Alright, so I tackled the Hydrapple raid today, and let me tell you, it was a bit of a bumpy ride. Figured I’d share my experience, maybe it’ll help someone else out there.
First off, I did some digging online. You know, the usual – weaknesses, strengths, recommended ‘mons. Hydrapple’s a Dragon/Grass type, so Ice, Dragon, Fairy, and Poison moves are gonna be your friends. I saw a lot of people recommending Flutter Mane and Iron Valiant, but honestly, I wasn’t feeling it. I wanted to try something different.
I decided to roll with my trusty Azumarill. Hear me out! Huge Power ability, Play Rough for Fairy damage, and Belly Drum for that sweet, sweet attack boost? Seemed like a solid plan on paper. I EV trained it in Attack and HP, gave it a Sitrus Berry, and hoped for the best.
So, the raid starts, and Hydrapple immediately throws out some nasty moves. It used Sunny Day, which was annoying because I was planning on using Ice moves with other players. Then it started using Dragon Pulse, which hit Azumarill pretty hard, even with the HP investment.
Okay, time for the Belly Drum strategy. I used Belly Drum, and boom, attack stat maxed! But, also, HP cut in half. Risky, I know. I followed up with Play Rough, and…it did decent damage. Not as much as I was expecting, honestly. Other players were using a mix of stuff – some were effective, some weren’t.
Hydrapple then put up a shield, classic raid shenanigans. I kept hammering away with Play Rough, trying to break the shield, while other players were doing their thing. The shield finally broke, and I unleashed another Play Rough, doing a good chunk of damage. Things were looking up!
But then disaster struck. Hydrapple used Giga Drain. Azumarill was already weakened from Belly Drum, and Giga Drain healed Hydrapple for a TON of HP. Azumarill fainted. Argh!
I switched to my backup, a maxed out Iron Hands. I know, I know, not the most original choice, but I needed something reliable. I used Electric Terrain to boost the power of Electric moves, then spammed Thunder Punch. It was doing consistent damage, and Iron Hands could take a few hits.
The raid timer was ticking down, and things were getting tense. Hydrapple was still dishing out damage, and other players were fainting left and right. But Iron Hands kept going, Thunder Punch after Thunder Punch.
Finally, with only a sliver of health left on the raid boss, Thunder Punch connected! Hydrapple went down! YES!
It was a close one, and definitely not as smooth as I hoped. Azumarill’s Belly Drum strategy was a bit too risky, especially with Hydrapple’s Giga Drain. Iron Hands ended up being the MVP, just plugging away with consistent damage.
- What I learned:
- Belly Drum Azumarill can work, but it’s risky and requires good timing.
- Giga Drain is a pain in the butt.
- Iron Hands is still a solid raid pick, even if it’s not the most exciting.
Next time, I might try a more defensive approach with Azumarill, maybe focus on support moves instead of pure offense. Or maybe I’ll just stick with Iron Hands. Either way, it was a fun challenge! Happy raiding!
