Venusaur the BL?

[WaterWizard]

this propagandistic piece may no longer be relevant...



I'd just like to mention how appropriately placed Venusaur is among the tiers (he's a BL, of course).

The guy just obliterates UU. Down there he's the second fastest sleeper, and the bulkiest and quickest RLer ever to grace RBY. Far superior to his fellow "Vrethren," Vileplume and Victreebel, Venusaur outspeeds the king of UU, Poliwrath, for a devastating, Amnesia-ignoring, CH Razor Leaf! Furthermore, this kid can Swords Dance, meaning a powerful, paralyzing Body Slam on incoming Charizard!

I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I were a UU with Venusaur prowling around. Good thing this monster is BL, where he's standard as Hypno's backup sleeper and as a quick, bulky SDer.

[Crystal_]

Yeah, it should be BL.

the king of UU, Poliwrath

Yeah, I thought I was the only one I believed (Knew?) that Poliwrath is the UU "centralizer". I thought people here would say that it is Golduck, Vaporeon or Electabuzz.

[posthuman]

You're very excited about Venusaur. You sure he's better than Victreebel?

[subsmoke]

Chu smokin' son?

Venusaur is great but way superior to Victreebel? Nah. Venusaur can't even KO Tauros with hyper beam after 2 SD boosts. But Venusaur has better defense. I think in OU both are about even.

[Zilch]

It's a matter of taste, really. If you prefer a little more oomph, pick Victreebel. If you want better staying power, pick Venusaur.

Leech Seed? Completely situational, though LS's time to shine is better suited for BL with fewer psychics running around to feed on Venusaur's unfortunate second type. Articuno really doesn't like being seeded on the switch-in, something that can happen quite frequently when you lead Venusaur. It's interesting to consider if you don't mind dropping Swords Dance (RL/BS/Sleep/Leech).

Of course, in addition to being a better Swords Dancer, Victreebel has the advantage of double powdering, something any Tangela user will relate to.

[t3h Icy]

I've always preferred Victreebel over Venusaur for the double powder, nicer Attack and slightly more versatility. Venusaur though, does have extra Defense and Speed which are nice, but in the UU environment, it's mostly Special attacks (though perhaps Razor Leaf's presence may change that).

Here's the Speed list in the range of Venusaur's Speed to Victreebel's Speed:

Charmeleon 258
Kabutops 258
Dragonite 258
Venusaur 258
Arbok 258
Magikarp 258
Gastly 258
Blastoise 254
Nidoqueen 250
Hitmonchan 250
Kingler 248
Doduo 248
Beedrill 248
Rattata 242
Pidgeotto 240
Cloyster 238
Onix 238
Poliwrath 238
Magneton 238
Dewgong 238
Victreebel 238
Dragonair 238
Butterfree 238
Mankey 238
Tentacool 238
Spearow 238

Venusaur does have more Speed than Poliwrath and Dewgong, as well as a bunch of other Pokemon and a slightly higher CH rate is always nice to have, but I don't see the extra Speed helping too much. On top, Victreebel is tied with Poliwrath and Dewgong, so its not as if Victreebel will lose, though it is riskier.

I'd keep the two together, whether it be BL or UU, but that's my opinion.