Buzzwole @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
-
Close Combat / Drain Punch
-
Leech Life
-
Poison Jab /
Earthquake
-
Stone Edge
DESCRIPTION:
Buzzwole already boasts tremendous physical bulk and excellent access to attacking recovery, so slapping an Assault Vest on him capitalises on his bulk. Drain Punch and/or Leech Life is essential, as the Assault Vest causes Buzzwole to lose access to Roost and still needs to maintain a way to recover HP. Such moves allow Buzzwole to bypass Taunt and still recover HP, which its other sets cannot do. The Fighting and Bug STAB, in combination with Rock and Poison coverage, is excellent in the UU tier, as there are barely any Pokémon that can barely switch in safely (barring Aegislash, which Earthquake is used for but then you lose momentum against bulky Fairy types such as Primarina and Azumarill). The Assault Vest allows Buzzwole to perform well in a 1v1 matchup with top-tier Pokémon by tanking their attacks and retaliating with an OHKO/2HKO, such as Krookodile, Primarina, Nihilego, Slowbro-Galar, Nidoking, Thundurus-Therian (choice variant), Roserade, Ninetales-Alola, and Amoonguss (given another Pokémon is asleep already from Spore). With the Assault Vest, Buzzwole is an excellent bulky offense all-around attacker that can live most powerful neutral special hits in the tier, though it has a pitiful 53 Special Defense stat, meaning common super-effective coverage moves such as Hurricane, Air Slash, Flamethrower, and Psychic pose as an annoyance to Buzzwole. There is also an element of predictability that is needed when using an all-around attacker Buzzwole, allowing it to threaten common checks on the switch like Primarina, Moltres, and Salamence with its coverage moves.
CALCULATIONS:
0 SpA Amoonguss Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Buzzwole: 94-112 (22.4 - 26.7%) -- 34.2% chance to 4HKO
0 SpA Primarina Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Buzzwole: 276-326 (66 - 77.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Buzzwole: 297-351 (71 - 83.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Nihilego Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Buzzwole: 169-201 (40.4 - 48%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Thundurus-Therian Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Buzzwole: 178-210 (42.5 - 50.2%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Seismitoad Weather Ball (100 BP Water) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Buzzwole in Rain: 292-344 (69.8 - 82.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO