Articuno

Articuno is an excellent support Pokemon on stall and balance teams due to its access to the rare Pressure, which allows it to keep Stealth Rock off the field against passive users of the move, such as Registeel and Palossand, while its great defensive stats let it act as a blanket check to various offensive entry hazard setters like Nidoqueen, Roserade, and Golisopod. Articuno is also excellent at stalling out common defensive cores due to its ability to avoid status through Heal Bell or Substitute and burn through the foe's PP. Articuno's ability to break common cores can allow it to support more offensive teammates and helps mitigate its issues with passivity. However, Articuno's weak defensive typing makes it particularly vulnerable to Stealth Rock; entry hazard setters that can exploit its weaknesses heavily limit its effectiveness throughout the match. This makes it a particularly matchup-dependent Pokemon. On one hand, it can easily dominate matches where the opponent relies on passive setters like Bronzong; however, it can be a dead slot on teams that use Pokemon such as Metagross and Diancie to set up Stealth Rock. Finally, while Articuno has an amazing matchup against passive teams, it struggles to take on more offensive builds, where Pokemon like Salazzle and Raikou can take advantage of its weak damage output.