[OVERVIEW]
In a tier filled to the brim with viable Grass-types, Tsareena stands out as a potent offensive spinner with its access to Knock Off, near-flawless coverage, and decent Speed tier. In particular, its higher Speed stat differentiates it from Dhelmise and lets it outspeed the whole unboosted metagame after a Rapid Spin. Not only is the entire tier outsped, but most of the Pokemon also have a hard time switching into Tsareena's colorful coverage or are at least reluctant to switch in at the cost of losing their item to Knock Off. With its immunity to all priority moves, even revenge killing Tsareena after spinning is limited to just faster Choice Scarf users. Also, Tsareena's favorable matchups against staple entry hazard setters such as Rhyperior and Golisopod give it plenty of chances to spin and put pressure on the opposing team. Further, it's challenging for most Ghost-types such as Dhelmise, Mimikyu, and Jellicent to spinblock Tsareena because of its Speed, coverage, and lack of Ghost weakness.
However, Tsareena has to carefully pick and choose its coverage because it can't cover the entire meta with a single moveset, so going with one move over the other always leaves a glaring gap against some common threat like Incineroar or Chandelure. Unlike other Grass-types such as Roserade and Celebi, Tsareena is vulnerable to burns, Toxic, and has difficulty fitting Synthesis, so it can't switch into Electric- and Water-types like Raikou, Jellicent, and Milotic without risk. Tsareena's vulnerability to Toxic also worsen its matchup against prevalent entry hazard setters such as Registeel, Steelix, and Bronzong, which it would otherwise threaten to a greater extent with High Jump Kick or Knock Off. Some like offensive Roserade and Nidoqueen even outspeed and threatens it with a KO. Because it's threatened in one way or another by most Water-, Electric-, Grass-, and Ground-types in the tier, Tsareena is strained to find multiple opportunities to get onto the field safely.
[SET]
name: Rapid Spin
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Power Whip
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Triple Axel
item: Heavy-Duty Boots / Lum Berry
ability: Queenly Majesty
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Knock Off removes essential items like Heavy-Duty Boots from switch-ins such as Incineroar while not giving away switches to Chandelure and Metagross for free. Triple Axel catches Flying- and Grass-types such as Togekiss, Crobat, and Roserade switching in. High Jump Kick, U-turn, and Synthesis are all great options. High Jump Kick can be used over Knock Off to 2HKO Incineroar and Steel-types such as Registeel, while Synthesis and U-turn fit best over Triple Axel. But, without either Knock Off or Triple Axel, Tsareena is left entirely vulnerable to common threats like Metagross and Togekiss. With Heavy-Duty Boots, Tsareena can repeatedly switch into entry hazards to remove them with Rapid Spin. Lum Berry works as a short-term fix to Tsareena's difficulty getting in. It ensures Tsareena switches at least once on bulky Water-types, which makes Lum Berry a vital tool for Tsareena on fast-paced teams with few solid Scald switch-ins. Also, on more offensive teams, Tsareena doesn't miss the longevity of Heavy-Duty Boots. Queenly Majesty protects Tsareena from priority moves like Golisopod's First Impression, which lets it potentially win the matchup and keep entry hazards off the field.
On its own, Tsareena isn't a very reliable switch-in to Electric- and Water-types like Raikou and Milotic; however, more reliable checks such as Gastrodon and Guzzlord can pick up the slack. While Flying-types such as Togekiss, Crobat, and Tornadus need to watch out for Triple Axel, they all outspeed and threaten Tsareena with their STAB moves. Metagross, Raikou, and Rhyperior can check said Flying-types for Tsareena. Common Poison-types such as Roserade, Crobat, and Galarian Weezing can either threaten or wall Tsareena. Roserade is notably a nuisance, as it's a Spikes setter that Tsareena loses to. Pokemon such as Crobat can check Roserade while Gastrodon helps with the latter two. Pokemon such as Tornadus, Suicune, and Heracross are ravaged by entry hazards and greatly appreciate Tsareena spinning them away.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Wide Lens and Protective Pads are both perfectly viable options, with the former solving Tsareena's problem with consistency due to inaccuracy and the latter preventing Tsareena from being worn down by Rock Helmet. However, both items are generally outdone because their uses come into play less often than Heavy-Duty Boots and Lum Berry. Tsareena could forgo Rapid Spin altogether and instead use one of High Jump Kick, U-turn, or Synthesis in the last slot. But, without Rapid Spin, Tsareena's offensive potency is severely pared, as it can never boost its Speed to outrun and deal with Pokemon like Crobat. Choice Band turns Tsareena into a frightening wallbreaker but is unintuitive, as Tsareena relies on its coverage, but because it's Choice-locked, it can't freely switch between its moves.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: Bulky Steel-types such as Registeel, Steelix, and Stakataka are intuitive checks to any Tsareena without High Jump Kick, even if they loathe losing their Leftovers. Likewise, Lucario sets up on Tsareena if it ever lacks High Jump Kick. Klefki can stomach even a High Jump Kick or two while setting up Spikes and chipping away at Tsareena with Rocky Helmet. Escavalier avoids the 2HKO from High Jump Kick even after Stealth Rock and OHKOes back with Megahorn.
**Galarian Weezing**: Tsareena can only flail about if it ever tries to plow through Galarian Weezing with its stellar physical bulk and typing. If carrying Rocky Helmet, it can even punish Tsareena for spinning, or even worse, Tsareena could lose almost half of its HP if it happens to use and land all three hits of Triple Axel. However, Tsareena could eventually take down Galarian Weezing due to its lack of reliable recovery.
**Incineroar**: Thanks to its typing and Intimidate, Incineroar can repeatedly switch into Tsareena; however, entry hazards will severely cut how many times it can come in once its Heavy-Duty Boots are removed. Furthermore, Incineroar has to be careful with Tsareena's High Jump Kick, as it's 2HKOed through Intimidate.
**Flying-types**: While Flying-types such as Togekiss, Crobat, and Tornadus need to watch out for Triple Axel, they all outspeed and threaten Tsareena with their STAB moves.
**Faster Pokemon**: Before spinning, Tsareena is outsped and KOed by a lot of common faster Pokemon such as Nidoqueen, Roserade, and Sigilyph, while Choice Scarf users such as Flygon, Heracross, and Gardevoir can revenge kill it even after a Rapid Spin.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[GoldCat, 359771]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
In a tier filled to the brim with viable Grass-types, Tsareena stands out as a potent offensive spinner with its access to Knock Off, near-flawless coverage, and decent Speed tier. In particular, its higher Speed stat differentiates it from Dhelmise and lets it outspeed the whole unboosted metagame after a Rapid Spin. Not only is the entire tier outsped, but most of the Pokemon also have a hard time switching into Tsareena's colorful coverage or are at least reluctant to switch in at the cost of losing their item to Knock Off. With its immunity to all priority moves, even revenge killing Tsareena after spinning is limited to just faster Choice Scarf users. Also, Tsareena's favorable matchups against staple entry hazard setters such as Rhyperior and Golisopod give it plenty of chances to spin and put pressure on the opposing team. Further, it's challenging for most Ghost-types such as Dhelmise, Mimikyu, and Jellicent to spinblock Tsareena because of its Speed, coverage, and lack of Ghost weakness.
However, Tsareena has to carefully pick and choose its coverage because it can't cover the entire meta with a single moveset, so going with one move over the other always leaves a glaring gap against some common threat like Incineroar or Chandelure. Unlike other Grass-types such as Roserade and Celebi, Tsareena is vulnerable to burns, Toxic, and has difficulty fitting Synthesis, so it can't switch into Electric- and Water-types like Raikou, Jellicent, and Milotic without risk. Tsareena's vulnerability to Toxic also worsen its matchup against prevalent entry hazard setters such as Registeel, Steelix, and Bronzong, which it would otherwise threaten to a greater extent with High Jump Kick or Knock Off. Some like offensive Roserade and Nidoqueen even outspeed and threatens it with a KO. Because it's threatened in one way or another by most Water-, Electric-, Grass-, and Ground-types in the tier, Tsareena is strained to find multiple opportunities to get onto the field safely.
[SET]
name: Rapid Spin
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Power Whip
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Triple Axel
item: Heavy-Duty Boots / Lum Berry
ability: Queenly Majesty
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Knock Off removes essential items like Heavy-Duty Boots from switch-ins such as Incineroar while not giving away switches to Chandelure and Metagross for free. Triple Axel catches Flying- and Grass-types such as Togekiss, Crobat, and Roserade switching in. High Jump Kick, U-turn, and Synthesis are all great options. High Jump Kick can be used over Knock Off to 2HKO Incineroar and Steel-types such as Registeel, while Synthesis and U-turn fit best over Triple Axel. But, without either Knock Off or Triple Axel, Tsareena is left entirely vulnerable to common threats like Metagross and Togekiss. With Heavy-Duty Boots, Tsareena can repeatedly switch into entry hazards to remove them with Rapid Spin. Lum Berry works as a short-term fix to Tsareena's difficulty getting in. It ensures Tsareena switches at least once on bulky Water-types, which makes Lum Berry a vital tool for Tsareena on fast-paced teams with few solid Scald switch-ins. Also, on more offensive teams, Tsareena doesn't miss the longevity of Heavy-Duty Boots. Queenly Majesty protects Tsareena from priority moves like Golisopod's First Impression, which lets it potentially win the matchup and keep entry hazards off the field.
On its own, Tsareena isn't a very reliable switch-in to Electric- and Water-types like Raikou and Milotic; however, more reliable checks such as Gastrodon and Guzzlord can pick up the slack. While Flying-types such as Togekiss, Crobat, and Tornadus need to watch out for Triple Axel, they all outspeed and threaten Tsareena with their STAB moves. Metagross, Raikou, and Rhyperior can check said Flying-types for Tsareena. Common Poison-types such as Roserade, Crobat, and Galarian Weezing can either threaten or wall Tsareena. Roserade is notably a nuisance, as it's a Spikes setter that Tsareena loses to. Pokemon such as Crobat can check Roserade while Gastrodon helps with the latter two. Pokemon such as Tornadus, Suicune, and Heracross are ravaged by entry hazards and greatly appreciate Tsareena spinning them away.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Wide Lens and Protective Pads are both perfectly viable options, with the former solving Tsareena's problem with consistency due to inaccuracy and the latter preventing Tsareena from being worn down by Rock Helmet. However, both items are generally outdone because their uses come into play less often than Heavy-Duty Boots and Lum Berry. Tsareena could forgo Rapid Spin altogether and instead use one of High Jump Kick, U-turn, or Synthesis in the last slot. But, without Rapid Spin, Tsareena's offensive potency is severely pared, as it can never boost its Speed to outrun and deal with Pokemon like Crobat. Choice Band turns Tsareena into a frightening wallbreaker but is unintuitive, as Tsareena relies on its coverage, but because it's Choice-locked, it can't freely switch between its moves.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: Bulky Steel-types such as Registeel, Steelix, and Stakataka are intuitive checks to any Tsareena without High Jump Kick, even if they loathe losing their Leftovers. Likewise, Lucario sets up on Tsareena if it ever lacks High Jump Kick. Klefki can stomach even a High Jump Kick or two while setting up Spikes and chipping away at Tsareena with Rocky Helmet. Escavalier avoids the 2HKO from High Jump Kick even after Stealth Rock and OHKOes back with Megahorn.
**Galarian Weezing**: Tsareena can only flail about if it ever tries to plow through Galarian Weezing with its stellar physical bulk and typing. If carrying Rocky Helmet, it can even punish Tsareena for spinning, or even worse, Tsareena could lose almost half of its HP if it happens to use and land all three hits of Triple Axel. However, Tsareena could eventually take down Galarian Weezing due to its lack of reliable recovery.
**Incineroar**: Thanks to its typing and Intimidate, Incineroar can repeatedly switch into Tsareena; however, entry hazards will severely cut how many times it can come in once its Heavy-Duty Boots are removed. Furthermore, Incineroar has to be careful with Tsareena's High Jump Kick, as it's 2HKOed through Intimidate.
**Flying-types**: While Flying-types such as Togekiss, Crobat, and Tornadus need to watch out for Triple Axel, they all outspeed and threaten Tsareena with their STAB moves.
**Faster Pokemon**: Before spinning, Tsareena is outsped and KOed by a lot of common faster Pokemon such as Nidoqueen, Roserade, and Sigilyph, while Choice Scarf users such as Flygon, Heracross, and Gardevoir can revenge kill it even after a Rapid Spin.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[GoldCat, 359771]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
