Ok, I finished the guide on spinning like I said I was going to, there are no contents and it is not HTMLized, so I need help there. Also any tips would be greatly appreciated. It is on a Word document so it is incredibly easy to make corrections.
Entry Hazards, Rapid Spinning and SpinBlocking
Introduction
Entry hazards are moves that are set out on to the field and do damage or some extra effect when the opponent switches in. These moves are Spikes, Stealth Rock, and Toxic Spikes. At least one of these moves is seen in nearly every Standard team in D/P/Pt. This guide will help you understand how to utilize entry hazards, how to get rid of them (through Rapid Spin), and how to block attempts of getting rid of them.
The Entry Hazards
Before trying to use entry hazards it is important to know what they are and what they do. There are three entry hazards, Spikes, Stealth Rock, and Toxic Spikes:
Spikes: The original entry hazard introduced in G/S/C. It can be set out in three layers and simply does more damage the more layers that are set out: 12.5% (1/8) of the opponent’s ma HP for one layer, 18.75% (3/16) for two and 25% (1/4) for three. Furthermore this is a Ground move and does not affect Flying type Pokemon or Pokemon with the Levitate ability.
Stealth Rock: This is the only entry hazard to become a TM, and is also the easiest to set up, and is therefore the most widespread by far. When making a team this is incredibly easy to fit in, and is also incredibly easy to use. Its calculation is strange but still simple. It is a Rock move with a base power of 12.5% (1/8) of the opponent’s max HP, and determines its final damage based on the opponent's weakness to Rock. So a Pokemon who takes neutral damage from Rock moves, such as Gengar, would get 12.5% of its max HP stripped, but a Pokemon with a double weakness to Rock, such as Charizard, would have a whole 50% of its max HP taken away. So if you have any Pokemon who are Stealth Rock weak, being prepared for it (which will be covered later in the article) is an absolute necessity. It should also be mentioned that the only (fully evolved) Pokemon who is immune to Stealth Rock is Clefable, due to its ability.
Toxic Spikes: This entry hazard is quite unique, being the only one to inflict status on the opponent. Like Spikes, it is set in layers, two this time with a better effect the more layers that are set out. When one layer is out, Pokemon who switch in get poisoned; however, if two layers are out, switching in opponents get badly poisoned (or Toxic poisoned). This doesn’t affect Flying Pokemon, Pokemon with the ability Levitate and Steel Pokemon. Also, if a Poison type Pokemon switches in, not only does it not affect the Pokemon, but the Toxic Spikes are also removed from the field. This does not work if the Poison type Pokemon is also part Flying or has the ability Levitate, (meaning that Gengar and Crobat do not remove Toxic Spikes from the field). Toxic Spikes can be incredibly dangerous for a team not prepared for it, crippling many common walls and tanks.
Utilizing Entry Hazards
There are many ways in which entry hazards can be strategically put out on the field, but in this article I will only explain two of the common methods: on a defensive Pokemon and suicide leads.
On a Defensive Pokemon: Using defensive Pokemon is the most reliable reusable method of setting up entry hazards. Defensive Pokemon with one or two attacking moves and a healing move can often find a place for an entry hazard on its moveset. I’ll use the example of Skarmory, one of the common Pokemon who carries Entry Hazards. Skarmory is a great physical wall; it carries one attacking move (Drill Peck or Brave Bird are standard), a reliable recovery move in the form of Roost, and has two spots open for entry hazards. It can use up those two spaces with both Spikes and Stealth Rock, but the usual option is to choose one of them and use Roar or Whirlwind on the other move to give phazing support. Skarmory has no trouble switching into common physical sweepers and can easily start setting up entry hazards until they decide to switch to something that threatens it.
Suicide Leads: A fairly new strategy that will nearly always set up an entry hazard, usually at the sacrifice of your lead. The idea is to get a very fast Pokemon who can set up at least one entry hazard (usually Stealth Rock). That Pokemon will also generally have at least one attacking move and Taunt; Taunt blocks other suicide leads and sleep leads, as well as crippling many common leads. I’ll use the example of Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl’s 130 base Speed makes it one of the fastest Pokemon in the game; it can block many leads with a fast Taunt and use the opportunity to set up Stealth Rock. A good Attack stat and a very workable physical movepool also help. Other common users of the strategy are Azelf, who has the handy Explosion, and Infernape.
Getting Rid of Entry Hazards
There are three ways of removing entry hazards from the field, but one of them is a joke and another does not need much explanation, so those will only be skimmed over.
You can remove entry hazards from your opponent’s field, i.e. the ones that you set up, by using Defog. That is the joke. Ha, ha, very funny Game Freak. The second method has already been mentioned: when Toxic Spikes are up, switching in a “grounded” Poison type will remove them, not much to explain there.
Rapid Spin
The third method of removing entry hazards is the move Rapid Spin. It’s a Normal Type move with 20 base power, 100% accuracy and 40 PP (64 when PP Ups are included). If Rapid Spin hits, it removes all layers of all entry hazards from your side of the field. As a Normal Type move, it does not hit Ghost Type Pokemon, leading to the strategy of using spinblockers so that your Entry Hazards may stay on the field. The topic of spinblocking will be covered more thoroughly later on in the article. Rapid Spin is not widespread, with only 15 Pokemon learning it and of those only 4 are OU. But using “spinners” and knowing what the spinners are is important, so I will give a brief analysis of each Pokemon that learns Rapid Spin’s capability of using it:
Armaldo: Decent defenses, a massive Attack stat, and a good amount of other support moves make Armaldo a viable spinner. Although being Stealth Rock weak, without immunity to Spikes and Toxic Spikes hurt when combined with the lack of reliable recovery. Like many spinners, it can’t really reach its full potential without a Cleric (or a Poison Pokemon) and Wish support. Spinblockers will not often be switching into Armaldo until they know that it is a spinner, one of the advantages of it not being its usual role.
Blastoise: A very sturdy Pokemon makes a very usable spinner. Blastoise will find its way into many UU teams as a reliable physical tank which gets rid of the entry gazards. Carrying Rest will help this Pokemon out a great deal if you can’t fit other support for its initial problems with passive damage from entry hazards, although Rest always has its risks. Spinblockers fear Yawn and Toxic from Blastoise, making hitting with Rapid Spin an easier job.
Claydol: It’s in UU, but I don’t know why it hasn’t been popular enough to get the tier bump back to where it deserves to be. In UU and OU it is excellent at spinning. It is immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes, it resists Stealth Rock, and has good defenses. It can hit incoming Ghosts with Shadow Ball and has plenty of other supporting moves to help its team. The only negative things to say is that it is weak to spinblockers' STAB moves once they get in and that it lacks reliable recovery (and only one spinner has reliable recovery anyway).
Cloyster: 180 Base Defense always helps, so does being able to set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Cloyster makes a good spinner, but not a great one. It’s weak to Stealth Rock and has no immunity to the other two. It still carries considerable bulk on the physical side and can be very usable in UU.
Delibird: Immunities to Spikes and Toxic Spikes might as well be worthless with a double weakness to Stealth Rock. It has immense difficulty switching in with poor defences and trouble staying in with every other stat being terrible. Put simply its the worst spinner.
Donphan: Out of the four OU spinners, Donphan is probably the least reliable due to no immunity to Toxic Spikes. It is a great spinner nonetheless. With 120 base Attack and Defense, it can take in shots and dish out some really powerful ones at the same time. It does however get the gimmick of Odor Sleuth, making spinblockers have no immunity to Rapid Spin, while this is at the high cost of a move slot, it is certainly worth considering. Like many of the spinners one tier down, Donphan is best used with Cleric and Wish support.
Forretress: A Toxic Spikes immunity gives Forretress much greater ease when switching into entry hazards. A great typing combined with 140 base Defense makes it rather easy to switch into shots. Spinblockers will often switch in only to realise that Forretress will just set up its own entry hazards, being one of the only Pokemon who has access to all three. The big problem that Forretress faces is Magnezone, who, when you are without Shed Shell, can trap you in and leave you for an almost certain KO, and that’s your spinner gone.
Hitmonchan: All of the Hitmons can spin, although it tends to not be used with Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee. All of the Hitmons also have access to the move Foresight, which, like Odor Sleuth, removes Ghosts immunity to Rapid Spin, the Hitmons also see greater reason to use this move, as it also removes Ghosts immunity to their STAB moves. As a spinner Hitmonchan is viable, Drain Punch being an unreliable healing method, and it can hit hard on a large amount of Pokemon rather than being the one to take the shots. Using it for the surprise would be useful if Ghosts wouldn’t be switching into your STAB moves anyway.
Hitmonlee: Hitmonlee is worse than Hitmonchan at the spinning job, and can be quite a massive threat in many other roles; you can maybe use it as a filler move on a sweeping set, but there are better spinners out there.
Hitmontop: The best Hitmon spinner has decent defenses (further boosted by Intimidate) and still maintains its ability to hit hard. It still gets hit by Toxic Spikes but on a positive not at least it will block attempts to burn or paralyse. Not the best spinner but still usable.
Kabutops: It’s a mediocre spinner and can do better jobs in UU, but it can survive the rare occasion of a physical attacker who can’t hit it for super effective damage. On the other side of the coin, spinblockers aren’t going to want to switch into your STAB moves and many won’t expect Rapid Spin, giving you the hit for free (which can be especially when suicide leads are apparent).
Sandslash: Sandslash is a similar spinner to Donphan for UU and carries the same problems. However, it carries Night Slash and Shadow Claw which helps a lot against incoming spinblockers, and if you can pull off a Swords Dance pretty much no spinblocker will risk switching in on you.
Starmie: The fastest spinner, who hits hard and takes down many of OU's top sweepers (Gyarados, Infernape, Salamence). Natural Cure means that Toxic Spikes is no problem and Recover makes it the only spinner to have any form of reliable recovery. Timid and 216 Speed EVs makes it able to outspeed the common spinblocker Gengar, but you will need to hit it on the switch to be able to KO it before it KOs you; watch out for Choice Scarfed ones as well. Recover helps it hold up quite nicely against many of the other spinblockers, although a weakness to their STAB moves hurts.
Tentacruel: Being the only spinner that is Poison gives it the particular niche of automatically removing Toxic Spikes. It also stands out as the best spinner at taking special shots. It has a variety of other support moves and is also quite fast. A great spinner through and through.
Torkoal: As a fire type (and therefore being Stealth Rock weak, while still lacking Toxic Spikes immunity) its options for spinning are limited. Although it can still do the job, with 140 base Defense helping somewhat. Its STAB moves and its status options also make SpinBlockers wary.
SpinBlocking
As was mentioned several times previously, Ghost types stop Rapid Spin from working, which is essential if you want your entry hazards to stay up. You can use your spinplocker in different ways. Defensive Pokemon such as Dusknoir and Spiritomb tend to be very reliable for this, as they are more likely to stay alive longer and they don’t fear Pursuit users as much. Gengar would have to be the only OU Pokemon who is commonly used just to sweep the opponent (although it will often also shut them down with Hypnosis) but its frailty makes it somewhat unreliable to maintain the job. The Rotom Appliances and Mismagius provide a mix of the two former strategies, carrying considerable bulk and power. The Rotom Appliances have actually received quite a bit of popularity to to be able to quite easily handle all four of the OU spinners (barring the rare situation of Life Orb Starmie or Payback Forretress). The Rotom Appliances and Mismagius are the best ones to take on Starmie, as Gengar falls to Starmie if it is hit on the switch.
Toxic Spikes Weak
This is just a tip when making a competitive team: beware of the effect of Toxic Spikes. If you’re team is weak to it, you can find all of your bulky Pokemon useless after two turns of staying in, and your sweepers on 1/2 health before they attack. There are many ways to be prepared for Toxic Spikes, and if you see that 4 out of your 6 Pokemon are hit by it, it may be time to consider slotting a “grounded” Poison Type Pokemon somewhere.
In Conclusion
To summarise this guide: know how to handle entry hazards and how to utilize them; if you’re not prepared for them they can really cripple you.
This has actually been my first guide, so I hope that it wasn’t too difficult to read (my syntax has been described as bad before) and hope that it helped.
Thanks for reading and happy battling!
Entry Hazards, Rapid Spinning and SpinBlocking
Introduction
Entry hazards are moves that are set out on to the field and do damage or some extra effect when the opponent switches in. These moves are Spikes, Stealth Rock, and Toxic Spikes. At least one of these moves is seen in nearly every Standard team in D/P/Pt. This guide will help you understand how to utilize entry hazards, how to get rid of them (through Rapid Spin), and how to block attempts of getting rid of them.
The Entry Hazards
Before trying to use entry hazards it is important to know what they are and what they do. There are three entry hazards, Spikes, Stealth Rock, and Toxic Spikes:
Spikes: The original entry hazard introduced in G/S/C. It can be set out in three layers and simply does more damage the more layers that are set out: 12.5% (1/8) of the opponent’s ma HP for one layer, 18.75% (3/16) for two and 25% (1/4) for three. Furthermore this is a Ground move and does not affect Flying type Pokemon or Pokemon with the Levitate ability.
Stealth Rock: This is the only entry hazard to become a TM, and is also the easiest to set up, and is therefore the most widespread by far. When making a team this is incredibly easy to fit in, and is also incredibly easy to use. Its calculation is strange but still simple. It is a Rock move with a base power of 12.5% (1/8) of the opponent’s max HP, and determines its final damage based on the opponent's weakness to Rock. So a Pokemon who takes neutral damage from Rock moves, such as Gengar, would get 12.5% of its max HP stripped, but a Pokemon with a double weakness to Rock, such as Charizard, would have a whole 50% of its max HP taken away. So if you have any Pokemon who are Stealth Rock weak, being prepared for it (which will be covered later in the article) is an absolute necessity. It should also be mentioned that the only (fully evolved) Pokemon who is immune to Stealth Rock is Clefable, due to its ability.
Toxic Spikes: This entry hazard is quite unique, being the only one to inflict status on the opponent. Like Spikes, it is set in layers, two this time with a better effect the more layers that are set out. When one layer is out, Pokemon who switch in get poisoned; however, if two layers are out, switching in opponents get badly poisoned (or Toxic poisoned). This doesn’t affect Flying Pokemon, Pokemon with the ability Levitate and Steel Pokemon. Also, if a Poison type Pokemon switches in, not only does it not affect the Pokemon, but the Toxic Spikes are also removed from the field. This does not work if the Poison type Pokemon is also part Flying or has the ability Levitate, (meaning that Gengar and Crobat do not remove Toxic Spikes from the field). Toxic Spikes can be incredibly dangerous for a team not prepared for it, crippling many common walls and tanks.
Utilizing Entry Hazards
There are many ways in which entry hazards can be strategically put out on the field, but in this article I will only explain two of the common methods: on a defensive Pokemon and suicide leads.
On a Defensive Pokemon: Using defensive Pokemon is the most reliable reusable method of setting up entry hazards. Defensive Pokemon with one or two attacking moves and a healing move can often find a place for an entry hazard on its moveset. I’ll use the example of Skarmory, one of the common Pokemon who carries Entry Hazards. Skarmory is a great physical wall; it carries one attacking move (Drill Peck or Brave Bird are standard), a reliable recovery move in the form of Roost, and has two spots open for entry hazards. It can use up those two spaces with both Spikes and Stealth Rock, but the usual option is to choose one of them and use Roar or Whirlwind on the other move to give phazing support. Skarmory has no trouble switching into common physical sweepers and can easily start setting up entry hazards until they decide to switch to something that threatens it.
Suicide Leads: A fairly new strategy that will nearly always set up an entry hazard, usually at the sacrifice of your lead. The idea is to get a very fast Pokemon who can set up at least one entry hazard (usually Stealth Rock). That Pokemon will also generally have at least one attacking move and Taunt; Taunt blocks other suicide leads and sleep leads, as well as crippling many common leads. I’ll use the example of Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl’s 130 base Speed makes it one of the fastest Pokemon in the game; it can block many leads with a fast Taunt and use the opportunity to set up Stealth Rock. A good Attack stat and a very workable physical movepool also help. Other common users of the strategy are Azelf, who has the handy Explosion, and Infernape.
Getting Rid of Entry Hazards
There are three ways of removing entry hazards from the field, but one of them is a joke and another does not need much explanation, so those will only be skimmed over.
You can remove entry hazards from your opponent’s field, i.e. the ones that you set up, by using Defog. That is the joke. Ha, ha, very funny Game Freak. The second method has already been mentioned: when Toxic Spikes are up, switching in a “grounded” Poison type will remove them, not much to explain there.
Rapid Spin
The third method of removing entry hazards is the move Rapid Spin. It’s a Normal Type move with 20 base power, 100% accuracy and 40 PP (64 when PP Ups are included). If Rapid Spin hits, it removes all layers of all entry hazards from your side of the field. As a Normal Type move, it does not hit Ghost Type Pokemon, leading to the strategy of using spinblockers so that your Entry Hazards may stay on the field. The topic of spinblocking will be covered more thoroughly later on in the article. Rapid Spin is not widespread, with only 15 Pokemon learning it and of those only 4 are OU. But using “spinners” and knowing what the spinners are is important, so I will give a brief analysis of each Pokemon that learns Rapid Spin’s capability of using it:
Armaldo: Decent defenses, a massive Attack stat, and a good amount of other support moves make Armaldo a viable spinner. Although being Stealth Rock weak, without immunity to Spikes and Toxic Spikes hurt when combined with the lack of reliable recovery. Like many spinners, it can’t really reach its full potential without a Cleric (or a Poison Pokemon) and Wish support. Spinblockers will not often be switching into Armaldo until they know that it is a spinner, one of the advantages of it not being its usual role.
Blastoise: A very sturdy Pokemon makes a very usable spinner. Blastoise will find its way into many UU teams as a reliable physical tank which gets rid of the entry gazards. Carrying Rest will help this Pokemon out a great deal if you can’t fit other support for its initial problems with passive damage from entry hazards, although Rest always has its risks. Spinblockers fear Yawn and Toxic from Blastoise, making hitting with Rapid Spin an easier job.
Claydol: It’s in UU, but I don’t know why it hasn’t been popular enough to get the tier bump back to where it deserves to be. In UU and OU it is excellent at spinning. It is immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes, it resists Stealth Rock, and has good defenses. It can hit incoming Ghosts with Shadow Ball and has plenty of other supporting moves to help its team. The only negative things to say is that it is weak to spinblockers' STAB moves once they get in and that it lacks reliable recovery (and only one spinner has reliable recovery anyway).
Cloyster: 180 Base Defense always helps, so does being able to set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Cloyster makes a good spinner, but not a great one. It’s weak to Stealth Rock and has no immunity to the other two. It still carries considerable bulk on the physical side and can be very usable in UU.
Delibird: Immunities to Spikes and Toxic Spikes might as well be worthless with a double weakness to Stealth Rock. It has immense difficulty switching in with poor defences and trouble staying in with every other stat being terrible. Put simply its the worst spinner.
Donphan: Out of the four OU spinners, Donphan is probably the least reliable due to no immunity to Toxic Spikes. It is a great spinner nonetheless. With 120 base Attack and Defense, it can take in shots and dish out some really powerful ones at the same time. It does however get the gimmick of Odor Sleuth, making spinblockers have no immunity to Rapid Spin, while this is at the high cost of a move slot, it is certainly worth considering. Like many of the spinners one tier down, Donphan is best used with Cleric and Wish support.
Forretress: A Toxic Spikes immunity gives Forretress much greater ease when switching into entry hazards. A great typing combined with 140 base Defense makes it rather easy to switch into shots. Spinblockers will often switch in only to realise that Forretress will just set up its own entry hazards, being one of the only Pokemon who has access to all three. The big problem that Forretress faces is Magnezone, who, when you are without Shed Shell, can trap you in and leave you for an almost certain KO, and that’s your spinner gone.
Hitmonchan: All of the Hitmons can spin, although it tends to not be used with Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee. All of the Hitmons also have access to the move Foresight, which, like Odor Sleuth, removes Ghosts immunity to Rapid Spin, the Hitmons also see greater reason to use this move, as it also removes Ghosts immunity to their STAB moves. As a spinner Hitmonchan is viable, Drain Punch being an unreliable healing method, and it can hit hard on a large amount of Pokemon rather than being the one to take the shots. Using it for the surprise would be useful if Ghosts wouldn’t be switching into your STAB moves anyway.
Hitmonlee: Hitmonlee is worse than Hitmonchan at the spinning job, and can be quite a massive threat in many other roles; you can maybe use it as a filler move on a sweeping set, but there are better spinners out there.
Hitmontop: The best Hitmon spinner has decent defenses (further boosted by Intimidate) and still maintains its ability to hit hard. It still gets hit by Toxic Spikes but on a positive not at least it will block attempts to burn or paralyse. Not the best spinner but still usable.
Kabutops: It’s a mediocre spinner and can do better jobs in UU, but it can survive the rare occasion of a physical attacker who can’t hit it for super effective damage. On the other side of the coin, spinblockers aren’t going to want to switch into your STAB moves and many won’t expect Rapid Spin, giving you the hit for free (which can be especially when suicide leads are apparent).
Sandslash: Sandslash is a similar spinner to Donphan for UU and carries the same problems. However, it carries Night Slash and Shadow Claw which helps a lot against incoming spinblockers, and if you can pull off a Swords Dance pretty much no spinblocker will risk switching in on you.
Starmie: The fastest spinner, who hits hard and takes down many of OU's top sweepers (Gyarados, Infernape, Salamence). Natural Cure means that Toxic Spikes is no problem and Recover makes it the only spinner to have any form of reliable recovery. Timid and 216 Speed EVs makes it able to outspeed the common spinblocker Gengar, but you will need to hit it on the switch to be able to KO it before it KOs you; watch out for Choice Scarfed ones as well. Recover helps it hold up quite nicely against many of the other spinblockers, although a weakness to their STAB moves hurts.
Tentacruel: Being the only spinner that is Poison gives it the particular niche of automatically removing Toxic Spikes. It also stands out as the best spinner at taking special shots. It has a variety of other support moves and is also quite fast. A great spinner through and through.
Torkoal: As a fire type (and therefore being Stealth Rock weak, while still lacking Toxic Spikes immunity) its options for spinning are limited. Although it can still do the job, with 140 base Defense helping somewhat. Its STAB moves and its status options also make SpinBlockers wary.
SpinBlocking
As was mentioned several times previously, Ghost types stop Rapid Spin from working, which is essential if you want your entry hazards to stay up. You can use your spinplocker in different ways. Defensive Pokemon such as Dusknoir and Spiritomb tend to be very reliable for this, as they are more likely to stay alive longer and they don’t fear Pursuit users as much. Gengar would have to be the only OU Pokemon who is commonly used just to sweep the opponent (although it will often also shut them down with Hypnosis) but its frailty makes it somewhat unreliable to maintain the job. The Rotom Appliances and Mismagius provide a mix of the two former strategies, carrying considerable bulk and power. The Rotom Appliances have actually received quite a bit of popularity to to be able to quite easily handle all four of the OU spinners (barring the rare situation of Life Orb Starmie or Payback Forretress). The Rotom Appliances and Mismagius are the best ones to take on Starmie, as Gengar falls to Starmie if it is hit on the switch.
Toxic Spikes Weak
This is just a tip when making a competitive team: beware of the effect of Toxic Spikes. If you’re team is weak to it, you can find all of your bulky Pokemon useless after two turns of staying in, and your sweepers on 1/2 health before they attack. There are many ways to be prepared for Toxic Spikes, and if you see that 4 out of your 6 Pokemon are hit by it, it may be time to consider slotting a “grounded” Poison Type Pokemon somewhere.
In Conclusion
To summarise this guide: know how to handle entry hazards and how to utilize them; if you’re not prepared for them they can really cripple you.
This has actually been my first guide, so I hope that it wasn’t too difficult to read (my syntax has been described as bad before) and hope that it helped.
Thanks for reading and happy battling!
