LC: Rank B for Badass
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Introduction
If you have ever tried the LC ladder or an LC tournament, you'll certainly notice that LC isn't remotely similar to your average tier. Damage rolls work differently, strategies are different, everything is different. One of the first things I noticed upon trying Little Cup is that everyone uses the same Pokémon. Out of all the hundreds of available choices, only the top thirty are consistently used. It's not uncommon to see teams completely composed of the top six Pokémon in usage stats. Based on usage stats, most people seem to think that only a few select Pokémon are viable; I hope we can clear up this misconception.
Sure, Mienfoo and Pawniard are two of the best Pokémon in the tier, but you don't need to be ranked A- or higher in the viability threads to be a threat. Many Pokémon that are B rank or even lower can be serious threats if they're used correctly. Unfortunately, the hard part is using the Pokémon in that correct way. Let's see if we can teach you how to use some of these Pokémon so that you can truly be the hipster on the LC ladder.
Omanyte
Typing: Rock / Water
Base Stats: 35 HP / 40 Atk / 100 Def / 90 SpA / 55 SpD / 35 Spe / BST: 355
Abilities: Swift Swim / Shell Armor / Weak Armor (Hidden Ability)
With a low HP stat, lackluster Special Defense, and sluggish Speed, Omanyte doesn't seem to have much going for it. That's before you look at its movepool and notice a precious gem, Shell Smash, a vaunted move that doubles Attack, Special Attack, and Speed while cutting away a third of the user's Defense and Special Defense. This makes Omanyte become faster than most Choice Scarf users, turns its good Special Attack into something that can 2HKO most anything that doesn't resist its attacks and even some things that do, and allows it to more efficiently work in any environment, especially rain. However, LC is full of Pokémon who know Shell Smash, such as Dwebble, Clamperl, and Tirtouga, some of which are better users of the move. Why might you want to use Omanyte, then? Because unlike the smashers higher up in the viability rankings, Omanyte is a special attacker that both resists the omnipresent Fletchling's Acrobatics and fears only the rare Hidden Power Grass from it. Even special walls like Spritzee are 2HKOed by Surf/Hydro Pump, Earth Power, or Ice Beam, and with a fair amount of opportunities to come in and set up, it is something you should prepare for and consider using if you're looking for a set-up sweeper.
Houndour
Typing: Dark / Fire
Base Stats: 45 HP / 60 Atk / 30 Def / 80 SpA / 50 SpD / 65 Spe / BST: 330
Abilities: Early Bird / Flash Fire / Unnerve (Hidden Ability)
When you see a hellhound, you think badassery, and Houndour certainly does not disappoint. Houndour can hit 19 HP, also known as the perfect amount when using a Life Orb, and a Life Orb-boosted STAB Fire Blast won't feel good off of a respectable base 80 Special Attack. There are plenty of other Pokémon that are slower than Houndour, and it will happily dispose of them with a STAB Dark Pulse to the face. Of course, many Pokémon are faster than it, as well, but Houndour has that taken care of with STAB Sucker Punch. When times are looking tough, it can even use Destiny Bond to spitefully take the enemy down with it. Of course, it has its issues with, say, Fighting-type Pokémon, as well as things that can take a hit and OHKO it, which isn't hard with its base 30 Defense stat (and often a -Def nature), but it's still threatening offensively. Of course, if Ghost-types or Abra are giving you issues, Houndour can assume a more defensive role with Eviolite and more Special Defense EVs, moving its Special Attack EVs to Attack and Special Defense and replacing Dark Pulse, Fire Blast, and Destiny Bond with Crunch, Flamethrower, and Pursuit, respectively, to trap Pursuit-weak Pokémon and deal as much damage as possible while surviving powerful Hidden Power Fightings from Abra or Gastly.
Corphish
Typing: Water
Base Stats: 43 HP / 80 Atk / 65 Def / 50 SpA / 35 SpD / 35 Spe / BST: 308
Abilities: Hyper Cutter / Shell Armor / Adaptability (Hidden Ability)
Despite having only one type, unlike its evolution, Corphish is a powerful Dragon Dancer in LC. Adaptability is a powerful ability, and can turn Waterfall or Crabhammer, already powerful after a single Dragon Dance, into veritable wrecking balls of destruction. Aqua Jet is also boosted by this boon of an ability, and can hit fairly hard or pick off weakened Pokémon even before a Dragon Dance. Knock Off is a good move to use as well, hitting a fair amount of things hard, also removing pesky Eviolites that could get in the way for allies. Of course, dancing isn't all it can do. Choice Band and Choice Scarf are also two options, with Choice Band providing immediate power while the Choice Scarf remedies the fact that, without a boost, Corphish tends to have issues with Speed and isn't exactly bulky. With a spare moveslot due to no Dragon Dance, most people use Brick Break or Superpower, depending on whether the increase in power is worth a couple stat drops. Both take out the standard Pawniard, the main thing you're hitting, with ease.
Taillow
Typing: Normal / Flying
Base Stats: 40 HP/ 55 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 85 Spe / BST: 270
Abilities: Guts / Scrappy (Hidden Ability)
With two powerful abilities and two drastically different sets, defeating Taillow comes down to seeing how the first turn goes. If, by the end of the turn, the Taillow's Flame Orb burns its holder, then you've either got a drastically devoted special set or a Guts set. It's generally safe to assume the latter, mostly because the former being true means that the special set is lacking Choice Specs and is considerably safer to handle. The Guts set generally uses Return / Brave Bird / U-turn / Quick Attack and fires off powerful STAB attacks and can U-turn to an ally who resists both STAB attacks if, say, an Onix or Aron takes to the field. Quick Attack is useful priority to pick off weakened opponents or opponents with slower priority attacks, something Eviolite-less Taillow doesn't really want to take. The blazing fast 19 Speed lets Taillow launch these nukes before the target gets a chance to react, dealing more than respectable damage. Of course, a one-trick pony isn't dangerous once you know its trick, but Taillow has another card up its non-existent sleeve. That base 30 Special Attack is considerably more threatening once you realize that it can boost its power with a pair of Choice Specs and the strongest drawback-free attack in existence in Boomburst (with STAB on it, to boot), Air Slash for spare STAB, Hidden Power Fighting to help beat those pesky Steel-types, and U-turn to bail out when things get shaky. Although the idea of using a base 30 Special Attack Pokémon was originally thought of as a little different, bordering on "Why is this person on our LC Council again?", you could say that it was really just some divine intervention. Get it, because the creator of the set is Goddess Briye- Yeah, let's just go to the next one.
Vullaby
Typing: Dark / Flying
Base Stats: 70 HP / 55 Atk / 75 Def / 45 SpA / 65 SpD / 60 Spe / BST: 370
Abilities: Big Pecks/Overcoat/Weak Armor (Hidden Ability)
If Stealth Rock is the main representative of entry hazards, then Vullaby is the 70-year-old who doesn't want to hear your Stealth Rock and Roll and will repeatedly shoo them away. Roost gives it longevity to repeatedly come in and remove entry hazards with Defog, while it has other options with the other two slots. Most people tend to use Knock Off for its utility, as the ability to remove Eviolites or Berry Juices can be invaluable. For the fourth slot, most people pick one of Hidden Power Fighting to nail Pawniard (this line will inevitably spawn at least one piece of PawniardxVullaby fanfiction of the adult variety), Brave Bird to help Vullaby to hit generally everything harder, something that is helped by the fact that Overcoat lets it come into moves like Spore and Sleep Powder and launch a usually super effective attack at the user, and U-turn to get allies in fairly safely, as Vullaby isn't exactly a top contender in any speed-related races. Of course, as an entry hazard remover with a weakness to Rock-type moves, it does have limits, and in a metagame where Pokémon carry Dazzling Gleam for coverage, a Dark typing isn't optimal, but it's still a great option for a more defensive entry hazard remover, as long as you don't mind losing your own entry hazards at the same time.
Larvesta
Typing: Bug / Fire
Base Stats: 55 HP / 85 Atk / 55 Def / 50 SpA / 55 SpD / 60 Spe / BST: 360
Abilities: Flame Body/Swarm (Hidden Ability)
It seems like you can't fight anyone nowadays without coming across a Fighting-type. Luckily, there is a Pokémon just itching to switch into them. Larvesta's typing just screams for it to be sent out against a Fighting-type, and Flame Body might burn them and they will end up dealing such pitiful damage they might forget that they're dealing with a bug. Even if Flame Body doesn't burn them, most Larvesta carry Will-O-Wisp anyways, leaving any and every physical attacker weakened and useless. It gets U-turn and Wild Charge, allowing it to hit Pokémon that thought they were safe. It even has Solar Beam to hit Rock-types really hard. From what you can see, it seems like an extremely dangerous threat. Why does it fall into B, you might ask? Well, if you look at this beautiful typing, you'll see a nice gaping hole in its defensive capabilities. Stealth Rock shreds Larvesta to pieces, leaving it desperate for recovery. Thankfully, it has a nice recovery move, Morning Sun, that allows it to recover half its health or even more if it's in the sun, which brings us to the next point. Stick Larvesta in the sun, and you've got an improved Morning Sun as well as an improved Flare Blitz. Water-type attacks won't hit nearly as hard, and Larvesta will simply destroy anything in its path. It hits hard, recovers hard, stalls hard, and plays hard. Who wants to mess with an almost 4' tall bug that shoots fire out of its horns?
Cranidos
Typing: Rock
Base Stats: 67 HP / 125 Atk / 40 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 58 Spe / BST: 350
Abilities: Mold Breaker/Sheer Force (Hidden Ability)
If you skipped over this Pokémon's stats, go back and read them. Now read them again. If you were wondering, you did read that correctly. Cranidos has the highest Attack in the tier at a base 125 Attack. Mold Breaker allows it to hit more Pokémon, as opposed to Sheer Force, which allows Cranidos to hit Pokémon harder. Its hindering Speed does hold it back a little, but no matter. Slap a Sticky Web under the opposing team and you have one of the most dangerous Pokémon in the metagame, outrunning and outgunning almost anything that it comes up against. Head Smash nails most Pokémon insanely hard, with Earthquake, Fire Punch, Zen Headbutt, Superpower, Stone Edge, Iron Head, or Crunch giving it the potential coverage to hit every other single Pokémon hard. A word to the wise: Cranidos has no priority move. It depends on Sticky Web or a Choice Scarf to hit before the opposing Pokémon hits. So if you come up against a priority attacker such as a Timburr or a Croagunk, be ready to get hit hard with a super effective attack that you aren't likely to survive. But given the right circumstances, Cranidos can be a true terror to behold.
Lickitung
Typing: Normal
Base Stats: 90 HP/ 55 Atk / 75 Def / 60 SpA / 75 SpD / 30 Spe / BST: 385
Abilities: Own Tempo/Oblivious/Cloud Nine (Hidden Ability)
Looking at its mediocre stats, lackluster typing, and horrible character design, it's no wonder Lickitung isn't higher up. In fact, why would something like this even make it to B rank? Well, Lickitung can provide something to many teams that few other Pokémon can provide: support. Wish + Heal Bell together are incredible, keeping weakened teams alive much longer. Have a paralyzed, low health sweeper? Not a problem. Lickitung can easily nurse them back to health. Even better, it has the bulk and movepool to actually help out its team offensively as well. Toxic, Dragon Tail, and Body Slam keep the opposing team on their toes, since many of these Pokémon would rather not be hit with a Toxic or be paralyzed by Body Slam. Even Dragon Tail helps Lickitung, as it keeps other Pokémon from setting up. Well now you're thinking, "why the hell is Lickitung B-rank? It sounds like a God!" Well, there are a few problems. Its typing leaves it vulnerable to Fighting-types, which are pretty much everywhere. It's outclassed as a Wish support Pokémon by Spritzee. And it's still pretty stupid looking. But there are ways to get around these setbacks, and that's the reason Lickitung can often be a perfect addition to your team.
Conclusion
Wow, these Pokémon aren't nearly as bad as some people might make them out to be. While they may be ever so slightly outclassed, these Pokémon boast solid stats, useful niches, and some incredible potential. So next time you're staring into teambuilder, waiting for inspiration to strike, why not try out a team with some creative flare to it? Just keep these Pokémon in mind. They just might be that glue that holds your team together.
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