Community POTW #35

[Serebii]

Reno's busy writing the last one so here's the next one



This week we'll be doing Ludicolo, one of the Hoenn Pokémon

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/272.shtml

Ludicolo is rather unique in typing and features a variety of good moves and abilities.

Go nuts

[svenosman]

Overview

This is just one strange dancing machine. Unique in typing, unique in movepool, not very high stats, but with the right training and handling this Pokémon can be very anoying.

Abilities

Swift Swim: doubles your Speed in rain. Mmm. Ludicolo doesn't realy need the boost. Like you're going to use it like sweeper. However, a boost is always good. But if you have to choose between Rain Dish and Swift Swim, go for Rain Dish.
Rain Dish: a free Leftovers in rain? Yes please! This ability is realy usefull when you use Ludicolo as a HP-thief. Combined with Leech Seed, Giga Drain, Leftovers and Rain Dish, Ludicolo will recover lots and lots HP.
Own Tempo: cannot be Confused... Like this will ever happen. Sweet Kiss, Confuse Ray, you just don't see them enough to run this ability. And especially not with Rain Dish available to you.

Give me HP!
- Giga Drain
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Hydro Pump
Item Attached: Leftovers / Big Root
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)

Leech Seed provides you with HP stolen from your opponent. Giga Drain is for direct STAB'ed recovery. Substitue provides you coverage. The recoil will quickly be restored by all recover moves. STAB'ed Rain-boosted Hydro Pump reaches 270 base power, washing your opponent away. Leftovers is for standard recovery, Big Root can be used as extra recovery. If you are sure you can set up Leech Seed and use Giga Drain effective, use the Big Root. Max HP to make Ludicolo bulky, max Speed to use this set in the way is was ment to be.

EVs and Nature

Ludicolo can be used in different ways, altough it is mostly used as a bulky recoverer. You can go every way you want, but I suggest max HP, cause it will need to take some hits. Oh, and extra Speed wouldn't hurt either.

Other Options

Drain Punch, Teeter Dance, Synthesis, Grass Knot, Toxic
Drain Punch is a physical recovery move. Can be used if you don't want to be walled by SDef walls, like Blissey.
Teeter Dance confuses everyone around you. This can make a diffence in battle. By confusing a Pokémon, you have less chance to be hit by it.
Synthesis to recover half of your max HP.
Grass Knot deals with bulky Rocks, Ground and Waters (who else would benefit from the rain).
Toxic to annoy your opponent even more in combination with Leech Seed and Substitute.

Double & Triple Battle Options

Since rain-teams are seen more often in Doubles and Triples, Ludicolo is great for it. Recover almost all you lost HP with Leech Seed on multiple Pokémon and a bully is born.

Partners

Drizzletoed is the most obvious partner, since it sets up rain. Something to take on Bugs 'n Birds can provide Ludicolo some good coverage, like a Swift Swim Kabutops. Poison is the only weakness left, so a Psychic- or a Ground-type Pokémon can take those on.

Countering Ludicolo

Tentacruel.

Oh, you want an explanation?
1) Tentacruel gets 0.5X damage from Water-moves and 1X damage from Grass-moves.
2) Tentacruel has a very high base Special Defense stat, so Ludiolo's attacks will do even less damage.
3) The ability Liquid Ooze makes Ludicolo's HP-stealing moves useless. Instead of recovering HP, you will lose it.

Hurricane can do some significant damage too, and since it gets 100% in rain, this attack can be a pain in the *ss. Brave Bird Staraptor can also get the job done.

[TimmahX]

Overview

Sub-Seeding is a dangerously abusive way to play the game. But that doesn't mean people don't use it. Ludicolo is one of the best Sub-Seeders on the block, thanks to the fact that it has Rain Dish. It was already a good combination, but now that Politoed has made it more mainstream, Ludicolo can find a lot more use in competitive battling, not that it was ever unpopular.

Abilities

Swift Swim: Doubles Speed in the rain, which is illegal in competitive battling with Drizzle. Ludicolo is a beast because of Rain Dish though, so I'd advise taking that route. Ludicolo can make a gimmick sweeper set with this though in manual rain. *Edited, Thanks ShinyRaikou.

Rain Dish: Adds another Leftovers-par recovery each turn in the rain. So you can basically have two layers of Leftovers, Subseed, and Giga Drain... this causes problems for most of the game.

Own Tempo: Immunity to Para-Fusion, that's so... not helpful in OU where Ludicolo would be by Politoed's side.

Immortal Lilly-pad
Nature and EVs: Timid, 252 Spd / 252 SpAtk / 4 Def
Ability: Rain Dish
Item: Leftovers
- Giga Drain
- Surf / Scald / Toxic
- Leech Seed
- Substitute

The standard Ludicolo affair, for a good reason. Between two layers of Leftovers, Leech Seed, and Substitute walling, Ludicolo becomes a very effective sponge. Of course, Ludicolo isn't incompetent on the offensive side, offering both Giga Drain, Surf and Scald as STAB moves. Giga Drain adds more healing options to Ludicolo's arsenal, Scald gives Ludicolo a chance to inflict Burn, whilst Surf gives huge damage. Toxic is a final option though, for doing huge DoT when paired with Leech Seed.

Dancing in the Rain
Nature and EVs: Adamant or Jolly, 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Ability: Swift Swim / Rain Dance
Item: Leftovers / Life Orb
- Waterfall
- Swords Dance
- Leech Seed
- Substitute

Ludicolo has a very limited physical movepool, but it does have Waterfall and that's the one move it really needs. STAB Waterfalls backed up by rain's boosts and Sword Dances can pump out huge damage. Ludicolo can set up SubSeed to buy itself some time to pump out Sword Dances as well.

Other Options
Ice Beam: Adds coverage for Dragons in OU.
Grass Knot: Does more damage most of the time than Giga Drain in OU, but doesn't have the draining side effect.
Focus Blast: Adds Steel and Dark coverage.
Seed Bomb: An alternative attack for the Swords Dance set, but Waterfall is generally superior.
Flail Set: You could... but there are much better pokemon to do this with.

Partners and Multi Battles for Ludicolo

Politoed. You'll want to be able to stop pseudo-phasing though from pokemon like Skarmory, and a way to take down Venasaur. Bolt-Beam carriers can handle both of them, so there's that. In Double-Triple Battles, Ludicolo doesn't have as much time to make set ups, and that's what it does best. It has nice resistances against a few spread moves, which is pretty nice, though its Surfs will really hurt teammates. So it should be used in Single battles primarily.

Countering Ludicolo

There are a lot of ways to shut down Ludicolo, despite how bulky it may be. Venasuar is immune to Toxic and Leech Seed, Togekiss has Para-Flinch with super effective Air Slashes, Skarmory can pseudo-phase it. Shutting down Rain ruins it's healing boosts and weakens it's Water attacks. Paralysis and Toxic are two sure-fire ways to screw with Ludicolo. A few other options consist of Cloyster, Taunt, Liquid Ooze Tentacruel... regular Water types don't work well though. The fact that Ludicolo can Seed or Poison it's Water type rivals means that most of them will have huge problems against it... except Cloyster and Tentacruel. Steel types wall Ludicolo pretty well also, especially Ferrothorn.

[WizardTrubbish]

Something amazing has happened. i've actually decided to take part in this! I warn you, i suck at this.
Beware the Bulky Water
Ludicolo @ Leftovers
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs:252 HP / 4 Def /252 SDef
Sassy (+Special defense, -Speed)
- Rain Dance
- Substitute
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power Rock

Swift Swim: Doubles Speed in the rain, which is illegal in competitive battling with Drizzle. Yet Excadrill with Sand Rush is legal... (This is a more personal note, but if the reason for the Swift Swim ban is the quantity of Swift Swim users, can't we have a rule that puts a cap on how many we can have on a team to balance it?). Ludicolo is a beast because of Rain Dish though, so I'd advise taking that route. Ludicolo can make a gimmick sweeper set with this though in manual rain.

Only illegal at Smogon.

[misterdarvus]

Ludicolo dancing with Swords!
Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Trait: Rain Dish/Swift Swim
EVs:4 HP / 252Atk /252 Spe
Adamant/Jolly
- Seed Bomb
- Waterfall
- Drain Punch/Return
- Swords Dance

It has swords dance, why not?

Seed Bomb and Waterfall are main STAB, Drain Punch for more coverage and recovery, but Return is great combination with Waterfall because few resist Water+Normal combo, bar Empoleon and Jellicent, But they will die with Seed Bomb, lastly, of course Swords Dance

[grantholomew]

Ludicolo is pretty awesome. He was pretty cool even in Generation III. He’s not incredibly powerful, but it can still be an effective Bulky Water.

Joyeuse Marche
Ludicolo @ Leftovers/Life Orb
Trait: Rain Dish/Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP/252 SAtk/4 SDef or 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 SDef
Modest (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Energy Ball/Grass Knot
- Surf/Scald/Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Synthesis/Leech Seed/Rain Dance/Toxic
So yeah, Energy Ball (or Grass Knot if you’re up against heavies) and Surf, Scald, or Hydro Pump are all for STAB. Ice Beam is good for Dragons as well as Flying-types that Ludicolo is weak to. Synthesis and Leech Seed are good for restoring HP, while Rain Dance is also good for restoring HP if you have Rain Dish. Toxic is another good option. So basically Rain Dish if you’re going to use Rain Dance, otherwise go with Own Tempo.

[frogofdoom555]

There is one problem with this Pokemon.

Shallow Movepool. Lotad can learn Energy ball by level up, but by that level it's useless because for ingame players, you'd be ready for the elite 4.

BUUUUUUUUUUT, they can learn Nature Power. This could turn out some pretty good moves like Tri-Attack, Seed Bomb or even Surf depending on the enviornment!
So that brings us to our set.






[FONT="Arial Black"][Random Spaces/FONT][/SIZE]









Rain Dish it Out @ Leftovers
Ability: Rain Dish
Nature: Timid
EVs: 58 Speed 58 Sp. Attack

Rain Dance
Surf
Leech Seed
Ice Beam


HAHA! You thought I was going to use Nature Power, right?

Rain Dance will activate the Rain Dish healing affect
Surf is for an AOE (Area of Effect) STAB
Leech Seed is for piling on the Health
Ice Beam Is For Coverage

That's ONE Ludicolo for you. Now it's time to crank up the music, make like a Ludicolo and DANCE!

[rotomotorz]

the.......mexican dancer with a duck bill?

Abilities

Swift Swim: Doubles speed in rain. Doesn't work that well considering Ludicolo never had a way of abusing speed with its low offensive stats.

Rain Dish: Restores HP in rain. Much better as while Ludicolo doesn't have that good defensive stats, it get Leech Seed. Combined with Leftovers and rain, and you heal tons of HP a turn.

Own Tempo: Prevents confusion. Well compared to Rain Dish its useless.

Mexican...wall

~Leech Seed
~Substitute
~Hydro Pump/Surf/Scald
~Ice Beam/Toxic
Ability: Rain Dish
Nature: Calm(+Sp. Defense, -Attack)
252 HP/252 Sp. Defense or Defense/4 Defense or Sp. Defense
Item: Leftovers

HydrationRest is good, but SubSeed in rain with Rain Dish is in a league of its own. Leech Seed and Substitute make SubSeed. Surf is more accurate and weaker then Hydro Pump. Scald can burn. Ice Beam is for Grass pokemon. Toxic can stall anything Waters with Leech Seed, especially Sap Sipper Azumarill.

P.S. I don't know why everyone has a Grass move and Water move with SubSeed, as you are walled by Grass pokemon completely.

[Missingno. Master]

Let the music play!
Ludicolo@Life Orb
Modest nature
Swift Swim
252 Sp. Atk/200 HP/56 Spd
~Surf/Hydro Pump
~Giga Drain
~Uproar/Focus Blast
~Ice Beam

Gotta love Ludicolo. Basically, this is your standard rain sweeper with Swift Swim. For STAB, go with either Surf or Hydro Pump. Hydro Pump packs more power, but is inaccurate, whereas Surf is weaker but safer. Giga Drain is slightly weaker than Energy Ball, but the effect of healing off Life Orb damage makes it an attractive option. Ice Beam is a given. Focus Blast is powerful, but has lately earned the nickname of "Focus Miss" due to its craptastic accuracy. The newly-upgraded Uproar is an option. At 90 base power, it's comparable to stuff like Outrage. AND, the opponent can't put Ludicolo to sleep during this time!

Life Orb is the preferred item. Choice Specs would pack more of a punch, but it restricts Ludicolo to one move unless it switches out.

Go Swift Swim all the way. Rain Dish is fantastic, just not for this particular strategy. As for Own Tempo... Don't. Just don't.


Dance Dance (Pokémon Battle) Revolution
Ludicolo@Leftovers
Adamant nature
Swift Swim
252 Atk/200 HP/56 Spd
~Swords Dance
~Waterfall
~ThunderPunch/Ice Punch/Drain Punch/Nature Power
~ThunderPunch/Ice Punch/Drain Punch/Nature Power

A physical take on the Swift Swim Sweeper. Swords Dance to up Attack. Waterfall for STAB. The last two slots can take any of those four moves, I suppose. Drain Punch, in addition to power, can help restore any damage Ludicolo takes while SDing. Nature Power becomes Earthquake.

Leftovers to help Ludicolo recover from any damage taken during the set-up turn.

Swift Swim.


Seeding In The Rain
Ludicolo@Leftovers
Calm nature
Rain Dish
252 HP/252 Sp. Def/4 Sp. Atk
~Leech Seed
~Giga Drain
~Substitute
~Scald

Quite possibly the deadliest SubSeed set ever devised. Not only will the damage from Ludicolo's Substitutes get healed by Leftovers, but also by Leech Seed, Rain Dish, AND Giga Drain. Yipe. Scald has STAB, is powered up by the rain, and can burn the opponent, compensating for Ludicolo's lack of EVs in Defense. Hell, I think I'll raise a Ludicolo like this.

Leftovers are obvious.

Rain Dish is obvious.


Where Do You See Claws On This Thing?!
Ludicolo@Leftovers
Adamant nature
Swift Swim
252 Atk/200 HP/56 Spd
~Hone Claws
~Waterfall/Seed Bomb
~DynamicPunch
~Mega Kick/Zen Headbutt

A slightly more gimmicky take on the Swords Dance Ludicolo. Hone Claws boosts Attack as well as Accuracy. Waterfall gets STAB and a Rain boost, but if you run that, this thing is walled to hell and back by Jellicent. Seed Bomb also gets STAB. No rain boost, but it destroys Jellicent, and at least affects other ghosts. DynamicPunch is the real gem of this set. A few Hone Clawses later and Ludicolo can fire off what amounts to a 100% accurate cross between Close Combat and Confuse Ray, minus the defense drops. Mega Kick also benefts from the accuracy boosts, and provides decidedly decent coverage with Waterfall, but is replaceable with Zen Headbutt if Gengar makes you uneasy (hey, another move that benefits from the Accuracy boost!).

Lefties, Swift Swim, you know the drill by now.

Partners:
Politoad, plain and simple. You want to keep the rain going, as it is what keeps Ludicolo moving. Ludicolo's unique type combination works rather well defensively, giving it very little in the way of weaknesses, and certainly no common weaknesses. It's weak to Flying and Poison, though, so a Steel-type wouldn't be a bad choice as a partner. Empoleon works well, and also benefits from the rain boost with its Water attacks.

Counters:
Taunt kinda screws over the SubSeed set. Not to mention, a well-placed Brave Bird or Gunk Shot has the potential to destroy Ludicolo utterly. But nothing devastates it as much as a change in weather. Ninetales, Tyranitar, Hippowdon, Abomasnow, they all work. Be wary when bringing about a sandstorm, though- even with the Special Defense boost, Ludicolo still has super-effective Water and Grass moves. And if it's a physical attacking Ludicolo... Stuff with Cloud Nine works, too. Altaria resists both of Ludicolo's STABs (still needs to be wary of Ice Beam or Ice Punch).

[The Imposter]

Ah, Ludicolo.

Abilities:

Swift Swim: Doubles Speed in the rain. With DrizSwim being banned at Smogon, this only has use with manual rain.
Rain Dish: Restores 1/16 of health in the rain. This is the preferred ability for Ludicolo's deadly Subseed set, as it gives a free Leftovers when paired with Toed.
Own Tempo: (hidden) Blocks confusion. Not very useful.

Sets:

Health-sucking Pineapple
Leftovers
Rain Dish
Timid
252 Spd/252 Sp. Def/4 Sp. Atk
Substitute
Leech Seed
Surf/Scald
Ice Beam

Typical Subseeder. Substitute and Leech Seed are obvious. Surf and Scald provide STAB. Ice Beam for wrecking Grasses.

Specsicolo
Choice Specs
Rain Dish
Modest/Timid
252 Spd/252 Sp. Atk/4 HP
Surf
Energy Ball/Grass Knot
Ice Beam
HP Electric

Specs set. Surf and Energy Ball are STAB, but Grass Knot will hit things like Swampert harder while Energy Ball hurts things like Vaporeon. Ice Beam and HP Electric for coverage.

Other Options:
A Swords Dance set could be used with Waterfall, Seed Bomb, and Ice Punch. That's about it really.

[Soperman]

I've always liked Ludicolo. It is one of the best Subseeders in the game, and can be killer in the rain. Rain Dish is the equivalent of Leftovers, so you get free Leftovers and any other item you want. Swift Swim gives him amazing sweeping capabilities. So, without further ado, let's begin the rating.

Subseeder
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Scald / Giga Drain
- Toxic / Synthesis
Item: Leftovers / Wise Glasses
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs and Nature: Timd (+Spd, -Atk)
252 Hp / 200 Def / 56 Sp. Def / 4 Spd
This set works best in the rain, so let's pretend it's in the rain right now. Substitute makes him temporarily invincible, Leech Seed, Leftovers, and Rain Dish heal the damage you just took. Toxic because you're stalling anyway, but Synthesis is for that extra bit of health for another Sub. Scald is STAB, powered up in the rain, and can burn, but Giga Drain is also STAB and heals you. If you manage to set up substitute, this can be the most annoying set you have ever faced.

Swift Dancer
- Energy Ball
- Ice Beam
- Scald / Surf
- Giga Drain / Hydro Pump
Items: Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim / Rain Dish
EVs and Nature: Modest (+Sp. Atk, -Atk) or Timid (+Spd, -Atk)
4 Hp / 252 Sp. Atk / 252 Spd
Typical sweeping Ludicolo. Self explanatory. Energy Ball STAB, Ice Beam coverage, Scald for burn, Surf for power, Giga Drain to heal, Hydro Pump for overkill. The only problem with this set is the Swift Swim and Drizzle are banned, and since that is so common in teams, you can run Timid over Modest, and have Rain Dish to heal LO recoil. But SS is better.

Dancing with Swords
- Swords Dance
- Fake Out
- Waterfall
- Return / Brick Break / Zen Headbutt
Item: Life Orb
Abilities: Swift Swim / Rain Dish
EVs and Natures: Jolly (+Spd, -Sp. Atk) or with SS Adamant (+Atk, -Sp. Atk)
4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
I don't really know where I'm trying to go with this set, but I saw Swords Dance and thought, "Oooh, Swords Dance, let's use it in a set!" But, watevs, at least he has Waterfall. Swords Dance is Swords Dance, Fake Out is annoying, and Waterfall is his only good physical STAB. The last attack is whatever you want. Return has pretty decent power (107), Brick Break breaks screens and Rock types... Zen Headbutt is coverage? I guess so.

Double and Triple Options
He can do pretty decent, actually. He has Surf. That's about it.

Partners
Drizzletoad is Ludicolo's best friend. Ludicolo has two abilities that rely on Rain; one heals him, the other makes him a sweeper. Also, it powers up his STAB Water attacks, which is awesome. Also, someone to take out Ferrothorn, perhaps a Fighting type?

Counters
I dunno, this guy is kind of hard to counter... Oh wait, Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn completely walls Ludicolo. No Leech Seed, no Grass attacks, but be wary of his Water attacks in the Rain. It does x2.25, which does neutral damage to Ferro. Venasuar also destroys Ludicolo. STAB Sludge Bomb is not something to take lightly.

Overall, Ludicolo is pretty decent. It has awesome abilities, a decent movepool, very few weaknesses, and decent stats.

[AquaRegisteel]

^Focus Blast can hurt Ferrothorn quite badly, so be wary of it.

[Missingno. Master]

The only problem with this set is the Swift Swim and Drizzle are banned,

Only by Smogon.

[Megamence123]

Ah, Ludicolo. One of my favorites. Now I know Smogon banned Drizzle and Swift Swim, but Rain Dance is still useable.*

The Swift Swimmer (But only in Rain Dance)
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump / Surf
- Focus Blast / Hidden Power [Fight]
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs and Nature: Modest
4 Hp / 252 Sp. Atk / 252 Spe

Standard Rain Dance abuse set. Giga Drain is primary STAB, and restores health. Very helpful when Life Orb reduces health every turn. Ice Beam is chosen as a reliable and powerful move, that can also destroy Dragons. Surf and Hydro Pump are secondary STAB. Hydro Pump is recommended for sheer power, although Surf is a reliable alternative. And the final move offers the same choice. Focus Blast can have enough power to obliterate Ferrothorn, but at a cost of lower accuracy. Hidden Power [Fight] is a much weaker, but safer alternative. In short, if you want power, go with the first set of slashes; if you want reliability, go with the second.*

Now here's a more gimmicky Rain Dance abuser:

The Swift Swimmer 2 (But only in Rain Dance)
- Seed Bomb
- Swords Dance
- Waterfall
- Drain Punch
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs and Nature: Modest
4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Its not really "gimmicky", its just unexpected. Ludicolo has low Attack initially, so Swords Dance remedies that problem. Waterfall and Seed Bomb are STAB, that also gets good coverage together. Drain Punch rounds it out, and also restores health. This is a useful set that combines power with reliability, but also with unexpected-ness. (Is that even a word?)

[Arceus197]

Here's a couple of sets

DishDancer

Nature and EV's:Adamant/Jolly, 4HP/252A/252S
Item:Leftovers/Life Orb
Ability:Swift Swim/Rain Dish
-Swords Dance
-Waterfall
-Brick Break/Drain Punch
-Ice Punch/Seed Bomb/Return/Zen Headbutt

Overview
Set up Swords Dance and Sweep. Rain is necessary to utilize this set (just like all of Ludicolo's other sets). Waterfall is necessary for STAB, Water-Rain, blah blah blah. Brick Break for Screens or if you can't get 4th Gen. Drain Punch for recovery. Then decide on your type coverage. Ice Punch hits Dragons, Seed Bomb for Jellicent, Return for a power move.

SubSeed
Nature and EV's:Bold/Relaxed, 252HP/252D/4SD
Item:Leftovers
Ability:Rain Dish
-Substitute
-Leech Seed
-Giga Drain
-Toxic/Return/Focus Punch

Overview
Put a Sub up, Leech Seed, then Giga Drain away. Toxic is for more stalling, Return is for those annoying SapSippers. Focus Punch is an option for people who have access to 4th Gen. but be sure to choose a Nature that doesn't hinder Attack.

Specolo
Nature and EV's:Timid/Modest 4HP/252SA/252S
Item:Choice Specs/Scarf
AbilitySwift Swim/Rain Dish
-Energy Ball/Grass Knot
-Surf/Scald/Hydro Pump
-Focus Blast
-Ice Beam

Overview
Somewhat of a gimmick for Ludicolo. Energy Ball vs. Grass Knot. You have the usual choice between surf and Scald, but you also have Hydro Pump to consider. Focus Blast, While a little shaky on the accuracy, is important on every choice set. Then Ice Beam for coverage and Dragons.

Other Options
Counter, Flail, Zen Headbutt, Nature Power, ResTalk
Ludicolo doesn't have the greatest movepool but does have options. you could do a CounterSashFlail set. There's Zen Headbutt, but... I guess it Could be coverage against Venusaur, Amoonguss and other Grass/Poison types. Nature Power could be interesting. ResTalk is viable, but then again, SubSeed is more so.

[WizardTrubbish]

SWIFT SWIM AND DRIZZLE ARE NOT BANNED PEOPLE! SMOGON IS UNOFFICIAL! IF YOU AREN'T BATTLING ON SMOGON, YOU CAN USE IT!
[/caps]

[Dark-Tyranitar]

UUGGGHHHHH
not this guy!!!!
*rage quit*
*Throws computer into pile of dynamite and lights*

[sixonesix]

In Double-Triple Battles, Ludicolo doesn't have as much time to make set ups, and that's what it does best. So it should be used in Single battles primarily.

uh no, ludicolo is one of the better pokemon in doubles actually, rain or not. it's got respectable defenses, 4x resists surf, and most importantly it gets fake out, one of the most useful moves in doubles.

[takbir10]

yay im on the first page for the 1st time
ludicolo is a great pokemon, rain dish makes it awesome with politoad
i always didnt like its design its OK
a good moveset is
DANCER
rain dance-brings rain dish
surf-stab
protect-for healing while you are almost dead
energy ball-another stab
nature-modest/calm
item-leftovers
good partners is politoad and something else like kingdra or floatzel/buiezel with eviolete

[About63Pandas]

Rain Stalling

Here's one of my favourite sets to use for this pokemon

Ability: Rain Dish

EV's Defence - 252
Sp At - 68
HP - 190

Nature - Bold

Attacks - Toxic
- Leech Seed
- Ice Beam/Scald/Energy Ball/Surf
- Dive/Substitute/Protect

Item - Leftovers

Pretty simple set I think basically the idea is to decrease your opponents pokemon hp over time while regaining your own while this set can be completely walled by Ferrothorn and a few others meaning that partners would have to include fighting types to help take Ferrothorn down seeing as fire types aren't the best in the rain unless I've missed a move that ludicolo can learn to take it down