QC's: 3/3 (Blue Jay, Theorymon, Fireburn)
GP's: 2/2 (Calm Pokemaster, Ender)
Overview
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While the Ubers metagame is shifting more and more towards offense, Wobbuffet still stands ready to take it on. It luckily has access to just the right, albeit few, moves in order to fulfill its niche as a Shadow Tag user. Counter and Mirror Coat trap and defeat powerful attackers, Choice Scarf users, and Mewtwo, and Encore and Safeguard give sweepers opportunities to set up. Wobbuffet will also not fall easily, as its immense HP stat allows it to survive relatively powerful attacks and retaliate with full force, and the lack of weather-boosted attacks makes Wobbuffet's job easier. However, although Wobbuffet provides a large amount of utility to offensive teams, it is not without its drawbacks. Despite its excellent bulk, Wobbuffet's Psychic typing doesn't have enough useful resistances to support it and leaves it vulnerable to Ghost- and Dark-types, which are currently rising in popularity. Also, as one would imagine, the type of movepool Wobbuffet has is extremely reliant on prediction, something that doesn't help it against non-Choice locked Pokemon and leaves it vulnerable to Taunt users such as Yveltal and Thundurus. Wobbuffet also faces competition from other Shadow Tag users such as Gothitelle and Mega Gengar. However, unlike Mega Gengar and Gothitelle, Wobbuffet can trap and defeat Choice Scarf users. Despite its flaws, Wobbuffet remains an excellent team member on offensive teams, so expect it to disrupt teams and pave the way for a clean sweep if played correctly.
Oh No, It's Wobbuffet!
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name: Oh No, It's Wobbuffet!
move 1: Counter
move 2: Mirror Coat
move 3: Encore
move 4: Safeguard
item: Leftovers
evs: 28 HP / 228 Def / 252 SpD
nature: Calm
Moves
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Wobbuffet's overall movepool is sparse yet simple, making each moveslot option integral to how it functions. Counter and Mirror Coat are obvious staples, as Wobbuffet would not be able to trap and defeat Choice Scarf users without them. Encore can lock the opponent into a useless move, allowing a sweeper to come in and set up without fear of repercussion. Safeguard is very useful as well, as Wobbuffet can lock an opponent into a status move and then render it ineffective, allowing free setup opportunities for sweepers. Destiny Bond can be used over Safeguard to ease prediction against offensive Pokemon, but Wobbuffet loses the ability to help its team set up on status moves and will often have to take a hit before using Destiny Bond due to its horrendous Speed.
Set Details
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The given EV spread allows Wobbuffet to avoid being 2HKOed by Modest Kyogre's Water Spout while also providing more Leftovers recovery with the 28 EVs invested into HP. This also allows Wobbuffet to take special attacks better. The EVs can be tweaked for Wobbuffet to check certain Pokemon, such as investing in Defense for Blaziken and Ho-Oh or investing in Special Defense for Xerneas and Kyogre.
Usage Tips
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To increase Wobbuffet's success, it is recommended to seek out targets you wish to revenge kill, primarily to prevent mixed attackers from playing around with Counter and Mirror Coat or possibly to also prevent Choice Band and Choice Specs users from defeating Wobbuffet. When this is done, Choice Scarf users can be spotted as potential targets for Wobbuffet. If the opponent switches frequently, try to capitalize on this and bring in Wobbuffet on a predicted switch to trap the foe. Because Wobbuffet is specialized for its targets, using Encore on setup sweepers is recommended so that they either are locked into a boosting move or deal pitiful damage to your team. However, Encore should be used with caution against possible Spikes users, as the continuous layers being added can cause great consequences to a team's longevity, even with Defog users. As mentioned before, refrain from taking on Choice Band and Choice Specs users, in addition to sweepers that have already set up, as Wobbuffet has no recovery outside of Leftovers and cannot take powerful attacks at all.
Team Options
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The only reason to use Wobbuffet is to support sweepers by trapping and removing their counters. Luckily, there are several sweepers that benefit from Wobbuffet's ability to trap, remove, or create setup opportunities. This includes Dragon Dance Rayquaza, Mega Mewtwo X, and Swords Dance Blaziken, which all find it difficult to gain boosts to sweep on their own. Sweepers such as Mewtwo and Darkrai are also good teammates, as their high base Speed leaves them prone to being revenge killed by Choice Scarf users, which Wobbuffet can dispatch. Volt Switch and U-turn users such as Scizor and Thundurus can allow Wobbuffet to enter the battlefield without harm and ease switch predictions for Wobbuffet to trap its specified target. Although Wobbuffet is much more suited for hyper offensive teams, clerics such as Xerneas, Sylveon, and Blissey can help Wobbuffet with status conditions and overall longevity to allow it to fulfill its role on balanced teams. A very powerful core Wobbuffet can form is with Blaziken and Hidden Power Fire Geomancy Xerneas, as Wobbuffet can create multiple setup opportunities for both by locking the opponent into a resisted move with Encore or removing their usual checks and counters such as Giratina or Klefki.
Other Options
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Wobbuffet has a very shallow movepool, therefore limiting its options. Wobbuffet can utilize Charm to weaken physical attackers and allow free setup opportunities when combined with Encore. However, this leaves Wobbuffet open to attacks, and Encore has wider utility. Tickle has the same objective as Charm and would replace Safeguard, but the Attack and Defense drops can be used in tandem with a Pursuit user. This strategy is gimmicky, and as mentioned before, Encore can hit more targets than Tickle does. In terms of items, Mental Herb can be used to protect Wobbuffet from Taunt and then let it do something for an extra turn. The primary problems are that Mental Herb can only be used once, Wobbuffet loses Leftovers, and Wobbuffet can only retaliate against a select few Taunt users. Focus Sash is extremely useful when dealing with powerful Pokemon that can OHKO Wobbuffet, which allows Wobbuffet to KO attackers that it could not with Leftovers. The downsides of Focus Sash are, of course, the lack of passive recovery and an increase in the amount of entry hazard control required to maintain Wobbuffet's Focus Sash.
Checks and Counters
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**Ghost-types**: Not only can Ghost-types such as Mega Gengar, Giratina-O, and Ghost Arceus hit Wobbuffet for super effective damage, but they can also ignore Counter and most importantly, ignore Shadow Tag, making Wobbuffet ineffective against them.
**Dark-types**: Most of the Dark-types in the tier, including Dark Arceus, Darkrai, and Yveltal are specially oriented, which is troublesome for Wobbuffet, as they are immune to Mirror Coat, allowing them to hit Wobbuffet for super effective damage without repercussion.
**U-turn / Volt Switch**: Similar to Ghost-types, Volt Switch users such as Thundurus and Zekrom as well as U-turn users such as Scizor and Genesect can ignore Shadow Tag's mechanics and switch into a Pokemon that can KO Wobbuffet if needed.
**Taunt**: Most Taunt users in the tier, including Mega Gengar, Mewtwo, and Thundurus, prevent Wobbuffet from using Encore and locking them into a move. However, Wobbuffet can still damage them with Mirror Coat or Counter.
**Residual Damage**: Because of Wobbuffet's lack of reliable recovery, means of residual damage such as burns, poison, sand, hail, or entry hazards can wear down Wobbuffet very fast, to the point where it can be KOed.
**Pursuit Users**: Although rare, Pursuit users such as Tyranitar, Aegislash, and Scizor can come in and revenge kill Wobbuffet after it has claimed a victim. Wobbuffet can predict the Pursuit by staying in and retaliating with Counter, but this is a risky situation since most Pursuit users can hit Wobbuffet for other super effective damage too.
**Phazing Moves**: This situation is uncommon due to the fact that Encore stops Whirlwind and Roar, but Dragon Tail users such as Giratina-O, Groudon, and Palkia can take advantage of being Encored and phaze Wobbuffet out. Afterwards, the opponent can switch as they see fit until Wobbuffet returns again.
**Shed Shell**: Shed Shell users such as Blissey can also ignore Shadow Tag and therefore switch out with impunity. However, Pokemon that use Shed Shell are rare, making this situation very uncommon.
Overview
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- Shadow Tag is hilarious
- Awesome bulk; HP lets it KO pretty much any offensive Pokemon with Counter / Mirror Coat
- Just the right movepool to get the job done
- Bad defensive typing
- Very prediction-reliant against non-Scarfed mons
- Actual definition of Taunt bait
- Faces competition from MegaGar, but doesn't take up a Mega Slot (Goth works better against stall, where Wobb is solely to deal with offensive teams)
Oh No, It's Wobbuffet!
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name: derp
move 1: Counter
move 2: Mirror Coat
move 3: Encore
move 4: Safeguard
item: Leftovers
evs: 28 HP / 228 Def / 252 SpD
nature: Calm
Moves
========
- Mirror Coat and Counter are basically what Wobbuffet is
- Encore can turn most things into setup fodder, and you can lock them into a specific move to either hit them with Counter / Mirror Coat, or bring in a setup sweeper as they flee
- Safeguard protects Wobb and friends from status, and can give sweepers a free turn if the foe is Encored into a status move
- DBond is an alternative to Encore great for easing prediction and taking down mixed attackers, but you lose the ability to get a Pokemon to set up on a status move by Safeguard+Encore
Set Details
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- EVs are constructed to let Wobb have balanced defenses while being just able to take a Modest Kyogre's max power Water Spout, all the while having extra health from leftovers due to the HP amount yielded from 28 EVs
- The spread can be located to max HP or a specific defense if you want Wobb to take on specific Pokemon (i.e. EKiller, Ho-Oh for physical threats, Kyogre and Xerneas for special threats)
Usage Tips
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- Try to scout out sets before trying to KO opposing mons with Wobb, you don't want any mixed attackers ruining your day. Also, you can check out Scarfers that Wobb likes to prey on
- Keep up on predicted switches to bring in Wobb on the desired Pokemon
- Try using Encore on setup sweepers
- However, refrain from using Encore on Spikes setters, as even with Defog, locking them into Spikes can rack up residual damage extremely fast
- Also, don't try to take on Band / Specs users or sweepers that have already set up, as Wobbuffet cannot take these hits well
Team Options
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- Sweepers that like support (BU MM2X, DD Ray, SD Blaze, etc.)
- VoltTurn
- Clerics (Sylveon, Xerneas, Blissey)
- Darkrai
- MM2X
- Mega Gengar
- HP Fire GeoXern + Blaziken
Other Options
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- Charm
- Tickle
Roar of Time- Mental Herb
- Focus Sash
Checks and Counters
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Since Shadow Tag is a thing, by textbook definition, Wobbuffet has no counters, as the opponent cannot switch out. But, there are some things to do against it that can defeat it:
- Ghost-types
- Dark-types
- Taunt
- Residual Damage (Weather; hazards)
- Pursuit users
- Phazing moves
- Shed Shell
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