Pupitar Movesets & Competitive Sets

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. 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.