DP Mothim

[Caelum]

Kinda got this idea after use SubPetaya Yanmega, and on my paralysis UU team this thing has done extremely well. Gotta thank skiddle also for giving some thoughts on the set as well.

Edit: There is a modified version posted below, please refer any corrections to that one, not this.

http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/mothim

[SET]
name: SubSwarm
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Bug Buzz
move 3: Air Slash
move 4: Shadow Ball / Energy Ball
item: Petaya Berry
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe


[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set is one time use only; if brought out too soon in a battle it will fail to sweep, so use it intelligently. Bring this out late game when your opponents team has been softened up and proceed to Substitute down to activate Swarm and the Petaya Berry. Surprisingly, Stealth Rock actually doesn't cripple this set, since after one Substitute, Swarm and the Petaya Berry will activate. From there, Mothim can proceed to sweep with a +1 SpA Bug Buzz boosted by Swarm. Air Slash complements this for additional STAB. Shadow Ball is essentially for Rotom, but Energy Ball is also a decent option to better handle Steel types; such as Probopass and Steelix, who are neutral to Grass but resist Bug. It is recommended that you surround this with paralysis support since Mothim isn't very fast and this can limit its sweeping potential.</p>

<p>If surrounding this with paralysis support doesn't appeal to you, switching to a Salac Berry over a Petaya Berry is viable. However, the drop in power will be noticeable in many cases.</p>

 

[Anti]

Admittedly I'm not so well versed on UU, but considering Mothim's horrid Speed wouldn't Modest (hell, even Timid) + Salac be a more efficient option? Not much point in having Shadow Ball solely for Rotom when it'll outspeed you.

 

[Havak]

I'd probably agree on mentioning Salac Berry somewhere, possibly even on the set itself.

Good set though and pretty much finished, can't spot any mistakes.

Edit:

since after 1 Substitute Swarm

Should be "one".

 

[jumpluff]

<p>This set is one time use only; if brought out too soon in a battle it will fail to sweep, so use it intelligently. Bring this out late game where a team has been softened up and proceed to Substitute down to activate Swarm and the Petaya Berry. Surprisingly, Stealth Rock actually doesn't cripple this set, since after one Substitute, Swarm and the Petaya Berry will activate. From there, Mothim can proceed to sweep with a +1 SpA Bug Buzz boosted by Swarm. Air Slash complements this for additional STAB. Shadow Ball is essentially for Rotom, but Energy Ball is also a decent option to better handle bulky waters and Steelix. It is recommended that you surround this with paralysis support, since Mothim isn't very fast and this can limit its sweeping potential.</p>

Thank you for your kindness to me in the typo thread, too =)

Salac probably isn't as necessary if one does as Caelum suggests and surrounds it with paralysis support, right? But I think it's a reasonable option, especially as Salac Timid Mothim hits just over 380 speed... only Rotom outspeeding that is a Scarfer.

 

[Caelum]

Corrections noted. Thanks guys.



I have tried this set with a Salac Berry and I've found the Petaya significantly more useful so I'd prefer it not go as a primary option on the set itself, but if everyone disagrees I will change it. For now I added a small paragraph about it.

 

[Bourbon]

D/P Mothim

Mothim stands out as one of the better UU Bug types, but his Analysis packs a single set, which is not at all indicative of his performance. With a semi-usable Speed stat, and very good attacking stats, I think it deserves more.

A long time ago, I started using this little moth with an Endure set, to take advantage of Swarm and a Petaya Berry. With both boosts, Mothim's Bug Buzz becomes 2.25 times more powerful. To put it into perspective, this is about as powerful as Modest Porygon-Z's Choice Specs Tri Attack. This thing totally annihilates any pokemon that has the misfortune of being slower than it.

I recently changed to Substitute, as I am a huge fan of the highly strategic move, and also because if Mothim takes Stealth Rock damage, then uses a Substitute as the opponent switches out, then it gets the boosts, and has a Substitute up as well.

http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/mothim

[SET]
name: Swarm
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Bug Buzz
move 3: Air Slash
move 4: Hidden Power Fighting / Hidden Power Ice
item: Petaya Berry / Salac Berry
nature: Modest
evs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 6 HP

[SET COMMENTS]
<p> Mothim manages to set itself apart from the other worthless Bug/Flying pokemon with it's respectable offensive stats and Swarm. Taking advantage of the move Substitute, Mothim can both scout for it's counters and slowly guide itself down into 1/4 HP. This will give it both Petaya and Swarm boosts, making Bug Buzz 2.25 times more powerful. This gives the little moth as much power as a Modest Choice Specs Porygon-Z Tri Attack. Your opponent will be hard pressed to stop this little nuke in a can once it gets set up safely. </p>

<p> Most 4x Rock weak pokemon abhor Stealth Rocks, and normally one would reccomend a Rapid Spinner to be used with Mothim. This time, however, it is not the case. Stealth Rocks allows Mothim to get the boost after a single Substitute. If you can get into a pokemon that will flee from you, such as Hypno, you can get up your Substitute on the switch out. Their "counter" will have to face the scary prospect of a Mothim with 472 SpA hiding behind the safety of it's dinosaur doll. This prevents counters that outrun Mothim from ruining his fun. </p>

<p> The EVs look generic, but they work wonderfully. Mothim hits 231 speed, which outruns 229 speed pokemon, and pokemon who run 230. The HP is even to allow for the Stealth Rock strategy outlined above, as well as letting you get your boost after three Substitutes instead of four. Hidden Power Fighting will help against Steelix and Probopass, and give you some good Flying/Fighting coverage. Hidden Power Ice is for Altaria. </p>


I am thinking of removing the Salac Berry option, but that too works fairly well, allowing Mothim to achieve 346 speed after a boost. This outruns the positive natured 105 group (339 speed) after the boost.

 

[Caelum]

I guess you misunderstood me skiddle when I spoke with you, I already posted this a few days ago :/. Maybe I didn't make it clear I already did this set. well, I like your write up anyway so this is fine to use over mine anyway.

 

[Bourbon]

What, you never PMed me back... I thought it was OK for me to do it.

I am very sorry Caelum, I guess I did misunderstand you.

 

[Caelum]

What, you never PMed me back... I thought it was OK for me to do it.

I am very sorry Caelum, I guess I did misunderstand you.

Don't be lol. Maybe I forgot to PM you back ~_~. Sorry. I like your version anyway. More so then mine. I'm going to merge this effort together with you and let you take the lead anyway. I'll do a compare/contrast with mine and post a modified version later that kinda merges them if that is alright?

I'd drop mention of Salac altogether. It's not nearly as useful on this set. I just mentiond giving this with paralysis support. Mention the Salac in set comments though.

 

[Caelum]

I'm going to merge this version in collaboration with Skiddle's since I prefer his intro lol. Can a mod just close this? I would just delete it by I wanted it viewable for reference purposes. Thanks.

 

[jrrrrrrr]

I merged the two Mothim threads.

 

[Caelum]

oh, didn't know you could do that. Thanks J7r. I'm going to talk to skiddle and parce together something from both of ours.

 

[Bourbon]

I realized that 282 HP is NOT divisible by 4 so I propose that 12 EVs be put in HP, probably at the detriment of special attack.

 

[Phoenix_21]

I realized that 282 HP is NOT divisible by 4 so I propose that 12 EVs be put in HP, probably at the detriment of special attack.

Or alternatively lowering the HP IV to 30 and put the spare 4 EVs somewhere else is an option.

 

[Bourbon]

that would prevent you from using hidden power fighting, which is valuable to the success of this set.

I have discovered a glitch on Shoddy. If mothim is at 75% and then takes stealth rock damage, the petaya boost does not activate. I checked and the HP was at 71/284... yet no boost.

This affects the success of the set. However, I will test in wifi and see if it works properly in there. If not, odd HP must be used and I will edit the comments to reflect this.

 

[Anti]

30 / 14 / 31 / 30 / 30 / 30 is fighting 70 and I have it ingame?

 

[Bourbon]

Really? I thought HP had to be odd! My bad.

Anyways, the Stealth Rock issue is still bothering me.

 

[Caelum]

I've never used this is a situation where I was at 75% health and took Stealth Rock damage, so it doesn't seem to be that big of an issue to me. However, if someone could look into it in-game that would be nice. Anyway, I took skiddle's version and my version and combined what I thought were the best aspects of each, so here it is. I like this one better so if anyone has suggestions discuss them based on this post

[SET]
name: Swarm
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Bug Buzz
move 3: Air Slash
move 4: Hidden Power Fighting
item: Petaya Berry
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
ivs: 30 HP

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Mothim manages to set itself apart from the other worthless Bug/Flying pokemon with its respectable offensive stats and Swarm. This set is one time use only; if brought out too soon in a battle it will fail to sweep, so use it intelligently. Bring this out late game when your opponent's team has been softened up and proceed to Substitute down to activate Swarm and the Petaya Berry, making Bug Buzz 2.25 times more powerful. This gives the little moth's Bug Buzz as much power as a Modest Choice Specs Porygon-Z's Tri Attack. Your opponent will be hard pressed to stop this little nuke in a can once it gets set up safely.</p>

<p>Surprisingly, unlike most 4x Rock weak Pokemon, this version of Mothin doesn't abhor Stealth Rock. Stealth Rocks allows Mothim to get the boost after a single Substitute. If you can get into a pokemon that will flee from you, such as Hypno, you can get up your Substitute on the switch out. Their "counter" will have to face the scary prospect of a Mothim with 472 SpA hiding behind the safety of its Substitute. This prevents counters that outrun Mothim from ruining his fun. However, given how slow Mothim is naturally, this set functions extremely well with paralysis support and is highly recommended to support the sweep.</p>

<p>The 30 HP IV is even to allow for the Stealth Rock strategy outlined above, as well as letting you get your boost after three Substitutes instead of four. Air Slash is for additional STAB and Hidden Power Fighting will help against Steelix and Probopass who you would otherwise struggle against. Hidden Power Ice can be used over Hidden Power Fighting if you fear Altaria but generally isn't your best option. Using a Salac Berry over a Petaya Berry is also viable, but the reduced power will be disappointing.</p>

 

[jumpluff]

<p>Mothim manages to set itself apart from the other worthless Bug/Flying pokemon with its respectable offensive stats and Swarm. This set is one time use only; if brought out too soon in a battle it will fail to sweep, so use it intelligently. Bring this out late game when your opponent's team has been softened up and proceed to Substitute down to activate Swarm and the Petaya Berry, making Bug Buzz 2.25 times more powerful. This gives the little moth's Bug Buzz as much power as a Modest Choice Specs Porygon-Z's Tri Attack. Your opponent will be hard pressed to stop this little nuke in a can once it gets set up safely.</p>

<p>Surprisingly, unlike most 4x Rock-weak Pokemon, this version of Mothin doesn't abhor Stealth Rock.

 

[Caelum]

fixed. thanks.

 

[Bourbon]

yeah, this is looking pretty sweet... had I known that you could have Hidden Power with 30 HP IVs I would have put it!

Thanks for all your assistance Caelum.

 

[Anti]

Really? I thought HP had to be odd! My bad.

HP and Defense are often interchangeable while maintaining the same hidden power.

 

[Caelum]

If a mod would be so kind to move this to the archive, this is on site.