#raticate

Team member: Much the same as It’s Kantonian brother, but comes with the boon of stab dark moves. “So then why is it ranked the same as normal big rat?” Asks my ever so observant strawman. Simple. I am always reviewing from experience, and my experience was the hustle experience (which is arguably the optimal one). I hate that ability with a passion, and it drags this beautifully thick boy down a lot. Also, you basically only run this thing in Alola, and let me tell you, there are a lot more loose bug and fighting moves than you probably remember (and that’s before even acknowledging fairy). Partner: All the charisma of normal Big Rat, but WAY less distribution and the whole invasive species baggage. Could do way better. Design: They made the cool rat thick and darker. Love it. Hitting the less used rodents (4th review being written, with the ones before this being Linoone, Raticate, and Watchog in that order since they’re the most used by me) now with Alola-cate. I review these rodents based on used experience, this is why I’m skipping Diggersby, as that chud is my only true blindspot. So, I did a playthrough (or more accurately started and didn’t finish) a playthrough of Ultra Sun with both Alola Rodents and learned two things: One: Alola-cate, Big Rat and Watchog all have the amazing boon of learning all the moves you want on them at the exact point you want them (and blowing Gumshoos outta the water but we’ll get there), making the raising feel great. Two: Hype Fang misses more than enough on its own, and While Hustle makes Return (thankfully) obsolete, Hustle also makes me want to peel my skin off like an orange. Tier list rating: A tier. As much as Hustle sends me up a wall, it’s still an S tier but with a slightly worse ability, stab on its other main attacking type, and more weaknesses. Alola-cate tends to need a bit more support than normal big rat, but not that much.