Ferrothorn Movesets & Competitive Sets

Set Description The combination of Endure + Custap Berry allows Ferrothorn to survive a hit that would KO and move first the next turn. Gyro Ball, which is often Ferrothorn's strongest move, helps beat Pokemon such as Galarian Darmanitan, Togekiss, and Sylveon. Payback helps Ferrothorn beat Pokemon like non-Choice Specs Magnezone, Metagross, and Trick + Choice Scarf Cresselia. Revenge helps the Magnezone matchup and helps Ferrothorn beat Aggron. Leech Seed solidifies the Aromatisse and Regidrago matchups by allowing Ferrothorn to survive longer and set up further Swords Dances. EVs 240 HP EVs, 52 Defense EVs, and a Relaxed nature allow Ferrothorn to survive Fire Fang from Choice Band Garchomp. Usage Tips If a Pokemon's attack will bring Ferrothorn to 25% or less health, it can set up a Swords Dance on the first turn and use its Custap Berry to move first on the next turn. This strategy can be used against Zeraora, Landorus without Protect, and Rillaboom. Against potential Encore users, Ferrothorn should use a damaging move to avoid being locked into Swords Dance or Endure. Against Choice Scarf Togekiss, usually use Endure the first turn to predict their Fire-type coverage and then Gyro Ball on the second turn. However, Togekiss can also use Trick or Encore on the first turn. To avoid this, Ferrothorn can use Gyro Ball on the first turn. Against Alolan Ninetales, Ferrothorn should use Gyro Ball into Power Whip to prevent Disable and Encore from forcing it to use Struggle. Against Aromatisse, Ferrothorn should use Leech Seed on the first turn due to Gyro Ball’s low damage output; due to its HP investment, it can beat Aromatisse even after Aromatisse locks it into Leech Seed or makes it use Struggle. Custap Berry Ferrothorn can beat Choice Band Garchomp by clicking Swords Dance into Gyro Ball, and it beats Regidrago by using Gyro Ball first to avoid being OHKOed by a combination of Dragon Energy and Draco Meteor.

Set Description Thanks to its incredible mixed bulk, Ferrothorn can handle many top-tier threats such as Primarina, Tapu Fini, and Magnezone. Holding a Chople Berry allows it to beat Fighting-types such as Pheromosa, non-Fire Punch Sawk, and Urshifu-R. Gyro Ball is typically Ferrothorn's strongest move and helps it deal with Fairy-types such as Sylveon, Tapu Lele and, Diancie. Iron Defense + Body Press allows Ferrothorn to deal with threats such as Zeraora without Blaze Kick and Chansey, increasing both its physical bulk and Body Press's power. For its final moveslot, it can either run Leech Seed or Power Whip. Leech Seed lets you beat Assault Vest and Haban Berry Regidrago, Assault Vest Landorus-T, and Iron Defense Registeel. Power Whip allows Ferrothorn to hit Water-types like Tapu Fini and Primarina. EVs 248 HP and 52 Defense EVs with a Relaxed nature allow Ferrothorn to survive a Choice Band-boosted Close Combat from Jolly Choice Band Haxorus; 28 Attack EVs ensure that Ferrothorn OHKOes Haxorus after Iron Barbs damage and the Defense drop. The Special Defense EVs are for Custap Berry and Rocky Helmet Porygon-Z, as well as Gardevoir if Ferrothorn has Leech Seed. 0 Speed IVs is used to maximize the damage of Gyro Ball. Another EV spread is 248 HP / 160 Def / 100 SpD. This bulks a Hyper Beam from Choice Specs Porygon-Z and 2HKOes with Body Press. Usage Tips Pokemon such as Tapu Fini and Metagross can use Trick to give Ferrothorn a Choice item. To handle this, Ferrothorn should use a damaging move against these Pokemon (removed E accent) turn 1. Against Encore + Disable Alolan Ninetales, Ferrothorn should use Gyro Ball turn one, and it should use either Power Whip or Leech Seed next turn to avoid wasting a turn due to Disable. This guarantees a win against both Encore + Disable and Life Orb variants of Alolan Ninetales. Against Zeraora, Ferrothorn should use Iron Defense on the first turn, which lets it survive the second turn and then KO with Body Press due to Close Combat Defense drops. If you believe your opponent is running a defensive Urshifu-R, use Iron Defense on the first turn to not get KOed by Body Press. However, if you suspect Urshifu-R is offensive, use Power Whip on the first turn instead to OHKO it after Close Combat. Be mindful that some Pokemon may run Fire-type coverage for Ferrothorn's 4x weakness to deal with it, such as Zeraora, Urshifu-R, Dragapult, and Dracozolt.

Set Details Ferrothorn is invaluable support with a great defensive typing and strong support movepool, making it a staple in the metagame. Stealth Rock can be run instead of Spikes on teams that can't fit it elsewhere, but its broader distribution makes Ferrothorn running Spikes preferred. Body Press takes advantage of this set investing in Defense and hits Magnezone on the switch, threatens Equilibra and Kartana, and helps against opposing Ferrothorn. Gyro Ball allows Ferrothorn to hit Tornadus-T and Venomicon-E. Knock Off is an option to pressure entry hazard removers such as Zapdos, Tornadus-T, and Astrolotl by removing their Heavy-Duty Boots. They all are common switch-ins to Ferrothorn, though, as they carry Fire-type coverage. Power Whip is a powerful STAB option that helps Ferrothorn beat Water-types such as Urshifu-R and Arghonaut and Ground-types like Swords Dance Landorus-T and Garchomp. A Relaxed nature with 0 Speed IVs should be run alongside Gyro Ball, while Impish is preferred if Knock Off or Power Whip is run. Ferrothorn is quite an effective glue for bulky offense and balance teams, checking common threats such as Weavile, Melmetal, Tapu Koko, and Tapu Lele. Wallbreakers such as Swords Dance Garchomp, both Venomicon formes, and Dragonite all appreciate Spikes support from Ferrothorn as well as it checking their revenge killers in Weavile and Tapu Lele. Stealth Rock setters such as Garchomp and Heatran help stack passive damage on foes, and both can take Fire-type attacks thrown Ferrothorn's way. Tapu Fini is an excellent partner, checking Fire-types like Heatran and Astrolotl as well as Choice Band Urshifu-R and forcing all of them out. Offensive Zapdos can pressure Defoggers such as Corviknight and Tornadus-T and help Ferrothorn against Fighting-types such as Galarian Zapdos, Urshifu-R, and Revenankh, while Ferrothorn alleviates some pressure off of Zapdos by being a decent Knock Off absorber and check to offensive Ice-types.

Spikes and Leech Seed are required for their incredible utility, but there are multiple options to cover the last moveslots, all of which bring their own benefits. Knock Off is always good for item displacement, especially to help Stealth Rock setters chip prevalent Heavy-Duty Boots users such as Yveltal and Ho-Oh. Power Whip can be used over Knock Off to hit targets like Groudon trying to set up on Ferrothorn, Excadrill, and Calm Mind Kyogre, which other checks like Eternatus may not be as effective at beating. Gyro Ball is mostly used to check Xerneas, as well as many Pokemon that may try to set up on it such as Naganadel and Rayquaza; however, it requires a Sassy nature and 0 Speed IVs to hit as hard as possible. Curse is great for letting Ferrothorn soft check Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Zekrom and Zygarde. Specially defensive Ferrothorn is vulnerable to most strong physical and Fire-type attacks, so it requires solid support to cover these flaws. Defensive Zygarde is an excellent way to make up for most of these weaknesses, as it can check physical threats such as Urshifu-S, opposing Zygarde, and Marshadow while resisting Fire. Lunala similarly covers multiple physical threats like Groudon and Zygarde and can burn them. Ferrothorn walling some of the tier's largest special threats in Kyogre and Xerneas frees up its teammates. Palkia, in particular, appreciates this, as it can afford to run a much more offensive set because it has help in checking Kyogre. Galarian Darmanitan also likes Ferrothorn reliably switching into defensive Kyogre, which is one of its biggest checks. Ferrothorn's Spikes also helps Galarian Darmanitan break through teams.

Leech Seed both gives Ferrothorn more recovery and lets it force passive damage onto foes. Spikes is one of its main draws, as it's one of the few viable defensive Spikes users, and the entry hazard is very strong at forcing passive damage. Physically defensive Ferrothorn uses its great typing and Defense-boosting options to wall and set up on a variety of physical wallbreakers that are normally incredibly hard to check. These include Zekrom, Zygarde, Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM, Dracovish, and others. Iron Defense is typically paired with Body Press and a Bold nature, while Curse is used with Knock Off and an Impish nature. This set does not reliably check Kyogre or Xerneas even with its typing, so special walls are greatly appreciated. Eternatus and Palkia provide fast options to complement Ferrothorn's slow playstyle, while Blissey and Shedinja can reliably check both but are very passive. Physically defensive Ferrothorn checking such dangerous physical setup sweepers as Zekrom, Zygarde, and Necrozma-DM makes it a good teammate for Pokemon that struggle against those, like Ho-Oh, Yveltal, and Tyranitar. Kyogre also appreciates Ferrothorn checking Zekrom, one of the largest offensive threats to it, while Kyogre's rain can possibly let Ferrothorn survive a Fire-type move in a pinch.

Thanks to its great bulk and defensive typing, Ferrothorn is a very important Pokemon for Steel-type teams. Its typing gives it an important role of checking Water- and Ground-types and threaten them with Power Whip. Leech Seed gives it a form of recovery and is great when combined with Protect to get even more recovery and stall out opponents. Stealth Rock is a great utility move to chip away at the opposing team. Spikes is another option if another Pokemon on the team already has Stealth Rock. Maximum investment in Defense is for consistently dealing with physical threats to Steel-type teams such as Barraskewda, Mamoswine, and Crawdaunt. Ferrothorn is primarily a utility Pokemon and is used to switch in on attacks and apply defensive pressure to the opponent. Jirachi is a good partner for Ferrothorn as they form a core that can overwhelm Water-type teams thanks to Jirachi's access to Thunderbolt, Energy Ball and Psychic. Aegislash is a good partner because its Ghost typing gives it an immunity to Fighting-type attacks that threaten Ferrothorn and allows it to block Rapid Spin. Aegislash also benefits from Ferrothorn's entry hazards because it can use Shadow Sneak to pick off weakened foes. Bisharp is another good partner that punishes entry hazard removal because of its Defiant ability, which gives it a +2 Attack boost if the foe uses Defog. Corviknight forms a great defensive core with Ferrothorn and provides a Ground immunity. Excadrill is a great revenge killer and is an offensive check to Fire-types that threaten Ferrothorn and Steel-type teams in general. Duraludon can set up Stealth Rock, allowing Ferrothorn to run Spikes. Lucario and Durant are two strong wallbreakers that benefit from Ferrothorn's entry hazards chipping away at the opposing team.

Ferrothorn is a staple on Grass teams due to its phenomenal defensive typing, access to Spikes, Steel-type STAB options to handle Hatterene not carrying Mystical Fire and Ice-types, notably Kyurem, and a plethora of other utility moves. Spikes is valuable for Grass in order to help its wallbreakers like Rillaboom and Celebi to sweep late-game while also breaking opposing Focus Sash and chipping away at common defensive pivots like Galarian Slowking and Blissey. Leech Seed provides Ferrothorn with further recovery in tandem with Leftovers, as well as a means to stall out opposing walls such as Toxapex, Chansey, and Mantine. Iron Head hits Fairy- and Ice-types and can notably OHKO Alolan Ninetales through Aurora Veil. It's also particularly useful to prevent Kyurem from being able to stall it out. Body Press gives Ferrothorn a way to fight back against opposing Steel-types, making Ferrothorn the best counter for most Substitute Melmetal sets for Grass teams. Body Press can make it trickier for opponents to switch Hydreigon into Ferrothorn. Knock Off gives Ferrothorn a way to dissuade common Defog users like Corviknight, Mandibuzz, and Braviary from switching in with the threat of removing Leftovers from the former and Heavy-Duty Boots from the latter two. Knock Off can also be valued in general for its item removal, particularly against Toxapex and Amoongus in the Water or Poison stall matchup. Maximum Defense EVs and an Impish nature let Ferrothorn wall and check common physical attackers like Weavile and Golisopod. Leftovers is the preferred item, as without it, Ferrothorn would have to rely almost solely on Leech Seed for more longevity. Cradily is perhaps the best teammate for Ferrothorn defensively, using its great special bulk and Rock typing to tank special Fire-type attacks with ease, as well as common Fire-type coverage from Nidoking and Zapdos, while Ferrothorn shrugs off most physical Steel-, Ice-, and Bug-type attacks from threats such as Bisharp, Arctozolt, and Golisopod in return. Cradily also gets access to Stealth Rock and forms a viable entry hazard stacking core with Ferrothorn. Amoonguss’s Poison typing, good bulk, and excellent ability in Regenerator completes this trio and gives Ferrothorn a solid Fighting-resistant teammate to fall back on, while Ferrothorn gives Amoonguss a Psychic-resistant teammate and a Flying neutrality. Amoonguss can also use Spore to put a Pokemon to sleep that would threaten Ferrothorn like Zeraora, Urshifu-R, or Mimikyu carrying Drain Punch, and it can use Foul Play to check Dragapult and Aegislash. Whimsicott’s Prankster ability and access to Encore allow it to switch in on a foe that's trying to set up in front of Ferrothorn like Volcarona, Dragonite, or Spectrier and force it out while also racking up damage from entry hazards from the switches that Encore forces. Whimsicott's Fairy typing coupled with Moonblast can additionally make it a check to Fighting- and Dragon-types that may force Ferrothorn to switch out, like Buzzwole, Galarian Zapdos, Hydreigon, and Kyurem. At worst, it can provide additional Knock Off support against threats like Zapdos or Stun Spore against Tornadus and other Flying-types. Its U-turn can help Ferrothorn to come in more easily as well. Rillaboom appreciates the hazards that Ferrothorn sets up, which makes it easier to sweep late-game, especially against potential cleaners like Galarian Darmanitan and Alolan Raichu. It can also take advantage of a foe with Ferrothorn's Leech Seed to set up more easily. Access to High Horsepower and Superpower is also valuable coverage for Ferrothorn, as Rillaboom can notably check specially defensive Heatran and makes for a great teammate against Ice teams due to Superpower and Grassy Glide. Furthermore, Rillaboom's Grassy Surge provides Ferrothorn with even more passive recovery and reduced damage from Ground-type attacks. Celebi is a special attacker that can deal with Magnezone and Volcanion, which could give Ferrothorn a hard time. Celebi packs another Fighting resistance and also appreciate Ferrothorn's hazards that help it clean late-game. Choice Scarf Zarude can check threatening Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon such as Victini and Spectrier, as well as break other Steel-types like Heatran with Close Combat. Rotom-C is a powerful special attacker that can break physical walls like Toxapex and Corviknight in addition to providing an immunity to Ground-type attacks.

Ferrothorn's excellent defensive typing, great stat spread, and wide utility movepool make it a premier entry hazard setter in STABmons. Grav Apple is the primary STAB move, offering consistent damage, allowing Ferrothorn to break through defensive Pokemon like Clefable and Sylveon with repeated Defense drops, and breaking Gyarados's Substitute. Anchor Shot can be used to trap foes like Hippowdon and Zeraora, with stat drops from Grav Apple and Strength Sap heavily helping Ferrothorn remove these targets from play. Knock Off is an alternative utility option that can be used to remove Leftovers and Heavy-Duty Boots from the likes of Heatran, Tornadus-T, and Rotom-H, cutting into their longevity and making them more vulnerable to Ferrothorn's hazards. Other viable utility options include Toxic, which further cripples switch-ins like Rotom-H but in return leaves Ferrothorn helpless against Steel-types like Corviknight and the aforementioned Heatran, and Aromatherapy, which is useful on defensive teams that benefit from Ferrothorn taking a cleric role. Ferrothorn fits best on balance teams, with defensive Water-types like Toxapex and Slowking offering fantastic type synergy, soaking up strong Fire- and Fighting-type attacks from Cinderace and Keldeo. Ferrothorn deals with threats like Zeraora and Rillaboom in return. Stealth Rock users like Tyranitar and Clefable form a strong hazard core with Ferrothorn, with the former heavily pressuring Rotom-H and also greatly appreciating the chip damage that Spikes provides, while the latter can reliably remove hazards and handle Fighting-types like Buzzwole, which Ferrothorn has trouble with. Wallbreakers like Thundurus-T, Reuniclus, and Aerodactyl make for good partners, profiting off Ferrothorn's hazards and ability to check faster revenge killers like Weavile and Zeraora.

Cotton Guard turns Ferrothorn into a formidable wall, checking many of the tier's strongest setup sweepers including Excadrill, Dracozolt, and Gyarados. It also makes for a solid wincon thanks to Cotton Guard increasing the damage output of Body Press. Spikes synergizes excellently with this strategy, as Ferrothorn can use the threat of boosted Body Press to force out common entry hazard removers like Corviknight and Tornadus-T. Strength Sap allows Ferrothorn to further challenge physical attackers that may otherwise muscle through Cotton Guard boosts. Alternatively, Anchor Shot can be used instead of Spikes, trapping Pokemon like Hippowdon, Clefable, and opposing Ferrothorn that may otherwise exploit an unboosted Ferrothorn to set up hazards. Ferrothorn makes great use of Leftovers's passive recovery, notably using it to avoid a 2HKO from Aerodactyl's Brave Bird. Chople Berry can be run to let Ferrothorn lure in Fighting-types like Urshifu-R, Buzzwole, and Terrakion. Ferrothorn fits best on balance and offense teams that require a blanket check to physical attackers, and their offensive cores can make full use of Spikes chip damage and weaken foes into range of Body Press. VoltTurn Pokemon like Rotom-H and Thundurus-T are therefore great options, as are strong wallbreakers that can remove Heavy-Duty Boots, like Tyranitar and Weavile. Rapid Spin users are also appreciated for removing opposing hazards without removing Ferrothorn's Spikes, with Sylveon and Calm Mind Clefable being two particularly notable examples that also offer a Fighting resistance.

Iron Defense makes Ferrothorn even more difficult to KO while doubling as an offensive boost by increasing the power of Body Press. Leech Seed whittles down foes and provides additional recovery to help keep Ferrothorn healthy. Protect keeps Ferrothorn safe while a teammate is brought out to deal with a threat and can be used to let it benefit from the passive recovery of Leftovers and Leech Seed. The given EV spread ensures Body Press will OHKO standard Incineroar after a single Iron Defense, with the remaining EVs placed into Special Defense to maximize Ferrothorn's special bulk. Iron Barbs supplies free chip damage, wearing down physical attackers and discouraging Fake Out.

Ferrothorn's great typing makes it one of the best special tanks in the tier, checking some of the most prominent special attackers, mostly Tapu Koko. Spikes is the main appeal of its kit, as Ferrothorn is bulky enough to set up Spikes while taking minimal damage. Stealth Rock can still be run when Ferrothorn is the team's only entry hazard setter; however, in general Spikes is more valuable due to its limited access. Leech Seed is its main recovery option and weakens foes. Power Whip nails Water-types Ferrothorn is supposed to switch in on, like Tapu Fini and Gastrodon. Ferrothorn's last moveslot is flexible: Knock Off is a great option to threaten Pokemon like Ho-Oh and Victini, Thunder Wave supports its slower teammates while also dissuading setup, and Gyro Ball heavily damages fast offensive switch-ins like Mewtwo and Galarian Moltres. Ferrothorn can also use Protect to get extra recovery from Leftovers and Leech Seed, or Toxic to debilitate switch-ins like Ho-Oh, Yveltal, and Volcarona. Leftovers is used to give Ferrothorn more longevity, especially since it lacks a reliable recovery move. Gyro Ball Ferrothorn runs minimum Speed EVs and IVs to maximize its damage output. Ferrothorn fits best on bulky offense and balance teams, supporting the team with constant Spikes chip damage and checking several good special attackers such as Tapu Koko and Nihilego. Most gods synergize well with Ferrothorn and substantially raise its HP, although Ho-Oh deserves a special mention. Ferrothorn deals with foes such as Nihilego and Tapu Koko for Ho-Oh, while Ho-Oh deals with Fighting- and Fire-types such as Volcarona, Heatran, and Pheromosa for Ferrothorn. Most wallbreakers in the tier appreciate Spikes, notably Weavile, Tapu Koko, and Zygarde-10%. Landorus-T and Clefable also make solid partners as both tank Fighting-type attacks and use Stealth Rock, allowing Ferrothorn to freely run Spikes. Clefable also doesn't mind taking Knock Off, which cuts into Ferrothorn's longevity. Fire-types like Victini, Blacephalon, and Heatran can OHKO Ferrothorn, making Water-types like Vaporeon, Slowking, and Gastrodon good partners. Teammates like Choice Scarf Tapu Fini to deal with foes that can boost past Ferrothorn's bulk, like Rayquaza and Galarian Moltres.

Ferrothorn can use a physically defensive set with its great Defense stat and Iron Barbs to punish contact physical attacks like U-turn from Landorus-T, Tornadus-T, and Rillaboom, Surging Strikes from Urshifu-R, and Triple Axel from Weavile. It still switches into foes that specially defensive Ferrothorn can handle such as Tapu Koko, but less reliably. Its main appeal is using Spikes to chip down its teammates's checks. Stealth Rock is an option for Spikes-immune foes like Skarmory, Landorus-T, and Rotom-W, but only if no other teammate can fit it. Leech Seed chips down the foe and provides a way of recovery. Power Whip lets Ferrothorn hit foes it is supposed to check like Tapu Fini, Gastrodon, and Tyranitar. Body Press is useful to hit Steel-types like Heatran, Zamazenta-C, Magnezone, and opposing Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn has a bunch of options for its last move. Knock Off can be used to bother the likes of Celesteela, Yveltal, Zapdos, and Rotom-H, making the latter three very susceptible to Stealth Rock. Iron Defense increases its already great physical bulk and also the damage output of Body Press, preventing dangerous Pokemon with setup, notably Necrozma-DM, from muscling through. Thunder Wave debilitates offensive switch-ins like Buzzwole, Kartana, and Galarian Moltres. Gyro Ball can also be used to heavily damage fast foes like Kyurem-W and Pheromosa. Protect can give Ferrothorn a free turn to recover some HP using Leech Seed and Leftovers and scout for Choice item users. Toxic damages switch-ins like Volcarona and Yveltal. Ferrothorn prefers Leftovers as its item due to lacking any sort of reliable recovery, but Rocky Helmet can be used to focus on punishing physical attackers in shorter games. If Gyro Ball is used, minimum Speed EVs and IVs make it hit as hard as possible. Ferrothorn is best used on bulky offense and balance teams. Many teammates appreciate its Spikes chipping defensive foes, and most gods can bolster Ferrothorn's bulk with an HP donation. Rayquazaespecially appreciates Spikes to wallbreak, and it switches into Fire- and Fighting-types like Volcanion, Victini, and Urshifu-R while keeping offensive pressure. Slowbro is also a great teammate to take a lot of Fire- and Fighting-type attacks while keeping momentum with Future Sight and Teleport. Similarly, Landorus-T not only covers Fighting-types and can pivot, but also allows Ferrothorn to freely run Spikes with its Stealth Rock. Teammates with Defiant, most notably Galarian Zapdos, also like Spikes because they heavily punish Defog attempts. As Ferrothorn doesn't like losing its Leftovers, having a teammate that doesn't mind taking Knock Off like Tapu Koko or Clefable is a good idea.

Ferrothorn provides a fantastic role as a Spikes setter that can keep them up reliably against most Defoggers in the tier. Knock Off removes the Leftovers or Heavy-Duty Boots from many of its switch-ins, such as Zapdos, Corviknight, Tangrowth, and Heatran, making entry hazards more effective against them. As its only form of recovery besides Leftovers, Leech Seed improves its longevity and lets it slowly whittle down Pokemon like Garchomp and Ash-Greninja. Power Whip improves its mostly passive presence and pressures Water-types like Ash-Greninja, Tapu Fini, Mega Swampert, Gastrodon, and Slowking. Body Press can be run to pressure Kyurem, Heatran, and Kartana from switching in and beat Magnezone in rain. Thunder Wave can provide utility in crippling fast wallbreakers like Ash-Greninja and walls like Corviknight for its teammates. Iron Barbs is Ferrothorn's best ability, chipping pivots like U-turn Rillaboom and Landorus-T. A specially defensive EV spread allows it to handle Pokemon like Clefable, Tapu Lele, and Greninja more easily. 232 Special Defense EVs ensure it survives three Choice Specs Greninja's Dark Pulses from full HP. Ferrothorn fits best on balance and bulky offensive teams in need of a wall. Ferrothorn synergizes well with other entry hazard setters such as Stealth Rock Landorus-T and Garchomp to stack up chip damage. Landorus-T also does well at providing a Ground immunity, as Pokemon like Garchomp and opposing Landorus-T can overwhelm Ferrothorn once boosted due to its reliance on passive recovery. Garchomp can also pressure Defoggers like Corviknight and Zapdos, preventing them from safely removing its entry hazards. Garchomp, Tapu Fini, Tyranitar, and Toxapex check Fire-type threats like Heatran, Mega Charizard Y, and Volcarona. Ash-Greninja can also threaten the aforementioned Pokemon and also set Spikes alongside Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn appreciates Dark-resistant Pokemon like Clefable and Tapu Fini to handle Ash-Greninja more easily. Spikes is a boon for teammates like Reuniclus, Clefable, and Garchomp, as they appreciate it wearing down their checks and punishing switches harder.

Ferrothorn is a good defensive presence in AG thanks to its respectable bulk, useful defensive typing, and access to Spikes, allowing it to act as a great check to Kyogre and Xerneas while being a valuable entry hazard setter. Leech Seed is Ferrothorn's most reliable form of recovery and a great tool of disruption against switch-ins such as Zacian-C. Power Whip deals immediate damage to Kyogre, notably forcing out bulky Calm Mind variants, and Xerneas. Protect is useful to scout for the foe's moves, gain Leftovers and Leech Seed recovery, and stall out Dynamax turns from the likes of Xerneas, Groudon, and Kyogre. Knock Off is an alternative to cripple foes like Ho-Oh, Yveltal, and Eternatus. Toxic is another good option, crippling all of the metagame's Defoggers in Yveltal, Ho-Oh, and Lunala. A specially defensive spread with a Careful nature is required in order for Ferrothorn to check Kyogre and Xerneas reliably. Ferrothorn should preserve its health with Leech Seed so it can stay healthy throughout the game while whittling down foes. Ferrothorn fits on all sorts of balance and bulky offense teams that appreciate having a check to Kyogre and Xerneas as well as Spikes support. Teammates like Zygarde-C, Zekrom, and Kyogre are notable for pressuring Ho-Oh, which is a huge threat to Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn significantly struggles against threats like Marshadow, Dragon Dance Zygarde-C and Zekrom, Groudon, Zacian-C, Eternatus, and Calyrex-S due to their super effective or powerful moves against it and their tendency to use Ferrothorn as setup bait. Therefore, good partners that can check these threats such as Zacian-C, Lunala, Necrozma-DM, Calyrex-S, and Yveltal are useful. Zygarde-C really appreciates Spikes support from Ferrothorn, as it synergizes fantastically with its Dragon Tail, while Ferrothorn is able to check Xerneas and disrupt Lunala for Zygarde-C. Groudon pairs excellently with Ferrothorn; Groudon is able to force out Ho-Oh and set up with Swords Dance while forcing it out, and it heavily benefits from Ferrothorn's Spikes chipping its checks and Ferrothorn's ability to check Kyogre. The likes of Zacian-C, Xerneas, Kyogre, and Marshadow are some other good teammates, benefitting hugely from Spikes wearing down their main checks in Necrozma-DM and Eternatus. Ferrothorn struggles to reliably check Choice Specs Kyogre, so a secondary Kyogre check like Eternatus is appreciated.

Physically defensive Ferrothorn is a valuable defensive cornerstone that provides entry hazard support and checks many prominent physical attackers such as Zekrom, Groudon, and Zygarde. Its excellent typing also allows it to soft check Kyogre, which allows Eternatus to play more offensively. Iron Defense or Curse allows Ferrothorn to bolster its Defense to check physical setup sweepers such as Dragon Dance Zekrom and Zygarde. Body Press is the preferred attack on Ferrothorn, as its power is based on Ferrothorn’s Defense; it also allows Ferrothorn to punish Yveltal for using Roost, helping Ferrothorn keep entry hazards up and weakening Yveltal to enable a Calyrex-S sweep. Knock Off and Curse are alternatives to Body Press and Iron Defense, respectively, that debilitate pivots heavily dependent on Heavy-Duty Boots such as Ho-Oh, cripple item-dependent breakers such as Marshadow, and threaten Calyrex-S. Knock Off also allows Ferrothorn to make immediate progress against opposing Eternatus and Ferrothorn by removing their Black Sludge and Leftovers. However, the extra stage of Defense that Iron Defense provides over Curse is often crucial for surviving matchups against certain powerful physical sweepers such as Life Orb Zygarde and Swords Dance Groudon. Leech Seed allows Ferrothorn to gain an incredible amount of passive recovery alongside Leftovers while chipping foes. Maximum Defense and HP investment with a Bold or Impish nature allows Ferrothorn to best handle the threats it checks. Physically defensive Ferrothorn works well on teams with wallbreakers that would benefit from Spikes support and beat its checks and counters; Zacian-C, Xerneas, Marshadow, and Kyogre are all great partners. Body Press Ferrothorn synergizes well with Calyrex-S, as it pressures specially defensive Yveltal with a super effective hit after using Roost. Knock Off users can also take advantage of Ferrothorn’s Spikes by knocking Heavy-Duty Boots off of enemy defensive pivots, making them prone to chip damage. Taunt Yveltal pairs effectively with Ferrothorn as it prevents enemy Defog and recovery, magnifying the impact of Spikes on entry hazard stack teams. Zekrom, Zygarde-C, and Kyogre all pressure Ho-Oh, one of Ferrothorn’s most notable checks. Another good partner for physically defensive Ferrothorn is Eternatus; Eternatus's convenient typing and bulk allow it to absorb super effective Fire- and Fighting-type attacks aimed at Ferrothorn, sponge Knock Off, which would otherwise deny Ferrothorn's Leftovers recovery, and drain Defog PP with Pressure, all while acting as a team's mandatory Kyogre check. Lastly, Ferrothorn appreciates Groudon, as it threatens Ho-Oh with Stone Edge and reliably sets Stealth Rock, which easily enables multiple layers of hazard stacking when used in conjunction with Ferrothorn's Spikes.

Specially defensive Ferrothorn is a solid answer to dangerous specially offensive threats such as Tapu Koko and Primarina. Leech Seed is mandatory because of its lack of a reliable recovery move, allowing it to chip switch ins such as Corviknight while restoring HP. Knock Off removes items from them, discouraging Pokemon that heavily rely on their item such as Zapdos from switching in. Body Press is another option which targets foes that don't mind losing their item such as opposing Ferrothorn, while also hitting Heatran. Power Whip lets Ferrothorn pressure Water-types such as Tapu Fini and Swampert; however, Gyro Ball is a good alternative that hits foes like Tapu Lele and Togekiss harder. Spikes is a great last option to support its teammates, as Ferrothorn forces many switches. Protect instead lets it scout moves from Choice item Pokemon such as Terrakion and get more health back from Leftovers and Leech Seed. If Ferrothorn runs Body Press and Gyro Ball, Curse can also be considered, potentially sweeping against unprepared opponents. Bulletproof allows Ferrothorn to comfortably wall Sheer Force Tapu Lele, and should be paired with Gyro Ball to OHKO it in return. Flash Fire and Primordial Sea negate Ferrothorn's Fire weakness, allowing it to check dangerous attackers such as Heatran and Entei, with Flash Fire being more vulnerable to Mold Breaker Heatran while Primordial Sea risks getting overridden by a Desolate Land switch-in and doesn't stop Will-O-Wisp. Leftovers helps Ferrothorn make up for its lack of reliable recovery. 252 HP EVs maximizes Leftovers recovery; if Gyro Ball is used, Ferrothorn should run 0 Speed and a Sassy nature to make it hit as hard as possible. Specially defensive Ferrothorn finds its place in teams that need an utility special wall that can also handle either Tapu Lele or Fire-type Pokemon. Fighting-types such as Terrakion threaten Ferrothorn, therefore teammates that can handle it are appreciated. For example, Intimidate Corviknight can form an entry hazard control duo with Ferrothorn and check Terrakion, while Ferrothorn takes on Heatran and Volcanion for Corviknight. Similarly, Tapu Fini can cover for Ferrothorn's weaknesses, provide a midground switch in case a Desolate Land Pokemon overrides Ferrothorn's Primordial Sea, and cripple defensive threats with Trick. Offensive threats with pivot like Galarian Zapdos and Talonflame utilize Ferrothorn's Spikes well. Tapu Koko, in particular, can take on Galarian Zapdos and pressure common entry hazard removers. Garchomp can stack entry hazards alongside Ferrothorn with Stealth Rock and also set up Swords Dance to punish hazard removal attempts.

Thanks to its excellent utility movepool and useful defensive typing, Regenerator Ferrothorn is an excellent support Pokemon. Knock Off is its most consistent attack, removing important items such as Leftovers and Rocky Helmet from foes. Spikes supports its teammates by providing chip damage, and combined with Knock Off can help chip Pokemon even if they carry Heavy-Duty Boots. Power Whip is a powerful STAB option that deals significant damage to Water-type Pokemon, notably Tapu Fini to prevent it from clearing Spikes with Defog, and also 2HKOes Tapu Koko. Body Press can be used instead to target Heatran and opposing Ferrothorn. Thunder Wave further cripples switch-ins, slowing them and potentially denying their entry hazard removal. If Ferrothorn runs Body Press, Iron Defense is an alternative that allows it to beat Corviknight one-on-one, which otherwise prevent it from setting Spikes. It can also beat some Fighting-type Pokemon like Terrakion and Mienshao if they switch in on the turn Ferrothorn boosts its Defense. Rocky Helmet helps it punish contact moves, usually U-turn and Flip Turn from the likes of Landorus-T and Barraskewda. Chople Berry allows Ferrothorn to survive a Close Combat from Terrakion and Barraskewda and OHKO back with Power Whip. Finally, Heavy-Duty Boots lets Ferrothorn ignore Spikes damage and pivot into attackers like Tapu Koko more reliably. The given EV spread allows it to avoid the 2HKO from Inteleon's and Primarina's Hydro Pump, the 4HKO from Pixilate Tapu Koko's Facade, and the OHKO from Barraskewda's Close Combat without Chople Berry intact. Regenerator Ferrothorn finds its place on almost all team styles. Primordial Sea Zapdos is a great partner for Ferrothorn, as it can take on Fire-types like Heatran that force Ferrothorn out, while Ferrothorn can handle Rock- and Water-type moves that threaten Zapdos. Zapdos also complements Ferrothorn's Spikes by threatening all common Defoggers and spinners such as Mandibuzz and Corviknight and pivoting with either U-turn or Volt Switch to rack up Spikes damage. Heatran can form a hazard stack core together with Ferrothorn and also deny Defog with Taunt. Together with Tapu Fini, they form a solid defensive Fire / Water / Grass core with a lot of useful utility options. Offensive threats appreciate Ferrothorn's Spikes to help them pick up more key KOs, especially those that can pivot to wear down their checks and counters such as Galarian Zapdos and Primordial Sea Barraskewda. Even with Chople Berry, Ferrothorn can't switch in directly against a strong Close Combat, so bulky Pokemon that resist Fighting make for great partners, such as Mew and the aforementioned Tapu Fini.

Ferrothorn is a great defensive pivot for Steel teams because of its excellent defensive typing, which packs a valuable resistance to Water- and Electric-type attacks, good bulk, and ability to provide entry hazards for its team. Leech Seed is Ferrothorn's main form of recovery and inflicts passive damage on opposing threats such as Toxapex. With Protect, Ferrothorn gets an extra turn of Leech Seed and Leftovers recovery and the ability to scout Choice item users like Diggersby, Mamoswine, and Blacephalon. Power Whip hits Ground- and Water-types; it OHKOes Mega Swampert, Seismitoad, and Gastrodon, and heavily damages Urshifu-R, Excadrill, and Keldeo. It also makes Ferrothorn less passive in general, as it can hit frail offensive threats like Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele hard. Spikes provides a great way to capitalize on other defensive Pokemon that like to switch into Ferrothorn, such as Heatran. The EV spread gives Ferrothorn enough Special Defense to withstand a Focus Blast from Landorus most of the time, and enough Defense to increase its overall effectiveness against physical threats like Choice Band Excadrill and Zeraora. Every Pokemon on a Steel teams benefits from Ferrothorn's ability to pivot into most Water- and Electric-types and set up Spikes to wear down the opposing team. Flying-types like Celesteela, Skarmory, and Corviknight switch into Fighting-types like Mega Gallade for Ferrothorn. In return, they gain from Ferrothorn checking threats such as Tapu Koko and Kingdra. Heatran is also one of the best partners for Ferrothorn, as it pivots into Fire-type attacks that usually greatly threaten Ferrothorn and beats opposing Steel-types that wall Ferrothorn like Skarmory. Ferrothorn then switches into Water-type attacks in Heatran’s stead. Aegislash also helps with Ferrothorn's weaknesses, as it is immune to Fighting-type attacks, and prevents Rapid Spin from removing Ferrothorn's Spikes. Due to its typing, bulk, and ability to set up, Mega Scizor checks certain Fighting-types such as Mega Lopunny. In return, Mega Scizor excels with Spikes support from Ferrothorn, as it becomes that much easier to sweep with Bullet Punch later in the game. Z-Happy Hour Jirachi and Bisharp are other similar late-game sweepers that capitalize off of Ferrothorn's Spikes support and chip damage. Jirachi's Psychic typing makes it a good answer to troublesome Fighting-types like Keldeo and Kommo-o, while Bisharp takes on Psychic- and Ghost-type foes such as Latias, Aegislash, and Latios. Magnezone traps and removes opposing Steel-types like Celesteela, which threatens Ferrothorn with Flamethrower, and opposing Ferrothorn, which may set up its own entry hazards. Scarf Excadrill revenge kills Fire-types like Blacephalon, provides a secondary check to Electric-types, and pairs well with Ferrothorn's resistance to Water-types and Spikes support for cleaning up late-game.

Iron Defense + Body Press lets Ferrothorn do a lot of damage for a defensive tank, and lets Ferrothorn win matchups against other defensive Pokemon such as opposing Ferrothorn that might otherwise result in a deadlock. Leech Seed can recover HP lost trying to set up, and can let Ferrothorn completely stonewall physical attackers. It is also the best move to cover a switch-in when Ferrothorn cannot sweep yet. Items Leftovers gels well with this Ferrothorn's nature as a defensive set-up Pokemon. Occa Berry, when combined with Iron Defense, lets Ferrothorn survive surprising Fire-type attacks, such as Life Orb Cinderace's G-Max Fireball. Other Options These sets are more niche than the others, but can still be considered if they fulfill a specfic purpose on your team.

Despite Fire- and Fighting-type coverage at every corner, Ferrothorn somehow manages to be a major defensive threat. Its ability to take over the game once its counters have been removed is unparalleled, so take advantage of its strong pressure at team preview. The Leech Seed and Protect combo can recover a lot of HP, while Gyro Ball does a lot of immediate damage. Grass-type STAB is strongly recommended to not lose to Calm Mind + Substitute Raikou. Power Whip is the obvious answer, but Bullet Seed does work better against Mimikyu's Disguise and Swampert that carry Focus Sash or Rindo Berry. Ferrothorn is a very reliable user of Stealth Rock, so it can be worth giving up Protect if hazards are needed. Knock Off does decent damage to Fire-type switch-ins, and removing valuable items such as Porygon2's Eviolite gives it utility. Body Press takes advantage of Ferrothorn's impressive Defense stat, and gives it an advantage against opposing Ferrothorn. Use Ferrothorn's immense defenses and numerous resistances to pivot into Pokemon like Tapu Fini, then use Leech Seed or its strong attacks to pressure Cinderace, Urshifu, and other Pokemon that switch into Ferrothorn, then switch out to an appropriate answer. Items Leftovers is the best recovery option for Ferrothorn, since it tends to stick around for a while. Occa Berry can save Ferrothorn once against weaker Fire-type attacks from foes like Dragapult. Rocky Helmet seriously punishes Pokemon that use contact moves, such as Urshifu-R and Garchomp.

Thanks to Ferrothorn's high BP STABs, it can make an unexpected bulky offensive threat with Choice Band. Bullet Seed can be used instead of Power Whip to get around Focus Sash, Rindo Berry, and Mimikyu's Disguise more easily. Knock Off and Bulldoze let Ferrothorn catch bulky Steel-types such as Celesteela and Heatran off guard with more offensive power and coverage than usual.

Moves Leech Seed is one of Ferrothorn's only ways to regain HP and is key for continuously whittling down foes such as non-Hidden Power Fire Magearna, non-Hammer Arm Mega Metagross, and Donphan. Confide, when used as a Z-Move, boosts Ferrothorn's Special Defense by one stage and helps neuter special attackers such as Tapu Fini, Primarina, and Meloetta. Curse enables Ferrothorn to further boost its defensive capabilities in addition to its offensive abilities, helping it deal with foes such as Porygon2, Crustle, and the aforementioned non-Hammer Arm Mega Metagross. Iron Defense, while seeming inferior in the sense of not providing an Attack raise, boosts Ferrothorn's already great physical bulk to transcendent levels, lessening the damage from physical attackers such as Swords Dance Mega Pinsir. Gyro Ball is usually Ferrothorn's most powerful STAB move thanks to its exceedingly low Speed and is a reliable way to beat Fairy-types such as Tapu Lele, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Diancie. Set Details 252 HP and 176 Special Defense EVs make Ferrothorn capable of usually beating Magnezone, taking its Gigavolt Havoc in conjunction with Metal Sound after using Z-Confide. Furthermore, this investment also almost guarantees that Choice Specs Hidden Power Fire Tapu Lele won't OHKO Ferrothorn. Notably, 16 EVs in Attack ensure that Iron Defense Ferrothorn can almost always beat 0 HP EVs Swords Dance + Earthquake Mega Pinsir with Gyro Ball. The remaining 64 EVs are put into Defense, allowing Ferrothorn the chance to beat as many physical threats as possible, most notably neutral-natured non-Swords Dance Landorus-T. 0 IVs in Speed maximize Gyro Ball's damage output. Usage Tips Leech Seed should in many cases be used almost immediately unless Ferrothorn is up against setup Pokemon such as Mega Pinsir, since Ferrothorn's lack of reliable recovery options can leave it whittled down very easily. Rest users such as Type: Null and Mega Slowbro should be avoided, as they can PP stall you once Leech Seed is set. In order to beat specially offensive Steel-types, like Magnezone and Magearna, you should first use Z-Confide, followed by Leech Seed next turn. Follow this up with more Confide to slowly whittle down their health while remaining out of range for their attacks, and once its health is low enough, finish it off with Gyro Ball. For simpler Pokemon such as Primarina and Tapu Fini, use Z-Confide and then use Gyro Ball until they are KOed while also avoiding being shut down by Encore from Primarina or Taunt from Tapu Fini. Team Options Due to this Ferrothorn set being a defensive staller, offensive teammates such as Dragonite, Landorus-T, and Hoopa-U are beneficial, as they overpower Taunt users such as Mega Aggron and Deoxys-S, while Ferrothorn can deal with some of 1v1's most metagame-defining threats such as Tapu Lele, Porygon-Z, and Mega Gardevoir. Ferrothorn appreciates Water-type Pokemon such as Tapu Fini, Primarina, and Mega Gyarados, as they take care of the Fire-types that choose to stand in its way such as Mega Charizard, Heatran, and Incineroar. Ferrothorn takes care of the notorious Electric-types such as Zeraora and Magnezone in return. Fire-types of your own such as Mega Charizard, Volcarona, and Incineroar are also worth noting because they help cover the Water-types' weakness to Grass-types such as Mega Venusaur, Serperior, and Tapu Bulu. Ferrothorn is able to synergize perfectly with the Fire-types, beating Rock- and Ground-types including Golem, Donphan, and Carracosta and completing the well-known Fire / Water / Grass core. Ground-types such as Garchomp, Mega Swampert, and Landorus-T are other options for beating the previously mentioned Fire-types, in addition to the fact that they can beat Steel-types such as Aegislash that Ferrothorn struggles to deal with. Ferrothorn can deal with Water-types that they struggle to fight against such as non-Taunt Mega Gyarados, non-Hidden Power Fire Greninja, and Manaphy in return. Steel-types that take neutral damage from Fighting-type moves such as Magearna, Mega Metagross, and Jirachi are generally very helpful, as they beat Fighting-types such as Mega Lucario, Pheromosa, and Sawk, while Ferrothorn can deal with the some of the Ground- and Ghost-types in the metagame such as Krookodile and Zygarde-C.

Moves Leech Seed enables Ferrothorn to chip threats such as Mega Slowbro, Mega Mawile, and Donphan to the point where Bloom Doom can finish them off. Bloom Doom is also Ferrothorn's main way of dishing out heavy damage, being able to OHKO non-Hidden Power Fire Greninja, Mega Blastoise, and Primarina. Substitute in tandem with Leech Seed is a great way to scout for stat-dropping or stat-increasing moves such as Metal Sound and Calm Mind or to chip down foes to the point where Bloom Doom can pick them off, such as Magnezone, Twinkle Tackle Magearna, and Crustle. Swords Dance is used to further bolster Ferrothorn's offensive capabilities, making it able to beat Mega Slowbro. Curse is an option in this set to boost Bloom Doom's damage output and to increase Ferrothorn's already great Defense stat to greater heights, allowing it to beat Umbreon and Foul Play Mega Sableye. Iron Defense allows Ferrothorn to enhance its already great bulk and beat physical Dragonite. Protect is another option if you want to stall out Leech Seed turns and scout for Z-Moves from Pokemon like Porygon-Z and Aegislash. Set Details Maximum HP investment and 32 Defense EVs with an Impish nature allow Ferrothorn to use Substitute against Choice Scarf Haxorus's Superpower, as well as boosting its special bulk. Additionally, 224 Attack EVs allow Ferrothorn to OHKO Choice Scarf Haxorus after two uses of Superpower and two rounds of Iron Barbs recoil, as well as ensuring it can OHKO non-Taunt Mega Sableye after a Swords Dance. Alternatively, Ferrothorn can choose to run 252 HP / 144 Atk / 112 Def alongside Protect to always beat Mega Lopunny, as well as having a chance of beating Mega Gallade if it uses Close Combat turn one. Usage Tips Grassium Z can be used alongside not only Power Whip but also Leech Seed, allowing Ferrothorn to negate stat-lowering moves such as Metal Sound while also bypassing Taunt, enabling it to beat Mega Gyarados, Magnezone, and Mega Aggron. Substitute is a vital move and should be used almost immediately to either beat Pokemon that rely on a one-time nuke such as Twinkle Tackle Magearna and Breakneck Blitz Meloetta or avoid Scald burns from Mega Slowbro and Suicune. You also shouldn't be using Ferrothorn to fight PP battles against Pokemon like Type: Null and Mega Latias. It's better to try whittling down Sturdy Pokemon and use Ferrothorn's stat-boosting moves to its advantage against Pokemon such as Golem and Mega Tyranitar, to avoid a potential Counter. Team Options Due to Ferrothorn's 4x weakness to Fire, you can opt to form a Fire / Water / Grass core team, as Water- and Fire-types both have a solid typing synergy with Ferrothorn and can deal with opposing Fire- and Steel-types. Water-type Pokemon such as Primarina, Tapu Fini, and Greninja are good teammates for Ferrothorn, as Ferrothorn can deal with the Electric-types such as Zeraora and Magnezone while they deal with Ferrothorn's massive weakness to Fire-types. Fire-types such as Incineroar, Mega Charizard X, and Victini can effectively deal with Grass-types that the aforementioned allies struggle to beat such as Mega Venusaur, Tapu Bulu, and Serperior, while Ferrothorn can deal with Rock- and Ground-types such as Golem, Carracosta, and Mega Swampert. Pokemon that can beat Fighting-type Pokemon such as Mega Gardevoir, Primarina, and Magearna are greatly appreciated, as they deal with threatening Pokemon such as Sawk, Pheromosa, and Kommo-o, while Ferrothorn can deal with physical attackers like Mega Pinsir due to its high defensive capabilities. Mega Slowbro, in particular, is an amazing teammate for Ferrothorn, as it can deal with both Fire- and Fighting-type Pokemon, while Ferrothorn can deal with the aforementioned Electric- and Grass-type Pokemon. Ferrothorn is vulnerable to Taunt, so wallbreakers such as Garchomp, Kartana, and Tapu Lele that can deal heavy damage to Taunt users including Mega Mawile and Mega Sableye are very much-appreciated partners. While the mentioned wallbreakers are very strong, they have trouble dealing with faster foes that Ferrothorn can beat such as Mega Lopunny and Choice Scarf Porygon-Z. Finally, Ferrothorn has a hard time against faster foes such as Tectonic Rage Garchomp, Taunt Mega Aggron, and Aegislash, so having an agile teammate such as Mega Lopunny, Volcarona, or Greninja is very helpful in this aspect. Ferrothorn can also help deal with their vulnerability to strong heavy-hitters such as non-Hammer Arm Mega Metagross, Primarina, and Donphan.

Moves Spikes wears down grounded foes very quickly, and this helps late-game sweepers such as Dragon Dance Rayquaza, Geomancy Xerneas, and Swords Dance Arceus successfully sweep. Stealth Rock can be used if Ferrothorn's teammates do not have access to this move, but it is usually better for Ferrothorn to set Spikes instead due to its ability to consistently switch into support Arceus formes and set hazards. Ferrothorn also tends to naturally draw in threats weak to Stealth Rock, such as Ho-Oh and Mega Salamence, making this option a questionable choice. Leech Seed lets Ferrothorn wear down switch-ins such as Primal Groudon while recovering from damage it has taken. Toxic puts Defog users such as Giratina-O and support Arceus formes on a timer, but this comes at a cost of the inability to scout moves and recover more consistently or set entry hazards. Protect lets Ferrothorn scout for unexpected coverage moves, such as Fire Blast from support Arceus formes, as well as scouting moves of Choice-item users like Xerneas and Yveltal. It also provides an extra turn of recovery from Leech Seed and Leftovers. Gyro Ball lets Ferrothorn combat Mega Gengar and Z-Geomancy Xerneas while letting it do a large chunk of damage to most neutral foes. Power Whip is an alternative STAB move that lets Ferrothorn check Primal Kyogre more consistently, and it has significantly more PP than Gyro Ball. Both said attacking moves can be used by forgoing Protect or Spikes if Ferrothorn has to act as a more offensive check to Primal Kyogre while not being passive against Mega Gengar. Bullet Seed is an option to consider over Power Whip, as it can allow Ferrothorn to better deal with Primal Kyogre using Substitute. Bullet Seed's higher PP than other attacking moves also allows Ferrothorn to prevent Gothorita from trapping it or at least force it to use most of its Rest's PP. Set Details HP and Special Defense are maximized for Ferrothorn to prevail against threats it is tasked to handle; the EV spread lets Ferrothorn take minimal damage from Primal Kyogre while being able to take two +3 Moonblast from Z-Geomancy Xerneas. Leftovers helps Ferrothorn recover and stay healthy throughout the match, and it synergizes well with Leech Seed. Iron Barbs inflict damage to foes that make contact with Ferrothorn. A Sassy nature and 0 Speed IVs should be run if Gyro Ball is used to maximize its Base Power. Usage Tips Due to its typing and bulk, Ferrothorn is able to find ample opportunities to switch into Primal Kyogre and support Arceus formes to absorb damage and proceed to set entry hazards or spread status. Leech Seed must be used often to keep Ferrothorn healthy and let it continuously switch into Judgment from the likes of Arceus-Ground and Arceus-Fairy. There are not many viable Grass-types in the tier, so Ferrothorn will have an easy time consistently recovering itself while wearing down the opposing team. Gyro Ball should be used with care, since it has only 8 PP and depleting it early will leave Ferrothorn very passive and, more notably, vulnerable to Mega Gengar. Threats such as Mewtwo and Lunala that switch into Ferrothorn must be scouted with Protect to see if they carry coverage moves like Fire Blast or Focus Blast. However, it should be used with caution against potential setup sweepers like Rayquaza, since a wrong prediction will give them a free turn. Against the likes of Lugia, Chansey, and Zygarde-C, Ferrothorn can switch into Toxic or Glare in Zygarde-C's case. Ferrothorn can then take advantage of their high HP stats with Leech Seed and use them as Spikes fodder. If threats such as Primal Kyogre and Xerneas are still healthy, Ferrothorn shouldn't be recklessly switched in often, since it has to be as healthy as possible to check them. Ferrothorn is practically useless against teams with Mega Sableye, as anything Ferrothorn throws at it does pathetic damage, and any status moves will be bounced back. Ferrothorn should be used as fodder to lure in Mega Sableye while double switching into teammates like Xerneas, Arceus-Fairy, and Primal Groudon, all of which are naturally able to threaten or defeat Mega Sableye one-on-one. Team Options Ferrothorn isn't enough to handle Xerneas by itself, since said threat usually carries coverage moves such as Focus Blast and Hidden Power Fire that are dedicated to hit Steel-types. Specially defensive Necrozma-DM is able to check every Geomancy Xerneas variant and set up Stealth Rock, letting Ferrothorn run Spikes. Magearna is also a reliable counter to Xerneas and is able to switch into Yveltal, which potentially threatens Ferrothorn with Taunt. Primal Groudon can set up Stealth Rock to form hazard stacking core with Ferrothorn and is able to handle Geomancy Xerneas that carry Hidden Power Fire or Focus Blast if Ferrothorn lacks Chople Berry. Assuming Primal Groudon healthy enough, it is able to switch into Marshadow and Ho-Oh. Xerneas, Mega Salamence, Arceus, and Rayquaza all massively benefit from the Spikes support Ferrothorn provides, since said hazard wears down their conventional checks in Steel-types and Arceus formes, drawing them near KO range after boosts. Mega Salamence in particular appreciates Ferrothorn's ability to switch into Ice Beam and Judgment from Arceus formes while leaving Celesteela unable to recover by using its immunity to Leech Seed. Primal Kyogre appreciates Ferrothorn naturally drawing in Primal Groudon and wearing it down with Spikes and Leech Seed. Ferrothorn can switch into Toxic from Arceus formes or opposing Ferrothorn to prevent recovery from Leech Seed. Primal Kyogre provides a switch-in to Fire-type moves aimed at Ferrothorn, defeats Ho-Oh, and threatens Arceus formes that carry Fire Blast. Ho-Oh also can act as a check to Xerneas that carry coverage moves to hit Ferrothorn while spreading status with Sacred Fire and Toxic, aiding Ferrothorn in wearing down opposing teams with residual damage. Zygarde-C is one of the best partners for Ferrothorn because they form a solid defensive core. Zygarde-C appreciates Ferrothorn's ability to switch into Ice Beam from support Arceus formes and use Leech Seed on Primal Groudon to make it much easier to check. In return, Zygarde-C is able to switch into Ho-Oh, Primal Groudon, Blaziken, Mega Salamence, and most physical attackers in the metagame. Dragon Tail also has significantly better use if Spikes are on the field. Arceus-Fairy is another option to form a defensive core with Ferrothorn. While taking care of Yveltal, Rayquaza, and Mega Salamence, Arceus-Fairy is able to lure Ferrothorn's checks such as Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh and put them on timer using Toxic. Ferrothorn is able to switch into Steel-types and wear down Arceus-Fairy's checks with Spikes and Leech Seed. Dark-types, such as Yveltal and Arceus-Dark, are able to check Arceus-Ghost and Mega Gengar, while Ferrothorn can switch into Fairy-type attacks and use Toxic in return. The aforementioned Dark-types appreciate Ferrothorn's Spikes support, as the former forces switches often, while the latter can take advantage of Spikes and set up Calm Mind to defeat its weakened checks.

Ferrothorn’s presence can be a great late-game win condition thanks to its good defenses and recovery from Leech Seed. The EVs and nature ensure Gyro Ball OHKOes 4 HP Tapu Lele and that mixed Mega Salamence’s Double-Edge is a 3HKO, factoring in Leftovers recovery. Speed is minimized to maximize Gyro Ball’s damage. Ferrothorn functions well both on rain teams, thanks to the reduced damage from Fire attacks, and rain-weak teams, thanks to it checking Water-types such as Mega Swampert and Politoed easily. Other Fire-type checks such as Landorus-T and Tyranitar are also appreciated, with the latter’s sand even aiding late-game stall.

While Ferrothorn is typically suited to defense, a Choice Band can boost its high-Base Power moves further and catch foes off guard. The combination of Gyro Ball, Power Whip, and Knock Off is common, though the final move is largely filler. Bulldoze lets Ferrothorn punish Fire-types expecting a free switch and provides speed control for its team, while Iron Head allows an alternative to Gyro Ball that hits even slower foes hard. Pelipper remains a solid teammate for handling Fire-type attackers, though Trick Room users such as Cresselia see additional value in allowing Ferrothorn to maintain offensive pressure over an extended period.

Moves Gyro Ball is Ferrothorn's only attacking move and allows it to check Pokemon such as Kyurem-B and Mega Diancie. Spikes provides residual chip damage each time a foe switches in, granting Ferrothorn's offensive teammates such as Tapu Bulu and Celebi an easier time cleaning late-game. Leech Seed is Ferrothorn's main form of recovery and allows it to regain health throughout the match. Protect allows Ferrothorn to scout Choice-locked attackers, such as Dragonite, while also being able to extend recovery turns from Leech Seed. Set Details 252 HP and 168 Defense EVs alongside a Relaxed nature allows Ferrothorn to take a Close Combat from Mega Gallade at full health. A Relaxed nature also increases the power of its Gyro Ball. 88 EVs are then placed into Special Defense to allow it to avoid the 2HKO from Kyurem-B's Ice Beam while increasing its overall special bulk. Iron Barbs allows Ferrothorn to punish physical attackers by chipping them each time they use a contact move. Leftovers is Ferrothorn's second form of residual recovery. Usage Tips To keep Ferrothorn healthy throughout the entire match, it should spam Leech Seed. Alongside spamming Leech Seed, it should use Protect as often as possible to maximize Leech Seed's recovery. Protect should also be used to scout attacks throughout the match from Choice-locked Pokemon, such as Dragonite and Greninja, allowing Ferrothorn to switch into the appropriate teammate without risk. On the same note, if you predict a switch, Ferrothorn should use Leech Seed to maximize its turns of recovery. It should go without saying, since it provides so many important defensive qualities for Grass teams such as being immune to Poison-type attacks and neutral to Ice-type attacks, so it should be kept healthy through the match as well as possible. Ferrothorn should take advantage of opportunities when the foe cannot do much damage to it by setting up Spikes. However, if Spikes does not have an impact on the match, Ferrothorn should use Leech Seed or Gyro Ball on foes such as Mantine on Flying teams. Ferrothorn should avoid losing its item through Knock Off or Trick, as it depends on Leftovers to stay healthy throughout the match. While most Pokemon should try to stay away from status, Ferrothorn should be used as the team's switch-in to Thunder Wave, as once it is paralyzed, the power of Gyro Ball significantly increases. However, Ferrothorn should avoid being burned by moves such as Scald and Will-O-Wisp which negates its Leftovers recovery and reduces the power of Gyro Ball, making it far too passive. Ferrothorn is a key Pokemon to the team in matchups such against Steel and Electric; as such, do not allow Ferrothorn to be trapped by Magnet Pull users such as Alolan Golem and Magnezone. To avoid being trapped, it should switch out immediately to a teammate that can check these Pokemon such as Breloom, rather than staying in. Team Options Mega Venusaur and Ferrothorn form an impressive defensive and anti-Fairy core together. Mega Venusaur also provides Ferrothorn with an additional Leech Seed support and the ability to check threats such as Mega Scizor with Hidden Power Fire. Thick Fat also allows Mega Venusaur to tank attacks such as Choice Scarf Victini's V-create, which would otherwise OHKO Ferrothorn. With Stealth Rock, Cradily forms the other part of the entry hazard stacking core with Ferrothorn and is also the designated special sponge of the team, being able to tank a hit from Pokemon such as Volcarona and proceed to OHKO it with Rock Slide. Cradily also provides neutrality to Fire-type attacks, allowing it to switch into attacks for Ferrothorn such as Heatran's Magma Storm. Breloom can put threats to sleep with Spore and act as an emergency check to Pokemon such as Mega Pinsir with its Focus Sash intact thanks to Rock Tomb. It also appreciates Ferrothorn's ability to wear down other Pokemon with Spikes and Leech Seed, allowing it to clean more easily late-game in matchups such as Ice with Mach Punch. Tapu Bulu is the team's revenge killer and fastest Pokemon with Choice Scarf, being able to take on threats such as unboosted Volcarona and Mega Charizard Y with Stone Edge and Heatran and Kyurem-B with Superpower. Ferrothorn also appreciates the support it brings through Grassy Terrain, giving it another form of residual recovery and enabling it to check threats such as Choice Band Excadrill more easily. Celebi is the team's special wallbreaker, appreciating Ferrothorn's Leech Seed support giving it a minor form of recovery while setting up and in return being able to take on Pokemon such as Toxapex with Shattered Psyche. It is also able to check threats such as Mega Scizor and Heatran with Hidden Power Fire and Earth Power, respectively. Additionally, Celebi can provide a nuke in Tectonic Rage, which allows it to take on Pokemon such as Toxapex and Alolan Muk for the team. Decidueye can check threatening Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon for the team such as Blacephalon and Victini with its priority in Sucker Punch and Shadow Sneak. This allows it to become a dangerous setup sweeper in those matchups. Its Ghost typing also provides the team with a means of spinblocking, improving the Bug- and Fire-type matchup.

Moves Power Whip lets Ferrothorn deal substantial damage to pesky Ground- and Water-types such as Swampert, Gastrodon, and Seismitoad that threaten Steel teams. Leech Seed wears down the foe while providing Ferrothorn and its team a form of healing and support. Protect synergizes very well with Leech Seed and Leftovers to stall and recover more health, prolonging Ferrothorn's presence in battle and making it more difficult to take down. It can also be used to scout for any attack that threatens Ferrothorn, especially Fire- and Fighting-type attacks, and enables Ferrothorn to switch out of potential Choice-locked Pokemon to a more reasonable teammate to threaten them out. Choose the last move depending on what your team needs. Stealth Rock can be used instead of Spikes on teams lacking another Stealth Rock setter to make Bug-, Fire-, and Flying-types easier for Ferrothorn's teammates to KO, while Ferrothorn can also set up layers of Spikes thanks to its excellent mixed bulk and durability. Iron Barbs also is a great way of dealing with Rapid Spin users. However, Spikes should only be used if the team already has a Stealth Rock user. Set Details Maximum HP investment improves Ferrothorn's walling capabilities, as it needs the extra bulk to tank both physical and special attacks. 72 Defense EVs allow Ferrothorn to survive a Close Combat from Terrakion and Heracross, and 184 Special Defense EVs with a Careful nature allow Ferrothorn to tank special attacks more efficiently; Ferrothorn can survive a Focus Blast from Life Orb Landorus after Stealth Rock damage, two Earth Powers from Landorus with Leftovers recovery, and two Ice Beams from Life Orb Kyurem-B. Leftovers synergizes well with Leech Seed and Protect to grant more recovery, which Ferrothorn greatly appreciates. Ferrothorn can also utilize a more physically defensive set with an Impish nature to take physical attacks more effectively; however, Ferrothorn prefers to be more specially defensive to switch into Water- and Electric-type attacks such as Scald and Thunderbolt more easily. Usage Tips Thanks to its defensive typing and bulk, Ferrothorn can function very well as a defensive pivot on balanced teams. Make sure to utilize its typing to switch into predicted Electric-, Ground-, and Water-type attacks. Before switching out, take advantage of Protect to scout the opposing Pokemon's move. For example, Ferrothorn should be scouting for any move that threatens it such as Fire Blast on Garchomp; however, don't use it too much, because the opposing Pokemon can use that as an opportunity to set up. If you're expecting the foe to switch out, set up Stealth Rock or Spikes to rack up some damage to pressure and punish switch-ins; this can be really helpful for Ferrothorn to wear them down even more with Leech Seed later. Ferrothorn should utilize Leech Seed at almost any chance it gets, as it's safe to use and a spammable move to slowly whittle down opposing defensive Pokemon such as Chansey and Porygon2 or foes that Ferrothorn can take attacks from such as Tapu Koko. Keep Ferrothorn from being burned, as the status negates its Leftovers recovery and weakens its Power Whip. If your opponent is planning on preserving their threat for late-game, don't be afraid to use Leech Seed again. It's often necessary to have Leech Seed on the opposing side to keep Ferrothorn's health high and chip away at opposing Pokemon's health. Team Options Heatran synergizes well with Ferrothorn because of its Flash Fire ability, and it can check Fire- and Electric-types with Stone Edge and Earth Power, while Ferrothorn can switch into Water-type attacks for Heatran in return. Heatran can also run Stealth Rock to enable Ferrothorn to use Spikes for entry hazard stacking. Similarly, Skarmory can support the team by stacking Stealth Rock along with Ferrothorn's Spikes. Skarmory can also switch into Ground-type attacks to keep Ferrothorn from taking any damage, take physical attacks, and shuffle the opposing team with Whirlwind to rack up damage from Ferrothorn's Spikes, while Ferrothorn is able to switch into incoming Electric-type attacks for Skarmory. Celesteela is an alternative to Skarmory but with more offensive presence, being able to check opposing Steel-types such as Heatran, Skarmory, Mega Scizor, and opposing Ferrothorn with Earthquake and Flamethrower. It is also a great special tank to switch into Landorus, which allows Ferrothorn to run a more defensive set with a Relaxed nature to take on physical threats. Together, Celesteela and Ferrothorn can whittle down opposing teams by stalling with Leech Seed and Protect. Choice Scarf Excadrill can use Earthquake to threaten Fire-types such as Rotom-Heat and Mega Charizard X while being able to hit Mega Charizard Y and Volcarona with Rock Slide. It also functions as a late-game cleaner, so it appreciates Ferrothorn's Spikes support making it easier to sweep. Magnezone can gain momentum for Ferrothorn and its team by utilizing Volt Switch. It also traps annoying Steel-types that Ferrothorn can't hope to damage such as Skarmory, Klefki, and Cobalion, and it can take on Water-types to relieve pressure from Ferrothorn. With Ferrothorn's entry hazard support and Leech Seed, Mega Scizor can have an easier time KOing and pressuring Pokemon with its offensive presence and Swords Dance.

Moves Gyro Ball is the main STAB attack, often boasting high Base Power due to Ferrothorn's low Speed, giving it decent damage output against all fast foes that don't resist Steel. Power Whip is Ferrothorn's secondary STAB move that gets the 2HKO on Pokemon that it should eliminate or hits super effectively like Suicune and Tapu Fini. It's also used to hit Steel-resistant or slow Pokemon like Mega Swampert and Pelipper that don't mind Gyro Ball too much. Stealth Rock offers Ferrothorn's team consistent chip damage on common metagame threats such as Kyurem-B, Zapdos, and Mega Charizard Y to make them easier to handle. Alternatively, Leech Seed offers immediate chip damage and sustainability at the same time. Protect is an essential move in Doubles for shielding the Pokemon while its partner removes a threat for it, protecting Ferrothorn from potential double targeting, and scouting the foe's sets, especially for surprise Fire-type coverage. It's particularly good on Leech Seed or Leftovers Ferrothorn due to the resulting ability to stall for passive recovery. Set Details 252 HP and 88 Defense EVs ensure +1 Zygarde's Tectonic Rage will be unable to OHKO Ferrothorn. 80 Special Defense EVs let it take less than 50% from Life Orb Kyurem-B's Ice Beam, with the remaining investment focused on increasing its offensive potential. Iron Barbs accumulates chip damage alongside a potential Leech Seed, which is Ferrothorn's main way of handling or checking certain threats. Minimizing Speed IVs boosts the Base Power of Gyro Ball and enables Ferrothorn to move faster under Trick Room. A Wiki Berry offers burst healing, giving Ferrothorn a second chance at remaining healthy enough to check certain threats even if it's caught off-guard by a coverage move. However, Leftovers may be preferable for some sets for more reliable recovery, especially due to the way its recovery compounds with Leech Seed. Usage Tips In addition to its good pivot potential, Ferrothorn is good at regaining that lost health with Leech Seed, as the opponent is likely to switch out their Pokemon to something that can hit Ferrothorn decently, giving it chip damage and recovery combined with Leftovers. However, try to avoid losing too much health from pivoting in, especially when Ferrothorn is your main check to specific threats on the opposing team, namely rain sweepers like Mega Swampert or powerful offensive Pokemon like Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele, as you want it to be able to switch in or take their attacks. Team Options Ferrothorn improves a team's matchup against rain teams by resisting Kingdra and Mega Swampert's rain-boosted STAB attacks, which is notable when teambuilding if you are weak to the archetype. Ferrothorn appreciates teammates that can handle the Fire-types it dislikes facing, such as Incineroar, Mega Charizard Y, and Volcanion. Checks to these include Landorus-T due to its bulk and access to Earth Power and Stone Edge, or a Dragon-type that resists Fire, such as Zygarde. Volcanion itself also works for this role, notably completing a Fire / Water / Grass core. Ferrothorn offers its own Fairy-type teammates such as Mega Gardevoir and Tapu Lele a switch-in to Steel-type attacks.

Moves Leech Seed enables Ferrothorn to slowly regain health throughout the match without solely relying on Leftovers in addition to slowly wearing down opposing Pokemon. Gyro Ball is Ferrothorn's strongest means of attacking, allowing it to deal large amounts of damage to threats that don't resist it. Power Whip is better against Kyogre; however, it is otherwise much worse than Gyro Ball, since it can't deal substantial damage to Mega Gengar, Mega Rayquaza, and Vivillon. Spikes provides useful utility by dealing substantial damage to aid setup sweepers such as Dragon Dance Mega Rayquaza, Geomancy Xerneas, and Swords Dance Necrozma-DM. Stealth Rock can be used instead of Spikes if Ferrothorn's team lacks a setter. Protect gives Ferrothorn an extra turn of recovery from Leech Seed and Leftovers. Toxic can be used over Protect to impair Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh switch-ins, but Protect is often preferred due to how often Ferrothorn's health is paramount to the outcome of a match. Set Details Maximum HP and Special Defense investment paired with a Sassy nature gives Ferrothorn maximum special bulk to efficiently check Kyogre and support Arceus formes. 0 Speed IVs are run to increase Gyro Ball's power. A Careful nature should be used instead if Gyro Ball isn't used. Leftovers allows Ferrothorn to regain health passively throughout the course of the match to aid with longevity. Iron Barbs provides another way for Ferrothorn to damage opposing Pokemon, as any contact moves that are used against Ferrothorn will deal damage to the user. Usage Tips Keep Ferrothorn healthy during the course of the match by using Leech Seed generously, especially if there is a Kyogre still remaining in the game. Feel free to switch into Kyogre, Lugia, Skarmory, and support Arceus formes to capitalize on their inability to deal sufficient damage to Ferrothorn and attempt to regain health via Leech Seed. Set up multiple layers of Spikes when opposing Pokemon are unable to deal substantial damage to Ferrothorn. Be wary with moves such as Gyro Ball, as their PP may run out before opposing threats are effectively dealt with. Use Iron Barbs to inflict damage against physical attackers such as Extreme Killer Arceus and defensive Yveltal if necessary; however, Ferrothorn should not be used as a sole check to these Pokemon. If using Toxic, use it liberally to weaken Pokemon that can remove entry hazards. Be wary of Ferrothorn becoming setup fodder against Pokemon like Ultra Necrozma and Zygarde-C, as they can capitalize on Ferrothorn's passiveness and set up without much hassle. Scout for Fire-type coverage from support Arceus formes to prevent Ferrothorn from being OHKOed by an unexpected attack. Avoid letting Ferrothorn get burned, as it cancels out Leftovers recovery and overall makes regaining health difficult. Team Options Zygarde-C is a great partner to Ferrothorn, as it's an effective answer to Ho-Oh, Primal Groudon, and Marshadow, while Ferrothorn can also aid with Zygarde-C's massive weaknesses to Kyogre, Arceus-Fairy, and Xerneas. Arceus-Fairy is another good partner due to its ability to check Marshadow and Yveltal, whereas Ferrothorn is able to put a halt to Primal Kyogre, Celesteela, and support Necrozma-DM, some of Arceus-Fairy's most prevalent answers. Ho-Oh can be paired with Ferrothorn to help with special attackers like Calm Mind Arceus formes and Geomancy Xerneas. Checks to Primal Groudon like Arceus-Ground, Arceus-Water, and the aforementioned Zygarde-C are extremely beneficial to Ferrothorn due to its inability to deal substantial damage to Primal Groudon. Answers to Ho-Oh such as Arceus-Rock, Arceus-Water, and Tyranitar are extremely useful to have due to Ferrothorn's crippling weakness to it. Pokemon that can check Xerneas more reliably than Ferrothorn such as Necrozma-DM and Arceus-Poison are required due to the prevalence of Focus Blast on Geomancy Xerneas sets; Ferrothorn should never be used as a team's sole Xerneas answer. Pokemon that appreciate the support from Ferrothorn's Spikes such as Dragon Dance Mega Rayquaza and Swords Dance Necrozma-DM are good partners due to the number of 2HKOs and OHKOs they can obtain after entry hazard damage. Ferrothorn can also switch into Pokemon that pressure Mega Rayquaza and Necrozma-DM such as Lugia and support Arceus formes. Other Pokemon that appreciate Ferrothorn's ability to switch into Kyogre such as Arceus-Steel and Arceus-Rock are also very good options.

Moves Shore Up offers reliable recovery, allowing Ferrothorn to stay healthy throughout the battle and switch in more frequently, enabling it to be an effective wall. Anchor Shot traps Imposter users to self-Imposter-proof the set, as well as Poison Heal users, which are then KOed once their ability is removed. Anchor Shot is also a reasonably powered STAB attack that threatens some Pokemon that Ferrothorn can check, such as Xerneas and especially Mega Diancie, to force them out. Anchor Shot's good PP helps with trapping to PP stall. U-turn utilizes Ferrothorn's low Speed to slow pivot, which can be used to gain momentum and potentially bring in wallbreakers without risk. However, without Anchor Shot, the set is much more passive, as it cannot force out Mega Diancie and requires a separate Pokemon to Imposter-proof it. Entrainment and Core Enforcer are both used to remove abilities, especially Poison Heal. Entrainment can affect Xerneas and other Fairy-types and has more PP, whereas Core Enforcer can do valuable chip damage and break Focus Sash. Entrainment also reveals the abilities of foes, which can be useful for scouting and is effective if the opponent switches. Ferrothorn can also use Will-O-Wisp as a possible alternative to ability removal, crippling some switch-ins that can otherwise take advantage of its passivity, most notably Mega Mewtwo X, and providing valuable chip damage against other defensive Pokemon. However, without Entrainment or Core Enforcer, Topsy-Turvy is necessary to check Regigigas, and certain variations of Poison Heal sweepers will be harder to deal with. Spectral Thief and Topsy-Turvy both prevent setup, which helps to reduce how much Ferrothorn's passivity can be exploited, making it a more reliable answer to Poison Heal sweepers, which typically use setup and can otherwise break through more easily after some prior damage or with Lovely Kiss. Topsy-Turvy can affect Regigigas but is blocked by Substitute, whereas Spectral Thief leaves Ferrothorn less passive and can threaten Pokemon such as Mega Mewtwo Y and Mega Gengar, which can otherwise set up with little risk. Set Details Flash Fire removes Ferrothorn's otherwise crippling Fire weakness, allowing it to check Mega Diancie and Poison Heal Xerneas, which often have Fire coverage. A Sassy nature is used to better check Poison Heal Kyogre, which otherwise has a chance to 2HKO with Water Spout after using Quiver Dance, and to take less from -ate Boomburst from Pokemon such as Mega Diancie. This nature also minimizes Speed, making Core Enforcer more effective at suppressing abilities. Maximum EVs are invested in every stat except in Speed for maximum bulk and damage output. Leftovers helps to compensate for Ferrothorn's slightly lackluster bulk to avoid key 2HKOs such as from Water Spout Primal Kyogre at +1 or in rain. Leftovers also provides passive recovery, which allows it to switch into defensive Pokemon and entry hazards with less risk of being worn down and preserves recovery PP against a trapped Imposter user. Usage Tips As with most sets in BH, Ferrothorn is best used after careful scouting. This helps to avoid switching into lures such as Tinted Lens Primal Kyogre or into moves such as Trick and Fighting-type coverage, both of which can affect its ability to consistently check other threats. If the opponent's team has a Regigigas or a Xerneas with Poison Heal, Ferrothorn should be used carefully to avoid being worn down or KOed by a lure, since these sweepers are difficult to play around without a dedicated answer. Ferrothorn's immunity to poison and resistances to Core Enforcer and Stealth Rock let it switch into a variety of passive Pokemon, such as some Giratina sets, with very low risk. Anchor Shot should usually be used against Imposter users or if a switch to an Imposter user is predicted, as it will trap them and remove them from the battle, as well as against Poison Heal users that need to be trapped. Thanks to Anchor Shot's high PP, it can be used liberally and can dissuade most frail Pokemon from switching in. Once the opposing Pokemon's sets have been scouted, it's possible other Pokemon will be vulnerable to trapping as well. If Core Enforcer is used, the PP should be conserved (especially if Ferrothorn is being used to PP stall), since without it, Ferrothorn fails to counter Regigigas and, when not running Topsy-Turvy, can even be set up on. Team Options Since Ferrothorn cannot check -ate users such as Kyurem-W, a Pokemon to check them such as Fur Coat Chansey or a Soundproof user such as Mega Slowbro (which also resists Fighting-type attacks) is appreciated. Mega Tyranitar is a good partner, as it helps against Giratina and RegenVest Yveltal and appreciates Ferrothorn dealing with Fairy-types such as Xerneas and Mega Diancie. Imposter users make good teammates to scout for lures such as Secret Sword Xerneas and Tinted Lens Primal Kyogre. Giratina is a good partner, as it can cover Ferrothorn's Fighting weakness thanks to its Ghost typing, which allows it to check many Mega Mewtwo X sets, while Ferrothorn can comfortably switch into Xerneas, Mega Diancie, and Dragon-type attacks such as Core Enforcer. Other Mega Mewtwo X checks such as Cresselia can make good partners for Ferrothorn; depending on the set, Cresselia can also check many wallbreakers that force out Ferrothorn.

Moves Curse provides a way for Ferrothorn to boost its offensive capabilities and actually beat bulky Pokemon with recovery, such as Mega Salamence. Gyro Ball is Ferrothorn's strongest STAB move, has good neutral coverage, and gets stronger with Curse. Bullet Seed provides a secondary STAB move that can hit Water-types super effectively, which is important because Ferrothorn is often tasked with the duty of checking threats such as Greninja and Mega Gyarados. Bullet Seed also has the utility of hitting through Substitute and Disguise. However, Knock Off is an option that provides better neutral coverage, in addition to hitting Steel-types like Aegislash and Mega Metagross super effectively. It also provides Ferrothorn with great utility in removing the items of its foes. Removing the Berry from Snorlax or Eviolite from Porygon2 can be devastating as usual, but removing Leftovers from Heatran or Celesteela allows Ferrothorn to limit the number of times they can switch in and defeat them in the long run. Leech Seed has multiple purposes on this set. In general, it is the best move to throw out on the forced switches that Ferrothorn tends to induce, as it chips down Fire-types and other Ferrothorn checks to eventually pave the way for a Curse sweep. In addition, it allows Ferrothorn to completely ignore damage from opposing physical attackers, especially after some Curse boosts. Set Details Figy Berry is the preferred item on Curse Ferrothorn because it allows Ferrothorn to set up against strong physical Z-Moves and super effective attacks as well as heal back up to high HP to survive subsequent attacks with the boosted Defense from Curse. Iron Barbs adds valuable chip damage for Ferrothorn to take on physical attackers, which usually use contact moves. The Defense investment allows Ferrothorn to survive a +2 Never-Ending Nightmare from Mimikyu as well as potentially take on Hammer Arm Metagross one-on-one. The EV spread also avoids a 3HKO from Breloom's Mach Punch and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele's Psychic. A more specially defensive spread such as 252 HP / 100 Def / 156 SpD with a Sassy nature is possible, as it will let Ferrothorn survive Tapu Lele's All-Out Pummeling, but it is an inferior option, as it gives Ferrothorn a harder time setting up Curse in front of physical attackers. Alternatively, a more physically defensive spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD with a Relaxed nature lets Ferrothorn best combat teams that stack physical attackers such as Mimikyu, Breloom, and Mega Salamence hoping to overwhelm the physically defensive wall. However, this opens up Ferrothorn to special attacks from the likes of Tapu Lele and Greninja that it should otherwise check. Usage Tips Before blindly setting up with Curse, try to weaken and remove would-be counters with super effective Fire-type attacks. Pokemon like Celesteela and Heatran feel fairly comfortable switching into Ferrothorn, as they take minimal damage from any of its attacks and can threaten it out with a Fire-type move. Against such Pokemon, it is advised to slowly chip their HP away with Leech Seed and use Ferrothorn as a bulky pivot before attempting to set up with Curse. Using Curse will simply waste a turn, as Ferrothorn is forced to switch out. If the opponent's Ferrothorn checks are frail attackers such as mixed Mega Salamence and Mega Blaziken, throwing out Gyro Ball on the switch can put a lot of pressure on them, as they are limited in the number of times they can switch in. Once its counters have been removed, Ferrothorn easily finds room to set up Curse boosts thanks to its resistances to Water, Fairy, and Electric as well as its strong physical bulk, which Curse further augments. Even when going for a Curse sweep, look for an opportune time to use Leech Seed. The move can essentially nullify the amount of damage the foe can do to Ferrothorn with resisted special hits, as well as physical hits once Ferrothorn has some Curse boosts. Team Options As with most Ferrothorn sets, this one appreciates teammates that can repeatedly check opposing Fire- and Fighting-type Pokemon. Water- and Dragon-types such as Tapu Fini, Gyarados, and Mega Salamence are particularly good options for their resistances to both Fire- and Fighting-type attacks. Flying- and Fairy-type Pokemon that check Fighting-types are also appreciated. Defensive Landorus-T cannot switch into Fire-type moves particularly well, but it checks most Fighting-type attackers that lack Ice Punch. Pair Ferrothorn with specially defensive Pokemon such as Heatran and Porygon2, as this set lacks the special bulk and survivability to take on neutral attacks from the likes of Aegislash. Wallbreakers in general can wear down the opposing team with coverage moves. Once they manage to KO a threat, the opposing team has one fewer option to deal with Ferrothorn's Leech Seed. Mixed Mega Salamence is an example that has excellent type synergy with Ferrothorn with its resistance to Fire and Fighting.

Moves Gyro Ball is Ferrothorn's strongest STAB move, hitting most offensive threats at maximum power due to Ferrothorn's low Speed. Stealth Rock offers team support in the form of residual damage that breaks Focus Sash and Sturdy while also pressuring Fire-types that threaten Ferrothorn such as Charizard and Volcarona. Leech Seed grants Ferrothorn extra recovery and another way to wear down foes. This also helps it threaten bulky foes it otherwise can't touch such as Porygon2 and Celesteela. Protect allows Ferrothorn to take full advantage of Leftovers and Leech Seed recovery to stay healthy while also allowing it to scout for potential Z-Moves. Power Whip increases Ferrothorn's offensive presence by being a secondary STAB option that hits most Water- and Ground-types harder than Gyro Ball. It can also be used over Stealth Rock to retain the utility that Protect provides. Bullet Seed gives Ferrothorn a better matchup against Mimikyu and provides a more accurate Grass-type STAB attack than Power Whip, though its damage output is less consistent than Power Whip's. Set Details Leftovers gives Ferrothorn a steady source of recovery, allowing it to reliably stall out foes with Leech Seed and Protect. Figy Berry is an option for quick HP gain, especially if it does not elect to use Protect for the reliable Leftovers recovery. Iron Barbs allows Ferrothorn to punish physical attackers that make contact, slowly wearing them down for its team. Rocky Helmet can be used instead of Leftovers to augment this residual damage at the cost of reliable recovery. A Relaxed nature with 0 Speed IVs maximizes Ferrothorn's physical bulk while making it as slow as possible to ensure Gyro Ball is hitting at maximum power most of the time. The EV spread makes Ferrothorn as physically bulky as possible, with the remaining EVs placed in Attack. Ferrothorn can be more specially defensive with a Sassy nature if checking the likes of Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele is more important than taking physical attacks. Usage Tips Ferrothorn should prioritize setting Stealth Rock up as soon as possible, since its fantastic bulk and typing allow it to safely set up against anything that lacks a Fire- or Fighting-type move. Ferrothorn often forces switches due to its great defensive typing, so using Leech Seed in anticipation of a switch is often a safe play. While Stealth Rock punishes most Fire-types, Ferrothorn's presence often invites Fire-types to switch in immediately, so avoid setting Stealth Rock too soon if you have nothing that can afford to switch into a Fire-type attack afterwards. Despite being able to disrupt many Pokemon with its Leech Seed and powerful STAB moves, Ferrothorn should not be relied upon to break through very bulky foes, as it lacks the offensive presence to overpower them. Many Pokemon that Ferrothorn typically checks often run coverage specifically for it, such as Fire Punch Mega Kangaskhan and Hidden Power Fire Tapu Koko, so be wary of any such potential lures when against teams that otherwise look weak to Ferrothorn. Team Options Setup sweepers such as Mega Blaziken, Mega Salamence, and Mega Charizard X benefit greatly from Stealth Rock support wearing down the opposing team and breaking Focus Sash. Flying-types such as Zapdos and the aforementioned Mega Salamence appreciate Ferrothorn's ability to switch into Rock- and Ice-type moves, and in return, they're able to switch into Fighting-type moves that threaten Ferrothorn. They also ease Ferrothorn's matchup against Ground-types that might overpower it otherwise such as Garchomp and Landorus-T. Water-types such as Gyarados and Tapu Fini deal with Fire-types that threaten Ferrothorn, while Ferrothorn can handle Electric- and Grass-type moves in return. Pelipper or Politoed can also provide rain support to let Ferrothorn take weaker Fire-type attacks. Tyranitar benefits from Ferrothorn's resistances to Fairy, Water, Grass, and Steel while faring better against Mega Charizard X and Mega Charizard Y than Water-types. Sandstorm damage also helps Ferrothorn wear down the opposing team. Ferrothorn struggles with bulky Electric-types such as Zapdos and some Thundurus-T variants, so it appreciates teammates that can handle them such as Landorus-T, Mamoswine, and Toxic Zapdos. Ferrothorn's great defensive typing allows it to fit well as glue on many teams, as it doesn't require much support to fill its role beyond having a teammate that can handle Fire-type moves.

Moves Gyro Ball is Ferrothorn's strongest and most reliable STAB move, capable of breaking through most fast threats. Bullet Seed gives Ferrothorn a secondary STAB option that breaks through Substitute, which helps it avoid being helpless against all Substitute users despite its low Speed. Power Whip is a more consistently powerful Grass-type attack than Bullet Seed for situations where the extra power is more desirable at the cost of accuracy and ability to break through Substitute. Knock Off takes advantage of the switches Ferrothorn often forces, providing utility in removing the foe's item as well as great neutral coverage. It also gives Ferrothorn a way to hit Aegislash. Bulldoze gives Ferrothorn a way to punish Fire-types that expect to set up freely on it such as Blaziken and Heatran while also letting it help its teammates through the Speed drops. Set Details Choice Band is necessary to give Ferrothorn as much immediate power as possible to surprise foes expecting Ferrothorn to be a support variant. Iron Barbs allows Ferrothorn to punish physical attackers that make contact, which is useful for wearing down foes that Ferrothorn can't reliably OHKO on its own. A Brave nature with 0 Speed IVs maximizes Ferrothorn's Attack while making it as slow as possible for Gyro Ball. The EV spread makes Ferrothorn as powerful as possible while giving it maximum overall bulk because Ferrothorn will often be taking damage before attacking. Usage Tips Choice Band Ferrothorn functions best as a lure, since the opponent will most likely assume Ferrothorn is running a defensive set. Ferrothorn's STAB combination isn't great, so be careful when locking into either of its STAB moves if the opposing team has any dangerous setup sweepers that can take advantage of it. Gyro Ball is very powerful even against resistant foes, provided that the foe is fast, so locking into it is often a safe move. If the opposing team has many slow or Steel-resistant Pokemon, Power Whip and Bullet Seed are often safer moves to lock into. It's not uncommon for teams to run multiple Z-Crystal users or even multiple Mega Evolutions, so be careful about locking into Knock Off if there's a good chance of one of these Pokemon switching in. While Ferrothorn's natural bulk is great, a lack of recovery means that Ferrothorn will be quickly worn down, so avoid switching Ferrothorn directly in if possible. Team Options Ferrothorn appreciates Dragon- and Water-types such as Mega Salamence, Mega Charizard X, and Tapu Fini handling Fire-type moves that threaten it. Flying- and Ghost-types such as Zapdos, Landorus-T, Aegislash, and Mega Gengar can switch into Fighting-type moves that threaten Ferrothorn. Stealth Rock support helps Ferrothorn take advantage of the surprise factor of doing huge damage to foes, so teammates such as Mamoswine and Hippowdon pair well with it. Ferrothorn appreciates bulky teammates such as the aforementioned Zapdos and Hippowdon being able to take multiple hits as well as offer status support and extra residual damage to help Ferrothorn break through foes more easily. Intimidate support from the likes of Gyarados and Salamence helps Ferrothorn switch into physical attacks more comfortably, which is valuable because it will likely take another hit before it gets a chance to attack.

Moves Ferrothorn is a reliable setter of Stealth Rock thanks to its bulk and defensive typing, giving it several opportunities throughout the match to set up the entry hazard. Spikes can also be used in place of or in addition to Stealth Rock, allowing Ferrothorn to capitalize on free turns even further. Leech Seed provides Ferrothorn with a way to wear down defensive Pokemon and grants chip damage against switch-ins. Gyro Ball is Ferrothorn's primary method of dishing out damage, as it capitalizes on its low Speed and is helpful for handling Fairy-types, among other faster Pokemon. Power Whip allows Ferrothorn to check Water- and Ground-types much more easily, such as Azumarill, Manaphy, and Colossoil. It also prevents Pokemon like Mega Gyarados from using it as setup fodder. Protect grants Ferrothorn extra turns of Leftovers and Leech Seed recovery. It can also be used to scout for Hidden Power Fire from foes such as Mega Diancie and Kyurem-B. Thunder Wave allows Ferrothorn to cripple switch-ins such as Mollux, both Mega Charizard formes, and Heatran. It's useful to prevent boosting Pokemon from using Ferrothorn as setup bait, as long as they aren't immune to the move or carrying Substitute. Toxic can wear down switch-ins such as Pyroak, Cyclohm, and Zapdos. All three of these Pokemon tend to run Fire-type attacks and can heavily threaten Ferrothorn as a result, so putting them on a timer is helpful. Set Details 252 HP EVs and 192 Special Defense EVs give Ferrothorn enough special bulk to avoid the 2HKO from Life Orb Kyurem-B's Ice Beam after Stealth Rock damage. The remaining investment and a Relaxed nature go towards Ferrothorn's physical bulk, allowing it to take on physical attackers such as Colossoil more easily. A Relaxed nature also lowers Ferrothorn's Speed, making its Gyro Ball even stronger. An EV spread of 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD can be used to capitalize more on Ferrothorn's physical bulk, avoiding the 2HKO from Adamant Life Orb Excadrill's Earthquake, while still maintaining many of its capabilities as a mixed wall. Leftovers is the preferred item in most cases, providing Ferrothorn with passive recovery and added longevity so that it has more opportunities to perform its supporting duties throughout the match. At the cost of longevity, Rocky Helmet allows Ferrothorn to punish users of contact moves more aggressively, racking up serious residual damage on them in tandem with Iron Barbs. Shed Shell is also an option, allowing Ferrothorn to escape from trappers like Magnezone. It's a bit less consistently useful than the other two options, though, as it's useless against teams that don't run a trapper. Usage Tips Switch into Pokemon that Ferrothorn can wall, which are usually ones with resisted STAB types such as Krilowatt, Azumarill, and Mega Altaria, or passive Pokemon that Ferrothorn can absorb status from such as Chansey, and set up entry hazards. Try to scout for potential Fire-type coverage moves such as Hidden Power Fire and Fire Blast before switching Ferrothorn in on a special or mixed attacker, as it risks being severely damaged by these moves. If your opponent has a Colossoil, there's a chance it could try to bounce back entry hazards with Rebound. Leech Seed can be used to safely scout for Rebound, as Ferrothorn is immune to Leech Seed, or you can simply opt to damage Colossoil heavily with Power Whip or Gyro Ball. Team Options Wish users such as Clefable, Chansey, and Alomomola can greatly extend Ferrothorn's longevity. Fairy-types, especially Fire-resistant ones like Azumarill and Mega Diancie, are able to beat Fighting-type Pokemon and Cyclohm for Ferrothorn. Fire-types can also cover Ferrothorn's weakness to Fire and threaten Pokemon like Mega Scizor that might use Ferrothorn as setup bait. Several setup sweepers fall nicely into this category, such as Mega Charizard X and Talonflame, as they appreciate entry hazards wearing down bulky walls, which Ferrothorn can easily provide. Heatran is a more defensive option that can absorb Fire-type moves with Flash Fire. Ferrothorn, in turn, can cover Water-type attacks aimed at these Pokemon. Water-types, such as Slowbro, Rotom-W, and Arghonaut, have good defensive synergy with Ferrothorn, as they can take Fire-type attacks easily while Ferrothorn can tank Electric- and Grass-type attacks aimed at them. Cyclohm can handle several Pokemon Ferrothorn despises, such as Fire-types, Tomohawk, Cawmodore, and Keldeo, and provides Heal Bell support for the team.

Moves Ferrothorn is one of the best entry hazard setters in Ubers thanks to its solid bulk. It fares very well against the most common Defoggers, Latios and Latias, especially if it is running a status move such as Toxic. Spikes allows Ferrothorn to pressure defensive teams, deterring them from switching. Gyro Ball is used to heavily damage faster Pokemon such as Mega Gengar and Xerneas, while Power Whip hits Kyogre, Arceus-Ground, and Palkia hard; it also packs quite a punch against neutral targets. Leech Seed helps Ferrothorn recover health and, combined with entry hazards, can be used to chip away at the foe's health. Protect works well with Leech Seed and Leftovers, allowing Ferrothorn to recover HP while scouting against Choice-locked Pokemon. Thunder Wave can be used to cripple setup sweepers, but it should not be used with Gyro Ball, as Thunder Wave will lower Gyro Ball's power. Toxic wears down common switch-ins to Ferrothorn such as support Arceus formes and Defog users; as such, it has good synergy with Spikes. Set Details Iron Barbs helps Ferrothorn wear down physical attackers such as Mega Kangaskhan. Leftovers gives Ferrothorn some passive recovery, helping it avoid some crucial 2HKOs and 3HKOs. 252 HP and Special Defense EVs allow Ferrothorn to better check special attackers, such as Kyogre, while a Sassy nature further boosts Ferrothorn's special bulk. 0 Speed IVs should be used with Gyro Ball to strengthen it. Investing in Defense is also not a bad idea, as it helps Ferrothorn check powerful physical attackers such as Swords Dance Arceus variants with more ease. Usage Tips You should aim to use Ferrothorn's good defensive typing and bulk to your advantage by using it to set up entry hazards. Ferrothorn should be taking hits and trying to wear down the opposing Pokemon with residual damage from Leech Seed, entry hazards, or Toxic. Around common Fire Blast or Focus Blast users such as Dialga, Palkia, and Mewtwo, use Protect to see if they have it. It should also be noted that Gyro Ball only has 8 PP, so use it only when you have to. Team Options Ho-Oh is a good teammate for Ferrothorn, as the two work well together, and Ho-Oh appreciates Spikes support which wears down its checks and counters. Lugia can switch in to Fighting-types and a few Fire-types easily and phaze its foes to take advantage of Spikes. Arceus-Water can check Ho-Oh and other Fire-types in general as well; it can also provide Defog support. Setup sweepers appreciate Ferrothorn setting up entry hazards and using Toxic and Leech Seed to wear down bulky walls that they cannot muscle past. Ferrothorn also enjoys cleric support from Pokemon such as Blissey or Clefable, as it is easily worn down by burn damage.

Moves Power Whip is Ferrothorn's strongest STAB, KOing Rotom-W on the switch in. Gyro Ball hits incredibly powerfully thanks to Ferrothorn's pitiful Speed; it does have unimpressive coverage, however. Thunder Wave is able to cripple the majority of the fast-paced metagame. As a side note, never run Thunder Wave alongside Gyro Ball, because it reduces Gyro Ball's power. Substitute allows Ferrothorn to pull off SubSeed shenanigans and works well because of Ferrothorn's solid resistances. Leech Seed slowly wears down the foe, provides Ferrothorn with a source of recovery, and works well in tandem with Protect, which can scout for moves and accumulate Leech Seed damage. Set Details Maximum HP EV investment is needed to make full use of Ferrothorn's base 76 HP. 204 Attack EVs and a Brave nature allow it to OHKO Rotom-W with Power Whip. The rest of the EVs are put into Special Defense to patch up Ferrothorn's lower defense. 0 Speed IVs allow Ferrothorn to maximize Gyro Ball's power and underspeed other Pokemon when Trick Room is set. Lum Berry shields Ferrothorn from Rotom-W's Will-O-Wisp or cures sleep from Smeargle's Dark Void once. However, Rocky Helmet is also useful to severely annoy physical attackers, mainly Kangaskhan. One can run a more defensive spread with a Sassy or Relaxed nature. In addition, one can use 12 Speed EVs to allow Ferrothorn to outspeed paralyzed base 100 Speed Pokemon. Usage Tips Ferrothorn should be switched in on moves that it resists, such as Mega Kangaskhan's Return or a Choice-locked Draco Meteor. Unfortunately, Ferrothorn's STAB combination is resisted by a plethora of Pokemon, so Leech Seed is generally the preferred move. It is smart to save Ferrothorn for the end of the match because an opponent can potentially be out of super effective moves by then, thus making Ferrothorn a win condition. Ferrothorn is really only OHKOed by Fire-type moves, so keep it away from them at all costs! Team Options Ferrothorn appreciates Pokemon that resist its Fire-type weakness, such as Salamence and Gyarados, which also provide Intimidate support. Dragon-types such as Garchomp and the aforementioned Salamence appreciate Ferrothorn's Dragon- and Fairy-type resistances. Talonflame has fantastic synergy with Ferrothorn and beats Fighting-types that threaten Ferrothorn. Politoed resists Fire-type moves and weakens their power via Drizzle. Rotom-W also resists Fire-type moves, and it has access to Will-O-Wisp to burn Fighting-types. Gothitelle makes for a good partner because it can trap Pokemon that lack a Fire-type move and make it difficult for them to break through Ferrothorn. Trick Room support from the likes of Chandelure allows Ferrothorn to go first thanks to its low Speed.

This is a sample set. We aren't working on ORAS Monotype analyses at the moment, but check out ORAS Monotype resources for more information about the metagame.

168 SpD EVs lets Ferrothorn survive Landorus's Focus Blast after Stealth Rock damage. This is a sample set. We aren't working on ORAS Monotype analyses at the moment, but check out ORAS Monotype resources for more information about the metagame.

Moves Synthesis grants reliable recovery and allows Ferrothorn to stay healthy during the match. Stealth Rock is an alternative that allows it to deal chip damage to the opponent's team. Gyro Ball is a very powerful attack on faster offensive Pokemon such as Terrakion and Serperior, while Power Whip allows Ferrothorn to hit Water- and Ground-type Pokemon such as Azumarill and Quagsire. Leech Seed gives Ferrothorn additional recovery while crippling most of its threats, and it should only be chosen if paired with King's Shield. Spore cripples most Pokemon that switch in and gives Ferrothorn's teammates opportunities to set up or apply offensive pressure. King's Shield allows Ferrothorn to force mind games and works well with Leech Seed, as the combination allows it to beat Pokemon such as Fake Out + Extreme Speed Ursaring. Set Details The given EV spread allows Ferrothorn to survive two Brave Birds from Life Orb Adamant Aerodactyl after Leftovers recovery and Stealth Rock damage. A Relaxed nature and 0 Speed IVs ensure that Gyro Ball is always fully powered; however, if Power Whip is preferred over it, an Impish nature and 31 Speed IVs should be run instead. Leftovers gives Ferrothorn passive recovery and allows it to stay healthy without having to use Synthesis. Alternatively, Rocky Helmet works well in conjunction with Iron Barbs, as the combination can severely punish physical attackers that use contact moves. Usage Tips Lead with Ferrothorn if it carries Stealth Rock unless your opponent has a threatening Pokemon such as Heatran. It should also switch into weaker physical attacks such as Extreme Speed and punish their users with the damage from Iron Barbs and Rocky Helmet should it be carrying the item. Ferrothorn should use King's Shield early-game in order to scout for Pokemon with Choice items, such as Azumarill. Save Spore for a key target that your team cannot handle or needs disabled in order to win the game, and predict when the opponent will send in a Pokemon as sleep fodder. Use Leech Seed to cripple the opposing Pokemon and to deal further chip damage while keeping Ferrothorn healthy if it lacks Synthesis. Due to its low PP, Ferrothorn should only use Synthesis when necessary, and it should focus more on crippling the opponent's team with its status moves. Team Options Clefable complements Ferrothorn well, as it is able to take on Mega Sableye and Fighting-type Pokemon such as Terrakion, which give Ferrothorn trouble, and can heal it of status, while Ferrothorn protects Clefable from Steel- and Poison-types such as Bisharp and Gengar. A bulky Water-type such as Quagsire or Slowking can help against Fire-type Pokemon such as Heatran that Ferrothorn cannot effectively face, while Ferrothorn can absorb Spore and handle Grass-type Pokemon such as Serperior lacking Hidden Power Fire. Offensive Heatran is able to beat most of the Pokemon that threaten Ferrothorn, taking out walls such as Tangrowth and Clefable. Pokemon that are able to take advantage of Ferrothorn's Spore and entry hazards, such as Weavile, appreciate the ability to sweep more easily. Mega Latias can soak up most of the Fire- and Fighting-type attacks from threatening Pokemon such as Mega Charizard Y and Terrakion.

Moves Power Whip and Gyro Ball are Ferrothorn's STAB attacks; the former has better coverage and reliable damage output, while the latter is useful for hitting Dragon-types such as Latios and Kyurem-B, Mega Diancie, and other speedy threats such as Choice Scarf Landorus-T and Gengar. Thunder Wave can be used over Gyro Ball to cripple fast threats such as Mega Kangaskhan, Latios, and Hydreigon, which would allow Ferrothorn's partners to deal with them more easily. Leech Seed allows Ferrothorn to slowly whittle down foes while gaining valuable recovery; this applies pressure and makes Ferrothorn harder to KO. Protect allows Ferrothorn to position and defend itself while letting a partner take out threats. Set Details Maximum HP and 80 Defense EVs allow Ferrothorn to survive a Close Combat from Virizion or two Mach Punches from Breloom. The rest of the EVs are invested into Attack, which, in conjunction with a Brave nature, maximizes Ferrothorn's offensive presence. 0 Speed IVs should be used in order to maximize Gyro Ball's damage output and make Ferrothorn's matchup against Trick Room better. Leftovers is used in order to boost Ferrothorn's longevity with passive recovery, making it harder to take down, especially if Leech Seed is also in play. Rocky Helmet is also a useful item, allowing Ferrothorn to punish contact attackers such as Mega Kangaskhan harder than it would with just Iron Barbs. Usage Tips Ferrothorn should be picked mostly for its ability to supplement the defensive backbone of any team with its wide array of resistances and high bulk. It excels at switching into physical attacks, particularly those that make contact because of its Iron Barbs ability, which enables it to punish attackers like Mega Kangaskhan and Azumarill, especially if it's using Rocky Helmet. Ferrothorn also works well as a pivot, being useful for taking a hit as necessary for its team. Once opposing Fire- and Fighting-types have been dealt with, Ferrothorn can function as a wincon by simply stalling out foes with Leech Seed and Protect, generally healing more HP than it is losing. Team Options Pokemon that have trouble against Water-types such as Mega Diancie and Heatran appreciate Ferrothorn's ability to deal with them with ease. Teammates that can deal with opposing Fire-types are good to have; Water-types such as Keldeo, Volcanion, and Politoed can take out most Fire-type threats, with the latter even bringing rain to neuter them, while Landorus-T can take Fire-types out with either Earthquake or Rock Slide. Fighting- and Fire-types such as Mega Charizard Y, Keldeo, and Volcanion, as well as Landorus-T, are also handy to have in order to take out the Steel-types that wall Ferrothorn.

Moves Leech Seed gives Ferrothorn much more recovery than Leftovers alone would and punishes nearly any switch-in due to the lack of Grass-type Pokemon and Magic Guard Pokemon in Anything Goes. Protect gives Ferrothorn free recovery and allows it to scout for moves such as V-create on Mega Rayquaza. Gyro Ball gives Ferrothorn a decent offensive presence, preventing it from being setup bait for sweepers such as Xerneas and Mega Rayquaza. Stealth Rock is used to capitalize on all of the free turns Ferrothorn gets, allowing it to deal more passive damage on all of the switches it forces. Spikes is an option over Stealth Rock if your team already has a Stealth Rock setter. Set Details Leftovers gives Ferrothorn passive recovery. Iron Barbs allows Ferrothorn to punish physical attackers that make contact. The EVs and a Sassy nature give Ferrothorn the most special bulk possible, and the nature, alongside the minimized IVs, also makes Ferrothorn as slow as possible to maximize Gyro Ball damage. Usage Tips Try to use Leech Seed as much as possible, as it wears down foes very quickly while keeping Ferrothorn healthy. Ferrothorn should come in on physical attackers for the most part, though it can also come in on Kyogre and Xerneas. Use Protect a lot as well, both to scout for moves such as Arceus's Overheat and Rayquaza's V-create and to PP stall. However, Protect can become predictable and your opponent can take advantage of you spamming it, so mixing it up is good sometimes. Keep Ferrothorn away from Fire-types, as they easily KO it. Team Options Rocky Helmet Yveltal and Giratina are great options, as they can switch into Mega Rayquaza and most variants of Primal Groudon, which is very helpful for Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn's biggest downfall is its lack of reliable recovery, so pairing it with a Wish passer such as Blissey or Chansey allows them to heal it up, and in turn it can sponge physical attacks for them. A cleric such as Xerneas or Blissey pairs extremely well with Ferrothorn because a burn cripples Ferrothorn permanently. Primal Groudon is another great partner, as it absorbs Will-O-Wisp, which would otherwise cripple Ferrothorn, while also being a decent switch-in to Fire-type moves, and in return Ferrothorn provides amazing support by absorbing hits from Kyogre, allowing Primal Groudon to switch back in next turn to reset Desolate Land. Ho-Oh checks such as Arceus-Rock are essential for Ferrothorn to perform well. Ferrothorn appreciates checks for special Arceus formes, such as Ho-Oh, which synergizes very well with Ferrothorn because it can sponge physical hits for it in return. Physically defensive Arceus-Water has excellent synergy with Ferrothorn, as it deals with Ho-Oh, handles all variants of Primal Groudon except for Double Dance, and can absorb V-create and Overheat with ease.

Moves Power Whip is Ferrothorn's best STAB move and allows it to threaten bulky Water-types such as Suicune. Leech Seed can give Ferrothorn extra passive recovery and allows it to weaken bulkier foes that otherwise wall it such as Doublade. Stealth Rock can be used to wear down opposing teams, although Ferrothorn has difficulty fitting it onto its set. Spikes can also be run if one of Ferrothorn's teammates is already running Stealth Rock. Knock Off allows Ferrothorn to cripple foes by removing their items and can force Poison Heal users to play more carefully around Ferrothorn before activating their Toxic Orb, as well as hitting Victini and Doublade. Worry Seed can also be run to force Poison Heal users to switch out, as well as save Ferrothorn from being trapped when predicting Magnet Pull users to switch in. Thunder Wave allows Ferrothorn to cripple setup sweepers such as Swords Dance Lucario so that it can avoid being setup fodder, while Gyro Ball gives Ferrothorn a strong secondary STAB move to hit faster Dragon- and Flying-types such as Latios and Braviary. Iron Head can be run instead for more reliable damage versus slower foes such as Conkeldurr. Protect can also be run to get free turns for Ferrothorn to get more passive recovery from Leftovers and potentially Leech Seed. Set Details Maximum HP investment and 32 Defense EVs with an Impish nature give Ferrothorn as much physical bulk as it can afford, while the 228 EVs in Special Defense allow Ferrothorn to survive two +3 Ice Beams from Manaphy and KO it with Power Whip. Flash Fire is the preferred ability, as it helps Ferrothorn to wall many offensive Fire-types, such as Victini and Entei, which can otherwise easily switch into Ferrothorn's resisted dual STAB moves and OHKO it. Primordial Sea can also be run to better beat Fire-types with Mold Breaker, at the cost of leaving Ferrothorn vulnerable to Will-O-Wisp. Mold Breaker can be run to help Ferrothorn set up entry hazards and Leech Seed versus teams with Magic Bounce users, preventing it from being mostly dead weight against them. Unaware prevents Ferrothorn from being setup fodder for common sweepers such as Doublade and Skarmory lacking Taunt, allowing Ferrothorn to outstall them when using Leech Seed. Leftovers is by far the best item for Ferrothorn, as it provides some extra longevity and can work together with Leech Seed to keep Ferrothorn somewhat healthy. Zero Speed IVs and a Relaxed nature should be used when running Gyro Ball to make it hit as hard as possible. Usage Tips Ferrothorn should be used to set up entry hazards first and foremost to begin chipping away at the opponent's team as early as possible. Attempt to scout for opposing Magic Bounce users before going for hazards if not running Mold Breaker, as common users such as Mew and Chansey can easily switch into Ferrothorn and reflect its hazards. Use Leech Seed as much as possible, as it can keep Ferrothorn healthy while crippling foes, potentially allowing Ferrothorn to stay healthy enough to keep switching into stronger attackers throughout longer matches. If running Flash Fire, Ferrothorn can be used as a mostly reliable switch-in to Fire-types such as Entei and Heatran. However, be careful of freely switching Ferrothorn into Trick + Choice item variants of Victini and Substitute or Taunt variants of Heatran, as they can both beat Ferrothorn one-on-one. Similarly, Ferrothorn is capable of beating some setup sweepers such as Skarmory and Doublade one-on-one if running Unaware but should otherwise switch out versus them in order to avoid being setup fodder. Avoid burns if possible, as they render Ferrothorn mostly useless. If running Primordial Sea, Ferrothorn can be used to disrupt opposing weather teams by forcibly changing the weather to heavy rain upon switching in and removing all weather conditions when switching out. Team Options Specially defensive walls such as Goodra are important teammates for Ferrothorn, as it can be a somewhat free switch in for strong special attackers such as Landorus and Hydreigon. Wish passers such as Vaporeon and Chansey can keep Ferrothorn healthy throughout longer games to make up for its lack of reliable recovery, both of which are also notable specially defensive walls. Fighting-type checks such as Zapdos and Latias are useful for covering Ferrothorn's main weakness, although switch-ins to Fire-types such as Suicune and Mega Ampharos are also essential for non-Primordial Sea or Flash Fire variants of Ferrothorn. Unaware users like Suicune are very useful for non-Unaware variants of Ferrothorn, which can often find themselves setup fodder for sweepers such as Skarmory and Gyarados. Strong wallbreakers and sweepers such as Latios and Mega Gyarados appreciate Ferrothorn's entry hazard support to wear down their defensive switch-ins and more easily break or sweep the opposing team. Azumarill is a notable partner for Ferrothorn, as it can check both Fighting- and Fire-type Pokemon as well as take advantage of Ferrothorn's entry hazards to wallbreak easily if running Huge Power or act as a defensive partner if running Poison Heal. Magnet Pull users such as Heatran can be used to remove opposing Steel-types, which can easily wall Ferrothorn otherwise. Heal Bell users such as Chansey and Diancie can help keep Ferrothorn free of burns. Ghost-types such as Doublade and Gengar and Defiant or Competitive users such as Mega Metagross and Mega Ampharos, respectively, can help spinblock and discourage Defogging once Ferrothorn has set up entry hazards.

Moves Gyro Ball is a STAB move that can hit faster Pokemon, such as Landorus-T, hard due to Ferrothorn's low Speed. Iron Head is a more consistent Steel-type STAB move that does more damage to slower Fairy-types such as Sylveon, Mega Mawile, Clefairy, and Clefable. Power Whip is a Grass-type STAB move that allows Ferrothorn to check Suicune and OHKO 252 HP / 44 Def Rotom-W. Leech Seed gives Ferrothorn the ability to heal back some HP while also doing residual damage to the foe, while Thunder Wave gives Ferrothorn the ability to provide speed control. Protect is standard and can protect Ferrothorn from a hit that would otherwise KO it, such as a Heat Wave from Mega Charizard Y. Set Details 204 Attack EVs with a Brave nature allow Ferrothorn to OHKO standard 252 HP / 44 Def Rotom-W with Power Whip. A Brave nature also boosts the power of Gyro Ball by lowering Ferrothorn's Speed. Maximum HP EVs with 52 Special Defense EVs give Ferrothorn more bulk. Lum Berry is usually the preferred item, as it prevents Ferrothorn from being crippled by burns, which allows it to check Rotom-W better. Rocky Helmet is an option to punish weaker contact moves, such as a Fake Out on the switch in. Ferrothorn is also a solid user of Leftovers, as it can add to Ferrothorn's longevity allowing it to function as a supporting tank longer. Usage Tips Ferrothorn can easily be switched into weaker non-super effective attacks such as Fake Out and Draco Meteor, but be wary of Fire-type moves. Ferrothorn works great late-game. Take out whatever can threaten Ferrothorn and use it as a win condition to tank whatever the opponent has left. Team Options Terrakion is a great partner, as it is able to check Fire-types, such as Mega Charizard Y, Heatran, and Talonflame, that threaten Ferrothorn, while also checking opposing Steel-types that resist Ferrothorn's STAB moves. Ferrothorn, in turn, can check Landorus-T, one of the biggest checks to Terrakion, and bulky Water-types that Terrakion has trouble OHKOing. Heatran, Talonflame, and Mega Charizard Y have good synergy with Ferrothorn, as they can all check Steel-types. Heatran deters Heat Wave users, while Talonflame can also check Fighting-types that threaten Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn, in turn, helps by checking Rotom-W and Rock-types. Ferrothorn also has a great matchup against rain teams, which helps out Mega Charizard Y immensely. Ferrothorn appreciates support from Water-types in particular; Rotom-W and Politoed all work with it wonderfully. Ferrothorn works really well in a rain team, most notably with Kingdra, as Ferrothorn can easily switch into Dragon- and Fairy-type moves aimed at Kingdra. Rain teams tend to struggle with the Mega Kangaskhan and Clefairy duo, which Ferrothorn does pretty well against, though Gyro Ball doesn't do much to Clefairy. Mega Salamence is another good partner, as Ferrothorn is able to switch into Fairy-, Rock-, and Dragon-type attacks aimed at Mega Salamence while Salamence can switch into Fighting- and Fire-type attacks aimed at Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn can also check both Landorus-T and Rotom-W, which benefits Mega Salamence greatly. Most Dragon-types, in general, have nice synergy with Ferrothorn. Chandelure also works well with Ferrothorn, as it can use Trick Room to turn Ferrothorn's terrible Speed into an advantage and checks Steel-types, such as Aegislash, that Ferrothorn has trouble hitting.

Moves Leech Seed grants Ferrothorn a steady recovery option and wears down foes, particularly bulkier ones such as Cresselia, Porygon2, and Suicune. Power Whip is a strong STAB attack that is useful for heavily damaging Water- and Ground-type Pokemon such as Rotom-W, Hippowdon, and Excadrill. Gyro Ball takes advantage of Ferrothorn’s extremely low Speed and strikes many offensive threats at 150 Base Power. Some notable Pokemon it covers include Breloom and Gengar, and it also hits Kangaskhan, Garchomp, Blaziken, and both Mega Charizard formes much harder than Power Whip. Knock Off provides a utility in removing items and also threatens Aegislash, which is faster than Ferrothorn and risks being struck in its Blade forme. Thunder Wave cripples unsuspecting sweepers such as Mega Charizard X and Volcarona, but it weakens Gyro Ball. Protect synergizes with Leech Seed and Leftovers to make Ferrothorn a long-lasting wall, allowing it to accumulate more residual damage. Stealth Rock provides team-wide support by rendering Focus Sash almost ineffective and can add a valuable amount of residual damage to help Ferrothorn's teammates sweep. It also deals heavy damage to Charizard, Volcarona, and Talonflame. Iron Head can be used over Gyro Ball for better synergy with Thunder Wave, as Thunder Wave significantly reduces Gyro Ball's damage. Toxic is another status move that can take advantage of Ferrothorn's stalling capabilities and threaten Pokemon such as Zapdos and Talonflame. Set Details Maximum HP and Defense investment optimizes Ferrothorn's performance against the heavy number of physical threats in the metagame. It ensures that Adamant Mega Salamence cannot OHKO it with Double-Edge after a single Dragon Dance boost and that Talonflame cannot 2HKO it with Choice Band-boosted Brave Bird. A specially defensive spread is viable, taking advantage of Ferrothorn's slightly lower but still respectable Special Defense stat. It allows it to take on Greninja, Raikou, and Choice Specs Rotom-W and Sylveon more easily. Leftovers is preferred to make use of Ferrothorn’s stalling abilities and to patch up its lack of reliable recovery. Rocky Helmet can further deter physical attackers, as it can deal a combined 29% damage with Iron Barbs against a single contact attack. Against Mega Kangaskhan's contact attacks, this combination can wipe out a staggering 58% of her HP! If running Iron Head, use an Impish nature and 12 Speed EVs to outrun paralyzed, positive-natured base 100 Speed Pokemon. Running 84 Speed EVs grants Ferrothorn enough Speed to outrun paralyzed Mega Gengar, but it does put a strain on Ferrothorn's overall bulk. Usage Tips Make use of the huge list of Pokemon Ferrothorn checks, but in some matchups, try to scout for potential anti-Ferrothorn measures before staying in. For example, if you want to use Ferrothorn to check Sylveon, you should try to scout for Hidden Power Fire. This can be accomplished through the use of Protect and/or double switching. Another example is Azumarill; avoid Superpower if you can. Double switch if necessary, and make use of Ferrothorn’s strong pivoting quality provided to it by its resistances, bulk, and Iron Barbs. Evaluate whether to Leech Seed, Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, or attack as you see fit. Leech Seed is the safest move to throw out, as it is effective against all Pokemon bar Grass-types. Use Stealth Rock if you anticipate a longer battle or are in need of that residual damage on key targets. For example, your Mega Salamence will have a much easier time dealing with Thundurus and Zapdos with Stealth Rock on the field. It may also be in your interest to immediately set Stealth Rock up if you anticipate that your opponent will bring Charizard, Talonflame, or Volcarona. However, using Stealth Rock also means a one-time free switch in for many threats, so do not set it up without thinking about it. Thunder Wave is an excellent way to cripple sweepers that love switching into Ferrothorn, such as Blaziken, Lucario, and Mega Charizard X. Use an attack to immediately threaten the foe and to combat Substitute users. However, Ferrothorn is not a wallbreaker; you probably won’t get a lot of opportunities to predict a switch-in and punish it with a direct attack. Team Options Mega Salamence, Dragonite, Latias, Latios, Gyarados, Talonflame, Azumarill, Mega Charizard Y, Slowbro, and Mega Altaria are all viable options to cover Ferrothorn's weaknesses to Fire and Fighting. Ferrothorn also covers most of their weaknesses and its Stealth Rock support can be invaluable for them as well. Ferrothorn is a solid partner for Blaziken, as it covers a number of Blaziken's checks, such as Hippowdon, Cresselia, and Suicune. Adding in Zapdos to the mix covers Talonflame, Mega Salamence, and Azumarill. Together, these three form a balanced trio that can blanket check most Pokemon in the metagame. Landorus-T, Ferrothorn, and a Pokemon that resists Fire also act as a strong core. Rotom-W and Rotom-H are the most notable options as they also resist Flying, making it difficult for Talonflame and Mega Salamence to break the core. Politoed can provide Ferrothorn with rain support to reduce its Fire weakness, while Ferrothorn resists both Electric and Grass. Ferrothorn's long list of resistances is always helpful for a rain team.

Ferrothorn can be a great support Pokemon with its excellent movepool and typing. It can switch into many sweepers and users of Choice items, and set up entry hazards while the opponent either does little damage or switches. Ferrothorn can repeat this process many times, and can thus aid a stall team greatly. Due to its great typing and decent Attack, it can not only wall certain Pokemon, but also maim Pokemon with its attacks. Power Whip deals significant damage to Kyogre, Tyranitar, Groudon, and Palkia, while Gyro Ball deals heavy damage to sweepers such as Mewtwo, Shaymin-S, Giratina-O, and Darkrai. This allows Ferrothorn to take down setup sweepers attempting to boost up their stats while Ferrothorn sets up entry hazards. This makes Ferrothorn exceptionally hard to set up on and take down. Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs ability allows it to wear down the opponent even further when the opponent makes contact with it. With a combination of Leech Seed and Protect, Ferrothorn can even stall out a sweeper. Spikes is an obvious move for Ferrothorn. It can set up layers easily and wear down opposing Pokemon when they switch in. Power Whip takes down Kyogre and Groudon, which set up weather that might be undesirable for your team. Gyro Ball can deal heavy damage to frailer sweepers and prevents them from setting up. Leech Seed and Protect are useful for wearing down the opponent as well as providing self-recovery, making Ferrothorn exceptionally hard to take down. Protect can also scout for moves that can KO Ferrothorn, such as Hidden Power Fire and Fire Blast. If your team lacks it, Stealth Rock is vital to hurt any switch-in. Thunder Wave may be used to cripple an opposing sweeper, but should not be used with Gyro Ball as its power will be severely weakened. The choice between Power Whip and Gyro Ball depends on whether you fear Pokemon that can set up weather, or fast but frail sweepers. If one prefers Ferrothorn to live longer and deal gradual instead of immediate damage, they should run Leech Seed and Protect over Gyro Ball and Stealth Rock. If a team already has a Stealth Rock user, then Ferrothorn should run Leech Seed over Stealth Rock. If Ferrothorn is not running Gyro Ball, a Careful nature may be used. If Ferrothorn's team fears physical sweepers more than special sweepers, then it can choose to run Defense EVs instead of Special Defense. The EV spread given allows Ferrothorn to achieve a ton of special bulk while retaining the ability to break 252 HP Arceus-Dark's Substitutes with Power Whip; it would otherwise be extremely threatening to stall teams. Rain support is very useful to weaken Fire-type attacks thrown at Ferrothorn. When considering Ferrothorn's immense bulk, it can survive Fire-type attacks that it would normally succumb to in the rain. This makes Ferrothorn even harder to take down. Toxic Spikes support aids Ferrothorn when stalling out opponents with Leech Seed. Giratina-O is a great teammate for Ferrothorn, as their typings complement each other well. Giratina-O can also take down Forretress, preventing it from using Rapid Spin. Ferrothorn fears the sun as it is then vulnerable to common Fire-type moves used by Pokemon such as Ho-Oh, Reshiram, Palkia, and Dialga.

While it seems absurd to slap a Choice Band on such a defensive Pokemon, Ferrothorn is surprisingly powerful and can take down many common switch-ins. Ferrothorn has a very reasonable base Attack of 94, which seems low in the Uber tier until one realizes the power of its STAB Power Whip and Gyro Ball. Due to Ferrothorn's exceptionally low Speed, its Gyro Ball can almost always reach its maximum Base Power, and OHKO many offensive threats such as Mewtwo, Darkrai, and Shaymin-S, while 2HKOing some defensive threats such as Arceus, Lugia, and Giratina-O. Even Chansey is 2HKOed by Power Whip. With such powerful moves, Ferrothorn can easily prevent bulky Calm Mind sweepers such as Kyogre, Arceus, and Giratina-O from setting up on it, and 2HKO common switch-ins, expecting the support set. Due to Ferrothorn's unimpressive offensive movepool, the last two slots are mainly fillers. Bulldoze can deal reasonable damage to Steel-types that resist both Power Whip and Gyro Ball, such as Dialga, Jirachi, and Arceus-Steel. Explosion is a powerful suicide attack Ferrothorn can use at low health, and can be used to prevent Ferrothorn from becoming setup bait. Leech Seed may also be used for recovery and to wear down opponents, but being locked into it would cause obvious problems, and likely force Ferrothorn to switch out. Despite running an offensive set, Ferrothorn is still very bulky, as no Speed EVs are required due to its inability to outrun anything. This allows it to effectively sponge hits while unleashing powerful attacks. The following calculations prove how powerful Choice Band Ferrothorn is: Gyro Ball vs. 4/0 Mewtwo - 99.4% - 117.2% Gyro Ball vs. 4/0 Darkrai - 125.3% - 147.7% Gyro Ball vs. 4/0 Shaymin-S - 119.6% - 141.1% Gyro Ball vs. 4/0 Arceus - 72.3% - 85.1% Gyro Ball vs. 0/0 Giratina-O - 66.7% - 78.5% Gyro Ball vs. 32/0 Rayquaza - 89.4% - 105.3% Gyro Ball vs. 4/0 Reshiram - 47.1% - 55.6% Gyro Ball vs. 252/64 Lugia - 53.4% - 63% Power Whip vs. 4/252 Chansey - 58.1% - 68.4% Power Whip vs. 4/0 Kyogre - 149.7% - 177.2% Power Whip vs. 252/252+ Groudon - 66.8% - 78.7% Power Whip vs. 0/0 Palkia - 81.6% - 96.3% Power Whip vs. 0/0 Tyranitar - 112.4% - 132.6%

This moveset takes advantage of Ferrothorn's capabilities by focusing on its defensive potential while still allowing it to threaten opposing Pokemon. Your main plan with Ferrothorn should be to Leech Seed your opponent's Pokemon and stall with Protect. Power Whip's damage potential is not to be underestimated, as Ferrothorn has a reasonable base 94 Attack and receives STAB on the attack. Ground / Water-type Pokemon, such as Gastrodon and Swampert, are common in the VGC 2012 metagame, and Power Whip scores a 4x super effective hit on both of them. Gyro Ball takes advantage of the STAB bonus in addition to Ferrothorn's low Speed stat, but unfortunately does not have good coverage. A Relaxed nature is used to maximize Ferrothorn's stats by boosting its high base Defense, and the focus is placed on Defense EVs because the majority of the Pokemon that threaten it are physical attackers. Because Ferrothorn resists most commonly seen special attacks, it doesn't need a lot of investment in Special Defense. The given EV spread allows Ferrothorn, if originally at full health, to survive three Blizzards from Abomasnow provided that you still have two Pokemon on your side of the field, which will limit Abomasnow's Blizzard. It is possible to use a more specially defensive EV spread, which would allow Ferrothorn to take Heat Wave from Pokemon such as Infernape and Zapdos more comfortably; this would also enable Ferrothorn to wall Water-type Pokemon even more easily. You can also elect to run even more Defense EVs, which would help against Fighting-type threats such as Hitmontop and Terrakion.

Gyro Ball is Ferrothorn's best, and sometimes only, damaging move. While Ferrothorn lacks a particularly notable Attack stat, its low Speed boosts Gyro Ball to 150-Base Power versus many common targets such as Latios, Tornadus, and Hydreigon, 2HKOing all of them. With one Curse, this guarantees maximum power against even middling Speed targets such as Adamant Tyranitar. Power Whip covers the Water-types that resist Gyro Ball, such as Jellicent, Suicune, and Kingdra, and it's often worth running due to these them being strong defensively versus rain teams. Leech Seed offers an option to put foes on a timer, letting Ferrothorn aim to defensively outlast foes that may not damage it reliably, such as Metagross as well as Jellicent if Ferrothorn's Substitute is up. Curse turns Ferrothorn into a dangerous setup sweeper, enabling its Gyro Ball to OHKO non-Steel-resistant foes such as Latios at +1 , and can help in wearing down physical attacking foes like Conkeldurr, which would struggle to make progress after a Defense boost due to Iron Barbs. Curse also boasts synergy with Gyro Ball, lowering Ferrothorn's Speed and thus letting it achieve maximum Base Power against foes it normally couldn't. Ferrothorn may opt to drop Protect on teams with a Trick Room mode that utilize it as a setup sweeper, or when Power Whip cannot be dropped, such as on a rain team. The given HP and Special Defense EVs enable Ferrothorn to act as a better defensive late-game sweeper, with a small investment in Attack to 2HKO Tyranitar reliably. Common Partners Gothitelle is one of Ferrothorn's best partners, setting Trick Room to give Ferrothorn an advantage and using Skill Swap Shadow Tag, allowing it to switch out and enable another teammate with a more favorable matchup to output damage, as this pairing is quite passive otherwise. Gothitelle is also one of the few options on a rain team to reliably make progress against Amoonguss and Conkeldurr, two Pokemon that Ferrothorn struggles with. Kingdra and Politoed form an offensive Water-type core that dampens Fire-type moves via Drizzle and checks Fire-types such as Heatran and Volcarona. These, in combination with Gothitelle, ensure that offensive threats to Ferrothorn are trapped and removed so that it can close out a game. Scrafty pairs well with Ferrothorn's other partners, disrupting the opponent with Fake Out and allowing Ferrothorn to use Curse or Substitute and reducing the damage of opposing physical threats such as Conkeldurr with Intimidate. Checks and Counters Fire-type Pokemon like Volcarona often presents a serious problem for Ferrothorn — Volcarona can OHKO Gothitelle with Bug Gem-boosted Bug Buzz and Ferrothorn with Overheat, even in rain, which neutralizes half of a Ferrothorn team's strategy. Both Heatran and Volcarona completely wall Ferrothorn and exert significant offensive pressure, making setting up in the face of either difficult. Several top-tier Pokemon that would otherwise struggle against Ferrothorn are carry Fire-type options like Hidden Power Fire, Flamethrower, and Fire Blast. This includes Cresselia and Latios with Hidden Power Fire as well as Hydreigon and Tyranitar with Flamethrower or Fire Blast. As an alternative to Hidden Power Fire, Latios or Amoonguss may utilize Sunny Day for the rain matchup, making any rain team's path to victory more difficult. Amoonguss is very annoying for Ferrothorn, as if it isn't behind Substitute, Amoonguss can outspeed and put it to sleep, as well as redirect its Leech Seed or tank unboosted Gyro Ball, slowing its progress against the opposing team. Fighting-types like Conkeldurr can muscle past Ferrothorn rather easily and break its Substitute with Mach Punch, even if Ferrothorn has two Defense boosts. Hitmontop and Scrafty are also quite capable of disrupting its gameplan with Intimidate and Fake Out. Breloom presents a similar problem to Amoonguss, putting Ferrothorn to sleep but also dealing super effective damage. Thundurus can shut down Curse, Substitute and Leech Seed with Taunt, while generally being quite disruptive to Ferrothorn's typical teammates such as Gothitelle, which would set Trick Room for it.

Avoids a 2HKO from Choice Specs Keldeo Hydro Pump in Rain. This is a sample set. We aren't working on BW Monotype analyses at the moment, but check out BW Monotype resources for more information about the metagame.

This is a sample set. We aren't working on BW Monotype analyses at the moment, but check out BW Monotype resources for more information about the metagame.

This set encompasses the variety of roles Ferrothorn can play. Stealth Rock is perhaps the most important support move, breaking Dragonite's Multiscale, hindering Flying-types in general, and dealing harsh damage to common Fire-types on sun teams, such as Volcarona. Leech Seed provides vital recovery for Ferrothorn in lieu of Leftovers, while chipping away at your opponent's health. However, Spikes further perpetuates the entry hazard damage, making it very hard for your opponent to switch in hastily and repeatedly. Protect is as cowardly as ever, helping Ferrothorn scout for your opponent's attacks and gaining it a free turn of recovery from Leech Seed. However, Thunder Wave can be used to cripple common switch-ins, such as the deadly Chandelure. Finally, Ferrothorn has access to two powerful STAB moves that prevent it from becoming total Taunt bait; Gyro Ball is a great choice, as it takes advantage of Ferrothorn's dirt slow Speed to attain a massive 150 Base Power against most opponents. However, Power Whip is the preferred option if you are running Thunder Wave support, as your opponent's Pokemon will be much slower, neutering Gyro Ball's power. First of all, the most important thing to note is the use of Shed Shell over Leftovers. This allows Ferrothorn to escape the clutches of Chandelure, which also makes it a makeshift Chandelure lure. Instead of making a risky double switch, you can stay in, lay your hazard, and if Chandelure comes in, you can switch to the appropriate counter. The given EVs and a Relaxed nature are not too difficult to understand, investing completely in Ferrothorn's fantastic bulk while reducing its Speed, allowing for the strongest possible Gyro Ball. If you run Thunder Wave, you should instead run the full 31 IVs and an Impish nature. This allows Ferrothorn to outspeed paralyzed max Speed positive-natured Rotom-A and slower, which also includes Gyarados, Dragonite, Toxicroak, Heatran, and Chandelure, which is useful if you need Ferrothorn to lay one last hazard or Leech Seed before sacrificing itself. Anything that can take a massive hit from Chandelure makes a great partner for Ferrothorn, since that is most likely what is switching in. In rain, Politoed and Tentacruel giggle at Chandelure's Fire-type attacks; neither are even 5HKOed by Choice Specs Overheat in the rain—in other words, Chandelure is switching out immediately before getting drenchedwith a rain-boosted Water attack. However, if your opponent is wise to your Ferrothorn's Shed Shell, it may choose to fire off an Energy Ball or Shadow Ball to hit either Pokemon hard. Hydreigon is the best switch-in, resisting all of Chandelure's attacks aside from its Hidden Power of choice and threatening to OHKO Chandelure with Dark Pulse. Outside of rain, a Chandelure of your own partners well with Ferrothorn, with paralysis support and entry hazards paving the way for Chandelure to eliminate Pokemon that threaten the rest of your team.