https://www.smogon.com/dex/rs/pokemon/tropius/
[Overview]
Tropius's stat spread is bizarre, to say the least, but it works out well for it in NU. It's very bulky, decently strong, and sits in a Speed tier that allows it to just barely outspeed a plethora of otherwise-problematic Pokemon given enough investment. Tropius also has a great movepool, especially for a Grass-type, giving it a lot of utility in the tier to go offensive or defensive depending on your team's needs. The only major downside is its typing; Grass and Flying pair decently well offensively, but defensively it leaves it weak to Rock and horrifically weak to Ice, making it completely unable to check the Water- and Rock-types you would typically want it to be able to do with its Grass typing. What's more, most of Tropius's sets love Spikes support, but it pairs terribly with the three best Spikes users available because of its typing. Tropius makes a great out-of-left-field Pokemon when used right, but more often than not that typing will make you skip over it in teambuilding.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Hidden Power Flying
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Synthesis
item: Leftovers
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Adamant
evs: 156 HP / 192 Atk / 160 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Tropius's good bulk, decent Speed, and access to Swords Dance are put to work with this set to turn it into a bulky late-game sweeper or mid-game stallbreaker. Tropius finds many opportunities to setup with its good bulk and resistances, allowing it to setup in the face of many defensive Pokemon such as Roselia, Hitmonchan, Sableye, and Wailord lacking Ice Beam. Hidden Power Flying is Tropius's best physical STAB move and pairs almost perfectly with Earthquake. The last slot goes to Synthesis to capitalize on Tropius's bulk and allow it to prolong its sweep against stall teams.
[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]
The EV spread is designed to outspeed minimum Speed base 70s, particularly Dewgong, with enough HP EVs provided to always avoid the 2HKO from defensive Relicanth's Rock Slide. The rest of the EVs are pumped into Attack; however, more EVs from Attack can be placed into either HP or Speed to reach certain benchmarks you deem important for your team. The last moveslot is highly customizable depending on how you would like Tropius to function. Substitute gives Tropius even greater utility to sweep against heavy stall teams, as it is then protected from status which can otherwise shorten its sweep. Unfortunately, Tropius just misses out on the benchmark to create 101 HP Substitutes, so its Substitutes will be broken by Seismic Toss even at maximum HP investment. Sunny Day can make use of Chlorophyll to give Tropius more utility against more offensive teams and allow it to sweep more effectively late-game, but Tropius can find it difficult to use both Swords Dance and Sunny Day. Finally, another coverage option is usable in the last slot; however, Tropius's options are rather limited. Most prominently is to change Tropius's nature to Lonely and use a Grass-type STAB move in the last slot, such as Magical Leaf or Giga Drain, which gives Tropius a great tool for Relicanth, Whiscash, and Huntail. Replacing Hidden Power Flying with Aerial Ace and using Hidden Power Rock or Hidden Power Fighting is another option to consider as it gives Tropius a far better tool for opposing Flying-types like Pidgeot and Pelipper or Ice-types like Dewgong.
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Whirlwind
move 2: Synthesis / Protect
move 3: Giga Drain
move 4: Hidden Power Flying / Earthquake / Toxic
item: Leftovers
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]
- EV spread always survives Ice Beam from Huntail and has a very good chance to avoid 2HKO from CB Raticate/Pidgeot
[SET]
name: Sunny Day Sweeper
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Solar Beam
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Hidden Power Flying / Synthesis
item: Leftovers
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Naive
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]
[SET]
name: SubSeed
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Leech Seed
move 3: Hidden Power Flying
move 4: Toxic / Protect / Earthquake
item: Leftovers
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]
- EV spread makes sure Sub always survives a CB Hitmonchan Sky Uppercut, Speed enough to outrun 0 Speed base 65s
[Other Options]
[Checks and Counters]
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