Shadow Samurott
Attack
Defense
Stamina
Best Movesets
Analysis
In a world of Water Type starters that rely on Hydro Cannon to be relevant, Shadow Samurott is... actually pretty good! It's a little bit glassy and doesn't have the DPS to join the rulers of the type, but it can definitely put in some good work.
Offense
- Waterfall benefits from STAB and is the superior choice for offense.
- Fury Cutter is great for its energy gains, which lets it trail right behind even without STAB.
- Hydro Cannon* is the best Charge Move for offense.
- Razor Shell is the silver medal here, though it's definitely worse than Hydro Cannon.
- Hydro Pump is a step down, and is less consistent as a 1-bar move.
- Megahorn could pair with Fury Cutter to fulfill a Bug-type role, but this isn't the best use of Shadow Samurott.
- Blizzard is a good 1-bar move, but lacking STAB makes it an inferior option.
- Liquidation is skippable.
Defense
- Waterfall is the best fast move on defense due to its high base power.
- Don't use Fury Cutter for defense.
- Hydro Cannon is arguably the best Charge Move for defense overall, being the hardest to dodge while also hitting hard with STAB.
- Liquidation is a strong option as well due to its high power for a 3-bar attack. Razor Shell is weaker, but harder to dodge.
- Blizzard is the next best choice for gym defense and also provides wide coverage.
- Megahorn is pretty bad in comparison as a 1-bar move.
- Hydro Pump lacks coverage that other 1-bar moves provide, and is slower to access than other Water Charge Moves.
Fury Cutter is generally more preferable for its faster energy generation, letting Shadow Samurott access its Charge Moves sooner. Waterfall can be effective when shields are in play due to its high STAB damage output, but will decrease the frequency of using Charge Moves.
Hydro Cannon is mandatory for Shadow Samurott due to its low energy cost and high Damage Per Energy (DPE) value. Megahorn is the cheapest Charge Move energy-wise that provides some type of coverage, though this isn't always enough to fight back against certain meta Grass Pokemon. Blizzard is slightly stronger but unappealing due to its huge energy demands. Razor Shell is an interesting option that costs the least amount of energy possible, and has a chance to debuff the opponent, making it a decent move to bait shields. Since Hydro Cannon deals twice as much Damage Per Energy spent and is also quite cheap to use, Razor Shell is generally not recommended due to the lack of coverage and inconsistent debuff procs. Liquidation is just inferior to Hydro Cannon.
As a Water-type, Shadow Samurott competes with various other Water-types for a roster slot on the team, but is benched primarily due to its suboptimal moveset, and to a lesser extent, its unimpressive bulk.
