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Levitate
- The wielder is immune to Ground-type moves.
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Level 5 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
50
|
- |
21 |
24 |
- |
| Atk |
65
|
11 |
13 |
16 |
17 |
| Def |
107
|
15 |
17 |
20 |
22 |
| SpA |
105
|
15 |
17 |
20 |
22 |
| SpD |
107
|
15 |
17 |
20 |
22 |
| Spe |
86
|
13 |
15 |
18 |
19 |
Overview
When looking at Rotom-H, the first thing that comes to mind is it's a floating microwave oven wearing oven mitts. At second glance, you realize it's the only Levitating Fire-type, which means it's immune to Ground-type moves but its Stealth Rock weakness is not increased. Its unique typing also grants it seven resistances and only two weaknesses, along with an amazing STAB combination resisted by very few Pokemon in the Underused metagame. It also has nice defenses, which allow it to survive weak super effective moves such as from uninvested Blastoise and Milotic. However, Rotom-H does have its drawbacks, being weak to Stealth Rock and having to rely on Overheat for a STAB move, which only adds to the hazard damage it's going to have to take by forcing it to switch out. It also has four-moveslot syndrome, as it can't run Volt Switch and Thunderbolt together without losing important coverage on certain Pokemon.
With all of that taken into account, Rotom-H can actually perform really well with the right support. Its amazing STAB combination makes most bulky Water-types hesitant to switch in, it has good support moves in Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, and Toxic, and it has a form of recovery in Pain Split, allowing it to take advantage of its normal switch-ins. Additionally, its ability to run three different sets with good results make it hard for the opponent to predict correctly, since it can punish the counters to one with Will-O-Wisp, Trick, or a super effective coverage move. It also has the added benefit of checking many prominent special attacking threats, such as Tornadus, Zapdos, Nidoking, and Yanmega. Overall, Rotom-H is a very good Pokemon, something that should be considered for any team needing its abilities.
Choice Specs makes Rotom-H's Overheat hit weaker resists like Flygon extremely hard. Volt Switch gives it good momentum and also packs some firepower, while Thunderbolt hits much harder and allows it to beat bulky Water-types more reliably. Hidden Power Grass is the coverage move of choice, helping Rotom-H deal with Rhyperior, Swampert, and Quagsire OHKOing them on the switch. Trick allows it to cripple Snorlax, Umbreon, and Porygon2, three Pokemon that take little from its STAB moves.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
This set is mostly used on offensive teams due to hitting like a truck, but it can also work as a pivot for bulky offense and semi-stall. Choice Specs augments Rotom-H's offensive presence, allowing it to 2HKO most of the Underused metagame even with the power drop from Overheat. A Timid nature allows it to outspeed non-Choice Scarf Heracross and Nidoking, without losing much power, but a Modest nature can work; however, it will not turn 2HKOes into OHKOes, just improve the chances. Rotom-H can run a more defensive spread to act as a tank, with 252 HP EVs and a Modest nature. However, it loses its ability to counter Nidoking reliably. Thanks to its seven resistances and one immunity, Rotom-H gets a lot of opportunities to switch in, such as on a Choiced Earthquake or U-turn from Flygon or Thunderbolt or Volt Switch from Raikou or Zapdos. Substitute versions of Raikou beat it one on one, though. Besides the given moves, Rotom-H can also run Will-O-Wisp to cripple physical attackers. It can be used instead of Hidden Power Grass—since neither Rhyperior nor Swampert enjoy being burnt—or Trick, to force Snorlax to Rest. Rotom-H can also run Hidden Power Ice over Hidden Power Grass to beat Flygon and Druddigon that try to switch in on it, but Overheat already does a lot to them, and Hidden Power Grass is overall better.
As for teammates, since Rotom-H is a hit-and-run Pokemon with a Stealth Rock weakness, it needs Rapid Spin support to perform effectively. Notable ones are Blastoise and Hitmontop, the former resisting Water and the latter Rock. It should be noted, however, that both take precious momentum from your team, so you can always run Xatu instead, which can bounce back Stealth Rock due to its ability and form a nice VoltTurn core with Rotom-H. In order to beat Rhyperior and Swampert, a Grass-type Pokemon can help. Shaymin is probably the best one at doing that, taking little from their moves, but Virizion is also an option as it also resists Rock; it's much frailer on the physical side, though. Finally, since this Rotom-H is mostly used as a wallbreaker, Pokemon that enjoy the removal or weakening of things like Gligar and Slowbro, such as Choice Scarf Darmanitan, make great partners for it.
Choice Scarf Rotom-H is a top tier revenge killer. Overheat packs less power without Choice Specs, but it still OHKOes many fast threats such as Mienshao, Weavile and Choice Scarf Heracross. Volt Switch takes advantage of this set's Speed to switch out unscathed to something that takes advantage of the other Pokemon and allows Rotom-H to maintain momentum. Thunderbolt does have more power, though, so it's a viable alternative. Hidden Power Grass hits Swampert and Rhyperior hard, but it should be noted that it's not always going to score the OHKO, so it can be taken advantage of for a free switch-in for something else. Trick rounds out the set, allowing Rotom-H to cripple Snorlax and Umbreon, among others, and force them to do little for the rest of the match.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The EV spread is fairly self-explanatory, with the remaining 4 EVs dropped into Special Defense to give Porygon2 and Porygon-Z an Attack boost instead of a Special Attack one. While a Modest nature helps compensate for the lack of immediate power, Timid is needed to outpace and revenge kill Jolly Choice Scarf Heracross and Timid Choice Scarf Nidoking. Hidden Power Ice can be used over Hidden Power Grass to revenge kill Choice Band Flygon—especially if it's locked into Outrage—, but it's a lesser option outside of that. Will-O-Wisp and Thunder Wave are nice options for crippling threats such as Choice Band Rhyperior and Swampert and non-Substitute Raikou, respectively, allowing teammates to deal with them more easily; however, Rotom-H can easily run into problems if it uses these, since being locked into a non-attacking move gives free switches to threats such as Guts Heracross and Flash Fire Chandelure.
As for teammates, since Rotom-H is used as a revenge killer it can fit on both offensive and balanced teams. However, being Stealth Rock weak and being forced out with ease due to Overheat mean Rapid Spin support is almost mandatory. Blastoise and Hitmontop are good options for this, each resisting one of Rotom-H's weaknesses. If you can't fit them into your team due to the loss of momentum they force, Magic Bounce Xatu can be used, forming a speedy VoltTurn core with Rotom-H. Spikes stacking also works well with this Rotom-H, since its offensive presence keeps Rapid Spinners on their toes. Roserade and Qwilfish both do a decent job at this, while also being able to switch in on Water-type moves aimed at Rotom-H from Pokemon that switched in on Overheat, such as Slowbro and Suicune; Roserade has the added benefit of easily beating them.
This Rotom-H variant works best on balanced teams. It sacrifices the power from Choice Specs and Speed from Choice Scarf for durability and the ability to cripple its usual switch-ins without having to predict correctly. Overheat is the main STAB move, still hitting decently hard. Volt Switch is the secondary move and hits bulky Water-types hard while gaining momentum. Thunderbolt is stronger, but since Water-types will usually switch into Overheat, its power will be severely diminished and could lead to Rotom-H's defeat. Of the few Pokemon that resist Rtom-H's STAB combination—Swampert, Rhyperior, and Flygon being the most worth mentioning— none like to eat a Will-O-Wisp to the face; Hidden Power Grass is a nice alternative to dealing with the first two, but again, if they switch into Overheat, even the 4x modifier will not be enough. Pain Split rounds out the set, offering Rotom-H a semi-reliable recovery move that can be used to take advantage of the high HP of the Pokemon that it draws out, notable ones being Swampert, Rhyperior, Snorlax and Umbreon.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The given EVs maximize Rotom-H's offensive prowess, with a Timid nature to outspeed Life Orb Nidoking, Timid Togekiss, and non-Choice Scarf Heracross, as well as Kingdra—allowing it to Volt Switch out of the latter. The 4 EVs in Special Defense give Porygon2 and Porygon-Z that switch in on it an Attack boost. Rotom-H can also run a more defensive spread, with enough Speed to outpace Adamant Honchkrow and a Modest nature, using Will-O-Wisp to get around the threat of Sucker Punch. Life Orb can be used over Leftovers to deal more damage, pariring well with Pain Split. Rotom-H can run other status moves, such as Thunder Wave and Toxic, to cripple faster threats that don't mind burns much. However, since most of its switch-ins are immune to or don't mind Thunder Wave and Toxic can be run by many other Pokemon, Will-O-Wisp is usually the better option. Additionally, both moves can be counterproductive against Umbreon due to Synchronize, since it usually has Heal Bell to cure itself from status while leaving Rotom-H poisoned or paralyzed—that's not a problem for Will-O-Wisp.
As for partners, Rapid Spin support is nice but not as mandatory as with the Choice sets. Hitmontop and Blastoise are the best options. Xatu can also work due to Magic Bounce preventing Stealth Rock from being set up, though it requires prediction, especially against Rhyperior, which is the most threatening hazard user for Rotom-H. Since Snorlax walls Rotom-H completely, Fighting-types such as Mienshao and Heracross make great teammates due to Volt Switch, while Hitmontop can also work due to Intimidate.
Other Options
Rotom-H has several different options it can run. For starters, a RestTalk set gives it better recovery and takes advantage of its good coverage between two moves, however sleep mechanics make it unviable. Rotom-H can run a Substitute+Pain Split set similarly to Chandelure, but being essentially forced to run Overheat makes Rotom-H have to switch out much more often. Discharge is an option over Volt Switch and Thunderbolt on all of its sets, but it's mostly a lesser choice due to the loss of momentum from the former and more power from the latter. Additionally, the things that switch in on it usually won't mind the paralysis anyway; that's why Thunder Wave is also generally worse than Will-O-Wisp. Toxic can be used instead of Will-O-Wisp, since none of Rotom-H's common switch-ins like being badly poisoned. However, since it has a much wider distribution, it's a weaker alternative. Rotom-H also has access to Shadow Ball and Signal Beam to beat Psychic-types, just like the other electric appliances. However, Overheat is initially more powerful against them, except for Slowbro and Slowking, both of which are weak to Electric-type moves anyway.
Finally, although gimmicky, Rotom-H can run a Trick+Flame Orb set, being able to cripple its usual switch-ins, such as Snorlax, Swampert, Rhyperior, and Flygon, due to the fact that the item doesn't activate on Fire-types and can therefore be used to feign a Choice item. A Tricked Flame Orb has the added benefit of not being curable by using Rest or having a cleric as a partner, unlike Will-O-Wisp; however, since it's one-time use and requires perfect prediction, it's usually not worth it.
Checks and Counters
Due to the different sets it can run and how it can punish its switch-ins with ease, it's hard to counter Rotom-H. That said, Rhyperior, Swampert, Flygon, and Quagsire resist Overheat and are immune to Electric-type moves, so they can switch in on its STABs with ease. However, none of them like being crippled with a burn from Will-O-Wisp, and Rotom-H can also deal with them with a Hidden Power of choice. Hidden Power Grass beats all of them bar Flygon, which dislikes Hidden Power Ice and also can't switch in with ease on a Choice Specs Overheat. Snorlax takes little damage from Overheat thanks to its immense special bulk and Thick Fat, while Volt Switch actually does the same amount of damage. It can also threaten to Pursuit it on the switch out. However, non-Choice Band versions hate being tricked a Choice item, and Will-O-Wisp will force it to Rest or completely cripple those that do have a Choice Band.
With that in mind, it's not really hard to deal with Rotom-H due to Overheat's massive drawback. With the right prediction, those that resist or are immune to the move, such as Chandelure, can actually use Rotom-H as setup fodder. Additionally, since it can be forced out with ease, the best way to deal with it is to ensure Stealth Rock is laid on the field.
