Bellsprout Movesets & Competitive Sets

Chlorophyll will double Bellsprout's Speed in sunlight, allowing it to reach a Speed of 28 in total. Solar Beam does not need to charge during sunshine, which is useful as Solar Beam is a hard hitting move. Growth doubles both of Bellsprout's already impressive attacking stats under the sun, making it near impossible to wall outright. Its Attack and Special Attack stats are 17 and 14, respectively, before a Growth; 25 and 21 after a Growth without sunlight; and 34 and 28 after a Growth in sunlight, making it a hard hitting Pokemon. Sucker Punch gives Bellsprout a priority attack, which is always desired in Little Cup. Sunny Day provides sunlight to Bellsprout, which is necessary for this set to work; Chlorophyll, which increases its Speed, Solar Beam, and Weather Ball all depend on it. Either a Naughty or Rash nature can be used to boost Attack or Special Attack respectively by one point at the cost of one Speed. An alternate EV spread of 76 Atk / 196 SpA / 196 Spe can be used to boost the power of Bellsprout's specially based moves. If the alternate EV spread is used, its Attack and Special Attack stats are 15 and 16, respectively, before a Growth, 22 and 24 after a Growth without sunlight, and 30 and 32 with sunlight. The lack of defensive power again means defensive support is useful. Exeggcute is a useful Sunny Day lead as it can use Sunny Day followed by Explosion and not only take down the opponent's Pokemon, but also allow Bellsprout to come in. Ponyta is another alternative lead that can set up Sunny Day and proceed to sweep with its sun-boosted STAB Flare Blitz.

There are two things to use on any sun team: Chlorophyll and Solar Beam. The most prevalent sun sweepers all have this in common, and Bellsprout is no exception. Chlorophyll doubles Bellsprout's low Speed, which only reaches 13 with a Modest nature. After the boost from Chlorophyll, Bellsprout reaches 26 Speed. Solar Beam is a beautiful 120 Base Power STAB attack that does not need the extra turn of charging up when the sun is strong. The best way for Bellsprout to deal with its counters is to put them to sleep; Sleep Powder works well despite shaky accuracy. The other slots go to rounding off coverage, because Solar Beam doesn't hit everything by itself. Sludge Bomb is a secondary STAB attack which hits many things for neutral damage. Weather Ball also gets a boost from sunlight, becoming a 100 Base Power Fire-type attack that hits Ferroseed and Magnemite which would otherwise wall the set. The best item to use is a Life Orb, which adds to the destructive power of Bellsprout. Sunny Day provides the support necessary for this set to work, as Chlorophyll, Solar Beam, and Weather Ball all depend on sunlight. A Sunny Day sweeper can only work when there is sun, so there are two possibilities. It can be used on Bellsprout on this set, or Munchlax can be used as a teammate. Munchlax is not only a good Pokemon to have in Little Cup, but also a useful Sunny Day user; its bulk and ability to take hits along with its access to Sunny Day make it the ideal partner. The choice of nature won't make a huge difference, but Modest is preferred because of the extra power. The extra Speed is only useful for outrunning Choice Scarf users, which can threaten Bellsprout due to its low defenses. The difference in the natures is minuscule: 17 Special Attack and 13 Speed with Modest nature, and 16 Special Attack and 14 Speed with a Timid nature. After the Chlorophyll boost, it reaches 26 or 28 Speed, the latter being a Timid nature. Growth raises Bellsprout's Special Attack further, hitting 25 after a single boost, or 34 with a Modest nature in sunlight! Hidden Power Fire can be used over Weather Ball for a Fire-type attack that will not change type when the weather switches. Hippopotas and Snover both cancel the sun out, and change the weather to sandstorm and hail respectively. Snover can be hit on the switch with Sludge Bomb, however. A Water- or Ice-type special attacker will alleviate Bellsprout of Hippopotas.

Chlorophyll is a useful ability as it doubles speed in sunlight and allows Bellsprout to reach a speed of 26 with an Adamant nature. Sucker Punch provides priority, allowing Bellsprout to hit Choice Scarf holders that might outspeed it. With a Swords Dance and an Adamant nature, Bellsprout reaches 28 Attack. The presence of Sleep Powder gives Bellsprout the power to put a counter Pokemon to sleep. This is especially easy in Little Cup due to switching being particularly common. Sunny Day can be used on Bellsprout on this set to set up sunlight to activate Chlorophyll, or Munchlax can be used as a teammate. Munchlax is not only a good Pokemon to have in Little Cup, but also a handy Sunny Day user. Its bulk and ability to take hits along with its access to Sunny Day make it the ideal partner. A Jolly nature will add a point of Speed at the cost of one Attack. Its given EVs grant it maximum Attack while maintaining high levels of speed. The rest of the EVs are in Special Defense and HP. The lack of defensive power obviously means defensive support is necessary. Pokemon that can take hits from others, such as Slowpoke, will make good teammates to Bellsprout as it resists a majority of Bellsprout's weaknesses. Chinchou is another good partner for Bellsprout thanks to its resistance of Fire-type attacks, and it has an extra STAB, so it is not weakened by the sun, unlike other Water-types.

While most players think of Bellsprout as primarily a physical sweeper, its Special Attack is also a very formidable weapon. With Sunny Day in play, Bellsprout reaches a ridiculous 28 Speed, easily outpacing the unboosted metagame and most of the +1 speed tier. Solar Beam gets STAB and fires off in one turn when Sunny Day is up, and any Pokemon that doesn't resist it will be taking heavy damage (Solar Beam even has a chance of 2HKOing Munchlax through Oran Berry if Stealth Rock is up). Sludge Bomb is a secondary STAB that pairs well with Solar Beam, as it hits Grass-type Pokemon for super effective damage. Weather Ball is preferred over Hidden Power Fire in the third slot because Weather Ball's Base Power is boosted to 100 with Sunny Day up. Weather Ball allows Bellsprout to beat Bronzor, while Hidden Power Ice hits Hippopotas on the switch for big damage. Finally, the last move boils down to personal preference. Sleep Powder is preferred as it allows Bellsprout to put Snover and other would-be checks to sleep, but Synthesis heals 2/3 of Bellsprout's health in Sunny Day, which is nice as a way to offset the damage from Life Orb and priority attacks. A Life Orb is highly recommended since Bellsprout needs to hit as hard as possible with its attacks. A Timid nature, with 196 EVs, allows Bellsprout to hit 14 Speed, or 28 in Sunny Day. Special Attack is also maximized, and the leftover EVs net you an extra point in both Defense and Special Defense. Since this set loses badly to Munchlax, Pokemon that can quickly dispose of it help greatly. Choice Scarf Mankey and Machop can do this with ease, though they don't really see much use on a Sunny Day team. Obviously, this set requires Sunny Day support in order for it to function properly. Exeggcute is a good Sunny Day lead as it can use Sunny Day followed by Explosion. This will not only hopefully dispose of a Pokemon on your opponent's team, but also give Bellsprout a free switch-in. Ponyta is a quick lead that can set up Sunny Day, and take advantage of it with its STAB sun-boosted Flare Blitz. Munchlax is another good supporter, and can remove Snover, a threat to Sunny Day, with little trouble. In addition, Bellsprout and Munchlax have decent synergy - Bellsprout resists Fighting-type moves, while Munchlax can remove pesky Ghost-types that resist Bellsprout's STAB moves.

This is the most dangerous set Bellsprout is capable of running. Thanks to its Chlorophyll ability, Bellsprout hits 28 Speed in sunlight, which allows it to tie with Timid Choice Scarf Abra. With all that Speed, Bellsprout will easily be able to put an opponent to sleep with Sleep Powder, enabling it to safely set up with Swords Dance. Not many Pokemon can withstand a +2 Seed Bomb, so most will attempt to take Bellsprout out with priority. However, Bellsprout still has a secret weapon at its disposal - Sucker Punch. Since there are essentially zero Pokemon with enough Speed to tie with Bellsprout that carry a priority attack, Bellsprout is extremely hard to revenge kill after a Swords Dance. Life Orb boosts the power of Bellsprout's attacks, which is rather vital because Bellsprout needs as much power as it can get. However, an Oran Berry can be used for longevity, though it is an inferior option. A Jolly nature with 196 Speed EVs is also important, so Bellsprout can hit an unboosted 14 Speed, or 28 with Sunny Day in effect. Attack is also maxed out, and the remainder is put into Special Defense for equal defenses. Since Bellsprout doesn't hit 19 HP, 36 EVs are also put into HP. Synthesis can be used over Sleep Powder, but the free Swords Dance is generally more important. Since this set will lose to Bronzor (although Bellsprout can cripple it with Sleep Powder), Magnemite support is great. Unfortunately, they share a glaring weakness to Fire, which is boosted in the sun. For that reason, a teammate with Flash Fire is important for the effectiveness of Bellsprout and the team. Sunny Day support is necessary, so Bellsprout can double its Speed. Diglett is a reliable lead that can set up Sunny Day. If another Sunny Day sweeper, such as Oddish, has access to Sleep Powder, Return can be used over Sleep Powder to hit Houndour, a Pokemon that beats this set.