Slurpuff: harmless at first glance, but actually very scary. It looks like a cupcake too!
Overview
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With access to Belly Drum and the ability Unburden, Slurpuf can prove to be one of the most dangerous late-game cleaners in RU despite its mediocre stats. Thanks to these qualities, Slurpuff can become a massive threat in one turn, setting up to maximize Attack and double Speed, making it hard to revenge kill and hard to take a hit from. With its access to Drain Punch from the move tutors, Slurpuff now no longer has to worry about Steel-types stopping its sweep cold, and allow it to heal off damage it sustains from Belly Drum. Furthermore, Slurpuff has decent bulk and resists Sucker Punch and Mach Punch, which help in setting up and sweeping. Slurpuff can also run a Calm Mind set to a decent degree, allowing it to sweep weakened offensive teams and surprising some of its typical counters such as Escavalier and Doublade. However, Slurpuff possesses very mediocre power before setting up, which limits its usefulness beforehand. Because Belly Drum cuts into a significant amount of Slurpuff's HP, it is harder for it to set up than with other setup sweepers in the tier. Furthermore, due to Unburden's mechanics, Slurpuff can only sweep once per game, so it needs support to be able to successfully sweep a team. Because of these flaws, keep in mind that not all teams will be catered for using Slurpuff.
BIG DOG CAKE
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name: Belly Drum
move 1: Belly Drum
move 2: Play Rough
move 3: Return / Substitute
move 4: Drain Punch
ability: Unburden
item: Sitrus Berry
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
Belly Drum maximizes Slurpuff's Attack stat and weakens it into the point where the Sitrus Berry will activate, therefore activating Unburden. Play Rough is Slurpuff's strongest STAB move and allows Slurpuff to hit anything that doesn't resist it very hard. Return hits Poison-types like Amoonguss and Golbat fairly hard as well as Moltres, and is also a more reliable option than Play Rough in needed situations. Drain Punch serves as coverage, hitting Magneton and Registeel for super effective damage and also providing recovery for Slurpuff so that it can heal off the Belly Drum damage.
Set Details
========
Slurpuff's EVs give it an even number of HP to be able to activate Sitrus Berry after one Belly Drum, while maximizing power and Speed to be able to sweep effectively. An Adamant nature is preferable for the extra power as Unburden provides enough of a Speed boost, however, a Jolly nature can be used if outspeeding Choice Scarf Delphox is needed.
Usage Tips
========
Slurpuff should mainly attempt to set up on defensive Pokemon such as Aromatisse and Alomomola as those are passive enough to allow Slurpuff to safely set up. Slurpuff should only attempt to sweep once its checks and counters, such as Doublade, Bronzong, Escavalier, and Quagsire are weakened or removed, as otherwise Slurpuff will not be able to successfully sweep a team. One must be sure to save Slurpuff for the late game, as it only has once chance to sweep per game.
Team Options
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Heliolisk can also check Doublade and get Slurpuff into the battle safely via Volt Switch. Houndoom can also trap Dooublade and Bronzong or force them out. Fletchinder, likewise, can weaken Amoonguss, and cripple many of Slurpuff's answers with Will-O-Wisp and further grant it setup opportunities. Mega Glalie can also wallbreak well for Slurpuff and use Super Fang to put a severe dent in Doublade and Bronzong, and use Explosion to put more severe dents in anything. Other powerful wallbreakers like Delphox, Druddigon, and Clawitzer do great at weakening checks to Slurpuff such as Escavalier and Bronzong, and are hence very good teammates to help it sweep more effectively. Hitmonlee can remove entry hazards for Slurpuff with Rapid Spin and wallbreak effectively as well. Entry hazard support from the likes of Qwilfish and Crustle is also very helpful, wearing down Escavalier and Doublade quickly which makes them much easier to remove.
Other Options
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Slurpuff has access to Wish and Aromatherapy to function as a cleric, but its lack of good offensive presence and mediocre HP make it an inferior option to Aromatisse and Alomomola in this regard. It can also run a Calm Mind set with Dazzling Gleam, Flamethrower, and Surf to sweep and surprise Doublade, Bronzong, and Escavalier, but this set takes too much time to become a threat and depends largely on the opponent weakening it to merely half HP to be effective. Cotton Guard can be used in tandem with Calm Mind, allowing Slurpuff to become nigh impossible to take down while still being a great sweeper. Psychic can be used to allow Slurpuff to be able to hit Amoonguss and Golbat hard. Yawn is a plausible option to force a Pokemon out or put it to sleep, allowing Slurpuff to set up a Belly Drum much more easily. Beyond that, Slurpuff possesses an extremely small movepool that is almost void of options.
Checks and Counters
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**Steel- and Poison-types** Doublade shakes off anything Slurpuff has to offer, while being able to OHKO it with Iron Head. Escavalier and Bronzong can both live a Drain Punch at full health then OHKO, but struggle to do so if they have sustained prior damage beforehand. Amoonguss and Weezing can both take on a Return and either outright KO Slurpuff or remove its boosts with Clear Smog. However, neither can take two consecutive Returns.
**Whimsicott** Whimsicott can make use of priority Stun Spore and Encore to practically invalidate Slurpuff, either paralyzing it or forcibly locking it into Belly Drum, especially since Slurpuff can only sweep once.
**Offensive Pressure** Overwhelming Slurpuff with extremely powerful attacks will pressure it to a point where it can't set up. This can be rather hard to do, however, as Slurpuff has a great set of resistances to Fighting, Dark, and Dragon.
**Unaware Quagsire** Though relatively uncommon, Quagsire can ignore Slurpuff's Belly Drum boost with Unaware, thus being able to take on anything Slurpuff has to offer and retaliate with either Scald or Earthquake.
Overview
========
With access to Belly Drum and the ability Unburden, Slurpuf can prove to be one of the most dangerous late-game cleaners in RU despite its mediocre stats. Thanks to these qualities, Slurpuff can become a massive threat in one turn, setting up to maximize Attack and double Speed, making it hard to revenge kill and hard to take a hit from. With its access to Drain Punch from the move tutors, Slurpuff now no longer has to worry about Steel-types stopping its sweep cold, and allow it to heal off damage it sustains from Belly Drum. Furthermore, Slurpuff has decent bulk and resists Sucker Punch and Mach Punch, which help in setting up and sweeping. Slurpuff can also run a Calm Mind set to a decent degree, allowing it to sweep weakened offensive teams and surprising some of its typical counters such as Escavalier and Doublade. However, Slurpuff possesses very mediocre power before setting up, which limits its usefulness beforehand. Because Belly Drum cuts into a significant amount of Slurpuff's HP, it is harder for it to set up than with other setup sweepers in the tier. Furthermore, due to Unburden's mechanics, Slurpuff can only sweep once per game, so it needs support to be able to successfully sweep a team. Because of these flaws, keep in mind that not all teams will be catered for using Slurpuff.
BIG DOG CAKE
########
name: Belly Drum
move 1: Belly Drum
move 2: Play Rough
move 3: Return / Substitute
move 4: Drain Punch
ability: Unburden
item: Sitrus Berry
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
Belly Drum maximizes Slurpuff's Attack stat and weakens it into the point where the Sitrus Berry will activate, therefore activating Unburden. Play Rough is Slurpuff's strongest STAB move and allows Slurpuff to hit anything that doesn't resist it very hard. Return hits Poison-types like Amoonguss and Golbat fairly hard as well as Moltres, and is also a more reliable option than Play Rough in needed situations. Drain Punch serves as coverage, hitting Magneton and Registeel for super effective damage and also providing recovery for Slurpuff so that it can heal off the Belly Drum damage.
Set Details
========
Slurpuff's EVs give it an even number of HP to be able to activate Sitrus Berry after one Belly Drum, while maximizing power and Speed to be able to sweep effectively. An Adamant nature is preferable for the extra power as Unburden provides enough of a Speed boost, however, a Jolly nature can be used if outspeeding Choice Scarf Delphox is needed.
Usage Tips
========
Slurpuff should mainly attempt to set up on defensive Pokemon such as Aromatisse and Alomomola as those are passive enough to allow Slurpuff to safely set up. Slurpuff should only attempt to sweep once its checks and counters, such as Doublade, Bronzong, Escavalier, and Quagsire are weakened or removed, as otherwise Slurpuff will not be able to successfully sweep a team. One must be sure to save Slurpuff for the late game, as it only has once chance to sweep per game.
Team Options
========
Heliolisk can also check Doublade and get Slurpuff into the battle safely via Volt Switch. Houndoom can also trap Dooublade and Bronzong or force them out. Fletchinder, likewise, can weaken Amoonguss, and cripple many of Slurpuff's answers with Will-O-Wisp and further grant it setup opportunities. Mega Glalie can also wallbreak well for Slurpuff and use Super Fang to put a severe dent in Doublade and Bronzong, and use Explosion to put more severe dents in anything. Other powerful wallbreakers like Delphox, Druddigon, and Clawitzer do great at weakening checks to Slurpuff such as Escavalier and Bronzong, and are hence very good teammates to help it sweep more effectively. Hitmonlee can remove entry hazards for Slurpuff with Rapid Spin and wallbreak effectively as well. Entry hazard support from the likes of Qwilfish and Crustle is also very helpful, wearing down Escavalier and Doublade quickly which makes them much easier to remove.
Other Options
########
Slurpuff has access to Wish and Aromatherapy to function as a cleric, but its lack of good offensive presence and mediocre HP make it an inferior option to Aromatisse and Alomomola in this regard. It can also run a Calm Mind set with Dazzling Gleam, Flamethrower, and Surf to sweep and surprise Doublade, Bronzong, and Escavalier, but this set takes too much time to become a threat and depends largely on the opponent weakening it to merely half HP to be effective. Cotton Guard can be used in tandem with Calm Mind, allowing Slurpuff to become nigh impossible to take down while still being a great sweeper. Psychic can be used to allow Slurpuff to be able to hit Amoonguss and Golbat hard. Yawn is a plausible option to force a Pokemon out or put it to sleep, allowing Slurpuff to set up a Belly Drum much more easily. Beyond that, Slurpuff possesses an extremely small movepool that is almost void of options.
Checks and Counters
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**Steel- and Poison-types** Doublade shakes off anything Slurpuff has to offer, while being able to OHKO it with Iron Head. Escavalier and Bronzong can both live a Drain Punch at full health then OHKO, but struggle to do so if they have sustained prior damage beforehand. Amoonguss and Weezing can both take on a Return and either outright KO Slurpuff or remove its boosts with Clear Smog. However, neither can take two consecutive Returns.
**Whimsicott** Whimsicott can make use of priority Stun Spore and Encore to practically invalidate Slurpuff, either paralyzing it or forcibly locking it into Belly Drum, especially since Slurpuff can only sweep once.
**Offensive Pressure** Overwhelming Slurpuff with extremely powerful attacks will pressure it to a point where it can't set up. This can be rather hard to do, however, as Slurpuff has a great set of resistances to Fighting, Dark, and Dragon.
**Unaware Quagsire** Though relatively uncommon, Quagsire can ignore Slurpuff's Belly Drum boost with Unaware, thus being able to take on anything Slurpuff has to offer and retaliate with either Scald or Earthquake.
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