Oddish Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Oddish's most powerful STAB option is Solar Beam. Although Giga Drain is weaker, it's a useful alternative, as it ensures Oddish isn't left waiting a turn to charge if the sun runs out or the weather is changed by an opposing weather inducer. Sludge Bomb is a reliable STAB that nails Grass- and Fairy-types, particularly Cottonee and Spritzee, for super effective damage. Hidden Power Fire is mostly for hitting Steel-types that resist Oddish's STAB moves, including Pawniard, Magnemite, and Ferroseed, for super effective damage. Sleep Powder is useful for incapacitating a foe Oddish can't push past, or for helping Vulpix bring back the sun if it is about to be cut short. It can also be used to incapacitate Sucker Punch users such as Pawniard. Set Details Oddish is the bulkiest Chlorophyll sweeper in the tier and is even bulkier with Eviolite. For instance, with 76 Defense EVs, it can take an itemless Acrobatics from Fletchling and avoid an OHKO all but 6.3% of the time. Oddish needs 160 Special Attack EVs with a Modest nature for its attacks to hit hard, as well as 200 Speed EVs with Chlorophyll in order to outspeed all unboosted threats in the sun. This also allows it to outspeed Choice Scarf users such as Chinchou and Magnemite and Speed tie with others such as Pawniard and Drilbur. Usage Tips With Eviolite, Oddish is quite bulky and can therefore switch in more easily than other Chlorophyll users. It can switch into common threats such as Cottonee, Croagunk, Timburr, Mienfoo, and Chinchou quite comfortably and start attacking from there. Oddish should be brought in whenever the sun is up to put heavy offensive pressure on an opponent or to simply sweep once threats such as Vullaby and Fletchling are taken out. Sleep Powder can be used so Oddish has time to switch out and get its sun back if it is about to run out. It can also cripple a threat that Oddish is unable to beat. Team Options Vulpix is an important teammate for Oddish, as it sets up the sun that the latter requires to sweep. Another Chlorophyll user such as Bellsprout or Bulbasaur can be considered in order to overwhelm an opponent with offensive pressure; however, this puts even more pressure on the team's Flying-type checks to do their job. Archen is able to check Oddish's deadliest counters, including Flying- and Fire-types. It's also capable of providing support by removing entry hazards as well as setting up its own, which is very welcome for this set, as Eviolite Oddish lacks the power it would have with Life Orb, and thus appreciates having walls worn down. Steel-type teammates such as Magnemite and Pawniard are able to check Flying-types such as Vullaby and Archen. They also resist the Ice- and Psychic-type moves Oddish is weak to, while Oddish is bulky enough to come in on the Fighting-type moves they are weak to. A teammate to remove hazards, such as Drilbur or the aforementioned Archen, is important as well, as although Oddish may be bulky, it cannot take hits so easily if it has taken too much entry hazard damage.

Moves Oddish's most powerful attack is Solar Beam, which hits without charging in the sun. It heavily damages anything that doesn't resist it, though it is less reliable than Giga Drain, which hits regardless of whether or not the sun is up, albeit for less power. Sludge Bomb nails Grass- and Fairy-type Pokemon, particularly Cottonee and Spritzee. Hidden Power Fire covers the Steel-types that Solar Beam and Sludge Bomb fail to hit, including Pawniard, Magnemite and Ferroseed. Sleep Powder incapacitates a foe too bulky for Oddish to deal with. It's also useful for bringing back the sun by giving Vulpix a free turn to switch in. Set Details In order for Oddish to sweep effectively, it needs 240 Special Attack EVs. A Life Orb makes its attacks hit extremely hard. 200 Speed EVs with a Timid nature allow it to outspeed Choice Scarf users such as Pawniard and Drilbur under the sun. Usage Tips Without Eviolite, Oddish is too frail to be switched in, especially if it has racked up residual damage from entry hazards and Life Orb recoil, so it should only be brought in on a Grass- or Water-type attack. Oddish should attempt to sweep late-game once its counters are removed, but it can also force switches and put heavy dents in opponents in order for a teammate to finish them off late-game. However, Oddish isn't useful if the sun isn't up, so if the sun is about to end, it can use Sleep Powder on an opponent so that Vulpix can come back in and set up the sun. Team Options Oddish needs a teammate to set up the sun, and Drought Vulpix is the best choice. In addition, other Chlorophyll users such as Bulbasaur and Bellsprout can be considered as teammates, as they can help break down opposing teams. Eviolite Chinchou and Archen are helpful with removing the Fire- and Flying-types Oddish can't take on and can even provide a safe switch-in for Oddish with a slow Volt Switch or U-turn. Drilbur can provide Rapid Spin support, which is quite helpful for Oddish, as damage from Life Orb and entry hazards will wear it down very quickly. A Steel-type such as Magnemite or Pawniard can reliably check Oddish's Flying-type counters such as Vullaby and Fletchling. Oddish enjoys having entry hazards of its own to wear down its bulkier opponents. Dwebble and Archen both can set them up, while Archen can also provide Defog support and reliably check other Flying-types such as Vullaby and Fletchling.

Chlorophyll doubles Oddish's Speed, giving it a Speed stat of 26, which outspeeds all but a handful of Choice Scarf users, namely Mienfoo and Chinchou. 0 HP IVs give Oddish 19 HP, which means Oddish only takes 1 damage from Life Orb recoil. Solar Beam hits in one turn because of the sun, and thanks to STAB, it has a massive power of 180. This will hit any Pokemon that doesn't resist it extremely hard, except for a select few special sponges such as Lickitung and Munchlax. Hidden Power Fire is Oddish's secondary attack, and gets a 1.5x boost from the sun, giving it a power of 105. This is Oddish's only attack that hits Steel-type Pokemon super effectively, as they resist Solar Beam and are immune to Sludge Bomb. It is also useful against Grass-type Pokemon, as many of them have Poison as their secondary type, namely Bulbasaur, Bellsprout, Oddish, and Budew. Sludge Bomb is Oddish's second most powerful attack other than Solar Beam. Coverage-wise, it hits Fire- and Dragon-types, and it can be used outside of sun. Sleep Powder is a great alternative to Sludge Bomb, allowing Oddish to put a member of the opponent's team to sleep and then take free shots at them. Sleep Powder's prime use is to put the opponents sun counters to sleep, should they carry any. Attacking-wise, there isn't much else that Oddish can run on the set, as the moves listed are its best options. However, there are a few alternatives that you can run in the last slot. Stun Spore can be used to cut the Speed of faster Pokemon. Synthesis can be used for reliable recovery in the sun. When equipped with an Eviolite, Oddish takes on the role of a bulky sweeper. If you decide to run an Eviolite, an EV spread of 156 HP / 236 SpA / 116 Spe with a Modest nature is recommended. This spread gives Oddish added bulk while maximizing its Special Attack. You should also make use of Synthesis for recovery if you choose this spread. Stealth Rock support is appreciated to weaken Fire- and Flying-type Pokemon, giving Oddish an easier time sweeping against Pokemon such as Houndour. Stealth Rock is also useful for beating Snover, as it takes 25% every time it comes in to induce hail. Fighting-types, such as Mienfoo and Croagunk, are good partners because they can counter Munchlax and Lickitung, who would otherwise sponge Oddish's special attacks with ease. Wynaut makes a great teammate as well, since it has the ability to trap Snover, which is the biggest counter to sun sweepers.

If you were to use Oddish as a regular sweeper without Sunny Day, you would undoubtedly be underwhelmed by its very low Speed (and low stats in general). However, with Sunny Day up, Oddish becomes a very dangerous threat. Chlorophyll makes up for Oddish's lack of Speed by doubling its Speed under Sunny Day; couple this with Oddish's high Special Attack, and you'll find a powerful sweeper. Backed by Life Orb, Oddish can fire off very powerful STAB attacks that not many Pokemon can take. Solar Beam should be the primary attacking move on this set, and with 120 Base Power behind it, opposing Pokemon will have a tough time switching in on Oddish. Sludge Bomb is also a great option thanks to its high Base Power and STAB. Hidden Power Fire is great on this set because all Fire-type moves are boosted by Sunny Day, not to mention that Hidden Power Fire rounds off nicely what would otherwise be poor coverage. Oddish has a shallow special movepool, so Sunny Day is the best option in the fourth slot, not only to support itself, but the rest of the team as well. Sleep Powder also works well because it lets Oddish incapacitate its counters and continue to sweep. A Pokemon that works well with this set is Houndour, thanks to its resistances to several of Oddish's weaknesses, particularly Fire-type moves. Houndour can switch in on Pokemon that threaten Oddish, like Snover or Ponyta, and force them out (possibly netting a Flash Fire boost in the process). This Oddish set works best on a team built around Sunny Day so that Oddish isn't forced to set up Sunny Day for itself, which can be difficult because of how fragile Oddish is. Good candidates to set up Sunny Day include, but are not limited to: Aipom, Bellsprout, Growlithe, Drifloon, Exeggcute, Koffing, and Duskull. The EVs on the set have been adjusted to account for Hidden Power Fire, so if you decide not to use it, you should adjust your EVs accordingly. The reason for the special IVs on this set are so that Oddish only takes 1 HP of Life Orb recoil, making it bulkier in the long run.