[Overview]
<p>In previous generations, Roselia was never regarded as a great competitive Pokemon, even in the lower tiers. With the advent of the BW, however, Roselia received an amazing gift in the Eviolite, which boosts its Special Defense to great heights, while also giving it a bit of a boost in its less-than-favorable Defense stat. Roselia also boasts some great supporting moves such as Toxic Spikes, Spikes, and Aromatherapy, giving Roselia an optimal niche as both a special wall and supporter. In addition to its great ability to support a team, Roselia has access to an amazing ability in Natural Cure, which allows it to shrug off any status conditions it may have been afflicted with, upon switching out. Unlike many Pokemon with good defensive stats, Roselia also has an excellent Special Attack stat, allowing it to retaliate against foes with its powerful STAB Giga Drain and Sludge Bomb. With its great Special Defense and vast support movepool, Roselia is certainly a Pokemon you wouldn't want to miss when looking for a defensive supporter.</p>
[SET]
name: Utility
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Rest / Synthesis
move 4: Sludge Bomb / Toxic Spikes
ability: Natural Cure
item: Eviolite
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Although the RU tier has no shortage of Spikers, Roselia can pull off this job with the best of them, and simultaneously serving as a special wall. Toxic Spikes is another hazard Roselia can set up, especially if you choose to assign Spiking duties to one of Roselia's teammates. In addition to laying hazards, Roselia is able to beat Claydol, the most popular Rapid Spinner in RU, which can come in handy, especially if you lack a dedicated spinblocker. Giga Drain functions as Roselia's main STAB for beating bulky Water-types, as well as the Rock- and Ground-types in the tier, while Sludge Bomb, its secondary STAB, can be used to beat strong special attackers such as Lilligant and Rotom-C. While Rest may seem unorthodox at first, Roselia is automatically woken from its slumber upon switching out, thanks to its ability, Natural Cure. While Rest has its pros and cons, it is generally the superior option, as it provides 100% recovery at little to no cost. Synthesis is also an option, but only restores half of Roselia's health, possibly less, due to detrimental weather such as hail and rain. The listed EVs bolster Roselia's already formidable Special Defense, letting it sponge most special attacks, but be aware that Roselia's physical defense is poor, so don't leave it in against physical attackers.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Hidden Power Fire is another great option alongside Giga Drain, but unlike Sludge Bomb, it doesn't receive STAB; however, it makes up for this with better super effective coverage against targets such as Ferroseed, Durant, and Galvantula. Aromatherapy is yet another move that Roselia can viably run, letting it provide cleric support by allowing it to keep its teammates free of status. Sleep Powder is another superb choice on this set, since it can temporarily shut down switch-ins and slower Pokemon. Sleep Powder is illegal with Spikes, however, so you'll be restricted to using Toxic Spikes if you choose to run Sleep Powder. When choosing teammates for Roselia, bulky Water-types such as Slowking and Walrein are often the way to go, due to the fact that their weaknesses and resistances pair nicely with Roselia's, forming a defensive tandem that is hard to break. Cofagrigus is also a decent partner for Roselia, as it handles the physically based threats that Roselia can't, while blocking opposing Rapid Spinners from removing all of the hazards that Roselia has worked so hard to set up. Roselia is, in fact, able to beat most Rapid Spinners on its own, but Cryogonal is the one that gives it trouble, so a means of defeating it will greatly increase Roselia's efficacy. Fire-types also match up well against Roselia, so a strong Rock-type such as Aggron serves well to remedy this weakness.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>In addition to the moves already mentioned, Roselia has a few other options it can utilize. In comparison to Giga Drain, Leaf Storm is substantially more powerful, but it decreases Roselia's Special Attack by two stages after it's used, rendering Roselia setup bait for physical and special sweepers alike. Venoshock can be used over Sludge Bomb, and is particularly effective if Roselia is running Toxic Spikes, as it has a higher Base Power than Sludge Bomb against a poisoned opponent. Roselia can also utilize Hidden Power Ice to deal a good amount of damage to its common counters, such as Gligar and Altaria. As for non-attacking moves, Toxic is a great choice for putting switch-ins on a timer, and Leech Seed can do the same, while restoring the health of Roselia or a teammate. Substitute also works nicely when used in conjunction with Leech Seed and Hidden Power Fire, since the latter can ward off Grass-types that are immune to Leech Seed, while Leech Seed provides miore health with which Roselia can make Substitutes.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Roselia isn't a Pokemon that's hard to counter; most Fire-types can come in on Roselia and beat it down with their super effective STAB attacks, while Roselia struggles to do anything back. As mentioned earlier, Cryogonal can also switch in on Roselia fearing only Toxic, spin away its Spikes, use Recover to heal off whatever little damage it takes from Roselia's attacks, and destroy Roselia with its STAB Ice Beam. Articuno counters Roselia in the same way as Cryogonal does, and it packs Substitute to block Toxic. Durant and Ferroseed are also able to come in and set up on Roselia, who can do next to nothing back if it lacks Hidden Power Fire. Many physical attackers and Calm Mind sweepers also threaten Roselia, due to its abysmal physical bulk to tank hits from the former and inability to prevent the latter from boosting.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Roselia gets Leaf Guard from the Dream World, which prevents status conditions in sunny weather. Firstly, Roselia can already remove status by switching out thanks to Natural Cure, and secondly, there are no Pokemon with the ability Drought in the tier. Therefore, Leaf Guard is an extremely poor choice for Roselia and isn't recommended in the least.</p>
