Wooper Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Scald is Wooper's most spammable move, as it is boosted by STAB and carries a handy burn chance. Earthquake is Wooper's most powerful move, and it hurts the Electric- and Steel-types that Wooper will be switching into most often. Recover is necessary for Wooper to stick around and counter what it needs to counter repeatedly. The remaining slot is best used to help deter setup sweepers: Yawn pairs well with entry hazards, as it forces plenty of switches, Toxic cripples certain walls and puts a timer on foes, Encore can be used to gain momentum with proper prediction, and Haze ensures that the foe cannot set up on Wooper. Set Details The given EVs allow Wooper to reach respectable 23 / 21 / 18 bulk factoring in Eviolite, which is enough to usually avoid the 2HKO from Elekid's Life Orb-boosted Psychic from full health, even if the first Psychic lowers Wooper's Special Defense. The combination of EVs and nature gives Wooper Eviolite numbers for greater mixed bulk. Eviolite is necessary for Wooper to consistently avoid KOs from the Pokemon it needs to check. Water Absorb allows Wooper to wall a number of key Pokemon that could otherwise be difficult to deal with for many teams. Usage Tips Switch into Magnemite, Chinchou, Skrelp, Staryu, Stunky, Honedge, and Slowpoke with impunity; except for niche coverage moves, they barely threaten Wooper. Omanyte, Elekid, Surskit, and Tentacool are more likely to run Grass-type coverage moves, but they are otherwise mostly walled as well. Tirtouga, Ponyta, Larvesta, and Croagunk lose handily to Wooper; however, they can cripple Wooper with Knock Off or Will-O-Wisp in the process, so be careful if you need Wooper to check other threats. Wooper has the raw physical bulk needed to check some physical attackers, such as Eviolite Drilbur without Swords Dance. Use Recover frequently to stay healthy enough to wall what is necessary. Avoid Knock Off when possible, as Wooper needs its Eviolite to avoid a multitude of important 2HKOs. The most Wooper can do to most of its switch-ins is try to burn them with Scald, so use that most of the time; be wary of Guts Timburr, however. Team Options Wooper is far too ineffective overall to be used on a team that does not appreciate a full stop to one or more of the Pokemon that Wooper counters, so use it on a team that appreciates such a stop. Entry hazard removal is helpful to ensure that Wooper is not crippled by Toxic Spikes or other entry hazards, which may impede its walling capabilities. In particular, Skrelp and Tentacool greatly enjoy having a hard wall to most of their checks and can absorb Toxic Spikes; the latter is also able to utilize Rapid Spin to clear away other entry hazards. Entry hazard control in general is helpful; Wooper is somewhat adept at forcing switches to take advantage of hazards on the opponent's side of the field, so setters such as Ferroseed are beneficial. Wooper should only be used on slower teams, as it tends to kill momentum. Knock Off absorbers such as Mienfoo and Trubbish are good teammates, as Wooper needs to maintain its Eviolite. Clerics such as Spritzee can be used to deal with burns that Wooper may sustain from switching into Fire-types.

Wooper is a great utility counter to many Pokemon, being able to stall large threats out with a combination of its moves and stats. Earthquake offers STAB, and is a relatively powerful attack. Waterfall provides secondary STAB, and is useful against Pokemon who resist Ground-type attacks. Ice Punch offers great coverage alongside Earthquake, hitting Flying-type Pokemon for super effective damage, but cannot be used with Unaware. Encore allows Wooper to lock an opponent into a move, easing prediction, and often allowing a teammate to set up if the opponent does not switch on the same turn. Toxic is a great move, and can be used to stall opposing Pokemon out in tangent with Recover. Unaware is the preferred ability, and it is most useful for countering set-up sweepers. However, Water Absorb is also useful, as replenishing a quarter of Wooper's health whenever it switches into a Water-type move is really quite nifty. Note that Ice Punch is illegal with Unaware because Ice Punch is a 4th generation move tutor move, and Unaware can only be obtained via Dream World, meaning Wooper must use Waterfall if Unaware is used. With Eviolite, Wooper turns into a sturdy physical tank, though its Special Defense stat is rather ordinary even with the boost from Eviolite. Therefore, Wooper should try to stay away from special attacks as much as possible. An Impish nature allows Wooper to take as many physical hits as possible, and the EV spread maximizes Wooper's HP stat, increases its Attack by one point, and boosts its Defense stat by two points. Bronzor is the greatest teammate to Wooper, being able to set up Stealth Rock, as well as having great synergy with it. Opposing Bronzor are a nightmare for Wooper, being immune to Earthquake, Toxic, and resisting Ice Punch, while not taking much from even Waterfall. Therefore, Magnemite makes a great teammate; having access to Magnet Pull allows it to come in on Bronzor, trap it, and take it out with Thunderbolt in a most efficient manner. Magnemite is also relatively slow, so it can also function well under Trick Room. Pawniard does well against Grass-type Pokemon who cause Wooper trouble, as its Steel typing allows it to switch in on Grass-type attacks, and threaten them with its own powerful STAB attacks.

This set attempts to utilize Wooper's resistances and immunities to make it function as a defensive Pokemon. STAB Earthquake allows Wooper to hit many Pokemon in LC hard, and is a useful move to have in general. Ice Punch hits Gligar hard, and gives Wooper a good amount of coverage. This is useful for a defensive Pokemon like Wooper. Toxic is extremely helpful in crippling a majority of the Pokemon in the tier, slowly eating away at the opponent's HP. Recover lends Wooper more survivability, and allows it to stall out Pokemon in conjunction with Toxic. Stockpile can be used over Ice Punch to further boost Wooper's bulk, but Wooper will then miss out on hitting threats such as Gligar. An Impish nature maximizes Wooper's bulk and helps it function well as a defensive Pokemon. The EVs maximize Wooper's Defense and HP, and increase its Attack stat by 1 point. Oran Berry gives Wooper more staying time, allowing it to stall out more threats. Pokemon which can provide Stealth Rock and Trick Room support are great teammates for Wooper, since Trick Room allows it to outrun all Pokemon in LC, and Stealth Rock turns some 2HKOs into OHKOs. Bronzor thus makes a great teammate, as it can set up both Stealth Rock and Trick Room with ease thanks to its wonderful bulk.