Dugtrio cannot counter Aegislash with Shadow Sneak as it takes a hit on the switch and then gets Sneaked to death after Sash. Same story for Bisharp who will do the same to it with Sucker Punch and Mega Luke who has priority and will not be with us much longer anyway. Volcarona doesn't have a weakness to Ground because of its Bug-typing and there are far superior counters to it anyway as it's pretty frail. Excadrill generally plays a support role and while its nice to kill, it isn't a threat worth running a Pokemon with the lack of utility of Dugtrio. Tyranitar is the only actual threat you brought up that Dugtrio does counter but, since every team has a Fighting-Type move Tyranitar really isn't too hard to counter to begin with.
In your scenario with Latias and Heatran, I'm not sure why you are assuming that, a) anyone in their right mind is leading Latias when they see a Genesect in Team Preview or b) that you don't have a good switch in as a jumping off point to create your own momentum. If you don't, your team isn't very well built. Genesect is certainly very good at creating that momentum but that's the nature of pivots in general. You better be able to counter them even if Genesect gets (deservedly) banned. Similarly, you're never leading Heatran if you see Genesect and Dugtrio on an opponent's team. You're going to save it for later.
Specially Defensive Heatran is the most common Heatran but I personally don't think it's the best set and it certainly isn't the only set. So take Heatran's usage statistics and factor in that its used a lot of different ways and you may be killing a Heatran on 10-15% of teams in the scenario that Rocks are up. Heatran is NEVER switching into Genesect if Dugtrio is on its team. You better have more than one Pokemon that can take Genesect's U-Turn without getting crippled.
Sorry about aegislash, keep forgetting that ghosts aren't trapped anymore :/
Anyway, I don't think you get how trappers work.
No trapper directly switches in on its victim, even wobuffet and gothitelle. Only magnezone does in rare cases (like when a banded scizor is about to use bullet punch) but even then, it's not really recommended (it cud predict and just u-turn)
You're supposed to bring in a trapper after a kill, or with slow pivots, or on really well predicted double switches. You don't simply switch your trapper into its victim, you play around until you get it in safely. This applies to any trapper. If people switched mega gengar directly in to what it wants to trap, it wouldn't be broken at all. Well, it is, because that's not how mega gengar works.
So, if you do get slow pivots into those targets I mentioned, and your sash is intact, you beat all of them 1v1 100% of the time, unless sash luke with espeed.
For reference, this is usually how a focus sash dugtrio looks like:
Dugtrio @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Jolly Nature
IVs: 26 HP
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Sucker Punch
- Reversal/Stealth Rock/Memento
(Smogon says that reversal shouldn't be slashed, and sucker punch should be instead, but I like sucker punch. Just my preference.)
Let's take a look (again) at how dugtrio beats these guys. Remember, you're getting dugtrio in
safely with its sash intact.
Bisharp: It can sucker punch, but sash is there and it doesn't live eq. If bisharp has sash too, dugtrio's sucker punch is faster.
Tyranitar: Just eq twice
Volcarona: Stone edge duh dugtrio has more than eq.
Heatran: Eq
Excadrill: Eq, sucker punch if necessary
Tyranitar is the only actual threat you brought up that Dugtrio does counter but, since every team has a Fighting-Type move Tyranitar really isn't too hard to counter to begin with.
While its recommended that every team carry atleast one fighting type move, there is no requirement that a team has to have a fighting type move. There are plenty of other weaknesses tyranitar has that most teams will carry a move of.
In your scenario with Latias and Heatran, I'm not sure why you are assuming that, a) anyone in their right mind is leading Latias when they see a Genesect in Team Preview or b) that you don't have a good switch in as a jumping off point to create your own momentum. If you don't, your team isn't very well built.
This was purely a hypothetical scenario. Your lead doesn't have to be weak to u-turn, but the point is, is that you will lose momentum as the opponent switches into a safe check if you stay in, and if you go into heatran to neuter genesect dugtrio will come back in.
Again, if you do switch your lead out into a pokemon other than heatran, you still lose momentum, as nothing is immune to u-turn.
You should also remember that scarfsect, the most common one, with its godly coverage, can predict your good switch in and nail it with a coverage move to net some big damage turn 1. Certainly risky, but certainly possible. "Yolo" is a popular phrase these days.
Look at like this, this time I'll try to show a more realistic scenario:
Turn 1:
You lead with genesect (he still has dugtrio), the opponent leads with lando-t
2 options
1) stay in and u-turn/set rocks, super risky
2) Hard switch into rotom-w, to take an ice beam and a u-turn
2 is the smarter and more common choice, but the genesect player has two choices as well
1) Ice beam, pretty obvious he's gonna switch so its risky
2) U-turn. Pretty fail-safe, go with that.
2 is the smarter and more common choice here as well.
So thus you lose momentum.
Now let's further imagine the smart opponent has a pokemon to destroy rotom-w, like kyu-b
Your "good switch in as a jumping off point to create your own momentum" is instead threatened out as the kyu-b proceeds to set a sub
It doesn't even have to be a kyu-b, anything that hits really damn hard will do, like a thundurus or a latios.
You ultimately lose momentum, regardless of having everything you mentioned to fight off this strategy.
Genesect is certainly very good at creating that momentum but that's the nature of pivots in general. You better be able to counter them even if Genesect gets (deservedly) banned. Similarly, you're never leading Heatran if you see Genesect and Dugtrio on an opponent's team. You're going to save it for later.
Umm there's a problem here
Genesect is certainly very good at creating that momentum but that's the nature of pivots in general.
"pivots in general" don't have amazing ice/fire/electric coverage that threatens out well over 70% of the tier with a threat of those moves. A common pivot, like Lando-T, is much easier to wall not only because his coverage sucks, but because his ability in general doesn't help him offensively. And remember, Lando-T is an offensive pivot, not a defensive one, and a very common offensive pivot at that.
Genesect on the other hand forces out so many pokemon only to U-turn on them instead. No pokemon possesses the threat of such coverage and power while having u-turn as well, which is what separates genesect apart from other "pivots in general."
Similarly, you're never leading Heatran if you see Genesect and Dugtrio on an opponent's team. You're going to save it for later.
I also never suggested this. I stated that the only time Genesect will be facing heatran directly is when you lead with heatran and the opponent leads with genesect. A smart opponent will always u-turn on an incoming heatran, go into dugtrio, and blah blah blah. Heatran isn't the best lead, and I never told you to lead with him, but I only said that heatran will only ever be in on genesect unless you lead. This is important because you claimed dugtrio can't switch in to heatran directly, and acted as if that was your defense. Here, right here
Dugtrio can't safely switch into Heatran because it will get OHKOd by a Fire Blast from the SpA variant on the switch and even a SpAtker running Lava Plume has a 31.8% chance to OHKO after Rocks (81.3% with favorable nature but most offensive Heatran boost speed). A Specs Heatran would guarantee an OHKO in either scenario.
This will never happen because dugtrio will never have to switch directly into heatran. Again, you don't switch your trapper in directly, you get him in safely after a kill or with slow pivots (or good double switches). Think of it like this, for example. What if ferrothorn is just sitting there on heatran, leech seeding it and sitting there laying hazards? (Let's assume the heatran was switched into the ferrothorn)
Sure, you could just click lava plume and destroy it, but then what? Dugtrio comes in
for free and heatran dies.
Note that you should only do this when ferrothorn is useless/set up bait, and/or when heatran is a problem
"Well you could just roar it out duh >_>"
Would you risk roaring it out into dugtrio? Not a risk you really want to take.
Specially Defensive Heatran is the most common Heatran but I personally don't think it's the best set and it certainly isn't the only set. So take Heatran's usage statistics and factor in that its used a lot of different ways and you may be killing a Heatran on 10-15% of teams in the scenario that Rocks are up. Heatran is NEVER switching into Genesect if Dugtrio is on its team. You better have more than one Pokemon that can take Genesect's U-Turn without getting crippled.
Another problem here
Heatran is NEVER switching into Genesect if Dugtrio is on its team. You better have more than one Pokemon that can take Genesect's U-Turn without getting crippled.
Jee, have two pokemon that can take on genesect's U-turn
along with every coverage move it packs? Better run rotom-h too huh? Not limiting teambuilding at all.
The thing is, genesect is so damn good that heatran is usually the only thing people have for repeated assaults from this guy. He may be the weakest sect set, but it still hits hard with its good coverage and possible boost. This weakens the opposing team in general as it repeatedly takes genesect's attacks.
You may think a team should just be bulkier in general, "it's not a good team if it can't take genesect without its heatran." But putting a heatran generally gives people the illusion that genesect is taken care of, and they can proceed to put in pokemon that are weak to him. Of course, this is perfectly valid, its just that genedug cores take advantage of that. Not many teams will have TWO durable, solid answers to genesect, both of which aren't hindered in the slightest by dugtrio.
Any Ground move is going to threaten Heatran without Air Balloon and on a team with Genesect a U-Turn would theoretically pop Heatran's Balloon before switching the Dugtrio in. Of course while Heatran may stay in for Ground-moves it can switch out on it would be insane to stay in with Dugtrio waiting in the fold. But imagine that instead you U-Turn into Landorus. Now your opponent is going to have to switch out the Heatran, losing the momentum and will have to get hit hard with something else if they want to keep their Heatran. Because Landorus has much better coverage and can severely hurt many more threats, they are going to have some decisions to make. This scenario will arise far, far, more often than someone being dumb enough to switch into a Genesect with their Heatran when a Dugtrio is waiting for them on Team Preview. One underrated part of this game is that if you have forced your opponent to switch that is GOOD for you because it gives you the opportunity to grab momentum by either double switching or predicting and hitting something else hard or setting up. Dugtrio gives you none of these opportunities and, because its so frail, even if it does manage to kill a Heatran it will transfer that momentum right back to your opponent when it is forced to either switch out or die. The situations where Dugtrio would be better than another Ground-type threat for the overall battle are few and far between.
Ok what?
Of course while Heatran may stay in for Ground-moves it can switch out on it would be insane to stay in with Dugtrio waiting in the fold.
Similarly, you're never leading Heatran if you see Genesect and Dugtrio on an opponent's team. You're going to save it for later.
Well jee, Dunno why you'd be leading with heatran anyway. Because the only other way this scenario takes place is if Genesect is in vs. heatran, and that shouldn't ever happen unless they both lead.
But imagine that instead you U-Turn into Landorus. Now your opponent is going to have to switch out the Heatran, losing the momentum and will have to get hit hard with something else if they want to keep their Heatran.
Well first off, if the opponent lets you switch into lando-t, then he would let you switch into dugtrio, and you can just get rid of heatran right then and there. Sure, you would lose momentum, but would you rather lose momentum or take out a pokemon that is a crucial part of nearly every defensive core, sets rocks, has a billion resistances, and a bunch of other strengths that I'm not gonna list? I'd definitely do the latter.
This scenario will arise far, far, more often than someone being dumb enough to switch into a Genesect with their Heatran when a Dugtrio is waiting for them on Team Preview.
Well if people are dumb enough to not switch into heatran on a genesect when dugtrio is around, why would they do the same with lando-t? They know they're gonna just be forced out and lose momentum, so why would they
ever switch heatran into genesect? I'm puzzled fren.
Dugtrio gives you none of these opportunities and, because its so frail, even if it does manage to kill a Heatran it will transfer that momentum right back to your opponent when it is forced to either switch out or die.
Well, you killed the heatran and now genesect is free to rampage about. That's dugtrio's main role, it's perfectly fine to let it die now. You've opened up genesect to harass a team whose only likely answer to it is now dead, so go ahead, sack dugtrio. You get to bring sect back in.
Hopefully this gives you a better idea of how dugtrio works, because he definitely shouldn't be brushed aside.
