Between high 70/125/150 defenses, a solid base 125 Sp. Atk, and a typing that complements a great ability in Ethereal Shroud, Mega Gothielle appears at first glance to be a significant tour-de-force. It’s Psychic/Dark STAB combination is resisted by very few Pokemon, and what few do exist are generally brought down by its coverage moves. In addition, its high bulk means it can tank a number of hits, and Ethereal Shroud granting it Ghost-type resistances means that it’s a full stop to any Fighting and Normal type.
However, M-Gothielle suffers from a very poor base 65 speed stat, which can leave it prone to being revenge killed and worn down. While this can be remedied somewhat with Trick Room, it leaves it with a relative lack of power compared to Calm Mind, and a lack of reliable recovery outside of the unreliable Rest means that it’s very prone to status and being worn down in general. Its typing also does not offer any useful resistances, despite being immune to three types. Finally, it faces competition from other Special Attackers in its tier, namely mons such as Gardevoir, Hydreigon and Florges, all of which do not occupy a Mega slot and possess faster speed tiers, though M-Gothielle has the advantage of higher physical defenses.
Nonetheless, M-Gothielle can be a potent threat if left unchecked, but it does require team support and proper planning before it is unleashed.
Final Verdict: UU, possibly BL
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Set 1: Calm Sweeper
Nature: Timid EV: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spe Item: Gothitite
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Dark Pulse
- Signal Beam
Calm Mind is what makes this set, as it allows M-Gothielle to function as a very scary wallbreaker that few can switch into. Psyshock is the preferred move over Psychic, as it allows M-Gothielle to heavily dent Special walls that would otherwise give M-Gothielle grief. Dark Pulse rounds off Gothielle’s STAB combo, hitting Psychic and Ghost types for significant damage. Signal Beam rounds off Gothielle’s coverage, as it needs it to hit the Dark types that would otherwise laugh at M-Gothielle’s efforts.
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Set 2: Trick Room Killer
Nature: Quiet EV: 252 HP/4 Def/252 SpA Item: Gothitite
- Trick Room
- Psyshock/Psychic
- Dark Pulse
- Signal Beam
Trick Room turns Mega Gothielle’s horrendous speed into an advantage, allowing it to kill threats that would normally cause it massive problems. Psyshock is the preferred move to hit special walls harder, but Psychic can be used to punish physical walls more effectively. Dark Pulse rounds off Gothielle’s STAB combo, and Signal Beam rounds off its main coverage option.
A Quiet nature and the EV set mentioned above is recommended, as it allows M-Gothielle to gain the lowest speed possible for Trick Room to be at its most effective.
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Other Options
A RestTalk set can be considered, but such a set forgoes either one of Gothielle’s STAB moves or its coverage, which it needs to break through many of the threats that would wall it. A mono-attacker trapping set, using Mean Look, Rest, Calm Mind and Psyshock can be considered, but such a set is gimmicky and falls to Dark-types very easily. Shadow Ball is an option to hit Klefki harder, but it misses out on Dark types, and is otherwise considered redundant coverage.
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Checks and Counters:
Bug Types: While not every Bug Type can go toe-to-toe with M-Gothielle, Pokemon such as M-Beedrill, Durant and Heracross all outspeed M-Gothielle and can threaten it with their STAB Bug type moves, which Gothielle is weak to. While all of these are beaten by the Trick Room set, Escavalier beats up the Trick Room set because of its lower speed. Beedrill and Heracross however, need to watch out for Psyshock and Psychic, and Durant has to be careful of Hustle and Dark Pulse.
Fairy Types: Pokemon such as Gardevoir, Diancie, Klefki and Florges can threaten M-Gothielle out with their STAB Fairy type moves. Klefki in particular is a very good check, as it resists anything that M-Gothielle can throw at it and proceed to wear it down or cripple it. To a lesser extent, Diancie is also good at this, being able to stomach many of Gothielle’s moves and retaliating with Moonblast. Gardevoir resists Psyshock and has the special bulk required to resist at least one of its attacks. With the exception of Klefki and Diancie, however, all of them struggle against the Trick Room set.
Dark Types: While most of them are beaten by Signal Beam, Dark Types can still prove to give Gothielle a massive headache, serving to wear down Gothielle especially if it is running the Calm Mind set. Honchkrow, M-Houndoom and Mandibuzz stand out as particularly good answers to Gothielle, as they only take neutral damage from Signal Beam and can threaten it out or wear it down significantly with status, in Mandibuzz’s case. Sableye can come in and cripple with Will-o-Wisp. A vast majority of Dark Types, such as M-Absol and Zoroark, also carry Sucker Punch, allowing them to beat out both sets with priority moves.
Faster Physical Attackers: As M-Gothielle is very slow, it is prone to being revenge killed and worn down significantly. Attackers such as Haxorus, Darmanitan, and Gyarados can take advantage of Gothielle’s lower Defense stat and put pressure on that. This, however, is mostly a non-issue with the Trick Room set, though it may find itself struggling to take down the more bulkier attackers, such as M-Swampert.
Residual Damage: M-Gothielle does not like taking passive damage. Any amount of chip damage can leave it unable to check threats it likely could handle beforehand. It particularly does not like being burned or badly poisoned, as they often result in it being forced off the field and potentially ruin a sweep.
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