|
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Swarm
- Boosts power of Bug-type moves by 50% when at 1/3 HP or less.
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Tinted Lens
- Doubles damage on resisted hits.
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Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
70
|
- |
281 |
344 |
- |
| Atk |
94
|
201 |
224 |
287 |
315 |
| Def |
50
|
122 |
136 |
199 |
218 |
| SpA |
94
|
201 |
224 |
287 |
315 |
| SpD |
50
|
122 |
136 |
199 |
218 |
| Spe |
66
|
151 |
168 |
231 |
254 |
Overview
Honestly, Mothim is pretty generic as far as Bug / Flying types go. With pitiful defenses, good Special Attack, and mediocre Speed, like many of his Bug-type cousins, Mothim doesn't particularly stand out in any way. Furthermore, he isn't particularly good either due to his 4x weakness to Stealth Rock. Even with the gift of Quiver Dance this generation, Mothim still has issues differentiating himself from Butterfree and Masquerain, the former boasting higher Speed and Sleep Powder, while the latter has Baton Pass, Intimidate, and a wider movepool. Mothim is also much frailer than these two Bug-types, which makes setup opportunities harder to come by. Still, Mothim does have a few key traits which allow him to carve out a slight niche for himself. Mothim has Air Slash, while Butterfree does not, granting him a powerful secondary STAB move that has perfect neutral coverage with Tinted Lens and Bug Buzz. He also has the aforementioned Tinted Lens and a somewhat higher Speed stat to separate himself from Masquerain. On top of this, Mothim has a much higher Special Attack stat than his fellow Quiver Dancers, which allows him to hit harder immediately and easily obtain OHKOs and 2HKOs which the other two would struggle to get. In the end, though, the only reason you should be using Mothim is if you really want his power or wish to make a team around him; otherwise, it's usually more advantageous to just use Butterfree or Masquerain, as their access to Sleep Powder or Baton Pass generally make them much easier to fit onto a team.
Thanks to Quiver Dance, Mothim can actually be a very threatening sweeper, as the combination of his great Special Attack, usable Speed, and Tinted Lens allow him to dish out some serious damage. Because of Tinted Lens, Mothim actually has perfect neutral coverage with just his STAB moves, which makes him incredibly difficult to wall. Mothim's amazing coverage also separates him from Lilligant, who is forced to utilize a mediocre Hidden Power type for coverage, and, no matter what type she chooses, she is still going to be walled by certain Pokemon. After a Quiver Dance, Mothim is extremely powerful and respectably fast, outspeeding everything up to maximum Speed Swellow, making him hard to revenge kill, and he can 2HKO most Pokemon bar bulky special walls. Though he needs support to deal with those troublesome Pokemon, once they have been removed, Mothim will easily rip through the opposing team.
Because Bug Buzz and Air Slash work so well together, Substitute is recommended in the last slot in order to protect Mothim from troublesome status attacks, ease prediction and allow Mothim to do some big damage, without having to use Quiver Dance first. Substitute allows him to scout what the opponent switches in, and allows him to choose between Quiver Dance, Air Slash, and Bug Buzz depending on the Pokemon the opponent switched in. For example, if they switch in something that Mothim can outspeed and KO after a Quiver Dance, you should use Quiver Dance as it breaks Mothim's Substitute and proceed to KO it. If, however, they switch in something like Entei, who would be troublesome, Substitute allows you to attack the troublesome Pokemon with a Tinted Lens boosted attack as they break Mothim's Substitute, and then switch out. This can sometimes allow Mothim to wear down the opposition by himself. However, if you feel that Mothim would best be used as a late game sweeper, feel free to use Hidden Power Ground to nail foes like Magneton and Probopass for some nice damage.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
With the given EVs, Mothim outspeeds everything up to maximum Speed Swellow, while hitting as hard as possible. A Modest nature is a possible alternative if you wish to have a huge amount of power on your hands, but Mothim usually needs the Speed from a Timid nature since he will fail to outspeed many prominent threats, such as Archeops, Scolipede, and Sceptile. However, a Modest nature makes Mothim incredibly powerful and ensures that Mothim will 2HKO certain Pokemon. For example, with a Modest nature and a Life Orb, he 2HKOes specially defensive Flareon with Hidden Power Ground. In terms of alternate coverage moves, Hidden Power Rock can be used instead of Hidden Power Ground if Moltres ends up being a huge threat to your team, as Mothim's +1 Air Slash cannot OHKO without Stealth Rock. If Substitute is used, Leftovers are the recommended item, as with a Life Orb, Mothim will faint far too quickly, but if a coverage move is used instead in the last slot, Life Orb becomes the superior option to allow Mothim to dish out as much damage as possible before fainting.
Rapid Spin support is a necessity when using Mothim, as the 50% he loses from Stealth Rock can decide whether or not he will be able to successfully sweep. Cryogonal, Hitmonchan, Kabutops, and Sandslash are wonderful choices, as the former two are very reliable at spinning away hazards, while the latter two can also set up Stealth Rock to aid Mothim's sweep. The other entry hazards in Spikes and Toxic Spikes are also great in aiding Mothim, and these can be provided by the likes of Omastar and Roselia. However, even with full entry hazard support, Mothim cannot muscle past special walls such as Clefable, Cryogonal, and Munchlax, so using a powerful physical attacker such as Entei, Medicham, Aggron, or the aforementioned Hitmonchan is recommended to remove these troublesome walls and allow Mothim to sweep.
Other Options
Mothim's movepool is also generic like his Bug-type cousins, and it doesn't really have much of interest that could be used. Still, thanks to Mothim's decent attacking stats, there are a few offensive options that can be very usable on him. Psychic, Hidden Power, and Giga Drain are basically the only other viable special attacks in Mothim's arsenal, and though they are decent options, Mothim really doesn't need any other special attacks due to the flawless neutral coverage granted by his STAB attacks and Tinted Lens. Furthermore, Giga Drain cannot be used with Tinted Lens. Similarly, Roost would be an okay choice to give Mothim some extra longevity, but it is also illegal with Tinted Lens, which means it should almost never be considered as Tinted Lens is one of Mothim's key advantages. Since Mothim has a respectable Attack stat, he could also use some physical moves as well. Despite his lack of a good physical movepool, Mothim still has just enough to scrape by with Acrobatics, U-turn, and Return, which hit reasonably hard and have enough coverage together thanks to Tinted Lens. Swarm is Mothim's regular ability, but unless you want to use one of the moves which cannot be used alongside Tinted Lens, it is usually an inferior option.
Checks and Counters
Like every other Bug / Flying type in existence, Stealth Rock utterly decimates Mothim, and keeping it up should be the first step in preventing Mothim from sweeping. Using a Stealth Rock user alongside a bulky spinblocker such as Spiritomb will usually ensure that they will stay up for the match, which will, in turn, severely cripple Mothim. It's also important to note that Mothim isn't outstandingly powerful either, so bulky special walls such as Munchlax, Cryogonal, Mandibuzz, and Clefable will easily handle him. Alternatively, if you are using offense, know that Mothim actually isn't that fast, and he is still somewhat easy to revenge after a Quiver Dance. For example, Aerodactyl, Accelgor, and Swellow can still outspeed him and easily hit him with a powerful super effective move to KO him, while Pokemon with a Choice Scarf, such as Rotom or Primeape, can make short work of him as well. Be wary of switching these Pokemon into Mothim directly though, since his Tinted Lens boosted attacks will wear them down if you switch them in too haphazardly. Additionally, Mothim is incredibly frail, so priority attacks from the likes of Entei, Feraligatr, and Kabutops will take him down. Overall, just keep some pressure on Mothim to prevent him from setting up, as without a Quiver Dance, Mothim isn't really that powerful. Just remember to use Pokemon who have massive Special Defense stats, not just ones who resist his STAB moves, to sponge his attacks.
