Wigglytuff

Wigglytuff, The Balloon Pokémon. Their fur feels so good that if two of them snuggle together, they won't want to be separated. The body is soft and rubbery. When angered, it will suck in air and inflate itself to an enormous size. Its fine fur feels so pleasant, those who accidentally touch it cannot take their hands away.

Overview

In times passed, Wigglytuff was always considered the lesser of the two pink Normal-types that were introduced in Red & Green. While Wigglytuff had higher Hit Points, Clefable had higher everything else. With X & Y, these two Pokémon changed a bit more. Clefable became a pure Fairy-type, while Wigglytuff became both Normal/Fairy-type. This means that Wigglytuff is no longer weak to Fighting and resistent only to Ghost, but rather it's weak to Poison & Steel, immune to Ghost & Dragon (which is different to Clefable) and resists Bug & Dark. This is definitely a change for the better. To top it off, it got a brand new ability, which makes it far more competitively viable, called Competitive. Now, whenever its stats are reduced, its Special Attack is increased by 2 stages. This is very handy in such an Intimidate-filled metagame and makes Wigglytuff more viable. Does it make it worth using? Probably not, but it can make it somewhat usable if you want to try something unique. Despite all this, Wigglytuff still holds the mantle of being a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.
Positives
+It has ridiculous Hit Points. 140 is very good
+The changes in Pokémon X & Y were highly beneficial to Wigglytuff. Competitive is a decent ability, and its typing changes are mostly beneficial
+It has a decent movepool
+Its special attack received a nice 10 point boost which puts it in the realms of "usable", especially when tied with its new ability

Negatives
-Its defences are not the best. This makes its high Hit Points nearly useless as it doesn't have the bulk to support it.
-Its movepool is unfortunately predominantly physical, while Wigglytuff is yearning to be used as a special focused Pokémon.
-It's rather slow with a base 45 Speed.
-What sort of Fairy-type doesn't have Moonblast? Its Fairy-type move options are either moderately weak with Dazzling Gleam, very weak with Disarming Voice, or near useless like Play Rough being physical

Abilities

Cute Charm: The opponent has a 30% chance of being induced with Attract when using an attack, that requires physical contact, against this Pokémon. - Very situational. Best to avoid in a competitive environment when its other abilities have more use
Competitive: Raises Sp. Atk stat by two stages whenever a stat is lowered - This is handy. It means an Intimidate turns Wigglytuff from a pink blob to a scary beast
Hidden Ability (Available):
Frisk: Reveals the foe’s held item. - This is always handy for scouting possible strategies, but isn't necessarily the best option

Movesets

Tuff Specs

-Dazzling Gleam
-Hyper Voice
-Psychic / Shadow Ball / Thunderbolt / Flamethrower / Ice Beam
-Psychic / Shadow Ball / Thunderbolt / Flamethrower / Ice Beam
Item Attached: Choice Specs
Ability: Competitive
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature

Ok, so Wigglytuff isn't fast, that we know, but if you manage to switch in to a stat being dropped, Wigglytuff becomes a force to be reckoned with. Couple this with Choice Specs and it can do some decent damage with decent coverage. Hyper Voice and Dazzling Gleam get STAB and should always be used. The other slots are all situational and can be used however you please. These moves all hit hard with various possible effects such as Paralysis on Thunderbolt, Burn on Flamethrower and Freezing on Ice Beam. However, as you're likely to face Steel-types, Flamethrower is a top choice, as that'll deal with that, and Psychic will deal with the Poison-type Pokémon.

Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle

-Protect
-Hyper Voice
-Dazzling Gleam
-Wish
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Competitive
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Def / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Bold Nature

This is a standard defensive set for Wigglytuff. Wigglytuff can survive a couple of hits, and Protect is a great way of scouting whether or not you should leave. Hyper Voice is a powerful move that gets STAB on Wigglytuff, which is always handy. Plus, it can bypass a Substitute...that's always fun. Dazzling Gleam does decent damage, also with STAB and Wish is Wigglytuff's only viable form of recovery, but it takes a few turns to run, which is why you should bide your time with Protect where possible.

Let's Get Physical

- Return
- Brick Break / Focus Punch
- Ice Punch / Thunderpunch
- Play Rough
Item Attached: Choice Band
Ability: Cute Charm / Frisk
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SDef Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

Everyone's suspecting Wigglytuff to be a Special Pokémon or a Supporter, so you can go in for a physical. Wigglytuff's physical Attack is passable. It's not great...in fact it's not even in the top 300 Attack stats in the game, however it can do some decent damage. Return is a very powerful move that gets STAB. A fighting move is essentially required to deal with Rock and Steel types, with Brick Break being preferable for consistency and Focus Punch for additional power (although relying heavily on the element of surprise). Ice Punch and Thunderpunch provides it with decent coverage, but currently require Gen V tutors, making it not viable in the Gen VI metagame, and Play Rough is powerful with STAB and can lower the opponent's Attack'

Other Options

Charm, Captivate, Body Slam, Double-Edge, Fire Blast Reflect / Light Screen, Rest/Talk, Thunder, Sing & Thunder Wave
Charm & Captivate are great options in that they will lower Attack or Special Attack respectively by 2 stages. This can severely hinder opponents and perhaps force switching. That's always handy.
Double-Edge, along with Body Slam, is a STAB alternative to Return. Of course, the recoil is an unattractive aspect, but the power makes it worth a look.
Fire Blast & Thunder provide more powerful alternatives to Thunderbolt & Flamethrower, but have the risk of having lower accuracy
Dual Screening with Reflect & Light SCreen can help Wigglytuff, and can possibly be done thanks to Wigglytuff's Hit Points, but it's quite risky
The Rest & Sleep Talk combo is somewhat viable here. It's Wigglytuff other form of recovery, and is instant & removes any status afflictions. However, it's always situational and reliant on luck
Sing provides a sleep status option, although poor accuracy is a major letdown. It can be combined with Thunder Wave for a double-status set or used as a status alternative to it.

Double & Triple Battle Options

Wigglytuff's new ability in Competitive put it back on the map competitively. Normally, Special Attacker's are indifferent to intimidate, but with Competitive, they benefit from it. How much do they benefit? +2 Special Attack every time one of their stats are lowered. Meaning, two Intimidates later and Wigglytuff is at +4 SAtk. Seems insane right?

WigglyTough

- Dazzling Gleam
- Fire Blast
- Thunderbolt
- Hyper Beam / Psychic
Item Attached: Assault Vest
Ability: Competitive
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP / 188 Def / 236 SAtk / 12 SDef / 68 Spd
Modest Nature

This very spread was used by the (currently) 3 time VGC World Champion, Ray Rizzo, in taking his second first place win in the US Regional's Circuit. Despite that, it's still fairly situational.

In order to properly abuse Competitive, the opponent needs to have an Intimidate user on their team, if they don't have that then most of Wigglytuff's shine goes away. There's still random stat drops from the likes of Psychic and Moonblast, but one generally shouldn't depend on those.

The EV's here are optimized to give Wigglytuff respectable firepower while being able to take at LEAST 2 hits from a variety of threats. The speed is there to speed creep a majority of Mega Mawile who otherwise would just OHKO with Huge Power Iron Head.

Excellent partners for Wigglytuff are those who are afraid of Intimidate and/or opposing Dragon type attacks. Garchomp and Mega Charizard X comes to mind immediately, but Hydreigon isn't a bad choice either because Wigglytuff resists most of Hydreigon's weaknesses.

Wigglytuff is a great pick for an Intimidate deterrent, sure Bisharp has a wildly powerful Sucker Punch at +1, but when Wigglytuff is at +2 or +4 it's pretty much "click Dazzling Gleam until I win." Which is amazing seeing as Wigglytuff was an afterthought until Competitive came to light.

If it just had a little more of.. shoot, just about any stat besides Attack, it might see even more play. Abysmal speed and defenses, average SAtk and Amazing HP leaves playing it leaning more towards "liability" rather than "asset" Use with caution! The rewards are there, it just takes careful playing to achieve them.

On a side note - being Normal/Fairy means that Wigglytuff walls Giratina by being immune to both of its STABS. Unfortunate for Giratina and hilarious for the Wigglytuff user.

Countering Wigglytuff

Wigglytuff is frail. Basically, any super effective hit from a powerful enough Pokémon such as Nidoking or Ferrothorn will just OHKO it, despite its ridiculous Hit Points. Otherwise, you just need to chip away at it. Just a simple Earthquake from Garchomp will 2HKO it, with Wigglytuff not even being able to OHKO it. Go in with Special Walls and Wigglytuff will often be rendered useless.

Locations in Games

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Evolve Jigglypuff

FireRed/LeafGreen:
Evolve Jigglypuff

Colosseum/XD:
Trade from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald/FireRed/LeafGreen

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Evolve Jigglypuff

HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Evolve Jigglypuff

Black/White:
Route 14

Black 2/White 2:
Route 1, Route 2, Dreamyard

X/Y:
Evolve Jigglypuff

Animé Appearences

Wigglytuff has made a few appearances in the anime. Most notably, it is used by the Nurse Joy in the Kalos region as their assistants

# -English Episode Name- -Jp. Episode Name- Pics
M1 Mewtwo Strikes Back Mewtwo's Counterattack Pics
71 Lights, Camera, Quacktion! Pokémon: The Movie Pics
P2 Pikachu's Rescue Adventure Pikachu's Exploration Party Pics
148 Tricks Of The Trade Wobbuffet and the Pokémon Exchange! Pics
171 Beauty and the Breeder Sayonara Vulpix! Beauty Contest! Pics
S2 Mewtwo Returns Mewtwo! I am Here Pics
P7 Not Aired Pikachu's Summer Festival Pics
457 Thinning the Hoard May VS Harley! Double Battle On Stage!! Pics
458 Channeling the Battle Zone May VS Drew! The Final Battle! Pics
478 Not On My Watch Ya Don't! Pokétch is Unavailable?!! Pics
S22 Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Darkness Pokémon Mystery Dungeon - Time & Darkness Expedition Pics
544 A Full Course Tag Battle! Restaurant Seven Stars! Tag Battle for a Full Course!! Pics
S23 Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - Beyond Time & Darkness Pokémon Mystery Dungeon - Sky Expedition Pics
S33 TBC Cilan and Brock! Gyarados' Outrage!! Pics
804 Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin! We've Come to Kalos Region! Dreams and Adventures Begin! Pics
805 Lumiose City Pursuit! Mega Evolution and the Prism Tower! Pics
806 A Battle of Aerial Mobility! Froakie VS Fletchling! Air Maneuver Battle!! Pics
807 A Shockingly Cheeky Friendship! Pikachu & Dedenne! Nuzzle!! Pics
808 A Blustery Santalune Gym Battle! Santalune Gym Match! The Vivillon's Elegant Dance Battle! Pics
815 To Catch a Pokémon Smuggler! Catch the Pokémon Buyer! Operation: Spewpa Disguise!! Pics
819 A Jolting Switcheroo! Dedenne is Pichu and Pichu is Dedenne...!? Pics
S34 TBC Iris VS Clair! The Road to Dragon Master! Pics
824 Pokévision of Things to Come! Time to Debut! PokéVision with Serena and Fennekin!! Pics
S35 Pokémon Mega Evolution Special I Strongest Mega Evolution ~Act 1~ Pics
830 To Find a Fairy Flower! Flabébé and the Fairy Flower! Pics
832 Heroes - Friend and Faux Alike! Ta-da! A Fake Ash Appears!! Pics
835 The Aura Storm! Mega Lucario VS Mega Lucario! A Storm of Aura!! Pics
842 Summer of Discovery! Pokémon Summer Camp! Enter the Rival Trio!! Pics
843 Day Three Blockbusters! Serena VS Shauna! PokéVision Showdown!! Pics
845 Battling Into the Hall of Fame! Team Battle! Competing for the Hall of Fame!! Pics
846 Origins of Mega Evolution! The Tower of Mastery! The History of Mega Evolution! Pics
849 The Clumsy Crier Quiets the Chaos! The Clumsy Wigglytuff VS the Rampaging Salamence! Pics
851 A Campus Reunion! Clemont's Campus of Memories! An Electrifying Reunion!! Pics
852 Bonnie for the Defense! Mobilise, Lapras Defense Corps! Bonnie Does Her Best!! Pics
854 When Dark and Light Collide! Hawlucha & Dark Hawlucha!! Pics
860 Thawing an Icy Panic! Vanillite Panic! Left Cold by a Whiteout!! Pics
862 Under the Pledging Tree! Ash and Serena's First Date! The Vow Tree and the Present!! Pics
867 Battling With Elegance And a Big Smile Fennekin VS Delphox! A Gorgeous Performer Battle!! Pics
M18 Hoopa & The Clash of Ages The Archdjinni of the Rings: Hoopa Pics
885 A Festival Trade! A Festival Farewell? The Gourgeist Festival! Farewell, Pumpkaboo!? Pics
887 Adventures in Running Errands! Chespin! Its First Errand!! Pics
895 Cloudy Fate, Bright Future! A Kalos Crisis! Battle of the Giant Sundial! Pics
S41 Pokémon Mega Evolution IV Strongest Mega Evolution ~Act IV~ Pics
899 A Giga Battle With Mega Results Mega Audino VS Giga Giga Meowth!! Pics
906 A Cellular Connection! Bonnie & Squishy! Pics
908 Party Dancecapades Ash and Serena! Getting One at a Dance Party!! Pics
909 A Meeting of Two Journeys The Strongest Mega Battle! Greninja VS Mega Charizard!! Pics
912 Master Class Choices! The Master Class Trial! What Will You Do, Serena!? Pics
919 The Synchronicity Test! Ash and Alain! Greninja VS Mega Charizard Once Again!! Pics
923 All Hail the Ice Battlefield! Snowbelle Gym Match! A Battlefield of Ice!! Pics
M19 Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel Volcanion & The Ingenious Magearna Pics
932 Kalos League Passion With a Certain Flare! Fierce Fighting at the Kalos League! Gather, All of My Passion!! Pics
935 A Towering Takeover! Team Flare Attacks! The Zygarde at the Prism Tower!! Pics
938 Rocking Kalos Defenses! The Megalith Advances! A Fight to Protect Kalos!! Pics
939 Forming a More Perfect Union! Zygarde Fights Back! The Final Battle for Kalos!! Pics
983 Balloons, Brionne, and Belligerence! Popplio, Brionne and the An-chor-gry Dhelmise! Pics
1073 Battling Besties! Mallow & Lana! A Fully Powered Battle of Friendship!! Pics
1087 From Z to Shining Z! The Greatest Z in Alola! Tapu Koko VS Pikachu! Pics
1147 A Rollicking Roll... / Eyes on the Goal! Panic! The Gulpin Ball!!
Come On, Chewtle Turtle Race
Pics
1225 These Could be the Start of Something Big! Ash and Goh! Setting Off Anew!! Pics
1230 A Squad Worth of Passion! Enter the Squirtle Fire Brigade! Pics
3 For Sure! Cause Sprigatito's with Me! As Long As I'm With Sprigatito... Pics