Avalugg or Ferrothorn?

Question

This is for a team I am making, not for competitive battling or anything, just to try some new stuff

If I use the Avalugg, I will have to try and work with a hail team, but it has very well defense and mirror coat, and if I use the Ferrothorn, I may have to repeat what I did with the Avalugg and breed a setup move onto it.

You guys are pros at this, I know you can come up with something good <3

Answer 1

Both of them are great in their own ways. Let's take a look:

Ferrothorn

This guy has great Defense (base 131) and almost as great Special Defense (base 116). While it's a great lead and a good Spikes/Stealth Rock user, it has a major weakness to Fire, one of the very common types used in competitive play. Mega Charizard Y + Drought + Flamethrower = Death to Ferrothorn.

But even with Ferrothorn's big weakness, it has a bunch of resistances to make up for it. It resists 10 types, and 6 types only do neutral damage.

Due to its Grass Typing, moves such as Spore or Stun Spore will not effect it. This can be useful for those who use Pokemon such as Breloom + Spore or Venomoth + Sleep Powder/Stun Spore.

As for movesets, most Ferrothorn I see have this:

Ferrothorn@Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Nature: Impish/Relaxed
EVs: 252 Special Defense, 200 Defense, 58 Attack
Moveset:
Gyro Ball
Stealth Rock
Spikes
Seed Bomb/Power Whip

Avalugg

I myself haven't used this Pokemon, though it looks like a pretty great physical wall. It has monstrous Defense (base 184) and great Attack (base 117). However, unlike Ferrothorn, it doesn't have the Special Defense (a measly base 46) to really take a special attacking move (unless it wasn't very effective). However, the great thing about Avalugg is that it has access to Mirror Coat through breeding, as Dragonsmasher stated.

Another downfall is that Avalugg is just a plain Ice type. It is weak to so many more moves, and only resists one type, which is Ice, its own typing. Almost any special move could take this guy out. However, it has access to Sturdy, which is its hidden/Friend Safari ability. With Sturdy, it would be able to tank a Flamethrower or an Aura Sphere, and use Mirror Coat to wreck major havoc on the opponent's team.

Here is a recommended moveset for this giant ice... alligator... monster thing.

Avalugg@Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy/Ice Body
Nature: Careful/Impish
EVs: 252 Special Defense, 100 HP, 100 Attack 58 Defense
Moveset:
Mirror Coat
Ice Fang/Avalanche
Earthquake
Curse

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In conclusion, though both Pokemon are great, I think Ferrothorn would be a better choice. However, we are all subject to our own opinions as to who we think is better, right? Go with your gut, or try raising both for different teams!

Answer 2

Whatever role or Pokemon depends on the situation of the team you are making. If you are looking for a 5th Pokemon, you might use something that would complete or balance out the team's synergy or maybe to counter a Pokemon that gives your team a bad time. I'm not so sure, but it sounds like you don't really have a team or are really set out on what you want your team to be. Like I said, you just want something to complete your team as a whole. I still don't know what your team is, so I'll just tell you straight up what these Pokemon do.

Avalugg

![ava][1]
It looks pretty decent as a physical tank, a monstrous 180 Defense and 95 base HP make it tank physical hits and can throw out a lot of damage, but that's pretty much it for Avalugg. Its best Ice STAB is Ice Fang with only a mediocre 65 Base Attack, so its not like it can just spam powerful STAB moves like other tanks could, it does get EdgeQuake however. It also gets Ice Body which can make it real annoying, but I wouldn't make a Hail team, which is quite ineffective anyway, just to use this guy. The only real reason I would use this thing is if I needed Rapid Spin, but so many other Pokemon outclass it for that (Forretress). It has a crap typing making it weak to SR, Fighting, Fire, and more, but only resists Ice, not exactly what you need to tank hits. Also, its Special bulk is puny, but it could make use of Assault Vest. What really makes this thing hard to use is that its hard to take advantage of its physically based stats.

Avalugg @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sturdy / Own Tempo
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, - SAtk)
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Fang / Avalanche
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

Doesn't seem all that bad, but it does lack some recovery. Also, Excadrill clearly outclasses this as an Assault Vest Spinner and it has a much better typing. Still, this thing will obtain +300 in each Defensive stat making it able to wall anything without a super-effective attack.

Ferrothorn

![ferro][2]
In terms of viability, Ferrothorn serves a much more coveted role on teams. It gets the ability to lay out hazards and its typing is something to admire. It doesn't require a certain team to be used effectively and has one of the best (and annoying) abilities in the game. Leech Seed is another way for Ferro to get some health and sap some from the opponent. It also has a great defensive spread able to sponge most attacks and it can shut down a Pokemon with Knock Off. It can pretty much fit into any team or defensive core with the synergy and hazards it supplies.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 200 HP / 56 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock / Spikes
- Leech Seed / Knock Off
- Thunder Wave / Gyro Ball / Stealth Rock
- Power Whip

This is pretty much the set I use, mixed defensive sponging stats and support from hazards or paralysis support. Like most sets with an introduction right before it, its self-explanatory asf.
[1]: http://www.pkparaiso.com/imagenes/xy/sprites/animados/avalugg.gif
[2]: http://www.pkparaiso.com/imagenes/xy/sprites/animados/ferrothorn.gif