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Moves Stealth Rock is used to cripple incoming Pokemon on any type and help put foes into range for Bug's powerful offensive backbone to come in and sweep. Rapid Spin is crucial for Armaldo because most of its partners are weak to Stealth Rock. It is Armaldo's job to keep Stealth Rock off its side of the field, but it struggles against Ghost-type Pokemon. Armaldo compresses these two roles into one set very nicely, as it also has Knock Off as a utility move for removing items like Eviolite from Chansey and Porygon2 and even Choice Scarf from Victini. Stone Edge is Armaldo's Rock-type STAB attack, allowing it to threaten Flying-type Pokemon better, such as Zapdos and Mega Charizard Y. Armaldo can also use it to threaten Bug-type Pokemon like Mega Pinsir and Volcarona that can otherwise set up and sweep. Set Details An investment of 252 HP EVs allows Armaldo to minimize the damage taken from Stealth Rock and increases Armaldo's longevity. The Defense investment allows it to take a V-create from Victini, even after Stealth Rock damage, enabling it to remove said Stealth Rock or Knock Off a Choice Scarf. The rest of the EVs are put in Special Defense with a Careful nature to help Armaldo survive Fire-type special wallbreakers like Mega Charizard Y's attacks. Leftovers is a good item for Armaldo because it increases Armaldo’s longevity. Battle Armor is Armaldo's best ability to block critical hits. Usage Tips Armaldo's role on the team is to keep entry hazards off the field with Rapid Spin and to support its teammates. Also, Armaldo can set up Stealth Rock to weaken opposing Pokemon to help the team. Stealth Rock is important for weakening Pokemon so Bug-type teams' offensive sweepers can come in and pick off the weakened Pokemon. Set up the hazard early on in matches and if Armaldo doesn't need to clear hazards with Rapid Spin right away. Knock Off allows Armaldo to help its teammates knock out Eviolite Pokemon like Chansey and Porygon2 more easily. Also, Knock Off allows Armaldo to hit the Ghost-type Pokemon that spinblock it, such as Gengar. Armaldo's STAB Stone Edge is used to weaken Flying-type Pokemon such as Zapdos and Crobat that threaten Armaldo's partners. Armaldo can also act as a check to Victini if Armaldo has not been damaged much, but after one switch into Stealth Rock Armaldo can no longer check it. In some matchups, know when it's more important to set up Stealth Rock for clutch chip damage or to clear hazards to secure a sweep from teammates. For example, Stealth Rock is important against Normal-type teams because hazards pressure the team and allows Armaldo's partners a chance to break through. Also, since Armaldo only has base 75 Special Defense, it should not be staying in on strong special attackers if it doesn't have to. Meanwhile Rapid Spin can become crucial against Rock-type teams because Bug-type teams cannot afford to have Stick Web and Stealth Rock on their side of the field. Team Options Galvantula uses Sticky Web to slow down Pokemon and support the rest of the team, just like Armaldo. Together, they pressure Flying-type teams, and Armaldo can remove entry hazards while keeping Galvantula's Sticky Web up. Galvantula also pressures Dark-types, Psychic-types, and Water-types with its coverage, which is very helpful for Armaldo. Also, Scizor is a great partner for Armaldo because it resists Steel-type attacks that Armaldo cannot handle and is neutral against Rock-type attacks. In return, Armaldo is neutral against Scizor's Fire-type weakness and can beat Fire-types with Stone Edge. When using the alternative spread for Armaldo, Scizor can remove Victini with Choice Band-boosted Pursuit after Victini uses V-create twice on Armaldo. Armaldo supports Volcarona well because Volcarona is 4x weak to Stealth Rock. With hazards off the field and Volcarona healthy, it becomes a lot easier for it to set up Quiver Dance. Mega Pinsir also appreciates Armaldo because it is 4x weak to Stealth Rock and needs Armaldo to clear hazards. If Stealth Rock isn't up, Mega Pinsir can set up a Swords Dance a lot more easily. Also, Armaldo can remove Eviolites from Pokemon like Chansey and Porygon2 allowing Mega Pinsir to break them down easier. Heracross helps Armaldo because Heracross has the ability Guts, boosting its Attack stat if statused. This allows Heracross to break through Mega Sableye, which counters Armaldo. Araquanid is a very solid partner for Armaldo because of its immunity to burn thanks to its ability Water Bubble and its resistance to Water-type attacks. Armaldo supports Araquanid by taking Flying-type attacks for it and keeping hazards off the field. Araquanid replaces Armaldo as the Fire-type check, alleviating some pressure from Armaldo. Yanmega is another very strong special attacker that benefits from Armaldo's hazard removal. Yanmega also pressures Dark-types and Psychic-types and benefits from Armaldo setting up Stealth Rock, allowing it to KO weakened Pokemon.

Survives a non-Choice Band Victini's V-Create after Stealth Rock. This is a sample set. We aren't working on ORAS Monotype analyses at the moment, but check out ORAS Monotype resources for more information about the metagame.

Armaldo's huge Attack stat and wide movepool is taken advantage to the fullest with a Choice Band set. X-Scissor is the main draw of this set, and is Armaldo's main STAB attack. With X-Scissor, Armaldo cuts cleanly through the popular Regenerator core of Tangrowth and Slowking--even outspeeding the latter--as well as easily KOing the likes of Uxie. Stone Edge and Earthquake work together to give Armaldo perfect neutral coverage in RU. The last slot is mostly filler, but both moves have their uses: Rapid Spin is the main choice, as the only one Ghost-type that can take the chance to switch into Choice Band Armaldo safely is Golurk. Rotom and Spiritomb are cleanly 2HKOed by Stone Edge, forcing them to risk the chance of eating a Stone Edge in order to switch in on Rapid Spin. The consistent 2HKO on these Ghost-types is also the reason why Stone Edge is the main choice for the Rock-type STAB move; however, Rock Blast is a viable alternative to punish Substitute users, particularly Rotom. Aqua Tail is a viable alternative to Rapid Spin, because Rapid Spin is an awful move to get locked into and forces Armaldo to switch out after using it. Aqua Tail is also nice to nail Sandslash harder than Armaldo's other moves. The EVs are designed to outrun minimum Speed Tangrowth. From there an Adamant nature and max Attack EVs give Armaldo the most bang for its buck, with the remaining EVs placed into HP to make use of Armaldo's bulk. An alternative EV spread of 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe can be used instead, though then you're wasting Armaldo's decent bulk. It's also not recommended to run such a spread because Armaldo is susceptible to all entry hazards, which means that any extra bulk could be the difference between getting OHKOed or 2HKOed. Ghost-types are still liable to switch in on this set, particularly Rotom, who is immune to Earthquake and Rapid Spin and can survive X-Scissor easily enough. From there said Ghost-types can burn Armaldo with Will-O-Wisp, effectively putting it out of commission. Dark-types with Pursuit, such as Spiritomb and Drapion, are excellent teammates to get rid of the pesky poltergeists. With Ghost-types removed, Armaldo is then able to use Rapid Spin freely, possibly opening a sweep for a teammate weak to entry hazards, like Entei. Choice Band Armaldo excels at breaking through Regenerator cores and balanced teams, making it an excellent addition to most offensive and balanced teams. Choice Band Armaldo doesn't need much team support, and instead is there on the team to provide support for sweepers. With a Regenerator core of Tangrowth and Slowking blown open, a teammate along the lines of Feraligatr, Crawdaunt, or Hitmonlee is free to set up and destroy the opposition. Because Armaldo is so slow, it's incredibly easy to revenge kill. Therefore, having defensive walls that can switch into a variety of opponents is a good idea. Poliwrath is an excellent teammate as it can switch into Water-, Steel-, and Rock-type attacks with ease, as well as phaze any set up attempts with Circle Throw. Quagsire is an excellent teammate in this regard as well. Armaldo's Special Defense leaves a lot to be desired, and having a specially defensive teammate, such as Slowking or Roselia, that can take most special attacks thrown Armaldo's way is also a good idea. Roselia can also set up Spikes, which makes KOing Tangrowth, Slowking, and other threats much easier. In fact, entry hazards in general push many 2HKOs into OHKOs for Armaldo, making Steelix, Uxie, and Qwilfish fantastic teammates as well. If you're having trouble making Rapid Spin work on this set, then packing another spinner is a good idea. Armaldo can then work as a sort of lure to KO the Ghost-types that stand in your other spinner's way. Cryogonal and Sandslash make great teammates in this respect, as well as Hitmonchan. Having a different spinner also takes the pressure off of Armaldo, and also lets it switch in more often, as Armaldo will continue to take damage from all entry hazards.

The main goal of this set is to pull off a Rapid Spin, and the rest of the moves and EVs help Armaldo achieve this goal. Stealth Rock is placed in the second slot for further team support; Armaldo is the only Pokemon, apart from Sandslash, with this unique combination of moves in RU. However, if Stealth Rock is not needed or another teammate can set it up, Toxic should go in this slot. Toxic is fantastic for crippling the Ghost-types that will be switching into Armaldo to block Rapid Spin, particularly Rotom, Dusknoir, Spiritomb, and Golurk. Rock Blast is the recommended Rock STAB move of choice on this set as it breaks through Rotom's Substitutes and continue to hit it. Plus, thanks to Armaldo's gigantic Attack stat, even if it only hits twice it'll do a respectable amount of damage to a number of Pokemon in the tier. The last slot is a decision between X-Scissor and Seismic Toss. X-Scissor provides Armaldo with a tool to blast through Tangrowth, Slowking, and Uxie, the latter of which will usually try to set up Stealth Rock on Armaldo's team over and over again. X-Scissor also always breaks Gallade's Substitutes, even after a Bulk Up, as well as OHKO Lilligant and Sceptile. Earthquake is a great move to use if Fighting- and Steel-types give your team trouble. It also ensures that Klinklang can't set up a Substitute on Armaldo and deals a ton of damage to Qwilfish. With Earthquake, Armaldo is overall less susceptible to becoming set up bait to a majority of the RU tier. The EVs on this set focus on making Armaldo as physically bulky as possible. However, Armaldo is not a physical wall, and should not be played like one. In fact, even with full defensive investment, Armaldo is 2HKOed by many of the strongest physical attackers in the tier, including Choice Band Entei, Life Orb Hitmonlee, and Choice Scarf Medicham. Luckily, Armaldo is able to tank at least one hit from them, even after taking damage from Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes, and retaliate or use Rapid Spin, should the need arise. Toxic can go in the last slot as well if X-Scissor or Earthquake don't suit your fancy. Toxic is this set's best weapon against the bulky Ghost-types in the tier, so anything that can help your teammates defeat them is always a good thing. Stone Edge can also be used over Rock Blast for consistent damage, though it doesn't hit through Rotom's Substitutes, one of the major draws to this set. Support Armaldo needs teammates that can eliminate the opponent's Ghost-types so that Armaldo can Rapid Spin freely. Dark-type Pursuit users are probably the best way to remove said Ghost-types, making Spiritomb, Absol, Drapion, and Skuntank welcomed partners. Armaldo is outrun by nearly the whole tier, meaning Armaldo is hilariously easy to revenge kill. As Armaldo is probably your only spinner, keeping it alive until you're sure that your opponent won't, or can't, set up any more entry hazards is a top priority. As such, teammates that can switch into Water-type attacks or remove enemy Water-types with ease are required. Ferroseed, Tangrowth, Roselia, Manectric, and Lanturn all fill this role admirably. Rock-type attacks from the likes of Choice Band Aggron are also dangerous, making Quagsire, Rhydon, and Steelix good teammates too. Poliwrath in particular is a great teammate, as it resists Rock-, Water-, and Steel-type attacks, and can make use of the Stealth Rock Armaldo sets up with Circle Throw. Finally, as the main goal of this set is to fire off Rapid Spin, Pokemon that can take full advantage of an entry hazard-less field are the best teammates. Moltres, Scyther, Entei, Accelgor, and Jynx are all highly crippled by entry hazards, and having a clear field gives them the most time to sweep the enemy's team. Teams that make use of multiple Eviolite users will also enjoy having a spinner clear the field of hazards, making Roselia that much of a better partner, as it is able to switch into strong special attacks with ease.

Armaldo received a neat little toy from the Dream World in Swift Swim. Under the rain and with max Speed, Armaldo reaches a Speed stat of 378, enough to outrun all unboosted Pokemon in the metagame, with the exception of Aerodactyl, Accelgor, and Ninjask. When Armaldo switches in, the first thing you should try to do is set up Swords Dance. From there Armaldo is able to outspeed most of the metagame and OHKO a large portion of it with the appropriate move. X-Scissor is used to smite all Grass-types and Slowking in your rain team's path. Stone Edge is for secondary STAB, and is a stronger neutral hit than X-Scissor. It's also great for destroying the Bug- and Flying-types that normally give rain teams trouble; it helps in that Armaldo outspeeds most of them, such as Life Orb Galvantula, Life Orb Moltres, and Aerodactyl. The last slot goes to Aqua Tail, which gives Armaldo another "STAB" attack to use in the rain, and destroys Sandslash and Rhydon. An Adamant nature and max Speed is used to outrun Sceptile and all other Pokemon with base 120 Speed or less, with the rest placed into Attack to give Armaldo as much power as possible. Jolly can be used in place of Adamant to outspeed Aerodactyl, but there's a large drop in power to do so. An alternative EV spread of 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe and a Jolly nature can be used to tank hits from Choice Scarf Manectric and Choice Scarf Rotom-C better and eliminate them; these two Pokemon are normally very dangerous to rain teams. However, breaking through Ferroseed is a bit harder with this EV spread. Superpower can be used to smash through Ferroseed, while Earthquake gets a stronger hit on the other Steel- and Rock-types that stand in Armaldo's way. Armaldo's role on a rain team is to smash through the Grass-types that normally give them trouble, particularly Roselia, Ferroseed, and Lilligant. At +2, X-Scissor is a clean 2HKO on Ferroseed (64.04 - 75.34%), as well as an OHKO on every other Grass-type in the tier and Slowking. Armaldo should not, however, try to set up Swords Dance on Ferroseed, as Gyro Ball is a 2HKO in return. Instead, Armaldo should find time to set up on Pokemon it scares out or can tank an attack from, such as Magneton, Accelgor, Bouffalant, and Electivire. Even if Armaldo can't find the time to set up Swords Dance, X-Scissor will still deal a ton of damage to the Grass-types that Armaldo is there to eliminate. Pokemon that can set up Rain Dance reliably are required teammates. Uxie and Mesprit are fantastic in this regard, as they can set up Stealth Rock and Rain Dance, and then give Armaldo a safe switch in with a slow U-turn. Armaldo is weak to Water, which is only exacerbated by the rain you set up, so a Pokemon immune or resistant to Water to switch in reliably is best as a teammate. Poliwrath is a brilliant partner since it is immune to Water, and resists Rock and Steel too. Slowking and Lanturn are great partners as well, with the latter able to use the rain to its advantage to fire off STAB Thunders with 100% accuracy. Armaldo tends to lure in Pokemon that would normally be terrified of rain teams, such as Sandslash and Steelix, which can be used as set up fodder for your other rain sweepers once they're in. Gorebyss, Ludicolo, Omastar, and Kabutops are all fantastic rain sweepers that enjoy Ferroseed and other Grass-types out of the way, or at least severely maimed. Finally, this set can be used outside of a rain team, but then you're using a worse Rhydon, which is faster and sports a better typing.

By using its Dream World ability, Swift Swim, Armaldo becomes a powerful sweeper in the rain. X-Scissor is its main STAB, as it hits the numerous Psychic- and Dark-type Pokemon in the VGC 2012 metagame, such as Latios, Latias, Cresselia, Tyranitar, and Hydreigon, for super effective damage. Rock Slide is another great STAB move for Armaldo, as it has great coverage alongside X-Scissor and gives Armaldo a spread move to use. However, Stone Edge can be used for more power, as it OHKOes 140/0 Zapdos, 252/140 Gyarados (if you avoid Intimidate), and 252/0 Togekiss, though it comes at the cost of accuracy. There are two options for the third moveslot; Earthquake is there for coverage against Steel-type Pokemon such as Metagross, Heatran, and Empoleon. However, Brick Break can be used to hit Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Tyranitar harder. Finally, Protect is used so Armaldo can avoid damage from moves such as Fake Out and Bullet Punch, which gives its partner time to take out the threat or set up rain. The EVs given in conjunction with a Jolly nature are used to outpace positive-natured Choice Scarfed Smeargle in the rain, as that is the main threat Armaldo needs to outpace. It also outpaces Choice Scarf Politoed, Metagross, and other fast Pokemon such as Aerodactyl and Jolteon, all of which outpace Armaldo if it runs an Adamant nature. In any case, Adamant isn't that bad of an idea, as it provides Armaldo with more power and lets it Speed tie with Weavile and Swellow. Life Orb is the primary item as it provides Armaldo with a significant power boost, especially with a Jolly nature being recommended. Considering that Armaldo is using Swift Swim as its ability, Pokemon that can set up rain are a must for this set's success. As such, Politoed is a must, using Drizzle to activate Swift Swim without any setup whatsoever. Pokemon that can take care of Water-, Fighting-, and Steel-types also make good partners. Zapdos can take care of both Water- and Fighting-type Pokemon with its STAB moves, as well as using Tailwind to ensure that Armaldo will outspeed Pokemon such as Kingdra in the rain. Thundurus is another good choice; the only difference is that it uses Thunder Wave instead of Tailwind to ensure that Armaldo outspeeds its checks. Thundurus can also set up Rain Dance reliably thanks to Prankster. However, both Pokemon share a common Rock-type weakness with Armaldo. Ludicolo can not only use powerful Hydro Pumps and Surfs to take care of Steel- and Fighting-type Pokemon, but also Giga Drain to take care of Water-type Pokemon. Gastrodon makes a good partner as well, as Storm Drain will redirect Water-type attacks away from Armaldo, while Armaldo's X-Scissor can handle Grass-type foes. Gastrodon also can use Earth Power to deal damage to Steel-types. Finally, Amoonguss makes a great partner, drawing away Water-type attacks with Rage Powder while using Spore to prevent Trick Room from going up, which would cripple Armaldo.

For some people, using Armaldo in rain is a dumb idea. However, there's an alternative to the fast sweeper set: a slower, bulkier Trick Room sweeper. Though the moves are similar to the rain sweeper, it uses Trick Room instead of rain in order to outspeed the opponent and attack. X-Scissor is Armaldo's strongest Bug-type STAB, working well when going for coverage against Pokemon such as Tyranitar, Latios, Latias, and the ever annoying Cresselia. The choice of Rock STAB is up to the user; Rock Slide gives Armaldo a spread attack, while Stone Edge should be used if you'd like OHKOs against Pokemon such as Zapdos and Togekiss. The third moveslot is based on what your team needs coverage on the most. Earthquake gives coverage against Steel-type Pokemon such as Metagross and Heatran, while Low Kick can nail Pokemon such as Tyranitar and Terrakion harder than Earthquake can. Finally, Protect is used to stall for a turn as Armaldo's ally sets up Trick Room or clears a threat. The EVs listed are the typical EV spread for an Trick Room abuser. 252 HP EVs give maximum balanced bulk, while 252 Attack EVs are used to make it hit as hard as possible. To make sure Armaldo is as slow as possible, 0 Speed IVs and a Brave nature are used. Again, a Life Orb is recommended as it provides Armaldo with the power to blast through teams, though a Sitrus Berry can be used instead, as Armaldo's defenses are good enough to make use of the berry. Trick Room users that have trouble against Tyranitar, such as Musharna and Cresselia, make great teammates as they can boost Armaldo's attacks with Helping Hand, while Armaldo takes care of those pesky Dark-type Pokemon that give them trouble. Like the Swift Swim set, Pokemon that can take care of Water-, Fighting-, and Steel-types make good partners. Eelektross takes care of Water-type Pokemon due to its STAB moves, has Acrobatics for Fighting-types, and can use Flamethrower against Steel-types. Breloom takes care of Steel- and Water-types due to its STAB moves, and has Spore as well, which can cripple an opposing Pokemon. Amoonguss makes a great partner, as it can draw away Water-type attacks with Rage Powder, or use Spore to cripple Pokemon that give Armaldo trouble.

Armaldo has the potential to support its teammates rather than rely on them for a sweeping opportunity, by virtue of its excellent support movepool. One would expect that, with the many ways it can support its team, coupled onto its reasonable defensive stats, and lack of Speed making it a less potent offensive threat than it could be, this would be Armaldo's most used set. However, its typing gives Armaldo a mere two resistances, to Normal- and Poison-type moves, widely accepted as the worst attacking types outside of STAB, and with weaknesses to Rock-, Water-, and Steel-type moves, which is incredibly detrimental. The Rock-type weakness is really the killer, whereby Armaldo obtains the infamous 'Cloyster syndrome' (being a Rapid Spin user weak to Stealth Rock), and this weakness both limits its survivability and also undercuts its utility as a Rapid Spin user. However, this should not discourage you from using Support Armaldo, as it can be a very useful tool when a lot of jobs need doing. Rock Slide is advised as your attacking option for reliability, though there are always other options. Rock Blast may seem an odd choice when Stone Edge and Rock Slide are available, but it can also be used to support the team in a way Armaldo's other STAB moves cannot. Similar to Marowak's Bonemerang, Rock Blast can be used to break Substitutes; for example, against a Substitute + Toxic Moltres, Armaldo can break the Substitute with its first Rock Blast, then follow it up with up to four more 4x super effective STAB hits. Its accuracy is shaky at best, but then again Stone Edge has the same accuracy anyway. Stealth Rock is, naturally, a useful entry hazard with which to build up damage, and can be useful if you have no other Pokemon on your team capable of setting it up. Rapid Spin removes the entry hazards on your side of the field, which is beneficial to those Pokemon that have to keep switching, as well as those that are vulnerable to entry hazards, including Armaldo itself. Knock Off is best used by removing the item from more specialized Pokemon--walls such as Slowbro hate to lose their Leftovers, and sweepers will also miss the extra kick from their Life Orb or Choice item. Lastly, Toxic can go over either of the previous moves, its main use being to cripple walls, as well as Spiritomb that attempt to block Armaldo's Rapid Spin attempts. Armaldo is naturally physically defensive, so the EVs serve to reinforce that. Its Special Defense can be patched up with sandstorm if you feel it is exposed, but this may harm your other team members, so be sure to take it into account. The remaining EVs are placed in Attack. Armaldo can support a great variety of Pokemon with its moves, and so can cater to a great variety of strategies that require adequate support. For example, as a Rapid Spin user it can clear the field of Stealth Rock, which is a great help to Pokemon such as Moltres and Scyther who are quite crippled by it, as well as giving more switching opportunities for Pokemon such as Arcanine. One of its notable advantages over its fellow Rapid Spin users is, on offensive teams especially, that unlike Claydol or Cloyster, the opponent will not always assume that it is a Rapid Spin user, and so Ghosts will not always converge upon Armaldo en masse; after all, even 252/252+ Spiritomb takes hefty damage from a +2 Stone Edge, and Mismagius is not exactly the first choice to defeat the Rock Polish set. Thus, in a similar vein to Kabutops, Armaldo can often find itself clearing the field of entry hazards set up by stall teams, though this facade will only work once, and without the power of the offensive sets, it cannot hope to get past Spiritomb (though Toxic can remedy this). Armaldo will still almost always break a Mismagius Substitute with Rock Blast, however, and more often than not can deal damage past it through consecutive hits. In the vein of offensive teams, Toxic, Stealth Rock, and Knock Off all hamper the opponent's walls and can indeed aid in a sweep for any offensive Pokemon, yet they also have utility on stall teams as well, so make sure to choose your Armaldo's moves not only on personal preference, but also on what benefits your team the most. In terms of bulkiness, Armaldo is fairly good physically, but a lack of useful resistances as well as recovery hurts it badly, so it is best to relegate him to a simple secondary physical shock absorber. Lastly, it should be noted that although Armaldo certainly benefits from sandstorm, be cautious about its impact on the rest of your team; Armaldo can often play its role more readily without sandstorm than the rest of your team could with sandstorm.

There is rarely an offensive Pokemon who cannot in theory run a viable Choice set, and Armaldo is no exception to the rule. A Choice Band allows Armaldo to hit hard right off the bat, which can be handy since the Swords Dance variant can often be forced out before it has had the chance to wreak havoc, thanks to everything vaguely popular being able to outspeed it. This set gives Armaldo the opportunity to hit its switch-in with a very painful, boosted attack. The downside to this is, of course, that Armaldo loses the ability to change moves, and so a misprediction can be a fatal mistake. Armaldo has a real potential to get stuck on the wrong move, as its STAB moves do not have a great deal of neutral coverage individually. Even then, if Armaldo uses Stone Edge on the switch and nails Moltres, expecting an X-Scissor, Pokemon such as Torterra then essentially get a free turn on Armaldo, which can be terminal to your chances in the battle if you don't have a way to stop them. The first three moves should be self-explanatory: a three slot combination that hits every Pokemon in the game for at least neutral damage. The fourth move is somewhat of a filler option, and does not really affect your battle chances should you leave the house with one but not the other. Aqua Tail, as demonstrated by Tyranitar in OU, is a good move with which to defeat its counters, Hippowdon and Gliscor, who are indifferent to its other moves and can generally wall the tar out of it, literally. Armaldo would no doubt put this to good use if either Gliscor or Hippowdon were allowed in UU, or if you intend to use this in OU. In a normal UU context, it is only really useful for Donphan, Rhyperior, and the odd Gligar or Hippopotas. All other Pokemon mostly take higher damage from its other moves. Superpower is a more powerful attack than Earthquake to use against Steel-types, though its coverage is somewhat redundant, but because it is as powerful as STAB X-Scissor when hitting for neutral damage, it is worth consideration. For the EVs, 252 EVs and a Jolly nature are again necessary to allow Armaldo to outrun defensive Milotic and everything slower, and the EVs in Defense leave Armaldo with an HP stat that allows it to switch into Stealth Rock a maximum of five times, which is handy as Armaldo will be switching a lot, as is often the case with Choice sets. On the other hand, if you want to bulk Armaldo up a bit, you can run 216 Speed EVs and an Adamant nature, which not only nets you more power but also an extra 40 HP EVs, while still allowing Armaldo to outrun Adamant Rhyperior. Again, Rhyperior is a competitor for this sort of spot on a team, but it has to be said that Rhyperior can use a Choice set slightly better, since it resists Stealth Rock and so is not limited to five switches. Do not let this discourage you from using Armaldo, though, as it still has the strong points of outspeeding Milotic and others around that Speed tier, as well as a somewhat more advantageous defensive typing. As previously mentioned, Armaldo has a lifeline of five switches in the presence of Stealth Rock, which isn't much. Therefore, a Rapid Spin user is heavily advised for use with Armaldo, as well as a Pokemon that can remove Ghosts. Claydol, as always, makes a good partner, checking Hitmontop and Hariyama while spinning away Stealth Rock, and also being able to set up its own Stealth Rock in order to aid Armaldo's episode of chaos. Wish support from a Pokemon such as Hypno or Chansey can also be a worthwhile investment by simultaneously healing Armaldo and also covering its weaker defensive side.

This set is far more concentrated upon sweeping, and getting the job done, than simply going for as much power as possible. Rock Polish allows Armaldo to boost its Speed to respectable levels at the cost of a moveslot that could have been used for Swords Dance, thus allowing it to outpace and hopefully run through the opponent's team. This set should be played in a similar fashion to Rock Polish Rhyperior, with the difference being that Armaldo has STAB X-Scissor and Stone Edge with Earthquake for coverage, while Rhyperior has STAB Earthquake and Stone Edge with Megahorn for coverage. Armaldo also has slightly higher initial Speed to compete with Rhyperior's extra attacking power, which means that it can afford to run an Adamant nature and still outpace Alakazam and Dugtrio after a Rock Polish, which is a massive plus. With 244 EVs in Speed, a Rock Polish grants Armaldo a Speed stat of 374, allowing it to outpace everything up to Adamant Choice Scarf Absol and Timid Alakazam, and hopefully tear apart a weakened team, while the remaining 12 EVs are allocated to HP to provide some bulk. Alternatively, you can use a Jolly nature to hit the same Speed tiers as Jolly Rhyperior, while retaining plenty of EVs to give Armaldo some bulk. Since this set single greatest objective is a sweep this Armaldo should be saved for late-game when most walls are either weakened or gone, and Swellow and Sceptile are hopefully absent and unable to revenge kill Armaldo. The surprise factor for Armaldo is critical--since once the surprise is gone, a sweep becomes a far more difficult task. For all these reasons, as well as the much-needed power it provides, Life Orb is heavily recommended as the item of choice. Stealth Rock is still a useful support to have, and is critical in wearing down your opponents to KO range for Armaldo at the time of the sweep. Faster Pokemon are now less of an issue--Blaziken will not enjoy eating an Earthquake after attempting to switch in on an X-Scissor. However, at the same time, bulky Pokemon become greater threats--Weezing and Spiritomb have no difficulty burning Armaldo with Will-O-Wisp, while Registeel can ruin its sweep with Thunder Wave and beat it up with STAB Iron Head. Regirock has an even higher Defense stat and a more powerful STAB Stone Edge to use against Armaldo. Steelix has the potential to carry Gyro Ball, which can hurt badly after a Rock Polish, or to simply Roar Armaldo out. Not far behind are bulky Water-types such as Milotic, who have reliable recovery and can use status moves or simply STAB Surf to end Armaldo for good. For these reasons, Blaziken can make a useful ally, as it is immune to Will-O-Wisp and has STAB Fire Blast and Superpower to beat Regirock, Registeel, and Steelix, while Weezing and Spiritomb dislike Fire Blast and can do nothing significant back. Bulky Water-types also help, as they can deal with such Pokemon as Weezing, Steelix, and Regirock with ease, provided none of them pack Explosion. Claydol can use STAB Earthquake or Earth Power on Steelix, Regirock, and Registeel, as well as ridding Armaldo of entry hazards with Rapid Spin, and can also set up its own Stealth Rock to aid Armaldo's sweep.

Armaldo returns for another bout of carnage in DPP with little change as far as the basic idea behind it goes: attempt to sweep, or support, but not both. This set is the most ambiguous of all its potential sets to identify in this context--while Rock Polish constitutes a straightforward sweep and the support variant is so named for obvious reasons, this Armaldo can attempt to sweep slower or weakened teams, as well as punch holes in the walls of the opponent's team, thus supporting its own team. It can therefore modify its game to suit any opponent, not only making it the most easily adaptable of Armaldo's sets, but often the most profitable when used competitively. Swords Dance is naturally the most important move on this set, boosting Armaldo's Attack as far as it can go in preparation for a sweep. After Armaldo has set up, you can show off its excellent STAB moves. Stone Edge and X-Scissor are both decently powered and provide a wide range of coverage together, resisted only by Fighting- and Steel-types. Earthquake is placed in the final slot to deal with Steel-types, as well as Toxicroak and Nidoking, and it is Armaldo's best bet against Fighting-types such as Primeape and Hitmontop. Between these three moves is a conglomeration of EdgeQuake and Bug-type STAB that hits every Pokemon in the game for at least neutral damage. The EVs and nature are the standard sweeper spread. A Jolly nature and 252 Speed EVs are necessary to allow Armaldo to outrun defensive Milotic and other slower Pokemon, such as Aggron and Rhyperior. The ability to outrun Milotic is something Rhyperior does not share, and is hence a massive advantage in competitive play. Attack is then maximized, and the remaining EVs are placed in Defense to give Armaldo an HP number indivisible by four, which allows Armaldo to switch into Stealth Rock five times at most without fainting. Life Orb is recommended in the item slot to make up for the loss of the Adamant nature, allowing Armaldo to OHKO Milotic with Stone Edge and Tangrowth with X-Scissor after a Swords Dance; however, its recoil makes Armaldo far easier to revenge kill. Leftovers is another good choice in order to make the most of Armaldo's bulk, especially if you pair it with sandstorm support, but the loss in power is significant. Stealth Rock is an always useful support to have, since as powerful as Armaldo is, it simply does not have the power, even after a Swords Dance, to OHKO most bulky Pokemon. Armaldo is also easily outsped and revenge killed by faster threats. For these reasons, Hippopotas is recommended as a partner to set up sandstorm and Stealth Rock, the former of which gives a very useful defensive boost to Armaldo's weaker special side, which makes it so that standard Milotic cannot OHKO Armaldo with Surf even after Stealth Rock damage; however, you should make sure you are aware of the potential damage the sandstorm can do to the rest of your team if they are not immune to it. In all cases, Armaldo will be glad of some extra Speed to work with, since its low Speed stat is its biggest complaint as a sweeper. This can be mitigated in three ways: Baton Passed Speed boosts from something such as Scyther or Gligar, paralysis support from Uxie or Tangrowth, or Trick Room. For the last option, you will want to run a Brave nature and shift all of Armaldo's Speed EVs to HP in order to maximize Trick Room's effectiveness. In the way of troublemaking bulky Pokemon, Weezing can survive a Swords Danced Stone Edge, just barely, and cripple Armaldo with Will-O-Wisp. Luckily for Armaldo though, should Weezing be lacking Will-O-Wisp, then its Flamethrower will not even 3HKO, and if Armaldo is running Leftovers, neither will Fire Blast. Aside from this, Fighting-types cause Armaldo the most trouble, notably Hitmontop and Hariyama, since Toxicroak, Medicham, and Blaziken can be taken care of with Armaldo's coverage moves. Both Hariyama and Hitmontop resist Armaldo's STAB moves and take little from Earthquake; Hitmontop in particular has Intimidate and Bullet Punch to threaten Armaldo with, and both have STAB Close Combat. To combat these threats, a sturdy Psychic-type, such as Uxie or Claydol, or Spiritomb is worth consideration.