[OVERVIEW]
It spins! It spikes! It blows up and dies! Forretress is a reliable source of Spikes and Rapid Spin, both very valuable. Spikes reliably pressure grounded foes while Rapid Spin prevents your own Pokemon from being chipped. Further, its excellent typing and physical bulk let it check a number of threats, like Snorlax, Blissey, Metagross, and Deoxys-Attack. Explosion is also an excellent move, letting it remove one of the opposing team's Pokemon as needed.
However, its ability to immediately threaten the foes it checks is limited, with Spikes being threatening but also ineffectual short-term, and Explosion being blockable by Protect, not quite powerful enough to take on Curse-boosted Snorlax, and ultimately only usable once. Forretress' Fire weakness is also easily exploited under Sun, letting many Pokemon whom it would otherwise check or set up on blow through it. It faces competition from other Spikers such as Skarmory and Deoxys-Defense, which leave their team more vulnerable to Spikes but have much more defensive utility. Forretress is the cornerstone of many defensive teams, who appreciate its strong hazards control.
[SET]
name: Spike-O-Matic
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Rapid Spin
move 3: Explosion
move 4: Earthquake / Hidden Power Fire
item: Leftovers
ability: Sturdy
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Forretress' primary role is to lay Spikes and to spin them away. It comes in on various enemies, such as Snorlax, Metagross, Blissey or Deoxys-Attack, as long as they lack a Fire-type move or rain is up. Once in, Spikes are very threatening to most teams.
It checks Deoxys-Attack, Metagross, and Snorlax, though it needs to be wary of Fire coverage from any of these on Sun. Further, CB moves from the first two - Superpower and Meteor Mash respectively - can chip it quickly, and it has difficulty dealing with Snorlax Cursing on it unless it is willing to Explode. Even one Spike can pressure Snorlax and Metagross teams that lack spinners enough that it is sometimes worth sacrificing Forretress for a spike, but this cannot be reliably done except by pivoting on Snorlax.
Explosion can be used to reliably trade with many threatening Pokemon, especially physical ones; it can also help in endgames. Forretress' defensive utility, especially against Sun teams, isn't enough to make trading it often not worthwhile. It generally makes Forretress much less passive, as in a pinch Explosion can provide both damage and a free switchin; against, say, SubCM Kyogre Forretress can spike in the face of Calm Mind or Substitute then Explode, breaking the Substitute and letting a teammate enter to scare Kyogre off. Explosion also simplifies endgames, being able to either remove or at least force out whatever most threatening Pokemon the opponent has left.
Spikes and Rapid Spin are essential to its utility; Rapid Spin provides significant resilience benefits to its team. Specifically, grounded Pokemon without recovery - notably Groudon and Kyogre, Snorlax, and Metagross - are significantly aided by Rapid Spin. Spikes conversely pressures those same Pokemon, so allies whom they check are aided, such as Latios, Metagross, Snorlax, and Deoxys.
Earthquake lets Forretress damage Metagross and OHKO the rare Magneton, whereas on Sun teams Hidden Power Fire lets it beat opposing Forretress, usually securing a significant advantage against other Forretress teams if Sun is up. Alternate moves that can be used over Earthquake /Hidden Power or even over Explosion include Toxic and Counter. Toxic generally makes Forretress more passive, but it can surprise Pokemon that switch into it expecting free momentum as Forretress spikes, notably Kyogre. Counter can act as a pseudo-Explosion against physical moves while preserving Forretress if only as a sacrifice, as well as discouraging Hidden Power Fire from foes such as opposing Forretress and Skarmory.
Forretress's Achilles' heel is its Fire weakness. Under Sun, nearly any Pokemon - including Forretress itself - can run a Fire-type move to allow it to beat Forretress one-on-one. As such, Forretress' defensive utility is easy to overestimate, especially under Sun, and even under Rain such Pokemon can land a solid hit against Forretress.
Team Options
========
- Groudon's Sun protects it from Thunders, letting it set up on Latios or Fireless Mewtwo if necessary. It also lets Forrretress run Hidden Power Fire to beat other Forretress.
- Kyogre, conversely, protects Forretress from opposing Fire-type moves, letting it live long enough to make use of its defensive utility and get more Spikes.
- Blissey's passivity and Spikes vulnerability are aided by Spikes and Rapid Spin respectively
- Snorlax, conversely, becomes much more durable with Rapid Spin support, and Spikes let it push past checks like Metagross and Groudon
- Deoxys-Attack's main checks are Spikes-vulnerable, with Metagross in particular able to be slain by Deoxys-Attack on the switchin with a small amount of chip.
- Gengar can spinblock, near-guaranteeing Spikes staying on the field, but opposing Forretress cannot simultaneously be responded to with Gengar to prevent it Spinning and Forretress to keep Spikes off.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
- Rest lets it live longer, but it doesn't really need to as long as it can get Spikes up, and a resting Forretress is appallingly passive.
- Hidden Power Ghost hits Gengar who can spinblock it.
- Hidden Power Bug lets Forretress hit Latios and Mewtwo, letting it serve as a backup check to these in Sun, but if Rain is set or the opponent's Thunders feel like hitting it becomes much less reliable.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Forretress**: Forretress can counter anything Forretress does, being able to set up Spikes that Forretress spins away and Rapid Spin to clear Forretress's Spikes. This will generally result in one player getting momentum and the other getting a Spin of and a single Spike up.
**Fire-type Moves**: Nearly anything that Forretress checks can run a FIre-type move to roast it in sun. In this case, Groudon must be preserved against Rain Forretress teams.
**Dedicated spikes control**: Generally, dedicated Spinner, Spiker, or Spinblocker teamslots will beat Forretress, possibly depending on their moves. Dedicated Spinners like Starmie can reliably keep Forretress from obtaining Spikes; dedicated Spikers like Deoxys-Defense and Skarmory can run Fire-type moves to ensure they get their own Spikes up, and Spinblockers like Gengar can prevent existing Spikes from being removed. This may often still either allow Spikes or Spin - Forretress can still Spike against Gengar, for instance. Combinations of these can reliably beat Forretress at its own game but will have to be used piecemeal.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/Ajencis.479200/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user2.2/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.3/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.4/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.5/
It spins! It spikes! It blows up and dies! Forretress is a reliable source of Spikes and Rapid Spin, both very valuable. Spikes reliably pressure grounded foes while Rapid Spin prevents your own Pokemon from being chipped. Further, its excellent typing and physical bulk let it check a number of threats, like Snorlax, Blissey, Metagross, and Deoxys-Attack. Explosion is also an excellent move, letting it remove one of the opposing team's Pokemon as needed.
However, its ability to immediately threaten the foes it checks is limited, with Spikes being threatening but also ineffectual short-term, and Explosion being blockable by Protect, not quite powerful enough to take on Curse-boosted Snorlax, and ultimately only usable once. Forretress' Fire weakness is also easily exploited under Sun, letting many Pokemon whom it would otherwise check or set up on blow through it. It faces competition from other Spikers such as Skarmory and Deoxys-Defense, which leave their team more vulnerable to Spikes but have much more defensive utility. Forretress is the cornerstone of many defensive teams, who appreciate its strong hazards control.
[SET]
name: Spike-O-Matic
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Rapid Spin
move 3: Explosion
move 4: Earthquake / Hidden Power Fire
item: Leftovers
ability: Sturdy
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Forretress' primary role is to lay Spikes and to spin them away. It comes in on various enemies, such as Snorlax, Metagross, Blissey or Deoxys-Attack, as long as they lack a Fire-type move or rain is up. Once in, Spikes are very threatening to most teams.
It checks Deoxys-Attack, Metagross, and Snorlax, though it needs to be wary of Fire coverage from any of these on Sun. Further, CB moves from the first two - Superpower and Meteor Mash respectively - can chip it quickly, and it has difficulty dealing with Snorlax Cursing on it unless it is willing to Explode. Even one Spike can pressure Snorlax and Metagross teams that lack spinners enough that it is sometimes worth sacrificing Forretress for a spike, but this cannot be reliably done except by pivoting on Snorlax.
Explosion can be used to reliably trade with many threatening Pokemon, especially physical ones; it can also help in endgames. Forretress' defensive utility, especially against Sun teams, isn't enough to make trading it often not worthwhile. It generally makes Forretress much less passive, as in a pinch Explosion can provide both damage and a free switchin; against, say, SubCM Kyogre Forretress can spike in the face of Calm Mind or Substitute then Explode, breaking the Substitute and letting a teammate enter to scare Kyogre off. Explosion also simplifies endgames, being able to either remove or at least force out whatever most threatening Pokemon the opponent has left.
Spikes and Rapid Spin are essential to its utility; Rapid Spin provides significant resilience benefits to its team. Specifically, grounded Pokemon without recovery - notably Groudon and Kyogre, Snorlax, and Metagross - are significantly aided by Rapid Spin. Spikes conversely pressures those same Pokemon, so allies whom they check are aided, such as Latios, Metagross, Snorlax, and Deoxys.
Earthquake lets Forretress damage Metagross and OHKO the rare Magneton, whereas on Sun teams Hidden Power Fire lets it beat opposing Forretress, usually securing a significant advantage against other Forretress teams if Sun is up. Alternate moves that can be used over Earthquake /Hidden Power or even over Explosion include Toxic and Counter. Toxic generally makes Forretress more passive, but it can surprise Pokemon that switch into it expecting free momentum as Forretress spikes, notably Kyogre. Counter can act as a pseudo-Explosion against physical moves while preserving Forretress if only as a sacrifice, as well as discouraging Hidden Power Fire from foes such as opposing Forretress and Skarmory.
Forretress's Achilles' heel is its Fire weakness. Under Sun, nearly any Pokemon - including Forretress itself - can run a Fire-type move to allow it to beat Forretress one-on-one. As such, Forretress' defensive utility is easy to overestimate, especially under Sun, and even under Rain such Pokemon can land a solid hit against Forretress.
Team Options
========
- Groudon's Sun protects it from Thunders, letting it set up on Latios or Fireless Mewtwo if necessary. It also lets Forrretress run Hidden Power Fire to beat other Forretress.
- Kyogre, conversely, protects Forretress from opposing Fire-type moves, letting it live long enough to make use of its defensive utility and get more Spikes.
- Blissey's passivity and Spikes vulnerability are aided by Spikes and Rapid Spin respectively
- Snorlax, conversely, becomes much more durable with Rapid Spin support, and Spikes let it push past checks like Metagross and Groudon
- Deoxys-Attack's main checks are Spikes-vulnerable, with Metagross in particular able to be slain by Deoxys-Attack on the switchin with a small amount of chip.
- Gengar can spinblock, near-guaranteeing Spikes staying on the field, but opposing Forretress cannot simultaneously be responded to with Gengar to prevent it Spinning and Forretress to keep Spikes off.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
- Rest lets it live longer, but it doesn't really need to as long as it can get Spikes up, and a resting Forretress is appallingly passive.
- Hidden Power Ghost hits Gengar who can spinblock it.
- Hidden Power Bug lets Forretress hit Latios and Mewtwo, letting it serve as a backup check to these in Sun, but if Rain is set or the opponent's Thunders feel like hitting it becomes much less reliable.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Forretress**: Forretress can counter anything Forretress does, being able to set up Spikes that Forretress spins away and Rapid Spin to clear Forretress's Spikes. This will generally result in one player getting momentum and the other getting a Spin of and a single Spike up.
**Fire-type Moves**: Nearly anything that Forretress checks can run a FIre-type move to roast it in sun. In this case, Groudon must be preserved against Rain Forretress teams.
**Dedicated spikes control**: Generally, dedicated Spinner, Spiker, or Spinblocker teamslots will beat Forretress, possibly depending on their moves. Dedicated Spinners like Starmie can reliably keep Forretress from obtaining Spikes; dedicated Spikers like Deoxys-Defense and Skarmory can run Fire-type moves to ensure they get their own Spikes up, and Spinblockers like Gengar can prevent existing Spikes from being removed. This may often still either allow Spikes or Spin - Forretress can still Spike against Gengar, for instance. Combinations of these can reliably beat Forretress at its own game but will have to be used piecemeal.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/Ajencis.479200/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user2.2/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.3/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.4/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.5/
Last edited: