Lotad Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves This is the only viable set that Lotad can run. Rain Dance doubles Lotad's Speed. Surf and Giga Drain are the main STAB moves. Energy Ball could be used over Giga Drain for its higher damage output, but Giga Drain's recovery is usually more useful than a chance to OHKO Chinchou after Stealth Rock. Ice Beam is for coverage, hitting Flying-types hard. Scald can be used over Surf for its utility, but Lotad's mediocre Special Attack usually makes it not worth it. Set Details A Modest nature allows Lotad to hit 24 Speed under rain, while a Timid nature lets it hit 26 Speed, which allows it to outspeed Timid Choice Scarf Chinchou, Jolly Choice Scarf Drilbur, and Jolly Choice Scarf Mienfoo. With a Modest nature, Lotad Speed ties with Jolly Choice Scarf Bunnelby, Jolly Choice Scarf Cranidos, Modest Choice Scarf Chinchou, Adamant Choice Scarf Drilbur, and Adamant Choice Scarf Mienfoo. It is also important to note that reducing Lotad's HP IVs to 19 allows it to take less damage from Life Orb recoil; the EVs maximize Lotad's both Special Attack and Speed, while slightly boosting its defenses. Usage Tips Switch Lotad in after a foe has been KOed or through a slow Volt Switch or U-turn. Set up rain and sweep while predicting correctly. Preserving Lotad until late-game until its main counters, such as Ferroseed, Mantyke, and Munchlax, are KOed is advisable. Team Options Lotad is rain-dependent, so it's nice to have other Rain Dance users that can support it. Entry hazards are also beneficial, allowing Lotad to secure some important KOs. Ferroseed can be a good teammate for this reason, while Chinchou can be useful to deal with Mantyke and provide rain support, and Scraggy is a powerful teammate that can deal with Munchlax, supporting Lotad's sweep.

This is the only viable set Lotad can run, though it is still outclassed by its rivals. Rain Dance doubles its Speed, allowing it to attack before its opponent, which is very important as Lotad is frail. When backed by Life Orb, STAB, and the rain, Surf is quite powerful, even coming off of Lotad's mediocre Special Attack stat. Giga Drain provides secondary STAB, and hits opposing Water-type Pokemon such as Frillish for super effective damage, which would otherwise easily wall it. Finally, Ice Beam provides more coverage, hitting Grass- and Dragon-types who resist both of Lotad's STAB attacks. With a Timid nature, Lotad reaches 26 Speed with Swift Swim, while hitting 24 Speed if a Modest nature is used. Generally, a Timid nature is more important so Lotad can outspeed more Pokemon, but Modest can be used for more power. Life Orb is a must in order to achieve certain KOs, and the loss in HP is not a great issue. With 0 HP IVs, Lotad only has 19 HP, meaning it only loses one HP from Life Orb per turn, as opposed to losing two HP if its IV is not reduced. The EVs maximize Lotad's most important stats, Special Attack and Speed, while slightly boosting its defenses. For a Pokemon such as Lotad, entry hazards are very important. Ferroseed can provide Spikes, and with the presence of rain, Ferroseed's weakness to Fire-type attacks is reduced. Bronzor is also a good teammate, as it can set up both Rain Dance and Stealth Rock, freeing up a moveslot for Lotad. Powerful Fighting-type Pokemon such as Timburr can take on walls such as Munchlax, allowing Lotad to continue its sweep. Chinchou can be useful in dealing with Mantyke, a Pokemon Lotad has trouble with.

Lotad excels at sweeping on a Rain Dance team thanks to its ability Swift Swim, its access to a super effective STAB type against Water-types, and its ability to reach 26 Speed in the rain, letting it outspeed all non-Choice Scarfed Pokemon. Lotad has Surf and Energy Ball for STAB and can hit Grass-types that resist Surf and Energy Ball with Ice Beam. Rain Dance is probably the most useful move in the last slot to both support the team and speed up Lotad itself. You can, however, run Hidden Power Rock as it allows you to hit Mantyke, who would otherwise wall your other attacks, for super effective damage. Hidden Power Rock can also rough up Snover on the switch, which is a pain for Rain Dance teams to face. Lowering the HP IV stat to 2 allows Lotad to reach 19 HP, which is a Life Orb number, and still maintain a 70 Base Power Hidden Power. The EVs are designed to max out Speed and Special Attack while the rest is dumped into Defense and Special Defense to add bulk. Lotad can potentially play two different roles on a team: late-game sweeper or wallbreaker. Lotad can damage many common Rain team counters like Croagunk, Munchlax, and Snover, but don't expect it to take retaliation well. Lotad can also easily sweep once a few walls are removed. Hidden Power Psychic is an option to hit Croagunk, who can damage Lotad severely, on the switch. Rain Dance can also be used in the last slot but Lotad is so slow and fragile that it will be KOed by most attacks before it can set up Rain Dance. Voltorb is the ideal lead to set up Rain Dance because of its excellent Speed. Bronzor is another Pokemon that can help set up rain for Lotad; it can also take on Snover, who is a pain for Lotad and Rain Dance teams in general. Bulky Pokemon, like Munchlax and Snover, and priority users, like Croagunk, cause Lotad pain. Chople Berry Kabuto helps to deal with these Pokemon. Kabuto hurts Munchlax badly with Waterfall in the rain and can crush Snover with Rock Slide. Kabuto also lures out Croagunk, survives a Vacuum Wave, and hit Croagunk back with Aerial Ace.