[COMPLETED] Venusaur



[Pros]
<ul>
<li>Venusaur has decent Special Attack and Speed stats.</li>
<li>Chlorophyll doubles its Speed in harsh sunlight.</li>
<li>It's immune to Toxic Spikes and powder moves such as Spore.</li>
<li>When it Mega Evolves, its Defense and Special Defense stats rise.</li>
<li>Thick Fat makes Venusaur neutral against Fire- and Ice-type moves that it would otherwise have been weak to.</li>
</ul>

[Cons]
<ul>
<li>Psychic-type Pokemon such as Alakazam destroy it.</li>
<li>Talonflame OHKOes it with Brave Bird. Priority moves such as Bullet Punch and Ice Shard hit it hard. </li>
<li>Losing Chlorophyll when it Mega Evolves means that Venusaur gets outsped by lots of Pokemon.</li>
<li>The nerf to Drought means that sweeping teams becomes a lot harder.</li>
</ul>

[Set Recommendations]

<p>Name: Chlorophyll does better!
Move 1: Sunny Day / Growth
Move 2: Giga Drain
Move 3: Sludge Bomb / Sleep Powder
Move 4: Hidden Power Fire
Ability: Chlorophyll
Item: Life Orb / Black Sludge
Evs: 42 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Nature: Modest</p>

<p>With the nerf to Drought, Sunny Day has become a must for Venusaur, as it acts like a backup to Ninetales's Drought. Growth is an alternative to Sunny Day and while it is a mediocre boosting move when the sun is not active, it otherwise grants it a +2 boost in both its attacking stats. A Modest nature is used to maximize its damage output, and the investment in Speed alongside Chlorophyll allows it to outrun Scarf Jolly Garchomp. Life Orb powers up all of Venusaur's moves, allowing it to potentially sweep the entire opposing team. Giga Drain is the main STAB, hitting almost every Water-, Ground-, and Rock-type Pokemon for super effective damage, allowing Venusaur to regain some of its HP and mitigate Life Orb's recoil. Sludge Bomb is super effective against Fairy-type Pokemon, and after a Growth, it lets Venusaur threaten even specially defensive Fairy-type Pokemon such as Florges and Sylveon. Alternatively, Sleep Powder can be used in order to incapacitate an opposing Pokemon and give Venusaur opportunities to set up; after which it can deal serious damage to the opposing team. Hidden Power Fire hits Steel-type Pokemon such as Ferrothorn, Scizor, and Aegislash hard.</p>

<p>Because its ability relies on the sun, Ninetales and Mega Charizard Y are obvious partners for Venusaur. Dugtrio and Xatu are also partners that Venusaur appreciates, as the former traps and OHKOes Tyranitar, whereas the latter reflects entry hazards, which are a huge problem for sun teams.</p>

<p>Name: Physically-based Tank
Move 1: Giga Drain / Power Whip
Move 2: Sludge Bomb / Sleep Powder
Move 3: Earthquake
Move 4: Synthesis
Ability: Thick Fat
Item: Venusaurite
Evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Nature: Relaxed</p>

<p>Venusaur loses Chlorophyll when it Mega Evolves, and instead gains better bulk and a great defensive ability. It requires a massive Defense investment to deal with Mega Lucario, barely avoiding the OHKO from a +2 Adaptability Close Combat. With its bulk, it is also a solid check against rain teams and majority of bulky Water-type Pokemon. Giga Drain is a better option for a STAB move as its power is not affected by burns. However, Power Whip can be used in its place as it is a stronger STAB move and deals more damage to bulky Water-type Pokemon. Sludge Bomb hits both Grass- and Fairy-type Pokemon hard, but if these Pokemon can be dealt with by its teammates, Venusaur can run Sleep Powder in order to cripple a Pokemon for the rest of the match instead. With Earthquake, it can deal with powerful sweepers such as Mega Lucario, Aegislash, and Excadrill, and it can also do good damage to Fire-type Pokemon. Synthesis provides Venusaur reliable recovery, allowing it to regain some of its HP.</p>

<p>As Fire- and Flying-type Pokemon are problematic for Venusaur, Rotom-W is a good partner. It checks Talonflame, who woulds otherwise threaten Brave Bird; forces out Skarmory, a great counter to this set; and threatens unboosted Volcarona. Steel-type Pokemon are also problematic, so Greninja is a good partner, as it has Protean which gives it STAB on Hidden Power Fire, allowing it to deal with them. Venusaur works well with Blaziken and Greninja, as they can cover each other's weaknesses and form a Fire / Water / Grass core.</p>

<p>Name: Specially-based Tank
Move 1: Giga Drain / Leech Seed
Move 2: Sludge Bomb
Move 3: Hidden Power Fire
Move 4: Synthesis / Protect
Ability: Thick Fat
Item: Venusaurite
Evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Nature: Relaxed</p>

<p>In this set, Venusaur trades its substantial bulk, and instead relies on its natural defenses to give it room to take a more offensive role; it can switch in, soak up a specially based attack, and hit back hard. It serves also as a solid check to Water-types while having a respectable offensive presence.</p>

<p>Just like the previous set, Fire- and Flying-type Pokemon are problematic for Venusaur, so Rotom-W is a good partner. It checks Talonflame, being able to deal with the Pokemon listed above. Similarly, anything that can deal with Steel-types or can synergize with Venusaur's resistances can make for useful partners; Blaziken and Greninja again come to mind.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>When Venusaur is in its base form, it is heavily weather-reliant, so the most effective way to counter it is to change the weather. When the sun is not up, powerful attackers such as Salamence, Dragonite, Starmie, and Chandelure can outspeed and eliminate it. Psychic-type Pokemon such as Alakazam can easily OHKO it. Talonflame has priority Brave Bird, which Venusaur cannot deal with. Volcarona and Hawlucha can easily OHKO it with their STAB move of choice. Priority moves such as Ice Shard or Bullet Punch threaten Venusaur, but Venusaur is rather bulky, so it will not be KOed by them unless it has taken prior damage. If Venusaur lacks Hidden Power Fire, Skarmory and Ferrothorn counter it, proceeding to set up Spikes. Skarmory has access to Brave Bird to hit it back with as well. When Venusaur Mega Evolves, it loses Chlorophyll, allowing a lot of Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Gothitelle, Charizard, Hawlucha, and Garchomp to outspeed and hit it hard or outright KO it. Grass-type Pokemon and Pokemon with Safety Goggles aren't affected Venusaur's Sleep Powder, making them great checks.</p>
 
Last edited:

Colonel M

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You spelled Chlorophyll incorrectly in pros. Also, IIRC, it's outsped.

I don't necessarily agree with your priority comment. Remember that Venusaur resists Aqua Jet, Vacuum Wave, and Mach Punch. It only suffers from Ice Shard (rareish) and Aerialate Quick Attack (M-Pinsir only). SubSeed needs less slashitis.

Finally, mention Grass-types and Weather Goggles make Pokemon immune to powder moves. And mention Toxic is nearly unblockable too.
 
Mega Venusaur's ability is Thick Fat, not Chlorophyll. You say that in the comments, but the actual sets still have Chlorophyll.

EDIT: Unless I'm just really stupid and am missing the whole "input into simulators" part, in which case disregard this.
 

Alter

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Seth, I believe by that he means select a regular Venusaur with Chlorophyll as when it mega evolves it will get Thick Fat regardless and you may as well get the doubled Speed when you're not mega evolving.
 

alexwolf

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Get rid of any SubSeed set, it's not viable. Chlorophyll SubSeed was viable last gen because of perma-sun, but it has no use now with 6 turns of Sun at most. The first set of Mega Venusaur should be:

<p>Venusaur @ Venusaurite<br />
Ability: Thick Fat<br />
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA<br />
Relaxed Nature<br />
- Giga Drain / Power Whip<br />
- Sludge Bomb / Sleep Powder / Stun Spore<br />
- Earthquake<br />
- Synthesis</p>

You need all this Defense investment to fare as well as possible against Mega Lucario, which even has a small chance of failing at 2HKOing with Close Combat at +2. Giga Drain is better because it's not affected by burns, but if you have something else to switch into bulky water-types or cleric support then Power Whip is the strongest option. Sludge Bomb hits hard Grass- and Fairy-types but if this is not important you are free to use a status move of your choice. Earthquake allows Venusaur to 2HKO Mega Lucario and has a good chance to OHKO it at -1 Defense with a layer of Spikes. Synthesis is reliable recovery, which Venusaur needs to do its job as physical wall/tank.

You only need one Pros and Cons section btw.
 
Edited the analysis with Alexwolf's advices to Mega Venusaur's set, erased the second Pros and Cons section, fixed the entire analysis.
Thanks a lot ^^
Advices for the second and third set of Mega Venusaur?
 
As for the sets themselves, I'd recommend finding a different spread for the current Chlorophyll sweeper set because Latios isn't available yet and thus it defeats the whole purpose of running that spread (i.e. speed). I'd also slash Giga Drain with Energy Ball because it helps keep Venusaur alive longer. Also Sunny Day > Growth; Sunny Day deserves the primary slash. You just don't have the time to set up anymore and Venusaur's balanced combination of bulk, speed, and power makes it an ideal offensive supporter for sun teams. You could also scrap the last Mega Venusaur set. The only sets Mega Saur should be using are physically defensive and special tank. The last set doesn't really accomplish anything noteworthy.
I had removed Giga Drain because Rocket said that Giga Drain was unavaiable in 6th gen, and i haven't any way to test it in the game, but now that thing was corrected, so i'm going to edit. What spread you suggest while Latios is not released?


Talonflame is a key threat to mention here, the current sweeper spread makes sure that neither Mamoswine nor Scizor can KO at full health. Talonflame is a HUGE threat because it resists Venusaur's STAB and will always OHKO with priority Brave Bird. It needs to be mentioned above these two.
I know, but these days I was busy with other analysis lol. I'm going to edit.
 

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