Deerling Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Return is a powerful STAB move and hits most Pokemon for neutral damage. Double-Edge can also be used for some extra power, but the recoil can be quite troublesome in combination with Life Orb. Seed Bomb is Deerling's other STAB attack and can hit the Rock-types that resist Return super effectively, with Onix and Tirtouga being the most common. Jump Kick hits Steel-types such as Pawniard and Ferroseed, which shrug off Deerling's STAB moves. Substitute allows Deerling to protect itself on forced switches and avoid revenge killers. Wild Charge can be used to hit Vullaby and Rufflet for acceptable damage and deal a large amount to Gastly as it switches in, but this will greatly reduce Deerling's longevity. Set Details Sap Sipper allows Deerling to be an offensive check to Grass-types, especially Snivy. Deerling's Speed stat is maximized in order to allow it to effectively check Snivy and Onix. 196 Attack EVs and a Life Orb supplement its Attack stat without Sap Sipper boosts. The rest of its EVs are poured into its Defense and HP to help it survive attacks such as Mudbray's Heavy Slam and Onix's Rock Blast, although it is still quite frail. Usage Tips When trying to take advantage of Sap Sipper, be very careful, as nearly every relevant Grass-type has a way of crippling Deerling. Ferroseed has Thunder Wave, Foongus has Sludge Bomb, and Snivy has Hidden Power Ice and Glare. Deerling should primarily be used as an early- or mid-game wallbreaker, dealing heavy damage to foes so its teammates can clean up later. Additionally, it should not be switched in directly in most cases, as it is incredibly frail. Instead, bring it in via a slow Volt Switch or U-turn user such as Chinchou or Mienfoo. Substitute should be employed chiefly to either avoid Pawniard's Sucker Punch or predict a switch. Team Options Deerling fits very well on Sticky Web teams, as it can check Snivy while also being able to keep an offensive presence. Pokemon that can set entry hazards can break opposing Sturdy users, and many common Stealth Rock setters such as Onix, Pawniard, and Tirtouga can also check Flying-types. Additionally, Kabuto, Staryu, and Vullaby can remove entry hazards for Deerling to stop it from being whittled down easily. Water-types like Corphish and Tirtouga can bait in Grass-types, which Deerling can take care of if it predicts correctly, as well as take care of Fire-types. Mienfoo, Vullaby, and Magnemite are all good pivots to pair with Deerling, as getting it in while taking minimum damage is important. Offensive checks to Fighting-types, such as Abra and Vullaby, can remove Fighting-types for Deerling, while Mudbray can remove Fire- and Poison-types.

Moves Return and Seed Bomb both deal respectable damage and keep Deerling from being complete Taunt and setup bait. Thunder Wave allows Deerling to support its team by paralyzing switch-ins. Baton Pass lets Deerling switch out of an unfavorable matchup without having to predict, as well as often pass a Substitute to give a free switch to a teammate or pass a Sap Sipper Attack boost. Substitute gives Deerling a way to capitalize on the switches it forces, as well as get around Grass-types that might attempt to paralyze it, such as Glare Snivy and Thunder Wave Ferroseed. Set Details The given Special Defense EVs allow Deerling to sponge special hits as well as possible. Maximum Speed investment and a Jolly nature put Deerling at 18 Speed, which lets it outspeed the majority of the metagame. The rest of the EVs go into HP, to give Deerling an odd-numbered HP stat and allow it to pass as many Substitutes as possible, and Attack, to make it a little less passive. Sap Sipper allows Deerling to switch in against Grass-types with no fear. Berry Juice gives Deerling the ability to create more Substitutes over the course of a match. Usage Tips Defensive Deerling is designed to take advantage of the switches Deerling forces to support its team through paralysis and chip damage on opposing Pokemon. Deerling should not take repeated hits, even neutral ones, due to its overall mediocre defenses and lack of recovery. Thunder Wave is easy to spam early in the match to slow down whatever switches into Deerling. Late-game, Deerling can begin to attack to get chip damage on foes so a teammate can sweep. Team Options Defensive Deerling works best on teams that need a more defensively reliable Grass-type check. Fighting-type checks are a must when using Deerling. Snubbull makes for a good partner because it can switch in on the Fighting-types that threaten Deerling while dealing damage to Poison-types with Earthquake. Croagunk resists both Fighting- and Poison-type moves for Deerling and can weaken opposing teams with Knock Off. Ponyta is a good partner for Deerling because it checks Fighting-types, Fletchling, and Pawniard and can weaken Skrelp and Archen, all of which prevent Deerling from doing its job. Stunky can remove the Ghost-types that trouble Deerling, can weaken Pawniard, and appreciates Deerling checking Ground-types for it. This Deerling set has good defensive synergy with Water-types, such as Chinchou and Skrelp, the latter of which also resists Fighting and works well with offensive Pokemon that need Grass-types removed, such as Tirtouga and Corphish.

Moves Return and Seed Bomb serve as Deerling's two STAB moves and capitalize on its unique type combination. Both hit quite hard thanks to Life Orb, especially after a Sap Sipper boost. Jump Kick hits Steel-types, which resist both of Deerling's STAB moves. In the last slot, Substitute lets Deerling take advantage of the switches it forces, as well as check Ferroseed with no fear of getting paralyzed. Wild Charge lets Deerling lure in and remove Archen, which would otherwise wall it. Baton Pass gives Deerling a way to keep momentum alive by pivoting out on one of the switches it forces to bring in the appropriate counter and can let Deerling pass the Attack boosts it gets from Sap Sipper off to a teammate. Baton Pass can also be run over Jump Kick on teams that don't really require coverage to hit Steel-types. Set Details Sap Sipper gives Deerling a pseudo-immunity to Grass-type moves, allowing it to check Snivy, Cottonee, Ferroseed, and other common Grass-types. The given Attack EVs, plus Life Orb, allow Deerling to make the most use of the Attack boosts it gets from Sap Sipper, as well as force out the Pokemon it checks and hit the switch-ins as hard as possible. Maximum Speed EVs and a Jolly nature are used so Deerling can hit 18 Speed, outspeeding a majority of the metagame, most notably Snivy. The remaining EVs go into HP and Defense to bolster Deerling's physical bulk. Usage Tips This set works best by capitalizing on Deerling's unique ability to wall certain Pokemon: Ferroseed, Cottonee, and Snivy, specifically. Deerling should be sent in against these Pokemon to get a Sap Sipper boost if possible and then force the Pokemon out. Deerling can also be used to force out Chinchou and, to a lesser extent, Magnemite. However, Deerling does need to be wary of status moves, such as Snivy's Glare and Chinchou's Scald. Additionally, due to its excellent Speed tier, Deerling can be used to revenge kill weakened opposing Pokemon throughout the match. This Deerling set struggles against opposing priority, and so it should usually be switched out of Pokemon such as Pawniard, Fletchling, and Timburr, which carry powerful priority moves. Team Options Because of the switches that Deerling forces, teammates that set up entry hazards make for good partners. Onix and Drilbur are good options that can set Stealth Rock for Deerling, and in return they appreciate having Water- and Grass-type attacks sponged that they're weak to. Onix can also check the Fire- and Flying-types that make Deerling's life miserable. Fighting-type checks such as Skrelp and Snubbull are necessary for Deerling to do its job. Skrelp and Deerling form a very solid resistance core as well. Likewise, a Fletchling check is absolutely essential. Archen, Omanyte, and the aforementioned Onix counter Fletchling while retaining good synergy with Deerling. Pokemon that appreciate a +1 Speed boost Baton Passed to them such as Choice Scarf Drilbur and Shellder all make for good partners as well. Lastly, sweepers that need Grass-types worn down, such as Corphish, appreciate Deerling doing so.

Access to Agility and Work Up allow Deerling to carve itself a niche with Baton Pass. Deerling's Grass typing allows it to set up on common Water-types such as Staryu and Chinchou easily. Agility is particularly easy to Baton Pass because Deerling hits an amazing 36 Speed after a boost, outspeeding every common Pokemon. Despite what would seem like a crippling weakness to Fighting-types, Deerling has enough bulk to survive three Mach Punches from Timburr, as well as Fake Out + Drain Punch from standard Mienfoo, allowing it to escape with ease. Seed Bomb is used in the last slot in order to get around Taunt, as well as hit Water-types. Substitute can be used if you want to focus purely on Baton Pass. Deerling can run more Attack and Speed to strengthen the power of Seed Bomb, as it can reach 20 Attack after a Work Up if running a Jolly nature. Strong, slow sweepers such as Cranidos, Cubone, and Pawniard enjoy the Speed boost from Agility in order to let them outspeed many of their counters. Fast Pokemon such as Elekid enjoy having a Work Up boost, as they are fast but often lack the power to threaten teams. Timburr is a huge threat to this set, as Drain Punch does major damage to Deerling. In order to combat it, Pokemon that take very little from Fighting-type attacks, such as Natu and Frillish, are recommended as partners.

Deerling is able to run a good Choice Scarf set due to its solid coverage. Deerling reaches 25 Speed with an Adamant nature, enough to outrun every unboosted Pokemon in the metagame, as well as prominent Choice Scarf users, such as Snover and Chinchou. A resistance to Water-type attacks allows Deerling to take on Chinchou and Staryu quite well, as it only fears the rare Ice Beam or Scald burn. Return is capable of 2HKOing Mienfoo and Axew, and is also a good attack to throw around if the opponent's Ghost-type is defeated. Double-Edge is a stronger alternative that is capable of OHKOing Choice Scarf Mienfoo on the switch. Seed Bomb is a reliable STAB move that can hit Water- and Ground-types super effectively, giving Deerling a way to hurt Staryu, Frillish, and Drilbur. Jump Kick allows Deerling to hit Houndour, Snover, and Ferroseed super effectively, as well as giving it an attack to hit other Normal-types hard. Nature Power is slightly more useful in the last moveslot in order to hit Croagunk super effectively, as well as Fire-types such as Ponyta and Houndour. Nature Power also has the unique ability of ignoring Sucker Punch, which allows Deerling to revenge kill boosted Pawniard easily. Wild Charge is also useful to hit Flying-types such as Vullaby and Drifloon super effectively. It is worth noting that without Wild Charge, Drifloon can switch in for free, as it will fear none of Deerling's attacks. Adamant is the preferred nature in order to maximize Deerling's otherwise unimpressive Attack, reaching a moderately impressive 16, enough to harm most Pokemon. Sap Sipper is the ability of choice because it gives Deerling an Attack boost if it switches into a Grass-type move, as well as immunity to them. Water-types make great teammates for Deerling as they can absorb Fire-type attacks from the likes of Larvesta and Ponyta. Chinchou and Staryu are arguably the best at this, as they can offer supplementary support in Heal Bell and Rapid Spin, respectively. Stealth Rock support from Dwebble allows Deerling to easily muscle its way past counters such as the previously mentioned Larvesta, as its it is easily defeated on the switch-in thanks to the rocks stripping half of its health. Frillish is also a great teammate because its unique typing allows it to take on both Fire- and Fighting-types, something most other Pokemon cannot accomplish. Fighting-types such as Croagunk and Timburr are huge issues for Deerling, so Vullaby is a great teammate because it can defeat Fighting-types easily with Brave Bird.