name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Power Whip
move 2: Spikes
move 3: Leech Seed
move 4: Knock Off / Protect
item: Leftovers
ability: Iron Barbs
nature: Sassy
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
tera type: Water / Grass
[SET COMMENTS]
* Ferrothorn's stellar typing, high bulk, and rare access to Spikes grant it a unique position in the metagame as the cornerstone of hazard-stacking balance teams over Pokemon such as defensive Necrozma-DM. Ferrothorn serves as a sturdy roadblock to wallbreaker Primal Kyogre, which otherwise easily overwhelms most balance teams. Additionally, Ferrothorn checks Ground-types such as Arceus-Ground and Zygarde. However, Ferrothorn struggles against more offensive teams, as Pokemon such as Zacian-C and Mega Salamence are able to take advantage of Ferrothorn's passivity to use it as setup fodder.
* Power Whip provides Ferrothorn the means to scare out Pokemon such as Primal Kyogre and Arceus-Ground. Wallbreaker Primal Kyogre is OHKOed after Stealth Rock, and defensive Arceus-Ground is 2HKOed after a single layer of Spikes. Ferrothorn is able to capitalize on the switches it forces to set a layer of Spikes or use Leech Seed to help keep itself healthy. Leech Seed also ensures that Ferrothorn can still defeat defensive Primal Kyogre even when burnt and provides some valuable healing for Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and Giratina-O.
* Knock Off is preferred in the last moveslot, as many of Ferrothorn's common switch-ins, such as Ho-Oh and Yveltal, are heavily dependent on their items to function. Protect is an alternative that enables Ferrothorn to rack up healing from Leftovers and Leech Seed and scout Choice-locked Pokemon such as Rayquaza, Marshadow, and Lunala, but Protect makes it significantly more passive.
* A Sassy nature and 0 Speed IVs are used to enable Ferrothorn to outspeed Melmetal under Trick Room. This gives Ferrothorn the flexibility to set a layer of Spikes or Knock Off Melmetal's Choice Band, preventing it from being able to 2HKO Ferrothorn with Tera Steel Double Iron Bash. Ferrothorn maximizes its special bulk to better check wallbreaker Primal Kyogre, as even Water Spout fails to 2HKO.
* Ferrothorn rarely Terastallizes, as it is reliant on its natural typing to function, but it does benefit from Terastallization in some scenarios. Tera Water swaps Ferrothorn's quadruple Fire weakness for a resistance. While Ferrothorn is not able to meaningfully damage any of the Fire-types in the tier, Tera does enable it to beat Ho-Oh if it is the last Pokemon alive, as Ho-Oh seldom runs recovery and is worn down by Iron Barbs and Leech Seed damage before it is able to knock out Ferrothorn. Tera Grass is an alternative to help Ferrothorn better check Arceus-Ground and Zygarde by turning its neutrality to Ground into a resistance. Tera Grass Power Whip is capable of OHKOing Calm Mind Arceus-Ground after a single layer of Spikes and Leech Seed damage. While Ferrothorn cannot beat Coil Zygarde directly even with Tera Grass, its newfound Ground resistance provides it with extra turns to use Knock Off or Leech Seed before switching to a teammate that can handle Zygarde. Ferrothorn does still have some issues with Dragon Dance Zygarde, however, as it commonly runs Substitute.
* Ferrothorn is best used in the early- and mid-game to set Spikes against defensive Pokemon such as utility Arceus formes and Alomomola. If Primal Kyogre is on the opposing team, Ferrothorn should prioritize preserving HP until the set is revealed, as it can easily get chipped to where it is unable to switch into wallbreaker Primal Kyogre's Water Spout. Ferrothorn can be used as a lead against hyper offense teams due to its immunity to Smeargle's Spore and Glimmora's Mortal Spin enabling it to break their Focus Sashes easily. Ferrothorn matches up poorly into most hyper offense teams due to its overall passivity, so sacrificing Ferrothorn to deal with suicide leads enables teammates such as Primal Groudon and Arceus-Dark to preserve HP and better handle common threats such as Zacian-C and Ultra Necrozma.
* Ferrothorn shines against balance and stall teams, as the passive damage it deals racks up over the course of longer games. Many defensive Pokemon are unable to meaningfully damage Ferrothorn, which makes it difficult to wear down. Stall teams in particular have a tough time preventing Ferrothorn from making progress; the only Knock Off absorber, Arceus-Dark, is unable to meaningfully hurt Ferrothorn, as Foul Play activates Iron Barbs. This allows Ferrothorn to keep both itself and its teammates healthy with Leech Seed while freely laying down Spikes.
* Ferrothorn pairs best with defensive Pokemon that are vulnerable to wallbreaker Primal Kyogre. As such, Zygarde is an excellent teammate for Ferrothorn due to it countering the tier's prominent Fire-types, Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh. Zygarde is also the best blanket physical wall in the tier and is able to help check physical attackers such as Marshadow and Mega Salamence that are able to break Ferrothorn. Defensive Primal Groudon is also an excellent teammate for Ferrothorn, as it can set Stealth Rock and work in conjunction with Ferrothorn to ensure that Primal Kyogre rarely poses a threat. Ferrothorn can check wallbreaker Primal Kyogre, which often overwhelms Primal Groudon and leaves it unable to check Pokemon such as Zacian-C, while Primal Groudon can remove Pokemon such as Ho-Oh and Eternatus that that threaten Ferrothorn.
* Ferrothorn struggles against Taunt users such as Yveltal and utility Arceus formes. Consequently, Arceus-Fairy is a solid teammate for Ferrothorn, as it counters specially offensive Yveltal and can use Taunt to prevent Ho-Oh, Yveltal, and Giratina-O from removing Ferrothorn's Spikes.
* Choice Band Marshadow is a decent offensive partner for Ferrothorn due to its ability to revenge kill many Pokemon found on hyper offense teams, including Ultra Necrozma, Deoxys-A, and Zacian-C. Ditto can also fill this role, as it threatens to reverse sweep by copying Pokemon such as Zacian-C and Mega Salamence.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bumboclaat.523420/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/s0a0m0i0.604820/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bobsican.434487/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/clouds.356215/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/zrp200.327515/
move 1: Power Whip
move 2: Spikes
move 3: Leech Seed
move 4: Knock Off / Protect
item: Leftovers
ability: Iron Barbs
nature: Sassy
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
tera type: Water / Grass
[SET COMMENTS]
* Ferrothorn's stellar typing, high bulk, and rare access to Spikes grant it a unique position in the metagame as the cornerstone of hazard-stacking balance teams over Pokemon such as defensive Necrozma-DM. Ferrothorn serves as a sturdy roadblock to wallbreaker Primal Kyogre, which otherwise easily overwhelms most balance teams. Additionally, Ferrothorn checks Ground-types such as Arceus-Ground and Zygarde. However, Ferrothorn struggles against more offensive teams, as Pokemon such as Zacian-C and Mega Salamence are able to take advantage of Ferrothorn's passivity to use it as setup fodder.
* Power Whip provides Ferrothorn the means to scare out Pokemon such as Primal Kyogre and Arceus-Ground. Wallbreaker Primal Kyogre is OHKOed after Stealth Rock, and defensive Arceus-Ground is 2HKOed after a single layer of Spikes. Ferrothorn is able to capitalize on the switches it forces to set a layer of Spikes or use Leech Seed to help keep itself healthy. Leech Seed also ensures that Ferrothorn can still defeat defensive Primal Kyogre even when burnt and provides some valuable healing for Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and Giratina-O.
* Knock Off is preferred in the last moveslot, as many of Ferrothorn's common switch-ins, such as Ho-Oh and Yveltal, are heavily dependent on their items to function. Protect is an alternative that enables Ferrothorn to rack up healing from Leftovers and Leech Seed and scout Choice-locked Pokemon such as Rayquaza, Marshadow, and Lunala, but Protect makes it significantly more passive.
* A Sassy nature and 0 Speed IVs are used to enable Ferrothorn to outspeed Melmetal under Trick Room. This gives Ferrothorn the flexibility to set a layer of Spikes or Knock Off Melmetal's Choice Band, preventing it from being able to 2HKO Ferrothorn with Tera Steel Double Iron Bash. Ferrothorn maximizes its special bulk to better check wallbreaker Primal Kyogre, as even Water Spout fails to 2HKO.
* Ferrothorn rarely Terastallizes, as it is reliant on its natural typing to function, but it does benefit from Terastallization in some scenarios. Tera Water swaps Ferrothorn's quadruple Fire weakness for a resistance. While Ferrothorn is not able to meaningfully damage any of the Fire-types in the tier, Tera does enable it to beat Ho-Oh if it is the last Pokemon alive, as Ho-Oh seldom runs recovery and is worn down by Iron Barbs and Leech Seed damage before it is able to knock out Ferrothorn. Tera Grass is an alternative to help Ferrothorn better check Arceus-Ground and Zygarde by turning its neutrality to Ground into a resistance. Tera Grass Power Whip is capable of OHKOing Calm Mind Arceus-Ground after a single layer of Spikes and Leech Seed damage. While Ferrothorn cannot beat Coil Zygarde directly even with Tera Grass, its newfound Ground resistance provides it with extra turns to use Knock Off or Leech Seed before switching to a teammate that can handle Zygarde. Ferrothorn does still have some issues with Dragon Dance Zygarde, however, as it commonly runs Substitute.
* Ferrothorn is best used in the early- and mid-game to set Spikes against defensive Pokemon such as utility Arceus formes and Alomomola. If Primal Kyogre is on the opposing team, Ferrothorn should prioritize preserving HP until the set is revealed, as it can easily get chipped to where it is unable to switch into wallbreaker Primal Kyogre's Water Spout. Ferrothorn can be used as a lead against hyper offense teams due to its immunity to Smeargle's Spore and Glimmora's Mortal Spin enabling it to break their Focus Sashes easily. Ferrothorn matches up poorly into most hyper offense teams due to its overall passivity, so sacrificing Ferrothorn to deal with suicide leads enables teammates such as Primal Groudon and Arceus-Dark to preserve HP and better handle common threats such as Zacian-C and Ultra Necrozma.
* Ferrothorn shines against balance and stall teams, as the passive damage it deals racks up over the course of longer games. Many defensive Pokemon are unable to meaningfully damage Ferrothorn, which makes it difficult to wear down. Stall teams in particular have a tough time preventing Ferrothorn from making progress; the only Knock Off absorber, Arceus-Dark, is unable to meaningfully hurt Ferrothorn, as Foul Play activates Iron Barbs. This allows Ferrothorn to keep both itself and its teammates healthy with Leech Seed while freely laying down Spikes.
* Ferrothorn pairs best with defensive Pokemon that are vulnerable to wallbreaker Primal Kyogre. As such, Zygarde is an excellent teammate for Ferrothorn due to it countering the tier's prominent Fire-types, Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh. Zygarde is also the best blanket physical wall in the tier and is able to help check physical attackers such as Marshadow and Mega Salamence that are able to break Ferrothorn. Defensive Primal Groudon is also an excellent teammate for Ferrothorn, as it can set Stealth Rock and work in conjunction with Ferrothorn to ensure that Primal Kyogre rarely poses a threat. Ferrothorn can check wallbreaker Primal Kyogre, which often overwhelms Primal Groudon and leaves it unable to check Pokemon such as Zacian-C, while Primal Groudon can remove Pokemon such as Ho-Oh and Eternatus that that threaten Ferrothorn.
* Ferrothorn struggles against Taunt users such as Yveltal and utility Arceus formes. Consequently, Arceus-Fairy is a solid teammate for Ferrothorn, as it counters specially offensive Yveltal and can use Taunt to prevent Ho-Oh, Yveltal, and Giratina-O from removing Ferrothorn's Spikes.
* Choice Band Marshadow is a decent offensive partner for Ferrothorn due to its ability to revenge kill many Pokemon found on hyper offense teams, including Ultra Necrozma, Deoxys-A, and Zacian-C. Ditto can also fill this role, as it threatens to reverse sweep by copying Pokemon such as Zacian-C and Mega Salamence.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bumboclaat.523420/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/s0a0m0i0.604820/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bobsican.434487/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/clouds.356215/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/zrp200.327515/
Last edited:
