1v1

Analysis written by lotiasite.
« back to home
Donphan

Overview

A good offensive Ground typing allows Donphan to defeat many common Electric-, Steel-, and Fire-type Pokemon, thus letting it check top threats such as Tapu Koko, Magearna, and Mega Metagross. Donphan also has access to a great coverage move in Head Smash, allowing it to hit the Flying-type Pokemon that would otherwise wall Donphan due to its Ground typing. Donphan also sports high Attack and Defense stats, allowing it to both tank physical hits well and hit hard with its physical attacks. It also has access to a useful priority move in Ice Shard, letting it defeat opposing Sturdy Pokemon such as Crustle while also allowing it to defeat Pokemon that can survive its first attack. Donphan also has an amazing ability in Sturdy, allowing it to survive any hit that isn't from Mold Breaker and Teravolt Pokemon, letting it safely fire off either Tectonic Rage or Continental Crush despite being quite slow. However, Donphan lacks utility moves such as Taunt, making it susceptible to bulky Pokemon that can easily recover off any damage or boost their Defense, such as Mega Slowbro and Deoxys-D. Donphan's low Speed stat also means that it will almost always take a hit before moving. Donphan also loses to bulky hard hitters such as Celesteela, along with common Air Balloon users such as Magearna. Despite Ground being a good type offensively, it also hurts Donphan quite a bit, as it sports common weaknesses to Water and Ice.

Bulky Attacker

Set Comments

Moves

Earthquake is Donphan's STAB attack and is boosted to a respectable 180 Base Power with a Groundium Z. Tectonic Rage deals massive damage to most Pokemon and can even get past some bulky Pokemon such as maximum HP Genesect. It is capable of OHKOing every Pokemon that it hits super effectively, barring Sturdy users such as Magnezone and Golem. Head Smash provides Donphan with valuable Rock-type coverage that hits Flying-type Pokemon such as Mega Pinsir, which are unaffected by Tectonic Rage. In addition, Rockium Z can be used to give Donphan an extremely powerful Continental Crush that does not break Donphan's Sturdy when the foe does not attack while also removing Head Smash's chance to miss. Ice Shard is useful for picking off weakened Pokemon due to Donphan's low Speed stat and can finish off Sturdy Pokemon such as Crustle, Golem, and Magnezone. It can also pick off Pokemon that have been severely weakened by Tectonic Rage, Head Smash, or Continental Crush. Finally, Counter helps against strong physical attackers such as opposing Donphan, Garchomp, and Mega Metagross (if running Continental Crush) due to Donphan's Sturdy along with its high Defense stat.

Set Details

Maximum Attack investment with an Adamant nature gives Donphan as much physical power as it can get. Maximum HP investment gives Donphan both physical and special bulk, allowing it to take hits such as Kyurem-B's Ice Beam better and maximize Counter damage. Groundium Z turns Earthquake into an extremely powerful Tectonic Rage, dealing massive damage to most foes. On the other hand, Rockium Z can be used instead with Head Smash and allows Donphan to more reliably check Fire-, Bug-, and Flying-type Pokemon such as Mega Pinsir and both Mega Charizard formes. Groundium Z is generally preferred over Rockium Z, as it has STAB and can deal with more threats than Rockium Z can.

Usage Tips

In most matchups, click Tectonic Rage or Continental Crush to deal huge damage to foes. Use Head Smash or Continental Crush against the Pokemon that it hits super effectively, such as Mega Pinsir. Tectonic Rage also has more power than Continental Crush due to STAB and can let Donphan beat Pokemon such as Magearna that Rockium Z cannot. However, Continental Crush can be used to beat Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Kyurem-B, which Groundium Z Donphan normally loses to. Generally, the EdgeQuake coverage is enough to beat most foes, so both sets are effective and can be fitted to suit different teams. Use Ice Shard to pick off weakened Pokemon after a Tectonic Rage, Head Smash, or Continental Crush, especially if the foe has survived due to Sturdy. When up against strong physical attackers such as Kartana, use Counter to deal massive damage after tanking a hit. However, be wary, as some players may predict a Counter and set up instead. It is also wise to use Donphan to scare off potential threats such as Charizard and Mega Metagross, making it easier to bring in Pokemon such as Magearna.

Team Options

Donphan can be used on a myriad of teams due to its ability to check a large majority of the metagame and can be a safe option for teams that are weak to many Pokemon. Due to Sturdy and its solid Ground typing, Donphan checks a lot of top picks like Tapu Koko, Mega Metagross, and Mega Charizard X, which can often defeat many Pokemon on their own. Pokemon such as Kyurem-B also appreciate Donphan scaring off Steel-type Pokemon such as Magearna and Mega Metagross. Donphan mostly relies on its Sturdy to win, so it generally struggles against Mold Breaker and Teravolt Pokemon, namely Mega Gyarados and Kyurem-B. As such, checks such as Tapu Koko, Mega Metagross, and Magearna are heavily appreciated by Donphan, as they can scare them off or defeat them. Mega Gyarados in particular easily defeats Donphan due to Intimidate, its Water typing, and its setup move in Dragon Dance, allowing it to bypass Counter. Donphan also generally struggles with Kyurem-B, although Rockium Z sets are better at taking it out, making them less of a threat. Donphan also cannot hit many bulky Pokemon such as Mega Slowbro for super effective damage, leaving it unable to deal enough damage before they heal. Due to this, Pokemonsuch as Greninja and Tapu Koko that can deal with bulky walls are valuable towards Donphan's success. Special hard hitters such as Porygon-Z can also deal with physically bulky Pokemon that Donphan would usually lose to such as defensive Mega Charizard X.

Strategy Comments

Other Options

Gunk Shot can replace Counter to beat Grass- and Fairy-type Pokemon such as Whimsicott and Tapu Bulu, but Counter is generally more useful in defeating more common Pokemon. Another option Donphan can run is Fire Fang, which allows it to beat Ferrothorn, but is generally a waste of a moveslot otherwise, as it forces Donphan to forgo one of its other moves. Donphan can also run maximum Speed EVs instead of HP EVs, allowing it to outspeed Air Balloon Magearna, other Donphan, and Golem, but Donphan sacrifices necessary bulk along with any chance of defeating Kyurem-B.

Checks and Counters

« back to home