[Overview]
<p>At first glance, Gothita really does look useless. It can't use Shadow Tag in standard Little Cup, its offensive typing is horrid, and its stats are subpar. When one takes a deeper look at Gothita, however, one will find that it does have some appealing traits. Its Psychic typing is quite useful in this metagame full of Fighting-types, and having only one common weakness is something to be thankful for. Gothita's special movepool is also very good when compared to common special attackers such as Chinchou. While Shadow Tag isn't usable in standard Little Cup, having Frisk as an ability is a lot better than nothing, as it will allow Gothita to scout the opponent by revealing their item. All-in-all, Gothita may not be an excellent powerhouse, but it has a lot of things going for it.</p>
[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Psychic / Psyshock
move 2: Thunderbolt / Hidden Power Fighting
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Substitute / Calm Mind
item: Life Orb
ability: Frisk
nature: Timid
evs: 36 Def / 236 SpA / 236 Spe
ivs: 0 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set takes advantage of Gothita's spectacular movepool by turning it into a special powerhouse. The objective of this set is to deal as much damage as possible before Gothita faints, and Life Orb helps it do just that. With a lucky base HP stat that allows it to lower its HP to 19, the magic Life Orb number, Gothita is capable of attacking 19 times before it faints, assuming no other damage is taken. The most unique thing about Gothita, however, is its stat distribution. Gothita possesses good Special Attack, Speed, and bulk, allowing it to switch into neutral hits and still hit hard. Unlike Abra, Solosis, and other frail Psychic-types, Gothita isn't afraid of most priority attacks, and it can even survive most super effective special hits. Typing and stats aren't all that makes Gothita a good attacker, however. While most Life Orb attackers have to be very wary of an opponent that is potentially threatening, Gothita's special trait, Frisk, allows it to scout the opponent's item. This can be crucial against opponents who may or may not be threatening depending on their item, such as Gastly and Chinchou.</p>
<p>In the first slot, you have the choice of Psychic or Psyshock. Psychic is usually the superior choice due to its higher Base Power, but Psyshock's effect of hitting the opponent's Defense stat can be useful on specially defensive Pokemon such as Munchlax. Another tough choice is choosing between Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Fighting. Thunderbolt will be of more benefit in most situations, but Hidden Power Fighting allows Gothita to hit Dark-types such as Pawniard who lack Sucker Punch. Hidden Power Fighting also leaves Gothita with a secret weapon against Ferroseed, who will almost always try to set up on it. Substitute or Calm Mind is up to how you want to play Gothita. If you want to use Gothita more strategically to beat a certain Pokemon, Substitute is the way to go. If you just want to use it as a powerhouse, Calm Mind will help you more.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Energy Ball hits a few things harder than Thunderbolt, namely Hippopotas, Wooper, and Chinchou. Thunderbolt does, however, have higher Base Power and will hit most Water-types harder, so it's a better choice in the second slot. Dark Pulse has roughly the same coverage as Shadow Ball, with an additional chance to flinch, but be aware that Scraggy switch-ins will be hit for significantly less damage. Hidden Power Fire is another option in the second slot if you want to hit Ferroseed harder, but that's the sole advantage it offers over Hidden Power Fighting, with the exception of the extremely rare Bronzor.</p>
<p>Gothita's Special Attack isn't high enough to net the many KOs that people would like, so entry hazards can be used to remedy this issue. Stealth Rock and Spikes are both prime choices for entry hazards. Toxic Spikes also helps, but won't really do anything unless Gothita runs Substitute to stall out your opponent's health. It may seem like a strange idea, but using a fast Grass-type such as Cottonee to provide Leech Seed support will help Gothita a lot. Life Orb recoil can be the difference between Gothita living or not, and Leech Seed will essentially negate the recoil, and then some.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Gothita runs an okay Choice Scarf set, but its power isn't enough to distinguish it from other Psychic-types such as Abra. Choice Specs faces the same problem, but lacks Speed instead. Gothita can set up dual screens with Light Clay or Eviolite, but other users such as Mareep, who has fewer weaknesses, and Chikorita, who is bulkier, do it better. Gothita also gets some cool status moves such as Thunder Wave and Flatter, but that is a little too reliant on luck to be effective. Trick Room is an option for Gothita to help its teammates out, since Gothita itself is usually not slow enough to take advantage of it. However, Solosis almost completely outclasses Gothita in this role, with greater power and lower Speed. Lastly, Taunt and Mirror Coat can be options for certain scenarios, but they're extremely situational, and Gothita is outclassed by other users.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Gastly can easily OHKO Gothita with Shadow Ball before a Calm Mind. Scraggy, and other Dark-type physical attackers can hit Gothita's weaker Defense stat with STAB Crunch or Pursuit. Dark-types are also immune to Gothita's Psychic-type STAB attacks and can easily switch into Shadow Ball or Dark Pulse. Houndour, Pawniard, and the rare Poochyena all learn Sucker Punch and Pursuit, which can easily take Gothita down one way or another. Dwebble has super effective Bug-type STAB and can take any hit using Sturdy, and it also has Rock Blast to break Substitutes. Ferroseed can set up on Gothita who don't run Hidden Power Fire or Fighting.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>With Shadow Tag, Gothita runs a very effective Torment set using Torment, Substitute, Protect, and Psychic or Hidden Power Ground. Hidden Power Ground defeats Poison- and Steel-types who wouldn't be affected by Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes is ideal for a Torment set so you can get some powerful support from residual damage. Other options in the last slot include Flatter, Swagger, and Psyshock. Gothita can also run a Choice Scarf set with Shadow Tag to trap and revenge kill weakened Pokemon.</p>