[OVERVIEW]
When looking at Raticate, it would be tempting to dismiss it as irredeemable garbage, and there can be no doubt that it's not a very good Pokemon. However, it does have an ace up its sleeve in the form of its signature move, Super Fang, which halves the HP of Raticate's targets. This transforms the otherwise feeble rat into a suprisingly potent wallbreaker, while it also has access to STAB Body Slam and Hyper Beam. Unfortunately , the list of positive traits ends there. To say its defenses are atrocious is a colossal understatement, as almost every relevant threat is capable of 2HKOing it. This means that it's crippled by status, and as such has extreme difficulty entering play. Furthermore, its poor Attack stat means that it's often unable to finish off weakened foes, while although its Speed is decent, it falls short of many notable threats. Raticate's flaws are so prominent that it can be difficult to justify using it, but it is nonetheless capable of posing a threat, and should not be as readily dismissed as one might think.
[SET]
name: Wallbreaker
move 1: Super Fang
move 2: Body Slam
move 3: Hyper Beam
move 4: Blizzard / Bubble Beam
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
The goal for Raticate is simple- find an opportunity to enter play against something that can't immediately KO it or paralyse it, and start spamming Super Fang. Super Fang is obviously Raticate's defining tool, and deals significant damage to everything in the game. Body Slam is useful against threats that are already somewhat weakened, as in such scenarios its damage would be comparable to Super Fang, while having the potential to paralyse or critical hit. Hyper Beam is Raticate's best option for finishing off significantly weakened foes. Blizzard and Bubble Beam both serve the purpose of damaging Rhydon and Golem- Blizzard is generally a better move due to offering better coverage (notably 2HKOing Dragonite) and being capable of freezing, but Bubble Beam has a significantly better chance of 2HKOing Rhydon and Golem.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Gengar**- Though Gengar does take damage from Super Fang, Raticate is unable to harm it significantly with its other attacks
**Starmie**- Starmie is faster than Raticate, has decent physical bulk and can use Recover to mitigate the impact of Super Fang
**Offensive pressure**- Raticate's greatest flaw is its pathetic defenses, which ensure that despite its high damage potential, it's not that hard to out-gun it. By contrast, defensive checks will never appreciate Super Fang depleting half of their health in a single turn- even if they are able to KO it, most of their bulk will have been depleted, which usually is not a worthwhile trade
**Paralysis**- Paralysis means that slower pokemon can overpower Raticate while incurring far less damage, and also Chansey can stall it with Softboiled
**Clever switching**- One way of limiting Raticate's impact is to bait it into using Hyper Beam, which can give you a free attack it if it fails to land a KO, or its special coverage move, which will deal laughable damage to anything that isn't weak to it, thus granting a potential check a much safer switch in
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Ortheore, 196844]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
When looking at Raticate, it would be tempting to dismiss it as irredeemable garbage, and there can be no doubt that it's not a very good Pokemon. However, it does have an ace up its sleeve in the form of its signature move, Super Fang, which halves the HP of Raticate's targets. This transforms the otherwise feeble rat into a suprisingly potent wallbreaker, while it also has access to STAB Body Slam and Hyper Beam. Unfortunately , the list of positive traits ends there. To say its defenses are atrocious is a colossal understatement, as almost every relevant threat is capable of 2HKOing it. This means that it's crippled by status, and as such has extreme difficulty entering play. Furthermore, its poor Attack stat means that it's often unable to finish off weakened foes, while although its Speed is decent, it falls short of many notable threats. Raticate's flaws are so prominent that it can be difficult to justify using it, but it is nonetheless capable of posing a threat, and should not be as readily dismissed as one might think.
[SET]
name: Wallbreaker
move 1: Super Fang
move 2: Body Slam
move 3: Hyper Beam
move 4: Blizzard / Bubble Beam
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
The goal for Raticate is simple- find an opportunity to enter play against something that can't immediately KO it or paralyse it, and start spamming Super Fang. Super Fang is obviously Raticate's defining tool, and deals significant damage to everything in the game. Body Slam is useful against threats that are already somewhat weakened, as in such scenarios its damage would be comparable to Super Fang, while having the potential to paralyse or critical hit. Hyper Beam is Raticate's best option for finishing off significantly weakened foes. Blizzard and Bubble Beam both serve the purpose of damaging Rhydon and Golem- Blizzard is generally a better move due to offering better coverage (notably 2HKOing Dragonite) and being capable of freezing, but Bubble Beam has a significantly better chance of 2HKOing Rhydon and Golem.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Gengar**- Though Gengar does take damage from Super Fang, Raticate is unable to harm it significantly with its other attacks
**Starmie**- Starmie is faster than Raticate, has decent physical bulk and can use Recover to mitigate the impact of Super Fang
**Offensive pressure**- Raticate's greatest flaw is its pathetic defenses, which ensure that despite its high damage potential, it's not that hard to out-gun it. By contrast, defensive checks will never appreciate Super Fang depleting half of their health in a single turn- even if they are able to KO it, most of their bulk will have been depleted, which usually is not a worthwhile trade
**Paralysis**- Paralysis means that slower pokemon can overpower Raticate while incurring far less damage, and also Chansey can stall it with Softboiled
**Clever switching**- One way of limiting Raticate's impact is to bait it into using Hyper Beam, which can give you a free attack it if it fails to land a KO, or its special coverage move, which will deal laughable damage to anything that isn't weak to it, thus granting a potential check a much safer switch in
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Ortheore, 196844]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
