Mantine
Serebii.net - Mantine Pokedex Entry
Overview:
Now, today's lesson is set upon a very large manta ray. And as very happy-looking one at that! Mantine has Special Defenses to match even those of the physically-oriented Skarmory! Now as high as that may be, Mantine has a few fatal flaws. It's typing of Water/Flying leaves it vulnerable to Stealth Rock and come common weaknesses, as well as a crippling weakness to Electric. Without Electric and a resistance to Psychic, Mantine doesn't make too good of a wall for a team, but he has his upsides as well. Mantine's Special bulk allows him to easily switch into a Water-Type attack and be healed. And due to his Flying dual-type, he is an excellent switch-in to Grass or Water users like Gorebyss, and can even be safely witched into the oft-powerful Fighting-Type opponent! With immunity to non-rocky traps (the Spikes moves), Mantine can play a pivotal role on your team, if you play him right. Just remember, outside of Rest, he has no healing options, and low HP doesn't welcome that...
Base Stats:
HP - 65
Atk - 40
Def - 70
SpAtk - 80
SpDef - 140
Spd - 70
Movesets:
Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP, 4 Def, 252 SpDef
Nature: Calm
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Scald
- Hidden Power Flying/Toxic
I found this set over on the Smogon site (loving their new BW analyses!), and I really liked the idea! Rest, as Mantine's only healing move, allows you to toss Status Ailments to the side as if they were nothing, and shrug off any non-Electric Special attack to come your way! Sleep Talk with Rest is an age-old strategy, and works well to keep Mantine alive during his nap. In the 5th Generation, Mantine gets a shiny new toy in the form of Scald, which is a godsend to this... ahem... physically-impaired manta ray. Scald gets nice STAB for decent power, and has a very attractive Burn rate. Any Physical Pokemon trying to take advantage of our friend will have to pray to Mew (I don't accept Arceus in that regard...) that they don't get Burned! If they do, Mantine may as well be facing a Special Luvdisc... Now, the last slot is your choice, but I prefer option #1 due to the lack of variety otherwise. Hidden Power Flying gives Mantine a fun tool against enemy Grass and Fighting Types, as well as select others. It will also do more damage to said Grass-Types than Ice Beam would, because of STAB. Toxic is still a great option nonetheless, and will tear through defensive walls and sponges that would normally tank Mantine to no end! So consider your options and your other teammates as per the usual, and make your decision. Honestly, a very fun set to use if you like Mantine! :3
I was thinking of doing another set here, but the thing is... Mantine's movepool is ginormous (did I really just say that?), but he lacks the offensive powers to utilize many of the moves in there. Signal Beam, Ice Beam, some great defensive moves that I would only recommend in a non-Sleep-Talk set, and many more. Just look through his movepool, and if your team has a specific problem with a Pokemon or two, see what Mantine can do to help! I mean, look at that happy/chubby face! He loves you! <3
Oh, and if you're using him in Pokemon Colosseum like in the beginning of my LP, then just go with your most powerful moves, since he's a bit lacking in that game. Blizzard works wonders with his typing as well!
I hope you guys have enjoyed my mini-comeback, and I look forward to hearing from you all! Have a nice day~! Gute nacht, y'all! :3
