Level 5 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
50
|
- |
21 |
24 |
- |
| Atk |
75
|
12 |
14 |
17 |
18 |
| Def |
85
|
13 |
15 |
18 |
19 |
| SpA |
20
|
7 |
8 |
11 |
12 |
| SpD |
30
|
8 |
9 |
12 |
13 |
| Spe |
40
|
9 |
10 |
13 |
14 |
Overview
At first glance, there appears to be no reason to run Sandshrew in LC, as Drilbur has superior stats in every area bar Defense. However, Sandshrew's excellent Attack and Defense make it a good Sand Rush user in its own right. Sandshrew is especially effective as a partner to Drilbur; both can weaken each other's checks and counters while threatening to sweep the opponent's team. This ability to support Drilbur in overwhelming the other team's counters to sand teams is Sandshrew's niche in Little Cup.
Sandshrew can use its excellent Defense, high Attack, and access to Sand Rush to easily nab a Swords Dance boost and wreak havoc upon the opposing team. After a Swords Dance, Adamant and Jolly Sandshrew reach a monstrous 36 and 34 Attack, respectively. +2 Sandshrew can OHKO Scraggy and Misdreavus and, with minimal residual damage, Mienfoo, as well as 2HKO Hippopotas, Ferroseed, and Lileep. Adamant Sandshrew can also OHKO Timburr with a boosted Earthquake after Stealth Rock, so even a slightly weakened team will be hard pressed to withstand Sandshrew's onslaught. This power means that it Sandshrew can forgo Life Orb for Eviolite to increase its bulk and obtain more opportunities to set up. With its high Defense, Sandshrew can set up easily on all but the strongest physical attackers; Sandshrew can actually come in on +1 Scraggy, use Swords Dance as it survives everything short of a rare +1 Life Orb Hi Jump Kick, and OHKO with Earthquake. Earthquake serves as Sandshrew's strong and reliable STAB, hitting most Pokemon in LC for solid damage and allowing Sandshrew to be extremely threatening after a Swords Dance. Rock Slide complements Earthquake's coverage by hitting the Flying-types that are immune to Ground-type attacks and the Bug-types that resist Earthquake hard; it OHKOes Murkrow and Shelmet after Stealth Rock. Night Slash completes Sandshrew's coverage, OHKOing Misdreavus and Exeggcute and dealing neutral damage to Bronzor to help wear it down for Drilbur.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Drilbur, after Hippopotas, is obviously the most important partner for Sandshrew, as Sandshrew's main niche is breaking down Drilbur's checks for Drilbur to clean up—or benefitting from Drilbur doing the same. Bronzor can check the pair with its typing and Levitate, but only 4HKOes Sandshrew with Flash Cannon, while Sandshrew's +2 Night Slash 3HKOes. A better check to Sandshrew and Drilbur—and a Pokemon that poses a severe threat to Sandstorm teams in general—is Snover. Choice Scarf Snover outspeeds both Sandshrew and Drilbur, removes the Sandstorm that feeds the Sand Rush duo's blazing Speed stats, and OHKOes them with Blizzard. Although already a threat to Sandstorm teams, Snover poses an particular threat to "Double Rush" due to the restrictions in synergy caused by running three Ground-types. Scarf Porygon is another check that is an issue for Sandshrew, as it uses Trace to take advantage of Sandshrew's Sand Rush to kill it with a super effective Ice Beam. Munchlax, despite its low usage, is actually an excellent choice to deal with Snover and Porygon, as its immense special bulk and Thick Fat ability allow it to take little from their attacks and either OHKO Snover and 2HKO Porygon with Return or deal heavy damage with Pursuit as they switch out. Munchlax also draws in weaker physical attackers that Sandshrew can easily set up on. Shell Smash Tirtouga is another issue for Sandshrew, as it can use Sturdy to get an opportunity to use Shell Smash and OHKO Sandshrew with +2 Aqua Jet. Lileep serves an excellent check to Tirtouga and the numerous other Water-types populating LC, contributing greatly to a sand team's synergy thanks to its immunity to Water-type moves. Croagunk is also an excellent teammate, countering Tirtouga, providing an immunity to Water-type attacks, and threatening opposing Snover, Porygon, and Lileep with STAB Fighting-type attacks. Most teams' final way of attempting to defeat Drilbur and Sandshrew lies in priority. However, even Murkrow's Life Orb Sucker Punch is unable to do more than 60% to Sandshrew. Magnemite can still help against Murkrow should Sandshrew be weakened, and is also able to trap and KO Bronzor.
Sandshrew can forgo Swords Dance's potential to sweep teams in order to use its bulk, power, and Speed to assist its team with Rapid Spin and revenge killing, freeing up Drilbur to run a more offensive set. With this EV spread, Sandshrew hits 24 Speed in sand, outspeeding all unboosted Pokemon in Little Cup as well as many Choice Scarf wielders. Sandshrew still outspeeds +1 Scraggy—and can still successfully revenge kill it—but it is outsped by +2 Clamperl and can only tie with 16 Speed Pokemon wielding Choice Scarfs. Even without Swords Dance, Sandshrew remains powerful, 2HKOing Misdreavus on the switch with Night Slash to prevent it from blocking Rapid Spin. Earthquake is Sandshrew's main STAB attack. Rock Slide and Night Slash allow Sandshrew to threaten Flying- and Ghost-types, respectively. Stealth Rock can be run over either coverage move to free up a moveslot for teammates such as Hippopotas and Lileep, but this compromises Sandshrew's revenge killing and spinning abilities.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The teammates for this set are very similar to the Swords Dance set. Sandshrew should be run with Hippopotas and Drilbur; Sandshrew needs sand support in order to be effective, and Drilbur is often the better choice for teams only wishing to run one Sand Rush user. Unlike the Swords Dance set, this set cannot muscle through Bronzor at all, so Magnemite makes a good teammate to trap and KO it. Magnemite also threatens Water-types and resists Snover's STAB attacks, providing further help for Sandstorm teams. Lileep and Ferroseed also counter unboosted Sandshrew, so Croagunk makes for a good partner, resisting their Grass-type attacks and destroying them with super effective Fighting-type moves while also serving as an excellent counter to many Water-types in LC. This set is more about supporting its teammates than receiving support, so Pokemon that enjoy having entry hazards consistently removed make for great teammates. Drifloon is one such Pokemon, being Stealth Rock weak and also having its weaknesses to Rock- and Electric-type attacks covered by Sandshrew. Sandshrew defeats the Steel- and Electric-type Pokemon that resist Drifloon's attacks, while Drifloon beats Grass-types like Shroomish that utterly wall Sandshrew. Drifloon is also able to threaten the only Pokemon that can consistently block Sandshrew's Rapid Spin: Frillish. Other Pokemon that can handle Frillish such as Lileep and Misdreavus have good synergy with Sandshrew and make naturally good partners.
Other Options
The sets listed above are Sandshrew's most viable options in Little Cup. An all-out Life Orb attacking set might seem effective, but it is better done by Drilbur; Eviolite takes better advantage of Sandshrew's nice Defense stat. In nearly all cases, Sandshrew should not be run without sand, and should not be run without Drilbur; Sandshrew's main niche in LC is its place on teams with Hippopotas and Drilbur. Sand Veil sets, perhaps even utilizing Bulldoze, have some potential due to Sandshrew's bulk and power, but are not as effective as ones running Sand Rush. Sandshrew also has other support options such as Knock Off and Super Fang, but it has difficulty finding moveslots with which to use them.
Checks and Counters
Scarf Snover checks all Sandshrew, removing the sand it relies on and OHKOing with Blizzard. Lileep can take a hit from boosted Sandshrew and Giga Drain to take advantage of Sandshrew's weaker Special Defense stat. Hippopotas can also withstand Sandshrew's attacks and Roar to reset its boosts. Bronzor is immune to Earthquake, resists Rock Slide, and is only 3HKOed by +2 Night Slash. However, Bronzor's unimpressive base 24 Special Attack prevents it from doing substantial damage to Sandshrew, rendering Bronzor unable to consistently defeat Swords Dance variants. Priority such as Murkrow's Sucker Punch and Totodile's Aqua Jet can help to take down Sandshrew, but it needs to be weakened substantially first. Drilbur, a faster Sand Rush user, can also KO Sandshrew after it has taken some prior damage. Scarf Porygon Traces Sand Rush, outspeeds, and OHKOes with Ice Beam. Scarf Misdreavus Speed ties with Jolly Sandshrew but cannot OHKO Sandshrew cleanly and is KOed by even an unboosted Night Slash. Tirtouga can easily set up a Shell Smash against sand teams and OHKO Sandshrew with +2 Aqua Jet. Bulky Grass-types, such as Shroomish, Foonguss, Chikorita, and Turtwig, are hard stops for Sandshrew. Cottonee can Encore Sandshrew's Swords Dance or Rapid Spin to allow another Pokemon to set up. Frillish stops Sandshrew from spinning away entry hazards and threatens to deal heavy damage with Scald. Finally, Focus Sash Abra checks Sandshrew, but can only KO after Sandshrew has been weakened.
