Articuno @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Freeze-Dray
- Hurricane
- Roost
- Ice Beam / Substitute
Offensive Articuno is definitely not the easiest thing in the tier to use nor is it the most viable thing in the world. That being said, Articuno has a lot of neat perks right now. Considering Mega Steelix + Alomomola is the main defensive core right now and the fact that it sits above the coveted base 80 Speed tier, Articuno is actually quite a pain for slower teams to switch into. It's also surprisingly bulky for an offensive Pokemon, sporting 90 / 100 / 125 defenses. While Ice / Flying isn't winning any awards for defensive typing anytime soon, Articuno can take some pretty rough attacks. Perhaps the most notable is its ability as an offensive Pokemon to switch into Venusaur without fear of being OHKOed or outsped and 2HKOed (bar Sleep Powder) and respond with an OHKO. That said, most super effective coverage moves aren't OHKOing Articuno (bar physical rock ones) and unboosted neutral STAB moves from the special side are rarely OHKOing as well. Freeze-Dry + Hurricane is the core of Articuno's offensive potential. Aside from Diancie, very few defensive Pokemon can hold up against this combination of moves. Freeze-Dry rips right through bulky Water-type Pokemon while Hurricane is a strong STAB move to use in an attempt to rip into neutral targets that aren't capable of majorly threatening Articuno. Roost capitalizes on Pressure and Articuno's raw bulk to find opportunities to heal up against passive Pokemon to continue its assaults later. The last slot is basically left up to what you prefer. I personally like Ice Beam for its much stronger hit on neutral targets and is very nice to have available to you when the opponent lacks Water-types to throw out Freeze-Dry on. That said, Substitute can be very good against more defensive teams, allowing Articuno to Pressure stall low PP moves, and can even be used to set up on Venusaur if you switch into Leaf Storm as -2 Sludge Bomb fails to break Articuno's Sub. The EVs maximize Articuno's offensive potential with a Timid nature. While Modest looks appealing on something that's used more as a wallbreaker, Articuno's Speed tier is phoenomenal for RU, sitting in front of Venusaur, Tyrantrum, Medicham, and Absol. Life Orb is needed for the power boost as Articuno's base 95 Special Attack is only taking it so far without a boost. When using Substitute, Icicle Plate and Leftovers are viable options to avoid having to use Roost quite as often since Freeze-Dry is the main appeal of this set. As Articuno cherishes the ability to switch into and eliminate bulky Water-types with easy, you'll want Pokemon that can take advantage of this fact alongside it. Choice Scarf Medicham, non-Grass Knot Delphox, and Choice Scarf Tyrantrum are easily able to exploit this. Due to a 4x Stealth Rock weakness, Articuno obviously needs hazard control. Flygon provides Defog and handles Electric-, Fire-, and Rock-type moves aimed at Articuno while Blastoise is a reliable Rapid Spin user that can switch into Fire- and Steel-type moves. Articuno likes to have a Scarf Tyrantrum check in the back as it has no hope of surviving Head Smash and will obviously be outsped. Mega Steelix, Registeel, and defensive Seismitoad can set up Stealth Rock and check Tyrantrum. Mega Steelix even has a habit of luring in bulky Water-types for Articuno to take advantage of.
