sanguine
friendly fire
[OVERVIEW]
========
Whimsicott has an extremely good base 116 Speed tier either good base 116 speed or go that allows it to outpace Raikou and below. In addition to this, access to Prankster and a wide support movepool that contains moves such as Tailwind, Memento, and Encore allow it to support a wide variety of offensive teams. Whimsicott also has a good STAB combination in Grass / Fairy, which allows it to offensively check prominent threats such as Latias, (RC) and Primarina with powerful moves in Energy Ball and Moonblast. (period) It can also as well as lure some Steel-types such as Scizor and KO them with Hidden Power Fire and lure Poison-types like Crobat and Tentacruel and KO them with Psychic. However, Whimsicott's ability to do these things is neutered by its mediocre base 77 Special Attack stat, which leaves it unable to KO bulkier variants of these Pokemon without prior damage. Whimsicott also struggles to come in due to subpar 60 / 85 / 75 bulk, which is not helped at all by its typing, which offers few useful resists. However, Whimsicott both has trouble damaging foes due to its mediocre base 77 Special Attack and switching in due to its subpar bulk and poor typing. Because Whimsicott's status moves are not affected by do not affect Dark-types, space here most teams are better off with a more viable fairy Fairy-type like Primarina, Togekiss, or Sylveon, which generally provide much more utility. Then what is the use case for Whimsicott? What is its niche? Say "teams that don't need [whatever the niche is] are better off with a more viable fairy-type
[SET]
========
name: Offensive Support
move 1: Moonblast
move 2: Psychic / Energy Ball
move 3: Hidden Power Fire / Energy Ball
move 4: Memento / Tailwind / U-Turn
item: Life Orb
ability: Prankster
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
Moves
=======
Moonblast is Whimsicott's attacking move of choice, as it's a 95-Base Power STAB move that allows it to nail Dark-, Fighting-, and Dragon-Types such as Mega Absol, Mienshao and Latias for super effective damage. Psychic is to hit common Poison-type switch-ins to Whimsicott such as Crobat, Amoonguss, and Tentacruel. Hidden Power Fire is chosen to 2HKO Scizor and Forretress on the switch. Alternatively, Energy Ball is a STAB move that can be used hit Water- and Ground-types for super effective damage. Memento is a move that makes Whimsicott faint, but is useful because it lowers the opposing Pokemon's attacking stats by two stages, which can be useful to help teammates set up and sweep. U-turn uses Whimsicott's high speed to its advantage by allowing it to pivot out of disadvantageous situations. Next, Tailwind doubles the Speed of Whimsicott's team for five turns and allows teammates to sweep more effectively. Lastly, Encore and Stun Spore can be used to stop offensive momentum of the other team by locking the opposing Pokemon into a move or paralysing it respectively, but the utility of the listed moves is generally more useful.
Set Details
============
An EV spread with maximum Special Attack and Speed boosts Whimsicott's offensive prowess as much as possible. A Timid nature ensures that Whimsicott will outpace any unboosted Pokemon up to and including Raikou, possibly giving it the chance to revenge kill weakened threats. Life Orb maximizes damage to potential switch-ins such as Scizor or and Amoonguss. However, Leftovers is the preferred option if you are running more support moves, such as Stun Spore, Tailwind, and U-turn as it gives Whimsicott passive recovery. Finally, Prankster is Whimsicott's ability of choice, granting it +1 priority to any status move it uses, which allows it to support its teammates.
Usage Tips
============
Hit predicted Poison-type switch-ins such as Amoonguss with Psychic for a 2HKO after Stealth Rock. You shouldn't switch directly into hits, as Whimsicott's fragility and lack of recovery makes it ill-suited to be tanking hits. Tailwind is best used early- or mid-game for offensive momentum and to boost the Speed of Pokemon that normally aren't fast enough to damage more offensively inclined teams with Pokemon (a Pokemon isnt a team) such as Haxorus and Nidoking. Memento is best used late-game to allow your wincon to not take heavy damage while setting up; however, as you only get one chance at it, you should only use it when you have a guaranteed path to winning. Use U-turn early-game on a predicted switch to safely get in a check versus a Pokemon that is coming in. Stun Spore is generally best used on Pokemon such as Crobat or Mega Aerodactyl, which rely on their Speed and will often switch into Whimsicott. If using Encore, switch in on the turn the foe uses a setup or support move and lock them into it for free turns to do your own setup or switching into checks. Lastly, Hidden Power Fire is best used late-game if the opposing Steel-types are at low HP, as Whimsicott's mediocre Special Attack won't often net OHKOs on Scizor and the like.
Team Options
============
Pokemon that have mediocre Speed and are easily revenged by common Choice Scarf users such as Haxorus, Swords Dance Crawdaunt, and Nidoking appreciate the speed control from either Tailwind or Stun Spore. Memento benefits frailer sweepers that like not taking hits or weakens super effective hits for setup turns or sweepers that need to stay healthy to sweep such as Scizor, Cloyster, and Crawdaunt. Calm Mind Latias in particular appreciates Whimsicott's ability to deal with threats such as Mega Absol because of its Fairy typing. It can get a free turn of setup from Memento's Attack and Special Attack drops, and it forces out Poison-types while also surprising Scizor with Hidden Power Fire of its own. Pokemon such as Entei and Volcanion make good partners because they can beat Whimsicott counters such as Metagross, Scizor, and Empoleon and in the case of Entei, Blissey. In return, Whimsicott takes on the bulky Ground- and Water-types that threaten them. Setup sweepers such as Gliscor appreciate Encore, as it allows them to set up safely on not very effective hits. Cobalion in particular likes Encore due to its large number of resists, and has the added benefit of dealing with Steel-types such as Scizor for Whimsicott. Whimsicott really only fits on offensive builds, as slower, bulkier teams have little use for the Memento or Tailwind support, and they cannot afford to use a Pokemon with its mediocre defenses and Special Attack.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
========
A Choice Specs set with Moonblast / Energy Ball / Switcheroo / Hidden Power Fire can be used but it generally has lackluster power, and other Pokemon such as Hydreigon, Volcanion, and Primarina do the job much better. Whimsicott has access to a number of extra moves that may prove useful on some teams, including Knock Off, which can be used to pester slower teams by removing their Leftovers, or offensive teams by removing their Choice item. Endeavor lowers the HP of a foe for a potential sweep by a teammate and Leech Seed extra recovery, especially in conjunction with Leftovers. However, other Pokemon do these jobs better, and most teams appreciate the pivoting via Memento or U-turn more. Memento with Darkinium Z is an option but it really limits your choice of setup Pokemon, as most appreciate having a Z-Move of their own. Taunt is an option to cripple Pokemon that rely on support or status moves, such as Suicune, Hippowdon, and Swords Dance Mega Absol, though there are more viable Taunt users such as Crobat and Mega Aerodactyl. Giga Drain is an option to recover HP; however,its Base Power is not too high and the damage output from Energy Ball is usually preferred.
Checks and Counters
========
**Poison-types**: Bulky Poison-types such as Crobat, Amoonguss, and Tentacruel are 2HKOed by Psychic after Stealth Rock;however, they force Whimsicott out 1v1 due to the threat of an OHKO from their STAB moves.
**Steel-types**: Steel-types such as Empoleon, Mega Steelix, and Metagross can switch into Whimsicott very safely due to its mediocre Special Attack and coverage and proceed to KO it with a super effective STAB attack or set up Stealth Rock. Cobalion and Scizor win 1v1 but they must be careful, as Hidden Power Fire does a sizable amount on the switch. However, bulky Scizor can live a Life Orb Hidden Power Fire and proceed to either OHKO Whimsicott with Bullet Punch or force it out with the threat of an OHKO.
**Fire-types**: Fire-types such as Entei and Volcanion take very little from Whimsicott's attacks due to its mediocre coverage and can OHKO in return with their super effective STAB Fire-type moves.
**Flying-types**: Flying-type Pokemon such as Mega Pidgeot, Crobat, and Talonflame can take advantage of Whimsicott's lackluster bulk and OHKO it with super effective moves.
**Bulky Pokemon**: Whimsicott's low offensive stats leave it unable to meaningfully damage common bulky Pokemon in UU such as Gliscor and Mega Steelix.
========
Whimsicott has an extremely good base 116 Speed tier either good base 116 speed or go that allows it to outpace Raikou and below. In addition to this, access to Prankster and a wide support movepool that contains moves such as Tailwind, Memento, and Encore allow it to support a wide variety of offensive teams. Whimsicott also has a good STAB combination in Grass / Fairy, which allows it to offensively check prominent threats such as Latias, (RC) and Primarina with powerful moves in Energy Ball and Moonblast. (period) It can also as well as lure some Steel-types such as Scizor and KO them with Hidden Power Fire and lure Poison-types like Crobat and Tentacruel and KO them with Psychic. However, Whimsicott's ability to do these things is neutered by its mediocre base 77 Special Attack stat, which leaves it unable to KO bulkier variants of these Pokemon without prior damage. Whimsicott also struggles to come in due to subpar 60 / 85 / 75 bulk, which is not helped at all by its typing, which offers few useful resists. However, Whimsicott both has trouble damaging foes due to its mediocre base 77 Special Attack and switching in due to its subpar bulk and poor typing. Because Whimsicott's status moves are not affected by do not affect Dark-types, space here most teams are better off with a more viable fairy Fairy-type like Primarina, Togekiss, or Sylveon, which generally provide much more utility. Then what is the use case for Whimsicott? What is its niche? Say "teams that don't need [whatever the niche is] are better off with a more viable fairy-type
[SET]
========
name: Offensive Support
move 1: Moonblast
move 2: Psychic / Energy Ball
move 3: Hidden Power Fire / Energy Ball
move 4: Memento / Tailwind / U-Turn
item: Life Orb
ability: Prankster
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
Moves
=======
Moonblast is Whimsicott's attacking move of choice, as it's a 95-Base Power STAB move that allows it to nail Dark-, Fighting-, and Dragon-Types such as Mega Absol, Mienshao and Latias for super effective damage. Psychic is to hit common Poison-type switch-ins to Whimsicott such as Crobat, Amoonguss, and Tentacruel. Hidden Power Fire is chosen to 2HKO Scizor and Forretress on the switch. Alternatively, Energy Ball is a STAB move that can be used hit Water- and Ground-types for super effective damage. Memento is a move that makes Whimsicott faint, but is useful because it lowers the opposing Pokemon's attacking stats by two stages, which can be useful to help teammates set up and sweep. U-turn uses Whimsicott's high speed to its advantage by allowing it to pivot out of disadvantageous situations. Next, Tailwind doubles the Speed of Whimsicott's team for five turns and allows teammates to sweep more effectively. Lastly, Encore and Stun Spore can be used to stop offensive momentum of the other team by locking the opposing Pokemon into a move or paralysing it respectively, but the utility of the listed moves is generally more useful.
Set Details
============
An EV spread with maximum Special Attack and Speed boosts Whimsicott's offensive prowess as much as possible. A Timid nature ensures that Whimsicott will outpace any unboosted Pokemon up to and including Raikou, possibly giving it the chance to revenge kill weakened threats. Life Orb maximizes damage to potential switch-ins such as Scizor or and Amoonguss. However, Leftovers is the preferred option if you are running more support moves, such as Stun Spore, Tailwind, and U-turn as it gives Whimsicott passive recovery. Finally, Prankster is Whimsicott's ability of choice, granting it +1 priority to any status move it uses, which allows it to support its teammates.
Usage Tips
============
Hit predicted Poison-type switch-ins such as Amoonguss with Psychic for a 2HKO after Stealth Rock. You shouldn't switch directly into hits, as Whimsicott's fragility and lack of recovery makes it ill-suited to be tanking hits. Tailwind is best used early- or mid-game for offensive momentum and to boost the Speed of Pokemon that normally aren't fast enough to damage more offensively inclined teams with Pokemon (a Pokemon isnt a team) such as Haxorus and Nidoking. Memento is best used late-game to allow your wincon to not take heavy damage while setting up; however, as you only get one chance at it, you should only use it when you have a guaranteed path to winning. Use U-turn early-game on a predicted switch to safely get in a check versus a Pokemon that is coming in. Stun Spore is generally best used on Pokemon such as Crobat or Mega Aerodactyl, which rely on their Speed and will often switch into Whimsicott. If using Encore, switch in on the turn the foe uses a setup or support move and lock them into it for free turns to do your own setup or switching into checks. Lastly, Hidden Power Fire is best used late-game if the opposing Steel-types are at low HP, as Whimsicott's mediocre Special Attack won't often net OHKOs on Scizor and the like.
Team Options
============
Pokemon that have mediocre Speed and are easily revenged by common Choice Scarf users such as Haxorus, Swords Dance Crawdaunt, and Nidoking appreciate the speed control from either Tailwind or Stun Spore. Memento benefits frailer sweepers that like not taking hits or weakens super effective hits for setup turns or sweepers that need to stay healthy to sweep such as Scizor, Cloyster, and Crawdaunt. Calm Mind Latias in particular appreciates Whimsicott's ability to deal with threats such as Mega Absol because of its Fairy typing. It can get a free turn of setup from Memento's Attack and Special Attack drops, and it forces out Poison-types while also surprising Scizor with Hidden Power Fire of its own. Pokemon such as Entei and Volcanion make good partners because they can beat Whimsicott counters such as Metagross, Scizor, and Empoleon and in the case of Entei, Blissey. In return, Whimsicott takes on the bulky Ground- and Water-types that threaten them. Setup sweepers such as Gliscor appreciate Encore, as it allows them to set up safely on not very effective hits. Cobalion in particular likes Encore due to its large number of resists, and has the added benefit of dealing with Steel-types such as Scizor for Whimsicott. Whimsicott really only fits on offensive builds, as slower, bulkier teams have little use for the Memento or Tailwind support, and they cannot afford to use a Pokemon with its mediocre defenses and Special Attack.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
========
A Choice Specs set with Moonblast / Energy Ball / Switcheroo / Hidden Power Fire can be used but it generally has lackluster power, and other Pokemon such as Hydreigon, Volcanion, and Primarina do the job much better. Whimsicott has access to a number of extra moves that may prove useful on some teams, including Knock Off, which can be used to pester slower teams by removing their Leftovers, or offensive teams by removing their Choice item. Endeavor lowers the HP of a foe for a potential sweep by a teammate and Leech Seed extra recovery, especially in conjunction with Leftovers. However, other Pokemon do these jobs better, and most teams appreciate the pivoting via Memento or U-turn more. Memento with Darkinium Z is an option but it really limits your choice of setup Pokemon, as most appreciate having a Z-Move of their own. Taunt is an option to cripple Pokemon that rely on support or status moves, such as Suicune, Hippowdon, and Swords Dance Mega Absol, though there are more viable Taunt users such as Crobat and Mega Aerodactyl. Giga Drain is an option to recover HP; however,its Base Power is not too high and the damage output from Energy Ball is usually preferred.
Checks and Counters
========
**Poison-types**: Bulky Poison-types such as Crobat, Amoonguss, and Tentacruel are 2HKOed by Psychic after Stealth Rock;however, they force Whimsicott out 1v1 due to the threat of an OHKO from their STAB moves.
**Steel-types**: Steel-types such as Empoleon, Mega Steelix, and Metagross can switch into Whimsicott very safely due to its mediocre Special Attack and coverage and proceed to KO it with a super effective STAB attack or set up Stealth Rock. Cobalion and Scizor win 1v1 but they must be careful, as Hidden Power Fire does a sizable amount on the switch. However, bulky Scizor can live a Life Orb Hidden Power Fire and proceed to either OHKO Whimsicott with Bullet Punch or force it out with the threat of an OHKO.
**Fire-types**: Fire-types such as Entei and Volcanion take very little from Whimsicott's attacks due to its mediocre coverage and can OHKO in return with their super effective STAB Fire-type moves.
**Flying-types**: Flying-type Pokemon such as Mega Pidgeot, Crobat, and Talonflame can take advantage of Whimsicott's lackluster bulk and OHKO it with super effective moves.
**Bulky Pokemon**: Whimsicott's low offensive stats leave it unable to meaningfully damage common bulky Pokemon in UU such as Gliscor and Mega Steelix.
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