Aalabyss Movesets & Wettbewerbs-Sets

Moves Shell Smash sharply boosts all of Huntail's offensive stats, allowing it to sweep weakened or offensive teams with ease. Waterfall is Huntail's strongest STAB move, while Sucker Punch allows Huntail to KO faster Choice Scarf users and beat out opposing priority users. Ice Beam helps Huntail break through Vullaby and physically bulky Grass-types such as Tangela. Double-Edge is an alternate option that allows Huntail to OHKO Roselia and Politoed after Stealth Rock. Set Details Maximum Attack and Speed investment alongside an Attack-boosting nature makes Huntail as strong and fast as possible after a boost to easily sweep teams. A Naughty nature is used with Ice Beam to avoid lowering its power, but if running Double-Edge, an Adamant nature will suffice. Water Veil prevents Huntail from being burned and can be used alongside Ice Beam, but it is incompatible with Double-Edge, forcing Huntail to use Swift Swim if running the move. White Herb prevents Huntail's defenses from dropping after using Shell Smash, allowing it to set up on weakened attackers more easily, although Wacan Berry can be run to be able to use Shell Smash versus the common Electric-types in the tier such as Zebstrika and Rotom-F. Usage Tips Huntail is best used as a late-game cleaner once its checks and counters have been weakened or removed, and it should only be setting up on defensive or somewhat weak Pokemon lacking a super effective attack, such as Pelipper and Metang, as strong attackers such as Stoutland can simply KO it due to its mediocre bulk. The exception is that Huntail is capable of setting up Shell Smash versus opposing Electric-types if holding a Wacan Berry. Avoid trying to set up on faster Pokemon with Taunt such as Misdreavus, as well as Will-O-Wisp users such as Rapidash if not running Water Veil. Team Options Memento users such as Jumpluff and Misdreavus, as well as dual screens setters such as Meowstic-M, give Huntail extra setup opportunities versus stronger foes. Pursuit trappers such as Metang can forcibly break Kadabra's Focus Sash, allowing Huntail to KO it once it sets up. If running Double-Edge, Pokemon capable of luring Vullaby and physically bulky Grass-types, such as Taunt + Toxic Grumpig, can help facilitate a sweep. Similarly, if running Ice Beam, Politoed lures such as Choice Band Floatzel with Return will allow Huntail to sweep with its counter removed. Physical wallbreakers such as Dodrio and VoltTurn cores with Pokemon such as Raichu and Ninjask can also help wear down bulky Pokemon for Huntail. Entry hazard setters such as Golem and Roselia are also valued for the chip damage provided from Toxic Spikes, Spikes, or Stealth Rock.

This is Huntail's best way to pose a threat as well as to stand out from its competition in Gorebyss and Carracosta. With its usable offensive stats and good enough Speed to use Shell Smash with, Huntail is a capable mixed sweeper in NU. Shell Smash is chosen to make Huntail fast and powerful and hence give it a chance to sweep. Waterfall is a strong and reliable STAB for Huntail to use, and the flinch chance can also come in handy. Return provides great overall coverage with Waterfall; although it doesn't hit anything super effectively, it can handle most Pokemon that resist Waterfall, such as Jynx and Samurott. Finally, Ice Beam serves as a usable coverage move to handle Tangela and other Grass-types. A Naive nature is chosen to enhance Huntail's middling Speed without lowering its Special Attack. Water Veil is a great ability to avoid burns from Misdreavus and Weezing that could potentially stop Huntail from sweeping. A White Herb is chosen to avoid the Defense drops from Shell Smash so that Huntail can still make use of its decent bulk. Swift Swim can be useful to give Huntail greater Speed in rain to make sweeping easier, but it has little utility otherwise. A Life Orb can be used to allow Huntail to hit harder, but the decrease in bulk hurts Huntail's performance, given its usable defenses and the ubiquity priority attacks are in NU. Huntail appreciates entry hazard support for it to sweep; Scolipede and Roselia are great teammates to provide this, and they also handle opposing Grass-types such as Exeggutor. Jynx is also a great teammate for Huntail, as it dismantles Grass- and Dragon-types while Huntail can handle opposing Fire-types. Eelektross and Exeggutor are both great to handle Alomomola, one of Huntail's best counters. The former can effectively Volt Switch into Huntail, which is helpful as it is not very easy for Huntail to switch directly into battle, while the latter can maim Seismitoad.

This set is designed for Huntail to come in late-game and finish off the remainder of an opponent's team, hitting the final few Pokemon in their weaker defensive stats. In order to be effective, Huntail needs to have rain falling, which not only doubles Huntail's awful Speed with Swift Swim, but also increases the power of its STAB moves. Aqua Tail is Huntail's strongest physical STAB move, and with it, it can 2HKO 252/0 Registeel and OHKO Chansey after Stealth Rock. Waterfall can be used instead if you're worried about accuracy issues; however, it misses out on many KOs that Aqua Tail provides, making it an inferior choice. Ice Beam is for any Grass-type who would otherwise wall Huntail, such as Tangrowth and Leafeon, dealing an OHKO to each after Stealth Rock. A combination of Aqua Tail and Ice Beam also KOes 252/252 Calm Venusaur. Hydro Pump deals a clean 2HKO on physically defensive Uxie and Registeel, which would normally wall this set entirely. Hidden Power Grass is for weaker Water-types that would normally have their way with Huntail; however, it still isn't strong enough to break through bulkier Water-types, such as Milotic, Blastoise, Poliwrath, and Slowking. The given EVs allow Huntail to get the KOs listed and ensure that it is dealing the most damage as possible from both attacking stats. With this spread, Huntail reaches a Speed stat of 390, enough to outpace every Pokemon in the tier under rain bar Electrode and certain Choice Scarf users, such as Rotom and positive Speed Venusaur. Other notable moves available to Huntail include Sucker Punch and Super Fang. Super Fang can be used in place of Hydro Pump to strip Huntail's counters of half of their health and force them to heal themselves, during which one of Huntail's teammates, such as Ludicolo, can come in for free. However, without Hydro Pump, Huntail misses out on the KOs on Uxie and Registeel, which can then proceed to paralyze Huntail with Thunder Wave, effectively ending its sweep. Sucker Punch can be used in place of Hidden Power Grass, giving Huntail some utility and priority outside of rain; however, it doesn't give Huntail any further coverage and has little use under rain, which is where Huntail should always be used. Huntail can set up its own Rain Dance, with its decent defensive stats protecting it from whatever onslaught may ensue; however, it needs as much coverage as possible to allow it to sweep, and Huntail is usually too slow to set up itself. As a mixed rain sweeper, Huntail faces competition from Floatzel, which can use almost the same set and is faster than Huntail even without any Speed investment. Huntail, however, has a few notable perks over Floatzel. Firstly, Huntail has far greater bulk than Floatzel, which protects it from random weak attacks like Mach Punch from Hitmontop and Earthquake from Tangrowth. Second, Huntail has access to Hydro Pump and a slightly higher Special Attack stat, allowing it to bypass physically defensive Uxie and Registeel, which Floatzel can't do. And lastly, Huntail's priority in Sucker Punch provides greater power than Floatzel's Aqua Jet outside of rain, though in rain, Aqua Jet proves more powerful. As mentioned earlier, Huntail is stopped cold by bulky Water-types, so teammates that can dispose of them make good partners to Huntail. Ludicolo in particular can easily dispose of the pesky Water-types and also makes a good sweeping partner to Huntail, either softening up the opposing team and removing Water-types that would otherwise prevent Huntail from sweeping, or sweeping after Huntail has disposed of problematic Pokemon such as Uxie, Registeel, or Venusaur. Lanturn also makes a good partner to Huntail, absorbing any Electric attacks or Thunder Waves that may come in Huntail's direction. Lanturn also enjoys Huntail's ability to remove special walls such as Chansey from play, which would normally wall Lanturn to oblivion and back. Gardevoir with Trace, Golduck with Cloud Nine, Toxicroak with Dry Skin, and Electrode have few problems countering this set, so bulky Pokemon that can withstand their attacks make good partners to Huntail. Uxie makes a good partner, taking little damage from whatever the opposing Pokemon may throw at Huntail and paralyzing them with Thunder Wave (or in Toxicroak's case, removing it with Psychic) to allow Huntail to come in later in the match and dispose of them. Uxie can also provide Stealth Rock support, which Huntail thrives on, as it allows it to accumulate many of the listed KOs.

Unlike the previous set, this one focuses on Huntail's higher base 104 Attack stat. While offensively weaker than Kabutops, Huntail sports better typing and a way to bypass bulky Grass-types. Because of this, Huntail and Kabutops can be used on the same team, with Huntail softening up the opposing team and Kabutops coming in later to finish the job. Aqua Tail and Double-Edge provide Huntail with the awesome type combination of Water / Normal, resisted only by Shedinja in UU. Ice Beam is for any bulky Grass-types that are bull-headed enough to think they can counter this set. Crunch makes an appearance on this set to allow Huntail to dispose of Slowking and also deals decent damage to its counterpart, Slowbro. Sucker Punch gives Huntail some use outside of rain and is a nice way to hit Pokemon like Scarf Rotom or Mismagius, which would otherwise outpace Huntail even in the rain and KO with Thunderbolt. The EVs are simple and maximize Huntail's physical prowess. With this spread, Huntail reaches a Speed stat of 406 under rain, outrunning the standard lead Electrode by two points. Naughty is the recommended Nature to allow Ice Beam to get the 2HKO on Leafeon and Tangrowth while still raising Huntail's attack stat. Unlike the previous set, this one has some troubles with physically defensive Uxie, which can paralyze Huntail and end its sweep. Therefore, partners that can set up on or wall Uxie, such as Mismagius or Registeel, make good teammates for Huntail. However, Mismagius must also be wary of Thunder Wave, and Registeel has to watch out for Trick sets. Ludicolo and Lanturn make good partners to Huntail, removing any bulky Water-types that block Huntail's path. Special sweepers that enjoy special walls such as Chansey out of the picture, such as Omastar and Gorebyss, also make good teammates, as they in turn remove Pokemon such as Toxicroak, Uxie, and Registeel with little trouble.

While Huntail's main role and presence in NU is as a rain sweeper, it also has a function as a member of Baton Pass chains. Its main role on chains is as an anti-lead; after a Barrier boost, Glalie's Explosion is only doing a maximum of 54% to Huntail. On top of this, Huntail easily OHKOes the common Fire-type leads of the tier with Hydro Pump and isn't threatened by Hitmonchan after a Barrier boost either. This allows it to start the Baton Pass chain on the right foot and get the Defense boost its teammates will need to continue the chain. While Huntail doesn't offer anything else to pass (no Aqua Ring or Agility in ADV), it does offer a large offensive presence and can make use of the Special Attack boosts that are going to be accumulated on the rest of the chain. Maximum Speed and HP EVs are run to give Huntail as much speed and bulk as possible to start the chain off on the right foot. Lum Berry is a recommended option if using Huntail in the lead slot to make sure it can avoid status from leads like Octillery, Venomoth, and Torkoal. Otherwise, Leftovers is preferred to make the most of Huntail's bulk and give it some longevity to switch into Spikes repeatedly if needed. While this set can be run off of Baton Pass chains and used as simply a bulky attacker outside of rain, Seadra typically does the part better thanks to its higher Speed. That said, most players will assume an attempt at a rain sweep as soon as Huntail's presence is known, allowing this set to function more as an offensive pivot and play around your opponent's assumptions. Baton Pass also gives Huntail a bit more momentum than Seadra does, and passing a Substitute to a teammate like Bulk Up Hitmonchan can be game-changing. If using this set that way, it's recommended to replace Barrier with Ice Beam to give Huntail a bit more coverage.

Not only is this set super dangerous, it's also super easy to play with if you're good at making use of the limited rain turns. Simply get Huntail in, set up Rain Dance, and proceed to use Hydro Pump until you win. Ice Beam is there to keep Roselia and other Grass-types from effectively countering Huntail. The last moveslot is dedicated to dealing as much damage as possible to the tier's other Water-types. Hidden Power Grass is nice to get the OHKO on Relicanth and Whiscash, while Hidden Power Electric decimates Pelipper. The EV spread is straightforwardly offensive to make Huntail as strong and fast as possible, with maximum Speed being needed to ensure Huntail at least Speed ties with other Huntail and outspeeds base 50 Speed Pokemon outside of rain. A bulkier EV spread of 152 HP / 252 SpA / 104 Spe is certainly doable if you are unconcerned about tying with other Huntail, giving Huntail some cushion against priority attacks and weaker attacks from its counters like Dewgong. The 104 Spe EVs are kept to hit 166 Speed, which doubles to 332 in the rain, just enough to outpace +1 Pupitar. Running the above spread with a Modest nature is also an option, which will notably ensure the 2HKO against Roselia with Ice Beam. Finally, Mystic Water is an option to give Huntail's Water-type STAB attack a bit more punch, in particular opening up a guaranteed OHKO on 252 HP Chimecho with Hydro Pump and a 2HKO on maximum Special Defense Lickitung with Surf. The last moveslot can be replaced if you are confident in your ability to remove Huntail's checks and counters before bringing it out. Baton Pass is the most immediate replacement option, as it gives Huntail a fantastic way out of the battlefield and keeps momentum on your team's side. Substitute can be used to protect Huntail from status from the likes of Lickitung, Togetic, and Wailord. Finally, Toxic is an option to counteract Dewgong lacking Rest as a reliable long-term answer to Huntail. Huntail is a pretty self-sufficient late-game sweeper, although there are a couple Pokemon that need to be weakened or removed before it can consider a sweep. Specially defensive Dewgong is the most pressing concern, as it is only 4HKOed by Hidden Power Grass and can easily remove the damage with Rest and attack in kind with its own Hidden Power Grass. Specially defensive Bellossom is the other major barrier to a successful Huntail sweep, as it is only 3HKOed by Ice Beam and can regain its health with Giga Drain and Synthesis. As both of these answers, as well as most of the other Pokemon that can tank a Hydro Pump, are grounded, Spikes support is the best way to initiate a Huntail sweep. This makes Cacturne and Roselia good teammates, and both can switch into the Grass- and Electric-type attacks that are sure to be aimed at Huntail. A strong, physically attacking teammate can remove most of the Pokemon that can reliably answer Huntail, making Hitmonchan a good offensive partner. Plusle makes a fantastic offensive teammate as well, as it can remove Dewgong from the picture and weaken the other specially defensive Pokemon on your opponent's team enough for Huntail to sweep. As a bonus, Plusle gets Rain Dance and Thunder, making it a good dedicated rain setter teammate as well. Pairing Huntail with a lure like Seadra is also an option, as it can force the opponent to reveal their Water-type answer and weaken it, allowing you to best prepare for a Huntail sweep later in the game.