[Overview]
<p>Bellossom is a mediocre Pokemon; it is not particularly bad, just almost completely outclassed by its fellow Grass-types, within the NU tier. Access to Sleep Powder and the Chlorophyll ability give it a shot at being an effective sun abuser, but it struggles to differentiate itself from the largely superior Victreebel and Exeggutor, and even in the sun, pitiful base Speed means it is not actually that fast. Bellossom does, however, have quite decent stats almost everywhere else; decent defenses give it greater ease in setting up than Victreebel, and a passable Special Attack stat gives just enough power to Bellossom's attacks to make it a legitimate threat. Bellossom is somewhat let down by its movepool, although the moves it needs to function are present, it lacks anything that would make it stand out. It is a functional Pokemon, and should reliably do its job of setting up sun and putting something to sleep, but there is nothing particularly special or impressive about it.</p>
[SET]
name: Sunny Day
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Sleep Powder
move 3: SolarBeam / Giga Drain
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Synthesis / Hidden Power Rock
item: Heat Rock / Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Modest
evs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Thanks to reasonable bulk and access to Sleep Powder, Bellossom should almost always cripple a Pokemon. This potential is compounded by Chlorophyll, which gives Bellossom 384 Speed in the sun, allowing it to outpace even the speediest of Swellow. SolarBeam acts as a high-powered STAB move, and deals heavy damage to most Pokemon that do not resist it, whereas Giga Drain is a more reliable alternative that also serves as a form of recovery. Whilst Hidden Power Fire grants optimal coverage alongside Grass-type attacks, Hidden Power Rock is an option that allows Bellossom to hit Magmortar and Altaria harder. Finally, Synthesis allows Bellossom to instantly recover from any damage it may have accrued.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The given EV spread provides just enough Speed to edge out base 125 Speed Pokemon, namely Swellow, in the sun. Special Attack is maxed out to deal as much damage as possible and the remaining EVs are dumped into HP for greater survivability. If outspeeding Swellow is not necessary, or if you choose to run Synthesis, you may wish to drop some Speed EVs in order to invest in HP EVs for a more defensive, supportive spin on the set. If you have other Pokemon that can set up Sunny Day, you could drop the move in favor of another attack and replace Heat Rock with a Life Orb, but Bellossom's slight advantage in bulk, and therefore greater ease in setting up sun, is one of its few advantages over Victreebel.</p>
<p>Because of this, Bellossom should be paired with other sun sweepers, though it is important to note that Victreebel is a poor choice, as it shares similar typing and coverage and will only serve to display Bellossom's inferiority. Fire-types make ideal teammates as they possess complementary typing and lure in Quagsire and other Water-types for Bellossom to set up on. Of particular note are Magmortar and Emboar, both of whom profit from the sun through their boosted STAB attacks and can land super effective hits on Lickilicky and Miltank, who may otherwise attempt to wall Bellossom. Another teammate to consider should you not opt for Hidden Power Rock is a Rock-type to help beat the Fire-, and Flying-types that threaten Bellossom with their STAB moves; Regirock and Golem stand out with their high Defense stats to cover Bellossom's weaker defense, and will appreciate having a partner to take Water-type attacks for them.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>One could run a full support set with Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, Synthesis, and Giga Drain, but this is somewhat silly when Amoonguss exists with better defenses and typing, and boasts access to Spore and Clear Smog. The only reason to use Bellossom over Amoonguss would be for the extremely fast Sleep Powder, but the standard set already achieves this. If you really want to plumb the depths of Bellossom's movepool, it also has access to Swords Dance and the nifty Drain Punch, which has passable coverage alongside Leaf Blade and helps keep Bellossom alive. However, with extremely poor Speed and lackluster Attack, Bellossom struggles to set up or do any real damage outside of the sun. It cannot afford to give up a moveslot for Sunny Day over Sleep Powder or a coverage move. Even after Bellossom sets up, it is still largely outclassed by Leafeon.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Altaria and Magmortar are excellent counters to any Bellossom lacking Hidden Power Rock, taking little damage from its attacks, and in Altaria's case even potentially running Cloud Nine to outspeed Bellossom regardless of weather. To that end, Bellossom's pitiful base Speed stat means that any moderately fast, Choice Scarf users, particularly Rotom-S, Braviary, and Pinsir, will outspeed and likely KO Bellossom. Bellossom also has some difficulty with opposing Chlorophyll abusers; both Leafeon and Victreebel will easily outspeed and deal massive damage with X-Scissor and Weather Ball respectively. Even in the sun, both Sneasel and Piloswine will be able to outspeed and KO a slightly weakened Bellossom with their STAB Ice Shard. Hypno is able to switch in with no fear of a quick Sleep Powder thanks to Insomnia, and also has the Special Defense to easily weather Bellossom's attacks. Once something has taken a Sleep Powder, anything that is not weak to Grass-type moves and has decent defenses, such as Lickilicky, Sap Sipper Miltank, or Camerupt, will put a stop to Bellossom.</p>
<p>Bellossom is a mediocre Pokemon; it is not particularly bad, just almost completely outclassed by its fellow Grass-types, within the NU tier. Access to Sleep Powder and the Chlorophyll ability give it a shot at being an effective sun abuser, but it struggles to differentiate itself from the largely superior Victreebel and Exeggutor, and even in the sun, pitiful base Speed means it is not actually that fast. Bellossom does, however, have quite decent stats almost everywhere else; decent defenses give it greater ease in setting up than Victreebel, and a passable Special Attack stat gives just enough power to Bellossom's attacks to make it a legitimate threat. Bellossom is somewhat let down by its movepool, although the moves it needs to function are present, it lacks anything that would make it stand out. It is a functional Pokemon, and should reliably do its job of setting up sun and putting something to sleep, but there is nothing particularly special or impressive about it.</p>
[SET]
name: Sunny Day
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Sleep Powder
move 3: SolarBeam / Giga Drain
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Synthesis / Hidden Power Rock
item: Heat Rock / Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Modest
evs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Thanks to reasonable bulk and access to Sleep Powder, Bellossom should almost always cripple a Pokemon. This potential is compounded by Chlorophyll, which gives Bellossom 384 Speed in the sun, allowing it to outpace even the speediest of Swellow. SolarBeam acts as a high-powered STAB move, and deals heavy damage to most Pokemon that do not resist it, whereas Giga Drain is a more reliable alternative that also serves as a form of recovery. Whilst Hidden Power Fire grants optimal coverage alongside Grass-type attacks, Hidden Power Rock is an option that allows Bellossom to hit Magmortar and Altaria harder. Finally, Synthesis allows Bellossom to instantly recover from any damage it may have accrued.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The given EV spread provides just enough Speed to edge out base 125 Speed Pokemon, namely Swellow, in the sun. Special Attack is maxed out to deal as much damage as possible and the remaining EVs are dumped into HP for greater survivability. If outspeeding Swellow is not necessary, or if you choose to run Synthesis, you may wish to drop some Speed EVs in order to invest in HP EVs for a more defensive, supportive spin on the set. If you have other Pokemon that can set up Sunny Day, you could drop the move in favor of another attack and replace Heat Rock with a Life Orb, but Bellossom's slight advantage in bulk, and therefore greater ease in setting up sun, is one of its few advantages over Victreebel.</p>
<p>Because of this, Bellossom should be paired with other sun sweepers, though it is important to note that Victreebel is a poor choice, as it shares similar typing and coverage and will only serve to display Bellossom's inferiority. Fire-types make ideal teammates as they possess complementary typing and lure in Quagsire and other Water-types for Bellossom to set up on. Of particular note are Magmortar and Emboar, both of whom profit from the sun through their boosted STAB attacks and can land super effective hits on Lickilicky and Miltank, who may otherwise attempt to wall Bellossom. Another teammate to consider should you not opt for Hidden Power Rock is a Rock-type to help beat the Fire-, and Flying-types that threaten Bellossom with their STAB moves; Regirock and Golem stand out with their high Defense stats to cover Bellossom's weaker defense, and will appreciate having a partner to take Water-type attacks for them.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>One could run a full support set with Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, Synthesis, and Giga Drain, but this is somewhat silly when Amoonguss exists with better defenses and typing, and boasts access to Spore and Clear Smog. The only reason to use Bellossom over Amoonguss would be for the extremely fast Sleep Powder, but the standard set already achieves this. If you really want to plumb the depths of Bellossom's movepool, it also has access to Swords Dance and the nifty Drain Punch, which has passable coverage alongside Leaf Blade and helps keep Bellossom alive. However, with extremely poor Speed and lackluster Attack, Bellossom struggles to set up or do any real damage outside of the sun. It cannot afford to give up a moveslot for Sunny Day over Sleep Powder or a coverage move. Even after Bellossom sets up, it is still largely outclassed by Leafeon.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Altaria and Magmortar are excellent counters to any Bellossom lacking Hidden Power Rock, taking little damage from its attacks, and in Altaria's case even potentially running Cloud Nine to outspeed Bellossom regardless of weather. To that end, Bellossom's pitiful base Speed stat means that any moderately fast, Choice Scarf users, particularly Rotom-S, Braviary, and Pinsir, will outspeed and likely KO Bellossom. Bellossom also has some difficulty with opposing Chlorophyll abusers; both Leafeon and Victreebel will easily outspeed and deal massive damage with X-Scissor and Weather Ball respectively. Even in the sun, both Sneasel and Piloswine will be able to outspeed and KO a slightly weakened Bellossom with their STAB Ice Shard. Hypno is able to switch in with no fear of a quick Sleep Powder thanks to Insomnia, and also has the Special Defense to easily weather Bellossom's attacks. Once something has taken a Sleep Powder, anything that is not weak to Grass-type moves and has decent defenses, such as Lickilicky, Sap Sipper Miltank, or Camerupt, will put a stop to Bellossom.</p>