Competitive Information for Sandslash [Diamond/Pearl]
Ground
Abilities:
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Sandslash? 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.
Sandslash is a fabulous Ground-typed Pokemon. It's pretty usual to find yourself dealing with Sandslash when battling in the 4th generation meta. This Pokemon deserves to see more play in the meta. Sandslash is weak to Grass, Ice, and Water-typed attacks.
Item: Expert Belt / Choice Band
Ability: Sand Veil
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Earthquake
- Night Slash
- Poison Jab / Brick Break
- Shadow Claw
Physical Sweeper Sandslash (Sand Veil)
Sandslash is an outstanding Physical Sweeper. It's purpose is to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Choice Band will increase the damage of Sandslash'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 Sandslash'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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Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sand Veil
Nature: Brave (+Atk, -Spe)
EVs: 213 Hp / 87 Atk / 210 SpD
Moveset:
- Brick Break
- Night Slash / Poison Jab
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance / Sandstorm
Sandslash Special Wall (Slashitude*)
Sandslash is a marvelous Special Wall. It is primarily designed to take a substantial amount of hits from special attacks while dealing some decent damage. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Sandslash last longer regaining it's it's health every turn. With Sand Veil, if sandstorm is active Sandslash's evasiveness is 1.25x; immunity to sandstorm.
♦ 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).
♦ Rapid Spin is a physical 20-base power Normal-type move (frees Sandslash from hazards, binding, leech seed).
♦ Swords Dance is a status move (raises your Sandslash's attack by 2 stages).
♦ Sandstorm is a status move (for 5 turns, a sandstorm rages).
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Item: Life Orb
Ability: Sand Veil
Nature: Naughty (+Atk, -SpD)
EVs: 108 Hp / 200 Atk / 200 Spe
Moveset:
- Night Slash
- Rapid Spin
- Return
- Swords Dance
Sandslash Physical Sweeper (Slash Ya Apart)
Sandslash is an outstanding Physical Sweeper. This moveset is designed to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Life Orb boosts the power of Sandslash'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 Sandslash's evasiveness is 1.25x; immunity to sandstorm.
♦ Rapid Spin is a physical 20-base power Normal-type move (frees Sandslash from hazards, binding, leech seed).
♦ Return is a physical 0-base power Normal-type move (max 102 power at maximum happiness).
♦ Swords Dance is a status move (raises your Sandslash's attack by 2 stages).
Link (click to copy):
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Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Sandslash? 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: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Night Slash
- Poison Jab / Slash
Doubles Physical Sweeper Sandslash (Sand Veil)
Sandslash is a notable Physical Sweeper. It's purpose is to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Choice Band will increase the damage of Sandslash's physical moves by 1.5x at the cost of locking you into the first move you pick. Life Orb boosts the power of Sandslash'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 Sandslash'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 Sandslash 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 Sandslash 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 Sandslash
- 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 Sandslash's stats
- Defense Curl
- Metal Claw
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
Most notable and possible best moves for Sandslash
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Protect
- Rapid Spin
- Rest
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
Common Effort Values for Sandslash in Diamond and Pearl
- Nature ( )
- Nature ( )
- Optimize Sandslash's EV spread for Pokemon Diamond and Pearl
Related Videos
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Here are the best movesets for Sandslash. Top rated Sandslash Diamond/Pearl movesets. You can find Sandslash builds Diamond/Pearl. Sandslash movesets Diamond/Pearl are listed here. VGC Sandslash Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Sandslash in Diamond/Pearl along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for evolution