Amoonguss Analysis




After a brief two year hiatus, Amoonguss is once again a nuisance in the VGC format. With a solid bulk, access to Spore and Rage Powder, as well as an incredibly useful form of Recovery through Regenerator, Amoonguss is yet again the premier redirection support Pokemon in VGC.






Pros
*114 Base HP Stat makes Amoonguss incredibly bulky, allowing it to redirect a considerable number of attacks
*Access to Clear Smog and very slow speed allows Amoonguss to reset opponent’s stat buffs
*A decent Trick Room counter with low speed and Spore
*Access to both Rage Powder and Spore makes Amoonguss a great Pokemon to both protect / neuter Trick Room setters and set up Pokemon
*Regenerator allows Amoonguss to recover 33% of HP upon switching out, making sure that it can redirect even more attacks
Cons
*70 / 85 Defensive and Special Defensive Stats are very lackluster
*Very weak to the common Meta Lele as well as Charizard Y teams
*Tapu Fini and Tapu Koko both prevent Spore from having any effect with their terrain
*Amoonguss speed ties Snorlax, making for scary 50/50s
Set #1 - Pinch Berry
Amoonguss @ Iapapa Berry  
Ability: Regenerator  
Level: 50  
EVs: 212 HP / 204 Def / 92 SpD  
Relaxed Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe  
- Clear Smog / Giga Drain / Sludge Bomb
- Spore  
- Rage Powder  
- Protect
*Amoonguss does not have much flexibility regarding moves and spreads, as its main role is to Redirect attacks from allies or cast Spore to put threatening foes to sleep.
*Amoonguss always wants one attacking move, and while Giga Drain and Sludge Bomb deal chip damage to bulky waters and fairies respectively, I am a very big fan of Clear Smog
*Clear Smog rids opponents of their buffs/debuffs, and can be used to completely mitigate Snorlax Belly Drums, Volcarona Quiver Dances, and Eevee’s Z Last Resort boost
*Spore and Rage Powder are both essential moves to Amoonguss set, and are the reason why Amoonguss is so commonly used
*Spore has 100% accuracy and puts non-grass types to sleep. It is incredibly useful in stalling out the game, neutering key threats, and stopping Trick Room from going up
*However, with the introduction of both Electric and Misty Terrain, Spore is not as useful as it was in 2015. Be careful not to waste a turn using Spore on grounded Pokemon in these terrains
*Rage Powder redirects all attacks below +2 Priority from Amoonguss’ allies, allowing Amoonguss to soak up heavy attacks and Z moves in place of an ally
*This allows allies to either set up or go for KO’s without fear
*However, Rage Powder does NOT redirect Grass type Pokemon's moves, so be careful
*Because of how offensive the format is, Amoonguss is a lot harder to EV properly; there are really no good benchmarks to create a mushroom capable of surviving both Physical and Special attacks. This spread aims at achieving a balance between both defenses.
*212 / +204 Def allows Amoonguss to survive -1 +180 Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Double-Edge, and also survive 252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Metagross Zen Headbutt 93.8% of the time
*+6 +252 Atk Azumarill Aqua Jet is also a 3HKO, allowing you to Spore/Clear Smog
*212 / 92 SpD allows Amoonguss to survive +252 SpA Tapu Lele Psychic outside of terrain, as well as +252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Heat Wave outside of the sun
*0 Speed IVs with a Harmful nature allows Amoonguss to be as slow as possible, speed tying with the likes of minimum speed Snorlax
*This not only allows you to move first frequently under Trick Room, but also allows you to potentially Spore / Clear Smog Snorlax before it can move
Set #2 - Resist Berry
Amoonguss @ Occa Berry / Payapa Berry  
Ability: Regenerator  
Level: 50  
EVs: 212 HP / 92 Def / 204 SpD  
Sassy Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe  
- Clear Smog  
- Spore  
- Rage Powder  
- Protect
*Sporting a slightly different EV spread, this Amoonguss aims to survive strong, super effective attacks from targets that it otherwise would not
*212 / +204 SpD allows Amoonguss to survive +252 SpA Tapu Lele Psychic in Psychic Terrain 100% of the time, and +252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Overheat in the Sun 81.3% of the time
*The Defense EVs allow Amoonguss to survive -1 44 Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Double-Edge.
*With Occa / Payapa Berry, Amoonguss will lack the recovery of Pinch Berry in exchange for getting of a Spore on crucial targets. Thus, make use of Regenerator to heal up the mushroom through switching Amoonguss in and out of the battlefield.
Using Amoonguss
*While Amoonguss does provide excellent utility and doubles as a meat shield, several Pokemon in VGC 2018 hamper Amoonguss from achieving full functionality.
*Amoonguss, despite its Poison typing, really dislikes facing any of the Tapu Pokemon
*Tapu Koko and Tapu Fini both have annoying terrains that prevent Amoonguss from using Spore
*Tapu Lele can threaten KO’s on Amoonguss, while Tapu Bulu bypasses Redirection / Spore entirely
*Amoonguss also dislikes facing Mega Charizard Y, one of the three most common Mega Evolutions in the format
*While Amoonguss is the Pokemon used to cover weaknesses of a team, Amoonguss especially appreciates certain Pokemon
*Tyranitar not only threatens Charizard Y with both Rock type coverage and Sand Stream, but also appreciates Amoonguss’ support in setting up Dragon Dance to Sweep
*Salamence and Azumarill also appreciate Amoonguss’ support, redirecting Z Thunderbolt from Tapu Koko and Taunts while setting up Dragon Dance / Belly Drum
*After setting up, these two can easily sweep through opposing teams
*Tapu Lele resets terrain into Psychic terrain, allowing Amoonguss to use Spore on Tapu Koko and Tapu Fini
*Be careful not to lose your Amoonguss to opposing Psychic type attacks in the process
*A Key feature of Amoonguss that many players, both new and experienced, often forget about is its Regenerator Ability. Allowing Amoonguss to heal 33% of its HP upon switching out, Regenerator keeps your mushroom shield along for longer periods of time to support allies.


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