Diggersby

Magnemite

Magnemite

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Diggersby_XY.gif

broken bunny

Overview
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Unlike all of the other early-game rodents before it, Diggersby is quite capable of holding its own in the competitive scene. Contrary to what its base stats and appearance would suggest, Diggersby is one of the most powerful Pokemon in the OU metagame. With Swords Dance, Diggersby makes for a great sweeper that demolishes stall and offensive Pokemon, thanks to its good neutral coverage and powerful STAB Quick Attack. It can also run an effective Choice Scarf set, which allows it to act as a great cleaner against offensive teams. However, Diggersby has its fair share of flaws. Its mediocre Speed and bulk make it difficult to set up against offensive teams, and its reliance on Quick Attack makes it quite susceptible to opposing priority. However, despite these flaws, Diggersby is still an offensive juggernaut that is easily capable of plowing through teams with little support.

Swords Dance
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name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Return
move 4: Quick Attack
ability: Huge Power
item: Focus Sash / Life Orb
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant

Moves
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Swords Dance boosts Diggersby's Attack to insane levels and gives it the capability to sweep teams. Earthquake and Return are Diggersby's obligatory STAB moves. Quick Attack is incredibly powerful at +2 and lets Diggersby sweep weakened offensive teams and single threats with ease.

Set Details
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Maximum EVs are invested in Attack and Speed so Diggersby can hit as hard and fast as possible. Adamant is the preferred nature to get the 2HKO on Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage and to hit harder in general, but Jolly can be used if you wish to outspeed Jolly Breloom, most Mega Charizard X, Mega Tyranitar, Mega Gyarados, and Adamant Excadrill. Both Life Orb and Focus Sash are viable item choices on this set. While Life Orb gives Diggersby a much easier time breaking through stall, Focus Sash is useful against offensive teams as finding time to set up against such teams can be difficult.

Usage Tips
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The general strategy should be to come in on something Diggersby forces out, such as Heatran or Chansey, and set up a Swords Dance. Diggersby should generally set up either early-to-mid-game to open holes for another sweeper or later after the opposing team has been sufficiently weakened to sweep for itself. Even if Diggersby doesn't get a chance to set up, it is still quite useful as Quick Attack is strong enough to revenge kill a variety of weakened threats. If Team Preview shows that the opposing team has a Gengar or other important checks, it is best to withhold from sweeping until said checks are eliminated.

Team Options
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Pursuit users such as Choice Scarf Tyranitar or Bisharp make good teammates as they can trap and remove Gengar. Sweepers that benefit from walls being weakened or removed, such as Mega Pinsir, pair well with Diggersby as they can wear down each other's checks so that one of them can sweep. Healing Wish Latias lets Diggersby have a second chance at sweeping if it has been weakened. It is especially useful as a teammate to Focus Sash variants of Diggersby. Entry hazard lead Deoxys-D and dual screens Deoxys-S work well with Diggersby because they can give it an easier time sweeping or setting up, respectively.

Choice Scarf
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name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Return
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Wild Charge
move 4: U-turn
ability: Huge Power
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant

Moves
========

Return and Earthquake have great neutral coverage together, despite being resisted by several common types in OU. Diggersby's STAB moves are only resisted by two Pokemon in OU: Skarmory and Gengar. Wild Charge is used as it 2HKOes both of these Pokemon. U-turn is useful for wearing down the opposing team and gaining momentum.

Set Details
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The given EV spread lets Diggersby hit as hard and fast as possible. Adamant is the preferred nature because the extra Speed given by a Jolly nature does not let Diggersby outspeed anything important besides opposing Adamant Dragonite and Gyarados.

Usage Tips
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Choice Scarf Diggersby makes a great cleaner against offensive teams thanks to its high Speed and power. With this set, it is generally best to wear things down with U-turn early-game and then clean late-game with Diggersby's strong STAB moves. This set also works as a decent revenge killer, though it isn't overly effective in this role because it isn't fast enough to outspeed most boosted threats and easily falls to strong priority from sweepers such as Dragonite and Azumarill.

Team Options
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As this set lacks power compared to the Swords Dance set, powerful wallbreakers such as Terrakion and Kyurem-B make good partners to Choice Scarf Diggersby as they give it an easier time cleaning. Diggersby is too slow to revenge kill sweepers that boost their Speed, so Pokemon that stop setup sweepers, such as Thunder Wave Thundurus, Life Orb Deoxys-S, and Choice Band Talonflame, are useful teammates.

Other Options
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Choice Band is a decent item on Diggersby, however over-reliance on locking itself into Quick Attack and a general lack of utility compared to Diggersby's other sets make it a subpar option. Diggersby is a decent user of Spikes thanks to its superb ability to force switches. An Agility set is usable, but Diggersby isn't really powerful enough to sweep through teams without an Attack boost. In addition, a +2 Quick Attack is powerful enough to beat most would-be offensive checks anyway.

Checks & Counters
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**Skarmory**: Despite the fact that it is 2HKOed by +2 Life Orb Return and Choice Scarf Wild Charge after Stealth Rock, Skarmory is the best defensive answer to Diggersby because it can switch into Swords Dance Diggersby, take a boosted hit, and phaze it out.

**Gengar**: Gengar is immune to Diggersby's STAB moves, so it is naturally a good check to it. Gengar can also cripple Diggersby with Will-O-Wisp or hit it hard with Focus Blast, but it is 2HKOed by Wild Charge, so it cannot beat all Diggersby variants.

**Faster Attackers**: The OU metagame is filled to the brim with strong and faster Pokemon, several of which can revenge kill even a boosted Diggersby. Choice Band Talonflame, Breloom, and Mega Pinsir are all good checks to Diggersby thanks to their strong priority moves. As far as the Swords Dance set is concerned, there are several threats that can tank or are resistant to a boosted Quick Attack; these include Garchomp, Terrakion, Aerodactyl, Excadrill, and Lucario.

**Gourgeist-S**: While it is almost never seen in OU, Gourgeist-S is a great answer to Diggersby. It resists Diggersby's STAB combination, has good physical bulk, and can burn it with Will-O-Wisp.
 
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scarf is actually where it is by my request. i don't think band is that great. it restricts diggersby, a slow pokemon, to hitting hard or being stuck into a priority move that can be taken advantage of. it hits hard, but sd has way better killing potential. scarf patches up the speed issue and allows diggersby to rk top metagame threats. it even has u-turn, which is an amazing move for any scarfer. diggersby isn't weak with a scarf either, which many other scarfers have trouble with. it is a v cool scarfer. that's the only set i'd use over sd. it's really a set you have to use to appreciate.

i also don't get the point of life orb on cb. just use sd, really, there is no reason not to.
 
Ok then, keep the Scarf set i guess. My main gripe with it is how easy its STABs were to take advantage of, and most Scarf EQ users either bring a lot of utility to the table (Lando-T with Intimidate and Excadrill with Rapid Spin) or have a tool that makes their STAB more spammable (Mold Breaker EQ) but U-turn helps with that i guess. Still, i wouldn't use Scarf Diggersby over the other Scarf Ground-types, as their power is more than enough to revenge kill the stuff they want to, both are fatser and can revenge kill boosting threats that Diggersby can't (such as DD Dragonite and DD Mega Gyarados), and both provide more utility and defensivey synergy.

The reason for LO on the CB set is that you still get the important OHKO/2HKOes, while having the freedom to change moves which is obviously a huge plus. Why use the all out attacking set over the SD set? Good question. If Wild Charge is really not enough reason to have two seperate sets, let's just mention CB and Wild Charge in Set Details and Moves of the SD set.
 
Sorry this has been in WIP for so long, but I've been pretty busy lately. I should have the skeleton done sometime this weekend.

Also, before I finish its set, I'd like to test out Scarf Diggersby a bit more. I'm a bit skeptical of its merits over Scarf Excadrill or Landorus-T and I want to make sure it's good enough to deserve a main set before working on it too much.
 
Maybe agility could make this analysis

Agility could make it an awesome late game cleaner, using its sky high attack and speed from agility to clean up weakened teams. With hazard support and some good hole punchers, this could make an absolutely terrifying. It also sort of differentiates itself from Mega Mawile which has incredible attack but no agility access. It even has better STAB neutral coverage than Mega Mawile, further differentiating himself.
 
Magnemite

Choice Scarf Diggersby is really good. It's still strong with a Scarf -- Return 2HKOes 252/252+ Rotom-W, and U-turn does ~30% with SR + Lefties accounted for. A pretty strong U-turn punishes switch-ins, and allows Diggersby to pivot around throughout the match. It has the power needed to revenge kill threats and perform as a consistent threat throughout the match. It's stronger than both Lando-T and Exca, and has merits over both -- Lando-T can't break Rotom-W, and Exca doesn't have U-turn. Diggersby can even check Aegislash with its normal typing, and is the only able to OHKO with its STAB EQ. Here is an SPL replay involving it:

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-ou-2163

Even though Odin doesn't win the match, you can see how well Diggersby does. It U-turns around and does significant damage to LUST's team, coming in and pivoting/hitting to revenge kill as needed. Its effectiveness as a set is very good -- I would not forgo including it.

On another note, I'd like Band to be removed. LO Diggersby is powerful enough, and Diggersby loves the ability to switch moves so much. It loves the ability to boost up and sweep through teams. Scarf has utility that differentiates it as set, but Band is basically an inferior version of LO SD. It isn't good.
 
Fuzznip before you ask, I am still working on this. I am much less busy now and I have access to an actual computer, so I will be able to work on this a lot more.
 
Skarmory needs to be mentioned in C&C as it counters the sword's dance set, although it needs to scout for scarf wild charge.
 
s_aman said:
Skarmory needs to be mentioned in C&C as it counters the sword's dance set, although it needs to scout for scarf wild charge.
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+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 160-187 (47.9 - 55.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Nope.

strongth bunny
 
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Magnemite said:
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 160-187 (47.9 - 55.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Nope.
Click to expand...
That thing is really strong. Sorry, for being a stupid, i did not calculate. :-(
 
Honestly I don't like SD Diggersby, I think scarf and agility sets are the most effective. Why? Well, what can SD Diggersby do that Mega Pinsir can't? Mega Pinsir's return and quick attack are much better because of aerilate, which not only gives them a life orb boost but grants much better coverage. Normal < Flying. Also Mega Pinsir is much faster than unboosted Diggersby and doesn't have to rely on quick attack as much. Mega stone grants immunity to trick and negates knock off's item-ridding side effect. I suppose Diggersby has a much more powerful equake than Mega Pinsir, and doesn't take up a valuable mega spot like Pinsir does. But other than that I see no reason to use SD Diggersby over SD Pinsir, it's just outclassed.
Scarf and agility IMO is what sets Diggersby apart from other mons in the tier. Diggersby is already stupidly powerful without a life orb or band, so a scarf turns Diggersby into a fast yet powerful pivot and revenge killer. Other mons can be scarfed such as Garchomp, but it's simply not strong enough or lacks u-turn to be a powerful scarfer like Diggersby, and access to u-turn and a resistance to stealth rock is a nice touch. Agility LO set is the one I use, and can clean weakened teams with ease if you manage to set one up, and allows you to outspeed other scarfers such as Darmanitan which would otherwise easily have their way with scarf and SD Diggersby.
 
MyNameIsVeryCreative said:
Honestly I don't like SD Diggersby, I think scarf and agility sets are the most effective. Why? Well, what can SD Diggersby do that Mega Pinsir can't? Mega Pinsir's return and quick attack are much better because of aerilate, which not only gives them a life orb boost but grants much better coverage. Normal < Flying. Also Mega Pinsir is much faster than unboosted Diggersby and doesn't have to rely on quick attack as much. Mega stone grants immunity to trick and negates knock off's item-ridding side effect. I suppose Diggersby has a much more powerful equake than Mega Pinsir, and doesn't take up a valuable mega spot like Pinsir does. But other than that I see no reason to use SD Diggersby over SD Pinsir, it's just outclassed.
Scarf and agility IMO is what sets Diggersby apart from other mons in the tier. Diggersby is already stupidly powerful without a life orb or band, so a scarf turns Diggersby into a fast yet powerful pivot and revenge killer. Other mons can be scarfed such as Garchomp, but it's simply not strong enough or lacks u-turn to be a powerful scarfer like Diggersby, and access to u-turn and a resistance to stealth rock is a nice touch. Agility LO set is the one I use, and can clean weakened teams with ease if you manage to set one up, and allows you to outspeed other scarfers such as Darmanitan which would otherwise easily have their way with scarf and SD Diggersby.
Click to expand...

The reason Swords Dance Diggersby is the main set is for two reasons:

A. It's an extremely powerful wallbreaker

After an SD, Diggersby literally 2HKO's just about anything on stall, as seen here:

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 160-187 (47.9 - 55.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mandibuzz: 390-460 (91.9 - 108.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Venusaur: 348-411 (95.6 - 112.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 2090-2464 (541.4 - 638.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Rotom-W: 386-454 (126.9 - 149.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Zapdos: 448-528 (116.6 - 137.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 741-873 (105.2 - 124%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Landorus-T: 324-382 (84.8 - 100%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

Notice how a lot of Mega Pinsir's counters where demolished?

B. It doesn't take up a Mega slot

Pretty self-explanitory, but since Diggersby doesn't take up a Mega Slot like Mega Pinsir, it allows you to run a different Mega who could help your team.

I don't really understand why you'd use Agility when you could use Mega Pinsir. I mean besides taking up a Mega Slot, Agility Diggersby doesn't wallbreak anymore, AND it doesn't get immediate 105 Speed like Mega Pinsir. Also Scarf is already mentioned.
 
MyNameIsVeryCreative said:
Honestly I don't like SD Diggersby, I think scarf and agility sets are the most effective. Why? Well, what can SD Diggersby do that Mega Pinsir can't? Mega Pinsir's return and quick attack are much better because of aerilate, which not only gives them a life orb boost but grants much better coverage. Normal < Flying. Also Mega Pinsir is much faster than unboosted Diggersby and doesn't have to rely on quick attack as much. Mega stone grants immunity to trick and negates knock off's item-ridding side effect. I suppose Diggersby has a much more powerful equake than Mega Pinsir, and doesn't take up a valuable mega spot like Pinsir does. But other than that I see no reason to use SD Diggersby over SD Pinsir, it's just outclassed.
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While most of your points are correct, ideally you're using Diggersby in a team where you're using another good offensive Mega Evolution on the same offensive team. Good candidates that aren't Mega Pinsir include DD Mega Charizard X, Charizard Y, DD Mega Gyarados, Mega Scizor, Mega Mawile, and plenty of other choices.

If you're comparing Mega Pinsir and Diggersby, the latter has the benefit of not taking over a Mega slot, while offering cool offensive utility to the table (i.e. hitting fucking hard, not being weak to Skarmory's Brave Bird and being able to 2 shot it with +2 Return, limiting the number of times Aegislash can spam Ghost-type moves, etc). Additionally, unlike Mega Pinsir, you don't lost much opportunity cost by letting Diggersby faint (it can pretty much destroy stuff early-game, while Pinsir is, shall we say, a little more delicate), so it certainly deserves a spot on this analysis. It certainly has its downfalls, but it's great.

Scarf and agility IMO is what sets Diggersby apart from other mons in the tier. Diggersby is already stupidly powerful without a life orb or band, so a scarf turns Diggersby into a fast yet powerful pivot and revenge killer. Other mons can be scarfed such as Garchomp, but it's simply not strong enough or lacks u-turn to be a powerful scarfer like Diggersby, and access to u-turn and a resistance to stealth rock is a nice touch. Agility LO set is the one I use, and can clean weakened teams with ease if you manage to set one up, and allows you to outspeed other scarfers such as Darmanitan which would otherwise easily have their way with scarf and SD Diggersby.
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Scarf is already a set on this analysis, so your points are acknowledged. However, there's much better sweepers that aren't as prone to priority and being weakened, including, ironically, Mega Pinsir. The "saving the mega slot" argument doesn't apply too much in this case in terms of overall reliability (SD gets a pass because all of its moves, including QA, are boosted).
 
PurpleCordial said:
Why is Skarmory at the top of C+C
Both sets can 2HKO it (SD at +2 and Scarf after some prior)
I get its a great check but it really should be below Gengar and Gourgeist
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Because Skarmory can switch in on SD Diggersby, take a hit at +2, and phaze it out (just like it can with Pinsir), unlike almost anything else in the game. It's 2HKOed by Scarf Wild Charge after SR and a bit more prior damage, yes, but Gengar is cleanly 2HKOed. Gourgeist would be higher but it's barely even relevant to OU. I suppose I could switch Gengar and Skarmory, but idk if it even matters.
 
Magnemite said:
Because Skarmory can switch in on SD Diggersby, take a hit at +2, and phaze it out (just like it can with Pinsir), unlike almost anything else in the game. It's 2HKOed by Scarf Wild Charge after SR and a bit more prior damage, yes, but Gengar is cleanly 2HKOed. Gourgeist would be higher but it's barely even relevant to OU. I suppose I could switch Gengar and Skarmory, but idk if it even matters.
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It definitely worth switching both of them IMO. I mean even though Gourgiest and Gengar aren't really relevant they basically destroy Diggersby. Also getting 2HKO'd by Return is a lot of damage, and then you don't even know what you'll Whirlwind into... IMO Skarmory is really fucking shaky in general and Gengar and Gourgiest are much better counters that should be listed first.
 
Something that is only 2HKOed at +2 by one set and and needs prior damage to be 2HKOed by the other set and can phaze is a pretty goddamn solid counter. I don't know what more you're expecting against such a powerful Pokemon.

+2 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 140-165 (41.9 - 49.4%) -- 25.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Guess that's not a counter to that either.

Also, with regards to SD's effectiveness, Quick Attack's neutral coverage is great for beating a different group of Pokemon like Thundurus.

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Quick Attack vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Thundurus: 296-348 (98.6 - 116%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
 
Swamp Link said:
Something that is only 2HKOed at +2 by one set and and needs prior damage to be 2HKOed by the other set and can phaze is a pretty goddamn solid counter. I don't know what more you're expecting against such a powerful Pokemon.

+2 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 140-165 (41.9 - 49.4%) -- 25.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Guess that's not a counter to that either.

Also, with regards to SD's effectiveness, Quick Attack's neutral coverage is great for beating a different group of Pokemon like Thundurus.

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Quick Attack vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Thundurus: 296-348 (98.6 - 116%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
Click to expand...

I never said Skarm wasn't a counter lol. I'm just saying in comparison to Gengar/Gourgiest, Skarmory is much more shaky.

Also there's a difference between a guaranteed 2HKO and a 1/4 chance to 2HKO. Also unlike Diggersby, Mega Pinsir loses a ton of its health if it switches into SR, meaning Whirlwind can potentially do a lot of damage to it. Not to mention Skarm's main offensive STAB is super effective against it.
 
Magnemite When you're writing this, make sure to mention that SD Diggersby in particular requires Stealth Rock / general entry hazard support, since some OHKOes aren't guaranteed without them:
  • +2 Quick Attack vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latios: 265-313 (87.7 - 103.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
  • +2 Quick Attack vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Charizard X: 200-238 (67.1 - 79.8%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
  • +2 Quick Attack vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Pinsir: 187-222 (68.7 - 81.6%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (if it switches in as normal Pinsir)
  • +2 Quick Attack vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latias: 242-285 (80.1 - 94.3%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
  • +2 Quick Attack vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Landorus: 242-285 (75.6 - 89%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
  • +1 Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Landorus-T: 324-382 (84.8 - 100%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (after Intimidate)
  • +2 Quick Attack vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Azumarill: 265-313 (65.5 - 77.4%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes
  • +2 Quick Attack vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Keldeo: 242-285 (74.9 - 88.2%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes
  • +2 Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 360-425 (85.7 - 101.1%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (the fact that you can OHKO the mixed defensive variant without even trying is cool in itself)
And yeah overall, you get my point, it's auxiliary, just like on any offensive Pokemon, and these Pokemon are stuff you're likely to see these days. It's also good to be prepared against Azumarill and Keldeo in particular, since they're pretty popular and can survive one +2 Quick Attack. Just mention Pokemon than can perform quick!spikes or quick!SR and you should be dandy.
 
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