[Overview]
<p>From the time of its inception, Gothitelle has always been just another bulky Psychic down in NU, albeit with much less to offer than most. That is, until Gothitelle's DW ability, Shadow Tag, saved it from obscurity and attracted attention from every tier from NU to OU. Gothitelle is unique in that it is the first pokemon to receive Shadow Tag as an ability while still possessing attacking moves. This allows Gothitelle to perform well as a counter remover, getting rid of slow, bulky walls with the correct move to allow a threatening sweeper run through the opposing team. It is this quality that has Gothitelle hailed as the death of stall. Gothitelle's good bulk allows it to switch into walls with ease, while its offensive stats can be boosted up to suitable levels with a Choice item. On the other hand, Gothitelle makes for a great revenge killer, as it outspeeds common attackers such as Mienshao or Nidoking with a Choice Scarf and can take them out.</p>
<p>A new influx in Fighting-types to the tier make Gothitelle well suited to the metagame, as Dark-type pokemon have largely fallen out of favor, and having a Fighting resist is definitely an asset. However, Gothitelle is not without it's flaws, as it lacks the power to break through certain walls, such as Bronzong or Snorlax, without taking large amounts of damage itself or even losing. Houndoom and other Pusuit trappers, however low in popularity they may be, are still capable of coming in after a KO and taking out Gothitelle without many problems. Gothitelle's low speed really hurts it when facing more offensively oriented teams. Don't let these minor flaws discourage you though, as they do nothing to upset the fact that Shadow Tag is a fantastic ability, and when using Gothitelle, you will often find checks to your sweepers being removed at the press of a button .</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Psyshock
move 2: Grass Knot
move 3: Thunderbolt
move 4: Hidden Power Ice/ Shadow Ball/ Signal Beam
item: Choice Specs
ability: Shadow Tag
nature: Modest
evs: 4 HP/ 252 SpA/ 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Gothitelle may not appear to be the most powerful of Pokemon, but with a Modest nature and a pair of Choice Specs, its attacks come from behind an incredible 475 Special Attack. Combined with Shadow Tag and its great movepool that hits many walls in the tier for super effective damage, Gothitelle was literally made for taking down walls. Additionally, Gothitelle's bulk means that it can switch into any wall with ease. As such, Gothitelle's move slots are designed to take down as many of them as possible efficiently. Psyshock, while hitting precious little other than Roserade and Fighting-types very hard, is useful for its STAB and secondary ability-bypassing Special Walls such as Snorlax and hitting them where it hurts. Another important thing to note is that it guarantees the OHKO on standard Defensive Roserade without Stealth Rock as opposed to Psychic's 55% chance. Grass Knot OHKO's both Swampert and Rhyperior easily, and offers a higher base power attack on Milotic and Suicune than Thunderbolt. As a bonus, it 2HKOs any Claydol with ease, meaning that Gothitelle can reliably take out every common spinner in UU. When facing any other Water- or Flying-type, one should opt to use Thunderbolt instead. Speaking of Flying-types, Gothitelle also performs very well against both Togekiss and Xatu, 2HKOing even Specially Defensive versions, which Gothitelle outspeeds. Finally, Hidden Power Ice destroys Gligar and smacks Offensive and Physically Defensive Zapdos for the 2HKO. Due to Gothitelle's relegation to the role of wall trapper and NU status, one may be inclined to simply throw Gothitelle into the trash bin once its role is done, but Gothitelle can still play a valuable role as revenge killer, despite its low speed. Its good bulk and typing allows it to survive hits from Choice-locked Fighting-types, allowing Gothitelle to send them whimpering back into their Poke Balls with Psyshock. On the other hand, Gothitelle has enough power to take an offensive role and punch holes into opposing teams with its great coverage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Gothitelle finds its way easily onto offensive teams thanks to their sweeping capabilities once troublesome checks are removed, as well as for their ability to keep up momentum once Gothitelle has KO'd an opposing Pokemon. On such teams, one should opt to use Pokemon that benefit the most from the Pokemon that Gothitelle can remove, such as Heracross, Raikou, and Darmanitan. When using Gothitelle, one must watch out for Pursuit users such as Houndoom, especially on the switch in, as opponents may predict your move, so Heracross and other Fighting-types make especially good partners thanks to their ability to take them out. U-turn users also pair up well with Gothitelle thanks to their ability to ensure that Gothitelle traps the correct Pokemon. All of the above point straight to Mienshao, making him an ideal partner.</p>
<p>Gothitelle's EV spread give it as much power as possible while outspeeding all uninvested walls at or below base 95 Speed. The final 4 EVs are tossed into HP for a little bit of extra bulk. A Modest nature gives Gothitelle as much power as possible; while a Timid nature may seem like an okay idea, it doesn't outspeed anything notable, so the drop in power is not worth it. While HP investment is tempting due to Gothitelle's great defensive stats, the EVs have very little room for adjustment thanks to her average Special Attack and the ability to just barely outspeed things like Defensive Xatu and Roserade. Additional moveslot options include Psychic over Psyshock, both of which have their individual benefits. However, Psyshock's unique secondary ability usually gives it the nod on this set. Trick is an interesting option that can cripple a defensive pokemon, but Choice Specs Gothitelle is usually better suited for just using the item to hit harder. Finally, if one does not have any problems with Gligar, one may wish to use Shadow Ball or Signal Beam, as both hit Psychic-type Pokemon hard. The former offers better neutral coverage and allows Gothitelle to take out Ghost-type Pokemon, while the latter puts the hurt on Dark- and Grass-types. Hidden Power Fire is also a great choice for hitting Steel-types such as Bronzong.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Thunderbolt/ Grass Knot
move 3: Shadow Ball/ Signal Beam/ Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Shadow Tag
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP/ 252 SpA/ 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
- Used more as a revenge killer, as it lacks the power to break through walls.
- Lack of power really hurts, so it is better at picking off weakened pokemon.
- Great for revenging Mienshao, Nidoking, and other pokemon Gothitelle hits super effectively but would not normally outspeed.
- Works better against offensive teams.
- Psychic over Psyshock since Gothitelle won't be able to get through Special walls anyway and offers a higher Base Power.
- Thunderbolt provides good neutral coverage, but Grass Knot enables Gothitelle to revenge Rhyperior and Swampert.
- Shadow Ball provides coverage against the common Ghost and Psychic-types roaming the tier.
- Trick is good for crippling walls and, thanks to Shadow Tag, is guaranteed to do so.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
- Has neither good power nor speed, meaning Gothitelle can not be relied upon to take out opposing Choice Scarfers or boosting threats.
- This provides less support and is more useful as a very reliable revenge killer. Still capable of removing some bulky waters, despite lack of power, so Fire and Fighting-types will still benefit.
- Once again, Dark-types give this set trouble, so Fighting-types pair up well with Gothitelle.
- When using Trick, keep in mind that it may be better to just outright attack, as it removes the entire point of the set.
- Timid gives Gothitelle the ability to outspeed base 120's, while Modest does not even outspeed Cobalion.
- Signal Beam has the ability to revenge Dark and Grass-types, but loses coverage against Ghost-types.
- HP Ice hits Gligar and Flygon hard, but limited function aside from that.
- A fourth attacking move may be used over Trick.
[Other Options]
- Any variation of Gothitelle's attacking movepool can be utilized depending on what you want removed for your team. HP Fighting is notable for its ability to hit Steel and Dark-types SE.
- Shadow Tag is the only reason why Gothitelle would be used in UU, so don't even bother with Frisk.
- Can utilize Charm or Tickle to create set-up opportunities or eliminate a pokemon with Pursuit. This is inefficient and a waste of a teamslot.
- A gimmicky set involving a Pinch Berry and Recycle could work.
- Can pull off a support set with moves like Light Screen, Reflect, Heal Bell, Thunder Wave, Taunt, and Trick Room. Does not utilize Shadow Tag very well and is outclassed by Azelf or Uxie in many cases.
- A SubCM set can set up on weaker pokemon, but this is situational and most of the time can not set up or sweep very easily at all thanks to the threatening nature of the UU tier and Gothitelle's bad typing. This is what I have determined from some testing, but if anyone has had different results I would be glad to hear it.
- Mirror Coat can be used to KO Special attackers, but forces Gothitelle to take large amounts of damage and means Gothitelle can not utilize a choice item.
[Checks and Counters]
- Has no real counters by the true sense of the word, but many pokemon will cause Gothitelle some trouble.
- Pursuit users such as Houndoom or Krookodile will be able to trap and eliminate Gothitelle with ease, especially if she is locked into Psyshock. Dark-types in general cause Gothitelle pain as they are immune to Psyshock and can hit it SE.
- Heracross can force Gothitelle out with the threat of a SE Megahorn.
- Escavalier resists or is neutral to all of Gothitelle's moves, can survive a hit easily thanks to its bulk, and can Pursuit or Megahorn Gothitelle for an easy KO.
- Registeel takes a pittance from all of Gothitelles's attacks bar the rare Hidden Power Fire, which is still only a 4HKO from the Specs set.
- Umbreon falls in the same category as Registeel.
- U-turn users can escape Gothitelle's grasp and hit it super effectively.
- Gothitelle's low speed mean that anything with decent speed and powerful attacks will be able to come in and revenge kill.
- An offensive playstyle in general will mean that Gothitelle will have difficulty keeping up.
Any other sets? I'm pretty sure that this is all Gothitelle can do well in UU.
