[OVERVIEW]
Slurpuff is a decent sweeper and late-game cleaner with access to Belly Drum and Unburden, which maximizes its Attack stat and doubles its Speed, respectively. Slurpuff's good typing and decent bulk grant it many setup opportunities, especially against common Fighting- and Dragon-type Pokemon such as Heracross and Choice-locked Kommo-o. Unfortunately, its Belly Drum set is hard countered by Doublade, vulnerable to status ailments, and prone to being revenge killed by powerful priority. Furthermore, Unburden is usable only once, so Slurpuff typically only gets one opportunity to sweep per battle. As such, Slurpuff is often dead weight in a match until it finds a setup opportunity.
[SET]
name: Belly Drum Sweeper
move 1: Belly Drum
move 2: Play Rough
move 3: Return
move 4: Drain Punch
item: Sitrus Berry
ability: Unburden
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
ivs: 30 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Belly Drum maximizes Slurpuff's Attack at the cost of half of its maximum HP, allowing it to function as a deadly setup sweeper. Play Rough is a strong Fairy-type STAB move for Slurpuff. Return is useful for hitting Pokemon such as Nidoqueen and Venusaur that resist Play Rough while also being a more accurate option over Play Rough versus a neutrally effective target. Drain Punch nails Steel-types such as Registeel, Bronzong, and Escavalier for at least neutral damage while also being useful for restoring Slurpuff's HP and making it even more difficult to revenge kill.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed EVs with a Jolly nature allow Slurpuff to hit as hard and as fast as possible while always outspeeding Choice Scarf Durant and Flygon after an Unburden boost. Running 30 HP IVs gives Slurpuff an even HP stat, ensuring that Sitrus Berry triggers after Belly Drum is used from full HP. Sitrus Berry has excellent synergy with Belly Drum, restoring 25% of Slurpuff's maximum HP once it drops to 50%. Unburden raises Slurpuff's Speed to tremendous levels after its Sitrus Berry has been consumed.
Usage Tips
========
Slurpuff is best used as a late-game sweeper and should usually attempt to sweep only after its checks and counters have been weakened or removed entirely. Slurpuff can alternatively set up Belly Drum in the early- to mid-stages of a battle, should the opportunity present itself, and heavily weaken an opposing Steel-type such as Bronzong or Escavalier for a teammate such as Flygon, Aerodactyl, or Swellow to clean later. Slurpuff can punish Choice-locked foes such as Heracross, Kommo-o, and Dragalge locked into Draco Meteor by using them as setup fodder. Moreover, passive Pokemon such as Gligar, Florges, and Chesnaught can also be used as setup bait for Slurpuff. A knowledgeable opponent will play carefully, and often predictably, around Slurpuff in order to prevent it from setting up, so this can be used to your advantage by making double switches that put you in an advantageous situation versus one of Slurpuff's checks.
Team Options
========
Whimsicott, Alolan Persian, and Zoroark are all good teammates for Slurpuff, as they offer Memento support, which aids Slurpuff in successfully setting up. Zoroark in particular is a potent partner, as it is capable of luring most of Slurpuff's checks and counters such as Doublade and Bronzong by disguising itself as Slurpuff using its Illusion ability. Tyrantrum, Swellow, and Shaymin make for solid partners in conjunction with Slurpuff because they can chip away at the Steel-types that check it as well as draw out opposing Fighting- and Dragon-type Pokemon like Choice Scarf Heracross and Flygon to revenge kill them, which Slurpuff can then set up on. Nidoqueen and Rhyperior are also solid teammates, as they combat the majority of Slurpuff's counters with ease and also set up Stealth Rock for Slurpuff. Similarly, Pokemon that can set up Spikes such as Chesnaught and Froslass make for excellent partners, as Spikes wear down Slurpuff's checks quickly. Lastly, Slurpuff will greatly struggle to successfully set up Belly Drum with entry hazards on its side of the field, so Pokemon such as Gligar and Mantine that can remove these hazards with Defog make for solid teammates. These Pokemon are also able to check Doublade with ease; Slurpuff's most prominent counter.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Slurpuff can run a set of Calm Mind + Rest with Chesto Berry to lure in physically defensive checks like Doublade with Flamethrower. However, this set is generally less consistent than its Belly Drum counterpart against a wide variety of archetypes such as hyper offense and balance. An Adamant nature can be used instead of Jolly; however, this allows Slurpuff to be outsped by common Choice Scarf users such as Flygon, Shaymin, and Durant. Flamethrower can be used in place of Return to deal super effective damage to Doublade; however, this damage output is still only decent, and all other Steel-types are hit harder by Drain Punch. Finally, Slurpuff can make use of Aromatherapy instead of Return in order to circumvent its vulnerability to status ailments, but the ability to hit Poison-types such as Nidoqueen and Venusaur is sorely missed.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-type Pokemon**: Bulky Steel-type Pokemon such as Doublade, Bronzong, and Escavalier are all capable of surviving any attack from Slurpuff even after Belly Drum and can OHKO Slurpuff in return with a super effective Steel-type attack. Doublade in particular is bothersome for Slurpuff, as it is immune to both Drain Punch and Return.
**Physically Defensive Pokemon**: Physically defensive Pokemon such as Donphan and defensive Nidoqueen are not OHKOed by any of Slurpuff's attacks even after a Belly Drum boost and can do massive damage back to Slurpuff.
**Whimsicott**: Whimsicott has access to Prankster Encore and can lock Slurpuff into Belly Drum, preventing a sweep.
**Status**: Slurpuff can be neutralized by common Toxic users such as Mantine, Regsteel, Milotic, and Cresselia, which would normally be used as setup bait.
**Unaware Walls**: Pyukumuku and Quagsire are both capable of walling Slurpuff, as they ignore Slurpuff's Attack boosts with Unaware and can stall Slurpuff out with Toxic or repeated attacks.
Slurpuff is a decent sweeper and late-game cleaner with access to Belly Drum and Unburden, which maximizes its Attack stat and doubles its Speed, respectively. Slurpuff's good typing and decent bulk grant it many setup opportunities, especially against common Fighting- and Dragon-type Pokemon such as Heracross and Choice-locked Kommo-o. Unfortunately, its Belly Drum set is hard countered by Doublade, vulnerable to status ailments, and prone to being revenge killed by powerful priority. Furthermore, Unburden is usable only once, so Slurpuff typically only gets one opportunity to sweep per battle. As such, Slurpuff is often dead weight in a match until it finds a setup opportunity.
[SET]
name: Belly Drum Sweeper
move 1: Belly Drum
move 2: Play Rough
move 3: Return
move 4: Drain Punch
item: Sitrus Berry
ability: Unburden
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
ivs: 30 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Belly Drum maximizes Slurpuff's Attack at the cost of half of its maximum HP, allowing it to function as a deadly setup sweeper. Play Rough is a strong Fairy-type STAB move for Slurpuff. Return is useful for hitting Pokemon such as Nidoqueen and Venusaur that resist Play Rough while also being a more accurate option over Play Rough versus a neutrally effective target. Drain Punch nails Steel-types such as Registeel, Bronzong, and Escavalier for at least neutral damage while also being useful for restoring Slurpuff's HP and making it even more difficult to revenge kill.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed EVs with a Jolly nature allow Slurpuff to hit as hard and as fast as possible while always outspeeding Choice Scarf Durant and Flygon after an Unburden boost. Running 30 HP IVs gives Slurpuff an even HP stat, ensuring that Sitrus Berry triggers after Belly Drum is used from full HP. Sitrus Berry has excellent synergy with Belly Drum, restoring 25% of Slurpuff's maximum HP once it drops to 50%. Unburden raises Slurpuff's Speed to tremendous levels after its Sitrus Berry has been consumed.
Usage Tips
========
Slurpuff is best used as a late-game sweeper and should usually attempt to sweep only after its checks and counters have been weakened or removed entirely. Slurpuff can alternatively set up Belly Drum in the early- to mid-stages of a battle, should the opportunity present itself, and heavily weaken an opposing Steel-type such as Bronzong or Escavalier for a teammate such as Flygon, Aerodactyl, or Swellow to clean later. Slurpuff can punish Choice-locked foes such as Heracross, Kommo-o, and Dragalge locked into Draco Meteor by using them as setup fodder. Moreover, passive Pokemon such as Gligar, Florges, and Chesnaught can also be used as setup bait for Slurpuff. A knowledgeable opponent will play carefully, and often predictably, around Slurpuff in order to prevent it from setting up, so this can be used to your advantage by making double switches that put you in an advantageous situation versus one of Slurpuff's checks.
Team Options
========
Whimsicott, Alolan Persian, and Zoroark are all good teammates for Slurpuff, as they offer Memento support, which aids Slurpuff in successfully setting up. Zoroark in particular is a potent partner, as it is capable of luring most of Slurpuff's checks and counters such as Doublade and Bronzong by disguising itself as Slurpuff using its Illusion ability. Tyrantrum, Swellow, and Shaymin make for solid partners in conjunction with Slurpuff because they can chip away at the Steel-types that check it as well as draw out opposing Fighting- and Dragon-type Pokemon like Choice Scarf Heracross and Flygon to revenge kill them, which Slurpuff can then set up on. Nidoqueen and Rhyperior are also solid teammates, as they combat the majority of Slurpuff's counters with ease and also set up Stealth Rock for Slurpuff. Similarly, Pokemon that can set up Spikes such as Chesnaught and Froslass make for excellent partners, as Spikes wear down Slurpuff's checks quickly. Lastly, Slurpuff will greatly struggle to successfully set up Belly Drum with entry hazards on its side of the field, so Pokemon such as Gligar and Mantine that can remove these hazards with Defog make for solid teammates. These Pokemon are also able to check Doublade with ease; Slurpuff's most prominent counter.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Slurpuff can run a set of Calm Mind + Rest with Chesto Berry to lure in physically defensive checks like Doublade with Flamethrower. However, this set is generally less consistent than its Belly Drum counterpart against a wide variety of archetypes such as hyper offense and balance. An Adamant nature can be used instead of Jolly; however, this allows Slurpuff to be outsped by common Choice Scarf users such as Flygon, Shaymin, and Durant. Flamethrower can be used in place of Return to deal super effective damage to Doublade; however, this damage output is still only decent, and all other Steel-types are hit harder by Drain Punch. Finally, Slurpuff can make use of Aromatherapy instead of Return in order to circumvent its vulnerability to status ailments, but the ability to hit Poison-types such as Nidoqueen and Venusaur is sorely missed.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-type Pokemon**: Bulky Steel-type Pokemon such as Doublade, Bronzong, and Escavalier are all capable of surviving any attack from Slurpuff even after Belly Drum and can OHKO Slurpuff in return with a super effective Steel-type attack. Doublade in particular is bothersome for Slurpuff, as it is immune to both Drain Punch and Return.
**Physically Defensive Pokemon**: Physically defensive Pokemon such as Donphan and defensive Nidoqueen are not OHKOed by any of Slurpuff's attacks even after a Belly Drum boost and can do massive damage back to Slurpuff.
**Whimsicott**: Whimsicott has access to Prankster Encore and can lock Slurpuff into Belly Drum, preventing a sweep.
**Status**: Slurpuff can be neutralized by common Toxic users such as Mantine, Regsteel, Milotic, and Cresselia, which would normally be used as setup bait.
**Unaware Walls**: Pyukumuku and Quagsire are both capable of walling Slurpuff, as they ignore Slurpuff's Attack boosts with Unaware and can stall Slurpuff out with Toxic or repeated attacks.
Last edited:
