What is a good moveset for Druddigon?

Question

If you have a good competitive moveset for Druddigon, post an answer below and upvote the best ones. Movesets for any of its pre-evolutions 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 explanation, including the intended game mode for your set, is also appreciated. Access the full list of guidelines here.

Druddigon Pokédex and learnset for reference.

Comments

What about a good moveset for in-game play on Black?

Answer 1

Druddigon (M) @ Life Orb

Trait: Sheer Force

EVs: 252 Atk / 128 Def / 128 SDef

Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

• Dragon Claw
• Rock Slide
• Sucker Punch
• Thunder Fang

Comments

I thought you said forget about sucker punch and use glare. Are you trying to use thunder fang to make up for that?

Answer 2

Druddigon is one of the most underrated Pokémon out there; here is a set to maximize his effect in your gameplay

Lead Druddigon

Druddigon @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 156 Atk / 252 Def / 100 SpD
Impish Nature
- Glare
- Gunk Shot
- Dragon Tail
- Stealth Rock

This set is awesome when switching into something like a Urshifu with Surging Strikes. For each and every physical attack your opponent will take a damage of 7/24 of his HP which is a pretty big amount. Dragon Tail to switch off Belly Drum or Swords Dance users, Glare for that beautiful Para which affects ground-types, and Gunk Shot for cover of fairy types, also dealing with Rillaboom for example.

Comments

this is really similar to the set i have with my shiny druddigon i use in the battle tower. i like it :D

Answer 3

Druddigon @ Life Orb

Trait: Mold Breaker

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def

Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

• Dragon Claw
• Sucker Punch
• Superpower
• Earthquake

Answer 4

Druddigon (M) @ Dragon Gem
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Outrage/Dragon Claw
- Sucker Punch
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch

How to fake a Choice item? Usually you use an Expert Belt. But this time, we're using a Dragon type. And Dragon type attacks are only Super Effective vs Dragon types. So really, that isn't ideal. So instead, we're using a Dragon Gem. So Outrage now has the power of a Choice Band behind it.

This sets works best in that most Druddigon will either run Choice Band or Life Orb. Since we don't have Life Orb, it doesn't show Life Orb recoil. The foe will in turn think that this is a Banded set. And the great thing about that is Sucker Punch. Banded Sucker Punch just begs for the foe to boost their stats. And when they do BAM! KOd by Dragon Gem Outrage.

Earthquake is for further coverage, and is helpful with Nidoqueen and Kabutops being so popular. Fire Punch easily takes down Ferroseed and Escavalier.

EVs provide max Attack, bulk with HP, plus the troll speed against other Druddigon.

Dragon Claw can be used over Outrage, although I do not recommend this.

Comments

You really like Gems, eh?

Answer 5

Gen 8 NU

Druddigon @ Yache Berry
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Atk / 124 SpD / 116 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Gunk Shot
- Stealth Rock
- Glare

This set had some usage in NUPL (Never Used Premier League). Mold Breaker and Stealth Rock allow you to set up Stealth Rock without having to worry about Xatu's Magic Bounce. Glare is to spread paralysis on opposing Pokemon. Earthquake and Gunk Shot provides good coverage and hits all Pokemon in the tier (bar Aerodactyl) for neutral or super effective damage.

EV Spread Analysis:

You're probably thinking that the EV spread is weird, so I'll do my best to break it down. 252 HP EVs is pretty obvious. 124 Special Defense EVs allow you to take a Sludge Wave from Salazzle better if Stealth Rock is on your side.

252 SpA Salazzle Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 124 SpD Druddigon: 133-157 (37.1 - 43.8%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
Possible damage amounts: (133, 135, 136, 138, 139, 141, 142, 144, 145, 147, 148, 150, 151, 153, 154, 157)

You can even survive a +2 Sludge Wave from Salazzle, but don't switch directly into Salazzle's Sludge Wave so you can survive a +2 Sludge Wave from Salazzle and hit back.

+2 252 SpA Salazzle Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 124 SpD Druddigon: 265-313 (74 - 87.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
Possible damage amounts: (265, 268, 271, 274, 279, 282, 285, 288, 291, 294, 297, 300, 303, 306, 309, 313)

116 Speed EVs puts Druddigon at 161 speed, allowing you to outspeed Sylveon and max speed Adamant Copperajah. The rest of the EVs are in attack because they are leftover EVs that give your attacks a little more power. Yache Berry allows you to tank a hit from a +2 Ice Beam from Shell Smash Blastoise really well.

252+ SpA Blastoise Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 124 SpD Yache Berry Druddigon: 78-92 (21.7 - 25.6%) -- 100% chance to 4HKO after Stealth Rock
Possible damage amounts: (78, 79, 80, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92)

Answer 6

STABless Sheer Force Druddigon
Gen 8 NU

Druddigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 100 HP / 252 Atk / 156 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Gunk Shot
- Fire Punch
- Sucker Punch

STABless Sheer Force Druddigon. Druddigon has so many coverage options that makes its Dragon STAB feel a little... eh. Earthquake is solid coverage against steel types like Copperajah, Heatproof Bronzong, and useful on poison types like Dragalge and Salazzle. Gunk Shot is coverage against fairy types like Sylveon and the occasional Comfey. Fire Punch is useful for Levitate Bronzong and is also super effective on Glastrier, allowing you to 2HKO it on the switch. Sucker Punch is for priority and allows you to revenge kill weakened Pokémon. 252 Attack EVs with Adamant nature is to help with dealing a lot of damage. 156 Speed EVs allows you to speed creep 236 speed EVs Jolly Glastrier. The rest of the EVs are in HP and can help you live an Icicle Crash from 236 speed EVs Jolly Glastrier, which runs 252 HP / 20 SpD / 236 Spe for the EV spread.

Other Move Options
Druddigon has other cool coverage options. Aqua Tail can be used to 2HKO Mudsdale if you do a good amount of chip damage to it. Iron Head is another way with dealing with fairy types and is useful for dealing with Diancie. Rock Slide is another move Druddigon can use to hit Talonflame. Should Druddigon get burnt by Talonflame, here is a fun calc regarding Rock Slide:

252+ Atk Life Orb Sheer Force burned Druddigon Rock Slide vs. 248 HP / 52 Def Talonflame: 356-421 (99.1 - 117.2%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

Thunderpunch is also a good coverage move, and can 2HKO Vaporeon, as shown by this calc:

252+ Atk Life Orb Sheer Force Druddigon Thunder Punch vs. 252 HP / 216 Def Vaporeon: 322-382 (69.3 - 82.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

So, uh, yeah. STABless Sheer Force Druddigon. Enjoy!

Answer 7

Druddigon (M) @ Leftovers
Role: Kill those Stat Boosters
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 180 HP / 48 Atk / 140 Def / 140 SDef
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Chip Away
- Dragon Tail
- Substitute
- Earthquake

---

Dragon Tail Phazes out pokemon that get a Stat boost, while if they get too many def boosts, Chip Away takes them down. Substitute is for stong boosted opponents, while Earthquake is for coverage.

Answer 8

Druddigon (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Glare
- Dragon Tail
- Earthquake

Druddigon's Defenses are pretty good. If only it got a better speed stat than it currently has. Anyways, Black and White 2 gave this bad boy Stealth Rock, which provides hazards for the team. Glare spreads paralysis through the opponent's team. Dragon Tail is STAB that allows Druddigon to be an efficient parashuffler and spread hazards damage. Earthquake hits the Steel Pokemon that resist Dragon Tail, and will deal decent damage off of Druddigon's good Attack stat.

Answer 9

Lead + Physically Defensive Druddigon for ORAS UU

Druddigon @ Rocky Helmet

Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 248 HP / 160 Def / 100 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Dragon Tail
- Taunt
- Glare

Damn.. Why are all my sets similar to Mew's. o.e

This set is a nice check to the Physical threats of UU, notably Honchkrow, Darmanitan, Lucario and Beedrill. Rocky Helmet + Rough Skin is a combo that puts in work.

100 Speed EV's assure the ouspeed on Regi Trio, Hippowdown, Jellicent, Scrafty, Trevenant, Claydol, CroCune and Donphan so you can Taunt them and prevent them from doing anything. (Assuming they have minimal to no speed investment, and they usually don't carry it)
Stealth Rock is obligatory, Dragon Tail + Glare makes for status shuffling.

Answer 10

Assault Vest Druddigon
Item: Assault Vest
Ability: Sheer Force/Rough Skin/Mold Breaker (the preferred ability is Sheer Force however)
EVs: 232 HP, 252 Atk, 20 Spe
Nature: Adamant
Moves:
Dragon Claw
Iron Head/Gunk Shot/Iron tail
Fire Punch/Earthquake/Super Power
Sucker Punch/Crush Claw/ Rock Slide/Thunder Punch

Surprised No one at all mentioned Druddigon's Assault Vest set (one of his best sets). Its very good for preventing certain Fairy,Dragon, and Ice type mons from 2hkoing or even Ohkoing you.

Answer 11

honestly some of the sets posted are simply awful
phazer
Druddigon @ Rocky Helmet/leftovers
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Dragon Tail
- Glare

offensive rocks
Druddigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Dragon Claw
- Sucker Punch
-gunk shot/iron tail (I feel that gunk shot is better though)

assault vest
Druddigon @ Assault Vest
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Sucker Punch
- Earthquake
- Power-Up Punch

Answer 12

Ok I know this might sound weird but here it goes
Special Attacking Druddigon
Druddigon (F) @Life Orb
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Sp.Atk, 252 HP, 4 Sp.Def
Nature: Modest (-Atk, +SpAtk)

Moveset
Flamethrower-Boosted by Sheer Force/Life Orb, nice coverage move for ice types
Flash Cannon-Boosted by Sheer Force/Life Orb, deals with fairy types and ice types that may resist fire such as Aurorus
Dragon Pulse-While it's not boosted, it gets STAB + Life Orb boost
Focus Blast-Boosted by Sheer Force/Life Orb, very good coverage move. You can choose to swap life orb for zoom lens if you want better accuracy. Deals with the oh so rare steel/rock/ice/dark types.

Answer 13

Druddigon @ Rocky Helmet
ABILITY: Mold Breaker
NATURE: Careful (+SpDef -SpAtk)
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Def/4 SpDef

Stealth Rock
Toxic
Protect/Glare/Taunt
Dragon Tail

Answer 14

This is probably a wierd set for Drudiggon

Gen 8 NU

Druddigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Fire Punch
- Hone Claws
- Scale Shot

Gunk Shot is to deal with Fairy Types. Its accuracy is 80, which is where Hone Claws comes into play. Hone Claws is to boost Druddigon's attack and accuracy. Fire Punch is for Steel Types. Scale Shot, while a rather weak move, boosts Druddigon's speed, at the cost of lowering its defense, so you should probably use Scale Shot on a Pokemon that lacks an offensive presence.

Answer 15

Druddigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Hone Claws
- Gunk Shot
- Iron Tail
- Dragon Claw/Outrage/Scale Shot

This is a unique set I came up with. The purpose is to maximize pure attacking power with 252 attack, an Adamant nature, along with the classic sheer force life orb. Use hone claws to set up. Gunk Shot and Iron Tail are coverage against fairy and ice types. They also get boosted by sheer force and hone claws increases their accuracy since its pretty low. dragon claw and outrage are stab. I personally prefer dragon claw because it does not lock the next turn and it does not cause confusion. Scale shot is also unreliable in my opinion, though it does fix his horrible speed. Do not use scale shot if you are using him on a trick room team, which I would recommend.