Donphan
Status: Ready for QC checks I guess?
[Overview]
- Donphan is still a great Rapid Spinner who has the ability to severely threaten spinblockers such as Mismagius and Rotom.
- Sturdy has given Donphan a nice buff, since if necessary, you can keep Donphan in against something nasty to Rapid Spin or such.
- Unfortunately, with the advent of bulkier Ghosts such as Dusclops and Cofagrigus, it becomes harder for Donphan to successfully Rapid Spin, even with the enormous power behind his attacks.
- Donphan also suffers from new, stronger threats who can deal more damage to him.
- Hitmontop is also now a bigger competitor as a Rapid Spinner, as priority is almost necessary now to check most faster threats.
name: Offensive Rapid Spin
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stealth Rock / Ice Shard
move 4: Head Smash / Stone Edge / Ice Shard
item: Leftovers
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
- Hits harder than the previous set which allows him to beat more spin blockers.
- Can also pose a huge threat with Max Attack STAB Earthquakes off Base 120 Attack.
- Donphan is still fairly bulky, so he can still check some threats.
- Donphan has plenty of opportunities to set up Stealth Rock due to his ability to Rapid Spin.
- Stone Edge nails levitating Ghosts for reasonable damage and provides good coverage alongside Earthquake.
- Ice Shard is for priority; allows Donphan to check frailer, Ice weak sweepers.
- Max Attack for power, HP for bulk.
- 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Def for more physical bulk but less special
- Assurance can hit Ghosts super effectively, but is usually inferior to Stone Edge, Ice Shard, or Stealth Rock.
- Similar to the last set in that entry hazard weak Pokemon appreciate Donphan's support.
- However, this Donphan works better on more offensively oriented teams who appreciate Donphan's ability to Rapid Spin in addition to his power.
name: Defensive Rapid Spin
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Roar / Odor Sleuth
move 4: Stealth Rock
item: Leftovers
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
- Bulky spinner designed to last throughout the match.
- Great Defense allows him to check many threats.
- Earthquake for reasonably strong STAB.
- Roar to phaze, scout, and rack up damage with entry hazards. Also prevents anything immune to Ground from setting up on Donphan.
- Stealth Rock support is always cool.
- Odor Sleuth is an option over Roar if you feel that Donphan needs to be able to consistently Rapid Spin, but Roar is usually better.
- Knock Off is cool over Odor Sleuth to cripple Ghost-types that switch in.
- Max Defense investment for the most bulk.
- Specially defensive spread for mixed bulk?
- Rest with appropriate cleric support.
- Pokemon who dislike taking entry hazard damage make good partners; Victini, Yanmega, Arcanine, Staraptor, etc.
- More suited for teams in need of something bulky that can consistently spin; better on balanced teams.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Head Smash / Stone Edge
move 3: Ice Shard / Toxic
move 4: Rapid Spin
item: Choice Band
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
- Just hits really hard.
- Surprises opponents who expect a standard tank Donphan, only to be blown away by this set's power.
- Earthquake hits hard and gets STAB; it's not particularly good to simply spam though due to all the Ground resists in UU.
- Stone Edge complements Earthquake well, and it smashes through most Pokemon who are immune to Earthquake.
- Rapid Spin is good to remove hazards, especially since this set can dispose of Ghosts somewhat easily.
- Head Smash just hits extremely hard, but the recoil can be undesirable.
- Ice Shard can be used over Rapid Spin to allow Donphan to revenge some Pokemon.
- Speed EVs are basically useless since Donphan is so slow, so the EVs go into HP for bulk.
- Good for teams that need Ghost-types out of the way since Donphan tends to lure them in and he can dispose of them easily.
- Lv 25 Sturdy abuse with Endeavor.
- Rock Polish to attempt a sweep.
- Assorted physical attacks (Seed Bomb, Superpower, Bounce)
- Counter + Sturdy.
- Cofagrigus and Dusclops are pains to Rapid Spin against. Unless Donphan has Odor Sleuth, he won't have enough power to break through them.
- Levitating pokes are immune to Earthquake, and can usually be bulky enough to survive Stone Edge or such attacks.
- Grass-types such as Tangrowth are annoying since they resist Ground and can threaten Donphan with their STAB moves.
- Sand Veil isn't that great of an ability, and is usually dwarfed by Sturdy on most teams.
- However, on sandstorm teams, you can attempt to use Donphan to annoy the opponent with Substitute.
- This is usually done better by Sandslash, who has the opportunity to boost his Attack with Swords Dance every time the opponent misses (Donphan does get Rock Polish though).
