Overview
########
Despite some clearly lackluster stats all around, Jumpluff is quite an effective threat in the PU metagame. Its main qualities lie in its very high base Speed and access to Sleep Powder, which, in combination with a strong boosting move in Swords Dance and Flying-type STAB to do heavy damage to the Grass-types that can absorb Sleep Powder, make it a big threat to a lot of offensive teams. Jumpluff is also able to switch into the threatening Fighting-types in the tier, Poliwrath and Throh, with surprising ease thanks to its resistance to Water-type attacks and its ability to sponge Knock Off due to it not carrying an item. Additionally, unlike most of the other Flying-types in the tier, it is also able to deal with opposing Rock-types thanks to its Grass-type STAB. However, Jumpluff is quite frail and struggles to take strong, neutral attacks; it also has trouble getting past bulkier Pokemon without a lot of boosts because of its underwhelming Attack stat and is troubled by some of the most threatening Pokemon in the tier in Sneasel and Piloswine.
Offensive Utility
########
name: Offensive Utility
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Swords Dance
move 3: Acrobatics
move 4: Seed Bomb
ability: Infiltrator
item:
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
========
Sleep Powder is what makes Jumpluff viable in the first place. It puts an opposing check pretty much out of commission and is very hard to switch into with the threat of Flying-type STAB, which is what makes Jumpluff such a good user of the move. Late-game it is also a very useful way of grabbing a Swords Dance boost and attempting a sweep. Swords Dance lets it acquire decent power to sweep late-game, as after a boost and a bit of prior damage Pokemon such as Tauros, Ninetales, Throh, and Regice are OHKOed. Acrobatics is a strong STAB move that is able to 2HKO most offensive Pokemon and gets great coverage in the tier, hitting physical walls, such as Poliwrath and Tangela, for super effective damage. It is especially useful against the former due to the fact that it stops Focus Punch through the Substitute thanks to Infiltrator. Seed Bomb provides great neutral coverage with Acrobatics, hitting common Pokemon that resist Flying such as Golem and Carracosta for super effective damage and Electric-types other than Zebstrika for neutral damage.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed investment is used to take maximum advantage of Jumpluff's best traits, and a Jolly nature is used to Speed tie with Tauros and outrun Pokemon such as Simipour and Scyther. No item is used to increase Acrobatics's power to decent levels, and Infiltrator is the ability of choice because being able to bypass Substitute users with its moves just adds to Jumpluff's effectiveness, and it is fast enough where it doesn't need the situational Speed boost from Chlorophyl.
Usage Tips
========
Most of the time, Sleep Powder is the best move to go for early in the game, as it is very hard to switch into, especially with the threat of Acrobatics. Try to preserve Jumpluff until late in the game because it is usually able to sweep offensive teams with relative ease if it gets a Swords Dance boost. You can switch Jumpluff in against Fighting-types such as Throh and Poliwrath quite safely and proceed to retaliate with a STAB move or set up a Swords Dance to threaten the switch-in; however, be careful when switching into non-resisted hits, as Jumpluff has no recovery whatsoever and is quite frail.
Team Options
========
Entry hazards, especially Toxic Spikes, are able to rack up consistent damage on Jumpluff checks such as Sneasel and Bouffalant so that they can be easily revenge killed later in the game. Jumpluff works best with Ground-type Stealth Rock setters such as Piloswine and Golem because of their ability to handle Electric-types such as Zebstrika, Raichu, and Luxray. Poliwrath appreciates a teammate that can scare off Grass-types, and it can take on Steel-types for Jumpluff and reliably deal with Sneasel and Piloswine. Ninetales appreciates Jumpluff's ability to deal with Poliwrath, and it can wipe away Steel-types with its Fire-type attacks. Sneasel appreciates Jumpluff's ability to set up on and beat most of its checks, such as Throh and Poliwrath, with ease. Carracosta and Barbaracle appreciate a reliable Poliwrath and Tangela switch-in. Finally, Pelipper takes on Ice-types such as Pelipper and Sneasel and can also remove Stealth Rock for Jumpluff.
Other Options
########
Jumpluff can use Stun Spore quite effectively in a Double Powder set, but it usually prefers the additional coverage on Rock-types provided by Seed Bomb. U-turn can also be used on a similar set. Encore is also a very effective move Jumpluff can use, but it has trouble to fitting onto sets and is usually outclassed by Sleep Powder in terms of utility. Jumpluff can also use Memento, either as a standalone option over Seed Bomb or to bring in a sun sweeper for free on a Sunny Day set, but it is usually outclassed at doing so by other suicide weather leads such as Explosion Carbink. Finally, a Substitute + Leech Seed set is an option, but Gourgeist-S outclasses it and such a set doesn't accomplish much anyway.
Checks & Counters
########
**Faster Pokemon**: Faster Pokemon such as Sneasel, Zebstrika, and Electrode with Hidden Power Ice are the best answers to Jumpluff. They force it out with relative ease with the threat of powerful attacks, effectively stopping it from putting anything to sleep. Zebstrika is an especially good check thanks to its immunity to Sleep Powder and Seed Bomb due to Sap Sipper.
**Sleep absorbers**: Pokemon that are immune to Sleep Powder, such as Bouffalant and Zebstrika, are great answers to Jumpluff, as they prevent it from spamming Sleep Powder and do not fear any of its moves. Sleep Talk Klang is also an excellent answer, as it is able to set up on Jumpluff with Shift Gear and doesn't fear any of Jumpluff's moves including an improbable +6 Acrobatics.
**Physical Walls**: Physically bulky Pokemon such as Avalugg and Misdreavus are great answers to Jumpluff after Sleep Clause is in effect, as they take pretty much any hit and can either burn or OHKO Jumpluff.
**Tanks**: Bulky Pokemon in general can be troublesome for Jumpluff to take out once Sleep Clause is in effect unless they have taken significant prior damage. Examples are Tauros, Regice, and Fraxure, which can all take hits from Jumpluff unless they are significantly weakened and can OHKO it back.
**Ice Shard**: While only Sneasel and Piloswine are the only users of the move in the tier, Ice Shard is one of the most effective ways of OHKOing Jumpluff before it causes any problem.
########
Despite some clearly lackluster stats all around, Jumpluff is quite an effective threat in the PU metagame. Its main qualities lie in its very high base Speed and access to Sleep Powder, which, in combination with a strong boosting move in Swords Dance and Flying-type STAB to do heavy damage to the Grass-types that can absorb Sleep Powder, make it a big threat to a lot of offensive teams. Jumpluff is also able to switch into the threatening Fighting-types in the tier, Poliwrath and Throh, with surprising ease thanks to its resistance to Water-type attacks and its ability to sponge Knock Off due to it not carrying an item. Additionally, unlike most of the other Flying-types in the tier, it is also able to deal with opposing Rock-types thanks to its Grass-type STAB. However, Jumpluff is quite frail and struggles to take strong, neutral attacks; it also has trouble getting past bulkier Pokemon without a lot of boosts because of its underwhelming Attack stat and is troubled by some of the most threatening Pokemon in the tier in Sneasel and Piloswine.
Offensive Utility
########
name: Offensive Utility
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Swords Dance
move 3: Acrobatics
move 4: Seed Bomb
ability: Infiltrator
item:
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
========
Sleep Powder is what makes Jumpluff viable in the first place. It puts an opposing check pretty much out of commission and is very hard to switch into with the threat of Flying-type STAB, which is what makes Jumpluff such a good user of the move. Late-game it is also a very useful way of grabbing a Swords Dance boost and attempting a sweep. Swords Dance lets it acquire decent power to sweep late-game, as after a boost and a bit of prior damage Pokemon such as Tauros, Ninetales, Throh, and Regice are OHKOed. Acrobatics is a strong STAB move that is able to 2HKO most offensive Pokemon and gets great coverage in the tier, hitting physical walls, such as Poliwrath and Tangela, for super effective damage. It is especially useful against the former due to the fact that it stops Focus Punch through the Substitute thanks to Infiltrator. Seed Bomb provides great neutral coverage with Acrobatics, hitting common Pokemon that resist Flying such as Golem and Carracosta for super effective damage and Electric-types other than Zebstrika for neutral damage.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed investment is used to take maximum advantage of Jumpluff's best traits, and a Jolly nature is used to Speed tie with Tauros and outrun Pokemon such as Simipour and Scyther. No item is used to increase Acrobatics's power to decent levels, and Infiltrator is the ability of choice because being able to bypass Substitute users with its moves just adds to Jumpluff's effectiveness, and it is fast enough where it doesn't need the situational Speed boost from Chlorophyl.
Usage Tips
========
Most of the time, Sleep Powder is the best move to go for early in the game, as it is very hard to switch into, especially with the threat of Acrobatics. Try to preserve Jumpluff until late in the game because it is usually able to sweep offensive teams with relative ease if it gets a Swords Dance boost. You can switch Jumpluff in against Fighting-types such as Throh and Poliwrath quite safely and proceed to retaliate with a STAB move or set up a Swords Dance to threaten the switch-in; however, be careful when switching into non-resisted hits, as Jumpluff has no recovery whatsoever and is quite frail.
Team Options
========
Entry hazards, especially Toxic Spikes, are able to rack up consistent damage on Jumpluff checks such as Sneasel and Bouffalant so that they can be easily revenge killed later in the game. Jumpluff works best with Ground-type Stealth Rock setters such as Piloswine and Golem because of their ability to handle Electric-types such as Zebstrika, Raichu, and Luxray. Poliwrath appreciates a teammate that can scare off Grass-types, and it can take on Steel-types for Jumpluff and reliably deal with Sneasel and Piloswine. Ninetales appreciates Jumpluff's ability to deal with Poliwrath, and it can wipe away Steel-types with its Fire-type attacks. Sneasel appreciates Jumpluff's ability to set up on and beat most of its checks, such as Throh and Poliwrath, with ease. Carracosta and Barbaracle appreciate a reliable Poliwrath and Tangela switch-in. Finally, Pelipper takes on Ice-types such as Pelipper and Sneasel and can also remove Stealth Rock for Jumpluff.
Other Options
########
Jumpluff can use Stun Spore quite effectively in a Double Powder set, but it usually prefers the additional coverage on Rock-types provided by Seed Bomb. U-turn can also be used on a similar set. Encore is also a very effective move Jumpluff can use, but it has trouble to fitting onto sets and is usually outclassed by Sleep Powder in terms of utility. Jumpluff can also use Memento, either as a standalone option over Seed Bomb or to bring in a sun sweeper for free on a Sunny Day set, but it is usually outclassed at doing so by other suicide weather leads such as Explosion Carbink. Finally, a Substitute + Leech Seed set is an option, but Gourgeist-S outclasses it and such a set doesn't accomplish much anyway.
Checks & Counters
########
**Faster Pokemon**: Faster Pokemon such as Sneasel, Zebstrika, and Electrode with Hidden Power Ice are the best answers to Jumpluff. They force it out with relative ease with the threat of powerful attacks, effectively stopping it from putting anything to sleep. Zebstrika is an especially good check thanks to its immunity to Sleep Powder and Seed Bomb due to Sap Sipper.
**Sleep absorbers**: Pokemon that are immune to Sleep Powder, such as Bouffalant and Zebstrika, are great answers to Jumpluff, as they prevent it from spamming Sleep Powder and do not fear any of its moves. Sleep Talk Klang is also an excellent answer, as it is able to set up on Jumpluff with Shift Gear and doesn't fear any of Jumpluff's moves including an improbable +6 Acrobatics.
**Physical Walls**: Physically bulky Pokemon such as Avalugg and Misdreavus are great answers to Jumpluff after Sleep Clause is in effect, as they take pretty much any hit and can either burn or OHKO Jumpluff.
**Tanks**: Bulky Pokemon in general can be troublesome for Jumpluff to take out once Sleep Clause is in effect unless they have taken significant prior damage. Examples are Tauros, Regice, and Fraxure, which can all take hits from Jumpluff unless they are significantly weakened and can OHKO it back.
**Ice Shard**: While only Sneasel and Piloswine are the only users of the move in the tier, Ice Shard is one of the most effective ways of OHKOing Jumpluff before it causes any problem.
Last edited:
