Yaa Man
[Overview]
<p>Arguably one of the strongest and most popular Pokemon of the RBY generation, Exeggutor's role in the fifth generation couldn't be further from his first generation counterpart. With the introduction of Drought into the OU metagame, Exeggutor can employ Chlorophyll to great effect by becoming a mean wallbreaker. Exeggutor's excellent movepool allows it to hit a variety of targets that might otherwise be problematic for sun teams. However, Exeggutor's new role in BW does have its drawbacks. Unlike his first generation counterpart, Exeggutor has atrocious Special Defense, meaning even resisted special hits can dent it. Furthermore, Chlorophyll can only do so much to improve his speed since his base 55 Speed leaves him slower than many Choice Scarf users, even after Chlorophyll's boost. But with the right teammates, Exeggutor will surely prove that two, possibly three, heads are better than one.</p>
[SET]
name: Mixed
move 1: Leaf Storm / Psychic
move 2: Wood Hammer
move 3: Nature Power
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Sleep Powder
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Rash
evs: 156 Atk / 140 SpA / 212 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>What pops out immediately when looking at Exeggutor's stats are his massive base 125 Special Attack and decent base 95 Attack, which can allow him to go mixed. For many sun teams and Chlorophyll sweepers, Heatran and Tyranitar are problematic—Exeggutor has the ability to lure them both in and OHKO with Nature Power and Wood Hammer respectively, allowing for other offensive teammates to sweep. Exeggutor isn't limited to hurting just Heatran and Tyranitar as it has the coverage and the Speed in the sun to dent just about any target.</p>
<p>In the first slot a special STAB of choice is used to hammer targets from Exeggutor's massive Special Attack stat. Leaf Storm is Exeggutor's most powerful move and the resulting Special Attack drop does not affect the power of his physical attacks. However, Psychic is an equally good option, being able to hit Dragonite and the omnipresent Tornadus and Thundurus-T hard. Psychic also comes with the benefit of having a consistent Special Attack to work off of and not conflicting with Wood Hammer in terms of coverage. Speaking of Wood Hammer, it is Exeggutor's primary physical STAB attack with huge amount of power. Even though it causes recoil that could stack up with Life Orb, its power is appreciated for the ability to OHKO 252 HP / 0 Def Tyranitar with the given EVs. Exeggutor's second target, Heatran, is handily KOed by Nature Power which becomes Earthquake in Wi-Fi and simulator battles.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>In the last slot, Exeggutor can choose between Hidden Power Fire and Sleep Powder. Hidden Power Fire can be used to hit the large amount of Steel-types that could wall Exeggutor and gives him another pseudo-STAB in the sun. However, Sleep Powder can be used to take an opponent's Pokemon right out of the match, which is very helpful for the offensive teams that Exeggutor finds himself on. When using Nature Power it is important to note that it counts as a non-attacking move, so it is stopped by Taunt, but it also means Exeggutor can work around Sucker Punch users it might fall prey to. It is possible to run a Naive nature to outspeed positively natured Choice Scarf Salamence, but it does compromise Exeggutor's power.</p>
<p>Exeggutor should always be paired up with Ninetales. However on a sun team, Exeggutor is best paired with Chlorophyll sweepers. While being paired with other Chlorophyll sweepers, Exeggutor can break down the Pokemon that would impair their sweep. Faster Chlorophyll sweepers, such as Venusaur and Victreebel, can assist Exeggutor in return by outspeeding the Choice Scarf users who would threaten it, such as Scarf Landorus. Pokemon that enjoy Heatran and Tyranitar removed also make good partners with Exeggutor. Volcarona is one of the best, since it can sweep teams that rely on Heatran to check it and it can set up on Scizor, a Pokemon who may give Exeggutor trouble. Since Exeggutor runs Life Orb and most likely will be using Wood Hammer, minimizing entry hazard damage will help with his already short longevity. Forretress and Donphan make great choices for spinners on sun teams and they both offer Stealth Rock to assist Exeggutor achieve some KOs.</p>
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Leaf Storm
move 2: Psyshock / Psychic
move 3: Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Giga Drain / Nature Power / Sleep Powder
item: Life Orb / Choice Specs
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Modest / Rash
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Having the highest Special Attack stat out of all Chlorophyll users means an all-out special attacking set is a natural choice for Exeggutor. Under the sun Exeggutor can outspeed all of the unboosted OU metagame, meaning it can release his power to its full potential. Given the opportunities to do damage to the opponent's team, they will quickly find themselves worn down after repeated hits. Leaf Storm is the crux of this set as it can cause a huge amount of damage to those who even resist it, such as doing over half to Latios. While Leaf Storm's power is immense, it should be used with caution due to the Special Attack drop which is quite limiting to an all special set. For a secondary STAB Psyshock or Psychic can be used. Psyshock is the preferred STAB move as it can break through both Blissey and Chansey, a great asset for a special attacker. In the third slot, Hidden Power Fire is used for valuable coverage against Steel-types and a third "STAB" option in the sun. Overall, an all-out attacking special set will keep the opponent guessing.</p>
<p>The choice between Life Orb and Choice Specs makes all the difference on how Exeggutor will be played throughout the match, so one should choose wisely. Life Orb means Exeggutor has much more staying power to hit available targets and lightens up on prediction. Both of these factors given him greater capacity as a sweeper. Meanwhile, Choice Specs offers better longevity and power, but is reliant on prediction. If one opts to go with Choice Specs, Exeggutor becomes a powerful wallbreaker for sun teams and it can check threats better in sunlight, including Keldeo. Both are equally good options, but the item selection should be done on what role Exeggutor fits best on your team.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>In the last slot, a variety of options can be chosen with each bringing various benefits. Giga Drain is the primary choice because it gives Exeggutor a Grass-type STAB that is consistent and allows him to recover Life Orb recoil; however, it is out of place on the Choice Specs variant. If you find Heatran to wall Exeggutor too easily, Nature Power can be used to remove a weakened Heatran from the field. Lastly, Sleep Powder can be used to cripple an opponent's Pokemon, an invaluable asset to use on something as powerful as Exeggutor. Low Kick is not suggested to be used due to Leaf Storm already doing a hefty chunk to Tyranitar and being too weak to do any real damage to Heatran.</p>
<p>Of course, to get Exeggutor to function at its best, Drought Ninetales is a must to pair with Exeggutor. As for offensive teammates to pair with, those that can remove the pesky specially defensive Dragon-types and Heatran from the field are appreciated. Snorlax is excellent for this purpose on a sun team, as it can sponge special attacks from Dragon-types with relative ease and can smack them with a powerful Normal STAB move or trap them with Pursuit. It can also come in on Heatran thanks to Thick Fat and OHKO it with Earthquake. Dugtrio is also useful, because it can trap Heatran and proceed to KO it with a STAB Earthquake. An accompanying Chlorophyll sweeper can be used as a dynamic offensive duo to weaken each other's counters. Venusaur is the best, because it has the potential to weaken the counters of Chlorophyll sweepers or lure them in with a physical set using either Return or Earthquake to target Latias or Heatran, respectively.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Wood Hammer / Seed Bomb
move 3: Low Kick / Nature Power
move 4: Zen Headbutt / Hidden Power Fire
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Adamant / Naughty
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Exeggutor's stat spread indicates otherwise, Exeggutor can in fact make great use of Swords Dance to become a frightening sweeper. Normally, Chlorophyll sweepers draw their power from their special attacking prowess; however, Exeggutor with Swords Dance provides an unexpected, yet effective, option. Swords Dance is Exeggutor's best boosting move and it takes advantage of Exeggutor's limited but precise physical movepool. Exeggutor is one of the few Pokemon to get Wood Hammer, the strongest physical Grass-type attack, in its movepool. Stacked on top of STAB, a Swords Dance boost, and the Speed provide by the sun, teams without a strong Grass resist will crumble. For example, after a Swords Dance even Latios will find himself always OHKOed by Wood Hammer with Stealth Rock, and has a good chance of being KOed even without. Although Seed Bomb could be used to prevent recoil damage from accumulating, the power drop from Wood Hammer is quite significant.</p>
<p>Where Swords Dance Exeggutor really shines is its ability effortlessly KO both Heatran and Tyranitar, Pokemon who are otherwise problematic for sun teams. Both Nature Power and Low Kick take care of Heatran and Tyranitar, the latter without incurring crippling Wood Hammer recoil. The choice is dependent on which Steel-types you would like to target and take out. With Low Kick, you will be able to take care of Ferrothorn easily as well as have the capability to hit Hydreigon hard. However, Low Kick can do nothing to Jirachi and does not obtain the OHKO on Metagross as Nature Power would be able to do. Nature Power can also be used to bypass Sucker Punch users. Nevertheless, Low Kick is the preferred option due to it being able to hit a larger variety of targets.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>In the last slot Zen Headbutt can be used as a secondary STAB move. Zen Headbutt with Low Kick offers great coverage and Zen Headbutt receives STAB. It is also the best option to hit targets that resist Wood Hammer that are not Steel-type. Dragonite, Salamence, and the popular Tornadus-T all take a large amount of damage from Zen Headbutt. Zen Headbutt is also great for having the ability to use a STAB move outside of the recoil-causing Wood Hammer. However, if you find Steel-types problematic, especially Skarmory and Scizor, Hidden Power Fire can be used instead. Because of the sun, Life Orb, and Exeggutor's naturally high Special Attack stat, it still retains the ability to OHKO both of these threats after Stealth Rock with ease. Take note that Hidden Power Fire is an inferior option because the Fire moves to take care of Steel-types are in ample supply and power already on sun teams.</p>
<p>Unlike other Exeggutor sets, Swords Dance Exeggutor is almost entirely physical, and thus will need very different teammates. Latias has the ability to resist Exeggutor's entire moveset, threaten heavy damage with Dragon Pulse, and simply Recover off damage. Meanwhile, Choice Scarf Latios has the ability to outspeed and possibly KO Exeggutor with Draco Metoer or Hidden Power Fire. Thus, Snorlax makes an excellent partner for Exeggutor, handily sponging the special moves Latios and Latias can dish out and being able to remove them with Crunch or Pursuit. Magnezone can be used to trap and destroy the Steel-types that give Exeggutor trouble, and it enjoys the boost that sun gives Hidden Power Fire. Exeggutor should use Wood Hammer, so a Rapid Spin user, such as Donphan or Forretress, should be used to extend his lifespan from recoil damage. Lastly, Exeggutor is best used with an offensive partner that can soften up or outright kill Steel-types. Salamence and Dragonite are excellent in this regard due to being able to lure out Steel-types and receiving a boost to their Fire-type attacks in sunlight.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Like many other Grass-types, Exeggutor can employ a SubSeed set and, depending on its ability of choice, it can play in two different styles. With Chlorophyll, Exeggutor acts as a fast SubSeed user and a decent check to Fighting-types with its good physical bulk. Interestingly, with Harvest and Sitrus Berry, Exeggutor is one of the only SubSeed users that can completely recover the health lost from a Substitute. But when running Harvest Exeggutor will be very slow, so caution should be taken against faster special attackers. Generally, Exeggutor's SubSeed sets are mediocre and are better done by other Pokemon who could do it similarly but are either faster and more reliable, such as Venusaur and Breloom, respectively.</p>
<p>Exeggutor can use Sunny Day, giving his team a backup source of sun if Ninetales faints. With a SunnyBeam set, Exeggutor can use SolarBeam, which does not drop his Special Attack life Leaf Storm. However, Exeggutor will find himself in a pickle when he has to skirt around using it as his main STAB move and will be liable to being Pursuit trapped if Tyranitar switches in. Lastly, Exeggutor can support his team and use Trick Room on his own with his low Speed. As one of the only Pokemon with Trick Room and a more reliable sleeping move than Hypnosis in Sleep Powder, he can find a free turn to set up Trick Room easily. Note if you do use a Trick Room set that it is necessary to put Harvest as the ability to make sure Exeggutor doesn't get a Speed boost in sunlight!</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>While Exeggutor is powerful, he falls to Pokemon who can prey on his pitiful Special Defense. Latios and Latias resist every attack he commonly carries and can damage him with their Dragon-type moves and high Special Attack. Volcarona resists his Grass-type attacks and proceed to set up Quiver Dance or outright KO Exeggutor with Bug Buzz or Fiery Dance. Without a Psychic STAB or Hidden Power Ice, Dragonite can take a hit buffered by Multiscale and hit back with a sun-boosted Fire move. While Exeggutor has decent physical bulk, Scizor is a threat, as it can come in on a predicted Grass-type attack and can KO weakened Exeggutor with Bullet Punch or Pursuit trap him. While Exeggutor can remove most Tyranitar, Choice Scarf Tyranitar makes an excellent check, because it can remove sunlight, allowing it to outspeed and KO Exeggutor with either Pursuit or Crunch. Choice Scarf Terrakion and Choice Scarf Landorus can outspeed and hit with a 4x super effective X-Scissor or U-turn, respectively, to KO Exeggutor. Lastly, if Exeggutor lacks either Low Kick or Nature Power, Heatran can wall it like many other Chlorophyll users. Generally, what counters Exeggutor is fully dependent on its moveset.</p>
