Pokémon Orbeetle

[MrHands]

Exactly! I love binding moves; imagine a Gastrodon with Infestation, Recover, Yawn and Protect or whatever. Yikes.

Staying on topic, I find it hard to come up with a good EVs spread for binders like it because I never know who I might wanna set up on while resisting hits.
If anyone could suggest a good EVs spread for annoyer/trapper Orbeetle would be awesome.

I think Regenerator Pokemon would be best with it. Toxapex in particular gets Infestation + Baneful Bunker. Perhaps Recover / Scald / Infestation / BB? Still I can imagine just using Toxic would be better in a lot of situations. Hard to validate two moveslots AND an item for what is effectively 1/3rd damage.

I don't think Orbeetle will be the one to break this though lol. Maybe Reuniclus or Toxapex. Orbeetle has too many weaknesses and no real resistance to passive damage.

Edit: Eh turning 1/8th damage into 1/6th probably isn't worth the item. Just run Leftovers.

 

[Voidheart]

Encountered a Weakness Policy set in game with Agility. It has a million weaknesses to get the boost off and the bulk to survive most hits. Being able to get +2 in Speed and offenses in one turn of set up can be quite scary, and it has everything it needs to sweep in terms of coverage.

Like all Weakness Policy sets, quite gimmicky of course.

I'm trying to theorycraft a Weakness Policy Orbeetle of my own. Here it what I have so far:

Pokemon: Orbeetle
Ability: Swarm
Item: Weakness Policy
Nature: Timid
EVs: After some testing, I came up with 252 Sp.Atk, 232 HP, and 24 Spd (Just enough to outspeed Scarf Hydreigon after Agility)

Moves:
Agility: Outspeeding all of the unboosted meta and most of the Scarfed meta with a single boost.

Sticky Web: Used to support others on the team or to outspeed nearly any Scarfed Pokemon after Agility.

Stored Power: After WP and Agility, Stored Power has a ridiculous 140 BP to murder nearly all Pokemon weak or neutral to it.

Bug Buzz (for STAB coverage and to hit and K.O most Dark types)

Overall, this set can defeat most of the meta, as long as it can survive a super effective hit (more likely than not). It may struggle against Priority moves, so it partners well with Indeedee (another new favorite of mine), who can set up Psychic Terrain for it, preventing Priority and boosting Stored Power to whole new levels.

Edit: I know someone made a similar set to this one, but they're some key differences. Mainly, I traded sustainability and further buffing for utility and not being complete Dark-Bait

 

[Its_Lorelei]

Scratch that. Binding moves DO NOT stack. So much for that...

I was super looking forwards to trying this out. thx!

 

[zferolie]

That Weakness Policy one sounds pretty fun. I may have to try that.

However, has anyone found a good use for the Gigantimax one? I was thinking that could be a super good partner with Dracovolt. Sticky web for the slow down, and the gravity effect for Dracovolts Hustle Ability so it will always hit with those crazy numbers. As for a set, was thinking maybe something like this

@ Leftovers/Open to ideas
Modest or Timid nature
Sticky Web
Recover
Psychic
Bug Buzz

Think it could work well?

 

[GaryGaryGary]

Hello guys I’m new to discussion boards. I have a question to ask I’m running a defensive Orbeetle set like this.

Sticky Web
Light Screen
Reflect
U turn/Body Press

Should I run leftovers so he stay in battle for a little bit, light clay so screens can stay out a little longer, or heavy duty boots so he can keep putting up screens and Sticky Webs without getting worn down by hazards?

I’m leaning towards Light Clay but I don’t know.

 

[Pabloaram]

So I guess showdown doesn't have body press working yet? Tried a few matches where Iron defense got me up to 3-4x Def but it wasn't making any difference to my damage output. Went into SwSh to test it in-game and it was working great, where one iron defense doubling my defense directly doubled my damage output.

https://jake-white.github.io/VGC-Damage-Calculator/
this is the calc for vgc. all moves and mon are working. you only need to set the level to 100

 

[Gumi_Megpoid]

Hello guys I’m new to discussion boards. I have a question to ask I’m running a defensive Orbeetle set like this.

Sticky Web
Light Screen
Reflect
U turn/Body Press

Should I run leftovers so he stay in battle for a little bit, light clay so screens can stay out a little longer, or heavy duty boots so he can keep putting up screens and Sticky Webs without getting worn down by hazards?

I’m leaning towards Light Clay but I don’t know.

Light Clay. Once Orbeetle has webs up it doesn't really matter if he stays alive

 

[Divine Retribution]

"Orbital strike authorized in your A.O. Get clear."
Orbeetle @ Weakness Policy
Frisk - Bold
248 HP, 252 Def, 8 Sp. Def
-Agility
-Calm Mind
-Recover
-Stored Power

Complete and utter gimmick, but I was having a lot of fun with this set earlier. In my opinion, Agility + Calm Mind is far superior to Iron Defense + Calm Mind. Agility gives your opponent less of an opportunity to crit you, and he's not particularly frail to begin with, so he can easily stomach most physical hits even unboosted. He needs several boosts, but after an Agility and a couple Calm Minds he can easily clean teams late-game once Dark-types have been dealt with. The best part is a lot of players seem to expect a support set and don't respect this thing accordingly, often letting their Dark-types be chipped or removed before he even comes into play. Weakness Policy is a neat little gimmick that pretty much lets him end games right then and there if he manages to get it activated, but Leftovers or Heavy-Duty Boots are probably more consistent overall (but then again this isn't a Pokemon I'd recommend using if you care about consistency, it's one I'd recommend using if you wanna just fuck around). What it has over other Stored Power users is the combination of Agility making him difficult to revengekill, excellent natural bulk, and Recover. Once Home is released and Rock Polish/Roost Mew is allowed, there probably will be limited if any reason to actually use this thing, its niche is already small as it is.

I also considered a 2 attacks set with Bug Buzz > Recover but such a set is heavily reliant on Weakness Policy to actually get the boosts it needs before going down, and honestly access to Recovery is like the only reason to use him over Mew as it is. You could run 2 attacks with Calm Mind and Recover instead, but at that point you're a shittier Reuniclus.​

 

[GaryGaryGary]

Hello guys I’m new to discussion boards. I have a question to ask I’m running a defensive Orbeetle set like this.

Sticky Web
Light Screen
Reflect
U turn/Body Press

Should I run leftovers so he stay in battle for a little bit, light clay so screens can stay out a little longer, or heavy duty boots so he can keep putting up screens and Sticky Webs without getting worn down by hazards?

I’m leaning towards Light Clay but I don’t know.

Light Clay. Once Orbeetle has webs up it doesn't really matter if he stays alive

Thanks. That been on my since Orbeetle was announced. He has such defensive stats so want him to ultilize that.

"Orbital strike authorized in your A.O. Get clear."
Orbeetle @ Weakness Policy
Frisk - Bold
248 HP - 252 Def, 8 Sp. Def
-Agility
-Calm Mind
-Recover
-Stored Power

Complete and utter gimmick, but I was having a lot of fun with this set earlier. In my opinion, Agility + Calm Mind is far superior to Iron Defense + Calm Mind. Agility gives your opponent less of an opportunity to crit you, and he's not particularly frail to begin with, so he can easily stomach most physical hits even unboosted. He needs several boosts, but after an Agility and a couple Calm Minds he can easily clean teams late-game once Dark-types have been dealt with. The best part is a lot of players seem to expect a support set and don't respect this thing accordingly, often letting their Dark-types be chipped or removed before he even comes into play. Weakness Policy is a neat little gimmick that pretty much lets him end games right then and there if he manages to get it activated, but Leftovers or Heavy-Duty Boots are probably more consistent overall (but then again this isn't a Pokemon I'd recommend using if you care about consistency, it's one I'd recommend using if you wanna just fuck around). What it has over other Stored Power users is the combination of Agility making him difficult to revengekill, excellent natural bulk, and Recover. Once Home is released and Rock Polish/Roost Mew is allowed, there probably will be limited if any reason to actually use this thing, its niche is already small as it is.

I also considered a 2 attacks set with Bug Buzz > Recover but such a set is heavily reliant on Weakness Policy to actually get the boosts it needs before going down, and honestly access to Recovery is like the only reason to use him over Mew as it is. You could run 2 attacks with Calm Mind and Recover instead, but at that point you're a shittier Reuniclus.​

What’s the point of having both Calm Mind and Agility at the same time? I mean after Weakness Policy, you basically have a plus two Shell Smash on the dot so all you need is at least three Agilities to get it going. But, that is a great move set and I might it try
out on a sweeper Orbeetle.

 

[Gumi_Megpoid]

Thanks. That been on my since Orbeetle was announced. He has such defensive stats so want him to ultilize that.

What’s the point of having both Calm Mind and Agility at the same time? I mean after Weakness Policy, you basically have a plus two Shell Smash on the dot so all you need is at least three Agilities to get it going. But, that is a great move set and I might it try
out on a sweeper Orbeetle.

Stored power gets stronger the more boosts you have stacked on it

 

[GaileOxstain]

Light Clay. Once Orbeetle has webs up it doesn't really matter if he stays alive

I'm getting a little irritated that people only think Orbeetle is good for setting down Sticky Web and then treat it like garbage not capable of anything else. It's a great mix of bulky and speedy, has access to Recover, and has good offensive presence even if the only attack competitive players seem to use is U-Turn (Its phys attack stat is low people).

best part is a lot of players seem to expect a support set and don't respect this thing accordingly

THANK YOU! Orbeetle is incredibly capable as a tank, and even as a sweeper as you pointed out! And yet everyone looks at the sets as either cheap gimmicks or as an inferior Reuniclus. Can you even imagine the faces of competitive players who get swept by Orbeetle?
"It's not using Sticky Web? lol Must be a casual player who doesn't know Orbeetle is COMPLETELY USELESS without webs!"
(Orbeetle proceeds to set-up boosts)
"lol You're just an inferior Reuniclus! What an amateur!"
(Orbeetle proceeds to crush opponent who thought it was useless)
o_O "You must have cheated!"
Us: "No, you just underestimated Orbeetle. Try thinking outside if the box next time and consider the potential threat it can pose outside of your usual expectations."

 

[Talpr0ne]

I'm getting a little irritated that people only think Orbeetle is good for setting down Sticky Web and then treat it like garbage not capable of anything else. It's a great mix of bulky and speedy, has access to Recover, and has good offensive presence even if the only attack competitive players seem to use is U-Turn (Its phys attack stat is low people).

I honestly think ignoring what makes Orbeetle unique and effective in favor of meme set-up sweeper sets that are almost completely outdone by other bulkier Psychic types does a far greater disservice to it by not allowing it to really shine.

THANK YOU! Orbeetle is incredibly capable as a tank, and even as a sweeper as you pointed out! And yet everyone looks at the sets as either cheap gimmicks or as an inferior Reuniclus. Can you even imagine the faces of competitive players who get swept by Orbeetle?
"It's not using Sticky Web? lol Must be a casual player who doesn't know Orbeetle is COMPLETELY USELESS without webs!"
(Orbeetle proceeds to set-up boosts)
"lol You're just an inferior Reuniclus! What an amateur!"
(Orbeetle proceeds to crush opponent who thought it was useless)
o_O "You must have cheated!"
Us: "No, you just underestimated Orbeetle. Try thinking outside if the box next time and consider the potential threat it can pose outside of your usual expectations."

The strawman player dismissing Stored Power Orbeetle as an inferior Reuniclus would have lost even harder to Reuniclus because their counterplay is the exact same, and this Orbeetle, not boosting its defense, inherently having more weaknesses, and being susceptible to being put on a timer by Toxic and Leech Seed, is actually much easier to check than Reuniclus is. It's even more baffling when you take into account that this set is total Dark bait, when the standard Sticky Web Orbeetle is actually very hard to switch into for most Dark types because of Body Press.

 

[Divine Retribution]

The strawman player dismissing Stored Power Orbeetle as an inferior Reuniclus would have lost even harder to Reuniclus because their counterplay is the exact same, and this Orbeetle, not boosting its defense, inherently having more weaknesses, and being susceptible to being put on a timer by Toxic and Leech Seed, is actually much easier to check than Reuniclus is. It's even more baffling when you take into account that this set is total Dark bait, when the standard Sticky Web Orbeetle is actually very hard to switch into for most Dark types because of Body Press.

Toxic/Leech Seed/etc. aren't actually as big an issue as you make them out to be. Their extremely limited Gen 8 distribution makes them rare sights outside of fatter Stall teams, which Orbeetle generally isn't going to put much work in against anyways. Saying that it's easier to check than Reuniclus is only partially true, due to Agility boosting its Speed it can actually pressure a lot of threats that Reuniclus just loses to, and it's less vulnerable to random crits after it sets up, as small a benefit as that may be.

I think a large part of the reason why it sees any success in the current metagame is due to opponents misplaying around it, though. If you see Reuniclus on the opposing side, you more or less know what it's going to do and can plan appropriately to deal with it. If you see Orbeetle on the opposing side, you might assume a support Webs set, which is perfectly reasonable and in most cases you'd probably be right. Like you said, Dark-types don't fare very well against its support set, so you might not be so careful to keep yours healthy before Orbeetle comes into play, which makes it, at least in my experience, much easier to remove opposing Dark-types before cleaning up with Orbeetle.

This isn't something that 6-0s teams all by itself without any support, and I'd hesitate to even call it really viable. It's more of a fun little set that plays off of the usual expectations of what Orbeetle does and nets some surprise sweeps as a result. That's why I clearly labeled it a gimmick, instead of saying it should be considered Orbeetle's most viable set and an absolute metagame staple or whatever. It's not, it's a fun little gimmick, but I also don't think it's completely eclipsed by Reuniclus, even if only because of the unpredictability factor it brings to the table.

 

[hotdogturtle]

Orbeetle is pretty bulky for something in its speed tier, or relatively fast for something in its bulk level, depending on how you want to look at it. It's an obscure stat distribution, and you need to take advantage of what it offers that other Pokemon don't. Tons of Pokemon get Calm Mind + Stored Power, but some can run it better than the rest due to their other qualities. You don't have to try to force a Stored Power attacking set on everything just because a Pokemon happens to learn it.

 

[Divine Retribution]

Orbeetle is pretty bulky for something in its speed tier, or relatively fast for something in its bulk level, depending on how you want to look at it. It's an obscure stat distribution, and you need to take advantage of what it offers that other Pokemon don't. Tons of Pokemon get Calm Mind + Stored Power, but some can run it better than the rest due to their other qualities. You don't have to try to force a Stored Power attacking set on everything just because a Pokemon happens to learn it.

Which is why I never said it should be the standard set. I fail to see how you could even think I'm trying to force it on anything, that seems like a bad strawman to me.

Also, ironically its Speed, bulk, and recovery are what sets it apart from other Stored Power users. Is it enough to give it a viable niche? Not really. Is it a fun set that takes advantage of what most player's expectations are regarding what Orbeetle does and how to play around it? Yes.

 

[Helix Heathen]

Orbeetle IMO seems like a solid anti-hazard lead and webber, considering it has good speed, bulk, and natural access to Magic Coat (which I haven't seen discussion of in this thread). If I remember correctly, mons like Araquanid lost Magic Coat pre-HOME transfer, and the only other mons that have it in the Galar dex are the Musharna line and Lunala. Speed EVs are to outspeed Jolly Excadrill, with the rest in physical bulk:

Orbeetle @ Heavy Duty Boots / Wide Lens
Frisk - Jolly / Timid
248 HP, 240 Spe, 20 Def
-Sticky Web
-Magic Coat
-U-Turn
-Body Press / Hypnosis / Psychic

Set up Sticky Web; bounce back hazards, status, and Taunt with Magic Coat; and U-Turn for momentum. Body Press does good damage to Excadrill and occasional hazard setters (e.g., T-tar), coming off of its 110 Def stat. Hypnosis is a generally threatening option too, but has poor accuracy. Psychic, along with a Timid nature, is reliable STAB and hits the rare Defog Conkeldurr. Other options in the fourth slot could be Protect to scout, Recover to stay healthy longer, or Mirror Coat to net surprise KOs.

Edit: After some tinkering, Heavy Duty Boots is probably the best item for it. Frisk is surprisingly useful in predicting certain sets (e.g., Grimmsnarl) and getting information overall.
Edit 2: Magic Coat will not bounce the hazard removal effect of Defog, but it will bounce the evasion drop. This effectively makes (if my math is right) Hypnosis an 80% accurate move (88% with Wide Lens). In turn, this may result in a situation where the opponent is forced to switch or risk sleep, with either scenario allowing webs to be set up again against mons like Mandibuzz.

 

[Nifel]

Today i caught a shiny gigamax orbeetle.
It has telepathy and doesnt know recover. Well the only way to keep it alive is gigadrain isnt it? Regarding coverage bug and plant are equally bad... but then orbeetle is missing the bug type stab move.
Currently running 252 hp, 252 def, 4 SpeD, a simple split to give it a lot of bulk, also bold nature. I want to keep it alive as it boosts up with agility and calm mind to finish opponents off with stored power.
Probably should run weakness policy too? Or leftovers for better heal

 

[DrPumpkinz]

It has telepathy and doesnt know recover. Well the only way to keep it alive is gigadrain isnt it?

If you want it to know Recover, put it in the daycare with an Orbeetle that knows Recover.

 

[GaileOxstain]

Today i caught a shiny gigamax orbeetle.
It has telepathy and doesnt know recover. Well the only way to keep it alive is gigadrain isnt it? Regarding coverage bug and plant are equally bad... but then orbeetle is missing the bug type stab move.
Currently running 252 hp, 252 def, 4 SpeD, a simple split to give it a lot of bulk, also bold nature. I want to keep it alive as it boosts up with agility and calm mind to finish opponents off with stored power.
Probably should run weakness policy too? Or leftovers for better heal

If it has Telepathy, try building it with doubles in mind. Shame that G-Max is banned from Smogon competitive play though since its signature G-Max move Kay's down Gravity which pairs well with many doubles partners.

 

[Whitephoenixace]

If it has Telepathy, try building it with doubles in mind. Shame that G-Max is banned from Smogon competitive play though since its signature G-Max move Kay's down Gravity which pairs well with many doubles partners.

Its banned from ou not dou . And currently from vgc as other gmaxes that arent from the events

 

[Nifel]

Thanks to DrPumpkinz it now knows recover!
I ll try out orbeetle in a few ways and might switch to a screen build.
I just love the shiny gigamax form and want it to be an intimidating ufo

 

[GaryGaryGary]

Man I love Orbeetle. Favorite bug type in my book. Bug/Psychic is an awesome type. Just wish this bug resisted itself and dark types. IMO those two weaknesses kinda hurt it :/

 

[bigfatuglyloser]

My best set with Orbeetle has been this, and it's worked wonders in OU:

Orbeetle @ Leftovers / boots
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Sp. Def
Bold Nature
- Iron Defenses
- Body Press
- Hypnosis
- Sticky Web

With no investment in special defense, the beetle can survive a fireblast from Hydregion and a shadowball from Dragapult. After an iron defense, you take 33% from pyroball, and can return OHKO hydregion, tyranitar, bisharp, excadrill, and cinderace with bodypress (bisharp doesn't actually need the iron defenses). also scores 2HKO on cloyster, but this is trivial. After an iron defenses, ferrothorn and dracovish takes roughly 40% from a body press, but you will be 2HKOd from fiscevous rend. meaning if dracovish was slowed down a priori by sticky web and the dinosaur isn't scarfed, it can almost take it down, or you can gamble to sleep it.

Against foes that you cannot do much against (bulk up corviknight, toxapex), hypnosis really shuts things down. I think all orbeetle sets should include hypnosis, because orbeetle is so switch-counterable that it needs it.

1. I generally don't think speed investment is necessary. If you use sticky web (another must on all orbeetle sets), you can reasonably assume that things switching in to stop will be either sufficiently slowed down (dracovish, exadrill), or so much faster than you in the first place that it doesn't matter.

2. Recover is a bad choice on sir beetle. Ultimately, the beetle is a sticky web setter and hypnosis disrupter. the iron defenses and body press are nice surprise kills on a lot of OU, but it is designed to lead and try and get a few shock kills, not set up and sweep.

3. since i use it to lead (so sticky web gets maximum benefit), i prefer leftovers. but if it isn't leading and you want to switch it in a lot for hypnosis, it should probably be wearing boots.