Ubers Gothitelle

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[OVERVIEW]

* Gothitelle is known for its ability to trap and dispose of passive Pokemon that form the defensive backbone of stall and balance teams, including support Arceus formes, Chansey, Ferrothorn, defensive Necrozma-DM, Lugia, and numerous other Pokemon.
* The wide range of Pokemon it can trap allows it to fit in on both offensive and defensive teams, where it can clear away the stops to sweepers such as Mega Salamence or support a more anti-offense-oriented backbone with an edge against stall teams. This flexibility is bolstered by it not needing a Mega slot or Z-Crystal, in contrast to the tier's other prominent trapper in Mega Gengar.
* Gothitelle’s trapping range notably includes many of the tier’s best Defoggers, which provides a strong matchup against archetypes weak to Stealth Rock such as Ho-Oh balance.
* Gothitelle can also be used as a hard-punish option against Choice item users. Notably, it can trap and revenge kill Yveltal locked into Defog or Oblivion Wing and Choice Scarf Xerneas, both prominent Pokemon in the USUM metagame.
* Furthermore, Gothitelle can switch out after depriving a foe out of all of its useful moves, providing a teammate with a true free turn against a completely helpless opponent.
* However, Gothitelle lends no defensive utility to any team, which can make it difficult to fit into many archetypes. Its low bulk also makes it rely on free switches and risky reads to conduct some of its traps.
* Gothitelle provides far more utility against defensive and balance archetypes and is often relegated to death fodder against hyper offense teams.
* Overall, Gothitelle is difficult to fit into most archetypes and is not particularly good as a standalone Pokemon, but its unique niche as a trapper of passive Pokemon is devastating in a team built around taking advantage of it, making it a feared Pokemon in the USM metagame.

[SET]
name: PP Stall
move 1: Confide
move 2: Charm
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers
ability: Shadow Tag
nature: Calm
evs: 244 HP / 108 Def / 156 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Confide allows Gothitelle to trap passive special attackers such as support Arceus formes by lowering the opposing Pokemon's Special Attack stat. Gothitelle starts its trapping by using Confide whenever it is healthy enough to survive a critical hit from the foe and Rest when it cannot.
* Charm allows Gothitelle to trap passive physical attackers such as Celesteela and defensive Necrozma-DM, in the same manner as Confide.
* Taunt allows Gothitelle to stop Pokemon from phazing it, setting up entry hazards during the PP stall, setting up Leech Seed, and otherwise interfering with the trapping. After Gothitelle has inflicted enough stat drops, it can use Taunt to limit the opposing Pokemon to one or two of its moves, speeding up a PP stall significantly.
* Rest clears the Toxic that many passive Pokemon rely on for damage and fully recovers Gothitelle's HP. It also takes up three turns for each of its uses, making Gothitelle win most PP stalls in conjunction with Taunt.

Set Details
========

* Shadow Tag allows Gothitelle to trap and KO passive Pokemon and is the only reason it is viable in the Ubers tier.
* Leftovers provides Gothitelle with passive recovery.
* The Defense investment allows Gothitelle to avoid being trapped by support Tyranitar if healthy and improves Gothitelle's matchup against threats such as Celesteela and Ferrothorn without sacrificing the ability to trap support Arceus formes confidently.
* More Defense or Special Defense could be run to improve Gothitelle's matchups against key Pokemon for specific teams, but it sacrifices some of Gothitelle's overall utility.

Usage Tips
========

* Gothitelle most rewards gathering information about your opponent’s sets. If you can figure out that the opposing Necrozma-DM is running the defensive set, that the enemy Yveltal that just used Oblivion Wing has a Choice Scarf, or that the enemy Magearna neglected Volt Switch so it could run Heal Bell, it offers opportunities for KOs that one would normally not try for. Keep an eye out throughout the match.
* Once a foe has been completely deprived of PP for its useful moves, a teammate that can take advantage of a free turn should be switched in against the completely helpless foe. This is especially useful for getting rid of hazards the opponent may set up during the PP stall, setting up hazards the opponent may have cleared during the PP stall, or just setting up with a sweeper at full HP.
* Remember that the opponent can try to double switch. If they make a move that is obviously a mistake against a team with Gothitelle, it is often a trick to give a physical attacker such as Primal Groudon a free switch. This also means that Pokemon traditionally caught by Gothitelle but partially able to defend themselves, such as Celesteela, are effectively caught with a double switch.
* Be patient when setting up a PP stall. Critical hits break through stat drops, and secondary effects such as Ice Beam freezes can overwhelm Gothitelle, and these are more likely to happen than not when trying to take away all the PP of an attack. Once enough stat drops are applied for this to be possible, use Rest whenever Gothitelle's health falls below KO range of a critical hit followed by a normal hit.
* Be careful not to overestimate Gothitelle’s bulk. Hard switching into attacks stronger than Arceus-Water’s Ice Beam, especially when Stealth Rock is up, will often result in a losing matchup against Pokemon Gothitelle could usually try to trap. Rely on free switches or reads to get Gothitelle in.
* Be prepared to clean up if you let a threat such as Ferrothorn or Toxapex set up full layers of Spikes or Toxic Spikes in the process of trapping.
* Switch out on the turn the opposing Pokemon uses its last Struggle to a Pokemon that can be less easily taken advantage of with a free switch.
* Be careful not to let Gothitelle be Pursuit trapped. Against stall teams with Tyranitar or Alolan Muk, don't send out Gothitelle until these threats are worn down. If caught by one of these Pokemon, try to create a situation when you can switch out by using Charm rather than switching out immediately, and ideally Gothitelle will preserve some of its health. If support Tyranitar lacks Crunch, it can even be trapped and KOed due to Pursuit's low power.
* Players are often very hesitant to play traditional Gothitelle targets when they see a Gothitelle on the enemy team. Be aggressive with offensive Pokemon such as Primal Groudon that would be checked by these trappable Pokemon, putting pressure on your opponent and forcing them into risky predictions.
* Passive Pokemon often run niche sets capable of luring Gothitelle or breaking out of Shadow Tag, such as Roar or a Z-Crystal on support Arceus sets, Solganium Z on defensive Necrozma-DM, and Dragon Tail on Lugia. Be wary of these lures and failed traps and rely on your other Pokemon to take advantage the coverage they forgo to manage Gothitelle.

Team Options
========

* Gothitelle is not a Pokemon that can be fitted onto most teams, as it occupies a very specific (albeit powerful) niche as a trapper of passive Pokemon. While it has a lot of flexibility, it should always be run with the deliberate intention to clear specific checks of specific teammates to achieve some form of win condition.
* Life Orb Marshadow makes an excellent core with Gothitelle, as its strong priority and coverage give it a strong matchup against offensive teams, largely making up for Gothitelle's lack of utility in that matchup. In return, Gothitelle can dispose of switch-ins to Marshadow such as support Arceus formes.
* Other sweepers and wallbreakers that dislike defensive Arceus formes or other targets of Gothitelle, such as offensive Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Mega Salamence, Yveltal, Choice Scarf Xerneas, and Necrozma-DM, among several others, can enjoy support from Gothitelle on offensive teams.
* Since Gothitelle is effective at taking out enemy Defoggers and some Stealth Rock setters, it is good at making situations where only its team has entry hazards up mid-game. Because of this, it partners better with durable hazard setters that can last a whole game, such as Arceus-Fairy and Necrozma-DM, rather than suicide or easily worn down hazard setters such as Deoxys-S and Primal Groudon. Similarly, it enjoys the support of durable Defoggers, such as the support Arceus sets it loves to trap.
* A decent physically defensive backbone can be useful to help Gothitelle against physical threats, so Pokemon such as Zygarde-C, Mega Salamence, and Arceus-Ground are good partners.
* Gothitelle likes having Volt Switch or U-turn support to come in on its targets without being attacked or double switched on. Choice Scarf Yveltal and Volt Switch Magearna usually fit well on teams with Gothitelle and provide this role effectively.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

* A Calm Mind trapping set can be run using Rest, Psyshock, and either Taunt or Charm. This set distinguishes itself from the PP stalling set by having a much better matchup against Calm Mind Arceus formes and by killing (use a non-kill word here, Pokemon don't die here) faster than the PP stalling set. However, this set suffers from missing out on either Taunt or Charm, so it must sacrifice the ability to trap some of its targets, and Calm Mind Arceus formes are not very common, so it is typically inferior to PP stalling sets and should not be used except in very specific team builds.
* Heal Bell and Thunder Wave can be used at the cost of limiting Gothitelle's trapping capabilities by sacrificing Taunt or Charm, giving Gothitelle some utility aside from trapping. However, these moves are usually better on durable Pokemon that can use them throughout the match, and these moves difficult are to justify use on teams where Taunt or Charm would be more useful in general.
* On Trick Room teams, Trick Room can provide some guaranteed utility for Gothitelle, although it struggles to find room in its moveset for it. Some sets run this move on the Calm Mind set to sweep, but this is very ineffective.

Checks and Counters
===================
Gothitelle has the ability to choose its matchups with Shadow Tag. As a result, it cannot be traditionally countered, and its checks are generally just Pokemon it cannot trap.

**Pursuit**: Pursuit trappers such as Tyranitar, Alolan Muk, and Marshadow will either KO Gothitelle with Pursuit or weaken it to the point of uselessness.

**Offensive Threats**: With whatever bulk investment Gothitelle may use, hard hitters break through it with ease. Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Mega Salamence, offensive Ho-Oh, and just about any other offensive Pokemon will break through Gothitelle just by using STAB moves, so they cannot be trapped.

**Super Effective Coverage**: Gothitelle is not a very bulky Pokemon, and just about any viable Pokemon can break free using Dark- or Ghost-type coverage moves such as Knock Off and Dark Pulse.

**Shed Shell**: Pokemon that carry Shed Shell, notably Blissey, Toxapex, and Skarmory, cannot be trapped by Gothitelle, making it useless against them.

**Taunt**: Taunt completely shuts down Gothitelle, so it cannot trap Pokemon that carry Taunt.

**Pivoting Moves**: Volt Switch and U-turn break through Gothitelle’s Shadow Tag, so it cannot trap Pokemon that carry these moves, most notably including Magearna.

**Phazing Moves**: Roar and Whirlwind allow Pokemon such as Lugia to break free from Gothitelle, so Gothitelle sets without Taunt cannot trap these Pokemon effectively. Dragon Tail will allow Pokemon such as Zygarde to break free regardless of Gothitelle’s set.
 
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Nixon73

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[OVERVIEW]

* Gothitelle is known for its ability to trap and dispose of passive Pokemon that form the defensive backbone of stall and balance teams, including support Arceus formes, Chansey, Ferrothorn, defensive Necrozma-DM, Lugia, and numerous other Pokemon.
* The wide range of Pokemon it can trap allows it to fit in on both offensive and defensive teams, where it can clear away the stops to sweepers such as Mega Salamence or support a more anti-offense-oriented backbone with an edge against stall teams. This flexibility is bolstered by it not needing a Mega slot or Z-Crystal, in contrast to the tier's other prominent trapper in Mega Gengar.
* Gothitelle’s trapping range notably includes many of the tier’s best Defoggers, which provides a strong matchup against archetypes weak to Stealth Rock such as Ho-Oh balance.
* Gothitelle can also be used as a hard-punish option against Choice item users. Notably, it can trap and revenge kill Yveltal locked into Defog or Oblivion Wing and Choice Scarf Xerneas, both prominent Pokemon in the USUM metagame.
* Furthermore, Gothitelle can switch out after depriving a foe out of all of its useful moves, providing a teammate with a true free turn against a completely helpless opponent.
* However, Gothitelle lends no defensive utility to any team, which can make it difficult to fit into many archetypes. Its low bulk also makes it rely on free switches and risky reads to conduct some of its traps.
* Gothitelle provides far more utility against defensive and balance archetypes and is often relegated to death fodder against hyper offense teams.
* Overall, Gothitelle is difficult to fit into most archetypes and is not particularly good as a standalone Pokemon, but its unique niche as a trapper of passive Pokemon is devastating in a team built around taking advantage of it, making it a feared Pokemon in the USM metagame.

[SET]
name: PP Stall
move 1: Confide
move 2: Charm
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers
ability: Shadow Tag
nature: Calm
evs: 244 HP / 108 Def / 156 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Confide allows Gothitelle to trap passive special attackers such as support Arceus formes by lowering the opposing Pokemon's Special Attack stat. Gothitelle starts its trapping by using Confide whenever it is healthy enough to survive a critical hit from the foe and Rest when it cannot.
* Charm allows Gothitelle to trap passive physical attackers such as Celesteela and defensive Necrozma-DM, in the same manner as Confide.
* Taunt allows Gothitelle to stop Pokemon from phazing it, setting up entry hazards during the PP stall, setting up Leech Seed, and otherwise interfering with the trapping. After Gothitelle has inflicted enough stat drops, it can use Taunt to limit the opposing Pokemon to one or two of its moves, speeding up a PP stall significantly.
* Rest clears the Toxic that many passive Pokemon rely on for damage and fully recovers Gothitelle's HP. It also takes up three turns for each of its uses, making Gothitelle win most PP stalls in conjunction with Taunt.

Set Details
========

* Shadow Tag allows Gothitelle to trap and KO passive Pokemon and is the only reason it is viable in the Ubers tier.
* Leftovers provides Gothitelle with passive recovery.
* The Defense investment allows Gothitelle to avoid being trapped by support Tyranitar if healthy and improves Gothitelle's matchup against threats such as Celesteela and Ferrothorn without sacrificing the ability to trap support Arceus formes confidently.
* More Defense or Special Defense could be run to improve Gothitelle's matchups against key Pokemon for specific teams, but it sacrifices some of Gothitelle's overall utility.

Usage Tips
========

* Gothitelle most rewards gathering information about your opponent’s sets. If you can figure out that the opposing Necrozma-DM is running the defensive set, that the enemy Yveltal that just used Oblivion Wing has a Choice Scarf, or that the enemy Magearna neglected Volt Switch so it could run Heal Bell, it offers opportunities for KOs that one would normally not try for. Keep an eye out throughout the match.
* Once a foe has been completely deprived of PP for its useful moves, a teammate that can take advantage of a free turn should be switched in against the completely helpless foe. This is especially useful for getting rid of hazards the opponent may set up during the PP stall, setting up hazards the opponent may have cleared during the PP stall, or just setting up with a sweeper at full HP.
* Remember that the opponent can try to double switch. If they make a move that is obviously a mistake against a team with Gothitelle, it is often a trick to give a physical attacker such as Primal Groudon a free switch. This also means that Pokemon traditionally caught by Gothitelle but partially able to defend themselves, such as Celesteela, are effectively caught with a double switch.
* Be patient when setting up a PP stall. Critical hits break through stat drops, and secondary effects such as Ice Beam freezes can overwhelm Gothitelle, and these are more likely to happen than not when trying to take away all the PP of an attack. Once enough stat drops are applied for this to be possible, use Rest whenever Gothitelle's health falls below KO range of a critical hit followed by a normal hit.
* Be careful not to overestimate Gothitelle’s bulk. Hard switching into attacks stronger than Arceus-Water’s Ice Beam, especially when Stealth Rock is up, will often result in a losing matchup against Pokemon Gothitelle could usually try to trap. Rely on free switches or reads to get Gothitelle in.
* Be prepared to clean up if you let a threat such as Ferrothorn or Toxapex set up full layers of Spikes or Toxic Spikes in the process of trapping.
* Switch out on the turn the opposing Pokemon uses its last Struggle to a Pokemon that can be less easily taken advantage of with a free switch.
* Be careful not to let Gothitelle be Pursuit trapped. Against stall teams with Tyranitar or Alolan Muk, don't send out Gothitelle until these threats are worn down. If caught by one of these Pokemon, try to create a situation when you can switch out by using Charm rather than switching out immediately, and ideally Gothitelle will preserve some of its health. If support Tyranitar lacks Crunch, it can even be trapped and KOed due to Pursuit's low power.
* Players are often very hesitant to play traditional Gothitelle targets when they see a Gothitelle on the enemy team. Be aggressive with offensive Pokemon such as Primal Groudon that would be checked by these trappable Pokemon, putting pressure on your opponent and forcing them into risky predictions.
* Passive Pokemon often run niche sets capable of luring Gothitelle or breaking out of Shadow Tag, such as Roar or a Z-Crystal on support Arceus sets, Solganium Z on defensive Necrozma-DM, and Dragon Tail on Lugia. Be wary of these lures and failed traps and rely on your other Pokemon to take advantage the coverage they forgo to manage Gothitelle.

Team Options
========

* Gothitelle is not a Pokemon that can be fitted onto most teams, as it occupies a very specific (albeit powerful) niche as a trapper of passive Pokemon. While it has a lot of flexibility, it should always be run with the deliberate intention to clear specific checks of specific teammates to achieve some form of win condition.
* Life Orb Marshadow makes an excellent core with Gothitelle, as its strong priority and coverage give it a strong matchup against offensive teams, largely making up for Gothitelle's lack of utility in that matchup. In return, Gothitelle can dispose of switch-ins to Marshadow such as support Arceus formes.
* Other sweepers and wallbreakers that dislike defensive Arceus formes or other targets of Gothitelle, such as offensive Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Mega Salamence, Yveltal, Choice Scarf Xerneas, and Necrozma-DM, among several others, can enjoy support from Gothitelle on offensive teams.
* Since Gothitelle is effective at taking out enemy Defoggers and some Stealth Rock setters, it is good at making situations where only its team has entry hazards up mid-game. Because of this, it partners better with durable hazard setters that can last a whole game, such as Arceus-Fairy and Necrozma-DM, rather than suicide or easily worn down hazard setters such as Deoxys-S and Primal Groudon. Similarly, it enjoys the support of durable Defoggers, such as the support Arceus sets it loves to trap.
* A decent physically defensive backbone can be useful to help Gothitelle against physical threats, so Pokemon such as Zygarde-C, Mega Salamence, and Arceus-Ground are good partners.
* Gothitelle likes having Volt Switch or U-turn support to come in on its targets without being attacked or double switched on. Choice Scarf Yveltal and Volt Switch Magearna usually fit well on teams with Gothitelle and provide this role effectively.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

* A Calm Mind trapping set can be run using Rest, Psyshock, and either Taunt or Charm. This set distinguishes itself from the PP stalling set by having a much better matchup against Calm Mind Arceus formes and by killing (use a non-kill word here, Pokemon don't die here) faster than the PP stalling set. However, this set suffers from missing out on either Taunt or Charm, so it must sacrifice the ability to trap some of its targets, and Calm Mind Arceus formes are not very common, so it is typically inferior to PP stalling sets and should not be used except in very specific team builds.
* Heal Bell and Thunder Wave can be used at the cost of limiting Gothitelle's trapping capabilities by sacrificing Taunt or Charm, giving Gothitelle some utility aside from trapping. However, these moves are usually better on durable Pokemon that can use them throughout the match, and these moves difficult are to justify use on teams where Taunt or Charm would be more useful in general.
* On Trick Room teams, Trick Room can provide some guaranteed utility for Gothitelle, although it struggles to find room in its moveset for it. Some sets run this move on the Calm Mind set to sweep, but this is very ineffective.

Checks and Counters
===================
Gothitelle has the ability to choose its matchups with Shadow Tag. As a result, it cannot be traditionally countered, and its checks are generally just Pokemon it cannot trap.

**Pursuit**: Pursuit trappers such as Tyranitar, Alolan Muk, and Marshadow will either KO Gothitelle with Pursuit or weaken it to the point of uselessness.

**Offensive Threats**: With whatever bulk investment Gothitelle may use, hard hitters break through it with ease. Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Mega Salamence, offensive Ho-Oh, and just about any other offensive Pokemon will break through Gothitelle just by using STAB moves, so they cannot be trapped.

**Super Effective Coverage**: Gothitelle is not a very bulky Pokemon, and just about any viable Pokemon can break free using Dark- or Ghost-type coverage moves such as Knock Off and Dark Pulse.

**Shed Shell**: Pokemon that carry Shed Shell, notably Blissey, Toxapex, and Skarmory, cannot be trapped by Gothitelle, making it useless against them.

**Taunt**: Taunt completely shuts down Gothitelle, so it cannot trap Pokemon that carry Taunt.

**Pivoting Moves**: Volt Switch and U-turn break through Gothitelle’s Shadow Tag, so it cannot trap Pokemon that carry these moves, most notably including Magearna.

**Phazing Moves**: Roar and Whirlwind allow Pokemon such as Lugia to break free from Gothitelle, so Gothitelle sets without Taunt cannot trap these Pokemon effectively. Dragon Tail will allow Pokemon such as Zygarde to break free regardless of Gothitelle’s set.
Implemented and marking up as done, thanks for the check!
 

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