Pokémon Granbull

[CoolStoryBrobat]

Granbull - #72 Kalos Coastal
Type: Fairy
Abilities: Intimidate / Quick Feet / Rattled (Hidden Ability)
Base stats: 90 / 120 / 75 / 60 / 60 / 45

Notable Moves:
Mean Look
Play Rough*
Fire Punch
Ice Punch
Thunder Punch
Payback
Crunch
Toxic
Bulk Up
Earthquake
Brick Break
Rock Tomb
Stone Edge
Thunder Wave
Rock Slide
Work Up
Substitute
Wild Charge
Close Combat
Heal Bell
Super Fang
Low Kick
Superpower
Roar
Iron Tail (Useful for other Fairies I guess?)

*Play Rough: 90 BP / 10 PP (Physical): The user plays rough with the target and attacks it. This may also lower the target's Attack stat.

Analysis:

With the transition from Gen V to Gen VI, not a huge amount changed for Granbull in terms of movepool; formerly having been a Normal-type, it's always had access to an impressively wide movepool from both the physical and special side in terms of offense, while having a few support moves of its own. Most importantly though, it gained the new Fairy-Typing this Gen, which some may consider a huge boon in its favor. Unfortunately, there's been a lack on physical Fairy-type moves due to the nature of most of the new Pokemon, however the one bestowed upon Granbull, Play Rough (possibly the only one, correct me if I'm wrong) is enough for it to make use of its new typing and Atk stat just fine, as well as having a chance to further lower the opponent's Atk stat.

With access to Intimidate, receiving such a useful typing, and having decent HP and a huge base 120 Atk stat, Granbull can find a number of relevant switch-in opportunities as well as opportunities to hit whatever comes in hard, depending on which set one chooses to run. However, Granbull's biggest flaws don't seem to have been entirely erased in the transition to a new Generation. It still boasts a pitiful Base 45 Speed stat, hindering any chance of it successfully sweeping without paralysis or Trick Room support, as well as average defenses in general. Despite its flaws, hopefully it can manage to shine in the higher tiers as being one of the few physically-oriented Fairy Pokemon, both offensively and defensively.

Potential Sets:

Fairy Bulldog (Offensive Support)
Granbull @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Earthquake
- Heal Bell
- Thunder Wave/Toxic/Super Fang

This set is very similar to its primary set in the previous Generation in both moves and how it plays; Thanks to Intimidate, it can switch in on a number of physical Bug, Fighting, Dark, and Dragon attackers and either hit them with the appropriate move or just outright cripple them further with a status move. Play Rough is your physical STAB move of choice, with a fairly-decent 90 Accuracy and Power on top of a chance to reduce the opponent's Attack. This allows it to deal a huge blow to the Pokemon it's meant to check, and fortunately, the only Pokemon who do resist this move (Fire-types, Steel-types, and Poison-types) are all for the most part susceptible to Earthquake, which offers you a very solid two-move coverage. Heal Bell is useful for curing both yourself and teammates of status, and gives Granbull another role to serve on your team as a supporter who can hit hard. Thunder Wave and Toxic are both useful status options, as one allows Granbull to "fix" its issue of having terrible Speed, while the other allows it to ruin some walls/sweepers and put them on a timer. Super Fang however, is also useful if you would rather just go straight for further chipping away at the opponent's team.

An Adamant nature and maximum Atk is recommended to get the most out of Granbull's physical capability as an attacker, however one can also choose a spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD with an Impish nature to make an effective physical wall out of Granbull and improve its physical bulk greatly.


Spike Unchained (Choice Band)
Granbull @ Choice Band
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Earthquake
- Super Fang
- Fire Punch

With a Choice Band, Granbull's vast strength is greatly improved, and now has the capability of being able to deal an incredible amount of damage to most Pokemon in general with the appropriate move, furthering its niche and great switch-in chances it has with the new Fairy typing.

Play Rough and Earthquake are still necessary options for a wide range of coverage. In fact, the last two moves aren't as entirely set in stone given Granbull's huge offensive movepool. There were way too many options for me to want to list without causing cluttering, and it's best you use the last two moveslots to tailor to what else you want Granbull hitting. Super Fang is still viable for scoring an easy chunk of HP on switch-ins from a wide range of Pokemon without having to worry about predictions. Fire Punch is preferred to hit Steels who are neutral to Earthquake or immune, such as Skarmory and Scizor, due to how easily they can switch in on Granbull after it forces something out. However, you can still use the elemental punches, Crunch, Rock Tomb (Thanks to the buff it got this gen, it's actually more viable than ever), Close Combat, Wild Charge, and even Iron Tail (If you really hate Fairies) in order to help Granbull play to the best of its ability.

If you REALLY were feeling ballsy, you could use 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP with the ability Rattled, since Granbull now resists Dark and Bug moves, making it very easy to obtain a Speed boost. However though, this is more trouble than it's worth due to the fact Granbull will still be outsped by most offensive Pokemon even at +1, not to mention the utility Intimidate has that allows it to come in on most Pokemon in the first place.


Conclusion

Well, from a glance and playing Pokemon X for a bit myself, that's all I can say I see Granbull has got going for it. It's got some decent bulk and strong Atk stat on top of a movepool and an ability that makes them all work together rather nicely. Despite its flaws that haven't entirely changed, do you think Granbull's new pure Fairy-typing will be a godsend for it? Will it be able to hang in the higher tiers, possibly OU? Has Game Freak given this Pokemon a niche to help it last through the ages as the fledgling metagame takes off?​

 

[pkmn-taicho321]

I love the design of this pokemon, so it saddens me to say that he's just too slow. He'll see some Niche use inside of TR teams, but only because people like him, not because he does anything that others can't.

 

[Wizarus]

Lost the normal typing so no STAB on facade anymore. Sucks too since Normal/Fairy gets pretty decent coverage.

 

[Mattman324]

Lost the normal typing so no STAB on facade anymore

On the other hand, he is no longer literally outclassed in every single way by Ursaring, so this is a plus.

 

[Icy_eagle]

I love the design of this pokemon, so it saddens me to say that he's just too slow. He'll see some Niche use inside of TR teams, but only because people like him, not because he does anything that others can't.

It does seem to be the best physically defensive fairy so far at least. But yeah, that speed hurts.

 

[Mattman324]

It does seem to be the best physically defensive fairy so far at least. But yeah, that speed hurts.

Aside from the obvious Carbink and Xerneas, he is. Unfortunately, the lack of actual stats for this make him fail at that.

 

[pkmn-taicho321]

It does seem to be the best physically defensive fairy so far at least. But yeah, that speed hurts.

What about Mega Mawile? I mean 90/75/60 (Granbull) vs 50/125/95 (Mawile) the stats for Mawile are very physically bulky. Not to mention Steel/ Fairy is just a better defensive typing.

 

[Fuzzball]

You left out Roar, which it learns by level up (at least it has in every past generation...) That could be a useful move too, to shuffle a team around and spread status.

 

[Fundance]

His defenses really aren't far off from Azumarill, who also hits harder and has belly drum priority. I think his niche is going to be making use of Heal Bell and other support moves in combination with its impressive (for a support pokemon/cleric) offense. Azumarill doesn't really have any business using support moves.

 

[Icy_eagle]

Aside from the obvious Carbink and Xerneas, he is. Unfortunately, the lack of actual stats for this make him fail at that.

carbink hates being part rock type though I think. 4x damage from steel and all

What about Mega Mawile? I mean 90/75/60 (Granbull) vs 50/125/95 (Mawile) the stats for Mawile are very physically bulky. Not to mention Steel/ Fairy is just a better defensive typing.

Forgot about Mawile, though that depends entirely on which pokémon you want to spend the mega slot on.

 

[Mattman324]

carbink hates being part rock type though I think. 4x damage from steel and all



Forgot about Mawile, though that depends entirely on which pokémon you want to spend the mega slot on.

Mawile only gets the Intimidate on the first switch, Granbull can keep using it throughout the game. That's a plus in Granbull's book.
As for Carbink, it can still wall better than Granbull (except against Metagross, who beats EVERY fairy currently out), but it has nothing to do with that, a la Shuckle (who it is almost certainly based on)

 

[CoolStoryBrobat]

As far as Mawile goes though, should you opt to run Mega Mawile, you're gonna be using it for a significantly more offensive role, because as Mattman324 said, you're gonna only pull off Intimidate once should you choose to subsequently mega-evolve, which also means it takes up your team's Mega Evo slot. Granted, regular Mawile is still Steel/Fairy and does have Intimidate, but the catch is 50/80/55 is ultimately inferior to 90/75/60. So it's not necessarily outclassed if it's not going to be performing the same role for your team.

 

[Fireburn]

If Granbull is going to be worth it over Azumarill or Landorus-T then it really should be running this:

Granbull @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk
Impish Nature
- Play Rough
- Fire Punch / Earthquake
- Thunder Wave
- Roar / Heal Bell / Taunt

120 base Attack is more than good enough to hurt things without investment. With full investment in defenses and Intimidate, Granbull can accomplish some pretty impressive feats - CB Terrakion never 2HKOes with Stone Edge after Stealth Rock, nor does CB Garchomp Earthquake, and DD Dragonite/Salamence are screwed against this guy. It hopelessly walls Lucario without Bullet Punch, and even then, +1 Mega Lucario Bullet Punch does 63% max, allowing Granbull to tank the blow and hit it with Fire Punch or paralyze it with Thunder Wave (although sadly Mega Blaziken OHKOes after SR with Flare Blitz and SD). It can also tank a Swords Dance boosted Earthquake from Landorus-T and Roar it away, which barely does over half without Life Orb. Thunder Wave and Roar are by far his best support moves and set him apart from stuff like Landorus-T, particularly TWave as he forces physical Grounds to switch out and it can cripple special powerhouses that may try to take advantage of him. I would not run Toxic on Granbull as he just baits Steels and Poison types. :X

IMO Fire Punch is superior to Earthquake since it stops Forretress and Ferrothorn from using you as Spikes bait and it still hurts Aegislash and Mega Lucario. Granbull can also use Taunt to stop Spikers if you want to keep Earthquake for Heatran and the stronger hit on Mega Lucario. He just barely outspeeds Forretress which is cool!

He has much greater physical bulk than Azumarill and support options Landorus-T would murder someone for, so take advantage of those!

 

[Haze Milotic]

I do believe Granbull is the only Fairy to learn EQ, so at least that's a plus. Takes out the steel types.

 

[TaiCrunch]

Would a Quick Feet set be viable at all?

 

[ColtCababa]

Would a Quick Feet set be viable at all?

Granbull would absolutely hate to be burned or badly poisoned, and it would be situational for it to get paralyzed, unless you use Thunder Wave on something with Magic Bounce, which you should not count on. And with it's low Speed, it'll still be very, very prone to being revenge killed. Intimidate is by far superior, and Granbull should be more defensively-inclined than aiming to outspeed things.

 

[JayHankEdLyon]

Granbull would absolutely hate to be burned or badly poisoned, and it would be situational for it to get paralyzed, unless you use Thunder Wave on something with Magic Bounce, which you should not count on. And with it's low Speed, it'll still be very, very prone to being revenge killed. Intimidate is by far superior, and Granbull should be more defensively-inclined than aiming to outspeed things.

This. Also, even if you do want a gimmicky speedy set, Rattled is there for you, boosted by Granbull's sudden resistance to Bug and Dark and the new dominance of Ghost. Predict a U-Turn? Switch in Granbull to take the hit and get fast.

Sure, it's still a gimmick, but at least it's slightly more viable than Quick Feet.

(Bear in mind this thing still has 45 speed, so.)

 

[Selena Gomaz]

It's a shame as Granbull has a great movepool, but it riddled with issues. It's 90/75/60 defenses aren't exactly stellar. To get the most out of a defensive Granbull, it would require you to get an intimidate off. It can't take a special hit even if its life depended on it. The most important thing is that it lacks reliable recovery. Although, I can see it paring well with a bulky Water, but even at that, it would require it to apart of a 3-defensive core which isn't exactly suitable this generation with the nerf of weather moves.

 

[Deleted User [105998]]

How would an Assault Vest work on Granbull? It turns some 2HKOs into 3HKO with an Adamant nature and max HP and 48 SpDef Evs although it misses the power from the choice band it also appreciates the ability to switch moves. It also can take 2 hits from Life Orb Scizor and OHKO with Fire punch even with 0 Def investment. Max Special Defense investment makes it bulkier on the special side than it is on the physical even after intimidate. It makes hits like scarfed Rotom-W's Thunderbolt a 5HKO or specs Rotom-W's Hydro pump a 3HKO ~90% of the time.

Granbull @ Assault Vest
Adamant/Careful Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 208 Atk/ 48 SpD
or 252 HP/4 Def/ 252 SpD
-Play Rough
-Crunch
-Earthquake
-Firepunch/Firefang

For an offensive Assault Vest set it misses out on the extra power of choice band while the Defensive set misses out on the ability to spread status and be a cleric (Granbull is too slow to do this effectively IMO anyways) However without any reliable recovery it doesn't really miss all that much out of losing its status moves and actually being able to survive a couple special hits make Granbull much more versatile. This set really really really hates being burned so it runs crunch instead of super fang to deal with ghosts

 

[Franklyna]

How would an Assault Vest work on Granbull? It turns some 2HKOs into 3HKO with an Adamant nature and max HP and 48 SpDef Evs although it misses the power from the choice band it also appreciates the ability to switch moves. It also can take 2 hits from Life Orb Scizor and OHKO with Fire punch even with 0 Def investment. Max Special Defense investment makes it bulkier on the special side than it is on the physical even after intimidate. It makes hits like scarfed Rotom-W's Thunderbolt a 5HKO or specs Rotom-W's Hydro pump a 3HKO ~90% of the time.

Granbull @ Assault Vest
Adamant/Careful Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 208 Atk/ 48 SpD
or 252 HP/4 Def/ 252 SpD
-Play Rough
-Crunch
-Earthquake
-Firepunch/Firefang

For an offensive Assault Vest set it misses out on the extra power of choice band while the Defensive set misses out on the ability to spread status and be a cleric (Granbull is too slow to do this effectively IMO anyways) However without any reliable recovery it doesn't really miss all that much out of losing its status moves and actually being able to survive a couple special hits make Granbull much more versatile. This set really really really hates being burned so it runs crunch instead of super fang to deal with ghosts

This is an interesting set I'd love to try, and I'm interested in seeing some calcs for it. However, realistically speaking, would Granbull ever fight against a Scizor when there are other, stronger/better checks in the OU environment? I don't really think Granbull will go above RU this gen.

Not that I'm complaining. I love Granbull and am primarily a lower tier player, so bring on the fairy bulldog!

 

[Pipotchi]

I think he has a decent niche. He's more usable as a fighting type counter than M.Mawile due to pure fairy typing, and won't get destroyed like togekiss by a stone edge which is common on fighting types. Between Play Rough and EQ he has great coverage as ground hits fire, poison and steel for super effective. The only 3 commonly used pokemon who resist the combo are crobat, skarmory, bronzong.
That means you can have 2 attacking moves and 2 utility moves from his quite good support moveset. Since intimidate will cause switches, you can use thunder wave to paralyze the switch-ins, as well as roar to shuffle after tanking a hit cushioned by intimidate/ spread status.

Granbull @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Adamant/Impish Nature
-Play Rough
-EQ
-Thunder Wave
-Roar

Alternatively (and I guess this is my favourite because its a little weird) use Granbull to set up sun. Not only does this support his allies as I believe Granbull's niche is to support and be offensive at the same time, but it allows him to run Fire Blast which roasts usual threats Scizor, Ferrothorn and Skarmory despite no special attack investment.

Granbull @ Leftovers/Heat Rock
Ability: Intimidate
0 Speed IVs
Relaxed Nature
-Play Rough
-Earthquake
-Sunny Day
-Fire Blast

0 SpA Granbull Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 208 SpD Ferrothorn in Sun: 236-280 (67 - 79.5%)

0 SpA Granbull Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Scizor in Sun: 376-444 (109.6 - 129.4%)

0 SpA Granbull Fire Blast vs. 224 HP / 32 SpD Skarmory in Sun: 204-240 (62.3 - 73.3%)



In comparison, regular CB scizor fails to OHKO after switching into the sunny day, hitting for 86% with bullet punch if it chooses to stay in (only a ohko after stealth rock and a layer of spikes), meaning it must switch out with u-turn (a resisted hit) lest it get one shotted by fire blast. Ferrothorn deals a surprisingly low 29-34% with STAB super effective gyro ball against 252/0 granbull due to granbull's equally pathetic speed, and will be taken out by 2 sun-boosted fire blasts.
Skarmory fares the best, but it's roosting can be played around but abusing it to switch in a powerful sun sweeper without taking a hit/getting phazed out.



edit: he doesnt learn fire punch right? someone posted it before.. but i was sure granbull doesnt learn it. if he does then you could replace fire blast with it in the sunny day set, although fire punch barely does 50% to standard skarmory even in the sun- it also doesn't give a reliable 1hko on ferro unless investing very heavily into attack (adamant with 252 deals 101%). Both fire punch and fire blast wipe scizor off the face of the planet of course.

 

[CoolStoryBrobat]

I think he has a decent niche. He's more usable as a fighting type counter than M.Mawile due to pure fairy typing, and won't get destroyed like togekiss by a stone edge which is common on fighting types. Between Play Rough and EQ he has great coverage as ground hits fire, poison and steel for super effective. The only 3 commonly used pokemon who resist the combo are crobat, skarmory, bronzong.
That means you can have 2 attacking moves and 2 utility moves from his quite good support moveset. Since intimidate will cause switches, you can use thunder wave to paralyze the switch-ins, as well as roar to shuffle after tanking a hit cushioned by intimidate/ spread status.

Granbull @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Adamant/Impish Nature
-Play Rough
-EQ
-Thunder Wave
-Roar

Alternatively (and I guess this is my favourite because its a little weird) use Granbull to set up sun. Not only does this support his allies as I believe Granbull's niche is to support and be offensive at the same time, but it allows him to run Fire Blast which roasts usual threats Scizor, Ferrothorn and Skarmory despite no special attack investment.

Granbull @ Leftovers/Heat Rock
Ability: Intimidate
0 Speed IVs
Relaxed Nature
-Play Rough
-Earthquake
-Sunny Day
-Fire Blast

0 SpA Granbull Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 208 SpD Ferrothorn in Sun: 236-280 (67 - 79.5%)

0 SpA Granbull Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Scizor in Sun: 376-444 (109.6 - 129.4%)

0 SpA Granbull Fire Blast vs. 224 HP / 32 SpD Skarmory in Sun: 204-240 (62.3 - 73.3%)



In comparison, regular CB scizor fails to OHKO after switching into the sunny day, hitting for 86% with bullet punch if it chooses to stay in (only a ohko after stealth rock and a layer of spikes), meaning it must switch out with u-turn (a resisted hit) lest it get one shotted by fire blast. Ferrothorn deals a surprisingly low 29-34% with STAB super effective gyro ball against 252/0 granbull due to granbull's equally pathetic speed, and will be taken out by 2 sun-boosted fire blasts.
Skarmory fares the best, but it's roosting can be played around but abusing it to switch in a powerful sun sweeper without taking a hit/getting phazed out.



edit: he doesnt learn fire punch right? someone posted it before.. but i was sure granbull doesnt learn it. if he does then you could replace fire blast with it in the sunny day set, although fire punch barely does 50% to standard skarmory even in the sun- it also doesn't give a reliable 1hko on ferro unless investing very heavily into attack (adamant with 252 deals 101%). Both fire punch and fire blast wipe scizor off the face of the planet of course.

Granbull does in fact get Fire Punch, but post Pokebank only. However pre-Pokebank, you can run with Fire Fang. I think it may be more useful than going mixed because you're at least being backed by Granbull's infinitely superior Atk stat, and won't get screwed by Fire Blast's accuracy. You also pretty much get the same output if not higher for each of those calcs save for Skarmory with Fire Fang > Fire Blast, especially if sun was up. The mixed set's a good lure for most of them but I think between its low Speed, potential hazards, and possibility that it may have been tanking a hit somewhere earlier, it may be a lot harder in practice.

But I do like the discussion you guys got going, haha.

 

[SirPainsalot]

Ehhh I think it's kinda underrated.
I use a Rattled Choice Band set that aims at getting the most coverage; coverage that actually gives it a decent niche.

Play Rough/Earthquake/Crunch/Close Combat/Ice Punch/Fire Punch, with the latter four being switchable according to your team's coverage. Play Rough and EQ being your bread and butter.

Banded 120 attack is no joke honestly, most things will fall under a 2HKO depending on what move you use. With setup like rocks and spikes, OHKO's are common.

Rattled is legit helpful for Granbull which has naturally low speed. Stuff like U-Turn and ghost moves are extremely common, and Granbull has enough bulk to live at least one hit and return with a hit of its own.
After a boost (with Jolly) it outspeeds most non-scarfed pokemon, exception being timid Mega Gengar that I learned the hard way. (though it did live the Shadow Ball; should've sacrificed something first, then take the Shadow Ball)

One thing to consider is that while Choice Band adds nice power, it also limits versatility. Considering its great coverage, Expert Belt could give it a boost without being detrimental to its ability to take a hit and live. I haven't tried it yet though, and it probably gets way less kills this way, but it's an option.

All in all, I have to say that it has its definite uses. Perhaps not in OU, definitely in UU/RU.

 

[SomeDrunkRockLee]

Ehhh I think it's kinda underrated.
I use a Rattled Choice Band set that aims at getting the most coverage; coverage that actually gives it a decent niche.

Play Rough/Earthquake/Crunch/Close Combat/Ice Punch/Fire Punch, with the latter four being switchable according to your team's coverage. Play Rough and EQ being your bread and butter.

Banded 120 attack is no joke honestly, most things will fall under a 2HKO depending on what move you use. With setup like rocks and spikes, OHKO's are common.

Rattled is legit helpful for Granbull which has naturally low speed. Stuff like U-Turn and ghost moves are extremely common, and Granbull has enough bulk to live at least one hit and return with a hit of its own.
After a boost (with Jolly) it outspeeds most non-scarfed pokemon, exception being timid Mega Gengar that I learned the hard way. (though it did live the Shadow Ball; should've sacrificed something first, then take the Shadow Ball)

One thing to consider is that while Choice Band adds nice power, it also limits versatility. Considering its great coverage, Expert Belt could give it a boost without being detrimental to its ability to take a hit and live. I haven't tried it yet though, and it probably gets way less kills this way, but it's an option.

All in all, I have to say that it has its definite uses. Perhaps not in OU, definitely in UU/RU.

Uhm, at only 310 speed, you're outsped by a LOT more than timid mega gengar. In fact, you're also outsped by timid normal gengar, starmie, keldeo, and more. Everything above base 95 (317 Speed) [I'm guessing something around 93 base speed is the real cut off, but I don't have a stat calculator on this comp] can outspeed if max speed with a plus speed nature. That means that even base 110s (like Gengar) with a neutral nature can outspeed.

 

[gabriel]

If Granbull is going to be worth it over Azumarill or Landorus-T then it really should be running this:

Granbull @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk
Impish Nature
- Play Rough
- Fire Punch / Earthquake
- Thunder Wave
- Roar / Heal Bell / Taunt

120 base Attack is more than good enough to hurt things without investment. With full investment in defenses and Intimidate, Granbull can accomplish some pretty impressive feats - CB Terrakion never 2HKOes with Stone Edge after Stealth Rock, nor does CB Garchomp Earthquake, and DD Dragonite/Salamence are screwed against this guy. It hopelessly walls Lucario without Bullet Punch, and even then, +1 Mega Lucario Bullet Punch does 63% max, allowing Granbull to tank the blow and hit it with Fire Punch or paralyze it with Thunder Wave (although sadly Mega Blaziken OHKOes after SR with Flare Blitz and SD). It can also tank a Swords Dance boosted Earthquake from Landorus-T and Roar it away, which barely does over half without Life Orb. Thunder Wave and Roar are by far his best support moves and set him apart from stuff like Landorus-T, particularly TWave as he forces physical Grounds to switch out and it can cripple special powerhouses that may try to take advantage of him. I would not run Toxic on Granbull as he just baits Steels and Poison types. :X

IMO Fire Punch is superior to Earthquake since it stops Forretress and Ferrothorn from using you as Spikes bait and it still hurts Aegislash and Mega Lucario. Granbull can also use Taunt to stop Spikers if you want to keep Earthquake for Heatran and the stronger hit on Mega Lucario. He just barely outspeeds Forretress which is cool!

He has much greater physical bulk than Azumarill and support options Landorus-T would murder someone for, so take advantage of those!

I can only agree. Granbull is an underrated physical wall. I've been playing in a 3 vs 3 environment (wi-fi random matches) and I can attest to Granbull's effectiveness as a physical wall. I run the following set:

Granbull @ Air Balloon
Impish, 252 HP/Def 6 Sp.Def
- Play Rough
- Heal Bell
- Thunder Wave
- Reflect

Thanks to Air Balloon, it can easily check Garchomp and pretty much every other physical dragon, since they usually rely on dragon move + ground move + coverage. Granbull puts you in a nice position: you can easily 2KO if they try to pop your balloon with their coverage move, set up Reflect to make sure they won't be killing you anytime soon, or Thunder Wave whatever switches in. And if a team-mate is in trouble, you can help them out with Heal Bell, since you usually have the time. And don't you think you need Reflect in order to take hits from those nasty dragons: I haven't run any calculations, but my experience has showed Mega Garchomp can't even 2KO Granbull with Iron Head after Intimidate.

Since 3 vs 3 wifi battles are much shorter than 6 vs 6 and you can only use one leftovers, I think Air Balloon is fairly useful for the aforementioned reasons, and even after it's popped, Granbull can still check physical dragons pretty decently. For 6 vs 6 Battles, I'm pretty sure the lack of leftovers would hurt, but giving up on Air Balloon would drastically reduce Granbull's ability to take on dragon types, since it'll have to predict a dragon or setup move in order to switch in.

I'm sure Granbull can also check some fighting types efficiently too, but since my team has others ways of countering them (and I do my best to keep Air Balloon intact) it usually doesn't need to get its hands dirty.