|
-
Sturdy
- If the wielder is at full HP, it will survive any attack. OHKO moves will fail.
-
Soundproof
- Unaffected by sound moves.
|
Level 50 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
60
|
- |
135 |
167 |
- |
| Atk |
52
|
64 |
72 |
104 |
114 |
| Def |
168
|
169 |
188 |
220 |
242 |
| SpA |
47
|
60 |
67 |
99 |
108 |
| SpD |
138
|
142 |
158 |
190 |
209 |
| Spe |
30
|
45 |
50 |
82 |
90 |
Overview
A quick look at Bastiodon's resistances and you might be forgiven for thinking it will be invulnerable in NU; largely thanks to its partial Steel typing, it boasts a total of nine resistances, two of those resisted twice over, and an immunity. In truth, however, Bastiodon's typing is a double-edged sword. With its many resistances come a few crippling 4x weaknesses to Fighting- and Ground-type moves. In its favor is the fact that NU has far fewer Fighting-types than other tiers, but anything carrying Fighting- or Ground-type moves is Bastiodon's executioner. In addition, it faces competition for its niche from Probopass, Golem, and Regirock, all having a host of similar resistances. It may go without saying, but Bastiodon is no offensive powerhouse, either. What Bastiodon does have, however, is an absolutely immense support movepool. Play to its strengths, or rather to its defenses, and Bastiodon will be the protector it was designed to be.
Bastiodon's wide support movepool grants it great utility, and its good defenses ensure that the support it provides in these roles is reliable. This set allows Bastiodon to support the team with entry hazards in the form of Stealth Rock, phaze with Roar, and cripple opposing Pokemon with Toxic or alternatively stall with Protect in the third slot. Let the presence of other poison-inflicting moves on your team inform your choice here, as a team with Toxic Spikes support already may be better off with Bastiodon running Protect. The final slot lets Bastiodon dish out a little STAB damage with Stone Edge or Iron Head. Iron Head doesn't quite pack the same punch as Stone Edge, but you might welcome the chance to force flinches. Using an attacking move in the last slot also saves Bastiodon from being rendered useless by Taunt.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The given EV spread bulks Bastiodon's Special Defense up to be on par with its Defense, but pumping some EVs into its Attack stat is also an option, giving those STAB moves a little more stopping power. Rock Slide combines the coverage of Stone Edge with the flinch chance from Iron Head, but Bastiodon's base 52 Attack makes this difficult to justify carrying. You might consider giving Bastiodon a Taunt of its own to prevent sweepers from setting up and walls from recovering, but rather obviously, Bastiodon is slow, making this difficult to do. You can get a little more longevity out of Bastiodon's bulk and support role with Rest on this set, but this requires support on your team from a cleric to ensure that Bastiodon won't be a sitting duck. As for teammates, a number of Pokemon have great synergy with Bastiodon. Weezing will stop Torterra and Sawk from crushing it, and Altaria, Miltank, Gardevoir, and Lickilicky can all fill the aforementioned cleric support role. Another way to get a little more out of Bastiodon is with Wish support from Alomomola and Gardevoir, both of which will again make great teammates.
Metal Burst and Bastiodon's ability, Sturdy, combine perfectly in this set to ensure Bastiodon can take an enormous hit from the opponent and then return fire. They are the only really important parts of this set, and as a result, the three remaining moveslots are variable and should be filled to suit the rest of your team. Bastiodon can provide status support in the form of Toxic, phaze with Roar or set up entry hazards with Stealth Rock. Taunt can hopefully stop an opponent from setting up on Bastiodon or Taunting it instead, but if you decide to go this route, keep Bastiodon's extremely low Speed in mind. It is an asset on this set, but not when using Taunt. You might want to run an attack in the last slot as an alternate defense against Taunt, and should this be the case, Stone Edge is Bastiodon's strongest STAB attack and your best bet.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Bastiodon needs the lowest Speed possible to ensure that the opponent attacks first in order for retaliation with Metal Burst to work. This means not only no Speed EVs, but also a Speed IV of 0. For a more offensive variant of this set, consider forgoing one of the support moves listed and carrying Earthquake alongside Stone Edge. As Sturdy will keep Bastiodon hanging on with 1 HP, Rapid Spin support in the team is a must to keep pesky hazards from chipping away that final Hit Point. Armaldo and Torkoal are reliable teammates to Bastiodon, but sadly share weaknesses with it, so bear this in mind when running them together. Wartortle, on the other hand, shares none of Bastiodon's weaknesses and will provide the much needed Rapid Spin support. Also consider that this set can be a surprise to and completely annihilate Ground- and Fighting-type attackers who will otherwise have considered Bastiodon cannon fodder. This makes Bastiodon a great teammate to any Pokemon who needs these types out of the way to get to work—Curse Miltank and Curse Regirock, for instance, would both appreciate this set on their team.
Other Options
Running Torment can really frustrate opponents thanks to Bastiodon's host of resistances—many Pokemon won't carry more than one move that will give Bastiodon any trouble. Running Toxic with Torment, or with Toxic Spikes support on the team, allows Bastiodon to soak up hits every other turn whilst the opponent's HP dwindles. If you pair Block with Toxic, Bastiodon can force the opponent to stay in and stall them to death with Substitute or Protect, but bear in mind that outside of Leftovers, Bastiodon has no reliable recovery, so your mileage may vary. Be especially wary not to trap a Fighting- or Ground-type attacker that Bastiodon cannot outlast. Counter is an option but frankly a defunct one — the Metal Burst set does the same job and better. Amazingly, Bastiodon has access to an enormous special movepool including Thunder, Thunderbolt, Blizzard, Ice Beam, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, AncientPower, and Flash Cannon. The downside of course is that Bastiodon's Special Attack is abysmal, rendering this vast array of moves useless.
Rock Blast is worth consideration to break through Substitute utilized by Kadabra, Haunter, Glaceon, and Rotom-F. It will also chip away the HP of Gorebyss and the like. Bastiodon also has access to more circumstantial moves such as Smack Down, Rock Tomb, and Heavy Slam, which make for some interesting possibilities, but for the most part, you won't want to sacrifice a slot that could otherwise be used for the harder hitting variants of these moves without the secondary effects, like Stone Edge. Rock Polish makes it possible for Bastiodon to overcome its terrible Speed with enough room to set up, but its Attack stat also needs some work to make it a viable sweeper, and the only way to boost its attack is with Curse. A set with Rock Polish, Curse, and an attack might be viable later in the game, if you can snipe Pokemon particularly threatening to Bastiodon beforehand. Iron Defense boosts Bastiodon's Defense by two stages, making it even bulkier, but boosting its Defense is a little redundant considering its other utility options. Screech, Metal Sound, and Swagger are all accessible to Bastiodon and will force switches, but Toxic is generally favorable over all three for the residual damage.
Checks and Counters
If it wasn't apparent already, any remotely bulky Fighting- or Ground-type attacker is big trouble for Bastiodon. That means Sawk, Torterra, Golurk, and even Pinsir will send it packing. Thanks to Bastiodon's abysmal Attack stat, most physical walls shouldn't have a problem with it, even if Stone Edge hits them super effectively. The number one thing to remember with Bastiodon—aside from its glaring double weaknesses—is that in spite of its bulk, it has no reliable recovery. Capitalize on these two points, and Bastiodon will go down easily.
