Badal
Shit
QC: ShinyAzelf, commat6 [2/2]
GP: Swaggersaurus, RayJay [2/2]
AlphaJolts Original
[Overview]
<p>Since sunlight plays such a big role in the Little Cup environment, Bellsprout is naturally one of the top sun sweepers in the metagame. Its ability, Chlorophyll, doubles its speed during sunshine. This allows it to outspeed any non-Scarfed Pokemon. The main thing that sets it apart from other sun sweepers is that it has a high Attack, which makes it the only physical sun sweeper, and also the only sun sweeper to effectively run a mixed set. On the other hand, it has lower defenses and therefore is easily KOed if it does not KO the opposing pokemon first. Bellsprout is a strong addition to any sun team and is an unpredictable sweeper.</p>
[SET]
name: Sun Abuser
move 1: SolarBeam
move 2: Sludge Bomb / Sunny Day
move 3: Sleep Powder / Growth
move 4: Weather Ball / Hidden Power Fire
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Modest / Timid
EVs: 36 HP / 196 SpA / 36 SpD / 196 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>There are two things to abuse on any sun team: Chlorophyll and SolarBeam. The most prevalent sun sweepers all have this in common, and Bellsprout is no exception. Chlorophyll doubles Bellsprout’s low Speed, which only reaches 13 with a Modest nature. After the boost from Chlorophyll, Bellsprout reaches 26 Speed. SolarBeam is a beautiful 120 base power STAB attack that does not need the extra turn of charging up when the sun is strong. The best way for Bellsprout to deal with its counters is to put them to sleep; Sleep Powder works well despite shaky accuracy. The other slots go to rounding off coverage, because SolarBeam doesn’t hit everything by itself. Sludge Bomb is a secondary STAB attack which hits many things for neutral damage. Weatherball also abuses sunlight and becomes a 100 base power Fire attack and hits Ferroseed and Magnemite who would otherwise wall the set. The best item to use is a Life Orb, which adds to the destructive power of Bellsprout. Sunny Day provides the sunlight necessary for this set to work,; Chlorophyll, which increases its speed, SolarBeam, and Weather Ball all depend on sunlight.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A Sunny Day abuser can only work when there is sun, so there are two possibilities. It can be used on Bellsprout on this set, or Munchlax can be used as a teammate. Munchlax is not only a good Pokemon to have in Little Cup, but also a useful Sunny Day user; its bulk and ability to take hits along with its access to Sunny Day make it the ideal partner. The choice of nature won't make a huge difference, but Modest is preferred because of the extra power. The extra Speed is only useful for outrunning Choice Scarf users, who can threaten Bellsprout due to its low defenses. The difference in the natures is miniscule: 17 Special Attack and 13 Speed with Modest nature, and 16 Special Attack and 14 Speed with a Timid nature. After the Chlorophyll boost, it reaches 26 or 28 Speed, the latter being a Timid nature. Growth raises Bellsprout's Special Attack further, hitting 25 after a single boost. Hidden Power Fire can be used over Weatherball for a Fire attack that will not change type when the weather switches. Hippopotas and Snover both cancel the sun out, and change the weather to Sandstorm and Hail respectively. Snover can be hit on the switch with Sludge Bomb however. A Water- or Ice-type special attacker will alleviate Bellsprout of Hippopotas.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance Sweeper
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Sleep Powder
move 3: Seed Bomb
move 4: Sucker Punch
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Adamant / Jolly
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 36 SpD / 196 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Chlorophyll is a useful ability since it doubles speed in sunlight and allows Bellsprout to reach a speed of 26 with an Adamant nature. Sucker Punch provides priority, allowing Bellsprout to hit Choice Scarf holders who may outspeed it. With a Swords Dance and an Adamant nature, Bellsprout reaches 28 Attack. The presence of Sleep Powder gives Bellsprout the power to put a counter Pokemon to sleep. This is especially easy in Little Cup due to switching being particularly common.</p>
[ADDITONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Sunny Day can be used on Bellsprout on this set to set up sunlight to activate Chlorophyll, or Munchlax can be used as a teammate. Munchlax is not only a good Pokemon to have in Little Cup, but also a handy Sunny Day user. Its bulk and ability to take hits along with its access to Sunny Day make it the ideal partner. A Jolly nature will add a point of Speed at the cost of one Attack. Its given EVs grant it maximum Attack while maintaining high levels of speed. The rest of the EVs are in Special Defense and HP. The lack of defensive power obviously means defensive support is necessary. Pokemon that can take hits from others such as Slowpoke will make good teammates to Bellsprout since it resists a majority of Bellsprout's weaknesses. Chinchou is another good partner for Bellsprout thanks to its resistance of Fire-type attacks, and it has an extra STAB and is not weakened by the sun unlike other Water-types. </p>
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Growth
move 2: Weather Ball
move 3: Seed Bomb / SolarBeam
move 4: Sunny Day / Sucker Punch
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Naive
EVs: 236 Atk / 36 SpA / 196 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Chlorophyll will double Bellsprout's Speed in sunlight, allowing it to reach a Speed of 28 in total. SolarBeam does not need to charge during sunshine, which is useful since SolarBeam is a hard hitting move. Growth will raise both Attack and Special Attack of Bellsprout. This will allow it to attack both physically and specially, making it hard to wall. Sucker Punch gives Bellsprout a priority attack, which is always desired in Little Cup. Its Attack and Special Attack stats are 17 and 14 respectively before a Growth and 25 and 21 after a Growth, making it a hard hitting Pokemon. Sunny Day provides sunlight to Bellsprout which is necessary for this set to work; Chlorophyll, which increases its Speed, SolarBeam, and Weather Ball all depend on it.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Either a Naughty or Rash nature can be used to boost Attack or Special Attack respectively by one point at the cost of one Speed. An alternate EV spread of 76 Atk / 196 SpA / 196 Spe can be used to boost the power of Bellsprout's specially based moves. If the alternate EV spread is used, its Attack and Special Attack stats are 15 and 16 respectively before a Growth, and 22 and 24 after a Growth. The lack of defensive power again means defensive support is useful. Exeggcute is a useful Sunny Day lead as it can use Sunny Day followed by Explosion and not only take down the opponent's pokemon, but also allow Bellsprout to come in Ponyta is another alternative lead that can set up Sunny Day, and proceed to sweep with its sun boosted, STAB Flare Blitz.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Obviously, Sunny Day is an alternative that should seriously be considered alongside Bellsprout's moves, but if not, then Munchlax is a crucial teammate that provides the bulk and Sunny Day that Bellsprout requires in a teammate. Amongst the list of things that help Bellsprout sweep, Entry hazards are up there as they provide much needed support. Bellsprout is an effective late game sweeper when the enemy team and its counters are weakened, and can also act as a revenge killer by using Sucker Punch against weaker opponents. Bellsprout does learn Power Whip, but it is illegal to use it with Sucker Punch.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Hippopotas counters every set due to changing the weather to Sandstorm, and it can also tank physical hits and threaten back with Earthquake as Bellsprout has weak defenses. Magnemite counters the physical set and any special set that does not have a Fire-type attack. If Bellsprout has 13 Speed and is in the sun, any Choice Scarf holder that has 18 Speed will reach 27 and outspeed it, whereas if Bellsprout has 14 Speed and is in the sun, Choice Scarf holders with 19 Speed will Speed tie at 28.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Bellsprout's Dreamworld ability is Gluttony, but Chlorophyll is still preferred due to Bellsprout's low Speed when not in the sun.</p>