A Little Spring In Your Step
Lopunny@Flame Orb
Jolly nature
Klutz
252 Attack/252 Speed/4 HP
~Switcheroo
~Return/Facade
~High Jump Kick/Drain Punch
~Magic Coat/Fire Punch
Lopunny's always been fun to use, and it's no exception in this day and age. Switcheroo lets you foist the Flame Orb on anything you want to burn, with Klutz preventing Lopunny from being burned itself. Return is for STAB, with Facade as an option if you're worried about an opponent getting rid of Klutz. High Jump Kick is for extra coverage, with Drain Punch as an alternative if you're more concerned with restoring HP. Finally, Magic Coat lets you bounce back any status moves you might see coming, with Fire Punch as an alternative for those who, like me, would prefer to be Shedinja-proof.
Item and Ability are explained above.
Mega... Rabbit... Something... I Dunno, I Got Nothing For This One
Lopunny@Lopunnyite
Jolly nature
Limber (Scrappy)
252 Attack/252 Speed/4 HP
~Return
~High Jump Kick
~Fire Punch
~Fake Out
This one's pretty straightforward. Mega Evolve Lopunny, Fake Out on the Mega Evolution turn, and proceed to kick ***. Thanks to Scrappy, its STAB moves of Return and High Jump Kick are completely unresisted. Well, OK, resisted by one. Shedinja. Which is where Fire Punch comes in.
Item lets Lopunny Mega Evolve. Ability before Mega Evolving lets it switch in on paralysis-inducing moves with impunity. Ability after Mega Evolving gives it amazing coverage.
Other options:
*Mega Lopunny's pretty fast, but if you're really worried about what's faster, I suppose Quick Attack is an option.
*Last Resort is pretty gimmicky, but if you can work it into a strategy somehow, then by all means.
*Encore is an option for the Switcheroo set if you can make room for it.
Abilities:
*Cute Charm: When Lopunny is hit by a contact move by an opponent of the opposite gender, the attacker has a 30% chance of falling in love. Pretty damn situational, I don't recommend it.
*Klutz: Lopunny cannot make use of any held item in battle, unless it affects the gain of Exp, EVs, or prize money, would only have an effect outside of battle anyway, would prevent evolution (only in the case of unevolved Pokémon with Klutz holding an Everstone), or is the Iron Ball. It also cannot use Fling, but is allowed to use moves like Bestow, Thief, or Switcheroo. On the surface this Ability seems actively detrimental, but it actually makes Lopunny ideal for foisting harmful items on opponents.
*Limber: Lopunny's Hidden Ability. Lopunny cannot be paralyzed. If you're gonna use an attacking Lopunny, even if you plan to Mega Evolve it, this would be the ideal Ability for it, so you can freely switch it in on moves like Glare or Thunder Wave.
*Scrappy: Mega Lopunny's Ability. Mega Lopunny's Fighting and Normal moves do neutral damage to Ghost-types instead of not affecting them. A Ghost-type's other type will still influence type effectiveness (IE: Froslass would take super effective damage from High Jump Kick, whereas Doublade would resist Dizzy Punch). Absolutely perfect- it gives Mega Lopunny's STAB moves completely unresisted coverage, since ordinarily it's only Ghost-types that would stop Normal and Fighting from being an unresisted combination.
Partners:
Entry hazard support is appreciated, though perhaps not so much Toxic Spikes in the case of Klutz Switcheroo Lopunny- kinda defeats the purpose of foisting the Flame Orb upon something, don't you think?
Counters:
Shedinja is still immune to Mega Lopunny's STAB moves due to Wonder Guard, so it can come in on any of those with impunity, survive Fire Punch with Focus Sash, and burn with Will-O-Wisp, which basically screws you then and there. While we're at it, basically any STAB High Jump Kick. Hawlucha is something to look out for in particular, as it's fast. If Unburden's already kicked in, it's even faster than Mega Lopunny, and so can outspeed and OHKO.
Opinion:
I like Mega Lopunny. Cool concept, excellent execution.
Prediction for next week:
Seviper