Battle Spot Singles Spotlight: Ferrothorn

By Hulavuta and Psynergy. Art by Tikitik.
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Ferrothorn art by Tikitik

Ferrothorn's History

Ferrothorn has been a mainstay for many teams as long as it's been around. While it was only introduced in BW, Ferrothorn offers utility that few Pokémon can match, boasting the bulk and typing to switch into a myriad of threats while having enough power to directly threaten foes if necessary. The extra damage from Iron Barbs, Stealth Rock, and Leech Seed also helps wear down teams quickly and allows Ferrothorn's teammates to more easily clean up late-game. Ferrothorn also comfortably deals with rain teams without being bothered by sand, making it a very popular choice in all sorts of formats. Not much has changed for Ferrothorn in Gen 6 though, as all of this remains true while Ferrothorn finds itself filling more or less the same roles as it did in BW, without much to compete with it. Ferrothorn can even realistically run an offensive set now thanks to the generous buff to Knock Off, as well as the introduction of Fairy-types giving its Steel-type moves more offensive utility. The prominence of weather abilities and Dragon-types has decreased significantly in Gen 6, though, and Ferrothorn was often used for its ability to check these threats. However, Ferrothorn's strong defensive typing, its wide range of support moves, and the introduction of Fairy-types all help it remain as one of the most reliable support Pokémon in Battle Spot Singles.

Ferrothorn's Qualities

Ferrothorn's stats are very well distributed for the roles it fills, with fantastic bulk overall as well as a very low Speed stat that allows Gyro Ball to hit most threats at near-maximum power. It also has decently high Attack for a defensive Pokémon and high-powered STAB moves such as Power Whip and Gyro Ball to make use of it, which gives Ferrothorn some degree of offensive presence and even allows it to make viable use of a Choice Band set. While Stealth Rock is significantly less useful in Battle Spot Singles than it is in Smogon formats, Ferrothorn also makes an effective setter due to its great bulk and ability to disrupt teams with Iron Barbs and high-powered attacks. Ferrothorn's Grass / Steel typing grants it a wide range of resistances with only two weaknesses, to Fire- and Fighting-type attacks, allowing it to comfortably switch into a huge range of Pokémon and punish physical attackers like Mega Kangaskhan with Iron Barbs. In Gen 6, this Grass typing also grants it a very useful immunity to Spore, allowing it to deal with shenanigans from Assist users such as Liepard that are commonly used on very disruptive teams that abuse such status moves.

Playing With Ferrothorn

Most Ferrothorn sets are some variation of this set, making use of its fantastic bulk and support moves to deal with the powerful physical attackers of the Battle Spot Singles metagame. Power Whip is a powerful Grass-type STAB move that lets Ferrothorn directly threaten Water-types such as Suicune and Rotom-W, though Gyro Ball provides greater power and accuracy against most targets at the cost of lower PP. Leech Seed is used to let Ferrothorn slowly wear down a foe that doesn't mind either of its STAB moves while also helping it stay healthy or stall out a foe if necessary. The utility of removing items with Knock Off is also useful to disrupt foes that rely on their items, and the move also lets it hit Aegislash in Blade Forme. Others prefer the utility of Thunder Wave to cripple setup sweepers that think they're safe to set up in front of Ferrothorn, such as Mega Charizard X and Mega Salamence, though this is best used with Power Whip or Iron Head, since the Speed drop clashes with Gyro Ball. Ferrothorn will often run Protect to make effective use of Leech Seed or scout an opponent's move, though Stealth Rock is a popular option on teams that have issues with Talonflame and Mega Charizard Y.

Due to the prominence of powerful physical attackers in Battle Spot Singles, Ferrothorn will typically run a physically defensive spread to deal with them as well as it can. Ferrothorn often uses a Relaxed nature to maximize its Defense while making sure it's as slow as possible to boost Gyro Ball's power. However, a specially defensive spread with a Sassy nature is just as viable on teams that want Ferrothorn to take special attacks better. If utilizing Iron Head and Thunder Wave, Ferrothorn should run an Impish nature with 12 Speed EVs, since this allows it to outspeed paralyzed, positive-natured base 100 Speed Pokémon such as Mega Kangaskhan. Regardless of the spread, Ferrothorn is also one of the few common defensive Pokémon in Battle Spot Singles that make regular use of Leftovers, since it can realistically stall out a wide range of physical attackers with the help of Leech Seed. However, Rocky Helmet is also a popular choice in conjunction with Iron Barbs in order to punish physical attackers further, notably taking out roughly half of Mega Kangaskhan's HP just for attacking Ferrothorn.

While it may look like a joke set, Choice Band Ferrothorn is actually a very legitimate set in Battle Spot Singles. Thanks to its decent Attack stat, high-powered STAB moves, and access to Knock Off, Ferrothorn can make effective use of an offensive set to surprise Pokémon expecting a free switch into it. Gyro Ball is Ferrothorn's strongest STAB move, capping at 150 Base Power against a majority of the metagame due to its incredibly low Speed. Power Whip allows Ferrothorn to deal with Ground-types and Water-types such as Hippowdon, Slowbro, Suicune, and Rotom-W, which don't mind Gyro Ball due to either their low Speed or a resistance to it. Knock Off gives Ferrothorn strong neutral coverage that its STAB moves alone can't provide, preventing Aegislash from walling it and offering the utility of removing items. However, locking into it is generally risky, since its power isn't consistent and it doesn't deal extra damage to Pokémon holding a Mega Stone. These three moves are the only three moves Ferrothorn needs, so the final slot is often a filler move of your choice. Bullet Seed is a very effective option for breaking through Focus Sash and Substitute while offering much more reliable accuracy than Power Whip. While it isn't particularly strong, Bulldoze allows Ferrothorn to catch Fire-types such as Heatran and Blaziken off guard, though it's primarily used to OHKO Heatran as it switches in. Alternatively, Ferrothorn can opt for Explosion as a last-ditch nuke and leave a huge dent on even bulkier foes as it goes down, which can be useful when Ferrothorn's high-powered STAB moves are no longer useful.

Ferrothorn only has base 94 Attack, so it needs maximum Attack investment to effectively punch holes in the opposing team. Maximum HP investment also gives Ferrothorn some bulk to take hits better, since it will always be attacking second, while the leftover EVs are placed in Special Defense to ensure no EVs are wasted. A Brave nature is ideal to maximize Ferrothorn's damage output while making sure Gyro Ball is at least near maximum power against as many Pokémon as possible. Iron Barbs is still the preferred ability on this set as well, since Ferrothorn is naturally bulky enough to punish physical attackers without heavy Defense investment, and can also help Ferrothorn bring down foes on its own.

Other Options

Ferrothorn doesn't really deviate too much from standard support sets and the occasional Choice Band set, so most of its other options are very specific in use. Due to the constraints of Item Clause, Sitrus Berry is an alternative recovery item to Leftovers that can be considered if another teammate needs Leftovers more. While it may seem odd on Ferrothorn, some variants use Focus Sash on more aggressive teams so that it can safely paralyze a dangerous foe such as Mega Charizard X or Mega Blaziken with Thunder Wave and set Stealth Rock before it goes down. Spikes are another alternative if you want to attempt the hazard stacking route, though hazards outside of Stealth Rock are rarely worth consideration, since it's much more difficult to switch frequently when you can only bring three Pokémon each battle.

Fitting on a Team

Ferrothorn is the sort of Pokémon that will be used as a blanket check to many Pokémon rather than being something you build around. Due to its fantastic bulk, typing, and unique utility, it's often used on teams that needs a solid answer to a broad range of threats, whether it's an answer to Fairy-types such as Mega Gardevoir and Azumarill or to Water-types such as Suicune and Rotom-W. Ferrothorn is also one of the most difficult Pokémon for Mega Kangaskhan to deal with in Battle Spot Singles, so it can easily fit on teams in need of a solid answer to any Mega Kangaskhan lacking Fire Punch or Fire Blast. Ferrothorn can easily wear down an opposing team by itself through passive damage, so it's also commonly paired with powerful sweepers and late-game cleaners such as Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Salamence, Mega Blaziken, Talonflame, and Greninja. Mega Blaziken in particular is commonly used alongside Ferrothorn and Zapdos to form one of the most reliable and recognized cores in Battle Spot Singles, focusing on paving the way for Mega Blaziken to sweep while covering all of its checks.

Get out there!

Ferrothorn offers very unique utility that few other Pokémon can match, making it a very popular choice for many offensive teams that thrive in Battle Spot Singles. While many teams often have a Fire-type or Fighting-type to break through Ferrothorn, it's a very sturdy Pokémon that all teams should make sure they can take down. Whether it's for the broad utility it offers or the surprise value of the Choice Band set, there's always a reason to consider Ferrothorn for your next team.

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