Barboach Movesets & Competitive Sets

With Eviolite raising its defenses, Barboach's solid defensive typing, and a single weakness to Grass-type moves, Barboach can efficiently run a solid Dragon Dance set. Thanks to its typing, Barboach can set up on the likes of Bronzor, Dwebble, Magnemite lacking Hidden Power Grass, and Thunderbolt-locked Chinchou. Earthquake and Waterfall are great STAB attacks for Barboach, providing great coverage against the whole tier. Bounce is effective against most Grass-types that decide to stay in against Barboach, while Return provides more immediate damage and smacks Mantyke for a lot of damage. Eviolite is almost required on this set because it will give Barboach the ability to set up Dragon Dance easier. Anticipation is a reliable ability as it allows Barboach to see if the opponent has a super effective Grass-type attack, such as Hidden Power Grass. An Adamant nature is suggested because it will provide Barboach with more immediate power, while an Impish nature allows Barboach to tank hits better while setting up. Furthermore, it gives Barboach more staying power versus priority users, most notably Croagunk. Spikes and Stealth Rock are important for Barboach as they provide the crucial damage needed for Barboach to score KOs. Dwebble, Bronzor, and Ferroseed are all great examples of teammates, as all but the former resist Barboach's only weakness. A teammate who can stop Grass-types is also important, such as Ponyta and Houndour. Dual screen support is nice, as it will cushion damage from attacks while Barboach sets up.

Despite Barboach's low Attack stat, it has a way of boosting it, along with its Speed, in what is arguably the best set-up move in the game: Dragon Dance. After a single Dragon Dance, Barboach's Attack is increased to a respectable 21, and its Speed is boosted to 22 with an Adamant nature or 24 with a Jolly nature, outpacing all unboosted Pokemon in Little Cup. Barboach has two great STAB moves in Earthquake and Waterfall, hitting most Pokemon in Little Cup for at least neutral damage, bar Grass-types and Mantyke. Return provides neutral coverage on all the Pokemon whom Waterfall and Earthquake can't hit. Oran Berry is the preferred item for this set, giving Barboach the bulk that it needs to set up consistently, without sacrificing too much HP in the process. However, Life Orb is also a viable option for the added power, particularly late-game with Wynaut support. When choosing between Adamant and Jolly nature, you must consider whether you prefer added power or higher survivability. While Adamant gives you one extra point in Attack, Jolly allows you to outspeed more Choice Scarf users after one Dragon Dance, such as Bagon and Krabby, and lets you outspeed or tie Choice Scarf Cranidos and Wailmer, depending on their natures. Barboach is definitely not the best Pokemon in the world to be switching into strong attacks due to its lack of resistances and merely decent defenses. Therefore, it is a good idea to avoid switching Barboach into strong attackers whenever possible. That being said, if Barboach is able to get into battle while taking little to no damage, such as after a KO or on an Electric- or Rock-typed attack, it can be very difficult to stop after setting up. This is largely because it has just one weakness, to the very uncommon Grass-type attacks. Barboach also has better defenses than many sweepers, such as Gastly and Houndour, and has comparable defenses to its fellow Dragon Dance sweeper, Dratini. Barboach greatly appreciates dual screens, which aid in its setup and allow it to sweep more easily. Because of this, Abra and Bronzor both make good partners to Barboach, as they can set up screens. Barboach also likes having Wynaut support, because if it can Encore the right move, such as an Electric-type attack or a non-attacking move, Barboach can get a free Dragon Dance.

This set's main selling point is that Barboach has excellent dual STAB moves, shared only by Wooper in Little Cup. Barboach's two main physical STAB attacks, Earthquake and Waterfall, provide near-flawless coverage in Little Cup and are good options on a Choice set. Return provides coverage on the Pokemon Earthquake and Waterfall miss out on, such as Mantyke and Snover. Double-Edge is an interesting option on this set, especially very late in the game, when it can nab some hard-to-get KOs. Keep in mind that if you opt to use Double-Edge, however, that Barboach must have the ability Oblivious. Spark hits most Water-types super effectively and has high chance of paralysis. This set requires a lot of prediction to use it effectively, as there are many common Pokemon in Little Cup that have immunity to Barboach's attacks. Levitators, such as Bronzor and Duskull, and Flying-types, such as Gligar and Mantyke, are all immune to Earthquake. Mantyke also has an added bonus of gaining 25% of its health from Waterfall due to Water Absorb, which means it is fully resistant to both of Barboach's STAB moves. Croagunk also sports an immunity to Waterfall, but is OHKOed by Earthquake. Ghosts, such as Gastly and Duskull, are immune to Return and Double-Edge. All of these immunities makes Barboach tricky to play with. Bronzor is one Pokemon that makes a good partner to this set as they cover each other's weaknesses. Bronzor can run an effective special set, which can provide good coverage with Barboach, who hits physically. Snover is another solid partner to this set, because it resists Grass, which is Barboach's only weakness. Barboach covers Snover's Fire-type, Poison-type, and Rock-type weaknesses as well.