Excadrill @ Soft Sand
Name: Swords Dance (Ground)
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
[SET COMMENTS]
Excadrill's Swords Dance, paired with its great offensive capabilities in its near-unwallable STAB combination and Sand Rush, makes it an excellent sweeper for Ground-type teams. Swords Dance aids Excadrill in OHKOing prominent targets that would otherwise threaten it such as Primarina, Meowscarada, and Kyurem. Iron Head in tandem with Earthquake forms a fantastic STAB move combination that is resisted by very few Pokemon. Rapid Spin allows Excadrill to remove entry hazards that can prove troublesome to Ground-type teams, such as Spikes and Toxic Spikes, while also providing it with a boost to its Speed, which can make it a potent sweeper even outside of sand. Soft Sand is the preferred item over other damage-boosting items such as Life Orb, as it allows Excadrill to retain HP while landing OHKOs on the aforementioned Primarina, as well as Swampert after a Swords Dance boost.
Hippowdon is a mandatory teammate, as it sets sand for Excadrill to take advantage of. Additionally, it acts as a great physical wall that can switch into Pokemon that threaten Excadrill, such as Great Tusk and Landorus-T, while also providing entry hazard support. In return, Excadrill can handle the aforementioned Primarina and Meowscarada for Hippowdon. Landorus is another great teammate, as it is a very potent wallbreaker that handles physical walls that Excadrill struggles against, such as opposing Hippowdon, as well as Corviknight and Skarmory if it has set Gravity, which Excadrill can also take advantage of. In return, Excadrill takes care of Pokemon that can wall Landorus, like Chansey and Articuno. Another great defensive teammate is Clodsire, which provides a Water immunity with Water Absorb, as well as great utility with its access to a wide array of entry hazards, which further aid in Excadrill's sweeping and wallbreaking capabilities. Mamoswine is another appreciated teammate, as it has access to Thick Fat, which allows Ground teams to have a relatively safe pivot into Pokemon such as Kyurem and Greninja Choice-locked into Ice-type moves, which both outspeed Excadrill outside of sand. Additionally, it threatens a myriad of Pokemon that prove troublesome to Excadrill such as Gliscor, Amoonguss, and Zapdos with its Ice-type STAB moves, as well as revenge killing Dragon-types such as Dragonite and Dragapult, making Excadrill's job of sweeping much easier. Ursaluna-B pairs well with Excadrill to form a dangerous wallbreaking combination, as they both have access to high powered STAB moves while also covering each other's checks nicely. Excadrill helps with special walls that Ursaluna-B can't break, such as the aforementioned Chansey, while Ursaluna-B can help deal with Corviknight and Skarmory after boosting with Calm Mind. Additionally, Ursaluna-B has access to Vacuum Wave, which hits a very prominent threat in Chien-Pao, which alleviates pressure from Ground-type teams.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sasha.510532/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/boomp.637295/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/captaindaimyo.602431/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Name: Swords Dance (Ground)
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
[SET COMMENTS]
Excadrill's Swords Dance, paired with its great offensive capabilities in its near-unwallable STAB combination and Sand Rush, makes it an excellent sweeper for Ground-type teams. Swords Dance aids Excadrill in OHKOing prominent targets that would otherwise threaten it such as Primarina, Meowscarada, and Kyurem. Iron Head in tandem with Earthquake forms a fantastic STAB move combination that is resisted by very few Pokemon. Rapid Spin allows Excadrill to remove entry hazards that can prove troublesome to Ground-type teams, such as Spikes and Toxic Spikes, while also providing it with a boost to its Speed, which can make it a potent sweeper even outside of sand. Soft Sand is the preferred item over other damage-boosting items such as Life Orb, as it allows Excadrill to retain HP while landing OHKOs on the aforementioned Primarina, as well as Swampert after a Swords Dance boost.
Hippowdon is a mandatory teammate, as it sets sand for Excadrill to take advantage of. Additionally, it acts as a great physical wall that can switch into Pokemon that threaten Excadrill, such as Great Tusk and Landorus-T, while also providing entry hazard support. In return, Excadrill can handle the aforementioned Primarina and Meowscarada for Hippowdon. Landorus is another great teammate, as it is a very potent wallbreaker that handles physical walls that Excadrill struggles against, such as opposing Hippowdon, as well as Corviknight and Skarmory if it has set Gravity, which Excadrill can also take advantage of. In return, Excadrill takes care of Pokemon that can wall Landorus, like Chansey and Articuno. Another great defensive teammate is Clodsire, which provides a Water immunity with Water Absorb, as well as great utility with its access to a wide array of entry hazards, which further aid in Excadrill's sweeping and wallbreaking capabilities. Mamoswine is another appreciated teammate, as it has access to Thick Fat, which allows Ground teams to have a relatively safe pivot into Pokemon such as Kyurem and Greninja Choice-locked into Ice-type moves, which both outspeed Excadrill outside of sand. Additionally, it threatens a myriad of Pokemon that prove troublesome to Excadrill such as Gliscor, Amoonguss, and Zapdos with its Ice-type STAB moves, as well as revenge killing Dragon-types such as Dragonite and Dragapult, making Excadrill's job of sweeping much easier. Ursaluna-B pairs well with Excadrill to form a dangerous wallbreaking combination, as they both have access to high powered STAB moves while also covering each other's checks nicely. Excadrill helps with special walls that Ursaluna-B can't break, such as the aforementioned Chansey, while Ursaluna-B can help deal with Corviknight and Skarmory after boosting with Calm Mind. Additionally, Ursaluna-B has access to Vacuum Wave, which hits a very prominent threat in Chien-Pao, which alleviates pressure from Ground-type teams.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sasha.510532/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/boomp.637295/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/captaindaimyo.602431/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Last edited: