|
-
Sand Veil
- Evasion increases by 20% in a sandstorm.
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Arena Trap
- Prevents switching and increases encounter rate.
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Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
35
|
- |
211 |
274 |
- |
| Atk |
80
|
176 |
196 |
259 |
284 |
| Def |
50
|
122 |
136 |
199 |
218 |
| SpA |
50
|
122 |
136 |
199 |
218 |
| SpD |
70
|
158 |
176 |
239 |
262 |
| Spe |
120
|
248 |
276 |
339 |
372 |
Overview
Dugtrio is a force to be reckoned with in UU. Its ability to trap and kill some of the biggest threats in UU, including Blaziken, Toxicroak, Absol, and Houndoom, is a very great asset. Dugtrio's impact on stall teams has resounded throughout the tier, causing Shed Shell usage to spike from near-nonexistent numbers. On the other hand, it must have a sufficient level of support to bring down the premier walls of UU, a concept that is easy to understand, but not as simple to execute. While Dugtrio may be harder to use than one would think upon first glance, it is enough of a threat that there is no doubt that one should at least be sufficiently prepared for it.
Thanks to its high Speed stat and Arena Trap, Dugtrio has been a very reliable revenge killer since Advance. Earthquake is your primary attack, not only because it is Dugtrio's only STAB move, but also because it can score some useful OHKOs on Pokemon like Houndoom, Blaziken, and Toxicroak. Dugtrio's Dark-type move will enable it to hit Claydol, as well as Levitating Ghost-types such as Mismagius and Rotom. Which move is better will often depend on the situation. Rotom and Mismagius can easily bypass the threat of Sucker Punch by setting up a Substitute or burning Dugtrio with Will-O-Wisp. However, Sucker Punch will enable Dugtrio to revenge kill weakened enemies who either are faster or use priority moves, such as Choice Scarf Typhlosion or Aqua Jet Azumarill. Stone Edge complements Earthquake quite nicely, hitting the Flying-types who are immune to Dugtrio's Ground-type STAB move. Keep in mind, though, that many of UU's Flying-types are generally too quick for Dugtrio to handle. More often than not, Altaria, and Charizard will all be at +1 Speed by the time Dugtrio switches in to revenge kill them, and it is not uncommon to encounter a Scyther or Moltres holding a Choice Scarf.
Substitute, Dugtrio's final move, may seem like an odd choice, but it has a very important purpose: to protect Dugtrio from Sucker Punch. Absol, Toxicroak, Houndoom, and Nidoking are all easily KOed by Earthquake, but they each can hit Dugtrio with a powerful Sucker Punch before it can attack. To remedy this, use Substitute on a predicted Sucker Punch. Next turn, Dugtrio can KO its opponent while the Sucker Punch will only break the Substitute. As an added bonus, if your opponent is weakened enough, Dugtrio can retain its Substitute by KOing its enemy with a Sucker Punch of its own. Take note that an opponent may suspect that you have Substitute and break your Substitute by using another attack instead of Sucker Punch. In such cases, you will have to out-predict your foe to come out on top. While evading Sucker Punch is the main perk of using Substitute, it has a few other uses. You can use it to avoid Explosion or the occasional Counter from Registeel or Regirock that have not been weakened enough to be killed by Earthquake. Additionally, if you can switch in on a Choiced Electric-type move, you will be able to Substitute for free, which can help ease prediction and protect Dugtrio from being revenge killed itself, especially by priority moves.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
For those who feel that they cannot predict well enough to use Substitute effectively, or for those who use Choice Band over Life Orb, another option in this slot is Pursuit, which can be used to hit things like fleeing Shed Shell Chansey or a Choice Scarf Rotom locked into Thunderbolt. Beat Up is also available in the last slot because Chansey is capable of outstalling Dugtrio's Earthquakes with Wish and Protect. However, with Beat Up and a sufficiently healthy team, Dugtrio is guaranteed an OHKO on Chansey.
Both natures are viable, but make sure to note the benefits and drawbacks of both. An Adamant Dugtrio will tie with positive nature base 105 Speed Pokemon, such as Mismagius without Hidden Power Fighting and Manectric, and will fail to outspeed anything faster, such as Ambipom, and Espeon. A Jolly Dugtrio, on the other hand, will outspeed all of those and tie with other +nature Dugtrio, Alakazam, and Sceptile. The loss of power will not make you lose out on any notable OHKOs or 2HKOs, but be aware that it can be significant in some situations, mostly when taking into account random or residual damage. For example, an Adamant Choice Band Dugtrio has a good chance of 2HKOing a maximum HP / maximum Defense Bold Milotic with two layers of entry hazards laid on the field, whereas a Jolly one has barely any chance of doing so. If you are using a Jolly nature, maximizing Speed is not required, as you will only be tying with opposing Dugtrio, a rare scenario to encounter, Alakazam, who can be killed (unreliably) by Sucker Punch, and Sceptile, whom you will generally not be trying to revenge kill. You may instead use a spread of 252 Atk / 40 SpD / 216 Spe, which outruns Jolly Ambipom. The 40 Special Defense EVs will give you a better chance of surviving a +2 Vacuum Wave from Toxicroak.
As with nature, both items are also viable, and the difference in power is again mostly situational. If you use Choice Band, beware that any Pokemon can set up on Dugtrio if it is stuck on the wrong move. Being locked into Earthquake will give Pokemon such as Moltres the opportunity to fire off a powerful attack for free. A Choiced Night Slash grants an easy entrance to Blaziken and Drapion, as does Stone Edge to Nidoking and Donphan. Furthermore, if Absol happens to show up after Dugtrio eliminates something with Night Slash, Dugtrio risks being Pursuited to death, unable to do anything in return.
One thing to watch out for is your opponent setting up on Dugtrio, even more so if Dugtrio is Choiced. Because of the potency of UU's Flying-types, locking yourself into an Earthquake is one of the most dangerous things to do. If you dare to do so, make sure you can address your opponent's next Pokemon. Milotic can handle a lot of the common Flying-types, such as Moltres, Altaria, and to an extent, Scyther. It also fares well against Ground-types, who will come in on a Choiced Stone Edge, as well as most of the Fighting-types, who have no fear of Dugtrio if it is locked into Night Slash. The most dangerous Pokemon, however, are those who can set up on Dugtrio even if it's not Choiced. Torterra is the best example of this. Dugtrio must have Aerial Ace to even touch it, and even with Choice Band, it has a minuscule chance of a 2HKO. Meanwhile, Torterra can threaten a sweep with Rock Polish. Make sure you have a Pokemon like Tangrowth or Mesprit to deal with Torterra and other similar threats like Swords Dance Venusaur and Leafeon.
Shed Shell, while rare, can also be an obstacle to Dugtrio, enabling opposing Pokemon to escape the clutches of Arena Trap. It is found mainly on common walls, mostly Chansey and Registeel. To solve this problem, one can use Trick and Knock Off to rob these Pokemon of their items. Chansey will commonly switch into Espeon and Mesprit, expecting to sponge a special attack, only to have her Shed Shell Tricked away. The threat of a Grass attack from Venusaur and Tangrowth will lure Registeel into play, and Knock Off will easily strip it of its Shed Shell.
While Dugtrio is certainly fast, there is still a wide array of Choice Scarf users that outspeed the standard Revenge set. This set aims to fix this issue. With a Choice Scarf equipped, Dugtrio outruns just about all of UU and most of OU as well.
Your attacking moves are virtually the same as those on the Revenge set; however, they will all suffer a significant drop in power since you no longer have the boosts from Choice Band or Life Orb. You will still OHKO the more fragile of sweepers, as well as Pokemon with 2x or 4x weaknesses to Earthquake, such as Houndoom and Nidoking in UU, and Heatran, Infernape, and Magnezone in OU; however, you will generally have a much more difficult time scoring OHKOs and 2HKOs on bulkier Pokemon. For example, the standard Chansey will never be 2HKOed if it has Leftovers and can proceed to wear Dugtrio down with Toxic and Softboiled, barring a critical hit. Therefore, Beat Up is again worthy of consideration in Dugtrio's last moveslot. In OU, Earthquake will never OHKO min HP / min Def Tyranitar, and it can easily dispose of you with Crunch.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
With the loss of power, Dugtrio loses out on many KOs, but the additional Speed gives it a new set of targets. Dugtrio can now safely revenge kill several other Choice Scarf Pokemon, such as Blaziken, Primeape and Hitmonlee, although the latter two must have taken residual damage or a Defense drop from Close Combat for an OHKO to be guaranteed with Earthquake. Charizard with a Salac boost and Altaria with a Dragon Dance can no longer elude Dugtrio, although Altaria must have taken Stealth Rock and Life Orb damage for Stone Edge to have a chance at OHKOing it.
Adamant nature is a must. You will need as much Attack as possible if you want to reliably revenge kill several of the aforementioned threats. With 212 Speed EVs and a Choice Scarf, Dugtrio will reach 493 Speed, which will always outrun Scarfed base 100 Speed Pokémon with a positive nature, such as Typhlosion and Jirachi, as well as Omastar in the rain, Choice Scarf Heatran, Choice Scarf Heracross, and Choice Scarf Jirachi.
Using Choice Scarf Dugtrio is somewhat similar to using the Revenge set. Its weaknesses are very much the same as the Revenge set, most notably its Pursuit weakness. While it has gained the ability to more easily counter certain Speed freaks, Pokemon like Chansey and Registeel, in UU, and Tyranitar and Blissey, in OU, need to be sufficiently weakened before Dugtrio can KO them. Choice Scarf Dugtrio is usually played middle to late game, when your opposing Pokémon will have received sufficient damage. Try and build up residual damage on the Pokemon you are aiming to bring down. Using U-turn on your Swellow and Mesprit will wear down Registeel and Chansey little by little while also allowing you to sustain your momentum in the battle. Spikes from Pokemon like Roserade or Skarmory will also help a lot.
Also, make sure you utilize Dugtrio’s gigantic Speed stat. Dugtrio now even outspeeds Electrode, which means that if it dares to use Taunt or Thunderbolt, Dugtrio can easily switch into Electrode and OHKO it before it can set up rain, providing that said Electrode has a Damp Rock instead of a Focus Sash. With a Choice Scarf, you can outrun Motor Drive Electivire, and if you can predict the Thunderbolt, easily beat it. Avoid Hidden Power, though. Dugtrio can now also switch in on a Jolteon’s Shadow Ball, but sadly, Hidden Power Grass and Baton Pass are still problematic.
Other Options
Beyond the moves already listed, Dugtrio's physical movepool is pretty barren. Dugtrio can potentially be used as a lead if it runs Stealth Rock and Protect while holding a Focus Sash, though its use is very limited when compared to the other two sets. Soft Sand is an item choice on the first set. It can give opponents the impression that Dugtrio is Choiced and therefore allow Dugtrio to net a surprise KO when Pokemon such as Mismagius try to set up on it.
Checks and Counters
Bulky Grass-types such as Tangrowth, Torterra, and Leafeon are excellent counters to Dugtrio. They take little damage from anything outside of a Choice Band Aerial Ace (which still doesn't do near enough) and can KO Dugtrio with their Grass-type STAB moves, or set up on it with Rock Polish, Leech Seed, or Swords Dance. Bulky Levitators, such as Rotom and Uxie, and bulky Water-types, such as Milotic and Slowbro, are also quite efficient answers to Dugtrio. If Dugtrio is Choiced and locked into the wrong move, beware of being trapped and Pursuited by Pokemon like Absol. Speaking of trapping, Porygon2 can Trace Dugtrio's Arena Trap, forcing it to stay in, and KO it with Ice Beam. Gardevoir can do this as well; just make sure it is EVed defensively so that it can survive a Sucker Punch or Earthquake. Make sure you avoid priority moves from Pokemon such as Donphan, Azumarill, Arcanine, and Hitmontop. Finally, EV spreads bulkier than the norm can really mess Dugtrio up - be sure to consider the possibility of these randomly appearing!
