uploaded -zard
QC: Akir / Megazard / Rwby
GP: Haund / P Squared
[OVERVIEW]
Victreebel is one of PU's most dangerous threats under sun. Thanks to Chlorophyll, Victreebel outspeeds the entire unboosted metagame as well as a majority of Choice Scarf users like Mesprit and Primeape even without having to run a Timid nature. A fantastic offensive typing in Grass / Poison coupled with Fire-type coverage backed up by a base 100 Special Attack makes Victreebel a great choice to clean in the late-game. Victreebel also has a plethora of status moves to choose from, including Sleep Powder, Growth, and Sunny Day. Victreebel separates itself from other sun sweepers by being the only fully evolved Pokemon in the tier to have access to Weather Ball + Chlorophyll. However, Victreebel is incredibly frail and is susceptible to most forms of priority, especially Ice Shard. Victreebel also has a hard time breaking certain Pokemon, such as Magmortar and Curse Muk, without a boost. Moreover, it cannot make use of Solar Beam, Weather Ball, or Chlorphyll without sun, making it setup fodder for Pokemon such as Carracosta and Oricorio-G. Lastly, Victreebel does not have any distinguishable niches outside of sun.
[SET]
name: Sun Hyper Offense
move 1: Solar Beam
move 2: Sludge Bomb
move 3: Weather Ball
move 4: Sleep Powder / Growth
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Modest
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Solar Beam is Victreebel's most powerful and spammable STAB move, being able to OHKO a large portion of the tier. Sludge Bomb is a secondary STAB move that helps eliminate Grass-types and deals solid neutral damage to Pokemon that resist Solar Beam like Pyroar and Oricorio-E. Weather Ball rounds out Victreebel's coverage by dealing super effective damage to Steel- and Bug-types such as Ferroseed and Pinsir, and dealing neutral damage to Poison-types such as Skuntank and Weezing. Growth boosts Victreebel's Special Attack by two stages while under sun, giving it the opportunity to break even the bulkiest specially defensive walls such as Probopass and Audino. Sleep Powder shuts down Pokemon Victreebel cannot OHKO, opening opportunities to pull off a 2HKO or a 3HKO. Sleep Powder also helps Victreebel against Sucker Punch users such as Skuntank and Kangaskhan.
Set Details
========
Life Orb boosts the power of all of Victreebel's attacking moves, allowing it to pick up important OHKOs and 2HKOs in conjunction with a Modest nature, which boosts Victreebel's Special Attack stat even further. Chlorophyll doubles Victreebel's Speed under sun, allowing it to outspeed up to Jolly or Timid base 95 Speed Choice Scarf users such as Primeape, Oricorio-G, and Mesprit. 252 Special Attack and Speed EVs allow Victreebel to be as fast as possible in tandem with sun while simultaneously dishing out as much damage as possible.
Usage Tips
========
Victreebel should act as your primary sun cleaner; it's recommended to save it towards the near end of the game for optimal sweeping potential. However, Victreebel can be used mid-game if absolutely necessary. Victreebel is incredibly frail, so it's recommended you don't bring it in until all or most of its checks are gone or weakened. Victreebel should almost never be switched in directly. Victreebel also appreciates being brought onto the playing field with as many remaining turns of sun as possible, as a Victreebel outside of sun is highly susceptible to being revenge killed or used as set up fodder. Try not to switch Victreebel in and out too much, as entry hazard damage stacked with Life Orb damage racks up quick. Victreebel's main goal is to clean up late-game by spamming its three main attacks. It is recommend to only use Sleep Powder in situations where it cannot immediately OHKO the opposing Pokemon. Growth should be used against passive walls or when you predict the opponent to switch. Only use Growth when necessary to wallbreak. Victreebel is also reliant on making key predictions in order to conserve as many turns of sun as possible.
Team Options
========
Victreebel is a sitting duck if sun is not present, so it appreciates suicide weather setters such as Regirock and mid-game setters such as Volbeat and Liepard to constantly keep sun up. Victreebel appreciates its checks being whittled away at before it attempts to sweep. Exeggutor and Magmortar are good partners for chipping away at or removing Pokemon such as Mesprit, Hitmonchan, Muk, and opposing Magmortar for Victreebel. Lilligant can be used as a Healing Wish user to heal Victreebel if it decides to break early-game. Pokemon that benefit from having Victreebel on their team include Leafeon, Shiftry, and Exeggutor, as they appreciate Victreebel's ability to remove Steel-types and other sun checks with Weather Ball. Dedicated sun teams also appreciate Victreebel because it's able to absorb Toxic Spikes for the rest of the team.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Sunny Day can replace Growth or Sleep Powder in the fourth moveslot to help Victreebel sweep, but it is usually more effective on teammates such as Regirock, Volbeat, and Liepard. Victreebel could run a physically offensive set using Leaf Blade, Poison Jab, Swords Dance, and either Sucker Punch or Return, but Leafeon is a better Swords Dance Chlorophyll user, with more bulk and a better Speed tier. Special sets are generally superior due to higher Base Power STAB moves and unique access to Weather Ball. Similarly, Victreebel can run a mixed offensive set, but that would spread Victreebel's offensive stats too thin to be of any use. Grassium Z or Poisonium Z could be used as a one-time nuke, but Victreebel is fairly weak without a Life Orb, and generally it prefers to more consistent damage output. A Timid nature can be utilized, but without a Modest nature, Victreebel suffers from a significant power drop, missing out on a potential 2HKO for Audino and the near guaranteed 2HKO for Assault Vest Hitmonchan.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Lack of Sun**: With no sun, Victreebel cannot effectively make use of Solar Beam or Weather Ball. Futhermore, Victreebel becomes outsped by an overwhelming majority of the tier, leaving it wide open to attacks. Pokemon with Snow Warning and Sandstream such as Abomasnow and Hippopotas can get rid of Victreebel's sun and potentially check it in return.
**Priority Moves**: Victreebel's frailty leaves it susceptible to priority moves from Pokemon such as Kangaskhan and Lycanroc when weakened. Victreebel also is severely dented by a super effective Ice Shard from Piloswine and Abomasnow. Fake Out also burns out Victreebel's remaining sun turns.
**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Mesprit, Muk, Magmortar, and Regice can take a hit and OHKO Victreebel back. The latter two must be wary of Stealth Rock, however, as too many switch ins can prevent them from reliably checking Victreebel. Specially defensive walls such as Audino and Altaria must also be taken into account.
**Sap Sipper Pokemon**: Sap Sipper Drampa and Assault Vest Bouffalant are immune to Solar Beam and are OHKOed by neither Sludge Bomb nor Weather Ball. In return, Victreebel is OHKOed by their STAB moves.
**Faster Choice Scarf Users**: Choice Scarf Alolan Raichu and Pyroar both outspeed and threaten to OHKO Victreebel with a STAB Psyshock and Fire Blast, respectively.
QC: Akir / Megazard / Rwby
GP: Haund / P Squared
[OVERVIEW]
Victreebel is one of PU's most dangerous threats under sun. Thanks to Chlorophyll, Victreebel outspeeds the entire unboosted metagame as well as a majority of Choice Scarf users like Mesprit and Primeape even without having to run a Timid nature. A fantastic offensive typing in Grass / Poison coupled with Fire-type coverage backed up by a base 100 Special Attack makes Victreebel a great choice to clean in the late-game. Victreebel also has a plethora of status moves to choose from, including Sleep Powder, Growth, and Sunny Day. Victreebel separates itself from other sun sweepers by being the only fully evolved Pokemon in the tier to have access to Weather Ball + Chlorophyll. However, Victreebel is incredibly frail and is susceptible to most forms of priority, especially Ice Shard. Victreebel also has a hard time breaking certain Pokemon, such as Magmortar and Curse Muk, without a boost. Moreover, it cannot make use of Solar Beam, Weather Ball, or Chlorphyll without sun, making it setup fodder for Pokemon such as Carracosta and Oricorio-G. Lastly, Victreebel does not have any distinguishable niches outside of sun.
[SET]
name: Sun Hyper Offense
move 1: Solar Beam
move 2: Sludge Bomb
move 3: Weather Ball
move 4: Sleep Powder / Growth
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Modest
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Solar Beam is Victreebel's most powerful and spammable STAB move, being able to OHKO a large portion of the tier. Sludge Bomb is a secondary STAB move that helps eliminate Grass-types and deals solid neutral damage to Pokemon that resist Solar Beam like Pyroar and Oricorio-E. Weather Ball rounds out Victreebel's coverage by dealing super effective damage to Steel- and Bug-types such as Ferroseed and Pinsir, and dealing neutral damage to Poison-types such as Skuntank and Weezing. Growth boosts Victreebel's Special Attack by two stages while under sun, giving it the opportunity to break even the bulkiest specially defensive walls such as Probopass and Audino. Sleep Powder shuts down Pokemon Victreebel cannot OHKO, opening opportunities to pull off a 2HKO or a 3HKO. Sleep Powder also helps Victreebel against Sucker Punch users such as Skuntank and Kangaskhan.
Set Details
========
Life Orb boosts the power of all of Victreebel's attacking moves, allowing it to pick up important OHKOs and 2HKOs in conjunction with a Modest nature, which boosts Victreebel's Special Attack stat even further. Chlorophyll doubles Victreebel's Speed under sun, allowing it to outspeed up to Jolly or Timid base 95 Speed Choice Scarf users such as Primeape, Oricorio-G, and Mesprit. 252 Special Attack and Speed EVs allow Victreebel to be as fast as possible in tandem with sun while simultaneously dishing out as much damage as possible.
Usage Tips
========
Victreebel should act as your primary sun cleaner; it's recommended to save it towards the near end of the game for optimal sweeping potential. However, Victreebel can be used mid-game if absolutely necessary. Victreebel is incredibly frail, so it's recommended you don't bring it in until all or most of its checks are gone or weakened. Victreebel should almost never be switched in directly. Victreebel also appreciates being brought onto the playing field with as many remaining turns of sun as possible, as a Victreebel outside of sun is highly susceptible to being revenge killed or used as set up fodder. Try not to switch Victreebel in and out too much, as entry hazard damage stacked with Life Orb damage racks up quick. Victreebel's main goal is to clean up late-game by spamming its three main attacks. It is recommend to only use Sleep Powder in situations where it cannot immediately OHKO the opposing Pokemon. Growth should be used against passive walls or when you predict the opponent to switch. Only use Growth when necessary to wallbreak. Victreebel is also reliant on making key predictions in order to conserve as many turns of sun as possible.
Team Options
========
Victreebel is a sitting duck if sun is not present, so it appreciates suicide weather setters such as Regirock and mid-game setters such as Volbeat and Liepard to constantly keep sun up. Victreebel appreciates its checks being whittled away at before it attempts to sweep. Exeggutor and Magmortar are good partners for chipping away at or removing Pokemon such as Mesprit, Hitmonchan, Muk, and opposing Magmortar for Victreebel. Lilligant can be used as a Healing Wish user to heal Victreebel if it decides to break early-game. Pokemon that benefit from having Victreebel on their team include Leafeon, Shiftry, and Exeggutor, as they appreciate Victreebel's ability to remove Steel-types and other sun checks with Weather Ball. Dedicated sun teams also appreciate Victreebel because it's able to absorb Toxic Spikes for the rest of the team.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Sunny Day can replace Growth or Sleep Powder in the fourth moveslot to help Victreebel sweep, but it is usually more effective on teammates such as Regirock, Volbeat, and Liepard. Victreebel could run a physically offensive set using Leaf Blade, Poison Jab, Swords Dance, and either Sucker Punch or Return, but Leafeon is a better Swords Dance Chlorophyll user, with more bulk and a better Speed tier. Special sets are generally superior due to higher Base Power STAB moves and unique access to Weather Ball. Similarly, Victreebel can run a mixed offensive set, but that would spread Victreebel's offensive stats too thin to be of any use. Grassium Z or Poisonium Z could be used as a one-time nuke, but Victreebel is fairly weak without a Life Orb, and generally it prefers to more consistent damage output. A Timid nature can be utilized, but without a Modest nature, Victreebel suffers from a significant power drop, missing out on a potential 2HKO for Audino and the near guaranteed 2HKO for Assault Vest Hitmonchan.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Lack of Sun**: With no sun, Victreebel cannot effectively make use of Solar Beam or Weather Ball. Futhermore, Victreebel becomes outsped by an overwhelming majority of the tier, leaving it wide open to attacks. Pokemon with Snow Warning and Sandstream such as Abomasnow and Hippopotas can get rid of Victreebel's sun and potentially check it in return.
**Priority Moves**: Victreebel's frailty leaves it susceptible to priority moves from Pokemon such as Kangaskhan and Lycanroc when weakened. Victreebel also is severely dented by a super effective Ice Shard from Piloswine and Abomasnow. Fake Out also burns out Victreebel's remaining sun turns.
**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Mesprit, Muk, Magmortar, and Regice can take a hit and OHKO Victreebel back. The latter two must be wary of Stealth Rock, however, as too many switch ins can prevent them from reliably checking Victreebel. Specially defensive walls such as Audino and Altaria must also be taken into account.
**Sap Sipper Pokemon**: Sap Sipper Drampa and Assault Vest Bouffalant are immune to Solar Beam and are OHKOed by neither Sludge Bomb nor Weather Ball. In return, Victreebel is OHKOed by their STAB moves.
**Faster Choice Scarf Users**: Choice Scarf Alolan Raichu and Pyroar both outspeed and threaten to OHKO Victreebel with a STAB Psyshock and Fire Blast, respectively.
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