types such as Landorus-T, Colossoil, and Zygarde can dissuade the opponent from spamming Electric-type moves and appreciate Arghonaut's ability to check Greninja and Syclant. Powerful wallbreakers like Mega Mawile, Mega Medicham, and Tapu Lele can force switches and become even more dangerous with Spikes helping them wear down their checks. VoltTurn users such as Mega Crucibelle, Krilowatt, and Tapu Koko benefit a lot from the extra damage provided by Spikes. Spinblockers can help keep Spikes up, particularly against Tomohawk. Specially defensive Pajantom, Kitsunoh, and Revenankh are some of the best choices for this role. Finally, clerics can be used to cure Arghonaut of status effects, most notably including Toxic. Cyclohm is a good choice for this, as it is capable of checking Flying-types like Mega Pinsir and Tornadus-T. Chansey is another option, as it can take on lots of special attackers that threaten Arghonaut such as Tapu Koko, Krilowatt, and Magearna.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
An Iapapa Berry can be used on more offensive teams to allow Arghonaut to gain back 50% of its health once without losing momentum by using Recover. Scald can be used to spread burns, but it uses Arghonaut's underwhelming Special Attack, and it can be an outright liability if you burn something like Tomohawk, as that would make it immune to Toxic. Gunk Shot can be used to lure in Jumbao and Tapu Bulu and also hits other Fairy- and Grass-types for heavy damage, but it's almost always outclassed by other moves. Bulk Up is an option to serve as a late-game cleaner, but it is neutered by the omnipresent Haze Tomohawk, is still forced out by threats like Tornadus-T, and consumes a valuable moveslot, meaning that you have to either give up Spikes or be left with a single attacking move.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Psychic-types**: Tapu Lele, Aurumoth, Mega Latios, Mega Latias, Mega Alakazam, and Mega Medicham threaten to deal severe damage to or outright OHKO Arghonaut, although most of them are too fragile to be switching in recklessly, especially disliking Knock Off, and can also be easily worn down by Spikes and Toxic.
**Fairy-types**: Mega Mawile, Clefable, and Kerfluffle beat Arghonaut with their STAB moves, and only Unaware Clefable cares about Toxic.
**Electric-types**: Tapu Koko, Krilowatt, Zapdos, and Cyclohm force Arghonaut out, though the first two must be wary of Earthquake, and all of them can be crippled by Knock Off or Toxic.
**Flying-types**: Flying-types are an issue for Arghonaut, both offensively and defensively. Mega Pinsir, Flyinium Z Tornadus-T, and Landorus-T can threaten to OHKO it, and the latter two can even remove Spikes by using Defog. Defensive Tomohawk is another nuisance, especially if Arghonaut lacks Toxic.
**Grass-types**: Jumbao and Tapu Bulu can usually come in for free, only fearing Toxic and the rare Gunk Shot, and scare Arghonaut out with their STAB moves. Kartana can also threaten Arghonaut with Leaf Blade, although it dislikes switching into Knock Off or Circle Throw. Ferrothorn dislikes losing its Leftovers, but is only 4HKOed by Circle Throw, can set up its own hazards or Leech Seed, and 2HKOes Arghonaut with Power Whip.
**Toxic and Toxic Spikes**: Poison severely hampers Arghonaut's durability by putting it on a timer, so Pokemon that usually carry Toxic or Toxic Spikes, like Toxapex, Zygarde, and Gliscor, are huge threats.
[Credits]
-Written by Mx
-Quality checked by snake_rattler, Jordy, LucarioOfLegends
-Grammar checked by CryoGyro, The Dutch Plumberjack
Arghonaut is the premier bulky Water-type in the CAP metagame, as it's capable of handling some of the most threatening Pokemon around such as Volkraken, Ash-Greninja, Heatran, Syclant, and Mega Crucibelle. It also provides its team with valuable Spikes and potential Circle Throw support, which can quickly weaken the opposition. Its vast movepool lets it run quite a few different attacking moves such as Earthquake, Knock Off, Circle Throw, and Ice Punch, letting it personalize its sets to better fit its team. Arghonaut's Unaware prevents it from being setup fodder for threats like Mega Charizard X, offensive Dragon Dance Zygarde, and Revenankh. Its great bulk allows it to act as either a mixed or a special wall depending on your team needs. However, Arghonaut is vulnerable to some very common threats like Mega Mawile, Mega Alakazam, and Tornadus-T. Despite its great movepool and ability, it is still rather passive, and depending on the moves it runs, it can be setup bait for sweepers like Zygarde, Aurumoth, and Necturna. Finally, Arghonaut faces competition from Toxapex, which trades Unaware, Spikes, and a better matchup against Zygarde, Mega Crucibelle, and Colossoil for the ability to wall offensive Tomohawk, Tornadus-T, and Magearna, neutrality to Necturna's Power Whip, and greater resistance to being worn down thanks to Regenerator.
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Knock Off / Ice Punch
move 3: Earthquake / Circle Throw / Toxic
move 4: Recover
item: Leftovers
ability: Unaware
nature: Careful
252 HP / 124 Def / 132 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
One of Knock Off or Ice Punch is necessary to prevent Shell Smash Necturna from freely setting up a Substitute and potentially winning the game. The former is preferred, as it cripples some of the most common switch-ins to Arghonaut such as Tapu Lele, Krilowatt, and Kartana by removing their items and 2HKOes Z-Move Pajantom after Stealth Rock damage. Ice Punch, on the other hand, is Arghonaut's only move capable of breaking Zygarde's Substitute and deals significant damage to Landorus-T. Earthquake OHKOes Heatran after a bit of prior damage and Mega Crucibelle without any while still dealing significant damage to Volkraken, Krilowatt, and Tapu Koko. Circle Throw doesn't cover as much as Earthquake, but its ability to phaze allows Arghonaut to rack up Spikes damage and serve as an emergency check to setup sweepers that would otherwise beat it like Aurumoth, Cawmodore, and Hawlucha. Toxic its a more defensively oriented choice that cripples bulky threats like Tomohawk and Jumbao.
Set Details
========
124 Defense EVs allow Arghonaut to avoid a 2HKO from Choice Band Zygarde's Thousand Arrows, Earthquake from offensive Landorus-T, or Gunk Shot from Mega Crucibelle. The rest of the EVs are invested in Special Defense with a Careful nature to better check threats like Volkraken and Greninja. If your team can already check the aforementioned physical attackers, maximum Special Defense can be used to minimize the damage taken from Choice Specs Volkraken, even allowing Arghonaut to always survive its Hidden Power Grass on the switch when at full health. Unaware allows Arghonaut to better check setup sweepers like Naviathan.
Usage Tips
========
Early in the game, prioritize setting up one layer of Spikes to pressure the opponent's team or Knock Off to cripple any switch-in. Avoid setting up multiple layers until the opponent's entry hazard control is worn down unless you need the extra pressure. Earthquake should be used to take care of threats like Heatran and Volkraken or surprise an Electric-type switching in like Tapu Koko or Krilowatt. However, it should be used carefully, as it can let dangerous threats like Tomohawk, Tornadus-T, Mega Latios, and Mega Latias come in freely. If running Circle Throw, it can be spammed after Spikes is set to wear down the opposition. If Arghonaut is required to stop a certain threat like Cawmodore or Hawlucha, which usually only gets once chance at sweeping, prioritize keeping it at full health so it can phaze the sweeper before getting KOed. Always try to avoid switching Arghonaut in if Spikes or Toxic Spikes is on the field, as it will be quickly worn down. When using Toxic, wait for a clear chance to hit a vulnerable foe, preferably a bulky Pokemon that would otherwise be hard to deal with; Arghonaut has the bulk to take even some uninvested super effective attacks, so it doesn't have to play aggressively. If you use Toxic too soon, the opponent will become much more cautious and instead send in Pokemon not affected by the status.
Team Options
========
Bulky Grass-types like Tangrowth, Jumbao, Mega Venusaur, Ferrothorn, and Pyroak are some of the best possible teammates for Arghonaut, as they can check Fairy- and Electric-types, while Arghonaut handles Heatran and Volkraken in return. The latter two can also use Stealth Rock to further stack up entry hazards. Steel-types can check a lot of types that threaten Arghonaut, resisting Flying, Fairy, and Psychic, and appreciate Arghonaut taking on Ground- and Fire-types. Besides the aforementioned Ferrothorn, Heatran, Celesteela, and Magearna are great picks for this role. Ground-types such as Landorus-T, Colossoil, and Zygarde can dissuade the opponent from spamming Electric-type moves and appreciate Arghonaut's ability to check Greninja and Syclant. Powerful wallbreakers like Mega Mawile, Mega Medicham, and Tapu Lele can force switches and become even more dangerous with Spikes helping them wear down their checks. VoltTurn users such as Mega Crucibelle, Krilowatt, and Tapu Koko benefit a lot from the extra damage provided by Spikes. Spinblockers can help keep Spikes up, particularly against Tomohawk. Specially defensive Pajantom, Kitsunoh, and Revenankh are some of the best choices for this role. Finally, clerics can be used to cure Arghonaut of status effects, most notably including Toxic. Cyclohm is a good choice for this, as it is capable of checking Flying-types like Mega Pinsir and Tornadus-T. Chansey is another option, as it can take on lots of special attackers that threaten Arghonaut such as Tapu Koko, Krilowatt, and Magearna.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
An Iapapa Berry can be used on more offensive teams to allow Arghonaut to gain back 50% of its health once without losing momentum by using Recover. Scald can be used to spread burns, but it uses Arghonaut's underwhelming Special Attack, and it can be an outright liability if you burn something like Tomohawk, as that would make it immune to Toxic. Gunk Shot can be used to lure in Jumbao and Tapu Bulu and also hits other Fairy- and Grass-types for heavy damage, but it's almost always outclassed by other moves. Bulk Up is an option to serve as a late-game cleaner, but it is neutered by the omnipresent Haze Tomohawk, is still forced out by threats like Tornadus-T, and consumes a valuable moveslot, meaning that you have to either give up Spikes or be left with a single attacking move.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Psychic-types**: Tapu Lele, Aurumoth, Mega Latios, Mega Latias, Mega Alakazam, and Mega Medicham threaten to deal severe damage to or outright OHKO Arghonaut, although most of them are too fragile to be switching in recklessly, especially disliking Knock Off, and can also be easily worn down by Spikes and Toxic.
**Fairy-types**: Mega Mawile, Clefable, and Kerfluffle beat Arghonaut with their STAB moves, and only Unaware Clefable cares about Toxic.
**Electric-types**: Tapu Koko, Krilowatt, Zapdos, and Cyclohm force Arghonaut out, though the first two must be wary of Earthquake, and all of them can be crippled by Knock Off or Toxic.
**Flying-types**: Flying-types are an issue for Arghonaut, both offensively and defensively. Mega Pinsir, Flyinium Z Tornadus-T, and Landorus-T can threaten to OHKO it, and the latter two can even remove Spikes by using Defog. Defensive Tomohawk is another nuisance, especially if Arghonaut lacks Toxic.
**Grass-types**: Jumbao and Tapu Bulu can usually come in for free, only fearing Toxic and the rare Gunk Shot, and scare Arghonaut out with their STAB moves. Kartana can also threaten Arghonaut with Leaf Blade, although it dislikes switching into Knock Off or Circle Throw. Ferrothorn dislikes losing its Leftovers, but is only 4HKOed by Circle Throw, can set up its own hazards or Leech Seed, and 2HKOes Arghonaut with Power Whip.
**Toxic and Toxic Spikes**: Poison severely hampers Arghonaut's durability by putting it on a timer, so Pokemon that usually carry Toxic or Toxic Spikes, like Toxapex, Zygarde, and Gliscor, are huge threats.
[Credits]
-Written by Mx
-Quality checked by snake_rattler, Jordy, LucarioOfLegends
-Grammar checked by CryoGyro, The Dutch Plumberjack
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