Overview
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Stoutland is one of the best sandstorm sand sweepers in the UU tier thanks to its ability Sand Rush, which gives it blistering Speed under a sandstorm. Combine this with its excellent base 110 Attack, and you have a very fast and powerful Pokemon. Stoutland also has great coverage options, (add comma) and a powerful STAB Return, making it and you have an amazing revenge killer and late-game cleaner. It also has surprisingly good bulk, enabling it to take a hit or two if it needs to. Unfortunately, Stoutland is entirely dependent on the sand, which if absent leaves it if the sand isn't up, then Stoutland is easily outsped by most threats. The absence of permanent sand also reduces the threat posed by Stoutland, potentially cutting short a sweep. Stoutland also took a massive blow now that Sandstorm is no longer permanent. Nonetheless, Stoutland can make a great addition to any team given the right support, and it is definitely a threat to be reckoned with.
Dog Rush
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name: Dog Rush
move 1: Return
move 2: Crunch
move 3: Fire Fang
move 4: Superpower / Pursuit / Wild Charge
ability: Sand Rush
item: Choice Band / Life Orb
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moves
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Stoutland's STAB Return is very powerful and hits a large portion of the metagame for heavy damage. Crunch hits Ghost-types that are immune to Return, as well as being super effective against Metagross and Jirachi. Fire Fang is useful to hit Forretress, which otherwise walls Stoutland, while also hitting other Steel-types. It In the fourth moveslot, Stoutland can run Superpower to hit Steel-, Dark-, and Rock-types, but be wary of the stat drops that occur. Pursuit can be quite handy to successfully revenge kill Victini after a V-create, along with other Psychic- and Ghost-types that feel threatened by Stoutland's presence. Wild Charge is also a nice choice to hit bulky Water-types like Mega Blastoise and Milotic harder than its other coverage moves.
Set Details
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The given EV spread enables Stoutland to outspeed everything up to Choice Scarf Mienshao while it's in the sand, as well as maximizing its offensive potential. An Adamant nature is used to give Stoutland a bit more power; while a Jolly nature can be used, the extra Speed is usually unnecessary unless Choice Scarf Infernape is feared. Sand Rush gives Stoutland a huge boost in Speed while Sand is under effect doubles Stoutland's Speed in the sand. Choice Band is the preferred item as it lets Stoutland break through walls like Slowbro after some prior damage, but Life Orb can be used if switching moves is preferable at the cost of some power.
Usage Tips
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Stoutland is not very effective outside of the sand, so it should only be used on sand teams. Use it as a revenge killer, then abuse Return that can also clean up late-game with Return. Stoutland shouldn't be taking too many hits, but it can come in on a neutral hit once or twice.
Team Options
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Hippowdon is a must for Stoutland because it is the only Pokemon in UU with the ability Sand Stream. A Will-O-Wisp absorber like Guts Heracross is useful to take on Pokemon like such as Sableye that threaten to burn Stoutland with Will-O-Wisp. It fits better on more offensively oriented teams so it can take advantage of its role as a revenge killer. Pokemon like Rhyperior and Gastrodon fit well because they are immune to the sand that Hippowdon summons. Choice Band Stoutland appreciates bulkier teammates such as Florges and Slowbro, as they can take on Fighting-type Pokemon, (remove comma) amongst others.
Other Options
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Play Rough can be used to hit Sableye and Fighting-types like such as Machamp, but it is usually a mediocre coverage option otherwise. A bulky Intimidate set may seem like an interesting option, but it Stoutland lacks the support moves to effectively pull this off and it is outclassed by other Pokemon in this role. A Howl boosting set with Howl can be used, but it is unwise to waste turns boosting when the duration of sand is limited. Retaliate can be ran to make Stoutland a pure revenge killer, but it deals pathetic damage if an ally didn't faint the previous turn and it keeps Stoutland confined to one role. Silk Scarf is an nice option to bluff the a Choice Band and power up Return and Retaliate, but Stoutland's coverage moves will then deal an underwhelming amount of damage deal a pitifully low amount of damage. (You're kinda blowing this out of proportion... CB and LO only give 50% / 30% boosts, it's not as if Stoutland will hit like Shuckle without them :/)
Checks & Counters
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**Hippowdon**: Physically defensive Hippowdon can take any attack from Stoutland and stall it out with Slack Off, Toxic, or and Earthquake. (It uses all three to stall out Stoutland, not any one of them. So, or --> and)
**Mega Aggron**: Mega Aggron takes a pitiful amount of damage from even Superpower and can retaliate with Thunder Wave or Heavy Slam.
**Slowbro**: If Stoutland lacks Wild Charge, then Slowbro can successfully wall Stoutland it, and threaten it out with Scald, (add comma) and gain its HP back with Slack Off. However, it's a shaky counter and as it has a chance of getting 2HKOed after Stealth Rock and sandstorm damage.
**Sableye**: Sableye can take a Crunch or Wild Charge from Stoutland and burn it with a priority Will-O-Wisp.
**Infernape**: Infernape is the only relevant Choice Scarf user that can outspeed and OHKO Adamant Stoutland in the sand.
**Normal-type resists and immunities Rock-, Steel-, and Ghost-types**: If Stoutland is running Choice Band, Steel-, Rock-, and Ghost-types such as Jirachi, Rhyperior, and Chandelure stop Stoutland it from spamming Return; however, they can be hit a super effectively on a predicted switch-in and require prediction to hit super effectively.
**Priority**: Powerful priority from Pokemon like such as Entei, Honchkrow, and Infernape can deal a considerably large amount of considerable damage on to Stoutland, especially the latter as it can hit Stoutland with a super effective Mach Punch. Special sets from Infernape and Lucario can also take advantage of using Vacuum Wave to damage Stoutland hit Stoutland with Vacuum Wave.
**Opposing Weather**: Opposing weather can make Stoutland's role much more difficult. Abomasnow is the only Pokemon in UU that can summon a different weather effect immediately, but other Pokemon like Sunny Day Houndoom can manually change the weather and reduce Stoutland's effectiveness.
