[OVERVIEW]
When compared to the myriad of other Psychic-type wallbreakers like Mega Alakazam and Mega Latios, Tapu Lele sets itself apart from them thanks to its unique ability, Psychic Surge, and its punishing nature as a wallbreaker. Combined with its solid offensive stats and typing, Tapu Lele is a truly menacing wallbreaker that is very devastating to deal with for defensively oriented teams, as it can overwhelm Psychic-resistant Pokemon like Heatran and Ferrothorn rather quickly. On the other hand, when holding a Choice Scarf, Tapu Lele has an excellent matchup against more offensive teams. However, Choice item sets are often reliant on prediction, as their tendency to spam Psychic-type moves leaves them open to Pursuit trappers like Weavile and Mega Tyranitar. Furthermore, Tapu Lele's all-around average bulk and Speed tier leave it vulnerable to common Pokemon like Mega Crucibelle and Pajantom and also make it struggle to consistently find opportunities to switch in.
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Psyshock
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Calm Mind
item: Fightinium Z
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Psyshock in tandem with Calm Mind allows Tapu Lele to overwhelm Chansey, turning it into an effective stallbreaker. Focus Blast is run with Fightinium Z to heavily chunk Steel-types like Heatran and Ferrothorn. When backed up by a Calm Mind boost, All-Out Pummeling can even overwhelm weakened Steel-types that aren't weak to Fighting, such as Celesteela and Assault Vest Magearna.
Set Details
========
Fightinium Z gives Tapu Lele access to a 190-Base Power All-Out Pummeling, allowing Tapu Lele to overwhelm Steel-types; additionally, it is much more reliable than having to hit Focus Blast against Heatran and Ferrothorn thanks to its improved accuracy. A Timid nature is preferred to outspeed Landorus-T and Speed tie with Kyurem-B and opposing Tapu Lele.
Usage Tips
========
Calm Mind should primarily be used to break through slow bulky teams that often leave opportunities for Tapu Lele to do so. Fightinium Z should be used to weaken Steel-types like Celesteela and Magearna for teammates like Mega Mawile and Mega Alakazam. Due to Tapu Lele's relative frailty, it should be brought in via VoltTurn support or aggressive switches. You can try to bluff a Choice item against teams with Dark- and Steel-types to surprise them with Moonblast and All-Out Pummeling, respectively. It should be noted that because Tapu Lele is not running a Choice item, it has the freedom to switch up moves, allowing it to attack what is in front of it, though it is still important to use the appropriate coverage move if a faster Pokemon like Weavile is anticipated to switch in.
Team Options
========
Pokemon like Mega Mawile, Mega Alakazam, Magearna, and Aurumoth appreciate Tapu Lele's ability to weaken Steel-types like Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Celesteela to ultimately sweep or break through the rest of the team. Pivots such as Tornadus-T and Mega Crucibelle, which also appreciate Tapu Lele's ability to weaken Steel-types, are particularly good partners to get Tapu Lele into play safely. It's particularly nice to pair Tapu Lele with Spikes setters like Ash-Greninja, Greninja, Ferrothorn, and Arghonaut, as Spikes heavily punish switches, which Tapu Lele will often force.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Psyshock
move 3: Moonblast
move 4: Hidden Power Fire
item: Choice Specs
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Although having both Psychic and Psyshock on the set may look weird, they serve vastly different purposes. Notably, Psychic deals insane amounts of damage to Pokemon like Landorus-T, while Psyshock can 3HKO specially defensive Steel-types like Celesteela, Heatran, and Magearna and 2HKO Chansey. Hidden Power Fire does a lot to other Steel-types like Ferrothorn, while being more reliable than Focus Blast. Additionally, Focus Blast's ability to break through Heatran isn't really needed with Psyshock already doing a lot to it.
Set Details
========
Choice Specs turns Tapu Lele into a frightening wallbreaker that is capable of breaking through specially defensive Steel-types with the sheer force behind its Psychic-type attacks. A Timid nature is run to outspeed Landorus-T as well as Aurumoth and Speed tie with Kyurem-B and opposing Tapu Lele.
Usage Tips
========
Tapu Lele has a very good matchup against bulkier teams, being capable of overwhelming traditional Psychic-type answers relatively easily. Against these types of teams, it should seek to pave the way for another teammate early- to mid-game with its Psychic-type attacks. However, it should be noted that bulkier teams commonly carry a combination of a Steel- and Dark-type Pokemon to pivot around Tapu Lele, so prediction is necessary. This is especially important if the opposition has a Pursuit trapper like Weavile or Mega Tyranitar, which can heavily punish Tapu Lele locked into one of its Psychic-type moves, so make sure to use Moonblast if they're predicted to switch in. In similar vein, if Tapu Lele does choose to lock itself into a Psychic-type move and the opponent doesn't switch in their Dark-type, it must switch out the next turn. Against more offensive teams, Tapu Lele can be used to take a hit from Pokemon like Choice Specs Greninja thanks to its decent Special Defense stat and retaliate.
Team Options
========
Pivots like Magearna, Tornadus-T, and Mega Crucibelle can bring Tapu Lele into play, as its generally lacking bulk leaves a lot to be desired when trying to switch in. Additionally, Tornadus-T tends to draw in passive Pokemon, which Tapu Lele can take advantage of, while Magearna and Mega Crucibelle appreciate Tapu Lele's ability to weaken Steel-types. Since Choice Specs Tapu Lele forces an absurd number of switches, Spikes support from Pokemon like Greninja, Ash-Greninja, Arghonaut, and Ferrothorn is optimal to maximize the benefit from this. Greninja can also lure and take out Pokemon like Celesteela and Magearna thanks to its wide movepool. Pokemon like Magnezone and Heatran, which can each pressure Steel-types very well, will enable Tapu Lele to play much more comfortably, not having to worry about using Hidden Power Fire as much as it would otherwise.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Nature's Madness / Hidden Power Fire
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Although Psyshock hits Chansey's weaker defense, it doesn't do enough, so Psychic is still preferred as a generally stronger option. Focus Blast hits Steel-types like Heatran and Ferrothorn. Nature's Madness allows Tapu Lele to chunk other Steel-types like Celesteela and Magearna, while Hidden Power Fire can be chosen for a more reliable option against Steel-types that take more damage from it like Ferrothorn and Kitsunoh.
Set Details
========
A Choice Scarf allows Tapu Lele to outspeed Pokemon like +1 Speed Aurumoth and Choice Scarf Landorus-T. Most notably, however, it massively improves Tapu Lele's matchup against offensive teams at the cost of its matchup against bulkier teams.
Usage Tips
========
Thanks to Choice Scarf, Tapu Lele is incredibly fast, allowing it to clean up easily against offensively inclined teams after some prior chip damage. However, be wary of locking yourself into Psychic if a Dark-type is present on the opposing team, as doing this will leave Tapu Lele susceptible, being unable to touch them. Instead, Tapu Lele should use coverage moves. Considering Tapu Lele's general lack of damage output from its Psychic-type moves, it's best to try and weaken Steel-types with Focus Blast, Nature's Madness, and Hidden Power Fire.
Team Options
========
Because of Tapu Lele's lacking damage output, it'll need Spikes support from Pokemon like Greninja, Ferrothorn, and Ash-Greninja to pick up KOes late-game. Considering that Choice Scarf Tapu Lele generally lacks the power to plow through Steel-types, Pokemon that can check them like Heatran are good teammates. Alternatively, you could even elect to use Mega Latios, which reliably checks Heatran and together with Tapu Lele can overwhelm Ferrothorn. In a similar vein, Magnezone can take care of Steel-types like Magearna and Ferrothorn. Another option is Mega Alakazam, particularly with Knock Off, as it can constantly wear down Steel-types and cripple them by removing their items.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Psychium Z is an option instead of Fightinium Z, as it allows Tapu Lele to blow past Tangrowth while being almost as strong as All-Out Pummeling against Steel-types thanks to Psychic Surge. However, Focus Blast is rather unreliable, so Fightinium Z is generally preferred. Metronome is also an option that can be run alongside another Z-Move user. Taunt can be run to deal with Trick Room teams reliably, but Tapu Lele's superior matchup against balanced teams with Calm Mind often overshadows this option.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: Steel-types like Celesteela, Jirachi, and Assault Vest Magearna are relatively unbothered by anything Tapu Lele can throw at them because they're not hit super effectively by Fighting-type moves. However, Celesteela and Jirachi take quite a lot from Choice Specs-boosted Hidden Power Fire, and Assault Vest Magearna is easily worn down. Other Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran can take an unboosted Focus Blast and Hidden Power Fire, respectively, and retaliate.
**Faster Pokemon**: Tapu Lele is very susceptible to being revenge killed by faster Pokemon due to its relatively underwhelming bulk and Speed tier, being outsped by Pokemon such as Mega Alakazam, Mega Crucibelle, Pajantom, and Greninja. Choice Scarf variants will still be outrun by Choice Scarf Kartana, Greninja, and Kitsunoh.
**Dark-types**: Dark-types like Weavile, Mega Tyranitar, Ash-Greninja, and Colossoil can punish Tapu Lele that are locked into Psychic-type attacks. Particularly, Weavile, Mega Tyranitar, and Colossoil can Pursuit trap Tapu Lele, ensuring that it is KOed. However, they struggle against Calm Mind variants of Tapu Lele because they can switch up moves.
**Specially Defensive Walls**: Tangrowth can comfortably scout Choice Specs and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele without being punished too much thanks to Regenerator, while Chansey is relatively unfazed by Choice Scarf variants, but it is still susceptible to Choice Specs-boosted Psyshock. Both have to be wary of Calm Mind variants, however, which can use them as bait.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Jordy, 395754]]
- Quality checked by: [[snake_rattler, 227784], [Jho, 208105], [Mx, 298148]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Rabia, 336073]]
When compared to the myriad of other Psychic-type wallbreakers like Mega Alakazam and Mega Latios, Tapu Lele sets itself apart from them thanks to its unique ability, Psychic Surge, and its punishing nature as a wallbreaker. Combined with its solid offensive stats and typing, Tapu Lele is a truly menacing wallbreaker that is very devastating to deal with for defensively oriented teams, as it can overwhelm Psychic-resistant Pokemon like Heatran and Ferrothorn rather quickly. On the other hand, when holding a Choice Scarf, Tapu Lele has an excellent matchup against more offensive teams. However, Choice item sets are often reliant on prediction, as their tendency to spam Psychic-type moves leaves them open to Pursuit trappers like Weavile and Mega Tyranitar. Furthermore, Tapu Lele's all-around average bulk and Speed tier leave it vulnerable to common Pokemon like Mega Crucibelle and Pajantom and also make it struggle to consistently find opportunities to switch in.
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Psyshock
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Calm Mind
item: Fightinium Z
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Psyshock in tandem with Calm Mind allows Tapu Lele to overwhelm Chansey, turning it into an effective stallbreaker. Focus Blast is run with Fightinium Z to heavily chunk Steel-types like Heatran and Ferrothorn. When backed up by a Calm Mind boost, All-Out Pummeling can even overwhelm weakened Steel-types that aren't weak to Fighting, such as Celesteela and Assault Vest Magearna.
Set Details
========
Fightinium Z gives Tapu Lele access to a 190-Base Power All-Out Pummeling, allowing Tapu Lele to overwhelm Steel-types; additionally, it is much more reliable than having to hit Focus Blast against Heatran and Ferrothorn thanks to its improved accuracy. A Timid nature is preferred to outspeed Landorus-T and Speed tie with Kyurem-B and opposing Tapu Lele.
Usage Tips
========
Calm Mind should primarily be used to break through slow bulky teams that often leave opportunities for Tapu Lele to do so. Fightinium Z should be used to weaken Steel-types like Celesteela and Magearna for teammates like Mega Mawile and Mega Alakazam. Due to Tapu Lele's relative frailty, it should be brought in via VoltTurn support or aggressive switches. You can try to bluff a Choice item against teams with Dark- and Steel-types to surprise them with Moonblast and All-Out Pummeling, respectively. It should be noted that because Tapu Lele is not running a Choice item, it has the freedom to switch up moves, allowing it to attack what is in front of it, though it is still important to use the appropriate coverage move if a faster Pokemon like Weavile is anticipated to switch in.
Team Options
========
Pokemon like Mega Mawile, Mega Alakazam, Magearna, and Aurumoth appreciate Tapu Lele's ability to weaken Steel-types like Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Celesteela to ultimately sweep or break through the rest of the team. Pivots such as Tornadus-T and Mega Crucibelle, which also appreciate Tapu Lele's ability to weaken Steel-types, are particularly good partners to get Tapu Lele into play safely. It's particularly nice to pair Tapu Lele with Spikes setters like Ash-Greninja, Greninja, Ferrothorn, and Arghonaut, as Spikes heavily punish switches, which Tapu Lele will often force.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Psyshock
move 3: Moonblast
move 4: Hidden Power Fire
item: Choice Specs
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Although having both Psychic and Psyshock on the set may look weird, they serve vastly different purposes. Notably, Psychic deals insane amounts of damage to Pokemon like Landorus-T, while Psyshock can 3HKO specially defensive Steel-types like Celesteela, Heatran, and Magearna and 2HKO Chansey. Hidden Power Fire does a lot to other Steel-types like Ferrothorn, while being more reliable than Focus Blast. Additionally, Focus Blast's ability to break through Heatran isn't really needed with Psyshock already doing a lot to it.
Set Details
========
Choice Specs turns Tapu Lele into a frightening wallbreaker that is capable of breaking through specially defensive Steel-types with the sheer force behind its Psychic-type attacks. A Timid nature is run to outspeed Landorus-T as well as Aurumoth and Speed tie with Kyurem-B and opposing Tapu Lele.
Usage Tips
========
Tapu Lele has a very good matchup against bulkier teams, being capable of overwhelming traditional Psychic-type answers relatively easily. Against these types of teams, it should seek to pave the way for another teammate early- to mid-game with its Psychic-type attacks. However, it should be noted that bulkier teams commonly carry a combination of a Steel- and Dark-type Pokemon to pivot around Tapu Lele, so prediction is necessary. This is especially important if the opposition has a Pursuit trapper like Weavile or Mega Tyranitar, which can heavily punish Tapu Lele locked into one of its Psychic-type moves, so make sure to use Moonblast if they're predicted to switch in. In similar vein, if Tapu Lele does choose to lock itself into a Psychic-type move and the opponent doesn't switch in their Dark-type, it must switch out the next turn. Against more offensive teams, Tapu Lele can be used to take a hit from Pokemon like Choice Specs Greninja thanks to its decent Special Defense stat and retaliate.
Team Options
========
Pivots like Magearna, Tornadus-T, and Mega Crucibelle can bring Tapu Lele into play, as its generally lacking bulk leaves a lot to be desired when trying to switch in. Additionally, Tornadus-T tends to draw in passive Pokemon, which Tapu Lele can take advantage of, while Magearna and Mega Crucibelle appreciate Tapu Lele's ability to weaken Steel-types. Since Choice Specs Tapu Lele forces an absurd number of switches, Spikes support from Pokemon like Greninja, Ash-Greninja, Arghonaut, and Ferrothorn is optimal to maximize the benefit from this. Greninja can also lure and take out Pokemon like Celesteela and Magearna thanks to its wide movepool. Pokemon like Magnezone and Heatran, which can each pressure Steel-types very well, will enable Tapu Lele to play much more comfortably, not having to worry about using Hidden Power Fire as much as it would otherwise.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Nature's Madness / Hidden Power Fire
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Although Psyshock hits Chansey's weaker defense, it doesn't do enough, so Psychic is still preferred as a generally stronger option. Focus Blast hits Steel-types like Heatran and Ferrothorn. Nature's Madness allows Tapu Lele to chunk other Steel-types like Celesteela and Magearna, while Hidden Power Fire can be chosen for a more reliable option against Steel-types that take more damage from it like Ferrothorn and Kitsunoh.
Set Details
========
A Choice Scarf allows Tapu Lele to outspeed Pokemon like +1 Speed Aurumoth and Choice Scarf Landorus-T. Most notably, however, it massively improves Tapu Lele's matchup against offensive teams at the cost of its matchup against bulkier teams.
Usage Tips
========
Thanks to Choice Scarf, Tapu Lele is incredibly fast, allowing it to clean up easily against offensively inclined teams after some prior chip damage. However, be wary of locking yourself into Psychic if a Dark-type is present on the opposing team, as doing this will leave Tapu Lele susceptible, being unable to touch them. Instead, Tapu Lele should use coverage moves. Considering Tapu Lele's general lack of damage output from its Psychic-type moves, it's best to try and weaken Steel-types with Focus Blast, Nature's Madness, and Hidden Power Fire.
Team Options
========
Because of Tapu Lele's lacking damage output, it'll need Spikes support from Pokemon like Greninja, Ferrothorn, and Ash-Greninja to pick up KOes late-game. Considering that Choice Scarf Tapu Lele generally lacks the power to plow through Steel-types, Pokemon that can check them like Heatran are good teammates. Alternatively, you could even elect to use Mega Latios, which reliably checks Heatran and together with Tapu Lele can overwhelm Ferrothorn. In a similar vein, Magnezone can take care of Steel-types like Magearna and Ferrothorn. Another option is Mega Alakazam, particularly with Knock Off, as it can constantly wear down Steel-types and cripple them by removing their items.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Psychium Z is an option instead of Fightinium Z, as it allows Tapu Lele to blow past Tangrowth while being almost as strong as All-Out Pummeling against Steel-types thanks to Psychic Surge. However, Focus Blast is rather unreliable, so Fightinium Z is generally preferred. Metronome is also an option that can be run alongside another Z-Move user. Taunt can be run to deal with Trick Room teams reliably, but Tapu Lele's superior matchup against balanced teams with Calm Mind often overshadows this option.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: Steel-types like Celesteela, Jirachi, and Assault Vest Magearna are relatively unbothered by anything Tapu Lele can throw at them because they're not hit super effectively by Fighting-type moves. However, Celesteela and Jirachi take quite a lot from Choice Specs-boosted Hidden Power Fire, and Assault Vest Magearna is easily worn down. Other Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran can take an unboosted Focus Blast and Hidden Power Fire, respectively, and retaliate.
**Faster Pokemon**: Tapu Lele is very susceptible to being revenge killed by faster Pokemon due to its relatively underwhelming bulk and Speed tier, being outsped by Pokemon such as Mega Alakazam, Mega Crucibelle, Pajantom, and Greninja. Choice Scarf variants will still be outrun by Choice Scarf Kartana, Greninja, and Kitsunoh.
**Dark-types**: Dark-types like Weavile, Mega Tyranitar, Ash-Greninja, and Colossoil can punish Tapu Lele that are locked into Psychic-type attacks. Particularly, Weavile, Mega Tyranitar, and Colossoil can Pursuit trap Tapu Lele, ensuring that it is KOed. However, they struggle against Calm Mind variants of Tapu Lele because they can switch up moves.
**Specially Defensive Walls**: Tangrowth can comfortably scout Choice Specs and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele without being punished too much thanks to Regenerator, while Chansey is relatively unfazed by Choice Scarf variants, but it is still susceptible to Choice Specs-boosted Psyshock. Both have to be wary of Calm Mind variants, however, which can use them as bait.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Jordy, 395754]]
- Quality checked by: [[snake_rattler, 227784], [Jho, 208105], [Mx, 298148]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Rabia, 336073]]
Last edited: