Spannertastic
09-24-2008, 01:19 AM
Milotic
The grown-up ugly duckling of the Pokemon world.
http://www.pokebip.com/pokemon/pokedex/images/sugimori/350.png
Ability: Marvel Scale - Defence is boosted by 50% when under a status condition.
The now sleepy standard
Milotic@Leftovers
Marvel Scale
Bold (+Def, -Att)
EV's: 124 HP / 252 Def / 132 SpA
-Surf
-Ice Beam/Hidden Power Electric
-Recover
-Hypnosis
The Milotic of old but now with a new and improved status option. Hypnosis support is always welcome and can shut down all those sweepers you couldn't manage to stall out with Toxic. Also Milotic is a great choice for sleep induction due to its above average defences and reliable recovery, meaning that when Hypnosis misses (like it is bound to do) there is limited harm done and you won't end up tearing off your limbs in frustration.
The EV's allow you to always survive an Adamant Garchomp's Swords Danced Earthquake and OHKO it right back with Ice Beam so long as it doesn't have a Yache Berry.
The choice between Ice Beam and Hidden Power Electric is coverage vs. power. Although Hidden Power Electric is your only option against your fellow water types and makes Milotic a very nice Gyarados counter.
If you do vouch for the Hidden Power option there is no need for the Special Attack EV's in order to 1 or 2HKO the threats you need to, so you can feel free to max out HP and Defence.
Marvellous Rest-Talker
Milotic@Leftovers
Marvel Scale
Modest (+SpA, -Att)
EV's: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SpA
-Surf
-Ice Beam/Toxic
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
Now this is something Milotic is very good at. And it is thanks to Marvel Scale's very nice Defence boost while Milotic is sleeping. A Lum/Chesto Berry is not recommended here because of the defence boost and Leftovers recovery is very handy on our very wallish sea-snake.
Toxic is now the choice over Hidden Power Electric because of its addition to this Milotic's brilliant stalling capabilities and will sap your foe's HP even while Sleep Talk uselessly chooses Rest (we've all felt that pain).
Surf, as expected, is for some nice STAB damage.
I has a shiny coat, you wants to see?
Milotic@Leftovers
Marvel Scale
Bold (+Def, -Att)
EV's: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
-Mirror Coat
-Recover/Rest
-Surf
-Hypnosis/Confuse Ray/Protect/Tickle/Ice Beam/Sleep Talk
You might say that Milotic's Special Defence is too high for this sort of set but it definitely will be of some use. With all the Thunderbolts and Grass Knots coming it's way Milotic won't have trouble getting the damage for a OHKO with Mirror Coat.
As for the rest of the set it's pretty much a lucky dip. Recovery choice is for whether you think you'll be taking massive Hits or not. If you are, go with Rest, and if not Recover. This leads us into the last slot. If you chose rest then Sleep Talk is a viable option, otherwise it's your choice of the others. Hypnosis and Confuse ray are for dealing with Physical threats that you are unable to Mirror Coat, Protect is for scouting the special move from more unpredictable Pokemon, Tickle is for taking the edge off those physical attacks and forcing switchs and Ice Beam is for additional attacking coverage. Ice Beam isn't highly recommended when compared to the other options for utility and mono-use reasons.
Behold the power of the swan of the sea
Milotic@Choice Specs
Marvel Scale
Modest (+SpA, -Spe)
EV's: 8 HP / 252 SpA / 248 Spe
-Surf/Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Hidden Power Electric/Grass
-Hyper Beam/Mirror Coat/Recover/Hypnosis/Hydro Pump
Milotic really needs a bigger attacking movepool for this to work properly but it is still an option. As you can see Milotic has pretty much ran out of options by the 3rd slot and the last one is virtually filler.
The choice of Hidden Power is up to you but you must note that Electric and Grass Guarantee OHKO's on Gyarados and Swampert respectively and Electric leaves you walled by Lanturn.
Now the last slot. Hyper Beam is for suicide with big damage, Mirror Coat is for those with sweet prediction skills, Recover is to get some healing in but watch for pokemon trapping you, Hypnosis is there because it's a great move and Hydro Pump is for if you chose Surf but want the option of more powerful STAB.
Now the EV's are for making use of Milotic's really cool base 81 Speed allowing it to outrun all of the neutral base 80's like adamant Dragonite and Gallade.
Screen Support
Milotic@Leftovers
Marvel Scale
Bold (+Def, -Att)
EV's: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
-Light Screen
-Surf
-Recover
-Hypnosis/Toxic
Just a variant of the Standard set really. This one just helps with adding some more support to your team. You can be free to maximise this one's Defence capabilities due to the lack of Ice Beam to take on the ever-present Garchomp threat. The choice between Toxic and Hypnosis is for those of you who want to deal with sleep clause and those of you who don't and also want to do something to water types especially ones named Vaporeon.
Other Options
Don't even think about a physical set, that's just an insult to Milotic's very nice base 100 Special Attack, end of story. There are some other moves to consider in Milotic's support Movepool though:
Haze: There are better Pokemon for the job but Milotic is able to do it.
Icy Wind: The Speed drop might make this more useful than Ice Beam in some cases. Namely, in 2HKOing garchomp with a Yache Berry without getting attacked in between (Note, needs some SpA and Spe EV investment).
Aqua Ring: Is only really helpful in addition to Leftovers if you can switch in to a Will-o-Wisp and activate Marvel Scale, Aqua Ring + Leftovers nullifies the burn damage. It costs you a moveslot that you probably don't want to lose though.
DragonBreath: Deserves a mention purely for the Paralysis chance.
Opinion
Milotic doesn't really get the game-time that it used to in R/S/E but it's still a righteously awesome Pokemon. With it's excellent attacking stat and uber Special Defence it can function as a sturdy wall with an extra punch. It's just a shame about it's shallow attacking movepool and Reflect would have been a very nice addition.
Counters
Strong Physical Grass and Electric atacks shouldn't have too much trouble breaching Milotics defences but whoever uses them may not like to be put to sleep. Sleep-Talking Zapdos is a very good counter for this reason but should watch out for Mirror Coat.
Calm Minding Raikou is also a good choice as it can set up a Substitute to block the Mirror Coat and Hypnosis.
Without Hidden Power Electric Empoleon effectively walls you and no matter which Hidden Power (Grass or Electric) Ludicolo will take whatever you throw at it with relative ease. Starmie and Tentacruel also deserve a mention but both fear Hidden Power Electric.
The grown-up ugly duckling of the Pokemon world.
http://www.pokebip.com/pokemon/pokedex/images/sugimori/350.png
Ability: Marvel Scale - Defence is boosted by 50% when under a status condition.
The now sleepy standard
Milotic@Leftovers
Marvel Scale
Bold (+Def, -Att)
EV's: 124 HP / 252 Def / 132 SpA
-Surf
-Ice Beam/Hidden Power Electric
-Recover
-Hypnosis
The Milotic of old but now with a new and improved status option. Hypnosis support is always welcome and can shut down all those sweepers you couldn't manage to stall out with Toxic. Also Milotic is a great choice for sleep induction due to its above average defences and reliable recovery, meaning that when Hypnosis misses (like it is bound to do) there is limited harm done and you won't end up tearing off your limbs in frustration.
The EV's allow you to always survive an Adamant Garchomp's Swords Danced Earthquake and OHKO it right back with Ice Beam so long as it doesn't have a Yache Berry.
The choice between Ice Beam and Hidden Power Electric is coverage vs. power. Although Hidden Power Electric is your only option against your fellow water types and makes Milotic a very nice Gyarados counter.
If you do vouch for the Hidden Power option there is no need for the Special Attack EV's in order to 1 or 2HKO the threats you need to, so you can feel free to max out HP and Defence.
Marvellous Rest-Talker
Milotic@Leftovers
Marvel Scale
Modest (+SpA, -Att)
EV's: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SpA
-Surf
-Ice Beam/Toxic
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
Now this is something Milotic is very good at. And it is thanks to Marvel Scale's very nice Defence boost while Milotic is sleeping. A Lum/Chesto Berry is not recommended here because of the defence boost and Leftovers recovery is very handy on our very wallish sea-snake.
Toxic is now the choice over Hidden Power Electric because of its addition to this Milotic's brilliant stalling capabilities and will sap your foe's HP even while Sleep Talk uselessly chooses Rest (we've all felt that pain).
Surf, as expected, is for some nice STAB damage.
I has a shiny coat, you wants to see?
Milotic@Leftovers
Marvel Scale
Bold (+Def, -Att)
EV's: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
-Mirror Coat
-Recover/Rest
-Surf
-Hypnosis/Confuse Ray/Protect/Tickle/Ice Beam/Sleep Talk
You might say that Milotic's Special Defence is too high for this sort of set but it definitely will be of some use. With all the Thunderbolts and Grass Knots coming it's way Milotic won't have trouble getting the damage for a OHKO with Mirror Coat.
As for the rest of the set it's pretty much a lucky dip. Recovery choice is for whether you think you'll be taking massive Hits or not. If you are, go with Rest, and if not Recover. This leads us into the last slot. If you chose rest then Sleep Talk is a viable option, otherwise it's your choice of the others. Hypnosis and Confuse ray are for dealing with Physical threats that you are unable to Mirror Coat, Protect is for scouting the special move from more unpredictable Pokemon, Tickle is for taking the edge off those physical attacks and forcing switchs and Ice Beam is for additional attacking coverage. Ice Beam isn't highly recommended when compared to the other options for utility and mono-use reasons.
Behold the power of the swan of the sea
Milotic@Choice Specs
Marvel Scale
Modest (+SpA, -Spe)
EV's: 8 HP / 252 SpA / 248 Spe
-Surf/Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Hidden Power Electric/Grass
-Hyper Beam/Mirror Coat/Recover/Hypnosis/Hydro Pump
Milotic really needs a bigger attacking movepool for this to work properly but it is still an option. As you can see Milotic has pretty much ran out of options by the 3rd slot and the last one is virtually filler.
The choice of Hidden Power is up to you but you must note that Electric and Grass Guarantee OHKO's on Gyarados and Swampert respectively and Electric leaves you walled by Lanturn.
Now the last slot. Hyper Beam is for suicide with big damage, Mirror Coat is for those with sweet prediction skills, Recover is to get some healing in but watch for pokemon trapping you, Hypnosis is there because it's a great move and Hydro Pump is for if you chose Surf but want the option of more powerful STAB.
Now the EV's are for making use of Milotic's really cool base 81 Speed allowing it to outrun all of the neutral base 80's like adamant Dragonite and Gallade.
Screen Support
Milotic@Leftovers
Marvel Scale
Bold (+Def, -Att)
EV's: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
-Light Screen
-Surf
-Recover
-Hypnosis/Toxic
Just a variant of the Standard set really. This one just helps with adding some more support to your team. You can be free to maximise this one's Defence capabilities due to the lack of Ice Beam to take on the ever-present Garchomp threat. The choice between Toxic and Hypnosis is for those of you who want to deal with sleep clause and those of you who don't and also want to do something to water types especially ones named Vaporeon.
Other Options
Don't even think about a physical set, that's just an insult to Milotic's very nice base 100 Special Attack, end of story. There are some other moves to consider in Milotic's support Movepool though:
Haze: There are better Pokemon for the job but Milotic is able to do it.
Icy Wind: The Speed drop might make this more useful than Ice Beam in some cases. Namely, in 2HKOing garchomp with a Yache Berry without getting attacked in between (Note, needs some SpA and Spe EV investment).
Aqua Ring: Is only really helpful in addition to Leftovers if you can switch in to a Will-o-Wisp and activate Marvel Scale, Aqua Ring + Leftovers nullifies the burn damage. It costs you a moveslot that you probably don't want to lose though.
DragonBreath: Deserves a mention purely for the Paralysis chance.
Opinion
Milotic doesn't really get the game-time that it used to in R/S/E but it's still a righteously awesome Pokemon. With it's excellent attacking stat and uber Special Defence it can function as a sturdy wall with an extra punch. It's just a shame about it's shallow attacking movepool and Reflect would have been a very nice addition.
Counters
Strong Physical Grass and Electric atacks shouldn't have too much trouble breaching Milotics defences but whoever uses them may not like to be put to sleep. Sleep-Talking Zapdos is a very good counter for this reason but should watch out for Mirror Coat.
Calm Minding Raikou is also a good choice as it can set up a Substitute to block the Mirror Coat and Hypnosis.
Without Hidden Power Electric Empoleon effectively walls you and no matter which Hidden Power (Grass or Electric) Ludicolo will take whatever you throw at it with relative ease. Starmie and Tentacruel also deserve a mention but both fear Hidden Power Electric.