Leafeon Revamp qc: 0/3

[SergioRules]

[OVERVIEW]

• Leafeon has a niche as being one of few offensive Grass-types in the tier.
• Base 110 Attack and 95 Speed put it at a pretty decent benchmark for an offensive Pokemon.
• Access to good set up moves in Swords Dance and the rare Z-Celebrate allow it to function as both a wallbreaker and a sweeper.
• It lacks a wide movepool, with only a few options for coverage.
• Leafeon's near-reliance on a Z-crystal means that it takes up the Z-move slot of a team, eliminating that option from other teammates.
• Its poor special bulk leaves it easily revenge killed by faster threats such as Cryogonal, Swanna, and some Choice Scarf users.
• Despite these shortcomings, Leafeon still remains a potent offensive threat due to its sweeping and breaking abilities.

[SET]
name: Z-Celebrate
move 1: Celebrate
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Knock Off / Double-Edge
move 4: Synthesis
item: Normalium Z
ability: Leaf Guard
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Celebrate, when used with Normalium Z, boosts all of Leafeon's stats. Notably, this gives it a boost to its bulk and Speed, while also giving it a slight boost to its Attack.
• Leaf Blade is Leafeon's best STAB move.
• Knock Off allows Leafeon to cripple defensive Pokemon by removing their items, letting it more easily click Leaf Blade.
• Double-Edge is an option to hit harder than Knock Off but does come with added recoil.
• Synthesis is used to help Leafeon recover health, which works nicely in tandem with the bulk boost from Z-Celebrate.

Set Details
========

• The given EVs and a Jolly nature maximize Leafeon's Speed and Attack, allowing it to be a better sweeper.
• Leafeon's Speed tier is useful for tying with Choice Scarf Primeape and outspeeding base 90 Speed Pokemon.
• Normalium Z is mandatory for letting Leafeon use Z-Celebrate and boosting its stats.

Usage Tips
========

• Z-Celebrate Leafeon is best used as a late game sweeper after faster threats have been taken care of and bulkier Pokemon have been worn down.
• Leafeon should come in on Pokemon it can resist or more defensive Pokemon such as Mudsdale, Torterra, or a Qwilfish that isn't running Scald.
• Leafeon especially appreciates having Pokemon like Tangela KO'd so that it doesn't have to struggle to beat it.
• Leafeon should be wary of status moves such as Toxic and Will-o-Wisp that would otherwise hinder its ability to sweep.

Team Options
========

• Special breakers like Choice Specs Jellicent and Simisear help break through Leafeon's checks to make its job of sweeping with Z-Celebrate much easier later in the game.
• Because Z-Celebrate lacks the power of Swords Dance, Spikes support from Pokemon like Ferroseed and Omastar help wear down defensive Pokemon to be in range of Leafeon's attacks.
• Speed control such as Thunder Wave Clefairy or Ferroseed can help Leafeon handle faster Choice Scarf users like Simisear, Swanna, and Dodrio.
• Physical breakers like Stoutland and Aggron can also work with Leafeon to wear down physical walls like Regirock and Alolan Persian that could normally take at least one hit from Leafeon and cripple it with Toxic.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Knock Off / Double-Edge
move 4: Synthesis / Double-Edge
item: Grassium Z / Normalium Z
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Swords Dance boosts Leafeon's Attack to even higher levels, allowing it to break through many of its defensive checks.
• Knock Off helps cripple opponents by removing their item, while Double-Edge can be chosen to do more damage at the cost of some recoil.
• Synthesis is an option to allow Leafeon to keep its longevity and allow it to break several times throughout a match.

Set Details
========

• The given EVs maximize Leafeon's offensive presence, outspeeding Pokemon like Oricorio-G, and tying with Silvally and Primeape.
• The choice between Z-crystals is up to what the team needs. Grassium Z is slightly stronger, but Normalium Z can allow Leafeon to better handle Pokemon like Tangela and Lurantis.

Usage Tips
========

• Swords Dance Leafeon is best used as a mid-game breaker or late-game sweeper, after faster threats have been handled and its bulkier checks have been worn down.
• Leafeon can set up on more passive Pokemon like Audino, though it needs to be wary of status moves as paralysis and Toxic can both be extremely crippling.
• It also can use its decent bulk and Grass-typing to set up on Pokemon like Mudsdale and Torterra, though these can run status-inducing moves too.

Team Options
========

• Leafeon is best paired with special breakers that can wear down its would-be checks. Pokemon like Drampa and Oricorio-E help particulary with two of Leafeon's biggest checks; Lurantis and Tangela.
• Simisear also pairs well with Leafeon, breaking through the aforementioned Grass-types and wearing down more physically defensive Pokemon, while also appreciating Leafeon's ability to break through bulky Water-types like Lanturn and Jellicent.
• Leafeon greatly appreciates hazard support, wearing down checks even more. Regirock and Ferroseed specifically offer support with Stealth Rock and the option of Thunder Wave to slow down faster Pokemon that Leafeon can then take care of, with Ferroseed also being able to set up Spikes.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

• Leafeon can effectively use a Choice Scarf and opt for either X-Scissor or Toxic over its usual setup move. However, this is outclassed by the Z-Celebrate set which can switch moves and also has more power.
• In the same vein, Choice Band Leafeon can also be used but is mostly outclassed by both Z-Celebrate for its Speed boost and Swords Dance for its higher power, despite not having the immediate benefits.
• Groundium Z is an option with Dig to hit Alolan Sandslash, though it has little use outside of this.
• Leafeon can be used on sun teams with support from Volbeat and lead Regirock, though sun overall is a very niche playstyle.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Steel-types**: Leafeon struggles to beat Pokemon like Aggron, Ferroseed, and Alolan Sandslash and the best it can do is Knock Off their items, while they can threaten Leafeon with strong moves or use it to set up hazards.

**Faster Threats**: Pokemon like Cryogonal, Simisear, and Swanna can all threaten Leafeon with super effective moves, the latter two can even run Choice Scarf to outspeed the Z-Celebrate set and revenge kill it. Leafeon's Speed tier also means it is forced to risk ties with Choice Scarf Pokemon like Primeape and Haunter.

**Flying-types**: Dodrio, stallbreaker Oricorio-E and the aforementioned Swanna are not very threatened by Leafeon and can take care of it with their STAB moves.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[SergioRules, 265399]]
- Quality checked by: [[<username1>, <userid1>], [<username2>, <userid2>], [<username3>, <userid3>]]
- Grammar checked by: [[<username1>, <userid1>], [<username2>, <userid2>]]

 

[rien]

sorry to disappoint you but the qc team has decided to reject this analysis. while it is ok to not have bullets written up at this stage, we still feel that the analysis is extremely short and barren of useful information, especially in the usage tips and team options sections, and the majority of information that *is* presented is either extremely basic (the moves sections are basically dex descriptions of what each move does without any explanation of how they actually work in the meta, and i know 252/252 ev spreads make offensive mons more offensive, which is like, yeah duh), or questionable (being an offensive grass-type is not a niche in a meta where tort and vic reign supreme, switching into/setting up on muds is extremely situational, and clefairy doesn't beat dodrio or simisear under any circumstance). if you want to keep writing in the future, i cannot recommend enough thoroughly reading yogi's guide to writing (which i swear by) as it covers a lot of mistakes you could've easily avoided. feel free to pm me or any other qc member if you have any questions. thank you for the effort involved in this.