Krookodile-Taken over from Cybertron
[Overview]
<p>Krookodile was a common Pokemon in the VGC 2011 metagame, and it's easy to see why. It has a great base 117 Attack stat as well as Intimidate, an ability which is almost priceless in VGC 2012, as it weakens physical threats such as Scizor and Tyranitar. In addition, Krookodile also has great offensive typing; its Ground / Dark typing has great neutral coverage on the majority of the VGC 2012 Pokemon. Its typing is also decent defensively, giving it four resistances, most notably to Rock-types, and two immunities, including one to Electric-type attacks. Because of this, Krookodile can be used in tandem with an Electric-type Pokemon, such as Zapdos, to form the "DisQuake" combination. However, this is where the party ends for Krookodile; its typing also gives it five weaknesses, all of which are common offensive types such as Water, Ice, Fighting, and Grass. Krookodile's 95 / 70 / 70 defenses aren't helping it much either, and its Speed is somewhat lacking, leaving it open to faster Pokemon such as Infernape and Terrakion. However, if one needs a Pokemon with a great ability and good offensive capabilities, Krookodile is definitely a Pokemon to consider.</p>
[SET]
name: "Krookodile" Dundee
move 1: Crunch
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Rock Slide / Low Sweep
move 4: Protect
item: Focus Sash / Chople Berry
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant
evs: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 244 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While this set isn't very different from the set commonly used in VGC 2011, it is still very effective in VGC 2012. Crunch and Earthquake are Krookodile's STAB moves, and, between them, it obtains near perfect coverage, which is impressive considering the number of Pokemon in the VGC 2012 metagame. Crunch nails common Psychic-type Pokemon, such as Latios, Latias, Musharna, and Cresselia for super effective damage, while Earthquake gives Krookodile a great STAB move, as well as a way to hit Pokemon such as Tyranitar, Metagross, and Ninetales. The third moveslot depends on what the team needs; Rock Slide gives Krookodile another coverage move, allowing it to nail Pokemon such as Yanmega and Volcarona in addition other Pokemon such as Zapdos for heavy damage. However, Low Sweep can be used to make the opponent's Pokemon slower, supporting not only itself but also its teammates. Protect is not only useful for keeping Focus Sash intact by fending off Fake Out, but also for keeping Krookodile alive long enough so its partner can take out a threat.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread allows Krookodile to outspeed neutral-natured Pokemon with base 90 Speed or below while maintaining offensive power. The remaining EVs are placed in HP to slightly increase Krookodile's bulk. However, if one is worried about opposing Krookodile, a spread of 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe can be used to speed tie with other Adamant Krookodile. Another way to optimize Krookodile's EVs is to use a spread of 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe in order to guarantee outpacing Pokemon with base 80 Speed, such as Mamoswine and Chandelure. Finally, a spread of 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe can be used to maximize Krookodile's bulk, while still outspeeding Cresselia, a common threat.</p>
<p>The item choice comes down to personal preference. A Focus Sash can be used to ensure that Krookodile won't be OHKOed, which is useful considering its weakness to common types in the metagame. However, a Chople Berry can be used as well, ensuring that Krookodile will survive a Fighting-type attack, most notably Infernape's and Terrakion's Close Combat, and have a chance to retaliate with Earthquake. This also opens up the opportunity for a teammate to hold a Focus Sash, which can be useful when making a team. The choice of ability may look odd to players who are new to VGC 2012, but Intimidate is much more effective than Moxie, as it lowers the Attack stat of both opposing Pokemon by two stages; this can easily be the difference between a KO and barley surviving.</p>
<p>Any Pokemon that can take care of Krookodile's weaknesses is a great partner, and there are numerous Pokemon that fit this description. Pokemon such as Zapdos and Thundurus can nail Water-, Fighting-, Grass-, and Bug-type Pokemon thanks to their super effective STAB attacks. They also allow Krookodile to use Earthquake without worrying about hitting its partner; keep in mind, however, that this combination shares an Ice-type weakness. Rotom-H is another good partner, hitting Water-, Grass-, Bug- and Ice-types with its STAB attacks, also forming "DisQuake" thanks to Levitate. Krookodile can take care of the Rock-types that trouble Rotom-H by using Earthquake, but this combination adds an extra Water-type weakness. Other Fire-type Pokemon, such as Chandelure, can deal with Grass-, Bug-, and Ice-type Pokemon that give Krookodile trouble, but they don't have Levitate to evade Earthquake. Finally, Thunder Wave support from Cresselia and Musharna work, as they can cripple faster Pokemon and use Helping Hand to boost Earthquake, themselves immune to it due to Levitate and Telepathy, respectively.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Krookodile has many options outside of the ones already mentioned. Beat Up can be utilized along with a partner with Justified, such as Terrakion, giving the Pokemon with Justified a +4 Attack boost. However, Whimsicott is a better user of Beat Up due to it being faster than all of the Pokemon with Justified, and Krookodile has better options anyways. Bulldoze can be used to lower both of the opponents' Speed by one stage; however, the power drop between Bulldoze and Earthquake is too much to be considered, especially when one takes into account the 25 percent drop in power that Bulldoze incurs when hitting both foes. Fire Fang can be used to hit Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Scizor harder, though that's about all it does. Thunder Fang can be used to hit Water-type Pokemon harder, but Krookodile shouldn't be facing Water-type Pokemon anyways, especially since most of them, such as Kingdra and Ludicolo, have secondary types that give them a neutrality to Electric-type attacks. Taunt can be used to shut down moves such as Trick Room or Spore, but most users of these moves are usually holding a Mental Herb, so look out for that.</p>
<p>Moxie may be used over Intimidate if one likes the Attack boost that Krookodile gets after every KO, but it is unreliable and Intimidate's usefulness it too good to pass up. Item-wise, a Choice Scarf can be used to outspeed faster Pokemon, such as Latios, Latias, and Infernape, giving Krookodile the chance to OHKO them with its STAB attacks. Another possibility for its item is a Dark Gem, which grabs Crunch some important KOs; it OHKOes Reuniclus, has a good chance to OHKO 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD Dusknoir, and deals major damage to both Dusclops and Cresselia. Ground Gem can also be used to power up Earthquake, which is useful since it loses power due to double battle mechanics. Yache Berry is the last useful item that Krookodile can effectively utilize, allowing it to survive an Ice-type attack, giving Krookodile the chance to retaliate.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>While Krookodile has near perfect coverage with its STAB moves, there are a few Pokemon that give it some trouble. Hydregion resists Crunch and is immune to Earthquake, and can OHKO Krookodile with Draco Meteor. Heracross is another Pokemon that resists both of its STAB moves, while OHKOing back with STAB attacks of its own. Breloom and Virizion are also good Krookodile counters, as they resist every option outside of Low Sweep, and can OHKO Krookodile with any STAB of theirs; Virizion even gets an Attack boost if hit by Crunch, which is useful for the opponent.</p>
<p>Bulky Water-types, such as Suicune and Rotom-W, have little trouble taking an attack from Krookodile and then OHKOing it with Water-type STAB attacks. Rotom-W is even immune to Earthquake, making it a more reliable check. Amoonguss can tank a hit, cripple Krookodile with Spore, or just attack it with Giga Drain. Bulky Fighting-type Pokemon, such as Machamp and Hitmontop, resist Crunch, have Wide Guard to block Earthquake, and can use powerful Fighting-type STAB attacks to OHKO Krookodile. Faster Pokemon, such as Latios, Infernape, and Terrakion can all use their attacks to OHKO Krookodile, though none of them will like to take a super effective STAB attack from Krookodile. Trick Room is also a good check to Krookodile, as Krookodile's relatively high base Speed will make it move later in Trick Room.</p>
[Unreleased]
<p>Krookodile gets Anger Point from the Dream World. Unless you like using a luck-based ability, stick with Intimidate—Anger Point is useless.</p>
