Overview
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Mega Lopunny has quickly cemented itself as one of the best new Mega Evolutions in OU. Its excellent Speed tier enables it to outspeed most of the unboosted metagame, and it has access to two powerful STAB moves backed up by a very respectable base 136 Attack. Furthermore, Scrappy gives it perfect coverage with its STAB types alone (bar Shedinja, which is extremely uncommon in OU), giving it two completely free slots where it can fit Fake Out, Power-Up Punch, Substitute, Ice Punch, Encore, Baton Pass, and more. Its combination of Speed and power makes it an excellent tool to use against offensive teams, and its access to Power-Up Punch and Encore make it of use against more defensive teams too, though it struggles to break past many physically defensive Pokemon due to its lack of raw power and the large number of Pokemon that resist Fighting, which often are found on these types of teams. Finally, an immunity to Ghost and a resistance to Dark give it opportunities to switch in on the likes of Gengar and Bisharp. It is, however, rather frail, holding little defensive prowess due to its lack of bulk and resistances. It is also easily worn down by residual damage, entry hazards, and High Jump Kick recoil.
All-Out Attacker
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name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Return
move 3: Fake Out
move 4: Power-Up Punch / Ice Punch
ability: Limber
item: Lopunnite
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Adamant
Moves
========
High Jump Kick is Lopunny's most powerful STAB move and Return is its most reliable STAB move; the two combined have perfect coverage together thanks to Scrappy. Fake Out is a great move on Lopunny, getting chip damage on faster attackers that can threaten Lopunny out as well as slower ones that are able to survive one hit from it otherwise. It also enables Lopunny to Mega Evolve against faster Pokemon such as Latios and Keldeo. Finally, it enables Lopunny to emergency check sweepers such as Rock Polish Landorus and Mega Gyarados if the team has no other option for stopping them from sweeping than to continuously rack up Fake Out damage. Power-Up Punch is Lopunny's best physical boosting move. It enables Lopunny to break past physical walls that are too passive to stop it from setting up and puts a lot of pressure on defensive teams in general. Ice Punch OHKOes Choice Scarf Landorus-T and offensive Garchomp and 2HKOes both of these Pokemon's defensive variants. Substitute can be used over Fake Out and enables Lopunny to take advantage of the switches it causes and makes it more useful against bulkier teams; specifically, Substitute helps against Protect users such as Ferrothorn and Heatran. It pairs up very well with Power-Up Punch, giving Lopunny protection against status and the ability to scout for switches. Substitute also enables Lopunny to take advantage of Mega Sableye, Mandibuzz, and Alomomola, which cannot break its Substitute with any move. Toxic is an alternative to Power-Up Punch that enables Lopunny to cripple physical walls such as Hippowdon, Slowbro, and Alomomola. Finally, Healing Wish can be used over Power-Up Punch, as it provides fantastic utility, letting Lopunny heal a teammate for free.
Set Details
========
Giving Lopunny Limber enables it to switch in on Thunder Wave users such as Chansey and Ferrothorn. A Jolly nature is preferred over an Adamant one because it enables Lopunny to outspeed positive-natured base 119 Speed Pokemon and above, specifically Tornadus-T, Weavile, and Mega Pidgeot as well as Mega Tyranitar and Mega Gyarados at +1. However, Adamant can also be used for the chance to OHKO Landorus-T after Stealth Rock damage 87.5% of the time as well as always 2HKO physically defensive Landorus-T with Ice Punch, 2HKO mixed defensive Clefable, and 2HKO Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage. At +1, an Adamant nature guarantees that Lopunny can 2HKO Hippowdon and Celebi and 2HKO Chesnaught without having to use High Jump Kick and risk losing half its health to a Spiky Shield.
Usage Tips
========
Fake Out should be used very regularly against offensive teams to get as much chip damage on everything as possible and not be immediately forced out by faster foes. However, you should be more conservative with using Fake Out against bulkier teams because you might waste turns and let Lopunny take unnecessary damage from Iron Barbs, Rough Skin, and Rocky Helmet. Power-Up Punch is a very good move to use if Lopunny can sweep the rest of the team at +1. However, do not use it against foes that are able to deal a lot of damage to Lopunny, unless they are weakened to the point where Power-Up Punch can still take them out. Power-Up Punch can also be used if you need to weaken an opposing physical wall so that another Pokemon can sweep more easily, but doing so often comes at the cost of losing Lopunny. Against offensive teams, it is generally better not to use Power-Up Punch; focus instead on dealing as much immediate damage as possible and causing chip damage with Fake Out. Try to pivot into Lopunny if you can, as although its bulk isn't terrible, its lack of resistances severely limits the number of times it can switch in. Lopunny serves as a very good lead because Fake Out combined with its high Speed enables it to anti-lead Focus Sash leads. However, be wary of Breloom and Garchomp leads, as the former can deal massive damage to Lopunny with Mach Punch and the latter can severely chip away at its health, and Lopunny cannot KO it with the combination of Fake Out and High Jump Kick.
Team Options
========
This set functions well on both offensive and balanced teams as a tool to not only threaten offensive teams but also put pressure on bulkier teams. Lopunny needs to be paired with a Pokemon that can take on faster attackers and priority users (particularly Talonflame), such as Heatran. Lopunny appreciates support from a strong wallbreaker such as Landorus or Gengar that can threaten defensive teams, which Lopunny struggles with, as well as wear down the likes of Gliscor and Ferrothorn. It also pairs up well with Pokemon that like certain physical walls weakened or can, conversely, weaken said physical walls for Lopunny, such as Azumarill, Excadrill, Tyranitar, Talonflame, and Diggersby. Physically defensive Garchomp is an excellent Lopunny partner, as it lures in bulky Water- and Ground-types and can surprise them with Toxic; it can also weaken Talonflame, Pinsir, and Azumarill via the combination of Rough Skin and Rocky Helmet. Lopunny enjoys Wish or Healing Wish support, as it can easily get worn down and be unable to break past bulkier teams. Jirachi in particular serves as a good Wish passer because it can counter Clefable and check Altaria. A teammate that can bait out and weaken physical walls, such as Talonflame, can pave the way for Lopunny to spam its powerful STAB moves. Support from a slow pivot is also very useful to have on a Lopunny team. Rotom-W is a particularly good partner because it checks Choice Scarf Landorus-T and Talonflame, both big threats to Lopunny. Lopunny also appreciates support from strong Pursuit trappers such as Bisharp and Weavile, as they can severely weaken bulky Psychic-types, which wall Lopunny. Stealth Rock and Spikes support from a teammate such as Landorus-T or Klefki enables Lopunny to weaken a lot of its checks, forcing them into a range where they are 2HKOed by Lopunny much more easily, and the support also wards off the likes of Talonflame and Pinsir.
Substitute Attacker
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name: Substitute
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Return
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Encore / Baton Pass
ability: Limber
item: Lopunnite
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Adamant
Moves
========
High Jump Kick and Return are very good STAB moves, the former being more powerful and the latter being more reliable. Substitute lets Lopunny play around Protect users, status users, and defensive Pokemon that enjoy switching into it in general. Encore lets Lopunny take advantage of defensive Pokemon, potentially locking them into a non-attacking move such as Recover, Defog, or Stealth Rock, which enables it to set up a Substitute for free. Baton Pass is a nice way of fast pivoting and enables Lopunny to pass a Substitute to a wallbreaker to take advantage of the wall it hopefully baited in. Ice Punch is Lopunny's best way of handling Landorus-T and Garchomp, which can find themselves switching in on a Substitute only to get hit by Ice Punch the following turn. Drain Punch is decent paired up with Substitute, as it gives Lopunny some longevity and stops it from getting worn down too much. It also removes the limit on the amount of Substitutes Lopunny can set up in one match. Toxic can be very useful for wearing down the likes of Slowbro, Landorus-T, and Hippowdon, while Endeavor and Flail can seriously damage walls if Lopunny is able to Substitute down to very low health.
Set Details
========
Limber is the most useful pre-Mega Evolution ability because it gives Lopunny temporary paralysis immunity. 4 HP EVs are used instead of 4 Defense so that Lopunny can potentially set up four Substitutes in one match. Adamant can be used for more power and a much higher chance to OHKO Ferrothorn after Stealth Rock damage and 2HKO mixed defensive Clefable, but Jolly is usually preferred because it enables Lopunny to outspeed a few key threats and Mega Evolve more easily against offensive teams.
Usage Tips
========
Return and High Jump Kick are Lopunny's most useful moves by far, with Return being its safest STAB move to use because it has perfect accuracy and most Pokemon that resist it are outsped and hit very hard by High Jump Kick and are therefore unlikely to switch in. High Jump Kick should be used if you need the extra power brought by it compared to Return. Substitute is meant to be used against defensive Pokemon such as Mega Sableye, Mew, and Chansey, as they are more likely to try to status Lopunny rather than attack. It is a particularly good move for scouting Protect users that resist Lopunny's Normal-type STAB move, such as Heatran and Ferrothorn. It is also a good method of scouting for switches. If Lopunny locks a Pokemon into a recovery move with Encore, it should stay in and keep attacking, and when the Encore counter runs out, Lopunny should Encore again until the foe runs out of PP for its recovery move. Keep in mind that Encore will no longer work when the PP of the last move used does run out. If Lopunny is running Baton Pass and is able to set up a Substitute as the opponent switches into a wall Lopunny cannot 2HKO, or even do so as said wall tries to status it, Baton Pass to a teammate instead of wasting time trying to beat it.
Team Options
========
This set is mainly to be used on offensive teams that need a fast, anti-offense Pokemon that can also provide some degree of team support. It pairs up well with a strong wallbreaker such as Landorus or Crawadaunt, as Encore can enable said wallbreaker to take advantage of a defensive Pokemon locked into a certain move, and if Lopunny runs Baton Pass, it can pass Substitutes to the wallbreaker to let it take advantage of the foes Lopunny can't beat on its own. Lopunny should also be paired with a Pokemon that can switch into common Choice Scarf users and Talonflame, such as Rotom-W or Hippowdon. Gothitelle is a very good partner because it traps most of Lopunny's counters and Lopunny can pivot to it via Baton Pass. Lopunny appreciates support from a Healing Wish user because it can end up at very low health if it sets up too many Substitutes. Wish support is also acceptable, but Lopunny is too frail to reliably receive Wishes.
Other Options
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Lopunny's wide movepool and free moveslots give it a plethora of viable moves to run. Substitute + Power-Up Punch and Heal Bell + Power-Up Punch both enable Lopunny to effortlessly set up on status users. Substitute is more useful against offensive teams due to its ability to scout for switches, while Heal Bell enables Lopunny to actually switch into status users and support its teammates. Encore + Power-up Punch is also a good combination, enabling Lopunny to set up on Pokemon that are locked into their recovery move. Quick Attack can be a decent option to chip away at faster attackers and Choice Scarf users. Drain Punch can be used instead of High Jump Kick, and it can serve as an accurate Fighting-type STAB move that Lopunny can use without fear against Protect users; it also gives Lopunny more longevity. However, the power of High Jump Kick is sorely missed and forgoing it prevents Lopunny from breaking through a large number of Pokemon. Facade enables Lopunny to take advantage of status; however, it should not be used over Return because a powerful Normal-type STAB move is important to have. Low Kick can be used over High Jump Kick as an accurate STAB move that reliably hits Heatran and Ferrothorn and doesn't fear Protect. However, it is noticeably weaker than High Jump Kick against the likes of Jirachi and Rotom. The combination of Power-Up Punch and Baton Pass or Work Up and Baton Pass enables Lopunny to pass boosts to its teammates; however, its frailness prevents it from doing this reliably. Endeavor can bring Lopunny down to 1 HP and Flail gives Lopunny a lot of firepower, but this combination is very unreliable and Lopunny will be KOed by any residual damage afterwards. A moveset consisting of Fake Out, High Jump Kick, and Last Resort can be used, but it loses out on a lot of potential utility, prevents Lopunny from using a normal STAB move other than Fake Out before its other two moves have been used, and forces it to use Fake Out as soon as it is sent out, which makes it very exploitable. Thunder Wave is somewhat usable, but because most of Lopunny's checks are defensive, many of them are bulky Ground-types, so this is generally a poor option.
Checks & Counters
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**Physical Walls**: Hippowdon, Skarmory, Chesnaught, Venusaur, Amoonguss, and other physically bulky Pokemon have little trouble taking Lopunny out in most cases. However, they can struggle against sets that carry Encore and can be overwhelmed by Power-Up Punch. Physically defensive Gliscor and Landorus-T can also deal with it, but both fear Ice Punch. Notably, Cofagrigus can easily take an initial hit, remove Lopunny's ability thanks to Mummy, and completely wall it thereafter.
**Fairy-types**: Physically defensive Fairy-types, such as Clefable and Mega Altaria, have little to no trouble handling Lopunny, as they resist High Jump Kick and can take a Return quite well. Clefable in particular can run Unaware to ignore Power-Up Punch's Attack boosts or Magic Guard to ignore damage from entry hazards.
**Bulky Psychic-types**: Physically defensive Psychic-types can take any of Lopunny's STAB moves as long as they have a decent amount of Defense investment. Celebi is a very good answer to Lopunny, though it can be taken advantage of thanks to the combination of Encore and Pursuit Bisharp. Slowbro and Mega Slowbro take hits from Lopunny very easily and deal a lot of damage to it with Psyshock, and the former doesn't even fear Encore sets much because of Regenerator. Physically defensive Cresselia completely walls Lopunny and can hit back quite hard with Psychic.
**Choice Scarfers and Faster Attackers**: Choice Scarf users such as Landorus-T, Keldeo, Latios, and Garchomp as well as faster Pokemon such as Mega Aerodactyl, Mega Alakazam, and Mega Sceptile can outspeed Lopunny and take it out without too much difficulty. However, all of these get worn down by Fake Out and cannot always reliably switch in.
**Priority Users**: Talonflame, Mega Pinsir, Breloom, and other priority users can KO Lopunny before it gets to attack; however, much like faster Pokemon, they can't always switch in very well.
**Residual Damage**: Lopunny can quite easily be forced to take residual damage to the point where it is taken out. Iron Barbs, Rough Skin, and Rocky Helmet users such as Ferrothorn and Garchomp can take advantage of Fake Out abuse, though the latter must switch out immediately afterwards for fear of High Jump Kick. Pokemon that carry Protect can use it to force Lopunny to take recoil damage if it uses High Jump Kick, but this can backfire if Lopunny runs Substitute, so it should only be used as a last-ditch effort. Sandstorm damage and Spikes can also chip away at Lopunny's health to some extent.
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Mega Lopunny has quickly cemented itself as one of the best new Mega Evolutions in OU. Its excellent Speed tier enables it to outspeed most of the unboosted metagame, and it has access to two powerful STAB moves backed up by a very respectable base 136 Attack. Furthermore, Scrappy gives it perfect coverage with its STAB types alone (bar Shedinja, which is extremely uncommon in OU), giving it two completely free slots where it can fit Fake Out, Power-Up Punch, Substitute, Ice Punch, Encore, Baton Pass, and more. Its combination of Speed and power makes it an excellent tool to use against offensive teams, and its access to Power-Up Punch and Encore make it of use against more defensive teams too, though it struggles to break past many physically defensive Pokemon due to its lack of raw power and the large number of Pokemon that resist Fighting, which often are found on these types of teams. Finally, an immunity to Ghost and a resistance to Dark give it opportunities to switch in on the likes of Gengar and Bisharp. It is, however, rather frail, holding little defensive prowess due to its lack of bulk and resistances. It is also easily worn down by residual damage, entry hazards, and High Jump Kick recoil.
All-Out Attacker
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name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Return
move 3: Fake Out
move 4: Power-Up Punch / Ice Punch
ability: Limber
item: Lopunnite
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Adamant
Moves
========
High Jump Kick is Lopunny's most powerful STAB move and Return is its most reliable STAB move; the two combined have perfect coverage together thanks to Scrappy. Fake Out is a great move on Lopunny, getting chip damage on faster attackers that can threaten Lopunny out as well as slower ones that are able to survive one hit from it otherwise. It also enables Lopunny to Mega Evolve against faster Pokemon such as Latios and Keldeo. Finally, it enables Lopunny to emergency check sweepers such as Rock Polish Landorus and Mega Gyarados if the team has no other option for stopping them from sweeping than to continuously rack up Fake Out damage. Power-Up Punch is Lopunny's best physical boosting move. It enables Lopunny to break past physical walls that are too passive to stop it from setting up and puts a lot of pressure on defensive teams in general. Ice Punch OHKOes Choice Scarf Landorus-T and offensive Garchomp and 2HKOes both of these Pokemon's defensive variants. Substitute can be used over Fake Out and enables Lopunny to take advantage of the switches it causes and makes it more useful against bulkier teams; specifically, Substitute helps against Protect users such as Ferrothorn and Heatran. It pairs up very well with Power-Up Punch, giving Lopunny protection against status and the ability to scout for switches. Substitute also enables Lopunny to take advantage of Mega Sableye, Mandibuzz, and Alomomola, which cannot break its Substitute with any move. Toxic is an alternative to Power-Up Punch that enables Lopunny to cripple physical walls such as Hippowdon, Slowbro, and Alomomola. Finally, Healing Wish can be used over Power-Up Punch, as it provides fantastic utility, letting Lopunny heal a teammate for free.
Set Details
========
Giving Lopunny Limber enables it to switch in on Thunder Wave users such as Chansey and Ferrothorn. A Jolly nature is preferred over an Adamant one because it enables Lopunny to outspeed positive-natured base 119 Speed Pokemon and above, specifically Tornadus-T, Weavile, and Mega Pidgeot as well as Mega Tyranitar and Mega Gyarados at +1. However, Adamant can also be used for the chance to OHKO Landorus-T after Stealth Rock damage 87.5% of the time as well as always 2HKO physically defensive Landorus-T with Ice Punch, 2HKO mixed defensive Clefable, and 2HKO Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage. At +1, an Adamant nature guarantees that Lopunny can 2HKO Hippowdon and Celebi and 2HKO Chesnaught without having to use High Jump Kick and risk losing half its health to a Spiky Shield.
Usage Tips
========
Fake Out should be used very regularly against offensive teams to get as much chip damage on everything as possible and not be immediately forced out by faster foes. However, you should be more conservative with using Fake Out against bulkier teams because you might waste turns and let Lopunny take unnecessary damage from Iron Barbs, Rough Skin, and Rocky Helmet. Power-Up Punch is a very good move to use if Lopunny can sweep the rest of the team at +1. However, do not use it against foes that are able to deal a lot of damage to Lopunny, unless they are weakened to the point where Power-Up Punch can still take them out. Power-Up Punch can also be used if you need to weaken an opposing physical wall so that another Pokemon can sweep more easily, but doing so often comes at the cost of losing Lopunny. Against offensive teams, it is generally better not to use Power-Up Punch; focus instead on dealing as much immediate damage as possible and causing chip damage with Fake Out. Try to pivot into Lopunny if you can, as although its bulk isn't terrible, its lack of resistances severely limits the number of times it can switch in. Lopunny serves as a very good lead because Fake Out combined with its high Speed enables it to anti-lead Focus Sash leads. However, be wary of Breloom and Garchomp leads, as the former can deal massive damage to Lopunny with Mach Punch and the latter can severely chip away at its health, and Lopunny cannot KO it with the combination of Fake Out and High Jump Kick.
Team Options
========
This set functions well on both offensive and balanced teams as a tool to not only threaten offensive teams but also put pressure on bulkier teams. Lopunny needs to be paired with a Pokemon that can take on faster attackers and priority users (particularly Talonflame), such as Heatran. Lopunny appreciates support from a strong wallbreaker such as Landorus or Gengar that can threaten defensive teams, which Lopunny struggles with, as well as wear down the likes of Gliscor and Ferrothorn. It also pairs up well with Pokemon that like certain physical walls weakened or can, conversely, weaken said physical walls for Lopunny, such as Azumarill, Excadrill, Tyranitar, Talonflame, and Diggersby. Physically defensive Garchomp is an excellent Lopunny partner, as it lures in bulky Water- and Ground-types and can surprise them with Toxic; it can also weaken Talonflame, Pinsir, and Azumarill via the combination of Rough Skin and Rocky Helmet. Lopunny enjoys Wish or Healing Wish support, as it can easily get worn down and be unable to break past bulkier teams. Jirachi in particular serves as a good Wish passer because it can counter Clefable and check Altaria. A teammate that can bait out and weaken physical walls, such as Talonflame, can pave the way for Lopunny to spam its powerful STAB moves. Support from a slow pivot is also very useful to have on a Lopunny team. Rotom-W is a particularly good partner because it checks Choice Scarf Landorus-T and Talonflame, both big threats to Lopunny. Lopunny also appreciates support from strong Pursuit trappers such as Bisharp and Weavile, as they can severely weaken bulky Psychic-types, which wall Lopunny. Stealth Rock and Spikes support from a teammate such as Landorus-T or Klefki enables Lopunny to weaken a lot of its checks, forcing them into a range where they are 2HKOed by Lopunny much more easily, and the support also wards off the likes of Talonflame and Pinsir.
Substitute Attacker
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name: Substitute
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Return
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Encore / Baton Pass
ability: Limber
item: Lopunnite
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Adamant
Moves
========
High Jump Kick and Return are very good STAB moves, the former being more powerful and the latter being more reliable. Substitute lets Lopunny play around Protect users, status users, and defensive Pokemon that enjoy switching into it in general. Encore lets Lopunny take advantage of defensive Pokemon, potentially locking them into a non-attacking move such as Recover, Defog, or Stealth Rock, which enables it to set up a Substitute for free. Baton Pass is a nice way of fast pivoting and enables Lopunny to pass a Substitute to a wallbreaker to take advantage of the wall it hopefully baited in. Ice Punch is Lopunny's best way of handling Landorus-T and Garchomp, which can find themselves switching in on a Substitute only to get hit by Ice Punch the following turn. Drain Punch is decent paired up with Substitute, as it gives Lopunny some longevity and stops it from getting worn down too much. It also removes the limit on the amount of Substitutes Lopunny can set up in one match. Toxic can be very useful for wearing down the likes of Slowbro, Landorus-T, and Hippowdon, while Endeavor and Flail can seriously damage walls if Lopunny is able to Substitute down to very low health.
Set Details
========
Limber is the most useful pre-Mega Evolution ability because it gives Lopunny temporary paralysis immunity. 4 HP EVs are used instead of 4 Defense so that Lopunny can potentially set up four Substitutes in one match. Adamant can be used for more power and a much higher chance to OHKO Ferrothorn after Stealth Rock damage and 2HKO mixed defensive Clefable, but Jolly is usually preferred because it enables Lopunny to outspeed a few key threats and Mega Evolve more easily against offensive teams.
Usage Tips
========
Return and High Jump Kick are Lopunny's most useful moves by far, with Return being its safest STAB move to use because it has perfect accuracy and most Pokemon that resist it are outsped and hit very hard by High Jump Kick and are therefore unlikely to switch in. High Jump Kick should be used if you need the extra power brought by it compared to Return. Substitute is meant to be used against defensive Pokemon such as Mega Sableye, Mew, and Chansey, as they are more likely to try to status Lopunny rather than attack. It is a particularly good move for scouting Protect users that resist Lopunny's Normal-type STAB move, such as Heatran and Ferrothorn. It is also a good method of scouting for switches. If Lopunny locks a Pokemon into a recovery move with Encore, it should stay in and keep attacking, and when the Encore counter runs out, Lopunny should Encore again until the foe runs out of PP for its recovery move. Keep in mind that Encore will no longer work when the PP of the last move used does run out. If Lopunny is running Baton Pass and is able to set up a Substitute as the opponent switches into a wall Lopunny cannot 2HKO, or even do so as said wall tries to status it, Baton Pass to a teammate instead of wasting time trying to beat it.
Team Options
========
This set is mainly to be used on offensive teams that need a fast, anti-offense Pokemon that can also provide some degree of team support. It pairs up well with a strong wallbreaker such as Landorus or Crawadaunt, as Encore can enable said wallbreaker to take advantage of a defensive Pokemon locked into a certain move, and if Lopunny runs Baton Pass, it can pass Substitutes to the wallbreaker to let it take advantage of the foes Lopunny can't beat on its own. Lopunny should also be paired with a Pokemon that can switch into common Choice Scarf users and Talonflame, such as Rotom-W or Hippowdon. Gothitelle is a very good partner because it traps most of Lopunny's counters and Lopunny can pivot to it via Baton Pass. Lopunny appreciates support from a Healing Wish user because it can end up at very low health if it sets up too many Substitutes. Wish support is also acceptable, but Lopunny is too frail to reliably receive Wishes.
Other Options
########
Lopunny's wide movepool and free moveslots give it a plethora of viable moves to run. Substitute + Power-Up Punch and Heal Bell + Power-Up Punch both enable Lopunny to effortlessly set up on status users. Substitute is more useful against offensive teams due to its ability to scout for switches, while Heal Bell enables Lopunny to actually switch into status users and support its teammates. Encore + Power-up Punch is also a good combination, enabling Lopunny to set up on Pokemon that are locked into their recovery move. Quick Attack can be a decent option to chip away at faster attackers and Choice Scarf users. Drain Punch can be used instead of High Jump Kick, and it can serve as an accurate Fighting-type STAB move that Lopunny can use without fear against Protect users; it also gives Lopunny more longevity. However, the power of High Jump Kick is sorely missed and forgoing it prevents Lopunny from breaking through a large number of Pokemon. Facade enables Lopunny to take advantage of status; however, it should not be used over Return because a powerful Normal-type STAB move is important to have. Low Kick can be used over High Jump Kick as an accurate STAB move that reliably hits Heatran and Ferrothorn and doesn't fear Protect. However, it is noticeably weaker than High Jump Kick against the likes of Jirachi and Rotom. The combination of Power-Up Punch and Baton Pass or Work Up and Baton Pass enables Lopunny to pass boosts to its teammates; however, its frailness prevents it from doing this reliably. Endeavor can bring Lopunny down to 1 HP and Flail gives Lopunny a lot of firepower, but this combination is very unreliable and Lopunny will be KOed by any residual damage afterwards. A moveset consisting of Fake Out, High Jump Kick, and Last Resort can be used, but it loses out on a lot of potential utility, prevents Lopunny from using a normal STAB move other than Fake Out before its other two moves have been used, and forces it to use Fake Out as soon as it is sent out, which makes it very exploitable. Thunder Wave is somewhat usable, but because most of Lopunny's checks are defensive, many of them are bulky Ground-types, so this is generally a poor option.
Checks & Counters
########
**Physical Walls**: Hippowdon, Skarmory, Chesnaught, Venusaur, Amoonguss, and other physically bulky Pokemon have little trouble taking Lopunny out in most cases. However, they can struggle against sets that carry Encore and can be overwhelmed by Power-Up Punch. Physically defensive Gliscor and Landorus-T can also deal with it, but both fear Ice Punch. Notably, Cofagrigus can easily take an initial hit, remove Lopunny's ability thanks to Mummy, and completely wall it thereafter.
**Fairy-types**: Physically defensive Fairy-types, such as Clefable and Mega Altaria, have little to no trouble handling Lopunny, as they resist High Jump Kick and can take a Return quite well. Clefable in particular can run Unaware to ignore Power-Up Punch's Attack boosts or Magic Guard to ignore damage from entry hazards.
**Bulky Psychic-types**: Physically defensive Psychic-types can take any of Lopunny's STAB moves as long as they have a decent amount of Defense investment. Celebi is a very good answer to Lopunny, though it can be taken advantage of thanks to the combination of Encore and Pursuit Bisharp. Slowbro and Mega Slowbro take hits from Lopunny very easily and deal a lot of damage to it with Psyshock, and the former doesn't even fear Encore sets much because of Regenerator. Physically defensive Cresselia completely walls Lopunny and can hit back quite hard with Psychic.
**Choice Scarfers and Faster Attackers**: Choice Scarf users such as Landorus-T, Keldeo, Latios, and Garchomp as well as faster Pokemon such as Mega Aerodactyl, Mega Alakazam, and Mega Sceptile can outspeed Lopunny and take it out without too much difficulty. However, all of these get worn down by Fake Out and cannot always reliably switch in.
**Priority Users**: Talonflame, Mega Pinsir, Breloom, and other priority users can KO Lopunny before it gets to attack; however, much like faster Pokemon, they can't always switch in very well.
**Residual Damage**: Lopunny can quite easily be forced to take residual damage to the point where it is taken out. Iron Barbs, Rough Skin, and Rocky Helmet users such as Ferrothorn and Garchomp can take advantage of Fake Out abuse, though the latter must switch out immediately afterwards for fear of High Jump Kick. Pokemon that carry Protect can use it to force Lopunny to take recoil damage if it uses High Jump Kick, but this can backfire if Lopunny runs Substitute, so it should only be used as a last-ditch effort. Sandstorm damage and Spikes can also chip away at Lopunny's health to some extent.
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