Rotom-H
[Overview]
<p>Although Rotom-H gained no improvements in BW2, the metagame became more friendly towards it; Thundurus-T and Sheer Force Landorus were introduced, and Rotom-H is a good check to them. In addition, Rotom-H can serve as a roadblock against many Pokemon commonly found on sun teams, such as Ninetales, Venusaur, and Volcarona, further increasing its usefulness as a defensive Pokemon. Rotom-H also has Volt Switch, Thunder Wave, and Will-O-Wisp in its arsenal, which coupled with its eight immunities and resistances, makes it a great pivot and status spreader. Rotom-H can also go on the offensive with a Choice Specs set and sun support, as it has great dual STABs, Volt Switch to keep momentum, and great resistances to work with, temporarily shielding sun teams from otherwise problematic Pokemon such as Sheer Force Landorus.</p>
<p>However, this is where the temperature cools down for Rotom-H. Its Stealth Rock weakness is its biggest downfall, greatly limiting its viability as a defensive and a hit-and-run Pokemon. The prevalence of rain teams is another thorn in Rotom-H's side, as Water attacks will be flying everywhere and Rotom-H's main STAB move will have its power halved, leaving it unable to properly damage many Pokemon that it checks. Finally, the lack of a reliable recovery move and its mediocre Speed stat makes it much harder to fulfill its defensive and offensive duties.</p>
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Volt Switch
move 2: Overheat
move 3: Thunder Wave / Will-O-Wisp
move 4: Pain Split
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With this set Rotom-H is able to check many prominent threats such as Scizor, Venusaur, Thundurus-T, and Sheer Force Landorus. It also functions well against sun teams, which struggle to do meaningful damage to it. Volt Switch is the primary move, dealing solid damage and giving the switch advantage, while also mitigating the Special Attack drops caused by Overheat. Overheat is Rotom-H's nuke, and usually OHKOes the Pokemon that Rotom-H checks or walls, such as Venusaur, Scizor, and weakened Landorus. However, being forced out after one use is a letdown, so use it wisely. Thunder Wave cripples most special attackers that Rotom-H checks, and is generally annoying for offensive Pokemon, while Will-O-Wisp cripples physical attackers that Rotom-H can't touch otherwise such as Garchomp, Tyranitar, and Hippowdon. Pain Split rounds off the set, providing Rotom-H with a way, albeit unreliable, to stay healthy.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs go to HP and Special Defense due to Rotom-H's main role being a check to certain special attackers. Thunderbolt or alternately Thunder (on a rain team) can be used over the status move to have an Electric STAB move that doesn't force you out. Toxic can also be used to screw some of Rotom-H's biggest counters, namely Latias, Gastrodon, and specially defensive Hippowdon. Hidden Power Ice gives Rotom-H important coverage against Ground-types such as Garchomp, Dragonite, Gliscor, and Landorus; it is advised to use 96 SpA EVs with it so that Rotom-H can OHKO Landorus after Stealth Rock. It should also be noted that specially defensive Rotom-H can be used on rain teams, despite having its strongest move halved in power, as it greatly helps against sun teams and checks some problematic threats for rain teams such as Thundurus-T, Jolteon, and Celebi. If used on a rain team, Hidden Power Ice can be used instead of Overheat. However, Overheat is still very useful against Scizor, Forretress, and Ferrothorn; the latter of whom is really important as it is a roadblock for many rain teams.</p>
<p>Rapid Spin support is absolutely vital to Rotom-H's success, as Stealth Rock can allow Pokemon it otherwise checks, such as Venusaur, to muscle past it. Starmie, Tentacruel, and Forretress are all good choices due to good defensive synergy, but Starmie really stands out as the best spinner to pair Rotom-H with, due to its durability and its ability to beat common spinblockers. Rotom-H's counters in OU are the following: Gastrodon, specially defensive Hippowdon, Chansey, and Blissey. Garchomp, Gliscor, and Landorus-T are all decent checks as long as they avoid Hidden Power Ice or Will-O-Wisp. Ferrothorn is a perfect partner, as it resists Rotom-H's weaknesses, walling many Pokemon that trouble Rotom-H, and sets up entry hazards that work fantastically with Rotom-H's Volt Switch. Jirachi is another great partner; it has great defensive synergy with Rotom-H and provides Wish support, allowing Rotom-H to heal more reliably and even forgo Pain Split, freeing up a moveslot. Celebi, Breloom, and Amoonguss can all scare out the majority of Ground-types that can switch into Rotom-H, and then proceed to either put something to sleep, spread paralysis, set up Stealth Rock, set up with a boosting move, or straight up pound the switch-in with powerful attacks.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Overheat
move 2: Volt Switch
move 3: Thunderbolt
move 4: Trick / Hidden Power Ice
item: Choice Specs
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Rotom-H can forgo all its defensive ideals in favor of becoming a powerful lure and wallbreaker. Unfortunately, Rotom-H's selection of moves and middling speed, not to mention its weakness to Stealth Rock, mean that it won't be sweeping anytime soon. Still, this set should not be underestimated, as even Chansey loses around half her health if she dares to switch-in on a sun-boosted Specs Overheat. While this set initially appears to be outclassed by Heatran, the latter lacks a way to maintain momentum and a usable secondary STAB, has problems dealing with bulky Water-types, and is threatened by Dugtrio, all of which are problems Rotom-H circumvents.</p>
<p>Overheat, when boosted by Choice Specs, STAB, and Sun, is exceedingly powerful, and destroys anything that doesn't resist it (and some things that do) not named Chansey or Blissey. Volt Switch is a useful scouting tool that is also extremely powerful against Water-types. Thanks to Volt Switch and Thunderbolt, bulky Water-types, especially Politoed, must think twice about coming in to absorb Overheat. Thunderbolt is Rotom-H's most reliable STAB move, and the one it should be using when it doesn't want to switch out; Thunderbolt also allows Rotom-H to 2HKO offensive Heatran after Stealth Rock damage. Rotom-H generally doesn't need more coverage than its STABs offer, thanks to Overheat's godly power under sun. Trick is the option in the last slot to cripple Blissey and Chansey. Alternatively, Hidden Power Ice can be used to OHKO Garchomp and Dragonite without Multiscale, and to pressure Latias.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Rotom-H absolutely hates Stealth Rock, especially considering that its main STABs necessitate heavy switching, so Rapid Spin or Magic Bounce support is a must. Xatu stands out as a partner due to its ability to Toxic stall Chansey and Blissey, two Pokemon that are difficult for Rotom-H to deal with, and its ability to form a VoltTurn combo with Rotom-H by using U-turn. Ninetales is also an essential partner, as sun is what makes Overheat so powerful and hard to switch into. If you aren't using a sun team, you are probably better off with another Rotom forme.</p>
<p>Overheat's extreme power leaves Rotom-H with a few viable options to use in its other slots. Any Hidden Power can be considered, but a neutral sun-boosted Overheat does more damage even a 4x super effective Hidden Power, and Overheat can often do the job, even when resisted. Hidden Power Fighting is useful for Tyranitar, 2HKOing all positively-natured 252 HP / 252 SpD versions but has little use outside of hitting Tyranitar. In the same vein, Hidden Power Ground can be used to deal better with Heatran; Thunderbolt only 2HKOes offensive variants, while Hidden Power Ground 2HKOes even the most specially bulky Heatran and easily OHKOes offensive variants. But again, it has no use outside of that, and you are better off using Dugtrio as a teammate. Hidden Power Grass is a nasty surprise for Gastrodon, but other Water / Ground type Pokémon like Swampert and Quagsire are 2HKOed by sun-boosted Overheat anyway.</p>
<p>Dugtrio and Terrakion stand out as great partners for Rotom-H. The former traps three Pokemon that give headaches to Rotom-H: Tyranitar, Heatran, and Terrakion. A Rotom-H with Trick can even remove Shed Shell, Choice Scarf, or Shuca Berry from those threats, all items that prevent Dugtrio from effectively trapping them. With Dugtrio removing the aforementioned Pokemon, Rotom-H can freely spam Overheat. On the other hand, Terrakion defeats Chansey and Blissey, and opens holes in the opponent's team that Rotom-H can later take advantage of.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Rotom-H can use Rest + Chesto Berry for a one-time reliable recovery. Hidden Power Ground is an option on the specially defensive set to 2HKO offensive Heatran, but has no other use. Rotom-H can run a Choice Scarf set with the same moves as the Choice Specs set, allowing it to be both fast and powerful under sun, but then Rotom-H loses a ton of its wallbreaking power, and is a mediocre revenge killer due to its Stealth Rock weakness and low Speed. Hidden Power Rock is an option to consider if your team has huge trouble with Volcarona, but Volcarona will more often than not win anyway because of the Special Defense boosts from Quiver Dance and Roost, and Thunder Wave deals with Volcarona much better anyway, provided Rotom-H has a strong physical attacker that can hit Volcarona hard as a teammate. An all-out attacker with Life Orb and Pain Split has some merit, as Rotom-H will still be quite powerful under sun, while being able to switch moves and keep itself somewhat healthy. However, you will find out that due to the hit and run nature of Rotom-H, Stealth Rock damage in addition to Life Orb damage is too much for it to handle. Finally, Rotom-H is the only Fire-type except for Victini that can use the Trick + Flame Orb combination. The cool thing is that unlike Pokemon such as Reuniclus and Sigilyph, Rotom-H can hold the Flame Orb and the opponent cannot see it after the first turn, which means that Rotom-H can easily bluff a Choice set and then Trick it onto unsuspecting counters, namely Blissey, Chansey, and Tyranitar. However, considering that Rotom-H already has Will-O-Wisp which can be used many times, and only takes a moveslot, unlike Trick + Flame Orb, which needs one item slot and one moveslot in addition to being only a one use move, the only real use of this combination is to permanently cripple Chansey and Blissey.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Gastrodon, Chansey, and Blissey are the only surefire counters to Rotom-H, but they must beware of Trick, and in Gastrodon's case Toxic. Tyranitar, Garchomp, Hippowdon, specially defensive Heatran, Landorus-T, and Gliscor all handle the defensive set easily as long as they avoid Will-O-Wisp or Hidden Power Ice, except for Heatran obviously, which completely walls it and can slowly kill it with Toxic. Any Dragon-type in general, or physical attacker with Rock moves, will be able to force Rotom-H out easily, provided they can get in safely on a predicted Fire or Electric move. Such Pokemon include Terrakion, Dragonite, Haxorus, Kyurem-B, Latios, Latias, Landorus-T, and physical Landorus. They must, however, beware of sun-boosted Overheat, which will OHKO most of them after Stealth Rock. Every offensive Pokemon with a strong Water or Rock move, such as Keldeo, Starmie, Landorus-T, and Terrakion, can easily revenge kill Rotom-H. Rain will also hinder Rotom-H's performance a bit, unless if it was designed to play under it, cutting its most powerful move in half, but Politoed cannot switch into Rotom-H at all due to the threat of Volt Switch. Finally, Stealth Rock and a reliable spinblocker such as Sableye or Jellicent can severely limit Rotom-H's utility.</p>
***The Specs set was written by Dark Fallen Angel so credit to him.***
