[OVERVIEW]
Grafaiai's excellent choice of abilities paired with its high Speed and strong offensive movepool lets it play several offensive roles in SV ZU. Pivot sets are Grafaiai's showpiece given its excellent Speed tier and options to keep up momentum; they are extremely disruptive thanks to Knock Off and the choice between Poison Touch to spread status and Prankster's synergy with Encore. Grafaiai can also put its excellent Speed to work as a Swords Dance sweeper, and it can be further enabled by Prankster, Encore, and Copycat. Grafaiai even has a viable Choice Scarf set, and it's effectively one of the fastest Choice Scarf users in the metagame. However, Grafaiai is altogether frail and possesses a bad defensive typing, leaving pivot and Swords Dance sets easily revenge killed or threatened out by faster offensive Pokemon like Jolteon and Choice Scarf Passimian, while its Choice Scarf set can be stonewalled by defensive Pokemon like Regirock and Orthworm without good prediction.
[SET]
Offensive Pivot (Grafaiai) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Poison Touch / Prankster
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Knock Off
- U-turn / Parting Shot
- Encore / Copycat
[SET COMMENTS]
Grafaiai uses Gunk Shot as its STAB move to most effectively threaten Grass-types like Whimsicott, Hisuian Decidueye, and Virizion. Knock Off lets Grafaiai make quick progress, especially with Poison Touch, and it effectively punishes defensive switch-ins such as Hisuian Qwilfish, Orthworm, and Regirock that depend on their items for their longevity. Knock Off also provides coverage against frail Ghost-types like Froslass, Oricorio-G, and Mismagius. Knock Off absorbers like Booster Energy Brute Bonnet and Dipplin are also threatened by STAB Gunk Shot and potential poisons from Poison Touch hindering them. U-turn has the best synergy with Poison Touch, breaks Focus Sash and Sturdy against entry hazard setters like Lycanroc and Hisuian Avalugg, and doesn't risk activating Passimian's Defiant unlike Parting Shot. Parting Shot allows Grafaiai to escape even faster Pokemon like Jolteon and Choice Scarf Mesprit in conjunction with Prankster, and its debuffs can enable Grafaiai's offensive and defensive teammates alike. Encore lets Grafaiai take advantage of passive Pokemon such as Palossand and Dipplin, and it can neutralize setup sweepers like Mesprit and Hisuian Decidueye. Prankster facilitates Encore even further, letting Grafaiai lock faster setup sweepers like Jolteon and Floatzel into their setup moves. Prankster Copycat can be used as an alternative to Encore to give Grafaiai a priority attack based on the last moved used and cut off would-be revenge killers like Choice Scarf Mesprit. Tera Dark affords Grafaiai a convenient defensive typing against Mesprit's Psychic-type STAB moves as well as Sucker Punch from Brute Bonnet and Hisuian Decidueye. Tera Dark also powers up Grafaiai's Knock Off to more effectively threaten Mesprit and previously mentioned Ghost-types. However, Grafaiai is often better off not Terastallizing given the limited benefits it gains from doing so, better preserving the resource for a teammate.
Grafaiai is a great enabler to offensive teammates, especially physical wallbreakers like Hisuian Decidueye, Glastrier, and Virizion that can take advantage of defensive Pokemon it lures in such as Sandaconda and Palossand. Other Fighting-types like Passimian and Hitmonlee can also threaten Pokemon like Regirock, Orthworm, and Magneton for Grafaiai while benefitting from it softening up foes with Knock Off, poison status, and U-turn chip damage. Charizard and Typhlosion can threaten Orthworm and Magneton in particular for Grafaiai, and they're supported as wallbreakers by the safe entry points Grafaiai provides via U-turn and Parting Shot. Setup sweepers like Dudunsparce, Nasty Plot Mesprit, and Calm Mind Jolteon also benefit greatly from Grafaiai creating setup opportunities with Encore and Parting Shot, and they threaten physically defensive Pokemon Grafaiai struggles against. Grafaiai relies on partners like Mesprit and Magneton to deal with Poison-type walls like Qwilfish and Weezing. Bulky partners such as Lanturn and Porygon2 can help Grafaiai against Jolteon, a common revenge killer. Palossand and Sandaconda can intercept Choice Scarf Passimian from revenge killing Grafaiai, while Grafaiai helps them in return by threatening troublesome Grass-types like Whimsicott and Virizion. Floatzel is one more potential revenge killer to Grafaiai, and it can be handled by defensive teammates such as Hisuian Decidueye, Qwilfish, and Dipplin.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Grafaiai can be a niche Prankster weather setter for sun teams that further provides safe entry and setup opportunities for its teammates with U-turn, Parting Shot, and Encore. Grafaiai has Taunt in its toolkit but struggles to use it effectively given its underwhelming bulk and the comparatively greater potential of Encore. Choice Band sets can work given Grafaiai's excellent Speed and powerful STAB moves, but they lack the outstanding Speed of Choice Scarf sets to avoid being revenge killed by Choice Scarf users and faster revenge killers. Toxic can be used on pivot sets with Prankster for more reliable status spreading than Poison Touch, but Grafaiai's frailty makes spending a turn to poison a foe risky.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Physical Walls**: Even Swords Dance Grafaiai struggles to break through Sandaconda and Weezing on its own without prior chip damage, and pivot sets struggle to do more than remove their items or use Encore on them. Palossand dislikes losing its item to Knock Off or being poisoned, but it has the bulk and longevity to withstand attacks from Grafaiai. However, Palossand should be wary both of Encore and Swords Dance Grafaiai's Knock Off. Regirock can fend off pivot Grafaiai short-term thanks to its bulk but can be worn down by a combination of Knock Off, poison, and chip damage, and it risks being OHKoed by Swords Dance Grafaiai's Low Kick. Despite a Poison immunity, Orthworm is a similar story to Regirock, though it can survive Swords Dance Grafaiai's boosted Low Kick if Terastallization isn't in the picture.
**Dark-types**: Spiritomb's trio of immunities to Double-Edge, Low Kick, and Prankster moves on top of its 4x resistance to Gunk Shot makes it an excellent wall to Swords Dance Grafaiai, but its dependence on Leftovers for recovery can lead it to being worn down by offensive pivot sets using Knock Off and U-turn, especially when Poison Touch is in the picture. Grafaiai can overwhelm Hisuian Qwilfish between Knock Off, U-turn, and its lack of recovery. Sneasel can "trap" Grafaiai by blocking its escape with Prankster Parting Shot and threatening it with its strong STAB moves, and its Ice Shard is still faster than Prankster Copycat.
**Faster Revenge Killers**: Jolteon, Floatzel, and Lycanroc naturally outspeed Grafaiai and threaten it with their powerful STAB attacks, though they should be wary of Grafaiai's Prankster moves, Copycat in particular. Common Choice Scarf users such as Mesprit, Passimian, and Magneton similarly threaten to revenge kill Grafaiai and can gain momentum with their pivot moves, though Choice Scarf Grafaiai is faster than all of these and the aforementioned revenge killers. Choice Band Floatzel outspeeds Grafaiai's Swords Dance set and has Aqua Jet to finish it off even if Grafaiai has Prankster + Copycat.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/missangelic.452572/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/flampoke.654091/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
Grafaiai's excellent choice of abilities paired with its high Speed and strong offensive movepool lets it play several offensive roles in SV ZU. Pivot sets are Grafaiai's showpiece given its excellent Speed tier and options to keep up momentum; they are extremely disruptive thanks to Knock Off and the choice between Poison Touch to spread status and Prankster's synergy with Encore. Grafaiai can also put its excellent Speed to work as a Swords Dance sweeper, and it can be further enabled by Prankster, Encore, and Copycat. Grafaiai even has a viable Choice Scarf set, and it's effectively one of the fastest Choice Scarf users in the metagame. However, Grafaiai is altogether frail and possesses a bad defensive typing, leaving pivot and Swords Dance sets easily revenge killed or threatened out by faster offensive Pokemon like Jolteon and Choice Scarf Passimian, while its Choice Scarf set can be stonewalled by defensive Pokemon like Regirock and Orthworm without good prediction.
[SET]
Offensive Pivot (Grafaiai) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Poison Touch / Prankster
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Knock Off
- U-turn / Parting Shot
- Encore / Copycat
[SET COMMENTS]
Grafaiai uses Gunk Shot as its STAB move to most effectively threaten Grass-types like Whimsicott, Hisuian Decidueye, and Virizion. Knock Off lets Grafaiai make quick progress, especially with Poison Touch, and it effectively punishes defensive switch-ins such as Hisuian Qwilfish, Orthworm, and Regirock that depend on their items for their longevity. Knock Off also provides coverage against frail Ghost-types like Froslass, Oricorio-G, and Mismagius. Knock Off absorbers like Booster Energy Brute Bonnet and Dipplin are also threatened by STAB Gunk Shot and potential poisons from Poison Touch hindering them. U-turn has the best synergy with Poison Touch, breaks Focus Sash and Sturdy against entry hazard setters like Lycanroc and Hisuian Avalugg, and doesn't risk activating Passimian's Defiant unlike Parting Shot. Parting Shot allows Grafaiai to escape even faster Pokemon like Jolteon and Choice Scarf Mesprit in conjunction with Prankster, and its debuffs can enable Grafaiai's offensive and defensive teammates alike. Encore lets Grafaiai take advantage of passive Pokemon such as Palossand and Dipplin, and it can neutralize setup sweepers like Mesprit and Hisuian Decidueye. Prankster facilitates Encore even further, letting Grafaiai lock faster setup sweepers like Jolteon and Floatzel into their setup moves. Prankster Copycat can be used as an alternative to Encore to give Grafaiai a priority attack based on the last moved used and cut off would-be revenge killers like Choice Scarf Mesprit. Tera Dark affords Grafaiai a convenient defensive typing against Mesprit's Psychic-type STAB moves as well as Sucker Punch from Brute Bonnet and Hisuian Decidueye. Tera Dark also powers up Grafaiai's Knock Off to more effectively threaten Mesprit and previously mentioned Ghost-types. However, Grafaiai is often better off not Terastallizing given the limited benefits it gains from doing so, better preserving the resource for a teammate.
Grafaiai is a great enabler to offensive teammates, especially physical wallbreakers like Hisuian Decidueye, Glastrier, and Virizion that can take advantage of defensive Pokemon it lures in such as Sandaconda and Palossand. Other Fighting-types like Passimian and Hitmonlee can also threaten Pokemon like Regirock, Orthworm, and Magneton for Grafaiai while benefitting from it softening up foes with Knock Off, poison status, and U-turn chip damage. Charizard and Typhlosion can threaten Orthworm and Magneton in particular for Grafaiai, and they're supported as wallbreakers by the safe entry points Grafaiai provides via U-turn and Parting Shot. Setup sweepers like Dudunsparce, Nasty Plot Mesprit, and Calm Mind Jolteon also benefit greatly from Grafaiai creating setup opportunities with Encore and Parting Shot, and they threaten physically defensive Pokemon Grafaiai struggles against. Grafaiai relies on partners like Mesprit and Magneton to deal with Poison-type walls like Qwilfish and Weezing. Bulky partners such as Lanturn and Porygon2 can help Grafaiai against Jolteon, a common revenge killer. Palossand and Sandaconda can intercept Choice Scarf Passimian from revenge killing Grafaiai, while Grafaiai helps them in return by threatening troublesome Grass-types like Whimsicott and Virizion. Floatzel is one more potential revenge killer to Grafaiai, and it can be handled by defensive teammates such as Hisuian Decidueye, Qwilfish, and Dipplin.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Grafaiai can be a niche Prankster weather setter for sun teams that further provides safe entry and setup opportunities for its teammates with U-turn, Parting Shot, and Encore. Grafaiai has Taunt in its toolkit but struggles to use it effectively given its underwhelming bulk and the comparatively greater potential of Encore. Choice Band sets can work given Grafaiai's excellent Speed and powerful STAB moves, but they lack the outstanding Speed of Choice Scarf sets to avoid being revenge killed by Choice Scarf users and faster revenge killers. Toxic can be used on pivot sets with Prankster for more reliable status spreading than Poison Touch, but Grafaiai's frailty makes spending a turn to poison a foe risky.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Physical Walls**: Even Swords Dance Grafaiai struggles to break through Sandaconda and Weezing on its own without prior chip damage, and pivot sets struggle to do more than remove their items or use Encore on them. Palossand dislikes losing its item to Knock Off or being poisoned, but it has the bulk and longevity to withstand attacks from Grafaiai. However, Palossand should be wary both of Encore and Swords Dance Grafaiai's Knock Off. Regirock can fend off pivot Grafaiai short-term thanks to its bulk but can be worn down by a combination of Knock Off, poison, and chip damage, and it risks being OHKoed by Swords Dance Grafaiai's Low Kick. Despite a Poison immunity, Orthworm is a similar story to Regirock, though it can survive Swords Dance Grafaiai's boosted Low Kick if Terastallization isn't in the picture.
**Dark-types**: Spiritomb's trio of immunities to Double-Edge, Low Kick, and Prankster moves on top of its 4x resistance to Gunk Shot makes it an excellent wall to Swords Dance Grafaiai, but its dependence on Leftovers for recovery can lead it to being worn down by offensive pivot sets using Knock Off and U-turn, especially when Poison Touch is in the picture. Grafaiai can overwhelm Hisuian Qwilfish between Knock Off, U-turn, and its lack of recovery. Sneasel can "trap" Grafaiai by blocking its escape with Prankster Parting Shot and threatening it with its strong STAB moves, and its Ice Shard is still faster than Prankster Copycat.
**Faster Revenge Killers**: Jolteon, Floatzel, and Lycanroc naturally outspeed Grafaiai and threaten it with their powerful STAB attacks, though they should be wary of Grafaiai's Prankster moves, Copycat in particular. Common Choice Scarf users such as Mesprit, Passimian, and Magneton similarly threaten to revenge kill Grafaiai and can gain momentum with their pivot moves, though Choice Scarf Grafaiai is faster than all of these and the aforementioned revenge killers. Choice Band Floatzel outspeeds Grafaiai's Swords Dance set and has Aqua Jet to finish it off even if Grafaiai has Prankster + Copycat.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/missangelic.452572/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/flampoke.654091/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
Last edited:
