Buneary
(Taking this over for macle; he had everything written up, I'm just getting this past GP)
macle said:
|QC Approved: [macle][Elevator Music]|
|GP Checks: [Oglemi][Fatecrashers]|
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[Overview]
<p>Buneary is a cute little Pokemon whose ability, Klutz, makes it difficult to play against. With access to moves like Switcheroo, Fake Out, Baton Pass, and Encore, Buneary can run a multitude of sets that can cripple leads, sweepers, walls, or set your own sweeper up with ease. Buneary is not without faults, however; with no effective way to hit Ghost-types for super effective damage, Buneary must rely on Encore to counter stat-up moves or simply Baton Pass out. In the end, Buneary can run a vast variety of sets, ranging from Baton Passer to Fake Out lead, and can easily find its way onto any type of team.</p>
[SET]
mame: Fake Out Lead
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Quick Attack
move 3: Ice Punch / Fire Punch
move 4: Encore / Endeavor / Protect
item: Focus Sash / Life Orb
ability: Run Away
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 228 Atk / 4 Def / 236 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Lead Buneary has both advantages and disadvantages when compared to other common Fake Out leads such as Aipom and Meowth. The biggest advantages are its access to Quick Attack and Endeavor. Disadvantages include lack of the ability Technician, which boosts moves with 60 or less Base Power, as well as it lacking a move that hits Ghost-type switch-ins for super effective damage. However, Buneary does have access to a few moves that neither Aipom nor Meowth have. With Endeavor, Quick Attack, and a Focus Sash, Buneary has the potential to KO one Pokemon and leave another at 1 HP, which is never a bad thing. Fake Out is the obvious first choice for this set, giving Buneary the essential first turn flinch while breaking the opponent's Focus Sash. Ice Punch hits lead Diglett and Gligar harder than Quick Attack can, scoring a nice KO after Fake Out breaks their Focus Sash, but its main purpose is to hit Ghost-types who are immune to Fake Out and Quick Attack. Fire Punch is a viable option to hit Steel-types who take minimal damage from STAB Normal-type attacks, but when dealing with the common leads, Ice Punch is the superior option. Protect can be used when running an Adamant nature so that you can avoid Fake Outs from the likes of Jolly Aipom, Glameow, and Meowth, then follow up with a 2HKO with Quick Attack. Encore is also a notable choice in the last slot because Buneary can use it to force foes into repeatedly using Protect or Stealth Rock, giving a team member a chance to set up.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>Because Buneary is unable to set up Stealth Rock, one of its teammates should be designated to set it up. Pokemon such as Omanyte and Anorith can both set up Stealth Rock, but they share a Fighting weakness with Buneary, so Gligar or Sandshrew would be better options. Another good partner for lead Buneary is one who can use a priority move to defeat any Pokemon who is left with 1 HP from Endeavor. A notable example is Shuppet, who can switch into Fighting-type attacks with impunity.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice
move 1: Quick Attack / Return
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: ThunderPunch
move 4: Switcheroo / Fire Punch / Return
item: Choice Band / Choice Scarf
ability: Run Away
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 228 Atk / 4 Def / 236 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Slapping a Choice item on Buneary magnifies what it does best, either outrun the majority of the metagame or hit hard with great coverage. STAB priority is a blessing in the offensive Little Cup metagame, as it allows you to bypass Speed stats and strike your opponent first more often than not. With a decent 24 Attack stat when holding a Choice Band, Buneary can wreak havoc on any Pokemon who doesn't resist Normal-type attacks. Return can be used as the main form of STAB, but is not recommended, as Ghost-types in Little Cup are very common. Ice Punch and ThunderPunch combine to make the dreaded BoltBeam combo, hitting every Pokemon in Little Cup for at least neutral damage, except for Magnemite and Chinchou, and the latter of the two is hit neutrally by Normal-type attacks. In the last slot, you can choose to use Switcheroo, which will allow Buneary to swap items with your opponent, potentially giving their special set-up sweeper a worthless, yet crippling, Choice Band; however, using Switcheroo is not a good option when Buneary has a Choice Scarf, as nearly every Pokemon in Little Cup will benefit from the Speed boost. Fire Punch is a notable option, scoring a super effective hit on Magnemite, the only Pokemon who resists the previous three attacks, whereas Return can also be used here as a solid STAB option when power is needed instead of priority.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>There are specific pairings that one should take note of, mainly between items and natures. When using a Choice Band, Jolly nature should be used to reach 19 Speed, which puts Buneary into the second highest non-boosted Speed tier, only behind Diglett, Elekid, and Voltorb. When using a Choice Scarf, either nature is acceptable, but because Jolly is only useful in catching other 19 Speed Choice Scarf users, Adamant is preferred as it boosts Buneary's mediocre Attack stat.</p>
<p>If there's one thing Buneary hates, it's an Elekid using Quick Attack or a Magby using Mach Punch while it is locked in on a non-priority move. As Buneary doesn't have the best defenses, it is best to pair it up with a Ghost-type, such as Gastly or Drifloon, who can come in on these attacks with immunity and set up for a sweep. Another thing that a Buneary with a Choice item hates is when a Ghost-type comes in on Quick Attack or Return. A great partner would be one who can take care of Ghosts, especially STAB Pursuit users, such as Houndour and Stunky.</p>
[SET]
name: Agilipass
move 1: Agility
move 2: Baton Pass
move 3: Substitute / Endure
move 4: Quick Attack / Encore
item: Liechi Berry / Salac Berry
ability: Run Away
nature: Jolly
evs: 156 HP / 68 Atk / 4 Def / 236 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The goal of this set is to pass Speed boosts to a slower sweeper. The best way to do this is by using Substitute until Liechi Berry activates, while using Agility whenever the foe fails to break your Substitute. The HP EVs put Buneary right at 24 HP, meaning that the Berry will activate after three uses of Substitute. After all this has been accomplished, Baton Pass the boosts to a Pokemon waiting in the wings. Endure can be used instead of Substitute if you want to get to the Berry boost immediately, but isn't recommended, as the chance to pass a Substitute is too good to miss out on. In the last slot, Quick Attack is a good choice so that Buneary isn't completely shut down by a Taunter, while Encore can be used to force a foe to switch or repeat a worthless attack, giving Buneary at least one free turn to set up. If you find yourself not being able to use Agility enough, you can swap the Liechi Berry for a Salac Berry, which means you will always be able to pass at least +1 Speed.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>There are several slow Pokemon in Little Cup who would enjoy being passed +2 Speed and +1 Attack; the best of these include Cranidos, Cubone, and Trapinch. Bagon also enjoys being passed some Speed, and can tear opponents apart with STAB Outrage. Munchlax is already a dominant force in the metagame, and with a few Speed boosts, it becomes even more threatening. However, because Munchlax needs at least +3 Speed before it becomes 'fast' by Little Cup standards, as well as the fact that it won't be able to come in on the Fighting-type attacks that plague Buneary, it is a rather poor choice.</p>
[SET]
name: Switcheroo
move 1: Switcheroo
move 2: Quick Attack / Return
move 3: Thunder Wave
move 4: Encore
item: Choice Band / Choice Specs
ability: Klutz
nature: Jolly
evs: 236 HP / 4 Def / 236 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is Buneary's best attempt at supporting its team outside of Baton Pass, but it's still a viable strategy. Thanks to Buneary's unique ability, Klutz, it is not affected by items. That means that it can, for example, hold a Choice Band and still switch moves while not gaining the Attack boost. This makes it relatively easy to Switcheroo a harmful item onto an opponent. This set has the recurring choice between Quick Attack and Return, and the arguments are the same for both sides. The priority that Quick Attack offers is valuable, but Return's Base Power is more than 2.5x that of Quick Attack, which can be very beneficial. Your opponent will likely switch after they have been crippled with a Choice item, which Buneary can use to its advantage by spreading paralysis around their team with Thunder Wave. Using Encore on a worthless move will allow other teammates to come in and set up.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>The choice of item on this set is up to personal preference, and it should also affect move selection. As mentioned above, Choice Band or Choice Specs can be paired with Thunder Wave to ruin a sweeper. Other notable item options include Lagging Tail and Flame Orb. Lagging Tail is useful to give to the opponent because the Pokemon holding it will always move last, unless it is using a priority move. This gives slower, bulkier Pokemon a chance to come in and set up an Agility or Rock Polish. Giving the foe a Flame Orb makes an opposing physically-based sweeper worthless, turning it into set-up fodder.</p>
<p>Set-up sweepers will be given numerous opportunities to do so when this set is used correctly. Great partners would be Dragon Dance Bagon and Dratini, Rock Polish Cranidos and Gligar, or Swords Dance Cubone and Gligar. All of these can come in on a crippled foe and get off a boost that could ensure a sweep.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Although each set has specific Pokemon that function well with it, any Buneary set should be paired up with a Ghost-type to handle Fighting-type attacks. In return, Buneary can switch in on Ghost-type attacks with impunity. Drifloon and Gastly make great offensive partners, and Duskull enjoys forcing switches on the defensive end. Buneary is rather frail, and therefore KOed easily, which makes having a designated revenge killer very appealing. Diglett does a great job at trapping foes and then KOing them due to its ability, Arena Trap, and its blistering Speed.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Buneary has a wide movepool, but almost everything it can do is already listed. Buneary has access to Jump Kick, which can be used over Fire Punch in a Choice set; while Fire Punch has better accuracy, Jump Kick deals more damage to Aron and Shieldon while still hitting Magnemite for super effective damage. Buneary also has Focus Punch, so a SubPunch set could work, but with Buneary's average Attack stat it won't do a whole lot. As for support, Buneary has Rain Dance, Toxic, Sunny Day, and Fake Tears, however it is not bulky enough to use any of these really effectively and so these roles are better left to other Pokemon. Most of the time Buneary should be running max Attack and Speed (228 Atk / 236 Spe) in its sets, while putting four EVs in Defense to make it a little more bulky. On an Agilipass set Buneary should be running 156 EVs in HP, making its HP stat 24 which will activate Liechi Berry after three Substitutes.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Fighting-type moves are Buneary's downfall. Magby can easily revenge kill Choice variants locked into anything but Quick Attack with Mach Punch, and can even survive a Jolly CB Quick Attack after Stealth Rock and 2HKO back. Machop is fairly bulky and can survive any of Buneary's attacks, even a Jolly CB Return fails to OHKO, provided Machop hasn't taken any previous damage, and it can OHKO back with DynamicPunch. Buneary also hates opposing priority. Sucker Punch coming from a strong Dark-type can cause serious damage, provided the opponent is faster than Buneary. Bulky Pokemon such as Squirtle and Seel can use Aqua Jet to avoid a ThunderPunch and KO Buneary when it is weakened. Last but not least, Ghost-types can cause Buneary some serious problems. Even though a STAB Shadow Ball can't touch Buneary, HP Fighting certainly can, and Buneary doesn't have many options for dealing with opposing Ghosts.</p>
