Dustox Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Quiver Dance and Iron Defense allow Dustox to bolster both its special and physical defenses, in theory enabling it to amass boosts while periodically recovering health and to eventually sweep with Bug Buzz. Bug Buzz is the strongest STAB move available, chosen over Sludge Bomb because that way only rare Soundproof users wall Dustox rather than all Steel-types. Roost keeps Dustox healthy, allowing it to heal off residual damage and continue to set up. Set Details Black Sludge provides passive recovery, letting Dustox boost more frequently instead of being forced to Roost. Shield Dust allows it to set up on weak or resisted attacks such as Scald, Body Slam, and Discharge, without fearing their crippling secondary effects. This means that, unlike most setup sweepers, Dustox takes advantage of passive, defensive Pokemon rather than being threatened by them. With the given EVs and a Calm nature, Dustox outspeeds Zebstrika, Floatzel, Jumpluff, and most other non-Choice Scarf Pokemon at +2 Speed while retaining as much bulk as possible to set up on special attackers. Usage Tips Dustox poses virtually no threat to a well-built team early-game, so it should only be used as a pivot until its checks and counters are extremely weakened or removed. It is pointless, and sometimes dangerous, to attempt a sweep while there are still phazers or healthy wallbreakers on the opposing team. Roost should be used frequently, as being at high HP minimizes the chance of falling to a critical hit. Dustox is not able to beat strong attackers without multiple boosts, so it should only be brought in on defensive Pokemon or after a teammate has fainted. Dustox should also not be switched in frequently, as entry hazards can quickly wear it down without the opportunity to Roost. However, its typing, at least, lets it switch in easily on Roselia and Tangela thanks to its 4x resistance to Grass. Unless Dustox is sent in on a physical attacker, Quiver Dance is the optimal opening move. The ensuing +1 Speed should allow Dustox to choose which defensive stat to boost next according to the Pokemon switched in. Team Options Dustox works best on defensive or balanced teams, as it can possibly sweep, absorbs Toxic Spikes, and can easily take otherwise frustrating moves like Scald. It is very hard to find an excuse to use it on offensive teams because it is extremely passive and drains momentum quickly, giving a free switch in to many threatening Pokemon. Even so, strong wallbreakers such as Stoutland and Simipour can aid Dustox with their ability to break holes in the opposing team. With Stealth Rock taking 1/4 of its HP upon switching in, as well as Spikes wearing it down, Dustox does not appreciate entry hazards on its side of the field. Worthwhile teammates that provide hazard removal and type synergy include Pelipper, Cryogonal, and Vibrava. It can often force switches against defensive Pokemon, so Pokemon that set up entry hazards make for good teammates. Most Rock- and Steel-types can use Stealth Rock and compensate for Dustox's vulnerability to strong Flying- and Normal-type attacks. Steel-types such as Probopass take on Jumpluff, while Rock-types ward off Rapidash and other Fire-type attackers. These Pokemon also appreciate Dustox absorbing Fighting-type attacks. While Dustox is immune to status as the secondary effect of an attacking move, Thunder Wave, Will-O-Wisp, and Sleep Powder give it trouble. Therefore, Pokemon that can absorb status, such as Clefairy and Pokemon with Heal Bell, such as Audino, make for excellent teammates.

Switch in on Grass-types like Tangela and giggle as they are forced to switch out (assuming they've already used up Sleep Powder on something else on your team). From there, set up Quiver Dance to have a prayer of outspeeding your enemy and hope that Bug Buzz or Sludge Bomb will have enough power to KO it (it probably won't). Roost lets Dustox switch into Stealth Rock and opposing Grass-types multiple times just for the heck of it. Or you can choose Substitute to block Sleep Powder. Shield Dust is cool in that Dustox won't get burned from Scald or paralyzed from Body Slam, meaning if your opponent is left with a team of Wartortle, Tangela, and Metang, you might have just won the match.

With Dustox's decent Special Defense stat and Roost, he can Toxic stall with some success. Toxic and Roost allow Dustox to stall out a surprising range of opponents. Whirlwind prevents opposing Pokemon with Substitute from setting up, forcing them out before they get a chance to abuse Substitute. It can also be useful alongside entry hazards to help deal with the Steel- and Poison-types who wall him. In the last slot, Bug Buzz prevents Dustox from being rendered completely useless by Taunt. However, because Dustox's Special Attack stat is so poor, you may wish to opt for Protect or even Substitute to help Dustox stall better. To top it all off, Dustox's ability, Shield Dust, prevents attacks such as Ice Beam from ruining his stall attempt with untimely secondary effects. Dustox's EVs should be focused in Special Defense, as that's his only decent stat. Although many of Dustox's resistances are usually physical, they're often complemented by an attack that targets Dustox's weaknesses. However, by shifting some EVs from Special Defense into Defense, Dustox can survive some attacks, such as a Swords Dance-boosted Return or Earthquake from Venusaur, which makes such an EV shift a reasonably good option. Alternatively, you can give Dustox a few Speed EVs to allow him to outspeed some additional Pokemon; this would enable Dustox to Roost off the damage before an opposing Pokemon can KO him. It is important to note that this set is brutally walled by Steel- and Poison-type Pokemon, as well as RestTalkers, Clefable, and teams with cleric support. In reality, the aforementioned threats can be difficult to deal with due to the fact that most of these types of Pokemon are fairly bulky. However, there are some Pokemon who you can use to mitigate the effectiveness of these Pokemon against Dustox. For example, Dugtrio is a great choice to trap and KO Steel- and Poison-types, while Rhyperior can threaten both of these types of Pokemon and pose a huge threat to the opposing team with his powerful STAB attacks. Rhyperior also happens to work decently against some clerics such as Clefable and Chansey, as they lack the ability to threaten Rhyperior; in return, he can simply use them as set-up bait. Many RestTalkers and clerics aren't too strong offensively, as they're EVs tend to be geared towards their defensive stats, so Pokemon that can take advantage of their poor offenses to set up are decent options. As this set's goal is to stall out opposing Pokemon with Toxic, entry hazards are immensely helpful in punishing the opponent for switching out. Omastar and Cloyster are superb partners for this job since they're both rather bulky, which allows them to switch in multiple times to set up hazards. Dustox is horribly crippled by status and often takes heavy damage when switching in, so support from Wish users and clerics is also useful. Chansey and Clefable are effective partners, as their weakness to Fighting-type attacks is easily covered by Dustox, and they can provide the aforementioned support that he enjoys.

The counters for this set are the exact opposite of the counters to Dustox's other ones, so if the opponent expects a different set, you might be able to do something. Toxic is your only hope against things like Noctowl.

Whirlwind's primary use is to stop the common Substitute Baton Passers from getting far. Sludge Bomb is used over other attacks for the power and 30% poison chance, but if you really want to be able to take on a specific Pokemon better, don't hesitate to replace it. Light Screen and Moonlight absolutely shut down any special attacker you might see, except maybe Girafarig.

STAB Sludge Bomb hits quite a few things hard in NU. Hidden Power Ground lets Dustox hit Mawile and Sudowoodo for at least some damage. Aerial Ace and Hidden Power Ground already cover everything that resists Sludge Bomb, so another attack would be redundant. For this reason, Sleep Talk is probably your best option, so Dustox can absorb sleep moves.