[OVERVIEW]
* With the advent of Z-moves and its newfound access to Flare Blitz, Litleo can utilize its decent STAB coverage, good ability in Moxie, and access to Flame Charge allow it to become an adequate physical sweeper for offensive teams. Its access to Wild Charge allows it to hit what would otherwise be checks in Water-types, while its Speed tier is also quite nice even without boosts. However, despite its good offensive prowess, Litleo's bulk is very poor and it is weak to Stealth Rock and the tier's common Fighting- and Water-types. A weakness to priority attacks like Mach Punch, Vacuum Wave, and Aqua Jet also troubles Litleo as a sweeper, due to the prevalence of all these moves. Litleo also lacks much power before Moxie boosts, which leaves it walled by a lot of Pokemon that resist Flare Blitz, like Kabuto and Slowpoke. Lastly, Litleo is troubled by its inability to harm Onix, which is one of the tier's most common Pokemon.
[SET]
name: Moxie Sweeper
move 1: Flare Blitz
move 2: Return
move 3: Flame Charge
move 4: Wild Charge
item: Firium Z
ability: Moxie
nature: Jolly
evs: 20 HP / 196 Atk / 52 Def / 4 SpD / 180 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Flare Blitz is a powerful STAB attack that hits anything that doesn't resist it for good damage. When Firium Z is activated, Flare Blitz turns into a powerful Inferno Overdrive, capable of breaking through the likes of Croagunk, Mienfoo, and Vullaby after Knock Off and Stealth Rock damage. Return is good STAB coverage alongside Flare Blitz, allowing Litleo to hit the likes of Chinchou and Ponyta harder. Flame Charge is important for boosting Litleo's Speed and enabling its sweep. Wild Charge hits bulky Water-types that wall Litleo, like Staryu, Slowpoke, and Mareanie super effectively.
Set Details
========
Maximum investment in Attack puts as much power behind Litleo's attacks as possible, while maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature is useful for reaching the 17 Speed benchmark, outspeeding Pawniard and speed tying Mienfoo. 20 EVs in HP allow Litleo to minimize damage taken from Stealth Rock, while the remaining EVs are pooled into Defense and Special Defense to slightly increase Litleo's bulk. Moxie is the ability of choice since it boosts Litleo's mediocre Attack to impressive levels after it nets a KO. Firium Z is useful for turning Flare Blitz into a very powerful Inferno Overdrive, which is useful for breaking very bulky Pokemon.
Usage Tips
========
Litleo's main role is as a sweeper, which means it should be preserved for the late-game, and that its checks and counters should be removed or weakened before it attempts cleaning up. Although some Rock-types are hit hard by Wild Charge, most, like Onix and Cranidos, aren't hit hard by Litleo's attacks at all, and should be removed before it sweeps as a result. Bulky Water-types should be weakened or removed, as most can comfortably take a Wild Charge from full and KO Litleo with super effective STAB attacks. Bulky Ground-types should also be removed, as most also can tank an unboosted hit from full and in return OHKO Litleo. Fighting-types with priority also need to be removed in order to prevent Litleo being revenge killed. Since it's frail, Litleo will at times struggle to find opportunities to boost its Speed with Flame Charge, and should look to set up on Pokemon that don't do much damage to it, like Spritzee, Ponyta, and Pumpkaboo.
Team Options
========
Diglett is a particularly useful partner, since it can remove Rock- and Fire-types, Croagunk, and Chinchou, which can all complicate Litleo's sweeps. Offensive Water-types like Staryu, Chinchou, and Shellder make good teammates due to their ability to easily take care of the Rock- and Ground-type Pokemon that Litleo hates taking on. Grass-types like Snivy and Cottonee can also check Rock- and Ground-types, and thus make good teammates as well. Fighting-type checks such as Snubbull, Vullaby, and Abra are capable of removing the likes of Timburr, Croagunk, and Mienfoo, who all pose quite the thread to Litleo. Electric-types such as Magnemite, Elekid, and Chinchou, which is particularly helpful due to its 4x Water resistance, can bring Litleo in safely with Volt Switch, as well as reliably removing bulky Water-types that impede Litleo's sweep at full health. Entry hazard support from Dwebble, Onix, Omanyte, and Ferroseed is good for doing chip damage to foes and allowing Litleo to more reliably KO some foes. Entry hazard removal from Staryu and Kabuto is also quite helpful, as it circumvents Litleo's troublesome weakness to Stealth Rock. Speed control in the form of Thunder Wave helps Litleo to outspeed Choice Scarf users that look to revenge kill it, which makes Pokemon that use Thunder Wave, like Slowpoke, Snubbull, and Ferroseed, good partners.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A special attacking set is an option due to Litleo's good Special Attack stat and access to Hidden Power Grass to hit Water-, Ground-, and Rock-types. However, its general lack of power makes this suboptimal in comparison to physical sets. Electrium Z is also an option for being able to OHKO bulky Water-types with a super effective Gigavolt Havoc. Groundium Z in tandem with Dig can remove Chinchou, though this often leaves Litleo without room for other valuable moves.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types**: Bulky Water-types like Slowpoke and Mareanie have the bulk to live a Wild Charge, and in return threaten Litleo with STAB Scald or status. Water-types that use Aqua Jet, like Corphish and Kabuto, are also quite threatening, as they can easily revenge kill Litleo without needing to tank a hit. Chinchou in particular is a problem, since it is immune to Wild Charge, can tank a Return, and can also OHKO Litleo with super effective STAB attacks.
**Fighting-types**: Bulky Fighting-types like Mienfoo and Pancham usually will be able to survive a hit and threaten Litleo with super effective STAB, while Timburr and Croagunk can use priority in the forms of Mach Punch and Vacuum Wave to revenge kill Litleo.
**Rock-types**: Although some Rock-types like Archen and Omanyte fear Wild Charge, most, like Onix and Solid Rock Tirtouga, can tank any of Litleo's attacks and kill it with super effective STAB attacks.
**Faster Choice Scarf Users**: Even though its Speed is good after a Flame Charge boost, Litleo is still outsped and KOed by faster Choice Scarf users, like Gastly and Doduo.
**Bulky Ground-types**: Litleo can struggle to break past Mudbray and Hippopotas if it's already used its Firium Z, while these bulky Ground-types can threaten it with super effective STAB in return.
**Stealth Rock**: Litleo's Fire-typing and lack of recovery leaves it vulnerable to Stealth Rock damage, which can leave it vulnerable to revenge killers.
* With the advent of Z-moves and its newfound access to Flare Blitz, Litleo can utilize its decent STAB coverage, good ability in Moxie, and access to Flame Charge allow it to become an adequate physical sweeper for offensive teams. Its access to Wild Charge allows it to hit what would otherwise be checks in Water-types, while its Speed tier is also quite nice even without boosts. However, despite its good offensive prowess, Litleo's bulk is very poor and it is weak to Stealth Rock and the tier's common Fighting- and Water-types. A weakness to priority attacks like Mach Punch, Vacuum Wave, and Aqua Jet also troubles Litleo as a sweeper, due to the prevalence of all these moves. Litleo also lacks much power before Moxie boosts, which leaves it walled by a lot of Pokemon that resist Flare Blitz, like Kabuto and Slowpoke. Lastly, Litleo is troubled by its inability to harm Onix, which is one of the tier's most common Pokemon.
[SET]
name: Moxie Sweeper
move 1: Flare Blitz
move 2: Return
move 3: Flame Charge
move 4: Wild Charge
item: Firium Z
ability: Moxie
nature: Jolly
evs: 20 HP / 196 Atk / 52 Def / 4 SpD / 180 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Flare Blitz is a powerful STAB attack that hits anything that doesn't resist it for good damage. When Firium Z is activated, Flare Blitz turns into a powerful Inferno Overdrive, capable of breaking through the likes of Croagunk, Mienfoo, and Vullaby after Knock Off and Stealth Rock damage. Return is good STAB coverage alongside Flare Blitz, allowing Litleo to hit the likes of Chinchou and Ponyta harder. Flame Charge is important for boosting Litleo's Speed and enabling its sweep. Wild Charge hits bulky Water-types that wall Litleo, like Staryu, Slowpoke, and Mareanie super effectively.
Set Details
========
Maximum investment in Attack puts as much power behind Litleo's attacks as possible, while maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature is useful for reaching the 17 Speed benchmark, outspeeding Pawniard and speed tying Mienfoo. 20 EVs in HP allow Litleo to minimize damage taken from Stealth Rock, while the remaining EVs are pooled into Defense and Special Defense to slightly increase Litleo's bulk. Moxie is the ability of choice since it boosts Litleo's mediocre Attack to impressive levels after it nets a KO. Firium Z is useful for turning Flare Blitz into a very powerful Inferno Overdrive, which is useful for breaking very bulky Pokemon.
Usage Tips
========
Litleo's main role is as a sweeper, which means it should be preserved for the late-game, and that its checks and counters should be removed or weakened before it attempts cleaning up. Although some Rock-types are hit hard by Wild Charge, most, like Onix and Cranidos, aren't hit hard by Litleo's attacks at all, and should be removed before it sweeps as a result. Bulky Water-types should be weakened or removed, as most can comfortably take a Wild Charge from full and KO Litleo with super effective STAB attacks. Bulky Ground-types should also be removed, as most also can tank an unboosted hit from full and in return OHKO Litleo. Fighting-types with priority also need to be removed in order to prevent Litleo being revenge killed. Since it's frail, Litleo will at times struggle to find opportunities to boost its Speed with Flame Charge, and should look to set up on Pokemon that don't do much damage to it, like Spritzee, Ponyta, and Pumpkaboo.
Team Options
========
Diglett is a particularly useful partner, since it can remove Rock- and Fire-types, Croagunk, and Chinchou, which can all complicate Litleo's sweeps. Offensive Water-types like Staryu, Chinchou, and Shellder make good teammates due to their ability to easily take care of the Rock- and Ground-type Pokemon that Litleo hates taking on. Grass-types like Snivy and Cottonee can also check Rock- and Ground-types, and thus make good teammates as well. Fighting-type checks such as Snubbull, Vullaby, and Abra are capable of removing the likes of Timburr, Croagunk, and Mienfoo, who all pose quite the thread to Litleo. Electric-types such as Magnemite, Elekid, and Chinchou, which is particularly helpful due to its 4x Water resistance, can bring Litleo in safely with Volt Switch, as well as reliably removing bulky Water-types that impede Litleo's sweep at full health. Entry hazard support from Dwebble, Onix, Omanyte, and Ferroseed is good for doing chip damage to foes and allowing Litleo to more reliably KO some foes. Entry hazard removal from Staryu and Kabuto is also quite helpful, as it circumvents Litleo's troublesome weakness to Stealth Rock. Speed control in the form of Thunder Wave helps Litleo to outspeed Choice Scarf users that look to revenge kill it, which makes Pokemon that use Thunder Wave, like Slowpoke, Snubbull, and Ferroseed, good partners.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A special attacking set is an option due to Litleo's good Special Attack stat and access to Hidden Power Grass to hit Water-, Ground-, and Rock-types. However, its general lack of power makes this suboptimal in comparison to physical sets. Electrium Z is also an option for being able to OHKO bulky Water-types with a super effective Gigavolt Havoc. Groundium Z in tandem with Dig can remove Chinchou, though this often leaves Litleo without room for other valuable moves.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types**: Bulky Water-types like Slowpoke and Mareanie have the bulk to live a Wild Charge, and in return threaten Litleo with STAB Scald or status. Water-types that use Aqua Jet, like Corphish and Kabuto, are also quite threatening, as they can easily revenge kill Litleo without needing to tank a hit. Chinchou in particular is a problem, since it is immune to Wild Charge, can tank a Return, and can also OHKO Litleo with super effective STAB attacks.
**Fighting-types**: Bulky Fighting-types like Mienfoo and Pancham usually will be able to survive a hit and threaten Litleo with super effective STAB, while Timburr and Croagunk can use priority in the forms of Mach Punch and Vacuum Wave to revenge kill Litleo.
**Rock-types**: Although some Rock-types like Archen and Omanyte fear Wild Charge, most, like Onix and Solid Rock Tirtouga, can tank any of Litleo's attacks and kill it with super effective STAB attacks.
**Faster Choice Scarf Users**: Even though its Speed is good after a Flame Charge boost, Litleo is still outsped and KOed by faster Choice Scarf users, like Gastly and Doduo.
**Bulky Ground-types**: Litleo can struggle to break past Mudbray and Hippopotas if it's already used its Firium Z, while these bulky Ground-types can threaten it with super effective STAB in return.
**Stealth Rock**: Litleo's Fire-typing and lack of recovery leaves it vulnerable to Stealth Rock damage, which can leave it vulnerable to revenge killers.
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