Summary

In the lower tiers of ADV draft boards, it is very rare to find a Pokemon that carries real value and versatility that will allow for it to be brought to every game. Sure, many lower cost Pokemon like Altaria, Gligar, or Hitmonchan hold real use cases on many teams, but would you consider bringing them to every matchup? Grumpig is a Pokemon that holds a rare combination of both offensive and defensive traits which allow for it to stand in direct opposition to this generalization, making it one of the consistently useful low value draft picks.

Grumpig is one of the rare Pokemon with a lower point value that has a use case of being brought to every matchup. It holds a rare combination of both offensive and defensive traits which make it one of the consistently useful low value draft picks. Looking over Grumpig's stat line, it becomes immediately clear that he is designed to act as a special tank, with a solid 80 HP, great 110 Special Defense, and a decent enough Special Attack stat for the role it fills. This build often results in Grumpig being compared to Hypno (who costs an additional 3-4 points on average) as a potential mid-low cost special tank, but the two differ in several key areas. The sole benefit of drafting Hypno over Grumpig lies in its support move pool -- while both are rare viable users of Calm Mind, Hypno is blessed with Baton Pass, Wish, Thunder Wave, and Hypnosis - all moves that Grumpig would kill for. Grumpig's tools on the other hand allow for it to find much more immediate value, that in many cases does not require the setup and risk of negative secondary effects that come with using Hypno.

Grumpig has access to Thick Fat, synergizing incredibly well with Grumpig's special bulk to allow for it to enter the field very safely against virtually all Fire- and Ice- type attackers. For example, Thick Fat allows for Grumpig to be perhaps the most cost effective Regice counter in the game. With appropriate investment, Grumpig's Substitute will never be broken by any Regice Thunderbolt or Ice Beam which creates setup opportunities for a Calm Mind sweep. Though unfortunately lacking the healing cherished by Blissey or Hypno, Grumpig's safe entry on such powerful special threats enables it to more effectively utilize its second most potent tool: Trick + Choice Band -- the most valuable move Grumpig can learn that Hypno cannot. Looking at the competition of Trick users in ADV, you will notice that almost all of them are either borderline unusable (Kecleon, Volbeat, Spinda) or have better set options that would be sorely missed in most games (Alakazam, Linoone, Mr. Mime). Alakazam is absolutely the best pokemon that can learn Trick, but running Trick on Alakazam is much more effective in a standard OU environment where it can help to ensure that the inconsistent Pokemon is at least contributing something to each game. In draft, however, Tyranitar and Blissey are much less common, so Alakazam has the ability to prepare its moveset to hit specific threats, drastically increasing the value of its offensive tools while in turn lowering the value of its disruptive tools like Trick. Grumpig does not have the raw attacking power or speed of Alakazam, but what it does have is that amazing ability to eat special attacks. This allows for it to switch in, use Trick, and still have enough HP left to perform other functions, making Trick incredibly easy to fit onto a set. When Trick is used effectively, your opponent will be forced to guess whether you are running Trick or a special attacking set, which is a situation that is easiest to ensure when Trick Grumpig is used as a lead. This can generate massive early game momentum on a 50/50 prediction, as many common Pokemon that would be willing to take a Choice Band in the first place such as Fighting-types are going to be discouraged from switching in due to the fear of being hit by STAB Psychic or giving an uncontested turn of Calm Mind setup. Grumpig forces opponents to decide whether they want to risk taking early damage on progress makers or risk disabling their defensive options. In practice, opponents tend to lean defensively, so it is recommended to almost always use Trick on turn 1 with lead Grumpig. The most valuable and consistent Trick targets are any wall or any spike setter, but regardless of who you use Trick on, the knowledge that any given Pokemon is going to be locked into one move for the duration of a game is incredibly high. Grumpig is also unusually fast compared to most other bulky threats. This is, of course, valuable for a Calm Mind sweep but the more reliable and common use case comes in the form of enabling Grumpig to be a fast and bulky Taunt lead. Taunt on Grumpig will completely shut down a massive group of common bulky and supportive Pokemon, including Vaporeon, Milotic, and Umbreon. There are very few other Taunt users fast enough to shut down this many supportive threats while also being able to take the hits necessary to repeatedly reenter the field. A Taunt Grumpig can be EV trained to be a hit-and-run threat that whittles down opponents for other teammates. It is still recommended to adjust the EV spread according to specific targets, as is common in the draft format, but generally speaking Grumpig is able to gain many little victories over the course of a game instead of simply boost sweeping as many prefer.

While the three above properties are certainly Grumpig's most important characteristics, the pig is often considered as a simple Calm Mind sweeper, and this is a role where Grumpig is decent but is still outclassed by many alternatives. In order to be effectively threatening, Grumpig needs to choose whether to invest in speed or physical bulk. If investing in both Speed and physical bulk, then Grumpig's special attack will not be high enough to be threatening until after several Calm Minds. If you ignore Speed, then Grumpig will be outsped by many of its targets, forcing it to take hits and get whittled down over time. If you ignore physical bulk, then Grumpig's embarrassing 65 base Defense will ensure that it gets knocked out by any half decent physical attacker carrying Hidden Power Ghost coverage before it is able to threaten an OHKO. On top of this, other successful bulky Calm Mind sweepers like Slowbro have much better coverage with Water STAB. STAB Psychic can do amazing work in some matchups, but if your opponent has any Steel or Dark types then you will be relying on Grumpig's underwhelming coverage options (elemental punches or Hidden Power) to get past these threats, and unfortunately this is usually asking for too much as Grumpig's Special Attack is often far too low to hit important benchmarks while investing in Speed and Defense -- it simply cannot do everything. A Calm Mind sweeper build can certainly function on Grumpig, but you need to be very deliberate when deciding which stats to invest in, and you must be aware of the fact that there are some matchups where it simply will not work.

Grumpig's most glaring weakness is the fact that it has abysmal matchups against Tyranitar, Metagross, and Snorlax. These matchups are not impossible, as Grumpig has options to fight back against these matchups with surprising offensive moves such as Focus Punch, Counter, and Rain Dance to clear Tyranitar's sand. However, choosing to equip Grumpig with the tools to take on these threats in a vacuum will require a very invested approach to overcome the odds, reducing the overall usability of Grumpig against other, less dangerous threats on your opponent's team. If a lower tier Pokemon has just the right combination of tools, it can potentially be usable in any matchup if you are creative enough -- but again, this is done while sacrificing Grumpig's general utility. Grumpig exists as a surprisingly versatile and consistent Pokemon, and makes a name for itself as one of the best value picks available in ADV draft formats. It finds itself in a position where it has several unique and valuable traits but is still largely considered a usable but inferior option to alternative higher point special walls and special sweepers. While it is certainly not cleaning teams with one Calm Mind boost like Alakazam, and it does not have the staying power and direct team support of Blissey or Hypno, Grumpig should be thought of as somewhere in between - acting as a highly disruptive and surprisingly obnoxious special wall with the ability to Calm Mind sweep, resembling a washed up Suicune that is not enjoying the function and is determined to make sure nobody else is allowed to have fun.

Summary written by Forte

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