This is almost done, I'll put up sections once I've checked through them
Overview
+6 Scizor sweeping your entire team? Got 3 layers of Spikes up but your opponent isn't switching enough to make it count? Baton Pass teams setting up in your face? Sounds like the job for phazing!
One of the first questions you may be asking as you read this article is, "What is phazing anyway?". If you look "phazing" up in the dictionary, you won't find it. Conned in the Pokemon world, the word "phaze" comes from the term "pseudo-hazing", which is defined as emulating the effects of the move Haze by removing all the opponent's Pokemon's stat changes. This is done by forcing a switch on the opponent's Pokemon, thus causing it to lose all its previous boosts. Phazing is seen on many teams, both offensive and defensive, and plays an integral role in the playing of the game. It is an excellent way to abuse entry hazards and in stall teams, more of that is covered in the linked articles. If phazing didn't exist, the world of Pokemon would be very different from what it is today. Stall teams would be hard-pressed to counter the many top offensive threats in the Pokemon world, as their weak attacks would be unable to do anything to stop sweepers boosting up, thus gaining the ability to break through the normally rock-solid walls. Entry hazards would be much less effective, and a bulky boosting sweeper could dominate with a stat-boosting move and a way of recovery. This is simply because attacks would not severely damage it, and nothing could stop it reaching +6 due to the lack of phazing. From here, you can clearly see the importance of phazing.
Uses of phazing
Phazing wouldn't be important if it was useless. Basically, there are three main uses for phazing.
1. Removing the opponent's stat changes
Since whenever a Pokemon switches out, it loses all of its stat changes, phazing is an effective way to counter set-up Pokemon. Common walls such as Skarmory carry phazing moves so as to better check sweepers such as Swords Dance Scizor. Usually, a sweeper has few chances to set up. Phazing moves effectively limit the amount of time, and Pokemon, a sweeper has to KO. The best way to prevent a boosted sweeper taking out all 6 of your team members is to send out a phazer while the sweeper only has one or two boosts, shrugging off the weaker hit and phaze it out. Also, bulky stat-uppers can be hard to take down without phazing moves. An example is Suicune. Boasting a 100 HP stat and 115 defenses, it can continue boosting with Calm Mind in the face of a repeated onslaught. If the opponent doesn't have a powerful physical Grass- or Electric-type move, then that opponent is mincemeat. The simple way to solve this? I really don't like repeating myself.
2. Racking up entry hazards damage
The use of phazing moves is very useful for stall teams, and while it is not a must, it is one of the most important parts of stall. When playing stall, the main form of damage comes from entry hazards. Assuming all 3 types of entry hazards are up, a Pokemon neutral to Stealth Rock will take 37.5% HP damage each time it switches in, and it will be badly poisoned. By simply causing the opponent to switch in another Pokemon, his team will be badly damaged due to the residual damage. The opponent's Pokemon will thus have very few opportunities to come in, crippling them and minimising their effectiveness. Often enough offensive teams will scramble to eliminate a tank, while the tank slowly racks up damage. By the time the tank is finished with its phazing, the opponent's team is crippled, leaving it open for a sweeper to finish the job. More information about abusing entry hazards can be found here.
3. Scouting the opponent's team
Phazing also plays a part on offensive teams. Pokemon is a game of prediction, and by scouting the opponent's Pokemon and the way he plays, you gain an advantage and can exploit his team's weaknesses. This form of phazing works well with Stealth Rock, where not only is the opponent's team scouted, but Focus Sashes are also broken, making it much easier for the rest of your team. Plus, the negative priority of phazing moves allow an opponent to land one hit on your Pokemon. From this, you are able to get the valuable information on what item his Pokemon is carrying, and thus which moveset he is running.
Phazing Moves
There are many different types of phazing moves. While some moves force a switch, some merely threaten the opponent to withdraw their Pokemon or face the consequences- they don't actually make the opponent's Pokemon switch out. These phazing moves can be divided into 3 main categories. However, first there is a common misconception that has to be cleared up.
Haze
Contrary to popular belief, Haze is not a phazing move. While the term Pseudo-Hazing originated from it, it doesn't fit the requirements of forcing a switch, due to it merely removing the opponent's stat changes. That being said, it is still a viable option, and has a sole advantage over phazing moves; it is still capable of removing boosts from the opponent's last Pokemon. This comes in very useful for the opponent's late game set-up sweeper, as otherwise there is no way to remove its stat boosts. However, Haze is rarely seen in competitive play, as phazing moves have the added bonus of making the opponent's Pokemon switch out as well, which as explained in the previous sections, provides many other benefits as well. Plus, Haze's users are few. Most of the Pokemon possessing Haze don't use it, due to them having a phazing move instead. For example, Vaporeon already has Roar, while Milotic possesses Dragon Tail. A few Pokemon still use Haze though; these include Weezing and Cofagrigus, however both of these Pokemon only use it due to their lack of a proper phazing move.
Main Phazing Moves
In previous generations, there were only two phazing moves- Roar and Whirlwind. Both of these were taunt bait, making it easy for a phazer to be stopped in its tracks. However, BW gave phazers new toys to play with- Dragon Tail and Circle Throw which could not be stopped by Taunt. That being said, their shaky 90% accuracy was a problem, as while it wasn't a huge hinderance, it could result in unwanted damage for your Pokemon. Pokemon that had a choice of either types of phazing moves would often choose Dragon Tail, as the ability to phaze through Taunt was a huge boon to walls, as they were often completely shut down by Taunt.
<table of differences>
Roar
Roar practically dominated the phazing aspect of the Pokemon metagame in earlier generations, and still does. Due to it being a TM move, Roar's distribution is more widespread , making it the most common phazing move. It is seen on many walls, and comes in handy in many situations. However, it received stiff competition from the two new phazing moves, as Pokemon often prefer to use Dragon Tail instead to save an attacking move slot and to still be able to phaze through Taunt. Most of the Pokemon listed below also have access to Stealth Rock, and are defensive Pokemon. The two moves work well together due to the ability to rack up residual damage by causing, and forcing, many switches.
Common Users: Heatran, Swampert, Hippowdon
Whirlwind
Whirlwind is probably the most reliable phazing move in the game, with its only disadvantage being tauntable. However, it is less commonly send due to it's limited distribution as an egg move. While on the whole it is the same as Roar, it possesses the added advantage of being able to phaze through Soundproof, giving it a good reason to be used over Roar, as Baton Pass teams are helpless against the spinning tornado.
Common Users: Skarmory, Snorlax, Drapion
Dragon Tail
With the ability to whack opponents back into their Pokeballs with a mighty swing of a tail, Dragon Tail comes in useful for walls which previously had no access to phazing moves. It also allowes them to phaze while still causing damage. It's two main advantages over Roar and Whirlwind are that it can hit through Taunt and that it is able to do damage. 60 Base Power isn't exactly impressive, but frees up a move slot for support Pokemon as an attacking cum phazing move. However, it is unable to phaze through Substitute. This poses a problem when dealing with set-up sweepers that utilize Substitute like Latias and Jirachi. Again, its shaky 90% accuracy causes unwante misses, but this usually isn't a good enough reason not to use it. The fact that non-STAB Dragon Tail does pitiful damage doesn't help either. Still, bulky dragons are still able to utilise Dragon Tail as a Mono-Attacking move, evidence of this is displayed in Dragonite.
Common Users: Dragonite, Milotic, Giratina (Ubers)
Circle Throw
Circle Throw is the Fighting-type cousin of Dragon Tail, and is by far the least common phazing move. It is rarely seen as it only makes an appearance on selected Fighting- and Normal-types. However, the few bulky Fighting-types that are able to effectively utilize Circle Throw are bulky, and with their solid attack stat and STAB, can do pretty good damage or use it as an mono-attacking move. While they are quite adept with this phazing move, their lack of usage and the Circle Throw's poor spread caused it to be largely outclassed and cast aside in favour of its more popular relative Dragon Tail.
Common users: Throh, Poliwrath
Semi-Phazing Moves
While the above moves are largely known as the main phazing moves, there are still some moves that can be considered for your needs. While these do not cause a switch, they do a good job at threatening one.
Perish Song
While Perish Song technically doesn't force a switch, it is almost certain to cause one. What Perish Song does is that after the move, all the Pokemon which heard it will faint within the next three turns. Thus, unless that Pokemon switches out, it will perish (excuse the pun). This move is usually used to force a Pokemon to lose all its stat changes in exchange for its life. However, the death of the Pokemon only occurs at the end of the three turns, thus the sweeper is still able to continue its rampage for two more turns, resulting in much devastation among your Pokemon. It is also not effective for racking up Spikes and Stealth Rock damage, as it needs three turns to take effect and the user needs to switch out as well. That being said, it is very useful against Baton Pass teams, as the effects of Perish Song is baton-passable, forcing the Pokemon to relinquish all of its team's hard earned boosts. It is still capable of being blocked by Mr. Mime though, so take note of this. Another advantage Perish Song has over the other phazing moves is that it still works on the last Pokemon of the opponent's team, which comes in handy for late-game sweepers
Common Users: Politoed, Murkrow, Celebi, Arcues(Ubers)
Yawn
Yawn is a very interesting move. It is one of two sleep moves, the other being Spore, that has 100% accuracy, and is the only one that requires an extra turn to put the opponent to sleep. This makes it a very effective phazing move, as on the turn Yawn is used, the opponent's Pokemon becomes drowsy. Unless it switches out, it will be crippled with sleep for potentially the rest of the match. With the new sleep mechanics, this could be devastating. Thus, many opponents would rather switch out to save their Pokemon than risk fighting on with only five Pokemon. However, this move can be easily countered using Sleep Clause. By sacrificing one Pokemon to take the predicted Yawn, Yawn can no longer phaze due to Sleep Clause, preventing it from working again.
Common Users: Uxie, Snorlax, Slowbro
Others: While the above moves are the only ones recognised as proper phazing moves, there are still a few that while not classified under this category, still can perform the function of phazing. Do note that these moves should never be put in a Pokemon's move slot to give him "phazing abilities", as they don't.
Toxic
While many status moves can cause the opponent to switch, Toxic is especially noted as a status move that can phaze. When a Pokemon becomes badly poisoned, it will lose some of its health each turn. This damage intensifies after every turn. Thus, by the end of turn 3, the Pokemon will already be losing 18.75% of its health. To reset the counter, opponents will have to withdraw their Pokemon in order to save them. Toxic can thus perform a minor function as a status cum phazing move.
Leech Seed
Leech Seed is an attack whose effects can be removed via switching out. Since it saps 12.5% of a Pokemon's health and heals the opponent, many will rather switch out than to feed their opponent. Again, it is not reliable as a phazing move, but it is still capable of prompting the opponent to switch out.
Stat-Dropping Moves
There are numerous stat-dropping moves in the Pokemon world, but most are unused due to the fact that boosting moves will have the same effect. However, stat-dropping moves are able to perform one additional function that boosting moves cannot- phaze. A common example of a stat-dropping move is Murkrow's Featherdance. The move is essentially a Will-o-Wisp without the burn, and every physical attacker knows how crippling a two stage attack drop is. To get rid of this, most physical attackers would immediately switch out, thus "phazing" in some sense. For the third time in this section, it is not reliable, and it should never be the reason to use stat-dropping moves over boosting moves.
Items
Red Card is the only item that can phaze, and while rare and largely considered a gimmick, it finds a niche on some Pokemon.
<Deoxys-D Pic>
Practically the only viable user of Red Card in the entire game, Deoxys-D is able to use Red Card for two reasons. Firstly, its lack of a proper phazing move. Secondly, its access to the move Recycle. The plan is simple; with Deoxys-D's tremendous bulk, it can take even a super-effective hit. Following that, the opponent will be phazed out, Deoxys-D will Recycle Red Card, and the fun starts all over again. This strategy is rather unorthodox, and is not seen commonly in the competitive scene, and is good at surprising your opponent, especially when Red Card draws out a Pokemon that can't do anything to Deoxys-D. However, this is not one of the defensive behemoth's better sets, and other moves like Spikes and Taunt give it competition for a moveslot.
Jirachi is also able to pull off this set, due to its similarities with Deoxys-D. Just like the DNA mutation, it has better things to do, and usually shouldn't be considered an option.
Phazers
-Stealth Rock+Phazing
1. Hippowdon
Hippowdon thrives on residual damage. Not only does Stealth Rock and Sandstorm take away a sizeable chunk of the opponent's health each turn, Hippowdon and rack up the damage with Roar. Plus, many stat-up boosters who are unable to break the hippo's titanic defenses are unable to set up on it, due to the danger of them going to waste.
Phazing Move: Roar
2. Swampert
A fantastic lead in DPP, Swampert is still able to set up Stealth Rock reliably with its solid bulk and good defensive typing. With the same concept as Hippowdon, no Pokemon will dare set up on Swampert due to the omnipresent risk of being blown out of the battlefield.
Phazing Move: Roar
3. Heatran
Many flee from the fearsome hell tortoise due to its awesome base 130 Special Attack and great typing. With Stealth Rocks up, Heatran can Roar away possible switch-ins, adding on the residual damage from entry hazards.
Phazing Move: Roar
4. Torterra
Phazing Move- Roar
5. Donphan
The armoured elephant not only is able to set up Stealth Rock and phaze, but it is also able to stop a rampaging boosted sweeper with its nifty ability- Sturdy. At full health, it can take a hit from the sweeper, hang in there and force the Pokemon out. Useful isn't it?
Phazing Move- Roar
-Countering Stat-Boosters
1. Skarmory
Skarmory, the great physical wall of Generation 5. While it has competition from many other defensive Steel-types, namely Ferrothorn and Forretress, it has something that differentiates it from both of them- Whirlwind. It wouldn't be the feared metal bird it was now if it couldn't toss aside Bulk Up and Swords Dance users like Conkeldurr, Toxicroak and Scizor. These Pokemon would take the opportunity to set up on other Pokemon, reaching +6 while the walls scramble to try and hurt them. No chance of that happening for Skarmory. Any physical attacker foolish enough to even attempt to set-up on Skarmory would be instantly phazed out. Whirlwind also works well with Spikes, where after setting up Skarmory can easily start a "sweep" through the residual damage. All in all, Whirlwind is one of the reason that Skarmory is the threat that it is now.*Phazing Move: Whirlwind(main), Roar
2. Giratina
3. Blastoise
4. Gyarados
5. Steelix
6. Politoed
-Toxic Spikes+Phazing
1. Nidoqueen/Nidoking
2. Drapion
-RestTalk
1. Snorlax
2. Poliwrath
3. Milotic
In previous generations, Milotic was huge taunt-bait. With its signature RestTalk set completely shut down by Taunt, it couldn't achieve much. However, with Generation 5 came Dragon Tail. Not only did it get a phazing move to compliment its natural bulk, that phazing move could still do its job through Taunt. This comes in extremely useful to Milotic and helps to remedy it Taunt weakness.
Phazing Move: Dragon Tail
-Status Shuffling
1. Dragonite
Dragonite is able to use Dragon Tail as a Mono-Attacking move to great effect with its Parashuffler set. In brief, the idea is to Thunder Wave the opponent, phaze out with Dragon Tail, Thunder Wave again and so on. Coming off Dragonite's massive attack, Dragon Tail is still going to do much damage unlike other walls.Phazing Move: Dragon Tail
Countering Phaze
So now after I've praised phazing and expressed how useful it is, it's time for me to step back and exploit its weaknesses. Thus, there are a few ways to counter phazers, and phazing moves. They are as follows.
Taunt
Since the 4 main types of reliable phazing moves have negative priority, even a 0 Speed IV Dusclops can Taunt before a max speed Crobat's Whirlwind. Taunt was one of the best ways to stop phazing in the previous generations, and it hasn't changed much. Phazing was forced to a grinding stop after Taunt, with all common phazing moves being stopped by it up to Generation 4. However, with Generation 5 came two attacking phazing moves, Dragon Tail and Circle Throw, which cannot be stopped by Taunt. Still, Taunt is a reliable way of preventing Pokemon who use Roar or Whirlwind from sending Pokemon back to their Pokeballs.
Substitute
What? Are you serious? Substitute is in this list? How can a little crash dummy halt a mighty Roar or a powerful Whirlwind? Well it can't. Before you continue your relentless probing, Substitute only stops Dragon Tail and Circle Throw from working. Even when the Substitute is broken, the Pokemon isn't phazed away. This comes in useful for set-up sweepers who need an easy solution to counter Pokemon that use these moves to phaze, such as Milotic. While not as reliable as other methods due to its ineffectiveness against all other forms of phazing, it is still rather useful. Plus, Substitute is also able to stop others from inflicting status on you like Toxic and Leech Seed.
Magic Coat and Magic Bounce
Magic Coat is a move that bounces back all status moves. These moves include phazing moves. While Dragon Tail and Circle Throw will still do damage, the phaze will be reflected, thus your Pokemon will be the one switching out instead. Magic Bounce is Magic Coat in the form of a ability. Two Pokemon have this ability; Xatu and Espeon. A big threat to stall teams is a Magic Bounce Pokemon, as not only are they unable to safely set up entry hazards due to the possibility of them being bounced back, but they are also unable to successfully phaze through the entire team.
Soundproof and Suction Cups
Both of these abilities stop phazing moves. However, while Suction Cups stops all phazing moves, Soundproof will only block Roar and other sound-based phazing moves such as Perish Song. It should be noted that Suction Cups cannot stop moves like Perish Song, because Perish Song forces the opponent to switch, it is does not manually remove the opposing Pokemon from battle. Soundproof is seen on Mr. Mime in Baton Pass chains, as it is able to stop the more common phazing moves from removing all of the team's hard earned boosts. Suction Cups' only notable user is Cradily, and even then Cradily is not all that common, and the ability is almost always cast aside in favour of Storm Drain except on attacking sets.
Ingrain
Ingrain, while rarely seen in competitive play, stops all attempts of phazing. When a Pokemon uses Ingrain, it becomes unable to switch out, and thus unable to get phazed. A common user of this move is Smeargle, which is common seen on Baton Pass teams to not only provide a source of healing, but also to prevent phazing attempts. It should be noted that Aqua Ring, the Water-type equivalent of Ingrain, does not perform the same effect. Also, Perish Song is able to perform a different function when Ingrain is in play, as since the opponent is unable to switch out, it will faint within three turns, thus losing its boosts.
Conclusion
Overview
+6 Scizor sweeping your entire team? Got 3 layers of Spikes up but your opponent isn't switching enough to make it count? Baton Pass teams setting up in your face? Sounds like the job for phazing!
One of the first questions you may be asking as you read this article is, "What is phazing anyway?". If you look "phazing" up in the dictionary, you won't find it. Conned in the Pokemon world, the word "phaze" comes from the term "pseudo-hazing", which is defined as emulating the effects of the move Haze by removing all the opponent's Pokemon's stat changes. This is done by forcing a switch on the opponent's Pokemon, thus causing it to lose all its previous boosts. Phazing is seen on many teams, both offensive and defensive, and plays an integral role in the playing of the game. It is an excellent way to abuse entry hazards and in stall teams, more of that is covered in the linked articles. If phazing didn't exist, the world of Pokemon would be very different from what it is today. Stall teams would be hard-pressed to counter the many top offensive threats in the Pokemon world, as their weak attacks would be unable to do anything to stop sweepers boosting up, thus gaining the ability to break through the normally rock-solid walls. Entry hazards would be much less effective, and a bulky boosting sweeper could dominate with a stat-boosting move and a way of recovery. This is simply because attacks would not severely damage it, and nothing could stop it reaching +6 due to the lack of phazing. From here, you can clearly see the importance of phazing.
Uses of phazing
Phazing wouldn't be important if it was useless. Basically, there are three main uses for phazing.
1. Removing the opponent's stat changes
Since whenever a Pokemon switches out, it loses all of its stat changes, phazing is an effective way to counter set-up Pokemon. Common walls such as Skarmory carry phazing moves so as to better check sweepers such as Swords Dance Scizor. Usually, a sweeper has few chances to set up. Phazing moves effectively limit the amount of time, and Pokemon, a sweeper has to KO. The best way to prevent a boosted sweeper taking out all 6 of your team members is to send out a phazer while the sweeper only has one or two boosts, shrugging off the weaker hit and phaze it out. Also, bulky stat-uppers can be hard to take down without phazing moves. An example is Suicune. Boasting a 100 HP stat and 115 defenses, it can continue boosting with Calm Mind in the face of a repeated onslaught. If the opponent doesn't have a powerful physical Grass- or Electric-type move, then that opponent is mincemeat. The simple way to solve this? I really don't like repeating myself.
2. Racking up entry hazards damage
The use of phazing moves is very useful for stall teams, and while it is not a must, it is one of the most important parts of stall. When playing stall, the main form of damage comes from entry hazards. Assuming all 3 types of entry hazards are up, a Pokemon neutral to Stealth Rock will take 37.5% HP damage each time it switches in, and it will be badly poisoned. By simply causing the opponent to switch in another Pokemon, his team will be badly damaged due to the residual damage. The opponent's Pokemon will thus have very few opportunities to come in, crippling them and minimising their effectiveness. Often enough offensive teams will scramble to eliminate a tank, while the tank slowly racks up damage. By the time the tank is finished with its phazing, the opponent's team is crippled, leaving it open for a sweeper to finish the job. More information about abusing entry hazards can be found here.
3. Scouting the opponent's team
Phazing also plays a part on offensive teams. Pokemon is a game of prediction, and by scouting the opponent's Pokemon and the way he plays, you gain an advantage and can exploit his team's weaknesses. This form of phazing works well with Stealth Rock, where not only is the opponent's team scouted, but Focus Sashes are also broken, making it much easier for the rest of your team. Plus, the negative priority of phazing moves allow an opponent to land one hit on your Pokemon. From this, you are able to get the valuable information on what item his Pokemon is carrying, and thus which moveset he is running.
Phazing Moves
There are many different types of phazing moves. While some moves force a switch, some merely threaten the opponent to withdraw their Pokemon or face the consequences- they don't actually make the opponent's Pokemon switch out. These phazing moves can be divided into 3 main categories. However, first there is a common misconception that has to be cleared up.
Haze
Contrary to popular belief, Haze is not a phazing move. While the term Pseudo-Hazing originated from it, it doesn't fit the requirements of forcing a switch, due to it merely removing the opponent's stat changes. That being said, it is still a viable option, and has a sole advantage over phazing moves; it is still capable of removing boosts from the opponent's last Pokemon. This comes in very useful for the opponent's late game set-up sweeper, as otherwise there is no way to remove its stat boosts. However, Haze is rarely seen in competitive play, as phazing moves have the added bonus of making the opponent's Pokemon switch out as well, which as explained in the previous sections, provides many other benefits as well. Plus, Haze's users are few. Most of the Pokemon possessing Haze don't use it, due to them having a phazing move instead. For example, Vaporeon already has Roar, while Milotic possesses Dragon Tail. A few Pokemon still use Haze though; these include Weezing and Cofagrigus, however both of these Pokemon only use it due to their lack of a proper phazing move.
Main Phazing Moves
In previous generations, there were only two phazing moves- Roar and Whirlwind. Both of these were taunt bait, making it easy for a phazer to be stopped in its tracks. However, BW gave phazers new toys to play with- Dragon Tail and Circle Throw which could not be stopped by Taunt. That being said, their shaky 90% accuracy was a problem, as while it wasn't a huge hinderance, it could result in unwanted damage for your Pokemon. Pokemon that had a choice of either types of phazing moves would often choose Dragon Tail, as the ability to phaze through Taunt was a huge boon to walls, as they were often completely shut down by Taunt.
<table of differences>
Roar
Roar practically dominated the phazing aspect of the Pokemon metagame in earlier generations, and still does. Due to it being a TM move, Roar's distribution is more widespread , making it the most common phazing move. It is seen on many walls, and comes in handy in many situations. However, it received stiff competition from the two new phazing moves, as Pokemon often prefer to use Dragon Tail instead to save an attacking move slot and to still be able to phaze through Taunt. Most of the Pokemon listed below also have access to Stealth Rock, and are defensive Pokemon. The two moves work well together due to the ability to rack up residual damage by causing, and forcing, many switches.
Common Users: Heatran, Swampert, Hippowdon
Whirlwind
Whirlwind is probably the most reliable phazing move in the game, with its only disadvantage being tauntable. However, it is less commonly send due to it's limited distribution as an egg move. While on the whole it is the same as Roar, it possesses the added advantage of being able to phaze through Soundproof, giving it a good reason to be used over Roar, as Baton Pass teams are helpless against the spinning tornado.
Common Users: Skarmory, Snorlax, Drapion
Dragon Tail
With the ability to whack opponents back into their Pokeballs with a mighty swing of a tail, Dragon Tail comes in useful for walls which previously had no access to phazing moves. It also allowes them to phaze while still causing damage. It's two main advantages over Roar and Whirlwind are that it can hit through Taunt and that it is able to do damage. 60 Base Power isn't exactly impressive, but frees up a move slot for support Pokemon as an attacking cum phazing move. However, it is unable to phaze through Substitute. This poses a problem when dealing with set-up sweepers that utilize Substitute like Latias and Jirachi. Again, its shaky 90% accuracy causes unwante misses, but this usually isn't a good enough reason not to use it. The fact that non-STAB Dragon Tail does pitiful damage doesn't help either. Still, bulky dragons are still able to utilise Dragon Tail as a Mono-Attacking move, evidence of this is displayed in Dragonite.
Common Users: Dragonite, Milotic, Giratina (Ubers)
Circle Throw
Circle Throw is the Fighting-type cousin of Dragon Tail, and is by far the least common phazing move. It is rarely seen as it only makes an appearance on selected Fighting- and Normal-types. However, the few bulky Fighting-types that are able to effectively utilize Circle Throw are bulky, and with their solid attack stat and STAB, can do pretty good damage or use it as an mono-attacking move. While they are quite adept with this phazing move, their lack of usage and the Circle Throw's poor spread caused it to be largely outclassed and cast aside in favour of its more popular relative Dragon Tail.
Common users: Throh, Poliwrath
Semi-Phazing Moves
While the above moves are largely known as the main phazing moves, there are still some moves that can be considered for your needs. While these do not cause a switch, they do a good job at threatening one.
Perish Song
While Perish Song technically doesn't force a switch, it is almost certain to cause one. What Perish Song does is that after the move, all the Pokemon which heard it will faint within the next three turns. Thus, unless that Pokemon switches out, it will perish (excuse the pun). This move is usually used to force a Pokemon to lose all its stat changes in exchange for its life. However, the death of the Pokemon only occurs at the end of the three turns, thus the sweeper is still able to continue its rampage for two more turns, resulting in much devastation among your Pokemon. It is also not effective for racking up Spikes and Stealth Rock damage, as it needs three turns to take effect and the user needs to switch out as well. That being said, it is very useful against Baton Pass teams, as the effects of Perish Song is baton-passable, forcing the Pokemon to relinquish all of its team's hard earned boosts. It is still capable of being blocked by Mr. Mime though, so take note of this. Another advantage Perish Song has over the other phazing moves is that it still works on the last Pokemon of the opponent's team, which comes in handy for late-game sweepers
Common Users: Politoed, Murkrow, Celebi, Arcues(Ubers)
Yawn
Yawn is a very interesting move. It is one of two sleep moves, the other being Spore, that has 100% accuracy, and is the only one that requires an extra turn to put the opponent to sleep. This makes it a very effective phazing move, as on the turn Yawn is used, the opponent's Pokemon becomes drowsy. Unless it switches out, it will be crippled with sleep for potentially the rest of the match. With the new sleep mechanics, this could be devastating. Thus, many opponents would rather switch out to save their Pokemon than risk fighting on with only five Pokemon. However, this move can be easily countered using Sleep Clause. By sacrificing one Pokemon to take the predicted Yawn, Yawn can no longer phaze due to Sleep Clause, preventing it from working again.
Common Users: Uxie, Snorlax, Slowbro
Others: While the above moves are the only ones recognised as proper phazing moves, there are still a few that while not classified under this category, still can perform the function of phazing. Do note that these moves should never be put in a Pokemon's move slot to give him "phazing abilities", as they don't.
Toxic
While many status moves can cause the opponent to switch, Toxic is especially noted as a status move that can phaze. When a Pokemon becomes badly poisoned, it will lose some of its health each turn. This damage intensifies after every turn. Thus, by the end of turn 3, the Pokemon will already be losing 18.75% of its health. To reset the counter, opponents will have to withdraw their Pokemon in order to save them. Toxic can thus perform a minor function as a status cum phazing move.
Leech Seed
Leech Seed is an attack whose effects can be removed via switching out. Since it saps 12.5% of a Pokemon's health and heals the opponent, many will rather switch out than to feed their opponent. Again, it is not reliable as a phazing move, but it is still capable of prompting the opponent to switch out.
Stat-Dropping Moves
There are numerous stat-dropping moves in the Pokemon world, but most are unused due to the fact that boosting moves will have the same effect. However, stat-dropping moves are able to perform one additional function that boosting moves cannot- phaze. A common example of a stat-dropping move is Murkrow's Featherdance. The move is essentially a Will-o-Wisp without the burn, and every physical attacker knows how crippling a two stage attack drop is. To get rid of this, most physical attackers would immediately switch out, thus "phazing" in some sense. For the third time in this section, it is not reliable, and it should never be the reason to use stat-dropping moves over boosting moves.
Items
Red Card is the only item that can phaze, and while rare and largely considered a gimmick, it finds a niche on some Pokemon.
<Deoxys-D Pic>
Practically the only viable user of Red Card in the entire game, Deoxys-D is able to use Red Card for two reasons. Firstly, its lack of a proper phazing move. Secondly, its access to the move Recycle. The plan is simple; with Deoxys-D's tremendous bulk, it can take even a super-effective hit. Following that, the opponent will be phazed out, Deoxys-D will Recycle Red Card, and the fun starts all over again. This strategy is rather unorthodox, and is not seen commonly in the competitive scene, and is good at surprising your opponent, especially when Red Card draws out a Pokemon that can't do anything to Deoxys-D. However, this is not one of the defensive behemoth's better sets, and other moves like Spikes and Taunt give it competition for a moveslot.
Jirachi is also able to pull off this set, due to its similarities with Deoxys-D. Just like the DNA mutation, it has better things to do, and usually shouldn't be considered an option.
Phazers
-Stealth Rock+Phazing
1. Hippowdon
Hippowdon thrives on residual damage. Not only does Stealth Rock and Sandstorm take away a sizeable chunk of the opponent's health each turn, Hippowdon and rack up the damage with Roar. Plus, many stat-up boosters who are unable to break the hippo's titanic defenses are unable to set up on it, due to the danger of them going to waste.
Phazing Move: Roar
2. Swampert
A fantastic lead in DPP, Swampert is still able to set up Stealth Rock reliably with its solid bulk and good defensive typing. With the same concept as Hippowdon, no Pokemon will dare set up on Swampert due to the omnipresent risk of being blown out of the battlefield.
Phazing Move: Roar
3. Heatran
Many flee from the fearsome hell tortoise due to its awesome base 130 Special Attack and great typing. With Stealth Rocks up, Heatran can Roar away possible switch-ins, adding on the residual damage from entry hazards.
Phazing Move: Roar
4. Torterra
Phazing Move- Roar
5. Donphan
The armoured elephant not only is able to set up Stealth Rock and phaze, but it is also able to stop a rampaging boosted sweeper with its nifty ability- Sturdy. At full health, it can take a hit from the sweeper, hang in there and force the Pokemon out. Useful isn't it?
Phazing Move- Roar
-Countering Stat-Boosters
1. Skarmory
Skarmory, the great physical wall of Generation 5. While it has competition from many other defensive Steel-types, namely Ferrothorn and Forretress, it has something that differentiates it from both of them- Whirlwind. It wouldn't be the feared metal bird it was now if it couldn't toss aside Bulk Up and Swords Dance users like Conkeldurr, Toxicroak and Scizor. These Pokemon would take the opportunity to set up on other Pokemon, reaching +6 while the walls scramble to try and hurt them. No chance of that happening for Skarmory. Any physical attacker foolish enough to even attempt to set-up on Skarmory would be instantly phazed out. Whirlwind also works well with Spikes, where after setting up Skarmory can easily start a "sweep" through the residual damage. All in all, Whirlwind is one of the reason that Skarmory is the threat that it is now.*Phazing Move: Whirlwind(main), Roar
2. Giratina
3. Blastoise
4. Gyarados
5. Steelix
6. Politoed
-Toxic Spikes+Phazing
1. Nidoqueen/Nidoking
2. Drapion
-RestTalk
1. Snorlax
2. Poliwrath
3. Milotic
In previous generations, Milotic was huge taunt-bait. With its signature RestTalk set completely shut down by Taunt, it couldn't achieve much. However, with Generation 5 came Dragon Tail. Not only did it get a phazing move to compliment its natural bulk, that phazing move could still do its job through Taunt. This comes in extremely useful to Milotic and helps to remedy it Taunt weakness.
Phazing Move: Dragon Tail
-Status Shuffling
1. Dragonite
Dragonite is able to use Dragon Tail as a Mono-Attacking move to great effect with its Parashuffler set. In brief, the idea is to Thunder Wave the opponent, phaze out with Dragon Tail, Thunder Wave again and so on. Coming off Dragonite's massive attack, Dragon Tail is still going to do much damage unlike other walls.Phazing Move: Dragon Tail
Countering Phaze
So now after I've praised phazing and expressed how useful it is, it's time for me to step back and exploit its weaknesses. Thus, there are a few ways to counter phazers, and phazing moves. They are as follows.
Taunt
Since the 4 main types of reliable phazing moves have negative priority, even a 0 Speed IV Dusclops can Taunt before a max speed Crobat's Whirlwind. Taunt was one of the best ways to stop phazing in the previous generations, and it hasn't changed much. Phazing was forced to a grinding stop after Taunt, with all common phazing moves being stopped by it up to Generation 4. However, with Generation 5 came two attacking phazing moves, Dragon Tail and Circle Throw, which cannot be stopped by Taunt. Still, Taunt is a reliable way of preventing Pokemon who use Roar or Whirlwind from sending Pokemon back to their Pokeballs.
Substitute
What? Are you serious? Substitute is in this list? How can a little crash dummy halt a mighty Roar or a powerful Whirlwind? Well it can't. Before you continue your relentless probing, Substitute only stops Dragon Tail and Circle Throw from working. Even when the Substitute is broken, the Pokemon isn't phazed away. This comes in useful for set-up sweepers who need an easy solution to counter Pokemon that use these moves to phaze, such as Milotic. While not as reliable as other methods due to its ineffectiveness against all other forms of phazing, it is still rather useful. Plus, Substitute is also able to stop others from inflicting status on you like Toxic and Leech Seed.
Magic Coat and Magic Bounce
Magic Coat is a move that bounces back all status moves. These moves include phazing moves. While Dragon Tail and Circle Throw will still do damage, the phaze will be reflected, thus your Pokemon will be the one switching out instead. Magic Bounce is Magic Coat in the form of a ability. Two Pokemon have this ability; Xatu and Espeon. A big threat to stall teams is a Magic Bounce Pokemon, as not only are they unable to safely set up entry hazards due to the possibility of them being bounced back, but they are also unable to successfully phaze through the entire team.
Soundproof and Suction Cups
Both of these abilities stop phazing moves. However, while Suction Cups stops all phazing moves, Soundproof will only block Roar and other sound-based phazing moves such as Perish Song. It should be noted that Suction Cups cannot stop moves like Perish Song, because Perish Song forces the opponent to switch, it is does not manually remove the opposing Pokemon from battle. Soundproof is seen on Mr. Mime in Baton Pass chains, as it is able to stop the more common phazing moves from removing all of the team's hard earned boosts. Suction Cups' only notable user is Cradily, and even then Cradily is not all that common, and the ability is almost always cast aside in favour of Storm Drain except on attacking sets.
Ingrain
Ingrain, while rarely seen in competitive play, stops all attempts of phazing. When a Pokemon uses Ingrain, it becomes unable to switch out, and thus unable to get phazed. A common user of this move is Smeargle, which is common seen on Baton Pass teams to not only provide a source of healing, but also to prevent phazing attempts. It should be noted that Aqua Ring, the Water-type equivalent of Ingrain, does not perform the same effect. Also, Perish Song is able to perform a different function when Ingrain is in play, as since the opponent is unable to switch out, it will faint within three turns, thus losing its boosts.
Conclusion
