Competitive Information for Donphan [Diamond/Pearl]
Ground
Abilities:
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Donphan? These builds have been optimized for Pokemon competing in Diamond/Pearl Single Battles. The movesets and EVs have been specifically calibrated to deal the most amount of damage to the largest group of potentially common opponents and typing threats for the Diamond/Pearl generation metagame.
JirachiTyranitarZapdosEmpoleonRotom-HeatElectivireHeracrossStaraptorDrapionRotom-Mow
Donphan is a sensational Ground-typed Pokemon. Donphan are common Pokemon to see in the DP metagame. Donphan is typically seen in the UU tier (Underused). Donphan is weak to Grass, Ice, and Water-typed attacks.
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Hp / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Moveset:
- Head Smash
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Rapid Spin
Physical Tank Donphan (Popular/Trending)
Donphan is a notable Physical Tank. It is meant to take a substantial amount of physical hits while dealing some decent damage. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Donphan last longer regaining it's HP every turn. With Sturdy, ohko moves fail when used against Donphan.
♦ Earthquake is a physical STAB-boosted 100-base power Ground-type move (hits adjacent pokemon. power doubles on dig).
♦ Ice Shard is a physical priority-increased 40-base power Ice-type move (usually goes first).
♦ Rapid Spin is a physical 20-base power Normal-type move (frees Donphan from hazards, binding, leech seed).
Link (click to copy):
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Item: Expert Belt / Choice Band
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 92 Hp / 252 Atk / 164 SpD
Moveset:
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- Seed Bomb / Rock Slide
- Poison Jab
Physical Sweeper Donphan (Sturdy)
Donphan is an outstanding Physical Sweeper. It's primary goal is to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Choice Band will increase the damage of Donphan's physical moves by 1.5x at the cost of locking you into the first move you pick. With Sturdy, ohko moves fail when used against Donphan. Seed Bomb or Rock Slide are added to provide additional threat coverage.
♦ Superpower is a physical 120-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Donphan's attack and defense by 1 stage).
♦ Seed Bomb is a physical 80-base power Grass-type move that deals a large amount of damage.
♦ Rock Slide is a physical 75-base power Rock-type move (30% chance to flinch the foes).
♦ Poison Jab is a physical 80-base power Poison-type move (30% chance to poison the target).
Link (click to copy):
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Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Impish (+Def, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Hp / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Moveset:
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Roar
Donphan Physical Wall (Rock Wall Spinner)
Donphan is a remarkable Physical Wall. It's meant to take a mighty amount of physical hits while dealing some decent damage. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Donphan last longer regaining it's HP every turn. With Sturdy, ohko moves fail when used against Donphan. Donphan is my Defensive wall, Stealth Rocker, as well as my Spinner. Stealth Rock is for Entry Hazards, Rapid Spin for taking away My opponents entry hazards, Earthquake is for STAB and finally Roar is to make my opponents Pokemon to switch and take damage from Stealth Rock.
♦ Rapid Spin is a physical 20-base power Normal-type move (frees Donphan from hazards, binding, leech seed).
♦ Earthquake is a physical STAB-boosted 100-base power Ground-type move (hits adjacent pokemon. power doubles on dig).
♦ Roar is a status move (forces the target to switch to a random ally).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/es12ae8
Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Donphan? These builds have been optimized for Diamond/Pearl Double Battles. They have movesets and EVs specifically calibrated to generally work best versus multiple Pokemon at once as well as helping to support other team members and allys in the Diamond/Pearl generation metagame.
JirachiTyranitarZapdosEmpoleonRotom-HeatElectivireHeracrossStaraptorDrapionRotom-Mow
Item: Expert Belt / Choice Band
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 92 Hp / 252 Atk / 164 SpD
Moveset:
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- Poison Jab / Seed Bomb
Doubles Physical Sweeper Donphan (Sturdy)
Donphan is pretty popular Physical Sweeper. It's meant to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Choice Band will increase the damage of Donphan's physical moves by 1.5x at the cost of locking you into the first move you pick. With Sturdy, ohko moves fail when used against Donphan. Poison Jab or Seed Bomb are added to provide additional threat coverage.
♦ Rock Slide is a physical 75-base power Rock-type move (30% chance to flinch the foes).
♦ Superpower is a physical 120-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Donphan's attack and defense by 1 stage).
♦ Poison Jab is a physical 80-base power Poison-type move (30% chance to poison the target).
♦ Seed Bomb is a physical 80-base power Grass-type move that deals a decent amount of damage.
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/ed10ae8
Movepool
Wondering what moves can Donphan learn? Here is the list of moves this Pokemon can learn in this selected generation.
Sort and organize the learnset by move type, category, accuracy, and power. Bolded moves will gain the same-type attack bonus (STAB) if this Pokemon uses them.
Damage Modifiers:
Combo List
These are a list of several common move combinations Donphan can perform in Diamond/Pearl. Not every combo going to be game-changing, but some can be pretty fun to play with. Sometimes these can be easily overlooked or forgotten, hence why we find and list them here. Discover what items, abilities, and moves this Pokemon can use in combination with each other to gain a strategic advantage in competitive battles.
Competitive DP Move and Ability Combos for Donphan
- Moves: Defense curl + Rollout
- Moves: Endure + Flail
- Moves: Endure + Endeavor
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Moves: Rest + Snore
- Ability: Sturdy + Move: Endeavor
- Ability: Sturdy + Move: Endeavor
- Move: Swagger + Item: Mirror Herb
- Move: Assurance + Item: Rocky Helmet
- Move: Facade + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Facade + Item: Toxic Orb
- Move: Endeavor + Item: Focus Sash
- Moves with Priority: Endure, Protect, Ice Shard
- Moves that inflict status: Toxic
Moves that boost Donphan's stats
- Ancient Power
- Defense Curl
- Iron Defense
- Rapid Spin
- Rock Polish
Most notable and possible best moves for Donphan
- Assurance
- Earthquake
- Head Smash
- Ice Shard
- Knock Off
- Other
- Protect
- Rapid Spin
- Rest
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
Common Effort Values for Donphan in Diamond and Pearl
- Adamant Nature ( 252/252/0/0/4/0/ )
- Adamant Nature ( 252/188/68/0/0/0/ )
- Optimize Donphan's EV spread for Pokemon Diamond and Pearl
Related Videos
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Here are the best movesets for Donphan. Top rated Donphan Diamond/Pearl movesets. You can find Donphan builds Diamond/Pearl. Donphan movesets Diamond/Pearl are listed here. VGC Donphan Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Donphan in Diamond/Pearl along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for evolution