|
-
Thick Fat
- Fire- and Ice-type damage is reduced by 50%.
-
Own Tempo
- Prevents confusion.
-
Gluttony
- Consumes pinch Berries at 50% HP or less.
|
Level 50 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
80
|
- |
155 |
187 |
- |
| Atk |
45
|
58 |
65 |
97 |
106 |
| Def |
65
|
76 |
85 |
117 |
128 |
| SpA |
90
|
99 |
110 |
142 |
156 |
| SpD |
110
|
117 |
130 |
162 |
178 |
| Spe |
80
|
90 |
100 |
132 |
145 |
Overview
At first glance, Grumpig seems completely outclassed by other Psychic-types, such as Musharna and Hypno. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. With 80 / 65 / 110 defenses, Grumpig tanks special attacks with ease; the purple pig also has good base 90 Special Attack to work with, which ensures that it isn't total Taunt bait. That isn't what sets Grumpig apart from other Psychic-types though; it has an excellent movepool, with gems such as Taunt, Trick, Heal Bell, Whirlwind, and even Magic Coat. The most important attribute Grumpig has, however, is the Thick Fat ability. Thick Fat gives Grumpig a pseudo resistance to Fire- and Ice-type moves, which makes it an excellent switch-into the many Fire- and Ice-type moves flying around in NU. Grumpig may seem like the perfect defensive Pokemon, but it has one crippling flaw; outside of Rest, Grumpig doesn't have any recovery moves, meaning it cannot take repeated hits well. Grumpig is also a common target for Pursuit users such as Skuntank. However, if you need a counter to the many Fire- and Ice-type Pokemon in NU that can also provide some team support, Grumpig will rarely let you down.
With a combination of good special bulk, the lovely resistances that Thick Fat provides, and a variety of support moves, Grumpig makes an excellent special tank and team supporter. Heal Bell heals Grumpig's team of status problems, which is very useful in the long run, letting a Alomomola afflicted with Toxic take on your opponent's physical attackers, or giving a paralyzed sweeper another chance to sweep. Thunder Wave cripples sweepers that try to set up on Grumpig, such as Simipour and Gorebyss, slowing them down for the rest of your team to take on. Taunt prevents opponents from setting up on Grumpig, and stops Probopass, Bastiodon, and Torkoal cold, among other things. Focus Blast is an alternative option, preventing Pokemon such as Mawile from using your Grumpig as set up fodder, while also taking care of Probopass and Bastiodon rather easily. Psychic prevents Grumpig from being total Taunt bait, as with a decent base 90 Special Attack stat, Psychic will hit frail offensive Pokemon, such as Swellow, hard, and outright KOes Pokemon weak to it, such as Sawk. Thick Fat is used over Own Tempo because Grumpig really needs the resistances to Fire- and Ice-type attacks to set itself apart from other Psychic-types, especially Hypno.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The given EV spread maximizes Grumpig's special bulk. Grumpig's Defense is only an average base 65, meaning that even with large investment in Defense, it can't tank physical hits reliably, especially without a recovery move. Reflect is an option to patch up Grumpig's physical bulk a little bit, but it's easier to simply pair Grumpig with a physically defensive teammate who can also support in other ways, such as Wish support. Psyshock can be used over Psychic to beat specially defensive Pokemon such as Regice much more easily. Magic Coat is also an option over Taunt, bouncing back opposing Taunts and status-inducing moves, but Taunt is more reliable than Magic Coat in most cases. Toxic is also an option for a dual status set, crippling both walls and sweepers alike. Due to Grumpig's lack of recovery, Wish support is an excellent way to make sure that it lasts as long as possible. Alomomola and Lickilicky are great Pokemon to use for Wish support; they both have good synergy with Grumpig, and can take the hits that Grumpig can't. Lickilicky can also run Heal Bell, which frees up one of Grumpig's moveslots, allowing it to run a different move to support your team. A teammate to take down Dark- and Ghost-types is also incredibly helpful for Grumpig. As such, Sawk and Skuntank are excellent partners; Skuntank Pursuits the Ghost-types that plague Grumpig, while Sawk beats up all the pesky Dark-types with STAB Close Combat.
Grumpig's decent Speed, good defenses, and access to both Reflect and Light Screen allow it to be a good dual screens supporter. Reflect and Light Screen raise the Defense and Special Defense of your team, respectively. This allows Pokemon on your team to set up and sweep much more easily. Light Clay is used over Leftovers to boost the duration of the screens to 8 turns, which is plenty of time to set up and devastate with one of the sweepers you have waiting in the wings. Using Psychic on this set makes sure that Grumpig isn't Taunt bait, and hits relatively hard from its good base 90 Special Attack stat, 2HKOing some frail Pokemon comfortably. Grumpig has a lot of options for the last move slot: Taunt can be used to make sure opponents don't set up on Grumpig while it's setting up Reflect and Light Screen for its team; Heal Bell cures Grumpig's teammates of status problems, giving your teammates a second chance at sweeping; while Thunder Wave is a great move for slowing down the opposition, crippling sweepers such as Gorebyss that try to KO or set up on Grumpig.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
A specially defensive EV spread is used to maximize Grumpig's ability to tank special hits and set up dual screens for its teammates. A physically defensive spread is also an option for more balanced defenses, as is maximizing Speed for quicker setup of your screens. Once again, Grumpig enjoys Wish and Heal Bell support so it can set up screens again and again; Lickilicky is an excellent partner, immune to Ghost-type moves and able to take special Dark-type moves rather easily. Lickilicky can also run Heal Bell for Grumpig, freeing up a moveslot for Taunt or Thunder Wave. Alomomola is another good partner, passing massive Wishes and taking powerful physical hits for Grumpig. If you are using dual screens Grumpig, you are most likely running dual screens offense, which means you need sweepers to take advantage of the defensive boosts Grumpig provides. Linoone is an incredible partner, as dual screens make it much easier for Linoone to set up and sweep, turning the tables on the opposition as they fail to break through Linoone's boosted defenses as it sets up. Another good partner is Gorebyss, who can Shell Smash all day behind the screens Grumpig provides. Other examples of Pokemon that enjoy dual screens include Nasty Plot Raichu; these two can easily set up and sweep with the support Grumpig provides. Grumpig will have a hard time setting up screens the entire match, so another dual screens user is recommended for a backup set of screens. Ampharos is a good choices, having Volt Switch to get in a sweeper for free. Ampharos can also carry Heal Bell to free up a moveslot for Grumpig so it can run Taunt or Thunder Wave.
Other Options
Grumpig can utilize a Choice set with Trick; with base 90 Special Attack and decent Speed, Grumpig seems like the perfect candidate for a Choice set, but is outclassed by Gardevoir in this role. Grumpig also learns Whirlwind, which prevents boosting sweepers from setting up on it, but Whirlwind is sadly incompatible with Heal Bell, meaning you have to choose between one or the other. Grumpig can run an effective RestTalk set, but it is cramped for moveslots as is, making RestTalk a somewhat bad option. Mirror Coat can be used to score some surprise KOs against special attackers, but Grumpig has no room for it on its sets, and lack of recovery means Grumpig turns into dead weight afterwards. Trick Room may seem like a tempting option, but Grumpig is just a bit too fast for it, and there are better users of the move. Grumpig can run a very effective Calm Mind set, but it is outclassed by most other Psychic-types in this role.
Checks and Counters
Grumpig can be difficult to take down on the special side, but like every other Pokemon, Grumpig has its fair share of checks and counters. Like every other Psychic-type, Grumpig is plagued by the Dark-types that silently creep through the tier. Pokemon such as Skuntank can easily take down Grumpig with its STAB moves, while also not being weak to Focus Blast. Haunter is a frequent sight in Grumpig's nightmares, hitting it with a super effective Shadow Ball; however, Haunter cannot switch into Psychic or Thunder Wave. Misdreavus can Taunt Grumpig and prevent it from doing anything, while wearing it down with Shadow Ball. Bug-types such as Pinsir and Armaldo scare Grumpig to no end; as they both target it on its soft base 65 Defense, Grumpig won't be surviving their attacks any time soon. Bulky Psychic-types such as Duosion don't just wall Grumpig, but can set up on variants lacking Taunt or Whirlwind easily and threaten to sweep your entire team. Lickilicky is also a good counter, taking little from even Grumpig's Focus Blast, and taking it down with repeated hits. But perhaps the best way to counter Grumpig is to take advantage of the fact that it has no reliable recovery; as such, repeated attacks will eventually slaughter it.
