[SET]
Name: SubPunch
Move 1: Substitute
Move 2: Focus Punch
Move 3: Double-Edge / Return
Move 4: Shadow Ball
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
SubPunch is a good way for Furret to bluff its common Choice Band set by taking advantage of its usual defensive counterplay and punish teams with flimsy Normal answers. Substitute allows Furret to punish foes switching out, using Protect to scout Choice locks, and using status to hinder Furret in the cases of Dragonair, Togetic, and Duskull. The Duskull matchup is extremely notable, as blocking Will-O-Wisp makes Duskull completely unable to touch Furret. Substitute can also protect Furret against a Minun revenge kill. Focus Punch is the key for Furret to break past its usual checks and works well in tandem with Substitute to land guaranteed Focus Punches against Mawile, Graveler, Magcargo, and Omanyte. Without Choice Band's damage, Focus Punch is also necessary to threaten Lickitung, which doesn't like playing defensive around this particular Furret set. Double-Edge is a high-damage STAB move that can OHKO Minun and increases Furret's threat level against foes it can pressure, although the recoil damage can reveal Leftovers, which reduces the bluff factor that this set relies upon. Return lacks the recoil of Double-Edge while still letting Furret be threatening in its own right, but has a notable power difference compared to Double-Edge and makes Furret more reliant on chip damage. Shadow Ball is necessary to hit Duskull, 3HKOing even physically defensive variants and preventing a Rest cycle, while also threatening Gastly with an OHKO.
SubPunch Furret can be used in the lead position to bluff the possibility of it being Choice Band, making it great at forcing switches from common leads such as Minun and Charmeleon, with Substitute also taking advantage of lead Pineco lacking Earthquake. If Furret doesn't want to risk its momentum to leads it loses to, such as Mawile, Arbok, and Swalot, using this set mid-game is also valuable when it has the opportunity to safely come onto the field to revenge kill chipped foes and take advantage of Duskull using Rest. Because this Furret set can generate a lot of early momentum, it isn't as reliant on sticking around until late-game unlike its Choice Band set, which lacks passive recovery, but is more useful for revenge killing. Namely, this Furret set pairs better with Pokemon that can paralyze the opposing team, as Substitute can take advantage of full paralysis while also dissuading Lickitung from using Heal Bell. This makes paralysis users such as Thunder Wave Minun, Dragonair, Togetic, and Stun Spore Tangela all pair well with Furret. Minun is a primary offensive check to Furret, as its revenge killing and fast Encore can severely hinder Furret's chances of breaking through the opposing team. Thus, Furret pairs well with Minun answers like Swalot and Dragonair. Lacking Choice Band's immediate damage makes this Furret set worse at pressuring physically defensive Pokemon that are neutral to Focus Punch such as Tangela, Togetic, defensive Marshtomp, and Shuckle, making Pokemon that can weaken them effective partners. Marshtomp is especially effective at this with Ice Beam or Toxic, making Tangela and Togetic use up their recovery PP, hindering the longevity of opposing Marshtomp, and forcing Shuckle to use Rest. Strong special attackers such as Sealeo and Seadra can also muscle past these Pokemon, and can weaken Swalot to put it in range of Furret's Double-Edge. Furret pairs well with offensive Pokemon that appreciate these shared checks being weakened or removed and can pose a sweeping threat late-game such as Choice Band Arbok and Swords Dance Kingler. Finally, one of the pitfalls of this Furret set is that it relies on setting up Substitute versus Normal-resistant Pokemon to break through them. Having alternative methods of counterplay can let Furret play more safely mid-game by cleaning with Double-Edge while using Substitute as a way to take advantage of Duskull. Seviper is a strong lure to Normal resists such as Mawile, Graveler, and Magcargo with the proper coverage and can also switch into Tangela quite well. Trapinch can also trap some of these Pokemon, while also providing a priority move in Quick Attack that this Furret set lacks, helping against Minun and Salac Berry sweepers like Kingler and Combusken.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/amity.619555/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/slowbroth.310340/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.102/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/
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