[OVERVIEW]
Gastrodon finds itself a solid role in the metagame thanks to its typing, bulk, and ability letting it fit onto more defensive teams that need it to reliably answer many important threats such as Dragapult, Heatran, Tapu Koko, Zapdos, and many more. Storm Drain allows it to wall foes that other Ground-types would dare not approach such as Volcanion and Tapu Fini as well as letting it absorb Scald from defensive Pokemon like Toxapex and Galarian Slowking. Sticky Hold also has use in letting Gastrodon retain its item against Trick and Knock Off users like Blacephalon, Clefable, and Toxapex. Unfortunately, Gastrodon's passive nature can leave it prone to being taken advantage of by more aggressive teams. It also faces stiff competition from the other Ground-types in the metagame such as Landorus-T and Garchomp, but mainly Hippowdon, which is another Ground-type option on the more defensively-oriented teams Gastrodon often finds itself on.
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Scald
move 2: Earth Power / Earthquake
move 3: Toxic / Clear Smog / Protect
move 4: Recover
item: Leftovers / Heavy-Duty Boots
ability: Storm Drain / Sticky Hold
nature: Calm / Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Earth Power is the preferred Ground-type move, letting Gastrodon threaten Bulk Up Zeroara reliably as well as Melmetal. It is also unaffected by Grassy Terrain and benefits from potential Special Attack boosts from Storm Drain. However, Earthquake can be run with a Sassy nature in order to threaten more damage against the likes of Galarian Slowking, Calm Mind Tapu Koko, and specially defensive Heatran. Toxic puts foes such as Zapdos, Slowbro, and opposing Gastrodon on a timer, while Clear Smog instantly eliminates stat boosts from the likes of non-Substitute Calm Mind Tapu Fini and Calm Mind Clefable. Protect can instead be chosen to scout Choice-locks from the likes of Dragapult and Tapu Lele while also letting Gastrodon receive more Leftovers recovery. Leftovers gives Gastrodon passive recovery, letting it shrug off attacks more easily, whereas Heavy-Duty Boots lets it ignore entry hazards, namely Spikes, that would cut into its longevity. Storm Drain is the preferred ability, as the Water immunity it provides allows Gastrodon to answer foes that other Ground-types would rather avoid such as Volcanion, Tapu Fini, and Rotom-W. However, Sticky Hold can be run in order to block foes such as Blacephalon, Tapu Fini, Clefable, and Galarian Slowking from crippling Gastrodon with Trick, either with a Choice item, Sticky Barb, or Black Sludge. It also prevents Knock Off from removing Gastrodon's item, though the additional damage from the move still remains. 48 Defense EVs allow Gastrodon to survive a Choice Specs-boosted Psyshock from Modest Tapu Lele from full HP while in Psychic Terrain.
Team Options
========
Checks to Grass-types such as Rillaboom and Kartana are absolutely essential alongside Gastrodon; Flying-types like Tornadus-T, Corviknight, and Zapdos are prime examples of such partners. They can also provide entry hazard removal with Defog so that Gastrodon can run Leftovers more freely. In return, Gastrodon can answer Electric-types that would threaten them like Tapu Koko and Zapdos as well as Heatran. Some special and mixed attackers like Tapu Lele and Arctozolt can still threaten Gastrodon; Steel-types like Heatran and Ferrothorn can handle these foes for it while also setting up hazards for Gastrodon's team to make progress. Rillaboom provides Grassy Terrain support for Gastrodon, which can bolster the recovery of Leftovers variants even further or give Heavy-Duty Boots sets the passive healing they would otherwise miss out on. Cleric support from the likes of Clefable and Blissey can help Gastrodon more easily withstand foes that may attempt to cripple it with Toxic such as Heatran and Zapdos.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Substitute can be used on fatter team structures to protect Gastrodon from Future Sight + wallbreaker combinations by setting it up against Future Sight users such as Slowbro and Galarian Slowking. It also allows Gastrodon to avoid status such as Toxic and Will-O-Wisp. However, it comes at the cost of valuable utility such as Toxic or Clear Smog.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-types**: Offensive Grass-types such as Rillaboom and Kartana can cleanly OHKO it with their STAB moves, use it as setup fodder, or use Knock Off against one of Gastrodon's teammates as it switches out. Ferrothorn also poses an issue for Gastrodon, as it can use Gastrodon as an opportunity to set up entry hazards, either Stealth Rock or Spikes, and wear it down with Leech Seed; it cannot immediately threaten Gastrodon if it is not running Power Whip, however.
**Status Conditions**: Many Pokemon that Gastrodon is tasked with checking, such as Heatran, Zapdos, and Tapu Koko, can opt to run Toxic in order to cripple it and dig into its longevity, making it more difficult for Gastrodon to stay on the field for long periods of time. Will-O-Wisp from Rotom-W and Heatran can also be troublesome; although it isn't as crippling as Toxic, it can annoy Earthquake variants of Gastrodon by reducing its damage.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/igiveuponaname.593115/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.102/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.103/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user6.105/
Gastrodon finds itself a solid role in the metagame thanks to its typing, bulk, and ability letting it fit onto more defensive teams that need it to reliably answer many important threats such as Dragapult, Heatran, Tapu Koko, Zapdos, and many more. Storm Drain allows it to wall foes that other Ground-types would dare not approach such as Volcanion and Tapu Fini as well as letting it absorb Scald from defensive Pokemon like Toxapex and Galarian Slowking. Sticky Hold also has use in letting Gastrodon retain its item against Trick and Knock Off users like Blacephalon, Clefable, and Toxapex. Unfortunately, Gastrodon's passive nature can leave it prone to being taken advantage of by more aggressive teams. It also faces stiff competition from the other Ground-types in the metagame such as Landorus-T and Garchomp, but mainly Hippowdon, which is another Ground-type option on the more defensively-oriented teams Gastrodon often finds itself on.
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Scald
move 2: Earth Power / Earthquake
move 3: Toxic / Clear Smog / Protect
move 4: Recover
item: Leftovers / Heavy-Duty Boots
ability: Storm Drain / Sticky Hold
nature: Calm / Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Earth Power is the preferred Ground-type move, letting Gastrodon threaten Bulk Up Zeroara reliably as well as Melmetal. It is also unaffected by Grassy Terrain and benefits from potential Special Attack boosts from Storm Drain. However, Earthquake can be run with a Sassy nature in order to threaten more damage against the likes of Galarian Slowking, Calm Mind Tapu Koko, and specially defensive Heatran. Toxic puts foes such as Zapdos, Slowbro, and opposing Gastrodon on a timer, while Clear Smog instantly eliminates stat boosts from the likes of non-Substitute Calm Mind Tapu Fini and Calm Mind Clefable. Protect can instead be chosen to scout Choice-locks from the likes of Dragapult and Tapu Lele while also letting Gastrodon receive more Leftovers recovery. Leftovers gives Gastrodon passive recovery, letting it shrug off attacks more easily, whereas Heavy-Duty Boots lets it ignore entry hazards, namely Spikes, that would cut into its longevity. Storm Drain is the preferred ability, as the Water immunity it provides allows Gastrodon to answer foes that other Ground-types would rather avoid such as Volcanion, Tapu Fini, and Rotom-W. However, Sticky Hold can be run in order to block foes such as Blacephalon, Tapu Fini, Clefable, and Galarian Slowking from crippling Gastrodon with Trick, either with a Choice item, Sticky Barb, or Black Sludge. It also prevents Knock Off from removing Gastrodon's item, though the additional damage from the move still remains. 48 Defense EVs allow Gastrodon to survive a Choice Specs-boosted Psyshock from Modest Tapu Lele from full HP while in Psychic Terrain.
Team Options
========
Checks to Grass-types such as Rillaboom and Kartana are absolutely essential alongside Gastrodon; Flying-types like Tornadus-T, Corviknight, and Zapdos are prime examples of such partners. They can also provide entry hazard removal with Defog so that Gastrodon can run Leftovers more freely. In return, Gastrodon can answer Electric-types that would threaten them like Tapu Koko and Zapdos as well as Heatran. Some special and mixed attackers like Tapu Lele and Arctozolt can still threaten Gastrodon; Steel-types like Heatran and Ferrothorn can handle these foes for it while also setting up hazards for Gastrodon's team to make progress. Rillaboom provides Grassy Terrain support for Gastrodon, which can bolster the recovery of Leftovers variants even further or give Heavy-Duty Boots sets the passive healing they would otherwise miss out on. Cleric support from the likes of Clefable and Blissey can help Gastrodon more easily withstand foes that may attempt to cripple it with Toxic such as Heatran and Zapdos.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Substitute can be used on fatter team structures to protect Gastrodon from Future Sight + wallbreaker combinations by setting it up against Future Sight users such as Slowbro and Galarian Slowking. It also allows Gastrodon to avoid status such as Toxic and Will-O-Wisp. However, it comes at the cost of valuable utility such as Toxic or Clear Smog.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-types**: Offensive Grass-types such as Rillaboom and Kartana can cleanly OHKO it with their STAB moves, use it as setup fodder, or use Knock Off against one of Gastrodon's teammates as it switches out. Ferrothorn also poses an issue for Gastrodon, as it can use Gastrodon as an opportunity to set up entry hazards, either Stealth Rock or Spikes, and wear it down with Leech Seed; it cannot immediately threaten Gastrodon if it is not running Power Whip, however.
**Status Conditions**: Many Pokemon that Gastrodon is tasked with checking, such as Heatran, Zapdos, and Tapu Koko, can opt to run Toxic in order to cripple it and dig into its longevity, making it more difficult for Gastrodon to stay on the field for long periods of time. Will-O-Wisp from Rotom-W and Heatran can also be troublesome; although it isn't as crippling as Toxic, it can annoy Earthquake variants of Gastrodon by reducing its damage.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/igiveuponaname.593115/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.102/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.103/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user6.105/
Last edited:
