[SET]
name: Stealth Rock
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge / Rock Blast
move 4: Swords Dance / Roar / Toxic
item: Eviolite
ability: Lightning Rod
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 16 Atk / 156 SpD / 84 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Rhydon is one of the premier Stealth Rock users, as its solid typing allows it to easily threaten out most common hazard control foes such as Altaria, Rotom-S, and Coalossal. Rhydon can also opt for Rock Blast over Stone Edge for a move with better accuracy and the ability to break past Substitutes of Rotom, Articuno, and Uxie. Swords Dance lets Rhydon set up on passive walls and force out Altaria more reliably as it would attempt to Roost stall Rhydon after landing a Toxic. Alternatively, Roar synergizes well with Stealth Rock and phazes foes like Alcremie and Uxie, thereby preventing Rhydon from becoming setup fodder. Toxic cripples physical walls such as Tangela and Gourgeist-S that often switch into Rhydon. 84 Speed allows Rhydon to outspeed Pokemon with base 50 Speed, such as Piloswine. 16 Attack EVs and an Adamant nature greatly increase Rhydon's power while also allowing for enough Special Defense investment to reliably check Rotom and Skuntank.
Rhydon's 4x weakness to Water- and Grass-type attacks means it must rely on teammates such as Tangela, Thwackey, and Altaria to switch in to such attacks. Alolan Sandslash and Qwilfish can form great hazard stacking cores with Rhydon, with the latter also having access to Taunt to shut down Defoggers. Gourgeist also serves as a good partner for Rhydon, as it can cover for Rhydon's Fighting-type weakness, while Rhydon can switch into Fire-type attacks. Fire-types like Ninetales and Rapidash appreciate Rhydon's abilities to lure in Grass-types and to counter Altaria.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Stealth Rock / Rock Polish / Megahorn
item: Eviolite
ability: Lightning Rod
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
With a monstrous base 130 Attack stat and access to Swords Dance, Rhydon makes for a solid wallbreaker. The combination of Earthquake and Stone Edge covers the majority of ZU for at least neutral damage. Stealth Rock is a solid option if your team is in need of a Stealth Rock setter, while Rock Polish boosts Rhydon's Speed and turns it into a late-game win condition as well. Megahorn can also be used, as it allows Rhydon to hit Tangela, one of its most common switch-ins, for super effective damage, even threatening to OHKO Tangela after a Swords Dance boost. Megahorn also threatens the likes of Uxie, Lurantis, and Eldegoss.
Rhydon pairs very well with physical attackers that have access to Knock Off such as Sawk and Thwackey, as they can lure in Tangela and remove its Eviolite, so that Rhydon can threaten it with Stone Edge or Megahorn. Alolan Sandslash and Qwilfish make for good partners, as they form a solid hazard core with Rhydon, which also aids its wallbreaking attempts. Rhydon should be paired with pivots such as Rotom, Wishiwashi, and Uxie to provide safe setup opportunities. Rhydon will require teammates that can handle its 4x weakness to Grass- and Water-type attacks; some good options for this role include Altaria, Articuno, and Tangela.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Life Orb and Adamant can be used on the offensive set to break past physically defensive Tangela, as Megahorn boosted by Swords Dance has an 81.3% chance to OHKO; however, the loss of bulk causes Rhydon to fare worse against most other matchups, and Life Orb sets alone are outclassed by Lycanroc-M due to Rhydon's lack of speed. Physically defensive sets are also a viable option if a team is in desperate need of a physical wall. However, opting for Special Defense investment tends to be preferable so that Rhydon can take on neutral special attacks decently well. High Horsepower should be used over Earthquake if Rhydon is paired with Thwackey.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-types**: Grass-types such as Tangela, Gourgeist-S, and Thwackey threaten Rhydon out, although they dislike switching into Toxic, and Tangela must be wary of offensive sets if it loses its Eviolite. Thwackey's Grassy Glide can always revenge kill Rhydon even after it has used Rock Polish.
**Water-types**: Wishiwashi and Poliwrath can all reliably switch into Rhydon and threaten it out with their STAB moves. Other Water-types like Basculin and Cramorant easily outspeed and can OHKO Rhydon, but cannot risk switching into Rhydon's attacks. All of these Pokemon must also be wary of Toxic.
**Faster Special Attackers**: Due to Rhydon's common weaknesses and naturally low Special Defense, Pokemon with a high Special Attack stat such as Ninetales, Frosmoth, and Jynx can all reliably revenge kill Rhydon, although they require a free turn to safely switch in.
**Passive Damage**: Residual damage from status and entry hazards punishes Rhydon heavily due to its lack of recovery. Burns in particular are problematic, as they make it nearly impossible for offensive sets to wallbreak, while defensive sets cannot reliably threaten out hazard removal.
**Fighting-types**: Throh and Gurdurr have no issues switching into Rhydon's attacks, and Sawk can easily revenge kill Rhydon.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Jett, 226429]]
- Quality checked by: [[Tuthur, 369076], [S1nn0hC0nfirm3d, 231074]]
- Grammar checked by: [[queez, 229690]]
name: Stealth Rock
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge / Rock Blast
move 4: Swords Dance / Roar / Toxic
item: Eviolite
ability: Lightning Rod
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 16 Atk / 156 SpD / 84 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Rhydon is one of the premier Stealth Rock users, as its solid typing allows it to easily threaten out most common hazard control foes such as Altaria, Rotom-S, and Coalossal. Rhydon can also opt for Rock Blast over Stone Edge for a move with better accuracy and the ability to break past Substitutes of Rotom, Articuno, and Uxie. Swords Dance lets Rhydon set up on passive walls and force out Altaria more reliably as it would attempt to Roost stall Rhydon after landing a Toxic. Alternatively, Roar synergizes well with Stealth Rock and phazes foes like Alcremie and Uxie, thereby preventing Rhydon from becoming setup fodder. Toxic cripples physical walls such as Tangela and Gourgeist-S that often switch into Rhydon. 84 Speed allows Rhydon to outspeed Pokemon with base 50 Speed, such as Piloswine. 16 Attack EVs and an Adamant nature greatly increase Rhydon's power while also allowing for enough Special Defense investment to reliably check Rotom and Skuntank.
Rhydon's 4x weakness to Water- and Grass-type attacks means it must rely on teammates such as Tangela, Thwackey, and Altaria to switch in to such attacks. Alolan Sandslash and Qwilfish can form great hazard stacking cores with Rhydon, with the latter also having access to Taunt to shut down Defoggers. Gourgeist also serves as a good partner for Rhydon, as it can cover for Rhydon's Fighting-type weakness, while Rhydon can switch into Fire-type attacks. Fire-types like Ninetales and Rapidash appreciate Rhydon's abilities to lure in Grass-types and to counter Altaria.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Stealth Rock / Rock Polish / Megahorn
item: Eviolite
ability: Lightning Rod
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
With a monstrous base 130 Attack stat and access to Swords Dance, Rhydon makes for a solid wallbreaker. The combination of Earthquake and Stone Edge covers the majority of ZU for at least neutral damage. Stealth Rock is a solid option if your team is in need of a Stealth Rock setter, while Rock Polish boosts Rhydon's Speed and turns it into a late-game win condition as well. Megahorn can also be used, as it allows Rhydon to hit Tangela, one of its most common switch-ins, for super effective damage, even threatening to OHKO Tangela after a Swords Dance boost. Megahorn also threatens the likes of Uxie, Lurantis, and Eldegoss.
Rhydon pairs very well with physical attackers that have access to Knock Off such as Sawk and Thwackey, as they can lure in Tangela and remove its Eviolite, so that Rhydon can threaten it with Stone Edge or Megahorn. Alolan Sandslash and Qwilfish make for good partners, as they form a solid hazard core with Rhydon, which also aids its wallbreaking attempts. Rhydon should be paired with pivots such as Rotom, Wishiwashi, and Uxie to provide safe setup opportunities. Rhydon will require teammates that can handle its 4x weakness to Grass- and Water-type attacks; some good options for this role include Altaria, Articuno, and Tangela.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Life Orb and Adamant can be used on the offensive set to break past physically defensive Tangela, as Megahorn boosted by Swords Dance has an 81.3% chance to OHKO; however, the loss of bulk causes Rhydon to fare worse against most other matchups, and Life Orb sets alone are outclassed by Lycanroc-M due to Rhydon's lack of speed. Physically defensive sets are also a viable option if a team is in desperate need of a physical wall. However, opting for Special Defense investment tends to be preferable so that Rhydon can take on neutral special attacks decently well. High Horsepower should be used over Earthquake if Rhydon is paired with Thwackey.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-types**: Grass-types such as Tangela, Gourgeist-S, and Thwackey threaten Rhydon out, although they dislike switching into Toxic, and Tangela must be wary of offensive sets if it loses its Eviolite. Thwackey's Grassy Glide can always revenge kill Rhydon even after it has used Rock Polish.
**Water-types**: Wishiwashi and Poliwrath can all reliably switch into Rhydon and threaten it out with their STAB moves. Other Water-types like Basculin and Cramorant easily outspeed and can OHKO Rhydon, but cannot risk switching into Rhydon's attacks. All of these Pokemon must also be wary of Toxic.
**Faster Special Attackers**: Due to Rhydon's common weaknesses and naturally low Special Defense, Pokemon with a high Special Attack stat such as Ninetales, Frosmoth, and Jynx can all reliably revenge kill Rhydon, although they require a free turn to safely switch in.
**Passive Damage**: Residual damage from status and entry hazards punishes Rhydon heavily due to its lack of recovery. Burns in particular are problematic, as they make it nearly impossible for offensive sets to wallbreak, while defensive sets cannot reliably threaten out hazard removal.
**Fighting-types**: Throh and Gurdurr have no issues switching into Rhydon's attacks, and Sawk can easily revenge kill Rhydon.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Jett, 226429]]
- Quality checked by: [[Tuthur, 369076], [S1nn0hC0nfirm3d, 231074]]
- Grammar checked by: [[queez, 229690]]
Last edited:
