Statistics
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
75
|
- |
291 |
354 |
- |
| Atk |
80
|
176 |
196 |
259 |
284 |
| Def |
85
|
185 |
206 |
269 |
295 |
| SpA |
90
|
194 |
216 |
279 |
306 |
| SpD |
100
|
212 |
236 |
299 |
328 |
| Spe |
50
|
122 |
136 |
199 |
218 |
This is a simple moveset that takes advantage of Bellossom's one and only ability, Chlorophyll. Bellossom's Special Attack is good but not great, and it lacks a significant secondary STAB, so it will find itself relying primarily on its Grass attack. The main threat to this set is weather changers like Tyranitar, Hippowdon, and Abomasnow, especially if they come in on SolarBeam and force it to charge, though the first two will not like Grass Knot, and Leaf Storm even less so. Luckily, it is doubtful that Bellossom should ever encounter one, because it should see little use outside UU. Bellossom's max Speed is 199 with Modest, and 218 with Timid, so set it according to just who you want Bellossom to outspeed.
There may be no such thing as a "Bollossom," and it may not have the useful STAB on Sludge Bomb, but Bellossom boasts a superior Special Defense compared to its cousin Vileplume, making its Substitutes slightly stronger in that department. Substitute + Leech Seed is a common combination among various Grass-types, and Bellossom's main opportunity to set up a Substitute is on a switch into a Choice Band Earthquake. Stun Spore makes up for the problem of Bellossom's Speed, giving you more chances to use Substitute. Only Grass-types are immune to Leech Seed, so a move such as Sludge Bomb or Hidden Power Ice will cover those. If Taunt is a problem, use Body Slam over Stun Spore. Large Root is an option to give Bellossom some extra healing, but is generally outclassed by Leftovers.
Getting Leech Seed on Oddish (and thus Bellossom) requires access to old promotions in either New York or Japan, so the likelihood of seeing this moveset on Wi-Fi will be slim.
Like most Grass-types, Bellossom comes equipped with all sorts of delightful status-changers, and it has good defenses in both categories which allow it to pull this set off with much success. Again, Leech Seed is difficult to obtain, so if you are unable to access it, use Safeguard to prevent similar Pokémon from assailing you with status attacks or Charm to force switches and improve Bellossom's capacity for taking hits. Due to Bellossom's pure Grass typing it won't stay in for long, so maximizing power with Leaf Storm is ideal.
Don't kid yourself: this is the best Bellossom's special movepool gets and everything beyond Leaf Storm is basically fluff in this set. However, that Leaf Storm is running off a respectable 459 Special Attack and will do good amounts of damage. Sleep Powder doesn't benefit from the Special Attack boost, but it's a fairly safe method of catching counter-switches off guard.
Bellossom isn't exactly the most spectacular Swords Dancer, but it is pretty durable. Most likely, Bellossom will just be using Swords Dance to lure out certain specific opponents so you can hit them with a disabling Sleep Powder or a Leaf Storm.
Other Options
Bellossom gets Moonlight and Synthesis which are basically the same move. If critical hits give you rashes, then Lucky Chant will alleviate the itching for five turns. Tickle can be helpful for your team, though in terms of just Bellossom, Charm is the better option for lowering stats. Flash can also be useful for influencing switches. Giga Drain has 10-16 PP now and can find its place over other Grass attacks.
EVs
Bellossom's offense is limited, so you're almost always better off EVing defensively. Leaf Storm will generally make up for the lack of EVs on offense, except on the Choice Specs set where you want max power on your Leaf Storms.
Opinion
Bellossom's attributes are like a calling card for Grass-type Pokémon. It's slow while packing good defenses and decent offense. It doesn't have much in terms of offensive options, but its support move pool is great, as expected of a Grass Pokémon. All in all, Bellossom seems pretty ho hum...
...until you realize what a rarity it is to have a Grass-type with those kinds of stats that is actually just a Grass-type. Seriously, take a look: no overall defensive Pokémon in the game is a pure Grass-type except Meganium and Bellossom, itself (Shaymin has very few support options despite having better defensive stats). Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is debatable, but Bellossom's not going to be taking the Standard metagame by storm any time soon. It resists some of the most popular attacks in the game (Water, Electric, Ground) but eats it from a bunch of others (Fire, Ice). The drop in popularity of Flying moves makes Bellossom a little safer, as does the addition of the powerful Leaf Storm, something it has over its cousin Vileplume.
Counters
Bellossom is a traditional Grass in almost every sense of the word, and its weaknesses are as such. A lot of Pokémon resist Grass and can fight back for nasty damage in Standard, such as Skarmory, Heatran, Salamence, Dragonite and so on, though most can be disabled by a well-timed Sleep Powder or at least slowed down by a Stun Spore. Scizor resists Grass, gets STAB on Bug attacks, and does not completely mind getting Stun Spored if it's going to be Baton Passing. Celebi is a particularly huge threat, as Bellossom's lack of STAB keeps it from hurting Celebi (and Hidden Power Bug would be specializing a little too much), it has an immunity to Leech Seed, and its Natural Cure and Heal Bell will be the bane of Bellossom's existence. Cradily in a sandstorm and Roserade can handle Bellossom's Leaf Storms with little trouble. Muk can take pretty much anything you dish out as well, and can fight back with nasty super effective Poison attacks. Tentacruel and Swalot both boast good Special Defense, resistance or immunity to most of Bellossom's attacks and a nasty Liquid Ooze ability which will neutralize your life-sapping techniques.
