Pokémon Spotlight: Celesteela

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Tied as the heaviest known Pokémon so far and also one of the tallest, Celesteela is definitely not a Pokémon to play around with. This bodes true for the competitive Pokémon scene as well. Unlike a lot of the other Ultra Beasts, Celesteela's stats are spread out pretty evenly. It has a base 101 Attack and Special Defense while having a base 107 Special Attack and base 103 Defense. Its base 97 HP isn't bad either. The only stat Celesteela is lacking in is Speed, which it can easily improve with Autotomize. The even spread of stats makes Celesteela versatile, which compliments its ability Beast Boost well. Celesteela also gets a weird but fantastic movepool which lets it abuse its versatility even more. Moves like Leech Seed and Flamethrower make it unique as it is a Steel- / Flying-type Pokémon.

Like every Pokémon, Celesteela has its flaws. Celesteela is weak to Electric and Fire, which have grown even more popular this generation. It can get trapped by Magnet Pull which forces people to play carefully or run Shed Shell. It's slow in comparison to a lot of threats in the OU and Ubers metagames which can make it more difficult to use. All of these flaws can be covered easily with the right teams and simple competitive knowledge, which is why Celesteela is a really good Pokémon introduced this generation.

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(OU)

Specially Defensive
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Sassy/Careful Nature (+SDef, -Spd / -SAtk)
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower/Earthquake
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Leech Seed and Flamethrower make Celesteela a unique Pokémon considering its typing. Leech Seed is its only form of reliable recovery, so it is a staple for every defensive Celesteela. Protect helps it get more HP from Leech Seed and Leftovers while also scouting the foe's moves. Flamethrower allows Celesteela to hit Grass- and Steel-types such as Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, Metagross, and opposing Celesteela. Being the heaviest Pokémon in the game, Heavy Slam will almost always be 120 base power which is nice in a tier that is overflowing with Fairy-type Pokémon. You can run Earthquake over Flamethrower for Pokémon like Magnezone, Heatran, and Marowak. Make sure you're running a Careful nature over a Sassy nature if you run Earthquake over Flamethrower, as the Special Attack isn't needed, and the little bit of extra Speed can be useful.

The specially defensive set is more popular in OU because most of Celesteela's threats are special attackers, and it can better switch into Pokémon such as Tapu Lele or Latios. Thanks to its typing, it can still switch into Pokémon like Mega Pinsir and some variations of Salamence, Landorus-T, and Mega Metagross.

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Special Sweeper
Celesteela @ Flyinium Z/Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 84 HP / 252 SAtk / 172 Spd
Modest/Rash Nature (+SAtk, -Atk / -SDef)
- Autotomize
- Air Slash
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain/Earthquake/Flash Cannon
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Thanks to Celesteela's evenly spread stats, Autotomize, and its Beast Boost ability, it can be as good offensively as it is defensively. It is better to set Celesteela up late-game after you assure its threats are removed. Any faster Choice Scarf Pokémon or Pokémon that hit Celesteela hard would be considered threats to this variant of Celesteela. Air Slash and Fire Blast are staple moves for this set. Air Slash is its best Flying STAB move, and it has a chance to make the foe flinch. If you choose, you can give Celesteela Flyinium Z to give you a 140 Base Power Flying move to maybe ensure a KO. Fire Blast is used to hit opposing Grass- or Steel-type Pokémon such as Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, Skarmory, and opposing Celesteela. Giga Drain is a great move to hit Water- and Rock-type Pokémon which can otherwise be problematic for Celesteela. It is also somewhat reliable recovery for Celesteela, especially if you're running Life Orb.

If you want to run Earthquake over Giga Drain, make sure you run Rash nature over Modest so it doesn't lose Attack. Earthquake is for Pokémon such as Heatran, Magnezone, and Marowak. Flash Cannon is also optional as it is a good Steel STAB move Celesteela gets.

(Ubers)

Physically Defensive
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Leech Seed
- Toxic
- Heavy Slam
- Protect
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Celesteela's viability in Ubers can be a little surprising to people. Thanks to it being a Steel- / Flying-type, it resists and is immune to many common types in Ubers. It resists Fairy, Flying, and Normal which are scary offensive types in Ubers. It is also immune to Ground and Poison which is great, as it can switch into Earthquake and Toxic and proceed to do its job. Leech Seed, as mentioned earlier, is a staple for defensive Celesteela. It is used to whittle down the opponent's Pokémon while also being Celesteela's source of recovery. Protect is to gain more HP while wearing down the foes and scouting their moves. Toxic pairs with this well as it wears down Pokémon even more alongside Leech Seed and Protect. Heavy Slam is purely for dealing decent STAB damage. It's chosen over other moves because it can 2HKO offensive Xerneas, OHKO Tapu Lele, and 3HKO plenty of other Pokémon in the current Ubers metagame.

It's better to run physically defensive Celesteela in Ubers because it can wall Pokémon such as physical Arceus, Landorus-T, and Mega Kangaskhan. These and many wall Pokémon in Ubers, such as Lugia and Chansey, allow you to easily Toxic and / or Leech Seed something. You also still have enough special bulk to switch into some specially offensive Pokémon and take a hit or two.

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(OU)
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A Physical variant of the Autotomize Celesteela can be used since Celesteela will still remain heavy even after an Autotomize. Its Heavy Slam power usually won't decrease by much. This also makes Celesteela's Earthquake stronger and ensures KOs on Pokémon such as bulky Heatran and Alolan Marowak after Stealth Rock damage. Substitute and Toxic are also optional. Substitute helps prevent status and can help stall more but isn't great paired with Celesteela's lack of recovery. Toxic lets you wear opponents down more. Both come with the cost of losing a moveslot.
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(Ubers)
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The physically defensive set is Celesteela's only viable option in Ubers. It isn't specially defensive enough to take as many hits in the tier and, therefore, will get worn down faster. It also isn't offensive enough to take down many of the Pokémon in the tier. You can, however, use Flamethrower to hit Steel-type Pokémon such as Ferrothorn and Solgaleo. Grass Knot is also optional to hit Primal Kyogre. Earthquake can be used to hit Primal Groudon, Solgaleo, and Dialga. Substitute is also an option, as it lets you beat Mega Salamence with Refresh.
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(OU)
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Fire-types - Pokémon such as Mega Charizard X and Y, Volcarona, and Heatran can switch into most Celesteela on Heavy Slam or Flamethrower and threaten it with a Fire-type move.

Electric-types - Zapdos, Thundurus, and Tapu Koko can all be scary to Celesteela, as they can force it out, Volt Switch, and have the switch advantage. Some Pokémon that can lure Celesteela in are Mega Metagross, Tapu Lele and Latios. Mega Metagross can carry Thunder Punch, while Latios and Tapu Lele can carry Thunderbolt. Magnezone is also able to trap Celesteela with Magnet Pull unless it carries Shed Shell.
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Mega Sableye - Mega Sableye gets the Magic Bounce ability, making Leech Seed bounce back onto Celesteela. It can also cripple Celesteela with Will-O-Wisp and Recover off damage from Heavy Slam.

(Ubers)
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Mega Sableye - As mentioned before, Mega Sableye can completely shut off Celesteela thanks to its bulk and Magic Bounce.

Primal Groudon - Primal Groudon can beat Celesteela if it has a Fire move but will have trouble otherwise due to Toxic damage and Leech Seed recovery.

Ho-Oh - Since Ho-Oh has Regenerator, it doesn't care much about Leech Seed and Toxic. It easily threatens Celesteela with Sacred Fire

Primal Kyogre - Celesteela isn't taking any hit from Primal Kyogre well and isn't capable of doing much in return. Grass Knot is optional but isn't nearly as useful as Heavy Slam.

Dialga - Dialga is immune to Toxic and can easily take Heavy Slam. It can easily set up Stealth Rock and threaten Celesteela with Fire Blast.

Ferrothorn - Celesteela that aren't carrying a Fire-type move are completely countered by Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn is immune to Leech Seed and Toxic, and it resists Heavy Slam. It can easily use Leech Seed on Celesteela and set up hazards.

Setup Sweepers - Double dance Groudon, Calm Mind Primal Kyogre, and Xurkitree are a few Pokémon that can easily set up on Celesteela, since it can't do much damage to them and can't phaze them away.
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Spoiler: Special Thanks

Annoying Orange - Writer, Artist
Joyverse - QC
E.T. - QC, Grammar
Mysterious M - QC
Redjoker25 - Grammar

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