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[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Acrobatics
move 3: Sleep Powder / U-turn / Encore
move 4: Seed Bomb / U-turn / Encore
item: No Item
ability: Infiltrator
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Jumpluff serves as one of the most reliable revenge killer and cleaner thanks to its incredible Speed. Swords Dance remedies Jumpluff's otherwise measly Attack which is further helped by Acrobatics' insane power at the cost of not using a held item. Sleep Powder not only provides potential setup opportunities but can shut down Pokemon Jumpluff cannot easily break past such as Lairon, Bronzor, and Trubbish. Seed Bomb complements Acrobatics by nailing Rock-types like Gigalith and Carbink. U-turn lets Jumpluff safely escape from some of the aforementioned poor matchups while keeping momentum, while Encore can force slower Pokemon to lock into undesirable moves creating setup turns, while also shutting down opposing setup Pokemon like Duosion and Swalot that can otherwise outmatch Jumpluff.
Jumpluff cannot deal with Steel-types like Bronzor, Klang, and Lairon on its own; Fire-types and Ground-types like Pignite and Whiscash can all handle them with ease and also appreciate being brought in safely by U-turn. Even with Seed Bomb, Rock-types are physically bulky enough to withstand multiple hits from Jumpluff, and Gigalith in particularly poses as a great threat because it can OHKO Jumpluff in return; therefore answers to Rock-types such as Vibrava, Marshtomp, Scraggy, make for great partners. These Pokemon also provide additional benefits: Vibrava's access to Defog allows for easier setup opportunities, Marshtomp's Stealth Rock help to weaken foes into Jumpluff's effective cleaning range, and Scraggy can remove important items like Eviolite and Rocky Helmet to aid Jumpluff's sweep. Spikes setters such as Quilladin, Whirlipede, and Glalie are also great partners, as many of Jumpluff's reliable answers are grounded. Special wallbreakers such as Simipour, Simisage, and Magmar can take down physical walls such as Swalot and Dusclops, as well as better dealing with the previously mentioned Steel- and Rock-types which are typically weaker on the special side. Teams with many Eviolite dependent Pokemon like Electabuzz, Bronzor, and Hippopotas can use Jumpluff as a Knock Off absorber. U-turn Jumpluff also makes for a great addition to VoltTurn teams which feature the likes of Electabuzz, Frogadier, and Dustox.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Dropping Swords Dance for Memento and using a spread of 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe, Jumpluff acts as more of a supportive Pokemon on hyper offensive teams making great use of its utility. Synthesis provides Jumpluff with recovery but usually isn't worth it is less bulky than other Grass-types and it has a worse defensive typing, which also makes it weak to Stealth Rock. Jumpluff also has a small niche on weather teams as it is the fastest Chlorophyll user, making it a fairly reliable non-Prankster setter. However, Jumpluff is much weaker than other Chlorophyll breakers such as Sawsbuck and Ivysaur, and is by no means mandatory on these teams. Jumpluff can also run a Leech Seed Substitute set in order to wear down Pokemon that resist its STAB attacks but this means giving up Swords Dance and lowering its overall damage output.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: Lairon and Klang shrug off any attacks from Jumpluff and with the exception of Sleep Powder can freely setup on it. Bronzor is equally impossible to take down for Jumpluff.
**Poison-types**: Bulky Poison-types such as Swalot and Trubbish can handle Jumpluff's attacks fairly well, with the former also absorbing sleep fairly well due to using Sleep Talk. They threaten massive damage back on Jumpluff. Choice Scarf Seviper can revenge kill Jumpluff, although it may struggle to switch in safely.
**Physically Defensive Walls**: Magcargo and Dusclops are near impossible for Jumpluff to break past, which is only worsened by both also being able to burn it. Even Gigalith and Gourgeist-L make for decent answers despite being weak to Jumpluff's STAB attacks thanks to their naturally high physical bulk. Gigalith can tank a +2 Seed Bomb and OHKO Jumpluff back while Gourgeist-L will just cripple Jumpluff with a burn making it far easier to manage.
**Residual Damage**: Stealth Rock can make it hard for Jumpluff to set up and act as a pivot. Similarly status like burn and poison can heavily limit setup opportunities as Jumpluff does not run any recovery.
**Vital Spirit**: Electabuzz and to a lesser extent Magmar despite being slower than Jumpluff can still pose a great threat to it due to their immunity to Sleep Powder. Electabuzz has the added benefit of resisting Acrobatics making it the more reliable Jumpluff answer than Magmar, which needs to be at full health to avoid a 2HKO. Magmar may sometimes run Flame Body to deter Acrobatics.
**Faster Pokemon**: While Jumpluff is third fastest Pokemon in the metagame, both Pokemon which are faster, Persian and Swoobat, can revenge kill it reliably. Choice Scarf Pokemon such as Simisage, Frogadier, and Vanilluxe can also outpace Jumpluff and threaten it with super effective coverage.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jett.226429/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/5dots.543866/
Grammar checked by:
Last edited:
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