Lileep Analysis: http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/lileep
[Overview]
<p>Lileep is a curious Pokemon in the Little Cup tier because in order to fully use its sweeping potential, you need to pair it with certain Pokemon. The main component to any Lileep team is Hippoptas due to its ability to activate sandstorm, which raises 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 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
EVs: 228 HP / 220 Def / 60 SpD
Nature: Impish
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>One of the most despised sets in Little Cup for its ability to turn a “won” match into a quick loss. The 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 your bulky EV spread you are reaching 26 HP, 18 Def, and 24 SpD under sandstorm condition before you even begin 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 take you down. Their only hope is a lucky critical hit. After that, sweep with Seed Bomb, which reaches 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>
[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
evs: 228 HP / 36 SpA / 220 SpD
nature: Calm
[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 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 significant damage.</p>
<p>The novelty in the set lies in that fact that nothing can really OHKO Lileep except for a Snover's Blizzard. 228 HP and 220 Special Defense EVs allow it to survive a Houndour's and Chimchar's Overheat, activating Oran Berry. The extra EVs are put into Special Attack to give a little extra power.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>You can alternatively use Giga Drain instead of Energy Ball which sacrifices power for the ability to heal a little bit, as it still OHKOes Kabuto and Omastar, and takes a significant chunk from Phanpy. Hidden Power Rock is also another option that gives you 10 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>
[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.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Lileep has some other interesting options. Curse cuts down on the set-up time, but leaves you 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 228 HP / 220 SpD / 60 Def EV spread. You can also possibly add Amnesia 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.</p>
<p> It is also possible to run a stall set that uses Toxic and Flash or Substitute instead of Swords Dance; however you might as well set up Lileep if you can stall.</p>
[Counters]
<p>The #1 counter to Lileep is Snover. It not only stops sandstorm but it can OHKO with a STAB Blizzard. You will want to get rid of him and have sand presence before you set up Lileep. 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 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.</p>
<p>Anything that can Toxic 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 however.</p>
<p>Lastly, critical hits are the bane of Lileep. 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>
