[COMPLETED] Slurpuff



[Pros]

<ul>
<li>Slurpuff's pure Fairy-typing is quite solid.</li>
<li>Belly Drum + Unburden is something that Slurpuff can call its own.</li>
<li>It also has neat special move options such as Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, and Surf.</li>
</ul>

[Cons]

<ul>
<li>None of Slurpuff's stats are particularly impressive. The highest is its below average base 86 Defense stat, and the rest range from below average to downright bad.</li>
<li>Even with Belly Drum, it has trouble sweeping due to its fairly nonexistent physical movepool. Its only usable physical moves are Play Rough, Return, and Thief, which leave it shut down by bulky Steel-types.</li>
<li>All in all, Slurpuff just struggles to find anything it can do well without being outclassed.</li>
</ul>

[Set Recommendations]

[SET]
name: Belly Drum Sweeper
move 1: Belly Drum
move 2: Play Rough
move 3: Return
move 4: Flamethrower
nature: Naughty
ability: Unburden
item: Sitrus Berry
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 76 SpA / 176 Spe

<p>Slurpuff is the only Pokemon with access to both Belly Drum and Unburden, a combination that gives it a niche as a physical sweeper. The goal of this set is to bring Slurpuff in on something it can force out (such as a Choice-locked Dragon-type attack), use Belly Drum, eat the Sitrus Berry to restore 25% of Slurpuff's health and activate Unburden, and then sweep. Play Rough is a pretty solid physical STAB; after a Belly Drum boost, it hits just about anything that doesn't resist it for major damage. Return is unfortunately the only other powerful physical move that Slurpuff has, but it does hit the majority of Poison- and Fire-type Pokemon that resist Play Rough for neutral damage. That's about the extent of Slurpuff's good physical movepool, so Flamethrower is chosen for the last slot because it is Slurpuff's best weapon against Steel-type Pokemon. If you hit them with Flamethrower on the switch, many bulky Steel-type Pokemon can be knocked out, opening up for a Belly Drum sweep later.</p>

<p>The EV spread is designed primarily to maximize Slurpuff's physical power and give it enough speed to outrun everything up to Choice Scarf Rotom-W after Unburden has been activated. The 4 HP EVs give Slurpuff an even HP number to ensure that the Sitrus Berry will always activate after Belly Drum is used, while the Special Attack EVs and Naughty nature give Slurpuff's Flamethrower enough power to 2HKO physically defensive Skarmory, 2HKO standard Ferrothorn, OHKO Forretress, and OHKO Choice Band Scizor 81.25% of the time after Stealth Rock damage. A Naive nature could also be used to outspeed even some of the fastest Choice Scarf users after the Unburden boost, but the power loss is noticeable. Since the Sitrus Berry can only activate once, you only have one shot to sweep with this set. Slurpuff needs as much prior damage against the opponent as it can get to assist its sweep, so entry hazard support is a must. Ferrothorn is notable for covering Slurpuff's weaknesses and providing both Stealth Rock and Spikes support. Rotom-W is another viable teammate since it can cover Slurpuff's Steel weakness, cripple physical attackers with Will-O-Wisp to ease setup, and get Slurpuff in safely with a slow Volt Switch. Since Slurpuff relies on good prediction with Flamethrower to beat Steel-types, Magnezone can assist by trapping and removing those Steel-type checks, alleviating the need for Flamethrower.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Bulky Steel-type Pokemon such as physically defensive Skarmory and Ferrothorn are pretty threatening. Unless the Slurpuff user can predict the switch and hit the switch-in with Flamethrower, they can either defeat Slurpuff or force it out and end the sweep. Slurpuff's 82 / 86 / 75 bulk is far from impressive, so simply attacking it outright can prevent it from setting up in the first place. If it does get to set up, powerful priority users such as Talonflame and Scizor can threaten even an Unburden-boosted Slurpuff with a KO. If it's not running a Jolly nature, Choice Scarf Pokemon with a base 90 Speed stat or higher can outspeed an Unburden-boosted Slurpuff and keep it in check.</p>
 
Last edited:
I think a calm mind+unburden set should be mentioned
Slurpuff
Item: red card/sitrus berry/idk
evs: idk
-Dazzling gleam
-flamethrower
-surf
-calm mind
His coverage is amazing and the majority of his natural bulk stays with either a modest or timid nature instead of a defense hindering one and can improve even further with calm mind. this set is still destroyed by priority users but it stops steel type (who aren't scizor of course) from trampling all over it

that being said i haven't actually tested this and don't know whether its worth it or not, its just a suggestion :/
 

alexwolf

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Remove the support set, it's horribly outclassed. Also, remove the mention of its support moves as pros and its competition in support sets as cons.




QC APPROVED 1/3
 
I think a calm mind+unburden set should be mentioned
I like the idea, and I had considered this myself, but there were just too many problems with the set in testing. There's honestly no item that works well on the set and reliably activates Unburden, and a +1 Slurpuff without an item is really underwhelming, despite the great coverage. The only reason the Belly Drum set works at all is because a +6 Slurpuff actually hits really hard, and Sitrus Berry guarantees that Unburden is activated after Belly Drum. If there were an Other Options section, I'd toss it in there, but sadly that's not the case.

Remove the support set, it's horribly outclassed.
I agree, but it was worth a shot. I've removed the support set and all mentions of support that I could find. Let me know if I missed something!

(That Belly Drum set looks fun)
It actually is pretty fun, albeit hard to use sometimes.

Two down, one to go. Thanks!
 

alexwolf

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One small correction; change the EV spread to outspeed Timid Choice Scarf Rotom-W and put the remaining EVs to SpA / HP. Scarf Excadrill doesn't exist.
 
js the Thief mention should be gotten rid of. If you steal an opponent's item with it, you lose your Unburden boost.
 
GO FORTH AND PROSPER 3/3
Alright, thanks! I'll try to get this written up soon.

js the Thief mention should be gotten rid of. If you steal an opponent's item with it, you lose your Unburden boost.
Could we get someone to test this? By my recollection, Unburden only depends on the use of a consumable item, not whether or not you actually have an item. As long as you are able to consume the Sitrus Berry, gaining a new item shouldn't affect Unburden. If someone can prove otherwise, I'll gladly change it.
 

Bughouse

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Could we get someone to test this? By my recollection, Unburden only depends on the use of a consumable item, not whether or not you actually have an item. As long as you are able to consume the Sitrus Berry, gaining a new item shouldn't affect Unburden. If someone can prove otherwise, I'll gladly change it.
This was true as of Gen V I believe with regards to things like Covet or Recycle or Thief iirc. Gen VI verification would be nice though.
 
This was true as of Gen V I believe with regards to things like Covet or Recycle or Thief iirc. Gen VI verification would be nice though.
What Treecko said about Unburden/Thief was true, or what I said about it was true? Sorry, I'm a little confused by the wording, lol.

At any rate, this is written up and ready for GP checks. I've kept the Thief comment for now, but if someone could confirm whether or not it cancels Unburden, that'd be great.
 

Bughouse

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Oh sorry, I should have clarified. What Treecko said about Thief removing the Unburden boost was true as of Gen V iirc. Still need Gen VI confirmation regardless.
 
Oh sorry, I should have clarified. What Treecko said about Thief removing the Unburden boost was true as of Gen V iirc. Still need Gen VI confirmation regardless.
Oh, I gotcha. In that case, I'll remove the mentions of Thief until we get confirmation that it works differently.
 
Additions
Deletions

[Pros]

<ul>
<li>Slurpuff's pure Fairy-typing is pretty quite solid.</li>
<li>Belly Drum + Unburden is a little something that Slurpuff can call its own.</li>
<li>It also has a few neat special move options such as Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, and Surf.</li>
</ul>

[Cons]

<ul>
<li>None of Slurpuff's stats are particularly impressive. The highest is its below average base 86 Defense stat, and the rest range from below average to downright bad.</li>
<li>Even with Belly Drum, it has trouble sweeping due to its fairly nonexistent physical movepool. Its only real usable physical moves are Play Rough, Return, and Thief, which leave it shut down by bulky Steel-types.</li>
<li>All in all, it Slurpuff just struggles to find anything it can do well without being outclassed.</li>
</ul>

[Set Recommendations]

[SET]
name: Belly Drum Sweeper
move 1: Belly Drum
move 2: Play Rough
move 3: Return
move 4: Flamethrower
nature: Naughty
ability: Unburden
item: Sitrus Berry
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 76 SpA / 176 Spe

<p>Slurpuff is the only Pokemon with access to both Belly Drum and Unburden, a combination that gives it a niche as a physical sweeper. The goal of the this set is to bring Slurpuff in on something it can force out (such as a Choice-locked Dragon-type attack), use Belly Drum, eat the Sitrus Berry to restore 25% of Slurpuff's health and activate Unburden, and then sweep. Play Rough is a pretty solid physical STAB; after a Belly Drum boost, it hits just about anything that doesn't resist it for major damage. Return is unfortunately the only other powerful physical move that Slurpuff has, but it does hit the majority of Poison- and Fire-type Pokemon that resist Play Rough for neutral damage. That's about the extent of Slurpuff's good physical movepool, so Flamethrower is chosen for the last slot because it is Slurpuff's best weapon against Steel-type Pokemon. If you hit them with Flamethrower on the switch, many bulky Steel-type Pokemon can be knocked out, opening up for a Belly Drum sweep later.</p>

<p>Although it doesn't let Slurpuff beat anything that it would have trouble with otherwise, Thief can be used over Flamethrower to steal an opponent's item after the Sitrus Berry has been eaten. The EV spread is designed primarily to maximize Slurpuff's physical power and give it enough speed to beat outrun everything up to Choice Scarf Rotom-W and everything slower after Unburden has been activated. The 4 HP EVs give Slurpuff an even HP number to ensure that the Sitrus Berry will always activate after Belly Drum is used, while the Special Attack EVs and Naughty nature give Slurpuff's Flamethrower enough power to 2HKO physically defensive Skarmory, 2HKO standard Ferrothorn, OHKO Forretress, and OHKO CB Choice Band Scizor 81.25% of the time after Stealth Rock damage. It should be noted that if you choose to run Thief instead of Flamethrower, you should use an Adamant nature with the Special Attack EVs shifted to HP. A Naive nature could also be used to outspeed even some of the fastest Choice Scarf users after the Unburden boost, but the power loss is noticeable.</p>

<p>Since the Sitrus Berry can only activate once, you only have one shot to sweep with this set. Slurpuff needs as much prior damage against the opponent as it can get to assist its sweep, so entry hazard support is a must. Ferrothorn is notable for covering Slurpuff's weaknesses and providing both Stealth Rock and Spikes support. Rotom-W is another viable teammate since it can cover Slurpuff's Steel weakness, cripple physical attackers with Will-O-Wisp to ease setup, and get Slurpuff in safely with a slow Volt Switch. Since Slurpuff relies on good prediction with Flamethrower to beat Steel-types, Magnezone can assist by trapping and removing those Steel-type checks, alleviating the need for Flamethrower.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Bulky Steel-type Pokemon such as physically defensive Skarmory and Ferrothorn are pretty threatening. Unless the Slurpuff user can predict the switch and hit the switch-in with Flamethrower, bulky Steel-type Pokemon they can either defeat Slurpuff or force it out and end the sweep. Slurpuff's 82 / 86 / 75 bulk is far from impressive, so simply attacking it outright can prevent it from setting up in the first place. If it does get to set up, powerful priority users such as Talonflame and Scizor can threaten even an Unburden-boosted Slurpuff with a KO. If it's not running a Jolly nature, Choice Scarf Pokemon with a base 90 Speed stat or higher can outspeed an Unburden-boosted Slurpuff and keep it in check.</p>
GP 1/1
 
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Alright, changes have been implemented, so this should be done now. Thanks!

EDIT: Oh yeah, I did notice that you GP checked it right before I merged the last two paragraphs in the set comments since, once the Thief comments were removed, I felt that they were small enough to be merged. Should I separate them again, or are they alright as they are?
 
Set's like the following have been seeing some success it seems. I know I've managed to have some decent success using it.

name: Double Boost
move 1: Cotton Guard
move 2: Calm Mind
move 3: Draining Kiss
move 4: Flamethrower/Aromatherapy
nature: Modest
ability: Unburden
item: Red Card
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe

Set functions on a similar principle to the belly drum set in that Slurpuff comes in on a pokemon it can force out or at the very least survive against while it accumulates the best boosts to deal with the opponents at hand. Two turns of cotton guard make Slurpuff almost insurmountably bulky for the majority of physical attackers, whilst every calm mind increases special bulk and the surprisingly effective recovery from draining kiss. Using a red card allows Slurpuff to disrupt checks and counters that may switch in and further eases the task of acquiring boosts. Draining kiss is Slurpuff's main damaging move as the 75% HP recovery combined with calm mind boosts allows Slurpuff to out-heal incoming damage while wearing down it's opposition. The final move is to punish obvious switch-ins: Flamethrower is used to combat steel types and the many dual bug-grass/poison types while Aromatherapy counters damaging status that would otherwise wear down Slurpuff regardless of it's boosts.

The EV's maximise the amount of recovery Slurpuff can receive from Draining Kiss and allow it to score OHKO's many steel switch-ins with flamethrower after a boost. The 4 points in speed allow it to outrun everything up to max speed timid starmie after unburden activates but due to the boosting nature of the set speed isn't going to stop it taking a few hits and serves more to assist the eventual sweep.

The main problem with the set is predicting and acquiring the best boosts to protect Slurpuff from the opposing team, as any strong attacks will rip through Slurpuff before it ups it's defences and begins recovering HP. Also, depending on the last move chosen, Slurpuff is crippled by status (particularly toxic, as with many boosts it can reliably heal off burn damage and survive going last from paralysis) or checked by strong steel types that can use Slurpuff's ineffectual attacks as an opportunity to boost themselves around it's inflated defences and threaten the rest of your team. Slurpuff must also rely solely on it's boosts to muscle past fire type pokemon. However, with even a couple of calm mind boosts, Slurpuff can manage acceptable damage to steel and fire types and keep up the pressure.
 

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