Mothim Movesets & Competitive Sets

Though Mothim's access to Quiver Dance gives him a means to sweep, Tinted Lens provides him with essentially perfect neutral coverage, meaning that an all-out attacking set such as this one becomes perfectly viable. Like Choice Specs Yanmega in UU, the premise of this set is incredibly simple: bring this guy in safely on a slow Grass-type such as Tangrowth or on a predicted Earthquake, then proceed to use one of his STAB moves and watch in glee as the opponent's switch-in is utterly demolished by the strength of his Tinted Lens-boosted STAB moves. Despite only having a base 94 Special Attack stat, between Tinted Lens, Choice Specs, and a Special Attack-boosting nature, Mothim actually becomes such an incredible offensive threat that almost every single Pokemon in RU is at least 2HKOed by his STAB moves, barring the bulkiest of special walls such as specially defensive Magneton and Clefable. Alongside the fact that the Bug-type is an incredibly powerful offensive typing in RU, this makes Mothim an incredibly anti-metagame wallbreaker that is fully capable of smashing most of the common cores that many teams rely on. Bug Buzz is Mothim's premier offensive attack, and it's not hard to see why. After all, it's by far Mothim's most powerful attack, and between Tinted Lens and the sheer strength of Bug-type attacks in RU, the opponent usually won't have a Pokemon that actually resists it. However, if opponents do have a Pokemon that resists Bug Buzz on their teams, such as Emboar or Moltres, Air Slash gives Mothim the coverage he needs to hit such threats hard, and once again, thanks to Tinted Lens, the opponent probably won't have a Pokemon that resists it. In tandem with Tinted Lens, Bug Buzz and Air Slash actually give Mothim perfect neutral coverage. Therefore, the last two moves that Mothim uses don't really need to provide coverage at all; they are meant to give Mothim a means of dealing with certain troublesome flaws that he has. For example, U-turn gives Mothim a way to circumvent being walled by special walls such as specially defensive Magneton and Clefable. Instead of just using Bug Buzz against these walls and being forced out, Mothim can instead use U-turn to deal a sizable chunk of damage due to his passable base 94 Attack stat; Mothim can then switch into something that is capable of dealing with them, such as Emboar. In a similar vein, Giga Drain is recommended in the last slot to slightly offset Mothim's huge weakness to Stealth Rock by recovering his lost HP while dealing big damage to Lanturn and Rhydon. However, options such as Hidden Power Rock, which OHKOes Moltres without the need of Stealth Rock support, are also decent. A Mild or Rash nature is used to make Mothim hit as hard as possible and maximize his chances of landing 2HKOs on certain Pokemon, such as Lanturn. Maximum Speed investment conveniently places Mothim at an incredibly nice Speed stat of 231, which lets him outspeed base 55 Speed Pokemon with maximum investment and a Speed-boosting nature, such as Bouffalant and Omastar, in addition to the Pokemon that might attempt to run just enough Speed to outspeed such Pokemon, such as Uxie. Thanks to this magical Speed tier, a Hasty or Naive nature is generally unnecessary, but it does allow Mothim to outspeed max Speed Emboar and Cryogonal without Speed investment. Even though Mothim is so incredibly powerful under the right circumstances, he requires quite a bit of support to perform at his best due to his multiple shortcomings, such as his weakness to Stealth Rock, ridiculous frailty, lack of great resistances, and relatively low Speed, which all hamper his ability to come into a match and 2HKO everything on the opponent's team. Fortunately, in RU, the first flaw is an easy one to fix: simply slapping a Pokemon with Rapid Spin, such as Kabutops or Cryogonal, on your team gives you a way to remove Stealth Rock, and due to just how good those two spinners are, removing that hazard shouldn't be a problem at all. Kabutops is particularly good due to his ability to tank the Fire Blasts and Flare Blitzes that Pokemon such as Moltres and Emboar might try to fire at Mothim. The other flaws are more difficult to alleviate, but they are still manageable. Perhaps the best way to get into the match is to use Pokemon with U-turn or Volt Switch, such as Uxie and Rotom-C, that can take an attack or force the opponent out, and then bring in Mothim without taking damage. Rotom-C is also especially for this purpose, as it tends to lure in the Grass-types that Mothim threatens and bring him in on them, which would put the opponent at a significant disadvantage.

Thanks to Quiver Dance, Mothim can actually be a very threatening sweeper, as the combination of his great Special Attack, usable Speed, and Tinted Lens allow him to dish out some serious damage. Because of Tinted Lens, Mothim actually has perfect neutral coverage with just his STAB moves, which makes him incredibly difficult to wall. Mothim's amazing coverage also separates him from Lilligant, who is forced to utilize a mediocre Hidden Power type for coverage, and, no matter what type she chooses, she is still going to be walled by certain Pokemon. After a Quiver Dance, Mothim is extremely powerful and respectably fast, outspeeding everything up to maximum Speed Swellow, making him hard to revenge kill, and he can 2HKO most Pokemon bar bulky special walls. Though he needs support to deal with those troublesome Pokemon, once they have been removed, Mothim will easily rip through the opposing team. Because Bug Buzz and Air Slash work so well together, Substitute is recommended in the last slot in order to protect Mothim from troublesome status attacks, ease prediction and allow Mothim to do some big damage, without having to use Quiver Dance first. Substitute allows him to scout what the opponent switches in, and allows him to choose between Quiver Dance, Air Slash, and Bug Buzz depending on the Pokemon the opponent switched in. For example, if they switch in something that Mothim can outspeed and KO after a Quiver Dance, you should use Quiver Dance as it breaks Mothim's Substitute and proceed to KO it. If, however, they switch in something like Entei, who would be troublesome, Substitute allows you to attack the troublesome Pokemon with a Tinted Lens boosted attack as they break Mothim's Substitute, and then switch out. This can sometimes allow Mothim to wear down the opposition by himself. However, if you feel that Mothim would best be used as a late game sweeper, feel free to use Hidden Power Ground to nail foes like Magneton and Probopass for some nice damage. With the given EVs, Mothim outspeeds everything up to maximum Speed Swellow, while hitting as hard as possible. A Modest nature is a possible alternative if you wish to have a huge amount of power on your hands, but Mothim usually needs the Speed from a Timid nature since he will fail to outspeed many prominent threats, such as Archeops, Scolipede, and Sceptile. However, a Modest nature makes Mothim incredibly powerful and ensures that Mothim will 2HKO certain Pokemon. For example, with a Modest nature and a Life Orb, he 2HKOes specially defensive Flareon with Hidden Power Ground. In terms of alternate coverage moves, Hidden Power Rock can be used instead of Hidden Power Ground if Moltres ends up being a huge threat to your team, as Mothim's +1 Air Slash cannot OHKO without Stealth Rock. If Substitute is used, Leftovers are the recommended item, as with a Life Orb, Mothim will faint far too quickly, but if a coverage move is used instead in the last slot, Life Orb becomes the superior option to allow Mothim to dish out as much damage as possible before fainting. Rapid Spin support is a necessity when using Mothim, as the 50% he loses from Stealth Rock can decide whether or not he will be able to successfully sweep. Cryogonal, Hitmonchan, and Kabutops are wonderful choices, as the former two are very reliable at spinning away hazards, while the latter can also set up Stealth Rock to aid Mothim's sweep. The other entry hazards in Spikes and Toxic Spikes are also great in aiding Mothim, and these can be provided by the likes of Omastar and Roselia. However, even with full entry hazard support, Mothim cannot muscle past special walls such as Clefable and Cryogonal, so using a powerful physical attacker such as Entei, Medicham, Aggron, or the aforementioned Hitmonchan is recommended to remove these troublesome walls and allow Mothim to sweep.

Thanks to Tinted Lens and its solid Special Attack, Mothim is free to spam Choice Specs-boosted STAB Bug Buzz without worrying about type resistances against bulky Pokemon like Muk, Lairon, Frillish, and Wormadam-S. Offensive Pokemon like Simisear and Emolga that would otherwise resist Mothim's Bug Buzz cannot safely switch into it either. Meganium, one of the most relevant special walls, is potentially OHKOed by Mothim's Bug Buzz after Stealth Rock damage due to its weakness to Bug. Even specially defensive Clefairy must be careful to remain healthy if it wants to switch in against Mothim, as it is 3HKOed by Mothim's Bug Buzz. Mothim should mostly be using Bug Buzz, but Shadow Ball deals more damage to Frillish than Bug Buzz and can safely 2HKO it, while Bug Buzz cannot, and it's also valuable against the uncommon Lampent. Psychic does more damage to Muk, and it can be helpful against Pignite. However, Mothim infrequently uses special attacks besides Bug Buzz due to its power and the rarity of the cases where Shadow Ball or Psychic is a more useful attack. U-turn lets Mothim pivot out on an incoming check like specially defensive Clefairy to open a window for a teammate and chip down foes for itself. Mothim runs a Modest nature to maximize its damage, 2HKOing Frillish and Muk with Bug Buzz after Stealth Rock damage and 3HKOing specially defensive Clefairy. The improved Speed a Timid nature gives is not worth taking away from Mothim's power. Choice Specs Mothim often requires partners that can bring it in safely given its poor defensive stats and typing. Slow pivots like Mienfoo and Vibrava can take a hit for Mothim while they bring it into more favorable matchups with U-turn. In turn, Mothim offers explosive power versus these partners' checks, like Muk and Meganium. Offensive pivots like Emolga and Persian tend to draw in slow and defensive Pokemon like Solrock, Lairon, and Wormadam-S, and U-turn opens the window for Mothim to come in and punch huge holes in their checks. Stealth Rock severely limits the number of times Mothim can come onto the field, so Staryu is an excellent partner. In turn, Staryu appreciates Mothim destroying checks to it like Frillish and Leafeon and generally providing immense offensive output. Mothim has few defensive answers besides specially defensive Clefairy, so Muk, Mienfoo, and Emolga make great partners for it given their good matchups versus Clefairy.

Quiver Dance turns Mothim into a fearsome sweeper, outspeeding all of the unboosted metagame save for Persian when it's at +1 Speed. Weakened teams struggle to stand up to Quiver Dance boosting the power of Mothim's STAB Bug Buzz, and Tinted Lens means even Pokemon that resist Mothim's STAB moves like Arbok, Emolga, and Lairon won't be able to tank its strong attacks. Air Slash covers Pokemon that are 4x resistant to Bug Buzz like Lampent and the rare Pignite, and it can afford Mothim a lucky flinch in a pinch to break past specially defensive Clefairy and Muk. Mothim can also use Air Slash to preserve its Bug Gem for the right target. Protect shields Mothim from revenge killers like Fake Out Persian and Slaking, and it gives Mothim extra Leftovers recovery to avoid falling into range of priority from users like Muk and Wormadam-G. Roost helps keep Mothim healthy given the enormous amount of damage it takes from Stealth Rock, maintains its longevity against passive walls like Ivysaur, Meganium, and Gloom, and can potentially let boosted Mothim take advantage of special attackers like Grumpig, Mr. Mime, Walrein, and Raichu. With a Bug Gem, Mothim deals substantial damage to even Clefairy and Muk, which are otherwise the tier's bulkiest special sponges, and it lets +1 Mothim OHKO bulkier Pokemon like Walrein, Whiscash, and Wormadam-S after Stealth Rock damage. Leftovers has better synergy with Protect and Roost, and it can let Mothim stay healthy against passive foes like Clefairy, Wormadam-S, and Meganium. A Timid nature enables Mothim to outspeed Persian, the most important revenge killer in the metagame, but sacrifices power and thus misses out on KOs such as Walrein with a Bug Gem-boosted Bug Buzz at +1 after Stealth Rock damage. Quiver Dance Mothim fits best on offensive and hyper offensive teams looking for a strong sweeper. Teammates that help prevent Stealth Rock like Taunt Persian, Bibarel, and Mr. Mime are greatly appreciated by Mothim, and all fulfill important roles for hyper offense. Persian acts as the best revenge killer, helping break down opposing checks to Mothim, such as weakening Lairon or potentially getting a Knock Off on Clefairy. As the fastest user of both Taunt and Stealth Rock, Bibarel is one of the most consistent leads when hyper offensive teams want to run Rock-weak sweepers, which makes it great with Mothim. Special wallbreakers like Simisear, Grumpig, and Mr. Mime can create holes in teams by weakening or removing Clefairy and Muk so Mothim can more easily clean up, and in turn they appreciate it overpowering opposing Grumpig and Meganium. Mr. Mime can set up dual screens for Mothim to more comfortably set up. Healing Wish support from Mr. Mime and Clefairy can give Mothim a second chance at sweeping. Physical attackers like Mienfoo, Muk, and Arbok can break through special walls like Clefairy, Munchlax, and opposing Muk to open the door for Mothim to sweep. Staryu can remove Stealth Rock for Mothim but generally doesn't fit on the hyper offensive teams Mothim appears on.