[SET]
name: Assault Vest
move 1: Horn Leech
move 2: Wood Hammer
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Nature's Madness / Stone Edge
item: Assault Vest
ability: Grassy Surge
nature: Adamant
evs: 248 HP / 60 Atk / 56 SpD / 144 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Horn Leech is a reliable STAB move that grants additional recovery beyond Grassy Terrain to Tapu Bulu. When powered by an Adamant nature and Grassy Terrain, Horn Leech hits quite hard, having a chance to OHKO Tapu Lele after Stealth Rock. Wood Hammer provides Tapu Bulu with a high-Base Power STAB move to help it break past bulkier Pokemon like Clefable and Toxapex more quickly. Superpower hits common Pokemon resistant to Grass-type moves such as Ferrothorn and Kartana. Nature's Madness allows Tapu Bulu to significantly dent its checks and counters, especially Mega Scizor and Celesteela. Stone Edge is an option to hit Volcarona and Mega Charizard Y, but the loss of momentum against Mega Scizor teams is not ideal.
Set Details
========
The given EVs allow Tapu Bulu to outrun standard Adamant Choice Band Tyranitar and 2HKO Clefable with the combination of Nature's Madness and Wood Hammer while maximizing its overall bulk. Grassy Surge is Tapu Bulu's only ability—it provides Tapu Bulu with recovery and a 50% boost to the power of its Grass-type moves.
Usage Tips
========
Assault Vest Tapu Bulu is a good pivot that switches into dangerous metagame threats such as Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko, Ash-Greninja, Zygarde, and Calm Mind Keldeo. Use Tapu Bulu liberally early-game, as it does not cede momentum like other checks to these Pokemon and is generally difficult to switch into compared to other common Grass-types such as Tangrowth. Tapu Bulu should generally use Nature's Madness if its item has not yet been revealed and the opponent has a good Tapu Bulu check such as Celesteela or Mega Scizor, as Swords Dance and Choice Band Tapu Bulu are very dangerous sets that force switches. If the opponent does not have one of these two Pokemon, Horn Leech is generally safe, as it recovers significant HP even against Pokemon that 2x resist Grass-type moves such as Magearna and Tangrowth and allows Tapu Bulu to gain an additional turn of Grassy Terrain recovery. Double switching is largely unnecessary with Tapu Bulu, as Tapu Bulu generally does not let in dangerous threats for free (especially if its moveset is unrevealed) and prefers to gain an extra turn of Grassy Terrain recovery as opposed to switching.
Team Options
========
Toxapex is one of the best partners for Assault Vest Tapu Bulu, setting up Toxic Spikes to wear down defensive and offensive checks such as Volcarona and Tangrowth while absorbing them for Tapu Bulu. Toxapex greatly appreciates the Grassy Terrain support, allowing it to gain extra passive recovery and easily tank Earthquake from common Pokemon such as Landorus-T. Tyranitar is another good partner for Assault Vest Tapu Bulu, significantly appreciating the Grassy Terrain support. Both Tyranitar and Mega Tyranitar are good partners, and bulky Stealth Rock Mega Tyranitar especially appreciates recovery from Grassy Terrain while checking Pokemon such as Heatran. Checks to strong Fire-type Pokemon such as Volcarona and both Mega Charizard formes make good partners, as they are some of the few offensive threats that can safely switch in on this Tapu Bulu set. Spikes support from Ash-Greninja helps Tapu Bulu more easily break through checks and counters. Landorus-T is generally a good partner for Tapu Bulu thanks to their excellent synergy and ability to switch in on each others' checks and counters; however, beware of Grassy Terrain halving the power of Landorus-T's Earthquake.
name: Assault Vest
move 1: Horn Leech
move 2: Wood Hammer
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Nature's Madness / Stone Edge
item: Assault Vest
ability: Grassy Surge
nature: Adamant
evs: 248 HP / 60 Atk / 56 SpD / 144 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Horn Leech is a reliable STAB move that grants additional recovery beyond Grassy Terrain to Tapu Bulu. When powered by an Adamant nature and Grassy Terrain, Horn Leech hits quite hard, having a chance to OHKO Tapu Lele after Stealth Rock. Wood Hammer provides Tapu Bulu with a high-Base Power STAB move to help it break past bulkier Pokemon like Clefable and Toxapex more quickly. Superpower hits common Pokemon resistant to Grass-type moves such as Ferrothorn and Kartana. Nature's Madness allows Tapu Bulu to significantly dent its checks and counters, especially Mega Scizor and Celesteela. Stone Edge is an option to hit Volcarona and Mega Charizard Y, but the loss of momentum against Mega Scizor teams is not ideal.
Set Details
========
The given EVs allow Tapu Bulu to outrun standard Adamant Choice Band Tyranitar and 2HKO Clefable with the combination of Nature's Madness and Wood Hammer while maximizing its overall bulk. Grassy Surge is Tapu Bulu's only ability—it provides Tapu Bulu with recovery and a 50% boost to the power of its Grass-type moves.
Usage Tips
========
Assault Vest Tapu Bulu is a good pivot that switches into dangerous metagame threats such as Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko, Ash-Greninja, Zygarde, and Calm Mind Keldeo. Use Tapu Bulu liberally early-game, as it does not cede momentum like other checks to these Pokemon and is generally difficult to switch into compared to other common Grass-types such as Tangrowth. Tapu Bulu should generally use Nature's Madness if its item has not yet been revealed and the opponent has a good Tapu Bulu check such as Celesteela or Mega Scizor, as Swords Dance and Choice Band Tapu Bulu are very dangerous sets that force switches. If the opponent does not have one of these two Pokemon, Horn Leech is generally safe, as it recovers significant HP even against Pokemon that 2x resist Grass-type moves such as Magearna and Tangrowth and allows Tapu Bulu to gain an additional turn of Grassy Terrain recovery. Double switching is largely unnecessary with Tapu Bulu, as Tapu Bulu generally does not let in dangerous threats for free (especially if its moveset is unrevealed) and prefers to gain an extra turn of Grassy Terrain recovery as opposed to switching.
Team Options
========
Toxapex is one of the best partners for Assault Vest Tapu Bulu, setting up Toxic Spikes to wear down defensive and offensive checks such as Volcarona and Tangrowth while absorbing them for Tapu Bulu. Toxapex greatly appreciates the Grassy Terrain support, allowing it to gain extra passive recovery and easily tank Earthquake from common Pokemon such as Landorus-T. Tyranitar is another good partner for Assault Vest Tapu Bulu, significantly appreciating the Grassy Terrain support. Both Tyranitar and Mega Tyranitar are good partners, and bulky Stealth Rock Mega Tyranitar especially appreciates recovery from Grassy Terrain while checking Pokemon such as Heatran. Checks to strong Fire-type Pokemon such as Volcarona and both Mega Charizard formes make good partners, as they are some of the few offensive threats that can safely switch in on this Tapu Bulu set. Spikes support from Ash-Greninja helps Tapu Bulu more easily break through checks and counters. Landorus-T is generally a good partner for Tapu Bulu thanks to their excellent synergy and ability to switch in on each others' checks and counters; however, beware of Grassy Terrain halving the power of Landorus-T's Earthquake.
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