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PLDH-MajeSan
10-15-2009, 02:19 AM
Lickilicky

http://arkeis.com/images/pokemonfactory/lickilicky.png
Summary:

Most used set:

Lickilicky possesses what is easily the most powerful attack in the game: STAB Explosion. Being far better suited for using this than Smeargle (the other STAB Exploder), it is prudent to make good use of it. Lickilicky's Swords Dance sets blow right through Steel types with Explosion, OHKOing even the mighty Skarmory after Stealth Rock is factored in at +2. Very few Pokemon will be capable of surviving that blast, and even fewer of them will actually ever be seen in competitive play: Max defense Aggron basically doesn't exist, and Probopass and Bastodion are very rare, even in NU, and nonexistant in OU. Swords Dance/Return/Aqua Tail/Explosion gets near-perfect coverage, only being walled by the ever-annoying Empoleon, who still gets bashed down after enough Returns or an Explosion, and Empoleon isn't even a factor in the NU tier that Lickilicky is in.

Usual counters:

Lickilicky, sadly, gets walled pretty hard by Ghosts. Fortunately, there are no fully evolved NU Ghosts besides Bannete, who likely won't be walling anything, meaning that Lickilicky is actually a pretty devastating force to be reckoned with in NU. Duslops, Cloyster, and Shuckle are the hardest things for Lickilicky to deal with when running Return/Earthquake, since they have the highest physical defense in NU, but Swords Dance boosts will eventually break them down. Slaking and Hitmonchan can outspeed Lickilicky easily and usually OHKO with a powerful STAB move, although the Sub Punch set will present pretty large problems for this plan. Lickilicky usually does not run Fire or Rock moves, and does not get any Flying or Dark moves, so Shedinja can wall all set that don't run Shadow Ball, assuming no indirect damage is present.

In OU Dusknoir and Rotom both stop it cold will Will-O-Wisp, being immune to its main form of attacks, and the only real options it has to hit back will be hard-pressed to KO them. Steel types are of course resistant to Normal attacks, but Swords Dance Explosion (or Life Orb Fire Blasts) will punch a pretty massive hole in them. Another option is just to just bring in a fighting type such as Machamp or Lucario to take a hit and then OHKO back with Close Combat or Dynamicpunch.

Types of Teams Pokemon Is Used In:

Lickilicky is one of the greatest wallbreakers there is thanks to its amazing movepool and STAB Explosion. It can do many things, from Curse to Focus Punch, but the catch is that it can only do one thing at a time. So, you simply customize Lickilicky to fit your team. It can even fit in weather teams with its overall bulk, given that it has so many attack options it can make up for weaknesses and otherwise.


http://www.smogon.com/download/sprites/dp/468.png
Swords Dance Explosion@Leftovers/Life Orb
EVs: 84 HP / 252 Atk / 172 Spd
Adamant Nature
Ability: Own Tempo
~ Swords Dance
~ Return
~ Earthquake Aqua Tail
~ Explosion
As explained in the "Most Common Set" section, Lickitung's Explosion cuts through everything, and Return hits really hard too. However, that alone does not make a set. Backed by Life Orb and Swords Dance, STAB Return also makes a powerful entry, backed up by Earthquake for type coverage. It's also worth noting that Lickilicky gets immunity to Confusion with Own Tempo, which is a common annoyance to many powerful physical sweepers. While the most common source of that in OU is Machamp's Dynamicpunches, Froslass and Jirachi have also been known to use Confusion-inducing moves. In NU confusion can be common depending on the opponent, although it is less viable of a strategy in a tier mostly dominated by special attackers (thanks to the lack of Chansey and co.)

After one Swords Dance, Cloyster is 2HKO'd 100% of the time, even without Life Orb. With Life Orb and Stealth Rock, there is a small chance of an OHKO. Shuckle takes 52% minimum from +2 Aqua Tail, and is OHKO'd 47% of the time by Life Orb with Stealth Rock, which is a good thing considering that Toxic will prevent Lickilicky from sweeping very effectively. Bastiodon takes at least 50% from +2 Aqua Tail, however, it takes well over 100% damage from +2 Earthquake. Regigigas, the fifth physically toughest NU Pokemon, takes a brutal 83% damage on average from +2 LO Return. However, Regigigas' most common strategy involves using Confuse Ray or Thunder Wave, neither of which are effective in hampering Licki's sweep. The ever-common special wall Hypno will pay dearly for underestimating Lickilicky, as even without Orb the +2 Return deals a punishing 90% minimum, and Hypno is almost always outsped, as it typically runs no speed, meaning with Stealth Rock it is always OHKO'd. Explosion is more than twice as powerful as Return and cuts the opponent's defense in half itself, and only max defense Aggron and Bastodion can take it, and only at full health, meaning that once Lickilicky decides to explode, it's a fairly safe guarantee that barring Protect or Substitute, something will be knocked out along with it. Overall, very few defensive walls in NU can do anything at all to stop Lickilicky from destroying them after one boost without being heavily crippled or knocked out themselves.

In OU, Crocune is 2HKO'd by LO Return, and has no hope of KOing back. Lickilicky's abysmal speed prevents it from scoring many KOs against powerful sweepers, however, when it comes to fighting walls it suddenly doesn't matter as much anymore. The Speed EVs allow for outspeeding of 4 Speed Metagross and Skarmory, while the rest are dumped into HP.

Swords Dance provides Lickilicky with its incredible firepower. Return is for STAB stronger than most SE non-STAB hits. Aqua Tail and Earthquake both provide options for hitting Ghosts, Steels, and Rock-types: Aqua Tail hits everything save Empoleon, but Earthquake fails to hit levitators Mismagius, Rotom, and Gengar. In NU, you should generally run Aqua Tail only if you're worried about Shuckle wrecking your sweep, as Earthquake can hit everything else more effectively. For OU, though, Aqua Tail might be the better bet. Explosion is for when you're sure the next hit will be your last.

http://www.smogon.com/download/sprites/dp/468.png
Curse Licki@Leftovers
EVs: 216 HP / 40 Atk / 252 SpDef
Brave Nature
Ability: Own Tempo
~ Curse
~ Return
~ Earthquake/Aqua Tail/Gyro Ball
~ Explosion/Rest
Lickilicky also gets Curse as an alternative to Swords Dance. Since its speed stat is trash anyways, you can dump it, run a Brave nature, and use 0 IVs if you want to. That's a pretty good idea if you plan on running Gyro Ball, which absolutely crushes all ghosts except for Dusknoir and Rotom, but you won't see those in NU. For NU, running Earthquake and Rest together is the safest and longest-lasting option, as Shuckle's Toxic won't matter for this set. Earthquake combined with Gyro Ball hits pretty darn hard against just about everything, although it won't last as long. Aqua Tail is another option if you'd like to play Rest to use a Cro-type strategy in OU. Explosion to destroy everything is another good plan, especially if you use Gyro Ball to scare away Ghosts first.

The EVs are optimised to provide maximum bulk after a few Curses. No Special attacks will be able to OHKO you right off the bat, so you can set up on some weak ones and Rest if you'd like, although something coming in and setting up on you (especially a Fighting Type!) might be a disaster. Pokemon such as Slowking in NU to stop the ever-present Hitmonchan and Poliwrath, or Slowbro and Gliscor who can shut down Lucario and Machamp in OU, will aid immensely with a Lickilicky sweep.

http://www.smogon.com/download/sprites/dp/468.png
Mixed Wallbreaker@ Life Orb
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Atk / 84 Spd
Brave Nature
Ability: Own Tempo
~ Fire Blast
~ Ice Beam
~ Earthquake/Power Whip
~ Return/Explosion
This set works better in OU than it does NU, considering that it is aimed at KOing many of the prominent OU walls by luring them in and then breaking them with Life Orb Boosted attacks. The EVs allow Lickilicky to hit some very nice targets, for example: Gliscor is always OHKOed by Ice Beam, unless it Roosts, in which case it will still eventually be KO'd. Skarmory is OHKOed by a Fire Blast from this set assuming it runs the stanard EVs. The remaining EVs are initially placed into Attack which ensures that your choice of Return or Explosion has a maximum damage output, should Lickilicky still survive after luring out and KOing the aforementioned threats. For the remaining move, Earthquake is preferable here as it will allow you to hit Heatran, Tyranitar, and the like. It will also ensure that a Roosting Zapdos cannot outstall you. Return still does reasonable damage against Swampert, although Power Whip can be used if you are especially concerned about Swampert and co. The rest of the EVs are placed into HP. Life Orb is necessary for certain OHKOs, however, Leftovers is an alternative if you don't want to lose Licki to recoil damage.

http://www.smogon.com/download/sprites/dp/468.png
Extremely Annoying@Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Atk / 84 Spd
Impish Nature
Ability: Own Tempo
~ Knock Off
~ Body Slam
~ Explosion
~ Toxic/Fire Punch/Earthquake
Lickilicky's wide moveset also includes STAB Body Slam and Knock Off. This set is not as effective in NU, as it is mostly based around the fast but relatively frail sweepers that dominate OU. Relicanth and Ursaring will not be fazed by a Body Slam, as they operate on the same tangent as Lickilicky, sweeping by bulk and attack power rather than speed. In OU, however, the 30% paralysis chance can greatly dissuade fast sweepers like Infernape or Latias from coming in, for fear of paralysis dooming them. If you run Toxic as well, then you can punish walls for coming in on you with a slow death. Knock Off annoys the hell out of most players, who use items to great effect when designing their team, and that will help cripple key players for the rest of the team to sweep. The final move is designed for coverage. Toxic prevents you from hitting Steel types and Gengar at all outside of Knock Off, but it's gamebreaking to hit the right wall with Toxic. Fire Punch hits all Steels pretty hard but excludes Tyranitar and Rhyperior, while Earthquake hits everything except for Bronzong and Skarm, who you can bring into KO range with Explosion.

The EVs allow for fairly decent bulk all around while you spread your misery. The Speed EVs allow you to outspeed zero/four speed base 60s and below, most noticeably Porygon2, Blissey, and Machamp.

http://www.smogon.com/download/sprites/dp/468.png
Sub Pawnch@Leftovers
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Def
Brave Nature
Ability: Own Tempo
~ Substitute
~ Focus Punch
~ Thunderbolt/Fire Blast
~ Gyro Ball/Shadow Ball
This set yet again takes advantage of Lickilicky's bulky, attack power, and speed challenged nature. The EVs given allow 101 Subs to be made, preventing any Seismic Tosses (such as Hypno or Grumpig's) from breaking them. The Sub allows Lickilicky to fire off strong Focus Punches, beat Slaking and Hitmonchan, and ignore status that might be crippling to other set. It might seem limiting until you look around and realize that at least half the Pokemon in NU are weak to Fighting type moves. The Pokemon that aren't are mostly Psychic-type, which means they either run high speed and are vulnerable to Gyro Ball, or can be hit by Shadow Ball for SE hits. Thunderbolt and Fire Blast hit the Flying and Bug types who also resist Focus Punch, such as Venomoth and Butterfree. Articuno may give this set some trouble, so Stealth Rock support would be recommended.

In OU, this set goes best with Fire Blast and Explosion or Gyro Ball. Focus Punch deals pretty large damage to most Steel types and Tyranitar, while Fire Blast goes through Skarmory and Celebi, scoring 2HKOs. Gyro Ball crushes most ghosts, although this set is again walled by Dusknoir and Rotom-A.

http://www.smogon.com/download/sprites/dp/468.png
Cleric@ Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpDef
Impish Nature
Ability: Own Tempo
~ Wish
~ Protect
~ Heal Bell
~ Seismic Toss
Lickilicky has a very specialized niche in using this set. Techinically, Miltank is a better user of Heal Bell in UU, and Clefable does Wish Passing better, while Chansey's special defense makes it a very good overall Cleric. However, Miltank cannot Wish, and Clefable can't Heal Bell, nor can Chansey take physical hits like a champ as this set does. If you're looking for a full support set that can tank physically for UU or NU, Lickilicky is the Pokemon you want. You ideally want to look out for Pokemon trying to set up on you that can take advantage of your lack of offense, primarily Mismagius and Raikou in UU and Poliwrath/Grumpig in NU.

Other Options
Lickilicky is too slow to run Choice Scarf effectively, but it can try Banding. It also gets many many more moves to utilize offensively, including the elemental punches, Zen Headbutt, Rock Slide, Hammer Arm, and even Shadow Ball. A Counter set is also viable considering Lickilicky's massive bulk.

Opinion
Lickilicky has a movepool wider than itself, so you have a lot to work with. Sadly, you can't combine all of its great wallbreaking glory into one set, and its bad speed will always let it down when you're fighting offensive teams. However, it is so adaptable that it can set itself up to fight just about any threat your opponent can throw at it, making it a bulky and affordable counter to just about anything you want for your teams. Just don't try to use it to wall Salamence like Porygon2 would.[/QUOTE]

GarcianSmith
10-15-2009, 02:54 AM
One thing I don' particularly like about analysis is how with lower tier pokemon, like Lickilicky, you give us information on how it does against OU poke'mon.
I'm not saying to not ever use NU/UU's in OU's, im just saying that the sets should be geared towards hurting things in it's tier, not so much in OU.
Thats just how I feel.

oh, and SD is Lickilicky's mopst used set in standard, but not UU/NU.

and wasn't Hybrid doing this?

Ill give a full edit later.

PLDH-MajeSan
10-15-2009, 03:23 AM
That's a good point. I could shunt the OU section down, and do a more comprehensive look at the Pokemon versus the Pokemon in its own tier first before covering OU.

And if Hybrid wanted to do it IMO he should have done it by now. It's not like we haven't given ample time, and I didn't have anything else to do tonight.

GarcianSmith
10-15-2009, 03:27 AM
what kind of life do you live where you do pokemon analysis to stave off the boredom?
lawlzors.

Anyway, this is reserved for the full edit tomorrow.

Tony32
10-15-2009, 04:09 AM
Uh, oh. Hybrid was working on this ><. And he pretty much was almost done. Lurk more maje, lurk more.

GarcianSmith
10-15-2009, 04:18 AM
if anything we can just combine them...somehow. or just take the better one.

Vertigo
10-20-2009, 07:14 PM
Nice job Maje ^__^

Infiltrator
10-24-2009, 02:31 PM
Yeah, sorry. I was suppose to post it sometime this past week, but got caught up with PTC at School.... I just need to finish counters, and other options.

EDIT: I'm surprised that we have the order in the sets @_@