What is a good moveset for Ludicolo?

Question

If you have a good competitive moveset for Ludicolo, post an answer below and upvote the best ones. Movesets for its pre-evolutions, if any, can also be shared on this thread.

Be sure to include full set details in your post, e.g. items, abilities, natures and EVs. Some detail, including the intended game mode for your set, is also appreciated. Access the full list of guidelines here.

Ludicolo Pokédex and learnset for reference.

Answer 1

This had to happen eventually

Doubles Rain Sweeping Ludicolo!

Ludicolo @ Absorb Bulb / Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Rash / Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump / Surf
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam / Focus Blast
- Fake Out / Rain Dance / Protect

Items

Absorb Bulb is an interesting item that boosts the holder's special attack one stage if it is hit with a water move. Ludicolo can take advantage of this with a partner that knows surf, and thanks to its base 100 special defense and quad resistance surf does little damage. However, if you don't intend to run the surf+absorb bulb gimmick, Life Orb is the best option to maximize damage, and the lost HP can be fixed with Giga Drain

Moves

Hydro Pump/Surf: Water STAB, and in this case Ludicolo's main attack. Choose wisely, because missing and hitting your partner both suck (unless that partner likes being hit with water moves)
Giga Drain: This secondary STAB grants Ludicolo a means of destroying opposing water types and a means of recovery, something no other rain sweeper can boast
Ice Beam/Focus Blast: Your coverage of choice. Ice Beam is preffered as otherwise Ludicolo can't get through grass types and dragon types. However, Focus Blast may be used to nail Ferrothorn if you find it troubling.
Fake Out/Rain Dance/Protect: Fake Out is preffered, as it eases first turn rain set up for the partner mon and is essentially free damage. However, Ludicolo can set up its own rain if you like, or Protect could be used for scouting and for safety when threats like Talonflame are out and about.

Good potential teammates

*note: these are just a select few of the many good potential teammates Ludicolo can have

Politoed: Politoed gets special mention because it can summon rain automatically and activate absorb bulb with surf
Thundurus: Thundurus can not only summon Prankster guaranteed rain, but can also abuse rain with Thunder, take out Talonflame, and paralyze annoying things
Manectric-Mega: Ludicolo's defense is on the weaker side, so intimidate support is appreciated, and Manectric is again a good Talonflame check, which can also handle Ferrothorn as well as Scizor and Genesect with Flamethrower
Gyarados: Abuses rain well, intimidate support, paralysis support, and taunt can break through walls like Cresselia
Jirachi: Jirachi appreciates the loss of its fire weakness in rain and in return can support Ludicolo with helping hand and draw away flying and poison attacks with Follow Me.

Comments

Finnaly a moveset that is accurate and informative

Answer 2

MexicanDuckwithaPineappleonitsHead (Ludicolo) @ Choice Specs/Life Orb/Lefties
Ability: Swift Swim / Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast/Rain Dance

Hydro Pump is good STAB.
Giga Drain provides healing and is STAB as well.
Ice Beam gives great coverage along the dual STAB moves.
Focus Blast hits Ferrothorn.
If you're not playing in OU though, Rain Dance is an alternative to boost Ludicolo's Speed and Hydro Pump.
If using Rain Dance, a spread of 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe is viable.
Also, you can use the first EV spread with Rain Dish, still maintaining the Tank Role.
Of course if using Rain Dance, go with Life Orb or Lefties.
If in OU and using Focus Blast though, Choice Specs is viable to hit hard.

Answer 3

I made this set for a RMT answer, and I tested it out, and it’s really fun to use. I saved the replay if you want to watch it.

Ludicolo @ Leftovers
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Giga Drain
- Leech Seed
- Protect

Leftovers + Rain Dish + Leech Seed heals 1/4 of your HP per turn. So that’s why I didn’t do a Life Orb + Swift Swim set, since this is supposed to be more of an annoyer. It’s EVs give it physical bulk, which it needs. I took some EVs from Defense to put into Special Attack, for a bit of a power boost. Bold increases its Defense with the cost of lowering its unused Attack stat. Scald is STAB and is used on this set for the burn chance, and it has decent power in the rain. Giga Drain + Leech Seed + Leftovers + Rain Dish is a lot of healing in the rain, and Giga Drain is STAB. Leech Seed for healing and damaging your opponent at the same time. Protect is for a free turn of healing.

For my rain setter, I use Pelipper, due to its ability to reliably switch from threats with U-Turn.

EDIT: Oops calculated the damage healed wrong. Leech Seed heals 1/8 of your OPPONENTS max HP. So it would be 1/16 + 1/16 + 1/8 (of your target’s max HP).

Comments

I just had a battle with this Ludicolo movesets. The link to the replay is on your wall. Awesome moveset. Ludicolo was my only Pokemon standing against a Dracovish. I won the battle. +1 upvote from me!  :)

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Well, I’m glad this set helped! :)

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(calculates how much HP is restored)Wow. Ludicolo gets 91 HP restored.
Calculation: 1/16+1/16+1/8=4/16, or 0.25.
0.25*364=91

Answer 4

The Quintuple S Pokemon

Ludicolo @ Leftovers
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 98 Def / 160 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Seed Bomb
- Nature Power / Thunder Punch / Ice Punch
- Waterfall

Whats that? What is the fifth S? Well it is Sweeper. Swords-dance is for boosting that Average Attack stat. Seed-bomb is STAB. Nature-power(Which become E-quake in PO/Wi-fi), and Thunder/Ice-punch for your choice of coverage. Waterfall is more STAB.

Answer 5

Gen III.

Ludicolo @ Leftovers
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Surf
- Leech Seed
- Toxic
- Rain Dance

Leech Seed, Leftovers, and Rain Dish with Rain Dance will be healing Ludicolo. Toxic is to wear down the foe and Surf is Rain-boosted Stab. Giga Drain is not used because it has low PP and 60 BP in Gen III.

Answer 6

Hispanic heritage month... Wynaut? :P

Ludicolo @ Life Orb / Choice Specs
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Energy Ball / Leaf Storm
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast / Hydro Pump

STAB Specs Rain boosted Scald is nice, burns are appreciated too. Energy Ball is grass STAB, but Leaf Storm is stronger. Ice Beam is coverage, Focus Blast is more coverage while Hydro Pump is even stronger Water STAB, and does up to 50.5% to Ferrothorn in rain. Pretty neat, huh?

Answer 7

Rain Staller

Ludicolo @ Leftovers

Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Def / 104 SpA / 100 SpD
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Whirlpool
- Toxic
- Protect / Leech Seed / Ice Beam

• Giga Drain (Healing)
• Whirlpool (Slow damage)
• Toxic (Stall)

Probably my favorite set.
Whirlpool may seem odd, but it works great on Ludicolo in my opinion.
It gets added boost in rain, damages them each turn like Toxic and it prevents them from switching, which is great.
Leftovers, Leech Seed, Giga Drain and Rain Dish works well every turn.
Ludicolo has great typing and is my favorite Pokemon in the rain.

Answer 8

Ludicolo @ Big Root
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpD
Bold Nature
- Rain Dance (For restoring health)
- Giga Drain (STAB, restores health, boosted by Big Root)
- Focus Blast (Chance to lower SpD)
- Ice Beam (May freeze opponent)

Comments

big root is an awful item, leftovers are superior in every way

Answer 9

Ludicolo @ Leftovers / Damp Rock
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 128 HP / 244 SpA / 136 Spe
Timid / Modest Nature
- Scald
- Rain Dance
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam

Damp rock helps extend the duration of rain dance
-Scald: I say scald instead of hydropump because scald has a chance to burn
-Rain Dance: With rain dish it heals Ludicolo
-Giga Drain: Giga Drain so it can heal Ludicolo
-Ice Beam: Ice beam is coverage for flying types which are common during PVP battles

Comments

You can't hold both Leftovers and Damp Rock

Answer 10

I know I'm a bit late, but I just picked up a Ludicolo, and here's my set:

Ludicolo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 124 SpD / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump / Scald
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Fighting]

• Hydro Pump/Scald- Good water STAB, Scald for better accuracy
• Giga Drain- Good grass STAB/Recovery
• Ice Beam- Good coverage, easy counter to dragon/flying types
• Hidden Power Fighting- Helps deal with types you can (Steel and Ice)

While this might not be super effective, it is fun, so if you have a rain dance set-up, this is an enjoyable set.

Answer 11

Ludicolo @ Leftovers
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump / Surf / Scald
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam
- Rain Dance / Focus Blast

Your STABs are Giga Drain and any of the three water moves: Hydro Pump (for 110 power but with an accuracy of 80), Surf (for 90 power), or Scald (for 80 power but with burn chance). Ice Beam is for type coverage. Rain Dance for activating your Swift Swim ability if you do not have a rain setter; however, you can change it into Focus Blast for additional type coverage and if you already have a rain setter in your team (like Pelipper with a Drizzle ability and a move U-turn to switch your Ludicolo).

Answer 12

Ludicolo @ Leftovers
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 HP / 250 Def / 8 SpA or Spe
Modest / Timid Nature
- Teeter Dance / Leech Seed
- Hydro Pump.
- Icy Wind / Ice Beam.
- Giga Drain / Fake Out / Synthesis

Pair This in doubles With A Drizzle Or A Drought Pokemon
Teeter Dance If Running With an Own Tempo Trick Room Team ie: Slowpoke/Bro/King.
Hydro Pump Is Stab.
Giga Drain Stab.
Fake Out For Flinching.
Icy Wind to slow down Threats.
My Ludicolo moveset is highlighted.
By far one of my favourite Pokemon.

Answer 13

.
.• LUDICOLO •
☻Battle Mechanis : ..//.
☺[Ability] : SwiftSwim (This also categorizes the species as a potential member of "Rain"strategy-Team)
♦♦♦ [Item] : mystique water (20% boosts the BP of its Water-type STAB moves, To accumulate with the 50% BP boost during Rain Weather it really is a threat)
•••> highly recommend to use this Pokemon in Competitive Battles especially switched out with a Teammate's got "Drizzle" as its ability (Politoed / Pelipper)
♠♠♠ [EVs] : 230 [Spe.Atk] / 108 [Def] / 50 [Spe.Def] / 120 [S;peed]
♣♣♣ [Nature] : Calm (To escalate the Spe.atk Stat as much as possible) /or just pick Timid if ur more into Speed.
♥♥♥ [Move-Set] :
__♦♠♣♥~•THE [SPECIAL.ATTACK] MOVE SET :•~♥♣♠♦__
.
----1️⃣ Energy Ball (high 90 BP STAB moves that has 10% of lowering foe's Spe.Def).
----2️⃣ Surf / [or] Scald (90/80 BP respectively and these are also the Most Potential STAB-Moves as these r water-type moves means they r under the effects of a full set combo of these 3 move BP boost : STAB bonus, item Bonus and Weather Bonus. (90 + 45 + 18 + 45 = 198 BP for "Surf")
----3️⃣ Rain dance [ofcoz to summon the Weather it needs] , however, Rain Dance should be in this Set for Single Battles. For Competitive Battles with Allies that call out rain for him so just replace this move with "Fire-Punch", a super effective Fire-type move against 1 of its weakness : BUG-type.
----4️⃣ Ice-Beam [ forsure , to counter those Flying-type Pokemons , plus to sincerely Put those pretty usual Dragon-Flying Species in the right places.
NOTE : it doesnt have any moves that can counter the other Weaknesses : BUG and POISON-type - consider it!
__♦♠♣♥~•THE [ATTACK] MOVE SET :•~♥♣♠♦__
.
♠♠♠ [EVs] : 230 [Atk] / 108 [Def] / 50 [Spe.Def] / 120 [S;peed]
♣♣♣ [Nature] : Adamant (To escalate the Atk Stat as much as possible) /or just pick Jolly if ur more into Speed.
.
----1️⃣Bullet Seeds (STAB moves - altho it has only 25 BP (it can hit 2-5 times in a row with 100% rate of striking 2 times with the accumulate BP at the second strike of 50 BP - So in total this move power is equal to a move with BP of 75)
----2️⃣ Waterfall (This s the Most Potential STAB-Moves as its a water-type move means its under the effects of a full set combo of these 3 move BP boost : STAB bonus, item Bonus and Weather Bonus. (80 + 40 + 16 + 40 = 176 BP)
----3️⃣ Substitute (To create a quick veil enough for it to set up at least 1 Sword Dance.
----4️⃣Sword Dance (Boosts its Base Atk STAT up to 140)
This move set is only recommended in Competitive battles where allies can support it with "Drizzle" , "Follow me" , etc. ...
.

Comments

EVs should be multiples of 4 and total 508.

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yeah  a dude just let me know that's why i came back here to fix it. not all Asian r best at Math tho +____+

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Are the EV spreads, item, and natures the same things you use on the physical attacker set?

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job done, tks guys

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50 and 230 aren't multiples of 4. Also, if you want to boost SpA on the first set, why would you choose Calm, a SpD+ nature?

Answer 14

effective for 5-6 star raids S/V

Weather Regenerator
Ludicolo @ Shell Bell
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA /
Modest Nature
- Weather Ball
- Giga Drain
- Grassy Terrain
- Rain Dance****

Items
Shell bell will restore health in combination with grassy terrain and rain dance (passive heal with rain dish ability)
Moves
-Weather Ball: Water STAB, Ludicolo's main attack. weather ball's attack power will double in the rain (from 50 to 100) and also gain the Stab bonus changing to water type. also if a grass type opponent attempts to use sunny day for solar beam, weather ball's type changes to fire making quick work of any grass users.
-Giga Drain: This secondary STAB grants Ludicolo additional healing and a means of dealing with other water types. alongside grassy terrain and shell bell that is 4x instances of healing per turn.
-Rain Dance: most likely your first/ second move depending on the situation, will boost weather ball to water type and begin passive heal.
-Grassy Terrain: First turn move (granted situation doesn't call for rain dance first, boosts giga drain and begins the passive healing)

Answer 15

Gen 9 NU Rain Abuser

Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid / Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Weather Ball
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam
- Rain Dance

In addition to Sun teams being good in NU at the time of this post, Rain teams are quite good in NU, with Ludicolo being an option for Swift Swim users on Rain teams in Gen 9 NU. Ludicolo is nice as a tertiary rain setter and sweeper for Rain teams, and it offers another Special Attack Rain can use.

Weather Ball is used for the Water STAB since you're using Ludicolo while Rain is up, so Weather Ball is a powerful Water STAB that doesn't have a chance to miss like Hydro Pump does. Weather Ball is Lusicolo's main STAB since it is Rain boosted and potentially Tera boosted, doing quite a bit of damage to Pokemon who don't resist Water moves. Giga Drain is the preferred Grass STAB to deal super effective damage to Water-types such as Slowbro, Swampert, Basculegion, and Vaporeon since it allows Ludicolo to heal off Life Orb recoil. Ice Beam is useful coverage against Pokemon such as Dragalge, Vileplume, Brute Bonnet, Tsareena, Brambleghast, and Noivern, Pokemon who resist Ludicolo's STAB combination. Rain Dance allows Ludicolo to set the rain for itself and its teammates should you not want to switch out or your other Rain setters are weakened or knocked out.

Life Orb is used to give Ludicolo's attacks more power. Water is the chosen Tera Type to give Weather Ball a x2 STAB boost, making it more powerful in the rain. Timid Nature allows Ludicolo to outspeed Choice Scarf Pokemon such as Flygon and Mienshao in the rain, while Modest gives Ludicolo as much power as possible. If you use Modest Nature, you could use Tera Ghost to become immune to Close Combat and resist U-turn since Modest Ludicolo in rain doesn't outspeed Choice Scarf Mienshao and Flygon.