Armaldo, The Plate Pokémon. It lived on land and went out into the sea to hunt for prey. Its sharp claws were its greatest weapon. Armaldo adapted from living in water to living on land. It has been determined that it is the ancestor of some bug Pokémon.
Overview
Armaldo is an interesting Pokemon, appearing like a slow offensive powerhouse. However Armaldo is a bit more than an attacker, having a strong supporting movepool having access to both Stealth Rocks and Rapid Spin. This sets Armaldo apart in lower tier formats as a strong offensive support, as Armaldo does have 125 base Attack which is nothing to scoff at. This and its ability to pressure spin blockers make it a solid choice when thinking of hazard control and setting in lower tiers. However, Armaldo tends to have a tough time standing out in most standard settings, as it is otherwise just another slow moderately bulky Rock-type.
Positives
Utility - Armaldo has a lot of utility, having access to Rapid Spin and Stealth Rocks a rarity in in lower tiers. This makes Armaldo a strong choice when in need for hazards or hazard control as it can flex to either option and apply pressure with its high Attack. However, Armaldo can't take a 1v1 with most spin blockers as it fears the burn from Will-O-Wisp, although none of them can safely switch in in fear of Knock Off.
Negatives
Low Speed - Armaldo has abysmal Speed, which means it's often acting after the foe, and even with Swift Swim it's hard for it to outpace a lot of threats. Combined with Armaldo's low resistance count this makes it hard for it to find a way into the fight and then do much with that momentum.
Poor Typing - With Bug/Rock typing Armaldo doesn't get a lot of resistances. While the types somewhat complement some of the others weaknesses, Fire, Flying, Ground, and Fighting, this removes some of the possible resistances. On top of this, Armaldo is weak to Water, Steel, and Rock, all of which are pretty common.
Abilities
Battle Armor - Prevents critical hits - While this ability does not bring a lot to the table, its overall the best ability Armaldo has as it does not require support to really work.
Swift Swim - Doubles Speed in Rain - Better offensively but is overall something that has to be built around. Even with Swift Swim however, Armaldo is still easily outpaced by Pokemon with a Choice Scarf since its base Speed is really low.
Movesets
Offensive Support
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock / Earthquake / X-Scissor
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: attle Armor
EVs and Nature:
Adamant Nature
252 HP / 92 Atk / 164 Spd
Stone Edge is a strong STAB move and allows Armaldo to chunk Fire threats that can try and abuse Armaldo's lower Special Defense. Knock Off is nice as it allows Armaldo to punish spin blockers that try to stop it, and otherwise lets it harass switch-ins that aren't holding a Mega Stone or Z-Crystal. Rapid Spin provides hazard removal which is the main reason to use Armaldo, so it's a necessary move on this set. Last slot is open to Earthquake for neutral coverage with Stone Edge or Stealth Rock to set up hazards itself, though X-Scissor can also be considered if the secondary STAB provides utility for the team.
The EVs maximize overall bulk while allowing Armaldo to outspeed neutral base 65 Pokemon such as Roselia and Emboar. The rest is dumped into Attack to buff up Armaldo's power as much as possible, with Adamant nature being chosen for the same purpose. Leftovers help increase Armaldo's longevity and grants it a source of recovery to mitigate hazard damage it'll be racking up. Battle Armor is the preferred ability because critical hit immunity is always useful even if you never notice it, and because Swift Swim offers nothing here.
Other Options and Partners
Swift Swim/Rock Polish - Similar in functionality, these moves help mitigate Armaldo's low base Speed and can allow it to punch holes in the opponents team. Swift Swim however demands a dedicated Rain Dance user while Rock Polish needs a turn to set up the boost, which Armaldo has a hard time doing consistently. All that said these sets can be very powerful with the right support, and can be a fun way to set Armaldo apart from the competition.
Swords Dance - Armaldo can take a more offensive approach with Swords Dance and attempt to break through the foe's team, though this demands a lot of Speed control in the form of Rain or Trick Room to truly shine.
Rain Dance setters - Pokemon that can set up Rain Dance for Armaldo to look to sweep are critical on the Swords Dance sets. Pokemon such as Volbeat and Electrode are good options due to their Speed (Volbeat having Prankster) while Relicanth can set up Stealth Rock to break Focus Sash and to bring foes in Armaldo's KO range.
Roselia - With its tendency to lean as a Special Defensive wall and Poison typing, Roselia works well as a partner with Armaldo. With it being a Grass/Poison type, Roselia can sponge not only Scald and Hydro Pumps, but Toxic, and as such Toxic Spikes, as well helping Armaldo's deal with one of its major weaknesses. This does demand a proper switch-in to Fire-types though.
VGC, Double, & Triple Battle Options
Armaldo is an obscure choice for this format. In fact, it probably will never receive usage given that everything it could do, some other Pokemon does better as it is not a stellar Bug-type nor a standout Rock-type Pokemon. Armaldo has a few unique traits going for it on paper, but fair warning, don't use this Pokemon if your goal is to build a competitive team.
De-Fossilized
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake / Knock Off
- X-Scissor / String Shot
- Protect
Item Attached: Figy Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
Rock Slide works as a great spread move that deals damage to all opponents on the field, chunking out huge amounts of damage if the targets are weak to the attack. Earthquake is a staple of Doubles, though Armaldo does not have STAB to back it up, making it an inferior choice for this Pokemon outside of the extra coverage. Knock Off could be used instead as a surprise attack that will leave the opponent without their coveted item, which is useful against foes reliant on berries. X-Scissor offers a secondary STAB, but it won't obtain tons of mileage given its limited use against Psychic- or Dark-type Pokemon with are not as common under the Doubles format. String Shot can be considered as form of speed control since it affects both opponents and reduces their Speed by 2 stages. Protect eases prediction and increases longevity in battle. A pinch berry that recovers health is chosen Armaldo's item to increase its survivability by a hit or so, though an offensive item like Life Orb can work as well.
Other Options & Team Ideas
-- A good partner might be Pelipper, who can set up rain via its Drizzle ability, though it's still not particularly fast with the boost.
- Aqua Jet bypasses its horrible speed, and under rain it packs an extra punch. However, it is fairly weak and otherwise not very impressive.
- A Rockium Z or Buginium Z can be used to give Armaldo a nuke button against foes such as Cresselia, though this can be tough to fit onto a team with more capable Z-Move users.
Countering Armaldo
Water types - While Stone Edge deters some Water threats, most can switch in after Armaldo takes down something and look to OHKO Armaldo back with Hydro Pump, while some of the more physically tanky ones such as Qwilfish can look to burn Armaldo with Scald.
Residual Damage - Armaldo is a tank without a way to heal outside of Leftovers, which is why Assault Vest isn't the greatest on it. This means that moves such as Toxic and Will-O-Wisp a simple way to out Armaldo. Another way to wear down Armaldo includes hazards themselves as Armaldo takes 25% from Stealth Rock due to its Bug typing.
Pre-Evolution Corner - Anorith
Little Cup
Anti-Lead
- Rock Blast
- Knock Off / X-Scissor / Brick Break
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
Item Attached: Berry Juice / Eviolite
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs and Nature:
236 Atk / 36 Def / 236 Spd
Jolly Nature
Anorith is in a neat spot in LC, not being great but not being terrible. Anorith finds its niche as an anti lead, having 18 Speed to beat fast Taunt users and can then set up Stealth Rock, or Rock Blast through leads such as Dwebble and Joltik to bypass the common Focus Sash. Knock Off is nice for the same reasons as it is on Armaldo, checking spin blockers such as Frillish, while X-Scissor allows for a secondary STAB and a way to handle Pawniard. Brick Break is a more consistent option for dealing with Pawniard if that's a major issue though. As with Armaldo, Battle Armor is just a more broadly useful ability than Swift Swim even if it'll rarely come into play. Berry Juice also gives Anorith a source of recovery as per standard LC fare, allowing it to stick around longer and function as more than just an anti-lead later in the game.
Other Options & Team Ideas
Dwebble - With Anorith to remove hazards, Dwebble has a free Shell Smash and can maintain its Focus Sash. This allows Dwebble to steamroll most teams with its immense offensive pressure, though the type stacking demands proper answers to Water-types such as Frillish and Chinchou.
Mudbray - Mudbray is a great teammate for Anorith that can switch into Rock-type moves that Anorith hates and immediately gain Stamina boosts. Mudbray's powerful attacks give it some extra offensive presence that Anorith might lack, though this also stacks Water weaknesses.
Grass-types - Grass-types such as Foongus and Snivy cover Anorith's weakness to Water-type moves while also threatening Rock-types that Anorith might not want to deal with, such as Onix.
Counters
Steel-types - Without any real way to deal with Pawniard unless it runs Brick Break, Anorith becomes setup fodder. While Knock Off can be annoying, there are no real tools in Anorith's toolbox to comfortably handle the Steel-type Pokemon without giving up a valuable move slot.
Fighting-types - Resisting both of Anorith's STAB moves, the Fighting-types of LC can easily beat Anorith. Timurr can just boost up Bulk Up without a lot of concern for what Anorith can do, healing with Drain Punch, while Mienfoo just creates pressure with its powerful attacks and access to moves such as U-Turn and Knock Off.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Not in game
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Evolve Anorith
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Trade from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald
Colosseum/XD:
Trade from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Evolve Anorith
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Evolve Anorith
Black/White:
Evolve Anorith
Black 2/White 2:
Evolve Anorith
X/Y:
Evolve Anorith
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Evolve Anorith
Sun/Moon:
Evolve Anorith
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Evolve Anorith
Animé Appearences
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Armaldo has made a couple of appearances in the anime. Most notably, it was used by Nando during his Sinnoh League campaign |
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