Poliwhirl @ Miracle of Evolution
*Unlimited Whirl Works*
Swift Swim
Jolly / 252 Speed / 252 Defense / 16 HP
- Hypnosis - One poke down...
- Belly Drum - ... and five to go
- Waterfall - A.K.A. if you don't resist this, die
- Return - A.K.A. coverage
Obviously, with Drizzle support. This thing is SCARY. Come in, abuse your Swift Swim, and use Hypnosis. That's a 60% chance of auto-win, because almost nothing can stop you from drumming next turn.
Stats (after Drum, in Drizzle, with item):
138 HP (after Drum, 275 before)
664 Attack (after Drum, and effectively 996 on Waterfall)
339 Defense
122 Sp. Attack (bah)
204 Sp. Defense
612 Speed
Checks:
Nattorei... unless running EQ...
...
...
Scarfed Tar can check if it comes in on Return... Scarfed Altaria with a lot of bulk might be able to check vs Waterfall... Scarfed Kingdra can switch in on Waterfall and KO with Outrage or Meteor... Unaware Bibarel and Quagsire are also solid checks.
EDIT: Shedinja's a solid check. Thanks to Random Rider for pointing it out.
EDIT3: Water Absorb Burungeru's also a solid check. Thanks goes to Arc Tech.
Some current OU/Uber Water or Dragon types can usually switch in during the Drum to kill or revenge kill. Altaria, Ninetales, and Groudon can do so as well.
EDIT2: Another few switch-during-Drum/revenge checks:
Anything with Sash/Sturdy
LO +spd Lumineon w/ HP Grass/Electric
CB Floatzel. An iffy check though
Luvdisc + Sash and Psych Up. What's scarier than having a +6 Luvdisc's Waterfall hit you?
Mischievous Heart + status move
Sturdy's the biggest issue, but all Probopass can do to you is Toxic or Explode (so you're getting your guaranteed kill anyway), and all Skarm does is Whirlwind (he doesn't even have Sturdy if SR's in play). Mischievous Heart Erufuun can Stun Spore you but will die in the process 62.5% of the time. Everything else is NU gimmick.
And notice, I ran NO attack EVs. Other than the 40% chance hypnosis misses, you're pretty screwed to lose at least one pokemon if you don't have a check to switch into Drum, because Whirl resists Bullet Punch (CB Techni Adamant Scizor's does 21-24%) and Aqua Jet (CB Adamant Azumarill's does 23-27% with drizzle's boost) and without SR, won't even die from CB Techniloom's Mach Punch (41-49%), Specs Lucario's Vacuum Wave (42-49%), or Dragonite's... nvm, RAYQUAZA'S CB ExtremeSpeed (41-48%). Note: with Rocks damage, Whirl can still die a lot from the LO versions of each attack, so keep a spinner. The only priority attack that exists to beat this thing without SR's help is Arceus' CB ExtremeSpeed (52-61%), and if you're lucky Arceus' Life Orbed ExtremeSpeed one in three tries. WOW, this pokemon got an insane upgrade from Gen IV.
MIND GAME #1: The Merits of Wish
You may think this falls under #2, but Wish is in a class of it's own when it comes to keeping Poliwhirl able to sweep at a moment's notice or a single misprediction by the opponent. Put Poliwrath on a team with a good wish passer, maybe even two.
If Hyponsis misses and Whirl takes a hard hit, a lot of people would think Poliwhirl's done, it's already down to less than 50% health, it's attack stat is normally crap. This is where your mind game happens. Simply having a WishPasser means Whirl can come back to full HP with ease, it only has 275 HP total. If an opponent doesn't realize it, they'll get owned badly. If they do, they'll risk overpredicting Wishes and open up opportunities.
Yeah, just by being alive, Poliwhirl can force errors. Your opponent is the one with the hard decisions on the defensive, you can be playing a stall strategy and he'll have to account for Poliwhirl coming and attempting a sweep as soon as he makes the wrong move (which it viably could).
This also means Whirl can switch out against a check, even a doubtful one, and save itself trouble. As Schwartzenegger would say, "I'll be back", and Miracle of Evolution makes this pokemon almost guaranteed to survive a lot of switchins, even at <50% HP. Nattorei or Burungeru check Poliwhirl's sweep? Trap them, kill them, lure them, weaken them, and then bring Whirl back when your opponent cannot possibly defend anymore.
MIND GAME #2: The Merits of Support
Screens are about the best thing you can give a Poliwhirl, because no Brick Break user will survive two turns against Whirl and Whirl could survive almost any move any check but Nattorei, Ninetales, or Groudon would possess.
A Spinner is a good Xmas present as well, letting Whirl survive every priority attack except LO/CB Arceus'. SR support is nice too, to make killing things like a Burungeru who misses W-o-W easier.
Aromatherapy and Heal Bell are much appreciated. Burungeru can give poor Whirl a burn, Erufuun can play mind games by threatening to give him priority paralysis, crippling Whirl's lightning speed. This will not be allowed. If there's a status healer on your team, you should have no fear EQing Burungeru or Returning Erufuun.
Trap support is big. You want to lure and kill Nattorei ASAP. Poliwhirl cannot usually sweep safely while Nattorei exists, and does NOT want to take STABed Power Whip; the faster Nattorei dies, the faster Poliwhirl goes back to sweeping. An Earthquake-bearing Poliwhirl with Reflect support, however, fears no Nattorei, or most other things. Burungeru's still an issue but you'll 2hko if burn misses.
Trapping Burungeru is also important. Water Absorb Burungeru is absolutely immune to any non-EQ Poliwhirl and can wall EQ Whirl by burning and recovering. Killing Burungeru puts a lot more pressure on the opponent.
MIND GAME #3: The Merits of Saving Hypnosis
You can try to get Drum in without using Hypnosis so that you can save it to incapacitate a check like Natt or Burungeru. Since Linoone teams are my favourites to begin with, I can confirm that doing this is difficult but possible using Screens/Yawn/Rest switchins, and having the new Wish formula at it's disposal means Poliwhirl can try multiple times, or just default to using Hypnosis to clear Drum.
MIND GAME #4: The Merits of Variety
The worst thing for a pokemon's attacking set to be is 'predictable'. If a pokemon has multiple options, the number of set counters starts decreasing quickly, as does your opponent's confidence in his 'some-set' counters until your set's completely revealed. A deadly mystery introduces risks. Risks introduce stress and mistakes. Mistakes, when your opponents make them, are a tailwind on the path to victory.
1. Poliwhirl has the excellent distinction of being one of the few NFE non-grounds to learn Earthquake. If Whirl runs Waterfall/EQ instead of Waterfall/Return, what does it miss? Obviously every non-poison Grass type with bulk like Celebi, which it wont 2hko. There's also Gyarados, which usually won't do much back but it'll damage you, making you more susceptible to KOs, and Burungeru, if it gets in clean, can still burn you and wall you from there.
2. Assuming that 3rd game tutors will give Whirl Ice Punch for the 4th generation in a row, Ice Punch/Earthquake would hit about everything but leave out STAB, so Skarm can ruin the fun. Ice Punch would also be the move that allows a guaranteed KO on any StallTaria or BulkyMence. Earthquake also lets you harm Ninetales switching in expecting a Drum.
3. A no-Hypnosis set (Waterfall/Earthquake/Rest or Return) can hit everything, but sacrifices the easy-as-pie set up and damage immunity granted by Hypnosis for the coverage. It also allows for an extra head game since opponents might expect the Hypnosis on Burungeru, switch in Hydration Vappy, and EQ happens instead. Rest takes into account that you wont be able to withstand priority as well as before, and once back at full HP only really powerful Electric/Grass STAB or a phazer should force you out. Having AT/Heal Bell is appreciated, since sleep counters are eviler than ever this gen.
4. There's the option of no Belly Drum, which plays a different head game by pretending you're a standard Poliwhirl when you're really just there to introduce stress and lure Burungeru into a Toxic. Base 65 Attack is meh, but your defenses are good and 252 Attack + Drizzle will help increase damage.
