Royalty
Confused, truth is what I choose
Overview
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Krookodile has a variety of traits that make it a strong choice in UU. With a decent Attack stat, solid Speed, a great STAB combination, and a dangerous ability in Moxie, Krookodile is an extremely effective Choice Scarf user. However, Krookodile is by no means one-dimensional. Thanks to Intimidate, it can run a very bulky physically defensive set as well. This set takes advantage of its strong support movepool to be a good wall and team player. Because of its ability to be unpredictable and do well in many roles, Krookodile is a great Pokemon in UU.
Choice Band
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name: Choice Band
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Stone Edge / Superpower
move 4: Pursuit / Superpower
ability: Moxie
item: Choice Band
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Adamant
Moves
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Earthquake is a strong and reliable STAB move that hits most Pokemon that don't resist it pretty hard. Knock Off also is quite powerful and removes the opposing Pokemon's item. Stone Edge has good coverage alongside Earthquake and will hit Flying-types such as Mega Aerodactyl, Honchkrow, and Crobat harder, pressuring them. Pursuit traps several dangerous Pokemon such as Chandelure. Superpower can be used over either of the last two moves to hit Hydreigon and Blissey super effectively if they are not needed, however. Aerial Ace can be used to hit Chesnaught, who otherwise resists all the other moves barring Superpower which won't be hitting Chesnaught too hard.
Set Details
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The EV spread maximizes Attack and Speed, as this is an offensive set. A Jolly nature is preferred to maintain its decent Speed tier, allowing Krookodile to outspeed Pokemon such as Roserade and Nidoking. An Adamant can be used for a higher damage output, but because of Krookodile's Speed tier it's difficult to justify passing up on Jolly. If you do go with Adamant, 56 HP / 252 Atk / 200 Spe with Intimidate can be used. Moxie is the best ability to pressure defensive teams more. Choice Band is for maximum damage output.
Usage Tips
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Choice Band Krookodile functions as a pure wallbreaker. Pursuit is handy to trap frail Pokemon weak to Dark-type attacks such as Chandelure or a weakened Pokemon trying to switch out. Attacking with Krookodile is fairly simple, as you just use its STAB moves accordingly depending on the Pokemon on your opponents' team. Be wary of locking yourself into Earthquake if your opponent has any Flying-types or Levitators. Knock Off is better to use as it can bother any Pokemon barring defensive Mega Pokemon such as Blastoise. It also helps to wear down Pokemon such as Forretress and Hippowdon that wall Krookodile.
Team Options
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Choice Band Krookodile fits on fairly offensive teams that can keep up the pressure. Since it is stopped by physical walls such as Suicune, Chesnaught, and Hippowdon, special attackers such as Shaymin, Nidoking, or Togekiss help. Because Krookodile's Knock Off will deny Pokemon passive recovery from Leftovers, if you have hazard support from a Pokemon such as Azelf and Pokemon that utilize switching moves such as Mienshao and Raikou, the opponent can be worn down greatly.
Choice Scarf
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name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Pursuit / Superpower
ability: Moxie
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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Earthquake is a strong and reliable STAB move that can easily clean up after any Pokemon that resist or are immune to Ground-type attacks are removed. Knock Off is almost as strong as Earthquake when the opposing Pokemon has an item, has a great secondary effect of removing that item, and has good coverage to clean as well. Stone Edge has good coverage alongside Earthquake and hits Flying-types such as Mega Aerodactyl, Honchkrow, and Crobat harder. Pursuit traps several dangerous Pokemon such as Chandelure. Superpower can be used over Pursuit hit Hydreigon and Blissey super effectively. Finally, Aerial Ace is an option solely for KOing Chesnaught.
Set Details
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Choice Scarf is used to make Krookodile outspeed everything except opposing Choice Scarf users with higher base Speed, which lets it revenge kill throughout the match and clean up late-game. The EVs spread is to simply maximize Attack and Speed, because Choice Scarf Krookodile only cares about KOing Pokemon, not tanking hits. Moxie is by far the best ability to let Krookodile become increasingly harder to wall late-game. A Jolly nature is preferred over an Adamant nature because Moxie will give Krookodile the necessary boost in power to clean up, while running a neutral Speed nature leaves it vulnerable to Pokemon such as Choice Scarf-holding Pokemon with base 90 Speed.
Usage Tips
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Choice Scarf Krookodile can be used mid-game to revenge kill various threats like Mega Houndoom, while cleaning up a weakened team late game. Because it is rather frail, it shouldn't be switched into many attacks. Be careful about which move Krookodile locks itself into, or it could become set up bait for a Pokemon that doesn’t take much damage from that move. Krookodile also lacks power without any Moxie boosts, so you shouldn't try to break walls without any boosts. When you do decide to sweep, make sure that your opponent doesn't have any healthy Pokemon that the move you pick.
Team Options
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Krookodile loves entry hazards to soften up the opposing team and make it easier to sweep. Spikes support can come from Pokemon such as Froslass, Forretress, and Roserade. Stealth Rock is also very good, and can be provided by, among others, Forretress, Swampert, and Azelf. Krookodile can fit on all kinds of teams because it serves as a win condition and can revenge kill many important threats, but it appreciates strong wallbreakers that break down the walls it can't handle. Pokemon such as Mienshao and Mega Houndoom fit this role.
Physically Defensive
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name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Stealth Rock / Toxic
ability: Intimidate
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
nature: Impish
Moves
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Earthquake is a reliable STAB attack that hits many Pokemon reasonably hard. Knock Off is also decently powerful and provides good support with its secondary effect. Taunt is a great support move that stops the opposing Pokemon from healing, setting up hazards, boosting, or using status moves, which is very helpful. In the final slot, Krookodile should usually use Stealth Rock, because it finds several opportunities to set it up, but if you have Stealth Rock somewhere else on the team, then Toxic works very well with Taunt to wear down Pokemon. Dragon Tail is also an option to shuffle the opponent's Pokemon.
Set Details
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The EVs are to maximize Krookodile’s physical bulk allowing it to handle powerful physical attackers such as Crobat and Darmanitan more easily. This, combined with Intimidate, makes it quite bulky, and Intimidate is very important for helping Krookodile sponge these physical hits. 88 Speed EVs could be used to outrun Honchkrow, but Krookodile can't do much damage to it anyway. Leftovers is by far the best item as Krookodile has no other form of recovery.
Usage Tips
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This Krookodile plays like a pivot, taking care of physical attackers. However, it probably won't last the whole game, because it has no reliable recovery. It's best to set up Stealth Rock on Pokemon that can't threaten you, rather than taking a lot of damage to do it. Taunt should be used on Pokemon such as Forretress, that would try to set up on Krookodile. Even if Krookodile has to be KOed, Intimidate works as a buffer for your other Pokemon, helping their bulk.
Team Options
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Because Krookodile has no recovery, Wish support from Pokemon such as Florges is quite useful. Because of its typing, Krookodile cannot be relied upon to deal with the physical Fighting-types in the tier, so Pokemon such as Florges and Crobat are good teammates. Although its typing doesn't give it too many common physical weaknesses, it also doesn't have many useful resistances to deal with outrageously powerful Pokemon such as Choice Band Haxorus and Life Orb Honchkrow, so Pokemon such as Suicune, Mega Ampharos, or Forretress make good partners.
Life Orb
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name: Life Orb
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Stone Edge / Superpower
move 4: Pursuit / Superpower
ability: Moxie
item: Life Orb
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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Earthquake is a strong and reliable STAB move that hits most Pokemon that don't resist it pretty hard. Knock Off also is quite powerful and removes the opposing Pokemon's item. Stone Edge has good coverage alongside Earthquake and will hit Flying-types such as Mega Aerodactyl, Honchkrow, and Crobat super effectively, pressuring them. Pursuit traps several dangerous Pokemon such as Azelf and Chandelure. Superpower can be used over either of the last two moves to hit Hydreigon and Blissey super effectively, however. Stealth Rock can also be used in one of the last two slots if your team needs a Pokemon to set it.
Set Details
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The EVs maximize Attack and Speed because this is an offensive Krookodile. A Jolly nature is preferred to maintain its decent Speed tier to outspeed Pokemon such as Roserade and Nidoking. Moxie is the best ability to pressure defensive teams more, although Intimidate can be used as it is useful against offensive teams with lots of physical attackers. Life Orb gives Krookodile much more wallbreaking power.
Usage Tips
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Life Orb Krookodile functions as a mid-game wallbreaker. Pursuit is handy to trap frail Pokemon weak to Dark-type attacks such as Chandelure or Azelf. Attacking with Krookodile is fairly simple, as you can just use its STAB moves accordingly depending on the Pokemon out against it. Knock Off is the move that should be used most of the time as it can bother any Pokemon. It also helps to wear down Pokemon such as Forretress and Hippowdon that wall Krookodile.
Team Options
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Life Orb Krookodile fits on fairly offensive teams that can keep up the pressure. As it is walled by physical walls such as Suicune, Forretress, and Hippowdon, special attackers such as Hydreigon or Roserade are good partners. Because Krookodile's Knock Off will deny Pokemon passive recovery from Leftovers, if you have hazard support from entry hazard setters, such as Azelf, and Pokemon that utilize switching moves such, as Mienshao and Raikou, the opponent can be worndown with ease.
Other Options
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Krookodile has an interesting movepool, but the rest of its options aren't great. It gets Mean Look, so it can utilize a trapping set. Bulk Up is an interesting move, but Krookodile is forced out too easily for it to be effective. Fire Fang hits Forretress super effectively, while Aqua Tail hits Hippowdon for super effective damage. Protect or Rest and Sleep Talk are usable on the physically defensive set to increase Krookodile’s longevity.
Checks & Counters
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**Bulky Ground-types**: Donphan, Hippowdon, and Swampert can all wall Krookodile without much difficulty.
**Physical walls**: Vaporeon, Suicune, Chesnaught ,and other physical walls take hits from Krookodile easily as long as they are not weak to its STAB moves.
**Fighting-types**: Choice Scarf Mienshao and Infernape outspeed any set and swiftly KO Krookodile.
**Faster attackers**: If it's not using Choice Scarf, then Pokemon that naturally outspeed it such as Hydreigon and Shaymin can swiftly take Krookodile out.
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