Bulky Offense in SS PU

By avarice. Released: 2021/12/18.
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Bulky Offense in SS PU art

Art by Albatross.

Introduction

Bulky offense is a standard archetype that can foster plenty of strong picks and utilize niche Pokémon effectively when backed by its solid defensive cores and ample firepower. The more offensive nature of bulky offense gives it more breathing room against threats that often overwhelm balance teams. While rather diverse, all solid bulky offense teams share common elements like a Steel-type, entry hazard removal, and a Stealth Rock setter. Bulky offense has been the most dominant playstyle in SS PU for many months, seeing the most usage in Smogon Champions League. Each Pokémon has a role in how a team prepares for the most relevant Pokémon in the metagame. The more broad roles will be covered in this article!

Main Elements

Wallbreakers and Sweepers Charizard

PU has a diverse metagame with plentiful offensive threats to make progress with. Charizard and Tsareena are some of the most potent wallbreakers, sitting at S-rank on the Viability Rankings. These Pokémon have valuable offensive typings and utility, allowing them to apply pressure while being able to switch into passive Pokémon. Both are capable of providing entry hazard removal, and Charizard can effectively spread Toxic to cripple common defensive Pokémon such as Audino and Gigalith. Ribombee and Silvally formes are some of the best setup sweepers available with their natural Speed and strength in addition to their types' defensive utility. Silvally-Steel recently rose, but Ghost, Fairy, and more niche types like Dark all work. Future Sight from Pokémon like Galarian Articuno has become popular as well, especially with phazers like Roar Aggron to dismantle defensive cores that rely on specially defensive Pokémon running Protect to deal with Galarian Articuno. Scrafty and Sandaconda are also notable setup sweepers that stand out with their ability to stomach hits throughout the match. Scrafty and other Knock Off users like Tsareena and Scyther are amazing in general with how they can cripple their typical answers and make hazards more effective.

Pokémon like Centiskorch and Gallade are powerful wallbreakers that fit best on bulky offense, where there's ample support, in comparison to fast-paced hyper offense where Pokémon like Audino cannot fit. Wallbreakers are not required to have significant staying power, but offensive synergy is still important. For example, Trevenant pressures common Rock- and Water-types that Charizard can struggle to get past. In return, Charizard can deal with answers to Trevenant like Tangela and itemless Weezing. One must be sure they are not trying to fit wallbreakers that are redundant offensively nor vulnerable to a significant amount of the same Pokémon. While "type spam" cores of Pokémon such as Mesprit and Galarian Articuno to overwhelm Gigalith and Steel-types can work, it can be hard to solidly support the common weaknesses. It's often easier to overwhelm common checks with different cores, such as Galarian Articuno or Mesprit enabling Quiver Dance Ribombee. Some common offensive cores include Charizard and Ribombee, Galarian Articuno and Tsareena, and Tsareena and Choice Specs Jellicent.

Defensive Backbone Gigalith

With such a large variety of offensive Pokémon in PU, a concrete combination of defensive Pokémon to fall back on is essential for bulky offense. The S-rank Gigalith is one of the best defensive Pokémon in the tier, as it consistently switches into Pokémon like Charizard and Ribombee. Gigalith is also a great Pokémon against wallbreakers like Galarian Articuno, as Protect lets it stomach Future Sight. Similarly, Aggron can use Protect to deal with Future Sight but trades the Fire resistance for a Steel-typing, which is very useful against Mesprit and Ribombee long-term. Steel-types are often considered a must-have in SS for their resistances, making Togedemaru and Ferroseed valuable defensive Pokémon as well.

Common defensive cores include Gigalith with Ferroseed, Sandaconda with Wishiwashi, and Audino with Weezing. Of these three cores, Gigalith with Ferroseed is the most prominent. Sandaconda with Wishiwashi builds are more offensive, while Audino with Weezing builds typically lean into balance. There are plenty of combinations to use in PU; these are just some of the easier ones to utilize. They each have their own weaknesses that can be patched up in different ways too. For example, the Fighting-type weakness shared by Gigalith and Ferroseed may be patched up by having another defensive Pokémon to support them like Weezing, or multiple offensive Pokémon like Mesprit and Scyther to outmaneuver with.

Pivots and Revenge Killers Tsareena

Offensive and defensive Pokémon alike appreciate pivot support when not going full hyper offense or stall. Pokémon that can gain momentum through U-turn, Volt Switch, or Teleport are super important for getting in wallbreakers safely. Pivots can be offensive or defensive. Tsareena and Ribombee are some of the best offensive pivots in the tier. They have limited switch-ins and can cripple Pokémon with Knock Off or Stun Spore. Ribombee can alternatively fit both Quiver Dance and U-turn and wait to set up once its answers have been worn down. Wishiwashi and Clefairy are common defensive pivots that can safely bring in teammates while being able to deal with Pokémon like Sandaconda and Charizard, respectively.

Revenge killers are essential for any secure bulky offense team. Choice Scarf users like Rotom and Togedemaru, as well as naturally fast Pokémon like Ribombee, prevent teams from being overwhelmed quickly by offense. Priority users like Lycanroc and Thwackey can be great tools against offense too, but they are not very independently reliable and appreciate being with other fast Pokémon due to their underwhelming power. Choosing revenge killers is typically one of the later steps in the building process, and it comes down to what threats in particular are not covered by the rest of the team.

Sample Team

Gigalith Ferroseed Charizard Scrafty Ribombee Weezing

This team by Ktütverde was first popularized late PUPL and utilized throughout PULT. Similar structures were also seen throughout SCL. The team aims to have Scrafty or Ribombee pull off a sweep. Gigalith and Ferroseed set entry hazards to wear down the opposition, while Scrafty removes Black Sludge, Leftovers, and Heavy-Duty Boots. They cover each other rather nicely defensively as well, with the holes such as against Fighting-types patched up by Ribombee and Weezing. Charizard takes some pressure off Ferroseed to deal with Fairy-types and checks other wallbreakers like Gallade and Sawk.

How to use Bulky Offense

Bulky offense teams make progress through getting in their wallbreakers until a revenge killer or setup sweeper can clean up. It is typically safest to lead with your entry hazard setter or a fast pivot because you can either guarantee some form of progress with hazards or gain some early momentum. In certain matchups, such as Sawk against slower bulky offense, it can be great to lead with these wallbreakers to apply pressure. While wallbreakers like Centiskorch and Gallade have decent bulk, it is ideal to get them in through pivots or correct double switches until the opposition is sufficiently softened.

Conclusion

SS PU is currently dominated by bulky offense and makes for fun games with back and forth action. This mainly started from the prominence of Tsareena, which led to increased Weezing usage, and the rise of wallbreakers that punished Weezing like Choice Specs Jellicent. Having to prepare for so many Pokémon with different answers can be difficult, though, and can result in being overwhelmed by the right hyper offense or stall combination. Bulky offense thankfully makes a good amount of room for outplay potential.

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