Politoed Analysis

[MikeDecIsHere]

Politoed

Type: Water

Abilities:
Water Absorb- The Pokemon heals up to 1/4 for its maximum Hit Points when hit with water-type moves.
Damp- Explosion and Selfdestruct will not work while the Pokemon is on the field.
Drizzle (Dream World)- Summons heavy rain to the battle.

Base Stats:
HP: 90
Attack: 75
Defense: 75
Special Attack: 90
Special Defense: 100
Speed: 70

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/186.shtml

Overview

Politoed isn't that great of a Pokemon. In Generation IV, Politoed was mostly outclassed by other bulky waters in UU, such as Blastoise and Milotic, and was shunned to the NU tier. With the coming of Generation V and the addition of Dream World, Game Freak decided to bless Politoed with an amazing new ability: Drizzle, an ability previously exclusive to the legendary Kyogre. For those unfamiliar with the Ubers, Drizzle summons rain to the field that lasts until the weather is changed. This means that rain teams no longer are hindered by the detrimental effects of 5 turns of rain. Politoed has become a staple for every single rain team. 90/75/100 defenses are also pretty nice, so Politoed can keep switching in and can re-summon rain whenever the weather changes. Politoed also has a super effective attack against ALL other weather inducers: Ninetails, Abomasnow, Tyranitar, and Hippowdon.
Politoed still has its flaws. Base 70 speed means it won't be out speeding anything that hits hard in OU. Politoed also lacks a viable recovery move outside of Rest. However, when used correctly, Politoed can be very hard to take down.
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In Depth/Move Sets


Choice Scarf
Politoed w/ Choice Scarf
Ability: Drizzle
Timid
EVs: 4 HP; 252 spAtk; 252 Spe

• Surf/Hydro Pump
• Focus Blast
• Ice Beam
• Hidden Power Electric/Grass

Set Comments

With a Choice Scarf, Politoed is able to rid itself of its sub-par speed and make it a viable offensive threat. Pokemon like Zapdos and Garchomp expecting to out speed the frog will be shocked when an Ice Beam or STAB Surf hits them hard. Surf is recommended in the first slot due to its reliability. With the rain boost and STAB, Surf will hurt any Pokemon neutral to water. Hydro Pump can be used of you want that extra boost in power. Focus Blast is used to hit two specific Pokemon, Tyrannitar and Nattorei, both of which annoy rain teams to no end. With those two Pokemon out of the way, your teammates are free to demolish the rest of your opponent’s team. Ice Beam is to nail Grass types who think that they're safe to come in on Surf. The last move slot is for Hidden Power. Hp Electric is recommended for the great Ice/Electric type coverage and to nail Gyarados, who can take hits from all of Politoed's other attacks. Hp Grass can be used if you are afraid of Pokemon like Quagsire and Swampert.


Choice Specs
Politoed w/ Choice Specs
Ability: Drizzle
Modest/Timid
EVs: 4 HP; 252 spAtk; 252 Spe

• Surf/Hydro Pump
• Focus Blast
• Ice Beam
• Hidden Power Electric/Hidden Power Grass

Set Comments

With Choice Specs, Politoed can catch lead Tyranitars off guard and nail them with a super powered Focus Blast. Other Pokemon neutral to water also get nailed hard by a STAB specs Surf. Surf is recommended due to its reliability. Specs boosted STAB Surf in the rain will hit your opponent's Pokemon hard. Focus Blast is for Tyranitar, as the common lead Tyranitar is OHKOed by Focus Blast. Ice Beam is for Dragonite, who resists Politoed's other moves, and Garchomp. The last spot is for Hidden Power, and the type deneds once again on what you want to hit. Electric is recommended, as Gyarados will get obliterated by it. HP grass can be used if Quagsire is considered to be a threat to your team.

Additional Comments

Modest is recommended as it increases Politoed's damage output. Timid is always viable, especially to out speed Adamant Breloom.


Bulky Frog
Politoed w/ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
Bold
EVs 252 HP; 186 Def; 72 spDef

• Toxic
• Protect
• Boil Over/Surf
• Encore/Hypnosis

Set Comments

While out classed by Vaporeon, Politoed still can function as a bulky water. The given EVs give Politoed an even amount of physical and special bulk. Toxic is listed first in order to cripple any defensive Pokemon, like Burungeru, who think they can come in and wall Politoed. Protect is listed second in order to scout/Toxic stall/gain leftovers recovery. Boil Over is recommended in the third slot, as the chance of burn is just too good to pass up. Surf can be used if you want the extra power, but Boil Over is generally the better choice. The last move slot is basically a toss up. While Encore has been nerfed, it can still be used to mess with your opponent’s strategy, from locking a wall in a useless move to punishing a sweeper from setting up. Hypnosis is a viable option, as a sleeping Pokemon is essentially a dead Pokemon. Hypnosis does have 60% accuracy, so it is often seen as unreliable.

Additional Comments

An EV spread of 252 HP, 4 Def, 252 spDef can be used to make Politoed a special tank. With the chance of burn from Boiling Water, Politoed still has the ability to take physical hits quite well.


Sub-Toed
Politoed w/ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
Modest/Timid
EVs: 4 HP; 252 spAtk; 252 spe

• Substitute
• Surf/Hydro Pump
• Focus Blast
• Hidden Power Electric/Ice Beam/Hidden Power Grass

Set Comments

When an opponent sees Politoed, they usually tend to switch immediately into their Rain counter. This set is used to catch your opponent off guard and KO their counter with the appropriate move. The idea of this set is to bring Politoed in on something that isn't threatening and set up a Substitute as your opponent brings in their rain counter. Surf is listed first for STAB and reliability, though Hydro Pump can be used for extra power. Focus Blast is used to nail Nattorei and Tyranitar for super effective damage. The last move slot is for type coverage. HP Electric is listed first in order to nail Gyarados, who completely walls this set without it. Ice Beam is listed in order to nail Grass and Dragon types who think they can come in on Politoed with no fear. HP grass can be used to hit Quagsire, who laughs at Politoed's other moves, and Swampert.

Additional Comments

Modest is recommended as Politoed doesn't really need the extra speed behind a Substitute. However, Timid is definitely viable, as Politoed will always out speed Adamant Breloom.
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Other Option

Psychic- Can be used if you want to hit fighting types harder, but a STAB, rain boosted surf will always do more.
Perish Song- An interesting option, as it forces the opponent to switch or die in three turns.
Belly Drum- Politoed has access to this move, but its weak attack and speed hints its ability to use if effectively.

Team Option

Politoed appreciates teammates that can benefit from the use of everlasting rain. Ferrothorn loves Rain, as Rain weakens Fire moves which are Ferrothron's biggest fear. Tornadus absolutely loves rain support, since Hurricane becomes a 100% accurate move in Rain. Azumarill also appreciates rain support, increasing the power of Aqua Jet. Pokemon with the Hydration ability, like Vaporeon or Whiscash, can utilize Rest without the drawbacks of two-turn sleep, making them very hard to take down. While Water Pokemon tend to be the main teammates with Politoed, there are other Pokemon that benefit from the rain. Toxicroak is another fantastic teammate for Ferrothorn, since it heals HP every turn thanks to Dry Skin. With Focus Blast's 70% accuracy, Politoed appreciates teammates that can reliably take out Ferrothorn, the main counter to every rain team. Conkeldurr can easily come in on Ferrothorn and hit it with a Drain Punch or just start setting up Bulk Ups. Scizor can also come in on Ferrothorn and either set up a Swords Dance or nail Ferrothorn with a Banded Superpower. Politoed also appreciates spin support, as the residual damage from Spikes and Stealth Rocks can really take its tole on the frog. Starmie is a great rapid spinner with Politoed, as it boosts Starmie's STAB Hydro Pump and gives Starmie the option of running Thunder over Thunderbolt.

Counters

Special Walls absolutely ruin Politoed, since it really can't do all too much to them unless Politoed runs Toxic. Blissey and Eviolite Chansey are fantastic counters to Politoed, since Politoed can't hurt them with either attacks or status effects thanks to Natural Cure. Bulky waters like Vaporeon and Jellicent also wall Politoed, but they need to be wary of Toxic. Ferrothorn can come in and take a Hydro Pump or Ice Beam from Politoed, but Ferrothorn needs to be wary of Focus Blast. Specially Defensive Tyranitar can easily switch in, change the weather, and take any of Politoed's attacks aside from Focus Blast. Specially Defensive Jirachi can also handle most of Politoed's attacks, but a Specs Hydro Pump will hurt.

Opinion

Politoed is a mediocre Pokemon, but with Drizzle, it becomes the staple of every single OU rain team. Politoed has effected the metagame so much that almost every team has a counter for rain teams. While Politoed itself doesn't seem that scary, whatever comes with it is usually frightening.

Credit to Serebii for Information
Credit to Iris, Steel Dragons, and SilentDreams for edits

[Lavityranitar]

Do you ever stop writing WIP's? Great one Mike, this will really help with my upcoming rain guide.

[MikeDecIsHere]

Do you ever stop writing WIP's? Great one Mike, this will really help with my upcoming rain guide.

I actually did this today while i had to wait for my car for 4 hours in the shop -_-

[Iris]

i would add specs as it is very underrated especially on the lead ttar matchup

[MikeDecIsHere]

That's bizarre, I thought I had changed the scarf set into a general choiced set. I'll fix that now. Thanks for the heads up Iris.

Edit: I'll be adding the set itself instead of just mixing it with the scarf set, as the specs set should have modest as an option

[steel dragons]

Again, nice job Mike. Here are my thoughts:

First of all, a rain boosted stab Surf will do more damage usually than a super-effective Psychic. Against something like a Machamp, Surf would have 213.75 power whereas Psychic would only have 180 power.

For the Choice Scarf set, you should probably have Specs as an option. Think about it, stab boosted, Specs boosted, Rain boosted Surfs can really hurt.

For the bulky Frog set, what do those EVs accomplish? I'm just wondering, as they seem to counter specific things.

For the Sub-Toed set, Timid should be an option, as a Timid Politoed can almost always outspeed Breloom, since most Brelooms run Adamant natures.

Also, on the bottom of your signature, you have ER], which I'm assuming is a fragment of code or something.

I hope that these suggestions helped.

[Lavityranitar]

Really? Lol.

[MikeDecIsHere]

ok, I added the Specs set.
If i missed anything else, please don't be hesitant in mentioning it.

And Steel, thanks for the notice on my sig. Never even realized that.

[Eos]

I don't even think i'm going to need to say "nice job" cuz i can after every wip that you post :]
with the added specs set, i think this is successful and done. Like iris said with the specs set, with ttar out as a lead it really can take a hit and if you use the regular boil over and gets the burn, most carry lum.

[The Fonz]

Great Job Mike :)