Doubles Politoed

MajorBowman

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[OVERVIEW]

Weather can be a very oppressive force during battles, and rain is no exception. At its core, Politoed is a support Pokemon whose main method of support conveniently allows it to deal some respectable damage itself. Coveted access to the ability Drizzle allows Politoed to set up rain for its teammates, facilitating sweeps by their hands. When not aiding its partners with one of its many support moves, Politoed can fire off Scalds to chip away at its foes or fish for a burn. While it faces competition from Pelipper in this role, Politoed's superior defensive typing and statistics, as well as its access to a different array of support options, often lead to its inclusion on rain teams.

[SET]
name: Drizzle Support
move 1: Scald
move 2: Icy Wind
move 3: Helping Hand / Encore
move 4: Protect
item: Wiki Berry
ability: Drizzle
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 60 SpA / 8 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Scald is an easy choice on Politoed thanks to its respectable damage output in the rain and convenient 30% burn chance. Icy Wind provides Politoed with a means of speed control, setting its partners up to fire off powerful attacks before facing punishment. Helping Hand boosts Politoed's partners' attacks to menacing levels, often scoring knockouts that are otherwise impossible. Encore is useful for punishing Pokemon that try to set up or stall out rain turns with Protect in front of Politoed. On teams that don't need the extra speed control, Icy Wind can be dropped in favor of running both Helping Hand and Encore. Protect allows Politoed to survive a turn without taking damage so it can more effectively support its team at a later time. Perish Song is an interesting option in the support move slot that can lock down endgames when the opponent only has two Pokemon remaining or deter slower-paced setup that requires multiple turns to be effective.

Set Details
========

The HP and Defense investment allows Politoed to survive a Fusion Bolt from standard Life Orb Kyurem-B, which is one of the biggest threats to rain teams in general. Additionally, a Calm nature and 8 EVs in Special Defense allow Politoed to survive a Thunderbolt from Timid Tapu Koko in Electric Terrain, provided it is not holding a boosting item. The remaining EVs are dumped into Special Attack, which gives Politoed a substantial chance to OHKO uninvested Landorus-T in the rain. Wiki Berry provides Politoed with much-needed longevity, allowing it to regain 50% of its health in a pinch and confuse Mega Scizor should it target Politoed with Bug Bite. Alternatively, Damp Rock is another viable item on Politoed, since it allows Politoed's partners three extra turns to take advantage of rain, while Eject Button can be used to give one of Politoed's partners a relatively safe switch after it sets up the rain.

Usage Tips
========

Politoed is most effectively used when it can set up rain multiple times throughout a battle. It is therefore recommended that you keep Politoed as healthy as possible. One such way to use Politoed is to switch it out on the last turn of rain so it can return to the field on the next turn to summon the storm clouds once again. It is likely that, for maximum damage output, Politoed is better off boosting its partner with Helping Hand instead of attacking itself, but Scald can be used to prime partners for KOs or fish for burns whenever Helping Hand is not appropriate. For example, if Politoed's partner is using a rain-boosted Hydro Vortex, Helping Hand can usually boost it to levels that will knock out all but the bulkiest of Pokemon. Icy Wind is most effectively used when Politoed's partner needs an extra speed boost, most likely due to rain expiring or a lack of Swift Swim. If a slower Pokemon like Porygon2 or Aegislash has used a passive attack like Recover or King's Shield, Encore can punish them by forcing them to spend 3 turns failing to make any progress. Additionally, Encore can punish predicted setup moves from faster Pokemon like Dragon Dance Zygarde and Substitute Kartana, as well as locking opposing Pokemon into Fake Out if they target Politoed's partner. If you choose to employ Perish Song, it is most effectively used when your opponent only has two Pokemon remaining, effectively putting the game on a three-turn timer.

Team Options
========

Given that Politoed's existence is predicated around setting up rain for its partners, its teammates always include at least one Pokemon with the Swift Swim ability. These Pokemon, like Kingdra, Mega Swampert, and Ludicolo, make use of boosted Speed and boosted Water-type attacks very effectively, often exerting immense offensive pressure when the rain is up. All three of these Pokemon have their pros and cons, but perhaps the most effective partner is Kingdra due to its access to Muddy Water and lack of weaknesses to Grass- and Electric-type attacks. With boosts from rain, Helping Hand, and a potential Life Orb or Z-Crystal, Kingdra is able to provide both single-target burst damage or heavy multi-target damage. Mega Swampert can also clean up games with rain-boosted Waterfall or Earthquake, but the latter generally requires a partner immune to Ground-type attacks so it doesn't accidentally knock out Politoed in the process. Ludicolo is the weakest attacker of the three, but it does benefit from its access to Fake Out and Grass typing to deal with problematic Water-types like Tapu Fini and Gastrodon.

Electric-type Pokemon, such as Tapu Koko and Zapdos, also partner well with Politoed, since they are generally good offensive checks to Water-types not named Gastrodon and can make use of perfectly accurate Thunder while rain is active. Grass- and Steel-types benefit from the rain thanks to the power of Fire-type moves being weakened, and Grass-types specifically can also deal with opposing Water-types. Kartana is a good example, as it benefits from the traditional rain core throttling Incineroar and can remove threats to rain cores like Tapu Fini and Gastrodon with a well-timed Leaf Blade. Since teams with Politoed tend to stack weaknesses to Electric-types, Pokemon like Kyurem-B that can sponge Electric-type moves and threaten their users are good partners for Politoed as well. There is a lot of flexibility available to Politoed teams as far as Mega Evolutions go, since many different Mega Evolutions benefit from the support Politoed provides. Mega Metagross appreciates Fire-type moves being weakened and sits in a great Speed tier for taking advantage of Icy Wind, while Mega Manectric can soft check opposing Electric-types and make use of an accurate Thunder. Finally, Politoed and its typical teammates tend to struggle with certain Steel-type Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, and Kartana. Pokemon with strong Fighting-type coverage, such as Sacred Sword Kartana, Superpower Mega Swampert, and Superpower Landorus-T, therefore make good partners for Politoed. While it may seem counterintuitive, Fire-type Pokemon with useful secondary typings like Incineroar and Volcanion can also help alleviate this issue. Gothitelle provides invaluable trapping support for sets running Perish Song, making it significantly harder to escape the countdown timer that Politoed starts.

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

In order to have a better chance at winning the weather war, a Sassy nature with 0 IVs in Speed could be used to make Politoed slower than standard Tyranitar, meaning that rain will be the prevailing weather if both enter the field on the same turn. This also comes in handy if Politoed carries Perish Song, as being the slowest Pokemon on the field is advantageous when using Perish Song in endgame scenarios. For a more offensive take on Politoed, Choice Scarf can be used to overwhelm opposing teams with a lot of damage very quickly, especially when paired with a Swift Swim user. A Timid nature and a simple EV spread of 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe are recommended so Politoed can outspeed standard Tapu Koko and OHKO it with Hydro Pump. For a more offensive option without sacrificing utility, Hydro Pump can replace Scald on the bulky set in order to allow Politoed to guarantee an OHKO on standard bulky Landorus-T at the cost of accuracy and a burn chance. Ice Beam can be used over Icy Wind if the speed control is unnecessary and you want Politoed to act as a more proactive check to Pokemon like Mega Salamence and Zygarde. Haze is another support option of which Politoed can make good use, since it is bulky enough to take a hit from some boosted threats like Dragon Dance Zygarde and Calm Mind Tapu Fini and eliminate their boosts. It also synergizes well with Kingdra and Mega Swampert, removing drops from Draco Meteor and Superpower, respectively. Toxic can also be used if Politoed's team struggles with bulky, passive Pokemon like Gastrodon and Chansey.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Opposing Weather**: Since Politoed's main job is to set rain, other weather setters can disrupt this goal. While Politoed generally has a good matchup against the other two main weather setters in the tier, Tyranitar and Mega Charizard Y, its Scald will not do much damage to either in any weather other than rain. Ensuring that rain is up is more valuable than inflicting small amounts of chip damage in most situations.

**Grass-types**: Tapu Bulu and Kartana both take minimal damage from Politoed's attacks and threaten an OHKO with Wood Hammer and Leaf Blade, respectively. Amoonguss can sit in front of Politoed and most common Swift Swim users and threaten to redirect attacks, put something to sleep with Spore, or deal significant damage with either of its STAB attacks, only having to be wary of catching an untimely Encore from Politoed.

**Electric-types**: Tapu Koko will OHKO Politoed with Gigavolt Havoc or Thunderbolt as long as the latter is boosted by any item, such as Life Orb or Choice Specs. Zapdos usually won't OHKO Politoed with Thunderbolt but still threatens significant damage while neutralizing the Swift Swim advantage with Tailwind and forcing Politoed's team to fight at a speed disadvantage.

**Kyurem-B**: Kyurem-B, especially Assault Vest sets, will take negligible damage from Politoed and most of its partners. Even Life Orb Kingdra fails to knock out standard Assault Vest Kyurem-B with Draco Meteor unless boosted by Helping Hand. Kyurem-B can then retaliate with Icy Wind to neutralize Swift Swim's Speed boost or Fusion Bolt to threaten Politoed itself.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[MajorBowman, 188164]]
- Quality checked by: [[n10sit, 267148], [talkingtree, 232101]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [talkingtree, 232101]]
 
Last edited:

n10siT

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[MOVES]
  • Haze should be in OO imo, seems like a super niche option
[SET DETAILS]
  • the 5/8 chance to ohko 0/4 lando probably shouldnt be mentioned, that is extremely situational
[TEAM OPTIONS]
  • there should be mention of things that deal with opposing waters, if your swimmer is kingdra or swampert you start at a huge disadvantage vs tapu fini mostly but other waters too
[OTHER OPTIONS]
  • I don't think Wacan or Offensive deserve a mention here I don't know if I've ever seen wacan berry and offensive sounds bad :x
okay this is all I have for 1/2
 

MajorBowman

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dropped offensive but i'd like to keep wacan, it's a decent option for teams that can tend to stack weaknesses to electric types/kyurem

otherwise implemented!
 

GenOne

DOU main. GMT-7. PS!: GenOne
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amcheck. Politoed is a pretty straightforward mon and this is already well-written, but hopefully this input helps!

Moves
  • I know you talk about Hydro Pump in Other Options, specifically as a move for Choice Scarf sets, but I'm surprised it's not at least acknowledged up here as an alternative to Scald? The extra power does hit certain benchmarks that Scald cannot; just as one example, Hydro Pump always OHKOs bulky Landorus-T in rain whereas Scald never does:
    • 60 SpA Politoed Scald vs. 252 HP / 28 SpD Landorus-Therian in Rain: 296-350 (77.4 - 91.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
    • 60 SpA Politoed Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 28 SpD Landorus-Therian in Rain: 408-480 (106.8 - 125.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Team Options
  • Using Politoed (and thus rain) makes it harder to build a team with adequate checks and counters to certain Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Mega-Scizor, and Kartana.
    • Pokemon with strong Fighting-type coverage, like Kartana (Sacred Sword), Landorus-T (Superpower) etc. are good options for dealing with Ferrothorn and Kartana.
    • Although it is less intuitive to run Fire-type attackers on a rain team, Fire-types with secondary typing, such as Incineroar or Volcanion, can still be useful to deal with bulky Steel-type wincons like Ferrothorn or Mega Scizor in the late game, as well as offensive Steel-types like Genesect and Kartana
Other Options
  • Just my opinion for all bulky waters in general (except Fini), but Toxic is always a good filler move so Politoed can stay in and punish more passive walls it can't otherwise touch (e.g. Gastrodon, Chansey, etc.)
  • Ice Beam > Icy Wind is an option if you don't need the speed control and want Politoed to be a more active check to Zygarde.
 

talkingtree

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comments on GenOne's stuff in green and some additional notes at the bottom
Moves
  • I know you talk about Hydro Pump in Other Options, specifically as a move for Choice Scarf sets, but I'm surprised it's not at least acknowledged up here as an alternative to Scald? The extra power does hit certain benchmarks that Scald cannot; just as one example, Hydro Pump always OHKOs bulky Landorus-T in rain whereas Scald never does:
    • 60 SpA Politoed Scald vs. 252 HP / 28 SpD Landorus-Therian in Rain: 296-350 (77.4 - 91.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
    • 60 SpA Politoed Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 28 SpD Landorus-Therian in Rain: 408-480 (106.8 - 125.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • Trying to use Politoed as an attacker seems counterintuitive to me; especially because all the benchmarks it can actually hit offensively are against Pokemon that Rain doesn't have any issues with anyway. I'm fine leaving it in OO personally
Team Options
  • Using Politoed (and thus rain) makes it harder to build a team with adequate checks and counters to certain Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Mega-Scizor, and Kartana.
    • Pokemon with strong Fighting-type coverage, like Kartana (Sacred Sword), Landorus-T (Superpower) etc. are good options for dealing with Ferrothorn and Kartana.
    • Although it is less intuitive to run Fire-type attackers on a rain team, Fire-types with secondary typing, such as Incineroar or Volcanion, can still be useful to deal with bulky Steel-type wincons like Ferrothorn or Mega Scizor in the late game, as well as offensive Steel-types like Genesect and Kartana
  • Great points, implement all of this; maybe note that Superpower Mega Swampert rain doesn't have as large issues with Ferro/Kart
Other Options
  • Just my opinion for all bulky waters in general (except Fini), but Toxic is always a good filler move so Politoed can stay in and punish more passive walls it can't otherwise touch (e.g. Gastrodon, Chansey, etc.) Good, do this
  • Ice Beam > Icy Wind is an option if you don't need the speed control and want Politoed to be a more active check to Zygarde. I'm indifferent here, but if you decide to mention it I think Mega Salamence is an important target too - rain doesn't like TW Mega Mence
  • [Overview] The first four sentences here all sort of say the same thing... not quite, but enough that it seems like there could be some consolidation or rewriting that would make this flow a bit better
  • [Overview] When you compare to Pelipper I might prefer saying it has *different* support options, not a wider array. The latter can imply that Politoed gets everything supportive that Pelipper does when in fact it's missing some of the most crucial - Tailwind and U-turn
  • [Set Details] Slightly nitpicky point - when you talk about Damp Rock you should focus on what it does for Politoed and its teammates instead of its mechanical functionality. Feel free to ping me on Discord if you need clarification on this one
  • [Usage Tips] The first sentence on Encore is a little too hand-holdy for me; you already talk about what Encore does in moves so if people can't figure out how to use it at its most basic level then they've got bigger problems. I'd probably remove it to focus on the second one
  • [Team Options] Give an example or two when you mention Electric-types
  • [Checks and Counters] This is sort of a general note and one that I'm not even sure is a problem, but you're writing some of these as if they're checks and counters to Politoed rain teams instead of checks and counters to Politoed. The two are very similar, but none of the other analyses are written like this. With how much Politoed is about the teammates it enables, this might be okay but it's something to consider
QC 2/2 once you implement
 

MajorBowman

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^ did all this. as far as the last bullet goes, i feel like the grass/electric sections mainly talk about checking politoed itself while the opposing weather one kinda has to be thought about from a whole team perspective. kyurem-b completely walls out toed which i mentioned but also walls out a lot of its common partners so i figured that was worth mentioning too, can make it more politoed-centric if you want though

edit: talked on discord. ready for gp
 
Last edited:

Lumari

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remove add / fix (comments); (AC=add comma; RC=remove comma; SC=semicolon)
GP 1/2
[OVERVIEW]

Weather can be a very oppressive force during battles, and rain is no exception. At its core, Politoed is a support Pokemon whose main method of support conveniently allows it to deal some respectable damage itself. Coveted access to the ability Drizzle allows Politoed to set up rain for its teammates, facilitating sweeps by their hands. When not aiding its partners with one of its many support moves, Politoed can fire off Scalds to chip away at its opponents foes or fish for a burn. While it faces competition from Pelipper in this role, Politoed's superior defensive typing and statistics, as well as its access to a different array of support options, often lead to its inclusion on rain teams.

[SET]
name: Drizzle Support
move 1: Scald
move 2: Icy Wind
move 3: Helping Hand / Encore
move 4: Protect
item: Wiki Berry
ability: Drizzle
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 60 SpA / 8 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Scald is an easy choice on Politoed thanks to its respectable damage output in the rain and convenient 30% burn chance. Icy Wind provides Politoed with a means of speed control, setting its partners up to fire off powerful attacks before facing punishment. Helping Hand boosts Politoed's partners' attacks to menacing levels, often scoring knockouts that are otherwise impossible. Encore is useful for punishing Pokemon that try to set up or stall out rain turns with Protect in front of Politoed. On teams that don't need the extra speed control, Icy Wind can be dropped in favor of running both Helping Hand and Encore. Protect allows Politoed to survive a turn without taking damage so it can more effectively support its team at a later time. Perish Song is an interesting option in the support move slot that can lock down endgames when the opponent only has two Pokemon remaining or deter slower-paced setup that requires multiple turns to be effective.

Set Details
========

The HP and Defense investment allows Politoed to survive a Fusion Bolt from 112 Atk Life Orb Kyurem-B, which is one of the biggest threats to rain teams in general. Additionally, a Calm nature and 8 EVs in Special Defense allow Politoed to survive a Thunderbolt from Timid Tapu Koko in Electric Terrain, provided it is not holding an item that boosts its power. The remaining EVs are dumped into Special Attack, which gives Politoed a 5/8 chance to OHKO 0 HP / 4 SpD Landorus-T in the rain. (i really don't like all the specific spreads here for reasons similar to speed creeping, would rather see them generalised to stuff like "standards Life Orb Kyurem-B", "substantial chance to OHKO uninvested Landorus-T" etc where possible) Wiki Berry provides Politoed with much-needed longevity, allowing it to regain 50% of its health in a pinch and confuse Mega Scizor should it target Politoed with Bug Bite. Alternatively, Damp Rock is a viable item on Politoed, (AC) since it allows Politoed's partners three extra turns to take advantage of rain, while Eject Button can be used to give one of Politoed's partners a relatively safe switch after it sets up the rain.

Usage Tips
========

Politoed is most effectively used when it can set up rain multiple times throughout a battle. It is therefore recommended that you keep Politoed as healthy as possible. One such way to use Politoed is to switch it out on the last turn of rain so it can return to the field on the next turn to summon the storm clouds once again. It is likely that, (AC) Politoed's for maximum damage output, (AC) while it is on the field involves Politoed is better off (optional, less clunky but don't see a less intrusive way) boosting its partner with Helping Hand instead of attacking itself, but Scald can be used to prime partners for KOs or fish for burns whenever Helping Hand is not appropriate. For example, if Politoed's partner is using a rain-boosted Hydro Vortex, Helping Hand can usually boost it to levels that will knock out all but the bulkiest of Pokemon. Icy Wind is most effectively used when Politoed's partner needs an extra speed boost, most likely due to rain expiring or a lack of Swift Swim. If a slower Pokemon like Porygon2 or Aegislash has used a passive attack like Recover or King's Shield, Encore can punish them by forcing them to spend 3 turns failing to make any progress. Additionally, Encore can punish predicted set-up setup moves from faster Pokemon like Dragon Dance Zygarde or and Substitute Kartana, as well as locking opponents opposing Pokemon into Fake Out if they target Politoed's partner. If you choose to employ Perish Song, it is most effectively used when your opponent only has two Pokemon remaining, effectively putting the game on a three-turn timer.

Team Options
========

Given that Politoed's existence is predicated around setting up rain for its partners, its teammates always include at least one Pokemon with the Swift Swim ability. These Pokemon, like Kingdra, Mega Swampert, and Ludicolo, make use of boosted Speed and boosted power of Water-type attacks very effectively, often exerting immense offensive pressure when the rain is up. All three of these Pokemon have their pros and cons, but perhaps the most effective partner is Kingdra due to its access to Muddy Water and lack of weaknesses to Grass- and Electric-type attacks. With boosts from rain, Helping Hand, and a potential Life Orb or Z-Crystal, Kingdra is able to provide both single-target burst damage or heavy multi-target damage. Mega Swampert can also clean up games with rain-boosted Waterfall or Earthquake, but the latter generally requires a partner immune to Ground-type attacks so it doesn't accidentally knock out Politoed in the process. Ludicolo is the weakest of the three, but it does benefit from its access to Fake Out and Grass typing (RH) to deal with problematic Water-types like Tapu Fini or and Gastrodon. Electric-type Pokemon, such as Tapu Koko or and Zapdos, also partner well with Politoed, (AC) since they are generally good offensive checks to Water-types not named Gastrodon and can make use of perfectly accurate Thunder while rain is active. Grass- and Steel-types benefit from the rain thanks to the power of Fire-type moves being weakened, while Grass-types specifically can also deal with opposing Water-types. Kartana is a good example, as it benefits from the traditional rain core throttling Incineroar and can remove threats to rain cores like Tapu Fini or and Gastrodon with a well-timed Leaf Blade. Since teams with Politoed tend to stack weaknesses to Electric-types, Pokemon like Kyurem-B that can sponge Electric-type moves and threaten their users are good partners for Politoed as well. There is a lot of flexibility available to Politoed teams as far as Mega Evolutions go, since many different Mega Evolutions benefit from the support Politoed provides. Mega Metagross appreciates Fire-type moves being weakened and sits in a great Speed tier for taking advantage of Icy Wind, while Mega Manectric can soft check opposing Electric-types and make use of an accurate Thunder. Finally, Politoed and its typical teammates tend to struggle with certain Steel-type Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, and Kartana. Pokemon with strong Fighting-type coverage, such as Sacred Sword Kartana, Superpower Mega Swampert, or and Superpower Landorus-T, therefore make good partners for Politoed. While it may seem counterintuitive, Fire-type Pokemon with useful secondary typings like Incineroar and Volcanion can also help alleviate this issue.

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

In order to have a better chance at winning the weather war, a Sassy nature with 0 IVs in Speed could be used to make Politoed slower than standard Tyranitar, meaning that rain will be the prevailing weather if both enter the field on the same turn. This also comes in handy if Politoed carries Perish Song, as being the slowest Pokemon on the field is advantageous when using Perish Song in endgame scenarios. For a more offensive take on Politoed, Choice Scarf can be used to overwhelm opponents opposing teams with a lot of damage very quickly, especially when paired with a Swift Swim user. A Timid nature and a simple EV spread of 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe are recommended so Politoed can outspeed and OHKO standard Tapu Koko and OHKO it with Hydro Pump. For a more offensive option without sacrificing utility, Hydro Pump can replace Scald on the bulky set in order to allow Politoed to guarantee an OHKO on standard bulky Landorus-T at the cost of accuracy and a burn chance. Ice Beam can be used over Icy Wind if the speed control is unnecessary and you want Politoed to act as a more proactive check to Pokemon like Mega Salamence and Zygarde. Haze is another support option of which Politoed can make good use, (AC) since it is bulky enough to take a hit from some boosted threats like Dragon Dance Zygarde or and Calm Mind Tapu Fini and eliminate their boosts. Toxic can also be used if Politoed's team struggles with bulky, passive Pokemon like Gastrodon orand Chansey. Wacan Berry can be the item of choice if you feel that your team is too weak to Electric-types, as can be the case with rain teams.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Opposing Weather**: Since Politoed's main job is to set rain, other weather setters can disrupt this goal. While Politoed generally has a good matchup against the other two main weather setters in the tier, Tyranitar and Mega Charizard Y, its Scald will not do much damage to either in any weather than rain. Ensuring that rain is up is more valuable than inflicting small amounts of chip damage in most situations.

**Grass-types**: Tapu Bulu and Kartana both take minimal damage from Politoed's attacks and threaten an OHKO with Wood Hammer and Leaf Blade, respectively. Amoonguss can sit in front of Politoed and most common Swift Swim users and threaten to redirect attacks, put something to sleep with Spore, or deal significant damage with either of its STAB attacks, only having to be wary of catching an untimely Encore from Politoed.

**Electric-types**: Tapu Koko will OHKO non-Wacan Berry Politoed with Gigavolt Havoc or Thunderbolt as long as the latter is boosted by any item, such as Life Orb or Choice Specs. Zapdos usually won't OHKO Politoed with Thunderbolt but still threatens significant damage while neutralizing the Swift Swim ability with Tailwind and forcing Politoed's team to fight at a speed disadvantage.

**Kyurem-B**: Kyurem-B, especially the Assault Vest set, will take negligible damage from Politoed and most of its partners. Even Life Orb Kingdra fails to knock out standard Assault Vest Kyurem-B with Draco Meteor unless boosted by Helping Hand. Kyurem-B can then retaliate with Icy Wind to neutralize Swift Swim's Speed boost or Fusion Bolt to threaten Politoed itself.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[MajorBowman, 188164]]
- Quality checked by: [[n10sit, 267148], [name, ID]]
- Grammar checked by: [[name, ID], [name, ID]]
 

talkingtree

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GP 2/2
add remove comments

[OVERVIEW]

Weather can be a very oppressive force during battles, and rain is no exception. At its core, Politoed is a support Pokemon whose main method of support conveniently allows it to deal some respectable damage itself. Coveted access to the ability Drizzle allows Politoed to set up rain for its teammates, facilitating sweeps by their hands. When not aiding its partners with one of its many support moves, Politoed can fire off Scalds to chip away at its foes or fish for a burn. While it faces competition from Pelipper in this role, Politoed's superior defensive typing and statistics, as well as its access to a different array of support options, often lead to its inclusion on rain teams.

[SET]
name: Drizzle Support
move 1: Scald
move 2: Icy Wind
move 3: Helping Hand / Encore
move 4: Protect
item: Wiki Berry
ability: Drizzle
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 60 SpA / 8 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Scald is an easy choice on Politoed thanks to its respectable damage output in the rain and convenient 30% burn chance. Icy Wind provides Politoed with a means of speed control, setting its partners up to fire off powerful attacks before facing punishment. Helping Hand boosts Politoed's partners' attacks to menacing levels, often scoring knockouts that are otherwise impossible. Encore is useful for punishing Pokemon that try to set up or stall out rain turns with Protect in front of Politoed. On teams that don't need the extra speed control, Icy Wind can be dropped in favor of running both Helping Hand and Encore. Protect allows Politoed to survive a turn without taking damage so it can more effectively support its team at a later time. Perish Song is an interesting option in the support move slot that can lock down endgames when the opponent only has two Pokemon remaining or deter slower-paced setup that requires multiple turns to be effective.

Set Details
========

The HP and Defense investment allows Politoed to survive a Fusion Bolt from standard Life Orb Kyurem-B, which is one of the biggest threats to rain teams in general. Additionally, a Calm nature and 8 EVs in Special Defense allow Politoed to survive a Thunderbolt from Timid Tapu Koko in Electric Terrain, provided it is not holding an a boosting item that boosts its power. The remaining EVs are dumped into Special Attack, which gives Politoed a substantial chance to OHKO uninvested Landorus-T in the rain. Wiki Berry provides Politoed with much-needed longevity, allowing it to regain 50% of its health in a pinch and confuse Mega Scizor should it target Politoed with Bug Bite. Alternatively, Damp Rock is another viable item on Politoed, since it allows Politoed's partners three extra turns to take advantage of rain, while Eject Button can be used to give one of Politoed's partners a relatively safe switch after it sets up the rain.

Usage Tips
========

Politoed is most effectively used when it can set up rain multiple times throughout a battle. It is therefore recommended that you keep Politoed as healthy as possible. One such way to use Politoed is to switch it out on the last turn of rain so it can return to the field on the next turn to summon the storm clouds once again. It is likely that, for maximum damage output, Politoed is better off boosting its partner with Helping Hand instead of attacking itself, but Scald can be used to prime partners for KOs or fish for burns whenever Helping Hand is not appropriate. For example, if Politoed's partner is using a rain-boosted Hydro Vortex, Helping Hand can usually boost it to levels that will knock out all but the bulkiest of Pokemon. Icy Wind is most effectively used when Politoed's partner needs an extra speed boost, most likely due to rain expiring or a lack of Swift Swim. If a slower Pokemon like Porygon2 or Aegislash has used a passive attack like Recover or King's Shield, Encore can punish them by forcing them to spend 3 turns failing to make any progress. Additionally, Encore can punish predicted setup moves from faster Pokemon like Dragon Dance Zygarde and Substitute Kartana, as well as locking opposing Pokemon into Fake Out if they target Politoed's partner. If you choose to employ Perish Song, it is most effectively used when your opponent only has two Pokemon remaining, effectively putting the game on a three-turn timer.

Team Options
========

Given that Politoed's existence is predicated around setting up rain for its partners, its teammates always include at least one Pokemon with the Swift Swim ability. These Pokemon, like Kingdra, Mega Swampert, and Ludicolo, make use of boosted Speed and boosted Water-type attacks very effectively, often exerting immense offensive pressure when the rain is up. All three of these Pokemon have their pros and cons, but perhaps the most effective partner is Kingdra due to its access to Muddy Water and lack of weaknesses to Grass- and Electric-type attacks. (this is still a good point, but an interesting note is none of the popular rain sweepers actually have an Electric weakness) With boosts from rain, Helping Hand, and a potential Life Orb or Z-Crystal, Kingdra is able to provide both single-target burst damage or heavy multi-target damage. Mega Swampert can also clean up games with rain-boosted Waterfall or Earthquake, but the latter generally requires a partner immune to Ground-type attacks so it doesn't accidentally knock out Politoed in the process. Ludicolo is the weakest attacker of the three, but it does benefit from its access to Fake Out and Grass typing to deal with problematic Water-types like Tapu Fini and Gastrodon.
(added paragraph break)
Electric-type Pokemon, such as Tapu Koko and Zapdos, also partner well with Politoed, since they are generally good offensive checks to Water-types not named Gastrodon and can make use of perfectly accurate Thunder while rain is active. Grass- and Steel-types benefit from the rain thanks to the power of Fire-type moves being weakened, while and Grass-types specifically can also deal with opposing Water-types. Kartana is a good example, as it benefits from the traditional rain core throttling Incineroar and can remove threats to rain cores like Tapu Fini and Gastrodon with a well-timed Leaf Blade. Since teams with Politoed tend to stack weaknesses to Electric-types, Pokemon like Kyurem-B that can sponge Electric-type moves and threaten their users are good partners for Politoed as well. There is a lot of flexibility available to Politoed teams as far as Mega Evolutions go, since many different Mega Evolutions benefit from the support Politoed provides. Mega Metagross appreciates Fire-type moves being weakened and sits in a great Speed tier for taking advantage of Icy Wind, while Mega Manectric can soft check opposing Electric-types and make use of an accurate Thunder. Finally, Politoed and its typical teammates tend to struggle with certain Steel-type Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, and Kartana. Pokemon with strong Fighting-type coverage, such as Sacred Sword Kartana, Superpower Mega Swampert, and Superpower Landorus-T, therefore make good partners for Politoed. While it may seem counterintuitive, Fire-type Pokemon with useful secondary typings like Incineroar and Volcanion can also help alleviate this issue. Gothitelle provides invaluable trapping support for sets running Perish Song, making it significantly harder to avoid the timer that Politoed starts. (QC edit)

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

In order to have a better chance at winning the weather war, a Sassy nature with 0 IVs in Speed could be used to make Politoed slower than standard Tyranitar, meaning that rain will be the prevailing weather if both enter the field on the same turn. This also comes in handy if Politoed carries Perish Song, as being the slowest Pokemon on the field is advantageous when using Perish Song in endgame scenarios. For a more offensive take on Politoed, Choice Scarf can be used to overwhelm opposing teams with a lot of damage very quickly, especially when paired with a Swift Swim user. A Timid nature and a simple EV spread of 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe are recommended so Politoed can outspeed standard Tapu Koko and OHKO it with Hydro Pump. For a more offensive option without sacrificing utility, Hydro Pump can replace Scald on the bulky set in order to allow Politoed to guarantee an OHKO on standard bulky Landorus-T at the cost of accuracy and a burn chance. Ice Beam can be used over Icy Wind if the speed control is unnecessary and you want Politoed to act as a more proactive check to Pokemon like Mega Salamence and Zygarde. Haze is another support option of which Politoed can make good use, since it is bulky enough to take a hit from some boosted threats like Dragon Dance Zygarde and Calm Mind Tapu Fini and eliminate their boosts. It also synergizes fairly well with Kingdra or Mega Swampert, removing drops from Draco Meteor or Superpower, respectively. Toxic can also be used if Politoed's team struggles with bulky, passive Pokemon like Gastrodon and Chansey. Wacan Berry can be the item of choice if you feel that your team is too weak to Electric-types, as can be the case with rain teams. (honestly Wacan is terrible so I'd just remove it. If you disagree, there are no grammatical errors so just leave the sentence as-is)

Checks and Counters
===================

**Opposing Weather**: Since Politoed's main job is to set rain, other weather setters can disrupt this goal. While Politoed generally has a good matchup against the other two main weather setters in the tier, Tyranitar and Mega Charizard Y, its Scald will not do much damage to either in any weather other than rain. Ensuring that rain is up is more valuable than inflicting small amounts of chip damage in most situations.

**Grass-types**: Tapu Bulu and Kartana both take minimal damage from Politoed's attacks and threaten an OHKO with Wood Hammer and Leaf Blade, respectively. Amoonguss can sit in front of Politoed and most common Swift Swim users and threaten to redirect attacks, put something to sleep with Spore, or deal significant damage with either of its STAB attacks, only having to be wary of catching an untimely Encore from Politoed.

**Electric-types**: Tapu Koko will OHKO non-Wacan Berry (remove this if you remove the sentence in OO) Politoed with Gigavolt Havoc or Thunderbolt as long as the latter is boosted by any item, such as Life Orb or Choice Specs. Zapdos usually won't OHKO Politoed with Thunderbolt but still threatens significant damage while neutralizing the Swift Swim ability advantage with Tailwind and forcing Politoed's team to fight at a speed disadvantage.

**Kyurem-B**: Kyurem-B, especially the Assault Vest sets, will take negligible damage from Politoed and most of its partners. Even Life Orb Kingdra fails to knock out standard Assault Vest Kyurem-B with Draco Meteor unless boosted by Helping Hand. Kyurem-B can then retaliate with Icy Wind to neutralize Swift Swim's Speed boost or Fusion Bolt to threaten Politoed itself.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[MajorBowman, 188164]]
- Quality checked by: [[n10sit, 267148], [talkingtree, 232101]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [talkingtree, 232101]]
 

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