Mega Spiritomb is one of the most fearsome wallbreakers in the world of Insurgence, and with good reason. With access to both Noctem and Tough Claws, high offensive and defensive stats and a strong typing in Ghost/Dark, Spiritomb has a lot of tools to work it. Tough Claws, coupled with its high attack stat gives it a significant amount of leverage against many walls, and New Moon only serves to make it even more fearsome, even against Fairies.
However, Spiritomb is hobbled by a horrid base 20 speed stat, and while it can alleviate this somewhat with Sucker Punch, it still leaves it vulnerable to priority users. Moreover, Spiritomb possesses a measly base 50 HP stat, meaning it isn’t as bulky as it appears to be at first glance. Additionally, it lacks a powerful Ghost type STAB move to abuse, leaving it limited to Dark-type STAB moves. This is part of a larger problem of it having a rather shallow movepool, resulting in limited coverage beyond its STAB combination. Finally, it is prone to being worn down easily, due to not possessing any form of recovery outside of the very unrealiable Pain Split, and is especially vulnerable to being statused.
Nonetheless, Mega Spiritomb is a dangerous Pokemon that cannot be underestimated, and can easily tear through teams with ease if not prepared for.
Final Verdict: OU
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Set 1: Karambit (Wallbreaker)
Nature: Adamant/Brave EV: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spe Item: Spiritombite
- Knock Off
- Shadow Sneak
- Sucker Punch
- Return/HP Fighting
Knock Off is M-Spiritomb’s main attack move of choice, hitting much of the tier for high damage when accounting for STAB, New Moon and Tough Claws. Shadow Sneak is Spiritomb’s only viable Ghost-type move, and it hits reasonably hard when accounting for STAB and Tough Claws. Sucker Punch is another priority move that Spiritomb can use against other Pokemon, turning its low speed into a mindgame where it becomes next to impossible to tell whether Spiritomb will strike with priority or not, especially if the opposing mon doesn’t have a priority move of its own. Return is Spiritomb’s main priority option, hitting Pokemon that would resist Dark and can be hit harder than Shadow Sneak. Alternatively, HP Fighting can be used to bulldoze past Pokemon such as Tyranitar, M-Lopunny and Bisharp, which would wall it off otherwise.
If HP Fighting is to be used, it is best used with a Brave nature, as the Sp Atk drop from Adamant nature is undesirable, and Spiritomb’s horrid speed makes the speed drop a non-issue. Otherwise, an Adamant nature is preferred.
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Other Options:
Phantom Force was originally a recommended move, but the New Moon nerf, coupled with Knock Off’s greater utility, renders it an undesirable move to use. Pain Split is another option, but its unreliability is not desirable, especially on a Pokemon as slow as Spiritomb. Psychic is an option to surprise Fighting types that may switch in on Spiritomb, but otherwise has little use. Substitute is another option that allows Spiritomb to wear down the opposition while relying on its fantastic bulk to sponge hits, but it can only do so for so long before it ends up in the bin.
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Checks and Counters:
Mega Lopunny: Access to Scrappy and resistances to both Ghost and Dark types mean that Mega Lopunny is a dangerous threat that can easily OHKO Spiritomb if allowed to do so with one Hi Jump Kick. The only way Spiritomb can KO it is if it gets lucky hitting it on the switch prior to it Mega Evolving, then striking with Sucker Punch. Otherwise, Lopunny wins out.
Tyranitar and Bisharp: Both these Pokemon resist Mega Spiritomb’s STAB moves and Return, and are both capable of hitting hard with their moves in return. However, Bisharp can only take so much damage before falling, and neither of them like HP Fighting.
Fairy-types: Many a Fairy-type can hit Spiritomb hard for super-effective damage with their STAB moves. Azumarill and Clefable are two notable threats that can tank Spiritomb’s STAB moves and do not fear HP Fighting, all the while hitting back hard with their STAB moves. Mega Altaria and Mega Diancie also stand out as notable threats to Spiritomb. Diancie in particular has a resistance to Return and only really fears Shadow Sneak. However, Mega Gardevoir is not a check, as it is OHKO’d by Sucker Punch.
Priority: All priority will outpace Spiritomb, making it extremely vulnerable to mons that abuse this feature. The aformentioned Azumarill, Talonflame, Scizor and more can dent Spiritomb heavily, with the added bonus of nullifying Sucker Punch should Spiritomb attempt to use that. Priority also removes much of the mindgames that Spiritomb relies on to scare opponents into potential switches, leaving it more vulnerable.
Status: Spiritomb hates burns and Toxic with a passion, as they reduce its attack and put it on a timer respectively, putting even more pressure on it to switch out. Prankster users such as Thundurus, Klefki and Sableye can prove especially annoying to it.
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Let me know your thoughts. Anything I missed is highly appreciated.