[Overview]
<p>Politoed has seen a meteoric rise in usage since the introduction of its groundbreaking Dream World ability, Drizzle, which was previously only seen in Ubers. While Politoed has no particularly outstanding stats, given the right tools, it can perform admirably in a number of specialized roles, including bulky utility, all-out offense, and revenge killing. However, the only real reason to use Politoed is for the rain it summons with Drizzle. Rain brings multiple benefits into play, such as a 100% accurate Thunder, an additional boost to Water-type attacks, and the triggering of rain-centric abilities (although Swift Swim is prohibited with Drizzle). Three Pokemon that are banned from standard OU, but given free reign in DW OU—Thundurus, Keldeo, and Manaphy—can make use of each of these aspects respectively.<p>
<p>Whichever Politoed set you choose to run, its lifespan on the battlefield is often the deciding factor in the inevitable weather war, and by extension, the battle itself. Without substantial team support and prudent use, Politoed will likely soon succumb to residual damage and VoltTurn combos, or be trapped and KOed. However, one should never take the musical treefrog and its jovial exterior lightly; if provided with sufficient team support, it is more than capable of raining down the hurt on your team.</p>
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Scald
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Encore / Perish Song
move 4: Protect / Ice Beam / Focus Blast
item: Leftovers
ability: Drizzle
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With maximum defensive investment along with its natural special bulk, Politoed can tank neutral attacks on both sides reasonably well. To illustrate, it cannot be 2HKOed by non-Life Orb Excadrill, a significant threat in the tier. The extended longevity provided by this investment in bulk might often prove to be the deciding factor in a drawn-out weather war; the survivability of this set is definitely one of its greatest assets. Politoed also boasts a number of handy utility moves in its arsenal, all of which can be employed to full effect on a defensive set.</p>
<p>Scald is the STAB move of choice as it trades a small amount of power for a decent burn chance, which ensures that the opponent will think twice before switching in a physical attacker. Toxic is used in the second slot to reliably cripple bulky Pokemon that can wall Scald, such as Jellicent and Suicune. Encore and Perish Song serve near-identical purposes as utility moves; the former should be favored if you want to put an immediate stop to sweepers setting up on Politoed, whereas the latter forces switches and counters Baton Pass teams more reliably. Protect works well on this set because it provides a free turn of Leftovers recovery and possibly additional Toxic damage on the opponent. It is also very useful for scouting the opponent’s moves, for example whether Choice Scarf Genesect will use a deadly Thunderbolt or a harmless U-turn, which is a very common scenario in DW OU. Either Ice Beam, which hits Dragon- and Grass-types, or Focus Blast, which eliminates Ferrothorn and Tyranitar, can be used if you prefer a coverage option over Protect.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Powerful rain sweepers, such as Keldeo, Manaphy, and Thundurus, form natural partnerships with Politoed, as their rain-powered STAB attacks will hurt many teams. This Politoed forms a solid defensive core with any number of Steel-type entry hazard setters, such as Jirachi, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory, all of which welcome the weakening of Fire-type moves. In addition, Politoed’s tendency to force switches, both with Encore and Perish Song and by changing the weather, means that any entry hazards on the opponent's side of the field are always welcome.</p>
<p>Pokemon that resist Scald and that don't mind Toxic can cause Politoed a lot of problems. Ferrothorn, Celebi, and Amoonguss all fit nicely into this category, as they are able to force Politoed out with the threat of STAB Grass-type attacks. Chansey, Blissey, Tentacruel, and Starmie are other examples of checks. Fast sweepers like Deoxys-S, Scarf Garchomp and Trick Rotom-W are good at dealing with these checks. Despite its bulk, defensive Politoed can be OHKOed by powerful Electric-type attacks from the likes of Genesect, Zapdos, Thundurus, and Raikou. As rain teams in general tend to be weak to Electric, Pokemon immune to Electric-type moves are often incredibly useful. Besides Ground-types, Zapdos, Jolteon, and Raikou can safely switch in and pick up a Special Attack boost or recover some HP in the process. Funnily enough, opposing Water-type special attackers can cause Politoed problems by using its own rain against it. Choice Specs variants of Keldeo, Rotom-W, Kingdra, and Politoed itself can all 2HKO it with a rain-boosted Hydro Pump; therefore, as counterintuitive as it might sound, it might not be a bad idea to pack a Pokemon immune to Water-type moves, such as Suicune, Gastrodon, or Toxicroak, on your team.</p>
<p>Politoed also suffers from a susceptibility to all types of entry hazards, a problem that is worsened by its lack of reliable recovery moves. Thankfully, there is no shortage of spinners who work well in rain and pair well with Politoed. Besides removing hazards, Starmie and Tentacruel can also perform auxiliary roles of going on the offensive or laying down Toxic Spikes, respectively. Dry Skin Toxicroak is worthy of a mention for its ability to absorb Toxic Spikes and keep Ferrothorn and other problematic Pokemon at bay. In addition, Technician Breloom can come in on a predicted Leech Seed from Ferrothorn and instantly put the opponent on the back foot by threatening it with a STAB Fighting-type move or Spore.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice
move 1: Hydro Pump / Surf
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Encore / Perish Song / Psychic
item: Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
ability: Drizzle
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>When equipped with a Choice Scarf, Politoed functions as a decent revenge killer. It can nullify the Speed-doubling abilities of Excadrill and Venusaur, as well as the accuracy-reducing ability of Garchomp, before proceeding to revenge kill them with the appropriate move. While a base 90 Special Attack is nothing to write home about, a STAB- and rain-boosted Hydro Pump packs an almighty punch. The extra power of Hydro Pump can be sacrificed, however, for the more reliable Surf. Ice Beam and Focus Blast provide all the coverage Politoed should ever need; they hit Garchomp, Dragonite, and Tyranitar 4x super effectively, and Ferrothorn and other Dragon-types for 2x damage. The choice of filler move is a toss-up between a phazing move and Psychic, but the decision is largely arbitrary. Encore and Perish Song are particularly useful moves on the Choice Scarf set as Politoed can come in on an opponent as it sets up, and then force it out before it can attack. Psychic is more useful than Hidden Power as it provides super effective coverage on Keldeo, Tentacruel, and to a lesser extent, Toxicroak; these are far more common sights in DW than targets Hidden Power would hit, such as Gastrodon and Gyarados.</p>
<p>One can forgo the revenge-killing capabilities of the Choice Scarf set for the power boost of Choice Specs, which turns Hydro Pump into an even more devastating weapon. However, one should note that Politoed is relatively slow without the Speed boost afforded by a Choice Scarf, and it will often have to take an attack before firing one off.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
A Timid nature allows Choice Scarf Politoed to outspeed neutral-natured Choice Scarf Chandelure and +1 Dragonite, as well as positive-natured base 115 Speed Pokemon, and thus gives it some vital revenge kills. However, a Modest nature on Choice Specs Politoed grants some additional power; the drop in Speed has no major downsides aside from losing the ability to outspeed Adamant Breloom and to Speed tie with Jolly variants.
<p>The following calculations highlight just how lethal Modest Choice Specs Politoed's Hydro Pump is:</p>
<ul class="damage_calculation">
<li>Hydro Pump (rain) vs 252/4 Politoed 48.44% - 57.29%</li>
<li>Hydro Pump (rain) vs 0/4 Breloom 108.05% - 127.2%</li>
<li>Hydro Pump (rain) vs 252/224+ Jirachi 68.6% - 80.9%</li>
<li>Hydro Pump (sun) vs 0/4 Ninetales 87.8% - 103.1%</li>
<li>Hydro Pump (sandstorm) vs. 252/252+ Tyranitar: 59.9% - 71.3%</li>
</ul>
<p>Maximum Special Attack investment should always be used to let Politoed hit as hard as possible. The Speed EVs, on the other hand, can be relocated to HP for extra bulk on the Choice Specs set, because Speed is not a priority. Feel free to use Surf in the last slot for additional flexibility; you will not have to play russian roulette with the RNG against weakened opponents.</p>
<p>Pokemon immune to Water-type moves, such as Water Absorb Suicune, Jellicent, and Gastrodon, make for excellent checks, as they can easily shrug off Politoed's other attacks as well. Powerful Grass-type attackers, such as Breloom and Nasty Plot Celebi, are great counters to these checks, as they pack boosting moves along with strong STAB attacks. As an added bonus, Drizzle's rain nullifies their weakness to Fire.</p>
<p>Powerful rain sweepers, such as Manaphy, Keldeo, and Thundurus, have great synergy with Politoed too, as they are able to switch in and wreak havoc. Defensive hazard setters like Ferrothorn and Tentacruel are useful for helping Politoed to net KOs. For instance, offensive Zapdos and Thundurus/Tornadus are KO'd by Timid Scarf Politoed after Stealth Rock damage, and after two additional layers of Spikes, it can also KO Raikou and Garchomp. Choice Politoed is vulnerable to entry hazards, perhaps even more so than its defensive counterpart due to the lack of Leftovers recovery. To combat this, Rapid Spin support from the likes of Starmie and Tentacruel enables Politoed to switch in more freely.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>An all-out offensive set with Leftovers, Life Orb, or even an Expert Belt, perhaps with either Encore or Perish Song over one of its attacks, is viable. However, this Politoed is completely outclassed by other more effective rain attackers, such as Manaphy and Keldeo. Hidden Power can be used in the last slot of the Choice set if you for some reason fear Gastrodon or Gyarados. However, it is useful for little else as a 2x super effective Hidden Power barely does more damage than a resisted Hydro Pump in rain. The defensive set can utilize the combination of Rest + Chesto Berry to grant Politoed a new lease of life that can turn the tide of the weather war; however, Leftovers recovery will be sorely missed. Hypnosis can be used in place of Toxic for a way of incapacitating an opposing threat, but its low accuracy makes it a risky choice. Finally, Scald can be used over Surf on the Choice sets if you value the burn chance.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Pokemon that are immune to or resist Water-type moves, or that have immense special bulk, are your best bets for dealing with Politoed's STAB attacks. Suicune and Jellicent are particularly notable, the former is able to set up with Calm Mind and the latter to Taunt Politoed before it can use Toxic.</p>
<p>As Politoed and its teammates often require rain to function properly, weather changers can easily put it in a tight situation. While all three competing weather inducers can apply pressure by summoning their own weather, Tyranitar and Ninetales must beware of succumbing to super effective attacks if they haven't significantly invested in special bulk. If Politoed is repeatedly forced in and out of the fray to induce its weather, the opponent's entry hazards and residual damage can quickly take their toll, especially because Politoed has no reliable recovery. Ferrothorn can take anything Politoed throws at it bar Focus Blast, and can both set up entry hazards and strike back with a super effective Power Whip; it therefore comes to mind as a solid check to Politoed.</p>
<p>Pokemon that outspeed Politoed and that have access to powerful super effective attacks can check it with ease: Raikou, Breloom, and Serperior are prime examples of Pokemon who can often gain a free turn of setup at Politoed's expense. Furthermore, Rotom-W and Genesect can gain momentum for their team by using Volt Switch and U-turn respectively to switch out while forcing Politoed out. Lastly, if Politoed is below half health, it risks getting trapped by Chandelure and KOed by Energy Ball.</p>
<p>Politoed has seen a meteoric rise in usage since the introduction of its groundbreaking Dream World ability, Drizzle, which was previously only seen in Ubers. While Politoed has no particularly outstanding stats, given the right tools, it can perform admirably in a number of specialized roles, including bulky utility, all-out offense, and revenge killing. However, the only real reason to use Politoed is for the rain it summons with Drizzle. Rain brings multiple benefits into play, such as a 100% accurate Thunder, an additional boost to Water-type attacks, and the triggering of rain-centric abilities (although Swift Swim is prohibited with Drizzle). Three Pokemon that are banned from standard OU, but given free reign in DW OU—Thundurus, Keldeo, and Manaphy—can make use of each of these aspects respectively.<p>
<p>Whichever Politoed set you choose to run, its lifespan on the battlefield is often the deciding factor in the inevitable weather war, and by extension, the battle itself. Without substantial team support and prudent use, Politoed will likely soon succumb to residual damage and VoltTurn combos, or be trapped and KOed. However, one should never take the musical treefrog and its jovial exterior lightly; if provided with sufficient team support, it is more than capable of raining down the hurt on your team.</p>
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Scald
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Encore / Perish Song
move 4: Protect / Ice Beam / Focus Blast
item: Leftovers
ability: Drizzle
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With maximum defensive investment along with its natural special bulk, Politoed can tank neutral attacks on both sides reasonably well. To illustrate, it cannot be 2HKOed by non-Life Orb Excadrill, a significant threat in the tier. The extended longevity provided by this investment in bulk might often prove to be the deciding factor in a drawn-out weather war; the survivability of this set is definitely one of its greatest assets. Politoed also boasts a number of handy utility moves in its arsenal, all of which can be employed to full effect on a defensive set.</p>
<p>Scald is the STAB move of choice as it trades a small amount of power for a decent burn chance, which ensures that the opponent will think twice before switching in a physical attacker. Toxic is used in the second slot to reliably cripple bulky Pokemon that can wall Scald, such as Jellicent and Suicune. Encore and Perish Song serve near-identical purposes as utility moves; the former should be favored if you want to put an immediate stop to sweepers setting up on Politoed, whereas the latter forces switches and counters Baton Pass teams more reliably. Protect works well on this set because it provides a free turn of Leftovers recovery and possibly additional Toxic damage on the opponent. It is also very useful for scouting the opponent’s moves, for example whether Choice Scarf Genesect will use a deadly Thunderbolt or a harmless U-turn, which is a very common scenario in DW OU. Either Ice Beam, which hits Dragon- and Grass-types, or Focus Blast, which eliminates Ferrothorn and Tyranitar, can be used if you prefer a coverage option over Protect.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Powerful rain sweepers, such as Keldeo, Manaphy, and Thundurus, form natural partnerships with Politoed, as their rain-powered STAB attacks will hurt many teams. This Politoed forms a solid defensive core with any number of Steel-type entry hazard setters, such as Jirachi, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory, all of which welcome the weakening of Fire-type moves. In addition, Politoed’s tendency to force switches, both with Encore and Perish Song and by changing the weather, means that any entry hazards on the opponent's side of the field are always welcome.</p>
<p>Pokemon that resist Scald and that don't mind Toxic can cause Politoed a lot of problems. Ferrothorn, Celebi, and Amoonguss all fit nicely into this category, as they are able to force Politoed out with the threat of STAB Grass-type attacks. Chansey, Blissey, Tentacruel, and Starmie are other examples of checks. Fast sweepers like Deoxys-S, Scarf Garchomp and Trick Rotom-W are good at dealing with these checks. Despite its bulk, defensive Politoed can be OHKOed by powerful Electric-type attacks from the likes of Genesect, Zapdos, Thundurus, and Raikou. As rain teams in general tend to be weak to Electric, Pokemon immune to Electric-type moves are often incredibly useful. Besides Ground-types, Zapdos, Jolteon, and Raikou can safely switch in and pick up a Special Attack boost or recover some HP in the process. Funnily enough, opposing Water-type special attackers can cause Politoed problems by using its own rain against it. Choice Specs variants of Keldeo, Rotom-W, Kingdra, and Politoed itself can all 2HKO it with a rain-boosted Hydro Pump; therefore, as counterintuitive as it might sound, it might not be a bad idea to pack a Pokemon immune to Water-type moves, such as Suicune, Gastrodon, or Toxicroak, on your team.</p>
<p>Politoed also suffers from a susceptibility to all types of entry hazards, a problem that is worsened by its lack of reliable recovery moves. Thankfully, there is no shortage of spinners who work well in rain and pair well with Politoed. Besides removing hazards, Starmie and Tentacruel can also perform auxiliary roles of going on the offensive or laying down Toxic Spikes, respectively. Dry Skin Toxicroak is worthy of a mention for its ability to absorb Toxic Spikes and keep Ferrothorn and other problematic Pokemon at bay. In addition, Technician Breloom can come in on a predicted Leech Seed from Ferrothorn and instantly put the opponent on the back foot by threatening it with a STAB Fighting-type move or Spore.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice
move 1: Hydro Pump / Surf
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Encore / Perish Song / Psychic
item: Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
ability: Drizzle
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>When equipped with a Choice Scarf, Politoed functions as a decent revenge killer. It can nullify the Speed-doubling abilities of Excadrill and Venusaur, as well as the accuracy-reducing ability of Garchomp, before proceeding to revenge kill them with the appropriate move. While a base 90 Special Attack is nothing to write home about, a STAB- and rain-boosted Hydro Pump packs an almighty punch. The extra power of Hydro Pump can be sacrificed, however, for the more reliable Surf. Ice Beam and Focus Blast provide all the coverage Politoed should ever need; they hit Garchomp, Dragonite, and Tyranitar 4x super effectively, and Ferrothorn and other Dragon-types for 2x damage. The choice of filler move is a toss-up between a phazing move and Psychic, but the decision is largely arbitrary. Encore and Perish Song are particularly useful moves on the Choice Scarf set as Politoed can come in on an opponent as it sets up, and then force it out before it can attack. Psychic is more useful than Hidden Power as it provides super effective coverage on Keldeo, Tentacruel, and to a lesser extent, Toxicroak; these are far more common sights in DW than targets Hidden Power would hit, such as Gastrodon and Gyarados.</p>
<p>One can forgo the revenge-killing capabilities of the Choice Scarf set for the power boost of Choice Specs, which turns Hydro Pump into an even more devastating weapon. However, one should note that Politoed is relatively slow without the Speed boost afforded by a Choice Scarf, and it will often have to take an attack before firing one off.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
A Timid nature allows Choice Scarf Politoed to outspeed neutral-natured Choice Scarf Chandelure and +1 Dragonite, as well as positive-natured base 115 Speed Pokemon, and thus gives it some vital revenge kills. However, a Modest nature on Choice Specs Politoed grants some additional power; the drop in Speed has no major downsides aside from losing the ability to outspeed Adamant Breloom and to Speed tie with Jolly variants.
<p>The following calculations highlight just how lethal Modest Choice Specs Politoed's Hydro Pump is:</p>
<ul class="damage_calculation">
<li>Hydro Pump (rain) vs 252/4 Politoed 48.44% - 57.29%</li>
<li>Hydro Pump (rain) vs 0/4 Breloom 108.05% - 127.2%</li>
<li>Hydro Pump (rain) vs 252/224+ Jirachi 68.6% - 80.9%</li>
<li>Hydro Pump (sun) vs 0/4 Ninetales 87.8% - 103.1%</li>
<li>Hydro Pump (sandstorm) vs. 252/252+ Tyranitar: 59.9% - 71.3%</li>
</ul>
<p>Maximum Special Attack investment should always be used to let Politoed hit as hard as possible. The Speed EVs, on the other hand, can be relocated to HP for extra bulk on the Choice Specs set, because Speed is not a priority. Feel free to use Surf in the last slot for additional flexibility; you will not have to play russian roulette with the RNG against weakened opponents.</p>
<p>Pokemon immune to Water-type moves, such as Water Absorb Suicune, Jellicent, and Gastrodon, make for excellent checks, as they can easily shrug off Politoed's other attacks as well. Powerful Grass-type attackers, such as Breloom and Nasty Plot Celebi, are great counters to these checks, as they pack boosting moves along with strong STAB attacks. As an added bonus, Drizzle's rain nullifies their weakness to Fire.</p>
<p>Powerful rain sweepers, such as Manaphy, Keldeo, and Thundurus, have great synergy with Politoed too, as they are able to switch in and wreak havoc. Defensive hazard setters like Ferrothorn and Tentacruel are useful for helping Politoed to net KOs. For instance, offensive Zapdos and Thundurus/Tornadus are KO'd by Timid Scarf Politoed after Stealth Rock damage, and after two additional layers of Spikes, it can also KO Raikou and Garchomp. Choice Politoed is vulnerable to entry hazards, perhaps even more so than its defensive counterpart due to the lack of Leftovers recovery. To combat this, Rapid Spin support from the likes of Starmie and Tentacruel enables Politoed to switch in more freely.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>An all-out offensive set with Leftovers, Life Orb, or even an Expert Belt, perhaps with either Encore or Perish Song over one of its attacks, is viable. However, this Politoed is completely outclassed by other more effective rain attackers, such as Manaphy and Keldeo. Hidden Power can be used in the last slot of the Choice set if you for some reason fear Gastrodon or Gyarados. However, it is useful for little else as a 2x super effective Hidden Power barely does more damage than a resisted Hydro Pump in rain. The defensive set can utilize the combination of Rest + Chesto Berry to grant Politoed a new lease of life that can turn the tide of the weather war; however, Leftovers recovery will be sorely missed. Hypnosis can be used in place of Toxic for a way of incapacitating an opposing threat, but its low accuracy makes it a risky choice. Finally, Scald can be used over Surf on the Choice sets if you value the burn chance.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Pokemon that are immune to or resist Water-type moves, or that have immense special bulk, are your best bets for dealing with Politoed's STAB attacks. Suicune and Jellicent are particularly notable, the former is able to set up with Calm Mind and the latter to Taunt Politoed before it can use Toxic.</p>
<p>As Politoed and its teammates often require rain to function properly, weather changers can easily put it in a tight situation. While all three competing weather inducers can apply pressure by summoning their own weather, Tyranitar and Ninetales must beware of succumbing to super effective attacks if they haven't significantly invested in special bulk. If Politoed is repeatedly forced in and out of the fray to induce its weather, the opponent's entry hazards and residual damage can quickly take their toll, especially because Politoed has no reliable recovery. Ferrothorn can take anything Politoed throws at it bar Focus Blast, and can both set up entry hazards and strike back with a super effective Power Whip; it therefore comes to mind as a solid check to Politoed.</p>
<p>Pokemon that outspeed Politoed and that have access to powerful super effective attacks can check it with ease: Raikou, Breloom, and Serperior are prime examples of Pokemon who can often gain a free turn of setup at Politoed's expense. Furthermore, Rotom-W and Genesect can gain momentum for their team by using Volt Switch and U-turn respectively to switch out while forcing Politoed out. Lastly, if Politoed is below half health, it risks getting trapped by Chandelure and KOed by Energy Ball.</p>