Druddigon
[Overview]
<p>With a head that looks like the failed art project of a 4-year old, combined with thistle leaves for wings, Druddigon seems like a failure of a Pokemon. Upon closer inspection, however, you'll find that it is the exact opposite: Druddigon has the 2nd hardest hitting Outrage in the lower tiers. Coming off a whopping base 120 Attack stat, Druddigon can easily demolish any Pokemon that doesn't resist it. It also has solid base 90 defenses and base 77 HP, allowing it to tank hits much more solidly than one would expect. It also has access to two useful abilities in Rough Skin and Sheer Force, but Sheer Force is relatively useless since, in Druddigon's movepool, the only useful moves it powers up are Crunch and Fire Fang. Druddigon also has access to superb coverage in Earthquake and Superpower. Unfortunately, Druddigon has an awful base 42 Speed stat, and its pathetic base 60 Special Attack rules out the possibility of a mixed set. However, its lack of Speed can be made up for by Trick Room; in the twisted dimensions, Druddigon becomes one of the fiercest sweepers in the history of competitive Pokemon. Knock out the opposing Steel-types, and Druddigon's Outrage will wreak havoc on all of the RU tier. Therefore, underestimating Druddigon can lead to your immediate alldownfall, being able to OHKO most of the RU tier.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Outrage
move 2: Superpower / Earthquake
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Dragon Claw / Hone Claws
item: Choice Band / Life Orb
ability: Rough Skin
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set capitalizes on Druddigon's ridiculously powerful Outrage through the use of Choice Band, which lets it OHKO almost all of the metagame. Rough Skin is the ability of choice, punishing physical attackers that try to finish off Druddigon; its solid bulk makes this ability even more useful. Superpower gives it excellent coverage alongside its STAB Outrage, destroying Steel-types, such as Aggron and Ferroseed, who resist it. Sucker Punch lets Druddigon bypass its terrible Speed, allowing it to revenge kill unsuspecting threats, such as Jynx. Finally, Dragon Claw rounds out the set by providing Druddigon with a second STAB move to use instead of Outrage, as Outrage will force Druddigon to stay in for at least 2 turns, which is something that can be detrimental if the opposition has an Ice-type, such as Rotom-F.</p>
<p>Hone Claws is an option over Dragon Claw in order to boost Druddigon's initally massive Attack stat; Life Orb is the item of choice if doing so. If using this Life Orb set, Dragon Claw is the preferred option over Outrage, as using Outrage woud just make the Hone Claws set completely inferior to the Choice Banded one, as Druddigon would be locked into a move regardless.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs on this set are fairly self-explanatory, maximizing Druddigon's Attack and HP stats. Due to the nature of this set, it greatly appreciates Trick Room support, allowing Druddigon to outrun almost the entire RU metagame and OHKO most of it. A Brave nature with 0 Speed IVs is preferred on a Trick Room team, as it allows for Druddigon's Speed to be as low as possible. Any Pokemon carrying the move is a great partner for Druddigon. Examples of this are Duosion, Slowking, Lampent, and Solosis. Solosis is a prime user of Endeavor, which works very well with a Focus Sash and hail support, allowing Solosis to set up Trick Room, KO the opposition, and leave 3 turns for Druddigon to wreak havoc. Duosion can also pull off a similar set quite effectively. Slowking and Lampent can eliminate the Steel-types that give Druddigon trouble, such as Steelix and Ferroseed, as Druddigon would prefer if a teammate took out the opposing Steel-types so that it can just spam Outrage all day long.</p>
<p>Magneton is also a good partner, striking fear in the hearts of Steel-types everywhere with its Magnet Pull ability, especially since it can KO almost all of them. Paralysis support is also helpful, as the opponent's team being paralyzed is basically the equivalent of Trick Room being up. Slowking, Lanturn, and Uxie are all good partners in this sense. Finally, Fire Fang is an option in the last slot in order to hit Ferroseed harder, but it is usually not worthwhile; Sheer Force becomes viable if you are running Fire Fang.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Druddigon has a decent amount of options that are not listed in the set above, but none of them are really that useful. Crunch and Thunder Fang are options in the last slot with Sheer Force, but none of them really cover any important threats. Return is also an option, but again, it doesn't hit anything that the above moves cannot. Payback can be used to hit the opposition harder, thanks to Druddigon's low Speed, but Outrage hits much harder regardless. Pursuit is also an option, as it can trap opposing Pokemon, but this is better left to Pokemon such as Krookodile and Honchkrow. Finally, Druddigon can use a ParaShuffler set to some success, utilizing a combination of its solid bulk, Rough Skin, Glare, and Dragon Tail to wear down the opposition. Glare has low accuracy, but it is partially made up for by its ability to paralyze Ground-types. However, this set's effectiveness is hurt by Druddigon's lack of a reliable recovery move.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Druddigon's low Speed makes it relatively easy to revenge kill if Trick Room isn't up. However, it's solid bulk makes this a much more daunting task than one might think. Ice-types are the best way to go, so Jynx and Rotom-F are great checks, being able to annihilate Druddigon with their STAB Ice-type moves. Steel-types are also good options to tank Outrages, but they must be wary of Superpower. Very bulky Pokemon, such as Gligar and Tangrowth, are also decent counters; Gligar is only 2HKO'd by Outrage, so it can stall out Outrage until Druddigon becomes confused. Tangrowth, on the other hand, can incapacitate Druddigon by putting it to sleep with Sleep Powder. Entry hazards are a solid way to relegate Druddigon's switches, as the combination of Stealth Rock, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes will take it's toll on the lifespan of the behemoth.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Druddigon receives Mold Breaker from the Dream World. While a solid choice on Pokemon such as Haxorous, it does not really let Druddigon hit anything notable in RU, meaning Rough Skin is almost always the better option.</p>
