I'm sure you're sick of these "How do you counter pokemon X" discussions by now and think this discussion will lead to nothing. I know there's also going to be the obligatory "u cant counter it cuz u cant swich" which is true that you can't exactly counter it with the limited options you're presented when it has been sent out. I'm all for banning it back to ubers personally, since I feel it centralizes the game a bit too much, but sadly that's not going to make it leave and people need to deal with him. The reason I made this thread was to try and make people think less of Wobbuffet as part of a setup that will sweep your team, but more of a dickish pokemon that's more likely than not to kill one pokemon on your team in a similar way Dugtrio does but worse. Hopefully, this will also help some players prepare/deal with Wobbuffet more effectively.
First lets look at the set pretty much every Wobbuffet will use
Wobbuffet @ Leftovers/Lum berry
Nature:Bold
EV's:252 Def/252 Sp.Def/4 HP
Ability:Shadow Tag
-Counter
-Mirror Coat
-Encore
-Safeguard/Charm/Destiny Bond
The strategy of this set is to try and trap a wall and lock it into a non attacking move with Encore while putting up Safeguard to prevent status. You then switch to something that can take advantage of the free turn to setup. A more common way of taking advantage of that turn (well, more common than before Wobbuffet was allowed anyway) is to attempt to use Smeargle to Baton Pass a Belly Drum boost to Lucario and sweep. I'm not going to explain how the Belly Drum Smeargle works though. If you don't already know just look at the Smeargle analysis on Smogon.
Countering the strategy itself is easy enough albeit slightly annoying, and leaves your opponent with only two-thirds of a team that actually poses a threat. I'm sorry to say though that you'll need a restalker, or at least something that you're willing to let Smeargle put to sleep. You'll also need a phazer or something with a priority move, Taunt, Perish Song, Encore, Torment, or a move that hits multiple times to stop the pass to Lucario or whatever they want to sweep you with. I've just regurgitated some information but I felt it would be helpful to mention some flaws of that setup since it seems like the most threatening thing Wobbuffet is able to do.
Now, on to dealing with Wobbuffet itself. There is obviously the option of having a ghost that uses physical attacks (Dusknoir) or a dark type that uses special attacks (Houndoom) since there's nothing Wobbuffet can do besides Charm or Encore. The trouble is that Wobbuffet will likely never stay in or switch into these pokemon. Keep in mind that the user of Wobbuffet chooses what it fights (walls) and if it switches in at the right time, your options are severely limited. What can you do in that kind of situation? In my experience I've found it's always best to choose to attack. Without a recovery move, even something like a Grass Knot from Celebi (after hitting a few times) will lower Wobbuffet's HP enough to make sure he can't perform his role any longer and you can finish it off. This will essentially cripple the Wobbuffet as well as prevent a safe switch in from any Smeargle my opponent might have. They will always start with Safeguard or Encore anyway so you will almost always be able to hit it 2 to 3 times before your pokemon faints. While it's true my method will probably result in a dead wall, it's comparatively safer to just sacrifice a pokemon than to let my opponent have an opportunity to setup and sweep when I'm trapped in a non-attacking move and then have to switch out. Remember, it's rare for Wobbuffet to not take down at least one pokemon before dying.
Well smogonites, if you have a way of handling Wobbuffet than feel free to post/discuss it.
If it really is useless to talk about, then lock away.
EDIT: When people use Wobbuffet it's pretty much guaranteed they also have a stat-upper, like Garchomp or DDmence on their team so please take that into consideration as well when you post.
First lets look at the set pretty much every Wobbuffet will use
Wobbuffet @ Leftovers/Lum berry
Nature:Bold
EV's:252 Def/252 Sp.Def/4 HP
Ability:Shadow Tag
-Counter
-Mirror Coat
-Encore
-Safeguard/Charm/Destiny Bond
The strategy of this set is to try and trap a wall and lock it into a non attacking move with Encore while putting up Safeguard to prevent status. You then switch to something that can take advantage of the free turn to setup. A more common way of taking advantage of that turn (well, more common than before Wobbuffet was allowed anyway) is to attempt to use Smeargle to Baton Pass a Belly Drum boost to Lucario and sweep. I'm not going to explain how the Belly Drum Smeargle works though. If you don't already know just look at the Smeargle analysis on Smogon.
Countering the strategy itself is easy enough albeit slightly annoying, and leaves your opponent with only two-thirds of a team that actually poses a threat. I'm sorry to say though that you'll need a restalker, or at least something that you're willing to let Smeargle put to sleep. You'll also need a phazer or something with a priority move, Taunt, Perish Song, Encore, Torment, or a move that hits multiple times to stop the pass to Lucario or whatever they want to sweep you with. I've just regurgitated some information but I felt it would be helpful to mention some flaws of that setup since it seems like the most threatening thing Wobbuffet is able to do.
Now, on to dealing with Wobbuffet itself. There is obviously the option of having a ghost that uses physical attacks (Dusknoir) or a dark type that uses special attacks (Houndoom) since there's nothing Wobbuffet can do besides Charm or Encore. The trouble is that Wobbuffet will likely never stay in or switch into these pokemon. Keep in mind that the user of Wobbuffet chooses what it fights (walls) and if it switches in at the right time, your options are severely limited. What can you do in that kind of situation? In my experience I've found it's always best to choose to attack. Without a recovery move, even something like a Grass Knot from Celebi (after hitting a few times) will lower Wobbuffet's HP enough to make sure he can't perform his role any longer and you can finish it off. This will essentially cripple the Wobbuffet as well as prevent a safe switch in from any Smeargle my opponent might have. They will always start with Safeguard or Encore anyway so you will almost always be able to hit it 2 to 3 times before your pokemon faints. While it's true my method will probably result in a dead wall, it's comparatively safer to just sacrifice a pokemon than to let my opponent have an opportunity to setup and sweep when I'm trapped in a non-attacking move and then have to switch out. Remember, it's rare for Wobbuffet to not take down at least one pokemon before dying.
Well smogonites, if you have a way of handling Wobbuffet than feel free to post/discuss it.
If it really is useless to talk about, then lock away.
EDIT: When people use Wobbuffet it's pretty much guaranteed they also have a stat-upper, like Garchomp or DDmence on their team so please take that into consideration as well when you post.
