So, I was looking at the Wobbuffet analysis today since it's now solidly uber just out of curiosity. I found the analysis a bit lacking, particularly since it's now being used in uber. No mention of Screen support to help it take hits (this is almost mandatory for Wobbs in ubers), the line about Tickle being banned was irrelevant now because of the Smogon server, no mention of CB Tars Pursuit under "counters", no mention of Toxic Dugtrio under counters, no mention of a faster EV spread that can really screw over stall teams that rely on slow things like Blissey, Forretress, no mention of Dragon Claw Giratina in counters, etc. There aren't significant changes to this but I thought that this stuff constituted more than just "small subjective changes" so I just decided to add these details into the current analysis. Hope thats alright.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/wobbuffet
[SET]
name: Oh no, it's Wobbuffet!
move 1: Encore
move 2: Counter
move 3: Mirror Coat
move 4: Safeguard / Charm
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm / Bold
evs: 28 HP / 228 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The one and only set for Wobbuffet. With little prediction, or none at all if Encore is used, Wobbuffet can guarantee at least one kill. Choose Counter if your opponent is clearly a physical sweeper or Mirror Coat if it's special. If it's mixed, simply use Encore and proceed from there since your opponent can't switch out. Encore can also work to your benefit if the opponent chooses to use a stat up move as this will allow a free switch-in for one of your Pokemon and at least one turn of set up. Encore can also be used to PP stall if it comes down to that. Forcing a Pokemon to repeat a move while preventing them from switching is one of the most sadistic, and effective, strategies in Pokemon. Both Charm and Safeguard can come in handy as your last move. Charm can annoy physical attackers that attempt to set up on you and is particularly effective if they have been Encored. Safeguard is obviously there to prevent Wobbuffet from being crippled by status ailments and can support the team at the same time. The only downside is that Wobbuffet is very slow and will most likely be statused before it can use Safeguard. For this reason Wobbuffet works best with Aromatherapy or Heal Bell support. One of the main factors that prevents Wobbuffet from being a top tier uber is its lack of a recovery move, so having a teammate to support it with Wish can ensure its longevity. Also, because of the powerhouses that dominate ubers, Wobbuffet will struggle against hard hitters such as Dragon Dance Rayquaza or Choice Specs Kyogre, as such, Light Screen and Reflect support allow Wobbuffet to perform its job significantly better.</p>
<p>The given EVs are fairly obvious with its massive base HP and poor defenses. The 28 HP EVs allow Wobbuffet for maximum Leftovers recovery and with a Calm nature allows it to survive a Modest Kyogre's full powered Water Spout and OHKO back with Mirror Coat. Calm is emphasized over Bold because of the concentration on special attackers in Ubers, however, Bold can be useful to better handle Groudon, Rayquaza, and other physical threats in the Uber metagame.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Wobbuffet's large and diverse move pool consists of a whopping 8 moves. Besides the absolutely useless Splash, the only moves not covered above are Destiny Bond and Tickle. Destiny Bond may seem like an appealing options since it allows you to take one more opponent down when you're low on heath, but Wobbuffet does not have the Speed to pull this off effectively and should only be used on Trick Room teams. Tickle can be employed very effectively with Encore to weaken a defensive Pokemon and then have Choice Band Tyranitar use Pursuit against it. While overall less effective in ubers, it is still a viable strategy. For reference sake, this strategy was discussed at length and can be found here: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41455.</p>
[EVs]
<p>Wobbuffet has the third highest base HP of any Pokemon, but its defenses are terrible. Similar to Blissey, who needs maximum Defense in order to take physical hits, Wobbuffet needs to pour almost all of its EVs into both Defense and Special Defense so that it can take hits without losing too much health in the process. A much faster EV spread with a positive Speed nature can also be beneficial to Wobbuffet if you are careful with what you leave it in on. If you sacrifice one of your defenses and invest in Speed Wobuffet's slightly faster Encore can now help shut down pokemon like Blissey, Skarmory, Forretress, Bronzong, and other popular choices on slow stall teams. Wobbuffet, with a positive Speed nature, will require a minimum of 236 Speed EVs to outrun zero Speed Skarmory.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Despite its tiny movepool, a lot can be said about Wobbuffet. It jumped straight into the Ubers tier in the Advance generation mainly because of its unique ability, which utterly shatters the concept of switching and countering. Nintendo changed Shadow Tag around in D/P so that two Pokémon with this same ability will be able to switch if both are sent out. This means the dreaded scenario of two Wobbuffet facing each other will no longer end in a draw. However, Shadow Tag is still a ridiculous ability and the abundance of Choice items limiting Pokémon to only one attack makes Wobbuffet's job even easier. The only thing that prevents Wobbuffet from being a complete god among Pokémon is the lack of a recovery move, which can be rectified by surrounding it with Wish support. While Wobbuffet isn't able to take some of the hardest hitters in the uber tier such as Sword Dance Groudon or Choice Specs Kyogre, Wobbuffet's ability to turn the game in your favor by eliminating that problem Pokemon or allowing you free turns of set up should never be underestimated.</p>
<p>Wobbuffet's May 30, 2008 movement from the Limbo tier to the OU tier was a direct result of no conclusive evidence of the Pokémon overwhelming the standard metagame arising after three months of testing on Shoddy Battle's Official Server's Ladder. It was decided overwhelmingly through a "bold voting" process (voting <strong>UBER</strong> or <strong>OU</strong> with a detailed argument) at the end of June 2008 that Wobbuffet belongs in the Uber tier in DP.</p>
[Counters]
<p>By definition, a proper counter must be able to switch in against whatever it is they are trying to counter. As mentioned, Wobbuffet's ability prevents the opponent from switching if they lack the moves Baton Pass or U-Turn or aren't holding a Shed Shell, which means it essentially has no real counters. So if you should meet this Pokémon during one of your battles, what can you do against it?</p>
<p>Taunt is probably the most effective defense against the blue blob. It will completely shut down Wobbuffet for a few turns, and all it can do is Counter and Mirror Coat for no damage. Sleep moves are also a temporary solution. By putting it to sleep, you can force it to switch out, use the opportunity to stat boost, or simply hit it with your strongest moves and hope you can score a KO before it wakes up. The Trick + Choice item strategy is also effective since it will limit it to only one move and therefore ruin its usefulness but this strategy is seldom seen in ubers. Toxic will help only if Wobbuffet is the last Pokémon on the team. Otherwise, it will simply Encore your Toxic and switch out to a cleric or one of the many Pokémon immune to poison. Finally, Roar and Whirlwind will force it to switch out although it will still come back to haunt you later in the battle.</p>
<p>As mentioned, Baton Pass and U-Turn are the only moves that have the ability to allow users to escape from Shadow Tag's grip. U-Turn is super effective, but if you use it and Wobbuffet Counters in the same turn, the Pokémon that gets switched in will receive a pretty nasty dent. Shed Shell also allows you to switch, but Skarmory is the only Pokémon this item is practical on.</p>
<p>Since Mirror Coat is a Psychic move, it will not affect Dark-types which means Dark Pokémon can pound Wobbuffet with special attacks without fear of getting Mirror Coated back. Darkrai and Dark-type Arceus are particularly good choices for this when battling in Ubers. Tyranitar also falls into this category but it must be using Dark Pulse and special Tyranitar isn't as useful in ubers as it is in standard. Choice Band Tyranitar can also use Crunch or Pursuit against it. Likewise, Ghosts are unaffected by the Fighting-typed Counter and can hit it with physical moves. Giratina using Dragon Claw can wear down Wobbuffett. Spiritomb, being both Dark and Ghost-type, is completely immune to both Counter and Mirror Coat; however, it is unlikely that any intelligent trainer will leave their Wobbuffet in against a Dark and/or Ghost Pokémon. Dugtrio with Toxic can also turn the tables on Wobbuffet as Wobbuffet will be unable to switch out and will slowly die off from Toxic damage. Extremely hard hitters like Specs Deoxys-A or Choice Band Ho-oh can bring Wobbuffet down, but if Reflect or Light Screen are in play Wobbuffet will probably come out on top.</p>
<p>In the end, you will probably lose one Pokémon to Wobbuffet simply because you weren't expecting it. Don't worry if this happens, as Wobbuffet is not one of those Pokémon every team should be prepared for. It's not used much in ubers because it can't take any real offensive assault.</p>
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/wobbuffet
[SET]
name: Oh no, it's Wobbuffet!
move 1: Encore
move 2: Counter
move 3: Mirror Coat
move 4: Safeguard / Charm
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm / Bold
evs: 28 HP / 228 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The one and only set for Wobbuffet. With little prediction, or none at all if Encore is used, Wobbuffet can guarantee at least one kill. Choose Counter if your opponent is clearly a physical sweeper or Mirror Coat if it's special. If it's mixed, simply use Encore and proceed from there since your opponent can't switch out. Encore can also work to your benefit if the opponent chooses to use a stat up move as this will allow a free switch-in for one of your Pokemon and at least one turn of set up. Encore can also be used to PP stall if it comes down to that. Forcing a Pokemon to repeat a move while preventing them from switching is one of the most sadistic, and effective, strategies in Pokemon. Both Charm and Safeguard can come in handy as your last move. Charm can annoy physical attackers that attempt to set up on you and is particularly effective if they have been Encored. Safeguard is obviously there to prevent Wobbuffet from being crippled by status ailments and can support the team at the same time. The only downside is that Wobbuffet is very slow and will most likely be statused before it can use Safeguard. For this reason Wobbuffet works best with Aromatherapy or Heal Bell support. One of the main factors that prevents Wobbuffet from being a top tier uber is its lack of a recovery move, so having a teammate to support it with Wish can ensure its longevity. Also, because of the powerhouses that dominate ubers, Wobbuffet will struggle against hard hitters such as Dragon Dance Rayquaza or Choice Specs Kyogre, as such, Light Screen and Reflect support allow Wobbuffet to perform its job significantly better.</p>
<p>The given EVs are fairly obvious with its massive base HP and poor defenses. The 28 HP EVs allow Wobbuffet for maximum Leftovers recovery and with a Calm nature allows it to survive a Modest Kyogre's full powered Water Spout and OHKO back with Mirror Coat. Calm is emphasized over Bold because of the concentration on special attackers in Ubers, however, Bold can be useful to better handle Groudon, Rayquaza, and other physical threats in the Uber metagame.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Wobbuffet's large and diverse move pool consists of a whopping 8 moves. Besides the absolutely useless Splash, the only moves not covered above are Destiny Bond and Tickle. Destiny Bond may seem like an appealing options since it allows you to take one more opponent down when you're low on heath, but Wobbuffet does not have the Speed to pull this off effectively and should only be used on Trick Room teams. Tickle can be employed very effectively with Encore to weaken a defensive Pokemon and then have Choice Band Tyranitar use Pursuit against it. While overall less effective in ubers, it is still a viable strategy. For reference sake, this strategy was discussed at length and can be found here: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41455.</p>
[EVs]
<p>Wobbuffet has the third highest base HP of any Pokemon, but its defenses are terrible. Similar to Blissey, who needs maximum Defense in order to take physical hits, Wobbuffet needs to pour almost all of its EVs into both Defense and Special Defense so that it can take hits without losing too much health in the process. A much faster EV spread with a positive Speed nature can also be beneficial to Wobbuffet if you are careful with what you leave it in on. If you sacrifice one of your defenses and invest in Speed Wobuffet's slightly faster Encore can now help shut down pokemon like Blissey, Skarmory, Forretress, Bronzong, and other popular choices on slow stall teams. Wobbuffet, with a positive Speed nature, will require a minimum of 236 Speed EVs to outrun zero Speed Skarmory.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Despite its tiny movepool, a lot can be said about Wobbuffet. It jumped straight into the Ubers tier in the Advance generation mainly because of its unique ability, which utterly shatters the concept of switching and countering. Nintendo changed Shadow Tag around in D/P so that two Pokémon with this same ability will be able to switch if both are sent out. This means the dreaded scenario of two Wobbuffet facing each other will no longer end in a draw. However, Shadow Tag is still a ridiculous ability and the abundance of Choice items limiting Pokémon to only one attack makes Wobbuffet's job even easier. The only thing that prevents Wobbuffet from being a complete god among Pokémon is the lack of a recovery move, which can be rectified by surrounding it with Wish support. While Wobbuffet isn't able to take some of the hardest hitters in the uber tier such as Sword Dance Groudon or Choice Specs Kyogre, Wobbuffet's ability to turn the game in your favor by eliminating that problem Pokemon or allowing you free turns of set up should never be underestimated.</p>
<p>Wobbuffet's May 30, 2008 movement from the Limbo tier to the OU tier was a direct result of no conclusive evidence of the Pokémon overwhelming the standard metagame arising after three months of testing on Shoddy Battle's Official Server's Ladder. It was decided overwhelmingly through a "bold voting" process (voting <strong>UBER</strong> or <strong>OU</strong> with a detailed argument) at the end of June 2008 that Wobbuffet belongs in the Uber tier in DP.</p>
[Counters]
<p>By definition, a proper counter must be able to switch in against whatever it is they are trying to counter. As mentioned, Wobbuffet's ability prevents the opponent from switching if they lack the moves Baton Pass or U-Turn or aren't holding a Shed Shell, which means it essentially has no real counters. So if you should meet this Pokémon during one of your battles, what can you do against it?</p>
<p>Taunt is probably the most effective defense against the blue blob. It will completely shut down Wobbuffet for a few turns, and all it can do is Counter and Mirror Coat for no damage. Sleep moves are also a temporary solution. By putting it to sleep, you can force it to switch out, use the opportunity to stat boost, or simply hit it with your strongest moves and hope you can score a KO before it wakes up. The Trick + Choice item strategy is also effective since it will limit it to only one move and therefore ruin its usefulness but this strategy is seldom seen in ubers. Toxic will help only if Wobbuffet is the last Pokémon on the team. Otherwise, it will simply Encore your Toxic and switch out to a cleric or one of the many Pokémon immune to poison. Finally, Roar and Whirlwind will force it to switch out although it will still come back to haunt you later in the battle.</p>
<p>As mentioned, Baton Pass and U-Turn are the only moves that have the ability to allow users to escape from Shadow Tag's grip. U-Turn is super effective, but if you use it and Wobbuffet Counters in the same turn, the Pokémon that gets switched in will receive a pretty nasty dent. Shed Shell also allows you to switch, but Skarmory is the only Pokémon this item is practical on.</p>
<p>Since Mirror Coat is a Psychic move, it will not affect Dark-types which means Dark Pokémon can pound Wobbuffet with special attacks without fear of getting Mirror Coated back. Darkrai and Dark-type Arceus are particularly good choices for this when battling in Ubers. Tyranitar also falls into this category but it must be using Dark Pulse and special Tyranitar isn't as useful in ubers as it is in standard. Choice Band Tyranitar can also use Crunch or Pursuit against it. Likewise, Ghosts are unaffected by the Fighting-typed Counter and can hit it with physical moves. Giratina using Dragon Claw can wear down Wobbuffett. Spiritomb, being both Dark and Ghost-type, is completely immune to both Counter and Mirror Coat; however, it is unlikely that any intelligent trainer will leave their Wobbuffet in against a Dark and/or Ghost Pokémon. Dugtrio with Toxic can also turn the tables on Wobbuffet as Wobbuffet will be unable to switch out and will slowly die off from Toxic damage. Extremely hard hitters like Specs Deoxys-A or Choice Band Ho-oh can bring Wobbuffet down, but if Reflect or Light Screen are in play Wobbuffet will probably come out on top.</p>
<p>In the end, you will probably lose one Pokémon to Wobbuffet simply because you weren't expecting it. Don't worry if this happens, as Wobbuffet is not one of those Pokémon every team should be prepared for. It's not used much in ubers because it can't take any real offensive assault.</p>
