Ducklett Movesets & Competitive Sets

This set maximizes Ducklett's potential to support with Rain Dance and tanking abilities. As hail and sand are so common, the ability to change the weather to rain is very unique and can often be a game changer against unsuspecting foes. Under rain, Ducklett's fair defenses coupled with Eviolite, its immunity to status through Hydration, and its access to reliable, full recovery in Rest make it a very solid tank. It can utilize its resistances as well to sponge a variety of attacks and shrug them off with Rest. It is not a "sitting duck"--although its Special Attack stat is not high, it is enough to nab some crucial KOs with a rain-boosted Surf against Pokemon such as Snover, Mienfoo, Drilbur, and Hippopotas. Surf and Hurricane have decent coverage together, and the confusion chance can definitely aid Ducklett and its team members. Hurricane nets the OHKO on Snover as well as Mienfoo after some prior damage and hits Grass- and Water-types that resist Surf. Air Slash can also be used instead of Hurricane for more accuracy outside of Rain, but there is a notable difference in power, and it does miss out on the OHKO against Mienfoo and Snover. Rest should be used on the last slot for instant, reliable recovery with no drawbacks under rain, as Hydration heals off the sleep by the end of the turn. Roost is another option for the last slot for reliable recovery outside of rain should Ducklett not want to rely on rain too much. The EV spread maximizes Ducklett's HP and Defense, and 116 Special Defense EVs along with a Calm nature give Ducklett good special bulk and balanced defenses. The Eviolite gives Ducklett even more bulk, and Hydration lets Ducklett become immune to status in the rain. The 4 Special Attack EVs allow Ducklett to OHKO Drilbur and 2HKO Hippopotas with Surf, while powering up Hurricane. Ducklett can use Scald instead of Surf on the second slot for the burn chance, but it loses the ability to reliably take out Hippopotas and Drilbur outside of rain. A Damp Rock can also be used to make the rain last longer, but this sacrifices a lot of bulk. In terms of partners, Ducklett likes to be paired with spinners and/or hazard setters, as it forces switches but suffers because of Stealth Rock. Drilbur is a nice partner, as it resists Rock and is immune to Electric and can KO Magnemite and Chinchou, two Pokemon that can OHKO and wall Ducklett. Grass-types are also effective partners. Ferroseed is a great partner because it has perfect synergy with Ducklett and can set up entry hazards. It also appreciates the rain, as it helps weaken Fire-type moves. Pokemon that can take advantage of the rain can also be great partners. For example, Anorith can grab a Speed boost in the rain, as well as spin away Stealth Rock. Chinchou is another great partner as it is immune to Electric-type moves and can wall Magnemite and Chinchou. It also receives a nice power boost from rain.

This set aims to utilize Ducklett's useful resistances to Bug-, Water-, and most of all, Fighting-type attacks as well as its fair defensive bulk in order to make it a physical tank. Feather Dance is what makes this set successful, stopping all physical attackers that can't hit it super effectively by halving the damage of their attacks. It can then stall its opponent with Toxic, all the while effortlessly sponging its opponents' weakened attacks. Should Ducklett's health fall too low, it can recover with Roost. Roost also lets Ducklett shrug off Stealth Rock and residual damage and in general makes it last much longer. The last slot is reserved for an attacking move. Surf hits Drilbur and Hippopotas hard, nailing the former for an OHKO and the latter for a 2HKO. Air Slash, on the other hand, is used for Snover, OHKOing after a bit of residual damage. The EV spread maximizes Ducklett's bulk, giving it nice mixed defenses. Max HP and Special Defense are used so that Ducklett can take hits that it cannot weaken with Feather Dance. 4 Special Attack EVs are all it needs to raise its Special Attack by a point, letting Ducklett OHKO Drilbur and 2HKO Hippopotas with Surf. The little boost in power also lets Ducklett OHKO Snover after some residual damage, such as Stealth Rock or Spikes. The rest is all stashed into defenses to give Ducklett good defensive bulk so that it can tank the physical moves it will be handling. In terms of ability, this set should use Big Pecks, which allows Ducklett to escape Defense drops from Houndour's Crunch. Hydration is quite useless, as rain is very rare in Little Cup. Extra Special Attack can be invested to give Ducklett some extra power, but the only notable difference is that Snover is OHKOed more reliably, and the cost is a lot of extra bulk. Because Ducklett needs to be able to switch in repeatedly, it appreciates Rapid Spin support to keep Stealth Rock off the field, as it makes it susceptible to some common 2HKOs. Drilbur gets a mention here as it is also immune to Electric-type moves and can take Rock-type attacks fairly well. Chinchou is another great partner as it is immune to Electric and enjoys the weakening of opposing physical sweepers. It also has access to Heal Bell, which Ducklett really appreciates to help it erase any status it is inflicted with. Ferroseed is another awesome partner that has perfect synergy with Ducklett. It walls Electric-, Rock-, and Steel-types and can even set entry hazards to damage opponents that are forced out by Ducklett. It benefits from Ducklett's ability to wall Fire- and Fighting-types too.