In-battle formes
| Type | |
|---|---|
| Abilities | |
| Tier |
| HP: | 70 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Attack: | 80 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Defense: | 102 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sp. Atk: | 80 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sp. Def: | 102 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Speed: | 40 |
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Evolutions
- Combee
- Vespiquen
Strategies
- en
- NU
Overview
It's not difficult to understand why Vespiquen struggles to fit in NU, as it is a wall with a 4x weakness to Stealth Rock. First, Vespiquen's typing and lack of Speed allows most sweepers to scare it out and gain easy boosts. To add insult to injury, Vespiquen's movepool is horrendously small and predictable. Luckily, a Bug / Flying typing makes Vespiquen a decent Sawk and Golurk check, and Pressure is a decent ability for drawn out matches. Typically, however, the amount of support Vespiquen needs is not worth the trouble of using it in a match.
Wall
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Vespiquen's greatest niche is its ability Pressure, which can turn threatening scenarios in its favor. For example, Close Combat can only be used four times, greatly helping Vespiquen's survivability. Protect is the most important move, as it stalls the opponent's PP and gains Leftovers recovery. Roost adds on to the longevity, granting Vespiquen more walling opportunities. Toxic is its most reliable damaging source, seriously crippling many Pokemon that switch into Vespiquen. Attack Order prevents Vespiquen from being Taunt bait, and it has decent power for a wall.
The most important thing to recognize when supporting Vespiquen is that it needs Rapid Spin support to function decently as a wall; Wartortle is the best option because its typing synergizes the best with Vespiquen out of all the NU Rapid Spinners. Cleric support is also highly recommended, as residual damage will drastically limit Vespiquen's walling capabilities; Audino is a great partner for this job, since Vespiquen can take Fighting-type attacks aimed at it. Garbodor, the Toxic Spikes setter that synergizes best with Vespiquen, is a helpful partner since Toxic Spikes support saves Vespiquen many extra turns to heal itself instead of using Toxic. Misdreavus is a cool partner that fits the stall playstyle well because it offers a fast Taunt that can keep Stealth Rock off the field. Partners with phazing moves, such as Bastiodon, make great partners, as they can force out sweepers that set up on Vespiquen. One last, great partner is defensive Seismitoad, as its typing covers almost all of Vespiquen's weaknesses while Vespiquen 4x resists its Grass-type weakness.
Other Options
Substitute is a decent option for Vespiquen, but Vespiquen's low Speed prevents it from blocking any status moves. Defend Order seems like a cool move, but Vespiquen needs the moves it already has to efficiently stall. A Hone Claws + Acrobatics set is possible but is terribly outclassed by offensive Pokemon that don't have a 4x Stealth Rock weakness, such as Swellow and Drifblim. The Custap Berry + Destiny Bond combination is surprising but is gimmicky at best. Vespiquen has access to Swagger, but it is entirely luck reliant so it will often let you down. Vespiquen can set up weather, but Pokemon with better typings and abilities are more suited for the job.
Checks and Counters
First things first: Stealth Rock is the most reliable method to check Vespiquen. Other than that, Steel- and Poison-types can't be touched by Vespiquen, so they make great counters. Substitute sweepers, such as Misdreavus, Drifblim, and Braviary, can all set up on Vespiquen and not fear Attack Order. Rock-type coverage from Pokemon such as Sawk, Primeape, and Golem is a great way to check Vespiquen as well. Taunt users that are not weak to Attack Order, such as Samurott, also make good checks. Lastly, special attackers with super effective coverage, such as Charizard, check Vespiquen reliably.
