The Little Tumbleweed That Could

The Little Tumbleweed That Could by TubbandChubb

Perhaps one of the most controversial Pokémon of Regulation D, with incredible strengths and an ability that makes it completely immune to some of the strongest attacks in the meta, but weaknesses that are just as drastic, like its almost nonexistent offensive move pool, and defensive stats that allow it to be one shot with ease. It's hard to know what to make of Brambleghast, with it being a Pokémon that hasn’t seen usage in VGC until very recently and one where players can never seem to agree if it's the answer to the regulation D meta or just the latest overhyped garbage, which is why this article is shining a spotlight on everything good and bad about Brambleghast and showing off some of the most effective ways to use it in the current meta.

Pokémon Spotlight: Brambleghast

Screenshot from Smogon

A grass/ghost type Pokémon with poor defensive stats, however, its physical attack stat of 115 and speed stat of 90 allow it to be a powerful offensive force especially when paired with its signature ability, Wind Rider. This ability offers full immunity to wind moves, including many meta-relevant moves such as Heat Wave, Icy Wind, Bleakwind Storm, and Hurricane, among others. Additionally, when hit by any of these moves, or when tailwind is active on your side of the field, Brambleghast will gain a +1 attack boost. 

Despite the strong offensive stats and incredible ability, Brambleghast is held back by its poor move pool, having only Phantom Force and Shadow Sneak as its physical ghost moves, and no meaningful coverage attacks. To make up for this, Brambleghast often uses Tera Blast with a rock tera type, which allows it to hit typings such as fire and flying that it would previously struggle with.

A common misconception with Brambleghast’s wind rider ability is that it must be on the field when tailwind is set up in order to receive the attack boost when it will actually receive an attack boost even if it enters the battle in the turns following tailwind’s activation. This makes it a flexible tailwind sweeper as you can keep it in the back to avoid your opponent’s intimidate or Brambleghast counter, then send it in later without missing the attack boost. Brambleghast also gets access to a unique set of defensive tools like Strength Sap, Leech Seed, and Pain Split, which may not synergize well with the Pokémon’s poor defensive stats, but when combined with Brambleghast’s typing and powerful immunities, can make it effective at shutting down certain meta threats.

History of Brambleghast in Competitive Play:

Being a Pokémon introduced in Scarlet/Violet, and one that relies heavily on its signature ability to remain useful, Brambleghast hasn’t seen much competitive play until regulation D where Brambleghast finally gets the chance to face off against the historically meta-dominating genie trio and their new wind moves that Brambleghast is uniquely immune to. While it’s still relatively uncommon, it recently placed top 16 in the world championship and would have gone even further if not for the unfortunate disconnect that eliminated Emilio Forbes.

Modern-Day Uses in VGC:

Brambleghast is most commonly used as a tailwind sweeper and is usually picked for its effectiveness against common choices you may see on opposing tailwind teams, such as Tornadus, Urshifu rapid-strike, Pelipper, or the many Heat Wave users.

Example Sets:

Set 1:

Move 1: Power Whip

Move 2: Phantom Force

Move 3: Tera Blast

Move 4: Protect

Item: Focus Sash

Ability: Wind Rider

Nature: Jolly

Tera Type: Rock

EV Spread: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe

A typical offensive set used as a tailwind sweeper that primarily deals big damage through Power Whip, but has Phantom Force and Tera Blast to use against Pokémon that resist grass. Some players may opt to switch phantom force or Tera blast for Shadow Sneak, or if focus sash is not available then the loaded dice item allows you to use bullet seed as a 100% accuracy alternative to power whip while not losing too much damage.

Set 2:

Move 1: Power Whip

Move 2: Shadow Sneak

Move 3: Strength Sap

Move 4: Protect

Item: Focus Sash

Ability: Wind Rider

Nature: Adamant

Tera Type: Fairy

EV Spread: 164 HP/116 Atk/228 Spe

A slightly bulkier set, losing Tera Blast in favor of Strength Sap to stay on the field longer and return to 100% HP to reactivate Focus Sash or to fully heal after Focus Sash saves you at 1 HP. This set is especially strong at countering Urshifu Rapid-Strike, and the addition of the Fairy Tera type gives it the ability to defeat Urshifu Single-Strike as well. 

Some players may choose Rocky Helmet over Focus Sash on this set to even further counter Urshifu Rapid-Strike

Example Teams:

Team 1: Brambleghast Hyper Offense

Pokémon 1: Brambleghast

Pokémon 2: Murkrow

Pokémon 3: Meowscarada

Pokémon 4: Heatran

Pokémon 5: Regieleki

Pokémon 6: Gyarados

This team uses a Brambleghast set designed to maximize coverage so that it can be a reliable tailwind sweeper against as many teams as possible. It also features a couple of unusual choices that allow Brambleghast to really shine. First is the tailwind setter, this team chooses to use Murkrow over Tornadus to gain access to Quash, which of course allows Brambleghast to outspeed opposing Trick Room sweepers like Flutter Mane, but can also be combined with Phantom Force on Brambleghast as an effective strategy to stall out Trick Room. First Quash the opposing Pokémon that poses a threat to Brambleghast, then Phantom Force to avoid the attack, on turn 2 you can Protect Murkrow and your opponent will now move first again under trick room leaving your Brambleghast immune to their attacks. Second is Meowscarada who features an unusual move choice in Petal Blizzard, which is a physical grass-type wind move that hits all Pokémon on the field, this means you can do big damage to your opponents all while boosting the attack of your Brambleghast every turn this Pokémon is on the field. Meowscarada also carries very strong single-target moves to allow it to be just as useful in the absence of Brambleghast. 

The rest of the team is relatively simple, Heatran is a bulky and hard-hitting special attacker that brings some new resistances and coverage to the team, and Regieleki introduces a second method of speed control and strong electric attacks. Gyarados rounds it out by adding a defensive pivot option and a non-Prankster Taunt to shut down Trick Room setters or supports like Amoonguss or Indeedee.

Team 2: Barudoru's Peak 5th Battle Stadium Team

Pokémon 1: Tornadus

Pokémon 2: Flutter Mane

Pokémon 3: Chi-Yu

Pokémon 4: Gyarados

Pokémon 5: Brambleghast

Pokémon 6: Iron Hands

An example of a team using a much bulkier Brambleghast set, designed to make full use of Strength Sap and Rocky Helmet to shut down opposing physical attackers and still being able to utilize the attack boost under Tailwind to do decent damage with Power Whip. The offensive power of this team falls primarily on Flutter Mane and Chi-Yu, with Tornadus there to support them with Tailwind and Sunny Day. Gyarados is a more offensive variant that can set up with Dragon Dance while one of it’s more threatening offensive partners buys it time or after Brambleghast has weakened the opposing physical attacks with Strength Sap. Finally, Iron Hands gives you a way to play in Trick Room if you’re unable to prevent the opponent from setting it up, and is still a generally strong Pokémon outside of Trick Room with the option of Fake Out support

Conclusion:

While Brambleghast has some huge flaws and remained completely unused in VGC until the release of Regulation D, it's hard not to take a Pokémon that counters so many of the absolute best Pokémon in the meta seriously. Even though it may not ever be one of the top threats, it's a legitimate anti-meta choice in Regulation D, and players will likely have to continue to look out for it in any format where wind moves retain as strong a presence as they have now.

Disclaimer: The opinions/stories expressed in the blog post are those of the author and are not necessarily reflective of the platform or its affiliates.

Author Bio:

I’m Tubandchubb, I’ve been playing VGC for years and love team building and experimenting with different strategies in new formats. The most fun I've had in VGC has always come from taking unique ideas nobody else is trying and turning them into something that I can be successful with.