(image order shamelessly stolen from
Brawlfest)
Jumpluff
Jumpluff is an... odd Pokemon, to say the least. Not many people ever think about it when teambuilding and not many people really feel threatened by it when they see it in the team preview. However, Jumpluff has very many positive attributes, along with many negative ones. Jumpluff has grown to be my absolute
favorite Pokemon to use in NU, I used it extensively last generation, and this generation, it got hit hard. The loss of Flying Gem is really sad and it did hit Jumpluff hard. However, in return, Jumpluff's Infiltrator got buffed! It now can put something to Sleep through Substitute, or set a Leech Seed through Substitute, which can be very helpful in time of need! Jumpluff has a blistering 110 Speed, which puts it ahead of one very important threat: Durant. Jumpluff also has access to a very cool Swords Dance set, which I've played a couple matches with now. Jumpluff has myriad of support options, such as Leech Seed, Memento, Encore, Stun Spore, and Sleep Powder, amongst others. Jumpluff also has gotten a very random buff, increasing its Special Defense from 85 to 95 in the transition of this generation. However, Jumpluff is not without its flaws. Firstly, it suffers from a crippling Stealth Rock weakness, as it is part flying, it also is weak to many common moves such as Flying-, Fire-, and Ice-type moves, and it doesn't exactly have the bulk to live from any of them. Jumpluff is effortlessly beaten by Fletchinder, and other Pokemon with priority. Jumpluff also has massive four moveslot syndrome, having to pick from its colorful movepool and only four at that! Overall, Jumpluff isn't exactly the most threatening, but if played to its strengths, it will certainly pull its weight in your battles! Here's my preferred set:
Jumpluff @ No Item
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sleep Powder
- Acrobatics
- Substitute