By PolymersUp

 

Special Thanks to RamblingRabbit and ndunn7

 
 
 

— Introduction —

 

For the first time ever, a featured Pokemon will learn two exclusive moves at one time during its Community Day (CD). On Feb 7, 2021 (11 AM - 5 PM local time) Roselia, the Thorn Pokemon will be appearing more in the wild & will learn Bullet Seed & Weather Ball (Fire) when evolved to the Bouquet Pokemon, Roserade. The event bonus will be ¼ Egg Hatching distance with Budew hatching from Eggs. We’ve seen this potent combination of Bullet Seed and Weather Ball (Fire) before in Great League, but can Roserade cut into the Ultra and Master League metas with this double CD set? Let’s take a look league by league!

— Terms —

 
 
 

Note that 0/1/2S refers to the even-shield scenarios in simulations from PvPoke. All wins or losses mentioned are even-shield scenarios with zero starting energy unless otherwise stated. Stat Product (SP) and IVs are occasionally referenced. Exclusive moves (*) cannot be acquired by regular TMs and are either legacy or obtained through previous events, purification or use of an Elite TM.

 
 
 
 
 

— Great League (GL) — Roserade draws an immediate comparison to Sunny Cherrim which was the first GL Grass type sporting the fast-firing combination of Bullet Seed and Weather Ball (Fire). Despite some big pickups like a more consistent 1S Lapras matchup over Sunny Cherrim, the inability to tank an Ice Beam from Azumarill, a Flash Cannon from Registeel, a Sky Attack from Skarmory, an Earthquake from Galarian Stunfisk or even a Mud Bomb from Toxicroak prevents Roserade from gaining much ground on Sunny Cherrim. Roserade doesn’t do nearly as well as you would hope against Fighters despite the Poison subtyping, and unfortunately, Charmers can often just fast move down in the 1S as one charge typically isn’t enough unless you’re running Sludge Bomb. The Mudboy (Water/Ground) and Politoed matchups are buoyed by the speed of Grass Knot, but Grass Knot falls just short of being able to knockout Azumarill whereas the returning Ice Beam does not (Note: Roserade’s Attack IV can play role but XL Azumarill can escape the breakpoint).

 
 
 

As for the Razor Leaf version as a substitute for Sunny Cherrim in a Grasshole line, Roserade falls short there as well. The Galarian Stunfisk matchup with Razor Leaf falls well short of what Sunny Cherrim can manage as Earthquake hits for neutral and even the 2S is sketchy.

 
 
 

Roserade vs Sunny Cherrim comparison

 
 
 

(BS*+WBF*+GK on Roserade and BS+WBF+SB on Sunny Cherrim)

 
 
 

Notable Pickups

 
 
 

1S non-Shadow Abomasnow

 

1S Lapras (bait-independent)

 

0S Swampert

 

0S Whiscash

 
 
 

Notable Drops

 
 
 

0/1S Ice Beam Azumarill (Roserade Attack IV dependent)

 

0/2S Galarian Stunfisk

 

0/1S Registeel

 

1S Meganium (bait-dependent loss)

 

 

— Ultra League (UL) — Ultra (or Master) League Sunny Cherrim will be a popular moniker for Roserade after its Community Day, which brings a flame-throwing Grass type to the higher CP leagues for the first time. Roserade has a bit more bulk in UL and breaks some common cores (i.e. complementary pairs or trios) that we’re used to seeing dominate the UL Premier scene, such as Escavalier+Swampert, Venusaur+Magnezone, and Venusaur+Swampert. A Grass type that can easily take out Registeel without fear of failed baits could have some relevance in open Ultra League as well. Even without Grass Knot, Roserade can still pull off the win against Sludge Wave Swampert (but not Earthquake) which could leave trainers with an interesting choice to go Grass Knot for the better Poliwrath, Swampert, Empoleon, and Lapras matchups or Sludge Bomb for the better Togekiss, Charizard, and Exeggutor coverage.

 
 
 

Roserade vs Venusaur comparison

 
 
 

(BS*+WBF*+SB on Roserade and VW+FP*+SB on Venusaur)

 
 
 

Notable Pickups

 
 
 

0/1/2S Registeel

 

0/1/2S Melmetal

 

1/2S Abomasnow (high SP XL Abomasnow can flip 1S)

 

0/1/2S Venusaur

 

1/2S Magnezone

 

0/1/2S Escavalier

 

0/1/2S Ferrothorn

 
 
 

Notable Drops

 
 
 

1S Lapras

 

1S Machamp

 

0S Umbreon

 
 
 
 
 

— Master League (ML) — Roserade will have a tough time finding any room for play in open Master League. In ML Premier, wins against Magnezone and Metagross are certainly notable; however, only picking up a win against Excadrill in the 0S and the bait-dependent 1S loss to Earthquake Swampert could leave it falling a bit short of our most optimistic expectations.

 
 
 
 
 
Hope you found the CD article helpful, and thank you for taking the time to read. Please share the post if you found it useful and good luck battling out there!