This is a strategy guide for using Tapu Bulu in competitive play for the games Pokemon Sword and Shield. Read on for tips on the best Nature, EV spreads, Movesets, and Held Items to use with Tapu Bulu, as well as its strengths and weak points.
| Tapu Bulu - Related Guides | |
|---|---|
 Evolution and Learnset |
 Build for Ranked Battle |
List of Contents
| Pokemon | Type 1 | Type 2 |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
| Abilities | ||
| Grassy Surge | The Pokemon creates a Grassy Terrain when it enters a battle. | |
| Telepathy (Hidden) | Anticipates an ally's attack and dodges it. | |
| Type | |
|---|---|
| Takes 4x damage |
|
| Takes 2x damage |
|
| Takes 0.5x damage |
|
| Takes 1/4x damage |
|
| Takes 0x damage |
|
| HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | 130 | 115 | 85 | 95 | 75 |
| Best Natures | ||
|---|---|---|
| Adamant (+Atk, -Sp.Atk) |
Jolly (+Spd, -Sp.Atk) |
|
| Nature | Adamant (+Atk, -Sp.Atk) |
|---|---|
| EV Spread | HP 236 / Atk 144 / Sp.Def 32 /Spd 96 |
| Final Stat Values | HP 175 / Atk 184 / Def 135 / Sp.Def 119 / Spd 107 |
| Ability | Grassy Surge |
| Held Item | Lum Berry |
| Moveset | ・Swords Dance ・Horn Leech ・Earthquake ・Stone Edge |
Tapu Bulu's great natural bulk and access to Swords Dance make it a powerful, bulky sweeper that can surprise its usual checks and counters.
Swords Dance boosts Tapu Bulu's naturally high attack stat to dangerous levels, dealing significant damage to opposing Pokemon that don't resist its STAB. Horn Leech is its main STAB move and also recovers HP. It also gets a 30% boost in power as long as there's Grassy Terrain active.
Earthquake is a good coverage move, allowing Tapu Bulu to hit Poison and Steel-type Pokemon for super effective damage.
Stone Edge is its last move, and provides some much-needed coverage against Fire and Flying-type Pokemon.
We're using a modified EV spread for this build that rounds off Tapu Bulu's bulk, while still providing him a boost in attack. 236 HP EVs and 32 Sp.Def EVs give it great overall bulk, while 144 ATK EVs puts its Attack stat at 184 at Level 50.
The remaining 96 EVs are placed in Speed. Tapu Bulu is a relatively slow Pokemon, some EVs on Speed helps it overcome that handicap - especially if it needs to use Play Rough or Stone Edge.
Grassy Surge is the preferred ability for this build. This causes Grassy Terrain to appear as soon as Tapu Buly switches in.
We're giving Tapu Bulu Lum Berry for this build. This protects it from status effects, such as Burn, which will otherwise put a stop to Tapu Bulu's sweep.
| Wood Hammer | Stronger than Horn Leech but deals recoil damage to Tapu Bulu. |
|---|---|
| Megahorn | A niche alternative to Stone Edge that allows Tapu Bulu to threaten bulky Grass-types that can easily withstand its other attacks. |
| Superpower | An alternative to Stone Edge, but requires Tapu Bulu to switch out due to the attack and defense drop. |
| Nature | Jolly (+Spd, -Atk) |
|---|---|
| EV Spread | Atk 252 / Sp.Def 4 / Spd 252 |
| Final Stat Values | HP 145 / Atk 182 / Def 135 / Sp.Def 116 / Spd 139 |
| Ability | Grassy Surge |
| Held Item | Choice Scarf |
| Moveset | ・Wood Hammer ・Horn Leech ・Earthquake ・Stone Edge |
Although better known as a bulky setup sweeper, Tapu Bulu can surprise its usual counters with a Choice Scarf set - outspeeding its usual threats and even revenge killing some with its high-powered STAB moves!
Wood Hammer is its main STAB move, and is a very powerful move coming off from Tapu Bulu's high attack stat. Horn Leech is its secondary Grass STAB and provides reliable healing.
Earthquake is a good coverage move, allowing Tapu Bulu to hit Poison and Steel-type Pokemon for super effective damage. It's last move is Stone Edge, providing great neutral coverage and hitting Fire and Flying-types for super effective damage.
We're using a straightforward EV spread with full investment in Attack and Speed so that Tapu Bulu can hit hard and as fast as possible. The remaining EVs are placed in Special Defense to round off its natural bulk.
Grassy Surge is the preferred ability for this build. This causes Grassy Terrain to appear as soon as Tapu Buly switches in.
We're giving Tapu Bulu Choice Scarf. This item boosts its speed but restricts it to using only the initial move it used for that turn.
| Zen Headbutt | An alternative to Stone Edge and is the only way for Tapu Bulu to hit Poison-type Pokemon for super effective damage. |
|---|---|
| Megahorn | A niche alternative to Stone Edge that allows Tapu Bulu to threaten bulky Grass-types that can easily withstand its other attacks. |
| Superpower | An alternative to Stone Edge, but requires Tapu Bulu to switch out due to the attack and defense drop. |
| Nature | Adamant (+Atk, - Sp. Atk) |
|---|---|
| EV Spread | HP 252 / Atk 252 / Spd 4 |
| Final Stat Values | HP 177 / Atk 200 / Def 135 / Sp.Def 115 / Spd 96 |
| Ability | Grassy Surge |
| Held Item | Assault Vest |
| Moveset | ・Wood Hammer ・Horn Leech ・Nature's Madness ・Rock Tomb |
This is a bulky Tapu Bulu build with Adamant nature and Assault Vest. Horn Leech and Grassy Surge allows Tapu Bulu to heal up its HP as well making it tough to take out.
| High Horsepower | A coverage move against Poison-type Pokemon as Tapu BUlu is x4 weak to them. |
|---|---|
| Close Combat | Coverage move against Normal and Steel-type Pokemon. |
| Stone Edge | Alternative choice for Rock Tomb. Use this if you value power a bit more. |
| Nature | Adamant (+Atk, -Sp.Atk) |
|---|---|
| EV Spread | HP 252 / Atk 76 / Def 36 / Sp.Def 140 / Spd 4 |
| Final Stat Values | HP 177 / Atk 176 / Def 140 / Sp.Def 133 / Spd 96 |
| Ability | Grassy Surge |
| Held Item | Sitrus Berry |
| Moveset | ・Horn Leech
・Brick Break ・High Horsepower ・Taunt |
While it doesn't have the same offensive presence as Rillaboom in Doubles, Tapu Bulu is a competent addition to any team that needs Grassy Terrain support and its great selection of support moves.
Horn Leech is Tapu Bulu's main STAB and recovery move and deals respectable damage even with just 36 Atk EVs. Brick Break has great neutral coverage and allows Tapu Bulu to remove Reflect, Light Screen, and Aurora Veil from the field.
High Horsepower gives it great neutral coverage and allows Tapu Bulu to hit Incineroar switching in. It's last move is Taunt, which allows it to shut down setup sweepers and opposing support Pokemon.
We're using a modified EV spread with ful HP EVs and 36 Def EVs and 140 Sp.Def EVs to give it as much bulk as possible. 76 Atk EVs lets it deal respectable damage with its moves thanks to Tapu Bulu's naturally high base Attack stat while 9 Spd EVs give it some speed.
Grassy Surge is the preferred ability for this build. This causes Grassy Terrain to appear as soon as Tapu Buly switches in.
For this build, Sitrus Berry is the better option in case Tapu Bulu drops its health to half so it can immediately recover.
| Darkest Lariat | A good alternative to High Horse Power. While it doesn't have the same neutral coverage, this move ignores Defense boosts from Pokemon using Bulk Up, allowing Tapu Bulu to deal consistend damage. |
|---|---|
| Rock Slide | A good alterantive to High Horse Power and is mostly used for its increased flinch rate. |
| Scary Face | Can replace Taunt if looking to use Tapu Bulu for speed control. |
Much like Rillaboom, Tapu Bulu works best as part of a Fire/Water/Grass offensive core, or as one of the main Pokemon U-Turn or Volt Switch users pivot into. It's great bulk and excellent matchup against common Pokemon in the metagame means it's easy to switch in, although it still needs to be careful due to its quadruple weakness to Poison-type moves.
As one of the two Grassy Terrain setters in the metagame, Tapu Bulu is easy to fit into many teams - especially those in need of a powerful Grass-type for their Fire/Water/Grass core.
Although it faces competition from Rillaboom, Tapu Bulu's secondary Fairy-typing make it a good choice for balanced teams - especially if the team in question is in need of a Fighting, Dark, or Dragon check.
Tapu Bulu is also a good choice for lead in the Doubles Metagame, especially the Choice Scarf set. Check out our guide below to learn how to build a Doubles Team with Rillaboom.
How to Build a Doubles Team
| Weakness |
|
|---|
Despite its great natural bulk, Tapu Bulu can't do much against Poison-type Pokemon. Both defensive and offensive Poison-types can freely switch into any of Tapu Bulu's attacks and potentially knock them out with their STAB moves.
| Pokemon | Description |
|---|---|
 Toxapex
|
Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Takes neutral damage from Tapu Bulu's Grass moves and resists its Fairy moves ・Can threaten Tapu Bulu with a burn from Scald or poison it with Toxic Moveset & Best Build for Toxapex |
 Amoonguss
|
Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Boasts quadruple resistance to Tapu Bulu's Grass-type moves ・Resists Tapu Bulu's Fairy-type moves ・Can threaten Tapu Bulu with Toxic or remove its Swords Dance boosts with Clear Smog Moveset & Best Build for Amoonguss |
 Toxtricity
|
Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Resists both of Tapu Bulu's main STAB moves ・Can easily knock it out with STAB Sludge Wave Moveset & Best Build for Toxtricity |
All Competitive Builds for Ranked Battle
| Competitive Pokemon Battle Guides | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tier List |
 Best Builds |
 Series 10 List of Contenders |
|||
 Doubles Tier List
|
 Team Building |
 Rental Teams |
|||
Just a little heads up. Tapu Bulu is unable to learn Earthquake ^^ However it can learn High Horsepower :D
Tapu Bulu - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle
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also cannot learn grassy glide either