Pokémon Granbull

[DuranDurant]

I can only agree. Granbull is an underrated physical wall. I've been playing in a 3 vs 3 environment (wi-fi random matches) and I can attest to Granbull's effectiveness as a physical wall. I run the following set:

Granbull @ Air Balloon
Impish, 252 HP/Def 6 Sp.Def
- Play Rough
- Heal Bell
- Thunder Wave
- Reflect

Thanks to Air Balloon, it can easily check Garchomp and pretty much every other physical dragon, since they usually rely on dragon move + ground move + coverage. Granbull puts you in a nice position: you can easily 2KO if they try to pop your balloon with their coverage move, set up Reflect to make sure they won't be killing you anytime soon, or Thunder Wave whatever switches in. And if a team-mate is in trouble, you can help them out with Heal Bell, since you usually have the time. And don't you think you need Reflect in order to take hits from those nasty dragons: I haven't run any calculations, but my experience has showed Mega Garchomp can't even 2KO Granbull with Iron Head after Intimidate.

Since 3 vs 3 wifi battles are much shorter than 6 vs 6 and you can only use one leftovers, I think Air Balloon is fairly useful for the aforementioned reasons, and even after it's popped, Granbull can still check physical dragons pretty decently. For 6 vs 6 Battles, I'm pretty sure the lack of leftovers would hurt, but giving up on Air Balloon would drastically reduce Granbull's ability to take on dragon types, since it'll have to predict a dragon or setup move in order to switch in.

I'm sure Granbull can also check some fighting types efficiently too, but since my team has others ways of countering them (and I do my best to keep Air Balloon intact) it usually doesn't need to get its hands dirty.

This is a genius set, didn't even think about the dual Dragon/Earth immunity rendering pokes like Garchomp, Haxorus, Salamence,etc. useless. Makes me think of how the metagame will react when a Fairy/Flying type is released. My set is:

Granbull @ Leftovers
Adamant - 252 HP / 52 Atk / 208 Def
- Play Rough
- Heal Bell
- Earthquake
- Power-Up Punch

A bit gimmicky of a set, but primarily relying on the fact that a lot of players are unfamiliar with Granbull and assume it's still a Normal type. Power-Up Punch ideally on a Dragon-type attack and make a sizeable hit on either the attacking dragon-type or any switch in if he's choice'd.

I will change to an Air Balloon set and see how that works out for me!

 

[gabriel]

This is a genius set, didn't even think about the dual Dragon/Earth immunity rendering pokes like Garchomp, Haxorus, Salamence,etc. useless. Makes me think of how the metagame will react when a Fairy/Flying type is released. My set is:

Granbull @ Leftovers
Adamant - 252 HP / 52 Atk / 208 Def
- Play Rough
- Heal Bell
- Earthquake
- Power-Up Punch

A bit gimmicky of a set, but primarily relying on the fact that a lot of players are unfamiliar with Granbull and assume it's still a Normal type. Power-Up Punch ideally on a Dragon-type attack and make a sizeable hit on either the attacking dragon-type or any switch in if he's choice'd.

I will change to an Air Balloon set and see how that works out for me!

That's true about people being unaware of Granbull's fairy type, there was even a guy who intentionally used Outrage on me. I just loled and set up Reflect on his face.

I don't know about an offensive set for Granbull, though. It's too slow, rather frail if you can't abuse its resistances, and has no reliable recovery. You also need full investment in Defense if you want to shrug off coverage moves or eventually an Earthquake.

Actually there is a fairy/flying type: Togekiss. Unfortunately, its low Def makes it unable to handle dragon's coverage moves (particularly SE that can 2KO at the very least) and its speed is lower than most dragon's, so it has to rely heavily on prediction. SR weakness also hampers it considerably. Granbull, on the other hand, makes an excellent check when holding Air Balloon and can still help after its popped. Too bad it doesn't have a recovery move like Roost, otherwise it would be much more effective in a 6 vs 6 environment. But it's really good in 3 vs 3 .

 

[DouglasFalcon]

This is a genius set, didn't even think about the dual Dragon/Earth immunity rendering pokes like Garchomp, Haxorus, Salamence,etc. useless. Makes me think of how the metagame will react when a Fairy/Flying type is released.

Ever heard about Togekiss?
Anyway, since Granbull already has a great 3-moves coverage, i think that Facade alongside with Quick Feet is a good choice to fill the last moveslot. In fact, with X/Y new mechanics, when a burned pokemon uses Facade, its attack it's not halved, it simply hitsas normal but with doubled Base Power. I know that this isn't the best option but when you can't switch moves to use Heal Bell this is really the best you can do.

 

[Rennyjesus]

Ever heard about Togekiss?
Anyway, since Granbull already has a great 3-moves coverage, i think that Facade alongside with Quick Feet is a good choice to fill the last moveslot. In fact, with X/Y new mechanics, when a burned pokemon uses Facade, its attack it's not halved, it simply hitsas normal but with doubled Base Power. I know that this isn't the best option but when you can't switch moves to use Heal Bell this is really the best you can do.

Ummmmm Facade can be a nice option actually if you just catch poison spikes or something like that because a Burn is going to damage Granbull badly since even if Facade doesn't apply the attack cut, the other moves like Play Rough and Earthquake are going to suffer from it... Also, why using Quick Feet when Granbull is really slow and need Intimidate to make its physical bulk usable?

 

[DuranDurant]

I have been using an Air Balloon Granbull a bit and I'm really loving him this gen. Intimidate Granbull has fantastic bulk/coverage and is a great team player with Heal Bell. He was the star of this match (admittedly the guy didn't make the best predictions)

I mean, before this gen I never would have even believed that a Granbull can out-stall a Gliscor.

http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/ou-72765131

 

[doinktonberry]

Granbull with max defense after intimidate takes earthquake from a garchomp at a maximum of 29.1%. If you switch in on the swords dance, you can still tear it to pieces with play rough or ice punch while it can only 2hko you. Granbull walling a gliscor is cool and hilarious and all, but it is not worth giving up leftovers at all especially considering that it's the only type of recovery that Granbull can actually utilize. why bother when you can just use a pokemon with an ok special attack and ice beam?
Edit: And don't say surprise value

 

[DuranDurant]

Granbull with max defense after intimidate takes earthquake from a garchomp at a maximum of 29.1%. If you switch in on the swords dance, you can still tear it to pieces with play rough or ice punch while it can only 2hko you. Granbull walling a gliscor is cool and hilarious and all, but it is not worth giving up leftovers at all especially considering that it's the only type of recovery that Granbull can actually utilize. why bother when you can just use a pokemon with an ok special attack and ice beam?
Edit: And don't say surprise value

Oh, my Granbull is in no way designed to counter gliscor, just a funny thing that happened. The reason I advocate balloon over leftovers is because it turns a ~3hko from garchomp into a forced switched. Most Garchomp sets only run dragon/ground and are absolutely worthless against a granbull who can either set up a bit with bulk up or heal bell support. I can also predict a status move and switch over to my MAbsol to magic bounce, or switch into my Escavalier for a poison/steel move.

Imo Granbull is the only viable offensive poke with heal bell so I use him as more of a support. Being able to wall Gliscor forever and sweep with bulk up are added bonuses. If only Granbull got Drain Punch...

 

[subfer1]

I am loving this thread, as Granbull has always been among my favorites; just one thought, would I be too optimistic to think that Headbutt could work well with T-Wave in a defensive set instead of using Heal Bell? That is if one wanted to forego that utility move granted another team member had it. I would just love to think it could para-flinch some stuff.

 

[TKGriffiths]

I am loving this thread, as Granbull has always been among my favorites; just one thought, would I be too optimistic to think that Headbutt could work well with T-Wave in a defensive set instead of using Heal Bell? That is if one wanted to forego that utility move granted another team member had it. I would just love to think it could para-flinch some stuff.

Utterly outclassed by Togekiss. Even more than it usually is.

 

[DuranDurant]

I am loving this thread, as Granbull has always been among my favorites; just one thought, would I be too optimistic to think that Headbutt could work well with T-Wave in a defensive set instead of using Heal Bell? That is if one wanted to forego that utility move granted another team member had it. I would just love to think it could para-flinch some stuff.

I don't think he's fast enough to get off the paralyze in the first place, frankly. There are way too make other poke options that make paraflinch better and I think that ignores Granbull's great utility as a pivot/offensive utility. The few pokes that Granbull could successfully paraflinch, he can take out just as easy with one of his coverage moves.

 

[Meru]

Utterly outclassed by Togekiss. Even more than it usually is.

Togekiss has much more prominent weaknesses, including a weakness to Stealth Rock, Electric-, and Ice-type attacks, not to mention Intimidate psuedo-skyrockets Granbull's physical bulk, allowing it to be a much better counter to physical Bug-, Fighting-, and Dragon-type attacks.

 

[TKGriffiths]

Togekiss has much more prominent weaknesses, including a weakness to Stealth Rock, Electric-, and Ice-type attacks, not to mention Intimidate psuedo-skyrockets Granbull's physical bulk, allowing it to be a much better counter to physical Bug-, Fighting-, and Dragon-type attacks.

Togekiss double resists Bug and Fighting and takes nothing from Dragon so it's a better switch in to those moves than Granbull, try again? xD

 

[subfer1]

I don't think he's fast enough to get off the paralyze in the first place, frankly. There are way too make other poke options that make paraflinch better and I think that ignores Granbull's great utility as a pivot/offensive utility. The few pokes that Granbull could successfully paraflinch, he can take out just as easy with one of his coverage moves.

Utterly outclassed by Togekiss. Even more than it usually is.

Noted. :P I knew I was being far too optimistic, but I still got dreams in my head :) Anyways, I think Reflect is a very good option to go slashed with Heal Bell, as some others have pointed out here, it can be a great option to furhter increase this puppy's durability if someone else in its team already has cleric capacities. I'd say:

Impish @ Leftovers/Air Balloon
Intimidate
252 HP, 252 Def, 6 SpD
~Play Rough
~Earthquake/Fire Punch
~Heal Bell/Reflect/Roar
~Thunder Wave

If you want to spread paralysis and think you can pull it off, it could be Roar, and if you want to avoid Earthquakes, as someone already noted, the air balloon would be great. If not, lefties is better.

 

[ColtCababa]

Togekiss double resists Bug and Fighting and takes nothing from Dragon so it's a better switch in to those moves than Granbull, try again? xD

It still has horrible physical bulk, so Granbull is better suited to take those hits and coverage attacks.

 

[Franklyna]

It still has horrible physical bulk, so Granbull is better suited to take those hits and coverage attacks.

85/95 is pretty decent physical defense, if you're referring to Togekiss. I don't know what Granbull's defense stat would equal if one was to factor in Intimidate, though.

Defensively speaking, Granbull does not have as many weakness as Togekiss does, including the SR weakness.

 

[Ruffles]

Thank you CSB for making this, I have been looking forward for this to be created.

I definitely think Granbull is really viable this gen. Fairy is such a good defensive type, while Granbull has respectable 90/75/60 base defenses, with full investment in HP & Def + Assault Vest, you are efficiently walling a lot of the metagame, Granbull has no solid recovery which is kind of a problem, but Intimidate is such a good ability on walls, and Granbull does walling good. Special Lucario has ~80% chance to OHKO w/ Flash Cannon, and +2 Blaziken (Blaziken has a relatively easy way to activate SD, especially when Granbull doesn't OHKO) has a ~50% chance of OHKO-ing flare blitz, but those are one of the very few pokes who can OHKO Assault Vest 252 HP / 252+ Def without hazards.

252 SpA Alakazam Psychic vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Granbull: 153-180 (39.8 - 46.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Politoed Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Granbull in Rain: 232-274 (60.4 - 71.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
4 SpA Rotom-W Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Granbull: 126-148 (32.8 - 38.5%) -- 99.3% chance to 3HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Latios Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Granbull: 186-220 (48.4 - 57.2%) -- 93.4% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Latios Psychic vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Granbull: 222-262 (57.8 - 68.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Chandelure Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Granbull: 294-346 (76.5 - 90.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Granbull in Sun: 313-370 (81.5 - 96.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

The last one was incredible.

 

[Toljik]

All those 2HKOs mean that Granbull will rarely get a chance to switch in safely.

Besides, what can a Granbull with 0 attack EVs and no recovery do back to them?

 

[CoolStoryBrobat]

All those 2HKOs mean that Granbull will rarely get a chance to switch in safely.

Besides, what can a Granbull with 0 attack EVs and no recovery do back to them?

He does have a point here with this. Defensive Granbull can function as a wall, but I would view it as a tank first before a wall, mainly because it's so easy to wear down, and it's still able to put out some damage. Assault Vest does sound like a decent idea, but I would honestly be running some Atk EVs if I was using Assault Vest, otherwise most of the Pokemon you're eating hits from are still going to survive whatever you hit them with after without any prior damage being done.

 

[Ruffles]

0 Atk Granbull Play Rough vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latios: 272-324 (90 - 107.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
0 Atk Granbull Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Chandelure: 184-218 (70.4 - 83.5%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
0 Atk Granbull Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rotom-W: 108-127 (35.5 - 41.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 Atk Granbull Play Rough vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Alakazam: 211-250 (83.7 - 99.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


88+ Atk Granbull Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Chandelure: 218-258 (83.5 - 98.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
88+ Atk Granbull Play Rough vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Alakazam: 252-297 (100 - 117.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
88+ Atk Granbull Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rotom-W: 127-150 (41.7 - 49.3%) -- 85.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
88+ Atk Granbull Play Rough vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latios: 324-384 (107.2 - 127.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

You are right, I have noticed that only 88 Adamant will OHKO all the main threats Granbull have given an Assault vest to tank them, running 136 Adamant is a guaranteed 2HKO for Rotom-W after SR (if you are not satisfied with 85.9%)

 

[ColtCababa]

85/95 is pretty decent physical defense, if you're referring to Togekiss. I don't know what Granbull's defense stat would equal if one was to factor in Intimidate, though.

Defensively speaking, Granbull does not have as many weakness as Togekiss does, including the SR weakness.

Pardon, allow me to rephrase my previous post. It has significantly less physical bulk, and the Fairy type is a very valuable physically defensive typing, whereas Granbull has what it needs to take physical attacks much more efficiently than Togekiss.

 

[Meru]

Togekiss double resists Bug and Fighting and takes nothing from Dragon so it's a better switch in to those moves than Granbull, try again? xD

I'll try again since I figured it was obvious so let me break it down to you. Togekiss can't wall a lot of things that Granbull can because it falls prey to common coverage moves. Both of them beat Salamence and Dragonite setting up, but Garchomp, Terrakion, and Landorus-T have Stone Edge to nail Togekiss despite its Ground-type immunity. Common coverage moves like Genesect's Ice Beam/Thunderbolt, Conkeldurr's Thunderpunch and Lucario's Ice Punch don't care about those 4x resistances. And none of this even takes into account the Stealth Rock weakness. Togekiss's only boasts reliable recovery, but since it doesn't beat anything, I don't see the merit of reliable recovery. Togekiss can handle choiced ones version of Bug- and Fighting-type attacks, but right now, most Fighting-types are threatening to boost and sweep, which Granbull's tankiness (thanks to Intimidate) deals much better with.

 

[Dododoggy]

Has anyone tried a band set on Granbull?

Granbull Choice Band
Intimidate
252hp,252atk,4def
Adamant
-Play Rough
-Ice Punch
-Close Combat/Earth Quake
-Earth Quake/Crunch

The set pretty much explains itself.. Basically just send Granbull out and let him destroy. The 252hp + intimidate is a good combo allowing granbull to take Physical hits pretty well and good to send out against big OU monsters like Garchomp,Dragonite, and Salamence. All in all I think this is a really great set for the Big BullDog.

 

[SomeDrunkRockLee]

Hm... it might be a bit situational, but since nothing is immune to fairy, I can see a lanturn-esque set working on this guy, especially with the reverted sleep mechanics.

Granbull @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Heal Bell
- Play Rough

It's a pretty simple set designed to cleric as effectively as possible. When sleep talking you have a chance to talk a heal bell, waking Granbull up and enabling him to support his team with clerical duties. When not asleep, Spam Play Rough until you're low enough to need to rest again. Fairly simple and probably outclassed by most support sets (I'm too lazy to calc stuff for play rough's damage output), but useful if you just need a physical wall/cleric who can do decent damage (especially to dragons).

Pardon, allow me to rephrase my previous post. It has significantly less physical bulk, and the Fairy type is a very valuable physically defensive typing, whereas Granbull has what it needs to take physical attacks much more efficiently than Togekiss.

About this whole "Outclassed by togekiss" thing. Granbull has a definite niche as a physically defensive fairy because if you're running 248 HP/252 Def on Togekiss, you're doing it wrong.

 

[Rennyjesus]

Hm... it might be a bit situational, but since nothing is immune to fairy, I can see a lanturn-esque set working on this guy, especially with the reverted sleep mechanics.

Granbull @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Heal Bell
- Play Rough

It's a pretty simple set designed to cleric as effectively as possible. When sleep talking you have a chance to talk a heal bell, waking Granbull up and enabling him to support his team with clerical duties. When not asleep, Spam Play Rough until you're low enough to need to rest again. Fairly simple and probably outclassed by most support sets (I'm too lazy to calc stuff for play rough's damage output), but useful if you just need a physical wall/cleric who can do decent damage (especially to dragons)..

Mmmmm Nothing personal but i'm just seeing that set like an invitation for Aegislash and Talonflame to come and setup fairly easy... Hell, even Chariblast can come in, mega evolve and burn Granbull to ashes... XD

 

[blonde23]

I really have started to like Granbull this Gen. My favorite use of him is to slap a Scarf or Band with Rattled. He works incredibly well with a pure Psychic lead. Espeon being my favorite, as it lures the U-Turn from the almighty Genesect and bounces hazards. Now, you might think, why do we need to lure Gene into U-Turn? Well, before Gene U-Turns, switch into Granbull and get the Rattled bonus. Then you are pretty much free to put a dent in whatever your opponent brings in. Rattled is very good with Gran's new Fairy typing as well, as he resists Dark and Bug, both activate Rattled obviously. Also, I believe he can live a non-LO, non-Spec'd SB from Gengar at full, and then he outspeeds. And with Gengar's frailness, you should be able to 2HKO unless you are locked into Play Rough. Regardless, 2 Banded Play Rough's will still hurt Gengar.