Pok�mon of the Week

Huntail, The Deep Sea Pok�mon. It lives deep in the sea. With a tail shaped like a small fish, it attracts unsuspecting prey. It lives deep in the pitch-dark sea. It attracts prey by moving its tail in mimicry of a small animal. Its presence went unnoticed by people for a long time because it lives at extreme depths in the sea. This POK�MON's eyes can see clearly even in the murky dark depths of the ocean.

Huntail has always been overshadowed by its pink eel sister, which is kind of sad because Gorebyss isn't very good either. Huntail is pretty much identical to Gorebyss in stats except it has higher attack and a slightly more varied movepool. It's also less disturbing.

Swift Swim: Doubles your speed in the Rain. While Swift Swim is banned on the same teams that run Drizzle you can still use it alongside Rain Dance giving Huntail legendary levels of speed.
Water Veil: Pretty cool addition. Huntail uses mainly physical moves and giving it an immunity to burn is very nice.

- Waterfall
- Baton Pass
- Shell Smash
- Crunch
Item Attached: White Herb
Ability: Water Veil
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)

Huntail's only real use. Use Shell Smash, then hope you can Baton Pass to something else. Huntail is a little different from Gorebyss due to Crunch which lets you damage Celebi or Jellicent a little easier. You are also immune to burn thanks to Water Veil meaning you can take on Scalds and Will-O-Wisps.

- Shell Smash
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Ice Fang
Item Attached: White Herb / Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim / Water Veil
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)

Offensive set that isn't outclassed by Gorebyss? Sure is. Pretty scary in lower tiers when it can cut apart Slowking but not nearly as useful in standard play when Ferrothorn ruins your party almost every time. However unlike Gorebyss this has a much better chance of plowing through defensive walls once Ferrothorn is removed.

Huntail
Max speed and HP with Jolly nature on the Baton Pass set. You need as much speed as you can to outrun Choice Scarf Pokemon while the HP EVs are useful for making sure you live long enough to Baton Pass. Offensive sets just want max Speed and Attack.

Huntail has a few worthwhile options.. not many, but a few.
Aqua Tail, Hydro Pump / Ice Beam, Confuse Ray and Sucker Punch
If you really need power Aqua Tail is worth considering. 12% stronger than Waterfall which really matters against Bulky things like Skarmory. Hydro Pump / Ice Beam are options for a mixed set but aren't usually worth it. You need to split the offensive EVs and don't hit many extra targets. Not worth it. Confuse Ray is self explanatory, causing confusion to the enemy
Sucker Punch gives decent priority

Basically nothing. Any potential Shell Smash + Drizzle Surf abuse is better done by Gorebyss.

Shell Smash Baton Passing is Huntail's best trait so you want to focus on that. Leading with Reflect / Light Screen Espeon is a good start as it makes the Eel much more difficult to KO. Memento Dugtrio and Latios also work similarly, sacrificing themselves for a guaranteed set up. Good things to Baton Pass Shell Smash to are strong offensive Pokemon like Salamence, Jirachi, Latios and Metagross. That's right, I copy pasted the Gorebyss partners here. I copied the counters too!

This is pretty difficult as Huntail hits REALLY hard and when against something it can't beat it can just Baton Pass to something else. The best outright counter to Baton Passing Huntail is Choice Scarf Wash Rotom. You just barely outrun it after a Shell Smash and can OHKO with Volt Switch even if it's holding White Herb. Strong attackers like Breloom and Haxorus can just pound Huntail's recipient with super powered hits while surviving +2 Waterfall or Crunch. Roar Gyarados fears little from Huntail's common moves and can quickly Roar it away. Once Huntail tries to Shell Smash once it becomes much less of a threat as the White Herb has been used up meaning if it tries to Shell Smash again its defenses will be shot apart.
Offensive Shell Smashers are easier to handle. Most are walled to the end by Ferrothorn and can be easily picked off by many Choice Scarfers. Be very careful if you are running Rain as you will double its speed and boost its offenses to incredible levels. Priority moves are good for wearing it down and things like Skarmory, Rotom Wash and Cloyster can take a hit and retaliate hard.

Pre-Evolution Corner

Clamperl has always been that weak little clam that people used on gimmick Trick Room teams that didn't actually work. Sure it has as much Special Attack as Deoxys Attack, but its defenses are about as good as Dugtrio's. But as with pretty much every Pokemon to get this move, Clamperl gained a HUGE boost when it was given Shell Smash. The concept of Clamperl shedding its shell and going on a rampage is also hilarious in its own right.

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Locations in Games

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Evolve Clamperl.

FireRed/LeafGreen:
Trade from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald.

Colosseum/XD:
Trade from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald.

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Evolve Clamperl (Diamond/Pearl)
Trade from Diamond/Pearl/HeartGold/SoulSilver (Platinum)

HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Evolve Clamperl

Black/White:
Route 4 (Black)
Evolve Clamperl (White)