Victreebel, the Flycatcher Pokémon. It lures prey into its mouth with a nectar-like aroma. The helpless prey is melted with a dissolving fluid. After dissolving many prey, this Pokémon's acid becomes sweeter. This makes it even easier to attract more prey. Once taken into Victreebel's body, even the hardest object will be melted into nothing by the Pokémon's acid.
Overview
Victreebel returning in Champions has not done any favors for our Team Rocket eating friend. What once was one of the most fearsome Chlorophyll sweepers in the game, Victreebel finds itself wholly outclassed by Venusaur who boasts better speed, bulk and coverage. All three areas that are Victreebel’s largest failings. Base 70 Speed is below average without Chlorophyll, leaving Victreebel exposed to the vast majority of offensive threats. Offensive threats it struggles to resist. 65 Defense and 75 Special Defense are well below average and let down a decent base 80 HP, leaving no lack of Pokémon that can outspeed and OHKO it. Victreebel’s coverage is questionable too. While its coverage is near perfect in the Sun, when out of it, Victreebel is left with flawed Grass and Poison STABs that are mutually resisted by Poison and Steel types with no coverage that directly answers them. Even the one area where Victreebel excels over Venusaur, its power, is flawed. 105 Attack and 100 Special Attack are barely usable, requiring explosive boosting from Swords Dance or Growth to apply pressure. This also leaves Victreebel suffering from the same issues as Venusaur where it cannot fit all the coverage, boosting and Sleep Powder it wants on a single set.
Victreebel’s reputation as a Chlorophyll sweeper is not entirely unwarranted. Solar Beam, Fire Weather Ball and Sludge Bomb are a fierce combination with very few common resists, and with Growth boosting both offenses, can easily run both physical and special attacks to frustrate dedicated walls. Sleep Powder, even after the nerf is a potential turn skip that can open room for Victreebel to safely set up a Growth or pivot. The issue is getting to that point, which requires navigating Victreebel’s frailty and maintaining weather control. This can be a tall ask especially when Venusaur can do much of the same while having good enough base bulk to be expected to survive a hit or two.
Positives
Balanced offenses and the explosive boosting of both with Sun empowered Growth allows Victreebel to hit hard from both sides of the spectrum.
Potent disruptive movepool with numerous options to defang threats and turn them into setup fodder.
Incredible speed with Chlorophyll, outrunning even Scarf Garchomp.
With Fire Weather Ball, incredible coverage in the Sun.
Negatives
Incredibly underwhelming outside of the Sun.
Without Weather Ball, Grass Poison is rather poor offensively with Poison and Steel types resisting both STABs.
Poor 65/75 defenses leaves Victreebel struggling to take neutral hits.
Mediocre base 70 Speed leaves Victreebel outsped by most threats, exasperating its frailty.
Movesets
Special Sun Sweeper
-Growth
-Solar Beam
-Sludge Bomb
-Weather Ball
Ability: Chlorophyll
Item: Miracle Seed
EVs and Nature:
2 HP / 32 SAtk / 32 Spe
Timid Nature
This Victreebel set copies Venusaur as a Sun-based sweeper, using Sun to rectify Victreebel’s issues with Speed, and greatly enabling its offense. There is nothing more emblematic of this than Growth, providing the equivalent of a Nasty Plot and Swords Dance in a single move while in the Sun, pushing Victreebel’s usable offenses to a terrifying threshold. Solar Beam just packs on the power, its high base power with a a Growth boost deals obscene damage, one shotting even neutral targets as bulky as offensive Garchomp, and Max HP Mega Kangaskhan while dealing obscene damage to walls like 81-96% to Max HP Umbreon and anywhere from 74% to reliably OHKOing Toxapex depending on how the latter is statted. Sludge Bomb is secondary STAB, but invaluable not only into obscenely specially bulky Mega Floette, but also Unaware Clefable who could otherwise Calm Mind up and shut out Victreebel. The high Poison chance is not to be discounted either, leaving even resisted targets being chipped down into KO range. Weather Ball rounds out the set given Victreebel valuable pseudo-STAB Fire coverage for the Steel and types that otherwise comfortably soak up Solar Beam and Sludge Beams without issue, especially Corviknight, Mega Skarmory, Aegislash, and Kingambit.
Stats and Items:
Standard Sweeper array, max Speed and Special Attack are recommended. Timid Nature is preferred as the speed boost allows Victreebel to outspeed Jolly Scarf Garchomp +1 Dragon Dance Mega Charizard X and +1 Quiver Dance Volcarona in the sun as well as Adamant Scarf Meowscarada. If going mixed for STABs, Naďve is recommended over Timid, as to not drop Victreebel’s power and the Special Defense drop is preferable when so many priority attacks are physical. Miracle Seed is recommended as the item given Victreebel as much power as possible on its Solar Beams. However, Focus Sash is also a contender for allowing Victreebel to reliably set up Growth so it can reach the knockouts it so desperately needs. Without Miracle Seed, Timid/Naive Victreebel can’t OHKO Max HP Mega Kangaskahn with +2 Solar Beam, though it is still OHKOs Garchomp. If it returns, Life Orb is also a potent option for the general power boost it grants to all of Victreebel’s attacks.
Partners:
Chlorophyll Victreebel cannot function without the sun, so a Sun setter is needed, ideally not Victreebel given its frailty and needing to boost already a difficult proposition. Mega Charizard Y is the best Sun setter around and one of the best Special Attackers in general, and Victreebel can capitalize on that, overwhelming their shared checks through sheer firepower. Torkoal also works as a secondary Sun setter, and can even help Victreebel get in safely after the Sun is setup thanks to its access to Yawn, and can chip opponents into KO range with Stealth Rocks.
Other Options:
Victreebel’s physical Attack is just as potent as its special, so running physical STAB options is perfectly viable. Power Whip does not lose to Solar Beam in terms of power and works outside of the Sun, while striking Defense makes it Victreebel’s best option for Tyranitar. Poison Jab is perhaps recommended even over Sludge Bomb given how most Fairy types (Sylveon, Mega Floette) have much better Special Defense than physical Defense.
Energy Ball is a notable alternate special STAB to Solar Beam that doesn’t force Victreebel to charge if a non-Sun weather setter switches in.
Sleep Powder even after the nerf can be an effective turn skip.
Countering Victreebel
Victreebel is an archetypical weather sweeper whose difficulty comes when facing it under its favored weather.
First and foremost is getting Victreebel out of the Sun. The speed boost, increased coverage from Weather Ball and boost to Growth make Victreebel difficult to handle. Given Victreebel’s need to setup with Growth, weather changing Pokémon can pivot in safely, though Tyranitar and Politoed fare better if Victreebel is running Solar Beam for Grass coverage over other options. While Mega Frosslass does not like absorbing a +2 Energy Ball, it does survive it and can OHKO Victreebel with Blizzard. Sun setters like Mega Charizard Y and Torkoal dislike switching into Poison STAB, though both can survive Sludge Bomb and OHKO back with their own Fire STAB, though must remain cautions of Sleep Powder.
Furthermore, while Grass+Fire+Poison coverage is incredibly wide, it does have its gaps. Non-Steel, Poison resistant Fire and Dragon types can absorb even boosted attacks from Victreebel with ease and OHKO it in turn. Ceruledge takes at most 50% from +2 Sludge Bomb or 80% from +2 Miracle Seed Solar Beam and can OHKO and recoup most of that back with Bitter Blade. Dragapult can OHKO with Fire Blast while taking 78-92% from Solar Beam. Max Special Bulky Galarian-Slowking, while not resisting Weather Ball, is so bulky on that aspect it takes 56% at worst from Fire Weather Ball and can OHKO with Flamethrower, though physical sets running Power Whip can do 74% if boosted by Growth and Miracle Seed. Unaware Skeledirge scoffs at Victreebel’s attempts at setting up, taking at most 36% from a +2 Miracle Seed Solar Beam and OHKOing back with Torch Song.
Otherwise the best angle is to exploit is Victreebel’s frailty. For while Victreebel is fast in the sun, it is not impossible to outspeed. Scarf Meowscarada is one of the few Pokémon that can outspeed Victreebel in Sun and the only one to OHKO it through Focus Sash with Triple Axel. Other swift Scarf users like Greninja and Dragapult also outspeed and can KO with super effective Ice Beam and Flamethrower respectively though cannot break a Focus Sash. If Sneasler can trigger Unburden it also outspeeds and grabs an easy OHKO with Acrobatics. Priority also works well, especially if Victreebel took damage while setting up. Mamoswine deals 68-81% with Ice Shard, Dragonite does 42-50% with Extreme Speed, Mega Kangaskhan does 40-49% with Fake Out while Mega Lopunny does 32-38%.
If Victreebel is caught outside of the Sun it is far more manageable with most offensive Pokémon able to OHKO it before it can launch an assault and Steel types being a reliable blanket check due to their resistance of everything except Fire Weather Ball.
Mega Victreebel, the Flycatcher Pokémon. The volume of this Pokémon's acid has increased due to Mega Evolution, filling its mouth. If it's not careful, the acid will overflow and spill out.
Overview
After a terrifying turned humorous reveal, Mega Victreebel has made quite the unique splash on the competitive scene. Mega Victreebel takes a very different direction from its base evolution despite ostensibly similar stat spreads. While base Victreebel can work as an offensive Chlorophyll sweeper, Mega Victreebel thrives as a check to setup sweepers and offensive threats as well as enabler to its teammates. This is due to its ability Innards Out. What was once formerly Pyukumuku’s signature ability, Innards Out true worth is now shown with Mega Victreebel. As unlike Pyukumuku, Mega Victreebel has the stats to make the most of Innards Out with a solid base 80 HP. This is already well above most offensive attackers, but with HP investment, Mega Victreebel boasts higher HP than offensive Garchomp and its base 108 HP, leaving few offensive attackers that can afford to OHKO Mega Victreebel from full. This forces attackers to play passively around Mega Victreebel, something Mega Victreebel is more than capable of exploiting. Base 125 Attack and 135 Special Attack are potent even without investment, allowing Mega Victreebel to launch big hits from both sides of the spectrum and deal big damage in turn if not pick up a knockout of its own. This can place opponents into a vicious lose-lose scenario of either sacrificing their attacker to remove Mega Victreebel, try to disarm Innards Out with a weaker hit and get knocked out by Mega Victreebel, or switch in an ally and have them eat an uncontested hit from Mega Victreebel. It is not just big damage that Mega Victreebel is threatening either. It can counteract attempts to knock it out of Innards Out range with Strength Sap and Giga Drain effectively “repriming the bomb”, lock opponents into their weak attack with Encore, cripple targets with Stun Spore, Sleep Powder or Scary Face, making it far easier for Mega Victreebel or its teammates to handle the target. With Innards Out, sheer offense and its disruptive tools, Mega Victreebel is wholly unique as a blanket offensive check for offensive attackers.
Yet fulfilling this niche all but requires Mega Victreebel to be able to threaten its target in the first place. Grass and Poison are both flawed offensive types with neither able to hit Poison or Steel types effectively and coverage limited to the oft resisted Bug and Dark options in Sucker Punch and Knock Off. If Mega Victreebel can’t threaten a target with damage or status, Innards Out is easy to play around. These flaws have Mega Victreebel struggle heavily against sturdy walls that grind opponents down and thus not only have the HP to survive an Innards Out but will often grind Mega Victreebel down to the point where Innards Out is no longer a threat. Also to fulfill this niche the target needs to be able to threaten Mega Victreebel with an OHKO or struggle to deal damage. An attacker that does most but not all of Mega Victreebel’s HP in damage can leave Mega Victreebel in a position where it can’t recover enough HP for Innards Out to KO its target. This reliance on Innards Out also makes Mega Victreebel ill suited to full 6v6 battles where positioning is paramount, something Mega Victreebel can’t afford to do until it is time for it to come in lest its HP gets knocked down to the point Innards Out is no longer a threat, whether it be from opposing attacks and/or entry hazards. Furthermore, Mega Victreebel being a Mega Evolution means it can’t aggressively pivot and pick up a surprise KO that way until it hits the field at least once to Mega Evolve, opening it up for unnecessary damage that can defeat the point of Innards Out. That is not to say Mega Victreebel is without purpose. It excels in 3v3 formats where every Pokémon matters and there Mega Victreebel shines, removing game ending attackers on top of enabling Mega Victreebel’s allies. Mega Victreebel in summary is an unorthodox pick from start to finish, but when played to its strengths offers unique utility that changes the way one’s opponent acts and exploits it.
Positives
125/135 offenses are immense even uninvested allowing Mega Victreebel to mix and match its offensive attacks with ease
Base 80 HP is incredible when combined with Innards Out and stat investment, allowing Mega Victreebel to revenge KO most setup sweepers.
Potent disruptive movepool with numerous options to defang threats and make them fodder for Mega Victreebel or its teammates
Negatives
Grass Poison is rather poor offensively with Poison and Steel types resisting both STABs.
Can struggle against defensive Pokémon who can chip Mega Victreebel down
Innards Out can be difficult to use and prevents Mega Victreebel from being used as a defensive pivot.
Mediocre base 70 Speed leaves Mega Victreebel outsped by most threats requiring good prediction to get the most out of its healing options or Encore.
Movesets
Toxic Bomb
-Giga Drain
-Strength Sap
-Sucker Punch
-Encore
Ability: Chlorophyll -> Innards Out
Item: Victreebelite
EVs and Nature:
32 HP / 32 SAtk / 2 Spe
Modest Nature
This Mega Victreebel is meant to make the most out of the threat of Innards Out, stopping setup sweeps in their tracks, chipping opponents into range or just generally exploiting passive play. This especially shines against targets that can't afford to let Mega Victreebel survive on top of the threat of Innards out, placing them into a lose-lose scenario. Giga Drain on this set is offensive pressure and recovery in a single move, repriming Innards Out while chipping opponents down. This gets even more brutal with Grass weak attackers that can't afford to tank a Giga Drain yet will get OHKOd by Innards Out otherwise. Shell Smash Mega Blastoise, Mega Starmie, Basculegion, Dragon Dance Mega Gyarados, are all game ending threats that are forced into this vicious Catch-22 by Mega Victreebel. Strength Sap is not only further recovery, but an outright win condition against physical attackers, sapping their offense to the point they can't KO Mega Victreebel while Mega Victreebel can wear them down with Giga Drain or pivot to a teammate to enable their own setup. Sucker Punch is a priority option and invaluable for allowing Mega Victreebel to chip faster attackers into Innards Out range, especially Basculegion, whose high base HP would allow it to survive a full-strength Innards Out if healthy. Encore punishes passive play in front of Mega Victreebel, locking an opponent into whatever weak move they were trying to disarm Mega Victreebel with, opening setup opportunities or an easy knockout for Mega Victreebel.
Stats and Items:
Full HP investment is highly recommended for Mega Victreebel looking to take advantage of Innards Out, allowing Mega Victreebel to out HP even offensive Garchomp. Even if Mega Victreebel doesn’t get OHKO’d surviving can allow Victreebel to strike back, either recovering a lot of HP with Giga Drain or Strength Sap, or crippling the target with Stun Spore, Sleep Powder or Encore. Max Special Attack and Modest nature are for maximizing the damage and thus recovery of Giga Drain. However, going for Max Attack and Adamant for Power Whip and Sucker Punch is equally viable. Item is locked to the Victreebelite.
Partners:
Mega Victreebel struggles to handle defensive Poison and Steel types like Corviknight, Skarmory, Mega Venusaur, Galarian-Slowking, Archaludon and Toxapex, who can all chip Mega Victreebel down and out of Innards Out range while not having much Attack to recover from with Strength Sap, so allies that can handle these threats are ideal. Garchomp as a Ground attacker unsurprisingly works great against most Poison and Steel types, removing troublesome targets and making Mega Victreebel’s time easier. Basculegion also works well with Mega Victreebel’s sacrificing nature, fueling its own Last Respects while compromising if not outright removing the Pokémon that took Mega Victreebel down.
Stall teams also value Mega Victreebel for its ability to slow down offensive teams. Unaware walls like Clefable and Skeledirge can struggle against setup sweepers like Flash Cannon Shell Smash Mega Blastoise, Dragon Dance Mega Gyarados, and Bulk Up Mega Starmie in general. Mega Victreebel covers such Pokémon like few others can and can easily trade positively against them.
Other Options:
Power Whip is a much stronger offensive option than Giga Drain, and thus much more effective at threatening bulky targets, especially Tyranitar.
Poison Jab is a secondary physical STAB option that excels against Fairy types, especially Calm Mind attackers like Primarina and Mega Clefable that Giga Drain struggles to deal with. Sludge Bomb is also a potent option for these Fairies and in general given the high Poison chance provide valuable chip damage even to Pokémon switching in.
Synthesis is a more reliable healing option that isn't relying on the opponent to be fielding physical attackers, though it can be impacted by weather.
Scary Face and Stun Spore are speed control options that allow Mega Victreebel to both reactively heal as well as enable Mega Victreebel's teammates in handling the new threat.
Sleep Powder can be useful as a turn skip, allowing Mega Victreebel to safely pivot, or heal itself.
Combat Plant
-Swords Dance
-Power Whip
-Poison Jab
-Sucker Punch
Ability: Chlorophyll -> Innards Out
Item: Victreebelite
EVs and Nature:
32 HP / 32 Atk / 2 Spe
Adamant Nature
Few Pokémon discourage attackers like the threat of Mega Victreebel’s Innards Out which Victreebel can leverage to the fullest to safely setup Swords Dance and make the most of its incredible Power to further pressure opponents. Power Whip is an absurdly powerful move with even dedicated walls like Bellibolt as well as bulky attackers like Mega Kangaskhan threatened to be OHKO’d after a boost, while dealing 73-86% to Umbreon, and 75-88% to max HP/Defense Toxapex after Swords Dance boosts, while any attacker that isn’t as bulky is in a sorry state. Poison Jab is secondary STAB and invaluable against Unaware Clefable as well as opposing Grass types like Mega Venusaur, and Mega Meganium, who soak up boosted Power Whips with ease. Sucker Punch rounds out the set, granting a valuable priority move to knock opponents who think they are safe back under Innards Out’s threshold.
Stats and Items:
Full HP investment is highly recommended for Mega Victreebel looking to take advantage of Innards Out, allowing Mega Victreebel to out HP even offensive Garchomp. Even when not aiming for Innards Out, the added bulk is fantastic in having Mega Victreebel survive long enough to set up. Everything else goes into Attack, making Mega Victreebel as threatening as possible after a Swords Dance boost, allowing it to pick up as many knockouts as possible and knock opponents down into Innards Out range. Item is locked to the Victreebelite.
Partners:
Swords Dance Mega Victreebel has no direct answers for Poison and Steel types beyond Knock Off, leaving it reliant on teammates to handle such threats. Garchomp as a Ground attacker unsurprisingly works great against most Poison and Steel types, removing troublesome targets and making Mega Victreebel’s time easier. Volcarona is another solid option, between its Fire STAB melting Steel types and access to Psychic for most Poison types, it can compromise such threats before Mega Victreebel comes in. While Mega Victreebel cannot perform the defensive utility normally expected of partners, it is insurance against opposing setup sweepers, a sacrificial piece to stop them in their tracks so other attackers do not need be sacrificed instead.
Hisuian-Samurott is another solid partner, thanks to the Spikes it sets from Ceaseless Edge making it even harder to play around the threat off Innards Out, making it more likely for Mega Victreebel to setup safely, get a knock out and/or take a foe down with it.
Other Options:
Knock Off is reliable Dark STAB that provides Item disruption, making defensive Pokémon that much less durable without their Leftovers, Sitrus or type resist Berries.
Leech Life, while non-STAB is a physical Draining option, healing Mega Victreebel up after setup while dealing damage, synergizing amazingly with Innards Out.
Leaf Blade is a weaker, albeit more reliable physical Grass STAB.
Countering Mega Victreebel
Mega Victreebel’s usage of Innards Out greatly obfuscates offensive checks, but its same reliance on handling offensive Pokémon does open vulnerabilities.
Bulky checks generally work best against Mega Victreebel, able to grind it down or force a switch while avoiding the lose lose Innards Out forces, though special attackers are preferred due to Strength Sap making physical attackers vulnerable to Mega Victreebel’s teammates. Mega Venusaur stands out, due to being immune to Mega Victreebel’s disruption in Stun Spore and Sleep Powder while being hard to heal from if Mega Victreebel is using Giga Drain and Strength Sap for recovery while solidly 3HKOing with an uninvested Sludge Bomb. Archaludon, while not liking the powders, reliably 3HKO’s Mega Victreebel with Flash Cannon while taking at most 34% from an Adamant Knock Off, though the chip from Innards Out is painful due to lack of recovery. IronPress Corviknight and Skarmory are two of the few setup sweepers that can use Mega Victreebel as setup since they need multiple Iron Defenses to deal significant damage with Body Press while Mega Victreebel struggles to deal any damage, though they are more vulnerable to Encore. Galarian-Slowking excels against specially focused Mega Victreebel, with Psychic Noise able to completely shutdown Strength Sap and Giga Drain, and subsequently win the grind game. Physically offensive Mega Victreebel can deal 70-83% with the initial Knock Off and easily KO with the follow up.
Fast U-Turn users like Meowscarada, Greninja, Hydreigon, and Sneasler can chip Mega Victreebel down to reduce Innards Out damage before pivoting out, dodging disruption from Encore, though few Pokémon can switch in and not offer Mega Victreebel recovery from Strength Sap so this requires good prediction.
Max HP Mega Kangaskhan is notable for being a rare Mega Evolution that has more Max HP than Mega Victreebel, and can outspeed it. Add in Fake Out to chip Mega Victreebel down and Mega Kangaskhan is likely to survive Innards Out on low health even after an Adamant 32 Attack Sucker Punch provided it isn’t using Double Edge for the knock out blow. Adamant Max Attack Mamoswine also commonly runs enough HP investment to push it out of Innards Out range, naturally outspeeds and OHKOs with Icicle Crash 7/8 times, but missing with Icicle Crash will be fatal and Modest Sucker Punch does put Mamoswine back into lethal range though that can be circumvented with Ice Shard.
It should be noted unless you are on your last Pokémon (and the Mega Victreebel trainer isn’t) that losing a Pokémon to Innards Out is not the worst-case scenario. The worst-case scenario is losing a Pokémon to Innards Out after Mega Victreebel has taken out or compromised another Pokémon. This is part of the reason why Victreebel fares worse in 6v6 formats where positioning and sacrifice plays are expected. Mega Lopunny, Mega Charizard Y, Ceruledge, Mega Dragonite, Mega Delphox, Meowscarada, and Mega Froslass all natively outspeed and can OHKO Mega Victreebel.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Evolve Weepinbell (Blue & Yellow)
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Evolve Weepinbell
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Trade from LeafGreen
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Evolve Weepinbell (LeafGreen)
Colosseum/XD:
Evolve Weepinbell (XD)
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Evolve Weepinbell
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Evolve Weepinbell
Black/White:
Evolve Weepinbell (White)
Black 2/White 2:
Trade from White
X/Y:
Evolve Weepinbell
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Trade from X/Y
Sun/Moon:
Evolve Weepinbell
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Trade from Sun/Moon
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Route 21 (Let's Go, Eevee)
Sword/Shield:
Not in game
Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl:
Evolve Weepinbell
Legends: Arceus:
Not in game
Scarlet/Violet:
Evolve Weepinbell
Tera Raid Battles: 5 Star Raid Battles
Legends: Z-A:
Wild Zone 20
Hyperspace Lumiose - Poison (4 Star), Grass (4 Star), Special (5 Star)
Anime Appearences
