[OVERVIEW]
Victreebel finds a niche in RBY Ubers thanks to its decent Speed and access to Wrap, dual status moves in Sleep Powder and Stun Spore, and a strong STAB Razor Leaf. Wrap makes it tricky for paralyzed Pokemon to block sleep, as Victreebel can use Wrap on them for free chip damage. Wrap can also make Victreebel dangerous late-game, heavily punishing teams that allow paralysis to spread throughout their Pokemon, as well as teams with many slow Pokemon, such as Snorlax, Chansey, Exeggutor, and Rhydon. Victreebel also enjoys the lower usage Alakazam and Starmie have compared to OU, as outspeeding and paralyzing it is one of the most consistent ways to take it out.
However, Victreebel has several flaws that prevent it from being one of the top threats in the metagame. Wrap is only 85% accurate, which is troublesome, since Victreebel often needs to hit Wrap multiple times in a row, and one miss can get Victreebel paralyzed, effectively making it useless. Although its Speed is decent, it is still outsped by Mewtwo, Mew, Tauros, and Zapdos. This generally means Victreebel needs heavy paralysis support to function. Unparalyzed Mewtwo in particular is a terrible matchup for Victreebel, as it threatens both Thunder Wave and STAB Psychic. Mew carries Thunder Wave often, and Tauros threatens Body Slam paralysis. Victreebel is also completely blanked by Gengar, which is immune to Wrap and has a resistance to Razor Leaf. However, Victreebel still is able to threaten all of these Pokemon with status moves. Lastly, Victreebel faces competition from Pokemon like Exeggutor and Chansey as sleepers and from Dragonite as a wrapper.
[SET]
name: Wrap
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Wrap
move 3: Stun Spore
move 4: Razor Leaf
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Sleep Powder in conjunction with Wrap makes Victreebel effective at forcing a foe to sleep. If a paralyzed Pokemon attempts to block Victreebel's Sleep Powder, then Victreebel can use Wrap to chip and force out the paralyzed foe and threaten sleep again. Victreebel's ability to push sleep past paralyzed Pokemon allows its teammates to spread paralysis before Victreebel lands Sleep Powder. Stun Spore allows Victreebel to spread paralysis after landing Sleep Powder, which is useful on faster foes such as Tauros and Mew. Razor Leaf lets Victreebel OHKO the Normal-resistant Rhydon and deal massive damage to Water-types, such as Starmie, Cloyster, and Slowbro. It is also a great tool at damaging neutral targets like Snorlax. Razor Leaf's near-guaranteed critical hit chance means it can bypass the Special boost from Mewtwo and Slowbro's Amnesia as well, although Victreebel should usually only do this if Mewtwo is already paralyzed and at low HP.
Victreebel generally has trouble switching in due to a poor defensive typing and fear of getting paralyzed. It most commonly finds entry on a double switch or a predicted recovery turn from Chansey, Mew, or paralyzed Mewtwo. This is still risky, though, as a missed prediction can result in Victreebel taking paralysis or heavy damage. Victreebel's easiest entry point is on a Pokemon using Rest, such as Snorlax or Slowbro. However, Rest on Snorlax is uncommon in Ubers, making this hard to come by. In dire situations, Victreebel can switch directly into Body Slam from Snorlax or Earthquake from Rhydon, but the paralysis chance of the former and heavy damage of the latter make this option a last resort.
Victreebel can use Wrap as a pivoting tool, switching out while the foe is immobilized so that Victreebel's teammates can hit the field safely. Though all of Victreebel's teammates appreciate being able to switch for free, those that have good offensive potential but trouble switching into moves, such as Tauros and Rhydon, benefit most heavily from this. Victreebel can also use Wrap's chip damage to get Pokemon into certain ranges for its teammates, such as getting Mewtwo into KO range of Snorlax's Self-Destruct, Water-types such as Starmie and Slowbro into KO range of Victreebel's own Razor Leaf, or Snorlax into KO range of +4 Mewtwo's Psychic.
Victreebel's best teammates are those that can spread paralysis throughout an opposing team, as this enables its Wrap antics. Thunder Wave variants of Mew and Mewtwo are great teammates for Victreebel, since their high damage output often forces the opponent's Mew or Mewtwo in, which they can then paralyze. Zapdos is also an effective paralysis spreader, making it a good teammate. Victreebel helps Zapdos against Rhydon; although Victreebel cannot directly switch in, its Razor Leaf threatens Rhydon immensely. Chansey is able to switch into Alakazam, Starmie, and unboosted Mewtwo and threaten paralysis, while Slowbro can switch into Mewtwo sets that lack Thunderbolt. Dragonite can be used with Victreebel for a more Wrap-dedicated teamstyle, allowing Victreebel and Dragonite to enable each other and tear apart paralyzed teams. However, it is important to note that using Victreebel and Dragonite together stacks weaknesses to Ice-type moves, so having teammates that alleviate this is important.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Victreebel has seen fringe use as a lead, as it outspeeds Exeggutor and Hypno leads while still having access to a reliable way to spread paralysis in Stun Spore, which other fast sleep leads like Jynx and Gengar don't have. However, Victreebel struggles against faster leads such as Jynx, Gengar, Zapdos, and Mewtwo, making this quite niche.
Victreebel can opt for a Swords Dance set, generally forgoing Wrap and Razor Leaf for Swords Dance and one of Body Slam or Hyper Beam. This set is able to put a foe to sleep then set up Swords Dance the next turn. If a faster foe, such as Mewtwo, tries to revenge kill this Victreebel set, it can sacrifice itself and use Stun Spore. However, this set is walled by Rhydon and Gengar, and Wrap is a huge part of Victreebel's viability, so it is difficult to justify dropping.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Mewtwo**: Mewtwo gives Victreebel immense trouble, dealing a minimum of 73.5% with Psychic and only being 5HKOed in return with Razor Leaf. Many Mewtwo sets also carry Thunder Wave, which ruins Victreebel. Although trading status with Mewtwo is generally a good trade for Victreebel, Mewtwo's 25.39% critical-hit rate as well as Sleep Powder and Stun Spore's poor accuracy means Victreebel can easily be KOed without landing a status move.
**Paralysis**: Once paralyzed, Victreebel is generally deadweight, as Wrap relies heavily on it outspeeding foes. This makes a Wrap miss fatal against foes with Thunder Wave, such as Chansey. Even if the foe is also paralyzed, a paralyzed Victreebel's Wrap accuracy is effectively 63.75%, which is extremely unreliable considering Wrap needs to hit multiple times in a row.
**Faster Pokemon**: Since Wrap relies heavily on Victreebel outspeeding a foe, faster Pokemon such as Zapdos, Alakazam, Jynx, Mewtwo, and Mew give Victreebel trouble. Although Victreebel can threaten them with Stun Spore, many faster Pokemon can paralyze Victreebel back, preventing it from taking advantage of Wrap. Although uncommon, Articuno deserves a special mention, as it is great not only against Victreebel but also its common teammates, such as Dragonite and mono-Earthquake Thunder Wave Mew.
**Gengar**: Gengar is immune to Wrap and takes pitiful damage from Razor Leaf, making it a hard counter to Victreebel. However, Gengar hates getting paralyzed by Stun Spore, and Victreebel can still use Wrap to pivot on Gengar.
**Ice-type Coverage**: Ice-type moves run rampant in RBY Ubers, which Victreebel does not enjoy. Although it can comfortably wrap foes like Chansey, it has trouble switching in due to the threat of Ice Beam. This also makes Victreebel's matchup with Cloyster quite swingy. Although Victreebel 2HKOes it with Razor Leaf, Cloyster Speed ties with and 2HKOes it in return with Blizzard. Using Wrap on a paralyzed Pokemon like Articuno is also risky, since Victreebel gets hit hard by Blizzard if it misses.
**Rhydon**: If Victreebel is running a Swords Dance set that lacks Razor Leaf, it is walled by Rhydon. However, the threat of Razor Leaf means the opponent will not send Rhydon in on Victreebel until all of its moves are revealed. Rhydon can also help PP stall Wrap if necessary thanks to its resistance to the move, though a Wrap miss is bad for Rhydon, since Victreebel can follow up with Razor Leaf.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gastlies.540559/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/eledyr.415367/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/volk.530877/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/adorluigi.528364/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
Victreebel finds a niche in RBY Ubers thanks to its decent Speed and access to Wrap, dual status moves in Sleep Powder and Stun Spore, and a strong STAB Razor Leaf. Wrap makes it tricky for paralyzed Pokemon to block sleep, as Victreebel can use Wrap on them for free chip damage. Wrap can also make Victreebel dangerous late-game, heavily punishing teams that allow paralysis to spread throughout their Pokemon, as well as teams with many slow Pokemon, such as Snorlax, Chansey, Exeggutor, and Rhydon. Victreebel also enjoys the lower usage Alakazam and Starmie have compared to OU, as outspeeding and paralyzing it is one of the most consistent ways to take it out.
However, Victreebel has several flaws that prevent it from being one of the top threats in the metagame. Wrap is only 85% accurate, which is troublesome, since Victreebel often needs to hit Wrap multiple times in a row, and one miss can get Victreebel paralyzed, effectively making it useless. Although its Speed is decent, it is still outsped by Mewtwo, Mew, Tauros, and Zapdos. This generally means Victreebel needs heavy paralysis support to function. Unparalyzed Mewtwo in particular is a terrible matchup for Victreebel, as it threatens both Thunder Wave and STAB Psychic. Mew carries Thunder Wave often, and Tauros threatens Body Slam paralysis. Victreebel is also completely blanked by Gengar, which is immune to Wrap and has a resistance to Razor Leaf. However, Victreebel still is able to threaten all of these Pokemon with status moves. Lastly, Victreebel faces competition from Pokemon like Exeggutor and Chansey as sleepers and from Dragonite as a wrapper.
[SET]
name: Wrap
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Wrap
move 3: Stun Spore
move 4: Razor Leaf
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Sleep Powder in conjunction with Wrap makes Victreebel effective at forcing a foe to sleep. If a paralyzed Pokemon attempts to block Victreebel's Sleep Powder, then Victreebel can use Wrap to chip and force out the paralyzed foe and threaten sleep again. Victreebel's ability to push sleep past paralyzed Pokemon allows its teammates to spread paralysis before Victreebel lands Sleep Powder. Stun Spore allows Victreebel to spread paralysis after landing Sleep Powder, which is useful on faster foes such as Tauros and Mew. Razor Leaf lets Victreebel OHKO the Normal-resistant Rhydon and deal massive damage to Water-types, such as Starmie, Cloyster, and Slowbro. It is also a great tool at damaging neutral targets like Snorlax. Razor Leaf's near-guaranteed critical hit chance means it can bypass the Special boost from Mewtwo and Slowbro's Amnesia as well, although Victreebel should usually only do this if Mewtwo is already paralyzed and at low HP.
Victreebel generally has trouble switching in due to a poor defensive typing and fear of getting paralyzed. It most commonly finds entry on a double switch or a predicted recovery turn from Chansey, Mew, or paralyzed Mewtwo. This is still risky, though, as a missed prediction can result in Victreebel taking paralysis or heavy damage. Victreebel's easiest entry point is on a Pokemon using Rest, such as Snorlax or Slowbro. However, Rest on Snorlax is uncommon in Ubers, making this hard to come by. In dire situations, Victreebel can switch directly into Body Slam from Snorlax or Earthquake from Rhydon, but the paralysis chance of the former and heavy damage of the latter make this option a last resort.
Victreebel can use Wrap as a pivoting tool, switching out while the foe is immobilized so that Victreebel's teammates can hit the field safely. Though all of Victreebel's teammates appreciate being able to switch for free, those that have good offensive potential but trouble switching into moves, such as Tauros and Rhydon, benefit most heavily from this. Victreebel can also use Wrap's chip damage to get Pokemon into certain ranges for its teammates, such as getting Mewtwo into KO range of Snorlax's Self-Destruct, Water-types such as Starmie and Slowbro into KO range of Victreebel's own Razor Leaf, or Snorlax into KO range of +4 Mewtwo's Psychic.
Victreebel's best teammates are those that can spread paralysis throughout an opposing team, as this enables its Wrap antics. Thunder Wave variants of Mew and Mewtwo are great teammates for Victreebel, since their high damage output often forces the opponent's Mew or Mewtwo in, which they can then paralyze. Zapdos is also an effective paralysis spreader, making it a good teammate. Victreebel helps Zapdos against Rhydon; although Victreebel cannot directly switch in, its Razor Leaf threatens Rhydon immensely. Chansey is able to switch into Alakazam, Starmie, and unboosted Mewtwo and threaten paralysis, while Slowbro can switch into Mewtwo sets that lack Thunderbolt. Dragonite can be used with Victreebel for a more Wrap-dedicated teamstyle, allowing Victreebel and Dragonite to enable each other and tear apart paralyzed teams. However, it is important to note that using Victreebel and Dragonite together stacks weaknesses to Ice-type moves, so having teammates that alleviate this is important.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Victreebel has seen fringe use as a lead, as it outspeeds Exeggutor and Hypno leads while still having access to a reliable way to spread paralysis in Stun Spore, which other fast sleep leads like Jynx and Gengar don't have. However, Victreebel struggles against faster leads such as Jynx, Gengar, Zapdos, and Mewtwo, making this quite niche.
Victreebel can opt for a Swords Dance set, generally forgoing Wrap and Razor Leaf for Swords Dance and one of Body Slam or Hyper Beam. This set is able to put a foe to sleep then set up Swords Dance the next turn. If a faster foe, such as Mewtwo, tries to revenge kill this Victreebel set, it can sacrifice itself and use Stun Spore. However, this set is walled by Rhydon and Gengar, and Wrap is a huge part of Victreebel's viability, so it is difficult to justify dropping.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Mewtwo**: Mewtwo gives Victreebel immense trouble, dealing a minimum of 73.5% with Psychic and only being 5HKOed in return with Razor Leaf. Many Mewtwo sets also carry Thunder Wave, which ruins Victreebel. Although trading status with Mewtwo is generally a good trade for Victreebel, Mewtwo's 25.39% critical-hit rate as well as Sleep Powder and Stun Spore's poor accuracy means Victreebel can easily be KOed without landing a status move.
**Paralysis**: Once paralyzed, Victreebel is generally deadweight, as Wrap relies heavily on it outspeeding foes. This makes a Wrap miss fatal against foes with Thunder Wave, such as Chansey. Even if the foe is also paralyzed, a paralyzed Victreebel's Wrap accuracy is effectively 63.75%, which is extremely unreliable considering Wrap needs to hit multiple times in a row.
**Faster Pokemon**: Since Wrap relies heavily on Victreebel outspeeding a foe, faster Pokemon such as Zapdos, Alakazam, Jynx, Mewtwo, and Mew give Victreebel trouble. Although Victreebel can threaten them with Stun Spore, many faster Pokemon can paralyze Victreebel back, preventing it from taking advantage of Wrap. Although uncommon, Articuno deserves a special mention, as it is great not only against Victreebel but also its common teammates, such as Dragonite and mono-Earthquake Thunder Wave Mew.
**Gengar**: Gengar is immune to Wrap and takes pitiful damage from Razor Leaf, making it a hard counter to Victreebel. However, Gengar hates getting paralyzed by Stun Spore, and Victreebel can still use Wrap to pivot on Gengar.
**Ice-type Coverage**: Ice-type moves run rampant in RBY Ubers, which Victreebel does not enjoy. Although it can comfortably wrap foes like Chansey, it has trouble switching in due to the threat of Ice Beam. This also makes Victreebel's matchup with Cloyster quite swingy. Although Victreebel 2HKOes it with Razor Leaf, Cloyster Speed ties with and 2HKOes it in return with Blizzard. Using Wrap on a paralyzed Pokemon like Articuno is also risky, since Victreebel gets hit hard by Blizzard if it misses.
**Rhydon**: If Victreebel is running a Swords Dance set that lacks Razor Leaf, it is walled by Rhydon. However, the threat of Razor Leaf means the opponent will not send Rhydon in on Victreebel until all of its moves are revealed. Rhydon can also help PP stall Wrap if necessary thanks to its resistance to the move, though a Wrap miss is bad for Rhydon, since Victreebel can follow up with Razor Leaf.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gastlies.540559/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/eledyr.415367/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/volk.530877/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/adorluigi.528364/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
Last edited:
