Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
80
|
- |
301 |
364 |
- |
| Atk |
105
|
221 |
246 |
309 |
339 |
| Def |
65
|
149 |
166 |
229 |
251 |
| SpA |
100
|
212 |
236 |
299 |
328 |
| SpD |
60
|
140 |
156 |
219 |
240 |
| Spe |
70
|
158 |
176 |
239 |
262 |
Overview
Victreebel is, and always has been, one of the most powerful sun sweepers in the game. It has probably the best mixed offensive spread of any Chlorophyll user, setting it apart from the likes of Sawsbuck, Shiftry, and Tangrowth. With access to the newly buffed Growth, excellent moves such as Power Whip and Weather Ball, and with the latest, most powerful Chlorophyll user, Venusaur, now in OU, Victreebel has become an even better choice for your UU sun team. However, as always, Victreebel is held back by its frailty, as well as by the fact that the aforementioned excellent moves are illegal together. On top of this, sun teams themselves are hardly reliable, with weather changers such as Hippopotas messing them up, and competition from the arguably more powerful rain teams. However, don't let this make you think that Victreebel is not a threat—take Victreebel lightly and you could quickly find your team in tatters.
After a Growth in the sun, Victreebel is almost unstoppable, hitting 578 Attack, 596 Special Attack, and 450 Speed. At this point, Victreebel will come out on top against virtually every Pokemon in UU. However, getting to this position is hardly easy—Victreebel is terribly frail, making it hard to set up a Growth, and 8 turns of sun can vanish surprisingly fast. Nonetheless, Victreebel has excellent coverage, better than that of almost any Chlorophyll Pokemon. Though Leaf Blade is the main STAB move, Weather Ball, which works out to be more powerful in the sun, is what really sets this apart, OHKOing common Pokemon such as 252/0 Hitmontop and Zapdos after a Growth. Sludge Bomb provides neutral coverage against Fire- and Flying-type opponents, including Arcanine and Victini; boosted by STAB, this also gives you a great special option outside of the sun. As for other options, you may run Power Whip over Leaf Blade; the increase in power is significant, but legality issues then plague Victreebel. Weather Ball, normally Victreebel's most powerful move, is illegal alongside Power Whip, forcing you to run Hidden Power Fire. However, you do gain advantage against some of Victreebel's checks; for example, with max Attack Victreebel can OHKO Jolly Scarf Flygon on the switch. In the fourth slot, Sleep Powder provides an excellent alternative if you are not already using sleep moves elsewhere on your team. It can potentially cripple a counter to Victreebel, while allowing it to set up a Growth uninhibited. It is worth remembering, however, that Tangrowth, though a lot slower, can probably use Power Whip / Hidden Power Fire / Sleep Powder to greater effect.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The spread on this set is fairly flexible; the Speed EVs let Victreebel outrun neutral +1 base 100 Speed Pokemon, as well as max Speed Choice Scarf Rotom-A, in the sun. The Attack and Special Attack EVs give a fairly even split between Victreebel's offensive stats. If you choose to use Power Whip, you probably want to capitalize more on Attack; for instance, if you maximize Victreebel's Attack, it can OHKO Flygon on the switch. If you want superior overall power though, stick with Leaf Blade and Weather Ball. The nature can also be changed; currently the nature lowers Special Defense largely because most priority moves are physical, but Victreebel can set up on Special Attacks better with a Mild nature if you prefer. You can also use a Naive or Hasty nature, allowing Victreebel to outrun +1 positive-natured base 100s, but the power drop is very noticeable. As far as alternative moves go, you might consider Hidden Power in the fourth slot; Hidden Power Rock hits Fire- and Flying-types super effectively, while Hidden Power Ice hits Dragon-types. However, these moves are weaker when super effective than a neutral Weather Ball, and only slightly more powerful than a neutral Sludge Bomb. Sunny Day is not recommended, as Victreebel is too frail to set it up.
When looking for teammates, sun support should be considered over everything else. Generally, bulky Pokemon carrying Heat Rock should be used; ideally they should also benefit somehow from the sun. Fire-types and other Chlorophyll Pokemon are obvious examples. Additionally, you should also be looking to aid Victreebel in setting up. Uxie, for example, can set up sun and then offer a free switch-in and setup with Memento. Otherwise, Stealth Rock is important to Victreebel too, as it does have some issues with Fire- and Flying-type Pokemon. Uxie is an excellent user here too.
Other Options
Victreebel is quite capable of running a pure physical or special set, utilizing Swords Dance or Growth, without the need to split EVs. However, even with the splitting of EVs Victreebel rarely falls short of a KO that it might otherwise achieve. The only advantage really is that Victreebel may invest somewhat in bulk, without a defense-lowering nature, to aid in setting up. As far as other move options go, there are a few; notably, there are several special Grass-type moves. SolarBeam is probably the best, offering excellent power—with Team Preview the rare Hippopotas switch-ins can be predicted and dealt with. Energy Ball and Grass Knot will work out much weaker on average. On the physical side, Return and Sucker Punch provide the only notable coverage moves, Sucker Punch being somewhat effective but inconveniently illegal with Power Whip and Weather Ball. Victreebel also has a considerable support movepool that it cannot make use of due to its frailty, including Teeter Dance, Stun Spore, Knock Off, and Synthesis. Similarly, it could act as something of a sun supporter with Sunny Day and a Heat Rock, but altogether this is best left to bulkier Chlorophyll Pokemon such as Tangrowth and Exeggutor.
Checks and Counters
Countering Victreebel, though extremely difficult, is something you should rarely have to do. Victreebel relies on two things; the ability to use Growth once, and the weather being sunny. The latter can be circumvented with your own weather changer. If it does manage to use Growth, your options are few: Fire-types resist Victreebel's staple moves, but most of them will fall to Sludge Bomb or Hidden Power Rock after a Growth. Otherwise, you should either be looking towards extremely bulky Pokemon or revenge killing. Pokemon such as Dusclops and Cresselia can all take a +2 hit, though most of them will do little back besides perhaps stalling out sun or paralyzing Victreebel. Snorlax deserves mention in that it can take any move besides +2 Power Whip; however, it also fails to KO Victreebel in return. With regard to revenge killing, priority moves are a decent option; Ice Shard users such as Weavile destroy Victreebel, and ExtremeSpeed users such as Arcanine can dent Victreebel considerably. Fast Choice Scarf users—positive base 90s and up—can revenge kill Victreebel, though many, including Flygon and Zapdos, will need a Fire-type move to OHKO outright.
