[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Thunder Wave / Body Slam
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Wish / Protect
move 4: Fire Punch
nature: Careful
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 228 SpD / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With a Careful nature and large investments in both Special Defense and HP, Jirachi is able to switch into any special attacker, bar strong Fire-types, without being 2HKOed. Anything else, from Life Orb Starmie’s Hydro Pump to Choice Specs Jolteon's Thunderbolt will not manage a 2HKO. The only other Pokemon who can come close to this level of special bulk is Blissey, who is set-up fodder for anything and grinds the momentum of more offensive teams to a screeching halt. However, unlike Blissey, specially defensive Jirachi cannot switch into special attackers all day long; Jirachi must use Wish whenever it can afford to do so in order to stay healthy. Therefore, Jirachi is a check, not a hard counter, to special attackers and must be played as such.</p>
<p>The crux of this set is Thunder Wave. By paralyzing its foes, Jirachi becomes faster than them, letting it abuse Iron Head's 60% flinch rate in tandem with paralysis. Jirachi can keep itself in good condition with the steady recovery from Leftovers while periodically using Wish to quickly regain 50% of its health. Iron Head helps Jirachi buy itself turns until it can safely use Wish. It is also Jirachi’s strongest attack, and while not that powerful, its low damage output won't matter after a few hits. Wish is Jirachi’s healing move, and works well in conjunction with with Iron Head and Thunder Wave. Wish can also help Jirachi support its team later in the game. Lastly, Fire Punch helps Jirachi by hitting foes who resist Iron Head, preventing Jirachi from becoming set-up fodder against these opponents. </p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs prevent Jirachi from being 2HKOed by a myriad of threatening special attackers, including, but not limited to, Life Orb Gengar and Lead Azelf. The HP EVs provide Jirachi with a good amount of physical bulk. Jirachi can also act as a one-time stop to many physical stat-uppers, because it can switch in and paralyze the stat booster, allowing the rest of your team to take out the weakened opposing Pokemon. 32 Speed EVs let Jirachi outspeed Jolly max speed Tyranitar, allowing Jirachi to Iron Head Tyranitar before it can hit Jirachi with a Choice-Band boosted Earthquake.</p>
<p>If your team has a problem with Pokemon who are immune to Thunder Wave, Body Slam can be used instead, sporting a 60% chance of paralysis. However, that Jirachi will lose its ability to check Rotom-A if it runs Body Slam. Protect is a useful move that may be used over Wish to scout Choice item users. Jirachi can also run an EV spread of 176 HP / 136 SpA / 176 SpD / 20 Spe along with a Calm nature and a moveset of Psychic, Thunderbolt, Wish, and Icy Wind. These changes will allow Jirachi to better handle Starmie, Jolteon and Dragon-types. However, Jirachi loses a significant portion of its bulk and the ability to combat most physical threats due to the lack of Thunder Wave. Only choose to run this variant if your team really struggles with Starmie and Jolteon.</p>
<p>Sandstorm helps Jirachi when it is trying to stall opponents, making Tyranitar and Hippowdon important teammates because of their Sand Stream abilities. In order for Jirachi to win against Starmie, Jirachi needs a fair amount of luck. Jirachi also loses to Jolteon because Jirachi cannot paralyze it; therefore, back-up checks to Jolteon and Starmie can come in handy. Tyranitar again is useful, as it can survive an attack from either and retaliate with a strong Earthquake or STAB Crunch. The only special attackers whom Jirachi cannot reliably stand up to are Fire-types, so bulky Water-types such as Suicune and Vaporeon are great teammates. Finally, defensive Water-types can stall out Jirachi, so an Electric- or Grass-type teammate will come in handy; good candidates for this role include Rotom-A and Shaymin, respectively. Use Jirachi on semi-stall and bulky offensive teams; typically, both of these team styles fare poorly against fast and powerful special attackers, and will therefore appreciate the Wish and paralysis support that Jirachi offers.</p>