Samurott (Analysis)

kingofmars

kingofmars

Its 2015 somewhere
won the 2nd Smogon VGC Tournamentis a defending SCL Championis a Past SPL Champion
QC checks 2/2: Sixonesix, Alaka
GP checks 2/2: Calm Pokemaster, Snorlaxe
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[Overview]

<p>Samurott is one of the more capable Pokemon in VGC 2011. Sporting great mixed offensive stats and decent defenses, Samurott can take hits as well as dish them out. With an odd Speed stat of 70, Samurott can function reliably in both Trick Room and Tailwind.</p>

[Set]
name: Special Narwhal
move 1: Surf / Hydro Pump / Scald
move 2: Ice Beam / Blizzard
move 3: Grass Knot / Air Slash
move 4: Detect
item: Life Orb
nature: Modest / Quiet
ability: Torrent
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD

[Set Comments]

<p>Samurott has a relatively low Special Attack stat of 108, which is outclassed by several other Pokemon in VGC 2011. However, Samurott’s bulk and great movepool allow it to have its own niche. First off, Samurott has a huge amount of options for a STAB attack. Surf is good for hitting both opponents, but it also deals damage to your partner unless they have a way of dodging it, such as Water Absorb or Telepathy. Hydro Pump has a considerable amount of power, dealing large amounts of damage to common threats, but its low accuracy may make it undesirable. For that reason, Scald is a suitable replacement. While it sports a measly 80 Base Power, its reliable accuracy and chance to burn make it a great addition to Samurott's moveset. The choice between Ice Beam and Blizzard is one of reliability versus spread damage. The third attacking move depends on what threatens your team more. If other Water-types are a threat, than Grass Knot should be chosen, but if Fighting-types are more threatening to your team, then you should choose Air Slash. Detect is for general utility, and Life Orb allows Samurott to hit as hard as possible, as does a Modest nature.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>This set is meant to be rearranged depending on what your team needs. If used on a Trick Room team, then a Quiet nature is preferable, while if used on any other team, Modest is the nature of choice. Aqua Jet can be used to finish off weak opponents; if you choose to use the move, then a Mild nature is advised.</p>

[Set]
name: Dancing Narwhal
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Aqua Jet / Waterfall / Aqua Tail
move 3: Megahorn / X-Scissor
move 4: Detect
item: Life Orb
nature: Adamant / Brave
ability: Torrent
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD

[Set Comments]

<p>Samurott has access to a great physical movepool consisting of Water- and Bug-type moves, which get perfect coverage in VGC 2011 outside of Jellicent and the rarely seen Swanna. Swords Dance is the crux of this set, boosting Samurott’s Attack to obscene levels, and can be set up during a predicted Protect. The choice of STAB is once again difficult, each move having an advantage over the others. Aqua Jet is probably the best choice if Samurott is not in Trick Room, as Samurott can bypass its low Speed to hit several prominent threats hard. Waterfall and Aqua Tail are the other two options, one boasting accuracy and the chance of flinching, and the other having a higher Base Power. The choice of Bug-type move is simply one of power versus accuracy, and is dependent on what the team needs to accomplish. Detect is for easing prediction.</p>

[Additional Comments]
<p>If Samurott is unable to find time to set up, then Swords Dance can be replaced with another STAB move. Dragon Tail can be used in order to mess up Trick Room teams, but it lacks use besides that and can be easily drawn towards an opposing Amoonguss. Night Slash is another option that can be used over Swords Dance, covering Jellicent, who walls this set otherwise.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Unfortunately, Samurott lacks good moves outside of its great primary choices. If the Life Orb recoil becomes too much of a burden for you, then a Sitrus Berry can be a good item replacement to add to Samurott's bulk. A Wacan Berry is also useful for allowing Samurott to survive a Thunderbolt from Thundurus, one of Samurott’s greatest counters.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Thundurus is as close to a 100% Samurott counter as possible, able to outspeed and KO it if Samurott is not holding a Wacan Berry. Virizion also thoroughly beats Samurott, outspeeding it and dealing a huge amount of damage with STAB Leaf Blade.</p>
 
Nice analysis, but stop calling him a narwhal. xP Samurott is like an otter or a walrus or something. Also, why Detect and not Protect? Protect has more PP.
 
Thunderus is not a 100% counter because it can't safely switch into all of Samurott's attacks. Its OHKOed by Blizzard, Ice Beam, and almost always by Hydro Pump. If Thundurus manages to switch in safely or comes out the at same time Samurott does, it can threaten to OHKO Samurott with its electric attacks.

Ferrothorn is really the only 100% counter resisting water and taking little from Ice Beam while hitting back with Power Whip.

Looks really nice though.
 
sandman said:
Thunderus is not a 100% counter because it can't safely switch into all of Samurott's attacks. Its OHKOed by Blizzard, Ice Beam, and almost always by Hydro Pump. If Thundurus manages to switch in safely or comes out the at same time Samurott does, it can threaten to OHKO Samurott with its electric attacks.

Ferrothorn is really the only 100% counter resisting water and taking little from Ice Beam while hitting back with Power Whip.

Looks really nice though.
Click to expand...
There generally isn't very much switching done in VGC, and Ferrothorn is kind of horrible in VGC 2011.
 
could a mixed set be considered, for example i havn't researched it much so i don't know the exact ev spread, but enough speed to outrun most walls, with the rest in atk and spec attck with surf icebeam megahorn/x scissor and waterfall/or night slash for type coverage. This set could be used to tear through walls, they bring in a special wall u use physical attacks, vice versa with a physical wall. Samurott seems to be able to function as a good mixed wall breaker to me.
 
Fleebz said:
could a mixed set be considered, for example i havn't researched it much so i don't know the exact ev spread, but enough speed to outrun most walls, with the rest in atk and spec attck with surf icebeam megahorn/x scissor and waterfall/or night slash for type coverage. This set could be used to tear through walls, they bring in a special wall u use physical attacks, vice versa with a physical wall. Samurott seems to be able to function as a good mixed wall breaker to me.
Click to expand...
There is next to no switching in VGC, something I've had to reiterate several times. There are also no walls, since most matches only last around 8 turns so why bother with them. VGC is about hitting hard and fast (or slow if trick room) and walls are useless.
 
Something crossed my mind about the Swords Dance/Dancing Narwhal set: It's walled by Jellicent. Night Slash could be an option for dealing with it.
 
Air Slash when super effective is weaker than neutral Hydro Pump, Ice Beam hits Grass types harder, and it doesn't seem worth keeping as an option.
Hydro Pump = 85% accuracy, not 80%.
In the 2nd set, how is Detect for reliable recovery? No Leech Seed, Wish, or Leftovers abuse...
 
@PlatinumDude, huh I thought for sure I mentioned it in Additional Comments. Added.

@hhjj, wrong phrase sorry, but Hydro Pump is 80% accurate
 
What do you mean there is no switching in VGC? There is switching, but the most common type of switching is after something gets KO'd. And Thundurus is not a counter all of the time because it can not switch in in general meaning you lost a pokemon to stand a chance of beating it. Amoonguss is a counter with Spore and super effective Giga Drain which prevents it from being 2HKO'd and the combination of which will probably let it defeat Samurott extremely consistently and with Special Defense EVs or Black Sludge Ice Beam does not 2HKO if I remember correctly.

Get rid of Scald as a main option as it is normally outclassed by either Surf or Hydro Pump meaning it should go to Other Options. Hydro Pump does more than Air Slash as well, but Air Slash works better against Virizion, so I think you should keep it. Also Grass Knot OHKOs Terrakion making it more useful for that.
 
Human said:
What do you mean there is no switching in VGC? There is switching, but the most common type of switching is after something gets KO'd. And Thundurus is not a counter all of the time because it can not switch in in general meaning you lost a pokemon to stand a chance of beating it. Amoonguss is a counter with Spore and super effective Giga Drain which prevents it from being 2HKO'd and the combination of which will probably let it defeat Samurott extremely consistently and with Special Defense EVs or Black Sludge Ice Beam does not 2HKO if I remember correctly.

Get rid of Scald as a main option as it is normally outclassed by either Surf or Hydro Pump meaning it should go to Other Options. Hydro Pump does more than Air Slash as well, but Air Slash works better against Virizion, so I think you should keep it. Also Grass Knot OHKOs Terrakion making it more useful for that.
Click to expand...
I didn't say that there was no switching, hell I switch all the time, but on average you don't see pokes switching in a lot, (from my personal experience) in fear of a single wrong prediction that can cost them the match. Regarding Boil Over however, there will always be people who don't want to miss, especially in VGC where a miss can cost you the match. For those people, Boil Over can be a better option.
 
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kingofkongs said:
[Overview]

<p>There should not be spaces before <p> tags. Samurott is one of the more capable pokemon in VGC 2011. Sporting great mixed offensive stats and decent defenses, Samurott can both take hits as well as dish them out. With an odd speed stat of 70, Samurott can function reliably in both Trick Room and Tailwind.</p>

[Set]
name: Special Narwhal
move 1: Surf/Hydro Pump/Scald
move 2: Ice Beam/Blizzard
move 3: Grass Knot/Air Slash
move 4: Detect
item: Life Orb
nature: Modest/Quiet
ability: Torrent
evs: 252 HP/252 SpA/4 SpD

[Set Comments]

<p> Samurott has a relatively low Special Attack stat of 108, which is outclassed by several other pokemon in VGC 2011. However, Samurott’s bulk and great movepool allow it to have its own niche. First off, Samurott has a humungous huge amount of options for a STAB attack. Surf is good for hitting both opponents; however, but it also deals damage to your partner unless they have a way of dodging it, such as Water Absorb or Telepathy. Hydro Pump has a considerable amount of power, dealing large chunks of damage to common threats in the game, but its low accuracy of 80 may make it undesirable for some people. For those people. For that reason, Scald is a suitable replacement. While it only sports a measly 80 base power, its reliable accuracy and chance for burn make it a great addition to Samurott. The choice between Ice Beam and Blizzard is one of reliability vs. versus spread damage. The third attacking move depends on what threatens your team more. If other Water -types are a threat, than Grass Knot should be chosen, however, but if Fighting -types are more threatening to your team, then you should choose Air Slash. Detect is for general utility, and Life Orb allows Samurott to hit as hard as possible, as does a beneficial special attack Modest nature.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p> This set is meant to be rearranged depending on what your team needs. If ran used on a Trick Room team, then a Quiet nature is preferable, while if used on any other team, Modest is the nature of choice. Aqua Jet can also be viable with a Mild nature, in order to finish off weak opponents.</p>

[Set]
name: Dancing Narwhal
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Aqua Jet/Waterfall/Aqua Tail
move 3: Megahorn/X-Scissor
move 4: Detect
item: Life Orb
nature: Adamant/Brave
ability: Torrent
evs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SpD

[Set Comments]

<p> Samurott has access to a great physical movepool, consisting of Water- and bug coverage Bug-type moves, which gets perfect coverage in VGC 2011 besides outside of Jellicent and the rarely seen Swanna. Swords Dance is the crux of this set, boosting Samurott’s attack to obscene levels, and can be set up during a predicted protect. The choice of STAB is once again difficult, each move having an advantage over the others. Aqua Jet is probably the best choice if Samurott is not in Trick Room, as it can bypass its low speed to hit several prominent threats hard. Waterfall and Aqua Jet Tail are the other two options, one boasting accuracy and the chance of flinching, and the other with better power. The choice of bug Bug-type move is simply one of power vs. versus accuracy, and is dependent on what the team needs to get accomplished. Detect is for easing prediction. </p>

[Additional Comments]
<p> If Samurott is unable to find time to set up on your team, than Swords Dance can be replaced with another STAB move. Dragon Tail can be ran used in order to mess up Trick Room teams, but it lacks usefulness besides that and can be easily drawn towards an opposing Amoonguss. Night Slash is another option that can be ran used over Swords Dance, covering Jellicent, who walls this set otherwise. </p>

[Other Options]

<p> Unfortunately, for Samurott, lacks good moves outside of its great primary choices, is lacks good moves otherwise. If the Life Orb recoil becomes too much of a burden for you, then a Sitrus Berry can be a good item replacement to add to Samurott's bulk. A Wacan berry is also useful for being able to live a Thunderbolt from Thundurus, one of Samurott’s greatest counters. </p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p> Thundurus is as close to a 100% Samurott counter as possible, able to outspeed outspeeding it and can always kill if not running and KO it if Samurott is not holding a Wacan berry. Virizion also thoroughly beats Samurott, outspeeding it and dealing a huge amount of damage with its STAB Leaf Blade. </p>
Click to expand...

I'm not a member of the GP team, but I hope this helps a bit.
 
Working on top of cosmicexplorer's proofread:

Deletions
Additions / Corrections
Comments

[Overview]

<p>There should not be spaces before <p> tags. Samurott is one of the more capable Pokemon in VGC 2011. Sporting great mixed offensive stats and decent defenses, Samurott can both take hits as well as dish them out. With an odd speed stat of 70, Samurott can function reliably in both Trick Room and Tailwind.</p>

[Set]
name: Special Narwhal
move 1: Surf / Hydro Pump / Scald
move 2: Ice Beam / Blizzard
move 3: Grass Knot / Air Slash
move 4: Detect
item: Life Orb
nature: Modest / Quiet
ability: Torrent
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD

[Set Comments]

<p>Samurott has a relatively low Special Attack stat of 108, which is outclassed by several other Pokemon in VGC 2011. However, Samurott’s bulk and great movepool allow it to have its own niche. First off, Samurott has a humungous huge amount of options for a STAB attack. Surf is good for hitting both opponents; however, but it also deals damage to your partner unless they have a way of dodging it, such as Water Absorb or Telepathy. Hydro Pump has a considerable amount of power, dealing large chunks of damage to common threats in the game, but its low accuracy of 80 may make it undesirable for some people. For those people. For that reason, Scald is a suitable replacement. While it only sports a measly 80 Base Power, its reliable accuracy and chance for burn make it a great addition to Samurott's moveset. The choice between Ice Beam and Blizzard is one of reliability vs. versus spread damage. The third attacking move depends on what threatens your team more. If other Water-types are a threat, than Grass Knot should be chosen, however, but if Fighting-types are more threatening to your team, then you should choose Air Slash. Detect is for general utility, and Life Orb allows Samurott to hit as hard as possible, as does a beneficial special attack Modest nature.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>This set is meant to be rearranged depending on what your team needs. If ran used on a Trick Room team, then a Quiet nature is preferable, while if used on any other team, Modest is the nature of choice. Aqua Jet can also be viable with a Mild nature, in order to finish off weak opponents.</p>

[Set]
name: Dancing Narwhal
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Aqua Jet / Waterfall / Aqua Tail
move 3: Megahorn / X-Scissor
move 4: Detect
item: Life Orb
nature: Adamant / Brave
ability: Torrent
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD

[Set Comments]

<p>Samurott has access to a great physical movepool, consisting of Water- and bug coverage Bug-type moves, which gets perfect coverage in VGC 2011 besides outside of Jellicent and the rarely seen Swanna. Swords Dance is the crux of this set, boosting Samurott’s Attack to obscene levels, and can be set up during a predicted Protect. The choice of STAB is once again difficult, each move having an advantage over the others. Aqua Jet is probably the best choice if Samurott is not in Trick Room, as it Samurott can bypass its low Speed to hit several prominent threats hard. Waterfall and Aqua Jet Tail are the other two options, one boasting accuracy and the chance of flinching, and the other with better power. The choice of bug Bug-type move is simply one of power vs. versus accuracy, and is dependent on what the team needs to get accomplished. Detect is for easing prediction. </p>

[Additional Comments]
<p>If Samurott is unable to find time to set up on your team, then Swords Dance can be replaced with another STAB move. Dragon Tail can be ran used in order to mess up Trick Room teams, but it lacks usefulness besides that and can be easily drawn towards an opposing Amoonguss. Night Slash is another option that can be ran used over Swords Dance, covering Jellicent, who walls this set otherwise. </p>

[Other Options]

<p>Unfortunately, for Samurott, lacks good moves outside of its great primary choices, is lacks good moves otherwise. If the Life Orb recoil becomes too much of a burden for you, then a Sitrus Berry can be a good item replacement to add to Samurott's bulk. A Wacan Berry is also useful for being able to live a Thunderbolt from Thundurus, one of Samurott’s greatest counters. </p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Thundurus is as close to a 100% Samurott counter as possible, able to outspeed outspeeding it and can always kill if not running and KO it if Samurott is not holding a Wacan berry. Virizion also thoroughly beats Samurott, outspeeding it and dealing a huge amount of damage with its STAB Leaf Blade. </p>

gpstamp


GP 1 / 2
 
GP CHECK 2/2

additions
removals

[Overview]

<p>Samurott is one of the more capable Pokemon in VGC 2011. Sporting great mixed offensive stats and decent defenses, Samurott can take hits as well as dish them out. With an odd speed Speed stat of 70, Samurott can function reliably in both Trick Room and Tailwind.</p>

[Set]
name: Special Narwhal
move 1: Surf / Hydro Pump / Scald
move 2: Ice Beam / Blizzard
move 3: Grass Knot / Air Slash
move 4: Detect
item: Life Orb
nature: Modest / Quiet
ability: Torrent
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD

[Set Comments]

<p>Samurott has a relatively low Special Attack stat of 108, which is outclassed by several other Pokemon in VGC 2011. However, Samurott’s bulk and great movepool allow it to have its own niche. First off, Samurott has a huge amount of options for a STAB attack. Surf is good for hitting both opponents, but it also deals damage to your partner unless they have a way of dodging it, such as Water Absorb or Telepathy. Hydro Pump has a considerable amount of power, dealing large amounts of damage to common threats, but its low accuracy of 80 may make it undesirable. For that reason, Scald is a suitable replacement. While it sports a measly 80 Base Power, its reliable accuracy and chance for to burn make it a great addition to Samurott's moveset. The choice between Ice Beam and Blizzard is one of reliability versus spread damage. The third attacking move depends on what threatens your team more. If other Water-types are a threat, than Grass Knot should be chosen, but if Fighting-types are more threatening to your team, then you should choose Air Slash. Detect is for general utility, and Life Orb allows Samurott to hit as hard as possible, as does a Modest nature.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>This set is meant to be rearranged depending on what your team needs. If used on a Trick Room team, then a Quiet nature is preferable, while if used on any other team, Modest is the nature of choice. Aqua Jet can also be viable with a Mild nature, in order be used to finish off weak opponents; if you choose to use the move, then a Mild nature is advised.</p>

[Set]
name: Dancing Narwhal
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Aqua Jet / Waterfall / Aqua Tail
move 3: Megahorn / X-Scissor
move 4: Detect
item: Life Orb
nature: Adamant / Brave
ability: Torrent
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD

[Set Comments]

<p>Samurott has access to a great physical movepool consisting of Water- and Bug-type moves, which get perfect coverage in VGC 2011 outside of Jellicent and the rarely seen Swanna. Swords Dance is the crux of this set, boosting Samurott’s Attack to obscene levels, and can be set up during a predicted Protect. The choice of STAB is once again difficult, each move having an advantage over the others. Aqua Jet is probably the best choice if Samurott is not in Trick Room, as Samurott can bypass its low Speed to hit several prominent threats hard. Waterfall and Aqua Tail are the other two options, one boasting accuracy and the chance of flinching, and the other with better power. having a higher Base Power. The choice of Bug-type move is simply one of power versus accuracy, and is dependent on what the team needs to get accomplished. accomplish. Detect is for easing prediction.</p>

[Additional Comments]
<p>If Samurott is unable to find time to set up, on your team, then Swords Dance can be replaced with another STAB move. Dragon Tail can be used in order to mess up Trick Room teams, but it lacks use besides that and can be easily drawn towards an opposing Amoonguss. Night Slash is another option that can be used over Swords Dance, covering Jellicent, who walls this set otherwise.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Unfortunately, Samurott lacks good moves outside of its great primary choices. If the Life Orb recoil becomes too much of a burden for you, then a Sitrus Berry can be a good item replacement to add to Samurott's bulk. A Wacan Berry is also useful for being able to live allowing Samurott to survive a Thunderbolt from Thundurus, one of Samurott’s greatest counters.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Thundurus is as close to a 100% Samurott counter as possible, able to outspeed and KO it if Samurott is not holding a Wacan berry. Berry. Virizion also thoroughly beats Samurott, outspeeding it and dealing a huge amount of damage with STAB Leaf Blade.</p>

very few errors to be found. good work

gpstamp
 
I've ran a Surf, Ice Beam, Detect, AQUA JET set that is very effective on Tailwind and Trick Room teams, with its akward speed tier. Samurott misses some KOs sometimes, which is why running Aqua Jet on any set allows it to actually net some Revenge kills. The only weakness of this is it loses to Jellicent, but Jellicent is relatively easy to counter with most pokemon on teams.
 
DreamTalon said:
I've ran a Surf, Ice Beam, Detect, AQUA JET set that is very effective on Tailwind and Trick Room teams, with its akward speed tier. Samurott misses some KOs sometimes, which is why running Aqua Jet on any set allows it to actually net some Revenge kills. The only weakness of this is it loses to Jellicent, but Jellicent is relatively easy to counter with most pokemon on teams.
Click to expand...

I know its probably late to comment, but Talon has a point about samurott missing kos. Not having aqua jet cost me at worlds, and in vgc 11 most people have something like amoonguss or bisharp to deal with jellicent anyway. Hope this helped. :)
 
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