[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 6 onwards
**Price Range**: 6-7 points
**Overview**: Boasting respectable mixed bulk, reliable recovery, and no weaknesses outside of Ground, Bellibolt is a great option capable of shoring up a team's defensive profile for only a modest hit to your budget. In spite of its penchant to use Slack Off, Bellibolt can make use of its reasonable Special Attack stat and signature ability Electromorphosis to prove that it is no slouch in battle. Static makes it a potent physical wall, punishing careless attacks from foes and allowing it valuable turns to pivot with Volt Switch or heal itself. Toxic allows Bellibolt a way to make progress in spite of its difficulty removing foes that resist its STAB attacks. Its lack of Speed is actually a significant boon to the frog, as it allows it to function as one of the stronger slow pivots in the format, excellent at bringing in its stronger teammates. With all these qualities, Bellibolt can supercharge a draft in later rounds, but it has one large Achilles' Heel: its lack of coverage. With only Muddy Water and Weather Ball at its disposal, it relies on skillful prediction and a well-crafted set to truly shine offensively. Bellibolt is no swim in the pond to deal with, as its great overall bulk makes it a solid secondary Tera Captain that can check a huge portion of the format if needed.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Defensive Pivot**: With a variety of utility options at its disposal, Bellibolt makes for an excellent slow pivot, able to leverage its good bulk to soak up an attack and then use Volt Switch to pivot into a more threatening teammate. It can use Slack Off to sustain its influence in battle while also spreading status with Toxic, Thunder Wave, and Discharge. Static in particular shines on pivot sets, as it can punish foes using weaker utility moves like U-turn and Knock Off. Bellibolt is also able to set dual screens multiple times across the battle.
**Wallbreaker**: Bellibolt can be a surprisingly potent wallbreaker with offensive investment. Electromorphosis boosts its strong STAB attacks like Thunder and Volt Switch to a frighteningly high level, making them capable of scoring an OHKO on an unsuspecting foe. Weather Ball both is boosted by rain and provides an excellent coverage option that can make those pesky Ground-types think twice about switching in. It can also be used in snow to give Bellibolt a surprise tool to hit opposing Grass- and Dragon-types it would otherwise have trouble removing.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Volt Switch, Discharge, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Parabolic Charge
**Setup Moves**: Charge Beam
**Utility Moves**: Soak, Toxic, Slack Off, Acid Spray, Thunder Wave, Light Screen, Reflect, Rain Dance
**Coverage**: Muddy Water, Weather Ball, Tera Blast
Niche Moves
========
**Sucker Punch**: Sucker Punch can be utilized to score surprise KOs on unsuspecting low-HP foes. Its priority is welcome due to Bellibolt's low Speed. However, it is important to note that Bellibolt has an incredibly weak Sucker Punch, and it is mainly used as insurance for opposing Focus Sash or Endure users on teams that might lack the ability to fit in priority elsewhere.
**Eerie Impulse**: Eerie Impulse can be utilized to help cull the threat of opposing special setup sweepers that Bellibolt cannot outright fight like Raging Bolt.
**Chilling Water**: Muddy Water's less swag cousin, Chilling Water is boosted to 60 Base Power after Bellibolt Terastallizes and can help cut the damage of opposing attackers while also being more reliable than Muddy Water, as it cannot miss.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Heavy-Duty Boots provides Bellibolt with a valuable tool to switch in numerous times over the course of a battle without the fear of opposing entry hazards.
**Leftovers / Sitrus Berry**: Healing items like Leftovers and Sitrus Berry allow Bellibolt to perform in its role as a defensive pivot and sustain itself throughout the many turns it will spend in battle.
**Rocky Helmet**: Bellibolt can wear its Rocky Helmet whenever it wants to make the most of its excellent bulk, functioning as a physical wall and dissuading foes from attacking it carelessly.
**Shuca Berry**: Shuca Berry can be excellent at shoring up Bellibolt's only weakness, allowing it to flip the tables on an incoming Ground-type attack and perform in its role as a defensive pivot.
**Assault Vest**: Assault Vest can allow Bellibolt to invest in Special Attack while maintaining its excellent natural bulk. This can surprise foes that think they are fighting a more passive Pokemon, only to be hit by an extremely powerful Electromorphosis-boosted attack for their troubles.
Niche Items
========
**Light Clay**: Light Clay is exceptionally beneficial when Bellibolt sets dual screens. The extra turns allow Bellibolt to significantly enhance the team's overall defensive capabilities, reducing damage from incoming attacks for a longer period. As a result, it provides a valuable opportunity for the team to set up with stat-boosting moves, execute strategic switches, or recover from previous damage without the immediate threat of being overwhelmed by powerful foes. The extra turns can also be crucial in stalling out opposing weather effects, status conditions, or Trick Room turns, thereby giving a substantial strategic advantage. Bellibolt also uniquely benefits from Static punishing Brick Break and Psychic Fangs.
**Red Card**: Red Card can be utilized thanks to Bellibolt's large overall bulk, giving it the opportunity to be a one-time check to an opposing setup sweeper.
Tera
========
Bellibolt is an excellent Tera Captain to pair alongside a more expensive Captain. It greatly appreciates the additional coverage provided by Tera Blast and also can make use of several offensive and defensive Tera types to expand on its value as a defensive pivot. Tera Fairy and Water are two of the more common Tera types; Tera Fairy provides Bellibolt with a strong defensive typing and allows it to check Dragon-types, while Tera Water strengthens Muddy Water and also gives it a more accurate option in Tera Blast with which to flip the script on opposing Ground-types without the need to rely on prediction. Tera Grass can be utilized as a tool to hit bulky Water / Ground types like Gastrodon and Swampert, which it would otherwise struggle to remove without the smart usage of Toxic. Tera Dragon and Steel can be utilized defensively to provide a slew of useful resistances, helping bolster its defensive capabilities. In spite of all of this, Bellibolt is excellent even when not selected as a Tera Captain, and as such, it is not required to be one; Tera merely elevates its use.
Draft Strategy
========
Bellibolt can fill a few different roles on a team, but there are a few notable traits from teammates that it desires.
**Entry Hazard Control**: Bellibolt often performs an auxiliary role in a team and therefore is not normally utilized as an offensive progress maker. As such, it can appreciate teammates like Landorus-T, Ting-Lu, and Gliscor, which can set entry hazards that aid Bellibolt in gradually chipping down foes. Strong entry hazard removers like Great Tusk, Iron Treads, and Terapagos can also allow Bellibolt to forgo usage of Heavy-Duty Boots and instead utilize more specialized items.
**Setup Sweepers**: Bellibolt is excellent at soaking up a hit and then pivoting with Volt Switch into frailer setup sweepers like Iron Valiant, Roaring Moon, and Iron Boulder. It has many tools with which to facilitate these setup sweepers, such as dual screens support, the ability to spread paralysis on opposing checks, and the ability to spread chip damage across an opposing team to weaken them, allowing a strong sweeper to then clean.
**Ground-resistant and -immune Pokemon**: As Ground is the only type that Bellibolt is weak to, foes will often try to include coverage with which to remove it; therefore, having strong Ground-resistant and -immune Pokemon like Tornadus-T, Dragonite, and Ogerpon can provide it with a teammate to pivot into.
Checks and Counters
========
**Ground-types**: Bellibolt can run out of battery very quickly when forced to battle teams with strong Ground-type presences like Ting-Lu, Ursaluna, and Mamoswine, as it is forced to predict incoming switches with Toxic or a weak and inaccurate Muddy Water. Gliscor is a problem for Bellibolt, as it actually benefits from being poisoned. Bellibolt can use Soak to circumvent this and hit Ground-types for super effective damage, but as Bellibolt is so slow, it will usually be threatened by their STAB attacks anyway.
**Entry Hazards**: Entry hazards set by Pokemon like Greninja, Tyranitar, and Skarmory can stifle Bellibolt from performing its job as a defensive pivot, as they quickly wear down its health every time it switches in, leaving it forced to spend more turns than it would like using Slack Off to heal.
**Electric-resistant Foes**: Bellibolt lacks sufficient coverage to hit strong foes like Raging Bolt, Iron Hands, and Gouging Fire, which can also all very easily use Substitute to become immune to its status moves. This can lead to Bellibolt being used as setup fodder for a foe.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/olivia.620359/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scribble.356084/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scionicle.599989/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
**Draft Order**: Round 6 onwards
**Price Range**: 6-7 points
**Overview**: Boasting respectable mixed bulk, reliable recovery, and no weaknesses outside of Ground, Bellibolt is a great option capable of shoring up a team's defensive profile for only a modest hit to your budget. In spite of its penchant to use Slack Off, Bellibolt can make use of its reasonable Special Attack stat and signature ability Electromorphosis to prove that it is no slouch in battle. Static makes it a potent physical wall, punishing careless attacks from foes and allowing it valuable turns to pivot with Volt Switch or heal itself. Toxic allows Bellibolt a way to make progress in spite of its difficulty removing foes that resist its STAB attacks. Its lack of Speed is actually a significant boon to the frog, as it allows it to function as one of the stronger slow pivots in the format, excellent at bringing in its stronger teammates. With all these qualities, Bellibolt can supercharge a draft in later rounds, but it has one large Achilles' Heel: its lack of coverage. With only Muddy Water and Weather Ball at its disposal, it relies on skillful prediction and a well-crafted set to truly shine offensively. Bellibolt is no swim in the pond to deal with, as its great overall bulk makes it a solid secondary Tera Captain that can check a huge portion of the format if needed.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Defensive Pivot**: With a variety of utility options at its disposal, Bellibolt makes for an excellent slow pivot, able to leverage its good bulk to soak up an attack and then use Volt Switch to pivot into a more threatening teammate. It can use Slack Off to sustain its influence in battle while also spreading status with Toxic, Thunder Wave, and Discharge. Static in particular shines on pivot sets, as it can punish foes using weaker utility moves like U-turn and Knock Off. Bellibolt is also able to set dual screens multiple times across the battle.
**Wallbreaker**: Bellibolt can be a surprisingly potent wallbreaker with offensive investment. Electromorphosis boosts its strong STAB attacks like Thunder and Volt Switch to a frighteningly high level, making them capable of scoring an OHKO on an unsuspecting foe. Weather Ball both is boosted by rain and provides an excellent coverage option that can make those pesky Ground-types think twice about switching in. It can also be used in snow to give Bellibolt a surprise tool to hit opposing Grass- and Dragon-types it would otherwise have trouble removing.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Volt Switch, Discharge, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Parabolic Charge
**Setup Moves**: Charge Beam
**Utility Moves**: Soak, Toxic, Slack Off, Acid Spray, Thunder Wave, Light Screen, Reflect, Rain Dance
**Coverage**: Muddy Water, Weather Ball, Tera Blast
Niche Moves
========
**Sucker Punch**: Sucker Punch can be utilized to score surprise KOs on unsuspecting low-HP foes. Its priority is welcome due to Bellibolt's low Speed. However, it is important to note that Bellibolt has an incredibly weak Sucker Punch, and it is mainly used as insurance for opposing Focus Sash or Endure users on teams that might lack the ability to fit in priority elsewhere.
**Eerie Impulse**: Eerie Impulse can be utilized to help cull the threat of opposing special setup sweepers that Bellibolt cannot outright fight like Raging Bolt.
**Chilling Water**: Muddy Water's less swag cousin, Chilling Water is boosted to 60 Base Power after Bellibolt Terastallizes and can help cut the damage of opposing attackers while also being more reliable than Muddy Water, as it cannot miss.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Heavy-Duty Boots provides Bellibolt with a valuable tool to switch in numerous times over the course of a battle without the fear of opposing entry hazards.
**Leftovers / Sitrus Berry**: Healing items like Leftovers and Sitrus Berry allow Bellibolt to perform in its role as a defensive pivot and sustain itself throughout the many turns it will spend in battle.
**Rocky Helmet**: Bellibolt can wear its Rocky Helmet whenever it wants to make the most of its excellent bulk, functioning as a physical wall and dissuading foes from attacking it carelessly.
**Shuca Berry**: Shuca Berry can be excellent at shoring up Bellibolt's only weakness, allowing it to flip the tables on an incoming Ground-type attack and perform in its role as a defensive pivot.
**Assault Vest**: Assault Vest can allow Bellibolt to invest in Special Attack while maintaining its excellent natural bulk. This can surprise foes that think they are fighting a more passive Pokemon, only to be hit by an extremely powerful Electromorphosis-boosted attack for their troubles.
Niche Items
========
**Light Clay**: Light Clay is exceptionally beneficial when Bellibolt sets dual screens. The extra turns allow Bellibolt to significantly enhance the team's overall defensive capabilities, reducing damage from incoming attacks for a longer period. As a result, it provides a valuable opportunity for the team to set up with stat-boosting moves, execute strategic switches, or recover from previous damage without the immediate threat of being overwhelmed by powerful foes. The extra turns can also be crucial in stalling out opposing weather effects, status conditions, or Trick Room turns, thereby giving a substantial strategic advantage. Bellibolt also uniquely benefits from Static punishing Brick Break and Psychic Fangs.
**Red Card**: Red Card can be utilized thanks to Bellibolt's large overall bulk, giving it the opportunity to be a one-time check to an opposing setup sweeper.
Tera
========
Bellibolt is an excellent Tera Captain to pair alongside a more expensive Captain. It greatly appreciates the additional coverage provided by Tera Blast and also can make use of several offensive and defensive Tera types to expand on its value as a defensive pivot. Tera Fairy and Water are two of the more common Tera types; Tera Fairy provides Bellibolt with a strong defensive typing and allows it to check Dragon-types, while Tera Water strengthens Muddy Water and also gives it a more accurate option in Tera Blast with which to flip the script on opposing Ground-types without the need to rely on prediction. Tera Grass can be utilized as a tool to hit bulky Water / Ground types like Gastrodon and Swampert, which it would otherwise struggle to remove without the smart usage of Toxic. Tera Dragon and Steel can be utilized defensively to provide a slew of useful resistances, helping bolster its defensive capabilities. In spite of all of this, Bellibolt is excellent even when not selected as a Tera Captain, and as such, it is not required to be one; Tera merely elevates its use.
Draft Strategy
========
Bellibolt can fill a few different roles on a team, but there are a few notable traits from teammates that it desires.
**Entry Hazard Control**: Bellibolt often performs an auxiliary role in a team and therefore is not normally utilized as an offensive progress maker. As such, it can appreciate teammates like Landorus-T, Ting-Lu, and Gliscor, which can set entry hazards that aid Bellibolt in gradually chipping down foes. Strong entry hazard removers like Great Tusk, Iron Treads, and Terapagos can also allow Bellibolt to forgo usage of Heavy-Duty Boots and instead utilize more specialized items.
**Setup Sweepers**: Bellibolt is excellent at soaking up a hit and then pivoting with Volt Switch into frailer setup sweepers like Iron Valiant, Roaring Moon, and Iron Boulder. It has many tools with which to facilitate these setup sweepers, such as dual screens support, the ability to spread paralysis on opposing checks, and the ability to spread chip damage across an opposing team to weaken them, allowing a strong sweeper to then clean.
**Ground-resistant and -immune Pokemon**: As Ground is the only type that Bellibolt is weak to, foes will often try to include coverage with which to remove it; therefore, having strong Ground-resistant and -immune Pokemon like Tornadus-T, Dragonite, and Ogerpon can provide it with a teammate to pivot into.
Checks and Counters
========
**Ground-types**: Bellibolt can run out of battery very quickly when forced to battle teams with strong Ground-type presences like Ting-Lu, Ursaluna, and Mamoswine, as it is forced to predict incoming switches with Toxic or a weak and inaccurate Muddy Water. Gliscor is a problem for Bellibolt, as it actually benefits from being poisoned. Bellibolt can use Soak to circumvent this and hit Ground-types for super effective damage, but as Bellibolt is so slow, it will usually be threatened by their STAB attacks anyway.
**Entry Hazards**: Entry hazards set by Pokemon like Greninja, Tyranitar, and Skarmory can stifle Bellibolt from performing its job as a defensive pivot, as they quickly wear down its health every time it switches in, leaving it forced to spend more turns than it would like using Slack Off to heal.
**Electric-resistant Foes**: Bellibolt lacks sufficient coverage to hit strong foes like Raging Bolt, Iron Hands, and Gouging Fire, which can also all very easily use Substitute to become immune to its status moves. This can lead to Bellibolt being used as setup fodder for a foe.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/olivia.620359/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scribble.356084/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scionicle.599989/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Last edited:
