[OVERVIEW]
- Acts as a bulky wallbreaker, pivot, or wall.
- Excellent 100/110 mixed attacking stats
- Amazing 100/125 Physical bulk
- Good movepool, including options such as Focus blast, knock off, earthquake, Sludge Bomb and a choice of STAB moves Giga Drain and Leaf Storm, as well as Sleep Powder and Leech seed to cripple and annoy switchins.
- Regenerator allows it to pivot around and keep itself healthy
- Grass typing gives it important resistances to Water and Ground, allowing it to take on Alomomola, Seismitoad, and Flygon lacking Toxic well.
- Very slow, especially since it is often forced to run a speed-reducing nature.
- Awful Special Defense stat can only be remedied with an Assault Vest.
- Grass typing gives it crippling weaknesses to Ice, Fire, Bug, Flying, and Poison
- Suffers hugely from the presence of Venusaur, which not only has no trouble switching in on tangrowth and KOing it or one of Tangrowth's teammates, but also can somewhat outclass Tangrowth in roles outside of Assault Vest user.
[SET]
name: Assault Vest
move 1: Giga Drain / Leaf Storm
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Focus Blast / Earthquake
move 4: Sludge Bomb / Aerial Ace
item: Assault Vest
ability: Regenerator
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 16 Def / 240 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Giga Drain is usually chosen as a STAB move, as it has a very useful recovery effect and can be used many times in succession.
- While Leaf Storm doesn't have the accuracy or added effect of Giga Drain and has an annoying Special Attack drop, It can be used effectively by Tangrowth for more power thanks to Tangrowth's good pivoting abilities.
- Knock Off is an excellent move on Tangrowth, annoying switchins Escavalier, Venusaur, and Golbat and can target Psychic and Ghost types like Sigilyph, Meloetta, and Hoopa.
- The last two slots of Tangrowth's moves are very customizable based on your team. Focus Blast can be used to nail Registeel for a decent amount as well as ensuring OHKOes on Absol and Sneasel. It also denies setup to Scrafty and can do a large amount of damage to Mega Glalie
- Earthquake hit Registeel and Mega Camerupt hard and can reliably OHKO Magneton. It Also nets the OHKo on Houndoom and Jolteon after Stealth Rock.
- Sludge Bomb is an effective way to fish for Poison to annoy Pokemon that Tangrowth struggles to do damage to, such as Fletchinder and Druddigon. It also does significant damage to Togetic, Granbull, and Virizion.
- Aerial Ace hits the enormous target of Virizion, OHKOing it after a defense drop from Close Combat.
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- Maximum investment in HP is standard, giving Tangrowth solid mixed bulk.
- 16 Defense and a Relaxed nature increase Tangrowth's physical bulk, allowing it to take on Virizion and Flygon better. A relaxed nature is used to Preserve both attacking stats.
- The remaining EVs are dumped into Special Defense tp better take on Rotom-C, Jolteon, Special Flygon.
- A max specially defensive spread is perfectly viable to better take on special attackers.
Usage Tips
========
- Tangrowth can be switched in rather recklessly to certain threats, as it can gain back health back with Regenerator.
- Once in against a favorable opponent, attempt tp make an appropriate double switch or attempt to cripple the switchin with Knock Off.
- Tangrowth can be switched into Pokemon that it can handle such as Jolteon, Rotom-C, Jellicent, Flygon, and Blastoise.
- Make sure to switch Tangrowth in and out often to keep its HP high.
- Despite its status as a pivot, Tangrowth still despises Toxic, as it makes it difficult for him to outlast bulky opponents like Alomomola.
========
- Alomomola and Slowking can form a potent Regenerator core with Tangrowth and can cover Tangrowth's weaknesses to fire and ice, while in turn Tangrowth can take on Electric and certain grass type Pokemon for them.
- Heal bell and Aromatherapy users Diancie, Granbull, Aromatisse, Togetic, and Audino can heal the burns that will inevitably be sustained from repeated switchins to scald, while the first three possess resistances to bug type attacks while Audino forms a regenerator core with tangrowth.
- Fire types Houndoom, Emboar, Delphox, and Mega Camerupt appriciate bulky Water-Types being taken care of and can pressure Venusaur and Escavalier with their STAB moves.
- Dugtrio can trap opposing Poison and Fire types, Such as drapion and Delphoc, that may trouble tangrowth.
- Registeel appricates Tangrowth's Positive matchup against ground types Flygon and Rhyperior.
name: Offensive
move 1: Leaf Storm
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Knock Off / Earthquake / Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Sleep Powder / Sludge Bomb / Rock Slide
item: Life Orb / Choice Specs
ability: Regenerator
nature: Modest / Rash
evs: 132 HP / 252 SpA / 124 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Leaf Storm is a powerful nuke that will heavily damage most Pokemon that are not resistant to it, and Tangrowth's regenerator allows it to easily remove the stat drops via switching.
- Focus Blast smashes primarily Steel-Types, including Registeel, Magneton and Steelix, as well as Scrafty and Houndoom
- The last two slots are almost fully customizable, with knock off being the primary choice in the third slot to remove items from standard switchins Venusaur and Escavalier and can deal a good amount of damage to Bronzong and Meloetta.
- Earthquake can deal large amounts of damage to Fire- and Electric-Types such as Delphox, Mega Camerupt, and Magneton. It also hits Magneton and Registeel more reliably than focus blast, even after the use of Leaf Storm.
- Hidden Power Fire hits Venusaur, Bronzong, and Escavalier super effectively.
- In the fourth slot, Sleep Powder is the primary option on Life Orb sets to cripple most switchins that aren't grass types.
- Sludge Bomb does a large amount of damage to Virizion, Aromatisse, Granbull, Togetic, and opposing Tangrowth.
- Rock Slide hits Fletchinder, Sigilyph, and Braviary on the switch.
- Giga Drain can be used over additional coverage if a more reliable STAB move is desired.
- Do not use Sleep powder or Physical moves besides Knock Off when using the Choice Specs.
========
- 124 EVs in speed ensure Tangrowth outspeeds minimum speed Alomomola.
- If you choose to run Hidden Power Fire on Tangrowth, run 128 EVs in speed to make up for the lost speed IV.
- Maximum investment in Special Attack is used to make Tangrowth hit as hard as possible with its special moves.
- The rest of the EVs are dumped into HP to give Tangrowth some extra bulk.
========
- Despite being an offensive set, this Tangrowth can still switch in on quite a few physical attackers and defensive Pokemon such as Alomomola, Granbull, and tank Rhyperior.
- Once in safely, try to predict the opponents play and use the appropriate coverage move for any switchins. If the opposing team lacks a notable grass resist, Leaf Storm can quickly Knock Out opposing pokemon.
- If the opposing team has setup sweepers such as Virizion, be cautious when using Leaf Storm, as it can easily leaf Tangrowth as setup bait.
- While Tangrowth certainly doesn't appreciate status, it can be switched in on Scald, Thunder Wave, or Toxic if your team lacks an appropriate Pokemon to do so or getting Tangrowth in is important.
- Do not attempt to keep Tangrowth in on powerful Special attackers, as its low special defense leaves it as an easy target for Sigilyph, Exploud, Venusaur, and a host of other Special attackers.
========
- Late game sweepers Fletchinder and Scrafty can take advantage of Tangrowth's wallbreaking abilities.
- Water types Alomomola and Slowking can easily take on the Fire- and Ice-Types that trouble Tangrowth. Both of them form a potent Regenerator core with Tangrowth.
- Delphox and Houndoom appreciate Tangrowth taking Ground- and Water-Type attacks for them and its positive matchup against Alomomola, while Tangrowth benefits from having powerful checks to Venusaur on its team.
- Mega Glalie and Sneasel both appreciate Tangrowth's excellent matchup against Alomomola, while both of them can take on Venusaur for Tangrowth. Mega Glalie can also set spikes for Tangrowth, which are largely beneficial due to the large amount of switches Tangrowth forces.
- Poison-Type Spikers Garbodor and Qwilfish are helped by Tangrowth's good matchup against Ground-Types, while Tangrowth appriciates Spike support as well as Pokemon that can take on Venusaur, in the case of Garbodor, or Emboar, in the case of Qwilfish.
name: Defensive
move 1: Giga Drain
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sleep Powder / Stun Spore
move 4: Leech Seed / Sludge Bomb
item: Leftovers
ability: Regenerator
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Giga Drain is an important, reliable STAB move that keeps tangrowth's heal up well in tandem with leftovers and Regenerator.
- Knock Off cripples most switchins, including Venusaur and Escavalier, and does good damage to Meloetta, Bronzong, and Sigilyph.
- Sleep Powder can cripple most switchins that aren't Grass-types or Overcoat Escavalier.
- Stun Spore can shut down faster threats, such as Medicham and Sneasel, and can cripple multiple threats, unlike Sleep Powder.
- Leech Seed provides extra healing and gives Tangrowth impressive staying power and allows Tangrowth to outlast opponents.
- Sludge Bomb, while useful for targeting Fairy- and Grass-Types, is also used to fish for Poison against Alomomola and Slowking, which Tangrowth struggles to defeat otherwise.
- Earthquake or Focus Blast may be used to deal more damage To Electric- and Steel-Types as well as Fire-Type switchins.
========
- Maximum investment in HP adds nicely to Tangrowth's mixed bulk
- 52 EVs are put into special defense to avoid the 2HKO from Modest Choice Specs Magneton's thunderbolt.
- The rest of the EVs are dumped into defense to make Tangrowth as Physically bulky as possible.
- If one is looking to better take on Jolteon, Special Flygon, and Magneton, more EVs may be put into special defense.
========
- Tangrowth's extreme physical bulk allows it to switch in on almost any physical attacker that doesn't have a super effective move and even some of the ones that do. Among these are Absol, Rhyperior, and Choice Scarf Hitmonlee.
- Tangrowth should not be kept in against powerful special attackers such as Delphox, Exploud, and Houndoom, as they can make short work of tangrowth.
- Switch Tangrowth in and out often.
- If the opponent lacks a Grass-Type, use Leech Seed, Sleep Powder, and and Stun Spore liberally.
- Use knock off to cripple switchins.
- Try to keep this Tangrowth away from status, especially Toxic, as it will get whittled severely quickly should it stay in for many turns.
========
- Alomomola and Slowking are obvious picks, as both of them form a potent Regenerator core with Tangrowth and can take on Fire- and Ice-Types for it.
- Diancie appreciates Tangrowth's good matchup against Rhyperior and can take on flying types for Tangrowth. Diancie can also relieve Tangrowth of status problems with Heal Bell.
- Registeel can handle Venusaur and Mega Glalie for Tangrowth, while Tangrowth can take on Ground-Types for Registeel.
- Jellicent, while not forming a Regenerator core with Tangrowth, has a very solid matchup against Escavalier, a potent Physical attacker that Tangrowth cannot cover.
- Dugtrio can remove extremely threatening fire types on specific stall builds.
- Clerics Granbull and Audino are both generally good option to pair Tangrowth with, as their support helps Tangrowth to more aggressively take on Alomomola. Audino also forms a Regenerator core with Tangrowth.
- Poison types Golbat, Garbodor, and Weezing can switch into Venusaur for Tangrowth.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
- A Physical set could be used with Tangrowth's expansive movepool, but it finds itself very susceptible to the Scald burns that most Tangrowths are required to absorb.
- A Swords Dance set could be used with Power Whip as the main STAB move, but it finds itself sorely outclassed by Virizion.
- Toxic could be used to nail certain switchins, but it doesn't hit Venusaur and Leech Seed, Knock Off, Sleep Powder and Stun Spore can cripple most switchins sufficiently.
- Tangrowth could be utilized as a Chlorophyll sweeper on sun teams, but it loses out on Regenerator and is outclassed by Victreebell and Venusaur.
- Synthesis could be used on the defensive set, but between Regenerator, Giga Drain, leftovers, and Leech Seed, Tangrowth doesn't struggle to keep its health high.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Venusaur**: Venusaur receives a special mention, as it only fears Knock Off and the very rare Hidden Power Fire from Tangrowth. This is especially troubling since Venusaur has a tendency to harass even its hardest switchins. Almost all of Tangrowth's coverage, its status moves, and its STAB are invitations for Venusaur to come in and start launching attacks.
**Flying-types**: Most flying types, Fletchinder, Braviary, and Sigilyph have no problems Knocking Out Tangrowth. While the latter two are annoyed by Knock Off and all of them take heavy damage from Rock Slide, especially boosted by Life Orb, Fletchinder can set up on some sets while Braviary has no problems whatsoever turning the defensive set into setup bait. Almost all flying types have no problem switching in on Tangrowth's STAB or coverage, but can struggle with Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Leech Seed.
**Poison-types**: Although they can be annoyed by Knock Off and Tangrowth's various utility moves, should Tangrowth lack Earthquake, Garbodor has no trouble KOing it or even using it as fodder to set Spikes. Weezing is a reliable counter to both the Assault Vest and Defensive set and can even taunt the latter, but takes a large amount of damage from a Specs or Life Orb-boosted Leaf Storm. Drapion is a potent check to Tangrowth but takes a rather large amount of damage from Focus Blast.
**Fire-types**: Fire-types, despite sometimes struggling to switch into Tangrowth, can make short work if it with their STAB moves. Delphox, Emboar, and Houndoom can OHKO most variants of Tangrowth after Stealth Rock. All of them can switch in on Tangrowth's STAB, although usually only once in the case of the offensive set. Knock Off, Leech Seed, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, Earthquake, Rock Slide and Focus Blast can all easily deny switchin to most Fire-types.
**Ice-types**: Mega Glalie and Sneasel, while struggling to switch in to most of Tangrowth's attacks outside of Knock Off, can smash Tangrowth with their STAB moves. Abomasnow can switch in with a bit more ease thanks to a Grass resistance, an immunity to Sleep Powder, Leech Seed, and Stun Spore, and can blast Tangrowth with Blizzard.
**Bug Types**: Escavalier is the main offender here. Despite the fact that it despises Knock Off and takes a huge amount of damage from Hidden Power Fire, Escavalier has no problem switching in on Sleep Powder or Stun Spore thanks to overcoat and naturally claims a quadruple resistance to Tangrowth's STAB. Accelgor struggles to switch in al most of Tangrowth's attacks, but can easily heavily damage or OHKO Tangrowth with Bug Buzz.
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