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If you have a good competitive moveset for Gastrodon, post an answer below and upvote the best ones. Movesets for its pre-evolutions, if any, can also be shared on this thread.

Be sure to include full set details in your post, e.g. items, abilities, natures and EVs. Some detail, including the intended game mode for your set, is also appreciated. Access the full list of guidelines here.

Gastrodon Pokédex and learnset for reference.

Sprite

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11 Answers

3 votes

Physical Gastrodon: Proud user of Earthquake!

Gastrodon (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sticky Hold
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def
Brave Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Curse

Leftovers provides recovery. Sticky Hold is in case someone wants my Leftovers. Waterfall is STAB, along with a chance to flinch, ending up with some nice possible free damage :D Earthquake is STAB and... Godliness. Rock Slide to kill Flying types resisting Earthquake. Finally, Curse makes this guy a Tank. After 2 Curses, this Pokemon has 582 Attack, 470 Defense, 200 Special Defense, and 364 HP. Think I'll go down easy?

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2 votes

Gen. VI: Specially Defensive Wall- "ToxiStall" Set

Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 164 HP / 92 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Earth Power / Toxic
- Sludge Bomb
- Recover

The Standard Gastrodon Set, except with Sludge Bomb to defeat other Fairy Type Special Defensive Walls that would otherwise play around it's Toxic/Burn Stall Strategy.

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1 vote

Bubblegum (Gastrodon) (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Ice Beam
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Sludge Bomb
WHATS THIS? SPECS GASTRODON?
Yeah, it's specs gastrodon. I come up with the weirdest sets sometimes. XD Anyways, I have used this set a couple of times because I had Bubblegum on my UU team. :D

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1 vote

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Gastrodon @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 100 SpA / 80 SpD
Bold Nature
- Yawn
- Protect
- Muddy Water
- Earth Power

First, use Yawn to make the opponent drowsy and then use Protect to wait for the opponent to fall asleep. Use the attacking moves to KO your opponent eventually- don't worry- if the opponent wakes up, your high HP will save you! In addition, Rocky Helmet and a Bold nature work together to retaliate against direct attacks! Enjoy!

and remember kids,

252+ SpA Darkrai Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 80 SpD Gastrodon: 159-187 (37.4 - 44%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

That's pretty good!

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Great moveset!
Lol, thanks, although I probably wouldn't use this nowadays
0 votes

What is a good move set on Gastrodon?

Huh? Gastrodon a tanky buff physical wall. I wonder??? What is the best moveset for this guy? I mean this tough thing can be almost impossible to kill. This guy has stockpile as an egg move and clear smog! What better can you ask for?

Gastrodon @ Sitrus Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain / Sticky Hold
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpD or 252 HP / 136 Def / 120 SpD
Calm / Bold Nature
- Stockpile
- Clear Smog
- Recover
- Scald

Item: Sitrus Berry (for extra stockpile)/ Leftovers (for health every turn)
Ability: Storm Drain/Sticky Hold (to annoy knock off users)
Calm Nature EVs: Max HP/120 Defense/136 Sp. Defense
Bold Nature EVs: Max HP/136 Defense/120 Sp. Defense

So here is the ultimate moveset for battles;
Stockpile-to boost defenses.
Clear Smog-to clear annoying changes in stats (perfect for sword dancers/calm minders and more.)
Recover-to heal.
Scald-to deal some STAB damage plus you might get a burn off.

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0 votes

staller Gastrodon:

Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sticky Hold / Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpD
Bold Nature
- Toxic
- Protect
- Recover
- Scald

Toxic(because of the main stall), Protect(gives leftover hp and toxic stall), Recover(To get back hp and toxic stall), Scald(burn chance,Stab and who does not like scald?)

I think this gastrodon is op. A very tanky staller. Your opponents r probably gona rage quit XD.

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You can't have your opponent be Poisoned and Burned. Only one or the other. I would use Surf or Muddy Water instead. Or you could get rid of Toxic for Earth Power for STAB.
0 votes

Typically, Gastrodon is considered to be a bulky support Pokemon that prioritizes enabling sweepers. However, I have found a way to use Gastrodon as a bulky special sweeper itself, relying heavily on Dynamax. It is built to be used mostly in Trick Room, while still functioning outside of Trick Room.
(Yes, someone posted a similar set, although I go more in-depth with how to use this thing)

Here's the set: (I've used this in Gen 8 VGC 2022, although it could possibly be used in singles. Would still have to test. I'm going to assume that this is to be used in VGC 2022, however.)

Gastrodon-East @ Choice Specs
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Sludge Bomb / Weather Ball

This is one of the stupidest things I've ever seen. I built this set specifically because the rest of my team struggled against Solgaleo, and this is the best thing I found. Let's break it down:

Choice Specs
The biggest reason why I chose Choice Specs specifically is so that Gastrodon can easily deal with Solgaleo with an Earth Power/Max Quake, which I'll get to in a moment. This set, with Choice Specs, is also able to take on popular wallbreakers even better with Dynamax, such as Zacian-Crowned, a top tier threat rivalling that of Mega Rayquaza.

Okay, enough about Specs, let's talk about the moveset.

Earth Power
As mentioned beforehand, Steel Types weak to Ground- are not likely to survive against this thing. Pair it with Trick Room, and Zacian and Solgaleo are immediately off of the field, all thanks to Choice Specs. Incineroar without a Shuca Berry is also going to be OHKO'd by a Max Quake. If Shuca Incineroar is on the field, then an alternative is avaliable, in the form of...

Scald
Scald is the other STAB move on this set. Max Geyser is arguably the best tool to use to get rid of sun without Kyogre or Prankster Rain Dance. Although not as powerful as surf, scald can still be effectively used even without Dynamax. Incineroar and Groudon are two examples of prime targets for using Geyser. An even bigger example is G-Max Charizard. Without the sun, it does significantly less damage with its Wildfire without being able to take advantage of Solar Power.

Ice Beam
A common coverage move on Gastrodon, Ice Beam provides extra coverage for threats such as Landours-T and common, slower grass types such as Amoonguss (Don't make the joke). A more situational could be to use Max Hailstorm to remove opposing weather while paired with Calyrex-Ice for some chip damage on the opposing side.

Sludge Bomb
Sludge Bomb is the only remaining coverage move Gastrodon gets unless you run a Sun team and use Weather Ball. I prefer Sludge Bomb due to it being less situational, more consistent, and because of Max Ooze to buff any fellow special attackers on your side of the field. Fairy types such as Mimikyu after Disguise and Grimmsnarl likely won't see this coming, considering how uncommon Specs Gastrodon is in the first place.

Is there any way I can improve this strategy? Please let me know!

Good luck y'all!

Edit: I just realized that Dynamax turns off Specs (All choice items, actually). You could potentially use life orb if you wanted to, although for offensive Gastrodon I would still probably run Specs for outside of Dynamax. Also, Gastrodon runs Storm Drain anyways, so utilizing something with aqua jet or surf to boost Gastro's Special attack would be something that I would consider. Even so, once Dyna wears off, Specs will turn back on, so really just watch for grass moves and you'll be fine.

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0 votes

Gen 8 SS Monotype Physically Defensive (Ground)

Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Clear Smog
- Recover

This is the standard Gastrodon set for Ground teams in Gen 8 Monotype, but with Clear Smog instead of Toxic. Scald is used for the 30% burn chance to cripple physical wallbreakers. Earthquake is used over Earth Power as the Ground STAB so you can be able to break Dragapult's Substitute to prevent it from sweeping your team with its Sub+DD set. Clear Smog is used to get rid of stat boosts on wallbreakers, which can be very helpful at times. Recover is used for HP recovery. Storm Drain is used as the Ability in order for Gastrodon to be a Water immunity for Ground teams.

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0 votes

Gen 9 Monotype Physically Defensive (Ground)

Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA or 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Bold / Impish Nature
- Spikes / Stealth Rock
- Earth Power / Earthquake
- Yawn / Stealth Rock / Spikes / Clear Smog
- Recover

A physically defensive set for Ground teams in Gen 9 Monotype. Gastrodon unfortunately lost Scald and Toxic in Gen 9, and Recover's PP was nerfed in Gen 9, so RIP. :( However, Gastrodon does get Stealth Rock and Spikes in Gen 9, meaning it can set a hazard or hazards, depending on what moves you choose.

This set is to be used with Specially Defensive Water Absorb Clodsire, which can also run a hazard move if you only use one hazard setting move on this set. Spikes provides a hazard that chips grounded Pokemon not wearing Heavy-Duty Boots and should be used if you're setting both hazards or have another teammate(Clodsire) use Stealth Rock. Stealth Rock is used for another hazard that can also chip non grounded Pokemon not wearing Heavy-Duty Boots and is used if you have both hazard setting moves or Clodsire using Spikes. Earth Power is used for Ground STAB that takes advantage of the Special Attack boosts from Storm Drain, while Earthquake is used for a slightly more powerful Ground STAB than Earth Power. Yawn is used to force out setup sweepers, as you threaten them with sleep with Yawn. Spikes/Stealth Rock can be used if you want to have both hazard setting moves on Gastrodon. Clear Smog can be used instead to get rid of opposing Pokemon's stat boosts. Recover is used to provide HP recovery. In addition to pairing this set with Clodsire, it would be ideal to have Knock Off support from Great Tusk and/or Iron Treads to get rid of Heavy-Duty Boots from Pokemon who use that item so they can get affected by the hazards set.

The Nature and EV spread is dependent on the Ground STAB you use. If you use Earth Power, use the EV spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA with Bold Nature. If you use Earthquake, use the EV spread of 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def with Impish Nature.

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0 votes

Gen 9 Singles the best slug wall!!
Gastrodon @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Yawn
- Ice Beam / Surf
- Stealth Rock / Spikes
- Recover
Sadly, Gastrodon lost Toxic and Scald this gen. Recover also got nerfed to having only 8 PP, which also hurts our slug wall. However, Gastrodon now has both Stealth Rock and Spikes now!! Use this slug to set up rocks and then yawn. If a Pokemon tries to enter the field to remove your hazards they can remove them and become a sleeping duck! Ice beam is good coverage for grass types but surf is a decent STAB move. I think this Pokemon is a pretty good defensive Pokemon to use. :D

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0 votes

The Unbreakable Gastrodon - Can both wall and sweep teams

Gastrodon-East @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Stockpile
- Recover

This Gastrodon has done wonders within the current (Gen 9) Meta, as most teams struggle against it. I personally used to always use Gastrodon as a wall, some sets utilizing Stockpile, but as time passed, so did this set, leaving it kind of forgotten, which leaves most teams lacking, when it tries to KO it. As you've probably notice, the goal of this Gastrodon is to set up as many Stockpiles (Maximum of 3) to gain maximum bulk, and then fire off multiple Toxics and Scalds, as there is no Pokemon immune to toxic, that is also immune to scald. Finally, Recover to regain any lost HP. Lastly, one thing to mention is the Tera-Type being Poison. Poison is usually the best choice for Gastrodon, as it resists Grass-Type moves, and leaves it with few weaknesses, Ground and Psychic.

In my experience, with some smart playing, this moveset has allowed Gastrodon to wall most of the enemy team, leading me to 6-0's with only Gastrodon, or many forfeits from the opponents who just gave up. I hope they do wonders for anyone else who stumbles across them, and have just as much success as I have.

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