OU Celesteela

p2

Banned deucer.
qc gary / hootie / cm
gp tdp / cryogyro

[OVERVIEW]
Celesteela is one of the best Pokemon in the tier, with a fantastic defensive typing, well-rounded stats, and a large movepool. Steel / Flying typing along with massive bulk allows Celesteela to check many threats in the tier such as Tapu Lele, Mega Alakazam, Latios, Garchomp, Tapu Bulu, and Landorus-T. Even though Celesteela lacks reliable recovery, access to Leech Seed allows it to sustain itself against non-Grass-types. Celesteela also has the option of offensive sets that can snowball extremely quickly with Beast Boost, but those lack Speed and can be easily outsped by fast Choice Scarf users even after an Autotomize boost. Despite being a fantastic Pokemon in OU, Celesteela struggles with the high usage of Zapdos, which shuts down all sets and PP stalls Leech Seed easily. On top of this, many Pokemon Celesteela is supposed to beat are constantly adapting to its presence and running Z-Moves in order to remove it or drastically weaken it, with examples being Electrium Z on Tapu Lele and Latios.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Protect
move 3: Heavy Slam
move 4: Flamethrower
item: Leftovers
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Leech Seed allows Celesteela to heal against non-Grass-types and annoy a lot of switch-ins that would be safe otherwise such as Heatran. It's also the closest thing Celesteela has to reliable recovery. Protect allows Celesteela to scout Choice item users as well as potential Z-Move users while also letting it heal additional HP from Leftovers and Leech Seed. Heavy Slam is Celesteela's strongest STAB move and deals very solid damage to Pokemon that don't resist it. Flamethrower hits Steel-types that resist Heavy Slam such as Skarmory, Mega Scizor, and Magnezone and hits Grass-types immune to Leech Seed such as Tangrowth and Ferrothorn. Earthquake is an option to hit Heatran and deal more damage to Magnezone, but losing out on Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and opposing Celesteela is a huge deal.

Set Details
========

Maximum HP investment along with maximum Special Defense investment makes Celesteela as specially bulky as possible, allowing it to survive some impressive hits like Magnet Tapu Koko's Thunderbolt. It also makes handling Fairy-types like Tapu Lele much easier. A Sassy nature is used to preserve the power of Heavy Slam and Flamethrower. Leftovers provides additional passive recovery, which is useful alongside Protect and Leech Seed. A more physically defensive EV spread can be used to take on threats such as Landorus-T and Garchomp more easily, but this comes at the cost of being weaker to the likes of Tapu Lele.

Usage Tips
========

Celesteela should be sent out against Pokemon it can easily wall like Tapu Lele, Mega Pinsir, most variants of Protean Greninja, Landorus-T, and most Garchomp sets. Be wary of moves that can easily break down Celesteela or lure it such as Rockium Z Landorus-T and Electrium Z Tapu Lele. While Protect can be used to scout these, be careful your opponent doesn't take advantage of this by setting up further or preserving their Z-Move. Avoid letting Celesteela get too weak because a healthy Celesteela is one of the most annoying things to face in the entire tier. This includes avoiding Knock Off and using Leech Seed with Protect whenever necessary.

Team Options
========

Toxapex completes the well-known CelePex core, a very strong defensive core that mostly relies on passive damage to break down threats. Although they compound a weakness to Electric-types, Celesteela takes on many Psychic-types that threaten Toxapex while appreciating Toxic Spikes support from Toxapex.Tangrowth is another Regenerator user that fits very well with Celesteela because it helps take on Electric-types and serve as a sponge for powerful Water-type attacks from the likes of Keldeo. Clefable is a solid option alongside Celesteela because it can switch into weaker Electric-types such as Thundurus lacking Sludge Wave and takes on strong physical breakers such as Mega Medicham and Mega Heracross. It can also spread paralysis with Thunder Wave or remove items from threatening Pokemon such as Heatran with Knock Off. Zygarde and other Ground-types are great breakers to pair with Celesteela because they can help break down Pokemon capable of walling Celesteela like Tangrowth, Amoonguss, and Mega Venusaur. They also effectively threaten Electric-types such as Tapu Koko and Thundurus. Other bulky options for taking on Electric-types include bulkier Ground-types such as Hippowdon. Pokemon such as Tyranitar and Chansey can also take on most Electric-types to an extent.

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Autotomize
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Giga Drain / Earthquake
item: Flyinium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Autotomize allows Celesteela to sharply raise its Speed, letting it pressure offensive teams very easily and making it difficult for non-Choice Scarf users to revenge kill it. Air Slash is Celesteela's strongest Flying-type STAB attack and has very solid neutral coverage. It is also used in conjunction with Flyinium Z to provide a one-time nuke that breaks down Pokemon such as Landorus-T very easily. Fire Blast nails Steel-types that resist Air Slash such as Skarmory, Magearna, Mega Mawile, and opposing Celesteela. It also picks off Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor easily. Giga Drain hits Water-types, notably OHKOing Greninja and Keldeo at +1. This also allows Celesteela to heal versus weakened Pokemon such as Tapu Koko, Zygarde, and Tyranitar. Earthquake is an option for hitting Heatran, Tyranitar, and Assault Vest Magnezone, but it doesn't accomplish too much outside of that.

Set Details
========

Maximum Speed investment with a neutral-Speed nature allows +2 Celesteela to outspeed everything slower than Mega Alakazam. This includes all Choice Scarf users with a Speed tier of base 80 or lower as well as other threats such as Ash-Greninja and Tapu Koko. Maximum Special Attack investment with a Modest nature ensures Celesteela hits as hard as possible, as it needs as much power as it can get because its main offensive moves have low Base Power. Flyinium Z is used to give Celesteela a high-powered Flying-type STAB move that can allow it to easily activate Beast Boost when it attempts to sweep.

Usage Tips
========

Generally, avoid trying to sweep with Celesteela until Pokemon that threaten it, such as Tapu Koko and Zapdos, are weakened enough to be OHKOed by its attacks. Also ensure that faster Choice Scarf users have been picked off or are incapable of touching Celesteela when it tries to sweep; the same goes for priority users. If Celesteela is unable to sweep in a game, it's worth using as a standalone breaker, using its resistances and immunities to switch in and pick off something with a powerful Z-Move or coverage move.

Team Options
========

Pokemon commonly found on hyper offense fit very well alongside offensive Celesteela; however, this doesn't mean that offensive Celesteela has no use on slightly bulkier teams. These include suicide leads such as Azelf, Skarmory, and Garchomp to set up entry hazards as soon as possible. Smeargle is a great option too because it sets Sticky Web, which can be very useful in slowing down fast Choice Scarf users such as Keldeo, Kartana, and Greninja. Greninja is a great option too because it brings a lot of power to the table as well as Spikes, which Celesteela really appreciates when taking on grounded Pokemon. Other Pokemon such as Tapu Koko, Mimikyu, Mega Medicham, and Landorus-T fit well on this kind of teamstyle, and they can all contribute to allowing Celesteela to sweep easily. Wallbreakers that can pressure Zapdos such as Mega Pinsir and Tyranitar fit nicely with Celesteela. Physical wallbreakers like the aforementioned Mega Medicham, Mega Pinsir, and Tyranitar are also great for pressuring Chansey, which walls Celesteela. Dugtrio is an option for trapping Heatran and most variants of Chansey.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Physically based Autotomize sets with Heavy Slam / Earthquake / Fire Blast as offensive moves can be used, but those are easier to shut down with Intimidate users such as Landorus-T and Gyarados. Air Slash can be used on defensive sets to further pressure bulky Grass-types and punish the likes of Volcarona. Rockium Z with Stone Edge on Autotomize sets can be used to lure Zapdos and break it, allowing a teammate such as Mega Pinsir to sweep. Toxic can be used to cripple bulky Grass-types and Fire-types that aren't Heatran.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Zapdos**: Zapdos is one of few Pokemon that can wall Celesteela completely, as it takes negligible damage from all of Celesteela's common offensive options and can PP stall Leech Seed very easily. It also hits Celesteela super effectively with its Electric-type STAB attacks. The only things Zapdos fears are uncommon lure sets such as Rockium Z and Toxic.

**Other Electric-types**: Electric-types such as Tapu Koko, Thundurus, and Magnezone can apply heavy pressure to Celesteela because they can KO or trap it. However, they can struggle to deal with a boosted Celesteela, especially if they have been heavily weakened. They can also be massively annoyed by switching into Leech Seed often, especially if entry hazards have been set up.

**Various Offensive Lures**: Many Pokemon in OU often run lure Z-Moves in order to pick off Celesteela or weaken it to the point where it cannot do much. Some examples include Tapu Lele, Magearna, and Latios, which can run Electrium Z to obliterate Celesteela; Garchomp, which can run Firium Z; and Landorus-T, which commonly runs Rockium Z. Alternatively, the likes of Tornadus-T and Clefable can remove Leftovers with Knock Off.

**Fire-types**: Fire-types take little damage from most of Celesteela's options and can hit back with high-powered STAB moves. Mega Charizard Y, Heatran, and Volcarona are all examples of Pokemon that can power through Celesteela with extreme ease or set up on it. Lesser-used Fire-types such as Volcanion and Mega Charizard X can also be very troublesome for Celesteela.
 
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Comments
qc gary / hootie /
gp /

[OVERVIEW]
Celesteela is one of the best Pokemon in the tier, with I'm gay and think "boasting" would work well over "with" here but obv does not matter a fantastic defensive typing, well-rounded stats and a large movepool. Steel / Flying typing along with massive bulk allows Celesteela to check many threats in the tier such as Tapu Lele, Mega Alakazam, Latios, Garchomp, Tapu Bulu, and Landorus-T. it's kinda dicks at reliably checking Chomp / Lando because Dragonium Chomp blows through it at +2 with very little chip, and Fire Fang or Firium give it trouble. Lando-T is also obviously checked really shakily. I'd just condense it to Lele / Zam / Lati and say something about how it's pretty damn hard to kill because of Seeds + Tect. Even though Celesteela lacks reliable recovery, it has access to Leech Seed which allows it to sustain itself against non-Grass-types. Celesteela also has the option of offensive sets which can snowball extremely quickly with Beast Boost, but its offensive sets lack Speed and can be easily outsped by fast Choice Scarf users, even at +2. Despite being a fantastic Pokemon in OU, Celesteela also struggles with the high usage of Zapdos, which shuts down all sets and PP stalls Leech Seed easily. On top of this, many Pokemon Celesteela is supposed to beat are constantly adapting to its presence and running Z-moves in order to remove it or drastically weaken it, examples being Electrium Z Tapu Lele and Latios.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Protect
move 3: Heavy Slam
move 4: Flamethrower
item: Leftovers
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD use 248 HP, you degenerate <-- This is sub-optimal and ffs odd hp =/= less SR damage!!!!!!!!!!!!! -Hootie

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Leech Seed allows Celesteela to heal off non-Grass-types and lets it annoy a lot of switchins that would be safe otherwise such as Heatran. It's also the closest thing Celesteela has to reliable recovery. Protect allows Celesteela to scout Choice item users as well as Z-moves. Protect also allows Celesteela to heal additional HP from Leftovers and Leech Seed. Heavy Slam is Celesteela's strongest STAB move and deals very solid damage to Pokemon that don't resist it. specify Heavy Slam targets (ie what it threatens or gets solid damage on) Flamethrower hits Steel-types that resist Heavy Slam such as Skarmory and it hits Grass-types immune to Leech Seed such as Amoonguss, Tangrowth, and Ferrothorn. Earthquake is an option to hit Heatran, but losing out on Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and opposing Celesteela is huge.

Set Details
========

Maximum HP investment along with maximum SpD investment make Celesteela as specially bulky as possible, allowing it to survive some impressive hits like Magnet Tapu Koko's Thunderbolt. It also makes handling Fairy-types like Tapu Lele much easier. A Sassy nature is used so that it doesn't reduce the power of Heavy Slam or Flamethrower. Leftovers provides additional passive recovery which is useful alongside Protect and Leech Seed. mention the possibility of running partial phys def investment for Pinsir / Chomp etc

Usage Tips
========

Celesteela should be sent out against Pokemon it can easily wall like Tapu Lele, Mega Pinsir, most variants of Protean Greninja, Landorus-T, and most Garchomp sets. Pinsir actually completely destroys SpD Celest because +2 Return does 55% min and Flame only 2HKOs so I'd just remove it bc it can only win vs. it if Pinsir doesn't SD on the switch (point here is that Celest does not "easily wall" Pinsir) Be wary of moves that can easily break down Celesteela or lure it such as Rockium Z Landorus-T or Electrium Z Tapu Lele. Protect can be used to scout these though, but be careful your opponent doesn't take advantage of this and set up further/not use their Z-move. Avoid letting Celesteela getting too weak because a healthy Celesteela is one of the most annoying things to face in the entire tier. This includes avoiding Knock Off and using Leech Seed whenever necessary along with Protect.

Team Options
========

Toxapex creates the infamous CelePex core, a very strong defensive core that mostly relies on passive damage to break down threats. Although they compound weaknesses to Electric-types, Celesteela takes on many Psychic-types that threaten Toxapex while appreciate Toxic Spikes support from Toxapex. Fairy-types, especially Clefable are a solid option alongside Celesteela because it can switch into weaker Electric-types such as Thundurus lacking Sludge Wave and takes on strong physical breakers such as Mega Medicham and Mega Heracross. It can also spread paralysis with Thunder Wave or remove items from threatening Pokemon such as Heatran with Knock Off. Zygarde and Ground-types are great breakers to pair with Celesteela because they can help break down Pokemon capable of walling Celesteela like Tangrowth, Amoonguss, and Mega Venusaur. this line is awkward and just seems weird. the interactions Celest has with these isn't particularly decisive and leads to both awkwardly wearing eachother down. I'd just remove it. They also effectively threaten Electric-types such as Tapu Koko and Thundurus. this line is asscheeks. 4x weak grounds (aka the only relevant ones) get fucked by hp ice and are super shoddy elec checks. mention tang here instead of even hippo since they are actually acceptable elec checks, esp for celest balances

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Autotomize
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Giga Drain / Earthquake
item: Flyinium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Autotomize allows Celesteela to double its Speed, letting it pressure offensive teams very easily, making it difficult for non-Choice Scarf users to revenge kill it. Air Slash is Celesteela's strongest Flying-type STAB and has very solid neutral coverage. It is also used in conjunction with Flyinium Z to provide a one-time nuke which breaks down Pokemon such as Landorus-T very easily. Fire Blast nails Steel-types that resist Air Slash such as Skarmory, Magearna, Mega Mawile, and opposing Celesteela. It also picks off Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor easily. Giga Drain hits Water-types, mainly for OHKO'ing Greninja and Keldeo at +1. it also prevents celest from being walled by rotom-w This also allows Celesteela to heal vs weakened Pokemon such as Tapu Koko, Zygarde, and Tyranitar. Again, Earthquake is an option for hitting Heatran, but it doesn't accomplish too much outside of that.

Set Details
========

Maximum Speed investment with a neutral-Speed nature allows Celesteela to outspeed everything up to Mega Alakazam at +2. This includes all Choice Scarf users with a Speed tier of 80 base Speed or lower as well as other threats such as Ash-Greninja and Tapu Koko. Maximum Special Attack investment with a Modest nature ensures Celesteela hits as hard as possible as it needs as much power as it can get because its main offensive moves have low Base Power. Flyinium Z is used to give Celesteela a high-powered Flying STAB move which can allow it to easily gain boosts with Beast Boost when it attempts to sweep.

Usage Tips
========

Generally avoid trying to sweep with Celesteela until Pokemon that threaten it are weakened or are in range of its attacks such as Tapu Koko and Zapdos. Ensure faster Choice Scarf users have been picked off too or are incapable of touching Celesteela when it tries to sweep, the same goes for priority users. If Celesteela is unable to sweep in a game, it's worth using as a standalone breaker, using its resists / immunities to switch in and pick off something with a high powered Z-move or coverage.

Team Options
========

Typical generic offensive Pokemon fit very well alongside offensive Celesteela. This includes Suicide leads such as Azelf, Skarmory, Garchomp to set up entry hazards as soon as possible. Greninja is a great option too because it brings a lot of power to the table as well as Spikes, which Celesteela really appreciates when taking on grounded Pokemon. mention that spikes pressures heatran which walls you to dicks if you're not eq Other Pokemon such as Tapu Koko, Mimikyu, Mega Medicham, Landorus-T all fit well on this kind of teamstyle and they can all contribute to allowing Celesteela to sweep easily. Wallbreakers that can pressure Zapdos such as Mega Pinsir, Tyranitar fit nicely with Celesteela. Physical wallbreakers like the aforementioned Mega Medicham, Mega Pinsir, and Tyranitar are also great for pressuring Chansey which walls Celesteela. Dugtrio is an option too for trapping Heatran and most variants of Chansey.

this is a huge mess imo

like what were you doing

why is the chansey piece even relevant? that's only on stall, which has other means of walling offensive steela (toxapex/spdef sableye for generic stall and zapper for double defog)

suicide leads are fucking dogshit and generally a waste of a teamslot, don't mention them at all. generic rocker mentions are fine here, so you can keep chomp but if you keep azelf i'm leaving this site

how does mimikyu help steela???????? just because it's on webs does not mean it's some stand-out partner. just mention general wallbreakers that can soften up the opposition for sweeps.

zapdos pressure is good

make sure you have something about pressuring tran if you lack eq in addition to the thing i put about spikes annoying tran

again don't mention chansey as a target of dug since you legit need to kill 2-3 things on stall in total for steela to do anything and this set
isn't intended to do anything anyway since its a speedboosting wincon

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Physically-based Autotomize sets with Heavy Slam / Earthquake / Fire Blast as offensive moves can be used, but this set is easier to shut down with Intimidate users such as Gyarados and Landorus-T. Air Slash can be used on defensive sets to further pressure bulky Grass-types and punish the likes of Volcarona. Rockium Z on Autotomize sets can be used to lure Zapdos and break it, allowing for a teammate such as Mega Pinsir to sweep. Toxic can also be used to cripple bulky Grass-types and Fire-types that aren't Heatran.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Zapdos**: Zapdos is one of few Pokemon that can wall Celesteela completely, it resists all of Celesteela's common offensive options and it can PP stall Leech Seed very easily. It also hits Celesteela super effectively with its Electric-type STAB, heavily limiting Celesteela's effectiveness against teams with Zapdos. The only thing Zapdos fears are uncommon lure sets such as Rockium Z or Toxic.

**Other Electric-types**: Electric-types such as Tapu Koko, Thundurus and Magnezone can all apply heavy pressure to Celesteela because they can outright knock it out with high powered Electric-type STAB moves, or in the case of Magnezone; trap Celesteela. However, they can struggle to deal with a boosted Celesteela, especially if they have been heavily weakened. They can also be massively annoyed by switching into Leech Seed often, especially if entry hazards have been set up.

**Various offensive lures**: Many Pokemon in OU can often run lure Z-moves in order to pick off Celesteela or weaken it to the point where it cannot do much. Some examples include Tapu Lele, Magearna, and Latios which can run Electrium Z to obliterate Celesteela, Garchomp which can run Firium Z, while the likes of Tornadus-T and Clefable can remove Leftovers with Knock Off.

**Fire-types**: Fire-types take little damage from most of Celesteela's options and can hit back with high powered STAB moves. Mega Charizard Y, Heatran, and Volcarona are all examples which can power through Celesteela with extreme ease or set up on it. Lesser used Fire-types such as Volcanion and Mega Charizard X can also be very troublesome for Celesteela.
3/3
 

Colonel M

I COULD BE BORED!
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Righto, as promised.
Heavy Slam is Celesteela's strongest STAB move and deals very solid damage to Pokemon that don't resist it. Flamethrower hits Steel-types that resist Heavy Slam such as Skarmory and it hits Grass-types immune to Leech Seed such as Amoonguss, Tangrowth, and Ferrothorn.
I'd like you to mention what Heavy Slam hits.

Speaking of I would like to discuss your second line. In some cases Heavy Slam does more damage than Flamethrower. Obviously it will never do that to Ferrothorn, but you will outdamage most Amoonguss with Heavy Slam as an example:

0 Atk Celesteela Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 248 HP / 44 Def Amoonguss: 165-195 (38.2 - 45.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Black Sludge recovery
0 SpA Celesteela Flamethrower vs. 248 HP / 216+ SpD Amoonguss: 118-140 (27.3 - 32.4%) -- 65.7% chance to 4HKO after Black Sludge recovery

0 Atk Celesteela Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tangrowth: 108-127 (26.7 - 31.4%) -- 40.2% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock
0 SpA Celesteela Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Tangrowth: 100-118 (24.7 - 29.2%) -- 0% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock (IIRC I believe this means it has to be the absolute highest roll to 3HKO, but could be wrong).

Obviously Flamethrower does more against Rocky Helmet Tangrowth, which Heavy Slam coincidentally can find out thanks to being a contact move. Other potential Flamethrower candidates are Magnezone (which prevents Magnezone from safely switching in thanks to the combo of Leech Seed, Protect, and Flamethrower) and Mega Scizor. Rocky Helmet Tangrowth and Ferrothorn are also options. Basically just giving options to replace Amoonguss with at the least since most of the time you're going to hit Amoonguss harder with Heavy Slam.

So granted I'm not a huge fan of Earthquake, but bludz brought up a good point that it still helps against the Magnezone matchup - I would mention that as well when you're mentioning Earthquake in this set. Heatran is a big reason, but Magnezone is huge considering how much Celesteela doesn't really like Magnezone.

In Set Details for Defensive you could probably discuss about using a more physically bulkier Celesteela. There's obviously big tradeoffs such as handling Tapu Lele a little worse, but it does favor matchups better against things such as Garchomp, Mega Pinsir, and Weavile. That little bit I can agree with dk on.

Team Options for Celesteela probably could have Tangrowth added as a defensive option since usually the combination of Tangrowth / Toxapex / Celesteela is pretty fucking annoying unless you have Groundium Heatran and predict the Toxapex properly. Zygarde and Landorus-T definitely can handle Electric-types decently, but you don't really note on taking on the stronger ones with any Pokemon, so might be a good idea to add partners that do specifically that (I noticed you had Clefable for weaker Electric-type attacks which I completely agree on). This also will be a little more relevant especially with Mega Manectric's release.

I would probably mention in the Autotomize Set that Earthquake also does a little more damage to Tyranitar, even with a Modest Nature, than Giga Drain (though you gain health with Giga Drain).

In Set Details for Auto everything looks fine. You mention mons that work on balance teams too, so I would just amend your statement to include balance in there (though mention that it fits better on hyper offense). I would probably mention Smeargle for Sticky Webs support since this sort of set is often found on those type of teams and Webs is Hyper Offensive anyway.
Physically-based Autotomize sets with Heavy Slam / Earthquake / Fire Blast as offensive moves can be used, but this set is easier to shut down with Intimidate users such as Gyarados and Landorus-T.
I would mention Landorus-T before Gyarados since most Gyarados are likely to run Moxie. Intimidate usually is only on Mega Gyarados, which are rarer and more niche to fit on teams. Then again Gyarados can handle physical Celesteela alright so it's still okay to keep it mentioned. You could also mention that Mantine does well against this set too, since it sort of just sits there and dozes off.
Rockium Z on Autotomize sets can be used to lure Zapdos and break it, allowing for a teammate such as Mega Pinsir to sweep.
Mention that you pair this with Stone Edge.

I would also mention Landorus-T in Offensive Lures too since a lot of them still run Rockium. Smack Down (or Gravity) + Earthquake is also a really bad situation for Celesteela too.

Really solid analysis. A lot of this is me nitpicking, but outside of that I really love the detail on how you mention specific lures that Celesteela can be shaky against in the Overview and the like. I'd say it was worth the wait.

3.3/3
 

Lumari

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GP 1/2
[OVERVIEW]
Celesteela is one of the best Pokemon in the tier, with a fantastic defensive typing, well-rounded stats, (AC) and a large movepool. Steel / Flying typing along with massive bulk allows Celesteela to check many threats in the tier such as Tapu Lele, Mega Alakazam, Latios, Garchomp, Tapu Bulu, and Landorus-T. Even though Celesteela lacks reliable recovery, it has access to Leech Seed which allows it to sustain itself against non-Grass-types. Celesteela also has the option of offensive sets which that can snowball extremely quickly with Beast Boost, but its offensive sets those lack Speed and can be easily outsped by fast Choice Scarf users, even at +2. ("after an Autotomize boost" to reduce ambiguity?) Despite being a fantastic Pokemon in OU, Celesteela also struggles with the high usage of Zapdos, which shuts down all sets and PP stalls Leech Seed easily. On top of this, many Pokemon Celesteela is supposed to beat are constantly adapting to its presence and running Z-Moves in order to remove it or drastically weaken it, with examples being Electrium Z Tapu Lele and Latios.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Protect
move 3: Heavy Slam
move 4: Flamethrower
item: Leftovers
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Leech Seed allows Celesteela to heal off non-Grass-types and lets it annoy a lot of switchins switch-ins that would be safe otherwise such as Heatran. It's also the closest thing Celesteela has to reliable recovery. Protect allows Celesteela to scout Choice item users as well as Z-moves (potential?) Z-Move users. Protect also allows Celesteela to while also letting it heal additional HP from Leftovers and Leech Seed. Heavy Slam is Celesteela's strongest STAB move and deals very solid damage to Pokemon that don't resist it. Flamethrower hits Steel-types that resist Heavy Slam such as Skarmory, Mega Scizor, and Magnezone and it hits Grass-types immune to Leech Seed such as Tangrowth and Ferrothorn. Earthquake is an option to hit Heatran and deal more damage to Magnezone, but losing out on Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and opposing Celesteela is huge.

Set Details
========

Maximum HP investment along with maximum SpD Special Defense investment make makes Celesteela as specially bulky as possible, allowing it to survive some impressive hits like Magnet Tapu Koko's Thunderbolt. It also makes handling Fairy-types like Tapu Lele much easier. A Sassy nature is used so that it doesn't reduce to preserve the power of Heavy Slam or Flamethrower. Leftovers provides additional passive recovery which is useful alongside Protect and Leech Seed. A more physically defensive EV spread can be used over a specially defensive one to take on threats such as Landorus-T and Garchomp more easily, but this comes at the cost of being weaker to the likes of Tapu Lele.

Usage Tips
========

Celesteela should be sent out against Pokemon it can easily wall like Tapu Lele, Mega Pinsir, most variants of Protean Greninja, Landorus-T, and most Garchomp sets. Be wary of moves that can easily break down Celesteela or lure it such as Rockium Z Landorus-T or Electrium Z Tapu Lele. While Protect can be used to scout these, (comma) though, but be careful your opponent doesn't take advantage of this and set up further or just (I think? not really sure how to read this) not use their Z-Move. Avoid letting Celesteela getting too weak, (AC) because a healthy Celesteela is one of the most annoying things to face in the entire tier. This includes avoiding Knock Off and using Leech Seed whenever necessary along with Protect.

Team Options
========

Toxapex creates completes the infamous well-known CelePex core, a very strong defensive core that mostly relies on passive damage to break down threats. Although they compound weaknesses to Electric-types, Celesteela takes on many Psychic-types that threaten Toxapex while appreciate appreciating Toxic Spikes support from Toxapex. Along with Toxapex, other Regenerator users such as Tangrowth fit very well with Celesteela because it helps take on Electric-types and serve as a sponge for powerful Water-type attacks from the likes of Keldeo. Fairy-types, especially Clefable, (AC) are a solid option alongside Celesteela because it can switch into weaker Electric-types such as Thundurus lacking Sludge Wave and takes on strong physical breakers such as Mega Medicham and Mega Heracross. It can also spread paralysis with Thunder Wave or remove items from threatening Pokemon such as Heatran with Knock Off. Zygarde and Ground-types are great breakers to pair with Celesteela because they can help break down Pokemon capable of walling Celesteela like Tangrowth, Amoonguss, and Mega Venusaur. They also effectively threaten Electric-types such as Tapu Koko and Thundurus. Other bulky options for taking on Electric-types include bulkier Ground-types such as Hippowdon. Other Pokemon such as Tyranitar and Chansey can also take on most Electric-types to an extent.

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Autotomize
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Giga Drain / Earthquake
item: Flyinium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Autotomize allows Celesteela to double its Speed, letting it pressure offensive teams very easily (RC) and making it difficult for non-Choice Scarf users to revenge kill it. Air Slash is Celesteela's strongest Flying-type STAB attack and has very solid neutral coverage. It is also used in conjunction with Flyinium Z to provide a one-time nuke which that breaks down Pokemon such as Landorus-T very easily. Fire Blast nails Steel-types that resist Air Slash such as Skarmory, Magearna, Mega Mawile, and opposing Celesteela. It also picks off Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor easily. Giga Drain hits Water-types, mainly for OHKO'ing OHKOing Greninja and Keldeo at +1. This also allows Celesteela to heal vs versus weakened Pokemon such as Tapu Koko, Zygarde, and Tyranitar. Again, Earthquake is an option for hitting Heatran, Tyranitar, and Assault Vest Magnezone, but it doesn't accomplish too much outside of that.

Set Details
========

Maximum Speed investment with a neutral-Speed nature allows Celesteela to outspeed everything up to Mega Alakazam at +2. This includes all Choice Scarf users with a Speed tier of base 80 base Speed or lower as well as other threats such as Ash-Greninja and Tapu Koko. Maximum Special Attack investment with a Modest nature ensures Celesteela hits as hard as possible, (AC) as it needs as much power as it can get because its main offensive moves have low Base Power. Flyinium Z is used to give Celesteela a high-powered Flying STAB move which that can allow it to easily gain boosts with Beast Boost when it attempts to sweep.

Usage Tips
========

Generally avoid trying to sweep with Celesteela until Pokemon that threaten it are weakened or are in range of its attacks such as Tapu Koko and Zapdos. Ensure faster Choice Scarf users have been picked off too or are incapable of touching Celesteela when it tries to sweep; (SC) the same goes for priority users. If Celesteela is unable to sweep in a game, it's worth using as a standalone breaker, using its resists / resistances and immunities to switch in and pick off something with a high powered Z-Move or coverage move.

Team Options
========

Typical generic offensive Pokemon found on hyper offense fit very well alongside offensive Celesteela; (SC) however, (AC) this doesn't mean that offensive Celesteela has no use on slightly bulkier teams. This includes These include Suicide leads such as Azelf, Skarmory, Garchomp to set up entry hazards as soon as possible. Smeargle is a great option too because it sets Sticky Webs Web, which can be very useful in slowing down fast Choice Scarf users such as Keldeo, Kartana, and Greninja. Greninja is a great option too because it brings a lot of power to the table as well as Spikes, which Celesteela really appreciates when taking on grounded Pokemon. Other Pokemon such as Tapu Koko, Mimikyu, Mega Medicham, and Landorus-T all fit well on this kind of teamstyle, (AC) and they can all contribute to allowing Celesteela to sweep easily. Wallbreakers that can pressure Zapdos such as Mega Pinsir, Tyranitar fit nicely with Celesteela. Physical wallbreakers like the aforementioned Mega Medicham, Mega Pinsir, and Tyranitar are also great for pressuring Chansey which walls Celesteela. Dugtrio is an option too for trapping Heatran and most variants of Chansey.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Physically based (RH) Autotomize sets with Heavy Slam / Earthquake / Fire Blast as offensive moves can be used, but this set isthose are easier to shut down with Intimidate users such as Landorus-T and Gyarados. Air Slash can be used on defensive sets to further pressure bulky Grass-types and punish the likes of Volcarona. Rockium Z with Stone Edge on Autotomize sets can be used to lure Zapdos and break it, allowing for a teammate such as Mega Pinsir to sweep. Toxic can also be used to cripple bulky Grass-types and Fire-types that aren't Heatran.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Zapdos**: Zapdos is one of few Pokemon that can wall Celesteela completely, as it resists all of Celesteela's common offensive options and it can PP stall Leech Seed very easily. It also hits Celesteela super effectively with its Electric-type STAB attacks, heavily limiting Celesteela's effectiveness against teams with Zapdos it is used on. The only thing Zapdos fears are uncommon lure sets such as Rockium Z or Toxic.

**Other Electric-types**: Electric-types such as Tapu Koko, Thundurus and Magnezone can all apply heavy pressure to Celesteela because they can outright knock it out with high powered Electric-type STAB moves (RC) or, (AC) in the case of Magnezone, (comma) trap Celesteela it. However, they can struggle to deal with a boosted Celesteela, especially if they have been heavily weakened. They can also be massively annoyed by switching into Leech Seed often, especially if entry hazards have been set up.

**Various Offensive Lures**: Many Pokemon in OU can often run lure Z-Moves in order to pick off Celesteela or weaken it to the point where it cannot do much. Some examples include Tapu Lele, Magearna, and Latios, (AC) which can run Electrium Z to obliterate Celesteela; (SC) Garchomp, (AC) which can run Firium Z; (SC) and Landorus-T, (AC) which commonly runs Rockium Z. while Alternatively, the likes of Tornadus-T and Clefable can remove Leftovers with Knock Off.

**Fire-types**: Fire-types take little damage from most of Celesteela's options and can hit back with high-powered (AH) STAB moves. Mega Charizard Y, Heatran, and Volcarona are all examples which that can power through Celesteela with extreme ease or set up on it. Lesser used Fire-types such as Volcanion and Mega Charizard X can also be very troublesome for Celesteela.
 
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[OVERVIEW]
Celesteela is one of the best Pokemon in the tier, with a fantastic defensive typing, well-rounded stats, and a large movepool. Steel / Flying typing along with massive bulk allows Celesteela to check many threats in the tier such as Tapu Lele, Mega Alakazam, Latios, Garchomp, Tapu Bulu, and Landorus-T. Even though Celesteela lacks reliable recovery, access to Leech Seed allows it to sustain itself against non-Grass-types. Celesteela also has the option of offensive sets that can snowball extremely quickly with Beast Boost, but those lack Speed and can be easily outsped by fast Choice Scarf users, (comma) even after an Autotomize boost. Despite being a fantastic Pokemon in OU, Celesteela also struggles with the high usage of Zapdos, which shuts down all sets and PP stalls Leech Seed easily. On top of this, many Pokemon Celesteela is supposed to beat are constantly adapting to its presence and running Z-Moves in order to remove it or drastically weaken it, with examples being Electrium Z on Tapu Lele and Latios.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Protect
move 3: Heavy Slam
move 4: Flamethrower
item: Leftovers
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Leech Seed allows Celesteela to heal off against non-Grass-types and lets it annoy a lot of(space)switch-ins that would be safe otherwise such as Heatran. It's also the closest thing Celesteela has to reliable recovery. Protect allows Celesteela to scout Choice item users as well as potential Z-Move users while also letting it heal additional HP from Leftovers and Leech Seed. Heavy Slam is Celesteela's strongest STAB move and deals very solid damage to Pokemon that don't resist it. Flamethrower hits Steel-types that resist Heavy Slam such as Skarmory, Mega Scizor, and Magnezone and it hits Grass-types immune to Leech Seed such as Tangrowth and Ferrothorn. Earthquake is an option to hit Heatran and deal more damage to Magnezone, but losing out on Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and opposing Celesteela is a huge deal.

Set Details
========

Maximum HP investment along with maximum Special Defense investment makes Celesteela as specially bulky as possible, allowing it to survive some impressive hits like Magnet Tapu Koko's Thunderbolt. It also makes handling Fairy-types like Tapu Lele much easier. A Sassy nature is used to preserve the power of Heavy Slam or and Flamethrower. Leftovers provides additional passive recovery, (comma) which is useful alongside Protect and Leech Seed. A more physically defensive EV spread can be used over a specially defensive one to take on threats such as Landorus-T and Garchomp more easily, but this comes at the cost of being weaker to the likes of Tapu Lele.

Usage Tips
========

Celesteela should be sent out against Pokemon it can easily wall like Tapu Lele, Mega Pinsir, most variants of Protean Greninja, Landorus-T, and most Garchomp sets. Be wary of moves that can easily break down Celesteela or lure it such as Rockium Z Landorus-T or and Electrium Z Tapu Lele. While Protect can be used to scout these, be careful your opponent doesn't take advantage of this and by setting up further or preserves preserving their Z-Move. Avoid letting Celesteela getting too weak, (comma) because a healthy Celesteela is one of the most annoying things to face in the entire tier. This includes avoiding Knock Off and using Leech Seed with Protect whenever necessary along with Protect.

Team Options
========

Toxapex completes the well-known CelePex core, a very strong defensive core that mostly relies on passive damage to break down threats. Although they compound a weaknesses to Electric-types, Celesteela takes on many Psychic-types that threaten Toxapex while appreciating Toxic Spikes support from Toxapex. Along with Toxapex, other Regenerator users such as Tangrowth fit Tangrowth is another Regenerator user that fits very well with Celesteela because it helps take on Electric-types and serve as a sponge for powerful Water-type attacks from the likes of Keldeo. Fairy-types, especially Clefable, are Clefable is a solid option alongside Celesteela because it can switch into weaker Electric-types such as Thundurus lacking Sludge Wave and takes on strong physical breakers such as Mega Medicham and Mega Heracross. It can also spread paralysis with Thunder Wave or remove items from threatening Pokemon such as Heatran with Knock Off. Zygarde and other Ground-types are great breakers to pair with Celesteela because they can help break down Pokemon capable of walling Celesteela like Tangrowth, Amoonguss, and Mega Venusaur. They also effectively threaten Electric-types such as Tapu Koko and Thundurus. Other bulky options for taking on Electric-types include bulkier Ground-types such as Hippowdon. Other Pokemon such as Tyranitar and Chansey can also take on most Electric-types to an extent.

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Autotomize
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Giga Drain / Earthquake
item: Flyinium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Autotomize allows Celesteela to double sharply raise its Speed, letting it pressure offensive teams very easily and making it difficult for non-Choice Scarf users to revenge kill it. Air Slash is Celesteela's strongest Flying-type STAB attack and has very solid neutral coverage. It is also used in conjunction with Flyinium Z to provide a one-time nuke that breaks down Pokemon such as Landorus-T very easily. Fire Blast nails Steel-types that resist Air Slash such as Skarmory, Magearna, Mega Mawile, and opposing Celesteela. It also picks off Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor easily. Giga Drain hits Water-types, mainly notably OHKOing Greninja and Keldeo at +1. This also allows Celesteela to heal versus weakened Pokemon such as Tapu Koko, Zygarde, and Tyranitar. Again, Earthquake is an option for hitting Heatran, Tyranitar, and Assault Vest Magnezone, but it doesn't accomplish too much outside of that.

Set Details
========

Maximum Speed investment with a neutral-Speed nature allows +2 Celesteela to outspeed everything up to slower than Mega Alakazam at +2. This includes all Choice Scarf users with a Speed tier of base 80 or lower as well as other threats such as Ash-Greninja and Tapu Koko. Maximum Special Attack investment with a Modest nature ensures Celesteela hits as hard as possible, as it needs as much power as it can get because its main offensive moves have low Base Power. Flyinium Z is used to give Celesteela a high-powered Flying-type STAB move that can allow it to easily gain boosts with activate Beast Boost when it attempts to sweep.

Usage Tips
========

Generally, (comma) avoid trying to sweep with Celesteela until Pokemon that threaten it, (comma) such as Tapu Koko and Zapdos, are weakened enough to be OHKOed by its attacks or are in range of its attacks such as Tapu Koko and Zapdos. Ensure Also ensure that faster Choice Scarf users have been picked off too or are incapable of touching Celesteela when it tries to sweep; the same goes for priority users. If Celesteela is unable to sweep in a game, it's worth using as a standalone breaker, using its resistances and immunities to switch in and pick off something with a high powered powerful Z-Move or coverage move.

Team Options
========

Typical generic offensive Pokemon commonly found on hyper offense fit very well alongside offensive Celesteela; however, this doesn't mean that offensive Celesteela has no use on slightly bulkier teams. These include suicide leads such as Azelf, Skarmory, and Garchomp to set up entry hazards as soon as possible. Smeargle is a great option too because it sets Sticky Web, which can be very useful in slowing down fast Choice Scarf users such as Keldeo, Kartana, and Greninja. Greninja is a great option too because it brings a lot of power to the table as well as Spikes, which Celesteela really appreciates when taking on grounded Pokemon. Other Pokemon such as Tapu Koko, Mimikyu, Mega Medicham, and Landorus-T all fit well on this kind of teamstyle, and they can all contribute to allowing Celesteela to sweep easily. Wallbreakers that can pressure Zapdos such as Mega Pinsir, (comma) and Tyranitar fit nicely with Celesteela. Physical wallbreakers like the aforementioned Mega Medicham, Mega Pinsir, and Tyranitar are also great for pressuring Chansey, (comma) which walls Celesteela. Dugtrio is an option too for trapping Heatran and most variants of Chansey.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Physically based Autotomize sets with Heavy Slam / Earthquake / Fire Blast as offensive moves can be used, but those are easier to shut down with Intimidate users such as Landorus-T and Gyarados. Air Slash can be used on defensive sets to further pressure bulky Grass-types and punish the likes of Volcarona. Rockium Z with Stone Edge on Autotomize sets can be used to lure Zapdos and break it, allowing a teammate such as Mega Pinsir to sweep. Toxic can also be used to cripple bulky Grass-types and Fire-types that aren't Heatran.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Zapdos**: Zapdos is one of few Pokemon that can wall Celesteela completely, as it resists takes negligible damage from all of Celesteela's common offensive options and can PP stall Leech Seed very easily. It also hits Celesteela super effectively with its Electric-type STAB attacks, (comma) heavily limiting Celesteela's effectiveness against teams it is used on. The only things Zapdos fears are uncommon lure sets such as Rockium Z or and Toxic.

**Other Electric-types**: Electric-types such as Tapu Koko, Thundurus, (comma) and Magnezone can all apply heavy pressure to Celesteela because they can outright knock it out with high powered Electric-type STAB moves or, in the case of Magnezone, trapit KO or trap it. However, they can struggle to deal with a boosted Celesteela, especially if they have been heavily weakened. They can also be massively annoyed by switching into Leech Seed often, especially if entry hazards have been set up.

**Various Offensive Lures**: Many Pokemon in OU can often run lure Z-Moves in order to pick off Celesteela or weaken it to the point where it cannot do much. Some examples include Tapu Lele, Magearna, and Latios, which can run Electrium Z to obliterate Celesteela; Garchomp, which can run Firium Z; and Landorus-T, which commonly runs Rockium Z. Alternatively, the likes of Tornadus-T and Clefable can remove Leftovers with Knock Off.

**Fire-types**: Fire-types take little damage from most of Celesteela's options and can hit back with high-powered STAB moves. Mega Charizard Y, Heatran, and Volcarona are all examples of Pokemon that can power through Celesteela with extreme ease or set up on it. Lesser-(hyphen)used Fire-types such as Volcanion and Mega Charizard X can also be very troublesome for Celesteela.
 
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