[Overview]
<p>Cottonee loves to play practical jokes. It might look adorable, but looks can be deceiving. Cottonee is a bona-fide, 100% legit, full time professional Prankster. It simply loves to spend a lazy, sunny afternoon causing mischief. For its birthday, Cottonee received an Eviolite and a cute hat, which pad its defenses a whole bunch, and let it prank in style! Its favorite moves are Encore, Leech Seed, and Substitute, but it has loads more options to choose from. Cottonee also loves to help out, and will support your team with its expansive movepool as best it can.</p>
[SET]
name: Encore
move 1: Encore
move 2: Leech Seed
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Stun Spore / Toxic / Taunt
item: Eviolite
ability: Prankster
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is Cottonee's most effective set. Unlike its evolution, Whimsicott, Cottonee lacks both U-turn and Leftovers. Instead, Cottonee can stick around for quite a few turns, thanks to Eviolite, and slowly drain the opponent's health with Leech Seed. Cottonee can trap a foe with Encore effectively, and it is one of the most powerful support options that it can offer. No setup Pokemon is safe while Cottonee is around; if the fluffball switches into a non-attacking move, such as Shell Smash or Roost, it can use its priority Encore to lock the foe into that move for three turns. While the opponent is locked in, you can switch in one of your Pokemon for free while the opponent switches out their Encored victim. However, if you really want to drive your opponent mad, you can have Cottonee start up a SubSeed cycle. Once set up, Cottonee's priority SubSeed is extremely hard to stop. If your opponent lacks a Grass-type, faster Prankster with Taunt, phazer, multi-hit move, U-turn user, or Rapid Spin user, they may not be able to break it at all.</p>
<p>Having said all of this, there will inevitably be situations where Cottonee will be forced out, such as the threat of a powerful special attacker, or circumstances where it has nothing to Encore, or no room to start up a SubSeed cycle. This is where the fourth slot comes in; Cottonee has a bucketful of options to choose from, but the three listed are generally the most useful. Stun Spore is a fast sweeper's worst nightmare, and the threat of priority paralysis might be enough to scare the foe away entirely, which gives Cottonee some level of protection from would-be attackers. Next up is Toxic, which is quite handy for a few reasons. The priority that Prankster grants this move prevents victims from blocking it with Substitute or Taunt, while the Toxic status itself is a great way for Cottonee to slowly wear down foes, threaten defensive Pokemon that could wall it, and expedite the health draining of SubSeed, all of which places even more pressure on the opponent to break the cycle. Lastly, Taunt is a useful choice that can prove invaluable to Cottonee. It can be used to disrupt Baton Pass chains, foil attempts to stop SubSeed, and prevent foes from doing nasty stuff to Cottonee, such as inflicting status or Tricking a Choice item onto it.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Cottonee is most at home on teams that have trouble with setup sweepers, such as Huntail, and teams that struggle with stall. With some smart play, Cottonee is capable of dealing with some of NU's top threats, such as Mesprit and Gurdurr. It can also remove Trick Room with a combination of Encore and Taunt: Encore reverses the effect, and Taunt prevents it from being set up again. A physically defensive EV spread is recommended, as Cottonee has an easier time walling physical attackers, plus it has a nifty Ground-type resistance to abuse. As Cottonee is such an excellent Encore trapper, it pairs exceptionally well with setup sweepers that can take advantage of a single turn, such as Shell Smash Gorebyss or Carracosta, and Belly Drum Linoone. Cottonee is also an excellent crutch for offensive teams, and works especially well against threatening stall teams. Cottonee's main problem is its tendency to let its health slip a little, so cleric support provided by a Wish passer such as Alomomola—who resists the Ice- and Fire-type moves that Cottonee fears—helps it immensely. Any Pokemon that can abuse a free turn is also a great teammate for Cottonee; in the right situation, results can be absolutely disastrous for the opponent. The ability to create free turns so easily is what makes Cottonee's priority Encore such a dangerous weapon, as the cottonweed can provide support for almost any Pokemon, and this versatility gives it a place on any team with a snug little space for it.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Cottonee has such an overwhelmingly large support movepool that you might be tempted to just throw four moves together haphazardly. In general, however, this is not the way to go. As outlined above, Encore, Substitute, and Leech Seed are the bare essentials that should be used as a base for any set, and the fourth slot is open to preference. Though a physically defensive EV spread is preferred, specially defensive Cottonee is also viable. The Water-, Grass-, and Electric-type resistances of the Grass-type help Cottonee wall certain special attackers, and its Defense can be patched up with Cotton Guard. This move makes Cottonee extremely bulky, as with a specially defensive spread, one boost elevates its Defense stat to 588. Worry Seed is another great choice, as several NU Pokemon are reliant on their abilities. Zweilous, for example, isn't scaring anything without Hustle. Light Screen patches up Cottonee's Special Defense, and can be pseudopassed to a teammate. Strangely, Cottonee does not have access to Reflect, so cannot utilize the Dual Screens strategy. If your team has trouble with weather, Sunny Day is an excellent safety measure that can reliably hamper opposing rain or hail teams. GrassWhistle is an interesting choice. Priority sleep is an extremely potent weapon that can instantly shut down almost any opponent, but the 55% accuracy makes the move extremely unreliable. It's a high-risk, high-reward maneuver, and the payoff is incredible, which may just make it worth a moveslot. Other notable options swimming around in Cottonee's movepool are Safeguard, Swagger, and Tickle. All three have their uses, of course, but their uses all pale in comparison to those of the suggested moves. Switcheroo has the potential to be an excellent move for Cottonee, but sadly, it's illegal with Encore. Cottonee relies on Eviolite, and denying your cottonweed both Eviolite and Encore just so it can switch a Choice item onto the foe, a Choice item that it cannot use itself, is pure madness.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Cottonee is one interesting Pokemon to counter. As a bulky Grass-type with little offensive presence, offensive foes with super effective moves, such as Mesprit, Magmortar, and Jynx, can all check it, just as you'd expect. However, due to Prankster, Cottonee's list of checks and counters changes considerably, simply because it can be so difficult to play around. A SubSeeding Cottonee can potentially wall an entire team, provided said team lacks any of the few methods capable of dealing with it. Opposing Grass-types are immune to Leech Seed, which gives them the ability to prevent and interrupt the cycle. Faster Pranksters, namely Murkrow and Volbeat, can Taunt Cottonee, which will not only break SubSeed, but force it to switch out. Roar and Whirlwind can blow Cottonee off the battlefield, which erases the Substitute, but Leech Seed will persist, giving Cottonee a chance to switch back in and resume its vicious cycle. Multi-hit moves, as wielded by foes such as Cinccino, can break through the Substitute and damage Cottonee, which will cause it to lose health, and possibly KO it at low HP. Braviary is an excellent check, as it scores a clean OHKO with Brave Bird, and can use U-turn to break the cycle; the attack breaks Cottonee's Substitute, the switch sheds Leech Seed, and Cottonee will be completely exposed to whichever Pokemon you decide to send in.</p>
<p>Of course, Cottonee won't always be hidden behind a Substitute, and several Pokemon can make short work of it. Linoone's STAB ExtremeSpeed ignores all of Cottonee's priority moves, and will OHKO Cottonee after a Belly Drum. Spikes and Toxic Spikes are one of the best anti-Cottonee measures available. Without Leftovers, it simply cannot afford to lose a quarter of its health upon switching in. Toxic Spikes are even worse, as a poisoned Cottonee's days are numbered; SubSeeding becomes nearly impossible with a Toxic counter looming over the poor cottonweed's head. Taunt is also an excellent way to deal with Cottonee, provided the Taunter can get one in before being Taunted itself. Sap Sippers, such as Miltank, Girafarig, Stantler, and Zebstrika, are immune to Leech Seed and Stun Spore, which allows them to wall Cottonee rather well.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>I know what you're thinking. Don't do it. Prankster is the sole reason for Cottonee's use, and there's really no reason to use it if its moves don't have priority.</p>
