Akir
A true villain!
uploaded -zard
[OVERVIEW]
Lurantis is a good utility choice for teams with its decent defensive typing, good support options, access to the ability Contrary, access to recovery, and most importantly access to Defog. A pure Grass typing and decent mixed defenses make Lurantis a sought-after switch-in for attacking types such as Ground, Electric, and Water while also giving it good matchups against many Stealth Rock setters such as Regirock. Additionally, access to Defog gives Lurantis the ability to remove entry hazards from the playing field for its teammates. On top of all of that, Lurantis is not as passive as some other Defog users, as it has a strong STAB option in the form of Leaf Storm and the ability to raise its Special Attack through Contrary. However, Lurantis faces strong competition from other hazard removers such as Skuntank and Hitmonchan, which generally have more utility, such as priority or simply the ability to absorb Toxic Spikes, and are immediately more threatening by being more powerful and faster. Lurantis also struggles with weaknesses to common attacking types, such as Fire and Flying from threats like Pyroar and Oricorio-G, reliance on low-PP moves like Leaf Storm and Synthesis, and susceptibility to residual damage from the hazards it is trying to remove, especially Toxic Spikes.
[SET]
name: Defog
move 1: Defog
move 2: Leaf Storm
move 3: Superpower / Toxic
move 4: Synthesis
item: Leftovers
ability: Contrary
nature: Bold
evs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Defog is the main reason to use Lurantis, and it removes entry hazards from the entire field. Leaf Storm combined with Contrary gives Lurantis a strong STAB option that also increases Special Attack to keep Lurantis from being passive. Superpower is the preferred option in the third slot, as it can increase Lurantis's Defense and provides excellent coverage to hit common Grass-resistant Pokemon such as Pyroar and Ferroseed. Toxic can also be used to get reliable chip damage on most switch-ins like Eelektross. The last move is Synthesis, for healing Lurantis and making sure that it stays around for as long as possible.
Set Details
========
Maximum HP and Defense investment with a Bold nature is given to increase defenses as much as possible to keep Lurantis as bulky as possible. Leftovers is chosen as the item for more healing so Lurantis doesn't rely on Synthesis as much, as switching in on hazards can wear it down over time. Contrary should always be the ability, as the powerful boosts with the use of Leaf Storm and Superpower are one of the main niches of Lurantis.
Usage Tips
========
Lurantis should be kept as healthy as possible to remove as many entry hazards as possible throughout the match. As a result, playing conservatively and using Synthesis whenever Lurantis is below 50% health is recommended. The best time to bring in Lurantis is either against a resisted move, like Golurk's Earthquake, or with a slow U-turn or Volt Switch from a teammate like Mesprit or Lanturn. Using Defog on a turn where Lurantis forces a switch is ideal, but Defogging on an opposing Pokemon that cannot do more damage than Lurantis can heal with Synthesis is also acceptable. It is important to remember that, even with Leaf Storm, Lurantis is not a wallbreaker or sweeper. The boosted Special Attack very rarely results in a sweep and instead finds a primary purpose in warding away less bulky attackers that may want to try and set up or other threats that may try to take advantage of Lurantis's perceived passivity such as Gurdurr. Lurantis is forced out by many threats in the tier, so making use of the turn that Lurantis is out by predicting threats to switch in and using the appropriate move is key to Lurantis's success.
Team Options
========
Teammates that patch Lurantis's weaknesses are always a good option, so teammates such as Lanturn for helping with the Fire and Flying weaknesses or Weezing to cover the Poison weakness work well. Lurantis generally lets in common Grass-type switch-ins, such as Ferroseed and Oricorio-G, so teammates that can take advantage of these switch-ins, such as Gurdurr and Carracosta, to set up is a good idea. Additionally, Lurantis can fairly reliably get rid of entry hazards, so teammates like Jynx that appreciate having them removed are also good picks for teammates. Lurantis also acts as a reliable Ground- and Water-resistant Pokemon, so partners such as Pyroar are excellent choices. Lurantis is weak to both status and chip damage, so having a cleric such as Audino to use Heal Bell and pass Wishes is an effective strategy. Audino also has an additional bonus of helping Lurantis deal with a lot of special attackers, most notably Abomasnow. Lurantis will also occasionally get rid of your own Stealth Rock, so having a reliable Stealth Rock setter such as Mesprit or Regirock is also recommended. Mesprit in particular also provides a slow U-turn to to bring Lurantis in safely without taking damage from an incoming attack.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Physically based defensive Lurantis is an option to utilize its higher Attack stat and boasts powerful options like Superpower and Knock Off; however, due to the low power of STAB Leaf Blade and the Contrary Special Attack boosts of Leaf Storm, specially oriented Lurantis actually outputs more damage faster even with Superpower factored in. Specially defensive Lurantis is also an option to better take potential Water- and Electric-type hits from threats such as Lanturn, but physically defensive Lurantis is preferred due to the overall benefit of being able to freely switch in on the many powerful Ground-types in the tier such as Golurk. Hidden Power Fire, Ice, and Rock are also options for coverage but are generally for more specific switch-ins such as Ferroseed, Alolan Exeggutor, and Oricorio-G, respectively. Aromatherapy is an option over Toxic to heal status from Lurantis and its teammates, but Lurantis would usually rather use both the turn and the moveslot for something else, like Defogging away entry hazards or poisoning a switch-in. A set with Rest and Sleep Talk is also a possibility for maintaining healing and getting rid of status, but forces Lurantis into one attack or foregoing Defog. Giga Drain is also an option, giving Lurantis a second STAB attack with more PP and healing utility, but is not recommended over Toxic and Superpower, which are more useful in more situations. A Relaxed nature is also an option to not lower the damage of Superpower, but doing so means that Lurantis no longer outspeeds threats such as Throh.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fire-types**: Fire-type threats such as Pyroar resist Lurantis's Leaf Storm and can force it out with a super effective STAB attack of their own, though they fear Superpower or Toxic.
**Flying-types**: Flying-types such as Oricorio-G resist Grass and can force Lurantis out with super effective Flying-type attacks or in some cases even set up directly in front of it.
**Poison-types**: Poison-types such as Skuntank and Weezing resist Leaf Storm and are immune to Toxic and can force out Lurantis with super effective STAB moves.
**Toxic Spikes**: Toxic Spikes can cripple Lurantis by giving it poison. The poison damage can slowly drain the HP of Lurantis, and since it is an entry hazard, Lurantis cannot avoid getting hit by it when it comes in to get rid of said Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes setters such as Weezing also resist both Superpower and Leaf Storm, making setting Toxic Spikes easier.
**Strong Attackers**: Lurantis has decent defenses but is not particularly bulky. As a result, even neutral attacks from a strong attacker such as Choice Specs Mesprit can overwhelm Lurantis.
[OVERVIEW]
Lurantis is a good utility choice for teams with its decent defensive typing, good support options, access to the ability Contrary, access to recovery, and most importantly access to Defog. A pure Grass typing and decent mixed defenses make Lurantis a sought-after switch-in for attacking types such as Ground, Electric, and Water while also giving it good matchups against many Stealth Rock setters such as Regirock. Additionally, access to Defog gives Lurantis the ability to remove entry hazards from the playing field for its teammates. On top of all of that, Lurantis is not as passive as some other Defog users, as it has a strong STAB option in the form of Leaf Storm and the ability to raise its Special Attack through Contrary. However, Lurantis faces strong competition from other hazard removers such as Skuntank and Hitmonchan, which generally have more utility, such as priority or simply the ability to absorb Toxic Spikes, and are immediately more threatening by being more powerful and faster. Lurantis also struggles with weaknesses to common attacking types, such as Fire and Flying from threats like Pyroar and Oricorio-G, reliance on low-PP moves like Leaf Storm and Synthesis, and susceptibility to residual damage from the hazards it is trying to remove, especially Toxic Spikes.
[SET]
name: Defog
move 1: Defog
move 2: Leaf Storm
move 3: Superpower / Toxic
move 4: Synthesis
item: Leftovers
ability: Contrary
nature: Bold
evs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Defog is the main reason to use Lurantis, and it removes entry hazards from the entire field. Leaf Storm combined with Contrary gives Lurantis a strong STAB option that also increases Special Attack to keep Lurantis from being passive. Superpower is the preferred option in the third slot, as it can increase Lurantis's Defense and provides excellent coverage to hit common Grass-resistant Pokemon such as Pyroar and Ferroseed. Toxic can also be used to get reliable chip damage on most switch-ins like Eelektross. The last move is Synthesis, for healing Lurantis and making sure that it stays around for as long as possible.
Set Details
========
Maximum HP and Defense investment with a Bold nature is given to increase defenses as much as possible to keep Lurantis as bulky as possible. Leftovers is chosen as the item for more healing so Lurantis doesn't rely on Synthesis as much, as switching in on hazards can wear it down over time. Contrary should always be the ability, as the powerful boosts with the use of Leaf Storm and Superpower are one of the main niches of Lurantis.
Usage Tips
========
Lurantis should be kept as healthy as possible to remove as many entry hazards as possible throughout the match. As a result, playing conservatively and using Synthesis whenever Lurantis is below 50% health is recommended. The best time to bring in Lurantis is either against a resisted move, like Golurk's Earthquake, or with a slow U-turn or Volt Switch from a teammate like Mesprit or Lanturn. Using Defog on a turn where Lurantis forces a switch is ideal, but Defogging on an opposing Pokemon that cannot do more damage than Lurantis can heal with Synthesis is also acceptable. It is important to remember that, even with Leaf Storm, Lurantis is not a wallbreaker or sweeper. The boosted Special Attack very rarely results in a sweep and instead finds a primary purpose in warding away less bulky attackers that may want to try and set up or other threats that may try to take advantage of Lurantis's perceived passivity such as Gurdurr. Lurantis is forced out by many threats in the tier, so making use of the turn that Lurantis is out by predicting threats to switch in and using the appropriate move is key to Lurantis's success.
Team Options
========
Teammates that patch Lurantis's weaknesses are always a good option, so teammates such as Lanturn for helping with the Fire and Flying weaknesses or Weezing to cover the Poison weakness work well. Lurantis generally lets in common Grass-type switch-ins, such as Ferroseed and Oricorio-G, so teammates that can take advantage of these switch-ins, such as Gurdurr and Carracosta, to set up is a good idea. Additionally, Lurantis can fairly reliably get rid of entry hazards, so teammates like Jynx that appreciate having them removed are also good picks for teammates. Lurantis also acts as a reliable Ground- and Water-resistant Pokemon, so partners such as Pyroar are excellent choices. Lurantis is weak to both status and chip damage, so having a cleric such as Audino to use Heal Bell and pass Wishes is an effective strategy. Audino also has an additional bonus of helping Lurantis deal with a lot of special attackers, most notably Abomasnow. Lurantis will also occasionally get rid of your own Stealth Rock, so having a reliable Stealth Rock setter such as Mesprit or Regirock is also recommended. Mesprit in particular also provides a slow U-turn to to bring Lurantis in safely without taking damage from an incoming attack.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Physically based defensive Lurantis is an option to utilize its higher Attack stat and boasts powerful options like Superpower and Knock Off; however, due to the low power of STAB Leaf Blade and the Contrary Special Attack boosts of Leaf Storm, specially oriented Lurantis actually outputs more damage faster even with Superpower factored in. Specially defensive Lurantis is also an option to better take potential Water- and Electric-type hits from threats such as Lanturn, but physically defensive Lurantis is preferred due to the overall benefit of being able to freely switch in on the many powerful Ground-types in the tier such as Golurk. Hidden Power Fire, Ice, and Rock are also options for coverage but are generally for more specific switch-ins such as Ferroseed, Alolan Exeggutor, and Oricorio-G, respectively. Aromatherapy is an option over Toxic to heal status from Lurantis and its teammates, but Lurantis would usually rather use both the turn and the moveslot for something else, like Defogging away entry hazards or poisoning a switch-in. A set with Rest and Sleep Talk is also a possibility for maintaining healing and getting rid of status, but forces Lurantis into one attack or foregoing Defog. Giga Drain is also an option, giving Lurantis a second STAB attack with more PP and healing utility, but is not recommended over Toxic and Superpower, which are more useful in more situations. A Relaxed nature is also an option to not lower the damage of Superpower, but doing so means that Lurantis no longer outspeeds threats such as Throh.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fire-types**: Fire-type threats such as Pyroar resist Lurantis's Leaf Storm and can force it out with a super effective STAB attack of their own, though they fear Superpower or Toxic.
**Flying-types**: Flying-types such as Oricorio-G resist Grass and can force Lurantis out with super effective Flying-type attacks or in some cases even set up directly in front of it.
**Poison-types**: Poison-types such as Skuntank and Weezing resist Leaf Storm and are immune to Toxic and can force out Lurantis with super effective STAB moves.
**Toxic Spikes**: Toxic Spikes can cripple Lurantis by giving it poison. The poison damage can slowly drain the HP of Lurantis, and since it is an entry hazard, Lurantis cannot avoid getting hit by it when it comes in to get rid of said Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes setters such as Weezing also resist both Superpower and Leaf Storm, making setting Toxic Spikes easier.
**Strong Attackers**: Lurantis has decent defenses but is not particularly bulky. As a result, even neutral attacks from a strong attacker such as Choice Specs Mesprit can overwhelm Lurantis.
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