[OVERVIEW]
Mantine's excellent typing, good special bulk, and various utility options allow it to handle many of NU's top offensive and defensive Pokemon, such as Blastoise, Salazzle, Mudsdale, and Talonflame. Immunities to Ground and Water and a resistance to Fighting define Mantine's defensive presence, allowing it to come in on Choice-locked threats such as Passimian and Golurk and pivot well against other defensive Water-types such as Quagsire. Mantine's Scald and Toxic ensure it isn't overly passive, and it can more easily check physical attackers such as Silvally-Ground and Copperajah by crippling them with a burn. In addition, Mantine is not a sitting duck against traditional Water-type answers such as Toxicroak, Heliolisk, and Vileplume; its access to Hurricane and ability to easily fit Toxic set it apart from Vaporeon, which cannot viably run much to circumvent these checks due to its more restricted moveslots. However, Mantine's physical bulk is less than impressive, allowing threats such as Golurk and Tauros to muscle past it easily with the right coverage. Mantine is also extremely vulnerable to Knock Off from many of the physical attackers it wants to pivot into, as its Stealth Rock weakness means it struggles even more to take hits after losing its item. Finally, though Mantine seems like it would be a good Defog user, it has difficulty effectively removing hazards because it is threatened by most of the tier's common Stealth Rock setters: Diancie and Stakataka can defeat it with their Rock-type STAB attacks, and Copperajah can muscle through it with Rock Slide and Power Whip.
[SET]
name: Defensive Utility
move 1: Scald
move 2: Hurricane
move 3: Roost
move 4: Toxic / Defog
item: Heavy-Duty Boots
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Hurricane lets Mantine OHKO Toxicroak after Life Orb damage and do solid damage to Grass-types like Vileplume and Rotom-C. Toxic allows Mantine to cripple defensive Pokemon like Vaporeon, Guzzlord, and opposing Mantine and put Blastoise on a timer. If these threats are accounted for elsewhere, Defog can be used to allow Mantine to remove hazards, especially if it can manage to weaken the opposing Stealth Rock setter with a Scald burn. The given EVs allow Mantine to outspeed Adamant Golurk and maximize its physical bulk. Mantine can also run spreads with more special bulk if desired; for example, 16 Special Defense EVs and a Calm nature allow Mantine to survive two Modest Expanding Forces from Choice Scarf Indeedee-F and take on Salazzle and Blastoise more easily.
If it is not running Defog, Mantine appreciates partners such as Tsareena and Dhelmise that can remove Stealth Rock in case it has to take a Knock Off. These Grass-types also check Heliolisk and Golurk and appreciate Mantine's ability to deal with Fire-types. Mantine is a shaky check to Fighting-types on its own, so partners like Sylveon, Talonflame, and Xatu that can handle them are much appreciated; the former can additionally support Mantine with Heal Bell while the latter can keep hazards off the field with Magic Bounce. Because Mantine is so vulnerable to Volt Switch users, partners that can absorb Volt Switch like Silvally-Ground, Togedemaru, and Mudsdale are necessary. The aforementioned Ground-types also take on Rock-types such as Tyrantrum, and Mantine absorbs Water-type attacks aimed at them in return. Bulky Steel-types, such as Copperajah and Stakataka, are greatly appreciated for their ability to handle powerful special attackers like Sylveon and Exploud that can overwhelm Mantine, and Mantine can pivot into the Fire- and Ground-type moves that threaten them.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Air Slash can be used over Hurricane for a far more reliable Flying-type STAB move, but it is much weaker, notably against Vileplume and Passimian. Haze can be used over Toxic or Defog to help Mantine deal with setup sweepers such as Scrafty and Blastoise more easily, but it can generally deal with these Pokemon regardless. Water Veil makes Mantine immune to Talonflame's Will-O-Wisp and is especially good on teams that already possess good Water-type counterplay, but Water Absorb is usually preferred to beat Blastoise and Inteleon even more consistently.
Checks and Counters
====
**Electric-types**: Rotom-C and Heliolisk can switch into Mantine and gain momentum with Volt Switch as Mantine is forced out, and Heliolisk is also immune to Scald. However, both of these Pokemon dislike Toxic, and Rotom-C is hit fairly hard by Hurricane.
**Toxic**: Toxic forces Mantine to use Roost and switch out constantly to avoid taking major damage, which can rack up quickly with Stealth Rock if its Heavy-Duty Boots has been removed. As such, Mantine needs to be careful when attempting to switch into defensive Pokemon such as Vaporeon, Mudsdale, and Talonflame.
**Physical Attackers**: The vast majority of physical attackers have little trouble breaking past Mantine due to its low physical bulk. For example, Choice Band Passimian can 2HKO Mantine with Rock Slide. Poltergeist users such as Golurk and Decidueye prey on Mantine due to its reliance on Heavy-Duty Boots. Other strong attackers like Tsareena, Grimmsnarl, and Toxicroak can easily 2HKO Mantine as well, while Snorlax can use it as setup fodder. However, all of these Pokemon bar Snorlax are threatened by Hurricane or Scald.
**Knock Off**: Several physical attackers that Mantine checks, namely Escavalier and Passimian, carry Knock Off to remove its Heavy-Duty Boots.
**Special Wallbreakers**: Very powerful special attackers, such as Choice Specs Indeedee-F, Sylveon, and Exploud, can easily 2HKO Mantine with their STAB moves. These Pokemon all have respectable special bulk as well and can therefore switch directly into Mantine if needed. Starmie can heal off Hurricane damage and nearly OHKO Mantine with Thunderbolt.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[memesketch, 537558]]
- Quality checked by: [[Rabia, 336073], [S1nn0hC0nfirm3d, 231074]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073]]
Last edited:
