QC: iplaytennislol / Punchshroom / Raseri
GP: The Dutch Plumberjack / P Squared
Old OP from Always!
[OVERVIEW]
Granbull's good physical bulk coupled with its ability Intimidate lets it check numerous physical attackers with ease. This is further helped by Granbull's excellent Fairy typing, which lets it take on Dark-, Fighting-, and Bug-types such as Malamar, Sawk, and Scyther; its excellent coverage, with Play Rough and Earthquake forming a very potent and nearly unresisted combination; and a great Attack stat that allows it to dish out impressive damage even without any investment. Granbull also has an impressive supportive movepool, including moves such as Thunder Wave, Roar, and Heal Bell. However, Granbull's Special Defense and Speed stats are extremely low, which leaves it very vulnerable to powerful special attackers such as Pyroar and Jynx. Additionally, Granbull is hampered by its lack of reliable recovery, meaning that it heavily requires Wish support to not be worn down quickly. Furthermore, Granbull will often be switching into Knock Off, which will make it lose its passive recovery and make it even easier to wear down.
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Play Rough
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Fire Punch
move 4: Thunder Wave
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant
evs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Play Rough is a powerful STAB move that can dent the opposing team. Earthquake has great coverage with Play Rough, as it nails Fire-, Steel-, and Poison-types that wall Granbull, such as Pyroar, Mawile, and Garbodor. Fire Punch is used to heavily dent Grass-types such as Vileplume and Ferroseed. Thunder Punch is an option to hit Water-types such as Pelipper and Mantine for a huge chunk of damage before they can burn Granbull with Scald. Thunder Wave is used to cripple opposing Pokemon. Heal Bell is another option that turns Granbull into an offensive cleric by healing its team from status afflictions. Thief can also be used in order to steal an item from the opponent's team, such as an Eviolite from Gurdurr, and works surprisingly well in practice considering how often Granbull will be taking a Knock Off.
Set Details
=======
44 Speed EVs allow Granbull to outspeed uninvested base 50 Speed Pokemon, such as Hariyama and Vileplume. Maximum Attack investment along with an Adamant nature allows Granbull to hit very hard. The rest is placed in HP so that Granbull can pivot into Fighting-type attacks more consistently. Leftovers provides Granbull with longevity. Intimidate lowers the Attack stat of the opposing Pokemon, and coupled with the defensive investment, it makes Granbull very hard to take down with physical attacks.
Usage Tips
========
Granbull should always use Thunder Wave or the appropriate coverage move when players are predicting a switch. Thunder Wave can be often used early- and mid-game to slow down opposing Pokemon so that late-game cleaners can set up with ease. Granbull should make use of Intimidate to come in on Fighting-types such as Sawk and Gurdurr or on any other physical attacker that can't do significant damage to it. Due to Granbull's lack of defensive investment, it should be played more conservatively if the opponent has an important threat that Granbull is able to beat one-on-one. If the opposing player's team carries Grass-types that typically wall Granbull such as Vileplume or Ferroseed, it can predict the switch to them and use Fire Punch to do significant damage and possibly 2HKO them after some prior damage.
Team Options
========
Specially defensive pivots or walls such as Mega Audino and Lanturn are very useful to take on special attackers for Granbull, while Granbull can deal with Fighting-type wallbreakers that trouble them. Setup sweepers such as Shift Gear Klinklang and Rock Polish Rhydon appreciate Granbull's ability to weaken physical walls so that they can clean up against the opposing team easily. Lilligant is a solid partner, as Granbull's ability to take on Bug-types and remove Pokemon such as Vileplume and Muk allows Lilligant to have less trouble sweeping. Psychic-types such as Musharna and Mesprit appreciate Granbull's ability to lure in Steel-types and take them out with Earthquake or Fire Punch and to deal with Dark- and Bug-types that trouble them. Pokemon that can lure in and eliminate Weezing, which is one of the best counters to Granbull, are greatly appreciated; Pokemon such as Zen Headbutt Sawk and Tauros as well as Starf Berry Leafeon are excellent picks.
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Play Rough
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Heal Bell
move 4: Thunder Wave
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Play Rough is Granbull's main attacking move and does solid damage to most Pokemon that do not resist it. Earthquake provides great coverage with Play Rough by hitting Fire-, Poison-, and Steel-types such as Magmortar, Garbodor, and Klinklang. Heal Bell allows Granbull to play the role of a cleric as well as a pivot, allowing it to heal its teammates from any detrimental status. Thunder Wave is used to cripple opposing Pokemon. Roar is an option that pairs nicely with Thunder Wave, as it allows Granbull to parashuffle and helps phaze setup sweepers that aren't bothered by paralysis, such as Bulk Up Gurdurr and Rock Polish Rhydon. Super Fang is another alternative that allows Granbull to wear down many Pokemon by cutting their HP in half.
Set Details
=======
Maximum investment in HP and Defense along with an Impish nature is used to maximize Granbull's physical bulk. Leftovers is used for passive recovery, which Granbull needs to switch into physical attackers more reliably. Intimidate lowers the Attack stat of the opposing Pokemon, and coupled with its defensive investment, this makes Granbull very hard to take down with physical attacks.
Usage Tips
========
Players should switch Granbull into physical attackers such as Sawk, Hariyama, and Swords Dance Samurott, which cannot do much against it. From there, Granbull can heavily damage them with Play Rough or cripple them with Thunder Wave. Granbull can effectively utilize Thunder Wave by predicting common switch-ins such as Pyroar and Haunter and crippling them. Heal Bell should only be used when multiple members of the team are inflicted with a status condition, as it has limited PP. It should be noted that Granbull is very easy to wear down, especially if it loses Leftovers to Knock Off, meaning that it should be played carefully when taking repeated hits from opposing Pokemon and should not be worn down early-game when there are still Pokemon that it checks on the field.
Team Options
========
Wish support is useful, as Granbull has no form of recovery outside of Leftovers, so Audino is a good partner for its ability to stomach special attacks and use Wish to heal up Granbull; in turn, Granbull's Heal Bell frees a moveslot up for Audino, and it handles Fighting-types that Audino loses to. Because Granbull is easily worn down by entry hazards, Pokemon that deter them or remove them work well with it. Xatu discourages entry hazard users with Magic Bounce, while Prinplup can clear hazards away with Defog. Steel-types such as Ferroseed and Mawile make for great partners, as they are able to take on Poison- and Steel-types for Granbull and appreciate Granbull's Heal Bell support due to their vulnerability to status moves. Psychic-types such as Jynx and Musharna also have great defensive synergy with Granbull, as they handle Poison-types that plague Granbull while Granbull deals with Dark- and Bug-types that they have trouble with. Wallbreakers such as Samurott, Sawk, and Kangaskhan appreciate Granbull's ability to pivot into strong physical attacks as well as its ability to cripple the opposing team with Thunder Wave.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Rest in conjunction with Sleep Talk can be used on the defensive set as a form of recovery, but it is very unreliable. Taunt can be used to halt Calm Mind and Wish users such as Musharna and Mega Audino. Bulk Up is also an option to make Granbull a potent sweeper and increase its wallbreaking capabilities. Crunch can be used to nail bulky Psychic-types such as Musharna and Xatu so that Granbull can freely click Thunder Wave against the opponent. A Choice Band set can be used to make Granbull a fearsome wallbreaker, but it will be worn down very easily.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Strong Special Attackers**: Pokemon such as Mesprit, Samurott, Rotom, and Jynx all can 2HKO Granbull with Psychic without much effort, but they must be careful, as they can rarely switch in on either set. Fire-types resist Granbull's STAB moves, and most of them are special attackers and threaten to KO it back. Magmortar and Pyroar are examples, as they can switch into Play Rough and can KO Granbull with their powerful attacks; however, they must watch out for Earthquake and Thunder Wave. Combusken, while it cannot switch into any attacks, can also deal a lot of damage to Granbull with Fire Blast.
**Physically Bulky Pokemon**: Physically defensive Pokemon such as Prinplup, Quagsire, Ferroseed, Rhydon, and Lanturn are able to comfortably take any hit from Granbull and start wearing it down with their attacks or, in the case of Ferroseed and Rhydon, set up their entry hazards. Lanturn, Quagsire, and Prinplup can fish for a burn on Granbull with Scald, which severely cripples it. Mega Audino is able to set up Calm Mind against Granbull, while Gourgeist-S and Gourgeist-XL can burn Granbull with Will-O-Wisp.
**Poison-types**: Most Poison-types have a secondary typing or have Levitate, which allows them to survive an Earthquake or avoid it altogether, and can KO Granbull back. Haunter, though it cannot switch into any attack except Earthquake, can easily OHKO Granbull with Sludge Bomb. Weezing is one of the best counters to Granbull, as it is immune to Earthquake and takes very little damage from its attacks; from there, it can burn it with Will-O-Wisp or hit it hard with Sludge Bomb. Garbodor can outspeed and 2HKO with Gunk Shot, but it must be wary of Earthquake. Vileplume does not resist Earthquake and fears Fire Punch, but it can 2HKO Granbull with Sludge Bomb with relative ease.
**Steel-types**: Pawniard is an excellent check to Granbull, and Granbull cannot safely switch in to it due to the Defiant boost given by Intimidate; Pawniard can then proceed to dent it with an Iron Head. Klinklang has Clear Body to ignore Intimidate and can outspeed and KO Granbull or set up a Shift Gear against it while surviving an Earthquake from defensive variants. Mawile also can weaken Granbull's attacks with Intimidate and can wear it down with Iron Head or Super Fang. However, they all must be careful when switching in, as Granbull usually carries a coverage move that can OHKO or 2HKO them.
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