Stufful Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Swords Dance gives Stufful the power it needs to break through foes. STAB Return is a very hard neutral hit on most of the tier. Brick Break provides good coverage with Return, hitting the Rock- and Steel-types that resist Return, such as Onix, Magnemite, and Pawniard, super effectively. It also breaks through Aurora Veil strategies as well as Light Screen and Reflect. Superpower is an option if you want Stufful to run a wallbreaker set; while it greatly reduces Stufful's sweeping potential, Superpower almost always 2HKOes Mienfoo and OHKOes Sturdy + Berry Juice Onix if its Sturdy is broken. However, the Defense and Attack drops from Superpower force Stufful out after one or two hits. Ice Punch provides a good option to hit Foongus and Pumpkaboo-XL hard, the latter of which is immune to both of Stufful's STAB attacks. Earthquake can secure OHKOs on Berry Juice Croagunk before a Swords Dance boost, and Mareanie and Alolan Grimer after a boost. It also hits Fire-types super effectively, which threaten Stufful massively otherwise. Set Details 236 Attack EVs and an Adamant nature make sure Stufful hits as hard as possible, allowing it to obtain KOs on Vullaby, Foongus, and Pumpkaboo-XL after a Swords Dance boost and Stealth Rock damage. 36 Speed EVs let Stufful reach 12 Speed, outspeeding Pumpkaboo-XL, Bulk Up Timburr, and anything below 18 Speed if Sticky Web is on your opponent's side of the field. Fluffy is by far Stufful's best ability, halving the damage taken from all contact moves. 36 Defense EVs let Stufful reach an even Defense stat, thus efficiently boosting its Defense with Eviolite. 196 Special Defense EVs give Stufful an even number as well and boost up its average special bulk, letting it take a Psychic from Focus Sash Abra at full health. Eviolite, especially when combined with Fluffy, provides Stufful with more opportunities to set up and stay healthy long enough to sweep. Usage Tips Stufful can be used to sweep late-game after strong special attackers and its checks have been removed, but it can also be used as an early-game wallbreaker, especially if it's running Superpower. Swords Dance lets it break through bulky Pokemon early-game. Superpower should be saved for when most of the opposing Pokemon are hit hard by it, since Stufful will usually need to switch out after using it due to the stat drops. Stufful can be used to tank weaker attacks that make contact throughout the game like Knock Off from Pawniard. Don't let it take many special hits, or even a few strong ones, from the likes of Staryu, Gastly, and Magnemite; it doesn't have the best special bulk, and you would mainly be wasting its fantastic physical bulk, so you should let a teammate take special hits instead. Fairy-types generally stop Stufful's sweep, so they need to be taken out beforehand; Cottonee can lock Stufful into an undesirable move with Prankster Encore, and Spritzee survives a Swords Dance-boosted Return and can KO a weakened Stufful back with Moonblast. It's important for Stufful to only set up when its checks such as Foongus and Pumpkaboo-XL have been weakened, as they otherwise stop its sweep. Swords Dance should be used against a Pokemon that Stufful forces out, such as Pawniard or Alolan Sandshrew, or a physical attacker that can't do much damage to Stufful, like Onix or Diglett. Finally, be careful of all Fire-type moves; Fluffy doubles all damage taken from Fire-type attacks, effectively giving Stufful a weakness to them. Team Options Pokemon that can trap special attackers and take them out make good teammates for Stufful. Alolan Grimer is a great option because it can use Pursuit on powerful Psychic- and Ghost-types like Abra and Gastly. Pokemon that can handle the many Fighting- and Fairy-types that threaten Stufful are also good teammates. Foongus can deal with both of those types, as well as the Water-types that might be using Scald, causing Stufful to risk being burned. Snubbull, Ponyta, and Alolan Grimer are also decent Fighting- and Fairy-type checks. Entry hazard setters such as Dwebble and Onix help Stufful secure certain KOs when it would normally just fall short. Knock Off support helps Stufful break past bulky Pokemon, such as Spritzee, Vullaby, and Foongus, that would normally survive a Swords Dance-boosted hit by removing their Eviolite. Good Knock Off users include Mienfoo, which can provide pivot support, and Timburr, which can absorb status. Due to Fluffy, Pokemon that can deal with Fire-types are good teammates as well; examples include Staryu, Chinchou, and Diglett. Stufful is very strong but very slow for a sweeper, so Sticky Web support from Surskit or Spinarak makes Stufful much better, allowing it to outspeed a large portion of the metagame.