Urshifu-Single Strike, the Wushu Pokémon. This form of Urshifu is a strong believer in the one-hit KO. Its strategy is to leap in close to foes and land a devastating blow with a hardened fist. Inhabiting the mountains of a distant region, this Pokémon races across sheer cliffs, training its legs and refining its moves.

Overview

The titular Armor from the Isle of Armor, Urshifu returns to the ninth generation in full force. Urshifu regardless of form brings overwhelming offense to the table, with base 130 Attack, access to Swords Dance and STAB Close Combat alone being enough to threaten a significant portion of Pokémon. Urshifu-Single ramps up this offense even further with consistent offense. The excellent coverage of its sub-Dark typing is invaluable devastating most Fighting resists with STAB Wicked Blows. This great STAB combination is complimented with fantastic coverage in Stone Edge, Poison Jab and Iron Head, covering the Flying and Fairy types that could otherwise absorb its STABs. Faster opponents are not safe either, with Sucker Punch threatening many would be faster attackers with a debilitating blow. Power is not all Urshifu-Single brings to the table either, with access to invaluable utility in U-Turn and Taunt rounding out Urshifu-Single’s bag of tricks, offering valuable pivoting and disruption when called for.

In matters other than power however, Urshifu can feel inadequate. Base 97 Speed, while by no means bad, falls short of many offensive staples, leaving Urshifu-Single reliant on Sucker Punch to make up the difference, a move that can be easily played around. Defensively Urshifu-Single isn’t much better. While 100 HP and Defense are certainly decent, allowing Urshifu to tank hits on the physical side, the same cannot be said about Urshifu’s Special Defense, a paltry base 60 that leaves any Special Attacker a dire threat. While the lack of Fairy types is a relative boon for Urshifu-Single, its popularity as a Tera Type means a lot of Pokémon can effectively lure Urshifu-Single, Terastalize and knock it out given its underwhelming defenses. Urshifu also has the unfortunate circumstance of often being lumped together with other restricted Pokémon, who heavily out stat it and are frequently too fast or too bulky to be taken out, making it far more difficult for it to apply pressure. Difficult does not mean impossible and Urshifu’ might, decent speed and physical bulk are enough for hit to climb the highest summit’s Pokémon has to offer.
Positives
Base 130 Attack is fantastic and after a Swords Dance little can stand up to Urshifu.
Fighting and Dark offer phenomenal coverage for STABs and Urshifu-Single packs the coverage to handle what they can’t.
100/100 HP and Defense gives Urshifu respectable physical bulk.

Negatives
Base 60 Special Defense means Special Attackers can drop Urshifu very quickly.
Fairy and Tera Fairy types are horrid for Urshifu-Single both offensively and defensively.
Base 97 Speed is underwhelming for an offensive Pokémon, leaving Urshifu outsped by a host of threats.

Movesets

Impaling Fist

-Swords Dance
-Sucker Punch
-Close Combat
-Wicked Blow
Ability: Unseen Fist
Item: Focus Sash
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe Jolly Nature

Swords Dance Urshifu-Single is a nightmare once it gets going, able to 2HKO just about everything save for Unaware walls and truly bulky Fairy types. Urshifu-Single of note is STAB Sucker Punch, giving Urshifu-Single a powerful priority move that fantastic at cleaning up even slightly weakened targets as well as allowing Urshifu-Single to threaten naturally faster threats, dealing at least half to offensive Eternatus, two thirds to offensive Miriadon, and OHKO Flutter Mane. Close Combat is Urshifu-Single’s primary STAB, breaking through many walls such as Ting-Lu, offensive Great Tusk, Corviknight, Garganacl, Ursaluna, and Zamazenta-Crowned. Wicked Blow compliments Close Combat nicely hitting most Fighting resists and many prominent restricted Pokémon like the Calyrex Riders, Lunala, Necrozma Dusk Mane, Ho-oh, and Dragonite.

Tera Types:
Urshifu is all about power and as such both forms lean towards offensive Tera types to get that knock out. Urshifu-Single unsurprisingly leans to Tera Dark for the boosts to both Sucker Punch and Wicked Blow. With Tera Dark, Urshifu-Single is capable of truly insane damage like OHKOing Miraidon with a +2 Sucker Punch, and OHKO bulky Kyogre and Lugia through Multiscale with Wicked Blow. Tera Dark is also imperative to 3HKOing Dondozo with Wicked Blow, irrespective of its Curses. If looking for more defensive Teras, anti-Fairy Tera types like Poison and Steel are preferred so that Urshifu-Single isn’t blown out by a fairy type. Even better if Urshifu-Single is running Poison Jab or Iron Head respectively, giving it another pseudo-STAB move in its repertoire.

EVs and Items:
Max Speed and Attack is recommended for Ushifu in all its forms. Urshifu is all about dealing as much damage as quickly as possible regardless of form, with this EV array being very common across both. There are arguments for between Jolly and Adamant however. With Jolly nature, Urshifu guarantees it outruns max Speed Kyogre, Groudon, Landorus-Therian, Kyurem-White and Black. However, with Adamant, Urshifu-Single grabs knockouts from higher HP thresholds with Sucker Punch as well as securing the OHKO on Bulky Necrozma Dusk Mane, Giratina, and Corviknight without having to resort to Terastalization. Focus Sash is recommended as the item for easing setup, ensuring Urshifu gets its Swords Dance off. Otherwise, investing in power is good, whether it be Blackglasses to super charge Urshifu’s Dark STABs, Life Orb for the general power boost or Punching Glove to protect against Flame Body, Rocky Helmet and Static from the likes of Volcarona and Zapdos are worth considering.

Partners:
Psychic types love the offensive pressure Urshifu-Single gives, especially against opposing Ghost and Dark types thanks to its STABs and typing. For example, Calyrex-Shadow Rider loves Urshifu-Single threatening opposing Calyrex as well as Flutter Mane and Giratina regardless of their priority or Speed Control thanks to its own good speed and access to Sucker Punch. Allies that can handle Fairy attacks and opposing Fairy types are invaluable for Urshifu-Single. Ho-oh is quite prominent, its enormous Special bulk and Fairy resistance invaluable in breaking through most Fairy types while appreciating Urshifu-Single’s good physical bulk and Rock resistance for handling Rock attacks thrown Ho-oh’s way. Zamazenta-Crowned is another great example, its Steel STAB smashing Fairy types while liking Urshifu-Single for removing Body Press immune Ghost types. The shared Fighting STAB also enables the two to overwhelm mutual checks.

Other Options:
Poison Jab and Iron Head are options for Fairy and Tera Fairy types. Iron Head is preferred for its ability to hit Galarian Weezing and to a lesser extent Flutter Mane super effectively. Taunt is a great option given how Urshifu is just fast enough to outrun many popular support Pokémon preventing them from performing their duties.

Doubles and VGC Options

When most Pokémon are considered relics of their time, it is usually in the context of how they fallen off. However, for Urshifu in VGC, it is the opposite. Urshifu was built around Dynamax, where Max Guard still blocks against Unseen Fist and the doubled HP from Dynamax makes tanking Urshifu's attacks much easier. However, with Dynamax being lost in the generational shift, these guard rails against Urshifu have been lost as well. As such both Urshifu forms have gone berserk in doubles formats, their signature abilities and moves excelling in VGC. Protect and its variants are repeatedly touted as the best moves in VGC and a large part of what keeps the formats together. Urshifu's Unseen Fist renders these moves moot, outright breaking it akin to Feint, but unlike Feint, Urshifu's Unseen Fist comes packed with Urshifu's terrifying base 130 Attack, setting up a deadly one-two punch and outright lessening the worth of Pokémon that are weak to Urshifu's STABs. The automatic crit nature of Wicked Blow makes Urshifu-Single even more oppressive, outright ignoring common forms of damage mitigation in Intimidate, Screens and even Defense boosts. Add in the wide coverage Urshifu-Single boasts from its STABs alone, threatening many staples including the Calyrex-Riders, Farigiraf, Indeedee-F, Lunala, Terapagos, and Ursaluna, helps Urshifu-Single provide consistent pressure. Yet,Urshifu-Single’s Dark typing often holds it back. Wicked Blow being Dark type does poorly into Incineroar, Grimmsnarl and Iron Defense Zamazenta-Crowned, the very Pokémon where Wicked Blow would be most useful and Close Combat fails to get the one hit knock out on all three. Urshifu-Single’s priority move being Sucker Punch means it cannot break Protect with priority, preventing faster allies from taking advantage of Urshifu-Single’s support. Additionally, there is no lack of physical Dark types in the format with Chien-Pao, Roaring Moon, and Incineroar, all of whom provide invaluable utility as well. Urshifu-Single’s Dark typing also leaves it weak to opposing Urshifu, who are more than happy to give it a taste of its own medicine.

One Punch Bear

-Wicked Blow
-Close Combat
-Sucker Punch
-Detect
Ability: Unseen Fist
Item: Focus Sash
Tera Type: Dark/Stellar
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature

Urshifu-Single has two jobs when hitting the field; gobs of damage and breaking opposing Protects. Jobs Urshifu-Single is well equipped to perform. Wicked Blow is the bread and butter of the set, its auto-crit nature ignoring most damage mitigation attempts, allowing Urshifu-Single to deal consistent damage despite the circumstances. Close Combat compliments Wicked Blow nicely, brutalizing opposing Dark types as well as handling Normal types like Terapagos and Ursaluna especially well. Sucker Punch provides an answer for faster opponents, allowing Urshifu-Single to clean up such Pokémon regardless of speed tiers. Detect rounds out the set as the Protect equivalent, being one of the best move in doubles for exhaustive reasons. Detect is preferred over Protect in the case of Imprison strategies, ensuring Urshifu-Single can still Protect itself.

As for EVs, the standard offensive array of Max Attack and Speed are recommended. Urshifu gets a lot of value of naturally outspeeding popular support and offensive pieces like Incineroar, Rillaboom, Raging Bolt, Dragonite, as well as slower restricted picks like Kyogre, Terapagos and Groudon. Adamant is preferred for all but ensuring Tera Dark Wicked Blow gets the knock out on even bulky Calyrex-Ice Rider, though it does enable the rare max Speed Rillaboom, Groudon and Kyogre to outrun Urshifu-Single. Focus Sash is preferred for the item, forcing opponents to focus on Urshifu-Single to bring it down and allowing Urshifu to stick around apply pressure for longer. Tera Dark is highly recommended for the sheer boost it offers to WIcked Blow and Sucker Punch, allowing urshifu to OHKO even targets as bulky as Calyrex Ice Rider and Lunala through Shadow Shield. Tera Stellar is also a powerful option for boosting Close Combat as well, great for securing the OHKO on Terastalized Terapagos, and Ursaluna Bloodmoon.

Preferred Partners:
Calyrex-Ice Rider loves the support Urshifu-Single provides, the Protect breaking of Unseen Fist depriving opponents of the most common way to stall out Trick Room. Even more so, Wicked Blow is invaluable in breaking Commander Dondozo and opposing Calyrex-Ice Rider, both tricky match ups for Calyrex-Ice Rider on top of not losing hard to Amoonguss, another popular anti-Trick Room Pokémon that Urshifu-Rapid cannot handle. Fairy types are a huge problem for Urshifu-Single, so allies that can answer them are greatly preferred. Scarf Landorus-Incarnate is an excellent example, outrunning even Tera Fairy Miraidon and dispatching it with Sludge Bomb while it appreciates Urshifu-Single's matchup into Calyrex-Ice Rider.

Countering Urshifu

Urshifu-Single’s overwhelming prowess may seem insurmountable, but every fighting style has its flaw and Urshifu-Single is no different.

Fairy types first and foremost are a massive problem for Urshifu-Single, naturally resisting both STABs while Urshifu-Single does not always carry the coverage to handle them. Arceus-Fairy is a huge issue for Urshifu-Single, naturally outspeeding it and having the bulk to tank even Swords Dance Boosted blows while threatening an easy OHKO in turn. Galarian-Weezing is also troublesome; while it 2HKO’d by Swords Dance Boosted Black Glasses Adamant Wicked Blows, it can survive unboosted hits with ease, and cripple Urshifu-Single with Will-O-Wisp if not remove it entirely with Strange Steam, while also denying Urshifu-Single its Unseen Fist in Doubles. Zacian-Crowned’s secondary typing and lacking bulk prevents it from safely switching into a boosted Urshifu-Single, but once in, its resistance to Sucker Punch and immense Speed make quick work of it. It is a similar story with Iron Valiant, whose horrid bulk prevents directly switching in, but able to clean up Urshifu-Single with ease once it does.

Dealing with a boosted Urshifu-Single is tricky. While Unaware walls are normally the answer, Skeledirge needs to Terastalize to not get annihilated by Wicked Blow and Tera Dark Urshifu-Single soundly 3HKO’s Dondozo who can only 2HKO back with Body Press, though it does well otherwise. Faster attackers can work, but they must be able to tank a Sucker Punch. Zamazenta Crowned is notable, its massive Defense, and Fighting typing ensures it can easily endure a Sucker Punch or even an unboosted Close Combat before OHKOing back with Body Press. Koraidon is another naturally faster Fighting type that can tank a Sucker Punch with ease before OHKOing back. Chi-Yu also naturally outspeeds and survives all but a +2 Tera Dark Black Glasses Sucker Punch, while OHKOing back with its own STAB.

It should be noted most Tera Fairy Pokémon can make for a good lure for Urshifu-Single, given Urshifu-Single’s lacking bulk means that one free turn can be enough to take it out of the running.

Rapid Strike

Urshifu-Rapid Strike, the Wushu Pokémon. It's believed that this Pokémon modeled its fighting style on the flow of a river—sometimes rapid, sometimes calm. This form of Urshifu is a strong believer in defeating foes by raining many blows down on them. Its strikes are nonstop, flowing like a river.

Overview

The titular Armor from the Isle of Armor, Urshifu returns to the ninth generation in full force. Urshifu regardless of form brings overwhelming offense to the table, with base 130 Attack, access to Swords Dance and STAB Close Combat alone being enough to threaten a significant portion of Pokémon. Urshifu-Rapid contrasts its Single counterpart in large thanks to its signature Surging Strikes. Surging Strikes is a unique move in Pokémon, being both a reliable multihit and an auto critical hit move. This alone gives Urshifu-Rapid a ton of utility, ignoring all sorts of defensive boosting, as well as blowing past items and abilities meant to survive a single hit like Focus Sash, Sturdy, Multiscale, Shadow Shield and Disguise, picking up OHKOs or severe damage where other Pokémon would falter. Water and Fighting’s STAB combination alone ensures wide coverage with no singular type resisting, but Urshifu-Rapid follows up with superb coverage between Ice Spinner, U-Turn, Iron Head, Poison Jab and Stone Edge, giving Urshifu-Rapid an answer for just about every resistance to its STABs. Water Fighting typing is also phenomenal defensively, with Rock, Dark, Fire and Ice resistances giving Urshifu-Rapid plenty of opportunities to switch in or stick around.

In matters other than power however, Urshifu can feel inadequate. Base 97 Speed, while by no means bad, falls short of many offensive staples, leaving Urshifu-Rapid reliant on Aqua Jet to make up the difference. This hurts even more given Urshifu’s lacking bulk. While 100 HP and Defense are certainly decent, allowing Urshifu to tank hits on the physical side, the same cannot be said about Urshifu’s Special Defense, a paltry base 60 that leaves any Special Attacker a dire threat. Furthermore, while Water-Fighting does offer a huge list of resistances, it also provides cripplingly common Electric, Fairy and Grass weaknesses, none of which are desirable in formats where Miraidon, Iron Valiant, and/or Zacian Crowned rule the roosts. Urshifu also has the unfortunate circumstance of often being lumped together with other restricted Pokémon, who heavily out stat it and are frequently too fast or too bulky to be taken out, making it far more difficult for it to apply pressure. In the end, Urshifu-Rapid’s just enough Speed, adequate bulk and above all else, power has it forcefully carve out a niche nothing else can match.
Positives
Base 130 Attack is fantastic and after a Swords Dance little can stand up to Urshifu.
Surging Strikes is an amazing move, being both multihit and auto-crit, subverting many defensive strategies.
Excellent coverage for just about every situation.
Water Fighting typing offers amazing super effective coverage and a wide array of resistances.

Negatives
Base 60 Special Defense means Special Attackers can drop Urshifu very quickly. Water Fighting also offers many common weaknesses that can make it difficult for Urshifu to stick around. Base 97 Speed is underwhelming for an offensive Pokémon, leaving Urshifu outsped by a host of threats.

Movesets

Relentless Offense

-Stone -Surging Strikes -Close Combat -Aqua Jet -U-Turn
Ability: Unseen Fist
Item: Focus Sash
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature

Urshifu-Rapid Strike is a clean up artist extraordinaire, trading with problematic boosting or Focus Sash Pokémon so its teammates can act unabated. Surging Stikes is key to this, soundly OHKOing Focus Sash Flutter Mane, Sneasler, Smeargle, and Blaziken as well as Disguise Mimikyu and dealing well over 50% to Zamazenta-Crowned and Arceus regardless of Iron Defense or Cosmic Power boosts. Ignoring Landorus-Therian’s Intimidate is a nice bonus as well. Close Combat is secondary STAB and all around fantastic with its high base power and the wide coverage Fighting boasts, hitting what Surging Strikes doesn’t, punishing Dragons looking to switch in like Koraidon, Archaludon, Kyurem-White and Black, and Roaring Moon. Aqua Jet is the second part of Urshifu-Rapid’s clean up kit, dispatching Pokémon barely hanging on from Urshifu-Rapid’s teammates. U-Turn rounds out the set as both coverage and utility, dealing significant damage to Grass and Psychic types that trouble Urshifu-Rapid and chipping everything else while punishing predicted switches.

Tera Types:
Urshifu is all about power and as such both forms lean towards offensive Tera types to get that knock out. Tera Water is all around fantastic for Urshifu-Rapid, not only super charging its signature Surging Strikes and Aqua Jet, but also removing its Flying, Psychic and Fairy weaknesses, greatly improving Urshifu-Rapid’s matchup into Zacian-Crowned, Flutter Mane, Ho-oh, and Mimikyu. The boost from Tera Water is also vital allowing Urshifu-Rapid get OHKOs on Focus Sash Chien-Pao and Calyrex-Shadow Rider with Surging Strikes that it would miss otherwise. Tera Stellar is a potent option for boosting Close Combat, allowing Urshifu-Rapid to OHKO uninvested Miraidon with Close Combat.

EVs and Items:
Urshifu is all about offense, and its EV spreads reflect that. Max Speed and Attack are recommended for Urshifu-Rapid to outrun as many things as possible while dealing as much damage as possible. Adamant is recommended for this set, the power boost vital for handling Cosmic Power and Iron Defenses users like Arceus and Zamazenta-Crowned as well as securing the OHKO on Ursaluna Bloodmoon with Close Combat as well as Ting-Lu with Tera Water Surging Strikes. However, without Jolly, Urshifu-Rapid misses out on some important targets like Jolly Mimikyu, Jolly Gliscor, Modest Chi-Yu, Timid Kyogre, and speed tying with Timid Gholdengo. Focus Sash is recommended for the item, allowing Urshifu-Rapid to survive one big hit against a faster target and OHKO back. Howeever Punching Glove is a strong consideration. Many Pokémon run Rocky Helmet explicitly for Urshifu-Rapid’s Surging Strikes and the power boost shouldn’t be discounted either, allowing Tera Water Urshifu-Rapid to OHKO Zacian Crowned and Urshifu-Single through Focus Sash. However, Punching Gloves does turn Urshifu-Rapid’s attacks into non-contacting moves, preventing it from breaking through the Protects of Gliscor and Blaziken who can use the window to outlast and outrun Urshifu-Rapid.

Partners:
Urshifu Rapid regularly struggles against Water resistant Pokémon, especially opposing Water types. Miraidon as a result is a natural partner, handling opposing Water and Dragon types with ease thanks to its phenomenal speed and offense while loving Urshifu’s matchup into opposing Ground types as well as its ability to trade the few Pokémon just as, if not faster than it like Flutter Mane and Calyrex-Shadow Rider. Kyurem-White can fulfill a similar role thanks to its access to Freeze Dry. Kyogre is also a rather ironic option, but quite potent, pushing Urshifu-Rapid’s Water STABs to incredible heights while wielding wicked Thunders of its own for opposing Water types. Urshifu in turn dispatches annoying sponges like Blissey and Wo-Chien that Kyogre can struggle against. Thanks to its access to U-Turn, Urshifu-Rapid is a fantastic part of pivot cores. Landorus-Therian is especially notable, its Intimidate pairing well with Urshifu-Rapid’s good Defense, making it easier for Urshifu-Rapid to come it. Additionally Landorus-Therian absorbs the Electric attacks sent Urshifu’s way, while in a pinch, Urshifu-Rapid can do the same for the Water and Ice attacks thrown at Landorus-Therian. Other good pivot partners is Ogerpon and its various forms, forming a Grass-Water core with Urshifu.

Doubles and VGC Options

Urshifu-Rapid has emerged as one of the most dominant Pokémon in VGC to little surprise. With the lack of Dynamax and its Unseen Fist blocking Max Guards and doubling of HP to absorb their blows, both Urshifu-Forms have been going on a tear in Doubles Formats. Protect moves are the most important moves in VGC, and Urshifu’s ability to outright break Protect moves, exposing such Pokémon not only to it, but its teammates for a deadly one two punch. Up to the point of outright discouraging opponents Surging Strikes is an utterly absurd move not only being multi-hit and thus allowing Urshifu-Rapid to blow past Focus Sash users like Flutter Mane and Chien-Pao, but also automatically crit, ignoring all sorts of damage mitigation including the ever present Incineroar’s Intimidate, but also Grimmsnarl’s Reflect and Zamazenta-Crowned’s Dauntless Shield and Iron Defenses. This has made Urshifu-Rapid invaluable in removing such troublesome Pokémon, especially Doubles superstar Incineroar of which Urshifu-Rapid is one of the best answers. The strength of Rain in Doubles furthers Urshifu-Rapid’s potency, boosting its Water STABs to dangerous heights. However, Urshifu-Rapid's overwhelming popularity comes at a cost. The multihit nature of Surging Strikes means many redirectors will run Rocky Helmet just to have Urshifu-Rapid maim itself when trying to attack. Even more damming is the fact that many of Urshifu-Rapid’s favored targets specifically run Water resistant Tera Types to avoid being wrecked by Urshifu-Rapid’s Surging Strikes. Additionally, Urshifu-Rapid has rather poor matchups into Rillaboom and Raging Bolt, super effective priority users that resist Urshifu-Rapid's own priority. This still hasn't stopped Urshifu Rapid from being a staple and thus must be considered when planning a team.

Hundred Strikes, Hundred Blows

-Surging Strikes
-Close Combat
-Aqua Jet
-U-Turn
Ability: Unseen Fist
Item: Choice Scarf
Tera Type: Water / Stellar
EVs and Nature:
4 HP /252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature

Scarf Urshifu-Rapid is a terrifying anti offense Pokémon, removing naturally fast frail Pokémon like Flutter Mane, Chien-Pao, Sneasler and even Calyrex-Shadow Rider. Surging Strikes helps immensely with this task, its multi-hit nature bypassing the Focus Sash that all three like using though Urshifu-Rapid does need an external boost to secure the OHKO on the latter two. Surging Strikes is also invaluable in removing or at least compromising defensive set pieces like Incineroar, Smeargle, and Grimmsnarl. Close Combat is secondary STAB and just superb coverage in general, blasting apart Terapagos, Roaring Moon, Brute Bonnet and a variety of Tera Normal and Tera Dark Pokémon. Aqua Jet is a clean up tool, picking off weakened targets regardless of speed, or for a less risk double down on a single target that can't be punished by Protect. U-Turn rounds out the set as a great pivoting tool on top of dealing significant damage to opposing Grass types like Rillaboom, and non Hearth-Flame Ogerpon. This allows Scarf Urshifu to scout for switch ins and help maintain positioning, even allowing for field control by bringing a weather or terrain setter to swing advantage into your favor.

As befits most Choice Scarf users, Max Speed and Attack are recommended to outrun everything and deal as much damage as possible. Tera Water is by far the recommended Tera, removing Urshifu-Rapid’s Fairy, Psychic and Flying weaknesses while giving an invaluable boost to its STABs, allowing Urshifu-Rapid to not only OHKO Chien-Pao and Calyrex-Shadow Rider, but compromise other bulky staples like Calyrex-Ice Rider, Farigiraf, and Zamazenta-Crowned. Tera Stellar is good for super charging Close Combat, allowing the removal of Water resists like Kyogre or a non Terastalized Miraidon after a little chip damage.

Preferred Partners:
While Incineroar and Rillaboom do well with most Pokémon, it is especially notable with Urshifu-Rapid, forming one of the most prominent Grass-Fire-Water cores in Doubles. Urshifu-Rapid benefits both Incineroar and Rillaboom by taking out opposing Incineroar that can hamper the three physical attackers while the latter two make Urshifu-Rapid that much harder to remove. Both are even great U-Turn targets, getting a surprising Intimidate or terrain change and continue controlling the battle. Kyogre and Pelipper are powerful partners for Urshifu-Rapid, its Rain giving the necessary boost that Urshifu-Rapid need not Terastalize to pick up knockouts or deal truly obscene damage in general and similar benefit from the positioning Scarf U-Turn provides. Calyrex-Ice Rider may seem contradictory given it is a Trick Room Pokémon and this is a Scarf Urshifu-Rapid, but Calyrex-Ice Rider does a lot in pressuring Rillaboom and Raging Bolt, two massive problems for Urshifu-Rapid and Urshifu-Rapid handles Incineroar and Tera Fire Pokémon very well. Coaching is a fantastic option especially if paired with Calyrex-Ice Rider, escalating it into a near unstoppable juggernaut. Taunt is a potent disruptive option, shutting down Trick Room, redirection, and field control in general.

Countering Urshifu Rapid Strike

While Urshifu-Rapid is fantastic at subverting all sorts of defensive measures, it’s offense itself can be subverted.

First and foremost are methods of punishing Surging Strikes. It is a multihit contact move, so abilities and items that trigger on contact are particularly ruinous for Urshifu-Rapid. Rocky Helmet is the big one, causing Urshifu-Rapid to lose half of its health to the item, especially when equipped to Pokémon that can easily absorb a Surging Strikes like Amoonguss or Dondozo. Zapdos’ Static is notable, leaving Urshifu-Rapid much more liable to be revenge KO’d and making it far harder to pick its stronger attacks when it can’t outspeed. Volcarona and Moltres need to Terastalize to survive, but their Flame Body is invaluable in shutting down Urshifu-Rapid.

As for Pokémon that can tank Urshifu-Rapid’s offense, there are quite a few given how rarely it runs any coverage outside of STABs. Curse Dondozo is a hard wall for Urshifu-Rapid, able to outlast its Close Combats while taking a mere pittance from Surging Strikes, though Tera Stellar Close Combat plus a regular one can KO if Dondozo isn’t invested in Defense. If lacking Ice Spinner, Amoonguss is another solid option, resisting both STABs and able to ruin Urshifu-Rapid with its Grass STAB. Giratina Origin and Eternatus are also a pain thanks to their ability to soak up both STABs with ease while possessing special offense that puts Urshifu-Rapid down quickly.

Rillaboom and Raging Bolt while not resistant to Close Combat are both bulky enough to tank one comfortably and wield their own super effective priority that makes very quick work of Urshifu-Rapid.

After this, faster attackers that resist Water are often the best way to handle Urshifu-Rapid, as that don’t have to worry about Aqua Jet. Whimsicott is also a nightmare if Urshifu Rapid lacks Ice Spinner, though a boosted Surging Strikes should be watched for given its own frailty. Iron Leaves abhors the much more common U-Turn as well as Ice Spinner, but otherwise can endure a STAB attack and OHKO back. Dragapult is another excellent example and can switch into Close Combat thanks to its immunity but can be 2HKO’d by Tera Water Surging Strikes.

Anime Appearences

Urshifu has made multiple appearances in the anime. Most notably, QUillon and Danika of Project Mew had one each. # -English Episode Name- -Jp. Episode Name- Pics 1160 Leaping Towards the Dream! Let's Go! Project Mew!! Pics 1169 Trial on a Golden Scale! Trial Mission! Volcarona's Golden Scales!! Pics 1202 Chasing to the Finish! Last Mission! Get Regieleki & Regidrago!! Pics 1215 TBC Go for Dream! Goh's Road to Mew!! Pics 1223 In the Palms of our Hands! The Future I Seize Pics 1225 These Could be the Start of Something Big! Ash and Goh! Setting Off Anew!! Pics