Leavanny
QC: [Oglemi] [Honko] [Windsong]
GP: [Komodo] [Snorlaxe]
[Overview]
<p>Leavanny is another odd Pokemon introduced in BW. With a somewhat unique Grass and Bug typing, a strange base 92 Speed, Chlorophyll, Swords Dance, and a decent Attack stat, Leavanny can do a lot of damage if it's supported properly. Next to Sawsbuck and Leafeon, Leavanny is the fastest Chlorophyll user in the RU tier, as it outspeeds Lilligant in the sun, and OHKOes it with STAB Bug-type attacks. Unfortunately, Leavanny has some undesirable traits that cannot go unnoticed; its typing leaves it with two dual weaknesses to Fire- and Flying-type moves, both of which are common in the RU tier. Leavanny also has a weakness to Stealth Rock, which strips it of 25% of its health upon switching in. It has an extremely barren movepool that only contains its STAB moves and weak auxiliary moves that offer no additional coverage, such as Shadow Claw and Aerial Ace. In addition, Leavanny's damage output is rather underwhelming before a Swords Dance boost, and because of its poor defenses, Leavanny will often find it difficult to set up. However, Leavanny also sports some useful resistances, such as a 4x resistance to both Grass- and Ground-type attacks, and a resistance to Electric-, Fighting-, and Water-type attacks. Although it may not seem like the best choice for a sun team, or any team for that matter, Leavanny has its perks and may even surprise you in battle.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: X-Scissor
move 4: Return / Baton Pass
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Access to Swords Dance and Chlorophyll is the only thing that makes Leavanny viable in RU, as otherwise, it is majorly outclassed. Leavanny has a decent base 103 Attack stat, giving it plenty of power to fire off its potent dual STAB moves. Leaf Blade is Leavanny's most powerful move, as it hits the many Water-, Ground-, and Rock-types in RU, such as Omastar, Sharpedo, Rhydon, and Krookodile, for super effective damage, and it has a high critical hit rate to boot. X-Scissor is a nice complement that also gains STAB, and hits the numerous Psychic-, Dark-, and Grass-type Pokemon, such as Tangrowth, Sceptile, Uxie, and Ludicolo, for super effective damage. Return is slashed in the final moveslot because it's one of Leavanny's only remaining attacking options, and it has no other way to hit Fire-types. Most Steel-types wall Leavanny regardless of its moveset. However, should you not need Return for whatever reason, Baton Pass is a useful move to give any boosts Leavanny has gained to an incoming sweeper.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Leavanny's decidedly average Attack and below average defenses make Life Orb the best item, providing a substantial power boost at the cost of some recoil damage. Chlorophyll should be the only ability that Leavanny uses; otherwise, Leavanny's average Speed holds it back from sweeping efficiently. Again, as Leavanny has rather meager defenses, there is no reason to invest in anything other than Attack and Speed, along with a Jolly or Adamant nature. Jolly is the preferred nature as it allows Leavanny to outspeed maximum Speed Lilligant in the sun. Because Leavanny is so reliant on sun support, a Sunny Day user is a necessary teammate. Pokemon such as Uxie and Claydol are excellent candidates to set up sun. Both of the aforementioned Pokemon also have access to Stealth Rock, dual screens, and share decent type synergy with Leavanny. Claydol can also utilize Rapid Spin to rid the field of Stealth Rock and other detrimental entry hazards, such as Toxic Spikes and Spikes. Fire-types such as Entei are excellent partners, as they directly benefit from the sun by having their STAB moves boosted, and they resist Leavanny's Fire- and Ice-type weaknesses. In order for Leavanny to sweep, it needs any opposing Steel-types removed. Teammates such as Magneton and Dugtrio can help take down Steel-types who make it difficult for Leavanny to sweep.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>As previously mentioned, Leavanny's options are limited, and most of them aren't useful and are better done by other Pokemon. Leavanny has access to some useful support options, including Reflect, Light Screen, GrassWhistle, and Sunny Day. Dual screens is done better by Pokemon such as Uxie and Claydol, GrassWhistle can be useful to completely halt the opponent, but has terrible accuracy, and Sunny Day is best set up by Leavanny's teammates, as it already has to worry about setting up Swords Dance. Offensively, Leavanny has a few other options such as Shadow Claw, Aerial Ace, and Poison Jab, but again, none of them are useful or provide further type coverage. Leavanny can pull off a full Baton Pass set with Swords Dance, Agility, and Calm Mind, but this is done better by dedicated Baton Pass users such as Smeargle.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Steel-types such as Magneton and Steelix are Leavanny's worst nightmare, as they take a pittance from any of Leavanny's attacks and can hit it hard with Hidden Power Fire and Gyro Ball, respectively. Bulky Fire-types such as Moltres and Entei are also great counters, as they can take a boosted Return and easily KO Leavanny with their powerful STAB Fire-type attacks, which will usually be boosted by the sun. Outside of the sun, Leavanny is much easier to deal with, so rain and hail teams pose a significant threat to it. Any status cripples Leavanny, as Toxic whittles down its health, Thunder Wave and Will-O-Wisp make Leavanny near-useless, and sleep will incapacitate it completely.</p>
[Dreamworld]
<p>Leavanny receives Overcoat from the Dream World. While this is by no means a bad ability, you really shouldn't be using Leavanny out of sun, therfore Chlorophyll is almost always the better choice of ability.</p>
