Rapid Spin - Important or not?

[Demonion]

Is this strategy used often enough to consider a rapid spinner on your team? The only pokes that use spikes are Cloyster/Forretress/Skarmory/Omastar, is it that necessary to put a rapid spinner in your team?

Blastoise
Blastoise can rapid spin but it cant hurt Cloyster/Omastar/Skarmory/Forretress much so they can just come back in and spike again. Omastar > Blastoise with HP Grass.

Cloyster
Cloyster has the same problem as Blastoise has. It can spike and rapid spin at the same time but it cant hurt any of the spikers and gets knocked out easily by any special attack.

Forretress
One of the more useful rapid spinners, also capable of spiking, high defense and might defeat Cloyster/Omastar, can do nothing against Forretress/Skarmory and with Spikes+Rapid Spin it can only pack 2 more attack, 1 of them is earthquake obviously. Gets totally ownt by HP Fire Magneton thats used to counter Skarmory too.

Donphan
High Attack/Defense, but it cant take down any spikers, except Forretress maybe. Loses against Omastar/Cloyster so they have nothing to fear. It cant damage Skarmory and gets taken down by any special sweeper.

Armaldo
Same thing, low special defense, might do something against Omastar though. Has more usefullness with Knock Off than Rapid Spin in my opinion.

Starmie
With Surf/Ice Beam/Thunderbolt/Rapid Spin it can take on all spikers and take them down fairly easily while none of them can do something back. Skarmory cant roar him away since he gets owned by Thunderbolt.

Claydol
With Levitate it is the only rapid spinner that is immune too Spikes, though also Claydol cant do that much against the spinners. Even with it excellent defenses it cant take much hits from Cloyster/Omastar and Forretress and Skarmory cant get owned by Claydol

As you can see Spikers dont have too fear most rapid spinners and the best cure against Spikers is too be founded on only one pokemon. Magneton. With Thunderbolt/HP Fire it can take down Forretress/Skarmory/Cloyster and Omastar. Just switch it in when you see a spiker and you only have to worry about one set of spikes without rapid spin. Also most other pokemon can easily defeat the spikers either forcing them to switch or KO them.

Let's take a look on other pokemon that can be used to counter those Spikers:

Magneton
The best counter, with a stabbed Thunderbolt Cloyster, Skarmory and Omastar are all gone. Just make sure Magneton outspeed Skarmory to make sure i doesnt KO you with HP Ground. Magnet Pull also keeps Forretress where he is and HP Fire will put an end to his spiking career.

Others
Any other pokemon that can learn Thunderbolt/Giga Drain and Flamethrower/Overheat or Brick Break/HP Fighting/Cross Chop and Flamethrower/Overheat can take down all 4 Spikers.

So whats really the use of rapid spin? Is it usefull to pack a Rapid Spinner on your team? In my opinion you should only consider Rapid Spin if you plan to use either Starmie or Claydol and only when you want to use them because of their other powers and not because of the capibility to Rapid Spin

I'd like to know your view of this :)

(I'm dutch so probably there are a dozen errors in this but who cares :))

 

[Lion Heart]

Personally, I just kill the spikers instantly.
The best counter for them is Magneton, and the best Rapid Spinner is Starmie.

Starmie is a great pokemon aswell, and will be able to do alot more than just rapid spin.

 

[Jarmen_Kell]

Well you make them waste 1-3 turns to Spike again if you Rapid Spin. And losing 25% of your HP is annoying...

I use Hitmontop as Rapid Spinner.

Kabutops, Smeargle, Delibird and Sandslash can also Rapid Spin but who uses them?

 

[Demonion]

Thats why i didnt include them, Switching in other pokemon at the cost of 1 times Spiking (You see a spiker you switch they spike) you can easily beat the spiker and you only have to worry about 1 set of spikes (6,25%) and thats not very much

 

[Toothache]

Problem with trying to take out the spiker rather than the spikes is that most Rapid Spinners are special attackers, meaning Blissey/insert special tank comes along to save the spiker. Better to remove the Spikes and catch the spiker later on. Magneton can take out Forretress/Skarmory, but can't do anything to stop Omastar and Cloyster.

In the realms of UU, Glalie, Qwilfish, Roselia and Cacturne can spike as well, but they say hello to HP Fire as well. (Apart from Qwilfish which says hello to Thunderbolt instead, but beware of Destiny Bond).

 

[Demonion]

Magneton@Leftovers
~ Thunderbolt
~ HP Fire
~ Substitute/Thunderwave
~ Metal Sound

Takes down Blissey too

 

[Achilles]

I like using my Blastoise as a Rapid Spinner on FR since I also use a Ninjask in my team.

 

[klducks]

in all my teams, ive nv had rapid spin... but yet, i havnt really battled anyone w/ spikes and when i did, i just ignored it so meh... =\

 

[PoKeSaFaRi]

Well, there's no need to worry about Spinners if your starter Pok?mon (maybe a Starmie or an Alakazam could do this) is able to cover all the Pok?mon types that are able to learn that move.

It's quite smart to get a starter Pok?mon capable of knocking out spikers before their spikes are released.

Think about it and look on a Pok?dex for those Pok?mon so u can build a strategy against them :)

 

[Satan'sLittleHelper]

I have it on my donphan, and its fairly useless and a waste of a moveslot, BUT, because skarmory is on every other team it comes in handy. I just chip away with rock slide until its done spiking then spin them away. The occasional CH from rock slide can put a nice dent in the stupid bird.

 

[Frostweaver]

You're forgetting something people...

Rapid spin destroys leech seed, so it also kills Sceptile pretty easily for Armaldo. Armaldo imho is the best rapid spinner, because rapid spin gets rid of spike and rock blast can strike back skarmory a bit. It's also strong to the 2 most common leech seeders too.

 

[Demonion]

Switching out destroys leech seed too

 

[Frostweaver]

Switching out destroys leech seed too

And then Sceptile gets the free substitute, or Ludicolo the free chance to rain dance/toxic/attack. Oh and perhaps Spike is added there too for the sake of being annoying...

Traditional Sceptile leads off with leech seed unless you're weak to grass or if you can use an OHKO move. You'll want to shake off leech seed immediately before Sceptile starts to stall you out with substitute and leech seed, and certainly many netbattlers know just how painful it is to face Subtile with seed providing endless hp to get the sub off every time...

 

[Achilles]

What the topicmaker seems to forget is that you don't put Rapid Spin on a Pok? to protect that one Pok?mon from spikes. You put it on a Pok? to protect your whole team.

 

[klducks]

i dont think you guys notice that

sweeping sceptile > annoyer sceptile...

 

[Demonion]

What the topicmaker seems to forget is that you don't put Rapid Spin on a Pok? to protect that one Pok?mon from spikes. You put it on a Pok? to protect your whole team.

I havent forgotten it but its handy if a spiker starts spiking you switch in your rapid spinner and take the spiker down with your rapid spinner. If the spiker > your rapid spinner it doesnt have to fear it.

 

[Akio123]

I have no problems with rapid spin other than its a weak move and it is only absolutely necessary when you are wrapped or something like that.

 

[Kholdstaire]

Personally, I just kill the spikers instantly.
The best counter for them is Magneton, and the best Rapid Spinner is Starmie.

Starmie is a great pokemon aswell, and will be able to do alot more than just rapid spin.

Please, do tell how you kill Skarmory instantly. No idiot leaves Skarm out when you switch to an obvious counter (unless its Fagneton, duh).