Gen 4 Dpp OU Roserade (GP 0/1)

[OVERVIEW]

:Roserade:

Roserade is one of the best Spikes and Toxic Spikes setters in the metagame and the only one with a significant offensive presence. With access to Sleep Powder, Leaf Storm, and a high base 125 Special Attack stat, Roserade can set Toxic Spikes on the many Water- and Ground-types of the tier such as Swampert, Suicune, Hippowdon, Starmie, and Quagsire. Toxic Spikes are useful in dealing with grounded threats such as Tyranitar, Swampert, Machamp, Suicune, Infernape, and Blissey. Roserade is also the most common grounded Poison-type, allowing it to remove opposing Toxic Spikes for these Pokemon upon entry. Despite its offensive leaning stats, with investment, Roserade is also a solid defensive Spikes setter and can answer Breloom by virtue of resisting its most common attacks. Crucially, Roserade is the only common Spikes setter that isn’t trapped by Magnezone. These qualities and its resistances make it unique as a Spiker compared to Skarmory, the other most common Spiker in the metagame. As a lead, Roserade is a decent disabler with a Choice Scarf, as it outspeeds all common unboosted leads and either puts them to sleep should they lack a Lum Berry or offensively threatens them with powerful coverage.

Unfortunately, Roserade has critical movepool issues, faces heavy competition with Skarmory, and is really easy to wear down. Sadly, Roserade has to choose between using Spikes or Sleep Powder and Leaf Storm, as they are illegal alongside each other. This forces offensive Roserade sets to either forgo its best offensive tools for Stun Spore and Grass Knot or set Toxic Spikes instead. While Toxic Spikes are very effective against certain Pokemon such as Tyranitar, common team structures are built to mitigate their impact. Due to the rise of Clefable, some stall teams are entirely immune to Toxic Spikes, while many offensive teams stack Steel-types, Lum Berry, and non-grounded Pokemon, mitigating Toxic Spikes’s impact. As a Grass-type, Roserade doesn’t have many options to hit Steel- and Dragon-types; often, it is forced to pick between Hidden Power Ice and Hidden Power Fire, both of which leave it walled by Heatran unless it uses Hidden Power Ground. As a Spiker, Skarmory is often more effective than Roserade due to its defensive typing, much better Defense stat, and access to recovery in Roost. Roserade’s own defensive typing, low Defense, lack of reliable recovery, and vulnerability to Spikes and sand make it really easy to wear down. It often cannot fulfill defensive roles long term, even with full investment. Because of this, balanced teams built around Roserade can have significant defensive holes difficult to cover with the options available.

[SET]
name: Spikes
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Grass Knot / Energy Ball / Sludge Bomb
move 3: Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Stun Spore / Toxic Spikes / Sleep Talk
item: Black Sludge
ability: Poison Point / Natural Cure
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Roserade’s offensive profile and decent defensive prowess make it a good Spikes user. Grass Knot is Roserade’s best offensive move, OHKOing Swampert and 2HKOing Suicune, most Tyranitar, Gyarados, and Hippowdon. As Grass Knot hits lighter Pokemon such as Clefable and especially Rotom-A for negligible damage, Energy Ball is a reliable alternative. Unfortunately, Energy Ball is not as effective at powering through Tyranitar and offensive Suicune, especially if Suicune has a Calm Mind boost and outspeeds Roserade. Another option to maximize Roserade’s effectiveness against Breloom and Dragon-types such as Latias and Dragonite is Sludge Bomb. However, Poison is not a good offensive typing and leaves Roserade walled by Ground-types.

Hidden Power Fire helps Roserade hit Steel-types such as Skarmory, Scizor, Forretress, Metagross, and Jirachi, generally at least 3HKOing them. Hidden Power Ice hits Dragon-types instead, OHKOing Flygon, Dragonite after Stealth Rock, and Gliscor while doing acceptable damage to Latias. Both Hidden Power Fire and Ice hit Breloom hard. Roserade can also use Hidden Power Ground to hit Heatran or forgo Hidden Power entirely and use a support option such as Aromatherapy or Rest; however, it sorely misses coverage. The last slot is most commonly Stun Spore, as it helps prevent foes from setting up on Roserade unimpeded if it can’t hit them hard. However, Roserade can also use both Spikes and Toxic Spikes to get multiple entry hazards up. Another option is to maximize Roserade’s match up with Breloom and use Sleep Talk. This is often most effective with either Energy Ball or Sludge Bomb, as both options always break Breloom’s Substitute or set up Spikes.

Set Details
========

Roserade needs heavy Defense investment to survive against foes it checks such as Breloom and Swampert. Maximum HP EVs, near maximum Defense, and a Bold nature emphasize this. The Speed EVs outspeed neutral nature Tyranitar, Swampert, and Empoleon. Roserade has a naturally high Special Defense stat and is a decent mixed wall with full investment. Roserade can also focus on its Special Defense to better answer Electric-types such as Zapdos and Rotom-A as well as offensive Water-types such as Suicune and Starmie with an EV spread such as 252 HP / 44 Def / 188 SpD / 24 Spe with a Calm nature. Defensive Roserade should always invest at least 44 Defense EVs to avoid being OHKOed by offensive Swampert’s Earthquake, but can also run around 124 Defense EVs to survive Choice Band Scizor's Bullet Punch. While Roserade does enjoy Natural Cure healing status effects on switch out, Poison Point is the most common ability to better absorb Breloom’s Spore.

Roserade can also use a fully offensive EV spread with Spikes, Grass Knot, one of Hidden Power, and Sludge Bomb to act as an offensive Spikes user and hit very hard. However, such a set is extraordinarily frail, still doesn’t have amazing coverage, and doesn’t have Sleep Powder to ease set up.

Usage Tips
========

Due to its frailty, Roserade should switch into foes sparingly, preferably getting in on predicted switches or resisted attacks. Even attacks it is meant to take such as Breloom’s Focus Punch and Swampert’s Earthquake can 2HKO it after Stealth Rock. From here, Roserade should try to set up entry hazards immediately, as it often only gets a few turns to make an impact due to residual damage. Roserade, even with Stun Spore, is setup fodder for a lot of dangerous threats in the tier such as Dragonite and Metagross, so be careful against very aggressive teams and use its bulk to help weaken or status sweepers rather than setting up in these cases. Should Roserade have both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, prioritize getting one layer of both, as the second layer is not nearly as useful. Once it has fulfilled its role of getting up entry hazards, freely sacrificing it for momentum is often best, as it is slow and often cannot heal effectively.

Team Options
========

Roserade is a staple of the Fire-Water-Grass play style, as it very effectively lays entry hazards while assisting its Fire- and Water-type teammates such as Heatran, Swampert, and Suicune. Heatran is one it’s best partners, as both Toxic Spikes and Spikes are highly effective alongside it. Heatran’s Substitute + Protect sets can easily stall out foes such as Swampert and Tyranitar with Toxic Spikes, while Roserade either resists or hits super effectively its type weaknesses. Roserade is effective with Water-type partners as well, as it can switch into their weakness as well as crucially absorb Toxic Spikes. Swampert can help handle aggressive sweepers such as Dragon Dance Tyranitar and Dragonite that Roserade struggles with and very much appreciates entry hazards. Offensive and Substitute Suicune does similarly and can help against Gyarados too. Roserade also loves Steel-types such as Trick + Iron Ball Metagross, Jirachi, and Empoleon to help it deal with Dragon-types such as mixed Flygon, Dragonite, and Latias. To keep entry hazards on the field, Ghost-types such as Rotom-A and Gengar both are very helpful. Both appreciate Roserade’s entry hazards wearing down Tyranitar. As Roserade can let dangerous threats set up, a Choice Scarf revenge killer such as Flygon, Lucario, or Rotom-A is also very helpful. Choice Scarf Tyranitar helps Roserade to keep its entry hazards up by removing Starmie, the most common spinner. Beware of stacking a weakness to Gyarados, however. Offensive sets of good defensive Pokemon such as Swords Dance Gliscor, Calm Mind + Hidden Power Fire Latias, offensive Zapdos, and Hippowdon really appreciate the entry hazard damage and help the archetype deal with threats.

Roserade can also be used as an Spikes setter for hyper offensive teams looking to deal with Swampert without using Gyarados. Some example partners include Dragon Dance Tyranitar, Choice Specs Latias, offensive Starmie, Swords Dance or Choice Band Scizor, and Agility Empoleon.

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Toxic Spikes
move 2: Sleep Powder
move 3: Leaf Storm
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ground / Hidden Power Ice
item: Focus Sash / Black Sludge
ability: Poison Point / Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

Roserade’s Speed, access to Sleep Powder, and power make it the prime contender to lay down Toxic Spikes for both offensive and balance teams early in the game. Without Spikes, Roserade gains access to its two best offensive tools: Sleep Powder and Leaf Storm. Sleep Powder heavily pressures slower foes lacking a Lum Berry, such as some Metagross, slower Jirachi sets, Skarmory, defensive Latias, and Clefable, and gives Roserade opportunities to attack or set up Toxic Spikes. Leaf Storm is Roserade’s most powerful option and does a lot of damage to foes that don’t resist it, such as having a chance to OHKO bulky Azelf, OHKOing Suicune, and Gyarados and Tyranitar without any defensive EVs after Stealth Rock. Even frailer Grass resists such as Breloom and Infernape can take a lot of damage, while its raw power is enough to dissuade grounded Poison-types such as Nidoqueen, Tentacruel and Qwilfish from absorbing them.

Hidden Power Fire is the most common last option, 2HKOing Skarmory, Metagross, and Breloom while OHKOing Scizor and Forretress. Beware of the lower Speed IV against opposing Roserade and Lucario. On the other hand, Hidden Power Ground nails Heatran, OHKOing versions without defensive EVs after Stealth Rock while still hitting Metagross and Jirachi. Hidden Power Ice hits Dragonite, Gliscor, offensive Latias, and Flygon more effectively.

Set Details
========

Roserade needs maximum Speed and Special Attack to most effectively use its offensive prowess to sleep foes and set up Toxic Spikes. While the power of a Modest nature is very nice for OHKOing most Azelf leads trying to Taunt Roserade, Roserade sits at a very crowded speed tier with neutral nature Flygon, Jirachi, and Zapdos as well as Rotom-A and Suicune and appreciates a Timid nature. If Roserade has Hidden Power Fire, it can invest some of the extra Speed into Defense to better survive attacks, although the effect is negligible.

Both Focus Sash and Black Sludge are effective items; however, Focus Sash should only be used if Roserade leads, as it is very frail and gives it another chance to either set up Toxic Spikes, use Sleep Powder, or attack should either miss or the opponent is faster. Black Sludge is the item of choice if Roserade doesn’t lead and is instead an early game attacker.

Usage Tips
========

Roserade should come into the game early or lead and either use Sleep Powder, attack, or lay Toxic Spikes. Against faster Taunt leads such as Azelf and Aerodactyl, Roserade should just attack as they Taunt it, as Leaf Storm can OHKO them should they lack a Focus Sash. Against leads that might carry a Lum Berry such as Gyarados, Metagross, and some Machamp, just attacking or getting the Toxic Spikes up is a good idea. Otherwise, it’s often best to Sleep Powder, especially if the foe is slower. Note that of course any lead can carry a Lum Berry or survive Roserade’s options, so metagame trends and what the rest of the team needs can dictate what to do, such as using Sleep Powder into leads like Machamp or just attacking into something like Skarmory.

If Roserade doesn’t lead, leverage the fact that Sleep Powder is uncommon outside of the lead slot, especially with Black Sludge. This can lead to sleeping Steel-types or Dragon-types or other important Pokemon. While Roserade is not particularly bulky, it can afford to take weaker special attacks such as defensive Swampert's Ice Beam or Rotom-A's Thunderbolt, giving it a chance to exert pressure.

Roserade will usually only set one layer of Toxic Spikes as most pokemon don't stay long enough on the field to make the second turn of setup worthwhile. However, when facing bulky Pokemon such as Hippowdon, Blissey, Milotic and Celebi, inflicting Toxic poison can be valuable. In this situation, Roserade should aim to set the second layer of Toxic Spikes as soon as possible, as switching into one layer prevents Hippowdon and Milotic from the effects of the second layer.

Team Options
========

Roserade is the best offensive Toxic Spikes user in the metagame, so it has many viable partners. Gengar is a fantastic teammate for Roserade, as Toxic Spikes wear down Choice Scarf Tyranitar very effectively. As Tyranitar is perhaps the only check for Taunt or Substitute Gengar on defensive teams, wearing it down or potentially KOing it is extremely helpful. Roserade’s Sleep Powder also often targets Steel-types or bulkier Pokemon who can survive Gengar’s attacks. Other potential partners include Choice Scarf Rotom-A, offensive Latias, Zapdos, and Starmie. Substitute attackers such as Heatran and Substitute Zapdos are also great choices, as Toxic Spikes can help wear down their checks. Other offensive Heatran sets such as Choice Scarf also enjoy Toxic Spikes wearing down Fire resists. Offensive Roserade is unique in that it’s a suicide lead that needs bulkier teammates to effectively use Toxic Spikes. As such, it often needs a good defensive core to backstop it should the foe set up on it. Some good choice include using alongside bulky Ground-types such as Hippowdon and Swampert to better handle Dragon Dance sweepers such as Dragonite and Tyranitar; bulky Steel-types such as Jirachi, Scizor, and Metagross for Latias and Flygon; and using it on a Fire-Water-Grass core alongside options like Heatran and Suicune.

Good Roserade partners are Pokemon that already handle Pokemon immune to Toxic Spikes like Clefable, Steel-types, and Flying-types well. Some other examples include Swords Dance Gliscor, Agility Empoleon, and Kingdra. Choice Scarf revenge killer such as Flygon and Latias are also helpful to take down worn down foes and backstop Roserade.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Leaf Storm
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Sludge Bomb / Toxic Spikes
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Natural Cure / Poison Point
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

As sleep moves have limited distribution in DPP OU, Roserade is a prominent disabler in the lead slot with a Choice Scarf. Unlike Breloom, the other prominent Choice Scarf sleep user, Roserade outspeeds Aerodactyl and hits much harder with Leaf Storm. With a Modest nature, Roserade OHKOes physically bulky Azelf with Leaf Storm before it can Taunt or set up Stealth Rock, outspeeds and OHKOes +1 Tyranitar and Gyarados after Stealth Rock, and KOes Suicune after it uses Calm Mind.

Hidden Power Ice is effective against Dragonite and other Dragon-types, but watch out for +1 Extreme Speed. While Hidden Power Fire forces a lower Speed IV, it at least 2HKOes many Steel-types such as Skarmory, Jirachi, Metagross, and Scizor. Hidden Power Ground is another option to hit Heatran. However, watch out being locked into a weak Hidden Power. Sludge Bomb rounds out the set, as it provides good neutral coverage and OHKOes Breloom. Toxic Spikes is another option to use on forced switches, but watch out for foes taking advantage of being Choice locked into Toxic Spikes. With a Choice Scarf, Roserade is often guaranteed to set up a layer, which can be valuable against foes such as Tyranitar, Swampert, and Suicune.

Set Details
========

Roserade sits at a valuable speed tier and wants close to maximum Speed EVs. Roserade enjoys having a many Special Attack EVs as possible to make it easier to OHKO Azelf and generally hit harder. However, it only needs at least 192 Speed EVs with a neutral nature to outspeed Aerodactyl after the Choice Scarf boost, meaning the rest can be put into bulk. While Roserade can use a Timid nature with 252 Speed EVs to outspeed slower Choice Scarf users such as Heatran, Rotom-A, and neutral nature Flygon, its incredible vulnerability to priority makes it a comparably poor general revenge killer. As such, it’s often better to use an EV spread such as the one given or 64 Def / 252 SpA / 192 Spe.

Roserade can use either of its abilities, but Natural Cure is often preferred to maintain its Speed should it get paralyzed. However, Poison Point makes it for a nice absorber for Breloom’s Spore.

Usage Tips
========

Roserade typically leads and uses Sleep Powder on the first turn. It should only deviate from this against common Lum Berry leads such as Azelf, Gyarados, and Machamp or against leads it can KO such as Swampert and Tyranitar. This is critical to prevent Stealth Rock or other entry hazards from going up, as Roserade generally can KO or incapacitate most users provided Sleep Powder hits. Once it either attacks or uses Sleep Powder, it should switch to avoid being taken advantage of, as all of its attacks have heavy drawbacks to be locked into. Once it has slept something, Roserade should be fairly cavalier with its health as it has performed its job, although it is a serviceable revenge killer against Dragon Dance Gyarados and Dragon Dance Tyranitar with its Speed and power. As Choice Scarf Roserade is uncommon, these sweepers might be unexpectedly taken out by Leaf Storm. However, be careful switching it directly into resisted attacks, as it is very frail, especially on the physical side.

Team Options
========

As a disabler, Choice Scarf Roserade is generally used alongside aggressive teams that appreciate Roserade's higher Speed and power over Breloom's reliability, better bulk, and typing. Stealth Rock weak teammates such as Dragon Dance Gyarados, mixed or Dragon Dance Dragonite, and Zapdos are good partners, as Roserade typically can KO or use Sleep Powder on Stealth Rock users. Zapdos is an especially good partner, as Roserade can potentially get up Toxic Spikes unimpeded, crucial for supporting Substitute + Roost sets against Ground-types and Tyranitar. Roserade needs backup should it get taken advantage of, so bulky Steel-types such as Jirachi, Metagross, Bronzong, Scizor, and Skarmory are good partners to stop Dragon-types such as Dragonite and Latias from taking advantage of bad Choice locks. As Roserade can't be relied on to check Speed boosting or priority sweepers such as Dragon Dance Dragonite, Agility Empoleon, Swords Dance Scizor, and Swords Dance Lucario, other back up is needed against these Pokemon. Some options include Choice Scarf Magnezone, Ice Shard Abomasnow, and bulky Ground-types such as Swampert. Other aggressive teammates such as Dragon Dance Tyranitar, offensive Empoleon, offensive Calm Mind Jirachi, and Camerupt also make for good teammates. Taunt + Dragon Dance Tyranitar is an especially good teammates, as Roserade is not as effective against defensive teams, can be a good short term Breloom switch, and commonly targets Dragon Dance Tyranitar checks with Sleep Powder.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

Like many Grass-types, Roserade has a few options not especially effective in the modern DPP OU metagame, such as Leech Seed, Life Orb, and Choice Specs. Leech Seed sets are invalidated by Clefable and the general pace of the offensive teams that would OHKO Roserade before it could take advantage of it. Life Orb exacerbates Roserade’s weakness to residual damage and Choice Specs often locks Roserade into an attack with heavy drawbacks or poor coverage. Roserade has a wealth of coverage moves to hit specific targets such as Shadow Ball for Rotom-A; Extrasensory for Breloom, Machamp, and Gengar; and Weather Ball for Zapdos and Dragonite in sand, but these often don't provide enough value for the moveslot. Roserade can always use Rest and switch with Natural Cure to heal itself to help against residual damahe, but struggles to fit it and loses a lot of momentum. Roserade also gets Worry Seed to remove Clefable’s Magic Guard, Aromatherapy to heal teammates status conditions, Sunny Day or Rain Dance to clear the weather, and Growth to potentially sweep, but Roserade is often too frail to take advantage of these and they use up a valuable moveslot.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Offensive Pokemon with Lum Berry**: If Roserade can't sleep or OHKO the foe, it is probably going to threaten Roserade. While Machamp, Dragonite, Gyarados, and Metagross can take a lot of damage from Roserade's coverage options, they heavily damage offensive variants back and punish Roserade hard if it uses Sleep Powder on them. More defensive Roserade variants often can't hurt these Pokemon very hard outside of status. Lum Berry Stealth Rock users such as Azelf and Heatran are unimpeded by Roserade trying to disable them. Lum Berry Pokemon are especially dangerous if they are faster than Roserade's average Speed, as it is has a very low Defense stat and is really frail without investment.

**Steel-types**: If it lacks Hidden Power Fire or Ground, Roserade can't touch most Steel-types. Scizor OHKO offensive Roserade with Bullet Punch, Skarmory and Forretress set up unimpeded, Heatran roasts it with Fire-types moves, Jirachi 2HKOes with Iron Head, and Metagross 2HKOes it at worst with Meteor Mash. However, they do not enjoy being statused.

**Dragon-types**: On the other hand, if Roserade lacks Hidden Power Ice or Sludge Bomb, Dragon-types completely wall Roserade. Dragonite is especially dangerous, as its +1 Extremespeed OHKOes it after Stealth Rock. Latias doesn't take a lot of damage from either of those options and OHKOes with Choice Specs Draco Meteor. Flygon and Kingdra threaten it similarly. Again, none of these Pokemon enjoy being statused.

**Poison-types**: Roserade struggles to hit other Poison-types such as Gengar and Tentacruel very hard without Extrasensory. Gengar easily 2HKOes most Roserade while grounded Poison-types such as Tentacruel, Nidoqueen, and other Roserade critically absorb Toxic Spikes, making the offensive variant's sacrifice in vain should it faint before they are revealed.

**Flying-types**: Roserade doesn't have very good coverage options to hit Flying-types such as Zapdos, Dragonite, and Skarmory. Should it lack the correct Hidden Power, Roserade often cannot do anything to them but status them and they're immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes.

**Residual damage**: Roserade is grounded, weak to sand, frail, and often can't heal itself. Roserade often wants to switch into attacks such as Breloom's Superpower and Swampert's Waterfall, but residual damage often makes this impossible to do more than once. Roserade often gets worn down very easily from even weaker attacks such as Rotom-A's Shadow Ball and defensive's Latias's Ice Beam, meaning it often has only a few turns to make an impact.

**Special Walls*: Clefable, Blissey, Latias, and Heatran are often unbeatable opponents for Roserade unless it has the exact move it needs such as Hidden Power Ground for Heatran or Sleep Powder. Clefable especially invalidates options such as Leech Seed or Toxic Spikes. However, other than Heatran, these options are quite passive and let Roserade set up entry hazards before it faints.

**Priority**: Roserade is extremely physically frail and doesn't resist most priority. Dragonite, Lucario, Scizor, Mamoswine, and Weavile all hit Roserade very hard, potentially OHKOing offensive variants.

**Substitute**: Substitute attackers such as Jirachi, Empoleon, Dragonite, and Gengar are especially devastating to Roserade, as they easily can KO or set up on it and if Roserade lacks the correct coverage move, it might fail to break the Substitute.


[CREDITS]

- Written by: [johnnyg2, 57904]]
- Quality checked by: [[oiponabys, 435540 ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ]]
 
Last edited:
DONE
[OVERVIEW]

:Roserade:

Roserade is one of the best Spikes and Toxic Spikes setters in the metagame and the only one with a significant offensive presence. With access to Sleep Powder, Leaf Storm, and a high base 125 Special Attack stat, Roserade can set Toxic Spikes on the many Water- and Ground-types of the tier such as Swampert, Suicune, Hippowdon, Starmie, and Quagsire. Toxic Spikes are useful in dealing with grounded threats such as Tyranitar, Swampert, Machamp, Suicune, Infernape, and Blissey. Roserade is also the most common grounded Poison-type, allowing it to remove opposing Toxic Spikes for these Pokemon upon entry. Despite its offensive leaning stats, with investment, Roserade is also a solid defensive Spikes setter and can answer Breloom by virtue of resisting its most common attacks. Crucially, Roserade is the only common Spikes setter that isn’t trapped by Magnezone. These qualities and its resistances make it unique as a Spiker compared to Skarmory, the other most common Spiker in the metagame. As a lead, Roserade is a decent disabler with a Choice Scarf, as it outspeeds all common unboosted leads and either puts them to sleep should they lack a Lum Berry or offensively threatens them with powerful coverage.

Unfortunately, Roserade has critical movepool issues, faces heavy competition with Skarmory, and is really easy to wear down. Sadly, Roserade has to choose between using Spikes or Sleep Powder and Leaf Storm, as they are illegal alongside each other. This forces offensive Roserade sets to either forgo its best offensive tools for Stun Spore and Grass Knot or set Toxic Spikes instead. While Toxic Spikes are very effective against certain Pokemon such as Tyranitar, common team structures are built to mitigate their impact. Due to the rise of Clefable, some stall teams are entirely immune to Toxic Spikes, while many offensive teams stack Steel-types, Lum Berry, and non-grounded Pokemon, mitigating Toxic Spikes’s impact. As a Grass-type, Roserade doesn’t have many options to hit Steel- and Dragon-types; often, it is forced to pick between Hidden Power Ice and Hidden Power Fire, both of which leave it walled by Heatran unless it uses Hidden Power Ground. As a Spiker, Skarmory is often more effective than Roserade due to its defensive typing, much better Defense stat, and access to recovery in Roost. Roserade’s own defensive typing, low Defense, lack of reliable recovery, and vulnerability to Spikes and sand make it really easy to wear down. It often cannot fulfill defensive roles long term, even with full investment. Because of this, balanced teams built around Roserade can have significant defensive holes difficult to cover with the options available.

[SET]
name: Spikes
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Grass Knot / Energy Ball / Sludge Bomb
move 3: Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Stun Spore / Toxic Spikes / Sleep Talk
item: Black Sludge
ability: Poison Point / Natural Cure
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Roserade’s offensive profile and decent defensive prowess make it a good Spikes user. Grass Knot is Roserade’s best offensive move, OHKOing Swampert and 2HKOing Suicune, most Tyranitar, Gyarados, and Hippowdon. As Grass Knot hits lighter Pokemon such as Clefable and especially Rotom-A for negligible damage, Energy Ball is a reliable alternative. Unfortunately, Energy Ball is not as effective at powering through Tyranitar and offensive Suicune, especially if Suicune has a Calm Mind boost and outspeeds Roserade. Another option to maximize Roserade’s effectiveness against Breloom and Dragon-types such as Latias and Dragonite is Sludge Bomb. However, Poison is not a good offensive typing and leaves Roserade walled by Ground-types.
Hidden Power Fire helps Roserade hit Steel-types such as Skarmory, Scizor, Forretress, Metagross, and Jirachi, generally at least 3HKOing them. Hidden Power Ice hits Dragon-types instead, OHKOing Flygon, Dragonite after Stealth Rock, and Gliscor while doing acceptable damage to Latias. Both Hidden Power Fire and Ice hit Breloom hard. Roserade can also use Hidden Power Ground to hit Heatran or forgo Hidden Power entirely and use a support option such as Aromatherapy or Rest; however, it sorely misses coverage. The last slot is most commonly Stun Spore, as it helps prevent foes from setting up on Roserade unimpeded if it can’t hit them hard. However, Roserade can also use both Spikes and Toxic Spikes to get multiple entry hazards up. Another option is to maximize Roserade’s match up with Breloom and use Sleep Talk. This is often most effective with either Energy Ball or Sludge Bomb, as both options always break Breloom’s Substitute or set up Spikes.

Set Details
========

Roserade needs heavy Defense investment to survive against foes it checks such as Breloom and Swampert. Maximum HP EVs, near maximum Defense, and a Bold nature emphasize this. The Speed EVs outspeed neutral nature Tyranitar, Swampert, and Empoleon. Roserade has a naturally high Special Defense stat and is a decent mixed wall with full investment. Roserade can also focus on its Special Defense to better answer Electric-types such as Zapdos and Rotom-A as well as offensive Water-types such as Suicune and Starmie with an EV spread such as 252 HP / 124 Def / 136 SpD. Defensive Roserade should always invest at least 124 Defense EVs to avoid being OHKOed by Choice Band Scizor’s Bullet Punch.
CB scizor is rising but I think it's still uncommon outside of ladder. Frenchs often only used 64 def for example. Proposing 44 def as the minimal investment to tank offpert's Eq after sr
While Roserade does enjoy Natural Cure healing status effects on switch out, Poison Point is the most common ability to better absorb Breloom’s Spore.

Roserade can also use a fully offensive EV spread with Spikes, Grass Knot, one of Hidden Power, and Sludge Bomb to act as an offensive Spikes user and hit very hard. However, such a set is extraordinarily frail, still doesn’t have amazing coverage, and doesn’t have Sleep Powder to ease set up.

Usage Tips
========

Due to its frailty, Roserade should switch into foes sparingly, preferably getting in on predicted switches or resisted attacks. Even attacks it is meant to take such as Breloom’s Focus Punch and Swampert’s Earthquake can 2HKO it after Stealth Rock. From here, Roserade should try to set up entry hazards immediately, as it often only gets a few turns to make an impact due to residual damage. Roserade, even with Stun Spore, is setup fodder for a lot of dangerous threats in the tier such as Dragonite and Metagross, so be careful against very aggressive teams and use its bulk to help weaken or status sweepers rather than setting up in these cases. Should Roserade have both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, prioritize getting one layer of both, as the second layer is not nearly as useful. Once it has fulfilled its role of getting up entry hazards, freely sacrificing it for momentum is often best, as it is slow and often cannot heal effectively.

Team Options
========

Roserade is a staple of the Fire-Water-Grass play style, as it very effectively lays entry hazards while assisting its Fire- and Water-type teammates such as Heatran, Swampert, and Suicune. Heatran is one it’s best partners, as both Toxic Spikes and Spikes are highly effective alongside it. Heatran’s Substitute + Protect sets can easily stall out foes such as Swampert and Tyranitar with Toxic Spikes, while Roserade either resists or hits super effectively its type weaknesses. Roserade is effective with Water-type partners as well, as it can switch into their weakness as well as crucially absorb Toxic Spikes. Swampert can help handle aggressive sweepers such as Dragon Dance Tyranitar and Dragonite that Roserade struggles with and very much appreciates entry hazards. Offensive and Substitute Suicune does similarly and can help against Gyarados too. Roserade also loves Steel-types such as Trick + Iron Ball Metagross, Jirachi, and Empoleon to help it deal with Dragon-types such as mixed Flygon, Dragonite, and Latias. To keep entry hazards on the field, Ghost-types such as Rotom-A and Gengar both are very helpful. Both appreciate Roserade’s entry hazards wearing down Tyranitar. As Roserade can let dangerous threats set up, a Choice Scarf revenge killer such as Flygon, Lucario, or Rotom-A is also very helpful. Choice Scarf Tyranitar helps Roserade to keep its entry hazards on the ground by removing Starmie, the most common spinner. Beware of stacking a weakness to Gyarados, however. Offensive sets of good defensive Pokemon such as Swords Dance Gliscor, Calm Mind + Hidden Power Fire Latias, offensive Zapdos, and Hippowdon really appreciate the entry hazard damage and help the archetype deal with threats.

Roserade can also be used as an Spikes setter for hyper offensive teams looking to deal with Swampert without using Gyarados. Some example partners include Dragon Dance Tyranitar, Choice Specs Latias, offensive Starmie, Swords Dance or Choice Band Scizor, and Agility Empoleon.

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Toxic Spikes
move 2: Sleep Powder
move 3: Leaf Storm
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ground / Hidden Power Ice
item: Focus Sash / Black Sludge
ability: Poison Point / Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

Roserade’s Speed, access to Sleep Powder, and power allow it to get Toxic Spikes reliably early in the game. Sleep Powder heavily pressures slower foes lacking a Lum Berry and gives Roserade opportunities to attack or set up Toxic Spikes. Leaf Storm is Roserade’s most powerful option and does a lot of damage to foes that don’t resist it, such as having a chance to OHKO bulky Azelf, OHKOing Suicune, and Gyarados and bulkless Tyranitar after Stealth Rock. Even frailer resists such as Breloom and Infernape can take a lot of damage.

Hidden Power Fire is the most common last option, 2HKOing Skarmory, Metagross, and Breloom while OHKOing Scizor and Forretress. Beware of the lower Speed IV against opposing Roserade and Lucario. On the other hand, Hidden Power Ground nails Heatran, OHKOing bulkless versions after Stealth Rock while still hitting Metagross and Jirachi. Hidden Power Ice hits Dragonite, Gliscor, offensive Latias, and Flygon more effectively.



Roserade's qualities, such as its solid 90 base Speed and impressive 125 Special Attack stat, as well as its uncommon Grass Typing, make it the prime contender to lay down Toxic Spikes for both offensive and balance teams. As it drops Spikes, Roserade is able to improve its movepool options with a newly gained access to Leaf Storm and Sleep Powder. Both tools are key to Roserade's succes. The access to a fast, relatively accurate Sleep inducing move is a rare sight in DPP OU, allowing Roserade to heavily pressure slower foes. Metagross, slower versions of Jirachi, Skarmory, defensive Latias and Clefable are all prime sleep targets for Roserade. Leaf Storm is Roserade’s most powerful option and does a lot of damage to foes that don’t resist it, such as having a chance to OHKO bulky Azelf, OHKOing Suicune, and Gyarados and bulkless Tyranitar after Stealth Rock. Being one of the most powerful unboosted special attacks in OverUsed, Leaf Storm prevents opposing Poison-Types Nidoqueen, Tentacruel and Qwilfish from coming onto the field to absorb Toxic Spikes without losing a lot of health. Even frailer resists such as Breloom and Infernape can take a lot of damage.

Hidden Power Fire is the most common last option, 2HKOing Skarmory, Metagross, and Breloom while OHKOing Scizor and Forretress. Beware of the lower Speed IV against opposing Roserade and Lucario. On the other hand, Hidden Power Ground nails Heatran, OHKOing bulkless versions after Stealth Rock while still hitting Metagross and Jirachi. Hidden Power Ice hits Dragonite, Gliscor, offensive Latias, and Flygon more effectively.



Set Details
========

Roserade needs maximum Speed and Special Attack to most effectively use its offensive prowess to sleep foes and set up Toxic Spikes. While the power of a Modest nature is very nice for OHKOing most Azelf leads trying to Taunt Roserade, Roserade sits at a very crowded speed tier with neutral nature Flygon, Jirachi, and Zapdos as well as Rotom-A and Suicune and appreciates a Timid nature. If Roserade has Hidden Power Fire, it can invest some of the extra Speed into Defense to better survive attacks, although the effect is negligible.

Both Focus Sash and Black Sludge are effective items; however, Focus Sash should only be used if Roserade leads, as it is very frail and gives it another chance to either set up Toxic Spikes, use Sleep Powder, or attack should either miss or the opponent is faster. Black Sludge is the item of choice if Roserade doesn’t lead and is instead an early game attacker.


Usage Tips
========

Roserade should come into the game early or lead and either use Sleep Powder, attack, or lay Toxic Spikes. Against faster Taunt leads such as Azelf and Aerodactyl, Roserade should just attack as they Taunt it, as Leaf Storm can OHKO them should they lack a Focus Sash. Against leads that might carry a Lum Berry such as Gyarados, Metagross, and some Machamp, just attacking or getting the Toxic Spikes up is a good idea. Otherwise, it’s often best to Sleep Powder, especially if the foe is slower. Note that of course any lead can carry a Lum Berry or survive Roserade’s options, so metagame trends and what the rest of the team needs can dictate what to do, such as using Sleep Powder into leads like Machamp or just attacking into something like Skarmory.

If Roserade doesn’t lead, leverage the fact that Sleep Powder is uncommon outside of the lead slot, especially with Black Sludge. This can lead to sleeping Steel-types or Dragon-types or other important Pokemon. While Roserade is not particularly bulky, it can afford to take unSTABBED special attacks such as Ice Beam for Swampert or Rotom-W's Thunderbolt for its team during the game.

Roserade will usually only set one layer of Toxic Spikes as most pokemon don't stay long enough on the field to make the second turn of setup worthwhile. However, when facing bulky pokémon such as Hippowdon, Blissey, Milotic and Celebi, the ability to inflict bad poison proves to be valuable. In this situation, Roserade should aim to set the second layer of Toxic Spikes as soon as possible, so the opponent does not find an opportunity to limit status damage.




Team Options
========

Roserade is the best offensive Toxic Spikes user in the metagame, so it has many viable partners. Gengar is a fantastic teammate for Roserade, as Toxic Spikes wear down Choice Scarf Tyranitar very effectively. As Tyranitar is perhaps the only check for Taunt or Substitute Gengar on defensive teams, wearing it down or potentially KOing it is extremely helpful. Roserade’s Sleep Powder also often targets Steel-types or bulkier Pokemon who can survive Gengar’s attacks. Other potential partners include Choice Scarf Rotom-A, offensive Latias, Zapdos, and Starmie. Substitute attackers such as Heatran and Substitute Zapdos are also great choices, as Toxic Spikes can help wear down their checks. Other offensive Heatran sets such as Choice Scarf also enjoy Toxic Spikes wearing down Fire resists. Offensive Roserade is unique in that it’s a suicide lead that needs bulkier teammates to effectively use Toxic Spikes. As such, it often needs a good defensive core to backstop it should the foe set up on it. Some good choice include using alongside bulky Ground-types such as Hippowdon and Swampert to better handle Dragon Dance sweepers such as Dragonite and Tyranitar; bulky Steel-types such as Jirachi, Scizor, and Metagross for Latias and Flygon; and using it on a Fire-Water-Grass core alongside options like Heatran and Suicune.

Good Roserade partners are Pokemon that already handle Pokemon immune to Toxic Spikes like Clefable, Steel-types, and Flying-types well. Some other examples include Swords Dance Gliscor, Agility Empoleon, and Kingdra. Choice Scarf revenge killer such as Flygon and Latias are also helpful to take down worn down foes and backstop Roserade.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Sleep Powder
move 2: Leaf Storm
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Sludge Bomb / Toxic Spikes
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Natural Cure / Poison Point
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

As sleep moves have limited distribution in DPP OU, Roserade is a prominent disabler in the lead slot with a Choice Scarf. Unlike Breloom, the other prominent Choice Scarf sleep user, Roserade outspeeds Aerodactyl and hits much harder with Leaf Storm. With a Modest nature, Roserade OHKOes physically bulky Azelf with Leaf Storm before it can Taunt or set up Stealth Rock, outspeeds and OHKOes +1 Tyranitar and Gyarados after Stealth Rock, and KOes Suicune after it uses Calm Mind.

Hidden Power Ice is effective against Dragonite and other Dragon-types, but watch out for +1 Extreme Speed. While Hidden Power Fire forces a lower Speed IV, it at least 2HKOes many Steel-types such as Skarmory, Jirachi, Metagross, and Scizor. Hidden Power Ground is another option to hit Heatran. However, watch out being locked into a weak Hidden Power. Sludge Bomb rounds out the set, as it provides good neutral coverage and OHKOes Breloom. Toxic Spikes is another option to use on forced switches, but watch out for foes taking advantage of being Choice locked into Toxic Spikes. With a Choice Scarf, Roserade is often guaranteed to set up a layer, which can be valuable against foes such as Tyranitar, Swampert, and Suicune.

Set Details
========

Roserade sits at a valuable speed tier and wants close to maximum Speed EVs. Roserade enjoys having a many Special Attack EVs as possible to make it easier to OHKO Azelf and generally hit harder. However, it only needs at least 192 Speed EVs with a neutral nature to outspeed Aerodactyl after the Choice Scarf boost, meaning the rest can be put into bulk. While Roserade can use a Timid nature with 252 Speed EVs to outspeed slower Choice Scarf users such as Heatran, Rotom-A, and neutral nature Flygon, its incredible vulnerability to priority makes it a comparably poor general revenge killer. As such, it’s often better to use an EV spread such as the one given or 64 Def / 252 SpA / 192 Spe.

Roserade can use either of its abilities, but Natural Cure is often preferred to maintain its Speed should it get paralyzed. However, Poison Point makes it for a nice absorber for Breloom’s Spore.

Usage Tips
========

Roserade typically leads and uses Sleep Powder on the first turn. It should only deviate from this against common Lum Berry leads such as Azelf, Gyarados, and Machamp or against leads it can KO such as Swampert and Tyranitar. This is critical to prevent Stealth Rock or other entry hazards from going up, as Roserade generally can KO or incapacitate most users provided Sleep Powder hits. Once it either attacks or uses Sleep Powder, it should switch to avoid being taken advantage of, as all of its attacks have heavy drawbacks to be locked into. Once it has slept something, Roserade should be fairly cavalier with its health as it has performed its job, although it is a serviceable revenge killer against Dragon Dance Gyarados and Dragon Dance Tyranitar with its Speed and power. As Choice Scarf Roserade is uncommon, these sweepers might be unexpectedly taken out by Leaf Storm. However, be careful switching it directly into resisted attacks, as it is very frail, especially on the physical side.

Team Options
========

As a disabler, Choice Scarf Roserade is generally used alongside aggressive teams that appreciate Roserade's higher Speed and power over Breloom's reliability, better bulk, and typing. Stealth Rock weak teammates such as Dragon Dance Gyarados, mixed or Dragon Dance Dragonite, and Zapdos are good partners, as Roserade typically can KO or use Sleep Powder on Stealth Rock users. Zapdos is an especially good partner, as Roserade can potentially get up Toxic Spikes unimpeded, crucial for supporting Substitute + Roost sets against Ground-types and Tyranitar. Roserade needs backup should it get taken advantage of, so bulky Steel-types such as Jirachi, Metagross, Bronzong, Scizor, and Skarmory are good partners to stop Dragon-types such as Dragonite and Latias from taking advantage of bad Choice locks. As Roserade can't be relied on to check Speed boosting or priority sweepers such as Dragon Dance Dragonite, Agility Empoleon, Swords Dance Scizor, and Swords Dance Lucario, other back up is needed against these Pokemon. Some options include Choice Scarf Magnezone, Ice Shard Abomasnow, and bulky Ground-types such as Swampert. Other aggressive teammates such as Dragon Dance Tyranitar, offensive Empoleon, offensive Calm Mind Jirachi, and Camerupt also make for good teammates. Taunt + Dragon Dance Tyranitar is an especially good teammates, as Roserade is not as effective against defensive teams, can be a good short term Breloom switch, and commonly targets Dragon Dance Tyranitar checks with Sleep Powder.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

Like many Grass-types, Roserade has a few options not especially effective in the modern DPP OU metagame, such as Leech Seed, Life Orb, and Choice Specs. Leech Seed sets are invalidated by Clefable and the general pace of the offensive teams that would OHKO Roserade before it could take advantage of it. Life Orb exacerbates Roserade’s weakness to residual damage and Choice Specs often locks Roserade into an attack with heavy drawbacks or poor coverage. Roserade has a wealth of coverage moves to hit specific targets such as Shadow Ball for Rotom-A; Extrasensory for Breloom, Machamp, and Gengar; and Weather Ball for Zapdos and Dragonite in sand, but these often don't provide enough value for the moveslot. Roserade can always use Rest and switch with Natural Cure to heal itself to help against residual damahe, but struggles to fit it and loses a lot of momentum. Roserade also gets Worry Seed to remove Clefable’s Magic Guard, Aromatherapy to heal teammates status conditions, Sunny Day or Rain Dance to clear the weather, and Growth to potentially sweep, but Roserade is often too frail to take advantage of these and they use up a valuable moveslot.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Offensive Pokemon with Lum Berry**: If Roserade can't sleep or OHKO the foe, it is probably going to threaten Roserade. While Machamp, Dragonite, Gyarados, and Metagross can take a lot of damage from Roserade's coverage options, they heavily damage offensive variants back and punish Roserade hard if it uses Sleep Powder on them. More defensive Roserade variants often can't hurt these Pokemon very hard outside of status. Lum Berry Stealth Rock users such as Azelf and Heatran are unimpeded by Roserade trying to disable them. Lum Berry Pokemon are especially dangerous if they are faster than Roserade's average Speed, as it is has a very low Defense stat and is really frail without investment.

**Steel-types**: If it lacks Hidden Power Fire or Ground, Roserade can't touch most Steel-types. Scizor OHKO offensive Roserade with Bullet Punch, Skarmory and Forretress set up unimpeded, Heatran roasts it with Fire-types moves, Jirachi 2HKOes with Iron Head, and Metagross 2HKOes it at worst with Meteor Mash. However, they do not enjoy being statused.

**Dragon-types**: On the other hand, if Roserade lacks Hidden Power Ice or Sludge Bomb, Dragon-types completely wall Roserade. Dragonite is especially dangerous, as its +1 Extremespeed OHKOes it after Stealth Rock. Latias doesn't take a lot of damage from either of those options and OHKOes with Choice Specs Draco Meteor. Flygon and Kingdra threaten it similarly. Again, none of these Pokemon enjoy being statused.

**Poison-types**: Roserade struggles to hit other Poison-types such as Gengar and Tentacruel very hard without Extrasensory. Gengar easily 2HKOes most Roserade while grounded Poison-types such as Tentacruel, Nidoqueen, and other Roserade critically absorb Toxic Spikes, making the offensive variant's sacrifice in vain should it faint before they are revealed.

**Flying-types**: Roserade doesn't have very good coverage options to hit Flying-types such as Zapdos, Dragonite, and Skarmory. Should it lack the correct Hidden Power, Roserade often cannot do anything to them but status them and they're immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes.

**Residual damage**: Roserade is grounded, weak to sand, frail, and often can't heal itself. Roserade often wants to switch into attacks such as Breloom's Superpower and Swampert's Waterfall, but residual damage often makes this impossible to do more than once. Roserade often gets worn down very easily from even weaker attacks such as Rotom-A's Shadow Ball and defensive's Latias's Ice Beam, meaning it often has only a few turns to make an impact.

**Special Walls*: Clefable, Blissey, Latias, and Heatran are often unbeatable opponents for Roserade unless it has the exact move it needs such as Hidden Power Ground for Heatran or Sleep Powder. Clefable especially invalidates options such as Leech Seed or Toxic Spikes. However, other than Heatran, these options are quite passive and let Roserade set up entry hazards before it faints.

**Priority**: Roserade is extremely physically frail and doesn't resist most priority. Dragonite, Lucario, Scizor, Mamoswine, and Weavile all hit Roserade very hard, potentially OHKOing offensive variants.

**Substitute**: Substitute attackers such as Jirachi, Empoleon, Dragonite, and Gengar are especially devastating to Roserade, as they easily can KO or set up on it and if Roserade lacks the correct coverage move, it might fail to break the Substitute.


[CREDITS]

- Written by: [johnnyg2, 57904]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
 
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