[OVERVIEW]
Lopunny carves a niche in the tier thanks to the combination of Klutz + Switcheroo, allowing it to cripple physically defensive switch-ins and physical attackers by giving them a Flame Orb. It is also very fast, outspeeding a good portion of the tier. However, Lopunny is outclassed offensively by Stoutland and Bouffalant due to their hitting harder, as well as Purugly, which is faster. Defensively, Audino has superior bulk and a wider movepool, and Mr. Mime outclasses Lopunny as a Healing Wish user due to its greater offensive presence. Lopunny is also very frail, which makes it hard to switch into even neutral hits. Even though its Speed is great, it is outsped by Pokemon such as Raichu and Zebstrika as well as some Choice Scarf users, including Chatot and Mr. Mime.
[SET]
name: Offensive Utility
move 1: Switcheroo
move 2: Healing Wish
move 3: Return
move 4: High Jump Kick
item: Flame Orb
ability: Klutz
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Switcheroo allows Lopunny to cripple physically defensive Pokemon, such as Relicanth, Vullaby, Misdreavus, and Tangela. It can also cripple physical wallbreakers such as Armaldo, Pawniard, Dodrio, and Bouffalant. Return is Lopunny's main STAB move, having good neutral coverage on most of the tier and allowing it to deal some damage to most Pokemon that don't resist Return, such as Simisage, Simisear, Zebstrika, Mr. Mime, and Simipour, while High Jump Kick allows Lopunny to at least harm Steel- and Rock-types such as Golem, Pawniard, and Probopass. Healing Wish allows Lopunny to bring in a late-game sweeper that has no recovery, such as Ninetales, safely and at full health while also removing any status that the sweeper may be inflicted with.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack investment allows Lopunny to hit as hard as possible, while maximum Speed EVs take advantage of Lopunny's good Speed tier, enabling it to cripple slower Pokemon that rely on an item such as Mr. Mime; furthermore, a Jolly nature allows it to outspeed Pokemon such as Timid Ninetales and Naive Simipour. The power loss compared to an Adamant nature is negligible because Lopunny is fairly weak even with Attack investment. Flame Orb allows Lopunny to take advantage of Switcheroo and burn physical attackers. Klutz prevents Flame Orb from activating and burning Lopunny itself, and it can also let Lopunny bluff a Choice item.
Usage Tips
========
Lopunny can be used to cripple strong physical attackers such as Armaldo, Pawniard, Dodrio, and Stoutland, as well as defensive Pokemon such as Quilladin, Vullaby, Relicanth, and Tangela. Due to Lopunny's frailty, you should not switch it into neutral hits, as they can easily take away half of its health under most circumstances; therefore, you have to get it in via a slow U-turn or Volt Switch or bring it in on a Ghost-type move. After using Switcheroo, Lopunny is nearly dead weight, and you should just use Healing Wish if a teammate is weakened or crippled by status. If it is desperately needed, Lopunny can revenge kill frail offensive Pokemon that are slower than it, such as Simisage.
Team Options
========
Pivots such as Lumineon and Vullaby can provide a slow U-turn and allow Lopunny to switch in safely. Water-types, such as Floatzel and Simipour, as well as Rock-types such as Golem and Relicanth can take on Fire-types, which are immune to burns. Physical attackers and sweepers can take advantage of Lopunny burning bulky Pokemon to set up or just hit very hard, and setup sweepers appreciate Healing Wish for a second chance to set up.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Lopunny can't do much without being outclassed by something else in the tier. Choice Band can be used to cripple special attackers and hit somewhat hard. However, physical attackers can switch in and increase their power if given a Choice Band, and Pokemon such as Stoutland and Bouffalant are better Choice Band attackers compared to Lopunny. Lopunny can use other utility moves, such as Encore and Thunder Wave; however, if those are used over Return or High Jump Kick, Lopunny becomes very passive, and if one is used over Healing Wish, there's little reason to use Lopunny at all. Choice Scarf can give Lopunny a very fast Healing Wish, but it is still outclassed by Mr. Mime due to a severe lack of power.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fire-types**: Fire-types such as Rapidash, Monferno, and Simisear are immune to burns and can hit Lopunny hard with a STAB Fire-type move, leaving it unable to check what it's supposed to. However, Return will deal a decent amount of damage, meaning that they might get KOed if they don't switch in unscathed.
**Machoke**: Machoke can easily switch in and heavily damage Lopunny with STAB Close Combat. It isn't even crippled by Flame Orb, as burn activates Guts, and, if Machoke gets a free switch, it can even prevent Lopunny from doing its job by removing its Flame Orb with Knock Off.
**Faster Pokemon**: There aren't a whole lot of Pokemon faster than Lopunny, but the ones that are, such as Zebstrika, Floatzel, and Raichu, can KO it without the fear of being crippled by Switcheroo.
**Special Attackers**: Special attackers such as Kadabra and Mr. Mime aren't weakened by Flame Orb and can still heavily damage Lopunny. However, they are quite frail, so Return will deal quite a bit of damage to them.
Lopunny carves a niche in the tier thanks to the combination of Klutz + Switcheroo, allowing it to cripple physically defensive switch-ins and physical attackers by giving them a Flame Orb. It is also very fast, outspeeding a good portion of the tier. However, Lopunny is outclassed offensively by Stoutland and Bouffalant due to their hitting harder, as well as Purugly, which is faster. Defensively, Audino has superior bulk and a wider movepool, and Mr. Mime outclasses Lopunny as a Healing Wish user due to its greater offensive presence. Lopunny is also very frail, which makes it hard to switch into even neutral hits. Even though its Speed is great, it is outsped by Pokemon such as Raichu and Zebstrika as well as some Choice Scarf users, including Chatot and Mr. Mime.
[SET]
name: Offensive Utility
move 1: Switcheroo
move 2: Healing Wish
move 3: Return
move 4: High Jump Kick
item: Flame Orb
ability: Klutz
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Switcheroo allows Lopunny to cripple physically defensive Pokemon, such as Relicanth, Vullaby, Misdreavus, and Tangela. It can also cripple physical wallbreakers such as Armaldo, Pawniard, Dodrio, and Bouffalant. Return is Lopunny's main STAB move, having good neutral coverage on most of the tier and allowing it to deal some damage to most Pokemon that don't resist Return, such as Simisage, Simisear, Zebstrika, Mr. Mime, and Simipour, while High Jump Kick allows Lopunny to at least harm Steel- and Rock-types such as Golem, Pawniard, and Probopass. Healing Wish allows Lopunny to bring in a late-game sweeper that has no recovery, such as Ninetales, safely and at full health while also removing any status that the sweeper may be inflicted with.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack investment allows Lopunny to hit as hard as possible, while maximum Speed EVs take advantage of Lopunny's good Speed tier, enabling it to cripple slower Pokemon that rely on an item such as Mr. Mime; furthermore, a Jolly nature allows it to outspeed Pokemon such as Timid Ninetales and Naive Simipour. The power loss compared to an Adamant nature is negligible because Lopunny is fairly weak even with Attack investment. Flame Orb allows Lopunny to take advantage of Switcheroo and burn physical attackers. Klutz prevents Flame Orb from activating and burning Lopunny itself, and it can also let Lopunny bluff a Choice item.
Usage Tips
========
Lopunny can be used to cripple strong physical attackers such as Armaldo, Pawniard, Dodrio, and Stoutland, as well as defensive Pokemon such as Quilladin, Vullaby, Relicanth, and Tangela. Due to Lopunny's frailty, you should not switch it into neutral hits, as they can easily take away half of its health under most circumstances; therefore, you have to get it in via a slow U-turn or Volt Switch or bring it in on a Ghost-type move. After using Switcheroo, Lopunny is nearly dead weight, and you should just use Healing Wish if a teammate is weakened or crippled by status. If it is desperately needed, Lopunny can revenge kill frail offensive Pokemon that are slower than it, such as Simisage.
Team Options
========
Pivots such as Lumineon and Vullaby can provide a slow U-turn and allow Lopunny to switch in safely. Water-types, such as Floatzel and Simipour, as well as Rock-types such as Golem and Relicanth can take on Fire-types, which are immune to burns. Physical attackers and sweepers can take advantage of Lopunny burning bulky Pokemon to set up or just hit very hard, and setup sweepers appreciate Healing Wish for a second chance to set up.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Lopunny can't do much without being outclassed by something else in the tier. Choice Band can be used to cripple special attackers and hit somewhat hard. However, physical attackers can switch in and increase their power if given a Choice Band, and Pokemon such as Stoutland and Bouffalant are better Choice Band attackers compared to Lopunny. Lopunny can use other utility moves, such as Encore and Thunder Wave; however, if those are used over Return or High Jump Kick, Lopunny becomes very passive, and if one is used over Healing Wish, there's little reason to use Lopunny at all. Choice Scarf can give Lopunny a very fast Healing Wish, but it is still outclassed by Mr. Mime due to a severe lack of power.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fire-types**: Fire-types such as Rapidash, Monferno, and Simisear are immune to burns and can hit Lopunny hard with a STAB Fire-type move, leaving it unable to check what it's supposed to. However, Return will deal a decent amount of damage, meaning that they might get KOed if they don't switch in unscathed.
**Machoke**: Machoke can easily switch in and heavily damage Lopunny with STAB Close Combat. It isn't even crippled by Flame Orb, as burn activates Guts, and, if Machoke gets a free switch, it can even prevent Lopunny from doing its job by removing its Flame Orb with Knock Off.
**Faster Pokemon**: There aren't a whole lot of Pokemon faster than Lopunny, but the ones that are, such as Zebstrika, Floatzel, and Raichu, can KO it without the fear of being crippled by Switcheroo.
**Special Attackers**: Special attackers such as Kadabra and Mr. Mime aren't weakened by Flame Orb and can still heavily damage Lopunny. However, they are quite frail, so Return will deal quite a bit of damage to them.
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