Ubers Excadrill

The Dovahneer

UPL Champion
[OVERVIEW]

* Excadrill is the fastest Pokemon with the combination of Stealth Rock and Mold Breaker, making it usable as a suicide lead that is able to bypass Magic Bounce and reliably get Stealth Rock up against most teams.
* Access to Rapid Spin and Rock Tomb allows Excadrill to give its teammates an early-game advantage by clearing entry hazards and ensuring a Speed advantage.
* Cloyster, another common suicide lead, completely destroys Excadrill and can end up doing massive damage to Excadrill's team in lead matchups due to Shell Smash.
* Excadrill has to choose between Earthquake and Toxic, meaning it will be setup bait for Substitute Zygarde-C if it lacks Toxic or lose to certain Taunt users, such as Mega Gengar and Substitute Arceus-Ground, without Earthquake.
* Defog's prominence hurts Excadrill's viability, as the one-time nature of suicide leads ensures that once removed, Stealth Rock is staying gone. As a result, bulkier Stealth Rock users like Primal Groudon are often preferred due to their ability to set Stealth Rock up throughout the match.

[SET]
name: Suicide Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Rock Tomb
move 3: Toxic / Earthquake
move 4: Rapid Spin
item: Focus Sash
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Stealth Rock provides passive chip damage, breaks Focus Sashes, dissuades the repeated switching of Flying-types, and can almost always be set up thanks to Mold Breaker.
* Toxic allows Excadrill to put pressure on Defoggers and bulky Pokemon that take little damage from Earthquake and Rock Tomb. If used with Rock Tomb against a Defogger, Toxic lets a slower Excadrill keep up Stealth Rock while dealing passive damage. Another mention is Zygarde-C, which Excadrill typically outspeeds and can cripple before Substitute goes up.
* Rock Tomb lets Excadrill give your followup offensive threat a Speed advantage and allows it to defeat faster leads with Taunt while also dissuading setup, which is very important considering it is Excadrill's only response to setup Pokemon barring Toxic. The Speed drop also allows another teammate to Taunt other leads or Defog users trying to remove your Stealth Rock after Excadrill is KOed.
* Rapid Spin gives anti-entry hazard support by clearing away hazards your opponent sets without interfering with your own.
[OVERVIEW]

* Excadrill is the fastest Pokemon with the combination of Stealth Rock and Mold Breaker, making it usable as a suicide lead that is able to bypass Magic Bounce and reliably get Stealth Rock up against most teams.
* Access to Rapid Spin and Rock Tomb allows Excadrill to give its teammates an early-game advantage by clearing entry hazards and ensuring a Speed advantage.
* Cloyster, another common suicide lead, completely destroys Excadrill and can end up doing massive damage in lead matchups due to Shell Smash.
* Excadrill has to choose between Earthquake and Toxic, meaning it will be setup bait for Substitute Zygarde-C if it lacks Toxic or lose to certain Taunt users, such as Mega Gengar and Substitute Arceus-Ground, without Earthquake.
* Defog's prominence hurts Excadrill's viability, as the one-time nature of suicide leads ensures that once removed, Stealth Rock is staying gone. As a result, bulkier Stealth Rock users like Primal Groudon are often preferred due to their ability to set Stealth Rock up throughout the match.

[SET]
name: Suicide Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Rock Tomb
move 3: Toxic / Earthquake
move 4: Rapid Spin
item: Focus Sash
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Stealth Rock provides passive chip damage, breaks Focus Sashes, dissuades the repeated switching of Flying-types, and can almost always be set up thanks to Mold Breaker.
* Toxic allows Excadrill to put pressure on Defoggers and bulky Pokemon that take little damage from Earthquake and Rock Tomb. If used with Rock Tomb against a Defogger, Toxic lets a slower Excadrill keep up Stealth Rock while dealing passive damage. Another mention is Zygarde-C, which Excadrill typically outspeeds and can cripple before Substitute goes up.
* Rock Tomb lets Excadrill give your followup offensive threat a Speed advantage and allows it to defeat faster leads with Taunt while also dissuading setup, which is very important considering it is Excadrill's only response to setup Pokemon barring Toxic. The Speed drop also allows another teammate to Taunt other leads or Defog users trying to remove your Stealth Rock after Excadrill is KOed.
* Rapid Spin gives anti-entry hazard support, which lets Excadrill at least force a neutral playing field most of the time.
* Earthquake gives Excadrill some offensive punch, enabling it to deal significant damage against other leads, break Substitutes, and 2HKO Primal Groudon. Non-Ground-immune Taunt users like Mega Gengar dislike Earthquake as well due to Excadrill's decent Attack stat.
* Forgoing Rapid Spin in order to run Rock Tomb, Toxic, and Earthquake on one set is an option, but doing so leaves Excadrill without a way to clear hazards, which is one of the biggest reasons to use it.

Set Details
========

* 252 EVs in Attack and Speed combined with a Jolly nature give Excadrill the most effectiveness, letting it outspeed anything below maximum Speed base 90s, neutral-natured Zygarde, and everything except maximum Speed Deoxys-S after a Rock Tomb while making Earthquake and Rock Tomb do the most damage.
* Focus Sash is required because Excadrill's poor bulk and mediocre defensive typing leave it OHKOed by many Pokemon that it's trying to lead against.
* Mold Breaker gives Excadrill its niche of setting up Stealth Rock on Magic Bounce users and allows Earthquake to hit Pokemon with Levitate, such as Giratina-O.

Usage Tips
========

* Using Rock Tomb first is often a good option, as Excadrill can outspeed most Pokemon after one use, giving some chip damage and a Speed drop to go along with Stealth Rock.
* Excadrill unfortunately loses the lead matchup versus Cloyster, meaning going to an alternate lead is almost always a better plan.
* As a suicide lead, Excadrill's purpose is getting Stealth Rock up while denying your opponent's entry hazards. Sacrificing Excadrill is usually preferred over saving it because you are able to gain an advantage by switching in the appropriate threat.
* Excadrill has the ability to keep Stealth Rock up against support Arceus formes due to its Toxic immunity, the rarity of Will-O-Wisp, and Defog having less PP than Stealth Rock.
* While Taunt users can prevent Stealth Rock, Excadrill has other ways of crippling them. For example, Yveltal takes decent damage from Rock Tomb and Mewtwo along with its Mega Evolutions dislike the Speed drop and take significant damage from Earthquake.
* If not used as a lead, Excadrill can find some use later in the game provided that its Focus Sash isn't broken, as Earthquake 2HKOes Primal Groudon and can stop a sweep provided that chip damage is given.
* Against an Arceus-Ground, you must pay special attention to the opponent's team structure to determine your next move. If it appears to be the only Defogger, it is most likely a support variant, and you should use Rock Tomb. If it is not, Stealth Rock is best, as Swords Dance sets with Substitute can inflict massive damage otherwise and Rock Tomb does very little to the Substitute. Earthquake has value here in breaking the Substitute, as Rock Tomb does not.
* Dealing with Deoxys-S depends on if your opponent has a Ghost-type or not. If one is present, spamming Rapid Spin is a surefire way to clear hazards while slowly wearing Deoxys-S down. However, if one isn't present, two Rock Tombs let Excadrill outspeed it and set up Stealth Rock when Taunt runs out and click Rapid Spin until you win again. Something worth mentioning is Rocky Helmet, which makes the Rapid Spin spamming strategy useless if Deoxys-S is wielding it. Fortunately, Earthquake can easily dispatch the frail speedster.


Team Options
========

* As a suicide lead, Excadrill fits only on hyper offense archetypes, which have the offensive pressure to punish Defog users and appreciate Stealth Rock.
* Marshadow is a valuable Pokemon, as its combination of typing, Speed, and movepool lets it function as a priority safety net and anti-offense tool for defeating certain threats that otherwise could cause problems. In addition to this, Spectral Thief bypasses Substitute, allowing it to defeat the Substitute users that otherwise would set up on Excadrill. Its typing also gives it spinblocking capability, which is appreciated in certain matchups.
* Necrozma-DM is also useful, as it beats Cloyster one-on-one. However, it cannot prevent Cloyster from getting Spikes or Toxic Spikes up. Outside of this, Necrozma-DM is an excellent setup sweeper that appreciates the Stealth Rock that Excadrill sets because it pressures Ho-Oh and Yveltal, two common answers to Necrozma-DM.
* A Taunt user is useful, as the move tends to stop Cloyster from doing too much, beats Smeargle more easily, and prevents Defog. Popular users of the move include Yveltal and Mega Gengar.
* Mega Gengar in particular can trap and remove certain Defog users, such as Arceus-Water and Xerneas, and utilizes Taunt, providing the benefits mentioned above along with spinblocking capability. Icy Wind also lets it defeat Cloyster one-on-one while avoiding the KO, as +1 Cloyster does not outspeed.
* Priority users such as Yveltal, Marshadow, Extreme Killer Arceus, and Rayquaza can defeat runaway setup sweepers that set up on Excadrill.
* Almost every setup sweeper and wallbreaker appreciates Stealth Rock. Examples include Xerneas, Necrozma-DM, Primal Groudon, Zygarde-C, and Yveltal. Xerneas is able to directly threaten support Arceus formes, Primal Groudon can threaten almost everything due to the Speed drop, Zygarde-C appreciates support Arceus formes being hit with Toxic, and Yveltal is able to taunt support Arceus formes thanks to the Speed drop.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

* Excadrill can utilize an offensive sweeping set with sand support consisting of Swords Dance, Earthquake, Iron Head or Rock Slide, and Rapid Spin with either Groundium Z or Life Orb thanks to its Sand Rush ability. However, such a set is immediately shut down by the removal of sand, which is easily accomplished by Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, and is hampered by sand being limited to five or eight turns. Another thing to keep in mind if you use Life Orb is that Rapid Spin doesn't work if the recoil KOes Excadrill.
* Bulldoze combines the Speed drop of Rock Tomb with the STAB of Earthquake in one slot; however, if one forgoes Rock Tomb, Flying-types become an issue.


Checks and Counters
===================

**Cloyster**: Cloyster can use Shell Smash and easily remove Excadrill with Icicle Spear, as it bypasses Excadrill's Focus Sash and can Rapid Spin away the Stealth Rock Excadrill's trying to put up. Put simply, Cloyster always beats Excadrill in lead matchups.

**Substitute Setup Sweepers**: Bulky Pokemon such as Arceus, Zygarde-C, and Mega Salamence can easily set up on Excadrill's attacks by utilizing Substitute to block Toxic and repeatedly setting up, dealing massive damage very early on.

**Ferrothorn**: Iron Barbs makes Excadrill take damage every time it uses Rapid Spin, allowing Ferrothorn to set up two layers of Spikes, as Rapid Spin doesn't clear entry hazards if the user is KOed by recoil. Earthquake-less sets can't touch Ferrothorn, and even with it the damage dealt is easily healed with Leech Seed and Leftovers recovery.

**Rocky Helmet Skarmory**: Excadrill can't touch Skarmory, but Skarmory can't really touch Excadrill either without Rocky Helmet. With Rocky Helmet, Skarmory acts similarly to Ferrothorn in that Excadrill can't use Rapid Spin without suffering from recoil damage, which lets Skarmory get two layers of Spikes up.

**Defog Leftovers Lunala**: Excadrill can't set up Stealth Rock and break Shadow Shield at the same time due to Leftovers healing Rock Tomb damage and Moongeist Beam 2HKOing Excadrill, meaning that Lunala can easily Defog Stealth Rock away on whatever comes in; however, Toxic does prove a significant thorn in Lunala's side.

**Taunt**: Taunt prevents Stealth Rock and Toxic; however, keep in mind Excadrill can simply use its offensive moves to punish the most common users of the move.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[The Dovahneer, 186994]]
- Quality checked by: [[DMDW, 434601], [Nayrz, 212134], [Melee Mewtwo, 75110]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [GatoDelFuego, 91628]]
 
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*A good Attack stat of 135 combined with the aforementioned decent Speed tier of 88 and access to Rock Tomb and Rapid Spin allow it to beat most other suicide leads and the common lead Primal Groudon one-on-one, ensuring your team doesn't have to deal with hazards for a while.
This loses to the other most relevant suicide lead, and leading P-don when your opponent's running driller is dumb as shit.

*Excadrill unfortunately loses vs Cloyster and Spore Smeargle, meaning going to an alternate lead could be a better plan.
You outspeed Smeargle and can spam spin. If they switch into a ghost, you can switch, preserve sash, and spin latter. Only way you lose is if you rocks t1 or get shitty luck with glare para

**Skarmory**: Excadrill can't touch Skarmory, however Skarmory can't really touch Excadrill either without Rocky Helmet. With Rocky Helmet, Excadrill can't Rapid Spin without taking significant recoil damage meaning that, by spamming Spikes, Skarmory is able to get two spikes up due to Rapid Spin not clearing hazards if the recoil KOs Excadrill.
Spin has more pp than spikes, and rocks have more pp than fog, so you actually beat no rocky skarm

I feel specifically mentioning how this gets past M-Eye would be good since it's a big reason to use this over Cloyster and rocks are real good vs those teams. No idea where this would go though
 

The Dovahneer

UPL Champion
This loses to the other most relevant suicide lead, and leading P-don when your opponent's running driller is dumb as shit.
people do it on ladder lol
also i mentioned how you lose to cloyster, its number 1 on c&c
You outspeed Smeargle and can spam spin. If they switch into a ghost, you can switch, preserve sash, and spin latter. Only way you lose is if you rocks t1 or get shitty luck with glare para
yeah its why i mentioned spore smeargle specifically, which is common enough on ladder to mention
Spin has more pp than spikes, and rocks have more pp than fog, so you actually beat no rocky skarm
yeah i mentioned that as well if you didnt notice with deos and it applies to non helmet skarm as well which i could mention but i think its fine
I feel specifically mentioning how this gets past M-Eye would be good since it's a big reason to use this over Cloyster and rocks are real good vs those teams. No idea where this would go though
no reason to specifcially mention msable when i mentioned it bypassing magic bounce, which sable obviously falls under
 
people do it on ladder lol
I will concede ladder is dumb as shit

yeah its why i mentioned spore smeargle specifically, which is common enough on ladder to mention
You beat all variants of Smeargle, spore included

yeah i mentioned that as well if you didnt notice with deos and it applies to non helmet skarm as well which i could mention but i think its fine
You did mention it, but skarm has its own section section on c&c when it loses to driller

no reason to specifcially mention msable when i mentioned it bypassing magic bounce, which sable obviously falls under
Being able to rocks past M-Eye is a big reason to use this over cloyster
 

The Dovahneer

UPL Champion
You beat all variants of Smeargle, spore included
no? im pretty sure you get sleeped and unless its 2 turn sleep you lose
You did mention it, but skarm has its own section section on c&c when it loses to driller
changed to rocky helmet skarm which i guess is relevant
Being able to rocks past M-Eye is a big reason to use this over cloyster
no shit lol but msable is covered under magic bounce and changing that to a specific msable mention makes people forget about mdiancie, which is still relevant due to things like diancie webs
 
Overall what you say in Overview aren't necessarily wrong... but here are important things that I am looking for:

- Moveslot syndrome. Rock Tomb is mandatory to have Speed control against Taunt users / setup sweepers, Toxic is needed to actually do something to Defog users and keep SubDD Zygarde-C from winning on turn 1, and Earthquake is needed to pressure Primal Groudon & Necrozma-DM and not get beaned on SubSD Arceus-Ground. These don't have to be specified in Overview but they are something you have to keep in mind when talking about Excadrill's main drawbacks.
- Anti-leading other leads like Deoxys-S. I know this thing loses to Cloyster but it still has near-exclusive Rapid Spin. Saying 'ensuring your team doesn't have to deal with hazards for a while' isn't necessary considering people will know what Rapid Spin does.
- I wouldn't make a bullet dedicated to Defog's wide distribution - this is quite a big hit for every suicide leads and isn't limited to Excadrill alone. More relevant issue is the lack of Pokemon it effectively anti-leads in suicide lead vs suicide lead matchups. Deoxys-S and Smeargle are pretty much the only thing Excadrill stops and they too are less viable with Defog being everywhere.

And here is the new slashing:

move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Rock Tomb
move 3: Toxic / Earthquake
move 4: Rapid Spin

Rock Tomb is something we want to keep on Excadrill at all times. As mentioned, Speed control is one of the crucial elements here to keep faster Defog users like Arceus formes or Yveltal freely remove SR right after exca dies. It is something that is always useful for HO 'mon that exca will always be with because it gives your next Pokemon a room to effectively deal with the slowed foe. Even when you are running tomb + equake you still somewhat bother Defog users if you got Taunt users in the back.

Toxic vs Earthquake as a first slash was a tough call for me, but Toxic seemed to be a better choice to stop more important threats like DD Zyg-C and better deal with bulkier Defog users. Because Excadrill needs tomb / tox / equake to not be taken advantage of anything, I'd add a brief mention of possibly forgoing Rapid Spin to fit all three of these moves at the end of the Moves section, but it obviously takes away one of the important aspect of using Excadrill.

Also be more descriptive about Moves you use. Stealth Rock shouldn't be used only because it is the only entry hazard move Excadrill has an access to. Explain how it benefits its offensive teammates. Adding a brief mention about how it wears down things and applies pressure should suffice.


Set Details SHOULD EXPLAIN the most important reason behind running Jolly: hitting Adamant Zygarde with Toxic before sub goes up. You mention this in moves, but this is only possible with Jolly nature so move that over here.


Usage Tips should see a fix. Smeargle isn't using Spore very often when it is squeezing its 4 moveslots to not get shit on Pokemon running Taunt or Substitute.

Further elaborate on matchup vs. Deoxys-S. Mention to be wary of potential Rocky Helmet or Ghost-types in Deoxys-S's team.

*If not used for leading purposes it can find some use later in the game provided its Focus Sash isn't broken as Earthquake 2HKOs Primal Groudon, making it able to stop a sweep provided chip damage is given.
Excadrill will always lead and will live at most 3-ish turns. Remove this. Earthquake is already considered a niche option in Moves section.

*A taunt user is useful as it tends to be able to stop Cloyster from doing too much damage, beat Spore Smeargle, and prevent Defog. Popular users of the move include Yveltal and Mega Gengar.
I wouldn't say any of these Pokemon are ideal choices to counterlead Cloyster.

Yveltal is still a good teammate though - it can Taunt Defog users after drill slows them down with tomb and benefits from spin so that it can live with SR not being on its side. It also has Sucker Punch to give Excadrill's team more security against setup sweepers that somehow end up setting up on Excadrill.

Add Ferrothorn to Checks and Counters. Leech Seed and Iron Barbs mean that Excadrill will less likely prevent Spikes from going up and without Earthquake you are completely deadweight against it.

**Rocky Helmet Skarmory**: Excadrill can't touch Skarmory, however Skarmory can't really touch Excadrill either without Rocky Helmet. With Rocky Helmet, Excadrill can't Rapid Spin without taking significant recoil damage meaning that, by spamming Spikes, Skarmory is able to get two spikes up due to Rapid Spin not clearing hazards if the recoil KOs Excadrill.
We are talking about an instance where Skarmory has a Rapid Spin so don't talk about when it doesn't have a helmet. Also how does it set two Spikes? I'm not sure if this is a necessary / accurate point either. If you really think this needs to be specified then elaborate better on this.

Overall hone your writing - it doesn't sound very formal especially on Moves and Usage Tips.

Notify me here or in Discord when you implemented this.
 
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Cynara

Banned deucer.
I don't agree with DMDW's stance on Arceus-Water, even though it isn't the main analysis set, it still gets legitimate usage on teams, where it becomes a 'necessary evil' on some structures, its not unviable. Its a defensive mon that Excadrill has to play around, having the extra info in the analysis is helpful.. for the reader, incase they encounter a Defog Arceus-Water lead. (on the ladder this is somewhat common for a Defog user)

Also having team options that deal with it is also just as important to the reader.

Implement the rest of what DMDW has suggested however
 
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I have a few issues with the Overview here. It mainly aims for specifics and absolutes, neither of which are ideal for an analysis.

*Excadrill carves out a niche for itself due to it being the fastest Pokemon with the combination of Stealth Rock and Mold Breaker, making it a suicide lead that is able to bypass Magic Bounce and reliably get Stealth Rock up against most teams.
random aside but i'd just delete this part and make it a standard sentence. it makes my (and every gp member's) eyes roll.
*A good Attack stat of 135 combined with the aforementioned decent Speed tier of 88 and access to Rock Tomb and Rapid Spin allow it to anti-lead some suicide leads such as Deoxys-Speed and the common lead Primal Groudon, ensuring your team doesn't have to deal with hazards for a while.
Exca's Attack stat is only relevant for Earthquake's damage output vs Ground weak leads. The typical set doesn't aim for direct damage and mentioning Primal Groudon as a lead you beat isn't ideal when Earthquake isn't always there and you are usually clicking Tomb/Toxic/SR before it to help the second mon coming after Exca.

*Cloyster, another common suicide lead, completely destroys Excadrill and can end up doing massive damage in lead matchups due to Shell Smash.
*Excadrill has to choose between Earthquake and Toxic, meaning it will always lose in a certain counter lead.
This is rather repetitive and the second part tells me nothing. What is it losing to? A mention of 4mss and specific details of what to watch for will serve better.

Excadrill's niche is a SR lead not affected by Bounce that can also slow down a mon for a big advantage with specific partners that come in after. That's the kinda thing I'd expect in the Overview.

There is also no mention of Excadrill's lacking potential due to how common Defog is. You don't go over generational shifts but you CAN say that
Defog is so prevalent that SR is better done by mons with longevity or better utility, making Exca hella niche. The builds it "fits" are so constrained and prone to autoloss matchups. Speaking of which...

*Set-up sweepers who utilize Subsitute can use Excadrill as setup bait depending on your set, and because Excadrill is almost exclusively used on Hyper Offense, this can lead to a loss at turn 1.
This isn't wrong but it isnt worded appropriately for an analysis. There's no specifics in what setup sub mons are around, and we don't go over absolute calls saying "can lead to a loss at turn 1". That part is a big no because it makes an absolute call on what will happen in a game when there are variables to it. "geoxern can get free setup on x and sweep" - the non-bold is fine. making the call in bold is where i'd reject it. This is a similar case.

Earthquake should be further down in Moves - it's mentioned second despite being a slashed move.
*Marshadow is another Ghost-type that can utilize Spectral Thief to rob some Pokemon who want to try to set up on Excadrill of their boosts, even through Substitute.
again, no specifics. this is meant to be informative to readers, not a cypher.

I have a few things to say about C&C but i'll let this all get implemented first before going over it.
 
i feel like it is important to mention that once sr is up, letting excadrill die gives u switch advantage. the pokemon cost associated is fine because excadrill’s only advantage is setting up quick, sure stealth rock to follow up with offensive pressure from the team.

icy wind gengar is probs worth mentioning as a teammate since it’s a no-guess cloyster anti-lead that also traps it. best cloy can do is predict the icy wind and setup a spike layer.

explain that thanks to excadrills toxix immunity, (and rarity of wisp) that it beats support arc with defog (or fat defog in general) by virtue of sr’s greater pp. u get to force the opponent into killing excadrill while rocks are still up, which means prime time for the next mon coming in to start pressure and deny the defog.

worth elaborating that the choice between toxic and eq comes down to which potential exploits worry your team more. dd zyg and other fat mons or stuff like sub ekiller/groundy.

fat lunala probs worth mentioning as an anti lead. it outspeeds and 2hkos with moongeist so u cant setup rocks AND break shadow shield. this generally means that it can force the defog on whatever u bring in or u just dont get rocks in order to toxic a mon that probs has cleric support and a fat team behind it that u really need rocks to break. dark/ghost types probs worth mentioning as teammates due to this stuff.

implement and u get the stamp, i cant think of anything else really
 

frostration

i probably have a headache
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add | remove | [comments] | [AC = add comma] | [RC = remove comma] | [AP = add period]
[OVERVIEW]

*Excadrill is the fastest Pokemon with the combination of Stealth Rock and Mold Breaker, making it able to be used usable as a suicide lead that is able to bypass Magic Bounce and reliably get Stealth Rock up against most teams.
*Access to Rock Tomb and Rapid Spin allows Excadrill to give your followup Pokemon its teammates an early-game advantage by clearing entry hazards and ensuring the a Speed advantage.
*Cloyster, another common suicide lead, completely destroys Excadrill and can end up doing massive damage in lead matchups due to Shell Smash. [maybe this point should be made after finishing discussion on Excadrill?]
*Excadrill has to choose between Earthquake and Toxic, meaning it will be set-up setup bait for Subsitiute Substitute Zygarde-C if it lacks Toxic or lose to certain Taunt users, [AC] such as Mega Gengar and Substitute Arceus-Ground, [AC] without Earthquake.
*Defog being very common hurts Excadrill's viability, as the one-time nature of suicide leads ensures that once removed, Stealth Rock is staying gone. As such, bulkier Stealth Rock users such as like Primal Groudon are often preferred due to their ability to set Stealth Rock up throughout the match.

[SET]
name: Suicide Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Rock Tomb
move 3: Toxic / Earthquake
move 4: Rapid Spin
item: Focus Sash
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

*Stealth Rock provides passive chip damage, breaks Focus Sashes, [AC] and dissuades the repeated switching of Flying-types, [AC] and can almost always be set up almost always sets up without fail [parallelism] thanks to Mold Breaker.
*Toxic allows Excadrill to put pressure on Defoggers who would otherwise clear Stealth Rock [implied by Defog] and bulky Pokemon who that take little damage from Earthquake and Rock Tomb. If used with Rock Tomb against a Defogger, often times being slower is an advantage as it Toxic [dangling modifier] lets a slower Excadrill keep up Stealth Rock while dealing passive damage with Toxic. Another mention is Zygarde-C, which Excadrill typically outspeeds and can cripple before Subsitute Substitute goes up.
*Rock Tomb lets Excadrill give your followup offensive threat a Speed advantage and allows you to defeat faster leads with Taunt while also dissuading setup, something that which is very important considering it is Excadrill's only way of doing this. The Speed drop also allows another teammate to Taunt other leads or Defog counter-leads after Excadrill is KOed
*Rapid Spin gives anti-entry hazard support which lets it at least force a neutral playing field most of the time.
*Earthquake gives Excadrill some offensive punch, enabling it to deal significant damage against other leads, break Substitutes, and 2HKO Primal Groudon. Non Ground-immune Taunt users such as like Mega Gengar dislike Earthquake as well due to Excadrill's decent Attack stat.
*Forgoing Rapid Spin in order to run Rock Tomb, Toxic, and Earthquake on one set is an option, however but doing so leaves Excadrill without a way to clear hazards, which is one of the biggest reasons to use it.

Set Details
========

*252 EVs in Attack and Speed combined with a Jolly nature gives it give Excadrill the most effectiveness, letting it outspeed anything less than maximum speed Speed base 90s, neutral-natured Zygarde, and allows you to outspeed everything except maximum speed Speed Deoxys-Speed after a Rock Tomb while making Earthquake and Rock Tomb do the most damage.
*Focus Sash is required as because Excadrill's poor bulk and mediocre defensive typing leaves it OHKOed by vulnerable to the very same things Pokemon that it's trying to lead against.
*Mold Breaker gives Excadrill it's its niche of setting up Stealth Rock on Magic Bounce users and allows Earthquake to hit levitating Pokemon with Levitate, such as Giratina-O.

Usage Tips
========

*Using Rock Tomb first is often a good option, [AC] as Excadrill can outspeed most Pokemon after one, giving some chip damage and a Speed drop to go along with Stealth Rock.
*Excadrill unfortunately loses the lead matchup versus Cloyster, meaning going to an alternate lead is almost always a better plan.
*As a suicide lead, Excadrill's purpose is getting Stealth Rock up while denying your opponent's entry hazards. Sacrificing Excadrill is usually prefered to preferred over saving it due to this as because you are able to gain an advantage by switching in the appropriate threat.
*Excadrill has the ability to keep Stealth Rock up against Support support Arceus formes due to a its Toxic immunity, [AC] and the rarity of Will-O-Wisp, [AC] combined with and Defog having less PP than Stealth Rock.
*While Taunt users can prevent Stealth Rock, Excadrill has other ways of crippling them. Yveltal takes decent damage from Rock Tomb, and Mewtwo and its Mega Evolutions [just saying "Mewtwo" implies you're including Mega Evolutions as well] dislikes Rock Tomb and takes significant damage from Earthquake, etc.
*If not used for leading purposes, [AC] it Excadrill can find some use later in the game provided that its Focus Sash isn't broken, [AC] as Earthquake 2HKOs 2HKOes Primal Groudon [RC] and can making it able to stop a sweep provided that chip damage is given.
*Against an Arceus-Ground, special attention has to be paid you must pay special attention [active voice] to the opponent's team structure to determine your next move. If it appears to be the only Defogger, it is most likely a support variant, [AC] and you should use Rock Tomb. If it is not, Stealth Rock is best, [AC] as Swords Dance sets with Subsititute Substitute can inflict massive damage otherwise. Earthquake has value here in breaking the Substitute, as Rock Tomb obviously does not.
*Dealing with Deoxys-Speed changes depending depends on if your opponent has a Ghost-type or not. If one is present, spamming Rapid Spin is a surefire way to clear hazards while slowly wearing Deoxys-Speed down. [AP] however However, if one isn't present, [AC] two Rock Tombs let Excadrill outspeed and set up Stealth Rock when Taunt runs out and clicking let you click Rapid Spin until you win again. Something worth mentioning is Rocky Helmet, which makes the Rapid Spin spamming strategy useless. Fortunately, Earthquake can easily dispatch the frail speedster.


Team Options
========

*As a suicide lead, Excadrill fits only on Hyper Offense archtypes hyper offense archetypes, which have the offensive pressure to punish Defog users and who appreciate Stealth Rock.
*Marshadow is a valuable Pokemon, [AC] as its combination of typing, Speed, [AC] and movepool let it function as a Priority priority safety net and anti-offense tool for defeating certain threats which that otherwise could cause problems. In addition to this, Spectral Thief bypasses Substitute, allowing it to defeat the Substitute users which otherwise would set up on Excadrill. It's Its typing also gives it spinblocking capability, something which is appreciated in certain match ups matchups.
*Dusk Mane Necrozma Necrozma-DM is also useful, [AC] as it beats Cloyster one-on-one. [comma --> period] however However, it cannot prevent it Cloyster from getting Spikes or Toxic Spikes up. Outside of this, Dusk Mane Necrozma Necrozma-DM is an excellent set-up setup sweeper which that appreciates the Stealth Rock that Excadrill sets as because it pressures Ho-Oh and Yveltal, two common answers to it Necrozma-DM.
*A taunt Taunt user is useful, [AC] as it tends to be able to stop Cloyster from doing too much damage, beat Smeargle easier, and prevent Defog. Popular users of the move include Yveltal and Mega Gengar.
*Mega Gengar in particular can trap and remove certain Defog users, [AC] such as Arceus-Water and Xerneas, and utilizes Taunt, providing the benefits mentioned above along with spinblocking capability. Icy Wind also defeats Cloyster one-on-one while avoiding the KO on Mega Gengar, as +1 Cloyster does not outsped outspeed.
*Priority users provide insurance in case something sets up on Excadrill. Examples of such users include Yveltal, Marshadow, Extreme Killer Arceus, and Rayquaza. [I feel like you can change this to something like "Priority users like [examples] can defeat setup sweepers that threaten Excadrill" instead of the insurance thing]
*Almost every set-up setup sweeper and wallbreaker appreciates Stealth Rock. Examples include Xerneas, Necrozma-DM, Primal Groudon, Zygarde-C, and Yveltal. Primal Groudon, Xerneas, Dusk Mane Necrozma, Zygarde-C, and Yveltal, etc. [reorganized to match list] For some examples of synergizes with Excadrill specifically, Xerneas is able to directly threatenSupport support Arceus formes, Dusk Mane Necrozma Necrozma-DM can beat Cloyster one-on-one [not sure if you need to mention Necrozma-DM in this case again since you made the case for it earlier], Primal Groudon can threaten almost everything due to the Speed drop, Zygarde-C appreciates Support support Arceus formes being hit with Toxic, Yveltal is able to taunt Support support Arceus formes thanks to the Speed drop, along with many other benefits.


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

*Excadrill can utilize an offensive sweeping set with Sandstorm support consisting of Swords Dance, Earthquake, Iron Head or Rock Slide, and Rapid Spin with either Groundium-Z Groundium Z or Life Orb thanks to its Sand Rush ability. [comma --> period] however However, such a set is immediately shut down by the removal of Sandstorm, [AC] which is easily accomplished by both Primals Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, and is hampered by Sandstorm being limited to five or eight turns. Another thing to keep in mind if you use Life Orb is that Rapid Spin doesn't work if it KOs KOes Excadrill with recoil.
*Bulldoze combines the speed drop of Rock Tomb with the STAB of Earthquake in one slot; [comma --> semicolon] however, [AC] such a move causes problems against Flying-types.


Checks and Counters
===================

**Cloyster**: Cloyster can use Shell Smash and easily remove Excadrill with Icicle Spear, [AC] as it bypasses Excadrill's Focus Sash or and can Rapid Spin away the Stealth Rock Excadrill's trying to put up. Put simply, Cloyster always beats Excadrill in lead matchups.

**Subsitute Set-up Substitute Setup Sweepers**: Bulky Pokemon, [AC] such as Arceus, Zygarde-C, and Mega Salamence, [AC] can easily set up on Excadrill's attacks by utilizing Subsitute Substitute to block Toxic and repeatedly setting up, dealing massive damage very early on.

**Ferrothorn** Iron Barbs makes Excadrill take damage every time it uses Rapid Spin, allowing Ferrothorn to set up two Spikes layers, as Rapid Spin doesn't clear entry hazards if the user is KOed by recoil. Earthquake-less sets can't touch Ferrothorn, [AC] and even with it the damage dealt is easily healed with Leech Seed and leftovers Leftovers recovery.

**Rocky Helmet Skarmory**: Excadrill can't touch Skarmory, however but [varying word choice] Skarmory can't really touch Excadrill either without Rocky Helmet. With Rocky Helmet, Skarmory acts similar to Ferrothorn in that Excadrill cant can't use Rapid Spin without suffering from recoil damage, [AC] which lets it Skarmory get two Spikes layers up.

**Defog Leftovers Lunala**: Excadrill can't set up Stealth Rock and break Shadow Shield at the same time due to Leftovers healing Rock Tomb damage and Moongeist Beam 2HKOing Excadrill, meaning that Lunala can easily Defog Stealth Rock away on whatever comes in; [comma --> semicolon] however, [AC] Toxic does prove a significant thorn in it's Lunala's side.

**Taunt**: Taunt prevents Stealth Rock and Toxic; [comma --> semicolon] however, [AC] keep in mind that Excadrill can simply use its offensive moves to punish the most common users of the moves. [AP]
 

Lumari

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is a Site Content Manageris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris an Administrator Alumnus
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frostration: add | remove | [comments] | [AC = add comma] | [RC = remove comma] | [AP = add period]
tdp: add / fix remove (comments)
GP 1/2
good work as always
[OVERVIEW]

*(put a space after all your asterisks) Excadrill is the fastest Pokemon with the combination of Stealth Rock and Mold Breaker, making it able to be used usable as a suicide lead that is able to bypass Magic Bounce and reliably get Stealth Rock up against most teams.
*Access to Rock Tomb and Rapid Spin and Rock Tomb allows Excadrill to give your followup Pokemon its teammates an early-game advantage by clearing entry hazards and ensuring the a Speed advantage.
*Cloyster, another common suicide lead, completely destroys Excadrill and can end up doing massive damage in lead matchups due to Shell Smash. [maybe this point should be made after finishing discussion on Excadrill?] (still discusses Excadrill tbh, point is just that it loses super hard to Cloyster. if you must reword it as "Excadrill is completely destroyed by Cloyster, which can" but no real need tbh)
*Excadrill has to choose between Earthquake and Toxic, meaning it will be set-up setup bait for Subsitiute Substitute Zygarde-C if it lacks Toxic or lose to certain Taunt users, [AC] such as Mega Gengar and Substitute Arceus-Ground, [AC] without Earthquake.
*Defog's being very common prominence hurts Excadrill's viability, as the one-time nature of suicide leads ensures that once removed, Stealth Rock is staying gone. As such As a result (only use "as such" is "such" has something to directly correspond to), bulkier Stealth Rock users such as like Primal Groudon are often preferred due to their ability to set Stealth Rock up throughout the match.

[SET]
name: Suicide Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Rock Tomb
move 3: Toxic / Earthquake
move 4: Rapid Spin
item: Focus Sash
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

*Stealth Rock provides passive chip damage, breaks Focus Sashes, [AC] and dissuades the repeated switching of Flying-types, [AC] and can almost always be set up almost always sets up without fail [parallelism] (nah keep this as is tbh) thanks to Mold Breaker.
*Toxic allows Excadrill to put pressure on Defoggers who would otherwise clear Stealth Rock [implied by Defog] and bulky Pokemon who that take little damage from Earthquake and Rock Tomb. If used with Rock Tomb against a Defogger, often times being slower is an advantage as it Toxic [dangling modifier] lets a slower Excadrill keep up Stealth Rock while dealing passive damage with Toxic. Another mention is Zygarde-C, which Excadrill typically outspeeds and can cripple before Subsitute Substitute goes up.
*Rock Tomb lets Excadrill give your followup offensive threat a Speed advantage and allows you it to defeat faster leads with Taunt while also dissuading setup, something that which is very important considering it is Excadrill's only way of doing this. (doing what? this is p vague) The Speed drop also allows another teammate to Taunt other leads or Defog counter-leads away anti-leads' entry hazards after Excadrill is KOed. (AP)
*Rapid Spin gives anti-entry hazard support, (AC) which lets it Excadrill at least force a neutral playing field most of the time.
*Earthquake gives Excadrill some offensive punch, enabling it to deal significant damage against other leads, break Substitutes, and 2HKO Primal Groudon. Non-Ground-immune (AH) Taunt users such as like Mega Gengar dislike Earthquake as well due to Excadrill's decent Attack stat.
*Forgoing Rapid Spin in order to run Rock Tomb, Toxic, and Earthquake on one set is an option, however but doing so leaves Excadrill without a way to clear hazards, which is one of the biggest reasons to use it.

Set Details
========

*252 EVs in Attack and Speed combined with a Jolly nature gives it give Excadrill the most effectiveness, letting it outspeed anything less than below maximum speed Speed base 90s, neutral-natured Zygarde, and allows you to outspeed everything except maximum speed Speed Deoxys-Speed after a Rock Tomb while making Earthquake and Rock Tomb do the most damage.
*Focus Sash is required as because Excadrill's poor bulk and mediocre defensive typing leaves it OHKOed by vulnerable to (keep "OHKOed by" if it's accurate) the very same things Pokemon that it's trying to lead against.
*Mold Breaker gives Excadrill it's its niche of setting up Stealth Rock on Magic Bounce users and allows Earthquake to hit levitating Pokemon with Levitate, such as Giratina-O.

Usage Tips
========

*Using Rock Tomb first is often a good option, [AC] as Excadrill can outspeed most Pokemon after one, giving some chip damage and a Speed drop to go along with Stealth Rock.
*Excadrill unfortunately loses the lead matchup versus Cloyster, meaning going to an alternate lead is almost always a better plan.
*As a suicide lead, Excadrill's purpose is getting Stealth Rock up while denying your opponent's entry hazards. Sacrificing Excadrill is usually prefered to preferred over saving it due to this as because you are able to gain an advantage by switching in the appropriate threat.
*Excadrill has the ability to keep Stealth Rock up against Support support Arceus formes due to a its Toxic immunity, [AC] and the rarity of Will-O-Wisp, [AC] combined with and Defog having less PP than Stealth Rock.
*While Taunt users can prevent Stealth Rock, Excadrill has other ways of crippling them. Yveltal takes decent damage from Rock Tomb, and Mewtwo and its Mega Evolutions [just saying "Mewtwo" implies you're including Mega Evolutions as well] (eh not per se, at the very least not unambiguousy so, keep that tbh) dislikes (keep verbs plural too) Rock Tomb and takes significant damage from Earthquake, etc.
*If not used for leading purposes as a lead, [AC] it Excadrill can find some use later in the game provided that its Focus Sash isn't broken, [AC] as Earthquake 2HKOs 2HKOes Primal Groudon [RC] and can making it able to stop a sweep provided that chip damage is given.
*Against an Arceus-Ground, special attention has to be paid you must pay special attention [active voice] (that guideline doesn't rly apply in a case like this but sure works still) to the opponent's team structure to determine your next move. If it appears to be the only Defogger, it is most likely a support variant, [AC] and you should use Rock Tomb. If it is not, Stealth Rock is best, [AC] as Swords Dance sets with Subsititute Substitute can inflict massive damage otherwise. Earthquake has value here in breaking the Substitute, as Rock Tomb obviously does not.
*Dealing with Deoxys-Speed changes depending depends on if your opponent has a Ghost-type or not. If one is present, spamming Rapid Spin is a surefire way to clear hazards while slowly wearing Deoxys-Speed down. [AP] however However, if one isn't present, [AC] two Rock Tombs let Excadrill outspeed it and set up Stealth Rock when Taunt runs out and clicking let you click (just "click" works, click -> use / spam would be technically more correct too but the repetition isnt needed) Rapid Spin until you win again. Something worth mentioning is Rocky Helmet, which makes the Rapid Spin spamming strategy useless if Deoxys-S is wielding it. Fortunately, Earthquake can easily dispatch the frail speedster.


Team Options
========

*As a suicide lead, Excadrill fits only on Hyper Offense archtypes hyper offense archetypes, which have the offensive pressure to punish Defog users and who appreciate Stealth Rock.
*Marshadow is a valuable Pokemon, [AC] as its combination of typing, Speed, [AC] and movepool let lets it function as a Priority priority safety net and anti-offense tool for defeating certain threats which that otherwise could cause problems. In addition to this, Spectral Thief bypasses Substitute, allowing it to defeat the Substitute users which that otherwise would set up on Excadrill. It's Its typing also gives it spinblocking capability, something which is appreciated in certain match ups matchups.
*Dusk Mane Necrozma Necrozma-DM is also useful, [AC] as it beats Cloyster one-on-one. [comma --> period] however However, it cannot prevent it Cloyster from getting Spikes or Toxic Spikes up. Outside of this, Dusk Mane Necrozma Necrozma-DM is an excellent set-up setup sweeper which that appreciates the Stealth Rock that Excadrill sets as because it pressures Ho-Oh and Yveltal, two common answers to it Necrozma-DM.
*A taunt Taunt user is useful, [AC] as it tends to be able to stop Cloyster from doing too much damage, help beat Smeargle easier more easily, and prevent Defog. Popular users of the move include Yveltal and Mega Gengar.
*Mega Gengar in particular can trap and remove certain Defog users, [AC] such as Arceus-Water and Xerneas, and utilizes Taunt, providing the benefits mentioned above along with spinblocking capability. Icy Wind also defeats lets it defeat Cloyster one-on-one while avoiding the KO on Mega Gengar, as +1 Cloyster does not outsped outspeed.
*Priority users provide insurance in case something sets up on Excadrill. Examples of such users include Yveltal, Marshadow, Extreme Killer Arceus, and Rayquaza. [I feel like you can change this to something like "Priority users like [examples] can defeat setup sweepers that threaten Excadrill" instead of the insurance thing] (ya)
*Almost every set-up setup sweeper and wallbreaker appreciates Stealth Rock. Examples include Xerneas, Necrozma-DM, Primal Groudon, Zygarde-C, and Yveltal. Primal Groudon, Xerneas, Dusk Mane Necrozma, Zygarde-C, and Yveltal, etc. [reorganized to match list] For some examples of synergizes with Excadrill specifically, Xerneas is able to directly threatenSupport support Arceus formes, Dusk Mane Necrozma Necrozma-DM can beat Cloyster one-on-one [not sure if you need to mention Necrozma-DM in this case again since you made the case for it earlier], Primal Groudon can threaten almost everything due to the Speed drop, Zygarde-C appreciates Support support Arceus formes being hit with Toxic, Yveltal is able to taunt Support support Arceus formes thanks to the Speed drop, along with many other benefits.


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

*Excadrill can utilize an offensive sweeping set with Sandstorm sand support consisting of Swords Dance, Earthquake, Iron Head or Rock Slide, and Rapid Spin with either Groundium-Z Groundium Z or Life Orb thanks to its Sand Rush ability. [comma --> period] however However, such a set is immediately shut down by the removal of Sandstorm sand, [AC] which is easily accomplished by both Primals Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, and is hampered by Sandstorm sand being limited to five or eight turns. Another thing to keep in mind if you use Life Orb is that Rapid Spin doesn't work if it the recoil KOs KOes Excadrill with recoil.
*Bulldoze combines the Speed drop of Rock Tomb with the STAB of Earthquake in one slot; [comma --> semicolon] however, [AC] such a move (forgoing Rock Tomb?) causes problems against Flying-types.


Checks and Counters
===================

**Cloyster**: Cloyster can use Shell Smash and easily remove Excadrill with Icicle Spear, [AC] as it bypasses Excadrill's Focus Sash or and can Rapid Spin away the Stealth Rock Excadrill's trying to put up. Put simply, Cloyster always beats Excadrill in lead matchups.

**Subsitute Set-up Substitute Setup Sweepers**: Bulky Pokemon, [AC] such as Arceus, Zygarde-C, and Mega Salamence, [AC] (nah don't add these commas tbh) can easily set up on Excadrill's attacks by utilizing Subsitute Substitute to block Toxic and repeatedly setting up, dealing massive damage very early on.

**Ferrothorn**: (colon) Iron Barbs makes Excadrill take damage every time it uses Rapid Spin, allowing Ferrothorn to set up two Spikes layers, as Rapid Spin doesn't clear entry hazards if the user is KOed by recoil. Earthquake-less sets can't touch Ferrothorn, [AC] and even with it the damage dealt is easily healed with Leech Seed and leftovers Leftovers recovery.

**Rocky Helmet Skarmory**: Excadrill can't touch Skarmory, however but [varying word choice] Skarmory can't really touch Excadrill either without Rocky Helmet. With Rocky Helmet, Skarmory acts similar similarly to Ferrothorn in that Excadrill cant can't use Rapid Spin without suffering from recoil damage, [AC] which lets it Skarmory get two Spikes layers up.

**Defog Leftovers Lunala**: Excadrill can't set up Stealth Rock and break Shadow Shield at the same time due to Leftovers healing Rock Tomb damage and Moongeist Beam 2HKOing Excadrill, meaning that Lunala can easily Defog Stealth Rock away on whatever comes in; [comma --> semicolon] however, [AC] Toxic does prove a significant thorn in it's Lunala's side.

**Taunt**: Taunt prevents Stealth Rock and Toxic; [comma --> semicolon] however, [AC] keep in mind that Excadrill can simply use its offensive moves to punish the most common users of the moves. [AP]
 
Yo The Dovahneer check the post above and

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[The Dovahneer, 186994]]
- Quality checked by: [[DMDW, 434601], [Nayrz, 212134], [Melee Mewtwo, 75110]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [, ]]

Put this at the end
 

GatoDelFuego

The Antimonymph of the Internet
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REMOVE CHANGE COMMENTS

[OVERVIEW]

* Excadrill is the fastest Pokemon with the combination of Stealth Rock and Mold Breaker, making it usable as a suicide lead that is able to bypass Magic Bounce and reliably get Stealth Rock up against most teams.
* Access to Rapid Spin and Rock Tomb allows Excadrill to give its teammates an early-game advantage by clearing entry hazards and ensuring a Speed advantage.
* Cloyster, another common suicide lead, completely destroys Excadrill and can end up doing massive damage in lead matchups Is this referring to damage to the rest of the team? In that case, I would say "massive damage to Excadrill's team" due to Shell Smash.
* Excadrill has to choose between Earthquake and Toxic, meaning it will be setup bait for Substitute Zygarde-C if it lacks Toxic or lose to certain Taunt users, such as Mega Gengar and Substitute Arceus-Ground, remove extra space without Earthquake.
* Defog's prominence hurts Excadrill's viability, as the one-time nature of suicide leads ensures that once removed, Stealth Rock is staying gone. As a result, bulkier Stealth Rock users like Primal Groudon are often preferred due to their ability to set Stealth Rock up throughout the match.

[SET]
name: Suicide Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Rock Tomb
move 3: Toxic / Earthquake
move 4: Rapid Spin
item: Focus Sash
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Stealth Rock provides passive chip damage, breaks Focus Sashes, dissuades the repeated switching of Flying-types, and can almost always be set up thanks to Mold Breaker.
* Toxic allows Excadrill to put pressure on Defoggers and bulky Pokemon that take little damage from Earthquake and Rock Tomb. If used with Rock Tomb against a Defogger, Toxic lets a slower Excadrill keep up Stealth Rock while dealing passive damage. Another mention is Zygarde-C, which Excadrill typically outspeeds and can cripple before Substitute goes up.
* Rock Tomb lets Excadrill give your followup offensive threat a Speed advantage and allows it to defeat faster leads with Taunt while also dissuading setup, which is very important considering it is Excadrill's only response to setup Pokemon barring Toxic. The Speed drop also allows another teammate to Taunt other leads or Defog users trying to remove your Stealth Rock after Excadrill is KOed.
* Rapid Spin gives anti-entry hazard support,
[OVERVIEW]

* Excadrill is the fastest Pokemon with the combination of Stealth Rock and Mold Breaker, making it usable as a suicide lead that is able to bypass Magic Bounce and reliably get Stealth Rock up against most teams.
* Access to Rapid Spin and Rock Tomb allows Excadrill to give its teammates an early-game advantage by clearing entry hazards and ensuring a Speed advantage.
* Cloyster, another common suicide lead, completely destroys Excadrill and can end up doing massive damage in lead matchups due to Shell Smash.
* Excadrill has to choose between Earthquake and Toxic, meaning it will be setup bait for Substitute Zygarde-C if it lacks Toxic or lose to certain Taunt users, such as Mega Gengar and Substitute Arceus-Ground, without Earthquake.
* Defog's prominence hurts Excadrill's viability, as the one-time nature of suicide leads ensures that once removed, Stealth Rock is staying gone. As a result, bulkier Stealth Rock users like Primal Groudon are often preferred due to their ability to set Stealth Rock up throughout the match.

[SET]
name: Suicide Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Rock Tomb
move 3: Toxic / Earthquake
move 4: Rapid Spin
item: Focus Sash
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Stealth Rock provides passive chip damage, breaks Focus Sashes, dissuades the repeated switching of Flying-types, and can almost always be set up thanks to Mold Breaker.
* Toxic allows Excadrill to put pressure on Defoggers and bulky Pokemon that take little damage from Earthquake and Rock Tomb. If used with Rock Tomb against a Defogger, Toxic lets a slower Excadrill keep up Stealth Rock while dealing passive damage. Another mention is Zygarde-C, which Excadrill typically outspeeds and can cripple before Substitute goes up.
* Rock Tomb lets Excadrill give your followup offensive threat a Speed advantage and allows it to defeat faster leads with Taunt while also dissuading setup, which is very important considering it is Excadrill's only response to setup Pokemon barring Toxic. The Speed drop also allows another teammate to Taunt other leads or Defog users trying to remove your Stealth Rock after Excadrill is KOed.
* Rapid Spin gives anti-entry hazard support, remove extra space which lets Excadrill at least force a neutral playing field most of the time.
* Earthquake gives Excadrill some offensive punch, enabling it to deal significant damage against other leads, break Substitutes, and 2HKO Primal Groudon. Non-Ground-immune remove extra space Taunt users like Mega Gengar dislike Earthquake as well due to Excadrill's decent Attack stat.
* Forgoing Rapid Spin in order to run Rock Tomb, Toxic, and Earthquake on one set is an option, but doing so leaves Excadrill without a way to clear hazards, which is one of the biggest reasons to use it.

Set Details
========

* 252 EVs in Attack and Speed combined with a Jolly nature give Excadrill the most effectiveness, letting it outspeed anything below maximum Speed base 90s, neutral-natured Zygarde, and everything except maximum remove extra space, scan through the rest of the analysis for any you missed Speed Deoxys-S after a Rock Tomb while making Earthquake and Rock Tomb do the most damage.
* Focus Sash is required because Excadrill's poor bulk and mediocre defensive typing leave it OHKOed by many Pokemon that it's trying to lead against.
* Mold Breaker gives Excadrill its niche of setting up Stealth Rock on Magic Bounce users and allows Earthquake to hit Pokemon with Levitate, such as Giratina-O.

Usage Tips
========

* Using Rock Tomb first is often a good option, as Excadrill can outspeed most Pokemon after one use, giving some chip damage and a Speed drop to go along with Stealth Rock.
* Excadrill unfortunately loses the lead matchup versus Cloyster, meaning going to an alternate lead is almost always a better plan.
* As a suicide lead, Excadrill's purpose is getting Stealth Rock up while denying your opponent's entry hazards. Sacrificing Excadrill is usually preferred over saving it because you are able to gain an advantage by switching in the appropriate threat.
* Excadrill has the ability to keep Stealth Rock up against support Arceus formes due to its Toxic immunity, the rarity of Will-O-Wisp, and Defog having less PP than Stealth Rock.
* While Taunt users can prevent Stealth Rock, Excadrill has other ways of crippling them. For example, Yveltal takes decent damage from Rock Tomb and Mewtwo along with its Mega Evolutions dislike the Speed drop and take significant damage from Earthquake.
* If not used as a lead, Excadrill can find some use later in the game provided that its Focus Sash isn't broken, as Earthquake 2HKOes Primal Groudon and can stop a sweep provided that chip damage is given.
* Against an Arceus-Ground, you must pay special attention to the opponent's team structure to determine your next move. If it appears to be the only Defogger, it is most likely a support variant, and you should use Rock Tomb. If it is not, Stealth Rock is best, as Swords Dance sets with Substitute can inflict massive damage otherwise. Earthquake has value here in breaking the Substitute, as Rock Tomb does not. so why does that make stealth rock the best play? Elaborate a bit more
* Dealing with Deoxys-S depends on if your opponent has a Ghost-type or not. If one is present, spamming Rapid Spin is a surefire way to clear hazards while slowly wearing Deoxys-S down. However, if one isn't present, two Rock Tombs let Excadrill outspeed it and set up Stealth Rock when Taunt runs out and click Rapid Spin until you win again. Something worth mentioning is Rocky Helmet, which makes the Rapid Spin spamming strategy useless if Deoxys-S is wielding it. Fortunately, Earthquake can easily dispatch the frail speedster.


Team Options
========

* As a suicide lead, Excadrill fits only on hyper offense archetypes, which have the offensive pressure to punish Defog users and appreciate Stealth Rock.
* Marshadow is a valuable Pokemon, as its combination of typing, Speed, and movepool lets it function as a priority safety net and anti-offense tool for defeating certain threats that otherwise could cause problems. In addition to this, Spectral Thief bypasses Substitute, allowing it to defeat the Substitute users that otherwise would set up on Excadrill. Its typing also gives it spinblocking capability, which is appreciated in certain matchups.
* Necrozma-DM is also useful, as it beats Cloyster one-on-one. need a space here However, it cannot prevent Cloyster from getting Spikes or Toxic Spikes up. Outside of this, Necrozma-DM is an excellent setup sweeper that appreciates the Stealth Rock that Excadrill sets because it pressures Ho-Oh and Yveltal, two common answers to Necrozma-DM.
* A Taunt user is useful, as it the move tends to stop Cloyster from doing too much damage, beats Smeargle more easily, and prevents Defog. Popular users of the move include Yveltal and Mega Gengar.
* Mega Gengar in particular can trap and remove certain Defog users, such as Arceus-Water and Xerneas, and utilizes Taunt, providing the benefits mentioned above along with spinblocking capability. Icy Wind also lets it defeat Cloyster one-on-one while avoiding the KO, as +1 Cloyster does not outspeed.
* Priority users such as Yveltal, Marshadow, Extreme Killer Arceus, and Rayquaza can defeat runaway setup sweepers that set up on Excadrill.
* Almost every setup sweeper and wallbreaker appreciates Stealth Rock. Examples include Xerneas, Necrozma-DM, Primal Groudon, Zygarde-C, and Yveltal. Xerneas is able to directly threaten support Arceus formes, Primal Groudon can threaten almost everything due to the Speed drop, Zygarde-C appreciates support Arceus formes being hit with Toxic, and Yveltal is able to taunt support Arceus formes thanks to the Speed drop, along with many other benefits. which benefits? It's not exactly clear to me; I'd either say what the benefits are (for Yveltal?) or just stop the sentence after "Speed drop"


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

* Excadrill can utilize an offensive sweeping set with sand support consisting of Swords Dance, Earthquake, Iron Head or Rock Slide, and Rapid Spin with either Groundium Z or Life Orb thanks to its Sand Rush ability. However, such a set is immediately shut down by the removal of sand, which is easily accomplished by Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, and is hampered by sand being limited to five or eight turns. Another thing to keep in mind if you use Life Orb is that Rapid Spin doesn't work if the recoil KOes Excadrill.
* Bulldoze combines the Speed drop of Rock Tomb with the STAB of Earthquake in one slot; however, if one forgoes Rock Tomb, Flying-types become an issue.


Checks and Counters
===================

**Cloyster**: Cloyster can use Shell Smash and easily remove Excadrill with Icicle Spear, as it bypasses Excadrill's Focus Sash and can Rapid Spin away the Stealth Rock Excadrill's trying to put up. Put simply, Cloyster always beats Excadrill in lead matchups.

**Substitute Setup Sweepers**: Bulky Pokemon such as Arceus, Zygarde-C, and Mega Salamence, (RC) can easily set up on Excadrill's attacks by utilizing Substitute to block Toxic and repeatedly setting up, dealing massive damage very early on.

**Ferrothorn**: Iron Barbs makes Excadrill take damage every time it uses Rapid Spin, allowing Ferrothorn to set up two layers of Spikes, as Rapid Spin doesn't clear entry hazards if the user is KOed by recoil. doesn't this mean Excadrill can just rapid spin, let ferro put up 1 layer, and then KO with earthquake? Granted it's still one layer but to be technical heh Earthquake-less sets can't touch Ferrothorn, and even with it the damage dealt is easily healed with Leech Seed and Leftovers recovery.

**Rocky Helmet Skarmory**: Excadrill can't touch Skarmory, but Skarmory can't really touch Excadrill either without Rocky Helmet. With Rocky Helmet, Skarmory acts similarly to Ferrothorn in that Excadrill can't use Rapid Spin without suffering from recoil damage, which lets Skarmory get two layers of Spikes up.

**Defog Leftovers Lunala**: Excadrill can't set up Stealth Rock and break Shadow Shield at the same time due to Leftovers healing Rock Tomb damage and Moongeist Beam 2HKOing Excadrill, meaning that Lunala can easily Defog Stealth Rock away on whatever comes in; however, Toxic does prove a significant thorn in Lunala's side.

**Taunt**: Taunt prevents Stealth Rock and Toxic; however, keep in mind Excadrill can simply use its offensive moves to punish the most common users of the moves.


2/2

Looks good, just make sure the formatting is cleaned up a bit w/ those spaces.
 
Last edited:

The Dovahneer

UPL Champion
**Ferrothorn**: Iron Barbs makes Excadrill take damage every time it uses Rapid Spin, allowing Ferrothorn to set up two layers of Spikes, as Rapid Spin doesn't clear entry hazards if the user is KOed by recoil. doesn't this mean Excadrill can just rapid spin, let ferro put up 1 layer, and then KO with earthquake? Granted it's still one layer but to be technical heh Earthquake-less sets can't touch Ferrothorn, and even with it the damage dealt is easily healed with Leech Seed and Leftovers recovery.
idk what youre saying here but what basically happens is you set rocks or eq, ferro seeds up, and begins spamming spikes
either you let it spike up while clicking eq which gives chip but leaves spikes up or click spin, remove everything, and take recoil damage as it resets the spikes or seeds

im 90% sure theres no way to get out of it optimally except by switching after a seed and letting a single spike go up

252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Ferrothorn: 133-157 (37.7 - 44.6%) -- 96.7% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery and Leech Seed recovery

should be implemented anyway
 

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