[OVERVIEW]
Huntail is a fearsome setup sweeper in PU with the help of Shell Smash. The boost from Shell Smash gives Huntail just enough Speed to outrun the entire unboosted metagame, and the dual boosts to to Attack and Special Attack also makes Huntail a truly difficult Pokemon to stop in the lategame that can shred weakened teams. However, Huntail can struggle to find a time to set up and is relatively both weak and slow without the Shell Smash boost. Huntail also suffers from having to choose between Sucker Punch and Shell Smash thanks to BW move legality rules.
[SET]
name: Shell Smash
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Hydro Pump / Waterfall
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Hidden Power [Electric] / Crunch
item: White Herb / Life Orb
ability: Water Veil
nature: Modest / Naughty
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spd
[SET COMMENTS]
Before anything is established, it is important to note that Huntail can utilize a specially- or physically-oriented Shell Smash set to relatively similar viability. The special set utilizes Hydro Pump and is the stronger of the two options overall and is therefore the recommended set, but Waterfall's perfect accuracy and only slightly-worse damage output makes the physical set a good choice as well even if it can't run Sucker Punch. Ice Beam is chosen regardless, but never choose Surf for the Water STAB as it is actually the worst choice damage-wise. If you want power go special, but if you want accuracy then go physical. Remember to move the 252 EVs from Special Attack to Attack if you do choose physical Shell Smash as well.
Shell Smash is the key to Huntail's success, giving it such a strong boost that lets Huntail dwarf the tier in terms of both Speed and power. Ice Beam is critical coverage for hitting threats like Maractus or Vileplume that would be able to soak up Huntail's STAB Water-type attacks otherwise regardless of if Huntail is physically- or specially-oriented. The last choice for move depends on Huntail's orientation: Hidden Power [Electric] gives Huntail a strong option for breaking through Tentacool or Frillish and rounds out Huntail's coverage perfectly, while Crunch gives physical Huntail great neutral coverage while also hitting Frillish hard. White Herb is the preferred item due to it restoring Huntail's defenses after a Shell Smash, but Life Orb is also very useful for pushing Huntail's power further and allowing Huntail to hit certain benchmarks such as Waterfall always 2HKOing Bronzor and Hydro Pump getting a good chance to OHKO Bronzor. Water Veil is the chosen ability to avoid burns. If you are running a physically-oriented set, then Naughty is chosen as the nature to not lower either Huntail's Special Attack or Defense, allowing Huntail to use Ice Beam to the fullest while also not taking any extra damage from common priority moves like Mach Punch or Sucker Punch. Modest is always chosen on special variants since it does not have to worry about cutting into coverage move damage.
Huntail at +2 Speed is able to outspeed the entire unboosted tier, but fails to outrun common Choice Scarf users like Swanna, Arbok, or Monferno. Because of this, having strong walls to fall back on to stop them like Klang or Stunfisk can be essential for keeping Huntail around. Huntail can also struggle to get a good opportunity to set up, so a Volt Switch from Klang or a U-Turn from Monferno or a Healing Wish from Mr. Mime can all be ways to position Huntail well enough to get a Shell Smash off. Huntail can also struggle to break through certain Grass- and bulky Steel-types like Maractus and Klang, so wallbreakers like Simisear or Marowak can make great partners. Huntail also tends to force out bulky Water-types like Tentacool or Frillish, so Pokemon like Swanna or Monferno are excellent choices for utilizing the holes that Huntail punches through the opponent's team.
[CREDITS]
Written By:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/akir.231726/
Huntail is a fearsome setup sweeper in PU with the help of Shell Smash. The boost from Shell Smash gives Huntail just enough Speed to outrun the entire unboosted metagame, and the dual boosts to to Attack and Special Attack also makes Huntail a truly difficult Pokemon to stop in the lategame that can shred weakened teams. However, Huntail can struggle to find a time to set up and is relatively both weak and slow without the Shell Smash boost. Huntail also suffers from having to choose between Sucker Punch and Shell Smash thanks to BW move legality rules.
[SET]
name: Shell Smash
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Hydro Pump / Waterfall
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Hidden Power [Electric] / Crunch
item: White Herb / Life Orb
ability: Water Veil
nature: Modest / Naughty
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spd
[SET COMMENTS]
Before anything is established, it is important to note that Huntail can utilize a specially- or physically-oriented Shell Smash set to relatively similar viability. The special set utilizes Hydro Pump and is the stronger of the two options overall and is therefore the recommended set, but Waterfall's perfect accuracy and only slightly-worse damage output makes the physical set a good choice as well even if it can't run Sucker Punch. Ice Beam is chosen regardless, but never choose Surf for the Water STAB as it is actually the worst choice damage-wise. If you want power go special, but if you want accuracy then go physical. Remember to move the 252 EVs from Special Attack to Attack if you do choose physical Shell Smash as well.
Shell Smash is the key to Huntail's success, giving it such a strong boost that lets Huntail dwarf the tier in terms of both Speed and power. Ice Beam is critical coverage for hitting threats like Maractus or Vileplume that would be able to soak up Huntail's STAB Water-type attacks otherwise regardless of if Huntail is physically- or specially-oriented. The last choice for move depends on Huntail's orientation: Hidden Power [Electric] gives Huntail a strong option for breaking through Tentacool or Frillish and rounds out Huntail's coverage perfectly, while Crunch gives physical Huntail great neutral coverage while also hitting Frillish hard. White Herb is the preferred item due to it restoring Huntail's defenses after a Shell Smash, but Life Orb is also very useful for pushing Huntail's power further and allowing Huntail to hit certain benchmarks such as Waterfall always 2HKOing Bronzor and Hydro Pump getting a good chance to OHKO Bronzor. Water Veil is the chosen ability to avoid burns. If you are running a physically-oriented set, then Naughty is chosen as the nature to not lower either Huntail's Special Attack or Defense, allowing Huntail to use Ice Beam to the fullest while also not taking any extra damage from common priority moves like Mach Punch or Sucker Punch. Modest is always chosen on special variants since it does not have to worry about cutting into coverage move damage.
Huntail at +2 Speed is able to outspeed the entire unboosted tier, but fails to outrun common Choice Scarf users like Swanna, Arbok, or Monferno. Because of this, having strong walls to fall back on to stop them like Klang or Stunfisk can be essential for keeping Huntail around. Huntail can also struggle to get a good opportunity to set up, so a Volt Switch from Klang or a U-Turn from Monferno or a Healing Wish from Mr. Mime can all be ways to position Huntail well enough to get a Shell Smash off. Huntail can also struggle to break through certain Grass- and bulky Steel-types like Maractus and Klang, so wallbreakers like Simisear or Marowak can make great partners. Huntail also tends to force out bulky Water-types like Tentacool or Frillish, so Pokemon like Swanna or Monferno are excellent choices for utilizing the holes that Huntail punches through the opponent's team.
[CREDITS]
Written By:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/akir.231726/
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