LC Spotlight: Vullaby

By Fiend.
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Art by Jackii.

Art by Jackii

Introduction

Making its debut in the weathered Black and White Little Cup, Vullaby had only a minimal impact on the tier. Dismissed as the ugly sister of Murkrow, Vullaby could not make use of its great offensive typing. While it did garner some attention for its good typing and impressive bulk, even this niche did not prevent it from being largely cast aside. This held true until Murkrow was banned, when finally Vullaby was able to spread its wings and make its presence known. For a brief moment it was able to shine as an offensive threat capable of stomaching many common attacks. Unfortunately for Vullaby, this did not last long, for when Murkrow was reintroduced into the tier, Vullaby was once again overlooked. And then Murkrow was eventually banned again, allowing Vullaby once more be a relevant threat in the metagame.

Then XY was released and Murkrow, among other offensive juggernauts, was once more running around the tier. Vullaby was once again overlooked in favor of Murkrow, save when a defensive Flying-type was called for. The minor buff to Overcoat and massive buff to Knock Off helped make Vullaby a more favorable bulky attacker, though, resulting in infrequent usage on defensive teams. Murkrow was eventually banned, allowing Vullaby to escape living in its shadow. With a STAB combination resisted by a grand total of one Pokémon alongside the bulk and typing to constantly check the vexatious Grass- and Fighting-types of the tier, Vullaby posed quite the threat to many teams. Nevertheless, it took until near the end of the generation for Vullaby to gain traction with its offensive sets and to become recognized as the potent attacker it is.

The advent of Sun and Moon brought two great changes for Vullaby: Weak Armor now increases Speed by two stages instead of one when activated, and Prankster moves do not affect Dark-types. Both of these buffs to Vullaby have directly led to it becoming one of the tier’s most threatening Pokémon. Sun and Moon also introduced Z-moves, which have made Vullaby rather unpredictable, with sets utilizing either Supersonic Skystrike or Black Hole Eclipse or even Z-Mirror Move potentially waiting to be revealed. Between all of its possible sets and great coverage, Vullaby is quite the force to be reckoned with.

Hot Sets

Vullaby

This was the standard set Vullaby used during ORAS, and for good reason. Between Knock Off and Brave Bird, few Pokémon can switch in, and even fewer do so even somewhat comfortably. The handful that do are easily exploited by a well-timed U-turn. Metagame trends in SM LC generally favor this set too; Pawniard and Archen were the main Vullaby counters back in ORAS, yet now they’re proving to be harder to include on teams. The set also possesses great mixed bulk, allowing Vullaby hit hard without terribly minding being hit back. The ability to take a hit is what makes Vullaby so deadly, as even outspeeding Vullaby may not enough to successfully check it. This set alone makes Vullaby arguably one of the top ten threats in LC.

Vullaby

Nasty Plot Vullaby has long been the bane of frailer teams, especially ones that did not overload on priority or have quicker Choice Scarf users to keep it at bay. But due to the buff to Weak Armor, even these quick Choice Scarf users are inadequate responses now. While the set is not outlandishly strong, it is not hard to weak down most teams enough for Vullaby to pose a threat. This is the most common sweeping set Vullaby can run and makes it a strong contender for LC’s best sweeper. The set is a little weak, especially compared to the Z-Mirror Move set below, but the ability to utilize Eviolite or even Berry Juice makes the tradeoff more than fair. Being almost laughably easy to set up, frustratingly hard to revenge kill, and capable of getting well-timed flinches, Nasty Plot Vullaby is the scourge of Sun and Moon LC.

Vullaby

Z-Mirror Move is a great tool for Vullaby; essentially setting up a Swords Dance while potentially firing off a freshly boosted attack in the same turn is pretty insane. This is Vullaby’s most offensive set and has effectively no counters, besides perhaps residual damage. In a pinch, Supersonic Skystrike can be used instead, turning Vullaby into the Little Cup equivalent of a nuclear missile. The set does suffer from being fairly easy to revenge kill in terms of Vullaby sets, and it also lacks the bulk of Eviolite sets. Admittedly this is pretty problematic, considering the set hinges on stomaching a physical attack in order to boost its Speed. However, the sheer power of the set makes it rather viable, and its strengths outshine the drawbacks.

Vullaby

Choice Scarf Vullaby is of rather questionable viability, but its surprise factor coupled with its ability to revenge kill Scraggy after a Dragon Dance plus its offensive synergy with some of the more threatening wallbreakers and sweepers of the tier makes culminates in quite the interesting set that is worthy of consideration on a fair variety of builds. The combination of raw power, good STAB attacks, and a great ability to pivot around with U-turn makes the set appealing on hyper offense teams and overall fairly solid. Yet, Choice Scarf Vullaby has the great downsides of being unable to switch in and be used in tandem with another Vullaby set, coupled with stiff competition as a fast Flying-type.

Vullaby

Defog Vullaby is by far the least flash set Vullaby can run, yet it is still rather good. A bit too good at giving up momentum for many’s tastes, and far too much of Pawniard bait for others, the set sees limited usage. But in the mists of a hazard-dominated metagame where Knock Off is vital and Rapid Spinners limited, a reliable Defogger can work its way onto numerous teams. Defog Vullaby also acts as a hard wall to the ever-annoying Foongus and is a total blockade to sun teams, giving it a good number of upsides. The biggest downside to running Defog Vullaby is it prevents you from using another Vullaby set as well.

Not Sets

Vullaby has little that it cannot do with its movepool. However, mixed sets with Vullaby are to be avoided, as the only plausibly good variation is the pivoting set with Hidden Power Fighting or Heat Wave used over Roost or U-turn. This change would come with the tradeoff of either making Vullaby unable to pivot or removing its ability to recover HP, either of which being incredibly detrimental. Going mixed with Vullaby is pretty hard to argue for, as having a nature that lowers anything but the unused attack stat makes Vullaby less consistent, and the benefits of going mixed are pretty lackluster and typically unhelpful. Choice Band or Choice Specs Vullaby is completely unviable and should not even be considered. The bonus damage is not nearly helpful enough to offset the lack of bulk and worsens the issue of only a middling Speed stat. Similarly, Life Orb Vullaby is subpar despite the added raw power.

Good Cores

Vullaby in tandem with Diglett was pretty common in ORAS, and while it has decreased dramatically in usage it is still incredibly good. Vullaby needs run U-turn, which limits it to only the offensive pivot or Choice Scarf sets, but that is not truly an issue due to how good Vullaby is. Diglett traps pretty much everything that Vullaby struggles with, easing prediction and its ability to wallbreak.

This core is primarily based around the offensive pivot set again and allows most Fighting-types to handle Foongus. Poison Jab Mienfoo makes an especially good partner; Mienfoo can U-turn into Vullaby when Foongus switches in, helping keep it healthy and avoiding Sludge Bomb poisons. Poison Jab Mienfoo also helps to lure and remove Fairy-types, as Vullaby can struggle with Snubbull and Spritzee. Poison Jab Timburr is slightly less successful due to a lack of U-turn, though the core is harder to handle offensively. Scraggy also enjoys being paired with Vullaby as to avoid being pestered by Foongus while also forming a powerful Dark spam core.

Flying-type spam is super potent in LC, and variations starring Vullaby are especially dangerous. Rufflet, Doduo, and Taillow share some common checks with Vullaby, while Vullaby is able to tear apart the few Pokémon that wall the other birds. An acrobatic duo can easily overwhelm Pokémon that resist Flying, especially considering secondary STAB attacks. The main issue with the core is stacking weaknesses, but the sheer effectiveness makes this an even tradeoff at worst.

Dual Dark-types is pretty hard to manage, whether it be Carvanha and Vullaby, Vullaby and Scraggy, Vullaby and Pawniard, or any other variation. Powerful Knock Offs backed up by another STAB attack can be hard to handle, and Dark spam cores are exceptionally good at overwhelming the Fairy-types of the tier. Even Mienfoo can hardly manage to combat multiple Dark-types, especially when Vullaby is involved. Dark spam can utilize any offensive Vullaby set too, making its versatility a great asset.

Metagame Trends

Due to a change of mechanics brought by the release of Sun and Moon, Vullaby thrives in the metagame. It has the tools to be threatening to bulky teams, balance teams struggle with most variations of Vullaby, and offensive teams need to tread carefully around sweeper Vullaby sets. In a metagame where teams rely heavily on priority to combat Vullaby, the offensive pivot set shines. When the offensive Pivot set is prepared for, the Weak Armor variations become more threatening. With Defog, Vullaby can fit right into more defensive metas, while the Choice Scarf set enjoys hyper offensive metas. Vullaby can shift with the ebb and flow of the metagame due to its flexibility and extreme versatility, though its most popular set may suffer with metagame trends.

Conclusion

Vullaby is better than it's ever been! With a plethora of viable sets Vullaby can be a monster to face; teams are all but evaluated based on how well they deal with all variations of Vullaby. Vullaby fits onto so many teams there is hardly an excuse not to try it out. Vullaby won't disappoint.

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