[OVERVIEW]
Giratina-O is given an opening in the metagame as a result of its great matchup against Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon. This is especially true in the latter's case, as Giratina-O's Levitate ability grants it an immunity to Ground-type moves. Offensively, its typing is good, as Ghost provides excellent neutral coverage. In fact, Giratina-O can easily get away with only running Ghost-type coverage, particularly given its signature move, Shadow Force, which is capable of breaking through the very common Protect. It also possesses good defensive stats and a total of six resistances and three immunities, including from its ability, which allows it to take attacks well from many of the format's most prominent attackers. Further, Giratina-O's decent support movepool, including moves such as Will-O-Wisp and Tailwind, allows it to be flexible in supporting its team. However, Giratina-O struggles against Xerneas and teams that take advantage of Yveltal's Dark Aura, which is problematic because both are relatively common. Its base 90 Speed stat is also awkward, as it is only just enough to Speed tie with Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon, which doesn't help much. Furthermore, being forced to use Griseous Orb to maintain its forme means that it lacks the item versatility other Pokemon do. A lack of spread moves also makes it less appealing offensively compared to other restricted Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and Xerneas. Giratina-O can be effective given the right team, but ensure it's not outclassed by its alternate forme, Giratina, by taking proper advantage of its comparatively superior offensive stats.
[SET]
name: Bulky Attacker
move 1: Shadow Force
move 2: Shadow Sneak / Tailwind
move 3: Draco Meteor / Will-O-Wisp
move 4: Protect
item: Griseous Orb
ability: Levitate
nature: Adamant / Brave
evs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 4 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Shadow Force is Giratina-O's primary STAB attack, boasting a high Base Power and the bonus of breaking through Protect. Shadow Sneak provides STAB priority to compensate for Giratina-O's fairly average Speed. Tailwind can be used instead if you'd prefer Giratina-O to have the ability to supply speed control for its team. Draco Meteor OHKOes opposing Dragon-types but can also be used if Giratina's Attack stat has been lowered, for example, as a result of Intimidate or burn. If KOing Dragons is not an issue, then Will-O-Wisp can be used to neuter opposing physical attackers instead. Protect defends Giratina for a turn while its partner eliminates a threat or switches to improve positioning. If Will-O-Wisp is chosen, Protect can also help stall out burn inflicted on foes. If you want Tailwind or Will-O-Wisp and don't wish to drop a coverage move, either can also be used over Protect.
Set Details
========
Griseous Orb is required for Giratina to stay in its Origin forme and also boosts its Ghost- and Dragon-type attacks by 20%, which is valuable given that Giratina-O rarely strays from these attacking types. Griseous Orb also prevents a foe from dealing increased damage with Knock Off, as it can't be removed. Levitate is Giratina-O's only ability, but an immunity to Ground-type attacks is valuable against attackers like Primal Groudon. An Adamant nature and 252 Attack EVs are used to maximize the output of Giratina's physical attacks. If Giratina-O is being used on a team featuring Trick Room, a Brave nature and 0 Speed IVs can be used instead in order to move sooner under its effect. Defensively, the EVs make both Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades under Gravity and Life Orb Talonflame's Brave Bird a 3HKO. With regards to special attacks, they also prevent an OHKO from Timid Xerneas's Moonblast before a Geomancy boost. EVs can be taken out of Attack and placed into Defense or Special Defense if you'd prefer Giratina-O to be bulkier. An example is dropping down to 140 Attack EVs to OHKO 252 HP / 4 Def Aegislash in Shield forme. This can be more appealing if a more supportive build is preferred. More Speed EVs may be tempting, but there's nothing relevant until maximum Speed to Speed tie with Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon.
Usage Tips
========
Giratina-O is fairly flexible with regards to when it can be brought out, although it does a good job at cleaning up during the late-game thanks to its priority Shadow Sneak. With that said, support-focused builds might prefer to be brought in the early-game to help set up Tailwind and burn foes for Giratina-O's partners. If up against a team centered around utilizing Yveltal's Dark Aura, you may wish to leave Giratina-O on the bench due to its exceptionally poor matchup in such a situation. Shadow Force is a safe move most of the time due to its high damage and ability to break through Protect. In fact, even if Draco Meteor would deal slightly more damage, the latter reason often makes Shadow Force the preferred option. No Pokemon resists the combination of Ghost- and Fighting-type moves, so doubling into a foe with those types is a great option for safe damage. Be cautious of Sucker Punch users, as even Shadow Sneak will often fail to outpace them due to Giratina-O's low Speed.
Team Options
========
Mega Kangaskhan appreciates Giratina-O's Fighting-type immunity and can help support Giratina-O with Fake Out. Smeargle makes for a good partner for similar reasons and can also redirect Ghost-type moves using Follow Me with ease as a result of its immunity to them. Primal Kyogre's special attacks complement Giratina-O's physical ones, and it appreciates the Tailwind support Giratina-O provides. Primal Groudon equally appreciates Tailwind, and Giratina-O can switch into Ground-type moves that would hit it super effectively thanks to Levitate. Landorus-T can use Earthquake freely alongside Giratina-O thanks to Levitate, and the Attack drop provided by its Intimidate further improves Giratina-O's bulk. Talonflame provides a Fairy-type resistance, and the combination of Brave Bird and Shadow Sneak can be useful to pick up quick KOs. Crobat can be a valuable partner, as its Super Fang can help turn Giratina-O's attacks from close misses into KOs. Ferrothorn is a great check to Xerneas, which threatens Giratina-O, as a result of Gyro Ball's high Base Power after Xerneas has gotten a Geomancy boost. Mega Mawile is also well equipped to check Xerneas thanks to its STAB-boosted Iron Head, and it can additionally beat Dark-types for Giratina-O. A Xerneas of your own could be useful to dispatch opposing Dark- and Dragon-types with ease. Cresselia can set Trick Room for Giratina-O to compensate for its Speed, and Helping Hand aids it in picking up OHKOs.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
While Dragon Claw takes better advantage of Giratina-O's higher Attack stat, Draco Meteor OHKOes most Dragons regardless and is not affected by Intimidate. Dragon Tail could be used to phaze Trick Room setters and setup sweepers, with the exception of Xerneas. Icy Wind and Thunder Wave can provide an alternative form of speed control. Icy Wind has the advantage of hitting 4x Ice-weak foes such as Landorus-T and Mega Salamence hard. Thunder Wave, being that it inflicts status, is more permanent and reduces the chance a foe has to move. Destiny Bond takes a foe with Giratina-O when it faints, but Giratina-O is not fast enough to take proper advantage of it. Magic Coat reflects status from moves such as Smeargle's Dark Void back at the opponent's side of the field. Safeguard similarly serves as a check to status by making Giratina-O and its teammates immune to them for five turns. Giratina-O has a good special movepool, with access to moves such as Dragon Pulse and Earth Power. However, these are rarely worthwhile, as the combination of Shadow Force and Draco Meteor generally enables Giratina-O to pick up the KOs the aforementioned moves can.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Dragon-type Pokemon**: While Giratina-O can hit them with Draco Meteor, certain Dragons are nevertheless problematic. Mega Rayquaza outspeeds Giratina-O and can OHKO it with a Draco Meteor of its own. It also commonly holds a Focus Sash, which allows it to survive a single strong attack. Dialga's Steel typing means it takes Dragon-type attacks neutrally, and it can OHKO Giratina-O with Draco Meteor. Kyurem-W can not only KO Giratina with a Dragon-type attack but also make use of a super effective Blizzard under Gravity as well.
**Dark-type Pokemon**: Dark-types resist Ghost-type moves and hit Giratina-O hard with their super effective STAB moves. Yveltal's Dark Aura-boosted attacks easily dispatch Giratina, and it can outprioritize it with Sucker Punch. Weavile deals great damage with Icicle Crash, particularly when holding a Life Orb, and can use Ice Shard for priority. Liepard can utilize both the super effective Foul Play and Encore, which can lock Giratina into ineffectual support moves.
**Fairy-type Pokemon**: Fairy-types are more easily able to switch into Giratina-O's attacks thanks to their immunity to Dragon. Xerneas is particularly problematic, as its Fairy Aura-boosted attacks deal massive damage, being capable of OHKOing Giratina after a Geomancy boost. Mega Mawile, while admittedly threatened by Will-O-Wisp, deals a large amount of damage to Giratina with Play Rough.
**Intimidate and Burns**: Intimidate and burn are problematic for Giratina-O, as they reduce the damage output of its physical attacks. Intimidate users such as Landorus-T lower Giratina's Attack by one stage when they switch in. Will-O-Wisp users such as Gengar and Sableye cut Giratina's Attack in half by burning it. Further, the chip damage this inflicts is useful for whittling away Giratina-O's HP given its natural bulk.
**Smeargle**: Smeargle outspeeds uninvested Giratina-O, can use Dark Void against it, and is unaffected by Ghost-type moves, making it difficult to deal with.
Giratina-O is given an opening in the metagame as a result of its great matchup against Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon. This is especially true in the latter's case, as Giratina-O's Levitate ability grants it an immunity to Ground-type moves. Offensively, its typing is good, as Ghost provides excellent neutral coverage. In fact, Giratina-O can easily get away with only running Ghost-type coverage, particularly given its signature move, Shadow Force, which is capable of breaking through the very common Protect. It also possesses good defensive stats and a total of six resistances and three immunities, including from its ability, which allows it to take attacks well from many of the format's most prominent attackers. Further, Giratina-O's decent support movepool, including moves such as Will-O-Wisp and Tailwind, allows it to be flexible in supporting its team. However, Giratina-O struggles against Xerneas and teams that take advantage of Yveltal's Dark Aura, which is problematic because both are relatively common. Its base 90 Speed stat is also awkward, as it is only just enough to Speed tie with Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon, which doesn't help much. Furthermore, being forced to use Griseous Orb to maintain its forme means that it lacks the item versatility other Pokemon do. A lack of spread moves also makes it less appealing offensively compared to other restricted Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and Xerneas. Giratina-O can be effective given the right team, but ensure it's not outclassed by its alternate forme, Giratina, by taking proper advantage of its comparatively superior offensive stats.
[SET]
name: Bulky Attacker
move 1: Shadow Force
move 2: Shadow Sneak / Tailwind
move 3: Draco Meteor / Will-O-Wisp
move 4: Protect
item: Griseous Orb
ability: Levitate
nature: Adamant / Brave
evs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 4 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Shadow Force is Giratina-O's primary STAB attack, boasting a high Base Power and the bonus of breaking through Protect. Shadow Sneak provides STAB priority to compensate for Giratina-O's fairly average Speed. Tailwind can be used instead if you'd prefer Giratina-O to have the ability to supply speed control for its team. Draco Meteor OHKOes opposing Dragon-types but can also be used if Giratina's Attack stat has been lowered, for example, as a result of Intimidate or burn. If KOing Dragons is not an issue, then Will-O-Wisp can be used to neuter opposing physical attackers instead. Protect defends Giratina for a turn while its partner eliminates a threat or switches to improve positioning. If Will-O-Wisp is chosen, Protect can also help stall out burn inflicted on foes. If you want Tailwind or Will-O-Wisp and don't wish to drop a coverage move, either can also be used over Protect.
Set Details
========
Griseous Orb is required for Giratina to stay in its Origin forme and also boosts its Ghost- and Dragon-type attacks by 20%, which is valuable given that Giratina-O rarely strays from these attacking types. Griseous Orb also prevents a foe from dealing increased damage with Knock Off, as it can't be removed. Levitate is Giratina-O's only ability, but an immunity to Ground-type attacks is valuable against attackers like Primal Groudon. An Adamant nature and 252 Attack EVs are used to maximize the output of Giratina's physical attacks. If Giratina-O is being used on a team featuring Trick Room, a Brave nature and 0 Speed IVs can be used instead in order to move sooner under its effect. Defensively, the EVs make both Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades under Gravity and Life Orb Talonflame's Brave Bird a 3HKO. With regards to special attacks, they also prevent an OHKO from Timid Xerneas's Moonblast before a Geomancy boost. EVs can be taken out of Attack and placed into Defense or Special Defense if you'd prefer Giratina-O to be bulkier. An example is dropping down to 140 Attack EVs to OHKO 252 HP / 4 Def Aegislash in Shield forme. This can be more appealing if a more supportive build is preferred. More Speed EVs may be tempting, but there's nothing relevant until maximum Speed to Speed tie with Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon.
Usage Tips
========
Giratina-O is fairly flexible with regards to when it can be brought out, although it does a good job at cleaning up during the late-game thanks to its priority Shadow Sneak. With that said, support-focused builds might prefer to be brought in the early-game to help set up Tailwind and burn foes for Giratina-O's partners. If up against a team centered around utilizing Yveltal's Dark Aura, you may wish to leave Giratina-O on the bench due to its exceptionally poor matchup in such a situation. Shadow Force is a safe move most of the time due to its high damage and ability to break through Protect. In fact, even if Draco Meteor would deal slightly more damage, the latter reason often makes Shadow Force the preferred option. No Pokemon resists the combination of Ghost- and Fighting-type moves, so doubling into a foe with those types is a great option for safe damage. Be cautious of Sucker Punch users, as even Shadow Sneak will often fail to outpace them due to Giratina-O's low Speed.
Team Options
========
Mega Kangaskhan appreciates Giratina-O's Fighting-type immunity and can help support Giratina-O with Fake Out. Smeargle makes for a good partner for similar reasons and can also redirect Ghost-type moves using Follow Me with ease as a result of its immunity to them. Primal Kyogre's special attacks complement Giratina-O's physical ones, and it appreciates the Tailwind support Giratina-O provides. Primal Groudon equally appreciates Tailwind, and Giratina-O can switch into Ground-type moves that would hit it super effectively thanks to Levitate. Landorus-T can use Earthquake freely alongside Giratina-O thanks to Levitate, and the Attack drop provided by its Intimidate further improves Giratina-O's bulk. Talonflame provides a Fairy-type resistance, and the combination of Brave Bird and Shadow Sneak can be useful to pick up quick KOs. Crobat can be a valuable partner, as its Super Fang can help turn Giratina-O's attacks from close misses into KOs. Ferrothorn is a great check to Xerneas, which threatens Giratina-O, as a result of Gyro Ball's high Base Power after Xerneas has gotten a Geomancy boost. Mega Mawile is also well equipped to check Xerneas thanks to its STAB-boosted Iron Head, and it can additionally beat Dark-types for Giratina-O. A Xerneas of your own could be useful to dispatch opposing Dark- and Dragon-types with ease. Cresselia can set Trick Room for Giratina-O to compensate for its Speed, and Helping Hand aids it in picking up OHKOs.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
While Dragon Claw takes better advantage of Giratina-O's higher Attack stat, Draco Meteor OHKOes most Dragons regardless and is not affected by Intimidate. Dragon Tail could be used to phaze Trick Room setters and setup sweepers, with the exception of Xerneas. Icy Wind and Thunder Wave can provide an alternative form of speed control. Icy Wind has the advantage of hitting 4x Ice-weak foes such as Landorus-T and Mega Salamence hard. Thunder Wave, being that it inflicts status, is more permanent and reduces the chance a foe has to move. Destiny Bond takes a foe with Giratina-O when it faints, but Giratina-O is not fast enough to take proper advantage of it. Magic Coat reflects status from moves such as Smeargle's Dark Void back at the opponent's side of the field. Safeguard similarly serves as a check to status by making Giratina-O and its teammates immune to them for five turns. Giratina-O has a good special movepool, with access to moves such as Dragon Pulse and Earth Power. However, these are rarely worthwhile, as the combination of Shadow Force and Draco Meteor generally enables Giratina-O to pick up the KOs the aforementioned moves can.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Dragon-type Pokemon**: While Giratina-O can hit them with Draco Meteor, certain Dragons are nevertheless problematic. Mega Rayquaza outspeeds Giratina-O and can OHKO it with a Draco Meteor of its own. It also commonly holds a Focus Sash, which allows it to survive a single strong attack. Dialga's Steel typing means it takes Dragon-type attacks neutrally, and it can OHKO Giratina-O with Draco Meteor. Kyurem-W can not only KO Giratina with a Dragon-type attack but also make use of a super effective Blizzard under Gravity as well.
**Dark-type Pokemon**: Dark-types resist Ghost-type moves and hit Giratina-O hard with their super effective STAB moves. Yveltal's Dark Aura-boosted attacks easily dispatch Giratina, and it can outprioritize it with Sucker Punch. Weavile deals great damage with Icicle Crash, particularly when holding a Life Orb, and can use Ice Shard for priority. Liepard can utilize both the super effective Foul Play and Encore, which can lock Giratina into ineffectual support moves.
**Fairy-type Pokemon**: Fairy-types are more easily able to switch into Giratina-O's attacks thanks to their immunity to Dragon. Xerneas is particularly problematic, as its Fairy Aura-boosted attacks deal massive damage, being capable of OHKOing Giratina after a Geomancy boost. Mega Mawile, while admittedly threatened by Will-O-Wisp, deals a large amount of damage to Giratina with Play Rough.
**Intimidate and Burns**: Intimidate and burn are problematic for Giratina-O, as they reduce the damage output of its physical attacks. Intimidate users such as Landorus-T lower Giratina's Attack by one stage when they switch in. Will-O-Wisp users such as Gengar and Sableye cut Giratina's Attack in half by burning it. Further, the chip damage this inflicts is useful for whittling away Giratina-O's HP given its natural bulk.
**Smeargle**: Smeargle outspeeds uninvested Giratina-O, can use Dark Void against it, and is unaffected by Ghost-type moves, making it difficult to deal with.
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