Whimsicott [QC 2/3] [WRITE-UP SOON]

Not Canadian

always start with a bang
Overview
########

The old "looks can be deceiving" cliché applies fully to this cottony trickster, new and improved for the sixth generation of Pokemon. Its blistering 116 Speed, outspeeding even Thundurus-I -- a similarly popular Prankster -- in addition to its ability allow it to once again wreak havoc on the opponent's team while boosting its own with a much-needed Tailwind or some other gain. Furthermore, its new Fairy typing gives it a new and much-appreciated immunity and resistance to Dragon and Fighting, respectively, in addition to key resists it already has against Ground and Water.

But it's not all sunshine and rainbows for Whimsicott: it's still plagued by its frailty and lack of offensive presence. A misplay, two unresisted hits, or both, can make Taunt bait or mincemeat out of Whimsicott, and don't expect it to win anything one-on-one. That said, one has to understand that Whimsicott is more a team player than anything -- and in Doubles, where teamwork is a premium, look no further than this Pokemon to get that job done.

Team Support
########
set name: Team Support
move 1: Tailwind
move 2: Encore / Taunt
move 3: Helping Hand / Moonblast / Giga Drain
move 4: Protect
item: Sitrus Berry / Focus Sash
nature: Timid
ability: Prankster
evs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 Spe


Moves
=======
One of the most important facets of Doubles is speed control, which Whimsicott easily counteracts with
  • Tailwind allows Whimsicott's partner to get the jump on faster Pokemon, especially scarfed 'mons like Landorus-T, as well as counteracting negative effects such as a speed drop from Icy Wind
  • Encore and Taunt do similar jobs:
    • Encore interferes with set-up sweepers, and is disruptive to Trick Room and Pokemon with Fake Out and Protect
    • Taunt is better at checking opponents' support and TR set-up, like Cresselia and Amoonguss
  • Helping Hand's +1 can give your partner the boost needed to bring an opposing Pokemon into KO range
  • Moonblast stops Whimsicott from being Taunt bait, hitting common Pokemon like Hitmontop, Scrafty, and Terrakion, as well as picking off weakened threats and Sashed targets Preferred over Dazzling Gleam to avert being blocked by Wide Guard, as well as having stronger base power
  • Giga Drain's usefulness is relative to its effectiveness -- it won't do decent damage or healing if it isn't super-effective
  • Protect blocks against Fake Out, among other priority, and in general helps it to survive.

Set Details
========
  • 216 Speed EVs allows it to outspeed and Taunt opposing Thundurus at max Speed
  • Sitrus is used as Whimsicott will usually switch in on resisted attacks, and typically survive a number of unresisted hits
  • Sash can be used instead to allow Whimsicott to survive more powerful hits, such as Charizard-Y's Heat Wave, Talonflame's Brave Bird, etc.
  • Maximum HP investment is for all-around survivability; Defense is preferred as spread moves (EQ, Rock Slide) are more often physical
Usage Tips
========

  • Cripple something, boost with Tailwind, and if (and/or when) it faints, your teammates can make the most out of the opportunities it creates
  • Its ability to disrupt common strategies such as TR make it a good lead
  • Switch it in on Water, Ground, Electric, and Fighting Pokemon that threaten it little
  • Partners that can apply good offensive pressure force Protects which Whimsicott can Encore
  • Moonblast and Giga Drain are last-ditch moves; don't use Whimsicott for offense unless you are backed into a corner, or need to use it for a free switch
  • If Whimsicott is likely to be hit by Fake Out, use Protect before anything, and use Tailwind / Taunt / Encore later
  • Encore is an obvious choice against set-up sweepers and Protect/Fake Out -- your opponent likely (hopefully?) knows this as well; that in mind, don't waste Encore on obvious switches
Team Options
============
  • Whimsicott is primarily support, so it's mostly about Pokemon that it creates opportunities for, like Substitute users (Mega Mawile, Heatran) or set-up sweepers (DDance Mega Gyarados, Mega Kangaskhan).
  • Deoxys-A is an especially terrifying partner -- potential Fake Out and Protect users are threatened by Whimsicott's Encore as it applies relentless offensive pressure
  • Slower threats make excellent Pokemon who take advantage of Tailwind -- Mega Heracross, Mamoswine, and Breloom are good examples
  • Pokemon that hate Speed control (Latios, Deoxys-A, Scarf users) appreciate Tailwind -- Whimsicott with Taunt makes a good partner for these. Conversely, they force all-important Protects, allowing Whimsicott to safely boost or switch out to maximize offensive potential
  • Heatran and Rotom-Wash enjoy Tailwind and solidly check Talonflame, which Whimsicott hates

Other Options
########

  • Coupling Focus Sash with Endeavor could drop a Pokemon into KO range for a partner
  • Light Screen gives a +1 boost to your team's Special Defense.
  • Beat Up coupled with a user of Justified can often lead to upwards of +6 Attack boosts.
  • Memento drops both an opponent's Attack and Special Attack to -2, and can be used for when Whimsicott has done all it can.
  • Stun Spore paralyzes opponents and is difficult to avoid due to Prankster.
  • U-turn could be used to maintain momentum and allow more teammates to take advantage of Whimsicott boosts
  • Switcheroo can offload items with negative effects like Iron Ball or Flame Orb onto opponents
  • SubSeed is a nice alternative set, but is difficult to set in Doubles and generally defeats Whimsicott's purpose of team support as opposed to keeping itself safe
  • Priority Sunny Day with Heat Rock is a good addition to sun teams
  • An offensive set (with Life Orb + Giga Drain) could be run to take advantage of its speed and movepool, but it usually lacks the power to break targets
Checks & Counters
############
  • **Offensive Typing Advantage**
    • Priority attacks, such as Bullet Punch from Scizor, or Brave Bird from Talonflame make quick work of it.
    • Frail in general. Just piling on spread moves keeps pressure on Whimsicott -- Mega Charizard-Y's Heat Wave and assorted Rock Slides come to mind.
    • Gengar (particularly M-Gengar) has blistering speed and a 4x effective move in Sludge Bomb / Wave.
    • Fire-types like Heatran, Mega Charizard-Y, Talonflame, and Rotom-Heat can threaten or kill with SE STAB moves
    • Steel-types do the same: Scizor, Excadrill, and Bisharp are notable in this respect
    • Anything that resists Fairy or Grass in general. Note that Whimsicott will lose most 1v1 situations.
    • Frailty pretty much guarantees it'll be 2HKOed by unresisted attacks.
  • **Miscellaneous**
    • Aromatisse's Aroma Veil stops Taunt or Encore on itself or its teammates.
    • Trick Room setters holding a Mental Herb can get away with setting up in Whimsicott's face, and switch out if they fear Encore
 
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BLOOD TOTEM

braine damaged
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hi hi hi

Overview
  • Drop the mention of specific Pokemon when you talk about typing, no need in the overview
  • Mention useful resists like electric water and fighting, being a Grass-type also means it has an immunity to Spore
  • Mention how, thanks to it's speed / ability, it's really hard to stop it doing its job
Set
  • Slash in Helping Hand with Tailwind
Moves
  • Talk about Specific Pokemon Taunt will disrupt. Examples include Amoonguss, Thundurus-i and Cresselia
  • Mention other stuff Encore irritates like Protect and Fake Out
  • Mention of TR with the Tailwind line is kinda unnecessary
  • Talk about the mons Moonlight hits. Hitmontop, Scrafty and Terrakion are all decent mons that Whimsi can dent. In addition to this, you can pick off weakened threats or Sashed mons thanks to a high base speed stat.
Usage Tips
  • Make a point about creating opportunities for setup Pokemon like DD Mega Gyara, or sub users like Heatran, MMawile and Terrakion
Other Options
  • Sash + Endeavor could be cool
  • Stun Spore is irritating to face
  • Light Screen
  • Mental Herb if you're super worried about taunt
  • Switcheroo can burden shit items on opposing mons, Iron Ball can be used to remove Ground-type immunities
  • Sunny Day support
  • Leech Seed
Checks and Counters
  • Mega Khan can donk straight through the sash
  • Mention Fire-types like tran zard-y and rotom-h
  • 2HKOd by pretty much anything that it doesn't resist
Strong effort for a first analysis =]
 

finally

how can you swallow so much sleep?
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
sup canada, not qc so ignore me if you want to

as much as i hate to say this, beat up + justified is the most popular set and should be mentioned somewhere to make that clear. the taunt support set you have is not run by anyone, even though it may be good in theory
Set would look like this:
im a lil shit (Whimsicott) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tailwind
- Encore
- Beat Up
- Taunt
minimized attack to hurt terrak less. although i agree mainly priority will be hitting you, if you look at whimsicott's stats its lowest defensive stat is its hp. im p sure you're supposed to attempt to invest in your lowest defensive stat, but i could be wrong.

it loses its steel resist with fairy typing which is important in the scizor lead against *sigh* whimsicott + terrak
dont run mental herb, totem is gay :]
totem forgot to mention that leech seed sets always run sub

if you really want to, it is fast and gets a cool spatking movepool. it would be like
Whimsicott @ Life Orb/Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Spd / 4 SDef / 252 SAtk
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Giga Drain
- Moonblast
- Protect/ Tailwind

since whimsicott is a shit it also worry seeds slakings and regigas. this is what it is like.

but for reals, be prepared if you see whims + regi/slaking, bc that is what it is going to do and you cant stop it (with your own prankster taunt) because whimsicott is the fastest prankster.
mention that some butts run grasswhistle and that your anus can never be truly spared from whimsicott

idk if you are supposed to mention this sort of thing, but one of the ways to beat terracott (the 99% set) is to force your opp into a check with your pokemon. you have one outspeed terrak and ohko it and you have the other threaten with tr (and preferably ohko it). the reason this works over having two pokemon outspeed is because you guarantee that either on turn 1 (fast dude) or turn 2 (tr dude), you hit terrak first before it fucks you up with +6 rock slide. and the reason why you cant have two fasts is bc whims tailwinds and terrak protects turn 1. then you get your shit pushed in turn 2. and the reason why you cant bring 2 slows is because you get your shit pushed in by rock slide turn 1.
mention how intimidate only goes so far to stopping a +6 terrak.

oh last thing, you forgot to mention somewhere that the user of whimsicott should feel dirty afterwards. like so dirty that they have to take 2 showers. you gotta put that in OO or something, otherwise the new guys wont know and wont take showers afterwards.
 

finally

how can you swallow so much sleep?
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
it's not weak to steel, just neutral
fake out dosen't matter as much, you can just encore them into it. opp shouldn't be going for fake out anyway, but i see your point about sash preservation
perhaps emphasize how prankster encore literally makes it suicide for opp to protect.
drop the 40 def evs, whims isnt living anything. might as well be fast and furious

believe it or not, if you place whims on one side of team preview and terrak on the other side, opp might now know about the combo. and if they don't have any priority, leading with whims terrak is usually a fine idea

still not qc, still ignore me
 
it's not weak to steel, just neutral
fake out dosen't matter as much, you can just encore them into it. opp shouldn't be going for fake out anyway, but i see your point about sash preservation
perhaps emphasize how prankster encore literally makes it suicide for opp to protect.
drop the 40 def evs, whims isnt living anything. might as well be fast and furious

believe it or not, if you place whims on one side of team preview and terrak on the other side, opp might now know about the combo. and if they don't have any priority, leading with whims terrak is usually a fine idea

still not qc, still ignore me
Umm it's weak to Steel lol. Grass doesn't resist Steel... .-.

http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Steel_(type)
 

Not Canadian

always start with a bang
wow okay thanks for stealing my thunder LightningLuxray i was going to make a snarky post about it ;_;

or should i say stealing my lightning ;^)

anyway it's defense because the only allowable attacking move on the terracott set is beat up anyway

fake out targeting can be risky though which makes the case for double protecting then encoring. or just using protect on whimsicott, because imo one fake out for whimsicott usually spells lights out for it
 
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whimsicott ain't gimmicky people just make it gimmicky :(

Take out Terracott pls it is fine in oo, but to have a full set for such a specific scenario is not good for a competitive analysis. I am not saying the strategy itself is bad, it just takes so much skill to pull off correctly. I've seen skilled Doubles players pull it off, but anyone who would use Terracott (or any other gimmick) needs to be comfortable and understand the metagame. The readers of these analyses are breaking into the tier, and this will set them down a bad path.

For example, it adds a chance that young readers will see Beat Up as the first slash and think that it is a good offensive move in general, without knowing to pair it up with Terrakion.

These analyses should show strategies that each mon can take into the battlefield alone and do well.
 

BLOOD TOTEM

braine damaged
is a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Officially QC now =]

  • Just drop the TerraCott set, no need to have it as anything other than OO

For the support set

Moves
  • use the sentence you used in the terracott set to describe twind ''Tailwind allows Whimsicott's partner to get the jump on faster Pokemon, especially scarfed 'mons like Landorus-T'' fits better imo, feel free to mention it countering the effects of an icy wind drop too
  • ''Protect stops Fake Out and is for general utility.'' general utility is kinda wishy washy, just say it helps it stay alive
Set Details
  • ''Sash allows it to take two hits at least'' it only guarantees whimsi will take one hit. Just say that Focus Sash lets Whimsicott take at least one hit so that it can do its job or somth
  • Drop ''you know the drill'' Analysis are informative first and foremost. Say the HP provides a little extra bulk
Usage Tips
  • Good ability to disrupt common strategies makes it a good lead
  • When you talk about getting out fast, say it's because Whimsi has minimal offensive pressure and you need to capitalize on the opportunities it provides with Twind / Encore or w/e
Team Options
  • Whimsi isn't important enoguh to warrant Quick Guard / Wide Guard support, drop that bullet point imo
  • Mention some slow threats that Twind helps, Mega Heracross is a good example
  • Talk about Pokemon that can switch into TFlame such as Rotom-W and Heatran
Other Options
  • The first bullet it doesn't read very well. ''Coupled with Whimsicotts Focus Sash, Endeavor can potentially bring a foe to 1HP making it easy pickings for teammates'' reads a bit better. (still not the best but it's kinda hard to word)
In fact, you wrote a lot of these with a lot of fluffy prose, so I'll fix them =]
  • Light Screen can help by providing a 1.5x boost to teammates SpD
  • Memento helps build momentum and can be used for when Whimsicott has done all it can on the field.
  • Stun Spore helps spread paralysis and is hard to stop due to Prankster.
  • Grasswhistle can be used to put opponents to sleep but is generally avoided due to its poor 55 accuracy
  • Drop worry seed it's kinda lame :>
  • Mental herb isn't really relevant since its faster than every taunt :>
  • Switcheroo can be used to offload detrimental items onto your opponent such as a Flame Orb or Iron Ball.
  • SubSeed is a nice alternative set, but is difficult to set in fast-paced Doubles and generally defeats Whimsicott's purpose of team support as opposed to keeping itself safe
  • Priority Sunny Day coupled with a Heat Rock makes Whimsicott an excellent support option for sun teams
  • An offensive set could be run to take advantage of its speed and movepool, but it usually lacks the power to break targets
Content is good but prose could use some work :>

There are a couple of other little things you can patch up in terms of your prose earlier on, remember the objective is to write to inform. Read through the skeletons of established users to get a feel to how it should be looking then make any changes you see fit to your prose so that GP doesn't have as hard a time as they do with me.

btw, when I first started my analyses had pretty lame prose and I'm still kinda bad now so dw bout it.

Let me know when this is done and I'll give you QC 1/3 =]
 

Not Canadian

always start with a bang
done and done

also I think you told me it could be a good idea to put terracott as a set since it got one for VGC '11 but you weren't QC then so w/e

d-do I get a QC check yet?
 
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Encore and Taunt should not be in separate moveslots imo, cause they don't work well together. Whimsicott usually picks either-or, depending on what the team needs most. This also frees up protect which is kinda impt if Whimsicott is sash'n.

Team Support
########
set name: Team Support
move 1: Tailwind
move 2: Encore / Taunt
move 3: Helping Hand / Moonblast
move 4: Protect
item: Focus Sash
nature: Timid
ability: Prankster
evs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 Spe

Fill up HP evs first because well-rounded bulk is better. Whimsicott's gonna need to tank those t-bolts and hydro pumps too, so you don't need to stack Grass-types.

Emphasize in the overview. that the only niche's Whimsicott have over thundurus are being one point faster and Encore. But the loss of offensive pressure and bulk really sucks.
 

BLOOD TOTEM

braine damaged
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In set details or moves talk about how Encore / Taunt do a pretty similar job but highlight the fact that Taunt does a better job of stopping TR and support moves whilst Encore is more disruptive to strategies with Fake Out.

QC 1/3 =]
 
Overview:
  • You don't need the second bullet explaining the type chart. Just generalize in the Grass bullet that Whimsicott has nifty resistances to Water, Electric, Ground, and Fighting.
  • Whimsicott is only Taunt bait if it runs Encore > Taunt, because it can Taunt before the opp can.
Set:
  • I would slash Sitrus Berry in the set also. With 252 HP, it can avoid the KO with many neutral hits, and Sitrus will aid in survivability.
Set Details:
  • The bullet about 40 Def EVs to aid against priority attacks isn't really true. Whimsicott resists Aqua Jet and Sucker Punch, and Talonflame's Brave Bird and Scizor's Bullet Punch are going to OHKO no matter what EV spread Whimsicott is running.
Usage Tips:
  • I wouldn't say don't keep it in for too long. Whimsicott has a hard time switching in due to its crappy bulk and Doubles' offensively paced nature. There are three situations that Whimsicott can reliably switch in: when the opponent has supporting Pokemon on the field (such as Amoonguss and Hitmontop), when your team has so much offensive pressure that you can reliably force Protects (which Whimsicott can take advantage of with Encore), and when partners faint ( :( ).
  • It's obvious that Whimsicott is going to Encore Protect and setup moves most of the time, so don't waste Encores on obvious switches.
Team Options:
  • If running Taunt, Poke's that hate Speed Control (like Deoxys-A, Latios, Terrakion, Scarf Partners) appreciate Whimsicott. They also have a lot of offensive pressure and force Protects!
  • Heatran and Rotom-Wash are solid Talonflame counters that appreciate Tailwind.
Other Options:
  • U-turn for momentum
  • No Grasswhistle too risky :O
  • Specify that the offensive set would have Life Orb and Giga Drain
Checks & Counters:
  • Trick Room setters holding a Mental Herb can set up in Whimsicott's face.
  • Whimsicott can't harm anything that resists Moonblast and will lose in most 1v1 situations, unless it can encore them into Struggle :o
 

Electrolyte

Wouldn't Wanna Know
is a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Overview:
- It might be statistically frail, but it's resistant to a lot of common types, and often lasts for very long periods of time because most teams only carry one or two Pokemon that can actually get past the Prankster and hit it super effectively. Its bulk isn't super, but it's not going down very soon either.
- You're right that it doesn't have offensive abilities, but you should also mention that because of this, it is unable to use brute force to muscle past opposing threats. Basically, things that counter Whimsicott will always almost counter Whimsicott, thus, teamwork needs to be emphasized so it's not dead weight.

Moves:
- Organization: make sure your explanations are in the same order as your moves. Explain Tailwind first, then Encore / Taunt. Also, put the sub-bullet about Dazzling Gleam under Moonblast's explanation.
- I disagree with the "Encore and Taunt" do similar things bullet. Taunt is to prevent the opponent from doing something, while Encore is to punish the opponent for doing something. For instance, Taunt can be used to prevent the opponent from setting Trick Room if Whimsicott is being used to support fast glass cannons. Encore can be used to punish the opponent for setting Trick Room if Whimsicott is being used to support slower, bulky attackers.

Set Details:
- Sash isn't the only viable item. Sitrus Berry is great as well, giving Whimsicott needed recovery.
- Lolk covered the 40 BP prio moves claim so just look at what he says for that one.

Checks & Counters:
- "Speed" isn't really something that will help Pokemon beat Whimsicott; power is. Replace Speed with bulky attackers- Whimsicott is fairly easy to switch into because it can't deal any real damage until you yourself do something it can lock you into. Thus, powerful neutral hits (mention Mega Pinsir, Mega K as long as you don't use Fake Out, Mega Gardevoir, Heatran as long as you don't Sub up, etc) beat it quite effectively.
- Add Oblivious users (mainly Slowking / Slowbro) to "Miscellaneous". They are immune to Taunt, but not Encore.
 

Not Canadian

always start with a bang
I seem to have all but forgotten this existed; my apologies. I'll make every relevant change when I get home tonight.
 

Not Canadian

always start with a bang
Made edits from both Lolk and Electrolyte as I saw fit, thanks. Ready for second check.

Electrolyte said:
- I disagree with the "Encore and Taunt" do similar things bullet. Taunt is to prevent the opponent from doing something, while Encore is to punish the opponent for doing something. For instance, Taunt can be used to prevent the opponent from setting Trick Room if Whimsicott is being used to support fast glass cannons. Encore can be used to punish the opponent for setting Trick Room if Whimsicott is being used to support slower, bulky attackers.
I don't particularly understand, sorry. Could you elaborate, perhaps give an example?

- It might be statistically frail, but it's resistant to a lot of common types, and often lasts for very long periods of time because most teams only carry one or two Pokemon that can actually get past the Prankster and hit it super effectively. Its bulk isn't super, but it's not going down very soon either.
>Frail, will probably take only two unresisted hits before going down.

I think this should explain what I meant better, sorry for the ambiguity.
 
Set:
  • I still think Sitrus Berry should be slashed before Focus sash, as Whimsicott has the bulk to survive neutral hits anyway. Plus Whimsicott typically switches in on Water-, Ground-, and Fighting-type attacks anyway so there are far less advantages for using the Sash.
Moves:
  • Giga Drain will only do decent damage (and heal decently) if super effective.
Usage Tips:
  • Don't mention memento because it is not in the set.
  • Use its typing to switch on Water-, Electric-, Ground-, and Fighting-type Pokemon that can't hurt it.
  • Use partners that offer a lot of offensive pressure to force out Protects that Whimsicott can Encore.
  • Add Giga Drain to the bullet about not using Whimsicott offensively.
  • Don't say avoid Fake Out, because that implies running away. Just say to Protect on Fake Out's and Encore them into the move.
Team Options:
  • Deoxys-A is a scary partner for Whimsicott, because opponents won't be willing to Fake Out it or Protect against its hard-hitting attacks.
Checks & Counters:
  • A single Fake Out can spell doom for Whimsicott, who could then be ganged up on. Common users include Mega Kangaskhan, who in addition has Parental Bond to bypass Sash.
  • This is misleading, as it implies that Mega Kangaskhan can bypass the Focus Sash and OHKO with Fake Out, which only does ~40%. In fact, Mega Kangaskhan only has a ~37% chance to KO with Return. Even so, I don't think you need to highlight Fake Out as a counter tbh, as it has Protect+Encore to completely screw over any Pokemon that uses it.
  • Slowbro and Slowking aren't seen in Doubles.
  • Mention more Steel- and Fire-types.
 

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