Sudowoodo (NU Revamp)

Oglemi

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http://www.smogon.com/rs/pokemon/sudowoodo

[Overview]

Sudowoodo faces direct competition from Graveler and Relicanth as a Rock-type in the ADV NU tier, but it carves a place for itself by being less susceptible to Grass- and Water-type attacks and sporting a slightly higher Attack stat than both. A neutrality to Electric and missing STAB on Earthquake can be a significant downside when considering it over Graveler and other Rock-types like Pupitar, but a wider movepool, including access to both Explosion and Focus Punch, ensures it has a place on teams needing a solid Rock-type that doesn't just cave in to the abundance of Grass- and Water-types in the tier.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Rock Slide / Hidden Power Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Focus Punch / Brick Break
move 4: Explosion / Double-Edge
item: Choice Band
ability: Rock Head
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

The good thing about Sudowoodo when choosing it as a Choice Band user is that it is quite flexible in what it can do. Rock Slide and Hidden Power Rock are the STAB move options; the choice comes down to whether you want perfect accuracy in Hidden Power Rock or a bit more power in Rock Slide. Earthquake pairs perfectly with its Rock-type STAB move to form near-perfect neutral coverage. Focus Punch can be used in the third slot to annihilate the foe if a switch can be predicted, but it can be kind of hard to use correctly. This makes Brick Break a decent alternative that still hits the defensive Normal-types in the tier harder than Sudowoodo's other moves. The last slot is dedicated to Sudowoodo's Normal move of choice. Explosion can take out nearly any Pokemon in the tier when backed by Choice Band, and in fact it is the strongest unboosted attack in the tier. Alternatively, Double-Edge is a fantastic safety move that can be great for when the opponent has both Pelipper and Hitmonchan waiting in the wings and you're not sure which they'll go to, and it doesn't have any recoil thanks to Rock Head.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Sudowoodo is very slow, so simply maxing out HP and Attack is generally the best thing to do when using it. Running enough Speed to outpace Kecleon, Lairon, and Graveler is an option, but there's ultimately not much use in doing so, as the former two don't necessarily threaten Sudowoodo and the latter wins regardless. However, a couple EVs can be transferred from HP to Speed to make sure Sudowoodo can outpace Magcargo and Lickitung.

There's not a lot of other options that can really find a spot on this set, since Sudowoodo gets such good coverage with the moves provided; however, Hidden Power Ghost can be used for a better hit on Haunter and Chimecho. This set works well as a lead for offensive teams that have a reliable answer to Hitmonchan, as it easily OHKOes common leads like Glalie, Venomoth, Flareon, and Mawile. Because Sudowoodo is so slow, it's easily revenge killed even by most defensive Pokemon running 0 Speed, so it needs some defensive support to work properly. Defensive Grass-types in particular have an easy time with Sudowoodo, making Flying-types like Murkrow and Pidgeot good teammates. Grass-types of your own make good teammates to pair with Sudowoodo, as they can switch into the multitude of Water-types in the tier, and Sudowoodo has an easy time with the aforementioned Flying-types to protect them. Specially defensive Normal-types like Lickitung and Kecleon make for great team choices to form a good defensive core with Sudowoodo. Finally, Chimecho and Haunter are good teammates to check Hitmonchan, as it can otherwise easily switch into Rock Slide and blow Sudowoodo away with its Sky Uppercut.

[SET]
name: SubPunch
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Rock Slide / Hidden Power Rock
move 4: Explosion / Earthquake
item: Leftovers
ability: Rock Head
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This set takes a more conservative approach to playing with Sudowoodo, taking advantage of the switches it causes to allow it to choose the correct move against the incoming Pokemon. Focus Punch pairs naturally well with Substitute, providing an extremely strong attack with good coverage when paired alongside Sudowoodo's Rock-type STAB move. The last slot depends on how you want to use Sudowoodo. With Explosion, Sudowoodo becomes a fantastic lure to be able to take out specific Pokemon with a level of certainty from behind a Substitute, particularly the Grass- and Water-types likely to switch into it. However, if you want Sudowoodo to stick around, Earthquake completes Sudowoodo's fantastic coverage and gives it a reliable tool for taking out Steel-types like Mawile.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Running more Speed on this set has merit, as getting a Substitute up before a defensive Pokemon like Sableye or Kecleon can use Toxic is fantastic. How much Speed is up to you, but in doing so be aware that Sudowoodo's bulk drops significantly the more HP you take away due to its low base HP.

This set tends to cause a lot of switches, making Spikes phenomenally useful, which also means Glalie and Roselia are good teammates. As Sudowoodo will largely be picking and choosing its target with Explosion on this set, if you choose to use it, having a Pokemon that thrives with the removal of the opponent's bulky Water- or Grass-type is highly recommended. Examples include special attacking Flareon or Plusle, depending on your target. Sudowoodo still easily counters most Flying- and Normal-types with this set, making it a good defensive teammate for Pokemon like offensive Grass-types and special walls like Kecleon. Finally, defensive Grass-types, namely Tangela, have an easy time countering this set, even with the threat of Focus Punch, making Flying-types like Murkrow and Pidgeot good teammates.

[Other Options]

Sudowoodo has a surprisingly large movepool, but like most Pokemon in NU, there's little reason to use most of it. An Endure + Salac Berry + Flail set can hit like a truck, but Sudowoodo is excruciatingly slow; although with max Speed EVs, +1, and a Jolly nature it does outspeed max Speed Adamant Hitmonchan. Unfortunately, it loses out to anything faster than Hitmonchan. A more defensive RestTalk set is definitely viable; however, it's largely outclassed by Relicanth, which is more physically bulky and sports a slightly more useful defensive typing.

As for single move options, Rock Tomb can allow Sudowoodo to get the jump on some defensive Pokemon like Kecleon. Block can prevent an Explosion target from escaping if the opponent predicts wrong. Finally, Calm Mind is an interesting option to allow Sudowoodo to tank a super effective Water- or Grass-type attack and blow the target up with Explosion. Please don't try to sweep with Calm Mind, though.

[Checks and Counters]

The best initial switch-ins to Sudowoodo are defensive Grass-types, particularly Tangela, as they take little damage from Rock Slide, resist Earthquake, and can outspeed and threaten it with their STAB moves. Defensive Water-types, particularly Whiscash because it resists Rock Slide, are other good initial switch-ins. Both types really need to be wary of Explosion, however. Other Ground-, Rock-, and Steel-types are good switch-ins as well, as the former resist Sudowoodo's STAB moves and the latter two resist Explosion; good examples being Graveler, Relicanth, and Mawile. However, they all need to watch out for Focus Punch and Earthquake. Hitmonchan also resists Rock Slide and can take Sudowoodo out with Sky Uppercut. Finally, Haunter and Sableye get a special mention for being immune to Explosion and Focus Punch, and Haunter is even immune to Earthquake.
 
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[Overview]

Sudowoodo faces direct competition from Graveler and Relicanth as a Rock-type in the ADV NU tier, but it carves a place for itself by being less susceptible to Grass- and Water-type attacks and sporting a slightly higher Attack stat than both. A neutrality to Electric and missing STAB on Earthquake can suck be a significant downside when considering it over Graveler and other Rock-types like Pupitar, but a wider movepool, including access to both Explosion and Focus Punch, ensures it has a place on teams needing a solid Rock-type that doesn't just cave in to the abundance of Grass- and Water-types in the tier.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Rock Slide / Hidden Power Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Focus Punch / Brick Break
move 4: Explosion / Double-Edge
item: Choice Band
ability: Rock Head
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

The good thing about Sudowoodo when choosing it as a Choice Band user is that it is quite flexible in what it can do. Rock Slide and Hidden Power Rock are the STAB move options; the choice coming down to whether you want perfect accuracy in Hidden Power Rock or a bit more power in Rock Slide. Earthquake pairs perfectly with its Rock STAB to form near perfect neutral coverage. Focus Punch can be used in the third slot to annihilate the opponent foe if a switch can be predicted, but it can be kind of hard to use correctly. This makes Brick Break a decent alternative that still hits the defensive Normal-types in the tier harder than Sudowoodo's other moves. The last slot is dedicated to Sudowoodo's Normal move of choice. Explosion can take out nearly any Pokemon in the tier when backed by Choice Band, and in fact it is the strongest unboosted attack in the tier. Alternatively, Double-Edge is a fantastic safety move that can be great for when the opponent has both Pelipper and Hitmonchan waiting in the wings and you're not sure which they'll go to, and it doesn't have any recoil thanks to Rock Head.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Sudowoodo is very slow, so simply maxing out HP and Attack is generally the best thing to do when using it. Running enough Enough Speed to outpace Kecleon, Lairon, and Graveler is an option, but there's ultimately not much use in doing so so, as the former two don't necessarily threaten Sudowoodo and the latter wins regardless. However, a couple EVs can be transferred from HP to Speed to make sure Sudowoodo can outpace Magcargo and Lickitung. Lickitung is an option.

There's not a lot of other options that can really find a spot on this set set, since Sudowoodo gets such good coverage with the moves provided; however, Hidden Power Ghost can be used for a better hit on Haunter and Chimecho. Because Sudowoodo is so slow, it's easily revenge killed even by most defensive Pokemon running 0 Speed, so it needs some defensive support to work properly. Defensive Grass-types in particular have an easy time with Sudowoodo, making Flying-types like Murkrow and Pidgeot good teammates. Grass-types of your own make good teammates to pair with Sudowoodo, as they can switch into the multitude of Water-types in the tier, and Sudowoodo has an easy time with the aforementioned Flying-types to protect them. Specially defensive Normal-types like Lickitung and Kecleon make for great team choices to form a good defensive core with Sudowoodo. Finally, Chimecho and Haunter are good teammates to check Hitmonchan, as it can otherwise easily switch into Rock Slide and blow Sudowoodo away with its Sky Uppercut.

[SET]
name: SubPunch
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Rock Slide / Hidden Power Rock
move 4: Explosion / Earthquake
item: Leftovers
ability: Rock Head
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This set takes a more conservative approach to playing with Sudowoodo, taking advantage of the switches it causes to allow it to choose the correct move against the incoming Pokemon. Focus Punch pairs naturally well with Substitute, providing an extremely strong attack with good coverage when paired alongside Sudowoodo's Rock STAB. The last slot depends on how you want to use Sudowoodo. With Explosion, Sudowoodo becomes a fantastic lure to be able to take out specific Pokemon with a level of certainty from behind a Substitute, particularly the Grass- and Water-types likely to switch into it. However, if you want Sudowoodo to stick around, Earthquake completes Sudowoodo's fantastic coverage and gives it a reliable tool for taking out Steel-types like Mawile.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Running more Speed on this set has more merit, merit than on other Sudowoodo sets, as getting a Substitute up before a defensive Pokemon like Sableye or Kecleon can use Toxic is fantastic. How much Speed is up to you, but in doing so be aware that Sudowoodo's bulk drops significantly the more HP you take away due to its low base HP.

This set tends to cause a lot of switches, making Spikes phenomenally useful, which also means Glalie and Roselia are good teammates. As Sudowoodo will largely be picking and choosing its target with Explosion on this set, if you choose to use it, having a Pokemon that thrives with the removal of the opponent's bulky Water- or Grass-type is highly recommended. Examples include special attacking Flareon or Plusle, depending on your target. Sudowoodo still easily counters most Flying- and Normal-types with this set, making it a good defensive teammate for Pokemon like offensive Grass-types and special walls like Kecleon. Finally, defensive Grass-types, namely Tangela, have an easy time countering this set, even with the threat of Focus Punch, making Flying-types like Murkrow and Pidgeot good teammates.

[Other Options]

Sudowoodo has a surprisingly large movepool, but like most things Pokemon in NU NU, there's little reason to use most of it. An Endure + Salac Berry + Flail set can hit like a truck, but Sudowoodo is excruciatingly (definitely not changing this lol ) slow; although with max maximum Speed, Speed EVs, +1, and a Jolly nature it does outspeed max maximum Speed Adamant Hitmonchan. Unfortunately, it loses out to anything faster than Hitmonchan. A more defensive RestTalk set is definitely viable, however viable; however, it's largely outclassed by Relicanth Relicanth, which is more physically defensive bulky and sports a slightly more useful defensive typing.

As for single move options, Rock Tomb can allow Sudowoodo to get the jump on some defensive Pokemon like Kecleon. Block can prevent an Explosion target from escaping if the opponent predicts wrong. Finally, Calm Mind is an interesting option to allow Sudowoodo to tank a super effective Water- or Grass-type attack and blow the target up with Explosion. Please don't try to sweep with Calm Mind, though.

[Checks and Counters]

The best initial switch-ins to Sudowoodo are defensive Grass-types, particularly Tangela, as they take little damage from Rock Slide Slide, and resist Earthquake, and can outspeed and threaten with it their STAB moves. Defensive Water-types, particularly Whiscash as it resists Rock Slide, are another other good initial switch-in. switch-ins. Both types really need to be wary of Explosion, however. Other Ground-, Rock-, and Steel-types are good switch-ins as well, as the former resists resist Sudowoodo's STAB and the latter two resist Explosion, Explosion; good examples being Graveler, Relicanth, and Mawile. However, they all need to watch out for Focus Punch and Earthquake. Hitmonchan also resists Rock Slide and can take Sudowoodo out with Sky Uppercut. Finally, Haunter and Sableye get a special mention for being immune to Explosion and Focus Punch, and Haunter is even immune to Earthquake.

1/2
 

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GP 2/2

[Overview]

Sudowoodo faces direct competition from Graveler and Relicanth as a Rock-type in the ADV NU tier, but it carves a place for itself by being less susceptible to Grass- and Water-type attacks and sporting a slightly higher Attack stat than both. A neutrality to Electric and missing STAB on Earthquake can be a significant downside when considering it over Graveler and other Rock-types like Pupitar, but a wider movepool, including access to both Explosion and Focus Punch, ensures it has a place on teams needing a solid Rock-type that doesn't just cave in to the abundance of Grass- and Water-types in the tier.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Rock Slide / Hidden Power Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Focus Punch / Brick Break
move 4: Explosion / Double-Edge
item: Choice Band
ability: Rock Head
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

The good thing about Sudowoodo when choosing it as a Choice Band user is that it is quite flexible in what it can do. Rock Slide and Hidden Power Rock are the STAB move options; the choice comes coming down to whether you want perfect accuracy in Hidden Power Rock or a bit more power in Rock Slide (when using a semicolon like this, what comes after it should be a complete sentence by itself; "the choice coming down to blah blah" isn't. you can either change coming -> comes to make it a complete sentence or change the semicolon to a comma. i've seen you do this a couple times so just spreadin the knowledge). Earthquake pairs perfectly with its Rock-type STAB move to form near-perfect neutral coverage. Focus Punch can be used in the third slot to annihilate the foe if a switch can be predicted, but it can be kind of hard to use correctly. This makes Brick Break a decent alternative that still hits the defensive Normal-types in the tier harder than Sudowoodo's other moves. The last slot is dedicated to Sudowoodo's Normal move of choice. Explosion can take out nearly any Pokemon in the tier when backed by Choice Band, and in fact it is the strongest unboosted attack in the tier. Alternatively, Double-Edge is a fantastic safety move that can be great for when the opponent has both Pelipper and Hitmonchan waiting in the wings and you're not sure which they'll go to, and it doesn't have any recoil thanks to Rock Head.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Sudowoodo is very slow, so simply maxing out (maximizing but i guess this depends on the outcome of the discussion in the standards thread) HP and Attack is generally the best thing to do when using it. Running enough Speed to outpace Kecleon, Lairon, and Graveler is an option, but there's ultimately not much use in doing so, as the former two don't necessarily threaten Sudowoodo and the latter wins regardless. However, a couple EVs can be transferred from HP to Speed to make sure Sudowoodo can outpace Magcargo and Lickitung.

There's not a lot of other options that can really find a spot on this set, since Sudowoodo gets such good coverage with the moves provided; however, Hidden Power Ghost can be used for a better hit on Haunter and Chimecho. This set works well as a lead for offensive teams that have a reliable answer to Hitmonchan, as it easily OHKOes common leads like Glalie, Venomoth, Flareon, and Mawile. Because Sudowoodo is so slow, it's easily revenge killed even by most defensive Pokemon running 0 Speed, so it needs some defensive support to work properly. Defensive Grass-types in particular have an easy time with Sudowoodo, making Flying-types like Murkrow and Pidgeot good teammates. Grass-types of your own make good teammates to pair with Sudowoodo, as they can switch into the multitude of Water-types in the tier, and Sudowoodo has an easy time with the aforementioned Flying-types to protect them. Specially defensive Normal-types like Lickitung and Kecleon make for great team choices to form a good defensive core with Sudowoodo. Finally, Chimecho and Haunter are good teammates to check Hitmonchan, as it can otherwise easily switch into Rock Slide and blow Sudowoodo away with its Sky Uppercut.

[SET]
name: SubPunch
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Rock Slide / Hidden Power Rock
move 4: Explosion / Earthquake
item: Leftovers
ability: Rock Head
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This set takes a more conservative approach to playing with Sudowoodo, taking advantage of the switches it causes to allow it to choose the correct move against the incoming Pokemon. Focus Punch pairs naturally well with Substitute, providing an extremely strong attack with good coverage when paired alongside Sudowoodo's Rock-type STAB move. The last slot depends on how you want to use Sudowoodo. With Explosion, Sudowoodo becomes a fantastic lure to be able to take out specific Pokemon with a level of certainty from behind a Substitute, particularly the Grass- and Water-types likely to switch into it. However, if you want Sudowoodo to stick around, Earthquake completes Sudowoodo's fantastic coverage and gives it a reliable tool for taking out Steel-types like Mawile.


[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Running more Speed on this set has merit, as getting a Substitute up before a defensive Pokemon like Sableye or Kecleon can use Toxic is fantastic. How much Speed is up to you, but in doing so be aware that Sudowoodo's bulk drops significantly the more HP you take away due to its low base HP.

This set tends to cause a lot of switches, making Spikes phenomenally useful, which also means Glalie and Roselia are good teammates. As Sudowoodo will largely be picking and choosing its target with Explosion on this set, if you choose to use it, having a Pokemon that thrives with the removal of the opponent's bulky Water- or Grass-type is highly recommended. Examples include special attacking Flareon or Plusle, depending on your target. Sudowoodo still easily counters most Flying- and Normal-types with this set, making it a good defensive teammate for Pokemon like offensive Grass-types and special walls like Kecleon. Finally, defensive Grass-types, namely Tangela, have an easy time countering this set, even with the threat of Focus Punch, making Flying-types like Murkrow and Pidgeot good teammates.

[Other Options]

Sudowoodo has a surprisingly large movepool, but like most Pokemon in NU, there's little reason to use most of it. An Endure + Salac Berry + Flail set can hit like a truck, but Sudowoodo is excruciatingly slow; although with max (maximum but yea standards thread) Speed EVs, +1, and a Jolly nature it does outspeed max (same) Speed Adamant Hitmonchan. Unfortunately, it loses out to anything faster than Hitmonchan. A more defensive RestTalk set is definitely viable; however, it's largely outclassed by Relicanth, which is more physically bulky and sports a slightly more useful defensive typing.

As for single move options, Rock Tomb can allow Sudowoodo to get the jump on some defensive Pokemon like Kecleon. Block can prevent an Explosion target from escaping if the opponent predicts wrong. Finally, Calm Mind is an interesting option to allow Sudowoodo to tank a super effective Water- or Grass-type attack and blow the target up with Explosion. Please don't try to sweep with Calm Mind, though.

[Checks and Counters]

The best initial switch-ins to Sudowoodo are defensive Grass-types, particularly Tangela, as they take little damage from Rock Slide, resist Earthquake, and can outspeed and threaten it with their STAB moves. Defensive Water-types, particularly Whiscash because it resists Rock Slide, are other good initial switch-ins. Both types really need to be wary of Explosion, however. Other Ground-, Rock-, and Steel-types are good switch-ins as well, as the former resist Sudowoodo's STAB types and the latter two resist Explosion; good examples are being Graveler, Relicanth, and Mawile. However, they all need to watch out for Focus Punch and Earthquake. Hitmonchan also resists Rock Slide and can take Sudowoodo out with Sky Uppercut. Finally, Haunter and Sableye get a special mention for being immune to Explosion and Focus Punch, and Haunter is even immune to Earthquake.
 

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