Spiritomb (Defensive Update) (QC 3/3) (GP 2/2)

[phantom]

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Will-O-Wisp
move 2: Foul Play
move 3: Rest / Pain Split
move 4: Sleep Talk / Sucker Punch / Taunt
item: Leftovers
ability: Pressure
nature: Careful / Calm
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Spiritomb's auspicious Ghost / Dark typing makes it the only Ghost-type in RU not weak to Dark-type attacks, or any other attacking type for that matter. This excellent typing means that Spiritomb is the only spinblocker that is not afraid of Pursuit users. Not only that, but it makes an excellent counter to a plethora of Psychic-types such as Uxie and Mesprit. Spiritomb's grand Special Defense coupled with its RestTalk shenanigans also makes it the best counter available to the premier defensive Rapid Spin user, Cryogonal. For these reasons, this Spiritomb is a staple on many balanced and stall orientated teams.</p>

<p>The first move, Will-O-Wisp, significantly diminishes the attacking power of most physical sweepers; this in turn helps patch up Spiritomb's Defense. Will-O-Wisp is also useful for chipping away at special attackers such as Magneton. Foul Play is another way Spiritomb can take on physical attackers, as it can use their power against them and make them hesitant when using physical boosting moves such as Swords Dance. Foul Play's utility is so great that it gives Spiritomb the capability to OHKO Entei after Stealth Rock damage. Rest works well in conjunction with Sleep Talk. RestTalk Spiritomb has many advantages: it always prevents Cryogonal from spinning away entry hazards, defeats many weak walls such as Amoonguss, is an excellent status absorber, and exploits its stalling capabilities via Pressure. Pain Split is a slightly less reliable form of recovery, but it can actually turn Spiritomb's low HP stat into an advantage by recovering more health from the likes of Alomomola. The use of Pain Split provides another distinctive advantage by freeing up an additional moveslot. In that moveslot, Sucker Punch can be used to pick out weakened offensive threats such as Archeops, or Taunt can provide a way to make slower walls helpless.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>A Calm nature is best used when Spiritomb is not utilizing Sucker Punch, as it reduces the damage taken from Foul Play. If Sucker Punch is used, then a Careful nature is best. In light of other options, Protect works in the final slot by allowing Spiritomb to accumulate Leftovers recovery, stall for burn damage, and ease up prediction when dealing with the likes of Escavalier. While Spiritomb's specially defensive spread allows it to counter Cryogonal and other special attackers, a physically defensive spread with an Impish nature is just as successful in other ways. The physically defensive spread gives Spiritomb a chance to beat Kabutops and makes it a great counter to Normal- and Fighting-types such as Tauros and Gallade; the latter in particular is very threatening for slower teams. When this physically defensive spread is combined with Spiritomb's ability to spread burns, very few physical attacker have the ability to break through it. For example, Choice Band Aggron and Escavalier can usually defeat Spiritomb, but when it uses this physically defensive spread and burns the two threats on the switch, at best, they can only achieve a 3HKO.</p>

<p>Spiritomb pairs well with Pokemon that can deal with Fire-types because most Fire-types could care less about anything Spiritomb can do, as they easily power through it with their high-powered STABs. Qwilfish is one of the best at dealing with these threats and it aids Spiritomb in many ways; not only does Qwilfish deal with the likes of Durant, Emboar, and Entei, but it can also set up Spikes, which helps Spiritomb wear down the opposing team faster. Spiritomb's spinblocking ability can help keep those Spikes on the field, and it can also check Electric- and Psychic-types that trouble Qwilfish. Poliwrath can check the same threats as Qwilfish and can also phaze with Circle Throw; this trait compliments Spiritomb's ability to keep entry hazards from being blown away well. Roselia, Lanturn, and Clefable all make fine defensive partners for their ability to rid Spiritomb of status afflictions. Roselia can set up Toxic Spikes and put a threatening Pokemon to sleep, Lanturn is another bulky Water-type that can take on pesky Fire-types, and Clefable can provide Stealth Rock and Wish support. Ferroseed also works well with Spiritomb as it can provide entry hazard support and counter Kabutops fairly well. Physically defensive Spiritomb, Alomomola, and Steelix make an excellent core, as the three can check almost all physical attackers in RU. Steelix benefits the core by providing entry hazard support in Stealth Rock and phazing utility in Roar, Spiritomb keeps Stealth Rock from being spun away and checks Fighting-types, and Alomomola beats physical Fire-types and passes Wishes to the other two.</p>

<p>Seeing as how this Spiritomb can fit on balanced teams, offensive partners can also be just as helpful. Medicham and any other Fighting-type destroys annoying Steel-types such as Aggron and Steelix, and Spiritomb can return the favor and beat the Psychic- and Ghost-types that Medicham hates. Magneton can also deal with Steel-types such as Escavalier by trapping and then demolishing them with Hidden Power Fire. Finally, because Spiritomb lures in Choice-locked Fire-types, Water-types such as Omastar and Kabutops are useful to take advantage of that by setting up a Shell Smash or Swords Dance, respectively.</p>

Skeleton

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Will-O-Wisp
move 2: Foul Play
move 3: Rest / Pain Split
move 4: Sleep Talk / Sucker Punch / Taunt
item: Leftovers
ability: Pressure
nature: Careful / Calm
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

• best fits on balanced / stall teams
• Will-O-Wisp Cripples Physical attackers
• Foul Play allows it to take on Kabutops
• Rest-talk is the most reliable form of healing and allows it pressure stall
• Pain split can be used over rest as it frees up an extra move slot
• Pursuit can be useful to pick off weak threats such as Entei
• Taunt can also be useful by preventing things like Clefable from outstalling you

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

• Calm nature if not running sucker punch
• Protect can work to gather more leftover recovery and ease prediction against choice users
• a reversed physically defensive spread is a cool as it allows spiritomb to be one of the best checks to swords dance gallade and numerous other fighting- and normal-types such as cincinno, tauros, and hitmonlee
• in addition, spiritomb can also better take on kabutops while still serving as a decent answer to cryogonal
• spd evs allow it to take beat cryogonal and CM users like Uxie, Sigilyph, and Mesprit
• Clefable and Lanturn can also provide cleric support to remove status
• Roselia, Qwilfish, and Ferroseed can set up spikes to wear it the opposing team faster
• In return, spiritomb keeps the hazards from being blown away
• Qwilfish in particular makes an excellent partner as it can take on fire- and steel-types while spiritomb can deal with psychic-types along with some electric-types
• Poliwrath, Slowking, Steelix, and Alomomola all make fine defensive partners
• Steelix can Set up Rock while Slowking, Alomomola, and Poliwrath can absorb Fire- and Water-type moves aimed at Spiritomb
• Poliwrath also makes a great counter to aggron, and escavalier, and durant
• Alomomola can check the above and even provide spiritomb with wish support
• Medicham pairs pretty well with Spititomb, as it can destroy Steel-types while Spiritomb can deal with opposing bulky Ghost- and Psychic-types
• Magneton also works well with it, as it is able to trap opposing Steel-types such as Escavalier and Spiritomb can absorb Fighting-type attacks aimed at it

 

[Swamp-Rocket]

I might as well comment on this

First off, I don't think Shadow Sneak even deserves to be slashed on this set. It doesn't even scratch a lot of offensive threats - even the frail ones, such as Sceptile, are rather likely to come out with an intact Substitute, to put it in perspective. A lot of Cryogonal nowadays run some physical defense EVs, so I don't even think Shadow Sneak does much to that (ie its damage that can easily be recovered avoiding getting screwed over)

I think the number of partners also needs to be trimmed, because you have a lot. Steelix and Druddigon seem to have no purpose other that "set up rocks." Spiritomb doesn't exactly fear Water moves (although it does for Fire moves), but Qwilfish is about 100% better as a partner than Poliwrath and Slowking because it does what they do and sets up Spikes, saving teamslots. If Spiritomb is for stall or balance, suicide leads are not good partners because they are made for offensive teams. I would also mention that cleric support is only needed if Spiritomb is running RestTalk - otherwise it runs along with a lot of Pokemon that just "like cleric support," which is literally everything. Rapid Spin also falls under the same category - there is no explicit hazard Spiritomb really needs removed.

I would also mention that its pretty much the best check to Gallade in the entire tier, and at least AC a physically defensive spread if it is used only to check Fighting-types

 

[EonX]

May as well put in my two cents worth.

First off, I agree with Swamp-Rocket on Shadow Sneak. Without Attack investment, it's pretty damn weak even with STAB and most Cryogonal run Defense EVs and/or Reflect. I don't see a whole lot of merit with Pursuit either since you beat Cryo anyway thanks to the Specially Defensive spread. I guess it could still be helpful to catch fleeing Slowking, Mesprit, etc. but your EV spread will beat them anyway (the rare CB Mesprit is screwed by Will-O-Wisp)

248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD Impish spread definitely needs an AC mention. Spiritomb is best used defensively to prevent Cryo from spinning and basically check or hard counter any special attacking Psychic-type, but its ability to take on Fighting-types, most notably Gallade, shouldn't be totally ignored as surefire Gallade checks are few and far between.

Teammates: Steelix can Roar out most physical attackers that try to setup on Tomb, primarily Steel- and Rock-types.
Roselia appreciates Will-O-Wisp burns to cover for its low Defense stat. Can also provide cleric support with Aromatherapy if the user wishes.
Qwilfish checks physical Fire-types and sets up Spikes. Also checks most Steel-types well enough, especially Escavalier and Durant (be wary of Thunder Fang!)

May think of more stuff later.

 

[Fuzznip]

Firstly, remove Shadow Sneak because it does depressing damage to almost everything without Attack EVs. It's not worth it and can cause even more issues when something Substitutes or you don't actually finish off a weakened foe. You mention that the EV spread allows it to beat Cryogonal and CM users, but the standard physically defensive Spiritomb already does beat them more or less. For one, RestTalk Calm Mind Spiritomb is way better at dealing with Cryogonal than this set and also does work against the CM users you mentioned. I mean, I suppose this is better at dealing with offensive Cryogonal variants, but even then, the huge investment in SpD doesn't help too much. Look:

252+ SpA Icicle Plate Cryogonal Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Spiritomb: 112-133 (36.84 - 43.75%) -- 99.76% chance to 3HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Cryogonal Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Spiritomb: 122-146 (40.13 - 48.02%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Ice Beam still does a lot of damage, and since Spiritomb is susceptible to every entry hazard, it's going to have a harder and harder time to continiously spin-block it. Furthermore, Will-O-Wisp isn't going to significantly hamper it and it does have Recover. I don't like losing all of that physical bulk just to deal with Cryogonal in my personal opinion, because things like Swords Dance Absol (OHKO with +2 LO Night Slash), Swords Dance Gallade (2HKO with +2 Night Slash), and Dragon Dance Crawdaunt (76%-90% with +1 Adaptability Waterfall), among countless others can no longer be checked or countered anymore. What do you check or counter in exchange? Not very much... Magmortar still 2HKOes you with Fire Blast, Moltres does the same thing, +1 LO Lilligant OHKOes with Petal Dance and 2HKOes with Giga Drain, and +2 Modest Omastar OHKOes with Hydro Pump factoring in Stealth Rock. Rotom-C, Magneton, Sceptile, and Accelgor are probably notable Pokemon that you can check, but for me, I'd rather have the ability to handle the physical onslaughts and carry others to deal with Cryogonal and friends. I'm not that convinced, but that's just my point of view. I'm curios what others have to say about this.

Oh yes, and, what about Rapid Spin Kabutops?

252+ Atk Kabutops Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Spiritomb: 154-183 (50.65 - 60.19%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Kabutops Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Spiritomb: 307-363 (100.98 - 119.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

That sucks man.

Side-note: The majority of your additional comments can be removed. These in particular:

• Wish Support from clefable and alomomola to keep it healthy -- Not necessary.
• Clefable can also provide cleric support to remove status and SR support -- This is fine if you are running Rest. I guess you can put Lanturn here.
• Roselia, Qwilfish, and Ferroseed can set up spikes to wear it the opposing team faster -- This is fine, but the reason you are suggesting entry hazard supporters is because this particular Spiritomb claims to beat the common Rapid Spin Cryogonal, so hazards will likely stay on the field throughout the match
• Poliwrath, Slowking, Steelix, and Druddigon all make fine defensive partners -- Why? No need for it really.
• Druddigon and Steelixcan Set up Rock while Slowking and Poliwrath can absorb Fire- and Water-type moves aimed at Spiritomb -- What's so special about Fire- and Water-type moves? It's not like Spiritomb is hit super effectively by it.
• Lanturn can also work for similar reasons and can even provide Heal Bell support -- Remove.
• can work on more balanced teams to prevent entry hazards from being blown away -- Any team appreciates intact hazards. No need to mention.
• Lead Smeargle and Crustle appreciate Spiritomb's spin blocking utility, as their efforts to set up entry hazards won't be wasted -- You already mentioned entry hazard supporters. No need.

 

[Molk]

Definitely agreeing that Shadow Sneak should be removed as a slash on defensive Spiritomb: without all the investment, its just too weak to be effective from my experience, to the point where i've seen defensive Spiritomb running it fail to break Sceptile's substitute >_>. Pursuit suffers from the same problem of being weak, but i guess its still useful for chip damage on the switch, so i wouldn't be totally opposed to having it as a slash or at least an AC mention. Something potentially interesting to look at on defensive Spiritomb is mentioning Sucker Punch over Shadow Sneak, it requires a bit more prediction to use, but its about twice as powerful, so it could end up having some use (any thoughts on this other QC members?).

A physically defensive EV spread should definitely be given a big mention in the AC at the very least, specially defensive tomb helps a lot against things like Cryogonal, Uxie, Mesprit, Sigilyph, etc, but Spiritomb's typing is really nice on the physically defensive side too, and the physically defensive spread makes a better check to Gallade, Hitmonlee, Tauros, Cincinno, and Zangoose, which is more than enough to justify a mention imo, if not just for Gallade alone given how threatening it can be to the teams Spiritomb usually ends up on (be sure to mention this).

the Smeargle and Crustle mention in the AC could probably be removed, those two are usually seen on more offensive teams as suicide leads, this Spiritomb set is mainly geared towards bulky offense/balance/stall etc, and would usually be paired with bulkier hazard setters such as Qwilfish, Ferroseed, Roselia etc which are already mentioned.

Make sure to stress Qwilfish especially as a teammate, it really helps out against a few Pokemon that can pose a threat to Spiritomb such as Entei, Escavalier, Emboar, lum HC Durant etc (even burned Escavalier Megahorn does a lot >_> 252+ Atk Choice Band burned Escavalier Megahorn vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Spiritomb: 155-183 (50.98 - 60.19%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock) Spiritomb beats a lot of the pokemon that threaten Qwilfish in return such as Uxie Mesprit Sigi etc, making them that much more effective when paired together.

When mentioning Poliwrath as a teammate be a little more specific about what it specifically takes for Spiritomb (the 4 mons Qwilfish beats+Aggron, all of which can scare out Spiritomb if they can get in safely/without being burned).

As for the AC thing Fuzznip mentioned, i went through the AC myself and picked out what should be changed/removed imo. comments are in bold+italic

• evs allow it to take beat cryogonal and CM users like Uxie and Mesprit add Sigilyph as a mon tomb beats here, its pretty important
• Rapid Spin support from Cryogonal to keep it from getting worn out probably not needed, pretty much everything w/o magic guard appreciates this, and spiritomb isn't taking 50% from rocks like say moltres
• Wish Support from clefable and alomomola to keep it healthy could probably be removed, although mola should still be mentioned as a teammate
• Clefable can also provide cleric support to remove status and SR support add lanturn here as a cleric instead of mentioning it seperately imo
• Roselia, Qwilfish, and Ferroseed can set up spikes to wear it the opposing team faster this is fine
• In return, spiritomb keeps the hazards from being blown away this is fine
• Poliwrath, Slowking, Steelix, and Druddigon all make fine defensive partners add alomomola mention here, maybe remove druddigon too, otherwise wrath, steelix, and slowking are fine imo
• Druddigon and Steelixcan Set up Rocks while Slowking and Poliwrath can absorb Fire- and Water-type moves aimed at Spiritomb as i mentioned before add that wrath beats stuff like escav durant and aggron for tomb as well
• Lanturn can also work for similar reasons and can even provide Heal Bell support remove and add lanturn mention along with clefable's heal bell mention earlier on
• can work on more balanced teams to prevent entry hazards from being blown away it was already mentioned earlier spiritomb helps keep hazards up, no need to mention it again imo
• Medicham pairs pretty well with Spititomb, as it can destroy Steel-types while Spiritomb can deal with opposing bulky Ghost- and Psychic-types this looks fine
• Magneton also works well with it, as it is able to trap opposing Steel-types and Spiritomb can absorb Fighting-type attacks aimed at it mention escavalier specifically here
• Lead Smeargle and Crustle appreciate Spiritomb's spin blocking utility, as their efforts to set up entry hazards won't be wasted remove as i mentioned above

 

[Molk]

QC Approved 1/3

 

[Oglemi]

idk i wouldn't use Pursuit on defensive Tomb, Sucker Punch seems like it'd have more utility in the long-run and it would probably be the only priority on a stall team; that and Pursuit does shit-all to Cryo if it stays in, and it doesn't do jack squat to Kabu or much of anything else even if they decide to switch out

imo slash Sucker Punch before Pursuit in the last slot

QC Approved 2/3

 

[complete legitimacy]

I agree with Oglemi, and also add Protect to AC (works well with Pressure and burn).

 

[Hot N Cold]

Just quit Pursuit like on the 4th move, since I dont think that is the set to run Pursuit on this Spiritomb, also w/o evs investiment is just very weak.

0 Atk Spiritomb Pursuit (80 BP) vs. 248 HP / 4 Def Cryogonal: 195-231 (56.85 - 67.34%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

And switchin, also if you dont run RestTalker you lose vs him anyways if Cryogonal runs Toxic.

Also if you dont run Pursuit / Sucker Punch which i dont like both, mostly Pursuit which sucks just Calm > Careful nature, didnt matter in the 99% of games the only is that this is better to get a lower damage against Foul Play moves opponent to Spiritomb / swagger users or confusion. :)

I should to add Taunt > Pursuit / Sucker imo Which with Pain Split and wow + foul play can work well and like a bulky and slow stallbreaker, Taunt is cool for Rest Escavalier / prevent hazards on Ferroseed / Steelix, Slowking and Amoongus and work well against faster mons anyways. And really the rest of options are just worst, running a Pursuit on a bulky wall like this is just deadweight on the mostly of games, very situational thought.

- Foul Play
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rest / Pain Split
- Sleep Talk / Taunt

 

[Swamp-Rocket]

- Its not really a perfect counter to Cryogonal, considering offensive variants can 3HKO even the specially defensive spread and Foul Play does recoverable damage on the defensive ones. I'd say it prevents it from spinning pretty much at all though (there is a difference)
- Be specific on why exactly Spiritomb fears Fire-types (can't burn them and they can power through Spiritomb with their strong STAB moves)
- Not really sure about the Roselia mention because of the reason you gave being meh. You say its there to check strong Grass-types even though it happens to a) be specially defensive b) using sleep talk c) even if its not using Sleep Talk it has Sucker Punch to deal with them. Its a lot more useful for the fact that is sets up spikes, so I'd rephrase it that way

Other than this, I like it!

QC Approved 3/3

 

[melvni]

GP check. Good job on writing this.
Additions in Blue
Subtractions in Red
Comments in Purple

Hide

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Will-O-Wisp
move 2: Foul Play
move 3: Rest / Pain Split
move 4: Sleep Talk / Sucker Punch / Taunt
item: Leftovers
ability: Pressure
nature: Careful / Calm
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Spiritomb's auspicious Ghost / Dark typing makes it the only Ghost-type in RU not weak to Dark-type attacks or any other attacking type for that matter. This excellent typing means that Spiritomb is the only Ghost-type that is not afraid of Pursuit users. Not only that, but it makes an excellent counter to a plethora of Psychic-types such as Uxie and Mesprit. Spiritomb's grand Special Defense coupled with its RestTalk shenanigans also makes it the best counter available to the premier defensive Rapid Spin user, Cryogonal. For these reasons, this Spiritomb is a staple on many balanced and stall orientated teams.</p>

<p>The first move, Will-O-Wisp, significantly diminishes the attacking power of most physical sweepers; this in turn helps patch up Spiritomb's Defense. Will-O-Wisp is also useful in for chipping away at special attackers such as Magneton. Foul Play is another way Spiritomb can take on physical attackers, as it can use their power against them and make them hesitant when using physical boosting moves such as Swords Dance. Foul Play's utility is so great, (remove comma) that it gives Spiritomb the capability to OHKO Entei after Stealth Rock damage. Rest works well in conjunction with Sleep Talk. RestTalk Spiritomb has many advantages: it always prevents Cryogonal from spinning away entry hazards, defeats many weak walls such as Amoongus Amoonguss, becomes is an excellent status absorber, and exploits Spiritomb's its stalling capabilities via Pressure. Pain Split is a slightly less reliable form of recovery, but it can actually turn Spiritomb's low HP stat into an advantage by recovering more health from the likes of Alomomola. The use of Pain Split gives way to yet provides another distinctive advantage by freeing up another moveslot. In that moveslot, Sucker Punch can be used to pick out weakened offensive threats such as Archeops, while or Taunt makes Slower can provide a way to make slower walls such as Steelix and Ferroseed, (either remove this comma or put one before such as) helpless against Spiritomb.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>A Calm nature is best used when Spiritomb is not utilizing Sucker Punch, as it can reduce reduces the damage taken from Foul Play. If Sucker Punch is used, then a Careful nature is best. In light of other options, Protect works in the final slot by allowing Spiritomb to accumulate Leftovers recovery, stall for burn damage, and ease up prediction when dealing with the likes of Escavalier. While Spiritomb's specially defensive spread allows it to counter Cryogonal and other special attackers, a reversed physically defensive spread with an Impish nature is just as successful in other ways. The physically defensive spread gives Spiritomb a chance to beat Kabutops and makes it a great counter to Normal- and Fighting-types such as Tauros and Gallade; the latter in particular is very threatening for slower teams. When this physically defensive spread is combined with Spiritomb's ability to spread burns, very few physical attacker have the ability to break through it. For example, Choice Band Aggron and Escavalier can usually defeat Spiritomb, but when Spiritomb it uses this physically defensive spread and burns the two threats on the switch, at best, they can only achieve a 3HKO.</p>

<p>Spiritomb's Spiritomb pairs well with Pokemon that can deal with Fire-types. Most Fire-types could care less about anything Spiritomb can do, as they easily power through it with their high-powered STABs. Qwilfish is one of the best at dealing with said Fire-types. Qwilfish these threats and aids Spiritomb in many ways; not only does Qwilfish it deal with the likes of Durant, Emboar, and Entei, but it can also set up Spikes (add comma) which helps Spiritomb wear down the opposing team faster. Spiritomb's spinblocking ability can help keep those Spikes on the field, and it can also check Electric- and Psychic-types that trouble Qwilfish. Poliwrath can check the same threats as Qwilfish and can also phaze with Circle throw, Throw; this trait compliments well with Spiritomb's ability to keep entry hazards from being blown away well. Lanturn, Roselia, Roselia, Lanturn, (changing to reflect the order you discuss them) and Clefable all make fine defensive partners for their ability to rid Spiritomb of status afflictions. Roselia can set up Spikes and put a threatening Pokemon to sleep, Lanturn is another bulky Water-type that can take on pesky Fire-types, and Clefable can provide Stealth Rock and Wish Support. Ferroseed also works well with Spiritomb as it can provide entry hazard support and counter Kabutops fairly well. Physically defensive Spiritomb, Alomomola, and Steelix make an excellent core, as the three can check almost all physical attackers in RU. Steelix benefits the core by providing entry hazard support in Stealth Rock and phazing utility in Roar; (change to comma) Spiritomb keeps Stealth Rock from being spun away and checks Fighting-types, and Alomomola beats physical Fire-types and passes Wishes to the other two.</p>

<p>Seeing as how this Spiritomb can fit on balanced teams, offensive partners can also be just as helpful. Medicham and any other Fighting-type destroys annoying Steel-types such as Aggron and Steelix, and Spiritomb can return the favor and beat the Psychic- and Ghost-types that Medicham hates. Magneton can also deal with Steel-types such as Escavalier by trapping and then demolishing them with Hidden Power Fire. Finally, because Spiritomb lures in Choice-locked physical Fire-types, Water-types such as Omastar and Kabutops, can are useful to take advantage of that by setting up a Shell Smash or Swords Dance, respectively.</p>

GP: 1/2

 

[Oglemi]

add/edit
remove

Hide

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Will-O-Wisp
move 2: Foul Play
move 3: Rest / Pain Split
move 4: Sleep Talk / Sucker Punch / Taunt
item: Leftovers
ability: Pressure
nature: Careful / Calm
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Spiritomb's auspicious Ghost / Dark typing makes it the only Ghost-type in RU not weak to Dark-type attacks, or any other attacking type for that matter. This excellent typing means that Spiritomb is the only Ghost-type that is not afraid of Pursuit users. Not only that, but it makes an excellent counter to a plethora of Psychic-types such as Uxie and Mesprit. Spiritomb's grand Special Defense coupled with its RestTalk shenanigans also makes it the best counter available to the premier defensive Rapid Spin user, Cryogonal. For these reasons, this Spiritomb is a staple on many balanced and stall orientated teams.</p>

<p>The first move, Will-O-Wisp, significantly diminishes the attacking power of most physical sweepers; this in turn helps patch up Spiritomb's Defense. Will-O-Wisp is also useful for chipping away at special attackers such as Magneton. Foul Play is another way Spiritomb can take on physical attackers, as it can use their power against them and make them hesitant when using physical boosting moves such as Swords Dance. Foul Play's utility is so great that it gives Spiritomb the capability to OHKO Entei after Stealth Rock damage. Rest works well in conjunction with Sleep Talk. RestTalk Spiritomb has many advantages: it always prevents Cryogonal from spinning away entry hazards, defeats many weak walls such as Amoonguss, is an excellent status absorber, and exploits its stalling capabilities via Pressure. Pain Split is a slightly less reliable form of recovery, but it can actually turn Spiritomb's low HP stat into an advantage by recovering more health from the likes of Alomomola. The use of Pain Split provides another distinctive advantage by freeing up another moveslot. In that moveslot, Sucker Punch can be used to pick out weakened offensive threats such as Archeops, or Taunt can provide a way to make slower walls helpless.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>A Calm nature is best used when Spiritomb is not utilizing Sucker Punch, as it reduces the damage taken from Foul Play. If Sucker Punch is used, then a Careful nature is best. In light of other options, Protect works in the final slot by allowing Spiritomb to accumulate Leftovers recovery, stall for burn damage, and ease up prediction when dealing with the likes of Escavalier. While Spiritomb's specially defensive spread allows it to counter Cryogonal and other special attackers, a physically defensive spread with an Impish nature is just as successful in other ways. The physically defensive spread gives Spiritomb a chance to beat Kabutops and makes it a great counter to Normal- and Fighting-types such as Tauros and Gallade; the latter in particular is very threatening for slower teams. When this physically defensive spread is combined with Spiritomb's ability to spread burns, very few physical attacker have the ability to break through it. For example, Choice Band Aggron and Escavalier can usually defeat Spiritomb, but when it uses this physically defensive spread and burns the two threats on the switch, at best, they can only achieve a 3HKO.</p>

<p>Spiritomb pairs well with Pokemon that can deal with Fire-types because most Fire-types could care less about anything Spiritomb can do, as they easily power through it with their high-powered STABs. Qwilfish is one of the best at dealing with these threats and it aids Spiritomb in many ways; not only does Qwilfish deal with the likes of Durant, Emboar, and Entei, but it can also set up Spikes, which helps Spiritomb wear down the opposing team faster. Spiritomb's spinblocking ability can help keep those Spikes on the field, and it can also check Electric- and Psychic-types that trouble Qwilfish. Poliwrath can check the same threats as Qwilfish and can also phaze with Circle Throw; this trait compliments Spiritomb's ability to keep entry hazards from being blown away well. Roselia, Lanturn, and Clefable all make fine defensive partners for their ability to rid Spiritomb of status afflictions. Roselia can set up Spikes and put a threatening Pokemon to sleep, Lanturn is another bulky Water-type that can take on pesky Fire-types, and Clefable can provide Stealth Rock and Wish support. Ferroseed also works well with Spiritomb as it can provide entry hazard support and counter Kabutops fairly well. Physically defensive Spiritomb, Alomomola, and Steelix make an excellent core, as the three can check almost all physical attackers in RU. Steelix benefits the core by providing entry hazard support in Stealth Rock and phazing utility in Roar, Spiritomb keeps Stealth Rock from being spun away and checks Fighting-types, and Alomomola beats physical Fire-types and passes Wishes to the other two.</p>

<p>Seeing as how this Spiritomb can fit on balanced teams, offensive partners can also be just as helpful. Medicham and any other Fighting-type destroys annoying Steel-types such as Aggron and Steelix, and Spiritomb can return the favor and beat the Psychic- and Ghost-types that Medicham hates. Magneton can also deal with Steel-types such as Escavalier by trapping and then demolishing them with Hidden Power Fire. Finally, because Spiritomb lures in Choice-locked physical Fire-types, Water-types such as Omastar and Kabutops are useful to take advantage of that by setting up a Shell Smash or Swords Dance, respectively.</p>

GP Approved 2/2

 

[Jellicent]