Girafarig Movesets & Competitive Sets

Choice Band Girafarig can perform similarly to Stoutland, opting for immediate power with its sufficient STAB and coverage moves. Girafarig wields a Psychic-type STAB move, Sap Sipper, Trick, and a bit more speed than Stoutland, which are somewhat useful niches. Even so, Stoutland has an excellent ability in Scrappy, can Pursuit trap, and has better bulk. Other Normal-types that are faster, hit harder, and have priority like Dodrio and Kangaskhan also thoroughly outclass Girafarig.

Moves Nasty Plot is necessary to boost Girafarig's mediocre Special Attack. Hyper Voice and Psyshock are solid STAB moves; Psyshock hits special walls such as Roselia and Clefairy harder than Psychic, and Hyper Voice hits through Substitutes and can deal decent damage to Dark- and Psychic-types, giving Girafarig a good coverage move. Shadow Ball allows Girafarig to hit opposing Psychic- and Ghost-types. Set Details This EV spread maximizes Girafarig's Special Attack and Speed, and a Timid nature is useful to support its offensive capability and to outspeed Pokemon such as Stoutland and Jolly Monferno. Despite its recoil, the Life Orb boost is important to maximize Girafarig's offensive power. Usage Tips Girafarig can set up on Grass-types such as Tangela and Ghost-types such as Misdreavus, before attempting to wallbreak. Girafarig can break through specially bulky Pokemon such as Audino and Clefairy, but be aware of opponents switching directly into offensive checks such as Krokorok or Dodrio predicting Nasty Plot. Team Options Special sweepers such as Simipour and Gorebyss can abuse Girafarig's wallbreaking attempts to more easily break through special walls. Stealth Rock support from Pokemon such as Golem is important because it punishes the opponent's switches and makes it easier for Girafarig to get KOs. Knock Off users such as Pawniard and Leafeon are also good teammates, as they can help deal with Grumpig and wear down other phazers. Sticky Web support from Smeargle can also help to patch up Girafarig's mediocre Speed. Finally, Pokemon that are weak to Grass-type moves are good teammates for Girafarig, as it can readily absorb Grass-type moves thanks to Sap Sipper.

This set lets Girafarig differentiate itself from other Psychic-types with its immunities and secondary Normal-type STAB. Baton Pass is the main move on the set and lets Girafarig pass its Calm Mind boosts; it can also be used for dry passing, which lets Girafarig ease prediction as well as escape Pursuit. The Special Defense boosts granted by Calm Mind allow Girafarig to set up on weak special attackers and pass these boosts to teammates. Calm Mind also means that Girafarig can take on the role of a sweeper in a last-Pokemon situation or if said teammate cannot switch in safely. Psychic is an obligatory STAB move and hits common Pokemon such as Sawk, Gurdurr, and Roselia hard. Hyper Voice is the move of choice in the fourth slot as it provides good coverage alongside Psychic, hitting the Dark- and Psychic-types that easily shrug off a Psychic. It should be noted, however, that the combination of the previously mentioned STAB moves is resisted by Steel-types, so Thunderbolt is a viable option to hit them hard. Mandibuzz is also a very important target that Thunderbolt hits, as specially defensive variants are 2HKOed after Stealth Rock while physically defensive variants are 2HKOed with no prior damage. A spread of 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe is viable as it lets Girafarig take on a more primary Baton Passing role. A Substitute + Calm Mind set is usable with Baton Pass, Hyper Voice, and maximum HP investment; keep in mind, however, that Ghost-types will beat this set. Grass Knot is an interesting option to hit Seismitoad and Golem, as is Hidden Power Ground to hit Probopass, Bastiodon, and Skuntank, but both are relatively weak against other threats. Golem partners well with Girafarig, as it can deal with Skuntank and Steel-types that are troublesome for Girafarig to handle. In addition, it can lure in Grass-type attacks from various threats, which lets Girafarig set up on said threats. Pokemon that can take advantage of Calm Mind boosts are great partners; Charizard is an excellent example. Wish support from the likes of Alomomola and Lickilicky is valuable to Girafarig so that it can set up on threats even after it has taken damage after Baton Passing once. Substitute can be used over Calm Mind but Sawsbuck is usually better when it comes to SubPass.

As with most Pokemon, Girafarig can make decent use of a Choice set. Using Choice Specs will help Girafarig plow through slow teams, while a Choice Scarf makes Girafarig into a decent revenge killer. Trick is one of the most important moves on this set; if Girafarig isn't doing any damage, then it should at least cripple its target. Do not just wildly select Trick, however, as Girafarig may Trick a Pokemon it doesn't want to Trick, such as a low HP Pokemon. For coverage, the tried-and-true combination of Psychic and Thunderbolt is utilized to toast the enemy. In the last slot, Baton Pass is suggested, as even though Girafarig is passing nothing, it lets the giraffe scout for potential Pursuit users that would otherwise easily trap and OHKO it. If you're keen on your predicting skills, then Shadow Ball, which is good for striking down enemy Ghost- and Psychic-types, or Hidden Power Fighting, which is used for smacking Dark- and Steel-types, make great alternatives to Baton Pass. The choice of nature boils down to your personal preference. Timid is suggested on the Choice Specs set to outrun base 80 Speed Pokemon, while Modest is recommended on a Choice Scarf set to compensate for the loss of power. This isn't set in stone, though, so you can adjust the nature and item at your leisure. This Girafarig appreciates defensive Pokemon that can take care of its weaknesses. Although most Bug-types such as Scyther will use U-turn, retreating back to a Steel-type wall such as Steelix and Registeel is usually the best course of action. Both of the above Steel-types can also set up Stealth Rock to support Girafarig. Additionally, they can provide a defense against Dark-type threats such as Absol and Drapion. Specifically, Houndoom and Spiritomb can cause major problems to this set due to Pursuit. Houndoom doesn't mind being Tricked a Choice item, while Spiritomb has great special bulk to withstand Girafarig's attacks. If, for some reason, they do not use Pursuit, then it is probably best to switch in a bulky Water-type such as Milotic and wear them down with Surf and Toxic.

Although Girafarig may not have the greatest of defenses, it at least has enough Speed and a wide enough movepool to easily abuse Baton Pass. Switch in on a Pokemon that is most likely to switch out, then set up a Substitute. Afterward, use your selected boosting move. If the foe breaks Girafarig's Substitute, then keep using Substitute until its chosen pinch Berry activates. Girafarig will likely have a total of three boosts; at this point, proceed to pass the boosts to a more reasonable partner that suits what boosts Girafarig has attained. There are two boosting moves to choose from. Calm Mind is recommended because Girafarig may actually have a chance of setting up multiple Calm Minds on weak special attacks due to the Special Defense boost. The Special Defense boost also helps your receiver take incoming special hits more easily. The alternative is Agility, which doubles your Pokemon's Speed. With Agility, Girafarig can outrun many more Pokemon, allowing it to safely set up Substitutes until its Berry activates. Substitute does two things for Girafarig: it blocks harmful status for additional set-up time, and it helps activate the pinch Berry. The final slot is saved for Psychic, just in case Girafarig needs to attack Taunt users that aren't Dark-types. 252 HP solves Girafarig's fragility issue to an extent; it can now easily Calm Mind up against Milotic without Haze, but it still cannot withstand super effective physical attacks from the likes of Scyther. Putting 252 EVs into Special Attack isn't recommended as Girafarig only has one attack that it will rarely use, as its sole job is to only pass boosts. Max Speed is important in order to set up a Substitute before a slower Pokemon cripples Girafarig with an untimely status move. If you are confident enough, you can swap out either Substitute or Psychic for Agility so Girafarig has two boosting moves to pass. With both Agility and Calm Mind, passing to Moltres, Milotic, or even Venusaur could be extremely devastating to your opponent. Watch out, though, as doing this will make Girafarig far more vulnerable to status and Taunt. If the Baton Pass fails, Girafarig is essentially a helpless toy without Psychic. When choosing a Baton Pass receiver, you need to pick out Pokemon that will not only benefit from the Berry boost, but also the move boost. A combination of Calm Mind and a Salac Berry requires special sweepers with decent Speed; the aforementioned Moltres, Milotic, and Venusaur are great candidates for this. Agility and a Petaya Berry can help out slower special sweepers such as Tangrowth, Exeggutor, and Glaceon. Using a same-stat boost combination such as Agility and a Salac Berry is not recommended as it's overkill; balancing between offense and Speed is a better way of allocating stats. Also, Liechi Berry can be used over the other Berries to help a physical sweeper out. Remember to use Agility instead of Calm Mind when doing so, as physical sweepers won't benefit from passed Calm Mind boosts. Notable receivers of Liechi boosts are Aggron, Rhyperior, and Absol.

At first glance, this set looks relaxing to the mind, as it revolves around simply picking the correct attack in the given scenario. However, it can be complex when predicting what moves your opponent is actually choosing. For starters, firing off Psychic is the logical choice as it deals the most damage out of all of Girafarig's moves against a neutral target. However, Thunderbolt should be used at first to neutrally cover a wider range of Pokemon. Grass Knot is an option over Thunderbolt to smack Spiritomb, Milotic, Omastar, and Rhyperior harder, but it has poor overall coverage when compared to Thunderbolt. Sucker Punch is Girafarig's selling point here, as it can strike weakened opponents before they can attack back. Hidden Power Fighting wraps up the coverage by hitting Dark- and Steel-types such as Absol and Registeel, respectively, for super effective damage. A Naive nature is recommended as the main option as it lessens Girafarig's vulnerability to physical priority attacks; moreover, most neutral special attacks would still 2HKO Girafarig even if its nature were Hasty. For instance, bulky Milotic's Surf deals 51.6% - 61.2% damage to Hasty Girafarig and SubPunch Azumarill's Aqua Jet manages 40.6% - 48% damage to Naive Girafarig. Natures aside, you can split the offensive EVs even more so that Sucker Punch can deal more damage, but most of the time, Stealth Rock will eliminate the need for this. 64 Attack EVs allow Sucker Punch to OHKO any Alakazam without any HP investment. Due to the wide coverage gained from four attacks, this Girafarig can be used as an attacking lead. Girafarig has the ability to beat some leads, though it is a little on the weak side. For example, Life Orb Psychic deals 95.2% - 112.4% damage to offensive Venusaur, Ambipom is beaten by a combination of Psychic and Sucker Punch, and 252 HP Omastar takes 82% - 96.5% damage from Thunderbolt (or 91.9% - 109.3% from Grass Knot). Energy Ball is an alternative over Grass Knot for the guaranteed OHKO on Omastar, but it deals less damage against Spiritomb leads. Both of Girafarig's abilities are extremely handy when it's leading: use Inner Focus to deal with Fake Out users, and use Early Bird to manage sleep leads. Focus Sash can be swapped over Life Orb so that Girafarig can survive a potential fatal attack. Also, switching from Naive to Rash can help improve the odds of KOing the enemy's lead; this is relatively safe, as there are not many leads that can outspeed Girafarig if it uses a Rash nature that wouldn't outspeed it anyway. This set is even more vulnerable to Pursuit users than the first set, due to the absence of Baton Pass. The best option is to double switch, which is sadly inferior to using Baton Pass due to the inability to scout what your opponent's switch-in actually is. Having an all-around general Pokemon with status moves to cover Girafarig's back in this case is recommended. Venusaur makes a good partner as it can sleep an opponent (hopefully the Pursuit user) while dishing out incredible damage with its STAB attacks. Registeel can usually block most of Girafarig's switch-ins with its excellent defensive stats and Steel typing. It can then cripple the opponent with Thunder Wave, which will allow Girafarig to outspeed the opponent on the next encounter. If a Pursuit user seals Girafarig's fate, then take advantage of the opponent with a Dark-type resistant Pokemon with a boosting move, such as Aggron or Drapion. Although it is fragile, Primeape is a great partner for Girafarig, as it resists Dark- and Bug-type attacks and has U-turn to safely bring in the giraffe. Primeape can also deal with Chansey, Registeel, and Steelix, all of which will cause troubles for this set (even with Hidden Power Fighting).

With usable Speed and passable Special Attack, Girafarig can utilize an offensive Calm Mind set to varying degrees to success. After a Calm Mind boost, Girafarig reaches 418 Special Attack, which is generally enough to dish out some pain on the opposition. Together, Psychic and Thunderbolt hit every Pokemon in UU for at least neutral damage, except for Steelix, Magneton, Shedinja, Shiftry, Cacturne, and Exeggutor. The fourth slot depends on your preference. Baton Pass is recommended so that Girafarig can pass its Calm Mind boosts to a Pokemon better suited to sweep. Hidden Power Fighting deals with Steel-types such as Steelix, Magneton, and Registeel, although it leaves Girafarig with an imperfect Speed IV and the inability to outwit special walls, Shedinja, and Exeggutor. Shadow Ball covers Ghost- and Psychic-types such as the aforementioned Shedinja and Exeggutor. Do not panic when you see a slower Pursuit user, such as Absol or Spiritomb, switch in. If you decide to let Girafarig use Thunderbolt, you are risking a Sucker Punch to the face. It is safer to just use Baton Pass when such a threat switches in, because Pursuit, unlike U-turn, will not have priority over Baton Pass. Blaziken is a great receiver as it can counter Absol and Spiritomb, make good use of the Calm Mind boost via Fire Blast and Vacuum Wave, and keep the chain running with its own Baton Pass. Faster Pursuit users, particularly Drapion and Scyther, are a bit harder to handle; thus, if put in such a situation, it is best to scout by immediately using Baton Pass just in case your opponent has such a Pokemon. However, if they are already in, it's over for Girafarig. This Girafarig has trouble with physically inclined Pokemon that have more than base 85 Speed, such as Kangaskhan, Swellow, and Hitmonlee. If they switch in as Girafarig uses Calm Mind, they can begin wreaking havoc. Although not a physical attacker, Alakazam with Encore can also be irritating against this Girafarig. Choice Scarf Rotom can help protect Girafarig from Swellow and Hitmonlee due to its immunities to Normal- and Fighting-type attacks. Moreover, Rotom can switch in as Alakazam uses Encore and OHKO it with Shadow Ball. Against the physical attackers, Rotom can also use Will-O-Wisp on all these threats bar Swellow to soften their blows. Another ideal partner is Registeel, which can absorb most of Kangaskhan's, Alakazam's, and Swellow's assaults, and set up Stealth Rock in the process. Stealth Rock helps Girafarig obtain KOs that it wouldn't have gotten otherwise, so it is an important form of support to provide this Girafarig.

Once again, you Baton Pass either Calm Minds or Agilities as well as Substitutes and Wishes. It can't attack at all, as you see, but it can make some good support if used right. Of course there are far better options, but this gives you some diversity in what you can actually Baton Pass.

Not really good, but Girafarig itself isn't good. Pass Calm Minds to other Pokemon or attempt to sweep after some Calm Minds with Girafarig itself. Girafarig can't do much more than this.