Butterfree (QC 4/4) (GP 2/2)

WhiteDMist · Oct 26, 2013

I'm taking this over for Detective Dell at his request, so all credit for this is his. Let's get this done finally!

I'm Ranger Dell too

[Overview]

Butterfree's main claim to fame is its access to Quiver Dance, a claim shared by several other Bug-types. However, what sets Butterfree apart from the rest are its access to Sleep Powder and its two abilities: Tinted Lens and Compoundeyes. Tinted Lens allows Butterfree to power up resisted moves on sweeping sets and thus to reduce the need for coverage moves, while Compoundeyes makes Butterfree's support options more accurate. Of course, Sleep Powder is the move which truly makes Butterfree viable, as it prevents most would-be counters from safely switching in and creates valuable setup opportunities that Butterfree would otherwise not have due to its poor bulk. Unfortunately, Butterfree is still plagued by its poor typing and defenses. While Butterfree might be versatile, the prevalence of Stealth Rock significantly cuts down on its longevity and effectiveness in the NU metagame.

[SET]
name: Quiver Dance
move 1: Quiver Dance
move 2: Sleep Powder
move 3: Bug Buzz
move 4: Substitute
item: Leftovers / Bug Gem
ability: Tinted Lens
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

With Quiver Dance, Butterfree functions as a capable setup sweeper, while being able to incapacitate a slew of slower Pokemon with Sleep Powder when necessary. Sleep Powder is one of this set's most important qualities, and is the move that allows this set to function. Butterfree has the ability to force out a myriad of defensive Pokemon, such as Musharna, Tangela, and Alomomola, as well as Choice-locked Fighting and Ground-types, such as Sawk and Golurk, respectively, which allows Butterfree to use Sleep Powder on your opponent's initial switch-in and gain setup opportunities. Alternatively, sometimes it is better to save Sleep Powder for your opponent's main counter to Butterfree and set up to begin with instead. Bug Buzz is the only attacking move that Butterfree needs on this set, as Tinted Lens doubles the power of resisted moves. Substitute allows Butterfree to avoid both status from Pokemon such as Musharna and Mandibuzz and revenge killing from Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Primeape.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Maximum Speed investment with a Timid nature allows Butterfree to outspeed Swellow after a Quiver Dance Boost and tie with positive-natured Ludicolo in the rain after two boosts. However, if outspeeding those threats isn't a big deal, using a Modest nature gives Butterfree more power and still allows it to outspeed maximum Speed Serperior after a boost. Even though it might seem attractive on a Pokemon that can boost its Special Defense, a defensive EV spread is better left to Pokemon with actual defenses. Leftovers is usually the preferred item as it makes up for the HP lost creating Substitutes and switching into Stealth Rock, but if you want a boosting item, then Bug Gem is the best option as it allows Butterfree to gain some important KOs, such as against Charizard after Stealth Rock damage without any boosts. Alternatively, Insect Plate and Life Orb are suitable replacements. Insect Plate gives a consistent 20% boost in power to Bug Buzz without recoil, while Life Orb allows Butterfree to OHKO Pokemon such as Choice Band Sawk and Braviary after a boost and Stealth Rock damage. Roost is a possible choice over Substitute that allows Butterfree to heal off damage taken from Stealth Rock or from weak attacks, such as Giga Drain from Roselia and Foul Play from Mandibuzz.

Stealth Rock support is extremely helpful, as it allows Butterfree to cleanly OHKO Primeape after a Quiver Dance boost with no boosting item, while getting the OHKO on Choice Band Sawk and Braviary with a boost and a Bug Gem. In general, many of Butterfree's checks tend to be weak to Stealth Rock, such as Regice, Charizard, and Rotom-S. Golem is a good partner for Butterfree, as are most Rock- and Ground-types, since it only shares Butterfree's weakness to Ice-type attacks, and it resists every other one of Butterfree's weaknesses; in exchange, Butterfree 4x resists Fighting- and Grass-type moves, and is immune to Ground-type moves. Other good options for the same role include Golurk, Piloswine, and Seismitoad. Probopass is also worth mentioning, as it can trap opposing Steel-types that wall Butterfree, and can gain momentum with a slow Volt Switch. Butterfree also appreciates Rapid Spin support; Wartortle is the best of the bunch in NU, as it resists Ice-type moves and has the combination of Foresight and Rapid Spin to ensure hazards leave your side of the field. Butterfree has trouble breaking through dedicated special walls such as Regice, Audino, and Lickilicky. Choice Band Sawk (and to a lesser extent, Gurdurr and Primeape) is a good partner, as it can KO all of those Pokemon with ease. It also functions as a good anti-lead, as it can OHKO most Stealth Rock setters through Sturdy due to Mold Breaker.

[SET]
name: Dual Powder
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Stun Spore
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Tailwind
item: Focus Sash
ability: Compoundeyes
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Butterfree's plethora of status moves allow it to support its own team, and make it capable of crippling a good portion of the opposing team. Compoundeyes increases the accuracy of its moves, improving the accuracy of Butterfree's status moves to 97.5%. Sleep Powder is the main move, temporarily removing an opposing Pokemon from battle. This allows it to stop most hazard setters, or to neutralize a problematic Pokemon for your team. Stun Spore is an auxiliary move that can allow Butterfree to paralyze a switch-in after Sleep Clause is in effect. It's also a nice alternative for hitting Primeape on the switch, as well as being usable when Sleep Clause is in effect. Stun Spore is also a very effective move to use when you are unwilling to waste Sleep Powder on a Pokemon that doesn't significantly threaten your team. U-turn is an integral move as it helps ease prediction after one of your opponent's Pokemon has been put to sleep by allowing Butterfree to get a teammate in for free regardless of what your opponent does. Tailwind is mostly filler, but doubling your team's Speed can be useful if Butterfree is too low on health to support the team any further.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The EV spread allows Butterfree to outspeed as many Pokemon as possible and inflict status upon them before they can move. A spread with maximum Special Attack and Speed investment with a Timid nature and Bug Buzz instead of Tailwind can be worth considering to prevent Butterfree from being forced out by Sap Sipper Pokemon. This set doesn't mind Stealth Rock on its side nearly as much, as it is meant to simply inflict as much status as possible and then bring in a teammate safely. Thanks to Butterfree's ability to cripple a significant portion of teams, Pokemon that can take advantage of free turns or being able to outspeed more Pokemon, such as various wallbreakers or setup sweepers, are good teammates. Sawk, Fraxure, Carracosta, and Marowak are good examples of such Pokemon. Pokemon that can beat Sap Sipper users are also good teammates, with Gurdurr being a very effective option. Toxic is a viable option to use over Tailwind, as it allows Butterfree to cripple defensive Pokemon that don't particularly mind being paralyzed after Sleep Clause is in effect.

[Other Options]

Rain Dance in conjunction with Damp Rock or Sunny Day in conjunction with Heat Rock are viable combinations that can be used on the support set, as Butterfree is able to set up weather reliably with the help of Sleep Powder, and it can provide a free switch for a weather sweeper by using U-turn. Hidden Power Ground and Hidden Power Rock are possible options, as the former threatens Bastiodon and Probopass, while the latter deals with Charizard. Giga Drain and Psychic are attacking options that can be used on the Quiver Dance set, with the former hitting Ground-, Rock-, and Water-types, and the latter threatening Garbodor and Fighting-types. Neither of these moves provides notable coverage otherwise, however, and Tinted Lens reduces the need for such coverage. Whirlwind might seem enticing in order to shuffle your opponent's team, but Butterfree generally has better things to do and it doesn't help Butterfree in any significant way.

[Checks and Counters]

It is difficult to counter Butterfree as Sleep Powder can cripple practically any counter and turn it into a setup opportunity, while U-turn allows it to escape from any threat. The single most reliable way of crippling it is Stealth Rock, as it drastically detracts from Butterfree's ability to sweep or disrupt its opponents consistently. However, Sleep Powder prevents many common Stealth Rock users from setting it up. As for countering Butterfree directly, Sleep Talk users such as Regice or Munchlax are some of the best counters, as they don't mind absorbing status and can easily shrug off even boosted attacks due to their excellent Special Defense. In return, they can immediately threaten Butterfree with their respective STAB moves, or even phaze it out with Whirlwind in Munchlax's case. Pokemon that are immune to sleep thanks to their abilities, such as Vital Spirit Electabuzz and Primeape and Sap Sipper Miltank, can take advantage of Butterfree's mediocre initial power and proceed to dispatch it.

If you do not have an actual way of stopping Butterfree from putting a Pokemon to sleep, sacrificing a Pokemon to Sleep Powder is a viable option; once Sleep Clause is active, Butterfree is much easier to deal with as it isn't particularly fast or powerful. Even after a Quiver Dance boost, many bulky Pokemon can still tank a hit and wear Butterfree down considerably if they are not weak to its STAB move. Bastiodon is a solid counter to Butterfree, as it can tank the Quiver Dance set very well, does not care about paralysis, and can either Roar away its Quiver Dance boosts or bounce back Sleep Powder with Magic Coat. Most specially defensive Pokemon, such as Camerupt, Lickilicky, Audino, Altaria, and Probopass, can easily wall Butterfree and phaze it out or outright beat it. Fast Substitute users, particularly Articuno, Driftblim, and Charizard, can use Butterfree as setup fodder, especially the dual powder set. Butterfree is not particularly difficult to revenge kill; most Choice Scarf Pokemon such as Rotom-S, Charizard, and Braviary can easily outspeed and pick it off. As Butterfree is quite frail on the physical side and only resists Mach Punch, most priority users can also revenge kill it as long as it is not behind a Substitute. Pokemon that use Rock Blast, such as Golem, Piloswine, and Garbodor, are effective at dealing with Butterfree, as they can bypass Substitute and can generally hit it for massive damage.

[Overview]

Often referenced alongside many other forgotten Pokemon of its typing as initially some of the worst Pokemon in the game until its movepool advancement for B/W in its case, of which it receives an excellent boosting move in Quiver Dance.
Quiver Dance, alongside Butterfree's gifted ability within Tinted Lens and the ability to incapacitate a target in the form of sleep, allows it to function as a dangerous special sweeper.
Its support movepool with the addition of Compoundeyes allows it to serve a role as an effective status spreader if one chooses to become more of a team player rather than an outright sweeper.
Mediocre stats that can often play its part upon its frailty and difficulty to achieve a position of which it would get solid opportunities of posing as a significant threat in various cases.
Serves as a solid example of an effective late game sweeper or a status spreader that can find opportunities to disrupt opponents throughout the course of the battle, both of which serves a good case of its versatility.

[SET]
name: Quiver Dance
move1: Quiver Dance
move2: Sleep Powder
move3: Bug Buzz
move4: Substitute / Roost
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
ability: Tinted Lens
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Functions as a setup sweeper that has the capabilities of forcing out and gaining setup opportunities on a myriad of defensive Pokemon such as Misdreavus, Musharna, Tangela, Alomomola, Seismitoed, Weezing as well as Choice-locked Fighting or Ground types such as Primeape, Sawk, or Golurk.
The presence of Sleep Powder helps aid its ability to setup, which can be used to either incapacitate either a counter, gain you a free opportunity to setup as the opponent switches out in attempts of avoiding having an important Pokemon being put to sleep, or capitalizing on anything that's naturally slower than Butterfree so it can obtain a free opportunity of setting up.
Faces a lot of competition with Jynx overall as a mono attacking sweeper that can sleep the opponent, but separates from the addition of Tinted Lens and the ability to boost Speed.
Tinted Lens is an excellent ability for this set as it helps save the need of running additional coverage moves just to gain a stronger hit on certain threats such as Swellow, Scolipede, or Primeape that would otherwise not mind taking a hit from its primary STAB move, thus making Butterfree significantly harder to wall.
Bug Buzz serves as its main STAB move that is capable of deliverage solid dents though a majority of Pokemon that doesn't resist the move after a boost or two.
Substitute is important on this set as it not only further complements its opportunities of setting up, but it also aids upon mitigating advantage of the nature of its frailty, leaving it less prone of becoming revenge killed if it can maintain one with the help of disabling a foe with Sleep or easing prediction with its tendency of forcing a lot of switches.
Life Orb increases Butterfree's overall damage output by an enticing amount, which is important to consider when utilizing a Pokemon that wants as much power as it can obtain with as few turns as possible. This option, however, is not recommended when using Substitute, as it becomes significantly easier to detract Butterfree's health over the course of the battle. This problem especially becomes relevant when factoring its major weakness to Stealth Rock.
Roost is an interesting choice that takes the utmost advantage of Life Orb, as it gets the option of alleviating the residual damage that Butterfree will be accumulating from Stealth Rock and Life Orb recoil. It can find various opportunties when factoring its ability to force switches a lot and taking advantage of the free turns it gains after putting threats to sleep.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The EV's are essentially self-explanatory and are mandatory for the initial role of this set.
Contrary to how attractive this would theoretically seem, investing in bulk in attempts of further taking advantage of its ability to setup multiple Quiver Dance boosts is simply not worth the change since it isn't going to make any notable differents in terms of taking significant neutral hits, and Butterfree typically can't afford to go any slower as it likes to incapacitate as much as it can so it can setup safely.
A Timid nature is the most optimal way to ge in terms of a suitable nature as it allows Butterfree to outspeed everything up to Swellow after a boost, but a Modest nature is also a well-suiting option to give it a useful cushion of power if you don't mind missing out of Swellow. Butterfree still obtains the ability to outspeed everything up to positive-natured Serperior after a boost, which is one of the fastest Pokemon that you'll typically see outside of a Choice Scarf user. This does come at the drawback of missing out on tying other positive-natured 70 base Speed Pokemon such as Ludicolo.
Courtesy to its dismay of the presence of Stealth Rock, the support of it is always highly recommended recommended for this set to properly function. It helps achieve various OHKOs and cripples the amount of switch-in opportunities that Butterfree's checks and counters can have and thus helps eventually push them into KO range.
Most Stealth Rock users share solid synergy with Butterfree, with their general capabilities of covering the resistances of Rock-, Fire-, Flying-, or Electric-types moves commonly aimed at it and performs a good job of checking most fast threats that otherwise threaten it.
Likewise, Butterfree would also greatly appreciate teammates that perform well in terms of keeping its debilitating weakness of Stealth Rock away from the field. Rapid Spin supporters are typically the most reliable options for this role, thus being the most recommended teammates. Acceptable servants of this particular role includes Armaldo, Torkoal, or Wartortle. If a more offensive approach is necessary, for the team good examples include Mold Breaker Sawk, Taunt Samurott, or Shell Smash Torkoal, as they all perform a good job of breaking through most specially defensive Pokemon that can be bothersome for Butterfree.
In terms of its appreciation regarding momentum, Pokemon like Primeape serves as a solid option as it is able to outpace and revenge kill a wide variety of faster or Choice Scarf Pokemon that can otherwise pose as annoyances as they are able to hinder Butterfree's ability to perform a sweep. Primeape also threatens troublesome Pokemon such as Lickilicky, Bastiodon, or Regice, targets that Butterfree really appreciates the removal of (not to mention being able to wear lure Garbodor a notch with Earthquake). In return, Primape also appreciates providing momentum with U-turn that it gives Butterfree free opportunities for it to easily take advantage of and setup on Primeape's common switch-ins, such as Misdreavus, Musharna, Tangela, Alomomola or Weezing.
Other good momentum grabbers include Eelektross and Mixed Luxray with use of their slow Volt Switches (especially the former). Both do a good job of luring and threatening specific threats that troubles Butterfree, with the former functioning as a very effective lure against Lickilicky or Regice with Superpower and being able to check and threaten a myriad of the Stealth Rock users with Giga Drain and the latter doing essentially the same role, while it's particularly better at luring Stealth Rock users.
Appreciates the support of entry hazards in general to help punish switching and grounded foes. Garbodor's synergy with Butterfree is pretty decent in comparison to the rest of the users, which includes choices of Scolipede, Roselia, or Cacturne.

[SET]
name: Dual Powder
move1: Sleep Powder
move2: Stun Spore
move3: U-turn
move4: Tailwind
item: Focus Sash
ability: Compoundeyes
nature: Jolly
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This set's primary goal is to support the team with the aid of spreading status with Sleep Powder or Stun Spore with the addition aid of providing momentum.
Excels at finding opportunities if you can bring it in on something slower that doesn't particularly threaten Butterfree, such as Tangela, Misdreavus, or Cacturne.
Compoudeyes further extends the reliability that is much appreciated for this set to effectively function, as it provides a substantial accuracy upgrade of 97.5% of Butterfree's status moves on this set.
Sleep Powder is the move with the highest reward value upon initiation in this set, and thus should be used in more important situations in relation to the team's needs on the threat management category such as sleeping a troublesome threat. In a way, this also gives it a unique niche of being an effective way of disabling Stealth Rock users with Sleep Powder, preventing them from having them up.
Stun Spore is the secondary move that works wonders in terms of crippling because the threat of the Quiver Dance set alone is enough to force a lot of switches after it has incapacitated something in the form of sleep, allowing to cripple common switch-ins with paralysis on the follow-up.
U-turn shares many integral values on this set as it helps eases prediction on how the opponent reacts after they have been put to sleep and does a nice job of drawing momentum towards getting something in for free after sleeping the opponent or if the opponent attempts to switch into their already statused Pokemon or Sap Sipper user.
The last slot are primarily filler options, with Tailwind further providing support for the team with free opportunities with the help of sleep and Focus Sash. It can also be useful in clutch situations if you're willing to sacrifice Butterfree to a Choice Scarf switch-in such as Primeape or Rotom-A and cripple them with Stun Spore before they are able to move, assuming that Sleep Clause has been activated.
Roost increases longevity, allowing it to buy more opporutnities to spread status.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

EVs are enlisted to maintain bulk, while investing as much speed as possible so it can disrupt as much as it desires to do so.
Rain Dance with Damp Rock or Sunny Day with Heat rock can be considered for fillers.
Pokemon that takes advantage of status well such as wall-breakers or setup sweepers appreciates the ability to either give them more free turns or better opportunities of setting up.
This set doesn't mind the presence of Stealth Rock on its side nearly as much, as it's mainly supporting the team as opposing to trying to setup an outright sweep.
Pokemon that can reliably threaten Sap Sippers, particularly Miltank, are good partners.

[Other Options]

Choice Scarf can be used to immedately increase the amount of Pokemon that it can incapacitate, but locking yourself into a non-attacking move is often very situational and the set otherwise doesn't accomplish much of anything that the Dual Powder set does already.
Giga Drain and Psychic can be unique options of additional moves to make use of in the Quiver Dance set, with the former gaining additional health upon use of it and hitting Rock-, Ground- and Water- types super effectively while the latter can hit Scolipede and Gardevoir or additional damage, but neither moves provide much addition coverage otherwise.
Whirlwind can be used to phaze and scout if the opponent will stay in or not after being put to sleep, but otherwise makes poor use of this move and has better things to do.
Not much else otherwise.

[Checks and Counters]

The main obstacles that inhibits a daunting and controversal task in the context of countering Butterfree has to do with the presence of Sleep Powder, Tinten Lens, and ultimately deciphering what set it is running. It also should be taken into account that Sleep Powder is Butterfree's most influential move, so the tendency of incapacitating a counter or a slower foe in the form of sleep is a factor that is to not be underestimated for when facing Butterfree.
Much to Butterfree's dismay, the single best and most reliable way of crippling it in any manner is activating the omni-present Stealth Rock; this is a major detriment for Butterfree, as even with Roost it drastically detracts its ability to successfully attempt a sweep or disrupt its opponents with consistent status. Keep in mind, however, that Butterfree does have a tendency of targeting Stealth Rock users as sleep fodder as a means of disabling you from doing so.
Rest-Talk users such as Regice or Munchlax are perhaps the best examples of counters, as they don't mind taking advantage of having to absorb sleep, shrugs off boosted hits with laughable ease, and either immediately threating out with their STAB moves or for the case of the latter, phaze it out with Whirlwind.
Pokemon that can avoid sleep by virtue of their abilities while also threatening and being able to switch in at least once or twice are other good ways of keeping it in check. Options include Vital Spirit Electabuzz, Magmar, or Primeape.
Fast Substitute users, particularly Articuno, or Driftblim, or Charizard has the capabilities of using Butterfree as setup fodder on especially the Dual Powder set and the fact that they force it out anyways.
To a lesser extent, Sap Sippers completely disrupt Butterfree's ability to spread status and can come in and punish Butterfree's use of Sleep Powder.
After sleep clause is activated, the list extends to a much more manageable path.

Blast · Nov 2, 2013

[Overview]

Give a bigger mention to Sleep Powder since it's a huge selling point of Butterfree, in fact it's probably the main thing that makes its sets effective. It allows it to set up Quiver Dance despite its bad bulk and ridiculous SR weakness, and allows it to basically prevent any counters from freely switching in.

[SET] (QD)

LO probably shouldn't be slashed in since it's absolutely terrible w/ SR + Sub. Bug Gem would be the best boosting item if we really need one, since it clean OHKOes Sawk after a boost (no hazards). Probably does other stuff too but I really don't want LO to be slashed.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS] (QD)

Remove the first sentence since it's unnecessary.
On the mention of Probopass, don't say Steels "resist" Bug Buzz b/c of Tinted Lens. Just say how they're bulky enough to take a hit and retaliate.

[SET] (Dual Powder)

Make the spread max Attack. It allows you to do enough damage to Probopass with U-turn so Lefties won't bring it back to Sturdy, and max HP doesn't let you live any hits anyway.

[Checks and Counters]

WhiteDMist said:
The single most reliable way of crippling it is Stealth Rock, as even with Roost it drastically detracts from Butterfree's ability to sweep or disrupt its opponents consistently.

Since Roost isn't on the set, remove that bolded part.

Implement this WhiteDMist and I'll stamp

WhiteDMist · Nov 3, 2013

Honestly, I don't care what the boosting item is as long as it lets Butterfree OHKO Banded Sawk/Braviary after Rocks and a boost (Detective Dell insisted on that). I calc'd Bug Gem and it does so, so I'm more inclined to choose that as the item. I've also tested both items, and the consistent power boost of Life Orb was mitigated by the fact that Butterfree died horrifyingly quickly with the recoil, Subs, and Rocks damage. As for double power, I thought that it was already max attack since that is what I wrote up about in SET/ADDITIONAL COMMENTS (didn't we decide that before?). Well changes made Dat Blast :/

Blast · Nov 4, 2013

Set Comments of QD said:
Stealth Rock support is extremely helpful, as it allows Butterfree to cleanly OHKO Scolipede and Primeape after a Quiver Dance boost with no boosting item, while getting the OHKO on Choice Band Sawk and Braviary with a boost and Life Orb.

Bug Gem > LO.

4/3

Kingler · Nov 4, 2013

amcheck
additions
subtractions
comments

[Overview]

Butterfree's claim to fame is its access to Quiver Dance like several other Bug-types. However, what sets Butterfree apart are Sleep Powder and it'(RA)s two abilities: Tinted Lens and Compoundeyes. Tinted Lens allows Butterfree to disregard coverage moves on a sweeping set(not entirely true, you should explain what you mean by this), while Compoundeyes makes Butterfree's support options more accurate. Of course, Sleep Powder is the move that which truly makes Butterfree viable, as it prevents most would-be counters from safely switching in and creates valuable set(remove space)up opportunities that Butterfree would otherwise not have with its poor bulk. Unfortunately, Butterfree is plagued by its poor typing and defenses. While Butterfree may might be versatile, the prevalence of Stealth Rock cuts down significantly on its longevity and effectiveness in the NU metagame.

[SET]
name: Quiver Dance
move 1: Quiver Dance
move 2: Sleep Powder
move 3: Bug Buzz
move 4: Substitute
item: Leftovers / Bug Gem
ability: Tinted Lens
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

With Quiver Dance, Butterfree functions as a capable setup sweeper, while being able to incapacitate a slew of slower Pokemon with Sleep Powder before or after a boost when necessary. The presence of Sleep Powder is one of the this set's most important qualities, since Butterfree has the ability to force out and gain setup opportunities on a myriad of defensive Pokemon, such as Musharna, Tangela, or and Alomomola, as well as Choice-locked Fighting or and Ground-types, such as Sawk or and Golurk, respectively. Bug Buzz is the only attacking move that Butterfree needs on this set, as Tinted Lens boosts the power of resisted moves by 2x. Substitute allows Butterfree to both avoid status from Pokemon such as Musharna or Mandibuzz and avoid revenge killing by Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Primeape or Jynx.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Maximum sSpeed investment with a Timid nature allows Butterfree to outspeed Swellow after a Quiver Dance Boost, and tie with positive-natured Ludicolo in the rain after two boosts. However, if outspeeding those threats isn't a big deal, using a Modest nature gives Butterfree more power and still allows it to outspeed maximum sSpeed Serperior after a boost. Even though it may might seem attractive, a defensive EV spread is better left to Pokemon with "actual defenses"(why quote this). Leftovers is usually the preferred item as it makes up for the HP lost creating Substitutes and switching into Stealth Rock. Bug Gem is the best option for a boosting item, which allows Butterfree to gain some important KOs such as against Charizard after Stealth Rock damage without any boosts. As for the item, Insect Plate or Bug Gem and Life Orb(i take it this is what you meant)are suitable replacements. Insect Plate gives a consistent 20% boost in power to Bug Buzz without recoil, while Life Orb allows Butterfree to OHKO Pokemon such as Choice Band Sawk and Braviary after a boost(as per what dat blast said, this is untrue, mention LO kos). Roost is an possible choice over Substitute that allows Butterfree to heal off damage taken from Stealth Rock or weak attacks,(RC) such as Giga Drain from Roselia or and Foul Play from Mandibuzz.

Stealth Rock support is extremely helpful, as it allows Butterfree to cleanly OHKO Scolipede and Primeape after a Quiver Dance boost with no boosting item, while getting the OHKO on Choice Band Sawk and Braviary with a boost and Life Orb Bug Gem. In general, many of Butterfree's checks tend to be weak to Stealth Rock weak, such as Regice, Charizard, and Rotom-S. Golem is a good partner for Butterfree, as are most Rock- and Ground-types, since it only shares Butterfree's weakness to Ice-type attacks, and it resists every other one of Butterfree's weaknesses; in exchange Butterfree 4x resists Fighting- and Grass-type moves, and is immune to Ground-type moves. Other good options include Golurk, Piloswine, or and Seismitoad. Probopass is also worth mentioning, since as it can trap opposing Steel-types that can tank a Bug Buzz wall Butterfree(this makes it clear that the next part refers to probo and not these steels), and can gain momentum with a slow Volt Switch. Butterfree also appreciates Rapid Spin support; Wartortle is the best of the bunch in NU, resisting as it resists Ice-type moves and having has the combination of Foresight and Rapid Spin to ensure hazards leave your side of the field. Offensively, Butterfree has trouble breaking through dedicated special walls, such as Regice, Audino, and Lickilicky. Choice Band Sawk (and to a lesser extent,(AC) Gurdurr and Primeape) is a good partner, as it can KO all of those Pokemon with ease. Choice Band Sawk It also functions as a good anti-lead, as it can OHKO most Stealth Rock setters through Sturdy with due to Mold Breaker.

[SET]
name: Dual Powder
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Stun Spore
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Tailwind
item: Focus Sash
ability: Compoundeyes
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Butterfree's plethora of status moves are allow it to support the team, being capable of crippling a good portion of the opposing team. Compoundeyes increases the accuracy of its moves, upgrading increasing the accuracy of Butterfree's status moves to 97.5%. Sleep Powder is the main move, temporarily removing an opposing Pokemon from battle. This allows it to stop most hazard setters, or neutralize a problematic Pokemon for your team. Stun Spore is an auxiliary move that can allow Butterfree to catch something that the opponent switches in after Sleep Clause is in effect. It's also a nice alternative for hitting Primeape on the switch, as well as being usable when Sleep Clause is active in effect(just keep this consistent imo). Stun Spore is also a very effective move to use when you are unwilling to waste Sleep Powder on a Pokemon that doesn't significantly threaten your team. U-turn is an integral move as it helps ease prediction after one of your opponent's Pokemon has been put to sleep, as it allows Butterfree to get something in for free regardless of what they do your opponent does. Tailwind is mostly filler, but doubling your team's Speed can be useful if you are Butterfree is low on health but still want to provide support the team.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The EV spread allows Butterfree to outspeed as many Pokemon as possible and status them. A spread with maximum Special Attack and Speed investment with a Timid nature and Bug Buzz instead of Tailwind can be worth considering to prevent Butterfree from being forced out by Sap Sipper Pokemon; it has Focus Sash anyways, so the extra bulk rarely comes into play as Butterfree is 2HKOed by most moderately powerful attacks. This set doesn't particularly mind Stealth Rock on its side nearly as much, as it is meant to simply inflict as much status as possible and then bring in a teammate safely. Thanks to Butterfree's ability to cripple a significant portion of teams, Pokemon that can take advantage of free turns or outspeeding more Pokemon, such as various wallbreakers or setup sweepers, are good teamamtes. Good options include Sawk, Fraxure, Carracosta, or and Marowak, all of which who which appreciate the safe free switches and being able to outspeeding the opposition. Pokemon that can beat Sap Sipper users that wall Butterfree(mentioned previously) are also good teammates, with Gurdurr being a very effective option. Toxic is a viable option to use over Tailwind, as it allows Butterfree to cripple defensive Pokemon that doesn't particularly mind being paralyzed after Sleep Clause is active in effect.

[Other Options]

Rain Dance in conjunction with Damp Rock or Sunny Day in conjunction with Heat Rock are viable moves that can be used on the support sets, as Butterfree is able to set(space)up weather reliably with the help of Sleep Powder and it can provide a free switch in for a weather sweeper with by using(makes it clearer that butterfree is using->) U-turn. Hidden Power Ground and Rock are possible options, as the former threatens Bastiodon and Probopass,(AC) while the latter deals with Charizard. Giga Drain and Psychic are attacking options that can be used on the Quiver Dance set, with the former hitting Ground-, Rock-, and Water-types,(AC) while while and the latter threatening Scolipede and Fighting-types. Neither of these moves provides notable coverage otherwise, and Tinted Lens reduces the need for such coverage. Whirlwind may might seem enticing to scout your opponent's team(i thought team preview was a thing o_0 if you mean scouting moves, i'm not sure how good of a strategy that is :O), but Butterfree generally has better things to do and it doesn't help Butterfree in any significant way.

[Checks and Counters]

It is difficult to counter Butterfree as Sleep Powder can practically cripple any counter and turn it into a set up opportunity, while U-turn allows it to escape from any threat. The single most reliable way of crippling it is Stealth Rock, as it drastically detracts from Butterfree's ability to sweep or disrupt its opponents consistently. However, Sleep Powder prevents many common Stealth Rock users from setting it up. As for countering Butterfree directly, Sleep Talk users such as Regice or Munchlax are some of the best counters, as they don't mind absorbing status and can easily shrug off even boosted attacks due to their excellent Special Defense. In return, they can immediately threaten Butterfree with their respective STAB moves, or even phaze it out with Whirlwind as in Munchlax's case. Pokemon that are immune to sleep with thanks to their abilities, such as Vital Spirit Electabuzz or and Primeape and Sap Sipper Miltank, can take advantage of Butterfree's mediocre initial power and proceed to dispatch it.(nospace)

If you do not have an actual way of stopping Butterfree from putting a Pokemon to sleep, sacrificing a Pokemon to Sleep Powder is a viable option; once Sleep Clause is active, Butterfree is much easier to deal with as it isn't particularly fast or powerful. Even after a Quiver Dance boost, many bulky Pokemon can still tank a hit and wear Butterfree down considerably if they are not weak to its STAB move. Bastiodon is a solid counter against to Butterfree, as it can tank the Quiver Dance set very well, does not care about paralysis, and can either Roar away its Quiver Dance boosts or bounce back Sleep Powder with Magic Coat. Most specially defensive Pokemon, such as Camerupt, Lickilicky, Audino, Altaria, or and Probopass, can easily wall Butterfree and phaze it out or outright beat it. Fast Substitute users, particularly Articuno, Driftblim, or and Charizard, can use Butterfree as setup fodder, especially the Ddual Ppowder set. Butterfree is not particularly difficult to revenge kill; most Choice Scarf Pokemon such as Rotom-S, Charizard, or and Braviary can easily outspeed and easily pick off Butterfree. As Butterfree is quite frail on the physical side and only resists Mach Punch, most priority users can also revenge kill it as long as it doesn't have is not behind a Substitute. Pokemon that use Rock Blast, such as Golem, Piloswine, and Garbodor, are effective at dealing with Butterfree, as they can bypass Substitute, and can generally hit it for massive damage and even work around Substitute.

^_^
and>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>or in lists, as you imply with or that either the left side fulfils said conditions or the right side....
other stuff was commas and rewording, as well as the bug gem/LO stuff ^___________________________^

WhiteDMist · Nov 4, 2013

Ugh, this is one of the harder take-overs I've done, mostly since I only condensed the write up (along with tennis). As for this:

Insect Plate gives a consistent 20% boost in power to Bug Buzz without recoil, while Life Orb allows Butterfree to OHKO Pokemon such as Choice Band Sawk and Braviary after a boost(as per what dat blast said, this is untrue, mention LO kos).

I'm not sure what you mean. Life Orb gets those KOs, but I decided Bug Gem simply for better longevity and sweeping time. So if you are saying that these calcs are wrong, I will say they are correct Kingler12345 though I forgot to mention they need rocks damage. Anyways, I've updated everything, thanks Dat Blast and kingler!

bugmaniacbob · Nov 5, 2013

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[Overview]

Butterfree's main claim to fame is its access to Quiver Dance,(comma) a claim shared by like several other Bug-types. However, what sets Butterfree apart from the rest are its access to are Sleep Powder and its two abilities: Tinted Lens and Compoundeyes. Tinted Lens allows Butterfree to power up resisted moves on sweeping sets and thus to reduce the need for coverage moves, while Compoundeyes makes Butterfree's support options more accurate. Of course, Sleep Powder is the move which truly makes Butterfree viable, as it prevents most would-be counters from safely switching in and creates valuable setup opportunities that Butterfree would otherwise not have,(comma), due to with its poor bulk. Unfortunately, Butterfree is still plagued by its poor typing and defenses. While Butterfree might be versatile, the prevalence of Stealth Rock significantly cuts down significantly on its longevity and effectiveness in the NU metagame.

[SET]
name: Quiver Dance
move 1: Quiver Dance
move 2: Sleep Powder
move 3: Bug Buzz
move 4: Substitute
item: Leftovers / Bug Gem
ability: Tinted Lens
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

With Quiver Dance, Butterfree functions as a capable setup sweeper, while being able to incapacitate a slew of slower Pokemon with Sleep Powder before or after a boost when necessary. The presence of Sleep Powder is one of this set's most important qualities, since Butterfree has the ability to force out and gain setup opportunities on a myriad of defensive Pokemon, such as Musharna, Tangela, and Alomomola, as well as Choice-locked Fighting and Ground-types, such as Sawk and Golurk, respectively [the two statements don't seem to follow on from one another. Butterfree can set up on the aforementioned Pokemon, but it could surely do so with or without Sleep Powder. I thought the point was that Sleep Powder allowed it to set up on Pokemon it couldn't set up on otherwise, or to bypass threats that could take one hit? Either way, do please clarify this point]. Bug Buzz is the only attacking move that Butterfree needs on this set, as Tinted Lens boosts doubles the power of resisted moves by 2x. Substitute allows Butterfree to both avoid both status from Pokemon such as Musharna or Mandibuzz and avoid revenge killing by Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Primeape or Jynx.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Maximum Speed investment with a Timid nature allows Butterfree to outspeed Swellow after a Quiver Dance Boost, and tie with positive-natured Ludicolo in the rain after two boosts. However, if outspeeding those threats isn't a big deal, using a Modest nature gives Butterfree more power and still allows it to outspeed maximum Speed Serperior after a boost. Even though it might seem attractive on a Pokemon that can boost its Special Defense, a defensive EV spread is better left to Pokemon with actual defenses. Leftovers is usually the preferred item as it makes up for the HP lost creating Substitutes and switching into Stealth Rock, but if you want a boosting item then .(remove) Bug Gem is the best option for a boosting item, which as it allows Butterfree to gain some important KOs,(comma) such as against Charizard after Stealth Rock damage without any boosts. As for the item Alternatively, Insect Plate and Life Orb are suitable replacements. Insect Plate gives a consistent 20% boost in power to Bug Buzz without recoil, while Life Orb allows Butterfree to OHKO Pokemon such as Choice Band Sawk and Braviary after a boost and Stealth Rock damage. Roost is an possible choice over Substitute that allows Butterfree to heal off damage taken from Stealth Rock or from weak attacks,(comma) such as Giga Drain from Roselia and Foul Play from Mandibuzz.

Stealth Rock support is extremely helpful, as it allows Butterfree to cleanly OHKO Scolipede and Primeape after a Quiver Dance boost with no boosting item, while getting the OHKO on Choice Band Sawk and Braviary with a boost and a Bug Gem. In general, many of Butterfree's checks tend to be weak to Stealth Rock, such as Regice, Charizard, and Rotom-S. Golem is a good partner for Butterfree, as are most Rock- and Ground-types, since it only shares Butterfree's weakness to Ice-type attacks, and it resists every other one of Butterfree's weaknesses; in exchange,(comma) Butterfree 4x resists Fighting- and Grass-type moves, and is immune to Ground-type moves. Other good options for the same role include Golurk, Piloswine, and Seismitoad. Probopass is also worth mentioning, as it can trap opposing Steel-types that can wall Butterfree, and can gain momentum with a slow Volt Switch. Butterfree also appreciates Rapid Spin support; Wartortle is the best of the bunch in NU, as it resists Ice-type moves and has the combination of Foresight and Rapid Spin to ensure hazards leave your side of the field. Butterfree has trouble breaking through dedicated special walls, such as Regice, Audino, and Lickilicky. Choice Band Sawk (and to a lesser extent, Gurdurr and Primeape) is a good partner, as it can KO all of those Pokemon with ease. It also functions as a good anti-lead, as it can OHKO most Stealth Rock setters through Sturdy due to Mold Breaker.

[SET]
name: Dual Powder
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Stun Spore
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Tailwind
item: Focus Sash
ability: Compoundeyes
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Butterfree's plethora of status moves are allow it to support the its own team, and make it being capable of crippling a good portion of the opposing team. Compoundeyes increases the accuracy of its moves, improving the accuracy of Butterfree's status moves to 97.5%. Sleep Powder is the main move, temporarily removing an opposing Pokemon from battle. This allows it to stop most hazard setters, or to neutralize a problematic Pokemon for your team. Stun Spore is an auxiliary move that can allow Butterfree to catch something that the opponent switches in after Sleep Clause is in effect. It's also a nice alternative for hitting Primeape on the switch, as well as being usable when Sleep Clause is in effect. Stun Spore is also a very effective move to use when you are unwilling to waste Sleep Powder on a Pokemon that doesn't significantly threaten your team. U-turn is an integral move as it helps ease prediction after one of your opponent's Pokemon has been put to sleep, as it allows by allowing Butterfree to get something a teammate in for free regardless of what your opponent does. Tailwind is mostly filler, but doubling your team's Speed can be useful if Butterfree is too low on health to support the team any further.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The EV spread allows Butterfree to outspeed as many Pokemon as possible and inflict status upon them before they can move. A spread with maximum Special Attack and Speed investment with a Timid nature and Bug Buzz instead of Tailwind can be worth considering to prevent Butterfree from being forced out by Sap Sipper Pokemon; given that it has Focus Sash anyways anyway, so the extra bulk rarely comes into play as Butterfree is 2HKOed by most moderately powerful attacks [... what extra bulk? What are you talking about?]. This set doesn't mind Stealth Rock on its side nearly as much, as it is meant to simply inflict as much status as possible and then bring in a teammate safely. Thanks to Butterfree's ability to cripple a significant portion of teams, Pokemon that can take advantage of free turns or outspeeding being able to outspeed more Pokemon, such as various wallbreakers or setup sweepers, are good teammates. Good options include Sawk, Fraxure, Carracosta, and Marowak, all of which appreciate the free switches and being able to outspeed the opposition. Pokemon that can beat Sap Sipper users are also good teammates, with Gurdurr being a very effective option. Toxic is a viable option to use over Tailwind, as it allows Butterfree to cripple defensive Pokemon that doesn't don't particularly mind being paralyzed after Sleep Clause is in effect.

[Other Options]

Rain Dance in conjunction with Damp Rock or Sunny Day in conjunction with Heat Rock are viable moves combinations that can be used on the support set, as Butterfree is able to set up weather reliably with the help of Sleep Powder,(comma) and it can provide a free switch for a weather sweeper by using U-turn. Hidden Power Ground and Rock are possible options, as the former threatens Bastiodon and Probopass, while the latter deals with Charizard. Giga Drain and Psychic are attacking options that can be used on the Quiver Dance set, with the former hitting Ground-, Rock-, and Water-types, and the latter threatening Scolipede and Fighting-types. Neither of these moves provides notable coverage otherwise, however, and Tinted Lens reduces the need for such coverage. Whirlwind might seem enticing in order to shuffle your opponent's team, but Butterfree generally has better things to do and it doesn't help Butterfree in any significant way.

[Checks and Counters]

It is difficult to counter Butterfree as Sleep Powder can practically cripple practically any counter and turn it into a setup opportunity, while U-turn allows it to escape from any threat. The single most reliable way of crippling it is Stealth Rock, as it drastically detracts from Butterfree's ability to sweep or disrupt its opponents consistently. However, Sleep Powder prevents many common Stealth Rock users from setting it up. As for countering Butterfree directly, Sleep Talk users such as Regice or Munchlax are some of the best counters, as they don't mind absorbing status and can easily shrug off even boosted attacks due to their excellent Special Defense. In return, they can immediately threaten Butterfree with their respective STAB moves, or even phaze it out with Whirlwind as in Munchlax's case. Pokemon that are immune to sleep thanks to their abilities, such as Vital Spirit Electabuzz and Primeape and Sap Sipper Miltank, can take advantage of Butterfree's mediocre initial power and proceed to dispatch it.

If you do not have an actual way of stopping Butterfree from putting a Pokemon to sleep, sacrificing a Pokemon to Sleep Powder is a viable option; once Sleep Clause is active, Butterfree is much easier to deal with as it isn't particularly fast or powerful. Even after a Quiver Dance boost, many bulky Pokemon can still tank a hit and wear Butterfree down considerably if they are not weak to its STAB move. Bastiodon is a solid counter to Butterfree, as it can tank the Quiver Dance set very well, does not care about paralysis, and can either Roar away its Quiver Dance boosts or bounce back Sleep Powder with Magic Coat. Most specially defensive Pokemon, such as Camerupt, Lickilicky, Audino, Altaria, and Probopass, can easily wall Butterfree and phaze it out or outright beat it. Fast Substitute users, particularly Articuno, Driftblim, and Charizard, can use Butterfree as setup fodder, especially the dual powder set. Butterfree is not particularly difficult to revenge kill; most Choice Scarf Pokemon such as Rotom-S, Charizard, and Braviary can easily outspeed and pick off Butterfree. As Butterfree is quite frail on the physical side and only resists Mach Punch, most priority users can also revenge kill it as long as it is not behind a Substitute. Pokemon that use Rock Blast, such as Golem, Piloswine, and Garbodor, are effective at dealing with Butterfree, as they can bypass Substitute, and can generally hit it for massive damage.

GP Approved 1/2

WhiteDMist · Nov 5, 2013

Implemented bugmaniacbob though I am not particularly sure what was the initial thought process about the Sleep Powder sentences when they were written. I'm thinking that it was along the lines of Butterfree forcing out those setup opportunity pokes and threatening the switch in with Sleep Powder (most likely because the initial switch tend to be the opponent's better/best response to Butterfree). I'll work the sentence around somehow though.

Edit: Worked in some more stuff, so if you can check it before I count the check as implemented, thanks!

bugmaniacbob · Nov 6, 2013

Skim-read it, this was the only bit I could find that was different

Sleep Powder is one of this set's most important qualities, and is the move that really allows the set to function. since Butterfree has the ability to force out a myriad of defensive Pokemon, such as Musharna, Tangela, and Alomomola, as well as Choice-locked Fighting and Ground-types, such as Sawk and Golurk, respectively,(comma) which allows . Then Butterfree can to use Sleep Powder on your opponent's initial switch-in to it and gain setup opportunities. Alternatively, sometimes Sometimes it is better to save Sleep Powder for your opponent's main counter to Butterfree and set up to begin with instead.

Pretty sure it's ready for a second check now (I hope)

WhiteDMist · Nov 6, 2013

Thanks a lot bugmaniacbob !

This is now ready for its second GP check.

Arkian · Nov 6, 2013

GP Check WhiteDMist
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[Overview]

Butterfree's main claim to fame is its access to Quiver Dance, a claim shared by several other Bug-types. However, what sets Butterfree apart from the rest are its access to Sleep Powder and its two abilities: Tinted Lens and Compoundeyes. Tinted Lens allows Butterfree to power up resisted moves on sweeping sets and thus to reduce the need for coverage moves, while Compoundeyes makes Butterfree's support options more accurate. Of course, Sleep Powder is the move which truly makes Butterfree viable, as it prevents most would-be counters from safely switching in and creates valuable setup opportunities that Butterfree would otherwise not have,(RC) due to its poor bulk. Unfortunately, Butterfree is still plagued by its poor typing and defenses. While Butterfree might be versatile, the prevalence of Stealth Rock significantly cuts down on its longevity and effectiveness in the NU metagame.

[SET]
name: Quiver Dance
move 1: Quiver Dance
move 2: Sleep Powder
move 3: Bug Buzz
move 4: Substitute
item: Leftovers / Bug Gem
ability: Tinted Lens
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

With Quiver Dance, Butterfree functions as a capable setup sweeper, while being able to incapacitate a slew of slower Pokemon with Sleep Powder before or after a boost (repetitive) when necessary. Sleep Powder is one of this set's most important qualities, and is the move that allows this set to function. Butterfree has the ability to force out a myriad of defensive Pokemon, such as Musharna, Tangela, and Alomomola, as well as Choice-locked Fighting and Ground-types, such as Sawk and Golurk, respectively, which allows Butterfree to use Sleep Powder on your opponent's initial switch-in and gain setup opportunities. Alternatively, sometimes it is better to save Sleep Powder for your opponent's main counter to Butterfree and set up to begin with instead. Bug Buzz is the only attacking move that Butterfree needs on this set, as Tinted Lens doubles the power of resisted moves. Substitute allows Butterfree to avoid both status from Pokemon such as Musharna or and Mandibuzz and revenge killing by from Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Primeape or and Jynx.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Maximum Speed investment with a Timid nature allows Butterfree to outspeed Swellow after a Quiver Dance Boost,(RC) and tie with positive-natured Ludicolo in the rain after two boosts. However, if outspeeding those threats isn't a big deal, using a Modest nature gives Butterfree more power and still allows it to outspeed maximum Speed Serperior after a boost. Even though it might seem attractive on a Pokemon that can boost its Special Defense, a defensive EV spread is better left to Pokemon with actual defenses. Leftovers is usually the preferred item as it makes up for the HP lost creating Substitutes and switching into Stealth Rock, but if you want a boosting item,(AC) then Bug Gem is the best option as it allows Butterfree to gain some important KOs, such as against Charizard after Stealth Rock damage without any boosts. Alternatively, Insect Plate and Life Orb are suitable replacements. Insect Plate gives a consistent 20% boost in power to Bug Buzz without recoil, while Life Orb allows Butterfree to OHKO Pokemon such as Choice Band Sawk and Braviary after a boost and Stealth Rock damage. Roost is an a possible choice over Substitute that allows Butterfree to heal off damage taken from Stealth Rock or from weak attacks, such as Giga Drain from Roselia and Foul Play from Mandibuzz.

Stealth Rock support is extremely helpful, as it allows Butterfree to cleanly OHKO Scolipede and Primeape after a Quiver Dance boost with no boosting item, while getting the OHKO on Choice Band Sawk and Braviary with a boost and a Bug Gem. In general, many of Butterfree's checks tend to be weak to Stealth Rock, such as Regice, Charizard, and Rotom-S. Golem is a good partner for Butterfree, as are most Rock- and Ground-types Rock / Ground types (I'm pretty sure that this is what you meant, if not, then leave it as "Rock- and Ground-types"), since it only shares Butterfree's weakness to Ice-type attacks, and it resists every other one of Butterfree's weaknesses; in exchange, Butterfree 4x resists Fighting- and Grass-type moves, and is immune to Ground-type moves. Other good options for the same role include Golurk, Piloswine, and Seismitoad. Probopass is also worth mentioning, as it can trap opposing Steel-types that can wall Butterfree, and can gain momentum with a slow Volt Switch. Butterfree also appreciates Rapid Spin support; Wartortle is the best of the bunch in NU, as it resists Ice-type moves and has the combination of Foresight and Rapid Spin to ensure hazards leave your side of the field. Butterfree has trouble breaking through dedicated special walls,(RC) such as Regice, Audino, and Lickilicky. Choice Band Sawk (and to a lesser extent, Gurdurr and Primeape) is a good partner, as it can KO all of those Pokemon with ease. It also functions as a good anti-lead, as it can OHKO most Stealth Rock setters through Sturdy due to Mold Breaker.

[SET]
name: Dual Powder
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Stun Spore
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Tailwind
item: Focus Sash
ability: Compoundeyes
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Butterfree's plethora of status moves allow it to support its own team, and make it capable of crippling a good portion of the opposing team. Compoundeyes increases the accuracy of its moves, improving the accuracy of Butterfree's status moves to 97.5%. Sleep Powder is the main move, temporarily removing an opposing Pokemon from battle. This allows it to stop most hazard setters, or to neutralize a problematic Pokemon for your team. Stun Spore is an auxiliary move that can allow Butterfree to catch something that the opponent switches in paralyze a switch-in after Sleep Clause is in effect. It's also a nice alternative for hitting Primeape on the switch, as well as being usable when Sleep Clause is in effect. Stun Spore is also a very effective move to use when you are unwilling to waste Sleep Powder on a Pokemon that doesn't significantly threaten your team. U-turn is an integral move as it helps ease prediction after one of your opponent's Pokemon has been put to sleep,(RC) by allowing Butterfree to get a teammate in for free regardless of what your opponent does. Tailwind is mostly filler, but doubling your team's Speed can be useful if Butterfree is too low on health to support the team any further.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The EV spread allows Butterfree to outspeed as many Pokemon as possible and inflict status upon them before they can move. A spread with maximum Special Attack and Speed investment with a Timid nature and Bug Buzz instead of Tailwind can be worth considering to prevent Butterfree from being forced out by Sap Sipper Pokemon. This set doesn't mind Stealth Rock on its side nearly as much, as it is meant to simply inflict as much status as possible and then bring in a teammate safely. Thanks to Butterfree's ability to cripple a significant portion of teams, Pokemon that can take advantage of free turns or being able to outspeed more Pokemon, such as various wallbreakers or setup sweepers, are good teammates. Good options include Sawk, Fraxure, Carracosta, and Marowak are good examples of such Pokemon, all of which appreciate the free switches and being able to outspeed the opposition (repetition). Pokemon that can beat Sap Sipper users are also good teammates, with Gurdurr being a very effective option. Toxic is a viable option to use over Tailwind, as it allows Butterfree to cripple defensive Pokemon that don't particularly mind being paralyzed after Sleep Clause is in effect.

[Other Options]

Rain Dance in conjunction with Damp Rock or Sunny Day in conjunction with Heat Rock are viable combinations that can be used on the support set, as Butterfree is able to set up weather reliably with the help of Sleep Powder, and it can provide a free switch for a weather sweeper by using U-turn. Hidden Power Ground and Hidden Power Rock are possible options, as the former threatens Bastiodon and Probopass, while the latter deals with Charizard. Giga Drain and Psychic are attacking options that can be used on the Quiver Dance set, with the former hitting Ground-, Rock-, and Water-types, and the latter threatening Scolipede and Fighting-types. Neither of these moves provides notable coverage otherwise, however, and Tinted Lens reduces the need for such coverage. Whirlwind might seem enticing in order to shuffle your opponent's team, but Butterfree generally has better things to do and it doesn't help Butterfree in any significant way.

[Checks and Counters]

It is difficult to counter Butterfree as Sleep Powder can cripple practically any counter and turn it into a setup opportunity, while U-turn allows it to escape from any threat. The single most reliable way of crippling it is Stealth Rock, as it drastically detracts from Butterfree's ability to sweep or disrupt its opponents consistently. However, Sleep Powder prevents many common Stealth Rock users from setting it up. As for countering Butterfree directly, Sleep Talk users such as Regice or Munchlax are some of the best counters, as they don't mind absorbing status and can easily shrug off even boosted attacks due to their excellent Special Defense. In return, they can immediately threaten Butterfree with their respective STAB moves, or even phaze it out with Whirlwind as in Munchlax's case. Pokemon that are immune to sleep thanks to their abilities, such as Vital Spirit Electabuzz and Primeape and Sap Sipper Miltank, can take advantage of Butterfree's mediocre initial power and proceed to dispatch it.

If you do not have an actual way of stopping Butterfree from putting a Pokemon to sleep, sacrificing a Pokemon to Sleep Powder is a viable option; once Sleep Clause is active, Butterfree is much easier to deal with as it isn't particularly fast or powerful. Even after a Quiver Dance boost, many bulky Pokemon can still tank a hit and wear Butterfree down considerably if they are not weak to its STAB move. Bastiodon is a solid counter to Butterfree, as it can tank the Quiver Dance set very well, does not care about paralysis, and can either Roar away its Quiver Dance boosts or bounce back Sleep Powder with Magic Coat. Most specially defensive Pokemon, such as Camerupt, Lickilicky, Audino, Altaria, and Probopass, can easily wall Butterfree and phaze it out or outright beat it. Fast Substitute users, particularly Articuno, Driftblim, and Charizard, can use Butterfree as setup fodder, especially the dual powder set. Butterfree is not particularly difficult to revenge kill; most Choice Scarf Pokemon such as Rotom-S, Charizard, and Braviary can easily outspeed and pick it off Butterfree. As Butterfree is quite frail on the physical side and only resists Mach Punch, most priority users can also revenge kill it as long as it is not behind a Substitute. Pokemon that use Rock Blast, such as Golem, Piloswine, and Garbodor, are effective at dealing with Butterfree, as they can bypass Substitute,(RC) and can generally hit it for massive damage.

Very well done! (Gunna use Treecko's stamp!)

GP Approved 2/2

WhiteDMist · Nov 6, 2013

Implemented Rohail and this has been cleaned up quite nicely. OMG, is this done? Butterfree's done!

Raseri · Jul 3, 2014

uploaded!

Butterfree (QC 4/4) (GP 2/2)

WhiteDMist

Path>Goal

Blast

Member of the Alien Nation

WhiteDMist

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Blast

Member of the Alien Nation

Kingler

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bugmaniacbob

Was fun while it lasted

WhiteDMist

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bugmaniacbob

Was fun while it lasted

WhiteDMist

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Arkian

this is the state of grace

WhiteDMist

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