Woo, man has it been a while since I've done an analysis. Well here it goes, I'll be doing a bunch over the summer too 9.9
Armaldo
[Overview]
<p>Armaldo is a weird Pokemon, to put it bluntly. Its main niche is Rapid Spin, but its stat distribution and typing make it an extremely awkward candidate for this role. Speaking of its typing, Bug / Rock doesn't really do Armaldo any favors. While it leaves Armaldo with relatively few weaknesses in just Water, Rock, and Steel, it also only offers resistances to Poison and Normal. Not only that, but Armaldo is also weak to Stealth Rock and takes damage from Spikes and Toxic Spikes, which sucks for a Pokemon who's main role and niche is spinning away said hazards. However, its typing does give it a neutrality to most common attacking types that other spinners are weak to, including Fighting, Ground, Fire, and Flying. Armaldo's main perks as a spinner are its gigantic base 125 Attack stat and deadly STAB combination. It also has a nice base 100 Defense stat, which makes it a formidable tank. It's too bad that its huge Attack stat and awesome offensive STAB combination are wasted on such a slow Pokemon. All in all, Armaldo is probably the worst spinner worth consideration in RU; however, it provides a couple of unique niches, so it's still worth a look into if you want to try something different.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: X-Scissor
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Blast
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Rapid Spin / Aqua Tail
item: Choice Band
ability: Battle Armor
nature: Adamant
evs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Armaldo's huge Attack stat and wide movepool is taken advantage to the fullest with a Choice Band set. X-Scissor is the main draw of this set, and is Armaldo's main STAB attack. With X-Scissor, Armaldo cuts cleanly through the popular Regenerator core of Tangrowth and Slowking—even outspeeding the latter—as well as easily KOing the likes of Uxie. Stone Edge and Earthquake work together to give Armaldo perfect neutral coverage in RU. The last slot is mostly filler, but both moves have their uses: Rapid Spin is the main choice, as the only one Ghost-type that can take the chance to switch into Choice Band Armaldo safely is Golurk. Cofagrigus and Spiritomb are cleanly 2HKOed by Stone Edge, forcing them to risk the chance of eating a Stone Edge in order to switch in on Rapid Spin. The consistent 2HKO on Cofagrigus and Spiritomb is also the reason why Stone Edge is the main choice for the Rock-type STAB move; however, Rock Blast is a viable alternative to punish Substitute users, particularly Rotom. Aqua Tail is a viable alternative to Rapid Spin, because Rapid Spin is really a suckish move to get locked into, and forces Armaldo to switch out after using it. Aqua Tail is also nice to nail Sandslash harder than Armaldo's other moves.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs are designed to outrun minimum Speed Tangrowth. From there an Adamant nature and max Attack EVs give Armaldo the most bang for its buck, with the remaining EVs placed into HP to make use of Armaldo's bulk. An alternative EV spread of 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe can be used instead, though then you're wasting Armaldo's decent bulk. It's also not recommended to run such a spread because Armaldo is susceptible to all entry hazards, which means that any extra bulk could be the difference between getting OHKOed or 2HKOed.</p>
<p>Ghost-types are still liable to switch in on this set, particularly Rotom, who is immune to Earthquake and Rapid Spin and can survive X-Scissor easily enough. From there said Ghost-types can burn Armaldo with Will-O-Wisp, effectively putting it out of commission. Dark-types with Pursuit, such as Spiritomb and Drapion, are excellent teammates to get rid of the pesky poltergeists. With Ghost-types removed, Armaldo is then able to use Rapid Spin freely, possibly opening a sweep for a teammate weak to entry hazards, like Entei. Choice Band Armaldo excels at breaking through Regenerator cores and balanced teams, making it an excellent addition to most offensive and balanced teams. Choice Band Armaldo doesn't need much team support, and instead is there on the team to provide support for sweepers. With a Regenerator core of Tangrowth and Slowking blown open, a teammate along the lines of Feraligatr, Crawdaunt, or Hitmonlee is free to set up and destroy the opposition.</p>
<p>Because Armaldo is so slow, it's incredibly easy to revenge kill. Therefore, having defensive walls that can switch into a variety of opponents is a good idea. Poliwrath is an excellent teammate as it can switch into Water-, Steel-, and Rock-type attacks with ease, as well as phaze any set up attempts with Circle Throw. Quagsire is an excellent teammate in this regard as well. Armaldo's Special Defense leaves a lot to be desired, and having a specially defensive teammate, such as Munchlax or Roselia, that can take most special attacks thrown Armaldo's way is also a good idea. Roselia can also set up Spikes, which makes KOing Tangrowth, Slowking, and Cofagrigus much easier. In fact, entry hazards in general push many 2HKOs into OHKOs for Armaldo, making Steelix, Uxie, and Qwilfish fantastic teammates as well.</p>
<p>If you're having trouble making Rapid Spin work on this set, then packing another spinner is a good idea. Armaldo can then work as a sort of lure to KO the Ghost-types that stand in your other spinner's way. Cryogonal and Sandslash make great teammates in this respect, as well as Hitmonchan. Having a different spinner also takes the pressure off of Armaldo, and also lets it switch in more often, as Armaldo will continue to take damage from all entry hazards.</p>
[SET]
name: Rapid Spin Support
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Stealth Rock
move 3: Rock Blast
move 4: X-Scissor / Seismic Toss
item: Leftovers
ability: Battle Armor
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The main goal of this set is to pull off a Rapid Spin, and the rest of the moves and EVs help Armaldo achieve this goal. Stealth Rock is placed in the second slot for further team support; Armaldo is the only Pokemon, apart from Sandslash, with this unique combination of moves in RU. However, if Stealth Rock is not needed or another teammate can set it up, Toxic should go in this slot. Toxic is fantastic for crippling the Ghost-types that will be switching into Armaldo to block Rapid Spin, particularly Cofagrigus, Dusknoir, Spiritomb, and Golurk. Rock Blast is the recommended Rock STAB move of choice on this set as it breaks through Rotom's Substitutes and continue to hit it. Plus, thanks to Armaldo's gigantic Attack stat, even if it only hits twice it'll do a respectable amount of damage to a number of Pokemon in the tier. The last slot is a decision between X-Scissor and Seismic Toss. X-Scissor provides Armaldo with a tool to blast through Tangrowth, Slowking, and Uxie, the latter of which will usually try to set up Stealth Rock on Armaldo's team over and over again. X-Scissor also always breaks Gallade's Substitutes, even after a Bulk Up, as well as OHKO Lilligant and Sceptile. Seismic Toss is a great move to use if Fighting- and Steel-types give your team trouble. It also ensures that Klinklang can't set up a Substitute on Armaldo, and deals about 30% to most Fighting-types, including Hitmonchan and Medicham. With Seismic Toss, Armaldo is overall less susceptible to becoming set up bait to a majority of the RU tier.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs on this set focus on making Armaldo as physically bulky as possible. However, Armaldo is not a physical wall, and should not be played like one. In fact, even with full defensive investment, Armaldo is 2HKOed by many of the strongest physical attackers in the tier, including Choice Band Entei, Life Orb Hitmonlee, and Choice Scarf Medicham. Luckily, Armaldo is able to tank at least one hit from them, even after taking damage from Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes, and retaliate or use Rapid Spin, should the need arise.</p>
<p>Toxic can go in the last slot as well if X-Scissor or Seismic Toss don't suit your fancy. Toxic is this set's best weapon against the bulky Ghost-types in the tier, so anything that can help your teammates defeat them is always a good thing. Stone Edge can also be used over Rock Blast for consistent damage, though it doesn't hit through Rotom's Substitutes, one of the major draws to this set.</p>
<p>Support Armaldo needs teammates that can eliminate the opponent's Ghost-types so that Armaldo can Rapid Spin freely. Dark-type Pursuit users are probably the best way to remove said Ghost-types, making Spiritomb, Absol, Drapion, and Skuntank welcomed partners. Armaldo is outrun by nearly the whole tier, meaning Armaldo is hilariously easy to revenge kill. As Armaldo is probably your only spinner, keeping it alive until you're sure that your opponent won't, or can't, set up any more entry hazards is a top priority. As such, teammates that can switch into Water-type attacks or remove enemy Water-types with ease are required. Ferroseed, Tangrowth, Roselia, Manectric, and Lanturn all fill this role admirably. Rock-type attacks from the likes of Choice Band Aggron are also dangerous, making Quagsire, Rhydon, and Steelix good teammates too. Poliwrath in particular is a great teammate, as it resists Rock-, Water-, and Steel-type attacks, and can make use of the Stealth Rock Armaldo sets up with Circle Throw.</p>
<p>Finally, as the main goal of this set is to fire off Rapid Spin, Pokemon that can take full advantage of an entry hazard-less field are the best teammates. Moltres, Scyther, Entei, Accelgor, and Jynx are all highly crippled by entry hazards, and having a clear field gives them the most time to sweep the enemy's team. Teams that make use of multiple Eviolite users will also enjoy having a spinner clear the field of hazards, making Munchlax and Roselia all the better partners, as they are able to switch into strong special attacks with ease.</p>
[SET]
name: Swift Swim + Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: X-Scissor
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Earthquake
item: Life Orb
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Armaldo received a neat little toy from the Dream World in Swift Swim. Under the rain and with max Speed, Armaldo reaches a Speed stat of 414, enough to outrun all unboosted Pokemon in the metagame, with the exception of Accelgor and Ninjask. When Armaldo switches in, the first thing you should try to do is set up Swords Dance. From there Armaldo is able to outspeed most of the metagame and OHKO a large portion of it with the appropriate move. X-Scissor is used to smite all Grass-types and Slowking in your rain team's path. Stone Edge is for secondary STAB, and is a stronger neutral hit than X-Scissor. It's also great for destroying the Bug- and Flying-types that normally give rain teams trouble; it helps in that Armaldo outspeeds most of them, such as Life Orb Galvantula, Life Orb Moltres, and Aerodactyl. The last slot goes to Earthquake, which completes Armaldo's perfect neutral coverage, and destroys Lanturn, Drapion, Omastar, and Kabutops.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A Jolly nature and max Speed is used to outrun Aerodactyl and all other Pokemon with base 130 Speed or less, with the rest placed into Attack to give Armaldo as much power as possible. An alternative EV spread of 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe and a Jolly nature can be used to tank hits from Choice Scarf Manectric and Choice Scarf Rotom-C better and eliminate them; these two Pokemon are normally very dangerous to rain teams. However, breaking through Ferroseed is a bit harder with this EV spread. There really aren't any other coverage moves to use on this set, as Superpower and Aqua Tail are illegal with Swift Swim. Brick Break can be used to smash through Ferroseed; however, Earthquake is a far better move as it gets a stronger hit on the other Steel- and Rock-types that stand in Armaldo's way.</p>
<p>Armaldo's role on a rain team is to smash through the Grass-types that normally give them trouble, particularly Roselia, Ferroseed, and Lilligant. At +2, X-Scissor is a clean 2HKO on Ferroseed (57.87 - 68.15%) and Sandslash (62.99 - 74.57%), as well as an OHKO on every other Grass-type in the tier and Slowking. Armaldo should not, however, try to set up Swords Dance on Ferroseed, as Gyro Ball is a 2HKO in return. Instead, Armaldo should find time to set up on Pokemon it scares out or can tank an attack from, such as Magneton, Accelgor, Bouffalant, and Electivire. Even if Armaldo can't find the time to set up Swords Dance, X-Scissor will still deal a ton of damage to the Grass-types that Armaldo is there to eliminate.</p>
<p>Pokemon that can set up Rain Dance reliably are required teammates. Uxie and Mesprit are fantastic in this regard, as they can set up Stealth Rock and Rain Dance, and then give Armaldo a safe switch in with a slow U-turn. Armaldo is weak to Water, which is only exacerbated by the rain you set up, so a Pokemon immune or resistant to Water to switch in reliably is best as a teammate. Poliwrath is a brilliant partner since it is immune to Water, and resists Rock and Steel too. Slowking and Lanturn are great partners as well, with the latter able to use the rain to its advantage to fire off STAB Thunders with 100% accuracy. Armaldo tends to lure in Pokemon that would normally be terrified of rain teams, such as Sandslash and Steelix, which can be used as set up fodder for your other rain sweepers once they're in. Gorebyss, Ludicolo, Omastar, and Kabutops are all fantastic rain sweepers that enjoy Ferroseed and other Grass-types out of the way, or at least severely maimed. Finally, this set can be used outside of a rain team, but then you're using a worse Rhydon, which is faster and sports a better typing.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Swords Dance and Rock Polish can be used to turn Armaldo into a standalone sweeper, but both are really hard to use as Armaldo is basically impossible to set up. Not to mention that both sets are highly outclassed by Crustle who is a better sweeper thanks to its access to Shell Smash. Armaldo has access to a variety of Fighting-type moves, including Superpower and Brick Break, which can be used to blow through Ferroseed and achieve a neutral hit on Fighting-types. It should be noted that a Choice Band Low Kick 2HKOes Steelix, something Earthquake sometimes misses out on. Double-Edge and Return can be used for greater neutral coverage as well, though Seismic Toss is usually better due to its neutral hit on Steel-types and its ability to break most Pokemon's Substitutes. Knock Off is available to cripple Pokemon that rely almost solely on their item, though this doesn't really matter to Armaldo as it 2HKOes most of the tier with its offensive sets, and removing the Ghost's held items usually won't help your team eliminate them. Finally, Rock Slide can be used as a more reliable Rock-type STAB attack, though the drop in power is too much in most situations.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Most Ghost-types not named Rotom are a safe first switch into Armaldo, as they can block its attempts at Rapid Spin and proceed to burn it with Will-O-Wisp. Golurk is probably the best switch in as it doesn't even mind a Choice Band-boosted Stone Edge, unlike Cofagrigus and Dusknoir, though it lacks Will-O-Wisp. Most Water-types not named Slowking will have their way with Armaldo as well, with nearly every special Water-type attack nearly OHKOing it. Qwilfish in particular laughs in the face of Armaldo thanks to Intimidate and its typing, not even fearing an Earthquake in most situations. Steelix will normally not care much about Armaldo, can set up Stealth Rock against it, and hit it with a super effective Gyro Ball. Klinklang can easily set up on Armaldo with Shift Gear, though it shouldn't try setting up a Substitute due to Earthquake and Seismic Toss breaking its Substitutes. In general, most strong attackers, even physical attackers, will blow right through Armaldo. Keep in mind though that it's actually really hard to OHKO Armaldo without a super effective attack, so beware when trying to sweep with something such as Life Orb Moltres, Typhlosion, or Galvantula.</p>
Armaldo
[Overview]
<p>Armaldo is a weird Pokemon, to put it bluntly. Its main niche is Rapid Spin, but its stat distribution and typing make it an extremely awkward candidate for this role. Speaking of its typing, Bug / Rock doesn't really do Armaldo any favors. While it leaves Armaldo with relatively few weaknesses in just Water, Rock, and Steel, it also only offers resistances to Poison and Normal. Not only that, but Armaldo is also weak to Stealth Rock and takes damage from Spikes and Toxic Spikes, which sucks for a Pokemon who's main role and niche is spinning away said hazards. However, its typing does give it a neutrality to most common attacking types that other spinners are weak to, including Fighting, Ground, Fire, and Flying. Armaldo's main perks as a spinner are its gigantic base 125 Attack stat and deadly STAB combination. It also has a nice base 100 Defense stat, which makes it a formidable tank. It's too bad that its huge Attack stat and awesome offensive STAB combination are wasted on such a slow Pokemon. All in all, Armaldo is probably the worst spinner worth consideration in RU; however, it provides a couple of unique niches, so it's still worth a look into if you want to try something different.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: X-Scissor
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Blast
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Rapid Spin / Aqua Tail
item: Choice Band
ability: Battle Armor
nature: Adamant
evs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Armaldo's huge Attack stat and wide movepool is taken advantage to the fullest with a Choice Band set. X-Scissor is the main draw of this set, and is Armaldo's main STAB attack. With X-Scissor, Armaldo cuts cleanly through the popular Regenerator core of Tangrowth and Slowking—even outspeeding the latter—as well as easily KOing the likes of Uxie. Stone Edge and Earthquake work together to give Armaldo perfect neutral coverage in RU. The last slot is mostly filler, but both moves have their uses: Rapid Spin is the main choice, as the only one Ghost-type that can take the chance to switch into Choice Band Armaldo safely is Golurk. Cofagrigus and Spiritomb are cleanly 2HKOed by Stone Edge, forcing them to risk the chance of eating a Stone Edge in order to switch in on Rapid Spin. The consistent 2HKO on Cofagrigus and Spiritomb is also the reason why Stone Edge is the main choice for the Rock-type STAB move; however, Rock Blast is a viable alternative to punish Substitute users, particularly Rotom. Aqua Tail is a viable alternative to Rapid Spin, because Rapid Spin is really a suckish move to get locked into, and forces Armaldo to switch out after using it. Aqua Tail is also nice to nail Sandslash harder than Armaldo's other moves.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs are designed to outrun minimum Speed Tangrowth. From there an Adamant nature and max Attack EVs give Armaldo the most bang for its buck, with the remaining EVs placed into HP to make use of Armaldo's bulk. An alternative EV spread of 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe can be used instead, though then you're wasting Armaldo's decent bulk. It's also not recommended to run such a spread because Armaldo is susceptible to all entry hazards, which means that any extra bulk could be the difference between getting OHKOed or 2HKOed.</p>
<p>Ghost-types are still liable to switch in on this set, particularly Rotom, who is immune to Earthquake and Rapid Spin and can survive X-Scissor easily enough. From there said Ghost-types can burn Armaldo with Will-O-Wisp, effectively putting it out of commission. Dark-types with Pursuit, such as Spiritomb and Drapion, are excellent teammates to get rid of the pesky poltergeists. With Ghost-types removed, Armaldo is then able to use Rapid Spin freely, possibly opening a sweep for a teammate weak to entry hazards, like Entei. Choice Band Armaldo excels at breaking through Regenerator cores and balanced teams, making it an excellent addition to most offensive and balanced teams. Choice Band Armaldo doesn't need much team support, and instead is there on the team to provide support for sweepers. With a Regenerator core of Tangrowth and Slowking blown open, a teammate along the lines of Feraligatr, Crawdaunt, or Hitmonlee is free to set up and destroy the opposition.</p>
<p>Because Armaldo is so slow, it's incredibly easy to revenge kill. Therefore, having defensive walls that can switch into a variety of opponents is a good idea. Poliwrath is an excellent teammate as it can switch into Water-, Steel-, and Rock-type attacks with ease, as well as phaze any set up attempts with Circle Throw. Quagsire is an excellent teammate in this regard as well. Armaldo's Special Defense leaves a lot to be desired, and having a specially defensive teammate, such as Munchlax or Roselia, that can take most special attacks thrown Armaldo's way is also a good idea. Roselia can also set up Spikes, which makes KOing Tangrowth, Slowking, and Cofagrigus much easier. In fact, entry hazards in general push many 2HKOs into OHKOs for Armaldo, making Steelix, Uxie, and Qwilfish fantastic teammates as well.</p>
<p>If you're having trouble making Rapid Spin work on this set, then packing another spinner is a good idea. Armaldo can then work as a sort of lure to KO the Ghost-types that stand in your other spinner's way. Cryogonal and Sandslash make great teammates in this respect, as well as Hitmonchan. Having a different spinner also takes the pressure off of Armaldo, and also lets it switch in more often, as Armaldo will continue to take damage from all entry hazards.</p>
[SET]
name: Rapid Spin Support
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Stealth Rock
move 3: Rock Blast
move 4: X-Scissor / Seismic Toss
item: Leftovers
ability: Battle Armor
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The main goal of this set is to pull off a Rapid Spin, and the rest of the moves and EVs help Armaldo achieve this goal. Stealth Rock is placed in the second slot for further team support; Armaldo is the only Pokemon, apart from Sandslash, with this unique combination of moves in RU. However, if Stealth Rock is not needed or another teammate can set it up, Toxic should go in this slot. Toxic is fantastic for crippling the Ghost-types that will be switching into Armaldo to block Rapid Spin, particularly Cofagrigus, Dusknoir, Spiritomb, and Golurk. Rock Blast is the recommended Rock STAB move of choice on this set as it breaks through Rotom's Substitutes and continue to hit it. Plus, thanks to Armaldo's gigantic Attack stat, even if it only hits twice it'll do a respectable amount of damage to a number of Pokemon in the tier. The last slot is a decision between X-Scissor and Seismic Toss. X-Scissor provides Armaldo with a tool to blast through Tangrowth, Slowking, and Uxie, the latter of which will usually try to set up Stealth Rock on Armaldo's team over and over again. X-Scissor also always breaks Gallade's Substitutes, even after a Bulk Up, as well as OHKO Lilligant and Sceptile. Seismic Toss is a great move to use if Fighting- and Steel-types give your team trouble. It also ensures that Klinklang can't set up a Substitute on Armaldo, and deals about 30% to most Fighting-types, including Hitmonchan and Medicham. With Seismic Toss, Armaldo is overall less susceptible to becoming set up bait to a majority of the RU tier.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs on this set focus on making Armaldo as physically bulky as possible. However, Armaldo is not a physical wall, and should not be played like one. In fact, even with full defensive investment, Armaldo is 2HKOed by many of the strongest physical attackers in the tier, including Choice Band Entei, Life Orb Hitmonlee, and Choice Scarf Medicham. Luckily, Armaldo is able to tank at least one hit from them, even after taking damage from Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes, and retaliate or use Rapid Spin, should the need arise.</p>
<p>Toxic can go in the last slot as well if X-Scissor or Seismic Toss don't suit your fancy. Toxic is this set's best weapon against the bulky Ghost-types in the tier, so anything that can help your teammates defeat them is always a good thing. Stone Edge can also be used over Rock Blast for consistent damage, though it doesn't hit through Rotom's Substitutes, one of the major draws to this set.</p>
<p>Support Armaldo needs teammates that can eliminate the opponent's Ghost-types so that Armaldo can Rapid Spin freely. Dark-type Pursuit users are probably the best way to remove said Ghost-types, making Spiritomb, Absol, Drapion, and Skuntank welcomed partners. Armaldo is outrun by nearly the whole tier, meaning Armaldo is hilariously easy to revenge kill. As Armaldo is probably your only spinner, keeping it alive until you're sure that your opponent won't, or can't, set up any more entry hazards is a top priority. As such, teammates that can switch into Water-type attacks or remove enemy Water-types with ease are required. Ferroseed, Tangrowth, Roselia, Manectric, and Lanturn all fill this role admirably. Rock-type attacks from the likes of Choice Band Aggron are also dangerous, making Quagsire, Rhydon, and Steelix good teammates too. Poliwrath in particular is a great teammate, as it resists Rock-, Water-, and Steel-type attacks, and can make use of the Stealth Rock Armaldo sets up with Circle Throw.</p>
<p>Finally, as the main goal of this set is to fire off Rapid Spin, Pokemon that can take full advantage of an entry hazard-less field are the best teammates. Moltres, Scyther, Entei, Accelgor, and Jynx are all highly crippled by entry hazards, and having a clear field gives them the most time to sweep the enemy's team. Teams that make use of multiple Eviolite users will also enjoy having a spinner clear the field of hazards, making Munchlax and Roselia all the better partners, as they are able to switch into strong special attacks with ease.</p>
[SET]
name: Swift Swim + Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: X-Scissor
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Earthquake
item: Life Orb
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Armaldo received a neat little toy from the Dream World in Swift Swim. Under the rain and with max Speed, Armaldo reaches a Speed stat of 414, enough to outrun all unboosted Pokemon in the metagame, with the exception of Accelgor and Ninjask. When Armaldo switches in, the first thing you should try to do is set up Swords Dance. From there Armaldo is able to outspeed most of the metagame and OHKO a large portion of it with the appropriate move. X-Scissor is used to smite all Grass-types and Slowking in your rain team's path. Stone Edge is for secondary STAB, and is a stronger neutral hit than X-Scissor. It's also great for destroying the Bug- and Flying-types that normally give rain teams trouble; it helps in that Armaldo outspeeds most of them, such as Life Orb Galvantula, Life Orb Moltres, and Aerodactyl. The last slot goes to Earthquake, which completes Armaldo's perfect neutral coverage, and destroys Lanturn, Drapion, Omastar, and Kabutops.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A Jolly nature and max Speed is used to outrun Aerodactyl and all other Pokemon with base 130 Speed or less, with the rest placed into Attack to give Armaldo as much power as possible. An alternative EV spread of 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe and a Jolly nature can be used to tank hits from Choice Scarf Manectric and Choice Scarf Rotom-C better and eliminate them; these two Pokemon are normally very dangerous to rain teams. However, breaking through Ferroseed is a bit harder with this EV spread. There really aren't any other coverage moves to use on this set, as Superpower and Aqua Tail are illegal with Swift Swim. Brick Break can be used to smash through Ferroseed; however, Earthquake is a far better move as it gets a stronger hit on the other Steel- and Rock-types that stand in Armaldo's way.</p>
<p>Armaldo's role on a rain team is to smash through the Grass-types that normally give them trouble, particularly Roselia, Ferroseed, and Lilligant. At +2, X-Scissor is a clean 2HKO on Ferroseed (57.87 - 68.15%) and Sandslash (62.99 - 74.57%), as well as an OHKO on every other Grass-type in the tier and Slowking. Armaldo should not, however, try to set up Swords Dance on Ferroseed, as Gyro Ball is a 2HKO in return. Instead, Armaldo should find time to set up on Pokemon it scares out or can tank an attack from, such as Magneton, Accelgor, Bouffalant, and Electivire. Even if Armaldo can't find the time to set up Swords Dance, X-Scissor will still deal a ton of damage to the Grass-types that Armaldo is there to eliminate.</p>
<p>Pokemon that can set up Rain Dance reliably are required teammates. Uxie and Mesprit are fantastic in this regard, as they can set up Stealth Rock and Rain Dance, and then give Armaldo a safe switch in with a slow U-turn. Armaldo is weak to Water, which is only exacerbated by the rain you set up, so a Pokemon immune or resistant to Water to switch in reliably is best as a teammate. Poliwrath is a brilliant partner since it is immune to Water, and resists Rock and Steel too. Slowking and Lanturn are great partners as well, with the latter able to use the rain to its advantage to fire off STAB Thunders with 100% accuracy. Armaldo tends to lure in Pokemon that would normally be terrified of rain teams, such as Sandslash and Steelix, which can be used as set up fodder for your other rain sweepers once they're in. Gorebyss, Ludicolo, Omastar, and Kabutops are all fantastic rain sweepers that enjoy Ferroseed and other Grass-types out of the way, or at least severely maimed. Finally, this set can be used outside of a rain team, but then you're using a worse Rhydon, which is faster and sports a better typing.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Swords Dance and Rock Polish can be used to turn Armaldo into a standalone sweeper, but both are really hard to use as Armaldo is basically impossible to set up. Not to mention that both sets are highly outclassed by Crustle who is a better sweeper thanks to its access to Shell Smash. Armaldo has access to a variety of Fighting-type moves, including Superpower and Brick Break, which can be used to blow through Ferroseed and achieve a neutral hit on Fighting-types. It should be noted that a Choice Band Low Kick 2HKOes Steelix, something Earthquake sometimes misses out on. Double-Edge and Return can be used for greater neutral coverage as well, though Seismic Toss is usually better due to its neutral hit on Steel-types and its ability to break most Pokemon's Substitutes. Knock Off is available to cripple Pokemon that rely almost solely on their item, though this doesn't really matter to Armaldo as it 2HKOes most of the tier with its offensive sets, and removing the Ghost's held items usually won't help your team eliminate them. Finally, Rock Slide can be used as a more reliable Rock-type STAB attack, though the drop in power is too much in most situations.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Most Ghost-types not named Rotom are a safe first switch into Armaldo, as they can block its attempts at Rapid Spin and proceed to burn it with Will-O-Wisp. Golurk is probably the best switch in as it doesn't even mind a Choice Band-boosted Stone Edge, unlike Cofagrigus and Dusknoir, though it lacks Will-O-Wisp. Most Water-types not named Slowking will have their way with Armaldo as well, with nearly every special Water-type attack nearly OHKOing it. Qwilfish in particular laughs in the face of Armaldo thanks to Intimidate and its typing, not even fearing an Earthquake in most situations. Steelix will normally not care much about Armaldo, can set up Stealth Rock against it, and hit it with a super effective Gyro Ball. Klinklang can easily set up on Armaldo with Shift Gear, though it shouldn't try setting up a Substitute due to Earthquake and Seismic Toss breaking its Substitutes. In general, most strong attackers, even physical attackers, will blow right through Armaldo. Keep in mind though that it's actually really hard to OHKO Armaldo without a super effective attack, so beware when trying to sweep with something such as Life Orb Moltres, Typhlosion, or Galvantula.</p>
