Name: Raticate (Alola Form)
Type: Dark / Normal
Abilities:
Gluttony: The Pokemon consumes a held Berry earlier than it normally would.
Hustle: The Pokemon's Attack is multiplied by 1.5, but the accuracy of its physical attacks is multiplied by 0.8.
Thick Fat: The Pokemon takes half damage from Ice and Fire moves.
Stats: 75 HP / 71 Attack / 70 Defense / 40 Special Attack / 80 Special Defense / 77 Speed
Moves:
- Scary Face
- Swords Dance
- Tackle
- Tail Whip
- Quick Attack
- Focus Energy
4 Quick Attack
7 Focus Energy
10 Bite
13 Pursuit
16 Hyper Fang
19 Assurance
24 Crunch
29 Sucker Punch
34 Super Fang
39 Double-Edge
44 Endeavor
TM05 Roar
TM06 Toxic
TM08 Bulk Up
TM09 Venoshock
TM10 Hidden Power
TM11 Sunny Day
TM12 Taunt
TM13 Ice Beam
TM14 Blizzard
TM15 Hyper Beam
TM17 Protect
TM18 Rain Dance
TM21 Frustration
TM27 Return
TM30 Shadow Ball
TM32 Double Team
TM34 Sludge Wave
TM36 Sludge Bomb
TM41 Torment
TM42 Facade
TM44 Rest
TM45 Attract
TM46 Thief
TM48 Round
TM60 Quash
TM63 Embargo
TM65 Shadow Claw
TM68 Giga Impact
TM75 Swords Dance
TM86 Grass Knot
TM87 Swagger
TM88 Sleep Talk
TM89 U-turn
TM90 Substitute
TM95 Snarl
TM97 Dark Pulse
TM100 Confide
Egg Snatch
Egg Stockpile
Egg Swallow
Egg Switcheroo
Egg Reversal
Egg Counter
Egg Fury Swipes
Egg Uproar
Egg Me First
Egg Revenge
Egg Final Gambit
Analysis: Raticate has never been the greatest Pokemon to use in a competitive sense due to its low stats and mediocre typing, but it could carve out a niche in the lower tiers as a Guts user with priority. In Sun and Moon Guts is even better, with burn damage being nerfed to 1/16th HP per turn, but this is not regular Raticate we're talking about. This is Alolan Raticate, which eschews Guts and a decent Attack stat for Gluttony, Thick Fat, higher defenses, and a secondary Dark typing. With its main set taken away, how will Alolan Raticate thrive? Well..... Let's find out.
Sets:
Bustle:
Raticate-Alola @ Life Orb
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Crunch
Alolan Raticate's movepool lends it to a Swords Dance set, making good use of STAB Sucker Punch to clean up weakened threats. Even with the nerf, it's still a powerful priority attack that can really hurt. Return and Crunch are your main STAB attacks, and they actually have pretty good neutral coverage, only missing out on the handful of Rock and Steel types that resist Dark. Alolan Raticate has no real coverage options to mention: unlike regular Raticate it lacks Flame Wheel, and its only Fighting moves are very situational. Quick Attack is usable as a secondary priority against things that resist Dark, but it only outdamages not very effective Sucker Punch by a small margin. U-turn is usable for pivoting against defensive Pokemon early in a game, while also hitting Dark types super effectively.
Speed Ratcer:
Raticate-Alola @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Return
- U-turn
- Switcheroo/Final Gambit
With Hustle boosting Attack and Choice Scarf boosting Speed, Alolan Raticate can become a decent revenge killer 80% of the time. Crunch and Return are your main STAB attacks and have pretty okay neutral coverage as previously mentioned. U-turn is an excellent move for any Scarf user, letting Alolan Raticate pivot out and get momentum, although it's not as risk-free as it is on most Scarfers due to the miss chance. The last move is your best choice against walls: either Switcheroo to neutralize them or Final Gambit to take a big chunk of their health.
Thicc Rat:
Raticate-Alola @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Super Fang
- Crunch
- U-turn
With Thick Fat and moderately better bulk and resistances, it can attempt to stallbreak. Taunt prevents defensive Pokemon from healing while Super Fang wears them down enough that Crunch can kill them. U-turn is a filler move that lets it pivot out if need be, but it can be replaced by something like Bulk Up.
Conclusion: It's mostly worse than regular Raticate and doesn't have the great stats or movepool to function as an offensive Pokemon. Normally to make the most out of a Pokemon with low stats, minmaxing is required, but GameFreak did the exact opposite here. There's no doubt that this will end up in PU, but when it's there, will it be able to carve out a place for itself as a Dark type? STAB Hustle boosted Sucker Punch hits pretty hard, so it may well succeed.
Type: Dark / Normal
Abilities:
Gluttony: The Pokemon consumes a held Berry earlier than it normally would.
Hustle: The Pokemon's Attack is multiplied by 1.5, but the accuracy of its physical attacks is multiplied by 0.8.
Thick Fat: The Pokemon takes half damage from Ice and Fire moves.
Stats: 75 HP / 71 Attack / 70 Defense / 40 Special Attack / 80 Special Defense / 77 Speed
Moves:
- Scary Face
- Swords Dance
- Tackle
- Tail Whip
- Quick Attack
- Focus Energy
4 Quick Attack
7 Focus Energy
10 Bite
13 Pursuit
16 Hyper Fang
19 Assurance
24 Crunch
29 Sucker Punch
34 Super Fang
39 Double-Edge
44 Endeavor
TM05 Roar
TM06 Toxic
TM08 Bulk Up
TM09 Venoshock
TM10 Hidden Power
TM11 Sunny Day
TM12 Taunt
TM13 Ice Beam
TM14 Blizzard
TM15 Hyper Beam
TM17 Protect
TM18 Rain Dance
TM21 Frustration
TM27 Return
TM30 Shadow Ball
TM32 Double Team
TM34 Sludge Wave
TM36 Sludge Bomb
TM41 Torment
TM42 Facade
TM44 Rest
TM45 Attract
TM46 Thief
TM48 Round
TM60 Quash
TM63 Embargo
TM65 Shadow Claw
TM68 Giga Impact
TM75 Swords Dance
TM86 Grass Knot
TM87 Swagger
TM88 Sleep Talk
TM89 U-turn
TM90 Substitute
TM95 Snarl
TM97 Dark Pulse
TM100 Confide
Egg Snatch
Egg Stockpile
Egg Swallow
Egg Switcheroo
Egg Reversal
Egg Counter
Egg Fury Swipes
Egg Uproar
Egg Me First
Egg Revenge
Egg Final Gambit
Analysis: Raticate has never been the greatest Pokemon to use in a competitive sense due to its low stats and mediocre typing, but it could carve out a niche in the lower tiers as a Guts user with priority. In Sun and Moon Guts is even better, with burn damage being nerfed to 1/16th HP per turn, but this is not regular Raticate we're talking about. This is Alolan Raticate, which eschews Guts and a decent Attack stat for Gluttony, Thick Fat, higher defenses, and a secondary Dark typing. With its main set taken away, how will Alolan Raticate thrive? Well..... Let's find out.
Sets:
Bustle:
Raticate-Alola @ Life Orb
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Crunch
Alolan Raticate's movepool lends it to a Swords Dance set, making good use of STAB Sucker Punch to clean up weakened threats. Even with the nerf, it's still a powerful priority attack that can really hurt. Return and Crunch are your main STAB attacks, and they actually have pretty good neutral coverage, only missing out on the handful of Rock and Steel types that resist Dark. Alolan Raticate has no real coverage options to mention: unlike regular Raticate it lacks Flame Wheel, and its only Fighting moves are very situational. Quick Attack is usable as a secondary priority against things that resist Dark, but it only outdamages not very effective Sucker Punch by a small margin. U-turn is usable for pivoting against defensive Pokemon early in a game, while also hitting Dark types super effectively.
Speed Ratcer:
Raticate-Alola @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Return
- U-turn
- Switcheroo/Final Gambit
With Hustle boosting Attack and Choice Scarf boosting Speed, Alolan Raticate can become a decent revenge killer 80% of the time. Crunch and Return are your main STAB attacks and have pretty okay neutral coverage as previously mentioned. U-turn is an excellent move for any Scarf user, letting Alolan Raticate pivot out and get momentum, although it's not as risk-free as it is on most Scarfers due to the miss chance. The last move is your best choice against walls: either Switcheroo to neutralize them or Final Gambit to take a big chunk of their health.
Thicc Rat:
Raticate-Alola @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Super Fang
- Crunch
- U-turn
With Thick Fat and moderately better bulk and resistances, it can attempt to stallbreak. Taunt prevents defensive Pokemon from healing while Super Fang wears them down enough that Crunch can kill them. U-turn is a filler move that lets it pivot out if need be, but it can be replaced by something like Bulk Up.
Conclusion: It's mostly worse than regular Raticate and doesn't have the great stats or movepool to function as an offensive Pokemon. Normally to make the most out of a Pokemon with low stats, minmaxing is required, but GameFreak did the exact opposite here. There's no doubt that this will end up in PU, but when it's there, will it be able to carve out a place for itself as a Dark type? STAB Hustle boosted Sucker Punch hits pretty hard, so it may well succeed.
Last edited: