Approved by Rowan
QC: Obvious Power | The Avalanches | Rowan
GP: Weebl | Winry.
Overview
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Although Pancham faces a lot of competition from the likes of Mienfoo and Timburr, of which the former has Regenerator and the latter has Guts and access to Mach Punch, it has great bulk, a maximum Attack stat of 18, and is the only user of Parting Shot in the tier, which earn it a slot on teams of many archetypes. Pancham also has three good abilities: Mold Breaker, which allows it to remove items from Sticky Hold Pokemon using Knock Off; Iron Fist, which increases the power of Drain Punch; and Scrappy, which grants Pancham the ability to hit Ghost-types with its STAB moves. With its signature move, Parting Shot, Pancham can function as an extraordinary pivot; however, it can forgo its ability to pivot in order to become a great wallbreaker with Swords Dance.
Pivot
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name: Pivot
move 1: Parting Shot
move 2: Drain Punch
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Gunk Shot / Zen Headbutt
ability: Mold Breaker
item: Eviolite
evs: 180 Atk / 100 Def / 212 SpD / 12 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
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Parting Shot allows Pancham to function as a pivot and provide its teammates opportunities to set up. Drain Punch is the STAB move of choice because it allows Pancham to recover some of its HP and stay alive longer to pivot throughout the battle. Knock Off removes foes' items and provides great utility to Pancham's teammates. Gunk Shot hits Fairy-types very hard, even 2HKOing Spritzee, while Zen Headbutt allows Pancham to KO Poison- and Fighting-types much easier.
Set Details
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180 Attack EVs and an Adamant nature maximize Pancham's Attack. 100 Defense and 212 Special Defense EVs give Pancham Eviolite numbers and good bulk to live many hits while pivoting, even Focus Sash Abra's Psychic. The 12 Speed EVs give Pancham 11 Speed, allowing it to outspeed Spritzee, Snubbull, and Timburr. Mold Breaker allows Pancham to remove the items of Pokemon that have the ability Sticky Hold with Knock Off, which means Pancham can beat Trubbish without having to use Zen Headbutt. This also means Pancham can bypass Sturdy and KO Pokemon that rely on the SturdyJuice strategy.
Usage Tips
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Switch Pancham into Pokemon it can capitalize on, such as Pawniard, Ferroseed, Omanyte, and Tirtouga. KO weaker threats, and dent the switch-ins. Using Parting Shot on a predicted switch grabs momentum and can help a teammate set up. Pancham is slow and it lacks access to priority moves, unlike Croagunk and Timburr, so switching into Pawniard is not always safe, as Pawniard can outspeed and KO Pancham. Pawniard can also come in on a Parting Shot and grab Attack boosts thanks to Defiant.
Team Options
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Pokemon that can use Volt Switch or U-turn are great teammates for Pancham; Mienfoo, Chinchou, Fletchling, and Archen are good examples. Sweepers that appreciate Parting Shot and can capitalize on its use, such as Swords Dance Fletchling, Swords Dance Pawniard, Shell Smash Tirtouga, Omanyte, and Shellder, pair well with Pancham. Pokemon that can remove Fairy- or Poison-types can be beneficial, such as Pawniard, Ferroseed, and Foongus for the former, and Abra, Archen, Drillbur, and Diglett for the latter. Gothita can be a useful teammate, as Pancham helps get Gothita in for free due to its low Speed and Parting Shot, and Gothita removes Pokemon Pancham doesn't like, such as Croagunk. Sprtzee can use Aromatherapy while Lickitung can use Heal Bell, and both can use Wish in order to keep Pancham healthy throughout the battle.
Wallbreaker
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name: Wallbreaker
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Drain Punch
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Gunk Shot / Zen Headbutt
ability: Mold Breaker
item: Eviolite
evs: 180 Attack / 100 Def / 212 SpD / 12 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
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Swords Dance allows Pancham to break through many walls with ease. Drain Punch gives Pancham means of recovery while wallbreaking and is also a great move in general. Knock Off removes items and allows Pancham and its teammates to sweep. Gunk Shot removes common Fairy-type switch-ins from play, and Zen Headbutt KOes common Poison-type switch-ins and opposing Fighting-types.
Set Details
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180 EVs and an Adamant nature maximize Pancham's Attack. 12 Speed EVs allows Pancham to hit 11 Speed, which allows it to outspeed Skrelp, Timburr, and Snubbull. 100 Defense and 212 Special Defense EVs allow Pancham to live a variety of hits, most notably Focus Sash Abra's Psychic and +2 Tirtouga's Waterfall. Mold Breaker allows Pancham to Knock Off the items of Pokemon that have the ability Sticky Hold, allowing Pancham to KO Trubbish without using Zen Headbutt. Pancham also bypasses Sturdy, allowing it to KO Pokemon that rely on the SturdyJuice strategy. Pancham can also run a set with 252 Speed EVs, which allows it to outspeed many walls such as Pumpkaboo and Vullaby. However, doing so removes from its bulk, so keep that in mind.
Usage Tips
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Switch Pancham into Pokemon it forces out, such as Pawniard or Tirtouga. After Pancham has successfully switched in, use Knock Off early-game to remove Pancham's checks' items. During the late-game, use Swords Dance on the switches Pancham forces, and then proceed to remove walls to clear the way for your sweeper.
Team Options
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Other Pokemon that can use Knock Off, such as Fighting-types and Pawniard, help support Pancham. Pokemon that can pivot into Pancham, such as Mienfoo, Chinchou, and Foongus, are also a big help to get Pancham in freely. Entry hazards help weaken walls that Pancham wants to break through, so entry hazard setters such as Ferroseed, Archen, and Tirtouga help Pancham do its job. Pokemon that deal with Flying-types help; Tirtouga, Chinchou, and Archen are good options to deal with these threats. Gothita can be a useful partner to remove Poison-types, opposing Fighting-types, and items from walls with Trick. Cottonee, Stunky, and Diglett can be useful partners, as they all learn Memento and help Pancham set up easily. Also, Diglett traps Poison-types, while Stunky traps Psychic-types. Again, Pancham appreciates the support of Spritzee and Lickitung; Spritzee has Aromatherapy while Lickitung has Heal Bell, and they both can heal it with Wish. Setup sweepers such as Swords Dance Fletchling, Swords Dance Pawniard, and the Shell Smash users appreciate Pancham's ability to break through a wide array of walls.
Other Options
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A Choice Scarf set can be utilized to take full advantage of Parting Shot. It hits 14 Speed without a Jolly nature, allowing Pancham to maintain its wonderful 18 Attack. The remaining EVs should go in Defense and Special Defense, and the moveset should be Parting Shot, Storm Throw / Drain Punch, Knock Off, and Gunk Shot / Zen Headbutt. An all-out attacking set with Drain Punch, Knock Off, Zen Headbutt, and Gunk Shot allows Pancham to surprise both Fairy- and Poison-type switch-ins. A Bulk Up set can be used, but it is outclassed by Timburr, which has the same bulk as Pancham, the ability Guts, and access to priority in Mach Punch. However, because Pancham has a slot to use Gunk Shot, it can remove Fairy-types more easily than Timburr can because Timburr does not have a moveslot for Poison Jab. A Substitute + Focus Punch set could be used, but it is easily taken advantage of, and Pancham would rather act as a pivot with Parting Shot or even use Knock Off on switches it forces than set up a Substitute. Pancham can use a RestTalk set with Circle Throw, Bulk Up, and the ability Scrappy, but the sets listed are much better. Circle Throw can be used on any set if your team is stacking entry hazards in order to rack up damage. Pancham has other STAB options such as Power-Up Punch and Storm Throw, but the former is too weak to take advantage of, and Storm Throw, while being much more powerful than Drain Punch, does not recover Pancham's HP, which hinders its longevity. Superpower is also another STAB option, but it should not be used because it makes taking advantage of Pancham much easier. Pancham has a wide offensive movepool, which includes the elemental punches, Stone Edge, Dual Chop, and Iron Head, but these moves generally provide less coverage than the moves already listed on its main sets.
Checks & Counters
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**Poison-types**: Croagunk, Trubbish, and Koffing can switch into Pancham's STAB moves, but none of them like taking a Zen Headbutt or Knock Off. Koffing can also burn Pancham with Will-O-Wisp.
**Fairy-types**: Spritzee, Cottonee, and Snubbull resist Pancham's STAB moves, but they must be wary of Gunk Shot and Knock Off. Gunk Shot easily KOes all three of these threats, while Knock Off discourages them from switching in as easily. Cottonee can Encore Pancham into one of its STAB moves or Knock Off and proceed to switch out to let a Pokemon such as Fletchling set up.
**Flying-types**: Doduo, Fletchling, Archen, and Vullaby can all come in and threaten Pancham with their STAB moves. They all outspeed Pancham as well, so this can limit Pancham's ability to do its job.
**Burns**: As Pancham is an offensive, physically oriented Pokemon, Will-O-Wisp easily puts a damper on its ability to function properly. Pumpkaboo, Ponyta, and Larvesta are all good status spreaders against Pancham.
**Psychic-types**: Abra, Gothita, and Slowpoke all have STAB moves that hit Pancham for super effective damage. Gothita is especially notable for having the ability to trap and KO weakened Pancham.
**Faster Pokemon**: While Pancham is quite bulky, faster Pokemon can wear Pancham down throughout the battle, and, if it is weakened, easily revenge kill it.
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