Taken over from Alolan Dusky
QC by: Fiend / AD Thunderboy / Hilomilo
GP by: Eien / Omicron
Amchecks by: H0W3AN (QC) / DeathByWobbuffet (GP)
[OVERVIEW]
Sandygast is a powerful special attacker with great physical bulk, allowing it to become an adequate sweeper under the right circumstances. These great stats combined with its offensive typing, which allows it to both spinblock and intercept Volt Switch while also giving it good neutral coverage, give it a significant niche. It also has a nice array of coverage moves. Sandygast is pretty sluggish even though it has Rock Polish to make up for its low Speed. One of Sandygast's major flaws is its low Special Defense which makes it weak to special attackers. Sandygast also lacks access to a useful ability, as it can only choose between Water Compaction and Sand Veil, both of which are mediocre abilities. Sandygast is outclassed by other Ground-type Pokemon such as Diglett and Mudbray in an offensive role because their good abilities and coverage give them more offensive presence; however, Sandygast is one of the strongest Ground-type special attackers. Sandygast may have a good offensive typing, but it is held back by its weakness to the commonly seen Knock Off and its low Speed.
[SET]
name: Rock Polish
move 1: Rock Polish
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Destiny Bond
item: Berry Juice
ability: Water Compaction
nature: Modest
evs: 76 HP / 116 SpA / 76 SpD / 236 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
=========
Rock Polish is Sandygast's main move, as it allows Sandygast to increase its Speed to turn it into an adequate sweeper; it also allows Sandygast to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame. Earth Power is one of Sandygast's STAB moves, hitting Steel-, Rock-, and Fire-types such as Magnemite, Onix, and Ponyta. Shadow Ball is Sandygast's other powerful STAB move, hitting Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Natu and Gastly for super effective damage. Destiny Bond can be used to take down Staryu and non-Choice Scarf Pawniard along with other Pokemon that would be a threat to Sandygast's team, although it is best used after Rock Polish has been used and Sandygast has been weakened to the point where it can be easily OHKOed.
Set Details
=========
Sandygast's EV spread along with a Modest nature allows it to hit as hard as possible with its two STAB moves and outspeed the entire unboosted metagame after it uses Rock Polish. The HP and Special Defense EVs allow Sandygast to almost always survive one Scald from Staryu. Berry Juice allows Sandygast to recover health so it can proceed to sweep with its powerful moves and Rock Polish; it also allows Sandygast to spinblock and take down Staryu efficiently. Water Compaction is the best choice out of Sandygast's two abilities, but is a mediocre ability overall as Sandygast generally shouldn't switch into Water-type moves regardless of its ability.
Usage Tips
=========
Sandygast's main purpose is to spinblock and take down Staryu, which is one of the most powerful and effective spinners in LC. Sandygast's EV spread allows it to take a Scald from Staryu most of the time, recover its HP with Berry Juice, and set up with Rock Polish to outspeed Staryu. Sandygast can then proceed to use Destiny Bond and take Staryu down with it. This should only be done if maintaining entry hazards on the opponent's side of the field is important for your team. Sandygast has a nice niche in being able to spinblock common spinners such as Drilbur and Staryu while being able to prevent Volt Switch from Pokemon like Magnemite. After all Flying- and Dark-type Pokemon have been eliminated, Sandygast can proceed to spam its STAB moves after it sets up although it still needs to beware of its remaining checks. In addition to beating Staryu, Sandygast can use Destiny Bond to take down other threatening Pokemon such as non-Choice Scarf Pawniard. Sandygast needs to set up with Rock Polish before bringing down the opposing Pokemon with Destiny Bond. Slow U-turns and Volt Switches allow Sandygast to set up more easily as Sandygast struggles to take hits as a result of its low bulk.
Team Options
=========
Due to its low bulk and its requirement to set up before being useful, Sandygast needs a lot of support from its teammates. Pokemon that resist the common Dark-type moves from Pokemon such as Pawniard and Vullaby make good teammates. Fighting-type Pokemon or priority users such as Timburr and Croagunk can deal with Pawniard, and Fairy-type Pokemon such as Snubbull can deal with Vullaby. Alolan Sandshrew, Onix, and Chinchou make good teammates because they can take down the Normal / Flying types that wall Sandygast; Magnemite in particular appreciates Sandygast's ability to switch into Fighting-type moves while the former can tank most moves aimed at Sandygast, giving them good defensive synergy. Flying-type Pokemon such as Rufflet and Vullaby are also good teammates because they can deal with Grass-type Pokemon such as Snivy and Cottonee that check Sandygast. Furthermore, Sandygast can take out most Rock-, Steel-, and Electric-types that trouble most Flying-types with Earth Power. Although they don't provide much defensive synergy, Fire-type Pokemon such as Ponyta and Larvesta can also deal with Grass-, Steel-, and Ice-types such as Snivy, Pawniard, and Alolan Sandshrew. Entry hazards allow Sandygast to sweep more easily as they break Sturdy and Focus Sash. Rock-type Pokemon such as Onix and Archen can help take care of Flying-types for Sandygast and can also set entry hazards to aid Sandygast's sweeping capabilities. In return, Sandygast can spinblock and take care of most Steel-types and spinners. Slow U-turn and Volt Switch users such as non-Choice Scarf Chinchou and Larvesta can help bring Sandygast safely.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=========
A defensive set utilizing Eviolite and Shore Up can be run along with more defensive EVs but it is generally less effective than the main set. Ancient Power, Energy Ball, or Psychic can be used against different varieties of Pokemon; however, Destiny Bond is usually more effective in bringing Pokemon down than coverage moves. Sandygast can be used as a secondary sand setter in sand teams due to its access to Sandstorm and Sand Veil, but it has difficulty finding a place for Sandstorm with its limited moveslots . Trick Room teams can utilize Sadygast's low Speed, although it needs a lot of support to sweep efficiently. Hidden Power Ice can be used to hit Flying- and Grass-types but is rather weak and likely cannot land an OHKO anyway. Hidden Power Fire can also be used mainly to hit Ferroseed but has little utility otherwise.
Checks & Counters
============
**Flying-types**: Since the majority of Flying-types are Normal / Flying type, they are immune to Sandygast's STAB moves and can KO it without taking any damage. Vullaby is a good check to Sandygast, as it resists Shadow Ball and can either KO Sandygast with super effective Dark-type moves or use it as setup bait. The rare Ancient Power doesn't do much to Vullaby either.
**Dark-types**: The aforementioned Vullaby and Pawniard can easily deal with Sandygast as they outspeed Sandygast before it uses Rock Polish and KO it with Knock Off. After Sandygast uses Rock Polish, Dark-type Pokemon must watch out for Destiny Bond, and Pawniard especially should watch out for Earth Power.
**Water-types**: Although Sandygast has Water Compaction, the majority of Water-types in the metagame are special attackers that ignore the +2 Defense Sandygast gains and can proceed to KO it with super effective STAB Water-type moves. Carvanha can OHKO Sandygast with Waterfall and Aqua Jet, and Corphish can use an Adaptability-boosted Crabhammer to OHKO Sandygast or use it as Dragon Dance bait. Chinchou can easily KO Sandygast but fears Earth Power if Sandygast uses Rock Polish.
**Grass-types**: Grass-type Pokemon resist Earth Power and some can take Shadow Ball. Foongus is 3HKOed by the rare Psychic, but it can make quick work out of Sandygast with Giga Drain. Snivy outspeeds Sandygast and can easily OHKO it with Leaf Storm and Ferroseed walls all of Sandygast's moves except for the rare Hidden Power Fire and can KO it with Bullet Seed.
**Ice-types**: Snover is a good check to Sandygast as it doesn't take much damage from Earth Power. Alolan Vulpix can 2HKO Sandygast and take an Earth Power or Shadow Ball. Life Orb Adamant Alolan Sandshrew can OHKO Sandygast with 3 or more hits from Icicle Spear. Lastly, Choice Scarf Amaura outspeeds unboosted Sandygast and can always OHKO it with a Refrigerate-boosted Hyper Voice.
**Fast Choice Scarf Users**: Choice Scarf users with more than 15 Speed can outspeed a boosted Sandygast and some of them have super effective moves that can make quick work of it. Choice Scarf Pawniard and Vullaby KO it with super effective Dark-type moves, while Choice Scarf Timid Chinchou can KO Sandygast but needs to be careful of Earth Power if it survives a hit. Choice Scarf Gastly can OHKO Sandygast with Shadow Ball and is immune to Earth Power, but it can't reliably switch in.
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