[OVERVIEW]
Whimsicott's Prankster, along with the combination of Leech Seed, Substitute, and Protect, allows it to outstall most offensive Pokemon as long as it can survive one attack, regardless of if they naturally outspeed it. Prankster also gives Whimsicott's Taunt priority, so it shuts down stall Pokemon such as Manaphy and other Taunt users such as Mega Gyarados. Whimsicott can also take on Steel- and Fire-types like Mega Mawile and Mega Charizard X with Babiri Berry or Occa Berry, which let it take a super effective attack that would usually OHKO it and afflict them with Leech Seed. Whimsicott's Grass / Fairy typing is good defensively, due to key resistances such as Water, Dark, and Ground and its immunity to Dragon-types. Whimsicott is also 4x weak to Poison-type moves though, meaning Pokemon like Sawk, Garchomp, and Landorus can easily OHKO it by running Poison Jab or Sludge Wave as a coverage move. Whimsicott suffers against sound move users like Porygon-Z and Meloetta, as both Uproar and Hyper Voice go through Substitute. Whimsicott also cannot do anything to opposing Grass-types like Mega Venusaur, as they are immune to Leech Seed and can easily take care of it with their STAB attacks.
[SET]
name: Babiri Berry
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Protect
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Taunt
item: Babiri Berry
ability: Prankster
nature: Bold
evs: 24 HP / 252 Def / 232 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Leech Seed allows Whimsicott to get HP back after using Substitute and Protect to effectively stall out the opposing Pokemon's HP. Protect should be used turn 1 vs Fake Out users like Lopunny and should be alternated with Substitute. Taunt is useful against Pokemon with recovery moves like Manaphy, Registeel, and Kee Berry Mew, and opposing Taunt users, such as Mega Gyarados and Deoxys-S.
Set Details
========
24 HP EVs and 252 Defense EVs with a Bold nature allow Whimsicott to take a high number of non-super effective hits from strong Pokemon in the metagame, such as Giga Impact from Mega Lopunny, and even some strong super effective hits such as Iron Head from Choice Band Terrakion. Running few HP EVs allows Whimsicott to heal more of its HP from Leech Seed. 232 EVs in Special Defense allow Whimsicott to tank an uninvested Ice Beam from Kyurem-B and Air Slash from Choice Scarf Togekiss. Babiri Berry allows Whimsicott to tank Steel-type hits it otherwise wouldn't, like Iron Head from Mega Mawile and Flash Cannon from Magnezone.
Usage Tips
========
Send Whimsicott out against Steel-types like Mawile and Magnezone, as it can use Leech Seed first, tank a hit with its Babiri Berry, and stall out the foe with Substitute and Protect. Be wary of Pokemon like Mega Aggron and Mega Mawile, as they can run Taunt and beat Whimsicott that way. While Whimsicott does tank a Meteor Mash from Mega Metagross thanks to its Babiri Berry, Mega Metagross will still KO it with Bullet Punch before it can use Substitute. Against certain Pokemon like Togekiss and Mew, it is best to use Protect first to scout if they have Trick. If they do have Trick, use Substitute or Taunt to block it; otherwise, use Leech Seed and proceed to stall as usual. Against Kee Berry Mew, it is best to use Taunt after Protect to avoid Taunt from Mew and then use Leech Seed and the combination of Protect + Substitute to stall it out of HP. Whimsicott has trouble with moves that go through Substitute, such as Hyper Voice from Mega Gardevoir, Uproar from Porygon-Z, and Bug Buzz from Genesect, so do not send it out against these Pokemon.
Team Options
========
Strong Fire-types like Victini, Mega Charizard Y, and Volcarona can help with Grass-types like Mega Venusaur, Ferrothorn, and Serperior, which are immune to Leech Seed and easily KO Whimsicott. In return, Whimsicott can take on bulky offensive threats, like Mega Gyarados and Mega Altaria, for them. Water- and Dragon-types such as Azumarill, Manaphy, Haxorus, and Garchomp make good partners for Whimsicott to take on troubling Fire-types like Mega Charizard X and Y, Victini, and Heatran. In return, Whimsicott can take on various threats like Mega Ampharos, Magnezone, and Mega Gyarados for them. Pokemon like Meloetta, Mega Gardevoir, Mega Altaria, and Porygon-Z give Whimsicott trouble, as Hyper Voice and Uproar go though Substitute, so Pokemon that can take care of these like Mega Aggron, Mega Metagross, and Mega Mawile are good to pair with it. In return, Whimsicott can potentially take on Ground-type Pokemon like Garchomp that typically bother them.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Occa Berry can be used in combination with a 240 HP / 100 Def / 168 SpD spread and a Calm nature to beat Pokemon like Mega Charizard X and Mega Camerupt, which would otherwise KO Whismicott. Whimsicott may even use Kebia Berry to survive Poison-type coverage moves such as Poison Jab from Sawk and Sludge Wave from Volcanion, or Yache Berry to survive Ice-type moves like Ice Beam from Choice Specs Kyurem-B. Whimsicott can run a combination of Sitrus Berry and Cotton Guard, giving up Taunt for a very good matchup against physical attackers it wouldn't normally beat, such as Mega Metagross and Choice Scarf Garchomp. Alternatively, Whimsicott can run Encore for a better matchup versus Mega Slowbro, but these both carry the risk of losing to Taunt Pokemon.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Magic Bounce**: Pokemon like Mega Sableye and Mega Diancie cannot be hit by Leech Seed due to Magic Bounce and can simply KO Whimisicott back.
**Grass-types**: Pokemon like Mega Venusaur and Ferrothorn are immune to Leech Seed and can KO Whimsicott with their STAB attacks.
**Strong Super Effective Attackers**: Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Choice Specs Kyurem-B, and Mega Gengar can OHKO a Whimsicott that isn't holding the appropriate Berry. Additionally, Choice Band Victini can OHKO Whimsicott even when it's holding an Occa Berry.
**Poison-type Coverage**: Garchomp, Sawk, Landorus, and Volcanion can OHKO Whimsicott with either Poison Jab or Sludge Wave. These Pokemon still need to be wary of potential Kebia Berry sets.
**Sound Moves**: Hyper Voice from Mega Gardevoir, Uproar from Meloetta and Porygon-Z, and Bug Buzz from Volcarona and Genesect can bypass Whimsicott's Substitute, thus breaking through its stalling.
**Bullet Punch**: Pokemon like Mega Metagross and Mega Medicham can use Bullet Punch after expending Whimsicott's Babiri Berry to OHKO it, given that they are faster than it.
**Slowbro**: Slowbro is unaffected by Taunt thanks to Oblivious, so it can use recovery moves to stall out Whimsicott.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[STABLE, 455774], [OM, 241400]]
- Quality checked by: [[LRXC, 289008], [DEG, 234355], [crucify, 437679]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Adeleine, 517429], [UT, 523866]]
Whimsicott's Prankster, along with the combination of Leech Seed, Substitute, and Protect, allows it to outstall most offensive Pokemon as long as it can survive one attack, regardless of if they naturally outspeed it. Prankster also gives Whimsicott's Taunt priority, so it shuts down stall Pokemon such as Manaphy and other Taunt users such as Mega Gyarados. Whimsicott can also take on Steel- and Fire-types like Mega Mawile and Mega Charizard X with Babiri Berry or Occa Berry, which let it take a super effective attack that would usually OHKO it and afflict them with Leech Seed. Whimsicott's Grass / Fairy typing is good defensively, due to key resistances such as Water, Dark, and Ground and its immunity to Dragon-types. Whimsicott is also 4x weak to Poison-type moves though, meaning Pokemon like Sawk, Garchomp, and Landorus can easily OHKO it by running Poison Jab or Sludge Wave as a coverage move. Whimsicott suffers against sound move users like Porygon-Z and Meloetta, as both Uproar and Hyper Voice go through Substitute. Whimsicott also cannot do anything to opposing Grass-types like Mega Venusaur, as they are immune to Leech Seed and can easily take care of it with their STAB attacks.
[SET]
name: Babiri Berry
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Protect
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Taunt
item: Babiri Berry
ability: Prankster
nature: Bold
evs: 24 HP / 252 Def / 232 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Leech Seed allows Whimsicott to get HP back after using Substitute and Protect to effectively stall out the opposing Pokemon's HP. Protect should be used turn 1 vs Fake Out users like Lopunny and should be alternated with Substitute. Taunt is useful against Pokemon with recovery moves like Manaphy, Registeel, and Kee Berry Mew, and opposing Taunt users, such as Mega Gyarados and Deoxys-S.
Set Details
========
24 HP EVs and 252 Defense EVs with a Bold nature allow Whimsicott to take a high number of non-super effective hits from strong Pokemon in the metagame, such as Giga Impact from Mega Lopunny, and even some strong super effective hits such as Iron Head from Choice Band Terrakion. Running few HP EVs allows Whimsicott to heal more of its HP from Leech Seed. 232 EVs in Special Defense allow Whimsicott to tank an uninvested Ice Beam from Kyurem-B and Air Slash from Choice Scarf Togekiss. Babiri Berry allows Whimsicott to tank Steel-type hits it otherwise wouldn't, like Iron Head from Mega Mawile and Flash Cannon from Magnezone.
Usage Tips
========
Send Whimsicott out against Steel-types like Mawile and Magnezone, as it can use Leech Seed first, tank a hit with its Babiri Berry, and stall out the foe with Substitute and Protect. Be wary of Pokemon like Mega Aggron and Mega Mawile, as they can run Taunt and beat Whimsicott that way. While Whimsicott does tank a Meteor Mash from Mega Metagross thanks to its Babiri Berry, Mega Metagross will still KO it with Bullet Punch before it can use Substitute. Against certain Pokemon like Togekiss and Mew, it is best to use Protect first to scout if they have Trick. If they do have Trick, use Substitute or Taunt to block it; otherwise, use Leech Seed and proceed to stall as usual. Against Kee Berry Mew, it is best to use Taunt after Protect to avoid Taunt from Mew and then use Leech Seed and the combination of Protect + Substitute to stall it out of HP. Whimsicott has trouble with moves that go through Substitute, such as Hyper Voice from Mega Gardevoir, Uproar from Porygon-Z, and Bug Buzz from Genesect, so do not send it out against these Pokemon.
Team Options
========
Strong Fire-types like Victini, Mega Charizard Y, and Volcarona can help with Grass-types like Mega Venusaur, Ferrothorn, and Serperior, which are immune to Leech Seed and easily KO Whimsicott. In return, Whimsicott can take on bulky offensive threats, like Mega Gyarados and Mega Altaria, for them. Water- and Dragon-types such as Azumarill, Manaphy, Haxorus, and Garchomp make good partners for Whimsicott to take on troubling Fire-types like Mega Charizard X and Y, Victini, and Heatran. In return, Whimsicott can take on various threats like Mega Ampharos, Magnezone, and Mega Gyarados for them. Pokemon like Meloetta, Mega Gardevoir, Mega Altaria, and Porygon-Z give Whimsicott trouble, as Hyper Voice and Uproar go though Substitute, so Pokemon that can take care of these like Mega Aggron, Mega Metagross, and Mega Mawile are good to pair with it. In return, Whimsicott can potentially take on Ground-type Pokemon like Garchomp that typically bother them.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Occa Berry can be used in combination with a 240 HP / 100 Def / 168 SpD spread and a Calm nature to beat Pokemon like Mega Charizard X and Mega Camerupt, which would otherwise KO Whismicott. Whimsicott may even use Kebia Berry to survive Poison-type coverage moves such as Poison Jab from Sawk and Sludge Wave from Volcanion, or Yache Berry to survive Ice-type moves like Ice Beam from Choice Specs Kyurem-B. Whimsicott can run a combination of Sitrus Berry and Cotton Guard, giving up Taunt for a very good matchup against physical attackers it wouldn't normally beat, such as Mega Metagross and Choice Scarf Garchomp. Alternatively, Whimsicott can run Encore for a better matchup versus Mega Slowbro, but these both carry the risk of losing to Taunt Pokemon.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Magic Bounce**: Pokemon like Mega Sableye and Mega Diancie cannot be hit by Leech Seed due to Magic Bounce and can simply KO Whimisicott back.
**Grass-types**: Pokemon like Mega Venusaur and Ferrothorn are immune to Leech Seed and can KO Whimsicott with their STAB attacks.
**Strong Super Effective Attackers**: Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Choice Specs Kyurem-B, and Mega Gengar can OHKO a Whimsicott that isn't holding the appropriate Berry. Additionally, Choice Band Victini can OHKO Whimsicott even when it's holding an Occa Berry.
**Poison-type Coverage**: Garchomp, Sawk, Landorus, and Volcanion can OHKO Whimsicott with either Poison Jab or Sludge Wave. These Pokemon still need to be wary of potential Kebia Berry sets.
**Sound Moves**: Hyper Voice from Mega Gardevoir, Uproar from Meloetta and Porygon-Z, and Bug Buzz from Volcarona and Genesect can bypass Whimsicott's Substitute, thus breaking through its stalling.
**Bullet Punch**: Pokemon like Mega Metagross and Mega Medicham can use Bullet Punch after expending Whimsicott's Babiri Berry to OHKO it, given that they are faster than it.
**Slowbro**: Slowbro is unaffected by Taunt thanks to Oblivious, so it can use recovery moves to stall out Whimsicott.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[STABLE, 455774], [OM, 241400]]
- Quality checked by: [[LRXC, 289008], [DEG, 234355], [crucify, 437679]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Adeleine, 517429], [UT, 523866]]
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