[OVERVIEW]
Amoonguss is one of the best support Pokemon in the metagame, capable of redirecting attacks with Rage Powder or putting foes to sleep with Spore. It is bulky enough to live most attacks, and the added survivability from Regenerator allows it to perform its role repeatedly throughout a match. Additionally, Pollen Puff ensures Amoonguss's teammates can also remain healthy. Setup Pokemon, such as Dragon Dance Zygarde or Kyurem-B and Calm Mind Tapu Fini, benefit the most from Amoonguss's support and can make up for its minimal damage output. Due to its low Speed and Spore, Amoonguss also works well both with and against Trick Room teams, as it can then send most Pokemon to sleep before they move. Trick Room users such as Porygon2 and Diancie also appreciate the redirection support while setting it. Despite being able to stomach most hits, Amoonguss must be wary of Fire-types such as Heatran and Incineroar as well as Psychic-types such as Tapu Lele and Necrozma, requiring teammates to deal with them such as Urshifu-R and Heatran, respectively. The presence of Misty Terrain hampers Amoonguss's Spore, so terrain setters such as Tapu Lele and Indeedee-F, or Metagross with Steel Roller, are essential to remove it. Opposing Grass-types such as Rillaboom and Kartana, or Pokemon holding Safety Goggles, can also be troublesome, as immunity to powder moves lets them mostly ignore Amoonguss and attack its partner. Blastoise, its biggest competitor as a redirector, doesn't share this drawback.
[SET]
name: Rage Powder Support
move 2: Sludge Bomb / Protect
move 1: Pollen Puff
move 3: Rage Powder
move 4: Spore
item: Sitrus Berry
ability: Regenerator
nature: Calm
evs: 232 HP / 88 Def / 188 SpD
ivs: 28 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
* Sludge Bomb is Amoonguss's primary offensive option, hitting Tapu Fini as well as Grass-types like Rillaboom, (AC) which are immune to Spore. Protect can be used instead to scout for moves such as Choice Scarf Genesect locking into Ice Beam, but this leaves Amoonguss quite passive.
* Pollen Puff heals Amoonguss's partner and can hit Kartana, which is immune to Sludge Bomb.
* Rage Powder keeps partners safe from attacks and is most effective when used alongside setup Pokemon, or while setting field conditions such as Trick Room and Tailwind.
* Besides critically putting foes out of action, Spore helps ensure Amoonguss is not too passive while on the field.
* Sitrus Berry complements Amoonguss's bulk, turning many would-be 2HKOs into 3HKOs instead, such as Ice Beam from non-Life Orb Kyurem-B.
* Regenerator also helps Amoonguss's longevity on switching out, which can let it give future utility even when at low health.
* The given EV spread and nature, combined with Sitrus Berry, allow Amoonguss to live two Heat Waves from Volcanion, with the remaining EVs placed in Defense. 28 Speed IVs let it underspeed Diancie to move first under Trick Room while still being able to outspeed foes with the help of speed control.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Resist berries such as Occa and Papaya allow Amoonguss to live certain attacks that it would not otherwise. Eject Button lets Amoonguss redirect a hit and then immediately switch out, e.g. for helping to set Trick Room or Tailwind and then getting an attacker in to benefit right away. However, Eject Button can be awkward if Amoonguss intends to use Spore and gets forced out instead or needs to redirect two attacks. Another option is Rocky Helmet, which provides chip damage on physical attackers such as Urshifu-R, Rillaboom, and Kartana. These alternate item choices are not as generally useful as the recovery from Sitrus Berry, though. Clear Smog is a weaker Poison-type STAB move compared to Sludge Bomb, but it can be used instead to help deal with opposing setup. A Grass-type STAB move such as Energy Ball could also be considered, but it cannot effectively hit the Pokemon immune to Spore, while the Pokemon it does hit harder than Sludge Bomb are vulnerable to Spore, so there is little reason to use it.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Yoda2798, 243662]]
- Quality checked by: [[zeefable, 501951], [emma, 294304]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]
Amoonguss is one of the best support Pokemon in the metagame, capable of redirecting attacks with Rage Powder or putting foes to sleep with Spore. It is bulky enough to live most attacks, and the added survivability from Regenerator allows it to perform its role repeatedly throughout a match. Additionally, Pollen Puff ensures Amoonguss's teammates can also remain healthy. Setup Pokemon, such as Dragon Dance Zygarde or Kyurem-B and Calm Mind Tapu Fini, benefit the most from Amoonguss's support and can make up for its minimal damage output. Due to its low Speed and Spore, Amoonguss also works well both with and against Trick Room teams, as it can then send most Pokemon to sleep before they move. Trick Room users such as Porygon2 and Diancie also appreciate the redirection support while setting it. Despite being able to stomach most hits, Amoonguss must be wary of Fire-types such as Heatran and Incineroar as well as Psychic-types such as Tapu Lele and Necrozma, requiring teammates to deal with them such as Urshifu-R and Heatran, respectively. The presence of Misty Terrain hampers Amoonguss's Spore, so terrain setters such as Tapu Lele and Indeedee-F, or Metagross with Steel Roller, are essential to remove it. Opposing Grass-types such as Rillaboom and Kartana, or Pokemon holding Safety Goggles, can also be troublesome, as immunity to powder moves lets them mostly ignore Amoonguss and attack its partner. Blastoise, its biggest competitor as a redirector, doesn't share this drawback.
[SET]
name: Rage Powder Support
move 2: Sludge Bomb / Protect
move 1: Pollen Puff
move 3: Rage Powder
move 4: Spore
item: Sitrus Berry
ability: Regenerator
nature: Calm
evs: 232 HP / 88 Def / 188 SpD
ivs: 28 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
* Sludge Bomb is Amoonguss's primary offensive option, hitting Tapu Fini as well as Grass-types like Rillaboom, (AC) which are immune to Spore. Protect can be used instead to scout for moves such as Choice Scarf Genesect locking into Ice Beam, but this leaves Amoonguss quite passive.
* Pollen Puff heals Amoonguss's partner and can hit Kartana, which is immune to Sludge Bomb.
* Rage Powder keeps partners safe from attacks and is most effective when used alongside setup Pokemon, or while setting field conditions such as Trick Room and Tailwind.
* Besides critically putting foes out of action, Spore helps ensure Amoonguss is not too passive while on the field.
* Sitrus Berry complements Amoonguss's bulk, turning many would-be 2HKOs into 3HKOs instead, such as Ice Beam from non-Life Orb Kyurem-B.
* Regenerator also helps Amoonguss's longevity on switching out, which can let it give future utility even when at low health.
* The given EV spread and nature, combined with Sitrus Berry, allow Amoonguss to live two Heat Waves from Volcanion, with the remaining EVs placed in Defense. 28 Speed IVs let it underspeed Diancie to move first under Trick Room while still being able to outspeed foes with the help of speed control.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Resist berries such as Occa and Papaya allow Amoonguss to live certain attacks that it would not otherwise. Eject Button lets Amoonguss redirect a hit and then immediately switch out, e.g. for helping to set Trick Room or Tailwind and then getting an attacker in to benefit right away. However, Eject Button can be awkward if Amoonguss intends to use Spore and gets forced out instead or needs to redirect two attacks. Another option is Rocky Helmet, which provides chip damage on physical attackers such as Urshifu-R, Rillaboom, and Kartana. These alternate item choices are not as generally useful as the recovery from Sitrus Berry, though. Clear Smog is a weaker Poison-type STAB move compared to Sludge Bomb, but it can be used instead to help deal with opposing setup. A Grass-type STAB move such as Energy Ball could also be considered, but it cannot effectively hit the Pokemon immune to Spore, while the Pokemon it does hit harder than Sludge Bomb are vulnerable to Spore, so there is little reason to use it.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Yoda2798, 243662]]
- Quality checked by: [[zeefable, 501951], [emma, 294304]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]
Last edited: