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Taken over from Kavatika
Overview
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Stunky has a great typing, with only one weakness - Ground. It is also a Dark-type that is not weak to Bug, Fairy or Fighting-types and is a Poison-type that is immune to Psychic-type moves. Stunky has poor abilities, with Aftermath being the only decent option. Even Aftermath is mediocre though, as it is reliant on the opponent's KO move making contact and can only activate one time. It has only average attacking stats, so it can't perform much of an offensive role outside of trapping. It is also let down by a lack of powerful STAB moves, as Stunky fails to get Poison Jab, Gunk Shot, and Knock Off. The lack of good stats continues into Stunky's subpar defenses, and it is almost required to use an Eviolite to be able to perform it's trapping role effectively. Even with the Eviolite, it still does not want to take strong hits though. Stunky's one good stat is Speed, hitting a good 18 Speed tier. This lets Stunky outspeed a large portion of the tier, but it does have to watch out for the few faster Pokemon, as it is weak to most of them. Stunky's main niche as a trapper is taken by Pawniard, and to a lesser extent Houndour. Pawniard has Knock Off and Houndour has Fire Blast for better STAB moves. Pawniard also has better bulk, while Houndour has much better attacking stats. However, Stunky can trap Abra and Gastly easily without worrying about their strong moves doing much damage back. With Defog gaining a buff in Generation VI, Stunky has an entirely new role it can play. Defog now removes entry hazards from both sides of the field in addition to lowering evasion by one stage, so Stunky can now act as a hazard remover. However, it's Defog set faces stiff competition from Vullaby who has much better bulk and reliable recovery in Roost.
Fast Utility
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Name: Fast Utility
Move 1: Pursuit
Move 2: Sucker Punch / Play Rough
Move 3: Taunt / Crunch
Move 4: Defog / Memento
Ability: Aftermath
Item: Eviolite
EVs: 172 HP / 12 Atk / 60 Def / 244 Spe
Nature: Jolly
Moves
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Pursuit enables you to trap Pokemon that could be a threat to your team. Gastly and Abra in particular are strong offensive threats that can be trapped and taken out by Stunky's Pursuit. With it, there is no way for them to escape, and they can't KO Stunky due to its resistances. It can also be used to finish off weakened threats that aren't direct threats to Stunky, without their escape. Sucker Punch is a strong, albeit risky STAB move which allows Stunky to get some extra damage in on faster foes if it is about to die. It is especially useful against Choice Scarf and Shell Smash users to finish them off. Play Rough can be used over Sucker Punch to give Stunky a means of hitting Fighting-type Pokemon. It prevents it from being totally walled by them, but it is incompatible with Defog, so they both can't be used on the same set. Also, if Play Rough is used, it must be used over Sucker Punch because the two moves are incompatible as well. Another utility option Stunky has is Taunt, allowing it to prevent Pokemon from using their status moves, which can really cripple some defensive Pokemon and allow Stunky time to Defog. With a Speed of 18, the fast Taunt can also outspeed Sticky Web setters like Surskit and prevent them from setting up the entry hazard. Crunch is an option to use in addition to Sucker Punch, since it has the same power but does not rely on the opponent to use an attacking move. It provides more consistency. Defog is a great choice for Stunky since it provides your team with entry hazard removal, but the amount of times it can remove is limited due to its sub-par bulk. Another downside is Defog also removes your own hazards. Also, Stunky fails to threaten most Stealth Rock users like Archen and Drilbur. Memento is another good option for Stunky, as it can weaken the opponent and get a setup sweeper in safely after it has trapped or Defogged what it needed to.
Set Details
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Jolly allows Stunky to hit 18 Speed. That gives Stunky the ability to outspeed foes and Defog away hazards or Memento to support a teammate before taking a hit and possibly being KOd. It is especially useful for facing Sticky Web setters so it can outspeed and Taunt them. Aftermath is the prefered ability on Stunky. It causes some extra damage to the opponent if Stunky is knocked out by a move that made contact, which at times can be quite helpful. Stunky really enjoys the added bulk of an Eviolite since it is rather frail without it, and this allows it to trap the Pokemon it needs to much better.
Usage Tips
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Be careful about when you bring Stunky into the battle. It can't take many hits, even with an Eviolite, so make sure you can trap what you need to when you bring it in. Stunky's attacking stats are not the greatest too, so make sure the opponent is weakened enough to be KOd if you trying to do something besides just trap them.
Team Options
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Fighting-types work well as partners for Stunky because they greatly appreciate the removal of Ghost and Psychic-types, particularly Abra and Gastly. Pokemon that can pass Wish like Spritzee really help Stunky, since they allow it to come in and Defog away hazards more than once. Stunky's only weakness is Ground-type, so it can be useful to have a teammate that can take out Pokemon like Drilbur and other Ground-types for Stunky. Bunnelby, and especially Zigzagoon, can sweep much easier with Ghost-types like Gastly out of the way, and they even appreciate Abra's Focus Sash getting broken too. Zigzagoon also appreciates Stunky using Memento, as it gives it an easier time setting up. Teammates that dislike entry hazards appreciate Stunky as a partner, since it can Defog away moves like Stealth Rock. Some examples of teammates that appreciate this are Larvesta, Ponyta, and Fletchling. Gothita is another good teammate, because Aftermath and Pursuit can weaken opponents to the point where Gothita can trap and KO them.
Bulky Pursuit
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Name: Bulky Pursuit
Move 1: Pursuit
Move 2: Sucker Punch / Play Rough
Move 3: Dark Pulse / Sludge Bomb
Move 4: Defog / Flamethrower
Ability: Aftermath
Item: Eviolite
EVs: 12 HP / 12 Atk / 220 Def / 28 SpA / 188 SpD / 4 Spe
Nature: Serious
Moves
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Pursuit lets Stunky trap Pokemon that could threat your team. Gastly and Abra are examples of strong offensive threats that can be trapped and taken out by Stunky's Pursuit. It can also be used to finish off weakened threats that aren't direct threats to Stunky as well. Sucker Punch is a strong STAB move that gives Stunky priority, but is risky because the opponent has to be using an attacking move for it to work. On this set it is even more useful than the other since it runs less Speed, and comes in handy much more often. Play Rough can be used over Sucker Punch to give Stunky a way of damaging Fighting-type Pokemon, because without it Stunky is totally walled by them. However, it is again incompatible with Defog and Sucker Punch, so it can't be used on the same set as either of them. Dark Pulse is an option to use in addition to Sucker Punch, since it has the same power but does not rely on the opponent to use an attacking move. Since it is a Special attack it gives Stunky a mixed set, meaning it can break though defensive Pokemon more easily that specialize in one defense. Sludge bomb is another fairly strong STAB, Special move, although it is disappointingly weak at times because of Stunky's average Special Attack. It gets the job done though versus Fairy and Grass-types, and does enough to KO weakened foes. Defog is a good option if your team needs hazard removal, although there are better hazard removers out there. Because of Stunky's poor bulk it can only remove entry hazards a couple times a match at most. It also removes your own hazards, and Stunky fails to threaten most Stealth Rock users, so you have to be wary of that. Memento can allow a teammate to come in and set up easily if Stunky has already served its purpose and can be sacrificed. Flamethrower can be used to give Stunky additional coverage against Ferroseed and Pawniard, who others don't mind the damage they take from Stunky much at all.
Set Details
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The EVs on this set give Stunky the stats to take hits, especially from the Special side, so it can check and Pursuit trap the Psychic and Ghost-types it needs to better. While it might seem strange at first, a Serious nature s recommended on this set because Stunky utilizes all of its stats. Taking away from even just one of them would leave Stunky quite vulnerable. Aftermath is the prefered ability on Stunky. It causes some extra damage to the opponent if Stunky is knocked out by a move that made contact, which at times can be quite helpful. Stunky really enjoys the added bulk of an Eviolite since it is rather frail without it, and this allows it to trap the Pokemon it needs to much better.
Usage Tips
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Be aware of the situation when you bring Stunky into battle, as you don't want it to be taking any extra hits, especially strong ones. Its bulk leaves a little to be desired, even with an Eviolite. Stunky's is fairly weak offensively, so make sure anything you want to take out without the use of Pursuit is weak enough to be KOd because Stunky doesn't want to be taking any extra hits. Stunky's Speed is much lower on this set than the others, so the proper use of Sucker Punch and proper prediction is much more important.
Team Options
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Fighting-types greatly appreciate the removal of Ghost and Psychic-types, so Pokemon like Timbur and Mienfoo like Stunky as a partner. Stunky has no healing, so Pokemon that can pass Wish like Spritzee are good partners for Stunky. This allows it to come in and defog away hazards more than once. Stunky's only weakness is Ground-type, so Pokemon such as Drilbur and Hippopotas pose serious threats. Foongus and Pumpkaboo make good teammates because they can deal with the threats safely. Bunnelby and Zigzagoon have their sweep threatened by Ghost-types, and Stunky helps them out by taking out Ghost-types with Pursuit. Memento also gives Zigzagoon a much easier time to set up and sweep. Stunky is a good partner for Pokemon that dislike entry hazards. It can Defog them away for Pokemon like Larvesta and Fletchling.
Other Options
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Fire Blast is useful to cause decent damage to Steel-types that are immune to Sludge Bomb and don't need to be trapped by Pursuit or outsped with Sucker Punch. Some good examples of this would be Pawniard, who resists Stunky's Dark-type moves and Ferroseed, who uses status moves most of the time, forcing Stunky to rely on the weak Pursuit. It fails to gain any notable KOs over Flamethrower though and can miss at times as well. Explosion can be used since Stunky is relatively fast, and if close to fainting it can go out with a bang. Stench is another ability that can be used if you want some free flinches, and it even works with Sucker Punch for priority flinches! However, Stench is really unreliable, only activating 10% of the time. Toxic can be used to wear down bulky Pokemon with recovery like Porygon since Stunky can't break through them with its poor offensive stats.
Checks & Counters
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**Dark-types**: Dark-types are troublesome for Stunky, because while they don't particularly damage it with super-effective moves, they do take very little from Stunky's Dark STABs.
**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types are not always a good check at the start of the battle, but if you manage to figure out Stunky's moveset and find that it lacks Poison STAB in Sludge Bomb then Pokemon like Spritzee can totally wall Stunky.
**Fighting-types**: Pokemon like Mienfoo and Timburr are good checks to Stunky since they don't mind Stunky's Dark STAB and they can outlast it with Drain Punch.
**Ground-types**: Ground-type is the one weakness that Stunky has, so Pokemon like Drilbur and Diglett can make quick work of it with their STAB Earthquake.
**Pawniard**: While most of the time using Defog would be a great thing, using it as Pawniard switches in could be the start of a sweep against your team. Its Defiant will activate and its Attack will raise by two stages. It does fear Flamethrower though.
**Walls**: Stunky has subpar attacking stats, so anything with enough bulk, and especially recover, can take hits from Stunky and wear it down. Eventually the walls will KO, without Stunky being able to do much about it.
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