doubleposting sry yall
Gastrodon @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain / Sticky Hold
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Toxic / Clear Smog / Scald
Gastrodon is an effective counter to utility Astrolotl. As with Pajantom (which I mentioned in my last post) Gastrodon also takes minimal damage from Fire Lash and Stomping Tantrum, even less, especially since it typically runs a fully physically defensive set. Additionally, Gastrodon is immune to Thunder Wave, and unlike other bulky Water-types like Arghonaut and Swampert, its damage output is not affected by Will-O-Wisp. To top it all off, not only can Gastrodon reliably heal off any damage taken from Astrolotl with Recover, it can also threaten significant damage back with Earth Power. All of these factors make it a great counter to Astrolotl, which it is consistently able to switch in on.
Relevant Calcs:
0 SpA Gastrodon Earth Power vs. 72 HP / 252 SpD Astrolotl: 188-224 (50.1 - 59.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Astrolotl Fire Lash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gastrodon: 42-50 (9.8 - 11.7%) -- possible 9HKO
0 Atk Astrolotl Stomping Tantrum vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gastrodon: 53-63 (12.4 - 14.7%) -- possible 7HKO
^those calcs really do be funny tho
Outside of countering Astrolotl, Gastrodon has some amazing utility. For example, although rain teams are relatively rare in the meta now, Storm Drain Gastrodon has a great matchup against Pokemon such as Barraskewda and Tornadus-T (though the latter to a less extent.) Gastrodon also has a good matchup into Arctozolt on hail teams, as they now mostly tend to run Blizzard rather than Freeze-Dry. But the utility doesn't stop here. Sticky Hold Gastrodon is a prime Knock Off absorber, coming in on and potentially poisoning prominent users of the move like Arghonaut and Weavile. Lastly, Gastrodon effectively checks threats like Krilowatt and Heatran. Very good mon, should be used more tbh.