Overview
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name: Special Attacker
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Giga Drain
move 4: Ice Beam / Protect
ability: Swift Swim
item: Assault Vest / Lum Berry
evs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
nature: Modest
Moves
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Usage Tips
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Team Options
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Other Options
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Checks & Counters
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- Is an excellent Rain-based attacker
- 4x resist to Water-type moves also makes it a great Rain check, alongside its ability Swift Swim
- Has access to Fake Out, which is a great way to disrupt your opponent's moves
- While it appreciates having Rain, it is by no means solely dependent on Rain, so you can use it in other weathers too
- On the downside, its typing means it misses out on some resists that come from its Rain or Grass typing, such as to Ice, Fire, and Electric
- Also, it's not frail, but not bulky either, so a powerful attack can put it in serious danger.
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name: Special Attacker
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Giga Drain
move 4: Ice Beam / Protect
ability: Swift Swim
item: Assault Vest / Lum Berry
evs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
nature: Modest
Moves
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- Fake Out is one of the best moves in the tier, and being able to render an opposing Pokemon immobile is a great way to disrupt your opponent and potentially KO the Pokemon
- Hydro Pump is the main STAB, has great neutral coverage and is very powerful
- Giga Drain is secondary STAB, cool to hit Water-types such as Rotom-W and Azumarill, also recovers some health which can be useful to keep Ludicolo in a good percentage range
- Ice Beam hits Grass and Dragon-types that don't really mind a Hydro Pump or Giga Drain
- Protect shields you from damage when needed and can help you dodge a KO
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- The EV spread is able to outspeed up to Scarf Lando-T in Rain
- Assault Vest makes it even bulkier on the Special side, and works well since Ludicolo usually doesn't have room for Protect, as all the other moves are usually needed to make Ludicolo as effective as possible.
- Lum Berry is a good option since Ludicolo is frequently the target of Thunder Waves, although Thunder Wave isn't as common.
- Life Orb adds power to nab some extra KOs but 10% recoil for every attack can bite, especially without Protect (10% to use Fake Out is brutal)
- Modest is the preferred nature for as much power as possible. Also, with Swift Swim you've already got a lot of speed.
Usage Tips
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- Bringing in Ludicolo late game is a great strategy so it can clean up weakened teams with its Rain-boosted Speed and attacks
- Conserve Ludicolo if you see a Pokemon that is likely carrying Thunder Wave, such as Thundurus, as being hit by a Thunder Wave will ruin Ludicolo's sweeping capabilities.
- Fake Out is a great tool to pressure the opponent into making certain plays and create free turns for your partner.
- Ludicolo works great early game as a pivot also due to its bulk with Assault Vest and access to Fake Out.
Team Options
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- Politoed is an amazing partner due to how much Ludicolo appreciates Rain. Also has Helping Hand to make up for Ludicolo's middling power level.
- Pokemon such as Landorus-Therian that appreciate Ludicolo's ability to handle Water-types can make for good partners.
- Anything that appreciates the free turns bought by Fake Out could potentially be a good partner for Ludicolo.
- Pokemon that threaten Talonflame make for good partners
- Pokemon with Intimidate such as Landorus-Therian, Hitmontop, and Scrafty make for good partners to patch up Ludicolo's lower Defense stat.
Other Options
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- Energy Ball or Grass Knot make good options for alternative STABs due to higher power
- Scald
- Bulkier set w/ Sitrus Berry
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Sunny Day
- Teeter Dance
Checks & Counters
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- Abomasnow removes Rain and has no trouble taking Ludicolo's attacks
- Scarf Genesect can outspeed Ludicolo even in Rain and hits it with powerful Bug-type attacks
- Talonflame has priority Brave Bird to KO Ludicolo and circumvent its Swift Swim
- Thundurus can cripple Ludicolo with a Thunder Wave
- Bulky Trick Room setters such as Cresselia can turn Ludicolo's high speed under Rain into a liability.
- Charizard-Y removes rain and weakens Ludicolo's strongest STAB with Sun.
- Bulkier Pokemon can take a hit and deal solid damage such as Mega Kangaskhan, and Mega Heracross.
- Pokemon with Assault Vests do well against Ludicolo, such as Scrafty, Conkeldurr, and Goodra.
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While the loss of permanent rain was a negative, Ludicolo is still a potent rain attacker; its immunity to powder moves allows it to switch into Spore and ignore Rage Powder, meaning it can get around Amoonguss, a common check to rain teams. In addition, its 4x resistance to Water-type attacks coupled with its Swift Swim ability makes it a great check to opposing rain teams; it can thus be used on non-rain teams as well. Fake Out is an excellent move that lets Ludicolo disrupt opposing strategies, and when rain is up, Ludicolo becomes the fastest Fake Out user in the metagame. However, it does have some problems of its own. For example, while its Water / Grass typing allows it to handle Pokemon such as Rotom-W that normally check rain sweepers, this typing also causes Ludicolo to miss out on some resistances that would've been useful, such as ones to Fire-, Ice-, and Electric-type attacks. In addition, although Ludicolo isn't frail, it's not especially bulky either, so more powerful attacks from Pokemon such as Mega Kangaskhan can deal heavy damage to it.
Special Attacker
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name: Special Attacker
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Giga Drain
move 4: Ice Beam / Protect
ability: Swift Swim
item: Assault Vest / Lum Berry
evs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
nature: Modest
Moves
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This set is by far the most effective one to use on Ludicolo. Fake Out can disrupt strategies by rendering an opposing Pokemon immobile for a turn, potentially allowing a partner to KO them. Hydro Pump is the main STAB attack and is great due to its neutral coverage, high power, and the fact that it gets a 50% boost from rain. Giga Drain is an accurate secondary STAB attack, hitting Water-types that resist Hydro Pump such as Rotom-W or Azumarill; the passive recovery it provides also helps improve Ludicolo's longevity. Ice Beam is a good coverage option to hit the Grass- and Dragon-types that can sponge Ludicolo's STAB attacks. If those Pokemon aren't a problem for you, then Protect is another option, letting Ludicolo selectively shield itself from damage when needed and dodge potential KOs.
Set Details
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The EV spread grants Ludicolo as much power as possible as well as the ability to outspeed everything up to Choice Scarf Landorus-T when under rain. Assault Vest is the main option for an item as it boosts Ludicolo's special bulk, something that proves even more useful due to the fact that Ludicolo typically lacks room for Protect. Lum Berry is also usable to shield Ludicolo from Thunder Wave, particularly from Thundurus. Life Orb is a nice option to grant Ludicolo even more power, but the recoil can wear Ludicolo down quickly, especially without Protect.
Usage Tips
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A good idea is typically to bring in Ludicolo late-game once the opponent's team is weakened, where it can clean up with its Speed granted by Swift Swim and Water-type attacks. Also, if your opponent is carrying a Thunder Wave user such as Thundurus, play cautiously, as a paralyzed Ludicolo is infinitely less threatening than a healthy one. Fake Out is a great tool to use selectively to apply pressure on your opponent, force them into making certain plays, and create free turns for a partner, so make sure you use the move wisely. If you're not planning on using Ludicolo for a late-game sweep (or if you're sure you can keep it in good enough health to achieve said sweep), it makes for a great early-game pivot with its bulk (augmented by Assault Vest) and access to Fake Out.
Team Options
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Politoed makes for an amazing partner for Ludicolo, as the rain from Drizzle activates Ludicolo's Swift Swim ability and gives Hydro Pump a 50% power boost. Also, Politoed has Helping Hand to boost the power of attacks coming off of Ludicolo's middling base 90 Special Attack. Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Garchomp appreciate having Ludicolo as a partner due to its ability to handle Water-types such as Rotom-W that are problematic for them. Anything that appreciates the free turns bought by Fake Out, such as Substitute Heatran, could make for a good partner to Ludicolo. Pokemon such as Tyranitar and Rotom-W that threaten Talonflame are excellent partners as well, as Talonflame can get around Ludicolo's Swift Swim with Gale Wings and KO with a priority Brave Bird. Other good partners are Intimidate users such as Landorus-T, Scrafty, and Hitmontop that can patch up Ludicolo's lower Defense stat.
Other Options
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Moves such as Energy Ball or Grass Knot are alternative STAB options for Ludicolo due to their higher power than Giga Drain (although in the case of Grass Knot the power depends on the target). However, the healing from Giga Drain usually makes it a better move to use than Energy Ball, and it has a more reliable damage output than Grass Knot as well. Scald could be a replacement for Hydro Pump due to its 100% accuracy and 30% chance to burn the target, but a significantly lower damage output than Hydro Pump typically makes it the less desirable choice. A set with Sitrus Berry could work as a bulky pivot, but loses out on Ludicolo's ability to be a threatening sweeper. Substitute is an interesting option to shield Ludicolo from priority and status, but Ludicolo must then lose out on Assault Vest as well as a potential attacking move, making it hard to justify on a moveset. A set with Leech Seed and Rain Dish could be used, but it lacks much in the way of offensive presence and will usually be KOed by powerful attackers before it can hope to stall one out. Sunny Day is an option on Ludicolo to counter rain teams, as Ludicolo's typing lets it set up Sunny Day easily while threatening most Pokemon commonly used on rain teams. Finally, Teeter Dance can be used as a way to disrupt opposing Pokemon through confusion. However, the fact that it's luck-based and hits Ludicolo's partner makes it unreliable.
Checks & Counters
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**Opposing Weather**: Abomasnow is an excellent counter as it has no problem dealing with Politoed to set up hail, stripping Ludicolo of its preferred weather condition. In addition to this, Abomasnow can comfortably sponge all of Ludicolo's attacks and respond with a powerful attack of its own. Mega Charizard Y is a good check as Drought stops Swift Swim from working while simultaneously weakening one of Ludicolo's main STAB moves.
**Offensive Typing Advantage**: Bulky attackers such as Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Heracross can tank a hit from Ludicolo and deal heavy damage back, making them good checks. Assault Vest users such as Scrafty, Conkeldurr, and Goodra are able to tank powerful hits from Ludicolo and respond with attacks of their own.
**Speed**: Talonflame is an excellent check to Ludicolo as it has a priority Brave Bird to get around Ludicolo's Swift Swim and OHKO it. Choice Scarf Genesect is able to outspeed Ludicolo even under rain and hit it with a powerful Bug-type attack.
**Speed Control**: Thundurus is a good check as it can hit Ludicolo with a priority Thunder Wave, crippling it for the remainder of the match. Bulky Trick Room setters such as Cresselia can turn Ludicolo's high Speed under rain into a major liability, making them excellent checks to it.
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