[OVERVIEW]
<p>Dodrio's combination of high Attack and great Speed
makes him a scary offensive threat. Not many Pokemon can stand up to one of the strongest Brave Birds in the game. Although Dodrio's movepool is rather shallow, he still has useful options in Taunt, Acupressure, Agility, and Baton Pass. Dodrio is often compared to Swellow because they play similarly, and many opt to use Swellow because of his higher Speed, access to U-turn, and Guts
ability. One shouldn't discount Dodrio, however, as he hits harder right off the
bat, has an easier time against certain Pokemon because of
Taunt, and has a slightly better ability to Roost. Dodrio may not be the easiest Pokemon to use, but he can certainly carry his weight on any
team, whether he is breaking through common defensive cores or supporting the team with Baton Pass.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Return
move 3: Pursuit / Payback
move 4: Quick Attack / Toxic
item: Choice Band
ability: Early Bird
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Band Dodrio is one of the most fearsome physical sweepers in UU. With just a STAB Brave Bird or Return, he can 2HKO the entire
tier, bar bulky Steel- or Rock-types.
Prominent physical walls like Slowbro and Weezing don't even stand a
chance against Dodrio's STAB attacks. Even Pokemon that resist Flying, like Rotom and Kabutops, are unable to switch in lest they be 2HKOed.</p>
<p>Brave Bird and Return are Dodrio's STAB attacks, and
are used to punch holes into teams. Common cores like Fire-Water-Grass or Weezing + Milotic
are unable to handle Dodrio effectively. Pursuit is useful to catch Psychic- and Ghost-types on the switch, and works excellently on Mismagius
that utilize Hidden Power
Fighting; however, Payback can be used to hit Rotom and bulky Psychics on the switch without suffering recoil, and is Dodrio's strongest attack against Rhyperior and Regirock. The last slot gives Dodrio a useful priority move in Quick
Attack. However, one can choose to run Toxic to cripple bulky Rock-type
switch-ins and limit the amount of times they can counter Dodrio.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Dodrio's high Speed is a blessing in that
it allows him to outspeed a majority of the tier and land the KO before being KOed himself. Dodrio should have a Jolly nature with
252 Speed EVs to ensure he outspeeds the base 95 Speed group and at
worst ties with other maximum Speed base 100s. Although an Adamant nature provides even greater power, Jolly already
obtains the same amount of
KOs, so Adamant is not recommended. Dodrio's high Speed allows him to function as a decent revenge killer, while Early Bird allows Dodrio to act as a 'sleep absorber' if the need arises. Dodrio can run the exact same
set with a Choice Scarf equipped to further increase his Speed, but other Pokemon like Primeape and Blaziken do this much better because of their greater coverage and lack of a Stealth Rock weakness.</p>
<p>Because Dodrio has a weakness to Stealth Rock,
using a Rapid Spinner is highly recommended. Hitmontop and Claydol are the best
choices for this role because they also provide a handy resistance to Rock-type attacks. Hitmontop's access to Foresight and Claydol's access to Trick allows them to
spin more efficiently. Rhyperior and Torterra are great offensive partners because of their ability to set up on Pokemon like Steelix, Regirock, and Registeel, while Dodrio eliminates
problematic Pokemon like Milotic, Donphan, and Weezing. Since Dodrio is rather frail, a Pokemon that can take priority attacks comes in handy. Milotic and Slowbro and great
options.</p>
[SET]
name: Utility Attacker
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Return / Quick Attack
move 3: Roost
move 4: Taunt / Toxic / Payback
item: Sharp Beak / Life Orb
ability: Early Bird
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This
set has nearly the same wallbreaking capabilities of the Choice Bander, but mixes in utility options like Taunt and Roost to support the team and stick around a bit longer.</p>
<p>Brave Bird is Dodrio's main STAB attack and still obtains the 2HKO on Milotic and Donphan, two common Pokemon that 'glue' many teams together. The second slot is for Dodrio's
alternate STAB attack. Return has a good amount of power and can hit Pokemon that resist Flying hard, but Quick Attack allows Dodrio to hit faster Pokemon. Although it may seem odd to use Roost on a Pokemon as frail as Dodrio, he can use it on weaker attacks like Pursuit and on predicted Sucker
Punches, giving him a bit more longevity. Taunt allows Dodrio to defeat walls that hope
to stall him out, such as Slowbro, and prevents Pokemon like Regirock and Omastar from setting up entry hazards on him. Taunt also prevents Registeel and Uxie from throwing around status attacks, allowing your counters to switch in without being crippled. Toxic is an option to weaken pesky Rock-types like Rhyperior, while Payback
can be used to eliminate Rotom without having to resort to a good amount of
recoil; it is also Dodrio's strongest attack against Rock-types.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>With Sharp Beak and a Jolly nature, Dodrio has a very high chance to 2HKO Donphan and Milotic. Sharp Beak is the main option to prevent Dodrio from suffering more recoil than he has
to, although Life Orb
guarantees the 2HKO on
the aforementioned Pokemon and allows Dodrio to hit harder in general. With both Taunt and Roost, Dodrio makes an excellent stallbreaker because many stall teams don't have a Flying resist, and he can Roost off the
damage from their weak attacks.</p>
<p>Dodrio appreciates Rapid Spin support to help patch up his Stealth Rock weakness. Again, Hitmontop and Claydol are excellent options. Fire-types like Houndoom and Blaziken eliminate pesky Steel- and Rock-types while enjoying Dodrio's ability to take down Milotic. This particular Dodrio works well in a 'double Flying' strategy with either Moltres or Swellow. Moltres works great in particular because of its ability to eliminate Steel-types with a STAB Fire Blast and OHKO Rhyperior with Hidden Power Grass, while
Dodrio is capable of removing its number one
counter, Milotic, from the game.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Stealth Rock support is highly recommended because it allows Dodrio to obtain
KOs he otherwise couldn't. A lead like Uxie or Mesprit can set up Stealth Rock while also putting up
dual screens. Claydol can also be used because it
can provide Rapid Spin support. Speaking of Rapid Spin support, Hitmontop makes a fine choice because of his resistance to Rock and access to Foresight. Hitmontop also scares
off the Rock- and Steel-types that plague Dodrio.</p>
<p>Offensive partners to Dodrio include Fire-types like Houndoom and Blaziken, who enjoy Dodrio's ability to eliminate Milotic while they return the favor by scorching Steel-type threats. Rhyperior and Torterra work excellently because of their ability to set up on Regirock and Registeel. Swellow and Moltres can form an effective offensive duo with Dodrio as they weaken or eliminate each
other's counters. Dugtrio is capable of trapping a weakened Registeel, Regirock, or Steelix and eliminating them, paving the way for a Dodrio sweep.</p>
<p>
Good defensive partners to Dodrio include Milotic and support Leafeon. Milotic can defeat pesky Rock- and Steel-types one-on-
one, while Leafeon provides Wish support and can take Rock attacks easily with
some EV investment, while scaring
opposing Rock-types away with his STAB attack. A Cleric isn't
required, but is recommended in case Dodrio becomes burned or paralyzed.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Dodrio can Baton Pass Agility, but Ambipom and Lopunny generally do that much better. Acupressure is a bit more restricted and is an interesting option to Baton Pass, but Dodrio is better off with offense. Dodrio can also run Baton Pass on offensive sets
to scout for the opponent's Dodrio counter, but it's illegal with Brave Bird and forces Dodrio to run the much weaker Drill Peck. Steel Wing can be used to hit Rock-types a bit harder than Payback, but it's useless outside of that.</p>
<p>Dodrio can run a Flail set that becomes incredibly powerful once set up, but his inability to significantly hurt Rock- or Steel-types makes it a difficult option to pull off.
Such a set is also susceptible to priority users as well.</p>
[Counters]
<p>The Choice Band set is extremely difficult to counter without a Rock- or Steel-type. Offensive Pokemon that resist Brave
Bird, like Kabutops or
Rotom, will be outsped and 2HKOed,
so do not make reliable counters. Luckily, Stealth Rock and Brave Bird recoil will quickly wear Dodrio down, and strong priority attacks harm him significantly.</p>
<p>The second set hits a bit
weaker, so Slowbro and Weezing should be able to take 2 hits as long as Dodrio is using Sharp Beak. From here, they may either status Dodrio, try
to stall him out, or flat out attack him. They both must be wary of Taunt, however,
and be cautious of the fact that this particular Dodrio is more of a lure to help set up another dangerous teammate after they have been weakened.</p>
<p>In general, using a Pokemon like Regirock, Rhyperior, or Steelix will make Dodrio seem much less scary. Dodrio is also outsped by several common Pokemon like Ambipom, Alakazam, and
Swellow, who can all KO him. He also has trouble switching in because of his frailty, although he does have an immunity to both Ghost- and Ground-type attacks. If you're firing off
powerful attacks, Dodrio won't find an oppurtunity to switch in
(besides when a teammate is
KOed).</p>
