TJ
Banned deucer.
[OVERVIEW]
Alolan Dugtrio's main niche in the PU metagame is the combination of its Speed tier and unique typing. Its best set is Substitute + Toxic, which forces out Pokemon like Lanturn and Pyroar and cripples checks like Gastrodon with Toxic. Alolan Dugtrio's STAB attacks and coverage allow it to hit the tier for neutral damage, and its Speed tier allows it to outspeed top threats like Pyroar as well as Speed tie with Alolan Raichu and Archeops. However, keep in mind that its Attack stat is mediocre, which means it struggles to break bulky Pokemon like Weezing and Mesprit. Lastly, be aware that Alolan Dugtrio has a terrible Defense stat and struggles to switch in on even resisted attacks.
name: Substitute + Toxic
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Toxic
item: Leftovers
ability: Tangling Hair
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earthquake is Alolan Dugtrio's strongest STAB move and hits everything in the tier that doesn't resist it for decent damage. Iron Head hits everything that Earthquake misses out on such as Pokemon with Levitate like Weezing and Mesprit. Toxic is used to put bulky Water-types that Alolan Dugtrio lures in such as Gastrodon and Poliwrath on a timer. When coupled with Toxic, Substitute is used to ease prediction and wear down teams. Substitute also allows Alolan Dugtrio to be safe from Weezing's Will-O-Wisp. When this set is used in conjunction with Toxic Spikes support, Toxic can be replaced with Stone Edge, which expands Alolan Dugtrio's coverage and allows it to hit Pokemon like Swanna and Rotom-S super effectively.
Set Details
========
252 Attack and Speed EVs with A Jolly nature allow Alolan Dugtrio to hit as hard and be as fast as possible. Leftovers gives Alolan Dugtrio passive recovery, which allows it to use Substitute more often. Tangling Hair is the preferred ability because it lowers the foe's Speed by one stage if Alolan Dugtrio is hit by a contact move, and its other abilities are generally more situational.
Usage Tips
========
Alolan Dugtrio should use Toxic to wear down bulky Water-types such as Gastrodon and Poliwrath. It should use Substitute on Pokemon that cant break its Substitute like Weezing lacking Flamethrower. Additionally, use Substitute on Pokemon that Alolan Dugtrio can force out like Lanturn and Manectric. Substitute can force 50/50s with Sucker Punch users like Absol and Skuntank. More generally, Alolan Dugtrio should use Substitute against poisoned foes in order to rack up poison damage. Lastly, try to avoid switching in Alolan Dugtrio even on resisted hits because it's very frail.
Team Options
========
Entry hazard users such as Ferroseed and Qwilfish make for good teammates because hazards make it easier for Alolan Dugtrio to clean, since its Attack stat is mediocre. Alolan Dugtrio wears down bulky Water-types such as Poliwrath and Gastrodon with Toxic, so Pokemon like Pyroar make decent teammates because they appreciate their similar checks being crippled. Additionally, Electric-types such as Alolan Raichu and Lanturn appreciate Alolan Dugtrio's ability to cripple opposing Ground-types like Gastrodon and Torterra with Toxic. Strong physical attackers like Zangoose and Stoutland make good partners because they appreciate Toxic wearing down their defensive answers like Regirock and Carracosta. Additionally, Kangaskhan also appreciates Normal-type checks weakened, and it can rack up poison damage from Alolan Dugtrio's Toxic via Fake Out. Finally, Fighting-type checks such as Weezing and Mesprit pair well with Dugtrio because they resist Fighting and are immune to Ground-type attacks.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Pursuit / Memento
item: Life Orb
ability: Tangling Hair
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earthquake is Alolan Dugtrio's best STAB attack and hits everything in the tier that does not resist it for a solid amount of damage. Iron Head is handy for Pokemon that are immune to or resist Earthquake like Weezing and Mesprit. Sucker Punch is used to hit fast threats such as Alolan Raichu, Choice Scarf Haunter, and Choice Scarf Jynx super effectively. Pursuit is used to hit the Electric-type Pokemon that Alolan Dugtrio forces out such as Manetric and Lanturn. Memento can grant a free setup opportunity to a teammate when Alolan Dugtrio is weak or has no other use in the rest of the battle.
Set Details
========
252 Attack and Speed EVs and a Jolly nature allow Alolan Dugtrio to hit as hard as possible and take advantage of its superior Speed tier. Tangling Hair lowers the Speed of Alolan Dugtrio's foe by one stage if it is struck by a contact move. While Sand Force can be chosen if Alolan Dugtrio is used in conjunction with Sandstorm, its use over Tangling Hair is situational.
Usage Tips
========
Alolan Dugtrio is usually useless versus bulkier teams, so it should switch out versus Pokemon like Weezing and Gastrodon that wall it. Use Alolan Dugtrio to revenge kill slower threats such as Pyroar and Manectric. Alolan Dugtrio can be preserved for late-game use in case its Sucker Punch is needed to stop setup sweepers, such as Normalium Z Jynx and Alolan Raichu. Alolan Dugtrio should use Memento at the right opportunity to ease setup for another teammate. Additionally, if it's not using Memento, Alolan Dugtrio can be sacrificed in battles with unfavorable matchups by switching directly into physical attacks that would KO it to lower the Speed of its foe via Tangling Hair, which allow its teammates to revenge kill the threat in question more easily.
Team Options
========
Strong wallbreakers like Drampa can open opportunities for Alolan Dugtrio to clean late-game. Bulky Water-type checks such as Ferroseed and Lilligant also work well with Alolan Dugtrio. Ferroseed can set up entry hazards and Liligant appreciates Alolan Dugtrio's Memento support, which eases its setup. Additionally, Psychic-types like Choice Specs Mesprit are able to break past most of Dugtrio's common checks like Gourgeist-XL and Weezing. Alolan Dugtrio pairs well with Fighting-type checks such as Mesprit and Weezing, since a common way of revenging it is by using Mach Punch from Hitmonchan. Weezing's and Qwilfish's Toxic Spikes wears down many of Alolan Dugtrio's natural checks as well as bulky Pokemon with the ability to switch into Alolan Dugtrio's STAB-boosted moves, like Ludicolo and Palossand, respectively.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Stone Edge can be used over Pursuit on Alolan Dugtrio's All-out-Attacker set to hit Flying-type Pokemon such as Swanna that would otherwise wall it. Choice Scarf can also be used if Alolan Dugtrio's team needs a solid way of revenge killing fast threats like Pyroar and Primeape; however, keep in mind that Choice Scarf Alolan Dugtrio is very weak. Additionally, Choice Band can be used over Life Orb for more power; however, being Choice-locked can be costly for Alolan Dugtrio, as it may potentially give an opposing Pokemon a free setup opportunity. Groundium Z with Earthquake can be used to attempt to break past bulky Pokemon such as Gastrodon with prior damage; however, the consistent damage output boost from Life Orb is preferred. Rockium Z allows Alolan Dugtrio to use Z-Sandstorm to give it +1 Speed and boost its Rock- and Ground-type moves with Sand Force. Darkinium Z can be used with Memento to give new life to a sweeper of your choice by easing its setup and healing it to 100% HP at the same time. The drawback of using Z-Memento is giving up Leftovers recovery on its Substitute set or losing attack power on Alolan Dugtrio's All-out-Attacker set.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Pokemon**: Physically defensive Pokemon such as Sableye, Type: Null, Mudsdale, and Weezing can take Alolan Dugtrio's attacks with ease, although Weezing is setup bait for the Substitute + Toxic set.
**Revenge Killers**: Choice Scarf users such as Primeape and Pyroar can outspeed and KO Alolan Dugtrio with their respective STAB attacks.
**Bulky Water-types**: Bulky Water-types such as Gastrodon and Poliwrath can deal with Alolan Dugtrio well; however, Substitute + Toxic variants of Alolan Dugtrio can lure in them and wear them down.
**Bulky Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-type Pokemon such as Ferroseed, Gourgeist-XL, and Torterra wall almost every set of Alolan Dugtrio, but they have to be careful of Substitute + Toxic sets. In Ferroseed's case, though, it can check Alolan Dugtrio with ease since it's immune to Toxic.
**Priority Users**: Most priority users are able to either beat or force out Alolan Dugtrio due to it having low Defense and being weak to common priority such as Hitmonchan's Mach Punch, Gurdurr's Mach Punch, and Kabutops's Aqua Jet.
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