Pokémon of the Day: Seaking

Halloween comes around in a little less than a week from now, so I hope everyone’s been getting ready! Orange and black are the colors of the season, and most everyone will soon be running around trying to look like something or someone they’re not, using the most nefarious tactics imaginable to obtain a variety of forbidden treasures. And in the magical world of Pokémon, what manner of creature embodies these themes better than... a giant goldfish trick-or-treating as a Nidoking? o_O





Yes, Seaking may not look like much (or maybe it looks pretty bloodthirsty), but its stats are pretty average overall. It has the look of being a sweeper, based on its 92 base Attack, but its 68 base Speed could pose a problem for that. So the problem to solve here is getting this overfed aquanaut up to a safe sweeping speed while also providing it with the means to do massive damage! Looking through the list of moves, I must note that Megahorn represents the greatest attack variety Seaking has, so let’s go with it!

CANDYHORN!

Preferred Nature: Adamant (Attk+/SpAttk-) or Jolly (Spd+/SpAttk-)
Preferred Item: Liechi Berry
Preferred Ability: Water Veil (chosen over Swift Swim)
Effort Values: Max out Attk and Spd (252), put the rest in SpDef (6)
Moveset:

Megahorn
Endure
Flail
Agility

This here set is sort of standard, but it has a couple of merits. The greatest of those is Seaking’s access to the rare ability called Water Veil. This helps the set a lot for two big reasons. Mainly, Seaking can switch in on Will-o-Wisp users with no fear of losing its precious Attack power. Similarly, it guarantees Seaking protection from one of a handful of steady damage effects that would spell doom for other Endure users. Immunity to the Burn status is sweet as candy! 8D ...Anyway, start with Agility to get the necessary sweeping speed (use it twice if you have the chance) and then Endure when you think the opponent is going to launch a finishing strike. A little luck will put Seaking down to exactly 1 HP, causing both Liechi Berry to activate and Flail to hit maximum strength. Finally, own everything with Flail and Megahorn, whichever is most effective, until either Seaking faints or you win the match. All in all, somewhat boring in my opinion, as I tend to like having more tricks rather than treats. Let’s move on!

Pokémon Riverdance

Preferred Nature: Adamant (Attk+/SpAttk-) or Jolly (Spd+/SpAttk-)
Preferred Item: Silver Powder
Preferred Ability: Swift Swim (chosen over Water Veil)
Effort Values: Max out Attk and Spd (252), put the rest in SpAttk or SpDef (6)
Moveset:

Megahorn
Rain Dance
Hydro Pump
Façade/Haze

Now here’s something I can sink my sweet tooth into – it’s the set I use personally, made a little bit more general! Since we all love Megahorn so much (right?), we give Seaking the Silver Powder for faux Bug-type STAB. Now comes the key ingredient to this set, Rain Dance. Causing rain to fall will activate Swift Swim, giving Seaking all the speed it should need. It’s a very convenient ability as Rain Dance can also be pseudopassed to Seaking by other rain-dependent Pokémon, including your opponent’s – switch this guy in on a Ludicolo in mid-setup and clean out its goody bag with a super-effective Megahorn! Then we have Hydro Pump, which still packs a punch even with a nature that lowers Special Attack. It gains real STAB, whacks the stuff that Megahorn doesn’t, and shamelessly complements Rain Dance and Swift Swim. The last slot is a little more filler, and can be fun to play around with. If you want a Normal-type attack to make Seaking a full-out sweeping beast, then I highly recommend Façade from personal experience. No more Water Veil means no more Burn resistance, so if Seaking sustains one, use Façade and it won’t be a total loss for Attack strength. Not to mention, it totally rocks if you can get Seaking poisoned – Façade’s power doubles, making it both stronger and more accurate than Megahorn. Talk about your nasty cavities! For more sheer power, you can try Return or aim for a physical Hidden Power (Rock or Fighting are probably best). Haze is fun, because it lets Seaking mock any opponents who try to catch up with its Swift Swim, and makes him a good switch-in on unwary Baton Passers. You can also try an annoying move like Attract if you want to up your chances against more defensive foes that aren’t weak against your attacks. Just keep the Rain Dance coming down and Seaking will likely be in for smooth sailing. Its biggest fears are Electric-types and other users of Electric attacks, especially the fiendish ones who would dare use Thunder to turn Rain Dance against you. If such a foe comes out at Seaking, you can either have Seaking flee like a little girl in a haunted house or you can cross your fingers and select Hydro Pump – your choice.

For Diamond/Pearl: Use the second set, not the first! With Waterfall now becoming a physical attack, Seaking has access to a very solid STAB’d move running off its highest stat that doubles in power with a mere Rain Dance. Hydro Pump might still be a tad stronger in some cases, but Waterfall is much more accurate. Some of the new D/P moves could come in handy as well, if you care to try them out!

Seaking, another of my recent favorites, can be very effective once you give it a running start. Attacks of both Bug- and Water-type actually compliment each other quite nicely! So if you decide to get on this Pokémon’s bad side this Halloween, hope it doesn’t rain, because you’re in for some painful retaliation if it does!