Swirlix With Thief and Unburden?

Question

Swirlix (F) @no item
Ability: Unburden
- Thief
- Yawn
- Draining Kiss
- Thunderbolt

I have used this Swirlix for a few local battles, and it's really not that bad. My friends seem a bit surprised if I manage to win with her as the first Pokemon in my party.
(Also fun when paired up with someone who has the frisk ability in double battles.)

Do you think this is a good Pokemon? (Pokemon Ultra Moon)

Update: I've been told unburden and thief do not work the way I expected.

Comments

A lot of items can't be stolen (like mega stones) or will hurt you if you steel it (like choice specs).

Answer 1

Unburden doesn't do anything to help that set. The ability only does anything if you started with an item, lost it, and then haven't switched or been KO'd since then. After the switch, if it comes back without an item to begin with, Unburden just won't apply.

Comments

Thank you for the response, SadisticMystic. I didn't know unburden is useless in this case. Would it work better if I had given it a berry to hold, or change the move thief?

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A fairly common strategy for Slurpuff is to use Belly Drum to max out its attack stat and then immediately eat a Sitrus Berry, getting back to a less hazardous 75% health and having doubled speed to abuse the Belly Drum with super strong hits. Thief certainly isn't useful there, since if you use your item and steal a new one, you *lose* the Unburden boost.