Samurott, the Formidable Pokémon. A master of a sword-drawing art called iaijutsu, Samurott settles its battles with a single swing of either large sword sheathed in its foreleg armor. Samurott leads its group strictly. Those who do not follow its rules receive a merciless thrashing.
Overview
Unlike Serperior or its Hisuian form, Samurott lacks the tools of excellence that makes its alternate form and fellow Unovan starter so feared. It isn’t that Samurott doesn’t have good tools, it is just that it isn’t excellent in any of them. Samurott suffers from being a jack of all trades, master of none more than any other due to being a Water type. 95 HP with 85 defense offers decent bulk, but pales in comparison to the likes of Lapras, Milotic, Swampert and Slowbro who boast similar if not better defenses alongside reliable recovery. While Base 100 Attack and 108 Special Attack are usable, one would be better off using Floatzel, Clawitzer or Inteleon, all of whom offer far better offense. Even Samurott’s speed is middling, a base 70 outspeeding most defensive staples but falling short of offensive ones that are more than happy to exploit Samurott’s middling bulk. Any role Samurott could fill is often done better by another Water type.
A jack of all trades must have the tools to fulfill most roles, and Samurott’s armory is well equipped for the task. Its offensive movepool is an embarrassment of riches on both sides of the spectrum with odd moves like Sacred Sword, Knock Off, Megahorn, Drill Run, Ice Beam and Grass Knot granting Samurott absurd coverage. Samurott’s strong physical movepool is backed up by access to Swords Dance, pushing its slightly lower Attack to new heights. Even Samurott’s speed woes can be addressed on both sides of the spectrum with STAB Aqua Jet and the rare Vacuum Wave. Samurott can even boast some utility with Encore, locking an opponent in to make setup opportunities for itself or its teammates. In the end, this Unovan Samurai lacks the armor, speed or strength to carry it through every battle, but its myriad of blades will confound foes to the last breath.
Positives
Base 100 Attack with Swords Dance and Base 108 Special Attack make Samurott a viable physical or special attacker.
Incredibly diverse offensive movepool answering most common Water checks as well as Pokémon in general.
95/85 physical bulk and pure Water typing offer a decent defensive profile.
Negatives
70 Special Defense is unimpressive and lack of reliable recovery greatly limits Samurott’s staying power.
Base 70 Speed is also awkward, leaving Samurott outsped by a significant amount of offensive threats.
Any role it can do is often done better by another Water type.
Movesets
Brave Bushido
-Swords Dance
-Liquidation
-Aqua Jet
-Megahorn
Ability: Torrent
Item: Life Orb
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
With Swords Dance, Samurott's physical prowess is something to be feared, and its decent bulk affords several opportunities to reliably setup and go on the offensive. Liquidation is the primary STAB for power, and the Defense drop rider while infrequent, is useful for ensuring that targets will struggle to survive follow up blows. While Liquidation handles bulky targets, Aqua Jet is the move of choice for faster, frailer targets, allowing Samurott to remove normally faster Water weak targets like the Typhlosions, Lycanrocs, Charizard, Emboar, as well as clean up weakened Pokémon barely hanging on from Samurott's allies' efforts. Megahorn rounds out the set, being a massive blow against Water resistant Grass types like Venusaur, Whimsicott, Alolan Exeggutor and Abomasnow, on top of being great coverage against Mesprit and a good answer into opposing Water types.
Tera Types:
While Samurott has many issues, typing is rarely one of them. Pure Water typing has been solid throughout the generations to the point that Samurott prefers Tera Water as its Tera Type of choice if it must Terastalize. The stacking boosts of Swords Dance and Tera Water on Liquidation and especially Aqua Jet allows it to start picking up OHKOs left and right. Even Pokémon as bulky as Spiritomb and Alolan Sandslash are one shot while even Max HP Orthworm struggles to survive. On the other end of the spectrum Aqua Jet becomes a tool of destruction in its own right, OHKOing neutral targets like Jolteon, Espeon, and Dodrio while others like Grimmsnarl, Bombirdier and Venomoth need only Stealth Rocks or Spikes damage to reach that point. Tera Bug for boosting Megahorn is a good alternative, giving Samurott a much stronger neutral option against opposing Water types.
EVs and Items:
As with many sweepers, Max Attack and Max Speed EV investment are recommended. Even more so for Samurott whose power and speed barely hit the usable metrics. However, there is a real argument for Jolly or Adamant. While Jolly's Speed boost is fantastic, allowing for the outrunning of Neutral Base 80s like Braviary, Mesprit, Medicham, the power boost from Adamant pays dividends with Aqua Jet, allowing for OHKOs on everything that previously required chip damage in addition to being able to pick off opposing Pokémon at higher HP thresholds. Life Orb is the recommended, giving the biggest bump to power while still allowing for move flexibility. Mystic Water makes for a good alternative, pumping Liquidation and Aqua Jet even higher.
Partners:
As impressive as Samurott's Swords Dance boosted offense is, it is largely centered around Aqua Jet and Liquidation, so allies that can answer Water resists are greatly appreciated. Froslass is notable, its Ice STAB striking down Bug neutral Grass types like Venusaur and Whimsicott alongside Dragons such as Alolan Exeggutor and Appletun, while providing the invaluable Spikes setup that enables Samurott's Swords Dance boosted sweep. Samurott in turn addresses Froslass' Fire weakness and can even use such attacks as an entry point. Grafaiai is another excellent partner for enabling Samurott's sweeping, its Gunk Shot obliterating faster Grass types like Whimsicott and Rotom-Mow that even with Megahorn, Samurott can't handle while preparing for a sweep using Knock Off and Parting Shot to soften up targets and facilitate setup.
Other Options:
Knock Off is a powerful utility option, with wide neutral coverage, allowing Samurott to make progress even if it can't knock out a foe.
Sacred Sword offers amazing Fighting coverage and the Defense boost ignoring effect is invaluable against IronPress users Orthworm and Regirock.
Liquid Kodachi
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Grass Knot
-Vacuum Wave
Ability: Torrent
Item: Choice Scarf
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
Scarf Samurott uses its excellent coverage and decent special attack to good effect as a cleaner, washing away weakened targets while patching up its underwhelming speed. Hydro Pump is the most common move one will be clicking on this set, as between its high base power and STAB along with Water’s good coverage deals significant damage to a majority of Samurott’s targets. Ice Beam being the Water typed special is great as always for handling the water resistant Grass and Dragon types that can tank Samurott’s Water STAB on top of fantastic coverage in general. Grass Knot, while a bit inconsistent, is invaluable for a Water type like Samurott giving it an actual answer for opposing Water types that does not mandate the use of Terastalization to bridge the gap, greatly reducing the number of safe switch-ins to special Samurott. Vacuum Wave rounds out the set, giving Samurott a reliable clean up tool against even faster opponents, namely opposing Choice Scarf users like Passimian, Basculin, and Grafaiai as well as Jolteon.
Tera Types:
While the reliability of mono Water as a typing, Samurott doesn’t need to Terastalize to perform its role. If Scarf Samurott does Terastalize it is largely for more damage so it can get a knock out. Tera Water is natural, boosting Samurott’s Water STABs to terrifying levels, enabling OHKOs with Hydro Pump on Grafaiai, Froslass, Passimian and Vikavolt. Thanks to Choice Scarf though, Tera Ice is just as potent, with Samurott acting out the ideal of a speedy Ice typed attacker. Tera Fighting is also potent for the boost it gives to Vacuum Wave, though would be better suited for non Scarf sets where Samurott can use the item to boost its power. Tera Grass is the only offensive option that has significant defensive merit, giving Samurott resistances to the Grass and Electric attacks that threaten it so while boosting up Grass Knot.
EVs and Items:
As with any offensive Choice Scarf user, max Special Attack and Speed are the way to go. Samurott needs as much Special Attack as possible so it can KO targets with minimal chip damage, but Speed cannot be sacrificed. Even with Timid Nature and Max Speed investment, Samurott still falls short of base 130s like Jolteon. Dropping down to Modest may improve Samurott’s damage output, but it finds itself outsped by Whimsicott and Sceptile, even with the Choice Scarf, greatly reducing Samurott’s worth as a Scarf’d attacker. As for items, Choice Scarf is the name of the set and gives Samurott a badly needed balm for its Speed, making it hard to justify other items. Choice Specs can work with the moveset, but is radically different in function, having Samurott act more to a wall breaker, ripping holes in the opposing team.
Partners:
Even with Samurott’s fantastic coverage against traditional Water resists, Grass types remain invaluable partners to it, pivoting into Grass and Electric attacks aimed Samurott’s way. Virizion is of particular note, easily handling lightweight Waters like Lanturn, Clawitzer, as well as Specially Defensive Poliwrath and pre-eminent sponge Snorlax, while appreciating Samurott’s excellent matchups into Fire types and threatening Flying and Dragon types with Ice Beam. Alolan Exeggutor may offer the same Special Offense, but is excellent at crippling sponges with Trick Choice Specs and loves Samurott handling opposing Dragon types that threaten it in turn.
Belly Drum Charizard also benefits from Hisuian Samurott, the latter easily removing physical walls like Regirock, and Sandslash as well as cleaning up most faster threats opening up the way to a Belly Drum sweep. Samurott can even run Encore to lock an opponent into a move to directly enable a sweep.
Other Options:
Surf is a more reliable Water STAB option in comparison to Hydro Pump, and both can be ran on the same set picking the right move for the situation.
Encore is a powerful disruptive option that can allow for free switches after trapping an opponent into the right move.
Countering Samurott
Any difficulty checking Samurott derived from its flexible offense is let down by its flawed bulk and middling speed.
Offensively checking Samurott is generally recommended to avoid guessing games with its moveset. Naturally faster Grass types tend to excel, given their resistance to Aqua Jet, neutrality to Vacuum Wave and super effective STABs making quick work of Samurott with little counterplay. Shaymin, Venusaur, Specs Whimsicott, Sceptile, and Rotom-Mow all naturally outspeed and OHKO Samurott.
However, none of these Pokémon like the Scarf set’s Ice Beam, which while rarely OHKOing without Tera Ice, can still do significant damage. Jolteon is notable for being able to outspeed even Choice Scarf Samurott and OHKOing with Electric STAB, but struggles to survive a Life Orb Swords Dance boosted Aqua Jet, let alone a Tera Water one.
Other checks are dependent on the set. Special sets are easily handled by sponges given their inability to boost and Samurott’s underwhelming base offenses. Snorlax handles anything even Specs Samurott can throw at it and boosts up with ease. Goodra can’t handle Specs Ice Beam, but otherwise does similarly well. Muk is 3HKO’d by Specs Hydro Pump, but otherwise reliably outlasts Special Samurott with Toxic. Lanturn is similarly nightmarish, its light weight making Grass Knot a non-issue while threatening with Electric STAB.
Physical walls are not as reliable an answer to physical sets since Samurott can and will boost out of control with Swords Dance. Instead Water resists tend to shine against Swords Dance Samurott given its struggles to fit coverage on such sets. Poliwrath is particularly troublesome given its immunity to Water and resistance to common coverage moves Knock Off and Megahorn. Weezing needs to be healthy to stomach a Tera Water Swords Dance boosted Liquidation, but it can’t be OHKO’d from full otherwise and can irrevocably ruin Samurott with Will-O-Wisp. Lapras dislikes Sacred Sword and can be 2HKO’d by +2 Megahorn but threatens catastrophic damage in turn with Freeze Dry and can reliably come in on boosted Water STAB.
Hisuian-Samurott, the Formidable Pokémon. Hard of heart and deft of blade, this rare form of Samurott is a product of the Pokémon’s evolution in the region of Hisui. Its turbulent blows crash into foes like ceaseless pounding waves.
Overview
Another Hisuian form once thought lost to time, Hisuian-Samurott is a fantastic rework of the Unovan starter. Eschewing the generalist nature of its Unovan counterpart Hisuian Samurott fully delves into its samurai inspiration with its slightly improved attack and the amazing Sharpness ability giving the equivalent of a Choice Band boost to all of Hisuian-Samurott’s slashing moves. However, that is not all hidden in Hisuian-Samurott’s new blades. It was also granted an absurd signature move in Ceaseless Edge, a slashing STAB attack that sets Spikes. The sheer value this move generates cannot be understated, as even pivoting into a Dark resist does not stop the Spikes from being setup, with Hisuian-Samurott generating instant and lasting pressure throughout the battle. Even Hisuian-Samurott’s typing proves invaluable in the realm of hazard control. Many hazard setters and Rapid Spin users like Great Tusk, Iron Treads, Gliscor and Landorus-Therian are Water weak while Rapid Spin blockers like Gholdengo and the many Pokémon running Tera Ghost are just as easily felled by the Dark Ceaseless Edge. Even outside of Ceaseless Edge and Sharpness boosted offense, Hisuian-Samurott boasts plenty of utility between its priority options, Knock Off, Flip-Turn, Taunt and Encore.
However, all this power and utility comes at a price. Hisuian-Samurott pays for this new offensive prowess with even poorer defenses, losing 5 in each defensive stat across the board, turning its below average special bulk to poor and sapping its decent physical bulk. The new Dark subtyping helps little in this matter, with new weaknesses to Fighting, Fairy and U-Turn outstripping the new resistances Hisuian-Samurott received. While all these lost points did go into Speed, pushing Hisuian-Samurott up to a decent base 85, that still falls short of so many offensive threats that can leave Hisuian-Samurott wanting against more aggressive teams. Sharpness also tends to push Hisuian-Samurott into purely physical sets, making it more predictability than its Unovan counterpart. This predictability means little with how efficient Hisuian-Samurott is at generating momentum, a single swing of its darkened blade spelling doom both quick and slow.
Positives
Base 108 Attack backed by Sharpness allows Hisuian-Samurott to hit incredibly hard..
Ceaseless Edge is one of the best attacks in the game, dealing decent damage while setting up Spikes allowing Hisuian-Samurott to apply incredible pressure in a single move..
Vibrant support movepool with Taunt, Encore, Knock Off and Flip Turn sapping momentum away from the opponent or generating it for Hisuian-Samurott’s team..
Negatives
Poor special defense and mediocre defense leave Hisuian-Samurott lacking in hit taking ability.
Base 85 Speed is lacking for such an offensive Pokémon, making the poor defenses stand out even more.
Movesets
Sharp Vest
-Ceaseless Edge
-Razor Shell/Aqua Cutter
-Sucker Punch/Aqua Jet
-Flip Turn
Ability: Sharpness
Item: Assault Vest
EVs and Nature:
200 HP / 116 Atk / 192 Spe
Adamant Nature
Assault Vest addresses Hisuian-Samurott’s poor Special Defense and takes advantage of the good resists that the Water and Dark types do possess to turn it into a bulky attacker that can reliably establish multiple layers of Spikes to harry the opponent. Ceaseless Edge is the star of the set and the entire reason you are using Hisuian-Samurott. The stacking boosts from STAB and Sharpness cause this to hit hard to begin with, yet the free Spikes setting is what makes this move worth it, allowing Hisuian-Samurott to threaten the opposing team while damaging the active Pokémon. Water STAB is up to choice. Razor Shell and Aqua Cutter are near identical, both being Sharpness boosted Water STAB. Razor Shell is slightly more powerful and its defense dropping rider is incredibly useful in helping Hisuian-Samurott muscle past walls it shouldn’t. However, Aqua Cutter is more reliable and the increased Critical chance can help bridge the difference in power, while importantly not making contact -preventing Zapdos, Moltres, Garchomp and Rocky Helmet from ruining Hisuian-Samurott. A similar conundrum comes when picking out Hisuian-Samurott’s priority move. Sucker Punch is far stronger than Aqua Jet with Dark generally being a better offensive typing, but it is conditional and can be played around. Aqua Jet is far more reliable and is much more difficult to circumvent, but the power is much weaker. Flip Turn rounds out the set, building on the value Hisuian-Samurott generates, chipping opponents on the way out and punishing predicted switches or getting an ally in safely. The positioning Flip Turn provides pairs wonderfully with the Spikes that Ceaseless Edge sets, giving you an advantage in positioning and forcing your opponent in a lose lose situation of either stay in a losing matchup and sacrifice their Pokémon… or switch out and have the Pokémon switching in take a hit and Spikes damage.
Tera Types:
Hisuian Samurott does get some value from its typing. Rare and valuable Ghost and Dark resistances compliment the base Water, Fire, and Ice resistances of Water, giving Hisuian Samurott a decent defensive profile. However, the typing is also saddled with numerous weaknesses that make Hisuian-Samurott easy to threaten out. While it can do so and generate value with Flip Turn, sometimes Terastalization is a necessity to get multiple Ceaseless Edges off. As such, defensive Tera Types are recommended with Tera Poison being first and foremost. Removing the common Grass, Fairy, Bug and Fighting weaknesses from Hisuian-Samurott is quite the boon while STAB attackers of the types will fear Hisuian-Samurott’s base Water and Dark STABs. Tera Fire is another popular defensive Tera Type, with resistances to Grass, Ice, Bug and Fairy along with the immunity to Burn making it another strong Terastalization option.
EVs and Items:
This EV spread aims for a mix of bulk, speed and power. 192 Speed allows Hisuian-Samurott to outrun max Speed neutral Heatran and Raging Bolt alongside uninvested Iron Treads, Gliscor and Landorus-Therian as well as max Speed Scizor. 200 HP EVs and Assault Vest ensure Darkrai and Gholdengo struggle to 2HKO after Nasty Plot without the appropriate coverage move, as does Weavile and Kingambit who are lacking coverage. The remaining EVs go into Attack for as much power as possible. There is some flexibility with this, however. One could drop Speed EVs down to 52 to just guarantee out running Jolly Kingambit and invest the difference into attack for more power or Special Defense to increase Hisuian-Samurott’s special hit taking ability. Assault Vest is the namesake of the set, addressing Hisuian-Samurott’s poor special defense and greatly increasing its defensive utility.
Partners:
As with any hazard setting Pokémon, Hisuian-Samurott loves Gholdengo for its ability to deny nearly every form of hazard removal, thus ensuring Hisuian-Samurott’s hard work doesn’t go to waste. Gholdengo being able to pivot in on the Fighting, Grass, U-Turn and Fairy attacks that threaten Hisuian-Samurott also make it a good Flip Turn target. Gholdengo in turn appreciates Hisuian-Samurott’s fantastic matchups into all its weaknesses resisting Ghost, Dark, and Fire while threatening Ground types with Water STAB.
Lures to get an opposing team’s Dark or Ghost types in for Hisuian-Samurott to come in safely use Ceaseless edge are greatly appreciated. Dragapult and Galarian Slowking fit this mold to a T, acting as a fast and slow pivot respectively, while holding several of the same advantages as Gholdengo defensively. Dragapult is on the more aggressive side, greatly benefitting from Spikes damage as it launches its own assault. Galarian-Slowking on the other hand offers a strong deterrent against Fighting types thanks to Future Sight, preventing them from switching in on a Ceaseless Edge turn without taking huge damage.
Other Options:
Knock Off is Dark STAB with invaluable utility in removing items, especially the Heavy-Duty Boots that protect against Spikes.
Sacred Sword is direct coverage into opposing Dark types like Kingambit, and Hisuian-Samurott though otherwise Water STAB tends to suffice.
Focus Sash along with Encore and Taunt are invaluable on lead sets allowing Hisuian-Samurott to control opening hazards while being resistant to opposing forms of hazard denial itself.
Swords Dance addresses Hisuian-Samurott's lacking power for non-Sharpness moves, giving its priority attacks deadly bite and turning its Sharpness boosted attacks into OHKO dealing strikes.
VGC & Doubles Options
Hisuian-Samurott’s trajectory in VGC is rather comparable to that of fellow Hisuian Pokémon Kleavor, who along with Glimmora all boast niches as efficient hazard setters in a format not known for them. It arguably makes Ceaseless Edge even more dangerous in Doubles than in Singles given that no one is running hazard removal, meaning every use of Ceaseless Edge is a guaranteed threat. Of course, hazards are scarce in VGC for good reason. With half of one’s active team out at the start of battle, Spikes potential damage is a lot lower than in full 6v6 singles and with how fast paced doubles is, repositioning is a lot less frequent to the point it may not matter in some matches. That isn’t to say that Hisuian-Samurott’s utility ends at Spikes. Unlike fellow offensive hazard-setter Kleavor, Hisuian-Samurott boasts some defensive utility with its typing resist both of the common Gholdengo and Incineroar’s STABs while having a STAB combination that isn’t as easily resisted. Even the same middling speed isn’t as dire given Hisuian-Samurott’s access to multiple STAB priority options. Hisuian-Samurott’s poor bulk still holds it back, leaving it a curious if inconsistent pick.
Clear Water Blades
-Ceaseless Edge
-Aqua Cutter
-Sucker Punch
-Protect
Tera Type: Fire/Psychic
Ability: Sharpness
Item: Clear Amulet
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
Hisuian-Samurott’s sets in doubles vary a little from its sets in singles. Ceaseless Edge remains as fantastic a move as ever, threatening not only Ghost, Tera Ghost and Psychic staples like Gholdengo, Indeedee, Basculegion, Farigiraf and more, but setting Spikes as well. Despite the fast paced nature of Doubles, Spikes can cause serious pressure on the opponent, ruining Focus Sash users in the back and with how tight defensive EV investments can be to survive specific threats, even a single layer of Spikes can make all of the difference. Aqua Cutter is the preferred Water STAB in this case for the reliability over Razor Shell and the improved Crit rate does come up with the numerous ways to drop Attack, IronPress users, and Reflect and Aurora Veil to blunt damage. Sucker Punch is the preferred priority move of choice, as despite being prediction reliant is fantastic against the extremely swift Dragapult and Hisuian-Zoroark as well as Choice Scarf variants of Gholdengo. Protect remains the Doubles staple, blocking Fake Out, punishing double ups, scouting for attacks and Terastalizations, stalling for allied setup, stalling out opposing field conditions and more, Protect’s worth in Doubles has been proven time and time again.
EVs are to maximize speed and damage. Hisuian-Samurott’s power when not using Sharpness boosted moves is rather underwhelming so it needs all the help it can get. Max Speed is helpful for outrunning most Gholdengo without outside help as well as get the jump on Rillaboom when it isn’t using Grassy Glide. Clear Amulet is so that Hisuian-Samurott doesn’t have its attack gutted by Incineroar, allowing it to more effectively threaten it. Tera Fire is recommended for the invaluable resistances it provides, especially against Rillaboom’s Grassy Glide, but also Ice, Fairy and Bug based offenses as well. Hisuian-Samurott is one of the few Pokémon that can use Tera Psychic defensively, being a Fighting resistant Tera that isn’t weak to Electric or Steel, invaluable against Stamina-Archaludon on top of walling out most Gallade, while few opponents would ever try a Ghost or Dark move on Hisuian-Samurott normally.
Other Options and Preferred Partners:
As Hisuian-Samurott’s bulk is normally suspect, methods to mitigate damage are invaluable in ensuring multiple uses of Ceaseless Edge. Alolan Ninetales excels at this roll, blunting all damage from the word go while threatening opposing Grass and Water types like Rillaboom, Sinistcha, Pelipper and Dondozo with its Freeze-Dry while Hisuian-Samurott threatens opposing Fire types and Gholdengo with its STABs. Coaching Blaziken is also notable in increasing Hisuian-Samurott’s bulk and damage while forming both a Water-Fire core and Dark-Fighting core, covering many of each other’s weaknesses. Assault Vest remains an excellent option, turning Hisuian-Samurott into a solid check for Gholdengo and addressing Hisuian-Samurott’s weaker defense, making it that much harder to remove. Focus Energy and Scope Lens is viable for a fun guaranteed critical hit strategy, allowing Hisuian-Samurott to completely ignore Intimidate, Screens and Iron Defense. Even without Focus Energy, Scope Lens has merit for the 50% crit rate on Aqua Cutter. Sacred Sword offers incredible coverage while being a clean out to Stamina Archaludon and IronPress Hisuian-Goodra by ignoring their boosts.
Countering Hisuian Samurott
While Hisuian-Samurott’s poorer defenses and extra weaknesses may make it easier to knock out, stopping its unique brand of support is far more difficult.
Defensively checking Hisuian-Samurott is generally not recommended, as acting passively in front of it just allows it to use Ceaseless Edge more times, to say nothing of a potential Taunt or Encore. However, losing a Pokémon to Ceaseless Edge and getting a layer of Spike laid down would be even worse, so one must stem the bleeding somewhere. Galarian-Weezing is by far one of the best walls, its Neutralizing Gas cutting way down on Hisuian Samurott’s power, even before it permanently cripples Hisuian-Samurott with Will-O-Wisp. All of this on top of having Defog and undoing all of Hisuian-Samurott’s work. Primarina is another notable answer, resisting both of Hisuian-Samurott’s STABs while threatening a OHKO after chip damage with Moonblast on all but the bulkiest of Assault Vest sets. Hydrapple also does well against non-Swords Dance variants with Regenerator making up for the Spikes damage. Prominent physical walls in Dondozo and Alomomola are impossible for Hisuian-Samurott to break through directly, but their relative passivity (outside of Dondozo’s Body Press) allow for easy Ceaseless Edge setup or turned into setup fodder by Encore or Taunt.
As such, one generally wants to cut down Hisuian-Samurott as quickly as possible to stop it from spreading and reestablishing Spikes. Due to how common Assault Vest is as a set, physical attackers are generally preferred. Rillaboom, Wellspring Ogerpon, Iron Valiant, Banded Dragonite, and Meowscarada all OHKO or very near to it while outspeeding Hisuian-Samurott. Otherwise, it may be best to use lures, like Iron Moth, using Fiery Dance and getting a Special Attack boost as Hisuian-Samurott pivots in before Terastalizing to Fairy or Grass and KOing with a boosted Dazzling Gleam or Energy Ball. It is also worth noting that a lot of the Pokémon Assault Vest Hisuian-Samurott likes to check can carry super effective coverage of their own such as Darkrai with Focus Blast, Specs Dragapult with the sheer power of Draco Meteor, Gholdengo with Thunderbolt, Weavile with Low Kick, etc though many do require a sudden boost for the knockout.
Being weak to both U-Turn and Volt Switch makes Hisuian-Samurott easy to punish with pivoting, having the switcher deal significant damage before switching out to something that can finish off the weakened Samurott. Specs Dragapult, and Landorus-Therian are two such users that Hisuian-Samurott likes to come in on.
Another matter to note when dealing with Hisuian-Samurott is the management of your hazard remover. You don’t want that to go down before Hisuian-Samurott does as otherwise its Spikes will remain a problem for the rest of the match.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Not in game
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game
Colosseum/XD:
Not in game
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Not in game
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Not in game
Black/White:
Evolve Dewott
Black 2/White 2:
Evolve Dewott
X/Y:
Trade or Transfer
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Evolve Dewott
Sun/Moon:
Poni Wilds
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Trade from Sun/Moon
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game
Sword/Shield:
Not in game
Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl:
Not in game
Legends: Arceus:
Space-time Distortion in Alabaster Icelands
Alabaster Icelands: Massive Mass Outbreak
Scarlet/Violet:
Evolve Dewott
Legends: Z-A:
Not in game
Anime Appearences
