|
-
Chlorophyll
- Speed doubles in sun.
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Harvest
- After each turn, the wielder may receive the Berry it used at a 50% chance (100% if in sun).
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Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
95
|
- |
331 |
394 |
- |
| Atk |
95
|
203 |
226 |
289 |
317 |
| Def |
85
|
185 |
206 |
269 |
295 |
| SpA |
125
|
257 |
286 |
349 |
383 |
| SpD |
65
|
149 |
166 |
229 |
251 |
| Spe |
55
|
131 |
146 |
209 |
229 |
Overview
At first glance, Exeggutor appears passive and harmless; it is, in fact, the opposite. With a base 125 Special Attack and a potent special movepool; Exeggutor is an extremely dangerous Pokemon. Exeggutor shares Celebi's typing of Grass / Psychic, which, despite granting it seven weaknesses, also affords it resistances to Ground-, Psychic-, Water-, Fighting-, and Electric-type moves. Exeggutor also has a very low base Speed stat of 55, meaning it is limited to hit-and-run tactics most of the time. In spite of this, Exeggutor is still very threatening, and will be hard for your opponent to handle if it is used correctly.
With a combination of decent bulk, a few important resistances, and a massive Special Attack stat, Exeggutor is one of the best Choice Specs users available in the NU tier. When equipped with Choice Specs, Exeggutor 2HKOes almost every relevant Pokemon in the tier with the appropriate attack. Exeggutor can also put its common counters to sleep with Sleep Powder, crippling them for the rest of the match. Leaf Storm is the attack Exeggutor will usually be using, as it deals major damage to even dedicated special walls due to its incredibly high Base Power. Psychic is Exeggutor's other STAB attack, and in addition to super effectively hitting a few threats that can take two Leaf Storms, such as Vileplume, it also hits most other Pokemon for solid neutral damage. Hidden Power Ice hits other Exeggutor and, more importantly, Altaria for super effective damage, preventing them from safely switching into Exeggutor. Sleep Powder, as mentioned before, cripples Pokemon that can take a hit from Exeggutor for the rest of the match. This is very useful in allowing Exeggutor to handle faster opponents that can take any of its other attacks, as it ensures that they can no longer repeatedly switch into it. All of these traits combine to make Choice Specs Exeggutor a Pokemon that is very difficult to wall in NU.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The given EVs let Exeggutor outrun base 70s with no investment. Exeggutor can also run a slightly faster EV spread of 52 HP / 252 SpA / 204 Spe to outrun uninvested base 80s, and finally, maximum Speed EVs allow it to outrun uninvested base 85s. Hidden Power Ground can be used over Hidden Power Ice to hit Metang, Probopass, Bastiodon, and Skuntank for super effective damage, but it is generally not worth it. Giga Drain is an option over Sleep Powder to try and recover HP, but Exeggutor shouldn't attempt to stay in for more than a few turns anyway. Additionally, putting counters to sleep is more important than attempting to recover HP. Psyshock can be used over Psychic to 2HKO specially defensive Altaria and Lickilicky, but Hidden Power Ice already OHKOes Altaria, and Lickilicky is susceptible to Sleep Powder.
Exeggutor, being the slow, lumbering palm tree that it is, can be revenge killed quite easily. The likes of Charizard, Swellow, and Braviary can all OHKO Exeggutor with their powerful STABs, so Pokemon that can switch into their attacks, such as Flareon and Regirock, are excellent teammates. Flareon provides Wish support for Exeggutor, and can cure it of any status with Heal Bell. Regirock provides essential hazard support in Stealth Rock, and its access to Thunder Wave helps Exeggutor outspeed faster opponents. Exeggutor will be switching in and out a lot, so Rapid Spin support is a good idea to minimize the amount of damage it takes from hazards. Wartortle is a reliable spinner as it has great defensive synergy with Exeggutor, Foresight to prevent Ghost-types such as Misdreavus and Haunter from blocking its attempts at spinning, and the ever-annoying Scald. Finally, Exeggutor doesn't like Dark-types such as Skuntank as it can Pursuit Exeggutor Choice-locked into Psychic or eliminate it with a swift Sucker Punch, making Fighting-types such as Sawk and Gurdurr good teammates.
Exeggutor also makes an excellent sun sweeper with its massive Special Attack and Chlorophyll to boost its Speed. With no auto-weather in NU, very few Pokemon can stop Exeggutor's rampage. As its charge turn is removed in sun, SolarBeam becomes Exeggutor's main attack, with Exeggutor's base 125 Special Attack and STAB meaning that it will be doing heavy damage to all Pokemon that do not resist it. Psychic gives Exeggutor much-needed type coverage, and hits the many Poison- and Fire / Fighting-types that resist SolarBeam for super effective damage. Hidden Power Fire gets a pseudo-STAB boost in the sun, and takes down any Grass-types Exeggutor might encounter with ease; it also hits Metang, who walls Exeggutor otherwise. Sleep Powder will cripple one of Exeggutor's counters for the rest of the match, making it more difficult to wall. Sunny Day allows Exeggutor to be self-sufficient, activating Chlorophyll and making SolarBeam a viable attack to use.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The choice between Heat Rock and Life Orb is simple: if Exeggutor is using Sunny Day, use a Heat Rock to make the sunny weather last longer. Life Orb, on the other hand, should be used with Sleep Powder and a teammate that provides Sunny Day support, as the extra power is appreciated to get a few crucial KOs. A Modest nature gives Exeggutor significantly more power, but a Timid nature allows it to outrun Choice Scarf Rotom-S in the sun, preventing it from revenge killing Exeggutor. As with the Choice Specs set, Giga Drain is an option that gives Exeggutor a form of semi-reliable HP recovery, but it is significantly weaker than SolarBeam. Psyshock can also be used over Psychic to hit Altaria harder; however, physical walls are more common than special ones, and very few of the latter resist Solarbeam anyway.
Of the few Pokemon that can wall this set, Altaria is perhaps the most threatening; therefore, Pokemon that can smack it with Ice-type moves are the best options. Samurott, Gorebyss, Sawk, and Golurk can all OHKO Altaria with a well-timed Ice Beam or Ice Punch. Exeggutor also appreciates entry hazards on the opponent's side to weaken Pokemon into their KO range. Probopass and Regirock are good partners for setting up Stealth Rock, whereas Cacturne is a great user of Spikes, despite it sharing many weaknesses with Exeggutor. Additionally, Probopass has a slow Volt Switch to get Exeggutor in for free, while Regirock can set up Sunny Day for it. Thanks to Chlorophyll, Victreebel's Speed is doubled in sunny weather, allowing it to run a very effective mixed attacking set with Growth. Charizard and Torkoal are particularly great teammates with Sunny Day support, as their attacks become immensely powerful, and their weakness to Water-type moves is dissipated.
Although Exeggutor is pretty good at sweeping, especially under sun, it is prone to revenge killing and is stopped cold by several Pokemon in the tier. This set allows Exeggutor to circumvent some of the problems it usually faces, making it harder to take down while still retaining most of its sweeping potential. Exeggutor trades a coverage move, which it might not even use much, for Substitute. Substitute lets Exeggutor avoid revenge killing, thus getting past several of its usual checks while also reducing the need to predict against Sucker Punch users. Once Exeggutor hits the field, the first move to use is usually Substitute. If possible, the next turn can be used to set up Sunny Day and commence the sweep. Substitute is invaluable on this set, as Exeggutor can then take down several of its usual checks by itself with an intact Substitute. For example, Choice Scarf Rotom-S can no longer check Exeggutor even without sun as the Substitute can take an Air Slash while Exeggutor KOes it with Psyshock. Swellow, who is faster without sun, is always held in a lose-lose situation when faced with a Substitute. Throwing up another Substitute as Swellow attacks lets Exeggutor continue to hide behind a Substitute while it U-turns out, or set up Sunny Day as it uses Brave Bird, making Swellow an easy kill.
As previously mentioned, Substitute prevents Exeggutor from being revenge killed by Sucker Punch users such as Skuntank, but take note that Exeggutor can still be revenge killed, especially when it sacrifices its Substitute to take down a Pokemon. As such Exeggutor is still rather hard to be taken down by quicker Pokemon and priority users. Sunny Day is equally useful for Exeggutor as well. With Sunny Day, Exeggutor becomes a self-sufficient sun sweeper as it no longer has to rely on the sun provided by its teammates. Furthermore, Sunny Day works well in tandem with Substitute, as with a Substitute intact when the sun fades, Exeggutor can usually set it up again safely and continue to wreck the opponent's team. The five turns of sunlight are usually enough for Exeggutor to cause irreversible damage to the opponent, and if it isn't, Exeggutor can always set it up again when it gets another opportunity to do so. With consistent sun available through the use of Sunny Day, SolarBeam becomes a reliable Grass-type STAB attack that can easily blast through many Pokemon. It even has a high chance of 2HKOing Tangela after Stealth Rock damage. Psyshock fills in the final slot nicely as it takes care of special walls such as Altaria. It also hits Poison-types such as Vileplume super effectively. With just two attacking moves, Exeggutor is already hard enough to wall. Leftovers is the item of choice to enable Exeggutor to replenish its health and make multiple Substitutes. While it might not posses as much power as with a Choice Specs or Life Orb, this set is better at sweeping more consistently and setting up sun.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The given EV spread maximizes Speed and Special Attack while the remaining 4 EVs are placed into Defense instead of HP to reduce the HP taken by Substitute. A Timid nature is used to outspeed Choice Scarf users, such as Rotom-S, under sun, while a Modest nature can be used for extra power and gains a 2HKO on standard Miltank. Psychic is an alternative to Psyshock as it has higher Base Power, but most of what Psychic hits is already heavily dented by SolarBeam, and Psyshock allows Exeggutor to bypass some special walls such as Lickilicky. Chlorophyll is the preferred ability as it enables Exeggutor to sweep instead of using Harvest to stall opponents. Wish support from Alomomola can be helpful when Exeggutor's HP gets low, especially after multiple uses of Substitute. Furthermore, the two have pretty good synergy with each other. Another sun sweeper such as Victreebel can utilize the sun in the event that Exeggutor faints or gets forced out. A Rock- or Ground-type teammate such as Regirock and Golem helps provide opportunities for Exeggutor to set up, as they attract Water- and Ground-types. Such teammates can also help deal with Pokemon that consistently threatens Exeggutor, such as Skuntank. Heat Rock is a viable alternative to consider as it prolongs the sun turns and lengthens sweeps, making it possible to sweep an entire team in a single shot. Life Orb can be used to bolster Exeggutor's already magnificent firepower but it depletes Exeggutor's HP rather quickly along with Substitute. Giga Drain gives Exeggutor greater longevity at the cost of doing significantly less damage than with SolarBeam. Synthesis can be used over Substitute or Psyshock but the loss of either usually causes too many problems for it to be worthwhile. Although Exeggutor uses Sunny Day, it still fits well on some non-sun teams as a standalone sweeper as it can set up sun all by itself and sweep.
Although Exeggutor is best known for its special attacking prowess, its defensive abilities should by no means be underestimated. Thanks to its Dream World ability, Harvest, Exeggutor can pull off an effective SubSeed set that is notoriously hard to KO. Exeggutor's reputation as an offensive Pokemon will force Pokemon such as Alomomola and Wartortle to switch out of a potential Grass-type attack, allowing Exeggutor to set up a Substitute. From there, the strategy is very simple: use Leech Seed on any Pokemon that isn't a Grass-type or a Duosion, then alternate between Substitute and Protect to maximize the recovery from Leech Seed. However, the real magic of the set is the combination of Sitrus Berry and Harvest. When Exeggutor has less than half of its HP left, Sitrus Berry will kick in and restore 25% of its HP; afterwards, Harvest has a 50% chance of restoring the Sitrus Berry. It is possible that Exeggutor can heal multiple times in a single turn if Harvest activates, transforming a near-fatal situation into a much more comfortable one.
Psychic mutilates a large amount of Grass-types in the tier, as many have a secondary Poison typing, and others have low Special Defense, such as Tangela or Leafeon. Hidden Power Ice can be used instead to nail Altaria, Torterra, and Dark-types such as Skuntank, but Psychic is generally more powerful and reliable. This set functions exceedingly well as a counter to the ever-present Fighting-types in the tier, such as Sawk and Gurdurr. Both of them will struggle to do reliable damage to Exeggutor, while it can OHKO and 2HKO them, respectively.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
84 Speed EVs allow Exeggutor to outpace Alomomola before it can use Toxic, although most Alomomola won't take such a tremendous risk to poison it. The rest of the EVs are placed into HP and Defense to maximize Exeggutor's physical bulk. A specially defensive set should be avoided, as Exeggutor has mediocre Special Defense and has difficulty handling many of the specially-oriented Pokemon in NU, such as Charizard. Leftovers may be considered if Harvest's 50% chance of restoring Sitrus Berry is too unreliable for your tastes, but it's much more advantageous to use Sitrus Berry in the long run. A Chesto Berry can be used in combination with Rest, but Exeggutor already has trouble fitting everything it needs into four moveslots, and Rest doesn't help.
When using this set, it is imperative to remove Toxic Spikes and avoid status on Exeggutor at all costs, as even an untimely paralysis can spell doom for Exeggutor. Grounded Poison-types or spinners are a must to remove Toxic Spikes—Skuntank and Garbodor are very useful examples of the former, and Armaldo is arguably the best available spinner in NU and has fairly good defensive synergy with Exeggutor. Teammates with Heal Bell or Aromatherapy can be used as well, although most Aromatherapy users are Grass-types like Exeggutor and should be avoided to prevent multiplying weaknesses. Lickilicky and Altaria can provide Heal Bell support, and both handle Charizard, Rotom-S, and other common special attackers exceedingly well.
Swellow and Braviary are by far the most dangerous Pokemon to Exeggutor, as they can U-turn for heavy damage and avoid Leech Seed at the same time. As such, it is necessary to have a teammate that can handle the physical Flying-types with ease. Golem is a standout candidate, as it can tank their attacks and set up Stealth Rock to limit any further U-turn antics. Entry hazards in general are very useful, as this set forces many switches thanks to a combination of Leech Seed and Exeggutor's notable offensive presence, even without investment. Garbodor can lay both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, and also absorb opposing Toxic Spikes, meaning Exeggutor has one less thing to worry about, making it a good teammate.
Other Options
Exeggutor has quite a few other options it can run outside of those already mentioned. A Substitute + 3 attacks set can be employed to decent effect, unleashing powerful attacks under the protection of a Substitute; this is more suited to Pokemon such as Gardevoir and Charizard, however, due to their higher Speed stats. Exeggutor is one of the best users of Trick Room in the tier, as it can make full use of its massive Special Attack and powerful STABs during the four turns it 'outspeeds' the opponent. However, outside of a dedicated Trick Room team, Exeggutor is usually better off using Sunny Day for a longer sweep. Exeggutor is also a decent user of Wish, but there are better Wish supporters, namely Alomomola, Lickilicky, and Flareon. The same applies for a dual screens set: Gardevoir is more suited for this role. Exeggutor can utilize Stun Spore to support its team with paralysis, but it is better off going on the offensive most of the time. With its access to Swords Dance, Wood Hammer, and Explosion, Exeggutor can take a physically offensive path, but this is usually done better by Torterra. Lastly, Exeggutor can use Gravity, but that usually won't achieve much at all.
Checks and Counters
Due to the sheer power of Exeggutor's attacks, there is nearly nothing that can safely switch in on it. The most common switch-ins are primarily Altaria, Skuntank, and Lickilicky. Altaria is 4x resistant to Leaf Storm and can Roost off the damage from Psychic, and Natural Cure allows Altaria to shrug off Sleep Powder by merely switching out; however, it fears Hidden Power Ice. Specially defensive Skuntank can easily absorb Exeggutor's two STAB moves, but without recovery it cannot be relied upon to repeatedly switch in and handle Exeggutor. Lickilicky possesses the special bulk to take even two Leaf Storms from Exeggutor and proceed to heal off the damage with Wish. There exist less common Pokemon that can attempt to take on Exeggutor. Kecleon uses Color Change to change its typing to resist repeated attacks and can use Recover to heal. Sap Sipper Miltank is a good switch-in, being immune to Leaf Storm and Sleep Powder. It can then take advantage of its high Speed to recover with Milk Drink before Exeggutor can strike again. However, Choice Specs-boosted Psychic will 2HKO the brave cow. Flareon can take everything but a predicted Psyshock or Sleep Powder, and can strike back with a super effective Lava Plume. Murkrow gets a special mention as it is immune to Psychic, resists Leaf Storm, and can stall out Hidden Power Ice by removing its Ice weakness with priority Roost. However, these Pokemon have less general utility than the aforementioned three common ones.
Outside of these Pokemon, the best way to deal with Exeggutor is to revenge kill it. Swellow, Charizard, and Braviary can outspeed Exeggutor outside of sun and OHKO it with their powerful STAB moves. Skuntank can switch into Psychic and trap Exeggutor with Pursuit, forcing it to switch out and take heavy damage. The sun sweeper is harder to revenge kill, but has more safe switch-ins; for example, Altaria now has no fear of switching into Hidden Power Ice, meaning it can safely wall and eventually KO Exeggutor. Probopass and Bastiodon take major damage from Leaf Storm, but they take next to nothing from Exeggutor's other attacks, and only fear being put to sleep.
