Lopunny (GP 2/2)

[Overview]

<p>Despite what legions of 4chan users may say, Lopunny is not so hot on the battlefield. Normal typing, middling bulk, and non-existent offenses severely hold Lopunny back. However, she has a single niche in the combination of Klutz and Switcheroo, which allows Lopunny to carry disruptive items without any repercussion, and give it to the opponent to cause problems. This, combined with her access to niche moves such as Encore, Baton Pass, and Healing Wish, means that Lopunny can be a surprisingly effective supporter for an offensive team. Her movepool is laced with niche and situational options that require much prediction, but Lopunny is the type of Pokemon that pays off if used correctly.</p>

[SET]
name: Switcheroo
move 1: Switcheroo
move 2: Encore
move 3: Thunder Wave
move 4: Return / Healing Wish
item: Choice Scarf / Flame Orb
ability: Klutz
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Switcheroo is Lopunny's greatest niche, and the ability to give Choice Scarf to a defensive Pokemon without suffering its downside should be the sole reason for using Lopunny. Encore, while somewhat redundant with Switcheroo and Choice Scarf, allows Lopunny to be a continual nuisance even after it gives away its item. Not to mention, Lopunny can switch in on a set-up move and Encore, giving your team momentum. The remaining two slots are very much dependent on the team, as Lopunny has myriad of options, and listing them would simply not be very efficient. Thunder Wave fares well against offensive teams, crippling opposing Choice Scarf users expecting to receive Switcheroo. Healing Wish provides cleric support for an offensive team, but leaves Lopunny without an attack. On the other hand, Return allows Lopunny to deal damage when needed, but is ridiculously weak.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Taunt and Magic Coat shut down opposing Taunt users and deny entry hazards, so both are both viable options. Heal Bell is another viable cleric option over Healing Wish. Lopunny will not often live long enough to Heal Bell reliably, but this makes Lopunny a big annoyance to defensive teams that intend to spread status. Other than Flame Orb and Choice Scarf, Lopunny also has a host of other items that it can Switcheroo: Lagging Tail, Ring Target, and Toxic Orb are some of the many harmful items Lopunny has access to. However, note that Iron Ball will still halve Lopunny's Speed, despite Klutz. The nature and EVs allow maximum Speed and bulk; investing in offenses is pointless since Lopunny is simply too weak to begin with. Fighting-types, such as Choice Scarf Sawk, can easily outspeed and OHKO Lopunny, so Fighting-type resists, such as Mesprit, are appreciated. As Lopunny's aim is to keep momentum on an offensive team, strong attackers such as Gorebyss and Swellow make good teammates.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Lopunny is quite the mix-and-match Pokemon. In fact, combining any four moves on the main set or in the AC will make for a decent set if those moves fill a specific purpose on your team. Lopunny's ability to cripple Pokemon in a blink of an eye means that it can pull off a good Baton Pass set. However, the presence of Volbeat, Ninjask, and other premier Baton Passers in NU means that Lopunny will often be outclassed in such a role. Still, the Substitute + Baton Pass set is unique in that it can easily cripple two Pokemon and pass a Substitute, and thus it is very much a viable option. While Ninjask may outclass such a set in a dedicated Baton Pass team, Lopunny fares better in an offensive team that has the option of Baton Passing for greater set-up opportunity.</p>

<p>As a Normal-type, Lopunny has multiple options that are simply not viable. In general, offensive Lopunny will find itself outclassed by multiple Pokemon. She has a great special movepool, but Special Attack is indeed her lowest stat, making a special set a futile attempt. A physical attacker set is overshadowed by Kangaskhan, who boasts the same access to Fake Out, Drain Punch, and Circle Throw. Limber is available as an alternative ability from Dream World, but it takes away her only true niche as a supporter. Other support moves such as Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Entrainment, and Charm can work, but there are better weather setters in NU, and the remaining options are too situational.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>As a general rule of thumb, if something doesn't mind a Choice Scarf, it is incredibly vulnerable to Thunder Wave. For example, offensive Fire-types, such as Magmortar, do not mind Flame Orb / Choice Scarf, but hate Thunder Wave. As a result, if you are forced to switch a Pokemon into Lopunny, you can be certain that it will be crippled. However, Lopunny has weak defenses, and she will rarely force a switch unless she can Encore a set-up move. Therefore, Team Preview is one of Lopunny's biggest enemies; if you see it on an opposing team, you should refrain from setting up with a slower Pokemon. Otherwise, Lopunny should fall to one or two strong STAB attacks.</p>

<p>However, there are few Pokemon that are partially immune to Lopunny's bag of crippling status moves. In general, Ground-type special attackers do not mind Lopunny's status setting role. Camerupt is immune to both Thunder Wave and Flame Orb, and Seismitoad does not mind a Choice Scarf or a burn. Taunt users can also shut down Lopunny, but Lopunny will very often outspeed your Taunt user and cripple it as well. Faster Substitute users can also guard against status and Switcheroo, but this requires a fair amount of prediction as Lopunny can simply Encore the Substitute.</p>

circle throw in OO?

IMO get rid of baton pass; its scouting purpose is already limited and nothing really runs pursuit in the tier bar absol (who you should be burning / encoring into stupid moves) and the odd skuntank (see absol)

Baton pass deserves its own set tbh, It's one of Lopunny's better niches,

Well, tbh If I were to use subpasser with encore, I'd probably lean towards Volbeat or even illumise, but I'll wait for qc to do their magic.

She can pass Work up(lol) and Agility. Agilipassing is pretty useful since everything is pretty slow bar things like Swellow and Scolipede

agilipassing is definitely viable (I had fun with either RaikouLover or Thund's set (don't recall who) in DP UU), but kind of pointless in a tier with ninjask. stick to klutz IMO.

I guess Baton Pass Lopunny has one thing going for it that other BPers don't have: the ability to cripple TWO opposing pokemon while setting up. It can Encore, force a switch (setting up Sub/Agility/whatever), then Switcheroo the Flame Orb over to the next mon and pass to a teammate for free. It might still be OO material, but that is going to be a really long OO paragraph.

And the Alternate Comments for the actual set should include a bigger list of items to switch. Lagging Tail, Iron Ball, Ring Target and Toxic Orb are just ones I could think of off the top of my head. The Toxic Orb might even be preferable depending on what switches into you, something like Alomolomolalomala hates Toxic more than Burn.

Baton Pass is OO imo, there are much better passers in the tier. It should be given a solid mention in OO though.

This is also written and ready for GP

Good analysis, you should probably make the title of the thread (GP 0/2) instead of QC. Here's my unofficial check:

Red --> remove
Blue --> add

[Overview]

<p>Despite what legions of 4chan users may say, Lopunny is not so hot on the battlefield. Bland Normal typing, middling bulk, and non-existent offenses hold back Lopunny back severely. However, she has a single niche: Klutz and Switcheroo, which allows Lopunny to carry disruptive items without any repercussion, and give it to the opponent to cause damage. Combined with her access to niche moves such as Encore, Baton Pass, and Healing Wish, Lopunny can be a surprisingly effective supporter for an offensive team. Her movepool is laced with niche and situational options that require much prediction, but Lopunny is the type of Pokemon that pays off if used correctly.</p>

[SET]
name: Switcheroo
move 1: Switcheroo
move 2: Encore
move 3: Thunder Wave
move 4: Return / Healing Wish
item: Choice Scarf / Flame Orb
ability: Klutz
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Switcheroo is Lopunny's greatest niche, and the ability to give Choice Scarf to a defensive Pokemon without suffering its downside should be your a sole reason for using Lopunny. Encore, while somewhat redundant with Switcheroo and Choice Scarf, allows Lopunny to be a continual nuisance even after it gives away its item. Not to mention, Lopunny can switch in on a setup move and Encore, giving your team momentum. The remaining two slots are very much dependent on the team, as Lopunny has myriad of options, and listing them would simply not be very efficient. Thunder Wave fares well against offensive teams, crippling opposing Choice Scarf users expecting to receive Switcheroo. Healing Wish provides cleric support in for an offensive team, but leaves Lopunny without an attack. On the other hand, Return allows Lopunny to deal damage when needed, but is hilariously ridiculously weak.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Did I mention that Lopunny has a lot of options? Taunt and Magic Coat are both viable options, shutting down opposing Taunt users and denying entry hazards they shut down opposing Taunt users and deny entry hazards. Heal Bell is another viable cleric option over Healing Wish. Lopunny will not often live long enough to Heal Bell reliably, but this makes Lopunny a big annoyance to defensive teams that intend to spread status. Other than Flame Orb and Choice Scarf, Lopunny also has a host of other items that it can Switcheroo: Lagging Tail, Ring Target, and Toxic Orb are some of the many harmful items Lopunny can use has access to. However, note that Iron Ball will still half halve Lopunny's Speed, despite Klutz. The nature and EVs allow maximum speed and bulk, as Lopunny appreciates the speed, but is incapable of attacking regardless. Fighting-types such as Choice Scarf Sawk can easily outspeed and OHKO Lopunny, so Fighting-type resists, such as Mesprit, is are appreciated. As Lopunny's aim is to keep momentum on an offensive team, strong attackers such as Gorebyss and Swellow make good teammates. </p>

[Other Options]

<p>Lopunny is quite the mix-and-match Pokemon. In fact, combining any four moves on the main set or mentioned in AC will make for a decent set, if those moves fill a specific purpose on your team. Lopunny's ability to cripple Pokemon in a blink of an eye means that it can pull off a good Baton Pass set. However, the presence of Volbeat, Ninjask, and other premier Baton Passers in NU means that Lopunny will be often, be outclassed in such a role. Still, the Substitute + Baton Pass set is unique in that it can easily cripple two Pokemon and pass a Substitute, and thus it is very much a viable option. While Ninjask may outclass such a set in a dedicated Baton Pass team, Lopunny fares better in an offensive team that has the option of Baton Passing for greater setup opportunity.</p>

<p>As a Normal-type, Lopunny has multiple options that are simply not viable. In general, offensive Lopunny will find itself outclassed by multiple Pokemon. She has a great special movepool, but Special Attack is indeed her lowest stat, making such a special set a futile attempt. A Physical attacker set is overshadowed by Kangaskhan, who boasts the same access to Fake Out, Drain Punch, and Circle Throw. Limber is available as an alternative ability from Dream World, but it takes away her only true niche as a supporter. Other support moves such as Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Entrainment, and Charm can work, but there are better weather setters in NU, and the remaining options are too situational.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>As a general rule of thumb, if something doesn’t mind a Choice Scarf, it is incredibly vulnerable to Thunder Wave. For example, an offensive Fire-types such as Magmortar does not mind Flame Orb / Choice Scarf, but hates Thunder Wave. As a result, if you are forced to switch a Pokemon into Lopunny, you can be certain that it will be crippled. However, Lopunny has weak defenses, and she will rarely force a switch unless she can Encore a setup move. Therefore, Team Preview is one of her biggest enemies; if you see Lopunny on an opposing team, you should refrain from setting up with a slower Pokemon. Otherwise, Lopunny should fall to one or two strong STAB attacks.</p>

<p>However, there are few Pokemon that are partially immune to Lopunny's bag of crippling status moves. In general, Ground-type Special attackers do not mind much that Lopunny's status setting role can do. Camerupt is immune to both Thunder Wave and Flame Orb, and Seismitoad does not especially mind a Choice Scarf or a burn. Taunt users can also shut down Lopunny, but most likely Lopunny will very often, outspeed your Taunt user and cripple it as well. Faster Substitute users can also guard against status and Switcheroo, but this requires a fair amount of prediction as Lopunny can simply Encore the Substitute.</p>

Click to expand...

Badal's check 1/2

Took the check, and made some edits I could with my meager knowledge of grammar.

Oh yeah I'll need to change the tag

GP Approved 2/2

K so this is done

uploaded