Pokémon Rillaboom

[CaptainDaimyo]

Type: Grass
Base Stats: 100 HP / 125 Attack / 90 Defense / 60 Special Attack / 70 Special Defense / 85 Speed
Abilities: Overgrow / Grassy Surge (HA)
Notable Moves:
- Knock Off
- Wood Hammer
- Drain Punch
- U-turn
- Bulk Up
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Acrobatics

Pros:
- Great Attack stat with decent HP and Defense stats allow it to function as a strong wallbreaker.
- Decent attacking options, with a solid Grass STAB + coverage options like Earthquake, Drain Punch, and Knock Off
- Has access to longevity thanks to its access to Drain Punch
- Can function as a strong pivot thanks to its access to U-turn
- Can provide a form of healing to its teammates thanks to its access to Grassy Surge setting up Grassy Terrain

Cons:
- Losing access to Grassy Glide means it no longer has a way to check faster attackers
- 85 Speed, while being decent, is quite slow in the current metagame, hence it gets outsped by a majority of threats

Tera Potential:
- Tera Dark boosts the power of Knock Off, guaranteeing an OHKO against Skeledirge and a 2HKO on Tera Ghost Garganacl.
- Tera Fighting boosts the power of Drain Punch, guaranteeing an OHKO on Baxcalibur
- Tera Fairy allows Rillaboom to offensively threaten faster Pokemon like Iron Valiant, Dragapult, and Roaring Moon. Defensively, it grants a resistance to Bug and Fighting and an immunity to Dragon.
- Tera Flying turns its resistance to Fighting into an immunity, and it can now threaten Amoonguss, Breloom, and Volcarona.

Potential Sets:
Choice Scarf
Rillaboom @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Tera Type: Dark / Fighting / Fairy / Flying
Jolly Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch / Tera Blast
- U-turn

In order to compensate for losing Grassy Glide, Rillaboom can still threaten would-be faster Pokemon like Dragapult and Roaring Moon with Choice Scarf. Choice Scarf in tandem with a Jolly nature allows Rillaboom to outspeed the aforementioned Dragapult and Roaring Moon as well as Choice Scarf Gholdengo. Knock Off allows Rillaboom to remove HDB from Pokemon like Skeledirge and Volcarona. Drain Punch grants Rillaboom access to recovery and can OHKO Chien-Pao. When running Tera Fairy or Tera Flying, Tera Blast is the better option. U-turn allows Rillaboom to function as a fast pivot.

Choice Band
Rillaboom @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Tera Type: Dark / Fighting / Fairy / Flying
Jolly Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch / Tera Blast
- U-turn

Equipped with a Choice Band, Rillaboom becomes a really strong wallbreaker that few can switch in safely. Its strong Wood Hammer shreds Garganacl, Ting-Lu, and Dondozo. It's basically the same set from SS adapted based on its new movepool.

THE VERDICT

Rillaboom, despite all of its points for, can struggle to find a place in this new fast-paced metagame. Losing Grassy Glide, one of the moves that made it threatening in Sword and Shield, can prove to be a pain for it. Losing Grassy Glide also loses one of the most important reasons for running Grassy Surge over Overgrown. Not only that, but it also faces very strong competition from Pokemon that have the same role as it but better. Meowscarada is a better Grass-type thanks to a better offensive ability in Protean and higher Speed. Kingambit has a similar role to Rillaboom, yet has a better offensive ability in Supreme Overlord and access to a strong priority move in Sucker Punch.

Prediction: Rillaboom at best drops to UU at some point

 

[Magcargo]

Grassy Surge is still a cool ability for weakening strong Earthquakes & providing additional recovery for teammates like Gholdengo, Kingambit, and Slowking-G, but man did they gut Rillaboom by taking away Grassy Glide. Without priority Grassy Glide, this Pokemon doesn't have much of the powerful utility that made it so good & versatile in Gen 8. Not helping matters is that most of the new Flying-types we are getting will eat it for breakfast. Still, Rillaboom does keep Knock Off, which is nice to cripple these Flying-types & it's stats are still better than the other Terrain setters, like Pinchurin, so I think it will be an ok Pokemon. However its use will be limited to teams that are dedicated to making use of Grassy Terrain (perhaps with an Unberdeon sweeper like Sneaseler or the aforementioned Kingambit) rather than staple pick it was last gen.

 

[all_right_gentlemen]

Unless I'm ignorant, do we even have a confirmation that moves like Grassy Glide and High Horsepower were axed from its moveset? RoiDadadou's spreadsheet says that they should be okay to transfer.

EDIT: I apologize, nothing to see here people. Just me lamenting that Monke lost its best move.

It'll definitely still seem some use in OU tho, at least until Tapu Bulu comes back.

 

[TheMantyke]

Unless I'm ignorant, do we even have a confirmation that moves like Grassy Glide and High Horsepower were axed from its moveset? RoiDadadou's spreadsheet says that they should be okay to transfer.

We have no confirmation as to what's happened to transfer moves thanks to some of the vague language and details Pokemon's left us with. We won't have confirmation as to their fate until home is done with maintenance and we see for ourselves. If the new move relearner function home is introducing is just a simple in game move relearner, it's gone. If it functions as a way to transfer your Pokemon with their old moves in tact, it's back. It looks like it's probably the former, but we don't know for certain still. If transfer moves are gone for good, Rillaboom will lose access to Grassy Glide as it is currently a SWSH move tutor only attack.

Edit: Transfer moves are GONE! Rillaboom does not have grassy glide!

 

[all_right_gentlemen]

We have no confirmation as to what's happened to transfer moves thanks to some of the vague language and details Pokemon's left us with. We won't have confirmation as to their fate until home is done with maintenance and we see for ourselves. If the new move relearner function home is introducing is just a simple in game move relearner, it's gone. If it functions as a way to transfer your Pokemon with their old moves in tact, it's back. It looks like it's probably the former, but we don't know for certain still. If transfer moves are gone for good, Rillaboom will lose access to Grassy Glide as it is currently a SWSH move tutor only attack.

ty for the answer

 

[Dreadfury]

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Man talk about a massive fall from grace with Rillaboom losing Grassy Glide. The days of it rocking the OU metagame are gone now.

Still though, being able to summon Grassy Terrain in and of itself is something and will certainly give it a niche wherever it ends up. It hits hard and has a good movepool, decent Speed tier, and usable bulk for an offensive mon so I guess that's...something? Weaking Earthquake with Grassy Terrain can actually make Rillaboom a great way to soften up Great Tusk with EQ and the returning Landorus-T since both are the universal staples and glues of OU and that's always a virtue.

Yeah I don't see this being anywhere near the powerhouse it was in Gen 8 though, having Grassy Glide as powerful terrain-boosted priority was a big part of why it was so good back in Gen 8 OU. Sad because I actually love Rillaboom as a Pokemon but its glory days are over.

 

[Loginator]

I don’t see why Grassy Glide would be nerfed if it’s never coming back. I still have some hope.

 

[MC Squared]

I don’t see why Grassy Glide would be nerfed if it’s never coming back. I still have some hope.

It was too potent in VGC. 100% of RIllaboom sets in VGC and Battle Stadium had Grassy Glide and it was mindless spamming. Now it's been nerfed to mirror Jet Punch