BSS Bulky Toxic Spikes Iron Moth

[Theorymon]

Let's a set up Toxic Spikes, wahoo!

[SET]
Bulky Toxic Spikes Setter (Iron Moth) @ Covert Cloak / Passho Berry / Sitrus Berry
Ability: Quark Drive
Level: 50
Tera Type: Water / Grass / Fairy
EVs: 236 HP / 228 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 36 Spe
Modest / Calm / Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Fiery Dance
- Morning Sun
- Whirlwind / Sludge Wave / Tera Blast

[SET COMMENTS]

* Iron Moth may seem like a strange Pokemon to use as a bulky Toxic Spikes setter, but it sets itself apart from other Pokemon like Toxapex thanks to being far less passive.

* **Fiery Dance**: While Fiery Dance is not a particularly reliable away to sweep, taking the chance is worth it considering Iron Moth's Speed.

* **Whirlwind**: A phazing move may not seemingly gel well with Speed investment, but it has incredible utility when Toxic Spikes are set up, punishing teams that leave their Toxic Spikes absorber in on Iron Moth.

* **Sludge Wave versus Tera Blast**: Giving up on Whirlwind does lose a unique selling point as a Toxic Spikes setter, but in exchange makes Iron Moth much harder to check with Fire-type checks like Azumarill and Chi-Yu. Sludge Wave is preferred for its reliability, but Tera Blast makes sense with certain Tera Types like Water.

Tera Types
=========

* **Tera Dependency - Medium**: When the aim is to simply set up Toxic Spikes, Terastallization is not that important. However, Iron Moth's typing gives it enough weaknesses that Terastallization can give it a far longer life span.

* **Water**: Tera Water gives Iron Moth a resistance to Water moves without losing its resistance to Ice and Fire, which is helpful against Chien-Pao and Chi-Yu. It's also a great type to use with Tera Blast for dealing damage to Chi-Yu.

* **Grass**: Tera Grass lets Iron Moth deal with powerful Earthquakes from the likes of Ting-Lu and Garchomp, gives it a vital resistance to Water, and nullifies Spore. If using Tera Blast, it also can threaten Azumarill.

* **Fairy**: Tera Fairy's Dark resistance can surprise Chien-Pao looking to revenge kill Iron Moth and protects it from powerful Dragon-type attacks from the likes of Baxcalibur, Dragapult, and Choice Band Dragonite.

* **Fire**: Tera Fire's defensive benefits are not particularly helpful, but it makes late-game sweeping with Fiery Dance far more likely.

* **Poison**: Tera Poison doesn't offer too many amazing defensive benefits beyond removing the irritating weaknesses to Water and Rock, but it does retain Iron Moth's valuable Toxic Spikes absorption powers and makes Black Sludge far more viable.

Items
========

* **Covert Cloak**: Covert Cloak protects Iron Moth from the dreaded Salt Cure, which can otherwise put a timer on phazing. It also prevents specially defensive Iron Moth from losing to Chi-Yu's flinch chance.

* **Passho Berry**: Passho Berry lets Iron Moth survive most special Water-type attacks without needing to Terastallize, such as Iron Bundle's Hydro Pump, as well as weaker priority moves from Azumarill and Palafin-H.

* **Sitrus Berry**: The quick burst of recovery Sitrus Berry gives can be paired with specialized EV spreads, allowing Iron Moth to survive a wider range of attacks.

* **Leftovers versus Black Sludge**: Leftovers's residual recovery pairs well with using Whirlwind as much as possible, but it's a fairly high-value item. Black Sludge is an acceptable alternative, but note that it will hurt Iron Moth after Terastallization if not using Tera Poison.

* **Booster Energy**: Booster Energy can be paired with specialized EV spreads to either get easier KOs, gain a Speed boost, or survive surprising special attacks at the cost of the flexibility of more general EV spreads designed to switch in multiple times.

General EV Spread Examples
========

* **236 HP / 228 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 36 Spe with Modest**: This EV spread survives Timid Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Psyshock from full health.

* **196 HP / 132 SpD / 180 Spe with Calm**: This EV spread almost always avoids the 2HKO from Modest Chi-Yu's Dark Pulse while outspeeding it alongside Jolly Baxcalibur and Jolly Great Tusk.

* **244 HP / 164 SpD / 100 Spe with Timid**: This EV spread outspeeds Jolly Annihilape and, as a bonus, gives Leftovers Iron Moth a nearly guaranteed chance to avoid being 2HKOed by Modest Chi-Yu's Dark Pulse and Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Shadow Ball.

* **244 HP / 52 Def / 4 SpA / 12 SpD / 196 Spe with Timid**: This EV spread sacrifices some bulk to outspeed Garchomp while still surviving Life Orb Chien-Pao's Throat Chop and having a great shot of surviving two uses of Dark Pulse from Timid Chi-Yu. It also gets a Speed boost from Quark Drive.

* **236 HP / 236 Def / 36 Spe with Bold**: This very physically defensive EV spread will allow a full health Iron Moth to survive Tera Dark Black Glasses Kingambit's Kowtow Cleave after Supreme Overlord has been boosted by two KOed teammates.

Sitrus Berry Exclusive EV Spreads
========

* When using Sitrus Berry, make sure to run an even HP stat, so that one use of Ruination will activate it.

* **180 HP / 228 Def / 100 Spe with Timid**: This EV spread almost always survives two hits from Focus Sash Chien-Pao's Throat Chop with Sitrus Berry, and it outspeeds Jolly Annihilape.

* **244 HP / 188 Def / 12 SpA / 12 SpD / 52 Spe with Bold**: This EV spread usually prevents Iron Moth from getting 2HKOed by Timid Flutter Mane's Psyshock and avoids a 2HKO from Focus Sash Chien-Pao's Throat Chop as well. The minor Special Defense investment also avoids a 2HKO from Modest Chi-Yu's Dark Pulse and Timid Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Shadow Ball.

Booster Energy Exclusive EV Spreads
========

* **188 HP / 244 Def / 36 SpA / 4 SpD / 36 Spe with Modest**: This Booster Energy optimized spread OHKOes 4 Special Defense EVs Iron Bundle with a Quark Drive-boosted Fiery Dance while having good enough physical bulk to have a good chances of surviving powerful attacks from full health, like Timid Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Psyshock.

* **252 HP / 220 SpD / 36 Spe with Calm**: This EV spread gives Iron Moth a Special Defense boost with Quark Drive, making it so bulky that even a Modest Choice Specs Chi-Yu has a low chance of 2HKOing it with Dark Pulse!

Benchmarks for Speed EVs
=======

Like many fast bulky Pokemon, Iron Moth has an huge variety of viable EV builds. If you'd like to make your own EV spread though, keep these Speed tiers in mind! Natures that can efficiently use these Speed tiers will be mentioned.

* **36 Speed EVs with any Neutral Nature**: This is the minimum amount of Speed to run, outspeeding Jolly Breloom.

* **52 Speed EVs with any Neutral Nature**: This outspeeds Modest Gholdengo.

* **76 Speed EVs with Timid or 180 Speed EVs with Calm** This outspeeds Modest Chi-Yu, Jolly Baxcalibur, and Jolly Great Tusk. Note that Timid will give Iron Moth a bonus point to Speed, but a Calm nature has a greater chance of surviving some special attacks with specific EV spreads.

* **100 Speed EVs with Timid**: This outspeeds Jolly Annihilape.

* **132 Speed EVs with Timid**: This is the minimum investment for Iron Moth to get a Speed boost from Quark Drive, assuming no Special Attack investment, since doing so will increase Special Attack instead.

* **148 Speed EVs with Timid**: This outspeeds Jolly Mimikyu.

* **196 Speed EVs with Timid**: This outspeeds Jolly Garchomp.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/theorymon.29010/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/derpysux.528485/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/butch-hardnight.265677/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/clas.545372/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/

 

[Omastar68]

wow lot of options again. on the 3rd EV spread, the nature should be specified.

 

[Theorymon]

Sorry this took so long, I ran into a snafu... bulky Iron Moth seems to have a bazillion EV spreads, I swear this is worse than Flutter Mane LOL, all the viable items just make it worse! So I got a bit creative, and included a Speed benchmarks section for people that want to make their own EV spreads. Sort of a "teach a man to fish" situation!

In addition to a regular QC check, Butch Hardnight I'd love it if you could take a look at the EV stuff! I THINK I mostly got them optimized (a lot of them are basically modified spreads form high ranking teams that were made more efficient). Just something really weird to note in particular: The Calm spread with 180 Speed EVs might seem pretty inefficient but.. it turned out that that 1 extra point in Special Defense caused an almost 4% jump in surviving 2 Dark Pulses from Chi-Yu. Not joking, here's the comparison! I can understand if maybe it's worth removing this spread though (there's literally 9 EV spreads lol, jesus)

252+ SpA Beads of Ruin Chi-Yu Dark Pulse vs. 196 HP / 132+ SpD Tera-Normal Iron Moth: 76-91 (42.2 - 50.5%) -- 1.6% chance to 2HKO

252+ SpA Beads of Ruin Chi-Yu Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 180 SpD Tera-Normal Iron Moth: 81-96 (43.3 - 51.3%) -- 5.5% chance to 2HKO

I'm honestly not even sure which EV spread should be the main EV spread...

The other thing Im trying to figure out is if Tera Blast and Sludge Wave should be mentioned in Other Options, or Slashed in with Whirlwind. To be clear, I think Whirlwind is a SUPER unique aspect of Iron Moth compared to other Tspikers, and I hesitate to make it a slash in only because I feel like that gimmick helps make up for the lack of much offensive investment... but I have certainly seen some bulky Tspikes Iron Moth that run an extra coverage move, so I'd like some feedback on that too!

 

[Butch Hardnight]

* **252 HP / 204 Def / 4 SpA / 12 SpD / 36 Spe with Bold**: This EV spread is optimized for Sitrus Berry, preventing Iron Moth from getting 2HKOed by Timid Flutter Mane's Psyshock and having a good chance of avoiding a 2HKO from Focus Sash Chien-Pao's Throat Chop as well.

optimized for Sitrus Berry

optimized

notes - general:

modest 236/228/4/4/36 survives timid specs psyshock from flutter, i think it's important to specify that.

calm 196/132/180; it's possible to get the roll down to 0.4% but that's at the cost of some general bulk (140hp 188spdef). the current roll is a 1.6% chance to 2hko, which i think is so unlikely it's probably fine and maybe not worth mentioning that there is a chance of a 2hko at all.

timid 252/156/100; if you want the guaranteed survival vs chi yu you need 244/164/100, and if you want the guaranteed survival vs specs shadow ball you need 180/228/100. if there are any phys def reasons you need more hp, the chi yu survival spread is probably the better one to use. that gives flutter a 2% chance to 2hko. i tried to optimise for a leftovers number of hp but you can only get it down to 1.2% so i don't think it matters.

timid 252/60/196; so you don't need this much def if the chien pao calc is the only thing you're trying to survive. you can optimise it by going down to 244 hp and 52 def, then you have an extra 16 ev's to play around with. if you put them in spdef (so 244/52/4/12/196) you have a 7% chance to survive 2 timid dark pulses from chi yu if you're still a leftovers set on top of the chien pao calc. 164/148/196 survives timid lo psyshock from flutter (if that's a thing?) 15/16.

notes - sitrus:

bold 252/204/4/12/36; i think i've already made my opinion here known. first rule of optimising for sirtus is that you want an even hp stat, especially in formats with moves like ruination, so you get your berry and you're not left at 51%.
outside of that, optimising for sitrus is a bit funky because ideally you want to be making the rolls worse, so that sitrus is more likely to activate and therefore give you a better chance at surviving the second hit. so i played around with numbers a bit and made something that's a bit more generally good. 244/188/12/12/52 takes the chien pao calc from an 18% chance to 2hko to a guaranteed 3hko, and the flutter calc is a 3% chance to 2hko. 244/12 is enough to survive the two hits from specs shadow ball and modest dark pulse, and the extra stats let you outspeed modest max speed gholdengo.

notes - booster:

modest 212/220/36/4/36; if the only thing the hp and def is for is flutter, you can go 188/244/36/4/36 to get the 15/16 survival from specs psyshock. there is nothing that isn't already ko'ing/a roll/a survival/2hko that changes on the spdef side if you lower the hp slight than i can see.

 

[Theorymon]

View attachment 508436

notes - general:

modest 236/228/4/4/36 survives timid specs psyshock from flutter, i think it's important to specify that.

calm 196/132/180; it's possible to get the roll down to 0.4% but that's at the cost of some general bulk (140hp 188spdef). the current roll is a 1.6% chance to 2hko, which i think is so unlikely it's probably fine and maybe not worth mentioning that there is a chance of a 2hko at all.

timid 252/156/100; if you want the guaranteed survival vs chi yu you need 244/164/100, and if you want the guaranteed survival vs specs shadow ball you need 180/228/100. if there are any phys def reasons you need more hp, the chi yu survival spread is probably the better one to use. that gives flutter a 2% chance to 2hko. i tried to optimise for a leftovers number of hp but you can only get it down to 1.2% so i don't think it matters.

timid 252/60/196; so you don't need this much def if the chien pao calc is the only thing you're trying to survive. you can optimise it by going down to 244 hp and 52 def, then you have an extra 16 ev's to play around with. if you put them in spdef (so 244/52/4/12/196) you have a 7% chance to survive 2 timid dark pulses from chi yu if you're still a leftovers set on top of the chien pao calc. 164/148/196 survives timid lo psyshock from flutter (if that's a thing?) 15/16.

notes - sitrus:

bold 252/204/4/12/36; i think i've already made my opinion here known. first rule of optimising for sirtus is that you want an even hp stat, especially in formats with moves like ruination, so you get your berry and you're not left at 51%.
outside of that, optimising for sitrus is a bit funky because ideally you want to be making the rolls worse, so that sitrus is more likely to activate and therefore give you a better chance at surviving the second hit. so i played around with numbers a bit and made something that's a bit more generally good. 244/188/12/12/52 takes the chien pao calc from an 18% chance to 2hko to a guaranteed 3hko, and the flutter calc is a 3% chance to 2hko. 244/12 is enough to survive the two hits from specs shadow ball and modest dark pulse, and the extra stats let you outspeed modest max speed gholdengo.

notes - booster:

modest 212/220/36/4/36; if the only thing the hp and def is for is flutter, you can go 188/244/36/4/36 to get the 15/16 survival from specs psyshock. there is nothing that isn't already ko'ing/a roll/a survival/2hko that changes on the spdef side if you lower the hp slight than i can see.

Thanks, this was a HUGE help! I went with the 244 HP spreads over the other two alternate spreads, because it turns out, 244 HP ups surviving Sash Chien-Pao after SR from 25% to 50%, so I think the higher HP and less favorable rolls for the other mons is worth it. Also, lol I can't believe I forgot the Sitrus rule, how shameful...

Anyways like Scream Tail last season, this analysis is sorta a lot to take in so I'd like another QC check! In addition to fixing the EV situations, I actually slashed Sludge Wave and Tera Blast in with Whirlwind. I was hesitant to because Whirlwind is a super unique selling point, but I can't deny that extra coverage really helps against stuff like Chi-Yu and Azumarill, and this set is sorta different than just say, bulky offensive sets because Toxic Spikes + Morning Sun is still a big aspect!

As a result, I also renamed the set to "Bulky Toxic Spikes", with the analysis making it clear that Whirlwind is still the primary option for the last slot.

 

[StarkGod]

New changes look good to me. Impressed with the amount of Spreads on this thing lol

 

[Theorymon]

Nice, I dont even have to add an extra person to the QC credits! I included the regular credits for Iron moth as well so I could use the easier new credits format!

Anyways, this is ready for a GP check! Just be warned this is sorta a smaller scale Scream Tail situation, where Iron Moth has a CRAZY amount of options so its a larger set than usual.

GP Team

 

[Clas]

AMGP!

Add Remove Comment

exposed solar panel

Let's-a set up Toxic Spikes, wahoo!

[SET]
Bulky Toxic Spikes Setter (Iron Moth) @ Covert Cloak / Passho Berry / Sitrus Berry / Leftovers maybe move one of these to oo unless important?
Ability: Quark Drive
Level: 50
Tera Type: Water / Grass / Fairy / Fire same as above (probably fire as you already listed this as worse than the others here?)
EVs: 236 HP / 228 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 36 Spe
Modest / Calm / Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Fiery Dance
- Morning Sun
- Whirlwind / Sludge Wave / Tera Blast

[SET COMMENTS]

* Iron Moth may seem like a strange Pokemon to use as a bulky Toxic Spikes setter, but it sets itself apart from other Pokemon like Toxapex thanks to being far less passive.

* **Fiery Dance**: While Fiery Dance is not a particularly reliable away to sweep, taking the chance is worth it considering Iron Moth's Speed.

* **Whirlwind**: A phazing move may not seemingly gel well with Speed investment, but it has incredible utility when Toxic Spikes are set up, punishing teams who leave their Toxic Spikes absorber in on Iron Moth.

* **Sludge Wave versus Tera Blast**: Giving up on Whirlwind does lose a unique selling point as a Toxic Spikes setter, but in exchange, (RC) lets makes Iron Moth much harder to check with Fire-type resistances like Azumarill and Chi-Yu. Sludge Wave is prefered for its reliability, but Tera Blast makes sense with certain Tera Types. id give examples here, moth has a lot of flexibility like you already mentioned and so would def benefit here from one or two even if its listed directly below. up to u here.

Tera Types
=========

* **Tera Dependency - Medium**: When the aim is to simply set up Toxic Spikes, Terastallization is not that important. However, Iromn Moth's typing gives it enough weaknesses that Terastallization can give it a far longer life span.

* **Water**: Tera Water gives Iron Moth a resistance to Water moves without losing its resistance to Ice and Fire, which is helpful against Chien-Pao and Chi-Yu. It's also a great type to use with Tera Blast for dealing damage to Chi-Yu.

* **Grass**: Tera Grass lets Iron Moth deal with powerful Earthquakes from the likes of Ting-Lu and Garchomp, gives it a vital resitance to Water, and nullifies Spore. If using Tera Blast, it also can threaten Azumarill.

* **Fairy**: Tera Fairy's Dark resistance can surprise Chien-Pao looking to revenge kill, and protects Iron Moth from powerful Dragon attacks from the likes of Baxcalibur, Choice Band Dragonite, and Dragapult, and Choice Band Dragonite. shuffled dnite and pult around to not confuse the sets, keep the same if intentional

* **Fire**: Tera Fire's defensive benefits are not particularly helpful, but it makes late-game sweeping with Fiery Dance far more likely.

* **Poison**: Tera Poison doesn't offer too many amazing defensive benefits beyond removing the irritating weaknesses to Water and Rock, but it does retain Iromn Moth's valuable Toxic Spikes absorption powers and makes Black Sludge far more viable.

Items
========

* **Covert Cloak**: Covert Cloak protects Iron Moth from the dreaded Salt Cure, which can otherwise put a timer on phazing. It also prevents specially defensive Iron Moth from losing to Chi-Yu's flinch chance.

* **Passho Berry**: Passho Berry lets Iron Moth survive most special Water attacks without needing to Terastallize. possibly list an exception here like cb azu, up to u tho since this is qc territory

* **Sitrus Berry**: The quick burst of recovery Sitrus Berry gives can be paired with specialized EV spreads to survive a wider range of attacks.

* **Leftovers versus Black Sludge**: Leftovers's residual recovery pairs well with using Whirlwind as much as possible, but it's a fairly high-value item. Black Sludge is an acceptable alternative, but note that if not using Tera Poison, then it will hurt Iron Moth after Terastallization if not using Tera Poison.

* **Booster Energy**: Booster Energy can be paired with specialized EV spreads to either get easier KOs, gain a Speed boost, or survive surprising special attacks, at the cost of the flexibility more general EV spreads designed to switch in multiple times.

General EV Spread Examples
========

* **236 HP / 228 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 36 Spe with Modest**: This EV spread survives Timid Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Psyshock from full health.

* **196 HP / 132 SpD / 180 Spe with Calm**: This EV spread almost always avoids the 2HKO from Modest Chi-Yu's Dark Pulse, while outspeeding it alongside Jolly Baxcalibur and Jolly Great Tusk.

* **244 HP / 164 SpD / 100 Spe with Timid**: This EV spread outspeeds Jolly Annihilape, (RC) and, (AC) as a bonus, gives Leftovers Iron Moth a nearly guaranteed chance to avoid being 2HKOed by Modest Chi-Yu's Dark Pulse and Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Shadow Ball.

* **244 HP / 52 Def / 4 SpA / 12 SpD / (AS) 196 Spe with Timid**: This EV spread sacrifices some bulk to outspeed Garchomp, while still surviving Life Orb Chien-Pao's Throat Chop and having a great shot of surviving two uses of Dark Pulse from Timid Chi-Yu. It also gets a Speed boost from Quark Drive.

* **236 HP / 236 Def / 36 Spe with Bold**: This very physically defensive EV spread will allow a full health Iron Moth to survive Tera Dark Black Glasses Kingambit's Kowtow Cleave after Supreme Overlord has been boosted by two KOed teammates being down.

Sitrus Berry Exclusive EV Spreads
========

* When using Sitrus Berry, make sure to run an even HP stat, so that one use of Ruination maybe mention sfang here too? up to u will activate it.

* **180 HP / 228 Def / 100 Spe with Timid**: This EV spread almost always survives 2 hits from Focus Sash Chien-Pao's Throat Chop with Sitrus Berry, and outspeeds Jolly Annihilape.

* **244 HP / 188 Def / 12 SpA / 12 SpD / 52 Spe with Bold**: This EV spread usually prevents Iron Moth from getting 2HKOed by Timid Flutter Mane's Psyshock and avoids a 2HKO from Focus Sash Chien-Pao's Throat Chop as well. The minor Special Defense investment also avoids a 2HKO from Modest Chi-Yu's Dark Pulse and Timid Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Shadow Ball.

Booster Energy Exclusive EV Spreads
========

* **188 HP / 244 Def / 36 SpA / 4 SpD / 36 Spe with Modest**: This Booster Energy optimized spread OHKOes 4 SpD EV Iron Bundle with a Quark Drive boosted Fiery Dance, while having good enough physical bulk to have good chances of surviving powerful attacks from full health, like Timid Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Psyshock. you mentioned this above w/ a similar spread, consistency addition

* **252 HP / 220 SpD / 36 Spe with Calm**: This EV spread gives Iron Moth a Special Defense boost with Quark Drive, making it so bulky that even a Modest Choice Specs Chi-Yu has a low chance of 2HKOing it with Dark Pulse!

Benchmarks for Speed EVs
=======

Like many fast bulky Pokemon, Iron Moth has an huge variety of viable EV builds. If you'd like to make your own EV spread though, keep these Speed tiers in mind! Natures that can efficiently use these Speed tiers will be mentioned.

* **36 Speed EVs with any Neutral Nature**: This is the minimum amount of Speed to run, outspeeding Jolly Breloom.

* **52 Speed EVs with any Neutral Nature**: This outspeeds Modest Gholdengo.

* **76 Speed EVs with Timid or 180 Speed EVs with Calm** This outspeeds Modest Chi-Yu, Jolly Baxcalibur, and Jolly Great Tusk. consistency with above Note that Timid will give Iron Moth a bonus point to Speed, but a Calm nature has a greater chance of surviving some special attacks with specific EV spreads.

* **100 Speed EVs with Timid**: This outspeeds Jolly Annihilape.

* **132 Speed EVs with Timid**: This is the minimum investment for Iron Moth to get a Speed boost from Quark Drive, assuming no Special Attack investment. possibly note that adding any spa should be met with an equal increase in spe, but not necessary + is a qc thing again anyway

* **148 Speed EVs with Timid**: This outspeeds Jolly Mimikyu.

* **196 Speed EVs with Timid**: This outspeeds Jolly Garchomp.

[CREDITS] just want to double check that these credits are all correct and not intended for another analysis
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/theorymon.29010/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/starkgod.62165/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/derpysux.528485/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/butch-hardnight.265677/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ut.523866/

 

[autumn]

1/1 GP Team done

exposed solar panel

Let's-a set up Toxic Spikes, wahoo!

[SET]
Bulky Toxic Spikes Setter (Iron Moth) @ Covert Cloak / Passho Berry / Sitrus Berry / Leftovers maybe move one of these to oo unless important?
Ability: Quark Drive
Level: 50
Tera Type: Water / Grass / Fairy / Fire same as above (probably fire as you already listed this as worse than the others here?)
EVs: 236 HP / 228 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 36 Spe
Modest / Calm / Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Fiery Dance
- Morning Sun
- Whirlwind / Sludge Wave / Tera Blast

[SET COMMENTS]

* Iron Moth may seem like a strange Pokemon to use as a bulky Toxic Spikes setter, but it sets itself apart from other Pokemon like Toxapex thanks to being far less passive.

* **Fiery Dance**: While Fiery Dance is not a particularly reliable away to sweep, taking the chance is worth it considering Iron Moth's Speed.

* **Whirlwind**: A phazing move may not seemingly gel well with Speed investment, but it has incredible utility when Toxic Spikes are set up, punishing teams who that leave their Toxic Spikes absorber in on Iron Moth.

* **Sludge Wave versus Tera Blast**: Giving up on Whirlwind does lose a unique selling point as a Toxic Spikes setter, but in exchange, (RC) lets makes Iron Moth much harder to check with Fire-type checks resistances like Azumarill and Chi-Yu. Sludge Wave is prefered for its reliability, but Tera Blast makes sense with certain Tera Types. id give examples here, moth has a lot of flexibility like you already mentioned and so would def benefit here from one or two even if its listed directly below. up to u here.

Tera Types
=========

* **Tera Dependency - Medium**: When the aim is to simply set up Toxic Spikes, Terastallization is not that important. However, Iromn Moth's typing gives it enough weaknesses that Terastallization can give it a far longer life span.

* **Water**: Tera Water gives Iron Moth a resistance to Water moves without losing its resistance to Ice and Fire, which is helpful against Chien-Pao and Chi-Yu. It's also a great type to use with Tera Blast for dealing damage to Chi-Yu.

* **Grass**: Tera Grass lets Iron Moth deal with powerful Earthquakes from the likes of Ting-Lu and Garchomp, gives it a vital resitance resistance to Water, and nullifies Spore. If using Tera Blast, it also can threaten Azumarill.

* **Fairy**: Tera Fairy's Dark resistance can surprise Chien-Pao looking to revenge kill Iron Moth (RC) and protects Iron Moth it from powerful Dragon-type attacks from the likes of Baxcalibur, Choice Band Dragonite, and Dragapult, and Choice Band Dragonite. shuffled dnite and pult around to not confuse the sets, keep the same if intentional

* **Fire**: Tera Fire's defensive benefits are not particularly helpful, but it makes late-game sweeping with Fiery Dance far more likely.

* **Poison**: Tera Poison doesn't offer too many amazing defensive benefits beyond removing the irritating weaknesses to Water and Rock, but it does retain Iromn Moth's valuable Toxic Spikes absorption powers and makes Black Sludge far more viable.

Items
========

* **Covert Cloak**: Covert Cloak protects Iron Moth from the dreaded Salt Cure, which can otherwise put a timer on phazing. It also prevents specially defensive Iron Moth from losing to Chi-Yu's flinch chance.

* **Passho Berry**: Passho Berry lets Iron Moth survive most special Water-type attacks without needing to Terastallize. possibly list an exception here like cb azu, up to u tho since this is qc territory (cb azu isn't a special water attack but yea it might be worth giving examples)

* **Sitrus Berry**: The quick burst of recovery Sitrus Berry gives can be paired with specialized EV spreads, (AC) allowing Iron Moth to survive a wider range of attacks.

* **Leftovers versus Black Sludge**: Leftovers's residual recovery pairs well with using Whirlwind as much as possible, but it's a fairly high-value item. Black Sludge is an acceptable alternative, but note that if not using Tera Poison, then it will hurt Iron Moth after Terastallization if not using Tera Poison.

* **Booster Energy**: Booster Energy can be paired with specialized EV spreads to either get easier KOs, gain a Speed boost, or survive surprising special attacks (RC) at the cost of the flexibility of more general EV spreads designed to switch in multiple times.

General EV Spread Examples
========

* **236 HP / 228 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 36 Spe with Modest**: This EV spread survives Timid Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Psyshock from full health.

* **196 HP / 132 SpD / 180 Spe with Calm**: This EV spread almost always avoids the 2HKO from Modest Chi-Yu's Dark Pulse (RC) while outspeeding it alongside Jolly Baxcalibur and Jolly Great Tusk.

* **244 HP / 164 SpD / 100 Spe with Timid**: This EV spread outspeeds Jolly Annihilape, (RC) and, (AC) as a bonus, gives Leftovers Iron Moth a nearly guaranteed chance to avoid being 2HKOed by Modest Chi-Yu's Dark Pulse and Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Shadow Ball.

* **244 HP / 52 Def / 4 SpA / 12 SpD / (AS) 196 Spe with Timid**: This EV spread sacrifices some bulk to outspeed Garchomp (RC) while still surviving Life Orb Chien-Pao's Throat Chop and having a great shot of surviving two uses of Dark Pulse from Timid Chi-Yu. It also gets a Speed boost from Quark Drive.

* **236 HP / 236 Def / 36 Spe with Bold**: This very physically defensive EV spread will allow a full health Iron Moth to survive Tera Dark Black Glasses Kingambit's Kowtow Cleave after Supreme Overlord has been boosted by two KOed teammates being down.

Sitrus Berry Exclusive EV Spreads
========

* When using Sitrus Berry, make sure to run an even HP stat, so that one use of Ruination maybe mention sfang here too? up to u (only if viable in bss) will activate it.

* **180 HP / 228 Def / 100 Spe with Timid**: This EV spread almost always survives 2 two hits from Focus Sash Chien-Pao's Throat Chop with Sitrus Berry, and it outspeeds Jolly Annihilape.

* **244 HP / 188 Def / 12 SpA / 12 SpD / 52 Spe with Bold**: This EV spread usually prevents Iron Moth from getting 2HKOed by Timid Flutter Mane's Psyshock and avoids a 2HKO from Focus Sash Chien-Pao's Throat Chop as well. The minor Special Defense investment also avoids a 2HKO from Modest Chi-Yu's Dark Pulse and Timid Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Shadow Ball.

Booster Energy Exclusive EV Spreads
========

* **188 HP / 244 Def / 36 SpA / 4 SpD / 36 Spe with Modest**: This Booster Energy optimized spread OHKOes 4 Special Defense EVs Iron Bundle with a Quark Drive-boosted (hyphen) Fiery Dance (RC) while having good enough physical bulk to have a good chances of surviving powerful attacks from full health, like Timid Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Psyshock. you mentioned this above w/ a similar spread, consistency addition (add if this is correct yea)

* **252 HP / 220 SpD / 36 Spe with Calm**: This EV spread gives Iron Moth a Special Defense boost with Quark Drive, making it so bulky that even a Modest Choice Specs Chi-Yu has a low chance of 2HKOing it with Dark Pulse!

Benchmarks for Speed EVs
=======

Like many fast bulky Pokemon, Iron Moth has an huge variety of viable EV builds. If you'd like to make your own EV spread though, keep these Speed tiers in mind! Natures that can efficiently use these Speed tiers will be mentioned.

* **36 Speed EVs with any Neutral Nature**: This is the minimum amount of Speed to run, outspeeding Jolly Breloom.

* **52 Speed EVs with any Neutral Nature**: This outspeeds Modest Gholdengo.

* **76 Speed EVs with Timid or 180 Speed EVs with Calm** This outspeeds Modest Chi-Yu, Jolly Baxcalibur, and Jolly Great Tusk. consistency with above Note that Timid will give Iron Moth a bonus point to Speed, but a Calm nature has a greater chance of surviving some special attacks with specific EV spreads.

* **100 Speed EVs with Timid**: This outspeeds Jolly Annihilape.

* **132 Speed EVs with Timid**: This is the minimum investment for Iron Moth to get a Speed boost from Quark Drive, assuming no Special Attack investment. possibly note that adding any spa should be met with an equal increase in spe, but not necessary + is a qc thing again anyway

* **148 Speed EVs with Timid**: This outspeeds Jolly Mimikyu.

* **196 Speed EVs with Timid**: This outspeeds Jolly Garchomp.

[CREDITS] just want to double check that these credits are all correct and not intended for another analysis
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/theorymon.29010/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/starkgod.62165/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/derpysux.528485/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/butch-hardnight.265677/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ut.523866/

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[Theorymon]

Thanks a ton you two! Clas those comments were quite helpful, because bringing stuff up like Azumarill was a good point! Just in case you're curious, the main thing I didn't implement was the Super Fang mention, because the closest, really niche thing that uses that (Grafaiai) is a big question mark right now because the ruins like Ting-Lu REALLY mess with Prankster.

Otherwise, I implemented the stuff, time for Iron Moth to soar with a wing cap onsite!