[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Bug Buzz
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Psychic
move 4: U-turn
item: Choice Specs
ability: Tinted Lens
nature: Modest
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Thanks to Tinted Lens and its solid Special Attack, Mothim is free to spam Choice Specs boosted STAB Bug Buzz without worrying about type resistances against bulky Pokemon like Muk, Lairon, Frillish, and Wormadam-S. Offensive Pokemon like Simisear and Emolga that would otherwise resist Mothim's Bug Buzz cannot safely switch in on it. Meganium, one of the most relevant special walls, is potentially OHKOed by Mothim's Bug Buzz after Stealth Rock damage. Even specially defensive Clefairy must be careful to remain healthy if it wants to switch in against it, as it is 3HKOed by Mothim's Bug Buzz. Shadow Ball deals more damage to Frillish than Bug Buzz and can safely 2HKO it, while Bug Buzz cannot, and it's also valuable against the uncommon Lampent. Psychic does more damage to Muk, and it can be helpful against Pignite. However, Mothim infrequently uses special attacks besides Bug Buzz due to its power and the rare cases where Shadow Ball or Psychic are more useful attacks. U-turn lets Mothim pivot out on an incoming check like specially defensive Clefairy to open a window for a teammate and chip down foes for itself. Mothim runs a Modest nature to maximize its damage and 2HKO Frillish and Muk with Bug Buzz after Stealth Rock damage and 3HKO specially defensive Clefairy. There are few common sets of other Pokemon Mothim misses out on outspeeding with a Modest nature besides Rock Polish Solrock, Choice Specs Glaceon, Pivot Mienfoo with a Jolly nature, and Kingler with an Adamant nature, but Mothim is better off prioritizing wallbreaking than these specific matchups.
Choice Specs Mothim often requires partners who can bring it in safely given its poor defensive stats and typing. Slow pivots like Mienfoo and Vibrava can take a hit for Mothim while they bring it into more favorable matchups with U-turn. In turn, Mothim offers explosive power versus these partners' checks, like Muk and Meganium. Offensive pivots like Emolga and Persian tend to draw in slow and defensive Pokemon like Solrock, Lairon, and Wormadam-S, and U-turn opens the window for Mothim to come in and punch huge holes in their checks. Stealth Rock severely limits the number of times Mothim can come onto the field, so Staryu is an excellent partner. Staryu appreciates the Mothim destroying checks to it like Frillish and Leafeon and generally providing immense offensive output.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Choice Specs Mothim generally lacks moves that provide more than simply attacking with Bug Buzz. Air Slash is lower in base power than Bug Buzz, but it has a chance to flinch troublesome foes like Clefairy. Giga Drain can restore some of Mothim's HP, but it's less powerful compared to Bug Buzz, and Choice Specs Mothim cannot switch moves. Giga Drain is also less useful than one of Mothim's other coverage moves. Quiver Dance Mothim is generally set with just Quiver Dance and Bug Buzz thanks to Tinted Lens. Quiver Dance Mothim can run Focus Sash to guarantee a turn to set up, but it requires extensive team support to prevent Stealth Rock from being set. Mothim can run Bug Gem, which has great synergy with Tinted Lens, but without Leftovers it's very vulnerable to status and priority moves. Mothim can run Protect over Substitute or Air Slash for protection from Persian's Fake Out, though this comes at the cost of making Mothim more vulnerable to status or giving up the option to flinch an opponent.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Stealth Rock**: A 4x weakness to Stealth Rock damage means Mothim cannot switch in repeatedly when Stealth Rock is up and that it is unlikely to take survive any hits after taking Stealth Rock damage given its poor bulk.
**Specially Defensive Clefairy**: Mothim cannot 2HKO Clefairy with Choice Specs Bug Buzz, and Clefairy has reliable recovery in Soft-Boiled to recover off damage taken from Mothim. Clefairy can remove Mothim's item with Knock Off, reducing its damage output. Clefairy's Thunder Wave is devastating for Mothim and opens up more opportunities for Clefairy to recover freely against Mothim. Clefairy often runs Stealth Rock, which takes 50% of Mothim's health every time it comes in. Clefairy itself is not vulnerable to chip damage from entry hazards, which makes it harder to wear down for Mothim to break through it. Clefairy access to Seismic Toss means it breaks Quiver Dance Mothim's Substitute regardless of setup and does a big chunk to Mothim, while Encore can lock Mothim into its setup moves and make it easier to deal with.
**Revenge Killers**: Fast Pokemon like Persian, Emolga, Simisear, Raichu, Slaking, and Pikachu can outspeed and KO Mothim easily with their STAB attacks. Given Mothim's poor bulk severe 4x weakness to Stealth Rock, other revenge killers like Grumpig, Mr. Mime, Leafeon, and Arbok can often count on Mothim being worn into range of their attacks. If Mothim boosts with Quiver Dance however, these Pokemon can no longer safely revenge kill Mothim.
**Choice Scarf users**: Simisear and Slaking commonly hold Choice Scarf, and they can revenge kill Mothim even after a Quiver Dance boost. Other common Choice Scarf users like Grumpig and Mr. Mime can run Psyshock to ignore Mothim's Special Defense boost from Quiver Dance and KO it after Stealth Rock damage.
**Priority**: Given how delicate Mothim is between is poor bulk and severe weakness to Stealth Rock it risks being put into range of priority attacks. Pawniard, Muk, Pikachu, and Mienfoo often run priority moves and can overcome their speed tiers to cut Mothim down after chip damage. Pawniard must be wary about Quiver Dance Mothim's Substitute.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/missangelic.452572/
Quality checked by:
Grammar checked by:
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Bug Buzz
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Psychic
move 4: U-turn
item: Choice Specs
ability: Tinted Lens
nature: Modest
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Thanks to Tinted Lens and its solid Special Attack, Mothim is free to spam Choice Specs boosted STAB Bug Buzz without worrying about type resistances against bulky Pokemon like Muk, Lairon, Frillish, and Wormadam-S. Offensive Pokemon like Simisear and Emolga that would otherwise resist Mothim's Bug Buzz cannot safely switch in on it. Meganium, one of the most relevant special walls, is potentially OHKOed by Mothim's Bug Buzz after Stealth Rock damage. Even specially defensive Clefairy must be careful to remain healthy if it wants to switch in against it, as it is 3HKOed by Mothim's Bug Buzz. Shadow Ball deals more damage to Frillish than Bug Buzz and can safely 2HKO it, while Bug Buzz cannot, and it's also valuable against the uncommon Lampent. Psychic does more damage to Muk, and it can be helpful against Pignite. However, Mothim infrequently uses special attacks besides Bug Buzz due to its power and the rare cases where Shadow Ball or Psychic are more useful attacks. U-turn lets Mothim pivot out on an incoming check like specially defensive Clefairy to open a window for a teammate and chip down foes for itself. Mothim runs a Modest nature to maximize its damage and 2HKO Frillish and Muk with Bug Buzz after Stealth Rock damage and 3HKO specially defensive Clefairy. There are few common sets of other Pokemon Mothim misses out on outspeeding with a Modest nature besides Rock Polish Solrock, Choice Specs Glaceon, Pivot Mienfoo with a Jolly nature, and Kingler with an Adamant nature, but Mothim is better off prioritizing wallbreaking than these specific matchups.
Choice Specs Mothim often requires partners who can bring it in safely given its poor defensive stats and typing. Slow pivots like Mienfoo and Vibrava can take a hit for Mothim while they bring it into more favorable matchups with U-turn. In turn, Mothim offers explosive power versus these partners' checks, like Muk and Meganium. Offensive pivots like Emolga and Persian tend to draw in slow and defensive Pokemon like Solrock, Lairon, and Wormadam-S, and U-turn opens the window for Mothim to come in and punch huge holes in their checks. Stealth Rock severely limits the number of times Mothim can come onto the field, so Staryu is an excellent partner. Staryu appreciates the Mothim destroying checks to it like Frillish and Leafeon and generally providing immense offensive output.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Choice Specs Mothim generally lacks moves that provide more than simply attacking with Bug Buzz. Air Slash is lower in base power than Bug Buzz, but it has a chance to flinch troublesome foes like Clefairy. Giga Drain can restore some of Mothim's HP, but it's less powerful compared to Bug Buzz, and Choice Specs Mothim cannot switch moves. Giga Drain is also less useful than one of Mothim's other coverage moves. Quiver Dance Mothim is generally set with just Quiver Dance and Bug Buzz thanks to Tinted Lens. Quiver Dance Mothim can run Focus Sash to guarantee a turn to set up, but it requires extensive team support to prevent Stealth Rock from being set. Mothim can run Bug Gem, which has great synergy with Tinted Lens, but without Leftovers it's very vulnerable to status and priority moves. Mothim can run Protect over Substitute or Air Slash for protection from Persian's Fake Out, though this comes at the cost of making Mothim more vulnerable to status or giving up the option to flinch an opponent.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Stealth Rock**: A 4x weakness to Stealth Rock damage means Mothim cannot switch in repeatedly when Stealth Rock is up and that it is unlikely to take survive any hits after taking Stealth Rock damage given its poor bulk.
**Specially Defensive Clefairy**: Mothim cannot 2HKO Clefairy with Choice Specs Bug Buzz, and Clefairy has reliable recovery in Soft-Boiled to recover off damage taken from Mothim. Clefairy can remove Mothim's item with Knock Off, reducing its damage output. Clefairy's Thunder Wave is devastating for Mothim and opens up more opportunities for Clefairy to recover freely against Mothim. Clefairy often runs Stealth Rock, which takes 50% of Mothim's health every time it comes in. Clefairy itself is not vulnerable to chip damage from entry hazards, which makes it harder to wear down for Mothim to break through it. Clefairy access to Seismic Toss means it breaks Quiver Dance Mothim's Substitute regardless of setup and does a big chunk to Mothim, while Encore can lock Mothim into its setup moves and make it easier to deal with.
**Revenge Killers**: Fast Pokemon like Persian, Emolga, Simisear, Raichu, Slaking, and Pikachu can outspeed and KO Mothim easily with their STAB attacks. Given Mothim's poor bulk severe 4x weakness to Stealth Rock, other revenge killers like Grumpig, Mr. Mime, Leafeon, and Arbok can often count on Mothim being worn into range of their attacks. If Mothim boosts with Quiver Dance however, these Pokemon can no longer safely revenge kill Mothim.
**Choice Scarf users**: Simisear and Slaking commonly hold Choice Scarf, and they can revenge kill Mothim even after a Quiver Dance boost. Other common Choice Scarf users like Grumpig and Mr. Mime can run Psyshock to ignore Mothim's Special Defense boost from Quiver Dance and KO it after Stealth Rock damage.
**Priority**: Given how delicate Mothim is between is poor bulk and severe weakness to Stealth Rock it risks being put into range of priority attacks. Pawniard, Muk, Pikachu, and Mienfoo often run priority moves and can overcome their speed tiers to cut Mothim down after chip damage. Pawniard must be wary about Quiver Dance Mothim's Substitute.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/missangelic.452572/
Quality checked by:
Grammar checked by:
Last edited:
