Snubbull Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Play Rough serves as Snubbull's STAB attack, with which it forces out Fighting- and Dark-types such as Mienfoo. Earthquake and Fire Punch are Snubbull's best coverage options; Earthquake hits Fire-types and Mareanie, whereas Fire Punch is more threatening to Ferroseed and Foongus. Close Combat hits Pawniard harder and also does a good amount of damage to Ferroseed, but carries the drawback of lowering Snubbull's defenses and leaves it with no way of threatening Poison-types. As Snubbull will frequently be switching into Knock Off, Thief is useful for stealing an foe's Eviolite or Berry Juice and provide some chip damage. Thunder Wave cripples faster Pokemon like Gastly and pairs well with slow but threatening teammates such as Corphish. Bulk Up increases Snubbull's offensive presence and leaves it less easily walled on top of boosting its already impressive physical bulk. Set Details Maximum Speed investment and a Jolly nature let Snubbull outpace all common Timburr and Croagunk variants. The given defensive EVs hit Eviolite-optimal numbers, granting Snubbull decent 23/18/18 bulk. 116 Attack EVs let Snubbull most notably OHKO offensive Vullaby after Stealth Rock. An Impish nature instead of Jolly lets Snubbull retain its ability to outspeed Mareanie and Mudbray and gives it the bulk to survive Mienfoo's U-turn into Diglett's Tectonic Rage, though it then ties with faster variants of Timburr and Croagunk. In general, with the extra bulk from Eviolite, Snubbull can be much more flexible with its EV spread and invest more heavily in bulk or Attack as seen fit. Intimidate is the preferred ability so that Snubbull can better check physical attackers. Usage Tips Be wary of Snubbull's Intimidate activating Pawniard's Defiant. Save unexpected coverage moves that can heavily damage slower foes, such as Fire Punch for Ferroseed, until after they have switched in so that they are not scared off. Otherwise, try to hit foes on the switch with coverage moves. Thanks to Intimidate, Snubbull can beat most physical attackers, including Drilbur and Doduo. When Snubbull is low on health, it can be sacked against a physical attacker for Intimidate's Attack drop as long as it does not faint to entry hazards in the process; alternatively, against a particularly threatening physical attacker, it can be repeatedly sent in after teammates have been sacked to reactivate Intimidate. Although Bulk Up Snubbull can occasionally be played against a sweeper in especially favorable matchups, it is generally used whenever Snubbull is not attempting to immediately damage a switch-in so that Snubbull can fire off more threatening attacks. If Thief is run, try to use it on an Eviolite or Berry Juice holder such as Croagunk after Snubbull has been hit by Knock Off, as Snubbull can take advantage of these items. This set is preferable for offensive teams that use Snubbull as their sole check to Fighting-types, as the increased initial bulk makes Snubbull more difficult to KO with an unexpected coverage move. Team Options Snubbull tends to fit on teams leaning towards offense, as it competes with the more resilient but momentum-sapping Spritzee on defensive teams. It synergizes well with Pokemon such as Diglett, Drilbur, Ferroseed, and Slowpoke, which appreciate a Fighting- and Dark-type check and can deal with the Poison-, Steel-, and Fire-type Pokemon that Snubbull dislikes. Fire-types like Ponyta handle Foongus and Ferroseed. Lickitung has good type synergy with Snubbull and can pass Wishes to keep it healthy, but struggles to fit onto the fast-paced teams Snubbull tends to be included in. Offensive Stealth Rock setters like Onix pair well with Snubbull's decent offensive presence for Snubbull to more easily get KOs, such as a likely OHKO on Choice Scarf Pawniard with Earthquake.

Moves Play Rough is a strong STAB move that hits the Fighting- and Dark-types Snubbull is trying to check such as Mienfoo and Scraggy. Fire Punch can be used to heavily damage Ferroseed and somewhat threaten Foongus, especially if Foongus's Eviolite has been removed, but it leaves Snubbull walled by Fire-types and Mareanie. Earthquake provides good neutral coverage alongside Play Rough, dealing with Poison-, Steel-, and Fire-types like Mareanie, Magnemite, and Ponyta. Alternatively, Close Combat 2HKOes Ferroseed and OHKOes Pawniard and most Magnemite but leaves Snubbull completely walled by Poison-types and drastically reduces its staying power. Thief acts as a pseudo-Knock Off once Snubbull's Berry Juice has been activated or removed, allowing Snubbull to cripple switch-ins and potentially snag a useful Eviolite or Berry Juice. Bulk Up gives Snubbull the means to break through certain bulkier switch-ins and allows it to significantly threaten slower teams that lack a solid check to Fairy-types. Thunder Wave can annoy faster switch-ins such as Ponyta and supports the sweeping attempts of slow but powerful Pokemon like Timburr. Set Details The Defense EVs and an Impish nature allow Snubbull to better check predominantly physical Fighting-types, letting it avoid a 2HKO from 16 Attack Timburr's Poison Jab before factoring in Berry Juice as well as Mienfoo's U-turn into Life Orb Diglett's Earthquake after Stealth Rock. 116 Attack EVs give Snubbull the power to almost always OHKO sweeping Vullaby variants after Stealth Rock. 23 HP and 13 Special Defense, reached with an Impish nature, let Snubbull always survive +2 Vullaby's Air Slash from full health. An alternative Careful nature leaves Snubbull more prone to being trapped by Diglett, but allows it to survive +2 Vullaby's Air Slash after Stealth Rock more consistently. Faster spreads of 36 HP / 116 Atk / 116 Def / 116 SpD / 116 Spe to outrun slow Timburr, 36 HP / 116 Atk / 36 Def / 116 SpD / 196 Spe to outrun Mareanie and defensive Mudbray, and the latter EV spread with a Jolly nature to outrun Nasty Plot Croagunk and fast Timburr are viable, but the reduction in bulk leaves Snubbull much less reliable at checking Fighting-types and Vullaby. More Attack EVs can be run to get a few extra KOs, such as an OHKO on fast Eviolite Mienfoo after Stealth Rock with 17 Attack and the 2HKO on Foongus after Stealth Rock with Fire Punch and 18 Attack, but scenarios where the loss of bulk matters, as described above, tend to be more common. Intimidate gives Snubbull its niche as a blanket check to physical attackers. Berry Juice is Snubbull's only means of recovering its health and synergizes well with Thief. Usage Tips Switch into predicted Knock Offs from Pokemon that Snubbull checks, notably including Mienfoo and Timburr, to immediately pressure the opposing team with Thief. Once Berry Juice has been activated or removed, aim to use Thief on a Pokemon that relies on Eviolite or Berry Juice, like Foongus or Magnemite, so that Snubbull gains bulk to better check its targets or even more longevity. Be careful of the opponent predicting Thief and switching to a Choice Scarf or Life Orb user, as those items cripple Snubbull. Do not switch Snubbull into Pawniard unless you are certain that it has a Choice Scarf and is locked into a resisted move, as Intimidate activates Defiant. For the same reason, be wary of double switches into Pawniard when switching Snubbull in on foes it obviously checks, which are mostly Fighting-types. Use Earthquake and Fire Punch on predicted Mareanie and Foongus switch-ins, respectively, as Snubbull will need to hit them on the switch to 2HKO them and they can easily shrug off damage dealt by Play Rough because of Regenerator. The same applies for faster Pokemon like Magnemite and Ponyta that don't mind Play Rough and can immediately force it out with the threat of a strong special attack or a burn. When predicting switch-ins that Snubbull can OHKO or come close to OHKOing with an unexpected coverage move, such as Ferroseed with Fire Punch or Close Combat, it is safer to only reveal such a coverage move after they have switched in so that Snubbull can act as a lure. Snubbull is a decent blanket check to physical attackers in general, soft checking threats like Archen and Drilbur. If Snubbull is too low in health to check a strong physical attacker, sacking Snubbull to activate Intimidate before it faints helps to make the attacker easier to deal with, but be wary of doing this against threats like Corphish, which can use the predicted sack to boost its Attack with Swords Dance or Dragon Dance instead of attacking; in addition, Intimidate will not activate if Snubbull faints to entry hazards upon switching in. Alternatively, against a physical attacker that cannot further boost its Attack, it may be worth sacking teammates to repeatedly activate Intimidate if none of Snubbull's teammates can withstand an attack after a single Attack drop. Entry hazards and weaker attacks can be taken advantage of to activate Berry Juice if Snubbull needs to take an attack it can only withstand from full health. Due to Snubbull's low Speed, the goal of Bulk Up is not usually to pull off a sweep. Use it frequently early-game if the opponent lacks a good Snubbull switch-in such as Foongus so that Snubbull can better pressure its foes with strong attacks. Bulk Up Snubbull does occasionally have a real shot at sweeping weaker physically offensive teams; in this case, saving Snubbull for a late-game sweep after its checks have been worn down is an option. Team Options Snubbull is usable on a variety of teams, but best fits onto offensive teams that do not appreciate Spritzee's frequent loss of momentum. Its main role is as a Fighting-type and Vullaby check, which means it pairs well with Pokemon like Pawniard and Ferroseed; they appreciate a good switch-in to their checks. Switch-ins to the Poison-, Steel-, and Fire-types that force Snubbull out are needed; examples of Pokemon that synergize defensively with Snubbull include Slowpoke, Onix, and Munchlax. Diglett can also be used to trap and eliminate these checks to Snubbull. Pokemon that can come in on the strong special attackers that force Snubbull out like Life Orb Abra, such as Munchlax and Alolan Grimer, are appreciated. Stealth Rock support from the likes of Drilbur or Onix wears down switch-ins and lets Snubbull obtain some key KOs, such as an OHKO on offensive Vullaby with Play Rough. Even with Bulk Up, Snubbull is not very effective as a dedicated sweeper, so it should be run alongside stronger late-game threats whose checks it can wear down.

Moves Substitute is a powerful tool that allows Snubbull to gain momentum off of switches it forces against Fighting-type Pokemon and take advantage of its checks. Play Rough is Snubbull's best STAB attack, and it comes with the added bonus of potentially lowering the foe's Attack. Thief allows Snubbull to steal a foe's item after using its Berry Juice via Substitute or from taking attacks; this benefits the player both by giving Snubbull a new item and by removing key items from foe Pokemon. Fire Punch is able to consistently 2HKO both Ferroseed and Foongus—both common switch-ins to Snubbull—after Stealth Rock damage; this allows Snubbull to lure and KO them from behind a Substitute. Earthquake, on the other hand, is able to 2HKO many of Snubbull's other Poison-type switch-ins, such as Croagunk and Alolan Grimer. It also hits most Steel-type Pokemon harder than Fire Punch while also taking care of threatening Fire-types, and it handles Onix well, which otherwise renders Snubbull mostly helpless. Set Details Intimidate is Snubbull's calling card, lowering the Attack of foes into which Snubbull switches by one stage. Berry Juice gives Snubbull useful recovery and allows it to take advantage of Substitute more freely. The choice between an Adamant or Jolly nature is entirely based on whether or not you want to outspeed standard Timburr sets. Without Adamant, however, Snubbull cannot 2HKO Eviolite Foongus from full HP with Fire Punch, nor can it OHKO Eviolite Timburr with Play Rough. Thus, Adamant is the recommended nature. The given EVs maximize Snubbull's Attack and Speed, allowing it to take advantage of slower foes with ease. 116 Defense EVs allow Snubbull's Substitute to avoid being broken by Timburr's Knock Off or Mach Punch and by Mienfoo's Drain Punch, Knock Off, or U-turn at -1 Attack. Usage Tips Switch Snubbull into Fighting-type Pokemon as often as possible. This set is designed to create momentum specifically against Mienfoo and Timburr, so take advantage of them as much as possible. To this end, don't be timid in your use of Substitute! Creating a Substitute allows Snubbull to block status, take weak or resisted hits, and pressure the opponent. For example, bringing Snubbull in on a Timburr will often cause your opponent to switch out their Timburr for a Pokemon better equipped to take Snubbull's powerful Play Rough, such as Ferroseed or Foongus. If you use Substitute on the switch turn, Snubbull will now be safe from status moves and will be able to 2HKO them with the appropriate coverage move. Another use of Substitute is to activate Berry Juice to restore Snubbull's HP in order to survive a strong hit and fire off one of your own, as it will activate as soon as Snubbull is below 50% HP. Additionally, your opponent may not expect Snubbull to have Substitute, which will grant you the element of surprise and may be key to luring in those key switch-ins to Snubbull. In addition to being able to steal momentum from Timburr- and Mienfoo-wielding opponents, due to Intimidate, Snubbull is an effective check to most physical attackers that lack type advantage. Lastly, be cautious of taking a Knock Off; while it will remove Snubbull's valuable Berry Juice, it will also allow it to make great use of Thief. In essence, weigh the risk of not having recovery with the reward of a guaranteed item theft. Team Options Any Pokemon that struggles to handle Fighting-types can find a great partner in Snubbull due to its overwhelming ability to pressure said Fighting-types. Prominent examples of these Pokemon include Pawniard, Omanyte, and Onix. In addition, powerful Water- and Grass-type Pokemon such as Corphish and Snivy appreciate Substitute Snubbull's ability to lure and remove threats such as Foongus, Ferroseed, Croagunk, and Alolan Grimer with its appropriate coverage move. Ground-type Pokemon have near-perfect offensive synergy with Fire Punch Snubbull, as they severely threaten the Steel- and Poison-types with which Snubbull struggles. Diglett is an extremely effective teammate due to the fact that it can trap and remove these Pokemon as opposed to merely threatening them. On the other hand, Fire-type Pokemon help take care of threats like Ferroseed that Earthquake Snubbull can't touch. While its offensive synergy is quite impressive, many Pokemon also have excellent defensive synergy with Snubbull; the best example is Ferroseed, which appreciates Snubbull's ability to check Fighting-types while taking care of the Steel- and Poison-type Pokemon to which Snubbull is vulnerable.

Using Thunder Wave to keep speedy opponents at bay, Snubbull can wreak havoc. Thunder Wave inflicts paralysis, which cuts the opponent's Speed by 75%. This allows Snubbull to easily outpace anything in Little Cup, barring fast Pokemon such as Taillow and Ponyta at +3 Speed. Snubbull is best used on a paralysis team with teammates such as Ferroseed and Slowpoke to spread status. Because of this, Snubbull might not need to use Thunder Wave itself and can instead have Bulk Up to raise its Attack and Defense before it sweeps. Return is Snubbull's best attacking move; after STAB, it sits at 153 Base Power and has 100% accuracy. It also has good coverage in LC, only missing out on Ferroseed, Lileep, Gastly, Frillish, and very uncommon Pokemon. Crunch complements its coverage by hitting Ghost-type Pokemon that are immune to Return. Lastly, Snubbull is faced with the choice of Close Combat or Brick Break. The former works best with Thunder Wave, as it can KO Lileep and Ferroseed, while the latter is beneficial with Bulk Up, as it keeps Snubbull's defenses neutral and can even break through Reflect and Light Screen. Snubbull's hold item, nature, and EV spread maintain a good balance of both offense and bulk with a bit of Speed. If you wish to sacrifice Speed EVs to add to Snubbull's bulk, feel free. The Fairy Pokemon has access to the elemental punches, but none of them hit any harder than Snubbull's other moves. It gets Wild Charge to hit Slowpoke and Frillish harder, but it's not worth the recoil. Earthquake might prove useful against Poison-types. Snubbull's special movepool is almost as good as its physical movepool, but unfortunately it doesn't have the stat to back it up. Good teammates for any sweeper are Pokemon that can eliminate its counters. Mienfoo causes trouble for Snubbull, so Gastly is a good teammate to beat it. Magnemite is another problem; as it cannot get paralyzed, Mienfoo is ironically not only one of Snubbull's best checks, but greatest teammates. It can beat Magnemite and lure Ghost-types for Snubbull to set up on or OHKO. Stealth Rock and Spikes are useful for Snubbull to beat Ferroseed, Lileep, and Pawniard.

Snubbull can also take advantage of his good defenses and access to Intimidate. The idea is to switch into a physical attacker, lower its Attack with Intimidate, and proceed to cripple them with Thunder Wave. Return is used for STAB, Crunch hits Ghost-types such as Drifloon, and Fire Punch deals super effective damage to Bronzor. Ice Punch can be used to hit Gligar super effectively, while Earthquake hits Fire- and Steel-types such as Magby and Aron super effectively. Max HP and Defense, along with an Impish nature, make Snubbull bulky and harder to knock out. The remaining EVs are placed into Special Defense for extra bulk, though they can be placed into Attack for more power as well. As for other move options, Snubbull may use Heal Bell in the last slot to remove status and support his teammates. Without Earthquake, Aron can set up on Snubbull with Rock Polish and sweep. Choice Scarf Mankey, Hippopotas, or Croagunk can take on Aron with ease. However, without Fire Punch, most Steel-types will cause problems for Snubbull; Magnemite and Magby are both great partners to deal with Steel-types, as well as Hippopotas and Gligar. Ghost-types are also good partners as they can switch into Fighting-type attacks aimed at Snubbull; Duskull is an excellent option as he can use Will-O-Wisp to weaken physical attackers, while Slowpoke has good defenses and Calm Mind to set up. Finally, hard-hitters who can set up against a crippled team are good teammates; Swords Dance Gligar is a good example, and SubPunch Machop also works well.

With a Brave nature and no investment, Snubbull reaches a pitiful 7 Speed, which, in terms of Trick Room, is outstanding. His high Attack and great type coverage helps him plow through the opposing team. Return is Snubbull's most reliable STAB attack, Crunch is used to hit Ghost-types such as Duskull, and Earthquake is used to hit Steel-types such as Aron. In the final slot, the choice between Ice Punch or Fire Punch depends on which opponent you would like to hit harder; Ice Punch has the benefit of hitting Gligar super effectively, while also dealing huge damage to Grass-types, while Fire Punch can hit Levitate Bronzor, along with Grass- and Ice-types, super effectively. Intimidate is a great ability as it goes hand in hand with Snubbull's bulk and extra defensive EVs. The EVs are tailor-made to make Snubbull a powerful, yet defensive, sweeper. Max Attack ensures that Snubbull is dishing out a lot of damage, while max HP, along with extra Special Defense EVs, gives him extra bulk. The item choice is down to personal preference; Life Orb provides extra power, although the recoil damage is a turn off, while an Oran Berry can be used to restore some of Snubbull's HP. A Choice Band can be used for even more damage output, but it restricts Snubbull to a single move. Snubbull appreciates Stealth Rock on the field as it weakens the opponent's team, allowing Snubbull to sweep more easily. Phanpy and Bronzor are great options to set them up because of their high defenses and access to numerous support options. Of course, keeping them on the opponent's side of the field is important too; a Ghost-type who can block Rapid Spin is a great teammate. Duskull is great for this role because of his good defenses and access to other support moves. Pokemon who can set up Trick Room are helpful as well. Bronzor and Duskull are the best options as they have good defenses, along with access to other support moves such as Stealth Rock or Will-O-Wisp; Duskull can also switch into Fighting-type attacks aimed at Snubbull. Pokemon who can take advantage of Trick Room are also good options. Munchlax and Cranidos both have low Speed and have the ability to break down the opponent's team for a sweep.

Shadow Ball hits the Ghost-types that Snubbull’s other moves cannot, OHKOing Gastly and dealing serious damage to Duskull. Thunder Wave offers extremely powerful speed control and team support to slower teams, but it can be eschewed in favor of Earthquake, which allows it to hit Rock- and Electric-types like Larvitar, Chinchou, and Voltorb. Perhaps just as importantly, Earthquake lets it deal chip damage to Porygon and Wailmer that doesn’t knock them into range of eating their Sitrus Berry. Shadow Ball can do the same to just Wailmer, only less consistently. Thief lets Snubbull stay healthy with some consistency and punish anything trying to switch into it by making them much more easily KOed through depriving them of their Sitrus Berry healing, and in Porygon’s case, Thief removes its ability to repeatedly heal using Recycle. 116 HP EVs and 36 Defense EVs are enough to comfortably switch into plenty of physically attacking threats like Diglett, Larvitar, Anorith, and, most importantly, Doduo. Specifically, it lets Snubbull live all but one roll of +1 Larvitar and Diglett’s Earthquake and -1 Choice Band Doduo’s Double-Edge. 196 Attack EVs on top of its high base 80 Attack allow it to directly threaten most of the tier with its STAB Return and do major damage to Rock-, Steel-, and Ghost-types with its coverage options. 36 Speed EVs mostly just cannot be reallocated anywhere more useful, but they do allow it to outspeed common Porygon sets as well as Duskull. Snubbull has two main strengths that lead to easy synergies: its ability to beat major offensive threats like Doduo and Abra, and its ability to spam Thunder Wave. With a reliable Doduo counter in Snubbull on the team, Porygon, for instance, can afford to run Special Defense EVs to improve the team’s matchup against special attackers such as Abra, Staryu, and even Horsea. Stacking multiple Doduo counters on a team like Snubbull and Duskull is another option that can create a situation where the opponent’s Doduo becomes merely a momentum sink for them, giving teammates that are checked by Doduo, like offensive Wailmer, chances to fire off attacks uninhibited. Slower offensive threats like Cubone and Trapinch, as well as really any Pokemon that makes use of Substitute, can also benefit greatly from Snubbull’s presence as a Thunder Wave spammer Paralyzing a Pokemon with extremely high Speed, like Elekid or Abra, can even flip crucial matchups for fast, but not quite fast enough teammates like Doduo, Houndour, Anorith, and the aforementioned offensive Wailmer.