Crawdaunt [QC: 2/3]

[MilkyWay]

Overview
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• Crawdaunt has a powerful priority move in Aqua Jet
• Its STABs have good coverage and are boosted by Adaptability
• It has access to a good boosting moves such as Swords Dance and Dragon Dance
• Crawdaunt is extremely frail and has a poor defensive typing with weaknesses to many common types
• It is still held back by its mediocre speed, although Aqua Jet can make up for this slightly
• It faces some competition from Azumarill
• The rain nerf hurts its sweeping potential

Wallbreaker
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name: Wallbreaker
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Crabhammer
move 3: Aqua Jet
move 4: Crunch / Swords Dance
ability: Adaptability
item: Choice Band / Life Orb
evs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 Atk
nature: Adamant

Moves
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• Knock Off is almost as powerful as Crabhammer and has the added benefit of getting rid of the opponent's item
• Crabhammer is significantly more powerful than Aqua Jet and can be used for wallbreaking
• Aqua Jet patches up Crawdaunt's mediocre speed and can be used to clean up the opposing team late game
  
• Crunch can be used to get past megas such as Mega Venasaur and Mega Blastiose who won't be hit as hard by Knock Off
• Swords Dance can boost Crawdaunt's attack to monstrous levels, especially when backed by Adaptability

Set Details
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• Maximized Attack with an Adamant nature so Crawdaunt can hit with as much power as possible
• Maximized Speed with a neutral nature allowing Crawdaunt to outspeed un-invested base 86 speeds (most notably Rotom-Wash) by exactly one point
• Choice Band allows Crawdaunt to hit as hard as possible considering if it fails to KO an opponent it most likely won't be able to take a hit back
• Life Orb lets Crawdaunt switch moves while still hitting very hard and pick off pokemon with Aqua Jet after they switch into a Crabhammer or Knock Off

Usage Tips
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• Don't switch Crawdaunt into an attack unless your confident it can take the hit, instead bring Crawdaunt in through a U-Turn / Volt Switch or after a teammate has been KOed
• Make sure to save Crawdaunt if his Aqua Jet is needed to check a problematic Pokemon to your team
  
• Don't be afraid to sacrifice Crawdaunt if it means getting past the opponent's defense, as wallbreaking is its primary job
  
• Against offensive teams it's wise to preserve Crawdaunt as much as possible, as his Aqua Jet can even end up cleaning for you late-game
• Try to bring Crawdaunt in on something that can't do much against it so it can easily set up. Common OU pokemon that Crawdaunt can usually set up against are things like Forretress, Scizor (locked into Bullet Punch or Pursuit), Latios (locked into Psyshock), or anything that looks like it might run in fear of Aqua Jet
  
• Crawdaunt's goal isn't as much to sweep with Swords Dance as it is to wallbreak, Swords Dance is mainly a filler because of the lack of other options Crawdaunt has

Team Options
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• Landorus-T has good defensive synergy with Crawdaunt, can set up stealth rock, and can lower the opponent's attack while giving Crawdaunt a free switch in with a slow U-turn
• Politoed can provide rain which significantly powers up Crawdaunt's water STABs
• Thundurus can also provide rain with a prankster Rain Dance, is able to beat Choice Band Azumarill and non-scarfed Keldeo one and one, and spread priority Thunder Wave to help Crawdaunt outspeed certain threats
• Anything that can beat things like Azuamarill, Keldeo, Mega Venusaur, and Chesnaught. Tornadus-T can take them on well and also benefits from rain if Crawdaunt is being run on a rain team. Talonflame is another good answer to these four since all but Azumarill are weak to flying

Other Options
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• Crawdaunt can try to run a Dragon Dance set. While this may seem like a good idea on paper, it is very hard to pull off because Crawdaunt needs two boosts to outspeed enough threats to sweep and due to Crawdaunt's low bulk it has a lot of trouble getting even one. If you really want to try out Dragon Dance you're best option is switching it with Swords Dance on the Swords Dance set.
• If you are paranoid about the 10% miss of Crabhammer, Waterfall can be use at the cost of 20 base power
• Superpower is an alternative to Crunch when using a Choice Band to hit Ferrothorn a little harder
• Switcheroo can be used on the Choice Band set to attempt to cripple something when Crawdaunt is no longer needed
• Aerial Ace can be used over Crunch to easily 2HKO maximum defensive Chesnaught, probably Crawdaunt's biggest counter while also hitting Keldeo and Toxicroak slightly harder than anything else
• Splash Plate can be used over Life Orb to avoid recoil and attempt to bluff a Choice Band

Checks & Counters
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• Anything that can tank a boosted Crabhammer / Knock Off or outspeed Crawdaunt and take an Aqua Jet are pretty good checks
• As long as Rotom-W has at least 4 speed Evs it can outspeed Crawdaunt and either Will-O-Wisp it or Volt Switch out
• Azumarill, and Keldeo resist Crawdaunt's STABs. However, both are 2HKOed by either Crabhammer or Knock Off as long as Crawdaunt is at +1 or higher (such as a Choice Band)
• Keldeo will always outspeed Crawdaunt, OHKO it, and cannot be 2HKOed by the combination of Crabhammer and Aqua Jet
• Chesnaught is perhaps the best counter to Crawdaunt, as it resists both of Crawdaunt's STABs and can take anything Crawdaunt has to throw at it
• Mega-Venusaur is another good counter to Crawdaunt and with some defensive investment not even the Choice Band set can 2HKO it
• Pokemon such as Vaporean, Jellicent, Gastrodon, and Toxicroak can be annoying to the Choice Band set if they manage to switch in on a Crabhammer or Aqua Jet

 

[Agent Gibbs]

252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Crawdaunt Crabhammer vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Azumarill: 204-241 (50.4 - 59.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Crawdaunt Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 196-232 (55.6 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Crawdaunt Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 132-156 (37.5 - 44.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Azumarill is 2HKO'd by Crabhammer as it is, and even the most physically defensive Ferrothorn is almost always 2HKO'd by Knock Off with Stealth Rock down. Crunch should be moved to the primary slash with Superpower as either a secondary slash or just a mention in the comments since it does help with Mega Gyarados, which is nice.

 

[G Royal]

Fyi mega's don't treat knock off as a 65 bp move, with adaptability its 65bp on a 2x resist and 130bp on everything it hits for neutral damage, not including item damage, that being said I was running some calcs...

counters that I found atm are Keldeo, Mega Venusaur. Though they're both pretty shaky (keldeo way more than venusaur) they resist everything crawdaunt has that's threatening (albeit keldeo takes super powers neutrally it still doesn't ohko) there stabs both threaten ohko's. Mega Venusaur being the most reliable counter especially since it's mostly used with a bulky build and access to synthesis with the weather nerf is considered reliable recovery. Toxicroak is another counter, but again it's shaky because if crawdaunt runs 252 hp instead of 252 speed drain punch won't ohko since toxicroak in theory is itemless due to it being knocked off. Though if 252 speed is run on crawdaunt it does outspeed adamant 252 hp toxicroak for a 2hko with crunch. Though a correct prediction into a crabhammer or aqua jet makes crawdaunt run for the hills.

TL;DR: Mega Venusaur solid counter, keldeo and toxicroak shaky counters.

EDIT: Nvm lol crawboss 2hko's mega venusaur I forgot that crawdaunt will outspeed, adaptability is broken it's basically ban worthy lol

 

[Colonel M]

I would do this:

name: Choice Band
move 1: Aqua Jet
move 2: Crabhammer
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Crunch

and mention Double-Edge and Superpower in AC.

Like G Royal stated there are some situations where Knock Off isn't going to be optimal to use (i.e. Megas). Mega Venusaur is the best example since Crunch is a 2HKO with Stealth Rock. Another example is Vaporeon who is always 2HKOed with Stealth Rock. Hell Superpower isn't that appealing - Water + Dark really covers a lot of ground and there aren't many that resist Crawdaunt's STABs and take them well. Offensive Breloom can't switch in since Crabhammer does 77% and Poison Heal sets are also 2HKOed. Hell the funny thing is...

...the best counter is Chesnaught. >_>; Poliwrath is close too.

 

[alexwolf]

Yeah the CB set should only have STAB moves. Superpower is AC material if only for Mega Gyarados and a stronger initial hit on Ferrothorn but that's it. I see zero reasons to mention Double Edge so remove it completely. As for the set order, Knock Off is for sure the most important and spammable move, with Crabhammer being a close second, then Aqua Jet, and then Crunch, whose only use is against Mega Venusaur and Mega Blastoise.

 

[MilkyWay]

I put Crunch ahead of Superpower and Double-Edge on the choice band set like a lot of you said and I updated the move descriptions accordingly. Time to finish the rest of this analysis...

 

[alexwolf]

No you didn't get me, Superpower and Double Edge should go in AC, the main set should have only STAB moves.

 

[MilkyWay]

No you didn't get me, Superpower and Double Edge should go in AC, the main set should have only STAB moves.

Ok I just fixed that now

 

[MilkyWay]

Crawdaunt is now ready for QC

 

[alexwolf]

Everything you have in the usage tips of the CB set is fluff that is mostly true about all Pokemon, aside from the bit where you warn the reader not to bring recklessly Crawdaunt in and instead employ VoltTurn tactics. Remove all of those and instead add:

- Make sure to save Crawdaunt if his Aqua Jet is needed to check a problematic Pokemon to your team
- Don't be afraid to sacrifice Crawdaunt if it means getting past the opponent's defense, as this is its primary job
- Vs offensive teams, it's wise to preserve Crawdaunt as much as possible, as his Aqua Jet can even end up cleaning for you late-game
- The bit you said about emplying VoltTurn tactics to bring him in, but a bit better phrased. You can even mention some specific examples of Pokemon that Crawdaunt should attempt to switch in against in the write-up

Also, Aqua Jet shouldn't be the first move on the CB set, Knock Off should be the first one with Crabhammer following. CB Crawdaunt is a wallbreaer first and a revenge killer second.

 

[MilkyWay]

Everything you have in the usage tips of the CB set is fluff that is mostly true about all Pokemon, aside from the bit where you warn the reader not to bring recklessly Crawdaunt in and instead employ VoltTurn tactics. Remove all of those and instead add:

- Make sure to save Crawdaunt if his Aqua Jet is needed to check a problematic Pokemon to your team
- Don't be afraid to sacrifice Crawdaunt if it means getting past the opponent's defense, as this is its primary job
- Vs offensive teams, it's wise to preserve Crawdaunt as much as possible, as his Aqua Jet can even end up cleaning for you late-game
- The bit you said about emplying VoltTurn tactics to bring him in, but a bit better phrased. You can even mention some specific examples of Pokemon that Crawdaunt should attempt to switch in against in the write-up

Also, Aqua Jet shouldn't be the first move on the CB set, Knock Off should be the first one with Crabhammer following. CB Crawdaunt is a wallbreaer first and a revenge killer second.

Ok, I just edited in all of that stuff

 

[Fuzznip]

The Swords Dance set doesn't look good to me. Crawdaunt has disgusting Speed, defenses, and defensive typing that I feel like it's near impossible to actually set up and do work. Crawdaunt should only be limited to wrecking through defensive cores with Choice Band; the immediate power instantly makes it a threat that the opponent will hate to deal with. I would think OO is a better place for it.

Then again, I don't know what others think about this. After all, I haven't used or seen Swords Dance Crawdaunt yet. I just feel like it's easier to deal with than its Choice Band counterpart, but I could be wrong.

 

[alexwolf]

LO with Swords Dance plays more like a wallbreaker that can clean up weakened teams if a chance to set up appears, similarly to Belly Drum Azumarill. Crunch is only used for Mega Venusaur anyway, so it's not like you are losing a lot by forgoing Crunch. But mostly, you are still nuking the fuck out of everything, while also being harder for offensive teams to handle as strong STAB move followed by Aqua Jet 2HKOes a ton of things, and can still do damage after getting a kill, where the CB set is forced out after getting a kill against offense.

Now that i think about it, the two sets could easily be merged, with Swords Dance getting slashed after Crunch and LO after CB, which would also make it clear to the readers that both sets have wallbreaking as their main purpose.

 

[MilkyWay]

I don't know, should I merge both sets together? I know they are both for wallbreaking, but they seem just a little too different to be put on the same set

 

[Fuzznip]

Personally, CB Crawdaunt is a lot scarier to deal with. For reasons I already stated, I would like to see Swords Dance removed as a set. If they both play like wallbreakers, which they do, then I am running Choice Band all of the time for its reliability.

Swords Dance can go to OO.

 

[alexwolf]

Fuzznip, the main advantage of LO + Swords Dance is the ability to fare much better against teams without defensive cores. Against offensive teams that only use one or two pivots (which usually don't have really high defenses, just good resistances and pivoting / status / utility moves) Choice Band is superfluous, as you have enough power to OHKO/2HKO anything already. So, in those cases, the ability to changes moves, especially the ability to 2HKO Pokemon with strong STAB + Aqua Jet, the ability to revenge kill Pokemon with Aqua Jet without being liable to set up sweepers, and the ability to clean up at a moment's notice (by setting up SD) if you play your cards right, are all reasons why Swords Dance + LO should either get its own set or be merged with the CB set. Crunch and CB are not musts at all on Crawdaunt (Crunch is used only for like, two Pokemon, and the power of CB is usually overkill), which is why SD and LO are very viable alternatives.

 

[Fuzznip]

Fuzznip, the main advantage of LO + Swords Dance is the ability to fare much better against teams without defensive cores. Against offensive teams that only use one or two pivots (which usually don't have really high defenses, just good resistances and pivoting / status / utility moves) Choice Band is superfluous, as you have enough power to OHKO/2HKO anything already. So, in those cases, the ability to changes moves, especially the ability to 2HKO Pokemon with strong STAB + Aqua Jet, the ability to revenge kill Pokemon with Aqua Jet without being liable to set up sweepers, and the ability to clean up at a moment's notice (by setting up SD) if you play your cards right, are all reasons why Swords Dance + LO should either get its own set or be merged with the CB set. Crunch and CB are not musts at all on Crawdaunt (Crunch is used only for like, two Pokemon, and the power of CB is usually overkill), which is why SD and LO are very viable alternatives.

Yes but how is Crawdaunt going to pull off a Swords Dance against teams without defensive cores? Okay, maybe it can tank one hit, but then you're going to die really fast from LO recoil because Crawdaunt is really frail. Also, you're limited to Aqua Jet as a revenge killing tool because of your absurdly low Speed. Surely you can force a switch against something and use SD there, but I just figure that Crawdaunt is better off punching enormous holes with Choice Band than relying on Swords Dance + LO to do critical damage to the opponent. It can still sweep late-game with CB-boosted Aqua Jets as well, which is what SD Crawdaunt is primarily going to be doing, except you don't need to risk a turn setting up SD.

That's just how I'm looking at it, but I guess you and I have differing opinions.

 

[alexwolf]

That's the point, most of the time you won't get to use SD, that's why if it gets slashed it will be on the last slot and second. But this is ok, because losing Crunch is no big deal as i said already. You are focusing way too much on SD, where you should be focusing on the fact that with LO you can change moves and take advantage of the wonderful strong STAB + Aqua Jet combo to 2HKO a lot of Pokemon and revenge kill Pokemon without becoming set up bait after. SD will be useful in those rare chances that your Crawdaunt managed to face an Aegislash lacking Sacred Sword or using King's Shield, a CB Scizor locked into Pursuit or Bullet Punch, a Choice Scarf Gensect locked into Ice Beam, etc.

Basically, SD is just a filler move on LO Crawdaunt because of the lack of other useful options (or the lack of need of anything else other than its 3 main moves). Crawdaunt is the epitome of a Pokemon with the opposite of 4MSS; it can't run 4 moves without using something very situational.

 

[Lee]

If you are dead-set on getting up a SD then you could consider a resist-berry; even with no defensive investment, Crawdaunt can tank a Terrakion Close Combat so shit like Aegislash Sacred Sword is going to be a non-issue. The boost from LO/Mystic Water is missed but alas.

I'd also like to see a bulkier spread - Max Atk, enough Spe to outrun Skarmory with the rest in HP hits about 300HP...not too shabby when backed by 85 Def. For reference, Garchomp's Outrage will never OHKO even after Stealth Rock damage. LO Adamant Talonflame Brave Bird does 76% - 89%. +2 Adamant Life Orb Lucario never OHKOs with Extremespeed. Sure, you lose the ability to theoretically outrun Rotom-W but that was seldom going to happen anyway...Rotom is at complete liberty to run at least 8 Spe (and often does) so gambling on it doing otherwise is a reckless and desperate play. You're better off banking on the reliability and consistency of 30 extra HP.

 

[Jukain]

I made a HO with a simple Crabhammer / Waterfall / Crunch / Superpower set with LO, and have been doing extremely well. I chose Crunch for the consistency, but you can choose Knock Off if you want, it doesn't matter to me. I forwent Aqua Jet because I figured out how little I was using it and the benefit of having an accurate and powerful Water STAB. It works. Superpower I find important because of the Ferrothorns, Bisharp, and Diggersby (among other mons) I've been seeing. Besides Superpower, though, the moveset is just personal preference. The big thing I want to bring up is a flat LO 4 attacks set. I have Tailwind support to get it going, but it rarely needs that; the fact that it can switch moves is just unbelievably valuable. I cannot state how many times that's saved my ass and gotten stuff killed. I advocate for the SD set to be changed to a flat LO 4 attacks set, which is good, while SD simply never gets set up because (1) it has like zero opportunities to do so and (2) even when it can it gets more benefit out of going for an attack and getting more damage in. So yeah, LO Crawdaunt.

 

[MilkyWay]

I made a HO with a simple Crabhammer / Waterfall / Crunch / Superpower set with LO, and have been doing extremely well. I chose Crunch for the consistency, but you can choose Knock Off if you want, it doesn't matter to me. I forwent Aqua Jet because I figured out how little I was using it and the benefit of having an accurate and powerful Water STAB. It works. Superpower I find important because of the Ferrothorns, Bisharp, and Diggersby (among other mons) I've been seeing. Besides Superpower, though, the moveset is just personal preference. The big thing I want to bring up is a flat LO 4 attacks set. I have Tailwind support to get it going, but it rarely needs that; the fact that it can switch moves is just unbelievably valuable. I cannot state how many times that's saved my ass and gotten stuff killed. I advocate for the SD set to be changed to a flat LO 4 attacks set, which is good, while SD simply never gets set up because (1) it has like zero opportunities to do so and (2) even when it can it gets more benefit out of going for an attack and getting more damage in. So yeah, LO Crawdaunt.

I would use Knock Off over Crunch because two Knock Offs are still more powerful than two Crunches, even after the opponent loses its item after the first hit.
97.5 + 65 = 162.5
80 + 80 = 160

 

[alexwolf]

I made a HO with a simple Crabhammer / Waterfall / Crunch / Superpower set with LO, and have been doing extremely well. I chose Crunch for the consistency, but you can choose Knock Off if you want, it doesn't matter to me. I forwent Aqua Jet because I figured out how little I was using it and the benefit of having an accurate and powerful Water STAB. It works. Superpower I find important because of the Ferrothorns, Bisharp, and Diggersby (among other mons) I've been seeing. Besides Superpower, though, the moveset is just personal preference. The big thing I want to bring up is a flat LO 4 attacks set. I have Tailwind support to get it going, but it rarely needs that; the fact that it can switch moves is just unbelievably valuable. I cannot state how many times that's saved my ass and gotten stuff killed. I advocate for the SD set to be changed to a flat LO 4 attacks set, which is good, while SD simply never gets set up because (1) it has like zero opportunities to do so and (2) even when it can it gets more benefit out of going for an attack and getting more damage in. So yeah, LO Crawdaunt.

You don't need 4 attacks. Crabhammer already OHKOes Bisharp and Diggersby, while Knock Off usually 2HKOes Ferrothorn or leaves it seriously crippled, meaning that Superpower is AC material as it's very situational. Waterfall is completely unecessary unless you are paranoid about the 10% miss chance, so it can get an OO mention but nothing more. Crunch does not do much without CB, as its main target, Mega Venuasur, avoids the 2HKO from LO Crunch. You don't need consistency when you 2HKO the whole meta. And why the fuck would you use Crawdaunt without Aqua Jet?

 

[Jukain]

Even an Aqua Jet / Crabhammer / Knock Off / Waterfall or Superpower set is better. SD is horrible; it just doesn't work. It can't set up AT ALL. And, Waterfall is a good move for Crawdaunt because there are more than a few scenarios in which you cannot afford to miss. The point is that Waterfall has a tangible benefit whilst SD has practically none. Superpower is 100% accurate, unlike Crabhammer, and does upwards of 75-80% to Ferrothorn (depending on its EVs). The benefit of that is way more than ~half its health. It can survive and Leech Seed up from 50%. It can't easily do that at 20%.

I did make it clear that I wasn't arguing moveset, though -- I wasn't. I ran it with Tailwind support, so it didn't need Aqua Jet, and I vastly preferred the extra 100% accurate Water STAB. The ability to switch attacks and have extra insurance in that last move is invaluable, while SD does nothing 99% percent of the time.

 

[alexwolf]

SD allows you to punish opponents that try to scout Crawdaunt with switces to Regenerator Pokemon (Tangrowth, Amoonguss), Protect (Ferrothorn, Heatran, Aegislash), or just to defensive Pokemon that can check it, or against offensive teams that want to sac something in order to revenge kill it properly. Arguing that a completely inferior move to Crabhammer is better than SD is preposterous. Waterfall is OO material. As for Superpower, Ferrothorn is already OHKOed by +2 LO Knock Off, and most of the time you wouldn't want to be facing 1 v 1 a healthy Ferro, so Superpower is not really needed.

 

[MilkyWay]

I agree with alexwolf on this for the most part and added some of his arguements to the analysis. I also think that Swords Dance should be on every set that isn't running a choice item just because of the lack of other options Crawdaunt has. I suppose Dragon Dance is an alternative but I think Crawdaunt is simply too slow and frail to pull that off and nobody has even suggested that so I'm keeping it in OO.