[OVERVIEW]
Victini's access to several obscenely powerful moves such as V-create, Blue Flare, and Bolt Strike allow it to circumvent its slightly average offenses to function as a powerful wallbreaker. Alongside Bolt Strike and its STAB attacks, Victini also has useful coverage options such as Energy Ball, Dazzling Gleam, and Glaciate to help break past specific threats if need be. Unfortunately, Victini's offensive presence is offset as soon as it uses V-create once, as the move decreases both defenses and Speed, thus making Victini easy to revenge kill. Victini's average Attack stat also leaves it reliant on a Choice Band to do notable damage, which can come at the cost of free turns if Victini is locked onto a move resisted by a foe. Victini also doesn't have particularly great Speed to begin with and is outsped and threatened by common Pokemon in Gengar, Garchomp, and Greninja. Furthermore, Victini has an extremely poor defensive typing, which offsets its otherwise decent bulk and gives it weaknesses to Stealth Rock, Pursuit trappers, and Dugtrio, which are all quite common in the metagame. Because of all these flaws, Victini faces immense competition from other wallbreakers with better offensive presences or typings, such as Alolan Marowak and Mega Medicham.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: V-create
move 2: Bolt Strike
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Zen Headbutt / Trick
item: Choice Band
ability: Victory Star
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
V-create is an obscenely powerful STAB attack when Victini is holding a Choice Band and is capable of hitting anything that doesn't resist it extremely hard. Bolt Strike provides Victini with excellent coverage alongside V-create and allows it to hit Pokemon resistant to Fire, such as Tyranitar, Tapu Fini, and Toxapex, quite hard. U-turn allows Victini to hit Latios, which otherwise walls it, for good damage while also allowing it to pivot out of switch-ins that it wouldn't likely be able to damage much, such as Heatran and Rotom-W. Zen Headbutt is a powerful STAB attack that allows Victini to 2HKO Alolan Marowak, Garchomp, and Mega Charizard X, which all otherwise wall it. Trick is a useful alternative for crippling defensive threats, such as Chansey, Clefable, and Mew, as it can lock them into status moves. Brick Break is another option for hitting Tyranitar and Terrakion for super effective damage, though these threats are already 2HKOed by Bolt Strike anyway.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack gives Victini as much offensive prowess as possible, and maximum Speed investment makes it as fast as possible. A Jolly nature is the the best option for allowing Victini to reach its maximum Speed, while an Adamant nature can be used to help Victini likely OHKO Tapu Fini and Suicune with Bolt Strike after Stealth Rock. It should be noted, however, that with an Adamant nature, Victini is outsped and threatened by Tapu Lele, Kyurem-B, and Mega Medicham. Choice Band is mandatory, as it provides Victini with the fantastic offensive presence that allows it to effectively wallbreak. Victory Star is Victini's only possible ability, but it is useful for 100% accuracy on V-create and Zen Headbutt and better accuracy on Bolt Strike.
Usage Tips
========
Victini's typing leaves it extremely threatened by trappers, such as Dugtrio, Weavile, and Tyranitar. As a result, they all must be removed or weakened so that Victini isn't quickly KOed. Stealth Rock should also be removed before Victini is brought out, as it will take a rather large 25% of its HP upon switching in. Victini should be sure that it's careful when using V-create due to the drops in Defense, Special Defense, and Speed that it will suffer from upon the move's use. Thus, Pokemon resistant to Fire-type attacks should be weakened or removed before Victini starts using V-create. U-turn should be used liberally early-game, as it will allow Victini to do chip damage to its checks, as well as pivot out of would be switch-ins to have them taken care of by a teammate. If Trick is run over Zen Headbutt, Victini should use the move against stall teams, as most Pokemon seen on the archetype hate being locked into moves. Victini will also enjoy the freedom of switching moves. Bolt Strike should be used when predicting Water-types, Tyranitar, or Heatran to switch in, as most Water-types are hit for potential OHKOs by the move while Heatran and Tyranitar are 2HKOed. Zen Headbutt should be used in a similar fashion as Bolt Strike in order to hit Alolan Marowak and Mega Charizard X for 2HKOs on the switch. Zygarde is a particularly threatening Pokemon for Victini to face, as it survives even two Zen Headbutts and can use Victini as setup fodder. As such, Zygarde should be played around with extreme caution so as not to lose a match due to Victini giving up free turns. Switching out when predicting Zygarde to switch in is difficult, though it is the most effective way to keep Zygarde from being given a setup opportunity.
Team Options
========
Victini requires support in the form of entry hazard removal from Zapdos, Excadrill, and Skarmory, as without it, Victini will take heavy damage from all entry hazards. Pursuit trappers like Weavile, Tyranitar, and Mega Aerodactyl all pose quite a threat to Victini, so it's best that Pokemon capable of taking care of these threats, such as Keldeo, Terrakion, and Tapu Fini, which can also provide Defog support, are on Victini's team. Checks to Garchomp and Zygarde, such as Clefable, Tapu Lele, and Mamoswine, are extremely helpful, as Victini has a fair amount of difficulty taking care of the aforementioned threats. Entry hazard support from the likes of Landorus-T, Jirachi, and Skarmory is helpful to Victini for helping secure certain KOs, such as on Salamence with V-create or Tapu Fini with Bolt Strike. Grass-types such as Serperior, Tapu Bulu, and Tangrowth are helpful partners, as they can help weaken and switch into the Ground- and Water-types that threaten Victini. Dugtrio is a particularly helpful partner thanks to Arena Trap allowing it to remove Heatran and Tyranitar, which both reliably check Victini and keep it from spamming V-create. Lastly, slow pivot support from the likes of Magnezone, Mega Scizor, and bulky Zapdos is quite useful, as Victini wants to remain at full health throughout a match and should thus refrain from switching into any attacks.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Victini has an expansive offensive movepool, featuring good options such as Glaciate, Blue Flare, Thunder, Energy Ball, Shadow Ball. Victini can use said movepool to function as either a mixed or special attacker with an Expert Belt or Choice Specs, though it usually breaks much more of the metagame when functioning as a physical wallbreaker. Choice Scarf is an option for circumventing Victini's average Speed, though this isn't preferred due to the loss in power Victini will suffer from, as well as the drop in Speed Victini will suffer from V-create that will cancel out its Choice Scarf boost. Trick Room is an option for taking advantage of V-create's Speed drops; however, Victini is often too fast to make use of Trick Room and is more effective as a moderately fast wallbreaker anyway.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Dragon-types**: Zygarde resists V-create, is immune to Bolt Strike, and takes a small amount of damage from Zen Headbutt. Thus, it can safely switch into Victini and either use it as setup fodder or KO it with Thousand Arrows. Garchomp and Mega Charizard X can somewhat reliably check Victini for similar reasons, but both are 2HKOed by Zen Headbutt. Latios is also troublesome due to its resistances to Bolt Stike and Victini's STAB attacks, which allows it to easily pick Victini off with Draco Meteor.
**Bulky Water-types**: Water-types such as Toxapex, Tapu Fini, Mega Slowbro, and Suicune can all avoid the OHKO from Victini's Bolt Strike if Stealth Rock isn't down and proceed to threaten Victini with super effective STAB attacks.
**Ground-types**: Most of OU's Ground-type Pokemon are bulky enough to tank an attack from Victini and OHKO it with super effective STAB attacks. Examples include Landorus-T, which lowers Victini's attack with Intimidate, Mega Swampert, Quagsire, and Gastrodon. Dugtrio and Choice Scarf Excadrill are particularly troublesome, as they both outpace and OHKO Victini before it can attack.
**Pursuit Trappers**: Although not extremely common, Pursuit trappers such as Weavile, Tyranitar, and Alolan Muk can all trap and KO Victini after it's used V-create, due to the decrease in both Speed and bulk after using the move.
**Faster Pokemon**: Due to Victini's average Speed, it is outsped and threatened by common Pokemon in Greninja, Tapu Koko, Nihilego, and Kingdra in rain.
**Heatran**: Heatran is immune to V-create by virtue of Flash Fire and resists Zen Headbutt, which forces Victini to catch it on the switch with Bolt Strike if it has any hope of 2HKOing.
Victini's access to several obscenely powerful moves such as V-create, Blue Flare, and Bolt Strike allow it to circumvent its slightly average offenses to function as a powerful wallbreaker. Alongside Bolt Strike and its STAB attacks, Victini also has useful coverage options such as Energy Ball, Dazzling Gleam, and Glaciate to help break past specific threats if need be. Unfortunately, Victini's offensive presence is offset as soon as it uses V-create once, as the move decreases both defenses and Speed, thus making Victini easy to revenge kill. Victini's average Attack stat also leaves it reliant on a Choice Band to do notable damage, which can come at the cost of free turns if Victini is locked onto a move resisted by a foe. Victini also doesn't have particularly great Speed to begin with and is outsped and threatened by common Pokemon in Gengar, Garchomp, and Greninja. Furthermore, Victini has an extremely poor defensive typing, which offsets its otherwise decent bulk and gives it weaknesses to Stealth Rock, Pursuit trappers, and Dugtrio, which are all quite common in the metagame. Because of all these flaws, Victini faces immense competition from other wallbreakers with better offensive presences or typings, such as Alolan Marowak and Mega Medicham.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: V-create
move 2: Bolt Strike
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Zen Headbutt / Trick
item: Choice Band
ability: Victory Star
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
V-create is an obscenely powerful STAB attack when Victini is holding a Choice Band and is capable of hitting anything that doesn't resist it extremely hard. Bolt Strike provides Victini with excellent coverage alongside V-create and allows it to hit Pokemon resistant to Fire, such as Tyranitar, Tapu Fini, and Toxapex, quite hard. U-turn allows Victini to hit Latios, which otherwise walls it, for good damage while also allowing it to pivot out of switch-ins that it wouldn't likely be able to damage much, such as Heatran and Rotom-W. Zen Headbutt is a powerful STAB attack that allows Victini to 2HKO Alolan Marowak, Garchomp, and Mega Charizard X, which all otherwise wall it. Trick is a useful alternative for crippling defensive threats, such as Chansey, Clefable, and Mew, as it can lock them into status moves. Brick Break is another option for hitting Tyranitar and Terrakion for super effective damage, though these threats are already 2HKOed by Bolt Strike anyway.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack gives Victini as much offensive prowess as possible, and maximum Speed investment makes it as fast as possible. A Jolly nature is the the best option for allowing Victini to reach its maximum Speed, while an Adamant nature can be used to help Victini likely OHKO Tapu Fini and Suicune with Bolt Strike after Stealth Rock. It should be noted, however, that with an Adamant nature, Victini is outsped and threatened by Tapu Lele, Kyurem-B, and Mega Medicham. Choice Band is mandatory, as it provides Victini with the fantastic offensive presence that allows it to effectively wallbreak. Victory Star is Victini's only possible ability, but it is useful for 100% accuracy on V-create and Zen Headbutt and better accuracy on Bolt Strike.
Usage Tips
========
Victini's typing leaves it extremely threatened by trappers, such as Dugtrio, Weavile, and Tyranitar. As a result, they all must be removed or weakened so that Victini isn't quickly KOed. Stealth Rock should also be removed before Victini is brought out, as it will take a rather large 25% of its HP upon switching in. Victini should be sure that it's careful when using V-create due to the drops in Defense, Special Defense, and Speed that it will suffer from upon the move's use. Thus, Pokemon resistant to Fire-type attacks should be weakened or removed before Victini starts using V-create. U-turn should be used liberally early-game, as it will allow Victini to do chip damage to its checks, as well as pivot out of would be switch-ins to have them taken care of by a teammate. If Trick is run over Zen Headbutt, Victini should use the move against stall teams, as most Pokemon seen on the archetype hate being locked into moves. Victini will also enjoy the freedom of switching moves. Bolt Strike should be used when predicting Water-types, Tyranitar, or Heatran to switch in, as most Water-types are hit for potential OHKOs by the move while Heatran and Tyranitar are 2HKOed. Zen Headbutt should be used in a similar fashion as Bolt Strike in order to hit Alolan Marowak and Mega Charizard X for 2HKOs on the switch. Zygarde is a particularly threatening Pokemon for Victini to face, as it survives even two Zen Headbutts and can use Victini as setup fodder. As such, Zygarde should be played around with extreme caution so as not to lose a match due to Victini giving up free turns. Switching out when predicting Zygarde to switch in is difficult, though it is the most effective way to keep Zygarde from being given a setup opportunity.
Team Options
========
Victini requires support in the form of entry hazard removal from Zapdos, Excadrill, and Skarmory, as without it, Victini will take heavy damage from all entry hazards. Pursuit trappers like Weavile, Tyranitar, and Mega Aerodactyl all pose quite a threat to Victini, so it's best that Pokemon capable of taking care of these threats, such as Keldeo, Terrakion, and Tapu Fini, which can also provide Defog support, are on Victini's team. Checks to Garchomp and Zygarde, such as Clefable, Tapu Lele, and Mamoswine, are extremely helpful, as Victini has a fair amount of difficulty taking care of the aforementioned threats. Entry hazard support from the likes of Landorus-T, Jirachi, and Skarmory is helpful to Victini for helping secure certain KOs, such as on Salamence with V-create or Tapu Fini with Bolt Strike. Grass-types such as Serperior, Tapu Bulu, and Tangrowth are helpful partners, as they can help weaken and switch into the Ground- and Water-types that threaten Victini. Dugtrio is a particularly helpful partner thanks to Arena Trap allowing it to remove Heatran and Tyranitar, which both reliably check Victini and keep it from spamming V-create. Lastly, slow pivot support from the likes of Magnezone, Mega Scizor, and bulky Zapdos is quite useful, as Victini wants to remain at full health throughout a match and should thus refrain from switching into any attacks.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Victini has an expansive offensive movepool, featuring good options such as Glaciate, Blue Flare, Thunder, Energy Ball, Shadow Ball. Victini can use said movepool to function as either a mixed or special attacker with an Expert Belt or Choice Specs, though it usually breaks much more of the metagame when functioning as a physical wallbreaker. Choice Scarf is an option for circumventing Victini's average Speed, though this isn't preferred due to the loss in power Victini will suffer from, as well as the drop in Speed Victini will suffer from V-create that will cancel out its Choice Scarf boost. Trick Room is an option for taking advantage of V-create's Speed drops; however, Victini is often too fast to make use of Trick Room and is more effective as a moderately fast wallbreaker anyway.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Dragon-types**: Zygarde resists V-create, is immune to Bolt Strike, and takes a small amount of damage from Zen Headbutt. Thus, it can safely switch into Victini and either use it as setup fodder or KO it with Thousand Arrows. Garchomp and Mega Charizard X can somewhat reliably check Victini for similar reasons, but both are 2HKOed by Zen Headbutt. Latios is also troublesome due to its resistances to Bolt Stike and Victini's STAB attacks, which allows it to easily pick Victini off with Draco Meteor.
**Bulky Water-types**: Water-types such as Toxapex, Tapu Fini, Mega Slowbro, and Suicune can all avoid the OHKO from Victini's Bolt Strike if Stealth Rock isn't down and proceed to threaten Victini with super effective STAB attacks.
**Ground-types**: Most of OU's Ground-type Pokemon are bulky enough to tank an attack from Victini and OHKO it with super effective STAB attacks. Examples include Landorus-T, which lowers Victini's attack with Intimidate, Mega Swampert, Quagsire, and Gastrodon. Dugtrio and Choice Scarf Excadrill are particularly troublesome, as they both outpace and OHKO Victini before it can attack.
**Pursuit Trappers**: Although not extremely common, Pursuit trappers such as Weavile, Tyranitar, and Alolan Muk can all trap and KO Victini after it's used V-create, due to the decrease in both Speed and bulk after using the move.
**Faster Pokemon**: Due to Victini's average Speed, it is outsped and threatened by common Pokemon in Greninja, Tapu Koko, Nihilego, and Kingdra in rain.
**Heatran**: Heatran is immune to V-create by virtue of Flash Fire and resists Zen Headbutt, which forces Victini to catch it on the switch with Bolt Strike if it has any hope of 2HKOing.
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