Competitive Information for Donphan [Ruby/Sapphire]


Ground
Abilities:
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Donphan? These builds have been optimized for Pokemon competing in Ruby/Sapphire 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 Ruby/Sapphire generation metagame.
Donphan is an outstanding Ground-typed Pokemon. It's pretty standard to find yourself dealing with Donphan when battling in the 3rd generation meta. Donphan is weak to Grass, Ice, and Water-typed attacks.
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Impish (+Def, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Hp / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Moveset:
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Protect
- Toxic
Physical Wall Donphan (Popular/Trending)
Donphan is a stupendous Physical Wall. It attempts to take a large amount of physical hits while dealing some decent damage. Don't forget back before Generation IV, a move's damage category was determined by its type. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Donphan last longer regaining it's life every turn. With Sturdy, ohko moves fail when used against Donphan.
♦ Rapid Spin is a physical 20-base power Normal-type move (frees Donphan from hazards, binding, leech seed).
♦ Protect is a status move (prevents moves from affecting your Donphan this turn).
♦ Toxic is a status move (badly poisons the target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/ds10ae8
Item: Soft Sand
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Earthquake / Mud-Slap
- Double-Edge / Frustration
- Rock Slide / Ancient Power
- Rock Smash / Counter
Physical Sweeper Donphan (Sturdy)
Donphan is an extraordinary Physical Sweeper. It's goal is to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Prior to Generation IV, a move's damage category was determined by its type. With Sturdy, ohko moves fail when used against Donphan.
♦ Mud-Slap is a physical STAB-boosted 20-base power Ground-type move (100% chance to lower the target's accuracy by 1 stage).
♦ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 1/3 recoil).
♦ Frustration is a physical 0-base power Normal-type move (max 102 power at minimum happiness).
♦ Rock Slide is a physical 75-base power Rock-type move (30% chance to flinch the foes).
♦ Ancient Power is a physical 60-base power Rock-type move (10% chance to raise all stats by 1 stage (not acc/eva)).
♦ Rock Smash is a physical 20-base power Fighting-type move (50% chance to lower the target's defense by 1 stage).
♦ Counter is a physical 0-base power Fighting-type move (if hit by physical attack, returns double damage).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/ds11ae8
Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Donphan? These builds have been optimized for Ruby/Sapphire 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 Ruby/Sapphire generation metagame.
Item: Soft Sand
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Earthquake / Mud-Slap
- Rock Slide / Ancient Power
- Double-Edge / Frustration
- Rock Smash / Counter
Doubles Physical Sweeper Donphan (Sturdy)
Donphan is a notable Physical Sweeper. It was designed to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Back before Generation IV, a move's damage category was determined by its type. With Sturdy, ohko moves fail when used against Donphan.
♦ Mud-Slap is a physical STAB-boosted 20-base power Ground-type move (100% chance to lower the target's accuracy by 1 stage).
♦ Rock Slide is a physical 75-base power Rock-type move (30% chance to flinch the foes).
♦ Ancient Power is a physical 60-base power Rock-type move (10% chance to raise all stats by 1 stage (not acc/eva)).
♦ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 1/3 recoil).
♦ Frustration is a physical 0-base power Normal-type move (max 102 power at minimum happiness).
♦ Rock Smash is a physical 20-base power Fighting-type move (50% chance to lower the target's defense by 1 stage).
♦ Counter is a physical 0-base power Fighting-type move (if hit by physical attack, returns double damage).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/dd10ae8
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 Ruby/Sapphire. 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 RS Move and Ability Combos for Donphan
- Moves: Defense curl + Rollout
- Moves: Endure + Flail
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Moves: Rest + Snore
- Move: Swagger + Item: Mirror Herb
- Move: Facade + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Facade + Item: Toxic Orb
- Moves with Priority: Endure, Protect
- Moves that inflict status: Toxic
Moves that boost Donphan's stats
- Ancient Power
- Defense Curl
- Rapid Spin
Most notable and possible best moves for Donphan
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Rapid Spin
- Rest
- Toxic
Common Effort Values for Donphan in Ruby and Sapphire
- Impish Nature ( 252/0/252/0/4/0/ )
- Impish Nature ( 248/0/52/0/160/48/ )
- Optimize Donphan's EV spread for Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire
Related Videos
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Here are the best movesets for Donphan. Top rated Donphan Ruby/Sapphire movesets. You can find Donphan builds Ruby/Sapphire. Donphan movesets Ruby/Sapphire are listed here. VGC Donphan Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Donphan in Ruby/Sapphire along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for evolution