RW7 Force Majeure. I'm newish to this meta so this is a fun proj. I want to document this really well.
Poliwrath
Abilities: Damp, Swift Swim, Water Absorb
HP: 90
Attack: 95
Defense: 95
Sp Attack: 70
Sp Defense: 90
Speed: 70
EDIT 11/2: FIRST IMPRESSIONS.
OFFENSIVE POLIWRATH: Poliwrath can theoretically be used on rain offense as a swift swim mon; for this portion of the testing I'll be using something along these lines:
Poliwrath @ Fightinium Z / Waterium Z
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Ice Beam / Vacuum Wave
Brief explanation: 252+ is necessary. Poliwrath isn't powerful and absolutely needs the power. Max speed is not set in stone because it's beneficial to adjust speed creep for your Swift Swimmers if you're not worried about opposing SS mons. Hydro is necessary for power. Focus Blast is the selling point of Poliwrath over other rain mons. It's my inclination to run either Fight-Z or Water-Z for two reasons: 1) Bad accuracy of STABs and 2) Wallbreaking potential. Fight-Z seems the best to possibly break Type:Null and other bulky normal crap (Munchlax) while retaining great neutral power. I run Hidden Power Grass to hit Gastrodon. The last slot could be almost anything tbh. Ice Beam hits tangela and Altaria.
It's hard to find something that Poliwrath offers over Ludicolo because even though Poliwrath is bulkier than Ludicolo and has a cool offensive typing they're both offense mons that aren't EV'd to take hits. Being able to switch in on Skuntank EZPZ is nice but all rain mons other than Ludicolo switch in on skunk relatively easily. Poliwrath's Rock resist comes in really handy but other than that I have a really difficult time wanting to use this over Ludicolo (Z-Fight Ludicolo is a cool thing btw).
DEFENSIVE POLIWRATH
Certain meta trends (carracosta, NU stole offensive grasses, hazard stack, toxic spikes) really help defensive Poliwrath; others don't (mesprit on every team, oricorio + flying types in general). That being said: it's an absolute pain to deal with for an unprepared opponent because it forces a ridiculous amount of pivoting. I've used the RestTalk set in the past so I'm starting out with that. Pair it with a defiant mon, some bulky stuff and hazard stack and it's quite fun to use.
Poliwrath @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Scald
- Circle Throw
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Maximum defense investment makes Poliwrath quite bulky. Scald fishes for burns and Circle Throw is not only a good phazing move but also is one of Poliwrath's more powerful consistent physical Fighting-Type STABs (seriously GF why). Rest and Sleep Talk are Poliwrath's only means of recovery. Sleep Talk calling Circle Throw is nice because you might priority phaze slow mons lacking recovery like Ferroseed, exeggutor(s), and the throng of uninvested base 50-60 mons: Piloswine, Eelektross, Cacturne, Aggron, Mawile, Regis, Torterra, others. Don't count on it, though. You can run more Speed investment to creep other defensive threats but so far this isn't working out too well; the big bump is at 220 and that requires so much investment that it severely dents Poliwrath's bulk. This set also suffers from being unable to do much damage without hazard stack and is completely helpless against Sableye (much like most Fighting-Types). It's also complete Oricorio-Sensu bait.
This set requires heavy hazard stacking and anti-hazard removal measures + multiple types of chip damage which makes it difficult to build with, restricting it to balance builds. Ferroseed and Tangela are excellent partners so far; Ferroseed has obvious defensive typing synergy, Leech Seed to force switches, and most importantly Spikes. Tangela brings Sleep Powder, incredible physical bulk, and ease of pivoting. These and other Eviolite defensive mons also really appreciate Poliwrath's Dark resistance/Knock Off resilience. Pawniard seems like a really good natural partner to severely punish Skuntank and Swanna. Toxic Spikes are nice, too.
Ultimately this set suffers from extreme inconsistency with its reliance on Sleep Talk rolls as well as its low attacking power. However, if supported with Spikes and Stealth Rock and with Ghosts and Electric-Types removed it can significantly disrupt opp's team. It also faces some competition from Throh and ig Kangaskhan (scrappy circle throw what) but Poliwrath's typing is so much better defensively.
I find myself wanting to make a defensive set with sub + circle throw + toxic + scald sometimes but I haven't explored this possibility.
There are a couple of other dumb/niche things that I'll try for kicks (SS Z-Splash, Belly Drum, SubPunch).
I'll update w/ replays & other stuff later.