http://www.smogon.com/bw/pokemon/mantine
[Overview]
<p>When you look at Mantine, the first thing you'll notice is its massive Special Defense. Mantine has access to Water Absorb, making it an excellent switch in to Pokemon such as Slowking and Poliwrath, and it also restores up to 25% of Mantine's health. Because of its secondary Flying typing, Mantine is immune to both Spikes and Toxic Spikes;however, this comes with the downside of losing one-fourth of its HP at the hands of Stealth Rock. On the plus side, Mantine is only hit neutrally by Grass-type attacks, which is a major advantage over fellow Water-types such as Slowking. Unfortunately, Mantine also has a dual weakness to Electric-type attacks, no reliable recovery outside of Rest, and poor HP and Defense stats. If you can patch Mantine's crippling weaknesses, and take advantage of its useful stats, itwill become an excellent addition to your team.</p>
[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Rest
move 2: Sleep Talk
move 3: Scald
move 4: Hidden Power Flying / Toxic
item: Leftovers
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set takes advantage of Mantine's excellent Special Defense, lack of weaknesses, and ability to restore its health with Rest. Rest is Mantine's only reliable form of recovery outside of Water Absorb, and along with Sleep Talk, it transforms Mantine into a great special tank and status absorber. Scald is used as a reliable STAB move, and its 30% burn rate can be devastating for physical attackers, should they be on the receiving end. Hidden Power Flying is a secondary STAB move, and it also provides good type coverage against Grass- and Fighting-types. Finally, Toxic can be used to wear down bulky Water-types such as Slowking, but it may conflict with Scald's burn rate.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>This set invests heavily in HP and Special Defense, which gives Mantine as much bulk as possible. The remaining EVs are placed into Defense, which works well in conjunction with Scald. A physically defensive EV spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD is also viable, and gives Mantine a much easier time dealing with threats such as Poliwrath, Scyther, and Torterra.</p>
<p>Rapid Spin support is almost essential due to Mantine's typing; this can be provided by Claydol, a Pokemon who shares excellent defensive synergy with Mantine, and it also has access to a variety of support moves such as Stealth Rock, Reflect, and Light Screen. Cryogonal is another great choice, as Mantine can switch into Fire- and Fighting-type attacks aimed at it, while Cryogonal can absorb special-based Electric-type attacks with its good Special Defense. Toxic Spikes should also be taken into consideration when using RestTalk Mantine; the increasing damage can be exploited by Mantine's ability to stall the opponents with Rest, and they also give your team an easier time defeating Pokemon such as Slowking and Tangrowth. Drapion and Qwilfish are good teammates as they have usable defensive stats, nifty support moves, and weaknesses to Ground-type moves that Mantine can freely switch in on.</p>
<p>When looking at defensive partners for Mantine, your first consideration should be a Pokemon who can switch into Electric-type attacks. Electivire is an excellent offensive partner as it receives a Speed boost from Motor Drive, turning it into a dangerous threat which is capable of severely denting the opponent's team. Lanturn is a more defensive option; Volt Absorb provides Lanturn a crucial Electric-type immunity, by restoring 25% of its HPwhen hit by an Electric move. Lanturn's massive HP stat and decent defenses make it harder to KO, and with Mantine's ability to switch into Ground-type attacks without taking damage, it will be difficult to hit both Pokemon super effectively. Steel-types are also great partners as they can switch into the Rock-type moves aimed at Mantine, while Mantine can sponge the Fighting-type attacks they are weak to. Finally, Clefable can provide valuable Wish support for Mantine, while its Fighting-type weakness is easily covered by Mantine's Flyingtyping.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Mantine has a surprisingly good movepool, but unfortunately, it doesn't have the stats to use it. It has a variety of physical options such as Earthquake, Waterfall, and Rock Slide, but using a set like this shouldn't be considered,as Mantine's Attack is horrible. Signal Beam can be used to hit Grass-, Psychic-, and Dark-types super effectively, but doesn't provide enough coverage and isn't powerful enough to warrant a moveslot. Ice Beam is another option for hitting Grass- and Flying-types, but Hidden Power Flying provides nearly the same coverage, and because of STAB, packs a higher Base Power as well. Mantine also has another useful ability, Swift Swim. With Swift Swim, Mantine has the potential to run a more offensive set with Hydro Pump, Hidden Power Grass, Ice Beam, and a filler move. Just keep in mind that Mantine only has average attacking power. Aqua Ring is a very poor recovery move and takes up a moveslot, though it can keep Mantine alive longer, and restore some of its HP. Tailwind and Agility can be used to raise Mantine's Speed, and the former option can support teammates for a very short amount of time. Confuse Ray can be used to help a teammate set up, but it's very unreliable and gimmicky. Mirror Coat is a pretty decent option to bounce back special attacks for twice the damage taken, but due to Mantine's lack of reliable recovery, there isn't always time for it to be used. Finally, Haze can be used to remove and stat boosts and defeat slow RestTalk boosters.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Due to its typing, Mantine is unable to withstand any Electric-type attack. Lanturn serves as a complete stop to Mantine; it resists both of its STAB moves, has access to Heal Bell, should Mantine land a Toxic, and its STAB Electric-type moves will OHKO Mantine in no time. Physical attackers should prey on Mantine's poor Defense stat, especially those who carry super effective moves such as Stone Edge or ThunderPunch. Taunt will shut down most sets, as Mantine relies heavily on its support moves, while Toxic can be used to cripple any set without Rest. Kabutops and Quagsire can take on most sets with ease; just watch out for the occasional Toxic, and the rare Hidden Power Grass.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Mantine's Dream World ability is Water Veil. Water Veil is useless on Mantine as it will be using Rest most often, and burns won't harm its special attacks. Do not use Water Veil; the majority of opponents won't be using Will-O-Wisp or Scald against Mantine anytime soon.</p>
