http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/blastoise
Meh, I never really liked Blastoise, but still I think it has a chance to make a splash (pun intended) on the OU metagame with this set.
[SET]
name: Anti-Lead (OU)
move 1: Water Spout / Hydro Pump
move 2: Rapid Spin
move 3: Surf / Hidden Power [Electric]
move 4: Substitute
item: Salac Berry
ability: Torrent
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Laying down Stealth Rock immediately at the beginning of the battle has become increasingly popular in the OU metagame. While doing so allows optimum amounts of secondary damage, it is also very predictable and allows one to be free of Stealth Rocks simply by incapacitating the opposing lead before they set it up, or spinning them away after the lead has gone down.</p>
<p>This set takes full advantage of this current trend in the metagame. Now with the dangerous Water Spout, Blastoise achieves 2HKO’s and OHKO’s that it was unable to do before with Surf or even Hydro Pump. The basic premise is to severely dent the opponent with Water Spout, then Rapid Spin as they switch out. Resting at a surprisingly fast 280 Speed with max EV’s and a Timid nature, it outspeeds many common leads. Metagross, Swampert, and Forretress are all 2HKO’d by a full powered Water Spout (Swampert has a 36.5% chance of survival), while Heatran and Hippowdon are easily OHKO’d. Blastoise also outspeeds Smeargle, which allows it to put up a Substitute on Spore. Or if you believe the Smeargle’s Scarfed, you can fire away a Water Spout to OHKO it while it Tricks.</p>
<p>Faster leads are also easily managed by this set. First, Scarf Jirachi poses absolutely no threat, falling to two Water Spouts. If it attacks, it will do pitiful damage to attack and lose its chance to Steatlh Rock, and if it decides to Trick, you outspeed it for the second Water Spout and thus prevent Stealth Rock anyways. Aerodactyl and Infernape both lose their Sashes after the first Water Spout, at which point you can Rapid Spin for the kill and to get rid of Stealth Rock. Azelf poses a slight challenge, as unlike it Aerodactyl and Infernape it can take Blastoise out with Explosion before you’re able to use Rapid Spin. The trick is to Rapid Spin on the first turn, getting rid of both Azelf’s Sash and hopefully the Stealth Rock it laid on turn 1.</p>
<p>There are two major issues with this Water Spout + Rapid Spin strategy. The first is when being pitted against slower leads, the opponent can easily switch out the very first turn or switch to their spinblocker immediately after they use Stealth Rock. The second is when being pitted against faster leads, the opponent attacks you to severely reduce the power of your Water Spout. The last two move slots and the choice of item attempts to remedy both of these. Blastoise’s “secondary” strategy is to substitute down into Salac Berry and Torrent range, and then hit with a boosted Surf. This punishes opponents who try to spinblock you. After launching the first Water Spout against a slow opponent, you should use Substitute to scout the predicted switch. If a Ghost-type comes in, you can use Water Spout for massive damage. When pitted against Azelf, you’ll want to Substitute down to Salac Berry range to get a speed boost after you’ve broken its Sash, allowing you to outspeed it and finish it off with Surf. Blastoise can even fare decently against Life Orb Starmie, which knocks Blastoise into Salac range with Thunderbolt and allows you to hit it with two boosted Surf’s, causing heavy damage.</p>
<p>This set is designed exclusively for offensive teams. Smart opponents will very likely salvage their lead, waiting till Blastoise has been taken out before setting up entry hazards. With an offensive team, you should be able to capitalize on that grace period where you’re hazard free, perhaps even keeping Stealth Rock off the field for the entire game. This feat is made simpler due to the multitude of offensive Pokemon, such as Scizor, Salamence, and Gyarados, that become much more dangerous when chunks of their health aren’t being stripped away by entry hazards. Another potential partner is Yanmega, which, besides obviously loving the lack of Stealth Rock, is also very effective in beating opposing offensive teams. The beauty of Blastoise is that, after it has a Salac Berry and Torrent activated, your opponent is usually pressured into switching in a defensive Pokemon to finish it off. This gives offensive teams crucial momentum in the beginning of the game. An interesting strategy, because this set is so effective in keeping away Spikes and Stealth Rock, is to actually run a second ‘lead’, equipped with a Focus Sash to set up your own entry hazards.</p>
<p>When building a team around Blastoise, one must also address Blastoise’s relatively few but glaring shortcomings. The main issue with this set is that you’re limited to attacking with only Water-type attacks. Roserade leads completely ruin this set, threatening to either outspeed and OHKO Blastoise or Sleep Powder your switch-in. The best way to handle this is to simply build your team in such a way so that Toxic Spikes is a non-issue, because it –will- lay them down. Also, even if you are successful in getting rid of your opponent’s lead, your opponent will be given a free switch to something you match up worse against. The most threatening switch-ins that don’t mind taking a boosted Surf are Gyarados, Suicune, and Latias. On an offensive team, Kingdra handles the Water-types decently, especially if Blastoise is able to take chip off some of their health while they switch in. Offensive Latias is best handled by simply sacrificing Blastoise and revenging with either Scizor or Metagross; defensive versions should be met with a Steel-type immediately. Although slightly underhanded, an Azelf equipped with Focus Sash can also come in and use Explosion, or even bluff it and set up Stealth Rock.</p>
<p>Hidden Power Electric can be used over Surf to cripple Gyarados who believe they have the opportunity to set up for free. In this case, Hydro Pump should be used over Water Spout to make use of Torrent. While the loss of power is quite unfavorable, it should be noted that Torrent boosted Hydro Pump does 1.2x more than a full powered Water Spout, making it a viable option.</p>
Damage Calculations
Water Spout vs 252 HP / 0 SpD Swampert 49.75% - 58.66% (64.5% chance of 2HKO)
Water Spout vs 252 HP / 0 SpD Metagross 55.22% - 65.11%
Water Spout vs 80 HP / 0 SpD Jirachi 50.97% - 60.11%
Water Spout vs 0 HP / 0 SpD Naive Azelf 94.85% - 111.68%
75% Water Spout vs 4 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-A 53.72% - 63.64%
75% Water Spout vs 252 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-A 42.76% - 50.66%
Torrented Surf vs 252 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-A 54.28% - 64.14%
Water Spout vs 0 HP / 0 SpD Gyarados 27.79% - 32.63%
Water Spout vs 4 HP / 0 SpD Suicune 23.68% - 28.07%
Water Spout vs 4 HP / 0 SpD Latias 25.83% - 30.79%
Meh, I never really liked Blastoise, but still I think it has a chance to make a splash (pun intended) on the OU metagame with this set.
[SET]
name: Anti-Lead (OU)
move 1: Water Spout / Hydro Pump
move 2: Rapid Spin
move 3: Surf / Hidden Power [Electric]
move 4: Substitute
item: Salac Berry
ability: Torrent
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Laying down Stealth Rock immediately at the beginning of the battle has become increasingly popular in the OU metagame. While doing so allows optimum amounts of secondary damage, it is also very predictable and allows one to be free of Stealth Rocks simply by incapacitating the opposing lead before they set it up, or spinning them away after the lead has gone down.</p>
<p>This set takes full advantage of this current trend in the metagame. Now with the dangerous Water Spout, Blastoise achieves 2HKO’s and OHKO’s that it was unable to do before with Surf or even Hydro Pump. The basic premise is to severely dent the opponent with Water Spout, then Rapid Spin as they switch out. Resting at a surprisingly fast 280 Speed with max EV’s and a Timid nature, it outspeeds many common leads. Metagross, Swampert, and Forretress are all 2HKO’d by a full powered Water Spout (Swampert has a 36.5% chance of survival), while Heatran and Hippowdon are easily OHKO’d. Blastoise also outspeeds Smeargle, which allows it to put up a Substitute on Spore. Or if you believe the Smeargle’s Scarfed, you can fire away a Water Spout to OHKO it while it Tricks.</p>
<p>Faster leads are also easily managed by this set. First, Scarf Jirachi poses absolutely no threat, falling to two Water Spouts. If it attacks, it will do pitiful damage to attack and lose its chance to Steatlh Rock, and if it decides to Trick, you outspeed it for the second Water Spout and thus prevent Stealth Rock anyways. Aerodactyl and Infernape both lose their Sashes after the first Water Spout, at which point you can Rapid Spin for the kill and to get rid of Stealth Rock. Azelf poses a slight challenge, as unlike it Aerodactyl and Infernape it can take Blastoise out with Explosion before you’re able to use Rapid Spin. The trick is to Rapid Spin on the first turn, getting rid of both Azelf’s Sash and hopefully the Stealth Rock it laid on turn 1.</p>
<p>There are two major issues with this Water Spout + Rapid Spin strategy. The first is when being pitted against slower leads, the opponent can easily switch out the very first turn or switch to their spinblocker immediately after they use Stealth Rock. The second is when being pitted against faster leads, the opponent attacks you to severely reduce the power of your Water Spout. The last two move slots and the choice of item attempts to remedy both of these. Blastoise’s “secondary” strategy is to substitute down into Salac Berry and Torrent range, and then hit with a boosted Surf. This punishes opponents who try to spinblock you. After launching the first Water Spout against a slow opponent, you should use Substitute to scout the predicted switch. If a Ghost-type comes in, you can use Water Spout for massive damage. When pitted against Azelf, you’ll want to Substitute down to Salac Berry range to get a speed boost after you’ve broken its Sash, allowing you to outspeed it and finish it off with Surf. Blastoise can even fare decently against Life Orb Starmie, which knocks Blastoise into Salac range with Thunderbolt and allows you to hit it with two boosted Surf’s, causing heavy damage.</p>
<p>This set is designed exclusively for offensive teams. Smart opponents will very likely salvage their lead, waiting till Blastoise has been taken out before setting up entry hazards. With an offensive team, you should be able to capitalize on that grace period where you’re hazard free, perhaps even keeping Stealth Rock off the field for the entire game. This feat is made simpler due to the multitude of offensive Pokemon, such as Scizor, Salamence, and Gyarados, that become much more dangerous when chunks of their health aren’t being stripped away by entry hazards. Another potential partner is Yanmega, which, besides obviously loving the lack of Stealth Rock, is also very effective in beating opposing offensive teams. The beauty of Blastoise is that, after it has a Salac Berry and Torrent activated, your opponent is usually pressured into switching in a defensive Pokemon to finish it off. This gives offensive teams crucial momentum in the beginning of the game. An interesting strategy, because this set is so effective in keeping away Spikes and Stealth Rock, is to actually run a second ‘lead’, equipped with a Focus Sash to set up your own entry hazards.</p>
<p>When building a team around Blastoise, one must also address Blastoise’s relatively few but glaring shortcomings. The main issue with this set is that you’re limited to attacking with only Water-type attacks. Roserade leads completely ruin this set, threatening to either outspeed and OHKO Blastoise or Sleep Powder your switch-in. The best way to handle this is to simply build your team in such a way so that Toxic Spikes is a non-issue, because it –will- lay them down. Also, even if you are successful in getting rid of your opponent’s lead, your opponent will be given a free switch to something you match up worse against. The most threatening switch-ins that don’t mind taking a boosted Surf are Gyarados, Suicune, and Latias. On an offensive team, Kingdra handles the Water-types decently, especially if Blastoise is able to take chip off some of their health while they switch in. Offensive Latias is best handled by simply sacrificing Blastoise and revenging with either Scizor or Metagross; defensive versions should be met with a Steel-type immediately. Although slightly underhanded, an Azelf equipped with Focus Sash can also come in and use Explosion, or even bluff it and set up Stealth Rock.</p>
<p>Hidden Power Electric can be used over Surf to cripple Gyarados who believe they have the opportunity to set up for free. In this case, Hydro Pump should be used over Water Spout to make use of Torrent. While the loss of power is quite unfavorable, it should be noted that Torrent boosted Hydro Pump does 1.2x more than a full powered Water Spout, making it a viable option.</p>
Damage Calculations
Water Spout vs 252 HP / 0 SpD Swampert 49.75% - 58.66% (64.5% chance of 2HKO)
Water Spout vs 252 HP / 0 SpD Metagross 55.22% - 65.11%
Water Spout vs 80 HP / 0 SpD Jirachi 50.97% - 60.11%
Water Spout vs 0 HP / 0 SpD Naive Azelf 94.85% - 111.68%
75% Water Spout vs 4 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-A 53.72% - 63.64%
75% Water Spout vs 252 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-A 42.76% - 50.66%
Torrented Surf vs 252 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-A 54.28% - 64.14%
Water Spout vs 0 HP / 0 SpD Gyarados 27.79% - 32.63%
Water Spout vs 4 HP / 0 SpD Suicune 23.68% - 28.07%
Water Spout vs 4 HP / 0 SpD Latias 25.83% - 30.79%
