Donphan has a lot of useful selling points, but perhaps the most notable of these is Rapid Spin. With Stealth Rock flying around everywhere, the ability to remove the floating rocks can be a great asset to every team. Earthquake is always a great move, especially when you have STAB and an impressive Attack stat to back it up, like Donphan. Unlike that of his fellow spinning Ground-type, Claydol, Donphan's Earthquake packs quite a punch and can start to take its toll on sturdy Ghosts like Dusknoir and Spiritomb, who will block his spinning attempts. Ice Shard is a really awesome attack on Donphan, because not only does it bypass Donphan's rather pitiful Speed, but it hits the ever threatening Dragons incredibly hard and can also take down other speedy, weakened foes; unfortunately, its pitiful base power will let Donphan down against anything that it isn't 4x effective on. The final slot has a few options for you to choose from, depending mostly on your team needs. Stone Edge helps to prevent Gyarados getting in for free and is more powerful than Ice Shard against most Flying-types. Besides spinning away Stealth Rock, Donphan can also set it up, thus providing a further service to his team mates. Knock Off is just an excellent move and Donphan can make a real nuisance of himself with it, removing Leftovers from tanks like Swampert and Suicune. Removing Leftovers from Dusknoir can really help Donphan to wear the Ghost down, leaving him free to Rapid Spin without fear of being blocked. Finally you have Roar should your team be in need of a phazer, a role which Donphan fills quite effectively.
Slow, but very powerful and still capable of taking a hit or two. One advantage of using a Choice Band Donphan is to hammer Ghosts that switch in, expecting to block his attempts to Rapid Spin. This also takes full advantage of Donphan's very impressive base 120 Attack. Many potential switch-ins on him are special attackers, who tend to be rather weak defensively and will be unable to withstand powered up hits. Starmie for example, is very likely OHKOed by an Earthquake, while Gengar can be OHKOed with Stone Edge and Sceptile can take a whopping 81% from Ice Shard. Ice Shard also becomes a fantastic tool for slaying Dragons with the boost from Choice Band, OHKOing most Salamence and stripping off around 85% from Garchomp. Fire Fang provides Donphan with his most powerful attack against Bronzong, although a 2HKO is unlikely. Skarmory will also fail to be 2HKOed, but you can do up to 48% to the flying menace. Rapid Spin can go in the last slot to remove spiking moves after Donphan has removed the Ghosts who block it, but you're generally better employing another Rapid Spinner for this task. Other OptionsBody Slam can provide paralysis but doesn't offer much in the way of type coverage. Thunder Fang is only of use for Gyarados, although Stone Edge does plenty of damage already. Counter works fairly well with Donphan's high Defense and can grab a surprise KO when facing something like a Heracross Megahorn. Assurance works with Stealth Rock and hits such threats as Starmie and Dusknoir hard. Poison Jab is his most powerful weapon against most Grass-types, but the poor coverage it offers otherwise make it a lesser option. Rock Polish, Endeavor, and Flail are all on offer, but are rather gimmicky options for Donphan. EVsThe Rapid Spin set should have max HP and Defense to soak up physical hits and an Impish nature. Choice Bander should have Adamant and max Attack, the remainder can go in HP. Some investment can be made in Speed to outrun and possibly 2HKO Swampert. 20 Speed EVs hits 141, outrunning Relaxed Swampert. 84 Speed EVs will outrun Impish versions. This assumes no Speed EVs on Swampert. Although it requires max Speed, you can aim for 199 to beat minimum Speed Milotic, who will be always 2HKOed by an Earthquake. OpinionDonphan got some very good boosts to his previously barren movepool. Knock Off and Stealth Rock are excellent moves and bulky Donphan has no problem using them effectively. Ice Shard helps make him a decent counter for most physical oriented Dragons too. As was mentioned in the Support set, Rapid Spin is one of Donphan's most useful moves. With the list of Spinners being relatively short, and those that can use it effectively shorter still, Donphan should be one of the first Pokémon you consider if you are in need of spin support. Donphan's main flaw as a spinner is that a battler must send him in before or during the turn the opponent is setting up Toxic Spikes. If you fail to do so, Donphan will be poisoned and without a reliable recovery move, he will not be able to Rapid Spin for you much longer. The sturdy elephant is not the most spectacular Pokémon around, but he is a solid and reliable supporter who can also hit hard when the need arises. CountersMost Water-types can take him down with ease. Swampert, Suicune, and Milotic are good examples although they won't enjoy CB Earthquakes. Ludicolo's Ground resistance makes him an even better choice. Grass-types in general make great counters, particularly the more defensive minded ones, like Tangrowth and Celebi. Bronzong only fears a CB Fire Fang and can bring down Donphan with Grass Knot. Skarmory is technically a counter, since Donphan can't really hurt him much while it takes repeated Brave Birds or Drill Pecks. However, since Skarmory's primary purpose is laying down Spikes and/or Stealth Rock, one could argue that Donphan is actually "countering" Skarmory by spinning away his set up. Cresselia makes an excellent counter thanks to her high HP and Defense and Earthquake immunity. Ice Beam, Energy Ball, and Grass Knot finish Donphan. In order of how much damage Donphan does to them, Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf will also work in a similar fashion. Azelf is the defensively weakest of the group, so watch out of CB Stone Edges, which won't OHKO but take a big chunk of his HP. It's fine against the standard Donphan with Ice Shard, though. Any decently powered special attack that isn't a Thunderbolt should at least 2HKO. Donphan's Special Defense is terrible, so prey on that and he should fall easily. |
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