Good evening ladies and gentlemen of the forums. This evening I'm bringing you a build that I hope you don't find too "watered down." *pauses for laughter* I present to you one of my personal favorite water types in VGC: Gastrodon.
![[Image: gastrodon_by_creepyjellyfish-d7a49m0.gif]](http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/073/5/6/gastrodon_by_creepyjellyfish-d7a49m0.gif)
Base Stats: HP: 111 Atk: 83 Def: 68 SpAtk: 92 SpDef: 82 Spd: 39
Abilities: Sticky Hold: The user will not lose its hold item.
Storm Drain: All water-type attacks are drawn to this Pokemon. Water-type moves do no damage to this Pokemon and raise its Sp. Attack 1 stage.
Sand Force (HA): Ground, Rock, and Steel-type moves have their power increased by 33% in a Sandstorm.
Build:
Edits will be done in this pretty color!
Gastrodon @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 108 SpA / 56 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Stockpile
- Recover
Now let me just tell you how much I LOVE Gastrodon. At first glance, its stats are "meh", with the exception of its HP. However, it has been gifted with the wonderful Storm Drain ability and great typing that leaves it weak only Grass moves and the occasional Freeze-Dry. Scald was chosen here because Gastrodon doesn't necessarily need a huge amount of power, but the 30% chance to burn is always incredibly useful. Ice Beam provides good coverage, at least in the context of my own personal team, and makes it so threats such as Salamence or Garchomp can't easily switch in on it. Stockpile is the most efficient way for Gastrodon to raise both of its defenses simultaneously, seeing as being more than +3 in each is unnecessary and a bit of a waste in VGC. Recover is a staple on any Gastrodon set as it allows it to reliably recover HP and allow it to continue tanking hits. The most basic strategy here is to try to switch into a water move, set up a Stockpile or two, and then wear down opponents with Scald or Ice Beam while Recovering away damage. The EVs are placed to provide Gastrodon with a bit of offensive presence while allowing it to still be as bulky as possible.
Alternative Options:
Earth Power: The more common option over Ice Beam on most Gastrodons. No real disadvantage other than predictability. Decide whether or not to use this based on how much your team needs a Ground-type attack.
Clear Smog: More of a utility move than an offensive one, but it may catch people by surprise who try to set up on you. It's still rather situational.
Acid Armor and/or Amnesia: Alternative options to Stockpile. Each provides a +2 boost but to only one stat. I feel that having both would be a waste, however, and the ability to got to +6 is begging for a crit.
Muddy Water: More powerful than Scald and hits both opponents, but is far less accurate.
Sludge Wave/Bomb: More coverage, depends on the rest of your team. Also has a chance to poison.
Yawn: Good for mind games. Often forces an opponent to switch.
Offensive Calculations:
+1 108 SpA Gastrodon Scald vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Kangaskhan: 72-85 (39.7 - 46.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
108 SpA Gastrodon Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Garchomp: 164-196 (89.6 - 107.1%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
108 SpA Gastrodon Scald vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Talonflame: 128-152 (83.1 - 98.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
108 SpA Gastrodon Ice Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-T: 172-204 (104.2 - 123.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Defensive Calculations:
252+ Atk Landorus-T Superpower vs. 252 HP / 92+ Def Gastrodon: 89-105 (40.8 - 48.1%) -- 99.1% chance to 3HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. +1 252 HP / 92+ Def Gastrodon: 123-145 (56.4 - 66.5%) -- 23% chance to 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Protean Greninja Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 56 SpD Gastrodon: 95-113 (43.5 - 51.8%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
252 Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Double-Edge vs. +1 252 HP / 92+ Def Gastrodon: 105-124 (48.1 - 56.8%) -- 11.7% chance to 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
Gastrodon's BFFs:
Gastrodon works the best with anything that has a significant (or really even minor) weakness to Water-type attacks. On top of that, a good partner for Gastrodon should also be able to handle any grass types that would try to switch in.
Did you mean: fire types ? oh, yeah...that's right...
But really, your best partners for Gastrodon are going to be Pokemon like Heatran (my personal favorite), Charizard, Landorus, etc.
In addition, Gastrodon's Storm Drain can be taken advantage of by Surf-users. Just keep in mind that ALL Water-type attacks are drawn by Storm Drain, even your own Pokemon's if they're single-target attacks. (Learned this the hard way with my own Azumarill's Aqua Jets)
In addition, Gastrodon's speed, or lack thereof, makes it a good addition to even Trick Room teams.
Gastrodon's ARCH NEMESES:
Mega freaking Venusaur: Seriously, be able to deal with this thing if you plan to use Gastrodon. There is little to nothing that Gastrodon can do to defend itself against this beast.
Whimsicott: Super duper annoying and can Taunt you out of Recover or Stockpile. Not to mention that some have Energy Ball.
Oddball Energy Ball users: Gengar, Gardevoir, Cresselia, Alakazam, Jellicent, Galvantula, Gothitelle, Lati@s, etc. Just remember that quite a few of these oddball Pokemon can very well carry Energy Ball just to deal with the likes of Gastrodon.
Freeze-Dry: Watch out for Lapras, Artucuno, Glalie, Aurorus, Vanilluxe, Cyrogonal, or even Mamoswine or Delibird. Freeze-Dry if 4x effective on Gastrodon, and all of these Pokemon can carry it.
Showcase!!!
DRHG-WWWW-WWXD-W9NW - (This battle is featured in the VGC Replay Thread) Gastrodon, Amoonguss, Gallade, Klingklang vs. Slowking, Arcanine, Goodra, Ampharos - This battle shows off Gastrodon's boosting ability and lasting ability.
CLRW-WWWW-WW2X-2YGQ - Greninja, Gastrodon, Mawile, Togekiss vs. Staraptor, Swampert, Drifblim, Whimsicott - Shows off Gastrodon's staying power and synergy with Surf-users.
X72W-WWWW-WW2X-2YDE - Greninja, Scizor, Heatran, Gastrodon vs. Excadrill, Tyranitar, Togekiss, Kangaskhan - Shows off Gastrodon's good synergy with Heatran and power even without a Storm Drain Boost (also I just like to show off this battle because it was pretty great).
So after all of that, I hope you all can come to love Gastrodon as much as I do. :D Thanks for your time! (Also this is my first build go easy on me please kappa )
Base Stats: HP: 111 Atk: 83 Def: 68 SpAtk: 92 SpDef: 82 Spd: 39
Abilities: Sticky Hold: The user will not lose its hold item.
Storm Drain: All water-type attacks are drawn to this Pokemon. Water-type moves do no damage to this Pokemon and raise its Sp. Attack 1 stage.
Sand Force (HA): Ground, Rock, and Steel-type moves have their power increased by 33% in a Sandstorm.
Build:
Edits will be done in this pretty color!
Gastrodon @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 108 SpA / 56 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Stockpile
- Recover
Now let me just tell you how much I LOVE Gastrodon. At first glance, its stats are "meh", with the exception of its HP. However, it has been gifted with the wonderful Storm Drain ability and great typing that leaves it weak only Grass moves and the occasional Freeze-Dry. Scald was chosen here because Gastrodon doesn't necessarily need a huge amount of power, but the 30% chance to burn is always incredibly useful. Ice Beam provides good coverage, at least in the context of my own personal team, and makes it so threats such as Salamence or Garchomp can't easily switch in on it. Stockpile is the most efficient way for Gastrodon to raise both of its defenses simultaneously, seeing as being more than +3 in each is unnecessary and a bit of a waste in VGC. Recover is a staple on any Gastrodon set as it allows it to reliably recover HP and allow it to continue tanking hits. The most basic strategy here is to try to switch into a water move, set up a Stockpile or two, and then wear down opponents with Scald or Ice Beam while Recovering away damage. The EVs are placed to provide Gastrodon with a bit of offensive presence while allowing it to still be as bulky as possible.
Alternative Options:
Earth Power: The more common option over Ice Beam on most Gastrodons. No real disadvantage other than predictability. Decide whether or not to use this based on how much your team needs a Ground-type attack.
Clear Smog: More of a utility move than an offensive one, but it may catch people by surprise who try to set up on you. It's still rather situational.
Acid Armor and/or Amnesia: Alternative options to Stockpile. Each provides a +2 boost but to only one stat. I feel that having both would be a waste, however, and the ability to got to +6 is begging for a crit.
Muddy Water: More powerful than Scald and hits both opponents, but is far less accurate.
Sludge Wave/Bomb: More coverage, depends on the rest of your team. Also has a chance to poison.
Yawn: Good for mind games. Often forces an opponent to switch.
Offensive Calculations:
+1 108 SpA Gastrodon Scald vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Kangaskhan: 72-85 (39.7 - 46.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
108 SpA Gastrodon Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Garchomp: 164-196 (89.6 - 107.1%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
108 SpA Gastrodon Scald vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Talonflame: 128-152 (83.1 - 98.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
108 SpA Gastrodon Ice Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-T: 172-204 (104.2 - 123.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Defensive Calculations:
252+ Atk Landorus-T Superpower vs. 252 HP / 92+ Def Gastrodon: 89-105 (40.8 - 48.1%) -- 99.1% chance to 3HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. +1 252 HP / 92+ Def Gastrodon: 123-145 (56.4 - 66.5%) -- 23% chance to 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Protean Greninja Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 56 SpD Gastrodon: 95-113 (43.5 - 51.8%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
252 Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Double-Edge vs. +1 252 HP / 92+ Def Gastrodon: 105-124 (48.1 - 56.8%) -- 11.7% chance to 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
Gastrodon's BFFs:
Gastrodon works the best with anything that has a significant (or really even minor) weakness to Water-type attacks. On top of that, a good partner for Gastrodon should also be able to handle any grass types that would try to switch in.
Did you mean: fire types ? oh, yeah...that's right...
But really, your best partners for Gastrodon are going to be Pokemon like Heatran (my personal favorite), Charizard, Landorus, etc.
In addition, Gastrodon's Storm Drain can be taken advantage of by Surf-users. Just keep in mind that ALL Water-type attacks are drawn by Storm Drain, even your own Pokemon's if they're single-target attacks. (Learned this the hard way with my own Azumarill's Aqua Jets)
In addition, Gastrodon's speed, or lack thereof, makes it a good addition to even Trick Room teams.
Gastrodon's ARCH NEMESES:
Mega freaking Venusaur: Seriously, be able to deal with this thing if you plan to use Gastrodon. There is little to nothing that Gastrodon can do to defend itself against this beast.
Whimsicott: Super duper annoying and can Taunt you out of Recover or Stockpile. Not to mention that some have Energy Ball.
Oddball Energy Ball users: Gengar, Gardevoir, Cresselia, Alakazam, Jellicent, Galvantula, Gothitelle, Lati@s, etc. Just remember that quite a few of these oddball Pokemon can very well carry Energy Ball just to deal with the likes of Gastrodon.
Freeze-Dry: Watch out for Lapras, Artucuno, Glalie, Aurorus, Vanilluxe, Cyrogonal, or even Mamoswine or Delibird. Freeze-Dry if 4x effective on Gastrodon, and all of these Pokemon can carry it.
Showcase!!!
DRHG-WWWW-WWXD-W9NW - (This battle is featured in the VGC Replay Thread) Gastrodon, Amoonguss, Gallade, Klingklang vs. Slowking, Arcanine, Goodra, Ampharos - This battle shows off Gastrodon's boosting ability and lasting ability.
CLRW-WWWW-WW2X-2YGQ - Greninja, Gastrodon, Mawile, Togekiss vs. Staraptor, Swampert, Drifblim, Whimsicott - Shows off Gastrodon's staying power and synergy with Surf-users.
X72W-WWWW-WW2X-2YDE - Greninja, Scizor, Heatran, Gastrodon vs. Excadrill, Tyranitar, Togekiss, Kangaskhan - Shows off Gastrodon's good synergy with Heatran and power even without a Storm Drain Boost (also I just like to show off this battle because it was pretty great).
So after all of that, I hope you all can come to love Gastrodon as much as I do. :D Thanks for your time! (Also this is my first build go easy on me please kappa )
