Poli- Poli- oh sorry i seem to have a frog in my throat
[Overview]
<p>Like Ninetales, Politoed has experienced a leap in usage due to its Dream World ability, Drizzle. With Drizzle, Swift Swim abusers and other Pokemon that benefit from rain, such as Toxicroak, are much more viable, and Politoed's own STAB attacks are powered up as well. Its stats are fairly average, with only its Special Defense reaching the 100 benchmark; however, they are salvageable enough to allow Politoed to take a beating before being knocked out, or dish out some major damage with Hydro Pump. Play conservatively with your Politoed against other weather teams, and it will certainly be the celebrated jumping frog of your team.</p>
[SET]
name: Weather Tank
move 1: Scald / Surf
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Encore / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Protect
item: Wacan Berry / Iron Ball
ability: Drizzle
nature: Modest / Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
ivs: 30 Atk / 30 SpA / 3 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>A standard tank set is by leaps and bounds the easiest Politoed variant to fit on a team. This Politoed aims to be able to switch in and out repeatedly in order to control the weather, while still maintaining an offensive presence. Scald or Surf will be Politoed's main attack, as they are boosted by both rain and STAB. The choice between the two largely depends on your team. If you pair Politoed with Pokemon such as Absorb Bulb Ludicolo or Water Absorb Vaporeon, or at least Pokemon that resist Surf such as Kingdra, Surf is a great spread move to fire off. However, if you don't have Pokemon that can take some friendly fire, Scald should be your main attack, as it comes with a nice 30% burn rate. Ice Beam is a fairly obvious choice, which compliements Politoed's STAB, and hits common threats such as Zapdos and Garchomp for super effective damage. Encore can potentially lock a Pokemon into a useless Fake Out or Protect with the right prediction, or if you're under Trick Room, but if prediction isn't your strong suit, Hidden Power Grass will be the more practical choice. With it, Politoed is no longer walled by the likes of Rotom-W, Gastrodon, and other Water-types. Since you will need to play conservatively with Politoed to keep the weather conditions in your favor, Protect is a staple fourth move to scout, stall out field effects, or simply dodge a partner's Earthquake.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The IVs listed allow Politoed to be as slow as possible while still maintaining a 70 Base Power Hidden Power Grass. If you're using a Modest nature, you can use a spread of 30 Atk / 30 SpA / 31 Spe to naturally outspeed Pokemon with lower base Speed, Scrafty and Scizor in particular. An Iron Ball allows Politoed to underspeed Abomasnow and Tyranitar, assuming they aren't carrying an Iron Ball as well, and take control of the weather should you both send them out at once. Furthermore, it lets Politoed perform well in Trick Room. If you don't think this is important, a Wacan Berry will help Politoed survive powerful Electric-type attacks if it's caught without a ready Protect.</p>
<p>Obviously, Pokemon with Swift Swim, Water Absorb, and other rain-abusing abilities make great partners for Politoed. Kingdra and Ludicolo stand out as two of the best rain abusers because of their lack of overlapping weaknesses, as well as their 4x resistance to Surf. Surf-absorbing Pokemon are relatively hard to come by, but Vaporeon, Jellicent, and Gastrodon are certainly viable Pokemon. Thunder-wielding Pokemon, particularly Zapdos, Thundurus, and Rotom-W, make great use of Politoed's eternal rain, and in Zapdos's case makes a good switch-in to avoid Grass-type moves and switch the weather back in your favor. Toxicroak is yet another Pokemon that benefits from Surf, and can prove to be a very annoying opponent indeed with rain, Drain Punch, and Surf all healing it, not to mention being able to use Fake Out and Sucker Punch.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Surf
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Hydro Pump / Scald
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Drizzle
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
ivs: 30 Atk / 30 SpA
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Because Politoed naturally switches out often to change the weather, and most rain teams are sSpeed-oriented, a Choice Scarf is useful to get the jump on Pokemon such as Crobat and Weavile. Surf, Scald, and Hydro Pump are powerful STAB moves, and while you may feel two Water moves are too much for one set, you have to realize Politoed's offensive movepool is somewhat barren outside of the listed moves. If you are considering Psychic, remember that a super effective Psychic is only slightly more powerful than a rain-boosted STAB Hydro Pump, though Psychic isn't absorbed by Storm Drain or similar abilities. Ice Beam and Hidden Power Grass are Politoed's coverage moves, which make sure Politoed isn't walled by Pokemon such as Dragonite and Gastrodon.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A Choice Scarf set doesn't need much explanation, but defensive synergy is a must when playing with Choice Scarf Politoed. For starters, Ferrothorn is perhaps the best Politoed switch-in considering its massive bulk that gives even Hitmontop trouble sometimes, as well as its ability to soften blows from Politoed with Leech Seed. If you can keep Grass-types at bay, Gastrodon is immune to Electric-type moves, and able to soak up Politoed's Surf for Special Attack boosts. Shedinja is immune to Grass- and Electric-type moves, can take advantage of Drizzle to avoid hail and sandstorm, and naturally receives protection from sun teams that pack more than one Fire-type. Latios also effectively gains a free switch-in when coming in against Electric- and Grass-type moves, though you might feel Latios is a little bit too frail to switch into it repeatedly. If this is the case, Latias functions very similarly to Latios, but has better defenses. Outside of defensive switch-ins, staple Swift Swim users make good partners all-around, provided you don't bunch up on common weaknesses.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Politoed's movepool is as shallow as the swamp it hails from, especially since Drizzle is incompatible with moves such as Helping Hand and Icy Wind. If you can manage to keep at least three of your Pokemon alive, Perish Song can come in handy because VGC matches are often reduced to two Pokemon fairly early, and can pressure your opponent into switching otherwise. Endeavor is generally a good move, though Politoed's HP may not be low enough to make full use of it. Hypnosis is a good move to use on an idle turn that can potentially put a vital Pokemon to sleep, but with only 60% accuracy, you're better off fishing for a Scald burn. Rain Dance may look odd on a Pokemon that already has Drizzle, but in weather wars it's an asset to keep your opponent switching their weather starter in and out, giving you an opening to gang up on it or its teammates. Offensively, Politoed isn't that much better either, as its best options are Psychic and Blizzard. Psychic has merit on the tank set, where it's most likely going to be facing lead Fighting-types such as Hitmontop and Hariyama. It's also handy in mirror matches against Toxicroak, who effectively walls Politoed otherwise. Blizzard is simply another spread move that doesn't hurt your teammates, though the 70% accuracy is definitely a turn-off.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Politoed's checks and counters are fairly straightforward. Ferrothorn, Rotom-W, Rotom-C, Zapdos, Abomasnow, and Toxicroak are but a few, though Politoed is probably going to be played conservatively until your opponent is absolutely sure you aren't going to change the weather. A surprise Sunny Day, Hail, or Sandstorm is a great way to take advantage of this, though you have to be careful about repeated Hydro Pumps from Politoed's teammates. To expound on the mentioned counters, Ferrothorn takes absolutely nothing from any Politoed assault bar a Scald burn, and is a general nuisance to rain teams. Rotom-W, Rotom-C, and Zapdos electrify Politoed with their STAB Thunderbolts or Thunders while Politoed cannot OHKO them back. Abomasnow, a weather inducer itself, is Politoed's natural enemy, and the best Politoed can do to it is a neutral Ice Beam. With Drain Punch and Dry Skin healing, Toxicroak walls any Politoed if it doesn't get frozen, which is a real possibility if you let the match drag on too long. Opposing rain teams pack their own Ludicolo and Thunder abusers who of course can make frog leg stew out of Politoed in a heartbeat. Amoonguss may be weak to Ice Beam, but it can definitely take one or two hits, Spore Politoed, and heal off the damage with Giga Drain.</p>
