What is a good moveset for Buzzwole?

Question

If you have a good competitive moveset for Buzzwole, post an answer below and upvote the best ones. Movesets for any of its pre-evolutions 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 explanation, including the intended game mode for your set, is also appreciated. Access the full list of guidelines here.

Buzzwole Pokedex and learnset for reference.

Answer 1

Buzzwole @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Lunge / Leech Life
- Superpower
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch

Basically, this is a Hit and Run set designed in order to deal Massive Damge that could OHKO threats like Ferrothorn, Heatran, Mega Lopunny, and some others that cannot resist its super powerful STAB move Superpower. Superpower can actually OHKO Mega Gyarados, and also 2HKO Mega Gyarados with 252 Hp and 252 Def, and Impish Nature. Earthquake gets even more coverage and is the key move to deal with Heatran. Ice Punch is a must for Garchomp, Landorus, and Gliscor. Lunge and Leech life is Bug STAB. With this set, Buzzwole can outspeed many threats I stated above. And here are some Calculations I made.

252 Atk Buzzwole Superpower vs. 0 Hp / 4 Def Mega Lopunny: 432-510 (159.4 - 188.1%) -- guaranteed to OHKO

252 Atk Buzzwole Superpower vs. 252 Hp / 252 Def+ Ferrothorn: 246-290 (69.8 - 82.3%) -- guaranteed to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Buzzwole Earthquake vs. 252 Hp / 252 Def+ Heatran: 326-376 (81.8-97.4%) -- guaranteed to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Buzzwole Ice Punch vs. 252 Hp / 252 Def+ Gliscor: 216-256 (61-72.3%) -- guaranteed to 2HKO after Poison Heal

Comments

Close Combat may be a better option than Superpower now (as of 2022 vs 2017).

Answer 2

Bulky Band

Buzzwole @ Choice Band
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 152 HP / 252 Atk / 104 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Leech Life
- Superpower
- Ice Punch
- Thunder Punch / Stone Edge / Earthquake / Poison Jab

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Buzzwole has many attributes that make it a good Choice Band user. Its fantastic physical bulk, useful resistances to Dark, Fighting, and Ground and access to semi-reliable recovery in Leech Life give it good longevity for an all-out-attacker and make up for its subpar Speed. In addition, its very high Attack stat and wide coverage make it adept at breaking down defensive Pokemon.
Set Details: Maximum Attack investment and an Adamant Nature maximize Buzzwole's wallbreaking power, giving it a terrifying 621 Attack after the Choice Band boost. 104 Speed EVs allow Buzzwole to outspeed most walls (uninvested base 91s and below) as well as defensive Rotom-W meant to outspeed Jolly Azumarill. The rest are dumped into HP to improve bulk.
Moves: Leech Life is a fantastic STAB move, as it is decently powerful and provides recovery. Superpower is Buzzwole's strongest Fighting type STAB. Ice Punch is crucial to hit the omnipresent Landorus-T and Garchomp, and gives Buzzwole good coverage overall by allowing it hit types that resist its STABs, namely Flying types. The last moveslot depends on the needs of the team, as each move is perfectly viable and hits different Pokemon super-effectively.

Comments

Close Combat may be a better option than Superpower now (as of 2022 vs 2017).

Answer 3

Buzzwole @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 6 Def / 252 SpD
Careful / Adamant Nature
- Leech Life
- Substitute
- Bulk Up
- Focus Punch

I'll begin by saying something upfront: Bug/Fighting is a pretty bad STAB combination--offensively. That's because Bug and Fighting are both resisted by four different types. But on the other hand, the nature of this set does not need Bug/Fighting to be particularly good, and you don't need strong STAB coverage when you've got Focus Punch and Leech Life. To start, Substitute has naturally good synergy with both of them, and Bulk Up even more so. You're healing yourself with Leech Life on a set that does not naturally have enough room for good HP recovery. And a boosted Focus Punch from this thing, well, it kinda hits hard enough to turn a Dump Truck into garbage. You know, a 300-ton, 3,500 horsepower durable machine of stainless steel that deals with things far tougher than the average Pokemon. 2x resisting Focus Punch isn't going to help much because even then, Focus Punch still has a good 75 base power. Bulk Up makes it so that your opponent can't break the Substitutes you set up, and it has to be said that base 107 HP and 139 Defense are already naturally good. After +1 or +2 those subs are not going to break in one hit. And Substitute means you can fire off Focus Punches willy-nilly without you needing to flinch; when your Sub doesn't break your opponent is going to have to eat another. Did I mention how Focus Punch 1-hit-KOs stuff and how Beast Boost makes everything worse? Yeah, that's the fun part.

Since you can't boost your Sp. Defense, investing in it is a good idea because otherwise Buzzwole is more easily sniped by special attackers. On a side note, Buzzwole can make Substitutes that can't be broken by Seismic Toss or Night Shade. Although in case you haven't noticed, pretty much anything that's a wall is screwed by this, as long as, of course, they don't carry a flying or special move it's weak to, Roar, or Whirlwind

Comments

I like this Set but I would perfer Careful Nature (+SpD, SpA) with an Ev Spread 252 SpD, 252 Hp and 4 Atk. Because Buzzwole needs the bulk then more offensive power.

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Careful is definitely a good choice.  It's just that doesn't give you much of a raw stat increase since with max Sp. Def EVs, Buzzwole's Special defense hangs at the low 200's at level 100.  Still, you definitely have a point.

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Bro give 4 evs in attack so it boosts that after knock out.

Answer 4

Sometimes when you look at this Pokemon, you see epic buff bug. Other times, you see terrifying buff mosquito that looks like it wants to kill you.

Buzzwole @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
•Fell Stinger
•Leech Life
•Drain Punch
•Stone Edge

Use Fell Stinger if it will knock them out. 3+ attack. Leech Life and Drain Punch are STAB that heal, which helps with the life orb recoil. Stone Edge covers fire and flying.

Answer 5

Buzzwole @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant / Careful Nature
- Leech Life
- Drain Punch
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch

Ultra Sun & Moon added something I've been waiting for Buzzwole to get: Drain Punch. This means you'll have 2 powerful STAB Moves that restore your HP. With your 2 STAB Moves constantly restoring HP, this Assault Vest set becomes a lot more usable. Those together with Earthquake & Ice Punch give amazing coverage. You can opt for a Careful Nature instead of Adamant for a bit better Sp. Defense but know that you'll have a pretty big Attack drop in the process.

Comments

A minute ago I posted the same moveset but different ev spread 252 sp. Def + 252 HP + 4 Atk

Answer 6

Buzzwole @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Hammer Arm
- Toxic
- Roost
- Earthquake / Stone Edge

Hammer Arm will OHKO Mega Lucario and many other Pokemon who do not resist it. Toxic badly poisons the foe. Roost heals HP. Earthquake OHKOs Mega Gengar, and Stone Edge can deal good damage to Flying type Pokemon.

Answer 7

Assault Vest Sweeper

Buzzwole @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 6 HP / 252Atk / 252Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leech Life
- Drain Punch
- Iron Head
- Ice Punch

• Leech Life: STAB + Recover Health
• Drain Punch: STAB + Recover Health
• Iron Head: Coverage + 30% Chance to Flinch
• Ice Punch: Coverage + 10% Freeze Chance

Assault vest increases ultra poor Special Defense stat so that it can stay for a few turns. Leech Life and Drain Punch are powerful STABs which restore health (required because it is not too speedy). Iron Head covers Fairy types while Ice Punch deals with Flying types.

With low defenses and speed, its not meant to be a lead. Switch it in against a weak and slower opponent. Trigger Beast Boost to raise Attack stat and then start sweeping.

Answer 8

Buzzwole @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Leech Life
- Earthquake

Well, This is a bulky sweeper can tank most neutral hits with assault vest it is EV trained so it boosts attack after knock out it has great physical bulk and usable HP stat. Try it out!

Answer 9

National Dex UU

Buzzwole @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Life Orb / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Earthquake / Darkest Lariat
- Ice Punch / Poison Jab / Leech Life
- Roost

This is an offensive 3 Attacks + Roost set. Close Combat is for strong fighting STAB. Earthquake is used to deal super effective damage to Aegislash and doesn't make contact, so you won't get affected by King's Shield when you use it against Aegislash. Darkest Lariat can be used instead of Earthquake. While Darkest Lariat is worse because you get affected by Aegislash's King's Shield, you also deal super effective damage to Slowking with the same move. Ice Punch is for coverage against Pokemon like Mega Altaria. Poison Jab can be used over Ice Punch so you can deal super effective damage to Primarina and still be able to hit Mega Altaria hard. Leech Life is an option if you run Earthquake so you can deal with Slowking. Roost is for healing. Heavy-Duty Boots is one of the items you can use for this set as you'll be harder to wear down since you won't take damage from Stealth Rock and Spikes. Life Orb is an option to give your attacks more power and is useful on more offensive teams. Rocky Helmet is a choice if you want to punish Urshifu for clicking Surging Strikes.

Answer 10

VGC 2022 (Gen 8 doubles) dynamax tanky sweeper

Buzzwole @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Dual Wingbeat
- Iron Head
- Earthquake

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These four attacks are chosen not only for their damage/coverage, but also for their Dynamax side effects that benefit both you and your doubles ally (i.e. simultaneously help setup your ally):
- Max Knuckle increases Attack
- Max Airstream increases Speed
- Max Steelspike increases Defense
- Max Quake increases Special Defense

This build greatly appreciates initial support to help build momentum while Max move buffs accumulate: screens, flinch/debuff threatening opponents, Quash/paralyze fast opponents, redirect/intercept Flying attacks (x4 weakness of Buzzwole), set Tailwind to complement Max Airstream boosts, etc.

Comments

What nature?

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Adamant nature. (I just edited it in.) Thanks for catching the omission!

Answer 11

Buzzwole @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Leech Life / Fell Stinger
- Bulk Up
- Earthquake / Fire Punch

This set is essential for a bulky sweeper. Leech Life and Drain Punch are recovery and STAB, Bulk Up for setup, and Earthquake/Fire Punch to hit things it does not with its STAB moves. I would recommend setting up a Sticky Web for the possible free Bulk Up. Fell Stinger is for when the opponent is low.

Answer 12

(Gen 9) National Dex Monotype Sub Bulk Up (Bug)

Buzzwole @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 200 HP / 100 Def / 180 SpD / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Thunder Punch / Earthquake

A Substitute + Bulk Up set Buzzwole uses on Bug teams in Gen 9 Monotype. This set is really nice to setup against passive and physical attackers such as Mega Sableye, Blissey/Chansey, Roaring Moon, Ferrothorn, Ogerpon-Wellspring, Alolan-Muk, etc. This makes Bug have an easier time against matchups such as Ground, Steel, Normal, and Dark. Buzzwole can afford to use a Sub BU set on Bug teams since Kleavor took over its role as the Choice Scarf Pokemon that can deal with the pesky Fire-types.

Substitute lets Buzzwole avoid being statused and helps it use Bulk Up so it can break through or clean through teams. You should use Substitute against passive Pokemon and physical wallbreakers who don't threaten Buzzwole. With Bulk Up, Buzzwole increases its offensive presence while making it harder for physical wallbreakers to beat Buzzwole down. Drain Punch is the Fighting STAB since it provides Buzzwole with HP recovery to give it longevity, and it synergizes well with Substitute and Bulk Up. Thunder Punch allows Buzzwole to hit Water-types such as Pelipper, Mantine, Slowking, Slowbro, and Azumarill super effectively. Earthquake can be used instead to hit Poison-types such as Clodsire, Galarian Slowking, and Sneasler. Earthquake also lets Buzzwole hit Gholdengo super effectively (Air Balloon isn't really common on Gholdengo) while still having a way to hit Toxapex super effectively. Leftovers is used to give Buzzwole some HP recovery.

And now for the EV spread. The 200 HP EVs put Buzzwole's HP at 405, allowing Buzzwole to have 101 HP Substitutes, allowing you to setup on Blissey/Chansey. :D Smogon has 24 Speed EVs to let Buzzwole outspeed Base 50 Pokemon and Base 100 Pokemon if Sticky Web is up, but I decided to take 4 EVs from Special Defense to move to speed so Buzzwole can outspeed Mandibuzz using 16 Speed EVs, allowing Buzzwole to use Mandibuzz as setup fodder. The EVs in Defense and Special Defense are optimized to make sure Buzzwole's Substitue doesn't immediately break from attacks like a Scald from Toxapex. This set uses an Adamant Nature to allow Buzzwole to get attack boosts from Beast Boost.

Answer 13

This is a really Odd set originally made by Pimpnite. His latest video shows this set later in the video so be sure to give him credit for this set not me. Although, I am the one posting it so here it is. The purpose of this set is special Sweeper/Special Attacker.

Get Ripped (Buzzwole) @ Scope lens
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Work Up
- Roost
- Focus Energy

First, use Focus energy to boost your Critical chances even more. Then, use Work up until you maximize Sp. Atk and Attack (Even though Attack won't be needed in this set as the only attack in this set is Hidden Power, which is a special attack which is why the Special attack EVs instead of attack) HP bug for knocking out opponents, and Roost for recovery. Watch out for EQ which is really common in competitive.

Comments

Why HP bug? It has lower power than leech life. Use Leech life.

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Because this is supposed to be a special attacking set... which is a laughably bad idea in itself. There’s a reason nobody except this one Youtuber has done this.

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Rahat It's not my set. Go blame pimpnite if you have a problem with it as he made the set himself

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I think you need to read the description in ( ) again, Rahat because clearly you don't understand.

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You're really not supposed to post sets if they're not made by you, are you?

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Hellfire It's not against the rules or the mods wouldn't of approved it so Im not sure what you are complaining about and why is this post flagged? I bet a lot of people post sets here that arn't theirs. It's the internet I can post whatever set I wan in the appropriate categories as long as it abides by the rules. Again, if it was against the rules this post would be hidden but it's not now is it?

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Oh no im gonna go to prison for exposing someones sets Omg (Sarcasm) I can do what I want there are no rules against it

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Yes, it does break the rules if you’re just copying someone’s content and posting it here — I remove tons of people stealing full set analyses off Smogon. However, assuming your description of the set is original, this passes as fine in my book.
It's still a bad set though.

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Fizz, I don't see how this would break the rules, I am really just trying to promote their set. And anyone can use any set they want, technically it's not anyone's set. they are moves buzzwole can legally learn so therefore I am not breaking rules.  I do not wish to argue with a mod, however so I will just drop it at that.

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I already said you are not breaking the rules.