Ferrothorn [QC 3/3]

Martin

A monoid in the category of endofunctors
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Ferrothorn has an extreme case of 4mss, yet you seem to exclude it from the overview. You should probably fix that.
 

Gary

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Ferrothorn has an extreme case of 4mss, yet you seem to exclude it from the overview. You should probably fix that.
If you're not using Ferro as your SR setter, you're pretty much always going to use two attacking moves + Protect/Leech Seed. To be honest Thunder Wave isn't even the greatest move on Ferro and it's usually not considered over its other options. Spikes is definitely an option somewhere, and if your team desperately needs them than Ferro can opt to give up an attacking move without caring too much about it. So yeah, it doesn't really have a bad case of 4MSS at all, because for the most part Ferro can be tailored specifically to fit your team.
 

Super Mario Bro

All we ever look for
The given EVs allow Ferrothorn to circumvent physically offensive threats while also preventing Greninja’s Ice Beam from 3HKOing Ferrothorn as well as Tail Glow Manaphy’s Ice Beam from 2HKOing.
+3 252 SpA Manaphy Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 40 SpD Ferrothorn: 174-205 (49.4 - 58.2%) -- 64.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

It would need a spread of 252 HP / 104 Def / 152 SpD to avoid the 2HKO.
 
Last edited:

horyzhnz

[10:02:17 AM] flcl: its hory xD
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Overview
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Ferrothorn has a lot to love for a defensive Pokemon. Its typing is stellar in being able to resist many common attacks,(AC) - including Stone Edge, Waterfall, and Play Rough. Iron Barbs, its ability, Its Iron Barbs ability is great for deterring physical contact to contact moves from targetting Ferrothorn,(AC) as the recoil from Iron Barbs (and Rocky Helmet) can add up quickly. Ferrothorn should be seen as a supportive Pokemon that can threaten switch-ins with Leech Seed, entry hazards, paralysis, or one of its STAB attacks. Having a quadruple weakness to Fire-type attacks and losing its Ghost- and Dark-type resist is a setback for Ferrothorn; however, it is still a Pokemon that can prevent powerful physical threats such as Azumarill lacking Superpower and Gyarados from sweeping through Ferrothorn’s its team.


Utility
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name: Utility
move 1: Leech Seed
move 2: Protect / Thunder Wave
move 3: Power Whip / Gyro Ball
move 4: Stealth Rock / Gyro Ball / Spikes
ability: Iron Barbs
item: Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
evs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD
nature: Relaxed / Impish
ivs: 0 Spe


Moves
========

Leech Seed is the only attack move that is a must for mandatory on Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn lacks reliable recovery and can be worn down without assistance from Leech Seed and Leftovers. Leech Seed can be annoying for many Pokemon that may like to switch into Ferrothorn,(AC) such as Conkeldurr. Protect is great when paired with Leftovers and Leech Seed,(AC) as - Ferrothorn can easily recover a lot of health with the combination of moves and its item while scouting for attacks from Pokemon such as Azumarill. Alternatively,(AC) there is Thunder Wave can be used to slow down faster threats such as Mega Gyarados,(AC) and preventing Pokemon such as Charizard from switching into Ferrothorn so quickly for free. For attacking options,(AC) Ferrothorn has two powerful STABs in Gyro Ball and Power Whip. Power Whip covers Mega Gyarados and Azumarill. Gyro Ball is great against Deoxys-S and Dragonite while being a good way to have allowing Ferrothorn to stop Mega Pinsir in a dire an emergency. (space) Finally, Ferrothorn has two entry hazards to consider using. Stealth Rock is easier for Ferrothorn to set up,(AC) as it can force many switches and sometimes has to be swapped out immediately afterwards. Spikes is great when Ferrothorn has a teammate laying that can already set up Stealth Rock like Skarmory or Landorus-T.

The combination of attacks moves can vary; however, but it is necessary to at least carry one of your two STAB attacks when using Ferrothorn. The choice of Thunder Wave and Protect varies from utilizing utilizes Ferrothorn's capability of ability to forcing force switches to be an advantage for slowing threats down or using Protect to and scout for the opponent's attacks while obtaining health from Leech Seed and Leftovers. When using Thunder Wave,(AC) don't bother to run Gyro Ball; - the power drop after the opponent becomes slower is significant. Ferrothorn is capable of running without forgoing entry hazards as well,(AC) since - other Pokemon such as Deoxys-D can set up entry hazards to leave Ferrothorn as a defensive switch-in for dangerous threats.

There are two other moves to consider for using on Ferrothorn: - Knock Off and Iron Head. Knock Off is great for on Ferrothorn since it causes many switches and forcing the opponent forces the switch-in to lose their item. Iron Head can be used for a reliable Steel-type STAB when using Thunder Wave,(AC) and the 20% flinch rate can be very annoying when paired with paralysis and Leech Seed.


Set Details
========

The given EVs allow Ferrothorn to circumvent check most physically offensive threats while also preventing Greninja's Ice Beam from 3HKOing Ferrothorn as well as Tail Glow Manaphy’s Ice Beam from 2HKOing. A Relaxed nature with a 0 Speed IVs is recommended to boost Ferrothorn’s base power on Gyro Ball the Base Power of Gyro Ball. An Impish nature can be used instead with a 31 Speed IVs if Ferrothorn is using Thunder Wave and Iron Head,(AC) or lacking Gyro Ball altogether. An alternative spread of 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpD prevents Kyurem’s Modest Kyurem's Life Orb Ice Beam from 2HKOing Ferrothorn.

The choice of items really boils down to what you want Ferrothorn to be more effective with at. With Leftovers, Ferrothorn becomes more reliable in at tanking attacks while having Protect to help gain a free turn of Leftovers recovery. The combination of Leech Seed and Leftovers can make lets Ferrothorn recover a lot of health,(AC) and pairing these with Protect just makes Ferrothorn that much more annoying. Rocky Helmet trades survivability to increase passive damage when an opponent makes physical contact with Ferrothorn.

Iron Barbs is the only ability to consider on Ferrothorn. Forget that Anticipation ever existed as a secondary option for Ferrothorn.


Usage Tips
========

Ferrothorn is a defensive Pokemon that supports its teammates in multiple ways. When Ferrothorn uses entry hazards,(AC) it can be used as a lead to get Stealth Rock down up as quickly as possible. Because Deoxys-S and Deoxys-D are also common leads,(RC) though, it may be best to leave Ferrothorn in the reserve and set up Stealth Rock later. Ferrothorn should use its monstrous defenses to switch into threats such as Greninja, Azumarill, and Gyarados. After Ferrothorn is in, Ferrothorn it can opt to use Leech Seed to obtain extra health from the opponent, use Protect to scout out possible moves such as Superpower on Azumarill, laying entry hazards to deter constant switches switching, or using use its powerful STABs attacks. Alternatively, Thunder Wave can really screw up some of the faster Pokemon that may switch into Ferrothorn,(AC) - or,(RC) at worst, prevent them from switching into Ferrothorn safely. Bear in mind that Ferrothorn's STABs are easily resisted by a lot of Pokemon, so the safest move to use is usually Leech Seed. Protect can also be used by the opponent to set up on Ferrothorn. Always bear these in mind when using Ferrothorn and building around it.


Team Options
========

Ferrothorn is a Pokemon that is usually on more defensive teams; however, it isn't a complete rarity to see Ferrothorn be included in more balanced teams. For more defensive teams,(AC) consider Pokemon such as Hippowdon to prevent Mega Charizard X from taking advantage of switching into its resistance to Ferrothorn's STABs. Hippowdon can also lay Stealth Rock or wear out the opponent with the combination of Toxic and the sandstorm summoned by Sand Stream. Chansey is a great Pokemon that can pass Wishes to Ferrothorn while being able to cripple Mega Charizard Y. When using Stealth Rock,(AC) Ferrothorn appreciates Pokemon that can force the opponent to reconsider using Defog as a means to remove entry hazards. Defiant Bisharp or Thundurus are two solid examples of Pokemon that can really intimidate Defog users from clearing away the entry hazards laid by Ferrothorn. Landorus-T is also a good Pokemon to consider as it carries Stealth Rock, has Intimidate, can use U-turn to pivot into Ferrothorn, and use STAB Earthquake on Pokemon such as Mega Mawile. Clefable and Sylveon can be great teammates as they prevent Fighting-types such as Conkeldurr from being able to safely use Drain Punch or keep potential threats such as Greninja and Dragonite at bay when Ferrothorn is missing either of its STABs. Gyarados and Ferrothorn have a great typing combination type synergy and can really assist each other by taking on some of their problematic Pokemon the Pokemon that give each other problems.



Other Options
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Bulldoze is an option if Heatran switch-ins need to be taken care of,(AC) while also preventing Magnezone from trapping Ferrothorn,(AC) - assuming Magnezone lacks Hidden Power Fire. Toxic can be used to poison possible switch-ins; however, most will usually be immune to Toxic or possibly have Aromatherapy and Heal Bell support right behind them. Curse is an option since Ferrothorn is naturally bulky on both defensive spectrums and has an immunity to Toxic. Finally, Ferrothorn has just enough of an offensive movepool to use a Choice Band, but it isn't recommended due to Ferrothorn mainly being used as a defensive Pokemon.


Checks & Counters
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**Fire-types**: Ferrothorn's STABs are easily resisted by Fire-types such as Heatran, Volcarona, Talonflame, and Charizard. Both All of these Pokemon can switch into the majority most of Ferrothorn's attacks and leave Ferrothorn it singed from their STAB Fire-type attacks. Though rare, Entei has an the added benefit of its STAB Sacred Fire not being prone to incurring Iron Barbs damage. Talonflame and Mega Charizard X must be weary as their STAB Fire-type moves are contact moves,(AC) and,(RC) thus,(RC) cause them to take passive damage from Iron Barbs and possibly from Rocky Helmet.


**Physical Walls**: Like most Pokemon that don't invest into their Attack,(AC) Ferrothorn is a Pokemon that is easy to wall for some physical walls. Skarmory takes no damage whatsoever while possibly utilizing its own Rocky Helmet to damage Ferrothorn if it uses Gyro Ball or Power Whip. Defog can eliminate Stealth Rock or Spikes too,(AC) while Skarmory sets up its own. Zapdos can also utilize Defog and,(RC) as an added bonus, use Heat Wave to make sure Ferrothorn leaves the scene quietly. Mandibuzz can use Taunt to completely shut down Ferrothorn. Mega Venusaur needs Hidden Power Fire to deal significant damage,(AC) but it can easily switch into any attack Ferrothorn uses and,(RC) in most cases, scare it off since Ferrothorn cannot do anything back to Mega Venusaur.


**Fighting-types**: Though Fighting-types may have an awkward time switching into Ferrothorn and the majority hate taking Iron Barbs passive damage,(AC) they are easily capable of scaring Ferrothorn off. Though Conkeldurr will take a lot of damage in the process from Iron Barbs,(AC) it can restore its health with a STAB Drain Punch. Lucario easily resists both of Ferrothorn's STABs to let it and can freely set up a Swords Dance.

**Taunt**: Ferrothorn is shut down hard by Taunt users as its STABs are rather easy to wall. As stated before,(AC) Mandibuzz can easily use Taunt as well as other Pokemon including Heatran, Skarmory, Talonflame, and Thundurus-I can easy easily use Taunt. Deoxys-D can easily Taunt Ferrothorn and then proceed to set up its own entry hazards.

you should probably go ahead and change the thread title. I'm really hoping this was ready for gp and i didn't just screw up lol

GP 1/2

 
Last edited:

Jukain

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This is slightly outdated.

imo the best overall set is leech seed / protect / power whip / gyro or knock off. leech seed + protect is just really important to get all the recovery you need and scout things like chomper fire blast and ninja hp fire. note the last slot i said best overall set, sr should be primary or secondary slash naturally. anyways about knock off. this was something tesung first told me about in maybe april, and i tried it out to a good amount of success. it smacks aegi and does stuff like get off incoming heatran leftovers which is big as its only source of recovery is removed and you can then seed its switch-ins so it takes a lot of residual with that + sr on every switch-in or like an incoming conk's assault vest or skarm's rocky helm/lefties or a kyurem-b's life orb, you know what i mean. knock off is worthy of a slash, spikes is not bc they're really not that good in the metagame overall plus ferro has better stuff to use.

leech seed / protect / power whip / sr | gyro | knock off

also rocky helm is not really worth a slash. the passive recovery with lefties, especially combined with leech seed/protect goes a long way toward keeping ferro healthy. rocky helm just...isn't that useful. sure you chip at stuff more but at the cost of ferro's recovery it's not worth it. put that in set details.

i'm also thinking that a more specially defensive spread could be used, for sponging aegi shadow balls, ninja/kyub ice beams, etc. i personally often use the bw spread (252/48+/208) just because of the extra sdef it provides, 252/128+/128 avoids the 2hko from kyub life orb ice beam or something iirc? looking for any input on the spread, i just think more sdef is definitely useful and should probably be the main spread.
 

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