[SET]
name: Sharknado
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Crunch
move 4: Endure
item: Salac Berry
ability: Rough Skin
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Sharpedo is able to become a usable special sweeper with the combination of Endure + Salac Berry and its decent base Special Attack and Speed stats while making use of Rough Skin to punish contact move users by putting them in range of its strong attacks. However, Sharpedo faces stiff competition from other Water-type sweepers such as Feraligatr, Swords Dance Tentacruel, and Rain Dance sweepers like Omastar and Gorebyss, as well as other Salac Berry sweepers like Scyther. Sharpedo also has a tendency to be walled by Kangaskhan, Tentacruel, Ampharos, and Blastoise due to its move choices, and it struggles to break bulkier Pokemon without heavy chip damage or Spikes and usually gets OHKOed in return because of its frailty, making it a difficult Pokemon to justify using. Rough Skin plays a big part in Sharpedo's niche in the tier, as it punishes physical attackers like Kangaskhan and Scyther by chipping them into range of its moves. Hydro Pump functions as Sharpedo's explosive STAB option, able to OHKO Solrock and Arcanine and smashing the likes of Omastar and Granbull while also being a generally powerful move to spam. Ice Beam is solid coverage for Grass-types like Vileplume and Cradily while also giving Sharpedo a more consistent way to OHKO Gligar and chunk Scyther. Crunch allows Sharpedo to handle Ghost-types such as Haunter and Misdreavus as well as beat down opposing Water-types that may wall it, such as Slowking.
As an offensive sweeper, Sharpedo greatly appreciates any form of support it can get, such as Spikes from the likes of Omastar, Qwilfish, and Glalie as all of Sharpedo's main checks dislike Spikes damage, therefore making it easier for Sharpedo to break through them, and screens from Electrode or Solrock to aid in its sweeping potential. Electrode, Solrock, and Glalie also help Sharpedo out tremendously thanks to Explosion, being able to lure in bulky Water- and Electric-types Sharpedo can struggle to deal with such as Lanturn, Ampharos, Tentacruel, and Walrein. Teammates that can switch into the aforementioned Electric-types, such as Kangaskhan, Ampharos, and Nidoqueen work well with Sharpedo, as they can also help whittle down its checks for it to sweep late-game. Toxic support from teammates such as Omastar, Arcanine, and Tentacruel helps Sharpedo in its sweeping possibilities by giving it the chance to 2HKO opponents much more safely with the additional chip damage provided. Paralysis spreaders like Stun Spore Vileplume and Thunder Wave Misdreavus can also help Sharpedo get into a position to sweep, as well as allowing it to outspeed Scyther and Tentacruel without eating its Salac Berry. Thief users, such as Electabuzz and Arcanine, also are greatly appreciated, as they are able to remove Leftovers from defensive opponents that would otherwise rely on them to keep Sharpedo in check.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/Hannah.540289/
- Quality checked by: https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ellingtonreborn.619555/
- Grammar checked by: https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/stupidflandrs48.633500/
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