Diglett
[Overview]
<p>Say hello to the Dugtrio of Little Cup. Like its evolved form, Diglett suffers from an average Attack stat and terrible defenses, but it can still function as a fine revenge killer thanks to its unique ability, Arena Trap, and the offensive nature of Little Cup. With access to powerful moves and a fantastic Speed stat, Diglett is a Pokemon that every team needs to be prepared for.</p>
[Set]
name: Non-Choice Revenge Killer
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Substitute / Shadow Claw
item: Life Orb / Focus Sash
ability: Arena Trap
nature: Hasty
evs: 240 Atk / 236 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>When equipped with a Life Orb or Focus Sash, as opposed to Choice Band, Diglett can freely switch between all of its moves. This set can really threaten the Little Cup metagame, as Diglett is one of the best revenge killers available.</p>
<p>What sets Diglett apart from other revenge killers is the presence of Substitute. In the process of revenge killing, Diglett may sometimes manage to switch into a Choice-locked Electric-type move, so it can set up a Substitute for free and finish off the foe with the appropriate attack. Earthquake is Diglett's main STAB attack. Sucker Punch provides Diglett with a useful priority move that helps against Choice Scarf users that can OHKO it. However, the inconsistency of Sucker Punch is very off-putting, and it should not be used unless entirely necessary. Note that if Diglett does have a Substitute up, and your opponent is faster than it and breaks Diglett's Substitute, you can almost be sure that it is carrrying a Choice Scarf, a fact that can be exploited by the rest of your team. Hidden Power Ice is necessary to combat Gligar; without it, Gligar will wall this set all day long, while able to launch Earthquakes that will OHKO Diglett with ease. Hidden Power Ice is also Diglett's best option (besides Aerial Ace) to hit Grass-types that resist Earthquake for super effective damage. If Substitute is not preferable, you may choose to use a Focus Sash as well. In this case, it is recommended that you use Shadow Claw for a wider range of attacking options.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>Not too many Pokemon enjoy facing this Diglett, since it sports a combination of power, Speed, and powerful moves that can severely injure opponents. Unfortunately, there are also a number of Pokemon that make setting up Diglett's Substitute useless. Bronzor is the perfect counter, being immune to Earthquake while taking ridiculously low amounts of damage from anything else Diglett uses. It will have no trouble breaking Diglett's Substitutes either, as Gyro Ball is powered up to a great level due to Diglett's high Speed stat. Hippopotas also has an extremely easy time taking Diglett's attacks, and can KO back or break Diglett's Substitute with Earthquake. Ferroseed is one of Diglett's best counters, as it can take any hit Diglett may throw at it and respond with a super effective Bullet Seed. Next, priority users and Choice Scarf users are also problematic. If Diglett cannot OHKO them from behind its Substitute, it risks dying to a priority move. Its low defenses don't help either, and it easily falls to Aqua Jet or Ice Shard from anything with a solid Attack stat.</p>
<p>This Diglett pairs up perfectly with Water-types, especially Mantyke. Mantyke often attracts Chinchou, so Diglett can come in on its Thunderbolt and attempt to set up a Substitute. Mantyke can also clear Diglett's path to sweep by eliminating bulky Ground-types, most notably Gligar and Hippopotas. Using a Pokemon to take out Bronzor and Ferroseed, such as Houndour or Ponyta, is recommended to give Diglett an easier time sweeping. This set also faces difficulties against Ghost-type Substitute users, such as Misdreavus and Gastly, as they can avoid Sucker Punch while taking minimal damage from Hidden Power Ice. To remedy this problem, having Munchlax on your side can help; neither Misdreavus nor Gastly will be able to OHKO it, while it can trap them with Pursuit in return. However, Misdreavus can burn Munchlax with Will-O-Wisp, reducing its usefulness significantly. Carvanha also makes a fantastic partner for Diglett, as it can take out both Ghost- and Ground-type Pokemon with only minimal prediction.</p>
[Set]
name: Choice Revenge Killer
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Shadow Claw / Rock Slide
item: Choice Band
ability: Arena Trap
nature: Hasty
evs: 240 Atk / 236 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>With a place in the highest Speed tier in Little Cup and access to a plethora of high-power moves, Diglett already has the potential to be a threatening force in the metagame. Throw in a fantastic ability in Arena Trap, and Diglett becomes a truly fearsome foe. With a Choice Band equipped to make up for its average Attack, Diglett can achieve revenge kills on some of the metagame's top threats.</p>
<p>Earthquake is Diglett's most powerful attack. Even if it seems to lack the Attack stat to do much damage, a STAB Earthquake can actually strip off large amounts of health from anything that is not resistant or immune to it. Hidden Power Ice may seem odd on Diglett at first glance, but in fact, it is Diglett's only way to deal massive damage to Gligar, while also hitting other Grass-types that resist Earthquake for super effective damage. Even with no Special Attack investment, Hidden Power Ice is a guaranteed 2HKO on Gligar, and, thanks to Diglett's Speed, Gligar cannot simply use Roost repeatedly to stall it out. Sucker Punch is Diglett's best bet against Ghost-types, particularly Choice users, such as Gastly. Even if Diglett is already fast, Sucker Punch's priority can help it out against faster opponents and other users of priority attacks. The last moveslot has two possible options. Shadow Claw is usable, as it can be effective against Pokemon such as Misdreavus, who may be able to avoid the Sucker Punch by using Substitute or Will-O-Wisp. Rock Slide is useful for its chance to flinch and coverage with Earthquake.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>The EV spread maxes out Diglett's Speed and Attack, so as to maximize the number of threats which it can reliably revenge kill. With a Choice Band equipped, Diglett can have up to 22 Attack with a Hasty nature, which is quite reasonable for revenge killing weakened foes.</p>
<p>To maximize Diglett's revenge killing potential, do it a favor by eliminating some of its common counters first. Bronzor and Ferroseed both completely destroy Diglett, as they laugh at everything Diglett uses and threatens to KO with Gyro Ball or Bullet Seed, respectively. Magnet Rise Magnemite can be used because of this, setting up Magnet Rise to avoid Earthquake and beating Bronzor from there. However, it is important to note that standard Magnemite can do very little to Ferroseed, who can stall it to death with Leech Seed while it does a pittance with Hidden Power Ice. For this reason, Magnemite carrying Hidden Power Fire makes an excellent partner for Diglett, as it can easily 2HKO Ferroseed even with Leech Seed recovery, and, thanks to its ability, Ferroseed cannot even switch out to avoid the KO. Bulky Ground-types, such as Gligar and Hippopotas, can also survive a few of Diglett's attacks, and return the blow with a death-inducing Earthquake. Staryu and Carvanha can deal with these threats by soaking them with a powerful Hydro Pump. To deal with Ghost-types that make prediction hard for Diglett, consider using Pursuit users, particularly Stunky. Stunky can easily switch in on their Shadow Ball and finish them off with Pursuit. In terms of helping Diglett defensively, Water-types work well with it. Mantyke in particular deserves a special mention for being bulky enough on the special side to take many Water-, Ice-, and Grass-type attacks aimed at Diglett.</p>
[Set]
name: Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Sucker Punch / Shadow Claw
move 4: Protect
item: Focus Sash
ability: Arena Trap
nature: Jolly
evs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 236 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>While Diglett is tailored to be a successful revenge killer, it functions as a very effective lead as well. The qualities that make it a successful lead include Arena Trap (which gives it solid anti-lead capabilities), high Attack and Speed stats, powerful priority, and access to Stealth Rock. Arena Trap is particularly important, since it it stops your opponent from switching out of a bad lead match-up.</p>
<p>Diglett is one of the most successful Stealth Rock leads in Little Cup, as its extraordinary Speed allows it to outpace nearly every lead outside of Voltorb, meaning it will almost always move first. Earthquake is Diglett's most powerful move and cannot be ignored on any set. The choice between Shadow Claw and Sucker Punch depends on your personal preference, as they both have their positive and negative points. Shadow Claw allows Diglett to deal with Ghost-types, such as Gastly and Misdreavus, who carry non-attacking moves commonly, all of the time, which Sucker Punch can't accomplish. Sucker Punch, however, is the strongest priority move in the game (tying with ExtremeSpeed), and is necessary to pick off leads using Focus Sash and priority moves. Finally, Protect is a must in Diglett's fourth move slot, as Fake Out leads such as Meinfoo and Meowth will otherwise be able to render Diglett's Focus Sash useless and defeat it after that with their STAB attacks.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>Although it can easily set up Stealth Rock, Diglett has problems with several other leads that are bulky enough to take a hit, such as Gligar and Hippopotas. Both Gligar and Hippopotas can also set up their own Stealth Rock with ease. If you decide to use Sucker Punch, Diglett will certainly have problems with Pokemon such as Substitute or Will-O-Wisp Misdreavus, who can easily cripple Diglett and KO it with Shadow Ball. You will experience similar problems against Gastly; for this reason, Shadow Claw is probably the superior choice, hitting them even if they decide to set up Substitute. As always, opposing Bronzor and Ferroseed, whether or not they are leads, will give Diglett problems. With Levitate and a powerful Gyro Ball, Diglett will find that it is easily defeated by Bronzor, and Ferroseed can easily set up entry hazards on Diglett and stall it out with Leech Seed. Snover can also demolish Diglett in one turn with its STAB Ice Shard or Blizzard, and the hail will eliminate Diglett's Focus Sash.</p>
<p>Snover also makes an excellent partner for Diglett, as it can easily take out Pokemon such as Gligar and Hippopotas, who set up on Diglett otherwise. Carvanha also makes a great partner for Diglett, as it can OHKO Gligar, Hippopotas, and Ferroseed with either Hydro Pump or a super effective Hidden Power Fire. Houndour easily deals with Ferroseed and Will-O-Wisp Misdreavus, and can KO Bronzor if it's somewhat weakened. Water-types such as Chinchou, Staryu, and Carvanha possess great offensive and defensive synergy with Diglett, as they complement its weaknesses and deal with the bulky Ground-types that plague Diglett.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Diglett doesn't have too many other useful options to use, as its movepool is rather limited. Pursuit can be used to trap Ghost- or Psychic-types immune to Arena Trap, and Aerial Ace can be used to hit Grass-types. For boosting options, Diglett has access to Hone Claws, a move which boosts both Attack and accuracy one stage. Unfortunately, Diglett lacks the power and the bulk to pull off a sweep with this move, so it is more of a gimmick than anything.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Diglett can be easily dealt with by having a physically defensive Pokemon, particularly Ferroseed, Gligar, or Bronzor. The aforementioned Pokemon are capable of taking several hits from Diglett and return with their STAB attacks. Ferroseed is Diglett's best counter, as its Bullet Seed can break Diglett's Substitutes with ease, and Leech Seed allows Ferroseed to stall Diglett out while it sets up entry hazards. Ghost-types such as Misdreavus and Gastly, who carry Substitute or Will-O-Wisp, are solid counters for Diglett if it doesn't pack Shadow Claw. Snover can easily take an Earthquake or Hidden Power Ice and KO Diglett with Ice Shard. Slowpoke can take anything from Diglett, even a Sucker Punch or Shadow Claw, and easily KO in return with Scald. Anything that can outspeed Diglett will usually OHKO it due to its poor defenses. Pokemon such as Scarf Chinchou or Speed Boost Carvanha can easily KO Diglett with a super effective move, and Pokemon carrying especially strong priority, such as Timburr or Meditite, can deal great amounts of damage to Diglett, even if their attacks are not super effective. Still, it is important to note that packing Pokemon capable of switching in on Diglett is largely useless, as with Arena Trap, Diglett can target your most frail Pokemon and attack them freely without allowing you to switch into your counter.</p>
