Exeggutor (UU Analysis)

[Legacy Raider]

http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/exeggutor

I've been using Exeggutor a lot in UU and it's a brilliant Pokemon. It's current analysis compares its OU effectiveness with Celebi for most of the sets, so I thought it was about time it got an overhaul.


[SET]
name: Bulky Offensive
move1: Sleep Powder
move2: Leaf Storm
move3: Psychic
move4: Synthesis
item: Leftovers
nature: Modest
evs: 36 HP / 252 SpA / 220 Spe

- extremely high SpA and powerful STAB attacks take a massive chunk out of almost everything bar Chansey/Registeel
- good physical bulk, decent special bulk, and handy resistances to water, fighting, ground, grass give many opportunities to switch in
- can come in with relative safety on many common pokemon such as (azumarill, blastoise, claydol, donphan, hariyama, hitmonlee, hitmontop, leafeon, milotic, omastar, poliwrath, regirock, rhyperior, slowbro, slowking, steelix, tangrowth, torterra, SD venusaur/sceptile)
- rinse repeat sleep / powerful attack / heal to wear down opposing team over course of game

additional comments:
- almost always lead off with psychic - it will hit the standard answers to grass-types, namely fire-type of choice and venusaur, much harder. plus is fully accurate and doesn't lower your SpA
- synthesis reliable option, but leech seed can help deal with registeel and chansey to slightly greater extent
- evs allow it to outspeed adamant aggron and milotic that ev to outspeed it
- why use over venusaur? better physical bulk (95/85 vs 80/83), ground resistance (means can come in on torterra/donphan/rhyperior easier), much higher SpA, psychic better secondary STAB alongside grass than poison
- bulkier spread - modest 252 hp / 132 def / 124 spe can be used if you really need its resistances - more reliable counter to torterra/leafeon, azumarill/feraligatr, and fighting-types, while still having a very respectable 314 SpA even with no investment, but ensure you don't make it a weaker tangrowth

teammates and counters:
- chansey and registeel good switch ins, but can be worn down by leech seed and repeated sleep + attack + entry hazards
- houndoom has resistance to both STABs but takes 50+% from resisted leaf storm, drapion has resistances too but needs max atk and LO to even have a chance to OHKO with crunch, venusaur can come in on leaf storm with 4x resist to threaten with sludge bomb, but dies to psychic
- eggy is rather slow and won't take super effective special attacks well - most fire-types and ghost-types will cause major trouble on the revenge, as will offensive venusaur with sludge bomb
- works excellently alongside a core of registeel+milotic - milotic can take on fire-types, in particular hounddom, while registeel deals with rotom/mismagius/venusaur. both also provide opportunities for eggy to switch in - milotic draws physical grass-types, while registeel draws ground and fighting type moves


[SET]
name: All-Out Offensive
move1: Sleep Powder
move2: Leaf Storm
move3: Psychic
move4: Explosion / Low Kick
item: Life Orb
nature: Rash / Naive
evs: 36 Atk / 252 SpA / 220 Spe

- Life Orb adds extra kick to its attacks and lets it power past some of its offensive checks, e.g Houndoom has a chance of being OHKOed by Leaf Storm after SR, Mismagius will die to Psychic after a little residual damage, offensive Arcanine OHKOed by Psychic after SR, etc
- lets Exeggutor make better use of its 95 base Atk stat and a powerful Explosion to take out most things that don't resist it. Alternatively, Rash Low Kick does 47% average to 252/0 Registeel and 41% average to 4/252 Chansey, while also hitting Houndoom SE.

additional comments:
- as opposed to previous set, leaf storm can be used a lot more freely, as LO gives it the power to put massive dents into things that resist it. also, this set is a lot more hit and run, so using your strongest attack when the opportunity arises is best.
- running a +Spe nature is inadvisable as the power loss isn't worth the things you outspeed - adamant torterra, jolly aggron, min speed rotom / drapion / uxie

teammates and counters:
- no really complete safe switch in since it can hit everything in UU very hard with the appropriate attack
- predict the the leaf storm and bring in moltres / venusaur, predict the psychic and bring in absol / drapion / houndoom. uxie can come in on psychic and threaten with a fast u-turn, as can scyther on leaf storm
- works very well with offensive milotic, as it has trouble with opposing chansey and bulky waters, both of which exeggutor can weaken or take out
- specially defensive clefable is a good partner as it draws in fighting-type moves to give exeggutor opportunities to come in, while supporting it with wish to heal LO and other residual damage



[SET]
name: Sunny Day
move1: Sunny Day
move2: SolarBeam
move3: Psychic
move4: Explosion / Sleep Powder
item: Heat Rock / Life Orb
nature: Rash
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

- can work as both a supporting user of sunny day, utilising the free switch granted by sleep powder+heatrock sunny day+explosion to immediately give momentum and do big damage
- alternatively can sweep by itself with LO boosted STAB solarbeam and psychic

additional comments:
- useful on a sunny day team as it has a powerful secondary STAB in the form of psychic, which can be used to get rid of opposing grass/poison and fire-types that stand in the way of more typical sun sweepers
- can explode to get past chansey, but is also a good attack to simply get exeggutor out the way and let another sun sweeper in

teammates and counters:
- sunnybeamer fire-types are great partners if you want to use this on something other than a full sun-based team: moltres, arcanine, houndoom etc can all wreck with boosted fire blasts and SE solarbeams, while exeggutor is great at luring and taking out opposing fire-types and chansey
- other chlorophyll users such as victreebel, tangrowth, and shiftry can make use of the easy 8 turn sun eggy can provide



[SET]
name: Dual Screens
move1: Reflect
move2: Light Screen
move3: Sleep Powder / Leaf Storm
move4: Explosion
item: Light Clay
nature: Jolly / Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe

- combination of sleep powder + dual screens + explosion is unique to exeggutor and makes it a brilliant support pokemon
- gets many opportunities to switch in on one of its 6 resistances and support team

additional comments:
- leaf storm is a powerful stab attack even without investment and can be used over sleep powder if you have another sleep inducer elsewhere
- jolly should obviously be used if explosion is the only attack, but if you're running leaf storm as well it is up to your personal preference whether you choose to weaken your leaf storm or your explosion with your nature choice

teammates and counters:
- rhyperior and houndoom both work really well with this exeggutor. they are both excellent at drawing in moves that exeggutor resists, giving it opportunities to switch in.
- both these pokemon are deadly behind dual screens - houndoom is not OHKOed by milotic's surf or azumarill's aqua jet and can take them out in return with boosted dark pulse. with the combination of natural bulk, solid rock and dual screens, rhyperior can set up in the face of pretty much anything. sub versions in particular can be deadly, as can rock polish. SD kabutops works well too.
- watch out for taunt mismagius


[SET]
name: Trick Room
move1: Trick Room
move2: Sleep Powder
move3: Leaf Storm
move4: Explosion
item: Life Orb
nature: Quiet
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpA
ivs: 0 Spe

- exeggutor makes a very reliable trick room user as it can almost guarantee a free turn to set up using sleep powder, and then hit hard with a LO boosted stab leaf storm off its 125 spa or simply get out the way with explosion and let in another TR sweeper

additional comments:
- exeggutor is relatively bulky and is by no means obliged to explode straightaway: it can try to sweep itself with leaf storm more than once in a game

teammates and counters:
- rhyperior and marowak both draw in grass and water type moves on which exeggutor can set up. octillery can draw in grass and electric type moves, and once exeggutor has provided trick room support, can easily sweep with water spout

 

[Heysup]

http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/exeggutor

I've been using Exeggutor a lot in UU and it's a brilliant Pokemon. It's current analysis compares its OU effectiveness with Celebi for most of the sets, so I thought it was about time it got an overhaul.

Why am I not surprised that you decided to do this? :P

[SET]
name: Bulky Offensive
move1: Sleep Powder
move2: Leaf Storm
move3: Psychic
move4: Synthesis / Leech Seed
item: Leftovers
nature: Modest
evs: 36 HP / 252 SpA / 220 Spe

I'm personally not a fan of Leech Seed, I think it's making the set try to do too much.

I'd also recommend Life Orb be slashed in, it gives Exeggutor a helpful kick when throwing Psychic and Leaf Storm around. It only OHKOes Arcanine with Life Orb (after Stealth Rock) which is reason enough to use it IMO. It also helps vs specially defensive Venusaur and even Tangrowth.

I also think Timid should be slashed in to outpace Torterra and Aggron.

[SET]
name: All-Out Offensive
move1: Sleep Powder
move2: Leaf Storm
move3: Psychic
move4: Explosion / Low Kick
item: Life Orb
nature: Modest / Rash
evs: 36 Atk / 252 SpA / 220 Spe

Another good set, I still think you should slash a +Speed nature in. I'd think Rash / Naive should be recommended.

[SET]
name: Sunny Day
move1: Sunny Day
move2: SolarBeam
move3: Psychic
move4: Explosion / Sleep Powder
item: Heat Rock / Life Orb
nature: Rash
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Standard Eggy sun set, one of the best sun sweepers.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move1: Swords Dance
move2: Wood Hammer
move3: Zen Headbutt
move4: Sleep Powder / Low Kick / Explosion
item: Leftovers
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

I don't know about this set, it seems a little gimmicky. The Pokemon that Venusaur doesn't beat this set still doesn't beat. I'd rather have Venusaur's Speed.

[SET]
name: Dual Screens
move1: Reflect
move2: Light Screen
move3: Sleep Powder / Leaf Storm
move4: Explosion
item: Light Clay
nature: Jolly / Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe

It's hard to argue with DS Sleep Powder Explosion.

[SET]
name: Choice
move1: Sleep Powder
move2: Leaf Storm
move3: Psychic
move4: Explosion
item: Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
nature: Naive
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

I think the specs set is outclassed by the offensive LO set an the Scarf set is simply too slow, it reaches 343 Speed max.

[SET]
name: Trick Room
move1: Trick Room
move2: Sleep Powder
move3: Leaf Storm
move4: Explosion
item: Life Orb
nature: Brave / Quiet
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpA
ivs: 0 Spe

As far as Trick Room Pokemon go, this looks good.

In summary:

Bulky Offensive: Approval pending
All-Out Offensive: Approval pending
Sunny Day: Approved
Swords Dance: Not approved
Dual Screens: Approved
Choice: Not approved
Trick Room: Approved

 

[Phantom_IV]

Mention that all sets like Sunny Day support and Swords Dance NEEDS it, as with no HP investment, it can barely take a hit and is surely outsped.

 

[Legacy Raider]

Thanks for looking over Heysup :).

I'm personally not a fan of Leech Seed, I think it's making the set try to do too much.

Cool I'll unslash it and mention it only in passing in additional comments. It's not as reliable as either Synthesis or a LO Low Kick, but is sort of a compromise - a way to keep healthy while wearing down counters.

I'd also recommend Life Orb be slashed in, it gives Exeggutor a helpful kick when throwing Psychic and Leaf Storm around. It only OHKOes Arcanine with Life Orb (after Stealth Rock) which is reason enough to use it IMO. It also helps vs specially defensive Venusaur and even Tangrowth.

I also think Timid should be slashed in to outpace Torterra and Aggron.

Originally I didn't split the "Bulky Offensive" and the "All-Out Offensive", and had a set like this:

move1: Sleep Powder
move2: Leaf Storm
move3: Psychic
move4: Synthesis / Low Kick / Explosion
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Modest / Rash

But having used both extensively, I've found that they play very differently, despite the resemblance. If you need Exeggutor's resistances on your team then Leftovers helps so so much than the slight boost vs Arcanine. Eggy's ability to come in on so much random shit and the free turns it gets with Sleep Powder means that the Leftovers recovery really adds up. The second one is a much more efficient sweeper but it doesn't have nearly the staying power, even if you do try to use Synthesis with it. Seeing how differently they play, I'm not too keen on blurring the line between the two and slashing Life Orb/+Speed natures on the 'Bulky' set. I'm not averse to mentioning it in additional comments, but I feel quite strongly that trying to run anything but Leftovers on the bulky set is a compromise. Seeing as this set and the next one look so similar that it's not the greatest leap of logic for someone who wants to to us Synth/LO together, I don't feel the need to recommend it on both and confuse people who want more one or the other.

Another good set, I still think you should slash a +Speed nature in. I'd think Rash / Naive should be recommended.

Done.

@SD set
I don't know about this set, it seems a little gimmicky. The Pokemon that Venusaur doesn't beat this set still doesn't beat. I'd rather have Venusaur's Speed.

It's definitely not a gimmick mate, it actually combines the advantageous characteristics of almost all the other SD grasses, along with a good secondary STAB attack, to make it imo the best Grass stallbreaker in the tier. It does actually beat some of the Pokemon that SD Venusaur doesn't - Weezing and defensive Venusaur, both common on the more defensive teams that this mold of sweeper is designed to dismantle. It also hits harder than Venusaur with both of its attacks against neutral targets. The Speed can be an issue against more offensive teams, but max Speed Exeggutor outspeeds the vast majority of things it really needs to. While it may not be Eggy's most effective set (just like SD Venusaur isn't by a long shot), it is viable. Give this set a shot, I didn't expect as good results with it as I got either.

I think the specs set is outclassed by the offensive LO set an the Scarf set is simply too slow, it reaches 343 Speed max.

I agree, Specs is a bit of an afterthought - "it's a pokemon with 125 SpA, a 140 bp STAB move, and passable coverage, let's make it a pseudo SpecsMence". But I've found Scarf is definitely effective in a lot of cases. A base 55 scarfer isn't all that slow tbh (but that might just be because I use scarf Torterra on a regular basis), it outspeeds Mismagius and everything below. That's the vast vast majority of the offensive UU metagame. Exeggutor hits significantly harder than Scarf Venusaur, has the dual threat of both Sleep Powder and Explosion, and while it doesn't 'outspeed' a Rock Polished Torterra for instance, it can take its hits a lot better than Venusaur can. It's a different Pokemon altogether and should be viewed as this - I think you're being quite judgmental on it tbh.

Mention that all sets like Sunny Day support and Swords Dance NEEDS it, as with no HP investment, it can barely take a hit and is surely outsped.

Sorry I'm not completely sure what you're meaning :s could you clarify?

 

[Heysup]

Originally I didn't split the "Bulky Offensive" and the "All-Out Offensive", and had a set like this:

move1: Sleep Powder
move2: Leaf Storm
move3: Psychic
move4: Synthesis / Low Kick / Explosion
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Modest / Rash

But having used both extensively, I've found that they play very differently, despite the resemblance. If you need Exeggutor's resistances on your team then Leftovers helps so so much than the slight boost vs Arcanine. Eggy's ability to come in on so much random shit and the free turns it gets with Sleep Powder means that the Leftovers recovery really adds up. The second one is a much more efficient sweeper but it doesn't have nearly the staying power, even if you do try to use Synthesis with it. Seeing how differently they play, I'm not too keen on blurring the line between the two and slashing Life Orb/+Speed natures on the 'Bulky' set. I'm not averse to mentioning it in additional comments, but I feel quite strongly that trying to run anything but Leftovers on the bulky set is a compromise. Seeing as this set and the next one look so similar that it's not the greatest leap of logic for someone who wants to to us Synth/LO together, I don't feel the need to recommend it on both and confuse people who want more one or the other.

I guess that makes sense, but OHKOing things like Arcanine, defensive Venusaur, and other things are important. If the only concern is blurring the line, I don't see the harm in having two "similar" looking sets. You can still make it clear that Life Orb is an afterthought.

Anyway, I approve this set regardless.

Done.

Approved.

It's definitely not a gimmick mate, it actually combines the advantageous characteristics of almost all the other SD grasses, along with a good secondary STAB attack, to make it imo the best Grass stallbreaker in the tier. It does actually beat some of the Pokemon that SD Venusaur doesn't - Weezing and defensive Venusaur, both common on the more defensive teams that this mold of sweeper is designed to dismantle. It also hits harder than Venusaur with both of its attacks against neutral targets. The Speed can be an issue against more offensive teams, but max Speed Exeggutor outspeeds the vast majority of things it really needs to. While it may not be Eggy's most effective set (just like SD Venusaur isn't by a long shot), it is viable. Give this set a shot, I didn't expect as good results with it as I got either.

I'll test it and get back to you before I officially approve it / reject it then.

I agree, Specs is a bit of an afterthought - "it's a pokemon with 125 SpA, a 140 bp STAB move, and passable coverage, let's make it a pseudo SpecsMence". But I've found Scarf is definitely effective in a lot of cases. A base 55 scarfer isn't all that slow tbh (but that might just be because I use scarf Torterra on a regular basis), it outspeeds Mismagius and everything below. That's the vast vast majority of the offensive UU metagame. Exeggutor hits significantly harder than Scarf Venusaur, has the dual threat of both Sleep Powder and Explosion, and while it doesn't 'outspeed' a Rock Polished Torterra for instance, it can take its hits a lot better than Venusaur can. It's a different Pokemon altogether and should be viewed as this - I think you're being quite judgmental on it tbh.

I'll give Scarf another shot.

So I approve every set except SD and Scarf atm, I'll test those and get back to you. I still recommend adding Life Orb as a slash to the first set.

 

[franky]

That Bulky offense set is something I've tested for a long time now and I guess I can place in my two cents. Before getting to the partners section, Life Orb really needs a mention or should be listed as main option. It is really powerful when equipped and can OHKO common switch ins like Arcanine and Moltres with Psychic. I played the set like Roserade and I must say its really powerful minus the Speed, but on the other hand, it did pack quite a punch.

Partners-wise, this really partners well with Substitute Torterra or Rhyperior -- both make fantastic switch-ins to Thunder Wave Registeel or Chansey. Torterra is much more dangerous behind a Sub thanks to its great dual STAB moves and it is ultimately difficult to take down when it is behind a Substitute.

Thunder Wave is also an excellent utility move to use alongside Eggy. It ensures that Eggy isn't dead weight against offensive teams since this set really does shine versus slower/stall teams. I remedied this with Thunder Wave support from Slowking or bro. Either one would make great paralysis users since no Ground-type would switch into Slowking anyways bar Torterra.

It can even provide paralysis on its own with Stun Powder if Sleep Powder is less desirable for the players choice. Deciding between Sleep Powder and Stun Powder totally depends on which playstyle you chose to fare well against. Stun Spore makes a fantastic move to catch fast Pokemon off guard and it seems to work really well for me in practice. I think the set should be this instead of the current one:

[SET]
name: Bulky Offensive
move1: Sleep Powder / Stun Powder
move2: Leaf Storm
move3: Psychic
move4: Synthesis
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
nature: Modest
evs: 36 HP / 252 SpA / 220 Spe

 

[Legacy Raider]

I just won two battles with that exeggutor that I would have lost had I been using Life Orb over Leftovers. Against a sandstorm team, when your Synthesis is only healing 25%, the sandstorm is wearing you down, and you're losing hp to LO recoil, Leftovers comes in and saves the day and lets you sweep the hippopotas / venusaur / blah blah remnants of their team. About this whole Life Orb issue, I plan on including a sentence in the second set, the one with Life Orb as the only option, that "You can use Synthesis over a third attacking move to use Exeggutor in a similar way to the above set, while benefiting from increased damage output with Life Orb".

I also think Sleep Powder can never be exchanged for Stun Spore in any circumstance, but I do plan on mentioning the values of Stun Spore in other options/(optional changes?), in particular on a Double Powder-esque set that I had quite a fun time using for a while.

The paralysis absorbing partners are a very good point, thanks.

Also, I'm sort of confused about the function of the forum here.... people are posting suggestions that I already plan on including, but I want 'approval' and get the logistics out the way before I start writing anything up properly....

 

[Heysup]

That Bulky offense set is something I've tested for a long time now and I guess I can place in my two cents. Before getting to the partners section, Life Orb really needs a mention or should be listed as main option. It is really powerful when equipped and can OHKO common switch ins like Arcanine and Moltres with Psychic. I played the set like Roserade and I must say its really powerful minus the Speed, but on the other hand, it did pack quite a punch.

I just tested this set with Leftovers (I have used it extensively with LO already) and yea, I agree with Legacy Raider here, Leftovers should be the main option with Life Orb as a mention is set comments.

Leftovers really helps with its overall survivability against Pokemon like Milotic who may hit you in the face with Ice Beam. Recovering 62.5% is actually very important and helps a lot with the mere 50% that you get without Leftovers (the extra 12.5% is two ticks of Leftovers from the switch-in turn and the turn Synthesis is used). Venusaur doesn't need it as much because it forces far more switches due to Speed.

I just won two battles with that exeggutor that I would have lost had I been using Life Orb over Leftovers. Against a sandstorm team, when your Synthesis is only healing 25%, the sandstorm is wearing you down, and you're losing hp to LO recoil, Leftovers comes in and saves the day and lets you sweep the hippopotas / venusaur / blah blah remnants of their team. About this whole Life Orb issue, I plan on including a sentence in the second set, the one with Life Orb as the only option, that "You can use Synthesis over a third attacking move to use Exeggutor in a similar way to the above set, while benefiting from increased damage output with Life Orb".

I also think Sleep Powder can never be exchanged for Stun Spore in any circumstance, but I do plan on mentioning the values of Stun Spore in other options/(optional changes?), in particular on a Double Powder-esque set that I had quite a fun time using for a while.

Agree with 95% of the post. My only issue is that I think the Life Orb should be actually mentioned in the set comments of the bulky set because it plays far more similar to the bulky set than the "All-Out" set.

Also, I'm sort of confused about the function of the forum here.... people are posting suggestions that I already plan on including, but I want 'approval' and get the logistics out the way before I start writing anything up properly....

If you have the suggestions written in point form in your skeleton, people shouldn't be suggesting them. The skeleton is meant to show basically everything you're going to write but in point form.

I'll approve this after I test the Swords Dance set and Scarf set some more (not a fan of the Scarf set atm but I'll give it a couple more matches).

EDIT: Finished testing.

I am going to stick with my original ruling on both the Scarf set and SD set. Both belong in Optional Changes (previously called Other options fyi).

Swords Dance: This set was just not durable enough, fast enough, nor strong enough to do anything impressive. Every time I set up I was simply forced out by Arcanine, Swellow, etc. Every time I flat out attacked I simply didn't do enough damage. I barely dent Uxie when it comes in and it can just force me out and use U-turn to regain momentum. The only use for this set is to surprise Chansey but that's not remotely a good enough reason to keep it in the analysis. It switches, lets me get a Swords Dance, then just simply goes to Arcanine or Drapion. It is walled far to easily to succeed as a slow Swords Dancer. This is why slow-ish SDers are limited to things like Blaziken, Absol, and Rhyperior. They need to be able to a) destroy everything that switches in and cannot outspeed + OHKO and b) be able to at least dent everything switching in without a boost. Exeggutor does none of the above.

Choice Scarf: I tried to give the scarf set a chance but it really wasn't working for me. It was just underwhelming. Scarf Sleep is cool, but failing to outspeed Sceptile, Alakazam, Swellow, and Ambipom really make this set hard to use properly. Maybe someone else will have better luck with it, but I don't see it working out no matter how good the team is that I use it on.

So once/if these sets are removed, I'll approve the whole thing.

 

[Sir Azelf]

Would it be reasonable to mention Wish in optional changes ? I mean having Celebi's typing, the ability to counter other grass types, fighting types and physical waters gives Eggy quite a few opportunities to switch in and support well.

 

[Colonel M]

I'd also recommend Sunny Day support for the Swords Dance set. One disadvantage Venusaur has to Exeggutor is the lack of being able to boost its Speed without SubSalac. Chlorophyll is a cool ability for this reason: it doubles Exeggutor's Speed and makes it a competent sweeper. Trick Room support also works, but it doesn't last as long as Sunny Day support can.

 

[Heysup]

A sun set is best left to Special Eggy, it can use Explosion to lure and KO Chansey with Explosion rather than actually failing to 2HKO without Swords Dance and being easily walled even with a Swords Dance. I guess this is because I don't think the Swords Dance set should be included.

 

[Colonel M]

A sun set is best left to Special Eggy, it can use Explosion to lure and KO Chansey with Explosion rather than actually failing to 2HKO without Swords Dance and being easily walled even with a Swords Dance. I guess this is because I don't think the Swords Dance set should be included.

I'm not stating to slash Sunny Day with Swords Dance Exeggutor. Exeggutor can still function if someone else sets up the sun for it. The main point is that Chlorophyll gives it something Venusaur lacks. Exeggutor can actually outspeed Pokemon such as Alakazam with a neutral nature. Venusaur also lacks a secondary STAB to function with Swords Dance; which, despite Exeggutor is not playing king of the hill with it, is still sufficient. It can also Explode in pinch situations, which is great when Exeggutor is on its last turn of sunlight.

I think Swords Dance deserves a fair test before thumbs downing it, is all I'm saying. Especially with Sunny Day support.

 

[Eo Ut Mortus]

I tested the Swords Dance set, and it was okay, but I rarely found myself actually sweeping with it; rather, I usually just threw out attacks. Like Heysup, I believe it's a bit too slow and not powerful enough to compensate. I haven't tried any other set, so I'll refrain from commenting on the others until then.

 

[Heysup]

I'm not stating to slash Sunny Day with Swords Dance Exeggutor. Exeggutor can still function if someone else sets up the sun for it. The main point is that Chlorophyll gives it something Venusaur lacks. Exeggutor can actually outspeed Pokemon such as Alakazam with a neutral nature. Venusaur also lacks a secondary STAB to function with Swords Dance; which, despite Exeggutor is not playing king of the hill with it, is still sufficient. It can also Explode in pinch situations, which is great when Exeggutor is on its last turn of sunlight.

I think Swords Dance deserves a fair test before thumbs downing it, is all I'm saying. Especially with Sunny Day support.

I tested SD Exeggutor as mentioned in one of my previous posts (without Sunny Day though), and i simply found it to be underwhelming and not enough reward for surprising an opponent. Venusaur on the other hand can actually pull a sweep off with Swords Dance and Power Whip without being revenge killed by generally slower Pokemon such as Milotic. The big thing is that SD Exeggutor still loses to Registeel (losing Sleep Powder is not an option imo).

The main - and as far as I'm concerned, only - reason that Swords Dance Venusaur works is because it can set up a Swords Dance and beat its would-be counters (like Registeel and Chansey). Exeggutor still loses to its most prominent counter, Registeel. To use Low Kick instead of Zen Headbutt would almost make more sense to me. However Low Kick means you get walled by Pokemon like Venusaur instead of being able to hit them hard on the switch (and set up against SD variants).

As for "Sunny Day support": Sunny Day teams aren't really like Rain Dance teams where stuff like SD Ludicolo works. Ludicolo's STAB move is boosted by its weather effect, and Exeggutor's aren't. Counters for Special Ludicolo and Physical Ludicolo differ greatly. Registeel, Chansey, Venusaur, and even Slowking/Milotic (depending on Energy Ball/Grass Knot) work as special Ludicolo counters, while none of them work as SD Ludicolo counters (Registeel is shaky at best). With SD Exeggutor, the only difference is that Chansey moves out, and Tangrowth, Leafeon, and Torterra (can stall out the sun) move in.

Not really a good bargain if you ask me, considering you need to set up Swords Dance.

 

[Legacy Raider]

Ok I've removed the SD and Choice Specs/Scarf set, and have added skeleton comments for the Dual Screen and Trick Room sets.

 

[Heysup]

As promised:

 

[ToF]

I've seen this work effectively in games that LR has played. Definitely gives unprepared teams trouble. Strong Leaf Storm...

 

[Eo Ut Mortus]

 

[Scoopapa]

Would it be reasonable to mention Wish in optional changes ? I mean having Celebi's typing, the ability to counter other grass types, fighting types and physical waters gives Eggy quite a few opportunities to switch in and support well.

I tried Wish / Protect / Leech Seed / Psychic, and it was not only able to stick around for quite awhile, but it healed its team very well with Wish or Leech Seed. Psychic / Leech Seed gives you decent prospects for catching switch-ins, considering that it's a mostly defensive set. Protect continues with the theme of protecting your team by scouting choice moves. I don't know if you want to give it a whole set, but perhaps something along the lines of, "Exeggutor can heal it's teammates with both Wish and Leech Seed, so a support set is viable" would be good.

It's certainly capable of fitting the "Grass" section of the "Fire-Water-Grass" core well. Notable teammates could be Blastoise (who resists Fire and Ice and needs the healing), Aggron or Registeel (who resist Flying, Poison, Ghost, Dark, Ice, and Bug, while Exeggutor resists Ground, Fighting, and Water), and any Substitute abusing pokemon who can come in on a seeded opponent.

The team I tested it on was complete crap, but even then it worked pretty well, so I highly recommend that someone better than me at building teams give it a go : )

 

[Heysup]

Unfortunately LR cannot do this anymore, but luckily franky has taken it up.