Gen 1 Venusaur (Mini) [QC 2/2] [GP 1/1]

[Melbelle]

[OVERVIEW]

Venusaur used to be used more often in earlier RBY OU metagames, but it fell out of favor due to the amount of Psychic- and Ice-type moves, as well as paralysis, thrown around. Still, it stands out as a Swords Dance wallbreaker that isn't hindered by Rhydon, and it can cleave through bulky Water-types like Starmie, Cloyster, and Slowbro thanks to Razor Leaf: Razor Leaf is one of the most consistent ways to dispatch Slowbro in the tier, and deceptively few teams are actually prepared for it. Venusaur is one of faster viable sleepers in the tier, only being outsped by Jynx and Gengar. It can act as a soft check to Snorlax, which is unlikely to 3HKO Venusaur and may be forced into a Rest loop by Razor Leaf, letting Venusaur set up. Venusaur often can be a two-for-one with sleep as one "KO", and Swords Dance + Hyper Beam picking up the second.

However, a horrible defensive typing makes Venusaur harder to use effectively. It takes super effective damage from the very common Psychic and Blizzard, which will often deal heavy damage or force it out. Because of this, Venusaur adds very little defensive synergy to a team. Secondly, Venusaur's coverage is limited to Grass and Normal, allowing Gengar to hard wall it. Finally, it has competition with Victreebel. Victreebel also has STAB Razor Leaf, gets Wrap and Stun Spore, and has a higher Attack stat. It, however, has lower Speed and bulk than Venusaur. Victreebel is better as a wrapper and sweeper, while Venusaur is better as a Swords Dance wallbreaker.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Razor Leaf
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Hyper Beam

[SET COMMENTS]

Sleep Powder allows Venusaur to keep a Pokemon out of play for up to the entirety of the game. Combined with Venusaur's Speed, you should be able to find an opportunity to land sleep in most games. Razor Leaf is Venusaur's best STAB option, landing a critical hit 99.6% of the time. Razor Leaf's primary target will be Water-types such as Starmie and Slowbro in addition to Rhydon. However, Razor Leaf also notably can 2HKO Tauros after just a little chip damage, while Tauros is unable to 2HKO Venusaur back. Swords Dance allows Venusaur to wallbreak and sweep when paired with Hyper Beam.

Venusaur primarily uses sleep from itself or a teammate to set up Swords Dance. One of the best times to set up is immediately after sleeping a Pokemon, which gives a free turn whether it switches or stays in. Another good time is when an opposing Pokemon such as Snorlax or Slowbro is about to use Rest; you can also use Razor Leaf instead to deal damage to a switch-in or force Snorlax into a Rest loop. Before setting up, you also should deal with key threats that outspeed Venusaur and threaten it with high damage or paralysis—especially Gengar, which hard walls it—and avoid any damage or status unless Venusaur absolutely has to take it. After one Swords Dance, Venusaur has a 74.4% chance to OHKO Alakazam, OHKOes Chansey with a bit of initial damage, and has an 84.6% to KO Starmie with a single Hyper Beam. At +6 Attack, a majority of Pokemon that do not resist Hyper Beam will be OHKOed. Even if Venusaur fails to sweep an entire team, you likely got sleep off and took out at least one fast Pokemon on the opponent's team, possibly Tauros. This lets Venusaur enable Rhydon due to Tauros being one of the main obstacles for Rhydon. Rhydon also pairs nicely with Venusaur because it handles threats such as Zapdos and Jolteon that threaten Venusaur.

When using Venusaur, you should not put it in the lead spot. Its Speed does not allow it to do well against any of the common leads, and leading off puts Venusaur in the face of danger early, which can weaken its offensive potential. Waiting to deploy Venusaur lets it get sleep off without risking any Speed ties with Exeggutor. If you paralyze the common leads—Starmie, Alakazam, and Jynx—before getting sleep, they often cannot switch in comfortably anyway. Starmie will be threatened by Razor Leaf, and Alakazam and Jynx will usually fall to a +2 Hyper Beam. Body Slam may look enticing for its paralysis chance and lack of recharging, but it is not strong enough to make as much use out of Swords Dance as Hyper Beam.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Melanie uwu, 524110]]
- Quality checked by: [[Zokuru, 263906], [Plague von Karma, 236353]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]

 

[Ortheore]

Is it worth mentioning that Venu's better Defense gives makes it far more suitable as a soft Don check than Bel? In the past when I've ran Venu that's been my rationale behind picking it, because otherwise I would really struggle to justify using it over Bel (I used to consider Venu unviable due to Bel outclassing it)

Really not a fan of BSlam personally, the para chance is way too unreliable to justify the loss of power

Reading this mini-analysis, I get the impression that Venu's roles as a sleeper and setup sweeper are entirely independent, but I personally don't see it that way- sleep is a fantastic tool for securing an opening to set up an SD

Those are just my thoughts though

 

[Melbelle]

i'll work on it today and add your thoughts

 

[Zokuru]

Hi ! I heard that you were making an analysis on Venusaur, and since I'm advocating for the pokemon and I know quite a bit about it I thought I could help. First, your work is great, I just figured it could be even more precise ! I'm not so good at writing long stuff and I think the easiest is the best for those kind of stuff so I made a list about stuff I think would be improvements. There is probably other stuffs but that's the most obvious stuffs to me, hopefully it's not too much to add for a mini (?). If you need any help / info / to discuss on anything on this list just reply here or DM me on Discord, I'd be glad to help you out. Have a nice rest of the day.

Add :
Something about setupping multiple SD, it happens quite often ( Take a look at KO's after 2 SD )
Mention that Hbeam +6 + 2 Razor Leaf makes it so Lax cannot rest loop you even with Reflect and that you can setup on in while predicting Rest turns ( not hard )
Something about the ability to trade Tauros with it
Something about not OHKO'ing Starmie with Razor Leaf
Something about it abusing Sleeping Lax


Remove :
Body Slam


Modify :
"-Competing with Victreebel for similar roles" I agree they compete for the same slot but they play a very diffrent role and makes your team plays v differently, also Venusaur is straight up a better SD Vic, so it doesnt even rly compare to SD Vic.

Maybe focus on the key differences in Overview instead of trying to compare them , insist on the fact that they are different

 

[Melbelle]

took some advice from the above replies and finally updated it and pushing it to QC

 

[Plague von Karma]

Venusaur has enough speed to outspeed any viable sleeper bar Gengar, but has very tough competition with Victreebel. Both share the same typing, have Sleep Powder, and 99.6% critical hit Razor Leaf. However, Venusaur lacks Stun Spore and Wrap that the latter has as well as less Attack. What Venusaur has that Victreebel doesn't however is a little more speed, enough to outspeed Cloyster, and more bulk on the physical side which allows it to be a better soft-check to threats such as Rhydon.

This could be much longer and I think you could address Zokuru's critiques more effectively. This overview hinges on the reader knowing about Victreebel, which makes it required reading. You need to discuss Venusaur as an individual Pokemon. What does it outspeed other than Cloyster? What are the XHKOs Razor Leaf has to offer? Where's the Slowbro check mention? These are important to visualise what Venusaur can offer for a team, specifically in the power department.

Venusaur's bulk is a big plus which you don't establish enough, in my opinion. It survives Tauros Blizzard + Hyper Beam, Snorlax Body Slam + Hyper Beam, fails to be 3HKOed by Snorlax Body Slam, and fails to be 2HKOed by Rhydon Earthquake. It can set up much more comfortably against a lot of Pokemon, and with the Speed factored in, tends to use Swords Dance sets more effectively.

You're on the right track, it's just a bit too concise and "in the know". You can and should compare it to Victreebel, but not like this.

Sleep Powder allows Venusaur to keep a Pokemon out of the game for up to the entirety of the game. Combined with Venusaur's speed you should be able to get an opportunity to land sleep game to game.

You can trim this down to "Sleep Powder, coupled with Venusaur's Speed, enables it to consistently take a Pokemon out of commission for what can be the entire game".

 

[Plague von Karma]

I'm QC now so I'm gonna go over this again. Implement this and I'll look at it again; maybe give a QC 1/2.
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[OVERVIEW]

Venusaur has enough Speed to outspeed any viable sleeper bar Gengar and Jynx, but has competition with Victreebel. Both share a typing and Victreebel has Wrap and Stun Spore. In return, Venusaur is slightly faster which allows it to outspeed Victreebel and Cloyster. More importantly, Venusaur has more physical bulk, allowing it to not only check physical hitters attackers like Rhydon more comfortably, but also allows it to set up Swords Dance boosts easier against Snorlax and Tauros, surviving Body Slam + Hyper Beam from both. (you need to be specific, these are huge benefits over Victreebel) This makes Venusaur the better choice for a Swords Dance sweeper over Victreebel.

I am still dissatisfied with this overview, it should be much longer. You mention Venusaur the same amount of times as Victreebel, and every sentence pays significantly more attention to the latter rather than Venusaur as an individual Pokemon. The Victreebel comparisons should largely be kept to the end so you can establish Venusaur itself. It's historically been ranked for a reason, and that is because it has an identity that allows it to exist. Just because Victreebel can do similar things doesn't mean that Venusaur can't, you need to establish them rather than make Victreeebel mandatory prior reading.

The general structure should be as follows;

• Pros:
  • Maybe talk about how it used to be a decently relevant Pokemon back in the early-2000s, like I did with Gyarados.
  • Venusaur stands out as a Swords Dance wallbreaker that isn't hindered by Rhydon, and can cleave through bulky Water-types like Starmie and Cloyster thanks to Razor Leaf. Deceptively few teams are actually prepared for Razor Leaf. Because of Razor Leaf, it is one of the most consistent ways to dispatch Slowbro in the tier.
  • It's one of the faster viable sleepers in the tier, only being beaten out by Gengar and Jynx.
  • It acts as a soft check to Snorlax because the chances of it being 3HKOed aren't in its favour, and it can force it to repeatedly Rest, letting Venusaur set up.
  • Venusaur's core purpose is breaking a significant hole in the opponent's team rather than sweep a lot of the time. Sleep + SD-HB is a pretty good two-for-one at minimum and the payoff can be arguably harsher.
• Cons:
  • Venusaur has a horrible defensive typing; Psychic and Blizzard are everywhere, so it'll often take significant damage or get forced out. Ergo, it provides very, very little defensive synergy in return for its benefits, which is a large reason as to why it isn't successful.
  • Coverage is reserved to Normal- and Grass-type attacks, meaning that Gengar stonewalls the poor cunt.
  • NOW you can talk about Victreebel; worse Speed and bulk, but better offensive prowess, access to Stun Spore + Wrap, etc. Victreebel is better as a Wrapper and sweeper, while Venusaur is a wallbreaker that can more safely set up Swords Dance.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Razor Leaf
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Hyper Beam

[SET COMMENTS]

Sleep Powder allows Venusaur to keep a Pokemon out of the game for up to the entirety of the game. Combined with Venusaur's Speed you should be able to find an opportunity to land sleep on a game to game basis. Razor Leaf is Venusaur's best STAB option, landing a critical hit 99.6% of the time. (Go over some XHKOs here; Tauros is 2HKOed if it's taken even a tiny bit of damage and its SlamBeam doesn't 2HKO. There are a lot of others. Hell, it even forces Snorlax to try and Rest loop, which turns it into setup fodder.) It can hit Water-types (AH) such as Starmie and Slowbro hard; (ASC) however, (AC, interruptor rule) both require damage beforehand to be OHKOed. Swords Dance allows Venusaur to set up for a sweep paired with Hyper Beam. (Venusaur isn't always sweeping per se, it's often more effective as an early-game wallbreaker against Snorlax. Perhaps go over scenarios where it can set up and how to apply them.)

Before attempting to sweep set up (I would frame it this way, as again, Venusaur is a great early-game wallbreaker as well) with Venusaur, a couple of conditions should be met. First, you should have already have put a Pokemon to sleep or be sure you're able to at a later turn. Second, a key threats in that can outspeed Venusaur and threaten it with high damage or paralysis in return must be dealt with; (ASC) especially Gengar, as Venusaur is hard walled by it. One of the best times to set up Swords Dance boosts is immediately after sleeping a Pokemon, as they either will need to switch or burn a turn sleeping, which is even better as it allows you Venusaur to set up multiple boosts and start breaking holes in the opposing team. Another good time to set up is when opposing Pokemon such as Snorlax or Slowbro is about to use Rest. (You're correct, but elaborate to sell this to the reader more effectively. SD+HB is a fantastic punish to Rest, and Razor Leaf alone often pressures repeated Rests.) After 1 one Swords Dance, (AC) Alakazam has a 74.4% chance to be OHKOed and Chansey will be OHKOed with a bit of initial damage. At two Swords Dances +2 Attack, even Starmie has an 84.6% to fall to a single Hyper Beam and at +6 Attack, a majority of Pokemon who that do not resist Hyper Beam will be OHKOed.

It may be worth mentioning that Venusaur isn't often used as a sleep lead, which many sleepers often are. In my experience, when it is used, it's often in the back to contest Exeggutor and set up sleep a bit later than usual. You should never lead it, as it loses its offensive potential. A big benefit is it doesn't have to risk Speed ties like Exeggutor does in mirrors, which I personally like a lot.

Note that Alakazam and Jynx are often used to block sleep and get blasted to hell by +2 Hyper Beam. Ergo, they can't switch in. Using Venusaur alongside a paralysis lead is actually quite effective because of this; Exeggutor can't punish these switch-ins anywhere near as hard.

Maybe discourage Body Slam somewhere near the end as low ladder players keep trying and failing to use it.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Melanie uwu, 524110]]
- Quality checked by: [[name, id], [name, id]]
- Grammar checked by: [[name, id]]

 

[Zokuru]

Ok basically everything Plague von Karma said but I'll correct some stuff.
If you have an opportunity to abuse Venusaur early ( Landing a sleep since it beats para'd Psychic lead EASILY or abusing a resting Lax ) you should do it but it should not be your main focus, I think Venusaur is very good as a "late" game Pokémon, especially if you kept the Sleep Clause off. It doesnt need Sleep Powder to set up tho, so if you can sleep something early it's good, but don't try to setup too early, Exeguttor is a big stop.

Maybe talk about the fact that a " failed " Venusaur sweep means you prob took out Tauros + something else, which is still very good, and that makes it a Tauros / Rhydon enabler.
Add that it can go +4/6 pretty easily especially on Snorlax Rest punish. Snorlax gives it a lot of opputunity so you don't even have to do or die. Which is a pretty unique trait as a SD Pokémon.
Maybe state that you should avoid taking damage with Venu unless you are forced to or you are going with a set up attempt.

 

[Plague von Karma]

Melanie uwu after talks with Amaranth, we're stamping Zokuru's feedback. Implement anything missing, mark as QC 2/2 with me and Zokuru as the QCers, and send this to GP.

 

[Melbelle]

I added what Zokuru asked to add

 

[Zokuru]

You're awesome !

 

[Adeleine]

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(AC): Add Comma

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[OVERVIEW]

Venusaur used to be used more often during early competitive play. However, in earlier RBY OU metagames, but it fell out of favor due to the amount of Psychic- and Ice-type moves, as well as paralysis, thrown around as well as paralysis. Venusaur around. Still, it stands out as a Swords Dance wallbreaker that isn't hindered by Rhydon, and it can cleave through bulky Water-types like Starmie and Cloyster Starmie, Cloyster, and Slowbro thanks to Razor Leaf: Razor Leaf is one of the most consistent ways to dispatch Slowbro in the tier, and deceptively few teams are actually prepared for Razor Leaf. Because of Razor Leaf, it is one of the most consistent ways to dispatch Slowbro in the tier. It's it. Venusaur is one of faster viable sleepers in the tier, only being outsped by Jynx and Gengar. Venusaur It can act as a soft check to Snorlax, who which is unlikely to 3HKO Venusaur and Razor Lead can force it to loop Rest, where Venusaur is able to may be forced into a Rest loop by Razor Leaf, letting Venusaur set up. Venusaur often can be a two-for-one with sleep as one "KO", and Swords Dance + Hyper Beam picking up the second.

Venusaur has notable cons that make it harder to use effectively. For one, it has horrible defensive typing. Venusaur However, a horrible defensive typing makes Venusaur harder to use effectively. It takes super effective damage from the very common Psychic and Blizzard, (AC) which will often deal significant heavy damage or force it out. Because of this, (AC) adding Venusaur to a team adds very little defensive synergy to a team. Secondly, Venusaur's coverage is limited to Grass- and Normal-type attacks, Grass and Normal, allowing Gengar to hard wall it. Finally, it has competition with Victreebel. Victreebel shares typing with Venusaur, also has STAB Razor Leaf, (I assume that's the primary reason typing means Victreebel competes? ofc the typing defensively is not very valuable. feel free to mess around with this if I'm missing something) gets Wrap and Stun Spore, and has a higher Attack stat. Victreebel however It, however, has lower Speed and bulk than Venusaur. Victreebel is better as a wrapper and sweeper, (AC) while Venusaur is better as a Swords Dance wallbreaker.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Razor Leaf
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Hyper Beam

[SET COMMENTS]

Sleep Powder allows Venusaur to keep a Pokemon out of the game play for up to the entirety of the game. Combined with Venusaur's Speed, (AC) you should be able to find an opportunity to land sleep on a game to game basis. in most games. (if you meant smth else, eg "fairly often", pls just be a bit more specific) Razor Leaf is Venusaur's best STAB option, landing a critical hit 99.6% of the time. Razor Leaf's primary target will be Water-types (added hyphen) such as Starmie and Slowbro and in addition to Rhydon. However, Razor Leaf also notably can 2HKO Tauros after just a little chip damage, while Tauros is unable to 2HKO it Venusaur back, (AC) and 3HKO Jolteon who Jolteon, which cannot threaten Venusaur if it lacks Pin Missile. Swords Dance allows Venusaur to set up for a wallbreak and (I imagine?) sweep when paired with Hyper Beam. Venusaur can set up Swords Dance against opposing sleeping Pokemon, especially ones slept by Venusaur itself and predicted Rest turns. Venusaur can also set up a Swords Dance if the opposing Pokemon is threatened by Razor Leaf and you predict a switch to avoid it. (folded into next paragraph)

(let me know if the reorganization messes up anything or misses anything important) Before attempting to set up with Venusaur, a couple of conditions should be met. First, you should have already have put a Pokemon to sleep or be sure you're able to at a later turn. Second, key threats that can outspeed Venusaur and threaten it with high damage or paralysis in return must be dealt with; especially Gengar, as Venusaur is hard walled by it. You should also try to avoid any damage or status on Venusaur prior to setting up unless you absolutely have to take it. One of the best times to set up Swords Dance boosts is immediately after sleeping a Pokemon, as they either will need to switch or burn a turn sleeping, which is even better as it allows Venusaur to set up multiple boosts and start breaking holes in the opposing team. Venusaur primarily uses sleep from itself or a teammate to set up Swords Dance. One of the best times to set up is immediately after sleeping a Pokemon, which gives a free turn whether it switches or stays in. Another good time to set up is when an opposing Pokemon such as Snorlax or Slowbro is about to use Rest; you can also use Razor Leaf instead to deal damage to a switch in or force Snorlax to Rest loop. switch-in or force Snorlax into a Rest loop. Before setting up, you also should deal with key threats that outspeed Venusaur and threaten it with high damage or paralysis—especially Gengar, which hard walls it—and avoid any damage or status unless Venusaur absolutely has to take it. After one Swords Dance, Alakazam has a 74.4% chance to be OHKOed and Chansey will be OHKOed Venusaur has a 74.4% chance to OHKO Alakazam, OHKOes Chansey with a bit of initial damage. At +2 Attack, Starmie damage, and has an 84.6% to fall to KO Starmie with a single Hyper Beam and at Beam. At +6 Attack, a majority of Pokemon that do not resist Hyper Beam will be OHKOed. Failing Even if Venusaur fails to sweep an entire team, you likely got sleep off and took out at least one fast Pokemon on the opponent's (added apostrophe) team, inlcuding possibly Tauros. This lets Venusaur enable the slow but powerful (I'd like a bit of elaboration as to "why mention Rhydon specifically"; every Pokemon likes fewer Pokemon threatening it after all. It doesn't have to be what I said, which may not even get the point, just something. Tagging Zokuru also because he suggested the change.) Rhydon due to less fewer Pokemon threatening it.

When using Venusaur, (AC) you should not put it in the lead spot. Its Speed does not allow it to do well against any of the common leads, (AC) and leading off (I imagine?) puts Venusaur in the face of danger early, (AC) which can weaken its offensive potential. Venusaur should be used as a back Pokemon to Waiting to deploy Venusaur lets it (I imagine this makes sense? Feel free to tinker but I worry "back Pokemon" has limited mileage for those unfamiliar with the tier) get sleep off without risking any Speed ties with Exeggutor. If you paralyzed the common leads: Starmie, Alakazam, and Jynx before leads—Starmie, Alakazam, and Jynx—before getting sleep, they often cannot switch in comfortably anyway. (I imagine this makes sense?) Starmie will be threatened by Razor Leaf, (AC) and Alakazam and Jynx will usually die fall to a +2 Attack Hyper Beam. Body Slam may look enticing for its paralysis chance and lack of recharge; but it's base power is significantly lower than Hyper Beam's and recharging, but it is not strong enough to make as much use out of Swords Dance as Hyper Beam.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Melanie uwu, 524110]]
- Quality checked by: [[Zokuru, 263906], [Plague von Karma, 236353]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]

 

[Adeleine]

1/1 when implemented, let me know of any qs (includes you two pvk and zokuru) (also I tagged you Zokuru about the rhydon mention so I'll retag so it actually notifies)

 

[Zokuru]

" Failing Even if Venusaur fails to sweep an entire team, you likely got sleep off and took out at least one fast Pokemon on the opponent's (added apostrophe) team, inlcuding possibly Tauros. This lets Venusaur enable the slow but powerful (I'd like a bit of elaboration as to "why mention Rhydon specifically"; every Pokemon likes fewer Pokemon threatening it after all. It doesn't have to be what I said, which may not even get the point, just something. Tagging Zokuru also because he suggested the change.) Rhydon due to less fewer Pokemon threatening it. "

Tauros is one of the main problem of Rhydon, so if you can manage to trade Venusaur for the opposing Tauros you're very happy, trading other Pokemon like Alakazam is good too. There's also the fact that Zap and Jolt are good Venu answer and Rhydon gets a free switch on them but this isn't writted there.

Rest looks fine, didnt dive deeply but I don't see anything problematic, good job !

 

[Adeleine]

Sounds good, just mention ignore my "slow but powerful" change and mention tauros somewhere in "it enables rhydon" bit melanie. Putting in other stuff is up to you

 

[Deleted User 465389]

blue = add
red = delete
green = comments

am gp check

[OVERVIEW]

Venusaur used to be used more often during early competitive play. However, it fell out of favor due to the amount of Psychic- and Ice-type moves thrown around as well as paralysis. Venusaur stands out as a Swords Dance wallbreaker that isn't hindered by Rhydon, and can cleave through bulky Water-types like Starmie and Cloyster thanks to Razor Leaf. Deceptively few teams are actually prepared for Razor Leaf. Because of Razor Leaf, it is one of the most consistent ways to dispatch Slowbro in the tier. It's one of the faster viable sleepers in the tier, only being outsped by Jynx and Gengar. Venusaur can act as a soft check to Snorlax, who is unlikely to 3HKO Venusaur and Razor Lead Leaf can force it to loop Rest, where Venusaur is able to set up. Venusaur often can be a two-for-one with sleep as one "KO", and Swords Dance + Hyper Beam picking up the second.

Venusaur has notable cons that make it harder to use effectively. For one, it has a horrible defensive typing. Venusaur takes super effective damage from the very common Psychic and Blizzard which will often deal significant damage or force it out. Because of this adding Venusaur to a team adds very little defensive synergy to a team. Secondly, Venusaur's coverage is limited to Grass- and Normal-type attacks, allowing Gengar to hard wall it. Finally, it has competition with Victreebel. Victreebel shares typing with Venusaur, gets Wrap and Stun Spore, and a higher Attack stat. Victreebel however has lower Speed and bulk than Venusaur. Victreebel is better as a Wrapper and sweeper while Venusaur is better as a Swords Dance wallbreaker.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Razor Leaf
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Hyper Beam

[SET COMMENTS]

Sleep Powder allows Venusaur to keep a Pokemon out of the game for up to the entirety of the game. Combined with Venusaur's Speed you should be able to find an opportunity to land sleep on a game to game basis. Razor Leaf is Venusaur's best STAB option, landing a critical hit 99.6% of the time. Razor Leaf's primary target will be Water types such as Starmie and Slowbro and Rhydon(maybe change something here, it sounds like rhydons also a water type). However, Razor Leaf also notably can 2HKO Tauros after just a little chip while Tauros is unable to 2HKO it back and 3HKO Jolteon who cannot threaten Venusaur if it lacks Pin Missile. Swords Dance allows Venusaur to set up for a sweep paired with Hyper Beam. Venusaur can set up Swords Dance against opposing sleeping Pokemon, especially ones slept by Venusaur itself and predicted Rest turns. Venusaur can also set up a Swords Dance if the opposing Pokemon is threatened by Razor Leaf and you predict a switch to avoid it.

Before attempting to set up with Venusaur, a couple of conditions should be met. First, you should have already have put a Pokemon to sleep or be sure you're able to at a later turn. Second, key threats that can outspeed Venusaur and threaten it with high damage or paralysis in return must be dealt with; especially Gengar, as Venusaur is hard walled by it. You should also try to avoid any damage or status on Venusaur prior to setting up unless you absolutely have to take it. One of the best times to set up Swords Dance boosts is immediately after sleeping a Pokemon, as they either will need to switch or burn a turn sleeping, which is even better as it allows Venusaur to set up multiple boosts and start breaking holes in the opposing team. Another good time to set up is when opposing Pokemon such as Snorlax or Slowbro is about to use Rest; you can also use Razor Leaf to deal damage to a switch in or force Snorlax to Rest loop. After one Swords Dance, Alakazam has a 74.4% chance to be OHKOed and Chansey will be OHKOed with a bit of initial damage. At +2 Attack, Starmie has an 84.6% chance to fall to a single Hyper Beam and at +6 Attack, a majority of Pokemon that do not resist Hyper Beam will be OHKOed. Failing to sweep an entire team, you likely got sleep off and took out at least one fast Pokemon on the opponents team, inlcuding including possibly Tauros. This lets Venusaur enable Rhydon due to less Pokemon threatening it.

When using Venusaur you should not put it in the lead spot. Its speed does not allow it to do well against any of the common leads and puts Venusaur in the face of danger early which can weaken its offensive potential. Venusaur should be used as a back Pokemon to get sleep off without risking any speed ties with Exeggutor. If you paralyzed the common leads:; Starmie, Alakazam, and Jynx before getting sleep, they often cannot switch in comfortably. Starmie will be threatened by Razor Leaf and Alakazam and Jynx will usually die to a +2 Attack Hyper Beam. Body Slam may look enticing for its paralysis chance and lack of recharge;(RH)(AC)but it's base power is significantly lower than Hyper Beam's and is not strong enough to make as much use out of Swords Dance as Hyper Beam.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Melanie uwu, 524110]]
- Quality checked by: [[Zokuru, 263906], [Plague von Karma, 236353]]
- Grammar checked by: [[name, id]]

good job!

 

[Plague von Karma]

This is up