Overview
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Access to a wide range of moves and Spore make Breloom a good choice in Doubles. With a base 130 Attack stat and Technician, it can dish heavy damage with Mach Punch and Bullet Seed, which has the potential to be one of the most powerful moves with no drawback in the whole game at 187.5 Base Power. With Spore, it can slowly dismantle slower teams; with no Sleep Clause in the metagame, it can cripple whole teams if left unchecked.
However, Breloom's base 70 Speed is lackluster and leaves it relying on Mach Punch to do significant damage. Its common weaknesses to Fairy-, Fire-, Flying-, and Ice-type moves, paired with its paper-thin bulk hamper it greatly and make it difficult to switch in without taking significant damage. Its coverage leaves it walled by a number of common threats such as Mega Charizard Y, Talonflame, and Shaymin-S. The most notable, however, is the nerf to Spore, as now it cannot hit Pokemon that are Grass-type or have the ability Overcoat.
Offensive Spore
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name: Offensive Spore
move 1: Bullet Seed
move 2: Mach Punch
move 3: Spore
move 4: Protect
ability: Technician
item: Focus Sash / Life Orb
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant / Jolly
Moves
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The majority of its attacking moveset is boosted by Technician in order to hit as hard as possible. Bullet Seed is the set's first STAB move and is used for taking out threats such as Politoed and Jellicent as it hits them super effectively. As Bullet Seed is a multi-hit move, it can also be used to hit and KO through Focus Sash and Substitute. Mach Punch is the second STAB move and is used for picking off or revenge killing weakened threats. It is used to hit threats such as Bisharp, Kangaskhan, and Tyranitar, while also denting Heatran. Spore lets it stop Pokemon with sleep, giving it and its teammates free turns and momentum. Protect is a staple move, letting it stall out field conditions such as Trick Room, protect itself from damage, and give its teammates an opening to work. Protect is also useful for blocking Fake Out, which would make its Focus Sash otherwise useless.
Set Details
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The EV spread allows Breloom to hit as fast and hard as possible. As Breloom is very frail, Focus Sash is used to let it survive more than one turn by letting it take an otherwise lethal attack and strike back with an attack or Spore. However, if Breloom is being used in a sand or hail team, it is recommended to use a different item as the passive damage applied renders it useless. Life Orb can be used in these cases or at times when a higher damage output is desired. An Adamant nature is used in order to achieve maximum power, though a Jolly nature can be used to safely outspeed Adamant nature Bisharp and Gyarados.
Usage Tips
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Breloom is used to disrupt by applying pressure with powerful moves and Spore. With Spore, Breloom can neuter threats such as Chandelure and Cresselia that it otherwise has problems taking down. It is also useful for giving teammates chances to set up and neutering their checks. Breloom can be used as a check to Trick Room leads by neutralizing them with Spore, preferably paired with a Fake Out partner in order to minimize damage. Mach Punch is mainly useful for KOing weakened threats or Choice Scarf users such as Excadrill and Tyranitar. If using a Focus Sash, Breloom can guarantee getting a strong hit or a Spore off in clutch moments. It is best to keep Breloom away from sand and hail and use Protect on a predicted Fake Out in order to preserve its Focus Sash.
Team Options
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As Breloom is somewhat slow, speed control like Thunder Wave or Tailwind can be a really huge help. Under Tailwind, Breloom can be extremely dangerous, as it can Spore almost everything, and use a powerful Bullet Seed on threats it couldn't hit cleanly before such as Landorus-T and Keldeo. Suicune and Talonflame are both great choices for teammates, as Suicune can also take out annoying Fire-types for Breloom while Talonflame can hit Grass-types. Togekiss can also pair up well as it can also redirect any pesky attacks aimed at Breloom. An opponent crippled by Thunder Wave can be an easy picking for Breloom. Thundurus can make for a great teammate as it can take out Flying-types that annoy Breloom.
In terms of support, Breloom appreciates Pokemon that can help it last longer and play more freely throughout the battle. Pokemon with the ability to redirect moves are very helpful to Breloom, as they help Breloom play more freely without the risk of getting hit. Again, Togekiss can be helpful as it is very bulky and has Tailwind as well. Jirachi is also good as it resists all of Breloom's weaknesses bar Fire while also having access to Helping Hand to turn possible 2HKOes into OHKOes. Pokemon that can switch into Breloom's weaknesses work fairly well. Heatran can switch in against Flying- and Fire-types such as Talonflame and opposing Heatran, while also being able to scare Amoonguss out. Fake Out users such as Hitmontop and Scrafty can buy Breloom a turn to attack or use Spore. If paired with Breloom, this also makes a good anti-Trick Room lead. Quick Guard users are great as they can patch up Breloom's frailty by stopping priority, notably Fake Out and Talonflame's Brave Bird. Keldeo is a notable partner, as it can take out annoying Fire-types for Breloom. However, the majority of users of Quick Guard and Fake Out are Fighting-types and thus provide type synergy issues with Breloom.
Pokemon that appreciate the removal of Water- and Rock-type Pokemon from the field make good partners. Mega Charizard Y in particular works because it can remove annoying field conditions such as sand for Breloom. In return, Breloom takes out Tyranitar, Rotom-W, Terrakion, and Politoed. Breloom can also be a good pick for rain teams, taking out threats such as Rotom-W and Kyurem-B, while also benefiting from losing its Fire-type weakness.
Other Options
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A Rock-type move such as Rock Tomb or Stone Edge can be used to lure Flying-types and hit them hard. Rock Tomb is generally preferred for the Speed drop and higher accuracy while having little difference in power thanks to Technician, but Stone Edge hits harder. Force Palm can be used over Mach Punch for more power and the chance to paralyze the opponent. Superpower is useful for nabbing KOs against Kyurem-B and Heatran, but the drops in Attack and Defense prove to be a hindrance. A Swords Dance set can be run, much like how Scizor plays it, but unfortunately for Breloom, it doesn't have the bulk nor the typing to do this as effectively as Scizor. A Choice Scarf set can pull up a decent surprise with a fast Bullet Seed, Force Palm, Stone Edge, and Spore. However, the inability to switch in and its huge weakness to priority make it sub-optimal. A Choice Band set can be used in order to amplify Breloom's power even more. However, Breloom's average base Speed and frailty hinder it greatly. A Poison Heal set with a Toxic Orb can be used in order to shield Breloom from status and to give it a form of recovery. However, the power drop from losing Technician is very noticeable. Leech Seed is useful in order to get some passive damage and recovery against opponents. Unfortunately, its effects are easily removed by switching and Breloom is easy to KO even with the healing. Lastly, Substitute is useful in order to shield Breloom's frailty against strong and super effective attacks.
Checks & Counters
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**Offensive Typing Advantage**: As Breloom is frail, most neutral moves can easily put a dent on it. Fire-types such as Charizard and Rotom-H can easily switch in on Bullet Seed, and Flying-types such as Talonflame and Mega Pinsir can come in on a Mach Punch. Either can then dish out a super effective attack to OHKO Breloom. Dragon-types such as Salamence and Latios can come in and KO Breloom with a super effective type of choice, or power through Breloom's abysmal bulk with Draco Meteor. Mega Gengar can easily trap Breloom and turn it into set-up fodder as it can't do much back to it in return. However, all of the aforementioned Pokemon have to be wary of Spore. Shaymin-S can be said to be the best counter to Breloom as it can easily come in on any attack, including Spore, and OHKO it with Air Slash.
**Intimidate and Burns**: Utilizing Intimidate and burning Breloom is a good way to check it, as both of them minimize the offensive pressure Breloom can apply; however, one must still be on guard as Breloom can still pressure the opponent with Spore. Both Hitmontop and Scrafty weaken it with Intimidate and are able to flinch with Fake Out. Landorus-T can easily switch in and pivot with U-turn while activating Intimidate. Mega Gengar can burn Breloom with Will-O-Wisp while trapping it, rendering Breloom a liability on the field.
**Utility Moves**: Taunt shuts down Breloom's main niche on the field as a Spore user and prevents it from hiding its paltry defenses by stopping Protect. Thundurus can use Taunt while not being threatened at all by any of Breloom's attacks. A well-timed Substitute on a Spore can surprise Breloom and turn the tables around it. Kyurem-B can use Substitute and threaten with Ice Beam when behind it.
**Opposing Weather**: Sand and hail can break Breloom's Focus Sash, rendering it useless.
**Miscellaneous**: Mega Kangaskhan gets a mention as it can easily power through Breloom even with a Focus Sash, thanks to its ability Parental Bond, while also being able to take a Mach Punch. It also boasts Fake Out which, even with its low Base Power, can greatly lower Breloom's health. Bulky Pokemon with Safety Goggles can easily set-up on it without fearing Spore. Togekiss with Safety Goggles walls its entire moveset and can easily set up Tailwind or KO with Air Slash. A surprise Lum Berry can surprise Breloom and put it at risk. Lastly, Grass-types, Pokemon with Overcoat, and Pokemon with Sap Sipper can switch in on Spore with little problems and hit back handily. Goodra, in particular, can safely take any hit from Breloom thanks to Sap Sipper and OHKO with Flamethrower.
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