This is part of a project to get rid of the poor quality, misinformation-ridden RBY analyses from over a decade ago. These works are low-priority and should be treated as such.
[OVERVIEW]
Golduck is the fastest Amnesia user in RBY UU, which gives it the potential to be a fairly terrifying sweeper given the chance. An Amnesia-boosted Golduck is not to be taken lightly: a +2 Blizzard OHKOes Dodrio, as well as Tangela 41% of the time. +2 Blizzard, along with Hydro Pump, will also 2HKO most neutral targets, though there are notable exceptions such as Articuno and Hypno. Amnesia also assists Golduck defensively, making it very difficult for conventional Water-types to KO and allowing it to PP stall them using Rest. Golduck's Speed is also fairly decent—tying it with Articuno and Pinsir—which lets it get the jump on Dragonite before it can set up Agility.
However, Golduck has a myriad of issues that prevent it from seeing play. The main problem is that its good coverage falls flat in RBY UU due to the many bulky Water-types such as Tentacruel, Vaporeon, and Dewgong, all of which stonewall Golduck. Furthermore, Tentacruel makes actually getting mileage out of Golduck a nightmare, outspeeding it to delay its setup and chip it down with Wrap until it's placed in KO range. Golduck is fairly vulnerable to physical attackers like Kangaskhan that love to punish its Rest, blowing past it with their STAB moves. As a result, while Golduck works on paper, it flounders in practice. Poliwrath is a far superior pick as an Amnesia user, possessing a wider movepool and better overall stats.
[SET]
name: Amnesia
move 1: Amnesia
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Blizzard
move 4: Rest
[SET COMMENTS]
Amnesia enables Golduck to function as an offensive and defensive Pokemon, letting it shore up its special bulk to wall Water-types while becoming a very threatening sweeper should its checks be removed. The combination of Hydro Pump and Blizzard is only resisted by opposing Water-types and therefore serves as its best coverage. Hydro Pump will OHKO Dugtrio without a boost, and, at +2, it will OHKO Persian and Kangaskhan. Finally, Rest allows Golduck to remain healthy, continue picking up Amnesia boosts, and remove any paralysis it sustains in the process.
Golduck has a few alternative options, though fitting them into its moveset is very difficult. Body Slam allows Golduck to make use of its nice Attack stat, chipping foes with poor Defense like Kadabra while spreading paralysis. Should a more defensive approach be desired, Ice Beam is a suitable alternative to Blizzard for trying to freeze an opponent's Water-type, like Vaporeon, with freeze having an 81.98% chance of occurring if all of Ice Beam's PP is used. Some think to use Confusion for fighting Tentacruel, but even at +2, it only has a 59.1% chance to 3HKO and is largely useless outside of this.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Plague von Karma, 236353]]
- Quality checked by: [[phoopes, 96315], [Sevi 7, 505149]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]
[OVERVIEW]
Golduck is the fastest Amnesia user in RBY UU, which gives it the potential to be a fairly terrifying sweeper given the chance. An Amnesia-boosted Golduck is not to be taken lightly: a +2 Blizzard OHKOes Dodrio, as well as Tangela 41% of the time. +2 Blizzard, along with Hydro Pump, will also 2HKO most neutral targets, though there are notable exceptions such as Articuno and Hypno. Amnesia also assists Golduck defensively, making it very difficult for conventional Water-types to KO and allowing it to PP stall them using Rest. Golduck's Speed is also fairly decent—tying it with Articuno and Pinsir—which lets it get the jump on Dragonite before it can set up Agility.
However, Golduck has a myriad of issues that prevent it from seeing play. The main problem is that its good coverage falls flat in RBY UU due to the many bulky Water-types such as Tentacruel, Vaporeon, and Dewgong, all of which stonewall Golduck. Furthermore, Tentacruel makes actually getting mileage out of Golduck a nightmare, outspeeding it to delay its setup and chip it down with Wrap until it's placed in KO range. Golduck is fairly vulnerable to physical attackers like Kangaskhan that love to punish its Rest, blowing past it with their STAB moves. As a result, while Golduck works on paper, it flounders in practice. Poliwrath is a far superior pick as an Amnesia user, possessing a wider movepool and better overall stats.
[SET]
name: Amnesia
move 1: Amnesia
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Blizzard
move 4: Rest
[SET COMMENTS]
Amnesia enables Golduck to function as an offensive and defensive Pokemon, letting it shore up its special bulk to wall Water-types while becoming a very threatening sweeper should its checks be removed. The combination of Hydro Pump and Blizzard is only resisted by opposing Water-types and therefore serves as its best coverage. Hydro Pump will OHKO Dugtrio without a boost, and, at +2, it will OHKO Persian and Kangaskhan. Finally, Rest allows Golduck to remain healthy, continue picking up Amnesia boosts, and remove any paralysis it sustains in the process.
Golduck has a few alternative options, though fitting them into its moveset is very difficult. Body Slam allows Golduck to make use of its nice Attack stat, chipping foes with poor Defense like Kadabra while spreading paralysis. Should a more defensive approach be desired, Ice Beam is a suitable alternative to Blizzard for trying to freeze an opponent's Water-type, like Vaporeon, with freeze having an 81.98% chance of occurring if all of Ice Beam's PP is used. Some think to use Confusion for fighting Tentacruel, but even at +2, it only has a 59.1% chance to 3HKO and is largely useless outside of this.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Plague von Karma, 236353]]
- Quality checked by: [[phoopes, 96315], [Sevi 7, 505149]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]
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