Overview
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Ferrothorn has a lot to love as a defensive Pokemon. First and foremost, it has a great Grass / Steel typing and solid mixed bulk. Together, its unique set of resistances and bulk allow Ferrothorn to check a plethora of threats. In addition to this, Ferrothorn has access to a wide array of support moves, such as Stealth Rock, Spikes, Leech Seed, and Thunder Wave. Because it has decent offensive presence, Ferrothorn can be hard to switch into for many offensively-oriented teams. However, while Ferrothorn's typing gives it a great set of resistances, it also gives it a glaring 4x weakness to Fire-type attacks, which means that Ferrothorn is easily forced out by Fire-type opponents. In addition to this, some special attackers, such as Latios and Greninja, can get past Ferrothorn if they are carrying Hidden Power Fire. Ferrothorn's typing also leaves it vulnerable to being trapped by the increasingly common Magnezone. Lastly, Ferrothorn's Speed is terrible, which means it has to rely on surviving an attack before using a move itself.
Utility
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name: Utility
move 1: Stealth Rock / Spikes
move 2: Leech Seed
move 3: Gyro Ball / Power Whip
move 4: Protect / Power Whip / Thunder Wave
ability: Iron Barbs
item: Leftovers / Shed Shell
evs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
nature: Relaxed / Sassy
Moves
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Ferrothorn is a consistent setter of Stealth Rock because of its great bulk and ability to beat common entry hazard removers, such as Latios, Latias, and Excadrill. Spikes lets Ferrothorn heavily pressure defensively oriented teams, which it can't do when running Stealth Rock. Because of its ability to take on common hazard removers, Ferrothorn is also one of the best defensive Spikes setters. Leech Seed gives Ferrothorn a way recovering health and is a must on every Ferrothorn set, as it lacks reliable recovery. The damage Leech Seed does is also useful for chipping away at the opponent's health. Gyro Ball is Ferrothorn's primary choice for an attacking move, as it OHKOes Mega Gardevoir, and does significant damage to many fast Pokemon such as Latios, Latias, Landorus, and Fairy-types such as Clefable and Sylveon. If taking on Substitute Mega Gyarados and hitting Azumarill, Keldeo, Excadrill, and Hippowdon is more important to your team, Power Whip is an option over Gyro Ball. Protect in tandem with Leech Seed grants Ferrothorn even more recovery and can scout the opponent's next move. If not running Leftovers, Ferrothorn desperately needs all recovery it can get, so to make up for the loss of recovery from Leftovers, running Protect to gain more recovery from Leech Seed is a smart choice. If this isn't all that important to your team, Power Whip is an option over it as it gives Ferrothorn good neutral coverage in tandem with Gyro Ball. If the ability to cripple common switch-ins such as Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Heatran is important, Thunder Wave is an option for the last moveslot. Lastly, Knock Off is an option to annoy common switch-ins by removing their item, such as Heatran's, Zapdos's and Mew's Leftovers, and can be run in the last moveslot.
Set Details
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The given EV spread with a Relaxed nature lets Ferrothorn fare well against both physically and specially oriented opponents. 168 Special Defense EVs give Ferrothorn enough special bulk to live two Ice Beams from +3 Manaphy. A Sassy nature with the given EV spread allows Ferrothorn to live the combination of Hyper Voice + Focus Blast from Modest Mega Gardevoir most of the time, while still avoiding the 2HKO from +1 Mega Gyarados's Earthquake most of the time. However, the EV spread can be tweaked as much as you like; full investment in Defense lets Ferrothorn take on strong physical attackers such as Life Orb Excadrill and Diggersby, while full investment in Special Defense lets it always live Hyper Voice + Focus Blast from Modest Mega Gardevoir.
Leftovers is the preferred item, as Ferrothorn heavily appreciates the added recovery. However, Shed Shell is an alternative over Leftovers if the ability to escape from Magnezone and Gothielle is more valuable to your team than the extra recovery Leftovers provides. Rocky Helmet is an alternate option over Leftovers or Shed Shell in order to weaken physical attackers that try to hit Ferrothorn with weaker attacks, such as U-turn, Knock Off, and not very effective moves that make contact.
Usage Tips
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It's advised to send in Ferrothorn on a Pokemon that does not really threaten it, such as Azumarill, Chansey, opposing Ferrothorn, Slowbro, or Suicune, and proceed to set up Stealth Rock or Spikes. Leech Seed is the most spammable move in the moveset, and if the opposing team lacks a Pokemon that is immune to it, it's more than likely favorable to use it. Playing carefully with Protect is advised, as it can be easy to take advantage of. Its main uses are letting Ferrothorn gain extra recovery in a pinch and scouting for lures like Hidden Power Fire Greninja and Latios. You should always scout for this type of moves by using Protect or switching out, especially if Ferrothorn is important to beat the opposing team. If the opposing team has a Defogger capable of switching safely into Ferrothorn, such as Skarmory or Zapdos, pulling double switches to stop them from Defogging is smart. Lastly, if not running Shed Shell, it's advised to play carefully around trappers such as Magnezone and Gothitelle, especially if Ferrothorn is important to take on a member of the opposing team.
Team Options
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Pokemon that are capable of dealing with Fire-types such as Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Talonflame, and Heatran make good teammates. Heatran excels at this role, especially if holding an Air Balloon. It can also set Stealth Rock, which allows Ferrothorn to run Spikes. Defiant users that can take advantage of the opponent trying to remove Ferrothorn's entry hazards with Defog, such as Bisharp and Thundurus, also make good teammates. If running a Sassy nature, Ferrothorn's physical walling capabilities are reduced, so Pokemon that can deal with strong physical attackers such as Life Orb Excadrill and Diggersby make great teammates. Defensive Landorus-T is one of the best choice, as it is also capable of running Stealth Rock. Fairy-types such as Clefable and Azumarill also make good partners becuase they can take on Fighting-types and Hidden Power Fire Greninja. Lastly, Keldeo and Infernape make good teammates, as they are capable of beating Mega Scizor and Bisharp, both of which can use Ferrothorn as setup fodder.
Other Options
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While Ferrothorn has access to quite a few support moves, it doesn't really have many other options than the ones mentioned in the main set. Bulldoze hits Heatran and Magnezone hard, but it will not OHKO either of them. Toxic can be used to punish bulky switch-ins, such as Zapdos, Mew, and Mandibuzz, while Curse is a decent boosting option, as Ferrothorn has high Special Defense and is immune to Toxic. Rest is an an option alongside Leech Seed for semi-reliable recovery. It should be noted that Ferrothorn has to drop a utility move if running Rest, however. If Ferrothorn is run on Trick Room teams, Explosion is an option, as it does a lot of damage to most opponents and gains momentum for the team. With its decent offensive stats, it also has the option to run a Choice Band set, but such a set is gimmicky and wastes Ferrothorn's potential as a support Pokemon.
Checks & Counters
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**Fire-types**: Fire-types such as Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Talonflame, and Heatran resist Ferrothorn's STAB attacks and can OHKO Ferrothorn with their respective Fire-type STAB attacks. However, Mega Charizard X and Talonflame must be wary of the recoil damage from Flare Blitz and Iron Barbs.
**Zapdos**: Zapdos resists both Ferrothorn's STAB moves and can threaten Ferrothorn out with Heat Wave or Defog its entry hazards away.
**Mega Venusaur**: Mega Venusaur takes little-to-no damage from Power Whip, can tank Ferrothorn's Gyro Balls, and can do significant damage in return with Hidden Power Fire. Mega Venusaur is also immune to Leech Seed, so it only has to be wary of the uncommon Thunder Wave.
**Magnezone**: If Ferrothorn is not running Shed Shell, Magnezone can trap Ferrothorn with Magnet Pull and proceed to do a lot of damage with Hidden Power Fire. Magnezone also fears very little from Ferrothorn, as it resists its STAB attacks.
**Mega Scizor**: With the combination of Roost and Swords Dance, Mega Scizor uses Ferrothorn as setup fodder, as it fears nothing that Ferrothorn can throw at it.
**Clefable**: With maximum investment in Defense, Clefable can outstall Ferrothorn's Gyro Balls, and proceed to set up Calm Mind. It can also 2HKO Ferrothorn with unboosted Flamethrowers.
**Fighting-types**: Strong Fighting-types, such as Terrakion, Keldeo, Mega Heracross, and Mega Medicham, can do hefty amounts of damage to Ferrothorn with their STAB moves, if not OHKO it. They all have to be wary of Gyro Ball or Power Whip, however.
**Taunt**: Taunt users that fear little from Ferrothorn's attacks, such as Mew and Mandibuzz, completely shut it down, as Ferrothorn can't use Leech Seed when Taunted.
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