[OVERVIEW]
Donphan is an excellent physical bulky offensive presence in the 1v1 metagame with powerful moves, good offensive stats, decent bulk, and an invaluable ability in Sturdy. Donphan's wide movepool with access to Ground- and Rock-type moves allows it to hit the entire tier for at least neutral damage, if not super effective. With Ice Shard, Donphan has a consistent priority move to finish off faster Pokemon. However, it faces stiff competition from other Rockium Z Sturdy users such as Crustle, Carracosta, and Golem. It also struggles with bulky offensive Pokemon such as Mega Gyarados and Mew. With no way of boosting its stats reliably, Donphan is vulnerable to setup stallers or even just naturally bulky Pokemon, such as Chansey and Porygon2.
[SET]
name: Groundium Z
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Ice Shard
move 3: Head Smash / Stone Edge
move 4: Counter / Bulldoze
item: Groundium Z
ability: Sturdy
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earthquake is Donphan's strongest STAB move and, when combined with Groundium Z, allows it to OHKO most hyper offensive Pokemon that do not resist it, such as Kartana and Mega Lopunny. Ice Shard allows Donphan to pick off any weakened Pokemon that Tectonic Rage fails to OHKO. Its +1 priority also allows it to gain the upper hand against some faster foes like Jumpluff and Garchomp. Head Smash lets Donphan hit Flying-types for super effective damage. It is also Donphan's most powerful attack against Pokemon that resist Earthquake; however, the recoil negates Donphan's Sturdy. Stone Edge can be used instead to preserve Donphan's Sturdy at the cost of power. Counter is used to defeat most physical Pokemon, mainly Choice item users such as Haxorus and Landorus-T. Bulldoze is another option to slow down foes, in particular Magearna.
Set Details
========
Maximum HP and Attack investment ensures that Donphan can hit as hard as possible while maintaining its bulk to tank physical hits. The rest of the EVs are put into Speed to outspeed other uninvested base 50 Speed Pokemon. Groundium Z allows Donphan to use Tectonic Rage to hit harder than it can with any other item. Sturdy ensures that Donphan will always be left with at least 1 HP if hit from full HP, allowing it to retaliate with powerful moves.
Usage Tips
========
Donphan is very good against frail hyper offensive Pokemon such as Hoopa-U, Mega Lopunny, and Greninja, as it can tank any hit with Sturdy and retaliate with a powerful Tectonic Rage followed by a priority Ice Shard. As a Ground-type, it is immune to Electric-type moves, and as such it has no trouble with Pokemon like Magnezone and Zeraora. Donphan deals with most Steel-type Pokemon such as Aggron, Mega Mawile, and Aegislash by using Tectonic Rage followed by Earthquake if necessary. With its Rock- and Ice-type coverage, Donphan is able to circumvent Flying-types' immunity to Ground-type moves and defeat Pokemon such as Mega Charizard X and Y and Mega Pinsir. Send Donphan in against any physical Pokemon with Choice items such as Sawk and Haxorus to hit them back with Counter and finish them off with Ice Shard if necessary. Donphan is able to deal with most other Sturdy Pokemon like Magnezone, Golem, Crustle, Aggron, and Sawk, as Donphan can use its powerful Tectonic Rage to bring them to Sturdy and then use Ice Shard.
Team Options
========
Donphan is weak to physically bulky Pokemon such as Zygarde-C, Mega Slowbro, and Kommo-o, so having a special wallbreaker such as Psychium Z Mew or Normalium Z Porygon-Z is recommended. In return, Donphan can deal with Pokemon such as Greninja and Mega Lopunny that pose a threat to them. Mega Metagross and bulky Mega Charizard Y can deal with common Water- and Grass-type Pokemon such as Mega Gyarados, Tapu Fini, and Tapu Bulu, which Donphan struggles with. Donphan also helps against Fire- and Rock-type Pokemon that bother them, such as Mega Charizard X and Golem. As Donphan struggles against Pokemon that can raise their defenses like fast Iron Defense Magearna and Deoxys-S, wallbreakers such as Mega Charizard X and Aegislash are appreciated. Donphan remedies their weakness to Pokemon like Golem and Greninja.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Head Smash / Stone Edge
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Gunk Shot
item: Choice Band
ability: Sturdy
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
ivs: 0 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earthquake is Donphan's go-to STAB move, which can take out common Steel-types such as Magearna, Metagross, and Aegislash. It also beats most grounded Fire-, Electric-, and Poison-types, such as Mega Blaziken, Zeraora, and Naganadel. Head Smash deals with Flying-types, particularly Mega Charizard X and Y. Stone Edge is another, weaker option to avoid recoil. Ice Shard gives Donphan a priority move and helps it against some Dragon- and Ground-types, such as Garchomp and Landorus-T. Gunk Shot decimates Fairy-type Pokemon such as Primarina and deals more damage to Grass-types than Fire Fang does, which is useful against Pokemon such as Whimsicott and Tapu Bulu. Fire Fang is another option that can be used over Ice Shard or Gunk Shot, allowing Donphan to hit certain Steel-types harder, such as bulky Genesect and Mega Scizor.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed investment gives Donphan the best opportunity to deal with threats, as it lets it hit hard and fast. Donphan doesn't need HP investment, as Sturdy lets it survive any hit anyway. The leftover EVs are put into Defense, with HP IVs foregone entirely to keep Donphan's HP as low as possible so that Magearna does not regain much HP through Pain Split. Choice Band lets Donphan hit extremely hard with a variety of different moves; however, it locks Donphan into one move, which leaves it vulnerable to anti-Choice item strategies and makes Donphan unable to use Ice Shard to finish off opposing Pokemon if another move has been selected.
Usage Tips
========
While Choice Band allows Donphan to hit harder, it has the drawback of not allowing Donphan to switch its moves, losing the matchup against Pokemon such as Sawk and Golem running Counter. However, it is still a good check for Mega Charizard X and Y and most Steel- and Rock-types. This set is a lure set, so send Donphan in against Pokemon that lose to its coverage moves but usually win against its standard Groundium Z set, such as Primarina and Landorus-T. With Choice Band and no HP investment, Donphan has a very good chance at defeating fast Iron Defense Magearna, which can catch opponents off-guard. Do not send it in against Substitute + Flail Mega Lopunny, as Donphan will not be able to KO Mega Lopunny and will be defeated by Fake Out and Flail.
Team Options
========
As Donphan is able to lure Fairy-type Pokemon such as Primarina and Magearna, Pokemon that are weak to Fairy-type moves such as Mega Gyarados and Kommo-o are good partners. Those also help to cover threats that Donphan would be unable to cover, such as Dragonite and Mega Gyarados. Donphan needs partners that can take out physical walls such as Mega Slowbro and Zygarde-C, so Pokemon such as Greninja and Mega Gardevoir pair well with it. In return, Donphan deals with the physically offensive Pokemon that these Pokemon struggle with, such as Mega Charizard X, as well as Steel-types like Mega Aggron and Magearna.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Groundium Z can be replaced with Rockium Z for guaranteed accuracy and a harder-hitting Rock-type move, but the power of STAB Tectonic Rage is sorely missed. The EV spread on the Choice Band and Rockium Z set can be altered to 128 HP / 160 Atk / 220 Def in order to successfully tank a physical Supersonic Skystrike and Extreme Speed from maximum Attack Adamant Dragonite, its most common set, while ensuring a 2HKO with 2 Ice Shards or Continental Crush followed by Ice Shard. However, this still leaves Donphan vulnerable to special variants of Dragonite. On the main Groundium Z set, Head Smash and Counter can be replaced with Endeavor and Substitute to potentially lure Pokemon such as Mega Gyarados and Kommo-o. Using Endeavor immediately can be effective to bait attackers to which Donphan cannot normally retaliate. However, if they do not attack turn one, use Substitute repeatedly until Donphan is at 1 HP followed by Endeavor and Ice Shard to defeat any Pokemon that does not carry a priority move. This gives Donphan the potential to outplay Pokemon that it would normally not stand a chance against. The Choice Band set can run other coverage moves such as Play Rough for Kommo-o, Superpower for Air Balloon Heatran, Seed Bomb for Swampert, and Bounce for Mega Heracross, however it must forego another move. A set with maximum Speed investment instead of HP can be run with Bulldoze to lure Magearna. Rock Tomb can also be used to beat slow Mega Charizard X and Y.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Pokemon that Ignore Sturdy**: Mold Breaker users, such as Mega Gyarados and Magnet Rise Excadrill, can break through Donphan's Sturdy. Necrozma can also OHKO Donphan thanks to Photon Geyser ignoring opposing abilities. Pokemon with Skill Link, like Cloyster and Mega Heracross, can also aptly deal with Donphan.
**Physically Bulky Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Zygarde are naturally bulky, so despite having a 4x weakness to Ice Shard, they are still able to defeat standard Donphan. Pokemon like Magearna and Tapu Lele can boost their defenses to defeat Donphan, however, they must be wary of lure sets.
**Ground-immune Pokemon**: Pokemon that can utilize Magnet Rise, such as Aegislash and Excadrill, are usually good checks to Donphan. Air Balloon users, such as Heatran, usually handle Donphan well too. However, these can be lured in and defeated using Choice Band-boosted Superpower, excluding Aegislash. Some Flying-type Pokemon, such as Celesteela, are also able to easily tank any of Donphan's attacks and defeat it.
**Priority Users**: Special Dragonite with Extreme Speed can safely beat Donphan. Primarina can defeat standard Donphan with Aqua Jet; however, it can be lured and taken out with Choice Band-boosted Gunk Shot.
**Stall Pokemon**: As Donphan is unable to raise its offenses, Pokemon such as Mega Sableye and Kee Berry Mew are able to set up without worry and whittle Donphan down with Will-O-Wisp, while others like Mega Venusaur and Mega Slowbro can PP stall Donphan or beat it with their STAB moves.
**Water- and Grass-type Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Tapu Bulu and Tapu Fini have a type advantage over Donphan, although they must watch out for Choice Band-boosted Gunk Shot.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Chickenpie2, 305552]]
- Quality checked by: [[The Dark Alakazam, 276708], [Osra, 239997], [Blazikin, 420760]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [deetah, 297659]]
Donphan is an excellent physical bulky offensive presence in the 1v1 metagame with powerful moves, good offensive stats, decent bulk, and an invaluable ability in Sturdy. Donphan's wide movepool with access to Ground- and Rock-type moves allows it to hit the entire tier for at least neutral damage, if not super effective. With Ice Shard, Donphan has a consistent priority move to finish off faster Pokemon. However, it faces stiff competition from other Rockium Z Sturdy users such as Crustle, Carracosta, and Golem. It also struggles with bulky offensive Pokemon such as Mega Gyarados and Mew. With no way of boosting its stats reliably, Donphan is vulnerable to setup stallers or even just naturally bulky Pokemon, such as Chansey and Porygon2.
[SET]
name: Groundium Z
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Ice Shard
move 3: Head Smash / Stone Edge
move 4: Counter / Bulldoze
item: Groundium Z
ability: Sturdy
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earthquake is Donphan's strongest STAB move and, when combined with Groundium Z, allows it to OHKO most hyper offensive Pokemon that do not resist it, such as Kartana and Mega Lopunny. Ice Shard allows Donphan to pick off any weakened Pokemon that Tectonic Rage fails to OHKO. Its +1 priority also allows it to gain the upper hand against some faster foes like Jumpluff and Garchomp. Head Smash lets Donphan hit Flying-types for super effective damage. It is also Donphan's most powerful attack against Pokemon that resist Earthquake; however, the recoil negates Donphan's Sturdy. Stone Edge can be used instead to preserve Donphan's Sturdy at the cost of power. Counter is used to defeat most physical Pokemon, mainly Choice item users such as Haxorus and Landorus-T. Bulldoze is another option to slow down foes, in particular Magearna.
Set Details
========
Maximum HP and Attack investment ensures that Donphan can hit as hard as possible while maintaining its bulk to tank physical hits. The rest of the EVs are put into Speed to outspeed other uninvested base 50 Speed Pokemon. Groundium Z allows Donphan to use Tectonic Rage to hit harder than it can with any other item. Sturdy ensures that Donphan will always be left with at least 1 HP if hit from full HP, allowing it to retaliate with powerful moves.
Usage Tips
========
Donphan is very good against frail hyper offensive Pokemon such as Hoopa-U, Mega Lopunny, and Greninja, as it can tank any hit with Sturdy and retaliate with a powerful Tectonic Rage followed by a priority Ice Shard. As a Ground-type, it is immune to Electric-type moves, and as such it has no trouble with Pokemon like Magnezone and Zeraora. Donphan deals with most Steel-type Pokemon such as Aggron, Mega Mawile, and Aegislash by using Tectonic Rage followed by Earthquake if necessary. With its Rock- and Ice-type coverage, Donphan is able to circumvent Flying-types' immunity to Ground-type moves and defeat Pokemon such as Mega Charizard X and Y and Mega Pinsir. Send Donphan in against any physical Pokemon with Choice items such as Sawk and Haxorus to hit them back with Counter and finish them off with Ice Shard if necessary. Donphan is able to deal with most other Sturdy Pokemon like Magnezone, Golem, Crustle, Aggron, and Sawk, as Donphan can use its powerful Tectonic Rage to bring them to Sturdy and then use Ice Shard.
Team Options
========
Donphan is weak to physically bulky Pokemon such as Zygarde-C, Mega Slowbro, and Kommo-o, so having a special wallbreaker such as Psychium Z Mew or Normalium Z Porygon-Z is recommended. In return, Donphan can deal with Pokemon such as Greninja and Mega Lopunny that pose a threat to them. Mega Metagross and bulky Mega Charizard Y can deal with common Water- and Grass-type Pokemon such as Mega Gyarados, Tapu Fini, and Tapu Bulu, which Donphan struggles with. Donphan also helps against Fire- and Rock-type Pokemon that bother them, such as Mega Charizard X and Golem. As Donphan struggles against Pokemon that can raise their defenses like fast Iron Defense Magearna and Deoxys-S, wallbreakers such as Mega Charizard X and Aegislash are appreciated. Donphan remedies their weakness to Pokemon like Golem and Greninja.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Head Smash / Stone Edge
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Gunk Shot
item: Choice Band
ability: Sturdy
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
ivs: 0 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earthquake is Donphan's go-to STAB move, which can take out common Steel-types such as Magearna, Metagross, and Aegislash. It also beats most grounded Fire-, Electric-, and Poison-types, such as Mega Blaziken, Zeraora, and Naganadel. Head Smash deals with Flying-types, particularly Mega Charizard X and Y. Stone Edge is another, weaker option to avoid recoil. Ice Shard gives Donphan a priority move and helps it against some Dragon- and Ground-types, such as Garchomp and Landorus-T. Gunk Shot decimates Fairy-type Pokemon such as Primarina and deals more damage to Grass-types than Fire Fang does, which is useful against Pokemon such as Whimsicott and Tapu Bulu. Fire Fang is another option that can be used over Ice Shard or Gunk Shot, allowing Donphan to hit certain Steel-types harder, such as bulky Genesect and Mega Scizor.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed investment gives Donphan the best opportunity to deal with threats, as it lets it hit hard and fast. Donphan doesn't need HP investment, as Sturdy lets it survive any hit anyway. The leftover EVs are put into Defense, with HP IVs foregone entirely to keep Donphan's HP as low as possible so that Magearna does not regain much HP through Pain Split. Choice Band lets Donphan hit extremely hard with a variety of different moves; however, it locks Donphan into one move, which leaves it vulnerable to anti-Choice item strategies and makes Donphan unable to use Ice Shard to finish off opposing Pokemon if another move has been selected.
Usage Tips
========
While Choice Band allows Donphan to hit harder, it has the drawback of not allowing Donphan to switch its moves, losing the matchup against Pokemon such as Sawk and Golem running Counter. However, it is still a good check for Mega Charizard X and Y and most Steel- and Rock-types. This set is a lure set, so send Donphan in against Pokemon that lose to its coverage moves but usually win against its standard Groundium Z set, such as Primarina and Landorus-T. With Choice Band and no HP investment, Donphan has a very good chance at defeating fast Iron Defense Magearna, which can catch opponents off-guard. Do not send it in against Substitute + Flail Mega Lopunny, as Donphan will not be able to KO Mega Lopunny and will be defeated by Fake Out and Flail.
Team Options
========
As Donphan is able to lure Fairy-type Pokemon such as Primarina and Magearna, Pokemon that are weak to Fairy-type moves such as Mega Gyarados and Kommo-o are good partners. Those also help to cover threats that Donphan would be unable to cover, such as Dragonite and Mega Gyarados. Donphan needs partners that can take out physical walls such as Mega Slowbro and Zygarde-C, so Pokemon such as Greninja and Mega Gardevoir pair well with it. In return, Donphan deals with the physically offensive Pokemon that these Pokemon struggle with, such as Mega Charizard X, as well as Steel-types like Mega Aggron and Magearna.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Groundium Z can be replaced with Rockium Z for guaranteed accuracy and a harder-hitting Rock-type move, but the power of STAB Tectonic Rage is sorely missed. The EV spread on the Choice Band and Rockium Z set can be altered to 128 HP / 160 Atk / 220 Def in order to successfully tank a physical Supersonic Skystrike and Extreme Speed from maximum Attack Adamant Dragonite, its most common set, while ensuring a 2HKO with 2 Ice Shards or Continental Crush followed by Ice Shard. However, this still leaves Donphan vulnerable to special variants of Dragonite. On the main Groundium Z set, Head Smash and Counter can be replaced with Endeavor and Substitute to potentially lure Pokemon such as Mega Gyarados and Kommo-o. Using Endeavor immediately can be effective to bait attackers to which Donphan cannot normally retaliate. However, if they do not attack turn one, use Substitute repeatedly until Donphan is at 1 HP followed by Endeavor and Ice Shard to defeat any Pokemon that does not carry a priority move. This gives Donphan the potential to outplay Pokemon that it would normally not stand a chance against. The Choice Band set can run other coverage moves such as Play Rough for Kommo-o, Superpower for Air Balloon Heatran, Seed Bomb for Swampert, and Bounce for Mega Heracross, however it must forego another move. A set with maximum Speed investment instead of HP can be run with Bulldoze to lure Magearna. Rock Tomb can also be used to beat slow Mega Charizard X and Y.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Pokemon that Ignore Sturdy**: Mold Breaker users, such as Mega Gyarados and Magnet Rise Excadrill, can break through Donphan's Sturdy. Necrozma can also OHKO Donphan thanks to Photon Geyser ignoring opposing abilities. Pokemon with Skill Link, like Cloyster and Mega Heracross, can also aptly deal with Donphan.
**Physically Bulky Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Zygarde are naturally bulky, so despite having a 4x weakness to Ice Shard, they are still able to defeat standard Donphan. Pokemon like Magearna and Tapu Lele can boost their defenses to defeat Donphan, however, they must be wary of lure sets.
**Ground-immune Pokemon**: Pokemon that can utilize Magnet Rise, such as Aegislash and Excadrill, are usually good checks to Donphan. Air Balloon users, such as Heatran, usually handle Donphan well too. However, these can be lured in and defeated using Choice Band-boosted Superpower, excluding Aegislash. Some Flying-type Pokemon, such as Celesteela, are also able to easily tank any of Donphan's attacks and defeat it.
**Priority Users**: Special Dragonite with Extreme Speed can safely beat Donphan. Primarina can defeat standard Donphan with Aqua Jet; however, it can be lured and taken out with Choice Band-boosted Gunk Shot.
**Stall Pokemon**: As Donphan is unable to raise its offenses, Pokemon such as Mega Sableye and Kee Berry Mew are able to set up without worry and whittle Donphan down with Will-O-Wisp, while others like Mega Venusaur and Mega Slowbro can PP stall Donphan or beat it with their STAB moves.
**Water- and Grass-type Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Tapu Bulu and Tapu Fini have a type advantage over Donphan, although they must watch out for Choice Band-boosted Gunk Shot.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Chickenpie2, 305552]]
- Quality checked by: [[The Dark Alakazam, 276708], [Osra, 239997], [Blazikin, 420760]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [deetah, 297659]]
Last edited:
I think I miscoloured one of the words or something... I'd say "Ice Shard gives Donphan priority control" is okay (?) -- the control should just be over priority and not priority moves. I guess "moves" was never supposed to be there... Pardon my quite confusing work there! (On that topic, I think my confusion arose from the fact that "speed control" was an accepted term, but there was nothing about "priority control", so I guess I thought it easier to just explain what priority control is in a sentence to get around the ambiguity).
