Shroomish

Shroomish might just seem like another Grass-type, but it has many unique traits and abilities, allowing it to fulfill its own niche apart from that of the other Grass-types of the tier. In a metagame where almost every team needs a good answer to sand teams, Shroomish shines with its pure Grass typing, which allows it to wall most common sand sweepers. This gives it an advantage over its brethren Foongus and Lileep, which carry a secondary typing that makes both only neutral to Ground-type attacks. Shroomish's typing also helps it tank Water- and Electric-type attacks, letting it handle Pokemon like Chinchou or Tirtouga with relative ease. Spore also makes Shroomish stand out, allowing it to shut down any opposing Pokemon and buy itself or its teammates time to set up. Poison Heal is another great asset, as it grants Shroomish an immunity to Toxic as well as a quick way of recovery should it get poisoned. Shroomish has great balanced defenses and a moderate Special Attack stat, perfect for the role of a bulky tank for balanced teams. It has a plethora of great support moves such as Leech Seed, Toxic, or Stun Spore too. However, it still suffers from quite a few old counters. Pokemon with Taunt or Magic Bounce can thwart Shroomish's attempts of support and brush off its relatively weak attacks. Pokemon with Substitute and nice defenses can also wall Shroomish, as the Substitute prevents Shroomish's support moves from working. Despite all this, Shroomish still remains a top-tier sand counter in LC because of its great typing, defensive stats, and access to very rare and useful support moves, and all teams that want a sand counter should definitely consider Shroomish.