Oglemi
Borf
http://www.smogon.com/rs/pokemon/roselia
[Overview]
Take one look at Roselia's learnset and one thing should scream out to you: Spikes. Combine that with a decent typing that allows Roselia to check two of the most threatening Pokemon in the tier in Huntail and Hitmonchan, a great Special Attack stat, decent Speed, and a deep supportive movepool, and it's easy to see why Roselia has a secure place in NU as a top-tier threat. While Glalie fits more offensive teams as a Spikes lead, Roselia fits better on balance and stall teams, which happen to be far more prominent in the metagame. So, what's the downside? In short: Roselia's frailty. While Roselia can get by with making smart switches to make use of its typing, its lack of bulk, especially physically, can get the better of it. Ultimately, Roselia's definitely worth bringing on any team you want Spikes on, and you definitely want Spikes on your team in this tier.
[SET]
name: Defensive Spikes
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Synthesis / Protect
move 3: Toxic / Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Giga Drain / Magical Leaf
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 20 Def / 236 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Roselia is by far the easiest Spikes user to fit on your team in NU, and this set tries its best to reflect that. While Glalie is overall bulkier than Roselia, it has a far worse typing suited for defensive teams and lacks recovery, making Roselia much easier to fit on these types of teams. Roselia's usable movepool is also pretty deep, meaning there's a lot of different combinations of moves you can use here and still remain effective at what Roselia sets out to do: mainly, set up Spikes. Synthesis is the biggest move that sets Roselia apart from Glalie and Cacturne and is highlighted here, allowing Roselia to effectively check certain special attackers like Bellossom, defensive Wailord, Plusle, and Haunter not carrying Psychic throughout the match. Protect makes a decent alternative to Synthesis and pairs well with Toxic to build damage, scout Choice Band users' moves, and stall for Leftovers recovery. If you choose Toxic for the third moveslot it'll likely end up as Roselia's main method of damage, as it is Roselia's best tool for Flareon and other defensive threats looking to switch into Roselia for free. Alternatively, Hidden Power Fire can be used in the third slot if you require Roselia to better check Mawile and Bellossom and prevent the opponent from using Roselia as setup bait. The last slot goes to Roselia's STAB move of choice. Giga Drain makes use of Roselia's great Special Attack and allows it to effectively check the Pokemon it needs to, particularly Huntail. If the PP is off putting to you, Magical Leaf is a decent alternative.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
Near-maximum Special Defense investment is needed so that Roselia has the best possible chance of checking Huntail, as even with full investment Timid Huntail still has a ~3% chance of 2HKOing Roselia with Ice Beam. Roselia's physical defense is so paltry that most investment there is wasted. For example, at maximum Defense Roselia will still take 38.8 - 45.7% from an unboosted Hitmonchan's Earthquake. However, with 20 Defense EVs, Roselia can avoid some OHKOs, particularly from Piloswine's Earthquake and Pidgeot's Aerial Ace. 32 Defense EVs can be run to avoid a 2HKO from Hitmonchan's Rock Slide. Roselia's Speed is decent, so some investment there could be worth it, but there are no major benchmarks worth investing for except for Flareon and Dewgong, both of which will cream Roselia regardless. If running Speed, a more offensive set can be run that forgoes any bulk at all and focuses on Roselia's great Special Attack stat. A spread such as this is mostly outclassed by Cacturne and to a lesser extent Glalie, but it can be very effective at luring in opposing Roselia and other common checks such as Golbat and eliminating them with the appropriate move.
As stated before, Roselia's movepool is pretty deep, so there are some niche options worth careful consideration over the options listed above. Sludge Bomb makes a decent attacking alternative to Giga Drain despite Roselia's low Attack because of the high poison chance it possesses and the fact that most of the Pokemon that are likely to switch into Roselia have lower Defense than Special Defense. Hidden Power Water is Roselia's best attacking move for Flareon, but it'll still do pitiful damage if you're not running a lot of Special Attack. Hidden Power Psychic will do a lot of damage to the Pokemon that can normally switch into Roselia for free, such as Golbat, Swalot, and opposing Roselia. Stun Spore can severely cripple some of the more offensive Pokemon looking to switch into Roselia for free and is a good tool to help support a slower sweeper of your own, such as Calm Mind Chimecho. Aromatherapy is a great move if using Roselia on a stall team as an alternative cleric to Chimecho. Leech Seed can make Roselia very hard for opposing defensive teams to take down, but it can leave Roselia walled hard by other Grass-types. Grass Whistle is Roselia's only method for putting the enemy to sleep, and while its accuracy is pretty shoddy, if you're using Roselia on a stall-centric team it should have a few opportunities to get Grass Whistle to connect. Finally, Rest is an acceptable alternative to Synthesis when used with Natural Cure, but the required switching to heal the sleep can spell doom if not used correctly.
Roselia fits best on defensive teams, so naturally defensive Pokemon are going to make the best teammates. In particular, Roselia should be paired with Pokemon that can make the most of the Spikes that it'll set up. Phazers such as Wailord, Flareon, Piloswine, and Tropius should be top of the list for consideration when building a team with Roselia on it, as they can prevent setup sweepers from becoming too dangerous and rack up Spikes damage simultaneously. Physically defensive teammates such as Relicanth and Pelipper are needed to switch into the threats that can switch into Roselia without fear and force it out. Sableye in particular makes a fantastic partner to use alongside Roselia, as it counters many of Roselia's checks and has the added benefit of being able to spinblock to ensure that Roselia's Spikes stay on the opponent's side of the field.
[Other Options]
A SubSeed set is very much usable, in particular thanks to Roselia's natural immunity to Toxic. However, there are many prominent Grass-types in NU, meaning it'll very likely be completely walled in matches more than not. Psych Up is an option to allow Roselia to check certain Calm Mind sweepers such as Sableye, but Roselia naturally loses to the most prominent user in Chimecho. Finally, Growth can be used to make Roselia a bit of a self-sufficient sweeper, but Roselia's bulk is just not there to allow for consistent setup.
[Checks and Counters]
Hitmonchan can easily 2HKO Roselia with Earthquake and spin away Roselia's Spikes, making it the most prominent counter to consider when teambuilding. The number of spinners that threaten Roselia pretty much stops there, though, apart from Delibird, so the most effective way to limit Roselia's Spikes is to KO it as quickly as possible. Flareon can switch into anything Roselia throws at it except for Toxic and easily OHKOes Roselia with Fire Blast. Swalot utterly walls Roselia and even causes Giga Drain and Leech Seed to backfire thanks to Liquid Ooze. Flying-types, such as Murkrow, Pidgeot, and Golbat, fear little from Roselia's moves and easily OHKO it with their STAB moves. Other Grass-types with moves to hit Roselia super effectively, such as Hidden Power Fire Bellossom and Tangela, will easily tank anything Roselia throws at them save for Sludge Bomb, even being immune to Leech Seed. For the most part, physically offensive Pokemon like Raticate, Metang, Vigoroth, and Kingler will easily OHKO Roselia with their STAB moves or Double-Edge.
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