[OVERVIEW]
Celebi is among UU's most potent sweepers and stallbreakers, as its decent offensive stats and typing allow it to force out several common Pokemon, such as Amoonguss, Hippowdon, and Primarina, in order to set up with Nasty Plot. Through the use of Z-Moves and its wide movepool, Celebi can also easily work around common means of counterplay. If running Psychium Z, it can power through common Grass-type switch-ins like Scizor and Mega Altaria. If opting for Grassium Z alongside Recover, however, Celebi can handle Blissey one-on-one while generally maintaining a solid combination of power and longevity, usually giving it a strong stall matchup. Further bolstering Celebi's prowess against defensive teams is its solid typing and uninvested bulk, allowing it to pivot in on several defensive presences, such as Slowbro, Quagsire, and Alomomola, as well as Natural Cure, which allows it to switch in several times due to its ability to circumvent Toxic poison and other status ailments. Unfortunately, Celebi's typing burdens it with as many common weaknesses as useful resistances, leaving it susceptible to tier staples like Infernape, Hydreigon, and particularly Scizor due to its 4x weakness to Bug, as well as to Pursuit from the likes of Mega Aerodactyl and Choice Scarf Krookodile. Pursuit is also found on several stall teams specifically to deal with Celebi, which can burden it quite a bit if it isn't careful. Celebi is also fairly weak to the tier's priority moves, taking super effective damage from Bisharp's Sucker Punch, Mimikyu's Shadow Sneak, and Mamoswine's Ice Shard as well as a hefty chunk from Scizor's Bullet Punch. Moreover, Celebi suffers from a merely decent Speed tier for an offensive Pokemon, allowing several faster threats with super effective coverage, like Gengar, Mega Manectric, and Nihilego, to easily revenge kill it. Lastly, Celebi's offensive prowess is good but not great, meaning that it often relies on Z-Moves to break bulkier targets and thus can be worked around with proper prediction.
[SET]
name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Giga Drain / Leaf Storm
move 4: Dazzling Gleam / Recover
item: Psychium Z / Grassium Z
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Psychic is a reliable STAB move with great neutral coverage. When Psychium Z is activated, it turns into a powerful Shattered Psyche that, when boosted, OHKOes offensive variants of Scizor after Stealth Rock damage. It also reliably powers through various Pokemon that could tank a hit from full and punish Celebi, like Rotom-H, Kyurem, Moltres, and Togekiss. Giga Drain allows Celebi to stay healthy throughout a match, recovering any residual damage it takes while pressuring Ground- and Water-types like Hippowdon and Crawdaunt. Leaf Storm is an option over Giga Drain for its greater damage output against bulkier foes, allowing Celebi to immediately threaten Suicune and bulky Primarina sets more effectively. If running Leaf Storm, Celebi should opt for Recover in its fourth slot in order to maintain longevity throughout a match. Alongside Grassium Z, Leaf Storm becomes an immensely powerful Bloom Doom after a boost, allowing Celebi to hit even targets that resist it like Hydreigon and Bisharp for a potential OHKO after Stealth Rock damage while improving its one-on-one matchup against Blissey. Dazzling Gleam is Celebi's best option if running Psychium Z, allowing it to hit otherwise reliable checks in Hydreigon and Latias for super effective damage. Recover is primarily used alongside Leaf Storm to maintain longevity, improving Celebi's matchup against Blissey and most defensive teams by extension. It is still an option when Celebi is using Psychium Z, however, for providing more reliable staying power than Giga Drain. This leaves Celebi unable to beat Hydreigon, though. Hidden Power Fire allows Celebi to lure and take out Scizor without using a Z-Move, giving it more freedom to run Colbur Berry. It should be noted, however, that this usually ends up costing more valuable coverage and often requires Celebi to slowly work around checks like Hydreigon through chip damage with its STAB moves on the switch, which is a less reliable strategy.
Set Details
========
Psychium Z allows Celebi to power through bulkier targets more easily with Shattered Psyche. Grassium Z provides Celebi with a strong nuke in Bloom Doom that it can use to blow past Hydreigon in offensive matchups while, alongside Recover, taking on Blissey and bulky Steel-types like Mega Aggron more reliably in defensive matchups, powering through them after multiple boosts. While this worsens Celebi's matchups against Scizor, Latias, Togekiss, and Moltres, it can still overwhelm the likes of Rotom-H and Gligar quite easily. If a Z-Crystal is used elsewhere on the team, Celebi can opt for Colbur Berry as its item, easing its matchup against Hydreigon and Choice Scarf Krookodile and allowing it to avoid heavy damage from Pursuit. Natural Cure allows Celebi to absorb status from defensive Pokemon, further strengthening its stallbreaking capabilities.
Usage Tips
========
Celebi can most easily come in on defensive Ground- and Water-type Pokemon, such as Empoleon, Hippowdon, and Alomomola, in order to set up. Despite Natural Cure, it should be wary of getting inflicted with Toxic on the switch so as not to hinder its chances of setting up and maintaining a sweep. Recover can help with this somewhat if it's being run, though Celebi should still switch out of play relatively early if inflicted with status before setting up. Some offensive Pokemon that Celebi can force out, such as Feraligatr, Primarina, and Nidoking, also make decent setup targets, though their ability to hit Celebi hard with a strong STAB attack or super effective coverage makes this a less reliable strategy. A few defensive Pokemon run moves that can damage Celebi a fair amount, meaning it should scout their movesets before attempting to use them as setup fodder. The main examples in this case are Tentacruel and Gligar, which can both dent Celebi with Sludge Bomb and U-turn, respectively. If Psychium Z is being run, it should be activated against Scizor, which is usually KOed from full after Stealth Rock chip damage unless it's a bulky variant. It can also be used to power through various Pokemon that otherwise wouldn't drop to Celebi's attacks in one hit, like Gligar, Togekiss, Rotom-H, and if Celebi isn't running Dazzling Gleam, Mega Altaria and Kyurem. Shattered Psyche can also be used to do a decent amount of damage to some of Celebi's common Steel-type checks, like Doublade and Klefki, chipping them into range of another attack or weakening them for a teammate to finish off. Grassium Z is slightly more layered in its uses than Psychium Z, given that it has different applications depending on the matchup. When Blissey is on the opposing team, Celebi should do its best to preserve Grassium Z, as if Blissey switches in as it sets up, Celebi can power through it through the careful combination of further setup, a well-timed Z-Move, and using Leaf Storm to finish Blissey off after chipping it down. Should Blissey use Toxic as Celebi further sets up or if Celebi is low on HP, Celebi should use Recover as needed during this process. In more offensive matchups, Bloom Doom should be used to power through some of Celebi's conventional offensive blanket checks, like Hydreigon and Bisharp, while generally functioning as a strong, perfectly accurate nuke against targets that don't resist it. It can also be used to chip down Steel-type checks barring Scizor to an even larger extent than Psychium Z, often improving Celebi's one-on-one matchups against them. One should note that, since Celebi needs to forgo Dazzling Gleam for Recover alongside Leaf Storm for longevity, its Latias matchup will be quite a bit weaker. If running Colbur Berry, Celebi should use the item to ease prediction against Dark-type Pokemon. It doesn't need to worry as much about Krookodile and Hydreigon wielding Choice Scarf, allowing it to more easily bypass the former using Giga Drain or the latter with Dazzling Gleam. If Celebi isn't running Dazzling Gleam, it should work more carefully around Hydreigon, chipping it on the switch with Grass-type STAB moves and relying on teammates to adequately wear it down or outright remove it. Depending on Celebi's moveset and item selection, situational checks should be removed before it attempts sweeping. If it doesn't have the coverage necessary to beat Hydreigon on its own, for instance, Hydreigon should be removed or weakened by a teammate prior to setup. Pokemon capable of outrunning and overwhelming Celebi, like Mega Aerodactyl, Nihilego, Infernape, and Terrakion, should also be removed from play in order to minimize its chances of getting revenge killed. Natural Cure should be used to pivot in on predicted status moves from various defensive Pokemon, such as Klefki's Thunder Wave and Swampert's Toxic, allowing Celebi to act as a decent status absorber for its team. If a Pursuit user like Mega Aerodactyl or Krookodile is on the opposing team, Celebi should do its best to preserve health with Recover in order to force mind games with them, making it much harder to get trapped and KOed. This is particularly important in stall matchups, as usually Pursuit is the only method of counterplay to Celebi found on defensive builds. It can also do this with Giga Drain if it isn't running Recover, though not as reliably.
Team Options
========
Celebi is a comfortable fit on offensive and balance teams alike thanks to its simultaneous abilities to sweep, wallbreak, and stallbreak with Nasty Plot. Entry hazard support is extremely important in allowing Celebi to achieve various KOs, such as the OHKO on Scizor with +2 Shattered Psyche after Stealth Rock. This makes Stealth Rock setters like Mega Steelix, Cobalion, and Nihilego reliable options as teammates. Krookodile is particularly helpful, as in addition to providing Stealth Rock support, it can run Pursuit to handle Latias and Gengar for Celebi while using Knock Off to remove items like Choice Scarf from Hydreigon and opposing Krookodile, preventing them from reliably revenge killing Celebi. Tentacruel is another solid option for a teammate, as it can pivot in on Fire- and Poison-type attacks for Celebi, provide Rapid Spin support, and use Toxic Spikes to help improve Celebi's already strong stall matchup. It also provides a strong check to a few Fighting-types that Celebi can't reliably check on its own, like Infernape and Cobalion. Celebi's average Speed for an offensive Pokemon makes Choice Scarf users like Infernape, Krookodile, and Nihilego good options for teammates, as they can revenge kill the fast Pokemon often used to pick Celebi off. Other types of revenge killers, like Choice Band Scizor and Mimikyu, can also accomplish this. Dark-type checks like Cobalion and Mega Altaria can ease Celebi's uneasy matchups against Pokemon like Hydreigon, Bisharp, and Mega Sharpedo. Both Pokemon also appreciate Celebi's ability to muscle past Amoonguss and Moltres, while the latter also enjoys Celebi's ability to weaken most Steel-types a fair amount. Steel-type checks like Volcanion, Nidoqueen, and Mega Blastoise can also be helpful teammates through their ability to help Celebi more easily overwhelm checks like Mega Aggron, Doublade, and Klefki. Pursuit support from Krookodile, Alolan Muk, Mega Aerodactyl, and Bisharp eases Celebi's matchup against opposing Celebi, Latias, and Gengar. Pivots like Scizor, Gligar, and Moltres can reliably bring Celebi into play, letting it avoid directly switching in to stay healthy as it sets up. Scizor and Gligar can lure in several Water-types, like Alomomola and Suicune, for Celebi to set up on, while Moltres can lure another easy setup target in Rhyperior. Some Pokemon have weaker stall matchups and thus appreciate Celebi's ability to take on defensive teams relatively well. Examples include Mimikyu, Suicune, and Choice item variants of Hydreigon. Pokemon that have trouble breaking Water- or Ground-types, like Doublade and Mega Manectric, respectively, also enjoy Celebi for its ability to take most on quite reliably.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A defensive pivoting set with Stealth Rock and U-turn has merit thanks to Celebi's ability to take on most passive foes, like Swampert and Alomomola, quite well. However, such a set is much easier to take advantage of and doesn't have the same utility Celebi's boosting sets often provide. Earth Power + Groundium Z is an option for more easily powering through Steel-types like Mega Aggron and Klefki. It also takes on two of Celebi's only counters in Alolan Muk and Assault Vest Bisharp. However, this usually limits Celebi's coverage compared to its other options for Z-Moves, leaving it unable to hit Latias or Hydreigon very hard. Ghostium Z alongside Shadow Ball is an option for taking on Latias more reliably, breaking through a rare yet fairly reliable counter in Bronzong, nailing opposing Celebi, and still dealing heavy damage to Mega Aggron and Scizor. The main drawback, however, is the coverage or recovery Celebi will have to give up to run it, often hurting its matchups against the likes of Blissey and Hydreigon. A Choice Scarf set allows Celebi to better take advantage of its access to both Healing Wish and U-turn while revenge killing a few common nuisances, like Infernape, Dragon Dance Feraligatr, and Terrakion, though its damage output is lacking, thus making Celebi easier to exploit. An offensive Stealth Rock set is also an option due to Celebi's ability to threaten several common entry hazard removers, like Tentacruel, Starmie, and Empoleon, but Celebi tends to run into issues fitting every move it'd like on such a set and can also struggle dealing meaningful damage to resistant or bulkier targets.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Pokemon**: Celebi's average Speed and many weaknesses allow several faster Pokemon like Infernape, Mega Manectric, Gengar, and Nihilego to easily exploit it. Choice Scarf users like Hydreigon, Krookodile, and Chandelure can also heavily pressure Celebi, even threatening to trap it with Pursuit in Krookodile's case.
**Dark-types**: Although they can drop to the right attack, several Dark-types have ways of pressuring Celebi. Mega Sharpedo and Krookodile's Grass-type weaknesses prevent them from reliably switching in, though both Pokemon have ways of outrunning Celebi, either through Speed Boost or running Choice Scarf, and threatening it with super effective STAB moves. Mega Sharpedo can also just naturally outrun Celebi if it's running a Jolly nature. Bisharp's Assault Vest set can switch into any of Celebi's attacks and Pursuit trap it, while offensive sets fear Leaf Storm variants but can overwhelm Celebi with STAB Sucker Punch. Alolan Muk completely walls any set Celebi can run barring the rare Groundium Z, allowing it to easily pressure it with its STAB attacks or threaten to trap it with Pursuit. Mega Houndoom resists Celebi's STAB coverage, can naturally outspeed it, and threatens to OHKO it with STAB Fire Blast.
**Dragon-types**: Latias resists Celebi's STAB moves, avoids the 2HKO from an unboosted Dazzling Gleam, and can outspeed and threaten Celebi with Dragon-type STAB moves, even using non-Dazzling Gleam sets as setup bait. Hydreigon must be warier about coming in on Dazzling Gleam and can also drop to a boosted Bloom Doom, but it outspeeds Celebi if running Choice Scarf and can dent it heavily with STAB Dark Pulse or gain momentum with U-turn. Kyurem can tank any boosted attack from full barring Shattered Psyche and proceed to KO Celebi with its powerful STAB Ice Beam.
**Steel-types**: Most Steel-types resist Celebi's STAB combination and can thus check its sets to various degrees of consistency. Scizor can tank any hit from full barring a boosted Shattered Psyche or Hidden Power Fire, KOing Celebi in return with its 4x effective STAB U-turn. It can also revenge kill a weakened Celebi with Bullet Punch. As mentioned before, Bisharp's offensive set forces Celebi into uncomfortable mind games, while its Assault Vest variant can tank any hit and reliably trap it. Klefki and Mega Aggron can tank both Celebi's Psychic- and Grass-type Z-Moves, allowing them to set up Spikes against it or threaten it with STAB Heavy Slam, respectively. However, both lack recovery, which leaves them prone to being overwhelmed after chip damage. Bronzong is a particularly strong answer to most Celebi sets, stomaching any attack aside from the rare Shadow Ball and chipping Celebi down with any combination of Gyro Ball, Psywave, and Toxic.
**Priority Users**: Celebi's typing leaves it weak to a large number of common priority attacks in UU. Bisharp's Sucker Punch, Mamoswine's Ice Shard, and Mimikyu and Doublade's Shadow Sneak can all pick Celebi off after it's been chipped. Scizor's Choice Band-boosted Bullet Punch doesn't deal super effective damage but can power through Celebi in two hits after Stealth Rock, allowing it to successfully take it on if it hasn't set up.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Hilomilo, 313384]]
- Quality checked by: [[Nuked, 382658], [martha, 384270], [A Cake Wearing A Hat, 388157]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [deetah, 297659]]
Celebi is among UU's most potent sweepers and stallbreakers, as its decent offensive stats and typing allow it to force out several common Pokemon, such as Amoonguss, Hippowdon, and Primarina, in order to set up with Nasty Plot. Through the use of Z-Moves and its wide movepool, Celebi can also easily work around common means of counterplay. If running Psychium Z, it can power through common Grass-type switch-ins like Scizor and Mega Altaria. If opting for Grassium Z alongside Recover, however, Celebi can handle Blissey one-on-one while generally maintaining a solid combination of power and longevity, usually giving it a strong stall matchup. Further bolstering Celebi's prowess against defensive teams is its solid typing and uninvested bulk, allowing it to pivot in on several defensive presences, such as Slowbro, Quagsire, and Alomomola, as well as Natural Cure, which allows it to switch in several times due to its ability to circumvent Toxic poison and other status ailments. Unfortunately, Celebi's typing burdens it with as many common weaknesses as useful resistances, leaving it susceptible to tier staples like Infernape, Hydreigon, and particularly Scizor due to its 4x weakness to Bug, as well as to Pursuit from the likes of Mega Aerodactyl and Choice Scarf Krookodile. Pursuit is also found on several stall teams specifically to deal with Celebi, which can burden it quite a bit if it isn't careful. Celebi is also fairly weak to the tier's priority moves, taking super effective damage from Bisharp's Sucker Punch, Mimikyu's Shadow Sneak, and Mamoswine's Ice Shard as well as a hefty chunk from Scizor's Bullet Punch. Moreover, Celebi suffers from a merely decent Speed tier for an offensive Pokemon, allowing several faster threats with super effective coverage, like Gengar, Mega Manectric, and Nihilego, to easily revenge kill it. Lastly, Celebi's offensive prowess is good but not great, meaning that it often relies on Z-Moves to break bulkier targets and thus can be worked around with proper prediction.
[SET]
name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Giga Drain / Leaf Storm
move 4: Dazzling Gleam / Recover
item: Psychium Z / Grassium Z
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Psychic is a reliable STAB move with great neutral coverage. When Psychium Z is activated, it turns into a powerful Shattered Psyche that, when boosted, OHKOes offensive variants of Scizor after Stealth Rock damage. It also reliably powers through various Pokemon that could tank a hit from full and punish Celebi, like Rotom-H, Kyurem, Moltres, and Togekiss. Giga Drain allows Celebi to stay healthy throughout a match, recovering any residual damage it takes while pressuring Ground- and Water-types like Hippowdon and Crawdaunt. Leaf Storm is an option over Giga Drain for its greater damage output against bulkier foes, allowing Celebi to immediately threaten Suicune and bulky Primarina sets more effectively. If running Leaf Storm, Celebi should opt for Recover in its fourth slot in order to maintain longevity throughout a match. Alongside Grassium Z, Leaf Storm becomes an immensely powerful Bloom Doom after a boost, allowing Celebi to hit even targets that resist it like Hydreigon and Bisharp for a potential OHKO after Stealth Rock damage while improving its one-on-one matchup against Blissey. Dazzling Gleam is Celebi's best option if running Psychium Z, allowing it to hit otherwise reliable checks in Hydreigon and Latias for super effective damage. Recover is primarily used alongside Leaf Storm to maintain longevity, improving Celebi's matchup against Blissey and most defensive teams by extension. It is still an option when Celebi is using Psychium Z, however, for providing more reliable staying power than Giga Drain. This leaves Celebi unable to beat Hydreigon, though. Hidden Power Fire allows Celebi to lure and take out Scizor without using a Z-Move, giving it more freedom to run Colbur Berry. It should be noted, however, that this usually ends up costing more valuable coverage and often requires Celebi to slowly work around checks like Hydreigon through chip damage with its STAB moves on the switch, which is a less reliable strategy.
Set Details
========
Psychium Z allows Celebi to power through bulkier targets more easily with Shattered Psyche. Grassium Z provides Celebi with a strong nuke in Bloom Doom that it can use to blow past Hydreigon in offensive matchups while, alongside Recover, taking on Blissey and bulky Steel-types like Mega Aggron more reliably in defensive matchups, powering through them after multiple boosts. While this worsens Celebi's matchups against Scizor, Latias, Togekiss, and Moltres, it can still overwhelm the likes of Rotom-H and Gligar quite easily. If a Z-Crystal is used elsewhere on the team, Celebi can opt for Colbur Berry as its item, easing its matchup against Hydreigon and Choice Scarf Krookodile and allowing it to avoid heavy damage from Pursuit. Natural Cure allows Celebi to absorb status from defensive Pokemon, further strengthening its stallbreaking capabilities.
Usage Tips
========
Celebi can most easily come in on defensive Ground- and Water-type Pokemon, such as Empoleon, Hippowdon, and Alomomola, in order to set up. Despite Natural Cure, it should be wary of getting inflicted with Toxic on the switch so as not to hinder its chances of setting up and maintaining a sweep. Recover can help with this somewhat if it's being run, though Celebi should still switch out of play relatively early if inflicted with status before setting up. Some offensive Pokemon that Celebi can force out, such as Feraligatr, Primarina, and Nidoking, also make decent setup targets, though their ability to hit Celebi hard with a strong STAB attack or super effective coverage makes this a less reliable strategy. A few defensive Pokemon run moves that can damage Celebi a fair amount, meaning it should scout their movesets before attempting to use them as setup fodder. The main examples in this case are Tentacruel and Gligar, which can both dent Celebi with Sludge Bomb and U-turn, respectively. If Psychium Z is being run, it should be activated against Scizor, which is usually KOed from full after Stealth Rock chip damage unless it's a bulky variant. It can also be used to power through various Pokemon that otherwise wouldn't drop to Celebi's attacks in one hit, like Gligar, Togekiss, Rotom-H, and if Celebi isn't running Dazzling Gleam, Mega Altaria and Kyurem. Shattered Psyche can also be used to do a decent amount of damage to some of Celebi's common Steel-type checks, like Doublade and Klefki, chipping them into range of another attack or weakening them for a teammate to finish off. Grassium Z is slightly more layered in its uses than Psychium Z, given that it has different applications depending on the matchup. When Blissey is on the opposing team, Celebi should do its best to preserve Grassium Z, as if Blissey switches in as it sets up, Celebi can power through it through the careful combination of further setup, a well-timed Z-Move, and using Leaf Storm to finish Blissey off after chipping it down. Should Blissey use Toxic as Celebi further sets up or if Celebi is low on HP, Celebi should use Recover as needed during this process. In more offensive matchups, Bloom Doom should be used to power through some of Celebi's conventional offensive blanket checks, like Hydreigon and Bisharp, while generally functioning as a strong, perfectly accurate nuke against targets that don't resist it. It can also be used to chip down Steel-type checks barring Scizor to an even larger extent than Psychium Z, often improving Celebi's one-on-one matchups against them. One should note that, since Celebi needs to forgo Dazzling Gleam for Recover alongside Leaf Storm for longevity, its Latias matchup will be quite a bit weaker. If running Colbur Berry, Celebi should use the item to ease prediction against Dark-type Pokemon. It doesn't need to worry as much about Krookodile and Hydreigon wielding Choice Scarf, allowing it to more easily bypass the former using Giga Drain or the latter with Dazzling Gleam. If Celebi isn't running Dazzling Gleam, it should work more carefully around Hydreigon, chipping it on the switch with Grass-type STAB moves and relying on teammates to adequately wear it down or outright remove it. Depending on Celebi's moveset and item selection, situational checks should be removed before it attempts sweeping. If it doesn't have the coverage necessary to beat Hydreigon on its own, for instance, Hydreigon should be removed or weakened by a teammate prior to setup. Pokemon capable of outrunning and overwhelming Celebi, like Mega Aerodactyl, Nihilego, Infernape, and Terrakion, should also be removed from play in order to minimize its chances of getting revenge killed. Natural Cure should be used to pivot in on predicted status moves from various defensive Pokemon, such as Klefki's Thunder Wave and Swampert's Toxic, allowing Celebi to act as a decent status absorber for its team. If a Pursuit user like Mega Aerodactyl or Krookodile is on the opposing team, Celebi should do its best to preserve health with Recover in order to force mind games with them, making it much harder to get trapped and KOed. This is particularly important in stall matchups, as usually Pursuit is the only method of counterplay to Celebi found on defensive builds. It can also do this with Giga Drain if it isn't running Recover, though not as reliably.
Team Options
========
Celebi is a comfortable fit on offensive and balance teams alike thanks to its simultaneous abilities to sweep, wallbreak, and stallbreak with Nasty Plot. Entry hazard support is extremely important in allowing Celebi to achieve various KOs, such as the OHKO on Scizor with +2 Shattered Psyche after Stealth Rock. This makes Stealth Rock setters like Mega Steelix, Cobalion, and Nihilego reliable options as teammates. Krookodile is particularly helpful, as in addition to providing Stealth Rock support, it can run Pursuit to handle Latias and Gengar for Celebi while using Knock Off to remove items like Choice Scarf from Hydreigon and opposing Krookodile, preventing them from reliably revenge killing Celebi. Tentacruel is another solid option for a teammate, as it can pivot in on Fire- and Poison-type attacks for Celebi, provide Rapid Spin support, and use Toxic Spikes to help improve Celebi's already strong stall matchup. It also provides a strong check to a few Fighting-types that Celebi can't reliably check on its own, like Infernape and Cobalion. Celebi's average Speed for an offensive Pokemon makes Choice Scarf users like Infernape, Krookodile, and Nihilego good options for teammates, as they can revenge kill the fast Pokemon often used to pick Celebi off. Other types of revenge killers, like Choice Band Scizor and Mimikyu, can also accomplish this. Dark-type checks like Cobalion and Mega Altaria can ease Celebi's uneasy matchups against Pokemon like Hydreigon, Bisharp, and Mega Sharpedo. Both Pokemon also appreciate Celebi's ability to muscle past Amoonguss and Moltres, while the latter also enjoys Celebi's ability to weaken most Steel-types a fair amount. Steel-type checks like Volcanion, Nidoqueen, and Mega Blastoise can also be helpful teammates through their ability to help Celebi more easily overwhelm checks like Mega Aggron, Doublade, and Klefki. Pursuit support from Krookodile, Alolan Muk, Mega Aerodactyl, and Bisharp eases Celebi's matchup against opposing Celebi, Latias, and Gengar. Pivots like Scizor, Gligar, and Moltres can reliably bring Celebi into play, letting it avoid directly switching in to stay healthy as it sets up. Scizor and Gligar can lure in several Water-types, like Alomomola and Suicune, for Celebi to set up on, while Moltres can lure another easy setup target in Rhyperior. Some Pokemon have weaker stall matchups and thus appreciate Celebi's ability to take on defensive teams relatively well. Examples include Mimikyu, Suicune, and Choice item variants of Hydreigon. Pokemon that have trouble breaking Water- or Ground-types, like Doublade and Mega Manectric, respectively, also enjoy Celebi for its ability to take most on quite reliably.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A defensive pivoting set with Stealth Rock and U-turn has merit thanks to Celebi's ability to take on most passive foes, like Swampert and Alomomola, quite well. However, such a set is much easier to take advantage of and doesn't have the same utility Celebi's boosting sets often provide. Earth Power + Groundium Z is an option for more easily powering through Steel-types like Mega Aggron and Klefki. It also takes on two of Celebi's only counters in Alolan Muk and Assault Vest Bisharp. However, this usually limits Celebi's coverage compared to its other options for Z-Moves, leaving it unable to hit Latias or Hydreigon very hard. Ghostium Z alongside Shadow Ball is an option for taking on Latias more reliably, breaking through a rare yet fairly reliable counter in Bronzong, nailing opposing Celebi, and still dealing heavy damage to Mega Aggron and Scizor. The main drawback, however, is the coverage or recovery Celebi will have to give up to run it, often hurting its matchups against the likes of Blissey and Hydreigon. A Choice Scarf set allows Celebi to better take advantage of its access to both Healing Wish and U-turn while revenge killing a few common nuisances, like Infernape, Dragon Dance Feraligatr, and Terrakion, though its damage output is lacking, thus making Celebi easier to exploit. An offensive Stealth Rock set is also an option due to Celebi's ability to threaten several common entry hazard removers, like Tentacruel, Starmie, and Empoleon, but Celebi tends to run into issues fitting every move it'd like on such a set and can also struggle dealing meaningful damage to resistant or bulkier targets.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Pokemon**: Celebi's average Speed and many weaknesses allow several faster Pokemon like Infernape, Mega Manectric, Gengar, and Nihilego to easily exploit it. Choice Scarf users like Hydreigon, Krookodile, and Chandelure can also heavily pressure Celebi, even threatening to trap it with Pursuit in Krookodile's case.
**Dark-types**: Although they can drop to the right attack, several Dark-types have ways of pressuring Celebi. Mega Sharpedo and Krookodile's Grass-type weaknesses prevent them from reliably switching in, though both Pokemon have ways of outrunning Celebi, either through Speed Boost or running Choice Scarf, and threatening it with super effective STAB moves. Mega Sharpedo can also just naturally outrun Celebi if it's running a Jolly nature. Bisharp's Assault Vest set can switch into any of Celebi's attacks and Pursuit trap it, while offensive sets fear Leaf Storm variants but can overwhelm Celebi with STAB Sucker Punch. Alolan Muk completely walls any set Celebi can run barring the rare Groundium Z, allowing it to easily pressure it with its STAB attacks or threaten to trap it with Pursuit. Mega Houndoom resists Celebi's STAB coverage, can naturally outspeed it, and threatens to OHKO it with STAB Fire Blast.
**Dragon-types**: Latias resists Celebi's STAB moves, avoids the 2HKO from an unboosted Dazzling Gleam, and can outspeed and threaten Celebi with Dragon-type STAB moves, even using non-Dazzling Gleam sets as setup bait. Hydreigon must be warier about coming in on Dazzling Gleam and can also drop to a boosted Bloom Doom, but it outspeeds Celebi if running Choice Scarf and can dent it heavily with STAB Dark Pulse or gain momentum with U-turn. Kyurem can tank any boosted attack from full barring Shattered Psyche and proceed to KO Celebi with its powerful STAB Ice Beam.
**Steel-types**: Most Steel-types resist Celebi's STAB combination and can thus check its sets to various degrees of consistency. Scizor can tank any hit from full barring a boosted Shattered Psyche or Hidden Power Fire, KOing Celebi in return with its 4x effective STAB U-turn. It can also revenge kill a weakened Celebi with Bullet Punch. As mentioned before, Bisharp's offensive set forces Celebi into uncomfortable mind games, while its Assault Vest variant can tank any hit and reliably trap it. Klefki and Mega Aggron can tank both Celebi's Psychic- and Grass-type Z-Moves, allowing them to set up Spikes against it or threaten it with STAB Heavy Slam, respectively. However, both lack recovery, which leaves them prone to being overwhelmed after chip damage. Bronzong is a particularly strong answer to most Celebi sets, stomaching any attack aside from the rare Shadow Ball and chipping Celebi down with any combination of Gyro Ball, Psywave, and Toxic.
**Priority Users**: Celebi's typing leaves it weak to a large number of common priority attacks in UU. Bisharp's Sucker Punch, Mamoswine's Ice Shard, and Mimikyu and Doublade's Shadow Sneak can all pick Celebi off after it's been chipped. Scizor's Choice Band-boosted Bullet Punch doesn't deal super effective damage but can power through Celebi in two hits after Stealth Rock, allowing it to successfully take it on if it hasn't set up.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Hilomilo, 313384]]
- Quality checked by: [[Nuked, 382658], [martha, 384270], [A Cake Wearing A Hat, 388157]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [deetah, 297659]]
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