I have used Golduck for a few different past raids, because it is one of the few pokemon that gets Clear Smog, so I like to experiment with it, but it has never been a legit solution for any past raid. After seeing Vengeance417 post a Golduck set I decided to make one and give it a try. It has proven to be a VERY good support mon for this raid!
It’s a real pain to get Simple Beam on a Golduck in SV, because Simple Beam is an egg move and no pokemon naturally available in SV are capable of learning it by level up. So I had to go back to Sword and breed one and transfer it over to Scarlet. But wow, it has been well worth it!
I’m using almost the exact set posted by Vengeance417, with two different moves. Here’s the set and playbook I’m using:
Golduck @ Covert Cloak
Tera Type: Water
Ability: Damp
Bold Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Speed
- Chilling Water
- Simple Beam
- Screech
- Nasty Plot
The centerpiece of this Golduck is Simple Beam, and wow what a huge move this is for this raid. Like Vengeance417 said, it makes Chilling Water a -2 Attack move that hits through the shield. This alone makes Golduck worth its weight in… wait for it… gold! :-D It allows Golduck to neuter Samurott super-fast and it saves all sorts of horrible teams not prepared for the offensive onslaught that Samurott is capable of wreaking.
But Simple is a gift that keeps on giving for all the other typical pokemon in this raid that throw debuff moves at Samurott, which is almost everything from any smart player. I put Screech in the 3rd slot and it is fantastic since sooo many randoms bring physical mons, and when teams break the shield a Screech or two makes raids winnable even with little time remaining. I put Nasty Plot in mainly as filler, and I have been surprised how often I use it. Because Golduck quickly makes Samurott such an impotent offensive threat, and often other players throw out a heal cheer or two, so Golduck has little else to do for the team. By Nasty Plotting, Golduck can make its Chilling Waters actually do some real damage, particularly when alongside a Victreebel that has been getting doubly-powerful Simple-boosted Acid Sprays the whole time.
An important note about the EVs that you might not notice otherwise — those 4 Speed EVs are not just throwaway extra EVs tossed onto Speed. Because Golduck is base 85 speed, just like Samurott, those 4 EVs give Bold Golduck 207 Speed and therefore outspeeds uninvested Adamant Samurott at 206. Covert Cloak guarantees you stay faster than Samurott even with the Bulldoze scripted turn.
Golduck has made raids very easy for most random teams, even when the team has a couple of marginal teammates. If you like making raid mons that are different from the standards, and you are willing to go through the pain in the ass to get Simple Beam, Golduck is a fun change of pace. And I’m just waiting to get a random player that is trying to self-boost and I give them a little Simple Beam love to supercharge their own boosts! Hasn’t happened yet, but I think it would be cool to try, lol ;-)
It’s a real pain to get Simple Beam on a Golduck in SV, because Simple Beam is an egg move and no pokemon naturally available in SV are capable of learning it by level up. So I had to go back to Sword and breed one and transfer it over to Scarlet. But wow, it has been well worth it!
I’m using almost the exact set posted by Vengeance417, with two different moves. Here’s the set and playbook I’m using:
Golduck @ Covert Cloak
Tera Type: Water
Ability: Damp
Bold Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Speed
- Chilling Water
- Simple Beam
- Screech
- Nasty Plot
The centerpiece of this Golduck is Simple Beam, and wow what a huge move this is for this raid. Like Vengeance417 said, it makes Chilling Water a -2 Attack move that hits through the shield. This alone makes Golduck worth its weight in… wait for it… gold! :-D It allows Golduck to neuter Samurott super-fast and it saves all sorts of horrible teams not prepared for the offensive onslaught that Samurott is capable of wreaking.
But Simple is a gift that keeps on giving for all the other typical pokemon in this raid that throw debuff moves at Samurott, which is almost everything from any smart player. I put Screech in the 3rd slot and it is fantastic since sooo many randoms bring physical mons, and when teams break the shield a Screech or two makes raids winnable even with little time remaining. I put Nasty Plot in mainly as filler, and I have been surprised how often I use it. Because Golduck quickly makes Samurott such an impotent offensive threat, and often other players throw out a heal cheer or two, so Golduck has little else to do for the team. By Nasty Plotting, Golduck can make its Chilling Waters actually do some real damage, particularly when alongside a Victreebel that has been getting doubly-powerful Simple-boosted Acid Sprays the whole time.
An important note about the EVs that you might not notice otherwise — those 4 Speed EVs are not just throwaway extra EVs tossed onto Speed. Because Golduck is base 85 speed, just like Samurott, those 4 EVs give Bold Golduck 207 Speed and therefore outspeeds uninvested Adamant Samurott at 206. Covert Cloak guarantees you stay faster than Samurott even with the Bulldoze scripted turn.
Golduck has made raids very easy for most random teams, even when the team has a couple of marginal teammates. If you like making raid mons that are different from the standards, and you are willing to go through the pain in the ass to get Simple Beam, Golduck is a fun change of pace. And I’m just waiting to get a random player that is trying to self-boost and I give them a little Simple Beam love to supercharge their own boosts! Hasn’t happened yet, but I think it would be cool to try, lol ;-)
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