Battle Spot Tapu Lele Preview [Singles]

Theorymon

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[OVERVIEW]

Tapu Lele is one of the biggest threats in Battle Spot Singles thanks to Psychic Surge. With a Choice Scarf, Tapu Lele becomes one of the best revenge killers in the game, with the bonus of shutting down priority thanks to Psychic Terrain. It even makes for an unexpected wall breaker when given more offensive items such as Choice Specs. However, Tapu Lele isn't very easy to switch in due to its mediocre bulk, and without a Choice Scarf, its iffy Speed stat makes it easy to revenge kill.

Below are some sample sets. These set are likely to be the standard, but will be expanded upon and updated as the metagame progresses.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Shadow Ball / Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Psyshock / Thunderbolt / Focus Blast
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Psychic is Tapu Lele's most powerful STAB, perfect for taking advantage of Psychic Terrain.
* Moonblast is a good secondary STAB, slamming Dark-types and dealing more damage to Garchomp and Mega Salamence.
* Shadow Ball deals the most damage to Aegislash, though note that it won't be anywhere near KOed, activating Weakness Policy if its healthy enough to survive. It also deals good damage to opposing Tapu Lele and 2HKOs Mega Metagross.
* Hidden Power Fire 2HKOs Ferrothorn, while Psyshock deals more damage to Pokemon with lower defense stats such as Chansey. Thunderbolt is a good option if Celesteela is a big problem for your team. Focus Blast does as much to Ferrothorn as Hidden Power Fire and deals massive damage to Heatran, but it does have a 30% chance to miss. If Heatran is a big problem, Hidden Power Ground can be used.
* Choice Scarf makes Tapu Lele a fantastic revenge killer, especially since Psychic Terrain makes it immune to priority.
* A Modest nature is usually the best for maximizing power, but a Timid nature lets Choice Scarf Tapu Lele outspeed Naive Pheromosa, and other Tapu Lele outspeed common Choice Scarf Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Rotom-W, neutral speed base 100s such as Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Blaziken, and the Mega Charizard family.
* Steel-types are the most consistent problem for Tapu Lele, so any team that makes use of it should carry some checks for them.
* Consider pairing Tapu Lele with Pokemon that appreciate priority being blocked, such as Blaziken, Pheromosa, and Garchomp. Note that Psychic Terrain will harm priority on your own team as well.

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Shadow Ball / Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Psyshock / Thunderbolt / Focus Blast
item: Choice Specs
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

*Choice Specs makes Tapu Lele extremely powerful, with Psychic dealing over 40% to even Aegislash!
* Moonblast is a reliable secondary STAB that defeats most Dark-types.
* Shadow Ball blasts through Mega Metagross and 2HKOs opposing Tapu Lele, while Hidden Power Fire roasts Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor.
* Psyshock allows Tapu Lele to 2HKO Chansey, who would normally counter this set.
* Thunderbolt is the most Tapu Lele can do to Celesteela.
* Focus Blast hits Ferrothorn and Heatran hard with one move, but it does miss 30% of the time.
* This Tapu Lele excels as a wall breaker, especially when given Stealth Rock support to make resistances even riskier to switch in, since many take nearly 50% from Psychic.
* This Tapu Lele tends to do best early in the game, where it can deal massive damage to clear the way for other sweepers.
* To further up it's threat level, Pokemon that pass Speed boosts such as Blaziken make Tapu Lele extremely difficult to revenge kill.


[SET]
name: Versatile Attacker
move 1: Psychic / Psyshock
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Shadow Ball / Hidden Power Fire / Focus Blast
move 4: Taunt / Calm Mind / Nature's Madness / Hidden Power Fire
item: Psychium Z / Focus Sash / Assault Vest
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Psychic is Tapu Lele's most powerful STAB, being extremely powerful under Psychic Terrain. Psyshock is less powerful, but it deals more damage to Mimikyu and Chansey, and gives Tapu Lele a good match up against stall when paired with Taunt.
* Moonblast is a good secondary stab that deals massive damage to Dark-types, and deals more damage to Dragon-types such as Garchomp, Mega Salamence, and Dragonite.
* Shadow Ball is the best Tapu Lele can do to Aegislash and opposing Tapu Lele, while Hidden Power Fire is a better option for hitting a wider variety of Steel-types such as Ferrothorn, Scizor, and Celesteela. Focus Blast is a bit risky, but in addition to slamming Ferrothorn, it also hits Heatran hard.
* The last slot tends to work well for a support move. Taunt is excellent at shutting down defensive Pokemon that Tapu Lele may have trouble breaking otherwise, such as Cresselia and Porygon2.
* Calm Mind makes Tapu Lele very powerful, although sweeping with it shouldn't be a priority, since Tapu Lele isn't that fast. Calm Mind is best used for breaking through defensive cores, which can lead to other teammates sweeping.
* Nature's Madness works well in situations where your opponent has multiple Tapu Lele checks, and the choice between coverage moves is unclear.
* If Tapu Lele is holding Assault Vest, the last slot will either need to be Nature's Madness, or another coverage move such as Hidden Power Fire.
* Psychium Z lets Tapu Lele unleash a very powerful Z-Psychic, which is so strong that it's capable of OHKOing maximum HP Porygon2 before a boost!
* Focus Sash can help Tapu Lele get around its physical fragility. With this intact, Tapu Lele can revenge kill new threats such as Mega Salamence and Mega Gengar.
* Assault Vest takes advantage of Tapu Lele's decent special bulk. Consider an EV spread of 76 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 108 SpD / 68 Spe with a Modest nature for this variant, as this guarantees survival against Tapu Koko's Z-Thunderbolt, and nearly guarantees survival against Volcarona's +1 Z-Fire Blast, while still outspeeding Adamant Breloom.
* A Modest nature is usually the best option for boosting Tapu Lele's power, but a Timid nature ensures that Tapu Lele outspeeds Landorus-T that lack Choice Scarf.
* When using Tapu Lele, consider Pokemon that benefit from blocked priority, such as Blaziken, Garchomp, and Mega Gengar.
 
Last edited:

Psynergy

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Slash Psyshock in on the last slot or at least mention it, it actually gets more usage than Focus Blast and I've been content with Psychic/Moonblast/Shadow Ball/Psyshock on Choiced sets considering the coverage move isn't used as much as Psyshock would. Not sure there's much else to say for a preview though, stuff like Psychium Z and Taunt are cool but considering they're nowhere near as common I think this is good.
 
Not a QC but a few things to say!
* Choice Scarf makes Tapu Lele a fantastic revenge killer, while Choice Specs makes it a powerful wall breaker, with even Pokemon that resist Psychic such as Celesteela and Aegislash taking massive damage.
^ Personally, I would mention further how hard Choice Specs can hit, even with Timid. Here are a few calcs with Psychic alone under Psychic Terrain;
252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp in Psychic Terrain: 198-234 (107.6 - 127.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mega Kangaskhan in Psychic Terrain: 172-204 (95.5 - 113.3%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Magnezone in Psychic Terrain: 93-111 (52.5 - 62.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona in Psychic Terrain: 168-198 (105 - 123.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Scizor (physically defensive) in Psychic Terrain: 105-123 (59.3 - 69.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 4 HP / 4 SpD Mimikyu in Psychic Terrain: 165-195 (125.9 - 148.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Would also be making a mention of how Lele can check other tapus much better with scarf, able to always outspeed all of them and also override their terrain.
* A Modest nature is usually the best for maximizing power, but a Timid nature lets Choice Scarf Tapu Lele outspeed Naive Pheromosa, and other Tapu Lele outspeed neutral speed base 100s such as Mega Kangaskhan and the Mega Charizard family.
^ Choice Scarf Lele with Modest is slower than Jolly Scarf Lando-T, +1 Porygon-Z, and Timid Scarf Rotom-W/H. May not be 100% relevant, but still some reasons to run Timid.
* Consider pairing Tapu Lele with Pokemon that appreciate priority being blocked, such as Blaziken, Pheromosa, and Garchomp.
^ Worth a mention that it also hinders your own ability to use priority?
 
I'd move Psyshock as a slash behind Shadow Ball rather the Steel beating moves. I think covering as many steels as possible with Fire/focus blast is better than covering just aegislash.

I think Thunderbolt should be the last slash on the last slot or just taken out entirely. This was good prebank when there weren't many other relevant steels besides Celesteela but at this point I feel like Tbolt is way too specific and I'd always rather use hp fire over it.

For Psyshock, mention Mimikyu as a target. If you're Scarf Psychic doesn't get a 100% roll but Psyshock does.

* A Modest nature is usually the best for maximizing power, but a Timid nature lets Choice Scarf Tapu Lele outspeed Naive Pheromosa, and other Tapu Lele outspeed common Choice Scarf Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Rotom-W, neutral speed base 100s such as Mega Kangaskhan and the Mega Charizard family.
Idk if the previews go to GP but the end of this sentence sounds weird to me. It sounds like you're saying other Tapu Lele outspeed the last couple things you mention.

I think there should be another set besides Choice, where you can mention things like CM, Psychic/Fight Z, and Nature's Madness. Psynergy mentioned these and personally I think it's good enough for it's own set.
 

Theorymon

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After a hellish last month and a work intensive catch-up this month, I've finally had time to add the choiceless set NOVED and Psynergy ! Now that its spring break, I plan on trying to breath a lot more life into this place!
 
On the scarf set I'd move tbolt down in the slashes a peg or two. I know usage stats suggest otherwise but personally i find the other coverage moves more useful as they are not as specific.

On the second set i'd slash psyshock in the first slot. To deal with chansey and do a bit more dmg to mimikyu, secures the KO on non bulky ones. This is especially worth considering when running Taunt because you'll really tear through stall with psyshock+taunt.

Move Calm Mind ahead of Nature's Madness. When you explain CM isnt for sweeping mention that it's more for balance breaking.

For AV you could list this spread, 76 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 108 SpD / 68 Spe. lives +1 timid volc z move and outspeeds ada loom by 2 points. ripped this off 7th gen battle spot. not sure what other things it lives you could mention, koko z move is one thing.

everything else looks good, nice job man. 1/1
 

Theorymon

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Added the stuff NOVED , plus I fixed a mistake where I forgot to slash Hidden Power Fire in with Shadow Ball on the first set as well (using HP Fire over Shadow Ball is a pretty common thing).

Hulavuta cant say , you can upload this when you get the chance!
 
Mega Mence is a Flying-type, so it is not protected by Psychic Terrain.

From serebii:

In-Depth Effect:
This move creates a terrain that helps Pokémon on the ground for 5 turns. It prevents all Pokémon on the ground from using attacks with increased priority on other Pokémon and boosts the power of Psychic-type moves on grounded Pokémon by 50%

It prevents grounded users from using priority moves. So non-grounded mons with priority will still be able to use them, like Talonflame, M-Pinsir, and Staraptor.

Edit: Confirmed in other threads.

Edit2: Serebii's description is confusing and wrong.
 
Last edited:
From serebii:

In-Depth Effect:
This move creates a terrain that helps Pokémon on the ground for 5 turns. It prevents all Pokémon on the ground from using attacks with increased priority on other Pokémon and boosts the power of Psychic-type moves on grounded Pokémon by 50%

It prevents grounded users from using priority moves. So non-grounded mons with priority will still be able to use them, like Talonflame, M-Pinsir, and Staraptor.

Edit: Confirmed in other threads.
I tested it in showdown. It protects grounded mons from opposing priority moves, but Flying-types are not affected by psychic terrain, so they do not gain protection from priority.

Here is the game's description of the move Psychic Terrain: This protects Pokémon on the ground from priority moves and powers up Psychic-type moves for five turns.
 
I tested it in showdown. It protects grounded mons from opposing priority moves, but Flying-types are not affected by psychic terrain, so they do not gain protection from priority.

Here is the game's description of the move Psychic Terrain: This protects Pokémon on the ground from priority moves and powers up Psychic-type moves for five turns.
Ah - yup my mistake. Serebii's description is confusing and incorrect. I agree the analyses should be updated
 

Theorymon

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Yeah that was a brainless mistake I thought I deleted lol. Also, I will be splitting Scarf and Specs in a few hours, so stay tuned!
 

Theorymon

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I finally split up the sets, sorry for the delay! I won't be able to edit any more in since I gotta leave for camping tomorrow morning, but QC can at least check this while I'm gone!
 

Psynergy

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Wasn't this already checked and ready to go up? Either way I'll look through it again since this is a Top 10 mon to have information for. Not a lot to say but there were a few typos. Otherwise this looks great, let's get this one up imo

[OVERVIEW]

Tapu Lele is one of the biggest threats in Battle Spot Singles thanks to Psychic Surge. With a Choice Scarf, Tapu Lele becomes one of the best revenge killers in the game, with the bonus of shutting down priority thanks to Psychic Terrain. It even makes for an unexpected wall breaker when given more offensive items such as Choice Specs. However, Tapu Lele isn't very easy to switch in due to its mediocre bulk, and without a Choice Scarf, its iffy Speed stat makes it easy to revenge kill.

Below are some sample sets. These set are likely to be the standard, but will be expanded upon and updated as the metagame progresses.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Shadow Ball / Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Psyshock / Thunderbolt / Focus Blast
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Psychic is Tapu Lele's most powerful STAB, perfect for taking advantage of Psychic Terrain.
* Moonblast is a good secondary STAB, slamming Dark-types and dealing more damage to Garchomp and Mega Salamence.
* Shadow Ball deals the most damage to Aegislash, though note that it won't be anywhere near KOed, activating Weakness Policy if its healthy enough to survive. It also deals good damage to opposing Tapu Lele and 2HKOs Mega Metagross.
* Hidden Power Fire 2HKOs Ferrothorn, while Psyshock deals more damage to Pokemon with lower defense stats such as Chansey. Thunderbolt is a good option if Celesteela is a big problem for your team. Focus Blast does as much to Ferrothorn as Hidden Power Fire and deals massive damage to Heatran, but it does have a 30% chance to miss. If Heatran is a big problem, Hidden Power Ground can be used.
* Choice Scarf makes Tapu Lele a fantastic revenge killer, especially since Psychic Terrain makes it immune to priority.
* A Modest nature is usually the best for maximizing power, but a Timid nature lets Choice Scarf Tapu Lele outspeed Naive Pheromosa, and other Tapu Lele outspeed common Choice Scarf Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Rotom-W, neutral speed base 100s such as Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Blaziken, and the Mega Charizard family.
* Steel-types are the most consistent problem for Tapu Lele, so any team that makes use of it should carry some checks for them.
* Consider pairing Tapu Lele with Pokemon that appreciate priority being blocked, such as Blaziken, Pheromosa, and Garchomp. Note that Psychic Terrain will harm priority on your own team as well.

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Shadow Ball / Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Psyshock / Thunderbolt / Focus Blast
item: Choice Specs
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

*Choice Specs makes Tapu Lele extremely powerful, with Psychic dealing over 40% to even Aegislash!
* Moonblast is a reliable secondary STAB that defeats most Dark-types.
* Shadow Ball blasts through Mega Metagross and 2HKOs opposing Tapu Lele, while Hidden Power Fire roasts Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor.
* Psyshock allows Tapu Lele to 2HKO Chansey, who would normally counter this set.
* Thunderbolt is the most Tapu Lele can do to Celesteela.
* Focus Blast hits Ferrothorn and Heatran hard with one move, but it does miss 30% of the time.
* This Tapu Lele excels as a wall breaker, especially when given Stealth Rock support to make resistances even riskier to switch in, since many take nearly 50% from Psychic.
* This Tapu Lele tends to do best early in the game, where it can deal massive damage to clear the way for other sweepers.
I'd consider speed-passing as a mention for teammates but idk if you want to mention specific teammates here.


[SET]
name: Versatile Attacker
move 1: Psychic / Psyshock
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Shadow Ball / Hidden Power Fire / Focus Blast
move 4: Taunt / Calm Mind / Nature's Madness Hidden Power Fire Missing a slash
item: Psychium Z / Focus Sash / Assault Vest
ability: Psychic Surge
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Psychic is Tapu Lele's most powerful STAB, being extremely powerful under Psychic Terrain. Psyshock is less powerful, but it deals more damage to Mimikyu and Chansey, and gives Tapu Lele a good match up against stall when paired with Taunt.
* Moonblast is a good secondary stab that deals massive damage to Dark-types, and deals more damage to Dragon-types such as Garchomp, Mega Salamence, and Dragonite.
* Shadow Ball is the best Tapu Lele can do to Aegislash and opposing Tapu Lele, while Hidden Power Fire is a better option for hitting a wider variety of Steel-types such as Ferrothorn, Scizor, and Celeteela (typo). Focus Blast is a bit risky, but in addition to slamming Ferrothorn, it also hits Heatran hard.
* The last slot tends to work well for a support move. Taunt is excellent at shutting down defensive Pokemon that Tapu Lele may have trouble breaking otherwise, such as Cresselia and Porygon2.
* Calm Mind makes Tapu Lele very powerful, although sweeping with it shouldn't be a priority, since Tapu Lele isn't that fast. Calm Mind is best used for breaking through defensive cores, which can lead to other teammates sweeping.
* Nature's Madness works well in situations where your opponent has multiple Tapu Lele checks, and the choice between coverage moves is unclear.
* If Tapu Lele is holding Assault Vest, the last slot will either need to be Nature's Madness, or another coverage move such as Hidden Power Fire.
* Psychium Z lets Tapu Lele unleash a very powerful Z-Psychic, which is so strong that it's capable of OHKOing maximum HP Porygon2 before a boost!
* Focus Sash can help Tapu Lele get around its physical fragility. With this intact, Tapu Lele can revenge kill new threats such as Mega Salamence and Mega Gengar.
* Assault Vest takes advantage of Tapu Lele's decent special bulk. Consider an EV spread of 76 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 108 SpD / 68 Spe with a Modest nature for this variant, as this gurantees (typo) survival against Tapu Koko's Z-Thunderbolt, and nearly gurantees (typo) survival against Volcarona's +1 Z-Fire Blast, while still outspeeding Adamant Breloom.
* A Modest nature is usually the best option for boosting Tapu Lele's power, but a Timid nature ensures that Tapu Lele outspeeds Landorus-T that lack Choice Scarf.
* When using Tapu Lele, consider Pokemon that benefit from blocked priority, such as Blaziken, Garchomp, and Mega Salamence. Remember Mence isn't protected by terrain, think you forgot to delete that
 

Theorymon

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Just gave this one last good check, and yeah this should have been uploaded a while ago lol. Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk, time to fix this now!
 

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