Competitive Information for Donphan [X/Y]
Ground
Abilities:
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Donphan? These builds have been optimized for Pokemon competing in X/Y 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 X/Y generation metagame.
Donphan is a marvelous Ground-typed Pokemon. It's super common to see Donphan show up as a X/Y opponent. Donphan is weak to Grass, Ice, and Water-typed attacks.
Item: Expert Belt / Choice Band
Ability: Sand Veil
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 92 Hp / 252 Atk / 164 SpD
Moveset:
- Earthquake / Bulldoze
- Superpower
- Poison Jab / Seed Bomb
- Knock Off
Physical Sweeper Donphan (Sand Veil)
Donphan is an outstanding Physical Sweeper. It is designed to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Choice Band will increase the damage of Donphan'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 Donphan's evasiveness is 1.25x; immunity to sandstorm. Poison Jab or Seed Bomb are added to provide additional threat coverage.
♦ Bulldoze is a physical STAB-boosted 60-base power Ground-type move (100% chance lower adjacent pkmn speed by 1 stage).
♦ 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 decent 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).
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 wonderful Physical Wall. It's primary goal is to take a decent amount of physical hits while dealing some decent damage. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Donphan last longer regaining it's it's health points 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).
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 a spectacular Physical Tank. This moveset is designed to take a nice 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).
Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Donphan? These builds have been optimized for X/Y 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 X/Y generation metagame.
Item: Life Orb / Choice Band
Ability: Sand Veil
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 92 Hp / 252 Atk / 164 SpD
Moveset:
- Earthquake / Bulldoze
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- Poison Jab / Double-Edge
Doubles Physical Sweeper Donphan (Sand Veil)
Donphan is a sensational 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 Donphan's physical moves by 1.5x at the cost of locking you into the first move you pick. 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.
♦ Bulldoze is a physical STAB-boosted 60-base power Ground-type move (100% chance lower adjacent pkmn speed by 1 stage).
♦ 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).
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 X/Y. 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 XY Move and Ability Combos for Donphan
- Moves: Defense curl + Rollout
- Moves: Endure + Flail
- Moves: Endure + Endeavor
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Ability: Sturdy + Move: Endeavor
- Ability: Sturdy + Move: Endeavor
- 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
Most notable and possible best moves for Donphan
- Protect
- Rest
Common Effort Values for Donphan in X and Y
- Adamant Nature ( 0/252/0/0/0/252 )
- Modest Nature ( 0/0/0/252/0/252 )
- Optimize Donphan's EV spread for Pokemon X and Y
Related Videos
Here are various how-to-use and competitive moveset analysis video guides for Donphan in X/Y. 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 Donphan. Top rated Donphan X/Y movesets. You can find Donphan builds X/Y. Donphan movesets X/Y are listed here. VGC Donphan Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Donphan in X/Y along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for evolution