"banana friend" sounds like an innuendo. Oh dear.
[Overview]
<p>Let's get something out of the way; yes, it's a dinosaur with bananas growing out of its chin. Tropius is a strange looking Pokemon, and it has an even stranger playstyle. Tropius has two great abilities in Harvest and Chlorophyll, some usable support moves in Roost and Leech Seed, and a decent defensive typing. With an immunity to Ground-type moves and resistances to Water-, Grass-, and Fighting-type moves, Tropius can take on numerous threats in the NU tier. Combine that with Tropius's great defenses and HP, you've got yourself one hell of a wall. That's not all; Tropius also has access to Chlorophyll, a decent Special Attack stat, and usable coverage moves in Air Slash, SolarBeam, and Hidden Power. Not all is golden for our banana friend though; Tropius's nasty weakness to Ice-type moves and Stealth Rock means it'll have a tough time switching into threats such as Gorebyss, while a Rapid Spin user is almost mandatory in keeping it alive. Furthermore, Tropius's weakness to common attacking types in Fire, Rock, Flying, and Poison leave it vulnerable to many common sweepers. Tropius has great potential in the right hands, but use it wrong and you'll slip on its bananas.</p>
[SET]
name: SubSeed
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Protect
move 4: Air Slash
item: Sitrus Berry
ability: Harvest
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Thanks to its decent defenses and access to Leech Seed, Tropius is an ideal tank and counter to the numerous Water-types in the tier. The idea is to switch into a weak or resisted attack, set up Leech Seed, and proceed to stall the opponent with a combination of Protect and Substitute. That's not all; Tropius's ability, Harvest, has a 50% chance to restore its Sitrus Berry every turn, which provides a nearly endless source of HP, making it even more difficult to KO. Finally, Air Slash is a reliable STAB move and hits opposing Grass-types that are immune to Leech Seed. Without a powerful super effective hit, this Tropius isn't going down without a fight.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Maximizing Tropius's HP and Defense helps it take on a myriad of physical threats. Its resistance to Fighting-, Water-, and Grass-type moves and immunity to Ground-type moves make a physically defensive spread superior. You can always beef up Tropius's Special Defense if you're looking for a special wall, but that's better left to Pokemon without a 4x Ice weakness. Hidden Power Fire is another option if you're using this set in the sun, and a 50% power boost is enough to scare away most of the Grass-types in the tier.</p>
<p>As far as teammates go, the first thing you should consider is a Pokemon that resists Ice-, Fire-, and Rock-type attacks. Quagsire resists the latter two and appreciates the removal of Grass-types with Air Slash, while Magmortar can switch into Ice- and Fire-type attacks. Furthermore, Tropius can switch into Water- and Ground-type moves aimed at Magmortar. A Pokemon with Rapid Spin can provide a safe switch in for Tropius, but there aren't many good ones in the tier. Wartortle can switch into Fire- and Ice-type attacks, while Torkoal can set up Stealth Rock and cause switches with Yawn. Garbodor and Whirlipede can set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes to cripple switching opponents, while Miltank makes for an excellent cleric for any status.</p>
[SET]
name: Growth
move 1: Growth
move 2: SolarBeam
move 3: Air Slash
move 4: Earthquake / Hidden Power Fire
item: Life Orb
ability: Chlorophyll
nature: Naive / Timid
evs: 24 HP / 252 SpA / 232 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Tropius isn't an immediate threat, but after a Growth or two it becomes a very potent sweeper. This set should only be used in the sun, as without it, Tropius is rather sluggish and weak. Chlorophyll doubles Tropius's Speed and raises the power of Hidden Power Fire in the sun, while Growth raises its Attack and Special Attack by two stages instead of one. SolarBeam provides Tropius with a powerful STAB move and requires no setup turn in the sun, Air Slash gives it a means of hitting Grass-types super effectively, and the last slot provides coverage against Steel-types. Earthquake hits Magmortar and Probopass super effectively, while Hidden Power Fire receives a boost from the sun.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>232 Speed EVs and a positive nature allows Tropius to outrun Choice Scarf Magmortar in the sun. Maximum Special Attack gives SolarBeam and Air Slash some real firepower, and the remaining EVs are placed into HP for additional bulk. A Naive nature should be used with Earthquake, and a Timid nature should be used with Hidden Power Fire. Take into account that Hidden Power Fire lowers Tropius's Speed IV, which means that 236 Speed EVs would then be required to outrun Choice Scarf Magmortar.</p>
<p>Pokemon that can set up Sunny Day are obvious teammates for this set. Regirock is an excellent choice as it can set up Stealth Rock, cripple faster threats with Thunder Wave, and shares excellent defensive synergy with Tropius. Persian is another great choice as it can set up before taking a hit, prevent status moves with Taunt, and escape the field with U-turn. Entry hazards help Tropius weaken its common switch-ins, most notably Rotom-S. Garbodor can set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes, while Bastiodon is an excellent Stealth Rock user. Magmortar is an excellent offensive teammate as its Fire-type attacks are boosted by the sun, and Tropius can switch into Water- and Ground-type moves aimed at it.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Tropius has a strange movepool compared to other Grass-types, but most of its other options are unusable for one or more reasons. Dragon Dance can be used alongside any combination of Earthquake, Return, Body Slam, and Aerial Ace, but unfortunately it's illegal with Leaf Blade, forcing Tropius to use Bullet Seed or Razor Leaf for a Grass-type STAB move. Swords Dance is a less restricting option, but Tropius's poor Speed makes it an inferior option outside of the sun, and if using it in the sun you might as well use Growth. Curse may sound tempting with a RestTalk set, but Tropius's common weaknesses makes it difficult to pull off, and RestTalk's once-every-three-turns recovery leaves the bananasaur vulnerable to 2HKOs. Harvest can be used along with a Chesto Berry, but it's largely luck-based.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>The majority of Fire- and Poison-types can switch into Tropius's Grass-type STAB and threaten it with super effective hits. Magmortar and Garbodor are great examples; Magmortar is significantly faster than Tropius and its STAB Fire-type moves will bring the bananasaur to an end, while Garbodor resists its Grass-type STAB and sets up Spikes and Toxic Spikes in its fruity face. Altaria can switch into Grass-type moves, Hidden Power Fire, and Earthquake, while more offensive Flying-types, such as Braviary and Swellow, can revenge kill Tropius with ease. Taunt completely shuts down the SubSeed set, making Eviolite Murkrow an excellent check. Anything carrying a moderately powered Ice-type move will deal heavy damage to Tropius; Regice takes pitiful damage from any of Tropius's special attacks, while Jynx and Vanilluxe can fire off powerful attacks and KO it swiftly. Tropius isn't a fan of passive damage either; a combination of poison damage and Stealth Rock is a major thorn in its side, killing it slowly and painfully.</p>
