[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 7 onwards
**Price Range**: 3-5 Points
**Overview**: Hoopa is a threatening low-tier wallbreaker with great Special Attack held back by its typing and mediocre Speed. It also has niche utility as a spinblocker, being able to threaten Rapid Spin users that it can outspeed, although many can carry coverage for it. Unfortunately, being 4x weak to Dark- and Ghost-type moves while having atrocious Defense and minimal coverage outside of the inconsistent Focus Blast means Hoopa can become very predictable and easy for opponents to play around, with the already common Knock Off being something to constantly be wary about.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Wallbreaker**: With its insane Special Attack, Hoopa can blow holes in opposing teams and even beat opposing special walls with Psyshock. Choice item sets can dish out insane damage and catch foes off guard with Trick, and in matchups where being Choice-locked is more inconsistient, Nasty Plot can be used to further boost damage.
**Setup Sweeper**: With access to Calm Mind and Nasty Plot, Hoopa can be a viable setup sweeper, although it needs more help than other sweepers with its mediocre, and unboostable, Defense and an awkward Speed tier that leaves it moving second versus many foes.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Psychic, Psyshock, Psychic Noise, Shadow Ball
**Setup Moves**: Nasty Plot, Calm Mind
**Utility Moves**: Trick, Destiny Bond, Taunt, Thunder Wave, Substitute, Knock Off
**Coverage**: Focus Blast, Dark Pulse, Energy Ball, Grass Knot, Thunderbolt
Niche Moves
========
**Trick Room**: Against faster teams, Hoopa can set Trick Room for itself and instantly become a threat.
Common Items
========
**Choice Scarf**: While not a traditionally fast threat, with a Choice Scarf, Hoopa outspeeds many unboosted foes, allowing it to be a solid revenge killer or sweeper. Additionally, Trick can also be used to cripple foes switching into it.
**Choice Specs**: Choice Specs allows Hoopa to elevate its wallbreaking power further, crippling even the sturdiest of walls thanks to its enormous Special Attack. As with Choice Scarf, Trick can also be used to hinder walls switching into Hoopa.
Niche Items
========
**Resistance Berries**: With is highly exploitable defensive typing, resistance Berries allow Hoopa to live specific attacks to beat would-be checks or get the jump on an unsuspecting foe. Also, after eating the Berry, Hoopa can steal a foe's item with Magician.
**Other Damage-Boosting Items**: In games where Choice Specs is less valuable, items like Spell Tag, Twisted Spoon, and Life Orb can provide the extra damage while still keeping flexibility with Hoopa's moveset.
Tera
========
Hoopa makes for a usable secondary Tera Captain, making great use of Terastallization to shed its bad defensive typing and boost its coverage moves with types like Tera Dark and Fighting. While it does not really want to plan to Terastallize every game, even just the threat of it using Terastallization to avoid a KO from the Dark- and Ghost-type moves it fears so much can make opponents second guess their decisions.
Draft Strategy
========
Hoopa is a great budget wallbreaker but is unlikely to break through more than one foe before it is forced out, so partners that can get it back in or handle the attacks that force it out are necessary.
**Knock Off Absorbers**: Knock Off is one of the most widely distributed Dark-type moves, and its spamability against many teams means partners like Zapdos and Tinkaton, which can punish mindless Knock Off usage, are essential partners for Hoopa.
**Dark- and Ghost-resistant Pokemon**: Pokemon Like Ting-Lu, Great Tusk, and Primarina are great partners for Hoopa, being able to sponge blows from the Ghost- and Dark-types it forces opponents to bring.
**Entry Hazard Setters**: As a wallbreaker, Hoopa appreciates all the extra chip damage it can get, so Pokemon like Hisuian Samurott and Gliscor that can get hazards up and keep them up are valuable partners.
**Offensive Pivots**: Since Hoopa is relatively frail and slow, allies like Ogerpon and Iron Bundle can force in defensive switch-ins and bring Hoopa in to break through them; this can create a cycle that's very difficult for opponents to break out of.
Checks and Counters
========
**Dark-types**: Being immune to Psychic-type moves and resisting Ghost-type moves, Dark-types are one of the biggest limiting factors for Hoopa. Foes like Ting-Lu, Chi-Yu, and Kingambit can all switch in to Hoopa's STAB attacks and force it out with relative ease.
**Dark- and Ghost-type coverage**: Dark- and Ghost-type moves are widely distributed, and foes usually do not have trouble fitting them onto sets in order to specifically beat Hoopa.
**Faster Foes / Priority**: With its slow Speed and lack of ways to boost it, faster foes like Greninja and Ogerpon can easily force Hoopa out. Additionally, moves like Sucker Punch and Aqua Jet can easily pick off Hoopa.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/termnal.404799/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/drizzle.313217/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/theuncultured.629845/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
**Draft Order**: Round 7 onwards
**Price Range**: 3-5 Points
**Overview**: Hoopa is a threatening low-tier wallbreaker with great Special Attack held back by its typing and mediocre Speed. It also has niche utility as a spinblocker, being able to threaten Rapid Spin users that it can outspeed, although many can carry coverage for it. Unfortunately, being 4x weak to Dark- and Ghost-type moves while having atrocious Defense and minimal coverage outside of the inconsistent Focus Blast means Hoopa can become very predictable and easy for opponents to play around, with the already common Knock Off being something to constantly be wary about.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Wallbreaker**: With its insane Special Attack, Hoopa can blow holes in opposing teams and even beat opposing special walls with Psyshock. Choice item sets can dish out insane damage and catch foes off guard with Trick, and in matchups where being Choice-locked is more inconsistient, Nasty Plot can be used to further boost damage.
**Setup Sweeper**: With access to Calm Mind and Nasty Plot, Hoopa can be a viable setup sweeper, although it needs more help than other sweepers with its mediocre, and unboostable, Defense and an awkward Speed tier that leaves it moving second versus many foes.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Psychic, Psyshock, Psychic Noise, Shadow Ball
**Setup Moves**: Nasty Plot, Calm Mind
**Utility Moves**: Trick, Destiny Bond, Taunt, Thunder Wave, Substitute, Knock Off
**Coverage**: Focus Blast, Dark Pulse, Energy Ball, Grass Knot, Thunderbolt
Niche Moves
========
**Trick Room**: Against faster teams, Hoopa can set Trick Room for itself and instantly become a threat.
Common Items
========
**Choice Scarf**: While not a traditionally fast threat, with a Choice Scarf, Hoopa outspeeds many unboosted foes, allowing it to be a solid revenge killer or sweeper. Additionally, Trick can also be used to cripple foes switching into it.
**Choice Specs**: Choice Specs allows Hoopa to elevate its wallbreaking power further, crippling even the sturdiest of walls thanks to its enormous Special Attack. As with Choice Scarf, Trick can also be used to hinder walls switching into Hoopa.
Niche Items
========
**Resistance Berries**: With is highly exploitable defensive typing, resistance Berries allow Hoopa to live specific attacks to beat would-be checks or get the jump on an unsuspecting foe. Also, after eating the Berry, Hoopa can steal a foe's item with Magician.
**Other Damage-Boosting Items**: In games where Choice Specs is less valuable, items like Spell Tag, Twisted Spoon, and Life Orb can provide the extra damage while still keeping flexibility with Hoopa's moveset.
Tera
========
Hoopa makes for a usable secondary Tera Captain, making great use of Terastallization to shed its bad defensive typing and boost its coverage moves with types like Tera Dark and Fighting. While it does not really want to plan to Terastallize every game, even just the threat of it using Terastallization to avoid a KO from the Dark- and Ghost-type moves it fears so much can make opponents second guess their decisions.
Draft Strategy
========
Hoopa is a great budget wallbreaker but is unlikely to break through more than one foe before it is forced out, so partners that can get it back in or handle the attacks that force it out are necessary.
**Knock Off Absorbers**: Knock Off is one of the most widely distributed Dark-type moves, and its spamability against many teams means partners like Zapdos and Tinkaton, which can punish mindless Knock Off usage, are essential partners for Hoopa.
**Dark- and Ghost-resistant Pokemon**: Pokemon Like Ting-Lu, Great Tusk, and Primarina are great partners for Hoopa, being able to sponge blows from the Ghost- and Dark-types it forces opponents to bring.
**Entry Hazard Setters**: As a wallbreaker, Hoopa appreciates all the extra chip damage it can get, so Pokemon like Hisuian Samurott and Gliscor that can get hazards up and keep them up are valuable partners.
**Offensive Pivots**: Since Hoopa is relatively frail and slow, allies like Ogerpon and Iron Bundle can force in defensive switch-ins and bring Hoopa in to break through them; this can create a cycle that's very difficult for opponents to break out of.
Checks and Counters
========
**Dark-types**: Being immune to Psychic-type moves and resisting Ghost-type moves, Dark-types are one of the biggest limiting factors for Hoopa. Foes like Ting-Lu, Chi-Yu, and Kingambit can all switch in to Hoopa's STAB attacks and force it out with relative ease.
**Dark- and Ghost-type coverage**: Dark- and Ghost-type moves are widely distributed, and foes usually do not have trouble fitting them onto sets in order to specifically beat Hoopa.
**Faster Foes / Priority**: With its slow Speed and lack of ways to boost it, faster foes like Greninja and Ogerpon can easily force Hoopa out. Additionally, moves like Sucker Punch and Aqua Jet can easily pick off Hoopa.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/termnal.404799/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/drizzle.313217/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/theuncultured.629845/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
Last edited:
