Slug Kirby
Overview
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+ Only (viable) Storm Drain 'mon
+ It is a great check to rain...
- provided that Ludicolo's not on the field (exc. offensive Sludge Bomb variants)
+ Great typing which also allows it to handle sandstorm and some aspects of sun
+ Good special bulk
- Movepool? What movepool?
- Sluggish (pun intended)
- Average offenses...
+ although compensated for by its movepool somewhat
- Low defense stat...
+ although Scald means that it can reduce its effects for anything without Guts/Fire typing with a neutrality to Water (e.g. CharX)/Phasso Berry
- Incredibly susceptible to Grass-types due to the 4x weakness
Slug Kirby (Defensive)
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name: Slug Kirby
move 1: Scald
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Icy Wind
move 4: Protect
ability: Storm Drain
item: Rindo Berry
evs: 252 HP / 20 Def / 236 SpD
nature: Calm / Sassy
Moves
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-Scald has great utility due to its burn chance
-Earth Power allows Gastrodon to hit Heatran hard, as well as allowing it to hit Water-types for a good amount of damage
-Icy Wind's speed-lowering effect is great for utility purposes
-Protect is mandatory - especially after you've consumed your Rindo Berry. It allows it to scout for attacks or waste a turn of Tailwind/Trick Room/something
Set Details
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-EVs survive adamant m-kanga's Return from full health while maintaining as much special bulk as possible
-Calm if non-TR team, Sassy if TR.
-Storm Drain is mandatory as it allows Gastrodon to check rain, as well as having amazing utility on the whole.
-Rindo Berry required so that Gastrodon can reliably check rain, allowing it to take a little over 50% from Modest Life Orb Ludicolo's Giga Drain (while not taking much more from Energy Ball variants)
Usage Tips
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-Try to maintain your Rindo Berry until it's absolutely required if you can as you need it in order to take on Ludicolo and other Grass-types
-When faced with the aforementioned 'mon/type, try to wait until you are ready to bring something in
which can KO it on the following turn/later in the same turn (most notably Talonflame, Tornadus,
M-Mence or Moltres (latter uses rain to advantage with Hurricane and benefits from Storm Drain)) to
sacrifice your Rindo Berry.
-Utilise Storm Drain wisely - while it may seem like you can just come in and beat rain, you have to know when to come in and when it is best to switch out due to Gastrodon's susceptibility to physical attacks and Grass-types.
-Rindo Berry is useful when not against rain too, allowing Gastrodon to take anything other than Leaf Storm from Mega Sceptile - among other Grass-type moves. Use this to your advantage as much as possible, as Gastrodon isn't a one-trick pony.
Team Options
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-Talonflame is the best partner, being able of taking out Ludicolo with ease courtesy of Gale Wings
-Moltres can not only take advantage of Storm Drain, but it can also utilise the rain that your opponent summons to give it 100% accurate Hurricanes.
-Sandstorm teams benefit greatly from Storm Drain, and Gastrodon takes no damage from said weather condition. This makes Pokemon like Tyranitar and Excadrill good partners.
-Togekiss can redirect attacks, so it can be really helpful in conserving Gastrodon's Rindo Berry. Amoonguss is also a good redirector, although it can't redirect Grass-types' attacks, making it less effective than Togekiss in this scenario.
-Intimidate users like Landorus-T, Hitmontop, Salamence are great teammates as they help cover up Gastrodon's susceptibility to physical attackers.
-Heal Pulse support from pokemon like Audino, Clawitzer and M-Lucario is really helpful
Offensive
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name: Offensive
move 1: Earth Power
move 2: Scald
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Protect
ability: Storm Drain
item: Rindo Berry
evs: 252 HP / 20 Def / 236 SpA
nature: Modest / Quiet
Moves
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-Earth Power is the main STAB, being your most powerful attack
-Scald offers a secondary STAB, with a nice burn chance
-Ice Beam allows you to beat M-Mence and Garchomp, as well as allowing you to OHKO Landorus-T 100% of the time instead of only having a high chance of missing out from full health.
-Sludge Bomb can be used to beat Ludicolo, 2HKOing said threat and allowing Gastrodon to beat it one-on-one if its Rindo Berry is in tact and Trick Room is set up by the second turn, allowing you to beat deal with rain more effectively.
-Protect allows you to scout, waste time, stay safe while TR is set up and preserve your Rindo Berry
Set Details
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-EVs live Adamant M-Kanga's Return from full health while maximising power
-Modest to boost SpA without reducing any useful stats
-If on a TR team, use Quiet and 0 Speed IVs to reduce speed as much as possible. Required to reverse-creep Camerupt on the turn it mega evolves.
-Rindo to allow you to take a hit from Ludicolo
-Storm Drain to let you check rain, as well as boosting your SpA whenever a Water-type attack is used by a partner/opponent
Usage Tips
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-Try to maintain your Rindo Berry until it's absolutely required if you can as you need it in order to take on Ludicolo and other Grass-types
-When faced with the aforementioned 'mon/type, try to wait until you are ready to bring something in
which can KO it on the following turn/later in the same turn (most notably Talonflame, Tornadus and
M-Mence) to sacrifice your Rindo Berry.
-Utilise Storm Drain wisely - while it may seem like you can just come in and beat rain, you have to know when to come in and when it is best to switch out due to Gastrodon's susceptibility to physical attacks and Grass-types.
-Rindo Berry is useful when not against rain too, allowing Gastrodon to take anything other than Leaf Storm from Mega Sceptile - among other Grass-type moves. Use this to your advantage as much as possible, as Gastrodon isn't a one-trick pony.
-If using on a TR team, keep Gastrodon under Trick Room whenever possible. If that isn't possible, either Protect or attack (the latter if facing Ludicolo with your Rindo in tact or if you are in a benefitial position to attack).
Team Options
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-TR users are requirements, allowing you to go "fast". This makes users of the move like Cresselia good teammates. In particular, Chandelure is a good TR setter as it benefits from the Storm Drain support Gastrodon provides.
-Gastrodon works well on SandRoom teams, which benefit from Storm Drain greatly. Therefore, Pokemon like Tyranitar, Hippowdon and Mega Steelix are effective teammates
-Talonflame is good on Trick Room teams, being capable of beating anti-TR strategies due to Gale Wings. Additionally, it allows non-Sludge Bomb variants to take on Ludicolo.
-Togekiss is a great redirector, allowing an easier time preserving Rindo.
-Intimidate support is nice to patch up its poor physical defense, making Pokemon like Salamence, Lando-T and Hitmontop good partners.
Other Options
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-Hidden Power Grass to beat opposing Gastrodon, but it can't fit it onto the moveset
-Eartquake and Sludge Wave for spread damage, but too weak to be worth it
-Rocky Helmet, Sitrus Berry and Leftovers are all options, but it fails at its main niche if it doesn't run Rindo.
-Clear Smog stops setup in its tracks... but that's about it
-Toxic and to slowly wear stuff down, but stall is a bad idea in doubles
-Infestation for the same reason as Toxic, exchanging the racking-up effect for the ability to trap, not activating Guts and lower damage on the chip caused
Checks and Counters
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-Grass-types (after Rindo consumption)
-Leaf Storm M-Sceptile (KOs through Rindo)
-Serperior (Contrary Leaf Storm, gets speed boost from Icy Wind)
-Powerful Physical Attackers (most notably Conk due to Guts tipping Scald Burns on head)
-Defiant/Competitive (boost gained from Icy Wind)
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