Competitive Information for Donphan [Sun/Moon]
Ground
Abilities:
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Donphan? These builds have been optimized for Pokemon competing in Sun/Moon 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 Sun/Moon generation metagame.
Donphan is a stupendous Ground-typed Pokemon. It's a pretty usual sight to see Donphan out in the 7th generation battlefield. Donphan is weak to Grass, Ice, and Water-typed attacks.
Item: Leftovers / Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Hp / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Moveset:
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock / Head Smash
Physical Tank Donphan (Popular/Trending)
Donphan is a pretty decent Physical Tank. It's primary goal is to take a hefty amount of physical hits while dealing some decent damage. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Donphan last longer regaining it's health every turn. With Sturdy, if Donphan is at full hp it survives one hit with at least 1 hp. immune to ohko.
♦ 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).
♦ Stealth Rock is a status move (hurts foes on switch-in. factors rock weakness).
♦ Head Smash is a physical 150-base power Rock-type move (has 1/2 recoil).
Link (click to copy):
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Item: Groundium Z / Expert Belt
Ability: Sand Veil
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 92 Hp / 252 Atk / 164 SpD
Moveset:
- Earthquake / High Horsepower
- Superpower
- Poison Jab / Seed Bomb
- Knock Off
Physical Sweeper Donphan (Sand Veil)
Donphan is a pretty decent Physical Sweeper. It's purpose is to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. With Sand Veil, if sandstorm is active Donphan's evasiveness is 1.25x; immunity to sandstorm. Poison Jab or Seed Bomb are added to provide additional threat coverage.
♦ High Horsepower is a physical STAB-boosted 95-base power Ground-type move that deals a hefty amount of damage.
♦ 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 nice amount of damage.
♦ Knock Off is a physical 65-base power Dark-type move (1.5x damage if foe holds an item; Note: This will also remove that item).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/hs11ae8
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 decent Physical Wall. It attempts to take a nice 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, if Donphan is at full hp it survives one hit with at least 1 hp. immune to ohko. 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).
♦ Roar is a status move (forces the target to switch to a random ally).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/hs12ae8
Item: Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Veil
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Hp / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Moveset:
- Stone Edge
- Ice Shard / Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
Donphan Physical Tank (Delirium Tremens)
Donphan is an awesome Physical Tank. This moveset attempts to take a great amount of physical hits while dealing some decent damage. With Sand Veil, if sandstorm is active Donphan's evasiveness is 1.25x; immunity to sandstorm. Pokemon X & Y build. Only way for this Pokemon to have the ability "Stealth Rock," is to transfer from a older game via Poke Bank.
♦ Ice Shard is a physical priority-increased 40-base power Ice-type move (usually goes first).
♦ Knock Off is a physical 65-base power Dark-type move (1.5x damage if foe holds an item; Note: This will also remove that item).
♦ 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).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/hs13ae8
Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Donphan? These builds have been optimized for Sun/Moon 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 Sun/Moon generation metagame.
Item: Groundium Z / Life Orb
Ability: Sand Veil
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 92 Hp / 252 Atk / 164 SpD
Moveset:
- Earthquake / High Horsepower
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- Poison Jab / Double-Edge
Doubles Physical Sweeper Donphan (Sand Veil)
Donphan is an outstanding Physical Sweeper. It's meant to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Life Orb boosts the power of Donphan'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 Donphan's evasiveness is 1.25x; immunity to sandstorm. Poison Jab was added to provide additional threat coverage.
♦ High Horsepower is a physical STAB-boosted 95-base power Ground-type move that deals a substantial amount of damage.
♦ 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).
♦ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
Link (click to copy):
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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 Sun/Moon. 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 SM 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
- Curse
- Defense Curl
- Iron Defense
- Rapid Spin
- Rock Polish
Most notable and possible best moves for Donphan
- Counter
- Earthquake
- Head Smash
- Ice Shard
- Knock Off
- Protect
- Rapid Spin
- Rest
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Toxic
- Toxic
Common Effort Values for Donphan in Sun and Moon
- Adamant Nature ( 252/252/0/0/4/0/ )
- Adamant Nature ( 252/252/4/0/0/0/ )
- Optimize Donphan's EV spread for Pokemon Sun and Moon
Related Videos
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Here are the best movesets for Donphan. Top rated Donphan Sun/Moon movesets. You can find Donphan builds Sun/Moon. Donphan movesets Sun/Moon are listed here. VGC Donphan Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Donphan in Sun/Moon along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for evolution