What it does
Matcha Gotcha is a Grass-type special move that hits both opposing Pokémon in doubles (a spread move), with the standard ×0.75 damage modifier applied to each target. On top of the damage, the user recovers HP equal to a portion of the total damage dealt. The recovery happens immediately — no separate recovery turn needed.
Additional effect: a chance to inflict Burn on hit targets. Burn deals roughly 1/16 max HP per turn and halves physical move damage output (the Attack stat itself is not lowered) — relevant when the opposing physical attacker gets caught by the proc, but it's a probability effect and not reliable.
Grass-type is super-effective on Water, Ground, and Rock. Halved by Grass, Dragon, Bug, Fire, and Poison. Steel and Flying take neutral.
The healing scales with damage output: two targets hit means potentially double the healing compared to a single-target draining move. Against a full opposing field in doubles, every turn Sinistcha uses Matcha Gotcha is a turn where it's both applying offensive pressure and slowly refilling its HP.
Who runs it
Sinistcha at 97% usage — signature move, and Sinistcha is the near-exclusive competitive user. Grass/Ghost-type with notable Special Attack, STAB amplifies the move's damage and the resulting healing.
Hospitality (one of Sinistcha's abilities) restores the partner's HP by 25% on switch-in. Pair that with Matcha Gotcha's self-healing and Sinistcha fills a sustainability role — heals the partner when it arrives, heals itself on attacking turns. That's a lot of free HP generation for a single team slot.
How to use it
Spread moves in doubles are efficient by definition — one action covers two targets. Matcha Gotcha pushes the efficiency further: one action, two targets hit, self-healing applied. The trade-off is the ×0.75 spread modifier, which means individual targets take slightly less than a single-target move would deal.
Against Grass-types, Matcha Gotcha output drops sharply. Against a doubles field where both opponents resist it, the move loses most of its value — switch to Sinistcha's Ghost-type moves instead.
Burn's value is highest against physical attackers. If one lands on the main physical threat, their damage output drops by half and they're ticking down HP on the opponent's side — that's a meaningful shift in the game state even at low proc odds.
Tips & strategy
Sinistcha is not a burst damage attacker. The Matcha Gotcha plan is sustained pressure and maintained HP, not clearing targets quickly. Build your team expecting Sinistcha to be a long-game piece, not the finisher.
Fire-types resist Grass. Fire-type opponents cut the damage significantly and reduce healing proportionally. Check whether both opponents resist before committing to the spread — if they do, the move barely accomplishes anything.