Wobbuffet EVs?

[red5bv06]

I know this has probably been discussed before, but what is the desired EV distribution on a Wobbuffet?

Should I go all in on HP, and divide the rest on defenses.
If that is the case, should I make the defenses more or less even, or stack one?

Speed doesn't matter except for Safeguard/Destiny Bond purposes, so I assume shun that attribute also.

I'm thinking of putting 252 EVs into HP and going with a + Spec D or + Def personality and averaging out the defenses on EVs. Is this a smart move?

[rinku]

Smart enough. Even if you did max out Wobbuffet's Speed, it would still be too slow to surpise anyone with Destiny Bond (use Gardevoir for that trick).

In fact, you could argue that you don't *want* to boost up its defenses at all, all the better to cause more Counter and Mirror Coat pain. In which case, distribute effort as you see fit. Wobbuffet has only one stat that it needs as high as possible - HP.

255 HP, 255 Special Attack, +SA personality is not silly at all. Just don't put anything on Attack, to minimise Confusion damage.

It's an easy pokémon to train at any event. Only one moveset worth considering for battles:

Encore (from Wynaut)
Counter
Mirror Coat
Destiny Bond

And only one held item worth consideration (Leftovers).

[Poryhedron]

...why Special Attack? Wobbuffet never uses the stat...I could understand building it just so that you're not building Attack or either of the defenses, but why not Speed? Just because you can't boost Speed enough to catch opponents unaware with DBond?

[Don't Run With Scizors]

Nah, just max out both defenses and put the extra six effort points in HP. Wobbuffet's talent lies in trapping the opponent and then Encoring their moves.

If the opponent uses a move that deals direct damage to Wobbuffet, then they can't switch to any other moves and Wobbuffet can deflect their attacks and not worry about having to predict which moves the opponent is going to use next. For this, you'll definately want to boost up your defenses, so that Wobbuffet will be able to survive some powerful hits. And even with max defenses, Wobbuffet still does massive damage in return with Counter and Mirror Coat.

Also, if Wobbuffet so happens to Encore a move that doesn't do direct damage, you can use that free turn to switch to somebody who can take advantage of it, like a Substitute user or Belly Drummer. For this, Wobbuffet should definately have Safeguard, in the event somebody tries to use Confuse Ray or some status effect on Wobbuffet in the hopes that they'll end up afflicting the incoming Belly Drum Charizard or whatever with it on the switch-in.

On another note... rinku, I strongly suggest that you start experimenting on the RSbot. I hate to burst your bubble, but there's a big discrepancy between your theories and what actually works well in gameplay.

[rinku]

Originally posted by Poryhedron
...why Special Attack? Wobbuffet never uses the stat...I could understand building it just so that you're not building Attack or either of the defenses, but why not Speed? Just because you can't boost Speed enough to catch opponents unaware with DBond?

If you boost its speed and the enemy is something similarly sluggish, your first turn Encore might well fail. A minor point I know, but doing the maths, even base speed 55 with no EVs can easily be slower than Base 33 with full EVs.

On the other hand, I guess if that's the case your *second* turn Encore is even better and you should gamble a Return or Mirror Coat.

Neh. Forget I said it. It was a dumb thought. Max out Speed and catch Machokes off guard.

[Misty's Tears]

I, myself, use Wobbuffet quite often, and Iv'e found the best EV's are: 252 HP/ 129 Def./ 129 Sp. Def.

Putting it on the two defenses allows him to easily survive most strong hits while at the same time doing a large amount of damage. Also, use Safeguard instead of Destiny Bond, if needed you can make use of it after doing Encore when their doing the same move, then switch. DB is horrible since its rare that he will ever go first, even if you train his EV's for speed.

[Ultimate Pikachu]

Originally posted by Misty's Tears
I, myself, use Wobbuffet quite often, and Iv'e found the best EV's are: 252 HP/ 129 Def./ 129 Sp. Def.

Putting it on the two defenses allows him to easily survive most strong hits while at the same time doing a large amount of damage. Also, use Safeguard instead of Destiny Bond, if needed you can make use of it after doing Encore when their doing the same move, then switch. DB is horrible since its rare that he will ever go first, even if you train his EV's for speed.

I also find 252 HP/129 Def./129 Sp. Defense the best. 252 in each defense and the rest in HP is bad because you want to take a lot of damage to make your counter attacks more powerful. Destiny Bond sucks on Wobbuffet beacause it's too slow and Charm sucks because you want to take lots of damage. Splash just sucks anyway so Safeguard is the only option left.