Poliwrath
[OVERVIEW]
<p> Poliwrath is an interesting pokemon. It has mediocre and fairly average stats, yet they are enough to still let Poliwrath be viable. Poliwrath has a small movepool, yet what it has is very useful and effective. It doesn't have one specific niche, but can do an average job in several different roles. It does have several things that differentiate it from other pokemon that allow it to be competitively viable and a potent threat. </p>
[SET]
name: Belly Flop
move 1: Belly Drum
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Brick Break
move 4: Rock Slide / Return
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Swift Swim
Nature: Jolly
EVs.: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p> There's nothing scarier than a pokemon with +6 Attack and +2 Speed, and that's exactly what Poliwrath can do. With Rain Support, Swift Swim allows Poliwrath to sit comfortably at +2 Speed, which is faster than all pokemon except for those with scarves, a positive nature, and a base speed stat over 102. After one Belly Drum, Poliwrath's attack stat skyrockets, making it a fast, bulky powerhouse. It can then spam a +6 STAB Waterfall that's boosted by the rain. Common rain counters like Nattorei are easily taken care of by STAB Brick Break. Poliwrath can't have perfect coverage, but it can get pretty close. With Rock Slide, only Toxicroak resists all moves (and takes a hefty 85%-100% from Brick Break). However, Rock Slide is a weak move and can't score many important KO's, so Return is an option for a higher base power. If Return is chosen, Burungeru and Shedinja are immune to everything Poliwrath has, however, so it's a tough choice. One of the best things about this set is its resistance to priority. Weather sweepers like Doryuuzu are weak to priority, but Poliwrath resists Bullet Punch, Aqua Jet, Ice Shard, Sucker Punch and is neutral to Quick Attack, Extremespeed, Vacuum Wave, Shadow Sneak, and Mach Punch. This, when coupled with Poliwrath's bulk, can allow it to take at least one hit from a priority attack. The EVs give Poliwrath max attack, and enough speed to outspeed ScarfChomp and Deoxys-S.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p> Poison Jab is an option if neither Rock Slide nor Returm are appealing, as it is only resisted by Burungeru (Shedinja is still immune, though), but it is still weak and has poor super effective coverage. Poliwrath can run a few more speed points to outspeed several important threats like Scarf Terakion, Scarf Cobalion, and Scarf Kojondo, but really of those only Scarf Kojondo is common. A Life Orb can give Poliwrath more power, but it makes Poliwrath's sweep very short and is uneccessary. If Poliwrath needs more oppurtunities to set up, it can run Encore or Hypnosis, although that takes away from Poliwrath's coverage.</p>
[SET]
name: Sub Puncher
move 1: Encore / Bulk Up
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Focus Punch
move 4: Waterfall
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Nature: Adamant
EVs.: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p> This is a classic Poliwrath set, utilizing both Poliwrath's bulk and power. The idea is to Encore a utility move, like Nattorei's Stealth Rock, set up a Sub, and Punch away at everything. Alternatively, Poliwrath can Bulk Up a few times before setting up a sub. This way, physical attackers won't be able to break the sub easily, and your attacks hurt much more. So Encore is used for assurance that Poliwrath will be able to set up a sub, and Bulk Up is for more power. Focus Punch will deal a ton of damage off of Poliwrath's maxed out attack after factoring in STAB. Waterfall is also there for STAB, and even though it doesn't have very good coverage with Focus Punch, it doesn't matter because even after factoring in STAB and resistances, Focus Punch has a base power of 113 against anything with a x2 resist. This is scary indeed. Poliwrath is bulky enough to be able to take a hit, so the HP EVs are maxed out. Poliwrath also wants to be able to set up multiple subs, so Leftovers were used as an item. Focus Punch is illegal with Swift Swim, so Water Absorb was used, making it even easier to set up. </p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p> For maximum coverage, Poliwrath should have Rock Slide over Waterfall, but coverage isn't an issue because Focus Punch still deals a ton of damage, even if the foe resists it. Poliwrath can run a few more speed EVs, but the bulk is more useful on Poliwrath. For the real risk takers, Hypnosis can be used over Encore or Bulk Up for a mini-Breloom, but Hypnosis is unreliable. There's really not a whole lot to this set, it's fairly simple. </p>
[OVERVIEW]
<p> Poliwrath is an interesting pokemon. It has mediocre and fairly average stats, yet they are enough to still let Poliwrath be viable. Poliwrath has a small movepool, yet what it has is very useful and effective. It doesn't have one specific niche, but can do an average job in several different roles. It does have several things that differentiate it from other pokemon that allow it to be competitively viable and a potent threat. </p>
[SET]
name: Belly Flop
move 1: Belly Drum
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Brick Break
move 4: Rock Slide / Return
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Swift Swim
Nature: Jolly
EVs.: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p> There's nothing scarier than a pokemon with +6 Attack and +2 Speed, and that's exactly what Poliwrath can do. With Rain Support, Swift Swim allows Poliwrath to sit comfortably at +2 Speed, which is faster than all pokemon except for those with scarves, a positive nature, and a base speed stat over 102. After one Belly Drum, Poliwrath's attack stat skyrockets, making it a fast, bulky powerhouse. It can then spam a +6 STAB Waterfall that's boosted by the rain. Common rain counters like Nattorei are easily taken care of by STAB Brick Break. Poliwrath can't have perfect coverage, but it can get pretty close. With Rock Slide, only Toxicroak resists all moves (and takes a hefty 85%-100% from Brick Break). However, Rock Slide is a weak move and can't score many important KO's, so Return is an option for a higher base power. If Return is chosen, Burungeru and Shedinja are immune to everything Poliwrath has, however, so it's a tough choice. One of the best things about this set is its resistance to priority. Weather sweepers like Doryuuzu are weak to priority, but Poliwrath resists Bullet Punch, Aqua Jet, Ice Shard, Sucker Punch and is neutral to Quick Attack, Extremespeed, Vacuum Wave, Shadow Sneak, and Mach Punch. This, when coupled with Poliwrath's bulk, can allow it to take at least one hit from a priority attack. The EVs give Poliwrath max attack, and enough speed to outspeed ScarfChomp and Deoxys-S.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p> Poison Jab is an option if neither Rock Slide nor Returm are appealing, as it is only resisted by Burungeru (Shedinja is still immune, though), but it is still weak and has poor super effective coverage. Poliwrath can run a few more speed points to outspeed several important threats like Scarf Terakion, Scarf Cobalion, and Scarf Kojondo, but really of those only Scarf Kojondo is common. A Life Orb can give Poliwrath more power, but it makes Poliwrath's sweep very short and is uneccessary. If Poliwrath needs more oppurtunities to set up, it can run Encore or Hypnosis, although that takes away from Poliwrath's coverage.</p>
[SET]
name: Sub Puncher
move 1: Encore / Bulk Up
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Focus Punch
move 4: Waterfall
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Nature: Adamant
EVs.: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p> This is a classic Poliwrath set, utilizing both Poliwrath's bulk and power. The idea is to Encore a utility move, like Nattorei's Stealth Rock, set up a Sub, and Punch away at everything. Alternatively, Poliwrath can Bulk Up a few times before setting up a sub. This way, physical attackers won't be able to break the sub easily, and your attacks hurt much more. So Encore is used for assurance that Poliwrath will be able to set up a sub, and Bulk Up is for more power. Focus Punch will deal a ton of damage off of Poliwrath's maxed out attack after factoring in STAB. Waterfall is also there for STAB, and even though it doesn't have very good coverage with Focus Punch, it doesn't matter because even after factoring in STAB and resistances, Focus Punch has a base power of 113 against anything with a x2 resist. This is scary indeed. Poliwrath is bulky enough to be able to take a hit, so the HP EVs are maxed out. Poliwrath also wants to be able to set up multiple subs, so Leftovers were used as an item. Focus Punch is illegal with Swift Swim, so Water Absorb was used, making it even easier to set up. </p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p> For maximum coverage, Poliwrath should have Rock Slide over Waterfall, but coverage isn't an issue because Focus Punch still deals a ton of damage, even if the foe resists it. Poliwrath can run a few more speed EVs, but the bulk is more useful on Poliwrath. For the real risk takers, Hypnosis can be used over Encore or Bulk Up for a mini-Breloom, but Hypnosis is unreliable. There's really not a whole lot to this set, it's fairly simple. </p>
