ryan
Jojo Siwa enthusiast
Overview
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Rhydon is an incredible Pokemon in NU. With stats rivaling those of many fully evolved Pokemon, which are further bolstered by Eviolite, Rhydon can be really difficult to take down. It also has a fantastic Attack stat and STAB EdgeQuake, which make it difficult to switch into, even without much investment. Great boosting moves allow it to function as a setup sweeper in addition to its more common role as an offensive tank. Still, Rhydon's typing can work both for and against it. While Rhydon's typing allows it to check common Normal-, Flying-, Electric-, and Fire-type, it also leaves Rhydon vulnerable to the many Water- and Grass-types in the tier. In fact, many special attackers run Hidden Power Grass just to break through Rhydon, which leaves it from checking a lot of Pokemon that it would otherwise be able to manage. Finally, while Rhydon's Eviolite makes it incredibly difficult to beat through conventional means, it also leaves Rhydon prone to being worn down easily by repeated attacks, entry hazards, and status.
Tank
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name: Tank
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Rock Blast
move 4: Roar
ability: Lightningrod
item: Eviolite
evs: 252 HP / 16 Atk / 240 SpD
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
Stealth Rock is one of the best moves in the game, and Rhydon's amazing bulk makes it a great user of the move. Earthquake and Rock Blast are both reliable STAB moves with great neutral coverage. Rock Slide and Stone Edge are decent options over Rock Blast, but the ability to break through Substitutes is generally more valuable than more consistent power. Roar is used to phaze opponents and rack up damage from entry hazards, and it is better than Dragon Tail because of its ability to phaze Belly Drum Slurpuff. Megahorn can be used to hit Grass-types, but the most common ones, Ferroseed and Vileplume, are hit harder by Earthquake anyways. Toxic is another good option to wear down Rhydon's checks as they switch into it.
Set Details
========
The EV spread emphasizes mixed bulk and allows Rhydon to take on Electric-types such as Rotom and Rotom-S as well as mixed attackers such as Archeops. An Adamant nature and 16 Attack EVs give Rhydon some extra power, allowing it to deal major damage to most offensive Pokemon. A more offensive spread of 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD is also viable, but Rhydon is strong enough without heavy investment in Attack and usually prefers the extra bulk. The choice of ability is nearly entirely irrelevant, as the only recoil move that Rhydon learns is Double-Edge, which is not as valuable as the other moves on this set, making both Rock Head and Reckless useless. Lightningrod is also useless, as Rhydon is already immune to Electric-type attacks.
Usage Tips
========
Rhydon should be used as a bulky tank, coming in against the many Pokemon that it can wall and setting up Stealth Rock or attacking. Don't prioritize setting up Stealth Rock unless the opponent's team is especially weak to it and has no entry hazard remover. Rhydon is able to check a lot of Pokemon, and it can set up Stealth Rock against them as the match progresses. How well Rhydon can take on certain Pokemon depends upon their coverage. Try to scout the opponent's movesets early on so that you know if Rhydon can safely check certain things. In particular, many special attackers carry Hidden Power Grass, so finding out if those Pokemon are carrying a Choice item or a different type of Hidden Power is crucial.
Team Options
========
The best teammates for Rhydon cover its weaknesses: bulky Grass- and Water-types can switch into Rhydon pretty reliably, and Dragalge, Roselia, and Vileplume can cover those weaknesses. Cacturne and Lilligant are good offensive partners that can take advantage of the bulky Ground- and Water-types that like to switch into Rhydon, and most importantly, neither of them mind switching into Scald, as Cacturne is immune to it while Lilligant is a special attacker. Rhydon is very susceptible to Spikes and Toxic Spikes, as its lack of Leftovers makes it easier to wear down. Mantine can provide Defog support to help out with this problem and covers Rhydon's Ground-, Fighting-, and Water-type weaknesses. Mantine also switches into Grass-types well thanks to its great bulk and can hit them with its STAB Air Slash. Muk can absorb Toxic Spikes while switching into Grass-types for Rhydon. Rhydon really wants to keep its Eviolite, making bulky Fighting-types such as Poliwrath and Hariyama decent partners to switch into Knock Off.
Dancing Dino
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name: Dancing Dino
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Rock Polish / Megahorn
ability: Lightningrod
item: Eviolite
evs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
Access to both Swords Dance and Rock Polish makes Rhydon a great setup sweeper that can break through defensive teams and clean up offensive ones. Earthquake and Stone Edge are Rhydon's two most consistently powerful STABs. Rock Slide is a decent option with Rock Polish, as it is able to score some flinches against the opponent, but the extra power that Stone Edge provides is more important. Megahorn can be used alongside Swords Dance to break through bulky Grass-types, Mesprit, and Uxie, and it offers the best neutral coverage alongside Rhydon's STAB moves. Specifically, Megahorn hits Tangela and Torterra, which easily wall Rhydon otherwise. Still, because of Rhydon's good matchup against offensive teams, Rock Polish is often better than Megahorn.
Set Details
========
The EV spread allows +2 Rhydon to outspeed everything up to positive natured base 110 Speed Pokemon, including Tauros and Archeops. Sets without Rock Polish can run a spread of 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe to outrun neutral nature max Speed base 70 Speed Pokemon after the drop from Sticky Web as well as uninvested base 60 Speed Pokemon such as Pawniard and Tangela without Sticky Web. Eviolite should always be used, as the added bulk gives Rhydon an easier time setting up and allows it to check Normal- and Flying-types for offensive teams, which are both more important than a potential boost in power from an item such as Life Orb or Expert Belt.
Usage Tips
========
How you use Rhydon should depend upon the team matchup. Sets with both Rock Polish and Swords Dance can act as a late-game cleaner or as a mid-game wallbreaker. Use Rock Polish against offensive teams and Swords Dance against balanced and defensive teams that struggle to wall a boosted Rhydon. Try to set up on Pokemon that aren't too threatening to Rhydon, such as Normal- and Flying-types. Sacrificing a teammate in order to give Rhydon the chance to set up is a good option as long as it can do some major damage to the opposing team after a free turn to set up.
Team Options
========
Sticky Web support from Kricketune or Ariados is nearly essential for sets without Rock Polish, as Rhydon is so slow that it can be outsped even by defensive Pokemon pretty easily. Spikes support is also really helpful in order for +2 Rhydon to be able to OHKO Vileplume and Seismitoad with Earthquake. Crustle has access to both Spikes and Stealth Rock as well as Knock Off to help wear down some of Rhydon's checks later in the match. Swords Dance + Acrobatics Sceptile is a good lure to the bulky Grass-types that give Rhydon trouble, and it can also handle bulky Water-types well. Sceptile is especially useful if you're running Rock Polish, as it can weaken pesky walls and open up holes in the opposing team for Rhydon to clean up. Fast late-game cleaners such as Choice Scarf Pyroar and Typhlosion as well as Quiver Dance Lilligant can take advantage of the wallbreaking that Rhydon provides. Rock Polish sets especially love Healing Wish support from Mesprit and Lilligant, as it allows Rhydon to break down its own checks mid-game in order to clean up with Rock Polish later on.
Other Options
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A Choice Band set has the potential to be a threatening wallbreaker, but the added bulk from Eviolite is too valuable for balanced and offensive teams to pass up. An offensive Stealth Rock set with Swords Dance is also quite good, as the last move on Stealth Rock Rhydon is usually filler anyways. Rock Tomb is a decently powerful STAB that can lower the Speed of offensive Pokemon on the switch. Both Rock Head and Reckless Double-Edge are decent options, but they don't add any additional coverage that Megahorn doesn't offer. Fire Punch can be used to hit Ferroseed, but it doesn't hit anything important that Rhydon's STABs don't cover. Counter and Metal Burst are usable options on tank sets, but Rhydon is strong enough to hold its own with its attacks. RestTalk is Rhydon's only form of recovery, but pairing Rhydon with a Wish user is a more reliable way of healing it.
Checks & Counters
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**Bulky Water- and Grass-types**: These types of Pokemon can switch into Rhydon throughout the match and threaten it with their 4x super effective STABs. Vileplume, Seismitoad, Tangela, and Poliwrath are all good examples of these, though they all fear boosted attacks from the Swords Dance set.
**Status**: With no Leftovers recovery to compensate for passive damage, Rhydon is very easy to wear down with status. Burn wears Rhydon down steadily throughout the match and makes it much weaker, effectively crippling it, while Toxic wears Rhydon down quickly and forces it to switch out frequently.
**Fast Special Attackers**: Because of its low Speed, Rhydon is not too difficult to outrun even at +2 Speed or with Sticky Web support. Sceptile, Accelgor, and Choice Scarf Lilligant all outspeed +2 Rhydon, while Mesprit, Magmortar, and Jynx outspeed unboosted Rhydon even with the Speed drop from Sticky Web. None of these Pokemon want to switch into Rhydon's attacks, barring Mesprit into Earthquake, but they can all easily revenge kill it.
**Offensive Pressure**: If you find yourself without a solid Rhydon answer, the best way to take it on is to keep up offensive pressure. This can make it very difficult for Rhydon to do its job effectively and leaves it prone to being worn down throughout the match by entry hazards, weakening it to the point where one of the Pokemon it checks can take it out.
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Rhydon is an incredible Pokemon in NU. With stats rivaling those of many fully evolved Pokemon, which are further bolstered by Eviolite, Rhydon can be really difficult to take down. It also has a fantastic Attack stat and STAB EdgeQuake, which make it difficult to switch into, even without much investment. Great boosting moves allow it to function as a setup sweeper in addition to its more common role as an offensive tank. Still, Rhydon's typing can work both for and against it. While Rhydon's typing allows it to check common Normal-, Flying-, Electric-, and Fire-type, it also leaves Rhydon vulnerable to the many Water- and Grass-types in the tier. In fact, many special attackers run Hidden Power Grass just to break through Rhydon, which leaves it from checking a lot of Pokemon that it would otherwise be able to manage. Finally, while Rhydon's Eviolite makes it incredibly difficult to beat through conventional means, it also leaves Rhydon prone to being worn down easily by repeated attacks, entry hazards, and status.
Tank
########
name: Tank
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Rock Blast
move 4: Roar
ability: Lightningrod
item: Eviolite
evs: 252 HP / 16 Atk / 240 SpD
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
Stealth Rock is one of the best moves in the game, and Rhydon's amazing bulk makes it a great user of the move. Earthquake and Rock Blast are both reliable STAB moves with great neutral coverage. Rock Slide and Stone Edge are decent options over Rock Blast, but the ability to break through Substitutes is generally more valuable than more consistent power. Roar is used to phaze opponents and rack up damage from entry hazards, and it is better than Dragon Tail because of its ability to phaze Belly Drum Slurpuff. Megahorn can be used to hit Grass-types, but the most common ones, Ferroseed and Vileplume, are hit harder by Earthquake anyways. Toxic is another good option to wear down Rhydon's checks as they switch into it.
Set Details
========
The EV spread emphasizes mixed bulk and allows Rhydon to take on Electric-types such as Rotom and Rotom-S as well as mixed attackers such as Archeops. An Adamant nature and 16 Attack EVs give Rhydon some extra power, allowing it to deal major damage to most offensive Pokemon. A more offensive spread of 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD is also viable, but Rhydon is strong enough without heavy investment in Attack and usually prefers the extra bulk. The choice of ability is nearly entirely irrelevant, as the only recoil move that Rhydon learns is Double-Edge, which is not as valuable as the other moves on this set, making both Rock Head and Reckless useless. Lightningrod is also useless, as Rhydon is already immune to Electric-type attacks.
Usage Tips
========
Rhydon should be used as a bulky tank, coming in against the many Pokemon that it can wall and setting up Stealth Rock or attacking. Don't prioritize setting up Stealth Rock unless the opponent's team is especially weak to it and has no entry hazard remover. Rhydon is able to check a lot of Pokemon, and it can set up Stealth Rock against them as the match progresses. How well Rhydon can take on certain Pokemon depends upon their coverage. Try to scout the opponent's movesets early on so that you know if Rhydon can safely check certain things. In particular, many special attackers carry Hidden Power Grass, so finding out if those Pokemon are carrying a Choice item or a different type of Hidden Power is crucial.
Team Options
========
The best teammates for Rhydon cover its weaknesses: bulky Grass- and Water-types can switch into Rhydon pretty reliably, and Dragalge, Roselia, and Vileplume can cover those weaknesses. Cacturne and Lilligant are good offensive partners that can take advantage of the bulky Ground- and Water-types that like to switch into Rhydon, and most importantly, neither of them mind switching into Scald, as Cacturne is immune to it while Lilligant is a special attacker. Rhydon is very susceptible to Spikes and Toxic Spikes, as its lack of Leftovers makes it easier to wear down. Mantine can provide Defog support to help out with this problem and covers Rhydon's Ground-, Fighting-, and Water-type weaknesses. Mantine also switches into Grass-types well thanks to its great bulk and can hit them with its STAB Air Slash. Muk can absorb Toxic Spikes while switching into Grass-types for Rhydon. Rhydon really wants to keep its Eviolite, making bulky Fighting-types such as Poliwrath and Hariyama decent partners to switch into Knock Off.
Dancing Dino
########
name: Dancing Dino
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Rock Polish / Megahorn
ability: Lightningrod
item: Eviolite
evs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
Access to both Swords Dance and Rock Polish makes Rhydon a great setup sweeper that can break through defensive teams and clean up offensive ones. Earthquake and Stone Edge are Rhydon's two most consistently powerful STABs. Rock Slide is a decent option with Rock Polish, as it is able to score some flinches against the opponent, but the extra power that Stone Edge provides is more important. Megahorn can be used alongside Swords Dance to break through bulky Grass-types, Mesprit, and Uxie, and it offers the best neutral coverage alongside Rhydon's STAB moves. Specifically, Megahorn hits Tangela and Torterra, which easily wall Rhydon otherwise. Still, because of Rhydon's good matchup against offensive teams, Rock Polish is often better than Megahorn.
Set Details
========
The EV spread allows +2 Rhydon to outspeed everything up to positive natured base 110 Speed Pokemon, including Tauros and Archeops. Sets without Rock Polish can run a spread of 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe to outrun neutral nature max Speed base 70 Speed Pokemon after the drop from Sticky Web as well as uninvested base 60 Speed Pokemon such as Pawniard and Tangela without Sticky Web. Eviolite should always be used, as the added bulk gives Rhydon an easier time setting up and allows it to check Normal- and Flying-types for offensive teams, which are both more important than a potential boost in power from an item such as Life Orb or Expert Belt.
Usage Tips
========
How you use Rhydon should depend upon the team matchup. Sets with both Rock Polish and Swords Dance can act as a late-game cleaner or as a mid-game wallbreaker. Use Rock Polish against offensive teams and Swords Dance against balanced and defensive teams that struggle to wall a boosted Rhydon. Try to set up on Pokemon that aren't too threatening to Rhydon, such as Normal- and Flying-types. Sacrificing a teammate in order to give Rhydon the chance to set up is a good option as long as it can do some major damage to the opposing team after a free turn to set up.
Team Options
========
Sticky Web support from Kricketune or Ariados is nearly essential for sets without Rock Polish, as Rhydon is so slow that it can be outsped even by defensive Pokemon pretty easily. Spikes support is also really helpful in order for +2 Rhydon to be able to OHKO Vileplume and Seismitoad with Earthquake. Crustle has access to both Spikes and Stealth Rock as well as Knock Off to help wear down some of Rhydon's checks later in the match. Swords Dance + Acrobatics Sceptile is a good lure to the bulky Grass-types that give Rhydon trouble, and it can also handle bulky Water-types well. Sceptile is especially useful if you're running Rock Polish, as it can weaken pesky walls and open up holes in the opposing team for Rhydon to clean up. Fast late-game cleaners such as Choice Scarf Pyroar and Typhlosion as well as Quiver Dance Lilligant can take advantage of the wallbreaking that Rhydon provides. Rock Polish sets especially love Healing Wish support from Mesprit and Lilligant, as it allows Rhydon to break down its own checks mid-game in order to clean up with Rock Polish later on.
Other Options
########
A Choice Band set has the potential to be a threatening wallbreaker, but the added bulk from Eviolite is too valuable for balanced and offensive teams to pass up. An offensive Stealth Rock set with Swords Dance is also quite good, as the last move on Stealth Rock Rhydon is usually filler anyways. Rock Tomb is a decently powerful STAB that can lower the Speed of offensive Pokemon on the switch. Both Rock Head and Reckless Double-Edge are decent options, but they don't add any additional coverage that Megahorn doesn't offer. Fire Punch can be used to hit Ferroseed, but it doesn't hit anything important that Rhydon's STABs don't cover. Counter and Metal Burst are usable options on tank sets, but Rhydon is strong enough to hold its own with its attacks. RestTalk is Rhydon's only form of recovery, but pairing Rhydon with a Wish user is a more reliable way of healing it.
Checks & Counters
########
**Bulky Water- and Grass-types**: These types of Pokemon can switch into Rhydon throughout the match and threaten it with their 4x super effective STABs. Vileplume, Seismitoad, Tangela, and Poliwrath are all good examples of these, though they all fear boosted attacks from the Swords Dance set.
**Status**: With no Leftovers recovery to compensate for passive damage, Rhydon is very easy to wear down with status. Burn wears Rhydon down steadily throughout the match and makes it much weaker, effectively crippling it, while Toxic wears Rhydon down quickly and forces it to switch out frequently.
**Fast Special Attackers**: Because of its low Speed, Rhydon is not too difficult to outrun even at +2 Speed or with Sticky Web support. Sceptile, Accelgor, and Choice Scarf Lilligant all outspeed +2 Rhydon, while Mesprit, Magmortar, and Jynx outspeed unboosted Rhydon even with the Speed drop from Sticky Web. None of these Pokemon want to switch into Rhydon's attacks, barring Mesprit into Earthquake, but they can all easily revenge kill it.
**Offensive Pressure**: If you find yourself without a solid Rhydon answer, the best way to take it on is to keep up offensive pressure. This can make it very difficult for Rhydon to do its job effectively and leaves it prone to being worn down throughout the match by entry hazards, weakening it to the point where one of the Pokemon it checks can take it out.
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