Competitive Pokemon History - Wobbuffet Quiz

Answer: Five

Wobbuffet could learn Counter, Mirror Coat, Safeguard, Destiny Bond and Mimic. None of those moves are capable of dealing direct damage to the opponent unless they're stupid enough to actually attack Wobbuffet. Using Wobbuffet in any competitive meta was the equivalent of putting up a sign that reads "please come setup in my face for free!" since Wobbuffet couldn't actually threaten or pressure the enemy in any way. For these reasons, Wobbuffet was generally accepted to be the worst fully evolved Pokemon in the game.

Answer: Ubers

Wobbuffet would witness the most dramatic turnaround in franchise history, going from the worst fully evolved Pokemon in the game all the way to getting banned to Ubers in a single generation. Interestingly enough, its pre-evolved form, Wynaut, would end up joining it in Ubers.

Answer: It had the potential to create an endless battle

If two Wobbuffets with Leftovers meet on the battlefield, it becomes literally impossible for the game to ever end. Thanks to Shadow Tag, neither Wobbuffet can switch out of the other. Due to Wobbuffet's pathetic Attack stat, once it starts being forced to Struggle, it is doing paltry damage to the other Wobbuffet. Because Wobbuffet has a gargantuan HP stat, the recoil it is suffering from Struggle is not outdamaging the HP it is healing from Leftovers every turn. Even when taking Struggle damage from the opposing Wobbuffet to stack on its own Struggle recoil, neither Wobbuffet is losing more HP than Leftovers is recovering, even if Struggle manages to critically hit. Because of this, a Wobbuffet vs Wobbuffet situation cannot ever end, and thus, Wobbuffet was banned to Ubers. This also applies to Wynaut, which is why it too got the ban hammer.

Recognizing this, Nintendo would release a flurry of changes to the mechanics behind Struggle and Shadow Tag to ensure that no future games could see this result. At the time of the third generation, Struggle dealt recoil to the user of 1/2 the damage it dealt. Shadow Tag also trapped everything. In the future, Struggle would deal a flat 25% recoil to its user regardless of the damage done, and Shadow Tag users would be unable to trap one another, meaning this endless battle potential would not be replicated in future generations.

Answer: Nothing can switch into it

Shadow Tag prevents the opponent from switching out. Because of this, by definition, Wobbuffet cannot be countered- it can only be checked.

Answer: Able to revenge kill Choice locked Pokemon

Choice Scarfed (and occasionally, Specs/Banded) Palkia, Dialga, Kyogre, Garchomp, and sometimes even Darkrai could be removed from play by Wobbuffet. Because Shadow Tag stops them from switching, the Wobbuffet user can use Counter or Mirror Coat - depending on the move the opponent is locked into - to assuredly remove them from play. Wobbuffet's massive HP but pitiful Defense and Special Defense meant that it could survive at least one attack, and if it managed to do so, it would assuredly OHKO the offender. Getting rid of a Choice Scarfed Palkia would open up lanes for teammates like Garchomp, Rayquaza or Darkrai to sweep, making Wobbuffet an indispensable partner for Pokemon like these.

Answer: Gothitelle used its ability completely differently

Interestingly enough, Wobbuffet was generally preferred in Ubers, while Gothitelle usually got the nod in standard play. Gothitelle aimed to use Shadow Tag to trap passive Pokemon and boost against them with Calm Mind. It would usually falter in the face of offensive Pokemon due to its middling stats, including subpar bulk and power. Meanwhile, while Wobbuffet could perform against defensive teams, it was usually best against offensive teams, where it would generally be able to claim one victim of its trainer's choosing to open up a path for something else to sweep with.

Answer: Only Wobbufet's ability was actually banned to higher tiers

Wobbuffet gained access to Telepathy in the sixth generation. Wobbuffet itself is far from overpowered- it is actually extremely weak without Shadow Tag. Shadow Tag itself is banworthy. However, recognizing that Wobbuffet itself was not problematic for competitive play, Smogon opted to merely ban Shadow Tag users from standard play and below, enabling Wobbuffet to freely roam in any low tier of its trainer's choice.

Clearly, actually using Shadow Tagless Wobbuffet was a terrible idea. It suffered from the same issues that made it worthless in the second generation, and was therefore not a good idea to use in any meta where Shadow Tag was banned.

Answer: No

Once again, Wobbuffet's ability to trap opponents and prevent switching means that it cannot, by definition, be countered. Items such as Shed Shell and moves like Volt Switch or U-Turn can bypass this somewhat, but since the trainer can pick and choose Wobbuffet's matchups, Wobbuffet does not need to come on the field against an obvious U-Turn user, such as Scizor, meaning it is impossible to consistently counter in any way.

Answer: No

The novel, silly, iconic Wobbuffet would indeed join many friends and foes - new and old - in the Galar region. It notably retains access to all of its moves and abilities of old, meaning its dynamic in the competitive scene remains untouched.

Answer: It was the first non-legendary, non-mythical to be banned to Ubers

With Wynaut joining it shortly thereafter, Wobbuffet was first banned to Ubers in the third generation. Numerous other non-legendary, non-mythical Pokemon would be banned to Ubers in generations to follow, but Wobbuffet will always have been the first.