Taken over from Treecko. Approved by Goddess Briyella
Overview
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This small little rabbit may seem superficially harmless, but beyond its adorable exterior lies one of the strongest Pokemon in Little Cup. With its hidden ability Huge Power, Bunnelby hits a whopping 28 Attack with an Adamant nature and can take out most of the sturdiest walls in the tier in just one or two hits. Normal STAB, which grants it fantastic neutral coverage in one move alone, STAB priority, and access to U-turn all separate Bunnelby from other powerful physical attackers. Its Speed is also usable, though it isn't quite enough to outpace many top metagame threats. With little to touch Misdreavus and most other Ghost-types in addition to its terrible bulk, Bunnelby can sometimes struggle to keep up against opposing offensive teams, but it is a formidable Pokemon in Little Cup nonetheless.
Choice Scarf
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name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Return
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Quick Attack / Thief
ability: Huge Power
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 228 Atk / 52 Def / 220 Spe
nature: Adamant / Jolly
Moves
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U-turn is the best part of the set, allowing Bunnelby to scout the opposing team and wear down its checks and counters. Return is the next best part because it's super strong and is backed by STAB. Earthquake covers Steel- and Rock-types. Quick Attack lets you pick off faster enemies at low health, including Chlorophyll sweepers in the sun and Speed Boost Carvanha. Thief covers Misdreavus, Gastly, and Drifloon, and it can allow Bunnelby to steal an opponent's item after taking a weaker Knock Off.
Set Details
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The given EVs maximize Bunnelby's sweeping capabilities, with the remainder put in Defense to better take priority attacks. A Choice Scarf is used to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame. An Adamant nature is enough to achieve this, but Jolly can be used to outspeed +1 Jolly Scraggy and +2 Adamant Tirtouga as well.
Usage Tips
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Bunnelby can function as a speedy scout, a revenge killer, and a late-game cleaner all in one. You can honestly use it for any or all of the above roles in any given game, so how you play it will depend a lot on the rest of your team and the opponent's team. It makes for a nice lead because of its fast U-turn, but this also causes you to give away your set most of the time.
Team Options
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Bunnelby fits on all kinds of teams because of how many roles it can perform. Because it can't clean with Misdreavus around and it can't revenge Misdreavus, having an answer for it such as Houndour or Carvanha is really important. Bunnelby also appreciates a check to Fighting-types, like Fletchling. Having more wallbreakers on your team will help Bunnelby sweep.
Life Orb
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name: Life Orb
move 1: Return
move 2: Quick Attack
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Earthquake / Thief
ability: Huge Power
item: Life Orb
evs: 228 Atk / 52 Def / 220 Spe
ivs: 23 HP
nature: Jolly / Adamant
Moves
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Return is Bunnelby's best STAB move, which hits most of the tier for neutral damage on its own. Quick Attack is what makes Bunnelby such a scary Pokemon; when it can't outspeed the opposing Pokemon, it can get off either massive damage against it or simply kill it KO. For example, even a Jolly Quick Attack is powerful enough to OHKO standard Carvanha. Thanks to U-turn, Bunnelby can come in against slower Pokemon it can force out and get huge damage off on incoming switches without being hurt in the process. Earthquake provides coverage against Steel-types, including Magnemite, Ferroseed, and Pawniard. It also hits Rock- and Ghost-type Pokemon, though the most notable Pokemon of these types, Archen and Misdreavus, respectively, are not affected by it. That said, Thief can be used instead in order to get a guaranteed OHKO against Misdreavus without Eviolite and 2HKO those with it, but because it outspeeds Bunnelby, it's difficult to hurt it without being KOed or burned in the process.
Set Details
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The EVs on Bunnelby are standard for offensive Pokemon, with an extra point thrown into Defense. 23 HP IVs bring Bunnelby down to 19 HP so that it only loses one point of HP from Life Orb recoil. Life Orb is used for additional power to help it get specific KOs, such as the OHKO against Carvanha with Quick Attack. A Jolly nature is preferred so that Bunnelby can outspeed Berry Juice Magnemite and Defensive Chinchou. On the other hand, an Adamant nature is still a solid alternative for raw power.
Usage Tips
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As Bunnelby is first and foremost a wallbreaker, you want to bring it in as much as you can against defensive teams and start attacking. Basically just bring Bunnelby in on anything that will allow a free switch (slow Volt Switch/U-turn, on the revenge, against Honedge when it's obvious that they won't use Secret Sword, etc) and start smacking around the opponent's team. Early game, you're best off going for U-turn most of the time unless the opponent has no counters.
Team Options
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Life Orb Bunnelby goes deliciously well with Sticky Web, as it is super strong but a bit lacking in Speed, so Surskit and Spinarak are ideal partners. Bulky pivots are nice because faster offensive threats are going to come in to revenge kill Bunnelby a lot, meaning that Chinchou and Mienfoo are really nice partners. Other U-turn and Volt Switch users are also nice to keep up offensive momentum and help wear down Bunnelby's checks; Magnemite and the aforementioned Chinchou and Mienfoo are cool for this. Because Misdreavus is a severe threat to Bunnelby, Houndour can be used to Pursuit-trap it and Pawniard can also beat it (and even Pursuit it as well), you're usually best off by just wearing it down throughout the match.
Other Options
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Wild Charge, Bounce, Brick Break, and Stone Edge are options on either set but generally aren't worth it due to inferior coverage. Bulk Up can be used, but Bunnelby usually prefers to hit hard off the bat. Bunnelby can also run an Agility set, but Quick Attack takes care of its Speed problems. Spikes is an option for having a lasting means of punishing switches that can be used before Bunnelby goes down.
Checks & Counters
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**Ghost-types**: Misdreavus is a strong check, and can 2HKO Bunnelby with Dazzling Gleam. Choice Scarf Gastly outspeeds and OHKOes Bunnelby with Sludge Bomb, making it a huge threat.
**Flying-types**: Fletchling with priority Acrobatics can OHKO Bunnelby if it has already have taken some damage. Archen completely walls Bunnelby and can OHKO it with Head Smash or a 110 Base Power Acrobatics if it runs Berry Juice.
**Fighting-types**: Timburr can switch in on Bunnelby and hit it with Mach Punch. Croagunk can revenge it with Vacuum Wave.
**Steel-types**: Pawniard fears Earthquake, but it can KO Bunnelby with Sucker Punch after a tiny bit of prior damage. Ferroseed can punish it for spamming U-turn thanks to Iron Barbs.
**Sturdy**: SturdyJuice users are a big threat if Stealth Rock isn't up or Berry Juice has already activated, and can easily set up on Bunnelby.
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