[SET]
Tailwind Support (Whimsicott) @ Covert Cloak / Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Tera Type: Water / Ghost / Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe or 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tailwind
- Moonblast
- Encore
- Helping Hand / Sunny Day / Protect / Beat Up
[SET COMMENTS]
- Whimsicott is a staple on hyper offense teams due to its ability to set Tailwind with its Prankster ability. Whimsicott also provides valuable support to its team through the use of Encore to disrupt opposing strategies (RC) or Helping Hand and Sunny Day to boost its partner's damage output.
- Encore is generally preferred to be able to pin opposing Pokemon into positions where they cannot use Protect, dissuade setup, and lock opposing Pokemon into moves such as Fake Out or Tailwind. Helping Hand is the preferred last move on Whimsicott for most teams because it provides a damage boost to any of Whimsicott's partners. Sunny Day is used on certain hyper offense teams to boost Hisuian Typhlosion's Eruption and provide weather control against Pelipper. Protect is almost always used on Focus Sash sets to block Fake Out without the need to Terastallize into a Ghost-type. Beat Up is specifically used with Annihilape to boost its Rage Fist; this, in conjunction with Tailwind, makes it into a threat as quickly as possible.
- Covert Cloak is generally preferred on Whimsicott to block the effects of Fake Out, allowing Whimsicott to get Tailwind off without having to run Protect. However, Focus Sash is sometimes used on teams that want Whimsicott's support on the field for longer. Focus Sash also allows Whimsicott to set Tailwind in front of Talonflame, which would otherwise KO Whimsicott before it can set Tailwind with Brave Bird in conjunction with Gale Wings.
- Tera Water can be used to give Covert Cloak Whimsicott an extra turn on the field against common Pokemon such as Incineroar, Hisuian Typhlosion, and Gholdengo, though it must watch out for Rillaboom's now supereffective priority Grassy Glide. Tera Ghost gives Whimsicott an immunity to common priority moves, namely Fake Out and Extreme Speed and is usually seen on Focus Sash sets, as they are susceptible to Fake Out. Tera Fire offers similar defensive benefits to Tera Water while still resisting Rillaboom's Grassy Glide after Terastallization. However, Tera Fire makes Whimsicott weak to common moves sucha as Primarina's Liquid Voice Hyper Voice and Pelipper's Weather Ball under rain. Tera Dark is a niche option on Focus Sash sets that gives Whimsicott an immunity to opposing Prankster moves from the likes of Murkrow and opposing Whimsicott.
- The first spread for Covert Cloak Whimsicott maximizes HP investment over damage output to live attacks that would otherwise prevent it from setting Tailwind. Focus Sash sets, on the other hand, invest more into Special Attack.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Teambuilding
============
- Whimsicott generally works well on hyper offensive teams that appreciate its ability to provide speed control and shut down opposing setup threats with Encore. Pokemon that have middling or high Speed tiers and strong offenses pair especially well with Whimsicott. Whimsicott can also work well on sun-centric teams, utilizing its ability to overwrite Pelipper's Drizzle with Sunny Day to maintain speed and weather control.
- Whimsicott pairs especially well with strong special attackers, namely Hisuian Typhlosion, Glimmora, Power Herb Archaludon, Gholdengo, and Garchomp. Their middling Speed tiers benefit greatly from Tailwind, and Hisuian Typhlosion in particular also appreciates Whimsicott's ability to set sun, boosting its Eruption further while mitigating its Water weakness. Annihilape can be used on some teams that want to employ Beat Up strategies, which can also be effective.
- Whimsicott can struggle into teams that can handle its partner's offensive onslaught or mitigate Whimsicott's Tailwind Speed advantage. However, by changing up Whimsicott's partner, it can break through some defensive cores that may stop one pairing but not the other. For example, while Incineroar may be able to beat Whimsicott and Hisuian Typhlosion, it loses to Meteor Beam Glimmora. Since Whimsicott generally pairs with strong, fast offensive threats, its playstyle is very vunerable to Trick Room, especially teams that have Psychic Terrain, which blocks Whimsicott's Prankster Encore. Due to this, Whimsicott generally likes to pair with Incineroar to shut down Trick Room teams while also allowing Whimsicott's frailer partners to pivot in safely.
Strategy Comments
============
- Whimsicott exists as a support Pokemon, providing speed control through Prankster Tailwind and amplifying its partner's damage output through Helping Hand or Sunny Day.
- Whimsicott is almost always a lead Pokemon, with a hard-hitting partner that takes advantage of its Tailwind support. It almost always wants to be clicking Tailwind to gain the Speed advantage immediately, unless it is facing a Trick Room team that can turn that advantage on its head. Against bulkier cores that may not have speed control or care about moving first, Whimsicott may choose to use Helping Hand or Sunny Day to try to break through those cores with its partner's sheer power.
- Whimsicott is mainly weak to strong priority that can take it out before it can set Tailwind, mainly Tera Normal Extreme Speed from Dragonite and Brave Bird from Talonflame. Pokemon that can stomach many hits and slow down the level of offense coming from Whimsicott's side can also be a problem, since Whimsicott is so frail that it can usually only afford to set Tailwind or Sunny Day once. By choosing certain partners for Whimsicott, this matchup problem can be turned on its head. Pokemon such as Glimmora can beat common counters to Whimsicott, including Talonflame, Dragonite, and Incineroar. Pokemon that block priority moves can also support Whimsicott, such as Indeedee with Psychic Terrain and Farigiraf with Armor Tail.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sizzlipede-snom.671287/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/soulboyvgc.558405/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/flarefox_7.657713/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
Tailwind Support (Whimsicott) @ Covert Cloak / Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Tera Type: Water / Ghost / Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe or 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tailwind
- Moonblast
- Encore
- Helping Hand / Sunny Day / Protect / Beat Up
[SET COMMENTS]
- Whimsicott is a staple on hyper offense teams due to its ability to set Tailwind with its Prankster ability. Whimsicott also provides valuable support to its team through the use of Encore to disrupt opposing strategies (RC) or Helping Hand and Sunny Day to boost its partner's damage output.
- Encore is generally preferred to be able to pin opposing Pokemon into positions where they cannot use Protect, dissuade setup, and lock opposing Pokemon into moves such as Fake Out or Tailwind. Helping Hand is the preferred last move on Whimsicott for most teams because it provides a damage boost to any of Whimsicott's partners. Sunny Day is used on certain hyper offense teams to boost Hisuian Typhlosion's Eruption and provide weather control against Pelipper. Protect is almost always used on Focus Sash sets to block Fake Out without the need to Terastallize into a Ghost-type. Beat Up is specifically used with Annihilape to boost its Rage Fist; this, in conjunction with Tailwind, makes it into a threat as quickly as possible.
- Covert Cloak is generally preferred on Whimsicott to block the effects of Fake Out, allowing Whimsicott to get Tailwind off without having to run Protect. However, Focus Sash is sometimes used on teams that want Whimsicott's support on the field for longer. Focus Sash also allows Whimsicott to set Tailwind in front of Talonflame, which would otherwise KO Whimsicott before it can set Tailwind with Brave Bird in conjunction with Gale Wings.
- Tera Water can be used to give Covert Cloak Whimsicott an extra turn on the field against common Pokemon such as Incineroar, Hisuian Typhlosion, and Gholdengo, though it must watch out for Rillaboom's now supereffective priority Grassy Glide. Tera Ghost gives Whimsicott an immunity to common priority moves, namely Fake Out and Extreme Speed and is usually seen on Focus Sash sets, as they are susceptible to Fake Out. Tera Fire offers similar defensive benefits to Tera Water while still resisting Rillaboom's Grassy Glide after Terastallization. However, Tera Fire makes Whimsicott weak to common moves such
- The first spread for Covert Cloak Whimsicott maximizes HP investment over damage output to live attacks that would otherwise prevent it from setting Tailwind. Focus Sash sets, on the other hand, invest more into Special Attack.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Teambuilding
============
- Whimsicott generally works well on hyper offensive teams that appreciate its ability to provide speed control and shut down opposing setup threats with Encore. Pokemon that have middling or high Speed tiers and strong offenses pair especially well with Whimsicott. Whimsicott can also work well on sun-centric teams, utilizing its ability to overwrite Pelipper's Drizzle with Sunny Day to maintain speed and weather control.
- Whimsicott pairs especially well with strong special attackers, namely Hisuian Typhlosion, Glimmora, Power Herb Archaludon, Gholdengo, and Garchomp. Their middling Speed tiers benefit greatly from Tailwind, and Hisuian Typhlosion in particular also appreciates Whimsicott's ability to set sun, boosting its Eruption further while mitigating its Water weakness. Annihilape can be used on some teams that want to employ Beat Up strategies, which can also be effective.
- Whimsicott can struggle into teams that can handle its partner's offensive onslaught or mitigate Whimsicott's Tailwind Speed advantage. However, by changing up Whimsicott's partner, it can break through some defensive cores that may stop one pairing but not the other. For example, while Incineroar may be able to beat Whimsicott and Hisuian Typhlosion, it loses to Meteor Beam Glimmora. Since Whimsicott generally pairs with strong, fast offensive threats, its playstyle is very vunerable to Trick Room, especially teams that have Psychic Terrain, which blocks Whimsicott's Prankster Encore. Due to this, Whimsicott generally likes to pair with Incineroar to shut down Trick Room teams while also allowing Whimsicott's frailer partners to pivot in safely.
Strategy Comments
============
- Whimsicott exists as a support Pokemon, providing speed control through Prankster Tailwind and amplifying its partner's damage output through Helping Hand or Sunny Day.
- Whimsicott is almost always a lead Pokemon, with a hard-hitting partner that takes advantage of its Tailwind support. It almost always wants to be clicking Tailwind to gain the Speed advantage immediately, unless it is facing a Trick Room team that can turn that advantage on its head. Against bulkier cores that may not have speed control or care about moving first, Whimsicott may choose to use Helping Hand or Sunny Day to try to break through those cores with its partner's sheer power.
- Whimsicott is mainly weak to strong priority that can take it out before it can set Tailwind, mainly Tera Normal Extreme Speed from Dragonite and Brave Bird from Talonflame. Pokemon that can stomach many hits and slow down the level of offense coming from Whimsicott's side can also be a problem, since Whimsicott is so frail that it can usually only afford to set Tailwind or Sunny Day once. By choosing certain partners for Whimsicott, this matchup problem can be turned on its head. Pokemon such as Glimmora can beat common counters to Whimsicott, including Talonflame, Dragonite, and Incineroar. Pokemon that block priority moves can also support Whimsicott, such as Indeedee with Psychic Terrain and Farigiraf with Armor Tail.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sizzlipede-snom.671287/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/soulboyvgc.558405/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/flarefox_7.657713/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
Last edited:
