http://www.smogon.com/rs/pokemon/pupitar
[Overview]
A trolly base 51 Speed (getting to outspeed fully invested base 50s before boosting is pretty golden) and a great offensive typing are enough tools to give Pupitar an edge in the NU metagame, but what really makes Pupitar one of the absolute top offensive threats in the tier is its access to Dragon Dance. At just +1, Pupitar packs only slightly less power than Choice Band Relicanth while also outspeeding every unboosted Pokemon in the tier. Its access to fantastic offensive STAB moves cannot be understated, and Double-Edge and Hidden Power Bug both give Pupitar the coverage it needs. Even its ability Shed Skin is a gigantic perk that protects it somewhat against sleep, burn, and paralysis, and with a natural immunity to Thunder Wave, Pupitar has an easy time steamrolling over purely defensive teams. The only major downside is that Pupitar is rather slow before boosting, which can leave it vulnerable to more offensive teams. Outside of Dragon Dance, though, Pupitar is heavily outclassed by the other Rock-types in the tier, which are far stronger and bulkier, including Graveler, Sudowoodo, and Relicanth.
[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Rock Slide
move 4: Hidden Power Bug / Protect
item: Leftovers
ability: Shed Skin
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Ideally, only bring out Pupitar late-game when the opponent's walls have been sufficiently weakened, set up Dragon Dance immediately, and pummel foes with the appropriate move. Earthquake + Rock Slide is great STAB coverage and all that Pupitar really needs most of the time. At +1, Rock Slide is a guaranteed OHKO vs 252 HP Glalie and offensive Pelipper, whereas Hidden Power Rock just falls short and doesn't come with a flinch chance, making Rock Slide the more desired option for Rock STAB despite the lower accuracy.
Hidden Power Bug can be used in the last slot for a reliable 2HKO on all but the most physically defensive Chimecho and Grass-types like Bellossom and Tangela, though standard defensive Tangela can avoid the 2HKO and OHKO Pupitar in return with its STAB moves. Protect is a neat alternative that can bide time for Leftovers recovery, pushing Pupitar out of a 3HKO range from Seismic Toss and Night Shade. Protect also comes with the benefit of scouting the opponent's Choice Band moves and allows for extra turns to activate Shed Skin if needed.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
A Jolly nature is needed for Pupitar to outpace the entire unboosted tier after a single Dragon Dance, as well as ensure that Pupitar can outspeed maximum investment base 50s before boosting, primarily Timid Bellossom. An Adamant nature can be used, but this leaves Pupitar at only 302 Speed at +1, leaving it outsped by all maximum investment base 90s and up, including big threats like Venomoth, Haunter, and Plusle. Taunt is a great choice for the last slot as it prevents the opponent from setting up on it or healing and can bide time for extra turns of Leftovers recovery and Shed Skin activation. Hidden Power Flying is the best alternative to Hidden Power Bug as it gets a super effective hit on Hitmonchan and retains the super effective hit on Bellossom and Tangela. Rest can be used in the last slot to let Pupitar quickly recover health and remove status manually, and it has a high chance of wearing off early thanks to Shed Skin. This is difficult to pull off though, especially considering that even extremely defensive teams will have multiple moves that will easily 2HKO Pupitar. Finally, Double-Edge can fill out the set and is a great safety move to use when you're unsure of what the opponent will switch to next, although it does come with some recoil.
Spikes are a great tool to generally weaken the checks and counters to Pupitar, as all of them are grounded, particularly the Grass- and Water-types. Flareon and Murkrow are good partners to take out the Grass-types that threaten Pupitar easily, while Plusle and Grass-types of your own can take out the Water-types that stand in Pupitar's path. Hidden Power Grass Plusle for example can eliminate Whiscash and nearly all of the other Water-types in the tier. Physically defensive Chimecho tank Pupitar's STAB moves and threatens an easy 2HKO back with Psychic if Pupitar lacks Hidden Power Bug, making Sableye and Metang good partners too.
Pupitar can have a tough time setting up if it can't get in against a Normal-, Bug-, Rock-, or Flying-type locked into an ineffective move, making an Encore partner or a screen partner a good teammate as well to give Pupitar the best chance of setting up as possible. A particularly good screen partner is Reflect Piloswine, as it tends to lure in Hitmonchan and can eliminate its threat of Mach Punch before bringing in Pupitar to clean the rest of the opponent's team.
[Other Options]
There are a lot of different ways to play with Pupitar, but almost none of them will be as effective as the set above. Taunt + Dragon Dance and Substitute + Dragon Dance both have their perks and can secure a sweep where just having the coverage of Hidden Power Bug would not, but finding the time to use both moves can be a daunting task when a good portion of the tier has a move that will hit Pupitar super effectively. Adding Liechi Berry to the Substitute + Dragon Dance set is an option that has a huge payoff if done well. A bulky EV spread and the Dragon Dance set above can be done, but Pupitar doesn't have much bulk to speak of, and the only real benefit would be making Pupitar harder to KO with Hitmonchan's Mach Punch.
A Choice Band set is certainly doable, and Pupitar has a huge perk in outspeeding max Speed Mawile and other base 50s like Piloswine. However, while there may be a bit of a surprise factor to running Choice Band, Pupitar will still be weaker than the likes of Sudowoodo and Graveler and would much rather keep its main advantage of outspeeding the tier after a boost rather than having immediately strong moves. Finally, Toxic is an option to get cripple defensive Tangela, but that's about the only target it'll make an impact on.
[Checks and Counters]
Physically defensive Tangela is probably the ultimate switch-in to Pupitar, as it's not 2HKOed by anything a +1 Pupitar can throw at it and easily OHKOes in return with Hidden Power Grass. Even at +5 Pupitar will fail to OHKO defensive Tangela with Hidden Power Bug. Physically defensive Whiscash, Wailord, and Kingler are probably the next best defensive switch-ins to Pupitar, as they can tank an Earthquake with ease and OHKO Pupitar in return with Surf. Physically defensive Relicanth can tank an Earthquake or two if using Protect and easily 2HKO Pupitar with its own Earthquake.
Bulky Hitmonchan, Hitmonchan with Mach Punch, and Machoke can prevent Pupitar from getting too dangerous and pick off weakened ones easily enough. Defensive Bellossom takes a lot from Hidden Power Bug but also easily OHKOes with Hidden Power Grass or Giga Drain. Offensive Water-types like Seadra and Huntail will be able to tank an attack and OHKO in return, but they will leave the exchange heavily battered. It should be noted that Huntail can even use a +1 Pupitar as setup bait if Huntail is at full health, as it can tank an Earthquake, set up Rain Dance, and then outspeed and OHKO the next turn; Timid Huntail is fast enough to not fear Pupitar getting to +2 either. Finally, Piloswine can tank multiple attacks from Pupitar from behind a Reflect and easily OHKO in return with Earthquake.
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