Malfunction
nice desu ne
Original analysis
Status: Done, pretty much.
To be honest I feel that the on-site analysis is a bit too long. I barely did any changes here; all I did was basically formatting. Do you guys think I should trim it down a bit?
----------
[OVERVIEW]
<p>Forretress' ability to switch into so many threats and provide entry hazards and Rapid Spin support is unmatched. While it may have many obvious flaws, such as its limited ability to defend itself and its horrible Fire weakness, these issues are easily addressed by the rest of the team. One looking for a reliable entry hazard abuser and Rapid Spinner that can take an onslaught of physical attacks won’t find anything better than Forretress.</p>
[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Spikes / Toxic Spikes
move 2: Rapid Spin
move 3: Gyro Ball / Payback
move 4: Earthquake / Explosion
item: Shed Shell / Leftovers
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 112 Atk / 144 Def
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is your classic, bread and butter Forretress set. The general idea is to switch in when Forretress is not threatened and take the opportunity to support the team with entry hazards or Rapid Spin enemy hazards away. With its massive Defense stat, huge list of resistances, and the general abundance of resisted attacks being used with Choice items in today’s metagame, there should be plenty of opportunities to execute this strategy.</p>
<p>Forretress has a variety of attacking options available to it. Gyro Ball takes advantage of its abysmal Speed to provide it with a powerful STAB attack that deals solid damage to fast attackers, such as Gengar, Latias, and Dragon Dance Salamence and Tyranitar. Payback is useful for hitting Ghosts that switch in to block Forretress' Rapid Spin, and because Forretress is so slow, it will almost always be 100 Base Power. Earthquake is a good option for its coverage on grounded Steel-types like Metagross, Lucario, and Jirachi. In addition, Forretress can use Earthquake to land OHKOs on many of its counters as they switch into it, specifically Magnezone, Heatran, and Infernape. As Forretress has a tendency to become setup fodder for many sweepers that aren’t threatened by its other attacks, Explosion is a fine choice on this set to immediately end a powerful, potentially game-ending sweep from your opponent. On an offensive team, it can be used to eliminate a defensive check against one of your sweepers. As on any Pokemon, the combination of attacks you choose to run should compliment the needs of your team as a whole.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Your choice of entry hazards should depend upon what your team is equipped to defeat. Spikes are more effective in general for damaging grounded Pokemon, as many offensive teams are fully immune to Toxic Spikes nowadays. However, many problematic defensive Pokemon known for walling a vast amount of threats, such as Blissey, Hippowdon, and Vaporeon, are completely manhandled by Toxic Spikes, and that reason alone is enough to consider it on the set. It is also perfectly reasonable to run both Spikes and Toxic Spikes on this set in order to cover all of your bases. In that case, you would forgo one of your attacks, as Rapid Spin is one of the main reasons to use Forretress and it is usually too good to pass up.</p>
<p>Because of the abundance of Steels in the metagame, Magnezone has become increasingly popular and it often runs Hidden Power Fire, which will OHKO this Forretress set easily. For this reason, Shed Shell is the preferred item for the set, as it will allow you to escape Magnet Pull and continue to set up hazards later. If for some reason you do not fear Magnezone, Leftovers makes a useful item to make up for Forretress’ lack of immediate recovery. In addition to providing a large amount of physical bulk for switching into physical threats, the given EV spread allows Forretress to OHKO 4 HP / 0 Defense Magnezone and Heatran with Earthquake and Stealth Rock damage as they switch in. Additionally, with Stealth Rock up, Forretress is capable of switching into Life Orb Salamence’s +1 Outrage and finishing it off with Gyro Ball after the second turn of recoil.</p>
<p>Forretress relies entirely upon its limited attacking options to defend itself; by utilizing all of its support moves, Forretress will provide a lot of switch-in opportunities for certain dangerous threats. In addition to the obvious Fire users, many of these threats are extremely dangerous stat boosters that require an immediate response. Without Earthquake, Lucario can switch into Forretress and set up with Swords Dance. Various Dragon Dancers, including Salamence, Gyarados, and Kingdra, can use their decent bulk (and Intimidate in the case of Salamence and Gyarados) to take Forretress’ weak attacks and set up. The Rotom appliances in general make good teammates, as they have enough defensive prowess to stand up to many of these threats and can cripple them in a variety of ways. In particular, Rotom-H with a Choice Scarf works well due to its ability to outrun all of the Dragon Dancers after a boost, with the exception of Salamence, and it can OHKO Gyarados and Lucario with Thunderbolt and Overheat, respectively. Defensive Water-types with Ice Beam and Hidden Power Electric are capable of switching into and sufficiently threatening Salamence and Gyarados, and they can situationally hold their own against Lucario and Kingdra. Similarly, a Cresselia with Ice Beam and Charge Beam can switch into just about anything Salamence and Gyarados throw at it and come out on top. Defensive Celebi with Perish Song makes a great response to Gyarados and Kingdra, and can threaten the other threats with Thunder Wave.</p>
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Toxic Spikes
move 3: Payback
move 4: Rapid Spin
item: Leftovers / Shed Shell
nature: Careful / Impish
evs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 212 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Although its most prominent stat is its massive Defense, Forretress’ advantageous resistances to common special attacks including Ice Beam, Shadow Ball, and Draco Meteor make it a great response to a variety of special threats in the metagame. With a specially defensive EV spread and a Careful nature, Forretress becomes much more capable of taking powerful special attacks like Salamence’s Draco Meteor and Gengar’s Focus Blast, while still retaining enough physical bulk to switch into and set up on physical threats whose STABs it resists, such as Metagross, Scizor, and Jirachi. Because of Forretress’ abysmal Speed, Payback becomes your most powerful choice on this set. At 100 Base Power, it makes for a strong, super effective attack against Latias, Gengar, Rotom-A, and Celebi, all of whom are incapable of dispatching Forretress with any of their attacks, bar Hidden Power Fire. 44 Attack EVs allow Forretress to do a minimum of 50% damage to the standard 4 HP / 0 Defense Latias with Payback, which means that it cannot spam Recover while continuing to set up with Calm Mind.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Among the advantages to using a specially defensive Forretress as your Rapid Spinner over a physically defensive set is its ability to hold its own against the so-called best spin blockers in the game, the Rotom appliances. With Thunderbolt, defensive builds manage a mere 4HKO on Forretress, assuming Leftovers recovery, while Forretress can continue to set up entry hazards or retaliate with Payback, which always 3HKOes with Stealth Rock, though one must be wary of Will-O-Wisp and Overheat. This fact alone is enough to make specially defensive Forretress a more reliable choice on stall-based teams.</p>
<p>The choice between Leftovers and Shed Shell exists once again. Leftovers’ usefulness is heightened on this set, as the recovery will turn some 3HKOs on Forretress into 4HKOs, in addition to the obvious benefit of gradual healing. It should also be noted that with the given EVs and nature, Forretress will only be OHKOed by Timid Magnezone’s Hidden Power Fire 33.33% of the time at full health, which means that if it switches in while entry hazards are being set up, Forretress will usually be able to lay down two layers of something before going down. However, for those people who can’t stand losing their support Pokemon so easily, Shed Shell remains as viable as ever to switch out of Magnezone’s grip and set up more hazards later.</p>
<p>While its Defense is great even without investment, Specially Defensive Forretress is significantly less bulky on the physical end of the spectrum and, as such, it takes noticeably larger damage from certain physical attacks. Add to that the fact that Forretress is incapable of healing beyond Leftovers and you will find that it can be worn down quite quickly by neutral hits from powerful physical hitters like Metagross and Tyranitar. Therefore, in addition to its usual teammates, it’s important to relieve the burden on Forretress as a defensive Pokemon by running it in tandem with Pokemon that can respond to said threats as well. Defensive Swampert and Gyarados make great teammates, as they can also switch into the powerful physical attacks aimed at Forretress and either retaliate with their STAB attacks or Roar out the attackers and take advantage of the entry hazards laid down. Though it shares Forretress’ Fire weakness, physically defensive Skarmory also makes a great teammate for similar reasons. Being a Steel-type, it provides an alternative switch-in to Dragon-types. In addition, Skarmory has access to Spikes, which frees up a moveslot for Forretress to run a secondary attack. It is also important to note that this set appreciates Wish support considerably more than other sets. Specially defensive Forretress will usually be used in the context of a stall team, in which it will be switched in repeatedly on entry hazards in order to either spin them or eliminate opposing Ghost-types with Payback on the switch. That alone can result in Forretress losing up to 50% of its health over the course of a few turns, which is not easily recovered back with Leftovers alone.</p>
<p>More than other sets, specially defensive Forretress benefits a great deal from having teammates with the Sandstream ability. With Leftovers recovery, Latias and Rotom-A are sometimes able to sneak away from being 2HKOed and 3HKOed, respectively, by Forretress’ Payback. Sandstorm nullifies their Leftovers recovery, leaves Forretress untouched, and adds to the residual damage from Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Tyranitar in particular deserves a mention, as it can take Fire attacks aimed at Forretress, completely shrugs off Rotom-A’s attacks, and can hit it for massive damage with its STAB Crunch.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Between Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Rapid Spin, and various attack options, it is rare that Forretress will have enough room on a set to run Stealth Rock. Any team that relies upon hazard abuse should use another Pokemon with Stealth Rock to take full advantage of Forretress’ talents as a spiker. Non-Rest variants of Forretress, especially sets with Shed Shell over Leftovers, will often find themselves getting beaten down by residual damage over the course of a match, as a result of their lack of healing. For this reason, Wish support is exceptionally useful for keeping Forretress alive to continue its job as a team supporter.</p>
<p>Defensively speaking, Forretress’ stand-out flaw is its double weakness to Fire. Having Pokemon that can sponge Fire-type attacks in addition to some of its disadvantageous neutralities is crucial to forming a defensive core with Forretress. Good examples of this include Tyranitar, Swampert, who also resists Rock- and Electric-type attacks, Salamence and Gyarados, who resist Water-, Ground-, and Fighting-type attacks, Latias, who resists Water-, Ground-, Fighting-, and Electric-type attacks, and Blissey, who doesn’t resist any type commonly directed at Forretress, but has enough special bulk to absorb most special attacks with ease. All of these Pokemon have ways to support Forretress further, whether it is with Roar, Stealth Rock, or Wish. As it is always looking for opportunities to switch in and set up, it’s also a good idea to pair Forretress with Pokemon that lure in resisted attacks. Dragon-types make great teammates, as in addition to resisting Fire, they lure in a number of types that Forretress is resistant to. Defensive Psychic- and Ghost-types make good teammates as well, though they do not resist Fire. It should be noted that both Latias and Celebi have five weaknesses each that Forretress is resistant or immune to, and Latias is resistant to Fire.</p>
<p>As Forretress’ greatest utility is its ability to set up entry hazards, it is imperative to pair it with a Ghost-type Pokemon to keep your opponent from Rapid Spinning the hazards away. Ghost-types also tend to draw in Dark- and Ghost-type attacks for Forretress to switch into. The most obvious candidates for the job are the Rotom formes, as they are capable of handling every Rapid Spinner in some way and they provide a backup switch-in to physically attacking Steel-types. Conversely, Forretress is itself a Rapid Spinner, and any team hoping to use it for this purpose will require anti-Ghost support of some kind. Tyranitar, Scizor, Heracross, and Weavile are all capable of switching into Ghosts on the right move and all know Pursuit to dispose of them.</p>
<p>Being a slow defensive Pokemon with limited attacking coverage, Forretress is incapable of maintaining offensive momentum. For this reason, it will usually put out the best results when used on a stall team that is capable of addressing the many dangerous threats it draws in. While Forretress can be used successfully on balanced teams to support more offensive strategies with its entry hazards, it’s important to remember that Forretress isn’t a Pokemon you can simply stick onto a team as the obligatory Steel-type. It really shines as part of a defensive core intent on forcing switches and taking advantage of secondary damage.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Forretress doesn't have much moves available to it other than what was listed in the sets, though it does have a few mildly interesting choices. Revenge is another attack that takes advantage of Forretress’ low Speed, providing coverage against Lucario, Tyranitar and, to an extent, Magnet Rise Magnezone. Reflect and Light Screen are decent options on Forretress, both for supporting its team and making it easier for Forretress to set up hazards against many hard-hitting threats. Rest and Sleep Talk give Forretress a somewhat reliable form of recovery and allow it to become a status absorber. However, this will further limit the amount of team support it can provide, and there are much better options for status absorbers available. Pain Split is another recovery option, although Forretress is already packed for space on its support sets and Pain Split isn’t too reliable anyway.</p>
<p>For Forretress sets with Gyro Ball, Macho Brace makes an interesting alternative to Leftovers or Shed Shell, as it lowers Forretress' Speed stat further. Assuming a 0 Speed IV and a negative Speed nature, Macho Brace turns Gyro Ball into a 100 Base Power attack against anything with 198 Speed and above, and a 150 Base Power attack against anything above 297 Speed. This will allow Forretress to be more of a threat to Salamence, and Gyro Ball will be capable of OHKOing Gengar at full health, something it can’t do without Macho Brace.</p>
<p>As a defensive Pokemon, the obvious first step is to maximize Forretress’ HP. From there, you can decide how you want to split the EVs between its respective defenses and its Attack to suit your team’s needs. The Physically Defensive EV spread allows Forretress to OHKO 4 HP / 0 Defense Magnezone with Earthquake and Stealth Rock, but for sets without Earthquake, one may wish to use a bulkier EV spread. A set using Gyro Ball should have a Speed IV of 0, a –Speed nature, and at least 40 Attack EVs, as that will insure that Gyro Ball will be able to finish off a +1 offensive Dragon Dance Salamence after Stealth Rock and two turns of Life Orb recoil. The specially defensive EV spread really doesn’t need anymore than 44 Attack EVs to ensure the 2HKO on offensively EVed Latias, and Forretress needs as much SpD as possible.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Heatran and Magnezone can switch into any one of Forretress’ moves, barring Earthquake, and threaten to OHKO with Fire Blast and Hidden Power Fire, respectively. Magnezone’s ability, Magnet Pull, will also keep non-Shed Shell Forretress from switching away from it. Zapdos is virtually immune to all of Forretress’ attacks other than Explosion and can batter it with Thunderbolt or dispatch it in one hit with Heat Wave. The Rotom appliances work similarly to Zapdos, though they must be a bit wary of Payback. However, Rotom has an advantage over other switch-ins in that it blocks Forretress’ Rapid Spin, being a Ghost-type. Other Ghost-types, such as Gengar, Dusknoir, and Spiritomb can be used for a similar purpose, though they should have a specific way to defeat Forretress, whether it be with Hidden Power Fire or by burning it with Will-O-Wisp.</p>
<p>Plenty of Pokemon can set up on Forretress with little to no risk. Gyarados can switch into a Forretress without Explosion or Zap Cannon and boost its stats with Dragon Dance. Kingdra can also set up with Dragon Dance, and it can avoid Explosion through the use of Substitute. If Forretress is without Earthquake, Lucario can set up with Swords Dance and threaten to sweep through the opposing team. Bulky Calm Minders and Cursers, such as Suicune, Jirachi, Snorlax, and Swampert, can switch into Forretress with relative ease and begin to set up with their respective stat up moves.</p>
<p>Although Forretress technically has a lot of counters, it thrives off of free turns upon which it can Rapid Spin or set up entry hazards. Therefore, it’s important to take Forretress seriously and respond to it immediately, as depending on the opposing team, it may take only a few turns for it to set up several layers of hazards and solidify a win. It’s also a good idea to limit the number of Pokemon on your team that are vulnerable to hazards, particularly Toxic Spikes. If one is desperate to lure out and eliminate Forretress, a good strategy is to use a Pokemon that Forretress normally switches into and equip it with a Fire-type attack to strike its x4 weakness. Fire Punch Jirachi, Flamethrower Blissey, and Hidden Power Fire Metagross are all good examples of this.</p>
Status: Done, pretty much.
To be honest I feel that the on-site analysis is a bit too long. I barely did any changes here; all I did was basically formatting. Do you guys think I should trim it down a bit?
----------
[OVERVIEW]
<p>Forretress' ability to switch into so many threats and provide entry hazards and Rapid Spin support is unmatched. While it may have many obvious flaws, such as its limited ability to defend itself and its horrible Fire weakness, these issues are easily addressed by the rest of the team. One looking for a reliable entry hazard abuser and Rapid Spinner that can take an onslaught of physical attacks won’t find anything better than Forretress.</p>
[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Spikes / Toxic Spikes
move 2: Rapid Spin
move 3: Gyro Ball / Payback
move 4: Earthquake / Explosion
item: Shed Shell / Leftovers
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 112 Atk / 144 Def
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is your classic, bread and butter Forretress set. The general idea is to switch in when Forretress is not threatened and take the opportunity to support the team with entry hazards or Rapid Spin enemy hazards away. With its massive Defense stat, huge list of resistances, and the general abundance of resisted attacks being used with Choice items in today’s metagame, there should be plenty of opportunities to execute this strategy.</p>
<p>Forretress has a variety of attacking options available to it. Gyro Ball takes advantage of its abysmal Speed to provide it with a powerful STAB attack that deals solid damage to fast attackers, such as Gengar, Latias, and Dragon Dance Salamence and Tyranitar. Payback is useful for hitting Ghosts that switch in to block Forretress' Rapid Spin, and because Forretress is so slow, it will almost always be 100 Base Power. Earthquake is a good option for its coverage on grounded Steel-types like Metagross, Lucario, and Jirachi. In addition, Forretress can use Earthquake to land OHKOs on many of its counters as they switch into it, specifically Magnezone, Heatran, and Infernape. As Forretress has a tendency to become setup fodder for many sweepers that aren’t threatened by its other attacks, Explosion is a fine choice on this set to immediately end a powerful, potentially game-ending sweep from your opponent. On an offensive team, it can be used to eliminate a defensive check against one of your sweepers. As on any Pokemon, the combination of attacks you choose to run should compliment the needs of your team as a whole.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Your choice of entry hazards should depend upon what your team is equipped to defeat. Spikes are more effective in general for damaging grounded Pokemon, as many offensive teams are fully immune to Toxic Spikes nowadays. However, many problematic defensive Pokemon known for walling a vast amount of threats, such as Blissey, Hippowdon, and Vaporeon, are completely manhandled by Toxic Spikes, and that reason alone is enough to consider it on the set. It is also perfectly reasonable to run both Spikes and Toxic Spikes on this set in order to cover all of your bases. In that case, you would forgo one of your attacks, as Rapid Spin is one of the main reasons to use Forretress and it is usually too good to pass up.</p>
<p>Because of the abundance of Steels in the metagame, Magnezone has become increasingly popular and it often runs Hidden Power Fire, which will OHKO this Forretress set easily. For this reason, Shed Shell is the preferred item for the set, as it will allow you to escape Magnet Pull and continue to set up hazards later. If for some reason you do not fear Magnezone, Leftovers makes a useful item to make up for Forretress’ lack of immediate recovery. In addition to providing a large amount of physical bulk for switching into physical threats, the given EV spread allows Forretress to OHKO 4 HP / 0 Defense Magnezone and Heatran with Earthquake and Stealth Rock damage as they switch in. Additionally, with Stealth Rock up, Forretress is capable of switching into Life Orb Salamence’s +1 Outrage and finishing it off with Gyro Ball after the second turn of recoil.</p>
<p>Forretress relies entirely upon its limited attacking options to defend itself; by utilizing all of its support moves, Forretress will provide a lot of switch-in opportunities for certain dangerous threats. In addition to the obvious Fire users, many of these threats are extremely dangerous stat boosters that require an immediate response. Without Earthquake, Lucario can switch into Forretress and set up with Swords Dance. Various Dragon Dancers, including Salamence, Gyarados, and Kingdra, can use their decent bulk (and Intimidate in the case of Salamence and Gyarados) to take Forretress’ weak attacks and set up. The Rotom appliances in general make good teammates, as they have enough defensive prowess to stand up to many of these threats and can cripple them in a variety of ways. In particular, Rotom-H with a Choice Scarf works well due to its ability to outrun all of the Dragon Dancers after a boost, with the exception of Salamence, and it can OHKO Gyarados and Lucario with Thunderbolt and Overheat, respectively. Defensive Water-types with Ice Beam and Hidden Power Electric are capable of switching into and sufficiently threatening Salamence and Gyarados, and they can situationally hold their own against Lucario and Kingdra. Similarly, a Cresselia with Ice Beam and Charge Beam can switch into just about anything Salamence and Gyarados throw at it and come out on top. Defensive Celebi with Perish Song makes a great response to Gyarados and Kingdra, and can threaten the other threats with Thunder Wave.</p>
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Toxic Spikes
move 3: Payback
move 4: Rapid Spin
item: Leftovers / Shed Shell
nature: Careful / Impish
evs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 212 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Although its most prominent stat is its massive Defense, Forretress’ advantageous resistances to common special attacks including Ice Beam, Shadow Ball, and Draco Meteor make it a great response to a variety of special threats in the metagame. With a specially defensive EV spread and a Careful nature, Forretress becomes much more capable of taking powerful special attacks like Salamence’s Draco Meteor and Gengar’s Focus Blast, while still retaining enough physical bulk to switch into and set up on physical threats whose STABs it resists, such as Metagross, Scizor, and Jirachi. Because of Forretress’ abysmal Speed, Payback becomes your most powerful choice on this set. At 100 Base Power, it makes for a strong, super effective attack against Latias, Gengar, Rotom-A, and Celebi, all of whom are incapable of dispatching Forretress with any of their attacks, bar Hidden Power Fire. 44 Attack EVs allow Forretress to do a minimum of 50% damage to the standard 4 HP / 0 Defense Latias with Payback, which means that it cannot spam Recover while continuing to set up with Calm Mind.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Among the advantages to using a specially defensive Forretress as your Rapid Spinner over a physically defensive set is its ability to hold its own against the so-called best spin blockers in the game, the Rotom appliances. With Thunderbolt, defensive builds manage a mere 4HKO on Forretress, assuming Leftovers recovery, while Forretress can continue to set up entry hazards or retaliate with Payback, which always 3HKOes with Stealth Rock, though one must be wary of Will-O-Wisp and Overheat. This fact alone is enough to make specially defensive Forretress a more reliable choice on stall-based teams.</p>
<p>The choice between Leftovers and Shed Shell exists once again. Leftovers’ usefulness is heightened on this set, as the recovery will turn some 3HKOs on Forretress into 4HKOs, in addition to the obvious benefit of gradual healing. It should also be noted that with the given EVs and nature, Forretress will only be OHKOed by Timid Magnezone’s Hidden Power Fire 33.33% of the time at full health, which means that if it switches in while entry hazards are being set up, Forretress will usually be able to lay down two layers of something before going down. However, for those people who can’t stand losing their support Pokemon so easily, Shed Shell remains as viable as ever to switch out of Magnezone’s grip and set up more hazards later.</p>
<p>While its Defense is great even without investment, Specially Defensive Forretress is significantly less bulky on the physical end of the spectrum and, as such, it takes noticeably larger damage from certain physical attacks. Add to that the fact that Forretress is incapable of healing beyond Leftovers and you will find that it can be worn down quite quickly by neutral hits from powerful physical hitters like Metagross and Tyranitar. Therefore, in addition to its usual teammates, it’s important to relieve the burden on Forretress as a defensive Pokemon by running it in tandem with Pokemon that can respond to said threats as well. Defensive Swampert and Gyarados make great teammates, as they can also switch into the powerful physical attacks aimed at Forretress and either retaliate with their STAB attacks or Roar out the attackers and take advantage of the entry hazards laid down. Though it shares Forretress’ Fire weakness, physically defensive Skarmory also makes a great teammate for similar reasons. Being a Steel-type, it provides an alternative switch-in to Dragon-types. In addition, Skarmory has access to Spikes, which frees up a moveslot for Forretress to run a secondary attack. It is also important to note that this set appreciates Wish support considerably more than other sets. Specially defensive Forretress will usually be used in the context of a stall team, in which it will be switched in repeatedly on entry hazards in order to either spin them or eliminate opposing Ghost-types with Payback on the switch. That alone can result in Forretress losing up to 50% of its health over the course of a few turns, which is not easily recovered back with Leftovers alone.</p>
<p>More than other sets, specially defensive Forretress benefits a great deal from having teammates with the Sandstream ability. With Leftovers recovery, Latias and Rotom-A are sometimes able to sneak away from being 2HKOed and 3HKOed, respectively, by Forretress’ Payback. Sandstorm nullifies their Leftovers recovery, leaves Forretress untouched, and adds to the residual damage from Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Tyranitar in particular deserves a mention, as it can take Fire attacks aimed at Forretress, completely shrugs off Rotom-A’s attacks, and can hit it for massive damage with its STAB Crunch.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Between Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Rapid Spin, and various attack options, it is rare that Forretress will have enough room on a set to run Stealth Rock. Any team that relies upon hazard abuse should use another Pokemon with Stealth Rock to take full advantage of Forretress’ talents as a spiker. Non-Rest variants of Forretress, especially sets with Shed Shell over Leftovers, will often find themselves getting beaten down by residual damage over the course of a match, as a result of their lack of healing. For this reason, Wish support is exceptionally useful for keeping Forretress alive to continue its job as a team supporter.</p>
<p>Defensively speaking, Forretress’ stand-out flaw is its double weakness to Fire. Having Pokemon that can sponge Fire-type attacks in addition to some of its disadvantageous neutralities is crucial to forming a defensive core with Forretress. Good examples of this include Tyranitar, Swampert, who also resists Rock- and Electric-type attacks, Salamence and Gyarados, who resist Water-, Ground-, and Fighting-type attacks, Latias, who resists Water-, Ground-, Fighting-, and Electric-type attacks, and Blissey, who doesn’t resist any type commonly directed at Forretress, but has enough special bulk to absorb most special attacks with ease. All of these Pokemon have ways to support Forretress further, whether it is with Roar, Stealth Rock, or Wish. As it is always looking for opportunities to switch in and set up, it’s also a good idea to pair Forretress with Pokemon that lure in resisted attacks. Dragon-types make great teammates, as in addition to resisting Fire, they lure in a number of types that Forretress is resistant to. Defensive Psychic- and Ghost-types make good teammates as well, though they do not resist Fire. It should be noted that both Latias and Celebi have five weaknesses each that Forretress is resistant or immune to, and Latias is resistant to Fire.</p>
<p>As Forretress’ greatest utility is its ability to set up entry hazards, it is imperative to pair it with a Ghost-type Pokemon to keep your opponent from Rapid Spinning the hazards away. Ghost-types also tend to draw in Dark- and Ghost-type attacks for Forretress to switch into. The most obvious candidates for the job are the Rotom formes, as they are capable of handling every Rapid Spinner in some way and they provide a backup switch-in to physically attacking Steel-types. Conversely, Forretress is itself a Rapid Spinner, and any team hoping to use it for this purpose will require anti-Ghost support of some kind. Tyranitar, Scizor, Heracross, and Weavile are all capable of switching into Ghosts on the right move and all know Pursuit to dispose of them.</p>
<p>Being a slow defensive Pokemon with limited attacking coverage, Forretress is incapable of maintaining offensive momentum. For this reason, it will usually put out the best results when used on a stall team that is capable of addressing the many dangerous threats it draws in. While Forretress can be used successfully on balanced teams to support more offensive strategies with its entry hazards, it’s important to remember that Forretress isn’t a Pokemon you can simply stick onto a team as the obligatory Steel-type. It really shines as part of a defensive core intent on forcing switches and taking advantage of secondary damage.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Forretress doesn't have much moves available to it other than what was listed in the sets, though it does have a few mildly interesting choices. Revenge is another attack that takes advantage of Forretress’ low Speed, providing coverage against Lucario, Tyranitar and, to an extent, Magnet Rise Magnezone. Reflect and Light Screen are decent options on Forretress, both for supporting its team and making it easier for Forretress to set up hazards against many hard-hitting threats. Rest and Sleep Talk give Forretress a somewhat reliable form of recovery and allow it to become a status absorber. However, this will further limit the amount of team support it can provide, and there are much better options for status absorbers available. Pain Split is another recovery option, although Forretress is already packed for space on its support sets and Pain Split isn’t too reliable anyway.</p>
<p>For Forretress sets with Gyro Ball, Macho Brace makes an interesting alternative to Leftovers or Shed Shell, as it lowers Forretress' Speed stat further. Assuming a 0 Speed IV and a negative Speed nature, Macho Brace turns Gyro Ball into a 100 Base Power attack against anything with 198 Speed and above, and a 150 Base Power attack against anything above 297 Speed. This will allow Forretress to be more of a threat to Salamence, and Gyro Ball will be capable of OHKOing Gengar at full health, something it can’t do without Macho Brace.</p>
<p>As a defensive Pokemon, the obvious first step is to maximize Forretress’ HP. From there, you can decide how you want to split the EVs between its respective defenses and its Attack to suit your team’s needs. The Physically Defensive EV spread allows Forretress to OHKO 4 HP / 0 Defense Magnezone with Earthquake and Stealth Rock, but for sets without Earthquake, one may wish to use a bulkier EV spread. A set using Gyro Ball should have a Speed IV of 0, a –Speed nature, and at least 40 Attack EVs, as that will insure that Gyro Ball will be able to finish off a +1 offensive Dragon Dance Salamence after Stealth Rock and two turns of Life Orb recoil. The specially defensive EV spread really doesn’t need anymore than 44 Attack EVs to ensure the 2HKO on offensively EVed Latias, and Forretress needs as much SpD as possible.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Heatran and Magnezone can switch into any one of Forretress’ moves, barring Earthquake, and threaten to OHKO with Fire Blast and Hidden Power Fire, respectively. Magnezone’s ability, Magnet Pull, will also keep non-Shed Shell Forretress from switching away from it. Zapdos is virtually immune to all of Forretress’ attacks other than Explosion and can batter it with Thunderbolt or dispatch it in one hit with Heat Wave. The Rotom appliances work similarly to Zapdos, though they must be a bit wary of Payback. However, Rotom has an advantage over other switch-ins in that it blocks Forretress’ Rapid Spin, being a Ghost-type. Other Ghost-types, such as Gengar, Dusknoir, and Spiritomb can be used for a similar purpose, though they should have a specific way to defeat Forretress, whether it be with Hidden Power Fire or by burning it with Will-O-Wisp.</p>
<p>Plenty of Pokemon can set up on Forretress with little to no risk. Gyarados can switch into a Forretress without Explosion or Zap Cannon and boost its stats with Dragon Dance. Kingdra can also set up with Dragon Dance, and it can avoid Explosion through the use of Substitute. If Forretress is without Earthquake, Lucario can set up with Swords Dance and threaten to sweep through the opposing team. Bulky Calm Minders and Cursers, such as Suicune, Jirachi, Snorlax, and Swampert, can switch into Forretress with relative ease and begin to set up with their respective stat up moves.</p>
<p>Although Forretress technically has a lot of counters, it thrives off of free turns upon which it can Rapid Spin or set up entry hazards. Therefore, it’s important to take Forretress seriously and respond to it immediately, as depending on the opposing team, it may take only a few turns for it to set up several layers of hazards and solidify a win. It’s also a good idea to limit the number of Pokemon on your team that are vulnerable to hazards, particularly Toxic Spikes. If one is desperate to lure out and eliminate Forretress, a good strategy is to use a Pokemon that Forretress normally switches into and equip it with a Fire-type attack to strike its x4 weakness. Fire Punch Jirachi, Flamethrower Blissey, and Hidden Power Fire Metagross are all good examples of this.</p>
