Overview
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After the release of ORAS, Mega Lopunny quickly cemented itself as one of the best new Mega Evolutions in OU. Its excellent Speed tier enables it to outspeed most of the unboosted metagame, and it has access to 2 powerful STAB moves backed up by a very respectable base 136 Attack. Furthermore, Scrappy gives it perfect coverage with its dual STABs alone (bar Shedninja, [ac] which who is extremely uncommon in OU), giving it 2 completely free slots where it can fit Fake Out, Power-Up Punch, Substitute, Ice Punch, Encore, Baton Pass, and more. Its combination of Speed and power make it an excellent tool to use against offensive teams, and while its access to Power-Up Punch and Encore make it of use against more defensive teams too, though it struggles to break past many physically defensive Pokemon due to its lack of raw power and the large number of Fighting resists, [ac] which feature on these types of teams. Finally, an immunity to Ghost and a resistance to Dark give it opportunities to switch in on the likes of Gengar and Bisharp. [add space] It is, [ac] however, [ac] rather frail, holding little defensive prowess due to its lack of bulk and resistances. It is also easily worn down by residual damage, entry hazards, [ac] and High Jump Kick recoil.
All-Out Attacker
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name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Return
move 3: Fake Out
move 4: Power-Up Punch / Ice Punch
ability: Limber
item: Lopunnite
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Adamant
Moves
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High Jump Kick is Lopunny's most powerful STAB move and, [rc] Return is its most reliable STAB move; [semi > comma] and the two combined have perfect coverage together thanks to Scrappy. Fake Out is a great move on Lopunny, getting chip damage on faster attackers that which can threaten Lopunny out as well as slower ones that who are able to live one hit from it otherwise. It also enables Lopunny to Mega Evolve against faster Pokemon than you such as Latios and Keldeo. Finally, it enables Lopunny to emergency check sweepers such as like Rock Polish Landorus and Mega-[remove hyphen] Gyarados in a pinch, [rc] if the team have no other option for stopping them sweeping than to continuously rack up Fake Out damage. Power-Up Punch is Lopunny's best physical boosting move. It enables it Lopunny to break past physical walls that who are too passive to stop it from setting up, [rc] and puts a lot of pressure on defensive teams in general. Ice Punch OHKOes Choice [when used as a verb, OHKO is spelled with an e; you would use OHKOs as a noun such as in "It scores a lot of OHKOs"] Scarf Landorus-T and offensive Garchomp, [rc] and 2HKOes both of these Pokemon's [change apostrophe] defensive variants. Substitute can be used over Fake Out,[rc] it and enables Lopunny to take advantage of the switches it causes and makes it more useful against bulkier teams; [semi > comma] specifically, it Substitute helps against Protect users such as Ferrothorn and Heatran. It pairs up very well with Power-Up Punch, giving Lopunny protection against status and the ability to scout for switches. Specifically, it Substitute also enables it Lopunny to take advantage of Mega-[remove hyphen] Sableye, Mandibuzz, [ac] and Alomomola, [ac] which cannot break its Substitute with any move. Toxic is an alternative to Power-Up Punch that which enables Lopunny to cripple physical walls such as like Hippowdon, Slowbro, [ac] and Alomomola. Finally, Healing Wish can be used over Power-Up Punch, as it provides fantastic utility, letting Lopunny heal up something for free.
Set Details
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Giving Lopunny Limber enables it to switch in on Thunder Wave users such as Chansey or Ferrothorn. A Jolly nature is preferred over an Adamant one because it since that enables Lopunny to outspeed positive-natured base 119s Speed Pokemon and above, specifically Tornadus-T, Weavile, and Mega- [remove hyphen] Pidgeot as well as Mega-[remove hyphen] Tyranitar and Mega-[remove hyphen] Gyarados at +1. However, [ac] Adamant can also be used for the chance to OHKO Landorus-T after Stealth Rock damage 87.5% of the time as well as always 2HKO physically defensive Landorus-T with Ice Punch, 2HKO mixed defensive Clefable, and 2HKO Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage. At +1, an Adamant nature guarantees that Lopunny can a 2HKO on Hippowdon and Celebi,[rc] and enables it to 2HKO Chesnaught without having to use High Jump Kick and risk losing half your its health to a Spiky Shield.
Usage Tips
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Fake Out should be used very regularly against offensive teams, [rc] so as to get as much chip damage on everything as possible and not be immediately forced out by faster foes. However, you should be more conservative with using Fake Out against bulkier teams because since you might may well waste turns and let Lopunny take receive unnecessary damage from Iron Barbs, Rough Skin, and Rocky Helmet. Power-Up Punch is a very good move to use if Lopunny can sweep the rest of the team at +1. However, do not use it against foes that who are able to deal a lot of damage to Lopunny, unless they are weakened to the point where Power-Up Punch still take them out. Power-Up Punch can also be used if you need to weaken an opposing physical wall so that another Pokemon can sweep more easily, but often comes at the cost of losing Lopunny. Against offensive teams, it is generally better not to use Power-Up Punch and focus on dealing as much immediate damage as possible and causing chip damage with Fake Out. Try to pivot into Lopunny if you can, as since although its bulk isn't terrible, its lack of resistances severely limits the amount of times it can switch in. Lopunny serves for a very good lead because since Fake Out combined with its high Speed enables it to anti-lead Focus Sash leads. However, be wary of Breloom and Garchomp leads, [ac] as since the former can deal massive damage to Lopunny with Mach Punch, [rc] and the latter can severely chip away at its health, and Lopunny cannot KO it with the combination of Fake Out and High Jump Kick, [rc] and isn't guaranteed to do this with an Adamant nature.
Team Options
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This set functions well on both offensive and balanced teams, [rc] as a tool to not only threaten offensive teams but also put pressure on bulkier teams. Lopunny needs to be paired with something that which can take on faster attackers and priority users (particularly Talonflame), such as Heatran. Lopunny appreciates support from a strong wallbreaker such as Landorus like Landorus-I and Gengar that which can threaten defensive teams, [ac] which Lopunny struggles with, as well as wear down the likes of Gliscor and Ferrothorn. It also pairs up well with something that which likes certain physical walls weakened or can, conversely, weaken said physical walls for Lopunny, such as Azumarill, Excadrill, Tyranitar, Talonflame, [ac] and Diggersby. Physically defensive Garchomp is an excellent Lopunny partner, as since it lures bulky Water- and Ground-types thanks to Toxic, [rc] and can weaken Talonflame, Pinsir, [ac] and Azumarill via the combination of Rough Skin and Rocky Helmet. Lopunny enjoys Wish or Healing Wish support, as it can easily get worn down and be unable to break past bulkier teams. Jirachi in particular serves as a good Wish passer because since it can counter Clefable and check Altaria. Something that can bait out and weaken physical walls, such as like Talonflame, can pave the way for Lopunny to spam its powerful STAB moves. Support from a slow pivot is also very useful to have on a Lopunny team. Rotom-W is a particularly good partner because it can act as a pivot and checks Choice Scarf Landorus-T and Talonflame as well as fuffiling its duties as a pivot. Lopunny also appreciates support from a strong Pursuit trapper such as Bisharp or Weavile, as since they can severely weaken bulky Psychic-types, [ac] which wall Lopunny. Stealth Rock and Spikes support from something such as like Landorus-T or Klefki enables Lopunny to weaken a lot of its checks, forcing them into a range where they are 2HKOed by Lopunny much more easily, and the support also wards off the likes of Talonflame and Pinsir.
Substitute Attacker
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name: Substitute
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Return
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Encore / Baton Pass
ability: Limber
item: Lopunnite
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Adamant
Moves
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High Jump Kick and Return are very good STAB moves, the former being more powerful and the latter being more reliable. Substitute lets Lopunny play around Protect users, status users, [ac] and defensive Pokemon that enjoy switching into it in general. Encore lets Lopunny take advantage of defensive Pokemon, potentially locking them into a non-attacking move such as Recover, Defog, [ac] or Stealth Rock, which enables it to set up a Substitute for free. Baton Pass is a nice way of fast pivoting, [rc] and enables Lopunny to pass a Substitute to a wallbreaker to take advantage of the wall it hopefully baited in. Ice Punch is Lopunny's best way of handling Landorus-T and Garchomp, which can find themselves switching in on a Substitute only to get hit by Ice Punch the following turn. Drain Punch is decent paired up with Substitute, as since it gives Lopunny some longevity and stops it from getting worn down too much. It also removes the limit on the amount of Substitutes Lopunny can set up in one match. Toxic can be very useful for wearing down the likes of Slowbro, Landorus-T, [ac] and Hippwdon, while Endeavor and Flail can seriously damage walls if Lopunny is able to Substitute down to very low health.
Set Details
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Limber is the most useful pre-Mega Evolution ability because since it gives Lopunny temporary paralysis immunity. 4 HP EVs are is used instead of 4 Defense so that Lopunny can potentially set up 4 Substitutes in one match. Adamant can be used for more power and a much higher chance to OHKO Ferrothorn after Stealth Rock damage and 2HKO mixed defensive Clefable, but Jolly is usually preferred for because it enables Lopunny to outspeed a few key threats and Mega Evolve more easily against offensive teams.
Usage Tips
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Return and High Jump Kick are Lopunny's most useful moves by far, with Return being its safest STAB move to use, [rc] since because it has perfect accuracy and most resists Pokemon that resist it are outsped and hit very hard by High Jump Kick and are therefore unlikely to switch in, [rc] unlike Fighting resists. High Jump Kick should be used if you need the extra power brought by it compared to Return. Substitute is meant to be used against defensive Pokemon such as Mega-[remove hyphen] Sableye, Mew, and Slowbro, [ac] as they who are more likely to try and status Lopunny rather than attack you than directly attack you. It is a particularly good move for scouting Protect users that who resist Lopunny's Normal STAB move such as Heatran or Ferrothorn. It is also a good method of scouting for switches. If Lopunny locks a Pokemon into a recovery move with thanks to Encore, it should stay in and keep attacking, and when the Encore counter runs out, Lopunny should Encore again until it the foe runs out of PP for its recovery move. Keep in mind that Encore will no longer work when the PP of the last move used does run out. If Lopunny is running Baton Pass and is able to set up a Substitute as the opponent switches into a wall Lopunny cannot 2HKO, or even do so as said wall tries to status it, Baton Pass to something else instead of wasting time trying to beat it. [period]
Team Options
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This set is mainly to be used on offensive teams that need a fast, anti-offense Pokemon that can also provide some degree of team support. It pairs up well with a strong wallbreaker such as like Landorus or Crawadaunt, as since Encore can enable said wallbreaker to take advantage of a defensive Pokemon locked into a certain move, and if Lopunny runs Baton Pass, it can pass Substitutes to to take advantage of the things Lopunny can't beat on its own. Lopunny should also be paired with something that can switch into common Choice Scarfers Scarf users and Talonflame, such as like Rotom-W or Hippowdon. Gothitelle is a very good partner because since it traps most of Lopunny's counters and Lopunny can pivot to it via Baton Pass. Lopunny appreciates support from a Healing Wish user because since it can end up at very low health if it sets up too many Substitutes. Wish support is also acceptable, but Lopunny is too frail to reliably receive Wishes.
Other Options
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Lopunny's wide movepool and free moveslots gives it a plethora of viable moves to run. The combination of Substitute and Power-Up Punch, [rc] or Heal Bell and Power-Up Punch both enable Lopunny to effortlessly set up on status users. Substitute is more useful against offensive teams due to for its ability to scout for switches, while Heal Bell enables Lopunny it to actually switch into status users and also support its teammates. Encore and Power-up Punch is also a good combination option, enabling Lopunny to set up on Pokemon that are locked into their recovery move. Quick Attack can be a decent option to chip away at faster attackers and Choice Scarf users choice scarfers. Drain Punch can be used instead of High Jump Kick, and it can serve as an accurate Fighting-type STAB move that Lopunny you can use without fear against Protect users; [semi > comma] it and also gives Lopunny more longevity. However, the power of High Jump Kick is sorely missed and prevents Lopunny from breaking through a large number of Pokemon. Facade enables Lopunny to take advantage of status; [semi > comma] however, [ac] it should not be used over Return because since a powerful Normal-type STAB move is important to have. Low Kick can be used over High Jump Kick as an accurate STAB move that reliably which still hits Hetran and Ferrothorn reliably and without fearing Protect. However, it is noticeably weaker than High Jump Kick against the likes of Jirachi and Rotom. The combination of Power-Up Punch and Baton Pass, [rc] or Work Up and Baton Pass, [rc] enables Lopunny to pass boosts to its teammates; [semi > comma] however, [ac] its frailness prevents it from doing this reliably. Combining Endeavor can to bring Lopunny down to 1 HP and Flail gives Lopunny a lot of firepower, but this combination is very unreliable and Lopunny will be KOed by any residual damage afterwards. A moveset consisting of Fake Out, High Jump Kick, and Last Resort can be used, but loses out on a lot of potential utility, prevents Lopunny from using its normal STAB before its other two moves have been used, and forces it to use Fake Out as soon as it is sent out, which makes it very exploitable. Thunder Wave is somewhat usable, but most of Lopunny's checks are defensive, as many of them are bulky Ground-types being bulky grounds, so this is generally a poor option.
Checks & Counters
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**Physical walls**: Hippowdon, Skarmory, Chesnaught, Venusaur, Amoonguss, [ac] and other physically bulky Pokemon have little trouble taking it out in most cases. However, they can struggle against sets that which carry Encore, [rc] and can be overwhelmed by Power-Up Punch. Physically defensive Gliscor and Landorus-T can also deal with it, [ac] but both fear Ice Punch. Notably, Cofagrigus can easily take an initial hit, remove its Lopunny's ability thanks to Mummy, and completely wall it thereafter.
**Fairy-types**: Physically defensive Fairy-types, such as Clefable and Mega Altaria, have little to no trouble handling Lopunny, as since they resist High Jump Kick and can take a Return quite well. Clefable in particular can run Unaware to ignore PuP's attack increases, [rc] Power-Up Punch's Attack boosts or it can run Magic Guard to ignore entry hazards which the Lopunny team may employ.
**Bulky Psychic-types**: Physically defensive Psychic-types, [rc] much like Fairy types, [rc] can take any of Lopunny's STAB moves as long as they have a decent amount of physical defense investment. Celebi is a very good answer to Lopunny, though it can be taken advantage of thanks to the combination of Encore and Pursuit Bisharp. Slowbro and Mega Slowbro take it s hits very easily, can deal a lot of damage to it with Psyshock, [ac] and don't even fear Encore sets much because of Regenerator. Physically defensive Cresselia completely walls Lopunny can hit it back quite hard with Psychic.
**Choice Scarfers and faster attackers**: Choice Scarf users such as like Landorus-T, Keldeo, Latios, [ac] and Garchomp as well as faster Pokemon such as Mega-[remove hyphen] Aerodactyl, Mega-[remove hyphen] Alakazam, and Mega-[remove hyphen] Sceptile can outspeed it and take it out without too much difficulty too. However, all of these get worn down considerably by Fake Out and cannot always reliably switch in.
**Priority users**: Talonflame, Mega-[remove hyphen] Pinsir, Breloom, and other priority users can outspeed it and KO it before it gets to attack; [semi > comma] however, much like faster Pokemon, they can't always switch in very well.
**Residual Damage**: Lopunny can quite easily be forced to take residual damage to the point where it is taken out. Iron Barbs, Rough Skin, [ac] and/or Rocky Helmet users such as like Garchomp and Ferrothorn can take advantage of the abuse of Fake Out abuse, though the latter much switch out immediately afterwards for fear of High Jump Kick. They can also use Protect to force Lopunny to take recoil damage if it uses High Jump Kick Forcing HJK recoil on it via Protect is also an option, but this can backfire very badly if Lopunny runs Substitute, so it should only be used as a last-ditch effort of if you know Lopunny doesn't carry it. Sand damage and Spikes can also chip away at Lopunny's health to some extent.
