Victreebel (Update)


Victreebel

Coolking49 got the analysis through QC, was given to Alonsoforever to write up, then was given to me due to inactivity. I took YaM's version of the analysis, and proofread it from there. Credits to Coolking49 and YaM!

[Overview]

<p>Victreebel has always been thought of as a run-of-the-mill Chlorophyll abuser. That has been the truth for most of Generation Four. However, with the advent of HeartGold and SoulSilver, Victreebel finally gained new toys to separate it from the rest of the pack: Leaf Blade and Weather Ball. With great offensive base stats of 105 Attack and 100 Special Attack, a revamped movepool, and Chlorophyll, Victreebel can be a fearsome sweeper under the sun.</p>

<p>On the other hand, Victreebel's defenses are mediocre at best, and even with its good support movepool, it cannot stand up to the hard hitters in the UU metagame. In the absence of sun, Victreebel's below average Speed stat is also exposed. While resistances to common priority moves such as Aqua Jet, Vacuum Wave, and Mach Punch increase its survivability while sweeping, Victreebel is still easily revenge killed after the sun fades away.</p>

[SET]
name: Special Sweeper
move 1: SolarBeam
move 2: Weather Ball
move 3: Sleep Powder
move 4: Hidden Power Rock
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Modest
evs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>With Sunny Day up, Victreebel can become a very powerful special sweeper, abusing its decent base 100 Special Attack stat and doubled Speed thanks to Chlorophyll. SolarBeam is its main attack since Victreebel doesn't have to expend a turn on charging up the move while the sun is out. With 120 Base Power backed by STAB, it is easily capable of devastating Pokemon who don't resist it. Weather Ball is great on Victreebel as with Sunny Day active, it becomes a 100 Base Power Fire-type move receiving a 1.5x damage boost due to the sun, allowing Victreebel to destroy Grass-, Steel-, and Ice-type Pokemon. Sleep Powder can incapacitate one of its counters, allowing Victreebel to safely switch out to an appropriate answer to its counter. Hidden Power Rock hits Fire- and Flying-type Pokemon for super effective damage, who would otherwise cause problems for Victreebel.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EV spread lets Victreebel outspeed Choice Scarf Rotom under the sun, while the rest of the EVs are placed into HP for added bulk. Victreebel has many options for coverage. Hidden Power Ice allows Victreebel to defeat Dragon-type Pokemon that are resistant to Weather Ball and SolarBeam, such as Altaria. You can also use Sludge Bomb in the last slot as secondary STAB, as it is quite strong, and deals a lot of damage to Pokemon who resist its other moves. Life Orb gives Victreebel some much needed power. With Life Orb, you will always OHKO Electrode with SolarBeam, and always 2HKO 252 HP / 4 SpD Uxie after Stealth Rock damage, and do 57.1% - 67.6% to 252 HP / 252 SpD Careful Registeel.</p>

<p>Without the sun, a lot of Pokemon can outspeed and OHKO Victreebel. However, if Sunny Day is up, Victreebel outspeeds almost every Pokemon in the tier, and can put its counters to sleep with Sleep Powder, which is why Sunny Day support is essential. Moltres, Meganium, Uxie, and Porygon2 are fantastic choices to set up Sunny Day as they have reasonable bulk. Moltres can use Sunny Day to sweep or to support its teammates. Meganium is bulky and can use Sunny Day very well. Uxie has fantastic defenses, and it almost always can set up Sunny Day. Porygon2 is bulky and sets up Sunny Day well. It can also trace Flash Fire and then beat Arcanine and Houndoom.</p>

<p>Fast Fire-types with a Choice Scarf, such as Typhlosion, outspeed Victreebel and can knock it out with their powerful STAB attacks. For this reason, one might want to pack counters to Fire-type Pokemon on their team. Dugtrio can trap and KO most Fire-types, as well as Registeel, Chansey, and Clefable, making it a very good partner. Grumpig is an ideal counter to Fire-types due to Thick Fat, which halves damage from Fire-type moves, and a high Special Defense stat, allowing it to take their STAB attacks and hit back with STAB Psychic. Grumpig has the added bonus of resisting Ice-type attacks as well, which Victreebel often attracts. Bulky Water-types such as Milotic, Slowbro, and Slowking are good counters to Fire-type Pokemon due to their high defensive stats and access to instant recovery. However, it must be noted that the damage output of Surf will be halved under the sun. Thanks to Flash Fire, Houndoom and Arcanine, can switch in on a Fire-type attack aimed at Victreebel, and try to sweep. Regirock and Rhyperior both resist Fire-type attacks, and can deal huge amounts of damage to Fire-types with Stone Edge or Earthquake.</p>

<p>This set has problems taking out Clefable and Chansey due to their high Special Defense. These Pokemon have the added bonus of being able to stall out the remaining turns of Sunny Day with the combination of Wish and Protect. For this reason, Fighting-type Pokemon are great teammates for Victreebel. Hariyama, Hitmontop, Hitmonlee, and Primeape are all examples of Pokemon that cause problems to the aforementioned Pokemon, as their STAB Fighting-type moves will devastate both of them.</p>

<p>As with all offensive Pokemon, Stealth Rock and Spikes support is greatly appreciated. Registeel, Cloyster, and Uxie can set up entry hazards with relative ease. Registeel's defenses let it take a lot of attacks and set up Stealth Rock. Uxie is also a great support Pokemon, since it almost always sets up Stealth Rock thanks to its high defenses and good Speed.</p>

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Sucker Punch / Return
move 4: Sleep Powder / Weather Ball
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Adamant / Naughty
evs: 108 HP / 252 Atk / 152 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Thanks to Chlorophyll and Victreebel's great Attack, a Swords Dance set is perfectly viable. Leaf Blade, which recieves STAB and a nifty increased critical hit rate, is Victreebel's main attack, OHKOing a lot of Pokemon that don't resist it after a Swords Dance boost. Sucker Punch is one of the strongest priority moves in the game, and is used to defeat some frail Pokemon such as Mismagius, Alakazam, and weaker Choice Scarf users. As priority is uncommon on sun teams, Sucker Punch can be a nasty surprise for your opponent both in and out of the sun. Return can also be run on the set, as it grants Victreebel strong neutral coverage. Sleep Powder allows Victreebel to incapacitate an enemy Pokemon before proceeding to use Swords Dance without harm. Alternatively, Weather Ball is great for coverage, as it allows Victreebel to beat not only Ice- and Grass-type Pokemon, but also Steel-types who resist Victreebel's other moves.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The given EV spread and an Adamant nature maximize Victreebel's Attack, and, in conjunction with sun, allow it to outrun every Pokemon in the tier that doesn't have a Choice Scarf, and even some that do, including Timid Venusaur and Modest Rotom and Moltres. The rest is put into HP to give Victreebel a little bit more survivability. When using Weather Ball, one should use a Naughty nature instead to prevent lowering Victreebel's Special Attack stat. The HP EVs can be shifted to Special Attack to boost the power of Weather Ball. Life Orb is the item of choice, as it gives a power boost to Victreebel's attacks.</p>

<p>Sunny Day support is very important, as if it isn't up, Victreebel won't be able to sweep due to its below average Speed. Porygon2, Uxie, Mesprit, and Regirock are good teammates who can set up Sunny Day reliably. Entry hazard support is also important to net Victreebel some KOs and to discourage your opponent from switching. Since Victreebel attracts many Fire-type attacks, Arcanine and Houndoom are good partners as they can switch in with impunity thanks to Flash Fire.</p>

<p>This set has problems against Steel-, Poison-, and Fire-type Pokemon such as Registeel, Steelix, Arcanine, Weezing, and Aggron who resist Victreebel's attacks. Steel-types can be somewhat dealt with with Weather Ball. With Arena Trap, Dugtrio can trap the aforementioned Pokemon bar Weezing and maim them with STAB Earthquake. Other Ground- and Water-type Pokemon such as Quagsire, Gastrodon, and Rhyperior also work well, carrying dangerous dual STABs for Victreebel's counters.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Victreebel’s movepool is not very large. Stun Spore, Teeter Dance, and Toxic are usable support moves in order to inflict status and annoy the opponent, but in most situations Sleep Powder will be the superior option as sleep is the most effective status ailment. Victreebel can use an annoyer set, inflicting different status on the opposing team, but bulkier Pokemon such as Tangrowth and Bellossom generally do this job better. A supporting set consisting of Knock Off and Sleep Powder can be used, but it's pretty much outclassed by Venusaur, which is bulkier and faster. Synthesis is a good recovery move, but Victreebel cannot use it well due to its poor defenses. Growth can be used to boost Victreebel's Special Attack, but its frailty prevents it from accumulating many boosts. Double-Edge and Body Slam are options for the Swords Dance set, but are mostly inferior to Return. Energy Ball provides a consistent STAB move, but is mostly outclassed by SolarBeam as the sun will usually be active. Hidden Power Rock can be used to garner an easy KO against Moltres and get a good hit on other Fire-types and Altaria, but it's mostly outclassed by Victreebel's other options. Reflect is a good support option to increase physical defense, while Encore can be used to force switches on slower Pokemon, or allow a sweeper to set up. Gastro Acid and Worry Seed can mess with Pokemon who function well because of their abilities. Victreebel can run Choice Specs, but it is badly outclassed by Sceptile, Exeggutor, and Venusaur, who boast better Speed, Special Attack, and coverage, respectively.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Since Victreebel's defenses are very poor, almost every offensive Pokemon can OHKO or 2HKO Victreebel with STAB attacks, but they must be able to take a couple of Victreebel's attacks. Victreebel must also be very wary of taking Fire-, Flying-, and Psychic-type attacks as these will easily lead to Victreebel's demise. Victreebel is extremely vulnerable when the sun is not up, as opponents can take advantage of its below average Speed. Without the sun, Moltres, Arcanine, Houndoom, Swellow, Altaria, Alakazam, Uxie, and Mesprit can all switch into Victreebel, and hit it super effectively with their STAB attacks. Note that counters must be wary as Victreebel might be running unorthodox moves such as Hidden Power Rock, Sludge Bomb, or Sucker Punch.</p>

<p>Under the sun, Chlorophyll is activated, meaning fast and frail attackers such as Alakazam, Houndoom, and Swellow are no longer reliable switch-ins, as they will be outsped by Victreebel and knocked out. The task thus falls to extremely fast or extremely bulky Pokemon to defeat Victreebel. In the sun, Victreebel can still be outsped by Choice Scarf Typhlosion which blasts Victreebel to a crisp with a Fire-type move. Other Chlorophyll users, such as Jumpluff and Shiftry, can also outspeed Victreebel and hit it hard with a super effective Hidden Power. One can also use powerful priority moves such as Ambipom's Fake Out, Absol's Sucker Punch, Arcanine's ExtremeSpeed, and Donphan's Ice Shard to bypass Victreebel's Speed.</p>

<p>Against specially based variants, Chansey and Clefable counter Victreebel decently, but switching in on a Swords Dance could be devastating. Registeel and Weezing wall the physical set very well, but both must be vigilant for a stray Weather Ball. Weezing can also burn Victreebel to halve its physical damage output. Muk resists both of Victreebel's STAB attacks, but Victreebel often carries secondary attacks such as Return or Weather Ball to hit it neutrally. Uxie is extremely bulky, and Victreebel would do well to flee from a STAB Psychic. Victreebel especially fears paralysis, so it must watch out for Pokemon who can survive one of its attacks and paralyze it, such as Registeel, Uxie, and Clefable.</p>
 
While coolking might have gotten Vic's analysis through QC, he did write up some of the analysis for GP, and no offense really, I think for some cases like the Overview his writing is better than yours, so you should use it. I'd combine the two analyses when possible taking the best of both worlds.

Overview (edited from coolking's one)

[Overview]

<p>Victreebel has always been thought of as a run-of-the-mill Chlorophyll abuser. That has been the truth for most of Generation 4. However, with the advent of Heart Gold and Soul Silver, Victreebel finally gained new playthings to separate it from the rest of the pack: Leaf Blade and Weather Ball. With great offensive base stats of 105 Attack and 100 Special Attack, a revamped movepool and Chlorophyll, Victreebel can be a fearsome sweeper under the Sun.</p>

<p>On the other hand, Victreebel’s 80/65/60 defenses are nothing to be proud of, and even with its good supporting movepool, it can’t stand up to the hard hitters in the UU metagame. In the absence of sun, Victreebel's below average base 70 Speed stat is also exposed. While resistances to common priority moves like Aqua Jet, Vacuum Wave, and Mach Punch increase its survivability while sweeping, Victreebel is still easily revenge killed after the sun fades away.</p>

Special Sweeper (It was getting really messy so I just deleted everything I deleted instead of recoloring the "to be removed" stuff in red. Just copy and paste this and remove all the stuff in +green+ which are my comments...)


[SET]
name: Special Sweeper
move 1: SolarBeam
move 2: Weather Ball
move 3: Sleep Powder
move 4: Hidden Power Rock
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Modest
evs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>With Sunny Day up, Victreebel can become a very powerful special sweeper, abusing its good base 100 Special Attack stat and doubled speed due to Chlorophyll. SolarBeam is its main attack, and it has no charge up turn in the sun. With a STAB boost and 120 base power, it is easily capable of devastating Pokemon that don't resist it. Weather Ball is great on Victreebel and with Sunny Day active it becomes a 100 base power Fire-type move receiving a 1.5x damage boost due to the Sun, destroying Grass-, Steel- and Ice-type Pokemon. Sleep Powder allows Victreebel to incapacitate one of its counters, while Hidden Power Rock covers Fire-type Pokemon, which would otherwise wall this set, and can also hit Flying-types super effectively.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EV spread lets Victreebel outspeed Choice Scarf Rotom with Chlorophyll active, the rest of the EVs being placed in HP for added bulk. Victreebel can use many more attacks with this set. Hidden Power Ice allows Victreebel to defeat Dragon-Type Pokemon that are resistant to Weather Ball and SolarBeam, such as Altaria.+Removed mention of HP Ice hitting Flying types due to HP Rock achieving the same effect...+ You can also use Sludge Bomb in the last slot because of STAB, as it deals some powerful neutral damage to a lot of Pokemon that resist its other moves, however under the sun Weather Ball will already deal more damage to Grass-types. Life Orb gives Victreebel more power. With Life Orb, you will always OHKO Electrode with SolarBeam, and almost always 2HKO Hypno after Stealth Rock damage.+Could you get more relevant damage calculations on more common Pokemon like Uxie+</p>

<p>Without the sun, a lot of Pokemon can OHKO Victreebel, and most Pokemon are quicker than Victreebel. Bu,t if Sunny Day is up, Victreebel outspeeds almost all Pokémon and can put its counters to sleep with Sleep Powder. That is why Sunny Day support is always fantastic. Probopass, Moltres, Meganium, Uxie, and Porygon2 are fantastic choices to use Sunny Day, as they can resist a lot of hits and then use Sunny Day. Moltres can use Sunny Day to sweep or to help its team mates. Meganium is bulky and can use Sunny Day very well. Uxie has fantastic defenses, and it almost always can set up Sunny Day. Porygon2 can trace Flash Fire and then beat Arcanine and Houndoom. Porygon2 is also bulky and sets Sunny Day up pretty well.</p>

<p>Fast Choice Scarf Fire-types such as Typhlosion outspeed Victreebel and defeat it with Eruption or Flamethrower. For this reason, one might want to pack counters to Fire-type Pokemon on their team. Dugtrio can trap and KO most Fire-types, as well as Registeel, Chansey, and Muk, making it a very good partner. Grumpig is an ideal counter to Fire-types due to Thick Fat, which halves damage from Fire-type moves, and a high special defense stat, allowing Grumpig to take their STAB attacks and hit back with STAB Psychic. Bulky waters like Milotic, Slowbro and Slowking are good counters to Fire-type Pokemon due to their high defensive stats and access to instant recovery, however it must be noted that the damage output of their Surfs will be halved under the sun. Houndoom and Arcanine, thanks to their Flash Fire ability, can switch in on a Fire-type attack aimed at Victreebel and try to sweep. Regirock and Rhyperior both resist Fire and can deal huge amounts of damage to Fire-types with Stone Edge or Earthquake.</p>

<p>This set has problems to take out Clefable and Chansey due to their high Special Defense. These pink Pokemon have the added bonus of being able to stall out the remaining Sunny Day turns with the combination of Wish and Protect. +I removed a Regice mention as it's rare and Weather Ball can deal with it+ For this reason, Fighting-type Pokemon are great teammates for Victreebel. Hariyama, Hitmontop, Hitmonlee and Primeape are examples of Pokemon that cause problems to them, as their STAB Fighting-type moves hurt them a lot.</p>

<p>As in all offensive Pokemon, Stealth Rock and Spikes support is fantastic. Registeel, Cloyster, and Uxie can set entry hazards in your opponent team with relative ease. Registeel's defenses lets it resist a lot of attacks and set up Stealth Rock. Uxie is also a great Support Pokemon, since it almost always sets up Stealth Rock, due to its high defenses and good Speed.+Replaced Probopass with Registeel as nobody uses Probopass. You should try to mention more common Pokemon in your analysis+</p>
Swords Dance (I propose 152 Speed EVs instead of 136 EVs. Adding a mere 16 Speed EVs allows Victreebel to outspeed Timid Scarf Venusaur, +2 Rock Polish Torterra, Modest Scarf Rotom and Modest Scarf Moltres. Surely that wouldn't hurt from taking away 16 EVs from HP or Special Attack? If you follow my suggestion the spread will be 108 HP / 252 Atk / 152 Spe )
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Sucker Punch / Return
move 4: Sleep Powder / Weather Ball
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Adamant / Naughty
evs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Thanks to Chlorophyll and Victreebel's great Attack, a Swords Dance set is perfectly viable. +Removed mention of Sucker Punch from the above sentence as it really isn't THAT important to Victreebel+ Leaf Blade, which recieves STAB and a nifty increased critical hit rate, is Victreebel's main attack, OHKOing a lot of Pokemon that don't resist it after a Swords Dance boost. Sucker Punch is the strongest priority move in the game (tied with ExtremeSpeed), and is used to defeat some frail Pokemon such as Mismagius and Alakazam and frail Choice Scarf users. As priority is uncommon on Sun teams, Sucker Punch can literally be a nasty surprise for your opponent. Returncan also be run on the set as it grants Victreebel strong neutral coverage. Sleep Powder allows Victreebel to incapacitate an enemy Pokemon to Swords Dance easily. Alternatively, Weather Ball is great for coverage, as it allows Victreebel to beat not only Ice- and Grass-type Pokemon, but also Steel-types which resist Victreebel's other moves.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EV spread and an Adamant nature maximizes Victreebel's attack, and allows it to outrun every Pokemon in the tier that doesn't have a Choice Scarf attached. The rest is put into HP to give Victreebel a little bit more survivability. When using Weather Ball, one should use a Naughty nature instead to prevent lowering Victreebel's Special Attack stat. The HP EVs can be shifted to Special Attack to boost the power of Weather Ball. The item of choice should be Life Orb, as it gives Victreebel a 1.3x power boost.

<p>Sunny Day support is very important, as if it isn't up Victreebel isn't able to sweep due to its below average Speed. Porygon2, Uxie, Mesprit, and Regirock are examples of Pokemon that can set up Sunny Day reliably. Entry hazards support is also important to net Victreebel some KOs and to discourage your opponent when switching. As Victreebel attracts many Fire-type attacks, Arcanine and Houndoom are good partners as they can switch in with impunity thanks to Flash Fire.</p>

<p>This set has problems against Steel-, Poison-, and Fire-type Pokemon such as Registeel, Steelix, Arcanine, Muk, Torkoal, and Aggron which resist Victreebel's attacks. Steel-types must be wary of Weather Ball though. With Arena Trap, Dugtrio can trap the aforementioned Pokemon can maim them with STAB Earthquake. Other Ground-types and Water-type Pokemon also work well, as with special mention to Quagsire Gastrodon and Rhyperior which carry dangerous dual STABs for Victreebel's counters. +I kind of rewrote this paragraph to weed out stuff like Altaria which didn't fit very well...+</p>

Other Options and Counters (I rewrote a lot of stuff here so I'll not use color...)

[Other Options]

<p>Victreebel movepool is actually not very large. Stun Spore, Teeter Dance and Toxic are usable support moves to inflict status and annoy the opponent, in most situations Sleep Powder will be the superior option as sleep is the most effective status ailment. Victreebel can use an annoyer set wielding multiple status to inflict but this job is generally done better by bulkier Pokemon such as Tangrowth. A supporter set, with Knock Off and Sleep Powder can be used, but it's pretty much outclassed by Venusaur which is bulkier and faster. Synthesis is a good recovery move Victreebel cannot abuse it due to its poor defenses. Growth can be used in the Special Sweeper set to boost Victreebel's Special Attack, but it can only boost Special Attack by a single stage and Victreebel's frailty prevents it from accumulating many boosts. Double Edge and Body Slam are options for the Swords Dance Set, but are mostly inferior to Return. Energy Ball provides consistent STAB damage, but is mostly outclassed by SolarBeam as Victreebel is almost always used with Sun up. Reflect is a good support option, while Encore can be used to annoy other Pokemon. Gastro Acid and Worry Seed can mess with those that rely on their ability. Stockpile is a poor option due to Victreebel's lack of good defenses. Victreebel can run Choice Specs, but it is badly outclassed by Sceptile, Exeggutor, and Venusaur which boast either better Special Attack, Speed or coverage.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Since Victreebel's defenses are very poor, almost every offensive Pokemon can OHKO or 2HKO Victreebel with STAB attacks. Victreebel must also be very wary of taking Fire-, Flying- and Psychic-type attacks as these will easily lead to Victreebel's demise. Victreebel is at its most vulnerable when the Sun is not up, as opponents can take advantage of its below average speed. Without the Sun, Pokemon like Moltres, Arcanine, Houndoom, Swellow, Altaria, Alakazam, Uxie, Hypno and Grumpig can all switch into and hit Victreebel super effectively with their STAB attacks, which Victreebel most likely cannot survive. However, opponents must be wary as Victreebel might be running unorthodox moves such as Hidden Power Rock, Sludge Bomb or Sucker Punch to surprise them.

However, if the Sun is shining, the activation of Chlorophyll means fast and frail attackers like Alakazam, Houndoom and Swellow are no longer reliable switch-ins as they will be outsped by Victreebel. The task thus falls to extremely fast or extremely bulky Pokemon to defeat Victreebel. In the Sun, Victreebel can still be outsped by Choice Scarf Typhlosion which blasts Victreebel to a crisp with a Fire-type move. Other Chlorophyll Pokemon like Jumpluff and Shiftry can also outspeed Victreebel and put it to sleep or hit it with a super effective Hidden Power. One can also use powerful priority moves like Ambipom's Fake Out, Absol's Sucker Punch, Arcanine's ExtremeSpeed and Donphan's Ice Shard to bypass Victreebel's speed and strike it first. Priority users must still be cautious that physically based Victreebel may run Sucker Punch as well.

Against specially based variants, Chansey, Clefable, Hypno and Noctowl do well, but switching them into a Victreebel which then Swords Dances might prove disastrous. Registeel and Weezing wall the physical set very well, but both must be vigilant for a stray Weather Ball. Weezing can also burn Victreebel to halve its physical damage output. Muk resists both of Victreebel's STABs, but Victreebel often carries secondary attacks like Return or Weather Ball to hit it neutrally. Uxie is extremely bulky and Victreebel would do well to flee from a STAB Psychic. Victreebel especially fears paralysis, so it must watch out for Pokemon which can survive one of its attacks and paralyze it, like Registeel, Uxie and Clefable.

Every one of Victreebel's counters needs to watch out for switching into a Sleep Powder (except Hypno and Noctowl), which can disable that Pokemon for the rest of the match and possibly allow Victreebel to continue setting up.</p>

Done. Sorry about changing so much of the Overview, Other Options and Checks and Counters, but there really was a lot to be elaborated and changed...
 

Zystral

めんどくさい、な~
is a Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
[Overview]

<p>Victreebel has a very good Attack and Special Attack stats. This, coupled with the moves he got with the advent of Heart Gold and Soul Silver - Weather Ball and Leaf Blade - allows it to be one of the best Sunny Day sweepers available. Although it is very slow without Sunny Day, and doesn't have good defenses, Victreebel is a force to be reckoned with; if your team isn't prepared for a Sunny Day team, Victreebel will deal a lot of damage to it.</p>

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: SolarBeam
move 2: Weather Ball
move 3: Sleep Powder
move 4: Hidden Power Rock
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Modest
evs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Once you get Sunny Day up, Victreebel becomes a very powerful Sweeper. SolarBeam is its main attack, causing a lot of damage to any Pokemon that doesn't resist it. Weather Ball is great on Victreebel, and with Sunny Day active it becomes a very strong Fire-type move, destroying Grass- and Ice-type Pokemon. Sleep Powder allows Victreebel to incapacitate one of its counters. Hidden Power Rock covers Fire-type Pokemon; without Hidden Power, they would otherwise wall this set.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EV spread lets Victreebel outspeed Choice Scarf Rotom with Chlorophyll active, the rest of the EVs being placed in HP for added bulk. Victreebel can use many more attacks with this set. Hidden Power Ice allows Victreebel to defeat Dragon-Type Pokemon that are resistant to Weather Ball and SolarBeam, such as Altaria. In addition to covering the rare Dragon-type Pokemon, Hidden Power Ice covers Flying-type Pokemon too. You can also use Sludge Bomb in the last slot because of for STAB, as it deals some powerful neutral damage to a lot of Pokemon that resist its other moves. Life Orb gives Victreebel more power. With Life Orb, you will always OHKO Electrode with SolarBeam, and almost always 2HKO Hypno after Stealth Rock damage.</p>

<p>A lot of Pokemon can OHKO Victreebel, and most Pokemon are quicker than Victreebel. But, if Sunny Day is up, Victreebel outspeeds almost all Pokémon and can put its counters to sleep with Sleep Powder. That is why Sunny Day support is always fantastic. Probopass, Moltres, Meganium, Uxie, and Porygon2 are fantastic choices to use Sunny Day, as they can take a lot of hits and then use Sunny Day. Moltres can use Sunny Day to sweep or to help its team mates. Meganium is bulky and can use Sunny Day very well. Uxie has fantastic defenses, and it almost always uses Sunny Day. Porygon2 can trace Flash Fire and then beat Arcanine and Houndoom. Porygon2 is also bulky and sets Sunny Day up pretty well.</p>

<p>Fast, Choice Scarf Fire-types such as Typhlosion outspeed Victreebel and defeat it with Eruption or Flamethrower. For this reason, Dugtrio, Grumpig, Slowbro, Milotic, Arcanine, Houndoom, and Slowking are all very good team mates for Victreebel, as they can counter Fire-types pretty well. Dugtrio can trap and KO most Fire-types, Registeel, Chansey, and Muk, making it a very good partner. Grumpig is an ideal counter to Fire-types due to Thick Fat, which halves damage from Fire-type moves, and a high special defense, allowing Grumpig to take their STAB attacks and hit back with STAB Psychic. Milotic is also a good Fire-type Pokemon counter, being able to take any of Typhlosion's moves thanks to a Fire resistance and a monstrous base 125 Special Defense and OHKO back with STAB Surf. Houndoom and Arcanine, thanks to their Flash Fire ability, can cswitch in on a Fire-type attack aimed at Victreebel and try to sweep. Slowking and Slowbro resist Fire-type attacks very well too, thanks to their huge defenses and can hit them back with a powerful STAB Surf.</p>

<p>This set has problems to taking out Clefable, Chansey, and Regice due to their high Special Defense. For this reason, Fighting-type Pokemon are great team mates for Victreebel. Hariyama, Hitmontop, Hitmonlee, and Primeape are examples of Pokemon that cause problems to them, as their STAB Fighting-type moves hurt them a lot.</p>

<p>As in all offensive Pokemon, Stealth Rock and Spikes support is fantastic. Probopass, Cloyster, and Uxie can set entry hazards in your opponent team with relative ease. Probopass's defenses lets it resist a lot of attacks and set up Stealth Rock. Uxie is also a great Support Pokemon, since it almost always sets up Stealth Rock, due to its high defenses and good Speed.</p>

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Sucker Punch / Return
move 4: Sleep Powder / Weather ball
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Adamant / Naughty
evs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Thanks to Chlorophyll, Sucker Punch, and Victreebel's great Attack, a Swords Dance set is perfectly viable. Leaf Blade is Victreebel's main STAB attack, and it OHKOes a lot of Pokemon that don't resist it after a Swords Dance boost. Sucker Punch is the strongest priority move in the game (tied with ExtremeSpeed), and is used to defeat some powerful and frail Pokemon such as Mismagius and Alakazam and frail Choice Scarf users. Return grants Victreebel a strong neutral coverage. Sleep Powder allows Victreebel to set up Swords Dance easily. Weather Ball is great for coverage, as it allows Victreebel to beat Ice- and Grass-type Pokemon.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EV spread maximizes Victreebel attack, and allows it to outrun every Pokemon in the tier that doesn't have a Choice Scarf attached. The rest is put into HP to give Victreebel a little bit more survivability. The item of choice should be Life Orb, as it allows Victreebel to be more powerful.

<p>Sunny Day support is very important; as if it isn't up, Victreebel isn't able to sweep due to its below average Speed. Porygon2, Uxie, Mesprit, and Regirock are examples of Pokemon that can set up Sunny Day reliably. Entry hazards support is also important to net Victreebel some KOs and to discourage your opponent when switching. As Victreebel attracts many Fire-type attacks, Arcanine and Houndoom are good partners as they can switch in with impunity thanks to Flash Fire.</p>

<p>This set has problems against Steel-, Poison-, and Fire-type Pokemon such as Arcanine, Muk, Torkoal, and Aggron, so Dugtrio is a great team mate for Victreebel. With Arena Trap, STAB Earthquake and its great base 120 Speed, Dugtrio counters Pokemon such as Aggron and Registeel. Water-Type Pokemon also work well, as they take out Torkoal and Aggron, especially Gastrodon and Quagsire, as they can take out Muk very well with their STAB Ground-type attacks. Altaria is fantastic, because it takes out Muk, Aggron, and Torkoal with Earthquake after a Dragon Dance, and resists Leafeon's attacks.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Victreebel movepool is actually very small. Teeter Dance and Toxic are usable support moves. Growth can be used in the Special Sweeper set. A Support Set, with Knock Off and Sleep Powder can be used, but it's pretty outclassed by Venusaur. Synthesis is a good recovery move, but with Victreebel's defenses, it won't ever really see a lot of use. Return, Double Edge, and Body Slam are options for the Swords Dance Set. Stun Spore can be used as well, but it is generally inferior on sweeping sets, where Sleep Powder is highly superior. Reflect is a good support option, while Encore can be used to annoy other Pokemon. Gastro Acid and Worry Seed can mess with those that rely on their ability and Stockpile is an okay option too. Choice Specs is an option, but it is badly outclassed by Sceptile, Exeggutor, and Venusaur.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Since Victreebel's defenses are very poor, a strong STAB attack almost always OHKOs or 2HKOs Victreebel. If Sunny Day isn't up, Arcanine, Typhlosion, Pidgeot, Dodrio, Swellow, Altaria, Houndoom, Moltres, Magmortar, Hypno, and Grumpig are examples of Pokemon that can counter Victreebel, because they can switch in on it with relative ease and hit it with their STAB moves, they only have to avoid Sleep Powder (Hypno doesn't) or a powerful attack that Victreebel may be carrying to surprise its counters. But, if Sunny Day is up, some of them are not reliable. Chansey and Mantine wall all the Special Attacks that Victreebel uses, but Leaf Blade is dangerous for them. Priority Ice Shards are also quite strong against Victreebel. Muk is also a great option to counter Victreebel, as it resists its STAB moves, and can't be poisoned by Sludge Bomb. Registeel walls the physical set badly, thanks to its resistance to Victreebel's moves. Generally, Victreebel is only very dangerous when Sunny Day is up, so, if you can survive its attacks until Sunny Day fades, you will defeat it.</p>
this was absolutely disgusting. even though rising_dusk added YaM's suggestions, it was still a nightmare.

all i can say is thank fuck this thing requires 2 gp checks since the prose in this was so bad i couldn't bring myself to fix half of it.

 

SilentVerse

Into the New World
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Past SPL Champion
This is over Zystral's check if you're wondering, and it's basically just to hopefully improve some prose.

Blue is additions
Red is deletions
Green is comments

[Overview]

<p>Victreebel has an excellent very good Attack and Special Attack stat. This, coupled with the moves he got with the advent of Heart Gold and Soul Silver - Weather Ball and Leaf Blade - allow it to be one of the best Sunny Day sweepers available. Although it is very slow without Sunny Day and has poor doesn't have good defenses, Victreebel is a force to be reckoned with; if your opponent's team isn't prepared for a Sunny Day team, Victreebel just might sweep through their team with ease. will deal a lot of damage.</p>

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: SolarBeam
move 2: Weather Ball
move 3: Sleep Powder
move 4: Hidden Power Rock
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Modest
evs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Once you get Sunny Day up, Victreebel becomes a deadly sweeper that is more than capable of ripping through the opposing team very powerful Sweeper. SolarBeam is its main attack, dealing massive causing a lot of damage to any Pokemon that doesn't resist it. Weather Ball is great on Victreebel, and with Sunny Day active it becomes a powerful very strong Fire-type move, decimating destroying Grass- and Ice-type Pokemon. Sleep Powder allows Victreebel to incapacitate one of its counters. Hidden Power Rock covers Fire-type Pokemon; without Hidden Power, they would wall this set and threaten Victreebel with their strong, super effective, sun-boosted STAB attack.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EV spread lets Victreebel outspeed Choice Scarf Rotom with Chlorophyll, the rest of the EVs being placed in HP for added bulk. Victreebel can use numerous alternative many more attacks with this set. Hidden Power Ice allows Victreebel to defeat Dragon-Type Pokemon that are resistant to Weather Ball and SolarBeam, such as Altaria. In addition to covering the rare Dragon-type Pokemon, Hidden Power Ice covers Flying-type Pokemon too, who may otherwise give Victreebel some trouble. Victreebel You can also use Sludge Bomb in the last slot for STAB, as it deals some powerful neutral damage to many a lot of Pokemon that resist its other moves. Life Orb gives Victreebel more power,. and with With Life Orb, Victreebel you will always OHKO Electrode with SolarBeam, and will almost always 2HKO Hypno after Stealth Rock damage.</p>

<p>A lot of Pokemon can OHKO Victreebel due to its frailty, and most Pokemon are faster quicker than Victreebel. However, But if Sunny Day is up, Victreebel outspeeds almost every all Pokémon in the UU metagame and can put its counters to sleep with Sleep Powder. Probopass, Moltres, Meganium, Uxie, and Porygon2 are fantastic choices to use Sunny Day, as they can take plenty a lot of hits and proceed to then use Sunny Day. Moltres can either use Sunny Day to sweep or to help its team mates. Meganium is bulky and can use Sunny Day very well, and it also has access to Aromatherapy to cure its teammates of status (just added this to make this section seem different from the last sentence. I'd also imagine it's relatively true). Uxie has fantastic defenses, which almost guarantees that it will be able to set up Sunny Dayand it almost always uses Sunny Day. Porygon2 can trace Flash Fire, which allows it to and then beat Arcanine and Houndoom, who can be threatening under the sun. Porygon2 is also a superb user of Sunny Day thanks to its nice bulk bulky and sets Sunny Day up pretty well.</p>

<p>Fast, Choice Scarf Fire-types such as Typhlosion outspeed Victreebel and defeat it with Eruption or Flamethrower. For this reason, Dugtrio, Grumpig, Slowbro, Milotic, Arcanine, Houndoom, and Slowking are excellent all very good teammates team mates for Victreebel, as they can counter Fire-types with ease pretty well. Dugtrio can trap and KO most Fire-types, Registeel, Chansey, and Muk, making it a great very good partner. Grumpig is an ideal counter to Fire-types due to Thick Fat, which halves damage from Fire-type moves, and a high Special Defense special defense, which allows allowing Grumpig to take their STAB attacks and strike hit back with a STAB Psychic. Milotic is also a good Fire-type Pokemon counter, being able to take any of Typhlosion's moves thanks to a Fire resistance, and a monstrous base 125 Special Defense, and the ability to OHKO back with a STAB Surf. Houndoom and Arcanine, thanks to their Flash Fire ability, can switch in on a Fire-type attack aimed at Victreebel and attempt try to sweep with the boost to their Fire-type moves. Slowking and Slowbro can take resist Fire-type attacks very well too, thanks to their huge defenses and they can retaliate hit back with a powerful STAB Surf.</p>

<p>This set has problems taking out Clefable, Chansey, and Regice due to their high Special Defense. For this reason, Fighting-type Pokemon are great teammates team mates for Victreebel. Hariyama, Hitmontop, Hitmonlee and Primeape are examples of Pokemon that cause problems to them, as their STAB Fighting-type moves will put them in a world of pain hurt them a lot.</p>

<p>As for in all offensive Pokemon, Stealth Rock and Spikes support is fantastic. Probopass, Cloyster, and Uxie can set up entry hazards your opponent team with relative ease. Probopass's defenses let it resist a plethora a lot of attacks and set up Stealth Rock. Uxie is also a great support Support Pokemon, since it almost always sets up Stealth Rock, due to its high defenses and good Speed.</p>

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Sucker Punch / Return
move 4: Sleep Powder / Weather ball
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Adamant / Naughty
evs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Thanks to Chlorophyll, Sucker Punch, and Victreebel's great Attack, a Swords Dance set is perfectly viable. Leaf Blade is Victreebel's main STAB attack, and it OHKOes a lot of Pokemon that don't resist it after a Swords Dance boost. Sucker Punch is the strongest priority move in the game (tied with ExtremeSpeed), and is used to defeat some powerful and frail Pokemon such as Mismagius and Alakazam, as well as and frail Choice Scarf users. Return grants Victreebel a strong neutral coverage, which makes it a decent option over Sucker Punch. Sleep Powder allows Victreebel to set up Swords Dance easily. Weather Ball is great for coverage, as it allows Victreebel to beat Ice- and Grass-type Pokemon.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EV spread maximizes Victreebel attack, and allows it to outrun every Pokemon in the tier that doesn't have a Choice Scarf attached. The rest is put into HP to give Victreebel a little bit more survivability. The item of choice should be Life Orb, as it allows Victreebel to be more powerful.

<p>Sunny Day support is very important; if it isn't up, Victreebel isn't able to sweep due to its below average Speed. Porygon2, Uxie, Mesprit, and Regirock are examples of Pokemon that can set up Sunny Day reliably. Entry hazards support is also important to net Victreebel some KOs and to discourage your opponent from when switching. As Victreebel attracts many Fire-type attacks, Arcanine and Houndoom are good partners as they can switch in with impunity thanks to Flash Fire.</p>

<p>This set has problems against Steel-, Poison-, and Fire-type Pokemon such as Arcanine, Muk, Torkoal, and Aggron, so Dugtrio is a great teammate for Victreebel. With Arena Trap, STAB Earthquake and its great base 120 Speed, Dugtrio counters Pokemon such as Aggron and Registeel. Water-Type Pokemon also work well, as they take out threats such as Torkoal and Aggron., especially Gastrodon and Quagsire are particularly effective, as they can take out Muk easily very well with their STAB Ground-type attacks. Altaria is fantastic, because it takes out Muk, and Aggron, and Torkoal with Earthquake after a Dragon Dance, and resists Leafeon's attacks.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Victreebel movepool is actually pitifully very small. Teeter Dance and Toxic are usable support moves. Growth can be used in the Special Sweeper set to further boost Victreebel's Special Attack. A support set Support Set with Knock Off and Sleep Powder can be used, but it's outclassed by Venusaur. Synthesis is a good recovery move, but with Victreebel's defenses, it will rarely won't ever really see a lot of use. Return, Double Edge, and Body Slam are options for the Swords Dance set Set. Stun Spore can be used as well, but it is generally inferior on sweeping sets, where Sleep Powder is highly superior. Reflect is a good support option, while Encore can be used to annoy other Pokemon. Gastro Acid and Worry Seed can mess with those that rely on their ability and Stockpile is a decent an okay option too. Choice Specs is an option, but it is horribly badly outclassed by Sceptile, Exeggutor, and Venusaur.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Since Victreebel's defenses are very poor, a strong STAB attack almost always OHKOs or 2HKOs Victreebel. If Sunny Day isn't up, Arcanine, Typhlosion, Pidgeot, (does anyone actually use Pidgeot?) Dodrio, Swellow, Altaria, Houndoom, Moltres, Magmortar, Hypno, and Grumpig are examples of Pokemon that can counter Victreebel, because they can switch in on it with relative ease and strike hit it with their STAB moves., they They only have to avoid Sleep Powder (Hypno doesn't due to Imsomnia) or a powerful attack that Victreebel may be carrying to surprise its counters. But, if Sunny Day is up, some of them are not as reliable because of how powerful Sunny Day will make Victreebel. Chansey and Mantine wall all the Special Attacks that Victreebel uses, but Leaf Blade is dangerous for them as it hits them on their weaker defensive stat. Priority Ice Shards are also quite strong against Victreebel. Muk is also a great option to counter Victreebel, as it resists its STAB moves, and can't be poisoned by Sludge Bomb. Registeel walls the physical set flawlessly badly, thanks to its resistance to Victreebel's moves. Generally, Victreebel is only particularly very dangerous when Sunny Day is up, so, if you can survive its attacks until Sunny Day eventually fades, you will defeat it.</p>
 
I guess hiding my edits wasn't such a good idea now... sigh. Take whatever you want from my edits Alonsoforever I think I have some points you haven't considered... like new suggestions for teammates/counters. Also please consider the 16 more Speed EVs for the SD set.. =P
 
This is what happens when I do something when I am ill and I am Spanish. I'm sorry to give you so much work. I'll implement YaM, Silentverse, and Zystral changes as soon as possible, and I'll try to improve it.
 
Shouldn't you use a mixed set? Remember a selling point for Victreebel is having both Weatherball and a Hidden Power other than Fire.
For support, in Other Options, don't forget Encore, it is more useful than Knock-off since it can cause switches, can allow for Swords Dance set-ups, and racks up entry hazard damage when the switch happens.

Here's the mixed set proven useful:

Set: Victorybell

Victrebell: Life Orb
252 Attack, 112 Spe, 144 SpA OR 134 Atk, 224 Sp Atk, 152 Spd
Naughty
29 HP IVs (299 HP gives 11, not 10, turns of LO recoil)

Leaf Blade
Sucker Punch
Weather Ball
Swords Dance / Hidden Power Rock

Sweeps teams, probably the best Attacker of all Chlorophyllers; Tangrowth has to have max Speed to Outspeed the 130 Base Speed Pokemon in Sunny Day (since Hidden Power Fire reduces the Speed IVs for Tangrowth by 1, the full 252 Speed EVs are required to reach 198 or 396 in Sunny Day conditions). Additionally, Victreebel can still sweep without Sunlight with Sucker Punch if necessary.

The idea is to use it like the Swords Dancer but to Weather Ball Steels, Bugs, Ice, and Grass types to death.

An alternate spread of 134 Atk /224 Sp Atk / 152 Spd EVs is best when using Hidden Power Rock, and to to empower Weather Ball (Fire in Sun) guarantees a 2HKO on the bulkiest Registeel with Leftovers (56% - 65.9%), You deal 75.3% - 89% to the bulkiest Venusaur and deal 88.4% minimum to Sceptile and OHKO all Leafeon and Tangrowth. Steelix is OHKOed as well. The Victorybell set should be the first set in the analysis, as it allows Victreebel to gain a niche as the Mixed Attacking Sun abuser. Set comments are similar to the Swords Dancer set but leave out mentions of Sleep Powder. Counters for the Victorybell set are Fire-types that aren't too badly affected by Sucker Punch - ToxicStalling Moltres, Intimidate Arcanine... Altaria too is a good counter, resisting Grass and Fire.

Hidden Power Rock is better than Ice since it hits the more common Arcanine, Houndoom, Magmortar, Moltres, and Houndoom in addition to Altaria. Hidden Power Ice is less favorable, as it does less to Torterra (150 x 2 = 300 vs 70 x 4 = 280), and only really works against Gligar and Altaria.
 
Deletions
Additions / Corrections
Comments

[Overview]

<p>Victreebel has always been thought of as a run-of-the-mill Chlorophyll abuser. That has been the truth for most of Generation Four. However, with the advent of HeartGold and SoulSilver, Victreebel finally gained new toys to separate it from the rest of the pack: Leaf Blade and Weather Ball. With great offensive base stats of 105 Attack and 100 Special Attack, a revamped movepool, and Chlorophyll, Victreebel can be a fearsome sweeper under the sun.</p>

<p>On the other hand, Victreebel’s defenses are mediocre at best, and even with its good support movepool, it cannot stand up to the hard hitters in the UU metagame. In the absence of sun, Victreebel's below average Speed stat is also exposed. While resistances to common priority moves like such as Aqua Jet, Vacuum Wave, and Mach Punch increase its survivability while sweeping, Victreebel is still easily revenge killed after the sun fades away.</p>

[SET]
name: Special Sweeper
move 1: SolarBeam
move 2: Weather Ball
move 3: Sleep Powder
move 4: Hidden Power Rock
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Modest
evs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>With Sunny Day up, Victreebel can become a very powerful special sweeper, abusing its decent base 100 Special Attack stat and doubled Speed thanks to Chlorophyll. SolarBeam is its main attack, being able to attack immediately under the sun. With 120 Base Power backed by STAB, it is easily capable of devastating Pokemon who don't resist it. Weather Ball is great on Victreebel and as with Sunny Day active, it becomes a 100 Base Power Fire-type move receiving a 1.5x damage boost due to the sun, allowing Victreebel to destroy Grass-, Steel- and Ice-type Pokemon. Sleep Powder can incapacitate one of its counters, allowing Victreebel to safely switch to a counter. Hidden Power Rock hits Fire- and Flying-type Pokemon for super effective damage, who would otherwise cause problems for Victreebel.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EV spread lets Victreebel outspeed Choice Scarf Rotom under the sun, while the rest of the EVs are placed into HP for added bulk. Victreebel has many options for coverage. Hidden Power Ice allows Victreebel to defeat Dragon-type Pokemon that are resistant to Weather Ball and SolarBeam, such as Altaria. You can also use Sludge Bomb in the last slot as secondary STAB, as it is quite strong, and deals a lot of damage to Pokemon who resist its other moves. Life Orb gives Victreebel some much needed power. With Life Orb, you will always OHKO Electrode with SolarBeam, and always 2HKO max HP / 4 Special Defense Uxie after Stealth Rock damage, and do 57.1% - 67.6% to max HP / max Special Defense Careful Registeel.</p>

<p>Without the sun, a lot of Pokemon can outspeed and OHKO Victreebel. However, if Sunny Day is up, Victreebel outspeeds almost every Pokémon in the tier, and can put its counters to sleep with Sleep Powder, which is why Sunny Day support is essential. Moltres, Meganium, Uxie, and Porygon2 are fantastic choices to set up Sunny Day as they have reasonable bulk and can set up Sunny Day. Moltres can use Sunny Day to sweep or to support its teammates. Meganium is bulky and can use Sunny Day very well. Uxie has fantastic defenses, and it almost always can set up Sunny Day. Porygon2 can trace Flash Fire and then beat Arcanine and Houndoom. Porygon2 is also bulky and sets Sunny Day up pretty well. It can also trace Flash Fire and then beat Arcanine and Houndoom.</p>

<p>Fast Choice Scarf Fire-types with a Choice Scarf, such as Typhlosion, outspeed Victreebel and can knock it out with their powerful STAB attacks. For this reason, one might want to pack counters to Fire-type Pokemon on their team. Dugtrio can trap and KO most Fire-types, as well as Registeel, Chansey, and Muk, making it a very good partner. Grumpig is an ideal counter to Fire-types due to Thick Fat, which halves damage from Fire-type moves, and a high special defense stat, allowing Grumpig it to take their STAB attacks and hit back with STAB Psychic. Grumpig has the added bonus of resisting Ice-type attacks as well, which Victreebel often attracts. Bulky Water-types like such as Milotic, Slowbro, and Slowking are good counters to Fire-type Pokemon due to their high defensive stats and access to instant recovery. However, it must be noted that the damage output of Surf will be halved under the sun. Thanks to Flash Fire, Houndoom and Arcanine, can switch in on a Fire-type attack aimed at Victreebel, and try to sweep. Regirock and Rhyperior both resist Fire-type attacks, and can deal huge amounts of damage to Fire-types with Stone Edge or Earthquake.</p>

<p>This set has problems to take out taking out Clefable and Chansey due to their high Special Defense. These Pokemon have the added bonus of being able to stall out the remaining Sunny Day turns of Sunny Day with the combination of Wish and Protect. For this reason, Fighting-type Pokemon are great teammates for Victreebel. Hariyama, Hitmontop, Hitmonlee, and Primeape are examples of Pokemon that cause problems to them the aforementioned Pokemon, as their STAB Fighting-type moves hurt them a lot.</p>

<p>As in with all offensive Pokemon, Stealth Rock and Spikes support is greatly appreciated. Registeel, Cloyster, and Uxie can set up entry hazards in your opponent team with relative ease. Registeel's defenses lets it resist take a lot of attacks and set up Stealth Rock. Uxie is also a great support Pokemon, since it almost always sets up Stealth Rock, due thanks to its high defenses and good Speed.</p>

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Sucker Punch / Return
move 4: Sleep Powder / Weather Ball
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Adamant / Naughty
evs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Thanks to Chlorophyll and Victreebel's great Attack, a Swords Dance set is perfectly viable. Leaf Blade, which recieves STAB and a nifty increased critical hit rate, is Victreebel's main attack, OHKOing a lot of Pokemon that don't resist it after a Swords Dance boost. Sucker Punch is one of the strongest priority moves in the game, and is used to defeat some frail Pokemon such as Mismagius, Alakazam, and frail Choice Scarf users. As priority is uncommon on sun teams, Sucker Punch can be a nasty surprise for your opponent. Return can also be run on the set, as it grants Victreebel strong neutral coverage. Sleep Powder allows Victreebel to incapacitate an enemy Pokemon, before proceeding to use Swords Dance without harm. Alternatively, Weather Ball is great for coverage, as it allows Victreebel to beat not only Ice- and Grass-type Pokemon, but also Steel-types who resist Victreebel's other moves.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>With The given EV spread and an Adamant nature, it maximizes Victreebel's Attack, and allows it to outrun every Pokemon in the tier that doesn't have a Choice Scarf attached. The rest is put into HP to give Victreebel a little bit more survivability. When using Weather Ball, one should use a Naughty nature instead to prevent lowering Victreebel's Special Attack stat. The HP EVs can be shifted to Special Attack to boost the power of Weather Ball. The item of choice should be Life Orb, as it gives Victreebel a 1.3x power boost to Victreebel's attacks.

<p>Sunny Day support is very important, as if it isn't up, Victreebel isn't won't be able to sweep due to its below average Speed. Porygon2, Uxie, Mesprit, and Regirock are examples of Pokemon who can set up Sunny Day reliably. Entry hazards support is also important to net Victreebel some KOs and to discourage your opponent when from switching. As Since Victreebel attracts many Fire-type attacks, Arcanine and Houndoom are good partners as they can switch in with impunity thanks to Flash Fire.</p>

<p>This set has problems against Steel-, Poison-, and Fire-type Pokemon such as Registeel, Steelix, Arcanine, Muk, Torkoal, and Aggron who resist Victreebel's attacks. Steel-types can be somewhat dealt with with Weather Ball. With Arena Trap, Dugtrio can trap the aforementioned Pokemon and maim them with STAB Earthquake. Other Ground-types and Water-type Pokemon such as Quagsire, Gastrodon, and Rhyperior also work well, carrying dangerous dual STABs for Victreebel's counters.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Victreebel’s movepool is not very large. Stun Spore, Teeter Dance and Toxic are usable support moves in order to inflict status and annoy the opponent, but in most situations Sleep Powder will be the superior option as sleep is the most effective status ailment. Victreebel can use an annoyer set, inflicting different status on the opposing team, but bulkier Pokemon such as Tangrowth generally does this job better. A supporter set consisting of Knock Off and Sleep Powder can be used, but it's pretty much outclassed by Venusaur, which is bulkier and faster. Synthesis is a good recovery move, but Victreebel cannot use it well due to its poor defenses. Growth can be used to boost Victreebel's Special Attack, but its frailty prevents it from accumulating many boosts. Double Edge and Body Slam are options for the Swords Dance set, but are mostly inferior to Return. Energy Ball provides a consistent STAB damage, but is mostly outclassed by SolarBeam as the sun will be active. Reflect is a good support option to increase physical defense, while Encore can be used to force switches on slower Pokemon, or allow a sweeper to set up. Gastro Acid and Worry Seed can mess with Pokemon who function well because of their abilities. Victreebel can run Choice Specs, but it is badly outclassed by Sceptile, Exeggutor, and Venusaur, who boast better Special Attack, Speed or coverage.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Since Victreebel's defenses are very poor, almost every offensive Pokemon can OHKO or 2HKO Victreebel with STAB attacks, but they must be able to take a couple of Victreebel's attacks. Victreebel must also be very wary of taking Fire-, Flying- and Psychic-type attacks as these will easily lead to Victreebel's demise. Victreebel is extremely vulnerable when the sun is not up, as opponents can take advantage of its below average speed. Without the sun, Moltres, Arcanine, Houndoom, Swellow, Altaria, Alakazam, Uxie, Hypno, and Grumpig can all switch into Victreebel, and hit it super effectively with their STAB attacks. Note that counters must be wary as Victreebel might be running unorthodox moves such as Hidden Power Rock, Sludge Bomb or Sucker Punch.</p>

<p>When under the sun, Chlorophyll is activated, meaning fast and frail attackers such as Alakazam, Houndoom and Swellow are no longer reliable switch-ins, as they will be outsped by Victreebel and knocked out. The task thus falls to extremely fast or extremely bulky Pokemon to defeat Victreebel. In the sun, Victreebel can still be outsped by Choice Scarf Typhlosion which blasts Victreebel to a crisp with a Fire-type move. Other Chlorophyll Pokemon like users, such as Jumpluff and Shiftry, can also outspeed Victreebel and hit it hard with a super effective Hidden Power. One can also use powerful priority moves such as Ambipom's Fake Out, Absol's Sucker Punch, Arcanine's ExtremeSpeed, and Donphan's Ice Shard to bypass Victreebel's Speed.</p>

<p>Against specially based variants, Chansey, Clefable, Hypno, and Noctowl all counter Victreebel decently, but switching in on a Swords Dances could be devastating. Registeel and Weezing wall the physical set very well, but both must be vigilant for a stray Weather Ball. Weezing can also burn Victreebel to halve its physical damage output. Muk resists both of Victreebel's STAB attacks, but Victreebel often carries secondary attacks like such as Return or Weather Ball to hit it neutrally. Uxie is extremely bulky, and Victreebel would do well to flee from a STAB Psychic. Victreebel especially fears paralysis, so it must watch out for Pokemon who can survive one of its attacks and paralyze it, like such as Registeel, Uxie and Clefable.</p>




GP 1 / 2
 
Thanks ShinyAzelf for implementing some of my prose and giving credit :)

I would like to request for more QC input on whether a mixed set deserves to be a standalone set as hhjj has mentioned.

I agree with most of his post except that Victreebel should always have 152 Speed minimum. The current Swords Dance set runs 136 EVs. Adding a mere 16 Speed EVs allows Victreebel to outspeed Timid Scarf Venusaur, +2 Rock Polish Torterra, Modest Scarf Rotom and Modest Scarf Moltres. I don' t think that taking away 16 EVs from HP or Special Attack will hurt too much.? If you follow my suggestion the spread will be 108 HP / 252 Atk / 152 Spe )
 

Ray Jay

"Jump first, ask questions later, oui oui!"
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
GP 2/2


Additions in Bold
Deletions in Red

[Overview]

<p>Victreebel has always been thought of as a run-of-the-mill Chlorophyll abuser. That has been the truth for most of Generation Four. However, with the advent of HeartGold and SoulSilver, Victreebel finally gained new toys to separate it from the rest of the pack: Leaf Blade and Weather Ball. With great offensive base stats of 105 Attack and 100 Special Attack, a revamped movepool, and Chlorophyll, Victreebel can be a fearsome sweeper under the sun.</p>

<p>On the other hand, Victreebel's Victreebel’s defenses are mediocre at best, and even with its good support movepool, it cannot stand up to the hard hitters in the UU metagame. In the absence of sun, Victreebel's below average Speed stat is also exposed. While resistances to common priority moves such as Aqua Jet, Vacuum Wave, and Mach Punch increase its survivability while sweeping, Victreebel is still easily revenge killed after the sun fades away.</p>

[SET]
name: Special Sweeper
move 1: SolarBeam
move 2: Weather Ball
move 3: Sleep Powder
move 4: Hidden Power Rock
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Modest
evs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>With Sunny Day up, Victreebel can become a very powerful special sweeper, abusing its decent base 100 Special Attack stat and doubled Speed thanks to Chlorophyll. SolarBeam is its main attack since Victreebel doesn't have to expend a turn on charging up the move while the sun is out, being able to attack immediately under the sun. With 120 Base Power backed by STAB, it is easily capable of devastating Pokemon who don't resist it. Weather Ball is great on Victreebel as with Sunny Day active, it becomes a 100 Base Power Fire-type move receiving a 1.5x damage boost due to the sun, allowing Victreebel to destroy Grass-, Steel- and Ice-type Pokemon. Sleep Powder can incapacitate one of its counters, allowing Victreebel to safely switch out to an appropriate answer to its counter to a counter. Hidden Power Rock hits Fire- and Flying-type Pokemon for super effective damage, who would otherwise cause problems for Victreebel.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EV spread lets Victreebel outspeed Choice Scarf Rotom under the sun, while the rest of the EVs are placed into HP for added bulk. Victreebel has many options for coverage. Hidden Power Ice allows Victreebel to defeat Dragon-type Pokemon that are resistant to Weather Ball and SolarBeam, such as Altaria. You can also use Sludge Bomb in the last slot as secondary STAB, as it is quite strong, and deals a lot of damage to Pokemon who resist its other moves. Life Orb gives Victreebel some much needed power. With Life Orb, you will always OHKO Electrode with SolarBeam, and always 2HKO max HP / 4 Special Defense Uxie after Stealth Rock damage, and do 57.1% - 67.6% to max HP / max Special Defense Careful Registeel.</p>

<p>Without the sun, a lot of Pokemon can outspeed and OHKO Victreebel. However, if Sunny Day is up, Victreebel outspeeds almost every Pokémon in the tier, and can put its counters to sleep with Sleep Powder, which is why Sunny Day support is essential. Moltres, Meganium, Uxie, and Porygon2 are fantastic choices to set up Sunny Day as they have reasonable bulk. Moltres can use Sunny Day to sweep or to support its teammates. Meganium is bulky and can use Sunny Day very well. Uxie has fantastic defenses, and it almost always can set up Sunny Day. Porygon2 is bulky and sets up Sunny Day well. It can also trace Flash Fire and then beat Arcanine and Houndoom.</p>

<p>Fast Fire-types with a Choice Scarf, such as Typhlosion, outspeed Victreebel and can knock it out with their powerful STAB attacks. For this reason, one might want to pack counters to Fire-type Pokemon on their team. Dugtrio can trap and KO most Fire-types, as well as Registeel, Chansey, and Muk, making it a very good partner. Grumpig is an ideal counter to Fire-types due to Thick Fat, which halves damage from Fire-type moves, and a high Special Defense special defense stat, allowing it to take their STAB attacks and hit back with STAB Psychic. Grumpig has the added bonus of resisting Ice-type attacks as well, which Victreebel often attracts. Bulky Water-types such as Milotic, Slowbro, and Slowking are good counters to Fire-type Pokemon due to their high defensive stats and access to instant recovery. However, it must be noted that the damage output of Surf will be halved under the sun. Thanks to Flash Fire, Houndoom and Arcanine, can switch in on a Fire-type attack aimed at Victreebel, and try to sweep. Regirock and Rhyperior both resist Fire-type attacks, and can deal huge amounts of damage to Fire-types with Stone Edge or Earthquake.</p>

<p>This set has problems taking out Clefable and Chansey due to their high Special Defense. These Pokemon have the added bonus of being able to stall out the remaining turns of Sunny Day with the combination of Wish and Protect. For this reason, Fighting-type Pokemon are great teammates for Victreebel. Hariyama, Hitmontop, Hitmonlee, and Primeape are examples of Pokemon that cause problems to the aforementioned Pokemon, as their STAB Fighting-type moves hurt them a lot.</p>

<p>As with all offensive Pokemon, Stealth Rock and Spikes support is greatly appreciated. Registeel, Cloyster, and Uxie can set up entry hazards with relative ease. Registeel's defenses let lets it take a lot of attacks and set up Stealth Rock. Uxie is also a great support Pokemon, since it almost always sets up Stealth Rock thanks to its high defenses and good Speed.</p>

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Sucker Punch / Return
move 4: Sleep Powder / Weather Ball
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Adamant / Naughty
evs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Thanks to Chlorophyll and Victreebel's great Attack, a Swords Dance set is perfectly viable. Leaf Blade, which recieves STAB and a nifty increased critical hit rate, is Victreebel's main attack, OHKOing a lot of Pokemon that don't resist it after a Swords Dance boost. Sucker Punch is one of the strongest priority moves in the game, and is used to defeat some frail Pokemon such as Mismagius, Alakazam, and weaker frail Choice Scarf users. As priority is uncommon on sun teams, Sucker Punch can be a nasty surprise for your opponent. Return can also be run on the set, as it grants Victreebel strong neutral coverage. Sleep Powder allows Victreebel to incapacitate an enemy Pokemon, before proceeding to use Swords Dance without harm. Alternatively, Weather Ball is great for coverage, as it allows Victreebel to beat not only Ice- and Grass-type Pokemon, but also Steel-types who resist Victreebel's other moves.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The given EV spread and an Adamant nature maximize Victreebel's Attack, and, in conjunction with sun, allow it to outrun every Pokemon in the tier that doesn't have a Choice Scarf. The rest is put into HP to give Victreebel a little bit more survivability. When using Weather Ball, one should use a Naughty nature instead to prevent lowering Victreebel's Special Attack stat. The HP EVs can be shifted to Special Attack to boost the power of Weather Ball. Life Orb is the item of choice The item of choice should be Life Orb, as it gives a power boost to Victreebel's attacks.</p>

<p>Sunny Day support is very important, as if it isn't up, Victreebel won't be able to sweep due to its below average Speed. Porygon2, Uxie, Mesprit, and Regirock are good teammates examples of Pokemon who can set up Sunny Day reliably. Entry hazards support is also important to net Victreebel some KOs and to discourage your opponent from switching. Since Victreebel attracts many Fire-type attacks, Arcanine and Houndoom are good partners as they can switch in with impunity thanks to Flash Fire.</p>

<p>This set has problems against Steel-, Poison-, and Fire-type Pokemon such as Registeel, Steelix, Arcanine, Muk, Torkoal, and Aggron who resist Victreebel's attacks. Steel-types can be somewhat dealt with with Weather Ball. With Arena Trap, Dugtrio can trap the aforementioned Pokemon and maim them with STAB Earthquake. Other Ground- and Water-type Pokemon such as Quagsire, Gastrodon, and Rhyperior also work well, carrying dangerous dual STABs for Victreebel's counters.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Victreebel’s movepool is not very large. Stun Spore, Teeter Dance, and Toxic are usable support moves in order to inflict status and annoy the opponent, but in most situations Sleep Powder will be the superior option as sleep is the most effective status ailment. Victreebel can use an annoyer set, inflicting different status on the opposing team, but bulkier Pokemon such as Tangrowth generally do this job better. A supporting supporter set consisting of Knock Off and Sleep Powder can be used, but it's pretty much outclassed by Venusaur, which is bulkier and faster. Synthesis is a good recovery move, but Victreebel cannot use it well due to its poor defenses. Growth can be used to boost Victreebel's Special Attack, but its frailty prevents it from accumulating many boosts. Double Edge and Body Slam are options for the Swords Dance set, but are mostly inferior to Return. Energy Ball provides a consistent STAB, but is mostly outclassed by SolarBeam as the sun will be active. Reflect is a good support option to increase physical defense, while Encore can be used to force switches on slower Pokemon, or allow a sweeper to set up. Gastro Acid and Worry Seed can mess with Pokemon who function well because of their abilities. Victreebel can run Choice Specs, but it is badly outclassed by Sceptile, Exeggutor, and Venusaur, who boast better Special Attack, Speed, or coverage.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Since Victreebel's defenses are very poor, almost every offensive Pokemon can OHKO or 2HKO Victreebel with STAB attacks, but they must be able to take a couple of Victreebel's attacks. Victreebel must also be very wary of taking Fire-, Flying- and Psychic-type attacks as these will easily lead to Victreebel's demise. Victreebel is extremely vulnerable when the sun is not up, as opponents can take advantage of its below average Speed speed. Without the sun, Moltres, Arcanine, Houndoom, Swellow, Altaria, Alakazam, Uxie, Hypno, and Grumpig can all switch into Victreebel, and hit it super effectively with their STAB attacks. Note that counters must be wary as Victreebel might be running unorthodox moves such as Hidden Power Rock, Sludge Bomb or Sucker Punch.</p>

<p>When Under under the sun, Chlorophyll is activated, meaning fast and frail attackers such as Alakazam, Houndoom and Swellow are no longer reliable switch-ins, as they will be outsped by Victreebel and knocked out. The task thus falls to extremely fast or extremely bulky Pokemon to defeat Victreebel. In the sun, Victreebel can still be outsped by Choice Scarf Typhlosion which blasts Victreebel to a crisp with a Fire-type move. Other Chlorophyll users, such as Jumpluff and Shiftry, can also outspeed Victreebel and hit it hard with a super effective Hidden Power. One can also use powerful priority moves such as Ambipom's Fake Out, Absol's Sucker Punch, Arcanine's ExtremeSpeed, and Donphan's Ice Shard to bypass Victreebel's Speed.</p>

<p>Against specially based variants, Chansey, Clefable, Hypno, and Noctowl all counter Victreebel decently, but switching in on a Swords Dance could be devastating. Registeel and Weezing wall the physical set very well, but both must be vigilant for a stray Weather Ball. Weezing can also burn Victreebel to halve its physical damage output. Muk resists both of Victreebel's STAB attacks, but Victreebel often carries secondary attacks such as Return or Weather Ball to hit it neutrally. Uxie is extremely bulky, and Victreebel would do well to flee from a STAB Psychic. Victreebel especially fears paralysis, so it must watch out for Pokemon who can survive one of its attacks and paralyze it, such as Registeel, Uxie and Clefable
 
Added the EV spread, thanks YaM!

As for the other set, yeah, I'll get a QC member for some input.

EDIT: I've implemented it, thanks Ray Jay. However, I think this should be held off at the moment because we need to consider the set hhjj posted?

EDIT 2: Fixed, thanks Flora!
 

Flora

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While we wait for QC...

Checks and Counters:

<p>Under the sun, Chlorophyll is activated, meaning fast and frail attackers such as Alakazam, Houndoom and Swellow are no longer reliable switch-ins, as they will be outsped by Victreebel and knocked out. The task thus falls to extremely fast or extremely bulky Pokemon to defeat Victreebel. In the sun, Victreebel can still be outsped by Choice Scarf Typhlosion which blasts Victreebel to a crisp with a Fire-type move. Other Chlorophyll users, such as Jumpluff and Shiftry, can also outspeed Victreebel and hit it hard with a super effective Hidden Power. One can also use powerful priority moves such as Ambipom's Fake Out, Absol's Sucker Punch, Arcanine's ExtremeSpeed, and Donphan's Ice Shard to bypass Victreebel's Speed.</p>

<p>Against specially based variants, Chansey, Clefable, Hypno, and Noctowl all counter Victreebel decently, but switching in on a Swords Dance could be devastating. Registeel and Weezing wall the physical set very well, but both must be vigilant for a stray Weather Ball. Weezing can also burn Victreebel to halve its physical damage output. Muk resists both of Victreebel's STAB attacks, but Victreebel often carries secondary attacks such as Return or Weather Ball to hit it neutrally. Uxie is extremely bulky, and Victreebel would do well to flee from a STAB Psychic. Victreebel especially fears paralysis, so it must watch out for Pokemon who can survive one of its attacks and paralyze it, such as Registeel, Uxie and Clefable.</p>
 
Yeah, I was actually waiting for QC input before I decided to add it, so thanks Bluewind! And all right, in that case, this analysis is now finished.

Thanks!
 

Oglemi

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Thanks for getting this done ShinyAzelf. There were some odd mentions of Grumpig, Hypno, and Muk, that shouldn't have been there (they aren't used like, ever), but it was a good write-up regardless.

Also, I changed the EV spread YaM.

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