[OVERVIEW]
Venipede's access to Speed Boost, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes gives it a niche as a Speed-boosting entry hazard setter. Additionally, its multi-hit STAB move Pin Missile can OHKO Focus Sash users like Abra and is generally powerful. Unlike other Spikes setters, Venipede can effectively set up Spikes at nearly any point in the game. Its defensive typing is also pretty good, granting it a 4x resistance to the incredibly common Fighting- and Grass-type moves. Additionally, Venipede has the ability to deal heavy damage to common spinners and hazard setters such as Staryu, Drilbur, and Onix with Bloom Doom. Sadly, Venipede's overall poor offensive presence and relatively poor defensive presence make it outclassed by other hazard setters, mainly Ferroseed and Dwebble, which have much better defensive and offensive presence, respectively.
[SET]
name: Entry Hazard Stacker
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Solar Beam / Toxic Spikes
move 3: Protect
move 4: Pin Missile
item: Grassium Z / Eviolite
ability: Speed Boost
nature: Serious / Impish
evs: 76 Atk / 204 Def / 36 SpA / 44 SpD / 148 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Spikes lets Venipede function as an entry hazard setter and aid its team by dealing damage to foes every time they switch in as well as breaking Sturdy. Solar Beam, although not a very good move on its own, can be used with Grassium Z to give Venipede a powerful Bloom Doom, KOing most Staryu sets, almost always OHKOing Drilbur, and KOing Weak Armor Dwebble after a Pin Missile. Alternatively, Toxic Spikes may be used instead of Bloom Doom to give Venipede more hazards to set. Protect allows Venipede to keep itself from taking damage while gaining a Speed boost. Pin Missile utilizes Little Cup's damage rolls to deal a significant amount of damage, OHKOing Abra despite its Focus Sash.
Set Details
========
148 Speed EVs give Venipede the ability to outspeed every unboosted Pokemon in Little Cup after one Speed boost. 36 Special Attack EVs let it OHKO most Staryu and Drilbur and KO Weak Armor Dwebble after a Pin Missile. 204 Defense EVs are used to let Venipede survive two Iron Fist-boosted Ice Punches into a Mach Punch from Timburr. The rest of the EVs are put into Attack and Special Defense to boost Venipede's attacking power and longevity, respectively. Since all of Venipede's stats are equally important, a neutral nature is recommended. As mentioned above, Grassium Z allows Venipede to use Bloom Doom; however, if using Toxic Spikes, an alternative EV spread of 76 Atk / 124 Def / 124 SpD / 148 Spe, Eviolite, and an Impish nature should be used to maximize Venipede's defenses.
Usage Tips
========
If the opponent has an antilead to Venipede, such as Dwebble, Venipede should be saved until it can be brought in and utilized safely. If the opponent leads with Aipom or any other Fake Out user, using Protect immediately can stop Venipede from taking unnecessary damage. Bloom Doom allows Venipede to function as a lure to common Rapid Spin users, but because Venipede outspeeds them thanks to Speed Boost anyway, it should set up entry hazards first and use Bloom Doom only after they have switched in. If Venipede needs to outspeed threats or set hazards for any reason, it should use Protect to gain extra Speed. However, if any of these threats commonly carry Substitute or can boost further, it may be better to attack and surprise them instead. Due to its primary role as a hazard setter, Venipede should usually focus on this instead of attempting to deal chip damage, unless this chip damage is essential for its its teammates to score KOs.
Team Options
========
If Venipede is running Toxic Spikes, Hex Gastly greatly appreciates its support and can also block Rapid Spin for Venipede. Sweepers appreciate hazard support from Venipede, with some of the best including Nasty Plot Vullaby, Shellder, and Snivy. Other threatening Pokemon that force switches, Doduo especially, can force foes to take extra damage every time they switch into a check. Late-game cleaners such as Choice Scarf Mienfoo and Torchic can overcome threats more easily with hazards set up. Phazers, namely Hippopotas and Onix, can force foes to switch and therefore take extra damage from Venipede's hazards. Stealth Rock setters such as Pawniard, Ferroseed, and especially Onix can set up Stealth Rock to stack on top of Venipede's Spikes. Pawniard also deters Defog for Venipede, whereas Ghost-types such as Pumpkaboo-XL, Gastly, and Frillish can block Rapid Spin.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Focus Sash can be run in tandem with Endeavor to help Venipede take one attack and then bring any slower foe lacking priority down to 1 HP, but it turns Venipede into a suicide lead, severely limiting its use. Poison Jab can be used to hit Fairy-types, but Venipede needs all of its moves and Fairy-types usually can't do much to it anyways. Infestation can trap threats if they aren't carrying U-turn, Volt Switch, or Baton Pass, but this is very situational. Finally, using a Life Orb can grant Venipede more of an offensive presence, but the job of a powerful physical Speed Boost user is done better by Carvanha and Torchic, its movepool isn't good enough, and it doesn't have the raw power to be a good sweeper.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Flying-types**: Flying-types can easily switch into anything Venipede can do and aren't affected by any of its hazards. Weak Armor Vullaby, in particular, can get easy boosts from Pin Missile and, if running Defog, can remove Venipede's hazards.
**Fire-types**: Similarly to Flying-types, Fire-types like Ponyta and Torchic can easily switch in on Venipede and apply much pressure to Venipede's team.
**Entry Hazard Removers**: Hazard removers in general can nullify Venipede's purpose, although many, namely Drilbur, Staryu, and Kabuto, are heavily damaged or KOed by Bloom Doom.
**Setup Sweepers**: Setup sweepers such as Zigzagoon and Doduo can easily set up on Venipede due to its relatively poor offensive presence.
Venipede's access to Speed Boost, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes gives it a niche as a Speed-boosting entry hazard setter. Additionally, its multi-hit STAB move Pin Missile can OHKO Focus Sash users like Abra and is generally powerful. Unlike other Spikes setters, Venipede can effectively set up Spikes at nearly any point in the game. Its defensive typing is also pretty good, granting it a 4x resistance to the incredibly common Fighting- and Grass-type moves. Additionally, Venipede has the ability to deal heavy damage to common spinners and hazard setters such as Staryu, Drilbur, and Onix with Bloom Doom. Sadly, Venipede's overall poor offensive presence and relatively poor defensive presence make it outclassed by other hazard setters, mainly Ferroseed and Dwebble, which have much better defensive and offensive presence, respectively.
[SET]
name: Entry Hazard Stacker
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Solar Beam / Toxic Spikes
move 3: Protect
move 4: Pin Missile
item: Grassium Z / Eviolite
ability: Speed Boost
nature: Serious / Impish
evs: 76 Atk / 204 Def / 36 SpA / 44 SpD / 148 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Spikes lets Venipede function as an entry hazard setter and aid its team by dealing damage to foes every time they switch in as well as breaking Sturdy. Solar Beam, although not a very good move on its own, can be used with Grassium Z to give Venipede a powerful Bloom Doom, KOing most Staryu sets, almost always OHKOing Drilbur, and KOing Weak Armor Dwebble after a Pin Missile. Alternatively, Toxic Spikes may be used instead of Bloom Doom to give Venipede more hazards to set. Protect allows Venipede to keep itself from taking damage while gaining a Speed boost. Pin Missile utilizes Little Cup's damage rolls to deal a significant amount of damage, OHKOing Abra despite its Focus Sash.
Set Details
========
148 Speed EVs give Venipede the ability to outspeed every unboosted Pokemon in Little Cup after one Speed boost. 36 Special Attack EVs let it OHKO most Staryu and Drilbur and KO Weak Armor Dwebble after a Pin Missile. 204 Defense EVs are used to let Venipede survive two Iron Fist-boosted Ice Punches into a Mach Punch from Timburr. The rest of the EVs are put into Attack and Special Defense to boost Venipede's attacking power and longevity, respectively. Since all of Venipede's stats are equally important, a neutral nature is recommended. As mentioned above, Grassium Z allows Venipede to use Bloom Doom; however, if using Toxic Spikes, an alternative EV spread of 76 Atk / 124 Def / 124 SpD / 148 Spe, Eviolite, and an Impish nature should be used to maximize Venipede's defenses.
Usage Tips
========
If the opponent has an antilead to Venipede, such as Dwebble, Venipede should be saved until it can be brought in and utilized safely. If the opponent leads with Aipom or any other Fake Out user, using Protect immediately can stop Venipede from taking unnecessary damage. Bloom Doom allows Venipede to function as a lure to common Rapid Spin users, but because Venipede outspeeds them thanks to Speed Boost anyway, it should set up entry hazards first and use Bloom Doom only after they have switched in. If Venipede needs to outspeed threats or set hazards for any reason, it should use Protect to gain extra Speed. However, if any of these threats commonly carry Substitute or can boost further, it may be better to attack and surprise them instead. Due to its primary role as a hazard setter, Venipede should usually focus on this instead of attempting to deal chip damage, unless this chip damage is essential for its its teammates to score KOs.
Team Options
========
If Venipede is running Toxic Spikes, Hex Gastly greatly appreciates its support and can also block Rapid Spin for Venipede. Sweepers appreciate hazard support from Venipede, with some of the best including Nasty Plot Vullaby, Shellder, and Snivy. Other threatening Pokemon that force switches, Doduo especially, can force foes to take extra damage every time they switch into a check. Late-game cleaners such as Choice Scarf Mienfoo and Torchic can overcome threats more easily with hazards set up. Phazers, namely Hippopotas and Onix, can force foes to switch and therefore take extra damage from Venipede's hazards. Stealth Rock setters such as Pawniard, Ferroseed, and especially Onix can set up Stealth Rock to stack on top of Venipede's Spikes. Pawniard also deters Defog for Venipede, whereas Ghost-types such as Pumpkaboo-XL, Gastly, and Frillish can block Rapid Spin.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Focus Sash can be run in tandem with Endeavor to help Venipede take one attack and then bring any slower foe lacking priority down to 1 HP, but it turns Venipede into a suicide lead, severely limiting its use. Poison Jab can be used to hit Fairy-types, but Venipede needs all of its moves and Fairy-types usually can't do much to it anyways. Infestation can trap threats if they aren't carrying U-turn, Volt Switch, or Baton Pass, but this is very situational. Finally, using a Life Orb can grant Venipede more of an offensive presence, but the job of a powerful physical Speed Boost user is done better by Carvanha and Torchic, its movepool isn't good enough, and it doesn't have the raw power to be a good sweeper.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Flying-types**: Flying-types can easily switch into anything Venipede can do and aren't affected by any of its hazards. Weak Armor Vullaby, in particular, can get easy boosts from Pin Missile and, if running Defog, can remove Venipede's hazards.
**Fire-types**: Similarly to Flying-types, Fire-types like Ponyta and Torchic can easily switch in on Venipede and apply much pressure to Venipede's team.
**Entry Hazard Removers**: Hazard removers in general can nullify Venipede's purpose, although many, namely Drilbur, Staryu, and Kabuto, are heavily damaged or KOed by Bloom Doom.
**Setup Sweepers**: Setup sweepers such as Zigzagoon and Doduo can easily set up on Venipede due to its relatively poor offensive presence.
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