Pokémon Venusaur

[Kakimori]

EQ, Sludge Bomb, Giga Drain, and Synthesis has been very good from what I've seen.

 

[jevon]

Does anyone have an idea for EV's and a set for a bold hp fire Venusaur?

 

[Twilightfairy]

I have no memory if i posted this or not (it's not showing up in my past posts either). But here goes. If this is a double post feel free to erase it.

Mega-saur
Sassy (252 hp/252 spdef)

Curse
Leech Seed
Giga Drain
Earthquake

This set takes some work to get set up but this makes venusaur such a bulky tank once it's done. If you manage to get + 2 curses with leech seed/giga drain recovery in between mega saur can do this. Leftovers are being used to simulate leech seed.

252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Flare Blitz vs. +2 252 HP / 4 Def Thick Fat Mega Venusaur: 116-140 (31.8 - 38.4%) -- 96.9% chance to 3HKO And proceed to OHKO with an earthquake.

252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Dragon Claw vs. +2 252 HP / 4 Def Mega Venusaur: 78-93 (21.4 - 25.5%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Pure Power Mega Medicham Psycho Cut vs. +2 252 HP / 4 Def Mega Venusaur: 176-210 (48.3 - 57.6%) -- 50.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

I know the one with mega-cham isn't as impressive but if you giga drain in between that + leech seed recover that 2 ko becomes a potential 3 ko.

Trick room is up, this set is just down right evil.at - 2 speed in makes bulky saur a monster under TR. I know it's not a perfect set and requires the help of other mons/removal of key threats but it's what I use and it works.

 

[Ajwf]

Would not work well with trick room. Also use physical grass attack over giga drain... Probably Synthesis over leech seed too.

 

[Darkzhul]

Hello people of smogon. Iam new to this competitive battle, but iam really excited. i have seen a lot of builds here, which have been so useful to me. Need to see what you think and what you could improve on this set.

Iam planning to run a sun sweeper team, the idea is to use venusaur with a Mega charizard Y initially. The zard is Timid, EV trained on speed and SpA with: Heat wave, Solar beam, Dragon Pulse, Air Slash. So i was looking for a venusaur that can help kill things fast and provide coverage to kill Mega chari weakness (obviously rock..., but also thunder and water.) So i came up with this:

Venusaur / Chlorophyll / Life Orb
Naughty (+atk - spdef)
EV Spread: 252 Speed, 126 Atk, 126 Spatk

Moves:
Earthquake : excellent to kill fire mons that threat venusaur and to kill electric and rock that threat charizard
Giga drain: Good Stab recovery move, No brainer for this guy.
Sludge bomb: Great STAB, gives coverage.
Growth / Synthesis /Leech seed

Now my doubts are 1) is that a good nature for it? or should i go just with a neutral nature to preserve his good sp def stats?
2) The EV spread is maddening me. With cholorophyl is necessary to invest all the points in speed? or could i still surpass the regularly fast electric and psychic pokemon with less? how about the spread for the offensive department?
3) The 4th slot, cant decide between Growth which would make him a killing machine (but maybe die in the first turn to a wicked flying attack) or synthesis for recovery (but still fearing a 1HKO). Or maybe leech seed, but not so sold on this one.

I would appreciate all the help you can give, and very willing to hear about any suggestions. (BTW i have other pokes at my disposal for sun, so its kinda a given).

 

[Parker.]

Hello people of smogon. Iam new to this competitive battle, but iam really excited. i have seen a lot of builds here, which have been so useful to me. Need to see what you think and what you could improve on this set.

Iam planning to run a sun sweeper team, the idea is to use venusaur with a Mega charizard Y initially. The zard is Timid, EV trained on speed and SpA with: Heat wave, Solar beam, Dragon Pulse, Air Slash. So i was looking for a venusaur that can help kill things fast and provide coverage to kill Mega chari weakness (obviously rock..., but also thunder and water.) So i came up with this:

Venusaur / Chlorophyll / Life Orb
Naughty (+atk - spdef)
EV Spread: 252 Speed, 126 Atk, 126 Spatk

Moves:
Earthquake : excellent to kill fire mons that threat venusaur and to kill electric and rock that threat charizard
Giga drain: Good Stab recovery move, No brainer for this guy.
Sludge bomb: Great STAB, gives coverage.
Growth / Synthesis /Leech seed

Now my doubts are 1) is that a good nature for it? or should i go just with a neutral nature to preserve his good sp def stats?
2) The EV spread is maddening me. With cholorophyl is necessary to invest all the points in speed? or could i still surpass the regularly fast electric and psychic pokemon with less? how about the spread for the offensive department?
3) The 4th slot, cant decide between Growth which would make him a killing machine (but maybe die in the first turn to a wicked flying attack) or synthesis for recovery (but still fearing a 1HKO). Or maybe leech seed, but not so sold on this one.

I would appreciate all the help you can give, and very willing to hear about any suggestions. (BTW i have other pokes at my disposal for sun, so its kinda a given).

First of all, that Mega Charizard Y set isn't great. You'd be better off with Fire Blast / Solarbeam / Focus Blast / Roost or EQ.

Next, while Venusaur is perhaps the best Chlorophyll user in the game, your EV spread is extremely inefficient. For example, 4 EVs equals an increase in 1 point of a stat. Your EVs for Atk and SpA are not multiples of 4, so you're wasting EVs. Second, you really don't need max speed when your speed is already doubled. With a Timid nature, Venusaur needs only 164 Spe EVs to outspeed scarfed base 109s (Terrakion, Keldeo). Finally, keep Growth as the final option; also, consider replacing Earthquake with Sleep Powder; while you'd be walled by Heatran, having a super fast Sleep Powder can be very useful, not to mention Chlorophyll Venusaur is best used as a late game sweeper.

 

[Thunderorange]

Pokedex Number - 003
Type - Grass/Poison
Base Stats - 80 HP / 82 Atk / 83 Def / 100 SpAtk / 100 SpDef / 80 Spe
Base Stats (ME) - 80 HP / 100 Atk / 123 Def / 122 SpAtk / 120 SpDef / 80 Spe

Ability - Overgrow [Powers up Grass-type moves when the Pokémon is in trouble]
Ability (DW) - Chlorophyll [Boosts the Pokémon's Speed in sunshine]:
Ability (ME) - Thick Fat [Ups resistance to Fire- and Ice-type moves]

Notable Moves:
Growth
Synthesis
Giga Drain
Sludge Bomb
Sleep Powder
Stun Spore
Leech Seed
Petal Blizzard
Earthquake
Knock Off

Overview
Game change mechanics have not been friendly to this jolly green giant. With nerfs to weather and Hidden Power and a reversal of the Sleep status from Gen V mechanics back to Gen IV, it seems like every major overall change has plotted to throw Venusaur out of its brief, single-generation stint in OU.

But there may be a ray of light remaining for Venusaur. It was one of a number of existing Pokemon to gain a Mega Evolution, which essentially trades in a Pokemon's ability to hold an item in exchange for massive alterations in the form of new abilities and boosted stats. Instead of the obscene boosts to a couple of stats that many other Mega Evolutions boast, Mega Venusaur's stat changes are more evenly spread out. It has improved offenses AND defenses, which allow it to tank hits on both ends of the spectrum with 80/123/120 defenses while firing off powerful hits from 100 Attack and 122 Special Attack. In addition, its new ability, Thick Fat, negates its once-glaring weaknesses to Fire- and Ice-type attacks. Although it only has four resistances, it also has just two weaknesses and immunities to Toxic, Leech Seed, and Spore. Thanks to Game Freak's attempt to balance out some of the weaker types, Poison (and therefore Venusaur) has also been given a shiny new fifth resistance to the heralded Fairy-type. Stall has been given a chance to breathe from the hyper-offensive style of Generation V, and Venusaur may have evolved in order to remain a viable option even under the new mechanics offered by Generation VI.

Mega Venusaur (Special Tank)
Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll (Thick Fat)
IVs: 252 HP / 252 SpAtk / 4 SpDef
Nature: Modest
- Synthesis
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ice / Sleep Powder

Mega Venusaur (Physical Tank)
Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll (Thick Fat)
IVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpDef
Nature: Adamant
- Synthesis
- Power Whip / Petal Blizzard
- Earthquake
- Sleep Powder

Mega Venusaur (Mixed Tank)
Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll (Thick Fat)
IVs: 252 HP / ?? Atk / ?? SpAtk
Nature: Brave
- Synthesis
- Giga Drain / Power Whip / Petal Blizzard
- Sludge Bomb
- Earthquake

With very good 100/122 offenses, Venusaur can effectively pull off attacking in any way you want while still being able to take hits very well. Three sets that work very similarly, but have different counters depending on what variation you're running. The first is the strongest, the second will probably be the least expected, and the last has the most coverage. With the nerf to rain and sand, Synthesis is much more reliable. On the physically offensive set, Power Whip is probably the better move due to the increased power and Venusaur's ability to tank a hit even if it misses, but if reliability is an issue, Petal Blizzard is always an option.

Mega Venusaur (Stall)
Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll (Thick Fat)
IVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpDef
Nature: Calm / Bold
- Synthesis
- Giga Drain
- Leech Seed
- Toxic / Substitute / Sleep Powder / Sludge Bomb

If running a stall team, Mega Venusaur has good reason to take up the Mega Evolution spot. Although it sadly lacks Leftovers, having just two weaknesses as well as resistances to five common attacking types and immunities to many popular status-inducing moves is a very good advantage. This version of Mega Venusaur does have a bit of 4MSS, but very balanced stats allow it to absorb hits while chipping away at the opponent and recovering HP with nearly every move. It can run a physically defensive set as well, but most Psychic-types moves as well as half of all Flying-types moves are special attacks.

Chlorophyll
Venusaur @ Black Sludge / Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
IVs: 72 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 180 Spe
Nature: Timid
- Sunny Day / Growth
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power Fire
- Sleep Powder / Sludge Bomb

The set that terrorized opponents of sun teams across Generation V. With the EV's given, it gives anti-Special Attack Download boosts, survives an Ice Shard from Adamant Mamoswine even after Stealth Rock, outspeeds Scarf Base 110 Speed and (perhaps more notably this generation) positive-natured Base 130 Speed Pokemon under the sun, and still packs maximum power. Even with the nerfs to sun this generation, being the best sun sweeper ever created is still an awesome thing to see.

Final Thoughts:
Venusaur has changed immensely not because it gained a new Mega Evolution, but because the changes to the game around it have forced it to take on an almost completely new role from what it was in Generation V. Hopefully it will stay a strong contender in OU, but Generation VI will force players to get used to a completely
different playstyle should they choose to remain faithful to Venusaur.

I agree with the general idea of your post but in a special tank why would you have only 4 spd EVs (not IVs)? And in a physical tank why have no defence EVs? And in a mixed tank no defence or special defence EVs?

 

[Thunderorange]

One sentence response with regards to Mega Venusaur

Lol Keldeo

Neutral to Ice, and resistance to its STAB really?

Anyway, the thing that make Venusaur more interesting this gen is Fairy Type. STAB Sludge Bomb might be able to dent most Fairy types bar Klefki, and it is a huge threat with the off chance it uses Sleep Powder

And Mawile. Mawile is now steel fairy as well.

 

[Thunderorange]

I could definitely see Mega Venusaur working as a physical tank on Stall teams. It's probably the single best Mega Lucario counter in existence because it takes barely more than half from any boosted attack in Lucario's arsenal. It additionally walls things like Keldeo, Tail Glow Manaphy and Nasty Plot Thundurus-I, who can all potentially pose a threat to Stall.

I disagree with the notion that it's outclassed by Celebi. Being neutral, rather than weak, to Pursuit is a pretty huge deal, especially when dealing with teams that rely on Tyranitar or Scizor trapping all of Keldeo's counters. Celebi also struggles with the threats I mentioned above, along with a quite a few others like Azumarill and Greninja, because of its weakness to Ice and Dark, and lack of resistance to Fairy.

To be honest, Mega Venusaur seems like a blanket Water-type counter. The only ones that even stand a chance against it are Psyshock Starmie/Slowbro and Bounce Gyarados.

Lucario gets psychic.

 

[Arca10]

Thunderorange Double posting is against the forum rules, much less triple posting.

I agree with the general idea of your post but in a special tank why would you have only 4 spd EVs (not IVs)? And in a physical tank why have no defence EVs? And in a mixed tank no defence or special defence EVs?

You've quoted a very, very old post. Most Mega Venusaur do typically run at least some defense EVs. However, I think OP was written with the intent of utilizing Mega Venusaur's rather large Special Attack and banking on HP + natural bulk.

Lucario gets psychic.

You are again quoting a very old post that is mostly irrelevant now, since Mega Lucario has been banned. But Lucario doesn't really have space to run Psychic in addition to its other moves.

 

[Evantus]

I currently run a non-Mega all-around wall set:

Item: Black Sludge

Nature: Modest

EV's: 252 HP, 126 Def, 130 Sp. Def

Ability: Overgrow

Moveset:
Leech Seed
Toxic
Protect
Giga Drain

It works quite well and can wall almost anything, or at the very least survive long enough to set up Leech Seed for the rest of the party. The best part about the set is, it can potentially take the spot of physical wall and special wall by itself. This gives you potentially an extra space to put in, well, whatever it is you need/want to put in. The biggest problem is BLOODY TALONFLAME. Modest nature to get the most out of Giga Drain, defenses are good enough to not need positive natures. It can also outwall other walls if necessary. The only walls that give it serious problems are Ferrothorn and Skarmory. My friends have nicknamed it "the immortal" because of how hard it is to kill.

 

[Of Moose & Men]

I currently run a non-Mega all-around wall set:

Item: Black Sludge

Nature: Modest

EV's: 252 HP, 126 Def, 130 Sp. Def

Ability: Overgrow

Moveset:
Leech Seed
Toxic
Protect
Giga Drain

It works quite well and can wall almost anything, or at the very least survive long enough to set up Leech Seed for the rest of the party. The best part about the set is, it can potentially take the spot of physical wall and special wall by itself. This gives you potentially an extra space to put in, well, whatever it is you need/want to put in. The biggest problem is BLOODY TALONFLAME. Modest nature to get the most out of Giga Drain, defenses are good enough to not need positive natures. It can also outwall other walls if necessary. The only walls that give it serious problems are Ferrothorn and Skarmory. My friends have nicknamed it "the immortal" because of how hard it is to kill.

Seems like a better nature is called for here. . .
Something more like calm or Bold. (I'd Recommend Calm)

Modest doesn't do much, especially when it'd rather take hits than deal them with the lack of investment in SpA.

But, that;s just a suggestion.

 

[Jaroda]

Yeah, you'd be better of replacing Giga Drain with Synthesis, Substitute or Knock Off and using a defensive nature. Modest helps little with 0 EV investment.

 

[Random Passerby]

First of all, that Mega Charizard Y set isn't great. You'd be better off with Fire Blast / Solarbeam / Focus Blast / Roost or EQ.

Next, while Venusaur is perhaps the best Chlorophyll user in the game, your EV spread is extremely inefficient. For example, 4 EVs equals an increase in 1 point of a stat. Your EVs for Atk and SpA are not multiples of 4, so you're wasting EVs. Second, you really don't need max speed when your speed is already doubled. With a Timid nature, Venusaur needs only 164 Spe EVs to outspeed scarfed base 109s (Terrakion, Keldeo). Finally, keep Growth as the final option; also, consider replacing Earthquake with Sleep Powder; while you'd be walled by Heatran, having a super fast Sleep Powder can be very useful, not to mention Chlorophyll Venusaur is best used as a late game sweeper.

Why not go to 176 Sp (Timid) to outspeed Scarfed base 110s (Gengar and Lati@s)? Lati@s can OHKO you with Psyshock so that's an extremely important benchmark.

 

[Evantus]

Why not go to 176 Sp (Timid) to outspeed Scarfed base 110s (Gengar and Lati@s)? Lati@s can OHKO you with Psyshock so that's an extremely important benchmark.

Giga Drain actually works very well, considering it helps Venusaur do exactly what it wants to, which is continuously gain HP, preferably at the expense of the opponent's, and prevents it from being Taunt-locked, ESPECIALLY BY BLOODY KLEFKI. Modest nature actually helps a lot, I've experimented with Bold and Calm natures as well, and Modest just works to my liking more than others.

 

[Of Moose & Men]

Giga Drain actually works very well in a pinch, considering it helps Venusaur do exactly what it wants to, which is continuously gain HP, preferably at the expense of the opponent's, and prevents it from being Taunt-locked, ESPECIALLY BY BLOODY KLEFKI. Modest nature actually helps a lot, I've experimented with Bold and Calm natures as well, and Modest just works to my liking more than others.

Well, Klefki can't learn taunt. . .
We're not saying you should scrap Giga Drain. But there's no point in having Modest if you're not making any investments into SpA.

But, it's up to you. It's your set. I just wouldn't agree with it.

 

[Evantus]

Well, Klefki can't learn taunt. . .
We're not saying you should scrap Giga Drain. But there's no point in having Modest if you're not making any investments into SpA.

But, it's up to you. It's your set. I just wouldn't agree with it.

Wait, Klefki can't learn Taunt? THAT MOTHERFUCKER CHEATED. Sorry for the misinformation. Also, sorry for replying to you. I meant to reply to the guy that did suggest I scrap Giga Drain.

 

[Evantus]

Well, Klefki can't learn taunt. . .
We're not saying you should scrap Giga Drain. But there's no point in having Modest if you're not making any investments into SpA.

But, it's up to you. It's your set. I just wouldn't agree with it.

I just realized how rude my last reply sounded. Apologies for that, I didn't mean to sound rude.

 

[LashofDementia]

Apologies for obvious necro, however

I've been looking into a M-Venusaur Special wall/support and haven't come across anything that really fits my team's needs,
so I was hoping that someone could look over what I've come up with and see what they thought.

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll/Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 SAtk
Sassy Nature
- Giga Drain
- Leech Seed
- Synthesis
- Earthquake

It feels like too much recovery, but since there's lack of lefties, I wasn't sure if overkill in that department wouldn't be a terrible thing.
Earthquake seemed appropriate for potential switch-ins, unless there is something else i would need to run instead.

Advice would be appreciated
Thanks in advance.

 

[Jaroda]

I recommend Sludge bomb or Sleep Powder in your last slot. Sludge bomb gives you another special STAB that can poison and Sleep Powder is just a nuisance for the enemy that provides further switches for healing. EQ doesn't help Venusaur be a better special wall. Knock Off is another possibility in the last slot to potentially help in stall wars by removing Leftovers and Eviolite items.

 

[RaytedR]

I run that exact set with Sludge Bomb over EQ. EQ only helps with Ferro and Heatran and in Ferro's case, not much.

 

[Feliciano]

So, is mixed mega Venusaur the way to go? There's a lot of information here, and I'm admittedly having some trouble sorting through it all, but I'd like to at least get an idea of what nature to aim for before I start to breed this thing. I'm thinking a specially defensive set would be best to start (since currently the only other non-mega OU pokes I have bred are Talonflame, BellyJet Azumarril, SD Aegislash, Jolly DD mence, and Gengar, though I do plan on breeding a special/mixed Aegislash soon), so it's sounding like something like this would be best?

Venusaur@Venusaurite
Chlorophyll -> Thick Fat
Quiet/Sassy nature
252 HP/ ???
- Giga Drain
- Leech Seed/Synthesis
- Sludge Bomb
- EQ

Or would going purely special and using a Calm/Modest nature be better, replacing EQ with Sleep Powder or something? Also, how do you get Knock Off?

 

[iSharingan]

I recently developed a Venusaur set (Deemed 'Vegetasaur' by some friends) that can not only defeat Mega Venusaur's normal counters, but take care of most of its own, vastly different counters with the right prediction. It seems to work best when paired with Togekiss and/or Heatran/Tormentran. It is a bulkier set and vaguely resembles Crocune and the like.

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Trait: Overgrow -> Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Leech Seed
- Knock Off
- Curse
- Synthesis

Essentially I make the best of M. Venusaur's natural bulk while boosting it's physical defense to ungodly levels. While not as capable to deal with fairies as other sets, they scatter like roaches when Venusaur comes in anyway, allowing for an easy +1. At +2, this set becomes nigh-unstoppable to anything bar top-notch special based psychic/flying moves. Since psychic moves are not common as coverage, you can usually KO pokemon that get it as a STAB with a super effectrive Knock Off as they switch in, while most common flying types either attack physically or struggle to 3HKO with moves like Air Slash. Focus is mainly to stay alive and abuse M. Venusaur's absurd bulk while setting up Curses on helpless or things that wall more 'normal' sets until +2/3 is obtained. At this point you can either start weakening the (usually) reeling foe, or keep going to ensure the KO when you decide to start sweeping. As it is, I've used this set to counter well over 80% of commonly used pokemon I've gone up against and it quite often shuts down entire teams, especially when they lack a phaser. It does require a cleric on the team somewhere since Burn cripples the set, but other status is rarely more than a minor inconvenience. Primary checks seem to be only the few fairies that are capable of decent physical bulk and can reliably heal and/or deal significant special damage (most notably Unaware Clefable) and one or two bulkier fighting types. Talonflame and Heatran are definite threats, as well, if Venusaur is below +2, but beyond that Venu can usually tank a hit and KO in return. An ally Heatran also covers Venusaur's weaknesses and makes a solid core together with Physically defensive Togekiss.

 

[Count Serperior]

Would Charm on Mega Venusaur be any good?

I was thinking of:

Venusaur @Venusarite
Calm, full HP ans Sp.Def
-Charm
-Leech Seed
-Knock Off
-Giga Drain?

Basically it forces a lot of switches to rack up hazard damage while knocking a lot of items off.

 

[Platyp]

Would Charm on Mega Venusaur be any good?

I was thinking of:

Venusaur @Venusarite
Calm, full HP ans Sp.Def
-Charm
-Leech Seed
-Knock Off
-Giga Drain?

Basically it forces a lot of switches to rack up hazard damage while knocking a lot of items off.

No point in running Leech Seed if you're trying to force a lot of switches. Swap it out for Synthesis for longevity.