[OVERVIEW]
Under snow, Beartic is a chillingly threatening sweeper, boasting wide coverage and frightening offensive power while outspeeding the entire unboosted metagame. The Defense boost in snow allows it to tank physical attacks like Passimian's Close Combat and Lycanroc's Stone Edge. Beartic relies on Abomasnow to provide snow, and it forms a deadly offensive core with it, as Abomasnow's Aurora Veil makes Beartic even more difficult to take down. Beartic, however, is hindered by its low Speed and awful defensive typing; even under snow, it can be outsped by faster Choice Scarf users like Floatzel and Typhlosion. Even with the Defense boost and Aurora Veil support, Beartic sports minimal defensive utility, owing to its vulnerability to all residual damage and lack of resistances if not running Heavy-Duty Boots, and it also stacks weaknesses with Abomasnow. Outside of snow, Beartic is extremely slow and easy to revenge kill without Terastallization, requiring significant support to perform well as a setup sweeper.
[SET]
Snow Sweeper (Beartic) @ Loaded Dice / Life Orb / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Tera Type: Fighting / Ground
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Icicle Spear / Icicle Crash
- Close Combat
- Earthquake / Substitute
[SET COMMENTS]
The combination of snow and Slush Rush enables Beartic to become one of the scariest setup sweepers under this archetype, boasting high offensive stats and outspeeding the entire unboosted metagame. Icicle Spear's higher power is preferred over Icicle Crash's potential flinch chance if running Loaded Dice, and its multiple hits work well against foes using Substitute like Minior, Mismagius, and Rotom-C. Close Combat threatens Ice-resistant targets like Snorlax, Orthworm, and Glastrier while also hitting Regirock hard. Earthquake threatens Lanturn, Magneton, and non-Choice Scarf Typhlosion, while Substitute capitalizes on weak walls like Hisuian Qwilfish and Dipplin. While an Adamant nature is ideal to maximize its power, Jolly can be used to outspeed Choice Scarf Passimian and Choice Scarf Mesprit under snow. If Beartic is not running Icicle Spear, Life Orb or Heavy-Duty Boots can be chosen to either strengthen all of its moves' power or protect it from entry hazard damage, respectively. Tera Fighting boosts the power of Close Combat and lets Beartic resist priority moves like Sucker Punch and Accelerock, while Tera Ground boosts the power of Earthquake and provides it a Stealth Rock resistance and Electric immunity while still resisting Accelerock; changing into either of these Tera types, however, relinquishes the Defense boost under snow.
Due to Beartic being heavily reliant on snow for wallbreaking, Abomasnow is a mandatory partner to enable Slush Rush and the Defense boost. Pivots like Floatzel and Passimian can help threaten and force out walls like Regirock and Orthworm, while wallbreakers like Clawitzer and Charizard can be similarly effective. Hattrem is a notable partner, as it supplies paralysis and Healing Wish support, enabling Beartic to clean through teams easier, while providing Magic Bounce support for Beartic's non-Heavy-Duty Boots sets. Spinners like Sandslash and Hitmontop are also valuable partners, providing entry hazard removal support without needing to remove Aurora Veil. Water-types like Clawitzer and Lanturn can not only force out Fire-types but also provide pivoting support. Hazard setters like Regirock and Sandslash not only can help rack up residual damage over the course of a game but also provide additional utility with Thunder Wave and Knock Off, respectively. Other setup sweepers like Minior and Brute Bonnet can overwhelm teams and shared checks like Regirock with Beartic.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Beartic has no other viable options.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Revenge Killers**: Even under snow, Beartic is still quite slow and can be picked off by Choice Scarf users like Rotom-C, Floatzel, and Shaymin.
**Physical Walls**: Physical walls like Weezing, Spiritomb, and Sableye can threaten Beartic with Will-O-Wisp, while walls like Regirock and Orthworm can beat it with Iron Defense in a one-on-one scenario.
**Residual Damage**: Beartic is vulnerable to all entry hazards if not running Heavy-Duty Boots and despises status, all of which heavily cut into its sweeping potential and making it easier to revenge kill.
**Wallbreakers**: Most wallbreakers not weak to its coverage moves can stomach at least one unboosted attack and retaliate, which is especially prominent if Beartic is not under snow. Examples include Passimian, Vikavolt, and Clawitzer.
**Glastrier**: Glastrier can leverage its massive bulk under snow and retaliate with its own coverage moves to defeat Beartic.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/5dots.543866/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/missangelic.452572
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
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