XY Pokemon of the Week #2 - Spritzee

[Celestavian]

All sprites courtesy of the XY Spriting Thread in Smeargle's Studio

Pokemon of the Week is back this gen for a special edition! For until I run out of Pokemon, I will be updating this thread every so often with a new Pokemon of the Week. Unlike last gen, however, I will be examining the new XY mons only. With the hype of the unbanned Pokemon and Berry Juice abusers such as Swirlix, I feel like some of the new mons have fallen by the wayside. I will be highlighting Pokemon I believe to be underused in the metagame, and I can't think of a better one to start with than our lovely ghostly sword: Honedge!

Honedge
Ghost / Steel
Ability: No Guard
45 HP / 85 Atk / 100 Def / 35 SpA / 37 SpD / 28 Spe​

Honedge got a lot of hype coming into XY as the only line of Ghost/Steel Pokemon in the game. However, once word got out that Steel no longer resisted Dark and Ghost, excitement for the new line fell off until we all discovered how good Aegislash was in OU. It's little brother Honedge, however, did not receive as much love since it lacks the forme change mechanic that makes Aegislash so good. That said, Honedge still has a few tricks it can use in the XY LC metagame to succeed.

The first thing you notice when looking at Honedge's stats is that massive base 100 Defense and high Attack stat to complement it. With all of Steel's resistances, physical attackers will find it hard to deal a lot of damage to Honedge if they aren't a Ground- or Dark-type. Meditite, one of the most powerful and hard to switch into Pokemon in the metagame, is hard countered by Honedge since it has no room for Fire Punch. In addition, most other Fighting-types are dropping their Dark-type coverage moves for Poison Jab or a Steel-type move to beat Fairies, leaving them unable to damage Honedge at all. All this allows Honedge to switch in easily and then force a switch to earn a free set-up turn.

On the offensive side, Honedge can run a mean Swords Dance set, boosting its Attack to a whopping 36 after just one Swords Dance. From there, it can use its priority Shadow Sneak to bypass its low Speed, or a STAB Iron Head when pure power is needed. Sacred Sword is its usual fourth move, breaking down Pawniard and other Steel-types whom Shadow Sneak is too weak to OHKO, even though they no longer resist it. For lovers of Speed, Honedge also learns Autotomize, which can double its pathetic Speed stat to a much more usable 24 with full Speed investment and Adamant nature, or an also usable 20 with only 52 EVs invested in Speed. Honedge is an awesome wallbreaker, as the combination of Ghost and Steel hits the walls of Little Cup very hard, including Bronzor, Frillish, Lileep, and Slowpoke. However, the relatively hyper-offensive metagame that is currently in place makes that niche less valuable. Against offensive teams, that powerful priority goes a long way, but there are no common offense staples that are weak to Shadow Sneak.

Honedge does have its problems, like any other Pokemon. Its Special Defense leaves a lot to be desired, meaning that non-resisted special hits will deal a lot of damage to Honedge. The newly freed Gligar and Tangela are Honedge's biggest threats; Gligar has a STAB Earthquake and base 105 Defense to beat Honedge with, while Tangela has a faster Sleep Powder and an even higher Defense stat of 115. The newly buffed Knock Off hits Honedge super effectively, and while a non-STAB Knock Off won't knock Honedge out, it will deprive it of its item. Honedge's ability, No Guard, makes all of its opponent's attacks hit it. Honedge, in turn, has nothing to abuse No Guard with, making it really wish it somehow learned Iron Tail. Finally, Honedge lacks many setup opportunities. It's pretty hard to get a Swords Dance boost, and once it does, it usually finds it needs to switch out right away because Shadow Sneak can't OHKO its target.

The purpose of this project is to explore the options that the Pokemon of the Week has. Swords Dance is cool, but what about a defensive set? Is that viable at all with its resistances? Is the Autotomize set as good as the Swords Dancer? Test your sets and tell the rest of us what works!

 

[Antar]

I run a rather strange build on my Honedge: Adamant max attack (fine), but then 132 speed EVs to get it to 11. The reason is because I run Sticky Web, and 15 is a very common speed number in Little Cup. With Sticky Web up, Honedge outspeeds a number of threats, most notably Swirlix, who is easily OHKOed by Iron Head (forget about Berry Juice). It seems like I should be missing the bulk (I run no HP EVs and instead route most of the spare EVs to SpD, dumping the remainder in Def), but this thing usually survives Swirlix's Flamethrower, even at +1, so I dunno.

The takeaway is really this: with a bit of speed investment, Honedge can really benefit from Sticky Web.

 

[Darkamber8828]

Fighting-types are dropping their Dark-type coverage moves

Which ones? The only common Fighting-type that doesn't always have a Dark move is Meditite, who doesn't have Knock Off. Knock Off is so good that pretty much every pokemon that has it wants to use it unless they have really bad 4MSS. Mienfoo runs Knock Off and U-turns out of Fairies. Timburr runs Knock Off and is outsped by Swirlix anyway. Scraggy runs Knock Off because it's STAB (and still has room for Poison Jab anyway). Croagunk runs Sucker Punch, and it also has Knock Off. Even Fairies don't like their Berry Juice or Eviolite knocked off.

If anything, there are a lot more Dark-type moves being thrown around this gen.

 

[Goddess Briyella]

I've noticed a huge popularity drop in Honedge since the initial release of it into Little Cup.


While it is not my intention to cast shade on the Pokemon we're discussing here, I'd like to bring light to some very specific things players have discovered about Honedge through practice, things that have caused Honedge to be forgone in favor of other Pokemon. Hawkstar touched on some of this already, but I wanted to provide further insight. From my observations and reasoning, I find these things very significant:


Steel's Defensive Nerf

This new generation blessed Steel-types with both an offensive and defensive advantage against the new Fairy-type, but in exchange, it removed their resistances to Ghost and Dark. In Honedge's particular case, it acquired a weakness to these types instead of just a neutrality, since its secondary Ghost typing is weak to both. This makes Honedge painfully weak to common moves in Little Cup such as Knock Off, Sucker Punch, and Misdreavus's Shadow Ball knocks it for a loop without any problems, thanks to Honedge's terrible Special Defense. When players picked up on this, it was not exactly a pleasant revelation.


Knock Off's Buff

This one's important. Knock Off (previously at a mere 20 BP) had its Base Power increased all the way to 65 this generation, with an additional boost in power if its target is holding an item. Even despite Honedge's impressive Base 100 Defense, super effective Knock Off is not something it likes taking, as it loses a considerable chunk of health it can't get back, in addition to removal of its precious item; the sheer utility and distribution of this move is quite commendable, and so this is a huge thing that keeps Honedge at bay in competitive, and even after Sneasel's ban, it still has problems against it. (For more information on how Knock Off is affecting the current metagame, be sure to check out Raseri's Knock Off thread.)


Gligar

Gligar is definitely the most used Pokemon in the tier at the moment, and for good reason. Not only does it have great stats, 19 Speed, awesome STABs, and U-turn, but it also is by far the best Defog user and hazard-control Pokemon in the game, and this cannot be stressed enough. Gligar right now is like Mienfoo in BW LC; it can fulfill a lot of important roles easily and reliably, and it can maintain its usefulness throughout battles with relative ease. It doesn't help Honedge's case at all that Gligar is seen on just about every team, and beats it outright every time. Gligar even has superior physical bulk when compared to Honedge, and a better overall defensive typing as well. Our demonic sword here is not safe at all with this thing on the loose and all over the place.


Slowpoke

"What? Slowpoke loses to Honedge!" Yes, I know, but that's not the point being presented here. One of the main reasons players decide to use Honedge is because they want a solid answer to Fighting-types, especially Meditite. While Honedge does have a defensive AND offensive advantage against both standard Meditite sets, it is worn down throughout a match, whereas Slowpoke is not. Slowpoke is unable to outright threaten Meditite offensively, but its solid recovery in Slack Off and Regenerator allow it to consistently give Meditite problems, forcing it to switch out and giving Slowpoke a free turn to either heal off damage or status the incoming check with Scald or Thunder Wave. Slowpoke is absolutely the superior option for screwing Meditite, and it's safe to say that this has considerably hampered Honedge's usefulness and credibility for a team slot.


Fire-types

Generation VI is definitely the era where there are more Fire-types running around than any other era Little Cup has ever gone through, partially due to their resistance to the new Fairy-type, which combined with the others adds up to six resistances total that Fire-types have now. Vulpix is back, and so is Drought-powered Fire offense, against which Honedge is entirely overwhelmed; Tangela's Hidden Power Fire also burns a gaping hole in it. Another huge threat that has arisen this generation is Growlithe... a creature that threatens Honedge in many ways: Intimidate to cut its Attack power for free, Will-O-Wisp to completely shut it down offensively, and any special STAB attack to easily OHKO it. To add insult to injury, the ability No Guard literally does nothing for Honedge except assure that Fire Blast doesn't miss when used against it. (For more information on the prevalence of Fire-types this generation, be sure to check out Charmander's Fire-type thread.)


Normal-types

Last generation, Little Cup saw a bit of Meowth and Aipom, and very little of Doduo, Teddiursa, Azurill... you get the point. But in this new era of Little Cup, heavy hitters like Bunnelby, Taillow, and Fletchling are commonly seen, and all of these are part of the rise in usage of Normal-types. How does this affect Honedge? While it's true that Normal-types can't hit Ghosts at all with their STAB attacks, it works both ways—Ghosts can't hit Normal-types with their STAB either. This means that after boosting its Attack through the ceiling with Swords Dance, it is unable to override its poor Speed and hit them with Shadow Sneak, and all of these threats are faster and can easily kill Honedge if it doesn't retreat. Huge Power Bunnelby can slam Honedge with Earthquake, Specs Taillow can get around Ghost-type's immunities with the Scrappy ability, and hit it with a super-effective Hidden Power Fighting (Steel's weakness to Fighting is applied after Ghost's immunity to it is ignored), and Fletchling can scorch it to a crisp with Overheat without even caring about the stat drop. The prevalence of popular Normal-type threats such as these threaten Honedge and nullify its attempts to sweep or revenge-kill relatively easily.



Personally, I think Honedge is an awesome Pokemon; the Steel/Ghost typing its evolutionary line possesses is very unique, something shared only by Smogon's CAP creation Kitsunoh. However, for anyone wondering why it's not seeing a lot of usage anymore, I hope this is an appropriate cover-all as to why.

 

[Electrolyte]

Briyella really hit the nail on the head. I have never been all that excited about Honedge; its stats and movepool are lackluster to me and make it less viable than other popular Steel-types like Magnemite or Pawniard that aren't weak to Knock Off. Honedge also loses to Gligar, which is extremely popular right now. At least Mag can OHKO with Sturdy HP Ice and Pawniard can Knock Off + SPunch for the KO.

In terms of its offensive / defensive potential, I think its typing hurts it defensively and its movepool hurts it offensively. 100 Def is great but Ghost / Steel walls nothing in particular except Fighting-types, many of which carry coverage moves (Knock Off) that can hit it anyway. Steel no longer resists Ghost / Dark, two very popular offensive types, and Flying / Fairy types always carry coverage moves in the form of EQ/HP Ground or Flamethrower (see Gligar/Yanma and Swirlix respectively)

Offensively I also don't find Honedge that threatening. +2 is powerful but its Speed and preditable movepool make it really easy to shut down. Anyone with a Gligar can win against it relatively easily, as can people with Fire / Water-types. Shadow Sneak and Iron Head are all it has for STABs, and the former is weak and the latter comes off of a poor offensive type (unless you want to hit Fairies) Shadow Sneak is priority, which is a boon, but again it's weak and Honedge is slow so bulkier physical tanks can outspeed it, force it to Shadow Sneak, and then KO it. For such a slow sweeper, Shadow Sneak is hardly enough to cover for faster threats.



Honedge's movepool is pretty barren imo. It has very few support options, and only a little bit of offensive coverage. Offensive bulky SD is probably its best set, but I guess Screens + Shadow Sneak + Pursuit or Toxic can be used as a bulky support set. Honestly I really wish we could at least use 100% accurate WilloWisp or something but NOPE we can't.

Also, no mention of Gyro Ball in the movepool? Gyro Ball might not hit Tangela but it definitely smacks Gligar for an easy 2HKO if Shadow Sneak is added. Pursuit could also be used to trap Psychic types I guess.

 

[Darkamber8828]

Also, no mention of Gyro Ball in the movepool? Gyro Ball might not hit Tangela but it definitely smacks Gligar for an easy 2HKO if Shadow Sneak is added. Pursuit could also be used to trap Psychic types I guess.

(19/6) * 25 + 1 = 80, which means it only breaks even with Iron Head against 19 speeders and scarfers. Not worth it.

Anyway, has anyone had success with Swords Dance Honedge? It's just so slow and +2 Shadow Sneak is so weak that it's not worth bothering with, IMO. I'm probably just gonna stick Sub, Shadow Claw, Automize, or Pursuit in that fourth slot.

 

[kingmidas]

(19/6) * 25 + 1 = 80, which means it only breaks even with Iron Head against 19 speeders and scarfers. Not worth it.

Anyway, has anyone had success with Swords Dance Honedge? It's just so slow and +2 Shadow Sneak is so weak that it's not worth bothering with, IMO. I'm probably just gonna stick Sub, Shadow Claw, Automize, or Pursuit in that fourth slot.

I've tested it on several teams, and with berry juice it is able to switch in several times against mons that it forces out and whittle down checks/counters bar tangela while forcing mons like gligar to roost which gives you momentum. Berry juice gligar is even easier.

 

[Mettie7]

I've never really tried out LC before, but how hard can it be/

A double dance set could work I think:

Honedge @ Berry Juice / Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: I'm not sure, but probably a lot of HP and Atk, rest in SpD and Spe?
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Autotomize
- Shadow Claw / Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword

Switch into something that has a hard time against it to help set up like a Fighting-type bc iirc, those are common in LC, right? It's ability blows but, oh well...

Again, I've only tried LC like once so I don't know all the rules besides tier if there are any specific rules.

 

[Darkamber8828]

I've tested it on several teams, and with berry juice it is able to switch in several times against mons that it forces out and whittle down checks/counters bar tangela while forcing mons like gligar to roost which gives you momentum. Berry juice gligar is even easier.

196+ Atk Honedge Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gligar: 9-12 (39.1 - 52.1%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO
+2 196+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gligar: 9-12 (39.1 - 52.1%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO
196+ Atk Honedge Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Gligar: 7-9 (30.4 - 39.1%) -- 17.6% chance to 3HKO
+2 196+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Gligar: 7-9 (30.4 - 39.1%) -- 17.6% chance to 3HKO

this thing isn't wearing down gligar anytime soon, and "forcing it to Roost" is hardly a point in your favor when it gets a free turn to Roost switching in on you anyway

neutral iron heads and sacred swords aren't really enough to break past checks at all, and +2 shadow sneak isn't strong enough to late-game sweep when it can't ohko anything that isn't weak to it, which means that anything with more than 10 speed and earthquake or a neutral STAB special move will just destroy it

bleh

 

[kingmidas]

196+ Atk Honedge Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gligar: 9-12 (39.1 - 52.1%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO+2 196+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gligar: 9-12 (39.1 - 52.1%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO196+ Atk Honedge Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Gligar: 7-9 (30.4 - 39.1%) -- 17.6% chance to 3HKO+2 196+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Gligar: 7-9 (30.4 - 39.1%) -- 17.6% chance to 3HKO

this thing isn't wearing down gligar anytime soon

neutral iron heads and sacred swords aren't really enough to break past anything, and +2 shadow sneak isn't strong enough to late-game sweep when it can't ohko anything that isn't weak to it, which means that anything with more than 10 speed and earthquake or a neutral STAB special move will just destroy it

Whittling down means as it switches in you consistantly rack up damage, which at one point will force it to roost where you switch to your appropriate answer

 

[Darkamber8828]

only works against things without reliable recovery

you are giving it free turns to do whatever the fuck it wants because honedge cannot threaten gligar

anyway, anything can whittle down checks. Honedge doesn't have the reliable recovery to outlast its checks, so it's not really a point in its favor compared to every other pokemon with an attacking move?

 

[-Sparkbeat-]

Honestly, Honedge is just very underwhelming. It's defensive typing looks great on paper, but its special defense leaves it open to shots from that side, while the majority of physical attackers carry Knock Off thanks to its new buff. The drops also hurt his viability, with not just Gligar being able to take him on and out, but Tangela and Vulpix as well. Speaking of Vulpix and Tangela, thanks to how dead weight it is against Sun, you almost have to carry a hard counter to it when running Honedge, just because of how easily it allows Vulpix so come in and set up sun or Tangela to come in and start sweeping.

Without a boost, I really find its power is lacking. Most things that will be switching into it can just recover off the damage done by it, since unless it's SE, it usually only does about 30%-40%. In fact, Shadow Sneak and weak attacks are even more detrimental now, because if you don't get the job done, Berry Juice activates and any work you did with Honedge is now negated. One move that I've found nifty in certain situations, mainly against offensive teams that don't run many Eviolited mons, is Substitute with Berry Juice. This allows him to ease prediction, scout out sets when he forces a switch, and possibly set up a Swords Dance to sweep. Most of the time though, I find its better to just run SD + 3 Attacks. Another crippling thing to Honedge is the heavy presence of priority in the tier, whether it be something faster than Honedge using it or Sucker Punch being used, which is another reason Sub can be useful. I really can't see Honedge doing anything else that something else doesn't do better, and even at what is does best, there are Pokemon like Slowpoke that can do it better.

 

[Celestavian]

It appears that discussion on Honedge is over. From my experience, it's biggest issue is its inability to set up in this metagame. The presence of threats such as Gligar, Tangela, Murkrow, Pawniard, and Swirlix means that Honedge can't use Swords Dance without risking getting KOed the next turn. Shadow Sneak is simply too weak for it to function as a Swords Dance sweeper, in my opinion. What I might like to see would be an Eviolite set that focuses more on breaking down the walls I mentioned with its STABs while being bulky enough to take hits, rather than setting up.

In any case, it's time for our next Pokemon of the Week: Spritzee!

Spritzee
Fairy-type
Abilities: Healer / Aroma Veil
78 HP / 52 Atk / 60 Def / 63 SpA / 65 SpD / 23 Spe​

Spritzee is somewhat overshadowed by Swirlix, the Fairy-type that everyone is talking about when it comes to big threats in this metagame. However, what Spritzee lacks in offensive prowess, it makes up for in defensive ability. Wish is Spritzee's biggest asset, and it's probably the best user of the move in the tier. Pure Fairy is fantastic defensive typing because of the rarity of Steel- and Poison-type attacks, and even then, only STAB attacks from these types are able to 2HKO it most of the time. In return, Spritzee resists, Fighting, Dark, and Bug, which are common, powerful attacking types. Its most common set is that of Wish / Protect / Aromatherapy / Moonblast which allows it to support the team with Aromatherapy and Wish while still not being offensively inert with a decently powerful Moonblast. Spritzee also gets Calm Mind, and with its bulk and Fairy's good offensive coverage, it can pull off a monoattacker set pretty well. As for abilities, Healer is useless in singles, so you should use Aroma Veil instead. It protects Spritzee from Taunt, Torment, and Attract, meaning that its Wish can not be stopped outside of KOing the recipient.

Even though Spritzee resists Dark, that doesn't stop Knock Off's secondary effect, which takes away a good portion of Spritzee's bulk and lets threats such as Meditite overpower it. As such, you should try and keep it away from Knock Off users if possible, but this is hard to do since Spritzee is trying to wall some of them, such as Mienfoo. Pawniard in particular is Spritzee's nemesis, since it can Knock Off + Iron Head for a KO while not being close to 2HKOed by Moonblast. Even if you happen to have Charm, Defiant protects Pawniard from its effects. Since Spritzee lacks the ability to do much offensively besides use Moonblast, resisters such as Honedge and generally bulky Pokemon such as Gligar can take this time to set up in front of it and then sweep.

Spritzee has a pretty standard set, but perhaps there are a few gems waiting its movepool. I personally like the possibility of a Disable set, since most Pokemon only have one move to hit Spritzee with, but its slow Speed doesn't let it do this before getting hit like Gastly does.

 

[Shouting]

Although knock off is annoying for Sprtizee, it doesn't get completely wrecked without its eviolite. For example, even without eviolite Sprtizee can still come in on Scraggy as it dragon dances, survive a +1 Poison Jab and KO with Moonblast. Even without eviolite, Spritzee can come in on Minefoo with no problems if it lacks Poison Jab

Also, Sprtizee can 2HKO eviolite Pawniard with stealth rock most of the time. It will take a lot from an Iron Head, but in case of emergency you can beat it if it switches in on you. Also you say that Gilgar gives Sprtizee trouble, but this isn't the case. Gilgar is beaten by Spritzee in most cases if it lacks Swords Dance.

Sprtizee does have decent coverage options too, including thunderbolt, energy ball, psychic and flash cannon, so it doesn't "lack" in the offense department, it is just overshadowed by Swirlx in offensive roles most of the time.

As far as checks go, Honedge and Magnemite are the best imo, but magnemite will have to face a potential special attack drop. Ferroseed also works well.

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

You briefly mentioned Calm Mind in the first post Hawkstar, but I would like to say that this boosting move can turn Spritzee into a defensive sweeper that can also support your team. At the start of xy I found a set posted in the forums that utilized Calm Mind, Wish, Aromatherapy, and Draining Kiss. It walls CM Swirlix, boosting along with it, laughs at Toxic from things like Lileep thanks to Aromatherapy, and once it has set up it continually heals itself while murdering everything your opponent puts up against it with a gentle kiss.

 

[Eol]

Toxic is also a really good move on Spritzee, as it allows it to stall bulky opponents. It saved me a few times against the likes of Slowpoke, SD-less Gligar, Larvesta, and many, many others. It also works pretty well with Wish+Protect.

The only problem is that it gets stomped over by most steel and poison-types, but those aren't that hard to cover.

 

[Ray Jay]

Just a brief rant / opinion on Spritzee after using it a lot

Spritzee has some of the worst 4mss right now; Protect, WIsh, Toxic, Aromatherapy, Moonblast, Draining Kiss, Calm Mind
Calm Mind sets completely trash stall, especially with Aromatherapy and Wish. Unfortunately this makes you lose Protect, which is superb against offensive teams.
Tspikes support is pretty useful with Spritzee, as it can stall out many offensive and defensive threats with relative ease; one interesting user of this move is actually Omanyte, who appreciates Spritzee's ability to handle Fighting-types.
Spritzee is a good Knock Off absorber for offensive teams that need a pivot due to its access to Wish and ability to clear status.
Spritzee's best defensive teammate is either Munchlax or Ferroseed, the former as it can phaze out those that try to set up on Spritzee and the latter for providing hazards and Leech Seed. Typing is pretty complementary for both Pokemon.
Spritzee's best offensive teammate is probably Meditite, who loves to use the Wish support and almost needs Aromatherapy support with how common Larvesta and Ponyta are becoming. Furthermore, Spritzee laughs at all the walls that typically switch in on Meditite (Slowpoke, Vullaby etc) bar Honedge.

 

[dcae]

Having recently faced multiple Spritzee and having been dramatically impressed by it, I have concluded this is the absolute best Fairy in LC. Its bulk is simply exquisite in terms of the fact that it takes nothing from some of the absolute strongest attackers in Little Cup. Good luck on OHKOing this Pokemon without employing shit like Life Orb Pawniard. Without Knock Offing its Eviolite, Spritzee hard walls offensive support Gligar for example, as well as the common Meditite. Furthermore, the Wish support it provides is actually solidly viable, unlike past Wish providers. Offensive CM set is also quite an interesting set, albeit not as effective as the defensive set imo.

In terms of partners, Munchlax is great for it as RayJay explained, especially due to the fact that Munchlax threatens other major Pokemon or strategies in the metagame that Spritzee cannot cover by itself. Magnemite is also a cool option due to its capacity to solidly threaten Pawniard, the biggest threat to Spritzee.

Overall top notch mon, definitely deserves the current hype.

 

[Electrolyte]

Spritzee is so bulky, it's insane. A big reason why it's so great is because it resists common attack types and lacks common weaknesses, making it really hard to take down quickly without boosted attacks. With Wish, it can easily stall out most Life Orb / statused Pokemon, and with Aromatherapy, it doesn't really fear status. It's a great wall that can fit well into a lot of defensive cores because of its flexibility and support movepool. With Moonblast, it doesn't even need to run any attacking investment to at least make sure that it's not complete setup bait, unlike a lot of other common walls in the tier.

One thing that I'd like to point out is the sheer utility of Moonblast, which, in my opinion, makes up a good part of Spritzee's viability. The power, coverage, and side effect- 30% for -SpA to the opponent- makes Spritzee really dangerous to stay in against, letting it force switches and basically grab momentum whenever it wants. It's so easy to force things out with Spritzee, making it a staple on defensive stall teams.

Speaking of team structure, Spritzee is awesome when paired with a lot of different Pokemon. I've heard people use Spritzee with Ferroseed, which is a great idea, as Ferroseed can easily lay down hazards that can wear down the opponent as Spritzee forces switches with its walling. Spritzee also works well with Chinchou, who loves Wish support and can pivot around and beat Steel-types with Scald. It's pretty easy to slap Spritzee on a team.