Dugtrio (UU Lead)

DarkSlay

Guess who's back? Na na na! *breakdances*
is a CAP Contributor Alumnus
Hey guys, DrkSlay here! I'm in charge of the Dugtrio revamp, and I've noticed that Stealth Rock and Focus Sash have been gaining some ground (per June statistics) in UU. In fact, more so than Choice Scarf. Therefore, I imagine that a Lead set analysis is entirely possible to showcase Focus Sash usage, as well as to introduce a lead that is actually quite good in the metagame. Before I write the revamp, I wanted to get this set approved so that I can add it on.

070417dugtrio.jpg

UU Lead
Dugtrio @ Focus Sash

Ability: Arena Trap
EV's: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Nature: Jolly / Adamant
Moveset:
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Sucker Punch

Set Notes:
- Lead Dugtrio is most comparable to Lead Aerodactyl, in that it is more often than not guaranteed to place Stealth Rock on the field. However, while it lacks Taunt, Dugtrio also has a unique niche that helps it out in the Lead position as well: Arena Trap.
- STAB EQ, along with EdgeQuake coverage, is not to be overlooked, dealing with threats like Omastar, Kabutops, and even Moltres before they can retaliate or set up.
- Sucker Punch is pretty neat priority, picking off Focus Sash users like Kabutops and Alakazam pretty well.
- Arena Trap prevents most opposing leads from switching out, thus allowing Dugtrio to prevent hazards from being placed, KO the opponent, or simply set up SR.

AC:
- 216 Speed EV's and a Jolly nature out-speed Ambipom by two points, which as a result, out-speeds all UU leads bar Electrode (which is not a threat to Dugtrio). Max Attack for most damage. The rest is dumped into HP.
- Adamant and a spread of 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe can be used to guarantee a 2HKO with EQ on Omastar as well as more added power, but you ultimately lose to Ambipom and some forms of Alakazam (although Sucker Punch can help with mind games)
- While an effective lead, if Dugtrio can be saved, it can also be used as an effective trapper and revenger later in the game (albeit not as powerful as CB/LO). It's still fast enough to outpace Max+ Base 110's with this spread.

Team Options:
- Pokemon that appreciate Stealth Rock support generally love having Dugtrio guarantee them being up. Powerful offensive sweepers like Aggron, Rhyperior, Alakazam, and the like are good examples.
- Ghost Pokemon like Mismagius and Rotom help keep SR in play.
- A powerful STAB Pursuit user like Absol, Drapion, or Skuntank can help kill weakened leads or leads Dugtrio cannot beat offensively (Uxie, Mesprit, etc.).

Dugtrio against the top 10 Leads of UU (as of June 2010):

Uxie: Both get up Stealth Rock. Uxie cannot TWave Dugtrio, so it's fairly safe to switch to a fast counter. Unless Uxie has Psychic, it can't do much to Dugtrio, while Dugtrio can't do much to it. Draw, but gets SR up.
Ambipom: You can take this in two directions. First, you should always Sucker Punch on the expected Fake Out, as Dugtrio is faster. Then, you have a decision. Sucker Punch + Earthquake does 87.6% - 103.5% to Ambipom, which means it's a very good shot at a 2HKO if it's the common Life Orb lead, and even if it hits minimum, Ambipom kills itself. This means Ambipom is dead, and Dugtrio is at low health. However, you risk getting hit by priority or Scarf users next turn before SR gets up. Your other choice is to use SR and let Dugtrio die, which results in <50% Ambipom after LO damage plus SR for your team. Overall, Win.
Mesprit: See: Uxie. Note that Mesprit can KO Dugtrio, however, since it can carry Ice Beam / GK. Dugtrio does its job.
Omastar:
EQ does 44.2% - 52.9% on the Utility spread, which means anything less is a guaranteed 2HKO. You can actually prevent Omastar from Spike stacking. Win.
Spiritomb: Dugtrio gets SR up, and dies. Does its job, but loses.
Alakazam: Two Earthquakes = KO. If it's faster (Max + outspeeds, but no current Alakazam lead runs that), Sucker Punch for the KO. Or, EQ plus SR leaves a weakened Alakazam. Win.
Cloyster: Sets up SR, then dies. Just look out for Rapid Spin leads. Does its job, but loses.
Moltres: Stone Edge OHKO's. At worst, it's forced to switch out. Win.
Hippopotas
: Both get up SR. Tie.
Qwilfish: EQ breaks the Sash. At the most, it's getting up one layer of Spikes. If you suspect that it has Aqua Jet, use Sucker Punch to finish it off. Win.

I have tested this set, and the results have been pretty positive. It either does its job, or eliminates the other lead. It was actually pretty fun to play with.
 
not exactly the greatest set tbh as it really doesn't defeat most of the common leads. a majority of them sets up their respective entry hazards and escapes. the only niche i see from this is eliminating the frail leads such as ambipom. against, omastar - you don't exactly win as well since it is a 3hko at best with earthquake and it can 2hko you with surf and still survive to sr later on.

iirc, too weak to shut down leads effectively. cheap trapping methods don't exactly work when 2 of the 3 top leads escape quite easily.

my suggestions to make this much better?

-a slash for adamant nature to make this set more focused on beating the leads instead of mid-game utility. adamant nature can 2hko omastar with lefties and has a high chance of beating enemy ambipom

Outside that changes however, I really don't see this being that effective. Maybe my suggestions may sway other peoples opinion on this set, but I personally find this lackluster.
 
It looks like a pretty interesting set. I would change it to a Adamant nature, and possibly drop Stone Edge for Protect. It would cause you to lose against Moltres leads, but it would help you against the Fake out leads. I don't really see how this is a outstanding lead, but it looks like its pretty much guaranteed to get up Stealth Rock.
 
@ franky:

Thanks for the response! Losing offensively to Uxie and Mesprit is a pain, but Dugtrio's main role is really to set up Stealth Rock. Its more of a perk that it can deal with other leads like Ambipom well. What it can do that other SR users cannot do (unless they lock themselves into SR with a Scarf) is outpace all Taunters (bar Electrode, who dies anyway) and set up Stealth Rock as a lead. Uxie and Mesprit may be awesome users of Stealth Rock, but they cannot really get past Ambipom and are forced to switch out before they can SR due to Taunt. Dugtrio, on the other hand, can actually deal with Ambipom's Fake Out and set up SR (if that's your plan). While it's foolish to compare Dugtrio to Uxie as Pokemon, as SR users, Dugtrio's 363 Speed stat cannot be ignored. Getting up SR on virtually all leads (while having the option of beating a few) is the exact reasoning why Aerodactyl makes such a great lead (with the exception of Taunt), and why FS Dugtrio is getting some usage.

As for the Adamant slash, the only issue with that is that you lose to Ambipom (Ambipom out-speeds you, which means Fake Out flinches you, then Return / Pursuit / U-Turn finishes you). Unless I'm missing something completely obvious, of course. Also, you speed tie Aggressive Alakazam at best, and lose to the Dual Screen lead. However, since it guarantees the 2HKO on all Omastar and has more power overall to guarantee certain 2HKO's, I can add a slash.

With that said, I personally haven't met an Omastar I couldn't 2HKO with EQ at Jolly. Unless I'm really lucky, it seems that common lead Omastar don't run 252 HP / 176 Def Bold. That could be the three or four I played, however, so Adamant might be important enough.

Thanks again!

@ STEELDRAGON:

Thanks for the post! I've addressed Adamant above, so I'll move on to Protect. Protect is an interesting option over Stone Edge, but in reality, Dugtrio already beats Ambipom with the current set. The only benefit would be to scout for errant Double Hit Leads and U-Turns. Aside from that, you pretty much just lose to Moltres and Scyther leads as a result. I'll test it to make sure, though. Thanks!
 
If you really want to act as a sort of UU Aerodactyl, you could go with Rock Slide instead of Stone Edge. Better accuracy and the chance of causing a flinch could be helpful sometimes.
 
locking for inactivity and also because a very similar set was already rejected by qc. i believe all the reasoning in the previous rejection is still valid.

@ op: if you still think this set is viable, you can post it again with your dugtrio revamp (you indicated you were writing that at the top of your post) with responses to the rejections linked in post #5. your revamp will have to go through qc anyways.
 
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