Community POTW #023

[Serebii]

Time for the next Pokémon and this time we're going to Kanto

It's Lapras!

https://www.serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/lapras/

Go nuts

 

[XaelOstigian]

Remember when we COULDN'T ride our bikes on water? Lapras remembers.

Lapras used to be everyone's favorite water Uber, the ride service, not the tier, given Lapras seems to be just shy of being something incredible despite possessing a wide offensive and support movepool, excellent defensive stats, an underrated ability, and the ability to run MANY sets and still make them work. Lapras may be in the unemployment line as a water ferry, but at least it has many uses on the battlefield.

Stay Hydrated at Sea
Ability: Hydration
Item: Leftovers/Light Clay
Nature: Bold (+Defense -Attack)
EVs: (HP 252) (Def 148) (Sp. Def. 108)

Moves:
Rain Dance
Rest
Ice Beam/Freeze-Dry
Thunder/Surf

Set Details:
Hydration is a very underrated ability that turns Rest from a risky healing move to a reliable one. With rain set up, Rest completely heals Lapras's health and even cures status and Lapras will then wake up at the end of the turn. This strategy worked for Vaporeon, and it can work here as well. Either Ice Beam or Freeze-Dry will be the reliable STAB, and the last move can go to either Thunder or Surf, both of which benefit from the rain by either becoming 100% accurate and offering BoltBeam coverage, or by boosting your secondary STAB's power. Invest in defenses to get Lapras as bulky as possible and use Leftovers to provide the extra recovery support. If you manage to get your hands on a G-Max Lapras, Light Clay will also work in tangent with G-Max Resonance if you decide to G-Max Lapras for added bulk in the HP and defenses department thanks to it laying down Aurora Veil.

A Gentle Sea Dragon Lives Here
Ability: Water Absorb/Shell Armor
Item: Life Orb/Leftovers/Light Clay
Nature: Jolly (+Speed -Sp. Attack)
EVs: (HP 4) (Attack 252) (Speed 252)

Moves:
Dragon Dance
Waterfall/Liquidation
Ice Shard
Zen Headbutt/Drill Run/Megahorn/Body Slam

Set Details:
Props to anyone who gets the Super Mario 64 reference. It may not be a Dragon type, but apparently it's Dragon enough to be on Iris's champion team, and Dragon enough to get access to one of the best boosting moves in Dragon Dance. Waterfall will be your primary STAB what with the added flinch chance, but Liquidation is slightly stronger if you prefer. Ice Shard is sadly the only physical Ice STAB Lapras has access to that does not have a negative priority (Looking at you Avalanche), but it does give you added insurance against threats that will still outspeed you after a speed boost or two. The last move is a matter of coverage choice. Zen Headbutt takes down Fighting types and Toxapex, Drill Run takes down Toxapex and hits a wide coverage of Pokemon including Electric types, Megahorn surprises the Dark and Psychic types, and Body Slam is just good neutral coverage with added paralysis support. Water Absorb is the preferred ability since it gives Lapras an immunity, but Shell Armor is also usable just for the sake of preventing critical hits from ruining your set-up. Life Orb gives Lapras extra damage, but Leftovers can go a long way in helping Lapras's longevity, and Light Clay works well in tangent with G-Max Lapras and giving Ice Shard some extra power. Nature and EVs are all put into Speed to make Lapras as fast as possible, as well as attack to make it hit as hard as possible.

Beautiful Song...OF DEATH!
Ability: Water Absorb/Shell Armor
Item: Leftovers/Chesto Berry
Nature: Bold (+Defense -Attack)
EVs: (HP 252) (Attack 148) (Sp. Defense 108)

Moves:
Whirlpool
Perish Song
Protect
Rest

Set Details:
A gimmick set that relies on Perish Song to do the heavy lifting. Whirlpool traps the intended target long enough for Perish Song to run its course, Protect burns a turn, and Rest keeps Lapras healthy. Leftovers provides recovery, but Chesto Berry serves as a one-time buffer for Rest. Nature and EVs are invested in Lapras's ability to take hits thus ensuring survival while stalling for time until the song is completed.

So despite not quite reaching top tier quality in the competitive metagame, Lapras still brings a lot to the table and is still a lot of fun to play with none the less:

 

[AS358/2]

One of the biggest additions to VGC 2020 in series 3 was gmax Lapras. Gmax Resonance is one of the strongest gmax moves not in terms of power but in allowing its team to become seriously bulky with Aurora veil independly of the weather on the field. However Lapras lacks power on its own with mere 85/85 offenses meaning the trainer will often choose between weakness policy so Lapras can hit hard or light clay to take on a support role with a longer Aurora veil.

Lapras-Gmax @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Shell Armor
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 60 Def / 220 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
– Freeze-Dry
– Hydro Pump
– Thunderbolt
– Protect
Freeze Dry is the preferred Ice STAB since while weaker than Ice Beam, hits opposing water types such as Gastrodon harder while also providing Gmax resonance when gigantamaxed. Hydro Pump is Lapras's strongest water STAB hitting threats such as Incineroar Tyranitar and Excadrill and can set rain if used as Max Geyser. Thunderbolt rounds out Lapras's coverage as another option for opposing water types while setting electric terrain and disabling sleep as max Lightning, removing an option to stall out your Veil/Gigantamax turns. Protect (and Max Guard) allow Lapras to absorb hits to buy its partner a turn or otherwise survive a max move that would take it.
The ev spread allows Lapras to survive Max Kncuckle(90BP) from Conkelder with Guts, Max Overgrowth(140) from Venusaur and Rockfall(130BP) from Rhyperior with max investment and no additional boosts during gigantamax and with Aurora Veil. The special attack invesment leads to favorable rolls for Freeze Dry to 1 Gastrodon sets up to 244/68 special bulk and boosted Max Lighting to do the same for 252/0 Milotic. 0 speed IVs and a quiet nature make Lapras as fast as possible in Trick Room. Weakeness policy allows Lapras to boost and be a damaging threat. Shell Armor makes Lapras immune to critical hits, meaning it will always have the extra bulk while Aurora Veil is active. Partners such as Dusclops (in trick room) and Raichu (outside of it) can use a weak brick break on Lapras on the last turn of Gigantamax to reset Aurora Veil as its about to end while boosting Lapras.

Light Clay
Lapras-Gmax @ Light Clay
Ability: Shell Armor
Level: 50
EVs: 204 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 44 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Freeze-Dry
– Hydro Pump
– Perish Song
– Protect
Like above, Freeze Dry is the preferred Ice STAB since while weaker than Ice Beam, hits opposing water types such as Gastrodon harder while also providing Gmax resonance when gigantamaxed. Hydro Pump is Lapras's strongest water STAB hitting threats such as Incineroar Tyranitar and Excadrill and can set rain if used as Max Geyser. Protect (and Max Guard) allow Lapras to absorb hits to buy its partner a turn or otherwise survive a max move that would take it. Perish song becomes a late game win condition on the opponents last 2 pokemon or allow for the team to remove certain threats in conjection with shadow tag Gothitelle. The ev spread allows Lapras to survive Max Kncuckle(90BP) from Conkelder with Guts, and +2 Rotom Wash's max lightning(130BP) during gigantamax and with Aurora Veil. Max special attack makes the afoementioned Gastrodon sets a guarunteed knockout and allows it to severely dent non AV Incineroar with Max Geyser. Light Clay extends Aurora Veils duration by 3 turns meaning instead of 2-4, Lapras's team will have 5-7 turns to take advanatge of Aurora Veil once Gigantamax ends.