Drifloon [QC: 0/3]


IT'S FRIDAY, FRIDAY~​
Overview
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  • Frail, SR weak
  • Doesn't like surge in Knock Off / Dark usage
  • 34 Speed after Unburden makes it a great late-game sweeper, no Flying Gem, but Berry Juice gives it extra longevity
  • Ghost buff means unresisted STABs outside of Helioptile and Pawniard
  • Berry Juice + Recycle makes it the only Ghost in Little Cup with reliable recovery, easy to stack Calm Mind boosts
  • Excellent support movepool including Will-o-Wisp, Baton Pass, Destiny Bond, Memento, Knock Off, and Tailwind
SET NAME
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name: AcroFloon
move 1: Acrobatics
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Substitute / Hidden Power Fighting / Knock Off
move 4: Destiny Bond / Will-o-Wisp / Memento
ability: Unburden
item: Berry Juice
evs: 36 HP / 200 Atk / 8 Def / 40 SAtk / 200 Spd
nature: Naive

Moves
========
  • Acrobatics is this set's bread and butter, hitting everything that doesn't resist it hard
  • Shadow Ball smacks Rock, Steel, and Electric types that resist Acrobatics, as well as outspeeding and killing other Ghost-types after an Unburden boost, and is the best move to use before activating Unburden
  • Substitute allows you to activate Unburden and Berry Juice easily, as well as avoid status and play around Sucker Punch users
  • Hidden Power Fighting allows Drifloon to hit Pawniard and Helioptile, the only pokemon that resist its STABs, hard, as well as being Drifloon's strongest move against Aron and Amaura
  • Alternatively, Knock Off is great for weakening switch-ins
  • Will-o-Wisp lets Drifloon cripple Dark-types like Murkrow and Pawniard that check it with strong STAB Sucker Punches
  • On the other hand, Destiny Bond lets Drifloon go out with a bang, nabbing another kill at the tail-end of a sweep and helping with Sucker Punch mindgames, while Memento allows for a free turn of setup for a teammate to sweep
Set Details
========
  • Max attack lets Drifloon hit hard with Acrobatics, max speed and a positive nature lets Drifloon outspeed Pawniard and Meditite before Unburden and outpace all scarfers and +1 Speed Boost users after it
  • Naive nature and physical investment allows Drifloon to take priority hits better
Usage Tips
========
  • Drifloon has plenty of opportunities to switch in on an immunity to Normal, Ground, or Fighting, or his quadruple Bug resist
  • This set excels at late-game sweeping, when physically-bulky pokemon and priority users have been KO'd or weakened
  • However, it can be brought in early-game to neuter its switch-ins with Will-o-Wisp and soften Flying resists with Shadow Ball
Team Options
========
  • Drifloon appreciates having Stealth Rock off the field, so a user of Rapid Spin or Defog is welcome. Vullaby resists Drifloon's Dark and Ghost weaknesses and can use Knock Off to weaken physical walls, Drilbur resists Rock, is immune to Electric, and has access to a powerful STAB Earthquake to hammer both of them, as well as access to Rapid Spin
  • Misdreavus and Drifloon form an excellent team, as Misdreavus can lure in Dark-types and cripple or remove them with Will-o-Wisp, Trick, or Destiny Bond, allowing Drifloon to sweep
  • Drifloon appreciates Knock Off support to be able to OHKO bulky pokemon. Pawniard resists Ice, Dark, Ghost, and Rock for Drifloon, while Drifloon takes Fighting and Ground moves for it, Scraggy resists Dark, Ghost, and Rock, and keeps itself healthy with STAB Drain Punch, while Drifloon takes Fighting moves for it
SET NAME
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name: SubCM
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Hidden Power Fighting / Baton Pass
ability: Unburden
item: Berry Juice
evs: EVs: 36 HP / 88 Def / 200 SpA / 8 SpD / 120 Spe
nature: Modest
Moves
========
  • Calm Mind boosts the power of Drifloon's attacks, as well as beefing up its Special Defense
  • Substitute lets you activate Unburden and helps against Thunder Wave and Sucker Punch users, and they can take multiple hits before breaking after a few Calm Mind boosts
  • STAB Shadow Ball has great coverage, becoming frighteningly powerful after a few Calm Mind boosts
  • Hidden Power Fighting hits Dark- and Normal-type pokemon who don't mind Shadow Ball, but Baton Pass lets Drifloon transfer its boosts and possibly a sub to another pokemon to hit counters
  • Thunderbolt can be run to hit Murkrow and Stunky harder, but it's significantly weaker against almost every other Dark- and Normal-type
Set Details
========
  • Max SpA and a positive nature allow Drifloon to hit as he can
  • Speed investment gives Drifloon 30 speed after Unburden, enough to outspeed 19 Speed scarfers like Misdreavus and Gligar
  • Remainder invested primarily into defense, as it is not boosted by Calm Mind
  • Alternate set of 36 HP / 8 Def / 200 SpA / 8 SpD / 200 Spe with a Timid nature can be used to attempt a sweep earlier, but the loss in bulk and firepower is notable
Usage Tips
========
  • Drifloon has plenty of opportunities to switch in on an immunity to Normal, Ground, or Fighting, or his quadruple Bug resist
  • This set excels at late-game sweeping, when specially-bulky pokemon and priority users have been KO'd or weakened
Team Options
========
  • Drifloon appreciates having Stealth Rock off the field, so a user of Rapid Spin or Defog is welcome. Vullaby resists Drifloon's Dark and Ghost weaknesses and can use Knock Off to weaken special walls, Drilbur resists Rock, is immune to Electric, and has access to a powerful STAB Earthquake to hammer both of them, as well as access to Rapid Spin
  • Misdreavus and Drifloon form an excellent team, as Misdreavus can lure in Dark-types and cripple or remove them with Will-o-Wisp, Trick, or Destiny Bond, allowing Drifloon to sweep
  • Drifloon appreciates Knock Off support to be able to OHKO bulky pokemon. Pawniard resists Ice, Dark, Ghost, and Rock for Drifloon, while Drifloon takes Fighting and Ground moves for it, Scraggy resists Dark, Ghost, and Rock, and keeps itself healthy with STAB Drain Punch, while Drifloon takes Fighting moves for it
  • If using Baton Pass, fast special attackers who can deal with Dark- and Normal-types are optimal receivers. Swirlix can switch in on Dark-type attacks and doesn't mind Knock Off, since it activates Unburden, and can then KO Dark-types with Dazzling Gleam. Chinchou resists Electric- and Ice-type moves and has decent speed, bulk, power, and coverage, as does Houndour, who can take Ice-, Dark-, and Ghost-typed moves
SET NAME
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name: Bulky Mono-Attacker
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Recycle
move 4: Will-o-Wisp
ability: Unburden
item: Berry Juice
evs: 116 HP / 184 Def / 36 SAtk / 4 SpD / 120 Spe
nature: Modest
Moves
========
  • Superficially similar to the offensive Calm Mind set, but plays much differently
  • Calm Mind is essential, weakening special attacks and increasing the power of Drifloon's Shadow Ball
  • Shadow Ball has great coverage on its own, only stopped by Normal- and Dark-typed pokemon
  • Recycle allows Drifloon to regain its Berry Juice and keep boosting up
  • Will-o-Wisp allows Drifloon to patch up its physical defense and cripple Normal- and Dark-types, most of whom are physical attackers
Set Details
========
  • Speed investment gives Drifloon 30 speed after Unburden, enough to outspeed 19 Speed scarfers like Misdreavus and Gligar
  • 14 SpA prevents rounding down when boosting
  • Remainder invested primarily into defense, as it is not boosted by Calm Mind
Usage Tips
========
  • Drifloon has plenty of opportunities to switch in on an immunity to Normal, Ground, or Fighting, or his quadruple Bug resist
  • This Drifloon is reliant on teammates to stop the things that hard counter it, namely Normal- and Dark-types, as well as physical-attacking Fire-types, who are immune to burn
  • This Drifloon has utility beyond sweeping, as access to reliable recovery allows it to switch in multiple times and spread burn
Team Options
========
  • Drifloon appreciates having Stealth Rock off the field, so a user of Rapid Spin or Defog is welcome. Vullaby resists Drifloon's Dark and Ghost weaknesses and can use Knock Off to weaken special walls, Drilbur resists Rock, is immune to Electric, and has access to a powerful STAB Earthquake to hammer both of them, as well as access to Rapid Spin
  • Misdreavus and Drifloon form an excellent team, as Misdreavus can lure in Normal- and Dark-types and cripple or remove them with Will-o-Wisp, Trick, Destiny Bond, Hidden Power Fighting, or Dazzling Gleam, allowing Drifloon to sweep, while Drifloon can take hits and spread burn
  • Drifloon appreciates Knock Off support to be able to OHKO bulky pokemon. Pawniard resists Ice, Dark, Ghost, and Rock for Drifloon, while Drifloon takes Fighting and Ground moves for it, Scraggy resists Dark, Ghost, and Rock, and keeps itself healthy with STAB Drain Punch, while Drifloon takes Fighting moves for it
  • This Drifloon struggles against physically-attacking Fire-types, so a switch-in to them are appreciated. Chinchou can beat Ponyta and Growlithe lacking Close Combat with Volt Absorb and STAB Hydro Pump, and can absorb burns and use Heal Bell to remove crippling paralysis and Toxic, and resists Electric- and Ice-type moves for Drifloon, while Drifloon takes Ground- and Grass-types moves for it.
SET NAME
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name: WeakPass
move 1: Stockpile / Calm Mind
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Will-o-Wisp / Hidden Power Fighting
move 4: Baton Pass
ability: Unburden
item: Weakness Policy
evs: 36 HP / 164 Def / 84 SpD / 196 Spe
nature: Timid

Moves
========
  • Drifloon is one of the few pokemon with Stockpile and Baton Pass, as well as Unburden and perfect typing, with many weaknesses but no quadruple weaknesses, as well as immunities to many forms of priority, making it one of the best Weakness Policy passers in the tier
  • Stockpile is the crux of the set, as Drifloon becomes bulky enough to survive super-effective hits after a boost or two, and it can be Baton Passed
  • Shadow Ball is STAB and has great coverage on most of the tier, nothing that doesn't resist it likes taking a +2 Shadow Ball
  • Will-o-Wisp is more efficient than Stockpile for tanking physical hits, permanently crippling many threats to Drifloon's Baton Pass, but Hidden Power Fighting lets Drifloon hit many of the pokemon that resist Shadow Ball hard
  • Baton Pass allows Drifloon to pass its defensive and offensive boosts to another sweeper
  • Calm Mind can be used to boost your Special Attack as well as raising your Special Defense, and doesn't warn your opponent that you are using Weakness Policy, but Stockpile is much more reliable for raising your defenses than the shaky accuracy and prediction requirement of Will-o-Wisp
Set Details
========
  • Max speed and a positive nature allow Drifloon to outspeed Meditite and Pawniard and Stockpile before they can attack (Life Orb Meditite has a 62.5% chance to OHKO Drifloon with Ice Punch, but Drifloon outspeeds and has a 93.8% chance to OHKO with Shadow Ball, so it still wins)
  • Remaining EVs put into bulk, as tanking super-effective hits is quite difficult and this Drifloon's priority is not to sweep
  • Unburden allows Drifloon to outspend every unbolted pokemon in the tier and Baton Pass away once Weakness Policy is activated
Usage Tips
========
  • Drifloon's many weaknesses, Ice, Electric, Rock, Dark, and Ghost, all come in handy here, and every team has multiple pokemon that can activate Weakness Policy
  • Drifloon should generally Stockpile on a predicted switch, unless the switch-in will be a faster physical attacker, which is when Will-o-Wisp is the preferred option
  • Drifloon can tank weaker Knock Offs and activate Weakness Policy, but stronger STAB hits can ruin it without sufficient Stockpile boosts or burning
  • This set is hard-countered by phazers like Whirlwind Munchlax and Dragon Tail Tyrunt, although neither of them enjoy burns, as well as Clear Smog users like Foongus and Koffing, so make sure these are removed before sweeping
Team Options
========
  • Rapid Spin or Defog is a necessity, as Drifloon needs every bit of health it can get to tank super effective hits. Vullaby resists Drifloon's Dark and Ghost weaknesses and can use Knock Off to weaken special walls, Drilbur resists Rock, is immune to Electric, and has access to a powerful STAB Earthquake to hammer both of them, as well as access to Rapid Spin
  • In terms of receivers, it's best to have a well-rounded pokemon that can take hits with Stockpile boosts and dish back with good Speed and Weakness Policy-boosted attack. Scraggy is one of the best, resisting Dark, Ghost, and Rock moves, as well as shrugging off crippling burn and paralysis with Shed Skin, it has access to Dragon Dance to help outspeed things and STAB Drain Punch to keep its health up, as well as being able to beat phazers Munchlax and Tyrunt with Fighting moves and lure bulky Poison-types with Clear Smog, like Koffing, Trubbish, and Foongus, and Knock Off Eviolites, making them much more fragile and easy to remove. Pawniard is another option, as it also has STAB Knock Off, as well as resisting Dark-, Ghost-, Rock-, and Ice-type moves for Drifloon, with near-unresisted STABs, powerful priority in Sucker Punch, and access to Rock Polish. Chinchou works well too, taking Electric- and Ice-type moves for Drifloon, with good bulk, unresisted coverage in three moves, and access to Agility.
SET NAME
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name: Tailwind
move 1: Tailwind
move 2: Shadow Ball / Knock Off
move 3: Recycle / Will-o-Wisp
move 4: Memento
ability: Aftermath
item: Berry Juice / Eviolite
evs: 36 HP / 244 Def / 164 SDef / 36 Spd
nature: Timid / Jolly

Moves
========
  • Drifloon has a unique niche in its access to a pair of excellent support moves, Tailwind and Memento
  • Tailwind is amazing team support, allowing Drifloon's teammates three turns of pseudo-priority
  • Shadow Ball is reliable STAB and does decent damage to most pokemon, but Knock Off's utility cannot be ignored
  • Recycle allows Drifloon to come in multiple times to set up Tailwind, but Will-o-Wisp is ever-useful to cripple switch-ins and is the obvious choice if Drifloon doesn't run Berry Juice
  • Memento allows for a free turn of setup for a teammate at the cost of Drifloon's life, as well as maximizing the amount of Tailwind turns the switch-in has
Set Details
========
  • As Drifloon becomes blazingly fast after a Tailwind, no speed investment is necessary, and everything is invested into bulk
  • As this set is not used for sweeping, Unburden is similarly not needed, so Aftermath is used for the chance of a last ditch hit on Drifloon's killer should it not use Memento
  • Eviolite allows Drifloon to tank powerful hits like Pawniard's Sucker Punch and Chinchou's Thunderbolt, set up Tailwind, and then outspeed and Memento
  • Be sure to switch to Jolly when using Knock Off
Usage Tips
========
  • This set is best used late-game, when all the counters to the sweeper supported by Tailwind have been weakened or KO'd
  • Drifloon is relatively frail even with heavy investment and Recycle, and he's weak to Stealth Rock, so don't damage it excessively before late-game to ensure a successful Tailwind setup
  • Try to remove Protect users like Spritzee and Yanma, as they can easily stall out Tailwind turns
Team Options
========
  • Pokemon best suited for Tailwind sweeping are powerful pokemon who can sweep without needing to set up
  • Meditite and Bunnelby stand out, with unmatched speed after Tailwind, amazing Pure Power- and Huge Power-boosted attack stats, great coverage, and access to priority. Pawniard is another good choice, as few pokemon in Little Cup can avoid a 2HKO from Pawniard's near-unresisted STABs, including priority in Sucker Punch, if their items are smacked away by Pawniard's powerful Knock Off. Murkrow can 2HKO almost anything in the tier and has STAB priority in Sucker Punch as well.
Other Options
========
  • Hypnosis can be run alongside Substitute to provide an 84% chance of sleep in two turns, and Thunder Wave and Toxic have their merits, but Will-o-Wisp is usually the superior option to help bolster Drifloon's subpar bulk
  • Explosion is an alternative to Memento or Destiny Bond to heavily damage an opponent and bring in a switch-in, but the other two options are superior due to being able to play around Sucker Punch
  • Hidden Power Ground destroys Magnemite without Sturdy and still hits Helioptile, but is much weaker against Pawniard
  • Haze and Clear Smog are options for a support Drifloon, but Drifloon is fragile without boosts or burns and has trouble switching in repeatedly due to its Stealth Rock weakness, limiting its ability to take boosted attacks
  • Icy Wind is an option to get a surprise hit on Gligar, who outspends and OHKOs with Knock Off, but Gligar is crippled by Will-o-Wisp
  • Sucker Punch can be used to eliminate other priority users before they beat Drifloon, but most of the priority users that Drifloon fears resist Sucker Punch, like Croagunk, Pawniard, Stunky, and Murkrow
Checks & Counters
========
  • Drifloon is quite versatile, hitting hard from both sides of the spectrum or going purely supportive, and counters depend on what set it is using
  • Munchlax is immune to Shadow Ball, can tank boosted hits, and Whirlwind them away, or simply Pursuit, but RestTalk sets lack a way to damage it and Recycle sets hate burn
  • Similarly, Porygon is one of the hardest counters, immune to Shadow Ball and not minding burns at all while threatening it with Ice Beam or Thunder Wave
  • Drifloon doesn't like any form of priority that it is not immune to, as it is rather frail, so it's easily revenged by Snover Ice Shards or Honedge Shadow Sneaks without a sub up
  • Recycle sets fear Knock Off, as Recycle does not recover items that have been knocked off, but users are often hesitant to switch in for fear of being burned
  • Thus, Dark-types in general fare well against Drifloon, resisting Shadow Ball and threatening it with STAB Sucker Punch, Knock Off, or Pursuit, but none of them enjoy Acrobatics but Pawniard, and none of them enjoy Will-o-Wisp but Houndour, and Substitute, Destiny Bond, Baton Pass, and Memento give it options to play around Sucker Punch
  • Magnemite and Tirtouga resist Acrobatics and have a failsafe in Sturdy, while being able to OHKO with STAB attacks, or in Tirtouga's case, threaten with priority or set up
  • Stealth Rock puts a damper on Drifloon's longevity, limiting the amount of times it can switch in
  • Baton Pass sets are hard countered by phasers like Munchlax, and sets without Substitute are vulnerable to Clear Smog users like Koffing, Trubbish, and Foongus
  • Tailwind sweeps are cut short by users of Protect, such as Yanma and Spritzee
 
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Uhh...that's a whole ton of sets, and I don't think they all deserve a spot on the analysis. The ones that I think would work are AcroFloon and Baton Pass. I'm iffy on SubCM but could veer in its direction. Tailwind definitely does not need to be here and neither does bulky Mono-Attacker.

I want logs on SubCM. Clean this up (there are too many sets, I know you're a Drifloon enthusiast but they can't all be fantastic) and then we'll talk QC checks.
 
WOW I AM DUMB, fixed

Uhh...that's a whole ton of sets, and I don't think they all deserve a spot on the analysis. The ones that I think would work are AcroFloon and Baton Pass. I'm iffy on SubCM but could veer in its direction. Tailwind definitely does not need to be here and neither does bulky Mono-Attacker.

I want logs on SubCM. Clean this up (there are too many sets, I know you're a Drifloon enthusiast but they can't all be fantastic) and then we'll talk QC checks.
will move both to OO and get some logs
 
Also, I brought to attention the Weakness Policy / Knock Off problem on PS, so that should be fixed. I definitely think Weakness Policy > Berry Juice or at the very least a Weakness Policy / Berry Juice slash should be in there.
 
THANK YOU <3

Wait, so you think that it's viable to just pass Stockpile boosts? I dunno about that, the attack boost from Weakness Policy is what enables the sweeps, although I guess it could work as part of a Baton Pass chain. And the SubCM set already covers Baton Passing Calm Mind. I could just give Stockpile a mention on the SubCM set as something else to Baton Pass. If Stockpile passing Drifloon is viable, it should probably go there, as that set runs Substitute, which I don't include on the WeakPass set because Substitute lowers your health and prevents Weakness Policy activation. I feel like WeakPass is a much different strategy than regular Baton Passing, and deserves its own analysis.
 
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Not exactly about Drifloon, but why doesn't Drifblim not have Tailwind on PS? I reported it and they said they'd fix it but nothing's happened :S
 

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