Oldamar999
Tien Time
[OVERVIEW]
Forretress finds a secure spot on many OU teams due to its ability to viably compress Rapid Spin and Spikes support. It also has excellent physical bulk and a fantastic Steel / Bug defensive typing that gives it useful resistances to Psychic-, Ice-, and Normal-type moves and an immunity to Toxic, which allows it to switch in and set up Spikes and use Rapid Spin on passive Pokemon with Toxic like Umbreon and Skarmory. Its resistance to Normal-type moves also allows it to tank Explosion and Self-Destruct from the likes of Steelix and Snorlax, making it a good choice to attempt to take those moves aimed at key teammates after Forretress has set up Spikes. However, Forretress has the lowest Special Defense of any fully evolved Steel-type, meaning that it can often be overwhelmed by strong special attacks. Forretress also has a terrible 4x weakness to Fire, and its poor Special Defense and the popularity of Steel-types as a whole mean that it has a tendency to be lured in and KOed by Pokemon it would usually set up on, such as Hidden Power Fire Exeggutor and Fire Blast Snorlax. Finally, Forretress faces competition as a Spikes setter and Rapid Spin user from Cloyster, which is much faster, has a more threatening Explosion due to its higher Attack stat, and has STAB Surf, which allows it to offensively pressure all Explosion-resistant, physically defensive Pokemon , something that Forretress struggles to do with its pathetic Special Attack and bare offensive movepool. However, its lack of weaknesses outside of Fire means that it can choose to risk a strong neutral or resisted hit in exchange of setting up or removing Spikes against a wider pool of Pokemon, such as Nidoking and even Raikou and Zapdos. The strategy of wearing down Cloyster with Toxic that stall teams often use will also be ineffective against Forretress, making it a useful pick when trying to outlast them. Lastly, while Cloyster must drop a key move in Explosion in order to run Rapid Spin, Forretress is free to use both on the same set.
[SET]
name: Spikes
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Rapid Spin
move 3: Toxic / Explosion
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ghost / Giga Drain
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Spikes plays an incredibly critical role in GSC, limiting the opponent's ability to switch freely and creating countless potential plays and win conditions where they would otherwise simply not exist. Rapid Spin removes Spikes on Forretress' side of the field to prevent the same situation from happening to it. Toxic wears down most Pokemon that come in on it and is good against Pokemon like Cloyster, Tyranitar, Rhydon, and Snorlax. Although Forretress is slow, Explosion lets it be an emergency check to Belly Drum Snorlax thanks to its slightly higher Speed while also checking Vaporeon and Machamp if Forretress is healthy as well as allowing it to possibly KO Zapdos and Raikou. Hidden Power Fire threatens to 2HKO opposing Forretress, potentially a game-winning advantage, and does decent damage to Skarmory and Steelix. Hidden Power Ghost prevents Forretress from being completely defenseless against Gengar and is a solid alternative to Toxic against Misdreavus. Giga Drain is an alternative that has a chance to 3HKO Cloyster, giving Forretress a chance of beating it one-on-one and creating mind games as to whether Forretress will use Giga Drain again or Rapid Spin, and it has a chance to 2HKO Golem.
Team Options
========
Forretress wants to keep Spikes set up against the enemy as much as possible, so Ghost-types such as Gengar and Misdreavus make for good partners by blocking enemy Rapid Spin users. Forretress hates Ghost-types itself, however, so Pursuit trappers such as Tyranitar, Umbreon, and Houndoom can take care of them to prevent the opponent from spinblocking. Forretress also appreciates Tyranitar's ability to take on Snorlax that have Fire-type moves and Umbreon's ability to better trap Starmie. Due to Forretress's 4x weakness to Fire, Pokemon that can take on Belly Drum Charizard and RestTalk Moltres, such as Suicune, are very valuable teammates. Forretress's passivity also means that it allows many scary special attackers, setup sweepers, and general threats such as Zapdos, Vaporeon, Tentacruel, Gengar, and Perish Trap Misdreavus to switch in, so Raikou often makes a good partner with its reliable ability to beat these threats at least once.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Hidden Power Bug is Forretress's best STAB move, which threatens Starmie just enough so that it is unable to reliably remove Spikes against Forretress and also does big damage against Exeggutor and Jynx. However, Hidden Power Bug isn't really good for much else, and Toxic with Pursuit or Ghost-type support can also do the job of beating Starmie. Running Hidden Power Bug over Forretress's other coverage options also prevents Forretress from being able to beat important Pokemon such as Cloyster, Gengar, and opposing Forretress. Reflect doubles Forretress's and its partners' Defense, letting certain setup sweepers have an easier time setting up. Protect allows Forretress to gain additional Leftovers recovery and scout for moves like Fire Blast. Sandstorm is an option that out-damages Leftovers and pairs very well with Toxic and Spikes. Unfortunately, all of these options are very difficult to fit on the standard set, and while Sandstorm is very useful for chip damage, it can also have the adverse affect of wearing down Forretress's teammates, so this is important to consider when building a team with it. Forretress can drop Rapid Spin to free up space for another move like Toxic or Explosion; however, this can mean having to bring an additional Rapid Spin user, and without Rapid Spin, Cloyster is usually better.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ghost-types**: Misdreavus and Gengar are some of Forretress's hardest counters, since they take negligible damage from most of its attacks barring Hidden Power Ghost, are immune to Explosion, and are able to spinblock Forretress. Gengar is also notable in that it is immune to Toxic. Misdreavus can Perish trap Forretress to remove it, and Gengar can simply overwhelm Forretress with Thunder. However, it is harder for them to counter Forretress if it runs Hidden Power Ghost.
**Fire-type Moves**: Any Pokemon that carry Fire-type moves such as Snorlax, Tyranitar, and Nidoking instantly pose a massive threat to Forretress due to its 4x weakness to Fire. Snorlax notably misses the OHKO with Flamethrower but guarantees an OHKO with Fire Blast. Naturally, all Fire-type Pokemon also threaten to OHKO Forretress.
**Hidden Power Fire Forretress**: If Forretress isn't also running Hidden Power Fire and doesn't have a Ghost-type teammate for support, opposing Forretress can set up Spikes, remove Spikes from the opponent's side of the field, and 2HKO Forretress with Hidden Power Fire.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Oldamar999, 453750]]
- Quality checked by: [[Earthworm.15210 ], [Lavos,129513]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Estronic,240732 ], [Eien,100418 ]]
Forretress finds a secure spot on many OU teams due to its ability to viably compress Rapid Spin and Spikes support. It also has excellent physical bulk and a fantastic Steel / Bug defensive typing that gives it useful resistances to Psychic-, Ice-, and Normal-type moves and an immunity to Toxic, which allows it to switch in and set up Spikes and use Rapid Spin on passive Pokemon with Toxic like Umbreon and Skarmory. Its resistance to Normal-type moves also allows it to tank Explosion and Self-Destruct from the likes of Steelix and Snorlax, making it a good choice to attempt to take those moves aimed at key teammates after Forretress has set up Spikes. However, Forretress has the lowest Special Defense of any fully evolved Steel-type, meaning that it can often be overwhelmed by strong special attacks. Forretress also has a terrible 4x weakness to Fire, and its poor Special Defense and the popularity of Steel-types as a whole mean that it has a tendency to be lured in and KOed by Pokemon it would usually set up on, such as Hidden Power Fire Exeggutor and Fire Blast Snorlax. Finally, Forretress faces competition as a Spikes setter and Rapid Spin user from Cloyster, which is much faster, has a more threatening Explosion due to its higher Attack stat, and has STAB Surf, which allows it to offensively pressure all Explosion-resistant, physically defensive Pokemon , something that Forretress struggles to do with its pathetic Special Attack and bare offensive movepool. However, its lack of weaknesses outside of Fire means that it can choose to risk a strong neutral or resisted hit in exchange of setting up or removing Spikes against a wider pool of Pokemon, such as Nidoking and even Raikou and Zapdos. The strategy of wearing down Cloyster with Toxic that stall teams often use will also be ineffective against Forretress, making it a useful pick when trying to outlast them. Lastly, while Cloyster must drop a key move in Explosion in order to run Rapid Spin, Forretress is free to use both on the same set.
[SET]
name: Spikes
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Rapid Spin
move 3: Toxic / Explosion
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ghost / Giga Drain
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Spikes plays an incredibly critical role in GSC, limiting the opponent's ability to switch freely and creating countless potential plays and win conditions where they would otherwise simply not exist. Rapid Spin removes Spikes on Forretress' side of the field to prevent the same situation from happening to it. Toxic wears down most Pokemon that come in on it and is good against Pokemon like Cloyster, Tyranitar, Rhydon, and Snorlax. Although Forretress is slow, Explosion lets it be an emergency check to Belly Drum Snorlax thanks to its slightly higher Speed while also checking Vaporeon and Machamp if Forretress is healthy as well as allowing it to possibly KO Zapdos and Raikou. Hidden Power Fire threatens to 2HKO opposing Forretress, potentially a game-winning advantage, and does decent damage to Skarmory and Steelix. Hidden Power Ghost prevents Forretress from being completely defenseless against Gengar and is a solid alternative to Toxic against Misdreavus. Giga Drain is an alternative that has a chance to 3HKO Cloyster, giving Forretress a chance of beating it one-on-one and creating mind games as to whether Forretress will use Giga Drain again or Rapid Spin, and it has a chance to 2HKO Golem.
Team Options
========
Forretress wants to keep Spikes set up against the enemy as much as possible, so Ghost-types such as Gengar and Misdreavus make for good partners by blocking enemy Rapid Spin users. Forretress hates Ghost-types itself, however, so Pursuit trappers such as Tyranitar, Umbreon, and Houndoom can take care of them to prevent the opponent from spinblocking. Forretress also appreciates Tyranitar's ability to take on Snorlax that have Fire-type moves and Umbreon's ability to better trap Starmie. Due to Forretress's 4x weakness to Fire, Pokemon that can take on Belly Drum Charizard and RestTalk Moltres, such as Suicune, are very valuable teammates. Forretress's passivity also means that it allows many scary special attackers, setup sweepers, and general threats such as Zapdos, Vaporeon, Tentacruel, Gengar, and Perish Trap Misdreavus to switch in, so Raikou often makes a good partner with its reliable ability to beat these threats at least once.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Hidden Power Bug is Forretress's best STAB move, which threatens Starmie just enough so that it is unable to reliably remove Spikes against Forretress and also does big damage against Exeggutor and Jynx. However, Hidden Power Bug isn't really good for much else, and Toxic with Pursuit or Ghost-type support can also do the job of beating Starmie. Running Hidden Power Bug over Forretress's other coverage options also prevents Forretress from being able to beat important Pokemon such as Cloyster, Gengar, and opposing Forretress. Reflect doubles Forretress's and its partners' Defense, letting certain setup sweepers have an easier time setting up. Protect allows Forretress to gain additional Leftovers recovery and scout for moves like Fire Blast. Sandstorm is an option that out-damages Leftovers and pairs very well with Toxic and Spikes. Unfortunately, all of these options are very difficult to fit on the standard set, and while Sandstorm is very useful for chip damage, it can also have the adverse affect of wearing down Forretress's teammates, so this is important to consider when building a team with it. Forretress can drop Rapid Spin to free up space for another move like Toxic or Explosion; however, this can mean having to bring an additional Rapid Spin user, and without Rapid Spin, Cloyster is usually better.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ghost-types**: Misdreavus and Gengar are some of Forretress's hardest counters, since they take negligible damage from most of its attacks barring Hidden Power Ghost, are immune to Explosion, and are able to spinblock Forretress. Gengar is also notable in that it is immune to Toxic. Misdreavus can Perish trap Forretress to remove it, and Gengar can simply overwhelm Forretress with Thunder. However, it is harder for them to counter Forretress if it runs Hidden Power Ghost.
**Fire-type Moves**: Any Pokemon that carry Fire-type moves such as Snorlax, Tyranitar, and Nidoking instantly pose a massive threat to Forretress due to its 4x weakness to Fire. Snorlax notably misses the OHKO with Flamethrower but guarantees an OHKO with Fire Blast. Naturally, all Fire-type Pokemon also threaten to OHKO Forretress.
**Hidden Power Fire Forretress**: If Forretress isn't also running Hidden Power Fire and doesn't have a Ghost-type teammate for support, opposing Forretress can set up Spikes, remove Spikes from the opponent's side of the field, and 2HKO Forretress with Hidden Power Fire.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Oldamar999, 453750]]
- Quality checked by: [[Earthworm.15210 ], [Lavos,129513]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Estronic,240732 ], [Eien,100418 ]]
Last edited:
