QC: Cynara / Serial Ekiller / Nayrz
GP: Fireflame479 / The Dutch Plumberjack
[OVERVIEW]
* Mega Venusaur's defensive typing, bulk, and Thick Fat ability give balance teams a Toxic immunity and a sturdy blanket check to many common threats in the metagame such as Xerneas, Life Orb Marshadow, physical Primal Kyogre, support Arceus formes, Chansey, Lugia, support Primal Groudon, and Arceus-Fairy.
* With Leech Seed, Mega Venusaur is able to wear down most of its switch-ins and potentially provide its team with a solid amount of recovery in a tier where a plethora of Pokemon have high HP stats.
* Mega Venusaur's main form of reliable recovery, Synthesis, does have drawbacks. While it provides more recovery under Primal Groudon's Desolate Land, against Primal Kyogre, a Pokemon Mega Venusaur is supposed to check, it recovers less. Synthesis also only has 8 PP, which can be detrimental if Mega Venusaur has been pressured by powerful attacks and entry hazards throughout the match.
* Mega Venusaur is notably passive, which can render it setup fodder against a plethora of setup sweepers such as Necrozma-DM, Swords Dance Arceus formes, Dragon Dance Zygarde-C if lacking Grass Knot, Arceus-Flying, and Arceus-Dark. Mega Venusaur's passivity also leaves it vulnerable to being trapped and taken out by Mega Gengar and Gothitelle.
* A vast majority of common offensive threats in the metagame, including Ultra Necrozma, offensive Primal Groudon, Ho-Oh, Yveltal, Mega Lucario, Deoxys-A, Mewtwo, Mega Salamence, Rayquaza, and Calm Mind Primal Kyogre, also overwhelm Mega Venusaur.
* Mega Venusaur is shut down by Taunt, which prevents it from using Leech Seed and its other support moves.
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Synthesis
move 4: Grass Knot / Earthquake
item: Venusaurite
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Bold / Impish
evs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Leech Seed wears down Steel-type switch-ins such as Necrozma-DM and Magearna while providing passive recovery that allows Mega Venusaur to outlast Pokemon such as boosted Xerneas, Blissey, and Chansey.
* Toxic cripples support Arceus formes, Primal Groudon, Lugia, and Giratina-O while catching Ho-Oh and Yveltal on the switch. The combination of Toxic and Leech Seed applies pressure by dishing out a sizable amount of residual damage.
* Roar is another option that can be used over Toxic that allows Mega Venusaur to phaze setup sweepers such as Xerneas and Calm Mind Arceus formes and punish Substitute users.
* Synthesis gives Mega Venusaur a reliable recovery option to keep it healthy throughout the match. It's also worth noting that Venusaur recovers more health under Primal Groudon's Desolate Land and less health under Primal Kyogre's Primordial Sea.
* Grass Knot is a reliable STAB move that does a sizable amount of damage to heavy targets such as Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Mega Sableye, and Arceus formes.
* Earthquake is another option that gives Mega Venusaur a fighting chance against Mega Gengar, Magearna, Mega Lucario, and support Necrozma-DM.
Set Details
========
* Venusaurite is required for Venusaur to Mega Evolve and receive the Thick Fat ability, which will improve its matchup against support Arceus formes that use Ice Beam as well as support Primal Groudon that use Fire-type attacks.
* Chlorophyll is used as the base ability to revenge kill offensive Primal Groudon under Desolate Land.
* 252 HP EVs provide Mega Venusaur with as much bulk as possible.
* 76 Special Defense EVs prevent Mega Gengar's Sludge Wave from 2HKOing Mega Venusaur, as well as preventing Xerneas's +2 Moonblast from 2HKOing after Leech Seed recovery.
* The rest of the EVs go into Defense along with a Bold nature to help Mega Venusaur take on strong physical attackers such as support Primal Groudon, physical Primal Kyogre, and Life Orb Marshadow. Run an Impish nature if Earthquake is being used over Grass Knot to have a better chance at 3HKOing Magearna.
* An alternative EV spread of 248 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD with a Calm or Careful nature allows Mega Venusaur to take on special attackers better, such as preventing the 2HKO from +2 Xerneas's Moonblast after Stealth Rock and Leech Seed recovery as well as lowering the chance of being 2HKOed by Primal Kyogre's +1 Origin Pulse after Leech Seed recovery. However, support Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades now 2HKOes Mega Venusaur after Stealth Rock, and Life Orb Marshadow's Spectral Thief has a small chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock as well.
Usage Tips
========
* Try to Mega Evolve with Venusaur as soon as possible, as Mega Venusaur's Thick Fat is vital in helping it switch into support Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, and support Arceus formes that use Ice Beam.
* Frequently use Leech Seed to punish Mega Venusaur's checks as they come in. Residual damage quickly racks up on an opposing threat, especially against Pokemon that lack reliable recovery. Leech Seed is also key to keeping Mega Venusaur healthy during one-on-one matchups against Pokemon it's supposed to check, and it can be used to heal its teammates once Mega Venusaur switches out.
* Try to use Synthesis sparingly, as it only has 8 PP, and once Mega Venusaur runs out of it, Leech Seed won't provide enough recovery to help it withstand most of its checks. Keep in mind that the amount of HP Synthesis recovers is determined by the weather. Under Primal Groudon's Desolate Land, Synthesis recovers two-thirds of Mega Venusaur's health, but under Primal Kyogre's Primordial Sea and Tyranitar's Sand Stream, it only provides one-fourth of HP recovery.
* An opposing Primal Kyogre's set must be scouted for, as Calm Mind variants are able to 2HKO Mega Venusaur with +1 Origin Pulse and Grass Knot fails to 2HKO after a Calm Mind boost. However, defensive and physical sets of Primal Kyogre are easily withstood.
* Mega Venusaur is able to take on some of stall's staple Pokemon fairly well. Physically defensive Mega Sableye is 3HKOed by Grass Knot, and its Recover PP can be stalled out, since Grass Knot has double the amount. Meanwhile, both Blissey and Chansey are unable to touch Mega Venusaur and taken advantage of by Leech Seed, which can recover a ton of health for its teammates.
Team Options
========
* Ground-type Pokemon such as Arceus-Ground and Zygarde-C make for excellent partners, as they apply pressure to opposing Steel-types and other offensive threats that threaten Mega Venusaur such as Necrozma-DM, Mega Lucario, Mega Salamence, Rayquaza, offensive Primal Groudon, and Mega Gengar. Arceus-Ground can also remove entry hazards with Defog, which is important for the balance teams that Mega Venusaur fits onto. In return, Mega Venusaur checks Arceus-Water, Primal Kyogre, and Lugia.
* Ho-Oh and Primal Groudon are also good countermeasures for Steel-types, most notably Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor, which are two Pokemon that Mega Venusaur particularly struggles with. Ho-Oh is also able to switch into Yveltal, while Primal Groudon acts as a second check to Primal Kyogre.
* Dark-types such as Yveltal and Arceus-Dark are phenomenal allies that are immune to Psychic-type attacks and are great checks to Necrozma formes, Mega Gengar, Lunala, Mewtwo, and Deoxys-A . Yveltal's defensive Charti Berry set is also able to check Swords Dance variants of Necrozma-DM, Primal Groudon, and Arceus. Meanwhile, Mega Venusaur checks Fairy-types such as Xerneas and Arceus-Fairy.
* On the flip side, offensive Yveltal and Calm Mind + Refresh Arceus-Dark heavily pressure Mega Venusaur, so Xerneas and Arceus-Fairy make for good partners that can withstand their STAB moves fairly easily. Choice Scarf Xerneas can outspeed and knock out Bulk Up Marshadow and Ultra Necrozma, and bulkier sets can act as clerics with Aromatherapy. Meanwhile, Arceus-Fairy appreciates Mega Venusaur luring in Yveltal and Arceus-Dark to find opportunities to set up Calm Mind.
* Water-types such as Primal Kyogre and Arceus-Water are great teammates for Mega Venusaur. Primal Kyogre is able to force Ho-Oh, Zygarde-C, and offensive Primal Groudon sets out, while Arceus-Water switches into Mega Salamence and Rayquaza while also being able to check Ho-Oh and clear the field of entry hazards with Defog. Primal Kyogre, in particular, highly appreciates Knock Off variants of Mega Venusaur as it can remove Ferrothorn's Leftovers while being immune to opposing Leech Seed, making it easier to wear down for Primal Kyogre later in the match.
* Rock-types such as Tyranitar and Arceus-Rock make for amazing partners to Mega Venusaur, since they're able to reliably switch into the many common Flying-types in the tier. Arceus-Rock has the option to run Fire Blast to slam checks that it shares with Mega Venusaur such as Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, and Mega Lucario, while Tyranitar can set up Stealth Rock and trap Mega Gengar with Pursuit. However, be aware that Tyranitar's Sand Stream nerfs Synthesis's HP recovery. In return, Mega Venusaur answers support Primal Groudon, Life Orb Marshadow, Arceus-Water, support Arceus-Ground, and most Primal Kyogre sets.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Knock Off allows Mega Venusaur to remove items held by its common switch-ins such as Ho-Oh, Yveltal, Magearna, Ferrothorn, and support Necrozma-DM. However, it's difficult to fit onto Mega Venusaur's moveset and it's useless against Pokemon that hold items that are unable to be removed, including Z-Crystals, Mega Stones, Giratina-O's Griseous Orb, Primal Groudon's Red Orb, Primal Kyogre's Blue Orb, and Arceus's Plates.
* Power Whip can be used as a STAB move over Grass Knot to have a much better matchup against Calm Mind variants of Primal Kyogre while dishing out much more damage against Marshadow, Blissey, and Chansey. However, it has half the PP of Grass Knot, has a chance to miss, and doesn't hit Primal Groudon nearly as hard.
* Hidden Power Fire helps Mega Venusaur's matchup against Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor, but it hits nothing else. Knock Off variants of Mega Venusaur are still able to go one-on-one with Ferrothorn anyway.
* Sleep Powder can cripple Mega Venusaur's switch-ins and provide its teammates with free turns, but it's better to use Toxic and put its checks on a timer.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: Ferrothorn, Necrozma-DM, Magearna, and Mega Scizor all comfortably switch into Mega Venusaur thanks to their Toxic immunity, while Swords Dance Mega Lucario offensively overwhelms variants lacking Earthquake. Ferrothorn is immune to Leech Seed and takes advantage of Mega Venusaur by freely setting up Spikes, while offensive Necrozma-DM and Swords Dance Mega Scizor render it setup fodder. However, Magearna needs to watch out for Earthquake, and Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor must be wary of the rare Hidden Power Fire. Ferrothorn also has to worry about coming in on a potential Knock Off, in which case Mega Venusaur is able to go one-on-one with it.
**Mega Gengar and Gothitelle**: Mega Gengar is capable of trapping and removing Mega Venusaur sets that don't run Earthquake. Even when Earthquake is being used, Mega Gengar can still use Will-O-Wisp and Hex to win the one-on-one matchup against it. Mega Gengar can also use Taunt to prevent Mega Venusaur from healing itself or using Roar to escape Shadow Tag. Meanwhile, Gothitelle takes no little damage from any of Mega Venusaur's attacks and can proceed to PP stall it until it faints.
**Flying-types**: Flying-types such as Ho-Oh, Yveltal, Arceus-Flying, Mega Salamence, Rayquaza, and Shaymin-S pressure Mega Venusaur with their high-powered STAB moves. While Mega Salamence can take advantage of an incoming Toxic to power up Facade and Arceus-Flying can get rid of status conditions with Refresh, the other Flying-types don't appreciate being badly poisoned on the switch.
**Psychic-types**: Deoxys-A, Mewtwo, Tapu Lele, Lunala, and Necrozma formes force Mega Venusaur out with their super effective Psychic-type attacks. However, none of these threats appreciate taking a Toxic on the switch.
**Offensive Pressure**: Setup sweepers such as Primal Groudon, Necrozma-DM, Calm Mind Primal Kyogre when Mega Venusaur lacks Power Whip, Swords Dance Arceus formes such as Arceus-Ground, Arceus, and Arceus-Ghost, Calm Mind Arceus-Dark, and Naganadel overload Mega Venusaur thanks to all of them being able to survive any one hit and retaliate with boosted attacks. Another form of offensive pressure includes forcing Mega Venusaur to expend its limited Synthesis PP, which can be done by stacking entry hazards and repeatedly using powerful attacks such as Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades and Necrozma-DM's Sunsteel Strike. Mega Venusaur can also be denied HP recovery from the use of Taunt.
**Kyurem-W**: Thanks to Turboblaze, Kyurem-W is able to bypass Mega Venusaur's Thick Fat ability and hit it super effectively with Ice Beam.
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