Budew is one of the select few Pokemon in Little Cup that can set up Spikes. Unlike some of the other Spikers in Little Cup, Budew possesses good typing and bulk, as well as decent Speed, which allows it to set up effectively. Budew's access to Natural Cure allows it to adopt a sort of Spike-and-run strategy; it does this by Spiking as much as it can, Resting off any damage, and then switching out, recovering from sleep automatically due to Natural Cure. However, Budew isn't limited solely to providing entry hazard support: it also has access to Stun Spore and sports resistances to common attacking types in Little Cup, such as Water and Fighting. Using these tools, Budew can easily spread paralysis throughout the opposing team and deal good damage with either of its STAB moves of choice.

Both Energy Ball and Sludge Bomb are viable options for the second moveslot. Energy Ball provides Budew with a reliable STAB move that possesses decent super effective coverage on the many Ground-, Rock-, and Water-types that inhabit Little Cup. Sludge Bomb, on the other hand, provides better neutral coverage and has higher Base Power. Stun Spore allows Budew to cripple its counters and either KO them with its STAB move of choice or switch to an appropriate counter. Sleep Powder may be tempting to include in the set in Stun Spore's place, but it is illegal in conjunction with Spikes. Rest is the icing on the cake; Rest paired with Natural Cure provides Budew with a reliable recovery move that restores all of its health with no real drawbacks besides the necessity of switching out.

This set can also work well as a lead. However, if Budew isn't in the lead position, then it can switch in and set up on a variety of Choiced Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Mankey or Machop and Choice Band Remoraid. It can also set up on some variants of Chinchou that lack Ice Beam, as well as Croagunk that lack Ice Punch. Rest allows for a larger margin of error when using Budew, as you can fully heal Budew's health and switch out when it's badly hurt; however, Budew cannot endure attacks from hard-hitting Pokemon for long, so you must play cautiously in order to preserve it. Duskull makes for a great partner as it blocks Rapid Spin and is immune to Normal- and Ground-type assaults. It also deals with Gligar effectively, which would otherwise trouble Budew.

Budew's Stun Spore allows it to cripple the fast sweepers that it lures, such as Houndour, Ponyta, Gligar, and Diglett. Slow, hard-hitting Pokemon such as Aron and Omanyte enjoy having these Pokemon paralyzed, and therefore make effective partners. Water-type Pokemon like Chinchou also pair well with Budew as they provide an answer to Fire-types. Chinchou, thanks to its strong STAB Thunderbolt, also has the bonus of being able to deal with opposing Water-types that sport Ice Beam.

Although what is listed above is generally the most effective way to utilize Budew, there are a couple of other options. A Bold nature is advised on this set because it augments Budew's Defense stat, allowing Budew to switch in on physical Fighting-type moves more reliably; however, a Calm nature is a perfectly viable choice as it allows Budew to take special hits even better. Although Stun Spore is a great support move, it can be switched out for Sludge Bomb if you wish for Budew to have a reliable secondary STAB, Shadow Ball if you want Budew to be able to quickly deal with Ghost-types like Gastly, or Hidden Power Ice if you wish for Budew to deal with Gligar. An alternative EV spread of 196 HP / 36 SpA / 36 SpD / 236 Spe with a Calm or Bold nature can be used in lieu of the one above in order to capitalize on Budew's above-average Speed stat. Running 236 Speed EVs with a neutral nature gives Budew 15 Speed, allowing it to surpass the cluttered 14 Speed benchmark. If you wish to utilize Budew in the lead position, then this EV spread is usually a superior choice than the one displayed in the set.