Rotom-S [QC 1/3]

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etern

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[OVERVIEW]
  • Rotom-S's standout feature is its Electric / Flying typing, which gives it useful resistances to Grass-, Fighting-, Bug-, and Flying-type attacks, letting it act as a solid defensive check to a threats such as Lilligant, Gurdurr, Scyther, and Vivillon.
  • Rotom-S also excels at spreading to opposing teams through the use of Discharge and Will-O-Wisp, making it quite annoying to switch into for offensive teams.
  • Sadly, Rotom-S struggles to stand out against offensive Electric-types which boast stronger offensive prowess and superior coverage options, for example Electivire's Earthquake and Manectric's Overheat respectively.
  • Defensively, Rotom-S finds itself awkwardly vying for the Electric-type slot on teams against Rotom and Lanturn, both of which a superior slew of resistances and useful qualities to teams through as a Spinblocker and Volt Switch blocker respectively.
  • Rotom-S also has a shallow movepool, leaving it easily halted by common Pokemon such as Lanturn, Piloswine, and Rhydon to an extent.
  • Moreover, Rotom-S sports a weakness to Stealth Rock which combined with a lack of reliable recovery limits the amount of times it can switch into the field.
[SET]
name: Mixed Defenses
move 1: Discharge
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Will-O-Wisp
move 4: Pain Split
item: Leftovers
ability: Levitate
nature: Bold
evs: 248 HP / 128 Def / 124 SpD / 8 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
  • Discharge is Rotom-S's main STAB move, hitting most neutral targets for respectable damage as well as having a good chance to spread Paralysis.
  • Air Slash is Rotom-S's secondary STAB move which hits Grass-types such as Shiftry, Vileplume, and Lilligant and Fighting-types such as Hariyama, Gurdurr, and Hitmonchan. It also has a nifty chance to flinch the opponent which complements the paralysis chance of Discharge.
  • Will-O-Wisp lets Rotom-S cripple and wear down Pokemon that commonly switch into it such as Lanturn, Rhydon, and Steelix and is also useful against other physical attackers such as Golurk and Kangaskhan.
  • Pain Split gives Rotom-S some form of recovery to maintain longevity and complements it low base HP stat nicely.
  • Volt Switch is a viable alternative over Discharge to let Rotom-S pivot out and maintain momentum, however it can be counteractive as Rotom-S will be forced to take Stealth Rock damage again should they be on the field.
Set Details
========
  • 248 HP EV's are used to give Rotom-S as much raw bulk as possible while also taking less damage from Stealth Rock.
  • 128 Defense EV's with a Bold Nature lets Rotom-S avoid the 2HKO from Choice Band Primeape's Close Combat after Stealth Rock damage, as well as letting it switch into Hariyama and Gurdurr more comfortably.
  • 124 SpDef EV's allow Rotom-S to take a +1 Hidden Power Rock from Lilligant after Stealth Rock, as well as taking hits from Vivillon comfortably.
  • Finally, 8 Speed EV's help Rotom-S outspeed base 55's including Omastar, Golurk, and Exeggutor.
Usage Tips
========
  • Rotom-S should switch into Pokemon that it can threaten it out like Gurdurr, Scyther, or Primeape, and throw out a Discharge to potentially paralyse a switch-in.
  • Scout for coverage moves before switching into Pokemon like Gurdurr and Hariyama, as they can lure Rotom-S in with a powerful Stone Edge.
  • However, particularly cautious if the opponent has a Lanturn, as it can heal a portion of its HP back thanks to Volt Absorb.
  • Will-O-Wisp should be used to wear down and cripple Ground-type switch-ins such as Steelix, Piloswine and Rhydon.
  • Use Pain Split when Rotom-S gets low on HP to maintain its longevity and give it more opportunities to switch into battle, it can also help in wearing down Lanturn.
  • Be wary of switching Rotom-S in too recklessly however, as it is prone to being worn down by Stealth Rock.
  • Rotom-S should also avoid switching into status moves, particularly Toxic and Will-O-Wisp as it gets worn down much faster and has less switch in opportunities.
Team Options
========
  • Rotom-S pivots in and out frequently throughout matches and needs Stealth Rock off the field to function effectively and maintain longevity. Claydol and Hitmonchan are solid partners, as they can threaten most Stealth Rock users such as Regirock and Ferroseed respectively and spin away hazards, while in return Rotom-S is able to switch in on Flying-type Pokemon like Scyther, Vivillon, and Mantine.
  • Rotom-S fits best on balance teams that need its particular set of resistances. Therefore Water-types such as Samurott, Poliwrath, and Gastrodon make great partners, as they appreciate Rotom-S's ability to check Grass-types. In return they can take out bulky Rock-types such as Regirock.
  • Normal-type Pokemon such as Tauros, Kangaskhan, Swellow, and Pyroar appreciate Rotom-S's ability to lure and cripple bulky Rock- and Ground-types such as Rhydon, Steelix, and Regirock.
  • Stealth Rock setters including Rhydon, Steelix, and Mesprit appreciate Rotom-S's ability to threaten out common hazard removers such as Xatu, Pelipper, Mantine, Shiftry, and Hitmonchan.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
  • Rotom-S can run a Choice Scarf set with Trick to cripple its defensive checks however, it is relatively weak, has mediocre coverage, and is mostly outclassed by Rotom.
  • A defensive set with Leftovers and Pain Split can act as a decent check to some Fighting- and Flying-types such as Gurdurr, Hariyama, Scyther, and Vivillon, however it gets worn down quickly due to its Stealth Rock weakness and also faces competition from Rotom that boasts a neutrality to Stealth Rocker and three immunities.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Electric-types**: Lanturn stops Rotom-S in its tracks by blocking Rotom-S's Electric-type STAB while restoring a portion of its HP with Volt Absorb. It also takes pitiful damage from Air Slash, and can cure any burns with Heal Bell. Furthermore, Manectric and Electivire are also immune to Electric-type moves and resist Air Slash while they can 2HKO Rotom-S with Thunderbolt in return, however they do not appreciate being burnt.

**Ground-types**: Although they hate being burnt, Ground-types such as Piloswine, Steelix, and Rhydon can block any of Rotom-S's attempt to gain momentum with Volt Switch and punished it with a powerful STAB move, or cripple it with Toxic in Steelix's case.

**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: Thanks to its spectacular bulk, Mega Audino can comfortably take repeated hits from Rotom-S and heal off any damage with either Rest or Wish. Mega Audino can also chip away at Rotom-S with Dazzling Gleam or using it as set up fodder. Similarly, Musharna can also freely set up on Rotom-S and even punish it for using Will-O-Wisp thanks to Synchronize. Furthermore, Pokemon with high natural special bulk like Magmortar, Aurorus, and Sliggoo are solid responses to Rotom-S, as the former two can KO it with their STAB moves and Sliggoo can set up curses while healing off any damage or status afflictions with Rest.

**Revenge Killers**: Faster Pokemon including Jynx, Archeops, Pyroar, and Tauros can easily revenge kill Rotom-S with some slight prior damage, although they cannot switch in directly without the risk of being statused.
 
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erisia

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Just some initial thoughts but that overview is really negative lol. I'm not sure that Expert Belt is the best set for all the reasons you listed; compared to Electivire it's slower, uses Wisp instead of Earthquake (so it's still walled by Magmortar and Heal Bell Lanturn doesn't really care about it), but has better defenses and some extra resistances (and weaknesses). I also don't think this set achieves an awful lot that Wisp Hex Rotom doesn't considering Hex's huge base power. It doesn't have luring potential if it's the standard set (and since every other offensive Electric-type packs coverage) so idk how useful this set really is.

I haven't used or seen this much myself but I reckon a defensive set has more of a niche in this metagame due to its superior bulk, neutrality to Knock Off (important vs Gurdurr and Yama) and Grass-type resistance over Rotom (not sure why Rotom is implied to resist Grass in Other Options), so if some other QC members could chime in on this that'd be great.
 

Shadestep

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Overview:

This starts off very negative. Try to start off the overview with some positive features and reasons to use Rotom-S. Move the 3rd and 4th bullet point up.

Usage Tips:

Mention that most Fighting-type Pokemon often carry coverage moves to hit Rotom-S with and that it can't always switch in safely.
Note that Pain Split can also be used to wear down Pokemon that Rotom-S otherwise struggles with, like Lanturn.
Mention that Rotom-S hates being statused as it makes heavily decreases its longevity, so it should be careful of that when attempting to switch in to Steelix or Vileplume, for example.

Team Options:

You mention Rotom's weakness to Stealth Rock everywhere but don't mention hazard removers as partners here? Kind of odd and misleading.. Since SR is such a big pain in Rotom's side, I'd make a bullet point about hazard removers and move it all the way up to the first bullet point or second.

Also just a small nitpick but reading this was a bit annoying since you put 'such as' multiple times in the same sentence quite a lot. It's mostly up to you and the GP team to fix that but I thought I'd be that annoying guy and point it out.

Nice job, QC 1/3
 
Honestly this Pokemon just isn't what I'd call 'analysis worthy', especially if Defensive is the best niche this Pokemon can muck up. Like those defensive benchmarks mean little when you don't even KO +1 Lilligant back, and having your item knocked off by Gurdurr or Hariayama just means it's even easier to wear down (Pain Split barely helps with this either). Ebelt sets are already bad by the fact that you're still walled by common mons, and it isn't exactly what you call a lure when it would be the only set. Scarf is also atrocious, just use Scarf Rotom instead. Everything thing this Pokemon does is mediocre and despite being ranked, I'm willing to make an exception by rejecting this.

Locking.
 
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