Lileep (Analysis)

Oglemi said:

[Overview]

<p>Lileep is a curious Pokemon in the Little Cup tier;(semi colon) because in order to fully use its sweeping potential, you need to pair it with a certain Pokemon. The main component to any Lileep team is Hippoptas;(semi colon) due to its ability to activate sandstorm, which helps raise Lileep's average Special Defense stat to one of the highest in the metagame. You also need a team that can soften up and remove problematic counters for Lileep so that it can safely stat up. Combine this with a decent HP stat, a strong Defense stat, a movepool that compliments its natural bulk,(comma) and a helpful ability in Suction Cups, and Lileep has the potential to sweep through unprepared teams.</p>

[SET]
name: Sand Storm Sweeper
move 1: Stockpile
move 2: Swords Dance
move 3: Recover
move 4: Seed Bomb
item: Oran Berry
ability: Suction Cups
nature: Impish
evs: 228 HP / 220 Def / 60 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This is one of the most despised sets in Little Cup for its ability to turn a “won” match into a quick loss. This set is simple and fairly easy to set up; however, it will require sandstorm to be in effect. Switch Lileep in near the end of a match, when most Pokemon are weakened, and begin to Stockpile up. With the bulky EV spread,(comma) Lileep reaches 26 HP, 18 Def, and 24 SpD under sandstorm conditions, even before Lileep even begins to Stockpile up. Stockpile and Recover as necessary to maintain maximum health (also remember that you have an Oran Berry, which is basically like a free Recover). All the while sandstorm should be whittling down the opposing Pokemon's health. In the end you are aiming to get 3 Stockpiles and at least one Swords Dance in before you starting attacking.</p>

<p>Often you will find that unless the Pokemon either has STAB Ice-, Fighting-, or Bug-type attacks, they aren't going to bring Lileep down. Their only hope is a lucky critical hit. After that, sweep with Seed Bomb, which reaches comes from 20 Attack after a Swords Dance. If you're feeling lucky, you can Swords Dance even more if you feel like you need the extra power.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Hippopotas is a required teammate in order for this set to function properly. Outside of that, there are a few key teammates that can make Lileep's life much easier. A Pokemon to take Fighting-type attacks from the likes of Machop and Mankey is highly advised. Slowpoke fits this bill nicely, and as a bonus, Slowpoke eats any Ice-type attacks thrown at Lileep. In return, Lileep walks all over any users of Electric- and Grass-type attacks, and can easily tank most users of Dark-, Bug-, and Ghost-type attacks. If a teammate has spread poison around on the opposing team through the use of Toxic and Toxic Spikes, the amount of time that Lileep has to stall at the end of the game is greatly diminished. Omanyte is a fantastic teammate to set up Toxic Spikes, while defensive Gligar is a great choice to spread around Toxic. Finally, if Lileep is afflicted with Toxic or Toxic Spikes, it's basically turned into dead-weight. Therefore, including a Poison-type, such as Croagunk, or Rapid Spinner, such as Pineco or Sandshrew, on your team will prove to be greatly beneficial.</p>

[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Energy Ball / Giga Drain
move 3: Earth Power
move 4: AncientPower / Hidden Power Rock
item: Oran Berry
ability: Suction Cups
nature: Calm
evs: 228 HP / 36 SpA / 220 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Lileep makes a great lead due its ability to beat a lot of the common leads in Little Cup and its general bulk to take a lot of hits. Many of the common leads in Little Cup include Kabuto, Omastar, Phanpy, Chimchar, Aipom, Meowth, and Houndour, many of whom Lileep can easily manage. Stealth Rock is a no-brainer move that is usually set up, barring against Taunt leads like Aipom and Meowth. Energy Ball is a nice STAB move that hits Kabuto, Omastar, and Phanpy for significant damage. Earth Power hits Chimchar and Houndour for super effective damage and breaks their Focus Sashes. AncientPower is a strong STAB move that hits Flying Pokemon like Mantyke for decent damage. The novelty in this set lies in that fact that nothing can really OHKO Lileep except for Snover's Blizzard. 228 HP and 220 Special Defense EVs allow it to survive an Houndour's and Chimchar's Overheat from Houndour or Chimchar, activating Oran Berry. The extra EVs are put into Special Attack to give Lileep a little extra power.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>You can Alternatively, use Giga Drain can be used instead of Energy Ball, which sacrifices power for the ability to heal a little bit, though it sacrafices power; and it still OHKOes Kabuto and Omastar,(comma) and takes a significant chunk from Phanpy. Hidden Power Rock is also another option that gives you ten more power than AncientPower. However, AncientPower's ability to boost all stats by +1 10% of the time is usually more helpful than the power boost of Hidden Power Rock.</p>

<p>As Lileep can't beat Snover, a teammate to tank its Blizzard is a highly recommended teammate. Mantyke can easily tank Blizzard and threaten to maim it back with Hidden Power Flying. Lileep also cannot prevent other leads from setting up Stealth Rock, so packing a Rapid Spinner on your team, such as Pineco or Sandshrew, is crucial.</p>

[Team Options]

<p>For starters, you will need Hippopotas for sandstorm since the boost in Special Defense is key. Aside from that, any entry hazards are nice to remove any annoying Focus Sash Pokemon. You'll also want your team to soften up your opponent before you attempt to sweep with Lileep since it often can take 50% away and dislikes extra turns that could end up being critical hits. Slowpoke is a great defensive partner to use alongside Lileep as they cover each other's weaknesses almost perfectly. Gligar, although it and Lileep share an Ice-type weaknesses, is a great teammate as well thanks to its ability to spread Toxic; it also benefits from Hippopotas's sandstorm.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Lileep has some other interesting options;(semi colon) Curse cuts down on the set-up time, but leaves Lileep more open to special attacks. However, you wouldn't need to run Swords Dance, which allows you to run another attacking move, like Rock Slide, alongside Seed Bomb. If you choose to run Curse, you should run a spread of 228 HP / 220 SpD / 60 Def EV spread. You can also possibly add Amnesia is another option to the mix which would allow you to get as many boosts as you wanted instead of the normal cap of three that Stockpile has. It is also possible to run a stall set that uses Toxic and Flash or Substitute instead of Swords Dance; however,(comma) you might as well set up Lileep if you can stall.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>The #1 counter to Lileep is Snover;(semi colon) it not only does it stop sandstorm,(comma) but it can OHKO Lileep with a STAB Blizzard. You will want to get rid of it and have sand presence before you set up Lileep,(comma) otherwise it will switch in all day on you and make your life miserable.</p>

<p>Surprisingly, Dratini and Bagon are fairly decent counters to Lileep because of their ability to Dragon Dance in the face of Lileep while taking minimal damage even from a Swords Dance boosted Seed Bomb. Smart Dratini users will usually Dragon Dance up until they know you are in KO range for Outrage, but often, many will panic and immediately attack you, in which case you can Recover off most of the damage and then wear them down. Anything that can Toxic poison Lileep is also a pretty effective counter. The good news is that Toxic is fairly rare in Little Cup, along with the use of Toxic Spikes, so this is usually a minor threat; it is possible,(comma) however. Lastly, critical hits are the bane of Lileep's existence;(semi colon) it may sound silly, but often if a Lileep gets set up with 3 Stockpiles and a Swords Dance, it usually spells doom for your opponent unless that 6% chance saves them.</p>

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