OU Victini

Hilomilo

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[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.
 
Last edited:

Eclipse

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I'm just looking through these deader threads to get the ball rolling on some of them. Having used quite a bit of Victini here and there recently, I think you're greatly underselling the utility of special sets, mainly this set which I have found really good:

Victini @ Choice Specs
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blue Flare
- Thunder
- Glaciate
- Focus Blast / U-turn

This set preys upon a lot of meta trends, such as the rise of AV Tangrowth, Zygarde, while still acting as a neat offensive check to Mega Medicham, non-Shadow Ball Lele, among other threats. The set is simple; Blue Flare fries even resists such as Alolan Wak, which gets 2HKO'd:

252 SpA Choice Specs Victini Blue Flare vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Marowak-Alola: 159-187 (60.9 - 71.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Even though it's not V-Create, don't underestimate the power of a STAB 130 BP move with no drawbacks unlike V-Create which also has issues wearing itself down on Rocky Helm Landorus, which is the main problem I have when running BandTini. Thunder is the best way to hit Fini, Glaciate OHKOes Band Zygarde, and last slot is either Focus Blast for Tran and the somewhat rare Tyranitar or U-turn for solid momentum; Trick is also completely usable too. I find this set far more effective in the current meta than Band. I'll wait for QC to comment on this, but either this or MixTini from last gen IMO are far superior options to BandTini in this meta, but I'd like to just get these analyses off of their feet (and off of the 2nd page) so we can get em ready for upload. :)
 

PK Gaming

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I think Expert Belt probably warrants mentioning in Set Details or OO. Bluffing a choice set is great, though V-create ends up being much weaker as a result. Aside from that, this is great.

1/3

Very thorough
 

Martin

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On the topic of EBelt, Charcoal serves a similar purpose but exchanges damage on SE coverage for a little more consistency whilst spamming V-Create, which is what you'll be doing w/ Tini most of the time anyway, so it prolly deserves a mention somewhere too
 
mention shed shell cause duggy is broken everywhere

also resisted v-create hits harder than neutral zen headbutt, so i don't see the point of running zen headbutt
252 Atk Choice Band Victini V-create vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Zygarde: 156-183 (43.6 - 51.2%) -- 8.2% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Victini Zen Headbutt vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Zygarde: 139-165 (38.9 - 46.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
convince me otherwise or drop zen headbutt altogether imo.
 

Martin

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mention shed shell cause duggy is broken everywhere

also resisted v-create hits harder than neutral zen headbutt, so i don't see the point of running zen headbutt
252 Atk Choice Band Victini V-create vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Zygarde: 156-183 (43.6 - 51.2%) -- 8.2% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Victini Zen Headbutt vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Zygarde: 139-165 (38.9 - 46.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
convince me otherwise or drop zen headbutt altogether imo.
Thr lack of a speed drop can be useful at times; to take the Zyagrde example you're using, Victini can outrun on the second turn and KO if Zygarde is chipped prior (or it can be weakened into range of priority/Scarf Scald from Keld/whatever if it isn't) whereas it outruns Victini on the second turn if it used V-Create and either forces it out or nails it with a super effective TArrows, which means that Zen is dealing a greater net damage in that scenario.
 

Gary

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Mention Victini's massive amount of competition from other breakers in the overview.

* Trick is useful for crippling defensive threats and special attackers, as it locks them onto either status moves or unboosted special attacks.
Mention some examples.

Mention Dugtrio in team options as a teammate. It can trap Heatran and T-tar, which are both huge nuisances to Victini and keep it from being able to spam V-Create.

* Victini has an expansive offensive movepool, consisting of good options in Glaciate, Blue Flare, Thunder, Energy Ball, Shadow Ball, and more. Victini can use said movepool to function as either a mixed or special attacker with an Expert Belt, though it usually breaks much more of the metagame when functioning as a physical wallbreaker.
*Choice Specs
* Choice Scarf is an option for circumventing Victini's problem with its 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 after V-Create that will mitigate its Choice Scarf boost.
* Trick Room is an option for abusing V-Create's Speed drops. However, Victini is often too fast to make use of Trick Room nonetheless, and is more effective as a moderately fast wallbreaker anyway.
* Shed Shell is an option for allowing Victini to switch out of Dugtrio, but usually comes at the cost of invaluable power provided by Choice Band.

Checks and Counters
===================
**Zygarde**: Zygarde resists V-Create, is immune to Bolt Strike, and takes a small amount of damage from Zen Headbutt. As such, 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 are both 2HKOed by Zen Headbutt.

**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, and Gastrodon. Dugtrio and Choice Scarf Excadrill are particularly troublesome, as they both outpace and OHKO Victini before it can attack. Add Mega Swampert and Quagsire as well.

**Pursuit trappers**: Although not extremely common, Pursuit trappers such as Weavile, Bisharp, and Tyranitar 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.

Add Heatran in here. It is immune to V-create and resists Zen Headbutt, so it forces Victini to catch it on the switch with Bolt Strike or Brick Break.


QC 2/3
 

p2

Banned deucer.
[OVERVIEW]

* Victini's decent 100/100 offenses and 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 threats in Gengar, Garchomp, and Greninja.
* Lastly, Victini has an extremely poor defensive typing, which offsets its otherwise decent 100/100/100 bulk and gives it weaknesses to Stealth Rock and the tier's common Ground-, Dark-, and Water-type attacks.
mention pursuit and duggy too since they're pretty much surefire ways to remove victini from play


[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 resistant it extremely hard.
* Bolt Strike provides Victini with excellent coverage alongside V-Create, and allows it to hit Pokemon resistant to Fire such as Toxapex, Tyranitar, and Manaphy 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 or 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 useful for crippling defensive threats and special attackers, as it locks them onto either status moves or unboosted special attacks.
* Brick Break is another option for hitting Heatran, Tyranitar, and Terrrakion for super effective damage, though these threats are already hit for 2HKOs by Bolt Strike anyway.

Set Details
========

* Maximum Attack gives Victini as much offensive prowess as possible, while 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, Timid Manaphy, and Kyurem-B. replace manaphy with megacham.
* 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 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, all of the aforementioned threats 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 into a field with Stealth Rock up.
* 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. As such, Pokemon resistant to Fire-type attacks should be weakened or removed before Victini starts using V-Create.
* U-turn should be used liberally in the 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 onto moves. Victini will also enjoy the freedom of switching moves.
* Bolt Strike should be used when predicting the switch-ins of Water-types, Tyranitar, and Heatran, 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 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 option.

Team Options
========

* Victini requires support in the form of entry hazard removal, as without it, it will take heavy damage from all entry hazards. Zapdos, Excadrill, and Skarmory are all capable of supporting Victini with either Rapid Spin or Defog.
* Pursuit trappers like Weavile, Tyranitar, and Mega Aerodactyl all pose quite the threat on 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 are extremely helpful, as Victini has a fair amount of difficulty taking care of the aforementioned threats. Examples include Clefable, Tapu Lele, and Mamoswine.
* Entry hazard support from the likes of Landorus-T, Jirachi, and Skarmory is helpful to Victini for helping secure certain KOes, such as on Salamence with V-Create or Tapu Fini with Bolt Strike.
* Grass-types are helpful partners, as they can help weaken and switch into the Ground- and Water-types that threaten Victini. Examples include Serperior, Tapu Bulu, and Tangrowth.
* 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, consisting of good options in Glaciate, Blue Flare, Thunder, Energy Ball, Shadow Ball, and more. Victini can use said movepool to function as either a mixed or special attacker with an Expert Belt, though it usually breaks much more of the metagame when functioning as a physical wallbreaker. specs can work too
* Choice Scarf is an option for circumventing Victini's problem with its 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 after V-Create that will mitigate its Choice Scarf boost.
* Trick Room is an option for abusing V-Create's Speed drops. However, Victini is often too fast to make use of Trick Room nonetheless, and is more effective as a moderately fast wallbreaker anyway.
* Shed Shell is an option for allowing Victini to switch out of Dugtrio, but usually comes at the cost of invaluable power provided by Choice Band.

Checks and Counters
===================
**Zygarde**: Zygarde resists V-Create, is immune to Bolt Strike, and takes a small amount of damage from Zen Headbutt. As such, 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 are both 2HKOed by Zen Headbutt. why not change this section to dragon-types and add more things like latios which can usually draco vs tini easily

**Bulky Water-types**: Water-types such as Toxapex, Tapu Fini, 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, 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, Bisharp, and Tyranitar 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. bisharp is really bad as a pursuit trapper, i would replace it with something more relevant like alola muk

**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.
2/3

fuck i didnt know this was already checked consider this 2.5/3 and write this up whenever you can
 
Last edited:

lotiasite

undedgy
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hi, GP 1/2

add remove comments

[OVERVIEW]

Victini's decent 100/100 offenses and (its decent offenses dont allow it to circumvent its slightly average offenses) access to several obscenely powerful moves, (RC) 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, (RC) (dependent clause) 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 100/100/100 (stats are listed at the top of the page and can be seen while reading this) 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, (RC) and is capable of hitting anything that doesn't resistant it extremely hard. Bolt Strike provides Victini with excellent coverage alongside V-create, (RC) 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, (RC) while also allowing it to pivot out of switch-ins that it wouldn't likely be able to damage much, such as Heatran or 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 useful for crippling defensive threats, such as Chansey, Clefable, and Mew, as it can locks them onto into status moves. Brick Break is another option for hitting Heatran, Tyranitar, and Terrrakion for super effective damage, though these threats are already hit for 2HKOs 2HKOed by Bolt Strike anyway.

Set Details
========

Maximum Attack gives Victini as much offensive prowess as possible, while 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, (AC) 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, all of the aforementioned threats 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 into a field with Stealth Rock up (implied). 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. As such, Pokemon resistant to Fire-type attacks should be weakened or removed before Victini starts using V-create. U-turn should be used liberally in the 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 onto into moves. Victini will also enjoy the freedom of switching moves. Bolt Strike should be used when predicting the switch-ins of Water-types, Tyranitar, and 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 option opportunity.

Team Options
========

Victini requires support in the form of entry hazard removal from Zapdos, Excadrill, and Skarmory, as without it, it Victini will take heavy damage from all entry hazards. Zapdos, Excadrill, and Skarmory are all capable of supporting Victini with either Rapid Spin or Defog. Pursuit trappers like Weavile, Tyranitar, and Mega Aerodactyl all pose quite the threat on 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. Examples include Clefable, Tapu Lele, and Mamoswine. Entry hazard support from the likes of Landorus-T, Jirachi, and Skarmory is helpful to Victini for helping secure certain KOes, 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. Examples include Serperior, Tapu Bulu, and Tangrowth. Dugtrio is a particularly helpful partner thanks to Arena Trap, which allows 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, consisting of good options in Glaciate, Blue Flare, Thunder, Energy Ball, Shadow Ball, and more. 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 problem with its 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 after V-create that will mitigate cancel out (mitigate generally means making something bad a bit better) its Choice Scarf boost. Trick Room is an option for abusing V-create's Speed drops; however, Victini is often too fast to make use of Trick Room nonetheless, and is more effective as a moderately fast wallbreaker anyway.

Checks and Counters
===================
(add line break)
**Dragon-types**: Zygarde resists V-create, is immune to Bolt Strike, and takes a small amount of damage from Zen Headbutt. As such, 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 are both are 2HKOed by Zen Headbutt. Latios is also troublesome due to its resistances to Bolt Stike and Victini's STAB attacks, which allows for 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 (up? not sure), (RC) 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.

very well written, thanks :)
also first official gp check ^_^
 
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Lumari

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[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 Heatran, Tyranitar, and Terrakion for super effective damage, though these threats are already 2HKOed by Bolt Strike anyway. (Heatran is listed as a Pokemon that Victini "wouldn't likely be able to damage much" though, that might need rewording)

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, all of the aforementioned threats 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. As such, Thus, Pokemon resistant to Fire-type attacks should be weakened or removed before Victini starts using V-create. U-turn should be used liberally in the early-game, (AH) 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 (RC) 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, consisting of featuring good options in such as Glaciate, Blue Flare, Thunder, Energy Ball, Shadow Ball, and more. 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 abusing 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. As such, 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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