phantom
Banned deucer.
[OVERVIEW]
With the addition of Roost to its arsenal, Mantine has propelled itself from mediocrity to one of the best bulky Water-types in RU due to its ability to function as a Defog user and mixed wall capable of fending off several threats including non-Thunderbolt Nidoqueen, Swellow, Doublade, Sharpedo, Feraligatr, and Kommo-o. Its Ground immunity complements its role as a Defog user by providing it with an invulnerability to Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Its Water Absorb ability also allows it to deal with offensive and defensive Water-types safely and is particularly useful in providing it with an immunity to crippling Scald-induced burns. Mantine's weakness to Stealth Rock, however, holds it back as a Defog user, and this also means it has to tread carefully against common Stealth Rock users such as Gigalith that have the means to heavily damage it. Finally, the 4x Electric weakness makes it feasible for foes to lure Mantine and reduce its impact during the match; however, these weaknesses aren't enough to keep Mantine from being prolific on many RU builds due to the fact that its team can readily acquire the resources to support it, as Mantine comes packaged to perform multiple, pivotal roles in a single teamslot, which eases teambuilding.
[SET]
name: Defensive Support
move 1: Scald
move 2: Roost
move 3: Defog
move 4: Toxic / Haze
item: Leftovers
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Scald is mandatory on Mantine due to the usefulness of its chance to burn, and it also hits Stealth Rock setters such as Rhyperior and Gigalith for respectable damage. The ability to inflict burns with Scald can allow Mantine to defeat physical attackers like Doublade and Escavalier effortlessly while crippling Stealth Rock users it normally loses to such as Bronzong and Registeel. Roost makes Mantine self-sufficient, allowing it to last long enough as an entry hazard remover and a check to various attackers. Defog keeps its team from being bothered by Spikes and Stealth Rock, the latter of which is useful for Mantine to keep off for itself. In the last slot, Toxic works best to cripple opposing bulky Water-types and put setup sweepers such as Flygon and Slowbro on a timer. Haze, on the other hand, allows Mantine to defeat bulky setup sweepers that Toxic is incapable of stopping, those being Florges, RestTalk + Swords Dance Escavalier, and Snorlax. Haze is also effective against Feraligatr.
Set Details
========
A Calm nature with a physically defensive spread maximizes Mantine's overall bulk, allowing it to take on Stealth Rock users such as Diancie and Rhyperior with greater ease. In addition, the special bulk allows it to check special attackers such as Gardevoir, Yanmega, Shaymin, and Moltres, while the physical bulk is useful for reliably checking Choice Scarf Heracross and Sharpedo. Water Absorb is the best ability Mantine has for providing the immunity to Scald and ability to pivot into Water-type attackers such as Sharpedo and Feraligatr.
Usage Tips
========
Mantine can either be brought in on a wide variety of special attackers to check them or use its ability to switch in on them to clear entry hazards; these special attackers include Kingdra, Yanmega, Moltres, and Zoroark. Mantine is also free to switch in on several defensive Pokemon to do its job, and those include Umbreon, Gligar, and Torkoal. If carrying Haze, Mantine should immediately switch in on Curse Snorlax, Calm Mind Florges, and Swords Dance Escavalier before they get out of hand. Mantine is incapable of checking nearly enough offensive threats when Stealth Rock is on the field, so when up against Stealth Rock users such as Gigalith, Rhyperior, and Diancie that, in most encounters, Mantine is capable of beating one-on-one, it's best to hard switch it into them to keep Stealth Rock off the field before Mantine has to sustain unnecessary damage. Mantine is capable of walling Pokemon that lack specific coverage options to beat it, such as Nidoqueen and Durant, but it's imperative to scout for these coverage options before keeping Mantine in on them.
Team Options
========
Mantine hates dealing with Toxic, so clerics such as Umbreon and Florges make good partners; the two of them can also cover the special attackers Mantine doesn't fare well against, such as Thunderbolt Nidoqueen and Electric-types in general. Registeel and Bronzong share similar synergy with Mantine but are capable of checking different Pokemon that it may struggle with, such as Mega Glalie and Comfey. Ground-types like Rhyperior and Nidoqueen make for good partners, as Mantine can cover Water-types for the two of them, while they can dissuade the use of Electric-type attacks and keep Tyrantrum in check. While it may seem counterintuitive to pair Mantine with Spikes users, certain Spikers such as Chesnaught and Ferroseed share particularly good synergy with Mantine and are capable of resetting Spikes throughout the majority of the match, anyway.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Ice Beam is a good alternative coverage option, as it can keep Flygon from setting up on Mantine while targeting other Dragon-types such as Dragalge and Grass-types such as Roserade and Shaymin. Air Slash is also a fine option, as it gives Mantine the ability to take down Spikes setters that would otherwise defeat it, namely Chesnaught and Roserade. Air Slash also mitigates Mantine's passivity by threatening or chipping away at several Pokemon that are capable of setting up on it or defeating it with repeated attacks, which include Chlorophyll Venusaur, Virizion, Heracross, Toxicroak, Dragalge, and Shaymin. Mirror Coat can be used to get a KO on certain special attackers, but it largely relies on the surprise factor to work. Mantine can use a similar defensive set with more Speed EVs and Substitute over Defog to Toxic stall a variety of balance builds. Due to the fact that Mantine sometimes struggles to wall certain threats, an additional round of Leftovers recovery provided by Protect can be useful.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Status-resistant Pokemon**: Reuniclus often carries Thunder on its Calm Mind set and can use Mantine as setup bait or simply deal a massive amount of damage to it. Dragalge is immune to Toxic and takes little from Scald, allowing it to spam its very powerful Poison-type attacks to overwhelm Mantine, although it may lose if Mantine carries a proper coverage move. Toxicroak, Snorlax, and RestTalk Escavalier are also capable of beating standard Mantine, but Toxicroak must watch out for Air Slash, while RestTalk Escavalier and Snorlax will force a stalemate at best if up against Haze variants. Although uncommon, Sigilyph doesn't particularly care for anything Mantine does and can pressure it with repeated attacks.
**Electric-types**: Electric-types such as Rotom-C, Heliolisk, Rotom-H, Vikavolt, Jolteon, and Galvantula OHKO Mantine pretty easily with their STAB moves; however, none of them aside from Heliolisk enjoy taking a Scald or getting burned by it, as Mantine can easily outlast them.
**Taunt Users**: Mantine is a passive Pokemon and can be easily shut down by Taunt users such as Comfey, Chesnaught, Mismagius, and Froslass, all four of which use it as setup bait, as well as Jellicent and Sableye, which stop Mantine from doing anything.
**Lures**: Using Pokemon with specific coverage options can be useful in holding Mantine down; Nidoqueen and Goodra can run Thunderbolt to KO Mantine, whereas Durant can lure it with Rock Slide.
