Moves
Brave Bird and Knock Off provide terrific neutral coverage, since Vullaby can cripple Flying-resistant foes with Knock Off. U-turn allows Vullaby to chip down and gain momentum against Pokemon such as Spritzee, Onix, and Pawniard. Vullaby is a safe and reliable Defogger thanks to the many switches it forces, its fantastic natural bulk, and potential Speed boosts from Weak Armor. Hidden Power Fighting OHKOes Pawniard, which it often lures in, after Knock Off with minimal Special Attack investment. If the team doesn't require Defog, Hidden Power Grass and Heat Wave are potentially useful coverage options for Rock-types like Onix and Steel-types like Ferroseed, respectively. It should be noted, however, that the mixed attacker set is usually a better choice to fulfill these roles. Protect is an option that allows Vullaby to dodge Mienfoo's High Jump Kick, shield itself against Z-moves, and scout for opposing moves.
Set Details
This Vullaby set can run an enormous variety of EV spreads depending on the needs of its team. This analysis will go over the important EV benchmarks in each stat, and then it will list some common EV spreads that combine these benchmarks.
Vullaby runs an Adamant nature and maximum Attack investment to reach 16 Attack, granting it a 75% chance to OHKO many Mienfoo and Timburr variants, as well as Foongus after Stealth Rock, with Brave Bird. 16 Attack Vullaby also 2HKOes Eviolite-less Spritzee with Brave Bird consistently, and it can OHKO frailer variants of opposing Vullaby after a Weak Armor Defense drop. However, some spreads sacrifice this offensive presence in favor of greater bulk to more reliably check key threats. While 76 Defense EVs with no HP investment are sufficient to survive defensive Mienfoo's High Jump Kick and three hits of Onix's Rock Blast after Stealth Rock, Vullaby avoids the OHKO from Reckless Mienfoo's High Jump Kick from full and opposing Vullaby's Brave Bird from full after a Weak Armor drop with an additional 116 HP EVs. 116 HP and 156 Special Defense EVs allow Vullaby to avoid the KO from Focus Sash Abra's Dazzling Gleam after Stealth Rock and Life Orb Abra's Dazzling Gleam from full while also taking Special Attacks much better in general. 196 Speed EVs allow Vullaby to hit 15 Speed, outspeeding +1 Ponyta and +2 Jolly Shellder after a Weak Armor boost and giving it a better chance of outspeeding opposing Vullaby. Lower Speed investments are viable to run more bulk or a combination of bulk and power. 14 Speed is still good to outspeed slow Mienfoo naturally and 18 Speed Choice Scarf users like Doduo after a Weak Armor boost, but it will cause Vullaby to be less capable in mirror matchups and force it to tie against +1 Ponyta and +2 Jolly Shellder after a Weak Armor boost. 13 initial Speed isn't usually ideal, as it will leave Vullaby to Speed tie with slow Mienfoo and outsped by most opposing Vullaby.
The given EV spread maximizes Vullaby's Speed and offensive power while granting it enough physical bulk to withstand some common attacks. Other commonly used EV spread include:
116 HP / 156 Atk / 156 SpD / 36 Spe with a Jolly nature, which gives Vullaby many of the Special Defense benefits listed above while retaining some offensive presence. This spread can be used as a very flexible pivot as well as a soft check to many special attackers, such as Abra and Staryu.
116 HP / 76 Def / 156 SpD / 116 Spe with a Jolly nature, which gives Vullaby more general bulk and good Speed at the expense of substantial offensive presence. This spread, compared to the previous spread, retains the Special Defense benefits while also offering the aforementioned benefits of 15 Speed.
116 HP / 76 Def / 236 SpD / 36 Spe with a Jolly nature, which maximizes Vullaby's special bulk. This spread is the best check to Snivy and Gastly, but it loses out on both Attack and Speed, making it relatively passive.
If any of these sets were to run Hidden Power Fighting, then a neutral nature should be used to hit 11 Special Attack at the cost of 1 point of Speed, and 4 additional EVs must be added accordingly in Defense, Special Defense, or Speed to compensate for the dropped IVs required for Hidden Power.
Weak Armor is usually the preferred ability, especially with more offensive EV spreads, to deter the opponent from using certain physical moves with Vullaby's presence alone. Vullaby is able to come in on common attacks such as Mienfoo's Knock Off and, if healthy, High Jump Kick to immediately threaten the opposition with powerful STAB moves or U-turn. Overcoat is also an option, mostly on more defensive spreads, for teams that need a switch-in to Foongus's Spore. Berry Juice allows Vullaby to remain healthy without giving up valuable turns to use Roost; it synergizes well with Brave Bird because it ensures that the recoil isn't overly detrimental.
Usage Tips
Between Knock Off and U-turn, Vullaby is excellent at forcing in and weakening its checks early- and mid-game. Knock Off is often Vullaby's safest attack due to its high damage, extremely useful side effect, and lack of recoil; however, it may be punished by opposing Weak Armor users such as Onix and enemy Vullaby. If you predict the opponent to switch to a Pokemon that Vullaby can't immediately break, such as Onix, U-turn can be used to gain momentum; however, be careful of using the move too frequently if Stealth Rock is up, as this can quickly wear Vullaby down. Brave Bird recoil and Stealth Rock chip damage are often helpful for activating Berry Juice after some prior damage, putting Vullaby out of range of certain KOs. Defog should be used when Vullaby forces out its foe; however, be wary of using it against a Pawniard switch-in if it can't be revenge killed at +2 Attack. Weak Armor lets Vullaby come in on physical attacks that don't OHKO it from enemies that it can force out, as Vullaby will almost always outspeed them the turn after and gain offensive momentum Later in the game, when its checks have been worn down, Vullaby can use a Weak Armor boost to clean using Brave Bird. The ability does have its drawbacks; if Vullaby is unable to OHKO the enemy, it becomes vulnerable to attacks that hit its weakened Defense or are boosted by Analytic.
Team Options
Weak Armor Pivot Vullaby ranks among the easiest sets in LC to include on a team; there are many teams that appreciate its ability to act as a wallbreaker, pivot, and soft check to a variety of threats. While this set lacks the longevity to reliably check Snivy, Abra, Fighting-types, and Foongus, it is able to soft check all of them while providing offensive presence. Vullaby is incredibly adept at gaining momentum when paired with other VoltTurn users such as Mienfoo and Magnemite. For example, Mienfoo handles Pawniard and Rock-types for Vullaby, while Magnemite forces out Fairy-types and Shellder; in exchange, Vullaby soft checks Foongus, Abra, and Fighting-types for them. Checks to Vullaby, including Onix, Spritzee and Magnemite, should be handled by the rest of the team. Examples of good teammates for this include Foongus, Ferroseed, and Ponyta. Eviolite Diglett is fantastic at supporting Vullaby by reliably trapping Onix, Pawniard, and Magnemite. Frailer variants of Diglett are more generally useful and can still support Vullaby quite well, but they struggle to trap Weak Armor Onix, Choice Scarf Pawniard, and Choice Scarf Magnemite.