![[Image: ferrothorn___power_whip_by_ishmam-d5zmcwn.png]](http://pre00.deviantart.net/e950/th/pre/i/2014/255/6/8/ferrothorn___power_whip_by_ishmam-d5zmcwn.png)
Art by Ishmam
"Either Love Him or Hate Him, He's a Complete Thorn"
![[Image: ferrothorn.gif]](http://www.pokestadium.com/sprites/xy/ferrothorn.gif)
(VGC) Ferrothorn - Support (Pivot/Tank) 2 Options
Type: Grass/Steel
Base Stats: 74 HP / 94 Attack / 131 Defense / 54 Special Attack / 116 Special Defense / 20 Speed
Weaknesses: Fire (x4), Fighting (x2)
Resistances: Grass (x 1/4), Normal, Psychic, Steel, Water, Electric, Rock, Dragon, Fairy
Immunities: Poison
Iron Barbs: - "When a user is hit by an attacking Pokemon upon any contacting moves, the attacking Pokemon loses about 1/8 of its health. If Iron Barbs causes both Pokemon to faint, the attacking Pokemon will faint first followed by the Iron Barbs user. Multi-Strike Moves/Abilities will cause Iron Barbs to activate more than once. (Best Ability Overall)
Anticipation (Hidden Ability): - When the Pokemon with this ability enters the battle, the user will shudder if any enemy Pokemon has a super effective hit.
Overview
Ferrothorn is a solid choice in the VGC/Battle Spot Doubles metagame as a deter to physical attackers like Mega Kangaskhan, rain offense and against teams who don't have a way to harm the iron durian. Just look at its ability, typing paired up with its defensive stats alone and anyone will see why this Pokemon literally a thorn. Iron Barbs will always inflict residual damage against Pokemon (mostly physical attackers) who make contact with Ferrothorn by about 1/8 of its health. Give this plant a Rocky Helmet and physical attackers have to think twice before striking at Ferrothorn unless its either a Fire, Fighting, or strong neutral attack. Mega Kangakhan will take about 25% its health (accounting for both hits) if its targets Ferrothorn and nearly half its health (58%) if there it has Rocky Helmet. Defensive-wise Ferrothorn is doesn't lack much with 74 HP/ 131 Def / 116 SpD overall defensive prowess, 8 resistances which are rather common (Fairy, Electric, Normal, Steel, Rock, Water, Psychic, Dragon) and a immunity to Poison thanks to its Steel typing. Offensively, Ferrothorn is somewhat lacking 94 Atk / 54 SpA / 20 Spe, however fortunately for the Grass/Steel Pokemon, it has access relatively strong STAB options like Gyro Ball to hit faster Pokemon extremely hard due to its low speed, and a base 120 Power Whip to hit Water, Ground, and Rock types hard. With its typing alone, Ferrothorn is able to check a plethora of Pokemon like the following: Mega Metagross, Mega Gardevoir, Sylveon, Clefable, Kingdra, Mega Swampert, Scizor, Azumarill, Suicune, Ludicolo, Milotic, Rotom-W, Politoed, Thundurus, Landorus-T, Excadrill, Gastrodon, Rhyperior and many a host of others more. As you can see, Ferrothorn is the de facto best counter to rain teams given Ferrothorn's part Grass typing helps it tank rain boosted Water moves and recover or deal with threats with Power Whip and Leech Seed respectively. In all, Ferrothorn is a Pokemon any VGC player must prepare for as its either disposed of easily with a powerful Fire, Fighting, etc or it just sits there and walls the whole team.
Physical Attacker
![[Image: ferrothorn.png]](http://www.pokestadium.com/sprites/black-white/ferrothorn.png)
Ferrothorn @ Lum Berry / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Atk / 84 Def / 4 SpD (Dumped 4 EVs in Atk)
Brave / Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 Spe / 31 Spe
– Power Whip / Seed Bomb
– Gyro Ball / Iron Head
– Knock Off / Thunder Wave
– Protect
Notice: If Ferrothorn isn't opting for 0 Spe IVs for Gyro Ball or an Adamant nature, it should have have and EV spread of the following: 252 HP / 164 Atk / 84 Def / 4 SpD / 4 Spe for optimization.
Milestones:
-Survives a Low Kick from 252 Adamant Mega Kangaskhan and Close Combat from Standard Terrakion.
-Minimum speed (Brave with 0 IV in speed) to allow maximum damage for Gyro Ball
-OHKOs the following at least 93.8% of the time with: 252 HP / 4 Def Rotom-W, 4 HP Politoed.
-2HKOs a plethora of defensive Water types with Power Whip.
One set commonly seen on most Battle Spot / VGC matches are aggressive Brave / Adamant nature builds with its strong STAB options like Power Whip and Gyro Ball. Ferrothorn is a flexible Pokemon capable of many roles for the team whether its just full offense or support role with spreading paralysis. Power Whip smacks any Water, Rock, and Ground types with a strong base 120 STAB damage, though the 15% accuracy can be an issue at times. Seed Bomb is an alternative Grass type move with a base power of 80 STAB for Ferrothorn to utilize in case the accuracy is an issue, however it misses out in key 1-2 hit knock outs like on a Sitrus Berry Suicune or physically defensive Milotic. Gyro Ball at times is Ferrothorn's strongest attack that varies in power, but will hit at max 150 STAB base power if the targets speed is around 132 or higher. Knock Off is a coverage option for one particular Pokemon who can wall Ferrothorn quite well: Aegislash. If Aegislash leaves itself in shield form, it will leave itself open for an Knock Off which will not only deal plenty of damage to Aegislash but as well as reveal the item its using. Ferrothorn has access to Thunder Wave as it can paralyze unsuspecting targets while giving the team the slight edge in speed control. If Thunder Wave is being used in its movepool, Iron Head should be used instead with an Adamant nature and max speed IVs in case Ferrothorn happens to paralyze any targets with a speed of 159 or less (not 160 due to the chance of 50/50 speed ties). Pretty much this para-flinch strategy with Iron Head/Thunder Wave can be potent if in case the target is slow enough to be flinch after the paralysis.
The choice of item here is up to the player given both are extremely viable options in certain battle scenarios. Lum Berry allows Ferrothorn to absorb a potential status hit whether its either a Scald burn, Will-O-Wisp, confusion, Thunder Wave paralysis, Dark Void, Freeze, etc. Most of the time Pokemon like Rotom-W will likely stay in to burn Ferrothorn, however the Lum Berry can prevent the status ailment and give Ferrothorn a opportunity to retaliate with a STAB super effective Power Whip without any hassles. Rocky Helmet is kinda of a no-brainer for a Pokemon with a overall strong defensive typing and Iron Barbs ability to pick up additional residual damage. Pokemon like Mega Kangaskhan or Mega Salamence will risk losing a ton of HP immediately if they target onto a Ferrothorn especially if it carries Rocky Helmet. One last note about an Iron Barbs/Rocky Helmet Ferrothorn is that if it ever faints to a Pokemon who just went for a contact move which will likely end in a double KO, the Pokemon who made contact with Ferrothorn will faint first regardless. This is important battle mechanic information if in case Ferrothorn is ever in a 1v1 situation against a physical contact Pokemon like Mega Kangaskhan.
Damage Calculations
Offensive - (All calculations were done with only 164 Atks EVs since its the same as 168 Atk EVs with a positive attack nature of either Brave/Adamant)
Defensive - Here are a couple of damage calculations for Ferrothorn's overall defense of 252 HP / 84 Def / 4 SpD.
Defensive Support
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 148 Atk / 108 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
– Leech Seed
– Gyro Ball
– Power Whip
– Protect
Milestones:
-Survives a 252 Atk Terrakion's Close Combat and has a 6.3% chance that Life Orb 252 Atk Close Combat from Virizon OHKOs.
-Timid 252 Life Orb Hydreigon can only 3HKO this set.
-Iron Fist Conkeldurr cannot KO Ferrothorn immediately without a boost or item.
-Adamant Mega Kangaskhan cannot KO Ferrothorn with Low Kick.
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Contrary the the previous set, this particular build (from Level 51's 1st Place Singapore Asia Qualifier) is all about setting up Leech Seed recovery and stalling out the last remnants of the opposing team who is unable to handle Ferrothorn. This is basically Ferrothorn's best set to run no either Battle Spot Doubles or VGC Doubles since the only ways to beat Ferrothorn are simply overwhelming it with Fire, Fighting, or strong neutral attacks. Anything else will likely get walled by Ferrothorn as it can easily recover off any weaker coverage options with a round of Leech Seeds, Leftovers, and a turn to Protect for additional recovery. Of course Ferrothorn cannot stall out entire teams if there's a timer in place, but fortunately with access to high power STAB options like Power Whip (base 120) and Gyro Ball ( Base 150 max) to hit the opposing team with. Power Whip is reserved for any Water, Rock, or Ground type Pokemon who won't appreciate getting whipped to shreds. Though Gyro Ball's power often depend on fast the opposing Pokemon is, most targets with a speed of 132 or higher will get hit by a base 150 Steel type attack (assuming Ferrothorn has a negative speed nature with 0 IVs). With just the combination of these two attacks alone, Ferrothorn can 2HKO most Pokemon in the game with residual damage from Leech Seed, Iron Barbs, and a Rocky Helmet item will make its walling potential extremely potent.
Try to avoid using Ferrothorn early game as its works best once all the main Fire / Fighting type users are gone unless it has to confront Rain teams by itself. With Pokemon like Mega Gardevoir and Azumarill (paired with Amoonguss), Ferrothorn makes a great counter as it can bypass Rage Powder, is immune to poison and spore attacks from Amoonguss, and can easily OHKO either with a Power Whip or Gyro Ball. Ferrrothorn is one of the few Pokemon which can handle both Rain and Sand teams given its resistances to Water/Rock with its naturally high defenses and can easily retaliate with a strong Power Whip or Gyro Ball. When using Leech Seed, never use get into the habit of "Protect Stalling" as the opponent can easily take advantage of this and go after Ferrothorn's partner instead. Finally Relaxed nature was used so that Ferrothorn can optimizes its EVs as well as survive 252 Atk Terrakion's Close Combat without no other EVs being allocated.
Damage Calculations
Offensive - ( 148 Atk )
Defensive - ( With 252 HP / 108 SpD Relaxed Nature and Leftovers Recovery)
Potential Teammates include, but aren't limited to;
- Rain and Bulky Water types: In all honestly, Rain is such convenient way to patch Ferrohthorn's main quadruple Fire weakness by reducing the damage output by 50%. Essentially Water Pokemon like Politoed, Kingdra, Rotom-W, Gyarados, Suicune, Milotic can protect Ferrothorn against Fire type attacks while at the same time retaliate with a STAB Water hit. Some of these Pokemon have the potential to neutralize physical attackers with either Scald burns, Intimidate, or Will-O-Wisp to make Ferrothorn's walling potential much easier. In turn, Ferrothorn easily handles most Electric and Grass types since it either takes half or quarter damage.
- Fighting Resistant Pokemon (Fairy and Flying types): So what do Pokemon like Mega Gardvoir, Sylveon, Azumarill, Mega Salamence, Talonflame, Tornadus, Gyarados, and Landorus-T have in common. All of them can take a resisted Fighting type hit for Ferrothorn considering its one of its only two major weaknesses. Mega Gardevoir, Sylveon, Azumarill, and other Fairy types are offensively capable enough to beat a vast majority of Fighting Pokemon with just Pixilate Hyper Voice and Play Rough alone. Mega Salamence, Talonflame, and Tornadus fuffill the same role like their Fairy counterparts as they are able to KO most Fighting Pokemon with an Aerilate hit, Brave Bird, or Hurricane receptively. Landorus-T and Gyarados are resisted to most Fighting types and help Ferrothorn by reducing the damage done from Fighting types so that it can continue attacking or spreading Leech Seeds. One last thing to note is that most Fighting type Pokemon usually carry either Ice or Rock type coverage for Flying types.
- Offensive Partners Rock and Ground type Pokemon like Tyranitar, Terrakiom, Excadrill, Rhyperior, Landorus-T, Aerodactyl, Krookdile, Swampert, Garchomp, Mamoswine are able to deal with Fire types with their own STAB options while Ferrothorn can easily sponge Water, Grass, and moderate Ice hits without breaking a sweat. Ironically some Fire types like Heatran, Entei, Arcanine, Rotom-H, and others need ways to deal with either Rock, Ground, or Water types in which Ferrothorn can easily hit with a STAB Power Whip or setup on with Leech Seed.
Threats
- Fire Types and Coverage: In all seriousness, Ferrothorn absolutely cannot take a Fire type hit well otherwise it will faint immediately due to both Grass/Steel being quad weak to Fire. Pretty much every Fire Pokemon in the game can be mentioned as a hard counter since they all resist Ferrothorn's STABs and just eliminate it with a STAB Fire attack. The following Fire Pokemon who can handle Ferrothorn are Mega Charizard Y/X, Entei, Arcanine, Rotom-H, Heatran, Blaziken, Infernape, Mega Camerupt, Talonflame, Volcarona, Chandelure, etc. Pokemon with Fire type coverage like Flamethrower/Fire Blast/Fire Punch/Overheat on Mega Salamence, Hydreigon, NidoKing/Nidoqueen, Tyranitar, Mega Manetric, Mega Altaria, Garchomp, Togekiss, Eleketross, Goodra, Mega Kangaskhan, etc can all deal heavy damage or are capable of knock out Ferrothorn with ease as well.
- Fighting Types and Coverage: Though not quad weak to Fighting unlike Fire type attacks, Ferrothorn cannot take Fighting attacks without losing too much health to the point where it will get knocked out the in the sequential turns. Fighting type Pokemon like Terrakion, Virizion, Cobalion, Infernape, Blaziken, Conkeldurr, Machamp, Scrafty, Mega Gallade, Breloom, Heracross, Mega Lopunny, Mega Lucario, etc all can either inflict substantial damage or can even OHKO Ferrothorn at times. Pokemon with strong Fighting coverage like Mega Kangaskhan, Tyranitar, Scizor, Landorus-T, etc can deal heavy damage to Ferrothorn to reduce its effectiveness as a vital wall to the opposing team.
- Negating its Effectiveness: Have something like an Intimidate user or a burn spreader like Will-O-Wisp to mitigate Ferrothorn's physical attack to reduce its damage potential. Burning Ferrothorn is a great way to stop most sets as Ferrothorn's health is wither away to the point a strong neutral attack or super effective Fire/Fighting move deal with it. Taunt is another utility option to have for Ferrothorn so it doesn't use Leech Seed-Protect or have any setup in general.
- Strong Neutral Attackers and Double Targeting : Continue hitting Ferrothorn for as much residual damage as possible and result to double targeting in case the team doesn't have any of the above options for Ferrothorn. Consider using Substitute Pokemon so they won't be effected with Leech Seed or any other status ailment.
Other Notable Moves
While Ferrothorn has a completely viable set to use here are a couple of suggestions for moveslots:
- Curse: - A overall strong setup option for Ferrothorn as it increases both its attacks and defense stats by one stage however reduces its abysmal speed stat by only one stage as well. Since Ferrothorn is likely going last every turn, this is a great option to have for a long term sweeping potential.
- Explosion:- A base 250 attack in which Ferrothorn faints itself to inflict heavy damage against the opposing side of the field including its ally. Make sure that Ferrothorn's ally hasn't gone for Protect or there's no Feint user to break the Protect since this is basically all about deal enough damage to the opposing side. Normal Gem, Life Orb, or Choice Band should be the preferred items of choice for this strategy.
- Sword Dance: - Can increase Ferrothorn's physical attacks by 2 stages and makes it a formidable offensive threat with already powerful STABs like Power Whip and Gyro Ball.
- Toxic - A status ailment in which the target is "badly poisoned" and every turn the target is inflicted with N+1/16 damage base on its full HP. Given how defensively oriented Ferrothorn is Toxic can wear down teams in addition to Leech Seed set as well though its better off attack targets. This tech move is a great answer for Calm Mind users like Cresselia or Sylveon who can immediately become threatening after a couple of boost.
- Worry Seed - Give the target Pokemon the ability "Insomnia" while negating the target's primary ability until it switches out. Basically if you want a creative way to deal with Pixilate Sylveon/Mega Gardevoir, Prankster Thundurus, or even Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan just fire a Worry Seed to neuter their attacking potential.
- Endeavor - Can be a fun move to utilize if timed well. Essentially Endeavor equalizes the opponent's HP to the user's HP so in case Ferrothorn is low in health it can deal heavy damage to the opposing target. This will fail if Ferrothorn has more HP than its opponent so predict if the opponent is going for a strong hit against Ferrothorn.
- Bulldoze - Bulldoze not only deals deals super effective damage to Fire type Pokemon especially Heatran but reduces the speed of all three Pokemon (the opposing side and the ally) by one stage. This can also work as an effective speed control method in case Ferrothorn's team lacks one.
Other Notable Items
- Occa Berry - Cuts the power of Fire move by 50%.
- Chople Berry - Cuts the power of Fighting move by 50%.
- Choice Band - The holder's physical attack is boosted by 50% at the cost of losing the ability to alternate items.
For those who've gotten this far into the analysis thanks for reading this thread.
