Ludicolo (Ubers Analysis)
Aroma-X got it through QC.
[Overview]
<p>Ludicolo might initially seem like a terrible choice due to its poor movepool and sub-par stats. However, Ludicolo gets Swift Swim, which doubles its Speed in rain, something easy to abuse since it is really common in Ubers due to the prevalence of Kyogre. Ludicolo's movepool might be shallow, but it attains great coverage from STAB Hydro Pump, Grass Knot, Ice Beam, and Focus Blast. Even Ferrothorn, the most popular Water-type resist in the tier, loses to Ludicolo since it is 2HKOed by Focus Blast. However, Ludicolo is no slouch defensively either. With its decent base 100 Special Defense and fantastic defensive typing, (which gives it weaknesses to Bug-, Flying-, and Poison-type attacks, all of which are rarely used in the Uber tier), Ludicolo can efficiently run a Leech Seed set. However, what really sets it apart from fellow Leech Seeders like Ferrothorn is its access to Rain Dish, which heals Ludicolo's health by 6.25% per turn when it is raining. Ludicolo can potentially heal 25% of its health every turn factoring in Leech Seed, Leftovers, and Rain Dish. Ludicolo is also one of few Pokemon who can boast being able to check Choice Specs Kyogre. All in all, Ludicolo is probably the greatest example of the fact that appearances can be deceiving and every team ought to prepare for this pineapple or risk getting swept in its furious ramapage.</p>
[SET]
name: Uber Rain Sweeper
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Grass Knot
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Focus Blast
item: Life Orb
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is Ludicolo's standard offensive set. A Life Orb and rain-boosted STAB Hydro Pump will dent any Pokemon not named Blissey or Chansey. Surf can be used over Hydro Pump if the 80% accuracy gives you the jitters, but Ludicolo will usually want as much power as it can get. Grass Knot is an excellent choice in Ubers thanks to the heavyweights that infest the tier, and will usually be inflicting maximum damage. Ice Beam has great coverage in Ubers and will easily OHKO Rayquaza and Shaymin-S on the switch. Focus Blast is Ludicolo's only option against Ferrothorn, Dialga, and, to a lesser extent, Tyranitar, who all laugh at Ludicolo's other moves. Indeed, Ludicolo's greatest niche over other rain sweepers is its ability to beat Ferrothorn one-on-one. Focus Blast will 2HKO Ferrothorn, and Ludicolo is immune to Leech Seed and resistant to Gyro Ball. This set attains great coverage, resisted only by Shedinja, who is easily taken care of via Stealth Rock. Since Ludicolo is not blessed with offensive stats similar to those of Dialga or Palkia, this set is best used as a mid-game revenge killer or a late-game sweeper, who can plow through teams once the walls have been weakened a bit.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>There is no point investing the EVs anywhere other than Ludicolo's Special Attack and Speed, since Ludicolo is rather frail anyway and would like to have maximum possible Speed and firepower. The choice of nature depends on whether you want Ludicolo to outspeed certain key threats or hit as hard as possible. With Timid, Ludicolo does lose a significant amount of power but gets the ability to outspeed certain threatening sweepers such as Choice Scarf Terrakion, Palkia, and even Adamant Kabutops. Since Ludicolo relies heavily on rain for sweeping, Kyogre is absolutely necessary on the team due to its ability, Drizzle. Ludicolo is extremely susceptible to revenge killing by the likes of Rayquaza and Wobbuffet. Rayquaza cancels out the rain Ludicolo loves, can outpace Ludicolo, and OHKO with Draco Meteor or Outrage. Wobbuffet is not OHKOed by any of Ludicolo's moves and can OHKO in return with Mirror Coat. Darkrai and mixed Zekrom can handily beat Wobbuffet. The former is immune to Mirror Coat and can inflict major damage to Wobbuffet with a STAB Dark Pulse, while the latter can fire off powerful Bolt Strikes and Draco Meteors to take out Wobbuffet. Darkrai can also deal with Giratina, who is never 2HKOed by Ice Beam, can phaze out Ludicolo with Dragon Tail, then heal using Rest. Choice Scarf Palkia can outspeed and OHKO Rayquaza at +1 Speed with Spacial Rend. Since Ludicolo isn't exactly an offensive powerhouse, entry hazards are useful in softening up walls such as Chansey and Blissey who laugh at Ludicolo's attacks. Support Dialga, Forretress, and Ferrothorn thrive in the rain teams that Ludicolo calls home and can set up different types of hazards.</p>
[SET]
name: Uber SubSeed
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Ice Beam / Substitute
move 3: Grass Knot
move 4: Protect
item: Leftovers
ability: Rain Dish
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>One might wonder why Ludicolo would make a better Leech Seed user over Ferrothorn, who has better defensive stats and typing, stronger offenses, and better support options. However, Ludicolo does have a few tricks up its sleeve that Ferrothorn would die for. Firstly, Rain Dish is an excellent ability in Ubers where rain is everywhere thanks to the abundance of Kyogre. With Leech Seed, Rain Dish, and Leftovers, Ludicolo can heal 25% of its HP in a single turn, allowing it to outstall numerous Pokemon such as Choiced Kyogre and Palkia. Ludicolo is also never 2HKOed by a full-powered Water Spout from Modest Choice Specs Kyogre, something not even Eviolite Chansey can boast of. Secondly, Ludicolo's defenses are nothing to laugh at and Grass / Water is an excellent defensive typing, providing an important 2x resist to Ground-type attacks and a critical 4x resist to Water-type attacks. Since this set causes numerous switches, Substitute is very useful for the status immunity it provides Ludicolo with, as well as the ability to beat Chansey and Blissey. On the other hand, Ice Beam allows Ludicolo to OHKO Rayquaza, Garchomp, and Salamence. Grass Knot helps Ludicolo deal with Groudon and offensive Kyogre, both of whom are 2HKOed, and is usually a reliable offensive option against the likes of Palkia and Mewtwo. Protect allows Ludicolo to get some free HP in a turn while inflicting some damage if the opponent has been seeded.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The HP EVs are maxed out so that Ludicolo can take a few hits. 216 Special Defense EVs make sure Ludicolo is not 2HKOed by a Modest Choice Specs Kyogre's Thunder factoring in Rain Dish and Leftovers. The rest of the EVs are placed into Defense so that Ludicolo can take random physical attacks such as Earthquake from support Groudon, if needed. Ludicolo can run Toxic over Grass Knot, but that leaves it helpless against Pokemon such as Palkia who are neutral to Ice-type attacks. However, Ludicolo is no Blissey; it still takes a lot of damage from obscenely powerful special attacks such as Draco Meteor from mixed Rayquaza. Physical sweepers such as Rayquaza, Dialga, and Zekrom spell trouble for Ludicolo since Outrage will easily KO it. Dialga is especially troublesome since it laughs at Grass Knot and Ice Beam. Rayquaza, however, must be particularly wary of switching into Ice Beam, which will OHKO it. Lugia is faster and can Toxic Ludicolo first or set up a Substitute. Ice Beam does piddling damage, which Lugia can easily Roost off and phaze out Ludicolo with Dragon Tail or Whirlwind. Grass Arceus gets free set up turns unless Ludicolo carries Toxic. Ferrothorn can beat Ludicolo with Power Whip while taking pitiful damage from Ice Beam and being immune to Leech Seed and Toxic. Abomasnow can change the weather to hail and 2HKO with Wood Hammer. Dialga can beat all of these Pokemon using Fire Blast and can Roar out Arceus. Since two layers of Toxic Spikes will cripple Ludicolo, Forretress and Tentacruel make good teammates thanks to their ability to both set up Toxic Spikes and remove them. Both also share good synergy with Ludicolo and find their home on rain teams.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Ludicolo does get access to Swords Dance, but with its frail defenses, it will not be able to set up and can still be walled even at +2. Scald can be used over Ice Beam on the SubSeed set to burn sweepers, but Ice Beam wards off Rayquaza, Garchomp, and Shaymin-S. Lastly, Giga Drain could be used over Grass Knot, but does significantly less damage than Grass Knot on average, since most Pokemon in Ubers possess massive weight.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Groudon can change the weather and use Thunder Wave to cripple Ludicolo for the rest of the match, but it is 2HKOed by Grass Knot. Dialga makes a fantastic check to Ludicolo since it is rarely OHKOed by Focus Blast, while Ludicolo's other moves barely gash the Steel Dragon. Draco Meteor coming off Dialga's mammoth Special Attack stat will OHKO offensive Ludicolo variants factoring in Life Orb recoil, while the SubSeed variant takes a meaty 56.9% - 67%, assuming Dialga runs a Modest nature and 252 SpA EVs. Choice Scarf Shaymin-S outspeeds Ludicolo even when it is raining and can OHKO with a STAB Air Slash. Giratina can stomach two Ice Beams and either burn Ludicolo with Will-O-Wisp, or phaze it out with Dragon Tail. Rayquaza resists every one of Ludicolo's moves except Ice Beam, cancels the weather, and KOes with STAB Outrage. Grass Arceus can beat Ludiculo by bagging Calm Minds and Recovering off the damage. However, it does stand a chance of being beaten by offensive variants if it switches into Ice Beam and Ludicolo gets high damage rolls on the consecutive turns. Bug Arceus can take a rain-boosted Hydro Pump from Ludicolo and OHKO back with Judgment. Ferrothorn can 2HKO the SubSeed set with Power Whip, but loses to the offensive set. If it is not raining, most Uber sweepers will outspeed offensive variants of Ludicolo and can OHKO it with a powerful attack such as Draco Meteor or Outrage.</p>
Aroma-X got it through QC.
[Overview]
<p>Ludicolo might initially seem like a terrible choice due to its poor movepool and sub-par stats. However, Ludicolo gets Swift Swim, which doubles its Speed in rain, something easy to abuse since it is really common in Ubers due to the prevalence of Kyogre. Ludicolo's movepool might be shallow, but it attains great coverage from STAB Hydro Pump, Grass Knot, Ice Beam, and Focus Blast. Even Ferrothorn, the most popular Water-type resist in the tier, loses to Ludicolo since it is 2HKOed by Focus Blast. However, Ludicolo is no slouch defensively either. With its decent base 100 Special Defense and fantastic defensive typing, (which gives it weaknesses to Bug-, Flying-, and Poison-type attacks, all of which are rarely used in the Uber tier), Ludicolo can efficiently run a Leech Seed set. However, what really sets it apart from fellow Leech Seeders like Ferrothorn is its access to Rain Dish, which heals Ludicolo's health by 6.25% per turn when it is raining. Ludicolo can potentially heal 25% of its health every turn factoring in Leech Seed, Leftovers, and Rain Dish. Ludicolo is also one of few Pokemon who can boast being able to check Choice Specs Kyogre. All in all, Ludicolo is probably the greatest example of the fact that appearances can be deceiving and every team ought to prepare for this pineapple or risk getting swept in its furious ramapage.</p>
[SET]
name: Uber Rain Sweeper
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Grass Knot
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Focus Blast
item: Life Orb
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is Ludicolo's standard offensive set. A Life Orb and rain-boosted STAB Hydro Pump will dent any Pokemon not named Blissey or Chansey. Surf can be used over Hydro Pump if the 80% accuracy gives you the jitters, but Ludicolo will usually want as much power as it can get. Grass Knot is an excellent choice in Ubers thanks to the heavyweights that infest the tier, and will usually be inflicting maximum damage. Ice Beam has great coverage in Ubers and will easily OHKO Rayquaza and Shaymin-S on the switch. Focus Blast is Ludicolo's only option against Ferrothorn, Dialga, and, to a lesser extent, Tyranitar, who all laugh at Ludicolo's other moves. Indeed, Ludicolo's greatest niche over other rain sweepers is its ability to beat Ferrothorn one-on-one. Focus Blast will 2HKO Ferrothorn, and Ludicolo is immune to Leech Seed and resistant to Gyro Ball. This set attains great coverage, resisted only by Shedinja, who is easily taken care of via Stealth Rock. Since Ludicolo is not blessed with offensive stats similar to those of Dialga or Palkia, this set is best used as a mid-game revenge killer or a late-game sweeper, who can plow through teams once the walls have been weakened a bit.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>There is no point investing the EVs anywhere other than Ludicolo's Special Attack and Speed, since Ludicolo is rather frail anyway and would like to have maximum possible Speed and firepower. The choice of nature depends on whether you want Ludicolo to outspeed certain key threats or hit as hard as possible. With Timid, Ludicolo does lose a significant amount of power but gets the ability to outspeed certain threatening sweepers such as Choice Scarf Terrakion, Palkia, and even Adamant Kabutops. Since Ludicolo relies heavily on rain for sweeping, Kyogre is absolutely necessary on the team due to its ability, Drizzle. Ludicolo is extremely susceptible to revenge killing by the likes of Rayquaza and Wobbuffet. Rayquaza cancels out the rain Ludicolo loves, can outpace Ludicolo, and OHKO with Draco Meteor or Outrage. Wobbuffet is not OHKOed by any of Ludicolo's moves and can OHKO in return with Mirror Coat. Darkrai and mixed Zekrom can handily beat Wobbuffet. The former is immune to Mirror Coat and can inflict major damage to Wobbuffet with a STAB Dark Pulse, while the latter can fire off powerful Bolt Strikes and Draco Meteors to take out Wobbuffet. Darkrai can also deal with Giratina, who is never 2HKOed by Ice Beam, can phaze out Ludicolo with Dragon Tail, then heal using Rest. Choice Scarf Palkia can outspeed and OHKO Rayquaza at +1 Speed with Spacial Rend. Since Ludicolo isn't exactly an offensive powerhouse, entry hazards are useful in softening up walls such as Chansey and Blissey who laugh at Ludicolo's attacks. Support Dialga, Forretress, and Ferrothorn thrive in the rain teams that Ludicolo calls home and can set up different types of hazards.</p>
[SET]
name: Uber SubSeed
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Ice Beam / Substitute
move 3: Grass Knot
move 4: Protect
item: Leftovers
ability: Rain Dish
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>One might wonder why Ludicolo would make a better Leech Seed user over Ferrothorn, who has better defensive stats and typing, stronger offenses, and better support options. However, Ludicolo does have a few tricks up its sleeve that Ferrothorn would die for. Firstly, Rain Dish is an excellent ability in Ubers where rain is everywhere thanks to the abundance of Kyogre. With Leech Seed, Rain Dish, and Leftovers, Ludicolo can heal 25% of its HP in a single turn, allowing it to outstall numerous Pokemon such as Choiced Kyogre and Palkia. Ludicolo is also never 2HKOed by a full-powered Water Spout from Modest Choice Specs Kyogre, something not even Eviolite Chansey can boast of. Secondly, Ludicolo's defenses are nothing to laugh at and Grass / Water is an excellent defensive typing, providing an important 2x resist to Ground-type attacks and a critical 4x resist to Water-type attacks. Since this set causes numerous switches, Substitute is very useful for the status immunity it provides Ludicolo with, as well as the ability to beat Chansey and Blissey. On the other hand, Ice Beam allows Ludicolo to OHKO Rayquaza, Garchomp, and Salamence. Grass Knot helps Ludicolo deal with Groudon and offensive Kyogre, both of whom are 2HKOed, and is usually a reliable offensive option against the likes of Palkia and Mewtwo. Protect allows Ludicolo to get some free HP in a turn while inflicting some damage if the opponent has been seeded.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The HP EVs are maxed out so that Ludicolo can take a few hits. 216 Special Defense EVs make sure Ludicolo is not 2HKOed by a Modest Choice Specs Kyogre's Thunder factoring in Rain Dish and Leftovers. The rest of the EVs are placed into Defense so that Ludicolo can take random physical attacks such as Earthquake from support Groudon, if needed. Ludicolo can run Toxic over Grass Knot, but that leaves it helpless against Pokemon such as Palkia who are neutral to Ice-type attacks. However, Ludicolo is no Blissey; it still takes a lot of damage from obscenely powerful special attacks such as Draco Meteor from mixed Rayquaza. Physical sweepers such as Rayquaza, Dialga, and Zekrom spell trouble for Ludicolo since Outrage will easily KO it. Dialga is especially troublesome since it laughs at Grass Knot and Ice Beam. Rayquaza, however, must be particularly wary of switching into Ice Beam, which will OHKO it. Lugia is faster and can Toxic Ludicolo first or set up a Substitute. Ice Beam does piddling damage, which Lugia can easily Roost off and phaze out Ludicolo with Dragon Tail or Whirlwind. Grass Arceus gets free set up turns unless Ludicolo carries Toxic. Ferrothorn can beat Ludicolo with Power Whip while taking pitiful damage from Ice Beam and being immune to Leech Seed and Toxic. Abomasnow can change the weather to hail and 2HKO with Wood Hammer. Dialga can beat all of these Pokemon using Fire Blast and can Roar out Arceus. Since two layers of Toxic Spikes will cripple Ludicolo, Forretress and Tentacruel make good teammates thanks to their ability to both set up Toxic Spikes and remove them. Both also share good synergy with Ludicolo and find their home on rain teams.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Ludicolo does get access to Swords Dance, but with its frail defenses, it will not be able to set up and can still be walled even at +2. Scald can be used over Ice Beam on the SubSeed set to burn sweepers, but Ice Beam wards off Rayquaza, Garchomp, and Shaymin-S. Lastly, Giga Drain could be used over Grass Knot, but does significantly less damage than Grass Knot on average, since most Pokemon in Ubers possess massive weight.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Groudon can change the weather and use Thunder Wave to cripple Ludicolo for the rest of the match, but it is 2HKOed by Grass Knot. Dialga makes a fantastic check to Ludicolo since it is rarely OHKOed by Focus Blast, while Ludicolo's other moves barely gash the Steel Dragon. Draco Meteor coming off Dialga's mammoth Special Attack stat will OHKO offensive Ludicolo variants factoring in Life Orb recoil, while the SubSeed variant takes a meaty 56.9% - 67%, assuming Dialga runs a Modest nature and 252 SpA EVs. Choice Scarf Shaymin-S outspeeds Ludicolo even when it is raining and can OHKO with a STAB Air Slash. Giratina can stomach two Ice Beams and either burn Ludicolo with Will-O-Wisp, or phaze it out with Dragon Tail. Rayquaza resists every one of Ludicolo's moves except Ice Beam, cancels the weather, and KOes with STAB Outrage. Grass Arceus can beat Ludiculo by bagging Calm Minds and Recovering off the damage. However, it does stand a chance of being beaten by offensive variants if it switches into Ice Beam and Ludicolo gets high damage rolls on the consecutive turns. Bug Arceus can take a rain-boosted Hydro Pump from Ludicolo and OHKO back with Judgment. Ferrothorn can 2HKO the SubSeed set with Power Whip, but loses to the offensive set. If it is not raining, most Uber sweepers will outspeed offensive variants of Ludicolo and can OHKO it with a powerful attack such as Draco Meteor or Outrage.</p>
