With its combination of good physical bulk and access to Stealth Rock, Phanpy can become one of the best leads in Little Cup. Phanpy's bulk allows it to take hits from common leads, such as Meowth, Aipom, and Diglett, and 2HKO back with a mixture of Earthquake and Ice Shard. For example, Phanpy usually ends up on top against Voltorb, who only has a 2% chance of 2HKOing Phanpy with Hidden Power Ice, and only a slight chance of OHKOing with Explosion. Setting up Stealth Rock from the start helps by gradually weakening your opponent over time, which lets your sweepers clean up more easily. Earthquake is Phanpy's primary STAB attack, and can deal major damage to the foe. Head Smash hits Flying- and Ghost-types immune to Phanpy's STAB Earthquake hard, while Ice Shard helps pick off weakened opponents.

This set can also be used as a tank later in the game in order to set up Stealth Rock and fire off vicious attacks. By preserving Phanpy as a mid- to late-game tank, you also gain a counter to the dangerous Choice Scarf Cranidos. Cranidos's attacks do poorly against Phanpy; Stone Edge is resisted, Ice Beam never 2HKOes through Oran Berry, and Earthquake only has a 50% chance of 3HKOing. In return, Phanpy can OHKO Cranidos with Earthquake, and Focus Sash variants are finished off with Ice Shard, securing Phanpy's place as a solid Cranidos counter.

Phanpy has trouble dealing with Water-types and Snover. Mantyke pairs up nicely with Phanpy here, as it can take multiple hits from Water-types such as Wailmer and Omanyte thanks to its massive Special Defense and Water Absorb, and then threaten to OHKO back with Hidden Power Grass or set up an Agility. Additionally, Mantyke can handle Lead Houndour, who is troublesome for Phanpy. Snover can be eliminated by Croagunk, thanks to its STAB priority move in Vacuum Wave. Croagunk can also be used over Mantyke to take on all of the aforementioned threats. However, this leaves Phanpy without a sturdy specially defensive tank to fall back on. Phanpy is also useless against Bronzor, so Magnet Rise Magnemite gets a mention for being able to take Bronzor out reliably while providing resistances to Ice- and Grass-type attacks.

Phanpy can be a great Life Orb sweeper, as it reaches a decent 16 Attack stat and has wide coverage. Its primary attack is STAB Earthquake, which can put a huge dent in any Pokemon not resistant to it. Ice Shard is a great priority move that makes Phanpy an excellent revenge killer; for example, Ice Shard 2HKOes most Gligar sets. Head Smash is an ideal choice for the third moveslot, hitting Flying- and Bug-types super effectively, especially Paras who can otherwise survive all of Phanpy's other attacks and put Phanpy to sleep with Spore. Seed Bomb strikes Water-types such as Staryu, Clamperl, and Buizel harder than any other of Phanpy's moves, whereas Superpower can deal decent damage to Bronzor as well as OHKO Munchlax. However, not only are the Attack and Defense drops not appreciated, but Ghost-types are granted an opportunity to freely switch in.

Although Life Orb Phanpy deals a chunk of damage even to Pokemon who resist Earthquake, it is still walled by quite a few Pokemon. Bronzor is the main counter to Life Orb Phanpy, but can be taken out by Magnet Rise Magnemite easily. Stunky is a fine check for Ghosts who are immune to Earthquake. Munchlax is a good defensive partner for Phanpy, as it can shrug off Ice-type attacks thanks to Thick Fat and can also take most special attacks, while also being able to hit Ghosts with Pursuit and Bronzor with Fire Punch.

Like most other sweepers, Life Orb Phanpy greatly appreciates both Stealth Rock and dual screens in play. Stealth Rock makes Flying-types think twice before switching into an Earthquake, and also breaks all Focus Sashes on the opponent's team, making switching frail and fast revenge killers in harder. Dual screens are greatly appreciated on this set, as they increase Phanpy's staying power, which allows it to stay on the offensive for longer.

When paired with certain Pokemon, Phanpy forms a solid defensive core. Mantyke covers Phanpy's weaknesses quite well, sporting an immunity to one of the most common offensive types, Water, while using its massive base 120 Special Defense to sponge neutral special Grass- and Ice-type hits. In return, Phanpy is unfazed by Electric-type moves and shrugs off even the strongest of Rock-type attacks. When also used with Magnemite, these three form a great defensive core with every type in the game being resisted by one member or more in the trio. If Magnemite does not appeal to you, specially defensive Bronzor is a great replacement, especially when used provide dual screen support as well as a handy resistance to Ice- and Grass-type attacks. Generally, any Pokemon with a reasonable amount of Special Defense and HP is a good teammate for Phanpy, like Munchlax and Lileep under a sandstorm.