Those points about torkoal work in theory. In practice:
- Torkoal is a rocks weak spinner (it must hold heat rock, or the effective number of sun turns you get is halved)
- the most effective hazard setters in the tiers are ground types + samurott (there is no shortage of good setters), so if Torkoal doubles in on rocks, it can't keep spinning on them, because it is going to take a huge amount from earth power/EQ/Headlong/Ruination. Even stuff like Tinkaton, which don't threaten damage can knock its heat rock off, which is half the battle won for the team facing sun.
This either means Torkoal is switching into rocks (and maybe spikes) + an attack taking over 25% each time it switches in, limiting you to getting sun up 2 or 3 times in a game.
For these reasons, Torkoal having spin is a bonus but it is not expected to get a spin off. Torkoal sun teams usually have Hatt + another form of removal (Tusk or Corv on top of Torkoal) because they tend to stack multiple mons (Sun setter, Specs Wake, and then one or two misc. options like offensive fire types like moth, protosynthesis breakers, LO chlorophyll sweepers) who get chipped down by hazards.
Keeping all this in mind, Torkoal's benefits come in to play in SV OU much less often than ninetales. Encore is great utility against kingambit, which a huge threat to most weather teams, and Healing wish means ninteales can bring back a near dead Wake/Bolt whatever at the end of the game after the opposing team has been weakened to destroy them.
Having Hatterene on your team acts as a deterrent to most viable hazard setters except for Samurott and (Mold Breaker) Tinkaton. Stuff like Lando and Tusk always need to consider the Hatt switch in and usually have to go for their ground move until Hatt is in KO range or is dead before getting a chance to set rocks up.
IMO Hatt is almost as vital to sun as Walking Wake, and it is very hard to build an effective sun team without either.
Last edited:
