Credit to @ebeast and @Agent Dell for their help in making the set and EVs!
Duck and cover!
[Overview]
<p>Golduck is a textbook case of a good Pokemon that is simply outclassed in most ways by other similar Pokemon; in this case, Samurott and several other Water-types. Golduck has all-around usable stats, a relatively wide movepool, and a couple of decent abilities to complement them. Its main claim to fame is its ability to use Calm Mind effectively thanks to its decent Speed and bulk, something rare among Water-types in NU. Cloud Nine is the ability that makes Golduck unique among Water-types, as it makes Golduck both a check to opposing weather sweepers and one of the only offensive Water-types that isn't hindered if used on a sun team. All this being said, it is difficult to ignore the fact that Golduck's power and Speed are only average when compared to many other Water-types in the Neverused tier.</p>
[SET]
name: Substitute + Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Surf
move 4: Signal Beam / Ice Beam
item: Leftovers
ability: Cloud Nine
nature: Calm
evs: 196 HP / 176 SDef / 136 Spd
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set takes advantage of Golduck's usable bulk and Speed to give it a niche among the bounty of Water-types in the tier. Calm Mind is the main move of this set, as it not only improves Golduck's mediocre Special Attack but also provides the special bulk needed to withstand even some super effective moves long enough to retaliate. Substitute is also an important move to give Golduck a defense against the status conditions that cripple it, as well as creating a buffer against attacks. It is notable that this combination also allows Golduck to use Calm Mind multiple times against common defensive opponents that cannot break its Substitute with a single attack, such as Alomomola and Metang. Surf is the most reliable STAB move Golduck has in terms of power, accuracy, and PP. Signal Beam is the preferred coverage move, as it hits Ludicolo and Jynx the hardest out of all of Golduck's moves and also is able to damage other Water-types. Ice Beam is also viable, as it hits most Grass-types much harder and still does a decent amount of damage to Ludicolo and Mantine, but it forces Golduck to become reliant on boosted Surfs to hurt most other Water-types.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The Speed EVs allow Golduck to outspeed everything up to neutral base 70 Pokemon such as Ludicolo and Samurott and set up Calm Mind before they can attack. The remaining EVs are tailored to defeat Modest Ludicolo if it tries to switch in on Golduck as it uses Calm Mind, as they allow Golduck to then outspeed, set up another Calm Mind, take only 42.28% maximum damage from Giga Drain, and at worst 2HKO with Signal Beam before Ludicolo can do the same. A more offensive EV spread with max Special Attack and Speed is viable, but you lose out on the ability to take super effective moves from Samurott and Regice. Leftovers is the only choice in item because it continually provides Golduck with HP in order to continue making Substitutes, which is more important than an item that enhances Golduck's offensive power. Cloud Nine is the preferred ability for this set because it disables every form of weather and allows Golduck to function normally against sun teams; in comparison, Swift Swim is only useful against opposing rain teams and does not remove the boosts the rain provides to the opposing team. Encore is a decent option to use instead of Substitute, but having a defense against status is generally more useful than locking your opponent into a move. Scald is also a possible option to use instead of Surf, as the difference in power is less notable with the more boosts Golduck receives and the burn chance is greatly appreciated against opponents that Golduck cannot safely set up Calm Minds against. Still, Golduck prefers its opponents to be Toxic poisoned, and the burn chance clashes with this.</p>
<p>Toxic Spikes support from Pokemon such as Scolipede and Roselia is very useful in order to allow Golduck to wear down many of its checks and counters, including Regice, fast physically offensive Grass-types such as Leafeon, Electric-types such as Electabuzz, and Grumpig. Most of the setters can also remove opposing Toxic Spikes from your field, which greatly hinders Golduck's sweeping capabilities otherwise. Scolipede also provides an offensive check to most Grass- and Psychic-types, while Roselia and other Grass-types can handle the Water-types that resist Golduck's Water STAB. Fire-types, such as Charizard and Flareon, are good teammates as they can threaten Grass-types that Golduck has trouble against and appreciates its ability to set up on many Water- and Rock-types. Flareon also provides Wish support, as does Audino, which partially makes up for Golduck's lack of recovery outside of Leftovers. A reliable switch-in to Electric-type attacks is also invaluable to Golduck, making Ground-types such as Seismitoad, Golem, and Piloswine great options for teammates. Other possible teammates include Normal- and Flying-types like Swellow and Kangaskhan, which are useful to lure out physically defensive Pokemon such as Alomomola and Metang for Golduck to set up on.</p>
[OTHER OPTIONS]
<p>Psyshock is a good option as it allows Golduck to hit Mantine, Roselia, and other specially bulky Pokemon hard, but the difference in power is rarely relevant if it isn't hitting the opponent super effectively. Golduck can use both Choice Specs and Choice Scarf sets decently well with its wide range of offensive options and decent power and Speed, but Simipour is a stronger and faster option for the most part unless you are facing a weather team. Focus Blast and Hidden Power Grass are moves to supplement the coverage of Choice item sets alongside Hydro Pump and Ice Beam, but aren't that useful on its other sets. An all-out attacking Life Orb set is perfectly viable, but it lacks power in comparison to other similar Pokemon such as Samurott and Simipour. A Life Orb 3 attacks set with either Calm Mind or Encore is also viable, but Simipour and Gorebyss can boost their Special Attack faster in the former's case, and Golduck doesn't have quite enough Speed to use the latter as effectively as it would need to. Hone Claws and physical attacks from Golduck's decent physical movepool are a possibility, but there are far better physical Water-types such as Samurott, Floatzel, and Carracosta. Golduck can easily make use of its Swift Swim ability, but its power and coverage are average in comparison with other Swift Swim sweepers such as Ludicolo, Gorebyss, Seismitoad, and even Mantine. Golduck can make use of a Substitute and Disable set, but Golduck simply lacks the resistances and immunities needed to really get the most out of it.</p>
[Check and Counters]
<p>Toxic Spikes cripples Golduck and prevents it from boosting many times, and Golduck can't avoid them by setting up a Substitute. Status in general cripples Golduck immensely, but it needs to hit Golduck before it can set up a Substitute. Regice can wall Golduck unless it boosts up to +6 and can threaten Golduck with Thunderbolt. Defensive Mantine can wall Golduck unless it runs Ice Beam, but Mantine can't do much back and is easily set up on. While very few other Pokemon can safely counter Golduck, many Pokemon can check it easily as long as Golduck hasn't received too many boosts and isn't behind a Substitute. If Golduck is not behind a Substitute, offensive Grass- and Electric-types can threaten Golduck, especially on the physical side. Just about all neutral physical attacks can break Golduck's Substitute, which can help prevent it from setting up too many Calm Minds. Finally, Shedinja walls Golduck to no end.</p>
Duck and cover!
[Overview]
name: Substitute + Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Surf
move 4: Signal Beam / Ice Beam
item: Leftovers
ability: Cloud Nine
nature: Calm
evs: 196 HP / 176 SDef / 136 Spd
[SET COMMENTS]
- Has decent power, speed, and abilities
- Outclassed in most roles by other Water-types
- One of the few NU Water-types that has Calm Mind with usable bulk
- Has great coverage
- Can function against weather teams with Cloud Nine, making it one of the few Water-types that doesn't care about Sun.
name: Substitute + Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Surf
move 4: Signal Beam / Ice Beam
item: Leftovers
ability: Cloud Nine
nature: Calm
evs: 196 HP / 176 SDef / 136 Spd
[SET COMMENTS]
- Only set that isn't outclassed because it can set up easily against several defensive Pokemon and even some slower Special attackers.
- Can keep a Substitute up against common defensive Pokemon like Alomomola, Torkoal, and Metang, allowing it to use Calm Mind safely
- Surf and Ice Beam/Signal Beam hits a majority of the tier for neutral damage.
- The EVs allow Golduck to outspeed neutral natured base 70 Pokemon (notable Ludicolo and Samurott) and the bulk investment allows Golduck to set up on them while taking Giga Drain and HP Grass relatively well after a couple of boosts.
- Leftovers is Golduck's only method of regaining HP, and allows it to make use of the Special Defense boosts.
- Cloud Nine allows Golduck to negate the abilities of weather sweepers, and Golduck has a decent match-up against several such sweepers (Mantine, Victreebel, Fire-types mostly).
- Encore can be used over Substitute, but it doesn't provide as many safe set up opportunities as Substitute.
- Scald can be used instead of Surf for the burn chance against walls that can prevent you from setting up immediately.
- A more offensive EV spread with max SpA and max Spe can be used
- Toxic Spikes are very helpful to allow Golduck to stall out many of the Pokemon that can wall it, Scolipede and Roselia being very useful in particular since they also absorb opposing Toxic Spikes (Pede for scaring Psychic-types that can set up alongside Golduck, Rose for good defensive synergy and handling opposing Grass and Electric-types well).
- Swellow and other Normal and Flying-types can lure in the physically defensive Pokemon that Golduck loves setting up on, especially Metang and Alomomola.
- Audino and Flareon are useful teammates since they can pass Wishes to Golduck and Heal Bell away any status that catch Golduck before it can Sub.
- Something to take on Electric-types reliably is helpful, such as Golem, Golurk, or Piloswine.
- Fire-types such as Charizard and Magmar are good teammates to take on Grass types and help create a FWG core
- It can use Choice Specs and Scarf well, but Simipour is faster and stronger for the most part (Cloud Nine and Choice Scarf can let Golduck outspeed many Swift Swim and Chlorophyll mons though).
- Psyshock lets Golduck hit Roselia and Mantine harder.
- Focus Blast and Hidden Power Grass can be used to hit special walls and Seismitoad respectively.
- All-out-attacker with Life Orb, but there are stronger and faster Waters.
- A more offensive set with Calm Mind, Hydro Pump, Ice Beam, and HP Grass/Signal Beam is viable but other Water-types like Simipour and Gorebyss can use +2 boosts.
- Hone Claws and physical attacks are viable, but they are generally inferior to special sets since there are far stronger physical waters in Floatzel (who can also boost) and Basculin.
- Rain Sweeper with Swift Swim, but there are many stronger Rain sweepers.
- SubDisable can work, but lacks the bulk and immunities to use it
- Regice can wall Golduck unless it has 4+ Calm Mind boosts.
- A fast offensive Pokemon can inflict significant damage to Golduck if it doesn't have a Substitute up since it isn't that bulky.
- Leafeon and Sawsbuck can outspeed and scare Golduck out with their physical STAB Grass moves, but they cannot safely switch into boosted attacks.
- Electric-types can threaten Golduck even when boosted, but they must be wary of switching into boosted Surfs.
[Overview]
<p>Golduck is a textbook case of a good Pokemon that is simply outclassed in most ways by other similar Pokemon; in this case, Samurott and several other Water-types. Golduck has all-around usable stats, a relatively wide movepool, and a couple of decent abilities to complement them. Its main claim to fame is its ability to use Calm Mind effectively thanks to its decent Speed and bulk, something rare among Water-types in NU. Cloud Nine is the ability that makes Golduck unique among Water-types, as it makes Golduck both a check to opposing weather sweepers and one of the only offensive Water-types that isn't hindered if used on a sun team. All this being said, it is difficult to ignore the fact that Golduck's power and Speed are only average when compared to many other Water-types in the Neverused tier.</p>
[SET]
name: Substitute + Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Surf
move 4: Signal Beam / Ice Beam
item: Leftovers
ability: Cloud Nine
nature: Calm
evs: 196 HP / 176 SDef / 136 Spd
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set takes advantage of Golduck's usable bulk and Speed to give it a niche among the bounty of Water-types in the tier. Calm Mind is the main move of this set, as it not only improves Golduck's mediocre Special Attack but also provides the special bulk needed to withstand even some super effective moves long enough to retaliate. Substitute is also an important move to give Golduck a defense against the status conditions that cripple it, as well as creating a buffer against attacks. It is notable that this combination also allows Golduck to use Calm Mind multiple times against common defensive opponents that cannot break its Substitute with a single attack, such as Alomomola and Metang. Surf is the most reliable STAB move Golduck has in terms of power, accuracy, and PP. Signal Beam is the preferred coverage move, as it hits Ludicolo and Jynx the hardest out of all of Golduck's moves and also is able to damage other Water-types. Ice Beam is also viable, as it hits most Grass-types much harder and still does a decent amount of damage to Ludicolo and Mantine, but it forces Golduck to become reliant on boosted Surfs to hurt most other Water-types.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The Speed EVs allow Golduck to outspeed everything up to neutral base 70 Pokemon such as Ludicolo and Samurott and set up Calm Mind before they can attack. The remaining EVs are tailored to defeat Modest Ludicolo if it tries to switch in on Golduck as it uses Calm Mind, as they allow Golduck to then outspeed, set up another Calm Mind, take only 42.28% maximum damage from Giga Drain, and at worst 2HKO with Signal Beam before Ludicolo can do the same. A more offensive EV spread with max Special Attack and Speed is viable, but you lose out on the ability to take super effective moves from Samurott and Regice. Leftovers is the only choice in item because it continually provides Golduck with HP in order to continue making Substitutes, which is more important than an item that enhances Golduck's offensive power. Cloud Nine is the preferred ability for this set because it disables every form of weather and allows Golduck to function normally against sun teams; in comparison, Swift Swim is only useful against opposing rain teams and does not remove the boosts the rain provides to the opposing team. Encore is a decent option to use instead of Substitute, but having a defense against status is generally more useful than locking your opponent into a move. Scald is also a possible option to use instead of Surf, as the difference in power is less notable with the more boosts Golduck receives and the burn chance is greatly appreciated against opponents that Golduck cannot safely set up Calm Minds against. Still, Golduck prefers its opponents to be Toxic poisoned, and the burn chance clashes with this.</p>
<p>Toxic Spikes support from Pokemon such as Scolipede and Roselia is very useful in order to allow Golduck to wear down many of its checks and counters, including Regice, fast physically offensive Grass-types such as Leafeon, Electric-types such as Electabuzz, and Grumpig. Most of the setters can also remove opposing Toxic Spikes from your field, which greatly hinders Golduck's sweeping capabilities otherwise. Scolipede also provides an offensive check to most Grass- and Psychic-types, while Roselia and other Grass-types can handle the Water-types that resist Golduck's Water STAB. Fire-types, such as Charizard and Flareon, are good teammates as they can threaten Grass-types that Golduck has trouble against and appreciates its ability to set up on many Water- and Rock-types. Flareon also provides Wish support, as does Audino, which partially makes up for Golduck's lack of recovery outside of Leftovers. A reliable switch-in to Electric-type attacks is also invaluable to Golduck, making Ground-types such as Seismitoad, Golem, and Piloswine great options for teammates. Other possible teammates include Normal- and Flying-types like Swellow and Kangaskhan, which are useful to lure out physically defensive Pokemon such as Alomomola and Metang for Golduck to set up on.</p>
[OTHER OPTIONS]
<p>Psyshock is a good option as it allows Golduck to hit Mantine, Roselia, and other specially bulky Pokemon hard, but the difference in power is rarely relevant if it isn't hitting the opponent super effectively. Golduck can use both Choice Specs and Choice Scarf sets decently well with its wide range of offensive options and decent power and Speed, but Simipour is a stronger and faster option for the most part unless you are facing a weather team. Focus Blast and Hidden Power Grass are moves to supplement the coverage of Choice item sets alongside Hydro Pump and Ice Beam, but aren't that useful on its other sets. An all-out attacking Life Orb set is perfectly viable, but it lacks power in comparison to other similar Pokemon such as Samurott and Simipour. A Life Orb 3 attacks set with either Calm Mind or Encore is also viable, but Simipour and Gorebyss can boost their Special Attack faster in the former's case, and Golduck doesn't have quite enough Speed to use the latter as effectively as it would need to. Hone Claws and physical attacks from Golduck's decent physical movepool are a possibility, but there are far better physical Water-types such as Samurott, Floatzel, and Carracosta. Golduck can easily make use of its Swift Swim ability, but its power and coverage are average in comparison with other Swift Swim sweepers such as Ludicolo, Gorebyss, Seismitoad, and even Mantine. Golduck can make use of a Substitute and Disable set, but Golduck simply lacks the resistances and immunities needed to really get the most out of it.</p>
[Check and Counters]
<p>Toxic Spikes cripples Golduck and prevents it from boosting many times, and Golduck can't avoid them by setting up a Substitute. Status in general cripples Golduck immensely, but it needs to hit Golduck before it can set up a Substitute. Regice can wall Golduck unless it boosts up to +6 and can threaten Golduck with Thunderbolt. Defensive Mantine can wall Golduck unless it runs Ice Beam, but Mantine can't do much back and is easily set up on. While very few other Pokemon can safely counter Golduck, many Pokemon can check it easily as long as Golduck hasn't received too many boosts and isn't behind a Substitute. If Golduck is not behind a Substitute, offensive Grass- and Electric-types can threaten Golduck, especially on the physical side. Just about all neutral physical attacks can break Golduck's Substitute, which can help prevent it from setting up too many Calm Minds. Finally, Shedinja walls Golduck to no end.</p>
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