[OVERVIEW]
Purugly finds itself in a difficult position in PU, as it is walled by a slew of very common walls in the format. Stunfisk, Klang, Mawile, Bronzor, and even walls like Vileplume and Duosion all can wall poor Purugly. Purugly is also outsped by the commonly seen Zebstrika and the less common Sneasel. Even with all of this in mind, Purugly is able to find a niche as a talented revenge killer and a bane of hyper-offense teams in the tier thanks to its good Speed and even better selection of priority moves.
[SET]
name: Revenge Killer
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Return
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: U-turn
item: Silk Scarf / Leftovers
ability: Thick Fat
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Fake Out lets Purugly rack up chip damage against offensive threats such as Monferno and Zebstrika with little fear of retribution. Return is used for finishing off any weakened threats that are slower than Purugly, whereas Sucker Punch can be used to finish off any threats that are faster such as Zebstrika. U-Turn provides Purugly with the ability to comfortably pivot to teammates. Thick Fat is chosen as the ability over Defiant because there aren't many opportunities in the tier to take advantage of Defiant, especially since the only Intimidate user is Mawile and that walls Purugly regardless of Attack boosts. Silk Scarf is the default item to boost the power of Fake Out and Return, but Leftovers can also be chosen to give Purugly surprising longevity when paired with Fake Out.
While Purugly is fast and has plenty of priority for finishing off weakened Pokemon, it is not particularly strong. As such, targets for Purugly such as Zebstrika and Choice Scarf Swanna need fairly significant chip damage before Purugly can comfortably take them down. Entry hazards from Pokemon such as Torterra, Dwebble, Glalie, and Maractus are all highly appreciated. Some of these Pokemon, like Torterra, are more notable partners for their ability to switch into common Purugly counters such as Stunfisk. Purugly also needs the help of strong wallbreakers like Monferno and Simisear that can take down the common walls such as Klang and Bronzor that stop Purugly. Purugly excels in taking on hyper offense teams, in particular weather teams, but tends to struggle against defensive teams. On top of that, using Fake Out carelessly can get Purugly paralyzed via Stunfisk's Static or let in a threat like Ursaring or Beheeyem relatively safely, so it is best to not immediately use Fake Out at every given opportunity and instead go for the safer U-Turn or Return depending on the situation. Purugly also makes effective VoltTurn cores with the likes of Zebstrika, Monferno, and Natu.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/akir.231726/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bella.567483/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
Purugly finds itself in a difficult position in PU, as it is walled by a slew of very common walls in the format. Stunfisk, Klang, Mawile, Bronzor, and even walls like Vileplume and Duosion all can wall poor Purugly. Purugly is also outsped by the commonly seen Zebstrika and the less common Sneasel. Even with all of this in mind, Purugly is able to find a niche as a talented revenge killer and a bane of hyper-offense teams in the tier thanks to its good Speed and even better selection of priority moves.
[SET]
name: Revenge Killer
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Return
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: U-turn
item: Silk Scarf / Leftovers
ability: Thick Fat
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Fake Out lets Purugly rack up chip damage against offensive threats such as Monferno and Zebstrika with little fear of retribution. Return is used for finishing off any weakened threats that are slower than Purugly, whereas Sucker Punch can be used to finish off any threats that are faster such as Zebstrika. U-Turn provides Purugly with the ability to comfortably pivot to teammates. Thick Fat is chosen as the ability over Defiant because there aren't many opportunities in the tier to take advantage of Defiant, especially since the only Intimidate user is Mawile and that walls Purugly regardless of Attack boosts. Silk Scarf is the default item to boost the power of Fake Out and Return, but Leftovers can also be chosen to give Purugly surprising longevity when paired with Fake Out.
While Purugly is fast and has plenty of priority for finishing off weakened Pokemon, it is not particularly strong. As such, targets for Purugly such as Zebstrika and Choice Scarf Swanna need fairly significant chip damage before Purugly can comfortably take them down. Entry hazards from Pokemon such as Torterra, Dwebble, Glalie, and Maractus are all highly appreciated. Some of these Pokemon, like Torterra, are more notable partners for their ability to switch into common Purugly counters such as Stunfisk. Purugly also needs the help of strong wallbreakers like Monferno and Simisear that can take down the common walls such as Klang and Bronzor that stop Purugly. Purugly excels in taking on hyper offense teams, in particular weather teams, but tends to struggle against defensive teams. On top of that, using Fake Out carelessly can get Purugly paralyzed via Stunfisk's Static or let in a threat like Ursaring or Beheeyem relatively safely, so it is best to not immediately use Fake Out at every given opportunity and instead go for the safer U-Turn or Return depending on the situation. Purugly also makes effective VoltTurn cores with the likes of Zebstrika, Monferno, and Natu.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/akir.231726/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bella.567483/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
Last edited:
