[OVERVIEW]
Palossand's forte in NU is eating physical attacks and setting Stealth Rock due to its excellent defensive typing and bulk. It's also great at checking some of the tier's common Pokemon like Copperajah, Diancie, and Bronzong. Unlike other Ground-types in the tier, like Mudsdale, Palossand does not let Xatu and Celebi in for free. It also has a reliable form of recovery in Shore Up. However, Palossand is very slow and is extremely susceptible to special wallbreakers like Exploud and Decidueye, along with many other common special threats in the tier like Rotom-C, Vaporeon, Starmie, and Blastoise.
[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Earth Power
move 4: Shore Up
item: Colbur Berry / No Item
ability: Water Compaction
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Palossand is great at setting up Stealth Rock on common Pokemon like Diancie, Talonflame, and Bronzong. If Stealth Rock is not needed, Palossand can run Toxic to cripple common switch-ins like Vaporeon and Mantine. Colbur Berry is the preferred item to stomach one Dark-type move like Knock Off or Dark Pulse from threats like Drapion or Heliolisk. Going itemless, however, lets Palossand switch into Poltergeist users like Choice Band Golurk.
Guzzlord has excellent defensive synergy with Palossand, as it can switch in on Ghost- and Dark-type moves from the likes of Decidueye and Drapion. Guzzlord can also switch in on the Grass- and Water-type moves that Palossand loathes. Since Grass-types like Rotom-C, Vileplume, and Decidueye offensively force out Palossand, partners like Ninjask, Expert Belt Goodra, and Salazzle are appreciated. Similarly, Water-types like Vaporeon, Blastoise, and Starmie take advantage of Palossand's lackluster special bulk. Teammates like Toxicroak, Choice Scarf Heliolisk, and Rotom-C work very well here to scare them off. Because of Palossand's ability to set up Stealth Rock on Diancie, Talonflame, and Bronzong, having a partner like Talonflame to pivot on such threats and bring in Palossand is nice. Special wallbreakers like Nasty Plot Celebi, Exploud, and Dragalge love to feast on Palossand's mediocre Special Defense. Partners like Leek Sirfetch'd or Goodra can force them out.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Palossand can potentially run a Choice Specs set along with Trick to utilize its decent Special Attack stat. However, due to its sluggish Speed, Palossand will need to predict the right move every time to be an effective wallbreaker.
Checks and Counters
====
**Dark- and Ghost-types**: Pokemon like Guzzlord, Decidueye, Dhelmise, and Golurk can make life tough for Palossand by not letting it set up Stealth Rock or heal with Shore Up. Said Ghost-types need to be mindful of Shadow Ball, however.
**Bulky Grass- and Water-types**: Vileplume, Vaporeon, and Blastoise are just a few common threats that can take advantage of Palossand's poor special bulk and weaknesses.
**Braviary**: Barring Toxic variants of Palossand, Braviary freely switches into it because of its Ghost and Ground immunities.
**Special Wallbreakers**: Threats like Exploud, Nasty Plot Celebi, Starmie, and Dragalge can do serious damage or even OHKO Palossand outright with their STAB attacks.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Oathkeepre, 83980]]
- Quality checked by: [[poh, 298730], [Mariannabelle, 435989]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [username2, userid2]]
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