Base Stats: 75 HP / 90 Atk / 140 Def / 60 SpA / 60 SpD / 40 Spe
Ability: Sturdy | Overcoat (Hidden Ability)
Notable Moves
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball
- Volt Switch
- Toxic Spikes
- Body Press
- Explosion
- Thunder Wave
- Iron Defense
- Heavy Slam
- Bug Bite
- Struggle Bug
- Pounce
- Rock Tomb
- Body Slam
- Ice Spinner
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Counter
- Sand Tomb
- Iron Defense
- Heavy Slam
- Bug Bite
- Struggle Bug
- Pounce
- Rock Tomb
- Body Slam
- Ice Spinner
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Counter
- Sand Tomb
* Forretress is a sturdy setter that has access to every entry hazard, allowing you to tailor it to set whichever hazards you want.
* A historically iconic spinner, Forretress still does the hazard clearing job well.
* Gargantuan physical bulk coupled with a very good defensive Bug/Steel typing allow it to serve as a physical tank against any non-fire attackers.
* Volt Switch gives it a pivot option to help maintain momentum.
* Gyro Ball and Body Press take advantage of Forretress's min and max stats to allow it to still deal decent damage to pokemon with weaker defenses and speed boosters like Espathra.
Cons:
* No reliable recovery - has to use Protect if you want just a miniscule amount of HP restored.
* Annihilated by any fire type move, physical or special.
* Cannot tank many - or any - special attacks unless you invest some EVs into that stat.
* Doesn't deal enough damage to threaten non-frail enemies and can no longer use Toxic on them.
* Without Volt Switch, it is a huge momentum sink.
Terastal Potential:
Forretress probably should not be your main tera user, but it has several options to consider in an emergency:
* Tera Steel eliminates the x4 Fire Weakness and powers up Gyro Ball, which can help you in a bind against something like Espathra.
* Tera Water turns the tide defensively on your opp, giving you fire resistance, though this is probably only good for an emergency surprise.
* Tera Ghost allows you to set hazards, clear hazards, and block spinners all at the same time, though one might wonder why you aren't just using Brambleghast if that's what you were going for.
* Tera Fighting gives you STAB Body Press if for some reason that was really important, or you needed an emergency Dark resist.
Sample Set:
Defensive Spinner
Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy ( / Overcoat)
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball
- Volt Switch
- Spikes / Stealth Rock
You can't go wrong with classic Forretress. This set has stood the test of time and continues to be reliable in whatever tier it's dropped in. Set hazards, clear hazards, tank physical hits, and volt switch out, a very simple to use easy set. Tera Steel allows you to better threaten Espathra, which is awfully important at the moment. Sturdy is generally better than Overcoat unless the tier experiences a Spore resurgence or your team is significantly threatened by Brute Bonnet. Leftovers is the preferred item as well as it's Forretress's only recovery. The entry hazard you choose depends on the rest of your team, as many pokemon get hazards now so you can mix and match to have two or three split amongs your mons. If you have no other setters, generally just keep Stealth Rock on Forre. You can add more EVs to SpD if you want, but only if your team lacks good Special checks.
Other Options
Forretress doesn't have to spin, as we actually have a decent amount of spinners in the tier that can pair with Forretress. This allows you to experiment with a hazard stacking Forretress with 2 or 3 different hazards, or a more interesting Forretress with Iron Defense + Body Press, or a utility Forretress with Thunder Wave, or a hilarious Forretress with Counter. There are lots of options in theory, but in the end the most reliable option will be the classic defensive spinner set.
