>>17920227Recover is one of Milotic's redeeming grace against all the other bulky waters who generally have better meta utility/moves/stats (Rotom-W, Swampert, Tentacruel, Suicune, etc).
Milotic has two sets at any point in time: Recover + 3 moves, and Restalk.
Recover
>pros-less likely to be setup bait
-less RNG dependent (Sleep Talk used Rest!)
-Doesn't require status to be at full potential, only behaves better when it is statused
-can afford an extra move slot for utility/coverage
>cons-Toxic is common and will gimp/kill every Recover set
-50% HP recovery sometimes isn't enough in meta (though really, it just means you shouldn't be leaving Milotic in on threats that can KO it, common sense)
-Marvel Scale isn't guaranteed, leaving it with variable physical bulk in any given match
Restalk
>pros-super bulky due to base SpDef + Marvel Scale Defense; this will actually make Milotic statistically better than other bulky Waters
-status immune/doesn't care for Toxic
>cons-insta-gibbed by Taunt
-Sleep Talk used Rest! RNG.
-bigger setup bait
-easier to play around (have to Rest every 3rd turn to keep up MScale boost, allowing free setup/switches/etc)
-Gets Scald + Dragon Tail/Haze/Ice Beam for its two open moves, leaving it easily walled, countered, or setup upon for any given move it chooses.
>>17920718Milotic stands at a unique 81 base Speed tier along with Gyarados. 31 IVs in speed will allow it to outspeed the uninvested base 80 Speed mons which includes: Goodra, Mandibuzz, Togekiss,and Mega/Venusaur.
There are other mons it outspeeds, but they are usually fully invested into Speed (non-Assault Vest Mamoswine, Dragonite, Gardevoir, etc).
It's never so important to max Speed EVs to outspeed the Mamos/Dragonites/etc that you would sacrifice bulk to do so.
