Community POTW #98

[Serebii]

Time for another Pokémon of the Week chosen by the random number generator.

This week, we have a Generation IV Pokémon



It's Floatzel. Floatzel can be pretty brutal in the right hands

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/419.shtml

Go nuts

[Rayce]

Aqua Jet + Swift Swim seems like to could be good on a rain team. Decent Speed that skyrockets in rain accompanys it.

[Pokemaster342]

Floatzel

Ability: Swift Swim
Nature: Jolly
Item: Life Orb

WaterFall
Bulk Up
Crunch
Ice Punch / Baton Pass

Bulk Up to boost Attacks.
Throw in rain to boost speed.
Because Floatzel is so fast, give it Baton Pass to pass on Bulk Up onto another Pokemon.

[SkyDriver]

Drown you in pain:
Floatzel @ Leftovers
Swift Swim
Adamant
252 Atk/252 Spe/4 SpD
-Substitute
-Focus Punch
-Crunch
-Waterfall

Simple SubPunch Floatzel, can be used to counter rain teams, sand Teams, maybe Sun a bit, but most probably not. SubPunch is the idea of the set, with Crunch for coverage and Waterfall as STAB move.

Swift Swimmer even without rain:
Floatzel @ Choice Scarf
Jolly/Adamant
Swift Swim
252 Atk/252 Spe/4 SpD
-Switcheroo
-Bulk Up/Agility
-Waterfall
-Crunch

Mess up a wall by giving it a scarf, use the boosting move of choice and hit hard with a great STAB move and Crunch for coverage.

[Lucario Fan]

Ability: Swift Swim
Item: Muscle Band/Damp Rock
Moves: Waterfall, Rain Dance, Ice Punch, Crunch

[HRRlion]

Floatzel@Choice Band
Swift Swim
-Waterfall
-Ice Bunch
-Aqua Jet
-Crunch
252/252 Speed and Attack
Modest

Max Speed with a neutral nature is equal to positive nature max 100 base speed. 105 power is nice but you need to hit as hard as you can because your defences are bad. Excellent when used on a rain team.

Waterfall hits hard because of STAB. Ice punch is for coverage on grasses and dragons. Crunch is filler but hists bulky psychics like slowbro. Aqua Jet gets priority and can be used as a last resort if Floatzels done its job.

[Aura Flare Riolu]

Floatzel@Choice Band
Swift Swim
-Waterfall
-Ice Bunch
-Aqua Jet
-Crunch
252/252 Speed and Attack
Modest

Max Speed with a neutral nature is equal to positive nature max 100 base speed. 105 power is nice but you need to hit as hard as you can because your defences are bad. Excellent when used on a rain team.

Waterfall hits hard because of STAB. Ice punch is for coverage on grasses and dragons. Crunch is filler but hists bulky psychics like slowbro. Aqua Jet gets priority and can be used as a last resort if Floatzels done its job.

Don't you mean Adamant? Modest lowers Attack. ^^;

[Amaretto]

Since Floatzel got a cool ability in Swift Swim, I'd start with that 1

Banded Weasel
Nature : Adamant
EVs : 252 ATK/SPD, 4 HP
Item : Choice Band
Ability : Swift Swim
Moves : Waterfall/Aqua Tail, Ice punch, Crunch, Brick Break

Waterfall/Aqua tail for STAB move, good coverage with Ice punch, same thing with Crunch and Brick Break, coverage =)

Weasel-Stressed
Nature : Adamant
EVs : 252 ATK/SPD, 4 HP
Item : Life orb
Moves : Waterfall, Ice Punch, Brick break, Aqua Jet/Crunch

Waterfall for same reason as above, Ice punch to kill annoying dragons such as Flygon, Dragonite, Salamence etc, Brick Break for coverage, Aqua Jet for priority and Crunch for type coverage

[jeffdavid102]

All right, people are really underestimating Floatzel's speed. It is tied for the position of fastest Water-type (unless you include Arceus-Water) with Starmie. It IS the fastest user of any of the abilities Swift Swim, Chlorophyll, or Sand Rush. It is so similar to Starmie it is not even funny. The differences that sent Starmie to OU while Floatzel sits back in NU? His lack of coverage. Starmie has a trio of some of the best coverage moves ever. Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Hydro Pump/Surf(resisted by Lightning Rod Seaking[lol], Lightning Rod Goldeen[lol], Volt Absorb Chinchou [lol], and Volt Absorb Lanturn[lo...oh wait, this one is OU viable]). It gets Rapid Spin. It is great at taking on the Fighting types everywhere. Floatzel can play similar to it though. Both can give the opponents Status Orbs through the use of Switcheroo or Trick. Floatzel is immune to Burns with his new DW ability in Water Veil. Starmie can Trick it to the opponent and simply cure her own status upon switching out. Both sit at the same speed tier of 115. Floatzel actually has a better offensive stat of 105 attack compared to Starmie's 100 SAtk. Honestly, Floatzel has almost as much use as Starmie. It can leave a dent in anything with a Choice Band. It has Ice Punch, Waterfall, and Crunch. Ice and Water coverage can only be resisted by water types(most, not all;in fact it is 82 water types that resist this) and Shedinja. Dark rounds out the coverage resisted by Keldeo, Empoleon, Crawdaunt, Sharpedo, Carvanha, and Poliwrath.

[Kraleck]

Kraleck's Poke-Analysis
Abilities:
-Swift Swim - Cranks Floatzel's amazing Base 115 Speed into overdrive. Great Ability.
-Water Veil (Dream World) - Protects Floatzel's great Base 105 Attack, but any Pokemon worth using against Floatzel is going for a KO (especially with Floatzel's pitiful endurance). Decent Ability.

Base Stats:
-HP - Pretty Good, bordering Great. Not too noteworthy considering Defense and Sp.Def.
-Attack - Great. A yummy Base 105 is a sure sign of Physical Attacker potential and it does have many options.
-Defense - Bad. Base 55 is a clear sign of fragility.
-Sp.Atk - Slightly-Above Average. Base 85 isn't completely useless, it's just overshadowed by that delicious Attack.
-Sp.Def - Bad. Base 50 is a much clearer sign of fragility.
-Speed - Almost-Godly (non-Trick Room). Base 115 allows it to outrun most of the common powerhouses even without Swift Swim.

Counters:
-Physical Tanks - Floatzel packs a mostly-Physical Punch and you can easily Tank-n-Spank with Pokemon like Cloyster, Slowbro, Ferrothorn, or Tangrowth.
-Weather-Changers - Floatzel's Water Type STAB is diminished by Strong Sunlight and its Water Mono-Type makes it vulnerable to Sandstorm and Hail.
-Sceptile, Electrode, Zebstrika, Whimsicott, & Jolteon - Better Speed outside of Rain and STAB on Floatzel's Weaknesses give them considerable leverage.

[Ilan]

I think you have better options in OU.. he is too weak to priority scizors bullet punch probably 2HKOes with his pathetic defense his HP is all right but his defenses are way too low his speed is amazing his attack only average. in NU floatzel is really good statwise I didn't use it yet but he seem like a great pokemon.
Compared to all those physical sets I see around what about a special set with
choice specs? (surprise factor!)

Smart Weazel
@Choice Specs
Modset/Timid
252 sp.attack, 252 speed, 4 HP
Swift Swim/Water Veil
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Focus Blast
-Hidden Power Grass/Hidden Power electric

A set which aims to beat floatzels common NU counters like alomomola and tangela which now can be easily beaten with Hidden Power and ice beam respectively it can be a huge surprise as any experienced player will expect a physical set but floatzel have a nice base 85 sp.attack which is decent in NU.
Focus blast should beat lickilicky.
and hydro pump should be strong specially on rain teams.

Subzel
@leftovers
Water Veil
252 attack, 252 speed. 4 HP
Jolly/Adamant
-Subtitute
-Waterfall/Aqua Tail
-Ice Punch
-Return/Crunch

This set aims to not be countered priority and scarf users.
Once you manage to set a subtitute you can start to use his base 105 attack to plow holes in the opponent team if you want you can use life orb but it is risky.
Waterfall Vs. Aqua tail is power vs. accuracy but remember waterfall have a 30% chance to flinch
Ice Punch can hit altaria and tangela.
Return creates a perfect coverage in NU except the rare frillish and crunch desimates frillish and misdrevious.

[deoxysdude94]

Floatzel@Choice Band
Swift Swim
Adamant Nature
252 atk 252 speed

Waterfall
Ice Punch
Crunch
Return/Brick Break

This thing has so much potential with choice band and rain. Simple moveset. You can use Return for water+normal combo, or break break for dark+ghost.

[philzone]

Pop goes the weasle
item- choice band
evs 252 att,4 hp,252 speed
Adamant
swift swim
-Waterfall/aqua tail
-Crunch
-Ice punch
-Swicheroo/brick break

kk. Waterfall has the better accuracy, and a flinch, but aqua tail is more powerful, and less accurate. crunch for coverage. ice punch for dragon,flying and grass types. Swicheroo can ruin foes, but brick break is for coverage.

Weasel your way outta this
modest
252 spatt, 252 speed, 4 hp
choice specs/life orb
-Hydro pump/surf
-Ice beam
-focus blast
-HP dark/swicheroo

With this set, no pokemon resists it at all (unless you go for swicheroo). Hydro pump is deadly, where as surf is more reliable. Ice beam covers grass and dragon. fighting stops foes like sharpedo and zangoose. Last slot. HP dark for total coverage (but go life orb), for coverage, as then nothing resists it. swicheroo at the right time can be useful.

[DizzyCobraMew]

Floatzel

Ability: Swift Swim
Nature: Jolly
Item: Life Orb

WaterFall
Bulk Up
Crunch
Ice Punch / Baton Pass

Bulk Up to boost Attacks.
Throw in rain to boost speed.
Because Floatzel is so fast, give it Baton Pass to pass on Bulk Up onto another Pokemon.

That would be a good idea but with floatzel not having the best stats for defense I wouldn't suggest it unless you are only doing this in singles

Man I've been waiting FOREVER for floatzel to be the pokemon of the week
Full force weasel
Swift swim
EV's 252 attack 252 speed 4 hp
Item @ life orb / choice band
Adamant
Aqua jet
Ice punch
Crunch/pursuit/low kick
Waterfall

Special assault
Swift swim
Modest
EV's 252 sp.atk, 252 speed, and 4 HP
Item @ choice specs
Surf / hydro pump
Ice beam / blizzard
Hp electric / ground / grass
Focus blast

If only floatzel could get something like dragon claw, or stone edge but oh well its still perfect in my opinion and maybe my opinion only

[Meowmeow]

WHY DID BUIZEL HAVE TO EVOLVE INTO THIS HIDEOUS MONSTROSITY!!??
My gripes about the most adorable Pokemon's evolution curse, Floatzel struggles in the Smogon rules because of the Drizzle+Swift Swim ban. Even then, Floatzel is outclassed by many Swift Swim abusers like Kingdra, Kabutops, Ludicolo, Omastar, Qwilfish, Huntail, and Gorebyss. Floatzel's movepool is quite uninspiring, but it has some nifty tools. Floatzel is the fastest Pokemon to have Swift Swim, but can't really make it happen as it doesn't have any grass or electric attacks. It has boosting moves in Bulk Up and Agility (though Agility is kinda stupid), and can pass those boosts with Baton Pass. As far as STAB goes, it has Waterfall and priority in Aqua Jet. In terms of coverage, it has Return, Ice Punch, Crunch, Pursuit, Brick Break, and Low Kick. The most interesting part of Floatzel's movepool is Switcheroo.
As far as stats go, Floatzel's are... above average at best. It has a wonderful base 115 speed and a nice 105 attack. A base 85 special attack can be used if you feel Focus Blast is needed. Everything else is garbage.

Buizel in Little Cup, however, is awesome. I don't play LC, but I know when something is awesome there. Movesets for the cutest Pokemon in existence!

BUIZEL!!!!
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 attack and speed, 4 hp
@: Life Orb/Eviolite/Choice Band

Waterfall
Ice Punch
Brick Break
Return/Aqua Jet

No, I will not do movesets for Floatzel. That thing ruins Buizel's image.
A standard offensive set for Buizel to dominate LC.

[ClefairyRox]

I remember when Buizel was first revealed. I said, "I am definitely having that guy on my team." And he did not disappoint me. His usefulness only increased when he evolved into Floatzel, and he earned me many a win.

But how well does Floatzel do competitively? Though he's not a popular choice, Floatzel has quite a bit to boast. He has the second highest base Speed among Water types, tied with Starmie and just 5 points behind Splash Plate Arceus. Combine that with Swift Swim, and you have one speedy Pokemon on your hands. He also has a good base 105 Attack stat. However, he is very fragile, having only 85/55/50 defenses. He's also lacking in the movepool department. Were he a bit bulkier and had a larger movepool, he'd probably be a great OU contender; unfortunately he's left swimming in the depths of NU.

Swift Swim doubles Floatzel's Speed when its raining. Floatzel easily reaches 650-720 Speed when this ability is active, enabling him to outrun basically the entire metagame.
Water Veil protects Floatzel from burns. As Floatzel loathes being burned, this can provide some insurance against Will-O-Wisp and Scald.

Waterfall, Crunch, and Ice Punch are Floatzel's Holy Trinity of moves. He can also run mixed, as his Sp. Attack is a decent base 85. He also can use Fighting moves like Brick Break and Low Kick, but Waterfall usually can handle most Steels just fine. Many Floatzel run Rain Dance in order to abuse Swift Swim. It may seem weird to have Floatzel run Aqua Jet when he's so fast, but it has uses, especially on a Choice Band set. Floatzel can also Baton Pass, but Ninjask is better at that job. Switcheroo can really screw an opponent over if used properly. Floatzel can abuse Bulk Up pretty well, thanks to his good Attack.

Countering Floatzel: No matter how fast Floatzel is, he can't escape priority. Moves like Sucker Punch and Mach Punch will hurt him a lot. Also, he hates being statused; Paralysis robs him of his Speed, and Burns ruin his Attack. Tangela does great against all variants except ones that have Ice Beam or many Bulk Up boosts. Beware of Switcheroo, however. Bulky Waters like Alomomola tend to do well.

Pre-Evolution Corner: I heard Buizel is fairly good in Little Cup, and that his most popular set revolves around Bulk Up. Plus, Buizel is cute.

[KingTorterraXIV]

WHY DID BUIZEL HAVE TO EVOLVE INTO THIS HIDEOUS MONSTROSITY!!??
My gripes about the most adorable Pokemon's evolution curse, Floatzel struggles in the Smogon rules because of the Drizzle+Swift Swim ban. Even then, Floatzel is outclassed by many Swift Swim abusers like Kingdra, Kabutops, Ludicolo, Omastar, Qwilfish, Huntail, and Gorebyss. Floatzel's movepool is quite uninspiring, but it has some nifty tools. Floatzel is the fastest Pokemon to have Swift Swim, but can't really make it happen as it doesn't have any grass or electric attacks. It has boosting moves in Bulk Up and Agility (though Agility is kinda stupid), and can pass those boosts with Baton Pass. As far as STAB goes, it has Waterfall and priority in Aqua Jet. In terms of coverage, it has Return, Ice Punch, Crunch, Pursuit, Brick Break, and Low Kick. The most interesting part of Floatzel's movepool is Switcheroo.
As far as stats go, Floatzel's are... above average at best. It has a wonderful base 115 speed and a nice 105 attack. A base 85 special attack can be used if you feel Focus Blast is needed. Everything else is garbage.

Buizel in Little Cup, however, is awesome. I don't play LC, but I know when something is awesome there. Movesets for the cutest Pokemon in existence!

BUIZEL!!!!
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 attack and speed, 4 hp
@: Life Orb/Eviolite/Choice Band

Waterfall
Ice Punch
Brick Break
Return/Aqua Jet

No, I will not do movesets for Floatzel. That thing ruins Buizel's image.
A standard offensive set for Buizel to dominate LC.

Buizel actually isn't that good in LC. It mainly lacks a way to hit more bulky pokemon, and is killed in the process. Even Lileep only takes about 33% from an Ice Punch, and can do much more back with Giga Drain. It's decent on a Rain Team, but since you have to set it up, it really isn't worth it. Also Buizel should never run Adamant, cause it only gets 18 speed, and that means it is outsped by all the 19's, you really want Jolly for the 19 speed(also that's not ev's work in LC fyi)

So yeah Buizel can work, but since a lot of Pokemon life to run Bulky-Attacker sets, and it's "meh" coverage(it can't touch Chinchou for anything), it basically falls flat :/

[Cryochronic]

I had a lot of success with this in UU.

Floatzel @ Flame Orb
Ability: Aqua Veil
EVs: 252 attack 252 speed 4 hp
Nature:Jolly
Waterfall
Brick Break/Ice Punch
Crunch
Switcheroo

Stat-wise, Floatzel is the physical equivalent to Starmie, but is often forgotten about because Water's physical moves aren't as strong as its special moves. However, Floatzel has access to two things Starmie does not, Water Veil and Switcheroo.

This set enables Floatzel to have a 100% accurate Will-o-wisp for a turn, crippling walls, and physical sweepers, especially Breloom/Gliscor if you use it in OU. Floatzel itself also benefits from the opponent's burn due to its relatively weak defenses. Once you've effectively tricked your flame orb, it's time to do some damage. Floatzel's base 115 speed may allow it to take advantage of Waterfall's secondary flinching effect. Brick Break can take out Screens from Uxie and Cresselia, as well as dent Steel types. Ice punch takes out Grass types and Crunch provides more coverage and doesn't make it Jellicent-bait in OU.

Also, since this isn't a common set for Floatzel, it can be bluffed as a Choiced or Expert Belt set until you're ready to use Switcheroo. It's worked brilliantly for me mainly because no one is prepared for Floatzel to be used as a semi-support set.

[Kurtoise]

All right, people are really underestimating Floatzel's speed. It is tied for the position of fastest Water-type (unless you include Arceus-Water) with Starmie. It IS the fastest user of any of the abilities Swift Swim, Chlorophyll, or Sand Rush. It is so similar to Starmie it is not even funny. The differences that sent Starmie to OU while Floatzel sits back in NU? His lack of coverage. Starmie has a trio of some of the best coverage moves ever. Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Hydro Pump/Surf(resisted by Lightning Rod Seaking[lol], Lightning Rod Goldeen[lol], Volt Absorb Chinchou [lol], and Volt Absorb Lanturn[lo...oh wait, this one is OU viable]). It gets Rapid Spin. It is great at taking on the Fighting types everywhere. Floatzel can play similar to it though. Both can give the opponents Status Orbs through the use of Switcheroo or Trick. Floatzel is immune to Burns with his new DW ability in Water Veil. Starmie can Trick it to the opponent and simply cure her own status upon switching out. Both sit at the same speed tier of 115. Floatzel actually has a better offensive stat of 105 attack compared to Starmie's 100 SAtk. Honestly, Floatzel has almost as much use as Starmie. It can leave a dent in anything with a Choice Band. It has Ice Punch, Waterfall, and Crunch. Ice and Water coverage can only be resisted by water types(most, not all;in fact it is 82 water types that resist this) and Shedinja. Dark rounds out the coverage resisted by Keldeo, Empoleon, Crawdaunt, Sharpedo, Carvanha, and Poliwrath.

Actually , Whimsicott is.
Base 116 speed.

[Rayofquazar]

Floatzel is sadly a case of really good pokemon with a lot of waisted potential! Good attack and speed, means that this is mainly a physical sweeper, the movepool though ruin this job because it lacks a good set of coverage moves which means it is walled by a lot of pokemon. It's ability swift swim makes it the fastest pokemon in the game, but also this ability is doomed by an unforgiving rule: "Drizzle and swift swim are illeagal!!". Ok great, now you have to set up rain dance to work! These two major assets are flawed to an extent bu does not necessarily means that floatzel is bad! it is still fast even without rain and can hit reasonably strong! This only means that this pokemon will just be in NU without any hope of breaking out!
Floatzel's other ability is also nifty as it will prevent floatzel from loosing the only thing he is good at! Good if you are planning on using floatzel without rain support!
Floatzel will be surprising if you manage to pass some attack boosts to it! Try that! Ninjask is the best at that job! Screens help as well but not as much!
All in all, try floazel, it's not that bad! Just support it well and try to "sweep".