POTW........ #1 OU Ferrothorn!

SC's: 1/2:Jonathan Auh
GC's: 1/2:Jonathan Auh

Well this this the first pokemon of the blog and is someone I love to use. His name is Ferrothorn and in my opinion is a better Forretress. Ferrothorn is the epitome of a mixed wall. Ferrothorn's ability to set up two of the top used Entry Hazards, Spikes and Stealth Rock, makes him a great support. He also has extremely good defensive typing giving him only two weaknesses to Fire and Fighting. His movepool is amazing for a support, as he sports a powerful STAB Gyro Ball and Power Whip combined with Leech Seed and can even support a team with Paralysis support from his unique move . But Ferrothorn's capability is not stopped at that. He can become an annoyance to a physical team with his ability Iron Barbs, which makes the target take 12.5% of their HP away. Combine that with the power of the Rocky Helmet, and Leech Seed stalling, he can easily take a pokemon down in about 3 turns. Ferrothorn can also sport a fairly good physical attacking moveset with only his two attack moves of Gyro Ball and Power Whip, which I'll explain later. Ferrothorn also acts an amazing rain teammate as it takes away his 4X Fire weakness bringing it down to 2X and can easily wall the Grass Types and Electric Types that Plaque Rain Teams. Overall Ferrothorn can play a variety of roles and can easily fit onto most teams, making him one of the most used pokemon in the OU metagame.



  

Name of Set: Thorn in the Bush!
-Spikes/Stealth Rock
-Leech Seed
-Gyro Ball/Protect/Thunder Wave
-Power Whip/Protect
Nature: Relaxed
Item: Leftovers/Shed Shell
EV's: 252 HP/208 Sp.Def/48Def.
IV's: 0 Speed

[Comments]
Easily the most standard sets most Ferrothorn will run. Spikes allows Ferrothorn to set up Entry Hazards which is one of its main roles, and is very good at doing that, considering his defensive capabilities. Spikes is the preferred choice, as 25% damage when anyone switches in as long as their not above the ground? Yes please! But if your team is in desperate need of a Stealth Rocker, you may opt for Stealth Rock. Leech Seed is used as the 2nd move because other than leftover recovery Ferrothorn will not last long without some sort of healing. Leech Seed fixes that up as it drains 12.5% of the opponents HP and giving it to you. It also allows for some very annoying stall wars, whereas if you have Leech Seed, you will most likely win. In the 3rd moveslot, there are 3 choices for you to use. Gyro Ball is preferred as considering Ferrothorn's abysmal speed, it will almost always result in 150 Base Power. Combined with STAB that is one powerful Gyro Ball! Protect is also a very appealing move as it allows you so stall pokemon with Leech Seed and Protect, and also allows you to scout. Protect also allows Ferrothorn to survive one more hit so If the Leech Seed recovery is high enough from the pokemon, it may make Ferrothorn able to survive another hit. Thunder Wave is your last good option, but is rarely used because it counters the Use of Gyro Ball, and it is hard to find a moveslot for it. But, Thunder Wave allows you to beat threats such as Infernape or other fast pokemon that may ruin your team. In the last moveslot, the move preferred is Power Whip as it allows you to beat down Water Types, and is another powerful STAB move. But once again Protect is very appealing due to the reasons stated above. A Relaxed Nature is preferred as it raises his defense and already lowers his abysmal speed to help make a powerful Gyro Ball, and a 0Speed IV is also preferred to make sure the the Gyro Ball is always at Full Power. The Ev's used are used because it maximizes his bulk on both sides of the spectrum. Ferrothorn is an amazing wall, so pick your moves and let it poke the enemy team with Spikes to your victory.

Name of Set: Choice Banded Thorn!
-Gyro Ball
-Power Whip
-Bulldoze
-Spikes/Explosion
Nature: Brave
Item: Choice Band
EV's: 248 HP/252 Attack/8 Sp.Def
IV's: 0 Speed


[Comments]
The Choice Band Set may seem like a gimmick for Ferrothorn considering his defenses, but you are very wrong. Very Wrong. Ferrothorn's Base 94 Attack is nothing to scoff at, and combined with Choice Band and two powerful as crap moves, he can decimate teams. Gyro Ball easily fits onto this set as a 0 Speed IV and a speed lowering nature, allows Ferrothorn's Gyro Ball to always reach 150 Base Power, decimating most pokemon that don't resist it, or pokemon with high defense. Power Whip is the second move of choice, as STAB Power Whip coming of Ferrothorn is something very scary. Ferrothorn's Choice Banded Power Whip easily OHKO's Excadrill and can easily 2HKO many threats. Bulldoze even with its paltry Base power of 60 still allows it to beat common counters such as Magnezone. Now your last move of choice is not that important but, the best choice would probably be using Spikes, as even though being locked into Spikes is not really good, at least it can set up hazards. Explosion may be used too, as it can be a last resort move when your going to die, or if there's nothing else you can do to the opposing team. The Nature chosen was Brave because it highers his attack and lowers his speed for maximum Gyro Ball power and a 0 Speed IV is chosen to maximize power for Gyro Ball. The Item chosen was obvious as it is a Choice Band set. The EV's were chosen so he could still have some bulk while maximizing his Attack. HP investment is enough for the Choice Band Set, since even without investment with both his defenses, he's still very bulky. Overall he is a very powerful Choice Bander as his main advantage over most Choice Banders is his bulk.

Here Are some damage calculations (Stolen from Smogon) for the Choice Band Set. 

Gyro Ball (-1) vs. 0/0 Salamence: 77.9% - 91.8%
Gyro Ball vs. 4/0 Thundurus: 72% - 84.7%
Gyro Ball vs. 252/4 Deoxys-S: 115.5% - 136.2%
Gyro Ball vs. 252/184+ Gliscor: 58.8% - 69.5%

Power Whip vs. 4/0 Excadrill: 107.73% - 126.80%
Power Whip vs. 252/0 Conkeldurr: 65.2% - 76.8%
Power Whip vs. 192/64 Reuniclus: 73.6% - 86.8%
Power Whip vs. 252/252+ Reuniclus: 52.6% - 62.3%
Power Whip vs. 252/252+ Suicune: 83.7% - 98.5%
Power Whip vs. 252/252+ Hippowdon: 79% - 93.3%

Bulldoze vs. 4/0 Heatran: 69.1% - 81.5%
Bulldoze vs. 40/0 Magnezone: 70.1% - 83.8%
Explosion vs. 192/64 Zapdos: 80.8% - 95.1%

Here ends the first pokemon day, and I hope you enjoyed it!