Slip
dancing to alarm bells
[OVERVIEW]
- Tapu Bulu is a decent Pokemon that can fill an offensive or defensive role which gives it good versatility for bulkier teams. Its general bulk and hard hitting moves allows Tapu Bulu to be a big threat to popular breakers like Zygarde-10% or Azumarill.
- The typing of Tapu Bulu also hinders it as the meta is Steel-type dominant with the most common breaker, Cobalion, being able to muscle pass it without needing a Steel-type move. Other than Zygarde-10%, Tapu Bulu also has trouble walling other Dragon-types in the tier due to also being Grass-type. Hydreigon, Salamence, and Noivern can all threaten it with Flamethrower while the latter two also usually run Hurricane as well making Tapu Bulu's Fairy-type a lot harder to use in the way it wants to defensively.
- It has decent coverage moves that can threaten common switch ins on offensive sets. Close Combat hits Cobalion for super-effective damage and Stone Edge can make checks like Crobat or Moltres have a harder time switching in. Due to Tapu Bulu's lackluster speed in the tier, these kind of sets are mostly restricted to an offensive Choice Scarf set which can make Tapu Bulu very transparent once the set is revealed.
- A lot of prominent Steel-types have a dual-typing which allows them to switch into Tapu Bulu easier. Skarmory and Scizor are great examples of this as they get free turns to set up while also being able to recover from any damage Tapu Bulu gives them.
- Tapu Bulu is an uncommon pick for teams as it cannot break a lot of common defensive Pokemon. It is used in more niche scenarios for teams that prefer to have Grassy Terrain to support Ground-type weak team members while also not being able to fit a defensive Pokemon with Regenerator like Amoonguss or Tangrowth on the team.
[SET 1]
name: Scarf Bulu
move 1: Horn Leech
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Close Combat
move 4: Wood Hammer
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Grassy Surge
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET 1 COMMENTS]
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- Stone Edge is one of its best coverage moves as it can threaten flying types like Mandibuzz and Salamence while also hitting Grass-type Pokemon like Amoonguss and Tangrowth for neutral damage.
- Close Combat is another great coverage move that can prevent Cobalion, Hydreigon, or Zarude from switching in freely. Close Combat is also a good neutral coverage for the tier.
- Wood Hammer is used as a strong STAB for extra damage if needed. This can guarantee KO's on Pokemon like max HP Excadrill or Conkeldurr.
- Choice Scarf puts Tapu Bulu's speed at 409 which out-speeds a lot of high speed Pokemon in the tier like Keldeo, Lycanroc-Dusk, and Azelf. It also out-speeds Pokemon like Adamant Gyarados at a +1 speed boost, allowing Tapu Bulu to prevent sweeps.
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- Steel-types like Registeel and Excadrill are good partners for Tapu-Bulu as they cover it's Flying weakness while Tapu Bulu also helping them take on opposing Ground-type Pokemon with Grassy Terrain. This combination allows Steel-types to have an easier time setting up as well.
- Bulky Grass-types like Amoonguss and Tangrowth can give Tapu Bulu a very hard time due to their coverage with Sludge Bomb. Slowbro-Galar is an excellent choice as a partner to check these Grass-type Pokemon as it can take all of their moves very easily while threatening them out. Other options involve Flying-types like Celesteela, but they do not get to benefit from Grassy Terrain.
- Tapu Bulu has a hard time dealing with Fire-types like Moltres and Chandelure while also suffering from Fire-type coverage in common Dragon-types like Salamence and Noivern. Rock-type Pokemon like Nihilego can tank and threaten out these threats along with other general special walls like Chansey who could then teleport into a teams breaker after taking the hit.
[SET 2]
name: Defensive Bulu
move 1: Horn Leech
move 2: Nature's Madness
move 3: Toxic
move 4: Synthesis
item: Heavy-Duty Boots
ability: Grassy Surge
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 Spe
[SET 2 COMMENTS]
Paragraph 1
- Nature's Madness is used to negate recovery from bulky walls while also limiting switch-ins for offensive Pokemon that cannot heal themselves.
- Toxic is used to help put more pressure on walls and set-up Pokemon as the amount of time they can stay in and soak or do damage is put on a timer. This breathing room can be crucial for teams that have weaker match-ups versus certain Pokemon. (Probably filler??)
- Heavy-Duty Boots are used to ignore hazards and to keep Tapu Bulu healthy enough to take hits from breaker Pokemon consistently.
- 136 Speed is to outspeed max speed, modest primarina while 252 HP and 120 Def are used to optimally max out it's bulk.
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- Tapu Bulu likes to give chip and Grassy Terrain support to offensive Pokemon that can take hits better from it. Cobalion is an excellent partner as it can trade better versus ground types like Excadrill and Diggersby while also setting up easier against bulkier ground types like Hippowdon. Cobalion also gives Grass-type checks to Tapu Bulu hard times as Tangrowth usually doesn't have enough physical defense investment to handle a boosted Cobalion and Amoonguss doesn't have the coverage moves to threaten Cobalion at all.
- Flying types like Togekiss or Celesteela plague defensive Tapu Bulu. Offensive pivots like Raikou or defensive water types like Slowking can be good partners in order to wall or threaten them out.
- Poison-types like Nihelego or Nidoking can threaten out Tapu Bulu, even if they don't want to come in and take a Horn Leech. Offensive Psychic-type Pokemon like Azelf or bulky Ground-types like Swampert can take care of these threats with Psyshock and High-Horsepower respectively.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
- Zen Headbutt is a coverage move that can be used on the Scarf Bulu set to hit Amoonguss, Conkeldurr, and Crobat harder, but is generally outclassed by the combination of Wood Hammer and Stone Edge which has a wider range of coverage while still doing enough damage to deal with most of the tier.
- Taunt can be ran on the Defensive Bulu set to stop recovery, status spread, and slow setup sweepers, but is generally outclassed by Nature's Madness, Toxic, and Synthesis as the combination is more reliable to help a team.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Flying-types**: Fast Flying-types like Crobat heavily threaten the defensive Tapu Bulu set while bulkier Flying-Types like Salamence and Mandibuzz handle the scarf set extremely well. Crobat does not have to worry about Toxic, can roost off Nature's Madness damage, and can threaten Tapu Bulu with Brave Bird in order to completely neutralize it's set. Salamence and Mandibuzz can easily take most of Choice Scarf Tapu Bulu's attacks while barely being threatened by Stone Edge.
**Fire-types**: Fire-types like Moltres and Rotom-Heat offensively check Tapu Bulu as their high damaging moves can make it look like paper. Fire-types are more susceptible to Stone Edge coverage from the scarf set and toxic from the defensive set, but they can also gain a lot more openings on Tapu Bulu to come in and become big problems for teams.
**Steel-types**: Bulky Steel-types like Celesteela and Scizor completely wall both Tapu Bulu sets while grounded Steel-types like Cobalion wall defensive Tapu Bulu while also benefiting from Grassy Terrain. Tapu Bulu cannot do meaningful damage Celesteela and Scizor while also getting threatened out by their coverage moves. Scizor also threatens boosting it's Attack stat to +6 with Swords Dance on Tapu Bulu which will turn it into a proficient sweeper in most match ups.
**Bulky Grass-types and Poison-types**: Bulky Grass-types like Tangrowth and Amoonguss wall Tapu Bulu's sets while also threatening it with Sludge Bomb. Poison-types like Slowbro-Galar also threaten to OHKO Tapu Bulu while not having to fear Toxic from the defensive set.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Slip, 566907]]
- Quality checked by: [[avarice, 346653], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
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