[QC: DragonWhale / NOVED / Theorymon]
[GP: Snobalt / P Squared]
With access to Prankster and a huge supporting movepool, Whimsicott is very useful for disrupting the opposing team. Its base 116 Speed makes Whimsicott the fastest Prankster user in the Battle Spot metagame, outspeeding other Prankster users such as Thundurus, Liepard, Klefki, and Sableye along with base 115 Speed Pokemon such as Raikou and Starmie. Whimsicott's Fairy / Grass typing is great defensively, giving it an immunity to Dragon and some useful resistances, such as to Fighting, Dark, Water, Electric, and Ground, but it also gives Whimsicott an extra weakness to Steel and a 4x weakness to Poison. Whimsicott is also an excellent stallbreaker, being able to utilize Encore + Taunt against defensive Pokemon, such as Chansey, Clefable, and Cresselia, locking them into a status move and causing them to use Struggle afterwards.
However, Whimsicott has little to no offensive presence, leaving it with very few attacking options outside of its STAB attacks Moonblast and Giga Drain. Its 60 / 85 / 75 bulk leaves a lot to be desired, which prevents Whimsicott from being able to take several strong attacks. Because of Whimsicott's reliance on support moves, it often becomes bait for other Taunt users if it isn't running Taunt itself. Whimsicott also lacks reliable recovery outside of Leech Seed, so it's heavily reliant upon the move. Its typing also gives it trouble against Fire-, Flying-, Steel-, Poison-, and Ice-types such as Talonflame, Heatran, Gengar, and Mamoswine.
[SET]
name: Cotton Stall
move 1: Encore
move 2: Leech Seed
move 3: Moonblast
move 4: Substitute / Taunt / Stun Spore / Cotton Guard
item: Leftovers
ability: Prankster
nature: Timid
evs: 204 HP / 52 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Encore allows Whimsicott to gain the upper hand as it forces the foe to use the same move for three turns. Whimsicott can use that to its advantage by switching out into a more dangerous threat to the opposing team or setting up Leech Seed, Substitute, or Cotton Guard. Leech Seed is Whimsicott's main recovery move, as it applies pressure on offensive Pokemon and slowly wears down their health while Whimsicott regains a little bit of health back. It can also switch out into one of its teammates, as they can recover health from Leech Seed as well. Moonblast is a great STAB move because it hits Fighting-, Dragon-, and Dark-types such as Mega Lopunny, Mega Salamence, and Sableye. It also keeps Whimsicott from being complete Taunt bait if it's not running Taunt itself. Substitute allows Whimsicott to avoid status from common moves such as Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, and Toxic. Whimsicott can use that in conjunction with Encore and Leech Seed to lock its foe into a move while behind a Substitute. Substitute also keeps it from being hit by powerful attacks and can help scout the foe's move.
Taunt can be used instead of Substitute so that Whimsicott can act as a stallbreaker towards defensive Pokemon such as Cresselia, Chansey, Gliscor, and Suicune. Taunt and Encore can be used together to cause the opposing threat to use Struggle if it is locked into a non-attacking move. Stun Spore can be used in order to cripple faster Pokemon, most notably Choice Scarf users such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Excadrill, and Mega Evolutions such as Mega Gengar, Mega Lopunny, and Mega Metagross. It has a niche in paralyzing Ground-type Pokemon as well. Cotton Guard boosts Whimsicott's Defense by three stages, allowing it to take physical attacks more effectively; for example, it helps Whimsicott survive Mega Salamence's Double-Edge and other physical attacks that would normally KO it. However, this makes Whimsicott vulnerable to status moves. Prankster Tailwind can be used as a more situational move. Even though Whimsicott doesn't benefit from the move, it can be sacrificed after using the move to send of one of its teammates in, allowing the teammate to outspeed Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Landorus-T and Garchomp.
Set Details
========
204 HP EVs let Whimsicott hit 161 HP, and 52 EVs are invested in Special Defense for added bulk, helping Whimsicott take hits better. 252 Speed EVs and a Timid nature allow it to outspeed base 115 Speed Pokemon and every Prankster user. Leftovers is used for passive recovery in conjunction with Leech Seed every turn. A Bold nature with maximum HP and Defense investment can be used instead of a Timid nature to take damage more effectively; however, Whimsicott will then have trouble outspeeding Prankster users such as Thundurus and Liepard. It also keeps Whimsicott from outspeeding Adamant Mega Salamence.
Usage Tips
========
Whimsicott's primary role is to switch into Pokemon that you'd expect to set up or use a support move of their own so that it can Encore them. This allows Whimsicott to set up either Substitute or Leech Seed to help stall out the foe. If Taunt is being used instead of the two moves mentioned already, it can force the threat to use Struggle, making it take recoil damage and giving Whimsicott another free turn to use any of its support moves. Encore will also give one of Whimsicott's teammates a chance to set up by locking the foe into a useless status move or an attack that one of your setup sweepers resists. Use Stun Spore on very fast Pokemon in order to gain the Speed advantage over the opposing team. This will also help in allowing your Pokemon to set up for a sweep when the opposing team is fully paralyzed.
Team Options
========
Mega Lucario is immune to Poison-type moves and can handle Fairy-, Ice-, Poison-, and Steel-types such as Sylveon, Mamoswine, Mega Gengar, and Heatran for Whimsicott. Mega Charizard X is also a nice partner because it can take on Bug-, Grass-, and Steel-types that threaten Whimsicott such as Mega Scizor, Serperior, and Aegislash. In return, Whimsicott can switch into Dragon- and Ground-type attacks aimed at Mega Charizard X. Heatran pairs very well with Whimsicott because it resists or is immune to all of its weaknesses. Whimsicott also does the same for Heatran's weaknesses to Fighting-, Ground-, and Water-type moves. Heatran can deal with Talonflame, Ferrothorn, Aegislash, Mega Gengar, and Weavile, while Whimsicott can take on Garchomp, Rotom-W, and Conkeldurr. Talonflame is also a good partner because it can easily get rid of pesky Grass-types with STAB Brave Bird.
Water-types, such as Suicune and Rotom-W, can form a perfect core with Whimsicott and Heatran. Rotom-W can also make use of Will-O-Wisp, softening physical attacks for Heatran and Whimsicott. Both Suicune and Rotom-W can take care of Fire-types such as Blaziken, opposing Heatran, and Rotom-H. Cresselia also makes for a good partner because it can take many attacks and deal passive damage to foes such as Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Salamence, and Mega Blaziken with Rocky Helmet. In return, Whimsicott can take Dark-type attacks for Cresselia.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Giga Drain can be used alongside Leech Seed to recover more HP and hit Rock-, Water-, and Ground-types such as Terrakion, Rotom-W, and Mega Swampert; however, Moonblast is a much better attacking option because it hits some of the most common threats in the metagame, such as Mega Salamence, Mega Lopunny, and Sableye. Memento decreases the foe's Attack and Special Attack by two stages, allowing Whimsicott's teammates to set up. This forces the foe to either attack the sweeper or switch out, giving the sweeper a free turn to set up without taking any damage. U-turn can be used as a hit-and-run option to pivot out of a terrible matchup, and it helps with gaining momentum. Focus Sash + Endeavor can be used with Memento and Tailwind with Whimsicott at level 1 to cripple particularly troublesome threats such as Mega Salamence, Suicune, and Cresselia. It can then use either Memento or Tailwind to help one of its teammates set up. However, this set is useless against Mega Kangaskhan and Ghost-types.
A set with Switcheroo and Choice Specs can be used to cripple defensive Pokemon and physical attackers. However, Whimsicott needs to be careful because many teams can switch their Mega Evolution into it. This forces Whimsicott to switch out, giving the opposing team a free turn to set up or attack Whimsicott's teammate. Switcheroo + Choice Specs can also be used to cripple physical attackers and defensive Pokemon. The set's other moves are Hurricane, to hit Bug- and Grass-types such as Heracross and Serperior; Hidden Power Fire, to hit Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Skarmory; and either U-turn or Moonblast. A Timid nature should be run on such a set, along with maximum Speed and Special Attack EVs. However, the set is inferior to Whimsicott's stalling set.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: Whimsicott is easily walled by Steel-types, as it has no offensive coverage moves and many Steel-types resist both of its STAB attacks. Ferrothorn can't be paralyzed by Stun Spore due to its Grass typing and can OHKO Whimsicott with Gyro Ball. Excadrill and Magnezone can easily KO Whimsicott with Iron Head and Flash Cannon, respectively. Magnezone also can't be paralyzed, so Stun Spore is useless against it. Aegislash can easily handle Whimsicott with either Iron Head or Flash Cannon. Heatran is 4x resistant to Whimsicott's STAB moves and can KO it with its own STAB moves in return. Mega Metagross is also a problem for Whimsicott to overcome and can use either Bullet Punch or Meteor Mash on it.
**Flying-types**: Talonflame is much faster than Whimsicott thanks to its base 126 Speed, allowing it to easily OHKO Whimsicott with Brave Bird. Zapdos isn't affected by Stun Spore due to its Electric typing and can anticipate a Taunt from Whimsicott. Zapdos can also use Heat Wave to hit it for super effective damage. Mega Salamence can OHKO Whimsicott with Aerilate-boosted Double-Edge; however, it does need to watch out for Moonblast.
**Offensive Attackers**: Whimsicott hates being hit by hard attacks, so it often has to rely on Substitute to shield itself from taking major damage. Pokemon such as Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Kangaskhan can continue to attack Whimsicott, getting rid of Substitute every time Whimsicott uses it and then KOing it. Mega Kangaskhan deserves a special mention because its ability, Parental Bond, can break Whimsicott's Substitute and damage Whimsicott itself on the second hit. Chandelure can also bypass Substitute due to Infiltrator and OHKO Whimsicott with its STAB Fire-type moves. Mega Blaziken and Greninja can OHKO Whimsicott with Flare Blitz or Blaze Kick in the former's case and Ice Beam or Gunk Shot in the latter's case; however, both get paralyzed by Stun Spore.
**Poison- and Grass-types**: Gengar and Mega Gengar can make quick work of Whimsicott. Mega Gengar can also trap Whimsicott with Shadow Tag, keeping it from switching out. Mega Venusaur is immune to Stun Spore and Leech Seed and can take any attack Whimsicott dishes out. Both Gengar and Mega Venusaur can OHKO Whimsicott with Sludge Bomb. Grass-types are immune to Stun Spore and Leech Seed, so they can use that to their advantage. Serperior can use Leaf Storm in order to deal with Whimsicott and its teammates after it faints.
**Hyper Voice Users**: Many Hyper Voice users can take advantage of Whimsicott's low Special Defense due to the move bypassing Substitute. Mega Salamence, Mega Altaria, and Mega Gardevoir can all be problematic because they get a boost from either Aerilate or Pixilate. Sylveon can OHKO Whimsicott with Pixilate- and Choice Specs-boosted Hyper Voice as well.
**Taunt Users**: If Whimsicott lacks Taunt, it's easily shut down by opposing Taunt users such as Thundurus, Liepard, Sableye, and opposing Whimsicott, forcing it to either use Moonblast or switch out. Serperior gets a special mention because not only can it use Taunt, but it's also immune to Leech Seed.
**Magic Bounce**: Magic Bounce users shut down Whimsicott's stalling capabilities. Mega Sableye, Espeon, and Mega Absol can all use Whimsicott's support moves as their opportunity to set up on it with Calm Mind or Swords Dance. Espeon also has access to recovery in Morning Sun, which can help it stall Whimsicott. However, both Mega Sableye and Mega Absol need to watch out for Moonblast.
**Multi-hit Moves**: Whimsicott is susceptible to multi-hit attacks such as Icicle Spear. Notable users include Mamoswine and Cloyster, both of which can get rid of Whimsicott's Substitute and continue to inflict damage on it. Cloyster also has Skill Link and can use Whimsicott as setup bait for Shell Smash, but it needs to watch for Whimsicott's Encore and Stun Spore.
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