[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Leech Seed
move 3: Power Whip
move 4: Protect / Knock Off
item: Leftovers
ability: Iron Barbs
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Ferrothorn is a good defensive presence in AG thanks to its respectable bulk, useful defensive typing, and access to Spikes, allowing it to act as a great check to Kyogre and Xerneas while being a valuable entry hazard setter. Leech Seed is Ferrothorn's most reliable form of recovery and a great tool of disruption against switch-ins such as Zacian-C. Power Whip deals immediate damage to Kyogre, notably forcing out bulky Calm Mind variants, and Xerneas. Protect is useful to scout for the foe's moves, gain Leftovers and Leech Seed recovery, and stall out Dynamax turns from the likes of Xerneas, Groudon, and Kyogre. Knock Off is an alternative to cripple foes like Ho-Oh, Yveltal, and Eternatus. Toxic is another good option, crippling all of the metagame's Defoggers in Yveltal, Ho-Oh, and Lunala. A specially defensive spread with a Careful nature is required in order for Ferrothorn to check Kyogre and Xerneas reliably. Ferrothorn should preserve its health with Leech Seed so it can stay healthy throughout the game while whittling down foes.
Ferrothorn fits on all sorts of balance and bulky offense teams that appreciate having a check to Kyogre and Xerneas as well as Spikes support. Teammates like Zygarde-C, Zekrom, and Kyogre are notable for pressuring Ho-Oh, which is a huge threat to Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn significantly struggles against threats like Marshadow, Dragon Dance Zygarde-C and Zekrom, Groudon, Zacian-C, Eternatus, and Calyrex-S due to their super effective or powerful moves against it and their tendency to use Ferrothorn as setup bait. Therefore, good partners that can check these threats such as Zacian-C, Lunala, Necrozma-DM, Calyrex-S, and Yveltal are useful. Zygarde-C really appreciates Spikes support from Ferrothorn, as it synergizes fantastically with its Dragon Tail, while Ferrothorn is able to check Xerneas and disrupt Lunala for Zygarde-C. Groudon pairs excellently with Ferrothorn; Groudon is able to force out Ho-Oh and set up with Swords Dance while forcing it out, and it heavily benefits from Ferrothorn's Spikes chipping its checks and Ferrothorn's ability to check Kyogre. The likes of Zacian-C, Xerneas, Kyogre, and Marshadow are some other good teammates, benefitting hugely from Spikes wearing down their main checks in Necrozma-DM and Eternatus.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Thunder Wave is an option in the last slot on Ferrothorn, as it's able to spread paralysis on fast foes like Zacian-C, Eternatus, and Marshadow, enabling offensive teammates such as Choice Specs Kyogre and Life Orb Yveltal to excel even more against the opponent's team. However, dropping Protect, Knock Off, or Toxic can make Ferrothorn less reliable as a check to Xerneas or even more passive, respectively. Gyro Ball is another option in the last slot that has no accuracy drawback, allowing Ferrothorn to deal with Xerneas more reliably; it serves little to no use outside of that, however. Bullet Seed can be used over Power Whip to prevent Ferrothorn from being trapped by Gothitelle due to the move's high PP, although it's generally inferior to Power Whip due to the unreliability of it.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ho-Oh**: Ho-Oh can consistently switch into Ferrothorn due to Regenerator, force it out with the threat of a powerful Sacred Fire, and remove its Spikes with Defog. However, Ho-Oh fears losing its Heavy-Duty Boots to a Knock Off, since it will become much easier to wear down if Stealth Rock is on the opponent's side of the field. Ho-Oh doesn't appreciate Toxic either; being badly poisoned takes away from its ability to come out on top against Stealth Rock Necrozma-DM.
**Eternatus**: A well-played Eternatus is the second largest obstacle for Ferrothorn. Not only does Eternatus force Ferrothorn out with Flamethrower or Mystical Fire, it's also capable of gradually PP stalling Ferrothorn out of Spikes and Leech Seed in more drawn-out games, not being bothered by anything Ferrothorn can dish out other than Knock Off.
**Super Effective Coverage**: Foes like Zacian-C, Palkia, and Marshadow easily force Ferrothorn out, as they often carry super effective coverage to break Ferrothorn.
**Strong Wallbreakers**: Ferrothorn's bulk is nothing to brag about in the context of the metagame. As a result, generally strong wallbreakers such as Calyrex-S and Groudon are more than capable of heavily damaging Ferrothorn or forcing it out.
**Substitute Users**: Ferrothorn's passivity makes it setup fodder against foes under a Substitute such as Zekrom, Reshiram, and Zygarde-C.
**Gothitelle**: Ferrothorn is unable to switch out against Gothitelle due to Shadow Tag, making it entirely susceptible to Taunt while being weakened by Charm. Gothitelle can also heal off Ferrothorn's weak attacks with Rest. However, Ferrothorn will still be able to greatly annoy Gothitelle in the process by removing Leftovers and chipping away at its health with Leech Seed. Moreover, Gothitelle is incapable of trapping Ferrothorn if the latter opts to run Bullet Seed.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Rotten, 491896]]
- Quality checked by: [[Geysers, 426798], [Guard, 360582]]
- Grammar checked by: [[lotiasite, 302985]]
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