Moves

Leech Seed is one of Ferrothorn's only ways to regain HP and is key for continuously whittling down foes such as non-Hidden Power Fire Magearna, non-Hammer Arm Mega Metagross, and Donphan. Confide, when used as a Z-Move, boosts Ferrothorn's Special Defense by one stage and helps neuter special attackers such as Tapu Fini, Primarina, and Meloetta. Curse enables Ferrothorn to further boost its defensive capabilities in addition to its offensive abilities, helping it deal with foes such as Porygon2, Crustle, and the aforementioned non-Hammer Arm Mega Metagross. Iron Defense, while seeming inferior in the sense of not providing an Attack raise, boosts Ferrothorn's already great physical bulk to transcendent levels, lessening the damage from physical attackers such as Swords Dance Mega Pinsir. Gyro Ball is usually Ferrothorn's most powerful STAB move thanks to its exceedingly low Speed and is a reliable way to beat Fairy-types such as Tapu Lele, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Diancie.

Set Details

252 HP and 176 Special Defense EVs make Ferrothorn capable of usually beating Magnezone, taking its Gigavolt Havoc in conjunction with Metal Sound after using Z-Confide. Furthermore, this investment also almost guarantees that Choice Specs Hidden Power Fire Tapu Lele won't OHKO Ferrothorn. Notably, 16 EVs in Attack ensure that Iron Defense Ferrothorn can almost always beat 0 HP EVs Swords Dance + Earthquake Mega Pinsir with Gyro Ball. The remaining 64 EVs are put into Defense, allowing Ferrothorn the chance to beat as many physical threats as possible, most notably neutral-natured non-Swords Dance Landorus-T. 0 IVs in Speed maximize Gyro Ball's damage output.

Usage Tips

Leech Seed should in many cases be used almost immediately unless Ferrothorn is up against setup Pokemon such as Mega Pinsir, since Ferrothorn's lack of reliable recovery options can leave it whittled down very easily. Rest users such as Type: Null and Mega Slowbro should be avoided, as they can PP stall you once Leech Seed is set. In order to beat specially offensive Steel-types, like Magnezone and Magearna, you should first use Z-Confide, followed by Leech Seed next turn. Follow this up with more Confide to slowly whittle down their health while remaining out of range for their attacks, and once its health is low enough, finish it off with Gyro Ball. For simpler Pokemon such as Primarina and Tapu Fini, use Z-Confide and then use Gyro Ball until they are KOed while also avoiding being shut down by Encore from Primarina or Taunt from Tapu Fini.

Team Options

Due to this Ferrothorn set being a defensive staller, offensive teammates such as Dragonite, Landorus-T, and Hoopa-U are beneficial, as they overpower Taunt users such as Mega Aggron and Deoxys-S, while Ferrothorn can deal with some of 1v1's most metagame-defining threats such as Tapu Lele, Porygon-Z, and Mega Gardevoir. Ferrothorn appreciates Water-type Pokemon such as Tapu Fini, Primarina, and Mega Gyarados, as they take care of the Fire-types that choose to stand in its way such as Mega Charizard, Heatran, and Incineroar. Ferrothorn takes care of the notorious Electric-types such as Zeraora and Magnezone in return. Fire-types of your own such as Mega Charizard, Volcarona, and Incineroar are also worth noting because they help cover the Water-types' weakness to Grass-types such as Mega Venusaur, Serperior, and Tapu Bulu. Ferrothorn is able to synergize perfectly with the Fire-types, beating Rock- and Ground-types including Golem, Donphan, and Carracosta and completing the well-known Fire / Water / Grass core. Ground-types such as Garchomp, Mega Swampert, and Landorus-T are other options for beating the previously mentioned Fire-types, in addition to the fact that they can beat Steel-types such as Aegislash that Ferrothorn struggles to deal with. Ferrothorn can deal with Water-types that they struggle to fight against such as non-Taunt Mega Gyarados, non-Hidden Power Fire Greninja, and Manaphy in return. Steel-types that take neutral damage from Fighting-type moves such as Magearna, Mega Metagross, and Jirachi are generally very helpful, as they beat Fighting-types such as Mega Lucario, Pheromosa, and Sawk, while Ferrothorn can deal with the some of the Ground- and Ghost-types in the metagame such as Krookodile and Zygarde-C.

Moves

Leech Seed enables Ferrothorn to chip threats such as Mega Slowbro, Mega Mawile, and Donphan to the point where Bloom Doom can finish them off. Bloom Doom is also Ferrothorn's main way of dishing out heavy damage, being able to OHKO non-Hidden Power Fire Greninja, Mega Blastoise, and Primarina. Substitute in tandem with Leech Seed is a great way to scout for stat-dropping or stat-increasing moves such as Metal Sound and Calm Mind or to chip down foes to the point where Bloom Doom can pick them off, such as Magnezone, Twinkle Tackle Magearna, and Crustle. Swords Dance is used to further bolster Ferrothorn's offensive capabilities, making it able to beat Mega Slowbro. Curse is an option in this set to boost Bloom Doom's damage output and to increase Ferrothorn's already great Defense stat to greater heights, allowing it to beat Umbreon and Foul Play Mega Sableye. Iron Defense allows Ferrothorn to enhance its already great bulk and beat physical Dragonite. Protect is another option if you want to stall out Leech Seed turns and scout for Z-Moves from Pokemon like Porygon-Z and Aegislash.

Set Details

Maximum HP investment and 32 Defense EVs with an Impish nature allow Ferrothorn to use Substitute against Choice Scarf Haxorus's Superpower, as well as boosting its special bulk. Additionally, 224 Attack EVs allow Ferrothorn to OHKO Choice Scarf Haxorus after two uses of Superpower and two rounds of Iron Barbs recoil, as well as ensuring it can OHKO non-Taunt Mega Sableye after a Swords Dance.

Alternatively, Ferrothorn can choose to run 252 HP / 144 Atk / 112 Def alongside Protect to always beat Mega Lopunny, as well as having a chance of beating Mega Gallade if it uses Close Combat turn one.

Usage Tips

Grassium Z can be used alongside not only Power Whip but also Leech Seed, allowing Ferrothorn to negate stat-lowering moves such as Metal Sound while also bypassing Taunt, enabling it to beat Mega Gyarados, Magnezone, and Mega Aggron. Substitute is a vital move and should be used almost immediately to either beat Pokemon that rely on a one-time nuke such as Twinkle Tackle Magearna and Breakneck Blitz Meloetta or avoid Scald burns from Mega Slowbro and Suicune. You also shouldn't be using Ferrothorn to fight PP battles against Pokemon like Type: Null and Mega Latias. It's better to try whittling down Sturdy Pokemon and use Ferrothorn's stat-boosting moves to its advantage against Pokemon such as Golem and Mega Tyranitar, to avoid a potential Counter.

Team Options

Due to Ferrothorn's 4x weakness to Fire, you can opt to form a Fire / Water / Grass core team, as Water- and Fire-types both have a solid typing synergy with Ferrothorn and can deal with opposing Fire- and Steel-types. Water-type Pokemon such as Primarina, Tapu Fini, and Greninja are good teammates for Ferrothorn, as Ferrothorn can deal with the Electric-types such as Zeraora and Magnezone while they deal with Ferrothorn's massive weakness to Fire-types. Fire-types such as Incineroar, Mega Charizard X, and Victini can effectively deal with Grass-types that the aforementioned allies struggle to beat such as Mega Venusaur, Tapu Bulu, and Serperior, while Ferrothorn can deal with Rock- and Ground-types such as Golem, Carracosta, and Mega Swampert. Pokemon that can beat Fighting-type Pokemon such as Mega Gardevoir, Primarina, and Magearna are greatly appreciated, as they deal with threatening Pokemon such as Sawk, Pheromosa, and Kommo-o, while Ferrothorn can deal with physical attackers like Mega Pinsir due to its high defensive capabilities. Mega Slowbro, in particular, is an amazing teammate for Ferrothorn, as it can deal with both Fire- and Fighting-type Pokemon, while Ferrothorn can deal with the aforementioned Electric- and Grass-type Pokemon. Ferrothorn is vulnerable to Taunt, so wallbreakers such as Garchomp, Kartana, and Tapu Lele that can deal heavy damage to Taunt users including Mega Mawile and Mega Sableye are very much-appreciated partners. While the mentioned wallbreakers are very strong, they have trouble dealing with faster foes that Ferrothorn can beat such as Mega Lopunny and Choice Scarf Porygon-Z. Finally, Ferrothorn has a hard time against faster foes such as Tectonic Rage Garchomp, Taunt Mega Aggron, and Aegislash, so having an agile teammate such as Mega Lopunny, Volcarona, or Greninja is very helpful in this aspect. Ferrothorn can also help deal with their vulnerability to strong heavy-hitters such as non-Hammer Arm Mega Metagross, Primarina, and Donphan.