[Overview]
space
As one of the most overlooked and most difficult to handle threats in Generation 4, Breloom has both benefited from and been damaged by the transition to Generation
4 5. On one hand, the new
Ssleep mechanics make Breloom extremely difficult to deal with. On the other, Poison Heal Gliscor is a nearly insurmountable enemy for most Breloom sets, as it resists Focus Punch, is neutral to Seed Bomb, and is immune to Spore once Poison Heal is activated. However, Breloom is still an incredibly lethal Pokemon, and its monstrous STAB Focus Punch is nothing to be trifled with.
[SET]
name: SubSeed
move 1: Spore
move 2: Leech Seed
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Focus Punch
item: Toxic Orb
nature: Impish
ability: Poison Heal
evs: 236 HP / 252 Def / 20 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While 60 / 80 / 60 defenses may not seem like the most
effective useful, Breloom's incredible defensive typing makes it more than capable of taking hits from some top Pokemon in OU. Combine this with the buff to
Ssleep in Generation 5,
as well as Poison Heal
,(comma) and Substitute, and Breloom can easily prove itself to be far tougher to kill than its stat spread would imply.</p>
<p>Spore is a must-have on pretty much every Breloom set, as it is the only 100% accuracy Sleep move in the game, and with Generation 5's sleep mechanics, a Pokemon put to sleep often might as well be KOed. Leech Seed goes a long way to bolster Breloom's survivability, allowing it to wear down opponents while simultaneously refilling its own life. Substitute compounds this by allowing Breloom to scout switches and stall out Pokemon affected by Leech Seed. It also works especially well on this set due to the significant healing from Leech Seed and Poison Heal. Finally, Focus Punch rounds out the set. Even though this set has no
defensive offensive investment, it still reaches 296 Attack, and when that's combined with a STAB 150 Base Power attack like Focus Punch,
it gives a defensive set like this one
has some vicious power.</p>
that was just a matter of specifying what "it" was since you had a few subjects beforehand.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The defensive investment on this set makes it surprisingly durable. Ferrothorn is unable to break Breloom's Substitutes in one hit, making it easy to set up on.
It can also take any attack that Excadrill can throw at it, even a +2 Adamant Life Orb Return, which does exactly 1 less damage on a maximum roll than Breloom has HP- 319 damage to Breloom's 320 HP. This
set's surprisingly powerful bulk makes Breloom an excellent way to deal with some scary sweepers, as it can survive their attacks with ease and put them to sleep. 236 HP EVs give Breloom 320 HP, which is divisible by 8, giving it maximum healing from Poison Heal. Defense is maximized, and then the rest is put into Speed.</p>
<p>This set does have a number of notable counters that need to be eliminated for this set to function optimally. Gliscor is incredibly hard to deal with for this set, as Poison Heal makes it immune to Spore and counteracts Leech Seed's damage. It also resists Focus Punch, and takes barely any damage from it. As such, it's important to have a teammate that can either deal with it or lure it in and kill it. Expert Belt Landorus is especially effective as a teammate since it can lure in Gliscor and di
spatch it with Hidden Power Ice. It can also deal with another major counter, Celebi, with U-Turn.</p>
[SET]
name: SubPunch
move 1: Spore
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Focus Punch
move 4: Seed Bomb / Stone Edge / Facade
item: Toxic Orb
nature: Adamant
ability: Poison Heal
evs: 12 HP / 252 Def / 244 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While the previous set is more defensively oriented, this set is all power. A
Mmax Attack Adamant Focus Punch from Breloom is one of the most vicious attacks in the game, capable of OHKOing most anything that doesn't resist it, and even 2HKOing many Pokemon that do. While this set sacrifices durability somewhat, the increased offensive power and additional coverage makes it much more threatening offensively.</p>
<p>Spore is here as always, as
Ssleep allows Breloom to set up for free while also incapacitating whatever the opponent switches in. Substitute gives Breloom the buffer that it needs to fire off its powerful STAB Focus Punch, and works well with Poison Heal to heal off the damage. Focus Punch turns Breloom's targets into a fine red mist, and is a huge part of why this set is so threatening behind a Substitute. The last move is used to provide coverage and give Breloom a way to attack without a Substitute up. Seed Bomb is
a secondary STAB
move, and also allows Breloom to do incredible damage to threatening opponents such as Quagsire, Swampert, and Gastrodon. It also hits Jellicent, which is immune to Focus Punch. Stone Edge hits Flying-types, such as Dragonite
,(delete) and Salamence
, and Thundurus, and also does solid damage to Gengar. Facade is the most powerful third option after the boost from
Ppoison
,(delete) and provides decent neutral coverage, but doesn't have any important super effective coverage to speak of.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread on this set is simple. Attack is maximized for optimal damage output, and 12 HP gives Breloom an HP value divisible by 8 for Poison Heal. The rest is placed into Speed in order to allow Breloom to outspeed uninvested base 100s, as well as some uninvested or low-investment
mid-speed Pokemon
with middling Speed, such as Rotom-W, Dragonite, and Heatran.</p>
<p>As with all Breloom sets, Gliscor and Celebi give this set hell. Expert Belt Landorus is an amazing partner for this reason, as it can potentially lure both of them by bluffing Choice Scarf Earthquake and then dispatching them with Hidden Power Ice and U-Turn respectively. There are also a number of Pokemon that can cause problems depending on the choice of third attack. Without Stone Edge, Dragonite can be a major issue, so pairing it up with something that can eliminate Dragonite is a good idea. Landorus fits this bill nicely, and Bronzong can do the same while also providing Stealth Rock for the team. With Facade, it's important to have a check to Ghost-types, as it leaves Breloom completely unable to damage them. As such, including a strong Pursuit user on your team such as Tyranitar or Scizor can be important.
[OTHER OPTIONS]
<p>Breloom has a couple
of useful moves in its arsenal that don't see a lot of use, but still have some niche applications. Drain Punch's Generation 5 buff makes it a significantly more appealing option than it was in the previous generation, but its main issue is the lack of power
(space) - Breloom's big draw is its incredibly powerful Focus Punch, and without it, it's much less threatening. Bullet Seed's buff from 10 to 25 Base Power makes it marginally viable, as it has a 62.5% chance to have 75+ Base Power, making it comparable to Seed Bomb on average. However, Grass isn't an especially useful
multi-hit typing
for a multi-hit move, considering the fact that the big abusers of Substitute, which
are primarily
resist Grass
-type moves resists, aren't especially afraid of it. On top of that, it's unreliable, which makes it a problem.</p>
<p>While the big draw of Breloom is its devastating SubPunch sets, it's got a few other options that it can leverage effectively. As with all Grass-types, Breloom gets Swords Dance. This can make it an effective sweeper, as it has access to STAB Priority in the form of Mach Punch, and also has decent two or three move coverage. However, it tends to lack in power, and the prevalence of Gliscor and Dragonite can cause severe issues for it. It can also run a dual status set with both Spore and Stun Spore, as the new sleep mechanics and Breloom's general threat level make it unlikely that opponents will stay in, but generally paralyzing something is less effective than simply setting up a Substitute and preparing for some Focus Punches. An
"all-out attacker
" set can also be used, with Life Orb, Superpower over Focus Punch and a third coverage move instead of Substitute, but Breloom's comparative frailty, low
sSpeed, and lack of Substitute makes it unappealing for the role.</p>
<p>
Versions of Breloom with Choice
d items versions can also be used, especially Choice Scarf, as it can outspeed anything less than 130 base Speed and put it to sleep. However, using Spore on a
cChoice
-locked Pokemon is a questionable decision, as it largely negates the benefit of sleep, especially considering the new mechanics. Since Breloom is forced to switch out after Spore, the
spored sleeping Pokemon can stay in and attempt to wake up. Superpower can also be an issue, as each use weakens Breloom significantly, forcing it to switch out afterwards. A Choice Band set can also be devastating, as a STAB Superpower off of 591 Attack is nothing to scoff at, but Breloom is hard pressed to switch into attacks without any investment or Poison Heal's benefit. It can function as a decent revenge killer for stuff like
Excadrill and Terrakion though, due to Mach Punch. Still, its low
sSpeed and poor defenses are off-putting for such a role.</p>
[CHECKS AND COUNTERS]
<p>When it comes to Breloom counters, you just can't beat Gliscor. Its massive 125
physical dDefense and resistance to Fighting
-type moves allows it to shrug off Focus Punch with ease. Poison Heal just compounds the issue, as it renders Gliscor immune to Spore, and its passive healing also counteracts Leech Seed's effect. On top of that, Gliscor tends to use its Flying
-type STAB
more often, rather than going with mono-Ground coverage. Put all these factors together, and you've got the perfect Pokemon to counter Breloom.</p>
<p>Celebi is the other major counter to Breloom, as it has excellent 100 / 100 physical defense
s and resistance to both of Breloom's STABs. It also has Recover, allowing it to effortlessly heal off any damage that it takes from Breloom's attacks. Its Grass typing also makes it immune to Leech Seed, which negates the major threat of Breloom's primary set. Additionally, Natural Cure completely nullifies Spore, allowing Celebi to essentially switch in at any time for free. Celebi also carries Psychic or H
idden P
ower Fire on most of its sets, allowing it to easily dispatch Breloom.</p>
<p>There are, of course, some other notable problem Pokemon for Breloom. Ghost-types can be troublesome for Breloom, as they are immune to Focus Punch and usually either faster or extremely bulky. Gengar is especially nasty, as it resists Seed Bomb and can also use Disable to remove Breloom's access to its coverage move. Chandelure also resists Seed Bomb due to its Fire typing, though it has to watch out for Stone Edge on the offensive set. Another big problem for Breloom is Pokemon that pack multi-hit moves. Haxorus is the most prevalent, as it can break Breloom's substitute with the first hit of Dual Chop and then prevent the Focus Punch with the second hit. On top of that, Haxorus resists Seed Bomb, the move of choice for the offensive SubPunch set, and has enough defense to take a Stone Edge or Facade if need be. Mamoswine and Cloyster can do the same with Icicle Spear, but they risk getting caught by a Seed Bomb, and are also both weak to Focus Punch or Superpower as well.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Breloom's Dream World ability, Technician, is absolutely incredible for it. Technician gives Breloom a ton of useful options, and turns it from an irritating staller into an absolute offensive monster. Technician turns a number of offensive options from mediocre to incredible. The most notable one is Mach Punch, which now has the same level of power as Scizor's Bullet Punch, but with a much better typing. Bullet Seed also goes from 50-125 Base Power to 75-187.5 Base Power, making it at worst only slightly worse than Seed Bomb
,(delete) and
,(add) at best, two and a half times stronger,
and which is even stronger than Focus Punch. Breloom also gets two excellent STAB options in Low Sweep and Force Palm. Low Sweep is boosted to a respectable 90 Base Power by Technician, and makes Breloom even harder to deal with by lowering the speed of whatever switches in by 1 stage. As a result, faster Pokemon that switch into Low Sweep have a major chance to still be slower and have to take a second hit from Breloom before they can attack. Force Palm has the same power, and while it doesn't have a 100% effect rate like Low Sweep, its
Pparalysis infliction can cripple counters for the rest of the match. This makes Breloom an incredible Choice user, as it deals ridiculous damage with Choice Band and is nearly impossible to reliably switch into. It also has all the power it needs as a Swords Dance sweeper, as Mach Punch is much more usable at 60 Base Power than 40.</p>
