Community POTW #095

[Serebii]

Time for the next Pokémon of the Week

This week we go all the way back to Kanto!

It's Venusaur!

Venusaur #003 - Serebii.net Pokédex

Venusaur Pokémon Serebii.net Pokédex providing all details on moves, stats, abilities, evolution data and locations for Pokémon Sword & Shield and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

www.serebii.net

 

[XaelOstigian]

If there is one thing you can admire Venusaur for, it is the sheer number of sets it can run. Not bad for the first fully evolved Pokemon in the Pokedex right?

Sunny Sweeper Saurian
Ability: Chlorophyll
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Timid (+Speed -Attack)
EVs: (HP 4) (Sp.Attack 252) (Speed 252)

Moves:
Sunny Day
Solar Beam
Sludge Bomb
Weather Ball

Set Details:
Might as well make the most of Chlorophyll as Venusaur's ability. Set up Sunny Day to boost your speed and supplement your offensive moves. Solar Beam becomes a one-turn attack in the sun, Weather Ball gets boosted twice over and becomes a Fire attack for coverage, and Sludge Bomb offers secondary STAB and good overall neutral coverage with poison support. Invest everything into special attack and speed, and use Life Orb to shore up your damage output.

Sub-Seed Saurian
Ability: Chlorophyll
Item: Black Sludge
Nature: Bold (+Defense -Attack)
EVs: (HP 252) (Defense 156) (Sp.Defense 100)

Moves:
Substitute
Leech Seed
Sleep Powder
Giga Drain/Sludge Bomb

Set Details:
Your standard Substitute and Leech Seed set. Seed your opponents and then hide behind Substitute as your opponent's health is drained to feed your own HP for future Substitutes. Sleep Powder is useful to make your opponent useless by forcing them to either waste turns or forcibly switch out, and the last move is an offensive move of your choice with Giga Drain offering additional HP recovery and Sludge Bomb offering additional damage and the chance to inflict poison. Invest in HP and your defenses, slap on Black Sludge to increase your survivability, and have Chlorophyll as your ability so you can outspeed your opponent in the sun.

Sword Sweeper Saurian
Ability: Chlorophyll
Item: Black Sludge
Nature: Jolly (+Speed -Sp.Attack)
EVs: (HP 4) (Attack 252) (Speed 252)

Moves:
Swords Dance
Power Whip
Earthquake
Sleep Powder/Sunny Day/Body Slam

Set Details:
While Venusaur's special attack is higher, it's physical attack is not terrible and has the potential to be boosted further unlike its special attack by setting up Swords Dance. Power Whip is your main offensive threat backed by your STAB, Earthquake handles many targets that Power Whip cannot hit hard with barring Flying types, and your last move is a matter of preference. Sleep Powder offers status support and an easier time to set up Swords Dance, Sunny Day capitalizes on Chlorophyll allowing you to outspeed the opponent, and Body Slam offers neutral coverage with a chance of paralysis as a bonus. Venusaur is still bulky even with its stats invested into attack and speed, so Black Sludge still works wonderfully with this set.

Sinister Stalling Saurian
Ability: Chlorophyll
Item: Black Sludge
Nature: Bold (+Def -Att)
EVs: (HP 252) (Def 156) (Sp.Def 100)

Moves:
Toxic
Protect
Synthesis/Giga Drain
Earth Power/Venoshock

Set Details:
A Toxic stall set since Toxic has become increasingly rare with the removal of its TM status. Inflict Toxic and then stall for damage and Black Sludge recovery. From there you could slap on Synthesis as your recovery move, but if the low PP and weather dependency is a turn off you could sub in with Giga Drain which offers HP draining and better offensive presence. Earth Power offers coverage against the Poison and Steel types that are immune to Toxic, but if again you want a more offensive moveset you could use Venoshock which doubles in power on your Poison targets allowing you to knock them out sooner. Once again, invest everything into HP and defenses.

I Ran out of Alliteration Set Names
Ability: Chlorophyll
Item: Black Sludge
Nature: Careful (+Sp.Defense -Sp.Attack)
EVs: (HP 252) (Sp.Def 252) (Speed 4)

Moves:
Curse
Synthesis
Power Whip
Earthquake/Body Slam

Set Details:
A physical tank set. Use Curse to boost your physical attack and defense, use Synthesis to heal as your gradually boost up, hit hard with Power Whip, and then use either Earthquake of Body Slam for general coverage. Invest everything into HP and special defense since Curse already has you covered in the physical defense department and keep Black Sludge as your held item for additional HP recovery.

 

[Starspinner]

MOVESET NAME: Gaia's Giant
FORMAT TYPE: Doubles
ABILITY: Chlorophyll
NATURE: Modest
EVS: 252 Special Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Special Defense
MOVES:

• Solar Beam
• Sludge Bomb
• Earth Power
• Growth

ITEM: Occa Berry
DYNAMAX POTENTIAL: Yes
POTENTIAL PARTNER: Kantonian Ninetales

In this moveset, Venusaur utilizes the Sunny weather condition to boost its Speed and use Solar Beam in one turn. The Sunny weather condition also enables Venusaur to increase its Special Attack by two stages using Growth. Even though Sludge Bomb and Earth Power are unaffected by Sunny weather, they also serve a purpose in the moveset. Sludge Bomb, for example, is a reliable STAB that occasionally poisons the opponent. Additionally, Earth Power deals super effective damage to Venusaur's Fire-type threats as well as Pokemon that resist it's STABs, including Steel and Poison-types.

Venusaur can also take advantage of its Gigantamax form after using Growth. As an example, its Solar Beam gains both power and effects once it turns into G-Max Vine Lash. G-Max Vine Lash's effect is particularly useful to Venusaur because it also inflicts passive damage on non-Grass-types. Even if Venusaur encounters a Grass-type, it can use its super effective Poison-type Max Move, Max Ooze, as a counter, a STAB, and a method of boosting the Special Attack of itself and its partner. Max Quake also boosts Venusaur's stats because it raises Venusaur's Special Defense by one stage after it is used.

To maximize the potential of this moveset, Venusaur requires a Modest nature as well as 252 EVs in its Special Attack and Speed. Venusaur should also save some EVs for its Special Defense to support the effect of Max Quake. Moreover, to ensure it survives a Fire-type move launched in a Sunny weather condition, Venusaur must have an Occa Berry. Finally, Venusaur needs Kantonian Ninetales as its partner because it provides the Sunny weather condition with its Drought Ability and offers additional coverage against Ice and Steel-types.

 

[Starspinner]

If there is one thing you can admire Venusaur for, it is the sheer number of sets it can run. Not bad for the first fully evolved Pokemon in the Pokedex right?

Sunny Sweeper Saurian
Ability: Chlorophyll
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Timid (+Speed -Attack)
EVs: (HP 4) (Sp.Attack 252) (Speed 252)

Moves:
Sunny Day
Solar Beam
Sludge Bomb
Weather Ball

Set Details:
Might as well make the most of Chlorophyll as Venusaur's ability. Set up Sunny Day to boost your speed and supplement your offensive moves. Solar Beam becomes a one-turn attack in the sun, Weather Ball gets boosted twice over and becomes a Fire attack for coverage, and Sludge Bomb offers secondary STAB and good overall neutral coverage with poison support. Invest everything into special attack and speed, and use Life Orb to shore up your damage output.

Sub-Seed Saurian
Ability: Chlorophyll
Item: Black Sludge
Nature: Bold (+Defense -Attack)
EVs: (HP 252) (Defense 156) (Sp.Defense 100)

Moves:
Substitute
Leech Seed
Sleep Powder
Giga Drain/Sludge Bomb

Set Details:
Your standard Substitute and Leech Seed set. Seed your opponents and then hide behind Substitute as your opponent's health is drained to feed your own HP for future Substitutes. Sleep Powder is useful to make your opponent useless by forcing them to either waste turns or forcibly switch out, and the last move is an offensive move of your choice with Giga Drain offering additional HP recovery and Sludge Bomb offering additional damage and the chance to inflict poison. Invest in HP and your defenses, slap on Black Sludge to increase your survivability, and have Chlorophyll as your ability so you can outspeed your opponent in the sun.

Sword Sweeper Saurian
Ability: Chlorophyll
Item: Black Sludge
Nature: Jolly (+Speed -Sp.Attack)
EVs: (HP 4) (Attack 252) (Speed 252)

Moves:
Swords Dance
Power Whip
Earthquake
Sleep Powder/Sunny Day/Body Slam

Set Details:
While Venusaur's special attack is higher, it's physical attack is not terrible and has the potential to be boosted further unlike its special attack by setting up Swords Dance. Power Whip is your main offensive threat backed by your STAB, Earthquake handles many targets that Power Whip cannot hit hard with barring Flying types, and your last move is a matter of preference. Sleep Powder offers status support and an easier time to set up Swords Dance, Sunny Day capitalizes on Chlorophyll allowing you to outspeed the opponent, and Body Slam offers neutral coverage with a chance of paralysis as a bonus. Venusaur is still bulky even with its stats invested into attack and speed, so Black Sludge still works wonderfully with this set.

Sinister Stalling Saurian
Ability: Chlorophyll
Item: Black Sludge
Nature: Bold (+Def -Att)
EVs: (HP 252) (Def 156) (Sp.Def 100)

Moves:
Toxic
Protect
Synthesis/Giga Drain
Earth Power/Venoshock

Set Details:
A Toxic stall set since Toxic has become increasingly rare with the removal of its TM status. Inflict Toxic and then stall for damage and Black Sludge recovery. From there you could slap on Synthesis as your recovery move, but if the low PP and weather dependency is a turn off you could sub in with Giga Drain which offers HP draining and better offensive presence. Earth Power offers coverage against the Poison and Steel types that are immune to Toxic, but if again you want a more offensive moveset you could use Venoshock which doubles in power on your Poison targets allowing you to knock them out sooner. Once again, invest everything into HP and defenses.

I Ran out of Alliteration Set Names
Ability: Chlorophyll
Item: Black Sludge
Nature: Careful (+Sp.Defense -Sp.Attack)
EVs: (HP 252) (Sp.Def 252) (Speed 4)

Moves:
Curse
Synthesis
Power Whip
Earthquake/Body Slam

Set Details:
A physical tank set. Use Curse to boost your physical attack and defense, use Synthesis to heal as your gradually boost up, hit hard with Power Whip, and then use either Earthquake of Body Slam for general coverage. Invest everything into HP and special defense since Curse already has you covered in the physical defense department and keep Black Sludge as your held item for additional HP recovery.

If you use Curse, doesn't that take away from Chlorophyll's effect?

 

[Mestorn]

Wow, you guys are nuts/amazing... I really don't have much to add in the terms of sets.

Partners
Torkoal and Kantonian Ninetails are far and away the best options, being able to seemlessly setup Sunny Day, while proving to be great pivots into the Ice type attacks Venusaur hates, as well as dealing with Flying Steel types like Corviknight if Venusaur is not running Weather Ball. Also you get 2/3rds of the Grass Water Fire core, whose efficacy has been proven time and time again. Groudon is another fantastic Drought setter, slaughtering Fire and Steel types like Heatran, Incineroar and Dialga, while providing a physical Offense to compliment Venusaur's generally special capabilities.

Hydreigon, Bisharp, Umbreon and Grimmsnarl all cover Venusar's Psychic weakness and enjoy the anti Fairy (and anti Ground in the case of Bisharp) support Venusaur provides. Hydreigon also resists Fire attacks and has a wide enough movepool to cover Venusaur's weaknesses. Bisharp resists most of Venusaur's weaknesses, but is frail enough to not be a reliable check. Umbreon can abuse the same Sun that Venusaur enjoys with Moonlight and like Grimmsnarl can open up setup opportunities with Yawn and Snarl.

Psychic Terrain setters like Tapu Lele may seem contradictory, but do block Priority which is one of the few ways to reliably deal with Venusaur in the sun.

Countering Venusaur
Venusaur is difficult to deal with. Its bulk is above average, so it can take a hit or two before going down, it is nearly impossible to outspeed in the sun... oh and it has Sleep Powder, invalidating just about every check that doesn't carry a specific answer for that (Grass types are savaged by STAB Sludge Bomb and thus are not reliable answers)

Scarf Dragapult, Kartana, and Latios all outspeed neutral Venusaur in the sun, and can maim, if not OHKO Venusaur. However, Kartana needs an attack boost to OHKO, and will be OHKO'd in turn by unboosted Life Orb Earth Power and Weather Ball. Scarf Dragapult needs to run Fire Blast for the OHKO, but Flamethrower can OHKO after chip damage in the sun:

252 SpA Dragapult Flamethrower vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Venusaur in Sun: 246-290 (81.7 - 96.3%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

Mamoswine just misses out on the OHKO with Ice Shard, but any chip damage pushes it over the edge:

252+ Atk Choice Band Mamoswine Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Venusaur: 254-300 (84.3 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Weavile also does around 75% with Banded Ice Shard and can be an answer on a weakened Venusaur.

Otherwise, disrupting the Sun places Venusaur in a tight spot, especially if it is running Solar Beam over a more reliable Grass move. Pelipper is by far the best counter Weather Setter, able to OHKO with Hurricane, but it is naturally slower than Venusaur even out of sun and non defensive sets are threatened by a OHKO from Life Orb Sludge Bomb. If Venusaur is running Solarbeam, Hippowdon and Tyranitar can easily come out on top. Abomasnow and Alolan Ninetails work well if Venusaur is lacking Sludge Bomb.

 

[XaelOstigian]

If you use Curse, doesn't that take away from Chlorophyll's effect?

Good point. I suppose Overgrow works better in this situation.

 

[BillyBobJoe]

I really don’t have that much to offer. The Venusaur I used on my team (which I got from the Isle of Armor) has Giga Drain, Sludge Bomb, Earth Power & Sleep Powder with a Big Root for the item. Not the most competitive, but it works for me.

Good coverage moves:

• Earth Power/Bulldoze, Earthquake- Fire & Steel
• Weather Ball (Sun)- Ice
• Nature Power, Terrain Pulse (Electric Terrain)- Flying
• Knock Off- Psychic

 

[BillyBobJoe]

I Ran out of Alliteration Set Names
Ability: Chlorophyll
Item: Black Sludge
Nature: Careful (+Sp.Defense -Sp.Attack)
EVs: (HP 252) (Sp.Def 252) (Speed 4)

Moves:
Curse
Synthesis
Power Whip
Earthquake/Body Slam

Seed Bomb can be an alternative to Power Whip. Power Whip can be inaccurate at times (though not to the extent of other moves like Stone Edge), and Petal Blizzard (another Physical option) hits everything like Earthquake.