Overview
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As the smallest Pumpkaboo forme, Pumpkaboo-S has higher Speed, but lower HP, than its larger brethren. As a result, Pumpkaboo-S is outclassed in defensive roles, but its higher Speed lets it take on an offensive role more effectively, especially with Sticky Web support. Its low HP can also be used to its advantage, as it can hit 19 HP so it takes only 1 damage from Life Orb recoil. Its Ghost / Grass typing is a mixed bag; it sports four resistances and two immunities, including the ability to block Rapid Spin, but it also has five weaknesses, including an unfortunate weakness to the common Knock Off. Although Pumpkaboo-S does resist several priority moves thanks to its typing, it's weak to a few important ones, namely Fletchling's Acrobatics and Pawniard's Sucker Punch, meaning it will likely be forced out if these Pokemon have not been removed.
Mixed Attacker
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name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Bullet Seed
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Shadow Sneak
move 4: Rock Slide / Destiny Bond
ability: Frisk
item: Life Orb
evs: 228 Atk / 36 Def / 4 SpA / 228 Spe
ivs: 0 HP
nature: Naughty / Naive
Moves
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Bullet Seed is Pumpkaboo-S's main STAB move. When boosted by Life Orb, it does impressive damage to targets that are hit neutrally and demolishes foes weak to Grass, such as Tirtouga and Chinchou. Fire Blast provides coverage against the Grass- and Steel-types that can wall Bullet Seed, OHKOing Ferroseed after Stealth Rock damage and 2HKOing Foongus, Pumpkaboo-XL, and Pawniard. Shadow Sneak gives Pumpkaboo-S a form of priority, allowing it to pick off weakened faster threats. Rock Slide provides great coverage against Fire-types, especially Larvesta, as well as Flying-types such as Vullaby, Archen, and Fletchling. Keep in mind that Fletchling must be hit on the switch, as its priority Acrobatics will OHKO Pumpkaboo-S before it has a chance to attack. Destiny Bond lets Pumpkaboo-S take a foe down with it as it faints. It's also a useful tool with which to play around Sucker Punch users, which could otherwise OHKO Pumpkaboo-S.
Set Details
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228 Speed EVs with a neutral nature let Pumpkaboo-S hit 15 Speed. With Sticky Web support, this is enough to outspeed the unboosted metagame as well as 14 Speed Choice Scarf users. Life Orb increases Pumpkaboo-S's damage output. Using 0 HP IVs lowers Pumpkaboo-S's HP to 19, so it only takes 1 damage from Life Orb recoil. The Attack investment alongside a Naughty nature lets Pumpkaboo-S's physical moves hit as hard as possible. A Naive nature may be used to let Pumpkaboo-S hit 16 Speed, allowing it to outspeed 15 and 16 Speed Choice Scarf with Sticky Web support. The remaining EVs give Pumpkaboo-S an extra point in Defense and Special Attack. The ability chosen is Frisk; Insomnia might initially seem more useful, but Pumpkaboo-S is already immune to the only common sleep-inducing moves, Spore and Sleep Powder, and Pickup will rarely be of any use, because most Knock Off users OHKO Pumpkaboo-S anyway. Frisk is much more useful, as it reveals the foe's item and is especially helpful in determining what set the opponent is running on versatile Pokemon such as Mienfoo and Chinchou.
Usage Tips
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Bullet Seed is Pumpkaboo-S's go-to move, as with Life Orb it does great damage against any target it hits neutrally or super effectively and can easily break through Sturdy + Berry Juice users such as Tirtouga. Fire Blast should be used on predicted Grass-type switch-ins; all relevant bulky Grass-types are easily 2HKOed, or OHKOed in the case of Ferroseed. Remember that Pumpkaboo-S is somewhat frail, so it should only switch into Pokemon that can't hurt it much, such as Drilbur. If using Destiny Bond, it can be used to take out a specific threat to your team, allowing another teammate to potentially sweep.
Team Options
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Pumpkaboo-S is most effective when paired with a Sticky Web user, as this best takes advantage of its mixed offensive abilities and its ability to spinblock. Surskit is generally the most effective Sticky Web user, but Spinarak and Sewaddle could also be considered. Since Pumpkaboo-S acts as a spinblocker for Sticky Web teams, a teammate that can deter Defog is appreciated, namely Pawniard, as it gains a +2 Attack boost from Defog thanks to Defiant. Pokemon that can provide Knock Off support such as Pawniard, Mienfoo, and Timburr help soften up the opposition for Pumpkaboo-S. Damage rolls for multi-hit moves such as Bullet Seed increase dramatically against foes lacking Eviolite, so Knock Off support is especially important. A teammate that can switch into Fletchling is mandatory, as it heavily threatens Pumpkaboo-S. Archen, Chinchou, and Tirtouga all work well in this role; they can also serve as checks to Fire-types, which also threaten Pumpkaboo-S.
Other Options
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Flame Charge is an option to boost Pumpkaboo-S's Speed, allowing it to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame after one use without Sticky Web support. Explosion allows Pumpkaboo-S to heavily dent or KO a foe once its job is done and also ensures that Fletchling won't be setting up on it. Seed Bomb is an option over Bullet Seed, but Bullet Seed almost always does more damage. Pumpkaboo-S could invest more in Special Attack and run moves such as Shadow Ball, Energy Ball, and Giga Drain, but its Attack stat is higher than its Special Attack, and it should generally stick to physical or mixed attacking. Sludge Bomb can hit Fairy-types such as Cottonee and Spritzee quite hard. Psychic can be used for better coverage against Poison-types such as Croagunk. Flamethrower can be used as a more accurate option over Fire Blast, but the power drop is significant, missing the OHKO on Ferroseed and missing 2HKOs on Foongus and Pumpkaboo-XL. Trick is an option alongside a Choice item to cripple a wall. It works well in tandem with Frisk, as you know what item Pumpkaboo-S will be receiving from the foe. Will-O-Wisp can cripple physical attackers and prevent Pumpkaboo-S from becoming setup bait, but this is generally done better by Pumpkaboo-XL. In fact, Pumpkaboo-S gets a wide array of support options, but any support set is done better by its larger cousin Pumpkaboo-XL.
Checks & Counters
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**Fire-types**: Fire-types such as Ponyta and Larvesta can come in on any move from Pumpkaboo-S but Rock Slide and threaten Pumpkaboo-S with their STAB moves.
**Flying-types**: Flying-types such as Fletchling and Vullaby heavily threaten Pumpkaboo-S, as they can hit it super effectively and are immune to Sticky Web. Fletchling in particular is the perfect revenge killer for Pumpkaboo-S, as it is immune to Shadow Sneak and can OHKO it with priority Acrobatics. Both must watch out for Rock Slide, however.
**Dark-types**: Dark-types such as Pawniard, Stunky, and Houndour all threaten Pumpkaboo-S with Sucker Punch and can trap it with Pursuit. They must be wary of which coverage move they are switching into, however.
**Poison-types**: Pokemon such as Koffing and Croagunk resist Bullet Seed and can tank most common moves from Pumpkaboo-S. Croagunk, however, must be wary of Fire Blast due to Dry Skin.
**Status**: Pumpkaboo-S is crippled by all status effects, especially burn and paralysis, as they hamper its offensive potential.
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