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-
Swarm
- Boosts power of Bug-type moves by 50% when at 1/3 HP or less.
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Hustle
- Physical moves do 50% more damage at the cost of 20% accuracy. Increases wild encounter rate with higher level Pokemon.
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Truant
- The wielder does nothing every other turn.
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Level 50 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
58
|
- |
133 |
165 |
- |
| Atk |
109
|
116 |
129 |
161 |
177 |
| Def |
112
|
118 |
132 |
164 |
180 |
| SpA |
48
|
61 |
68 |
100 |
110 |
| SpD |
48
|
61 |
68 |
100 |
110 |
| Spe |
109
|
116 |
129 |
161 |
177 |
Overview
With a fantastic base 109 Speed that allows it to outspeed the majority of the metagame, a great boosting ability in Hustle, an awesome Attack stat, and a Bug / Steel typing that gives it two potent STABs, Durant has all the tools required to be a dangerous late-game sweeper in RU. It also gets an interesting boosting move in Hone Claws, which patches up the accuracy loss from its ability and makes it a solid boosting sweeper. Unfortunately, Durant's terrible base 58 HP, base 48 Special Defense, and weakness to common Fire-type special attacks make it easy to take down, and this is compounded by the fact that Fire-types such as Moltres, Entei, and Typhlosion are common in RU. Furthermore, its two main STAB attacks lack some much desired Base Power. Still, team support can remedy this issue to an extent, and Durant thus finally gets its chance to shine at least in the lower tiers.
This set works around two main things: Hustle and Durant's access to Hone Claws. Hustle increases Durant's Attack but lowers its accuracy, which makes Hone Claws the perfect move for it; Hone Claws not only increases its accuracy, but also its Attack, which are both key elements for a sweep. Iron Head and X-Scissor are reliable, powerful STAB moves, hitting a large range of threats very hard. Superpower is preferred for the last slot as it allows Durant to annihilate Aggron and Steelix, as well as give Durant a move to weaken Poliwrath for a teammate. Rock Slide hits Flying- and Fire-types such as Entei, Moltres, and Typhlosion for super effective damage, providing excellent overall coverage.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Since this set is dedicated to making Durant a sweeper, Life Orb is overall the better choice of item despite this decreasing Durant's survivability. The EV spread is standard for most physical attackers, maximizing Durant's Attack and Speed. A Jolly nature is necessary to allow Durant to outspeed the many threatening Fire-types occupying the base 100 Speed tier, such as Typhlosion. While Durant sports a weakness to only Fire-type attacks, any special attacking Choice Scarf user can pose a huge threat to it. Most specially defensive Pokemon thus compliment Durant quite well; Clefable, Lanturn, and Slowking are particularly good teammates as they can take on Fire-types with gusto and can switch into most special attackers pretty easily as well. Most strong physical attackers, such as Absol and Gallade, appreciate Durant's ability to wear down physical walls in order to help them sweep.
The main purpose of this set is to capitalize on Durant's excellent base 109 Attack. It is based on the concept of high-risk, high-return: despite its great offensive presence, the unreliable accuracy of Durant's moves due to Hustle can be a major issue at times. Nonetheless, this set allows Durant to OHKO or 2HKO defensive threats such as Uxie and Poliwrath, and can be used over the Hone Claws set if one feels that Durant doesn't have many opportunities to set up. Iron Head and X-Scissor are excellent STAB moves, while Rock Slide gains coverage on Flying- and Fire-type threats. Stone Edge is viable, but its low accuracy is off-putting on such a specially frail Pokemon. Superpower rounds off Durant's coverage, hitting the bulky Water-types, particularly Poliwrath, for good damage as well as letting Durant blow past Aggron and Steelix without breaking a sweat.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
This set functions well as a wallbreaker, allowing Durant to take down defensive threats and give a teammate or even itself an opening to sweep. Choice Band is the preferred item on this set as it grants the extra power Durant needs. Entry hazard support is always nice, ensuring several crucial KOs and 2HKOs.
Durant is threatened by Fire-type moves, as well as special attacking Choice Scarf users. This variant of Durant will likely be switching more especially with Choice Band, giving type synergy greater importance. Slowking and Lanturn thus make great teammates, as they both have excellent synergy with Durant.
Other Options
Durant has a very bare-bones movepool, so there really aren't any other options to consider. Thunder Fang can be used to nab a super effective hit on Poliwrath and Qwilfish, but offers nothing else apart from that, and Superpower gives Durant a strong hit on Poliwrath anyway at +1. Baton Pass can be used in conjunction with Hone Claws and / or Rock Polish. Substitute can be used on the Hone Claws set to avoid crippling paralysis or burn, but this significantly reduces Durant's coverage.
Checks and Counters
Qwilfish is a solid counter to Durant; it resists both of Durant's STAB moves, and its Intimidate ability lowers Durant's Attack. Poliwrath is a close second as it resists both of Durant's STAB moves as well as Rock Slide, and can either phaze Durant out with Circle Throw if it's at +1 or take it out with Scald at +0. Rotom is the next best option, as it resists all of Durant's moves bar Rock Slide and can either burn it with Will-O-Wisp or KO it with Thunderbolt. Steel-types such as Steelix, Escavalier, and Aggron barely get scratched by Durant's attacks bar Superpower, and can Roar it out (in the case of Steelix and Aggron) or deal a huge amount of damage (in the case of Escavalier and Aggron). Moltres resists all of Durant's moves unless it carries Rock Slide, and can OHKO with a Fire-type move; other Fire-type Pokemon such as Entei and Emboar also work well, but must be careful of being worn down by Superpower. Faster Pokemon, including Choice Scarf users, with powerful special attacks also take out Durant without too much fuss. Sceptile and Accelgor both outspeed Durant and can OHKO with Focus Blast. Tauros and Swellow also outspeed and can do heavy damage. Choice Scarf users such as Manectric, Rotom-C, and Primeape can revenge kill Durant. One risky option that you should take note of is Magneton; it can trap and OHKO Durant with Hidden Power Fire, but is slower unless it is holding a Choice Scarf and will be OHKOed by Superpower. Finally, status—both burn and paralysis—is a big issue for Durant as well, as it then becomes complete dead weight.
