Pokémon Grafaiai

[readytolose]

Base Stats: 63 HP / 95 Atk / 65 Def / 80 SpA / 72 SpD / 110 Spe (485 Total)
Abilities: Unburden | Poison Touch | Prankster
Notable Moves:
- Parting Shot
- Gunk Shot
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Encore
- Toxic
- Tera Blast
- Low Kick
- Taunt
- Switcheroo
- Super Fang
- Nasty Plot

Full Movepool

Learned Moves:
Doodle @ Evolution
Scratch @ Lv. 1
Leer @ Lv. 1
Acid Spray @ Lv. 5
Fury Swipes @ Lv. 8
Switcheroo @ Lv. 11
Poison Fang @ Lv. 14
Flatter @ Lv. 18
Slash @ Lv. 21
U-turn @ Lv. 25
Poison Jab @ Lv. 33
Taunt @ Lv. 37
Substitute @ Lv. 40
Knock Off @ Lv. 45
Gunk Shot @ Lv. 51
Egg Moves: Toxic, Super Fang, Swagger, Copycat, Cross Poison, Parting Shot
TM Moves: Swords Dance, Take Down, Low Kick, Dig, Metronome, Rest, Substitute, Thief, Protect, Scary Face, Sludge Bomb, Mud-Slap, Endure, Sleep Talk, Baton Pass, Encore, Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Facade, Taunt, Helping Hand, Mud Shot, Poison Tail, U-turn, Fling, Poison Jab, X-Scissor, Giga Impact, Nasty Plot, Shadow Claw, Gunk Shot, Venoshock, Low Sweep, Acid Spray, Foul Play, Acrobatics, Tera Blast, Pounce, Trailblaze

New Moves

Doodle -

-

Accuracy: 100%
PP: 10 (16)
The user captures the very essence of the target in a
sketch. This changes the Abilities of the user and its ally
Pokémon to that of the target.

Pounce -

-

Power: 50
Accuracy: 100%
PP: 20 (32)
The user attacks by pouncing on the target. This also
lowers the target’s Speed stat.

Trailblaze -

-

Power: 50
Accuracy: 100%
PP: 20 (32)
The user attacks suddenly as if leaping out from tall
grass. The user’s nimble footwork boosts its Speed stat.

Pros:
- The rare combo of Parting Shot and Prankster lets Grafaiai pivot out of and weaken faster threats, making it a unique pivot.
- It has enough utility between its attacks and Prankster status moves to debilitate opponents.
Cons:
- Really unimpressive stats make it difficult for Grafaiai to switch in on even some resisted attacks.
- It's not that strong offensively either and can be easily walled by defensive mons, especially those that resist Poison.
- This results in Grafaiai being a really niche sort of supportive anti-setup mon that doesn't work in a lot of teams.

Terastallize Potential:
- Grafaiai doesn't seem like the best user of Terstallizing as it's not really a sweeper, but it could come in use sometimes.
- A Fighting Tera type lets Grafaiai potentially surprise opposing Steel or Dark types and hit pretty hard with Low Kick.
- Poison is a reasonable Tera Type that lets you hit harder with your main STAB.
- Dark lets you hit harder with Knock Off and potentially dodge opposing Psychic moves.
- Some other types with immunities like Flying, Ghost, or Fairy can let you outplay specific threats.

Potential Sets:
Bulky Pivot
Grafaiai @ Black Sludge
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Poison / Dark / Fighting
EVs: 252 HP / 228 SpD / 28 Spe
Careful Nature
- Parting Shot
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
- Encore / Low Kick

This set is bulky enough to be your dedicated switch-in to Flutter Mane, and can dissuade Ghost spam and maybe take a neutral special hit if needed. Knock Off and Poison Jab are both capable of debilitating switch-ins with status and item loss. Encore is best for dissuading setup before safely pivoting out, but Low Kick is also an option to hit Dark-types that can't be affected by Prankster. This is especially relevant for Kingambit, which doesn't care much about any other move on the set. Grafaiai plays well with slow pivots like Slowbro or Slowking, which can pivot out in the face of setup, letting Grafaiai come in and safely Encore. Also, Black Sludge might seem bad if you Terastallize out of your Poison type, but you probably won't Terastallize this mon in general anyways and it's better if you get tricked by opposing Flutter Mane.

Offensive Pivot
Grafaiai @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Poison / Dark / Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Parting Shot
- Knock Off
- Gunk Shot
- Encore / Low Kick

This set is similar, but more reliant on a partnered pivot as it really cannot take a hit. Because of this I'd only recommend it on a team that can absolutely cover everything defensively. It makes up for it with greater power and a faster Parting Shot, letting it outprioritize mid-speed priority mons like Palafin. Gunk Shot over Poison Jab with the attack investment is actually pretty strong against neutral targets. Heavy-Duty Boots let it pivot freely if hazards are up and let it and a slow pivot cycle back and forth with little fear.

Other Options:
- Unburden + Swords Dance sets are a reasonable option, but Grafaiai is easily taken out by priority and is pretty weak with its coverage moves.
- Taunt can be used to stallbreak, but Grafaiai can often lose against defensive mons due to its mediocre bulk.
- Toxic is decent with priority, but Grafaiai tends to invite Toxic-immune mons in anyways.
- Choice Band is an option to raise Grafaiai's power a bit, and it even gets Switcheroo, but it's still pretty weak.

Overall:
Grafaiai is not long for OU, but for now it cuts a tiny niche as a Flutter Mane check. In the long term we should see it settle into a tier where it can stand out more. As it is, I don't think it has what it takes to cut it as it's just too lacking in stats. It also wishes it had a few more key moves; Fake Out in particular I think would be a perfect fit for it. What do you think of Grafaiai?

 

[STEELDRAGON]

Grafaiai @ Choice Band
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Poison/Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Jolly/Adamant Nature
-Gunk Shot
-Low Kick
-Copycat/Switcheroo
-Parting Shot

Grafaiai's best set. Gunk Shot hits pretty hard against a lot of pokemon and Low Kick can 2ko most the Steel or Rock types who try to switch in. Priority Copycat is a really cool move which can allow you to potentially revenge kill a boosted opponent, though base 110 speed allows you to outspeed most of the metagame regardless. Switcheroo can cripple walls like Clodsire to make it easier for teammates to break through.

 

[Dreadfury]

Sneasler boutta put this thing out of business the frame HOME rolls around.

 

[flamewizzy21]

I saw a hilarius set for Grafaiai on Youtube:

Swagger => Activate Mirror Herb => Activate Unburden and Acrobatics

This basically puts you at +2 Atk, 2x speed from unburden, activates acrobatics, and leaves a Swagger on your opponent. Grafaiai might still be too weak, but it’s worth experimenting.

 

[flowerpanic]

swag (Grafaiai) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Unburden
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 156 Atk / 200 SpD / 152 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Knock Off
- Fling
- Swords Dance

This set is made specifically to dumpster Gholdengo. It lures in Gholdengo because of Gholdengo's immunity to poison, allowing Grafaiai an opportunity to SD on the switch and potentially OHKO Gholdengo with a dark move and sweep the team with an unburden boost. Enough spdef to live modest +0 Make it Rain. Enough attack to OHKO 0 HP/0 def with tera Knock Off at +0. You do need to look out for Max HP Nasty Plot though since you can't OHKO it without a boost and Gholdengo is capable of OHKOing you after a Nasty Plot Boost. The best way to beat max HP Nasty Plot Gholdengo with Grafaiai is to weaken it with hazards or by some other means. Tera Fling at +0 is capable of OHKO'ing 0 hp/0 def but it's a roll. Same with non tera +2 Fling. Even with max HP and defense investment, tera Fling into Knock off still 2HKO's at +0. The boots (aside from being a good item in general) prevent it from being OHKO'd by modest Make it Rain with hazards while still being strong enough to 2hko with tera Fling into Knock Off. Not to mention Grafaiai's ability to switch into shadow ball for free. It's not possible in gen 9 but if I could I would give it TR43 (it's the tm for overheat) in order to reliably OHKO max hp Nasty Plot with tera Fling

Here are some calcs against Gholdengo

+2 156+ Atk Heavy-Duty Boots Tera Dark Grafaiai Fling (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gholdengo: 424-500 (112.1 - 132.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+0 156+ Atk Tera Dark Grafaiai Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Gholdengo: 360-424 (95.2 - 112.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

+0 156+ Atk Heavy-Duty Boots Tera Dark Grafaiai Fling (80 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gholdengo: 296-352 (93.9 - 111.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

252+ SpA Gholdengo Make It Rain vs. 0 HP / 200 SpD Grafaiai: 225-265 (84.2 - 99.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

I paired this set with a Corv because of Corv's ability to tank Make it Rain, but it also lures in Gholdengo because of its resistance to Brave Bird and Body Press, and it could be trying to block defog. With some spdef investment it's capable of tanking some Shadow Balls too. When Gholdengo switches in on Corv you can just pivot safely into Grafaiai next turn.

There are definitely better ways to counter Gholdengo but this way is fun.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

 

[STEELDRAGON]

I have been using Grafaifai with Taunt as a antilead against hazard setters and it actually functions pretty decently. It also does well against Grimmsnarl koing it with GS. The one pokemon that really holds this pokemon back is TIng-Lu as it can't really do much to it outside of Low Kick or Super Fang. Overall it's a pretty decent pokemon but has some glaring weaknesses.

 

[GaileOxstain]

I saw a hilarius set for Grafaiai on Youtube:

Swagger => Activate Mirror Herb => Activate Unburden and Acrobatics

This basically puts you at +2 Atk, 2x speed from unburden, activates acrobatics, and leaves a Swagger on your opponent. Grafaiai might still be too weak, but it’s worth experimenting.

Swagger is still banned in Smogon formats I believe. Though it gets access to Flatter too, so maybe a special attacking set could work with your same strategy?

 

[Sheerluck Holmes]

Swagger is still banned in Smogon formats I believe. Though it gets access to Flatter too, so maybe a special attacking set could work with your same strategy?

Swagger got banned iirc in Gen 6 or 7 before the confusion nerf made hitting yourself go from 50% to 33.3%. It’s banned unbanned ever since I think.

 

[Yahooboo]

Prankster + Copycat is fun btw

 

[Venduria]

Grafaiai @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Poison Touch
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 248 HP / 24 Atk / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Taunt
- Super Fang

Fun set to try out. Knock Off, U-Turn, Super Fang all are contact moves so you can proc Poison Touch on them, and fast Taunt helps prevent bulkier teams from recovering health or trying to set up. Lots of utility with Knock Off and Super Fang, and you can cripple a lot of teams by pivoting and halving their HP with Super Fang. You'll rarely ever Tera but Tera Bug for Ground resistance and STAB on U-Turn, which you'll be using often to maintain momentum.

I think people see Prankster and salivate but honestly Poison Touch procs REALLY annoy a ton of meta mons right now, and every move you bring is annoying for the opponent to deal with.

Speed EVs to outspeed Band Meowscarada, full bulk and a bit of Atk to round it off. You can dump the Atk into Def if you want. Honestly a pretty interesting mon, especially because Normal types aren't very common in the meta, and clearing Toxic Spikes is pretty vital for most teams.

 

[fly casanova]

Grafaiai @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Poison Touch
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 248 HP / 24 Atk / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Taunt
- Super Fang

you tried poison fang with poison touch? the 50% toxic chance + 30% poison is appealing

 

[Venduria]

you tried poison fang with poison touch? the 50% toxic chance + 30% poison is appealing

If I would run Poison Fang, I'd run it over Super Fang, in which I'd lose the opportunity to massively chunk stuff like Ting Lu or Dondozo. Might be worth considering, but Super Fang is the only way for Grafaiai to do meaningful damage, so you have to choose your battles.