Spiritomb (OU Analysis)

Status: WIP

The experience I have with Spiritomb in the current metagame comes from using it on old-style stall teams that I play for fun, competitively, of course. I originally intended on only using two sets, but after talking to people on #stark I felt that the inclusion of the old Rest-Talker was merited. I'm only going to post two sets today, because I've got to get on a plane, but I promised that I would have something up in a few days.

http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/spiritomb
[SET]
name: Mono Calm Mind
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Calm Mind
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

<p>With Calm Mind to boost its special stats, Rest to clear status and recover health, and Pressure to drain the PP of its opponents, Spiritomb is an excellent countermeasure against heavy stall teams. It can come in on Blissey and easily set up while only taking a maximum of 21% from an Ice Beam or Flamethrower. Although it can't 2HKO the special wall after 6 Calm Minds, Spiritomb can PP stall Blissey, forcing her to Struggle. Unfortunately, Skarmory can still phaze with Whirlwind, but it can't kill you as Brave Bird doesn't even 3HKO. This means that Spiritomb wins if it is the last Pokemon. A heavy stall team's only other recourse against this Spiritomb is Celebi, who may phaze you with Perish Song. However, Celebi is 2HKOed by a +1 Dark Pulse or OHKOed is Stealth Rock and a full contingent of Spikes are on the field. Furthermore, due to Pressure, Perish Song only has 4 PP. All these scenarios illustrate the difficulty that a standard heavy stall team has in dealing with this Spiritomb set.</p>

<p>Spiritomb also functions as an excellent spin blocker. On average, a defensive Starmie's Surf deals around 33% damage without Calm Mind's boosts factored in. Still, though, you should try to avoid switching in on a Surf if you can help it, as with Stealth Rock you can be 3HKOed. Also, new offensive spinner Starmies with Life Orbs are gaining in popularity, so be wary of them in general. Against other Rapid Spinners, you can switch in with impunity, as Forretress and Tentacruel don't hit as hard as Starmie, which makes them setup fodder.</p>

<p>Aside from these abilities, Spiritomb is also perhaps the best counter in the game to Azelf and Gengar, who normally pose problems for stall teams due to the threat of Exploding on Blissey. But while Spiritomb can patch up holes in your stall-oriented team, it can also create new ones. Specifically, you become complete setup fodder for sweepers such as Tyranitar, Infernape, and Lucario. Therefore, you should have Pokemon that are capable of dealing with these threats. Both Hippowdon and Gliscor can generally handle both Tyranitar and Lucario. Finding checks for Infernape is difficult due to its versatility, but using Starmie or Latias is recommended.</p>

<p>It should be apparent from this analysis that this Spiritomb is most effective on pure stall or semi-stall teams that need a solid spin blocker that can also pose a serious threat to other stall teams. As such, the remaining recommended teammates for this Pokemon are part of the standard suite of stall Pokemon. There should be a Rapid Spin user, such as Starmie or Forretress. A Toxic Spiker, examples of which are Roserade, Forretress, or Tentacruel, is another good choice, if only to make sure that you aren't forced to stall Blissey out of its PP. A Spiker, Skarmory or Forretress, is also recommended to further the residual damage inflicted against the opponent.</p>

[SET]
name: Countering Utility
move 1: Sucker Punch / Shadow Ball
move 2: Pursuit / Taunt / Shadow Ball
move 3: Pain Split
move 4: Will-O-Wisp
item: Leftovers
nature: Careful / Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 212 SpD

<p>This set, aside from remaining a solid spin blocker, is an excellent counter to numerous threats such as Azelf, Gengar, Rotom-A, Machamp, and certain Starmie, all while avoiding being setup fodder for physical sweepers due to Will-O-Wisp. The EVs are designed to maximize special bulk, while guaranteeing that a Life Orb Azelf is always OHKOed by Sucker Punch given Stealth Rock and one turn of Life Orb recoil. Gengar is dealt with similarly, although its Shadow Balls hit harder. Finally, no Rapid Spin users are getting past this set any time soon, since Starmie can only manage to deal around 26% damage with Surf, while a combination of Taunt, Pain Split, and Sucker Punch can bring it down. Unfortunately, you cannot switch into Life Orb and Choice Specs variants of Starmie due to their power, but defensive Starmie can be spotted by the Leftovers recovery anyways, so it's a minimal concern.</p>

<p>A Scarfed Rotom-A can only manage approximately 34% against you with Thunderbolt, while Sucker Punch and Pursuit give it something to think about. The 44 Atk EVs ensure a 2HKO on defensive Rotom with Sucker Punch. If you would like this Spiritomb to effectively counter defensive Rotom formes as well as offensive ones, you should use a Sassy nature and fit in Shadow Ball somewhere, because Will-O-Wisp doesn't reduce Shadow Ball's power. Bear in mind, however, that such a decision moves this set closer to one run by Rotom-A, who is holistically superior due to its typing, STAB Thunderbolt, and potentially useful signature move. Sucker Punch and Pursuit are handy moves that help Spiritomb effectively deal with Azelf, Gengar, Starmie, and others, and taking them away has consequences.</p>

<p>Unlike the Calm Mind user, this Spiritomb tends to function well on balanced teams that can take advantage of the removal of Pokemon that Spiritomb counters. With Azelf, Gengar, and Rotom-A gone from the fight, Pokemon such as Mamoswine and Flygon can more freely deal damage with Earthquake since the opponent's Levitate users are gone. Gyarados is another solid partner, since it finds it easier to set up and sweep when Gengar and Rotom-A are dealt with. This Spiritomb is countered easily by Heatran and Infernape, neither of whom care about Dark-type attacks or Will-O-Wisp. Fortunately, Gyarados is a decent check for both of them, and Latias and Starmie are also solid choices to deal with them.</p>

[SET]
name: Sleep Talker
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Hidden Power Fighting / Will-O-Wisp
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 96 Def / 160 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is the old standard set for Spiritomb: however, it has since been largely supplanted by Rotom-A, who can run a similar set with superior typing, speed, and a STAB Thunderbolt. Nevertheless, with this set, Spiritomb is still able to effectively deal with Azelf, Gengar, Machamp, and Rotom-A, while retaining the potential to PP Stall important members of stall teams such as Blissey. As a bonus, you can still stop enemy Pokemon such as Tyranitar, Lucario, and Heatran from setting up due to Hidden Power Fighting or Will-O-Wisp. Therefore, if you have decided to use Spiritomb, but are not cannot afford the drawbacks present in the above two sets, the Sleep Talker makes an excellent choice.</p>

<p>The EVs on this set ensure that an enemy Gengar's unboosted Shadow Ball is a 4HKO, which does not break the Rest-Sleep Talk cycle. The remaining EVs are poured into Defense to make Spiritomb a decent Lucario check in emergencies; a +2 LO-boosted Crunch fails to OHKO, while you can cripple Lucario with Will-O-Wisp. Bear in mind, however, that Will-O-Wisp will allow free switch-ins for Heatran, so pick your last move carefully.</p>

<p>Most balanced teams will prefer to use Rotom-A over this set because of the former's generally superior antimetagame capabilities, so you will generally employ this Spiritomb on heavy stall teams. Therefore, the teammates of this set are going to be similar to the ones of the Mono Calm Mind set. Toxic Spikes support is highly recommended to ensure that you don't have to waste much of your PP removing Blissey's PP.</p>


[Team Options]
<p>Spiritomb sets with Rest and Sleep Talk will prefer Toxic Spikes support in order to wear down Blissey and the other common opponents of a stall team, such as Swampert, Hippowdon, Celebi, etc. Additionally, Spikes and Stealth Rock are a bonus, forcing your opponent's Pokemon to heal themselves more frequently. Forretress can set up all three of the entry hazards. Skarmory is another solid candidate for putting up Spikes and Stealth Rock, while Roserade or Tentacruel can setup Toxic Spikes. The Countering Utility set, which is used on more balanced teams, is helped by Spikes and Toxic Spikes, but as it isn't being used on a stall team, the two hazards aren't as important. A Sandstorm, setup by Hippowdon or Tyranitar, can help wear down Spiritomb's opponents, but Spiritomb doesn't have instant recovery, so Sandstorm can hurt you as well by nullifying your Leftovers.</p>

<p>It is difficult to discuss Spiritomb's synergy with other Pokemon in terms of typing, since it has no immunities and very few resistances. Spiritomb's immunity to Normal-type attacks rarely comes into play, and its Psychic-type immunity matters only in the case of Azelf. The immunity to Fighting-type attacks is far more useful, as there are many Fighting-types in OU, and Pokemon such as Gengar employ such attacks as well. Pokemon that are weak to Fighting-type attacks, such as Blissey, are solid partners for Spiritomb. In return, Blissey can take the harsh special assaults that Spiritomb suffers against. Physical walls and tanks such as Skarmory, Forretress, and Hippowdon are also excellent teammates for Spiritomb, as despite Spiritomb's lack of any weaknesses, it doesn't have the greatest amount of bulk.</p>

<p>In general, Spiritomb doesn't like dealing with strong physical attackers, such as Scizor, Gyarados, Tyranitar, and Salamence. Depending on the Spiritomb set you use, you might be complete setup fodder for many of these sweepers (the Mono Calm Mind set suffers from this problem the most). All these physical attackers tend to share each other as common partners, so your team should have counters for them. Hippowdon and Bronzong are solid switch-ins to physical Salamence sets. Gyarados is handled well by Suicune (provided that you have HP Electric), Starmie, and Vaporeon, all of whom work well on defensively oriented teams. Scizor is difficult to counter in the traditional sense due to U-turn, but Steel-types such as Skarmory and Forretress make decent switch-ins to the Choice Bander. Tyranitar is the most problematic Pokemon to deal with due to its versatility, but Swampert, Hippowdon, and Gliscor make solid switch-ins.</p>


[Other Options]
<p>An interesting option is using Curse on a set with Rest, which lets Spiritomb effectively deal with last-Pokemon stat-uppers such as Jirachi or Suicune. However, using Curse is inherently risky due to the HP loss, so it ends up not being good for much besides killing off the last enemy Pokemon that your stall team is facing. Spite, which also should be used alongside Rest, can make Spiritomb an effective PP Staller. This is useful mainly against stall teams, as offensive teams aren't too bothered by PP loss, and many offensive Pokemon have the power to overcome Spiritomb. Finally, Shadow Sneak is a good move that can go over Sucker Punch if you don't like relying on the latter, but it only has half the power of Sucker Punch.</p>

[EVs]
<p>All Spiritomb sets should max out HP EVs to better take hits from both ends of the spectrum. A Mono Calm Mind set should max out Defense, because Calm Mind will be boosting its Special Defense anyways. The EVs on the other sets are optimized to avoid certain KOes, such as those from Gengar. There is little point in investing heavily into Spiritomb's Attack, since the bulk is necessary avoid 3HKOes from the likes of Rotom-A and Gengar, among others.</p>

[Opinion]
<p>Spiritomb used to be the prince of OU stall teams, with its ability to counter frustrating threats such as Azelf, Machamp, and Gengar, along with being able to run through an enemy stall team with the Mono Calm Mind set. Since then, it has fallen from grace due to the advent of Rotom-A, who has superior typing, movepool, and speed. However, Spiritomb still has tools such as Calm Mind, Sucker Punch, and Pursuit to differentiate it from its counterpart, and it remains an effective spin blocker and countermeasure against opposing stall teams.</p>

[Counters]
<p>Heracross, although rarely seen in OU, is the best counter to Spiritomb due to Guts letting it handle Will-O-Wisp and its typing giving it a resistance to Sucker Punch. It can Swords Dance in front of Spiritomb or just hit it with powerful Megahorns.</p>

<p>Heatran is another solid counter, as it can easily enter on a Will-O-Wisp and, while resisting Spiritomb's Dark- and Ghost-type attacks, hit back with powerful Fire Blasts.</p>

<p>In general, most strong physical attackers, such as Scizor, Gyarados, Salamence, and Tyranitar, can defeat Spiritomb, but Will-O-Wisp is a nuisance.</p>

placeholder as i check this

mtr said:

Status: WIP

The experience I have with Spiritomb in the current metagame comes from using it on old-style stall teams that I play for fun, competitively, of course. I originally intended on only using two sets, but after talking to people on #stark I felt that the inclusion of the old Rest-Talker was merited. I'm only going to post two sets today, because I've got to get on a plane, but I promised that I would have something up in a few days.

http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/spiritomb
[SET]
name: Mono Calm Mind
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Calm Mind
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

<p>With Calm Mind to boost its special stats, Rest to clear status, and Pressure to drain the PP of its opponents, this Spiritomb is an excellent countermeasure against heavy stall teams. It can come in on Blissey and easily set up on it while only taking a maximum of 21% from an Ice Beam or Flamethrower. Although it can't 2HKO the special wall after 6 Calm Minds, Spiritomb can PP stall Blissey, forcing it to Struggle. Unfortunately, Skarmory can still phaze you out with Whirlwind, but it can't kill you: Brave Bird doesn't even 3HKO, meaning that Spiritomb wins if it is the last Pokemon. A heavy stall team's only other recourse against this Spiritomb is Celebi, who may phaze you with Perish Song. However, Celebi is 2HKOed by a once-boosted Dark Pulse (OHKOed with Stealth Rock and a full contingent of Spikes),and Perish Song has meager PP, enabling it to be stalled out after only 4 uses due to Pressure. All these scenarios reveal the difficulty that a standard heavy stall team has in dealing with this Spiritomb set.</p>

<p>Spiritomb also functions as an excellent spin blocker. On average, a defensive Starmie's Surf (the harshest attack you're likely to face from Rapid Spin users) (Life Orb Hydro Pump) deals around 33% damage, and using Calm Mind decreases this amount further. Still, though, you should try to avoid switching in on a Surf if you can help it, as with Stealth Rock you can be 3HKOed, and critical hits are a problem. Against other Rapid Spinners, you can switch in with impunity, as Forretress and Tentacruel don't hit as hard as Starmie, and thus are setup fodder.</p>

<p>Aside from these abilities, Spiritomb is also perhaps the best counter in the game to Azelf and Gengar, who normally pose problems for stall teams due to the threat of Exploding on Blissey and thus creating an opening. But while Spiritomb can patch up holes in your stall-oriented team, it can also create new ones. Specifically, you are complete setup fodder for sweepers such as Tyranitar, Infernape, and Lucario. Therefore, you should have Pokemon that are capable of dealing with such threats. Both Hippowdon and Gliscor can generally handle both Tyranitar and Lucario. Finding checks for Infernape is difficult due to its versatility, but using Starmie or Latias is recommended.</p>

<p>It should be apparent from this analysis that this Spiritomb is most effective on pure stall or semi-stall teams that need a solid spin blocker that can also pose a serious threat to other stall teams. As such, the remaining recommended teammates for this Pokemon are part of the standard suite of stall Pokemon. There should be a Rapid Spin user, such as Starmie or Forretress. A Toxic Spiker, examples of which are Roserade, Forretress, or Tentacruel, is another good choice, if only to make sure that you aren't forced to stall Blissey out of its PP. A Spiker, Skarmory or Forretress, is also recommended to further the residual damage inflicted against the opponent.</p>

[SET]
name: Countering Utility
move 1: Sucker Punch / Shadow Ball
move 2: Pursuit / Taunt / Shadow Ball
move 3: Pain Split
move 4: Will-O-Wisp
item: Leftovers
nature: Careful / Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 212 SpD

<p>This set, aside from remaining a solid spin blocker, is an excellent counter to numerous threats such as Azelf, Gengar, Rotom-A, and certain Starmie, all while avoiding being setup fodder for physical sweepers due to Will-O-Wisp. The EVs are designed to maximize special bulk, while guaranteeing that a Life Orb Azelf is always OHKOed by Sucker Punch given Stealth Rock and one turn of Life Orb recoil. Gengar is dealt with similarly, although its Shadow Balls hit harder. Finally, no Rapid Spin users are getting past this set any time soon, since Starmie can only manage to deal around 26% damage with Surf, while a combination of Taunt, Pain Split, and Sucker Punch can bring it down. Unfortunately, you cannot switch into Life Orb and Choice Specs variants of Starmie due to their power, but defensive Starmie can be spotted by the Leftovers recovery anyways, so its a minimal concern.</p>

<p>A Scarfed Rotom-A can only manage approximately 34% against you with Thunderbolt, while Sucker Punch and Pursuit give it something to think about. If you would like this Spiritomb to effectively counter defensive Rotom formes as well as offensive ones, you should use a Sassy nature and fit in Shadow Ball somewhere, because Will-O-Wisp doesn't reduce Shadow Ball's power. Bear in mind, however, that such a decision moves this set closer to Rotom-A, who is holistically superior due to its typing, STAB Thunderbolt, and signature move. Sucker Punch and Pursuit are useful moves that help Spiritomb effectively deal with Azelf, Gengar, Starmie, and others, and taking them away has consequences.</p>

<p>Unlike the Calm Mind user, this Spiritomb tends to function well on balanced teams that can take advantage of the removal of Pokemon that Spiritomb counters. With Azelf, Gengar, and Rotom-A gone from the fight, Pokemon such as Mamoswine and Flygon can more freely deal damage with Earthquake since the opponent's Levitate users are gone. Gyarados is another solid partner, since it finds it easier to set up and sweep when Gengar and Rotom-A are dealt with. This Spiritomb is countered easily by Heatran and Infernape, neither of whom care about Dark-type attacks or Will-O-Wisp. Fortunately, Gyarados is a decent check for both of them, but Latias and Starmie are also solid choices.</p>

I have the Standard StalkTomb and OO, EVs, Opinion, Counters, and Team Options left to do, which I will complete by next week, and hopefully sooner.

Click to expand...

Either / neither / both refer to two options only.
Any of / among / all of, etc., refer to three or more.
Pokémon plurals are the same as the singular (sheep, sheep, Starmie, Starmie).
Life Orb Starmie is rising in popularity as a Rapid Spinner.

Bear in mind, however, that such a decision moves this set closer to Rotom-A, who is holistically superior due to its typing, STAB Thunderbolt, and signature move.

I believe this should be a comparison between "this set" and "one [a set] run by Rotom-A", not a comparison between "this set" and "Rotom-A"

Thank you both. The original post has been updated with your changes. After classes tomorrow, I'll write this up further.

Mono Calm Mind



Countering Utility



Black is change, red is remove, purple is comments!

Good job mtr! :]

You may want to talk to either imperfectluck or Dark Talon about using a Curse Tomb set on OU stall teams. I've included it in my UU analysis, but it should probably be mentioned here as well, since this is the metagame it originated in iirc. The only thing that really needs changed are teammates, if you'd like to include it.

Yeah, about CurseTomb. I've actually thought about it for a bit, and am currently leaning towards putting it in OO. This is mainly because it's a risky set with very specific uses (killing last-Pokemon statuppers).

However, it's up for debate, and as usual, I bow to the will of the crowd.

EDIT: Typed up the third set.

Two small things I found:

mtr said:

[SET]
name: Mono Calm Mind
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Calm Mind
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

<p>With Calm Mind to boost its special stats, Rest to clear status, and Pressure to drain the PP of its opponents, this Spiritomb is an excellent countermeasure against heavy stall teams, which is the main reason that it should be used. It can come in on Blissey and easily set up on it while only taking a maximum of 21% from an Ice Beam or Flamethrower. Although it can't 2HKO the special wall after 6 Calm Minds, Spiritomb can PP stall Blissey, forcing it to Struggle. Unfortunately, Skarmory can still phaze you out with Whirlwind, but it can't kill you: Brave Bird doesn't even 3HKO, meaning that Spiritomb wins if it is the last Pokemon. A heavy stall team's only other recourse against this Spiritomb is Celebi, who may phaze you with Perish Song. However, Celebi is 2HKOed by a once-boosted Dark Pulse (OHKOed with Stealth Rock and a full contingent of Spikes),insert spaceand Perish Song has meager PP, enabling it to be stalled out after only 4 uses due to Pressure. All these scenarios reveal the difficulty that a standard heavy stall team has in dealing with this Spiritomb set.</p>

name: Sleep Talker
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Hidden Power Fighting / Will-O-Wisp
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 96 Def / 160 SpD

<p>This is the old standard set for Spiritomb: however, it has since been largely supplanted by Rotom-A, who can run a similar set with superior typing, speed, and a STAB Thunderbolt. Nevertheless, with this set, Spiritomb is still able to effectively deal with Azelf, Gengar, and Rotom-A, while retaining the potential to PP Stall important members of stall teams such as Blissey. As a bonus, you can still stop enemy Pokemon such as Tyranitar, Lucario, and Heatran from setting up due to Hidden Power Fighting or Will-O-Wisp. Therefore, if you have decided to use Spiritomb, but remove "are not" cannot afford the drawbacks present in the above two sets, the Sleep Talker makes an excellent choice.</p>

Click to expand...

I might do a full grammar check later.

K, I've finished writing the analysis. I guess this is a bump.

I'm going to do some prose edits.

Much is subjective, so take it all with a grain of salt.

mtr said:

[SET]
name: Mono Calm Mind
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Calm Mind
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

---------------------

Original:

With Calm Mind to boost its special stats, Rest to clear status, and Pressure to drain the PP of its opponents, this Spiritomb is an excellent countermeasure against heavy stall teams, which is the main reason that it should be used.

New:

With Calm Mind to boost its special stats, Rest to clear status, and Pressure to drain the PP of its opponents, Spiritomb is an excellent countermeasure against heavy stall teams.

Removed "this", didn't really think it was necesary.

Removed ", which is the main reason that it should be used.", as I think just saying it's an excellent countermeasure to heavy stall teams is enough.

---------------------

It can come in on Blissey and easily set up, on it while only taking a maximum of 21% from an Ice Beam or Flamethrower.

Removed the "on it", because it really doesn't do anything but add words.

---------------------

Although it can't 2HKO the special wall after 6 Calm Minds, Spiritomb can PP stall Blissey, forcing her to Struggle.

Not really a big deal, but they are all female.

---------------------

Original:

Unfortunately, Skarmory can still phaze you out with Whirlwind, but it can't kill you: Brave Bird doesn't even 3HKO, meaning that Spiritomb wins if it is the last Pokemon.

Revised:

Unfortunately, Skarmory can still phaze you out with Whirlwind, but it can't kill you as Brave Bird doesn't even 3HKO. This means that Spiritomb wins if it is the last Pokemon.

Removed "you out". We know that phazing means "make something leave" and that whirlwind does this.

Split into two sentences.

---------------------

A heavy stall team's only other recourse against this Spiritomb is Celebi, who may phaze you with Perish Song.

No change.

---------------------

Original:

However, Celebi is 2HKOed by a once-boosted Dark Pulse (OHKOed with Stealth Rock and a full contingent of Spikes),and Perish Song has meager PP, enabling it to be stalled out after only 4 uses due to Pressure.

Revised:

However, Celebi is 2HKOed by +1 Dark Pulse or OHKOed if Stealth Rock and a full layer of Spikes are on the field. Thanks to Pressure, Celebi's Perish Song only has 4 PP.

(thanks col_m, that one was tricky)

---------------------

All of these scenarios illustrate the difficulty that a standard heavy stall team has in dealing with this Spiritomb set.</p>

Added "of".

Changed "reveal" to "illustrate" because reveal seems to mean that something that was hidden is being shown. I think illustrate just fits better.

Removed in. Unnecessary.

Removed Spiritomb. Unnecessary.

---------------------
Original:

<p>Spiritomb also functions as an excellent spin blocker. On average, a defensive Starmie's Surf deals around 33% damage, and using Calm Mind decreases this amount further.

Revised:
<p>Spiritomb also functions as an excellent spin blocker. On average, a defensive Starmie's Surf deals around 33% damage without Calm Mind's Special Defense boosts factored in.

Pretty subjective here so take it or leave it without guilt.

---------------------

Revised:

Still, though, you should try to avoid switching in on a Surf if you can help it, as you can be 3HKOed when Stealth Rock is in play.

Just some word ordering to make it flow a little bit better.

---------------------

Also, new offensive spinner Starmies with Life Orbs are gaining in popularity, so be wary of them Pokemon in general.

Removed in, unnecessary.

Replaced "the Pokemon" with them, since we've already named the subject. "the Pokemon" is pretty ambiguous.

---------------------

Original:

Against other Rapid Spinners, you can switch in with impunity, as Forretress and Tentacruel don't hit as hard as Starmie, and thus are setup fodder.</p>

Revised:

Against other Rapid Spinners, you can switch in with impunity, as Forretress and Tentacruel don't hit as hard as Starmie, which makes them setup fodder.</p>

Just really wanted to get rid of "and thus are". It sounded off to me.

---------------------

<p>Aside from these abilities, Spiritomb is also perhaps the best counter in the game to Azelf and Gengar, who normally pose problems for stall teams due to the threat of Exploding on Blissey and thus creating an opening.

Removed the last bit. Assumed that killing blissey is probably not a good thing.

---------------------

But while Spiritomb can patch up holes in your stall-oriented team, it can also create new ones. Specifically, you become complete setup fodder for sweepers such as Tyranitar, Infernape, and Lucario. Therefore, you should have Pokemon that are capable of dealing with these threats. Both Hippowdon and Gliscor can generally handle both Tyranitar and Lucario. Finding checks for Infernape is difficult due to its versatility, but using Starmie or Latias is recommended.</p>

become, to keep with the "can".

Both removed, because too much both and I felt unnecessary.

---------------------

<p>It should be apparent from this analysis that this Spiritomb is most effective on pure stall or semi-stall teams that need a solid spin blocker who can also pose a serious threat to other stall teams.

I am not a real stickler for the whole who/it thing, but this sentence was unclear to me at first because it was not immediately apparent to me what "that" was refering to. Changing this to "who" made it make more sense, imo.

---------------------

As such, the remaining recommended teammates for this Pokemon are part of the standard suite of stall Pokemon.

Fine.

---------------------

There should be a Rapid Spin user, such as Starmie or Forretress.

Fine.

---------------------

A Toxic Spiker, examples of which are Roserade, Forretress, or Tentacruel, is another good choice, if only to make sure that you aren't forced to stall Blissey out of its PP.

Just a little comma there.

---------------------

A Spiker, such as Skarmory or Forretress, is also recommended to increase the residual damage inflicted against the opponent.</p>

without such as, it seemed like skarmory and forretress were too much of an aside.

furthur means to advance or move forward, so increase was a better fix.

---------------------

Click to expand...

Thank you, mingot.

I've added in your edits, along with some of my own grammar and prose edits. I'll make a few more runs through it, then I'll review it and notify the mods. Thanks to everyone!

quick check

and anyway is preferred to anyways, which you used a few times.

I think it might be a good thing to say in the Counters section that Taunt and Trick absolutely wreck Spiritomb. On most of Spiritomb's sets, Taunt will disable it from using half or even 3/4 of its moveset. Trick would just cripple it completely.

Here are some examples you could say:

Taunt Skarmory can stop Spiritomb from using Will-O-Wisp or Pain Split, and since Skarmory is also resistant to both of Spiritomb's STAB attacks, it can set up multiple Spikes and Roost off any damage taken.

Taunt Gyarados is another good switch-in to Spiritomb, keeping it from burning Gyarados with Will-O-Wisp and stopping it from restoring health. I also believe that a +1 Waterfall will 2HKO Spiritomb.

Jirachi with Trick is probably the safest Trick user out there, as it doesn't take super effective damage from Spiritomb's STAB moves. It does have to be cautious about Will-O-Wisp, though.

You could probably mention Latias as well for Tricking, since it does have some great special bulk to take some of Spiritomb's STAB attacks.

Taunt is good, but Trick is iffy, because since you'll often see Spiritomb on stall teams, you'll find that Trick is more useful against walls such as Skarmory, Hippowdon, and Blissey. If you Trick away a Scarf to Spiritomb, you can't cripple any of them. Plus, Spiritomb isn't quite hard to bring down anyways unless it gets a crapload of Calm Minds and you don't have strong physical sweepers remaining.

mtr said:

Taunt is good, but Trick is iffy, because since you'll often see Spiritomb on stall teams, you'll find that Trick is more useful against walls such as Skarmory, Hippowdon, and Blissey. If you Trick away a Scarf to Spiritomb, you can't cripple any of them. Plus, Spiritomb isn't quite hard to bring down anyways unless it gets a crapload of Calm Minds and you don't have strong physical sweepers remaining.

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But if you are able to Trick a Choice item to Spiritomb, its Rapid Spin blocking capabilities are greatly hindered. It won't be able to wall the Rapid Spinner as effectively, as it can't alternate between Rest and Sleep Talk to avoid being set-up bait.

For example, if Forretress was going to use Rapid Spin and you bring in your Choiced Spiritomb, you can do one of two things: attack it or use Rest. If you attack it, you are vulnerable to taking repeated Paybacks/Earthquakes/Gyro Balls, which in the end, you are forced to switch out or die. If you use Rest, Forretress can outstall your Rest turns, set up entry hazards, or spam Rapid Spin to wait until you switch out.

Touche. I guess you're right. Winning the entry hazards war is always important.

Here I'll proofread this for you.

mtr said:

[SET]
name: Mono Calm Mind
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Calm Mind
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

<p>With Calm Mind to boost its special stats, Rest to clear status and recover health, and Pressure to drain the PP of its opponents, Spiritomb is an excellent countermeasure against heavy stall teams. It can come in on Blissey and easily set up while only taking a maximum of 21% from an Ice Beam or Flamethrower. Although it can't 2HKO the special wall after 6 Calm Minds, Spiritomb can PP stall Blissey, forcing her to Struggle in the end. Unfortunately, Skarmory can still phaze with Whirlwind, but it can't kill you as Brave Bird doesn't even 3HKO. This means that Spiritomb wins if it is the last Pokemon. A heavy stall team's only other recourse against this Spiritomb is Celebi, who may phaze you with Perish Song. However, Celebi is 2HKOed by a +1 Dark Pulse or OHKOed if Stealth Rock and a full contingent of Spikes are on the field. Furthermore, due to Pressure, Perish Song only has 4 PP. All these scenarios illustrate the difficulty that a standard heavy stall team has in dealing with this Spiritomb set.</p>

<p>Spiritomb also functions as an excellent Spin blocker. On average, a defensive Starmie's Surf deals around 33% damage without Calm Mind's boosts factored in. Still, though, you should try to avoid switching in on a Surf if you can help it, as with Stealth Rock, you can be 3HKOed. Also, the new offensive Rapid Spinner Starmie with Life Orb are gaining in popularity, so be wary of them in general. Against other Rapid Spinners, you can switch in with impunity, as Forretress and Tentacruel don't hit as hard as Starmie, which makes them setup fodder.</p>

<p>Aside from these abilities, Spiritomb is also perhaps the best counter in the game to Azelf and Gengar, who normally pose problems for stall teams due to the threat of Exploding on Blissey. But while Spiritomb can patch up holes in your stall-oriented team, it can also create new ones. Specifically, you become complete setup fodder for sweepers such as Tyranitar, Infernape, and Lucario. Therefore, you should have Pokemon that are capable of dealing with these threats. Both Hippowdon and Gliscor can generally handle both Tyranitar and Lucario. Finding checks for Infernape is difficult due to its versatility, but using Starmie or Latias is recommended.</p>

<p>It should be apparent from this analysis that this Spiritomb is most effective on pure stall or semi-stall teams that need a solid Spin blocker that can also pose a serious threat to other stall teams. As such, the remaining recommended teammates for this Pokemon are part of the standard suite of stall Pokemon. There should be a Rapid Spin user, such as Starmie or Forretress. A Toxic Spiker, examples of which are Roserade, Forretress, or Tentacruel, is another good choice, if only to make sure that you aren't forced to stall Blissey out of its PP. A Spiker, Skarmory or Forretress, is also recommended to further the residual damage inflicted against the opponent.</p>

[SET]
name: Countering Utility
move 1: Sucker Punch / Shadow Ball
move 2: Pursuit / Taunt / Shadow Ball
move 3: Pain Split
move 4: Will-O-Wisp
item: Leftovers
nature: Careful / Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 212 SpD

<p>This set, aside from remaining a solid Spin blocker, is an excellent counter to numerous threats, such as Azelf, Gengar, Rotom-A, Machamp, and certain Starmie, all while avoiding being setup fodder for physical sweepers due to Will-O-Wisp. The EVs are designed to maximize special bulk, while guaranteeing that a Life Orb Azelf is always OHKOed by Sucker Punch given Stealth Rock and one turn of Life Orb recoil. Gengar is dealt with similarly, although its Shadow Balls hit harder. Finally, no Rapid Spin users are getting past this set any time soon, since Starmie can only manage to deal around 26% damage with Surf, while a combination of Taunt, Pain Split, and Sucker Punch can bring it down. Unfortunately, you cannot switch into Life Orb and Choice Specs variants of Starmie due to their power, but defensive Starmie can be spotted by the Leftovers recovery anyways, so it's a minimal concern.</p>

<p>A Scarfed Rotom-A can only manage approximately 34% against you with Thunderbolt, while Sucker Punch and Pursuit give it something to think about. The 44 Atk EVs ensure a 2HKO on defensive Rotom with Sucker Punch. If you would like this Spiritomb to effectively counter defensive Rotom formes as well as offensive ones, you should use a Sassy nature and fit in Shadow Ball somewhere, because Will-O-Wisp doesn't reduce Shadow Ball's power. Bear in mind, however, that such a decision moves this set closer to one run by Rotom-A, who is holistically superior due to its typing, STAB Thunderbolt, and potentially useful signature move. Sucker Punch and Pursuit are handy moves that help Spiritomb effectively deal with Azelf, Gengar, Starmie, and others, and taking them away has consequences.</p>

<p>Unlike the Calm Mind user, this Spiritomb tends to function well on balanced teams that can take advantage of the removal of Pokemon that Spiritomb counters. With Azelf, Gengar, and Rotom-A gone from the fight, Pokemon such as Mamoswine and Flygon can more freely deal damage with Earthquake, since the opponent's Levitate users are gone. Gyarados is another solid partner, since it finds it easier to set up and sweep when Gengar and Rotom-A are dealt with. This Spiritomb is countered easily by Heatran and Infernape, neither of whom care about Dark-type attacks or Will-O-Wisp. Fortunately, Gyarados is a decent check for both of them, and Latias and Starmie are also solid choices to deal with them.</p>

[SET]
name: Sleep Talker
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Hidden Power Fighting / Will-O-Wisp
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 96 Def / 160 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is the old standard set for Spiritomb; however, it has since been largely supplanted by Rotom-A, who can run a similar set with superior typing, Speed, and a STAB Thunderbolt. Nevertheless, with this set, Spiritomb is still able to effectively deal with Azelf, Gengar, Machamp, and Rotom-A, while retaining the potential to PP Stall important members of stall teams, such as Blissey. As a bonus, you can still stop enemy Pokemon such as Tyranitar, Lucario, and Heatran from setting up due to Hidden Power Fighting or Will-O-Wisp. Therefore, if you have decided to use Spiritomb, [but are not cannot afford the drawbacks present in the above two sets] (what?), the Sleep Talker makes an excellent choice.</p>

<p>The EVs on this set ensure that an enemy Gengar's unboosted Shadow Ball is a 4HKO, which does not break the Rest-Sleep Talk cycle. The remaining EVs are poured into Defense to make Spiritomb a decent Lucario check in emergencies; a +2 LO-boosted Crunch fails to OHKO, while you can cripple Lucario with Will-O-Wisp. Bear in mind, however, that Will-O-Wisp will allow free switch-ins for Heatran, so pick your last move carefully.</p>

<p>Most balanced teams will prefer to use Rotom-A over this set because of the former's generally superior antimetagame capabilities, so you will generally employ this Spiritomb on heavy stall teams. Therefore, the teammates of this set are going to be similar to the ones of the Mono Calm Mind set. Toxic Spikes support is highly recommended to ensure that you don't have to waste much of your PP removing Blissey's PP.</p>


[Team Options]
<p>Spiritomb sets with Rest and Sleep Talk will prefer Toxic Spikes support in order to wear down Blissey and the other common opponents of a stall team, such as Swampert, Hippowdon, and Celebi. Additionally, Spikes and Stealth Rock are a bonus, forcing your opponent's Pokemon to heal themselves more frequently. Forretress can set up all three of the entry hazards. Skarmory is another solid candidate for putting up Spikes and Stealth Rock, while Roserade or Tentacruel can setup Toxic Spikes. The Countering Utility set, which is used on more balanced teams, is helped by Spikes and Toxic Spikes, but as it isn't being used on a stall team, the two hazards aren't as important. A sandstorm, setup by Hippowdon or Tyranitar, can help wear down Spiritomb's opponents, but Spiritomb doesn't have instant recovery, so sandstorm can hurt you as well by nullifying your Leftovers.</p>

<p>It is difficult to discuss Spiritomb's synergy with other Pokemon in terms of typing, since it has no immunities and very few resistances. Spiritomb's immunity to Normal-type attacks rarely comes into play, and its Psychic-type immunity matters only in the case of Azelf. The immunity to Fighting-type attacks is far more useful, as there are many Fighting-types in OU, and Pokemon such as Gengar employ such attacks as well. Pokemon that are weak to Fighting-type attacks, such as Blissey, are solid partners for Spiritomb. In return, Blissey can take the harsh special assaults that Spiritomb suffers against. Physical walls and tanks like Skarmory, Forretress, and Hippowdon are also excellent teammates for Spiritomb, as despite Spiritomb's lack of any weaknesses, it doesn't have the greatest amount of bulk.</p>

<p>In general, Spiritomb doesn't like dealing with strong physical attackers, such as Scizor, Gyarados, Tyranitar, and Salamence. Depending on the Spiritomb set you use, you might be complete setup fodder for many of these sweepers (the Mono Calm Mind set suffers from this problem the most). All these physical attackers tend to share each other as common partners, so your team should have counters for them. Hippowdon and Bronzong are solid switch-ins to physical Salamence sets. Gyarados is handled well by Suicune (provided that you have HP Electric), Starmie, and Vaporeon, all of whom work well on defensively-oriented teams. Scizor is difficult to counter in the traditional sense due to U-turn, but Steel-types like Skarmory and Forretress make decent switch-ins to the Choice Bander. Tyranitar is the most problematic Pokemon to deal with due to its versatility, but Swampert, Hippowdon, and Gliscor make solid switch-ins.</p>


[Other Options]
<p>An interesting option is using Curse on a set with Rest, which lets Spiritomb effectively deal with last-Pokemon stat-uppers such as Jirachi or Suicune. However, using Curse is inherently risky due to the HP loss, so it ends up not being good for much besides killing off the last enemy Pokemon that your stall team is facing. Spite, which also should be used alongside Rest, can make Spiritomb an effective PP Staller. This is useful mainly against stall teams, as offensive teams aren't too bothered by PP loss, and many offensive Pokemon have the power to overcome Spiritomb. Finally, Shadow Sneak is a good move that can go over Sucker Punch if you don't like relying on the latter, but it only has half the power of Sucker Punch.</p>

[EVs]
<p>All Spiritomb sets should max out HP EVs to better take hits from both ends of the spectrum. A Mono Calm Mind set should max out Defense, because Calm Mind will be boosting its Special Defense anyways. The EVs on the other sets are optimized to avoid certain KOes, such as those from Gengar. There is little point in investing heavily into Spiritomb's Attack, since the bulk is necessary avoid 3HKOes from the likes of Rotom-A and Gengar, among others.</p>

[Opinion]
<p>Spiritomb used to be the prince of OU stall teams, with its ability to counter frustrating threats such as Azelf, Machamp, and Gengar, along with being able to run through an enemy stall team with the Mono Calm Mind set. Since then, it has fallen from grace due to the advent of Rotom-A, who has superior typing, movepool, and Speed. However, Spiritomb still has tools such as Calm Mind, Sucker Punch, and Pursuit to differentiate it from its counterpart, and it remains an effective Spin blocker and countermeasure against opposing stall teams.</p>

[Counters]
<p>Heracross, although rarely seen in OU, is the best counter to Spiritomb due to Guts letting it handle Will-O-Wisp, and its typing giving it a resistance to Sucker Punch. It can Swords Dance in front of Spiritomb or just hit it with powerful Megahorns.</p>

<p>Heatran is another solid counter, as it can easily enter on a Will-O-Wisp and, while resisting Spiritomb's Dark- and Ghost-type attacks, hit back with powerful Fire Blasts.</p>

<p>In general, most strong physical attackers, such as Scizor, Gyarados, Salamence, and Tyranitar, can defeat Spiritomb, but Will-O-Wisp is a nuisance.</p>

Click to expand...

Cool stuff. You should probably change this to the right format, though.

How's this coming along?

Locking for inactivity.