[OVERVIEW]
Granbull is one of ADV UU's best physical wallbreakers and physical walls, serving as one of the tier's best checks to Kangaskhan. Its good physical bulk, combined with Intimidate and the fact that it is only weak to Focus Punch, means it is very reliable at switching into Kangaskhan and pressuring it on the physical side. These qualities also allow it to check many other physical attackers such as Scyther, Solrock, Nidoqueen, and opposing Granbull. Granbull can also pose a potential sweeping threat if it runs Bulk Up, turning many physical attackers into setup fodder and hitting very hard in return, or it can have devastating power when holding a Choice Band.
Although Granbull takes hits well on the physical side, its lower Special Defense means it often loses interactions against common special attackers such as Arcanine, Ampharos, and Walrein. Granbull is also very slow to where even defensive Pokemon such as Omastar and Ampharos are able to move before Granbull can respond, limiting its offensive pressure and hurting its ability to switch in, especially when Spikes are up. Granbull's Normal typing means it lacks key resistances that other physical walls such as Omastar and Hitmontop have, meaning if it hasn't used Intimidate on a physical attacker, it can't fall back on its typing to check the opposing threat.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Granbull can run SubPunch to ease prediction on its switch-ins, being a great lure to Cradily, as its Substitute isn't broken by Cradily's hits. However, Granbull usually ends up being too slow to use Substitute to effectively block status moves, and it often isn't specially bulky enough for its Substitute to survive weaker hits from Misdreavus and Blastoise. This leaves it less effective than SubPunch Kangaskhan, which is faster, specially bulkier, and can put up 101 HP Substitutes to live a Seismic Toss from Hypno, Clefable, or Sableye. Granbull can be purely defensive support by running Body Slam + Heal Bell + RestTalk, which provides cleric support while maintaining the recovery of Rest to preserve Heal Bell PP. However, this set is flawed by its overall passivity and reliance on PP stalling to check physical attackers, a tall task with the set's meager PP. Despite RestTalk keeping Granbull active while asleep, Granbull can't burn sleep turns if it switches after using Sleep Talk, and it can't rely on a cleric to cure its sleep, since Granbull itself is acting as the cleric. Thunder Wave can be used on utility sets to consistently paralyze opponents without using Body Slam, allowing Granbull to run a stronger STAB option. On Bulk Up sets, Granbull can run Chesto Berry with Rest to instantly heal itself without having to stay asleep, but Leftovers is the preferred item, as the passive recovery is more valuable and consistent. Granbull can run Thief with no item to remove Leftovers from bulky Pokemon and capitalize on the switches it forces, but despite that, it competes with other moveslots in Granbull's typical sets that can be more useful on a game-to-game basis.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Omastar**: Omastar's massive Defense and Normal resistance allows it to comfortably take hits from Granbull while not being too bothered by its coverage options. It can use its entry to set Spikes for the benefit of its team and hurt Granbull's ability to switch in or pressure Granbull with a strong Surf. However, Omastar is susceptible to Body Slam paralysis when switching in, and Granbull can punish Omastar switching in or using Spikes with Earthquake or Focus Punch.
**Cradily**: Cradily is a Rock-type that isn't weak to Granbull's Earthquake. It can use Recover to instantly heal any damage Granbull deals, outlasting it long-term, and Toxic to place Granbull on a turn limit and force it to use Rest, which grants entry for one of Cradily's offensive teammates. However, Cradily doesn't deal any meaningful damage to Granbull outside of Toxic, which allows Granbull to find opportunities to use Focus Punch as it switches in or tries to use Recover, or sweep with Bulk Up to take advantage of its general passivity. Choice Band Granbull also has enough significant power to muscle through Cradily with Earthquake.
**Fighting-types**: Fighting-type Pokemon are physical attackers that can threaten Granbull with super effective damage. Hitmontop can use its good physical bulk and Intimidate to switch into Granbull and threaten it with Brick Break or clear Spikes with Rapid Spin. However, Hitmontop's lack of recovery means it can struggle to switch into Granbull repeatedly without Wish support, and it really struggles to switch into Choice Band Granbull, as it takes up to 70% from Double-Edge. Hitmontop's lack of power also means it can struggle to break past Bulk Up Granbull unless it uses Bulk Up itself. Hitmonlee is better at threatening Granbull thanks to its higher Attack stat and Choice Band, but it can't switch into Granbull without heavy prediction on a Rest or Heal Bell.
**Ghost-types**: With their immunity to Normal-type moves, Ghost-types can act as reliable pivots into Granbull and even wall it if Granbull lacks Shadow Ball. Misdreavus and Haunter are also immune to Ground, with Haunter being the best check into non-Shadow Ball Granbull, as it can use Will-O-Wisp to passively damage Granbull and Taunt to prevent Granbull from using Rest or Heal Bell. Even with Shadow Ball, Will-O-Wisp can hurt Granbull's general wallbreaking power, and Haunter can use Destiny Bond to remove Granbull for the benefit of one of its teammates. Sableye lacks the weakness to Shadow Ball that the aforementioned Ghost-types do and can win long-term versus Granbull by virtue of Recover to outlast Granbull and tools like Toxic and Knock Off to hurt Granbull's longevity. Sableye tanks hits well from typical Granbull sets, but Bulk Up or Choice Band variants are able to muscle past it and take advantage of Sableye's lack of immediate pressure.
**Bulky Water-types**: While other bulky Water-types besides Omastar don't resist Granbull's attacks, some of them, such as Walrein, Blastoise, and Lapras, are typically resilient at taking its hits in situations where they need to apply pressure and win the interaction. Walrein is the best at doing both, with great physical bulk that lives three Returns and a strong Ice Beam that has odds to 2HKO Granbull. Blastoise has to rely on a 3HKO with Surf but takes hits just as well as Walrein, and Lapras is slightly worse at taking Granbull's hits but consistently 2HKOes it with Hydro Pump. All of them don't appreciate switching into Granbull, though, as they fear the risk of Body Slam paralysis or a powerful Focus Punch for Walrein and Lapras.
**Granbull**: Opposing Granbull is able to switch into Granbull and trade hits, only fearing a potential Focus Punch, and it can use Granbull as setup fodder if it's running Bulk Up. However, it has to be careful switching into Choice Band Granbull with Spikes up, and the opposing Granbull can use Bulk Up to set up on it and counteract Intimidate, potentially forcing stalemates if both have Bulk Up.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ellingtonreborn.619555/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bigfatmantis.507497/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bouff.121672/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
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