Tapu Lele Analysis



The Tapu that just recently won Oceania Internats, Tapu Lele is currently one of the most dominant Pokemon in the format. With Psychic terrain boosting its already powerful attacks, Tapu Lele can easily tear through opponents as an offensive threat.






Pros
*130 Special Attack is the highest among the Tapu Pokemon, allowing for Lele to dish out heavy damage
*95 Speed allows Tapu Lele to outspeed Landorus, and also enables Lele to be a potent user of Choice Scarf
*Psychic Terrain allows blocks opponent’s priority moves from hampering your Pokemon, such as Fake Out and Prankster Moves
*Psychic Terrain also boosts Psychic moves from grounded Pokemon by 1.5x, effectively giving Psychic types a Choice Item in terrain
Cons
*70 / 75 / 115 Defenses are frail; its Low base HP holds Lele back from withstanding Super Effective attacks
*Tapu Lele is outsped by Base 100 Pokemon and notably Mega Metagross, the most common Pokemon in the format that can outright KO Tapu Lele
*While Tapu Lele has some degree of item flexibility, Lele functions better as a glass cannon
*Psychic Z is a better item than Life Orb or Choice Scarf because it allows Tapu Lele to get off a sizeable chunk of damage before dying
*Psychic Terrain also protects opponents from your own Priority moves, meaning that Tapu Lele does not pair well with Fake Out or Prankster users
Set - Psychium Z
Tapu Lele @ Psychium Z  
Ability: Psychic Surge  
Level: 50  
EVs: 236 HP / 68 Def / 140 SpA / 4 SpD / 60 Spe OR EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Psychic  
- Moonblast  
- Ally Switch / Taunt
- Protect
*Tapu Lele’s favorite and most common item would be Psychium Z, which allows Tapu Lele to inflict huge amounts of damage on any non-Dark type target
*Psychic is Tapu Lele’s main STAB move, and is boosted by Psychic Terrain
*While some people do run Psyshock instead, I feel that Psychic terrain already allows Psychic to do the damage it needs. Psychic also has higher Base Power and has the chance to drop SpD by one stage
*Moonblast allows for a Fairy type STAB and is very useful against threats such as Tyranitar, Scrafty, and Incineroar, who might otherwise wall Tapu Lele
*If your team is incredibly weak to Kommo-o + Follow me, you can run Dazzling Gleam
*Moonblast is alot better than Dazzling Gleam in most scenarios
*The third moveslot varies depending on which EV spread you are running
*4 / 252 / 252 variants typically run taunt, as their faster, more offensive spread dislikes Trick Room. Thus, Taunt from a 252 Speed Lele can not only stop set ups from Pokemon such as Volcarona, but can also stop Trick Room as well
*Ally Switch is used on the bulkier variant because Z Ally Switch gives Tapu Lele a +2 boost to speed, allowing Tapu Lele to hit 146 Speed.
*Ally Switch allows Tapu Lele to not only force Ally Switch mind games, but also allows Lele to have options other than simply clicking Z Psychic
*The 4 / 252 / 252 spread is very straight forward, aimed at dishing out as much damage as possible
*252 Speed allows Tapu Lele to hit 147 Speed, outspeeding all Neutral nature Landorus
*On the other hand, 236 HP / 68 Def / 140 SpA / 4 SpD / 60 Spe aims to survive certain attacks while still reaching offensive benchmarks
*+140 SpA Tapu Lele KO’s 252 / 44 SpD Tapu Fini with Z Psychic in Psychic Terrain 81.3% of the time
*+140 SpA Tapu Lele also 2HKO’s 4/0 Mega Tyranitar in the Sand
*236 / 68 Defense allows Tapu Lele to survive -1 252 Atk Kartana Z Leaf Blade 100% of the time, as well as -1 252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Metagross Iron head 93.8% of the time
*Also survives 44 Atk Salamence Double Edge while KOing Salamence with Moonblast
*236 / 4 Special Defense allows Tapu Lele to survive 252 SpA Mega Gengar Shadow Ball 100% of the time
*Also survives +252 SpA Aegislash Blade Shadow Ball 93.8% of the time
*60 Speed allows Tapu Lele to hit 123 Speed, which, after Z Ally Switch, will allow Lele to outspeed 252 Spe Ludicolo in the Rain
Using Tapu Lele
*Tapu Lele is currently paired with Mega Metagross, as the two cover each other very effectively while being able to spam out STAB Psychic moves boosted by terrain
*Tapu Lele is also the Tapu that pairs best with Amoonguss, as Psychic Terrain prevents Fake Out while allowing Amoonguss to still put opponents to sleep
*Amoonguss also redirects deadly Z Moves and Super Effective Attacks while allowing Tapu Lele to nuke a target with Z Psychic
*With the increase of Dark types and Steel types in the format, Tapu Lele is increasingly threatened by Pokemon such as Celesteela, Aegislash, Incineroar, and Tyranitar
*Celesteela and Aegislash outright wall Tapu Lele, while threatening KO’s with Heavy Slam or Shadow Ball
*Incineroar is very bulky, and Moonblast is often a 3HKO or more
*Tyranitar can tank Tapu Lele’s Moonblast due to Sand, while returning a KO with Darkium Z or Life Orb
*Tapu Lele appreciates Landorus support, as Intimidate and Ground type coverage handle the majority of Tapu Lele’s common threats
*Incineroar also pairs well with Tapu Lele, as its Fire / Dark typing covers many threats listed above
*Do not use Fake Out in your own terrain unless targeting Flying / Levitating targets

*Tapu Lele does poorly in MetaLele mirrors; it is better to bring a combination of the other 5 Pokemon instead

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