[OVERVIEW]
In a metagame filled to the brim with threatening Psychic-types, Ice-type coverage nearly everywhere, and special walls galore, one might question why they would select the slow and not particularly bulky Psychic weak Victreebel. However, there's more than meets the eye, as Victreebel packs a colorful support movepool that allows it not only to arguably be the second-best dual status inducer behind Exeggutor, but also be one of the best Wrap users. Victreebel also distinguishes itself from Exeggutor as a fast sleep inducer, outspeeding opposing Exeggutor and Lapras while Speed-tying Cloyster. With support from teammates such as Starmie, Chansey, and Alakazam, Victreebel can immobilize and wear down slower foes with Wrap. Victreebel can also self-sufficiently induce status upon faster foes as they switch in, although this strategy is more prediction-reliant. Victreebel's glaring weaknesses to Psychic and Ice cannot be ignored, however, as the wide majority of the metagame specifically runs Psychic, Blizzard, and Ice Beam as coverage moves. Furthermore, Victreebel becoming paralyzed itself completely neuters its role as both a status inducer and Wrap user. Lastly, Victreebel's coverage selections consist of Razor Leaf and Normal-type attacks, leaving it almost completely walled by Gengar.
[SET]
name: Status + Wrap
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Razor Leaf
move 3: Wrap
move 4: Stun Spore / Swords Dance / Hyper Beam
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Sleep Powder puts switch-ins asleep and is more effective against foes such as Chansey putting up Reflect or a double-switched Exeggutor already naturally slower than Victreebel than paralysis. Razor Leaf nails Water-types such as Slowbro, Starmie, and Lapras, Normal-types such as Tauros and Snorlax, and Rock / Ground-types such as Golem and Rhydon. Wrap is arguably Victreebel's most dangerous move, immobilizing a foe for two to five turns. A foe cannot attack Victreebel back during Wrap's duration, making it incredibly difficult for a slower Pokemon to break free from Victreebel cycling through Wrap, especially if its foes are paralyzed. Wrap also works well in tandem with Sleep Powder, as Wrap takes advantage of the paralyzed foes that would otherwise want to switch into Sleep Powder. It should be noted, however, that bulkier paralyzed Pokemon not weak to Razor Leaf such as Exeggutor, Chansey, and late-game Zapdos, as well as faster unparalyzed threats with a teammate sleep foddered in the back such as Alakazam or Articuno can switch into Victreebel's Wrap relatively safely. This is the primary reason Victreebel doesn't see consistent success, as it requires several if not all of its checks to be weakened and status-inflicted for Victreebel to optimally clean up. Chansey in particular can pivot into Sleep Powder, get hit by Wrap and then switch out to something faster like an unparalyzed Alakazam or Starmie. This way strategy prevents Victreebel from beating a paralyzed mon with Wrap or putting your faster mon to sleep, and is the main reason why Victreebel is more threatening on paper then in practice. Stun Spore paralyzes fast switch-ins to Victreebel such as Alakazam, Starmie, and Zapdos, crippling them and making them easier to clean up against later. Victreebel can also potentially paralyze Tauros in a one-on-one situation, although Victreebel would lose a lot of health and would risk itself getting paralyzed by Body Slam. However, it's usually still a favorable trade for the Victreebel user. Alternatively, Victreebel can take advantage of an asleep foe trying to wake up such as Exeggutor by boosting its Attack by two stages with Swords Dance. This makes Wrap an extremely hard attack for the opposition to switch into. Yet another option is Hyper Beam, which again cleans up against weakened foes late-game and is slightly more accurate than Wrap. Victreebel is incredibly frail and vulnerable to Ice- and Psychic-type attacks, so one should try to secure opportunities for Victreebel to come in predicting non-attacking moves such as Amnesia Snorlax going for Rest or a paralyzed, low-health Starmie going for Recover. Victreebel should then try to pick off each of the opponent's remaining Pokemon with Wrap. If Victreebel is running Swords Dance or Hyper Beam, it can use those when opportune to boost Wrap's power or finish a foe off quicker.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Although Victreebel has severe difficulty making room for both Swords Dance and Hyper Beam on the same set, it would allow Victreebel to act more efficiently as a late-game cleaner. Body Slam is another option in Victreebel's fourth moveslot that has the chance to paralyze foes and acts as a more accurate Normal coverage option than both Wrap and Hyper Beam. However, fishing for paralysis with Body Slam is less efficient at spreading status than Stun Spore, and Body Slam cannot paralyze Tauros and other Normal-type Pokemon.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Gengar**: Gengar resist Razor Leaf and is immune to Victreebel's Normal-type coverage moves, making it one of Victreebel's most reliable switch-ins, despite it susceptibility to paralysis and being put asleep.
**Faster Pokemon**: An unstatused Zapdos, Alakazam, Jynx, and Articuno can all switch into Wrap, wait for Wrap's duration to end, and force Victreebel out with either STAB Drill Peck, Psychic, or Blizzard. Starmie can do this also, but is incredibly susceptible to Razor Leaf if it predicts wrong.
**Paralysis Inducers**: Thunder Wave and Stun Spore users such as Zapdos and Chansey take very little from Razor Leaf due to their Grass resistance or their above average Special and can easily paralyze Victreebel, severely limiting its effectiveness as a status inducer and Wrap user. These foes can also induce paralysis if Victreebel happens to miss Wrap due to its shaky accuracy.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Aaronboyer, 239454]]
- Quality checked by: [[The Idiot Ninja, 265630], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
In a metagame filled to the brim with threatening Psychic-types, Ice-type coverage nearly everywhere, and special walls galore, one might question why they would select the slow and not particularly bulky Psychic weak Victreebel. However, there's more than meets the eye, as Victreebel packs a colorful support movepool that allows it not only to arguably be the second-best dual status inducer behind Exeggutor, but also be one of the best Wrap users. Victreebel also distinguishes itself from Exeggutor as a fast sleep inducer, outspeeding opposing Exeggutor and Lapras while Speed-tying Cloyster. With support from teammates such as Starmie, Chansey, and Alakazam, Victreebel can immobilize and wear down slower foes with Wrap. Victreebel can also self-sufficiently induce status upon faster foes as they switch in, although this strategy is more prediction-reliant. Victreebel's glaring weaknesses to Psychic and Ice cannot be ignored, however, as the wide majority of the metagame specifically runs Psychic, Blizzard, and Ice Beam as coverage moves. Furthermore, Victreebel becoming paralyzed itself completely neuters its role as both a status inducer and Wrap user. Lastly, Victreebel's coverage selections consist of Razor Leaf and Normal-type attacks, leaving it almost completely walled by Gengar.
[SET]
name: Status + Wrap
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Razor Leaf
move 3: Wrap
move 4: Stun Spore / Swords Dance / Hyper Beam
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Sleep Powder puts switch-ins asleep and is more effective against foes such as Chansey putting up Reflect or a double-switched Exeggutor already naturally slower than Victreebel than paralysis. Razor Leaf nails Water-types such as Slowbro, Starmie, and Lapras, Normal-types such as Tauros and Snorlax, and Rock / Ground-types such as Golem and Rhydon. Wrap is arguably Victreebel's most dangerous move, immobilizing a foe for two to five turns. A foe cannot attack Victreebel back during Wrap's duration, making it incredibly difficult for a slower Pokemon to break free from Victreebel cycling through Wrap, especially if its foes are paralyzed. Wrap also works well in tandem with Sleep Powder, as Wrap takes advantage of the paralyzed foes that would otherwise want to switch into Sleep Powder. It should be noted, however, that bulkier paralyzed Pokemon not weak to Razor Leaf such as Exeggutor, Chansey, and late-game Zapdos, as well as faster unparalyzed threats with a teammate sleep foddered in the back such as Alakazam or Articuno can switch into Victreebel's Wrap relatively safely. This is the primary reason Victreebel doesn't see consistent success, as it requires several if not all of its checks to be weakened and status-inflicted for Victreebel to optimally clean up. Chansey in particular can pivot into Sleep Powder, get hit by Wrap and then switch out to something faster like an unparalyzed Alakazam or Starmie. This way strategy prevents Victreebel from beating a paralyzed mon with Wrap or putting your faster mon to sleep, and is the main reason why Victreebel is more threatening on paper then in practice. Stun Spore paralyzes fast switch-ins to Victreebel such as Alakazam, Starmie, and Zapdos, crippling them and making them easier to clean up against later. Victreebel can also potentially paralyze Tauros in a one-on-one situation, although Victreebel would lose a lot of health and would risk itself getting paralyzed by Body Slam. However, it's usually still a favorable trade for the Victreebel user. Alternatively, Victreebel can take advantage of an asleep foe trying to wake up such as Exeggutor by boosting its Attack by two stages with Swords Dance. This makes Wrap an extremely hard attack for the opposition to switch into. Yet another option is Hyper Beam, which again cleans up against weakened foes late-game and is slightly more accurate than Wrap. Victreebel is incredibly frail and vulnerable to Ice- and Psychic-type attacks, so one should try to secure opportunities for Victreebel to come in predicting non-attacking moves such as Amnesia Snorlax going for Rest or a paralyzed, low-health Starmie going for Recover. Victreebel should then try to pick off each of the opponent's remaining Pokemon with Wrap. If Victreebel is running Swords Dance or Hyper Beam, it can use those when opportune to boost Wrap's power or finish a foe off quicker.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Although Victreebel has severe difficulty making room for both Swords Dance and Hyper Beam on the same set, it would allow Victreebel to act more efficiently as a late-game cleaner. Body Slam is another option in Victreebel's fourth moveslot that has the chance to paralyze foes and acts as a more accurate Normal coverage option than both Wrap and Hyper Beam. However, fishing for paralysis with Body Slam is less efficient at spreading status than Stun Spore, and Body Slam cannot paralyze Tauros and other Normal-type Pokemon.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Gengar**: Gengar resist Razor Leaf and is immune to Victreebel's Normal-type coverage moves, making it one of Victreebel's most reliable switch-ins, despite it susceptibility to paralysis and being put asleep.
**Faster Pokemon**: An unstatused Zapdos, Alakazam, Jynx, and Articuno can all switch into Wrap, wait for Wrap's duration to end, and force Victreebel out with either STAB Drill Peck, Psychic, or Blizzard. Starmie can do this also, but is incredibly susceptible to Razor Leaf if it predicts wrong.
**Paralysis Inducers**: Thunder Wave and Stun Spore users such as Zapdos and Chansey take very little from Razor Leaf due to their Grass resistance or their above average Special and can easily paralyze Victreebel, severely limiting its effectiveness as a status inducer and Wrap user. These foes can also induce paralysis if Victreebel happens to miss Wrap due to its shaky accuracy.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Aaronboyer, 239454]]
- Quality checked by: [[The Idiot Ninja, 265630], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
Last edited:
