[Overview]
<p>Venomoth has never been a top threat, traditionally
being labeled "not as bad as those other bad Bug-types
.” Outshining Pokemon like Butterfree, Beautifly
, and Dustox could hardly be called a talent, and Venomoth's decidedly mediocre stats and typing left it as a forgettable Pokemon despite its impressive movepool and abilities.</p>
<p>BW gave Venomoth a new lease on life in the competitive Pokemon scene,
by granting it an incredible boosting move in Quiver Dance, an attack that boosts the user's Speed, Special Attack
, and Special Defense by one stage each. Quiver Dance is only learned by a bare handful of Pokemon, and of them, Venomoth is the only one to also learn Baton Pass (except for Masquerain, yet another awful Bug-type it outclasses). With Quiver Dance added to its bag of tricks, Venomoth has become a terrifying Baton Pass user, also boasting Sleep Powder to nab it turns to boost
, and fantastic coverage in just one STAB attack thanks to its
Tinted Lens ability
Tinted Lens. Essentially, Venomoth can disable foes, set up on disabled foes, and pass or sweep all in one moveset, suffering little to no four slot syndrome. Venomoth possesses very unique qualities as an offensive Baton Pass user, and with the host of powerful special sweepers (potential pass targets) in BW's UU metagame, you can be sure that Venomoth will remain a threat one must be wary of.</p>
[SET]
name: Baton Pass
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Quiver Dance
move 3: Baton Pass
move 4: Bug Buzz / Roost
item: Leftovers
ability: Tinted Lens
nature: Timid
evs.: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Venomoth accomplishes a lot in just four moves. Sleep Powder lets it set up with terrific reliability on the many UU Pokemon that it outspeeds. Not only will it disable a foe (possibly for the whole game), it will nab a free turn to set up as the opponent sleeps or switches. Quiver Dance is an incredible boosting move that makes the user a lot more powerful and a lot harder to bring down. The boost to Speed also makes Venomoth's Baton Pass very reliable. The defensive EVs
, in tandem with the Special Defense boost
, also
give Venomoth a very good chance of setting up multiple Quiver Dances on foes that rely on special attacks.</p>
<p>Venomoth is a lethal threat with just those 3 moves, but thanks to the coverage from Tinted Lens, it becomes a double threat by being able to go on the offensive with just one attack! There are no Pokemon immune to Bug-type attacks, and with Tinted Lens, even finding a Pokemon that resists Venomoth's one attack is difficult. Furthermore, Venomoth can potentially forgo attacking completely and abuse the Speed and Special Defense boosts further with Roost, letting it heal up and nab even more boosts. Generally speaking, Bug Buzz is superior
to give versatility and speed to the threat Venomoth poses [this don’t make any sense, rephrase] (and to avoid being Taunt bait). Roost is best used if your pass target is a bulkier Pokemon that needs more boosts to be a real threat, but will sweep with more security once set up (for instance, using Nidoqueen instead of Nidoking as a pass target). Thanks to the free turns from Sleep Powder and the Speed boosts from Quiver Dance, Venomoth has very little to fear from Taunt users
, as Prankster users are very rare in UU.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>With different EV spreads, this set can play very different but effective styles. HP
EVs could be allotted to Special Attack to make a more offensive passer, increasing Venomoth's ability to sweep and abuse the boosts itself. Alternatively, Speed could be moved to Defense, and the nature could even be made Bold to make a very bulky passer. Bold Venomoth with full defensive investment always survives a Jolly Scarf Heracross's Stone Edge, even after taking Stealth Rock damage. When using Roost, any EVs that would be put in Special Attack should be allotted to a defensive stat, and the ability should be changed to Shield Dust to block the secondary effects of attacks like Discharge or Boil Over. Finally, Substitute is traditionally a very interesting move to use on Calm Mind sweepers, and can be used over Bug Buzz or Roost with Venomoth to block status or potentially nab extra boosts.</p>
<p>As far as teammates go, Nidoking is the most popular (and most effective) pass target, boasting tremendous offensive power and coverage. Its reasonable bulk and
Thunder Wave immunity
to Thunder Wave make it even more appealing. As mentioned earlier, with a more defensive Venomoth dedicated to picking up multiple boosts, Nidoqueen might be the superior option, possessing superior bulk to
both more reliably survive the pass turn
, as well as and carry out a longer sweep. Though Nidoking is especially noteworthy, any of UU's top special offensive threats would love to be passed a Quiver Dance or two.</p>
<p>When looking to support Venomoth, the first thing that comes to mind is getting rid of Stealth Rock. A reliable Rapid Spin user will make Venomoth's work a lot easier, and give it more
oppotunities to set up multiple times in a single game. Otherwise, like all Baton Pass users, Venomoth would greatly appreciate the benefit of Double Screens set up by a Pokemon like Uxie or Deoxys-D.</p>
[SET]
name: Sweeper
move 1: Quiver Dance
move 2: Bug Buzz
move 3: Psychic
move 4: Sleep Powder / Hidden Power Ground / Hidden Power Fire
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Tinted Lens
nature: Timid
evs.: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>When not abusing Baton Pass, Venomoth can dedicate itself to sweeping outright. Its Speed and Special Attack are decidedly average (for sweeper standards), but the boosts from Quiver Dance and the added coverage from Tinted Lens can
quickly make it deadly
quickly.
The attacking combination of Psychic / Bug gives
Venomoth essentially flawless coverage, with Bug
Buzz decimating
all the Psychic-types that would resist Psychic [
Psychic is the complement to Bug Buzz since BB is STAB, not the other way around, explain its use better]. Psychic also deals with Crobat, arguably Venomoth's most dreaded counter.</p>
<p>The last slot rounds out Venomoth's offensive abilities. Sleep Powder is always a great attack, and
it allows Venomoth a great way to take out a potential counter. Hidden Powers Ground and Fire are useful for hitting Steel-types. Hidden Power Ground also hits
Fire-types like Arcanine hard while not diminishing Venomoth's Speed
, while Hidden Power Fire is most notable for destroying Escavalier
, but
makes Venomoth lose to watch out when dealing with foes
it you would normally speed-tie with, like Choice Scarf Porygon-Z or Choice Scarf
Moltres, as
it requires a 30 Speed IV
will slow you down.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>There are many other possible alternative moves for the last slot, thanks to the great coverage granted by Tinted Lens. The most notable alternative move is Baton Pass, which can replace any move not named
"Quiver Dance
" or
"Bug Buzz.
" Baton Pass gives the set a much more flexible play style, letting Venomoth "bail out" of bad situations by simply passing its accrued boosts to a teammate that can handle the situation. Alternatively, there are number of offensive moves that could be used in the last slot. Sludge Bomb is another extremely powerful secondary STAB move, and offers decent neutral coverage when combined with Tinted Lens. The only real drawbacks to Sludge Bomb are that it cannot touch Steel-types
, and
that it provides little in the way of super effective coverage against key threats. The fact that it hits no harder than Bug Buzz at neutral is also disappointing. Giga Drain is an interesting option for healing, but even at 75 Base Power its coverage and power are hardly impressive. Hidden Power Rock
provides is has some great super effective hits, notably against Charizard and Moltres, but
, once again,
the inability to hit Steel-types is disappointing. Substitute could also be used to block status and potentially nab extra boosts, but
be careful because as Substitute will drain
Venomoth’s HP quickly when used with Life Orb. Roost could also be used in the last slot
, and works well to remove Life Orb damage. However, considering Venomoth's frailty, it would probably only be useful against special attacking foes.
None of these moves
are likely to will frequently be more useful than Sleep Powder.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Venomoth has a few other options to try. It can
do act as a bulky setup sweeper, mono-attacking with Tinted Lens Bug Buzz. The set would utilize Quiver Dance, Roost, Bug Buzz, and either Sleep Powder or Substitute. It could also use a
RestTalk set with Sleep Talk, Rest, Quiver Dance
, and Bug Buzz.</p>
<p>Venomoth can also try its hand at
a support role, setting up Toxic Spikes or disabling foes with Stun Spore. Meanwhile, it can use Roost to replenish its life
, and also be used to remove Toxic Spikes, a great boon to tanks like bulky Water-types and Arcanine. Unfortunately, Venomoth's below average defensive stats really inhibit it in this role
; generally, it would be outclassed by Roserade or Drapion.</p>
<p>Lum Berry and Mental Herb are always worth a mention on a set up Pokemon, including Baton Pass users, but Venomoth generally has little need for these moves. The free turns from Sleep Powder and the Speed boosts from Quiver Dance generally allow Venomoth to set up and pass unmolested, giving these one shot items little use. Venomoth could also try to take on an offensive role with Choice Items, but its mediocre offensive stats and weakness to Stealth Rock make
them a
poor routes for Venomoth to take. Essentially, Venomoth without Quiver Dance is just not a big threat in UU.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>It's very difficult to pin down a "counter" for a Baton Pass user, and even more difficult when the Baton Pass user has Sleep Powder and a decent Speed stat. Pinning down the Baton Pass user is even more difficult when that Pokemon boosts its Speed and can pass after just one boost. One option is to stop the Sleep Powder. You can use Xatu to bounce back the powder, or use Honchkrow's Insomnia to switch into Venomoth as it tries to sleep a foe. While
it’s unlikely the foe will blindly Sleep Powder when he sees Xatu in your team, having Xatu will at least force him to be more careful in setting up Venomoth. Just be
aware that should you switch Xatu into Venomoth as it predicts
the switch and Quiver Dances, it can Quiver Dance again without any fear of being OHKOed by your Xatu
, and then pass multiple boosts.
As such, Honchkrow makes for a much more immediate threat.</p>
<p>A more common way of dealing with Venomoth is switching in a Choice Scarf user as Venomoth Quiver Dances. There are a number of UU Pokemon that enjoy carrying Choice Scarf
, and can
both outspeed Venomoth
, and OHKO it. Good examples include Victini, Azelf
, and Arcanine, though they will likely need to use physical attacks to ensure clean OHKOes. Psychic-types cannot switch into Venomoth recklessly, lest they get predicted and are met with a lethal Bug Buzz.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most reliable method to get rid of Venomoth is simply to phaze it, and
this is a good option when all else fails. The best
phazer to counter Venomoth is Crobat,
which possesses a 4x resistance to
Bug-type attacks (resisting Venomoth's Bug Buzz) and can
also OHKO
Venomoth with Brave Bird. Moltres can also do this, but needs Rapid Spin support.</p>
<p>While
it’s not the recommended method, you could always aim to beat the pass target directly. Rotom-H resists almost any move a Nidoking is likely carry
, and can threaten
Venomoth itself with Overheat. Unfortunately, Venomoth is likely to have multiple pass targets
, and
will probaby have one that can beat Rotom-H. Chansey could always be used as a "catch all" answer to special threats, but just be wary that Venomoth could pass its boosts to a Pokemon that knows
Psyshock.</p>
<p>One of the best things you can do to prepare yourself for Venomoth is to set up Stealth Rock. Stealth Rock will
severely cut into
Venomoth’s ability to set up multiple boosts or set up multiple times. Just putting the rocks on the field should help you a lot against the mini
Mothra.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Venomoth's Dream World ability is Miracle Skin, an interesting ability that decreases the accuracy of major status moves by 50%. Avoiding paralysis
or sleep can be nice, though Venomoth cares little about burn and is immune to poison. The most interesting thing about Miracle Skin is that it has a 50% chance to make Taunt miss (though it does not affect Encore). This seems like an incredibly useful ability for a Pokemon aiming to set up, though
, like Mental Herb,
it will rarely be needed on Venomoth. Generally speaking, Tinted Lens is a fantastic ability that is
too hard to pass up.</p>
