[Overview]
-Strong offensive STAB allows Virizion to hit many common pokemon such as Tyranitar and Politoed very hard, and leave little to be desired offensively.
-108 speed allows it to outspeed a lot of the VGC metagame.
-Excellent special defense (129 base) and decent HP (91 base) as well as access to STAB Giga Drain keeps it around a while.
-Typing is also great defensively, granting resistances to common Rock, Ground, Electric and Water attacks.
-Good supportive options too, such as Helping Hand, Dual Screens, Safeguard and Taunt.
-Only average offensive stats, often forcing it to rely on super effective attacks to get its KOs.
-Somewhat shallow movepool, and no priority outside of the pathetic Quick Attack.
-Typing grants plenty of exposable weaknesses, such as Fire, Ice, and Psychic.
-Somewhat low defense (72 base) make it weak to many physical attackers, bulky ones that are neutral to its attacks especially.
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Sacred Sword / Close Combat
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Protect
item: Grass Gem / Fight Gem / Life Orb
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
-Virizion's most effective and most powerful set.
-Handles the two most powerful weather (sand and rain) really well thanks to good typing.
-Excellent anti-metagame speed gives it power outside of this role too.
-Leaf Blade is the only physical Grass-type move Virizion has, and works wonders against a host of common types, most notably its ability to handle rain teams exceptionally well.
-Sacred Sword and Close Combat both perform the same job, that is to be an effective all-round STAB attacks. Sacred Sword is the move I prefer, as it does not jeopardize Virizion's good special bulk. It also pays no heed to the unbanned Double Team / Minimize being played here and there, which seems to be a favorite on Eviolite Chansey. Close Combat if you want some extra power.
-Stone Edge provides Virizion with good coverage, allowing it to hit Flying types, which resist both its STAB, hard.
-Protect is Protect - there is no getting around that.
-The Gems strengthen Virizion's STAB a single time only - perhaps the difference between an OHKO and a 2HKO.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
-EVs and nature are to maximize speed first, then power, allowing it to at least tie with other 108s such as Terrakion and Infernape, and beat everything below 108 speed.
-Some support moves such as Helping Hand and Safeguard are still viable on this set, but it is generally preferred to have a way to beat the Dragons that so plague Virizion without a Rock attack.
-Although damage is measly, Quick Attack can be used somewhere, though the practicality of it is not brilliant due to low base power. If you want a priority attack, there are better pokemon than Virizion.
-Being as offensively set as it is, Virizion obviously appreciates Fake Out support, to stall one pokemon while Virizion takes out the other. Hitmontop is especially helpful for the job as it can take out the Lati@s and Chandelure with Sucker Punch, and also Wide Guard to protect Virizion from Heat Wave and Blizzard. Intimidate also helps cover Virizion's physically frail side.
-Anything that is bulky and is neutral to Virizion's attacks, or has Intimidate, is capable of taking on Virizion. Many pokemon exist to do this, such as Conkeldurr, who can drop Virizion with Hammer Arm or Drain Punch after taking any attack. Dragons, such as Salamence or Dragonite, can take Virizion's attacks all day, but they must be careful for special sets having been fitted with Hidden Power (Ice).
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Giga Drain
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Protect
item: Grass Gem / Fight Gem / Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
-Though the physical set may be more dependable, Virizion is capable of a special set.
-The main advantages over the physical set are a way of healing in Giga Drain and a way to use Virizion's great speed to defeat Dragons easily.
-Can also prove a great surprise boon, but not to a brilliant extent.
-Doesn't counter weather so well due to the trend that weather starters and abusers have higher special defense, but still has some potential.
-Giga Drain is not the main reason to run this set over the physical set, but it is a persuading feature. It is the move you will mostly use on this set.
-Focus Blast is very inaccurate, as we know, but because Virizion's movepool is even shallower on the special side (with the exclusion of Hidden Power), you cannot afford to have Hidden Power Fighting. It still gets good power, though.
-Hidden Power Ice is the main selling point of this set, taking large amounts out of Salamence, Garchomp, Landorus etc. after outspeeding them before they do any damage.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
-EVs and nature are again to keep Virizion offensive. They can be changed to 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe if you only want to beat 105s.
-Support options are, again, arguable. You may want to remove a Hidden Power for Helping Hand or Safeguard so you can run Hidden Power Fighting over Focus Blast, but then you might as well just run the physical set.
-Like the physical set, this set likes Fake Out support to aid it. It isn't too seperate from the physical set in this regard.
[SET]
name: Dedicated Support
move 1: Reflect
move 2: Light Screen
move 3: Giga Drain
move 4: Helping Hand / Protect
item: Leftovers / Light Clay / Sitrus Berry
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 28 Def / 228 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
-Supportive set using Dual Screens and Virizion's vast support movepool.
-While offensive movepool is barely ankle-deep, the supportive side is well above head-height, a real sufferer of the four moveslot syndrome.
-Reflect and Light Screen affect one teammate the turn they are used (as well as Virizion), and help cut damage short.
-Giga Drain provides Virizion with a somewhat reliable recovery, and prevents it from being total Taunt bait.
-The choice between Helping Hand and Protect is simply between helping your partner achieve a high damage bonus, or having the versatility and scouting potential of Protect.
-More defensively-based items can be used as Virizion is likely to hang around a long time with dual screens up.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
-EVs and Nature allow Virizion to outspeed all base 105s, and the rest is put in to make it more physically bulky. Nature depends on attacking move used.
-The most usable moves have been listed. More support options, should you need them, include Taunt, Quick Guard and Safeguard. On the attacking side, Sacred Sword can be used for the little extra power and useful fighting STAB, with which you should change the nature to Jolly. However, the lack of healing will cost Virizion its Light Clay for the more necessary Leftovers. Quick Attack is even more useless here, as Virizion is more welcome helping its teammates. However, it may not be a stupid idea to replace Reflect and/or Light Screen with two of the other choices of moves, if you think you don't need them. Virizion can learn Sunny Day, though it is only useful on a Sun team, or to combat hail - the latter of which you should not be using Virizion for. You could also use a Hidden Power of choice, though Virizion lacks the necessary offense here to do so.
-Team support is not as cut-and-dry as Fake Out here, as now Virizion is the supporter rather than the supported. You should have a pokemon that appreciates Dual Screens/doesn't enjoy priority/hates status/just misses a lot of OHKOs, so Virizion can really help it. Dragonite is somewhat of a test, Multiscale allowing him to really take a hefty advantage of Dual Screens, and would quite enjoy Helping Hand support to boost his +2 priority ExtremeSpeed.
[Other Options]
-A Choice Set is possible, but the lack of switching moves can really hurt in VGC. Not only that, but a shallow movepool means that only a mixed Scarf set can really be used efficiently enough to be available every game.
-With the right EV spread, Virizion can pull off a mixed offense set, but it really needs dedicated offense to really get some damage to the opponent. Still, using the dependability of the physical side with the surprise value of Hidden Power (Ice) may be worth a shot.
-With access to three set-up moves in Calm Mind, Work Up and Swords Dance, Virizion could use its special bulk to set up a little, with Swords Dance being the most powerful. However, in spite of the fact that stat-boosting should be avoided mostly in VGC, a stat boost can telegraph exactly what moves Virizion is likely to know, costing you the surprise value of a special set when your opponent is expecting a physical set.
[Checks and Counters]
-As mentioned before, any strong physical move will quickly bring Virizion's health down. Bulky pokemon, especially those neutral to Virizion's attacks, can take an attack and retaliate hard, which is why the Gems are so important on the offensive sets.
-Dragons give Virizion a hard time. All sets are crushed by Lati@s and Dragonite (those with a super-effective attack), while the physical set has big problems with Salamence and its Intimidate.
-Tornadus especially, as well as other Flying-Types with high speed, are capable of OHKOing with Acrobat. Unfortunately, without big defense investment, Coba Berry does no really change this.
[Dream World]
Virizion gets no Dream World ability. Justified isn't a bad ability, but there are better abilities - which Virizion doesn't get.
