NU Spotlight: Cofagrigus

« Previous Article

Next Article »

Introduction

After having been left to gather dust in NUBL for much of Generation 7, Cofagrigus has returned to NU in SS with a vengeance and has solidified itself as arguably the tier's best Pokémon. Despite losing access to both Z-Crystals and Hidden Power, both of which were contributing factors to its ban from NU in its early stages last generation, Cofagrigus was blessed with Body Press. This has resulted in Cofagrigus being incredibly versatile in what it can do, whether that's setting up with Iron Defense or Nasty Plot to sweep teams or simply checking standout wallbreakers such as Toxicroak, Silvally-Dragon, and Sawk. This article aims to cover Cofagrigus's common sets, Pokémon that pair well with it, and countermeasures that will help you bury this coffin for good!

---

Sets

• Cofagrigus @ Colbur Berry / Leftovers
• Ability: Mummy
• EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
• IVs: 0 Spe
• Relaxed Nature
• - Iron Defense
• - Body Press
• - Shadow Ball
• - Trick Room / Rest

Iron Defense Cofagrigus offers an incredibly useful blend of sweeping potential and defensive utility, which allows it to fit on a wide variety of different archetypes and almost always contribute something useful to the game. By switching into and forcing out Pokémon such as Toxicroak, Sawk, and Gourgeist-S, Cofagrigus can easily generate opportunities to set up with Iron Defense, making it difficult to switch into and to take down. To turn its poor Speed from a disadvantage into an advantage, Cofagrigus commonly runs Trick Room, although Rest is also a great last move to make better use of Cofagrigus's defensive capabilities and prevent Toxic poison from taking it out in the long run. It should be noted that you should maximize Cofagrigus's Speed IVs if using Rest, as lowering them is only beneficial to outspeed everything under Trick Room.

• Cofagrigus @ Colbur Berry / Leftovers
• Ability: Mummy
• EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpA
• IVs: 0 Spe
• Quiet Nature
• - Nasty Plot
• - Shadow Ball
• - Trick Room
• - Body Press / Energy Ball

Nasty Plot Cofagrigus takes a much more offensive approach to the Pokémon, taking advantage of NU's lack of sturdy Ghost-type checks by buffing its Shadow Ball to dangerous levels. Additionally, this set maintains the usefulness of Cofagrigus's Ghost typing, taking advantage of Choice-locked foes like Toxicroak and Indeedee-F to gain chances to set up. Something that may immediately stand out to you is this set's last moveslot. Despite this set being based around boosting Cofagrigus's Special Attack, Body Press is oftentimes the preferred coverage move because it hits Ghost-resistant and -immune Pokémon like Silvally-Dark, Skuntank, and Indeedee-F harder than any of Cofagrigus's possible unboosted special coverage moves would, although Energy Ball is a great alternative that also smacks Quagsire. Cofagrigus even has the option of dropping Trick Room and running both Body Press and Energy Ball, giving it a phenomenal stall matchup at the cost of its matchup against offense teams. If you choose to do this, make sure to maximize Cofagrigus's Speed IVs and invest enough EVs in Speed to outpace Clefairy.

• Cofagrigus @ Colbur Berry / Leftovers
• Ability: Mummy
• EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
• Bold Nature
• - Body Press
• - Will-O-Wisp
• - Shadow Ball / Hex
• - Pain Split / Toxic Spikes

Although utility-based Cofagrigus sets have fallen out of favor in recent times, they're still very functional. Thanks to Cofagrigus's amazing physical bulk, it's able to effectively switch into common wallbreakers like Toxicroak, Silvally-Dragon, and Gourgeist-S and spread burns with Will-O-Wisp. Although Shadow Ball is the preferred STAB attack because of its consistent damage output, Hex synergizes well with Will-O-Wisp and is helpful against foes such as Garbodor and Eldegoss. For the last moveslot, Cofagrigus typically employs Pain Split to bolster its longevity; however, Toxic Spikes lets it provide more team utility.

---

Cores

Because Cofagrigus's goal is to spam boosted Body Press, it appreciates having Ghost-types like Rotom, Silvally-Ghost, and opposing Cofagrigus removed before it attempts to set up and sweep. Therefore, Skuntank is a great partner, as it can easily pressure them with STAB Dark Pulse and switch into their Ghost-type attacks.

Cofagrigus can struggle to get past special walls like Clefairy and Galarian Stunfisk before they cripple it with status and potentially stop its sweep short, and Dark-types can also give it issues. Therefore, Indeedee-F is a great teammate. It's one of the best special wallbreakers NU has to offer and is great at drawing in Dark-types and weakening them with Hyper Voice.

Despite Cofagrigus's great physical bulk, it typically struggles against strong special attackers like Indeedee-F, Rotom-F, and Abomasnow. This makes Clefairy a solid teammate, as it can handle most special attackers, keeps Cofagrigus healthy with Wish support, and appreciates having a check to physical attackers.

---

Counterplay

Although Cofagrigus's unpredictability combined with its impressive bulk may make dealing with it seem impossible, all hope is not lost. As mentioned earlier, Cofagrigus's special bulk is exploitable with powerful wallbreakers like Rotom, Indeedee-F, and Rotom-F. Additionally, Cofagrigus is vulnerable to the plethora of Ghost- and Dark-types available in NU, as well as Dark-type coverage from the likes of Toxicroak and Sawk. Cofagrigus also lacks reliable recovery, being forced to rely on its item or moves like Pain Split and Rest if it wishes to regenerate health independently of its teammates. As a result, Toxic users like Clefairy and Garbodor can hamper Cofagrigus's staying power immensely, and entry hazards from the likes of Sandaconda, Galarian Stunfisk, and Ferroseed can wear it down too.

---

Get Out There

Although some Pokémon suffered greatly as a result of the generational shifts, Cofagrigus has managed to mostly retain the same amount of dominance it demonstrated in SM NU. Whether it's setting up to become an unstoppable force late-game or utilizing its great defensive utility to put a stop to dangerous foes, Cofagrigus will almost always contribute meaningfully to any given match. Make sure to try these sets out if you haven't already!

« Previous Article

Next Article »

All guides and strategy information are © 2004 Smogon.com and its contributors. Pokémon is © 1995 Nintendo. Privacy Policy