Giratina-O (New Analysis)

Jibaku

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[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Dragon Pulse / Shadow Ball
move 3: Thunder / Aura Sphere / Shadow Ball
move 4: Substitute / Aura Sphere
item: Platinum Orb
nature: Modest
EVs: 144 HP / 112 Spe / 236 SpA / 18 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Giratina-O is a fantastic special sweeper. Often underrated, Giratina-O sports some valuable qualities that other special sweepers can only wish for. It has a great Special Attack stat, complemented by Calm Mind and a myriad of options in terms of Special Attacks at its disposal. Being part Dragon-type gives Giratina-O an amazing STAB that hits most opponents neutral or super effectively. Being part Ghost-type, Giratina-O is immune to Seismic Toss, shutting down Blissey’s main method of damaging, and with Substitute it gains virtual immunity to status ailments, shutting down any attempts from the obese egg nurse to inflict status onto it. Base 150 / 100 / 100 HP / defenses are no laughing matter either, coupled with Levitate to allow evasion against Spikes and Toxic Spikes. To top it all off Giratina-O has the ever elusive immunity to Trick and Knock Off's item removing effect, which can sometimes hilariously stop the opponent’s attempt at using a surprise Choiced Trick Pokemon.</p>

<p>Dragon Pulse is a good option in general, only resisted by Steels not named Dialga. In a Dragon infested metagame, Dragon Pulse will find itself fitting in to this moveset as it OHKOs both Rayquaza and Palkia and has a great chance of 2HKOing max HP/no Special Defense Groudon without a Calm Mind boost. Dragon Pulse also scores above 50% against Latias, unboosted, and has a decent chance of 2HKOing special defensive Dialga after Calm Mind. Thunder inflicts massive damage to Kyogre, which is extremely common and is a pain to take down without it, and can cause paralysis which aids it in its sweep by pseudo-fixing its base 90 Speed. Kyogre alone makes Thunder a potentially important move in this set, but should someone not worry about Kyogre (possibly due to more Pokemon in his or her team that counters it), Shadow Ball becomes a valuable option on the set, providing an easy OHKO on 6 HP / no Special Defense Mewtwo, and dealing more damage to other Psychics than Thunder could, including Metagross and Lugia. Substitute, as previously stated, is a great guard against status and shuts down standard Blissey in the Uber metagame, and also aids in prediction. Be careful, though, as Giratina-O has no recovery, so its ability to throw out Substitutes is very limited, so make each Substitute count. Aura Sphere allows Giratina-O to hurt Dialga, Blissey and most importantly Tyranitar harder, the latter otherwise being its nemesis with its high Special Defense, allowing it to absorb Dragon Pulses, painful STAB Payback, Crunch or Pursuit, and Sandstorm cutting through Giratina-O’s zero recovery. If one does not care about Blissey, he or she can Calm Mind/Dragon Pulse/Thunder OR Shadow Ball/Aura Sphere for maximum coverage in Ubers. Finally, an option to drop Dragon Pulse in favor of the unresisted combination of Aura Sphere and Shadow Ball is open. While Giratina-O loses the super effective hit against Palkia and Rayquaza and loses some power against Kyogre and Latias, it provides the super effective hit on Lugia, Mewtwo, and Mew while still hitting Tyranitar and Dialga super effectively with Aura Sphere.</p>

<p>The EVs for this set may look extremely complicated, but they really aren't. 112 Speed EVs allow it to outrun Jolly Tyranitar, which can prove to be handy at some point, and should outrun most Kyogre and Groudon. The defensive EVs give it practically a guaranteed survival against a Spacial Rend from Timid Palkia after taking a Stealth Rock damage. Although not guaranteed, it can also survive a Life Orbed Dragon Claw from Jolly Rayquaza after Stealth Rock damage, and if Stealth Rock is not counted at all Dragon Claw from a Groudon and no Attack EV Dialga is a guaranteed 3HKO against this. Giratina-O’s survivability is quite interesting, and it can be EVed in many different ways to suit its user. The rest of the EVs are dumped into Special Attack; 232 Special Attack EVs give it a very high chance of 2HKOing max HP, no Special Defense Kyogre with Thunder, and after a Calm Mind it is guaranteed to OHKO no HP / Special Defense variants after Stealth Rock damage (Timid Specs/Scarf variants). </p>

<p>Another acceptable EV spread for this set is 54 HP / 112 Spe / 236 SpA / 108 SpD. With this spread, Giratina-O's Substitute becomes unbreakable by Modest Choice Specs' Kyogre's Surf after two Calm Minds. If your Giratina-O happens to be faster than the opponent's Choice Specs Kyogre, it is possible to set up Calm Minds if it is locked on Surf. </p>

<p>At the bottom of this page is a section detailing on how to utilize this particular set to its maximum potential, without the help of much outside support. </p>

[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Outrage
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Shadow Force / Shadow Claw
item: Platinum Orb
nature: Adamant
EVs: 144 HP / 236 Atk / 112 Spe / 18 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While the special sweeper set may be very appealing, one can not forget that Giratina-O’s Attack stat is equivalent to its Special Attack. It is a force to be reckoned with, hitting most Pokemon in Ubers in their softer physical defenses. With access to STAB 120 Base Power Outrage, along with a Platinum Orb boost, it is not to be taken lightly, as Outrage is very capable of 2HKOing Dialga and Kyogre. However, being locked into Outrage can be displeasing, as Giratina-O has mediocre Speed and is weak to Dragon, making it very susceptible to Draco Meteor. This can often be remedied by using Substitute beforehand to minimize punishment during the turns in which Outrage locks Giratina-O. Substitute also protects Giratina-O in case it messes up on Shadow Force. Earthquake pairs up with Outrage pretty well, destroying Dragon resistors such as Heatran and Registeel while giving Giratina-O a move to destroy Dialga with that does not lock it. Even if Outrage does slightly more to Dialga than Earthquake does, it still sports a great chance of 2HKOing after Dialga takes a bit of Stealth Rock damage. The choice between Shadow Force and Shadow Claw is very much up to the user. They both serve as Giratina-O’s secondary STAB and are helpful in disposing of Psychics. Shadow Claw is the choice for reliability, while Shadow Force is the choice for sheer
power.</p>

<p>Many people view Shadow Force as being a terrible move due to the fact that it’s a charge up move. Shadow Force isn’t necessarily a great move, but it’s certainly quite underrated and packs a punch. As long as there’s a Normal type on the field, though, Shadow Force becomes fairly useless. Luckily, only one Normal type makes a common appearance in Ubers and that is Blissey, who isn’t going to really switch into Giratina-O due to its fear of Outrage. What this really means is that Blissey isn’t going to switch in even if it sees Shadow Force coming, because after the dive Giratina-O can abuse Blissey’s inability to do anything to it and set up a free Substitute. Once their Normal type is gone, Shadow Force can deal massive damage to even things that resist it; for example, Darkrai is 2HKOed by Shadow Force. Shadow Force also OHKOes physical wall Mewtwo, something that Shadow Claw can not. One possible good moment to use Shadow Force is when Giratina-o's weakened opponent can be KOed by it, but not by Earthquake, and at the same time when Outrage is very risky to use due to its lock. </p>

<p>The EVs are pretty much equivalent to the special sweeper set, except with the switch between Special Attack and Attack. The bulk on this set is otherwise the exact same as the previous one, being able to survive Timid Palkia’s Spacial Rend after Stealth Rock and such. </p>

[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Dragon Claw / Outrage
move 2: Shadow Ball / Draco Meteor
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Thunder
item: Platinum Orb
nature: Lonely / Naughty
EVs: 252 Atk / 112 Spe / 146 SpA

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With both Attack and Special Attack base stats at 120, Giratina-O is a great mixed sweeper. At first, one would criticize by saying that Dialga does the job better, but that is not true. First of all, Giratina-O has a different typing and Levitate, allowing it to switch into different things than Dialga. Secondly, Giratina-O has one move that separates it from Mixed Dialga and that is STAB Shadow Ball, allowing it to break through opponents which Mixed Dialga struggled with, such as Deoxys-D and Recover Mewtwo, as well as being able to hit Lugia’s Psychic typing super effectively, which is an advantage over Thunder because Lugia can theoretically stall Thunder out with Roost when the sun is up. </p>

<p>The moveset listed give Giratina-O maximum coverage in the Uber metagame and make it virtually impossible to wall. Dragon Claw is a reliable physical STAB that has enough power to 2HKO Blissey after Stealth Rock damage. Being a Dragon typed move, it gives Giratina-O coverage against Latios, Latias, Palkia and Rayquaza, all of them are capable of countering Giratina-O to an extent without aid from it. Outrage should be used only if the user feels daring, because locking into a move here is quite undesired, as the mixed set has a hit and run feel to it. However, the extra power from Outrage scores a 2HKO against Kyogre and Dialga, and does massive damage to everything else that doesn’t resist it bar Lugia, and can under certain conditions help its sweep in late game. Shadow Ball is explained already, but adding to that is the ability to 3HKO Groudon, who otherwise walls the set unless Giratina-O uses Outrage. However, if one does not need the coverage against the Psychics Draco Meteor is a great option as it hits Groudon, Dialga and Giratina harder than the rest of its moves. Earthquake helps deal with Steels such as Jirachi and Heatran, and finally, Thunder is there to lay a powerful hit on Kyogre, 3HKOing a 252 HP / no Special Defense variant with ease, and stops both Skarmory and Forretress. </p>

<p>The EVs are more straightforward and more flexible this time. When it has its focus on both offensive stats it has no more EVs to place in its defenses. Maximum attack allows it to deal as much damage as possible to Dialga and Blissey, both which can take Giratina-O’s Special Attacks pretty well. 112 Speed EVs allow Giratina-O to outrun max Speed Jolly Tyranitar, and the rest are dumped into Special Attack to power up Shadow Ball and Thunder. </p>

[SET]
name: Sleeping Beauty
move 1: Outrage
move 2: Shadow Force / Earthquake / Shadow Claw
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Platinum Orb
nature: Adamant
EVs: 144 HP / 236 Atk / 112 Spe / 18 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Giratina-O is reasonably bulky and can run a Rest / Sleep Talk set fairly effectively too. No longer does one have to worry about status or being continuously worn down by Stealth Rock; this set scoffs at all of those. Outrage is Giratina-O’s attack of choice-it is very devastating to most Ubers, as previously mentioned in the physical attacker set. When picked by Sleep Talk, Outrage loses its lock and essentially becomes a 120 BP STAB move with no drawbacks, which is really quite insane. Shadow Force is the preferred option out of the three moves listed on the second moveslot as it can not be picked dwith Sleep Talk, giving Giratina-O a higher chance to fire a very deadly Outrage. This is a win-win situation as when it is awake, it has two offensive moves to choose from, and when it is asleep, it has a high chance of picking Outrage with Sleep Talk. If one were to find Shadow Force distasteful he or she can choose either Shadow Claw or Earthquake. While both of these moves interfere with Sleep Talk's chances of picking Outrage, they are more reliable than Shadow Force when Giratina-O is awake. Earthquake gives coverage against Steels, while Shadow Claw decimates Psychics.
</p>

[Other Options]
<p>Rest can be used in the special sweeper set to give it greater longevity, but the two turns of vulnerability are nasty. With a specialized EV spread Giratina-O can outstall a Rest/Talking Kyogre this way, provided that it has Thunder. Rest allows Giratina-O to actually switch into status as well. Sleep Talk can be used in conjunction with Rest to attack during its sleeping period. Will-o-Wisp can be used to weaken physical attackers such as Groudon and Metagross and lets Giratina-O to set up on them, but it will cost its secondary attack. Hidden Power Fire is a great weapon on the mixed set to stop Scizor with (and obviously Forretress), but be aware that unless it has Outrage, it might have problems taking Kyogre down. Furthermore, the rain can really hamper its ability to KO Scizor, provided that the opposition has both Pokemon. When using Hidden Power Fire, move 4 Attack EVs to Speed as it requires Giratina-O to have 30 Speed IV. Finally, as a Dragon, it has access to Draco Meteor, which can be fit in the mixed set should one decide that it is better off to hit Groudon harder instead of Mewtwo, Lugia and Deoxys-D. Of course, there is an option of running a straight up special sweeper. Other than those, there’s not much, really. </p>

[EVs]
<p>The EVs are explained already in each set, but should one choose to be different, there are a couple more he or she can choose from. To start off, some users may feel that having 112 Speed EVs is a waste. In that case, Giratina-O’s Speed can be lowered to 24 EVs, putting it at 222 Speed, outrunning Adamant Tyranitar and some Kyogre, Groudon, Giratina, Deoxys-D and Dialga. The extra 22 points can be placed in HP or Defenses for more survivability. For instance, the EV spread 196 HP / 40 Def / 24 Spe / 232 SpA / 18 SpD for the Calm Minder allows it to have a guaranteed survival against a Life Orbed Dragon Claw from Jolly Rayquaza, and very very close to a guaranteed survival against a Modest Palkia’s unboosted Draco Meteor after a Calm Mind. Both are calculated after Giratina-O has taken Stealth Rock damage. With 34 HP / 24 Spe / 232 SpA / 220 SpD Giratina-O is capable of holding up against Surfs from the standard Rest/Talk Kyogre with Rest provided that both Giratina-O and Kyogre has the same number of boosts and Giratina-O packs Thunder. This makes Giratina-O, although not really recommended to be used like this, a very good counter to Rest/Talk Kyogre. The Special Defense EVs also allow it to take less than 50% from Choice Specs Ice Beam from a 399 Special Attack Kyogre. </p>

<p>196 HP / 246 Atk / 24 Spe / 4 SpD can be used on the physical attacker. It will guarantee that after a Stealth Rock damage, Giratina-O will survive a Life Orbed Dragon Claw from Jolly Rayquaza and unboosted Spacial Rend from Timid Palkia. </p>

<p>Finally, there are the options of extremes; maximizing and minimizing the Speed stat. The classic 6 HP / 252 Speed / 252 Special Attack, along with Timid, can be used on Giratina-O, outrunning Adamant Rayquaza and tying with other +Speed natured base 90 Speed Pokemon such as Kyogre and Groudon, provided that neither carries Choice Scarf. For the physical attacker, just replace Timid with Jolly. On the other hand, lowering down its Speed to an absolute minimum, which is at 166, allow it to be used in Trick Room where it may compensate for its slowness. Being very slow also reduces punishment when using Shadow Force, at the cost of not being able to use the vanishing part of the move to dodge attacks. At this slow speed, it should underspeed Dialga, so that in case Dialga decides to switch in during Shadow Force’s charge up turn, it would be forced to strike first and Giratina-O would avoid the punishment on its dive. The slowness however can prove to be a disadvantage though, so be wise when deciding to use it or not. </p>

<p>Lastly, it’s important to note that Giratina-O should most of the time not be EVed in a way that makes its counterpart, Giratina, completely overshadow it stat wise. Never is an overstatement, though, as one may decide that having Levitate is crucial to his or her team, and may resort into using an extremely defensive Giratina-O just because of that. It’s safe to say to never EV Giratina-O to the point where Giratina overshadows it completely when one does not need it. </p>

[Opinion]
<p>Whereas Giratina is a wall that never dies, Giratina-O is a sweeper that can puncture many holes in the opponent’s team. Despite only four sets being listed, its massive movepool means that it’s often a guessing game for the opponent when it’s first sent out, and a wrong guess in the opposition often leads to severe punishment. Arguably one of the most underrated Ubers to date, Giratina-O’s strengths are quite unique and should be exploited. It can be a special sweeper that can not be stopped by most Blisseys, a physical sweeper that pinpoints most Ubers’ weaker side with STAB and often super effective STAB Outrage and Shadow Claw/Force, and a deadly mixed sweeper that can not be walled by Deoxys-D and Recover Mewtwo. </p>

<p>Levitate is an amazing ability that grants Giratina-O the ability to switch in without being scathed by Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Because of this ability and part Ghost typing Calm Mind Giratina-O is a magnificent stall breaker, because it is able to switch in a number of times before it is worn down by Stealth Rock, and cannot be stopped by a regular Blissey. The mixed sweeper is also a great way to weaken stall as most Pokemon in a stall team is incapable of handling it and will require prediction. Immunity to Rapid Spin means that Forretress can not Spin away any entry hazards that is set up by Giratina-O’s teammate(s) and helps wear down incoming Pokemon in the opposite side. Immunity to Trick and the item removing effect of Knock Off are also quite exclusive and can prove to be helpful in some cases. </p>

<p> However, it does have some pretty disturbing weaknesses; Giratina-O only has a base 90 Speed which is quite slow for Uber standards. It has weaknesses to the most common types in the Uber metagame, some that not even its massive defenses can save it from. Dragon, Ice, Ghost and Dark moves can prove to be quite nasty to Giratina-O. And finally, its most fundamental flaw is its inability to hold anything else besides Platinum Orb, which is what Giratina-O is most often criticized for. The inability to hold any other items ruins what would otherwise be an amazing potential. Being able to hold Leftovers would be so great for the Calm Mind set. However, even after all of these flaws, it is far too much to say that Giratina-O sucks.</p>

<p>Giratina-O excels at breaking stall, but is only average in trying to beat down offensive teams. Don’t underestimate it, though-it is often guaranteed to take at least one guy down.</p>
<p>Giratina plays by resistances; Giratina-O plays by immunities.</p>

<p>For those that play on Wi-Fi, it is a very, very annoying fact that it can not be used in that environment for a very odd and unknown reason. It can, however, be used in Link battles. </p>

[Counters]
<p>Giratina-O is tough to counter directly, considering that it has a huge offensive movepool. The Special Attacker can be stopped by Latias with proper EVs if Stealth Rock is not present. While a regular Blissey is countered by the special sweeper, Calm Mind or Psych Up Blissey is a great counter to the special sweeper set. Her high Special Defense and and Ice Beam away through its Substitutes, eventually until its death. In the absence of Aura Sphere, Tyranitar switches in with no qualms and destroys Giratina-O in many ways. Its high Special Defense allows it to switch into Dragon Pulse without taking a whole lot, and in return, Tyranitar inflicts painful damage with Crunch, Pursuit or Payback. Furthermore, Sandstorm cuts away at Giratina-O’s HP, and helps speed up its death count. Without Thunder, a Special Defensive Kyogre can Calm Mind alongside it and Roar it away. Choice Scarf Dialga can penetrate Giratina-O's Special Defense with Draco Meteor, while taking a neutral hit from Dragon Pulse. However, that neutral hit takes over 50% of its health away, and due to such it can only be sent in once. If Giratina-O Calm Minds on the switch, Draco Meteor will not OHKO even after Stealth Rock damage, while a Calm Mind boosted Aura Sphere is likely to OHKO 4 HP / 0 SpD Dialga after it takes its Stealth Rock damage. A Choice Specs Dialga with EVs in HP switch in on the turn it uses Calm Mind and survive the Aura Sphere while OHKOing Giratina-O with Draco Meteor, but it can not switch into Giratina-O's Aura Sphere and Dragon Pulse without the fear of being 2HKOed, Stealth Rock or not. If Dragon Pulse is absent, Palkia can switch in and KO it with Draco Meteor or Spacial Rend. Its 120 base Special Defense protects it from being 2HKOed if Stealth Rock is absent. Rayquaza is in a similar vein as Palkia, being able to switch into Shadow Ball once and threatening it with Outrage or Draco Meteor. However, Rayquaza takes 25% damage from Stealth Rock, and can be OHKOed after a Calm Minded Shadow Ball after it takes the indirect damage from the entry hazard.</p>

<p>The physical sets are countered by Skarmory and Scizor. Both Pokemon are capable of Roosting away at whatever Giratina-O throws at it. Forretress can set up Toxic Spikes and Spikes, and can hurt Giratina-O with Gyro Ball. Lugia is faster than Giratina-O and can wall anything but Shadow Claw/Force and set up a Reflect. It can switch in during Shadow Force’s charging turn and set up a Reflect, cutting away Shadow Force’s power. Lugia can then Roost off the damage and either blow Giratina-O away, slowly chip its health away with Ice Beam, or just sit there PP stalling Giratina-O to death. Lugia can also inflict Toxic or Thunder Wave on Giratina-O, thus numbering down its chances to sweep. Lugia, however, can not do anything against the Rest/Talk version as it is practically immune to status and Ice Beam doesn’t do a lot to it. Besides those, though, it’s mostly putting Giratina-O into an unfavorable position using the turns it is locked into Outrage or Shadow Force. </p>

<p>The mixed set is the hardest to counter out of all of the three sets. The best non Arceus counter to it is a Special Defensive Scizor, who can laugh at Thunder and the rest of the moves Giratina-O throws at it. In the rain, Scizor can take on Hidden Power Fire with relative ease. In return, Scizor can fire Bullet Punches and slowly chip away at Giratina-O’s monstrous health. Besides Scizor, though, it’s all about prediction. For instance, Lugia can come in on Outrage/Dragon Claw, or Earthquake, and inflict Toxic onto it. It can then attempt to Roost away at Giratina-O’s Shadow Balls so long as no Special Defense drop occurs, and wait until it is in Ice Beam’s kill range, which won’t be long. </p>

<p>Otherwise, just take advantage of Giratina-O’s slow Speed and lack of recovery (with the exception of the Rest / Sleep Talker). Try to dent Giratina-O with weak attacks upon it switching in if you can’t hit it with powerful ones. For example, try to hit it with Forretress’ Gyro Ball when it switches in so that it can be placed into the kill zone of moves such as Palkia’s Spacial Rend, Rayquaza’s Dragon Claw or Dialga’s Dragon Pulse. Once again Giratina-O rarely makes a full sweep, but it will usually bring down one or two members with it. </p>

[How to Utilize Calm Mind Giratina-O to its Maximum Potential: A Tip]
<p>As previously stated, Giratina-O's base Speed is only a mere 90, and the inability to steadily restore its health with Leftovers hurts its durability even futher. Due to such factors a clean sweep can not be expected unless Giratina-O receives Speed boosts via Mew or Ninjask beforehand, and at the same time is in the perfect condition to set up several Calm Minds. But what if said support is absent in a team? Does that make Giratina-O useless? It certainly doesn't. Giratina-O may be tough to weld for some players, and because of that a section detailing on how it works never hurts.</p>

<p>The first part in initiating Giratina-O's terror is to safely switch it in. While it may have a number of resistances, three immunities, and hefty base 150 / 100 / 100 HP and Defenses, it can still be tough to find a safe switch in, due to Stealth Rock's prevalence and lack of recovery. For instance, one can predict that a Choice Scarf Palkia will be using Surf. It is not, however, always a smart idea to bring Giratina-O in to absorb the Surf unless it is an emergency or if the Sun is shining. Scratches like that will bring Giratina-O's health down so quickly that it can not pull off a Substitute at the end. </p>

<p>Giratina-O is capable of switching into many things freely. It can switch in on Choiced Normal, Fighting, and Ground moves, firstly. Other conditions such as Forretress and Bronzong using any other move besides Gyro Ball (obviously don't switch Giratina-O in on Bronzong's Hypnosis), Blissey using Seismic Toss, Softboiled, Wish or Protect, and Jirachi using Body Slam, Wish, or Protect promote Giratina-O's free switch in if predicted correctly. Finally, Giratina-O's immunity to Trick is almost unique; it is one of the very few Pokemon that boast the ability to set up after switching into a Choiced Trick. The only others capable of doing so are Pokemon with the ability Sticky Hold and Arceus. Be careful as many of the Trickers pack super effective moves against Giratina-O. </p>

<p>After a team member has been KOed, Giratina-O can freely switch in on all the aforementioned conditions and more. Certain obstacles that have been threats to its set up if it were to switch in to them such as Choice Scarf Palkia's Surf and Choice Specs Kyogre's Surf can now be used to set up on (the latter can only be done if Giratina-O is faster). A Mewtwo that lacks Ice Beam or Shadow Ball can be used to set up as well.</p>

<p>Once the conditions have been met, the next step is to Calm Mind to create a Substitute that can not be broken by the current Pokemon's attacks. If Giratina-O creates that, then it usually means the next Pokemon dies as well after the current one. Be sure to be wary of what your opponents have left in their teams, as they can send in threats such as Rayquaza on the turn Giratina-O Calm Minds and KO it with Outrage, so predict accordingly. Remember to take advantage the fact that Giratina-O can not be countered so easily, and depending on set up Giratina-O can be almost guaranteed to take one or two members down with it.</p>

<p>Giratina-O helps break stall in a similar way. Recall that an Uber stall team often consists of Groudon, Forretress, Blissey (often without Ice Beam), Latias, Giratina and a filler (often Lugia to abuse the entry hazards set up by Forretress with Whirlwind). As one can see Giratina-O can switch in on two Pokemon (Blissey and Forretress) without much of a problem, and threaten devastation. The only Pokemon that prevent this devastation from occuring is Latias, and in order to do such she must sacrifice herself if Stealth Rock is set up in her team to deal massive damage to Giratina-O to ensure that it is unusable afterwards. The loss of Latias enables Pokemon like Kyogre to devastate the remaining team members. Giratina-O's main card here is that it can threaten a sweep against stall teams unless it is stopped promptly, and the Pokemon that does try to stop it often dies afterwards. </p>
 

Jimbo

take me anywhere
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complemented
Gonna read through this whole thing and find any nitpicks and stuff. I'll edit as I find stuff :) Looks like a fun read!

Attacks at it's disposal
its > it's

Being part Dragon type gives
Sounds a bit strange... Being and gives just sound weird together. Could be just me though.

Ghost-type
Also there's a "Dragon type" somewhere that should be Dragon-type.

Being part Ghost type, Giratina-O is immune to Seismic Toss, shutting down Blissey’s main method of damaging it,
150 / 100 / 100 HP / Defenses
Spaces make it look nicer imo.

Are colloquialisms like "obese egg nurse" allowed :P?

the item removing effect of Knock Off,
Looks like passive voice. I'd change ot "Knock Off's item removing effect"

it shuts down Palkia and Rayquaza in one hit
I'd just change it to OHKO's Palkia and Rayquaza. Makes it less wordy.

2HKOing a max
delete "a."

Latias, unboosted,
Added commas

Kyogre, which is extremely
without it. It can also cause paralysis which aids it in its sweep by pseudo-fixing its base 90 Speed.
Looks like a run-on.


Bleh I have to go for a little bit now :/ I'll keep reading later if no one else gets to it ;) Nice job Jibaku! I feel bad I didn't put this in a large quote :/ I wasn't sure how many nitpicks I'd find, and I wanted to edit-as-I-go... Hopefully it's ok.

Got a little more time :

First of all, Giratina-O has
Added comma

Rest / Sleep Talk
Spaces

set to allow it to live for some time
Sound a bit odd, I'd change to "...set gives Giratina-O greater longevity"

should most of the time not be EVed in a way
Sounds a little weird.

Wi-Fi > Wifi

Rest/Talk
Shorthand. Rest / Sleep Talk is the way to go.

Rest/Talker
Also shorthand. Actually, I'm not 100% clear. I've always assumed shorthand shouldn't be used, even though ResTalker sounds a bit better, you should change to Rest / Sleep Talker.

All I found in my read through. Good job again!
 

maddog

is a master debater
is a Contributor Alumnus
I would mention that the Mixed Attacker would love to recieve Ninjask boosts, as I've have seen that with some speed and a Swords Dance behind it, and it sweeps like no tomorrow. Just put Shadow Claw over Shadow Ball if you decided to add that Jibbles.
 
I noticed you don't have this Giratina in your thread (It's from your other Giratina discussion thread).

Giratina @ Platinum Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 72 Def / 252 Spd / 180 SAtk (Timid spread)
Timid / Modest Nature (+Spd / +SAtk, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Dragon Pulse
- Will-o-Wisp / Thunder
- Rest

So yeah, I just wanted to ask if it's still useful, or are their any better Timid Giratina spreads?
 

Jibaku

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maddog:
I have used a BP recipient physical Giratina-O and it absolutely rips teams. I'd definitely use a different EV spread as you only need ~298 SA to OHKO Skarmory with Thunder. Or, as an alternative, Shadow Force can be used over Thunder if you have Spikes. The risk factor is huge, but it can OHKO Groudon if you've gotten Spikes and SR down after a Swords Dance. Either way, this can scout for Groudon's possibility of having Roar or Thunder Wave, provided your opponent doesn't know you have Frce. They'll then either switch or die. If they switch, kill the next guy after the dive assuming it didn't hit/didn't do much. If Groudon shows its face again be prepared to play a prediction game should the opponent have another Shadow Force resist not named Darkrai alive. If Don desn't have Roar or TWave please just finish him off normally. I'm probably going to hold off mentioning BP recipient Tina-O though. I can't necessarily explain why, but it has something to do with being a BP recipient and other Pokemon being BP recipients.

VKM:
As much as I hate to admit it Timid Giratina wasn't working well for me at all, mainly because people use so much speed nowadays it's futile to try and outrun them. It's btter to try and survive hits and dish them back out. I still mentioned Timid in the other options, though, mainly because it can be a nice surprise.

Will-o-Wisp failed miserably. This is mainly because I run to a lot of Kyogres that it practically becomes kinda useless. This is often in a critical moment-Specs Kyogre vs Giratina-O, for instance, where KOing is much more valuable and needed than burning it. I'd also rather paralyze Latias than Burn it. Lastly it's because I'm tired of Lugia just blowing me away everytime.
 

Caelum

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I have to ask, how useful is Thunder really? I personally never run Thunder on it. Aside from Scizor wouldn't Shadow Ball be entirely better. Giratina-A can already take on Kyogre with Dragon Pulse as it CMs since it resists its STAB and Lugia, Metagross, are already hit hard by Shadow Ball (same base power on Lugia though). I'd personally prefer Shadow Ball to be the primary option on the 1st CM set.
 
VKM:
As much as I hate to admit it Timid Giratina wasn't working well for me at all, mainly because people use so much speed nowadays it's futile to try and outrun them. It's btter to try and survive hits and dish them back out. I still mentioned Timid in the other options, though, mainly because it can be a nice surprise.

Will-o-Wisp failed miserably. This is mainly because I run to a lot of Kyogres that it practically becomes kinda useless. This is often in a critical moment-Specs Kyogre vs Giratina-O, for instance, where KOing is much more valuable and needed than burning it. I'd also rather paralyze Latias than Burn it. Lastly it's because I'm tired of Lugia just blowing me away everytime.
It seems interesting though. I'll give this set a try but I might use Thunderbolt instead of Thunder.
 

Jibaku

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Thunder is really, really good. I'm not sure about you though, but I often find myself in a situation where Thunder can save me, but nothing else can (because Kyogre is still too common). Thunder can paralyze Latias, who can run Giratina-O over. So you para it, switch out, then later on come back in with a CMed Dragon Pulse in its face. Really, though, Specs Kyogre can stop Gira-O to an extent, and I'd definitely not want to get revenge killed by it. Stopping Scizor's also nice, because Scizor can really weaken Giratina-O. As long as Kyogre is the dominant force in the metagame Thunder remains very useful and almost a staple imo. Paralyzing Lugia can also help too, but to a smaller extent.

VKM: Thunder >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Thunderbolt even if there's possible sunlight. Trust me.
 

Caelum

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Well, I never meant for Thunder to be removed. I would just prefer Shadow Ball to the be the primary option, but its fine as it is. I've just always found Shadow Ball much more useful but to each there own. I guess the paralysis can save you in a tight spot so thats nice :/. Now that I think about it, I ran Giratina-O on a Thunder Wave team so maybe thats why I didn't care about the paralysis issues :D.
 
[SET]
name: Special Sweeper
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Dragon Pulse
move 3: Thunder / Shadow Ball / Aura Sphere
move 4: Substitute / Aura Sphere
item: Platinum Orb
nature: Modest
EVs: 144 HP / 112 Spe / 236 SpA / 18 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Giratina-O is a fantastic special sweeper. Often underrated, Giratina-O sports some valuable qualities that other special sweepers can only wish for. It has a great Special Attack stat, complemented by Calm Mind and a myriad of options in terms of Special Attacks at its disposal. Being part Dragon-type gives Giratina-O an amazing STAB that hits most opponents neutral or super effectively. Being part Ghost-type, Giratina-O is immune to Seismic Toss, shutting down Blissey’s main method of damaging, and with Substitute it gains virtual immunity to status ailments, shutting down any attempts from the obese egg nurse to inflict status onto it. Base 150 / 100 / 100 HP / defenses are no laughing matter either, coupled with Levitate to allow evasion against Spikes and Toxic Spikes. To top it all off Giratina-O has the ever elusive immunity to Trick and Knock Off's item removing effect, which can sometimes hilariously stop the opponent’s attempt at using a surprise Choiced Trick Pokemon.</p>

<p>Dragon Pulse is Giratina’s main attack, only resisted by Steels not named Dialga. In a Dragon infested metagame, Dragon Pulse will find itself crucial to this moveset as it OHKOs both Rayquaza and Palkia and has a great chance of 2HKOing max HP/no Special Defense Groudon without a Calm Mind boost. Dragon Pulse also scores above 50% against Latias, unboosted, and has a very favorable chance of 2HKOing special defensive Dialga after Calm Mind. Thunder inflicts massive damage to Kyogre, which is extremely common and is a pain to take down without it, and can cause paralysis which aids it in its sweep by pseudo-fixing its base 90 Speed. Kyogre alone makes Thunder a very important move in this set, but should someone not worry about Kyogre (possibly due to more Pokemon in his or her team that counters it), Shadow Ball becomes a valuable option on the set, providing an easy OHKO on 6 HP / no Special Defense Mewtwo, and dealing more damage to other Psychics than Thunder could, including Metagross and Lugia. Substitute, as previously stated, is a great guard against status and shuts down standard Blissey in the Uber metagame, and also aids in prediction. Be careful, though, as Giratina-O has no recovery, so its ability to throw out Substitutes is very limited, so make each Substitute count. Aura Sphere allows Giratina-O to hurt Dialga, Blissey and most importantly Tyranitar harder, the latter otherwise being its nemesis with its high Special Defense, allowing it to absorb Dragon Pulses, painful STAB Payback, Crunch, or Pursuit, and Sandstorm cutting through Giratina-O’s zero recovery. If one does not care about Blissey, he or she can Calm Mind/Dragon Pulse/Thunder OR Shadow Ball/Aura Sphere for maximum coverage in Ubers.</p>

<p>The EVs for this set may look extremely complicated, but they really aren't. 112 Speed EVs allow it to outrun Jolly Tyranitar, which can prove to be handy at some point, and should outrun most Kyogre and Groudon. The defensive EVs give it practically a guaranteed survival against a Spacial Rend from Timid Palkia after taking a Stealth Rock damage. Although not guaranteed, it can also survive a Life Orbed Dragon Claw from Jolly Rayquaza after Stealth Rock damage, and if Stealth Rock is not counted at all Dragon Claw from a Groudon and no Attack EV Dialga is a guaranteed 3HKO against this. Giratina-O’s survivability is quite interesting, and it can be EVed in many different ways to suit its user. The rest of the EVs are dumped into Special Attack; 232 Special Attack EVs give it a very high chance of 2HKOing max HP, no Special Defense Kyogre with Thunder, and after a Calm Mind it is guaranteed to OHKO no HP / Special Defense variants after Stealth Rock damage (Timid Specs/Scarf variants). </p>

[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Outrage
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Shadow Force / Shadow Claw
item: Platinum Orb
nature: Adamant
EVs: 144 HP / 236 Atk / 112 Spe / 18 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While the special sweeper set may be very appealing, one can not forget that Giratina-O’s Attack stat is equivalent to its Special Attack. It is a force to be reckoned with, hitting most Pokemon in Ubers in their softer physical defenses. With access to STAB 120 Base Power Outrage, along with a Platinum Orb boost, it is not to be taken lightly, as Outrage is very capable of 2HKOing Dialga and Kyogre. However, being locked into Outrage can be displeasing, as Giratina-O has mediocre Speed and is weak to Dragon, making it very susceptible to Draco Meteor. This can often be remedied by using Substitute beforehand to minimize punishment during the turns in which Outrage locks Giratina-O. Substitute also protects Giratina-O in case it messes up on Shadow Force. Earthquake pairs up with Outrage pretty well, destroying Dragon resistors such as Heatran and Registeel while giving Giratina-O a move to destroy Dialga with that does not lock it. Even if Outrage does slightly more to Dialga than Earthquake does, it still sports a great chance of 2HKOing after Dialga takes a bit of Stealth Rock damage. The choice between Shadow Force and Shadow Claw is very much up to the user. They both serve as Giratina-O’s secondary STAB and are helpful in disposing of Psychics. Shadow Claw is the choice for reliability, while Shadow Force is the choice for sheer
power.</p>

<p>Many people view Shadow Force as being a terrible move due to the fact that it’s a charge up move. Shadow Force isn’t necessarily a great move, but it’s certainly quite underrated and packs a punch. As long as there’s a Normal-type on the field, though, Shadow Force becomes fairly useless. Luckily, only one Normal-type makes a common appearance in Ubers and that is Blissey, who isn’t going to really switch into Giratina-O due to its fear of Outrage. What this really means is that Blissey isn’t going to switch in even if it sees Shadow Force coming, because after the dive Giratina-O can abuse Blissey’s inability to do anything to it and set up a free Substitute. Once their Normal-type is gone, Shadow Force can deal massive damage to even things that resist it; for example, Darkrai is 2HKOed by Shadow Force. Shadow Force also OHKOes physical wall Mewtwo, something that Shadow Claw can not. One possible good moment to use Shadow Force is when Giratina-O's weakened opponent can be KOed by it, but not by Earthquake, and at the same time when Outrage is very risky to use due to its lock. </p>

<p>The EVs are pretty much equivalent to the special sweeper set, except with the switch between Special Attack and Attack. The bulk on this set is otherwise the exact same as the previous one, being able to survive Timid Palkia’s Spacial Rend after Stealth Rock and such. </p>

[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Dragon Claw / Outrage
move 2: Shadow Ball / Draco Meteor
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Thunder
item: Platinum Orb
nature: Lonely / Naughty
EVs: 252 Atk / 112 Spe / 146 SpA

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With both Attack and Special Attack base stats at 120, Giratina-O is a great mixed sweeper. At first, one would criticize by saying that Dialga does the job better, but that is not true. First of all, Giratina-O has a different typing and Levitate, allowing it to switch into different things than Dialga. Secondly, Giratina-O has one move that separates it from Mixed Dialga and that is STAB Shadow Ball, allowing it to break through opponents which Mixed Dialga struggles with, such as Deoxys-D and Recover Mewtwo, as well as being able to hit Lugia’s Psychic typing super effectively, which is an advantage over Thunder because Lugia can theoretically stall Thunder out with Roost when the sun is up. </p>

<p>The moveset listed give Giratina-O maximum coverage in the Uber metagame and make it virtually impossible to wall. Dragon Claw is a reliable physical STAB that has enough power to 2HKO Blissey after Stealth Rock damage. Being a Dragon typed move, it gives Giratina-O coverage against Latios, Latias, Palkia ,and Rayquaza; all of them are capable of countering Giratina-O to an extent without aid from it. Outrage should be used only if the user feels daring, because locking into a move here is quite undesired, as the mixed set has a hit and run feel to it. However, the extra power from Outrage scores a 2HKO against Kyogre and Dialga, and does massive damage to everything else that doesn’t resist it bar Lugia, and can under certain conditions help its sweep in late game. Shadow Ball is explained already, but adding to that is the ability to 3HKO Groudon, who otherwise walls the set unless Giratina-O uses Outrage. However, if one does not need the coverage against the Psychics Draco Meteor is a great option as it hits Groudon, Dialga and Giratina harder than the rest of its moves. Earthquake helps deal with Steels such as Jirachi and Heatran, and finally, Thunder is there to lay a powerful hit on Kyogre, 3HKOing a 252 HP / no Special Defense variant with ease, and stops both Skarmory and Forretress. </p>

<p>The EVs are more straightforward and more flexible this time. When it has its focus on both offensive stats it has no more EVs to place in its defenses. Maximum attack allows it to deal as much damage as possible to Dialga and Blissey, both which can take Giratina-O’s Special Attacks pretty well. 112 Speed EVs allow Giratina-O to outrun max Speed Jolly Tyranitar, and the rest are dumped into Special Attack to power up Shadow Ball and Thunder. </p>

[SET]
name: Sleeping Beauty
move 1: Outrage
move 2: Shadow Force / Earthquake / Shadow Claw
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Platinum Orb
nature: Adamant
EVs: 144 HP / 236 Atk / 112 Spe / 18 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Giratina-O is reasonably bulky and can run a Rest / Sleep Talk set fairly effectively too. No longer does one have to worry about status or being continuously worn down by Stealth Rock; this set scoffs at all of those. Outrage is Giratina-O’s attack of choice-it is very devastating to most Ubers, as previously mentioned in the physical attacker set. When picked by Sleep Talk, Outrage loses its lock and essentially becomes a 120 BP STAB move with no drawbacks, which is really quite insane. Shadow Force is the preferred option out of the three moves listed on the second moveslot as it can not be picked dwith Sleep Talk, giving Giratina-O a higher chance to fire a very deadly Outrage. This is a win-win situation as when it is awake, it has two offensive moves to choose from, and when it is asleep, it has a high chance of picking Outrage with Sleep Talk. If one were to find Shadow Force distasteful he or she can choose either Shadow Claw or Earthquake. While both of these moves interfere with Sleep Talk's chances of picking Outrage, they are more reliable than Shadow Force when Giratina-O is awake. Earthquake gives coverage against Steels, while Shadow Claw decimates Psychics.
</p>

[Other Options]
<p>Rest can be used in the special sweeper set to give it greater longevity, but the two turns of vulnerability are nasty. With a specialized EV spread Giratina-O can outstall a Rest/Talking Kyogre this way, provided that it has Thunder. Rest allows Giratina-O to actually switch into status as well. Sleep Talk can be used in conjunction with Rest to attack during its sleeping period. Will-o-Wisp can be used to weaken physical attackers such as Groudon and Metagross and lets Giratina-O to set up on them, but it will cost its secondary attack. Hidden Power Fire is a great weapon on the mixed set to stop Scizor with (and obviously Forretress), but be aware that unless it has Outrage, it might have problems taking Kyogre down. Furthermore, the rain can really hamper its ability to KO Scizor, provided that the opposition has both Pokemon. When using Hidden Power Fire, move 4 Attack EVs to Speed as it requires Giratina-O to have 30 Speed IV. Finally, as a Dragon, it has access to Draco Meteor, which can be fit in the mixed set should one decide that it is better off to hit Groudon harder instead of Mewtwo, Lugia, and Deoxys-D. Of course, there is an option of running a straight up special sweeper. Other than those, there’s not much, really. </p>

[EVs]
<p>The EVs are explained already in each set, but should one choose to be different, there are a couple more he or she can choose from. To start off, some users may feel that having 112 Speed EVs is a waste. In that case, Giratina-O’s Speed can be lowered to 24 EVs, putting it at 222 Speed, outrunning Adamant Tyranitar and some Kyogre, Groudon, Giratina, Deoxys-D, and Dialga. The extra 22 points can be placed in HP or defenses for more survivability. For instance, the EV spread 196 HP / 40 Def / 24 Spe / 232 SpA / 18 SpD for the Calm Minder allows it to have a guaranteed survival against a Life Orbed Dragon Claw from Jolly Rayquaza, and very, very close to a guaranteed survival against a Modest Palkia’s unboosted Draco Meteor after a Calm Mind. Both are calculated after Giratina-O has taken Stealth Rock damage. With 34 HP / 24 Spe / 232 SpA / 220 SpD Giratina-O is capable of holding up against Surfs from the standard Rest/Talk Kyogre with Rest provided that both Giratina-O and Kyogre has the same number of boosts and Giratina-O packs Thunder. This makes Giratina-O, although not really recommended to be used like this, a very good counter to Rest/Talk Kyogre. The Special Defense EVs also allow it to take less than 50% from Choice Specs Ice Beam from a 399 Special Attack Kyogre. </p>

<p>196 HP / 246 Atk / 24 Spe / 4 SpD can be used on the physical attacker. It will guarantee that after a Stealth Rock damage, Giratina-O will survive a Life Orbed Dragon Claw from Jolly Rayquaza and unboosted Spacial Rend from Timid Palkia. </p>

<p>Finally, there are options of extremes: maximizing and minimizing the Speed stat. The classic 6 HP / 252 Speed / 252 Special Attack, along with Timid, can be used on Giratina-O, outrunning Adamant Rayquaza and tying with other +Speed natured base 90 Speed Pokemon such as Kyogre and Groudon, provided that neither carries Choice Scarf. For the physical attacker, just replace Timid with Jolly. On the other hand, lowering down its Speed to an absolute minimum, which is at 166, allow it to be used in Trick Room where it may compensate for its slowness. Being very slow also reduces punishment when using Shadow Force, at the cost of not being able to use the vanishing part of the move to dodge attacks. At this slow speed, it should underspeed Dialga, so that in case Dialga decides to switch in during Shadow Force’s charge up turn, it would be forced to strike first and Giratina-O would avoid the punishment on its dive. The slowness however can prove to be a disadvantage though, so be wise when deciding to use it or not. </p>

<p>Lastly, it’s important to note that Giratina-O should most of the time not be EVed in a way that makes its counterpart, Giratina, completely overshadow it stat-wise. Never is an overstatement, though, as one may decide that having Levitate is crucial to his or her team, and may resort into using an extremely defensive Giratina-O just because of that. It’s safe to say to never EV Giratina-O to the point where Giratina overshadows it completely when one does not need it. </p>

[Opinion]
<p>Whereas Giratina is a wall that never dies, Giratina-O is a sweeper that can puncture many holes in the opponent’s team. Despite only four sets being listed, its massive movepool means that it’s often a guessing game for the opponent when it’s first sent out, and a wrong guess in the opposition often leads to severe punishment. Arguably one of the most underrated Ubers to date, Giratina-O’s strengths are quite unique and should be exploited. It can be a special sweeper that can not be stopped by most Blisseys, a physical sweeper that pinpoints most Ubers’ weaker side with STAB and often super effective STAB Outrage and Shadow Claw/Force, and a deadly mixed sweeper that can not be walled by Deoxys-D and Recover Mewtwo. </p>

<p>Levitate is an amazing ability that grants Giratina-O the ability to switch in without being scathed by Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Because of this ability and part Ghost typing, Calm Mind Giratina-O is a magnificent stall breaker, because it is able to switch in a number of times before it is worn down by Stealth Rock, and cannot be stopped by a regular Blissey. The mixed sweeper is also a great way to weaken stall as most Pokemon in a stall team is incapable of handling it and will require prediction. Immunity to Rapid Spin means that Forretress can not Spin away any entry hazards that is set up by Giratina-O’s teammate(s) and helps wear down incoming Pokemon in the opposite side. Immunity to Trick and the item removing effect of Knock Off are also quite exclusive and can prove to be helpful in some cases. </p>

<p> However, it does have some pretty disturbing weaknesses; Giratina-O only has a base 90 Speed which is quite slow for Uber standards. It has weaknesses to the most common types in the Uber metagame, some that not even its massive defenses can save it from. Dragon, Ice, Ghost- and Dark moves can prove to be quite nasty to Giratina-O. And finally, its most fundamental flaw is its inability to hold anything else besides Platinum Orb, which is what Giratina-O is most often criticized for. The inability to hold any other items ruins what would otherwise be an amazing potential. Being able to hold Leftovers would be so great for the Calm Mind set. However, even after all of these flaws, it is far too much to say that Giratina-O sucks.</p>

<p>Giratina-O excels at breaking stall, but is only average in trying to beat down offensive teams. Don’t underestimate it, though-it is often guaranteed to take at least one guy down.</p>
<p>Giratina plays by resistances; Giratina-O plays by immunities.</p>

<p>For those that play on Wi-Fi, it is a very, very annoying fact that it can not be used in that environment for a very odd and unknown reason. It can, however, be used in Link battles. </p>

[Counters]
<p>Giratina-O is tough to counter directly, considering that it has a huge offensive movepool. The special sweeper is in general countered by Latias, although it does not enjoy switching into repeated Dragon Pulses. While a regular Blissey is countered by the special sweeper. Calm Mind or Psych Up Blissey is a great counter to the special sweeper set. Her high Special Defense and and Ice Beam away through its Substitutes, eventually until its death. In the absence of Aura Sphere, Tyranitar switches in with no qualms and destroys Giratina-O in many ways. Its high Special Defense allows it to switch into Dragon Pulse without taking a whole lot, and in return, Tyranitar inflicts painful damage with Crunch, Pursuit or Payback. Furthermore, Sandstorm cuts away at Giratina-O’s HP, and helps speed up its death count. Without Thunder, a Special Defensive Kyogre can Calm Mind alongside it and Roar it away.</p>

<p>The physical sets are countered by Skarmory and Scizor. Both Pokemon are capable of Roosting away at whatever Giratina-O throws at it. Forretress can set up Toxic Spikes and Spikes, and can hurt Giratina-O with Gyro Ball. Lugia is faster than Giratina-O and can wall anything but Shadow Claw/Force and set up a Reflect. It can switch in during Shadow Force’s charging turn and set up a Reflect, cutting away Shadow Force’s power. Lugia can then Roost off the damage and either blow Giratina-O away, slowly chip its health away with Ice Beam, or just sit there PP stalling Giratina-O to death. Lugia can also inflict Toxic or Thunder Wave on Giratina-O, thus numbering down its chances to sweep. Lugia, however, can not do anything against the Rest/Talk version as it is practically immune to status and Ice Beam doesn’t do a lot to it. Besides those, though, it’s mostly putting Giratina-O into an unfavorable position using the turns it is locked into Outrage or Shadow Force. </p>

<p>The mixed set is the hardest to counter out of all of the three sets. The best non-Arceus counter to it is a Special Defensive Scizor, who can laugh at Thunder and the rest of the moves Giratina-O throws at it. In the rain, Scizor can take on Hidden Power Fire with relative ease. In return, Scizor can fire Bullet Punches and slowly chip away at Giratina-O’s monstrous health. Besides Scizor, though, it’s all about prediction. For instance, Lugia can come in on Outrage/Dragon Claw, or Earthquake, and inflict Toxic onto it. It can then attempt to Roost away at Giratina-O’s Shadow Balls so long as no Special Defense drop occurs, and wait until it is in Ice Beam’s kill range, which won’t be long. </p>

<p>Otherwise, just take advantage of Giratina-O’s slow Speed and lack of recovery (with the exception of the Rest / Sleep Talker). Try to dent Giratina-O with weak attacks upon it switching in if you can’t hit it with powerful ones. For example, try to hit it with Forretress’ Gyro Ball when it switches in so that it can be placed into the kill zone of moves such as Palkia’s Spacial Rend, Rayquaza’s Dragon Claw, or Dialga’s Dragon Pulse. Once again Giratina-O rarely makes a full sweep, but it will usually bring down one or two members with it. </p>
This is really long, I don't know if I caught all x_x But you write nicely and I enjoyed the description of Blissey
 

Jibaku

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I'm not sure whether I can edit this in SCMS or not because as of October something Sage's last reasoning in there is not to edit yet. So I decided to make my edits here.

- Changed "Special Sweeper" to "Special Attacker" since I found it very tough to perform a sweep. This doesn't mean it can't sweep, though, and it's still certainly devastating

- A probably uneeded portion on how to maximize its potential with the Calm Mind set. That's simply there to address that a few people came to me telling me Giratina-O isn't working for them.

- A slight revision on the counters section

- A new EV spread for the CMer

Paltheos mentioned in the November statistics thread iirc that he uses Draco Meteor/Shadow Ball/Substitute/Outrage Giratina-O. He says it's been working successfully for him, but I've never used it and thus I can't write an analysis on it. If someone else has and has found it to be successful and if he/she or Paltheos himself can write down an analysis for this, I'd be grateful.

I'll do Giratina-A after Christmas
 

Caelum

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I know you can currently edit the Giratina-a but for whatever reason GS didn't want you to, I guess ask him.

On the note of the set you mentioned, I played the sub / draco / outrage set a few times and I wasn't that impressed with it but if many others disagree with me so be it.
 

Colonel M

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I don't find Dragon Pulse that useful in the first set. I've used Shadow Ball / Aura Sphere for coverage, with Substitute following in slot four. Most Giratina-Os are faster than most Lugia (except those EV'd to take on Jolly SD Chomp, which isn't as common yet). Shadow Ball still hits the main Pokemon (Latias, other Giratina) while hitting others such as Mewtwo and Lugia. I understand though that Dragon Pulse is for the necessary OHKO on Rayquaza.

If you remember back in the Giratina-A analysis, I also mentioned that Giratina-O could possibly use Rest / Sleep Talk / Calm Mind / Dragon Pulse. I'd let others chime in on this too, unless you've tested it extensively.
 

Jibaku

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I've ran Giratina-O with STalk a couple of times, although I haven't got any successful results yet, which is sad because in theory this seems great. It probably does make a better stall breaker than the SubCMer though because it can try and kill Latias, swap out, and swap back in and Rest when the situation lets it. I made a brief mention in other options

I disagree on Lugia being slower than Giratina-O. The analysis lists 244 Speed, which is slower than even min Speed Lugia. Furthermore, most Lugias run 318-319 Speed to outrun Jolly SD Ray.

Will mention Shadow Ball / Aura Sphere.
 

Colonel M

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Must've been a fluke match then, sorry about the comment with Lugia (now that I remember, it had Thunder Wave anyway).
 

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