“Blessed are those that know the path out of their carnal flesh, for they shall attain intuition.”
[OVERVIEW]
* Gothitelle is one of the most dangerous Trick Room setters you can face in VGC 2018 thanks to its above-average bulk of 70 / 95 / 110 and access to the very intimidating Shadow Tag.
* Shadow Tag allows Gothitelle to not only set up Trick Room but also become one half of the well-known Perish Trap combination alongside Mega Gengar.
* Gothitelle synergizes well with some of the top Trick Room attackers in the game like Mega Mawile, Azumarill, and Snorlax.
* A decent movepool gives Gothitelle access to support moves such as Heal Pulse, Taunt, Tickle, Skill Swap, Recycle, and Ally Switch.
* Its Psychic typing leaves Gothitelle weak to Ghost-type, Dark-type, and Bug-type attacks. While Gothitelle's bulk is above average, it isn't enough to survive some of the bigger hits Trick Room setters like Cresselia and Porygon2 can take.
* Gothitelle typically only run one attacking move, which leaves it extremely weak to Taunt and being not targeted down. Gothitelle will not do much damage to Pokemon that aren't weak to Psychic-type attacks.
[SET]
name: Trick Room Trapper
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Psychic / Psyshock
move 3: Heal Pulse / Helping Hand
move 4: Protect
item: Aguav Berry / Sitrus Berry / Mental Herb
ability: Shadow Tag
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 164 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
* Trick Room is a necessity for Gothitelle to allow its teammates to become the fastest attackers on the field.
* Protect allows Gothitelle to scout out Z-moves and stall out Perish Song turns.
* Psychic or Psyshock prevents Gothitelle from being completely shut down by Taunt and deals significant damage to Pokemon like Amoonguss, which is often used as a check to Trick Room teams. Psychic does more damage thanks to Gothitelle's higher Special Attack, but Psyshock is an option to do more damage to Pokemon like Assault Vest Landorus-T, specially defensive Amoonguss, and Assault Vest Ludicolo.
* The fourth slot is open to mainly whatever fits your team best. Helping Hand is great once Trick Room is up, as Gothitelle can help its teammates do large damage. Heal Pulse will help to keep your teammates alive while they attack. Helping Hand is best for teams lacking true offensive power and Heal Pulse helps to keep offensive power going.
* Shadow Tag is a necessity, as it is the main reason to use Gothitelle over other Trick Room setters.
* A Sassy nature makes Gothitelle as slow as possible for Trick Room and helps to boost its already good Special Defense.
* The given EV spread allows Gothitelle to survive a rain-boosted Hydro Vortex from Ludicolo and recover enough health with an Aguav Berry to survive any teammate attack from a Pelipper or Politoed. Mega Charizard Y's Overheat will never OHKO under the sun. After Intimidate, Gothitelle will also survive a Tectonic Rage from Landorus-T.
* Gothitelle appreciates the recovery from Aguav Berry, but a Sitrus Berry can be used to survive hits that Aguav won't activate from. For example, the combination of Mega Metagross's Iron Head and Tapu Lele's Moonblast will often KO Gothitelle with Aguav Berry whereas Sitrus Berry will survive with ease. Mental Herb gives Gothitelle the ability to escape Taunt and still get Trick Room up, although Gothitelle will often appreciate recovery more.
* Gothitelle does have access to the ability Competitive, which would make for a surprise deterrent to Intimidate users, but it is significantly weaker than other Competitive and Defiant users that do the job much better, like Milotic and Bisharp.
* Ally Switch and Skill Swap are runner-up to Helping Hand and Heal Pulse for the fourth slot. Ally Switch can force a lot of mind games but can very quickly become predictable. Skill Swap can allow you to pass the torch for Perish trap teams, passing on Shadow Tag to a healthier teammate to bridge the turns until Perish Song activates.
* Tickle, Taunt, and Fake Tears are also great move options for the last slot, but in most situations, Helping Hand and Heal Pulse will be the most reliable.
* Gothitelle appreciates the support of Intimidate users or Pokemon that can deal with strong Dark-type and Ghost-type attacks from Pokemon such as Tyranitar, Hydreigon, Incineroar, Aegislash, and Mega Gengar.
* Scrafty and Mega Mawile are excellent teammates that fit the bill, but Mega Mawile must be wary of Flamethrower from Hydreigon and Flare Blitz from Incineroar. Bringing the two of these on the same team with Gothitelle will form a really solid core that can spread Intimidate and Snarl to weaken the foes into oblivion.
* Snorlax is another great partner for Gothitelle that can take advantage of a good matchup and set up Belly Drum or several Curses and become untouchable. Snorlax and Gothitelle form a dangerous combination that can obliterate unprepared teams. Shadow Tag can often trap the opponent in a poor matchup for them to face a Snorlax, such as with more defensively inclined Pokemon like Celesteela, Ferrothorn, Porygon2, Suicune, and Zapdos on the field, allowing Snorlax to set up and sweep. Be careful around Zapdos and Suicune, as they can run Roar to phaze out Gothitelle or Snorlax.
* Gothitelle also fits the bill for Perish trap teams where Shadow Tag users are far and few between. Politoed is a great Perish Song user that has relatively decent staying power. Politoed also pairs up well with Mega Mawile, providing rain support to weaken Fire-type attacks.
* In general, Fake Out users like Scrafty, Incineroar, and Hitmontop all have synergy with Gothitelle. Scrafty and Hitmontop provide Intimidate, and Incineroar can offer a great ability in Intimidate and a strong Fire attack in Flare Blitz to fend off Amoonguss, Tapu Lele, and Tapu Koko to prevent them from taunting or immobilizing Gothitelle before Trick Room can be set up.
* Gothitelle can take most non-super effective Z-Moves and recover back health thanks to its Aguav Berry. Gothitelle's biggest weakness is being ignored while teammates are targeted. It is very important for Gothitelle to provide accurate support, so make sure to analyze the set and change what works best for your team. Gothitelle can provide support on a variety of Trick Room or Perish trap teams.
[OVERVIEW]
* Gothitelle is one of the most dangerous Trick Room setters you can face in VGC 2018 thanks to its above-average bulk of 70 / 95 / 110 and access to the very intimidating Shadow Tag.
* Shadow Tag allows Gothitelle to not only set up Trick Room but also become one half of the well-known Perish Trap combination alongside Mega Gengar.
* Gothitelle synergizes well with some of the top Trick Room attackers in the game like Mega Mawile, Azumarill, and Snorlax.
* A decent movepool gives Gothitelle access to support moves such as Heal Pulse, Taunt, Tickle, Skill Swap, Recycle, and Ally Switch.
* Its Psychic typing leaves Gothitelle weak to Ghost-type, Dark-type, and Bug-type attacks. While Gothitelle's bulk is above average, it isn't enough to survive some of the bigger hits Trick Room setters like Cresselia and Porygon2 can take.
* Gothitelle typically only run one attacking move, which leaves it extremely weak to Taunt and being not targeted down. Gothitelle will not do much damage to Pokemon that aren't weak to Psychic-type attacks.
[SET]
name: Trick Room Trapper
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Psychic / Psyshock
move 3: Heal Pulse / Helping Hand
move 4: Protect
item: Aguav Berry / Sitrus Berry / Mental Herb
ability: Shadow Tag
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 164 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
* Trick Room is a necessity for Gothitelle to allow its teammates to become the fastest attackers on the field.
* Protect allows Gothitelle to scout out Z-moves and stall out Perish Song turns.
* Psychic or Psyshock prevents Gothitelle from being completely shut down by Taunt and deals significant damage to Pokemon like Amoonguss, which is often used as a check to Trick Room teams. Psychic does more damage thanks to Gothitelle's higher Special Attack, but Psyshock is an option to do more damage to Pokemon like Assault Vest Landorus-T, specially defensive Amoonguss, and Assault Vest Ludicolo.
* The fourth slot is open to mainly whatever fits your team best. Helping Hand is great once Trick Room is up, as Gothitelle can help its teammates do large damage. Heal Pulse will help to keep your teammates alive while they attack. Helping Hand is best for teams lacking true offensive power and Heal Pulse helps to keep offensive power going.
* Shadow Tag is a necessity, as it is the main reason to use Gothitelle over other Trick Room setters.
* A Sassy nature makes Gothitelle as slow as possible for Trick Room and helps to boost its already good Special Defense.
* The given EV spread allows Gothitelle to survive a rain-boosted Hydro Vortex from Ludicolo and recover enough health with an Aguav Berry to survive any teammate attack from a Pelipper or Politoed. Mega Charizard Y's Overheat will never OHKO under the sun. After Intimidate, Gothitelle will also survive a Tectonic Rage from Landorus-T.
* Gothitelle appreciates the recovery from Aguav Berry, but a Sitrus Berry can be used to survive hits that Aguav won't activate from. For example, the combination of Mega Metagross's Iron Head and Tapu Lele's Moonblast will often KO Gothitelle with Aguav Berry whereas Sitrus Berry will survive with ease. Mental Herb gives Gothitelle the ability to escape Taunt and still get Trick Room up, although Gothitelle will often appreciate recovery more.
* Gothitelle does have access to the ability Competitive, which would make for a surprise deterrent to Intimidate users, but it is significantly weaker than other Competitive and Defiant users that do the job much better, like Milotic and Bisharp.
* Ally Switch and Skill Swap are runner-up to Helping Hand and Heal Pulse for the fourth slot. Ally Switch can force a lot of mind games but can very quickly become predictable. Skill Swap can allow you to pass the torch for Perish trap teams, passing on Shadow Tag to a healthier teammate to bridge the turns until Perish Song activates.
* Tickle, Taunt, and Fake Tears are also great move options for the last slot, but in most situations, Helping Hand and Heal Pulse will be the most reliable.
* Gothitelle appreciates the support of Intimidate users or Pokemon that can deal with strong Dark-type and Ghost-type attacks from Pokemon such as Tyranitar, Hydreigon, Incineroar, Aegislash, and Mega Gengar.
* Scrafty and Mega Mawile are excellent teammates that fit the bill, but Mega Mawile must be wary of Flamethrower from Hydreigon and Flare Blitz from Incineroar. Bringing the two of these on the same team with Gothitelle will form a really solid core that can spread Intimidate and Snarl to weaken the foes into oblivion.
* Snorlax is another great partner for Gothitelle that can take advantage of a good matchup and set up Belly Drum or several Curses and become untouchable. Snorlax and Gothitelle form a dangerous combination that can obliterate unprepared teams. Shadow Tag can often trap the opponent in a poor matchup for them to face a Snorlax, such as with more defensively inclined Pokemon like Celesteela, Ferrothorn, Porygon2, Suicune, and Zapdos on the field, allowing Snorlax to set up and sweep. Be careful around Zapdos and Suicune, as they can run Roar to phaze out Gothitelle or Snorlax.
* Gothitelle also fits the bill for Perish trap teams where Shadow Tag users are far and few between. Politoed is a great Perish Song user that has relatively decent staying power. Politoed also pairs up well with Mega Mawile, providing rain support to weaken Fire-type attacks.
* In general, Fake Out users like Scrafty, Incineroar, and Hitmontop all have synergy with Gothitelle. Scrafty and Hitmontop provide Intimidate, and Incineroar can offer a great ability in Intimidate and a strong Fire attack in Flare Blitz to fend off Amoonguss, Tapu Lele, and Tapu Koko to prevent them from taunting or immobilizing Gothitelle before Trick Room can be set up.
* Gothitelle can take most non-super effective Z-Moves and recover back health thanks to its Aguav Berry. Gothitelle's biggest weakness is being ignored while teammates are targeted. It is very important for Gothitelle to provide accurate support, so make sure to analyze the set and change what works best for your team. Gothitelle can provide support on a variety of Trick Room or Perish trap teams.
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