Of course, with this new revelation of Kakuna gaining a new move it Platinum, it could only be the herald of the Great Kakuna Man's return. Return I have, to do what only the Great Kakuna Man can: Review Kakuna's new found potential. I'll also take some time to expand on Kakuna's effective counters, since I apparently did not provide so, last time. First, let's start by examining it's wondrous new move, Bug Bite:
Bug Bite; 60 BP; 20PP; Physical; Eats the foe's equipped berry and receives effects of said berry.
To get Kakuna with Bug Bite, you must breed Kakuna's pre-evolution, Weedle, and raise it to level 15. Bug Bite is legal with most Kakuna sets.
With a whomping 60 BP, plus STAB, it's clear that this is Kakuna's new standard for dealing damage. Plus, it has a neat secondary effect of using your foe's berry, which is going to effect some previous threats, although it still won't be as useful in that area as Frisky Thief Banette. Also, this new moves adds some poorly needed type coverage, allowing a choice set to be useable without fear of being walled by steel types.
Physical Sweeper
Kakuna @ Choice Band
Adamant
252 Atk/ 252 spd/ 6 HP
~Poison Sting
~Bug Bite
This is your standard Choice sweeper. With the new addition of Bug Bite, Kakuna is no-longer walled by the likes of Steelix and Steel-type Arceus. As a matter of fact, Bug Bite's addition lowers Max HP/Max Def Steelix from a 94 HKO to a 36 HKO. Max HP Steel-type Arceus is now a 25 HKO, while Min HP/Def Psychic Arceus is a 22 HKO.
Scarf Set
Kakuna@ Choice Scarf
Jolly
252 Atk/ 252 spd/ 6 HP
~Poison Sting
~Bug Bite
Same as the last set, but with an emphasis on speed. With jolly, Kakuna out runs anything slower than Heatran, but if it manages to bite a salac off of some unsuspecting creature, it gets boosted up to under Ninjask, allowing for a fast sweeper. With this set you get a 45 HKO on Steelix. In 2 Vs. 2, pair it up with something with a salac berry and bug bite the berry from the steelix to recieve the extra speed boost.
Residual Damage Set
Kakuna @ Sticky Barb
Careful
252 Hp/ 252 Def/ 6 Sp Def
~Harden
~Poison Sting
~Bug Bite
A little variation on the standard wall set. This time, use BOTH poison Sting and Sticky Barb to boost damage. Also, with Bug bite yo can now steal away their precious berries that might otherwise thwart your plans, such as a pecha or Sitruis berry.
With Kakuna's new toy come some obvious new changes. Dodrio and Farfetch'd, which already had to be careful on the switch in due to Poison sting destroying Endure/Flail attempts, now get their Salac speed boost stolen as well. Parasect gets walled with Harden and super effective hit from Both Poison Sting and Bug Bite. Spore is out of the question because Shed Skin has a 1/3 chance of healing status conditions at the end of a turn, which means Kakuna will recover 98% of the time and outspeed Parasect on the next turn.
Meanwhile, since no discussion is complete without Garchomp, it looks like Bug Bite will give the Land Shark some trouble, in particular the Figychomp set. Bug bite takes away Figychomp's only recovery option, getting rid of that annoying extra hit it takes to KO it.
Counters: Steelix, Steel-type Arceus, Heatran
Steelix has gotten more manageable due to Bug Bite, but it still comfortably walls most Kakuna sets, as will Steel-type Arceus. Heatran restists both of Kakuna's main moves, and supereffective hits.
Pshychic Type Arceus can still be used as well, but requires prediction on the switch in, to avoid running into bug bite. Frisky Thief Banette also causes some problems by selectively stealing items while snatching away Kakuna's Hardens.
With Kakuna's new Bug Bite, it's justifiable that it has moved up to the NFE (Notoriously Freaking Epic) Tier. Seriously, who thinks of the names for these tiers, anyway? With this new, extremely useful move under it's belt, Kakuna has the ability to effectively shape it's tier to it's personal needs.
Now, the Great Kakuna Man must make his escape, into the deep forests of the Viridian, home of the Kakunas and their brethren, where he lies in wait
