LC Staryu [QC 2/2] [GP 1/1]

Hilomilo

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Staryu has been LC's best spinner since the metagame first became playable. Its pure Water-typing is fantastic both offensively and defensively, and is further complimented by excellent Speed, Analytic, and coverage. Staryu can also function as an extremely reliable defensive spinner, due to its good bulk with investment, general lack of weaknesses, Natural Cure, and reliable recovery. Overall, Staryu is a Pokemon that requires very little risk to be put to effective use, and would be hard not to consider as your team's source of entry hazard removal.

Staryu @ Eviolite
Level: 5
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 156 Def / 116 SpA / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam / Psychic

Offensive Rapid Spin is the set that best showcases Staryu's viability in Little Cup, since its high Special Attack and Speed stats, fantastic coverage, and good matchups against multiple common threats in the tier allow it to easily remove entry hazards as it forces switches. Rapid Spin and Recover allows are both mandatory for allowing Staryu to consistently remove entry hazards, while Hydro Pump hits switch-ins extremely hard by virtue of Analytic. Pick Ice Beam to hit Pumpkaboo-XL trying to spinblock and other switch-ins, like Foongus and Snivy. Psychic can instead be run for Croagunk and Mareanie, which otherwise wall Staryu, on the switch. Other coverage options, such as Hidden Power Fire for Ferroseed and Thunderbolt for bulky Water-types, are perfectly viable, and overall contribute to the sheer struggle that comes with switching into this set as well as the set's overall viability. A coverage move can be run over Recover if Staryu wishes to hit a wider variety of Pokemon super effectively, though it often will appreciate the longevity Recover provides when it comes to removing hazards multiple times in a match. This set often finds use on offensive teams and will likely remain as SM LC's premier entry hazard removal option due to its insane offensive prowess.

Staryu @ Eviolite
Level: 5
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 116 HP / 156 Def / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Psychic / Ice Beam
- Recover

Staryu's defensive set may be a little more passive than some prefer, and it can even struggle at times to break past spinblockers due to its relatively low power. However, it does a great job of both removing entry hazards and tanking hits thanks to Staryu's solid typing and bulk, which is something its other set may struggle to do both of. Most of the moves on this set are the same as on the last, though Scald is used over Hydro Pump due to its good chance to burn foes. As far as other differences between this set and the last go, EVs are pooled into HP rather than Special Attack, and Natural Cure is preferred over Analytic as the ability. The reason for this is that Staryu will often try removing entry hazards while tanking a fair amount of hits and recovering damage taken, which makes both heavier bulk investment and the ability to cure status much more appreciated than on a set that looks to offensively pressure foes rather than maintain longevity.

Staryu may be a Pokemon with a plentiful amount of perks. However, that isn't to say it lacks flaws. Despite Staryu's great defensive typing, it is still left with weaknesses to Grass- and Electric-type attacks. While Staryu it can usually circumvent its Grass weakness with its ability to hit Grass-types with Ice Beam, Electric-types often pose a much larger threat. Elekid can outspeed and OHKO Staryu with super effective STAB attacks, Magnemite can survive any hit due to Sturdy, and Chinchou can tank any of Staryu's attacks due to its typing and access to Volt Absorb, which provides it with an immunity to Thunderbolt. Staryu can also suffer in that various Ghost-types defeat it depending on which coverage option it runs. If it Staryu isn't using Ice Beam, it Staryu struggles to spin against the likes of Pumpkaboo-XL while also struggling to sufficiently damage Frillish if it isn't using Thunderbolt.

Regardless of these flaws, Staryu is an exceptional spinner in the LC metagame that is capable of thriving both offensively and defensively, and deserves consideration on any team that hopes to find a way of removing the ever-present Stealth Rock or Sticky Web. Be sure to give it a try!
 
Last edited:

Xayah

San Bwanna
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Intro
  • Mention the relatively recent rise of LO 4 Attacks
Offensive
  • Mention the possibility of running a third attack over Recover
Defensive
  • Not sold on Psychic being only slash; both Ice Beam and Thunderbolt are solid options as well. If you disagree, at least clarify why Psychic is so good on this set
  • Mention that this set struggles to spin against teams with a spinblocker far more due to the lower offensive presence making it easier for them to switch in
Shortcomings
  • Thunderbolt is not rare at all; in fact, it's slightly more common than Psychic based on usage stats:
Code:
| Moves                                  |
| Rapid Spin 94.632%                     |
| Recover 71.304%                        |
| Scald 52.906%                          |
| Ice Beam 46.449%                       |
| Hydro Pump 44.364%                     |
| Thunderbolt 38.305%                    |
| Psychic 38.237%                        |
| Other 13.803%                          |
  • Mention that it struggles with 4MSS (it really wants Spin, STAB, 4 coverage options in TBolt, Ice Beam, Psychic, HP Fire, and preferably Recover too)
QC 1/2, now go check the other 19 Speed special attacker with good coverage
 
Intro:
"Said coverage allows Staryu to hit most Ghost-types that would attempt blocking Rapid Spin, most notably Pumpkaboo-XL and Frillish, and can also hit traditional switch-ins in Mareanie, Snivy, and Croagunk for super effective damage."
- I'd remove this because you mention all of it later anyway

Offensive:
- Vullaby is not a Staryu switchin at all

Defensive:
"While most of the moves listed on this set are the same as those seen on Staryu's offensive set, Scald is preferred over Hydro Pump, as the former has a useful 30% chance to burn foes, which is preferred over the rather poor power Hydro Pump will have without investment in Special Attack."
- This is a really wordy way of saying sometimes burning is better than more power.

This is really well written and I wouldn't consider almost anything fluff, but maybe you could combine some sentences together or condense some of the longer ones to reduce your word count.

For example, I think you could combine and shorten this, "As far as other differences between this set and the last go, EVs are pooled into HP rather than Special Attack, and Natural Cure is preferred over Analytic as the ability. The reason for this is that Staryu will often try removing entry hazards while tanking a fair amount of hits and recovering damage taken, which makes both heavier bulk investment and the ability to cure status much more appreciated than on a set that looks to offensively pressure foes rather than maintain longevity."

qc 2/2 :toast:
 

GMars

It's ya boy GEEEEEEEEMARS
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Great stuff Hilomilo
In Generation 4 DPP, when the Little Cup metagame first became playable, Staryu immediately made an appearance as the tier's best user of Rapid Spin. Ever since then, Staryu has maintained this title, and even this generation it shines in LC. Its pure Water-typing is fantastic both offensively and defensively, (RC) and is further complimented by Staryu's excellent Speed, amazing ability in Analytic, and access to a few useful coverage options, like Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, and Psychic. In addition to excelling offensively, Staryu can also function as an extremely reliable defensive spinner, (RC) due to its good bulk with investment, general lack of weaknesses, access to Natural Cure, and ability to reliably restore its health. [consider mentioning "with Recover" here] Staryu can also take a more heavily offensive approach with a Life Orb + 4 attacks set, which utilizes its good coverage to hit a large amount of threats in the metagame for super effective damage. Overall, Staryu is a Pokemon that requires very little risk to be put to effective use, (RC) and would be hard not to consider as your team's source of entry hazard removal.

Staryu @ Eviolite
Level: 5
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 156 Def / 116 SpA / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam / Psychic

Offensive Rapid Spin is the set that best showcases Staryu's viability in Little Cup, since its high Special Attack and Speed stats, fantastic coverage, and good matchups against multiple common threats in the tier allow it to easily remove entry hazards as it forces switches. Rapid Spin and Recover are both mandatory for allowing Staryu to consistently remove entry hazards, while Hydro Pump is Staryu's strongest STAB attack, hitting foes that switch in extremely hard by virtue of Analytic. The last move in this set is often chosen depending on what Staryu's team needs to cover most. Ice Beam is often used to hit Pumpkaboo-XL, which will commonly switch into Staryu in hopes of blocking Rapid Spin, and can also be used to nail other switch-ins, like Foongus and Snivy. Psychic can instead be utilized to super effectively hit Croagunk and Mareanie, which otherwise wall Staryu, on the switch. Other coverage options, such as Hidden Power Fire for Ferroseed and Thunderbolt for bulky Water-types, are perfectly viable, and overall contribute tot to the sheer struggle that comes with switching into this set, (RC) as well as the set's overall viability. A coverage move can be run over Recover if Staryu wishes to hit a wider variety of Pokemon super effectively, though it often will appreciate the longevity Recover provides when it comes to removing hazards multiple times in a match. This set often finds use on offensive teams, (RC) and will likely remain as the SM LC's premier entry hazard removal option due to its insane offensive prowess.

Staryu @ Eviolite
Level: 5
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 116 HP / 156 Def / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Psychic / Ice Beam
- Recover

Staryu's defensive set may be a little more passive than some prefer, and it can even struggle at times to break past spinblockers due to its relatively low power. However, it does a great job of both removing entry hazards and tanking hits thanks to Staryu's solid typing and bulk, which is something its other set may struggle to do both of. Most of the moves on this set are the same as on the last, though Scald is used over Hydro Pump due to its good chance to burn foes. As far as other differences between this set and the last go, EVs are pooled into HP rather than Special Attack, and Natural Cure is preferred over Analytic as the ability. The reason for this is that Staryu will often try removing entry hazards while tanking a fair amount of hits and recovering damage taken, which makes both heavier bulk investment and the ability to cure status much more appreciated than on a set that looks to offensively pressure foes rather than maintain longevity.

Staryu may be a Pokemon with a plentiful amount of perks. However, that isn't to say it lacks flaws. Despite Staryu's great defensive typing, it is still left with weaknesses to Grass- and Electric-type attacks. While it can usually circumvent its Grass weakness with its ability to hit Grass-types with Ice Beam, Electric-types often pose a much larger threat. Elekid can outspeed and OHKO Staryu with super effective STAB attacks, Magnemite can survive any hit due to Sturdy, and Chinchou can tank any of Staryu's attacks due to its typing and access to Volt Absorb, which provides it with an immunity to Thunderbolt. Staryu can also suffer in that various Ghost-types defeat it depending on which coverage option it runs. If it isn't using Ice Beam, Staryu struggles to spin against the likes of Pumpkaboo-XL, (RC) while also struggling to sufficiently damage Frillish if it isn't using Thunderbolt.

Regardless of these flaws, Staryu is an exceptional spinner in the LC metagame that is capable of thriving both offensively and defensively, and it deserves consideration on any team that hopes to find a way of removing the ever-present (AH) Stealth Rock or Sticky Web. Be sure to give it a try!

GP 1/1
 

P Squared

a great unrecorded history
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examples of places to cut down. don't implement this (esp since it's pre-GMars's check) but get a feeling of what is and isn't necessary in spotlight writing
Staryu has been LC's best spinner since the In Generation 4, when the Little Cup metagame first became playable, Staryu immediately made an appearance as the tier's best user of Rapid Spin. Ever since then, Staryu has maintained this title, and even this generation shines in LC. Its pure Water-typing is fantastic both offensively and defensively, and is further complimented by Staryu's excellent Speed, amazing ability in Analytic, and access to a few useful coverage options, like Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, and Psychic. In addition to excelling offensively, Staryu can also function as an extremely reliable defensive spinner, due to its good bulk with investment, general lack of weaknesses, access to Natural Cure, and reliable recovery ability to reliably restore its health. Staryu can also take a more heavily offensive approach with a Life Orb + 4 attacks set, which utilizes its good coverage to hit a large amount of threats in the metagame for super effective damage. Overall, Staryu is a Pokemon that requires very little risk to be put to effective use, and would be hard not to consider as your team's source of entry hazard removal.

Staryu @ Eviolite
Level: 5
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 156 Def / 116 SpA / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam / Psychic

Offensive Rapid Spin is the set that best showcases Staryu's viability in Little Cup, since its high Special Attack and Speed stats, fantastic coverage, and good matchups against multiple common threats in the tier allow it to easily remove entry hazards as it forces switches. Rapid Spin and Recover allows are both mandatory for allowing Staryu to consistently remove entry hazards, while Hydro Pump is Staryu's strongest STAB attack, hitting foes that switch in hits switch-ins extremely hard by virtue of Analytic. The last move in this set is often chosen depending on what Staryu's team needs to cover most. Pick Ice Beam is often used to hit Pumpkaboo-XL trying to spinblock, which will common switch into Staryu in hopes of blocking Rapid Spin, and can also be used to nail and other switch-ins, like Foongus and Snivy. Psychic can instead be run for utilized to super effectively hit Croagunk and Mareanie, which otherwise wall Staryu, on the switch. Other coverage options, such as Hidden Power Fire for Ferroseed and Thunderbolt for bulky Water-types, are perfectly viable, and overall contribute tot the sheer struggle that comes with switching into this set, as well as the set's overall viability. A coverage move can be run over Recover if Staryu wishes to hit a wider variety of Pokemon super effectively, though it often will appreciate the longevity Recover provides when it comes to removing hazards multiple times in a match. This set often finds use on offensive teams, and will likely remain as the SM LC's premier entry hazard removal option due to its insane offensive prowess.

Staryu @ Eviolite
Level: 5
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 116 HP / 156 Def / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Psychic / Ice Beam
- Recover

Staryu's defensive set may be a little more passive than some prefer, and can even struggle at times to break past spinblockers due to its relatively low power. However, it does a great job of both removing entry hazards and tanking hits thanks to Staryu's solid typing and bulk, which is something its other set may struggle to do both of. Most of the moves on this set are the same as on the last, though Scald is used over Hydro Pump due to its good chance to burn foes. As far as other differences between this set and the last go, EVs are pooled into HP rather than Special Attack, and Natural Cure is preferred over Analytic as the ability. The reason for this is that Staryu will often try removing entry hazards while tanking a fair amount of hits and recovering damage taken, which makes both heavier bulk investment and the ability to cure status much more appreciated than on a set that looks to offensively pressure foes rather than maintain longevity.

Staryu may be a Pokemon with a plentiful amount of perks. However, that isn't to say it lacks flaws. Despite Staryu's great defensive typing, it is still left with weaknesses to Grass- and Electric-type attacks. While Staryu it can usually circumvent its Grass weakness with its ability to hit Grass-types with Ice Beam, Electric-types often pose a much larger threat. Elekid can outspeed and OHKO Staryu with super effective STAB attacks, Magnemite can survive any hit due to Sturdy, and Chinchou can tank any of Staryu's attacks due to its typing and access to Volt Absorb, which provides it with an immunity to Thunderbolt. Staryu can also suffer in that various Ghost-types defeat it depending on which coverage option it runs. If it Staryu isn't using Ice Beam, it Staryu struggles to spin against the likes of Pumpkaboo-XL, while also struggling to sufficiently damage Frillish if it isn't using Thunderbolt.

Regardless of these flaws, Staryu is an exceptional spinner in the LC metagame that is capable of thriving both offensively and defensively, and deserves consideration on any team that hopes to find a way of removing the ever present Stealth Rock or Sticky Web. Be sure to give it a try!
 

P Squared

a great unrecorded history
is a Site Content Manageris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
this'll be published next Sunday, let me know by then if anything needs to be updated
 

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