Oglemi
Borf
http://www.smogon.com/rs/pokemon/huntail
[Overview]
Huntail behaves on the battlefield as it does in nature: lurking in the depths, ready to pounce at a moment's notice and decimate its prey. Huntail is the best single-turn setup sweeper available in NU, almost literally turning the tide of battle as soon as it makes its appearance. With just rain active, Huntail easily outspeeds and OHKOes or 2HKOes a huge portion of the NU tier thanks to the combination of Swift Swim and rain-boosted Hydro Pump, making it a threat you absolutely must have an answer for. As if its STAB attacks were not scary enough, it also boasts great coverage, making it incredibly hard to outright wall and unpleasant to play around. Make no mistake; misstep around Huntail, and the battle is lost.
[SET]
name: Swift Swim Sweeper
move 1: Rain Dance
move 2: Hydro Pump / Surf
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Electric
item: Leftovers / Mystic Water
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Not only is this set super dangerous, it's also super easy to play with if you're good at making use of the limited rain turns. Simply get Huntail in, set up Rain Dance, and proceed to use Hydro Pump until you win. Ice Beam is there to keep Roselia and other Grass-types from effectively countering Huntail. The last moveslot is dedicated to dealing as much damage as possible to the tier's other Water-types. Hidden Power Grass is nice to get the OHKO on Relicanth and Whiscash, while Hidden Power Electric decimates Pelipper.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
The EV spread is straightforwardly offensive to make Huntail as strong and fast as possible, with maximum Speed being needed to ensure Huntail at least Speed ties with other Huntail and outspeeds base 50 Speed Pokemon outside of rain. A bulkier EV spread of 152 HP / 252 SpA / 104 Spe is certainly doable if you are unconcerned about tying with other Huntail, giving Huntail some cushion against priority attacks and weaker attacks from its counters like Dewgong. The 104 Spe EVs are kept to hit 166 Speed, which doubles to 332 in the rain, just enough to outpace +1 Pupitar. Running the above spread with a Modest nature is also an option, which will notably ensure the 2HKO against Roselia with Ice Beam. Finally, Mystic Water is an option to give Huntail's Water-type STAB attack a bit more punch, in particular opening up a guaranteed OHKO on 252 HP Chimecho with Hydro Pump and a 2HKO on maximum Special Defense Lickitung with Surf.
The last moveslot can be replaced if you are confident in your ability to remove Huntail's checks and counters before bringing it out. Baton Pass is the most immediate replacement option, as it gives Huntail a fantastic way out of the battlefield and keeps momentum on your team's side. Substitute can be used to protect Huntail from status from the likes of Lickitung, Togetic, and Wailord. Finally, Toxic is an option to counteract Dewgong lacking Rest as a reliable long-term answer to Huntail.
Huntail is a pretty self-sufficient late-game sweeper, although there are a couple Pokemon that need to be weakened or removed before it can consider a sweep. Specially defensive Dewgong is the most pressing concern, as it is only 4HKOed by Hidden Power Grass and can easily remove the damage with Rest and attack in kind with its own Hidden Power Grass. Specially defensive Bellossom is the other major barrier to a successful Huntail sweep, as it is only 3HKOed by Ice Beam and can regain its health with Giga Drain and Synthesis. As both of these answers, as well as most of the other Pokemon that can tank a Hydro Pump, are grounded, Spikes support is the best way to initiate a Huntail sweep. This makes Cacturne and Roselia good teammates, and both can switch into the Grass- and Electric-type attacks that are sure to be aimed at Huntail. A strong, physically attacking teammate can remove most of the Pokemon that can reliably answer Huntail, making Hitmonchan a good offensive partner. Plusle makes a fantastic offensive teammate as well, as it can remove Dewgong from the picture and weaken the other specially defensive Pokemon on your opponent's team enough for Huntail to sweep. As a bonus, Plusle gets Rain Dance and Thunder, making it a good dedicated rain setter teammate as well. Pairing Huntail with a lure like Seadra is also an option, as it can force the opponent to reveal their Water-type answer and weaken it, allowing you to best prepare for a Huntail sweep later in the game.
[SET]
name: Baton Pass
move 1: Baton Pass
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Barrier
move 4: Hydro Pump
item: Leftovers / Lum Berry
ability: Swift Swim
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
While Huntail's main role and presence in NU is as a rain sweeper, it also has a function as a member of Baton Pass chains. Its main role on chains is as an anti-lead; after a Barrier boost, Glalie's Explosion is only doing a maximum of 54% to Huntail. On top of this, Huntail easily OHKOes the common Fire-type leads of the tier with Hydro Pump and isn't threatened by Hitmonchan after a Barrier boost either. This allows it to start the Baton Pass chain on the right foot and get the Defense boost its teammates will need to continue the chain. While Huntail doesn't offer anything else to pass (no Aqua Ring or Agility in ADV), it does offer a large offensive presence and can make use of the Special Attack boosts that are going to be accumulated on the rest of the chain.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
Maximum Speed and HP EVs are run to give Huntail as much speed and bulk as possible to start the chain off on the right foot. Lum Berry is a recommended option if using Huntail in the lead slot to make sure it can avoid status from leads like Octillery, Venomoth, and Torkoal. Otherwise, Leftovers is preferred to make the most of Huntail's bulk and give it some longevity to switch into Spikes repeatedly if needed.
While this set can be run off of Baton Pass chains and used as simply a bulky attacker outside of rain, Seadra typically does the part better thanks to its higher Speed. That said, most players will assume an attempt at a rain sweep as soon as Huntail's presence is known, allowing this set to function more as an offensive pivot and play around your opponent's assumptions. Baton Pass also gives Huntail a bit more momentum than Seadra does, and passing a Substitute to a teammate like Bulk Up Hitmonchan can be game-changing. If using this set that way, it's recommended to replace Barrier with Ice Beam to give Huntail a bit more coverage.
[Other Options]
Despite boasting one of the most dangerous sets in NU, Huntail really can't do much more than what's been listed. While its Attack is actually higher than its Special Attack, it doesn't have any notable moves nor STAB to make use of it apart from Double-Edge and Hidden Power, although it does get Screech to add some oomph to its attacks. Crunch is an alternate coverage option available to Huntail, but is really only useful for Chimecho, and Huntail's STAB attacks do more to Chimecho than Crunch does with rain active. Blizzard is an option over Ice Beam to threaten Bellossom a bit more, but its accuracy sucks. Refresh can protect Huntail from Thunder Wave from the likes of Octillery and Kecleon, as well as other status, but is hard to fit on its sets. Finally, Toxic is an option to whittle down Dewgong and Bellossom if they lack Rest, which may be more helpful in the long run than Huntail's other attacks.
[Checks and Counters]
By avoiding the 3HKO from Hidden Power Grass and being able to heal off any damage done to it, RestTalk Dewgong is about the only true counter to Huntail available in the tier. The next best answer is specially defensive Bellossom, particularly those that carry Sunny Day, but they will still take a number from Ice Beam. Castform gets a special mention here as being a solid offensive check, although it is still 2HKOed by a Mystic Water- and rain-boosted Hydro Pump while only being able to 2HKO back with Thunderbolt (it does get the OHKO with a Modest Thunder, however). RestTalk Wailord with Roar is a great answer to Huntail, as it too can heal off the damage from Hidden Power Grass and use Roar to disrupt Huntail's rain turns. Lickitung, Kecleon, and Wigglytuff are good checks to Huntail if they can nail it with Toxic as it uses Rain Dance, and proceed to stall out its rain turns with Wish and Protect or Rest. Roselia just barely avoids the 2HKO from Ice Beam if it switches into it, and can proceed to use Giga Drain to deal huge damage to Huntail or paralyze it with Stun Spore. Outside of rain, Huntail is rather easy to revenge kill with fast Pokemon that have powerful Electric- or Grass-type attacks like Plusle, Haunter, and Grovyle.
Last edited: