This is my first time, so, uh, here we go!
Overview
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Being the only Pokemon in NU with access to both Swift Swim and Rapid Spin, Armaldo carves himself a niche in NU as a decent Swift Swim sweeper who can support his team with hazard removal. Outclassed in a solely spinning role as well as a setup role, Armaldo must be utilized on a rain team in order to avoid being outclassed, where he can use his high speed under rain and strong offensive presence to spin and dish out strong hits. In addition to Rapid Spin, Armaldo's movepool offers unique coverage in X-Scissor that is valued on rain teams for its ability to take on Grass-types that rain teams have trouble with, such as Vileplume plume is neutral to xscissor mention another relevant grass type. Armaldo also has access to Knock Off, allowing him to break through most spinblockers. Unfortunately, Armaldo's semi-unique typing is a burden. He loses 25% when switching into the very hazards he's supposed to remove, has common weaknesses in Water- and Rock-type, and two mostly useless resistances in Normal and Poison. However, Armaldo's resistances, specifically his Normal resistance, do come in use against Normal-types such as Kangaskhan, which Armaldo can tank and spin well against.
Swift Swim Sweeper/Spinner
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name: Offensive Swift Swim Spinner just make this spinner, not sweeper
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Aqua Tail
move 3: X-Scissor
move 4: Knock Off / Stone Edge
ability: Swift Swim
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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Rapid Spin is what makes Armaldo viable. Use it to support Armaldo's team with hazard removal. Aqua Tail is actually the strongest move Armaldo can use under rain, and beats the frailer spinblockers in Mismagius and Rotom. When out of rain, X-Scissor is Armaldo's most reliable move, however Armaldo generally wants to stay in the rain. X-Scissor easily deals with Grass-types that can be troublesome for rain teams. Knock Off is useful as always, removing items and dealing high damage with good coverage. Additionally, Knock Off can deal with Gourgeist, who is generally a problem for rain teams. However, Stone Edge a is a useful secondary STAB that can be used to hit Mantine, Pelipper, and Vileplume, although it suffers from lower accuracy.
Set Details
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252 Speed EVs and a Jolly nature allow Armaldo to outspeed the likes of Swellow, Adamant Scarf Sawk, and Sneasel when under rain. 252 Attack EVs and a Life Orb are used to maximize damage output in order to sweep as efficiently as possible.
Usage Tips
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Although Armaldo is a spinner, avoid mindlessly spamming Rapid Spin. Rain is a limited resource, and a spin should only be executed if desperately needed. when should I spin? toxic spikes are a must spin, but what about just rocks or spikes? Otherwise, Armaldo should make use of rain turns to deal as much damage as possible with his high speed and good coverage. Specifically, Armaldo can spin and tank against Kangaskhan and Kecleon, which are both bothersome threats for fellow rain sweepers. In addition, Armaldo's strong Bug STAB in X-Scissor easily deals with Grass-types that are also troublesome for rain teams. Finally, some balanced teams employ Toxic Spikes to deal with rain teams, and Armaldo can get rid of them if necessary.
Team Options
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Being only viable in rain teams, Armaldo needs team members that make a rain team. Rain Dance users such as Uxie and other Swift Swim sweepers such as Seismitoad and Ludicolo are examples of rain team members. Additionally, Ludicolo and Seismitoad as well as Poliwrath all cover Armaldo's weaknesses well, and can fit onto rain teams. Finally, Pokemon weak to Stealth Rock such as Sneasel or Pokemon holding a Focus Sash such as Jynx also appreciate Armaldo's ability to spin.
Other Options
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Although Armaldo has quite a wide and appealing movepool that can fill many roles, Armaldo is outclassed in all other roles he can offer. Still, these options can be used if desired. A more tanking oriented spinning set can be used, but Armaldo's weakness to Stealth Rock and mostly useless resistances make it pitiful, and both Sandslash and Claydol outclass Armaldo in this role. A Rock Polish set can be used, but Armaldo's typing leaves few chances to setup, and Crustle outclasses Armaldo in this role. Stealth Rock is an interesting option for Armaldo, but Armaldo should be firing off powerful moves instead of setting up Stealth Rock, and Armaldo finds few free turns to use Stealth Rock. Choice Band is another option that Armaldo can make use of with his high power, however Armaldo's typing and weakness to Stealth Rock let him down once again. Finally, a Swords Dance set combined with Swift Swim can be used quite decently. However, Armaldo has issues finding turns to setup, and Beartic can perform this role somewhat better.
Checks & Counters
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**Stealth Rock make this Entry Hazards**: Being weak to the hazards he's supposed to clear, Armaldo's defensive capabilities are severely hampered by losing 25% of his health when switching in.
**Super Effective Attacks**: While Armaldo's physical bulk is decent, he is unable to make full use of it due to his exploitable weaknesses. Common physical threats such as Archeops can hit Armaldo with STAB super effective attacks, easily KOing Armaldo.
**Special Attacks**: such as?With mostly useless resistances and mediocre Special Defense, Armaldo is easily KOed by special attacks.
**Faster Pokemon**: such as? When not under Rain, Armaldo is quite slow, resulting in many Pokemon outspeeding him and KOing him before he can do anything.
**Fighting-types**: such as? Resisting both of Armaldo's STABs as well as Knock Off, Fighting-types only fear Aqua Tail, which becomes quite weak when not under rain.