I love Dustox. It's so bad.
Dustox
Status: 2 / 2 QC Approvals 2 / 2 GP
[Overview]
<p>Unfortunately for Dustox, it's hard to deny that he's simply a terrible Pokemon to use competitively. The combination of poor stats, a shallow movepool, mediocre typing, and a weakness to Stealth Rock means even his best efforts to succeed are usually futile. While he does have a reasonable Special Defense stat, instant recovery in Roost, and Whirlwind to prevent him from being completely useless, it's not nearly enough to make this unfortunate Bug-type a popular choice. If, for some reason, you find yourself tempted to use Dustox, be warned that he will rarely be able to accomplish anything, and there is almost always a better option.</p>
[SET]
name: Toxic Stall
move 1: Toxic
move 2: Roost
move 3: Whirlwind
move 4: Bug Buzz / Protect
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With Dustox's decent Special Defense stat and Roost, he can Toxic stall with some success. Toxic and Roost form the crux of this set, and in tandem with Dustox's respectable Special Defense, allow him to stall out a surprising range of opponents. Whirlwind prevents opposing Pokemon with Substitute from setting up, forcing them out before they get a chance to abuse Substitute. It can also be useful alongside entry hazards to help deal with the Steel- and Poison-types who wall him. In the last slot, Bug Buzz prevents Dustox from being rendered completely useless by Taunt. However, because Dustox's Special Attack stat is so poor, you may wish to opt for Protect or even Substitute to help Dustox stall better. To top it all off, Dustox's ability, Shield Dust, prevents attacks such as Ice Beam from ruining his stall attempt with untimely secondary effects.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Dustox's EVs should be focused in Special Defense, as that's his only decent stat. Although many of Dustox's resistances are usually physical, they're often complemented by an attack that targets Dustox's weaknesses. However, by shifting some EVs from Special Defense into Defense, Dustox can survive some attacks, such as a Swords Dance-boosted Return or Earthquake from Venusaur, which makes such an EV shift a reasonably good option. Alternatively, you can give Dustox a few Speed EVs to allow him to outspeed some additional Pokemon; this would enable Dustox to Roost off the damage before an opposing Pokemon can KO him.</p>
<p>It is important to note that this set is brutally walled by Steel- and Poison-type Pokemon, as well as RestTalkers, Clefable, and teams with cleric support. In reality, the aforementioned threats can be difficult to deal with due to the fact that most of these types of Pokemon are fairly bulky. However, there are some Pokemon who you can use to mitigate the effectiveness of these Pokemon against Dustox. For example, Dugtrio is a great choice to trap and KO Steel- and Poison-types, while Rhyperior can threaten both of these types of Pokemon and pose a huge threat to the opposing team with his powerful STAB attacks. Rhyperior also happens to work decently against some clerics such as Clefable and Chansey, as they lack the ability to threaten Rhyperior; in return, he can simply use them as set-up bait. Many RestTalkers and clerics aren't too strong offensively, as they're EVs tend to be geared towards their defensive stats, so Pokemon that can take advantage of their poor offenses to set up are decent options.</p>
<p>As this set's goal is to stall out opposing Pokemon with Toxic, entry hazards are immensely helpful in punishing the opponent for switching out. Omastar and Cloyster are superb partners for this job since they're both rather bulky, which allows them to switch in multiple times to set up hazards. Dustox is horribly crippled by status and often takes heavy damage when switching in, so support from Wish users and clerics is also useful. Chansey and Clefable are effective partners, as their weakness to Fighting-type attacks is easily covered by Dustox, and they can provide the aforementioned support that he enjoys.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Because Dustox is weak to Stealth Rock and vulnerable to Spikes, Rapid Spin support is appreciated. Hitmontop and Donphan are superb choices since they each pack ways to deal with common spinblockers. Dustox also enjoys entry hazards of his own to help whittle down the opponent's HP. Omastar and Cloyster are good choices due to their natural bulk, though suicide leads such as Quilfish can be useful as well. In addition to this, Pokemon such as Milotic and Slowbro who can cover Dustox's many weaknesses are appreciated, as are spinblockers, such as Rotom, Spiritomb, and Mismagius, to block any Rapid Spinning attempts.</p>
<p>Offensively, you may wish to use Pokemon who can deal with the foes Dustox is helpless against. Dugtrio is useful to trap and KO Pokemon who are immune to Toxic, and he can also trap and KO weakened clerics and RestTalkers. Teammates with U-turn are also useful, since they can scout the opposing team while racking up additional damage. Uxie and Mesprit are decent choices, as even though they don't get STAB from U-turn, they have useful resistances to some of Dustox's weaknesses and are bulky enough to switch in multiple times throughout the battle.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Dustox's movepool is unfortunately shallow, so he doesn't have too many other options at his disposal. In terms of special attacks, Dustox has Shadow Ball, Energy Ball, and Psychic, each of which hits a different target that Dustox has issues with (Ghost-, Water-, and Poison-types, respectively); Dustox also has Sludge Bomb as an alternative STAB attack. However, Dustox generally prefers Bug Buzz because the STAB boost is important on most foes, and Bug Buzz has better coverage than Sludge Bomb. Additionally, Dustox can utilize Choice Specs alongside the aforementioned attacks to make him decent offensively, though this is not advised since even with the boost, Dustox isn't very powerful. In terms of support, Light Screen and Iron Defense are usable options to buff Dustox's defenses. Dustox could also use Sunny Day in tandem with Moonlight, though compounding Dustox's weakness to Fire-type attacks probably isn't a good idea. Finally, U-turn is a decent scouting move that can be used, though on defensive sets, Whirlwind is better due to its ability to phaze and rack up entry hazard damage.</p>
[Counters]
<p>It really isn't hard to counter a Pokemon as mediocre as Dustox. While he can be a nuisance with entry hazard support due to Whirlwind, this problem is easily alleviated by Rapid Spinners such as Hitmontop, Donphan, and Blastoise. Poison- and Steel-types, RestTalkers, and teams with cleric support are immune to Dustox's main form of damage in Toxic; thus, they shouldn't have any issues dealing with the Poison Moth Pokemon. Pokemon who can prey on Dustox's weaknesses will generally be decent options as well, since even though Dustox is reasonably bulky on the special side, he still can't take on strong super effective special hits, which aren't hard to find due to his mediocre defensive typing. This fact is especially compounded if Stealth Rock is on the field, as by stripping Dustox of 25% of his health each time he switches in, his longevity is severely limited. Finally, any Pokemon with Taunt will completely shut down Dustox, as his pathetic offensive prowess will cause him to do little damage against any common Taunt user (though they should be wary of switching in directly due to Toxic).</p>
Dustox
Status: 2 / 2 QC Approvals 2 / 2 GP
[Overview]
<p>Unfortunately for Dustox, it's hard to deny that he's simply a terrible Pokemon to use competitively. The combination of poor stats, a shallow movepool, mediocre typing, and a weakness to Stealth Rock means even his best efforts to succeed are usually futile. While he does have a reasonable Special Defense stat, instant recovery in Roost, and Whirlwind to prevent him from being completely useless, it's not nearly enough to make this unfortunate Bug-type a popular choice. If, for some reason, you find yourself tempted to use Dustox, be warned that he will rarely be able to accomplish anything, and there is almost always a better option.</p>
[SET]
name: Toxic Stall
move 1: Toxic
move 2: Roost
move 3: Whirlwind
move 4: Bug Buzz / Protect
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With Dustox's decent Special Defense stat and Roost, he can Toxic stall with some success. Toxic and Roost form the crux of this set, and in tandem with Dustox's respectable Special Defense, allow him to stall out a surprising range of opponents. Whirlwind prevents opposing Pokemon with Substitute from setting up, forcing them out before they get a chance to abuse Substitute. It can also be useful alongside entry hazards to help deal with the Steel- and Poison-types who wall him. In the last slot, Bug Buzz prevents Dustox from being rendered completely useless by Taunt. However, because Dustox's Special Attack stat is so poor, you may wish to opt for Protect or even Substitute to help Dustox stall better. To top it all off, Dustox's ability, Shield Dust, prevents attacks such as Ice Beam from ruining his stall attempt with untimely secondary effects.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Dustox's EVs should be focused in Special Defense, as that's his only decent stat. Although many of Dustox's resistances are usually physical, they're often complemented by an attack that targets Dustox's weaknesses. However, by shifting some EVs from Special Defense into Defense, Dustox can survive some attacks, such as a Swords Dance-boosted Return or Earthquake from Venusaur, which makes such an EV shift a reasonably good option. Alternatively, you can give Dustox a few Speed EVs to allow him to outspeed some additional Pokemon; this would enable Dustox to Roost off the damage before an opposing Pokemon can KO him.</p>
<p>It is important to note that this set is brutally walled by Steel- and Poison-type Pokemon, as well as RestTalkers, Clefable, and teams with cleric support. In reality, the aforementioned threats can be difficult to deal with due to the fact that most of these types of Pokemon are fairly bulky. However, there are some Pokemon who you can use to mitigate the effectiveness of these Pokemon against Dustox. For example, Dugtrio is a great choice to trap and KO Steel- and Poison-types, while Rhyperior can threaten both of these types of Pokemon and pose a huge threat to the opposing team with his powerful STAB attacks. Rhyperior also happens to work decently against some clerics such as Clefable and Chansey, as they lack the ability to threaten Rhyperior; in return, he can simply use them as set-up bait. Many RestTalkers and clerics aren't too strong offensively, as they're EVs tend to be geared towards their defensive stats, so Pokemon that can take advantage of their poor offenses to set up are decent options.</p>
<p>As this set's goal is to stall out opposing Pokemon with Toxic, entry hazards are immensely helpful in punishing the opponent for switching out. Omastar and Cloyster are superb partners for this job since they're both rather bulky, which allows them to switch in multiple times to set up hazards. Dustox is horribly crippled by status and often takes heavy damage when switching in, so support from Wish users and clerics is also useful. Chansey and Clefable are effective partners, as their weakness to Fighting-type attacks is easily covered by Dustox, and they can provide the aforementioned support that he enjoys.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Because Dustox is weak to Stealth Rock and vulnerable to Spikes, Rapid Spin support is appreciated. Hitmontop and Donphan are superb choices since they each pack ways to deal with common spinblockers. Dustox also enjoys entry hazards of his own to help whittle down the opponent's HP. Omastar and Cloyster are good choices due to their natural bulk, though suicide leads such as Quilfish can be useful as well. In addition to this, Pokemon such as Milotic and Slowbro who can cover Dustox's many weaknesses are appreciated, as are spinblockers, such as Rotom, Spiritomb, and Mismagius, to block any Rapid Spinning attempts.</p>
<p>Offensively, you may wish to use Pokemon who can deal with the foes Dustox is helpless against. Dugtrio is useful to trap and KO Pokemon who are immune to Toxic, and he can also trap and KO weakened clerics and RestTalkers. Teammates with U-turn are also useful, since they can scout the opposing team while racking up additional damage. Uxie and Mesprit are decent choices, as even though they don't get STAB from U-turn, they have useful resistances to some of Dustox's weaknesses and are bulky enough to switch in multiple times throughout the battle.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Dustox's movepool is unfortunately shallow, so he doesn't have too many other options at his disposal. In terms of special attacks, Dustox has Shadow Ball, Energy Ball, and Psychic, each of which hits a different target that Dustox has issues with (Ghost-, Water-, and Poison-types, respectively); Dustox also has Sludge Bomb as an alternative STAB attack. However, Dustox generally prefers Bug Buzz because the STAB boost is important on most foes, and Bug Buzz has better coverage than Sludge Bomb. Additionally, Dustox can utilize Choice Specs alongside the aforementioned attacks to make him decent offensively, though this is not advised since even with the boost, Dustox isn't very powerful. In terms of support, Light Screen and Iron Defense are usable options to buff Dustox's defenses. Dustox could also use Sunny Day in tandem with Moonlight, though compounding Dustox's weakness to Fire-type attacks probably isn't a good idea. Finally, U-turn is a decent scouting move that can be used, though on defensive sets, Whirlwind is better due to its ability to phaze and rack up entry hazard damage.</p>
[Counters]
<p>It really isn't hard to counter a Pokemon as mediocre as Dustox. While he can be a nuisance with entry hazard support due to Whirlwind, this problem is easily alleviated by Rapid Spinners such as Hitmontop, Donphan, and Blastoise. Poison- and Steel-types, RestTalkers, and teams with cleric support are immune to Dustox's main form of damage in Toxic; thus, they shouldn't have any issues dealing with the Poison Moth Pokemon. Pokemon who can prey on Dustox's weaknesses will generally be decent options as well, since even though Dustox is reasonably bulky on the special side, he still can't take on strong super effective special hits, which aren't hard to find due to his mediocre defensive typing. This fact is especially compounded if Stealth Rock is on the field, as by stripping Dustox of 25% of his health each time he switches in, his longevity is severely limited. Finally, any Pokemon with Taunt will completely shut down Dustox, as his pathetic offensive prowess will cause him to do little damage against any common Taunt user (though they should be wary of switching in directly due to Toxic).</p>
