QC: terrors, Eien, Misaka Mikoto
GP: x
[OVERVIEW]
Ice
=======
* Beartic's access to the ability Slush Rush makes it a powerful sweeper capable of outspeeding and OHKOing threatening Pokemon such as Greninja, Tapu Koko, and Excadrill in hail.
* It has a higher Attack stat than its fellow Slush Rush user, Alolan Sandslash, allowing it to deal much more damage.
* Beartic has useful tools in Superpower to hit Steel-types, Stone Edge to hit Fire-types, and Swords Dance to further its already impressive Attack.
* Beartic is, unfortunately, let down by its horrendous pure Ice typing, which leaves it with weaknesses to common Pokemon in Fire-, Fighting-, Rock-, and Steel-types as well as a glaring weakness to all forms of entry hazards, particularly Stealth Rock, which alongside average bulk denies it opportunities to set up.
* Beartic is also vulnerable to all forms of status, with burn hampering its sweeping capabilities, paralysis nullifying the Speed boost granted by Slush Rush, and poison reducing the number of turns Beartic has to sweep.
* A combination of Life Orb recoil and Stealth Rock damage swiftly wears Beartic down, cutting into its ability to sweep.
* Outside of hail, Beartic is terribly slow, leaving it outsped by virtually all offensive Pokemon.
* Beartic additionally suffers from a shallow movepool, resulting in it being rather predictable.
* As a Slush Rush sweeper, Beartic faces heavy competition from Alolan Sandslash, which has a beneficial secondary Steel typing, better physical bulk, and a higher Speed stat.
[SET]
name: Slush Rush Sweeper (Ice)
move 1: Icicle Crash
move 2: Superpower
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Swords Dance
item: Life Orb
ability: Slush Rush
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Icicle Crash is Beartic's best STAB move, hitting Flying-, Dragon-, Grass-, and Ground-types for super effective damage, along with having a chance to flinch.
* Superpower allows Beartic to hit Steel-types such as Excadrill and Ferrothorn super effectively, although its stat drops often force Beartic out after use.
* Stone Edge allows Beartic to deal with incoming Fire- and Flying-types such as Pelipper and Mega Charizard Y.
* Swords Dance takes advantage of switches that Beartic forces, boosting its high Attack stat to astounding levels.
Set Details
========
* Maximum Attack allows Beartic to hit as hard as possible, and maximum Speed allows it to outspeed threats such as Greninja, Dragonite, and Tapu Koko under hail.
* An Adamant nature further increases Beartic's already impressive Attack.
* While the loss in power is noticeable, a Jolly nature allows Beartic to outspeed Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Diggersby, +1 Xurkitree, and +1 Gyarados in hail.
* Slush Rush doubles its mediocre Speed under hail.
* Life Orb boosts Beartic's sweeping capabilities at the cost of its HP.
Usage Tips
========
* Beartic is best used late-game, when its checks have been removed so it can set up with Swords Dance if needed and sweep.
* However, Beartic can use Swords Dance to wallbreak or pressure switch-ins early-game.
* Bring Beartic in when hail is up, as otherwise its poor Speed prevents it from sweeping.
* If Stealth Rock is on the field, do not bring in Beartic, as the damage from switching in along with Life Orb recoil severely wears it down. It should be removed before bringing Beartic out.
* Remove opposing weather setters before allowing Beartic to sweep; otherwise, they can come in and remove hail, as Beartic cannot OHKO any relevant weather setter bar Hippowdon and Tyranitar.
* Bringing Beartic into Pokemon it threatens such as Grass-, Flying-, and Dragon-types when hail is up produces an excellent opportunity to set up with Swords Dance.
* However, keep note of when to set up Swords Dance. For instance, refrain from setting up if hail is about to end or if the opponent has a healthy weather setter in reserve.
* Refrain from using Superpower too often, as its stat drops require Beartic to switch out, which can greatly hurt it if Stealth Rock or other hazards are on the field.
Team Options
========
* Teammates with access to Snow Warning are nigh manditory with Beartic, as they're able to set up hail, activating its Slush Rush. Alolan Ninetales can also set up Aurora Veil, which improves Beartic's average bulk, while also checking Fighting-types for Beartic with Moonblast. Aurorus is an alternative that can additionally set up Stealth Rock, allowing Beartic to more easily break past opposing Pokemon.
* Mamoswine and Piloswine are capable setting up Stealth Rock, weakening opposing teams so Beartic can sweep more easily. Mamoswine has a more powerful Earthquake, while Piloswine boasts significantly more bulk due to Eviolite.
* Avalugg acts as an excellent check to most physical Pokemon and provides Rapid Spin support, clearing hazards so Beartic can switch in more safely.
* Alolan Sandslash is a secondary Pokemon that takes advantage of hail, being able to wear down checks it shares with Beartic. It can also used Rapid Spin to clear hazards for Beartic and its teammates.
* Weavile is another sweeper that can take advantage of its naturally high Speed to take on more offensive teams, even when out of hail, along with Knock Off support for removing the items of opposing Pokemon.
* Kyurem-B is an incredible wallbreaker, capable of utilizing physical or mixed sets to threaten opposing walls so Beartic can sweep more easily.
* Cloyster appreciates Beartic's ability to wallbreak early-game, allowing it to sweep later on with Shell Smash.
* By virtue of their secondary Water typing, Walrein and Lapras are capable of switching into the many Steel-types that are problematic for Ice-type teams, threatening to deal heavy damage to them, especially Mega Scizor, with Hidden Power Fire. Additionally, Walrein can switch into Fire-types more easily due to Thick Fat, while Lapras can switch into Water-types thanks to Water Absorb and threaten them with Freeze Dry. They can also wear down physically defensive walls such as Skarmory due to their typing.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Ice
--------
* Rock Slide can be used over Stone Edge if its higher accuracy is preferred. However, Beartic then loses the ability to OHKO Alolan Marowak and almost always OHKO Mega Charizard X.
* A set utilizing Choice Band can be used to turn Beartic into an immediately powerful wallbreaker, but Beartic appreciates the ability to change between its moves as well as use setup moves.
Checks and Counters
===================
Ice
--------
**Steel-types**: Steel-types can threaten Beartic with their super effective STAB moves, although most take heavy damage from Superpower. Especially threatening to Beartic is Mega Scizor, which takes neutral damage from Superpower and either 2HKOes with Bullet Punch or sets up with Swords Dance.
**Fire-types**: Fire-types such as Volcanion, Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Toarkoal can switch in on any of Beartic's moves barring Stone Edge or Rock Slide and OHKO with their super effective STAB moves. Most notable are the latter two, which can remove hail with Drought.
**Fighting-types**: Even under hail, Beartic struggles against faster Fighting-types such as Choice Scarf Keldeo and Infernape along with Pokemon with super effective priority, including Breloom and Lucario.
**Rock-types**: Even though they cannot switch in for fear of taking a Superpower, Choice Scarf Terrakion, Nihilego, and Tyranitar can all outspeed and OHKO Beartic due to its poor bulk. Additionally, Tyranitar's Sand Stream can remove hail, nullifying Beartic's Slush Rush.
**Stealth Rock**: Beartic's Ice typing compounded with Superpower's stat drops leaves it with a glaring weakness to Stealth Rock, preventing the number of times it can switch in.
**Status**: All status effects severely impact Beartic's sweeping capabilities, with burn halving its Attack, paralysis halving its already terrible Speed, and poison reducing its time on the battlefield.
**Faster Pokemon**: Even in hail, Pokemon such as Mega Aerodactyl, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and Alolan Raichu in Electric Terrain can outspeed and OHKO Beartic with Stone Edge or Focus Blast.
**Opposing Weather**: Weather setters are capable of removing hail from the battlefield, nullifying Beartic's Slush Rush. However, barring Politoed, none of them are guaranteed a safe switch in, as Tyranitar is OHKOed by Superpower, Hippowdon and Pelipper are 2HKOed by Icicle Crash, and Mega Charizard Y and Torkoal take heavy damage from Stone Edge.
GP: x
[OVERVIEW]
Ice
=======
* Beartic's access to the ability Slush Rush makes it a powerful sweeper capable of outspeeding and OHKOing threatening Pokemon such as Greninja, Tapu Koko, and Excadrill in hail.
* It has a higher Attack stat than its fellow Slush Rush user, Alolan Sandslash, allowing it to deal much more damage.
* Beartic has useful tools in Superpower to hit Steel-types, Stone Edge to hit Fire-types, and Swords Dance to further its already impressive Attack.
* Beartic is, unfortunately, let down by its horrendous pure Ice typing, which leaves it with weaknesses to common Pokemon in Fire-, Fighting-, Rock-, and Steel-types as well as a glaring weakness to all forms of entry hazards, particularly Stealth Rock, which alongside average bulk denies it opportunities to set up.
* Beartic is also vulnerable to all forms of status, with burn hampering its sweeping capabilities, paralysis nullifying the Speed boost granted by Slush Rush, and poison reducing the number of turns Beartic has to sweep.
* A combination of Life Orb recoil and Stealth Rock damage swiftly wears Beartic down, cutting into its ability to sweep.
* Outside of hail, Beartic is terribly slow, leaving it outsped by virtually all offensive Pokemon.
* Beartic additionally suffers from a shallow movepool, resulting in it being rather predictable.
* As a Slush Rush sweeper, Beartic faces heavy competition from Alolan Sandslash, which has a beneficial secondary Steel typing, better physical bulk, and a higher Speed stat.
[SET]
name: Slush Rush Sweeper (Ice)
move 1: Icicle Crash
move 2: Superpower
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Swords Dance
item: Life Orb
ability: Slush Rush
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Icicle Crash is Beartic's best STAB move, hitting Flying-, Dragon-, Grass-, and Ground-types for super effective damage, along with having a chance to flinch.
* Superpower allows Beartic to hit Steel-types such as Excadrill and Ferrothorn super effectively, although its stat drops often force Beartic out after use.
* Stone Edge allows Beartic to deal with incoming Fire- and Flying-types such as Pelipper and Mega Charizard Y.
* Swords Dance takes advantage of switches that Beartic forces, boosting its high Attack stat to astounding levels.
Set Details
========
* Maximum Attack allows Beartic to hit as hard as possible, and maximum Speed allows it to outspeed threats such as Greninja, Dragonite, and Tapu Koko under hail.
* An Adamant nature further increases Beartic's already impressive Attack.
* While the loss in power is noticeable, a Jolly nature allows Beartic to outspeed Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Diggersby, +1 Xurkitree, and +1 Gyarados in hail.
* Slush Rush doubles its mediocre Speed under hail.
* Life Orb boosts Beartic's sweeping capabilities at the cost of its HP.
Usage Tips
========
* Beartic is best used late-game, when its checks have been removed so it can set up with Swords Dance if needed and sweep.
* However, Beartic can use Swords Dance to wallbreak or pressure switch-ins early-game.
* Bring Beartic in when hail is up, as otherwise its poor Speed prevents it from sweeping.
* If Stealth Rock is on the field, do not bring in Beartic, as the damage from switching in along with Life Orb recoil severely wears it down. It should be removed before bringing Beartic out.
* Remove opposing weather setters before allowing Beartic to sweep; otherwise, they can come in and remove hail, as Beartic cannot OHKO any relevant weather setter bar Hippowdon and Tyranitar.
* Bringing Beartic into Pokemon it threatens such as Grass-, Flying-, and Dragon-types when hail is up produces an excellent opportunity to set up with Swords Dance.
* However, keep note of when to set up Swords Dance. For instance, refrain from setting up if hail is about to end or if the opponent has a healthy weather setter in reserve.
* Refrain from using Superpower too often, as its stat drops require Beartic to switch out, which can greatly hurt it if Stealth Rock or other hazards are on the field.
Team Options
========
* Teammates with access to Snow Warning are nigh manditory with Beartic, as they're able to set up hail, activating its Slush Rush. Alolan Ninetales can also set up Aurora Veil, which improves Beartic's average bulk, while also checking Fighting-types for Beartic with Moonblast. Aurorus is an alternative that can additionally set up Stealth Rock, allowing Beartic to more easily break past opposing Pokemon.
* Mamoswine and Piloswine are capable setting up Stealth Rock, weakening opposing teams so Beartic can sweep more easily. Mamoswine has a more powerful Earthquake, while Piloswine boasts significantly more bulk due to Eviolite.
* Avalugg acts as an excellent check to most physical Pokemon and provides Rapid Spin support, clearing hazards so Beartic can switch in more safely.
* Alolan Sandslash is a secondary Pokemon that takes advantage of hail, being able to wear down checks it shares with Beartic. It can also used Rapid Spin to clear hazards for Beartic and its teammates.
* Weavile is another sweeper that can take advantage of its naturally high Speed to take on more offensive teams, even when out of hail, along with Knock Off support for removing the items of opposing Pokemon.
* Kyurem-B is an incredible wallbreaker, capable of utilizing physical or mixed sets to threaten opposing walls so Beartic can sweep more easily.
* Cloyster appreciates Beartic's ability to wallbreak early-game, allowing it to sweep later on with Shell Smash.
* By virtue of their secondary Water typing, Walrein and Lapras are capable of switching into the many Steel-types that are problematic for Ice-type teams, threatening to deal heavy damage to them, especially Mega Scizor, with Hidden Power Fire. Additionally, Walrein can switch into Fire-types more easily due to Thick Fat, while Lapras can switch into Water-types thanks to Water Absorb and threaten them with Freeze Dry. They can also wear down physically defensive walls such as Skarmory due to their typing.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Ice
--------
* Rock Slide can be used over Stone Edge if its higher accuracy is preferred. However, Beartic then loses the ability to OHKO Alolan Marowak and almost always OHKO Mega Charizard X.
* A set utilizing Choice Band can be used to turn Beartic into an immediately powerful wallbreaker, but Beartic appreciates the ability to change between its moves as well as use setup moves.
Checks and Counters
===================
Ice
--------
**Steel-types**: Steel-types can threaten Beartic with their super effective STAB moves, although most take heavy damage from Superpower. Especially threatening to Beartic is Mega Scizor, which takes neutral damage from Superpower and either 2HKOes with Bullet Punch or sets up with Swords Dance.
**Fire-types**: Fire-types such as Volcanion, Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Toarkoal can switch in on any of Beartic's moves barring Stone Edge or Rock Slide and OHKO with their super effective STAB moves. Most notable are the latter two, which can remove hail with Drought.
**Fighting-types**: Even under hail, Beartic struggles against faster Fighting-types such as Choice Scarf Keldeo and Infernape along with Pokemon with super effective priority, including Breloom and Lucario.
**Rock-types**: Even though they cannot switch in for fear of taking a Superpower, Choice Scarf Terrakion, Nihilego, and Tyranitar can all outspeed and OHKO Beartic due to its poor bulk. Additionally, Tyranitar's Sand Stream can remove hail, nullifying Beartic's Slush Rush.
**Stealth Rock**: Beartic's Ice typing compounded with Superpower's stat drops leaves it with a glaring weakness to Stealth Rock, preventing the number of times it can switch in.
**Status**: All status effects severely impact Beartic's sweeping capabilities, with burn halving its Attack, paralysis halving its already terrible Speed, and poison reducing its time on the battlefield.
**Faster Pokemon**: Even in hail, Pokemon such as Mega Aerodactyl, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and Alolan Raichu in Electric Terrain can outspeed and OHKO Beartic with Stone Edge or Focus Blast.
**Opposing Weather**: Weather setters are capable of removing hail from the battlefield, nullifying Beartic's Slush Rush. However, barring Politoed, none of them are guaranteed a safe switch in, as Tyranitar is OHKOed by Superpower, Hippowdon and Pelipper are 2HKOed by Icicle Crash, and Mega Charizard Y and Torkoal take heavy damage from Stone Edge.
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