Rotom-H's respectable base 105 Special Attack and decent base 86 Speed, along with a good movepool, make it an excellent user of a Choice item. Thunderbolt and Overheat are standard fare and when used with a Choice Scarf allow Rotom-H to revenge kill dangerous sweepers such as Dragon Dance Gyarados or Swords Dance Lucario. Hidden Power Ground is largely a filler option, but it is your best response against Heatran, who may be tempted to switch in expecting an Overheat. Unfortunately, it will very rarely OHKO unless you opt to use Choice Specs. Shadow Ball is also usable as another STAB move and helps against Cresselia. Finally, Trick is used to hinder special walls such as Snorlax or Blissey who would otherwise switch in with impunity. Hidden Power Fighting can also be used over Hidden Power Ground, since this set barely even dents Tyranitar; however, even with Choice Specs, it never OHKOes. Unless you Trick your Choice item onto Blissey, you won't be able to touch it at all due to its high Special Defense and HP. Pursuit users such as Tyranitar are the bane of this set too. Tyranitar can switch in on any of Rotom-H's attacks (barring the rare Hidden Power Fighting), and OHKO it with Pursuit. Bulky Fighting-type Pokemon such as Hariyama and Machamp do a great job when paired with Choice Scarf Rotom-H because they take care of both Tyranitar and Blissey. Fighting-types also take care of Snorlax, who takes pathetic damage from all of Rotom-H's attacks and can threaten it with Crunch or Pursuit. Though it is taken care of by Overheat, you should still be careful of Scizor when using this set. Choice Scarf Magnezone is one of the best Scizor counters in the game, as it can trap and OHKO Scizor with Hidden Power Fire. When using Choice Scarf Rotom-H, it is recommended that you save it until your opponent reveals any Pursuit-users when possible. If you bring out Rotom-H early, your opponent can bring in his or her Pursuit-user and trap and kill Rotom-H. Swampert is another big problem for this set. Swampert can easily switch into Choice Scarf Rotom-H; it resists Overheat and is immune to Thunderbolt. It also takes 33% - 39% from Modest Rotom-H's Shadow Ball. Grass-type Pokemon, specifically Celebi, can easily threaten Swampert with STAB Grass Knot or Leaf Storm.
This is Rotom-H's standard defensive set and allows it to act as arguably the best Rapid Spin blocker available in standard play. Its unique typing gives it a plethora of resistances and immunities; when coupled with good defensive stats and access to Reflect and Will-O-Wisp it can be incredibly difficult to take down. Thunderbolt or Discharge are your primary STAB options, the former more powerful while the latter has a higher paralysis rate. Shadow Ball can be used for secondary STAB and the occasional Special Defense drop can come in handy. Hidden Power Fighting is also a decent option, if only for Tyranitar and Weavile, but should be considered the lesser of the two move choices. If you opt for Discharge in the first slot, Hidden Power Fighting will also be your best option against Heatran. Overheat is Rotom-H's exclusive move amongst the Rotom formes and pairs excellently with its other moves and defensive typing. Rotom-H's typing makes it an excellent switch-in to the likes of Lucario, Scizor, and Metagross; all of these take substantial damage from Overheat, the latter two being OHKOed unless they are EVed abnormally defensively. Finally, Reflect or Will-O-Wisp aid Rotom-H's physical walling abilities. Will-O-Wisp is particulary useful as a means for crippling overzealous Tyranitar ready to Pursuit you. The EVs are focused on Rotom-H's overall durability by investing fully in HP. 88 Speed EVs allow Rotom-H to outrun maximum Speed Adamant Scizor and the remaining EVs were delegated to Defense. Some investment in Special Defense may not be a bad idea to better handle Starmie's and Tentacruel's Surfs when you switch in expecting Rapid Spin. As is the case with most special attacking Pokemon, Blissey is a huge nuisance to this set. Blissey can switch in on any of Rotom-H's attacks and defeat it with Toxic. (Even Flamethrower / Ice Beam will whittle Rotom-H down with repeated hits.) For this reason, powerful physical attackers (especially Guts users or Rest Talkers) are necessary to defeat Blissey; some examples include Machamp, Infernape, and Heracross. Curse + Rest Swampert is also a large problem for this set; Swampert can set up while none of Rotom-H's attacks do enough damage to Swampert to stop it. Celebi and Roserade, along with pseudo-Hazers like Suicune and Skarmory, stop Curse Swampert easily. This Rotom-H set is also stopped cold by Heatran. Choice Scarf Heatran can switch into Will-O-Wisp, activating Flash Fire, and OHKO Rotom-H with Fire Blast (even an unboosted Fire Blast does 61% minimum). Bulky Water-type Pokemon such as Swampert, Gyarados, and especially Suicune (with Rest) are fantastic counters to Heatran. They can switch in and take minimal damage from Heatran's Fire attacks and threaten it with their STAB Water moves. Blissey is also a great Heatran counter, but it needs to be wary of Explosion. Rotom-H without Rest is extremely hampered by status; for this reason, Blissey with Aromatherapy provides nice support to it.
This set is Rotom-H's best shot at a sweep. Charge Beam allows Rotom-H to attack while having a large chance to boost its already high Special Attack. When combined with Substitute, Rotom-H is even capable of setting up on Blissey, a Pokemon that would normally wall any Rotom-H set. Seismic Toss has no effect on Rotom-H and Flamethrower / Ice Beam do not break Rotom-H's Substitutes due to the HP investment. Substitute also allows Rotom to block any Thunder Wave or Toxic that Blissey might launch at it. Shadow Ball is Rotom-H's main form of attack once it has received boosts from Charge Beam, capable of 3HKOing even 252 HP / 96 SpD Sassy Bronzong after a single boost. Hidden Power Fighting lets Rotom-H take on incoming Tyranitar hoping to munch down on the wily ghost. After six boosts, Rotom-H is capable of 2HKOing even 0 HP / 176 SpD Calm Blissey (the bulkiest Blissey that Rotom will likely encounter) with either Hidden Power Fighting or Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt is also Rotom-H's best form of attack against Scizor. As previously mentioned, 128 HP EVs allow Rotom-H's Substitutes to withstand any attack that Blissey is likely to use, as well as allowing Rotom to form three Substitutes in sand and five in normal weather. A Timid nature and 212 Speed EVs allow Rotom-C to outspeed positive-Speed natured Mamoswine and neutral-Speed natured Lucario. Using 212 Speed EVs also allows Rotom to reach a bonus point. 168 Special Attack EVs give Rotom-H a shot at 2HKOing 0 HP / 176 SpD Calm Blissey with Hidden Power Fighting or Thunderbolt after six boosts. Rotom also has a chance of 2HKOing 252 HP / 252 SpD Careful Tyranitar in Sandstorm after a single boost with Hidden Power Fighting if Tyranitar has switched into Stealth Rock at least once. It should be noted that while this set usually beats Blissey, it loses if Charge Beam misses or does not net Rotom-H a Special Attack boost. If Blissey uses more than 80 Special Attack EVs, it will also win. Dugtrio does well at beating Blissey, as it can trap it and 2HKO it with Choice Band Earthquake. Calm Mind Substitute Jirachi can significantly weaken or KO Blissey, making it easier to sweep with Rotom-H. The same can be said about Suicune running a mono-attacking set or SubCM. Toxic Spikes also complement this set well. Blissey will have to spend several turns healing (instead of attacking Rotom-H) if it's badly poisoned. This will give you more time to boost your Special Attack. If Salamence or Jirachi switches into Rotom-H while it doesn't have a Substitute up, they can damage Rotom-H considerably with STAB Dragon- or Psychic-type attacks, respectively. Mamoswine and Latias can easily dispose of Salamence, though neither can switch in easily. Mamoswine can also do heavy damage to Jirachi with STAB Earthquake, though it needs to be extremely careful of Choice Scarf Fire Punch or Iron Head, or Flash Cannon and Grass Knot on special sets. Choice Scarf Heatran does a good job of defeating Jirachi and Salamence, with Fire Blast and Hidden Power Ice or Dragon Pulse, respectively. Metagross and Jirachi both attract Ground-type attacks that will allow Rotom-H to switch in freely. Both of these Pokemon also handle Tyranitar, one of Rotom-H's biggest enemies, well. Metagross can handle Tyranitar due to its base 130 Defense and STAB Meteor Mash, whereas Jirachi must rely on Iron Head's flinch chance. Heatran can lure Blissey in and OHKO it with Life Orb Explosion. Because Rotom-H tends to attract Tyranitar's Pursuit, Lucario and Scizor also make excellent partners. They can switch and set up after Tyranitar KOes a Substitute-less Rotom-H with Pursuit or after Tyranitar breaks Rotom-H's Substitute with Crunch.
This is a set that nearly every Rotom-appliance can run, a basic Rest-Talk set. Rotom-H is naturally bulky and its unique typing make it an excellent defensive Pokemon, but the lack of ability to recover HP can hinder its survivability. This is where Rest-Talk comes into play to aid in accomplishing that. Discharge is the primary Electric STAB option, and while it is a weaker Thunderbolt, the 30% paralysis rate it carries can be extremely useful. Shadow Ball is also a decent option to consider for your STAB move but Discharge is often the superior choice. Will-O-Wisp can aid in crippling physical sweepers and so should be considered in the final slot. A Hidden Power is also a decent option in Will-O-Wisp's stead. Hidden Power Ice is to be used with Discharge for a pseudo-BoltBeam whereas Hidden Power Fighting is for use with Shadow Ball, which hits everything in the game for at least neutral damage. The EVs give Rotom-H roughly equal defenses with a slight emphasis in Defense. Choice Band Tyranitar is a 100% counter to this set if you don't pack Will-O-Wisp. It can switch in on any of Rotom-H's attacks and do heavy damage with STAB Crunch or Pursuit. Even if you don't switch Rotom-H out, Tyranitar's Choice Banded Pursuit will still 2HKO it. Machamp does a great job of countering Choice Band Tyranitar; it can come in on any of Tyranitar's attacks and OHKO it with DynamicPunch. Scizor does massive damage to Tyranitar with STAB Bullet Punch and U-Turn, though it is much more difficult to repeatedly switch Scizor into Tyranitar. Rest + Sleep Talk Rotom-H is like most other Sleep Talkers in that it can be used as set-up fodder. Specifically, Calm Mind Jirachi, Curse Swampert, and Curse Snorlax can take advantage of it. Perish Song Celebi is a great asset to Rotom-H in this regard; it can limit the amount of turns any boosting Pokemon can spend on the field. Celebi also easily scares away Swampert with its STAB Grass Knot. Lanturn, with its nice typing and high Special Defense, will stop this moveset cold. Lanturn can be defeated easily enough, though, with Blissey's Toxic or Snorlax's Earthquake. Team OptionsToxic Spikes are a gigantic asset to Rotom-H, specifically the boosting sweeper. This type of entry hazard will greatly increase the chances of the boosting sweeper defeating Blissey one on one. Since the boosting sweeper starts out a bit weaker than Choice Scarf or Choice Specs Rotom-H variants, Spikes and Stealth Rock can help make up any damage lost. Stealth Rock also benefits more defensive Rotom-H variants by taking a chunk of Gyarados and Salamence's HP everytime they switch in. Sandstorm provided by Tyranitar or Hippowdon benefit defensive Rotom-H, but hamper other more offensive sets. Any Rotom-H lacking Trick will have an extremely difficult time dealing with Snorlax and Blissey. Scizor's Choice Band Superpower will OHKO both of these counters; U-turn will also do a respectable amount of damage. Tyranitar's Stone Edge also does a large amount of damage, especially to Blissey. Heatran with Explosion can also help Rotom-H deal with its weakness to Blissey. Rotom-H is a relatively bulky Pokemon, but repeated attacks will wear it down. For this reason, Wish support is a huge benefit for any Rotom-H set that lacks Rest. If you want to use Rest but forgo Sleep Talk for other attacks, it is recommend to use a Cleric such as Heal Bell Celebi or Aromatherapy Blissey. Rotom-H's fanastic typing leaves it with two weaknesses: Dark and Ghost. Tyranitar resists both of these types so it as a great defensive asset to Rotom-H. The Tyranitar and Rotom-H combination actually resists every time in the game. Scizor also resists both Dark and Ghost. Heatran is a favorable teammate to Rotom-H because it invites Ground and Fighting attacks. This will allow Rotom-H to switch in easily. Blissey also attacts Fighting-type attacks; it is immune to Ghost-type attacks as well. Rotom-H is lucky in that it can easily dispatch its number one counter's (Blissey) usual teammates - Skarmory and Gyarados. Rotom-H's other major counter, Tyranitar, is usually paired with more pokemon that Rotom-H can defeat: Scizor, Lucario, and Gyarados. Blissey and Tyranitar are also coupled with Gliscor and Salamence; Rotom-H cannot easily deal with these Pokemon so it will need to rely on its teammates for this task. Mamoswine can easily take care of Gliscor and Salamence with its STAB Ice-type attacks. Choice Scarf Jirachi and Latias can do heavy damage to these Pokemon with Ice Punch and Draco Meteor, respectively. One good strategy Rotom-H users should employ is double switching. When bringing in Rotom-H early game, you may want to switch it out immediately if you think your opponent is going to switch to his / her Pursuit user. This can save Rotom-H from annihilation at the hands of Scizor or Tyranitar. Other OptionsConfuse Ray can be used alongside Thunder Wave or Discharge; however, Rotom-S is usually the better choice for the role as an annoyer due to its access to Air Slash. Rotom-H also has access to dual screens, but Rotom-W and Rotom-C are usually the better choices for that role since they have the ability to actually beat Tyranitar with Reflect in play due to their signature moves. Pain Split is an alright option if you're looking for instant healing, but it is in no way reliable. EVsIf you are using Rotom-H offensively, a simple 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe spread with an Modest or Timid nature will suffice in almost all cases. Defensively speaking, Rotom-H can be EVed to function in many different roles. Always maximize defensive Rotom-H's rather disappointing base 50 HP and delegate the remaining EVs between Defense and Special Defense. Rotom-H tends to function well with roughly equal defensive stats with a slight emphasis on Defense. Investing 88 Speed EVs on defensive sets is also a good choice since Rotom-H will then be able to outrun Adamant Tyranitar and Scizor. OpinionRotom-H might not look like much, but thanks to its advantageous typing, movepool, and stats, it can function as either an excellent check to some of OU's top threats or even act as one of said threats itself. Being one of the best Rapid Spin blockers in the standard metagame also makes it an excellent choice for stall teams. CountersOffensive versions of Rotom-H can be taken on by Blissey with her massive Special Defense and HP; she must be weary of Trick, however. Curse Snorlax with access to Rest to shrug off status can also use any Rotom-H without Trick as set-up fodder. Tyranitar is another excellent switch-in, having the ability to shrug off just about any of Rotom-H's attacks and kill it off with Pursuit or Crunch. Tyranitar must be careful not to be burnt by Will-O-Wisp, which cuts its Attack in half. Choice Specs Tyranitar is arguably the best switch-in since it not only takes minimal damage from almost any of Rotom-H's attacks, but also doesn't mind Will-O-Wisp or Trick. While Weavile cannot directly switch-in, once in it can cause major problems for Rotom-H. Lanturn can absorb most of Rotom-H's attacks if it lacks Hidden Power Ground. Lacking Hidden Power Ground also makes Heatran an excellent counter, particularly if it switches into an Overheat and nets itself a Flash Fire boost. Swampert does well at handling Rotom-H, in particular Rest-Talk varieties. Spiritomb can also handle Rotom-H pretty well and bring it down with STAB Shadow Ball or Dark Pulse. Raikou can use the ever-dreaded Substitute and Calm Mind combination to set up on Rotom-H as well as block status or Trick. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
