[OVERVIEW]
Tangela carves its niche in the RU tier due to a stellar Eviolite-boosted Defense stat that allows it to check dangerous offensive Pokemon, such as Zygarde-10%, Barbaracle, and Feraligatr. Its great bulk also allows it to pivot into the likes of Lycanroc-D, Tyrantrum, and Metagross. Its pivoting capabilities are further endorsed by access to Regenerator, Leech Seed, and Synthesis, alongside several support moves like Knock Off and Sleep Powder, which allow Tangela to keep itself useful and be a huge annoyance during a match. However, despite having an unmatched pivoting potential, Tangela faces competition from many other Grass-type options, like Virizion, Shaymin, and Roserade, which offer different support options and pose greater threats due to better offensive stats and movepools. While having a pure Grass typing can help Tangela check opposing Water- and Electric-types, its abysmal Special Defense stat makes it hard to check the likes of Mega Blastoise, Milotic, and Raikou, which can deliver a powerful hit with coverage in Ice Beam and Signal Beam. The abundance of Poison- and Fire-types in the tier is also a great hindrance for Tangela's viability; Ninetales, Salazzle, Roserade, Drapion, and Toxicroak can take advantage of its general passivity to switch into it and fire off powerful moves. Tangela's pivoting capability is also severely hampered by Toxic, which is not a problem for other Grass-types such as Shaymin and Roserade that can mitigate status ailments with their access to Natural Cure or Poison typing. Likewise, entry hazards are very hurtful for Tangela, since they reduce Regenerator’s healing considerably when it enters the field. Knock Off is another major concern for Tangela, as it reduces its defensive stats considerably. Machamp, Donphan, and Tsareena are examples of Pokemon able to remove Tangela's Eviolite, which makes them harder to check.
[SET]
name: Defensive Pivot
move 1: Leaf Storm
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Leech Seed / Sleep Powder
move 4: Sludge Bomb / Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Flying
item: Eviolite
ability: Regenerator
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 92 SpA / 56 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Leaf Storm is Tangela's main STAB move that allows it to threaten Water- and Ground-types such as Mega Blastoise, Milotic, Gastrodon, and Donphan as well as deliver a huge hit against the likes of Zygarde-10%, Bewear, and Pangoro. Knock Off allows Tangela to remove many relevant items from its opposition, such as defensive Pokemon's Leftovers and offensive threats' Choice items. Leech Seed is very useful for Tangela alongside Knock Off to inflict chip damage on Steel- and Poison-types such as Registeel and Forretress while recovering back its health. Sleep Powder lets Tangela put many relevant threats to sleep that otherwise could be a menace, like Ninetales, Drapion, and Salazzle. Sludge Bomb rounds out Tangela's coverage against many other Grass-types such as Virizion, Mega Abomasnow, and Tsareena and is very useful due to its chance to poison foes. Alternatively, Hidden Power Ice allows Tangela to threaten Noivern and doubles as a safer option to beat Zygarde-10%. However, it leaves Tangela more vulnerable against Virizion. Hidden Power Flying is an option that makes beating Synthesis Virizion way easier and leaves Tangela less vulnerable against the likes of Toxicroak and Emboar.
Set Details
========
Eviolite boosts Tangela Defense to great levels while also making its Special Defense a little less bad. Regenerator allows Tangela to repeatedly switch into many threats with safety. 56 EVs in Special Defense and maximum HP investment allows Tangela to take Timid Mega Blastoise's Ice Beam after Stealth Rock, while 92 EVs in Special Attack enable Tangela to OHKO it back with Leaf Storm after Stealth Rock. The rest is dumped into Defense to let Tangela check Zygarde-10% safely. Alternatively, an EV spread of 248 HP / 232 Def / 28 SpD makes Zygarde-10% unable to KO Tangela with Devastating Drake followed by Outrage after one Dragon Dance. The rest is dumped into its Special Defense to help take special hits more easily.
Usage Tips
========
Knock Off is Tangela's most useful tool and must be used constantly to remove items from its switch-ins and identify potential Z-Move users. Sleep Powder should be used against more threatening Pokemon on the switch, such as Salazzle, Honchkrow, and Noivern, to limit your opponent's options. Due to its access to Regenerator, Tangela can switch into dangerous physical attackers such as Choice Band Tyrantrum and Choice Band Metagross to scout their moves and make switching into them easier. Be aware of Pokemon that can run Toxic to cripple Tangela, such as Donphan and Choice Band Zygarde-10%. Tangela should not stay in on special attackers such as Gardevoir and Raikou because of its bad Special Defense stat. While Leaf Storm is a very powerful STAB move and should be used frequently, be careful about its Special Attack drop, since it can allow opposing Pokemon to set up way more easily against it, such as Linoone, Virizion, and even Zygarde-10%.
Team Options
========
Tangela can be used to form Fire / Water / Grass cores. Milotic, Slowbro and Mantine can form defensive cores and offer utility alongside it, while Golisopod and Mega Blastoise offer powerful attacks and entry hazard options. These Water-types can also switch into Fire- and Ice-type moves for Tangela. On the other hand, Arcanine, Salazzle, Ninetales, and Houndoom complement the core's offensive presence and appreciate Tangela's ability to switch into Water-, Rock-, and Ground-type attacks. Rock-types such as Rhyperior, Tyrantrum, and Lycanroc-D greatly benefit from Tangela's ability to lure in Fire-, Flying- and Poison-types, which allows them to set up Stealth Rock or fire off powerful attacks. Steel-types like Registeel, Bronzong, Metagross, and Escavalier can switch into Ice-type moves that threaten Tangela and are also immune to Toxic. On the other hand, Tangela offers a useful Ground-type resistance and can pivot into many Fighting-types. Florges, Mantine, and Goodra can make Tangela's life easier against special attackers like Mega Blastoise, Ninetales, and Roserade. Additionally, Florges is able to offer cleric support to remove status from Tangela, and the former two can also remove hazards from the field.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Synthesis can be an option to keep Tangela even healthier during a match. Tangela can run Toxic to cripple common roadblocks, such as Goodra, Mandibuzz, and Arcanine. Stun Spore can be used as a more spammable alternative to Sleep Powder, allowing Tangela to cripple multiple Pokemon during a match. Hidden Power Fire can be used as a way to heavily damage the likes of Escavalier and Mega Abomasnow as well as to hit the likes of Registeel for decent damage. Tangela can run Giga Drain or Grass Knot as its STAB move over Leaf Storm; Giga Drain is considerably weaker but allows Tangela to recover itself while doing damage, while Grass Knot has a more consistent damage output, despite being weaker against lighter Pokemon, such as Zygarde-10% and Bewear. An offensive EV spread of 84 HP / 252 SpA / 172 Spe and a Modest nature makes Tangela much less passive and enables it to outspeed Milotic while still being able to check most of the Pokemon it is supposed to.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Special Attackers**: Due to Tangela abysmal Special Defense, most special attackers can force it out. Mega Blastoise, Mega Ampharos, Raikou, Espeon, and Gardevoir are all able to get off a huge hit on Tangela with their STAB or coverage moves, but they have to be careful about Sleep Powder and Knock Off.
**Fire-types**: Ninetales, Salazzle, Arcanine, and Houndoom can threaten Tangela with powerful Fire-type moves, though they dislike getting put to sleep or taking a Knock Off.
**Flying-types**: Tangela can do little to nothing against the likes of Mandibuzz, Mantine, and Noivern, while they can spread status or fire off super effective moves against it. While they aren't optimal switch-ins, Honchkrow and Swellow can also force out Tangela due to their powerful STAB moves.
**Grass-types**: Most Grass-types can beat Tangela. Roserade, Mega Abomasnow, and Shaymin can beat Tangela due to their secondary STAB moves or Seed Flare's secondary effect and usually don't mind taking a Knock Off, though Hidden Power Flying can hit them for considerable damage.
**Residual Damage**: Due to Tangela usually relying on Regenerator as its only way of recovery, it can be easily worn down by residual damage. Poison, burn, and entry hazard damage can easily stop Tangela from recovering its health and checking what it is supposed to.
**Knock Off and Trick Users**: Machamp, Donphan, Tsareena, and Pangoro can remove Tangela's Eviolite with Knock Off, making them harder to check. On the other hand, Pokemon that run Choice items such as Gardevoir, Espeon, and Metagross can shut Tangela down with Trick, heavily limiting its utility.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Yay, 202363]]
- Quality checked by: [[zizalith, 410251], [roman, 396169], [Averardo, 409096]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Fireflame479, 231476]]
Tangela carves its niche in the RU tier due to a stellar Eviolite-boosted Defense stat that allows it to check dangerous offensive Pokemon, such as Zygarde-10%, Barbaracle, and Feraligatr. Its great bulk also allows it to pivot into the likes of Lycanroc-D, Tyrantrum, and Metagross. Its pivoting capabilities are further endorsed by access to Regenerator, Leech Seed, and Synthesis, alongside several support moves like Knock Off and Sleep Powder, which allow Tangela to keep itself useful and be a huge annoyance during a match. However, despite having an unmatched pivoting potential, Tangela faces competition from many other Grass-type options, like Virizion, Shaymin, and Roserade, which offer different support options and pose greater threats due to better offensive stats and movepools. While having a pure Grass typing can help Tangela check opposing Water- and Electric-types, its abysmal Special Defense stat makes it hard to check the likes of Mega Blastoise, Milotic, and Raikou, which can deliver a powerful hit with coverage in Ice Beam and Signal Beam. The abundance of Poison- and Fire-types in the tier is also a great hindrance for Tangela's viability; Ninetales, Salazzle, Roserade, Drapion, and Toxicroak can take advantage of its general passivity to switch into it and fire off powerful moves. Tangela's pivoting capability is also severely hampered by Toxic, which is not a problem for other Grass-types such as Shaymin and Roserade that can mitigate status ailments with their access to Natural Cure or Poison typing. Likewise, entry hazards are very hurtful for Tangela, since they reduce Regenerator’s healing considerably when it enters the field. Knock Off is another major concern for Tangela, as it reduces its defensive stats considerably. Machamp, Donphan, and Tsareena are examples of Pokemon able to remove Tangela's Eviolite, which makes them harder to check.
[SET]
name: Defensive Pivot
move 1: Leaf Storm
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Leech Seed / Sleep Powder
move 4: Sludge Bomb / Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Flying
item: Eviolite
ability: Regenerator
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 92 SpA / 56 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Leaf Storm is Tangela's main STAB move that allows it to threaten Water- and Ground-types such as Mega Blastoise, Milotic, Gastrodon, and Donphan as well as deliver a huge hit against the likes of Zygarde-10%, Bewear, and Pangoro. Knock Off allows Tangela to remove many relevant items from its opposition, such as defensive Pokemon's Leftovers and offensive threats' Choice items. Leech Seed is very useful for Tangela alongside Knock Off to inflict chip damage on Steel- and Poison-types such as Registeel and Forretress while recovering back its health. Sleep Powder lets Tangela put many relevant threats to sleep that otherwise could be a menace, like Ninetales, Drapion, and Salazzle. Sludge Bomb rounds out Tangela's coverage against many other Grass-types such as Virizion, Mega Abomasnow, and Tsareena and is very useful due to its chance to poison foes. Alternatively, Hidden Power Ice allows Tangela to threaten Noivern and doubles as a safer option to beat Zygarde-10%. However, it leaves Tangela more vulnerable against Virizion. Hidden Power Flying is an option that makes beating Synthesis Virizion way easier and leaves Tangela less vulnerable against the likes of Toxicroak and Emboar.
Set Details
========
Eviolite boosts Tangela Defense to great levels while also making its Special Defense a little less bad. Regenerator allows Tangela to repeatedly switch into many threats with safety. 56 EVs in Special Defense and maximum HP investment allows Tangela to take Timid Mega Blastoise's Ice Beam after Stealth Rock, while 92 EVs in Special Attack enable Tangela to OHKO it back with Leaf Storm after Stealth Rock. The rest is dumped into Defense to let Tangela check Zygarde-10% safely. Alternatively, an EV spread of 248 HP / 232 Def / 28 SpD makes Zygarde-10% unable to KO Tangela with Devastating Drake followed by Outrage after one Dragon Dance. The rest is dumped into its Special Defense to help take special hits more easily.
Usage Tips
========
Knock Off is Tangela's most useful tool and must be used constantly to remove items from its switch-ins and identify potential Z-Move users. Sleep Powder should be used against more threatening Pokemon on the switch, such as Salazzle, Honchkrow, and Noivern, to limit your opponent's options. Due to its access to Regenerator, Tangela can switch into dangerous physical attackers such as Choice Band Tyrantrum and Choice Band Metagross to scout their moves and make switching into them easier. Be aware of Pokemon that can run Toxic to cripple Tangela, such as Donphan and Choice Band Zygarde-10%. Tangela should not stay in on special attackers such as Gardevoir and Raikou because of its bad Special Defense stat. While Leaf Storm is a very powerful STAB move and should be used frequently, be careful about its Special Attack drop, since it can allow opposing Pokemon to set up way more easily against it, such as Linoone, Virizion, and even Zygarde-10%.
Team Options
========
Tangela can be used to form Fire / Water / Grass cores. Milotic, Slowbro and Mantine can form defensive cores and offer utility alongside it, while Golisopod and Mega Blastoise offer powerful attacks and entry hazard options. These Water-types can also switch into Fire- and Ice-type moves for Tangela. On the other hand, Arcanine, Salazzle, Ninetales, and Houndoom complement the core's offensive presence and appreciate Tangela's ability to switch into Water-, Rock-, and Ground-type attacks. Rock-types such as Rhyperior, Tyrantrum, and Lycanroc-D greatly benefit from Tangela's ability to lure in Fire-, Flying- and Poison-types, which allows them to set up Stealth Rock or fire off powerful attacks. Steel-types like Registeel, Bronzong, Metagross, and Escavalier can switch into Ice-type moves that threaten Tangela and are also immune to Toxic. On the other hand, Tangela offers a useful Ground-type resistance and can pivot into many Fighting-types. Florges, Mantine, and Goodra can make Tangela's life easier against special attackers like Mega Blastoise, Ninetales, and Roserade. Additionally, Florges is able to offer cleric support to remove status from Tangela, and the former two can also remove hazards from the field.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Synthesis can be an option to keep Tangela even healthier during a match. Tangela can run Toxic to cripple common roadblocks, such as Goodra, Mandibuzz, and Arcanine. Stun Spore can be used as a more spammable alternative to Sleep Powder, allowing Tangela to cripple multiple Pokemon during a match. Hidden Power Fire can be used as a way to heavily damage the likes of Escavalier and Mega Abomasnow as well as to hit the likes of Registeel for decent damage. Tangela can run Giga Drain or Grass Knot as its STAB move over Leaf Storm; Giga Drain is considerably weaker but allows Tangela to recover itself while doing damage, while Grass Knot has a more consistent damage output, despite being weaker against lighter Pokemon, such as Zygarde-10% and Bewear. An offensive EV spread of 84 HP / 252 SpA / 172 Spe and a Modest nature makes Tangela much less passive and enables it to outspeed Milotic while still being able to check most of the Pokemon it is supposed to.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Special Attackers**: Due to Tangela abysmal Special Defense, most special attackers can force it out. Mega Blastoise, Mega Ampharos, Raikou, Espeon, and Gardevoir are all able to get off a huge hit on Tangela with their STAB or coverage moves, but they have to be careful about Sleep Powder and Knock Off.
**Fire-types**: Ninetales, Salazzle, Arcanine, and Houndoom can threaten Tangela with powerful Fire-type moves, though they dislike getting put to sleep or taking a Knock Off.
**Flying-types**: Tangela can do little to nothing against the likes of Mandibuzz, Mantine, and Noivern, while they can spread status or fire off super effective moves against it. While they aren't optimal switch-ins, Honchkrow and Swellow can also force out Tangela due to their powerful STAB moves.
**Grass-types**: Most Grass-types can beat Tangela. Roserade, Mega Abomasnow, and Shaymin can beat Tangela due to their secondary STAB moves or Seed Flare's secondary effect and usually don't mind taking a Knock Off, though Hidden Power Flying can hit them for considerable damage.
**Residual Damage**: Due to Tangela usually relying on Regenerator as its only way of recovery, it can be easily worn down by residual damage. Poison, burn, and entry hazard damage can easily stop Tangela from recovering its health and checking what it is supposed to.
**Knock Off and Trick Users**: Machamp, Donphan, Tsareena, and Pangoro can remove Tangela's Eviolite with Knock Off, making them harder to check. On the other hand, Pokemon that run Choice items such as Gardevoir, Espeon, and Metagross can shut Tangela down with Trick, heavily limiting its utility.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Yay, 202363]]
- Quality checked by: [[zizalith, 410251], [roman, 396169], [Averardo, 409096]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Fireflame479, 231476]]
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