qc[3/3]: hack,nayrz, Fireburn
gp[1/1]: p squared
[OVERVIEW]
* Giratina is a solid physical wall, capable of checking a lot of physical threats like Mega Lucario and Arceus due to great natural bulk.
* It is inferior to its offensive counterpart Giratina-O due to it lacking an offensive presence and Levitate.
* It is extremely passive, making it only attractive to stall-oriented builds requiring a sturdy Defog user.
* It is incapable of defeating anything that cannot be worn down by status or PP stalling.
* Giratina's typing leaves it vulnerable to many very common offensive typings, such as Fairy, Dark, and Ghost.
[SET]
name: Defog Support
move 1: Defog
move 2: Dragon Tail / Roar
move 3: Rest
move 4: Toxic / Will-O-Wisp
item: Leftovers
ability: Pressure
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 SpD
ivs: 30 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Defog enables Giratina to remove entry hazards, providing important utility for its team. Since hazard removal is mandatory for stall, Giratina frees up a valuable moveslot on partner Arceus formes.
* Dragon Tail is used to give Giratina a way to phaze out opposing Pokemon while doing chip damage, preventing the opponent from setting up on Giratina and allowing it to act as a check to set-up sweepers like Arceus and Mega Salamence.
* Roar can be used as an alternative phazing tool, having the boon of being able to hit Fairy-types and bypassing Substitutes, as Giratina's Dragon Tail will not break Substitutes.
* Toxic cripples Ho-Oh, Primal Groudon, and threatening support Arceus formes like Arceus-Water and Arceus-Ground, though it has the disadvantage of losing out on the option to cripple Steel-types.
* Will-O-Wisp can serve as a potent status option for Giratina, as it cripples physical threats like Arceus and Mega Lucario, but it has the downside of being unable to cripple Ho-Oh and Primal Groudon.
* Rest provides Giratina's only reliable recovery, healing it and cleansing it of status ailments.
Set Details
========
* The EV investment enables Giratina to survive two Ice Beams from offensive Primal Kyogre while hitting a Leftovers number. The rest is used to improve its physical bulk.
* Pressure is its preferred ability, providing utility in stalling out PP, which is especially valuable in a stall matchup.
* Leftovers provides a little recovery outside of Rest, making it Giratina's most useful item.
* 30 Speed IVs allow Giratina to use Defog after Primal Groudon uses Stealth Rock, avoiding Speed ties.
Usage Tips
========
* Giratina is a sturdy wall that can be liberally switched into threats like Arceus to prevent them from boosting.
* Phazing is Giratina's greatest way to threaten the enemy, as it racks up hazard damage and lets you spread status very easily.
* Keep Giratina healthy, as it always needs to be able to come into boosted threats.
* Pressure is quite handy when facing stall, as it drains PP quite fast; try taking advantage of low-PP moves like Extreme Speed from Arceus.
Team Options
========
* Counters for Fairy-types such as Xerneas and Arceus-Fairy are absolutely necessary, as they can threaten Giratina out comfortably, even though they dislike Toxic. Magearna and Primal Groudon are fine examples of such teammates.
* Switch-ins for Dark-types like Yveltal and Arceus-Dark are mandatory due to their omnipresence in the metagame. Magearna, Arceus-Fairy, and Tyranitar can be used for this purpose.
* A dedicated answer to Ghost-types like Mega Gengar and Lunala is greatly appreciated. Tyranitar, Arceus-Dark, and Yveltal can fill this role.
* A hazard setter is paramount to Giratina's success, having excellent synergy with phazing and being useful in general. Primal Groudon and Tyranitar are adequate users of Stealth Rock, while Ferrothorn can provide Spike utility.
* Pokemon that can easily take on Calm Mind Arceus formes are excellent partners for Giratina. An example of this would be Clefable, easily disrupting most Calm Mind Arceus formes.
* Giratina greatly benefits from a secondary answer to physical threats because it checks its foes only through sheer bulk, since its resistances aren't very useful. Thus, secondary checks for physical threats like Lugia, bulky Mega Salamence, and Celesteela are appreciated.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Sleep Talk can be used on Giratina but is generally an inferior option, lessening Giratina's utility due to it missing out on either status or Defog.
* A specially defensive set is possible, but most Calm Mind Arceus and special attackers can take out Giratina with relative ease anyway, so it is better off sticking to its physically defensive set.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fairy-types**: The biggest threat to Giratina is Fairy-types like Magearna, Arceus-Fairy, and Xerneas. While Xerneas and Arceus-Fairy mind Toxic, they can use Giratina with Dragon Tail as complete setup fodder or just outright devastate it with their Fairy-type STAB attacks.
**Dark-types**: Dark-types such as Yveltal, Darkrai, and Arceus-Dark check Giratina with ease with their respective STAB moves. The former two dislike being poisoned or burned however, while Arceus-Dark can shrug off status with Refresh.
**Ghost-types**: Pokemon like Lunala, Mega Gengar, Arceus-Ghost, and Giratina-O are very dangerous to Giratina, as their STAB moves can dispatch of it and they only fear switching in on a status move, especially Arceus-Ghost.
**Strong Special Attackers**: Strong special attackers like Primal Kyogre, Reshiram, Kyurem-W, Palkia, Dialga, Arceus-Ice, and Arceus-Dragon can take out Giratina with their strong attacks, while Giratina can do little to retaliate but phaze or status them.
**Taunt**: Taunt from threats like Yveltal shuts down Giratina completely, leaving any set lacking Dragon Tail to struggle.
gp[1/1]: p squared
[OVERVIEW]
* Giratina is a solid physical wall, capable of checking a lot of physical threats like Mega Lucario and Arceus due to great natural bulk.
* It is inferior to its offensive counterpart Giratina-O due to it lacking an offensive presence and Levitate.
* It is extremely passive, making it only attractive to stall-oriented builds requiring a sturdy Defog user.
* It is incapable of defeating anything that cannot be worn down by status or PP stalling.
* Giratina's typing leaves it vulnerable to many very common offensive typings, such as Fairy, Dark, and Ghost.
[SET]
name: Defog Support
move 1: Defog
move 2: Dragon Tail / Roar
move 3: Rest
move 4: Toxic / Will-O-Wisp
item: Leftovers
ability: Pressure
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 SpD
ivs: 30 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Defog enables Giratina to remove entry hazards, providing important utility for its team. Since hazard removal is mandatory for stall, Giratina frees up a valuable moveslot on partner Arceus formes.
* Dragon Tail is used to give Giratina a way to phaze out opposing Pokemon while doing chip damage, preventing the opponent from setting up on Giratina and allowing it to act as a check to set-up sweepers like Arceus and Mega Salamence.
* Roar can be used as an alternative phazing tool, having the boon of being able to hit Fairy-types and bypassing Substitutes, as Giratina's Dragon Tail will not break Substitutes.
* Toxic cripples Ho-Oh, Primal Groudon, and threatening support Arceus formes like Arceus-Water and Arceus-Ground, though it has the disadvantage of losing out on the option to cripple Steel-types.
* Will-O-Wisp can serve as a potent status option for Giratina, as it cripples physical threats like Arceus and Mega Lucario, but it has the downside of being unable to cripple Ho-Oh and Primal Groudon.
* Rest provides Giratina's only reliable recovery, healing it and cleansing it of status ailments.
Set Details
========
* The EV investment enables Giratina to survive two Ice Beams from offensive Primal Kyogre while hitting a Leftovers number. The rest is used to improve its physical bulk.
* Pressure is its preferred ability, providing utility in stalling out PP, which is especially valuable in a stall matchup.
* Leftovers provides a little recovery outside of Rest, making it Giratina's most useful item.
* 30 Speed IVs allow Giratina to use Defog after Primal Groudon uses Stealth Rock, avoiding Speed ties.
Usage Tips
========
* Giratina is a sturdy wall that can be liberally switched into threats like Arceus to prevent them from boosting.
* Phazing is Giratina's greatest way to threaten the enemy, as it racks up hazard damage and lets you spread status very easily.
* Keep Giratina healthy, as it always needs to be able to come into boosted threats.
* Pressure is quite handy when facing stall, as it drains PP quite fast; try taking advantage of low-PP moves like Extreme Speed from Arceus.
Team Options
========
* Counters for Fairy-types such as Xerneas and Arceus-Fairy are absolutely necessary, as they can threaten Giratina out comfortably, even though they dislike Toxic. Magearna and Primal Groudon are fine examples of such teammates.
* Switch-ins for Dark-types like Yveltal and Arceus-Dark are mandatory due to their omnipresence in the metagame. Magearna, Arceus-Fairy, and Tyranitar can be used for this purpose.
* A dedicated answer to Ghost-types like Mega Gengar and Lunala is greatly appreciated. Tyranitar, Arceus-Dark, and Yveltal can fill this role.
* A hazard setter is paramount to Giratina's success, having excellent synergy with phazing and being useful in general. Primal Groudon and Tyranitar are adequate users of Stealth Rock, while Ferrothorn can provide Spike utility.
* Pokemon that can easily take on Calm Mind Arceus formes are excellent partners for Giratina. An example of this would be Clefable, easily disrupting most Calm Mind Arceus formes.
* Giratina greatly benefits from a secondary answer to physical threats because it checks its foes only through sheer bulk, since its resistances aren't very useful. Thus, secondary checks for physical threats like Lugia, bulky Mega Salamence, and Celesteela are appreciated.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Sleep Talk can be used on Giratina but is generally an inferior option, lessening Giratina's utility due to it missing out on either status or Defog.
* A specially defensive set is possible, but most Calm Mind Arceus and special attackers can take out Giratina with relative ease anyway, so it is better off sticking to its physically defensive set.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fairy-types**: The biggest threat to Giratina is Fairy-types like Magearna, Arceus-Fairy, and Xerneas. While Xerneas and Arceus-Fairy mind Toxic, they can use Giratina with Dragon Tail as complete setup fodder or just outright devastate it with their Fairy-type STAB attacks.
**Dark-types**: Dark-types such as Yveltal, Darkrai, and Arceus-Dark check Giratina with ease with their respective STAB moves. The former two dislike being poisoned or burned however, while Arceus-Dark can shrug off status with Refresh.
**Ghost-types**: Pokemon like Lunala, Mega Gengar, Arceus-Ghost, and Giratina-O are very dangerous to Giratina, as their STAB moves can dispatch of it and they only fear switching in on a status move, especially Arceus-Ghost.
**Strong Special Attackers**: Strong special attackers like Primal Kyogre, Reshiram, Kyurem-W, Palkia, Dialga, Arceus-Ice, and Arceus-Dragon can take out Giratina with their strong attacks, while Giratina can do little to retaliate but phaze or status them.
**Taunt**: Taunt from threats like Yveltal shuts down Giratina completely, leaving any set lacking Dragon Tail to struggle.
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