PhilosophicalPsychologica
Well-Known Member
Oh...it's the Shadow Tag guy with the hard-to-spell name.
Obviously, this Pokemon's niche is an offensive Shadow Tagger. The difference it holds from Chandelure is that Candlez has a much stronger offensive capability to abuse it with and isn't as sluggish. Sure, you can CM up Gothie and eliminate something, but watch Scizor come out next turn or something and crush you with a U-turn or Pursuit.
Stat-wise, Gothie is pretty strong defensively...but then you think about it some more and you think what does Goth really have to brag over Cresselia or Uxie? Also, being generic Psychic-Types, they have mostly the same movepool (actually, Goth is sorta inferior due to lacking key moves such as Moonlight, U-turn, or Stealth Rock). It isn't even nearly as fast. Indeed, stat-wise, the only thing Goth really can hold over them is a good Special Attack, so that must be taken into consideration.
That really is unfortunate considering Goth's movepool in tandem with its Ability makes it sort of a disruptor Pokemon instead of being a sole sweeper. In conclusion, Goth must capitalize on its Special Attack and/or its Ability (especially the Ability) to make use of its niche.
This tends to be a problem. Against offensive Pokemon, Goth might not be able to survive two hits (two strikes from Heatran's 252 Timid Fire Blast is nearly a guaranteed 2HKO). Against defensive Pokemon...Goth really can't do anything back. Goth can set up all the Calm Minds it wants or Thunder Wave that Ferrothorn - good luck withstanding Power Whip. This makes for a very awkward Pokemon. The solution to this is to make Goth a hit-and-run defensive Pokemon.
DualScreens @ Light Clay
Light Screen
Reflect
Thunder Wave/Torment
Psychic/Taunt
Max HP is a must. Otherwise, the EVs are rather free, but usually you want to pour them all into Defence if nothing else.
TR @ Leftovers/Eviolite
Trick Room
Psychic
I really don't know what to put in the last two slots - it's such a bare-bones moveset, you can put anything you think can support your team, such as Safeguard or either DualScreen.
WOBBUFFET @ Leftovers
252 HP/252
Thunder Wave
Tickle
Psyshock
Reflect/Mirror Coat/Safeguard/Hidden Power
Obviously, Tickle and Shadow Tag are meant to doom a Pokemon to Pursuit, the very reason why Wobbuffet would ever want to arm itself with Tickle. Although Wobbuffet is considerably more bulky than Goth can ever be, Goth's Special Defence is still pretty cool, and Tickle helps it Physically, both defensively and offensively (considering Psyshock). There's also the conumdrum: If Goth can set up Tickles on the opponent anyway, why bother switching in the Pursuiter when Goth can outright destroy with Psyshock or Toxicstall? Well, Goth doesn't have to stay in the whole time. It can Thunder Wave the target on the switch, and switch itself out. Later on, it can catch the target on the switch with a Tickle, then swap out to the Pursuiter. This is especially true for Psychics that resist Psyshock anyway. Also, Goth can do little to threaten a Pokemon if it knocks out the enemy itself, especially if the opponent pulls out a Scizor or a Subber. Tickle also prompts the opponent to pull out a Special Attacker on Goth, making Mirror Coat extremely dangerous. This is exemplified on in my "Other Options."
Offensive @ Choice Specs/Leftovers
Psychic/Psyshock
Dark Pulse/Shadow Ball
Energy Ball/Hidden Power/Taunt/Thunder Wave/Calm Mind/Substitute
You probably want to max out HP or SpDef after Special Attack. With Specs, you have seven even remotely offensive options to consider. In conjunction with the Shadow Tag Ability, this can practically guarantee the elimination of one opponent that can't hurt Goth. Unfortunately, Goth is rather vulnerable to a lot of things, especially when targeted for a revenge kill. It doesn't matter which move you pick - your opponent will bring in something that can set up. Scizor can Pursuit, or, even worse, Swords Dance. Salamence takes 80% and can choose to either rape Goth on the spot or set up a Dragon Dance. Dragonite can do the same thing, just bulkier.
The same applies for Calm Mind. Goth can eliminate something, but if the opponent can send out a Physical sweeper after that, Goth is doomed. With this in mind, don't max out CM boosts on the assumption they're going to get erased with Goth's KO or retreat. For this reason, Fake Tears is a very possible option. As for the retreat, keep two bulky Pokemon in mind: one that can endure Choicers (like Bronzong) and one that can counter boosters (like Quagsire). You may think a Substitute can help remedy this problem, but Goth isn't exactly bulky enough to keep a 25% shield against even the Pokemon it counters, and it also heavily detracts from its already meager movepool.
If there's one thing Goth is good at, it's defending against Special Attackers. Keep that in mind and have some Physically strong walls, preferably those that can counter against Pursuit/U-turn users.
Given Goth's in-and-out play style, Frisk may actually offer some potential as an Ability, but Shadow Tag has more practical use.
Goth has pretty good Special bulk, but in order to avoid a 2HKO from the most brutal Special attackers, Goth needs maxed HP and SpDef. With maximum bulk, Goth will be taking 40% from Scarftran's Fire Blast and slightly more from Scarftios' Draco Meteor (especially if it has -2 SpAtk). All of these can be reflected with a Mirror Coat, establishing a niche for Goth as being a viable counter to Choiced Special Attackers.
Goth is a staple for Magic Room teams. I don't see why would one want to make such a team, though.
Other possible disruptive options for Goth to use are Flash, Captivate, Swagger, and Charm.
If not using Thunder Wave and have a 252/252, put the 4 in Speed. 252 is often the best way to go with Goth, but splitting it is very viable. As with any Pokemon, Goth will max out at least one stat - usually HP. After that it's usually one of the Specials.
In Doubles/Triples, Goth's Shadow Tag gains even more power, but makes it even more suspectible to being destroyed with its low Speed. This, however, makes it possible for Goth to be a bait doll from its potentially frailer partners. If the opponent opts not to attack Goth, Goth can proceed with Thunder Wave, Trick Room, DualScreens, Safeguard, or possibly even Telekinesis on its own partner.
In LC, Eviolite + Shadow Tag is viable...but Goth suffers even more inferiority awkwardness. It really can't make that much use out of its Abilities.
Obviously, this Pokemon's niche is an offensive Shadow Tagger. The difference it holds from Chandelure is that Candlez has a much stronger offensive capability to abuse it with and isn't as sluggish. Sure, you can CM up Gothie and eliminate something, but watch Scizor come out next turn or something and crush you with a U-turn or Pursuit.
Stat-wise, Gothie is pretty strong defensively...but then you think about it some more and you think what does Goth really have to brag over Cresselia or Uxie? Also, being generic Psychic-Types, they have mostly the same movepool (actually, Goth is sorta inferior due to lacking key moves such as Moonlight, U-turn, or Stealth Rock). It isn't even nearly as fast. Indeed, stat-wise, the only thing Goth really can hold over them is a good Special Attack, so that must be taken into consideration.
That really is unfortunate considering Goth's movepool in tandem with its Ability makes it sort of a disruptor Pokemon instead of being a sole sweeper. In conclusion, Goth must capitalize on its Special Attack and/or its Ability (especially the Ability) to make use of its niche.
This tends to be a problem. Against offensive Pokemon, Goth might not be able to survive two hits (two strikes from Heatran's 252 Timid Fire Blast is nearly a guaranteed 2HKO). Against defensive Pokemon...Goth really can't do anything back. Goth can set up all the Calm Minds it wants or Thunder Wave that Ferrothorn - good luck withstanding Power Whip. This makes for a very awkward Pokemon. The solution to this is to make Goth a hit-and-run defensive Pokemon.
DualScreens @ Light Clay
Light Screen
Reflect
Thunder Wave/Torment
Psychic/Taunt
Max HP is a must. Otherwise, the EVs are rather free, but usually you want to pour them all into Defence if nothing else.
TR @ Leftovers/Eviolite
Trick Room
Psychic
I really don't know what to put in the last two slots - it's such a bare-bones moveset, you can put anything you think can support your team, such as Safeguard or either DualScreen.
WOBBUFFET @ Leftovers
252 HP/252
Thunder Wave
Tickle
Psyshock
Reflect/Mirror Coat/Safeguard/Hidden Power
Obviously, Tickle and Shadow Tag are meant to doom a Pokemon to Pursuit, the very reason why Wobbuffet would ever want to arm itself with Tickle. Although Wobbuffet is considerably more bulky than Goth can ever be, Goth's Special Defence is still pretty cool, and Tickle helps it Physically, both defensively and offensively (considering Psyshock). There's also the conumdrum: If Goth can set up Tickles on the opponent anyway, why bother switching in the Pursuiter when Goth can outright destroy with Psyshock or Toxicstall? Well, Goth doesn't have to stay in the whole time. It can Thunder Wave the target on the switch, and switch itself out. Later on, it can catch the target on the switch with a Tickle, then swap out to the Pursuiter. This is especially true for Psychics that resist Psyshock anyway. Also, Goth can do little to threaten a Pokemon if it knocks out the enemy itself, especially if the opponent pulls out a Scizor or a Subber. Tickle also prompts the opponent to pull out a Special Attacker on Goth, making Mirror Coat extremely dangerous. This is exemplified on in my "Other Options."
Offensive @ Choice Specs/Leftovers
Psychic/Psyshock
Dark Pulse/Shadow Ball
Energy Ball/Hidden Power/Taunt/Thunder Wave/Calm Mind/Substitute
You probably want to max out HP or SpDef after Special Attack. With Specs, you have seven even remotely offensive options to consider. In conjunction with the Shadow Tag Ability, this can practically guarantee the elimination of one opponent that can't hurt Goth. Unfortunately, Goth is rather vulnerable to a lot of things, especially when targeted for a revenge kill. It doesn't matter which move you pick - your opponent will bring in something that can set up. Scizor can Pursuit, or, even worse, Swords Dance. Salamence takes 80% and can choose to either rape Goth on the spot or set up a Dragon Dance. Dragonite can do the same thing, just bulkier.
The same applies for Calm Mind. Goth can eliminate something, but if the opponent can send out a Physical sweeper after that, Goth is doomed. With this in mind, don't max out CM boosts on the assumption they're going to get erased with Goth's KO or retreat. For this reason, Fake Tears is a very possible option. As for the retreat, keep two bulky Pokemon in mind: one that can endure Choicers (like Bronzong) and one that can counter boosters (like Quagsire). You may think a Substitute can help remedy this problem, but Goth isn't exactly bulky enough to keep a 25% shield against even the Pokemon it counters, and it also heavily detracts from its already meager movepool.
If there's one thing Goth is good at, it's defending against Special Attackers. Keep that in mind and have some Physically strong walls, preferably those that can counter against Pursuit/U-turn users.
Given Goth's in-and-out play style, Frisk may actually offer some potential as an Ability, but Shadow Tag has more practical use.
Goth has pretty good Special bulk, but in order to avoid a 2HKO from the most brutal Special attackers, Goth needs maxed HP and SpDef. With maximum bulk, Goth will be taking 40% from Scarftran's Fire Blast and slightly more from Scarftios' Draco Meteor (especially if it has -2 SpAtk). All of these can be reflected with a Mirror Coat, establishing a niche for Goth as being a viable counter to Choiced Special Attackers.
Goth is a staple for Magic Room teams. I don't see why would one want to make such a team, though.
Other possible disruptive options for Goth to use are Flash, Captivate, Swagger, and Charm.
If not using Thunder Wave and have a 252/252, put the 4 in Speed. 252 is often the best way to go with Goth, but splitting it is very viable. As with any Pokemon, Goth will max out at least one stat - usually HP. After that it's usually one of the Specials.
In Doubles/Triples, Goth's Shadow Tag gains even more power, but makes it even more suspectible to being destroyed with its low Speed. This, however, makes it possible for Goth to be a bait doll from its potentially frailer partners. If the opponent opts not to attack Goth, Goth can proceed with Thunder Wave, Trick Room, DualScreens, Safeguard, or possibly even Telekinesis on its own partner.
In LC, Eviolite + Shadow Tag is viable...but Goth suffers even more inferiority awkwardness. It really can't make that much use out of its Abilities.
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