Threw
cohiba
[OVERVIEW]
Leafeon is the best Swords Dance passer in the metagame due to good bulk that lets it set up on certain physical attackers such as Rhydon and Torterra, a solid Speed tier that lets it outpace key threats such as Mesprit, Lilligant, and Kangaskhan, and high Attack. In addition, its offensive Swords Dance set can break apart common balance cores with unique coverage options in Leaf Blade, Knock Off, and Natural Gift. However, although Leafeon's Grass typing comes with very helpful resistances to Water-, Ground-, and Electric-type attacks, weaknesses to numerous common attacking types and low Special Defense leave both sets vulnerable to very common Pokemon such as Scyther, Garbodor, and Vileplume, which can prevent Leafeon from setting up Swords Dance while taking minimal damage from its attacks, and sometimes prevent Leafeon from switching into threats it should, such as Assault Vest Lanturn and Gastrodon with Ice Beam. Due to the middling power of the Baton Pass set, Leafeon can struggle to hold its weight against offensive teams, a problem compounded by its lack of room for anything but Grass-type coverage. Furthermore, Leafeon faces heavy competition as a offensive Swords Dance user from Sawsbuck due to this Pokemon's STAB Double-Edge and access to Jump Kick.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance + Baton Pass
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Baton Pass
item: Leftovers
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Swords Dance boosts Leafeon's Attack to enormous levels, letting it score OHKOs on Pokemon such as Poliwrath and Rhydon, and allows it to give more threatening teammates a chance to sweep. Leaf Blade is Leafeon's strongest physical STAB attack, which prevents it from being total Taunt bait and gives it some offensive presence. Substitute protects Leafeon from status, and passing a Substitute to a teammate can allow them to come in unscathed or, in a best-case scenario, can give them a buffer from faster attackers and priority along with a +2 boost. Baton Pass allows Leafeon to share its boosts and Substitutes with its teammates as well as gain momentum and pivot out of unfavorable matchups.
Set Details
========
Leftovers lends Leafeon a certain degree of longevity and allows it to potentially set up Substitute more than four times in a match. Chlorophyll is Leafeon's ability of choice, giving it a favorable matchup against sun teams while also being more practical than Leaf Guard. The given EV spread and a Jolly nature maximize Leafeon's bulk and Speed, allowing it to outspeed common threats such as Pinsir and Rotom while making its Substitutes as hard to break as possible.
Usage Tips
========
Because Leafeon lacks coverage moves of any kind, there are certain Pokemon such as Charizard, Vivillon, and Scyther that it will simply never break through, and it is largely futile to try to set up a Substitute on them, even if it outspeeds; therefore, it's best to eliminate these threats before trying to pass a Swords Dance. In the early-game, it is probably best to bring Leafeon in on something that cannot threaten it, such as Gastrodon or Lanturn, and stick with dry passing on the opponent's switch rather than attempting to pass a Swords Dance and a Substitute, which is better served for the late-game, when the opponent's team has been weakened enough for a boosted teammate to sweep. While Leafeon has good physical bulk and can be brought in on resisted and even some neutral physical attacks, avoid switching it into all but weak and resisted special attacks, as these will wear it down quickly.
Team Options
========
Tauros is probably the single best partner for Leafeon, as a +2 Tauros behind a Substitute that prevents it from being revenge killed is incredibly difficult to handle. Another good partner is Rock Polish Rhydon, which resists the Flying- and Fire-type attacks that are often used to take care of Leafeon and will therefore often retain a passed Substitute. Leafeon's ability to deal with Water- and Ground-types such as Lanturn and Claydol makes Pokemon such as Pyroar and Electivire ideal partners. Lanturn synergizes well with Leafeon in terms of resistances and bulk and can use a slow Volt Switch to get it in for free, minimizing the hits it takes and allowing it to useSubstitute as much as possible. Slow wallbreakers in general, but especially Aggron, which resists bothersome Flying- and Bug-type attacks, can make great use of a +2 boost and appreciate the safety provided by a Substitute.
[SET]
name: Offensive Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Natural Gift
item: Starf Berry
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Swords Dance gives Leafeon the potential to sweep by significantly boosting its already high Attack. Leaf Blade is Leafeon's strongest, most consistent physical STAB attack. Knock Off provides near-perfect neutral coverage alongside Leaf Blade while also having the utility of removing the items of opposing Pokemon such as Magmortar and Scyther that resist Leaf Blade. Starf Berry Natural Gift gives Leafeon a one-time 100-Base Power Psychic-type attack, allowing it to deal solid damage to Poison-types such as Garbodor, Vileplume, and Weezing that would otherwise wall it completely.
Set Details
========
While normally something of a gimmick item, Starf Berry lends Leafeon key Psychic-type coverage, allowing it to hit threatening Poison-types. Chlorophyll gives Leafeon a leg up on opposing sun teams. Maximum investment in Attack and Speed is paired with a Jolly nature in order to take full advantage of Leafeon's offensive prowess and outspeed a number of key threats including Rotom and Kangaskhan.
Usage Tips
========
Leafeon can contribute in any stage of a game thanks to its access to Knock Off, which cripples opposing Pokemon early-game, and its great Speed and physical bulk, which gives it a good number of setup opportunities and the potential to sweep late-game. When first bringing out Leafeon on something it forces out, the move of choice should nearly always be Knock Off in order to cripple the opponent's Leafeon counter for later in the game. Hold off on using Natural Gift until late-game, when Leafeon can boost to +2 and OHKO even slightly weakened Vileplume, Garbodor, and Weezing; it is especially key to be conservative with Natural Gift, because it can only be used once. Set up with Swords Dance once Leafeon's checks have been thoroughly weakened or eliminated.
Team Options
========
Pokemon such as Scyther, Primeape, and Kangaskhan that share Leafeon's checks appreciate this set's ability to lure in and eliminate Garbodor and Weezing. Assault Vest Magmortar is capable of checking many of the Grass-, Bug-, Flying-, and Ice-types such as Cacturne, Vivillon, Xatu, and Jynx that threaten Leafeon, as well as special attackers in general. Rhydon is catch-all check for a number of Fire- and Flying-type answers to Leafeon such as Charizard and Swellow and can also set up Stealth Rock to weaken Leafeon's checks and facilitate a sweep. Normal-type wallbreakers such as Tauros, Zangoose, and Swellow appreciate Leafeon's ability to break down bulky Rock- and Ground-types and in return can clean up the opposing team and keep up offensive pressure.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Leafeon can afford to run an Adamant nature on sun teams, and while it is preferable that it keep Swords Dance or a coverage move and something else set up sun, it can drop a move for Sunny Day. Facade can be an interesting option to prevent Leafeon from being completely useless after a burn. Yawn is a neat option to force switch-ins back out, giving Leafeon easier setup opportunities. X-Scissor can be run to OHKO Shiftry and Cacturne, which otherwise resist all of Leafeon's attacks. Micle Berry (Rock) and Watmel Berry (Fire) can be run over Starf Berry to gain different Natural Gift typings if hitting Charizard and Scyther or Grass-types other than Vileplume is considered more important than hitting Poison-types. While it may seem like Leafeon has all the tools to act as a physically defensive cleric with its superb physical bulk and access to support moves such as Wish, Heal Bell, and Roar, its weakness to numerous common attacking types, its easily exploitable Special Defense, and the significant competition it faces from other clerics such as Vileplume and Mega Audino make such a set subpar and outclassed.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Flying-types**: Archeops, Swellow, and Scyther are all capable of outspeeding and OHKOing Leafeon. However, only the lastis capable of switching into the Swords Dance set well, and even it hates taking a Knock Off, especially with Stealth Rock up.
**Fire-types**: Pyroar and Charizard can outspeed and OHKO Leafeon, with the former even being able to hit through its Substitute, while Magmortar can comfortably take any hit and OHKO back and Combusken can use it as setup bait. Again, however, none take a Knock Off particularly well and therefore cannot safely switch into offensive Leafeon.
**Poison-types**: While Psychic-type Natural Gift is something to fear from the offensive Swords Dance set, Garbodor and Weezing easily wall the Baton Pass set and can use it as free turns to set up Toxic Spikes. Additionally, if the Leafeon user mispredicts and wastes Natural Gift, Poison-types can wall it comfortably.
**Status**: Burn status from Weezing or Mismagius will render offensive Leafeon dead weight and make the Baton Pass set setup bait for nearly any Pokemon that is not hit super effectively by Leaf Blade. Paralysis will cripple Leafeon by making it much easier to revenge kill and causing the job of setting up and passing to be significantly harder. Toxic status is much more problematic for the Baton Pass set than for the offensive set, as Toxic damage on top of Substitute damage and potential entry hazard damage will wear down Leafeon extremely quickly. Lanturn in particular is capable of inflicting Leafeon with paralysis or Toxic on a predicted switch, and Gastrodon can Toxic it as well.
Leafeon is the best Swords Dance passer in the metagame due to good bulk that lets it set up on certain physical attackers such as Rhydon and Torterra, a solid Speed tier that lets it outpace key threats such as Mesprit, Lilligant, and Kangaskhan, and high Attack. In addition, its offensive Swords Dance set can break apart common balance cores with unique coverage options in Leaf Blade, Knock Off, and Natural Gift. However, although Leafeon's Grass typing comes with very helpful resistances to Water-, Ground-, and Electric-type attacks, weaknesses to numerous common attacking types and low Special Defense leave both sets vulnerable to very common Pokemon such as Scyther, Garbodor, and Vileplume, which can prevent Leafeon from setting up Swords Dance while taking minimal damage from its attacks, and sometimes prevent Leafeon from switching into threats it should, such as Assault Vest Lanturn and Gastrodon with Ice Beam. Due to the middling power of the Baton Pass set, Leafeon can struggle to hold its weight against offensive teams, a problem compounded by its lack of room for anything but Grass-type coverage. Furthermore, Leafeon faces heavy competition as a offensive Swords Dance user from Sawsbuck due to this Pokemon's STAB Double-Edge and access to Jump Kick.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance + Baton Pass
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Baton Pass
item: Leftovers
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Swords Dance boosts Leafeon's Attack to enormous levels, letting it score OHKOs on Pokemon such as Poliwrath and Rhydon, and allows it to give more threatening teammates a chance to sweep. Leaf Blade is Leafeon's strongest physical STAB attack, which prevents it from being total Taunt bait and gives it some offensive presence. Substitute protects Leafeon from status, and passing a Substitute to a teammate can allow them to come in unscathed or, in a best-case scenario, can give them a buffer from faster attackers and priority along with a +2 boost. Baton Pass allows Leafeon to share its boosts and Substitutes with its teammates as well as gain momentum and pivot out of unfavorable matchups.
Set Details
========
Leftovers lends Leafeon a certain degree of longevity and allows it to potentially set up Substitute more than four times in a match. Chlorophyll is Leafeon's ability of choice, giving it a favorable matchup against sun teams while also being more practical than Leaf Guard. The given EV spread and a Jolly nature maximize Leafeon's bulk and Speed, allowing it to outspeed common threats such as Pinsir and Rotom while making its Substitutes as hard to break as possible.
Usage Tips
========
Because Leafeon lacks coverage moves of any kind, there are certain Pokemon such as Charizard, Vivillon, and Scyther that it will simply never break through, and it is largely futile to try to set up a Substitute on them, even if it outspeeds; therefore, it's best to eliminate these threats before trying to pass a Swords Dance. In the early-game, it is probably best to bring Leafeon in on something that cannot threaten it, such as Gastrodon or Lanturn, and stick with dry passing on the opponent's switch rather than attempting to pass a Swords Dance and a Substitute, which is better served for the late-game, when the opponent's team has been weakened enough for a boosted teammate to sweep. While Leafeon has good physical bulk and can be brought in on resisted and even some neutral physical attacks, avoid switching it into all but weak and resisted special attacks, as these will wear it down quickly.
Team Options
========
Tauros is probably the single best partner for Leafeon, as a +2 Tauros behind a Substitute that prevents it from being revenge killed is incredibly difficult to handle. Another good partner is Rock Polish Rhydon, which resists the Flying- and Fire-type attacks that are often used to take care of Leafeon and will therefore often retain a passed Substitute. Leafeon's ability to deal with Water- and Ground-types such as Lanturn and Claydol makes Pokemon such as Pyroar and Electivire ideal partners. Lanturn synergizes well with Leafeon in terms of resistances and bulk and can use a slow Volt Switch to get it in for free, minimizing the hits it takes and allowing it to useSubstitute as much as possible. Slow wallbreakers in general, but especially Aggron, which resists bothersome Flying- and Bug-type attacks, can make great use of a +2 boost and appreciate the safety provided by a Substitute.
[SET]
name: Offensive Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Natural Gift
item: Starf Berry
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Swords Dance gives Leafeon the potential to sweep by significantly boosting its already high Attack. Leaf Blade is Leafeon's strongest, most consistent physical STAB attack. Knock Off provides near-perfect neutral coverage alongside Leaf Blade while also having the utility of removing the items of opposing Pokemon such as Magmortar and Scyther that resist Leaf Blade. Starf Berry Natural Gift gives Leafeon a one-time 100-Base Power Psychic-type attack, allowing it to deal solid damage to Poison-types such as Garbodor, Vileplume, and Weezing that would otherwise wall it completely.
Set Details
========
While normally something of a gimmick item, Starf Berry lends Leafeon key Psychic-type coverage, allowing it to hit threatening Poison-types. Chlorophyll gives Leafeon a leg up on opposing sun teams. Maximum investment in Attack and Speed is paired with a Jolly nature in order to take full advantage of Leafeon's offensive prowess and outspeed a number of key threats including Rotom and Kangaskhan.
Usage Tips
========
Leafeon can contribute in any stage of a game thanks to its access to Knock Off, which cripples opposing Pokemon early-game, and its great Speed and physical bulk, which gives it a good number of setup opportunities and the potential to sweep late-game. When first bringing out Leafeon on something it forces out, the move of choice should nearly always be Knock Off in order to cripple the opponent's Leafeon counter for later in the game. Hold off on using Natural Gift until late-game, when Leafeon can boost to +2 and OHKO even slightly weakened Vileplume, Garbodor, and Weezing; it is especially key to be conservative with Natural Gift, because it can only be used once. Set up with Swords Dance once Leafeon's checks have been thoroughly weakened or eliminated.
Team Options
========
Pokemon such as Scyther, Primeape, and Kangaskhan that share Leafeon's checks appreciate this set's ability to lure in and eliminate Garbodor and Weezing. Assault Vest Magmortar is capable of checking many of the Grass-, Bug-, Flying-, and Ice-types such as Cacturne, Vivillon, Xatu, and Jynx that threaten Leafeon, as well as special attackers in general. Rhydon is catch-all check for a number of Fire- and Flying-type answers to Leafeon such as Charizard and Swellow and can also set up Stealth Rock to weaken Leafeon's checks and facilitate a sweep. Normal-type wallbreakers such as Tauros, Zangoose, and Swellow appreciate Leafeon's ability to break down bulky Rock- and Ground-types and in return can clean up the opposing team and keep up offensive pressure.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Leafeon can afford to run an Adamant nature on sun teams, and while it is preferable that it keep Swords Dance or a coverage move and something else set up sun, it can drop a move for Sunny Day. Facade can be an interesting option to prevent Leafeon from being completely useless after a burn. Yawn is a neat option to force switch-ins back out, giving Leafeon easier setup opportunities. X-Scissor can be run to OHKO Shiftry and Cacturne, which otherwise resist all of Leafeon's attacks. Micle Berry (Rock) and Watmel Berry (Fire) can be run over Starf Berry to gain different Natural Gift typings if hitting Charizard and Scyther or Grass-types other than Vileplume is considered more important than hitting Poison-types. While it may seem like Leafeon has all the tools to act as a physically defensive cleric with its superb physical bulk and access to support moves such as Wish, Heal Bell, and Roar, its weakness to numerous common attacking types, its easily exploitable Special Defense, and the significant competition it faces from other clerics such as Vileplume and Mega Audino make such a set subpar and outclassed.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Flying-types**: Archeops, Swellow, and Scyther are all capable of outspeeding and OHKOing Leafeon. However, only the lastis capable of switching into the Swords Dance set well, and even it hates taking a Knock Off, especially with Stealth Rock up.
**Fire-types**: Pyroar and Charizard can outspeed and OHKO Leafeon, with the former even being able to hit through its Substitute, while Magmortar can comfortably take any hit and OHKO back and Combusken can use it as setup bait. Again, however, none take a Knock Off particularly well and therefore cannot safely switch into offensive Leafeon.
**Poison-types**: While Psychic-type Natural Gift is something to fear from the offensive Swords Dance set, Garbodor and Weezing easily wall the Baton Pass set and can use it as free turns to set up Toxic Spikes. Additionally, if the Leafeon user mispredicts and wastes Natural Gift, Poison-types can wall it comfortably.
**Status**: Burn status from Weezing or Mismagius will render offensive Leafeon dead weight and make the Baton Pass set setup bait for nearly any Pokemon that is not hit super effectively by Leaf Blade. Paralysis will cripple Leafeon by making it much easier to revenge kill and causing the job of setting up and passing to be significantly harder. Toxic status is much more problematic for the Baton Pass set than for the offensive set, as Toxic damage on top of Substitute damage and potential entry hazard damage will wear down Leafeon extremely quickly. Lanturn in particular is capable of inflicting Leafeon with paralysis or Toxic on a predicted switch, and Gastrodon can Toxic it as well.
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