Competitive Information for Sandshrew [Diamond/Pearl]
Ground
Abilities:
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Sandshrew? 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.
Sandshrew is a decent Ground-typed Pokemon. Sandshrew is not a Pokemon anyone usually expects sees on the battlefield. Sandshrew can be quite a contender in the LC tier (Little Cup). Sandshrew is weak to Grass, Ice, and Water-typed attacks.
Item: Expert Belt / Choice Band
Ability: Sand Veil
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 56 Hp / 252 Atk / 200 SpD
Moveset:
- Earthquake
- Night Slash
- Poison Jab / Brick Break
- Shadow Claw
Physical Sweeper Sandshrew (Sand Veil)
Sandshrew is a sensational Physical Sweeper. It attempts to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Choice Band will increase the damage of Sandshrew's physical moves by 1.5x at the cost of locking you into the first move you pick. With Sand Veil, if sandstorm is active Sandshrew's evasiveness is 1.25x; immunity to sandstorm. Poison Jab or Brick Break are added to provide additional threat coverage.
♦ Night Slash is a physical 70-base power Dark-type move (high critical hit ratio).
♦ Poison Jab is a physical 80-base power Poison-type move (30% chance to poison the target).
♦ Brick Break is a physical 75-base power Fighting-type move (destroys screens, even if the target is immune).
♦ Shadow Claw is a physical 70-base power Ghost-type move (high critical hit ratio).
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Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Sandshrew? 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.
Item: Life Orb / Choice Band
Ability: Sand Veil
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 56 Hp / 252 Atk / 200 SpD
Moveset:
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Night Slash
- Poison Jab / Slash
Doubles Physical Sweeper Sandshrew (Sand Veil)
Sandshrew 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 Sandshrew's physical moves by 1.5x at the cost of locking you into the first move you pick. Life Orb boosts the power of Sandshrew's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Sand Veil, if sandstorm is active Sandshrew's evasiveness is 1.25x; immunity to sandstorm. Poison Jab was added to provide additional threat coverage.
♦ Rock Slide is a physical 75-base power Rock-type move (30% chance to flinch the foes).
♦ Night Slash is a physical 70-base power Dark-type move (high critical hit ratio).
♦ Poison Jab is a physical 80-base power Poison-type move (30% chance to poison the target).
♦ Slash is a physical 70-base power Normal-type move (high critical hit ratio).
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Movepool
Wondering what moves can Sandshrew 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 Sandshrew 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 Sandshrew
- Moves: Defense curl + Rollout
- Moves: Endure + Flail
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Moves: Rest + Snore
- Move: Swagger + Item: Mirror Herb
- Move: Fling + Item: King's Rock
- Move: Facade + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Facade + Item: Toxic Orb
- Item: Blunder Policy + Move: Dynamic Punch
- Moves with Priority: Endure, Protect
- Moves that Break Screens: Brick Break
- Moves that inflict status: Toxic
Moves that boost Sandshrew's stats
- Defense Curl
- Metal Claw
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
Most notable and possible best moves for Sandshrew
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Protect
- Rapid Spin
- Rest
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
Common Effort Values for Sandshrew in Diamond and Pearl
- Nature ( )
- Nature ( )
- Optimize Sandshrew's EV spread for Pokemon Diamond and Pearl
Related Videos
Here are various how-to-use and competitive moveset analysis video guides for Sandshrew in Diamond/Pearl. These featured videos will most likely contain additional strategies and combos not listed on our site. Disclaimer: All videos belong to their respective owners along with the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the videos. They belong solely to the author and not to us.
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Here are the best movesets for Sandshrew. Top rated Sandshrew Diamond/Pearl movesets. You can find Sandshrew builds Diamond/Pearl. Sandshrew movesets Diamond/Pearl are listed here. VGC Sandshrew Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Sandshrew in Diamond/Pearl along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for Sandslash evolution