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.
