As with many other analysis that I took over, remember that I can't edit the OP's post, so I have to create another thread.
As of now Jirachi's skeleton seems to be good, but I made some little changes.
[Overview]
<p>Starime is the fastest spinner and the only one that can go on the offensive route. It is also one of the few spinners that can actually beat spinblockers by itself, making the use of Rapid Spin very easy, and lessening the need to use a Pursuit partner. Unlike other spinners, Starmie isn't limited to spinning; it is a great check to top threats like Gengar, Landorus, Tornadus, and Keldeo. Starmie's movepool is fantastic, containing options like Psyshock and the infamous BoltBeam combo. Although it is a spinner, Starmie also has access to Recover and Natural Cure, making it one of the most resilient spinners; despite its defenses being not very impressive, it can run a defensive set because of this.</p>
<p>With those things in mind, is important to learn of Starmie's flaws. Water/Psychic typing is good offensively, but it comes at the price of a weakness to Pursuit. Also, Starmie's defenses are not impressive, which means that Starmie must be careful to not take too many hits, even resisted ones. However, the worst of all is Ferrothorn, the bane of all Starmie, which can easily beat it while laughing at Starmie's futile attempts to damage it. However, with many teams in need of Rapid Spin support, you can trust on Starmie to do the job. No other Pokémon can spin hazards and pose an offensive threat at same time like Starmie do.</p>
[SET]
name: Offensive Rapid Spinner
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Hydro Pump / Surf
move 3: Psyshock / Thunderbolt
move 4: Ice Beam / Recover
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>As said above, Starmie is the only Pokémon that can use Rapid Spin and pose an offensive threat at same time, and in fact, this set is very fast, powerful, and has excellent coverage. Hydro Pump is one of the best STAB moves to have on the metagame, as it is very powerful and is further boosted by the rain. Starmie has an excellent offensive movepool full of coverage options that complement Hydro Pump; this includes the infamous BoltBeam combo.</p>
<p>Rapid Spin is the crux of this set, and Starmie makes great use of this move, as it can often force switches, giving ample opportunities to spin hazards. Starmie can also beat all spinblockers with the right move, another reason why it makes fantastic use of Rapid Spin. Hydro Pump is the best STAB move to run on this set, and with it, Starmie can consistently beat Gengar, one of the most common spinblockers on the metagame. It always OHKOes if boosted by Life Orb or by rain (be careful as a Leftovers, non-Rain-boosted Hydro Pump fails to OHKO Gengar). You could replace Hydro Pump with Surf for reliability reasons, but Starmie loses out a lot of power. Specifically, Starmie fails to OHKO Gengar even with a Life Orb, and needs Life Orb AND Rain to guarantee the OHKO. The same applies to Scizor, which now will need Stealth Rock support to be OHKOed.</p>
<p>Psyshock is useful for a lot of reasons: first, it hits Keldeo harder (while bypassing Calm Mind boosts) and hits Terrakion more accurately than Hydro Pump. Second, it hits Tentacruel, Venusaur, Toxicroak, Breloom, Blissey, Amoonguss, Gastrodon, Rotom-W, and specially defensive Jellicent, and finally, Psyshock hits other Poison- and Fighting-types reliably without having to resort to Hydro Pump. Ice Beam is an obvious coverage move to use. It hits Dragon- and Grass-types that resist Hydro Pump, with some common targets being Dragonite, Latios, and Salamence, all which Starmie can outspeed and nail with Ice Beam. Celebi is also an important Ice Beam target, as it can wall Starmie otherwise. Recover can replace Ice Beam if you need Starmie to be able to survive to Rapid Spin more than one time, but do not want to sacrifice power. It should only be used with the combination of Hydro Pump and Psyshock, however, as this combination provides more utility. Hydro Pump + Psyshock + Ice Beam provide the best coverage possible, while Thunderbolt can be used in place of Psyshock to cover bulky Water-types better, especially Gyarados and non-specially defensive variants of Jellicent, all which Starmie struggles with otherwise.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Life Orb is the primary item to make Starmie really difficult to switch into. It also lets Starmie OHKO Gengar with Hydro Pump if the rain is not activated. However, you don't want Starmie to lose health when using Rapid Spin, especially if you plan to use it on a sandstorm or hail team, for example. That's where Leftovers come into the play, making Starmie much more durable, but it loses out some power. Another item worthy of mention is Expert Belt. It boosts Starmie's power without recoil, and still allows Starmie to 2HKO important threats such as Tyranitar, max HP Latias, and non-Specially defensive Jellicent. Although it only boosts on super-effective hits, Starmie has the coverage to make up for that. </p>
<p>Thunder is an excellent option over Psyshock, but it should only be used with rain support. When combined with Life Orb, however, Starmie can get past any Jellicent variant, unlike what would happen if it used Psyshock (can only get past specially defensive variants) or Thunderbolt (can only get past physically defensive variants). Hidden Power Fire can be used on sun teams; it gets pseudo-STAB and is guaranteed to OHKO Ferrothorn and other threats like Scizor and Forretress.</p>
<p>The first thing that Starmie will want as a partner, is something that can beat Ferrothorn, as Starmie will never be able to effectively get rid of hazards if Ferrothorn is still alive. A Fighting-type like Breloom or Keldeo is a solid choice; they can not only beat Ferrothorn, but can also beat Chansey, a solid counter to Starmie (Blissey also counters variants without Psyshock). Fighting-types also get rid of SubRoost Kyurem, an excellent check to Starmie. They are also more useful if Starmie is being used on a rain team. Speaking of which, Politoed is a solid partner, as it not only enables Starmie to use Thunder, but it will make Hydro Pump even more powerful. These two factors will make Starmie even more difficult to switch into. Both Heatran and Volcarona are excellent partners to Starmie, as they will OHKO Ferrothorn with its powerful Fire Blasts, with not even rain being able to prevent this. Both also beat some other Grass-types that Starmie has difficulty breaking through, such as specially defensive Celebi. Volcarona is usually the better choice because it works well under rain, being able to use Hurricane, and appreciating the Rapid Spin support that Starmie brings to the table. Generally, depending from whether you choose to use Thunderbolt or Psyshock, a certain variant of Jellicent will wall Starmie; Specially defensive for the former, and the utility counter for the latter. For this reason, a partner with Pursuit is appreciated. Tyranitar and Weavile are thus, solid partners. They can also get rid of Latias and Celebi, which Starmie has difficulty beating. Just be wary of using Tyranitar, that residual damage will add up quickly if you use Life Orb. Weavile appreciates the fact that Starmie is getting rid of Stealth Rock, as Weavile is weak to it. Entry hazard support is suggested to get crucial 2HKOs and OHKOs on bulky Pokémon (such as the 2HKO on specially defensive Jellicent with Psyshock). Ferrothorn can provide Stealth Rock and Spikes support, while the aforementioned Heatran can also setup Stealth Rock.</p>
[SET]
name: Bulky Rapid Spin
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Scald
move 3: Psyshock / Ice Beam / Thunderbolt
move 4: Recover
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 248 HP / 36 Def / 224 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Starmie can forgo its offensive ideals, to become what is peharps the most durable spinner on the metagame. Starmie's defenses, again, are not impressive by any means, but they are enough to survive a couple of resisted hits. What makes Starmie such a great defensive Spinner is its great Speed, Recover, and Natural Cure.</p>
<p>Scald is the most reliable option for STAB, and offers a chance to burn, which augments Starmie's physical bulk. This is also very useful against Ferrothorn, which oftens expect to tank a hit from the offensive set, only to be burned and have its defensive capatibilities greatly hindered. There are three coverage moves to choose from: Psyshock, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt. Psyshock is the primary option as a secondary STAB move that can hit threats like Calm Mind Keldeo and Terrakion on the sandstorm, both wich take little damage from any other of Starmie's attacks. Psyshock also lets Starmie mantain its ability to defeat one of the most common spinblockers: Gengar (which is OHKOed). Ice Beam covers Dragon-types such as Salamence and Dragonite, as well as Tornadus-I, which Starmie outspeed. It still hits Grass-types such as Breloom, but bulkier ones such as Celebi will not fear even this move, especially considering that Starmie is not investing in its offenses. On the other hand, Thunderbolt hits bulky Water-types, while still hitting Tornadus-I, which Starmie outspeed. With Thunderbolt, Starmie is one of the best counters to Gyarados, as it survives a boosted Bounce and OHKOes back with Thunderbolt. This move can also let Starmie do meaningful damage to Jellicent, With access to Recover, Starmie heals damage taken from entry hazards, and lets it tank some resisted hits like rain-boosted Water attacks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread maximize Starmie's HP, giving it the bulk needeed to stick around for longer. The Speed investiment is needeed to outspeed everything up to Tornadus, and the reason why max Speed is not being used is because there is nothing notable that Starmie needs to outspeed, other than Gengar and Tornadus. Outspeeding Gengar is crucial to make sure that it is not going to spinblock against Starmie. The rest of EVs go to Defense to give Starmie at least some physical bulk. 0 Attack IVs ensure that Starmie takes the least damage possible from Foul Play, which is useful against Sableye, which may also try to spinblock against Starmie. It is also useful to take less damage from confusion. On rain teams, Starmie can use Thunder and take 124 EVs from HP to Special Attack to 2HKO Jellicent after Stealth Rock damage, which is important because otherwise bulky Starmie struggles to get past it..</p>
<p>Reflect Type is an option that Starmie can run on the third slot to beat its usual checks and counters; these include Scizor, Tyranitar, Ferrothorn, and Rotom-W. With Reflect Type, Starmie can copy the typing of the first two and shrug off their Pursuits, as well as their other attacks. Reflect Type also lets Starmie actually counter Ferrothorn, by copying its typing and taking little damage from any move that Ferrothorn can use, being immune to Leech Seed, and fishing for a Scald burn. As for Rotom-W, Reflect Type simply allows Starmie to shrug off a Volt Switch. Starmie could drop Recover to run both Psyshock and either Ice Beam or Thunderbolt, since it appreciates the extra coverage, but Starmie loses out an important recovery move, and at this point, you are better off using the standard offensive set. Toxic is an option to allow Starmie to beat any spinblocker other than Gengar, but it can only be used over the coverage move, and only use this move if your team does not have issues with Gengar.</p>
<p>Due to this set's reduced power, Jellicent is the best counter to it. Starmie cannot hope to break through Jellicent even with Thunder, and Jellicent also spinblocks. Tyranitar is also another big threat, as it takes little damage from even Scald. However, it must be very careful to not be burned by that move. Ferrothorn is less of a threat to this set, but should it avoid a burn from Scald, it threathens Starmie with a powerful Power Whip. For these reasons, a Fighting-type or Grass-type is a useful partner. Fighting-types defeat Tyranitar and Ferrothorn, while a Grass-type like Celebi will take care of Jellicent. Breloom is a Grass-type and a Fighting-type at same time; in fact, it will wreck all the aforementioned threats. Tyranitar, ironically, is a great partner for bulky Starmie, as it is able to checkmate Jellicent with a combination of Crunch and Pursuit (the latter will OHKO specially defensive variants, even if they stay in), while also being able to take out Ferrothorn and opposing Tyranitar with Superpower. Celebi is a counter to defensive Starmie, so something that can take Celebi out, such as Scizor or Heatran, is an appreciated partner.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Hydro Pump / Surf
move 2: Psyshock / Thunderbolt
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Specs
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>One, when seeing this set at first glance, may question why use this over Keldeo, which has the ability to easily defeat Chansey and Blissey, as well as more power, and not being vulnerable to Pursuit. However, Starmie has a lot of advantages. It is still very strong, but has a higher speed that lets it outspeed important targets, like Gengar and Tornadus. Starmie also has much better coverage, and even though it still has difficulty trying to get past Chansey, it has Trick to cripple its usual counters. Also, even though Starmie is vulnerable to Pursuit, neither of the two common Pursuit users, Tyranitar and Scizor, can switch on a Choice Specs-boosted Hydro Pump.</p>
<p>Hydro Pump is the main move of this set. Boosted by Specs, and possibly by rain, it is a difficult move to switch into. Only very bulky Water-type resists can be able to tank this move on rain; even then, Starmie possibly has a coverage move to get rid of them. Surf can replace Hydro Pump, as it is more accurate. However, it lacks the same level of power; while Starmie could potentially hit Water-type resists for solid damage with Water-type moves when using Hydro Pump, this is not possible with Surf. Psyshock allows Starmie to defeat threats that can tank Hydro Pumps, such as Specially defensive Rotom-W and Blissey. It also allows Starmie to hit Fighting-types hard, especially Keldeo. If you cannot afford to miss with Hydro Pump, Psyshock is also a reliable STAB move, but it is not nearly as powerful or spammable. Thunderbolt can replace it, as it hits bulky Water-types much harder. Ice Beam beats Grass- and Dragon-types that would like to switch and tank Hydro Pump, such as Dragonite, Latias, and Celebi. Trick is a important move on this set, as it renders Ferrothorn and Chansey useless, both are otherwise dangerous counters to Starmie.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>This set has very few alternative options in comparison with other sets. Hidden Power Grass can be used as a coverage move. It still hits bulky Water-types very hard, but not as hard as Thunderbolt. While it has the advantage of hitting Rotom-W and Gastrodon harder, Hidden Power Grass is a fairly weak choice outside those threats. Another option is to use Rapid Spin, as after Starmie tricked away its Choice Specs, Starmie will be even more useful by being capable of providing support. However, it requires to sacrifice a coverage move, as being locked on Rapid Spin is probably one of the worst things that Starmie can do.</p>
<p>Ferrothorn is even less of a concern to this set, as Starmie can simply use Trick, and render Ferrothorn useless for the rest of match. That said, this is assuming that you predict well, which will not happen all time. For this reason, Fire- or Fighting-types like Heatran or Breloom are good partners. Politoed is an amazing partner, as it boosts Hydro Pump's power even further, allowing Starmie to break through Water-type resists. With the ability to use Thunder, Starmie is also even more of a threat to opposing bulky Water-types.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Hydro Pump / Surf
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Thunderbolt
move 4: Trick / Psyshock
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>It may seem like an absurd to slap Choice Scarf on Starmie. After all, it is already very fast, and is rather weak without a boosting item. However, Starmie is the definition of a reliable revenge killer. Its excellent coverage and the ability to outpace some threats, even if they happen to be at +2 Speed (such as Adamant Dragonite, and Timid Venusaur with 180 Speed EVs under sun) are the reason why Starmie makes good use of Choice Scarf. The better coverage and ability to outpace Venusaur under sun is peharps what separate Starmie from Keldeo, which can also pull off a Choice Scarf set, and is more powerful.</p>
<p>Hydro Pump is still the best STAB move to run, and thanks to Starmie's boosted speed, it can sometimes even pull off late-game sweeps. Surf can replace it if you absolutely cannot afford a miss, but Hydro Pump's superior power is needeed to revenge kill certain things more reliably, like Volcarona. Ice Beam provides coverage against Dragon-types, and Starmie makes even better use of this move against Dragonite, thanks to its ability to outpace Dragon Dance variants, even if they happen to be at +2, as long as they are using an Adamant nature. Ice Beam also reliably revenge kill threats like Landorus and Gliscor, but be wary of being locked on Ice Beam if your opponent has something like Scizor or Tyranitar, as that can spell doom for Starmie if they have Pursuit. Thunderbolt revenge kill Gyarados, and is Starmie's best move against bulky Water-types, especially opposing Starmie, but be wary of very bulky ones such as Jellicent. Trick is necessary to cripple Blissey and Chansey, as well as Ferrothorn, all which can counter Starmie even better, thanks to its reduced power. Trick can be replaced by Psyshock. Psyshock OHKOes Keldeo and Venusaur, which is useful because Thunderbolt and Ice Beam (respectively) fail to OHKO. In adittion, Psyshock OHKOes Gengar regardless of the circumstances, as Hydro Pump is innacurate and fails to OHKO Gengar without a boost from rain.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Rapid Spin can be used on the third slot if you are using Trick, if you absolutely needs Rapid Spin support, but cannot afford to run a better Rapid Spinner. However, it is probably better to just use the standard Offensive set, as being locked on Rapid Spin is probably one of the worst things that could happen to Starmie.</p>
<p>Starmie absolutely hates Ferrothorn, which is now a even better counter, thanks to Starmie's reduced power and the fact that it will be locked on a move. However, Ferrothorn will hate having a Choice Scarf tricked on it. That said, Fire-types like Heatran are excellent partners, due to their ability to quickly dispose of Ferrothorn, as well as Scizor, a good check to Starmie. Fighting-types like Breloom can also be considered, as aside from Ferrothorn, they can also take care of Blissey, Chansey, and Tyranitar, three other threats for Starmie. Politoed is another great partner. The rain it summons further boosts Hydro Pump's power, to compensate the fact that Starmie is not using a boosting item. In addition, Starmie will be able to use Thunder.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>You can opt to replace Rapid Spin with Recover on the main offensive set. Although Starmie loses its niche as a spinner, Starmie becomes a strong, durable sweeper due to its excellent coverage between its STABs and BoltBeam. However, Starmie has few actual opportunities to use Recover, as it is better off attacking and can't take many hits, even resisted ones.</p>
<p>On every set where Hydro Pump is used, it can be replaced by Surf, which is useful because it is more accurate. That said, be wary of the amout of OHKOs and 2HKOs that you miss by forgoing Hydro Pump, especially considering that Starmie has a rather average Special Attack stat. Scald is only viable on the defensive set, as the chance to burn is not worth the power loss. Psychic is another option that can replace Psyshock everywhere it is listed, but Psyshock hits Terrakion on sandstorm and Calm Mind Keldeo harder, which is why it is more useful. Starmie can run a Dual Screens set, but it is hard to find a reason to use such a set over the standard ones. Hidden Power Fire can be used to defeat Ferrothorn, Starmie's biggest nemesis. It is especially useful on sun teams, where it gains a pseudo-STAB thanks to the sun. With that in mind, be wary that Ferrothorn can only be 2HKOed by Hidden Power Fire, which means that it must be hit on the switch - in addition, Ferrothorn can potentially avoid the 2HKO on rain. Hidden Power Grass or Grass Knot can both be used to deal with Grastrodon. They still hit most bulky Water-types, but are weaker than Thunderbolt and miss out hitting Gyarados and Dragonite. Also, not only Gastrodon can potentially avoid the OHKO from both moves, but a Life Orb-boosted Psyshock is usually sufficient to keep Gastrodon at bay.</p>
<p>Reflect Type is an interesting option for Starmie, as it can avoid being OHKOed by things like Pursuit, U-Turn, or other moves that Scizor and Tyranitar may use. It is useful because your opponent will hardly expect that move, but Starmie unfortunately has four-moveslot syndrome and as such, has trouble finding a moveslot for such move. Thunder Wave allows Starmie to support its team by crippling faster opponents, but Starmie does not need paralysis support itself, and most things that like to switch on Starmie are slow anyway. Thunder should always be used instead of Thunderbolt if Starmie is being used on a rain team, as it has higher base power and a higher chance to paralyze the opponent. In the same way, Blizzard should be used instead of Ice Beam if Starmie is being used on hail. Starmie can run an offensive support set with Rain Dance and a Damp Rock to aid Politoed on winning weather wars, but this strategy is much more effective if the opposing weather inducer is down. That said, such sort of support is often unecessary. Another move worthy of mention is Gravity. Starmie has access to many powerful but innacurate moves, such as Hydro Pump, Thunder, and Blizzard, and can become a powerful sweeper with a Gravity set.</p>
<p>Although Starmie is very fast, Analytic activates when the opponent switches, and this allows Starmie to achieve feats like 2HKOing Blissey with rain-boosted Hydro Pump, and doing 50% damage to Ferrothorn. Despite this, Natural Cure is almost always the better option, as it is more consistent and without it, Starmie will be crippled by paralysis and Toxic. Keldeo is a better choice if you want a Water-type that can hit extremely hard on the switch.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Ferrothorn is the bane of Starmie, taking mediocre damage from most of its attacks bar the rare Hidden Power Fire, and even the latter move will do little damage if Ferrothorn is being used on rain. Starmie will never be able to break through Ferrothorn otherwise, and will hardy be able to spin away the hazards that Ferrothorn lays, as it also has Iron Barbs to damage Starmie each time it uses Rapid Spin. Ferrothorn, however, must be wary of Scald, though it is still an annoyance even when burned. It must also avoid being tricked a Choice item. In the same way, most Starmie's sets cannot get past Blissey and Chansey, but the former must be wary of Psyshock, because Blissey can be 2HKOed by Life Orb or Specs Starmie after Stealth Rock damage. Both also hate being tricked a Choice item. Tyranitar can take out Starmie and trap it with Pursuit (which will OHKO even if Starmie stays in), but it must avoid being hit by Hydro Pump whenever possible. Tyranitar also must avoid Scald. Choice Scarf variants can outspeed Starmie, which is useful to hit them before they hit Tyranitar with Hydro Pump, but they cannot guarantee the removal of Starmie because an unboosted Pursuit do not happen to OHKO Starmie even if it decides to stay in.</p>
<p>Kyurem-B resists Hydro Pump and Thunderbolt, and unlike other Dragon-types, it is neutral to Ice Beam, and will wreck Starmie with Outrage or Fusion Bolt. The regular Kyurem also does the job, and even though it does not have Fusion Bolt, it can simply stall out Starmie with a combination of Roost, Substitute, and Pressure. Even with Ice Beam, Starmie cannot get past specially defensive Celebi, which avoids the 2HKO and wears Starmie down with Giga Drain. Offensive Celebi variants also do the job, but they are 2HKOed by Ice Beam, and may be OHKOed with a bit of residual damage, so they must be wary. Specially defensive Jellicent can shrug off almost everything, even Thunderbolt, and it also happens to block Rapid Spin, so it is the only spinblocker that presents a real problem for Starmie. However, it must be wary of Life Orb-boosted Thunder or Psyshock, both which will 2HKO after Stealth Rock damage. Bulky Toxicroak can check Starmie without Psyshock, although even then Starmie must watch out for Sucker Punch. Weavile is faster than Starmie and traps it with Pursuit. However, Weavile has difficulty switching on any move not named Ice Beam or Psyshock. Specially defensive Rotom-W is also hard to deal with, but it must be wary of Psyshock, which can 2HKO if it is coming from offensive sets. Most faster Pokémon can also revenge kill Starmie, due to its above-average bulk. For example, Scarf Landorus OHKO with U-Turn, Scarf Terrakion do the same with X-Scissor, and Jolteon outspeeds and take Starmie out with its Electric-type STAB. However, none of those revenge killers can switch on Starmie's moves.</p>
As of now Jirachi's skeleton seems to be good, but I made some little changes.
[Overview]
<p>Starime is the fastest spinner and the only one that can go on the offensive route. It is also one of the few spinners that can actually beat spinblockers by itself, making the use of Rapid Spin very easy, and lessening the need to use a Pursuit partner. Unlike other spinners, Starmie isn't limited to spinning; it is a great check to top threats like Gengar, Landorus, Tornadus, and Keldeo. Starmie's movepool is fantastic, containing options like Psyshock and the infamous BoltBeam combo. Although it is a spinner, Starmie also has access to Recover and Natural Cure, making it one of the most resilient spinners; despite its defenses being not very impressive, it can run a defensive set because of this.</p>
<p>With those things in mind, is important to learn of Starmie's flaws. Water/Psychic typing is good offensively, but it comes at the price of a weakness to Pursuit. Also, Starmie's defenses are not impressive, which means that Starmie must be careful to not take too many hits, even resisted ones. However, the worst of all is Ferrothorn, the bane of all Starmie, which can easily beat it while laughing at Starmie's futile attempts to damage it. However, with many teams in need of Rapid Spin support, you can trust on Starmie to do the job. No other Pokémon can spin hazards and pose an offensive threat at same time like Starmie do.</p>
[SET]
name: Offensive Rapid Spinner
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Hydro Pump / Surf
move 3: Psyshock / Thunderbolt
move 4: Ice Beam / Recover
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>As said above, Starmie is the only Pokémon that can use Rapid Spin and pose an offensive threat at same time, and in fact, this set is very fast, powerful, and has excellent coverage. Hydro Pump is one of the best STAB moves to have on the metagame, as it is very powerful and is further boosted by the rain. Starmie has an excellent offensive movepool full of coverage options that complement Hydro Pump; this includes the infamous BoltBeam combo.</p>
<p>Rapid Spin is the crux of this set, and Starmie makes great use of this move, as it can often force switches, giving ample opportunities to spin hazards. Starmie can also beat all spinblockers with the right move, another reason why it makes fantastic use of Rapid Spin. Hydro Pump is the best STAB move to run on this set, and with it, Starmie can consistently beat Gengar, one of the most common spinblockers on the metagame. It always OHKOes if boosted by Life Orb or by rain (be careful as a Leftovers, non-Rain-boosted Hydro Pump fails to OHKO Gengar). You could replace Hydro Pump with Surf for reliability reasons, but Starmie loses out a lot of power. Specifically, Starmie fails to OHKO Gengar even with a Life Orb, and needs Life Orb AND Rain to guarantee the OHKO. The same applies to Scizor, which now will need Stealth Rock support to be OHKOed.</p>
<p>Psyshock is useful for a lot of reasons: first, it hits Keldeo harder (while bypassing Calm Mind boosts) and hits Terrakion more accurately than Hydro Pump. Second, it hits Tentacruel, Venusaur, Toxicroak, Breloom, Blissey, Amoonguss, Gastrodon, Rotom-W, and specially defensive Jellicent, and finally, Psyshock hits other Poison- and Fighting-types reliably without having to resort to Hydro Pump. Ice Beam is an obvious coverage move to use. It hits Dragon- and Grass-types that resist Hydro Pump, with some common targets being Dragonite, Latios, and Salamence, all which Starmie can outspeed and nail with Ice Beam. Celebi is also an important Ice Beam target, as it can wall Starmie otherwise. Recover can replace Ice Beam if you need Starmie to be able to survive to Rapid Spin more than one time, but do not want to sacrifice power. It should only be used with the combination of Hydro Pump and Psyshock, however, as this combination provides more utility. Hydro Pump + Psyshock + Ice Beam provide the best coverage possible, while Thunderbolt can be used in place of Psyshock to cover bulky Water-types better, especially Gyarados and non-specially defensive variants of Jellicent, all which Starmie struggles with otherwise.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Life Orb is the primary item to make Starmie really difficult to switch into. It also lets Starmie OHKO Gengar with Hydro Pump if the rain is not activated. However, you don't want Starmie to lose health when using Rapid Spin, especially if you plan to use it on a sandstorm or hail team, for example. That's where Leftovers come into the play, making Starmie much more durable, but it loses out some power. Another item worthy of mention is Expert Belt. It boosts Starmie's power without recoil, and still allows Starmie to 2HKO important threats such as Tyranitar, max HP Latias, and non-Specially defensive Jellicent. Although it only boosts on super-effective hits, Starmie has the coverage to make up for that. </p>
<p>Thunder is an excellent option over Psyshock, but it should only be used with rain support. When combined with Life Orb, however, Starmie can get past any Jellicent variant, unlike what would happen if it used Psyshock (can only get past specially defensive variants) or Thunderbolt (can only get past physically defensive variants). Hidden Power Fire can be used on sun teams; it gets pseudo-STAB and is guaranteed to OHKO Ferrothorn and other threats like Scizor and Forretress.</p>
<p>The first thing that Starmie will want as a partner, is something that can beat Ferrothorn, as Starmie will never be able to effectively get rid of hazards if Ferrothorn is still alive. A Fighting-type like Breloom or Keldeo is a solid choice; they can not only beat Ferrothorn, but can also beat Chansey, a solid counter to Starmie (Blissey also counters variants without Psyshock). Fighting-types also get rid of SubRoost Kyurem, an excellent check to Starmie. They are also more useful if Starmie is being used on a rain team. Speaking of which, Politoed is a solid partner, as it not only enables Starmie to use Thunder, but it will make Hydro Pump even more powerful. These two factors will make Starmie even more difficult to switch into. Both Heatran and Volcarona are excellent partners to Starmie, as they will OHKO Ferrothorn with its powerful Fire Blasts, with not even rain being able to prevent this. Both also beat some other Grass-types that Starmie has difficulty breaking through, such as specially defensive Celebi. Volcarona is usually the better choice because it works well under rain, being able to use Hurricane, and appreciating the Rapid Spin support that Starmie brings to the table. Generally, depending from whether you choose to use Thunderbolt or Psyshock, a certain variant of Jellicent will wall Starmie; Specially defensive for the former, and the utility counter for the latter. For this reason, a partner with Pursuit is appreciated. Tyranitar and Weavile are thus, solid partners. They can also get rid of Latias and Celebi, which Starmie has difficulty beating. Just be wary of using Tyranitar, that residual damage will add up quickly if you use Life Orb. Weavile appreciates the fact that Starmie is getting rid of Stealth Rock, as Weavile is weak to it. Entry hazard support is suggested to get crucial 2HKOs and OHKOs on bulky Pokémon (such as the 2HKO on specially defensive Jellicent with Psyshock). Ferrothorn can provide Stealth Rock and Spikes support, while the aforementioned Heatran can also setup Stealth Rock.</p>
[SET]
name: Bulky Rapid Spin
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Scald
move 3: Psyshock / Ice Beam / Thunderbolt
move 4: Recover
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 248 HP / 36 Def / 224 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Starmie can forgo its offensive ideals, to become what is peharps the most durable spinner on the metagame. Starmie's defenses, again, are not impressive by any means, but they are enough to survive a couple of resisted hits. What makes Starmie such a great defensive Spinner is its great Speed, Recover, and Natural Cure.</p>
<p>Scald is the most reliable option for STAB, and offers a chance to burn, which augments Starmie's physical bulk. This is also very useful against Ferrothorn, which oftens expect to tank a hit from the offensive set, only to be burned and have its defensive capatibilities greatly hindered. There are three coverage moves to choose from: Psyshock, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt. Psyshock is the primary option as a secondary STAB move that can hit threats like Calm Mind Keldeo and Terrakion on the sandstorm, both wich take little damage from any other of Starmie's attacks. Psyshock also lets Starmie mantain its ability to defeat one of the most common spinblockers: Gengar (which is OHKOed). Ice Beam covers Dragon-types such as Salamence and Dragonite, as well as Tornadus-I, which Starmie outspeed. It still hits Grass-types such as Breloom, but bulkier ones such as Celebi will not fear even this move, especially considering that Starmie is not investing in its offenses. On the other hand, Thunderbolt hits bulky Water-types, while still hitting Tornadus-I, which Starmie outspeed. With Thunderbolt, Starmie is one of the best counters to Gyarados, as it survives a boosted Bounce and OHKOes back with Thunderbolt. This move can also let Starmie do meaningful damage to Jellicent, With access to Recover, Starmie heals damage taken from entry hazards, and lets it tank some resisted hits like rain-boosted Water attacks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread maximize Starmie's HP, giving it the bulk needeed to stick around for longer. The Speed investiment is needeed to outspeed everything up to Tornadus, and the reason why max Speed is not being used is because there is nothing notable that Starmie needs to outspeed, other than Gengar and Tornadus. Outspeeding Gengar is crucial to make sure that it is not going to spinblock against Starmie. The rest of EVs go to Defense to give Starmie at least some physical bulk. 0 Attack IVs ensure that Starmie takes the least damage possible from Foul Play, which is useful against Sableye, which may also try to spinblock against Starmie. It is also useful to take less damage from confusion. On rain teams, Starmie can use Thunder and take 124 EVs from HP to Special Attack to 2HKO Jellicent after Stealth Rock damage, which is important because otherwise bulky Starmie struggles to get past it..</p>
<p>Reflect Type is an option that Starmie can run on the third slot to beat its usual checks and counters; these include Scizor, Tyranitar, Ferrothorn, and Rotom-W. With Reflect Type, Starmie can copy the typing of the first two and shrug off their Pursuits, as well as their other attacks. Reflect Type also lets Starmie actually counter Ferrothorn, by copying its typing and taking little damage from any move that Ferrothorn can use, being immune to Leech Seed, and fishing for a Scald burn. As for Rotom-W, Reflect Type simply allows Starmie to shrug off a Volt Switch. Starmie could drop Recover to run both Psyshock and either Ice Beam or Thunderbolt, since it appreciates the extra coverage, but Starmie loses out an important recovery move, and at this point, you are better off using the standard offensive set. Toxic is an option to allow Starmie to beat any spinblocker other than Gengar, but it can only be used over the coverage move, and only use this move if your team does not have issues with Gengar.</p>
<p>Due to this set's reduced power, Jellicent is the best counter to it. Starmie cannot hope to break through Jellicent even with Thunder, and Jellicent also spinblocks. Tyranitar is also another big threat, as it takes little damage from even Scald. However, it must be very careful to not be burned by that move. Ferrothorn is less of a threat to this set, but should it avoid a burn from Scald, it threathens Starmie with a powerful Power Whip. For these reasons, a Fighting-type or Grass-type is a useful partner. Fighting-types defeat Tyranitar and Ferrothorn, while a Grass-type like Celebi will take care of Jellicent. Breloom is a Grass-type and a Fighting-type at same time; in fact, it will wreck all the aforementioned threats. Tyranitar, ironically, is a great partner for bulky Starmie, as it is able to checkmate Jellicent with a combination of Crunch and Pursuit (the latter will OHKO specially defensive variants, even if they stay in), while also being able to take out Ferrothorn and opposing Tyranitar with Superpower. Celebi is a counter to defensive Starmie, so something that can take Celebi out, such as Scizor or Heatran, is an appreciated partner.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Hydro Pump / Surf
move 2: Psyshock / Thunderbolt
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Specs
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>One, when seeing this set at first glance, may question why use this over Keldeo, which has the ability to easily defeat Chansey and Blissey, as well as more power, and not being vulnerable to Pursuit. However, Starmie has a lot of advantages. It is still very strong, but has a higher speed that lets it outspeed important targets, like Gengar and Tornadus. Starmie also has much better coverage, and even though it still has difficulty trying to get past Chansey, it has Trick to cripple its usual counters. Also, even though Starmie is vulnerable to Pursuit, neither of the two common Pursuit users, Tyranitar and Scizor, can switch on a Choice Specs-boosted Hydro Pump.</p>
<p>Hydro Pump is the main move of this set. Boosted by Specs, and possibly by rain, it is a difficult move to switch into. Only very bulky Water-type resists can be able to tank this move on rain; even then, Starmie possibly has a coverage move to get rid of them. Surf can replace Hydro Pump, as it is more accurate. However, it lacks the same level of power; while Starmie could potentially hit Water-type resists for solid damage with Water-type moves when using Hydro Pump, this is not possible with Surf. Psyshock allows Starmie to defeat threats that can tank Hydro Pumps, such as Specially defensive Rotom-W and Blissey. It also allows Starmie to hit Fighting-types hard, especially Keldeo. If you cannot afford to miss with Hydro Pump, Psyshock is also a reliable STAB move, but it is not nearly as powerful or spammable. Thunderbolt can replace it, as it hits bulky Water-types much harder. Ice Beam beats Grass- and Dragon-types that would like to switch and tank Hydro Pump, such as Dragonite, Latias, and Celebi. Trick is a important move on this set, as it renders Ferrothorn and Chansey useless, both are otherwise dangerous counters to Starmie.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>This set has very few alternative options in comparison with other sets. Hidden Power Grass can be used as a coverage move. It still hits bulky Water-types very hard, but not as hard as Thunderbolt. While it has the advantage of hitting Rotom-W and Gastrodon harder, Hidden Power Grass is a fairly weak choice outside those threats. Another option is to use Rapid Spin, as after Starmie tricked away its Choice Specs, Starmie will be even more useful by being capable of providing support. However, it requires to sacrifice a coverage move, as being locked on Rapid Spin is probably one of the worst things that Starmie can do.</p>
<p>Ferrothorn is even less of a concern to this set, as Starmie can simply use Trick, and render Ferrothorn useless for the rest of match. That said, this is assuming that you predict well, which will not happen all time. For this reason, Fire- or Fighting-types like Heatran or Breloom are good partners. Politoed is an amazing partner, as it boosts Hydro Pump's power even further, allowing Starmie to break through Water-type resists. With the ability to use Thunder, Starmie is also even more of a threat to opposing bulky Water-types.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Hydro Pump / Surf
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Thunderbolt
move 4: Trick / Psyshock
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>It may seem like an absurd to slap Choice Scarf on Starmie. After all, it is already very fast, and is rather weak without a boosting item. However, Starmie is the definition of a reliable revenge killer. Its excellent coverage and the ability to outpace some threats, even if they happen to be at +2 Speed (such as Adamant Dragonite, and Timid Venusaur with 180 Speed EVs under sun) are the reason why Starmie makes good use of Choice Scarf. The better coverage and ability to outpace Venusaur under sun is peharps what separate Starmie from Keldeo, which can also pull off a Choice Scarf set, and is more powerful.</p>
<p>Hydro Pump is still the best STAB move to run, and thanks to Starmie's boosted speed, it can sometimes even pull off late-game sweeps. Surf can replace it if you absolutely cannot afford a miss, but Hydro Pump's superior power is needeed to revenge kill certain things more reliably, like Volcarona. Ice Beam provides coverage against Dragon-types, and Starmie makes even better use of this move against Dragonite, thanks to its ability to outpace Dragon Dance variants, even if they happen to be at +2, as long as they are using an Adamant nature. Ice Beam also reliably revenge kill threats like Landorus and Gliscor, but be wary of being locked on Ice Beam if your opponent has something like Scizor or Tyranitar, as that can spell doom for Starmie if they have Pursuit. Thunderbolt revenge kill Gyarados, and is Starmie's best move against bulky Water-types, especially opposing Starmie, but be wary of very bulky ones such as Jellicent. Trick is necessary to cripple Blissey and Chansey, as well as Ferrothorn, all which can counter Starmie even better, thanks to its reduced power. Trick can be replaced by Psyshock. Psyshock OHKOes Keldeo and Venusaur, which is useful because Thunderbolt and Ice Beam (respectively) fail to OHKO. In adittion, Psyshock OHKOes Gengar regardless of the circumstances, as Hydro Pump is innacurate and fails to OHKO Gengar without a boost from rain.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Rapid Spin can be used on the third slot if you are using Trick, if you absolutely needs Rapid Spin support, but cannot afford to run a better Rapid Spinner. However, it is probably better to just use the standard Offensive set, as being locked on Rapid Spin is probably one of the worst things that could happen to Starmie.</p>
<p>Starmie absolutely hates Ferrothorn, which is now a even better counter, thanks to Starmie's reduced power and the fact that it will be locked on a move. However, Ferrothorn will hate having a Choice Scarf tricked on it. That said, Fire-types like Heatran are excellent partners, due to their ability to quickly dispose of Ferrothorn, as well as Scizor, a good check to Starmie. Fighting-types like Breloom can also be considered, as aside from Ferrothorn, they can also take care of Blissey, Chansey, and Tyranitar, three other threats for Starmie. Politoed is another great partner. The rain it summons further boosts Hydro Pump's power, to compensate the fact that Starmie is not using a boosting item. In addition, Starmie will be able to use Thunder.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>You can opt to replace Rapid Spin with Recover on the main offensive set. Although Starmie loses its niche as a spinner, Starmie becomes a strong, durable sweeper due to its excellent coverage between its STABs and BoltBeam. However, Starmie has few actual opportunities to use Recover, as it is better off attacking and can't take many hits, even resisted ones.</p>
<p>On every set where Hydro Pump is used, it can be replaced by Surf, which is useful because it is more accurate. That said, be wary of the amout of OHKOs and 2HKOs that you miss by forgoing Hydro Pump, especially considering that Starmie has a rather average Special Attack stat. Scald is only viable on the defensive set, as the chance to burn is not worth the power loss. Psychic is another option that can replace Psyshock everywhere it is listed, but Psyshock hits Terrakion on sandstorm and Calm Mind Keldeo harder, which is why it is more useful. Starmie can run a Dual Screens set, but it is hard to find a reason to use such a set over the standard ones. Hidden Power Fire can be used to defeat Ferrothorn, Starmie's biggest nemesis. It is especially useful on sun teams, where it gains a pseudo-STAB thanks to the sun. With that in mind, be wary that Ferrothorn can only be 2HKOed by Hidden Power Fire, which means that it must be hit on the switch - in addition, Ferrothorn can potentially avoid the 2HKO on rain. Hidden Power Grass or Grass Knot can both be used to deal with Grastrodon. They still hit most bulky Water-types, but are weaker than Thunderbolt and miss out hitting Gyarados and Dragonite. Also, not only Gastrodon can potentially avoid the OHKO from both moves, but a Life Orb-boosted Psyshock is usually sufficient to keep Gastrodon at bay.</p>
<p>Reflect Type is an interesting option for Starmie, as it can avoid being OHKOed by things like Pursuit, U-Turn, or other moves that Scizor and Tyranitar may use. It is useful because your opponent will hardly expect that move, but Starmie unfortunately has four-moveslot syndrome and as such, has trouble finding a moveslot for such move. Thunder Wave allows Starmie to support its team by crippling faster opponents, but Starmie does not need paralysis support itself, and most things that like to switch on Starmie are slow anyway. Thunder should always be used instead of Thunderbolt if Starmie is being used on a rain team, as it has higher base power and a higher chance to paralyze the opponent. In the same way, Blizzard should be used instead of Ice Beam if Starmie is being used on hail. Starmie can run an offensive support set with Rain Dance and a Damp Rock to aid Politoed on winning weather wars, but this strategy is much more effective if the opposing weather inducer is down. That said, such sort of support is often unecessary. Another move worthy of mention is Gravity. Starmie has access to many powerful but innacurate moves, such as Hydro Pump, Thunder, and Blizzard, and can become a powerful sweeper with a Gravity set.</p>
<p>Although Starmie is very fast, Analytic activates when the opponent switches, and this allows Starmie to achieve feats like 2HKOing Blissey with rain-boosted Hydro Pump, and doing 50% damage to Ferrothorn. Despite this, Natural Cure is almost always the better option, as it is more consistent and without it, Starmie will be crippled by paralysis and Toxic. Keldeo is a better choice if you want a Water-type that can hit extremely hard on the switch.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Ferrothorn is the bane of Starmie, taking mediocre damage from most of its attacks bar the rare Hidden Power Fire, and even the latter move will do little damage if Ferrothorn is being used on rain. Starmie will never be able to break through Ferrothorn otherwise, and will hardy be able to spin away the hazards that Ferrothorn lays, as it also has Iron Barbs to damage Starmie each time it uses Rapid Spin. Ferrothorn, however, must be wary of Scald, though it is still an annoyance even when burned. It must also avoid being tricked a Choice item. In the same way, most Starmie's sets cannot get past Blissey and Chansey, but the former must be wary of Psyshock, because Blissey can be 2HKOed by Life Orb or Specs Starmie after Stealth Rock damage. Both also hate being tricked a Choice item. Tyranitar can take out Starmie and trap it with Pursuit (which will OHKO even if Starmie stays in), but it must avoid being hit by Hydro Pump whenever possible. Tyranitar also must avoid Scald. Choice Scarf variants can outspeed Starmie, which is useful to hit them before they hit Tyranitar with Hydro Pump, but they cannot guarantee the removal of Starmie because an unboosted Pursuit do not happen to OHKO Starmie even if it decides to stay in.</p>
<p>Kyurem-B resists Hydro Pump and Thunderbolt, and unlike other Dragon-types, it is neutral to Ice Beam, and will wreck Starmie with Outrage or Fusion Bolt. The regular Kyurem also does the job, and even though it does not have Fusion Bolt, it can simply stall out Starmie with a combination of Roost, Substitute, and Pressure. Even with Ice Beam, Starmie cannot get past specially defensive Celebi, which avoids the 2HKO and wears Starmie down with Giga Drain. Offensive Celebi variants also do the job, but they are 2HKOed by Ice Beam, and may be OHKOed with a bit of residual damage, so they must be wary. Specially defensive Jellicent can shrug off almost everything, even Thunderbolt, and it also happens to block Rapid Spin, so it is the only spinblocker that presents a real problem for Starmie. However, it must be wary of Life Orb-boosted Thunder or Psyshock, both which will 2HKO after Stealth Rock damage. Bulky Toxicroak can check Starmie without Psyshock, although even then Starmie must watch out for Sucker Punch. Weavile is faster than Starmie and traps it with Pursuit. However, Weavile has difficulty switching on any move not named Ice Beam or Psyshock. Specially defensive Rotom-W is also hard to deal with, but it must be wary of Psyshock, which can 2HKO if it is coming from offensive sets. Most faster Pokémon can also revenge kill Starmie, due to its above-average bulk. For example, Scarf Landorus OHKO with U-Turn, Scarf Terrakion do the same with X-Scissor, and Jolteon outspeeds and take Starmie out with its Electric-type STAB. However, none of those revenge killers can switch on Starmie's moves.</p>
