Best lookin' broad in the hive
[Overview]
<p>Vespiquen is a rather unfortunate case. She was blessed with solid defensive stats, resistances to Fighting and Grass, and an immunity to Ground, but she also packs five unfortunate weaknesses. Rock, the most prominent of those weaknesses, is without a doubt the worst, causing the queen bee to lose half of her health if she switches in while Stealth Rock is up. Thankfully, Roost can make up for that loss of HP, and support options such as Toxic and the ability Pressure help her find a niche. She certainly demands all the respect that a queen would deserve, but keep in mind that she is ultimately just a bee, which is not the most threatening of foes.</p>
[SET]
name: SubRoost
move 1: Roost
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Toxic
move 4: Attack Order
item: Leftovers
ability: Pressure
nature: Careful
evs: 248 HP / 96 SpD / 164 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is the definitive set for Vespiquen. Roost is the most important move, as its health regeneration helps to make up for her crippling weakness to Stealth Rock. Substitute keeps her safe from status and weak attacks. Between these two moves, she can stall for ages. Toxic takes advantage of her stalling capabilities, slowly wearing down the foe as they fail to KO her and her Substitutes. Pressure is also a wonderful ability for a staller; with it, her foe can only attack with Stone Edge 4 times before their PP is used up. Attack Order rounds out the set, giving her the power to take out a worn down opponent and making sure she is not completely shut down by Taunt.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>With 248 HP EVs, Vespiquen can switch into Stealth Rock twice without dying or make up to 4 Substitutes. 164 Speed EVs allow her to outspeed and set up on minimum Speed Tangela and all slower threats. The nature and the rest of the EVs go into Special Defense for added bulk. Leftovers is undoubtedly her best item; it provides her with much needed extra health and allows her to create more Substitutes.</p>
<p>When using any wall with a 4x weakness to Stealth Rock, a spinner is mandatory. Wartortle is fairly bulky and resists Ice- and Fire-type moves that plague Vespiquen; in return, she can tank any Grass attack aimed at the turtle. Torkoal also resists Ice- and Fire-type attacks and has decent defenses. Its ability to draw Ground- and Fighting-type moves provide Vespiquen with the perfect opportunity to switch in. Natu is also capable of keeping Stealth Rock off the field, but it is generally less reliable than a spinner and shares several weaknesses with Vespiquen. Wish support from the likes of Audino and Alomomola is also welcome; the former often lures Fighting-type attacks while the latter can take Fire- and Ice-type assaults intended for Vespiquen.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>There are not many other options for Vespiquen. Protect is a great move for stalling if you already have Toxic support, but at that point stalling will be the only thing Vespiquen can do for your team. Confuse Ray is an option to help stall as well, but it is almost always inferior to Toxic and is somewhat unreliable. U-turn is useful for scouting, but Vespiquen isn't exactly known for keeping up offensive momentum and her weakness to Stealth Rock makes switching in repeatedly a poor choice. Struggle Bug will fail to kill pretty much anything, but lowering the opponent's Special Attack can help her tank hits even better. Defend Order can be used to boost her defenses, but she has trouble finding a moveslot for it. Finally, an offensive set using Hone Claws is an option; however, there are more threatening Pokemon that are better suited for such a role.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>The best way to counter Vespiquen is to get Stealth Rock up and force her to switch repeatedly. Any powerful physical Rock attacker, especially Rampardos, is bound to scare her off. Tough Fire-types, such as Magmortar and Emboar, can easily dethrone the queen as well. Steel- and Poison-types are immune to Toxic and resist Attack Order, making them ideal counters. Lairon and Bastiodon, in particular, can wall her all day and threaten back with STAB Rock-type moves. Weezing also tanks anything that Vespiquen can throw at it, and it usually carries Fire- or Electric-type attacks. Finally, Swellow grows more powerful if poisoned, resists Bug attacks, and has Brave Bird to quickly finish her off.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Unnerve is generally a much worse ability than Pressure, as PP stalling is what Vespiquen does best.</p>
