[OVERVIEW]
* Tapu Lele boasts powerful damage output with Psychic Terrain.
* Shattered Psyche is a big-damage nuke that destroys neutral targets.
* Tapu Lele has diverse options in its last moveslot and in its item choice, which makes it harder to predict.
* It locks out games by denying priority moves such as Feint and Fake Out.
* It struggles against Steel-types, which is a large flaw due to prevalence of Kartana and Celesteela in the metagame.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Dazzling Gleam
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Thunderbolt
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Modest
evs: 28 HP / 60 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 164 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Psychic is Tapu Lele's strongest STAB move, which is important for a Choice Scarf user that can easily outspeed and OHKO offensive Pokemon.
* Moonblast threatens Dark-types, such as Krookodile and Mandibuzz, which take no damage from Psychic. It also hits Dragon-types such as Garchomp super effectively.
* Dazzling Gleam is a fast spread move that cleans up weakened foes and spreads chip damage, and it cleans up late-game.
* Tapu Lele is extremely customizable with its last moveslot.
* Hidden Power Fire will pick up the surprise OHKO against Assault Vest Kartana.
* Thunderbolt does damage to Celesteela, but do note that Tapu Lele cannot 2HKO it depending on its Special Defense investment.
* There are tons of situational moves, including Energy Ball for Gastrodon and Shadow Ball for Metagross; while not exactly generally useful, these moves can see use to shore up weaknesses against them.
Set Details
========
* Psychic Surge is its only released ability; it boosts Psychic-type STAB moves and removes opposing Terrain.
* The EV spread allows Tapu Lele to outspeed maximum Speed neutral-natured Pheromosa and maximizes Special Attack. The remaining HP and Defense EVs let it avoid the OHKO from Araquanid's Liquidation.
* With a Timid nature, Tapu Lele instead will outspeed maximum Speed positive-natured Pheromosa, as well as providing more insurance versus opposing Choice Scarf users.
* Running a Modest nature with a spread of 180 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 68 Spe gives you a bulkier alternative that outspeeds most unboosted Pokemon, such as Tapu Koko.
Usage Tips
========
* Psychic Terrain activating reveals Tapu Lele's Speed against other Pokemon with abilities that announce itself. Keep in mind that if you are leading with Tapu Lele against Pokemon such as Tapu Koko and Salamence, your opponent will see that Tapu Lele is faster than those Pokemon and thus easily deduce that you are running Choice Scarf.
* Leading with Tapu Lele with an offensive partner such as Pheromosa will put your opponent under offensive pressure, as both Pokemon will go before the opponent's and threaten to KO the foes before they can move.
* Tapu Lele also pairs well with more defensive teams that appreciate its ability to outspeed and OHKO Pokemon such as Tapu Koko, Groundium Z Garchomp, and Fightinium Z Pheromosa before they do irreparable damage to your defensive core.
* If your opponent does not have a way to tell whether Tapu Lele is holding a Choice Scarf, it is possible to pick up surprise KOs early on in the game.
* Alternatively, use Choice Scarf Tapu Lele's high Speed to clean up late-game—it can OHKO offensive Pokemon like 0 HP Tapu Koko with Psychic in Psychic Terrain.
* Due to Tapu Lele's high Speed, switch it in if you really want the Terrain control, such as when you suspect a Fake Out from an opposing Pokemon or you want to clear opposing Terrain in order to use a sleep move against Tapu Koko or Tapu Fini.
Team Options
========
* This set works well in offensive teams.
* Offensive Pokemon appreciate the priority immunity on top of the chip damage Tapu Lele can spread.
* Pheromosa + Tapu Lele and Gengar + Tapu Lele are examples of hyper offensive cores that appreciate Tapu Lele's ability to deny moves such as Fake Out. Z-Move Pheromosa can also KO most Trick Room users, which is helpful to this Tapu Lele set.
* There are other hyper offensive Pokemon that synergize with Tapu Lele.
* Aerodactyl is an example of a Pokemon that might not necessarily synergize well with Tapu Lele but can support the remainder of the offensive team.
* Torkoal + Lilligant + Tapu Lele can clear the field against Tapu Fini and Tapu Koko, letting Lilligant use Sleep Powder more freely.
* Raichu + Tapu Koko + Tapu Lele does struggle a bit against bulkier teams that resist Psychic and Electric moves, but it is still common enough to note.
* Bulkier teams also appreciate Choice Scarf Tapu Lele acting as a speed safety net and picking off offensive Pokemon before they move.
* Alolan Muk in particular appreciates Tapu Lele's ability to pick up swift KOs against to threatening Ground-types, such as Garchomp and Krookodile.
* Other bulky Pokemon such as Krookodile and Tapu Fini also appreciate Tapu Lele's ability to catch out opposing Kartana or Tapu Koko before they move.
[SET]
name: Psychium Z
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Taunt / Substitute / Reflect
move 4: Protect
item: Psychium Z
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Modest
evs: 164 HP / 92 Def / 252 SpA
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Psychic is a STAB move boosted by Psychic Terrain and hits everything very hard, especially with Psychium Z.
* Moonblast threatens Dark-types, such as Krookodile and Mandibuzz, which can waste the Shattered Psyche by switching in thanks to their immunity. It also hits Dragon-types such as Garchomp super effectively.
* Protect is used to protect Tapu Lele and help it with positioning against strong physical attackers.
* The last moveslot is extremely customizable.
* Taunt denies Trick Room and Tailwind from the likes of Porygon2 and Mandibuzz, respectively.
* Substitute takes advantage of Protects and switches forced by the threat of a fast OHKO from Shattered Psyche.
* Reflect and Light Screen are options that also similarly take advantage of Protects and switches, and they let Tapu Lele support the team after it has does its job of inflicting heavy damage on the opposing team.
Set Details
========
* Psychic Surge is its only released ability, and it boosts Psychic-type STAB moves and removes opposing Terrain.
* Psychium Z is the item of choice that allows Tapu Lele to pick up OHKOs against bulky Pokemon, such as Arcanine and Tapu Fini, in Psychic Terrain (note that because of Snarl and Misty Terrain, this does not happen very often).
* Tapu Lele is highly customizable in its EV spreads and has 2 main options: bulky and fast.
* Bulkier spreads with a Modest nature and heavy HP and Defense investment take advantage of Tapu Lele's ability to score OHKOs and shore up its defenses.
* With bulkier spreads such as 164 HP / 92 Def / 252 SpA, it is possible for Tapu Lele to avoid a 2HKO from Garchomp's Earthquake, but it will be slower than opposing Arcanine, Tapu Lele, and Krookodile.
* With even higher defensive investment, it is possible for Tapu Lele to survive stronger physical attacks as Kartana's Smart Strike, but this sacrifices a large amount of damage output.
* 28 HP / 44 Def / 228 SpA / 4 SpD / 204 Spe is a faster spread that lets Tapu Lele score the OHKO on most bulky Arcanine before Snarl lowers its Special Attack, or use Reflect / Light Screen before the opponent uses an attack.
* 228 Special Attack EVs let Tapu Lele OHKO maximum HP Tapu Fini and Araquanid in Psychic Terrain.
* 28 HP and 44 Defense EVs let Tapu Lele take a Liquidation from Araquanid.
Usage Tips
========
* Use the high burst damage output of Psychium Z + Psychic as a wallbreaking tool against hard-to-KO Pokemon such as Porygon2.
* The threat of a fast KO can put slower teams in a pinch, but defensive teams should have a way to absorb the Shattered Psyche with the likes of Celesteela and Alolan Muk.
* Watch out to not blow the Z-Move on a potential Alolan Muk switch-in or a Protect.
* Instead, try to pair it with a partner that can take advantage of the free turns given by these switches and Protects.
* It is even possible for Tapu Lele to take advantage of these free turns for its own, with Substitute or other supportive moves.
* Terrain control goes to slower Pokemon, so Tapu Fini and Tapu Bulu will usually take control of the Terrain if you lead with Tapu Lele against them, reducing its damage output severely.
* Against offensive teams, do not worry too much about keeping Psychic Terrain intact unless they are reliant on priority moves—the damage boost on Shattered Psyche is often overkill against frail Pokemon such as Tapu Koko.
* However, against bulky Pokemon such as Arcanine and Tapu Fini, Psychic Terrain's damage boost is quite helpful, if not necessary.
* Taunt on Tapu Lele lets it match up well against full Trick Room teams that rely on Fake Out + Trick Room setup.
Team Options
========
* Arcanine provides Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp support, augmenting Tapu Lele's defensive investments. Intimidate support lets it avoid the OHKO from strong super effective physical moves and shrug off weaker physical attacks with ease. Arcanine can also use Flamethrower to threaten Steel-types such as Celesteela and Kartana, which can beat Tapu Lele.
* Garchomp is a strong Ground-type that threatens Alolan Muk and Nihilego.
* Krookodile provides Intimidate as well as using Ground-type moves to KO Alolan Muk and Nihilego.
* Kartana synergizes fairly well with Tapu Lele in addition to Garchomp and Krookodile.
* Tapu Fini does not have notable typing synergy with Tapu Lele, but it synergizes with many of Tapu Lele's aforementioned teammates and will not go down to physical moves as easily as Tapu Lele.
* Tapu Koko provides a speed safety net, is faster than threats such as Kartana and Nihilego, and threatens Celesteela with heavy damage.
* Keep Terrain in mind as you play, particularly for double Tapus, as Shattered Psyche needs the Psychic Terrain boost to be a wallbreaking threat against insanely bulky Pokemon like Tapu Fini and Porygon2.
[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Thunderbolt / Dazzling Gleam
move 4: Protect
item: Life Orb
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Modest
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Psychic is Tapu Lele's strongest STAB move, and it is very threatening with Life Orb and the Psychic Terrain boost.
* Moonblast threatens Dark-types, such as Krookodile and Mandibuzz, which take no damage from Psychic. It also hits Dragon-types such as Garchomp super effectively.
* Notably with Life Orb, Moonblast does a lot of damage to Alolan Muk switch-ins, which typically feel quite safe against Tapu Lele.
* Protect is to protect Tapu Lele and help it with positioning against strong physical attackers.
* Thunderbolt does damage to Celesteela. With the extra damage boost from Life Orb, most Celesteela are threatened with a 2HKO.
* Alternatively, Dazzling Gleam provides a strong spread move, thanks to the Life Orb damage boost.
* There are tons of situational moves: Energy Ball is useful for Gastrodon, Shadow Ball hits Metagross and opposing Tapu Lele, and so forth. While these moves aren't exactly the most generally useful, they are situationally useful to cover the team's weaknesses.
Set Details
========
* Psychic Surge is its only released ability, boosts Psychic-type STAB moves, and removes opposing Terrain.
* Tapu Lele is highly customizable in its EV spreads and has two main options: fast and bulky.
* Faster spreads take advantage of Life Orb Tapu Lele's ability to act as a coverage attacker.
* The EV spread maximizes damage output and speed.
* 188 HP / 4 Def / 148 SpA / 4 SpD / 164 Spe with a Timid nature allows Tapu Lele to outspeed Modest maximum Speed Arcanine and Tapu Lele, lets it survive Tapu Bulu's Wood Hammer outside of Grassy Terrain, and minimizes Life Orb recoil.
* 108 HP / 4 Def / 220 SpA / 12 SpD / 164 Spe hits same Speed threshold but only invests in enough bulk to survive Focus Sash Nihilego's Sludge Bomb while also minimizing Life Orb recoil.
* Bulkier spreads can also be used, but heavy defensive investment is counterintuitive because Life Orb will eat into the defensive investment.
Usage Tips
========
* Life Orb Tapu Lele enjoys being able to consistently deal a high amount of damage without relying on the single-turn burst of Psychium Z.
* Life Orb Tapu Lele appreciates the Terrain control with Psychic Terrain to consistently deal a high amount of neutral damage over multiple turns with Psychic. Still, its other moves can do a lot of damage outside of Psychic Terrain thanks to Life Orb.
* Life Orb provides good damage on its coverage moves such as Thunderbolt, which 2HKOes Tapu Fini and Celesteela. This allows Life Orb Tapu Lele to act as a good coverage attacker.
* Alternatively, using Dazzling Gleam lets Tapu Lele act as a general attacker, with a way to spread damage for teammates and pick up double KOs with a strong spread move.
Team Options
========
* Arcanine provides Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp support, letting Tapu Lele avoid the OHKO from strong physical moves such as Celesteela's Heavy Slam. It can also use Flamethrower to threaten Steel-types such as Celesteela and Kartana, which can beat Tapu Lele.
* Garchomp and Krookodile are strong Ground-types that threaten Alolan Muk and Nihilego.
* Kartana synergizes fairly well with Tapu Lele in addition to the two teammates mentioned above.
* Garchomp, Krookodile, and Kartana all appreciate Life Orb-boosted Thunderbolt's ability to heavily dent Celesteela.
* Tapu Koko provides a speed safety net, is faster than threats such as Kartana and Nihilego, and threatens Celesteela with heavy damage.
* Faster cleaners such as Tapu Koko and Kartana appreciate Life Orb-boosted Dazzling Gleam's ability to spread a lot of damage and put foes in their KO range.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Other possibly viable sets include Choice Specs, bulky Sitrus or Iapapa Berry, and Calm Mind.
* A Choice Specs set does a lot of damage with Psychic, but the Choice lock and lack of Protect can be hard to work around.
* Nature Power is a flexible move for STAB and coverage for teams with another island guardian as Tapu Lele's partner.
* Nature's Madness does a lot of damage to potential checks, but Tapu Lele has coverage moves that can finish off those potential checks as well as deal damage on the switch.
* Focus Sash is a good item, but the damage boost from Psychium Z or Life Orb is important for offensive sets.
* Psyshock does more damage to specially defensive Pokemon, but it does less damage overall and has lower Base Power for Shattered Psyche.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Strong Physical Attackers**: Strong physical attacks from likes of Groundium Z Garchomp will heavily dent, if not flat out OHKO all but the physically bulkiest of Tapu Lele variants.
**Steel-types**: Assault Vest Kartana, Celesteela, and Metagross can tank Tapu Lele's STAB moves and threaten heavy damage in return with their Steel-type STAB moves.
**Poison-types**: Alolan Muk is immune to Psychic, so it can switch into Shattered Psyche, and Poison Jab will do big damage back. Nihilego outspeeds and will also do heavy damage with Sludge Bomb. Do note that both of them will not OHKO against bulky Tapu Lele.
**Ghost-types**: Pokemon such as Mimikyu and Gengar threaten Tapu Lele with heavy damage from super effective hits. In particular, Jolly Mimikyu can outspeed Tapu Lele and OHKO it with a Never-Ending Nightmare. Marowak is slower than Tapu Lele but can OHKO it with Shadow Bone in Trick Room and can be EVed to take a Psychic if Tapu Lele's Shattered Psyche is already used. However, they take a lot of damage from Tapu Lele.
**Opposing Terrain**: Pokemon such as Tapu Fini and Tapu Bulu take away the Psychic Terrain. While these Pokemon are not counters to Tapu Lele by any means, they dampen its damage potential and give their partners an easier time against it.
* Tapu Lele boasts powerful damage output with Psychic Terrain.
* Shattered Psyche is a big-damage nuke that destroys neutral targets.
* Tapu Lele has diverse options in its last moveslot and in its item choice, which makes it harder to predict.
* It locks out games by denying priority moves such as Feint and Fake Out.
* It struggles against Steel-types, which is a large flaw due to prevalence of Kartana and Celesteela in the metagame.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Dazzling Gleam
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Thunderbolt
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Modest
evs: 28 HP / 60 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 164 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Psychic is Tapu Lele's strongest STAB move, which is important for a Choice Scarf user that can easily outspeed and OHKO offensive Pokemon.
* Moonblast threatens Dark-types, such as Krookodile and Mandibuzz, which take no damage from Psychic. It also hits Dragon-types such as Garchomp super effectively.
* Dazzling Gleam is a fast spread move that cleans up weakened foes and spreads chip damage, and it cleans up late-game.
* Tapu Lele is extremely customizable with its last moveslot.
* Hidden Power Fire will pick up the surprise OHKO against Assault Vest Kartana.
* Thunderbolt does damage to Celesteela, but do note that Tapu Lele cannot 2HKO it depending on its Special Defense investment.
* There are tons of situational moves, including Energy Ball for Gastrodon and Shadow Ball for Metagross; while not exactly generally useful, these moves can see use to shore up weaknesses against them.
Set Details
========
* Psychic Surge is its only released ability; it boosts Psychic-type STAB moves and removes opposing Terrain.
* The EV spread allows Tapu Lele to outspeed maximum Speed neutral-natured Pheromosa and maximizes Special Attack. The remaining HP and Defense EVs let it avoid the OHKO from Araquanid's Liquidation.
* With a Timid nature, Tapu Lele instead will outspeed maximum Speed positive-natured Pheromosa, as well as providing more insurance versus opposing Choice Scarf users.
* Running a Modest nature with a spread of 180 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 68 Spe gives you a bulkier alternative that outspeeds most unboosted Pokemon, such as Tapu Koko.
Usage Tips
========
* Psychic Terrain activating reveals Tapu Lele's Speed against other Pokemon with abilities that announce itself. Keep in mind that if you are leading with Tapu Lele against Pokemon such as Tapu Koko and Salamence, your opponent will see that Tapu Lele is faster than those Pokemon and thus easily deduce that you are running Choice Scarf.
* Leading with Tapu Lele with an offensive partner such as Pheromosa will put your opponent under offensive pressure, as both Pokemon will go before the opponent's and threaten to KO the foes before they can move.
* Tapu Lele also pairs well with more defensive teams that appreciate its ability to outspeed and OHKO Pokemon such as Tapu Koko, Groundium Z Garchomp, and Fightinium Z Pheromosa before they do irreparable damage to your defensive core.
* If your opponent does not have a way to tell whether Tapu Lele is holding a Choice Scarf, it is possible to pick up surprise KOs early on in the game.
* Alternatively, use Choice Scarf Tapu Lele's high Speed to clean up late-game—it can OHKO offensive Pokemon like 0 HP Tapu Koko with Psychic in Psychic Terrain.
* Due to Tapu Lele's high Speed, switch it in if you really want the Terrain control, such as when you suspect a Fake Out from an opposing Pokemon or you want to clear opposing Terrain in order to use a sleep move against Tapu Koko or Tapu Fini.
Team Options
========
* This set works well in offensive teams.
* Offensive Pokemon appreciate the priority immunity on top of the chip damage Tapu Lele can spread.
* Pheromosa + Tapu Lele and Gengar + Tapu Lele are examples of hyper offensive cores that appreciate Tapu Lele's ability to deny moves such as Fake Out. Z-Move Pheromosa can also KO most Trick Room users, which is helpful to this Tapu Lele set.
* There are other hyper offensive Pokemon that synergize with Tapu Lele.
* Aerodactyl is an example of a Pokemon that might not necessarily synergize well with Tapu Lele but can support the remainder of the offensive team.
* Torkoal + Lilligant + Tapu Lele can clear the field against Tapu Fini and Tapu Koko, letting Lilligant use Sleep Powder more freely.
* Raichu + Tapu Koko + Tapu Lele does struggle a bit against bulkier teams that resist Psychic and Electric moves, but it is still common enough to note.
* Bulkier teams also appreciate Choice Scarf Tapu Lele acting as a speed safety net and picking off offensive Pokemon before they move.
* Alolan Muk in particular appreciates Tapu Lele's ability to pick up swift KOs against to threatening Ground-types, such as Garchomp and Krookodile.
* Other bulky Pokemon such as Krookodile and Tapu Fini also appreciate Tapu Lele's ability to catch out opposing Kartana or Tapu Koko before they move.
[SET]
name: Psychium Z
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Taunt / Substitute / Reflect
move 4: Protect
item: Psychium Z
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Modest
evs: 164 HP / 92 Def / 252 SpA
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Psychic is a STAB move boosted by Psychic Terrain and hits everything very hard, especially with Psychium Z.
* Moonblast threatens Dark-types, such as Krookodile and Mandibuzz, which can waste the Shattered Psyche by switching in thanks to their immunity. It also hits Dragon-types such as Garchomp super effectively.
* Protect is used to protect Tapu Lele and help it with positioning against strong physical attackers.
* The last moveslot is extremely customizable.
* Taunt denies Trick Room and Tailwind from the likes of Porygon2 and Mandibuzz, respectively.
* Substitute takes advantage of Protects and switches forced by the threat of a fast OHKO from Shattered Psyche.
* Reflect and Light Screen are options that also similarly take advantage of Protects and switches, and they let Tapu Lele support the team after it has does its job of inflicting heavy damage on the opposing team.
Set Details
========
* Psychic Surge is its only released ability, and it boosts Psychic-type STAB moves and removes opposing Terrain.
* Psychium Z is the item of choice that allows Tapu Lele to pick up OHKOs against bulky Pokemon, such as Arcanine and Tapu Fini, in Psychic Terrain (note that because of Snarl and Misty Terrain, this does not happen very often).
* Tapu Lele is highly customizable in its EV spreads and has 2 main options: bulky and fast.
* Bulkier spreads with a Modest nature and heavy HP and Defense investment take advantage of Tapu Lele's ability to score OHKOs and shore up its defenses.
* With bulkier spreads such as 164 HP / 92 Def / 252 SpA, it is possible for Tapu Lele to avoid a 2HKO from Garchomp's Earthquake, but it will be slower than opposing Arcanine, Tapu Lele, and Krookodile.
* With even higher defensive investment, it is possible for Tapu Lele to survive stronger physical attacks as Kartana's Smart Strike, but this sacrifices a large amount of damage output.
* 28 HP / 44 Def / 228 SpA / 4 SpD / 204 Spe is a faster spread that lets Tapu Lele score the OHKO on most bulky Arcanine before Snarl lowers its Special Attack, or use Reflect / Light Screen before the opponent uses an attack.
* 228 Special Attack EVs let Tapu Lele OHKO maximum HP Tapu Fini and Araquanid in Psychic Terrain.
* 28 HP and 44 Defense EVs let Tapu Lele take a Liquidation from Araquanid.
Usage Tips
========
* Use the high burst damage output of Psychium Z + Psychic as a wallbreaking tool against hard-to-KO Pokemon such as Porygon2.
* The threat of a fast KO can put slower teams in a pinch, but defensive teams should have a way to absorb the Shattered Psyche with the likes of Celesteela and Alolan Muk.
* Watch out to not blow the Z-Move on a potential Alolan Muk switch-in or a Protect.
* Instead, try to pair it with a partner that can take advantage of the free turns given by these switches and Protects.
* It is even possible for Tapu Lele to take advantage of these free turns for its own, with Substitute or other supportive moves.
* Terrain control goes to slower Pokemon, so Tapu Fini and Tapu Bulu will usually take control of the Terrain if you lead with Tapu Lele against them, reducing its damage output severely.
* Against offensive teams, do not worry too much about keeping Psychic Terrain intact unless they are reliant on priority moves—the damage boost on Shattered Psyche is often overkill against frail Pokemon such as Tapu Koko.
* However, against bulky Pokemon such as Arcanine and Tapu Fini, Psychic Terrain's damage boost is quite helpful, if not necessary.
* Taunt on Tapu Lele lets it match up well against full Trick Room teams that rely on Fake Out + Trick Room setup.
Team Options
========
* Arcanine provides Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp support, augmenting Tapu Lele's defensive investments. Intimidate support lets it avoid the OHKO from strong super effective physical moves and shrug off weaker physical attacks with ease. Arcanine can also use Flamethrower to threaten Steel-types such as Celesteela and Kartana, which can beat Tapu Lele.
* Garchomp is a strong Ground-type that threatens Alolan Muk and Nihilego.
* Krookodile provides Intimidate as well as using Ground-type moves to KO Alolan Muk and Nihilego.
* Kartana synergizes fairly well with Tapu Lele in addition to Garchomp and Krookodile.
* Tapu Fini does not have notable typing synergy with Tapu Lele, but it synergizes with many of Tapu Lele's aforementioned teammates and will not go down to physical moves as easily as Tapu Lele.
* Tapu Koko provides a speed safety net, is faster than threats such as Kartana and Nihilego, and threatens Celesteela with heavy damage.
* Keep Terrain in mind as you play, particularly for double Tapus, as Shattered Psyche needs the Psychic Terrain boost to be a wallbreaking threat against insanely bulky Pokemon like Tapu Fini and Porygon2.
[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Thunderbolt / Dazzling Gleam
move 4: Protect
item: Life Orb
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Modest
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Psychic is Tapu Lele's strongest STAB move, and it is very threatening with Life Orb and the Psychic Terrain boost.
* Moonblast threatens Dark-types, such as Krookodile and Mandibuzz, which take no damage from Psychic. It also hits Dragon-types such as Garchomp super effectively.
* Notably with Life Orb, Moonblast does a lot of damage to Alolan Muk switch-ins, which typically feel quite safe against Tapu Lele.
* Protect is to protect Tapu Lele and help it with positioning against strong physical attackers.
* Thunderbolt does damage to Celesteela. With the extra damage boost from Life Orb, most Celesteela are threatened with a 2HKO.
* Alternatively, Dazzling Gleam provides a strong spread move, thanks to the Life Orb damage boost.
* There are tons of situational moves: Energy Ball is useful for Gastrodon, Shadow Ball hits Metagross and opposing Tapu Lele, and so forth. While these moves aren't exactly the most generally useful, they are situationally useful to cover the team's weaknesses.
Set Details
========
* Psychic Surge is its only released ability, boosts Psychic-type STAB moves, and removes opposing Terrain.
* Tapu Lele is highly customizable in its EV spreads and has two main options: fast and bulky.
* Faster spreads take advantage of Life Orb Tapu Lele's ability to act as a coverage attacker.
* The EV spread maximizes damage output and speed.
* 188 HP / 4 Def / 148 SpA / 4 SpD / 164 Spe with a Timid nature allows Tapu Lele to outspeed Modest maximum Speed Arcanine and Tapu Lele, lets it survive Tapu Bulu's Wood Hammer outside of Grassy Terrain, and minimizes Life Orb recoil.
* 108 HP / 4 Def / 220 SpA / 12 SpD / 164 Spe hits same Speed threshold but only invests in enough bulk to survive Focus Sash Nihilego's Sludge Bomb while also minimizing Life Orb recoil.
* Bulkier spreads can also be used, but heavy defensive investment is counterintuitive because Life Orb will eat into the defensive investment.
Usage Tips
========
* Life Orb Tapu Lele enjoys being able to consistently deal a high amount of damage without relying on the single-turn burst of Psychium Z.
* Life Orb Tapu Lele appreciates the Terrain control with Psychic Terrain to consistently deal a high amount of neutral damage over multiple turns with Psychic. Still, its other moves can do a lot of damage outside of Psychic Terrain thanks to Life Orb.
* Life Orb provides good damage on its coverage moves such as Thunderbolt, which 2HKOes Tapu Fini and Celesteela. This allows Life Orb Tapu Lele to act as a good coverage attacker.
* Alternatively, using Dazzling Gleam lets Tapu Lele act as a general attacker, with a way to spread damage for teammates and pick up double KOs with a strong spread move.
Team Options
========
* Arcanine provides Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp support, letting Tapu Lele avoid the OHKO from strong physical moves such as Celesteela's Heavy Slam. It can also use Flamethrower to threaten Steel-types such as Celesteela and Kartana, which can beat Tapu Lele.
* Garchomp and Krookodile are strong Ground-types that threaten Alolan Muk and Nihilego.
* Kartana synergizes fairly well with Tapu Lele in addition to the two teammates mentioned above.
* Garchomp, Krookodile, and Kartana all appreciate Life Orb-boosted Thunderbolt's ability to heavily dent Celesteela.
* Tapu Koko provides a speed safety net, is faster than threats such as Kartana and Nihilego, and threatens Celesteela with heavy damage.
* Faster cleaners such as Tapu Koko and Kartana appreciate Life Orb-boosted Dazzling Gleam's ability to spread a lot of damage and put foes in their KO range.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Other possibly viable sets include Choice Specs, bulky Sitrus or Iapapa Berry, and Calm Mind.
* A Choice Specs set does a lot of damage with Psychic, but the Choice lock and lack of Protect can be hard to work around.
* Nature Power is a flexible move for STAB and coverage for teams with another island guardian as Tapu Lele's partner.
* Nature's Madness does a lot of damage to potential checks, but Tapu Lele has coverage moves that can finish off those potential checks as well as deal damage on the switch.
* Focus Sash is a good item, but the damage boost from Psychium Z or Life Orb is important for offensive sets.
* Psyshock does more damage to specially defensive Pokemon, but it does less damage overall and has lower Base Power for Shattered Psyche.
Checks and Counters
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**Strong Physical Attackers**: Strong physical attacks from likes of Groundium Z Garchomp will heavily dent, if not flat out OHKO all but the physically bulkiest of Tapu Lele variants.
**Steel-types**: Assault Vest Kartana, Celesteela, and Metagross can tank Tapu Lele's STAB moves and threaten heavy damage in return with their Steel-type STAB moves.
**Poison-types**: Alolan Muk is immune to Psychic, so it can switch into Shattered Psyche, and Poison Jab will do big damage back. Nihilego outspeeds and will also do heavy damage with Sludge Bomb. Do note that both of them will not OHKO against bulky Tapu Lele.
**Ghost-types**: Pokemon such as Mimikyu and Gengar threaten Tapu Lele with heavy damage from super effective hits. In particular, Jolly Mimikyu can outspeed Tapu Lele and OHKO it with a Never-Ending Nightmare. Marowak is slower than Tapu Lele but can OHKO it with Shadow Bone in Trick Room and can be EVed to take a Psychic if Tapu Lele's Shattered Psyche is already used. However, they take a lot of damage from Tapu Lele.
**Opposing Terrain**: Pokemon such as Tapu Fini and Tapu Bulu take away the Psychic Terrain. While these Pokemon are not counters to Tapu Lele by any means, they dampen its damage potential and give their partners an easier time against it.
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