Venomoth [QC 0/4]

[Ash Borer]

or Gorebyss.

Like, I tried to use this thing, I really did, but it contributes nothing defensively to a team, while with the new sleep mechanics hurt it, and its really frail so it cant set up on stuff. I tried setting up on a Thundurus because wonder skin dodges paralysis and QD would put me ahead of it but hten it just 1 shot me after SR. Venomoth is too frail to set up reliably, and the opportunity cost (an entire team slot) for passing realistically a single quiver dance is not worth it in mot cases. Smash Pass is really just way more powerful and its user is bulkier.

I want to discuss this with some more QC members before I reject it though..

 

[trc]

yeah I like gorebyss much better, and it isn't as horrifically frail, while SS is definitely a much better boost. don't know what other people think but I'll reject it unless someone objects.

 

[Gary]

Yeah most of QC all agree this thing is trash. Reliance on Focus Sash to do anything good is pretty bad, priority being everywhere is also a huge issue, because it's easy to pick off once its sash is broken. Also, it's frail as hell, which means it can barely even set up on weak non super effective attacks. Think about it, would you waste a precious team slot just to occasionally pass a Quiver Dance to something? I wouldn't think so. I've never been a fan of Baton Passing strategies anyway (besides dedicated BP because that shit is crazy) but if you wanna pass to a sweeper, you might as well go all out and use SmashPass or something.

QC Rejected 2/3

 

[trc]

I honestly think this thing is terrible. I mean, if you weigh in its advantages against its flaws, its positives are basically limited to Quiver Dance + Baton Pass + Sleep Powder. Now try and think of this in an actual battle situation. Venomoth is so frail that isn't gonna be able to set up on much in OU, and even if it sends something to sleep while you bring it down to your Focus Sash, it can only Quiver Dance while you switch into your priority user, and then finished it off before it Baton Passes. Add that to the fact that Mega Pinsir, one of the most common priority users, completely destroys it. I mean, Sleep Powder is gonna miss a quarter of the time, so relying on a 75% chance to actually do anything worthwhile is pathetic. Plus, the new sleep mechanics make sleep not as debilitating as it used to be, and after Sleep Clause activates, Venomoth won't be setting up on anything again. Speaking of setting up again, that is something Venomoth can not do at all, as it will be down to its sash and be picked off by anything faster or anything with priority. All of this gives little reason to dedicate a teamslot to Venomoth, especially as its main role can be narrowed down to "gimmick" due to the difficulty there is in pulling it off.

Finally, some other QC members' opinion.

First of all, it isn't doing much half the time if SR is on the field due to priority. Sleep Powder, a requirement to its success, misses 1/4 of the time, and has a good number of common immunities. It passes 1 QD at most -- possibly not even that. Talked to Fuzznip about this yesterday: definitive reject.

I came to the realization that Venomoth does the same thing that Gorebyss does, only in a far more unreliable and inflexible way. Whereas any offensive Pokemon can receive a Shell Smash boost and put it to good use, there are only really a handful that can take a Quiver Dance boost and put it to good use. Considering that Venomoth is nowhere near guaranteed to get off two Quiver Dance boosts, SmashPass is a better bet anyway even factoring in QD's Special Defense boost, simply because SmashPass is a consistent +2/+2/+2 boost every single time, and only has to be used once. Finally, an argument that Venomoth gets access to a sleep move is largely irrelevant when so many immunities like Mandibuzz exist. Its 75% accuracy is really not something Venomoth should be relying on, ESPECIALLY when considering that Venomoth often relies on a fast Sleep Powder to save its ass before it gets brought down by its bad bulk and iffy typing. Overall, there's not really much reason to use Venomoth—its unreliability and inferiority to Gorebyss make it unviable in my eyes.

Using this thing just isn't worth it. It's so hard to pull off given the new sleep mechanics and the fact that priority and fast revenge killers are running all over the place. Passing 1 Quiver Dance is going to be a huge pain in the ass and oftentimes it just won't work. Venomoth is also a one-trick pony, it can only do it once. So if you screw it up, there it goes. If you make it work, good on you, but it's not like something with one QD is a menace to stop.

Therefore,

QC REJECTED 3/3

 

[Colonel M]

It only needs 3.

I apologize TheManlyLadybug about this; however, I do not want to discourage you from writing another analysis as you did a good job on this.