[OVERVIEW]
Rhydon is one of NU's most potent physical attackers thanks to its monstrous Attack stat complemented by excellent dual STAB types, making Rhydon difficult to switch into. In addition, Rhydon has great overall bulk due to its high HP stat and good defenses when holding Eviolite, as well as access to both Rock Polish and Swords Dance, allowing it to sweep through fast offensive teams or break through some of the bulkiest Pokemon with ease. Though Rhydon does come with substantial strengths, it has some notable weaknesses that hold it back. Low initial Speed means that some defensive Pokemon are able to outspeed Rhydon even when it is fully invested in Speed. While Ground / Rock is great offensively, it comes with some crippling weaknesses, including a 4x weakness to Water- and Grass-type attacks, as well as a weakness to common Fighting-type attacks. Rhydon is also prone to being worn down by repeated attacks, status ailments, and entry hazards due to its lack of passive recovery.
[SET]
name: Dancing Dino
move 1: Rock Polish
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Swords Dance / Megahorn
item: Eviolite
ability: Lightningrod
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Rock Polish boosts Rhydon's Speed, allowing it to outspeed many unboosted offensive Pokemon. Earthquake and Stone Edge together have great coverage, hitting a good majority of Pokemon for at least neutral damage. Swords Dance boosts Rhydon's Attack to frightening levels, making it very difficult for opposing Pokemon to safely switch into. Megahorn is an alternative move that rounds out Rhydon's coverage by hitting Pokemon that resist both Earthquake and Stone Edge, such as Torterra and Claydol, as well as nailing Ludicolo, Lilligant, Musharna, Mesprit, and Malamar. Rock Slide is another option over Stone Edge if the accuracy proves to be an issue, but the damage output is significantly lower. Stealth Rock can also be used to have Rhydon act as both a team supporter and a late-game cleaner.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack EVs plus an Adamant nature allow Rhydon to hit as hard as possible, while maximum Speed EVs ensure it outspeeds base 110 Speed Pokemon and below after a Rock Polish. A Jolly nature is an alternative to outspeed defensive Lanturn, uninvested Malamar, and Jolly Carracosta before a boost, as well as Zebstrika, Floatzel, and Modest Choice Scarf Mesprit after a Rock Polish. Eviolite increases Rhydon's bulk significantly, giving it many opportunities to set up throughout the match.
Usage Tips
========
Try to set up on Pokemon that cannot do much in return, such as Tauros, Kangaskhan, and Pyroar locked into Fire Blast or Hyper Voice, or on forced switches. Do not bring in Rhydon recklessly, as it needs to stay healthy to be able to set up without being KOed. In addition, watch out for Pokemon that try to lure in Rhydon, such as Archeops running Hidden Power Grass or Aqua Tail. Rhydon can be used as a mid-game wallbreaker by setting up Swords Dance, tearing apart slower teams. Once Rhydon's checks have been weakened, set up Rock Polish to clean late-game.
Team Options
========
Mesprit is a good partner, as it covers Rhydon's Fighting and Ground weaknesses, provides Stealth Rock support, and can give Rhydon a second shot at sweeping the opposing team with Healing Wish. Garbodor pairs well with Rhydon due to its Fighting-type resistance and provides Spikes and Toxic Spikes support, weakening Pokemon so Rhydon is able to clean late-game with more ease. Bulky Grass-types such as Torterra, Gourgeist-XL, and Tangela give this set issues, as all of them are able to take a hit and OHKO with their respective Grass-type STAB moves, so Flying-types such as Scyther and Archeops all pair well with Rhydon. Similarly, Ice-types, most notably Freeze-Dry users such as Vanilluxe and Articuno, are good teammates, as they appreciate Rhydon's ability to threaten Fire-types while in return they threaten Grass- and Water-types that are able to put Rhydon's sweep to a halt. Cacturne is a good partner thanks to its resistance to Grass and immunity to Water, Spikes support, and ability to break down many Pokemon, paving the way for Rhydon to sweep late-game. Swords Dance Samurott does a great job wallbreaking early- and mid-game and provides a secondary check to Fire-types, as despite Rhydon's resistance, it is still threatened by Fire-types due to most of them carrying Hidden Power Grass.
[SET]
name: Tank
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Rock Blast / Stone Edge
move 4: Megahorn / Swords Dance
item: Eviolite
ability: Lightningrod
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 16 Atk / 240 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Rhydon is a great user of Stealth Rock thanks to its good bulk and favorable matchup against Xatu. Earthquake is Rhydon's most reliable STAB move and hits a good majority of Pokemon hard even with minimal Attack investment. Rock Blast is more accurate than Stone Edge, making it more reliable against Pokemon such as Scyther and Xatu. It also breaks Sturdy and Focus Sash, which gives Rhydon a better matchup against lead Archeops and Crustle. If the inconsistent Base Power proves to be an issue, however, Stone Edge can be used instead. Megahorn hits Pokemon that resist Ground / Rock coverage such as Torterra and Claydol while also hitting Mesprit, Musharna, and Malamar. Swords Dance is another option to allow Rhydon to break through bulkier Pokemon such as Musharna, Mega Audino, and Miltank. Roar is also useful to phaze setup sweepers as well as Water- and Grass-type switch-ins, allowing Rhydon to wear them down with repeated entry hazard damage.
Set Details
========
Maximum HP EVs increase Rhydon's overall bulk, while 240 EVs go into Special Defense, allowing Rhydon to take Fire-type attacks much more comfortably; investing in Special Defense is generally the better option, as Rhydon's Defense is already high enough when boosted with Eviolite. The remaining EVs plus an Adamant nature allow Rhydon to hit a jump point in Attack, giving its attacks a little more power. Eviolite boosts Rhydon's bulk substantially, allowing it to switch into many Pokemon throughout the match.
Usage Tips
========
This set plays as a bulky tank; it should be switching in against Pokemon that cannot do much back, such as Tauros, Kangaskhan, and Archeops, and setting up Stealth Rock to support its teammates. Once Stealth Rock is up, use Rhydon's typing to switch in on many Pokemon and weaken the opposing team, as even without heavy Attack investment, Rhydon's attacks still deal great amounts of damage. If the opponent has a Pokemon that resists the combination of Ground / Rock, predict their switch in by using Megahorn. Swords Dance is best used to break down bulkier Pokemon mid-game, allowing a teammate to clean late-game with ease. Before switching Rhydon in against the Pokemon it checks, try to scout for moves such as Hidden Power Grass from Pyroar and Aqua Tail from Archeops and Kangaskhan.
Team Options
========
Bulky Grass- and Water-types switch into this set with ease, so teammates such as Vileplume and Roselia pair well with Rhydon, with both covering these Pokemon in addition to Rhydon's Fighting-type weakness while Rhydon threatens Fire-types that give Vileplume and Roselia issues. Roselia in particular switches into Lilligant and Ludicolo with ease. Cacturne and Lilligant are good teammates for Rhydon for their ability to switch into Scald and threaten bulky Water-types such as Prinplup and Lanturn. Garbodor can switch into Fighting-types while also wearing them down with Rocky Helmet damage, as well as providing Spikes and Toxic Spikes support, which pairs well with the number of switches Rhydon forces. Though Rhydon does check Fire-types, it still fears the coverage moves they carry, so Lanturn in particular is recommended, as it is able to heal any status inflicted with Heal Bell and bring in Rhydon safely with Volt Switch. Poliwrath is a good partner, as Water Absorb allows it to gain back HP from Water-type moves aimed at Rhydon. Poliwrath is also a good switch-in to Knock Off, which Rhydon does not appreciate losing its Eviolite to, despite taking the move very well otherwise.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Dragon Tail is an option over Roar to phaze setup sweepers while dealing damage, but it is generally less reliable because it cannot phaze Substitute users and has a chance to miss. Choice Band is an option to make Rhydon's attacks hit very hard, but the loss of Eviolite makes Rhydon significantly less bulky, and Rhydon is outclassed by Golem in this role. Rock Head or Reckless Double-Edge may sound appealing at first, but it doesn't provide any coverage that Megahorn already doesn't provide. Rest plus Sleep Talk is Rhydon's only form of recovery, but generally this wastes a lot of Rhydon's potential and tends to be unreliable.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-types such as Torterra, Tangela, Vileplume, and Gourgeist-XL are Rhydon's bane, as all of them can take even boosted attacks from Rhydon and OHKO it with their respective Grass-type STAB moves. The former two do not appreciate taking a Megahorn, however. More offensive Grass-types such as Lilligant, Shiftry, and Cacturne cannot safely switch in, but they force Rhydon out with their Grass STAB moves. Shiftry is also able to clear the field of Stealth Rock with Defog.
**Water-types**: Prinplup and Poliwrath switch into Rhydon with relative ease and deal heavy damage with Scald, though neither appreciates taking a boosted Earthquake. Samurott and Kabutops can put Rhydon's sweeps to a halt, as both have access to priority in Aqua Jet. Quagsire is another great answer to Rhydon, as it ignores any stat increases due to Unaware and retaliates with Scald.
**Pokemon with Super Effective Coverage**: Many Pokemon that Rhydon otherwise reliably checks are able to lure it in and hit it with a coverage move. Pyroar, Magmortar, and Archeops in particular all commonly carry Hidden Power Grass to deal heavy damage to Rhydon. Archeops and Kangaskhan, both of which Rhydon otherwise easily switches into, can also carry Aqua Tail to 2HKO Rhydon.
**Fast Special Attackers**: Even when its Speed is boosted with Rock Polish, Rhydon is still outsped by many Choice Scarf users that can revenge kill it, such as Lilligant, Jynx, and Mesprit. Naturally fast Pokemon such as Floatzel and Zebstrika are able to outspeed Adamant Rhydon after a Rock Polish and revenge kill it with their STAB or coverage moves. However, none of these Pokemon are capable of switching into Rhydon safely.
**Residual Damage**: Rhydon tends to be worn down by poison, burn, and repeated switches into Spikes, as it has no form of recovery. Burns in particular greatly hinder Rhydon, as they cut its Attack, making it much easier to switch in to.
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