[OVERVIEW]
Victreebel serves as a potentially dangerous Swords Dance wallbreaker that can put a lot of pressure on and help to overwhelm common blanket defensive glue Pokemon on teams such as Hypno, Mr. Mime, Gyarados, and Nidoqueen to open up end-game win paths for threats such as Mr. Mime and Scyther. Access to Sleep Powder allows Victreebel to discourage would be checks such as Nidoqueen and Gyarados from switching into it, and helps generate more favorable chances of breaking through RestTalk Psychic-types, especially those carrying non threatening 4th moves such as non-Thunder Wave Hypno or Slowtwins, or Mr. Mime, lowering the chance of them pulling threatening moves, while also giving Victreebel an emergency option to shut-down threats such as Curse + 2 attacks Granbull or Belly Drum Quagsire if necessary, although this should be used as a last-resort due to the inaccuracy of the move. Alternatively Victreebel can make use of its Grass STAB moves in Giga Drain to break through Piloswine for teams that particularly value it being removed, while still putting pressure on checks like Gyarados and Psychic-types over a longer term. Victreebel performs best when used as a mid-to-late game threat and kept hidden during the earlier game, encouraging positions where Victreebel can more easily break through Psychic-types and do the most potential damage. If Victreebel is revealed too early in a game it can encourage the opponent to keep Pokemon such as Haze Qwilfish and Fire Blast Nidoqueen healthy, or their RestTalk Psychics such as Mr. Mime or Hypno awake, making Victreebel have a harder time applying crucial trades versus such Pokemon to open up endgames for its teammates such as Mr. Mime.
Victreebel is not without considerable limitations however. Its unfortunate Speed tier leaves it lagging behind common Pokemon like Nidoqueen and Gyarados, leaving it reliant on the threat of Sleep Powder or potential paralysis support from teammates to break through these, limiting its early game potential and sweeping ability, and often forcing it to make 1-for-1 trades in a lot of matchups. Victrebeel's reliance on Hidden Power Ground to hit Nidoqueen, Magneton, and Omastar also leaves Victreebel with the inability to apply any meaningful damage to Piloswine and a need to severely chip Nidoqueen or land a Sleep Powder on it first, or stay out of Ice Beam range against Omastar, as its low base power leaves Victreebel only able to 2HKO these two Pokemon even at +2 attack. Victreebel's crippling Psychic-type weakness leaves it needing to stay as healthy as possible if it wants to make the crucial trades with opposing Psychic-types, and it often needs to be played in a precise manner to ensure that opposing Psychic-types are either asleep so that they have a much lower chance of favorable Sleep Talk rolls, that they are adequately weakened so that they are either in +2 Sludge Bomb range for slower Psychic-types such as Hypno or Slowking, or weakened enough that they are hesitant to switch in and forced to click Rest for the frailer but faster Mr. Mime, or that it has Light Screen support up to allow it to break through them. Victreebel can also struggle to find set up opportunities in some matchups because of this desire to stay as heatlhy as possible, as the only common Pokemon it can truly switch into and set-up risk free against in the tier is Blastoise, at the cost of often losing Spikes in the process. Victreebel can set up against Electric-types such as Lanturn, Ampharos, and Magneton but must watch out for Thunder Paralysis or Hidden Power Ice chip damage adding up from the latter two, making it want to avoid switching into these Pokemon too much, and can also force out Grass-types such as Bellossom and Jumpluff but must be wary of coming in on a Stun Spore.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Sludge Bomb
move 3: Hidden Power [Ground]
move 4: Sleep Powder
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
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Team Options
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[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Checks and Counters
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**Insert Counterplay Here**: Describe the counterplay / check / counter.
**Insert Counterplay Here**: Describe the counterplay / check / counter.
[CREDITS]
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- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
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