Mudbray Movesets & Competitive Sets

A RestTalk set greatly improves Mudbray's longevity, allowing it to beat several Pokemon, such as Mienfoo and Natu, one-on-one. It can even survive hits from threatening special attackers such as Abra thanks to its Special Defense investment and retaliate with a powerful hit. Heavy Slam is the best coverage to hit Flying-types and Ground-immune foes like Air Balloon Diglett. RestTalk Mudbray usually finds itself on more offensive teams like Fighting spam as a way to keep offensive momentum and provide a much-needed defensive backbone. Grookey is still a terror for Mudbray, so pairing it with Koffing, Foongus, and Natu is recommended. RestTalk Mudbray also struggles against Water-types such as Frillish and Staryu because they can take advantage of it using Rest or force it out. As such, partners like Pawniard and Ferroseed are recommended; they also help it by checking threats like Abra and Porygon.

Mudbray is one of LC's best Choice Scarf users, as it outspeeds another popular Choice Scarf user in Porygon. This allows Mudbray to threaten KOs on fast, offensive threats like Abra, Ponyta, and Diglett. Mudbray's coverage moves seek to pave the way for its late-game sweep with Earthquake. Close Combat greatly damages Ferroseed and prevents Mudbray from being taken advantage of by Air Balloon Diglett. Heavy Slam provides great neutral coverage against foes like Natu and Grookey, while Rock Slide can be used to deal slightly more damage to Natu and for a useful flinch chance. Choice Scarf Mudbray fits well with other threats like Porygon to overwhelm shared checks like Ferroseed or to take advantage of Mudbray's checks like Grookey and Natu. Mudbray is relatively frail and appreciates pivot support from Mienfoo and Natu, as they can provide it a free switch into Pokemon like Koffing and Pawniard. It is imperative that Mudbray be played carefully around Air Balloon Diglett, as recklessly using Earthquake or High Horsepower to KO a foe like Mareanie can leave Mudbray trapped.

Mudbray's natural bulk allows it to safely set Stealth Rock against many different Pokemon. Close Combat threatens Ferroseed, while Heavy Slam covers Natu and Grookey. Alternatively, Rock Slide can hit Natu harder, but it is weaker against Grookey. High Horsepower can be used instead of Earthquake to do more damage in Grassy Terrain, but it is less accurate than Earthquake and can be unreliable at times. Eviolite is usually preferred to maximize Mudbray's bulk, but Berry Juice can provide it with much-needed recovery. Stealth Rock Mudbray is amazing on certain offensive teams, as it allows Steel-types like Pawniard and Ferroseed to forgo Stealth Rock for other utility options. Furthermore, its ability to switch into Koffing is appreciated by certain defensive cores such as Mareanie + Ferroseed. Mudbray greatly struggles against Grookey and should be paired with partners such as Koffing, Natu, and Foongus that handle it. It also has difficulty beating Natu one-on-one consistently, so checks such as Frillish and your own Natu are good options.

Moves Earthquake is Mudbray's best STAB move and deals good damage to its foes. Rest heals Mudbray to full HP and removes any status ailments it might have, greatly increasing its longevity and allowing to wall threats multiple times throughout a match. Sleep Talk allows Mudbray to attack during the two turns of sleep that are caused by Rest, meaning it is not completely passive during that time. Since Mudbray is one of the heaviest Pokemon in Little Cup, Heavy Slam deals great damage, notably 2HKOing Spritzee and Snubbull and its Steel typing provides excellent neutral coverage alongside Earthquake. Alternatively, Rock Slide also gives Mudbray good neutral coverage, as it hits the Flying- and Bug-types that can switch into Earthquake super effectively, OHKOing Doduo, Choice Scarf Rufflet, and Dewpider after Stealth Rock. Set Details Eviolite raises Mudbray's bulk to incredible levels and thus increases its longevity in combination with Rest. Stamina allows Mudbray to wall many physical attackers, such as Pawniard, Timburr, and Mienfoo, as the ability gives it a Defense boost each time it gets hit. The Special Defense and HP investment in combination with a Careful nature efficiently raises Mudbray's bulk with an Eviolite and allow it to nearly always avoid the 2HKO from Magnemite's Flash Cannon. 116 Attack EVs give Mudbray a good chance to OHKO offensive Mienfoo after Stealth Rock and allow it to OHKO non-Eviolite Mareanie with Earthquake, as well as 2HKO Spritzee with Heavy Slam. The leftover EVs are put into Defense to raise it by one point and hit another Eviolite number. Usage Tips Mudbray should usually be switched in when an opposing physical attacker is predicted to go for a weaker move. For example, Mienfoo going for Drain Punch instead of High Jump Kick, or Timburr going for Mach Punch. It will usually take the hit quite well while getting a Defense boost in the progress thanks to Stamina. This boost can allow it to wall the physical attacker further. Be careful of staying in and using Rest against special attackers. Many of them will be able to 3HKO Mudbray, meaning that the duration of the sleep that Rest causes is too long to wall them. Don't be afraid of using Earthquake a lot. Thanks to Mudbray's high Attack stat, it will significantly hurt any foe that does not resist or is immune to it. Rest should be used when Mudbray is running low on HP to recover all of its health. While Mudbray is sleeping, Sleep Talk should be used to potentially hit the foe hard. Keep in mind that every time Mudbray uses Rest, it can use Sleep Talk exactly twice. After that, it will wake up, and a different move should be used. Team Options Checks for Grass-types such as Vullaby, Doduo, and Foongus are all great teammates for Mudbray, as it greatly fears their super effective STAB moves. Pokemon that can check Water-types, such as the aforementioned Foongus as well as Ferroseed and Chinchou, are also greatly appreciated. Phazers such as Munchlax and Mareanie help Mudbray remove bulky setup sweepers, such as Timburr and Shellder, which are able to set up on it. Fairy-types such as Spritzee and Snubbull appreciate Mudbray checking Steel-, Fire-, and Poison-types.

Moves Earthquake is Mudbray's strongest move. Heavy Slam deals good damage thanks to Mudbray's weight and provides excellent neutral coverage with Earthquake, and it notably 2HKOes Spritzee, Snubbull, and Cottonee, all of which can take Earthquake with ease. Rock Slide hits the Bug- and Flying-types that can switch into Earthquake super effectively, OHKOing Larvesta and Doduo as well as 2HKOing Rufflet after Stealth Rock and non-Eviolite variants of Vullaby. Stealth Rock allows Mudbray to support the team, and synergizes well with how easily it forces switches. If Stealth Rock isn't needed, Close Combat hits certain Pokemon that take any of Mudbray's other moves, such as Munchlax and Ferroseed, super effectively, 2HKOing both of them. Set Details Stamina is the ability of choice because it allows Mudbray to take hits from certain physical attackers such as bulky Mienfoo and Ferroseed. Eviolite allows Mudbray to survive OHKOs from almost the entire metagame and lets it come in on Knock Off users more easily, whereas Berry Juice is used because it can give Mudbray as second chance at wallbreaking after it drops below half HP. It can also aid in acquiring Stamina boosts, as it can get one or two boosts and then be healed up completely, keeping the boosts and making it harder for foes to knock it out. 196 Attack EVs with an Adamant nature maximize Mudbray's Attack, allowing it to hit as hard as possible, while 116 HP and 36 Defense EVs allow Mudbray to take hits from weaker physical attackers such as bulky Mienfoo consistently. 156 Speed EVs give Mudbray 13 Speed, outspeeding threats such as Timburr, Skrelp, and Alolan Grimer, but a slower EV spread of 116 HP / 196 Atk / 36 Def / 156 SpD is also usable. Usage Tips Mudbray should try and set up Stealth Rock early on in the game to support its team. After that, Earthquake is Mudbray's most spammable attack. Thanks to Mudbray's high Attack stat, it hits incredibly hard against anything that doesn't resist or is immune to it. When a switch is predicted, don't be afraid to use the appropriate coverage moves. Mudbray hits hard even with coverage moves, meaning that it is difficult to stay in even if it is not using Earthquake. Since Berry Juice is quite important to extend Mudbray's longevity, switching into a potential Knock Off is usually not recommended. Team Options Foongus is an excellent partner for Mudbray, as it can beat both Water- and Grass-types, all of which threaten Mudbray. Other Snivy checks such as Vullaby and Rufflet are also good partners, since Snivy is easily able to KO Mudbray and get a boost in the progress. Pokemon that can take out Flying-types such as Pursuit Pawniard and Chinchou help Mudbray, as they can allow it to use Earthquake more freely. Fairy-types like Spritzee and Snubbull appreciate Mudbray taking out Fire-, Ground-, and Poison-types. Calm Mind Spritzee especially has a chance to win after Mudbray takes out its counters. Specially defensive Pokemon such as Munchlax work well with Mudbray, since the latter's high Defense allows it to check the physically offensive Pokemon that threaten the specially defensive Pokemon.

Moves Earthquake reaches incredible power with Mudbray's high Attack stat and STAB. Heavy Slam deals really nice damage because of how heavy Mudbray is and has great neutral coverage in combination with Earthquake, notably 2HKOing Spritzee, Snubbull, and Cottonee, which can all take Earthquake with ease. Rock Slide hits the Bug- and Flying-types that can switch into Earthquake super effectively, OHKOing Larvesta and Doduo and 2HKOing non-Eviolite variants of Vullaby as well as Rufflet after Stealth Rock. Close Combat 2HKOes Munchlax and Ferroseed, both of which take any of Mudbray's other moves well. Set Details Choice Scarf in combination with 236 Speed EVs allow Mudbray to hit 21 Speed, thus outspeeding the every unboosted Pokemon in Little Cup. 196 Attack EVs with an Adamant nature allow Mudbray to hit as hard as possible, notably reliably OHKOing Life Orb Staryu after Stealth Rock. A Jolly nature can be used to outspeed opposing 14 Speed Choice Scarf users, such as Modest Magnemite and Adamant Scraggy. The leftover EVs are placed into HP and Defense to raise both by one point. Stamina is the ability of choice to reliably take hits from weaker physical attackers such as bulky Mienfoo and Ferroseed. Usage Tips Since Choice Scarf Mudbray is uncommon, your opponent will usually not expect it. Use this to your advantage by not revealing that Mudbray has a Choice Scarf too early in the match. Mudbray can be used to revenge kill Pokemon such as Chinchou and Ferroseed, though if the former is holding a Choice Scarf it will outspeed and potentially KO Mudbray. Be careful of locking Mudbray into Earthquake if the opponent still has a Ground-immune Pokemon remaining. They will easily be able to come in and set up or do significant damage to Mudbray or one of its teammates. This set can also be used as a lure for Staryu and Snivy. Staryu is 2HKOed by Earthquake, while Heavy Slam does the same to Snivy and, since they expect to outspeed and OHKO Mudbray, they will often switch in. Thanks to the Choice Scarf, Mudbray can surprise them and knock them out. Team Options Checks to Flying-types help Mudbray, as they can often come in when Mudbray is locked into Earthquake. Pursuit Pawniard is especially good, as it can not only check Flying-types but also trap other Ground-immune Pokemon such as Gastly and Bronzor. Foongus is an excellent partner for Mudbray, as it can take on the Water- and Grass-types that threaten Mudbray. Entry hazard setters such as Ferroseed can use Stealth Rock or Spikes to break the foe's Sturdy, allowing Mudbray's Earthquake to get knock outs more easily. Fairy-types appreciate Mudbray's ability to KO Fire-, Ground-, and Poison-types. Calm Mind Spritzee in particular appreciates Mudbray taking out its counters so that it can potentially sweep.