Aerow
rebel
Taken over from Caledrith. Approved by Goddess Briyella.
Overview
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Purrloin can find itself a niche on certain teams as a disruptive pivot thanks to its ability Prankster and access to a wide array of status moves. Its movepool includes great supportive moves such as Encore, Taunt, Knock Off, Sunny Day, Rain Dance, and U-turn. Purrloin is also fairly fast, hitting a respectable 17 Speed. However, Purrloin's bulk is mediocre at best, making it hard for it to fully do its job. Purrloin's Attack stat isn't very impressive either, meaning it can't run offensive sets too well.
Disruptive Pivot
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name: Disruptive Pivot
move 1: Encore
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Thunder Wave / Taunt
ability: Prankster
item: Eviolite / Berry Juice
evs: 188 HP / 180 Def / 60 SpD / 68 Spe
nature: Careful
Moves
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Encore disrupts support Pokemon as well as setup sweepers, locking them into an undesirable move. U-turn is great for grabbing momentum. Knock Off has great utility in removing Eviolite from foes and crippling switch-ins to Purrloin after Encore is used while also dealing considerable damage, as it gets STAB. Thunder Wave is a good option for quickly putting setup sweepers out of commission, making it easier for teammates to KO them. Taunt can be used because it allows Purrloin to easily stop hazard leads and opposing status users from fulfilling their respective roles.
Set Details
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Eviolite is the best option when it comes to Purrloin's item, but Berry Juice is also fairly viable. The given EV spread and a Careful nature greatly improve Purrloin's bulk, giving it 23 / 12 / 12 defenses. The remaining EVs are put into Speed to allow Purrloin to outspeed standard Fletchling. A spread of 188 HP / 60 Def / 228 Spe and a Bold nature can be used to outspeed fast Fletchling.
Usage Tips
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Encore is great for locking the foe into a setup or status move. U-turn is nice to use after Encoring the foe into something undesirable, as well as for gaining momentum overall. Purrloin can also use Thunder Wave quite well thanks to Prankster. Due to Purrloin's mediocre bulk, it should be very wary of Fighting-, Fairy-, and Bug-type moves, which it is weak to.
Team Options
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Slow VoltTurn users, such as Mienfoo, Pancham, Vullaby, Magnemite, and Larvesta, are greatly appreciated, as they can help get Purrloin safely in. Poison-types such as Croagunk, Foongus, and Trubbish can easily take on Fighting-, Bug-, and Fairy-types, which Purrloin has problems with. Spritzee is another great teammate, taking on Fighting-types while also providing Wish support for Purrloin. Setup sweepers really enjoy having Purrloin on their team, since Purrloin can make it easier for them to set up by using Encore.
Other Options
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Copycat copies the last used move in the battle and has priority thanks to Prankster. Play Rough allows Purrloin to hit Fighting- and Dark-types that resist its Dark-type STAB moves for super effective damage. Gunk Shot can be used to hit Fairies hard. Sunny Day and Rain Dance together with Heat Rock and Damp Rock, respectively, can make Purrloin a reliable weather setter that almost always gets weather up thanks to Prankster. Sucker Punch can be used to take down faster foes that are at low health and can also be used to surprise attackers that are weak to it, such as Gastly. Pursuit is an option for getting a good chunk of damage on a foe that is switching out to avoid the effects of Encore. Trick can be used with a disruptive item such as Choice Band or Choice Specs.
Checks & Counters
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**Fighting-types**: Fighting-types such as Mienfoo, Timburr, Croagunk, Pancham, and Scraggy can easily threaten Purrloin by doing massive damage with their Fighting-type STAB attacks. They also resist Purrloin's STAB moves.
**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types such as Spritzee and Snubbull can deal heavy damage to Purrloin with their STAB Fairy-type moves. Spritzee is also immune to Encore and Taunt.
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