What are the pros and cons of each Tapu competitive-wise?

Question

So I know what tapu I should use for my team! :D

Answer 1

As far as competitive play is concerned, one Tapu that stands out from the rest is Tapu Lele. I'll get to all of their pros and cons one by one, starting with Tapu Lele.

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Tapu Lele:

Pros:

• Excellent abilty, shuts down (Mega) Scizor's Bullet Punch, which is a huge threat to itself.
• Said ability also boosts STAB Psychic / Psyshock to higher damage, netting crucial KOs.
• Not a hugely versatile movepool, but it has enough to be very effective at what it does.
• Specs and Scarf versions can take down whole teams and revenge kill with relative ease
• Great Special Attack (one of the highest at 135)

Cons:

• No reliable recovery
• Specs or Scarf sets, which are most common are easily countered, so switching out becomes regular, giving opponents free turns to set up.
• Paralysis really cripples it.
• Sometimes on the slower side without Scarf, so it's easy to be taken down by a faster opponent.

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Tapu Fini:

Pros:

• Great typing, helps out with the common Fire moves in OU (in my limited experience at least)
• Access to Defog, which is a Godsend if you don't use hazards yourself.
• Amazing Special bulk. By inflicting Scald Burns, its physical defense is also buffed up.
• Checks certain threats like Mega Gyarados to a decent extent (better than most other Pokemon)

Cons:

• Defog removes the hazard you set up, so it's not helpful all the time
• No attacking prowess. It's great defensively, but relying on it in a pinch to KO opponents, is definitely not a good position, unlike in the case of Tapu Lele

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Tapu Koko:

Pros:

• Great Speed
• Access to Roost, so recovery is not a problem
• STAB Wild Charge
• As Rick Gastly pointed out, its ability Electric Surge boosts STAB as in case of Tapu Lele

Cons:

• Practically no moveset options. It has literally only one STAB to complement its attack.
• Easily countered by the other Pokemon in the tier, like Dugtrio and others.
• Earthquake is rampant everywhere, so it suffers a lot.

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Tapu Bulu:

Pros:

• Grassy Terrain helps in recovery.
• Above complements its main STAB Wood Hammer
• Other moves like Horn Leech and Leech Seed aid recovery as well
• Pretty good movepool, compared to the others.
• Hits hard against a lot of Pokemon
• Has great resistances (Water/Dark/Ground/Electric/Fighting/Grass), and can safely switch in to Earthquake like a boss.

Cons:

• Pretty slow
• Crippled by Burn, which is ever so common by Will-o-wisp and Scald.
• Ice Beam and Fire moves are fairly common, as are Poison moves, so it suffers a lot.
• Grassy Terrain might end up helping your opponent.

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Based on my battling style (generally more aggressive, aiming for strong hits and trying to out predict the opponent), I find the order Lele > Fini > Bulu > Koko to be accurate; this can vary person to person based on play style and team.

Comments

Tapu Koko makes it's stab moves do more damage, as well a shaving some decent special attacking options.

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I know, but it's a waste of its better stat. It's definitely not as effective as in the case of Bulu or Lele, which have moves suited to their best stats. As for the Electric Terrain thing, I thought I mentioned it, but thanks for pointing it out! Will edit that in. Also, what else do you think this answer needs? I wrote off the points from the top of the head, so I most probably missed out on valid points.