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Lickilicky (NU Analysis) [Done]

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[OVERVIEW]
In a tier dominated by powerful special attackers, Lickilicky stands out as one of the main answer answers to them due to its solid special bulk and access to reliable recovery in the form of Wish. It distinguishes itself from other specially defensive Pokemon like Slowking, Gardevoir, and Hypno with its lack of Dark weaknesses, weakness, which means it doesn't fear Pursuit from the omnipresent Skuntank nearly as much as its competitors. Its typing also allows it to serve as a potential check to some variants of Haunter, Shiftry, and Venomoth, a task that Psychic-types cannot fulfill. Furthermore, like many Normal-types, Lickilicky is blessed with a tremendous movepool and well-rounded stats all around. As a consequence, Lickilicky can turn into an offensive threat, notably packing the strongest unboosted move in the game: game : STABed STAB Explosion.
However, each Lickilicky's variant has its fair share of drawbacks : due to its average offensive stats, it's very passive without significant investisment. investment. Thus, defensive sets can be abused pretty easily by Pokemon like Drifblim and Poliwrath. On the other hand, offensive Lickilicky suffers from a low Speed, an average Attack stat, and thus from stiff competition with Tauros and Dodrio as a Normal type wallbreaker. Moreover, a lot of Pokemon can exploit Lickilicky's Fighting weakness, including Focus Blast users like Gardevoir, Magmortar, and Typhlosion, which greatly hurts its reliability as a special wall.
[SET]
name: Special Wall
Move move 1: Wish
Move move 2: Protect
Move move 3: Return / Body Slam
Move move 4: Toxic / Heal Bell / Aqua Tail
item: Leftovers
ability: Own Tempo
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Here is Lickilicky's main set, which fulfills a pretty important task in a metagame dominated by special wallbreakers. Wish is Lickilicky's most reliable form of recovery, which also allows to heal up its teammates. Protect makes Wish much safier to use, use and has some other desirable features, like punishing a predicted High Jump Kick from a reckless Medicham, scouting on which move a Choice item user like Tauros locks itself into, burning some PPs PP from moves like Focus Blast, and gaining additionnal additional recovery from Leftovers. Return is Lickilicky's main offensive move due to its natural BP further boosted by STAB. Body Slam is an option if want to spread paralysis, but be careful not to prevent opposing defensive Pokemon like Regirock and Slowking from being infactuated inflicted by a more crippling statue effect like poison. On the last slot, Toxic makes up for Lickilicky's passivity and allows it to stall out opposing defensive Pokemon that don't carry Toxic themselves like the aforementionned aforementioend Slowking and Regirock. Heal Bell is available if you can't afford to have Lickilicky itself or any of its partners crippled by statues. Finally, Aqua Tail makes Lickilicky less of an offensive liability by preventing Drifblim, Haunter, and Rhydon from setting up too easily on it. Other attacking moves like Power Whip can be considered, considered if you want to prevent Poliwrath and Whiscash from using Lickilicky as a set up setup fodder. On stall teams, Knock Off is an option as it can hinder a lot of unexpecting unsuspecting targets by removing their item. For example, it can remove Poliwrath's Leftovers so that its use of Substitute is limited and entry hazards rack up on it faster. It can also remove items that boost the power of wallbreakers, such as Choice Specs Typhlosion, Choice Band Floatzel, or Life Orb Magmortar, making each of them significantly easier for Lickilicky or one of its teammates to wall. However, in many cases, Toxic or even just Return is sufficient to deter these threats.
[ADDITIONNAL COMMENTS]
Leftovers is a natural choice for a staller. Maximizing HP and Special Defense is necessary to effectively check the likes of Charizard, Jynx, and Manectric. Leftovers is a natural choice for a staller. Nonetheless, Alternatively, since Lickilicky's natural physical bulk is just as good as its special bulk, maximizing its Defense instead is certainly possible if you need to keep the likes of Tauros and Dodrio in check. However, NU is more specially oriented and the Fighting weakness becomes even more hindering for a physicall physical wall. Some mixed defensive spread spreads are playable as well, such as 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 SpD with a Careful nature nature, which provides enough physical bulk to survive a Close Combat from Scarf Hitmonchan, whereas and an Impish Lickilicky with 252 HP / 96 Def / 160 SpD will live Focus Punch from Poliwrath and Explosion from some bulky Skuntank variants, while still being able to take a Focus Blast from the likes of Gardevoir and Magmortar. This Lickilicky's Lickilicky variant fits mostly on balance and stall teams, where its passivity isn't too bothersome.
Lickilicky's ability to heal its teammates with Wish is greatly appreciated by Pokemon such as Regirock, which provides a good defensive presence against Tauros, Dodrio, and Drifblim, three Pokemon that can take advantage of Lickilicky. It is forced out by Fighting-types like Medicham, Hitmonchan and Poliwrath. Therefore, having a reliable answer to most of these threats like Sableye and Slowking is a good idea. Furthermore, Lickilicky has an harder time performing as a special wall if the opposing Charizard, Magmortar, Typhlosion, Gardevoir, or Jynx packs Focus Blast, although spamming Protect and Wish can take its toll. Thus, some additionnal additional insurances against these Pokemonin Pokemon in the form of Politoed and once again Slowking can be considered.
[SET]
name : Swords Dance
Move move 1: Swords Dance
Move move 2: Return
Move move 3: Aqua Tail / Power Whip
Move move 4: Explosion / Substitute / Heal Bell
item: Leftovers
ability: Own Tempo
nature: Adamant
evs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
With this set, Lickilicky can turn into a potent stallbreaker thanks to its bulk and access to Swords Dance, as it can find several opportunities to set up throughout the match. Return is a decently powerful and reliable STAB attack without any significant drawbacks. Aqua Tail grants a near perfect neutral coverage alongside Return, Return and hits Haunter and Drifblim very hard when boosted. Power Whip packs a very appealing immediate power and coverage, notably scoring a guaranteed 2HKO on Regirock and most Cradily, as well as an OHKO on Slowking. Explosion provides a tremendously powerful last-dish Last-ditch tool, as it will break through Regircok after one Swords Dance. Substitute, on the other hand, is a more defensive approach which that allows Lickilicky to avoid statues and to set up Swords Dance safely against passive Pokemon. If you manage to keep the substitute up, you may deter frailer and faster Pokemon that might try to revenge kill Lickilicky. Heal Bell enables Lickilicky to directly switch in on defensive threats without having to worry about being statued. statused. It also works better against Pokemon that are strong enough to break the substitute in one hit and hinder Lickilicky with statues statuses afterwards.
[ADDITIONNAL COMMENTS]
The given EV spread aims to hit as hard as possible while outspeeding base 70 base Speed Pokemon like Poliwrath and Politoed withou without investment. The rest is dumped into HP in order to keep some bulk, enabling Lickilicky to eat take two Thunderbolt from Choice Scarf Manectric after Stealth Rock. However, if you're Lickilicky is using running Substitute, then you may opt for a more chaotic EV spread like 252 HP / 24 Atk / 92 SpD / 140 Spe with a Careful nature, which provides a substitute sturdy enough to take a Surf from defensive Slowking, a Rock Slide from Cradily and some Regirock, and a Seismic Toss, as well as any hit weaker than these. Leftovers compounds makes up for the health lost by the potential use of Substitute or by the damages inflicted by the defensive Pokemon that Lickilicky use uses as set up setup baits.
Said Pokemon need to be dragged onto the field for Lickilicky to come in and start using Swords Dance. Sweepers like Drifblim, Floatzel, Charizard, and Typhlosion tend to attract the likes of Slowking, Cradily, and defensive Lickilicky. All of these can serve as set up setup baits for this Lickilicky variant. Unless it manages to always keep the cover from Substitute, Lickilicky will be forced out by faster Fighting-types like Medicham, Hitmonchan, and Poliwrath and overall strong offensive threats like Tauros or Magmortar. Therefore, defensive backbones in the form of Sableye and Slowking remain good partners.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
Move move 1: Return
Move move 2: Power Whip
Move move 3: Ice Punch
Move move 4: Explosion
item: Choice Band
ability: Own Tempo
nature: Adamant
EVs: evs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Although Lickilicky faces a lot of competition from the likes of Tauros and Dodrio as an offensive Normal-type due to their superior Speed and Attack, Choice Band Lickilicky still retains some merits, namely its bulk, its movepool, and the potential surprise factor. Return remains Lickilicky's preferred STAB move. Power Whip is a powerful coverage move that 2HKOes most Regirock and Sableye variants after Stealth Rocks Rock and heavily dents Slowking and Sandslash, among other physically bulky Pokemon. Ice Punch nearly OHKOes Haunter and Gligar and 2HKOes Cradily and Drifblim. Explosion tears through just about anything bar Ghost-types and a couple of very physically bulky Rock-types, which means that most Pokemon that would be able to tank other Lickilicky's assaults still have to watch out. Aqua Tail remains a nice compromise due to its overall coverage which allows to hit all of Magneton, Haunter, Sandslash, Drifblim, Regirock, and Gligar for good damages. damage.
[ADDITIONNAL COMMENTS]
The given EV spread allows Lickilicky to outspeed uninvested base 70 base Speed Pokemon while hitting as hard as possible, the remaining EVs go into HP. Investing more into HP can be considered, considered: for instance instance, 232 EVs in this stat ensures that some common Pokemon like Offensive Skuntank, Choice Scarf Gardevoir, and Life Orb Venomoth cannot 2HKO this Lickilicky after Stealth Rock damages, damage, but it requires to cut your Speed by a significant amount. Adamant nature and Choice Band further enhances Lickilicky's attack.
Just like the previous set, Choice Band Lickilicky has an easier coming onto the field and starting punching holes in the team if the opposing foe happens to be a relatively passive Pokemon like Cradily or Hypno. Thus, offensive Pokemon like Charizard and Manectric remain teammates of choice since they tend to attract this kind of Pokemon. In a similar manner, Lickilicky is still pressured by faster Fighting-types and other powerhouses, which means that typical answers to these threats like Sableye and Slowking are once again among Lickilicky's favorite partners.
[Other Options]
With its bulk and access to a ridiculously strong Explosion, Lickilicky makes a good Sunny Day or Rain Dance setter in dedicated weather teams. Curse makes Lickilicky harder to break through on the physical side an enables it to ideally sweep the opposing team. Nonetheless, Cradily mostly outclasses it in this area thanks to its access to an immediate and reliable form of recovery and to a STAB attack that no one is immune to. without immunities. Curse can be used in tandem with Block and Rest in order to trap a Pokemon unable to 3HKO Lickilicky through Rest, Rest to potentially PP stall it before attempting a sweep afterwards. However, such as a setup is stopped cold by Ghost-type Ghost-types and trapping a setup fodder can be difficult. A SubPunch set can be considered thanks to Lickilicky's solid Substitute and ability to get rid of Regirock and Cradily, but the Swords Dance set usually performs better. Lickilicky possesses a colorful special movepool, including Fire Blast, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt. However, Lickilicky's physical arsenal provides a good enough coverage most of the time, although moves like Shadow Ball to hit the likes of Haunter and Drifblim or Surf to deal with Regirock, Rhydon, and Fire-types can find their place into the first special wall set listed.
[Checks & Counters]
Fighting-types like Medicham and Hitmonchan OHKO Lickilicky with their respective STAB attack, although the former shouldn't mindlessly use High Jump Kick in front of a Lickilicky with Protect. Poliwrath deserves a special mention as it can exploit Lickilicky by locking it on the wrong move with Encore or setting up with Bulk Up under Substitute cover. The only moves it has to watch out for are Power Whip as well as Toxic on the switch. Among Ghost-types, Drifblim is especially painful for Lickilicky to face as the Calm Mind variants can freely set-up set up on the defensive variant and makes a good check to the offensive variants, seeing that banded Ice Punch and boosted Aqua Tail are the only moves that scare it off. Haunter is in a similar position, but its extreme frailty and lack of boosting moves make it a much less reliable answer. Sableye can shut down most Lickilicky with Taunt and Will-O-Wisp, but it wants to avoid Toxic and boosted Power Whip on the switch. Some bulky set up setup Pokemon like Calm Mind Slowking, Curse Cradily, Swords Dance Meganium, and Dragon Dance Whishcash can take advantage of non Toxic non-Toxic defensive Lickilicky Lickilicky, , but they are in trouble against any other variants. Lickilicky also heavily despises being intoxicated hit by toxic unless it runs Heal Bell, and even if that's the case case, the low PPs PP of this move make common Toxic users like Regirock, Charizard, Hypno, and opposing Lickilicky potential threats. It should also be wary of switching into the likes of scarfed Manectric and Gardevoir, as they can give their Choice Scarf via Switcheroo or Trick, respectively, which cripples Lickilicky heavily. Finally, common users of Focus Blast like Magmortar, Gardevoir, and Typhlosion Typhlosion, as well as strong physical wallbreakers like Tauros, Dodrio, and Rhydon Rhydon, can break through or revenge kill Lickilicky. However, a combination of Protect and Wish can keep it alive until Focus Blast PPs PP are gone and scout on which moves the aforementionned aforementioned Choice Band users are locked. locked into.
 
Dawn of ares You posted your check when I was in the middle of working on mine. However, I looked over yours a bit and I saw a lot of good changes that I borrowed into my check. Well done!
Add Remove Comments (AC) = Add Comma (RC) = Remove Comma (AH) = Add Hyphen (SC) = Semicolon

GP 1/2

shinxstamp.gif


[OVERVIEW]

In a tier dominated by powerful special attackers, Lickilicky stands out as one of the main answers to them due to its solid special bulk and access to reliable recovery in the form of Wish. It distinguishes itself from other specially defensive Pokemon like Slowking, Gardevoir, and Hypno with its lack of Dark weaknesses, which means it doesn't fear Pursuit from the omnipresent Skuntank nearly as much as its competitors. Its typing also allows it to serve as a potential check to some variants of Haunter, Shiftry, and Venomoth, a task that Psychic-types cannot fulfill. Furthermore, like many Normal-types, Lickilicky is blessed with a tremendous movepool and well-rounded stats all around. As a consequence, Lickilicky can turn into an offensive threat, notably packing the strongest unboosted move in the game : STABed in STAB Explosion.

However, each Lickilicky's Lickilicky variant has its fair share of drawbacks; (SC) : (Remove colon) due to its average offensive stats, it's very passive without significant investisment investment. Thus, defensive sets can be abused taken advantage of pretty easily by Pokemon like Drifblim and Poliwrath. On the other hand, offensive Lickilicky suffers from a low Speed, (RC) and an average Attack stat, and thus from facing stiff competition with from Tauros and Dodrio as a Normal-(AH)type wallbreaker. Moreover, a lot of Pokemon can exploit Lickilicky's Fighting weakness, including Focus Blast users like Gardevoir, Magmortar, and Typhlosion, which greatly hurts its reliability as a special wall.

[SET]

name: Special Wall
move 1: Wish
move 2: Protect
move 3: Return / Body Slam
move 4: Toxic / Heal Bell / Aqua Tail
item: Leftovers
ability: Own Tempo
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

Here is Lickilicky's main set, which fulfills a pretty important task in a metagame dominated by special wallbreakers. Wish is Lickilicky's most reliable form of recovery, which also allows it to heal up its teammates. Protect makes Wish much safier safer to use, and has some other desirable features, like punishing a predicted High Jump Kick from a reckless Medicham, scouting on which move a Choice item user like Tauros locks itself into, burning some PPs from moves like Focus Blast, and gaining additionnal additional recovery from Leftovers. Return is Lickilicky's main offensive move due to its natural BP further boosted by STAB. Body Slam is an option if you want to spread paralysis, but be careful not to prevent opposing defensive Pokemon like Regirock and Slowking from being infactuated by a more crippling statue crippled by a status effect like poison. On the last slot, Toxic makes up for Lickilicky's passivity and allows it to stall outstall (Stall out is probably fine, but outstall sounds much more natural) opposing defensive Pokemon that don't carry Toxic themselves like the aforementionned aforementioned Slowking and Regirock. Heal Bell is available if you can't afford to have Lickilicky itself or any of its partners crippled by statues status. Finally, Aqua Tail makes Lickilicky less of an offensive liability by preventing Drifblim, Haunter, and Rhydon from setting up too easily on it. Other attacking moves like Power Whip can be considered, (RC) if you want to prevent Poliwrath and Whiscash from using Lickilicky as a set up setup fodder. On stall teams, Knock Off is an option, (AC) as it can hinder a lot of unexpecting targets by removing their item. For example, it can remove Poliwrath's Leftovers so that its use of Substitute is limited and entry hazards rack up on it faster. It can also remove items that boost the power of wallbreakers, (RC) such as Choice Specs Typhlosion, Choice Band Floatzel, or and Life Orb Magmortar, making each of them significantly easier for Lickilicky or one of its teammates to wall. However, in many cases, Toxic or even just Return is sufficient to deter these threats.

[ADDITIONNAL COMMENTS]

Maximizing Maximum HP and Special Defense investment is necessary to effectively check the likes of Charizard, Jynx, and Manectric. Leftovers is a natural choice for a staller. Nonetheless, since Lickilicky's natural physical bulk is just as good as its special bulk, maximizing its Defense instead is certainly possible if you need to keep the likes of Tauros and Dodrio in check. However, NU is more specially oriented and the Fighting weakness becomes even more hindering for a physicall physical wall. Some mixed defensive spreads are playable as well; (SC) 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 SpD with a Careful nature provides enough physical bulk to survive a Close Combat from Scarf Hitmonchan, whereas an Impish Lickilicky with a spread of 252 HP / 96 Def / 160 SpD will live survive a Focus Punch from Poliwrath and an Explosion from some bulky Skuntank variants, (RC) while still being able to take a Focus Blast from the likes of Gardevoir and Magmortar. This Lickilicky's Lickilicky variant fits mostly on balance and stall teams, where its passivity isn't too bothersome.

Lickilicky's ability to heal its teammates with Wish is greatly appreciated by Pokemon such as Regirock, which provides a good defensive presence against Tauros, Dodrio, and Drifblim, three Pokemon that can take advantage of Lickilicky. It is forced out by Fighting-types like Medicham, Hitmonchan, (AC) and Poliwrath. Therefore, having a reliable answer to most of these threats like Sableye and Slowking is a good idea. Furthermore, Lickilicky has an harder time performing as a special wall if the opposing Charizard, Magmortar, Typhlosion, Gardevoir, or Jynx packs Focus Blast, although spamming Protect and Wish can take its toll. Thus, some additionnal additional insurances against these Pokemonin Pokemon in the form of Politoed and once again Slowking can be considered.

[SET]

name name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Return
move 3: Aqua Tail / Power Whip
move 4: Explosion / Substitute / Heal Bell
item: Leftovers
ability: Own Tempo
nature: Adamant
evs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

With this set, Lickilicky can turn into a potent stallbreaker thanks to its bulk and access to Swords Dance, as it can find several opportunities to set up throughout the match. Return is a decently powerful and reliable STAB move without any significant drawbacks. Aqua Tail grants a near-(AH)perfect neutral coverage alongside Return, (RC) and hits Haunter and Drifblim very hard when boosted. Power Whip packs a very appealing immediate power and coverage, notably scoring a guaranteed 2HKO on Regirock and most Cradily, (RC) as well as an OHKO on Slowking. Explosion provides a tremendously powerful last-dish tool, as it will break through Regircok after one Swords Dance. Substitute, on the other hand, is a more defensive approach which that allows Lickilicky to avoid statues status and to set up Swords Dance safely against passive Pokemon. If you manage to keep the Substitute up, you may deter frailer and faster Pokemon that might try to revenge kill Lickilicky. Heal Bell enables Lickilicky to directly switch in on defensive threats without having to worry about being statued hit with status. It also works better against Pokemon that are strong enough to break the Substitute in one hit and hinder Lickilicky with statues status afterwards.

[ADDITIONNAL COMMENTS]

The given EV spread aims to hit as hard as possible while outspeeding 70 base 70 Speed Pokemon like Poliwrath and Politoed without investment. The rest is dumped into HP in order to keep some bulk, enabling Lickilicky to eat two Thunderbolt from Choice Scarf Manectric after Stealth Rock. However, if you're using Substitute, then you may opt for a more chaotic EV spread like 252 HP / 24 Atk / 92 SpD / 140 Spe with a Careful nature, which provides a Substitute sturdy enough to take a Surf from defensive Slowking, a Rock Slide from Cradily and some Regirock, and a Seismic Toss, as well as any hit weaker than these. Leftovers compounds the health lost by the potential use of Substitute or by the damages inflicted by the defensive Pokemon that Lickilicky uses as set up baits.

Said Pokemon need to be dragged onto the field for Lickilicky to come in and start using Swords Dance. Sweepers like Drifblim, Floatzel, Charizard, and Typhlosion tend to attract the likes of Slowking, Cradily, and defensive Lickilicky. All of these can serve as set up setup baits for this Lickilicky variant. Unless it manages to always keep the cover from Substitute, Lickilicky will be forced out by faster Fighting-types like Medicham, Hitmonchan, and Poliwrath and overall strong offensive threats like Tauros or and Magmortar. Therefore, defensive backbones in the form of Sableye and Slowking remain good partners.

[SET]

name: Choice Band
move 1: Return
move 2: Power Whip
move 3: Ice Punch
move 4: Explosion
item: Choice Band
ability: Own Tempo
nature: Adamant
evs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Although Lickilicky faces a lot of competition from the likes of Tauros and Dodrio as an offensive Normal-type due to their superior Speed and Attack, Choice Band Lickilicky still retains some merits, namely its bulk, its movepool, and the potential surprise factor. Return remains Lickilicky's preferred STAB move. Power Whip is a powerful coverage move that 2HKOes most Regirock and Sableye variants after Stealth Rocks and heavily dents Slowking and Sandslash, among other physically bulky Pokemon. Ice Punch nearly OHKOes Haunter and Gligar and 2HKOes Cradily and Drifblim. Explosion tears through just about anything bar Ghost-types and a couple of very physically bulky Rock-types, which means that most Pokemon that would be able to tank other Lickilicky's assaults other moves still have to watch out. Aqua Tail remains a nice compromise due to its overall coverage, (AC) which allows it to hit all of Magneton, Haunter, Sandslash, Drifblim, Regirock, and Gligar for good damages.

[ADDITIONNAL COMMENTS]

The given EV spread allows Lickilicky to outspeed uninvested 70 base 70 Speed Pokemon while hitting as hard as possible; (SC) the remaining EVs go into HP. Investing more into HP can be considered, for instance, (AC) 232 EVs in this stat ensures that some common Pokemon like offensive Skuntank, Choice Scarf Gardevoir, and Life Orb Venomoth cannot 2HKO this Lickilicky after Stealth Rock damages, but it requires to cutting your Speed by a significant amount. An Adamant nature and Choice Band further enhances Lickilicky's Attack.

Just like the previous set, Choice Band Lickilicky has an easier time coming onto the field and starting punching holes in the opposing team if the opposing foe happens to be a relatively passive Pokemon like Cradily or Hypno. Thus, offensive Pokemon like Charizard and Manectric remain teammates of choice, (AC) since they tend to attract this kind of Pokemon. In a similar manner, Lickilicky is still pressured by faster Fighting-types and other powerhouses, which means that typical answers to these threats like Sableye and Slowking are once again among Lickilicky's favorite partners.

[Other Options]

With its bulk and access to a ridiculously strong Explosion, Lickilicky makes a good Sunny Day or Rain Dance setter in dedicated weather teams. Curse makes Lickilicky harder to break through on the physical side and enables it to ideally sweep the opposing team. Nonetheless, Cradily mostly outclasses it in this area thanks to its access to an immediate and reliable form of recovery and to a STAB move without immunities. Curse can be used in tandem with Block and Rest in order to trap a Pokemon unable to 3HKO Lickilicky through Rest, (RC) to potentially PP stall it before attempting a sweep afterwards. However, such as setup is stopped cold by Ghost-types and trapping a setup fodder can be difficult. A SubPunch Substitute + Focus Punch (I assume you mean Focus Punch) set can be considered thanks to Lickilicky's solid Substitute and ability to get rid of Regirock and Cradily, but the Swords Dance usually performs better. Lickilicky possesses a colorful special movepool, including Fire Blast, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt. However, Lickilicky's physical arsenal provides a good enough coverage most of the time, although moves like Shadow Ball to hit the likes of Haunter and Drifblim or Surf to deal with Regirock, Rhydon, and Fire-types can find their place into the first set listed.

[Checks & Counters]

Fighting-types like Medicham and Hitmonchan OHKO Lickilicky with their respective STAB attacks, although the former shouldn't mindlessly use High Jump Kick in front of a Lickilicky with Protect. Poliwrath deserves a special mention, (AC) as it can exploit Lickilicky by locking it on into the wrong move with Encore or setting up with Bulk Up under Substitute cover. The only moves it has to watch out are Power Whip as well as Toxic on the switch. Among Ghost-types, Drifblim is especially painful for Lickilicky to face, (AC) as the Calm Mind variants can freely set-up set up on the defensive variant and makes a good check to the offensive variants, seeing that banded Choice Band-boosted Ice Punch and boosted Aqua Tail are the only moves that scare it off. Haunter is in a similar position, but its extreme frailty and lack of boosting moves make it a much less reliable answer. Sableye can shut down most Lickilicky with Taunt and Will-O-Wisp, but it wants to avoid Toxic and boosted Power Whip on the switch. Some bulky set up setup Pokemon like Calm Mind Slowking, Curse Cradily, Swords Dance Meganium, and Dragon Dance Whishcash can take advantage of non-(AH)Toxic defensive Lickilicky(Remove this space), but are in trouble against any other variants. Lickilicky also heavily despises being intoxicated poisoned unless it runs Heal Bell, and even if that's the case the low PPs of this move makes common Toxic users like Regirock, Charizard, Hypno, and opposing Lickilicky potential threats. It should also be wary of switching into the likes of scarfed Choice Scarf Manectric and Gardevoir, as they can give their Choice Scarf via Switcheroo or Trick, (RC) respectively, which cripples Lickilicky heavily. Finally, common users of Focus Blast like Magmortar, Gardevoir, and Typhlosion as well as strong physical wallbreakers like Tauros, Dodrio, and Rhydon can break through or revenge kill Lickilicky. However, a combination of Protect and Wish can keep it alive until Focus Blast PPs are gone runs out of PP and scout on which moves the aforementionned aforementioned Choice Band users are locked into.
 
Last edited:
Implemented both of your checks as long as they matched together (which was the case most of the time), added credits, and edited format things. Thank you both.

Ready for next check.
 
remove add / fix (comments); (AC=add comma; RC=remove comma; SC=semicolon)
GP 2/2
[OVERVIEW]

In a tier dominated by powerful special attackers, Lickilicky stands out as one of the main answers to them due to its solid special bulk and access to reliable recovery in the form of Wish. It distinguishes itself from other specially defensive Pokemon like Slowking, Gardevoir, and Hypno with its lack of Dark weakness, which means it doesn't fear Pursuit from the omnipresent Skuntank nearly as much as its competitors. Its typing also allows it to serve as a potential check to some variants of Haunter, Shiftry, and Venomoth, a task that Psychic-types cannot fulfill. Furthermore, like many Normal-types, Lickilicky is blessed with a tremendous vast (better adjective) movepool and well-rounded stats all around. As a consequence result, Lickilicky can turn into an offensive threat, notably packing the strongest unboosted move in the game in STAB Explosion.

However, each Lickilicky variant has its fair share of drawbacks; due to its average offensive stats, it's very passive without significant investment. Thus, defensive sets can be taken advantage of pretty easily by Pokemon like Drifblim and Poliwrath. On the other hand, offensive Lickilicky suffers from low Speed and an average Attack stat, thus facing stiff competition from Tauros and Dodrio as a Normal-type (AH) wallbreaker. Moreover, a lot of Pokemon can exploit Lickilicky's Fighting weakness, including Focus Blast users like Gardevoir, Magmortar, and Typhlosion, which greatly hurts its reliability as a special wall.

[SET]

name: Special Wall
move 1: Wish
move 2: Protect
move 3: Return / Body Slam
move 4: Toxic / Heal Bell / Aqua Tail
item: Leftovers
ability: Own Tempo
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

Here is Lickilicky's main set, which fulfills a pretty important task in a metagame dominated by special wallbreakers. Wish is Lickilicky's most reliable form of recovery, which also allows it to heal its teammates. Protect makes Wish much safer to use and has some other desirable features, like punishing a predicted High Jump Kick from a reckless Medicham, scouting which move a Choice item user like Tauros locks itself into, burning some PP from moves like Focus Blast, and gaining additional recovery from Leftovers. Return is Lickilicky's main offensive move due to its high natural Base Power that is further boosted by STAB. Body Slam is an option if you want to spread paralysis, but be careful not to prevent opposing defensive Pokemon like Regirock and Slowking from being crippled by a more detrimental status effect like poison. On the last slot, Toxic makes up for Lickilicky's passivity and allows it to outstall opposing defensive Pokemon that don't carry Toxic themselves like the aforementionned aforementioned Slowking and Regirock. Heal Bell is available an option if you can't afford to have Lickilicky or any of its partners crippled by status. Finally, Aqua Tail makes Lickilicky less of an offensive liability by preventing Drifblim, Haunter, and Rhydon from setting up too easily on it. Other attacking moves like Power Whip can be considered if you want to prevent Poliwrath and Whiscash from using Lickilicky as setup fodder. On stall teams, Knock Off is an option, as it can hinder a lot of unsuspecting targets by removing their item. For example, it can remove Poliwrath's Leftovers so that its use of Substitute is limited and entry hazards rack hazard damage racks up on it faster. It can also remove items that boost the power of wallbreakers such as Choice Specs from Typhlosion, Choice Band from Floatzel, and Life Orb from Magmortar, making each of them significantly easier for Lickilicky or one of its teammates to wall. However, in many cases, Toxic or even just Return is sufficient to deter these threats.

[ADDITIONNAL ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]

Leftovers is a natural choice for a staller stall Pokemon. Maximum HP and Special Defense investment is necessary to effectively check the likes of Charizard, Jynx, and Manectric. Alternatively, since Lickilicky's natural physical bulk is just as good as its special bulk, maximizing its Defense instead is certainly possible if you need to keep the likes of Tauros and Dodrio in check. However, NU is more specially oriented, (AC) and the Fighting weakness becomes even more hindering for a physical wall. Some mixed defensive spreads are playable as well; 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 SpD with a Careful nature provides enough physical bulk to survive a Close Combat from Choice Scarf Hitmonchan, and an Impish Lickilicky nature with a spread of 252 HP / 96 Def / 160 SpD will allow Lickilicky to survive a Focus Punch from Poliwrath and an Explosion from some bulky Skuntank variants (RC) while still being able to take a Focus Blast from the likes of Gardevoir and Magmortar. This Lickilicky's Lickilicky variant fits mostly on balance and stall teams, where its passivity isn't too bothersome.

Lickilicky's ability to heal its teammates with Wish is greatly appreciated by Pokemon such as Regirock, which provides a good defensive presence against Tauros, Dodrio, and Drifblim, three Pokemon that can take advantage of Lickilicky. It Since Lickilicky is forced out by Fighting-types like Medicham, Hitmonchan, and Poliwrath, (comma) Therefore, having a reliable answer to most of these threats like Sableye and Slowking is a good idea. Furthermore, Lickilicky has a harder time performing as a special wall if the opposing Charizard, Magmortar, Typhlosion, Gardevoir, or Jynx packs Focus Blast, although spamming Protect and Wish can take its toll. (what does this mean? potentially stall them out?) Thus, some additional insurances against these Pokemon in the form of Politoed and once again Slowking can be considered.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Return
move 3: Aqua Tail / Power Whip
move 4: Explosion / Substitute / Heal Bell
item: Leftovers
ability: Own Tempo
nature: Adamant
evs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

With this set, Lickilicky can turn into a potent stallbreaker thanks to its bulk and access to Swords Dance, as it can find several opportunities to set up throughout the match. Return is a decently powerful and reliable STAB move without any significant drawbacks. Aqua Tail grants a near-perfect neutral coverage alongside Return and hits Haunter and Drifblim very hard when boosted. Power Whip packs a very appealing immediate power and coverage, notably scoring a guaranteed 2HKO on Regirock and most Cradily, as well as an OHKO on Slowking. Explosion provides a tremendously powerful last-ditch tool, as it will break through Regircok Regirock after one Swords Dance. (lmao wow) Substitute, on the other hand, is a more defensive approach that allows Lickilicky to avoid status and set up Swords Dance safely against passive Pokemon. If you manage to keep the Substitute up, you may deter frailer and faster Pokemon that might try to revenge kill Lickilicky. Heal Bell enables Lickilicky to directly switch in on defensive threats without having to worry about being statued statused. It also works better against Pokemon that are strong enough to break the Lickilicky's Substitute in one hit and hinder Lickilicky threaten it with status afterwards.

[ADDITIONNAL ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]

The given EV spread aims to hit as hard as possible while outspeeding base 70 Speed Pokemon like Poliwrath and Politoed without investment. The rest is dumped into HP in order to keep some bulk, enabling Lickilicky to take two Thunderbolts from Choice Scarf Manectric after Stealth Rock. However, if you're using Substitute, then you may opt for a more chaotic optimized EV spread like 252 HP / 24 Atk / 92 SpD / 140 Spe with a Careful nature, which provides a Substitute sturdy enough to take a Surf from defensive Slowking, a Rock Slide from Cradily and some Regirock, and a Seismic Toss, as well as any hit weaker than these. Leftovers makes up for the health lost by the potential use of Substitute or by the damage inflicted by the defensive Pokemon that Lickilicky uses as set up setup bait.

Said Pokemon need to be dragged onto the field for Lickilicky to come in and start using Swords Dance. Sweepers like Drifblim, Floatzel, Charizard, and Typhlosion tend to attract the likes of Slowking, Cradily, and defensive Lickilicky. All of these can serve as setup bait for this Lickilicky variant. Unless it manages to always keep the cover from Substitute, Lickilicky will be forced out by faster Fighting-types like Medicham, Hitmonchan, and Poliwrath and overall strong offensive threats like Tauros and Magmortar. Therefore, defensive backbones in the form of Sableye and Slowking remain good partners.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Return
move 2: Power Whip
move 3: Ice Punch
move 4: Explosion
item: Choice Band
ability: Own Tempo
nature: Adamant
evs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Although Lickilicky faces a lot of competition from the likes of Tauros and Dodrio as an offensive Normal-type due to their superior Speed and Attack, Choice Band Lickilicky still retains some merits, namely its bulk, its movepool, and the potential surprise factor. Return remains Lickilicky's preferred STAB move. Power Whip is a powerful coverage move that 2HKOes most Regirock and Sableye variants after Stealth Rock and heavily dents Slowking and Sandslash, among other physically bulky Pokemon. Ice Punch nearly OHKOes Haunter and Gligar and 2HKOes Cradily and Drifblim. Explosion tears through just about anything bar Ghost-types and a couple of very physically bulky Rock-types, which means that most Pokemon that would be able to tank Lickilicky's other moves still have to watch out. Aqua Tail remains a nice compromise middle ground due to its overall coverage, which allows it to hit all of Magneton, Haunter, Sandslash, Drifblim, Regirock, and Gligar for good damage.

[ADDITIONNAL ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]

The given EV spread allows Lickilicky to outspeed uninvested base 70 Speed Pokemon while hitting as hard as possible; the remaining EVs go into HP. Investing more into HP can be considered; (SC) for instance, 232 EVs in this stat ensure that some common Pokemon like offensive Skuntank, Choice Scarf Gardevoir, and Life Orb Venomoth cannot 2HKO Lickilicky after Stealth Rock damage, but it requires cutting your Lickilicky's Speed by a significant amount. An Adamant nature and Choice Band further enhances Lickilicky's Attack.

Choice Band Lickilicky has an easier time coming onto the field and punching holes in the opposing team if the foe happens to be a relatively passive Pokemon like Cradily or Hypno. Thus, offensive Pokemon like Charizard and Manectric remain teammates of choice, since they tend to attract this kind of Pokemon. In a similar manner, Lickilicky is still pressured by faster Fighting-types and other powerhouses, which means that typical answers to these threats like Sableye and Slowking are once again among Lickilicky's favorite partners.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
===============

With its bulk and access to a ridiculously strong Explosion, Lickilicky makes a good Sunny Day or Rain Dance setter in user on dedicated weather teams. Curse makes Lickilicky harder to break through on the physical side with physical attacks and enables it to ideally sweep the opposing team. Nonetheless, Cradily mostly outclasses it in this area thanks to its access to an immediate and reliable form of recovery and a STAB move without immunities nothing is immune to. Curse can be used in tandem with Block and Rest in order to trap a Pokemon unable to 3HKO Lickilicky through Rest to potentially PP stall it before attempting a sweep afterwards. However, such a setup is stopped cold by Ghost-types, (AC) and trapping setup fodder can be difficult. A Substitute + Focus Punch set can be considered thanks to Lickilicky's solid Substitute and ability to get rid of Regirock and Cradily, but the Swords Dance set usually performs better. Lickilicky possesses a colorful special movepool, including Fire Blast, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt. However, Lickilicky's physical arsenal provides a good enough coverage most of the time, although moves like Shadow Ball to hit the likes of Haunter and Drifblim or Surf to deal with Regirock, Rhydon, and Fire-types can find their place into the first set listed.

Checks & Counters
===============

Fighting-types like Medicham and Hitmonchan OHKO Lickilicky with their respective STAB attacks, although the former shouldn't mindlessly use High Jump Kick in front of a Lickilicky with Protect. Poliwrath deserves a special mention, as it can exploit Lickilicky by locking into the wrong move with Encore or setting up with Bulk Up under Substitute cover. The only moves it has to watch out for are Power Whip as well as Toxic on the switch. Among Ghost-types, Drifblim is especially painful for Lickilicky to face, as the Calm Mind variants can freely set up on the defensive variant and make a good check to the offensive variants, seeing that Choice Band-boosted Ice Punch and boosted Aqua Tail are the only moves that scare it off. Haunter is in a similar position, but its extreme frailty and lack of boosting moves make it a much less reliable answer. Sableye can shut down most Lickilicky with Taunt and Will-O-Wisp, but it wants to avoid Toxic and boosted Power Whip on the switch. Some bulky setup Pokemon like Calm Mind Slowking, Curse Cradily, Swords Dance Meganium, and Dragon Dance Whishcash Whiscash can take advantage of non-Toxic defensive Lickilicky, but they are in trouble against any other variants. Lickilicky also heavily despises being poisoned unless it runs Heal Bell, and even if that's the case it does, the low PP of this move makes common Toxic users like Regirock, Charizard, Hypno, and opposing Lickilicky potential threats. It should also be wary of switching into the likes of Choice Scarf Manectric and Gardevoir, as they can give their Choice Scarf via Switcheroo or Trick respectively, which cripples heavily cripple Lickilicky heavily with Switcheroo or Trick. Finally, common users of Focus Blast like Magmortar, Gardevoir, and Typhlosion, as well as strong physical wallbreakers like Tauros, Dodrio, and Rhydon, can break through or revenge kill Lickilicky. However, a combination of Protect and Wish can keep it alive until Focus Blast runs out of PP and scout which moves the aforementioned Choice Band users are locked into.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Wenderz, 331114]]
- Quality checked by: [[Honko, 42413], [Bughouse, 52547]]
- Grammar checked by: [[deetah, 297659], []]
 
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