Help How will VikaBulu Fair after the Upcoming Rotation?

Auouch

Auouch

Aspiring Trainer
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First let me say that i absolutely love playing Vikabulu and I know that the next standard format is going to be Sun and Moon on, but i wanted to get peoples opinion on how Vikabulu would do after the rotation. As far as i know the deck loses Skyla and brigette, two cards that helped it excel alot. Since the deck loses those two cards, what suggestions could be made to replace them to keep bulu relevant?
 
Volkner can get you an item and a lightning energy so in theory you can use it to get rare candy/ultra ball like with Skyla.

To replace Bridgette you could use pokemon fan club, potentially Steven's Decision or even the Dunsparce coming out that is supposed to allow you to search out basic pokemon.
 
I am interested in post-rotation VikaBulu as well, as it is my favorite deck to play at the moment. As @OppositeAttract mentioned, Volkner can help replace Skyla, and fan club might replace Brigettee. Another more non-conventional card it loses is BKT Smeargle, which I love to play in VikaBulu. Beyond that, There was another card, an Item, that let you search an item revealed at some point (or maybe not, I'm not sure) that could help fill the hole left by Skyla.
 
To replace briggetes theres nest balls, to replace skyla theres volkenr. Ability lock will be nonexistent as slacking is awful. And buzzwole will not be nearly as good so bulu will be in a good place after rotation
 
Don't forget it also loses Heavy Ball (lets you search out any Pokémon with three or more retreat), which will slow down your ability to search out Vikavolt (mostly; Bulu can also be searched with Heavy Ball but it's a basic and easier to get out). Don't really have a suggestion for that one, unless you like trying your luck with Timer Ball or something. Losing Puzzles also hurts it depending on the setup.
 
Heres the thing, Matchup wise I conjured up some weaknesses of this deck next rotation:

Glaceon Zoro
Glaceon Greninja
Greninja Zoro
Zoro Garb (No Garbotoxin)
Tapu Koko Tapu Lele Necrozma GX (Magical Swap)
Necrozma GX Malamar

Let me know if you view it any differently.
 
AFEX said:
Heres the thing, Matchup wise I conjured up some weaknesses of this deck next rotation:

Glaceon Zoro
Glaceon Greninja
Greninja Zoro
Zoro Garb (No Garbotoxin)
Tapu Koko Tapu Lele Necrozma GX (Magical Swap)
Necrozma GX Malamar

Let me know if you view it any differently.
Click to expand...
Why do you think Glaceon hurts Bulu? All of the abilities are on non-GX Pokemon. Plus it hits Greninja for weakness, meaning Bully doesn't even have to discard energy to take down a Greninja GX. And with choice band, Glaceon and Zoroark are also OHKOs.

I think the Koko/Lele deck works like once, and then good players figure out how to play around it.

I agree that all versions of Necrozma/Malamar are probably favored over Bulu though.
 
I feel like running some Alolan Vulpix might be a good idea for the deck, and potentially better than the assumed Dunsparce since Alolan Vulpix is not only costless but searches all Pokemon, not just basics (I'm personally of the opinion that Alolan Vulpix is just strictly better than Dunsparce because of the ability to search any and all Pokemon, unless you're playing Zoroark GX and need bench size over selection.) Perhaps you can even be risky enough to skip the Charjabug step since you can just Beacon for Vikavolt and one Bulu GX and Volkner for Rare Candy.

I also want to say that a 1 of tech of Tapu Koko GX for the GX attack might become incredibly valuable with something like Rayquaza GX coming out soon and the fact that I believe Gardevoir GX/Sylveon GX will see an increase in play due to Magical Ribbon running free in a rotation where people can't play N and likely have no more than 2 Judge in their deck.

The main challenge I think the deck has to face is dancing with (Ultra) Necrozma GX/Malamar since we're talking a Basic + Stage 2 combo vs a Basic + Stage 1 combo with the same damage output and 10 more HP that forces Choice Band on Bulu for OHKOs while Ultra Necrozma can naturally OHKO Bulu without it.

The deck also has to beware of Gardevoir GX/Sylveon GX using Plea GX to remove Vikavolts from play and seriously stalling your Bulu GXs, but a Bulu GX can OHKO a Sylveon GX, so it shouldn't be that big of an issue.

To that ends, I think maybe one copy of Vikavolt GX in a 4/o/3(1 GX) line up with Alolan Vulpix might help out the deck. The 240 HP forces Ultra Beast decks and Ultra Necrozma to really work for their KOs, and choice banded it can swing for 210 to OHKO everything in Beast Box right now. The downfall of this strategy is that you have to "sacrifice" a Vikavolt slot and run a thicker Vikavolt line, but if you can get one of each set up, Baby Vikavolt can recharge Vikavolt GX every turn so it can swing every turn after its first set up.

Just some ideas to potentially help out the deck.
 
The deck loses very, very little to the rotation.

Skyla = Volkner
Heavy Ball = Timer Ball
Brigette = maybe Fan Club or Lillie

A LOT depends on whether Malamar builds can hold up after losing Max Elixir, Brigette, Parallel City, and Professor Sycamore.

Bulu is very high-risk/high-reward and will continue to stay that way. If it can outspeed Malamar consistently, it becomes top-tier material.

That said, some versions of Beast Box dumpster VikaBulu.
 
now that the rotation has happened, are there any ideas for techs and/or deck changes that you guys would do to be able to handle the new meta thats out now? I recently went to a cup and didnt really have a problem with Malamar as long as i set up; however, i did have a slight problem with VikaRay and Shrine decks, not to mention some zoroark variants. Heres the list i took to said cup recently, advice would be greatly appreciated!

Vikabulu 2.0

3 Tapu Bulu
3 Grubben
3 Vikavolt
2 Tapu Lele GX
1 Marshadow (psychic)
1 Oranguru (instruct)
13 Energy

4 Cynthia
4 Guzma
2 Professor Kukui
2 Lillie
1 Judge
1 Tate and Liza
1 Volkner
4 Ultra Ball
4 Rare Candy
4 Choice Band
3 Nest Ball
2 Energy Recycler
1 Energy Recycle System
2 Aether Paradise Conservation Area
35 Trainers and Supporters


7 Grass Energy
5 Electric Energy
12 Energy
 
Last edited:
Merovingian said:
The deck loses very, very little to the rotation.

Skyla = Volkner
Heavy Ball = Timer Ball
Brigette = maybe Fan Club or Lillie

A LOT depends on whether Malamar builds can hold up after losing Max Elixir, Brigette, Parallel City, and Professor Sycamore.

Bulu is very high-risk/high-reward and will continue to stay that way. If it can outspeed Malamar consistently, it becomes top-tier material.

That said, some versions of Beast Box dumpster VikaBulu.
Click to expand...

Skyla is improved with Volkner.
Heavy Ball is not comparable to timer ball. Heavy ball is automatic and timer ball relies on flips. I miss Heavy ball
Brigette can be replaced with Fan club, Apricot Maker, or possibly Olivia
 
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