Whimiscott's Prankster, along with the combination of Leech Seed, Substitute, and Protect, allows it to outstall most non-Grass or Magic Bounce offensive Pokemon as long as it can survive one attack, regardless of if they naturally outspeed it. This can be useful against Pokemon like non-Encore Mega Lopunny and Zeraora. Whimsicott can also take on Fire- and Steel-types like Mega Charizard X and Mega Metagross when running Occa Berry or Babiri Berry, as this allows it to take a super effective attack that would usually OHKO it and affect them with Leech Seed. Thanks to its Fairy typing, Whimiscott can take on Kommo-o and Mega Gyarados with Moonblast, letting it defeat Pokemon that could otherwise beat it thanks to access to Taunt, strong attacking moves, or a natural Dark typing. Dark-types that can shrug off Moonblast damage such as Incineroar are a problem for Whimsicott, as their immunity to Prankster prevents Whimsicott from being able to SubSeed stall them. Whimsicott also suffers against sound move users like Porygon-Z and Meloetta, because both Uproar and Hyper Voice go though Substitute. Whimsicott also cannot do anything to opposing Grass-types like Mega Venusaur and Ferrothorn, as they are immune to Leech Seed and can easily take care of it with their STAB attacks.
[SET]
name: SubSeed Stall
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Protect
move 4: Taunt / Moonblast
item: Occa Berry / Babiri Berry
ability: Prankster
nature: Calm
evs: 240 HP / 100 Def / 168 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Leech Seed allows Whimsicott to get HP back after using Substitute and can effectively stall out the opposing Pokemon's HP. Substitute makes Whimsicott able to avoid Toxic from Pokemon such as Porygon2 and stall out HP after using Leech Seed on Mega Metagross and Mega Charizard X. Protect is useful after using Substitute to make Whimsicott able to keep itself healthy while stalling the opposing Pokemon. Taunt is useful against walls like Deoxys-S and Kee Berry Mew, as they become unable to use their recovery, set up, status, or Taunt Whimsicott. Moonblast enables Whimsicott to take on Dark-types that would otherwise be immune to Prankster like Hydreigon, Scrafty, and Mega Gyarados.
Set Details
========
A Occa Berry allows Whimsicott to take Fire-type attacks from non-Choice Band Victini and Mega Charizard X, whereas a Babiri Berry lets it take on Steel-types like Mega Mawile and Mega Metagross. Prankster enables Whimsicott to always use its status moves before the opposing Pokemon unless it is a Dark-type, stalling out foes regardless of a Speed advantage.
If Occa Berry is being run, use 240 HP EVs and 168 Special Defense EVs with a Calm nature, which allows Whimsicott to survive a Flash Cannon from Magnezone and Heatran, an Air Slash from Mega Charizard Y, and a Genesis Supernova from Mew. The remaining 100 Defense EVs are leftover EVs, enabling Whimsicott to take a Giga Impact from Mega Lopunny.
If Babiri Berry is being run, 240 HP EVs and 60 Defense EVs with a Bold nature allow Whimsicott to take an Iron Head from Mega Mawile, a Meteor Mash from Mega Metagross, and a Giga Impact from Adamant Mega Lopunny. The remaining 208 EVs are used in Special Defense to improve Whimsicott's matchups against Choice Specs Deoxys-S and force a mind game between Blast Burn and Air Slash against Mega Charizard Y.
Usage Tips
========
Send Whimsicott out against Fire-types like Mega Blaziken, Mega Charizard X, Heatran and non-Choice Band Victini, or Steel-types like non-Taunt Mega Mawile, Mega Metagross, and Mega Aggron, depending on the Berry that's being run, as Whimsicott can use Leech Seed first, tank a hit with its Berry, and stall out the foe with Substitute and Protect. Be wary against Mega Charizard Y, because although Whimsicott can survive an Air Slash, it still gets OHKOed by Blast Burn even with Occa Berry. Thus, Whimsicott must either use Substitute on Blast Burn or Leech Seed on Air Slash. Against Choice item and stall users like Jirachi, Victini, Kee Berry Mew, and Necrozma, it is best to use Protect first to scout if they have Trick or if Necrozma is running Choice Specs or stall. If they do have Trick, use Substitute or Taunt to prevent this; otherwise, use Leech Seed and proceed to stall as usual. For Kee Berry Mew, it is best to Taunt turn one and then use Leech Seed and the combination of Protect + Substitute to stall it out of HP. Avoid picking Whimsicott to face Mega Gyarados unless it is running Moonblast. Against Landorus-T, it is best to use Substitute first to evade a potential Supersonic Skystrike or to take advantage of Fly's two-turn usage before using Leech Seed to stall it. Whimsicott has trouble with moves that go though Substitute such as Hyper Voice from Mega Gardevoir, Uproar from Porygon-Z, and Bug Buzz from Volcorona, so do not send it out against these Pokemon. Even with Occa Berry, Whimsicott should avoid facing Fire-types such as Choice Band Victini and Incineroar because it fails to survive a V-create from the fotmer and has to rely on getting a double Protect to stall out V-create, and the latter avoids Leech Seed because of its Dark-typing.
Team Options
========
Strong wallbreakers with like Meloetta, Victini, Mega Charizard Y, and Porygon-Z can help with Grass-types like Mega Venusaur, Ferrothorn, and Serperior. In return, Whimsicott can take on bulky offensive threats, like Mega Heracross, Mega Aggron, and Donphan for them. If you're running a Occa Berry, Pokemon that can beat Steel-types like Mega Charizard X, Heatran, and Incineroar are good partners for Whimsicott, as they help take care of Genesect, Serperior, and Mega Metagross. In return, Whimsicott can take on opposing Mega Charizard X, Primarina, and Kommo-o. If you're running a Babiri Berry, Water- and Dragon-types such as Tapu Fini, Manaphy, Haxorus and Garchomp make good partners for Whimsicott to take on troubling Fire-types like Mega Charizard, Mega Blaziken, and Heatran. In return, Whimsicott can take on offensive and defensive threats like Zeraora and Mega Gyarados for them. Pokemon like Meloetta, Mega Gardevoir, Porygon-Z, and Tapu Lele give Whimsicott trouble because of Hyper Voice and Uproar going though Substitute or Psychic Surge negating Prankster's usability, 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 Fire- and Steel-type Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, non-Taunt Heatran, Magnezone, and opposing Mega Aggron and Mega Mawile that typically bother them. Whimsicott can also take on Donphan, Primarina, and Zygarde-C for them, regardless of the Berry being used.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Grass Whistle can be used over Protect or Taunt to put Fire-, Poison-, and Steel-types like Heatran, Mega Charizards, Naganadel, and Mega Metagross to sleep all while using the same item; however, its poor accuracy means it can miss and cause Whimsicott to get OHKOed. Encore can be used to to trap Pokemon that commonly set up like Mega Slowbro, Tapu Fini, and Taunt Mega Mawile. Leftovers can be used to help stall out low-PP moves like V-create from Victini; however, damage reduction Berries like Occa and Babiri to lure in threats against Whimsicott like Mega Charizard X and Mega Metagross are usually more useful. Yache Berry can be used in order for Whimscott to survive Ice-type attacks from Greninja; however, Occa and Babiri Berry are more effective due to how common Fire- and Steel-types are when compared to Ice-types. Kebia Berry is another choice that halves the damage of Poison-type moves, which is particularly useful for baiting out common Poison Jab Choice Scarf users Sawk and Haxorus. However, the downside of this is roughly the same as Yache Berry, as it's just blatantly outclassed by Occa and Babiri Berry in practicality.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-types**: Grass-types like Mega Venusaur, Ferrothorn, and Serperior are immune to Leech Seed, therefore making Whimsicott unable to do anything against them. A notable exception to this is Jumpluff, which will be unable to attack after being Taunted and must use Struggle.
**Super Effective Attacks**: If not running Occa Berry, Whimsicott cannot beat Fire-types like Mega Charizard X and Heatran. If Whimsicott is not running Babiri Berry, Steel-types like Mega Mawile and Mega Metagross can OHKO it. Ice-type moves from Greninja cause Whimsicott to be OHKOed before the Pokemon can be successfully attacked with Leech Seed.
**Dark-types**: If Whimsicott is not running Moonblast, it is walled by Dark-types like Hoopa-U and Incineroar because they are immune to Prankster, therefore making Whimsicott's status moves unable to do anything.
**Taunt**: Pokemon such as Tapu Fini can engage in mind games with Whimsicott, forcing it to choose to Taunt on a predicted Taunt or use a status move like Substitute or Leech Seed on a predicted attack.
**Sound Moves**: Attacks that go through Substitute like Uproar from Porygon-Z and Meloetta, Hyper Voice from Mega Gardevoir, and Bug Buzz from Volcarona can easily take care of Whimsicott before it gets a chance to outstall these Pokemon.
**Tapu Lele**: Because of Psychic Terrain, Tapu Lele blocks Whimsicott from using Leech Seed and can knock it out with Shattered Psyche.
**Magic Bounce**: Whimsicott is unable to win against Mega Sableye or Mega Diancie because Magic Bounce renders them immune to Leech Seed.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Yami, 393488]]
- Quality checked by: [[Chickenpie2, 305552], [Alakazam, 276708], [pqs, 425798]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Mafeking,122460], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
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