[OVERVIEW]
Victini's main claim to fame is its access to V-create, one of the most powerful moves in Pokemon. Thanks to this, alongside its wide movepool, it can act as a solid wallbreaker, with barely any truly reliable counters to its name. Moreover, it has a decent typing with good resistances to common types such as Fairy, Fire, Steel, Psychic, and Fighting alongside good natural bulk, which enables it to check big threats such as Scizor, Mega Metagross, Mega Gardevoir, Breloom, and Clefable lacking Thunder Wave. Unfortunately, it suffers from a large number of flaws, such as V-create's Speed drop, which makes Victini very exploitable after using it. And while its Speed is good, it doesn't match up to many OU threats such as Latios, Keldeo, and Starmie, which can revenge kill it easily. Its typing also leaves it weak to common offensive types like Water, Ground, and Dark, which in turn makes it vulnerable to many common Pokemon such as Landorus-T, Azumarill, and Garchomp. Furthermore, its role as a wallbreaker is severely hindered by its weakness to Stealth Rock, as well as the popularity of Choice Scarf Tyranitar, which can Pursuit trap it.
[SET]
name: MixTini
move 1: V-create
move 2: Bolt Strike
move 3: Glaciate
move 4: Energy Ball / Grass Knot
item: Life Orb
ability: Victory Star
nature: Naive / Hasty
evs: 96 Atk / 160 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
V-create is Victini's main STAB move, bringing extremely high Base Power and having perfect accuracy with Victory Star. Bolt Strike is a powerful coverage move that hits Water-types such as Manaphy, Azumarill, Keldeo, and Starmie as well as Talonflame super effectively. Glaciate enables Victini to hit Dragon-types such as Garchomp, Latios, and Latias, as well as certain Ground-types that are physically bulky enough to comfortably switch into V-create like Landorus-T and Gliscor. It can also slow down faster foes such as Keldeo and Starmie, enabling Victini to outspeed them on the next turn. Energy Ball allows Victini to 2HKO standard Hippowdon, Rotom-W, and Slowbro, which otherwise wall it, as well as hit other physically bulky Water-types such as Suicune, Quagsire, and Gastrodon. Grass Knot can be use over Energy Ball in order to hit Hippowdon, Tyranitar, Mega Slowbro, and Suicune harder; however, it deals less damage to Slowbro and little-to-no damage to Rotom-W. Focus Blast can also be used to 2HKO Heatran and Tyranitar; however, both still takes a lot of damage from Life Orb-boosted Bolt Strike and Energy Ball, respectively.
Set Details
========
Life Orb increases Victini's damage output without locking it into a move, making it much easier for it to wallbreak. An Expert Belt can be chosen in order to bluff a Choiced set more easily, as well as prevent Victini from being worn down via recoil, while still dealing a solid amount of damage to Glaciate and Grass Knot targets, but this makes a neutral V-create significantly weaker and requires more Special Attack investment to 2HKO or OHKO the likes of Latios and Landorus-T. Victory Star makes it so that V-create and Glaciate can never miss and increases the accuracy of Bolt Strike to 92%. This EV spread enables Victini to 2HKO Slowbro and Hippowdon with Energy Ball, OHKO defensive Landorus-T after Stealth Rock, 2HKO Latios after Stealth Rock, and OHKO Naive Garchomp with Glaciate, all the while hitting as hard as possible with physical moves. A Naive nature guarantees that Victini will survive Hippowdon's Earthquake from full health after Life Orb and sand damage, enabling it to beat it one-on-one. It also helps against other physical attackers like Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Talonflame. However, a Hasty nature is preferred if Victini serves as the team's main check to special attackers such as Clefable, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Charizard Y.
Usage Tips
========
V-create is a relatively difficult move to switch into, since most Pokemon that resist it either lack recovery and bulk, meaning they can take it only a couple of times, or are slower than Victini even after the Speed drop and can be hit by the appropriate coverage move next turn. This makes it a worthwhile move to use most of the time. If faster Fire-resistant foes such as Latios, Keldeo, and Talonflame or bulkier Pokemon that can easily take V-create such as Heatran, Tyranitar, and Garchomp are still active, try to predict around them. Otherwise, you should only attempt to hit what Victini is facing with the appropriate coverage move. Glaciate is a good move to use on forced switches, since not only does it 2HKO a handful of Victini's switchins, but it also slows down checks like Keldeo, Choice Scarf Tyranitar, and Choice Scarf Heatran, which eases prediction against them, as they can be hit by the appropriate coverage move the following turn. However, if the opponent is using a Glaciate target, you may want to scout their reaction to Victini before revealing it. This works better on bulky teams, which can give Victini multiple opportunities to come in, especially if VoltTurn support is employed. Grass coverage and Bolt Strike should rarely be used on switches, since most of their targets already take massive damage from these moves and can just be hit with them next turn. The only notable exceptions are Slowbro and, if Victini is weakened to the point where Brave Bird KOes it, Talonflame. Mixed Victini is at its most effective against defensive teams, so when facing those, try keeping it healthy until its checks have been weakened. Against offensive teams, Victini should take advantage of Glaciate in order to help teammates that would want certain offensive Pokemon to be slowed down. Try not to send out Victini when Pursuit trappers are still active, since they can remove it from play, especially Choice Scarf Tyranitar, which switches into it quite easily.
Team Options
========
Victini fits well on more offensive teams that require a wallbreaker with the usual defensive qualities associated with a Fire- or Psychic- type, such as the ability to check certain Fairy-, Steel-, Fighting-, and Fire-types. Victini's weakness to Pursuit users and Dark-types in general requires it to be paired with a Dark-type check that can take advantage of these such as Keldeo, Mega Lopunny, or Azumarill. Victini hugely benefits from VoltTurn support, since it has trouble finding opportunities to switch in due to its typing, Stealth Rock weakness, and relatively low Speed. Teammates that benefit from bulky Ground- and Water-types being eliminated, such as Mega Lopunny, Mega Charizard X, Excadrill, and Mega Metagross, appreciate Victini's support. Due to its weakness to Stealth Rock, Victini requires support from an entry hazard remover such as Excadrill, Latios, or Starmie; however, the latter two stack a crippling Dark weakness with Victini. Electric-types like Raikou, Mega Manectric, and Thundurus are also great partners, since Victini can lure the Ground- and Dragon-types that check them, all the while enjoying Volt Switch support. Landorus-T is a good teammate for Victini, since it provides U-turn support to enable Victini to get on the field safely, checks Excadrill and Tyranitar, and benefits from Garchomp, opposing Landorus-T, Hippowdon, and bulky Water-types being eliminated by Victini. Victini enjoys Spikes support, since it can quickly wear down checks to it such as Heatran, Tyranitar, Keldeo, Azumarill, and Suicune, as well as lure Latios, Latias, and Starmie, all three of which are common hazard removers.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: V-create
move 2: Bolt Strike
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Band
ability: Victory Star
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
V-create is Victini's most powerful STAB move by far; it is incredibly strong and 2HKOes almost all Pokemon that do not resist it. Bolt Strike is a very strong coverage move that hits Water-types such as Manaphy, Keldeo, Azumarill, and Slowbro super effectively. It also gets good neutral coverage on other Pokemon that resist Fire such as Heatran and Rotom-W. U-turn enables Victini to hit Latios, Latias, and Tyranitar very hard, wear down checks like Rotom-W, and take advantage of forced switches by getting a teammate in for free, thus generating momentum for the team. Trick can disable defensive Pokemon like Quagsire and Heatran. It also lets Victini get rid of its Choice lock, which may be beneficial against slower teams that can easily play around it. Zen Headbutt can be used in order to 2HKO Mega Charizard X, which otherwise walls Victini. Brick Break hits Heatran and Tyranitar super effectively; however, both of these are already hit very hard by Bolt Strike.
Set Details
========
Choice Band enables Victini to hit incredibly hard, especially with V-create. It is preferred over a Life Orb because the lack of recoil gives Victini more longevity and makes it harder to wear down, which in turn makes it a more consistent check to the likes of Clefable and Ferrothorn. Victory Star increases the accuracy of V-create and Bolt Strike. Maximum Attack and Speed investment lets Victini hit as hard as possible. A Jolly nature enables Victini to Speed tie with opposing positive-natured base 100 Pokemon, particularly Manaphy. However, an Adamant nature can also be chosen in order to give Victini even more firepower; for instance, it can 2HKO Rotom-W after Stealth Rock damage much more easily.
Usage Tips
========
You should always remove entry hazards before sending Victini in, since the residual damage will severely compromise its role as a wallbreaker and U-turn user by preventing it from outlasting its checks. V-create should be used when Pokemon that resist Fire are gone or weakened to the point where V-create will KO them. Use U-turn early on in the battle in order to weaken Victini's checks, ease prediction, and let a teammate come in for free. U-turn is especially good against Pokemon that cannot deal much damage to Victini and must therefore switch out. Don't rely on U-turn too much, though, since the opponent may predict it and stay in, preventing you from reliably gaining momentum. Trick is a good move to use if Victini would benefit more from the ability to switch moves than the raw power brought by the Choice Band. It is particularly useful against stall teams, whose answers to Victini are usually severely crippled by Trick. Against more offensive teams whose Fire-type checks lack reliable recovery, V-create is a very safe move to use, unless the opposing team has Heatran or Garchomp. In the latter case, Victini should not be sent out at all, unless your team would benefit from Garchomp being weakened at the cost of losing Victini. Use Bolt Strike when you predict Talonflame, Heatran, or bulky Water-types that are not part Ground-types to switch in. However, it is usually better to use U-turn early on in the battle, in order to gauge the opponent's reaction to Victini, and use Bolt Strike later on.
Team Options
========
Victini fits well on offensive teams that require a physical wallbreaker that can weaken Pokemon like Landorus-T and Hippowdon so that other Pokemon can sweep, all the while serving as a decent check to certain Fairy-, Fire-, Fighting-, and Steel- types. Fighting-types such as Keldeo, Mega Lopunny, and Terrakion can take advantage of Pursuit trappers, which can easily remove Victini after it KOes a Pokemon. Victini is severely hampered by Garchomp's presence on the opposing team in general, so something that can weaken Garchomp, such as Ice Punch Lopunny, Ice Punch Metagross, or Swords Dance Landorus-T, can also help it considerably by quickly and painlessly removing it. Entry hazards are extremely crippling for Victini, since it has a Stealth Rock weakness and must switch out often due to its Choice lock. Hence, Victini should be paired up with a hazard remover, such as Skarmory. Spikes and Toxic Spikes really help Victini by wearing down or disabling checks to it such as Garchomp and Quagsire. However, if they are used, a spinner such as Excadrill is preferred over a Defogger. Bisharp is a particularly good partner for Victini because it not only deters hazard removal with Defiant but also helps wear down other checks such as Garchomp, Hippowdon, and Keldeo. Victini is very weak to sand teams and requires a check to Sand Rush Excadrill, such as Azumarill, Breloom, Rotom-W, or Mega Alakazam. Victini works very well in VoltTurn cores due to its access to U-turn as well as its low Speed making it difficult for it to come in without support from a slow pivot. As a result, U-turn or Volt Switch users such as Landorus-T, Scizor, Tornadus-T, and Mega Manectric are all good partners. Grass-types help Victini handle the Water- and Ground-types it tends to struggle with. Celebi is particularly good at supporting Victini, since not only can it help it come in for free via Baton Pass, but it can also pass it a Swords Dance boost, rendering its V-create extremely powerful.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Victini can use a Choice Scarf set; however, it's severely lacking in power when compared to other sets, it lacks the typing to revenge kill a lot of sweepers, and its Stealth Rock weakness makes it a poor offensive pivot. Trick Room is an option to take advantage of V-create's Speed drops, but Victini is a bit fast for that.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Pursuit Trappers**: Pursuit trappers can permanently remove Victini from play, making them big threats to it. Choice Scarf Tyranitar can switch in on any move bar Focus Blast, OHKO Victini with a boosted Pursuit if it has used V-create prior, and is guaranteed to OHKO it with Stone Edge after Sandstorm damage. While Bisharp cannot switch in on Victini, if it has KOed something with V-create, it can outspeed it and OHKO it with a boosted Pursuit. Weavile, on the other hand, just needs a free switch in on Victini to be guaranteed outspeed it and OHKO it with Pursuit if it tries to switch out
**Dragon-types**: Dragon-types resist both V-create and Bolt Strike, Victini's two primary moves, making them good answers to it. Mega Charizard X is one of the safest answers to Victini, since it resists V-create and takes, at worst, neutral damage from all of its coverage moves, meaning it only fears an uncommon Psychic-type STAB move. Mega Latias is a surefire answer to the Life Orb set, taking little damage from Glaciate and resisting all its other moves; however, it struggles to switch into U-turn from the Choice Band set. Conversely, Garchomp is a full stop to the Choice Band set thanks to Rough Skin giving Victini a huge amount of recoil; however, it cannot switch into Glaciate. Still, it survives one from full health and can OHKO back with Earthquake, and offensive sets will always beat Victini by outspeeding and OHKOing it. Latios and Latias act as good checks to Victini and deal massive damage to it with Draco Meteor; however, they fear both Glaciate and U-turn. Mega Altaria does a good job of switching into almost all of Victini's moves and doesn't even fear Glaciate much so long as it runs enough bulk investment. Dragonite can take V-create relatively well, but it fears Choice Band-boosted Bolt Strike and Glaciate, especially if its Multiscale is broken.
**Water-types**: Water-types can easily take V-create from the Choice Band set; however, they are not good checks to the Life Orb set, since they fear either Bolt Strike or Energy Ball. Mega Slowbro has just enough bulk to take a Choice Band-boosted Bolt Strike, but it goes down to Grass Knot or Energy Ball from the Life Orb set. Regular Slowbro, Alomomola, and Suicune can take V-create and U-turn decently, but are all 2HKOed by Choice Band-boosted Bolt Strike and Life Orb Energy Ball. Quagsire and Gastrodon only fear Trick from the Choice Band set, but they too fear Grass coverage from the mixed set. Keldeo can take take neither Bolt Strike nor Energy Ball, but it can switch into V-create and OHKO back with Hydro Pump. Furthermore, Choice Scarf Keldeo does not fear Icy Wind, since it outspeeds Victini even after the Speed drop. In the same vein, Starmie can switch into V-create and OHKO Victini back; however, Choice Band-boosted V-create can OHKO the offensive set after Stealth Rock damage, and Starmie can't take U-turn from it at all. Rotom-W acts as a decent check to the Choice Band set, but it can get worn down by repeated U-turns and takes a huge amount of damage from Bolt Strike. Azumarill and Crawdaunt can take V-create from Victini, and, after the Defense drop, OHKO back with Choice Band-boosted Aqua Jet. Manaphy can switch into V-create, outspeed Victini, and OHKO it back with Scald, while Mega Gyarados has the bulk to take any move from Victini and OHKO back with Crunch or Waterfall. Rain sweepers like Kingdra, Kabutops, and Mega Swampert can easily check Victini, especially Kingdra, which takes neutral damage from both Bolt Strike and Energy Ball.
**Heatran**: Heatran's Fire immunity and neutrality to Victini's other common moves make it a good check; however, it does take a huge amount of damage from Choice Band-boosted Bolt Strike.
**Ground-types**: Ground-types naturally act as good checks to Victini thanks to their natural bulk, Electric immunity, and access to super effective STAB moves. Defensive Landorus-T can take one V-create from the Choice Band set and OHKO back, and while it can't take Glaciate from the Life Orb set, if it's running Choice Scarf, it can switch in on any other move from that set, outspeed it, and OHKO it. Gliscor, much like Landorus-T, can't take two V-creates from Choice Band Victini, but it can take one if it's physically defensive and is almost guaranteed to OHKO back with Earthquake. Hippowdon can't take two V-creates from the Choice Band set or two Grass moves from the Life Orb set, however; it can take one and deal massive damage back with Earthquake.
**Rock-types**: While they are uncommon, Rock-types usually serve as good check to Victini. Mega Diancie can take any move from Victini, including Energy Ball, and OHKO back with Diamond Storm. Mega Aerodactyl and Terrakion both fear Bolt Strike and Icy Wind, but they can take any other move and OHKO with Stone Edge.
**Faster Attackers and Choice Scarf users**: While they cannot necessarily switch into it, many faster attackers can revenge kill Victini, such as Excadrill under sand, Talonflame, Choice Scarf Hoopa-U, and Choice Scarf Hydreigon.
Victini's main claim to fame is its access to V-create, one of the most powerful moves in Pokemon. Thanks to this, alongside its wide movepool, it can act as a solid wallbreaker, with barely any truly reliable counters to its name. Moreover, it has a decent typing with good resistances to common types such as Fairy, Fire, Steel, Psychic, and Fighting alongside good natural bulk, which enables it to check big threats such as Scizor, Mega Metagross, Mega Gardevoir, Breloom, and Clefable lacking Thunder Wave. Unfortunately, it suffers from a large number of flaws, such as V-create's Speed drop, which makes Victini very exploitable after using it. And while its Speed is good, it doesn't match up to many OU threats such as Latios, Keldeo, and Starmie, which can revenge kill it easily. Its typing also leaves it weak to common offensive types like Water, Ground, and Dark, which in turn makes it vulnerable to many common Pokemon such as Landorus-T, Azumarill, and Garchomp. Furthermore, its role as a wallbreaker is severely hindered by its weakness to Stealth Rock, as well as the popularity of Choice Scarf Tyranitar, which can Pursuit trap it.
[SET]
name: MixTini
move 1: V-create
move 2: Bolt Strike
move 3: Glaciate
move 4: Energy Ball / Grass Knot
item: Life Orb
ability: Victory Star
nature: Naive / Hasty
evs: 96 Atk / 160 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
V-create is Victini's main STAB move, bringing extremely high Base Power and having perfect accuracy with Victory Star. Bolt Strike is a powerful coverage move that hits Water-types such as Manaphy, Azumarill, Keldeo, and Starmie as well as Talonflame super effectively. Glaciate enables Victini to hit Dragon-types such as Garchomp, Latios, and Latias, as well as certain Ground-types that are physically bulky enough to comfortably switch into V-create like Landorus-T and Gliscor. It can also slow down faster foes such as Keldeo and Starmie, enabling Victini to outspeed them on the next turn. Energy Ball allows Victini to 2HKO standard Hippowdon, Rotom-W, and Slowbro, which otherwise wall it, as well as hit other physically bulky Water-types such as Suicune, Quagsire, and Gastrodon. Grass Knot can be use over Energy Ball in order to hit Hippowdon, Tyranitar, Mega Slowbro, and Suicune harder; however, it deals less damage to Slowbro and little-to-no damage to Rotom-W. Focus Blast can also be used to 2HKO Heatran and Tyranitar; however, both still takes a lot of damage from Life Orb-boosted Bolt Strike and Energy Ball, respectively.
Set Details
========
Life Orb increases Victini's damage output without locking it into a move, making it much easier for it to wallbreak. An Expert Belt can be chosen in order to bluff a Choiced set more easily, as well as prevent Victini from being worn down via recoil, while still dealing a solid amount of damage to Glaciate and Grass Knot targets, but this makes a neutral V-create significantly weaker and requires more Special Attack investment to 2HKO or OHKO the likes of Latios and Landorus-T. Victory Star makes it so that V-create and Glaciate can never miss and increases the accuracy of Bolt Strike to 92%. This EV spread enables Victini to 2HKO Slowbro and Hippowdon with Energy Ball, OHKO defensive Landorus-T after Stealth Rock, 2HKO Latios after Stealth Rock, and OHKO Naive Garchomp with Glaciate, all the while hitting as hard as possible with physical moves. A Naive nature guarantees that Victini will survive Hippowdon's Earthquake from full health after Life Orb and sand damage, enabling it to beat it one-on-one. It also helps against other physical attackers like Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Talonflame. However, a Hasty nature is preferred if Victini serves as the team's main check to special attackers such as Clefable, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Charizard Y.
Usage Tips
========
V-create is a relatively difficult move to switch into, since most Pokemon that resist it either lack recovery and bulk, meaning they can take it only a couple of times, or are slower than Victini even after the Speed drop and can be hit by the appropriate coverage move next turn. This makes it a worthwhile move to use most of the time. If faster Fire-resistant foes such as Latios, Keldeo, and Talonflame or bulkier Pokemon that can easily take V-create such as Heatran, Tyranitar, and Garchomp are still active, try to predict around them. Otherwise, you should only attempt to hit what Victini is facing with the appropriate coverage move. Glaciate is a good move to use on forced switches, since not only does it 2HKO a handful of Victini's switchins, but it also slows down checks like Keldeo, Choice Scarf Tyranitar, and Choice Scarf Heatran, which eases prediction against them, as they can be hit by the appropriate coverage move the following turn. However, if the opponent is using a Glaciate target, you may want to scout their reaction to Victini before revealing it. This works better on bulky teams, which can give Victini multiple opportunities to come in, especially if VoltTurn support is employed. Grass coverage and Bolt Strike should rarely be used on switches, since most of their targets already take massive damage from these moves and can just be hit with them next turn. The only notable exceptions are Slowbro and, if Victini is weakened to the point where Brave Bird KOes it, Talonflame. Mixed Victini is at its most effective against defensive teams, so when facing those, try keeping it healthy until its checks have been weakened. Against offensive teams, Victini should take advantage of Glaciate in order to help teammates that would want certain offensive Pokemon to be slowed down. Try not to send out Victini when Pursuit trappers are still active, since they can remove it from play, especially Choice Scarf Tyranitar, which switches into it quite easily.
Team Options
========
Victini fits well on more offensive teams that require a wallbreaker with the usual defensive qualities associated with a Fire- or Psychic- type, such as the ability to check certain Fairy-, Steel-, Fighting-, and Fire-types. Victini's weakness to Pursuit users and Dark-types in general requires it to be paired with a Dark-type check that can take advantage of these such as Keldeo, Mega Lopunny, or Azumarill. Victini hugely benefits from VoltTurn support, since it has trouble finding opportunities to switch in due to its typing, Stealth Rock weakness, and relatively low Speed. Teammates that benefit from bulky Ground- and Water-types being eliminated, such as Mega Lopunny, Mega Charizard X, Excadrill, and Mega Metagross, appreciate Victini's support. Due to its weakness to Stealth Rock, Victini requires support from an entry hazard remover such as Excadrill, Latios, or Starmie; however, the latter two stack a crippling Dark weakness with Victini. Electric-types like Raikou, Mega Manectric, and Thundurus are also great partners, since Victini can lure the Ground- and Dragon-types that check them, all the while enjoying Volt Switch support. Landorus-T is a good teammate for Victini, since it provides U-turn support to enable Victini to get on the field safely, checks Excadrill and Tyranitar, and benefits from Garchomp, opposing Landorus-T, Hippowdon, and bulky Water-types being eliminated by Victini. Victini enjoys Spikes support, since it can quickly wear down checks to it such as Heatran, Tyranitar, Keldeo, Azumarill, and Suicune, as well as lure Latios, Latias, and Starmie, all three of which are common hazard removers.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: V-create
move 2: Bolt Strike
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Band
ability: Victory Star
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
V-create is Victini's most powerful STAB move by far; it is incredibly strong and 2HKOes almost all Pokemon that do not resist it. Bolt Strike is a very strong coverage move that hits Water-types such as Manaphy, Keldeo, Azumarill, and Slowbro super effectively. It also gets good neutral coverage on other Pokemon that resist Fire such as Heatran and Rotom-W. U-turn enables Victini to hit Latios, Latias, and Tyranitar very hard, wear down checks like Rotom-W, and take advantage of forced switches by getting a teammate in for free, thus generating momentum for the team. Trick can disable defensive Pokemon like Quagsire and Heatran. It also lets Victini get rid of its Choice lock, which may be beneficial against slower teams that can easily play around it. Zen Headbutt can be used in order to 2HKO Mega Charizard X, which otherwise walls Victini. Brick Break hits Heatran and Tyranitar super effectively; however, both of these are already hit very hard by Bolt Strike.
Set Details
========
Choice Band enables Victini to hit incredibly hard, especially with V-create. It is preferred over a Life Orb because the lack of recoil gives Victini more longevity and makes it harder to wear down, which in turn makes it a more consistent check to the likes of Clefable and Ferrothorn. Victory Star increases the accuracy of V-create and Bolt Strike. Maximum Attack and Speed investment lets Victini hit as hard as possible. A Jolly nature enables Victini to Speed tie with opposing positive-natured base 100 Pokemon, particularly Manaphy. However, an Adamant nature can also be chosen in order to give Victini even more firepower; for instance, it can 2HKO Rotom-W after Stealth Rock damage much more easily.
Usage Tips
========
You should always remove entry hazards before sending Victini in, since the residual damage will severely compromise its role as a wallbreaker and U-turn user by preventing it from outlasting its checks. V-create should be used when Pokemon that resist Fire are gone or weakened to the point where V-create will KO them. Use U-turn early on in the battle in order to weaken Victini's checks, ease prediction, and let a teammate come in for free. U-turn is especially good against Pokemon that cannot deal much damage to Victini and must therefore switch out. Don't rely on U-turn too much, though, since the opponent may predict it and stay in, preventing you from reliably gaining momentum. Trick is a good move to use if Victini would benefit more from the ability to switch moves than the raw power brought by the Choice Band. It is particularly useful against stall teams, whose answers to Victini are usually severely crippled by Trick. Against more offensive teams whose Fire-type checks lack reliable recovery, V-create is a very safe move to use, unless the opposing team has Heatran or Garchomp. In the latter case, Victini should not be sent out at all, unless your team would benefit from Garchomp being weakened at the cost of losing Victini. Use Bolt Strike when you predict Talonflame, Heatran, or bulky Water-types that are not part Ground-types to switch in. However, it is usually better to use U-turn early on in the battle, in order to gauge the opponent's reaction to Victini, and use Bolt Strike later on.
Team Options
========
Victini fits well on offensive teams that require a physical wallbreaker that can weaken Pokemon like Landorus-T and Hippowdon so that other Pokemon can sweep, all the while serving as a decent check to certain Fairy-, Fire-, Fighting-, and Steel- types. Fighting-types such as Keldeo, Mega Lopunny, and Terrakion can take advantage of Pursuit trappers, which can easily remove Victini after it KOes a Pokemon. Victini is severely hampered by Garchomp's presence on the opposing team in general, so something that can weaken Garchomp, such as Ice Punch Lopunny, Ice Punch Metagross, or Swords Dance Landorus-T, can also help it considerably by quickly and painlessly removing it. Entry hazards are extremely crippling for Victini, since it has a Stealth Rock weakness and must switch out often due to its Choice lock. Hence, Victini should be paired up with a hazard remover, such as Skarmory. Spikes and Toxic Spikes really help Victini by wearing down or disabling checks to it such as Garchomp and Quagsire. However, if they are used, a spinner such as Excadrill is preferred over a Defogger. Bisharp is a particularly good partner for Victini because it not only deters hazard removal with Defiant but also helps wear down other checks such as Garchomp, Hippowdon, and Keldeo. Victini is very weak to sand teams and requires a check to Sand Rush Excadrill, such as Azumarill, Breloom, Rotom-W, or Mega Alakazam. Victini works very well in VoltTurn cores due to its access to U-turn as well as its low Speed making it difficult for it to come in without support from a slow pivot. As a result, U-turn or Volt Switch users such as Landorus-T, Scizor, Tornadus-T, and Mega Manectric are all good partners. Grass-types help Victini handle the Water- and Ground-types it tends to struggle with. Celebi is particularly good at supporting Victini, since not only can it help it come in for free via Baton Pass, but it can also pass it a Swords Dance boost, rendering its V-create extremely powerful.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Victini can use a Choice Scarf set; however, it's severely lacking in power when compared to other sets, it lacks the typing to revenge kill a lot of sweepers, and its Stealth Rock weakness makes it a poor offensive pivot. Trick Room is an option to take advantage of V-create's Speed drops, but Victini is a bit fast for that.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Pursuit Trappers**: Pursuit trappers can permanently remove Victini from play, making them big threats to it. Choice Scarf Tyranitar can switch in on any move bar Focus Blast, OHKO Victini with a boosted Pursuit if it has used V-create prior, and is guaranteed to OHKO it with Stone Edge after Sandstorm damage. While Bisharp cannot switch in on Victini, if it has KOed something with V-create, it can outspeed it and OHKO it with a boosted Pursuit. Weavile, on the other hand, just needs a free switch in on Victini to be guaranteed outspeed it and OHKO it with Pursuit if it tries to switch out
**Dragon-types**: Dragon-types resist both V-create and Bolt Strike, Victini's two primary moves, making them good answers to it. Mega Charizard X is one of the safest answers to Victini, since it resists V-create and takes, at worst, neutral damage from all of its coverage moves, meaning it only fears an uncommon Psychic-type STAB move. Mega Latias is a surefire answer to the Life Orb set, taking little damage from Glaciate and resisting all its other moves; however, it struggles to switch into U-turn from the Choice Band set. Conversely, Garchomp is a full stop to the Choice Band set thanks to Rough Skin giving Victini a huge amount of recoil; however, it cannot switch into Glaciate. Still, it survives one from full health and can OHKO back with Earthquake, and offensive sets will always beat Victini by outspeeding and OHKOing it. Latios and Latias act as good checks to Victini and deal massive damage to it with Draco Meteor; however, they fear both Glaciate and U-turn. Mega Altaria does a good job of switching into almost all of Victini's moves and doesn't even fear Glaciate much so long as it runs enough bulk investment. Dragonite can take V-create relatively well, but it fears Choice Band-boosted Bolt Strike and Glaciate, especially if its Multiscale is broken.
**Water-types**: Water-types can easily take V-create from the Choice Band set; however, they are not good checks to the Life Orb set, since they fear either Bolt Strike or Energy Ball. Mega Slowbro has just enough bulk to take a Choice Band-boosted Bolt Strike, but it goes down to Grass Knot or Energy Ball from the Life Orb set. Regular Slowbro, Alomomola, and Suicune can take V-create and U-turn decently, but are all 2HKOed by Choice Band-boosted Bolt Strike and Life Orb Energy Ball. Quagsire and Gastrodon only fear Trick from the Choice Band set, but they too fear Grass coverage from the mixed set. Keldeo can take take neither Bolt Strike nor Energy Ball, but it can switch into V-create and OHKO back with Hydro Pump. Furthermore, Choice Scarf Keldeo does not fear Icy Wind, since it outspeeds Victini even after the Speed drop. In the same vein, Starmie can switch into V-create and OHKO Victini back; however, Choice Band-boosted V-create can OHKO the offensive set after Stealth Rock damage, and Starmie can't take U-turn from it at all. Rotom-W acts as a decent check to the Choice Band set, but it can get worn down by repeated U-turns and takes a huge amount of damage from Bolt Strike. Azumarill and Crawdaunt can take V-create from Victini, and, after the Defense drop, OHKO back with Choice Band-boosted Aqua Jet. Manaphy can switch into V-create, outspeed Victini, and OHKO it back with Scald, while Mega Gyarados has the bulk to take any move from Victini and OHKO back with Crunch or Waterfall. Rain sweepers like Kingdra, Kabutops, and Mega Swampert can easily check Victini, especially Kingdra, which takes neutral damage from both Bolt Strike and Energy Ball.
**Heatran**: Heatran's Fire immunity and neutrality to Victini's other common moves make it a good check; however, it does take a huge amount of damage from Choice Band-boosted Bolt Strike.
**Ground-types**: Ground-types naturally act as good checks to Victini thanks to their natural bulk, Electric immunity, and access to super effective STAB moves. Defensive Landorus-T can take one V-create from the Choice Band set and OHKO back, and while it can't take Glaciate from the Life Orb set, if it's running Choice Scarf, it can switch in on any other move from that set, outspeed it, and OHKO it. Gliscor, much like Landorus-T, can't take two V-creates from Choice Band Victini, but it can take one if it's physically defensive and is almost guaranteed to OHKO back with Earthquake. Hippowdon can't take two V-creates from the Choice Band set or two Grass moves from the Life Orb set, however; it can take one and deal massive damage back with Earthquake.
**Rock-types**: While they are uncommon, Rock-types usually serve as good check to Victini. Mega Diancie can take any move from Victini, including Energy Ball, and OHKO back with Diamond Storm. Mega Aerodactyl and Terrakion both fear Bolt Strike and Icy Wind, but they can take any other move and OHKO with Stone Edge.
**Faster Attackers and Choice Scarf users**: While they cannot necessarily switch into it, many faster attackers can revenge kill Victini, such as Excadrill under sand, Talonflame, Choice Scarf Hoopa-U, and Choice Scarf Hydreigon.
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