Overview
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name: Switcheroo Support
move 1: Switcheroo
move 2: Fake Out / Return
move 3: Heal Bell
move 4: Healing Wish
ability: Klutz
item: Flame Orb / Choice Band / Assault Vest
evs: 236 HP / 4 Def / 236 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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name: Choice Band
move 1: Return
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Drain Punch / Jump Kick
move 4: Switcheroo
ability: Limber
item: Choice Band
evs: 228 Atk / 4 Def / 236 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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- It's soooooooooooooo cute ^_^
Talk shit about Bunnelby and how Buneary is obviously superior
- Hits 19 Speed and has an enormous supportive/disruptive movepool
- Has less than desirable bulk but only one weakness
- The new item Assault Vest provides a permanent Taunt effect and completely screws opposing walls and supporters by trading items with them (via Switcheroo)
- Has a very colorful movepool and decent offensive power to make some use of the more physical ones, though its non-attacking options are the main reason to use it
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name: Switcheroo Support
move 1: Switcheroo
move 2: Fake Out / Return
move 3: Heal Bell
move 4: Healing Wish
ability: Klutz
item: Flame Orb / Choice Band / Assault Vest
evs: 236 HP / 4 Def / 236 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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- STAB Fake Out is a first-turn move which provides free damage and also allows you to get an idea of what item the foe has or doesn't have, so that you can know what to expect to receive upon using Switcheroo depending on the Pokemon
- Return is a reliable STAB attack that is decently powerful and can be used with Buneary's 19 Speed to make it not a sitting duck under pressure
- Switcheroo is there to give the foe a crippling item while also depriving them of their preferred item, which many mons are significantly less effective without
- Heal Bell can be used mid-game or late-game to rid Buneary's team of all status, and can often save games and assure victories
- Healing Wish's purpose contributes to similar ends, but allows any non-fainted teammate to come in and be completely restored of health and status; this can often make impossible comebacks possible and eliminates the drag of having an important mon degraded to death fodder upon taking a hard hit, being statused, or both; also this move has very limited distribution and Buneary is the fastest user of it in the tier
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- Jolly nature and the given EVs allow Buneary to reach the important 19 Speed tier
- The remaining EVs in HP and Defense give Buneary the highest possible bulk while still maintaining that Speed
- 44 is a magic Base Stat number in LC that requires only 4 EVs to raise a stat by a point if the nature is neutral, as you see with Defense in this case
- The given spread allows Buneary to hit 25 HP, a number that minimizes Stealth Rock damage if it has to take it, being one point above a number divisible by 8
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- You cannot play recklessly with Buneary... careless mispredicts and thoughtless planning will ruin the jewel that it really is with its unique capabilities
- Fake Out really helps with deciding when to go for Switcheroo, as you can gauge the damage to tell if it's Eviolite or not
- Return can be used to clean late-game if necessary and usually should not be used too early on in a match unless it will secure a KO
- Klutz ability allows Buneary to hide its item because none of the usual effects will activate, letting Buneary use Switcheroo to cripple a foe out of the blue at an opportune moment; it has items that can disrupt one of three kinds of Pokemon, broken down in detail below:
- If you're using Flame Orb, you can cripple just about every physical mon in the game while also taking away their preferred item; this is especially effective in the long run because it doesn't miss like Will-O-Wisp and Heal Bell/Aromatherapy will not cure it since it activates at the end of every turn as long as the enemy holds it
- If you're using Choice Band, you can cripple just about every special mon in the game while also taking away their preferred item; this is especially effective against special attackers that rely on setup to sweep, as they will either be locked into a setup move and forced to switch out or at least unable to sweep or even attack effectively for the rest of the game
- If you're using Assault Vest, you can totally ruin any support mon by applying a permanent Taunt effect that they become stuck with for the rest of the match; this is especially good against Spritzee, who is immune to Taunt and usually has nothing to fear as far as being prevented from setting up, using Aromatherapy, or passing Wish to support its teammates; other important Taunters you can shut down with this include Misdreavus and Gligar, which both hit 19 Speed, though it does make them harder to take down with special attacks
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- Anything that can shrug off Mach Punch and Vacuum Wave makes an excellent teammate, which includes Croagunk, Slowpoke, Honedge, and Misdreavus
- Pokemon that hate being limited by status problems are more than happy to have Buneary as a teammate to help keep them in good shape if needed
- Anything that can get Buneary in safely via U-turn or Volt Switch while forcing switches will allow Buneary the opportunities it needs to scout the opponent's team and find the right time to use Switcheroo; mons that come to mind for this include Mienfoo, Yanma, Elekid, Chinchou, and Magnemite
- Things that can deal with Taunt users (Cottonee, Gligar, Misdreavus) make good teammates for Buneary and keep it able to do its job(s)
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name: Choice Band
move 1: Return
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Drain Punch / Jump Kick
move 4: Switcheroo
ability: Limber
item: Choice Band
evs: 228 Atk / 4 Def / 236 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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- Return is the obligatory STAB attack and hits very hard with Choice Band
- Ice Punch is mainly for Gligar and provides amazing coverage apart from that
- Drain Punch gives a powerful option with which to hit the Rock- and Steel-types that wall Buneary's STAB, and it is also a safe move to get a bit of health back if you lost some to priority or other damage
- Jump Kick is notably stronger than Drain Punch and secures KOs in tandem with Choice Band from higher HP ranges than Drain Punch, but doesn't heal Buneary and has a nasty side effect if the foe Protects itself, a Ghost is switched in, or if you're unlucky enough to have that 1/20 miss chance
- A +1 boost to all physical attacks is great but what makes Choice Band viable on Buneary is the means to either attack with it or use Switcheroo to cripple a troublesome foe by giving it to them and limiting their move options
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- Buneary's attacks in this set are quite painful, as the given EVs allow it to reach a whopping 24 Attack stat while still being a fast threat with 19 Speed
- Limber nullifies the enemy's attempts to ruin Buneary's Speed by paralyzing it, and is also the best option over Klutz for this set since Choice Band's 1.5x boost will not apply with that ability
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- This set reaches its peak offensive potential mid-game or late-game after foes are softened up a bit, so all-out attacking early in the game is a bad idea since Buneary's bulk leaves much to be desired
- Many players will assume you're running Klutz, so you can play mind games by making them think you're running the Switcheroo Support set or something not offensive (as, for example, they will be scared to have Flame Orb given to their Gligar or Assault Vest given to their Cottonee, who will misplay by going for Taunt and having to take a Return or Ice Punch); this can be used to bluff your opponent and cause them to misplay... nobody expects this set and it often confuses players at first
- Run Jump Kick over Drain Punch if you hate Tyrunt and/or you want a notably more potent Fighting-type attack (just remember the drawbacks and to use it with care)
- Switcheroo should be treated as an opportunistic option and is to be reserved for a carefully thought out play; only use it when you are sure it's the right moment to... because Buneary won't get the Choice Band back and its offensive presence becomes painfully mediocre afterward; it can also be used to repeatedly steal Berry Juices to heal itself while preventing it from healing the original holder, and with 19 Speed this is easier to pull off than many players might think and is actually pretty mean lol
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- A strong Dark-type like Pawniard, Carvanha, Stunky, or Houndour helps out with the Ghosts that wall this set and make Buneary's attacks a lot more spammable after the Ghost-types are removed (especially Jump Kick)
- Anything that can deal with the mons in LC that reach 20 Speed (Yanma, Elekid, Diglett, Voltorb) makes an excellent teammate for Buneary, so that it won't be outsped and knocked out during late-game sweeping
- Anything that can comfortably take Mach Punch and Vacuum Wave, for the reasons in the previous set
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- Healing Wish is really Buneary's standout niche, and can be used on the Choice Band set over Drain Punch for late-game comebacks, though this does limit the coverage Buneary can use with Choice Band
- Buneary has access to Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Iron Tail, Power-Up Punch, Sky Uppercut, and even the rare Circle Throw, but the offensive options listed in the Choice Band set are generally much more viable options in just about every case (Thunder Punch hits Slowpoke hard but STAB Return outdamages it so there's no use to run it)
- Hyper Voice, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, and Shadow Ball are special options that can be used with a Choice Specs Switcheroo set similarly to the way the Choice Band set works; however, Buneary's special offense is pitiful and thus usually not a good idea
- Fling can be used with Klutz and a heavy item to get a high-powered attack against the Ghost-types that Buneary has trouble with, and this is honestly the best hit it will get against them; while this is a strong and unique coverage in that regard, Switcheroo is generally better anyway due to how badly it can permanently cripple enemies while stealing their beneficial items in the process
- Buneary gets Thunder Wave and Magic Coat, which could be used to slow down threats and deflect Taunt or other disruptive moves that might be aimed at Buneary to screw it up, respectively
- Focus Sash can be used with Endeavor and Quick Attack, making Buneary an effective user of the FEAR tactic, although its other options are more viable; Buneary also has the high Speed to use Flail after hitting its Sash (and it gets STAB from it!), making it very deadly providing there are no Rock-, Steel-, or Ghost-types left on the opponent's team, as well as priority users, Scarfers, or mons that hit 20 Speed, conditions that cannot always be satisfied to make the strategy worth using
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- Special Croagunk with Vacuum Wave and Timburr can override Buneary's impressive 19 Speed with their STAB priority attacks and often either kill Buneary off or put it in a bad position
- Fighting-types like Mienfoo, Riolu, and Meditite give any Buneary a rough time in most cases
- Ghost-types generally can bully Buneary to hell and some Misdreavus sets actually make use of Trick, so Switcheroo won't always be a good option against it in particular in a last-ditch attempt to disrupt an annoying foe before going down, Misdreavus also speed ties with Buneary anyway; other Ghost-types like Frillish and Honedge can come in with little to fear and don't mind being made to hold Assault Vest
- Taunt users can put any support set Buneary runs out of commission
- Physically defensive Slowpoke walls the Choice Band set but might not like being forced to hold a Choice Band
- Anything with Choice Scarf and Knock Off can pretty much ruin the Choice Band set and then it will only be good for finishing off significantly weakened foes and attempting to steal items (if it manages to survive)
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