It faces lot of competition from other offensive Normal-types in the NU tier: Kangaskhan, Zangoose, Tauros, and Bouffalant outperform it in almost every role, however Stoutland stands out as one of NU's two Sand Rush sweepers and boasts good coverage, power, and decent bulk. Unfortunately, sand is not such a great playstyle because of its reliance on matchup and it cannot beat rain or sun teams easily. The best Stoutland can do is being a Sand Rush Sweeper, and I'll be covering just that.
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| Stoutland #508 |
Ability: Sand Rush.
Item: Choice Band.
Effort Values: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe.
Nature: Adamant.
Suggested Moveset:
-Return.
-Crunch.
-Superpower.
-Pursuit / Play Rough.
Return is a powerful STAB move that hits very hard. Crunch is a coverage move to hit Ghost-types. Superpower weakens or outright KOes most Rock- or Steel-types such as Rhydon, Regirock, Probopass, Ferroseed, and Klinklang. Pursuit is a great option to trap Ghost- and Psychic-type Pokemon such as Mismagius, Rotom, and Jynx, but Play Rough is an alternative to hit Fighting types, mainly Gurdurr.
The EVs maximize Attack and Speed. An Adamant nature is used to hit as hard as possible, allowing Stoutland to get some important KOs. For example, Adamant Stoutland always 2HKOes Gurdurr with Return after Stealth Rock damage. And Jolly nature allows you to outrun non-Choice Scarf Adamant Sawk and Timid Ludicolo outside of sand, but you should not attempt to sweep outside of sand anyway. Choice Band is used for maximum power; a Life Orb can be considered, but the power drop is quite noticeable, and also cuts into Stoutland's above-average bulk.
Sand should always be set up before triying to sweep. In addition, you should try to predict switch-ins to Stoutland where appropriate to avoid wasting precious sand turns. It is better to eliminate Rock-, Steel-, and Ghost-types before sweeping with it so that you can spam Return. Stoutland can be played as either a wallbreaker or a sweeper; it can either wear down bulky opponents for its teammates or sweep with sand up once its checks and counters are KOed.
Hippopotas with Sand Stream is a compulsory teammate because you are mediocre, Sandlash is another good Sand Rush sweeper, working together with Stoutland to break down opposing teams. Cacturne can be considered on sand teams thanks to its ability, Sand Veil, and Spikes, which aid its teammates. Other entry hazard users, such as Garbodor, Crustle, and Rhydon, are good teammates to help you grab more KOs. For example, Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes ensure 2HKOs on Gourgeist-XL and Rhydon with the appropriate move. Rock-types are good teammates that take advantage of sand's Special Defense boost. In particular, Carracosta makes use of the boost extremely well, in conjunction with good physical bulk and Solid Rock to set up Shell Smash. Pursuit users such as Liepard and Skunktank are good teammates for their ability to trap and KO troublesome Ghost-types that prevent Stoutland from freely using Return.
Sleep Talk is a good alternative to Play Rough that allows you to absorb sleep. A bulky tank set with Intimidate and Thunder Wave can be considered. A Choice Band Scrappy set can be run, but it faces competition from the faster Kangaskhan. Stoutland gets Roar, but it would generally prefer to attack rather than phaze. Stoutland also gets Facade to switch into and take advantage of status moves, although it is quite situational.
And that's the set we have for this week, remember to follow me on Twitter and Subscribe to the Blogs Newsletter to recieve everything new on your e-mail.
As alwayss thanks for reading.
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