LUDICOLO

Overview
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-Once outshined by Kingdra, Ludicolo's now the go-to Swift Swim user.
-Outstanding coverage between Water, Grass, and Ice
-Good special resistances, x4 resistant to water with neutrality to Ice, Electric, and Grass is rare and useful.
-Great answer to Rotom-W, although you will have to watch out for paralysis
-Fake Out support
-Kind of weak outside of what it hits for super effective damage
-Not much physical defense


Assault Vest
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name: Assault Vest
move 1: Scald / Hydro Pump
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Fake Out
ability: Swift Swim
item: Assault Vest
evs: 4 HP / 132 Def / 172 SpA / 4 SpD / 196 Spe
nature: Modest

Moves
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-Put your great coverage to use with the bulk to take a hit yourself.
-Hydro Pump or Scald is your main STAB move. The choice is between reliable but sometimes underwhelming damage and strong but inaccurate damage. Hydro Pump is probably what you want in Rain
-Giga Drain complements Water nicely, lets you get throw most water types, especially Rotom-W
-Ice Beam lets you hit opposing Grass and Dragon-types
-Fake Out support gives your team mate some breathing room for the turn.

Set Details
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-EVs are a straightforward split. You maximize your Special Attack and HP because otherwise they're pretty lacking
**I actually don't know a good alternate set for ludicolo**
-Assualt Vest lets you sponge hits from Rotom-W and Water-types in general.
-Swift Swim is good vs Rain. Swift Swim is preferred when using Rain.

from R's rain beatdown team:
Def: Azumarill’s Play Rough (106~126) + Aqua Jet (18~21) + Politoed’s  multiple target Surf (11~13) (note: max damage: 160, max HP: 156)
SpA:    2HKOs 252HP Aegislash except for the lowest damage roll
Spe:    Outspeeds 252 Spe neutral natured Tyranitar by 2 points
(in rain) Outspeeds Modest 252 Spe Choice Scarf Salamence

Usage Tips
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-Come in on a special attack that you resist, give Fake Out support, hit what you can, run away when a big hit's coming.

Team Options
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-Politoed is Ludicolo's partner in crime, as the two of them don't share each other's weaknesses and form a very solid rain core together.
-Ludicolo can be a great answer to rain by itself and doesn't need rain support to be effective.
-Talonflame and Ludicolo together have great coverage and deal nicely with what the other has trouble with. Talonflame + Politoed + Ludicolo together make an effective and popular rain core.
-Ludicolo pairs reasonably well with teammates that are water weak and want a switch-in, such as Heatran and Landorus-T.


Other Options
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-Life Orb gives a useful boost in power, but makes Ludicolo much frailer.
-Absorb Bulb + Surf Politoed is a pretty cheesy old strategy from 2012. It can work, but it's awkward at times to set up and is a one time boost.
Energy Ball gives you more power but Giga Drain's recovery is often more useful.
-If you're using Ludicolo without Politoed and you're not finding much use with Swift Swim or Rain Dish, Own Tempo gives you protection against Swagger users.
-rain dish sucks
TEETER DANCE :D


Checks & Counters
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-Flying-type moves from the likes of Mega Salamence and Talonflame destory Ludicolo
-Ludicolo's defense is pretty average. Strong Physical Attacks from Mega Kangaskhan or Mega Mawile are devestating
-Ludicolo's attacking prowess is also pretty average. If you have something reasonably specially bulky, it can usually trade favorably with Ludicolo.
-Ludicolo has problems with most checks to rain teams, such as Mega Venusaur and Ferrothorn.