Martin
A monoid in the category of endofunctors
[OVERVIEW]
Whimsicott's access to a great ability in Prankster alongside a plethora of useful utility moves such as Encore, Memento, Tailwind, Stun Spore, and U-turn allows it to function as a good utility Pokemon and pivot. Its very high Speed stat allows it to outrun the majority of the metagame, beating out offensive behemoths like Sneasel and Virizion, and combines with its good offensive typing and resistance to Fighting- and Dark-type attacks to give offensive teams, including those that rely on Choice Scarf Hitmonlee as their primary form of speed control, a headache. However, its somewhat lacking firepower can cause issues versus bulky teams, and its frailty means that it struggles to check things repeatedly throughout a match. Additionally, while its high Speed allows it to offensively check Sneasel, Whimsicott can neither switch in safely nor revenge kill it if it is locked into Ice Shard.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Moonblast
move 2: Energy Ball
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Switcheroo / Psychic
item: Choice Specs
ability: Infiltrator
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Moonblast is resisted by few Pokemon, making it easy for Whimsicott to spam. Energy Ball hits Water-types hard, 2HKOing Assault Vest Slowking, and 2HKOes most Steelix variants. Giga Drain can be used if healing is desirable, but the power drop is noticeable, losing the two aforementioned KOs. U-turn allows Whimsicott to pivot out of Pokemon that attempt to switch into its attacks, grabbing momentum and allowing teammates to take advantage of them. Switcheroo cripples specially bulky Pokemon that try to switch in on Whimsicott, notably including Golbat. Psychic allows Whimsicott to deal heavy damage to Poison-types that try to switch in on its STAB moves, having around a 50% chance to 2HKO Golbat with maximum investment in HP and Special Defense after Stealth Rock while providing a more immediate offensive presence versus Pokemon like Garbodor. Hurricane is Whimsicott's strongest attack against Grass-types such as Vileplume, Lilligant, and Ludicolo and is a strong attack to use versus Fire-types such as Magmortar.
Set Details
========
Maximum Speed investment is used alongside a Timid nature to outrun everything up to and including Sneasel, and maximum Special Attack investment is used to deal as much damage as possible. Infiltrator is used because Prankster is mostly useless on a Choice Specs set; it is useful for hitting Pokemon hard through Substitute and dual screens. Choice Specs is used to bolster Whimsicott's firepower, maximizing its ability to take advantage of Moonblast's great neutral coverage.
Usage Tips
========
Use Whimsicott to revenge kill Dark- and Water-types and to function as a nuisance to offensive teams. Use Switcheroo if you expect Golbat or anything similar to switch in on Whimsicott. Versus Switcheroo targets, it is usually best to keep using U-turn until the power boost from Choice Specs is no longer necessary. Use Whimsicott to grab momentum using U-turn.
Team Options
========
Pivots such as Uxie, Xatu, and Rotom are useful for helping get Whimsicott onto the field safely. Stealth Rock users like Steelix, Uxie, Piloswine, and Seismitoad help Whimsicott wear foes down throughout a match while taking advantage of its ability to force the Rock-weak Sneasel out. Spikes users like Garbodor and Qwilfish are useful for the same reason. Rapid Spin, Defog, and Magic Bounce support from Pokemon like Hitmonlee, Golbat, and Xatu are useful due to Whimsicott's vulnerability to all entry hazards. Wallbreakers and stallbreakers that appreciate U-turn support such as Taunt + Nasty Plot Mismagius, and particularly those that take advantage of Steelix, Garbodor, and Golbat, such as Swords Dance Rhydon, Calm Mind Delphox, and Samurott, help Whimsicott's matchup versus bulky teams substantially.
[SET]
name: Offensive Pivot
move 1: Moonblast
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Encore / Memento
item: Pixie Plate
ability: Prankster
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Moonblast provides a STAB move that few Pokemon resist, making it easy to spam and useful to hit Dark- and Fighting-types like Sneasel and Virizion super effectively while also hitting Skuntank for neutral damage. Giga Drain provides a secondary STAB attack that hits Water-types hard while passively healing Whimsicott. Energy Ball can be used for a noticeable power increase, having a good chance to 3HKO most Steelix variants, but the longevity provided by Giga Drain is usually more useful for this set. U-turn allows Whimsicott to grab momentum versus Pokemon that it forces out, increasing its utility as a pivot. Encore allows Whimsicott to stand in the way of setup attackers by locking them into their setup move; it takes advantage of Prankster to function versus Speed boosters. Memento is an alternative option that allows Whimsicott to create setup opportunities for dangerous sweepers like Barbaracle, Vivillon, and Lilligant by weakening its target and giving them a free switch in. Tailwind is also an option to allow powerful wallbreakers with otherwise middling Speed stats such as Vanilluxe to shred offensive teams; Stun Spore is also an option as a more permanent alternative to Tailwind that only affects one target, being particularly useful as a long-term method of crippling Choice Scarf users.
Set Details
========
Pixie Plate is the item of choice due to its general damage increase, allowing Whimsicott to pressure Pokemon such as Virizion and Xatu a little more easily; it can also be used to bluff Choice Specs versus neutral targets. Leftovers is an option that provides passive healing, which is invaluable on a utility Pokemon like Whimsicott, although it isn't usually worth the damage drop and the ability to bluff Choice Specs. Maximum Speed investment along with a Timid nature is important to outrun Sneasel and Virizion, and maximum Special Attack investment allows Whimsicott to deal as much damage as possible, OHKOing Sneasel even if Whimsicott has had its Pixie Plate knocked off. Maximum HP investment is an option if running Leftovers in order to improve Whimsicott's ability to take resisted hits. Prankster allows Whimsicott to function as a great utility Pokemon, enabling it to shut down Speed boosters and priority sweepers that it switches in against by giving it priority on Encore and allowing it to use Memento before faster Pokemon like Accelgor and Sceptile, Choice Scarf users, and slower priority attackers are able to move.
Usage Tips
========
Switch Whimsicott in on attacks it resists, it is immune to, or that do not deal damage. That said, you should be wary of switching Whimsicott into Stealth Rock users because they all have STAB moves that can very heavily dent it. If Whimsicott does not carry Encore, it may be worth bluffing that it does to discourage opposing sweepers from setting up; similarly, it will often be worth manually switching instead of using U-turn in order to bluff Choice Specs. Be aware that Encore fails against Dragon Dance Scrafty due to its Dark typing. Additionally, note that a number of setup sweepers, such as Barbaracle and Slowking, can circumvent Encore to an extent by using their Z-Moves. Do not stay in versus Sneasel that switch in while Whimsicott is out unless you expect it to not use Ice Shard. Similarly, do not try to revenge kill Sneasel if it is locked into Ice Shard, although it is worth noting that Whimsicott can take a Choice Band Ice Shard from full health if the situation is desperate. Use Whimiscott to pivot around and provide safe switches for teammates. Use Whimsicott to check Pokemon it is faster than, but try to avoid switching it in versus anything it doesn't force out unless the aim is to punish setup; consider using it as a revenge killer. Consider using Moonblast to chip away at Pokemon that resist it as they switch in due to its decent firepower combining with how the few Pokemon that resist Fairy tend to lack reliable recovery.
Team Options
========
Offensive pivots like Rotom-C and bulky pivots like Garbodor, Slowbro, Uxie, and Steelix can form VoltTurn cores with Whimsicott and help it get onto the field safely. Setup sweepers such as Vivillon, Lilligant, Virizion, and Barbaracle take advantage of Memento and free switches created with U-turn. Rapid Spin or Defog users such as Golbat, Hitmonlee, and Hitmontop are useful for preventing Whimsicott from being worn down by repeatedly switching into entry hazards. Xatu is also useful for its Magic Bounce ability preventing entry hazards from being set up at all. Wallbreakers appreciate Whimsicott's ability to help them get onto the field safely, particularly those that take advantage of Steelix, Golbat, and Garbodor such as Hitmonlee and Houndoom. Pokemon that can beat Golbat, such as Rhydon, Meloetta, and Z-Move Virizion, are helpful to Whimsicott.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Z-Memento allows Whimsicott to fully restore a teammate's health while also halving the target's firepower, which is useful when paired with setup sweepers due to how it allows them to play more recklessly early-game. Taunt and Grass Whistle are both alternative utility moves that take advantage of Prankster and allow Whimsicott to fulfill a different role on its team. Knock Off can be used to surprise Pokemon that commonly switch into Whimsicott and remove their items, such as Golbat's Eviolite and Incineroar's Assault Vest. Fairium Z can be used on the pivot set in order to OHKO Virizion, allowing it to revenge kill it more consistently, but the power drop versus neutral targets throughout the game isn't usually worth the trade-off and the Choice Specs set is able to do a lot of what it aims to do anyway. A physically defensive EV spread alongside a utility-oriented moveset can provide a slow U-turn and increases Whimsicott's flexibility as a pure support Pokemon, but missing out on the Speed benchmarks that running maximum Speed investment allows for is not ideal. A Substitute + Leech Seed set takes advantage of Prankster and can be used to pressure or even defeat traditional checks like Garbodor. Trick Room can be used either on Trick Room teams to create a setter that takes advantage of Prankster to alleviate the Speed-dropping effect and to give it a "slow" U-turn, or it can be used on offensive teams to reverse opposing Trick Room. Sunny Day can be used on sun teams to give Chlorophyll users like Victreebel, Leafeon, and Sawsbuck a good matchup versus offensive teams, but sun is not a very reliable playstyle in the current metagame. Z-Growth gives Whimsicott +2 Special Attack, allowing it to function as a cleaner and giving it a greater-than-50% chance to OHKO uninvested Skuntank; Nature Power is an option on such a set to provide Whimsicott with a strong priority attack. Flyinium Z can be used alongside Hurricane, allowing Whimsicott to OHKO maximum HP Vileplume after Stealth Rock without needing to catch it on the switch and Choice lock itself into Hurricane.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Poison-types**: Specially defensive Golbat takes pitiful damage from all of Whimsicott's attacks and retaliates with Brave Bird, although it needs to be careful of Switcheroo. Vileplume is in a similar position, exchanging Brave Bird for Sludge Bomb, but it must also be careful of Psychic. Garbodor and Weezing need to be careful of Psychic, but they can take Whimsicott's attacks and retaliate with Gunk Shot or Sludge Bomb.
**Fire-types**: Assault Vest Magmortar takes very little from any of Whimsicott's attacks and OHKOes it in return with Fire Blast. Incineroar takes neutral damage from Moonblast, but it can pivot into Choice Specs variants once and forces Whimsicott out with the threat of a Fire Blast. Z-Sunny Day Charizard and Calm Mind Delphox can use Whimsicott as setup bait, and Choice Scarf Delphox outruns and KOes it with Fire Blast without fearing any of Whimsicott's attacks.
**Flying-types**: Focus Sash Vivillon can take any one hit from Whimsicott and KO it in return with Hurricane. Bulk Up Braviary can set up on Whimsicott variants lacking Encore, whereas more offensive variants force it out with the threat of Brave Bird. A healthy Dodrio can take on Whimsicott if it is locked into its Grass-type STAB move or if it is holding Leftovers, OHKOing it with Brave Bird.
**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: If Whimsicott lacks Choice Specs Energy Ball, Assault Vest Slowking can take on anything Whimsicott can throw at it while pressuring it with its choice of Fire Blast or Future Sight and is capable of healing off damage with Regenerator. Cryogonal can take hits from Whimsicott pretty comfortably and deals very heavy damage in return with its STAB moves.
**Faster Pokemon**: Offensive Accelgor deals very heavy damage with Bug Buzz. Choice Scarf users such as Rotom also pose as threats to Whimsicott. Sceptile deals heavy damage to Whimsicott with Hidden Power Flying or Hidden Power Ice.
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