[SET]
name: Leech Seed
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Protect
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Ruination / Foul Play
item: Leftovers
ability: Tablets of Ruin
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
tera type: Poison
[SET COMMENTS]
With its staggering Tablets of Ruin-bolstered bulk and disruptive utility options, Wo-Chien serves as a sturdy physical wall that can be difficult for teams to maneuver around. Wo-Chien's typing also provides it with multiple valuable resistances, such as Ghost, Ground, and Psychic, helping it both stave off deadly wallbreakers like Decidueye, Golurk, and Meloetta and punish opposing walls like Mudsdale and Gastrodon. On top of scouting what move Choice-locked foes like Flamigo go for, Protect maximizes the health Wo-Chien regains from Leftovers and the progress it makes with Leech Seed. Ruination consistently puts immense pressure on Pokemon looking to exploit Wo-Chien, such as Florges, Skuntank, and Coalossal, especially if they lack recovery like the latter two or have already been hit by Leech Seed. Foul Play more directly deals with physical attackers like Decidueye and Copperajah and lets Wo-Chien trade damage with setup sweepers like Zoroark and Scyther after it Terastallizes. While Heavy-Duty Boots seem appealing to protect Wo-Chien from entry hazards, especially if its team opts not to run removal, Leftovers is generally better for making Wo-Chien more durable. Tera Poison removes all of Wo-Chien's weaknesses; this notably makes it much less vulnerable to U-turn while also letting it wall the likes of Paldean Tauros-W, Skuntank, and Scrafty and punishing foes like Hoopa for using coverage. It also improves Wo-Chien's longevity by preventing it from being poisoned by moves like Bellibolt's Toxic and Gastrodon's Sludge Bomb. Wo-Chien can be tough to break after it Terastallizes, which is why it's often a team's Tera user; upon doing so, though, it becomes weak to Ground- and Psychic-type moves from foes like Golurk and Hoopa and easier to overwhelm with threats like Decidueye. Wo-Chien's massive Special Defense also makes running specially bulky sets a viable option, letting it more easily sponge attacks from Goodra and non-Sludge Bomb Toxtricity and virtually function as a mixed wall thanks to Tablets of Ruin.
Balance teams benefit a lot from Wo-Chien's unique defensive profile and the amount of progress it can potentially force, all without being too bothered by its occasional passivity. Galarian Slowbro is an excellent teammate; on top of absorbing Toxic, Assault Vest variants stifle special sweepers like Florges and Salazzle, while physically defensive sets more reliably answer Fighting-types like Flamigo. Special walls, such as Florges, Gastrodon, and the aforementioned Assault Vest Galarian Slowbro, keep threats like Tatsugiri, Rotom-H, and Scream Tail at bay while forming robust defensive cores with Wo-Chien. Florges can also run Wish to reduce Wo-Chien's reliance on Leech Seed for recovery, while Gastrodon and Galarian Slowbro are good at wearing down nuisances like Coalossal. Entry hazard removers like Altaria and Coalossal give Wo-Chien more opportunities to switch in and help it stay healthy without needing to play predictably. Both examples deal with physical Fire-types like Paldean Tauros-F and Arcanine, respectively, and can give Wo-Chien an easier time outlasting both physical attackers and opposing walls by spreading burns. Setup sweepers like Scrafty, Paldean Tauros-F, and Grimmsnarl pose a threat to Wo-Chien, particularly if it can't Terastallize, mandating offensive teammates that can either revenge kill them or scare them out; good examples include Choice Scarf users like Florges, Bruxish, and Flamigo and tanks like Arcanine and Assault Vest Copperajah.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/asa.400292/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bella.567483/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gulch.617840/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
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