Community POTW #031

[Serebii]

Time for the next Pokémon of the Week. This week is the new Legendary Pokémon, Urshifu

Go nuts!

https://www.serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/urshifu/

 

[BillyBobJoe]

One Punch Bear
Urshifu- Single Strike Style
Ability: Unseen Fist
Item: Roseli Berry/Protective Pads
Adamant Nature
EVs: 252 ATK, 4 DEF (or HP), 252 SPD
-Wicked Blow
-Close Combat/Brick Break
-Iron Head
-Ice Punch/Thunder Punch/Aerial Ace

Pretty basic set idea. Nature is what you would expect, as is the investment in Attack and Speed. The low Sp. Def stat makes investing in it pointless, so Def or HP is chosen instead.

All of the moves chosen are designed to take advantage of Unseen Fist, which is why Protective Pads are an option to protect against things like Rocky Helmet or Iron Barbs. The first two slots are for STAB, Iron Head is to deal with Fairy types, and Ice/Thunder Punch and Aerial Ace are to deal with Flying/Fighting types respectively.

 

[Divine Retribution]

With a fantastic base 130 Attack and two very powerful signature moves, acceptable 100/100/60 bulk, and a usable base 97 Speed, both of Urshifu's forms make for frightening opponents on the battlefield. Both have fantastic STAB combinations to back up their solid stat spreads, and both have adequate if somewhat standard (for Fighting-types) movepools. However, both are also limited by a poor base 60 Sp. Def and a usable but mediocre base 97 Speed tier; falling just short of Hydreigon and base 100s. The set I've had the most success with so far is a simple Choice Band Single Strike set.

Urshifu-Single-Strike @

Choice Band
Jolly - Unseen Fist
252 Attack, 4 Sp. Def, 252 Speed
-Wicked Blow
-Close Combat
-Poison Jab
-U-Turn

Wicked Blow is Urshifu-Single-Strike's signature move, a base 80 power Dark move that always crits, giving it an effective base 120 power as well as ignoring screens, debuffs to Urshifu's Attack, and buffs to the opponent's Defense. Coupled with his stellar base 130 Attack and further boosted by a Choice Band, this makes him an absolute nightmare to switch into. Close Combat obliterates opposing Darks who might try to sponge a Wicked Blow, and rounds out his coverage in general. Poison Jab is filler to hit Fairies such as Clefable and Azumarill, and U-Turn allows him to pivot into more favorable matchups on predicted switches. U-Turn could be subbed for Sucker Punch if you'd rather have a priority move to deal with faster, frail Pokemon; Urshifu-Single-Strike usually prefers to take advantage of switches by firing off a powerful Wicked Blow to punish the switchin. However, Sucker Punch is a very exploitable move to lock yourself into, and U-Turn does become useful in certain matchups. Poison Jab is preferred over Iron Head due to hitting Azumarill super-effectively, OHKOing most sets after Stealth Rock damage.​

 

[BillyBobJoe]

Fist of the Tardigrade (aka Water Bear)
Urshifu- Rapid Strike Style
Ability: Unseen Fist
Item: Protective Pads
<same Nature and EVs as previous post>
-Surging Strikes/Liquidation
-Close Combat/Brick Break
-Poison Jab/Ice Punch
-Aqua Jet/U-Turn

This set is similar to Single Strike, but with some differences. Poison Jab, Ice Punch and U-Turn all deal with at least 2 of Rapid Strike’s weaknesses. All 3 counter Grass, Ice Punch is for Flying, Poison Jab for Fairy and U-Turn for Psychic. Aqua Jet is for priority if desired.

 

[XaelOstigian]

So I have a choice between getting a Saitama or a Jojo. Tough call. What would you all say are the pros and cons to each form?