Watch yourself! After this month’s Community Day for Leavanny, you’re even more likely to get scratched by a blade or scissors or claw somewhere! And… maybe more so in Ultra League?
Alright, that’s enough of a teaser. Let’s get into it!
LEAVANNY Stats and Moves
Leavanny BugGrassGreat League Stats
Attack | Defense | HP |
---|---|---|
131 (128 High Stat Product) | 109 (112 High Stat Product) | 122 (110 High Stat Product) |
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-13-14 1499 CP, Level 22)
Ultra League Stats
Attack | Defense | HP |
---|---|---|
168 (166 High Stat Product) | 143 (143 High Stat Product) | 155 (158 High Stat Product) |
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-12-14, 2500 CP, Level 44)
Master League Stats
…what, in this economy?!
Remember how we had Tsareena Community Day earlier this year, and I had major concerns about its (lack of) bulk? I wrote at the time:
Of more concern is its stats. Just to compare to Grass starters, the only ones that have less relative bulk than Tisa are Sceptile and Meowscarada… even flimsy Decidueye outbulks it, as do Grasses not at all known for their bulk like Leafeon, Lurantis, Trevenant, and even Carnivine. So yeah… noooooot great.
So… what if I told you that Leavanny has basically the same stats? Attack is virtually identical. Defense and HP are swapped, with Leavanny’s Defense mirroring Tsareena’s HP, and vice versa for Leavanny’s HP and Tsareena’s Defense. Stats-wise, they’re basically the same Pokémon. And uh… when’s the last time you saw Tsareena in PvP? Maybe for a couple weeks after its Community Day as people tried it out… and then quickly discarded it.
Yeah, you probably already know where I’m going here. But dangit, the analysis must go on! Just gonna be shorter than usual. Ooops… spoiler alert?
There is ONE clear difference between the two (other than their moves): Tisa is a mono-Grass, while Leavanny is dual-type Bug/Grass. As per usual, there are pros and cons here. The good is that Bug doubles up the resistance to Ground and Grass, and adds a handy resistance to Fighting. But unfortunately, the rest is actually bad news. Bug does not remove ANY of the standard Grass weaknesses (Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice, Poison), but in fact doubles the weaknesses to both Fire and Flying, and adds a new vulnerability to Rock. So in the end, we end up with this: two double-level resistances, three single-level resistances, four single-level vulnerabilities, and two double-level vulnerabilities. Noooooooot great. Tsareena arguably has it better off here. 😬
Well, let’s forge on….
ᴱ – Exclusive (Community Day) Move
FAST MOVES
- Bug Bite – Bug type, 3.0 DPT, 3.0 EPT, 0.5 CD
- Razor Leaf – Grass type, 4.5 DPT, 2.0 EPT, 1.0 CD
- Shadow Clawᴱ – Ghost type, 3.0 DPT, 4.0 EPT, 1.0 CD
So as you’ll see soon, to this point Leavanny has only Grass and Bug moves. That’s what makes the Community Day addition of Shadow Claw so interesting. Leavanny really needs some other type of move. And it helps that Shadow Claw arrives as its best move too, with great energy generation and fine damage output. Technically it trails Bug Bite a little in that regard, since Bug Bite gets STAB, but not by much. And of course, it deals damage that isn’t resisted by stuff that resists Grass and Bug damage, like Steel, Fire, and/or Poison types. It’s probably the new favorite fast move, but it can only be as successful as the charge moves allow it to be….
CHARGE MOVES
- Leaf Blade – Grass type, 70 damage, 35 energy
- X-Scissor – Bug type, 65 damage, 40 energy
- Silver Wind – Bug type, 60 damage, 45 energy, 10% Chance to Raise User Attack/Defense +1 Stage
- Leaf Storm – Grass type, 130 damage, 55 energy, Reduces User Attack -2 Stages
Like I said before, nothing but Bug and Grass moves. But at least they’re some of the best ones! Leaf Blade continues to just be ridiculous in PvP as the single best 35-energy move in the game, dealing 10 more damage than Sacred Sword and at least 15 more damage than every other 35-energy move except Psycho Boost, which has the same stats as Leaf Blade but comes with a big -2 Attack drawback. Basically anything that has it, including Anney, is bound to use it in Charge Move Slot #1.
So then we have a bit of a quandary. The natural inclination for the second move would be to go Bug for maximum coverage. It doesn’t hurt that X-Scissor in particular is a decent move, especially among Bug-type moves. (It really only trails Megahorn and Bug Buzz.) But I mean… Leaf Storm is right there. It’s another Grass-type move, but 130 damage for only 55 energy is kiiiiiiiiiinda crazy. That’s an exact clone (other than typing, of course) of Overheat, and the same stats as Brave Bird, just with a big nerf to Attack rather than Defense.
In the end, that means that even though it leaves Leavanny with no coverage whatsoever, double Grass charge moves sims just as well — even slightly better — than Leaf Blade/X-Scissor (or Blade/Silver Wind, for that matter). The extra win for Leaf Storm? Azumarill. Otherwise, there are no notable differences in 1v1 shielding. They’re pure sidegrades with shields down (Leaf Storm beats Diggersby and Lickilicky, while X-Scissor instead beats Goodra and Guzzlord), and in 2v2 shielding, we have the exact same difference as we do in 1v1 shielding (Storm adds on Azu).
But that’s all with current Bug Bite. The question we’re all here to answer is: how does the new Shadow Claw change the equation?
GREAT LEAGUE
So starting with Leaf Blade/X-Scissor, as a reminder, here is Bug Bite, and here is Shadow Claw. Notice Claw is actually slightly worse, though I think it’s more fair to call it a sidegrade. Bug Bite’s unique wins are against things weak to Bug damage — Abomasnow, Serperior, and Oranguru — and Sableye (neutral to Bug damage). Yes, Sableye also takes neutral damage from Shadow Claw, but here’s where the STAB damage for Big Bite makes a slight difference, dealing 6 damage for every 5 damage that Claw deals, making the difference in the end. What Shadow Claw does do better is beating Shadow Feraligatr (reaching an extra Leaf Blade thanks to better energy gains) as well as Bug-resistant Machamp and Azumarill (though in fairness, it beats them by reaching extra charge moves too). With shields down, Bug Bite and Shadow Claw are more clearly sidegrades, the former beating Guzzlord and the latter beating Diggersby, despite it resisting Ghost damage, thanks again to the extra energy. Where Shadow Claw finally surges ahead is in 2v2 shielding, adding wins that Bug Bite cannot get like Azu, Feraligatr, Shadow Quagsire, Shadow and regular Sableye, Arctibax, and big bulky Clodsire, while Bug Bite’s only unique wins are Bug-weak Aboma and Oranguru.
Now back to Leaf Storm, here we have a little more of a consistent bump for Shadow Claw over Bug Bite, the former beating ShadowGatr, Dewgong, ShadowChamp, and Arctibax and tying Carbink, and the latter only getting Aboma, Serperior, and Malamar (again, all weak to Bug) instead. I’m gonna call that advantage: Claw. And that continues in 0v0 shielding (Claw beats Dewgong, Sableye, Shadow Sable, and Clefable, and Bug Bite instead gets Serperior and Ghost-resistant Lickilicky) and 2v2 shielding (Claw slashing through Clodsire, Feraligatr, ShadowQuag, Sable, ShadowSable, and Charjabug, and Bug Bite only… uh… biting Aboma and Serperior again). Definitely advantage: Claw. And a new high point for Leavanny’s performance!
Of course, that won’t always be the case. In the upcoming Sunshine Cup, for example, Shadow Claw is arguably inferior to Bug Bite, as in this rather Grass-heavy meta, the extra wins over Abomasnow and Serperior are a big deal (as is the fact that Normal is a big typing, dulling Shadow Claw a bit). But generally, yes, I think it’s worth acquiring a good Shadow Claw Leavanny while you can for “free”, as it will surely have its day in the sun of some Limited meta (and likely several) in the future, and you don’t want to be burning Elite TMs later. This isn’t a sudden meta star or anything, but it’s a good tool to have in your storage for the right odd jobs.
How about for Ultra? Spoiler alert: the news is actually a bit better here….
ULTRA LEAGUE
As things stand today, Leavanny is pretty blah at this level, be it with Leaf Storm or X-Scissor. (Yes, I think you still want Leaf Blade regardless… it’s just too good!) I’m gonna save you some trouble and note that Shadow Claw isn’t much different with Blade/Scissor, but it’s basically a straight upgrade (and again represents a new high point for Leavanny) with double Grass charge moves again, picking up wins over Zygarde Complete, Altered Giratina (with either of its fast moves), and Clefable. And while I’m reluctant to really recommend grinding one all the way up to Level 44, I would be a bad analyst to NOT point out that #1 IVs gets legit impressive by comparison, picking up Shadow Nidoqueen (though I do have to ask… is that really still a thing in modern Ultra League play? 🤔) and Cobalion. Still not quite as impressive as some of the format’s other Grass types… or is it? In terms and wins and losses, does Leavanny enter the top tier of Grass types with Shadow Claw? And more cheaply than those others? Dang, it just might. This might be one to watch when we return to Ultra League… next week!
IN CONCLUSION….
Just to reiterate, yes, this is a worthy grind for Great League for Limited metas… and maybe even more so for Ultra League? I’m honestly not sure what to make of this at that level, but I’m excited to find out! My recommendation is to grind those XLs while it’s easy even if you want to sit back and watch before deciding whether or not to build it.
And there we go… all done for today! Until next time (likely Sunshine Cup meta analysis), you can always find me on Twitter with regular GO analysis nuggets or Patreon.
Good hunting, folks! Be safe out there, have some fun with your locals, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!