911 I'd like to report a murder, victim's name is mega gardevoir
Update (April 24): Writing stuff. Explaining how Tapu Lele basically uses the same moves in all sets gets effing tiring though lol
QC: Subject18, dk, bludz
GP: The Dutch Plumberjack, frenzyplant
[OVERVIEW]
Tapu Lele easily sets itself apart from a jungle of powerful wallbreakers in OU due to its unique and utile ability: Psychic Surge. Said ability sets Psychic Terrain automatically, boosting Tapu Lele's Psychic-type attacks for free and making them wickedly difficult to tank or switch into directly. The Terrain also shuts down grounded priority attacks; as many priority users such as Mega Mawile, Zygarde, and (Mega) Scizor rely on their respective attacks to stop faster threats, Tapu Lele can limit their actions and allow itself or teammates to completely overpower these threats. With these traits combined with great offensive stats and a good typing, Tapu Lele is a frightening force of nature, capable of utterly breaking numerous team archetypes while boasting unique threat coverage along with downright scary flexibility in its item and set usage.
However, Tapu Lele dislikes the fact that many bulky Steel-types, especially Magearna and Celesteela, can easily switch into both of its STAB attacks. The coverage attacks it usually runs to address them as well as other checks and counters tend to be too weak or shaky to use consistently without fair prediction or prior damage. Tapu Lele's average physical bulk and good—but not fantastic—Speed also tend to hold it back, making it often vulnerable to revenge killing. Regardless, as Tapu Lele is always rather unforgiving in its power and versatility, all team archetypes must exercise caution against it.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Psyshock
move 4: Hidden Power Fire
item: Choice Specs
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Psychic deals an insane amount of damage to even the most semi-bulky of resistant targets; 252 HP Heatran, for instance, gets 2HKOed with one layer of Spikes or equivalent prior damage. Dark- and Psychic-types ballsy enough to try switching into Psychic are maimed by a STAB Moonblast instead, which also has great Base Power and general coverage. Though running two parallel Psychic-type attacks on the same set may seem redundant, Psyshock is an integral attack in the third slot for its ability to break physically frail Pokemon; for example, it beats Chansey and specially defensive Gastrodon while making dents in Assault Vest Magearna and defensive Celesteela. Hidden Power Fire cleanly OHKOes Ferrothorn and (Mega) Scizor, preventing either from responding with an attack or recovery move. It also picks off Skarmory, Mega Mawile, Excadrill, and Magnezone at higher percents while being a sufficient option against Jirachi.
Set Details
========
Significant investment in Speed and Special Attack gives Tapu Lele as much Speed and raw power as possible. A Timid nature is the preferred choice over Modest the majority of the time because positive-natured offensive Landorus-T and Excadrill are relatively common in the metagame, and the chance to outrun neutral-natured foes such as Modest Mega Charizard Y is valuable. With Choice Specs, Tapu Lele achieves enormous power by receiving a great boost to its already impressive STAB moves, as well as gaining boosts to its otherwise average coverage attacks.
Usage Tips
========
Though this set sports terrifying nuking power that can let it potentially tear through threats early- or mid-game, it is important to ascertain its worth in a match depending on the opposing team structure. In particular, this set breaks balanced teams almost completely, as Tapu Lele is fast and powerful enough to overwhelm typical defensive Pokemon while limiting frailer offensive targets' opportunities to switch in. Still, this set should typically be played cautiously, as these archetypes can adapt to unfavorable situations with more bulky or resistant units. Against offensive teams with usually fast and defensively average Pokemon, Tapu Lele can typically exert pressure with Psychic and Moonblast all day until it eventually faints; in such cases, it has probably amassed more than enough damage for fellow cleaners to come in.
It is generally not advised to switch in Tapu Lele too aggressively because it is a fantastic offensive asset against nearly all team archetypes. Due to Choice Specs locking Tapu Lele in a single move, prediction should be exercised against opponents with multiple resistant or immune Pokemon. For instance, seeing a Dark-type or two in Team Preview means using Moonblast is the safer choice over Psychic early-game. Likewise, otherwise good switch-ins such as Celesteela and Jirachi can have a chunk of their health taken off with Hidden Power Fire .
Team Options
========
Though Tapu Lele can break through most threats with the correct coverage move and prediction, it would rather have the ease of choosing its STAB moves instead of its weaker and unreliable coverage attacks. Tapu Lele is also easy to check due to its only decent Speed and its being locked into one attack, so at least some support against Dark- and Steel-types makes things easier. For example, Magnezone traps and KOes most Steel-types that love switching into Tapu Lele, including Ferrothorn, Celesteela, Jirachi, Bronzong, and Scizor. Dugtrio traps and eliminates most Ground-weak Steel-types and other relevant Tapu Lele counters such as Magnezone and Alolan Muk. However, it is depressingly frail, and circumstances must be perfect for it to switch in safely and not get KOed itself.
In general, U-turn and Volt Switch users are good teammates to get Tapu Lele in the field safely—slower ones are especially valued because they are typically bulky enough to take hits and provide further ease in prediction. Defensive Landorus-T is exemplary of this, as it also blanket checks most physical attackers and Steel-types thanks to Intimidate while providing Stealth Rock support. Likewise, Mega Scizor and Rotom-W can also provide a slower U-turn or Volt Switch while keeping several of Tapu Lele's checks and counters in check, especially Celesteela in the case of Rotom-W. Tapu Koko is also worth consideration, as its fast offensive sets threaten a variety of checks and counters to Tapu Lele, including Celesteela and Greninja. Both Tapu Lele and Tapu Koko can also reset each other's Terrains to prevent each other's from expiring at inconvenient times. Since Tapu Lele applies a great deal of pressure and tends to force switches, entry hazard setters can further assist in breaking down switch-ins and defensive Pokemon. Ferrothorn is good in this respect, since it can run either Stealth Rock or Spikes while owning other pros, including fantastic defenses as well as Leech Seed and Iron Barbs to wear down the opposition. Greninja is a more offensive choice that can lay Spikes and be offensively tailored depending on team needs. For instance, a physically offensive version with Protean and Low Kick can lure in and nearly 2HKO Celesteela, while Ash-Greninja has the option of utterly decimating offensive teams when Tapu Lele is through and done.
In terms of teammates that benefit from Psychic Terrain in particular, Mega Medicham enjoys the extra power for its own Zen Headbutt as well as Tapu Lele's ability to break through defensive checks and counters, allowing Medicham to clean up when appropriate. Though regular and Mega Alakazam are rather redundant with Tapu Lele because they run similar coverage moves, both also benefit from Psychic Terrain's powering up their Psychic-type moves and preventing priority from hitting. Regular Alakazam can use Focus Sash and Counter to revenge kill any physical attacker, while Mega Alakazam boasts higher offensive stats as well as the ability to revenge kill Sand Rush Excadrill and other weather sweepers thanks to Trace. Other usually priority-weak sweepers such as Zygarde, Volcarona, and the aforementioned Ash-Greninja also benefit from Psychic Terrain; however, in practice, they only have a couple of turns to make good use of the Terrain unless Tapu Lele faints the same turn one of them is sent in.
[SET]
name: Taunt + Three Attacks
move 1: Psyshock
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Focus Blast / Hidden Power Fire
item: Fightinium Z / Shed Shell
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Psyshock is preferred on this set to become pseudo-mixed, allowing Tapu Lele to hit special walls—especially Chansey—significantly harder than with Psychic. Moonblast covers Dark- and Psychic-types eager to pivot into Tapu Lele's chosen Psychic-type attack. It also provides a good option against physically defensive and Fairy-weak targets that take Psyshock better, such as Landorus-T, Zygarde, Tangrowth, and Kyurem-B. Taunt prevents opposing foes from setting up boosts or entry hazards, using recovery or status moves, or using Defog. In common scenarios against stall and balanced archetypes, Taunt helps especially against Terrain-stalling tactics, such as Chansey using Soft-Boiled or Clefable using Wish, Protect, or Soft-Boiled constantly. Focus Blast in tandem with Fightinium Z offers All-Out Pummeling, a powerful weapon that can be used against the majority of Steel-types that attempt to switch into Tapu Lele's STAB attacks. Unlike Hidden Power Fire, it generally does more damage to relevant targets such as Magearna, Ferrothorn, and Assault Vest Magnezone. If another item is used, Hidden Power Fire is a passably reliable option against vulnerable defensive Steel-types such Mega Scizor, Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Mega Mawile, though it is weak and these targets need a fair amount of wearing down to be KOed.
Set Details
========
Maximized Speed and Special Attack is the way to go in order to let Tapu Lele hit and outrun as much as possible. The Timid nature enables Tapu Lele to operate mostly worry-free against threats within its Speed tier, such as Kyurem-B, Jolly Landorus-T, Modest Mega Charizard Y, and Timid Nidoking. While a Modest nature seems appealing for a slight boost in power, giving up the ability to outspeed the aforementioned threats is generally a huge tradeoff.
Because Tapu Lele is already amply powerful as is, this set can utilize a variety of useful items to circumvent certain checks and counters. Fightinium Z gives Tapu Lele a one-time boost to Focus Blast, giving it an opportunity to blast past reasonably healthy Steel-types. To improve its chances to wreak havoc on stall teams, a Shed Shell allows Tapu Lele to escape from Arena Trap Dugtrio, one of stall's best—and sometimes only—answers to it. Psychium Z offers the opportunity to use Shattered Psyche. Combined with Psychic Terrain and STAB, Shattered Psyche will pretty much decimate anything not resistant to it save for select special walls. Interestingly, if used with Psyshock, Shattered Psyche will still target Special Defense, which may be useful against healthy physical tanks and walls. Pixie Plate gives a consistent, guaranteed boost to Moonblast instead, making it considerably more powerful against its usual targets. Notably, it gives Moonblast a fair chance to OHKO Mega Sableye at full health, preventing it from making a potential desperate attempt to tank one and cripple Tapu Lele with Knock Off or Toxic. Though Life Orb and Mind Plate may seem like obvious choices, the former wears down Tapu Lele too quickly for it to be consistently effective, while the latter doesn't benefit much outside of redundantly boosting Tapu Lele's already-powerful Psyshock. Expert Belt is generally so-so, as Tapu Lele is mostly relying on raw damage output rather than super effective coverage. Both the Expert Belt boost and margin of opportunity to land a super effective hit are rather too small to be worth it.
Usage Tips
========
Unlike Choice item sets, this set has the flexibility of changing attacks, so Tapu Lele can afford to throw out an attack without too much dire consequences for choosing wrong. Tapu Lele should attempt to wallbreak and weaken opposing Pokemon as much as possible before fainting, rather than sweep or clean up, due to being vulnerable to revenge killing. If the opposing team is structured in such a way in that it can easily be swept or overwhelmed by Tapu Lele late-game, however, it may also be wise to preserve it. Regardless, Tapu Lele still has its share of checks and revenge killers, so a reasonable level of prediction is required to hit and perhaps eliminate some switch-ins. As Tapu Lele is notorious for using Choice items, you can exploit this by feigning one of its other sets and switching to an appropriate attack to take out the switch-in. If using the combination of Fightinium Z and Focus Blast in particular, Tapu Lele is able to lure in and KO common problematic switch-ins, especially hardy Steel-types such as Heatran.
Taunt is an incredibly useful tool against defensive or more passive foes. Examples include preventing walls such as Chansey and Clefable from using status moves to stall out Psychic Terrain, stealing momentum from other defensive Pokemon such as Pyukumuku, or stopping slower leads like Smeargle and Hippowdon from setting entry hazards. Finally, although Tapu Lele matches up well against stall, do not recklessly switch it into attacks or status moves, as even the smallest of accumulated damages can affect Tapu Lele's time to wreak havoc.
Team Options
========
As usual, Tapu Lele should have lots of breathing room to use Psychic-type attacks and Moonblast freely, though notably it can freely switch moves on Pokemon that switch into either. Steel-type removal is still especially appreciated, so Magnezone and Dugtrio are noteworthy for their ability to trap and eliminate the likes of Magnezone, Celesteela, and Heatran. Offensive Pokemon such as Mega Heracross, Choice Band Zygarde, Heatran, offensive Landorus-T, and Keldeo are less conspicuous but powerful candidates for threatening and weakening Steel-types. Mega Alakazam makes a decent teammate, as it directly benefits from Psychic Terrain and can run moves that Tapu Lele doesn't have room for, such as Psychic, Shadow Ball, and Focus Blast. Mega Medicham also benefits from Psychic Terrain and cleans up well against defensive teams once Tapu Lele has weakened them sufficiently.
U-turn and Volt Switch users are excellent partners because they can let Tapu Lele switch in safely and maintain momentum throughout the match. Slower ones such as defensive Landorus-T and Rotom-W can get Tapu Lele in with minimal damage while providing utility moves such as Stealth Rock and Will-O-Wisp, respectively. Faster ones such as Choice Scarf Landorus-T, Tapu Koko, and Greninja can apply offensive pressure while making up for Tapu Lele's lower Speed. Tapu Lele also tends to force switches, and since this set is rather lacking in power outside of Psyshock, entry hazard support is necessary to wear down the opposition. Ferrothorn, Greninja, and Landorus-T are examples of offensive Pokemon that fit on a wide variety of teams and can set up either Stealth Rock or Spikes.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Thunderbolt / Focus Blast
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Psychic is Tapu Lele's strongest attack, capable of KOing many common fast, offensive Pokemon and doing a chunk to Pokemon that resist it. Moonblast is a strong alternative attack to fall back on in case the opposing team has Dark-types or healthy Psychic-types. Hidden Power Fire is a passably sufficient weapon against Steel-types such as Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, and Mawile, which like to switch in otherwise thanks to this set's lack of boosted power. Thunderbolt is a good coverage attack, allowing this set to slay regular Gyarados in a single hit and Mantine in two (other moves can only 3HKO it while it stalls with Roost). Thunderbolt also pressures cores that rely on multiple Electric-weak Pokemon, such as Greninja + Toxapex or Celesteela + Tapu Fini. Focus Blast deals specifically with Heatran, which otherwise switches into this set all day. As a quick note, Psyshock is not very useful on this set, as it barely scratches physically weaker targets such as Chansey without a boosting item. Thus, this set prefers the raw power of Psychic.
Set Details
========
Maximized Speed and Special Attack investment with a Timid nature is simply straightforward for a Choice Scarf set, enabling Tapu Lele to tie with +1 maximum Speed Zygarde and safely revenge kill Mega Alakazam, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and anything slower. A Modest nature still lets Tapu Lele trump benchmarks such as Jolly Gyarados and Mega Beedrill while giving Tapu Lele a small dose of power, though it will gravely miss out on outspeeding the more common Choice Scarf Landorus-T.
Usage Tips
========
With the increased Speed provided by Choice Scarf as well as superb natural special offense, Tapu Lele can act as both a revenge killer and a cleaner. Depending on the opposing team, it may be wise to preserve Tapu Lele to do either later in the match. Be careful about simply pressing Psychic if the opponent has healthy Dark- and Steel-types active. In this case, use coverage moves to KO or wear such targets down on the switch. Even without a boosting item, Tapu Lele still has marginally enough power to wallbreak on rare occasions, in which case you can utilize it to weaken foes.
Team Options
========
Tapu Lele will be cleaning up and revenge killing, so teammates that can weaken Psychic- and Steel-resistant or immune Pokemon make it much easier for Tapu Lele to spam Psychic and Moonblast without resorting to weaker or inaccurate coverage attacks. Heatran, for instance, instantly threatens and checks a majority of Steel-types with its Substitute or Z-Move sets. A specialized solution is to use Magnezone, which traps pesky Steel-types that tend to switch into Tapu Lele's STAB moves. Zygarde is a more defensive answer to Steel-types; in particular, its Substitute + Coil and Double Dance sets enjoy setting up on the likes of Ferrothorn, Scizor, and Celesteela. Additionally, its Choice Band set is an immediate threat against typical Steel-types while applying pressure against most non-Grass-types in general. It also sports Extreme Speed to revenge kill threats that Tapu Lele cannot, such as +1 Volcarona and Swift Swim Kingdra, though Psychic Terrain must be down for Zygarde to use it. Similarly, Toxapex can be a good partner on more balanced teams, as it typically handles some faster threats that Tapu Lele cannot revenge kill itself, such as Mega Charizard X and Kingdra. Mantine is also notable for being able to stop Volcarona, which Tapu Lele cannot outrun at +1, in its tracks while providing a good blanket check against other special threats
Tapu Lele tends to force switches, and since this set is rather lacking in power outside of Psychic, entry hazard support is necessary to pressure and wear down the opposition. The aforementioned Heatran, Ferrothorn, Greninja, and Landorus-T are examples of Pokemon that fit on a wide variety of offensive or balance teams and can set up either Stealth Rock or Spikes. Though Shuckle is rather specialized, it deserves mention for also setting Sticky Web, allowing Tapu Lele and its teammates to pressure and beat threats they could not trump before, such as Choice Scarf Nihilego and +1 Volcarona. To further apply offensive pressure, wallbreakers are greatly helpful; Hoopa-U is a prime example due to benefiting from Psychic Terrain while sporting a colorful and unpredictable array of attacks to whittle down Tapu Lele's checks and counters.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Tapu Lele can use an Electric-type attack of choice to inflict more solid damage on Celesteela specifically—Psychic Terrain-boosted attacks will usually do more damage to Water- and Flying-types except Skarmory and the rare Empoleon. In particular, a combination of Electrium Z and Thunder becomes Tapu Lele's best attack against specially defensive Celesteela, KOing it after a bit of prior damage. Thunderbolt is a more reliable move should the user choose to use another item. Similarly, other Z-Crystals such as Ghostium Z can be used to lure in and take out specific checks and counters.
Other move options for non-Choice item sets include Calm Mind, which makes Tapu Lele harder to wear down with weak special attacks (such as uninvested Moonblast or Scald) and enabling it to break walls further. The next best alternative is Substitute, which takes advantage of switches Tapu Lele commonly forces. Behind the safety of a Substitute, Tapu Lele can hit its next switch-in hard and generally have an easier time predicting and adapting to situations. Finally, Tapu Lele can simply opt to use four attacks, though that fourth coverage attack will usually prove situational over a utility move.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Although Tapu Lele usually runs coverage like Hidden Power Fire and Focus Blast to get past Steel-types, such attacks are too weak or unreliable to be used constantly or get locked into from a Choice item. Bronzong and Jirachi are a couple of Tapu Lele's more solid checks under this category, as they easily switch into any attack except Choice Specs-boosted Shadow Ball and Hidden Power Fire—which they don't appreciate but can easily tank at reasonable health—while KOing back with physical Steel-type STAB attacks. Specially defensive Celesteela is a very solid counter to Tapu Lele, as it can tank every commonly used attack except for the odd Thunder and can apply pressure by using Leech Seed or Heavy Slam. As long as Tapu Lele isn't locked into or lacks Hidden Power Fire, Mega Scizor can switch in easily and Roost off damage while wearing Tapu Lele down with U-turn or Pursuit. If Tapu Lele lacks any one of Hidden Power Fire, Focus Blast, or All-Out Pummeling, the likes of Magearna, Mega Mawile, Assault Vest Magnezone, and Heatran also switch into it rather easily, though they all risk being worn down due to a lack of recovery and take major damage from a boosted Psychic.
**Speed-based Revenge Killing**: Tapu Lele's Speed and bulk are only slightly above average, making it easily susceptible to standard revenge killing. Note that priority attacks will not work due to Psychic Terrain being active the majority of the time. If Tapu Lele is not holding a Choice Scarf itself, a variety of faster Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Landorus-T, Kartana, Greninja, Mega Alakazam, Garchomp, and Tapu Koko can pick it off at slightly high percents. Even the Choice Scarf set has some problems due to being locked into a single move, as well as still being outrun by faster Choice Scarf users such as Nihilego, Terrakion, and Keldeo.
**Poison-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Assault Vest Alolan Muk stands out as one of Tapu Lele's biggest enemies; not only is it immune to Psychic-type attacks, but it also usually tanks other attacks rather easily (barring a well-predicted Choice Specs Moonblast, which only 3HKOes) and can proceed to use Pursuit or Poison Jab to deal major damage. Outside of Alolan Muk, other Poison-types must tread carefully, as they risk being outright KOed by Psychic or Psyshock, but they can take complete advantage of Choice item sets locked into other moves. Nihilego and Mega Beedrill outrun all non-Choice Scarf variants and threaten to OHKO Tapu Lele with their respective Poison-type STAB attacks. Similarly, Protean Greninja has access to Gunk Shot and can easily KO Tapu Lele when given the opportunity.
**Miscellaneous Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Being locked into the wrong attack or lacking Psyshock means some particularly specially defensive Pokemon can afford to switch in on Tapu Lele rather confidently, though many of them are hindered significantly by Taunt if fighting against the Taunt + Three Attacks set. Chansey and Cresselia are prime examples, as they mind nothing else from Tapu Lele except Psyshock and Shadow Ball, respectively. Specially defensive Gastrodon cannot be 2HKOed non-boosted Psychic and can use Toxic and Recover until Psychic Terrain expires. Similarly, Clefable can utilize Wish and Protect to stall out Psychic Terrain turns, though physically defensive variants are still pressured hard by Moonblast.
**Dark-types**: As Tapu Lele will be wanting to serve as a juggernaut with its Psychic-type attacks most of the time, healthy Dark-types simply prevent it from doing so, especially if it's locked into a move by a Choice item. Using Dark-types should only be a last resort, however; save Alolan Muk, many will simply be decimated by well-timed Moonblasts on the switch. Weavile and both formes of Greninja are notable, as they outspeed non-Choice Scarf sets and can easily take advantage of Tapu Lele locked into Psychic or Psyshock by hitting it or a switch-in extremely hard. Thanks to a Special Defense buff from sandstorm, most healthy, bulkier variants of Tyranitar will eat up a Moonblast while taking all other attacks except Focus Blast pretty well. It can then proceed to wear Tapu Lele down with Pursuit or its other STAB moves. Similarly, Hoopa-U is bulky enough to switch into Choice-locked coverage attacks and Psychic-type attacks if desperately needed.
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