Overview
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Forretress is the definition of a team supporter. It sports an excellent defensive typing, with ten resistances and one weakness along with the amazing ability Sturdy. Forretress's movepool is also vast with support options, including three out of four entry hazards, the extremely useful Rapid Spin, and an array of other options that give it a solid amount of utility on a large amount of teams. BW bestowed Volt Switch upon Forretress, giving it the ability to sponge a physical hit with its respectable 75/140 physical bulk, (remove comma) and then bring in another Pokemon for free, (add comma) which only adds to its plethora of useful options. XY wasn't very kind to Forretress, (add comma) however. The buff to Defog now forces Forretress to compete with many support Arceus formes as well as Defog Skarmory, while also making Forretress's own hazards more difficult to keep in play. XY also nerfed Forretress's Steel typing, removing its resistances to Dark-type and Ghost-type moves, (add comma) which doesn't stack well with Forretress's mediocre special bulk. Despite all of these negatives XY brought to Forretress, it actually benefited a considerable amount from the disappearance of popular bulky Ghost-types, which allows it to Rapid Spin more freely. Forretress also ruins other support Pokemon that came this generation such as Klefki and the new Arceus-Fairy with the added bonus of not being absolute Mega Gengar bait. Forretress still suffers from its old cons though, such as being Taunt bait and being 4x weak to common Fire-type coverage. Be aware that despite its shortcomings, Forretress is still extremely viable in Ubers, as Spikes and Toxic alone can do a large amount of damage to any team.
Support
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name: Support
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Spikes
move 3: Toxic
move 4: Volt Switch / Gyro Ball
ability: Sturdy
item: Leftovers
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
nature: Calm
Moves
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Rapid Spin will always be one of the most useful moves in Forretress's arsenal and should always thus be considered on any Forretress set. The same goes for Spikes, as Forretress is one of the best users of them, (add comma) and it also lures in support Arceus for Forretress to Toxic. Toxic is used precisely for these Arceus variants, barring Steel and Poison of course, and it is also useful against other bulky Pokemon without Rest such as Groudon, Giratina-O, and Lugia. The last slot is a slight toss-up between Volt Switch and Gyro Ball. Volt Switch is extremely useful for getting a teammate in safely, escaping Shadow Tag users, and stealing offensive momentum if Forretress is walling the opposition. However, Gyro Ball is also a candidate for this slot, as it is Forretress's best hope of dealing direct damage, 2HKOing Mega Gengar instead of just freeing Forretress from its Shadow Tag. It will also 2HKO any offensive Xerneas variant. Make sure to use a Sassy nature with Gyro Ball. Toxic Spikes is an amazing move and Forretress is one of the best users of them as well. Either Spikes or Toxic can be substituted for Toxic Spikes. Forretress also has a recovery option, outside of Rest, in Pain Split, which will help it stick around longer with the addition of wearing threats with high HP down faster, but Forretress generally has no room for it. All in all, your moveset should depend on what your team needs as Forretress is a supporter with many options.
Set Details
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Leftovers gives Forretress a bit more staying power and also gives it as well as a chance to reactivate Sturdy should Forretress take any premature damage. The EVs are there to patch up Forretress's lackluster Special Defense in the specially based Ubers environment, while its typing and natural physical bulk are all it needs on the physical side. On the contrary, a physically defensive spread could be used along with Pain Split and Toxic to take on Swords Dance Arceus variants better, as well as many other threats such as Mega Kangaskhan, Rock Polish Groudon without Swords Dance, and Landorus-T. Once again, Forretress is a team supporter, so the set you choose should be based around what suits your team best.
Usage Tips
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Dedicated spinblockers are less common in Ubers because Defog is the most common method of removing hazards. Should your opponent carry a spinblocker while you have hazards up, using Volt Switch is generally the correct and safest play although poisoning an Arceus-Ghost or Giratina-O switch-in will make them much easier to handle. Forretress can actually set up Spikes after poisoning a Giratina-O and force it to take more Toxic damage as it stays in to Defog. Spikes should be used when your opponent is going to switch or after Forretress has poisoned a support Arceus that can't defeat it, such as Grass Arceus. When an opponent is going to switch, make sure to note how threatening Forretress's switch-in is. If it can be handled easily, then begin to set up Spikes, but if your team is greatly threatened by it, then using Volt Switch and switching into a Pokemon that can check it will be your best course of action. Lastly, Forretress has no recovery outside of the unreliable Pain Split, so make sure to keep it in good heath for as long as possible, as the Spikes and Toxic it carries as well as its ability to Rapid Spin are invaluable in most situations.
Team Options
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Forretress is a team supporter and should only exist to help its teammates, but there are a few Pokemon that can make conditions more ideal for Forretress to do its work. The first teammate is Kyogre, as it reduces Forretress's weakness to Fire-type attacks greatly for five turns with the rain that it brings. Forretress also loves receiving Wishes from Wish passers such as Sylveon, Blissey, and Chansey. Tyranitar, Rock Arceus, and Water Arceus all have amazing type synergy with Forretress, (add comma) and the former also helps Forretress stack on residual damage with sandstorm. Yveltal deserves a special mention as it can remove spinblockers for Forretress, while in return, Forretress can remove Stealth Rock to make Yveltal's switches safer. Mega Gengar can trap and remove Defog users so Forretress's entry hazards aren't wasted before any significant damage is done.
Forretress best supports fragile Pokemon such as Shaymin-S, Deoxys-A, Darkrai, and the previously mentioned Mega Gengar by setting up Spikes to net them KOs that they normally wouldn't get, (remove comma) and by using its slow Volt Switch to tank a hit and bring them in safely. Forretress also takes priority moves aimed at them very well. Lugia loves having Stealth Rock off its side of the field whilst having Spikes on the opponents side in order to have its phazing shenanigans pack some punch. Ho-Oh adores having Stealth Rock off the field and can shrug off any Fire-type move aimed at Forretress. Fairy-types can use two of Forretress's most dangerous switch-ins, Palkia and Yveltal, as setup bait. Forretress generally does better on offensively inclined teams that are able to apply enough pressure to Defog and Rapid Spin users to keep them off the field, (remove comma) or punish a turn of clearing entry hazards with a sweep. The Spikes Forretress provides will aid sweepers in tearing apart teams, (add comma) and Toxic can help wear down walls and tanks so sweepers can break through them easier.
Other Options
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Forretress has plenty of other options, but most are either done better by other support Pokemon, (remove comma) or are very situational. Reflect and Light Screen, with Light Clay as an item, can be utilized to make a setup sweeper's life easier, but Defog now removes dual screens, (add comma) so keeping them up is a hassle. This is also done better by Klefki with its ability, Prankster. Stealth Rock is always an option, but many other Pokemon are able to set it up better, while Spikes is a more unique option on Forretress. Earthquake can be a nasty surprise for an unsuspecting Heatran or Mega Lucario while also 2HKOing Mega Gengar, but Volt Switch or Gyro Ball are generally the better options. Use a Careful nature alongside Earthquake. Counter can turn matchups against Life Orb Extreme Killer Arceus and Swords Dance Ground Arceus on their heads and can even be a nasty surprise for Blaziken and Ho-Oh if Sturdy is active, but Forretress generally doesn't have room for it, (add comma) and it is very situational.
Checks & Counters
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**Ho-Oh**: Ho-Oh can roast any Forretress with Sacred Fire and fears nothing from Spikes and little from Toxic as it regains its lost HP with Regenerator. Substitute variants don't fear Toxic or the rare Counter at all.
**Blaziken and Mega-Blaziken**: These two will also roast Forretress with their Fire-type STAB moves, but both of them dislike Toxic cutting into their already non-existent longevity. All except for Substitute variants should be wary of Counter if Sturdy is active. Substitute variants also set up on Forretress easily.
**Taunt Users**: Forretress hates Taunt users such as Gliscor, Yveltal, Heatran, and defensive Mewtwo as they stop it from doing anything useful and can wear it down with attacks or status.
**Mega Lucario**: Mega Lucario is immune to poison and resists Gyro Ball. It can 2HKO Forretress with Close Combat. It fears Counter and is 2HKOed by Earthquake, however.
**Bulky Steel-types**: Dialga, Aegislash, Arceus-Steel, and Heatran are good examples of Steel-types that Forretress fears and cannot beat as two of them generally carry Fire-type moves and the one other also functions as a spinblocker. Arceus-Steel can set up on Forretress as well.
**Kyogre**: Any variant can muscle its way through Forretress, while defensive variants can Rest off Toxic.
**Arceus-Poison**: Forretress cannot beat it, and it can freely set up on Forretress.
**Reshiram**: Reshiram can check Forretress with its Fire-type STAB, (add comma) and it ignores Sturdy with Turboblaze.
**Fire-type coverage**: Anything with a decent Fire-type attack can check Forretress after Sturdy is broken.
