Overview
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Furfrou is outclassed by other Normal-types such as Purugly and pivots such as Tangela, though it has a niche in its high Speed and Fur Coat, which allow it to outspeed common threats such as Ninetales and Simipour and make up for its bad Defense, letting it tank physical hits relatively well. Furfrou can work on balanced and bulky offensive teams, thanks to its mix of stats and variety of utility options, as its coverage is poor. Access to U-turn to gain momentum and Thunder Wave makes Furfrou provide some utility and fit well on VoltTurn teams as a pivot, baiting Pokemon such as Misdreavus, Poliwrath, and Pelipper; in fact, Furfrou focuses on keeping momentum and crippling the opponent's team with status moves such as Thunder Wave, opening holes and setup opportunities for teammates. As its Attack isn't that high, Furfrou is walled by common physical walls such as Pelipper and Carracosta and unable to run purely offensive sets. Its typing also isn't great, as it leaves Furfrou with no resistances and a Ghost immunity, which isn't that useful because most Ghost-types, such as Misdreavus, can deal with Furfrou well. The lack of reliable recovery also makes Furfrou easily worn down, especially if entry hazards are up, because it's used as a pivot and is often brought in to tank physical hits.
Offensive Pivot
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name: Offensive Pivot
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Thunder Wave
move 3: Return
move 4: Sucker Punch
ability: Fur Coat
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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U-turn gains momentum and free turns for teammates, bringing them safely into the field, and makes a Furfrou a decent offensive pivot. Thunder Wave provides utility to the team, slowing down foes and supporting slow teammates, especially setup sweepers and cleaners. Return is Furfrou's main STAB move and best attacking tool against foes. Sucker Punch is a prediction-reliant priority attack, but it makes Furfrou harder to deal with for Pokemon such as Kadabra, which are faster but frail, and Electric-types such as Zebstrika and Raichu, which are immune to Thunder Wave. Sucker Punch can also allow Furfrou to pull off some more damage against a faster Pokemon if it can't afford to U-turn and is going to get sacrificed. Toxic can be used over Thunder Wave as an alternative way to cripple foes, as it puts a timer on troublesome setup sweepers and walls that find themselves switching in against Furfrou, such as Gourgeist and Tangela.
Set Details
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Maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature allows Furfrou to spread Thunder Wave as fast as possible and outspeed common threats such as Simipour, Ninetales, and Leafeon. Maximum Attack investment is used to hit as hard as possible with Return and Sucker Punch, making Furfrou a bit more threatening as an attacker. Furfrou can run a more defensive spread to let it tank moves easily by moving Attack investment to HP. Leftovers makes up a bit for the lack of recovery and helps Furfrou with residual damage. Fur Coat is the signature ability of Furfrou, letting it tank physical attacks with ease, therefore helping its terrible Defense stat and making it a viable pivot.
Usage Tips
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Furfrou works best on offensive teams, as its teammates can make up for its mediocre offensive presence and appreciate Furfrou's pivoting to create free switches. It can also fit on balanced teams, but they generally prefer bulkier walls and tanks, so it has to fight for a spot. Furfrou should be used as a pivot, checking physical attackers and crippling foes with Thunder Wave or U-turning out to a more favorable matchup, but it has to still be wary for residual damage and strong attackers, as it lacks recovery. U-turn works best if the opponent is going to switch, as otherwise the Pokemon that is brought in will have to take an attack because of Furfrou's high Speed. In these situations it is preferred to let a bulkier Pokemon tank the upcoming hit. U-turn should be used when Furfrou happens to be slower than the opponent's Pokemon, as otherwise Furfrou should use one of its other attacks to keep its teammates from taking unnecessary damage. U-turn also has to be used early-game to gain momentum after baiting in common Pokemon such as Poliwrath, Misdreavus, and Pelipper and to create free turns for teammates. Furfrou should pivot into physical attacks that teammates can't take. Return is the preferred move to spam against foes to wear them down, as Sucker Punch is weak and risky and should be used only to get out of sticky situations. Furfrou, thanks to its high Speed, alright Attack, and access to priority, can be brought in to revenge kill an opposing threatening Pokemon.
Team Options
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Thanks to its high Speed, good defenses, and access to U-turn, Furfrou can create VoltTurn cores with Pokemon such as Raichu and Pelipper. Pelipper also provides entry hazard removal support, which is appreciated by offensive teams in general. Entry hazard setters such as Piloswine and Roselia are good in tandem with Furfrou, as entry hazard support is useful to weaken Furfrou's checks and counters and pressure the opponent's Pokemon, especially if running a VoltTurn core. Because of Furfrou's lack of recovery, Defog and Rapid users such as Pelipper and Armaldo are appreciated, though a Rapid Spin user is preferred to not remove Furfrou's own entry hazards. Furfrou appreciates Pokemon such as Poliwrath, Machoke, and Torterra as teammates, as they can make up for its lack of offensive coverage and therefore deal with both Steel- and Rock-types, which resist and easily tank Furfrou's main STAB move, Return. Pursuit trappers such as Pawniard can be brought in by U-turn after Furfrou has baited in Ghost-types, and can KO or trap them. Strong setup sweepers, such as Carracosta, Poliwrath, and Ninetales, appreciate pivot support from Furfrou to receive a free turn to set up. Furfrou's damage output isn't that high, so wallbreakers such as Simipour and Heatmor help deal with bulky Pokemon. Pokemon such as Marowak, Aurorus, and Flareon appreciate Thunder Wave support from Furfrou to slow down foes, easing their job as wallbreakers or sweepers.
Other Options
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Wild Charge is an option to trouble common physical walls such as Pelipper, hit Ghost-types such as Haunter, and hit harder common Water-types such as Simipour and Poliwrath. Iron Tail can see usage to effectively hit Rock-types such as Armaldo and Golem, which commonly find themselves switching in against Furfrou, though it still doesn't deal a great amount of damage. Grass Knot is a decent choice as it deals a good amount of damage to Pokemon that usually find themselves switching in on Furfrou, especially Rock- and Ground-types such as Golem and Hippopotas, but it is extremely situational. Rest and Sleep Talk can be a good option to have at least some recovery, even if not reliable, which can help Furfrou if it has to constantly switch in on foes and tank lot of hits. A full utility set can be used, running a more defensive spread and Cotton Guard, Toxic, Roar, and Return, though it is Taunt bait, very passive and therefore takes too long to have an impact on a game, unable to touch Haunter, and outclassed by other defensive Pokemon such as Tangela and Probopass.
Checks & Counters
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**Rock-types**: Rock-types such as Armaldo, Carracosta, and Barbaracle take next to no damage from Return and Sucker Punch and can Toxic Furfrou, set up entry hazards, or directly go for a boosting move, though they don't appreciate getting paralyzed or getting caught off-guard by U-turn.
**Steel-types**: Steel-types such as Pawniard, Klang, and Probopass can tank Return and Sucker Punch all day long and are able to use Furfrou as a setup fodder, set up Stealth Rock, or cripple it with Thunder Wave, Toxic, and Knock Off, but with some predictions they can get caught off-guard by U-turn or Thunder Wave.
**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types such as Misdreavus, Drifblim, and Haunter are immune to Return, Furfrou's main attacking tool, and can cripple it with Will-O-Wisp or set up on it, forcing Furfrou to switch most of the time and causing trouble to the team in general. However, they don't appreciate getting hit by Sucker Punch, which deals a decent amount of damage, and U-turn, which can bring in Pursuit trappers such as Pawniard.
**Bulky Pokemon**: Bulky Pokemon such as Poliwrath and Pelipper can wall Furfrou thanks to their good Defense and can answer back by crippling it with Scald or status moves or directly retaliate with moves such as Focus Blast and Hurricane.
**Special Attackers**: Special attackers such as Poliwrath and Ninetales can tank at least one hit from Furfrou, and they can threaten it thanks to its weaker Special Defense. Most special attackers hate being hit by Thunder Wave, but Pokemon such as Raichu are immune to it and usually carry super effective coverage to KO Furfrou with ease.
**Residual Damage**: Residual damage from entry hazards or status can severely cut Furfrou's HP, weakening it and making it setup fodder for threats such as Pawniard and Misdreavus.
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