QC: Magnemite / Montsegur / Anty
GP: GatoDelFuego / The Dutch Plumberjack
Gud plant
Overview
########
Although Victreebel faces competition from Leafeon and Sawsbuck as a physical sun sweeper, it does not as a special one, and it also has a Poison-type STAB move as well as strong priority in Sucker Punch over Leafeon and Sawsbuck. With Victreebel's high-powered attacks and great Special Attack, it can easily blow holes in the opponent's team for a teammate to sweep. Its typing is also pretty good, with nice resistances, most notably to Fighting, Water, and Electric. However, the sun sweeper set is quite useless when sun is not up, because without it Victreebel is quite slow and can't use its high powered attacks. Victreebel struggles with priority due to its frailty, especially Ice Shard. Victreebel is also not very hard to wall by dedicated special walls if lacking Growth or if something has already been put to sleep. Its frailty and Life Orb damage make Victreebel easy to wear down as well, and it has some trouble with common threats such as Sneasel, Purugly, and Tauros.
Sun Sweeper
########
name: Sun Sweeper
move 1: Solar Beam / Energy Ball
move 2: Weather Ball
move 3: Sludge Bomb / Sunny Day
move 4: Sleep Powder / Growth
ability: Chlorophyll
item: Life Orb
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Modest
Moves
========
Solar Beam is Vicreebel's strongest and most spammable move under the sun, but it can be replaced with Energy Ball for a more reliable Grass-type STAB move, as it is still fairly powerful and can be used outside of sun. Weather Ball is a powerful move that hits Steel-type Pokemon such as Metang and Klang hard when sun is up and has great neutral coverage with Solar Beam. Sludge Bomb is the preferred move in the third moveslot, as it's a secondary STAB move that hits Dragon-types such as Fraxure hard and is Victreebel's only way of harming Togetic. Sunny Day is an alternative option to not be completely reliant on team support. In the fourth moveslot, Sleep Powder is the first move you should consider, because it puts Pokemon Victreebel can not easily defeat, such as Lickilicky, to sleep and gets around Sucker Punch. The alternative move you could use in this moveslot is Growth, which boosts Victreebels offensive stats by two in the sun; however, it is not preferred, as Victreebel has a hard time setting up and still struggles against dedicated walls.
Set Details
========
A Life Orb is the preferred item to do as much damage as possible without being locked into a move. A Modest nature and full investment into Special Attack maxes out the damage Victreebel does, and full Speed investment is to make Victreebel as fast as possible under the sun and Speed tie with Adamant Choice Scarf Tauros.
Usage Tips
========
Make sure that the sun is always up when Victreebel is in the field, for without sun this set is quite useless. Victreebel's bulk is far from impressive, so if using Growth be careful when setting up on offensive Pokemon. Try to give it free switches with suicide leads such as Carbink and Golem, as it does not appreciate taking even resisted hits. If you really have to, only switch in on Pokemon that can not do much against it, such as Bastiodon, Simisage, Tangela, or Prinplup. Victreebel is best used early- and mid-game to sweep the opposing team or weaken walls for another Pokemon to sweep. Make use of Sleep Powder by putting predicted special wall switch-ins to sleep and switching to something that can beat them.
Team Options
========
This set is only meant to be used on dedicated sun teams, so dedicated sun setters such as Volbeat, Carbink, Murkrow, and Golem are no-brainers and the first teammates you should think about. Fire-type Pokemon to take advantage the sun with such as Flareon, Simisear, and Ninetales are obviously good teammates as well. A second Chlorophyll Pokemon is important, as with only one sun is not nearly as threatening. Sawsbuck and Leafeon are the only other viable users, making them almost mandatory as teammates. Entry hazard setters such as the aforementioned Carbink and Golem help Victreebel score some extra OHKOs and 2HKOs against Pokemon such as Pelipper and Togetic and helps break Focus Sashes.
Mixed Attacker
########
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Leaf Blade / Power Whip
move 2: Sucker Punch / Knock Off
move 3: Sludge Bomb
move 4: Sleep Powder / Swords Dance
ability: Chlorophyll
item: Life Orb
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Naughty
Moves
========
Leaf Blade is the preferred Grass-type STAB move, as it is compatible with Sucker Punch unlike Power Whip. Power Whip is stronger, however, and should be used if using Knock Off over Sucker Punch. Sucker Punch is a strong priority move that helps Victreebel defeat faster Pokemon such as Zebstrika and Kadabra, but Knock Off can be used to beat Pokemon such as Gourgeist and Duosion that won't necessarily attack, and it is generally a nice utility move to take away items. Sludge Bomb is a secondary STAB move that deals special damage and does a lot of damage to Togetic and Tangela. Sleep Powder is useful to disable Pokemon Victreebel can not easily defeat, such as Bastiodon and Arbok, while Swords Dance boosts its Attack stat to even higher levels and makes it easier for Victreebel to sweep teams.
Set Details
========
Life Orb is the preferred item to do as much damage as possible without being locked into a move. Full Attack investment with a Naughty nature is to deal heavy damage, and 252 Speed EVs are to outspeed as much as possible, because Victreebel does not like taking hits due to its bad defensive stats.
Usage Tips
========
Do not believe that just because Victreebel has Sucker Punch it it is always going to KO the opponent's Pokemon, as it lacks STAB and one of the most relevant faster Pokemon, Sneasel, actually resists it. This set can be used to bait Pokemon such as Grumpig and Tangela, opening the way for a teammate to sweep. Victreebel appreciates free switch-ins with Volt Switch, U-turn, suicide leads, or by sending it in after one of your other Pokemon has fainted. If you absolutely have to switch it into a Pokemon, make sure that the opposing Pokemon can not harm Victreebel too much, because it does not like taking STAB, and even neutral, resisted hits. Wear the opponent's Pokemon down before you attempt a sweep, because if Victreebel fails to KO it is most likely getting KOed itself. Predict well, because if you do not Victreebel will have taken Life Orb damage for nothing. This set works best early- or mid-game to surprise the walls mentioned above.
Team Options
========
Fighting-types such as Throh and Poliwrath can deal with Ice-type Pokemon, especially Sneasel, which can revenge kill Victreebel with Ice Shard. Fire-types such as Ninetales and Flareon can cover Victreebel's Fire-type weakness, and they can potentially grab a Flash Fire boost too. Rock-type Pokemon such as Carracosta and Golem can deal with Flying-types and Fire-types and set up on them, and Dark-type Pokemon such as Sneasel as well as Steel-type Pokemon such as Metang can switch into Psychic-types. Pokemon that can lay entry hazards such as Piloswine and Golem increase Victreebel's chances of breaking through walls like Pelipper and Gourgeist. U-turn and Volt Switch users such as Scyther and Raichu are nice teammates because they wear down the foe and can give Victreebel free switches, something it greatly appreciates. Although this set does not rely on sun, having a teammate with Sunny Day can still be game-changing. Pokemon that have counters that Victreebel baits and cripples or defeats, such as Raichu and Aurorus, appreciate this set's ability to lure common answers to the sun sweeper set.
Other Options
########
Giga Drain is a reliable STAB move that works outside of the sun and recovers HP too. Leaf Storm could be used for a one-time powerful attack outside of the sun, but it makes Victreebel setup fodder afterwards. Encore can create free turns for teammates to set up. A Substitute + Salac Berry set could be a dangerous sweeper if allowed to set up. Belch is an interesting move that could be used with a Substitute + Salac Berry set, but it is unreliable, for it does not work unless Victreebel has consumed a berry.
Checks & Counters
########
**Strong Priority**: Strong priority users such as Sneasel and Piloswine are able to force Victreebel out quite easily with Ice Shard. If at lower health, other strong priority users such as Choice Band Scyther and Dusknoir can do the same with Quick Attack and Shadow Sneak, respectively. Fake Out Purugly can be annoying to Victreebel too, stalling out sun turns while doing damage.
**Paralysis**: Pokemon that can paralyze Victreebel, such as Volbeat, Grumpig, and Arbok, can be considered good checks, as paralysis prevents Victreebel from sweeping by slowing it down and thus making it practically useless.
**Special Walls**: Special walls such as Lickylicky and Grumpig can wall the sun sweeper set and stall it out, phaze it, or cripple it with status if another Pokemon has already been put to sleep. Sliggoo deserves a special mention because it takes very little from anything the sun sweeper set can do.
**Faster Pokemon**: Many Pokemon can outspeed Victreebel outside of the sun and easily KO it. Examples of these are Ninetales, Kadabra, Dodrio, and Tauros. It should be noted that a Jolly Tauros equipped with a Choice Scarf is faster than Victreebel even in the sun and has a very good chance to KO Victreebel with Double-Edge after one round of Life Orb recoil.
GP: GatoDelFuego / The Dutch Plumberjack
Gud plant
Overview
########
Although Victreebel faces competition from Leafeon and Sawsbuck as a physical sun sweeper, it does not as a special one, and it also has a Poison-type STAB move as well as strong priority in Sucker Punch over Leafeon and Sawsbuck. With Victreebel's high-powered attacks and great Special Attack, it can easily blow holes in the opponent's team for a teammate to sweep. Its typing is also pretty good, with nice resistances, most notably to Fighting, Water, and Electric. However, the sun sweeper set is quite useless when sun is not up, because without it Victreebel is quite slow and can't use its high powered attacks. Victreebel struggles with priority due to its frailty, especially Ice Shard. Victreebel is also not very hard to wall by dedicated special walls if lacking Growth or if something has already been put to sleep. Its frailty and Life Orb damage make Victreebel easy to wear down as well, and it has some trouble with common threats such as Sneasel, Purugly, and Tauros.
Sun Sweeper
########
name: Sun Sweeper
move 1: Solar Beam / Energy Ball
move 2: Weather Ball
move 3: Sludge Bomb / Sunny Day
move 4: Sleep Powder / Growth
ability: Chlorophyll
item: Life Orb
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Modest
Moves
========
Solar Beam is Vicreebel's strongest and most spammable move under the sun, but it can be replaced with Energy Ball for a more reliable Grass-type STAB move, as it is still fairly powerful and can be used outside of sun. Weather Ball is a powerful move that hits Steel-type Pokemon such as Metang and Klang hard when sun is up and has great neutral coverage with Solar Beam. Sludge Bomb is the preferred move in the third moveslot, as it's a secondary STAB move that hits Dragon-types such as Fraxure hard and is Victreebel's only way of harming Togetic. Sunny Day is an alternative option to not be completely reliant on team support. In the fourth moveslot, Sleep Powder is the first move you should consider, because it puts Pokemon Victreebel can not easily defeat, such as Lickilicky, to sleep and gets around Sucker Punch. The alternative move you could use in this moveslot is Growth, which boosts Victreebels offensive stats by two in the sun; however, it is not preferred, as Victreebel has a hard time setting up and still struggles against dedicated walls.
Set Details
========
A Life Orb is the preferred item to do as much damage as possible without being locked into a move. A Modest nature and full investment into Special Attack maxes out the damage Victreebel does, and full Speed investment is to make Victreebel as fast as possible under the sun and Speed tie with Adamant Choice Scarf Tauros.
Usage Tips
========
Make sure that the sun is always up when Victreebel is in the field, for without sun this set is quite useless. Victreebel's bulk is far from impressive, so if using Growth be careful when setting up on offensive Pokemon. Try to give it free switches with suicide leads such as Carbink and Golem, as it does not appreciate taking even resisted hits. If you really have to, only switch in on Pokemon that can not do much against it, such as Bastiodon, Simisage, Tangela, or Prinplup. Victreebel is best used early- and mid-game to sweep the opposing team or weaken walls for another Pokemon to sweep. Make use of Sleep Powder by putting predicted special wall switch-ins to sleep and switching to something that can beat them.
Team Options
========
This set is only meant to be used on dedicated sun teams, so dedicated sun setters such as Volbeat, Carbink, Murkrow, and Golem are no-brainers and the first teammates you should think about. Fire-type Pokemon to take advantage the sun with such as Flareon, Simisear, and Ninetales are obviously good teammates as well. A second Chlorophyll Pokemon is important, as with only one sun is not nearly as threatening. Sawsbuck and Leafeon are the only other viable users, making them almost mandatory as teammates. Entry hazard setters such as the aforementioned Carbink and Golem help Victreebel score some extra OHKOs and 2HKOs against Pokemon such as Pelipper and Togetic and helps break Focus Sashes.
Mixed Attacker
########
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Leaf Blade / Power Whip
move 2: Sucker Punch / Knock Off
move 3: Sludge Bomb
move 4: Sleep Powder / Swords Dance
ability: Chlorophyll
item: Life Orb
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Naughty
Moves
========
Leaf Blade is the preferred Grass-type STAB move, as it is compatible with Sucker Punch unlike Power Whip. Power Whip is stronger, however, and should be used if using Knock Off over Sucker Punch. Sucker Punch is a strong priority move that helps Victreebel defeat faster Pokemon such as Zebstrika and Kadabra, but Knock Off can be used to beat Pokemon such as Gourgeist and Duosion that won't necessarily attack, and it is generally a nice utility move to take away items. Sludge Bomb is a secondary STAB move that deals special damage and does a lot of damage to Togetic and Tangela. Sleep Powder is useful to disable Pokemon Victreebel can not easily defeat, such as Bastiodon and Arbok, while Swords Dance boosts its Attack stat to even higher levels and makes it easier for Victreebel to sweep teams.
Set Details
========
Life Orb is the preferred item to do as much damage as possible without being locked into a move. Full Attack investment with a Naughty nature is to deal heavy damage, and 252 Speed EVs are to outspeed as much as possible, because Victreebel does not like taking hits due to its bad defensive stats.
Usage Tips
========
Do not believe that just because Victreebel has Sucker Punch it it is always going to KO the opponent's Pokemon, as it lacks STAB and one of the most relevant faster Pokemon, Sneasel, actually resists it. This set can be used to bait Pokemon such as Grumpig and Tangela, opening the way for a teammate to sweep. Victreebel appreciates free switch-ins with Volt Switch, U-turn, suicide leads, or by sending it in after one of your other Pokemon has fainted. If you absolutely have to switch it into a Pokemon, make sure that the opposing Pokemon can not harm Victreebel too much, because it does not like taking STAB, and even neutral, resisted hits. Wear the opponent's Pokemon down before you attempt a sweep, because if Victreebel fails to KO it is most likely getting KOed itself. Predict well, because if you do not Victreebel will have taken Life Orb damage for nothing. This set works best early- or mid-game to surprise the walls mentioned above.
Team Options
========
Fighting-types such as Throh and Poliwrath can deal with Ice-type Pokemon, especially Sneasel, which can revenge kill Victreebel with Ice Shard. Fire-types such as Ninetales and Flareon can cover Victreebel's Fire-type weakness, and they can potentially grab a Flash Fire boost too. Rock-type Pokemon such as Carracosta and Golem can deal with Flying-types and Fire-types and set up on them, and Dark-type Pokemon such as Sneasel as well as Steel-type Pokemon such as Metang can switch into Psychic-types. Pokemon that can lay entry hazards such as Piloswine and Golem increase Victreebel's chances of breaking through walls like Pelipper and Gourgeist. U-turn and Volt Switch users such as Scyther and Raichu are nice teammates because they wear down the foe and can give Victreebel free switches, something it greatly appreciates. Although this set does not rely on sun, having a teammate with Sunny Day can still be game-changing. Pokemon that have counters that Victreebel baits and cripples or defeats, such as Raichu and Aurorus, appreciate this set's ability to lure common answers to the sun sweeper set.
Other Options
########
Giga Drain is a reliable STAB move that works outside of the sun and recovers HP too. Leaf Storm could be used for a one-time powerful attack outside of the sun, but it makes Victreebel setup fodder afterwards. Encore can create free turns for teammates to set up. A Substitute + Salac Berry set could be a dangerous sweeper if allowed to set up. Belch is an interesting move that could be used with a Substitute + Salac Berry set, but it is unreliable, for it does not work unless Victreebel has consumed a berry.
Checks & Counters
########
**Strong Priority**: Strong priority users such as Sneasel and Piloswine are able to force Victreebel out quite easily with Ice Shard. If at lower health, other strong priority users such as Choice Band Scyther and Dusknoir can do the same with Quick Attack and Shadow Sneak, respectively. Fake Out Purugly can be annoying to Victreebel too, stalling out sun turns while doing damage.
**Paralysis**: Pokemon that can paralyze Victreebel, such as Volbeat, Grumpig, and Arbok, can be considered good checks, as paralysis prevents Victreebel from sweeping by slowing it down and thus making it practically useless.
**Special Walls**: Special walls such as Lickylicky and Grumpig can wall the sun sweeper set and stall it out, phaze it, or cripple it with status if another Pokemon has already been put to sleep. Sliggoo deserves a special mention because it takes very little from anything the sun sweeper set can do.
**Faster Pokemon**: Many Pokemon can outspeed Victreebel outside of the sun and easily KO it. Examples of these are Ninetales, Kadabra, Dodrio, and Tauros. It should be noted that a Jolly Tauros equipped with a Choice Scarf is faster than Victreebel even in the sun and has a very good chance to KO Victreebel with Double-Edge after one round of Life Orb recoil.
Last edited:
