[VGC18] Outspeeding and OHKOing Landorus And Others? Enter Poliwrath!

[RetroTyphlosion]

 

Picture  removed due to coming from a questionable source. I apologize for those who had to see it.

Hey guys,

Its RetroTyphlosion, and yes, you read that right. And yes, you saw the cover picture right. I don't want to sound cocky, but I found a hard to use, yet VERY high reward Pokemon in Poliwrath. 

Poliwrath has always been considered the "other" Poliwhirl evolution. Without access to Drizzle like Politoed has, its kind of fallen into oblivion. The poor guy was outclassed by his frog cousin in almost any way. But, I think there is possibility for the amphibian to make a comeback. In spirit of @0kamii's Poliwrath write-up from last year, let's get this going!

Here's the set I've been looking at:

Poliwrath @Choice Band
252 Atk/ 252 Speed/4 HP
Adamant Nature (-SpA, + Atk)
 Ability: Swift Swim
-Waterfall
-Poison Jab
-Brick Break
-Earthquake/Rock Slide

Okay, I know this doesn't look very special. But its easy to overlook some of Poliwrath's strengths. Here's what I mean...
With maximum EV investment, Poliwrath has 122 Speed. With Swift Swim, this is doubled to a 244 Speed maximum. Still not convinced? Landorus-Therian, with a Speed boosting nature, 252 investment, AND a Choice Scarf, has 235 Speed. 
Think about that for a minute.

Poliwrath, with an Adamant Nature and 252 Atk investment, plus a Choice Band, gives it insane Attacking power. Here's an example....

Back to the Landorus. I already outspeed it, but how much damage does it do, exactly? 

-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Poliwrath Waterfall vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Landorus-Therian in Rain: 200 (121.9%) - 236 (143.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Read it and weep. Outspeeds and OHKOs Landorus-Therian, even after the Intimidate.
Assault Vest set?

-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Poliwrath Waterfall vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Landorus-Therian in Rain: 198 (101.5%) - 234 (120%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Even after Intimidate, folks.

What about other common Pokemon?

252+ Atk Choice Band Poliwrath Waterfall vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko in Rain: 156 (107.5%) - 184 (126.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Poliwrath Waterfall vs. 28 HP / 60 Def Tapu Lele in Rain: 160 (107.3%) - 189 (126.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Poliwrath Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tapu Bulu: 216 (122%) - 256 (144.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Also, Poliwrath outspeeds all of these.


Now, if I said that Poliwrath was the answer to every single Pokemon battle, I would be lying. It isn't, but it is a useful rain-team idea. It is difficult to use, both due to Choice Band's move-locking and the fact that it does need rain to reach its speedy potential. However, it can check various threats, (most notably Landorus), and would be a powerful rain member. There are common threats that it struggles with, such as Zapdos and Cresselia. It has little defenses, and won't live too long. After all, its designed to be a sweeper to take out what other Pokemon can't, not a full-on tanky warrior. But, if you're an experienced rain user, you might find some success out of the overgrown tadpole.this better be the VGC post that finally ends up on the homepage

-RetroTyphlosion

P.S. I'm thinking of writing many VGC posts this 2018 season. If you would like to see more, let me know in my poll!