Giratina-O (Analysis)

[Jibaku*]

[Overview]
<p> Giratina-O possesses a titanic base 150 HP, combined with respectable base 100 Defense and Special Defense, granting it a great amount of bulk to switch into attacks repeatedly. Levitate makes this even easier, as it can avoid Toxic Spikes and Spikes, and allows Giratina-O to act as the team’s Ground-type immunity. Offensively, Giratina-O can cause serious amounts of damage with its amazing base 120 Attack and Special Attack, along with access to very powerful moves such as Draco Meteor and Outrage, as well as a priority move in Shadow Sneak. But Giratina-O’s most powerful utility comes with its amazing Ghost/Dragon typing, which grants it many resistances and immunities, as well as giving STAB to its powerful moves. Although Giratina-O has common weaknesses and can only hold the Griseous Orb, the aforementioned traits are more than enough to make Giratina-O a monster offensively and defensively, and of course, one of the best spinblockers in the game.</p>

[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Hidden Power Fire
move 3: Shadow Sneak
move 4: Dragon Tail
item: Griseous Orb
evs: 248 Atk / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
nature: Naughty / Lonely

[SET COMMENTS]
<p> Thanks to its STABs, high offensive stats, and the boost from Griseous Orb, Giratina-O is a deadly mixed attacker. It may not be as powerful as Dialga or Rayquaza, but its typing and bulk set it apart from them. Draco Meteor is Giratina-O’s strongest attack and will leave gaping dents on anything that does not resist it, bar Blissey and Eviolite Chansey. Hidden Power Fire allows Giratina-O to fulfill its spinblocking role by roasting Forretress and Excadrill, the two most common Rapid Spinners in the Uber metagame. It also complements Draco Meteor well and takes care of problematic Steel-type Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Metagross. Shadow Sneak appears weak at first, but it allows Giratina-O to pick off weakened sweepers. Amongst the most notable are Mewtwo and Ghost Arceus, as they are both weak to it. Dragon Tail allows it to phaze enemies around and racking up damage with entry hazards (which Giratina-O conveniently spinblocks), and making set ups extremely difficult. Combined with STAB, Giratina-O's naturally high Attack, and Griseous Orb boost, it will often leave a fair dent on most Pokemon in the game.</p>

<p>Unlike what is normally expected on mixed attackers, Giratina-O’s EVs are tailored to maximize its offenses instead of its Speed. This is because Giratina-O is already one of the slower Pokemon in the Uber metagame, and combined with the Speed IV imperfection granted by Hidden Power Fire, it cannot expect to outrun the offensive base 90 Speed Pokemon. However, the reason the natures are Naughty / Lonely instead of Brave is that Giratina-O would like to outrun the defensive base 90 Speed Pokemon such as Groudon and Kyogre. If the Speed EVs are insufficient, you may drop some from either offensive stats and invest more in Speed. Naive and Hasty are also options for the speed freaks. With at least 244 Speed EVs, Giratina-O can outrun Excadrill when sandstorm is not raging. Giratina-O can also run Defense EVs instead of Special Attack to make it a great emergency check to the likes of Swords Dance Arceus, Groudon, and Blaziken. For instance, with max Defense, Giratina-O will always survive Max Attack Adamant +2 Life Orb Shadow Claw from Arceus and Blaziken after taking Stealth Rock damage.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Giratina-O absolutely loves entry hazard support, perhaps more than any Pokemon in the game due to its ability to block Rapid Spin and its tendency to wreak havoc with Dragon Tail. Forretress, Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Deoxys-S are all able to set up Stealth Rock and Spikes. Forretress in particular gets a nod as it can lay down Toxic Spikes, and is also resistant to all of Giratina-O’s weaknesses, and vice versa. Groudon, Dialga, and some Arceus variants are great at setting up Stealth Rock and provide defensive backup. Since Giratina-O lacks recovery, Wish support is helpful. Blissey can sponge special attacks (particularly Draco Meteor) aimed at Giratina-O, and pass on its gigantic Wishes to Giratina-O. Jirachi and Giratina-O’s typings complement each other defensively, but Giratina-O’s massive HP stat means Jirachi’s Wish won’t heal as much. Regardless, the support remains helpful.</p>

[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Dragon Pulse / Shadow Ball
move 4: Aura Sphere / Shadow Ball / Thunder
evs: 208 HP / 76 Def / 216 SpA / 8 SpD
nature: Modest

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Although Giratina-O's Speed may not be appealing, Giratina-O can still attempt a sweep via Calm Mind due to its excellent bulk and reasonably powerful attacks. What makes this set appealing, however, is courtesy of Giratina-O's Ghost/Dragon typing and access to Levitate, granting it crucial immunities to Seismic Toss, Rapid Spin, and entry hazards. These traits allow it to set up Calm Mind with relative ease against stall teams and inflict major damage, while rendering Blissey or Chansey useless with the use of Substitute.</p>

<p>It is recommended to have Dragon Pulse as Giratina-O's main attack, due to its amazing neutral coverage as well as hitting a myriad of Ubers super effectively. However, Shadow Ball allows Giratina-O to deal significant amount of damage to Mewtwo, Mew, Wobbuffet, and most importantly, Lugia, who could otherwise wall it to an extent. Whichever move you choose, Aura Sphere complements the coverage, hitting Pokemon such as Steel Arceus, Heatran, Dialga, Ferrothorn and Tyranitar for super-effective damage. Thunder should only be used with Dragon Pulse for the best coverage. It hits Forretress, Kyogre, and Ho-Oh harder than any of its other moves, as well as dealing a decent amount to Lugia. However, rain support is needed to ensure that it never misses. Finally, you can utilize both of Giratina-O's STAB attacks to hit many Ubers super effectively, sacrificing general neutral coverage in the process. Be warned, however, as Ferrothorn can defeat Giratina-O without Aura Sphere.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Hidden Power Fire may be used to immediately cut through Forretress and Ferrothorn in the sun. The combination of Hidden Power Fire and Dragon Pulse is only resisted by Heatran.</p>

<p>The EV spread allows Giratina-O to survive Choice Scarf Garchomp Outrage and Choice Scarf Palkia's Spacial Rend after Stealth Rock damage. The rest are thrown into Special Attack to power up its attacks. However, if being slow and defensive does not suit you well, maximizing Speed and Special Attack, with Timid nature, is an option.</p>

<p>Like the previous set, Giratina-O appreciates Steel-type teammates and entry hazards support. It is also fortunate that most of the viable Spikes-laying Pokemon in the Uber metagame are Steel-typed (Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Forretress). Wish support is highly recommended to keep Giratina-O at high health in order for it to have more chances at pulling a successful sweep, so Jirachi and Blissey/Chansey work well as partners. As far as counters go, there aren't a whole lot of counters for this set because Giratina-O can take just about anything with a Calm Mind and inflict massive damage back. However, it suffers from a two-attack syndrome. Lugia and Ghost Arceus can take it on without Shadow Ball, while Dragon-type Pokemon such as Palkia and Zekrom pose problems to those without Dragon Pulse. Ferrothorn, Tyranitar, and Heatran also annoy those without Aura Sphere.</p>

[Other Options]
<p>Should Dragon Tail's negative priority and low base power not appeal to you on the mixed set, Dragon Claw or Outrage are options. If defensive Kyogre and Ho-Oh are problematic, Outrage is the superior option as it 3HKOes the former and 2HKOes the latter. It can also deal over 50% to 4 HP / 0 Def Arceus (unless the Arceus is Steel-typed), and combined with Toxic Spikes, Arceus will have a difficult time trying to stall it out. If none of the aforementioned problems are of your concern, Dragon Claw is better as it lacks the locking drawback of Outrage, and thus can be thrown about much more easily. Keep in mind that combined with entry hazards, Dragon Tail will do more damage on average than Dragon Claw and can potentially place the opponent into a terrible position.</p>

<p>Rest and Sleep Talk allow Giratina-O to preserve its bulk, but severely limits its attacking option. They are best used with Calm Mind and Dragon Pulse. Will-O-Wisp can burn unsuspecting enemies such as Tyranitar. Combined with a physically defensive spread, Giratina-O can act as a check to Ground Arceus. Stone Edge can be used to take down Ho-Oh but offers no real use outside of that. Giratina-O's signature move, Shadow Force, deals an incredible amount of damage, but its charge up turn can be played around against and leave Giratina-O vulnerable. Thunder Wave can cripple faster attackers such as Arceus and Choice Scarf Dialga. Destiny Bond is usable for surprise kills once in a while, but with Giratina-O's middling Speed, it is extremely unreliable and should not be used often. Magic Coat can be used to bounce back Spikes from Deoxys-S and Ferrothorn, and Dark Void from Darkrai, should you want to put Giratina-O in the leading role. Giratina-O can also attempt to sweep from the physical side, utilizing Hone Claws, Shadow Sneak, Earthquake, and Dragon Claw, but its power in that department leaves a lot to be desired.</p>

[Checks and Counters]
<p>Lugia can generally wall whatever Giratina-O throws at it and whittle it down with Ice Beam or blow it away with Whirlwind, while setting up Reflect to significantly weaken its physical moves. The rare Cresselia also follows the same principle, minus Whirlwind. Steel and Dark Arceus, with its great bulk and Speed, can switch into almost anything that Giratina-O throws at it and Recover the damage. It can proceed to severely damage Giratina-O with Judgment. Heatran can counter Mixed versions without Earthquake and Calm Mind versions without Aura Sphere. Tyranitar and Jirachi are also annoying for the Mixed attacker without Earthquake. Dialga can take a hit from Giratina-O can OHKO back with its own STAB Dragon-type attacks. Keep in mind that Dragon Tail makes countering Giratina-O harder than it seems, however.</p>

<p>Giratina-O isn't too difficult to revenge kill due to its weaknesses, lack of item options, and having average Speed. Choice Scarf Palkia, Dialga, Reshiram, and Zekrom can OHKO Giratina-O. Darkrai outruns Giratina-O, resists Shadow Sneak, and can severely cripple it with Dark Pulse (or put it to sleep with Dark Void). Be wary of the Calm Mind set, as it won't be so easily taken down. However, it doesn't have as much initial power as the Mixed Attacker and requires set up, and thus can be taken advantage of.</p>

[Dream World]
<p> Giratina-O did not receive a new Dream World ability (though its cousin, Giratina, received Telepathy). However, it has a competition for a spinblocker - Shadow Tag Shandera, who can immeidately trap and kill Forretress. Giratina-O still maintains a number of advantages though, such as having a Ground immunity, much more bulk, access to Dragon Tail and a better set of resistances.</p>

[Jibaku*]

ergh this is done. Sorry it took a while.

[shrang]

1) No mention of the Naive fast spread on the mixed attacker??
2) No physical Giratina-O sets??

[Jibaku*]

I'm trying to make this analysis as basic as possible and will only add more sets when needed.

I'll add in Naive

[firecape]

[Dream World]
<p> Giratina-O did not receive a new Dream World ability (though its cousin, Giratina, received Telepathy). However, it has a competition for a spinblocker - Shadow Tag Shandera, who can immeidately trap and kill Forretress. Giratina-O still maintains a number of advantages though, such as having a Ground immunity, much more bulk, and a better set of resistances.</p>

Also it isn't weak to Stealth Rock and is immune to all other forms of hazards (namely Toxic Spikes which have risen quite a bit in usage with Custap Forry). Other than that not really much else I can think of.



QC approved 1/2.

[Ice-eyes]

Mention Earthquake on the mix set, AC if not slashed? Heatran is pretty common and you might want to lure and take it out if a lot of things on your team have trouble with it.

[Jibaku*]

ACed Earthquake on the mixed set, moved Dragon Tail into the main slash

[Fireburn]

QC APPROVED (2/2)

[trickroom]

Defensive Giratina-O with Will-o-wisp makes it one of the best Ground Arceus checks since it avoids Earthquake while only taking a neutral Stone Edge. Unless Ground Arceus has Dragon Claw, it will never 2HKO Giratina-O even with a +2 Stone Edge as long as Giratina-O has enough Defense evs.

Steel Arceus walls Giratina-O completely since Hidden Power Fire is doing little damage. Even Earthquake does not 2HKO Steel Arceus on average.

Also the rare Cresselia walls Giratina-O completely just like Lugia and can status or slowly kill Giratina-O with Ice Beam !_!

[Jibaku*]

Mentioned all 3, made Dragon Tail the primary slash in the Mixed set.

[trickroom]

I think you should remove Dragon Claw from the slash and mention it in AC at best. Just think about it, when will you use Dragon Claw? It is relatively weak and it doesn't even 2HKO Blissey sometimes. Dragon Tail is by far the worst best option to it.

Giratina-O is bulky, forces a lot of switches and hits decently hard with Dragon Tail anyway. Dragon Tail will actually outdamage Dragon Claw if you factor in entry hazards damage which Giratina conveniently blocks like what you wrote. Dragon Claw doesn't even 2HKO Max HP Ho-Oh. With Dragon Tail Ho-oh will die the next switch in if Stealth Rock is up. Outrage 2HKOes all Ho-Oh and Kyogre.

If you can give a situation where Dragon Claw is superior to Outrage or Dragon Tail that will be nice :) Dragon Tail also allows Giratina-O to temporary stop Swords Dance Normal Arceus as long as Giratina has at least 250 Defense to survive a +2 Shadow Claw. With just 8 Defense EVs, Jolly Arceus can never OHKO Giratina-O with +2 LO Shadow Claw.

Damage Calculations

---

+2 LO Shadow Claw from Adamant Arceus deals 93.4% - 110.2%to min HP Giratina-O (guaranteed OHKO after rocks)
+2 LO Shadow Claw from Jolly Arceus deals 84.4% - 99.3% to minHP/8 Def EV Giratina-O
+2 LO Shadow Claw from Jolly Arceus deals 84.8% - 100.2% to minHP Giratina-O

If Arceus lacks Life Orb, it never OHKOes Giratina-O with +2 Shadow Claw. Dealing 71.7% - 84.8% if Arceus is max attack Adamant.

You should mention an alternate spread of 248 Atk / 252 Def / 8 Spe
It checks a lot of physical volleys better, of course I am providing damage calculations!

Giratina-O lost much of its Special Attack but it can be worth is sometimes. Hidden Power Fire still kills Forretress and Ferrothorn in sun anyway. In rain, Ferrothorn will stop you regardless.

Due to Giratina-O's large HP stat, maxing his Defense like the way you use it, seems like the best option. (all the calculations are for Max Defense Naughty Giratina-O)
With 299 Defense, Giratina-O becomes bulkier than Timid Lugia.

calculations on 441 HP / 299 Def Giratina-O

---

+2 LO Adamant Arceus Shadow Claw to max Defense Giratina-O 73.9% - 87.1% ( this is never an OHKO after rocks)

Jolly Arceus does 67.1% - 79.4%

If Arceus lacks Life Orb, +2 Jolly Arceus Shadow Claw does 51.7% - 61.2% while Adamant nature Arceus does 51.7% - 61.2% with the same attack, allowing time for Giratina-O to Dragon Tail out Arceus and come back in later.

Jolly Ghost Arceus does 46.3% - 54.9% to max Defense Giratina-O with Shadow Claw.
Shadow Force does 80.3% - 94.3%. In order to survive a +2 Shadow Claw, Giratina-O needs at least 168 HP EVs together with Max Defense without the need of a Defense boosting nature. If Giratina-O wants to survive it after Stealth Rock, Giratina-O needs to use a Defense boosting nature. With Lax and Max Defense/HP +2 Shadow Claw does 73.8% - 87.3% to Giratina-O.

Blaziken has the same attack as Arceus so the calculations are unnecessary.

some random calculations vs 441 HP / 299 Def Giratina-O

---

Choice Band Groudon Dragon Claw does 56.2% - 66.7% to Max Defense Naughty Giratina-O. This is considered weak I guess.

Rock Polish LO Groudon Dragon Claw vs the same Giratina-O 49.9% - 59%

Ho-Oh's LO Brave Bird does 49.9% - 59.2% 2HKO but hey nothing enjoys taking Brave Birds too much, minus Bold Lugia :P

Without LO, Ho-Oh's Brave Bird does 38.3% - 45.6%
Jolly LO Rayquaza Dragon Claw hits you for 68% - 80.3% no OHKO even after Stealth Rock

Jolly Zekrom's Scarf Outrage does 78% - 92.5% so Giratina-O can possibly survive it and OHKO back with Draco Meteor

SD Garchomp Outrage with LO vs 299 Def Giratina-O = 91.6% - 107.9% OHKOes you with Stealth Rock

Without the Orb Garchomp does 70.7% - 83.4% no OHKO after Stealth Rock

Dragon Arceus Outrage hits you for 80.3% - 94.3%, you can survive and KO back with Draco Meteor.

Choice Band Gyarados Outrage vs 299 Def Giratina-O = 74.8% - 88.4% (this is Giratina-O's worst nightmare because Gyarados stands a chance to OHKO it after Stealth Rock while Giratina-O cannot OHKO Gyarados back! If you need more info on Gyarados slaying Giratina-O, just ask Eo Ut Mortus :P )

Where is the Calm Mind RestTalk set? I think you should add it back because it defeats Boosting Tank Kyogre handily. The RestTalk set can use max HP / max Def but keep Modest as the nature of choice, since Modest gives a lot of initial power and Bold doesn't help Giratina-O survive anything extra, except a chance of surviving +2 Shadow Claw after rocks and Rayquaza's Outrage.

[Jibaku*]

Updated
- Moved Dragon Claw to AC
- Mentioned the max Defense spread on the mixed set
- I don't have experience with the CM Rest Talk set so it'd be better if someone else wrote that

And of course you'd find a way to sneak Gyarados into the calc -_____________-

PS: Jibaku sucks

http://www.learnmyself.com/poll59788xd7EB8E8d

[trickroom]

Where did Outrage went? It deserves mention by slaying bulky Kyogre in two hits :)
It immediately OHKOes Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock and 2HKOes Calm Chansey. :) Iunno if AC is where it should stay. Outrage helps some teams kill last pokemon CM Rest Kyogre or some random Arceys like Fire Arceus :)

The Calm Mind RestTalk set sucked when I used it versus you but I don't know. Since you don't want to add it and it failed so hard :( I changed my mind I am not doing it :P

PS: Jibaku that's a fake log. It was posted to test the script. My Gyarados never sucked, only the opponent's Gyarados sucked :( I felt so sad, because they misused the mighty Gyarados. I am sure Jibaku is fooling around with April's Fool Day. When will I say Gyarados sucks LOL. I like Gyarados more than Blissey. Jibaku stop abusing April Fool Tricks X__X

[cosmicexplorer]

I'm not a member of GP, but I hope this helps a bit.

...

---

Originally Posted by Fat Jibaku

[Overview]
<p>Giratina-O possesses a titanic base 150 HP, combined which in conjunction with a respectable base 100 Defense and Special Defense, grantings it a great amount of bulk, allowing it to switch into attacks repeatedly. Levitate makes this even easier, as it can allowing it to avoid Toxic Spikes and Spikes, and allows Giratina-O to act as the team's Ground-type immunity. Offensively, Giratina-O can cause serious amounts of damage with its amazing base 120 Attack and Special Attack, along with access to very powerful moves such as in Draco Meteor and Outrage, as well as a priority move in Shadow Sneak. But Giratina-O’s most powerful utility comes with its amazing Ghost/Dragon typing, which grants it many resistances and immunities, as well as giving STAB to its and gives it access to powerful STAB moves. Although Giratina-O has common weaknesses and can only hold the Griseous Orb, the aforementioned traits are more than enough to make Giratina-O a monster offensively and defensively, and of course, one of the best spinblockers in the game.</p>

[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Hidden Power Fire
move 3: Shadow Sneak
move 4: Dragon Tail
item: Griseous Orb
evs: 248 Atk / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
nature: Naughty / Lonely

[SET COMMENTS]
<p> Thanks to its STABs With its excellent dual STAB attacks, high offensive stats, and the boost from Griseous Orb, Giratina-O is a deadly mixed attacker. It may not be as powerful as Dialga or Rayquaza, but its typing and bulk set it apart from them. Draco Meteor is Giratina-O’s strongest attack and will leave gaping dents on anything that does not resist it, bar Blissey and Eviolite Chansey. Hidden Power Fire allows Giratina-O to fulfill its spinblocking role by roasting Forretress and Excadrill, the two most common Rapid Spinners in the Uber metagame. It also complements Draco Meteor well, and takes care of problematic Steel-type Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Metagross. Shadow Sneak appears weak at first, but it allows Giratina-O to pick off weakened sweepers. Amongst, the most notable arebeing Mewtwo and Ghost Arceus, as they are both weak to it. Dragon Tail allows it to phaze enemies around and racking up damage with entry hazards (which Giratina-O conveniently spinblocks), and making set upsit extremely difficult. Combined with STAB, for the opponent to set up. The STAB booost, in conjunction with Giratina-O's naturally high Attack, and the Griseous Orb boost, it will often leave a fair dent on most Pokemon in the gamemeans Dragon Tail will leave a fair dent on most opposing Pokemon.</p>

<p>Unlike what is normally expected on mixed attackers, Giratina-O’s EVs are tailored to maximize its offenses instead of its Speed. This is because Giratina-O is already one of the slower Pokemon in the Uber metagame, and combined with the Speed IV imperfection granted by Hidden Power Fire, it cannot expect to outrun the offensive base 90 Speed Pokemon. However, the reason the natures are Naughty / Lonely instead of Brave is that Giratina-O would like to outrun the defensive base 90 Speed Pokemon such as Groudon and Kyogre. If the Speed EVs are insufficient, you may drop some from either offensive stats and invest more in Speed. Naive and Hasty are also options for the speed freaks. With at least 244 Speed EVs, Giratina-O can outrun Excadrill when sandstorm is not raging. Giratina-O can also run Defense EVs instead of Special Attack to make it a great emergency check to the likes of Swords Dance Arceus, Groudon, and Blaziken. For instance, with max Defense, Giratina-O will always survive Max Attack Adamant +2 Life Orb Shadow Claw from Arceus and Blaziken after taking Stealth Rock damage.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Giratina-O absolutely loves entry hazard support, perhaps more than any Pokemon in the game due to its ability to block Rapid Spin and its tendency to wreak havoc with Dragon Tail. Forretress, Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Deoxys-S are all able to set up Stealth Rock and Spikes. Forretress in particular gets a nod as it can lay down Toxic Spikes, and is also resistant to all of Giratina-O’s weaknesses, and vice versa. Groudon, Dialga, and some Arceus variants are great at setting up Stealth Rock and provide defensive backup. Since Giratina-O lacks recovery, Wish support is helpful. Blissey can sponge special attacks (particularly Draco Meteor) aimed at Giratina-O, and pass on its gigantic Wishes to Giratina-O. Jirachi and Giratina-O’s typings complement each other defensively, but Giratina-O’s massive HP stat means Jirachi’s Wish won’t heal as much. Regardless, the support remains helpful.</p>

[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Dragon Pulse / Shadow Ball
move 4: Aura Sphere / Shadow Ball / Thunder
evs: 208 HP / 76 Def / 216 SpA / 8 SpD
nature: Modest

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Although Giratina-O's Speed may not be appealing, Giratina-O can still attempt a sweep via using Calm Mind due to its excellent bulk and reasonably powerful attacks. What makes this set appealing, however, is courtesy of Giratina-O's Ghost/Dragon typing and access to Levitate, granting it crucial immunities to Seismic Toss, Rapid Spin, and entry hazards. These traits allow it to set up Calm Mind with relative ease against stall teams and inflict major damage, while rendering Blissey or Chansey useless with the use of Substitute.</p>

<p>It is recommended to have Dragon Pulse as Giratina-O's main attack, due to its amazing neutral coverage as well as hitting a myriad of Ubers for super effectively damage. However, Shadow Ball allows Giratina-O to deal a significant amount of damage to Mewtwo, Mew, Wobbuffet, and most importantly, Lugia, who could otherwise wall it to an extent. Whichever move you choose, Aura Sphere complements the coverage, hitting Pokemon such as Steel Arceus, Heatran, Dialga, Ferrothorn and Tyranitar for super-effective damage. Thunder should only be used with Dragon Pulse for the best coverage. It hits Forretress, Kyogre, and Ho-Oh harder than any of its other moves, as well as dealing a decent amount to Lugia. However, rain support is needed to ensure that it never misses. Finally, you can utilize both of Giratina-O's STAB attacks to hit many Ubers for super effectively damage, sacrificing general neutral coverage in the process. Be warned, however, as Ferrothorn can defeat Giratina-O without Aura Sphere.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Hidden Power Fire may be used to immediately cut through Forretress and Ferrothorn in the sun. The combination of Hidden Power Fire and Dragon Pulse is only resisted by Heatran.</p>

<p>The EV spread allows Giratina-O to survive Choice Scarf Garchomp Outrage and Choice Scarf Palkia's Spacial Rend after Stealth Rock damage. The rest are thrown into Special Attack to power up its attacks. However, if being slow and defensive does not suit you well, maximizing Speed and Special Attack, with Timid nature, is an option.</p>

<p>Like the previous set, Giratina-O appreciates Steel-type teammates and entry hazards support. It is also fortunate that most of the viable Spikes-laying Pokemon in the Uber metagame are Steel-typed (, such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Forretress). Wish support is highly recommended to keep Giratina-O at high health, in order for it to have more chances at pulling a successful sweep, so Jirachi and Blissey/Chansey work well as partners. As far as counters go, there aren't a whole lot of counters for this set because Giratina-O can take just about anything with a Calm Mind and inflict massive damage back. However, it suffers from a two-attack syndrome. Lugia and Ghost Arceus can take it on without Shadow Ball, while Dragon-type Pokemon such as Palkia and Zekrom pose problems to those without Dragon Pulse. Ferrothorn, Tyranitar, and Heatran also annoy those without Aura Sphere.</p>

[Other Options]
<p>Should Dragon Tail's negative priority and low base power not appeal to you on the mixed set, Dragon Claw or Outrage are options. If defensive Kyogre and Ho-Oh are problematic, Outrage is the superior option as it 3HKOes the former and 2HKOes the latter. It can also deal over 50% to 4 HP / 0 Def Arceus (unless the Arceus is Steel-typed), and combined with Toxic Spikes, Arceus will have a difficult time trying to stall it out. If none of the aforementioned problems are of your concern, Dragon Claw is better as it lacks the locking drawback of Outrage, and thus can be thrown about much more easily. Keep in mind that combined with entry hazards, Dragon Tail will do more damage on average than Dragon Claw, and can potentially place the opponent into a terrible position.</p>

<p>Rest and Sleep Talk allow Giratina-O to preserve its bulk, but severely limits its attacking options. They are best used with Calm Mind and Dragon Pulse. Will-O-Wisp can burn unsuspecting enemies such as Tyranitar. Combined, and in conjunction with a physically defensive spread, allows Giratina-O can to act as a check to Ground Arceus. Stone Edge can be used to take down Ho-Oh, but offers no real use outside of that. Giratina-O's signature move, Shadow Force, deals an incredible amount of damage, but its charge up turn can be played around against, and leaves Giratina-O vulnerable after use. Thunder Wave can cripple faster attackers such as Arceus and Choice Scarf Dialga. Destiny Bond is usable for surprise kills once in a while, but with Giratina-O's middling Speed, it is extremely unreliable and should not be used often. Magic Coat can be used to bounce back Spikes from Deoxys-S and Ferrothorn, and Dark Void from Darkrai, should you want to put Giratina-O in the leading role. Giratina-O can also attempt to sweep from the physical side, utilizing Hone Claws, Shadow Sneak, Earthquake, and Dragon Claw, but its power in that department leaves a lot to be desired.</p>

[Checks and Counters]
<p>Lugia can generally wall whatever Giratina-O throws at it and whittle it down with Ice Beam or blow it away with Whirlwind, while setting up Reflect to significantly weaken its physical moves. The rare Cresselia also follows the same principle, minus Whirlwind. Steel and Dark Arceus, with its great bulk and Speed, can switch into almost anything that Giratina-O throws at it and Recover the damage. It can proceed to severely damage Giratina-O with Judgment. Heatran can counter Mixed versions without Earthquake and Calm Mind versions without Aura Sphere. Tyranitar and Jirachi are also annoying for the Mixed attacker without Earthquake. Dialga can take a hit from Giratina-O cand OHKO back with its own STAB Dragon-type attacks. KHowever, keep in mind that Dragon Tail makes countering Giratina-O harder than it seems, however.</p>

<p>Giratina-O isn't too difficult to revenge kill due to its weaknesses, lack of item options, and having average Speed. Choice Scarf Palkia, Dialga, Reshiram, and Zekrom can OHKO Giratina-O. Darkrai outruns Giratina-O, resists Shadow Sneak, and can severely cripple it with Dark Pulse (or put it to sleep with Dark Void). Be wary of the Calm Mind set, as it won't be so easily taken down. However, it doesn't have as much initial power as the Mixed Attacker and requires set up, and thus can be taken advantage of.</p>

[Dream World]
<p> Giratina-O did not receive a new Dream World ability (, although its cousin, Giratina, received Telepathy). However, it has a competition for a spinblocker - in Shadow Tag Shandera, who Chandelure, which can immediately trap and kill Forretress. Giratina-O still maintains a number of advantages though, such as having a Ground immunity, much more bulk, access to Dragon Tail, and a better set of resistances.</p>

[calze6]

Why does gira-O need so many EVs in atk with only shadow sneak and dragon tail? Either EVs should be changed or outrage put back on (can take on Ho-oh/bliss, etc). Thunder should also be mentioned to beat kyogre, Lugia, ho-oh, skarm, etc.

[Jibaku*]

You need max Attack to KO Mewtwo at 50% with Sneak and some Pokemon with around that bulk at 25% (okay this doesn't seem much at all but given how prevalent entry hazards are in ubers things being at 25% is actually pretty common), and since you will be spamming Dragon Tail a -lot- that boost in power adds up rather nicely.

Granted, there are many ways to EV Giratina-O and I had trouble settling down on a spread, so I just went with what's known as effective.

[bian]

Just want to ask, but is Naughty the preferred nature over Lonely on the mixed set? But aren't Special Attacks more common in Ubers? Thanks! :)

[IcyMan28]

It is really a matter of preference. Even with Lonely, the more powerful special attacks will be KOing you regardless (Specs Draco Meteors, CM boosted attacks, etc), so using Naughty at least preserves physical defenses for taking priority.

That said, Gira-O's resistances tend to lie on the special side (think Surf, Fire Blast, Thunder), and it is already immune to the two most common physical attacks. It is up to the user to decide what's best for their team.

[trickroom]

Naughty is the preferred nature because Giratina-O is an awesome check to Groudon and Terrakion. Rock Polish Groudon, Ground Arceus, Excadrill, Blaziken, Victini, Scizor and Terrakion are stopped by Giratina-O so a Naughty nature is used. Giratina-O also takes Psytrike from Mewtwo better with Naughty although Ice Beam will kill it now.

A Lonely nature still has it uses like what IcyMan said. Although Giratina-O usually doesn't like coming in on Special attacks because many of those users pack super effective moves to smack Giratina-O with -----> Palkia, Offensive Kyogre, Dialga, Reshiram, Zekrom

[giggity69]

Giratina-O is bulky enough to still play off its specially-based resistances even with a SpD reducing nature, but with a Def reducing nature neutral physical attacks like stone edge and bullet punch take too much out of him for him to check RP groudon, terrakion, scizor, etc.

Naught / Naive all the way

[Berserker Lord]

[Overview]
<p>(Backspace)Giratina-O possesses a titanic base 150 HP, combined with respectable base 100 Defense and Special Defense, granting it a great amount of bulk to switch into attacks repeatedly. Levitate makes this even easier, as it can avoid Toxic Spikes and Spikes, and allows Giratina-O to act as the team’s Ground-type immunity. Offensively, Giratina-O can cause serious amounts of damage with its amazing base 120 Attack and Special Attack, along with access to very powerful moves such as Draco Meteor and Outrage, as well as and a priority move in Shadow Sneak. But Giratina-O’s most powerful utility comes with its amazing Ghost/Dragon typing, which grants it many resistances and immunities, as well as giving STAB to its powerful moves. Although Giratina-O has common weaknesses and can only hold the Griseous Orb, the aforementioned traits are more than enough to make Giratina-O a monster offensively and defensively, and of course, one of the best spinblockers in the game.</p>

[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Hidden Power Fire
move 3: Shadow Sneak
move 4: Dragon Tail
item: Griseous Orb
evs: 248 Atk / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
nature: Naughty / Lonely

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>(Backspace) Thanks to its STABs, high offensive stats, and the boost from Griseous Orb, Giratina-O is a deadly mixed attacker. It may not be as powerful as Dialga or Rayquaza, but its typing and bulk set it apart from them. Draco Meteor is Giratina-O’s strongest attack, and will leave gaping huge (gaping implies an opening, while dent does not implie that at all) dents on anything that does not resist it, bar Blissey and Eviolite Chansey. Hidden Power Fire allows Giratina-O to fulfill its spinblocking role by roasting Forretress and Excadrill, the two most common Rapid Spinners in the Uber metagame. It also complements Draco Meteor well and takes care of problematic Steel-type Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Metagross. Shadow Sneak appears weak at first, but it allows Giratina-O to pick off weakened sweepers. Amongst the most notable are Mewtwo and Ghost Arceus, as they are both weak to it. Dragon Tail allows it to phaze enemies around and racking up damage with entry hazards (which Giratina-O conveniently spinblocks), and making makes set ups setting up on Giratina-O extremely difficult. Combined with STAB, Giratina-O's naturally high Attack, and Griseous Orb boost, it will often leave a fair dent on most Pokemon in the game.</p>

<p>Unlike what is normally expected on mixed attackers, Giratina-O’s EVs are tailored to maximize its offenses instead of its Speed. This is because Giratina-O is already one of the slower slowest Pokemon in the Uber metagame, and combined with the Speed IV imperfection granted by Hidden Power Fire, it cannot expect to outrun speed tie the offensive base 90 Speed Pokemon. However, the reason the natures are Naughty / Lonely instead of Brave is that Giratina-O would like to outrun the defensive base 90 Speed Pokemon such as Groudon and Kyogre. If the Speed EVs are insufficient, you may drop some from either offensive stats and invest more in Speed. Naive and Hasty are also options for the speed freaks. With at least 244 Speed EVs, Giratina-O can outrun Excadrill when sandstorm is not raging. Giratina-O can also run Defense EVs instead of Special Attack to make it a great emergency check to the likes of Swords Dance Arceus, Groudon, and Blaziken. For instance, with max Defense, Giratina-O will always survive Max Attack Adamant +2 Life Orb Shadow Claw from Arceus and Blaziken after taking Stealth Rock damage.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Giratina-O absolutely loves entry hazard support, perhaps more than any Pokemon in the game due to its ability to block Rapid Spin and its tendency to wreak havoc with Dragon Tail. Forretress, Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Deoxys-S are all able to set up Stealth Rock and Spikes. Forretress in particular gets a nod as it can lay down Toxic Spikes, and is also resistant to all of Giratina-O’s weaknesses, and vice versa. Groudon, Dialga, and some Arceus variants are great at setting up Stealth Rock and provide defensive backup. Since Giratina-O lacks recovery, Wish support is helpful. Blissey can sponge special attacks (particularly Draco Meteor) aimed at Giratina-O, and pass on its gigantic Wishes to Giratina-O. Jirachi and Giratina-O’s typings complement each other defensively, but Giratina-O’s massive HP stat means Jirachi’s Wish won’t heal as much. Regardless, the support remains helpful.</p>

[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Dragon Pulse / Shadow Ball
move 4: Aura Sphere / Shadow Ball / Thunder
item: Griseous Orb
evs: 208 HP / 76 Def / 216 SpA / 8 SpD
nature: Modest

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Although Giratina-O's Speed may not be appealing, Giratina-O can still attempt a sweep via Calm Mind due to its excellent bulk and reasonably powerful attacks. What makes this set appealing, however, is courtesy of Giratina-O's Ghost/Dragon typing and access to Levitate, granting it crucial immunities to Seismic Toss, Rapid Spin, and entry hazards Spikes, and Toxic Spikes. These traits allow it to set up Calm Mind with relative ease against stall teams and inflict major damage, while rendering Blissey or Chansey useless with the use of Substitute.</p>

<p>It is It's recommended to have Dragon Pulse as Giratina-O's main attack, due to its amazing neutral coverage as well as hitting a myriad of Ubers super effectively. However, Shadow Ball allows Giratina-O to deal significant amount of damage to Mewtwo, Mew, Wobbuffet, and most importantly, Lugia, who could otherwise wall it to an extent. Whichever move you choose, Aura Sphere complements the coverage, hitting Pokemon such as Steel Arceus, Heatran, Dialga, Ferrothorn, and Tyranitar for super-effective damage. Thunder should only be used with Dragon Pulse for the best coverage. It hits Forretress, Kyogre, and Ho-Oh harder than any of its other moves, as well as dealing a decent amount to Lugia. However, rain support is needed to ensure that it never misses. Finally, you can utilize both of Giratina-O's STAB attacks to hit many Ubers super effectively, sacrificing general neutral coverage in the process. Be warned, however, as Ferrothorn can defeat Giratina-O without Aura Sphere.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Hidden Power Fire may be used to immediately cut through Forretress and Ferrothorn in the sun. The combination of Hidden Power Fire and Dragon Pulse is only resisted by Heatran.</p>

<p>The EV spread allows Giratina-O to survive Choice Scarf Garchomp Outrage and Choice Scarf Palkia's Spacial Rend after Stealth Rock damage. The rest are thrown into Special Attack to power up its attacks. However, if being slow and defensive does not suit you well, maximizing Speed and Special Attack, with Timid nature, is an option.</p>
(You need to merge the above two paragraphs because right now, it just looks ugly IMO)

<p>Like the previous set, Giratina-O appreciates Steel-type teammates and entry hazards support. It is It's also fortunate that most of the viable Spikes-laying Pokemon in the Uber metagame are Steel-typed (Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Forretress). Wish support is highly recommended to keep Giratina-O at high health in order for it to have more chances at pulling a successful sweep, so Jirachi and Blissey/Chansey work well as partners. As far as counters go, there aren't a whole lot of counters for this set because Giratina-O can take just about anything with a Calm Mind and inflict massive damage back. However, it suffers from a two-attack syndrome. Lugia and Ghost Arceus can take it on without Shadow Ball, while Dragon-type Pokemon such as Palkia and Zekrom pose problems to those without Dragon Pulse. Ferrothorn, Tyranitar, and Heatran also annoy those without Aura Sphere.</p>

[Other Options]
<p>Should Dragon Tail's negative priority and low base power not appeal to you on the mixed set, Dragon Claw or Outrage are options. If defensive Kyogre and Ho-Oh are problematic, Outrage is the superior option as it 3HKOes the former and 2HKOes the latter. It can also deal over 50% to 4 HP / 0 Def Arceus (unless the Arceus is Steel-typed), and combined with Toxic Spikes, Arceus will have a difficult time trying to stall it out. If none of the aforementioned problems are of your concern, Dragon Claw is better as it lacks the locking drawback of Outrage, and thus can be thrown about much more easily. Keep in mind that combined with entry hazards, Dragon Tail will do more damage on average than Dragon Claw and can potentially place the opponent into a terrible position.</p>

<p>Rest and Sleep Talk allow Giratina-O to preserve its bulk, but severely limits its attacking option. They are best used with Calm Mind and Dragon Pulse. Will-O-Wisp can burn unsuspecting enemies such as Tyranitar. Combined with a physically defensive spread, Giratina-O can act as a check to Ground Arceus. Stone Edge can be used to take down Ho-Oh, but offers no real use outside of that. Giratina-O's signature move, Shadow Force, deals an incredible amount of damage, but its charge up turn can be played around against and leave Giratina-O vulnerable. Thunder Wave can cripple faster attackers such as Arceus and Choice Scarf Dialga. Destiny Bond is usable for surprise kills once in a while, but with Giratina-O's middling Speed, it is extremely unreliable and should not be used often. Magic Coat can be used to bounce back Spikes from Deoxys-S and Ferrothorn, and Dark Void from Darkrai, should you want to put Giratina-O in the leading role. Giratina-O can also attempt to sweep from the physical side, utilizing Hone Claws, Shadow Sneak, Earthquake, and Dragon Claw, but its power in that department leaves a lot to be desired.</p>

[Checks and Counters]
<p>Lugia can generally wall whatever Giratina-O throws at it and whittle it down with Ice Beam or blow it away with Whirlwind, while setting up Reflect to significantly weaken its physical moves. The rare Cresselia also follows the same principle, minus Whirlwind. Steel and Dark Arceus, with its great bulk and Speed, can switch into almost anything that Giratina-O throws at it and Recover the damage. It can proceed to severely damage Giratina-O with Judgment. Heatran can counter Mixed versions without Earthquake and Calm Mind versions without Aura Sphere. Tyranitar and Jirachi are also annoying for the Mixed attacker without Earthquake. Dialga can take a hit from Giratina-O can OHKO back with its own STAB Dragon-type attacks. Keep in mind that Dragon Tail makes countering Giratina-O harder than it seems, however.</p>

<p>Giratina-O isn't too difficult to revenge kill due to its weaknesses, lack of item options, and having average Speed. Choice Scarf Palkia, Dialga, Reshiram, and Zekrom can OHKO Giratina-O. Darkrai outruns Giratina-O, resists Shadow Sneak, and can severely cripple it with Dark Pulse (or put it to sleep with Dark Void). Be wary of the Calm Mind set, as it won't be so easily taken down. However, it doesn't have as much initial power as the Mixed Attacker and requires set up, and thus can be taken advantage of.</p>

[Dream World]
<p> Giratina-O did not receive a new Dream World ability (though its cousin, Giratina, received Telepathy). However, it has a competition for a spinblocker - Shadow Tag Shandera, who can immeidately trap and kill Forretress. Giratina-O still maintains a number of advantages, though, such as having a Ground immunity, much more bulk, access to Dragon Tail, and a better set of resistances.</p>

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[Badal]

Talked to Jibaku and I'll be pushing this through GP. Expect a new thread or something up soon.

[Fatecrashers]

ok then