Wynaut Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Encore is used to lock opposing Pokemon into non-attacking moves such as Stealth Rock, Defog, or even setup moves such as Shell Smash and Swords Dance, giving a teammate the ability to get a free switch-in. Encore can also lock a foe into a attacking move, and Wynaut can then hit it hard back with either Counter or Mirror Coat. Counter and Mirror Coat are used to counter physical and special attacks respectively, dealing twice the damage Wynaut took back. Encore, Counter, and Mirror Coat are all mandatory moves for Wynaut. For the last slot, Wynaut has three options: Safeguard, Tickle, and Destiny Bond. Safeguard allows Wynaut to avoid Toxic, Thunder Wave, and Sleep-based moves such as Sleep Powder, and Spore, which otherwise would greatly hinder Wynaut. Tickle can be used in conjunction with Pursuit users or Diglett to trap a opponent and OHKO it with ease. Destiny Bond is a useful last ditch effort to take out another Pokemon. Set Details The following EV spread maximizes Wynaut's HP, totaling 49 with Berry Juice. This means that Wynaut is technically capable of dealing 96 damage to opponents before fainting. A Bold nature is chosen to absorb Fighting-types attacks more effectively. However, the Defense and Special Defense EVs can be customized to deal with specific threats. Wynaut also has the ability to Speed creep on many walls, depending on what threats you want to remove. 92 Speed EVs give it 10 Speed, allowing it to outspeed slower walls. Usage Tips Use Encore on non-attacking moves such as Stealth Rock or setup moves such as Shell Smash, then switch out for free momentum. This also gives a teammate the ability to get a free turn to use a set up move on. Keep in mind that Spritzee isn't affected by Encore, so Spritzee can therefore use Wynaut as setup bait. Team Options Wynaut is a good choice if you have a frail setup team, and can reliably get rid of Choice Scarf users that lack a super effective move. Setup sweepers love the free turns Wynaut gives them by encoring a moves like Stealth Rock and Defog. Diglett or Pursuit users are very useful with Tickle, meaning the opponent is stuck using a move such as Stealth Rock and can easily end up having -6 Defense after being trapped by Wynaut. Volt Switch and U-turn users are fantastic partners as they can often give Wynaut a free switch in.

Wynaut retains the same niche it had last generation, as its impressive ability to dispose of Choice-locked attackers is invaluable to many Pokemon. There are also many strong attackers which can blast holes through teams that Wynaut traps and KOes, such as Snover. It also has the ability to get rid of slower attackers and Encore set-up Pokemon, meaning Wynaut will almost always be of use in every game. Wynaut's movepool, while only consisting of eight moves, is perfectly suited for its job. Shadow Tag lets it trap opposing Pokemon so that they can't switch out. If the Pokemon is locked into a physical attack, Counter will dispose of it, unless Wynaut is KOed, which is unlikely considering its massive HP stat and respectable defenses. Mirror Coat bounces back special attacks. However, the crux of Wynaut's viability lies in the move Encore. Encore lets it force attackers to repeat a move, meaning you can either switch in a Pokemon that takes little damage from the attack and set up, or just KO it with Counter or Mirror Coat. If your opponent tries to set up on Wynaut, Encore lets you switch in a Pokemon to set up on it while your opponent is locked into a move for three turns. While only three moves are sufficient for Wynaut to complete its job, it has several options to fill the last slot. Safeguard lets it Encore a status move such as Thunder Wave, use Safeguard, and allow a Pokemon like Dratini to switch in and set up Dragon Dance without worry. On the other hand, Tickle can be used to weaken a wall so far that it will be killed by a Pursuit user easily. Destiny Bond is another option for the last slot, though Wynaut's low Speed stat without any investment makes it rather useless against most attackers. The EVs are rather self-explanatory. Wynaut reaches an HP stat of 27 with these EVs, along with 14 in each defensive stat. When boosted by the Eviolite, Wynaut will almost never be OHKOed. The 12 Speed EVs allow it to outspeed minimum Speed Bronzor, letting it Encore a move such as Stealth Rock before it can switch moves. A Bold nature is used instead of an Impish one to minimize confusion damage when switching into a Choice Machop's Dynamic Punch. It is also recommended you make its Attack IV 0. The choice between Oran Berry and Eviolite is hard to make. While the Eviolite makes Wynaut almost impenetrable, it reduces the damage done by Counter and Mirror Coat greatly. Oran Berry allows both moves to hit at a higher power and allows Wynaut to recover off damage. However, Wynaut can be OHKOed by powerful attackers such as Misdreavus. Wynaut's job is to remove Choice Scarf Pokemon and to allow set-up Pokemon to do their jobs easily. As such, Pokemon who enjoy this luxury are clearly good teammates. Aron is a perfect partner to Wynaut, as it can come in on one of its numerous resistances and set up a Rock Polish. Mantyke and Shellder are in a similar boat, with their sky-high defensive stats letting them set up Rain Dance or Shell Smash on many weak or resisted attacks. Wynaut makes a great addition to any sand-based team, as it can trap and KO Snover and ensure sand stays in effect.

Wynaut specializes in revenge killing Choice Scarf Pokemon and getting your Pokemon a free turn of set up. With its ability, decent defensive stats, and the CounterCoat combo, Wynaut is almost guaranteed to KO a Choice Scarf Pokemon using a resisted or neutral attack. Additionally, if a Pokemon is using a weak attack or stat boosting move, Wynaut can Encore it and switch to a teammate to get a free turn of set up. Wynaut is one of the strangest yet most effective support Pokemon in Little Cup, due to its ability to trap almost any Pokemon with Shadow Tag. Using this set is very simple: First, you must send Wynaut in on an attack that it easily survives, or a non-damaging move such as Stealth Rock or a status move. You then use Encore on that move and proceed to do one of two things. Firstly, it can abuse Counter or Mirror Coat by simply using the correct attack to smack your opponent back for double the damage. This makes Wynaut a great revenge killer, and an excellent answer to dispose of Choice Scarf users; however, Wynaut's true strength comes in its second option. With the right move Encored, a Pokemon on Wynaut's team can potentially gain a free opportunity to set up. For example, if Wynaut Encores a Dragon Dance from Dratini, Wynaut can simply switch to a setup sweeper and attempt to wreak havoc. If it happens to Encore a move like Waterfall, a Pokemon such as Mantyke could come in and set up an Agility without taking any damage, and then proceed to sweep. Tickle is an excellent option in the last slot if you carry a Pursuit user on your team to take out specific threats, such as Bronzor. It also helps your other Pokemon take attacks while trying to set up. Safeguard or Destiny Bond are both good options in the last slot as well, depending if you would rather be able to be immune to the uncommon status effects, or attempt to take out the opposing Pokemon as they try to finish Wynaut off. Using Destiny Bond when you have low HP will start a mind game, allowing Wynaut to possibly Encore a non-damaging attack because your opponent may not want to KO their own Pokemon, but with Wynaut's pitiful Speed, this is not always going to happen. Wynaut is also excellent at trapping and killing Choice Scarf users like mentioned above, especially the ever common Fighting-type variants. Since most Choice Scarf users do not have the ability to KO Wynaut, and since it doesn't have to take the turn to Encore, Wynaut can simply use Counter or Mirror Coat and KO that Pokemon with ease. Wynaut needs to maximize its defensive capabilities, and can't use any attacks that rely on Attack or Special Attack, so bulky EVs are pretty much the only option. Before maximizing Wynaut's bulk, 12 EVs are put into Speed so that Wynaut can come in on Bronzor and use Encore before Bronzor can switch attacks. Wynaut gets 27 HP with 76 EVs and will obtain a total of 14 in both defenses after putting 212 EVs in Special Defense and 132 EVs in Defense with an Impish nature. First and foremost, Wynaut needs to be paired with a strong set of setup sweepers to take advantage of Encore. These Pokemon need to have pretty good defensive synergy as well, because it might be hard to set up if Wynaut Encores an attack like Earthquake and you have no Ground-type resist or immunity. This means Pokemon like Gligar and Aron work quite well together with Wynaut, as Gligar resists the Fighting-type attacks and is immune to the Ground-type attacks that would OHKO Aron. Similarly, Aron resists Ice-type attacks which Gligar wouldn't be able to set up on. Like Gligar, Dratini would work well with anything that resists Ice-type attacks, because it has such a high damage output after a single turn of setting up Dragon Dance. With Tickle, Wynaut works great with Pokemon such as Taillow and Zigzagoon who need Bronzor removed. For example, if you send Wynaut in on something like Bronzor using Stealth Rock, you can Encore it and start using Tickle. After Bronzor is at -6 Defense, you wait until the Encore runs out and use Encore again. Then you switch to a Pokemon such as Stunky or Houndour to Pursuit Bronzor and KO it. This leaves your opponent open for a Taillow or Zigzagoon sweep. Wynaut greatly appreciates healing in the form of Wish support. Wish support gives Wynaut the ability to take more hits, and thus KO more Pokemon with Counter and Mirror Coat. This makes Lickitung a great teammate for Wynaut, as not only does it carry Wish, it also is immune to Ghost-type attacks and lures in Fighting-type attacks for Wynaut to switch into.

Set Description This set attempts to switch in and revenge kill an opposing threat by means of trapping them in. This EV spread lets Wynaut take hits from notable threats such as Latias, Jirachi, Gengar, and most Mewtwo variants to revenge kill them. Encore allows Wynaut to thwart many sweepers by locking them into an attacking move, allowing for Wynaut to take them down with either Counter or Mirror Coat. Since Wynaut has poor bulk, Destiny Bond is decently capable of bringing something down with it. Safeguard is a somewhat niche option but can be a beneficial one since it prevents the status that cripples Wynaut so heavily. However, it makes Wynaut less capable of taking on stronger hits due to the lack of Destiny Bond to support it.