Meowth
Scratch Cat Pokémon
It is nocturnal in nature. If it spots something shiny, its eyes glitter brightly.
Base Stats
Type Effectiveness
Abilities
Held Items
Evolution Chain
Moves
Details
Sprites
Competitive
Strategy Overview
Most people can name Meowth by just looking at its sprite, but like Pikachu, Meowth's fame is not because of its ability to shine competitively. In fact, Meowth's niche in competitive Pokemon is not only small, but also outclassed by other Pokemon, making Meowth a rare sight in today's metagame. However, it does possess a few traits that make it stand out; most notably, its ability Technician, which boosts the power of its relatively weak attacks so that it can suffice as a physical attacker. Its above average Speed does give Meowth a leg up stat wise even when its other stats don't, letting it function as a hit and run attacker with Fake Out and U-turn. The transition into BW2 also gave Meowth Covet, which is a useful move that can be used to steal the Eviolite off of opponents and 'cripple' them for the rest of the match. However, Meowth is lacking or outclassed in almost every other regard. It is extremely frail, weak to priority, and its low Attack really isn't anything to bet on, even with the Technician boost. Even within its niche, Meowth faces tough competition—other Fake Out users such as Mienfoo or Croagunk possess greater power and bulk, making them more ideal hit and run pivots. The competition is especially tough with Aipom, which can Fake Out and U-turn relatively quickly with greater power as well, and only lacks Covet and Bite. Despite all this, its strong Fake Out and high Speed make Meowth a useful pivot and revenge killer with a unique niche move in Covet.
Competitive data from Smogon University via data.pkmn.cc