Defense HinaType:
MiasmaAbilities:
Strange Mist or
LevitateBase Stats:HP: 80
Atk: 70
Def: 135
Spd: 60
SpAtk: 75
SpDef: 70
Overview"Rapid Spin... Spin... Hina! Spin!"
If this was your thought process, then we need to talk. However, you've still made a wise decision, as Defense Hina is one of the most respected and reliable users of Rapid Spin around. Physically Defensive, Immune to Poison, one single weakness to Reason, and levitating for some reason making her immune to Spikes entirely, Defense Hina is especially hard to take down, and it's even more difficult to stop her from doing her number one job: removing Spikes from your team. Besides spinning, Hina has other great enfeebling moves to work with such as Toxic, Pain Split, Will-o-Wisp, and Confuse Ray; all of which are great options for spreading misfortune to the enemy. With such great qualities, one would wonder why Defense Hina isn't everyone's Rapid Spinner of choice!
And then we arrive at the dreaded second paragraph where we talk about the puppet's flaws. First of all, Defense Hina has no method of reliable recovery, just like many other unfortunate walls out there. Secondly, her Mono-weakness to Reason isn't all sunshine and rainbows considering the popularity of Special Reason-types and Special Reason-typed moves themselves. Thankfully, these flaws are minor being easily resolved via team support, and as a result, Defense Hina is a solid choice for just about any team in need of a Spinner.
Rapid SpinDefense Hina @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SpAtk
Relaxed nature (+Def,-Spd)
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic / Will-o-wisp
- Poison Bomb / Giga Drain
- Fire Blast / Flamethrower
Usage is simple: Come in on a Physical attacker, get rid of spikes, and if appropriate, use any of the other three moves listed. The choice between Toxic and Will-o-Wisp is up to you, but in my experiences, Physical attackers like to flee before they get hit by Will-o-Wisp, leaving you with a burned Special attacking opponent rather than a poisoned one (this is a big deal). Poison Bomb is STAB, and gets Water-types and others out of the way slowly but surely. Poison Bomb can be replaced with Giga Drain for a nice alternative recovery method while your opponent is suffering from Burn/Poison, and it scares off Technical Toyohime as an added bonus. Flamethrower or Fire Blast are mostly there so that Defense Hina isn't completely helpless against Steel-types, and they provide nice coverage on their own.
Team OptionsAdvent Alice is an outstanding team mate. She sponges any Reason-type attacks aimed at Defense Hina, and she can use the opportunity while she's out to throw up a Wish or Heal Bell. On the offensive, Speed Youmu or Youki have no problem sponging Reason-type moves and setting up Swords Dance/Tailwind.
I find that Defense Hina pairs off well with Dark-types too. Defense Hina has no problem taking Faith, Heart, and Physical Steel-typed attacks aimed at Dark-types. Just make sure you take note of what you're switching in to; for example, many puppets with Heart moves like to carry Reason moves for added coverage.
Other OptionsThere are quite a few moves that Defense Hina could make use of. There's Confuse Ray, Pain Split, Counter, Explosion, Knock Off, Surf, and Thunderbolt. Pain Split really catches my eye, but I personally am not a very good user of it. Hina's Attack and Special Attack stats aren't too far off, so Explosion doesn't seem like a bad option either. You could play around with the latter two moves if you wish to try any of these out.
CountersAs previously mentioned, Specially based Reason-type attacks are the bane of Defense Hina's existence. Powerful Reason sweepers like Advent Reisen, Rikako, and Yumemi tend to force out Defense Hina quite effortlessly. Steel-types are a given, as they're immune to poison and can Spin-block, but they must be wary of Flamethrower and Fire Blast. Keine and Speed Yorihime are two great Steel picks that prey on Defense Hina's weaker SpDef stat and can set up Calm Minds; if you can get either of those two in on Defense Hina while she's using Rapid spin, then her time in the fray would be wasted.