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Lickitung (Analysis)
- Thread starter (makeup)
- Start date
GP Check 2/2
Changes/Additions
Removals
[Comments]
[Overview]
<p>Lickitung stands out as one of the bulkiest Pokemon in Little Cup. The reason for this is largely that it is among the select group of Little Cup Pokemon who originally had no evolution; their stats were meant to be on par with other fully evolved Pokemon. Cloud Nine allows Lickitung to set up on sweepers who rely on weather, namely sun sweepers who use SolarBeam as their main way to deal damage. Despite these boons however, Lickitung has found a new problem. Common new Fighting-types such as Meditite, Mienfoo, and Scraggy all make Lickitung's life a living hell as they can set up on Lickitung or just outright attack it with a super effective Fighting-type move. Whether it's a weather check, boosting sweeper, or plain anti-metagame Pokemon, this huge-tongued menace is the one for the job!</p>
[SET]
name: Curse
move 1: Curse
move 2: Rest
move 3: Sleep Talk
move 4: Dragon Tail
item: Evolution Stone
ability: Cloud Nine
nature: Careful
EVs: 196 HP / 76 Def / 236 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set aims to take advantage of one of Lickitung's best moves: Curse. After a few Curses, Lickitung is nearly impossible to beat barring a critical hit. With Evolution Stone, Lickitung's huge HP stat of 28 is backed by [space] 22 Defense and 27 Special Defense, making Lickitung one of the bulkiest Pokemon around. The advantage Lickitung has over other users of Curse or Bulk Up is Dragon Tail. Dragon Tail allows Lickitung to constantly shuffle through the opposing team, preventing them from setting up on Lickitung, all the while damaging the opponent with entry hazard support. The objective of this set is to set up Curse on anything you can, Rest when Lickitung's health is low, and proceed to Sleep Talk. If the cycle repeats itself, Lickitung will have almost no trouble neutralizing whole teams.</p>
<p>Another beautiful aspect about this set is the ability to set up on and defeat sun-based teams. With Cloud Nine, sun's effect will be ignored as long as Lickitung is on the battlefield. This means most Chlorophyll sweepers will lose access to their prominent attack, SolarBeam. Fire-type sweepers will also lose access to their main power source, the sun, meaning Lickitung will take low damage from unboosted or secondary attacks. The EVs make Lickitung's naturally high Special bulk even greater, allowing it to easily switch into various Special attacks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Lickitung will work extremely well in conjunction with entry hazards such as Stealth Rock and Spikes, as its ability to take hits from anything and use [space] Dragon Tail will cause many, many switches. Ferroseed and Dwebble are both good candidates to set up Stealth Rock and Spikes due to their naturally high defenses, but beware that Ferroseed and Lickitung share a weakness to Fighting-type attacks. Tentacool has passable synergy with Lickitung and can set up Toxic Spikes, aiding Lickitung's stall. Bronzor can remove Fighting-types with super effective Psychic-type moves as well as set up Stealth Rock, helping Lickitung greatly.</p>
[SET]
name: SubPunch
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Return
move 4: Shadow Ball
item: Oran Berry
nature: Brave
EVs: 196 HP / 236 Atk / 36 SpA / 36 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set is custom-made to do something most Pokemon can't: defeat its own checks. Focus Punch's high power and Fighting [space] typing allow Lickitung to nail common switch-ins that try to set up, such as Scraggy and Ferroseed. With Lickitung's great HP stat of 28, it makes 7 HP Substitutes, enough to take weak priority hits. Return will be Lickitung's primary attacking move and is capable of hitting the hyper-offensive metagame hard. With such a great physical movepool, it might seem strange to use Shadow Ball. However, with Lick being the only move in Lickitung's physical movepool that can hit Misdreavus super effectively, Shadow Ball is Lickitung's best option for this slot. Lickitung's terrible speed stat also means using a Brave nature is viable to keep both attacking stats fresh,as Lickitung will be outsped by most opponents regardless. With the given EVs, Lickitung will maintain a good balance of offense and defense.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>To prove Lickitung's effectiveness, take a look at the following damage calculations:</p>
<ul class="damage_calculation">
<li>Focus Punch vs. 36 HP / 0 Def +1 Scraggy 90.9% - 109%</li>
<li>Focus Punch vs. 84 HP / 188 Def +1 Ferroseed 63.6% - 81.8%</li>
<li>Shadow Ball vs. 36 HP / 36 SpD +1 Slowpoke 38.4% - 53.8%</li>
<li>Shadow Ball vs. 36 HP / 0 SpD Misdreavus 43.4% - 60.8%</li>
</ul>
<p>Lickitung has access to Ice Beam, which has [space] an 81% chance to OHKO Gligar with max HP and an Evolution Stone. If you have a reliable user of Pursuit, such as Houndour or Murkrow, using Ice Beam over Shadow Ball is recommended. Evolution Stone adds to Lickitung's bulk, but the recovery Oran Berry gives it is too good to pass up, especially since Lickitung can handle attacks reasonably well with its natural bulk. Although very situational, Life Orb may be used if your team has extreme problems with Misdreavus, who can be OHKOed by Shadow Ball when factoring in the Life Orb boost and Stealth Rock.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>If Cloud Nine won't be of benefit for any reason, Own Tempo is the next best ability for Lickitung. On the SubPunch set, Ice Beam can be used over Shadow Ball if your team fears Gligar more than Midreavus and Gastly, but note that Lickitung will be walled by Misdreavus and can be set up on. If your team needs a more offensive variant of the SubPunch set, you can use an EV spread of 36 HP / 236 Atk / 196 SpA / 236 Spe. With this spread, Lickitung will always 2HKO Misdreavus and Slowpoke with no residual damage. Lickitung has access to Wish to heal its teammates, and although it is unusable with Cloud Nine, Lickitung still makes use of it by restoring large amounts of its partners' health. Lickitung's immense movepool gives it access to powerful wallbreaking moves such as Power Whip and Fire Punch, but with Evolution Stone everywhere, this set's effectiveness is lessened significantly. Lickitung has access to Swords Dance to boost its attack to high levels, but again, Evolution Stone crashes the party. Lickitung also benefits from Trick Room, due to its terrible speed, if it is using an all-out attacker set.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>On both sets, Fighting-types will ruin Lickitung unless it has raised its Defense to sky-high levels. Meditite, Mienfoo, Scraggy, and Timburr are all examples of Pokemon that can defeat Lickitung with high-powered moves. Taunt prevents both sets from setting up, especially the Curse set, which relies on Rest and Sleep Talk to function properly. On the Curse set, because Curse will lower Lickitung's Speed, moves that will force it to switch such as Whirlwind, Roar, and Dragon Tail will make Lickitung lose all of its boosts and switch out.</p>
Nice writeup.
Changes/Additions
Removals
[Comments]
[Overview]
<p>Lickitung stands out as one of the bulkiest Pokemon in Little Cup. The reason for this is largely that it is among the select group of Little Cup Pokemon who originally had no evolution; their stats were meant to be on par with other fully evolved Pokemon. Cloud Nine allows Lickitung to set up on sweepers who rely on weather, namely sun sweepers who use SolarBeam as their main way to deal damage. Despite these boons however, Lickitung has found a new problem. Common new Fighting-types such as Meditite, Mienfoo, and Scraggy all make Lickitung's life a living hell as they can set up on Lickitung or just outright attack it with a super effective Fighting-type move. Whether it's a weather check, boosting sweeper, or plain anti-metagame Pokemon, this huge-tongued menace is the one for the job!</p>
[SET]
name: Curse
move 1: Curse
move 2: Rest
move 3: Sleep Talk
move 4: Dragon Tail
item: Evolution Stone
ability: Cloud Nine
nature: Careful
EVs: 196 HP / 76 Def / 236 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set aims to take advantage of one of Lickitung's best moves: Curse. After a few Curses, Lickitung is nearly impossible to beat barring a critical hit. With Evolution Stone, Lickitung's huge HP stat of 28 is backed by [space] 22 Defense and 27 Special Defense, making Lickitung one of the bulkiest Pokemon around. The advantage Lickitung has over other users of Curse or Bulk Up is Dragon Tail. Dragon Tail allows Lickitung to constantly shuffle through the opposing team, preventing them from setting up on Lickitung, all the while damaging the opponent with entry hazard support. The objective of this set is to set up Curse on anything you can, Rest when Lickitung's health is low, and proceed to Sleep Talk. If the cycle repeats itself, Lickitung will have almost no trouble neutralizing whole teams.</p>
<p>Another beautiful aspect about this set is the ability to set up on and defeat sun-based teams. With Cloud Nine, sun's effect will be ignored as long as Lickitung is on the battlefield. This means most Chlorophyll sweepers will lose access to their prominent attack, SolarBeam. Fire-type sweepers will also lose access to their main power source, the sun, meaning Lickitung will take low damage from unboosted or secondary attacks. The EVs make Lickitung's naturally high Special bulk even greater, allowing it to easily switch into various Special attacks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Lickitung will work extremely well in conjunction with entry hazards such as Stealth Rock and Spikes, as its ability to take hits from anything and use [space] Dragon Tail will cause many, many switches. Ferroseed and Dwebble are both good candidates to set up Stealth Rock and Spikes due to their naturally high defenses, but beware that Ferroseed and Lickitung share a weakness to Fighting-type attacks. Tentacool has passable synergy with Lickitung and can set up Toxic Spikes, aiding Lickitung's stall. Bronzor can remove Fighting-types with super effective Psychic-type moves as well as set up Stealth Rock, helping Lickitung greatly.</p>
[SET]
name: SubPunch
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Return
move 4: Shadow Ball
item: Oran Berry
nature: Brave
EVs: 196 HP / 236 Atk / 36 SpA / 36 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set is custom-made to do something most Pokemon can't: defeat its own checks. Focus Punch's high power and Fighting [space] typing allow Lickitung to nail common switch-ins that try to set up, such as Scraggy and Ferroseed. With Lickitung's great HP stat of 28, it makes 7 HP Substitutes, enough to take weak priority hits. Return will be Lickitung's primary attacking move and is capable of hitting the hyper-offensive metagame hard. With such a great physical movepool, it might seem strange to use Shadow Ball. However, with Lick being the only move in Lickitung's physical movepool that can hit Misdreavus super effectively, Shadow Ball is Lickitung's best option for this slot. Lickitung's terrible speed stat also means using a Brave nature is viable to keep both attacking stats fresh,as Lickitung will be outsped by most opponents regardless. With the given EVs, Lickitung will maintain a good balance of offense and defense.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>To prove Lickitung's effectiveness, take a look at the following damage calculations:</p>
<ul class="damage_calculation">
<li>Focus Punch vs. 36 HP / 0 Def +1 Scraggy 90.9% - 109%</li>
<li>Focus Punch vs. 84 HP / 188 Def +1 Ferroseed 63.6% - 81.8%</li>
<li>Shadow Ball vs. 36 HP / 36 SpD +1 Slowpoke 38.4% - 53.8%</li>
<li>Shadow Ball vs. 36 HP / 0 SpD Misdreavus 43.4% - 60.8%</li>
</ul>
<p>Lickitung has access to Ice Beam, which has [space] an 81% chance to OHKO Gligar with max HP and an Evolution Stone. If you have a reliable user of Pursuit, such as Houndour or Murkrow, using Ice Beam over Shadow Ball is recommended. Evolution Stone adds to Lickitung's bulk, but the recovery Oran Berry gives it is too good to pass up, especially since Lickitung can handle attacks reasonably well with its natural bulk. Although very situational, Life Orb may be used if your team has extreme problems with Misdreavus, who can be OHKOed by Shadow Ball when factoring in the Life Orb boost and Stealth Rock.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>If Cloud Nine won't be of benefit for any reason, Own Tempo is the next best ability for Lickitung. On the SubPunch set, Ice Beam can be used over Shadow Ball if your team fears Gligar more than Midreavus and Gastly, but note that Lickitung will be walled by Misdreavus and can be set up on. If your team needs a more offensive variant of the SubPunch set, you can use an EV spread of 36 HP / 236 Atk / 196 SpA / 236 Spe. With this spread, Lickitung will always 2HKO Misdreavus and Slowpoke with no residual damage. Lickitung has access to Wish to heal its teammates, and although it is unusable with Cloud Nine, Lickitung still makes use of it by restoring large amounts of its partners' health. Lickitung's immense movepool gives it access to powerful wallbreaking moves such as Power Whip and Fire Punch, but with Evolution Stone everywhere, this set's effectiveness is lessened significantly. Lickitung has access to Swords Dance to boost its attack to high levels, but again, Evolution Stone crashes the party. Lickitung also benefits from Trick Room, due to its terrible speed, if it is using an all-out attacker set.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>On both sets, Fighting-types will ruin Lickitung unless it has raised its Defense to sky-high levels. Meditite, Mienfoo, Scraggy, and Timburr are all examples of Pokemon that can defeat Lickitung with high-powered moves. Taunt prevents both sets from setting up, especially the Curse set, which relies on Rest and Sleep Talk to function properly. On the Curse set, because Curse will lower Lickitung's Speed, moves that will force it to switch such as Whirlwind, Roar, and Dragon Tail will make Lickitung lose all of its boosts and switch out.</p>
Nice writeup.
<p>Lickitung stands out as one of the bulkiest Pokemon in Little Cup. The reason for this is largely that it is among the select group of Little Cup Pokemon who originally had no evolution; their stats were meant to be on par with other fully evolved Pokemon. Cloud Nine allows Lickitung to set up on sweepers who rely on weather, namely sun sweepers who use SolarBeam as their main way to deal damage. Despite these boons however, Lickitung has found a new problem. Common new Fighting-types such as Meditite, Mienfoo, and Scraggy all make Lickitung's life a living hell as they can set up on Lickitung or just outright attack it with a super effective Fighting-type move. I'm no GPer, but you need to say something like "nevertheless/however, Lickitung is still quite effective:" to help segway into the next sentence. As it stands it seems like the mention of Fighting-types is an orphaned idea that doesn't flow very well with the sentence. Whether it's a weather check, boosting sweeper, or plain anti-metagame Pokemon, this huge-tongued menace is the one for the job!</p>
