Tangela (NU Revamp)

Oglemi

Borf
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http://www.smogon.com/rs/pokemon/tangela

[Overview]

Not only is Tangela a very threatening offensive Pokemon in the tier, it's also one of the better defensive stalwarts available, giving it a nice pedestal to stand on over many other similar choices. Offensively, Tangela and Bellossom can be considered rivals somewhat; while Tangela boasts slightly higher Speed and power and much better physical bulk to make end-game sweeping easier, Bellossom has much, much better special bulk to take better advantage of its typing against major metagame threats like Huntail and is therefore easier to fit on teams. Defensively, Tangela has few rivals when it comes to physical bulk; it's almost unmatched in its ability to wall Rock-types (outside of not resisting Explosion), and it easily checks the likes of other huge physical threats like Hitmonchan and Raticate. Regardless of whether Tangela is running an offensive or defensive set, Sleep Powder will be its ace in the hole, crippling many Pokemon in the tier. All in all, Tangela holds a very secure spot as one of the top Pokemon in the metagame.

[SET]
name: Sunny Day Sweeper
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Sleep Powder / Morning Sun
move 3: Solar Beam
move 4: Hidden Power Fire
item: Leftovers
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This set is best brought out in the end-game, when most of the opponent's specially defensive Pokemon have been worn down and most users of Ice- and Fire-type attacks have been removed. Sleep Powder is what makes this set as dangerous as it is, completely invalidating a Pokemon late in the game and opening up an opportunity for Tangela to set up Sunny Day. From there, Solar Beam will hit like a wrecking ball, with Hidden Power Fire complementing it almost perfectly. It should be mentioned that Morning Sun is a viable option in the second moveslot to make the most of Tangela's bulk and sustain its sweep, especially if you already have a sleep inducer elsewhere on your team.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

There are many different viable EV spreads to consider when using Tangela. Maximum Speed with a Timid nature is recommended, as the base 50 and base 60 Speed tiers are heavily contested, and winning the Speed tie outside of sun could be game-changing. With maximum Speed and a Modest nature, Tangela will outrun Timid Bellossom by one point, allowing Tangela to keep its power level while allowing it the possibility to beat Bellossom one-on-one if the latter is partially damaged beforehand. However, with a Modest nature, Tangela is left outsped by Jolly Pupitar by two points and will be outsped by other dangerous neutral-nature base 65 Speed Pokemon like Flareon and Chimecho. Therefore, Timid is the preferred nature, giving Tangela the ability to outspeed these threats as well as Pokemon with base 70 Speed and a neutral nature like Castform along with giving Tangela the best possible chance of beating other Tangela under the sun. A bulkier spread is also efficient and pairs best with Morning Sun. Just 24 Speed EVs with a Modest nature are needed to outpace the entire unboosted tier under the sun; the remaining EVs should be put into HP to give Tangela some bulk to ease setup. It's important to keep in the mind, though, that Tangela will have almost no chance of beating Flareon regardless of EV spread outside of crippling it with Sleep Powder, and Tangela can only hope to beat Bellossom that have taken upwards of 25% damage; Tangela will otherwise fail to KO with Hidden Power Fire under the sun and Bellossom will always have a guaranteed OHKO back.

There's very little that can stand in Tangela's path once the sun is up, but there are a few immediate threats that must be taken care of before successfully sweeping with Tangela, most notably including Flareon and Torkoal. Both avoid even a 4HKO from Tangela's attacks and easily OHKO in return with Flamethrower, meaning even if they are hit by Sleep Powder at full health, Tangela has almost no chance of KOing them before they wake up. These two make Diglett a very valuable teammate to employ to ensure they are removed before attempting to sweep with Tangela, but Diglett can be pretty hard to use. Other choices include Rock-types like Sudowoodo, Water-types like Dewgong, and other Pokemon to lure them in and cripple them with Toxic. Specially defensive Swalot completely walls this set, it too avoiding a 4HKO from any of Tangela's moves and easily KOing back with either Sludge Bomb or Ice Beam. Diglett again comes in handy here for taking it out, while other Ground-types like Graveler or a Psychic-type like Chimecho can be used to try to knock it out before bringing out Tangela. Finally, specially defensive Kecleon and Lickitung are only 3HKOed by Tangela's attacks, making a physically inclined partner like Hitmonchan a valuable teammate to take them out ahead of time.

Spikes support will ensure that Tangela will come out on top against a myriad of other Pokemon in the tier, including Hitmonchan, Bellossom, and Venomoth, ensuring an OHKO on the latter after a layer of Spikes and getting super close after two layers on the former two. Other Pokemon that need to be weakened before bringing out Tangela include Haunter, Chimecho, Murkrow, and Pidgeot, all of which can tank any one of Tangela's moves and all of which but Pidgeot can OHKO back after a layer of Spikes.

[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Stun Spore / Toxic
move 3: Giga Drain / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Leech Seed / Morning Sun
item: Leftovers
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

65/115 physical bulk is amazing on a Pokemon that resists Earthquake in the NU tier, and Tangela puts that bulk to use with this set. Between Giga Drain and Leech Seed, Tangela will usually be getting enough health back to not warrant the use of Morning Sun, but the instant recovery is useful in certain situations. Double status is a good strategy to use with Tangela in order to cripple as much of the opponent's team as possible. Stun Spore is best used if your team needs Tangela to be able to cripple offensive Pokemon like Arbok, Vigoroth, and Murkrow. Toxic is better on teams with multiple RestTalk or Protect users to stall for Toxic damage and better allow Tangela to help the team come out on top against stall cores of Sableye, Flareon, and Dewgong.

Giga Drain is the recommended STAB move thanks to its passive healing; however, its PP is really low, meaning Hidden Power Grass is a good alternative that has a bonus of being slightly stronger. Leech Seed is the main option in the last slot to increase Tangela's overall longevity and spread more residual damage around the opposite team. Toxic can be used here as well, which makes Tangela much less susceptible to Grass-types save for Roselia.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

There's not much point to running Special Defense EVs, as Bellossom just does a specially defensive set a million times better. Some Speed can be run to allow Tangela to hit some other defensive Pokemon with Sleep Powder before they can status Tangela in return, though Tangela typically wants maximum Defense to tank attacks from the likes of Hitmonchan better. Hidden Power Fire can be used in the last slot with Giga Drain to ward off Grass-, Bug-, and Steel-types looking for an easy switch into Tangela. Tangela also has access to Reflect, which can make it nigh impregnable physically and possibly allow Tangela to turn the tides against a Flying-type switch-in such as Murkrow. Hidden Power Ice is a good offensive option if going this route to turn Tangela into a lure to open a sweep for something weak to Flying-types such as Hitmonchan. Finally, Protect is a decent option to include somewhere on this set to allow Tangela to scout the opponent's attacks, rack up passive damage, and stall for more Leftovers and Leech Seed recovery.

Swalot completely mangles this set thanks to its huge Special Defense, resistance to Grass, and ability in Liquid Ooze, which turns Leech Seed into a hindrance for Tangela and its teammates. This makes Ground-types like Piloswine good teammates to have to switch into Swalot and other Poison-types to threaten them out with a STAB Earthquake. Chimecho is also a good teammate to have for this reason, and it also helps immensely with combating opposing Roselia, which can otherwise switch into this set without fear and shrug off any status with Natural Cure.

In general, defensive Tangela should be used as part of a defensive core and thus needs a specially defensive teammate to work effectively for the team. Kecleon, Flareon, and Dewgong make great teammates to accomplish this and pair well with Tangela typing-wise. Dewgong is particularly effective for taking on Fire-types and can tank attacks from the common Flying-types as well if need be. Having Spikes support will increase the effectiveness of the passive damage Tangela will spread around the opposing team with Toxic and Leech Seed, and all of its moves tend to cause switches, which will rack up damage. Finally, because Tangela almost completely walls most Ground- and Rock-types, having a late-game sweeper that can take advantage of their absence is best to have along, with examples including Plusle, Pidgeot, and Raticate.

[Other Options]

Tangela has access to Growth, which on paper sounds awesome on the Sunny Day sweeper set, but it only gives +1 to Special Attack and it won't do anything to help Tangela get past its main counters in Swalot, Flareon, and Kecleon. A more effective set that was not included above is a SubSeed set, which Tangela can actually pull off pretty effectively with its decent Speed stat and high Defense, made even better with its low HP stat. However, defensive Tangela will tend to get more mileage out of spreading status, and a SubSeed set is even more walled by Roselia than just the defensive set.

More gimmicky options include a RestTalk set, which can make Tangela very hard for opposing defensive teams to take on, but Tangela has massive four-moveslot syndrome as it is; making room for both Rest and Sleep Talk will leave Tangela massively walled by a huge number of Pokemon while not walling much more than it otherwise would in return. Tangela's Attack is pretty terrible, but it does get Endure and Flail, which can surprise a couple of its common specially defensive counters while it cannot be walled by Rock-types in return thanks to its Grass STAB. Finally, Psych Up can allow Tangela to get the jump on a Calm Mind-boosted Chimecho or Sableye, but it doesn't have much use outside of that.

[Checks and Counters]

Swalot, especially specially defensive RestTalk variants, is the most surefire counter to any set Tangela may be running, as it's not even 4HKOed by anything Tangela can throw at it apart from Hidden Power Psychic (which is never seen), and it isn't fazed by any status Tangela can inflict, even passively harming Tangela throwing out Giga Drain and Leech Seed with its ability Liquid Ooze. Next in line are Fire-types, particularly Flareon and Torkoal, which accomplish pretty much the same as Swalot minus packing Liquid Ooze but gaining power to their STAB moves under Sunny Day. Venomoth and Roselia are practically immune to Tangela's Grass-type STAB attacks and can put the hurt on Tangela with Hidden Power Fire, but they will take a lot of damage from Tangela's own Hidden Power Fire in return.

Pidgeot and Murkrow resist Tangela's Grass-type attacks, and Murkrow is even immune to Sleep Powder, but they need to be healthy to effectively take on Tangela under the sun, as Solar Beam will still be doing a ton of damage to both. Haunter is even frailer than those Flying-types but still resists Grass and will cleanly OHKO Tangela in return, which neither Flying-type can cleanly accomplish, though Murkrow almost always will with Drill Peck if Tangela is running 0 HP EVs. Finally, Glalie doesn't resist Solar Beam and will take a ton of damage from Hidden Power Fire, but it will easily OHKO Tangela in return with Ice Beam.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
name: "SwagPlay"
move 1: Stun Spore
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Swagger
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Giga Drain
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 Spe / 252 HP / 4 SpA
 

Lumari

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remove
add / fix (comments); (AC=add comma; RC=remove comma; SC=semicolon)
GP 1/2
[Overview]

Not only is Tangela one of the most threatening offensive Pokemon in the tier, it's also one of the best defensive stalwarts available, giving it a large pedestal to stand on over many other similar choices. Offensively, Tangela and Bellossom can be considered rivals somewhat; while Tangela boasts slightly higher Speed and power and much better physical bulk to make end-game sweeping easier, Bellossom has much, much better special bulk to take better advantage of its typing against major metagame threats like Huntail. Defensively, Tangela has almost no rivals when it comes to physical defense bulk; (repetition) it's almost unmatched in its ability to wall Rock-types (outside of not resisting Explosion), and it easily checks the likes of other huge physical threats in the metagame like Hitmonchan and Raticate. Regardless of whether Tangela is running an offensive or defensive set, Sleep Powder will be its ace in the hole, crippling many Pokemon in the tier. All in all, Tangela holds a very secure spot as one of the top Pokemon in the metagame.

[SET]
name: Sunny Day Sweeper
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Sleep Powder / Morning Sun
move 3: Solar Beam
move 4: Hidden Power Fire
item: Leftovers
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 228 HP / 252 SpA / 24 Spe or 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This set is best brought out in the end-game, when most of the opponent's specially defensive Pokemon have been worn down and most users of Ice- and Fire-type attacks have been removed. Sleep Powder is what makes this set as dangerous as it is, completely crippling a Pokemon late in the game and opening up an opportunity for Tangela to set up Sunny Day for itself. From there, Solar Beam will hit like a wrecking ball, with Hidden Power Fire complementing it almost perfectly. It should be mentioned that Morning Sun is a viable option in the second slot to make the most of Tangela's bulk and sustain its sweep, especially if you already have a sleep inducer (RH) elsewhere on your team.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

There are many different viable EV spreads to consider when using Tangela, with the first one listed being probably the most efficient. 24 Speed EVs with a Modest nature is are all that's needed to outpace the entire unboosted tier under the sun, with the remaining EVs pumped into HP to give Tangela some bulk to ease setup, (AC) and this spread (not sure if I understood this bit properly) also pairs best with Morning Sun. However, spreads with max Speed should be considered, as the base 50 and base 60 Speed tiers are heavily contested, and winning the Speed tie outside of sun could be game changing. With max (you know my opinion on these) Speed and a Modest nature, Tangela will outrun Timid Bellossom by one point, allowing Tangela to keep its power level while allowing it the possibility to beat Bellossom one-on-one if the latter is partially damaged beforehand. However, with a Modest nature, Tangela is left outsped by Jolly Pupitar by two points (RC) and will be outsped by other dangerous neutral base 65s like Flareon and Chimecho. Therefore, max Speed Timid is also an option, which gives Tangela the ability to outspeed these threats as well as max Speed neutral nature base 70s like Castform, along with giving Tangela the best possible chance of beating other Tangela under the sun. It's important to keep in the mind, (AC) though, (AC) that Tangela will have almost no chance of beating Flareon regardless of EV spread (outside of crippling it with Sleep Powder), and Tangela can only hope to beat Bellossom if it has taken upwards of 25% damage, otherwise Tangela will fail to KO with Hidden Power Fire under the sun and Bellossom will always have a guaranteed OHKO back.

There's very little that can stand in Tangela's path once the sun is up, but there are a few immediate threats that can and must be taken care of before successfully sweeping with Tangela, most notably Flareon and Torkoal. Both avoid even a 4HKO from Tangela's attacks and easily OHKO in return with Flamethrower, meaning even if they are hit by Sleep Powder at full health, Tangela has almost no chance of KOing them before they wake up. These two make Diglett a very valuable teammate to employ to ensure they are removed before attempting to sweep with Tangela, but Diglett can be pretty hard to use. Other choices include Rock-types like Sudowoodo, (AC) and Water-types like Dewgong, or and other Pokemon to lure them in and cripple them with Toxic. Specially defensive Swalot also completely walls this set, it too avoiding the 4HKO from any of Tangela's moves and easily KOing back with either Sludge Bomb or Ice Beam. Diglett again comes in handy here for taking it out, while other Ground-types like Graveler or a Psychic-type like Chimecho can be used to try and to knock it out before bringing out Tangela. Finally, specially defensive Kecleon and Lickitung are only 3HKOed by Tangela's attacks, making a physically inclined partner like Hitmonchan a valuable teammate to take them out ahead of time.

Spikes support will ensure that Tangela will come out on top against a myriad of other Pokemon in the tier, including Hitmonchan, Bellossom, and Venomoth, getting a OHKO on the latter after a layer of Spikes (RC) and getting super close after two layers on the former two. Other Pokemon that need to be weakened before bringing out Tangela include Haunter, Chimecho, Murkrow, and Pidgeot, all of which can tank any one of Tangela's moves and all of which but Pidgeot can OHKO back after a layer of Spikes.

[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Stun Spore / Toxic
move 3: Giga Drain / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Leech Seed / Morning Sun
item: Leftovers
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

65/115 physical defense is amazing on a Pokemon that resists Earthquake in the NU tier, and Tangela puts that bulk to use with this set. Between Giga Drain and Leech Seed, Tangela will usually be getting enough health back to not warrant the use of Morning Sun, but the instant recovery is useful in certain situations. Double status is a good strategy to use with Tangela in order to cripple as much of the opponent's team as possible. Stun Spore is best used if your team needs Tangela to be able to fully cripple offensive Pokemon like Arbok, Vigoroth, and Murkrow. Toxic is better on teams with multiple RestTalk or Protect users to stall for Toxic damage and better allow Tangela to help the team come out on top against stall cores of Sableye, Flareon, and Dewgong.

Giga Drain is the recommended STAB move thanks to its passive healing; however, its PP is really low, (AC) meaning Hidden Power Grass is a good alternative, and it which has a bonus of being slightly stronger. Leech Seed is the main option in the last slot to increase Tangela's overall longevity and spread more residual damage around the opposite team. Toxic can be used here as well, (AC) which makes Tangela much less susceptible to enemy Grass-types save for Roselia.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

There's not much point to running a specially defensive EV spread (RC) or even investing any EVs in the stat at all, as Bellossom just does a specially defensive set a million times better. Some Speed can be run to allow Tangela to hit some other defensive Pokemon with Sleep Powder before they can status Tangela in return, though Tangela typically wants max Defense to tank attacks from the likes of Hitmonchan better. Hidden Power Fire can be used in the last slot with Giga Drain to ward off enemy Grass-, Bug-, and Steel-types looking for an easy switch into Tangela. Tangela also has access to Reflect, which can make it nigh impregnable (RH) physically and possibly allow Tangela to turn the tides against a Flying-type switch-in such as Murkrow. Hidden Power Ice is a good offensive option if going this route to turn Tangela into a lure to open a sweep for something weak to the Flying-types such as Hitmonchan. Finally, Protect is a decent option to include somewhere on this set to allow Tangela to scout the opponent's attacks, rack up passive damage, and stall for more Leftovers and Leech Seed recovery.

Swalot completely mangles this set thanks to its huge Special Defense, resistance to Grass, and ability in Liquid Ooze, (AC) which turns Leech Seed into a hindrance for Tangela and its teammates. This makes Ground-types like Piloswine good teammates to have to switch into Swalot and other Poison-types to threaten them out with a STAB Earthquake. Chimecho is also a good teammate to have for this reason, (AC) and as a bonus Chimecho also helps immensely with combating opposing Roselia, (AC) who which can otherwise blindly switch into this set without fear and shrug off any status with Natural Cure.

In general, defensive Tangela should be used as part of a defensive core and thus needs a specially defensive teammate to work effectively for the team. Kecleon, Flareon, and Dewgong make great teammates to accomplish this and pair well with Tangela typing-wise. Dewgong is particularly effective to take on Fire-types and can tank attacks from the common Flying-types as well if need be. Having Spikes support will increase the effectiveness of the passive damage Tangela will spread around the opposing team with Toxic and Leech Seed, and all of its moves tend to cause switches, (AC) which will rack up damage. Finally, because Tangela almost completely walls most Ground- and Rock-types, having a late-game sweeper that can take advantage of their absence is best to have along, with examples including Plusle, Pidgeot, and Raticate.

[Other Options]

Tangela has access to Growth, which on paper sounds awesome on the Sunny Day sweeper set, but it only gives a +1 and it still won't do anything to help Tangela get past its main counters in Swalot, Flareon, and Kecleon. A more effective set that was not included above is a SubSeed set, which Tangela can actually pull off pretty effectively with its decent Speed stat and high Defense, made even better with its low HP stat. However, defensive Tangela will tend to get more mileage out of spreading status, and a SubSeed set is even more hardwalled by Roselia than just the defensive set.

More gimmicky options include a RestTalk set, which can make Tangela very hard for opposing defensive teams to take on, but Tangela has massive 4 moveslot four-moveslot syndrome as it is, (AC) and making room for both Rest and Sleep Talk will leave Tangela massively walled by a huge number of Pokemon while not walling much more than it otherwise would in return. Tangela's Attack is pretty terrible, but it does get Endure and Flail, (AC) which can surprise a couple of its common specially defensive counters while it cannot be walled by Rock-types in return thanks to its Grass STAB. Finally, Psych Up can allow Tangela to get the jump on a Calm Mind-boosted Chimecho or Sableye, but it doesn't have much use outside of that.

[Checks and Counters]

Swalot, especially specially defensive RestTalk variants, is the most surefire counter to any set Tangela may be running, as it's not even 4HKOed by anything Tangela can throw at it apart from Hidden Power Psychic (which is never seen), and it isn't phazed fazed by any status Tangela can do inflict, even passively harming Tangela throwing out Giga Drain and Leech Seed with its ability Liquid Ooze. Next in line are Fire-types, particularly Flareon and Torkoal, which accomplish pretty much the same as Swalot minus packing Liquid Ooze but gaining power to their STAB under Sunny Day. Venomoth and Roselia are practically immune to Tangela's Grass-type STAB attacks and can put the hurt on Tangela with Hidden Power Fire, but they will take a lot of damage from Tangela's own Hidden Power Fire in return.

Pidgeot and Murkrow resist Tangela's Grass STAB attacks, (AC) and Murkrow is even immune to Sleep Powder, but they need to be healthy to effectively take on Tangela under the sun, (AC) as Solar Beam will still be doing a ton of damage to both. Haunter is even frailer than both birds but still resists Grass and will cleanly OHKO Tangela in return, which neither bird can cleanly accomplish, though Murkrow almost always will with Drill Peck if Tangela is running 0 HP EVs. Finally, Glalie doesn't resist Solar Beam and will take a ton of damage from Hidden Power Fire, but it will easily OHKO Tangela in return with Ice Beam.
 
Last edited:

GP 2/2
remove add

[Overview]

Not only is Tangela a very threatening offensive Pokemon in the tier, it's also one of the better defensive stalwarts available, giving it a nice pedestal to stand on over many other similar choices. Offensively, Tangela and Bellossom can be considered rivals somewhat; while Tangela boasts slightly higher Speed and power and much better physical bulk to make end-game sweeping easier, Bellossom has much, much better special bulk to take better advantage of its typing against major metagame threats like Huntail and is therefore easier to fit on teams. Defensively, Tangela has few rivals when it comes to physical bulk; it's almost unmatched in its ability to wall Rock-types (outside of not resisting Explosion), and it easily checks the likes of other huge physical threats in the metagame like Hitmonchan and Raticate. Regardless of whether Tangela is running an offensive or defensive set, Sleep Powder will be its ace in the hole, crippling many Pokemon in the tier. All in all, Tangela holds a very secure spot as one of the top Pokemon in the metagame.

[SET]
name: Sunny Day Sweeper
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Sleep Powder / Morning Sun
move 3: Solar Beam
move 4: Hidden Power Fire
item: Leftovers
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This set is best brought out in the end-game, when most of the opponent's specially defensive Pokemon have been worn down and most users of Ice- and Fire-type attacks have been removed. Sleep Powder is what makes this set as dangerous as it is, completely crippling invalidating a Pokemon late in the game and opening up an opportunity for Tangela to set up Sunny Day for itself. From there, Solar Beam will hit like a wrecking ball, with Hidden Power Fire complementing it almost perfectly. It should be mentioned that Morning Sun is a viable option in the second moveslot to make the most of Tangela's bulk and sustain its sweep, especially if you already have a sleep inducer elsewhere on your team.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

There are many different viable EV spreads to consider when using Tangela. Maximum Speed and with a Timid nature is recommended, as the base 50 and base 60 Speed tiers are heavily contested, and winning the Speed tie outside of sun could be game-(hyphen)changing. With maximum Speed and a Modest nature, Tangela will outrun Timid Bellossom by one point, allowing Tangela to keep its power level while allowing it the possibility to beat Bellossom one-on-one if the latter is partially damaged beforehand. However, with a Modest nature, Tangela is left outsped by Jolly Pupitar by two points and will be outsped by other dangerous neutral base 65s Pokemon with base 65 Speed like Flareon and Chimecho. Therefore, max Speed Timid is the preferred option nature, which gives giving Tangela the ability to outspeed these threats as well as max Speed neutral nature base 70s Pokemon with base 70 Speed and a neutral nature like Castform, (comma) along with giving Tangela the best possible chance of beating other Tangela under the sun. A bulkier spread is also efficient and pairs best with Morning Sun. Just 24 Speed EVs with a Modest nature are all that's needed to outpace the entire unboosted tier under the sun; the remaining EVs should be put into HP to give Tangela some bulk to ease setup. It's important to keep in the mind, though, that Tangela will have almost no chance of beating Flareon regardless of EV spread (outside of crippling it with Sleep Powder), and Tangela can only hope to beat Bellossom if it has that have taken upwards of 25% damage,; (semi) otherwise Tangela will otherwise fail to KO with Hidden Power Fire under the sun and Bellossom will always have a guaranteed OHKO back.

There's very little that can stand in Tangela's path once the sun is up, but there are a few immediate threats that can and must be taken care of before successfully sweeping with Tangela, most notably including Flareon and Torkoal. Both avoid even a 4HKO from Tangela's attacks and easily OHKO in return with Flamethrower, meaning even if they are hit by Sleep Powder at full health, Tangela has almost no chance of KOing them before they wake up. These two make Diglett a very valuable teammate to employ to ensure they are removed before attempting to sweep with Tangela, but Diglett can be pretty hard to use. Other choices include Rock-types like Sudowoodo, Water-types like Dewgong, and other Pokemon to lure them in and cripple them with Toxic. Specially defensive Swalot also completely walls this set, it too avoiding the a 4HKO from any of Tangela's moves and easily KOing back with either Sludge Bomb or Ice Beam. Diglett again comes in handy here for taking it out, while other Ground-types like Graveler or a Psychic-type like Chimecho can be used to try to knock it out before bringing out Tangela. Finally, specially defensive Kecleon and Lickitung are only 3HKOed by Tangela's attacks, making a physically inclined partner like Hitmonchan a valuable teammate to take them out ahead of time.

Spikes support will ensure that Tangela will come out on top against a myriad of other Pokemon in the tier, including Hitmonchan, Bellossom, and Venomoth, getting a ensuring an OHKO on the latter after a layer of Spikes and getting super close after two layers on the former two. Other Pokemon that need to be weakened before bringing out Tangela include Haunter, Chimecho, Murkrow, and Pidgeot, all of which can tank any one of Tangela's moves and all of which but Pidgeot can OHKO back after a layer of Spikes.

[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Stun Spore / Toxic
move 3: Giga Drain / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Leech Seed / Morning Sun
item: Leftovers
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

65/115 physical defense bulk is amazing on a Pokemon that resists Earthquake in the NU tier, and Tangela puts that bulk to use with this set. Between Giga Drain and Leech Seed, Tangela will usually be getting enough health back to not warrant the use of Morning Sun, but the instant recovery is useful in certain situations. Double status is a good strategy to use with Tangela in order to cripple as much of the opponent's team as possible. Stun Spore is best used if your team needs Tangela to be able to fully cripple offensive Pokemon like Arbok, Vigoroth, and Murkrow. Toxic is better on teams with multiple RestTalk or Protect users to stall for Toxic damage and better allow Tangela to help the team come out on top against stall cores of Sableye, Flareon, and Dewgong.

Giga Drain is the recommended STAB move thanks to its passive healing; however, its PP is really low, meaning Hidden Power Grass is a good alternative, (comma) which that has a bonus of being slightly stronger. Leech Seed is the main option in the last slot to increase Tangela's overall longevity and spread more residual damage around the opposite team. Toxic can be used here as well, which makes Tangela much less susceptible to enemy Grass-types save for Roselia.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

There's not much point to running a specially defensive EV spread or even investing any EVs in the stat at all Special Defense EVs, as Bellossom just does a specially defensive set a million times better. Some Speed can be run to allow Tangela to hit some other defensive Pokemon with Sleep Powder before they can status Tangela in return, though Tangela typically wants maximum Defense to tank attacks from the likes of Hitmonchan better. Hidden Power Fire can be used in the last slot with Giga Drain to ward off enemy Grass-, Bug-, and Steel-types looking for an easy switch into Tangela. Tangela also has access to Reflect, which can make it nigh impregnable physically and possibly allow Tangela to turn the tides against a Flying-type switch-in such as Murkrow. Hidden Power Ice is a good offensive option if going this route to turn Tangela into a lure to open a sweep for something weak to the Flying-types such as Hitmonchan. Finally, Protect is a decent option to include somewhere on this set to allow Tangela to scout the opponent's attacks, rack up passive damage, and stall for more Leftovers and Leech Seed recovery.

Swalot completely mangles this set thanks to its huge Special Defense, resistance to Grass, and ability in Liquid Ooze, which turns Leech Seed into a hindrance for Tangela and its teammates. This makes Ground-types like Piloswine good teammates to have to switch into Swalot and other Poison-types to threaten them out with a STAB Earthquake. Chimecho is also a good teammate to have for this reason, and as a bonus Chimecho it also helps immensely with combating opposing Roselia, which can otherwise blindly switch into this set without fear and shrug off any status with Natural Cure.

In general, defensive Tangela should be used as part of a defensive core and thus needs a specially defensive teammate to work effectively for the team. Kecleon, Flareon, and Dewgong make great teammates to accomplish this and pair well with Tangela typing-wise. Dewgong is particularly effective to take for taking on Fire-types and can tank attacks from the common Flying-types as well if need be. Having Spikes support will increase the effectiveness of the passive damage Tangela will spread around the opposing team with Toxic and Leech Seed, and all of its moves tend to cause switches, which will rack up damage. Finally, because Tangela almost completely walls most Ground- and Rock-types, having a late-game sweeper that can take advantage of their absence is best to have along, with examples including Plusle, Pidgeot, and Raticate.

[Other Options]

Tangela has access to Growth, which on paper sounds awesome on the Sunny Day sweeper set, but it only gives a +1 to Special Attack and it still won't do anything to help Tangela get past its main counters in Swalot, Flareon, and Kecleon. A more effective set that was not included above is a SubSeed set, which Tangela can actually pull off pretty effectively with its decent Speed stat and high Defense, made even better with its low HP stat. However, defensive Tangela will tend to get more mileage out of spreading status, and a SubSeed set is even more hardwalled by Roselia than just the defensive set.

More gimmicky options include a RestTalk set, which can make Tangela very hard for opposing defensive teams to take on, but Tangela has massive four-moveslot syndrome as it is,; (semi) and making room for both Rest and Sleep Talk will leave Tangela massively walled by a huge number of Pokemon while not walling much more than it otherwise would in return. Tangela's Attack is pretty terrible, but it does get Endure and Flail, which can surprise a couple of its common specially defensive counters while it cannot be walled by Rock-types in return thanks to its Grass STAB. Finally, Psych Up can allow Tangela to get the jump on a Calm Mind-boosted Chimecho or Sableye, but it doesn't have much use outside of that.

[Checks and Counters]

Swalot, especially specially defensive RestTalk variants, is the most surefire counter to any set Tangela may be running, as it's not even 4HKOed by anything Tangela can throw at it apart from Hidden Power Psychic (which is never seen), and it isn't fazed by any status Tangela can inflict, even passively harming Tangela throwing out Giga Drain and Leech Seed with its ability Liquid Ooze. Next in line are Fire-types, particularly Flareon and Torkoal, which accomplish pretty much the same as Swalot minus packing Liquid Ooze but gaining power to their STAB moves under Sunny Day. Venomoth and Roselia are practically immune to Tangela's Grass-type STAB attacks and can put the hurt on Tangela with Hidden Power Fire, but they will take a lot of damage from Tangela's own Hidden Power Fire in return.

Pidgeot and Murkrow resist Tangela's Grass-type STAB attacks, and Murkrow is even immune to Sleep Powder, but they need to be healthy to effectively take on Tangela under the sun, as Solar Beam will still be doing a ton of damage to both. Haunter is even frailer than both birds those Flying-types but still resists Grass and will cleanly OHKO Tangela in return, which neither bird Flying-type can cleanly accomplish, though Murkrow almost always will with Drill Peck if Tangela is running 0 HP EVs. Finally, Glalie doesn't resist Solar Beam and will take a ton of damage from Hidden Power Fire, but it will easily OHKO Tangela in return with Ice Beam.
 
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