Lurantis Analysis





Coming out of obscurity after the introduction of Intimidate Incineroar, Lurantis fulfills a special niche as a slow Grass Type Sweeper. Its ability Contrary allows Lurantis to deter Intimidators, while access to Superpower allows Lurantis to check Incineroar and sweep through unprepared teams.




Pros
*105 Attack stat is decent, considering Lurantis will almost never be below neutral Attack due to Contrary
*70 / 90 / 90 Bulk allows Lurantis to survive numerous Super Effective attacks and proc its Pinch Berry
*Contrary reverses stat drops such as Intimidate, giving Lurantis a +1 Attack Boost when Intimidated
*Combined with Superpower, Lurantis can quickly rack up both Attack and Defense Boosts


Cons
*Requires both Intimidate Support and Trick Room Support to function properly
*70 / 90 Defense requires Intimidate Support to survive Incineroar Flare Blitz
*Common threats such as Salamence, Gengar, Incineroar, and Cresselia heavily threaten Lurantis’ longevity and ability to set up
*Susceptible to bulky Pokemon with Ice Beam such as Porgyon2 and Cresselia
*Both can 2HKO Lurantis while Lurantis can’t pick up KO’s in return
*Very linear function and playstyle; Lurantis is almost required to run Pinch Berry


Set - Pinch Berry Goodstuffs
Lurantis @ Iapapa Berry
Ability: Contrary
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 196 Atk / 28 Def / 44 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Superpower
- Knock Off / Synthesis
- Protect


*A wonderful spread that I absolutely adore, this Lurantis optimizes damage output while surviving crucial attacks
*Leaf Blade is Lurantis’ main STAB move, allowing you to threaten the likes of Tapu Fini and Milotic
*Superpower is the reason why Lurantis is viable
*Instead of receiving -1 to both Attack and Defense after using Superpower, Lurantis instead receives +1 to both because of Contrary
*This allows Lurantis to quickly stack up offensive and defensive stats on its own, while also allowing Lurantis to KO threats like Tyranitar and Incineroar
*The Third Move is currently undecided
*Knock Off allows Lurantis to hit Pokemon that would otherwise wall it such as Amoonguss, Gengar, and Aegislash, as well as getting rid of pesky Pinch Berries from opponents
*Synthesis allows Lurantis a form of self-recovery, and can be useful in stalling out opponents or bettering your position on the board
*236 HP allows Lurantis to hit 175 HP, minimizing Sandstorm damage (:teamjon:)
*196+ Attack allows Lurantis to, after an Attack boost from Intimidate, KO 252 / 4 Def Incineroar with Superpower 100% of the time
*+1 196+ Attack Lurantis also KO’s 252 / 4 Tapu Fini 100% of the time with Leaf Blade, and 2HKO’s Snorlax and Porygon 2
*+1 196+ Attack Lurantis KO’s 252 / 4 Heatran 31.3% of the time
*236 / 28 Def allows Lurantis to survive:
*-1 252+ Attack Incineroar Flare Blitz (or 252+ Attack if Lurantis is at +1 Defense)
*252 Attack Mega Metagross Ice Punch, procing Pinch Berry
*After one Superpower, Ice Punch becomes a 3HKO
*252 / 44 SpD allows Lurantis to survive:
*252+ SpA Heat Wave from both Heatran and Volcarona, procing Pinch Berry
*252+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Fini Ice Beam, procing Pinch Berry
*252 SpA Aerilate Mega Salamence Hyper Voice, procing Pinch Berry


Using Lurantis
*Lurantis fulfills the niche of a Grass type sweeper that can check Landorus, Incineroar, and Snorlax, which are common threats in the metagame
*Lurantis can not 1v1 Incineroar without prior Intimidate Support or Fake Out, and requires a Superpower Boost to pick up key KO’s on all relevant targets
*Partners for Lurantis include:
*Incineroar and Scrafty; both provide Fake Out and Intimidate support while threatening the likes of Cresselia and Porygon2
*Tapu Fini threatens Salamence and Fire types which otherwise threaten KOs on Lurantis
*Cresselia and Gothitelle provide Trick Room support while also threatening Amoonguss, which can Clear Smog and wall Lurantis

*Do Not just throw this Pokemon onto a team without support because you want to use it; you will fail.
*Lurantis is patented by ansenalyses.

Comments

Other Resources

VGC 2018 Teams

Naganadel Analysis

Charizard Y Analysis

Salamence Analysis (Mega Croissant)

Aegislash Analysis

Kartana Analysis

Snorlax Analysis

Gengar Analysis

Alolan Marowak Analysis