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This set takes advantage of the many switches Breloom forces to set up Substitute land powerful Focus Punches on foes. Substitute, in conjunction with Poison Heal, lets Breloom circumvent the chip damage its other sets often take. Spore helps it break through physically bulky Pokemon like Skarmory and Scizor with Focus Punch. Seed Bomb hits the Water-types that resist Focus Punch like Slowbro, Starmie, and Azumarill. Facade is an option over Seed Bomb that provides better overall neutral coverage but makes Mismagius a counter and loses an OHKO on Crawdaunt. The given Speed investment allows Breloom to outspeed Adamant Crawdaunt and KO it with Seed Bomb, while the bulk investment lets Breloom's Substitute tank Gliscor's U-turn without breaking. SubPunch Breloom appreciates pivot support from Scizor, Gliscor, and Rotom-W to set up Substitute on foes like defensive Rotom-W and Gliscor. Magnezone is a helpful teammate for trapping and KOing Skarmory and dealing massive damage to Scizor. Heatran pressures Tangrowth and can switch into Clefable. Starmie is another wallbreaker that pairs well with Breloom, as it can pressure many of the Pokemon that Breloom fears such as Gliscor and Tangrowth.

Swords Dance turns Breloom into a powerful wallbreaker and sweeper. Combined with Technician, Mach Punch and Bullet Seed can break through many of the tier's offensive threats. Spore serves two purposes: it makes Breloom harder to switch into and it gives Breloom the free turns it needs to set up. Rock Tomb is an option that provides excellent neutral coverage; however, it can be difficult to justify over any of Breloom's other moves. Life Orb greatly increases Breloom's sweeping and wallbreaking prowess; however, Focus Sash is a powerful option on hyper offense teams, particularly when leading Breloom, giving it a guaranteed free turn to set up or use Spore. Because Breloom is forced out by Psychic-types like Alakazam, Jirachi and Scizor are excellent teammates, switching into these threats and pivoting Breloom in safely with U-turn. Starmie can remove entry hazards with Rapid Spin. Heatran notably pressures Clefable, Roserade, and Tangrowth lacking Earthquake. Rotom-W can bait Tangrowth in and cripple it with Trick or Will-O-Wisp; it also can provide Breloom a free switch with Volt Switch. Breloom cannot effectively pressure Rotom-W before having set up for fear of Will-O-Wisp; accordingly, teammates like Alakazam are appreciated. Breloom is best paired with offensive partners like Lucario, Dragonite, Garchomp, and Infernape that take advantage of Spore and the holes Breloom punches in opposing walls.

Moves Spore gives Breloom an edge over similar offensive threats with its ability to put defensive checks like Tornadus-T and Zapdos out of commission. Mach Punch is incredibly likely to hit Greninja for an OHKO, and it deals massive damage to the likes of Mega Lopunny and Mega Tyranitar, putting a stop to the latter's Dragon Dance variant after some minor chip. Bullet Seed strikes fear into Water-types like Tapu Fini and Rotom-Wash and allows Breloom to threaten the likes of Clefable and Landorus-T after putting them to sleep. Swords Dance lets Breloom take advantage of the free turns given by Spore, though Rock Tomb could be used instead to punish Fire- and Flying-type switch-ins like Victini, Volcarona, the Mega Charizard formes, and Tornadus-T. Set Details A Jolly nature can be used to outspeed Modest Heatran and the many other Pokemon that commonly outspeed it like Tapu Fini and Landorus-T, though Adamant can be used to give Breloom better odds to OHKO the likes of Mega Tyranitar and Mega Lopunny with Mach Punch as well as giving it a general power boost. Focus Sash allows Breloom to guarantee sleep against offensive threats like Tornadus-T and Mega Charizard Y and various setup sweepers like Volcarona and Gyarados. Usage Tips Breloom's function on the hyper offense teams it finds itself on is to break holes in teams that don't have a solid counter to it by utilizing the dual threat of Spore and its Technician-boosted STAB moves. Its Focus Sash plays a big part in enabling Breloom against fast offensive teams by ensuring it can favorably trade damage with fast threats like Tapu Koko and Mega Alakazam without risking getting OHKOed itself and letting it put a stop to sweepers like Volcarona with Spore in a pinch. With Swords Dance, Breloom can make use of Mach Punch to clean up after its offensively minded teammates have weakened the opposing team sufficiently. Team Options Breloom finds its niche on hyper offense teams, which appreciate the free setup opportunities that Breloom's Spore affords them and its strong priority that can help in a pinch. To preserve its Focus Sash, good entry hazard control methods are beneficial; a dedicated hazard lead like Mew or Mega Diancie and an offensive Defogger like Serperior, Thundurus-T, and Choice Scarf Landorus-T are good examples that fit the hyper offense archetype. Setup sweepers like Volcarona, Mega Charizard X, Dragonite, and Gyarados are incredibly appreciative of the free turns provided by Spore, especially against the likes of Unaware Clefable and Toxapex, which can either ignore or clear boosts. The first two can use Breloom's Grass-type defensive checks like Tangrowth and Tapu Bulu as setup fodder, also appreciating Breloom handling Greninja.

Moves Spore provides excellent utility in putting foes to sleep and boasts perfect accuracy. Mach Punch is priority that is boosted by Technician, allowing Breloom to deal with faster threats. Bullet Seed is a secondary STAB move, also taking advantage of Technician, and can break Focus Sash or Substitute. Swords Dance allows Breloom to function as a wallbreaker, and it is especially good in tandem with Mach Punch, as it improves Breloom's overall matchup against offense and balance. Focus Punch is an option to heavily damage Pokemon that switch into Breloom, such as Skarmory and Scizor. Rock Tomb hits Flying-types such as Talonflame, Tornadus-T, and Thundurus on the switch. It also hits various Fire-types such as Mega Charizard X, Victini, and Volcarona. Set Details The EVs increase Breloom's offensive potential. A Jolly nature allows Breloom to Speed tie with opposing Bisharp and Breloom and the likes of Custap Berry Skarmory as well as Metagross and Modest Gardevoir prior to Mega Evolving; if you run Rock Tomb, it has the added benefit of allowing Breloom to outspeed base 115s such as Starmie and Raikou after the Speed drop. Life Orb powers up Breloom's attacks and makes Mach Punch especially formidable, letting it OHKO the likes of Excadrill and Mega Lopunny. If running Focus Punch, one should opt for an Adamant nature to deal more damage to Pokemon switching in. The utility of Mach Punch is to enable Breloom to deal with faster threats such as Choice Scarf Tyranitar, Mega Lopunny, and Excadrill, which would otherwise outspeed and deal great damage to Breloom. Usage Tips Spore is Breloom's best move to use early on, as it cripples anything without a Grass typing or Overcoat. After putting a foe to sleep, Breloom should either use Swords Dance, which allows it to wallbreak effectively, or whittle down the foe with its STAB moves. Swords Dance can also be used after Breloom forces a switch thanks to the threat of Spore. After a Swords Dance, Mach Punch becomes incredibly powerful, allowing Breloom to KO faster foes such as Raikou, Mega Gyarados, and Mega Aerodactyl. Use Focus Punch to damage the likes of Jirachi, Scizor, and Skarmory upon switching in. Bring Breloom in on a resisted hit, such as Tyranitar's Crunch, a double switch, a U-turn or Volt Switch, or after a teammate has fainted, as Breloom has subpar bulk. Against slower setup sweepers such as Slowbro, Reuniclus, and Clefable Breloom should cripple them with a Spore so that it can proceed to either whittle them down with its STAB moves or switch into a teammate that can deal with them. Team Options Pivots are great partners to Breloom, as they give it free switches. Mega Manectric, Rotom-W, and Raikou procure momentum with Volt Switch and check dangerous Flying-types such as Talonflame, Tornadus-T, and Gyarados. Rotom-W in particular offers a check to numerous Fire-types such as Victini, Infernape, and Talonflame and appreciates Breloom's ability to deal with the likes of Ferrothorn and Quagsire. Tyranitar, Scizor, and Bisharp are good teammates, as they can Pursuit trap Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Latios and Gengar. In addition, checks to Fire-types such as Talonflame, Mega Charizard X, and Volcarona are good partners. Examples include Azumarill and Mega Altaria, which also appreciate Breloom's ability to cripple foes via Spore and beat bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W. Flying-types such as Talonflame and Tornadus-T offer a check to bulky Grass-types such as Mega Venusaur, Amoonguss, and Celebi. Tornadus-T also procures momentum with U-turn and appreciates Breloom's ability to deal with Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Rotom-W. Mega Charizard X in particular deals with Steel-, Fire-, and Grass-types such as Scizor, Volcarona, and Celebi that trouble Breloom and appreciates Breloom's ability to break past the likes of Heatran and Rotom-W.

Moves Swords Dance improves Breloom's matchup against defensive teams, allowing it to break through its usual checks, such as Celebi and Jirachi. Superpower is Breloom's strongest STAB move, allowing Breloom to hit its usual checks such as Skarmory for great amounts of damage. Drain Punch is an option, offering offensive presence and longevity all in one package, but it is significantly weaker than Superpower. Seed Bomb is Breloom's secondary STAB move, hitting the likes of Mew and Landorus-T for neutral damage. Facade hits a sky-high 140 Base Power when poisoned, allowing Breloom to break past Flying- and Poison-types such as Talonflame and Mega Venusaur on the switch, as well as other bulky Pokemon that resist Fighting / Grass coverage such as Celebi and Mega Altaria. Mach Punch patches up Breloom's low Speed stat and allows Breloom to deal with faster threats such as Excadrill, but it is quite weak without a Technician boost. Set Details 12 HP EVs maximize Poison Heal recovery. A Jolly nature in tandem with 252 Speed EVs allows Breloom to Speed tie with opposing Bisharp and Breloom and the likes of Custap Berry Skarmory as well as Metagross and Modest Gardevoir prior to Mega Evolving. The rest of the EVs are invested into Attack for more power. Toxic Orb activates Breloom's Poison Heal, giving it passive recovery and making it immune to other status. Specifically, the utility of having Poison Heal and Toxic Orb is to improve Breloom's matchup against defensive teams, making it capable of boosting in the face of status-reliant defensive Pokemon such as Mew. Usage Tips Focus on activating Breloom's Toxic Orb as early as possible, as it makes Breloom effectively immune to status ailments. As this set excels against defensive teams, don't be afraid to bring Breloom in against passive, defensive, status-reliant Pokemon such as Alomomola, Suicune, and Mew. Use Swords Dance to boost Breloom's Attack against defensive Pokemon that cannot hurt it, and proceed to sweep. Predict Flying-type Pokemon switching in, such as Tornadus-T, and hit them with Facade, as Breloom cannot otherwise do anything to them. Team Options Pokemon that fare well against offensive teams, such as Mega Manectric, Weavile, and Talonflame, are great partners for Breloom, as they patch up its weakness to faster threats such as Gengar and Tornadus-T. In particular, Mega Manectric offers crucial momentum with Volt Switch and checks powerful Flying-types such as Talonflame and Tornadus-T as well as Steel-types such as Skarmory and Scizor. Weavile checks Tornadus-T and various Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Latios and Gengar, and Talonflame deals with bulky Grass-types such as Mega Venusaur, while in turn Breloom deals with bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W and Suicune, which trouble Talonflame. Checks to Flying-types, such as Tyranitar, are good candidates for teammates. Tyranitar also deals with Psychic-, Fire-, and Ghost-types such as Mega Metagross, Volcarona, and Gengar.

Moves Substitute takes advantage of the switches Breloom forces to create a huge offensive threat with STAB Focus Punch. Even Fighting-resistant Pokemon like Latios and Thundurus-T take massive damage from Focus Punch. Protect lets Breloom safely activate Toxic Orb and, alongside Poison Heal and Substitute, become a durable PP staller if sand is not in play. Seed Bomb is the best option to hit Jellicent and heavily damage Tyranitar and Politoed without needing a Substitute. Facade can be used as a reliable, strong move and deals more damage to Amoonguss, Celebi, Reuniclus, and Gliscor; however, it makes Breloom useless versus Jellicent. Set Details 236 HP EVs maximize Poison Heal recovery and make standard Rotom-W's Volt Switch unable to break Breloom's Substitute. 20 Special Defense EVs reduce the chance of standard Landorus-T 2HKOing Breloom with Hidden Power Ice in sand. Breloom can invest a bit in Speed to not be a target of Encore from standard defensive Politoed. Usage Tips Turn 1 Protect is one of Breloom's best possible moves, as Breloom does not need to fear a burn from Scald or Will-O-Wisp after activating Toxic Orb. Try to switch Breloom into Pokemon it naturally beats, like Rotom-W, Politoed, and Ferrothorn lacking Gyro Ball, so it can freely use Substitute when they switch out. Take advantage of Substitute + Protect, especially if there is no sand, to PP stall even Pokemon that could normally defeat Breloom like Latios, Landorus-T, and Garchomp. Do not be afraid to use Focus Punch behind Substitute, since even Pokemon that resist Fighting-type attacks receive massive damage from it. Team Options Since this set forces a lot of switches from your opponent, its best partners are entry hazard setters like Ferrothorn and Skarmory for Spikes and Tentacruel for Toxic Spikes. Good Stealth Rock users like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Heatran, and Gliscor are also very good choices. If using Facade, Tyranitar is one of Breloom's best friends to Pursuit trap Jellicent. Scizor can Pursuit trap Psychic-types and safely bring in Breloom with U-turn. Other VoltTurn users are also amazing options. Pokemon that provide paralysis support, like Alakazam, Latias, and Jirachi, are very valuable, since full paralysis activating at the same time as Breloom sets up a Substitute has game-changing effects. If Breloom is using Seed Bomb, Psychic-types or strong special attackers, like Latios, Alakazam, Reuniclus, Hydreigon, and Tornadus, are needed to remove Amoonguss, which counters Breloom. If it is used outside of sand, remember to partner Breloom with weather-neutralizing Pokemon like Sunny Day Magnezone and Heatran so it can use the lack of sand damage to PP stall its foes.

Moves Bullet Seed is the best STAB move to use, since Technician gives it a massive power boost. Mach Punch provides priority and benefits from Technician, turning Breloom into a decent revenge killer. Low Sweep also benefits from Technician and is one of the best moves to use on a predicted switch-in, since even Fighting-resistant Pokemon take a lot of damage from it and have their Speed lowered, letting Breloom 2HKO them in most cases. Superpower is Breloom's most powerful STAB option but pressures it to switch out, while Stone Edge is the best option to hit Dragonite, Celebi, and Amoonguss. Another option is to use Facade to let Breloom deal consistent damage after it has been burned. Set Details A Jolly nature can be used to outspeed Adamant Mamoswine and Dragonite as well as Modest Heatran. Choice Band provides a larger power boost that applies to all of Breloom's moves while Fist Plate allows Breloom to switch moves and boost the power of its Fighting-type moves. Usage Tips The best way to use this Breloom set is by bluffing a Poison Heal set and leading with it. Since most opponents will use the Protect turn from Poison Heal Breloom to set entry hazards or switch to a better Pokemon, Choice Band Breloom can grab a surprise KO with the correct prediction. Once the absence of Poison Heal is revealed, do not be afraid to play aggressively with Breloom and make double switches, since your opponent will try to prevent it from entering the field at all costs. Correct predictions and good switching are what make this set dangerous, so try to maintain offensive pressure at all times. Team Options This Breloom set belongs on hyper offensive teams alongside Pokemon like Scizor, Volcarona, Dragonite, Salamence, Garchomp, Starmie and suicide lead Skarmory. Pokemon that can deal with Skarmory, like Magnezone, Garchomp, Kyurem-B, and Hydreigon, are also good partners.

Moves Swords Dance is the preferred move to boost Breloom's Attack to insane levels and to immediately threaten Landorus-T, Gliscor, and Reuniclus. However, Bulk Up is an option if your team prefers a more controlled game pace, as it reduces damage from Excadrill's Iron Head and Keldeo's Secret Sword. Protect lets Breloom scout moves, activate Toxic Orb, and stall for Poison Heal recovery. Drain Punch contributes to Breloom's longevity by healing it while doing damage. The last slot is based on team preference: Facade is the best move to heavily damage bulky Pokemon like Amoonguss, Gliscor, and Reuniclus, while Seed Bomb targets Jellicent at the cost of not doing much damage to Latios, Celebi, Amoonguss, and Thundurus-T. If Breloom doesn't need the extra longevity from Drain Punch, Superpower can be used to have a stronger attack without needing any boosts. Set Details 236 HP and 212 Special Defense EVs with a Careful nature maximize Breloom's bulk and Poison Heal recovery. 60 Speed EVs let Breloom outspeed standard specially defensive Heatran. Another possible EV spread is 236 HP / 36 Atk / 176 SpD / 60 Spe with an Adamant nature to OHKO standard Tentacruel with Facade after a Swords Dance. Usage Tips Avoid switching Breloom into Scald and Will-O-Wisp users before Toxic Orb has activated, as burns nullify Poison Heal. Because of this risk, leading with Breloom and using Protect Turn 1 is normally the best opening play possible. Use Breloom to steal momentum from Pokemon like Ferrothorn and Rotom-W, which don't want to take any of Breloom's moves or give it a chance to freely set up. If your opponent has fast and powerful Breloom switch-ins like Latios and Thundurus-T, expect these Pokemon to switch in and use Facade on the switch to weaken them. Take advantage of Breloom's versatility as both a threat to balance teams with its setup options and a VoltTurn punisher that scares away Rotom-W and Ferrothorn, taking offensive momentum from your opponent throughout the game. Team Options This Breloom set has very good synergy with sand teams, since Poison Heal removes the residual damage from sand and lets Breloom counter Pokemon that trouble this structure, like Rotom-W, Ferrothorn, Politoed, and Tentacruel. Tyranitar is an amazing partner, as it sets up sand and can Pursuit trap Psychic-types such as Latios, Latias, Reuniclus, and Alakazam. Good answers to Excadrill, like Landorus-T, Gliscor, and Skarmory, are also very good options, since Sand Force-boosted Iron Head immediately threatens Breloom that have not boosted with Bulk Up. Latios, Alakazam, Reuniclus, Mamoswine, and Garchomp are some of the most common offensive Pokemon that capitalize on Breloom's wallbreaking. Breloom also functions on rain teams as a way to force out Rotom-W. Rain Pokemon like Politoed, Tentacruel, Starmie, Keldeo, and Jirachi have very good defensive and offensive synergy with Breloom. Jirachi and Breloom in particular cover each other's weaknesses.

Moves Breloom is one of the best options to immediately get momentum as a lead on hyper offensive teams, as any foe without a Lum Berry or a faster Taunt is put to sleep. Spore is an excellent tool to prevent Stealth Rock and simplify game plans, as the pace of the team makes it difficult for the opposing Pokemon to wake up. The choice between Superpower and Focus Punch is item dependent—with a Choice Scarf, Breloom has to use Superpower because it can function as a revenge killer. However, with a Focus Sash, Breloom can leverage the more common Choice Scarf set to Focus Punch foes trying to wake up or switch. Seed Bomb threatens Grass-weak leads such as Swampert, Hippowdon, and Starmie as well as provides a reliable attack should it use Focus Punch. Stone Edge rounds out Breloom's coverage against Flying-types, hitting Zapdos, Gyarados, and Dragonite hard. However, since it doesn't OHKO them, Stun Spore is another option, especially with Focus Sash, to spread paralysis on Breloom checks such as Latias, Gliscor, Zapdos, and Skarmory. Set Details To outspeed common leads, Breloom needs to be as fast as possible. Since Breloom can't use a Toxic Orb, Effect Spore provides an additional chance to status contact attacks, such as Flygon and Uxie using U-turn to scout Breloom. The choice between Choice Scarf and Focus Sash depends on how weak to Stealth Rock the rest of the team is. Breloom has a Speed stat of 393 with a Choice Scarf, enough to outspeed common fast Stealth Rock leads such as Azelf and Choice Scarf Tyranitar, putting them to sleep (should Azelf lack a Lum Berry) before they can set up Stealth Rock. It also helps against powerful wallbreakers such as Choice Specs Latias, Heatran, and Dragonite. Breloom can also act as speed control for typically frail hyper offense teams, letting it revenge kill Dragon Dance Tyranitar and neutral speed nature Dragon Dance Gyarados and Dragonite. On teams not as weak to Stealth Rock or have other revenge killers, Focus Sash allows Breloom to survive one hit and get off a Spore or powerful attack. Having a Focus Sash also prevents Breloom from being forced out immediately once it uses Spore. Usage Tips This Breloom should lead and almost always use Spore, as it has no bulk and aims to immediately get momentum. Exceptions tend to be if the opposing lead common carries a Lum Berry, such as Metagross and Gyarados; is faster than Breloom and will Taunt, such as Aerodactyl; or could be KOed by an attack and are thus likely to try to absorb Spore, such as Tyranitar and Swampert. Once Breloom uses Spore, Choice Scarf leads are forced out and can be used later as fodder or to revenge kill. Focus Sash leads instead try to do as much damage as possible before Breloom faints—Breloom fainting gives a free switch to another threat. As such, try to leverage the fact that Choice Scarf Breloom is forced out after using Spore on something slow to Focus Punch possible switches or foes trying to wake up. Team Options This Breloom is a staple of aggressive hyper offense teams. With Choice Scarf, Breloom should be used with threats that do not like Stealth Rock, such as Gyarados and Dragonite. Mixed Dragonite is especially threatening with Breloom, as it enjoys coming in for free without Stealth Rock up and immediately threatens common Breloom answers. As using lead Breloom means forgoing early Stealth Rock, common synergistic users such as Heatran, Metagross, and Camerupt are good partners. Other hyper offense mainstays such as Dragon Dance Tyranitar, Swords Dance Scizor, offensive Calm Mind Jirachi, offensive Empoleon, and Swords Dance Lucario are other strong partners with Breloom. Swords Dance Scizor with Pursuit is an especially strong partner, as it helps to defeat Latias trying to come in after Breloom uses Spore. Scizor can even use an Occa Berry to better protect against Hidden Power Fire. With Focus Sash, Breloom's partners do not have to be as aggressive, since Breloom can't prevent Stealth Rock from faster leads such as Azelf or Aerodactyl. However, it can immediately weaken prominent Breloom checks such as Skarmory, especially if the opponent tries to switch it in after Breloom uses Spore expecting the Choice Scarf set. With Stun Spore, Breloom can unexpectedly paralyze Latias, Gliscor, and Zapdos, helping Jirachi, Mamoswine, and Machamp break through them. Breloom also appreciates other forms of speed control, such as Choice Scarf Latias, as it's setup fodder for Dragon Dance Gyarados and Dragonite if they can mitigate status.

Moves The threat of Spore and powerful attacks is generally enough to get Breloom a Substitute on something it forces out. Substitute provides Breloom with a number of advantages. The first is that Breloom can more easily choose what to use Spore on, as sleep sacrifices only give Breloom momentum to attack rather than waste Spore. Additionally, Substitute counters switching in a choiced Sleep Talk user to absorb Spore, as they must break the Substitute before locking into Sleep Talk. Second, the Substitute allows Breloom to use the more powerful Focus Punch without worrying about being hit; with investment, it can even 2HKO resists like bulkless Latias. Third, the Substitute helps prevent revenge killing on the typically slow Breloom. With defensive investment, Substitute can survive weaker attacks, such as Choice Scarf Flygon’s U-turn, opposing Breloom’s Seed Bomb, and Choice Scarf Tyranitar’s Crunch. As such, this Breloom is one of the best punishers of teams lacking multiple good Breloom checks. Seed Bomb rounds out Breloom’s coverage, giving Breloom a no drawbacks attack while also threatening Pokemon that resist Fighting. Another option, however, is to run Leech Seed, as Breloom has the unique advantage of Poison Heal over other SubSeed users, meaning it can potentially heal more HP than a Substitute requires. This will leave Breloom without a no drawbacks offensive move, however. Set Details The EV spread given allows Breloom’s Substitute to survive Choice Scarf Flygon’s U-turn. This counters a common way to get around Substitute: continually using U-turn into a threat that survives the Focus Punch. It also survives Dragon Dance Tyranitar's +1 Fire Punch after Stealth Rock and sand damage. The rest of the EVs are put into Attack to power up Seed Bomb and Focus Punch. Breloom can also put some of the Attack investment into Speed to keep up a Substitute on foes such as Skarmory, Metagross, and defensive Heatran. However, Breloom can also go fully offensive and run 12 HP / 244 Atk / 252 Speed with a Jolly or Adamant nature. For SubSeed sets, the Jolly max Speed spread is particularly threatening to slower teams, as Breloom will continually be able to set up a Substitute + Poison Heal while throwing out strong Focus Punch. Breloom can also maximize its defensive bulk with a SubSeed set, with an EV spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD with an Impish nature. Usage Tips Because Breloom’s Focus Punch has to be predicted, Breloom typically should be brought in more carefully on something it threatens, such as Swampert, slower Tyranitar, Blissey, and Clefable and then Substitute on the switch out. This puts the opponent in a difficult situation of dealing with a Breloom behind a Substitute that still can put something to sleep. Beware of opponents that deal with Breloom with offensive pressure, as fast Swampert hitting Breloom with Ice Beam or Tyranitar using Fire Blast is one of the best ways to prevent Breloom from getting that Substitute. Once Breloom has a Substitute, Breloom can use Focus Punch and Leech Seed with impunity, as it can just attack sleep sacrifices without using Spore or set up repeated Leech Seed on slower targets. Once Breloom has used Spore and is forced out, coming in on Fighting-weak targets such as Clefable and Tyranitar again is more difficult, as they will continue to attack Breloom instead of switch out. Should Breloom be Jolly, using Spore is more forgiving on a threat such as defensive Jirachi, as Breloom can continuously sleep and set up a Substitute without being punished. Team Options Generally, Substitute Breloom has similar partners to the offensive set; however Breloom doesn't have as much utility due to being forced to use a Fighting-type attack with drawbacks. As such, it enjoys being used alongside other checks to Tyranitar, such as Metagross and Jirachi. Trick Metagross can lure in and give prominent Breloom checks like Skarmory, Rotom-A, and Zapdos an Iron Ball or Choice Scarf to allow Breloom to more easily defeat them. Pursuit Tyranitar is again an excellent partner, as it can Pursuit prominent Sleep absorbers such as Rotom-A and Latias to allow Breloom to use Spore again. Breloom’s strong Focus Punch and Spore combination often soften up opposing teams for fast sweepers such as Calm Mind Jirachi and Dragon Dance Tyranitar to take advantage of. Many Pokemon enjoy Breloom’s ability to bust up defensive core involving Clefable, such as Heatran, Latias, Calm Mind Jirachi, Suicune, and Empoleon. A particularly potent pairing is Will-o-Wisp Heatran + Choice Specs Latias, as opponents will be less likely to switch in Clefable knowing Breloom can easily take advantage of it. This can force burn on Pokemon such as Tyranitar, opening up Choice Specs Latias. Breloom also appreciates entry hazard users, as some of its more prominent sleep absorbers are weak to Stealth Rock. Pokemon such as Heatran, Tyranitar, Empoleon, and Skarmory are useful. Skarmory also sets up Spikes, which can be helpful due to other prominent Breloom checks such as Celebi, Nidoqueen, and Jirachi giving free set up. With Spikes, SubSeed Breloom especially becomes very difficult to deal with.

Moves Defensive Breloom takes a much different approach and focuses on shoring the team against status and Knock Off while being a strong answer to Tyranitar and Clefable. The primary weapon of defensive Breloom is Leech Seed, damaging all non Grass-types and Clefable while maximizing Breloom’s longevity. Force Palm OHKOs bulkless Tyranitar after Stealth Rock and 2HKOs Clefable. However, the primary advantage of Force Palm is its paralysis chance. Breloom's Force Palm is a fantastic way to paralyze Latias, Gliscor, and Jirachi, targets that are typically difficult to paralyze and lose a lot of efficacy once statused. Superpower provides Breloom with a much stronger option; Force Palm fails to 2HKO Bold Clefable and has to rely on paralysis to stop Chople Berry Dragon Dance Tyranitar. A more midground option that doesn't drop Breloom's stats is Sky Uppercut; however, beware of its imperfect accuracy. Breloom can also forgo a Fighting-type option to use Facade, as it nets a strong neutral hit on much of the tier. Protect synergizes well with Leech Seed: scouting the opponent, gaining additional recovery easily, and racking up Leech Seed damage. The most prominent last option is Spore, as it instantly neutralizes a threat. It also works well with Leech Seed to gain additional health. However, Seed Bomb is also an excellent option, as it allows Breloom to hit Ghost-types and remain threatening against Swampert and Gastrodon. Set Details This Breloom generally can go in two directions: physically or specially bulky. Physical bulk is preferred, as Breloom is often one of the primary checks for opposing Breloom, Tyranitar, and Swampert and needs a lot of physical bulk to withstand their attacks continuously. Physical bulk also helps Breloom check Hippowdon, Gliscor without a Flying-type attack, and Gyarados. Breloom can run some Speed investment, such as around 60 EVs, to outspeed minimum speed Heatran while also outspeeding slower versions of Skarmory, Tyranitar, Swampert, and Metagross. Due to Breloom’s very low Special Defense stat, some of this Speed investment can be put into Special Defense to help against defensive Latias's Ice Beam, utility Tyranitar’s Fire Blast, and Swampert’s Ice Beam. Another route to go is to invest in Breloom’s Special Defense with a Careful nature and full bulk investment with a spread of 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD. Specially defensive Breloom is a fantastic answer to Calm Mind Clefable while also takes special coverage much better. Specially defensive Breloom can survive many super-effective special attacks such as +1 Suicune Ice Beam, defensive Zapdos’s Heat Wave, Jirachi’s Psychic, Choice Scarf Rotom-A’s Shadow Ball, and defensive Heatran’s Lava Plume. Breloom loses the ability to switch into opposing Breloom’s Spore while surviving Superpower and is commonly OHKOed by +1 Tyranitar’s Fire Punch by going down this path, however. Usage Tips Breloom generally wants to activate its Toxic Orb as soon as possible, as it is useless without Poison Heal. Switch into opposing Breloom’s Spore sparingly, as opposing Breloom’s Fighting-type coverage 2HKOs on even physically bulky Breloom. This Breloom is particularly annoying for offensive teams to deal with, as it commonly stalls out any momentum from choiced attackers such as Latias, Rotom-A, Swampert, Tyranitar, and Gyarados while chipping them with Leech Seed. As such, take advantage of Breloom’s bulk and recovery throughout the game to choke out the opponent. Breloom often can recover from very low health quite easily with Leech Seed, Protect, and Poison Heal, allowing it to tank strong hits and eventually come out healthy. Keep Breloom away from entry hazard setters, Spikes, and Substitute users, as its offensive options are weak and easy to set up on. Once Breloom uses Spore, it should be trying to use Force Palm to spread paralysis on its checks as much as it can, as for example, Gliscor cannot use Taunt before Breloom uses Leech Seed, Latias cannot use Reflect on a potential Tyranitar switch, and Jirachi cannot use Iron Head to flinch Breloom. Team Options Defensive Breloom generally belongs on stall teams that can afford its lack of offensive pressure, absorb the strong hits it can’t take, and benefit from its ability to neutralize Clefable. However, because Breloom is setup fodder for Skarmory and forced out by mixed Flygon, defensive partners need to account for offensive Spikes teams well. Tyranitar is particularly effective, as choiced sets can take advantage of a paralyzed Latias, while defensive sets easily stomach the strong special attackers that eliminate Breloom, like offensive Heatran and Latias. However, sand can sometimes be detrimental to Breloom’s constant passive recovery. Specially defensive walls with Knock Off, such as Clefable and Empoleon, are especially effective to help wear down opponents with Leech Seed. Breloom also saves Clefable from having to trade Knock Off with opposing Clefable. Anti Spikes measures are extremely important with Breloom due to the ubiquity of Skarmory. Breloom fits quite well with Magnezone to trap Skarmory and Forretress, while Shed Shell Skarmory doesn’t enjoy repeated residual damage and paralysis this set inflicts. Other choices that fit alongside Magnezone, such as Latias, defensive Wish + Protect Jirachi, Toxic + Protect Metagross, and Swampert are helpful. Hippowdon can also be effective, but like Tyranitar, sand can sometimes be detrimental. Choice Scarf Magneton can also be effective to help against the hyper offensive teams that can take advantage of defensive Breloom, as it outspeeds and revenge kills Adamant Dragon Dance Gyarados and Dragonite. Breloom fits quite well on bulkier paralysis spamming teams due to spreading paralysis to Latias and Gliscor effectively. Potential partners include Starmie, physically defensive Zapdos, Jirachi, and Rhyperior. Starmie is especially helpful to Rapid Spin the hazards that the opponent sets up on Breloom. In return, Breloom counters Tyranitar and Clefable, two common Stealth Rock users and checks to Zapdos, and helps Jirachi out against Dragon Dance Tyranitar. Breloom fits well alongside bulky special sweepers that are vulnerable to Encore Clefable, such as Calm Mind + RestTalk Suicune, Calm Mind Latias, and Calm Mind + Wish or Substitute Jirachi, as it can take the Knock Off once Toxic Orb activates and 2HKO Clefable. Breloom enjoys easy entry for its Toxic Orb activation, meaning Uxie, RestTalk Rotom-A, and Latias are good partners to bait in Tyranitar. Uxie can even use U-turn to bring in Breloom easily. These Pokemon also ease Breloom’s commitment to absorbing opposing Breloom’s Spore by surviving strong Fighting-type coverage and forcing opposing Breloom out.

Moves Breloom’s Spore is one of its strongest qualities, immediately disabling an opposing Pokemon by putting them to sleep. Superpower is Breloom’s strongest attack bar Focus Punch and heavily threats much of the tier, OHKOing many prominent Fighting-weak Pokemon such as Tyranitar, Clefable, Heatran, and Magnezone while hitting neutral threats such as Scizor, Bronzong, Metagross, and Machamp very hard. Focus Punch can be used after Spore or on a predicted switch, even 2HKOing physically defensive Skarmory. It also does not lower Breloom's stats like Superpower does. Seed Bomb pairs well with both Superpower and Focus Punch, as many prominent walls are Grass-weak such as Hippowdon, Swampert, Milotic, and Suicune. Others are immune or resist Fighting but not Grass such as Nidoqueen, Rotom-A, Uxie, Gliscor, and Gyarados. Seed Bomb is also strong enough to damage Gengar despite resisting it. Mach Punch provides a failsafe against Tyranitar, Agility Empoleon, and forces Lucario to use Extreme Speed rather than Close Combat. Mach Punch can OHKO bulkless Tyranitar after Stealth Rock and easily 2HKOs bulkless Empoleon and Lucario. As another option, Protect emphasizes Breloom's survivability, as Breloom will always heal even in sand due to Poison Heal. For teams lacking good Breloom checks, a common way to deal with Breloom is to switch in a Sleep Talk user such as Choice Specs Latias or Choice Band Dragonite. As Sleep Talk can only be selected once while choice locked, Protect forces these Pokemon out. Should it be paired with Magnezone, Breloom can take advantage of Skarmory's removal and run Toxic to cripple secondary checks such as defensive Latias, defensive Zapdos and Gliscor. Set Details Due to Breloom not needing much Attack to pose a threat, there are many possible EV spreads. This specific EV spread gives Breloom near maximum Attack while also outspeeding neutral nature Tyranitar and Swampert with the rest of the EVs in HP to hit a Poison Heal number. With almost maximum Attack EVs, Breloom can be as threatening as possible while still having a touch of survivability against survive prominent attacks such as utility Tyranitar’s Fire Blast, Swampert Ice Beam, Gengar's Shadow Ball, and defensive Latias’s Ice Beam. Other possibilities include maximizing Speed using an EV spread of 12 HP / 244 Atk / 252 Spe with a Jolly nature. This allows Breloom to reach a Poison Heal number and outspeed Adamant Gyarados. Jolly variants are particularly difficult to deal with for defensive teams, as Breloom’s can outspeed slower versions of Jirachi and Zapdos and use Spore before they can respond. Breloom without investment is very frail, however. Should Speed not be important, Breloom can also just run a simple spread of 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def, but beware of offensive pressure from faster variants of Swampert and Tyranitar. As Breloom's defensive stats are quite low, sparing some EVs in either of its defenses improves its survivability greatly. Breloom can run more physical bulk, such as an EV spread of 248 HP / 116 Atk / 144 Def that survives +1 Tyranitar’s Ice Punch and Gyarados’s +1 Ice Fang after sand damage. With special bulk, such as 108 HP / 176 Atk / 40 SpD / 184 Spe, Breloom can survive max Special Attack Swampert's Ice Beam without entry hazards and defensive Latias's Ice Beam after one layer of Spikes. Breloom can also use additional Speed, such as around 60 EVs to outspeed minimum speed Heatran, 136 to outspeed Machamp and minimum speed Rotom-A and Suicune, and 176 with a Jolly nature to outspeed Tyranitar. Generally, sets with Mach Punch run more attack to maximize damage. Usage Tips Breloom often switches in early into prominent Pokemon such as Swampert, Tyranitar, and Clefable to exert pressure. However, these switches could be dangerous: Breloom can be OHKOed by super-effective coverage and is effectively useless should it take Knock Off or Thunder Wave. Once Breloom has activated Toxic Orb, it can freely switch into many status and Knock Off users such as RestTalk Rotom-A and Clefable. Delaying the timing of Breloom’s Spore can often net a more valuable target; opponents will often switch to a sleep absorber or leave their Swampert for example in to absorb the Spore. Delaying additionally avoids using Spore on a Lum Berry target such as Tyranitar, Metagross, Dragonite, and Gyarados. Should Breloom have Focus Punch over Superpower, predicting bulky neutral threats switching in after something absorbs Spore such as Skarmory and Jirachi can maximize damage. Breloom can even stay in on Skarmory as it uses Roost and OHKO it with Focus Punch. Should Breloom have Protect, beware of being too predictable to give opponents free switches due to the amount of offensive pressure Breloom typically exerts. Team Options Breloom has many viable partners as a stable of DPP OU. One of the best partners for Breloom is Pursuit Tyranitar, as some of the most prominent Breloom checks such as Latias, Rotom-A, and Gengar, are Dark-weak and can be Pursuit trapped. Tyranitar is also helpful in other ways; Dragon Dance Tyranitar appreciates Breloom’s Spore to help break through bulky checks such as Skarmory, Jirachi, and Nidoqueen. Choice Band Tyranitar can break through Breloom checks with its powerful attacks, while Breloom can absorb Clefable’s Knock Off once the Toxic Orb is activated. Other prominent Breloom partners include Choice Scarf Rotom-A and Choice Scarf Latias, as Mach Punch allows Breloom to check the one boosted threat they cannot handle well: Dragon Dance Tyranitar. As Breloom takes advantage of both Clefable and Tyranitar, it is a great partner to many strong special attackers, such as Heatran, Empoleon, Latias, Zapdos, and Suicune. Heatran is uniquely valuable, as it can potentially trap and KO Latias with Magma Storm and either Dragon Pulse or Explosion while OHKOing Skarmory and Jirachi. Breloom also pressure defensive Water- and Ground-types such as Swampert, Hippowdon, Quagsire, and Suicune, potentially helping offensive Steel-types such as Heatran, Jirachi, Scizor, and Metagross. Breloom also benefits from Magnezone support, as it removes a prominent check in Skarmory, allowing to use Spore on something else. Breloom also heavily pressures Shed Shell Skarmory, as Skarmory can no longer passively heal after it takes a Focus Punch or Superpower. Both defensive and offensive partners with Magnezone work well, as Starmie, Clefable, and physically defensive Zapdos appreciate Breloom's power and ability to check Swampert and Tyranitar while more aggressive partners such as offensive Trick Room Bronzong, Gengar, and Metagross enjoy Breloom's ability to break open defensive teams should Skarmory be trapped. Starmie greatly improves Breloom's survivability by spinning away Spikes, while Breloom takes advantage of Pursuit Tyranitar trying to remove Starmie. Breloom’s ability to absorb Spore from opposing Breloom and its relatively slow speed allow it to fit well with Trick Room Bronzong, as the teams it is featured on typically struggle with opposing Breloom. In a similar vein to Magnezone, Trick + Iron Ball Metagross opens up Skarmory, Rotom-A, and Zapdos by slowing them down and removing their Leftovers.

Moves Breloom can become a full-blown sweeper with Swords Dance. Even walls that resist one or both of Seed Bomb and Superpower such as Nidoqueen, Latias, and Skarmory can be 2HKOed easily after a Swords Dance boost. Milotic and Hippowdon, prominent answers to physical sweepers, are both OHKOed by Seed Bomb after one Swords Dance, while Superpower OHKOs all non-physically bulky Jirachi. Facade rounds out the coverage, as it hits Zapdos, Latias, and Dragonite hard. Due to Toxic Orb, Facade will always be at 140 base power, doing more damage than Seed Bomb against neutral targets. It may seem odd to use Breloom without Spore, but the additional coverage is often worth it, especially since Latias outspeeds and walls Breloom even while asleep. Other options include Spore, which neutralizes a threat and eases set-up. Mach Punch helps to alleviate Breloom’s low speed against faster Pokemon weak to Fighting, such as Heatran and Lucario. Breloom can also be a bulky win condition with Protect in the last slot as well. Set Details The EV spread given maximizes Breloom’s sweeping abilities while also hitting a Poison Heal number—both Jolly and Adamant natures work here. Many other EV spreads works too; the most prominent of these is run max HP and hit another Speed benchmark, such as around 60 EVs for minimum Speed Heatran, 136 for Machamp, minimum Speed Rotom-A, and minimum Speed Suicune, and 184 EVs for max speed neutral Tyranitar and Swampert while putting the rest in attack and HP. This route gives Breloom some more breathing room to set up. An additional route is to run further bulk by making Breloom Impish—this allows Breloom to fulfill its defensive obligations against Dragon Dance Tyranitar and opposing Breloom once the Toxic Orb has activated while still being a threat with Swords Dance. An example EV spread is 248 HP / 4 Atk / 120 Def / 136 Spe that survives Dragon Dance Tyranitar’s +1 Ice Punch, Dragon Dance Gyarados’s +1 Ice Fang while still outspeeding the Machamp, Rotom-A, and Suicune benchmark. As an Impish non-Attack invested +0 Superpower can leave standard Clefable and Chople Berry + Dragon Dance Tyranitar alive, another option is to run less Speed and use 248 HP / 76 Atk / 184 Def with an Adamant nature, as this still survives the bulk thresholds while strengthening Breloom. Usage Tips This Breloom, especially if it drops Spore and has no defensive investment, must be more careful when it comes in. Breloom appreciates its checks such as Latias to be either KOed or paralyzed before it uses Swords Dance. Against more defensive teams, due to Breloom’s longevity, it can come in more often, activate its Toxic Orb, and threaten Clefable and Tyranitar. As most opponents will expect Spore, leverage likely Sleep sacrifices to get a free Swords Dance or to switch to an appropriate counter. On more defensive teams, Breloom’s role changes as a wall that can sweep, so trading lots of Breloom’s health for eliminating +1 Dragon Dance Tyranitar is valuable. Team Options This Breloom is most commonly featured on teams with extensive paralysis support, as paralyzing walls such as Latias and Skarmory can open up opponents to a Breloom sweep. In return, Breloom provides these teams with a strong answer to Ground-types such as Swampert and Hippowdon that are immune to Thunder Wave and can be difficult to deal with, Knock Off Clefable, and Tyranitar. Common teammates for this style include Blissey, Bold Clefable, defensive Zapdos, Jirachi, and Starmie. These Pokemon, all help Breloom with its flaws: Starmie can make up for Breloom’s weakness to Spikes, while Blissey, Zapdos, Clefable, and Jirachi help take strong attackers such as Gengar, Choice Specs Latias, and Lucario that Breloom struggles with. Breloom also appreciates additional support for breaking down walls—the most prominent choice is Machamp, as it also takes advantage of paralysis support. Other Pokemon that take advantage of paralysis, such as Togekiss and Rhyperior, can also be supported by Breloom. More offensive paralysis teams can also support Breloom, such as with Azelf, Jirachi, Tyranitar, and Dragon Dance + Thunder Wave Gyarados. Tyranitar is particularly helpful, as it can Pursuit trap Dark-weak Breloom answers and can even spread paralysis on difficult to paralyze threats like Latias. An additional route to using Swords Dance Breloom is with Magnezone support, as it traps Skarmory and other bulky Steel-types such as Bronzong, Metagross, and Scizor that can interfere with sweeping. Common partners in this style include Tyranitar, Jirachi, Skarmory, Clefable, and defensive Latias. Other ways to open up walls, including Trick + Iron Ball or Choice Scarf Metagross and mixed threats such as Jirachi and Flygon are generally helpful.

Set Description Spore is what sets Breloom apart from the other Fighting-types in OU. Sleep is a great asset against balance and defensive teams that have a dedicated role for each Pokemon, as putting one wall out of commission provides opportunities for specific teammates to wallbreak and sweep. For example, putting a Ground-, Water-, or Steel-type to sleep can help secure a Dragon Dance Tyranitar sweep. Spore is also good against hit-and-run-based offense teams that lack setup sweepers that are strong against Breloom, as these teams struggle to come back from the functional one Pokemon deficit of sleep. Spore is also useful to shut down Spikers and spinners like Skarmory, Claydol, or Forretress. Focus Punch is Breloom's strongest move and synergizes perfectly with Spore, allowing it to dish out a devastating attack while the opposing Pokemon is sleeping or switching out. It is so strong that physically bulky Pokemon like Skarmory, Metagross, and Swampert are likely to be 2HKOed, common Fighting-resistant foes like offensive Zapdos and Moltres are potentially 2HKOed in sand, and even sturdier Fighting-resistant foes like Salamence cannot switch in forever. While not as powerful, Sky Uppercut is a reliable attack that threatens Tyranitar, Snorlax, and Blissey, which sometimes stay in on Breloom after a teammate has been put to sleep; Sky Uppercut is also useful to finish off slow Pokemon that Breloom or its teammates have weakened previously, like Skarmory, Swampert, and Metagross. The combined threat of Focus Punch on switching out and Sky Uppercut on staying in makes Breloom really hard to predict and appropriately check. Mach Punch makes Breloom the best priority user in OU. Mach Punch primarily revenge kills chipped Dragon Dance Tyranitar and low HP Aerodactyl; additionally, it puts Dugtrio that revenge kill Breloom into range of Tyranitar's Pursuit. Finally, Mach Punch gives Breloom that extra bit of damage against many faster offensive threats like Jolteon, offensive Jirachi, Salac Berry Heracross, and Salac Berry Vaporeon, helping teammates take them down, possibly with the aid of sand, even if Mach Punch itself does not KO them. A Jolly nature is preferred over Adamant to outspeed maximum Speed Tyranitar, Swampert, Cloyster, and Vaporeon; slower variants of defensive Celebi, Jirachi, and Zapdos; and neutral nature Metagross, Claydol, and Magneton. At worst, Jolly Breloom Speed ties with Metagross, Cloyster, and Magneton. Outspeeding maximum Speed Tyranitar is especially important because it commonly runs a set with Lum Berry and Fire Blast, which allows it to switch into Spore and OHKO Breloom. However, an Adamant nature gives a 50% chance to OHKO Modest Blissey with Sky Uppercut and a chance to 2HKO Skarmory with Focus Punch + Sky Uppercut. There are generally two ways to use Spore. If Breloom is used on a team with a variety of sweepers and wallbreakers, it is beneficial to use Spore early-game. There is a good chance that Spore disables a check to one of Breloom's teammates, letting it make progress. If Breloom's team is focused on trading KOs with the opponent, such as a Dugtrio team or one with Choice Band Metagross and Curse + Self-Destruct Snorlax, then it is beneficial to use Spore late-game after several trades are made. This prevents opponents from sacrificing the sleeping Pokemon and increases Breloom's impact—with few Pokemon remaining, it is likely that the opponent will lack a sufficient defensive backbone to handle Spore and Focus Punch. While Spore is almost always good to use, one must be wary of getting lured into providing setup opportunities; sweepers like Dragon Dance Salamence and Calm Mind Jirachi can easily turn the tables if Breloom slept a different foe instead, bringing their team back from behind. Team Options The single most important piece of support that Breloom appreciates is Pursuit, since Gengar walls it and bulky Psychic-types like Celebi, Starmie, and Claydol check it effectively. Pursuit Tyranitar is an excellent partner that can potentially deal with all of these Pokemon. In addition, it traps the Flying types that threaten Breloom: Tyranitar can switch into Choice Band Salamence's Hidden Power Flying, mixed Salamence’s Fire Blast, Choice Band Aerodactyl’s Double-Edge or Hidden Power Flying, Moltres’s and Charizard’s Fire Blasts, and even Zapdos’s Thunderbolt to forcibly chip each with Pursuit. If Dugtrio revenge kills Breloom, Mach Punch, followed up by Tyranitar's Pursuit, will KO it in return. Tyranitar also sets sand, which makes Breloom's Focus Punch damage stick against the sand-weak Fighting-resistant foes like Zapdos and Salamence. Despite Pursuit Tyranitar having the most synergy with Breloom, mixed and Dragon Dance Tyranitar might be better partners on hyper offense teams, as they have more offensive potential. If this choice is made, one should mitigate the Gengar weakness with Stun Spore or Hidden Power Ghost. Less popular Pursuit users like Metagross, Houndoom, and Umbreon are also potential Breloom partners, fitting well on teams without sand or those that prefer a different Tyranitar set. Breloom sometimes struggles to get on the field due to its poor defenses, so it is commonly paired with pure or Substitute Baton Pass users like Zapdos, Celebi, and Vaporeon. Zapdos is the most common and consistent of the three, as it synergizes nicely with Breloom defensively and offensively: Zapdos can pass to Breloom to handle a Rock Slide from Tyranitar or to pressure Blissey and Snorlax that come in on Zapdos. Celebi can pass out of Pursuit Tyranitar into Breloom or catch Skarmory on the switch to deny Spikes with Breloom's Spore. Vaporeon is another Substitute + Baton Pass user that can create Substitutes that survive Blissey's Seismic Toss to pass to Breloom safely. Breloom fits well on mixed offense teams. Mixed attackers lure in and weaken Skarmory, Celebi, and Zapdos for Breloom and vice versa, while Breloom compensates for their inability to break past the bulky core of Milotic and Blissey. These mixed attackers include mixed Salamence, offensive Swampert, Charizard, and mixed Zapdos. Using Charizard and Zapdos helps offensive teams check the tier's most fearsome physical threats without wasting a teamslot on a passive wall; both defensively cover Metagross, while Breloom covers physical Tyranitar. In general, offense teams need a strategy for checking Dragon Dance Tyranitar, and Mach Punch Breloom shores up that weakness without ceding momentum. Breloom is also great on offense teams that rely on trades to get into a favorable position. With partners that can take out just about any Pokemon one-on-one, like mixed or Choice Band Explosion Metagross, Self-Destruct Snorlax, and Endeavor Swampert, one can continuously trade KOs until there are few Pokemon left on either side; here, Spore, by disabling one of the key Pokemon remaining, can be devastating. Dugtrio can also perform trades via trapping and revenge killing; additionally, it can reverse trap opposing Dugtrio and enable Calm Mind sweepers, though one has to be careful about stacking weaknesses to Dragon Dance Salamence. Finally, Breloom fits very well on offense teams that feature setup sweepers like Dragon Dance Tyranitar; Calm Mind Jirachi, Suicune, and Celebi; or Substitute Aerodactyl, as sleeping a wall provides extra turns for them to set up and break through. On stall and balance teams, Breloom is used to generate momentum and win the Spikes war, putting either the opposing Spiker or spinner to sleep. While both Skarmory and Forretress are appropriate Spikers, Forretress is the more common Breloom partner, as they both benefit from Pursuit Tyranitar. Forretress is also good at pressuring the Psychic-types that wall Breloom like Celebi, Claydol, and Starmie with Hidden Power Bug. As both Breloom and Forretress are weak to mixed attackers, they are often paired with a mixed wall like Blissey, Milotic, or specially defensive Zapdos; these are especially useful versus mixed Salamence, which is a very common Breloom answer. Aerodactyl is another good switch-in to mixed Salamence and acts very well as a late-game cleaner when used with Spikes. Additionally, Hidden Power Bug Aerodactyl can also mitigate Breloom’s weakness to Psychic-types, especially Celebi.