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Spiritomb is a fearsome defensive Calm Mind sweeper that is able to find setup opportunities against some threats like Sawk locked into Close Combat, Swoobat, and Cofagrigus. Dark Pulse is the preferred STAB move, as, unlike Shadow Ball, it has no immunities. Rest is Spiritomb's most reliable recovery move and lets it get rid of status. Sleep Talk prevents Spritomb from being completely passive during Rest. Pressure lets Spiritomb PP stall defensive walls like Throh and Clefairy. Spiritomb fits best on stall teams where its initial passivity isn't as crippling, and its unique defensive utility and PP stalling capabilities are appreciated. On these teams, Spiritomb's teammates whittle down and remove its counters over the course of a match, so it can be used as a late-game wincon. Physical walls like Pyukumuku, Tangela, and Altaria handle powerful wallbreakers such as Rhydon and Silvally formes. Special walls like Clefairy and Articuno are necessary to handle special wallbreakers such as Ninetales and Exeggutor, which can force out an unboosted Spiritomb. Some of them even provide Heal Bell support to wake up Spiritomb after it uses Rest. Checks to Dark-types like Alcremie and Throh are appreciated for their ability to take on foes such as Skuntank and Shiftry, which use Spiritomb as setup fodder. Checks to Alcremie such as Pyukumuku and Haze Articuno are also necessary, as it is a major threat to stall teams and can freely come in on Spiritomb.

Moves Calm Mind increases Spiritomb's Special Attack and Special Defense, gradually making it more and more of a threatening sweeper. Dark Pulse is Spiritomb's only attack, having useful neutral coverage and becoming rather strong after enough boosts from Calm Mind. Rest gives Spiritomb a form of recovery that also rids it of status conditions and allows it to absorb status while asleep. Sleep Talk allows Spiritomb to use one of its moves while asleep, preventing it from being completely helpless. Set Details The investment in HP and Defense in conjunction with a Bold nature serves to maximize Spiritomb's physical bulk, making it annoying to take down due to Calm Mind increasing its Special Defense. Leftovers gives Spiritomb a form of passive recovery, lessening the need to use Rest. Alternatively, Darkinium Z can be used to reduce the damage Spiritomb takes from Knock Off and prevent it from being crippled by Trick and Switcheroo while also turning Dark Pulse into Black Hole Eclipse, which is fairly strong even unboosted and can prove useful for heavily damaging specially bulky Pokemon like Altaria on top of Dark-resistant foes like Skuntank. Pressure allows Spiritomb to serve as annoyance to Pokemon that are reliant on attacks with low PP such as Aurorus as well as opposing bulky setup sweepers like Type: Null. Usage Tips Spiritomb should mainly attempt to set up with Calm Mind late-game, as by this point, a lot of the stronger wallbreakers and Fairy-types that would otherwise prevent Spiritomb from setting up will either have been removed or weakened enough to be KOed. Use Rest once Spiritomb begins to take noticeable damage, as this prevents it from being worn down too fast and gets rid of any status that may be plaguing it beforehand while also letting it act as an emergency status absorber in case nothing else wants to switch in on status moves like Toxic. Spiritomb should aim to pivot into Fighting-types such as Hitmonchan and Throh and take advantage of how little they are capable of doing to it by either setting up or using Rest if necessary. Although not very common, Spiritomb should be wary of potential users of Switcheroo and Trick such as Rotom-F if it isn't using Darkinium Z since it can render it completely useless. Darkinium Z variants should preserve their Z-Move until they need to break through special walls that they otherwise cannot bypass, such as Munchlax and Type: Null. Team Options Calm Mind Spiritomb fits on balance and stall teams in need of a bulky late-game sweeper that can also check Fighting-, Psychic-, and Normal-types, though it does have a place on bulky offensive teams as well. Audino makes for a premier partner due to its ability to provide Wish + Heal Bell support to keep Spiritomb healthy without forcing it to use Rest, switch into many of the stronger special attackers that threaten Spiritomb out prior to it using Calm Mind, and bait in Fighting-types for Spiritomb to take advantage of. Heal Bell also wakes Spiritomb up, which prevents it from having to burn sleep turns. In a similar vein, other special walls such as Carbink and Clefairy are good partners, with both providing entry hazard support and checking threatening special wallbreakers prior to Spiritomb setting up. Pokemon that can check Fairy-types such as Aggron, Simisear, and Roselia make for good teammates, since they are a relatively hard stop to Spiritomb and can render Spiritomb's attempts at setting up pointless. Entry hazards can prove useful for wearing down Dark-resistant foes such as Silvally-Fairy, so setters of entry hazards such as Qwilfish, Carbink, and Clefairy are good partners. Qwilfish also has the ability to switch into and cripple Clefairy with Taunt and weaken it with Sludge Bomb, while Carbink can check Scrappy users such as Kangaskhan and Stoutland.

Moves Pursuit allows Spiritomb to trap and severely weaken mainly Ghost- and Psychic-types such as Haunter and Alolan Raichu as well as pivots such as Eelektross and Primeape as they switch out. Sucker Punch is Spiritomb's strongest form of priority, threatening to pick off frailer Pokemon such as Dodrio after a bit of chip damage. Sucker Punch and Pursuit pair well with one another due to Ghost- and Psychic-types' tendency to switch out in an attempt to avoid the former, causing them to get trapped and heavily weakened by the latter instead. Foul Play is a more reliable STAB attack that threatens foes that attempt to take advantage of Spiritomb's reliance on Sucker Punch like Lycanroc. Psychic can instead be used to lure in and deal decent damage to Gurdurr and Victreebel, which would otherwise give Spiritomb issues due to the former not minding being burned and the latter stalling out Spiritomb with Strength Sap. Finally, Will-O-Wisp cripples physical attackers like Kangaskhan as well as Spiritomb's checks like Alolan Persian. Taunt is an alternative that can be used over Will-O-Wisp to shut down defensive Pokemon such as Audino and Sableye, which can prove useful if Spiritomb's team has an unfavorable matchup against stall. Set Details The investment in HP and Attack maximizes Spiritomb's mixed bulk and offensive presence. An Adamant nature is used to further augment Spiritomb's Attack; however, if Spiritomb is using Psychic, a Brave nature should be used instead to preserve its Special Attack. Figy Berry is the preferred item, since it mitigates Spiritomb's lack of recovery by restoring 50% of its HP after it takes enough damage. Black Glasses is an alternative that increases the power of Spiritomb's Dark-type attacks. Infiltrator allows Spiritomb to bypass the Substitutes of Pokemon such as Alolan Dugtrio, Jynx, and Oricorio-G, which prevents them from attempting to play around its attacks as they would with other users of Sucker Punch such as Absol and Skuntank. Usage Tips Spiritomb should mainly act as a revenge killer due to the combination of Sucker Punch and Pursuit allowing it to create mind games with and pick off weakened foes. Due to how setup sweepers can take advantage of Spiritomb's reliance on Sucker Punch, it should be wary of using it against them. Spiritomb should mainly switch into STAB moves from Pokemon such as Musharna and Primeape, since it is immune to them. Pursuit should be used whenever Spiritomb anticipates a foe to switch out, as it is fairly strong and can wear them down faster than they would like. Pursuit can also be useful for putting foes in range of Sucker Punch. Exercise caution when using Will-O-Wisp if the opponent has a Fire-type, as they can absorb it and force Spiritomb out with their strong STAB attacks. If Spiritomb isn't running Foul Play, it doesn't have any reliably strong attacks, meaning that it will have to be a bit more careful against foes such as Carracosta, since they can potentially play around Sucker Punch. Team Options Spiritomb's weakness to Fairy means that checks to Fairy-types such as Aggron, Alolan Dugtrio, and Victreebel make for good partners. In return, these Pokemon appreciate Spiritomb checking Fighting- and Psychic-types. Entry hazard setters such as Clefairy, Qwilfish, Ferroseed, and Roselia appreciate Spiritomb's Ghost typing allowing it to spinblock. In return, the entry hazards wear down Spiritomb's switch-ins and bring frailer Pokemon into range of Sucker Punch. Due to Spiritomb's lack of recovery outside of Figy Berry, entry hazard removal from the likes of Hitmonchan and Swanna is appreciated, since they can prevent entry hazards from wearing Spiritomb down faster. Hitmonchan also appreciates Spiritomb trapping and removing Ghost-types like Haunter and Oricorio-G, since this makes using Rapid Spin easier. Fighting- and Normal-type Pokemon such as Gurdurr, Primeape, and Zangoose appreciate Spiritomb both trapping and removing Ghost- and Psychic-types and potentially luring in opposing Gurdurr, since this allows them to more freely spam their respective STAB attacks. In return, they can take on bulkier Steel-types such as Aggron and Probopass. Special wallbreakers such as Aurorus and Drampa can break a lot of the physically bulky Pokemon that have little problems switching in on Spiritomb's attacks like Tangela, with neither of them minding Will-O-Wisp.

Moves Calm Mind raises Spiritomb's Special Attack and Special Defense, slowly making it more powerful and harder to take down with special attacks. Dark Pulse is the main STAB move because it has good neutral coverage and no immunities, unlike Shadow Ball. Snarl is an alternative STAB move that trades some power for the ability to lower the foe's Special Attack, easing setup against powerful special attackers. Rest is Spiritomb's only means of recovery and lets it restore its HP to full while ridding itself of status such as poison or burn, which would otherwise greatly hamper this set's functionality. Sleep Talk is needed to make sure Spiritomb is able to still make moves while its asleep, ensuring that it does not become setup fodder. Will-O-Wisp, on the other hand, cripples physical attackers such as Virizion and Hitmonlee at the cost of utilizing sleep turns. Set Details Maximum HP and Defense EVs are used to make Spiritomb as physically bulky as possible, as it will already be raising its Special Defense with Calm Mind. Leftovers is needed for consistent passive recovery, increasing Spiritomb's longevity and giving it a means of recovery while asleep. Infiltrator is used to hit through a Pokemon's Substitute. Due to the defensive nature of the set, Pressure is viable alternative to stall out low-PP attacks such as Fire Blast and Stone Edge. Usage Tips Spiritomb plays the role of pivot that is able to set up Calm Mind on Pokemon that it walls, such as Meloetta. Pokemon that use phazing moves are problems for this set because they get rid of any Calm Mind boosts that Spiritomb has attained as well as forcing it to switch out when it's still asleep, so it's best not to set up Calm Mind and instead get chip damage with Dark Pulse until these Pokemon have been eliminated. If paired with Toxic Spikes, use Spiritomb to easily stall out Pokemon that have been afflicted with Toxic poison. Keep in mind that being put to sleep with Rest leaves Spiritomb asleep for exactly two turns, so make sure to only use Sleep Talk twice after using Rest. Team Options Fairy-types are an issue for this set, as they resist Dark Pulse, and most are able to heal burns with Heal Bell. As such, Registeel makes for a great partner for this set, as it resists Fairy-type attacks and can support Spiritomb with Stealth Rock. It is worth noting that both are threatened by Emboar and Houndoom, so pairing them with Alomomola is recommended. Due to Spiritomb only using Dark Pulse as its main attacking move, Pokemon such as Virizion, Emboar, and Houndoom can easily take advantage of this, so Pokemon that are able to take these three out are very helpful. Fletchinder resists both of Virizion's STAB moves while threatening with Acrobatics, and it can also burn foes, making it easier for Spiritomb to set up against physical attackers. Clerics such as Aromatisse and Togetic also make for great partners because both are able to get rid of sleep should Spiritomb still be asleep after switching out. Both are also able to switch in on and threaten Dark- and Fighting-types that resist Spiritomb's Dark Pulse with Moonblast and Dazzling Gleam, respectively. Entry hazard setters, particularly those that are able to set up Toxic Spikes, such as Qwilfish, Drapion, and Roselia, make for great partners, as Toxic Spikes lets Spiritomb easily stall out grounded Pokemon.

Moves Sucker Punch is a powerful priority move and is Spiritomb's most powerful physical Dark-type STAB attack. Unlike most users of the move, Spiritomb is not rendered useless by Substitute users thanks to Infiltrator. Pursuit allows Spiritomb to trap Pokemon such as Meloetta and Uxie, and the move pairs well with Sucker Punch, forcing the opponent into mind games. Taunt is a great move to prevent Pokemon from healing, spreading status, or setting up, and it also eases prediction when using Sucker Punch. Will-O-Wisp cripples physical attackers such as Hitmonlee, Virizion, and Gallade and lands residual damage on Pokemon that check Spiritomb. Set Details Maximum Attack EVs and an Adamant nature allow Spiritomb to hit as hard as possible. 44 Speed EVs are used to outspeed uninvested Rhyperior to either burn it before it attacks or Taunt it to prevent Stealth Rock from going up. The rest of the EVs go into HP to let Spiritomb take hits much better. Infiltrator lets Spiritomb burn Pokemon or pick off weakened Pokemon with Sucker Punch when they're behind a Substitute. Black Glasses increases the damage output of Spiritomb's Dark-type moves while letting it switch between its moves. Usage Tips This set is to be played like a hit-and-run attacker that switches in to tank hits and threaten frail offensive Pokemon such as Gallade. Pursuit should be used when anticipating the foe to switch or if Spiritomb has switched into Meloetta locked into either Hyper Voice or Psychic to trap it. Sucker Punch is best used to pick off faster Pokemon, but be wary that a Pokemon can set up or cripple Spiritomb with status, and other Pokemon with priority such as Fletchinder, Mega Glalie, and Sneasel can bypass Sucker Punch. Taunt should be used to prevent Pokemon from setting up or from recovering HP from Spiritomb's attacks. It also works well with Sucker Punch to ease prediction against foes that are able to set up. Will-O-Wisp is great to cripple Pokemon such as Hitmonlee and Virizion, though if the opponent has Houndoom on their team, be cautious when using the move, as Houndoom can gain a Flash Fire boost from it. Team Options Due to Spiritomb's vulnerability to Fairy-types, Poison-types such as Drapion pair very well with it. Both Pokemon also appreciate Spiritomb's ability to cripple physical attackers including Flygon and Escavalier. Registeel is another good partner, as Spiritomb can cover its weakness to Fighting-types, while Registeel resists Fairy-type attacks and provides Stealth Rock support. Mega Camerupt pairs well, as it is able to switch in on problematic Pokemon for Spiritomb such as Houndoom. Pokemon vulnerable to Psychic-types appreciate Spiritomb's ability to switch in freely against them and trap them with Pursuit, so Virizion and Hitmonlee pair very well. Wish passers such as Aromatisse and Alomomola are very helpful because Spiritomb has no reliable recovery, and the former is able to heal status via Aromatherapy, while the latter is able to take on Emboar.

Unlike the all-out attacking set, which focuses on hitting as hard as possible right away, this set aims to set up a sweep over a long period of time, hitting from the special side. Note that this is not the Pokemon for offensive special sweeps; you are better off using Uxie or Lilligant for that. Calm Mind boosts Spiritomb's average Special Attack, while also making it increasingly harder to KO with each boost. Dark Pulse is the STAB mono-attacking move of choice, as it is the most powerful move that Spiritomb has in its arsenal with no Pokemon that are immune to it. Rest provides recovery, extending Spiritomb's sweep, although with it you are forced to run Sleep Talk to avoid becoming setup bait. While asleep, Spiritomb can do any of three things: hit something hard with Dark Pulse, boost its stats further, or give your opponent a free turn by selecting Rest. However, Rest and Sleep Talk are necessities, as Pain Split generally doesn't cut it as an effective recovery move. Maximum investment in HP and Defense allows Spiritomb to set up more easily, as it will already be boosting its Special Defense with Calm Mind. Leftovers further enhances Spiritomb's longevity, which is key with this set. Hidden Power Fighting is an option over Sleep Talk to increase coverage on Pokemon such as Clefable, as well as Steel-types. However, leaving an opposing Pokemon free to set up for two turns is usually not the way you win games. Bulky special walls that can phaze are too much for Spiritomb to handle; Mandibuzz resists Dark Pulse while Munchlax is absurdly bulky with its Eviolite, and both can phaze with Whirlwind. As such, Manectric is a great partner for this set, as it can destroy Mandibuzz with its STAB Electric-type moves and cripple Munchlax heavily by using Switcheroo to take its Eviolite away. Also, Spiritomb sets up on Clefable, so Moltres is another great partner that can finish up the game after Spiritomb has done its job. If you are looking for a physical attacker, then Rhydon is a good partner that can destroy Mandibuzz and other special walls with its gargantuan Attack stat and STAB on the EdgeQuake combination.

Spiritomb's auspicious Ghost / Dark typing makes it the only Ghost-type in RU not weak to Dark-type attacks, or any other attacking type for that matter. This excellent typing means that Spiritomb is the only spinblocker that is not afraid of Pursuit users. Not only that, but it makes an excellent counter to a plethora of Psychic-types such as Uxie and Mesprit. Spiritomb's grand Special Defense coupled with its RestTalk shenanigans also makes it the best counter available to the premier defensive Rapid Spin user, Cryogonal. For these reasons, this Spiritomb is a staple on many balanced and stall orientated teams. The first move, Will-O-Wisp, significantly diminishes the attacking power of most physical sweepers; this in turn helps patch up Spiritomb's Defense. Will-O-Wisp is also useful for chipping away at special attackers such as Magneton. Foul Play is another way Spiritomb can take on physical attackers, as it can use their power against them and make them hesitant when using physical boosting moves such as Swords Dance. Foul Play's utility is so great that it gives Spiritomb the capability to OHKO Entei after Stealth Rock damage. Rest works well in conjunction with Sleep Talk. RestTalk Spiritomb has many advantages: it always prevents Cryogonal from spinning away entry hazards, defeats many weak walls such as Amoonguss, is an excellent status absorber, and exploits its stalling capabilities via Pressure. Pain Split is a slightly less reliable form of recovery, but it can actually turn Spiritomb's low HP stat into an advantage by recovering more health from the likes of Alomomola. The use of Pain Split provides another distinctive advantage by freeing up an additional moveslot. In that moveslot, Sucker Punch can be used to pick out weakened offensive threats such as Archeops, or Taunt can provide a way to make slower walls helpless. A Calm nature is best used when Spiritomb is not utilizing Sucker Punch, as it reduces the damage taken from Foul Play. If Sucker Punch is used, then a Careful nature is best. In light of other options, Protect works in the final slot by allowing Spiritomb to accumulate Leftovers recovery, stall for burn damage, and ease up prediction when dealing with the likes of Escavalier. While Spiritomb's specially defensive spread allows it to counter Cryogonal and other special attackers, a physically defensive spread with an Impish nature is just as successful in other ways. The physically defensive spread gives Spiritomb a chance to beat Kabutops and makes it a great counter to Normal- and Fighting-types such as Tauros and Gallade; the latter in particular is very threatening for slower teams. When this physically defensive spread is combined with Spiritomb's ability to spread burns, very few physical attacker have the ability to break through it. For example, Choice Band Aggron and Escavalier can usually defeat Spiritomb, but when it uses this physically defensive spread and burns the two threats on the switch, at best, they can only achieve a 3HKO. Spiritomb pairs well with Pokemon that can deal with Fire-types because most Fire-types could care less about anything Spiritomb can do, as they easily power through it with their high-powered STABs. Qwilfish is one of the best at dealing with these threats and it aids Spiritomb in many ways; not only does Qwilfish deal with the likes of Durant, Emboar, and Entei, but it can also set up Spikes, which helps Spiritomb wear down the opposing team faster. Spiritomb's spinblocking ability can help keep those Spikes on the field, and it can also check Electric- and Psychic-types that trouble Qwilfish. Poliwrath can check the same threats as Qwilfish and can also phaze with Circle Throw; this trait compliments Spiritomb's ability to keep entry hazards from being blown away well. Roselia, Lanturn, and Clefable all make fine defensive partners for their ability to rid Spiritomb of status afflictions. Roselia can set up Toxic Spikes and put a threatening Pokemon to sleep, Lanturn is another bulky Water-type that can take on pesky Fire-types, and Clefable can provide Stealth Rock and Wish support. Ferroseed also works well with Spiritomb as it can provide entry hazard support and counter Kabutops fairly well. Physically defensive Spiritomb, Alomomola, and Steelix make an excellent core, as the three can check almost all physical attackers in RU. Steelix benefits the core by providing entry hazard support in Stealth Rock and phazing utility in Roar, Spiritomb keeps Stealth Rock from being spun away and checks Fighting-types, and Alomomola beats physical Fire-types and passes Wishes to the other two. Seeing as how this Spiritomb can fit on balanced teams, offensive partners can also be just as helpful. Medicham and any other Fighting-type destroys annoying Steel-types such as Aggron and Steelix, and Spiritomb can return the favor and beat the Psychic- and Ghost-types that Medicham hates. Magneton can also deal with Steel-types such as Escavalier by trapping and then demolishing them with Hidden Power Fire. Finally, because Spiritomb lures in Choice-locked Fire-types, Water-types such as Omastar and Kabutops are useful to take advantage of that by setting up a Shell Smash or Swords Dance, respectively.

Spiritomb's primary set is an all-out attacking set that plays numerous roles for a team. It heavily relies on prediction, although Black Glasses slightly remedies this issue; nevertheless, it is a great set to eliminate Rapid Spin users such as Cryogonal, which will take heavy damage from a Choice Band-boosted Pursuit. Hitmonchan and Kabutops don't want to switch into Spiritomb either, as they risk getting neutered by Will-O-Wisp. Spiritomb can also get rid of other Ghost-types that prevent your team from eliminating hazards, either by beating them to the punch with Sucker Punch as they try to go for the 2HKO or by trapping them with Pursuit as they switch to a teammate on a predicted Sucker Punch. However, it is advised to be careful when using a Choice Band Sucker Punch, as Spiritomb then becomes setup fodder for bulky sweepers that can take the Sucker Punch with a reasonable amount of health left and proceed to sweep the rest of your team, such as Feraligatr. Shadow Sneak is a great asset late-game, as all of your opponent's Pokemon will be weakened, allowing it to 2HKO nearly everything that doesn't resist it with the help of entry hazards. It is also a good countermeasure against Bulk Up Gallade, and OHKOes offensive Rotom after Stealth Rock. The last slot is mostly dependent on the item Spiritomb holds. Trick is the recommended move to go along with a Choice Band, crippling Eviolite users such as Ferroseed, walls that won't hit that hard such as Steelix, or Pokemon that rely on their coverage to be effective, such as Absol. Will-O-Wisp is recommended with Black Glasses, as being locked into it is usually not the best idea. It cripples Pokemon such as Hitmonchan and Kabutops, which rely on their offensive presence in order to be effective Rapid Spin users. If you're worried about Dusknoir outspeeding Spiritomb and staying in to burn it as Spiritomb tries to use Pursuit, a spread of 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe will allow Spiritomb to move first and safely pick off any Dusknoir with less than 40% HP whether they switch out or not. However, those Speed EVs will most likely be useless in any other scenario. Choice Band is the preferred item, as Spiritomb needs all the power it can get and especially appreciates the extra power boost on Shadow Sneak late-game. However, Black Glasses is superior if you prefer crippling physical attackers to trapping walls; furthermore, it also eases prediction. Pain Split is an option in the last slot to regain some health, then switch out. However, because Spiritomb will be locked into the move if it runs Choice Band, it will usually end up healing a wall than healing itself. Return is Spiritomb's strongest option against Dark-type foes such as Absol and Drapion, as well as most Pokemon that aren't weak to either of Spiritomb's STAB options. However, it isn't used because the utility provided by Spiritomb's other moves exceeds its need for coverage. Toxic is an option over Will-O-Wisp, but this does more damage to bulky walls rather than physical attackers, and Trick is the superior option to cripple walls. Steelix, Ferroseed, and Aggron wall this set to kingdom come, although none of them appreciate a burn nor being Tricked a Choice Band. Sandslash can beat Steelix, as well as Aggron that lack Magnet Rise, and can easily pull off a Rapid Spin with no Ghost-type opponents to block it. It also sets up Stealth Rock to complement Shadow Sneak. Ferroseed is a great partner to provide Spikes support, as along with Spiritomb, it can take on almost every physical attacker in the tier, with the lone exception of Entei. Also, Spiritomb pairs well with Pokemon that use High Jump Kick such as Hitmonlee and Medicham, as they are free to spam the move without worry once all Ghost-types are out of the way. This set gives Qwilfish nothing to fear, leaving it free to set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes that will hamper your team. Feraligatr provides great complementary offense alongside Spiritomb, as more often than not they are able to weaken each other's checks so one of them can sweep. Likewise, Magneton is also a great partner, as it can trap Steel-types that get in the way of Spiritomb while also disposing of Qwilfish.

Although this set is a gimmicky one, it works well when used properly. It is particularly useful on a stall team as the main purpose of this set is to wear down Pokemon using Curse and Will-O-Wisp. Since Spiritomb has three immunities and no weaknesses, it forces a lot of switches. Pursuit is therefore the preferred STAB move as its power doubles when the target switches out. This allows Spiritomb to trap various early and late game threats such as Gengar, Starmie, and Azelf, which are all weak to Pursuit. Spiritomb can also take on Pokemon that set-up later in the game, such as Snorlax and Suicune, with this set as it can wear them down very quickly with both Curse and Will-O-Wisp. This is also very helpful to stall teams which are unable to deal with set up Pokemon, especially when they are the last Pokemon left and cannot be phazed. These traits are the reasons to consider using Spiritomb over Rotom-A. The EV spread maximizes Spiritomb's Special Defense because Will-O-Wisp halves the burnt target's Attack, reducing the need to have a high Defense EVs investment. Shadow Ball with Calm nature can be used over Pursuit with Careful nature. Calm nature also helps in increasing Spiritomb's special bulk. However, Pursuit with a Careful nature is usually the better option. A cleric is highly recommended as this set does not carry Sleep Talk, leaving Spiritomb a setup bait as it sleeps for two turns after using Rest. Since Spiritomb often replaces Rotom-A, most teams do not have a reliable way to take down Skarmory and Gyarados. Therefore a Choice Scarf Jirachi with Thunder Punch helps in solving this problem. Gyarados has to be wary of Will-O-Wisp but it can hold a Lum Berry to cure its burn. A Rapid Spinner helps Spiritomb a lot because for Spiritomb to set up a Curse, it will need to be at a substantial amount of health. As far as teammates go, Blissey is a great option as it can wake Spiritomb from its slumber after the latter uses Rest or pass Wishes to Spiritomb. Several physical walls such as Steelix, Skarmory, and Forretress all make good teammates. They can also sponge physical attacks from foes which are not affected by Will-O-Wisp or have the Guts ability.

Spiritomb's main attraction over Rotom-A is that it is not Pursuit bait, and this set aims to take advantage of that. Rest allows Spiritomb to recover HP while curing status. Sleep Talk as always, pairs well with Rest; it ensures that Spiritomb isn't a sitting duck for two turns, and if it selects Will-O-Wisp, Spiritomb can actually spread burns even when asleep. Will-O-Wisp shuts down most physical attackers, and the residual damage caused by the burn allows Spiritomb to wear down many threats. Shadow Ball is used as the STAB, mono-attacking option over Dark Pulse for two reasons: Spiritomb is too slow to abuse Dark Pulse's chance to flinch, and the occasional Special Defense drops afforded by Shadow Ball can actually force switches. Taunt can be used over Sleep Talk to prevent Pokemon such as Skarmory and Forretress from setting up entry hazards, as they are common switch-ins to Spiritomb. Hidden Power Fighting can replace Will-O-Wisp as it gives Spiritomb perfect coverage alongside Shadow Ball, but spreading burns and shutting down physical attackers are too good to pass up. Pursuit can be used over Shadow Ball with a Careful nature to make Spiritomb a better check to Gengar, Starmie, and Azelf. Alternative EV spreads can be used too: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD with a Calm nature balances Spiritomb's defenses after inflicting a burn, and 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD with a Bold nature to make Spiritomb a better physical wall. Though Spiritomb itself functions as a team player, it will need quite some support to be effective. Tanks such as Heatran and Blissey walk all over Spiritomb, as they can freely switch into Will-O-Wisp or Shadow Ball and wear it down, or in Blissey's case, force it to use Rest by hitting it with Toxic and switch to a counter. A strong Fighting-type thus makes a good teammate, as it can OHKO both of the aforementioned tanks. Infernape in particular also takes down Pokemon such as Skarmory and Forretress, who commonly use Spiritomb as setup bait, as well as Scizor, who can hurt Spiritomb with a Choice Band U-turn, making it an excellent partner for Spiritomb. Ironically, Blissey and Skarmory too make great teammates; the former sponges powerful special attacks for Spiritomb, while the latter sets up entry hazards that wear Spiritomb's checks down and Skarmory can OHKO Breloom with Brave Bird, who can prove to be troublesome with its immunity to Will-O-Wisp once Toxic Orb activates. Spiritomb also aids in safeguarding Skarmory's entry hazards with its ability to spinblock.