Ground/Flying
Randorosu
[Overview]
- Unique speed stat that allows him to outspeed arguably the most important tier.
- Amazing ability that when Sandstorm is up, boosts the two most common moves he'll be using, Earthquake and Stone Edge.
- Being immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes, as well as him having a good typing and U-turn mean that Randorosu makes for a good scout.
- Very limited movepool. Earthquake and Stone Edge do the job of everything and thankfully recieve a boost from Sand Power.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Brick Break / U-turn / Substitute
item: Yache Berry / Leftovers
evs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Set Comments
- After a Swords Dance and Sand Power, Earthquake and Stone Edge dent anything hard.
- Fairly bulky, 89/90/80 isn't too bad, and with Randorosu's immunity to Electric and Ground moves, as well as Spikes and Toxic Spikes, make it able to survive at least one attack before it stomps on something with Earthquake or Stone Edge.
- Brick Break is there so you don't have to rely on the shaky accuracy to hit Bronzong, and because there are few other options.
- Another choice is U-turn, which is beneficial in that it allows you to be more conservative with Randorosu by allowing it to U-turn out on something that would obviously switch out of Randorosu, most of these being Steel- types such as Heatran and Lucario. From here, you can scout the oppenent's primary switch-in to Randorosu and adjust accordingly. If you aren't using Leftovers, you may also bluff a Choice Scarf.
- Substitute is an option if you want to be more conservative and want to scout for their counter to Randorosu, or to check if they carry an Ice- or Water- move. Leftovers is recommended as the self-inflicting damage from LO + Substitute will be too much.
- Yache Berry allows you to take an Ice- type move and retaliate with a boosted Earthquake or Stone Edge.
- Life Orb is also an option for this set, although it doesn't really KO anything with it than if it didn't have Life Orb. However, Life Orb is useful in the case that you don't get the Swords Dance up, and want to hit with immediate damage.
- A possible replacement for both Stone Edge or Brick Break is the move Knock Down. While Knock Down has a lower base power than Stone Edge, its ability removes the Ground immunity from the Pokemon it hits. This allows Randorosu to easily KO Bronzong and Skarmory with Earthquake. However, Knock Down is situational, and should only be majorly considered if you're having trouble with either Skarmory or Bronzong.
- Tyranitar to set up Sandstorm. Hippowdon is also on option if you're opting for a more defensive teammate.
- Vaporeon is a good teammate due to resisting Water- and Ice- type moves and being able to pass Wish onto Randorosu.
- Magnezone is an option to take out Skarmory or Bronzong, the two Pokemon who cause most trouble for this set.
- Having a layer of Spikes up is recommended.
- Bronzong is the the best counter to Swords Dance Randorosu, not being 2HKOed by any of its moves after a Swords Dance, while being able to 2HKO back with Gyro Ball.
- A faster Pokemon such as Starmie can OHKO Randorosu with Ice Beam if it isn't carrying a Yache Berry.
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Hammer Arm
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Set Comments
- Unique speed stat which allows him to outrun +1 Positive Base 100 Speed Pokemon.
- Good coverage with Earthquake and Stone Edge, and has U-turn to be used as a scout, and if it needs to get out of awkward situations. Rock Slide may also be used if you don't want to rely on Stone Edge's shaky accuracy. Hammer Arm is there because Randorosu is more of a hit-and-run Pokemon, and likely won't be staying in for more then two turns. That and it has no other options for this slot.
- Immunity to Spikes and Toxic Spikes make this an amazing scout.
- Sand Power boosts the power of Earthquake and Stone Edge, and when coupled with a Choice Scarf, you have one lethal high speed genie on your hands.
- Outspeeding Jolly Salamence after a Dragon Dance is a great plus. Other than that, nothing.
- Tyranitar again to activate Sand Power.
- Magnezone to trap Skarmory and Bronzong.
- Most defensive walls stop this set, including Skarmory, Bronzong and Hippowdon.
- Tyranitar is easily the best teammate for Randorosu. He sets up Sandstorm which boosts Randorosu's Ground- and Rock- type moves to very high levels. A mixed Tyranitar with Fire Blast is even better to be more specific, as it severly damages Skarmory and Bronzong, the two best checks to Randorosu.
- Bulky Water type Pokemon that resist Water- and Ice- typed moves are also good teammates for Randorosu. The main culprit for this is Vaporeon, who can pass Wish support to Randorosu whose likely taken Substitute damage, as well as anything else should it have switched in.
- Rock Polish is a good alternative to Swords Dance. Sand Power boosts Earthquake and Stone Edge, and with an Adamant nature, Randorosu gains a good attack boost even without Swords Dance. Rock Polish can easily be a game a decider if your oppenent is only prepared for Swords Dance versions, and their primary check for it is something such as Life Orb Starmie, who can not switch in to Randorosu, but can only revenge kill it with Ice Beam.
- Mixed and special sets are completely outclassed by the Swords Dance set. The Swords Dance set OHKOes Swampert with Earthquake anyway after a single Swords Dance, so Grass Knot isn't needed.
- Choice Band is also an option. Sand Power + Choice Band means that Randorosu is already hitting like a truck whenever it switches in.
- Explosion seems like a good idea with Swords Dance, but it got nerfed in Black and White so that the oppenents Defense doesn't halve when you use it, making it a less desireable option.
- Skarmory and Bronzong are your best bets, however Skarmory is always 2HKOed by a +2 Stone Edge in sand after Stealth Rock, and all it can do is Whirlwind Randorosu away. Seeing as Randorosu is immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes, this doesn't really phase him. Bronzong is only 3HKOed by Randorosu after a Swords Dance, even if it uses Brick Break. For this reason, it is advised you carry enough Attack EVs and a -Speed nature to boost up Gyro Ball's power enough so that you may 2HKO Randorosu.
- The most likely way you'll defeat Randorosu is by sending in something faster with an Ice- or Water- type move and hope it doesn't carry a Yache or Passho berry. If it does, then use the methods of old and let your Pokemon die, before bringing in something faster such as Garchomp and KOing with a Dragon- typed move respectively, or a Pokemon with a good priority move such as Scizor and KOing with Bullet Punch.
- For its Dream World ability, Randorosu gets the pretty good Encourage. However, when compared to Sand Power, Encourage is not a good option as Randorosu relies on Sand Power to boost his amazing coverage and good Attack to higher levels. Not only that, but none of Randorosu's frequently used moves benefit from Encourage, therefore making it a fairly useless ability.
