Interesting Competitive Pokémon Gimmicks

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Present Blissey, 2024
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[@FreezaiPokemon]

Check out my sponsor BetterHelp for a 10% discount on your first month of therapy, take back control of your life! www.betterhelp.com/freezai

[@rtnman]

F

[@anru5063]

do better

[@user-ks1oh2wx6o]

Not cool. Pretty disappointed :/

[@Slenderquil]

Did you just hide some of the top comments calling you out on this?

[@AnimaLepton]

I get that it's money, but audit your sponsors better.

[@rileydurfee4403]

Shoutouts to Big yellow teaching me about level 85 chansey

[@Cr4nched]

I cant confidently say Big Yellow would NEVER take a GooderAssist sponsorshit

[@ninteythree93]

big yellow is the GOAT

[@tycheese5]

Please no more sponsors from this company.

[@campiacentini9691]

Why?

[@sheepwithshadesgaming4717]

@@campiacentini9691 it sells you private information

[@alphyx7474]

​@@campiacentini9691 Many controversies, such as unlicensed profesionals, selling users data from private conversations...

[@pixelatedlemonade.]

yeah did you hear what they did to jonny razer

[@user-ky2rk8tp5g]

Tell​@@pixelatedlemonade.

[@sendhelp6349]

I thought we eliminated betterhelp like, 3 or 4 years ago, they should not have been allowed to weasel their way back into the sponsorship space like they have

[@bongschwee103]

2:15 doo doo

[@Blade.5786]

dee dee mega doo doo But since it's a Pokemon channel, it's more like doo-doo-Mega

[@marcorodriguez8792]

Lol

[@livayatanm]

2:14 He said doodoo

[@Zealous0ne]

Dive Cats was also a Gimmick that you didnt go over and was incredibly annoying

[@erichluepke855]

I believe he covered it in a different video but yes this is a classic gimmick.

[@Manivilization]

@@misteral9045that’s not a real format

[@Benjy52]

@@misteral9045Oh god I remember that.

[@marowakcity3727]

My favorite gimmick is using shedinja as the most efficient spike sac in the game in gen 3. Basically, by switching in shedinja and having it immediately die, the turn just ends and you can deny a recovery or setup move while getting a completely safe switch into a fast offensive threat one per battle

[@CantusTropus]

Only works because fainting in gen 3 automatically ends the turn.

[@Frostfire26]

@@CantusTropus Yeah I think that's the point

[@hps362]

The beautiful thing about this strategy is that it was only tried one time, and it was in the penultimate round of a massive tournament, and it won. Nobody had ever done it before, and nobody is ever going to try to do that again.

[@emilygordbort7300]

i found the one comment actually discussing the video XD

[@Mrdonjuliothewicked]

​@@hps362there was also that one tournament game if you saw in gen 9 with the gimmick KZbinr Tempt6t and Lechonk. If you didn't see it was similar but different where he sacked a level 1 Lechonk against drain punch Annihilape, where Ape couldn't recover enough because of the sack, and lost because of it.

[@segafreak2000]

My favorite version of FEAR was probably in gen 5, when weather was still permanent and Sturdy just got buffed. You'd get up sandstorm, then use a level 1 Aron with Endeavor and Shell Bell. The idea was that Endeavor would bring the opponent down to 1 HP (because you survived with Sturdy), the damage from that would immediately heal you to full again through Shell Bell, and then the sand chip damage would ideally kill the opponent, allowing you to the same thing over again on the next mon. Obviously plenty of things that could stop it, but when it works and actually kills more than just one mon (contrary to the regular FEAR, which always just kills one mon at best), it's hilarious.

[@maturepopcorn]

Better Help is a bad company.

[@radiowlet]

2:24 :(

[@skoister4811]

One time I swept my younger brother with full ubers using a full Level 1 team. It was probably the most hilarious battle I ever had (for me at least lmao)

[@supremeoverlordfallen5]

Protective Pads, Whirlpool, Psychic Fangs Dracovish only for toxapex be like: Double Kick Terrakion only for UBERs Smeargle lol. If you know, you know.

[@jellifii]

Mazar?

[@supremeoverlordfallen5]

@@jellifii right. The tigers

[@someonelse11736]

That was TTG, aka the trap god, not mazary, however both used the same bot

[@fogwzu1939]

It's all fun and games until Mega Bannete in National Dex OU is in the vid.

[@HarpieSummers]

What’s that gimmick?

[@EpiclyEpicGamer]

@@HarpieSummersits just a reference to mega banette being in natdex ou despite being absolutely terrible there

[@zacharyzorua9961]

That mon sucks tho, it's only viable use is prankster destiny bond and that is it

[@zacharyzorua9961]

​@@HarpieSummersprankster destiny bond

[@posobio]

@@EpiclyEpicGamer As someone who actually uses and faces it on ladder, I can tell you that it's quite good, not broken but it doesn't suck. Its rise to OU was only caused by power creep alone, a desperate attempt to find something that answers most potential threats at once, using the priority destiny bond + slow poltergeist combo, it doesn't even has to hit and it's sometimes just guaranteed value on a match. Switching it against a pokemon that'll boost is nice too, priority encore. It's just a nice utility pokemon that doesn't even need to run max atk, its only downsides being dark types, using the mega slot and mega Scizor.

[@savilll8843]

An interesting gimmick that was used in Gen 8 was Grudge Dragapult to remove all the PP on Clefable Moonblast so that it would no long be a check for Urshifu-SingleStrike prior to when it was banned

[@fernanditonh5994]

I can’t believe you’ve done this

[@megamanzero29]

The only gimmick I knew from this video was the F.E.A.R. Strategy

[@thisismyrealname8315]

I would like to mention Safety Goggles Zoroark as a gimmick. You can use it on a sand/hail team to trick your opponent into thinking it's a different Pokemon, or you can use it to switch into powder moves to bluff being a Grass Type.

[@aQrator]

Fun fact, Z-Me First was also seen on Pinsir in Gen 7 PU, using basically the same strategy but combining the effect with Moxie as a late game cleaner

[@gh0st_5]

Did you miss any gimmicks? Go through Weedletwineedle's showdown videos. Simple beam+trace. Wandering spirit+no guard/huge power. Skill swap. Teatime+Harvest. All the good stuff.

[@michabaron4129]

to be fair most of Weedle's gimmicks - while very creative and conceptually impressive - are not very consistent and reliable in high level play. I know that FEAR isn't winning any tournaments either but still

[@jamesrgamesoffical]

@michabaron4129 no gimmicks are competitively viable, that's why they are called gimmicks

[@blahtest]

@@jamesrgamesofficalThat isn’t true. Some gimmicks may be unviable, but some are used competitively. For example, block trapping is viable, offensive Skarmory is viable in gen 3 ou, and anger point strategies in vgc are also used. Have fun discovering gimmicks, you might just find the next good one.

[@ultimaterecoil1136]

@@jamesrgamesofficalI don’t think gimmicks as a whole are competitively unviable. Offensive skarmory allowing it to beat its biggest counter does allow you to play more loosely with it. A lot of the time you have to switch out immediately for fear of being trapped with a normal skaromory or just settle for a single spike and die to magnet. In that same situation you get to click spikes and then just kill the magnet on the switch in. And magnet is common enough that it’s worth considering and hp ground has its uses in other matchups like ttar as well.

[@jamesrgamesoffical]

@@blahtest what I meant to say is that gimmicks aren't made to be viable, more just to throw people off. It was in response to the guy saying that weedles gimmicks aren't good competitively

[@ffarchduke]

video starts 4 effing minutes in

[@liampowers8570]

no

[@nurideenkalmey2543]

Missed dive cats lol

[@BallinnnFr]

Dive cats wasn’t really niche it was meta defining and ended up forcing gf to change how assist worked

[@W3TIC3]

Revive cats was my favorite. How many cats do you need to KO to win? YES.

[@aldrichunfaithful3589]

i've got a good one. in gen 3, hidden power can be either physical or special because the physical special split hadn't happened yet. but the base move itself is a normal type physical move, which means if your opponent uses hidden power (the most common attack in the tier) then you can use counter on it even if it's a special attack lol

[@ScaredEz]

I watch weedle twineedle so nothing surprises me

[@fadeleaf845]

Ariados has a gimmicky trap passing set in Generation 2. Normally, Roar/Whirlwind can shut down this strategy, which many defensive Pokémon you may want to trap pass have. But with Protect+Disable, no such problem occurs. Speaking of Ariados, it has a niche set in Gen 4 - specifically, the Uber Tier. It can anti-lead Darkrai really well as Insomnia makes it immune to Dark Void, it threatens to win a direct combat with X-Scissor+Sucker Punch and it can also setup Toxic Spikes. It can also remove TSpikes for your team as well.

[@lucasgreer1736]

unfortunately ariados is stuck with bug bite for that strategy because it does not get x-scissor but that makes it even funnier as it still does like 80%

[@bobdeng8014]

My favorite gimmick Poketuber is WeedleTwineedle with Simple+Trace Gardevoir strats

[@inmanis2924]

weedle is the kween we love her

[@OyvE]

​@@inmanis2924 weedle goes by they/them btw

[@You-are-definitely-right-but]

Perfect name btw

[@You-are-definitely-right-but]

@@OyvEWeedle is the monarch we always needed

[@A.Froster]

​@@OyvEWe don't care

[@Thatonegoose]

Mentioning prankester as well as assist in a gimmick video and not talking about dive cats is wild

[@U4eUh]

appreciate you bringing these to the forefront and giving players more ways to think about the game :D

[@vinberg6]

Mummy Slaking with Pursuit is probably the craziest gimmick...

[@Showsni]

My Full Assist team used V-Create as the only callable move. I was walled pretty hard by Heatran (trying to knock it out with moves like Covet and Thief), but it was a lot of fun. I had Ninetales to set up permanent sun (this was in the days of the weather wars), then Victini to supply the V-Create. My Assisters were Infernape (STAB V-Create in sun), Spinda (Contrary means V-Create boosts your stats every time you use it, and Copycat ideally lets you steal more good moves (Draco Meteor, say) to sweep with), Liepard (Choice Band Prankster means that the V-Create has +1 priority) and Purrloin (just as a second Liepard, priority V-Create is that strong).

[@noobslayer7564]

I knew maybe less than half haha. Great video!

[@shinyman250]

i knew all but one

[@Zealous0ne]

Wasnt Copycat + Roar not supposed to function that way on Showdown so they patched it?

[@thepurified8386]

yeah he literally didn't even research that, it's not true and hasn't been for years it's especially funny since he made a video previously about being wrong about this exact thing

[@giovannipellegrino878]

It was not supposed to work in gen 4, the reason they made the mistake in the first place is that it works in gen 5

[@thepurified8386]

@@giovannipellegrino878 oh, huh, the more you know. my bad, then, i didn't realize that's what 'counts as the last move used' implied in that case.

[@unfunniestman]

Honestly, i'd like to think he's being forced to show a possitive image about WorseDisturb because of a contract. Money is money, after all. Not everyone is an Eagleland high class who can just buy new devices every time theirs stop working and don't suffer with student debt. Plus, with how WorseDisturb's reputation is going down the drain, their Payday must give WAY more Pokédollars than other sponsors. That being said, pick your partners better next time, Zai.

[@evetslon]

My favorite will always be the Magneton match up fish in Gen 3 OU, where you use torment as Skarm hoping they switch to a mag to counter the skarm, then switch to dugtrio and sand attack the magneton down. You then switch into trace gardevoir so the mag can't leave and sub calm mind up. It's disgusting and hilarious (Jimothy Cool has a video on it)

[@handoverthestromboli6715]

i just watched that video. bro was like "Oh hi Jim i love your vids ❤️" and then proceeded to have most dastardly sinful gardevoir completely wipe him

[@dream_weaver6207]

Choice band Ferrothorn in gen 5 ou is funny af. No you don't try to eliminate a counter with this, you genuinely use it offensively. 94 attack and 30 speed aren't great, but 150 power gyroball and huge natural bulk almost makes up for that.

[@pettermiranda4651]

Wait ferrothorn only has 93 atk? AI could swear it was more

[@dream_weaver6207]

@@pettermiranda4651 mb it's 94

[@Blackoutdmc]

I like Beat-up Justified Lucario.

[@fe_three_rosses]

F.E.A.R., level 85 Chansey, and HP-Ground Skarmory i already knew about, those last two were covered by Big Yellow!

[@sixtybuzzer8373]

I was STUMPED when I fell for that Cofagrigus/Slaking strat 😭

[@dazdje]

This is a rather obscure gimmick, but I came up with an idea with the Natdex OU chat about revive spam (not revive cats). So I use pawmot with a standard revive set, I use rabsca with revive, rest and sleep talk to make it have a 50% chance of calling revive when asleep, which bypasses pp limitations. The rest of the team would be scarf ditto, prankster destiny bond banette, imprison form mew and a random mon. The thought process is that on this team you losing a mon isn't a high price since you can always revive it, so using stuff that guarantees knock outs even through indirect damage is worth it like destiny banette.

[@rohankuruvilla6857]

One of the things I used to do in VGC during sword and shield was prankster, trick, ring target on Whimsicott along with regieleki. Gives the opponent NO turns to adjust to becoming electric weak on their Lando and other prominent ground types. This along with fake tears and dynamaxing let regieleki absolutely decimate teams with no switchins. Personally, I piloted it to top 100 on the smogon VGC ladder and only struggled after facing the same players multiple times, which is another reason it is a gimmick in the normal 3 v 3 format, but in a ladder format I found it to be absolutely a legitimate strategy.

[@theWastedSpace13]

i knew fear and the lvl 85 chansey one, 5 years of competitive pokemon and still have a lot to see

[@Ningflingslinger]

One gimmick I saw and then tried but didn't exactly work all the time was Nightmare Butterfree. Basically a Butterfree equipped with Focus Sash and using Infestation, Sleep Powder, Nightmare and something to deal damage in the fourth slot (Dream Eater, Bug Buzz, Etc). Just Sleep Powder the opponent, which has +/- 99% accuracy because of Butterfree's Compoundeyes, then trap it with Infestation. Next Nightmare it and watch it just wither away. Unless, you know, it wakes up during any of this... on which case Focus Sash can at least buy you 1 more turn if they don't switch too much.

[@LL-xh3qr]

mummy slacking is peak gaming

[@merouln700]

I saw most of them on Big Yellow's videos (and I think Reverend?)

[@RaventhortheWarrior]

I knew every one except the copycat shell smash eject button tech that's a lot of layers to fake out into a second setup but the 200 IQ satisfaction must feel great when it works

[@viktorw2322]

I only knew fear...

[@tysondennis1016]

Lv 85 Chansey: Using Heal Block before it was cool.

[@meticakolli1237]

Back when espathra was in uu i used torment bisharp to counter it, i forgot how it did but i think it worked suprisingly well

[@clarambrosia9834]

didn't know about entrainment truant durant or present blissey. i knew durant had entrainment and some part of my brain didn't want to know that it also had truant lol. the counter-imprison strat is really fucking cool

[@echogaia1708]

I love using assist contrary spinda with V create 😂

[@TheSamOnYT]

Gimmick, hustle squakabilly

[@jamesmattila-hine1133]

I'm impressed I only didn't know four of these I've encountered quite a few when I was playing online

[@therealdualipa]

lvl comfee tailow magneton and nosepass are all noteworthy at least

[@echogaia1708]

I did the ring target thing back with Zoroark disguised as Regieleki since it baits Ground types in.

[@Jadex56]

Kind of love gimmick pokemon like this Makes me feel like a bunch of Pokémon are special

[@AuraNova26]

Okay, the Present glitch is insane. Fascinating to learn the crazy information regarding how things worked back then.

[@bitzero000]

I'm here for the kekleon theme

[@bitzero000]

actually the gen 5 theme at 11:40 is good too

[@rotem6033]

That one video of Assist - V Create on Emvee's channel

[@antehman2912]

does he know

[@rotem6033]

@@antehman2912 yeah it was before Emvee's controversy was discovered. Such a shame :(

[@astikach666]

That D-dance Charizard Y strat reminds me of the Charizard X plushie strat that was mentioned in FSG's video, where (I forgot who) brought in a Charizard X plushie to the world tournament only to revela that is was a Charizard Y instead.

[@Zealous0ne]

I loved using Scarf Anger Point Primeape when Ursh Single Strike was running the OU meta when he was first released

[@bronsolo6941]

Gen 1 level 89(?) counter Chansey is another one that could be mentioned

[@VrikoLaka]

My favorite gimmick is Magic Room with a Choice Scarf user with SD/Nasty Plot. You set-up Magic Room, swap in the Set-up sweeper, set-up, and when Magic Room is over, you get +2 atk/spA +1 speed, and you try to sweep. Funnier if it is the same pokemon, but "too much set-up". Basically a worse double dance. But funnier ahahaha

[@cullenhutchison6528]

The only one I didn't know about was Copycat + Shell Smash, but if I saw Eject Pack on a Shell Smash Pojémon I would've been able to guess that Copycat would follow.

[@brianliu4831]

Didn’t know 5, but Slaking acc goes crazy when it finally stops skiving and gets some work done

[@rastusbear2691]

womp womp

[@semda9245]

Is reverse sticky web/toxic spikes too farfetched? With ability swap magic bounce and then guts pokemon, contrary or even quickfeet

[@guildmasterri5995]

That strategy was so cancerous even for weedle standard they didn't liked that one so glad we have court change now

[@Kulkogo]

My personal favorite gimmick strategy is Arcanine + Wonder Guard + Burn Out. Basically makes him (almost) invincible

[@John_the_Paul]

Leech seed go brr

[@aldrichunfaithful3589]

@@John_the_Paul substitute go brr

[@Benjy52]

You can use weather goggles to counter hail, taunt to counter shenanigans and substitute for added protection. Rest to remove status and use Burn Out as your main method of attacking.

[@strangeanimations2518]

I didn't know beforehand

[@howdoiturnssj3]

Actually, the riolu roar gimmick... wasn't supposed to exist. It doesn't work on console, and it was only on showdown because nobody noticed it.

[@lucafabbian269]

I knew all of them but the roar vs imprison one

[@shaun4655]

As a casual pokemon fan that hasn't kept up with the series in 10 or so years, I really appreciate that you explain what abilities/moves do. In many cases i've either never heard of them, or i've forgotten.

[@samuelzelalem3079]

explosion revival blessing is a great gimmick in doubles

[@shanerpressley]

Whirlpool Dracovish, Ring Target Jirachi, Mummy Pursuit Slaking, Block Zyguard, Z-Me First Mienfoo, Truant Protect Dugtrio, Copycat Eject Pack Shell Smash, Present Chansey, and Roar Trick Room were all new interesting niche strategies to me. Great list here!

[@unknown-Bzop1]

So someone needs help here…

[@rixrobin]

I knew all of the accept present blissey. Assist teams were actually my favorite to make back in the day. I was upset when they removed the move but revive cats proved why it may have been necessary.

[@Rosa-et1cv]

In SwSh VGC, if you use copycat when the last move used was a dmax move, the user copies the base move, not the dmax version. This means that you can dynamax a trick room setter, use TR, which turns into priority max guard, then use a prankster copycat user like Liepard or Riolu to set up TR before your opponent has a chance to damage or taunt your setter. It does force you to use a dmax turn to set up, and loses if your opponent has any priority, but it’s a fun strategy.

[@drkspace]

minimize -> baton pass to smergle with moody ability and the moveset of spore, substitute, accupressure, and baton pass -> setup with accupressures until you have enough boosts -> baton pass to krookadile with power trip and sweep.

[@DaikoruArtwin]

6:02 That's actually something I like doing with certain Pokemons. One such set I did was special Ultra Necrozma evolving from Dusk Mane form. Typically, physical Ultra Necrozma evolve from Dusk Mane, and special Ultra Necrozma evolve from Dawn Wings, or Dusk Mane doesn't evolve and stays a physical tank. But my Dusk Mane Necrozma was using a special set with Calm Mind, so they switch upon seeing my Necrozma, see Calm Mind, and then they're completely confused on if I'm just trying to boost my weaker defensive side or if I'm going to evolve and be a special powerhouse. At least, even if they don't fall for it, the Dusk Mane form still gives me some nice bulk to set-up, and they never know when I'll switch typing.

[@Benjy52]

Elo Bandit would approve of this video

[@ryanbob]

No he wouldn't

[@emilygordbort7300]

the fangs and claws of the hategod stand at your gate. you would do well to turn back.

[@DarthShard]

I think I only knew about the Skarmory HP Ground tactic prior to this video (shout out to Jimothy Cool) Great video!

[@dastardlydwarf6909]

I didn’t know 3 of these

[@madlagoon8384]

My fav one was clearly ant and dog You would use the truant tactic with the ant and then change to zygarde-dog to trap them with waves. You could then dragon dance your heart now, and then when you are done, just let the enemy hit you once. The damage will hopefully be enough to transform the dog into the gig-garde...

[@NightmareSyndrom]

I knew about F.E.A.R., Mummy Slaking, and Criting your own Anger Point mon,

[@Kalaphant]

4:00 "Generation 3 is well known for being one of the best Defensive Pokémon

[@WingedFish66]

It's sad that a lot of these wacky strategies no longer exist thanks to Dexit/Movexit and, as the latest gen, complete moveset formatting

[@mewziikal8331]

I didnt count how many i didn't know, but i'm still leaving a comment for the algorithm x) great video as always !

[@-Omega]

14:00 what is the index number of the secondary type of a pure type Pokémon?

[@abhinavsinha7530]

I have used FEAR strat a lot in gen 8 and even gen 9 DOU metagame with decent success. Pair up a Togedemau or a Sudowoodo in Trick room with sturdy+shell bell and boom you have unlimited endeavors. I Pair up with a priority blocker as well like the giraffe

[@astorakino829]

Didn't know for Whirlpool Dracovish ; Blissey Present but other then that I knew

[@Espik_23]

An adaptation I’ve seen to stop Imprison Trick Room is to Dynamax your Trick Room user and use Trick Room as Max Guard. Your ally can Copycat the Max Guard which turns back to Trick Room. With Prankster Copycat, Trick Room goes up before your opponent can move.

[@IruFlip]

I liked using z heal block when it was available. As it stops healing moves and gets you a nasty plot.

[@bananabroshsid8234]

ive done a few gimmicks (or tech, whatever you call it) on my own teams here and there to support my own unique playstyle. For example, running charizard y offense in natdex can be brutally difficult thanks to the dominance of rain, so many zard y players opt to play balance / buly offense and stack counters to rain. instead of doing that, i run a fast hazard remover in iron treads along with HP electric as my fourth move on zard y (fblast, sbeam and scorching sands being the other three) and it is stupendously effective. also helps guarantees kos on mons like moltres since i dont wanna miss fire blast

[@dembonez19]

Not competitive, but I used to have so much fun with my Ion Deluge + Explosion/Boomburst team. Lanturn got Ion Deluge and it refused to go down thanks to Volt Absorb. Too bad they got rid of that move.

[@kanlalonde1356]

I used Entrainment Durant + Dragonite to completely trivialize the Battle Maison(with mega slowbro with rest + calm mind in the back just in case), really fun strategy that worked way more than it should

[@venabre]

Didn't they recently find out copycat didn't copy roar multiple times in a row or something like that and has to change it?

[@echogaia1708]

7:30: but cant Hippo just whirlwind?

[@JuliaCCCP]

I assumed Slaking was immune to mummy 😮

[@DocRaeLive]

One of the goofiest yet deadliest gimmick sets I remember was boomer remover mew The idea was simple: 1) use block to trap a mon 2) use imprison to shut down their moves 3) use transform and watch them cry It was truly evil, yet oh so hilarious