ZU Golduck [Done]

Sputnik

Bono My Tires are Deceased
is a Contributor Alumnus


[OVERVIEW]
Golduck is a premier rain sweeper in ZU, using its good power and speed in conjunction with its excellent coverage to blow away offensive and defensive teams alike. Its Speed is bolstered to incredible levels when rain is up, letting it outspeed every common Choice Scarf user in the tier. Because of this, it can even afford to run a Modest nature, which bolsters its already good Special Attack even further. Golduck also sports a very good movepool that allows it to break through several typical checks to Water-types, such as Mareanie, with little issue by running coverage moves such as Synchronoise. Unfortunately, Golduck is heavily reliant on rain to do its job, as it is much less powerful when it is not raining and is easily revenge killed. It faces pretty stiff competition from other, less restrictive Water-types such as Simipour and Swanna when used outside of full rain teams. It is also annoyed by dedicated special walls such as Lickilicky, which can stand up to it despite its power. Golduck is also very vulnerable to residual damage, as Life Orb recoil in addition to taking damage from all entry hazards often leaves it being chipped down into the damage range of priority moves.

[SET]
name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Rain Dance
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Synchronoise
item: Life Orb / Waterium Z
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

Rain Dance allows Golduck to set up rain for itself and act as emergency rain support for its teammates on dedicated rain teams. Ice Beam provides valuable coverage against Grass-types that resist Hydro Pump, OHKOing Leafeon and having upwards of an 85% chance to OHKO Exeggutor if Stealth Rock is up. Synchronoise allows Golduck to muscle through Poliwrath and Mareanie, which would be good checks otherwise. It also provides decent chip damage against Silvally-Water. Focus Blast is an alternative option that hits targets such as Cradily and Lapras hard, but its targets are generally much less common in the metagame, and a rain-boosted Hydro Pump hits almost everything else harder.

Set Details
========

Life Orb is the preferred item, as it cranks Golduck's power up and allows it to achieve greater damage with its coverage moves. For example, Life Orb-boosted Ice Beam will always KO Leafeon, while unboosted Ice Beam has a much lower chance of doing so. Exeggutor will also always survive an Ice Beam if it is not powered up by Life Orb. Waterium Z is an alternative option that gives Golduck a ludicrously powerful one-time nuke that improves its matchup against bulkier foes such as Dusclops and Assault Vest Kecleon while seriously denting most Pokemon and circumventing Hydro Pump's meager accuracy.

Usage Tips
========

Golduck can be used as both a wallbreaker and a sweeper. Sets utilizing Waterium Z are adept at wallbreaking, while Life Orb sets are better suited for sweeping, but both sets are capable of doing either should the situation arise. Rain Dance should be used on Pokemon that Golduck forces out, such as Camerupt and Altaria, in order to avoid unnecessary chip damage onto Golduck. Golduck's checks need to be weakened before a sweep is attempted, as most of ZU's special walls can stall Golduck out while forcing it to take chip damage from Life Orb recoil. Golduck has a tendency to fall into the damage range of priority moves coming from users such as Kecleon and Purugly if it has taken too much prior chip damage. It is also frail and should not be switched into any attacks if at all possible. Bringing it in via a slow U-turn or Volt Switch avoids such a scenario. Golduck also despises status, as it is crippled by both paralysis and Toxic, so play carefully when Pokemon that can inflict these, such as Lickilicky, Bronzor, and Dusclops, are on the field.

Team Options
========

Golduck is a natural fit on full rain teams thanks to the sweeping and breaking power it provides them. Thus, rain setters are mandatory teammates on such a team. Volbeat works incredibly well on rain teams, as it can set up rain while also giving Golduck easy points of entry thanks to its slow U-turn and its ability to lock foes into unfavorable moves with Encore. Electrode is an alternate option that can bring Golduck and its teammates in using Volt Switch while also annoying opposing walls with Taunt. Entry hazard support is highly recommended when using Golduck, as it really appreciates the extra chip damage when attempting to sweep through teams. Relicanth is a great choice for rain teams looking to set up Stealth Rock, as it has access to both Rain Dance and Stealth Rock while also being able to do some serious damage with Head Smash, as well as potentially allowing Golduck to switch in for free by KOing itself with recoil damage. Golduck appreciates teammates with some physical wallbreaking power to take down checks such as Lickilicky and Servine. Poliwrath and Beartic are both rain sweepers that can smash through Lickilicky with little issue while also threatening Grass-types thanks to their Ice-type coverage. Swanna is another option that can effectively cleave through Grass-types while also using Roost to keep itself healthy throughout the match. While Golduck is usually found on full rain teams, it can also function as a cleaner on standard offensive teams. Teams that utilize Golduck in this fashion need to have ways to chip down Golduck's checks and prepare the battlefield for it to clean late-game. Knock Off users can be used to annoy bulkier Pokemon such as Lickilicky and Kecleon while also removing Eviolite from threats such as Dusclops. Pivots such as Electivire and Komala can bring Golduck in safely against something that does not immediately threaten it, which is imperative, as Golduck will need to set up rain for itself. Crippling these Pokemon with status from the likes of Bronzor and Altaria is an option as well. Mixed Simisage is an exemplary partner, as it can utilize Knock Off while also threatening several Water-types that Golduck struggles with, such as Silvally-Water and Pyukumuku. Hazard removal is highly recommended, as Golduck wants to be as healthy as possible before it attempts a sweep. As such, Rapid Spin or Defog support from a teammate such as Komala or Silvally-Dragon is very nice.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

Choice Specs can be used to give Golduck some serious power behind Hydro Pump and allows it to pick up some OHKOs with Ice Beam that it would not normally be able to achieve. However, this is not generally recommended; Choice Specs Golduck can be easily played around by teams with a dedicated special wall. It also requires immaculate prediction to work around Pokemon that resist Water-type moves. In addition, it is largely outclassed by Floatzel, which can utilize Switcheroo to cripple common switch-ins while also being faster. Calm Mind can be used to improve Golduck's matchup against bulkier teams while allowing it to break through some of its common defensive checks. Golduck has issues finding a time to set up, however, and it can't afford to drop any of its usual moves.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: Many of the tier's specially bulky Pokemon can handle Golduck. Lickilicky is a hugely irritating Pokemon for Golduck to deal with. While it fails to safely switch in, once it is in, it is one of Golduck's best checks, being able to stall out rain turns using Protect and Wish while threatening to badly poison Golduck with Toxic. Assault Vest Kecleon and Cradily do well against the standard Life Orb set, although Kecleon is heavily damaged by Hydro Vortex, and Cradily must watch out for the rare Focus Blast.

**Grass-types**: Many of the tier's Grass-types can tank one Ice Beam and OHKO Golduck in return with their STAB moves. Servine, Bellossom, and Shiinotic can all take an Ice Beam and either cripple or take out Golduck.

**Water-types**: Silvally-Water is never 2HKOed by Hydro Pump without Stealth Rock damage, and variants with Thunderbolt threaten to 2HKO in return. Pyukumuku can also stall out rain turns with Recover before threatening to poison or trap Golduck, depending on the variant. Floatzel can't confidently switch in, but Swift Swim variants outrun Golduck and can revenge kill it after some chip damage.

**Residual Damage**: Life Orb recoil and a vulnerability to entry hazards mean that Golduck gets chipped down pretty easily. This can put it in range of priority moves users such as Pawniard, Kecleon, and Purugly, although they need significant chip beforehand to take it out entirely.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[SputnikGT, 475916]]
- Quality checked by: [[5gen, 296755], [Ho3nConfirm3d, 231074], [uhuhuhu7, 407249]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Estronic, 240732]]
 
Last edited:

5gen

jumper
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Staff Alumnus
comments in bold


[OVERVIEW]
  • Golduck is a premier rain sweeper in ZU, using its good power and speed in conjunction with its excellent coverage to blow away offensive and defensive teams alike.
  • Golduck's already decent speed is bolstered to incredible levels when rain is up, as it can outspeed every common scarfer in the tier. It can even afford to run a Modest Nature, which bolsters its already good special attack even further.
  • Golduck also sports a very good movepool that allows it break through several normal rain team checks, such as Mareanie, with little issue if it is running the right coverage move. Specify the coverage here
  • Golduck has some issues breaking past certain special walls, such as Lickilicky, even with it's insane power. Swap this point with the one under it; Golduck's main drawback is needing rain to be effective.
  • It is also heavily reliant on rain to effectively do its job, as it loses out on a lot of power and is easily revenge killed when it isn't raining.
  • Golduck is somewhat vulnerable to priority even when rain is up, but it usually needs prior chip in order to get OHKOed by most of the tier's priority users. Specify the priority users that threaten Golduck and how LO recoil easily weakens Golduck.
  • These downsides do little to unseat Golduck's solid place on many rain teams. Fluff
[SET]
name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Psychic/Synchronoise
move 4: Focus Blast/Surf/Rain Dance
item: Life Orb/Waterium Z
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Modest
evs: 4 HP/252 Spa/252 Spe


Set should be:

move 1: Rain Dance
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Synchronoise / Focus Blast
item: Life Orb / Waterium Z
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 Spa / 252 Spe

Golduck always needs rain dance even if it's on rain teams because it acts as a standalone sweeper and rain support for rain teams, synchronoise is necessary in this meta with mareanie and poliwrath around (and psychic is p much inferior because it the same targets but is weaker), and then focus blast can be used to nail cradily and lapras


[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========
  • Hydro Pump is Golduck's main STAB move, as it has breathtaking power under the rain and will OHKO most offensive Pokemon that do not resist it. Fluff
  • Ice Beam provides valuable coverage onto Grass types that resist Hydro Pump, OHKOing Leafeon and having upwards of an 85% chance of OHKOing Exeggutor if rocks are up. Most other Grasses are 2HKOed but will take heavy damage. Mention Dragon-types as well here.
  • Psychic allows Golduck to muscle past Mareanie, which would otherwise be a decent check. It also hits Fighting Types such as Machoke and other Poisons such as Muk super effectively. Alternatively, Synchronoise can be used to really hit Mareanie hard while also hitting Silvally-Water decently. Golduck loses the ability to hit the aforementioned Fighting and Poison types, however. Adjust this point to say Synchronoise is the preferred coverage because it allows Golduck to OHKO Mareanie and max HP Poliwrath after slight chip. Against Poison- and Fighting-types having Psychic does not really matter since rain-boosted Hydro Pump does more
  • The last moveslot can go a lot of different ways. Focus Blast hits Lickilicky, but with rain up Hydro Pump actually does more damage. Surf is an option that gives Golduck a more reliable STAB move, but the coverage is obviously redundant and it isn't as powerful. Rain Dance can also be used to allow Golduck to set up its own Rain, which allows it potentially function outside of full rain teams. Calm Mind is another potential option, but Golduck has issues finding places to set up and it usually prefers to just attack from the get go. Should just mention that Focus Blast can be used over Synchronoise to hit Cradily and Lapras; Pokemon who would otherwise give Golduck trouble.
Set Details
========

  • Max Special Attack and Speed allow Golduck to be as fast and hit as hard as possible. A Modest Nature allows Golduck to hit as hard as it can while also still outrunning every notable Choice Scarfer barring Scarf Zebstrika. Fluff and you've mentioned in the overview that +2 Golduck outspeeds all Scarfers
  • Life Orb is the preferred item, as it cranks Golduck's power up and allows it to achieve greater damage with its coverage moves. Mention a relevant calc or two here Waterium Z is an alternative option that gives Golduck a ludicrously powerful one time nuke that can OHKO non-Eviolite Variants of Combusken through Protect and seriously dent most Pokemon. Combusken example is not really that good because Golduck under rain will usually beat that anyway. Can mention other Pokemon that Hydro Vortex helps against such as AV Kecleon and Dusclops. It also helps when Golduck does not want to risk a Hydro Pump miss. This is usually an inferior option, however, as Golduck will have a much harder time dealing with Grass Types if Ice Beam is not powered up with a Life Orb. Can merge this information into the sentence where you state that "LO is the preferred item"
Usage Tips
========

  • Golduck should usually be used as a late game sweeper and ought to be sent out once it's checks have been weakened to the point where Golduck can burst through them. Golduck can also be used throughout to punch holes for its teammates to sweep, so adjust this point.
  • Golduck has a tendency to fall into priority range (most notably of Shiftry's Sucker Punch) if it has taken too much prior chip. Bringing it in on a slow U-Turn or Volt Switch avoids such a scenario. It is also relatively frail, so be wary of bringing it in on strong attacks. Should avoid switching Golduck into any attacks, adjust that sentence. Golduck also despises status, so be wary of switching it into status spreaders. Give examples here.
  • Sets utilizing Waterium Z are perfectly capable of breaking earlier in game thanks to the obscene power of a rain boosted Hydro Vortex. This can clear the way for other rain sweepers later in game if the situation is right. Life Orb sets can sometimes do this as well, but they are generally better saved for mid or late game scenarios.\
Mention that when to use Rain Dance (rather than explain it in moves you can talk about it here), for example against forced switches or Pokemon that Golduck walls. Also, you need to stress that Hydro Pump switch-ins be weakened or knocked out for Golduck to sweep because the opponent may try to switch around to stall out rain turns as well as Life Orb stall Golduck. This also means that Golduck should predict incoming Hydro Pump switch-ins and nail them with the appropriate coverage.

Team Options
========

  • Golduck is a natural fit on full rain teams thanks to the sweeping and breaking power it provides them. As such, rain setters are mandatory teammates. Volbeat works incredibly well with Golduck, as it can set up rain while also giving it easy points of entry thanks to its slow U-Turn and its ability to lock opponents into an unfavorable move with Encore. Can mention Electrode here as well as another rain setter and pivot option.
  • Entry hazard support is highly recommended when using Golduck, as it really appreciates the extra chip damage when attempting to smash through teams. Relicanth is a great choice for rain teams looking to set up Stealth Rock, as it has access to both Rain Dance and Stealth Rock while also being able to do some serious damage thanks to Head Smash (as well as potentially sacking itself off thanks to the recoil damage). Other rockers such as Golem and Crustle are also options. Not really since they can't set rain.
  • Golduck appreciates some physical breaking power that can take down some of its normal checks. Poliwrath and Beartic are both rain sweepers that can smash through Lickilicky with little issue while also threatening Grasses thanks to their Ice type coverage. Swanna is another option that can really cleave through Grass types while also using Rest in conjunction with Hydration to keep itself healthy throughout the match.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

  • Choice Specs can be used to give Golduck some serious oomph behind Hydro Pump and allows it to pick up some OHKOs with Ice Beam that it would not normally be able to achieve. This is generally not recommended, however, as part of what makes Golduck so effective is its ability to switch between its coverage moves. I'm doubtful of this for the reasons you mention why specs is inferior. Hence, specify that specs is only better against teams that lack a dedicated Water-type resist or a special wall such as Lickilicky.
  • Icium Z can conceivably be used to allow Golduck to break through some of its Grass type checks, but the loss in overall power makes this somewhat unfavorable. Not favorable because Beartic on rain would run Icium Z and not having LO boosted or even Hydro Vortex is not ideal.
  • Golduck's wide movepool gives it a couple more interesting options. A set utilizing Substitute, Calm Mind, Hydro Pump and either Ice Beam or Psychic with Waterium Z could seriously threaten to break down an unprepared team, but Golduck has somewhat middling bulk and setting up is difficult. Blizzard allows Golduck to OHKO the Grasses that otherwise barely survive an Ice Beam, but its low accuracy makes it a risky choice at best. Sub CM is not really good enough in this meta as it is walled by a lot and easily revenge killed, and Blizzard is definitely too high risk and low reward to be viable on Golduck.
  • Golduck also has a great physical movepool, with moves such as Liquidation, Ice Punch, and Zen Headbutt all being of use. This combo of moves gives Golduck much better coverage than most physical rain sweepers. However, any attempt at a physical set is largely outclassed by Floatzel, who is faster and has more power, and Poliwrath, who has access to Belly Drum and a secondary STAB in Fighting. Same issues as Sub CM except it's much weaker and easier to wall.
Checks and Counters
===================

**Lickilicky** Lickilicky is a hugely irritating Pokemon for Golduck to deal with. It fails to safely switch in, but once it is in it is one of Golduck's best checks, being able to stall out Rain turns using Protect and Wish while also potentially badly poisoning Golduck with Toxic. Change this to **Specially Bulky Pokemon** and add in others such as Pyukumuku, AV Kecleon, and Cradily since they can stall Golduck out 1v1 or beat it 1v1

**Grass Types** Many of the tiers' Grass Types can tank one Ice Beam and OHKO Golduck in return with their STAB Moves. Servine barely lives Ice Beam even after Stealth Rock and proceeds to OHKO Golduck with Leaf Storm, boosting itself in the process. Bellossom can take Golduck out with Giga Drain after some chip, while Shiftry can take Golduck out with Sucker Punch after some prior damage as well. Shiinotic also takes one Ice Beam and can then proceed to put Golduck to sleep with Spore, neutralizing the threat.

**Bulky Water Types** Silvally-Water is never 2HKOd with Hydro Pump if Stealth Rock is not up, and variants with Thunderbolt 2HKO in return. Variants lacking Thunderbolt, however, cannot stand up to Golduck. Pyukumuku can also proceed to stall out Rain turns with Recover before poisoning or trapping Golduck depending on the variant. Mention Mareanie and Poliwrath being able to pivot into Golduck and forcing it to use Synchronoise.

**Opposing Weather Setters** While not direct checks, Volbeat carrying Sunny Day and Hippopotas can make life annoying for Golduck by changing the weather and limiting its effectiveness. Sunny Day teams are especially worrying, as basically every one of the tiers sun sweepers outruns and OHKOs Golduck if the sun is shining. This is not common enough to be considered good counterplay. Instead, mention **Priority Users** because they really threaten Golduck and can force it out, and you also reference them in this analysis.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[SputnikGT, 475916]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]

qc 1/3
 
Last edited:

S1nn0hC0nfirm3d

aka Ho3nConfirm3d
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a defending SCL Champion
Edits in bold and strikethrough:
--------------------------------------------------


[OVERVIEW]
  • Golduck is a premier rain sweeper in ZU, using its good power and speed in conjunction with its excellent coverage to blow away offensive and defensive teams alike.
  • Golduck's already decent speed is bolstered to incredible levels when rain is up, as it can outspeed every common scarfer in the tier. It can even afford to run a Modest Nature, which bolsters its already good special attack even further.
  • Golduck also sports a very good movepool that allows it break through several normal rain team checks, such as Mareanie, with little issue if it is running coverage such as Synchronoise
  • Golduck is heavily reliant on rain to do its job, as it is much less powerful when it is not raining and is easily revenge killed. (Mention here how this gives it competition from more accessible and less limiting offensive water types like Swanna and Simipour)
  • It is also annoyed by dedicated special walls such as Lickilicky, who can stand up to it despite its insane power
  • Golduck is somewhat vulnerable to priority even when rain is up, but it usually needs prior chip in order to get OHKOed by most of the tier's priority users. Golduck has a tendency to get chipped into priority range, however, as LO recoil and a vulnerability to all entry hazards cut into its longevity. (Rewrite this point to put the emphasis on residual damage, and keep the priority range emphasis and hazard / LO longevity problems)
[SET]
name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Rain Dance
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Synchronoise/Focus Blast
item: Life Orb/Waterium Z
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def/252 Spa/252 Spe

(Focus Blast isn't relevant enough for a slash, put on bottom of moves. It only hits Cradiliy for worthwhile damage, and otherwise outside of rain is usually only good for some normals, as inside rain Hydro Pump is always stronger and more accurate. Move to bottom of moves)

[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

  • Rain Dance allows Golduck to set up Rain for itself and act as emergency rain support for its teammates on Rain teams. (Specify here that the support is for rain teams as when golduck is a standalone rain sweeper the rest of the team usually isnt benefiting enough to be worth mentioning)
  • Ice Beam provides valuable coverage onto Grass types that resist Hydro Pump, OHKOing Leafeon and having upwards of an 85% chance of OHKOing Exeggutor if rocks are up. Most other Grasses are 2HKOed but will take heavy damage.
  • Synchronoise allows Golduck to muscle through Poliwrath and Mareanie, who would be good checks otherwise. It also provides decent chip damage onto Silvally-Water.
  • (Move here for bottom of moves) Focus Blast is an alternative option that hits targets such as Cradily and Lapras Normal walls like Licklicky hard, but its targets are generally much less common in the metagame and competes with a Rain boosted Hydro Pump.
Set Details
========


  • Life Orb is the preferred item, as it cranks Golduck's power up and allows it to achieve greater damage with its coverage moves. For example, LO Ice Beam will always KO Leafeon, but without it has a much lower chance of doing so. Exeggutor will also always live an Ice Beam if it is not powered up by Life Orb.
  • Waterium Z is an alternative option that gives Golduck a ludicrously powerful one time nuke that improves Golduck's matchup against bulkier foes such as Dusclops and AV Kecleon while seriously denting most Pokemon and circumventing Hydro Pump's meager accuracy. This is usually an inferior option, however, as Golduck will have a much harder time dealing with Grass Types if Ice Beam is not powered up with a Life Orb.
Usage Tips
========

  • Golduck can be used as both a wallbreaker and a sweeper. Sets utilizing Waterium Z are adept at breaking, while LO sets are better suited for sweeping, but both sets are capable of doing both should the situation arise
  • Rain Dance should be used on Pokemon that Golduck forces out, such as Camerupt and Altaria, in order to avoid unnecessary chip damage.
  • Golduck's checks need to be weakened before a sweep is attempted, as most of the tiers special walls can stall Golduck out while forcing it to take chip damage thanks to LO recoil.
  • Golduck has a tendency to fall into priority range of users like Kecleon and Purugly if it has taken too much prior chip. Bringing it in on a slow U-Turn or Volt Switch avoids such a scenario. It is also frail and should not be switched into any attacks if at all possible. Golduck also despises status, as it is crippled by paralysis and Toxic, so play carefully when Pokemon that can spread these are on the field. (Just added examples)
Team Options
========

  • Golduck is a natural fit on full rain teams thanks to the sweeping and breaking power it provides them. As such, rain setters are mandatory teammates. Volbeat works incredibly well with Golduck, as it can set up rain while also giving it easy points of entry thanks to its slow U-Turn and its ability to lock opponents into an unfavorable move with Encore. Electrode is an alternate option that can bring Golduck in using Volt Switch while also annoying opposing walls with Taunt.
  • Entry hazard support is highly recommended when using Golduck, as it really appreciates the extra chip damage when attempting to smash through teams. Relicanth is a great choice for rain teams looking to set up Stealth Rock, as it has access to both Rain Dance and Stealth Rock while also being able to do some serious damage thanks to Head Smash (as well as potentially sacking itself off thanks to the recoil damage).
  • Golduck appreciates some physical breaking power that can take down some of its normal checks. Poliwrath and Beartic are both rain sweepers that can smash through Lickilicky with little issue while also threatening Grasses thanks to their Ice type coverage. Swanna is another option that can really cleave through Grass types while also using Rest Roost in conjunction with Hydration to keep itself healthy throughout the match. (Rest Swanna even on rain is unviable when Roost is recovers nearly the same in most situations with no stipulations of when it can be used)
  • (Mention here that even outside of rain teams that Golduck can work as a standalone cleaner on teams that have early wallbreaking support from Swords Dance Silvally-Fighting or Expert Belt Electivire. These two can break the special walls that stop Golduck from cleaning)
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

  • Choice Specs can be used to give Golduck some serious oomph behind Hydro Pump and allows it to pick up some OHKOs with Ice Beam that it would not normally be able to achieve. This is generally not recommended, however, as it can be easily played around by teams with a Water resist or a dedicated Special Wall.
  • Calm Mind can be used to improve Golduck's matchup against bulkier teams while allowing it to break through some of its normal defensive checks. Golduck has issues finding a place to set up, however, and it can't really afford to drop any of its normal moves.
===================

**Specially Bulky Pokemon** Many of the tier's Specially Bulky Pokemon can handle Golduck. Lickilicky is a hugely irritating Pokemon for Golduck to deal with. It fails to safely switch in, but once it is in it is one of Golduck's best checks, being able to stall out Rain turns using Protect and Wish while also potentially badly poisoning Golduck with Toxic. AV Kecleon and Cradily do well against the standard LO set, although Kecleon is heavily damaged by Hydro Vortex and Cradily must watch out for the rare Focus Blast.

**Grass Types** Many of the tiers' Grass Types can tank one Ice Beam and OHKO Golduck in return with their STAB Moves. Servine barely lives Ice Beam even after Stealth Rock and proceeds to OHKO Golduck with Leaf Storm, boosting itself in the process. Bellossom can take Golduck out with Giga Drain after some chip, while Shiftry can take Golduck out with Sucker Punch after some prior damage as well. Shiinotic also takes one Ice Beam and can then proceed to put Golduck to sleep with Spore, neutralizing the threat. (Little too in depth with the all the scenarios, replace this section with a single sentence listing these grass types and what they do back in a concise manner)

**Bulky Water Types** Silvally-Water is never 2HKOd with Hydro Pump if Stealth Rock is not up, and variants with Thunderbolt 2HKO in return. Variants lacking Thunderbolt, however, cannot stand up to Golduck. (Implied from before, delete) Pyukumuku can also proceed to stall out Rain turns with Recover before poisoning or trapping Golduck depending on the variant. Mareanie and Poliwrath can also come in on Hydro Pump and force Golduck to use Synchronoise, which can allow one of their teammates to get a free switch.

**Priority Users Residual Damage** Priority users can take advantage of Golduck's poor bulk and stop it in its tracks. Pokemon to watch out for include Kecleon, Bibarel, and Pawniard, as they all usually carry a decently powerful priority move that can potentially take Golduck out. All of them require prior chip damage to finish the job, however. (Again, priority users alone can't deal with Golduck as the ones you mentioned are barely doing over half with max rolls. You mentioned that residual damage from status and hazards combined with LO chip threaten its longevity and sweeping potential, so mention that first. Then, mention how this makes golduck much more vulnerable to the priority users you listed; except Bib, as thats a C+ mon. So in short, rewrite to focus on chip damage, then include the priority users.)

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[SputnikGT, 475916]]
- Quality checked by: [[5gen, 296755], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
--------------------------------------------------
QC 2/3 once implemented, nice work!
 

Greybaum

GENTLEMAN, THIS IS DEMOCRACY MANIFEST
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon


[OVERVIEW]
Golduck is a premier rain sweeper in ZU, using its good power and speed you describe its speed as only "decent" in the next sentence in conjunction with its excellent coverage to blow away offensive and defensive teams alike. Its already decent speed is bolstered to incredible levels when rain is up, as it can outspeed every common scarfer in the tier golduck is almost always under rain (whether working individually or with setters) so merge these first two setences into a single point. It can even afford to run a Modest Nature, which bolsters its already good special attack even further. Golduck also sports a very good movepool that allows it break through several normal rain team water-type checks, such as Mareanie, with little issue if it is running coverage such as Synchronoise. focus blast was removed as a slash, it should be assumed to be using synchronoise, and golduck doesn't strictly need setter support. Unfortunately, Golduck is heavily reliant on rain to do its job, as it is much less powerful when it is not raining and is easily revenge killed. It faces pretty stiff competition from other, less restrictive water types such as Simipour and Swanna outside of full rain teams. It is also annoyed by dedicated special walls such as Lickilicky, who can stand up to it despite its insane power remove. wouldn't go so far as to call it "insane" when it can't break past licki. Golduck is also very vulnerable to residual damage, as LO recoil plus taking damage from all entry hazards leaves it often being chipped down into priority range.

[SET]
name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Rain Dance
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Synchronoise
item: Life Orb/Waterium Z
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def/252 Spa/252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

Rain Dance allows Golduck to set up Rain for itself and act as emergency rain support for its teammates on rain teams. Ice Beam provides valuable coverage onto Grass types that resist Hydro Pump, OHKOing Leafeon and having upwards of an 85% chance of OHKOing Exeggutor if rocks are up. Most other Grasses are 2HKOed but will take heavy damage. filler Synchronoise allows Golduck to muscle through Poliwrath and Mareanie, who would be good checks otherwise. It also provides decent chip damage onto Silvally-Water. Focus Blast is an alternative option that hits targets such as Cradily and Lapras hard, but its targets are generally much less common in the metagame and a rain boosted Hydro Pump hits almost everything else harder than it.

Set Details
========


Life Orb is the preferred item, as it cranks Golduck's power up and allows it to achieve greater damage with its coverage moves. For example, LO Ice Beam will always KO Leafeon, but without it has a much lower chance of doing so. Exeggutor will also always live an Ice Beam if it is not powered up by Life Orb.Waterium Z is an alternative option that gives Golduck a ludicrously powerful one time nuke that improves Golduck's matchup against bulkier foes such as Dusclops and AV Kecleon while seriously denting most Pokemon and circumventing Hydro Pump's meager accuracy. This is usually an inferior option, however, as Golduck will have a much harder time dealing with Grass Types if Ice Beam is not powered up with a Life Orb. you've already covered this, doubling down just makes it sound like it shouldn't be slashed. remove.

Usage Tips
========

Golduck can be used as both a wallbreaker and a sweeper. Sets utilizing Waterium Z are adept at breaking, while LO sets are better suited for sweeping, but both sets are capable of doing both should the situation arise. Rain Dance should be used on Pokemon that Golduck forces out, such as Camerupt and Altaria, in order to avoid unnecessary chip damage. Golduck's checks need to be weakened before a sweep is attempted, as most of the tiers special walls can stall Golduck out while forcing it to take chip damage thanks to LO recoil. Golduck has a tendency to fall into priority range of users such as Kecleon and Purugly if it has taken too much prior chip. Bringing it in on a slow U-Turn or Volt Switch avoids such a scenario. pivots don't help golduck avoid priority moves except fake out. move this after this next sentence: It is also frail and should not be switched into any attacks if at all possible. Golduck also despises status, as it is crippled by paralysis and Toxic, so play carefully when Pokemon that can spread these, such as Lickilicky, Bronzor, and Muk i know they sometimes run poison touch but there a few better examples. dusclops, for example are on the field.

Team Options
========

Golduck is a natural fit on full rain teams thanks to the sweeping and breaking power it provides them. As such, rain setters are mandatory teammates. reword this to clarify that rain setters are mandatory for rain teams, not specifically for golduck. Volbeat works incredibly well with Golduck on these builds, as it can set up rain while also giving it easy points of entry thanks to its slow U-Turn and its ability to lock opponents into an unfavorable move with Encore. Electrode is an alternate option that can bring Golduck in using Volt Switch while also annoying opposing walls with Taunt. Entry hazard support is highly recommended when using Golduck, as it really appreciates the extra chip damage when attempting to smash through teams. Relicanth is a great choice for rain teams looking to set up Stealth Rock, as it has access to both Rain Dance and Stealth Rock while also being able to do some serious damage thanks to Head Smash (as well as potentially sacking itself off thanks to the recoil damage). Golduck appreciates some physical breaking power that can take down some of its normal checks. name them and use it as segue into the next sentence. Poliwrath and Beartic are both rain sweepers that can smash through Lickilicky with little issue while also threatening Grasses thanks to their Ice type coverage. Swanna is another option that can really cleave through Grass types while also using Roost to keep itself healthy throughout the match. While Golduck is usually found on full rain teams, it can also function as a cleaner on standard offensive teams. If used here, strong wallbreakers such as Swords Dance Silvally-Fighting and Expert Belt Electivire can take care of the special walls that Golduck struggles with. you should write almost as much as you did about full rain teams here. the way you play golduck is slightly different (you can't rely on other water-types like poli to chip silv-water down for example) and it deserves more than a single point because of this. pivots help it avoid damage, pokemon that can chip down its checks help it a lot (e.g. bronzor can poison things like kec, knock off users can smack off eviolite/leftovers from things like dusclops, licki and bronzor w/ mixed simisage in particular threatening pyuku, silv-water, cradily etc at the same time), hazard removal stops it being chipped down so badly (esp when combined w/ LO recoil). you've covered pokemon that can check specially defensive mons but you can do more than that.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

Choice Specs can be used to give Golduck some serious oomph behind Hydro Pump and allows it to pick up some OHKOs with Ice Beam that it would not normally be able to achieve. This is generally not recommended, however, as it can be easily played around by teams with a Water resist or a dedicated Special Wall. water resists aren't great against you; ice beam is killing things now and you can still run psychic to hit mareanie/poli. the bigger issue (in addition to being walled by special walls, like you covered) is that you have mediocre speed and are far more reliant on said prediction to beat water-resists like poli & mareanie (i think you were implying this but i'd prefer it to be more clear), leaving it largely outclassed by floatzel (which also gets switcheroo). Calm Mind can be used to improve Golduck's matchup against bulkier teams while allowing it to break through some of its normal defensive checks. Golduck has issues finding a place to set up, however, and it can't really afford to drop any of its normal moves.

===================

**Specially Bulky Pokemon** Many of the tier's Specially Bulky Pokemon can handle Golduck. Lickilicky is a hugely irritating Pokemon for Golduck to deal with. It fails to safely switch in, but once it is in it is one of Golduck's best checks, being able to stall out Rain turns using Protect and Wish while also potentially badly poisoning Golduck with Toxic. AV Kecleon and Cradily do well against the standard LO set, although Kecleon is heavily damaged by Hydro Vortex and Cradily must watch out for the rare Focus Blast.

**Grass Types** Many of the tiers' Grass Types can tank one Ice Beam and OHKO Golduck in return with their STAB Moves. Servine, Bellossom, and Shiinotic can all take an Ice Beam and either cripple Golduck or just take it out entirely

**Bulky Water Types** Silvally-Water is never 2HKOd with Hydro Pump if Stealth Rock is not up, and variants with Thunderbolt 2HKO in return. Pyukumuku can also proceed to stall out Rain turns with Recover before poisoning or trapping Golduck depending on the variant. Mareanie and Poliwrath can also come in on Hydro Pump and force Golduck to use Synchronoise, which can allow one of their teammates to get a free switch. this is hardly reliable counterplay, though i def. see where you're coming from. it does happen sometimes in games but it's not worth mentioning here.

**Residual Damage** LO recoil and a vulnerability to hazards mean that Golduck gets chipped down pretty easily. This can put it in range of priority users such as Pawniard, Kecleon, and Purugly, although they need significant chip beforehand to take it out entirely.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[SputnikGT, 475916]]
- Quality checked by: [[5gen, 296755], [Ho3nConfirm3d, 231074], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]


let me know when you've implemented the above, i'd like to double check team options before applying 3/3
 

Sputnik

Bono My Tires are Deceased
is a Contributor Alumnus


[OVERVIEW]
Golduck is a premier rain sweeper in ZU, using its good power and speed you describe its speed as only "decent" in the next sentence in conjunction with its excellent coverage to blow away offensive and defensive teams alike. Its already decent speed is bolstered to incredible levels when rain is up, as it can outspeed every common scarfer in the tier golduck is almost always under rain (whether working individually or with setters) so merge these first two setences into a single point. It can even afford to run a Modest Nature, which bolsters its already good special attack even further. Golduck also sports a very good movepool that allows it break through several normal rain team water-type checks, such as Mareanie, with little issue if it is running coverage such as Synchronoise. focus blast was removed as a slash, it should be assumed to be using synchronoise, and golduck doesn't strictly need setter support. Unfortunately, Golduck is heavily reliant on rain to do its job, as it is much less powerful when it is not raining and is easily revenge killed. It faces pretty stiff competition from other, less restrictive water types such as Simipour and Swanna outside of full rain teams. It is also annoyed by dedicated special walls such as Lickilicky, who can stand up to it despite its insane power remove. wouldn't go so far as to call it "insane" when it can't break past licki. Golduck is also very vulnerable to residual damage, as LO recoil plus taking damage from all entry hazards leaves it often being chipped down into priority range.

[SET]
name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Rain Dance
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Synchronoise
item: Life Orb/Waterium Z
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def/252 Spa/252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

Rain Dance allows Golduck to set up Rain for itself and act as emergency rain support for its teammates on rain teams. Ice Beam provides valuable coverage onto Grass types that resist Hydro Pump, OHKOing Leafeon and having upwards of an 85% chance of OHKOing Exeggutor if rocks are up. Most other Grasses are 2HKOed but will take heavy damage. filler Synchronoise allows Golduck to muscle through Poliwrath and Mareanie, who would be good checks otherwise. It also provides decent chip damage onto Silvally-Water. Focus Blast is an alternative option that hits targets such as Cradily and Lapras hard, but its targets are generally much less common in the metagame and a rain boosted Hydro Pump hits almost everything else harder than it.

Set Details
========


Life Orb is the preferred item, as it cranks Golduck's power up and allows it to achieve greater damage with its coverage moves. For example, LO Ice Beam will always KO Leafeon, but without it has a much lower chance of doing so. Exeggutor will also always live an Ice Beam if it is not powered up by Life Orb.Waterium Z is an alternative option that gives Golduck a ludicrously powerful one time nuke that improves Golduck's matchup against bulkier foes such as Dusclops and AV Kecleon while seriously denting most Pokemon and circumventing Hydro Pump's meager accuracy. This is usually an inferior option, however, as Golduck will have a much harder time dealing with Grass Types if Ice Beam is not powered up with a Life Orb. you've already covered this, doubling down just makes it sound like it shouldn't be slashed. remove.

Usage Tips
========

Golduck can be used as both a wallbreaker and a sweeper. Sets utilizing Waterium Z are adept at breaking, while LO sets are better suited for sweeping, but both sets are capable of doing both should the situation arise. Rain Dance should be used on Pokemon that Golduck forces out, such as Camerupt and Altaria, in order to avoid unnecessary chip damage. Golduck's checks need to be weakened before a sweep is attempted, as most of the tiers special walls can stall Golduck out while forcing it to take chip damage thanks to LO recoil. Golduck has a tendency to fall into priority range of users such as Kecleon and Purugly if it has taken too much prior chip. Bringing it in on a slow U-Turn or Volt Switch avoids such a scenario. pivots don't help golduck avoid priority moves except fake out. move this after this next sentence: It is also frail and should not be switched into any attacks if at all possible. Golduck also despises status, as it is crippled by paralysis and Toxic, so play carefully when Pokemon that can spread these, such as Lickilicky, Bronzor, and Muk i know they sometimes run poison touch but there a few better examples. dusclops, for example are on the field.

Team Options
========

Golduck is a natural fit on full rain teams thanks to the sweeping and breaking power it provides them. As such, rain setters are mandatory teammates. reword this to clarify that rain setters are mandatory for rain teams, not specifically for golduck. Volbeat works incredibly well with Golduck on these builds, as it can set up rain while also giving it easy points of entry thanks to its slow U-Turn and its ability to lock opponents into an unfavorable move with Encore. Electrode is an alternate option that can bring Golduck in using Volt Switch while also annoying opposing walls with Taunt. Entry hazard support is highly recommended when using Golduck, as it really appreciates the extra chip damage when attempting to smash through teams. Relicanth is a great choice for rain teams looking to set up Stealth Rock, as it has access to both Rain Dance and Stealth Rock while also being able to do some serious damage thanks to Head Smash (as well as potentially sacking itself off thanks to the recoil damage). Golduck appreciates some physical breaking power that can take down some of its normal checks. name them and use it as segue into the next sentence. Poliwrath and Beartic are both rain sweepers that can smash through Lickilicky with little issue while also threatening Grasses thanks to their Ice type coverage. Swanna is another option that can really cleave through Grass types while also using Roost to keep itself healthy throughout the match. While Golduck is usually found on full rain teams, it can also function as a cleaner on standard offensive teams. If used here, strong wallbreakers such as Swords Dance Silvally-Fighting and Expert Belt Electivire can take care of the special walls that Golduck struggles with. you should write almost as much as you did about full rain teams here. the way you play golduck is slightly different (you can't rely on other water-types like poli to chip silv-water down for example) and it deserves more than a single point because of this. pivots help it avoid damage, pokemon that can chip down its checks help it a lot (e.g. bronzor can poison things like kec, knock off users can smack off eviolite/leftovers from things like dusclops, licki and bronzor w/ mixed simisage in particular threatening pyuku, silv-water, cradily etc at the same time), hazard removal stops it being chipped down so badly (esp when combined w/ LO recoil). you've covered pokemon that can check specially defensive mons but you can do more than that.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

Choice Specs can be used to give Golduck some serious oomph behind Hydro Pump and allows it to pick up some OHKOs with Ice Beam that it would not normally be able to achieve. This is generally not recommended, however, as it can be easily played around by teams with a Water resist or a dedicated Special Wall. water resists aren't great against you; ice beam is killing things now and you can still run psychic to hit mareanie/poli. the bigger issue (in addition to being walled by special walls, like you covered) is that you have mediocre speed and are far more reliant on said prediction to beat water-resists like poli & mareanie (i think you were implying this but i'd prefer it to be more clear), leaving it largely outclassed by floatzel (which also gets switcheroo). Calm Mind can be used to improve Golduck's matchup against bulkier teams while allowing it to break through some of its normal defensive checks. Golduck has issues finding a place to set up, however, and it can't really afford to drop any of its normal moves.

===================

**Specially Bulky Pokemon** Many of the tier's Specially Bulky Pokemon can handle Golduck. Lickilicky is a hugely irritating Pokemon for Golduck to deal with. It fails to safely switch in, but once it is in it is one of Golduck's best checks, being able to stall out Rain turns using Protect and Wish while also potentially badly poisoning Golduck with Toxic. AV Kecleon and Cradily do well against the standard LO set, although Kecleon is heavily damaged by Hydro Vortex and Cradily must watch out for the rare Focus Blast.

**Grass Types** Many of the tiers' Grass Types can tank one Ice Beam and OHKO Golduck in return with their STAB Moves. Servine, Bellossom, and Shiinotic can all take an Ice Beam and either cripple Golduck or just take it out entirely

**Bulky Water Types** Silvally-Water is never 2HKOd with Hydro Pump if Stealth Rock is not up, and variants with Thunderbolt 2HKO in return. Pyukumuku can also proceed to stall out Rain turns with Recover before poisoning or trapping Golduck depending on the variant. Mareanie and Poliwrath can also come in on Hydro Pump and force Golduck to use Synchronoise, which can allow one of their teammates to get a free switch. this is hardly reliable counterplay, though i def. see where you're coming from. it does happen sometimes in games but it's not worth mentioning here.

**Residual Damage** LO recoil and a vulnerability to hazards mean that Golduck gets chipped down pretty easily. This can put it in range of priority users such as Pawniard, Kecleon, and Purugly, although they need significant chip beforehand to take it out entirely.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[SputnikGT, 475916]]
- Quality checked by: [[5gen, 296755], [Ho3nConfirm3d, 231074], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]


let me know when you've implemented the above, i'd like to double check team options before applying 3/3
Alright, this is ready for a recheck
 

Greybaum

GENTLEMAN, THIS IS DEMOCRACY MANIFEST
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon


[OVERVIEW]
Golduck is a premier rain sweeper in ZU, using its good power and speed in conjunction with its excellent coverage to blow away offensive and defensive teams alike, as its speed is bolstered to incredible levels when rain is up, as it can outspeed every common scarfer in the tier. It can even afford to run a Modest Nature, which bolsters its already good special attack even further. Golduck also sports a very good movepool that allows it break through several normal Water-type checks, such as Mareanie, with little issue by running coverage such as Synchronoise. Unfortunately, Golduck is heavily reliant on rain to do its job, as it is much less powerful when it is not raining and is easily revenge killed. It faces pretty stiff competition from other, less restrictive water types such as Simipour and Swanna outside of full rain teams. It is also annoyed by dedicated special walls such as Lickilicky, who can stand up to it despite its power. Golduck is also very vulnerable to residual damage, as LO recoil plus taking damage from all entry hazards leaves it often being chipped down into priority range.

[SET]
name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Rain Dance
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Synchronoise
item: Life Orb/Waterium Z
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def/252 Spa/252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

Rain Dance allows Golduck to set up Rain for itself and act as emergency rain support for its teammates on rain teams. Ice Beam provides valuable coverage onto Grass types that resist Hydro Pump, OHKOing Leafeon and having upwards of an 85% chance of OHKOing Exeggutor if rocks are up. Synchronoise allows Golduck to muscle through Poliwrath and Mareanie, who would be good checks otherwise. It also provides decent chip damage onto Silvally-Water. Focus Blast is an alternative option that hits targets such as Cradily and Lapras hard, but its targets are generally much less common in the metagame and a rain boosted Hydro Pump hits almost everything else harder than it.

Set Details
========


Life Orb is the preferred item, as it cranks Golduck's power up and allows it to achieve greater damage with its coverage moves. For example, LO Ice Beam will always KO Leafeon, but without it has a much lower chance of doing so. Exeggutor will also always live an Ice Beam if it is not powered up by Life Orb. Waterium Z is an alternative option that gives Golduck a ludicrously powerful one time nuke that improves Golduck's matchup against bulkier foes such as Dusclops and AV Kecleon while seriously denting most Pokemon and circumventing Hydro Pump's meager accuracy.

Usage Tips
========

Golduck can be used as both a wallbreaker and a sweeper. Sets utilizing Waterium Z are adept at breaking, while LO sets are better suited for sweeping, but both sets are capable of doing both should the situation arise. Rain Dance should be used on Pokemon that Golduck forces out, such as Camerupt and Altaria, in order to avoid unnecessary chip damage. Golduck's checks need to be weakened before a sweep is attempted, as most of the tiers special walls can stall Golduck out while forcing it to take chip damage thanks to LO recoil. Golduck has a tendency to fall into priority range of users such as Kecleon and Purugly if it has taken too much prior chip.It is also frail and should not be switched into any attacks if at all possible. Bringing it in on a slow U-Turn or Volt Switch avoids such a scenario. Golduck also despises status, as it is crippled by paralysis and Toxic, so play carefully when Pokemon that can spread these, such as Lickilicky, Bronzor, and Dusclops are on the field.

Team Options
========

Golduck is a natural fit on full rain teams thanks to the sweeping and breaking power it provides them. As such, rain setters are mandatory teammates if such a team is being run. Volbeat works incredibly well on these teams, as it can set up rain while also giving it easy points of entry thanks to its slow U-Turn and its ability to lock opponents into an unfavorable move with Encore. Electrode is an alternate option that can bring Golduck and its teammates in using Volt Switch while also annoying opposing walls with Taunt. Entry hazard support is highly recommended when using Golduck, as it really appreciates the extra chip damage when attempting to smash through teams. Relicanth is a great choice for rain teams looking to set up Stealth Rock, as it has access to both Rain Dance and Stealth Rock while also being able to do some serious damage thanks to Head Smash (as well as potentially sacking itself off thanks to the recoil damage). Golduck appreciates some physical breaking power that can take down some of its normal checks. name some examples please. ideally ones that poliwrath & beartic break since you use them in the following sentence e.g. licki and grass-types. Poliwrath and Beartic are both rain sweepers that can smash through Lickilicky with little issue while also threatening Grasses thanks to their Ice type coverage. Swanna is another option that can really cleave through Grass types while also using Roost to keep itself healthy throughout the match. While Golduck is usually found on full rain teams, it can also function as a cleaner on standard offensive teams. Teams that utilize Golduck in this fashion need to have ways to chip down Golduck's checks and prepare the battlefield for it to clean late game either give examples or move this in front of the knock off section so it's immediately leading into examples. Pivots such as Electivire and Komala can bring Golduck in safely against something that does not immediately threaten it, which is imperative as Golduck will need to set rain up for itself. Knock Off users like can be used to annoy bulkier Pokemon such as Lickilicky and Kecleon while also removing Eviolite from threats such as Dusclops. Crippling these Pokemon with Status from the likes of Bronzor or Altaria is an option as well. Mixed Simisage is an exemplarly partner, as it can utilize Knock Off while also threatening several Water-types that Golduck struggles with, such as Silvally-Water and Pyukumuku. Hazard removal is highly recommended, as Golduck wants to be as healthy as possible before it attempts a sweep. As such, Rapid Spin or Defog support from things such as Komala and Silvally-Dragon is very nice.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

Choice Specs can be used to give Golduck some serious oomph behind Hydro Pump and allows it to pick up some OHKOs with Ice Beam that it would not normally be able to achieve. This is generally not recommended, however, as it can be easily played around by teams with a dedicated Special Wall. It also requires immaculate prediction to work around Water resists. As a result "in addition"; floatzel has most of the same issues and "as a result" implies otherwise. to clarify, (you don't need to go this in-depth) golduck's main advantage is bypassing mareanie & poli so if it can't do that easily it's just a worse floatzel., it is largely outclassed by Floatzel who can utilize Switcheroo to cripple normal switch ins while also being faster. Calm Mind can be used to improve Golduck's matchup against bulkier teams while allowing it to break through some of its normal defensive checks. Golduck has issues finding a place to set up, however, and it can't really afford to drop any of its normal moves.

===================

**Specially Bulky Pokemon** Many of the tier's Specially Bulky Pokemon can handle Golduck. Lickilicky is a hugely irritating Pokemon for Golduck to deal with. It fails to safely switch in, but once it is in it is one of Golduck's best checks, being able to stall out Rain turns using Protect and Wish while also potentially badly poisoning Golduck with Toxic. AV Kecleon and Cradily do well against the standard LO set, although Kecleon is heavily damaged by Hydro Vortex and Cradily must watch out for the rare Focus Blast.

**Grass Types** Many of the tiers' Grass Types can tank one Ice Beam and OHKO Golduck in return with their STAB Moves. Servine, Bellossom, and Shiinotic can all take an Ice Beam and either cripple Golduck or just take it out entirely

**Bulky Water Types** Silvally-Water is never 2HKOd with Hydro Pump if Stealth Rock is not up, and variants with Thunderbolt 2HKO in return. Pyukumuku can also proceed to stall out Rain turns with Recover before poisoning or trapping Golduck depending on the variant. worth including floatzel too since it outspeeds golduck even under rain; its main drawback is that it needs substantial chip to actually revenge kill

**Residual Damage** LO recoil and a vulnerability to hazards mean that Golduck gets chipped down pretty easily. This can put it in range of priority users such as Pawniard, Kecleon, and Purugly, although they need significant chip beforehand to take it out entirely.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[SputnikGT, 475916]]
- Quality checked by: [[5gen, 296755], [Ho3nConfirm3d, 231074], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]


good stuff!
mark as 3/3 when done and hand this off to C&C
 

Boat

fuck nintendo
is a Tournament Director Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Staff Alumnusis a Dedicated Tournament Host Alumnus
AMGP, added, removed, comments, starting a word in blue means I changed the capitalization

[OVERVIEW]
Golduck is a premier rain sweeper in ZU, using its good power and speed, (AC) in conjunction with its excellent coverage, (AC) to blow away offensive and defensive teams alike. (RC) as It's (add apostrophe) speed is bolstered to incredible levels when rain is up, as letting it can outspeed every common scarfer Choice Scarf user in the tier. Because of this, it can even afford to run a Modest nature, which further bolsters its already good Special Attack even further. Golduck also sports a very good movepool, (AC) that allowings it to break through several normal typical Water-type checks checks to Water-types, such as Mareanie, with little issue by running coverage moves such as Synchronoise. Unfortunately, Golduck is heavily reliant on rain to do its job, as it is much less powerful when it is not raining, (AC) and is easily revenge killed. It faces pretty stiff competition from other, less restrictive, (AC) Water-types (AH) such as Simipour and Swanna when used outside of full rain teams. It is also annoyed by dedicated special walls such as Lickilicky, who can stand up to it despite its power. Golduck is also very vulnerable to residual damage, as LO Life Orb recoil plus in addition to taking damage from all entry hazards often leaves it often being chipped down into the damage range of priority moves range.

[SET]
name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Rain Dance
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Synchronoise
item: Life Orb / Waterium Z (added spaces)
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 Spa / 252 Spe (added spaces)

[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

Rain Dance allows Golduck to set up rain for itself and act as emergency rain support for its teammates on rain teams (redundant). Ice Beam provides valuable coverage onto against Grass-types (AH) that resist Hydro Pump, OHKOing Leafeon and having upwards of an 85% chance of to OHKOing Exeggutor if rocks after Stealth Rock damage are up. Synchronoise allows Golduck to muscle through Poliwrath and Mareanie, whom would be good checks otherwise. It also provides decent chip damage onto against Silvally-Water. Focus Blast is an alternative option that hits targets such as Cradily and Lapras hard, but its targets are generally much less common in the metagame, (AC) and a rain-boosted (AH) Hydro Pump hits almost everything else harder than it.

Set Details
========


Life Orb is the preferred item, as it cranks Golduck's power up and allows it to achieve greater damage with its coverage moves. For example, LO Life Orb-boosted Ice Beam will always KO Leafeon, but without it has a while unboosted Ice Beam has a much lower chance of doing so. Exeggutor will also always live an Ice Beam if it is not powered up by Life Orb. Waterium Z is an alternative option that gives Golduck a ludicrously powerful one-time (AH) nuke that improves Golduck's matchup against bulkier foes such as Dusclops and AV Assault Vest Kecleon, (AC) while seriously denting most Pokemon and circumventing Hydro Pump's meager accuracy.

Usage Tips
========

Golduck can be used as both a wallbreaker and a sweeper. Sets utilizing Waterium Z are adept at wallbreaking, while LO Life Orb sets are better suited for sweeping, but both sets are capable of doing both either should the situation arise. Rain Dance should be used on Pokemon that Golduck forces out, such as Camerupt and Altaria, in order to avoid unnecessary chip damage (I can't tell if you are trying to say that Golduck should Rain Dance to avoid chip damage, or that Camerupt and Altaria should switch to avoid chip damage. Reword this sentence to be more clear). Golduck's checks need to be weakened before a sweep is attempted, as most of the tiers ZU's special walls can stall Golduck out while forcing it to take chip damage thanks to LO from Life Orb recoil. Golduck has a tendency to fall into the damage range of priority moves coming from range of users such as Kecleon and Purugly if it has taken too much prior chip damage. It is also frail and should not be switched into any attacks if at all possible. Bringing it in on Using a slow U-Turn or Volt Switch user to freely switch into Golduck avoids such a scenario. Golduck also despises being statused, as it is crippled by both paralysis and Toxic, so play carefully when Pokemon that can spread inflict these, such as Lickilicky, Bronzor, and Dusclops, (AC) are on the field.

Team Options
========

Golduck is a natural fit on full rain teams thanks to the sweeping and breaking power it provides them. As such, rain setters are mandatory teammates if on such a team is being run. Volbeat works incredibly well on these rain teams, as it can set up rain while also giving it Golduck easy points of entry thanks to its slow U-Turn and its ability to lock opponents into an unfavorable moves with Encore. Electrode is an alternate option that can bring Golduck and its teammates in using Volt Switch, (AC) while also annoying opposing walls with Taunt. Entry hazard support is highly recommended when using Golduck, as it really appreciates the extra chip damage when attempting to smash sweep (if not accurate, ignore) through teams. Relicanth is a great choice for rain teams looking to set up Stealth Rock, as it has access to both Rain Dance and Stealth Rock while also being able to do some serious damage thanks to with Head Smash (as well as potentially sacking itself off thanks to the recoil damage). Golduck appreciates teammates with some physical wallbreaking power that can to take down checks such as Lickilicky and Servine. Poliwrath and Beartic are both rain sweepers that can smash through Lickilicky with little issue, (AC) while also threatening Grass-typeses thanks to their Ice-type (AH) coverage. Swanna is another option that can really effectively cleave through Grass-types (AH) while also using Roost to keep itself healthy throughout the match. While Golduck is usually found on full rain teams, it can also function as a cleaner on standard offensive teams. Teams that utilize Golduck in this fashion need to have ways to chip down Golduck's checks and prepare the battlefield for it to clean late game. Knock Off users like can be used to annoy bulkier Pokemon such as Lickilicky and Kecleon, (AC) while also removing Eviolite from threats such as Dusclops. Pivots such as Electivire and Komala can bring Golduck in safely against something that does not immediately threaten it, which is imperative as Golduck will need to set up rain up for itself. Crippling these Pokemon with status from the likes of from Pokemon like Bronzor or and Altaria is an option as well. Mixed Simisage is an exemplarly partner, as it can utilize Knock Off while also threatening several Water-types that Golduck struggles with, such as Silvally-Water and Pyukumuku. Hazard removal is highly recommended, as Golduck wants to be as healthy as possible before it attempts a sweep. As such, Rapid Spin or Defog support from things such as Komala and Silvally-Dragon is very nice.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

Choice Specs can be used to give Golduck some serious oomph power behind Hydro Pump, (AC) and allows it to pick up some OHKOs with Ice Beam that it would not normally otherwise be unable to achieve. However, this is not generally not recommended; (added semicolon) however, as it Choice Specs Golduck can be easily played around by teams with a dedicated special wall. It also requires immaculate prediction to work around Pokemon that resist Water-type moves.Water resists. In addition, it is largely outclassed by Floatzel who can utilize Switcheroo to cripple normal common switch ins while also being faster. Calm Mind can be used to improve Golduck's matchup against bulkier teams while allowing it to break through some of its normal common defensive checks. However, Golduck has issues finding a place time to set up, however, and it can't really afford to drop any of its normal usual moves.

===================

**Specially Bulky Pokemon** Many of the tier's specially bulky Pokemon can handle Golduck. Lickilicky is a hugely irritating Pokemon for Golduck to deal with. It Lickilicky fails to safely switch in, but once it is in, (AC) it is one of Golduck's best checks, being able to stall out rain turns using Protect and Wish while also potentially threatening to badly poisoning Golduck with Toxic. AV Assault Vest Kecleon and Cradily do well against the standard LO Life Orb set, although Kecleon is heavily damaged by Hydro Vortex and Cradily must watch out for the rare Focus Blast.

**Grass Types** Many of the tier's (moved apostrophe) Grass-types (AH) can tank one Ice Beam and OHKO Golduck in return with their STAB moves. Servine, Bellossom, and Shiinotic can all take an Ice Beam and either cripple or take out Golduck. or just take it out entirely

**Water Types** Silvally-Water is never 2HKOd with by Hydro Pump without Stealth Rock damage, if Stealth Rock is not up, and variants with Thunderbolt threaten to 2HKO in return. Pyukumuku can also proceed to stall out rain turns with Recover, (AC) before threatening to poisoning or trapping Golduck, (AC) depending on the variant. Floatzel can't confidently comfortably switch in, (AC) but Swift Swim variants outspeed run Golduck and can revenge kill it after some chip damage.

**Residual Damage** LO Life Orb recoil and a vulnerability to hazards mean that Golduck gets chipped down pretty easily. This can put it in range of priority moves users such as Pawniard, Kecleon, and Purugly, although they need significant chip beforehand to take it out entirely.
kt3 asked me to mention that he's going to post his own AMGP of this very shortly (like when he gets home in a bit) and that we already talked about the double amgp
 
amcheck

add
remove
(comments)

Sorry it's kinda late; i jgh. Sorry for the double amcheck, too :(.

be sure to be mindful of the analysis format.

EDIT: SputnikGT, I think you forgot to post this in the queue
[OVERVIEW]
Golduck is a premier rain sweeper in ZU, using thanks to (fixes flow) its good power and speed in conjunction with its excellent coverage to blow away offensive and defensive teams alike, as its s. (FS here to avoid run-on) Its Speed is bolstered to incredible levels when rain is up, as it canllowing it to outspeed every common scarfer in the tierChoice Scarf user in the metagame (ZU is not a tier). It can even afford to run a Modest Nnature, which bolsters its already good special aSpecial Attack even further (few things in this sentence: i recommend to change bolsters, since you just used it. the which phrase does not really add anything substantial :/; maybe add some crucial KOs with Modest > Timid or something that is not obvious). Golduck also sports a very good movepool that allows it to break through several normal (on a regular writing sense, this is fine, but it's better to word change here and not use a Pokemon-related term; common, usual, etc. are alts) Water-type checks, (so umm, this is slightly ambiguous esp with your example; are you talking about checks to Water-types or checks that are Water-types :/; ignore if latter case; fix wording accordingly) (RC) such as Mareanie, (RC) with little issue by running coverage moves such as Synchronoise. Unfortunately, Golduck is heavily reliant on having rain to do its job, as it is much less powerful when it is not raining and isand is more easily revenge killed otherwise. It faces pretty stiff competition from other, (no comma here) less restrictive water Water-types such as Simipour and Swanna outside of full rain teams. It is also annoyed by dedicated special walls such as Lickilicky, whoich can stand up to it despite its power. Golduck is also very vulnerable to residual damage, as Life Orb recoil plusalong with taking damage from all entry hazards often leaves it toften being chipped down into KO range of priority rangeusers.

[SET]
name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Rain Dance
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Synchronoise
item: Life Orb / Waterium Z
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def/252 Spa/ / 252 SpA / 252 Spe (put appropriate spaces)

[SET COMMENTS]
(no br)
Moves
========

Rain Dance allows Golduck to set up Rrain for itself and act as an (alternatively, act as -> give, for -> to) emergency rain support for its teammates on rain teams(on rain teams is highly redundant here; you can also remove for its teammates instead). Ice Beam provides valuable coverage onto Grass-types that resist Hydro Pump, OHKOing Leafeon and having upwards of an 85% chance ofwhile almost always OHKOing Exeggutor if rocks are upafter Stealth Rock damage (while subjective, this improves brevity and flow). Synchronoise allows Golduck to muscle through Poliwrath and Mareanie, whoich would be good checks otherwise. It also provides, as well as dealing decent chip damage onto Silvally-Water (merge). Focus Blast is an alternative option that hits targets such as Cradily and Lapras hard, but its targets(you didn't implement Ho3n's check here) hard; however, (SC to not be too run-on) they are generally much less common in the metagame, (AC) and a rain-boosted (AH) Hydro Pump hits harder on almost everything else harder than it.. (weird that there's no sentence dedicated to Hydro Pump, even if it's the obv main move)

Set Details
========

(remove extra br)
Life Orb is the preferred item, as it cranks Golduck's power up and allows it to achieve greater damage with its coverage moves. For example, Life Orb boosts Ice Beam willto always OHKO Leafeon, but without it has a much lower chance of doing so. Exeggutor will also always live an Ice Beam if it is not powered up by Life Orb. and have a chance to OHKO Exeggutor, which were not possible otherwise. (tbh, this is highly subjective; change some words if you like. It is best to keep these ideas together. On another note, this is a prime example on why it's a good idea to merge Moves and SD, as this chunk is basically a repeat from last section) Waterium Z is an alternative option that gives Golduck a ludicrously powerful one time nuke that improves Golduck'-time (AH) nuke, which (AC) improves its matchup against bulkier foes such as Dusclops and Assault Vest Kecleon while seriously denting most Pokemon and circumventing Hydro Pump's meager accuracy.

Usage Tips
========

Golduck can be used as both as a wallbreaker and a sweeper (orig implied that duck only has one role, and that is to simultaneously break and sweep). Sets utilizing Waterium Z are adept at used for wallbreaking (I would call duck adept, but not the sets), while Life Orb sets are better suited for sweeping, but both set variants are capable of doing both should the situation arise. Rain Dance should be used on Pokemon that Golduck forces out, such as Camerupt and Altaria, in order (RC pair) to avoid unnecessary chip damage. Golduck'Its checks need to be weakened before a sweep is attempted, as most of the tiers special walls in ZU can stall Golduck out while forcing it to take chip damage thanks to LOfrom (this is not really a "thanks" kind of thing) Life Orb's recoil. Golduck has a tendency to fall into priorityKO range of priority users such as Kecleon and Purugly if it has taken too much prior chip.It damage. (space)Golduck is also frail and should not be switched into any attacks if at all possible. B; (SC) bringing it in on a slow U-Tvia (or anything similar; on denotes taking in a foe's VoltTurn) a slow U-turn or Volt Switch avoids such a scenario. Golduck also despises status, as it is crippled by paralysis and Toxic, so play carefully when Pokemon that can spread these, such as Lickilicky, Bronzor, and Dusclops, (AC) are on the field.

Team Options
========

Golduck is a natural fit on full (dedicated may also be used here to avoid rep) rain teams thanks to the sweeping and wallbreaking power it provides them. As such, rain setters are mandatory teammates if such a team is being run. Volbeat works incredibly well on these teams, as it can set up rain while also giving itGolduck easy points of entry thanks to its slow U-Tturn and its ability to lock opponents foes into an unfavorable move with Encore. Electrode is an alternate option that can bring Golduck andor its teammates in using Volt Switch while also annoying opposing walls with Taunt. Entry hazard support is highly recommended when using Golduck, as it really appreciates the extra chip damage on foes when attempting to smash through teams. Relicanth is a great choice for rain teams looking to, as it can set up both Stealth Rock, as it has access to both Rain Dance and Stealth Rock while also being and rain; (obv it has access to SR if it sets up SR; merged that phrase with this; SC) it is also able to do some serious damage thanks to Head Smash, (AC) (as well as potentially sackrificing itself off withanks to the recoil damage) (remove parentheses; i think it's also important to say why sacking is useful i.e. to prevent spin/defog). Golduck appreciates some physical wallbreaking power that can take down checks such as Lickilicky and Servine. Poliwrath and Beartic are both rain sweepers that can smash through Lickilicky with little issue while also threatening Grass-types thanks to their Ice-type coverage. Swanna is another option that can really cleave through Grass-types while also using Roost to keep itself healthy throughout the match. While Golduck is usually found on full rain teams, it can also function as a cleaner on standard offensive teams. Teams that utilize Golduck in this fashion need to have ways to chip down Golduck's checks and prepare the battlefieldits checks (prepping the battlefield is setting field effects like rain and terrain ://) for it to clean late-game. Knock Off users like (like?) can be used to annoy bulkier Pokemon such as Lickilicky and Kecleon while also removing Eviolite from threats such as Dusclops. Pivots such as Electivire and Komala can bring Golduck in safely against somethinga Pokemon that does not immediately threaten it, (it helps the reader to state examples here, but it is not a hard req) which is imperative, (AC) as Golduck will need to set up rain up for itself. Crippling these Pokemon with S(wdym by these? mons that don't imm threaten duck ://?) with status from the likes of Bronzor orand Altaria is an option as well. Mixed Simisage is an exemplarly partner, as it can utilize Knock Off while also threatening several Water-types that Golduck struggles with, (RC) such as Silvally-Water and Pyukumuku. HEntry hazard removal is highly recommended, as Golduck wants to be as healthy as possible before it attempts a sweep. As such, Rapid Spin or Defog support from thingsPokemon such as Komala and Silvally-Dragon is very nice.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
(no br)
Other Options
=============

Choice Specs can be used to give Golduck some serious oomph behind(lol; change oomph to something else like boost or anything you want) to Hydro Pump and allows it to pick up some OHKOs with Ice Beam (with IB only? hb Synchronoise and your other attacks) that it would not normally be able to achieve (like). This is generally not recommended, however, as it can be easily be played around by teams with a dedicated Special Wspecial wall. It also requires immaculate (word change recommended) prediction to work around Water resistsPokemon that resist Water (and it won't be able to set rain too :/; just something to consider tho this is beyond GP). In addition, it is largely outclassed by Floatzel who, which can utilize Switcheroo to cripple normal switch ins while also beingusual switch-ins (AH) and is also faster (orig may imply that zel is faster than the switch-ins). Calm Mind can be used to improve Golduck's matchup against bulkier teams while allowing it to break through some of its normal (same note) defensive checks. Golduck has issues finding a placen opportunity to set up, however, and it can't really afford to drop any of its normal (same note) moves.


(Checks and Counters)
===================

**Specially Bulky Pokemon** Many of the tier's Specially Bmetagame's specially bulky Pokemon can handle Golduck. In particular, Lickilicky is a hugely irritating Pokemon for Golduck to deal with. IThough it fails to safely switch in, but once it is in(AC) it is one of Golduck's best checks once it is in, being able to stall out Rrain turns using Protect and Wish while also potentially badly poisoning Golduck with Toxic. Assault Vest Kecleon and Cradily do well against the standard Life Orb set, although Kecleon is heavily damaged by Hydro Vortex, (AC) and Cradily must watch out for the rare Focus Blast.

**Grass Types** Many of the tiers' Grass Types-types** Most Grass-types in ZU (changed words to avoid repetition) can tank one Ice Beam and OHKO Golduck in return with their STAB Mmoves. Servine, Bellossom, and Shiinotic can all take an Ice Beam and either cripple Golduck or just take it out entirely. (AP)

**Water T-types** Silvally-Water is never 2HKOed with Hydro Pump if Stealth Rock is not up, and variants with Thunderbolt 2HKO Golduck in return. Pyukumuku can also proceed to stall out Rrain turns with Recover before poisoning or trapping Golduckit depending on the set variant. Floatzel can't confidently switch in, (AC) but Swift Swim variants outrun Golduck and can revenge kill it after some chip damage.

**Residual Damage** Life Orb recoil and a vulnerability to entry hazards mean that Golduck gets chipped down pretty easily. This can put it in range of priority users such as Pawniard, Kecleon, and Purugly, although they need significant chip beforehand to take it out entirely (this last phrase is kinda a repeat).
 
Last edited:

Lumari

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TFP Leader
some unnecessary changes + make sure to brush up on commas quick but p good overall again

Boat (phiwings99): AMGP, added, removed, comments
tdp: add / fix remove (comments); (AC=add comma; RC=remove comma; SC=semicolon)
GP 1/2
[OVERVIEW]
Golduck is a premier rain sweeper in ZU, using its good power and speed, (AC) in conjunction with its excellent coverage, (AC) (no commas) to blow away offensive and defensive teams alike. (RC) as Its speed is bolstered to incredible levels when rain is up, as letting it can outspeed every common scarfer Choice Scarf user in the tier. Because of this, it can even afford to run a Modest nature, which bolsters its already good Special Attack even further. Golduck also sports a very good movepool that allows it to break through several normal typical Water-type checks checks to Water-types, such as Mareanie, with little issue by running coverage moves such as Synchronoise. Unfortunately, Golduck is heavily reliant on rain to do its job, as it is much less powerful when it is not raining, (AC) (no comma, or you'll also have to add a new subject after) and is easily revenge killed. It faces pretty stiff competition from other, less restrictive, (AC) (no comma) Water-types (AH) such as Simipour and Swanna when used outside of full rain teams. It is also annoyed by dedicated special walls such as Lickilicky, who which can stand up to it despite its power. Golduck is also very vulnerable to residual damage, as LO Life Orb recoil plus in addition to taking damage from all entry hazards often leaves it often being chipped down into the damage range of priority moves range.

[SET]
name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Rain Dance
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Synchronoise
item: Life Orb / Waterium Z (added spaces)
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe (added spaces)

[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

Rain Dance allows Golduck to set up rain for itself and act as emergency rain support for its teammates on rain teams (redundant). (not if it's dedicated rain teams, in which case specify though) Ice Beam provides valuable coverage onto against Grass-types (AH) that resist Hydro Pump, OHKOing Leafeon and having upwards of an 85% chance of to OHKOing Exeggutor if rocks after Stealth Rock damage are up. ("if Stealth Rock is up") Synchronoise allows Golduck to muscle through Poliwrath and Mareanie, who which would be good checks otherwise. It also provides decent chip damage onto against Silvally-Water. Focus Blast is an alternative option that hits targets such as Cradily and Lapras hard, but its targets are generally much less common in the metagame, (AC) and a rain-boosted (AH) Hydro Pump hits almost everything else harder than it.

Set Details
========

Life Orb is the preferred item, as it cranks Golduck's power up and allows it to achieve greater damage with its coverage moves. For example, LO Life Orb-boosted Ice Beam will always KO Leafeon, but without it has a while unboosted Ice Beam has a much lower chance of doing so. Exeggutor will also always live survive an Ice Beam if it is not powered up by Life Orb. Waterium Z is an alternative option that gives Golduck a ludicrously powerful one-time (AH) nuke that improves Golduck's its matchup against bulkier foes such as Dusclops and AV Assault Vest Kecleon, (AC) (no comma) while seriously denting most Pokemon and circumventing Hydro Pump's meager accuracy.

Usage Tips
========

Golduck can be used as both a wallbreaker and a sweeper. Sets utilizing Waterium Z are adept at wallbreaking, while LO Life Orb sets are better suited for sweeping, but both sets are capable of doing both either should the situation arise. Rain Dance should be used on Pokemon that Golduck forces out, such as Camerupt and Altaria, in order to avoid unnecessary chip damage (I can't tell if you are trying to say that Golduck should Rain Dance to avoid chip damage, or that Camerupt and Altaria should switch to avoid chip damage. Reword this sentence to be more clear). (i don't have an issue with it ftr, but that bit can be moved to the front yea) Golduck's checks need to be weakened before a sweep is attempted, as most of the tiers ZU's special walls can stall Golduck out while forcing it to take chip damage thanks to LO from Life Orb recoil. Golduck has a tendency to fall into the damage range of priority moves coming from range of users such as Kecleon and Purugly if it has taken too much prior chip damage. It is also frail and should not be switched into any attacks if at all possible. Bringing it in on Using a slow U-turn or Volt Switch user to freely switch into Golduck ("Bringing it in via a slow U-turn or Volt Switch") avoids such a scenario. Golduck also despises being statused, (is fine as is) as it is crippled by both paralysis and Toxic, so play carefully when Pokemon that can spread inflict these, such as Lickilicky, Bronzor, and Dusclops, (AC) are on the field.

Team Options
========

Golduck is a natural fit on full rain teams thanks to the sweeping and breaking power it provides them. As such Thus, rain setters are mandatory teammates if on such a team is being run. Volbeat works incredibly well on these rain teams, as it can set up rain while also giving it Golduck easy points of entry thanks to its slow U-turn and its ability to lock opponents into an unfavorable moves with Encore. Electrode is an alternate option that can bring Golduck and its teammates in using Volt Switch, (AC) (no comma) while also annoying opposing walls with Taunt. Entry hazard support is highly recommended when using Golduck, as it really appreciates the extra chip damage when attempting to smash sweep (if not accurate, ignore) through teams. Relicanth is a great choice for rain teams looking to set up Stealth Rock, as it has access to both Rain Dance and Stealth Rock while also being able to do some serious damage thanks to with Head Smash (as well as potentially sacking itself off thanks to the recoil damage). (change parentheses to commas and make it "as well as potentially allowing Golduck to switch in for free by KOing itself with recoil damage) Golduck appreciates teammates with some physical wallbreaking power that can to take down checks such as Lickilicky and Servine. Poliwrath and Beartic are both rain sweepers that can smash through Lickilicky with little issue while also threatening Grass-typeses thanks to their Ice-type (AH) coverage. Swanna is another option that can really effectively cleave through Grass-types (AH) while also using Roost to keep itself healthy throughout the match. While Golduck is usually found on full rain teams, it can also function as a cleaner on standard offensive teams. Teams that utilize Golduck in this fashion need to have ways to chip down Golduck's checks and prepare the battlefield for it to clean late-game. (AH) Knock Off users like can be used to annoy bulkier Pokemon such as Lickilicky and Kecleon while also removing Eviolite from threats such as Dusclops. Pivots such as Electivire and Komala can bring Golduck in safely against something that does not immediately threaten it, which is imperative, (AC) as Golduck will need to set up rain up for itself. Crippling these Pokemon with status from the likes of from Pokemon like ("the likes of" is fine) Bronzor or and Altaria is an option as well. Mixed Simisage is an exemplarly partner, as it can utilize Knock Off while also threatening several Water-types that Golduck struggles with, such as Silvally-Water and Pyukumuku. Hazard removal is highly recommended, as Golduck wants to be as healthy as possible before it attempts a sweep. As such, Rapid Spin or Defog support from things teammates such as Komala and Silvally-Dragon is very nice.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

Choice Specs can be used to give Golduck some serious oomph power behind Hydro Pump, (AC) (no comma) and allows it to pick up some OHKOs with Ice Beam that it would not normally otherwise be unable (not needed) to achieve. However, this is not generally not recommended; (added semicolon) however, as it Choice Specs Golduck (works better w/ comma + as) can be easily played around by teams with a dedicated special wall. It also requires immaculate prediction to work around Pokemon that resist Water-type moves.Water resists. In addition, it is largely outclassed by Floatzel, (AC) who which can utilize Switcheroo to cripple normal common switch-ins (AH) while also being faster. Calm Mind can be used to improve Golduck's matchup against bulkier teams while allowing it to break through some of its normal common defensive checks. However, Golduck has issues finding a place time to set up, however, (no need to move however) and it can't really afford to drop any of its normal usual moves.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: (don't forget colons) Many of the tier's specially bulky Pokemon can handle Golduck. Lickilicky is a hugely irritating Pokemon for Golduck to deal with. While it fails to safely switch in, but once it is in, (AC) it is one of Golduck's best checks, being able to stall out rain turns using Protect and Wish while also potentially threatening to badly poisoning Golduck with Toxic. AV Assault Vest Kecleon and Cradily do well against the standard LO Life Orb set, although Kecleon is heavily damaged by Hydro Vortex and Cradily must watch out for the rare Focus Blast.

**Grass-types**: (AH) Many of the tier's (moved apostrophe) Grass-types (AH) can tank one Ice Beam and OHKO Golduck in return with their STAB moves. Servine, Bellossom, and Shiinotic can all take an Ice Beam and either cripple or take out Golduck. or just take it out entirely

**Water-types**: (AH) Silvally-Water is never 2HKOd 2HKOed with by Hydro Pump without Stealth Rock damage, if Stealth Rock is not up, and variants with Thunderbolt threaten to 2HKO in return. Pyukumuku can also proceed to stall out rain turns with Recover, (AC) (no comma) before threatening to poisoning or trapping Golduck, (AC) depending on the variant. Floatzel can't confidently comfortably (either works) switch in, (AC) but Swift Swim variants outspeed run (outrun works) Golduck and can revenge kill it after some chip damage.

**Residual Damage**: LO Life Orb recoil and a vulnerability to entry hazards mean that Golduck gets chipped down pretty easily. This can put it in range of priority moves users such as Pawniard, Kecleon, and Purugly, although they need significant chip beforehand to take it out entirely.
 

Astra

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is a Site Content Manageris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Community Leader Alumnus
add remove (comments)
[OVERVIEW]
Golduck is a premier rain sweeper in ZU, using its good power and speed, (RC) in conjunction with its excellent coverage to blow away offensive and defensive teams alike. Its speed Speed is bolstered to incredible levels when rain is up, letting it outspeed every common Choice Scarf user in the tier. Because of this, it can even afford to run a Modest nature, which bolsters its already good Special Attack even further. Golduck also sports a very good movepool that allows it to break through several typical checks to Water-types, such as Mareanie, with little issue by running coverage moves such as Synchronoise. Unfortunately, Golduck is heavily reliant on rain to do its job, as it is much less powerful when it is not raining and is easily revenge killed. It faces pretty stiff competition from other, less restrictive Water-types such as Simipour and Swanna when used outside of full rain teams. It is also annoyed by dedicated special walls such as Lickilicky, which can stand up to it despite its power. Golduck is also very vulnerable to residual damage, as Life Orb recoil in addition to taking damage from all entry hazards often leaves it being chipped down into the damage range of priority moves.

[SET]
name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Rain Dance
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Synchronoise
item: Life Orb / Waterium Z
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

Rain Dance allows Golduck to set up rain for itself and act as emergency rain support for its teammates on dedicated rain teams. Ice Beam provides valuable coverage against Grass-types that resist Hydro Pump, OHKOing Leafeon and having upwards of an 85% chance to OHKO Exeggutor if Stealth Rock is up. Synchronoise allows Golduck to muscle through Poliwrath and Mareanie, which would be good checks otherwise. It also provides decent chip damage against Silvally-Water. Focus Blast is an alternative option that hits targets such as Cradily and Lapras hard, but its targets are generally much less common in the metagame, and a rain-boosted Hydro Pump hits almost everything else harder.

Set Details
========

Life Orb is the preferred item, as it cranks Golduck's power up and allows it to achieve greater damage with its coverage moves. For example, Life Orb-boosted Ice Beam will always KO (OHKO?) Leafeon, while unboosted Ice Beam has a much lower chance of doing so. Exeggutor will also always survive an Ice Beam if it is not powered up by Life Orb. Waterium Z is an alternative option that gives Golduck a ludicrously powerful one-time nuke that improves its matchup against bulkier foes such as Dusclops and Assault Vest Kecleon while seriously denting most Pokemon and circumventing Hydro Pump's meager accuracy.

Usage Tips
========

Golduck can be used as both a wallbreaker and a sweeper. Sets utilizing Waterium Z are adept at wallbreaking, while Life Orb sets are better suited for sweeping, but both sets are capable of doing either should the situation arise. Rain Dance should be used on Pokemon that Golduck forces out, such as Camerupt and Altaria, in order to avoid unnecessary chip damage onto Golduck. Golduck's checks need to be weakened before a sweep is attempted, as most of ZU's special walls can stall Golduck out while forcing it to take chip damage from Life Orb recoil. Golduck has a tendency to fall into the damage range of priority moves coming from users such as Kecleon and Purugly if it has taken too much prior chip damage. It is also frail and should not be switched into any attacks if at all possible. Bringing it in via a slow U-turn or Volt Switch avoids such a scenario. Golduck also despises status, as it is crippled by both paralysis and Toxic, so play carefully when Pokemon that can inflict these, such as Lickilicky, Bronzor, and Dusclops, are on the field.

Team Options
========

Golduck is a natural fit on full rain teams thanks to the sweeping and breaking power it provides them. Thus, rain setters are mandatory teammates on such a team. Volbeat works incredibly well on rain teams, as it can set up rain while also giving Golduck easy points of entry thanks to its slow U-turn and its ability to lock opponents foes into unfavorable moves with Encore. Electrode is an alternate option that can bring Golduck and its teammates in using Volt Switch while also annoying opposing walls with Taunt. Entry hazard support is highly recommended when using Golduck, as it really appreciates the extra chip damage when attempting to sweep through teams. Relicanth is a great choice for rain teams looking to set up Stealth Rock, as it has access to both Rain Dance and Stealth Rock while also being able to do some serious damage with Head Smash, as well as potentially allowing Golduck to switch in for free by KOing itself with recoil damage. Golduck appreciates teammates with some physical wallbreaking power to take down checks such as Lickilicky and Servine. Poliwrath and Beartic are both rain sweepers that can smash through Lickilicky with little issue while also threatening Grass-types thanks to their Ice-type coverage. Swanna is another option that can effectively cleave through Grass-types while also using Roost to keep itself healthy throughout the match. While Golduck is usually found on full rain teams, it can also function as a cleaner on standard offensive teams. Teams that utilize Golduck in this fashion need to have ways to chip down Golduck's checks and prepare the battlefield for it to clean late-game. Knock Off users can be used to annoy bulkier Pokemon such as Lickilicky and Kecleon while also removing Eviolite from threats such as Dusclops. Pivots such as Electivire and Komala can bring Golduck in safely against something that does not immediately threaten it, which is imperative, as Golduck will need to set up rain for itself. Crippling these Pokemon with status from the likes of Bronzor and Altaria is an option as well. Mixed Simisage is an exemplary partner, as it can utilize Knock Off while also threatening several Water-types that Golduck struggles with, such as Silvally-Water and Pyukumuku. Hazard removal is highly recommended, as Golduck wants to be as healthy as possible before it attempts a sweep. As such, Rapid Spin or Defog support from a teammates such as Komala and or Silvally-Dragon is very nice.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

Choice Specs can be used to give Golduck some serious power behind Hydro Pump, (RC) and allows it to pick up some OHKOs with Ice Beam that it would not normally be able to achieve. However, this is not generally recommended; Choice Specs Golduck can be easily played around by teams with a dedicated special wall. It also requires immaculate prediction to work around Pokemon that resist Water-type moves. In addition, it is largely outclassed by Floatzel, which can utilize Switcheroo to cripple common switch-ins while also being faster. Calm Mind can be used to improve Golduck's matchup against bulkier teams while allowing it to break through some of its common defensive checks. Golduck has issues finding a time to set up, however, and it can't afford to drop any of its usual moves.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: Many of the tier's specially bulky Pokemon can handle Golduck. Lickilicky is a hugely irritating Pokemon for Golduck to deal with. While it fails to safely switch in, once it is in, it is one of Golduck's best checks, being able to stall out rain turns using Protect and Wish while threatening to badly poison Golduck with Toxic. Assault Vest Kecleon and Cradily do well against the standard Life Orb set, although Kecleon is heavily damaged by Hydro Vortex, (AC) and Cradily must watch out for the rare Focus Blast.

**Grass-types**: Many of the tier's Grass-types can tank one Ice Beam and OHKO Golduck in return with their STAB moves. Servine, Bellossom, and Shiinotic can all take an Ice Beam and either cripple or take out Golduck.

**Water-types**: Silvally-Water is never 2HKOed by Hydro Pump without Stealth Rock damage, and variants with Thunderbolt threaten to 2HKO in return. Pyukumuku can also stall out rain turns with Recover before threatening to poison or trap Golduck, depending on the variant. Floatzel can't confidently switch in, but Swift Swim variants outrun Golduck and can revenge kill it after some chip damage.

**Residual Damage**: Life Orb recoil and a vulnerability to entry hazards mean that Golduck gets chipped down pretty easily. This can put it in range of priority moves users such as Pawniard, Kecleon, and Purugly, although they need significant chip beforehand to take it out entirely.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[SputnikGT, 475916]]
- Quality checked by: [[5gen, 296755], [Ho3nConfirm3d, 231074], [uhuhuhu7, 407249]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [, ]]
2/2 :blobthumbsup:
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