[OVERVIEW]
* Large base attack, in conjunction with Sheer Force + Life Orb, makes Feraligatr a potent offensive threat.
* Swords Dance turns Feraligatr into a fearsome wallbreaker, whereas Dragon Dance allows it to punch holes into offensive teams.
* Resistant to common priority in Scizor's Bullet Punch, Mamoswine and Weavile's Ice Shard, and Crawdaunt's Aqua Jet.
* Decent typing and bulk + immediate power provides multiple setup opportunities by either tanking a hit or forcing a switch.
* Mediocre speed leaves it revenge killed by common Choice Scarf users and Mega Pokemon, such as Scarf Hydreigon and Mega Sceptile, even with Aqua Jet.
* Competition from Crawdaunt as physical Water-type wallbreaker, although it has better bulk and speed.
* Forced to either forego priority or crucial coverage in Ice Punch.
[SET 1]
name: Swords Dance Wallbreaker
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Crunch
move 4: Aqua Jet / Ice Punch
item: Life Orb
ability: Sheer Force
nature: Adamant
evs: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Swords Dance boosts Feraligatr's Attack to frighteningly high levels and allows it to muscle past some of the sturdiest physical walls.
* Waterfall is Feraligatr's strongest Water-type move and is boosted by Sheer Force.
* Crunch provides powerful coverage to hit Water-types neutrally and nail other Water resists for super effective damage, like Celebi, Latias, and Jellicent.
* Aqua Jet picks off weakened Pokemon and makes Feraligatr much more difficult to revenge kill at +2.
* Ice Punch punishes defensive checks that don't mind either Waterfall or Crunch, like Chesnaught or Hydreigon.
* Substitute eases setup against bulky Water-types like Alomomola, but you lose out on either coverage or priority.
Set Details
========
* An Adamant nature and max Attack and Speed EVs are required to maximize power and outspeed Jolly Scizor.
* Sheer Force + Life Orb gives a 1.69x damage boost to Waterfall, Crunch, and Ice Punch while avoiding recoil.
* Jolly can be run to outspeed Adamant Mamoswine and Jolly Mega Swampert, but the loss of power is generally not worth it. Some examples of OHKOs +2 Adamant Waterfall gets (after rocks) is against Primarina and Volcanion, (without rocks) Blissey, Sylveon. Adamant +2 Crunch also 2HKOs Alomomola.
* Substitute can be used as well with an EV spread of 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spe. This guarantees a +1 Scald from uninvested Suicune will not break Feraligatr's Substitute. A Jolly nature should be run to outspeed Mega Swampert, and 2HKOing Alomomola is not an important benchmark since you can set up Substitute on it.
Usage Tips
========
* Feraligatr fits best on offensive teams that appreciate its ability to break down bulky Pokemon.
* Its immediate power makes it work best as a mid-game wallbreaker to whittle physical walls like Swampert, Mega Steelix, and Hippowdon.
* Feraligatr can find multiple setup opportunities against bulky teams, using defensive staples in Blissey, Slowbro, and Hippowdown to use Swords Dance.
* Against offensive teams, it is usually better to fire off unboosted Waterfalls instead of trying to setup.
* Try and abuse common Pokemon like Infernape, Scizor, and Krookodile to punch holes in the opponent's team.
Team Options
========
* Feraligatr pairs excellently with other physical wallbreakers and sweepers, like Choice Band Scizor and Mega Aerodactyl, that enjoy its ability to weaken bulky Waters and other walls.
* Mega Sharpedo and Mega Swampert, in particular, form a potent overload core with Feraligatr facilitating a late-game sweep for them.
* This set is revenge killed by fast Grass- and Dragon-types like Celebi, Latias, and Hydreigon, so Steel-type Pokemon make good partners.
* Klefki is an especially good partner, as it lays Spikes while defensively checking all three of these Pokemon.
* Mamoswine and Weavile can threaten these with a powerful Ice-type STAB move and, in Weavile's case, Pursuit trap some of Feraligatr's revenge killers.
[SET 2]
name: Dragon Dance Sweeper
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Crunch
move 4: Ice Punch
item: Life Orb
ability: Sheer Force
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Dragon Dance lets Feraligatr sweep by boosting both Attack and Speed.
* Waterfall is most powerful Water STAB.
* Crunch provides powerful coverage to hit Water-types neutrally and nail other Water resists for super effective damage, like Celebi, Latias, and Jellicent.
* Ice Punch nails Pokemon that do not take much from both Waterfall and Crunch, such as Chesnaught, Hydreigon and Amoonguss.
Set Details
========
* Maximum Attack and Speed with a Jolly nature allow Feraligatr to outspeed the majority of the unboosted metagame at +1.
* Adamant nature can be used for more power, but Feraligatr is then outsped by Crobat, Weavile, and Talonflame at +1.
* Sheer Force + Life Orb gives a 1.69x damage boost to Waterfall, Crunch, and Ice Punch while avoiding recoil.
Usage Tips
========
* Dragon Dance Feraligatr fits best on offensive teams as a late-game sweeper.
* Feraligatr should not try and set up until its checks and revenge killers are weakened or killed.
* Physical walls like Chesnaught, Amoonguss, and Swampert should be weakened into KO range of +1 Ice Punch and Waterfall, while faster Pokemon in Mega Sceptile, Mega Beedrill, Mega Aerodactyl, and all relevant scarfers need to be KOed.
* Avoid switching Feraligatr into attacks, even resisted ones. It needs to be as healthy as possible to ensure it cannot be picked off by a resisted priority attack from the likes of Mamoswine and Scizor.
Team Options
========
* This set is used as a cleaner, so it appreciates Spikes support to ensure it gets the KOs on its many grounded checks.
* Klefki is a great partner in this regard, as it can switch into many of Feraligatr's checks like Scarf Hydreigon, Mega Sceptile, and Mega Sharpedo.
* Wallbreakers that can wear down or abuse bulky Water- and Grass-types also form good partners.
* For example, Mamoswine, Krookodile, Cobalion, and Terrakion can lure in and wear down Feraligatr's checks while also setting Stealth Rock.
* Dragon-types like Kyurem, Latias, and Hydreigon switch into its checks with ease and can fire off powerful Draco Meteors.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Feraligatr can run Agility to clean offensive teams without worrying as much about revenge killers, but this requires foregoing a damage boosting move.
* A special attacking set with Scald, Ice Beam, and Focus Blast lures the physical walls that best check Feraligatr.
* Other coverage moves include Earthquake or Superpower to OHKO Empoleon, Blissey, and Kyurem at +1, but other moves are more useful overall.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-types**: Chesnaught and Amoonguss can both stomach +1 Ice Punches and threaten Feraligatr with Grass-type STAB moves. Mega Sceptile outspeeds Feraligatr at +1 and takes very little from boosted Aqua Jets. Celebi and Rotom-C can switch into Waterfalls and OHKO Feraligatr back, but they must be wary of Crunch or Ice Punch.
**Faster Pokemon**: Even at +1 Speed and access to Aqua Jet, Feraligatr is revenge killed by a plethora of threats. Mega Sceptile, Mega Beedrill, and Mega Aerodactyl naturally outspeed Feraligatr at +1 and threaten it with their powerful STAB moves. However, the latter two are KOed by boosted Aqua Jets. All relevant Choice Scarf users outspeed it as well. Choice Scarf Hydreigon is a particularly good check to Feraligatr, as it comfortable takes +2 Aqua Jet and can switch into any of its attacks besides Ice Punch.
**Quagsire** Quagsire's Unaware ability allows it to tank Feraligatr's boosted moves. Even with maximum Defense investment, however, Quagsire loses nearly half its health to Adamant Waterfalls, so it must be near full health to switch in.
**Electric-types** All of the tier's Electric-types besides Magneton outspeed Feraligatr if it is unboosted and OHKO it with Thunderbolt. In addition, they can all survive a +2 Aqua Jet, except for Rotom-Heat, after Stealth Rock. However, they struggle to revenge kill the Dragon Dance set after a boost, since +1 Waterfall and Ice Punch OHKO Raikou, Xurkitree, and Rotom-Mow.
**Primarina and Mega Sharpedo**: Primarina and Mega Sharpedo resist all of Feraligatr's moves besides niche options like Superpower in Mega Sharpedo's case. However, the Swords Dance set threatens to KO both with a +2 Waterfall.
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