Venomoth Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Quiver Dance is essential for allowing Venomoth to boost its Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed stats, thus turning it into a fearsome sweeper. Sleep Powder can be used to immobilize foes, which is useful for giving Venomoth an opportunity to set up. Bug Buzz is a powerful STAB attack that, after a boost, deals significant amounts of damage to most of the metagame, and with a Buginium Z, it turns into a powerful Savage Spin-Out that is capable of OHKOing Scizor, Terrakion, and Nidoking at +1, which can all otherwise tank a boosted Bug Buzz. Sludge Bomb is useful for covering Fairy-types like Primarina and Togekiss, OHKOing both after a boost and Stealth Rock damage. Set Details Maximum investment in Special Attack is important for giving Venomoth as much power as possible, notably allowing it to almost always OHKO bulky Scizor variants with a +1 Savage Spinout, as well as OHKOing Primarina with Sludge Bomb at +1. Maximum investment in Speed with a Timid nature is also important, as it allows Venomoth to outspeed the likes of Nidoking, Togekiss, and Mamoswine without boosts as well as the entire unboosted metagame after one Quiver Dance. Tinted Lens allows Venomoth to nullify 2x resistances and dent Pokemon like Mega Aerodactyl, Scizor, and Empoleon with its STAB Bug Buzz. Buginium Z is the preferred item, as it provides Venomoth with a powerful Savage Spin-Out that, with a boost, can break past notably bulky threats like Tentacruel, Hippowdon, and Gligar. Usage Tips Venomoth's best function is as a sweeper on offensive teams due to its ability to break past multiple archetypes. In order for it to begin sweeping, it is best that Pokemon that 4x resist its STAB attacks, such as Klefki and Cobalion, and specially bulky Pokemon like Blissey are removed or considerably weakened. If the opponent has a Choice Scarf user that can outpace Venomoth at +1 like Infernape or Krookodile, it is crucial for Venomoth to try to get two Quiver Dance boosts by using Sleep Powder. However, trying to wallbreak as much as possible before being revenge killed is a lesser yet plausible option. Due to its frailty, Venomoth is best brought into play via slow pivot support or after a teammate has fainted. It should be brought in against a Pokemon that it forces out like Mega Altaria or a Choice-locked Fighting-type and set up with Quiver Dance as they switch out. From there, Venomoth should use Sleep Powder to immobilize whatever foe was brought in against it and take another turn to set up afterward. However, between the possibility of the foe waking up immediately after being immobilized and Sleep Powder's shaky accuracy, it should be noted that Quiver Dance can only be set up twice about 50% of the time. Team Options Suicide leads like Froslass, Nihilego, and Terrakion can set up entry hazards to help Venomoth break past foes more easily, and they fit quite well onto the heavily offensive teams Venomoth is often seen on. Dual screens setters such as Azelf and Xatu make great partners for Venomoth, as the safety of Reflect and Light Screen can provide it more opportunities to use Quiver Dance. Xatu can also alleviate Venomoth's weakness to entry hazards by reflecting them back by virtue of Magic Bounce. On bulkier offensive teams, entry hazard setters like Klefki can be used due to the good bulk they retain. Entry hazard removal is nearly as important as entry hazard setters, due to Venomoth's Stealth Rock weakness. This makes Pokemon such as Mega Blastoise, Starmie, and Gligar good options for teammates. Infernape and Krookodile trouble Venomoth as Choice Scarf users, which makes answers to these Pokemon, such as Hippowdon and Mega Altaria, good partners that can ultimately pave the way for Venomoth to clean up. Spinblockers such as Mimikyu and Doublade can all aid Venomoth by making sure that entry hazards aren't removed from the opponent's side of the field, which is useful for securing KOs on Pokemon like Volcanion and Scizor. Steel-type checks like Rotom-H, Lucario, and Volcanion can ease Venomoth's matchup against the likes of Scizor and Klefki, allowing it to use its Z-Move on a target of a different type. Magneton is particularly helpful due to its ability to trap and remove the likes of Scizor and Empoleon from play.

Moves Quiver Dance boosts Venomoth's Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed and is Venomoth's main selling point in the tier. Sleep Powder lets Venomoth incapacitate a foe to potentially gain more attacking or setup opportunities. Bug Buzz acts as Venomoth's main STAB move and has good neutral coverage with Tinted Lens. Sludge Bomb gives Venomoth a neutral attack against most Pokemon that 4x resist Bug Buzz, such as Infernape, Chandelure, and Crobat, and allows Venomoth to hit Florges and Whimsicott super effectively. Hidden Power Ground can be used over Sludge Bomb to hit Cobalion, Lucario, and Doublade harder than any other move, though everything else is hit harder by either Bug Buzz or Sludge Bomb. Psychic is another option in the fourth slot, specifically aiming to eliminate Crobat to support teammates such as Bulk Up Conkeldurr and Nasty Plot Celebi. Set Details 252 EVs in Speed with a Timid nature allow Venomoth to outspeed everything up to Timid Rotom formes, Entei, and, after a Quiver Dance, Mega Aerodactyl. Maximum Special Attack investment lets Venomoth hit as hard as possible. With the combination of Tinted Lens and Life Orb, Venomoth hits most common Bug-resistant Pokemon extremely hard; for example, at +1 and with Stealth Rock up, it OHKOes Mega Aerodactyl and has a 75% chance of OHKOing 248 HP Crobat with Sludge Bomb. Usage Tips This set works best on heavily offensive teams as a sweeper against opposing bulky offense and balance teams or as a breaker against more defensive teams. Venomoth should use its typing and Sleep Powder to gain free setup opportunities against Pokemon it cannot beat one-on-one, such as Roar Suicune and Cobalion. Simply bring Venomoth in against an appropriate opposing Pokemon and do as much damage as possible before succumbing to a special wall, Choice Scarf user, priority move, or Life Orb recoil. Team Options Stealth Rock leads such as Aerodactyl and Froslass that can both set up and prevent entry hazards make for excellent teammates. On bulkier offensive teams that would prefer not to have a suicide lead, Stealth Rock users such as Krookodile and Mega Swampert that provide more utility are options. Venomoth's team should be geared towards keeping Stealth Rock on the opposing side, using spinblockers and Taunt users so that Venomoth can get the necessary KOs on targets such as Crobat and Entei. Pokemon that can take advantage of common holders of Choice Scarf, such as Slurpuff, can possibly clean up a team after Venomoth is KOed. Spikes can aid in wearing down Mega Aggron, Doublade, and Cobalion for Venomoth; Froslass is a Spikes setter that works excellently on the types of teams Venomoth would be on.

Moves Quiver Dance boosts Venomoth's Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed and is the only reason to use Venomoth at all. Bug Buzz deals damage and has good neutral coverage with Tinted Lens with no Pokemon immune to it. Roost keeps Venomoth healthy, allowing it to switch into Pokemon such as Florges multiple times throughout the game. Sleep Powder lets Venomoth neutralize one check for a few turns to ease setup or recover health. Substitute can be used over either of the latter two moves to set up comfortably on Thunder Wave users such as Porygon2 and Cresselia lacking Psyshock, as well as mono-attacking Water-types lacking Roar. Set Details 252 EVs in Speed with a Timid nature allow Venomoth to outspeed threats such as Heracross, Nidoking, and Chandelure before any boosts and Mega Aerodactyl after a boost. Maximum investment is placed into Special Attack to hit as hard as possible, as Venomoth's poor bulk cannot be patched up effectively even with investment. Tinted Lens allows Bug Buzz to hit certain Poison-, Flying-, Fire-, and Steel-types for effectively neutral damage, leaving only 4x resistant Pokemon such as Cobalion, Infernape, Chandelure, and Crobat to truly resist Bug Buzz. Black Sludge allows Venomoth to set up more easily, especially in the face of special attackers such as Nidoqueen and Mega Blastoise. Insect Plate is also an option to give Venomoth a better chance at netting several KOs after a Quiver Dance on threats such as Mega Aerodactyl. Usage Tips This set works best on balanced teams, where Venomoth can come in multiple times throughout the game if needed. Venomoth can set up on and sweep bulkier teams once certain checks have been eliminated, but it shouldn't necessarily go for Quiver Dance until these checks have been weakened or KOed. It can use Sleep Powder on Pokemon such as Entei, which would normally beat it one-on-one. Other times, it should simply use Bug Buzz to whittle down Pokemon such as Whimsicott. Venomoth should attempt to set up mid- to late-game on passive Pokemon such as Florges, special attackers without super effective coverage such as Nidoqueen, or Choice-locked resisted attacks. If Venomoth opts to use Substitute, it should be wary of Infiltrator Crobat. Team Options Pokemon such as Heliolisk that can weaken Venomoth's checks, such as Doublade and Crobat, can support Venomoth's sweep. Heliolisk can also bring Venomoth in safely with Volt Switch against opposing Florges, Cresselia, and other such Pokemon. Venomoth relies on Stealth Rock to get many KOs, so Pokemon such as Swampert and Mega Aggron are good choices. It also needs teammates such as Calm Mind Reuniclus that can take advantage of special walls. In particular, Krookodile can perform all three of the above roles, especially with Pursuit. Due to Venomoth's Bug typing, it appreciates the removal of Stealth Rock from its side of the field by teammates such as Mandibuzz, especially if it lacks Roost. Empoleon can use Defog or set up Stealth Rock on several of Venomoth's checks.

This set is meant to set up as many Quiver Dances as possible and then Baton Pass to a teammate to have them sweep. Sleep Powder makes this pretty easy, but be sure to not use it too early, or you might find it hard to get the actual pass off. The ideal situation to set up is when your opponent is in a situation where he can't hurt Venomoth (such as being Choice-locked into a Fighting-type attack or having a weak wall out), Quiver Dance on the switch (unless they have a faster Choice Scarf user, in which case you will need to predict a bit), then use Sleep Powder or Quiver Dance, depending on what came out, then Sleep Powder or Baton Pass. Don't get too greedy though, as a short sleep will mess up the strategy. You should be using Baton Pass right after Sleep Powder most of the time so as to maximize your chances of getting a successful pass off. Bug Buzz is mostly useful when Venomoth is up against a Roar user and has already used Sleep Powder. Wonder Skin will let it avoid Roar 50% of the time, so it has a good chance of outright beating them and then passing. The EVs maximize Speed and bulk to make setting up as easy as possible. Lowering the Speed might seem tempting, but you definitely don't want to go below 216 EVs (which beats Heracross), and you won't get much mileage out of the EVs you save anyway, rendering that option pointless. There is not much else you can change on this set without changing its actual purpose, really. Substitute over Bug Buzz gives you protection from weaker Dragon Tail users, such as Blastoise and Slowking. Using Tinted Lens with Special Attack EVs lets Venomoth attempt a sweep itself, but Venomoth is usually just better off Baton Passing to the appropriate teammate and Wonder Skin is too good to pass up. Speaking of teammates, this is the most important thing when considering Venomoth for your team. It's an amazing Pokemon, but it's not used very often because of how hard it is to fit into teams. The best QuiverPass receivers in the tier are easily Nidoqueen and Togekiss. The former is quite bulky, immune to Thunder Wave and Toxic, has amazing coverage, and does not care about the most common Choice Scarf user in the tier—Mienshao. The latter is also bulky, can boost its stats further with Nasty Plot, and—more importantly—can flinch its way past anything with a Speed boost. Special Kingdra is also worth mentioning, as it'll give you a receiver to pass to should your opponent send out a Fire-type Pokemon, which are common answers to Venomoth. Here's what's tricky, though: if you only have a couple of potential receivers, a lot of the time they will either be weakened from doing their other jobs (because you should not add Pokemon to your team for the sole purpose of receiving a QuiverPass), or they simply won't want to come out against whatever your opponent has out at the time. Because of this, it's recommended that if you're planning to use Venomoth, you should have a team that is composed of at least three, four, or even five special attackers. This is what makes Venomoth so hard to use effectively—you basically need to have built the perfect team for it to fit into.

Venomoth's biggest perk is that it's one of the fastest Pokemon in NU with a sleeping move, and this set aims to make the most of this fact. Venomoth works very well in the lead slot, as it outspeeds most of the other common leads, primarily Glalie and Hitmonchan, and instantly puts them out of commission with Sleep Powder. Substitute allows Venomoth to safely Baton Pass out to a teammate. Sludge Bomb or Psychic ensure Venomoth isn't set up bait. Sludge Bomb gets a great hit on Flareon, Bellossom, and Roselia, while Psychic has a bit more oomph against Arbok and Hitmonchan. Stun Spore is a decent alternative in the third moveslot that helps support the team and can deter some dangerous Pokemon like Murkrow from freely switching into Venomoth. Maximum Speed investment is needed to Speed tie with opposing Venomoth and Golbat and securely outspeed Seadra and Glalie. Maximum HP investment allows Venomoth to more easily check the likes of Hitmonchan, and it can allow Venomoth to more easily reenter the field and attempt to land another Sleep Powder later in the match. A Petaya or Liechi Berry can be run to give Venomoth the option of Baton Passing a stat boost to a teammate. Lum Berry is another option to win the rare Venomoth duel and secure a sleep against the opponent. Thief and Toxic are good options to cripple the defensive Pokemon that would otherwise have an easy time switching into Venomoth like Sableye and Flareon. Diglett pairs naturally well with Venomoth, as it can trap and eliminate a few of the Pokemon that have an easy time switching into Venomoth, namely Flareon, Mawile, and Metang. Venomoth fits best on offensive teams that need the immediate momentum provided by Sleep Powder and need Glalie's Spikes prevented from being set up from turn one. Good offensive teammates that pair well with Venomoth include Murkrow, Plusle, and Raticate, as they can blow through a few of the Pokemon that are likely to switch into Venomoth and don't require setup to become offensive threats. Other Options Venomoth's usable movepool is quite shallow, and most other offensive or supportive variants are going to be done better by Pokemon like Haunter and Chimecho. One option not mentioned so far is Screech, which when combined with Baton Pass, can be an infuriating set for your opponent to deal with, as they have to choose whether to stay in and brunt the incoming Sludge Bomb or Hidden Power Ground from Venomoth at -2 or allow Venomoth to scout their switch-in with Baton Pass. For other special attacking options, Giga Drain and Hidden Power Fire have some use as coverage for specific Pokemon, namely Relicanth for Giga Drain and Metang for Hidden Power Fire, but overall Venomoth is better suited to switching out of these targets to a teammate with Baton Pass. Checks and Counters Countering Venomoth is not difficult, as it isn't exactly Earth-shatteringly powerful, but it is tough to pin it down because of Baton Pass allowing it to keep momentum. RestTalk Dewgong and Wailord are probably the best overall switch-ins to Venomoth, as they can absorb Sleep Powder and other status from Venomoth and take a pittance from any of its moves apart from rare Screech sets, while they can easily 3HKO Venomoth with Surf and Ice Beam in return. Murkrow can switch into Sleep Powder and Psychic for free, easily outspeeds Venomoth, and OHKOes it with Drill Peck. Once Sleep Powder is out of the equation, countering Venomoth becomes an entirely easier ballgame. Chimecho and Flareon easily OHKO Venomoth with Psychic and Fire Blast. Rock-types such as Sudowoodo and Relicanth have to be wary of Giga Drain but will otherwise be able to tank Venomoth's moves and OHKO it with Rock Slide. Finally, faster Pokemon such as Pidgeot, Raticate, and Haunter can easily outspeed and KO Venomoth.

Other options: Substitute