Pokemon of the Week 1/16/10

Hm...Well, I dunno why but I always wanted to see a grass dragon so I made one. Herbrachio stretches its neck out to reach the leaves of high trees which it eats. It was once believed to be extinct but was discovered in a small population on an island recently.

Overview
Yikes. Wall much? Base 120 HP isn't bad but isn't outstanding or anything. It's just good. Not even average. It's good. Both its attack stats are average an its defensive stats both slightly above average. This, of course, leaves its speed which is abysmal, being a brachiosaur and all. It's Dragon/Grass typing is pretty handy, giving it weaknesses to only Dragon, Bug, Poison, and Flying with a 4x weakness to Ice. It's not a bad type. For a defensive pokemon, however, it could be better, especially since Ice Beam is so common. But it does have a 4x resistance to Water. There is a major upside. Herbrachio just plain mocks the likes of Bulky Waters i.e Swampert, Vaporeon, and, to a lesser extent, Milotic. A single well-placed Leaf Storm can actually mop the floor with any of them.

Trait

Chlorophyll: Hello! This makes things so much better, really. Herbrachio desperately needs the speed boost and thanks to its bulk, it can survive long enough to set up sunny day. That's not all. Ice attacks have their power reduced in Sunny Weather.

Moveset

Staller
-Toxic
-Leaf Down
-Protect
-Synthesis
Item Attached: Leftovers

Toxic is the best move for any staller. Leaf Down makes Herbrachio's already nice Sp. Def HUGE and boosts its Evasiveness. Protect is simply there to work in unison with Synthesis which restores Health while your opponent loses theirs to Toxic.

Speedysaurus
-Sunny Say
-Morning Dew
-Flamethrower
-Dragon Pulse
Item Attached: Life Orb/Heat Rock

This guy is somewhat of a big threat. Sunny Day triggers Herbrachio's Chlorophyll ability. Morning Dew is a new move that paralyzes the opponent. It's like a Grass Type Thunder Wave. Flamethrower is obviously there for weakness coverage over Ice and Bug types while also capable of hitting most Flying types (Especially Skarmory an Skiron) pretty hard and just plain ruining most poison types (Muk excluded). Dragon Pulse is simply for Dragon Coverage.

NEW! Double Battle Use

Double battles are really the only place you should ever dare use Herbrachio if you aren't running one of the above movesets. This being because if you're really nervous about it all, you have the ability to divide the work so that one pokemon can paralyze the opponent as the other sets up Sunny Day. One terrific partner in Double Battles for Herbrachio, like it or not, is Magnezone. Magnezone is either immune to or resists everything that Herbrachio is weak to, plus it's way faster. It can paralyze enemies in a heartbeat, sparing Herbrachio an extra turn to for setting up one instead of the wasted turn on setting up another. Magnezone ruins Flying types and those few water types that CAN stand up to Herbrachio, eat a Thunderbolt from Magnezone. Another possibility is actually Grablade. Let's face it, Grablade is a monster. Base 80 speed isn't bad and lets it set up Sunny Day before several pokemon that'd REALLY consider taking Herbrachio on. Not to mention that if Herbrachio is running Skill Swap and Grablade has Fan Off ability, Herbrachio will basically be free of its Ice weakness.

Countering Herbrachio

I actually love getting to say this. It's really not as easy as it seems, at least not in double battles. Alone, it's pretty easy. Frosslass does this very well. In fact, a single Blizzard from a Frosslass can prove quite tragic for Herbrachio. Armofrost, as always, takes the cake, being the most powerful standard tier pokemon in the game AND a beastly Ice Type with Freezing Claw in its arsenal. Herbrachio mocks Bulky Water types, HOWEVER, it is mocked by offensives waters like Gyrados and Floatzel.

In-Game Appearences
Herbrachio has one major In-Game Appearence
The Dragon Type Gym Leader's Herbisaur evolves into one during a battle

Tier Rankings
Single Battle - UU
Double Battle - OU/Standard