I beg to differ. I saw Aipom support sometimes, and really, it's a good thing. It is not played yes, but it's viable. Buneary can be played as a anti-lead, and he is outclassed by Aipom, we are fine I guess ? Now for a support set, Aipom can run support too. He has Twave, Taunt, U-Turn, Good Bulk, what is the problem ?
I think that Healing Wish + Encore is good, but Knock Off + U-Turn + Taunt can offset.
And for me, I think that Healing Wish isn't enough, you have my opinion.
I agree for these facts, having ONE niche that puts you into a certain rank. (B- for this.) Is incredibly stupid since most things that aren't just super excellent at their one role usually have multiple niches to go along with that ranking. Yeah Aipom can run a support set, multi hit set, wallbreaker, or even NastyPass which is meh imo as well. Buneary gets Healing Wish, Encore, Cosmic Power, yeah it has great support, but it requires team support, and a reason to use Healing Wish on it. CosmicPass is shit since most defense raising moves are completely useless and things can easily set up on you since most CosmicPassers have little to no offensive presence Buneary has great bulk, but the typing against a really common offensive typing in this metagame is meh, since things like Pancham,
Timburr, Mienfoo, and others dominate this metagame at A rank and above, Mienfoo being S rank due to its sheer force and pivoting skills, and it can alternatively run a Scarf, OR even a bulky set. Which is why it's S, it plays these roles effectively. Buneary has a bad weakness to this common offensive type, and Fighting coverage isn't rare. Abra runs HP Fighting as an example. Yeah you could argue about Ferroseed being weak to it and still being A+ but it has the bulk. 22/18/18 is EVd right, to take this attacks very well. Buneary though, has good bulk, but a weakness to common offensive typing and literally no way to hit these guys besides Tricking/Switchrooing an item to
hopefully render them useless or weaker. Overall, Buneary deserves a rank up, despite me not playing it I've seen how it can be a great supporter, but it's still niche.
Buneary --> C OR C+.
Edit 1: Buneary does sit at a god speed tier also tbh, but to run speed you sacrifice bulk.
Playing with some calcs.
196 Atk Timburr Mach Punch vs. 236 HP / 0 Def Buneary: 14-20 (56 - 80%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
This is one of your checks, but here's the thing. If you want to make is almost useless, you'd have to Switcheroo a Choice Scarf
or specs if reel onto it, which those would cripple Timburr completely and make sure it's not able to do anything all match. But you sacrifice two things. 1: Bulk with Eviolite. 2: The ability to Switcheroo a defensive mon.
236 Atk Life Orb Mienfoo High Jump Kick vs. 236 HP / 244+ Def Buneary: 42-55 (168 - 220%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Meet the almighty fast Fighting type you see, and here's the thing.
Mienfoo amply runs a Choice Scarf set, it does a LOT and it's very effective, making Switcheroo suppor tuseless on the switch.
You outspeed, but you can't OHKO Mienfoo.
| 1 | Mienfoo | 47.76973% | 18662 | 22.932% | 15867 | 24.678% |
*Whistles* Look at that usage.
Yeah I know I'm being super negative about Buneary, but these are some flaws you cannot fix just by EVing it up right or playing smart.
Edit 2: Yeah I know Aipom is weak to this guys, but Aipom actually
checks Life Orb Mienfoo, which is the most used item iirc. It doesn't want to switch in, but it outspeeds, and if you two meet as leads, you're an Anti-Lead with Fake Out usually there, and you outspeed.
196 Atk Aipom Fake Out vs. 0 HP / 36 Def Mienfoo: 7-9 (33.3 - 42.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
196 Atk Aipom Bullet Seed (5 hits) vs. 0 HP / 36 Def Mienfoo: 15-20 (71.4 - 95.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Note: I changed the typing to normal and made it 18 BP like Fury Swipes.
196 Atk Aipom Return vs. 0 HP / 36 Def Mienfoo: 15-18 (71.4 - 85.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
See? It checks it, but Timburr checks both of them because priority.