Competitive Information for Cubone [Sword/Shield]
Ground
Abilities:
Note: Pokemon with the Lightning Rod ability are immune to Electric attacks.
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Cubone? These builds have been optimized for Pokemon competing in Sword/Shield 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 Sword/Shield generation metagame.
Cubone is an interesting Ground-typed Pokemon. Cubone is not a Pokemon anyone usually expects sees on the battlefield. Cubone can be quite a contender in the LC tier (Little Cup). Cubone is weak to Grass, Ice, and Water-typed attacks.
Item: Thick Club / Expert Belt
Ability: Lightning Rod
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 156 Hp / 252 Atk / 100 SpD
Moveset:
- Earthquake / Bonemerang
- Thunder Punch / Brick Break
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
Physical Sweeper Cubone (Lightning Rod)
Cubone is popular Physical Sweeper for single battles. It attempts to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Expert Belt boosts the damage of Cubone's super effective moves by 20%. With Lightning Rod, Cubone draws electric moves to itself to raise sp. Atk by 1; electric immunity. Thunder Punch or Brick Break are added to provide additional threat coverage. With a Thick Club equipped to it, if held by a cubone or a marowak, its attack is doubled.
◆ Bonemerang is a physical STAB-boosted 50-base power Ground-type move (hits 2 times in one turn).
◆ Thunder Punch is a physical 75-base power Electric-type move (10% chance to paralyze the target).
◆ Brick Break is a physical 75-base power Fighting-type move (destroys screens, unless the target is immune).
◆ 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).
◆ Iron Head is a physical 80-base power Steel-type move (30% chance to make the target flinch).
Link (click to copy):
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Item: Life Orb / Choice Specs
Ability: Lightning Rod
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 156 Hp / 252 SpA / 100 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk
Moveset:
- Earth Power / Scorching Sands
- Flamethrower / Incinerate
- Ice Beam / Icy Wind
- Bubble Beam / Water Gun
Special Sweeper Cubone (Lightning Rod)
Cubone is an extraordinary Special Sweeper for single battles. It was designed to take down the opponent's team with high-damaging special attacks. Choice Specs will increase the damage of Cubone's special moves by 1.5x but will lock you into the first move you pick. Life Orb boosts the power of Cubone's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Lightning Rod, Cubone draws electric moves to itself to raise sp. Atk by 1; electric immunity.
◆ Scorching Sands is a special STAB-boosted 70-base power Ground-type move (30% chance to burn the target. Thaws target).
◆ Flamethrower is a special 90-base power Fire-type move (10% chance to burn the target).
◆ Incinerate is a special 60-base power Fire-type move (destroys the foes berry/gem).
◆ Ice Beam is a special 90-base power Ice-type move (10% chance to freeze the target).
◆ Icy Wind is a special 55-base power Ice-type move (100% chance to lower the foes speed by 1 stage).
◆ Bubble Beam is a special 65-base power Water-type move (10% chance to lower the target's speed by 1 stage).
◆ Water Gun is a special 40-base power Water-type move that deals damage.
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is11a68
Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Cubone? These builds have been optimized for Sword/Shield 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 Sword/Shield generation metagame.
Item: Thick Club / Expert Belt
Ability: Lightning Rod
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 156 Hp / 252 Atk / 100 SpD
Moveset:
- Earthquake / Bulldoze
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head / Thunder Punch
- Knock Off / Brutal Swing
Doubles Physical Sweeper Cubone (Lightning Rod)
Cubone is popular Physical Sweeper for double battles. It's primary goal is to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Expert Belt boosts the damage of Cubone's super effective moves by 20%. With Lightning Rod, Cubone draws electric moves to itself to raise sp. Atk by 1; electric immunity. Iron Head or Thunder Punch are added to provide additional threat coverage. With a Thick Club equipped to it, if held by a cubone or a marowak, its attack is doubled.
◆ Bulldoze is a physical STAB-boosted 60-base power Ground-type move (100% chance lower adjacent Pokemon speed by 1 stage).
◆ Rock Slide is a physical 75-base power Rock-type move (30% chance to make the foes flinch).
◆ Iron Head is a physical 80-base power Steel-type move (30% chance to make the target flinch).
◆ Thunder Punch is a physical 75-base power Electric-type move (10% chance to paralyze the target).
◆ 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).
◆ Brutal Swing is a physical 60-base power Dark-type move (no additional effect. Hits adjacent pokemon).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/id10a68
Item: Life Orb / Choice Specs
Ability: Lightning Rod
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 156 Hp / 252 SpA / 100 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk
Moveset:
- Earth Power / Scorching Sands
- Incinerate / Flamethrower
- Icy Wind / Ice Beam
- Bubble Beam / Water Gun
Doubles Special Sweeper Cubone (Lightning Rod)
Cubone is an awesome Special Sweeper for double battles. It's purpose is to take down the opponent's team with high-damaging special attacks. Choice Specs will increase the damage of Cubone's special moves by 1.5x but will lock you into the first move you pick. Life Orb boosts the power of Cubone's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Lightning Rod, Cubone draws electric moves to itself to raise sp. Atk by 1; electric immunity.
◆ Scorching Sands is a special STAB-boosted 70-base power Ground-type move (30% chance to burn the target. Thaws target).
◆ Incinerate is a special 60-base power Fire-type move (destroys the foes berry/gem).
◆ Flamethrower is a special 90-base power Fire-type move (10% chance to burn the target).
◆ Icy Wind is a special 55-base power Ice-type move (100% chance to lower the foes speed by 1 stage).
◆ Ice Beam is a special 90-base power Ice-type move (10% chance to freeze the target).
◆ Bubble Beam is a special 65-base power Water-type move (10% chance to lower the target's speed by 1 stage).
◆ Water Gun is a special 40-base power Water-type move that deals damage.
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/id11a68
Movepool
Wondering what moves can Cubone 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 Cubone can perform in Sword/Shield. 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 SS Move and Ability Combos for Cubone
- Moves: Swagger + Screech
- Moves: Belly drum + Rest
- Moves: Endure + Endeavor
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Moves: Rest + Snore
- Moves: Perish song + Protect
- Move: Swagger + Item: Mirror Herb
- Move: Fling + Item: King's Rock
- Move: Facade + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Facade + Item: Toxic Orb
- Move: Endeavor + Item: Focus Sash
- Item: Blunder Policy + Move: Dynamic Punch
- Moves with Priority: Detect, Endure, Protect
- Moves that Break Screens: Brick Break
- Moves that inflict status: Toxic, Scorching Sands
Moves that boost Cubone's stats
- Ancient Power
- Belly Drum
- Curse
- Iron Defense
- Power-Up Punch
- Skull Bash
- Swords Dance
Most notable and possible best moves for Cubone
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Knock Off
- Protect
- Rest
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
Common Effort Values for Cubone in Sword and Shield
- Adamant Nature ( 0/252/0/0/0/252 )
- Modest Nature ( 0/0/0/252/0/252 )
- Optimize Cubone's EV spread for Pokemon Sword and Shield
Related Videos
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