Spiritomb

[feen]

QC: IronBullet93 / dodmen / King UU
GP: GatoDelFuego / Snobalt

[OVERVIEW]

Spiritomb has an excellent typing in Dark / Ghost, giving it only one weakness to Fairy while being immune to Fighting-, Psychic-, and Normal-type moves. This means Spiritomb can pivot into a lot of foes, such as Curse Snorlax, Mienshao, Lucario, Reuniclus, Cresselia, and Slowking. It has great Defense and Special Defense stats of 108 each, which gives it a lot of durability. Infiltrator lets Spiritomb attack through Reflect, Light Screen, and Substitute. Unfortunately, Spiritomb has a poor Speed stat, a low HP stat, and a shallow offensive movepool. Spiritomb also faces competition as a spinblocker from Jellicent, which is faster and has reliable recovery but has lower bulk and a worse defensive typing than Spiritomb.

[SET]
name: Offensive Support
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Will-O-Wisp
move 3: Foul Play
move 4: Taunt / Pursuit / Pain Split
item: Black Glasses / Leftovers
ability: Infiltrator
nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def


[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========================

Sucker Punch can wear down fast attackers, OHKOing Choice Scarf Chandelure and Nasty Plot Azelf. Will-O-Wisp can burn Pokemon behind Substitutes thanks to Infiltrator. Foul Play lets Spiritomb discourage opposing sweepers from setting up in front of it. Taunt can be used as well to entirely stop setup or recovery as well, notably from Reuniclus, Slowking, and Snorlax. However, Pursuit enables Spiritomb to trap Psychic- and Ghost-types, such as Azelf, Espeon, Chandelure, Slowking, and Reuniclus. Alternatively, Pain Split helps Spiritomb recover its low HP while damaging the foe.

Set Details
==========================

This set focuses on Spiritomb's offensive prowess as well as providing support for the team, while bypassing screens and Substitutes thanks to Infiltrator. 252 HP EVs and 252 Attack EVs with Adamant nature are used, to improve Spiritomb's ability to withstand hits and attack the foe. Black Glasses can increase the power of Foul Play, Pursuit, and Sucker Punch, while Leftovers give Spiritomb a bit of recovery, which is important if not running Pain Split.

Usage Tips
============================

This set works best on balanced teams and can check a lot of setup sweepers, such as Doublade, Mega Abomasnow, Cobalion, Reuniclus, Curse Snorlax, and Lucario, as well as fast revenge killers, such as Mienshao, and then trap them with Pursuit, giving balanced teams a great Pokemon to check these threats. It can also work as a revenge killer to Choice-locked Pokemon thanks to Sucker Punch or can trap them with Pursuit. Taunt can also stop entry hazard stacking from Forretress while blocking Rapid Spin.

Team Options
==========================

Steel-types, such as Forretress, Empoleon, and Doublade, are great partners to Spiritomb, as they can tank Fairy-type, attacks which Spiritomb hates. The former two can provide entry hazards while the latter two can set up on Fairies. Spiritomb loves bulky Water-type partners, such as Suicune, Alomomola, Swampert, Empoleon, and Vaporeon, as they can beat strong Fire-types, which put pressure on Spiritomb, and they can also attempt to burn Fairy-types with Scald. Grounded Poison-types, such as Nidoqueen, Nidoking, and Toxicroak, can absorb Toxic Spikes as well as check Fairy-types. Finally, Wish support, as well as Heal Bell or Aromatherapy support from Aromatisse and Florges, is recommended if not running Pain Split, as it can help Spiritomb stay alive, allowing it to support the team longer.

[SET]
Name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Dark Pulse
move 3: Rest
move 4: Will-O-Wisp / Sleep Talk
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Infiltrator / Pressure
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD


[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========================

Calm Mind boosts Spiritomb's Special Defense and Special Attack to greater levels. Dark Pulse is used over Shadow Ball so that Spiritomb can hit Normal-types, but Shadow Ball can also be used because it does decent damage to Lucario and Cobalion. Rest is used to heal Spiritomb entirely after it has set up. Will-O-Wisp is used to cripple walls and physical attackers. Sleep Talk can be used with Pressure to set up or attack while sleeping so that Spiritomb does not become a burden when it's asleep and can PP stall the foe.

Set Details
========================

This set makes Spiritomb a decent setup sweeper and a potential win condition, dealing with Calm Mind Reuniclus, Slowking, Cresselia, and Curse Snorlax. 252 HP EVs and 252 Defense EVs with a Bold nature are used to maximize Spiritomb's physical bulk, and Infiltrator is used to hit behind Substitutes and screens, while Pressure can be used to PP stall opposing setup sweepers.

Usage Tips
========================

This set is an absolute counter to bulky Calm Mind Psychic-type sweepers, such as Reuniclus, Slowking, and Cresselia. This set works great on stall and balanced teams by giving the team a potential win condition, which most stall teams lack. This set can render Substitutes and screens useless. Moreover, Spiritomb can set up all over defensive Pokemon that rely on status.

Team Options
========================

Spiritomb loves a cleric partner, especially Florges and Aromatisse, which can take care of Dark- and Fighting-types for Spiritomb as well as provide Wish and Aromatherapy support. Additionally, Spiritomb appreciates Toxic Spikes, it makes its sweep easier by poisoning and crippling the foe; as such Nidoqueen, Tentacruel, and Roserade are amazing partners. Poison- or Steel-types are great partners to Spiritomb, as they can stop the likes of Whimsicott and Calm Mind Florges, which threaten this set.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=================

Shadow Sneak could be used over Sucker Punch for a more reliable priority move, but it's significantly weaker. Psychic can be used to hit Machamp and Heracross, considering that they love switching in to get burned, but Spiritomb's other moves are too valuable to be replaced. A Custap Berry + Destiny Bond set can be used to surprise the foe and take them down with Spiritomb. A defensive RestTalk set can be used with Will-O-Wisp to cripple threats while having the ability to heal Spiritomb reliably. An offensive set could be used with Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball to hit specially frail Pokemon while Pursuit trapping physically frail foes.


Checks and Counters
=====================

**Powerful Fire-types**: Entei, Choice Specs Rotom-H, Darmanitan, and Mega Camerupt are immune to Will-O-Wisp, have enough bulk to take a hit from Spiritomb and can deal huge damage back to it with their STAB attacks.

**Fairy-types**: Aromatisse, Florges, Granbull, Whimsicott, and Slurpuff can hit Spiritomb super effectively with their STAB moves while resisting Spiritomb's Dark-type attacks.

**Dark-type Taunt Users**: Mandibuzz, Krookodile, and Hydreigon resist both of Spiritomb's STAB types and can Taunt it, stopping it from using Will-O-Wisp, healing, or setting up.

**Guts Users**: Machamp and Heracross enjoy being burned and can do massive damage to Spiritomb in return.

**Bulky Setup Sweepers**: The offensive set is a setup bait for the likes of Calm Mind Suicune and Calm Mind Florges, which take little damage from Spiritomb's attacks, and Will-O-Wisp is useless on them.

**Special Wallbreakers**: Hydreigon, Kyurem, Mega Ampharos, Mega Pidgeot, and Dragalge can do massive damage to Spiritomb due to its mediocre special bulk.

 

[feen]

This should be okay now.

Ready for QC.

 

[Kreme]

You're only supposed to write stuff up after getting the second QC check so revert all the stuff back to bullet points and then I'll try to suggest some changes.

 

[feen]

You're only supposed to write stuff up after getting the second QC check so revert all the stuff back to bullet points and then I'll try to suggest some changes.

Ah fk

 

[feen]

Yeah done now Kreme

 

[IronBullet]

Offensive Set

• I think Foul Play is a must. Sucker Punch and Pursuit are unreliable STAB options and Tomb needs a reliable move to work with. Let Pursuit be the move slashed with Taunt and Pain Split.
• Remove the 50/50 situation mention in Usage Tips, just mention that it can revenge kill certain sweepers with Sucker Punch and can trap Pokemon locked into an unfavourable move with Pursuit.
• Mention that it makes a great Reuniclus check, and hard counters Curselax if Tomb packs Taunt.
• Leftovers can be slashed, as otherwise without Pain Split it's going to be worn down very fast.
• Mention some of the sweepers it can check, such as Mienshao, Cobalion, Doublade, Mega Abomasnow, and Lucario.
• Mention that it works well on balanced teams that need a reliable check to the Pokemon above.
• Mention Poison-types as potential teammates as they check Fairies and absorb Toxic Spikes which Spiritomb hates.
• Spooky Plate as a potential item if you choose to run Shadow Ball

Defensive Set

• Mention that it makes an excellent counter to bulky Calm Mind Psychic-types.
• It can still beat Fire-type Pokemon with boosted Dark Pulses, so I don't think bulky Waters are an absolute must as team options. Rather, mention Poison- and Steel-type Pokemon that can deal with the likes of Whimsicott and Calm Mind Florges who threaten this set.

Other Options

• Shadow Sneak
• Psychic to hit Guts Machamp and Heracross who don't care about WoW.

C&C

• Powerful special wallbreakers are huge problems due to Spiritomb's mediocre bulk, so create a section for these. Examples are Hydreigon, Kyurem, Mega Ampharos, and Dragalge.
• Heracross deserves a special mention for not caring about most of Tomb's moves and getting a Guts boost from WoW.
• The offensive set is setup bait for bulky sweepers such as CM Florges and CroCune.

Will give you a check once everything is implemented :)

 

[feen]

All fixed! Thanks for helping IronBullet93 :)

 

[IronBullet]

• You still need to describe the items in the first set, stating why each is useful.
• Also don't specifically mention CM Florges and CroCune in the title in C&C, bulky setup sweepers in general can use Spiritomb as setup bait. So name the section "Bulky Setup Sweepers".

QC 1/3, nice work!

 

[Kreme]

OK so sorry I took a while, I was actually unsure of Spiritomb's main set lol. I'll be taking into account IronBullet's suggested changes btw. Anyhow, for the Overview I would mention Spiritomb's role in the UnderUsed tier. You also mentioned "it can switch into a lot of things", I would give examples of such things. Now for the first set. In Moves I would change the order of the moves to Sucker Punch, Will-O-Wisp, Foul Play, Pursuit / Taunt / Pain Split, as WoW and Foul Play seem more important than the slot that is up to user discretion. I would also change the move description accordingly (Sucker > WoW > Foul Play > Pursuit > Taunt > Pain Split). I would mention in Set Details about what Infiltrator provides Spiritomb, i.e bypassing Screens and Substitute, and how this is beneficial to Spiritomb, i.e allows Spiritomb to cripple setup sweepers that attempt to avoid getting burnt by Will-O-Wisp by using Substitute. I would then remove the line in Usage Tips about how Spiritomb can burn attackers behind Substitute. For Team Options, I would mention Pokemon with clerical moves, as they can remove status effects that cripple Spiritomb. I would give examples for each Team Option listed, for instance, Suicune and Alomomola for bulky Water-types and Toxicroak for Poison-types. Speaking of Team Options I would change the Poison-type section to grounded Poison-types since those are the only ones that can remove TSpikes upon entry. Onto the second set. I would mention what the item, ability and nature provide for Spiritomb in Set Details. Now, for Other Options I would add Choice Band + Trick, Memento, Nasty Plot and Toxic. Finally, for Checks & Counters. First and foremost I would fix the spacing in between each C&C. I would change "Dark-type Taunters" to "Taunt users" as Spiritomb's not too strong without Sucker Punch and most Taunt users can beat Spiritomb anyways, they at least shut down the CM set and prevent the offensive set from doing much other than use Pursuit and Sucker Punch. I would change "Special Wallbreakers" to "Wallbreakers" since wallbreakers in general pretty much bop Spiritomb without taking too much back, although you could mention physically offensive wallbreakers have to be wary of Will-O-Wisp. Anyhow I'm not QC so just implement what you think should be implemented.

 

[feen]

Thanks IronBullet93 and Kreme they're all fixed

 

[dodmen]

Intro should mention that attacking-wise its movepool is terrible as if it wants any form of consistent, reliable damage, it has to use Foul Play. It also faces competition from Jellicent, who has much more useful resistances, reliable recovery, and is faster.

I think Taunt should be slashed first in the last set's fourth moveslot, since what's the point of having a hard counter to Snorlax and Reuniclus if they can just set up in front of you and PP stall you? Taunt is also cool for Taunting stuff like Florges on the switchin after you've already burned them. In the first set when you talk about Pursuit, give specific examples of stuff it can trap instead of generalizing: Chandelure, Mega Beedrill, and Reuniclus.

WoW should be slashed before Sleep Talk for the defensive set. Without it, Spiritomb is doing jack shit early and mid-game while your opponent has any Dark resistance. It makes you much safer against Cobalion, Lucario, etc. You still beat Reuniclus since it can't touch you, and stil match up fairly well against other Psychics. Mention that Pressure should only be used if you're not running Wisp, which is not recommended. Then, add clerics as potential teammates.

Both sets Team Options: strong Heracross checks. Aromatisse is the best one I can come up with since it can also reliably Heal Bell.

Other Options: These are moves that didn't make it to the main sets, so you should highlight their disadvantages. For example, Shadow Sneak is more reliable, but much weaker than Sucker Punch, and Psychic on an offensive set forces you to give up either Foul Play or your last slot, both of which you want pretty badly.

These are all pretty minor changes, overall well done for your first analysis!

 

[feen]

Thanks dodmen, they're all implemented.

 

[dodmen]

• On the other hand, a more Specially offensive set could be run with 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Atk with Spooky Plate and Quiet nature with Dark Pulse over Sucker Punch and Shadow Ball over Taunt / Foul Play to hit specially while Pursuit trapping making it a mixed attacker.

Move this to Other Options.

• This set works best on balanced teams, and can check a lot of pokemon including set up sweepers such as Doublade, Mega Abomasnow, Cobalion, Reuniclus, Curselax and Lucario as well as fast revenge killers such as Mienshao, and then trap them with Pursuit giving damage, giving balanced teams the perfect pokemon to check these threats.

I wouldn't say "perfect", but I'd go with a less absolute word.

For the "Wallbreakers" part of C&C, change it back to special wallbreakers, since between Fire-types and Guts users, you've basically already covered all the physical wallbreakers that would switch into Spiritomb.

Small stuff, QC 2/3 after this.

 

[feen]

All implemented. Gonna write up soon.

 

[feen]

All written up. Ready for the last QC.

 

[Kink]

Overview

• "Furthermore, It has a poor HP stat of 50 but with the move Pain Split it can come in handy." - Make sure you specify what exactly comes in handy
  
• ". Furthermore, it's offensive movepool is poor and Foul Play is the only move that can give a reliable consistent damage." redundant furthermores, if this is a negative point, say it right off the bat. Words like "unfortunately" make things easier to explain.

Set #1

• Mention Taunt in the order of the moveset aka before Pursuit
• It actually OHKOs those attackers, so change that (in regards to Nasty Plot Azelf and whatnot)
• Mention that a combination of Pain Split + Taunt can be a somewhat effective stallbreaker
• In Usage Tips mention how Taunt makes it effective against Forrettress which cannot Rapid Spin and set entry hazards.
• Cobalion cannot take special fairy type attacks so please remove that in Team Options.

Set #2

• If you're going to go into such detail regarding Shadow Ball, mention how it's a useful alternative against Pokemon such as Lucario or Cobalion would could otherwise eat a Dark Pulse and hit back with reasonable damage, however I would emphasize that Dark Pulse is the superior choice.
• This set is not a Terrifying win-condition, it's a niche-set in a tier full of win conditions - feel free to mention that it beats stuff like CM Reuniclus / Cress / Curselax, but don't overexaggerate it's viability.
• The set should ABSOLUTELY be Rest Talk first, Will-O-Wisp second. This is a Resttalk set.
• In team options, all RestTalk pokemon like a cleric, so there's no need to mention the non-resttalk variant.
• In Other Options, Guts Machamp is virtually non-existent in UU, so just say Machamp and Heracross

Some grammatical issues throughout the analysis that GP will talk to you about, so feel free to do your own touch-up before putting this into GP. Let me know once you've implemented these changes and I'll give you a check.

 

[feen]

All implemented King UU , I've changed the name of the second set to CalmMind Sweeper.

 

[Kink]

Change it to Resttalk, and to Sleep Talk as first slash.

 

[feen]

Done King UU

 

[dodmen]

Why do you think it absolutely has to be Rest Talk? My argument was that with only Dark Pulse, you're completely unable to do anything early- to mid-game against any sort of Dark resistance. With Wisp, at least you can start to whittle Whimsicott, force Florges to Heal Bell, not be complete setup fodder for Cobalion/Luc/Mence, relieve pressure from stuff like Mega Aero/Crobat, etc. The main reason I could see for using Sleep Talk would be to boost evenly with Slowking and Cresselia, but if you Wisp them you force them to recover more frequently and still have a good chance to beat both.

Also,

• In Other Options, Guts Machamp is virtually non-existent in UU, so just say Machamp and Heracross

?_?

 

[feen]

Tbh dodmen's opinions seem more logical. Changing back to dodmen's comments.

 

[Kink]

Why do you think it absolutely has to be Rest Talk? My argument was that with only Dark Pulse, you're completely unable to do anything early- to mid-game against any sort of Dark resistance. With Wisp, at least you can start to whittle Whimsicott, force Florges to Heal Bell, not be complete setup fodder for Cobalion/Luc/Mence, relieve pressure from stuff like Mega Aero/Crobat, etc. The main reason I could see for using Sleep Talk would be to boost evenly with Slowking and Cresselia, but if you Wisp them you force them to recover more frequently and still have a good chance to beat both.

Also,
?_?

If it's a win condition, it needs sleep talk otherwise it's 3hkoed by half the physical attackers in the tier. The premise of rest calm mind is to have a chance at applying pressure during vital sleep turns.

No guard Machamp is standard and guts Machamp is almost never seen in high level play. Are you suggesting I'm wrong? I just told him to go general with his statement so it's ubiquitous to all Machamps.

Tbh dodmen's opinions seem more logical. Changing back to dodmen's comments.

The purpose of a QC team is to have different perspectives on a set, as they see its main functionality in a tier. I've made my changes and edits and I stand by them. If you want the third check, please change your information to my edits otherwise I ask you find someone else to give you a third check.

 

[Kreme]

If it's a win condition, it needs sleep talk otherwise it's 3hkoed by half the physical attackers in the tier. The premise of rest calm mind is to have a chance at applying pressure during vital sleep turns.

No guard Machamp is standard and guts Machamp is almost never seen in high level play. Are you suggesting I'm wrong? I just told him to go general with his statement so it's ubiquitous to all Machamps.

The purpose of a QC team is to have different perspectives on a set, as they see its main functionality in a tier. I've made my changes and edits and I stand by them. If you want the third check, please change your information to my edits otherwise I ask you find someone else to give you a third check.

I believe dodmen's "?_?" is because you said "In Other Options, Guts Machamp is virtually non-existent in UU, so just say Machamp and Heracross", although either way I'm not sure where this change is actually directed towards since the only time Guts Machamp was mentioned in the analysis is in the "Guts Users" section in which case it has to be Guts Machamp.

Edit: Sorry lol, actually misdid something, the OO part was fine, but the whole reason Psychic is there is for Guts Machamp anyway, although it wasn't specifically mentioned either.

 

[dodmen]

No, the premise of using Calm Mind is to boost alongside mons like Slowking and Cresselia and eventually beat them, and maybe have a chance at a sweep once all your checks are gone, although a full sweep is most likely not gonna happen. It's job isn't to go all-out for a sweep, but rather to check the things it's supposed to and stand its ground against as many threats as it can. You're never gonna be able to set up if you keep giving free turns to Florges and Aromatisse, or if there's a Whimsicott that can keep switching into you without punishment, or if there's a healthy Cobalion on the other side of the field.

Running Sleep Talk doesn't help much against the physical attackers that can 3HKO you, but Wisp does. Anyway, this is one slash on the second set of the moves of a very niche Pokemon so I don't want to waste too much energy on this, but yeah.

Edit: I gave specific examples of how wisp would help and how it's a better use of a move slot than ST, and your argument was "apply more pressure to physical attackers that 3HKO you (they won't 3HKO when burned though)

 

[IronBullet]

Machamp is mentioned in three places on the analysis, and in all three it needs to be specified which ability is being referred to. This is because, even though Guts Machamp is uncommon, it's still viable and is part of the Machamp analysis. Under Set Comments for the Calm Mind set, mention No Guard Machamp specifically. Under Other Options for Psychic, mention Guts Machamp specifically because No Guard Machamp is rendered useless by WoW anyway. In C&C "Guts Users" is already mentioned, so there's no need to change anything here.

Rename the second set "Calm Mind" because going with WoW instead of Sleep Talk is perfectly acceptable. I don't really mind how you order them; I can see both WoW and Sleep Talk being handy.