Overview
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Spore + 3 Attacks
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name: Spore + 3 Attacks
move 1: Spore
move 2: Bullet Seed
move 3: Mach Punch
move 4: Rock Tomb
ability: Technician
item: Life Orb / Focus Sash
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
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Set Details
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Leech Seed
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name: Leech Seed
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Drain Punch
move 3: Protect
move 4: Rock Tomb / Spore
ability: Poison Heal
item: Toxic Orb
evs: 252 HP / 196 SpD / 60 Spe
nature: Careful
Moves
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While the first set's focus was to hit as hard as possible, this set takes a bulkier approach towards using Breloom and attempts to take advantage of its decent support movepool. Leech Seed is essential to this set in allowing Breloom to gain passive recovery each turn, and when that's stacked with Poison Heal recovery, it will make Breloom difficult to take down. Drain Punch is Breloom's primary STAB attack, and provides additional recovery. Of course, Protect is useful not only for scouting, but also to stall with Leech Seed and gain tons of HP, while chipping away at your opponent's HP. Finally, Rock Tomb is used on the final moveset to slow down incoming switches to make it easier for Breloom or a teammate to handle. Spore can also be used instead of Rock Tomb to potentially incapacitate an opposing Pokemon, though Grass-types and Pokemon with Overcoat are immune to it, which will allow Pokemon like Mega Venusaur to switch in easily.
Set Details
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For this set, Toxic Orb is the item of choice to take advantage of Poison Heal. The EVs are mostly invested in special bulk to allow Breloom to serve as an effective Thundurus or Keldeo check. 60 Speed EVs are run on this set to outspeed minimum Speed Heatran, since Breloom can't KO it.
Usage Tips
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When anticipating a switch, it's usually safe to use Rock Tomb, since it will slow down the incoming switch-in and allow it to be taken down by Drain Punch or another teammate much easier. The same can be applied to Spore if you choose to use that instead, and will render any foe that is not a Grass-type or has Overcoat useless. However, watch out especially for Grass-types, who are immune to Leech Seed and Spore and can switch in on those moves with impunity
Team Options
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Because Grass-types are immune to Spore and Leech Seed, Fire-types like Heatran and Talonflame can be great teammates for taking them out. Also, Excadrill's typing lends itself to be an excellent teammate for Breloom as well, as it is immune to Poison and resists all of Breloom's weaknesses bar Fire. Finally, hazard setters like Skarmory or Landorus-T will force anything coming in to take a chunk of damage; Stealth Rock in particular is great for chipping away at Fire-types, especially the omnipresent Talonflame.
Other Options
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Checks & Counters
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- Technician + great movepool
- Its Bullet Seed is one of the strongest moves in the game (187.5 BP)
- Incredible base 130 Attack
- Base 70 Speed not that amazing
- Lackluster defenses
- Spore nerf hampers its utility slightly; Grass-types and Overcoat Pokemon now immune to Spore
- Its STABs are resisted by top-tier threats in the metagame (Mega Venusaur, Talonflame, Dragonite, etc.)
- Many common weaknesses to types such as Fire, Flying, and Ice
Spore + 3 Attacks
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name: Spore + 3 Attacks
move 1: Spore
move 2: Bullet Seed
move 3: Mach Punch
move 4: Rock Tomb
ability: Technician
item: Life Orb / Focus Sash
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
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- Takes advantage of Technician using low BP moves to hit super hard
- Spore incapacitates a foe and is useful for getting rid of something Breloom or the rest of the team can't handle as well. Also useful for getting check/counter neutered on the switch (unless Grass-type)
- Bullet Seed is Breloom's strongest STAB attack when Technician is considered. It can also break Sturdy and Focus Sash thanks to being multi-hit
- Mach Punch is useful STAB priority that also gets a Technician boost. Good for hitting weakened or faster Pokemon and hits quite hard
- Rock Tomb can get rid of or weaken popular threats like Talonflame or Dragonite on the switch, as well as slowing a few threats down to the point that Breloom can finish them off (Gengar, Latios)
- Force Palm can be used as another STAB attack Breloom can use if Mach Punch just won't do and Breloom is faster or can take a few hits from the opposition. It is useful for hitting defensive Pokemon like Ferrothorn or Mandibuzz.
Set Details
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- EVs maximize Attack and Speed
- Adamant is recommended for maximum power, though Jolly lets Breloom outspeed neutral invested base 70 Speed Pokemon or tie those with a positive nature.
- Life Orb maximizes power
- Jolly can be used to outrun Adamant Mamoswine so it can Mach Punch before taking an Ice Shard, but it doesn't outspeed much more than that
- Focus Sash can be used to guarantee a Spore early-game
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- Since Grass-types are immune to Spore, if you anticipate one of them is going to switch in, use a Fighting-type attack, or a coverage move if it resists Fighting.
- Using Spore on a predicted switch-in to a check or counter that isn't Grass-type is a great way to clear the path for a Breloom sweep
- Using Rock Tomb on a predicted switch-in slows the opponent's Pokemon, sometimes to the point where Breloom can outspeed and finish it off (in cases which it can't KO otherwise)
- Spore is also useful for neutering checks and counters of a teammate you are trying to support
- Used mostly mid-game for breaking walls or early-game to fire off a quick Spore and break things
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- Fire-type or teammate with Fire-type moves to get rid of Grass-types immune to Spore. Heatran is especially good because it resists Flying, as well as x4 resisting Ice and being immune to Poison.
- A counter for Mega Venusaur, such as Latios, is recommended as it can take all of Breloom's STAB attacks and hit it super-effectively with Sludge Bomb
- Stealth Rock setters to chip away at Fire- and Flying-type threats who have an easy time against Breloom
- Rock-types to take care of the above
- Hippowdon takes care of Aegislash, Dragonite, and Talonflame
- Excadrill is immune to Poison and can switch into all of Breloom's weaknesses bar Fire due to handy resistances.
Leech Seed
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name: Leech Seed
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Drain Punch
move 3: Protect
move 4: Rock Tomb / Spore
ability: Poison Heal
item: Toxic Orb
evs: 252 HP / 196 SpD / 60 Spe
nature: Careful
Moves
========
While the first set's focus was to hit as hard as possible, this set takes a bulkier approach towards using Breloom and attempts to take advantage of its decent support movepool. Leech Seed is essential to this set in allowing Breloom to gain passive recovery each turn, and when that's stacked with Poison Heal recovery, it will make Breloom difficult to take down. Drain Punch is Breloom's primary STAB attack, and provides additional recovery. Of course, Protect is useful not only for scouting, but also to stall with Leech Seed and gain tons of HP, while chipping away at your opponent's HP. Finally, Rock Tomb is used on the final moveset to slow down incoming switches to make it easier for Breloom or a teammate to handle. Spore can also be used instead of Rock Tomb to potentially incapacitate an opposing Pokemon, though Grass-types and Pokemon with Overcoat are immune to it, which will allow Pokemon like Mega Venusaur to switch in easily.
Set Details
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For this set, Toxic Orb is the item of choice to take advantage of Poison Heal. The EVs are mostly invested in special bulk to allow Breloom to serve as an effective Thundurus or Keldeo check. 60 Speed EVs are run on this set to outspeed minimum Speed Heatran, since Breloom can't KO it.
Usage Tips
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When anticipating a switch, it's usually safe to use Rock Tomb, since it will slow down the incoming switch-in and allow it to be taken down by Drain Punch or another teammate much easier. The same can be applied to Spore if you choose to use that instead, and will render any foe that is not a Grass-type or has Overcoat useless. However, watch out especially for Grass-types, who are immune to Leech Seed and Spore and can switch in on those moves with impunity
Team Options
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Because Grass-types are immune to Spore and Leech Seed, Fire-types like Heatran and Talonflame can be great teammates for taking them out. Also, Excadrill's typing lends itself to be an excellent teammate for Breloom as well, as it is immune to Poison and resists all of Breloom's weaknesses bar Fire. Finally, hazard setters like Skarmory or Landorus-T will force anything coming in to take a chunk of damage; Stealth Rock in particular is great for chipping away at Fire-types, especially the omnipresent Talonflame.
Other Options
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- Swords Dance
- SubPunch
- Bulk Up
- Choice Band
- ThunderPunch (bypasses Skarmory and Gyarados)
- Stone Edge
Checks & Counters
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- Mega Venusaur (resists both STABs + supereffective Sludge Bomb)
- Grass-types in general (Immune to Spore)
- Skarmory
- Talonflame (as well as Flying-types in general)
- Dragon-types (Dragon/Flying in particular) such as Dragonite
- Lati@s (resist, outspeed, KO, neutral to Rock Tomb)
- Aegislash (resists both STABs - Breloom becomes setup bait)
- Gengar
- Volcarona (if no Rock Tomb / Stone Edge)
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One of the things that sets Breloom apart from other physical attackers in the tier is its Hidden Ability, Technician, and Breloom's movepool is seemingly designed to take advantage of it. Its Bullet Seed is one of the strongest attacks in the game, being able to reach up to 187.5 BP, and its priority Mach Punch is insanely powerful when you take into account its base 130 Attack, STAB, and a Technician boost. Breloom can also put an opposing Pokemon to sleep with Spore, effectively taking them out for what is usually most of the match.
However, despite the insane power that Breloom wields, it definitely has its drawbacks. It has common weaknesses to types such as Fire, Flying, and Ice, and its 60 / 80 / 60 defenses are mediocre at best. One of the moves that Breloom is known for, Spore, has been nerfed significantly, as Grass-types and Pokemon with Overcoat, such as Ferrothorn and Mandibuzz, respectively, can now switch in on it with impunity. The metagame around Breloom has also changed drastically, as new threats like Mega Venusaur and Talonflame resist its STAB attacks and threaten it with their own super effective STAB attacks. Finally, Breloom is extremely slow, and base 70 Speed is quite mediocre in the OU metagame. However, the pure power that Breloom possesses is not to be ignored, and if used in the right hands, it can definitely pack quite the punch for a Pokemon with such stubby arms.
Offensive
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name: Offensive
move 1: Spore
move 2: Bullet Seed
move 3: Mach Punch
move 4: Rock Tomb / Swords Dance
ability: Technician
item: Focus Sash / Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant / Jolly
Moves
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This set aims to take advantage of Technician and utilize moves that will leave the opposing team extremely worn down. Spore is one of the moves that set Breloom apart from many other attackers, and it could potentially incapacitate a foe for most of the game. It can also be used on a predicted switch to ease prediction, unless a Grass-type or Pokemon with Overcoat are still alive. Bullet Seed is Breloom's most powerful STAB attack after Technician and is useful for breaking through Sturdy and Focus Sash. Mach Punch is a STAB priority move that is useful for hitting weakened or faster foes, and hits really hard after Technician as well. Finally, Rock Tomb is a very useful attack for slowing down anticipated switch-ins for Breloom to take down later; it can hit many common Breloom checks such as Talonflame and Dragonite really hard. Swords Dance can be used over Rock Tomb to allow Breloom to sweep through unprepared teams, as its Attack soars to sky-high levels after a +2 boost; however, its STAB coverage isn't that great and it can get walled by Pokemon like Aegislash, Charizard-Y, and Gengar with relative ease.
Breloom can also use Force Palm over Rock Tomb as a reliable and more powerful secondary STAB attack if it needs to hit harder than it would with Mach Punch, and this is useful for getting past defensive threats like Ferrothorn. However, Rock Tomb's utility is something that Breloom won't want to give it up.
Set Details
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The EVs of this set are maxed out in Attack and Speed to capitalize on Breloom's offensive presence, which is further bolstered by a Life Orb if you choose to run it. Adamant is recommended for maximum power, though Jolly is great for outspeeding major threats like Dragonite or Gyarados. Finally, a Focus Sash is recommended for Breloom to guarantee a hit on an opposing Pokemon with Spore or an attack, though a Life Orb can be used for a bit of extra power.
Usage Tips
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This set is one that is mostly used either mid-game to break walls or early-game to fire off a quick Spore and weaken things quickly. One thing that Breloom is very good at is punishing switches. When anticipating a switch, use Spore so that whatever is switching in is put to sleep and can't really do much. However, since Grass-types are immune to Spore, if you predict that one is going to switch in, try using Mach Punch or Rock Tomb. If something slightly faster than Breloom is switching in, it can use Rock Tomb to slow it down, hopefully to the point where Breloom can outspeed the opposing Pokemon and finish it off.
Team Options
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A Fire-type or a teammate with a Fire-type move is very useful to have to get rid of opposing Grass-types that are immune to Spore. Heatran is an excellent example of a Fire-type teammate, as it resists Flying, as well as dual-resisting Ice and being immune to Poison. Because Mega Venusaur essentially counters Breloom, a counter to it, such as Latios, is recommended to get it out of the way. A Stealth Rock setter is also a great teammate to have, as it chips away at the opposing team's health and also weakens Fire- and Flying-types, especially the omnipresent Talonflame. Rock-types are also a great choice for directly damaging Fire- and Flying-types. Hippowdon is a bulky Ground-type that can easily take care of Aegislash and Talonflame. Finally, Excadrill is an alternate Ground-type that pairs up well with Breloom, as it is immune to Poison and resists all of Breloom's weaknesses bar Fire and Ice, as well as being a great Rapid Spin user.
Leech Seed
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name: Leech Seed
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Drain Punch
move 3: Protect
move 4: Spore
ability: Poison Heal
item: Toxic Orb
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
nature: Careful
Moves
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While the previous set was more offensively-inclined, this set takes a more defensive approach towards using Breloom with its excellent defensive movepool and abilities. Leech Seed is the move this set is based upon, and it is great for chipping away at an opposing Pokemon's HP while giving Breloom passive recovery each turn. Drain Punch is Breloom's primary STAB attack, and it provides additional recovery on top of Leech Seed. Protect is a useful scouting move, and it also allows Leech Seed damage to rack up on your opponent while Breloom heals. Finally, in the last moveslot, Spore is used to put a switch-in or opposing Pokemon to sleep. However, Grass-types and Pokemon with Overcoat are now immune to Spore, so that is something to watch out for.
Set Details
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For this set, Toxic Orb is the item of choice to take advantage of Poison Heal. The EVs are mostly invested in special bulk to allow Breloom to serve as an effective Thundurus or Keldeo check.
Usage Tips
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When anticipating a switch, it's usually safe to use Leech Seed, since Breloom will need all the recovery it can get. However, watch out especially for Grass-types, which are immune to Leech Seed and Spore and can switch in on those moves with impunity. Once Leech Seed is set up, Breloom can stall with Protect if it is not worried about about the opposing Pokemon setting up. Keep Leech Seed on your opponent as much as possible; the passive damage will wear them down over time.
Team Options
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Because Grass-types are immune to Spore and Leech Seed, Fire-types like Heatran and Talonflame can be great teammates for taking them out. Also, Excadrill's typing lends itself to be an excellent teammate for Breloom as well, as it is immune to Poison and resists all of Breloom's weaknesses bar Fire. Finally, hazard setters like Skarmory or Landorus-T will force anything coming in to take a chunk of damage, and this is useful since Breloom will be forcing a lot of switches in order to shake off Leech Seed; Stealth Rock in particular is great for chipping away at Fire-types, especially the omnipresent Talonflame.
Other Options
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First of all, Swords Dance or Bulk Up can be used to get Breloom to sweep, but it will either get walled easily if it runs Spore, or find it hard to set up without it. A SubPunch set with Toxic Orb and Poison Heal also finds itself walled very easily, with it only using a Grass STAB and a semi-reliable Fighting STAB. A Choice Band set can also be used for lots of power, but Breloom won't be able to access its amazing support movepool and will miss using Spore a lot. Breloom is also prone to being revenge killed due to being extremely slow. Finally, Thunder Punch is an option to allow Breloom to bypass threats like Gyarados and Skarmory.
Checks & Counters
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**Grass-types**: Grass-types are threatening to both sets, as they resist Breloom's powerful Grass STAB attacks and are immune to Spore and Leech Seed. Mega Venusaur stands out as one of Breloom's best counters, as its Poison typing allows it to resist both of Breloom's STABs and hit it hard with Sludge Bomb.
**Fire-types**: Some Fire-types will also find themselves being able to check Breloom. Talonflame resists both of Breloom's STABs and fire off a 4x super effective priority Brave Bird, but it must watch out for Rock Tomb. Without Rock Tomb, Volcarona will also be able to set up Quiver Dance right in front of Breloom.
**Physically Defensive Pokemon**: Of course, since Breloom is mostly attacking using its excellent Attack stat, physically defensive Pokemon are able to wall Breloom. Examples include Skarmory and Mega Venusaur, with the latter also being immune to Spore.
**Dragon-types**: Dragon-types are notable for resisting Breloom's Grass STAB, and they also usually come with a second typing that resists its other STAB as well. Examples of this include Latias and Latios, whose Psychic typing help them resist Fighting. Dragon / Flying Pokemon like Dragonite and Salamence also resist Fighting, but they must watch out for Rock Tomb.
**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types are also good checks for being completely immune to Breloom's Fighting STAB, and many top-tier Ghost-types have an additional secondary typing that allows them to resist Grass as well. Gengar's Poison typing and Aegislash's Steel typing both allow them to accomplish this, and as such they can be very threatening.
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