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QC Approvals: Iconic, Kevin Garret and Panamaxis
GP Approvals: Fatecrashers and jc104
[Overview]
<p>Let's face it, Virizion is a Pokemon that simply oozes class. Its superior attitude and power mean that its legendary status is well deserved. The Grass- / Fighting-type combination is only shared with Breloom, but Virizion has many advantages over its mushroom counterpart.</p>
<p>One thing immediately stands out when looking at Virizion's assets: its 129 base Special Defense that, alongside its typing, makes it one of the best Pokemon to use against weather-based teams. Its 108 Speed stat, shared with the other musketeers (Terrakion and Cobalion), allows it to outspeed most of the OU tier. Virizion also has access to both Calm Mind and Swords Dance, so it can work as either as a very bulky special sweeper or an all-out physical sweeper.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Virizion isn't without its negative aspects. It has to rely on the incredibly inaccurate Focus Blast on the special sweeper set. Its Defense stat is decent at best, and it has some trouble taking strong neutral physical attacks. Its Justified ability is also a rather useless one since Dark-type attacks are rare in OU and Tyranitar, its main user, won't be staying in on any of Virizion's sets. Despite these faults however, Virizion is still a great Pokemon and it should always be considered when building a team.</p>
[SET]
name: Offensive Calm Mind
move1: Calm Mind
move2: Giga Drain
move3: Focus Blast
move4: Hidden Power Ice / Taunt
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
ivs: 30 Atk / 30 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Using Calm Mind, Virizion can boost its already impressive Special Defense and decent Special Attack, allowing it to beat stall team staples such as Jellicent, Ferrothorn, Blissey, and Gliscor. Its Grass STAB - Giga Drain - lets Virizion heal itself while causing massive damage to the opponent. Focus Blast is chosen as the secondary STAB move, despite its low accuracy, because it's the only special Fighting-type attack that Virizion learns and it's needed to KO Chansey / Blissey and Ferrothorn that would otherwise wall Virizion. The last move depends on what you want Virizion to do, but Hidden Power Ice is usually the best option in order to hit the Flying-types that resist its STAB moves.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The first three moves are, as stated above, mandatory, leaving the fourth slot up for grabs. Hidden Power Ice is the preferred option in order to deal with common Flying-types like Thundurus and Gliscor, while netting an OHKO on Salamence (with Stealth Rock on the field) and Dragonite with a little prior damage. Taunt is the alternative, and it gives Virizion many opportunities to set up against Pokemon that rely on status moves to prevent a Virizion sweep, such as Chansey, Blissey, and Ferrothorn. Reflect may look like an inferior option, but it does have its merit; behind it, Virizion can set up on physical attackers that would otherwise dole out significant damage. Leftovers is the preferred item as it provides Virizion with more durability, possibily granting it one more Calm Mind, but Life Orb can be used for the extra power it provides, since it maximizes the amount of health recovered by Giga Drain. However, when playing under Sandstorm or Hail, be aware that Virizion will take 16% damage per turn if it's holding Life Orb.</p>
<p>Virizion's main counters are Latios, Latias, and Reuniclus; they can come in, set up Calm Minds alongside Virizion, while laughing at its STAB moves and meagre Hidden Power Ice, and then OHKO it with STAB Psyshock. Tornadus outspeeds Virizion and can OHKO with Hurricane, while specially bulky Jirachi can switch in, paralyze with Body Slam or Thunder Wave, and proceed to KO with Iron Head. A Pokemon that can eliminate these threats is therefore a good partner for Virizion. Tyranitar is one of the best because it can use Pursuit and Crunch to eliminate the Psychic-type counters, while Tornadus can be dealt with by STAB Stone Edge. Specially bulky Jirachi is another good Pokemon to pair Virizion with as it can take everything the aforementioned counters throw at it, while paralyzing them with Body Slam and healing itself and Virizion with Wish.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move1: Swords Dance
move2: Close Combat
move3: Stone Edge
move4: Leaf Blade / Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With Swords Dance, Virizion only needs one turn of setup to start sweeping, as opposed to the Calm Mind set, which usually needs two or three turns to make an impact. However, it doesn't do anything for Virizion's defenses (Close Combat lowers them), so Virizion will usually have fewer turns to inflict damage before it gets knocked out. Swords Dance is the boosting move of choice, skyrocketing the musketeer's Attack to a beastly 558. Virizion can then make good use of a very powerful STAB Close Combat to destroy anything that isn't resistant or immune to it. Stone Edge grants great coverage, hitting Flying-types for super effective damage. The last slot is a choice between two moves; Leaf Blade is usually the better choice, since it provides Virizion with a second good STAB move to work with, netting OHKOs on bulky Ground- and Water-types.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>In the last slot, Leaf Blade may seem superior to Hidden Power Ice with no investment. However, when one takes into account the fact that Gliscor, one of the best physical walls, can survive a +2 Leaf Blade and proceed to poison Virizion and attempt to stall it do death, the value of Hidden Power Ice immediately becomes apparent; Hidden Power Ice is a clean 2HKO on Gliscor, so all it takes is some prior damage to take it out.</p>
<p>When using this set, Virizion loses out on some important KOs against more defensive Pokemon, like the aforementioned Gliscor. However, Virizion does make a great partner for other physical sweepers, it can take large chunks out of the opposing team's walls, thus opening up a sweep for another teammate like Air Balloon Excadrill or Swords Dance Terrakion. If you want Virizion to be the main sweeper, Landorus can lure Gliscor in and OHKO it with Hidden Power Ice, opening up a sweep for the musketeer.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Virizion's support movepool is huge, and it allows the musketeer to perform a number of roles on your team, although it may not be as effective as other support Pokemon. It gets Reflect and Light Screen so it can act as a dual screener; in that case it should have a Bold nature, investment in HP and Defense, and Giga Drain to let it set up screens again later in the game. It also gets Toxic and Roar, so it can act as a special wall and a phazer after some defensive investment.</p>
<p>If one wants Virizion to act as a mixed sweeper, a Work Up set is a viable option; Hasty and max Speed should be used in this case to allow Virizion to tie with Terrakion and Infernape, with a moveset of Close Combat, Giga Drain, and Hidden Power Ice. Virizion is also a part of the legendary Fighting-type group and, as such, it has access to their signature move Sacred Sword; it has 30 less Base Power than Close Combat but it does have two advantages: it doesn't lower Virizion's defenses and it bypasses the opponent's stats changes, which can be useful. This move can replace Close Combat on the Swords Dance set if the defense drops prove to be unbearable.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Virizion's main counters are Latias, Latios, Reuniclus, and Tornadus; they all outspeed (using Trick Room in Reuniclus's case) Virizion and can OHKO it either with Psyshock or Hurricane. Virizion also has some trouble getting past Gliscor with the Swords Dance set, but of course Gliscor must watch out for Hidden Power Ice. Another Pokemon that can be problematic is Forretress; it isn't weak to Fighting-type attacks and has a huge base Defense, so it can take a boosted attack and use Gyro Ball to do significant damage in return.</p>
