What is a good moveset for Hoopa?

Question

If you have a good competitive moveset for Hoopa, post an answer below and upvote the best ones. Movesets for its pre-evolutions, if any, can also be shared on this thread.

Be sure to include full set details in your post, e.g. items, abilities, natures and EVs. Some detail, including the intended game mode for your set, is also appreciated. Access the full list of guidelines here.

Hoopa Pokédex and learnset for reference.

Answer 1

Analysis

Hoopa / Hoopa-Unbound is a great Special sweeper with sky-high Sp. Atk and a great Sp. Def to compliment it. It's unique typing also has a great offensive potential. Its useful STABs in Psychic / Psyshock / Hyperspace Hole and Shadow Ball or Dark Pulse, enabling it to check top-tier threats (such as Lati@s, Venusaur, Slowbro).

Unfortunately, Hoopa's typing comes with a cost. It is easy to Pursuit trap and is vulnerable to Knock Off, two of which are common moves. Hoopa-Unbound is also weak to Bug-types and Fairy-types, which can pose hinder its ability to perform its role successfully. Although its speed / typing is a big hinderance, Hoopa / Hoopa-Unbound still has the capability to break through walls under certain circumstances.

Here is a set for each form....

Hoopa

Role: Trick Room Sweeper

Hoopa @ Life Orb
Ability: Magician
EVs: 200 HP / 252 SpA / 56 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Trick Room
- Hyperspace Hole / Psychic / Psyshock
- Shadow Ball / Focus Blast
- Substitute / Shadow Ball

Explanation:

Hoopa doesn't necessarily have the speed to perform a fast sweep, while using Choice Scarf doesn't boost its speed by much and Hoopa is locked into that move (unless if you switch out).

One thing Hoopa is great at is setting up Trick Room. By doing so, it can outspeed threats with a higher speed stat (which Hoopa generally lures in) and easily land the OHKO with its powerful STABs and coverage options.

Hyperspace Hole is good for breaking through Substitutes and bypassing Protect. Psychic is a more powerful alternative, while Psyshock nails Sp. Def walls.

Shadow Ball is great STAB, while Focus Blast deals with Steel-types and Rock-types that can wall this set. Substitute is used only when Hoopa is facing against Sp. Atk sweepers or to take advantage of the switches that Hoopa forces.

Note: I didn't invest 0 IVs in Speed because, when Trick Room is over, it would (theoretically) have beaten the faster targets, leaving only the slower Pokemon left.

Hoopa-Unbound

Role: Substitute + Nasty Plot Sweeper

Hoopa-Unbound @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Magician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Sp.Atk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse / Focus Blast
- Hyperspace Hole

Explanation:

Hoopa-Unbound has a usable speed stat and a sky-high Sp. Atk! This enables it to successfully pull of a Substitute + Nasty Plot sweep.

Dark Pulse gets good STAB, while Focus Blast has decent coverage against Steel-types that try to wall it.

Hyperspace Hole is used primarily to break through Subsitute / Protect, although Psychic can be used as a slightly more powerful alternative.

Other Options

Hoopa

Although Hoopa can run a mixed set or even a physical set, Hoopa prefers to abuse its higher Sp. Atk. A Substitute + Calm Mind set can be run, but Hoopa generally doesn't have the bulk or speed to pull it off.

Hoopa-Unbound

Hoopa-Unbound, unlike its Confined form, can run a physical set successfully. With options like Hyperspace Fury, Gunk Shot, and Focus Punch in its arsenal, it can break through tanks / walls. This set also prefers Substitute in order for it to set up Focus Punch.
Hoopa-Unbound can also run a Trick Room set with Hyper Space Fury / Brick Break / Gunk Shot, although Hoopa is more successful in performing a Trick Room set.

Threats

Hoopa

Note: Update is needed for the tier change.

Dark-types / Ghost-types Confined Hoopa is extremely vulnerable to dark and ghost-type moves, making it vulnerable to Knock Off and Shadow Ball spam.

Pursuit Trappers Hoopa's typing is once again its major flaw. Because of Pyschic / Ghost dual typing, many Pokemon, such as Tyranitar, Bisharp, and Scizor, are able to Pursuit trap Hoopa, which leaves it unable to switch out and completely vulnerable.

Sp. Def Walls / Tanks Sp. Def walls, such as Chansey, can wall Hoopa if it isn't carrying Focus Blast / Psyshock.

Faster Sweepers If Hoopa isn't played correctly and doesn't set up Trick Room, faster Ghost-type sweepers, such as Gengar, can OHKO Hoopa with its STABs. Slower Pokemon that also take advantage of Trick Room can also threaten Hoopa.

Hoopa-Unbound

Bug-types Hoopa-Unbound faces similar problems, except it has a 4x weakness to Bug-types. This makes it vulnerable to U-turn and Bug-types in general (one such example is Scizor).

Fairy-types Hoopa-Unbound also has a 2x weakness to Fairy-types, which is especially bad because of the rise of Fairy-types. This means that Fairy-types, like Clefable, can pose a threat to Hoopa-Unbound.

Comments

Just fixing some things up :P

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What did you change? I can't tell :/

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Is there a reason you have Attack EVs over Special Attack EVs on the Hoopa-Unbound set?

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Hi Rising Manectric,
Yes, the EVs should be in Sp. Atk. Changed!

Answer 2

My competitive Hoopa Unbound set

Hoopa-Unbound @ Iron Ball
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Atk / 100 Def / 52 SpD
Brave Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Trick Room
- Fling
- Fire Punch

Explanation: the combo makes use of its magician ability, the idea is to use hoopa U's natural fear factor to force a swap, in which you set up the trick room, then you use fling to send the iron ball at them dealing a large chunk of damage, which activates the magician ability to steal their item, if you don't like the item you steal then you can fling it back at them to inflict damage, this strategy is extremely good for removing any bulky Pokemon of their leftovers or taking the bite out of any choice users by removing their items, hyperspace fury is its main STAB but can be replaced by Zen headbutt if you don't want to deal with that one stage defense drop, the fire punch is for coverage to deal with any bug types that decide to swap in, the trick room is to take advantage of hoopa's naturally low speed to allow it to steal an item quickly, it also can act as a good utility for assisting your slower Pokemon to move first.

Answer 3

Gen 9 NU Nasty Plot

Hoopa @ Life Orb / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Magician
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball
- Tera Blast / Focus Blast

Umm, so Hoopa (the Confined form) has dropped to NU, so here is a Nasty Plot for it while you can still use it. With Tera existing, not many Steel-types in NU, and Pursuit not being a thing in Gen 9, Hoopa is a very scary Pokemon. Nasty Plot boosts Hoopa's already good Special Attack to an insane level. Psyshock is used for the Psychic STAB to beat a specially defensive blob named Blissey who recently dropped to NU. Shadow Ball is a very nice ghost STAB. Tera Blast with Tera Fairy allows Hoopa to get rid of its 4x Ghost and 4x Dark Weakness in addition to having a move to hit most of the Dark-types in the tier super effectively. Focus Blast can be used to hit Dark-types should you not want to be reliant on Tera. Focus Blast also hits the few Steel-types in NU, which is nice. Life Orb can be used to boost the power of Hoopa's attacks, while Heavy-Duty Boots is an option to prevent it from being chipped by hazards.

Answer 4

Hoopa @ Leftovers
Ability: Magician
EVs: 160 HP / 96 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
- Hyperspace Hole / Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Signal Beam / Focus Blast
- Nasty Plot

Explanation: Hyperspace Hole is STAB and never misses, but it has low PP. Psychic is another viable option. Shadow Ball is also for STAB. Signal Beam (I believe Move Tutor) covers Hoopa's major weakness, Dark type, but Focus Blast also covers Dark type. I prefer Signal Beam since Focus Blast is more like Focus Miss. Nasty Plot sharply raises Hoopa's high Special Attack stat and makes its Special moves deal more damage. Regarding the EV spread, I tried to balance the HP stat and the Defence stat (which is its lowest), so it can set up Nasty Plot. Leftovers is to recover health as well.

Hoopa-Unbound @ Iron Ball
Ability: Magician
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Def
Adamant Nature
- Fling
- Hyperspace Fury
- Zen Headbutt
- Gunk Shot / Fire Punch

Explanation: Fling deals 130 damage, with STAB, and Hoopa's Magician ability kicks in to steal the opponent's item. This means that not only does it deal a huge damage, the opponent is left without an item (typically beneficial) which Hoopa can now either Fling again (depending on how much damage it will deal or if it's a hindering item) or keep it to use. Hyperspace Fury is a more consistent STAB if the item Hoopa takes has a low BP when using Fling, although it has low PP. Zen Headbutt is STAB and Gunk Shot covers Hoopa's weakness to Fairy types and deals a lot of damage despite its lower accuracy. Alternatively Fire Punch covers its 4x weakness to Bug type even though it has a lower BP than Gunk Shot, which is why I prefer it.

ALTERNATIVELY, Hoopa can hold a Lagging Tail and replace Fling with Trick. Hoopa switches items with the opponent and is now guaranteed to always move first, thus rendering its low speed inconsequential. I prefer it over Trick Room since Hoopa's speed is low, but not the lowest, and should switching out occur, the next Pokemon sent in may not benefit from Trick Room, or in the case of double or triple battles it will be tricky to use Trick Room (no pun intended lol).

Random side point: Hoopa-Unbound's movepool includes a lot of moves that are related to abilities or held items. It can learn Skill Swap, Magic Room, Knock Off, Covet, Recycle etc. An interesting but highly unrecommended set can include (but as I've warned it's highly unrealistic): Hoopa holds an Iron Ball, it first uses Skill Swap, it then Flings the item to deal massive damage, and since its ability has now changed, it will not take the opponent's item and is left without an item. Hoopa either uses Recycle to Fling again or uses Covet deal damage and render the opponent itemless, as well as gaining another item for Flinging. There are a lot of combinations and obviously Hoopa would have fainted long before it can use them, but on paper it seems interesting.

Answer 5

This terrifying Djinn shouldn't be underestimated, otherwise he will wipe your team in a question of seconds

Gen VII OU
Nasty Plot
Hoopa-Unbound @ Life Orb/ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Modest Nature/ Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Psychic/ Psyshock
- Focus Blast
Life Orb is for boosting it's moves, and Sitrus Berry can be used to abuse Magician
Nasty Plot is for setup, and NEVER do so against physical attackers! Even with the EVs it's still taking a lot of damage!
Dark Pulse is STAB. Hyper Space Fury isn't here due to being Physical.
Psychic or Psyshock are both STAB. While Psychic is more powerful, Psyshock deals better with Special walls like Chansey.
Focus Blast is for coverage.

Comments

Psyshock deals with Chansey better, so you should also put that there for psychic STAB

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Thanks for the sugestion!

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Timid would be better overall and Modest is well not so good because of its already low speed.

Answer 6

Gen 9 Monotype Assault Vest (Psychic)

Hoopa-Unbound @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magician
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 240 HP / 8 Atk / 44 Def / 156 SpD / 60 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Psychic
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Thunderbolt

A Mixed attacker Hoopa-Unbound set that is an Assault Vest user that can be used on Psychic teams in Gen 9 Monotype. Assault Vest allows Hoopa-Unbound to tank special hits well. Psychic is Hoopa-Unbound's strongest Psychic STAB, being able to hit Physically defensive Poison-types such as Amoonguss, Galarian Weezing, and Toxapex. Knock Off is used for the Dark STAB since it allows Hoopa-U to remove items, which is useful against defensive Pokemon. Drain Punch provides coverage against Dark-types such as Hydreigon and Kingambit. Thunderbolt is a useful coverage move that can 2HKO Slowbro and hit Flying-types such as Corviknight, Galarian Moltres, Mandibuzz, Moltres, Tornadus-Therian, and Enamorus super effectively. You'll need to find opportunities to bring in Hoopa-Unbound safely since it doesn't have a good Defense stat.

240 HP EVs with 44 Defense EVs allow Hoopa-U to survive a Sucker Punch from Kingambit when 5 of Kingambit's teammates are fainted from full HP as shown in this calc:

252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 5 allies fainted Kingambit Sucker Punch vs. 240 HP / 44- Def Hoopa-Unbound: 306-360 (84.7 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

You'll definitely need to chip Kingambit to put it in range of Drain Punch OHKOing it. 60 Speed EVs give Hoopa-Unbound more than enough speed to outspeed Kingambit. 240 HP EVs and 156 Special Defense EVs with an Assault Vest allows Hoopa-Unbound to live a Moonblast from Specs Flutter Mane and avoid a 2HKO from Moonblast from Scarf Flutter Mane so it can OHKO it with Knock Off, as shown in these calcs:

252 SpA Choice Specs Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 240 HP / 156 SpD Assault Vest Hoopa-Unbound: 224-266 (62 - 73.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

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252 SpA Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 240 HP / 156 SpD Assault Vest Hoopa-Unbound: 152-180 (42.1 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

The 8 Attack EVs are leftover EVs. Lonely Nature is used over Naughty or Brave nature so Hoopa-Unbound doesn't sacrifice its special bulk or speed. Also, Hoopa-Unbound really shouldn't be switching into physical attacks directly. Even without investing in its offensive stats, Assault Vest Hoopa-Unbound can still hit hard with its STABs and coverage moves.

Answer 7

I have an idea...

Hoopa-Unbound @ Life Orb
Ability: Magician
Hasty Nature
EVs: 100 Atk / 156 SpA / 252 Spe
- Hyperspace Fury
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt / Shadow ball

• Hyperspace Fury; Obviously
• Hidden Power Fire; For covering Bug weakness
• Psyshock; STAB
• Thunderbolt / Shadow ball; Coverage

Comments

Hyperspace Fury is physical, might wanna change the Timid nature for that.

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Hyperspace Fury is Special...

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On Showdown, it says that Hyperspace Fury is Physical, but on here, it says that it is Special.

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Hyperspace fury is Physical. Hyperspace Hole is special

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Hyperspace Fury is physical. I checked on my own Hoopa and it  is indeed Physical.

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Crap (filler)

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Oh, another thing, might as well run Fire Punch over HP Fire if you're going mixed

Answer 8

I've used this set on Showdown! and in-game extensively with Sticky Web support, and it is amazing.

Hoopa-Unbound @ Leftovers
Ability: Magician
Jolly Nature
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
- Substitute
- Focus Punch / Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot
- Hyperspace Fury

Hoopa-U is a threatening beast that's sure to force a lot of switches. So why not take advantage of those switches to set up Substitute?

It can set on loads of stuff in OU, including but not limited to: Chansey, Bulky Heatran trying to Will-o-Wisp or Stealth Rock, Bulky Rotom-W trying to Will-o-Wisp or Volt Switch, unboosted Suicune, virtually anything Ferrothorn does, etc. Its natural special bulk allows its Substitute to tank some weak special hits.

Focus Punch works like a charm with Substitute, breaking bulky mons like Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Chansey. In addition, it hits after Skarmory uses Roost, hitting it super-effectively and allowing you to KO next turn with Hyperspace Fury. You can run Drain Punch if you're not about that riskiness, but the power loss is noticeable. Like, really noticeable. (Personal opinion: Drain Punch isn't really worth it.)

Gunk Shot is excellent coverage against Fairies, and is overall just a really good move to use if you don't want your defense dropped. The accuracy kinda sucks, but it's a necessary evil for the benefits it provides.

Last, but definitely not least, Hyperspace Fury. This move is ridiculous. It breaks through Substitutes and Protect, taking care of SubSD Gliscor and any wall that tries to Protect. If you're not too worried about the Defense drop, it's a fairly spammable move.

All in all, this Hoopa set is high risk, extremely high reward. If any of you would like, I can post a few replays on this answer that display its might.

Answer 9

Guys, you forgot about how much power choice sets can dish out!

Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Band
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Hyperspace Fury / Knock Off
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Zen Headbutt

This is the sole reason as to why stall is on the decline. Sitting at a nice base 80 speed, Hoopa-Unbound can outspeed any stall Pokemon with ease. Its monstrous attack stat with a choice band 2hko's most Pokemon.
Some Calcs:
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-U Hyperspace Fury vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 415-490 (58.9 - 69.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-U Hyperspace Fury vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 138-162 (35 - 41.1%) -- 71.6% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-U Hyperspace Fury vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 178-211 (53.2 - 63.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-U Hyperspace Fury vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Sableye: 195-229 (64.1 - 75.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Alternatively, knock off can be used for more utility and a little less power (97.5 vs 100) and no defense drop. Gunk Shot can be used to cover fairies, but who needs that. Drain Punch and Zen Headbutt round off the coverage, allowing Hoopa-Unbound to hit anything at least neutrally.
EVs yield maximum power and speed, with a choice between +Atk or +Spe nature. I'd suggest +Spe because you're killing everything anyways.

As for glaring weaknesses, the 4X bug weakness and low defense stat screams Scizor. With bullet punch and u-turn, (mega) scizor is a hard check to hoopa unbound. Other checks include anything that outspeeds or has priority. This includes Pokemon like azumarill, mega lopunny, dragonite, etc.

Did I mention that this thing has ZERO counters?

Comments

Which calculator are these calcs coming from? From my calculator (https://pokemonshowdown.com/damagecalc/):

252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-U Hyperspace Fury vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 415-490 (58.9 - 69.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-U Hyperspace Fury vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 138-162 (35 - 41.1%) -- 71.6% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-U Hyperspace Fury vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 178-211 (53.2 - 63.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-U Hyperspace Fury vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Sableye: 195-229 (64.1 - 75.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

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huh, i guess my calc is broken

i'll edit that

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Dude, Hoopa just became available in Australia and I was actually thinking of running this exact set before I saw this post. You read my mind.

Answer 10

Here's mine:

Hoopa-Unbound @ Life Orb
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hyperspace Hole
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Shadow Ball

• Hyperspace Hole: For protect stallers + STAB
• Nasty Plot: For a sharp Special Attack Boost
• Dark Pulse: Coverage + STAB
• Shadow Ball: Further Coverage

Please tell me if this is good and if it needs any improvements:)
Thank You!

Comments

Shadow Ball doesn't cover anything that Dark Pulse already does, so it's basically useless if you have Dark Pulse.

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What should I replace Shadow Ball with?

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Probably different special coverage like Focus Blast or Thunderbolt.

Answer 11

Unbound Form: Gen 9 National Dex UU Substitute + 3 Attacks

Hoopa-Unbound @ Fightinium Z / Metronome
Ability: Magician
Tera Type: Dark / Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Dark Pulse
- Psychic
- Focus Blast / Tera Blast

A Substitute + 3 Attacks set for Hoopa-Unbound. Substitute allows you to take advantage of the switches you force and can let you potentially dodge status moves. Dark Pulse is used as Dark STAB that can flinch slower Pokemon. Psychic is used for a powerful Psychic STAB. Focus Blast targets Dark-types such as Chi-Yu, Ting-Lu, Mega Gyarados, as well as Pokemon such as Melmetal. The last move slot depends on which of the two Tera Types listed in the moveset you want to use. Focus Blast is used with Fightinium Z to have a one-time nuke that doesn't have to worry about moving left. Focus Blast should be used if you choose Dark as your Tera Type. If you use Fairy as the Tera Type, use Tera Blast, as it will grant you the ability to deal damage to Dark-types with a Fairy STAB that doesn't miss unlike Focus Blast. Metronome is used if you use Fairy Tera Blast or if another teammate has a Z-Move, as it will make a move you spam multiple times in a row more powerful.

Answer 12

Unbound Form: Gen 9 National Dex UU Choice Specs

Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magician
Tera Type: Dark / Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Dark Pulse
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast / Tera Blast

There's no Choice Specs set on here for Hoopa-Unbound, so I decided to post this one that is to be used in Gen 9 NatDex UU. Choice Specs is used to immediately boost your base 170 Special Attack. Trick is used to cripple defensive Pokemon. Dark Pulse is used as Dark STAB that can flinch slower Pokemon. Psyshock is used as the Psychic STAB since it allows you to hit Pokemon who have a weaker defense stat. The last slot that you use as coverage against Dark-types depends on the Tera Type you use. If you use Dark as the Tera Type, use Focus Blast and pray that it doesn't move left(aka miss) often. If you use Fairy as the Tera Type, use Tera Blast, as it will allow Hoopa-Unbound to have a Fairy STAB that doesn't miss unlike Focus Blast.