[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 5 onwards
**Price Range**: 7-9 points
**Overview**: Venusaur is primarily drafted on sun teams as one of the best Chlorophyll sweepers in the format. It has relatively average stats, giving it just enough Speed and offenses to threaten foes in sun and enough bulk to pivot in and set up. It can also function as a defensive Pokemon with some nice utility, but given its stats at its comparatively high price point, Venusaur's real value comes from taking advantage of Chlorophyll in sun.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Chlorophyll Sweeper**: Venusaur is most often used as a sweeper on sun teams. Its stats make it one of the better Pokemon in this role, outpacing many Choice Scarf users in sun with usable Special Attack and type coverage to capitalize on it. Venusaur can also set up Growth effectively due to its natural bulk, allowing it to OHKO a lot of Pokemon in sun.
**Defensive Utility**: Venusaur's typing allows it to check certain Pokemon, such as Keldeo, Serperior, and Rotom-W, and utility moves such as Sleep Powder, Knock Off, and Leech Seed help it make progress. However, its bulk is just shy of letting it deal with many offensive Water-types and other common threats. This role is more matchup-dependent and less common than Chlorophyll sweeper Venusaur.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Sludge Bomb, Giga Drain, Leaf Storm, Solar Beam, Poison Jab, Petal Blizzard
**Setup Moves**: Growth, Trailblaze
**Utility Moves**: Sleep Powder, Leech Seed, Synthesis, Knock Off, Toxic, Substitute
**Coverage**: Weather Ball, Earth Power, Tera Blast, Earthquake
Niche Moves
========
**Roar**: Roar is an option on a defensive set to stop Calm Mind Pokemon and other setup sweepers that Venusaur cannot otherwise disrupt.
**Sunny Day**: Having the option to overwrite the weather can be quite useful, particularly in matchups against opposing weather setters.
Common Items
========
**Life Orb**: Life Orb is the most common item on Chlorophyll sets, giving Venusaur the extra damage it often needs to KO certain Pokemon. It is often wise to run Giga Drain with Life Orb to mitigate the recoil damage.
**Black Sludge**: Black Sludge is good on offensive and defensive sets, and the passive HP recovery pairs well with Venusaur's natural bulk.
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Heavy-Duty Boots also goes well with Venusaur's defensive sets to ensure that it survives certain hits regardless of entry hazards. Heavy-Duty Boots can occasionally also work on an offensive set if removing hazards is tricky, but it's more niche on those sets.
Niche Items
========
**Other Damage-boosting Items**: Items such as Poison Barb, Miracle Seed, and Expert Belt can be useful on offensive sets, but generally, Life Orb is more worthwhile.
**Lum Berry**: Lum Berry can be useful on Growth Venusaur to enable its setup or against Prankster users that are expected to use priority Thunder Wave.
**Eject Pack**: Eject Pack, when paired with Leaf Storm, allows Venusaur to pivot safely into a teammate. This is most useful if an opponent has a good defensive response to Venusaur, but it is generally not that good because Venusaur wants to take advantage of its limited turns in sun.
**Rocky Helmet**: Rocky Helmet is a decent option for some extra chip damage on defensive sets, especially if the foe is expected to use U-turn or weak physical attacks frequently.
Tera
========
Venusaur is often a great Tera user on sun teams. The extra STAB type allows it to hit a lot harder as a Chlorophyll sweeper, notably with Tera Fire in sun. It can also just use Tera Grass or Poison to boost its STAB moves. Defensive Tera types such as Tera Water, Fairy, and Dark can complement any of its sets well in the right matchup. Given Venusaur's relatively low price point, it can also be drafted alongside other Tera users, making it even easier for it to be a Tera Captain. If a team demands different Tera Captains, Venusaur can still function without Tera, but it gets a lot of mileage out of it for a relatively low cost, so making it a Tera Captain is often worthwhile.
Draft Strategy
========
Venusaur is primarily drafted on sun teams. Its middling stats make it generally worse than other Grass / Poison Pokemon in a purely defensive role, and its price point more so reflects its ability to function on sun teams. On these teams, however, it can occasionally fill a defensive role, and its versatility helps a lot of sun teams function well.
**Sun Setters**: Venusaur should always be drafted alongside Torkoal or Ninetales. Its ability to utilize Chlorophyll with an automatic sun setter is essential to its viability. Without these Pokemon, Venusaur is generally worse than other options at its price point.
**Pivots**: Venusaur needs to enter the field safely, so drafting good pivots is very useful. Pokemon such as Landorus-T, Uxie, and Slowbro are very effective in this role.
**Strong Entry Hazard Control**: Venusaur benefits a lot from winning the entry hazard war. Having extra chip damage on foes can help net a lot of KOs, and having hazards cleared from its side can keep Venusaur out of range of being KOed by priority moves and Life Orb recoil. Pokemon such as Great Tusk, Terapagos, and Donphan fill this role well.
Checks and Counters
========
**Opposing Weather**: Opposing weather immediately shuts down Venusaur by removing its Speed boost and weakening moves such as Growth and Solar Beam. Pokemon with weather-setting abilities or Prankster can change the weather reliably.
**Special Walls**: Pokemon with high Special Defense can often tank hits from Venusaur well given its average offensive stats, especially those that resist its STAB moves or are not weak to its coverage. Pokemon such as Galarian Slowking, Skeledirge, and Muk can be difficult to break past. Venusaur often needs to rely on a utility move like Sleep Powder, Leech Seed, or Knock Off to disrupt them, with support from teammates.
**Strong Priority**: Any Pokemon with strong priority moves that Venusaur doesn't resist, such as Dragonite, Weavile, and Scizor, can revenge kill Venusaur reliably given enough chip damage.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/streetcredcookie.304744/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/hacker.387847/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
Grammar checked by:
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**Draft Order**: Round 5 onwards
**Price Range**: 7-9 points
**Overview**: Venusaur is primarily drafted on sun teams as one of the best Chlorophyll sweepers in the format. It has relatively average stats, giving it just enough Speed and offenses to threaten foes in sun and enough bulk to pivot in and set up. It can also function as a defensive Pokemon with some nice utility, but given its stats at its comparatively high price point, Venusaur's real value comes from taking advantage of Chlorophyll in sun.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Chlorophyll Sweeper**: Venusaur is most often used as a sweeper on sun teams. Its stats make it one of the better Pokemon in this role, outpacing many Choice Scarf users in sun with usable Special Attack and type coverage to capitalize on it. Venusaur can also set up Growth effectively due to its natural bulk, allowing it to OHKO a lot of Pokemon in sun.
**Defensive Utility**: Venusaur's typing allows it to check certain Pokemon, such as Keldeo, Serperior, and Rotom-W, and utility moves such as Sleep Powder, Knock Off, and Leech Seed help it make progress. However, its bulk is just shy of letting it deal with many offensive Water-types and other common threats. This role is more matchup-dependent and less common than Chlorophyll sweeper Venusaur.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Sludge Bomb, Giga Drain, Leaf Storm, Solar Beam, Poison Jab, Petal Blizzard
**Setup Moves**: Growth, Trailblaze
**Utility Moves**: Sleep Powder, Leech Seed, Synthesis, Knock Off, Toxic, Substitute
**Coverage**: Weather Ball, Earth Power, Tera Blast, Earthquake
Niche Moves
========
**Roar**: Roar is an option on a defensive set to stop Calm Mind Pokemon and other setup sweepers that Venusaur cannot otherwise disrupt.
**Sunny Day**: Having the option to overwrite the weather can be quite useful, particularly in matchups against opposing weather setters.
Common Items
========
**Life Orb**: Life Orb is the most common item on Chlorophyll sets, giving Venusaur the extra damage it often needs to KO certain Pokemon. It is often wise to run Giga Drain with Life Orb to mitigate the recoil damage.
**Black Sludge**: Black Sludge is good on offensive and defensive sets, and the passive HP recovery pairs well with Venusaur's natural bulk.
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Heavy-Duty Boots also goes well with Venusaur's defensive sets to ensure that it survives certain hits regardless of entry hazards. Heavy-Duty Boots can occasionally also work on an offensive set if removing hazards is tricky, but it's more niche on those sets.
Niche Items
========
**Other Damage-boosting Items**: Items such as Poison Barb, Miracle Seed, and Expert Belt can be useful on offensive sets, but generally, Life Orb is more worthwhile.
**Lum Berry**: Lum Berry can be useful on Growth Venusaur to enable its setup or against Prankster users that are expected to use priority Thunder Wave.
**Eject Pack**: Eject Pack, when paired with Leaf Storm, allows Venusaur to pivot safely into a teammate. This is most useful if an opponent has a good defensive response to Venusaur, but it is generally not that good because Venusaur wants to take advantage of its limited turns in sun.
**Rocky Helmet**: Rocky Helmet is a decent option for some extra chip damage on defensive sets, especially if the foe is expected to use U-turn or weak physical attacks frequently.
Tera
========
Venusaur is often a great Tera user on sun teams. The extra STAB type allows it to hit a lot harder as a Chlorophyll sweeper, notably with Tera Fire in sun. It can also just use Tera Grass or Poison to boost its STAB moves. Defensive Tera types such as Tera Water, Fairy, and Dark can complement any of its sets well in the right matchup. Given Venusaur's relatively low price point, it can also be drafted alongside other Tera users, making it even easier for it to be a Tera Captain. If a team demands different Tera Captains, Venusaur can still function without Tera, but it gets a lot of mileage out of it for a relatively low cost, so making it a Tera Captain is often worthwhile.
Draft Strategy
========
Venusaur is primarily drafted on sun teams. Its middling stats make it generally worse than other Grass / Poison Pokemon in a purely defensive role, and its price point more so reflects its ability to function on sun teams. On these teams, however, it can occasionally fill a defensive role, and its versatility helps a lot of sun teams function well.
**Sun Setters**: Venusaur should always be drafted alongside Torkoal or Ninetales. Its ability to utilize Chlorophyll with an automatic sun setter is essential to its viability. Without these Pokemon, Venusaur is generally worse than other options at its price point.
**Pivots**: Venusaur needs to enter the field safely, so drafting good pivots is very useful. Pokemon such as Landorus-T, Uxie, and Slowbro are very effective in this role.
**Strong Entry Hazard Control**: Venusaur benefits a lot from winning the entry hazard war. Having extra chip damage on foes can help net a lot of KOs, and having hazards cleared from its side can keep Venusaur out of range of being KOed by priority moves and Life Orb recoil. Pokemon such as Great Tusk, Terapagos, and Donphan fill this role well.
Checks and Counters
========
**Opposing Weather**: Opposing weather immediately shuts down Venusaur by removing its Speed boost and weakening moves such as Growth and Solar Beam. Pokemon with weather-setting abilities or Prankster can change the weather reliably.
**Special Walls**: Pokemon with high Special Defense can often tank hits from Venusaur well given its average offensive stats, especially those that resist its STAB moves or are not weak to its coverage. Pokemon such as Galarian Slowking, Skeledirge, and Muk can be difficult to break past. Venusaur often needs to rely on a utility move like Sleep Powder, Leech Seed, or Knock Off to disrupt them, with support from teammates.
**Strong Priority**: Any Pokemon with strong priority moves that Venusaur doesn't resist, such as Dragonite, Weavile, and Scizor, can revenge kill Venusaur reliably given enough chip damage.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/streetcredcookie.304744/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/hacker.387847/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Last edited:
