Overview:
Since Black and White are the newest games in the series I wanted to try and focus on 5th Gen Pokemon. To start off I picked one of my favorite new Pokemon introduced in B&W. As you can see above that Pokemon is Krookodile. I have played thew the B&W story twice and both time I used this guy on my team. Even online I found him to be quiet a destructive force. Sure he has below average speed and sure his attack stat may be only good not great but looks can be deceiving.
Base Stats
| Stat | Range | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At Lv. 50 | At Lv. 100 | ||||
| 155 - 202 | 300 - 394 | |||
| 109 - 185 | 215 - 366 | |||
| 67 - 134 | 130 - 262 | |||
| 63 - 128 | 121 - 251 | |||
| 67 - 134 | 130 - 262 | |||
| 87 - 158 | 170 - 311 | |||
Abilities:
Intimidate: Don't get me wrong, Intimidate is a great ability. Lowering attack by one stage can really help take on those physical sweepers but I find that Moxie just helps its sweeping capabilities much more.
Moxie: Moxie is one of the new abilities introduced in this Gen and boy is it a good one. It raises the users attack by one stage every time it faints another poke. What does this mean? It means that the more Krookodile kills, the better he gets at killing. You're basically getting free attack raises. What's not to like?
Anger Point: Anger Point is an ability that can completely change that outcome of a battle. It raises attack six stages when the Pokemon is hit by a critical hit. However I don't recommend it since it is luck based and you don't really want to ever take a critical hit in the first place.
Movesets:
Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
Item: Choice Scarf
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
Moves:
Earthquake
Crunch
Stone Edge/ Rock Slide
Outrage/ Brick Break
This is my go to moveset for when I run Krookodile. A base 92 speed stat isn't that impressive for a sweeper. Luckily there is choice scarf to fix that problem. With a scarf you will outrun just about anything that isn't also scarfed. Earthquake and Crunch are recommend for every Krookodile moveset. They're its main form of STAB and also good offensive moves. A rock type attack is needed to provide coverage with Earthquake. I prefer Stone-Edge but if you're lucky with flinches Rock Slide can be used instead. For the last slot you have a choice between Outrage and Brick Break. Break Break is good if you don't have a fighting-type attack but that 75 base power isn't that reliable. Outrage is what I use however. That 120 base power makes it as strong as your Crunch. It also hits the dragons hard and goes well with Earthquake since dragon type attacks are only resisted by steel.
Sub + 3 Attacks
Ability: Moxie
Item: Leftovers
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
Moves:
Substitute
Earthquake
Crunch
Stone-Edge/Rock Slide/Outrage
The idea of this set is the set up a sub on the predicted switch or status move. Then you will be able to KO pokes and get that amazing Moxie boost while behind a sub. Leftovers is the preferred item for this set so that you can get 5 substitutes instead of 4 with the constant recovery each turn. I recommend running a Jolly nature for the extra speed however you could use Adamant for the extra power. It's really up to you. Other than substitute the moves are relatively similar to the first set. EQ and Crunch are there for STAB but now you have to choose between a rock move or Outrage. I run Stone-Edge because I like ground and rock type coverage. Note that if you run Outrage, Skarmory will practically wall this set.
Other Options:
Choice Band: CB Krookodile can dish out some hefty damage but the problem is the you already get an attack boost from Moxie and it seems like a waste of an item.
Counters:
Krookodile isn't that easy to counter. The key to taking care of Krookdile is to get rid of it early before it gets the Moxie boost but that is easier said than done since an experienced player would save it for the end of a battle. Defensively Krookodile can be walled by Skarmory. Skarmory resists both of its STABs making it rely on Stone-Edge and Rock Slide. The best offensive counter is something faster than it with a powerful STAB that is super effective. However since Krookodile is often scarfed your counter must also run a scarf. 92 base speed isn't hard to outrun. Starmie can easily OHKO with a Surf or Hydro Pump. Fighting types over 92 speed work well too.
