QC: Gary / p2 / Colonel M
GP: P Squared
[OVERVIEW]
* With access to Unaware, reliable recovery, and good bulk, Pyukumuku is able to wall a large portion of setup sweepers in OU.
* Pyukumuku is the bulkiest Unaware user both physically and specially, which, combined with its typing, allows it to check threats that Quagsire and Clefable are unable to deal with, such as Z-Move Landorus-T, Alolan Marowak, and Manaphy.
* Pyukumuku also has access to Baton Pass, which can grant the user momentum when a foe that's completely walled moves first or switches out.
* Lack of any attacking moves makes Pyukumuku more passive than its counterparts. It has problems with Steel-types and Substitute users.
* Pyukumuku has great defensive capability, but it can still have trouble with hard-hitting Pokemon like Tapu Bulu, Outrage Mega Charizard X, and Hoopa-U with any boosting item.
[SET]
name: Unaware Pivot
move 1: Recover
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Curse
move 4: Baton Pass
item: Leftovers
ability: Unaware
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpD
Moves
========
* Recover keeps Pyukumuku healthy over the duration of a long match so that it can wall the Pokemon it needs to.
* Toxic is Pyukumuku's best way to assert pressure and wear down the opponent's team.
* Curse allows Pyukumuku to bolster its defenses in order to take stronger hits and reduce the threat that flinches (such as from Zen Headbutt) pose to it. At +1 Defense, it isn't 2HKOed by a large majority of physical moves, including Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound's Hyperspace Fury.
* Baton Pass allows Pyukumuku to keep up momentum when something that forces it out switches in, as well as potentially pass Curse boosts to its teammates.
Set Details
========
* Pyukumuku's main role is to check threatening boosted attackers like Mega Charizard X and Swords Dance Landorus-T, so Unaware is the ability of choice. Unaware will allow it to check more than one of these attackers in the same battle rather than KOing just one of them with Innards Out.
* 252 HP and 28 Special Defense EVs give Pyukumuku enough special bulk to avoid a 2HKO from Modest Manaphy's Energy Ball and let Pyukumuku take Moonblasts from Calm Mind Tapu Lele. The rest is put into Defense to deal with threatening attackers such as Mega Charizard X and Alolan Marowak.
* Leftovers is crucial to avoiding a lot of 2HKOs.
Usage Tips
========
* Switch Pyukumuku into Pokemon that it walls, such as Mega Charizard X and Manaphy.
* Pyukumuku should be kept as healthy as possible, even upon switching out, so be sure to Recover when you expect the opponent to use an attack that will bring Pyukumuku into 2HKO range.
* Stealth Rock and Spikes prevent Pyukumuku from achieving some of the 2HKOs that it needs to, so keeping hazards off of the field with Magic Bounce or Defog is a top priority.
* Steel-types such as Heatran and Magnezone can't be touched by Pyukumuku, so if you expect one of these to switch in and Pyukumuku is healthy enough, Baton Pass can be used to maintain momentum. This is especially effective if you have a Dugtrio on your team.
* Pyukumuku can pass its Curse boosts off to its teammates in order to help them win matchups that are usually unfavorable. For instance, a Curse-passed Skarmory will be able to Whirlwind out a Swords Dance All-Out Pummeling Tapu Bulu or Kartana without fear of fainting or being severely weakened.
Team Options
========
* Pyukumuku should be run on stall teams that have issues with setup threats that can beat other Unaware users and threaten the entire team, like Mega Charizard X, Swords Dance Landorus-T, Swords Dance Garchomp, and Hydro Vortex Manaphy.
* Mega Sableye is a usual partner for Pyukumuku, being able to keep hazards off of the field with Magic Bounce, which can help Pyukumuku survive the hits that it narrowly avoids 2HKOs from.
* Skarmory is a Defogger that has great synergy with Pyukumuku, as it can deal with its main weakness, strong Grass-type moves. Another Defogger is Zapdos, which can tank Grass-type moves and force Tapu Bulu out with Heat Wave.
* Dugtrio is Pyukumuku's best partner, since Pyukumuku can Baton Pass into Dugtrio to trap threats like Heatran and Tapu Lele without needing Dugtrio to take a hit or consume its Focus Sash.
* Amoonguss is another great partner for Pyukumuku, as it walls various foes that Pyukumuku gets forced out by like Electric-type Pokemon and Tapu Bulu. Hidden Power Ice is also extremely useful on an Amoonguss that's paired with Pyukumuku, as it allows it to take on the dangerous Substitute + Toxic Zygarde.
* Chansey and Blissey are also good partners to Pyukumuku, as they can come in on special Electric- and Grass-type attacks and heal the damage. They also have access to Heal Bell, which can cure Pyukumuku of annoying status conditions that render it useless. Calm Mind Blissey can receive Curse boosts from Pyukumuku, which makes it much harder to take down with physical attacks.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
========
* Soak can be used to reduce the damage output of the opposing attacker by removing STAB, even on a critical hit. It can also be used to make Steel-type Pokemon susceptible to Toxic. However, this often gives the opponent a free turn to switch, get hazards, or just attack.
* Counter can be used to KO more quickly threats that are threatening to your team so that Pyukumuku doesn't risk a critical hit or flinch by recovering repeatedly. It also allows Pyukumuku to KO stallbreakers like Choice Band Hoopa-U. However, after a Counter, Pyukumuku will likely be too weak to do anything for the rest of the game, so against teams that have more than one attacker that Pyukumuku has to deal with, this isn't ideal.
Checks and Counters
========
**Grass-types**: Tapu Bulu is able to KO Pyukumuku with a powerful Grassy Terrain-boosted Wood Hammer or Horn Leech, and the Swords Dance All-Out Pummeling set can break through other stall team staples such as Toxapex and Skarmory. Other Grass-types like Kartana and Mega Venusaur can be equally problematic, especially since they're immune to Toxic.
**Electric-types**: Every Electric-type Pokemon in the tier can force out Pyukumuku, including attackers like Tapu Koko. Some Electric-types like Zapdos and Rotom-W also carry status moves that can cripple Pyukumuku.
**Steel-types**: Without Soak, Pyukumuku can't touch Pokemon like Heatran, Kartana, and Magnezone, and it will have to Baton Pass or switch out.
**Substitute Attackers**: Pyukumuku cannot do anything against them and will eventually be PP stalled out of Recover if it stays in on them.
**Sweepers with Mold Breaker**: Mega Gyarados can Taunt or Substitute on Pyukumuku and bypass its Unaware ability to deal significant damage. These types of foes are especially problematic for Pyukumuku compared to Quagsire, since it cannot fish for a Scald burn if Taunted.
**Status Users**: A statused Pyukumuku is ineffective at its role and will no longer be able to Recover stall the foes it needs to check. One example of a status user is Mega Sableye, which not only carries Will-O-Wisp but also can Magic Bounce a Toxic back on to Pyukumuku.
**Taunt**: Taunt makes Pyukumuku completely useless, as it then cannot use Recover on the Pokemon it's supposed to wall.
GP: P Squared
[OVERVIEW]
* With access to Unaware, reliable recovery, and good bulk, Pyukumuku is able to wall a large portion of setup sweepers in OU.
* Pyukumuku is the bulkiest Unaware user both physically and specially, which, combined with its typing, allows it to check threats that Quagsire and Clefable are unable to deal with, such as Z-Move Landorus-T, Alolan Marowak, and Manaphy.
* Pyukumuku also has access to Baton Pass, which can grant the user momentum when a foe that's completely walled moves first or switches out.
* Lack of any attacking moves makes Pyukumuku more passive than its counterparts. It has problems with Steel-types and Substitute users.
* Pyukumuku has great defensive capability, but it can still have trouble with hard-hitting Pokemon like Tapu Bulu, Outrage Mega Charizard X, and Hoopa-U with any boosting item.
[SET]
name: Unaware Pivot
move 1: Recover
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Curse
move 4: Baton Pass
item: Leftovers
ability: Unaware
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpD
Moves
========
* Recover keeps Pyukumuku healthy over the duration of a long match so that it can wall the Pokemon it needs to.
* Toxic is Pyukumuku's best way to assert pressure and wear down the opponent's team.
* Curse allows Pyukumuku to bolster its defenses in order to take stronger hits and reduce the threat that flinches (such as from Zen Headbutt) pose to it. At +1 Defense, it isn't 2HKOed by a large majority of physical moves, including Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound's Hyperspace Fury.
* Baton Pass allows Pyukumuku to keep up momentum when something that forces it out switches in, as well as potentially pass Curse boosts to its teammates.
Set Details
========
* Pyukumuku's main role is to check threatening boosted attackers like Mega Charizard X and Swords Dance Landorus-T, so Unaware is the ability of choice. Unaware will allow it to check more than one of these attackers in the same battle rather than KOing just one of them with Innards Out.
* 252 HP and 28 Special Defense EVs give Pyukumuku enough special bulk to avoid a 2HKO from Modest Manaphy's Energy Ball and let Pyukumuku take Moonblasts from Calm Mind Tapu Lele. The rest is put into Defense to deal with threatening attackers such as Mega Charizard X and Alolan Marowak.
* Leftovers is crucial to avoiding a lot of 2HKOs.
Usage Tips
========
* Switch Pyukumuku into Pokemon that it walls, such as Mega Charizard X and Manaphy.
* Pyukumuku should be kept as healthy as possible, even upon switching out, so be sure to Recover when you expect the opponent to use an attack that will bring Pyukumuku into 2HKO range.
* Stealth Rock and Spikes prevent Pyukumuku from achieving some of the 2HKOs that it needs to, so keeping hazards off of the field with Magic Bounce or Defog is a top priority.
* Steel-types such as Heatran and Magnezone can't be touched by Pyukumuku, so if you expect one of these to switch in and Pyukumuku is healthy enough, Baton Pass can be used to maintain momentum. This is especially effective if you have a Dugtrio on your team.
* Pyukumuku can pass its Curse boosts off to its teammates in order to help them win matchups that are usually unfavorable. For instance, a Curse-passed Skarmory will be able to Whirlwind out a Swords Dance All-Out Pummeling Tapu Bulu or Kartana without fear of fainting or being severely weakened.
Team Options
========
* Pyukumuku should be run on stall teams that have issues with setup threats that can beat other Unaware users and threaten the entire team, like Mega Charizard X, Swords Dance Landorus-T, Swords Dance Garchomp, and Hydro Vortex Manaphy.
* Mega Sableye is a usual partner for Pyukumuku, being able to keep hazards off of the field with Magic Bounce, which can help Pyukumuku survive the hits that it narrowly avoids 2HKOs from.
* Skarmory is a Defogger that has great synergy with Pyukumuku, as it can deal with its main weakness, strong Grass-type moves. Another Defogger is Zapdos, which can tank Grass-type moves and force Tapu Bulu out with Heat Wave.
* Dugtrio is Pyukumuku's best partner, since Pyukumuku can Baton Pass into Dugtrio to trap threats like Heatran and Tapu Lele without needing Dugtrio to take a hit or consume its Focus Sash.
* Amoonguss is another great partner for Pyukumuku, as it walls various foes that Pyukumuku gets forced out by like Electric-type Pokemon and Tapu Bulu. Hidden Power Ice is also extremely useful on an Amoonguss that's paired with Pyukumuku, as it allows it to take on the dangerous Substitute + Toxic Zygarde.
* Chansey and Blissey are also good partners to Pyukumuku, as they can come in on special Electric- and Grass-type attacks and heal the damage. They also have access to Heal Bell, which can cure Pyukumuku of annoying status conditions that render it useless. Calm Mind Blissey can receive Curse boosts from Pyukumuku, which makes it much harder to take down with physical attacks.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
========
* Soak can be used to reduce the damage output of the opposing attacker by removing STAB, even on a critical hit. It can also be used to make Steel-type Pokemon susceptible to Toxic. However, this often gives the opponent a free turn to switch, get hazards, or just attack.
* Counter can be used to KO more quickly threats that are threatening to your team so that Pyukumuku doesn't risk a critical hit or flinch by recovering repeatedly. It also allows Pyukumuku to KO stallbreakers like Choice Band Hoopa-U. However, after a Counter, Pyukumuku will likely be too weak to do anything for the rest of the game, so against teams that have more than one attacker that Pyukumuku has to deal with, this isn't ideal.
Checks and Counters
========
**Grass-types**: Tapu Bulu is able to KO Pyukumuku with a powerful Grassy Terrain-boosted Wood Hammer or Horn Leech, and the Swords Dance All-Out Pummeling set can break through other stall team staples such as Toxapex and Skarmory. Other Grass-types like Kartana and Mega Venusaur can be equally problematic, especially since they're immune to Toxic.
**Electric-types**: Every Electric-type Pokemon in the tier can force out Pyukumuku, including attackers like Tapu Koko. Some Electric-types like Zapdos and Rotom-W also carry status moves that can cripple Pyukumuku.
**Steel-types**: Without Soak, Pyukumuku can't touch Pokemon like Heatran, Kartana, and Magnezone, and it will have to Baton Pass or switch out.
**Substitute Attackers**: Pyukumuku cannot do anything against them and will eventually be PP stalled out of Recover if it stays in on them.
**Sweepers with Mold Breaker**: Mega Gyarados can Taunt or Substitute on Pyukumuku and bypass its Unaware ability to deal significant damage. These types of foes are especially problematic for Pyukumuku compared to Quagsire, since it cannot fish for a Scald burn if Taunted.
**Status Users**: A statused Pyukumuku is ineffective at its role and will no longer be able to Recover stall the foes it needs to check. One example of a status user is Mega Sableye, which not only carries Will-O-Wisp but also can Magic Bounce a Toxic back on to Pyukumuku.
**Taunt**: Taunt makes Pyukumuku completely useless, as it then cannot use Recover on the Pokemon it's supposed to wall.
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