RU Gastrodon (full)

[CryoGyro]

[OVERVIEW]

Gastrodon has won its title as one of RU's best blanket checks by solidly handling Raikou, Steel-types, Barraskewda, some other Water-types, and certain Fire-types like Darmanitan and Salazzle as well as by checking various weaker attackers like Noivern in a pinch. Recover gives it a major advantage over fellow Water / Ground type Seismitoad, and Clear Smog can be used to hold off bulky setup sweepers like Reuniclus, which has pretty few surefire answers. Its solid coverage in Earth Power alongside Ice Beam or Scald keeps it from a being particularly easy wall for offensive teams to switch into. However, many of the Pokemon it can switch into run Toxic or Knock Off, so it will often be under pressure from passive damage, especially when used as a blanket check on more offensive teams. It's forced out by the powerful and common Grass-types Zarude and Roserade, which can make progress as Gastrodon switches out by using U-turn or Spikes. Offensive teams looking to end the game sooner rather than later might still prefer Seismitoad as a Water / Ground type, as it checks many of the same Pokemon, is better at pressuring the opponent on its own thanks to Stealth Rock and Knock Off, and does not give foes free turns by using Recover.

[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Earth Power
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Recover
move 4: Toxic / Clear Smog / Scald
item: Heavy-Duty Boots / Leftovers
ability: Storm Drain
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

Earth Power lets Gastrodon threaten Electric-, Fire-, and Steel-types with one moveslot, making it the most important attack. Ice Beam immediately pressures various Grass- and Flying-types like Zarude and Noivern. Toxic keeps walls with reliable recovery from holding Gastrodon off indefinitely, while Clear Smog puts a stop to bulky setup sweepers like Calm Mind Reuniclus. Scald is largely unnecessary to Gastrodon's role, but threatening swtich-ins with burns can always be useful. Heavy-Duty Boots is usually the better item so Gastrodon can ignore Spikes, but teams with solid entry hazard control can let it save more HP with Leftovers.

Togekiss and Rocky Helmet Cobalion are good teammates for answering Zarude, while Steel- and Poison-types like Registeel, Salazzle, and Toxtricity can punish Roserade. Heal Bell support makes Gastrodon much more resilient against Toxic users; Togekiss is the overall best Pokemon with the move, but Diancie, Sylveon, and Umbreon are also options. Gastrodon is a Ground-type that loses to certain moves from Electric-types Xurkitree and Toxtricity; more consistent switch-ins to Xurkitree include Roserade, Registeel, Assault Vest Reuniclus, and Celebi, while Toxtricity's Boomburst can be handled with Steel-types like Stakataka and Metagross. Energy Ball Chandelure is a large Fire-type threat to Gastrodon that is checked with other Fire answers like Incineroar and Noivern.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Using Sticky Hold as Gastrodon's ability is feasible if you don't expect to face Water-types, or if your team's counterplay to them is very solid overall; it makes Gastrodon a solid Knock Off absorber against weaker users like Incineroar and Salazzle. Protect is difficult to fit but eliminates guessing games against Choice-locked Xurkitree and Toxtricity trying to force Gastrodon out. Curse lets Gastrodon beat Psyshock + Calm Mind Reuniclus and present a late-game threat, but it's vulnerable to faster special attackers, status ailments, and critical hits.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Grass-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Grass is naturally the best way to immediately threaten a Water / Ground type like Gastrodon. Zarude, Roserade, Vileplume, Celebi, Dhelmise, and Virizion are RU's main Grass-types and make various forms of progress as Gastrodon is forced out, though none like switching into Ice Beam and some fear Scald burns. Grass-type coverage on other Pokemon, including Energy Ball Xurkitree and Chandelure, easily takes Gastrodon out.

**Passive Damage and Offensive Pressure**: Gastrodon's solid typing and bulk make it difficult for most Pokemon to quickly and safely defeat, but many of the Pokemon it checks can hit it with Toxic on the switch, particularly Raikou. Toxic poison limits how long Gastrodon can stay in, forces it to spend more turns using Recover, and makes it easier for Pokemon to 2HKO with neutral attacks. Using Leftovers or losing Heavy-Duty Boots to Knock Off causes entry hazard damage to similarly accumulate.

**Bulky Pokemon with Recovery**: Toxic Gastrodon is setup fodder for Calm Mind Reuniclus and most Suicune, while Clear Smog Gastrodon cannot pressure other walls like Milotic and Togekiss. Note that Substitute + Calm Mind Suicune can stall Gastrodon out either way.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[CryoGyro, 331519]]
- Quality checked by: [[Mac3, 291087], [GoldCat, 359771]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]

 

[Mac3]

bästkusten

[OVERVIEW]

• One of RU's best blanket checks, solidly handling Raikou, Steel-types, and certain Fire- and Water-types (you probably want to mention barraskewda singularly honestly) as well as checking various weaker attackers like Noivern in a pinch
• Recover gives it a major advantage over Seismitoad, and Clear Smog can be used to hold off bulky setup sweepers like Reuniclus, which has pretty few surefire answers
• Earth Power + Ice Beam or Scald keeps it from being too easy for offensive teams to switch into
• Many of the Pokemon it can switch into run Toxic or Knock Off, so it will often be under pressure from passive damage, especially when used as a blanket check on more offensive teams
• Forced out by the powerful and common Grass-types Zarude and Roserade, which can make progress as Gastrodon switches out by using U-turn or Spikes
• Offensive teams looking to end the game sooner rather than later might prefer Seismitoad as a Water / Ground type, as it checks similar Pokemon and is better at pressuring the opponent thanks to Stealth Rock and Knock Off

[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Earth Power
move 2: Ice Beam / Scald
move 3: Recover
move 4: Toxic / Clear Smog
item: Heavy-Duty Boots / Leftovers
ability: Storm Drain
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

• Earth Power is important for consistently threatening Fire-, Electric-, and Steel-types
• Ice Beam immediately pressures various Grass- and Flying-types like Zarude and Noivern
• If your team has solid counterplay to Ice Beam targets, Scald can be used for more widespread pressure by threatening burns
• Toxic keeps walls with reliable recovery from holding Gastrodon off indefinitely
• Clear Smog stops bulky sweepers like Reuniclus from becoming unmanageable
• Heavy-Duty Boots is usually better so Gastrodon can ignore Spikes, but teams with solid entry hazard control can let it run Leftovers

• Togekiss and Rocky Helmet Cobalion are good answers to Zarude, while Steel- and Poison-types like Registeel, Salazzle, and Toxtricity can punish Roserade
• Heal Bell support makes Gastrodon much more resilient against Toxic users; Togekiss is the overall best Pokemon with the move, but Diancie, Sylveon, and Umbreon also exist
• additional xurk check is nice on gastro teams

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

• Sticky Hold is feasible you don't expect to face Water-types or if your counterplay to them is very solid overall; it makes Gastrodon a solid Knock Off absorber against weaker users like Incineroar and Salazzle
• Protect is difficult to fit but eliminates guessing games against Choice-locked Xurkitree and Toxtricity trying to force Gastrodon out
• curse is another option that beats psyshock cm reuni while also being able to pressure teams lategame, however risks crit

Checks and Counters
===================

**Grass-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Grass is naturally the best way to immediately threaten a Water / Ground type like Gastrodon. Zarude, Roserade, Vileplume, Celebi, Dhelmise, and Vrizion (typo) are RU's main Grass-types and make various forms of progress as Gastrodon is forced out, though none like switching into Ice Beam and some fear Scald burns. Grass-type coverage on other Pokemon, including Energy Ball Xurkitree, easily takes Gastrodon out.

**Passive Damage and Offensive Pressure**: Gastrodon's solid typing and bulk make it difficult for most Pokemon to quickly and safely take out, but many of the Pokemon it checks can hit it with Toxic on the switch, particularly Raikou. Toxic poison limits how long Gastrodon can stay in, forces it to spend more turns using Recover, and makes it easier for Pokemon to 2HKO with neutral attacks. Using Leftovers or losing Heavy-Duty Boots to Knock Off causes entry hazard damage to similarly accumulate.

**Bulky Pokemon with Recovery**: Toxic Gastrodon is setup fodder for Calm Mind Reuniclus and most Suicune, while Clear Smog Gastrodon cannot pressure other walls like Milotic and Togekiss. Note that Substitute + Calm Mind Suicune can stall Gastrodon out either way.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[username1, userid1]]
- Quality checked by: [[Mac3, 291087], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

 

[GoldCat]

Bättreänbästkusten

[OVERVIEW]

Gastrodon won its title as one of RU's best blanket checks by solidly handling Raikou, Steel-types, Barraskewda, some other Water-types, and certain Fire-types like Darmanitan and Salazzle as well as by checking various weaker attackers like Noivern in a pinch. Recover gives it a major advantage over fellow Water / Ground type Seismitoad, and Clear Smog can be used to hold off bulky setup sweepers like Reuniclus, which has pretty few surefire answers. Its solid coverage in Earth Power alongside Ice Beam or Scald keeps it from a being particularly easy wall for offensive teams to switch into. However, many of the Pokemon it can switch into run Toxic or Knock Off, so it will often be under pressure from passive damage, especially when used as a blanket check on more offensive teams. It's forced out by the powerful and common Grass-types Zarude and Roserade, which can make progress as Gastrodon switches out by using U-turn or Spikes. Offensive teams looking to end the game sooner rather than later might still prefer Seismitoad as a Water / Ground type, as it checks similar Pokemon and is better at pressuring the opponent on its own thanks to Stealth Rock and Knock Off. (I think generalizing this to mentions of Gastro's passivity and how its reliance on Recover can often make it a momentum drain is better than just focusing on how Toad is preferred on offense.)

[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Earth Power
move 2: Ice Beam / Scald (Ice Beam is too valuable to give up, doesn't let Rose/Zarude/Plume Spikes/U-turn/Corrosive Gas for free.)
move 3: Recover
move 4: Toxic / Clear Smog / Scald
item: Heavy-Duty Boots / Leftovers
ability: Storm Drain
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

Earth Power lets Gastrodon threaten Electric-, Fire-, and Steel-types with one moveslot, making it the most important attack. Ice Beam immediately pressures various Grass- and Flying-types like Zarude and Noivern. If your team has solid counterplay to Ice Beam targets, Scald can be used for more widespread pressure by threatening burns. Toxic keeps walls with reliable recovery from holding Gastrodon off indefinetely, while Clear Smog puts a stop to bulky setup sweepers like Calm Mind Reuniclus. Heavy-Duty Boots is usually the better item so Gastrodon can ignore Spikes, but teams with solid entry hazard control can let it get more saved HP out of Leftovers.

Togekiss and Rocky Helmet Cobalion are good teammates for answering Zarude, while Steel- and Poison-types like Registeel, Salazzle, and Toxtricity can punish Roserade. Heal Bell support makes Gastrodon much more resilient against Toxic users; Togekiss is the overall best Pokemon with the move, but Diancie, Sylveon, and Umbreon are also options. Since Gastrodon is a Ground-type that loses to Xurkitree's Energy Ball, more consistent switch-ins like Roserade, Registeel, Assault Vest Reuniclus, and Celebi are important inclusions. (Normal resistant mons like Stakataka and Metagross are nice so Toxtricity can't freely spam Boomburst against Gastro. You've pointed out that Toxic-less Gastro is helpless against bulky mons with recovery so mention some teammates to deal with those. Chandelure commonly runs Energy Ball so secondary fire type checks are needed such as Incineroar and Noivern.)

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Using Sticky Hold as Gastrodon's ability is feasible if you don't expect to face Water-types or if your team's counterplay to them is very solid overall; it makes Gastrodon a solid Knock Off absorber against weaker users like Incineroar and Salazzle. Protect is difficult to fit but eliminates guessing games against Choice-locked Xurkitree and Toxtricity trying to force Gastrodon out. Curse lets Gastrodon beat Psyshock + Calm Mind Reuniclus and present a late-game threat, but it's vulnerable to faster special attackers, status ailments, and critical hits.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Grass-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Grass is naturally the best way to immediately threaten a Water / Ground type like Gastrodon. Zarude, Roserade, Vileplume, Celebi, Dhelmise, and Virizion are RU's main Grass-types and make various forms of progress as Gastrodon is forced out, though none like switching into Ice Beam and some fear Scald burns. Grass-type coverage on other Pokemon, including Energy Ball Xurkitree and Solar Beam Ninetales, easily takes Gastrodon out.

**Passive Damage and Offensive Pressure**: Gastrodon's solid typing and bulk make it difficult for most Pokemon to quickly and safely defeat, but many of the Pokemon it checks can hit it with Toxic on the switch, particularly Raikou. Toxic poison limits how long Gastrodon can stay in, forces it to spend more turns using Recover, and makes it easier for Pokemon to 2HKO with neutral attacks. Using Leftovers or losing Heavy-Duty Boots to Knock Off causes entry hazard damage to similarly accumulate.

**Bulky Pokemon with Recovery**: Toxic Gastrodon is setup fodder for Calm Mind Reuniclus and most Suicune, while Clear Smog Gastrodon cannot pressure other walls like Milotic and Togekiss. Note that Substitute + Calm Mind Suicune can stall Gastrodon out either way.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[username1, userid1]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

QC 2/2

 

[Adeleine]

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[OVERVIEW]

Gastrodon has (minor but direct past tense a bit awkward to me) won its title as one of RU's best blanket checks by solidly handling Raikou, Steel-types, Barraskewda, some other Water-types, and certain Fire-types like Darmanitan and Salazzle as well as by checking various weaker attackers like Noivern in a pinch. Recover gives it a major advantage over fellow Water / Ground type Seismitoad, and Clear Smog can be used to hold off bulky setup sweepers like Reuniclus, which has pretty few surefire answers. Its solid coverage in Earth Power alongside Ice Beam or Scald keeps it from a being particularly easy wall for offensive teams to switch into. However, many of the Pokemon it can switch into run Toxic or Knock Off, so it will often be under pressure from passive damage, especially when used as a blanket check on more offensive teams. It's forced out by the powerful and common Grass-types Zarude and Roserade, which can make progress as Gastrodon switches out by using U-turn or Spikes. Offensive teams looking to end the game sooner rather than later might still prefer Seismitoad as a Water / Ground type, as it checks many of the same Pokemon, is better at pressuring the opponent on its own thanks to Stealth Rock and Knock Off, and does not have to give foes free turns by using Recover.

[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Earth Power
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Recover
move 4: Toxic / Clear Smog / Scald
item: Heavy-Duty Boots / Leftovers
ability: Storm Drain
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

Earth Power lets Gastrodon threaten Electric-, Fire-, and Steel-types with one moveslot, making it the most important attack. Ice Beam immediately pressures various Grass- and Flying-types like Zarude and Noivern. Toxic keeps walls with reliable recovery from holding Gastrodon off indefinetely indefinitely, while Clear Smog puts a stop to bulky setup sweepers like Calm Mind Reuniclus. Scald is largely unnecessary to Gastrodon's role, but threatening swtich-ins with burns can always be useful. Heavy-Duty Boots is usually the better item so Gastrodon can ignore Spikes, but teams with solid entry hazard control can let it get more saved HP out of save more HP with Leftovers.

Togekiss and Rocky Helmet Cobalion are good teammates for answering Zarude, while Steel- and Poison-types like Registeel, Salazzle, and Toxtricity can punish Roserade. Heal Bell support makes Gastrodon much more resilient against Toxic users; Togekiss is the overall best Pokemon with the move, but Diancie, Sylveon, and Umbreon are also options. Gastrodon is a Ground-type that loses to certain moves from Electric-types Xurkitree and Toxtricity; more consistent switch-ins to Xurkitree include Roserade, Registeel, Assault Vest Reuniclus, and Celebi, while Toxtricity's Boomburst can be handled with Steel-types like Stakataka and Metagross. Energy Ball Chandelure is a large Fire-type threat to Gastrodon that is checked with other Fire answers like Incineroar and Noivern.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Using Sticky Hold as Gastrodon's ability is feasible if you don't expect to face Water-types, (AC) or if your team's counterplay to them is very solid overall; it makes Gastrodon a solid Knock Off absorber against weaker users like Incineroar and Salazzle. Protect is difficult to fit but eliminates guessing games against Choice-locked Xurkitree and Toxtricity trying to force Gastrodon out. Curse lets Gastrodon beat Psyshock + Calm Mind Reuniclus and present a late-game threat, but it's vulnerable to faster special attackers, status ailments, and critical hits.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Grass-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Grass is naturally the best way to immediately threaten a Water / Ground type like Gastrodon. Zarude, Roserade, Vileplume, Celebi, Dhelmise, and Virizion are RU's main Grass-types and make various forms of progress as Gastrodon is forced out, though none like switching into Ice Beam and some fear Scald burns. Grass-type coverage on other Pokemon, including Energy Ball Xurkitree and Chandelure, easily takes Gastrodon out.

**Passive Damage and Offensive Pressure**: Gastrodon's solid typing and bulk make it difficult for most Pokemon to quickly and safely defeat, but many of the Pokemon it checks can hit it with Toxic on the switch, particularly Raikou. Toxic poison limits how long Gastrodon can stay in, forces it to spend more turns using Recover, and makes it easier for Pokemon to 2HKO with neutral attacks. Using Leftovers or losing Heavy-Duty Boots to Knock Off causes entry hazard damage to similarly accumulate.

**Bulky Pokemon with Recovery**: Toxic Gastrodon is setup fodder for Calm Mind Reuniclus and most Suicune, while Clear Smog Gastrodon cannot pressure other walls like Milotic and Togekiss. Note that Substitute + Calm Mind Suicune can stall Gastrodon out either way.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[CryoGyro, 331519]]
- Quality checked by: [[Mac3, 291087], [GoldCat, 359771]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]

this may proceed with one check 1/1

 

[gorex]