[OVERVIEW]
Seadra is a potent attacker and late-game Agility sweeper in RBY NU that also happens to match up well against many "Big 5"—Mr. Mime, Clefable, Blastoise, Charizard, and Venomoth—structures, as these teams often use Nidoking, Golem, or Kabutops as their sixth Pokemon, all of which lose to Seadra. Seadra Speed ties Nidoking and outruns much of the tier, giving it solid matchups against most slower foes, and it can bypass paralysis with Agility to help against foes like Clefable and Wigglytuff. It's also one of the best Pokemon against a late-game Charizard sweep, as it survives a +2 Hyper Beam with ease. Seadra's passable bulk and high Special let it duel much of the tier and relieve some pressure from Blastoise, which is often stretched thin checking opposing Blastoise and Charizard. Thus, it can serve as a mid-game attacker and pivot to free up Blastoise—assuming the opposing Blastoise is put to sleep or otherwise handled—or it can act as a late-game cleaner, allowing players to use Blastoise heavily early-game and follow up with Seadra to close out the game.
However, Seadra struggles horribly against the ubiquitous Blastoise, which it can only 5HKO with the inaccurate Hydro Pump, and Kingler, which it rarely 3HKOes with Hydro Pump or 4HKOes with Surf, but Kingler can easily set up Swords Dance and retaliate for massive damage. Seadra's Speed is great, but it's still outsped by Mr. Mime, Raticate, and Electrode, all of which usually beat it one-on-one; Venomoth also outspeeds it and can put it to sleep. While Seadra easily beats many foes one-on-one, it cannot switch into them; Nidoking and Kabutops beat Seadra if it has to switch into them, and Golem deals a big chunk of damage with Earthquake as well.
[SET]
name: Agility Sweeper
move 1: Surf
move 2: Blizzard
move 3: Hydro Pump
move 4: Agility
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Surf and Blizzard hit all targets except opposing Water-types— Surf 2HKOes Charizard, Ninetales, Nidoking, and Raticate, and it rarely 2HKOes Moltres, while Blizzard 2HKOes Exeggcute and Fearow. Hydro Pump 2HKOes Kabutops and gives Seadra the extra damage needed to KO Moltres after a Surf; it also gives it a chance to 2HKO Mr. Mime and Electrode and helps secure the 3HKO on Venomoth. Agility allows Seadra to shrug off paralysis and outspeed threats like Mr. Mime, Nidoking, and Charizard; if Seadra sets it up before securing a KO, it can land an extra hit or two before going down. Agility also enables it to sweep late-game against weakened teams after setting up against foes like Nidoking and Golem or against Fire-types.
Seadra's typical gameplan is to wait for Blastoise to be removed, often by trading one's own Blastoise for it, then looking for an opportunity to get in against a slower foe and take it out. Against foes it cleanly 2HKOes, it can often set up Agility, allowing it to not only defeat the foe in front of it but also land an extra hit against revenge killers like Electrode, Mr. Mime, and Charizard. Similarly, it can be saved to clean up late-game, setting up Agility in front of a weakened foe and then tearing through its chipped opposition. If faster threats have been paralyzed, Seadra can win outright without setup; a paralyzed Charizard is no threat to it, and a paralyzed Mr. Mime will often fail to 2HKO it.
Seadra is best used alongside other Water-types, like Blastoise and Kingler, to help overwhelm opposing Thunderbolt users and check Charizard. It exploits Ground-type Pokemon that are often used to protect their teammates from an Electrode sweep and should be used on teams looking for extra insurance against these threats, since Blastoise has a hard time with Nidoking and is already overtasked with checking opposing Charizard and Blastoise. Most teams with Seadra are extremely weak to Electrode, as they usually have Charizard and Blastoise as well. Charizard can be dropped for a Ground-type to cover this weakness. Seadra also easily pivots into Blizzard from Clefable or Nidoking and duels them, helping to protect Ground-type allies. Blastoise completely walls Seadra, so teams that can overwhelm Blastoise with attackers like Electrode, Nidoking, and Kingler help to enable it. Sleep inducers, like Venomoth and Exeggcute, can help to remove checks like Blastoise and Mr. Mime and spread paralysis to further enable Seadra.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Seadra has few notable other options. Toxic can help it damage Blastoise, but unless it lands Toxic as Blastoise switches in, this is relatively ineffective; also, since Toxic turns to normal poison after switching out, the foe may be able to preserve Blastoise and send something else to finish off Seadra after a Seismic Toss or two. Smokescreen allows Seadra to fish for misses and can be combined with Toxic, but this is extremely luck-based and unlikely to work. Hyper Beam deals slightly more damage than Surf to Mr. Mime, but it's rarely worth the moveslot over Hydro Pump, which outdamages both moves without the drawback. It also can finish off Blastoise, but it deals a minimum of 23%, so it's only a little better than Hydro Pump. Blizzard is the best move to drop for Hyper Beam, as Exeggcute and Fearow are rare.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Blastoise**: Blastoise completely shuts down Seadra, which does almost no damage to it. Worse still, Seismic Toss 4HKOes Seadra, 3HKOing it after slight chip damage, so Blastoise easily wins the matchup and is difficult to switch into. Blastoise can also safely fish for Body Slam paralysis twice and still 4HKO Seadra, so switching becomes even less safe.
**Electrode**: Electrode outspeeds Seadra and 2HKOes it, and its massive critical hit rate only skews the matchup further. Seadra can only rarely 2HKO Electrode with Hydro Pump, so even a healthy Seadra with Agility set up will usually lose.
**Thunderbolt Users**: Mr. Mime and Clefable both can beat or, at worst, heavily damage Seadra; Mr. Mime outspeeds and tenuously 2HKOes it with Thunderbolt, while Clefable is slower and 3HKOes it. However, Seadra has poor odds to 2HKO Mr. Mime with Hydro Pump and will usually need to hit Hydro Pump at least twice followed by a Surf to 3HKO Clefable. Clefable is a weaker check, as Seadra is faster and has better odds to win the matchup, but any chip damage puts the matchup squarely in Clefable's favor.
**Venomoth**: Venomoth outspeeds Seadra and can put it to sleep, preventing it from making much progress early-game. Seadra can only 3HKO Venomoth, so it's unlikely to avoid sleep.
**Kingler**: Kingler usually stops Seadra but is unable to switch into it. Kingler can set up on Seadra and KO it with +2 Body Slam followed by Hyper Beam, while Seadra can only 4HKO Kingler with Surf or 3HKO it with Hydro Pump 37% of the time, which is effectively a mere 19% chance after accounting for accuracy.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mrsoup.375193/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/nicole7735.593847/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
Seadra is a potent attacker and late-game Agility sweeper in RBY NU that also happens to match up well against many "Big 5"—Mr. Mime, Clefable, Blastoise, Charizard, and Venomoth—structures, as these teams often use Nidoking, Golem, or Kabutops as their sixth Pokemon, all of which lose to Seadra. Seadra Speed ties Nidoking and outruns much of the tier, giving it solid matchups against most slower foes, and it can bypass paralysis with Agility to help against foes like Clefable and Wigglytuff. It's also one of the best Pokemon against a late-game Charizard sweep, as it survives a +2 Hyper Beam with ease. Seadra's passable bulk and high Special let it duel much of the tier and relieve some pressure from Blastoise, which is often stretched thin checking opposing Blastoise and Charizard. Thus, it can serve as a mid-game attacker and pivot to free up Blastoise—assuming the opposing Blastoise is put to sleep or otherwise handled—or it can act as a late-game cleaner, allowing players to use Blastoise heavily early-game and follow up with Seadra to close out the game.
However, Seadra struggles horribly against the ubiquitous Blastoise, which it can only 5HKO with the inaccurate Hydro Pump, and Kingler, which it rarely 3HKOes with Hydro Pump or 4HKOes with Surf, but Kingler can easily set up Swords Dance and retaliate for massive damage. Seadra's Speed is great, but it's still outsped by Mr. Mime, Raticate, and Electrode, all of which usually beat it one-on-one; Venomoth also outspeeds it and can put it to sleep. While Seadra easily beats many foes one-on-one, it cannot switch into them; Nidoking and Kabutops beat Seadra if it has to switch into them, and Golem deals a big chunk of damage with Earthquake as well.
[SET]
name: Agility Sweeper
move 1: Surf
move 2: Blizzard
move 3: Hydro Pump
move 4: Agility
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Surf and Blizzard hit all targets except opposing Water-types— Surf 2HKOes Charizard, Ninetales, Nidoking, and Raticate, and it rarely 2HKOes Moltres, while Blizzard 2HKOes Exeggcute and Fearow. Hydro Pump 2HKOes Kabutops and gives Seadra the extra damage needed to KO Moltres after a Surf; it also gives it a chance to 2HKO Mr. Mime and Electrode and helps secure the 3HKO on Venomoth. Agility allows Seadra to shrug off paralysis and outspeed threats like Mr. Mime, Nidoking, and Charizard; if Seadra sets it up before securing a KO, it can land an extra hit or two before going down. Agility also enables it to sweep late-game against weakened teams after setting up against foes like Nidoking and Golem or against Fire-types.
Seadra's typical gameplan is to wait for Blastoise to be removed, often by trading one's own Blastoise for it, then looking for an opportunity to get in against a slower foe and take it out. Against foes it cleanly 2HKOes, it can often set up Agility, allowing it to not only defeat the foe in front of it but also land an extra hit against revenge killers like Electrode, Mr. Mime, and Charizard. Similarly, it can be saved to clean up late-game, setting up Agility in front of a weakened foe and then tearing through its chipped opposition. If faster threats have been paralyzed, Seadra can win outright without setup; a paralyzed Charizard is no threat to it, and a paralyzed Mr. Mime will often fail to 2HKO it.
Seadra is best used alongside other Water-types, like Blastoise and Kingler, to help overwhelm opposing Thunderbolt users and check Charizard. It exploits Ground-type Pokemon that are often used to protect their teammates from an Electrode sweep and should be used on teams looking for extra insurance against these threats, since Blastoise has a hard time with Nidoking and is already overtasked with checking opposing Charizard and Blastoise. Most teams with Seadra are extremely weak to Electrode, as they usually have Charizard and Blastoise as well. Charizard can be dropped for a Ground-type to cover this weakness. Seadra also easily pivots into Blizzard from Clefable or Nidoking and duels them, helping to protect Ground-type allies. Blastoise completely walls Seadra, so teams that can overwhelm Blastoise with attackers like Electrode, Nidoking, and Kingler help to enable it. Sleep inducers, like Venomoth and Exeggcute, can help to remove checks like Blastoise and Mr. Mime and spread paralysis to further enable Seadra.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Seadra has few notable other options. Toxic can help it damage Blastoise, but unless it lands Toxic as Blastoise switches in, this is relatively ineffective; also, since Toxic turns to normal poison after switching out, the foe may be able to preserve Blastoise and send something else to finish off Seadra after a Seismic Toss or two. Smokescreen allows Seadra to fish for misses and can be combined with Toxic, but this is extremely luck-based and unlikely to work. Hyper Beam deals slightly more damage than Surf to Mr. Mime, but it's rarely worth the moveslot over Hydro Pump, which outdamages both moves without the drawback. It also can finish off Blastoise, but it deals a minimum of 23%, so it's only a little better than Hydro Pump. Blizzard is the best move to drop for Hyper Beam, as Exeggcute and Fearow are rare.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Blastoise**: Blastoise completely shuts down Seadra, which does almost no damage to it. Worse still, Seismic Toss 4HKOes Seadra, 3HKOing it after slight chip damage, so Blastoise easily wins the matchup and is difficult to switch into. Blastoise can also safely fish for Body Slam paralysis twice and still 4HKO Seadra, so switching becomes even less safe.
**Electrode**: Electrode outspeeds Seadra and 2HKOes it, and its massive critical hit rate only skews the matchup further. Seadra can only rarely 2HKO Electrode with Hydro Pump, so even a healthy Seadra with Agility set up will usually lose.
**Thunderbolt Users**: Mr. Mime and Clefable both can beat or, at worst, heavily damage Seadra; Mr. Mime outspeeds and tenuously 2HKOes it with Thunderbolt, while Clefable is slower and 3HKOes it. However, Seadra has poor odds to 2HKO Mr. Mime with Hydro Pump and will usually need to hit Hydro Pump at least twice followed by a Surf to 3HKO Clefable. Clefable is a weaker check, as Seadra is faster and has better odds to win the matchup, but any chip damage puts the matchup squarely in Clefable's favor.
**Venomoth**: Venomoth outspeeds Seadra and can put it to sleep, preventing it from making much progress early-game. Seadra can only 3HKO Venomoth, so it's unlikely to avoid sleep.
**Kingler**: Kingler usually stops Seadra but is unable to switch into it. Kingler can set up on Seadra and KO it with +2 Body Slam followed by Hyper Beam, while Seadra can only 4HKO Kingler with Surf or 3HKO it with Hydro Pump 37% of the time, which is effectively a mere 19% chance after accounting for accuracy.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mrsoup.375193/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/nicole7735.593847/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
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