Taken over from this thread
[Overview]
<p>The combination of Shadow Tag and Wynaut's extremely precise movepool caused Wynaut and its evolution to be banned from standard play for the majority of the past generation. However, with the advent of the 5th generation came a massive power creep and new Encore mechanics, both of which severely hurt Wynaut's effectiveness and it dropped down to RU. However, it is still able to fulfill its niches of either trapping and KOing almost any Pokemon, or providing easy setup opportunities for hard hitting sweepers.</p>
<p>Sadly, Wynaut still has many significant weaknesses in addition to the Encore nerf BW brought it, most notably its lack of recovery, making it easily susceptible to both residual damage and powerful attackers. Wynaut also suffers from a severe weakness to Taunt, which prevents it from doing its job. However, despite these issues, Wynaut is still a significant threat that all teams should be prepared for.</p>
[SET]
name: Why Not?
move 1: Encore
move 2: Counter
move 3: Mirror Coat
move 4: Safeguard / Tickle
item: Eviolite
ability: Shadow Tag
nature: Timid
evs: 12 HP / 252 Def / 244 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>As in previous generations, Wynaut possesses the ability to trap and revenge kill nearly any Choiced Pokemon. Wynaut should be played with simplicity: switch it in after KOs (preferably on Choice-locked moves) to trap and dispose of the opposing Pokemon with either Counter or Mirror Coat. Encore is also significantly important to the moveset, allowing Wynaut to better handle mixed attackers that can attack it with either physical or special moves. Encore also allows Wynaut to force opposing Pokemon to repeat weak attacks, setup moves, and support moves, providing a free turn for one of its teammates.</p>
<p>Safeguard and Tickle are both options for Wynaut's final moveslot, and each has their own advantages and disadvantages. Safeguard is usually the best option, as it protects Wynaut and its teammates from status, which can be crucial for allowing certain Pokemon to set up more easily on Encore-locked moves. On the other hand, Tickle allows Wynaut to remove almost any defensive Pokemon when used in conjunction with a Pokemon that has Pursuit.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs allow Wynaut to outspeed and Encore everything up to minimum Speed base 60s, most notably Clefable. A specially defensive spread of 12 HP / 252 SpD / 244 Spe is also usable, focusing more on the specially defensive side, thus allowing it to handle most special attackers better. In addition, if more bulk is necessary, alternate spreads of 196 hp / 252 def / 60 spe with a Bold nature, and 196 hp / 252 SpD / 60 spe with a Calm nature are also viable. Those spreads allow Wynaut to outspeed minimum Speed base 30s, while giving it significantly more bulk than the faster EV spreads do. Wynaut pairs well with Pokemon who appreciate having specific walls and scarfers removed. For example, Lilligant and Sceptile both partner nicely with Wynaut, as it can eliminate faster scarfers, and they appreciate enemy Bouffalant and Sawsbuck being removed as well. Wynaut also appreciates Wish support, which allows it to remove more than one Pokemon per game, thanks to Wish renewing its ability to handle enemy onslaughts. In a similar vein, Wynaut hates residual damage and thus pairs well with most spinners. Finally, if it's using Tickle, Wynaut should be paired with a Pokemon with either Pursuit or Arena Trap, or both.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Due to Wynaut's grand total of approximately eight moves, it doesn't have many other options available to it. Destiny Bond can be used, but doesn't function all that well due to Wynaut's pathetic Speed, and Charm is generally useless and outclassed by Tickle.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Thanks to Shadow Tag, it is impossible to "counter" Wynaut in the traditional sense. However, U-Turn, Baton Pass, and Volt Switch users are all capable of luring in Wynaut and then switching out; the same holds true for Shed Shell holders, albeit a rare sight. Trick and Knock Off both remove Eviolite, with Trick making it borderline useless for the remainder of the match. In addition, Wynaut is totally shut down by Taunt, as it loses the ability to use Encore, and it is thus easily set up on. In addition, physical Ghost-type attackers such as Dusknoir, along with specially attacking Dark-types, are capable of nullifying the effects of Counter and Mirror Coat, respectively. In addition, extremely powerful attackers can sometimes manage to score a KO on Wynaut before it can do anything. Lastly, after KOing one Pokemon, Wynaut has usually taken significant amounts of damage, (add comma) and it is thus easy to revenge kill.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Wynaut receives Telepathy via the Dreamworld, but it's useless in comparison to Shadow Tag.</p>
