Community POTW #82

[Serebii]

Seems the RNG forgot to remove Whiscash and it has already been done. Weird. Perfect for it restarting lol

This week we're covering a Gen III Pokémon



This time it's the fossil Pokémon, Armaldo.

Armaldo is pretty good with decent Attack and a nice movepool that monopolises on it

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/348.shtml

Go nuts

[Chidori__O]

Ahh, Aramaldo. One of the most overlooked fossil pokemon of all time.

You're as old as my Grandma
Item: Leftovers/Choice Band
Nature: Adament
EVs: 16 HP/252 ATK/238 DEF
Nature: Battle Armor
Moves:
-Swords Dance
-Earthquake/Rapid Spin/Substitute
-X-Scissor
-Rock Slide/Stone Edge

This set is pretty simple. First, use Swords Dance right away or Substitute if you chose to have that on your set. If you did, then use Leftovers. Otherwise, just keep Focus Sash. Then, after the Dance, use Earthquake to take down Steel types and for coverage, or Rapid Spin to take out entry hazards as Armaldo takes average damage due to the typing so he's a decent spinner. X-Scissor and Rock Slide are there for STAB. If you don't care about the accuracy, use Stone Edge instead of Rock Slide. Battle Armor is only there because no one likes hax and this set is bad with Swift Swim.

EDIT: Here's the set if you wanna import it.
Armaldo (M) @ Focus Sash/Leftovers
Trait: Battle Armor
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake/Rapid Spin/Substitute
- X-Scissor
- Rock Slide/Stone Edge

And I got some puns/jokes too!

-You're as old as my Grandma
-Ho-oh oh! Merry Christmas!
-With this set, you can go on a Magicarp-et ride...

I know their lame...but I tried okay!

EDIT: Got another set ready after testing it. It's okayish.

Armaldo @Choice Scarf
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Aqua Tail
- Earthquake
- X-Scissor
- Rock Slide/Stone Edge

This set is pretty good. You already use Armaldos' high Attack combined with its mediocre Speed and with Swift Swim and Rain Dance...well, let's just say it is quite a feared pokemon. Aqua Tail is kinda like a STAB since the rain boosts its power while it can also take out Fire types with the 'STAB' boost. Earthquake is there so you don't get walled on by Steel Types or Poison Types. You can also use that to take down Electric Types. X-Scissor is there for STAB and can take down Grass Types easily as well as Psychic and Dark. Rock Slide can take down other Bug Types and Flying types as well as Ice, plus Armaldo gets STAB off of it. With Swift Swim, Armaldo can already move fast plus Choice Scarf supports it. Armaldo should also have Politoed has a partner on the team, no exceptions. He won't play that well if you don't have Politoed with you. This set actually works pretty well on VGC to and triple battles. Plus, Armaldo can take down over 10 different types with this set too!

[Missingno. Master]

Ancient Swimmer
Armaldo@Muscle Band/Life Orb
Adamant nature
Swift Swim
252 Atk/252 Spd/4 HP
~Stone Edge/Rock Slide
~X-Scissor
~Earthquake
~Brick Break/Low Kick

Swift Swim is exactly what Armaldo needed. If you can fit this set onto your Drizzle team, you can sweep to hell and back. Armaldo has an incredible Attack stat, and a woefully sub-par Speed stat, which Swift Swim rectifies easily. Stone Edge is the STAB move of choice, but if the accuracy is a turn-off, Rock Slide is an acceptable alternative. X-Scissor is also for STAB. Earthquake for additional coverage, same with the last move. Brick Break is more, shall we say, consistent with the damage output, but Low Kick can potentially prove to be more powerful against certain targets.

Item boosts Armaldo's Attack. Ability should be obvious (bear in mind it is illegal to use Swift Swim and Drizzle on the same team for those of you who play by Smogon's rules).


Fossil Polish
Armaldo@Muscle Band/Life Orb
Adamant nature
Battle Armor/Swift Swim
252 Atk/252 Spd/4 HP
~Rock Polish
~Stone Edge/Rock Slide
~Earthquake
~X-Scissor/Brick Break/Low Kick

A twist on the previous set, which allows Rock Polish instead to do its work on Armaldo's Speed. Riskier, but legal by Smogon standards and usable off a Rain team. The last slot doesn't matter too much, not with EdgeQuake covering lots of stuff on its own.

Item is for boosting Armaldo's already nice Attack. Ability doesn't actually matter.


Other options:
*Armaldo has access to Swords Dance, but its Speed is what needs the help. If it could have more than four moves, maybe, but the best you can hope for is to squeeze it in somewhere in the Swift Swim set.
*Aqua Tail is a viable option, especially on the Swift Swim set, as the Rain will be powering it up.
*Hone Claws can fix the accuracy problem with Stone Edge, but it suffers the same issues as Swords Dance.

Abilities:
*Battle Armor: Moves used against Armaldo cannot score critical hits. A decent ability in its own right, and coupled with Armaldo's decent bulk, it could possibly make all the difference should something manage to survive one of its moves and strike back.
*Swift Swim: Armaldo's Hidden Ability, and a true Arceussend. Doubles Armaldo's Speed in rain. Works like its Rock Polish, but without the need to waste a turn or a moveslot for the setup.

Partners:
The Swift Swim set obviously wants Politoad in its corner. As always, you can't go wrong with Smashpassing, and Tailwind users can also be a great help.

Counters:
Skarmory can take anything Armaldo can dish out and does a number on it in return with Drill Peck or Brave Bird. Physical walls in general, you should look out for. Weezing in particular takes Armaldo's attacks like the boss it is and can cripple it with Will-O-Wisp.

Opinion:
An underrated powerhouse, and cool-looking to boot, Armaldo is just awesome.

Prediction for next week:
Coming soon...

[Ilan]

Offensive NU rapid spinner
@leftovers
Adamant
252 HP,252 attack, 4 defense
Rapid Spin
Stealth Rock/Earthquake
Stone Edge
X-Scissors/Earthquake

Armaldo is one of the best rapid spinners in NU (a tier that lack good rapid spinners as you see) Rapid spin take out hazards specially stealth rock so pokemons like braviary can use choice sets, stealth rock puts some of your own but earthquake offers coverage, Stone edge is armaldo's strongest STAB which demolises everything weak to it, X-scissors is an alternate STAB but it lacks coverage with stone edge that's why EQ is added for a quakedge coverage..

I saw a good rapid spin choice band set but I don't remember the attacks.

[Missingno. Master]

Shrimp Swim
Anorith@Focus Sash
Adamant nature
Swift Swim
252 Atk/252 Spd/4 HP
~Swords Dance
~Rock Slide
~X-Scissor
~Brick Break


Little known fact about Anorith- it has higher Speed than Armaldo, and a perfectly usable Attack stat in its own right. Can it sweep? It's entirely possible. After one turn of Swords Dance in the rain, we're talking 634 Attack and 498 Speed. And that's no joke. Rock Slide and X-Scissor are for STAB, and Brick Break for additional coverage.

Item allows Anorith to survive the setup turn. Ability should be obvious (bear in mind it is illegal to use Swift Swim and Drizzle on the same team for those of you who play by Smogon's rules).

Other options:
*Hone Claws can fix the accuracy problem with Rock Slide, but it's not as pressing an issue as Stone Edge, which Anorith cannot learn. Plus, the Focus Sash only guarantees one turn of free setup, so you gotta use it wisely.

Abilities:
*Battle Armor: Moves used against Anorith cannot score critical hits. A decent ability in its own right, but Anorith is, to put it bluntly, not bulky. Any neutral move with decent power behind it can OHKO, irregardless of critical hits.
*Swift Swim: Anorith's Hidden Ability, and a true Arceussend. Doubles Anorith's Speed in rain. Exactly what it needed.

Partners:
Politoed. Rapid Spin or Magic Bounce support is also a decent idea, make sure Anorith can get in without taking damage.

Counters:
Physical walls in general, and also priority moves in general, especially when the Focus Sash has activated.

Opinion:
Anorith manages to wrap up cute, cool, and badass all in one.

Prediction for next week:
Garbodor.

[grantholomew]

Armaldo w/ Leftovers
Battle Armor
252 Attack, 252 HP, 4 Sp. Defense
Adamant (+Attack, -Sp. Attack)/Brave (+Attack, -Speed)
-Stone Edge
-X-Scissor
-Earthquake/Swords Dance/Hone Claws
-Stealth Rock/Rapid Spin

Brave nature if used in Trick Room, although you have less turns when setting up. Hone Claws is only if you're paranoid about Stone Edge's accuracy, otherwise SD is superior.

[Ilan]

Shrimp Swim
Anorith@Focus Sash
Adamant nature
Swift Swim
252 Atk/252 Spd/4 HP
~Swords Dance
~Rock Slide
~X-Scissor
~Brick Break


Little known fact about Anorith- it has higher Speed than Armaldo, and a perfectly usable Attack stat in its own right. Can it sweep? It's entirely possible. After one turn of Swords Dance in the rain, we're talking 634 Attack and 498 Speed. And that's no joke. Rock Slide and X-Scissor are for STAB, and Brick Break for additional coverage.

Item allows Anorith to survive the setup turn. Ability should be obvious (bear in mind it is illegal to use Swift Swim and Drizzle on the same team for those of you who play by Smogon's rules).

Other options:
*Hone Claws can fix the accuracy problem with Rock Slide, but it's not as pressing an issue as Stone Edge, which Anorith cannot learn. Plus, the Focus Sash only guarantees one turn of free setup, so you gotta use it wisely.

Abilities:
*Battle Armor: Moves used against Anorith cannot score critical hits. A decent ability in its own right, but Anorith is, to put it bluntly, not bulky. Any neutral move with decent power behind it can OHKO, irregardless of critical hits.
*Swift Swim: Anorith's Hidden Ability, and a true Arceussend. Doubles Anorith's Speed in rain. Exactly what it needed.

Partners:
Politoed. Rapid Spin or Magic Bounce support is also a decent idea, make sure Anorith can get in without taking damage.

Counters:
Physical walls in general, and also priority moves in general, especially when the Focus Sash has activated.

Opinion:
Anorith manages to wrap up cute, cool, and badass all in one.

Prediction for next week:
Garbodor.

Even on armaldo drizzle + swift swim is banned on standard, if so why not use kingdra? it is so broken on rain..

[Missingno. Master]

Even on armaldo drizzle + swift swim is banned on standard, if so why not use kingdra? it is so broken on rain..

Well, this isn't Kingdra's week. Plus, it'd seem a little counterproductive if Armaldo week consisted of a bunch of posts like "lol just use Kingdra". I try to show the best qualities about the Pokémon, not how they're outclassed.

[empireyin]

I must be psychic, I predicted this pokémon this morning as Pokémon of the Week

[Ilan]

Well, this isn't Kingdra's week. Plus, it'd seem a little counterproductive if Armaldo week consisted of a bunch of posts like "lol just use Kingdra". I try to show the best qualities about the Pokémon, not how they're outclassed.

Armaldo is also broken in the rain with drizzletoad... it is a banned combination.

@above: want a cookie?

[Missingno. Master]

Armaldo is also broken in the rain with drizzletoad... it is a banned combination.

Yeah, but not everyone plays by Smogon's rules, and we got to remember that.

[Ilan]

Yeah, but not everyone plays by Smogon's rules, and we got to remember that.

As seen in the last POTW smogon the POTW are conducted by smogon rules, and most people follow those rules and they are made with deep analysis and I think servers that don't ban drizzle + SS just ban rain..

[Aurath8]

Armaldo. He's a bit of a weird pokemon. He has a mixed typing in Bug/Rock. It provides him with the Bug type STAB allowing him to break through Tangelas with ease, as well as the perks of a Rock type, namely Stealth Rock and Earthquake. However, it leaves it with resistances only to Poison and Normal(the two least used offensive types in the game) and a Stealth Rock weakness. Also without reliable recovery Armaldo's 75/100/80 defences aren't as good as they look as his miniscule speed drags him down further.
But Armaldo holds a niche in that he is the NU tier's best Rapid Spinner now that Cryogonal has moved up a tier and is crucial to supporting sweepers like Braviary. Also, that massive 125 attack and access to Swords Dance definitely gives him a defensive presence.

Counters
Armaldo is relatively easy to switch into as it'll probably use Rapid Spin, Stealth Rock or a setup move unless it has a Choice Band. Scout it's moveset first and then begin to think of how to deal with it. Misdreavus can cripple Armaldo with Will-o-Wisp. Other pokemon like Weezing can also burn it but Misdreavus is also the go-to Spinblocker of NU and renders him near useless. Burning him also turns him into setup fodder for Fraxure, etc.
Golurk gets a special mention for resisting both STABs, blocking Rapid Spin and hitting back hard with STAB Earthquake. Choice Band Earthquake easily 2KOes while LO 2KOes 50% of the time and Stone Edge also 2KOes him.

If Fraxure plays a more supportive role with Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin, it becomes much easier to counter. They usually don't run Earthquake or Swords Dance, which means Steel and Fighting types have a field day against it, as will most Rock types. Other pokemon with average bulk can also easily switch-in and force Armaldo out, like Samurott.

[tomjames1966]

CurseRestalk
Ability: Swift Swim(if released)/Battle Armor
Eves:252HP//204Atk/52Def
Item:Lefties/Focus Band
-Curse
-Rest
-Sleeptalk
-Stone Edge/Earthquake/X-Scissor/Superpower
Makes Armaldo last quite awhile. Basically use Curse till your in the yellow then restalk. Band can help you take a hit and is reusable albeit unreliable it can save the game for you while Lefties heals damage. Swift Swim if released can be used to take advantage of opposing rain otherwise Battle Armor stops HAX from killing you.

[MatchMaster]

In past generations, Armaldo was like a Rampardos with lower attack and speed, but higher defenses. The only thing Armaldo had over Rampardos that made it an effective offensive Pokemon was its secondary Bug-typing. However, 5th gen gave it somewhat of a blessing in Swift Swim, which allows it to outspeed most offensive threats in NU. It also got Aqua Tail in B2W2, which allows it to have a Weather-boosted move while still having Swift Swim.

Abilities
Battle Armor: Blocks crits. Useful for more defensive sets, but Armaldo still can't take special attacks too well.
Swift Swim: This is what makes Armaldo more viable in RU. It allows it to outspeed even Sceptile, one of the fastest Pokemon in the tier.

Support
Ability: Battle Armor
Item:: Leftovers
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Blast / Stone Edge
- X-Scissor / Earthquake

Outdated, but still has merits. Rapid Spin used to be Armaldo's main attraction, and it still is a major one. Stealth Rock is a good support move on Armaldo so it or its teammates can more easily KO opponents. Rock Blast is recommended for the third slot so Armaldo can break Substitutes, but if the inconsistent damage is a turnoff, Stone Edge is an acceptable option. X-Scissor provide additional STAB, while Earthquake gets better coverage.

Swift-Dance
Ability: Swift Swim
Item:: Life Orb
Nature: Jolly / Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
- Aqua Tail / Earthquake
- Swords Dance

Swift Swim patches up Armaldo's abysmal speed to above-average levels. Stone Edge and X-Scissor are the STAB moves. Aqua Tail gains an immediate boost when it is raining, and allows Armaldo to KO threats like Golurk, Rhydon, and Sandslash. Earthquake gets better neutral coverage, and can destroy Aqqron, Drapion, and Klinklang.

Other Options
Low Kick OHKOs Aggron even without a Swords Dance.
Knock Off is another support move that ruins Pokemon that rely on items.
RestTalk is an interesting option now that it can use it with Swift Swim.

Counters
Regirock can switch into anything except Earthquake and a +4 Aqua Tail and 2HKOs with Stone Edge. Burning Armaldo also severely limits its capabilities.

[your boss]

Ah Armaldo the NU shrimp, in rain, this gives Armaldo an awesome niche over Crustle.

Mumbo Jumbo Shrimp
It seems too Shrim to live here
Stop being a Shellfish little jerk
Seems a little Shellfishy to me
Going for a Shrimp(rain dance)
Got a new recipe it is called Elders Rolls: SkyShrimp(not the best)
I'm Shellfish, leave me alone
This is all just a big Scam-pi
Stop being such a big Jumba-lya

[wunderkind]

Overview
Armaldo is a pretty decent Pokemon. It has really good Atk and Def, but it Speed is pretty bad. It can fix that with Rock Polish and/or Swift Swim, though. Armaldo is a little limited. While it has a pretty good movepool, with EdgeQuake, X-Scissor, Aqua Tail, etc., it's basically going to be either a slow, defensive Sword Dancer/Choice, or a faster Swift Swimmer/Rock Polisher.

Pre-Evo Corner
Anorith has decent Atk and better Spd than Armaldo, and could be used with Armaldo's SS/RP sets for a faster sweeper. It is much more fragile though, and can't use Stone Edge (although it can make do with Rock Slide).

Doubles/Triples
Swift Swim Armaldo (or maybe even Anorith) could do well in Doubles/Triples, especially if paired up with a Rain Dancer. It can use Earthquake and Rock Slide, giving EdgeQuake coverage while being able to hit multiple opponents. It is weak to Rock Slide and Surf though, so be careful.

[GirlKirbyZombie]

This guy... Has the weirdest eyes, but got one of the best upgrades: Swift Swim.

"Rain? NOOOOOOO!"
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Att, 252 Spd, and 4 Sp. Def
Item: Black Belt, Soft Sand, or Life Orb
Moves:
Rock Polish
Brick Break/Earthquake
X-Scissor
Rock Slide

The purpose of this set is to counter rain teams. Although it doesn't have the right moves to do so, it can be a threat to unsuspecting foes like Toxicroak and Ludicolo.

"I got da swag!" (seriously, what is swag other than the pokemon move?)
Nature: Careful
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 Sp. Def, 67 Attack, and 189 Def
Item: Leftovers
Moves:
Swagger
Curse
Dig/X-Scissor
Toxic

And odd set, but I want to utilize the battle armor since it's a great ability for walls. It's usually a good idea to have a light screen up as well as a sandstorm for a lot of special defense. Beware of toxicroaks!

[your boss]

This guy... Has the weirdest eyes, but got one of the best upgrades: Swift Swim.



"I got da swag!" (seriously, what is swag other than the pokemon move?)
Nature: Careful
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 Sp. Def, 67 Attack, and 189 Def
Item: Leftovers
Moves:
Swagger
Curse
Dig/X-Scissor
Toxic

And odd set, but I want to utilize the battle armor since it's a great ability for walls. It's usually a good idea to have a light screen up as well as a sandstorm for a lot of special defense. Beware of toxicroaks!

Too gimmicky, no one runs Swagger or Dig, Armaldo is better off attacking full on.

[GirlKirbyZombie]

Too gimmicky, no one runs Swagger or Dig, Armaldo is better off attacking full on.

I know that I don't really see dig a whole lot, but I have seen swagger being used before. I witnessed Liepards and Zoroa/Zoroark use it with foul play.