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Moves Shell Smash gives Barbaracle the potential to sweep through entire teams. Liquidation is Barbaracle's main STAB attack that lets it hit Ground-types and gives it a more accurate option over Stone Edge. Stone Edge is a STAB attack that has the opportunity to act as a nuke thanks to its Z-Move. Low Kick lets Barbaracle run over Steel-types like Registeel that could otherwise live any of its attacks and cripple it with Toxic. Low Kick also prevents Barbaracle from wasting its Z-Move against other potential checks like Virizion. Substitute also helps mitigate any chance of wasting its Z-Move. For example, if the opponent tries to lure out Barbaracle's Continental Crush by switching out from a wall into something they're sacrificing to the Z-Move, you can capitalize on this by setting up a Substitute. This lets Barbaracle keep its Z-Move and gives it the opportunity to Shell Smash again. Set Details Tough Claws boosts Liquidation and Low Kick, improving Barbaracle's chances against sturdier walls. The EV investment in Attack gives Barbaracle more wallbreaking potential. The 252 Speed EVs let it outpace Choice Scarf users that would otherwise be able to revenge kill it. Rockium Z lets Barbaracle break through robust walls like Milotic and offensive checks like Toxicroak and Virizion. A Jolly nature prevents Barbaracle from being outpaced by Choice Scarf users like Shaymin. Usage Tips Take advantage of Choice Scarf Pokemon like Gardevoir by using them for free setup. If your opponent Pursuit traps one of your teammates with a Pokemon like Drapion or Sneasel, capitalize on that by freely setting up with Barbaracle the next turn. Play wisely against walls, knowing that your opponent will likely try to lure out Barbaracle's Z-Move before trying to check it with a wall. If Barbaracle lacks the specific move to handle checks like Metagross, make sure to wear them down over time with Barbaracle's teammates before attempting to sweep. Team Options Entry hazard setters, like Metagross, are important to use alongside Barbaracle, as the extra chip damage lets Barbaracle break past Pokemon like physically defensive Slowbro and Porygon2 that can check it in a pinch. Steel-types are great teammates that can switch into Grass-types, which Barbaracle struggles with. A good example is Registeel, which can also provide the aforementioned Stealth Rock. Wallbreakers like Choice Specs Gardevoir and Choice Band Drapion help break through teams, giving Barbaracle more sweeping potential. Drapion can also remove a defensive check in Bronzong and remove items like Porygon2's Eviolite for Barbaracle. Hyper offensive teams can use dual screens from Meowstic-M. Memento support from Gardevoir on balance or hyper offense supports Barbaracle, giving it an almost guaranteed setup opportunity.

Moves Shell Smash doubles Barbaracle's Attack, Special Attack, and Speed at the cost of lowering its defenses. Razor Shell is boosted by Tough Claws and is Barbaracle's primary STAB attack, hitting neutral and super effective targets for heavy damage. Return has solid neutral coverage overall, hitting most Pokemon that resist Water for decent damage, and it is also boosted by Tough Claws. Earthquake, despite not being boosted by Tough Claws, OHKOes Garbodor after a boost and avoids Rocky Helmet and Aftermath damage as well as hitting Lanturn hard. Substitute is an alternative to dodge status moves from the likes of Weezing, Mesprit, and Xatu at the cost of a coverage move. Set Details Maximum Attack and Speed investment is used to hit as hard and as quickly as possible. An Adamant nature is preferred over Jolly, as even with a neutral Speed nature Barbaracle hits 470 Speed after a Shell Smash, outpacing a significant portion of the metagame after a boost. However, a Jolly nature can be used if outspeeding positive-natured base 95 Speed Choice Scarf users such as Haunter and Jynx is important. Shuca Berry significantly weakens damage taken from Ground-type attacks, allowing Barbaracle to set up on Normal- and Flying-types such as Tauros, Kangaskhan, and Archeops, which carry Earthquake for coverage. Lum Berry can be used to avoid status conditions from the likes of Miltank, Weezing, and Misdreavus. Tough Claws significantly boosts the power of all of Barbaracle's contact moves. Usage Tips Barbaracle will often only get one opportunity in the match to set up, so make sure that you have either removed or significantly weakened its checks and counters first. With a Shuca Berry, Barbaracle can set up on Pokemon that would otherwise severely damage it with Earthquake, such as Archeops and Tauros. Set up on Choice-locked Pokemon such as Pyroar locked into Fire Blast and Scyther locked into Aerial Ace or against weaker defensive Pokemon such as Audino and Mawile. Team Options Wallbreakers such as Primeape, Tauros, and Haunter are good teammates, as they can wear down defensive cores for Barbaracle to sweep late-game. Fire- and Ice-types such as Pyroar, Magmortar, Aurorus, and Jynx act as wallbreakers and also threaten Grass-types, which are problematic for Barbaracle. Bulky Water-types are bothersome for Barbaracle, so Grass-types such as Lilligant, Cacturne, and Vileplume make for good teammates to cover them, and Vileplume also checks Grass-types thanks to its secondary Poison typing. Memento support from Jumpluff and Skuntank give Barbaracle more opportunities to set up. Healing Wish support from Mesprit, Lilligant, and Musharna is helpful to potentially give Barbaracle a second chance at sweeping.

Moves Razor Shell is Barbaracle's strongest Water-type STAB attack thanks to the Tough Claws boost as well as its most reliable attack in general, dealing considerable damage with near-perfect accuracy. Stone Edge is a secondary STAB attack that has near-perfect neutral coverage beside Razor Shell and is useful for hitting Flying-types very hard; however, Return is another option that gets similar coverage and a Tough Claws boost while being much more dependable because of its perfect accuracy at the cost of being less powerful. Superpower is the preferred move in the third slot, as it's capable of OHKOing offensive Normal-types such as Tauros and Kangaskhan as well as hitting Ferroseed, which resists both of Barbaracle's STAB attacks, super effectively; however, Earthquake is another option that hits Garbodor for super effective damage and does not come with the drawback of lowering Barbaracle's stats. Switcheroo allows Barbaracle to switch items with its target, potentially crippling a defensive Pokemon such as Vileplume, Gourgeist, or Gastrodon, which are common switch-ins to the Shell Smash set, by preventing it from recovering or making it setup bait for a teammate. Set Details The given EVs maximize Barbaracle's Speed and Attack to make it as effective an attacker as possible. Choice Scarf makes Barbaracle a fearsome revenge killer, combining its impressive power with the ability to outspeed the entire unboosted tier. An Adamant nature can be used to improve Barbaracle's attacking power; however, it will fail to outpace key threats such as Floatzel and Swellow without a Jolly nature. Tough Claws is easily Barbaracle's best ability, as it significantly boosts the power of its contact moves, particularly Razor Shell and Superpower. Usage Tips Barbaracle works best as a late-game cleaner due to the high Speed afforded by Choice Scarf, so try to conserve it for late in the game when its checks have been sufficiently weakened. Barbaracle should attempt to bluff a Shell Smash set by coming in and threatening out foes that it can reliably KO and outspeed. Be wary of locking Barbaracle into a move that the opponent can take advantage of, such as Razor Shell when they have a Poliwrath, as it can result in a considerable loss of momentum; this also applies to Superpower, which should only be used against Pokemon that will not be KOed by one of Barbaracle's STAB attacks. Barbaracle should attempt to use Switcheroo against defensively oriented teams, as it can cripple them, gain momentum, and free itself up to threaten the opposing team accordingly. Be wary of using Switcheroo against Pokemon with unfavorable items, such as Weezing's and Vileplume's Black Sludge, as getting inflicted with passive damage throughout the match effectively cripples Barbaracle and cuts into its longevity. Team Options Because Barbaracle's combination of high Speed and power will inevitably force almost constant switches, Spikes support is crucial to punish the opponent even if they predict correctly. Pokemon such as Garbodor and Ferroseed provide Spikes while having decent type synergy with Barbaracle. Barbaracle will often be locked into a commonly resisted move such as Stone Edge or Earthquake, forcing it to switch out; therefore, pairing it with bulky Pokemon that can pivot repeatedly into attacks, such as Weezing and bulky Scyther, is ideal. The former can also provide Toxic Spikes to take advantage of the many switches Barbaracle forces, while the latter provides phenomenal synergy and can conserve momentum with its powerful U-turn. Offensive Ghost-types such as Rotom and Mismagius make for great partners, as they resist nearly all of Barbaracle's weaknesses and can break through or cripple the physically defensive Pokemon such as Mega Audino and Ferroseed that give it trouble. Grass-types such as Lilligant and Ludicolo can deal with Gastrodon and Poliwrath, which resist Barbaracle's STAB combination, as well as other bulky Water-types. Cacturne in particular can deal with Gastrodon while also providing Spikes support. Mesprit, Xatu, and other Psychic-types can switch into Fighting-type attacks from the likes of Hitmonchan as well as heavily pressuring Poison-types such as Garbodor, Weezing, and Vileplume, which clears the way for Barbaracle to clean.