The fruit of the loom.
Overview
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Breloom is the universal lead of the current Battle Spot metagame. With an amazing move set at its disposal, there's no reason you'd have another lead on most teams. It has the ability to bluff its lead role and be used as a late-game sweeper, finishing off weakened Pokemon with Mach Punch. One thing that makes Breloom stand out compared to other leads is its access to Spore, which can have a great effect on the out come of a battle.
However with the perks, there are downsides. Breloom suffers from weak defensive stats, so using an item besides Focus Sash is quite risky. To add on, lots of Pokemon wall Breloom, from Aegislash which resists any move Breloom can throw at it to Ferrothorn who can hurt Breloom without even attacking it. Breloom also suffers from low base Speed, so a plethora of commonly used Pokemon, such as Rotom-W and Landorus, both of which can easily use a pivot move to avoid a Spore.
Offensive Spore
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name: Offensive Spore
move 1: Spore
move 2: Mach Punch
move 3: Bullet Speed
move 4: Rock Tomb
ability: Technician
item: Focus Sash
evs: 4HP/252Atk/252Spe
nature: Adamant/Jolly
Moves
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Spore is Breloom's main move. With no Sleep Clause, Spore is sure to cause havoc to your opponent. It can be used on a predicted switch to ease prediction, unless a Grass-type or Pokemon with Overcoat, such as Venusaur and Mandibuzz, happen to still be alive. Mach Punch is Breloom's essential STAB priority move that is also boosted by Technician. It is your primary revenge killing tool and helps to wear down opposing Pokemon. Bullet Seed, which is also boosted by Technician, is Breloom's strongest STAB after the Technician boost, which is useful for breaking Focus Sash and Sturdy. Last but not least, Rock Tomb is extremely practical for lowering down the Speed of predicted switch-ins. Rock Tomb also lets Breloom hit Pokemon such as Charizard, Talonflame, and Thundurus which would other wise resist any move Breloom could throw at it.
Set Details
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This set is optimized to get the best out of Technician while abusing the fact that there is no Sleep Clause. The EVs are maxed out in Attack and Speed to get the most out of its hits and so Breloom can out speed Pokemon such as Mega Swampert. Adamant is used for increased power, but Jolly can be used to ensure that Breloom out speeds and puts as many Pokemon to sleep as possible.
Usage Tips
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This Breloom set is best described as a suicide lead. With no Sleep Clause, Breloom causes plenty of switches whether it's to take care of a Spore or to just absorb any hit a Breloom can do. When predicting a switch, use Spore so that whatever is switching in is put to sleep and thus making it useless. However, since Grass-types are immune to Spore, if you predict that one is going to switch, use it as an opportunity to double switch and gain the advantage. If you see something slightly faster switching like Talonflame always refer to using Rock Tomb to either lower its Speed or kill it all together.Pokemon with Lum Berry or Sleep Talk put a dent in this set because they won't have to worry about Spore at any point and can use that situation to break Focus Sash, thus rendering Breloom useless. Mega Pokemon such as Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Lopunny have no problem breaking Breloom's Focus Sash with Fake Out making them a giant issue. Even though they are weak to Mach Punch, they both can survive any hit Breloom uses at max health.
If you see a Sandstorm team, with Tyranitar or Hippodown, you might want to reconsider using Breloom as a lead, as sandstorm damage will break its Focus Sash. However, although it might be tempting to stay in and go for the Mach Punch on Tyranitar or the Bullet seed on Hippodown, you must analyze the situation to see if you will need to use Breloom's Focus Sash later in the match.
Team Options
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Fire-types such as Heatran are great partners for Breloom as it resists all of Breloom's weaknesses and counters Talonflame as well as checking Aegislash, two of the most common Pokemon in the tier that have positive match ups against Breloom. Mega Pokemon such as Mega Charizard Y can help Breloom avoid getting its Focus Sash broken by weather such as Sandstorm and Hail because of its ability Drought. Another Mega Pokemon that helps out Breloom is Mega Gengar, as it can come in on a sleeping opponent, trap it, and use a x2 STAB Hex on sleeping opponents as well as use Destiny Bond on any troublesome Pokemon that can affect the team as a whole.
Rock-types such as Tyranitar and Rhyperior can also help Breloom deal with Fire- and Flying-types that can cause Breloom a lot of trouble. Although, Water types such as Suicune and Quagsire are good partners for Breloom because they can deal with physical Fire-types like Mega Charizard X, Talonflame, and Blaziken as well as providing a nice general bulky Water presence and support. Breloom also helps Calm Mind Suicune and Raikou setup and sweep by eliminating opposing Water-types and Ground-types, respectively.
Two of Breloom's most common walls that are Grass-types happen to be Mega Venusaur and Chesnaught, that is why Flying-types such as Mega Salamence, Talonflame, and Mega Pinsir are good partners for Breloom. They can take Mega Venusaur and Chesnaught down with their powerful STAB Flying-type moves, two Pokemon, completely counter Breloom. Talonflame can also use Tailwind which can help Breloom's low base Speed making it outspeed a plethora of threats.
Breloom also suffers from being quite frail and slow, that is why bulky Pokemon like Rocky Helmet Cresselia and Rocky Helmet Zapdos help out with Mega Lopunny and Mega Kangaskhan,both which are big threats to Breloom. Zapdos and Cresselia wall these threats making them essential great partners for Breloom. Lunar Dance Cresselia is also an option as it can bring back Breloom to full health which is great if Breloom hasn't lost its Focus Sash. To help with Breloom's low Speed, fast Fighting-types such as Blaziken can assist with threats by having a chance to OHKO Pokemon like Mega Kangaskhan with High Jump Kick.
Other Options
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Poison Heal is an option over Technician for Breloom if you want to surprise your opponents. With Poison Heal, Breloom can also take advantage of the fact that it can recover more health than it would with leftover by using Substitute. It can get a free Focus Punch out of using Substitute as well. If Breloom is doing too little damage, it can run Swords Dance, although it is hard to fit into a move set without losing coverage. You can use Life Orb if you don't want to lose coverage, although since Breloom is quite frail, it is not the best option. Choice Scarf is an option for Breloom although, it is not the best choice since it forces Breloom into one move. However, with no Sleep Clause, it is able to spam a fast Spore repeatedly.
Checks & Counters
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**Bulky Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-types such as Chesnaught, Venusaur, Amoonguss, and Tangrowth are immune to Spore, often have access to recovery moves, and can easily deal with Breloom.
**Fire-types**: With hazard support, Pokemon like Charizard, Talonflame, and Blaziken can outspeed Breloom and OHKO it with their STAB moves.
**Hazards**: Hazards break Breloom's Focus Sash on entry, which significantly lowers Breloom's effectiveness due to its frailty and low Speed. This is the main reason hazards are used in this format.
**Aegislash**: Although it fears a Breloom, Aegislash can wall any attack Breloom throws at it.
**Mandibuzz**: Mandibuzz is a huge issue for Breloom. With its ability Overcoat, it is immune to Spore, and it is bulky enough to avoid being 2HKOed by any move Breloom can throw at it.
**Safety Goggles**: Safety Goggles are an issue for Breloom, as any Pokemon holding them won't be affected by Spore.
**Ferrothorn**: Ferrothorn is a check to Breloom, as it is able to break its Focus Sash with Iron Barbs and is immune to Spore. Additonally,Mach Punch is a 3HKO while Ferrothorn's Gyro Ball is a guaranteed OHKO.
**Mega Gengar**: Mega Gengar can trap and KO Breloom, as it is faster and immune to Mach Punch. Mega Gengar can also burn Breloom, rendering any move besides Spore practically useless as well as letting Mega Gengar live a couple of Rock Tombs.
**Mega Lopunny and Mega Kangaskhan**: Both of these Pokemon are capable of breaking Breloom's Focus Sash with a Fake Out and are able to live a Mach Punch and outspeed Breloom for an evident KO. Mega Kangaskhan can also beat Breloom regardless of a Fake Out as its ability, Parental Bond, causes its moves to hit twice.
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