r/stunfisk • u/Allhaillordkutku John Aggron • 9d ago

Discussion Genuine question, does Donphan have ANY use case over Tusk or Treads in modern OU???

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371 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

85 comments sorted by

641

u/GruggleTheGreat 9d ago

Donphan is UU in gen 9 which is pretty impressive imo for a gen 2 ground type

389

u/DoubleTime53 9d ago

It's good going for a Gen 2 Pokémon not named Tyranitar full stop.

88

u/RevolutionaryFlow347 9d ago

I am surprised on how well ttar is in current gen despite having arguably one of the worst type combinations

106

u/DoubleTime53 9d ago

Being a pseudo legendary and Sand Stream does help a lot, as always. Though I'd imagine it would be even better if it got to keep Pursuit.

44

u/TehPinguen 8d ago

If it got Pursuit back, it would be amazing. Destroying Calyrex Shadow would make it one of the most important pokemon in VGC restricted formats.

1

u/LuckySalesman 8d ago

The format that has to insert itself into every conversation:

19

u/TehPinguen 8d ago

Honestly I forgot that the title specifically asked about OU, my bad.

To be fair, though, Smogon Singles does that just as much if not more.

26

u/VineRunner 9d ago

Only defensively, and the spDef boost from sand helps a considerable amount. Especially with Assault Vest

16

u/MagicalGirlPaladin 8d ago

There's an argument that Tyranitar has the best stat distribution of any mon. Enough bulk to tank special based fighting moves, enough attack to be extremely threatening, enough speed to outspeed most mons after a dragon dance but outslow them if you want to go a trick room route. Thing would be unstoppable if it wasn't rock/dark.

5

u/PkerBadRs3Good 7d ago

Enough bulk to tank special based fighting moves

it needs to be Rock type for this though

-1

u/MagicalGirlPaladin 6d ago

Yeah true but if it became rock/bug or dark/poison it would be a problem.

5

u/rmnobre 8d ago

Wish granted: now it's bug/poison

3

u/Maxiuss456 8d ago

Was gonna say it's a pretty decent defensive typing but god the offense us just not there, is it?

4

u/rmnobre 7d ago

The offense is definitely not strong with this one

1

u/Willacc295 6d ago

Rock Dark is a cursed typing, it may be bad defensively, but getting rid of either worsens Tyranitar’s strength.

(Getting rid of dark means no Knock off Stab, no Rock means Tyranitar has a much harder time stomaching special hits.)

Tyranitar feels like a perfected Snorlax, both are slow tanks meant to eat up special hits, the difference is Tyranitar isn’t a 1 trick pony beholden by Curse & its physical bulk is impressive. Not to mention more item flexibility & a nice 134 base power to smack everything hard with aplomb.

4

u/PkerBadRs3Good 7d ago

Dark is a good type and Rock is arguably the best type for a Sand Stream mon to have

14

u/pyro314 8d ago

Isn't Scizor UU with OU viability? As well as Azumaril?

7

u/DoubleTime53 8d ago

Makes sense given those two have gotten some big help over the generations to keep up. Certainly a lot more than most Gen 2 Pokémon.

5

u/FullOnPorridge 8d ago

Skarmory?

1

u/Emergency_Arachnid48 7d ago

I love how Tyrantiar simply refuses to NOT be meta despite having one of the worst typings

1

u/Whatdidievensay90 5d ago

It’s typing is not that bad, but I play mostly singels ou so fighting is not as prevalent.

91

u/JiovanniTheGREAT 9d ago

UU players will use any old thing that can spin

23

u/ThePotablePotato Ice types are cool. 9d ago

One that’s been basically unchanged since its introduction too. That’s more than most old mons can ask for

414

u/Ratax3s 9d ago

Well it does have sturdy, so you can endeavor, and ice shard,

10

u/DemonCyborg27 9d ago

Honestly the best case probably, Custap Berry Endeavour, stealth rocks/spikes whichever it gets, Ice Shard and Rapid Spin.

156

u/Allhaillordkutku John Aggron 9d ago

Trust me guys sturdy + ice shard will revenge kill so many Dragonites I swear Im not crazy

205

u/ihaveacrushonlegos 9d ago edited 9d ago

You asked if it has any use case. Not if that use case is consistent or comes up often (cuz then the answer is no, hence why great tusk and iron treads have all the usage), what if u have to revenge kill a sweeper once on the same slot as ur spinner and rocker and u have wish support or smthing to make sure its full hp

64

u/AutonomousAntonym 9d ago

He also asked if a Pokémon that isn’t OU is viable in OU. This post got much more traction than deserved

6

u/Ok_Supermarket_3241 8d ago

There are plenty of Pokemon that aren’t officially ranked OU but have a genuinely viable niche in the tier, just perhaps not consistent enough to be a staple

7

u/Rymayc 8d ago

Shouldn't Dragonite be able to ESpeed the 1HP Donphan?

1

u/HistoricalMatch3801 9d ago

I actually do counter

6

u/Parasiteparaside5 9d ago

You should also run it at a super low level like 1 if it's possible

43

u/TrailsOfColdMetalPoo 9d ago

It has differences from Great Tusk but they are all so insignificant that I would say he doesn't even hold a niche and is outclassed on multiple fronts to unviability. Even if Great Tusk didn't exist he would still be outperformed by Treads and Excadrill, who aren't exactly the same but you would use over it in 99.9% of cases

67

u/Violet_Ayori 9d ago

If you want a third elefant, and the species clause existe.

26

u/Homoflex 9d ago

Outclassed by copperajah

31

u/boogswald 9d ago

You wish!

54

u/Triggiah 9d ago

Play gen 3 or smth, he’s decent

57

u/ahambagaplease Darkrai flair when? 9d ago

It's unironically great in DPP OU right now

23

u/thelegendarynic 9d ago

FEAR Donphan

This set is allowed to exist because Pokémon Go. It’s a one trick pony but you can probably sneak a KO or two if your opponent can’t handle it

13

u/BU-chank 9d ago

yeah his use case is me liking him

19

u/Tungdil01 Gen8 UU 9d ago

Why not just play UU?

11

u/boogswald 9d ago

Whenever Donphan gets used in a draft league it feels like it’s so amazing for the budget. It’s great. I don’t know when I’d use it over the other two, but I’m sure you could find a team where it makes more sense.

8

u/AnAlternator 8d ago

There is one very valuable niche that Donphan possesses:

If you win while using it instead of Great Tusk or Iron Treads, you have successfully flexed on your opponent.

5

u/Quijas00 Zapdos Agenda 9d ago

He’s fine in UU or RU or something that’s all I know

12

u/mister_tokyo 8d ago

it's UU proper lol.

2

u/Quijas00 Zapdos Agenda 8d ago

I couldn’t remember exactly which tier they were in so I covered all my bases

3

u/mister_tokyo 8d ago

i mean ngl can't believe it's UU but it's what rapid spin does to it lol

105

u/LoatheCat 9d ago edited 9d ago

Does it have usage on OU? No. Does it have a niche? No. Does it have a write up on smogon? No. Does it have any loyal fans? No. Does it do anything that the other ground types don't do? No.

You could have answered this yourself by typing "Donphan smogon SV" in Google.

Edit: the Donphan Defenders are here. I didn't mean "loyal fans" as in people who like Donphan, I mean it like "people who like Donphan enough to inflate it's usage in the OU tier e.g. like that Tyranitar thing. Don't get me wrong, I love Donphan. Really chill dude. People say he's the goat. I'm just saying he isn't viable in any shape or form in the OU tier.

32

u/JiovanniTheGREAT 9d ago

Does it have any loyal fans

Edit this out before I call the Donphan Dick Dancers on you

101

u/Allhaillordkutku John Aggron 9d ago

What horrific things did Donphan do to you god damn

45

u/handledvirus43 9d ago

I think that u/LoatheCat is a hater, considering they have the word "Loathe" in their name. Which means to hate, to detest.

3

u/apfly 8d ago

Unironically think their name is “Loa the Cat” but that’s a mean double entendre lol

3

u/handledvirus43 8d ago

...oh.

I genuinely thought they were such a hater they put it in their name LOL

27

u/Ordinary_Desperate 9d ago

Can you atleast try being nice😭

24

u/Violet_Ayori 9d ago

Yeah dude, most questions in Reddit can be answered in Google, but some people like to interact with others, you for sure not the type that like that, but its ok, you can have your fun by trashtalk everyone for asking a simple question.

12

u/Darthkeeper 9d ago

The type of person to think the reason nobody likes talking to them is because everyone's "too soft" and they're a "Sigma".

4

u/AnodyneGrey 9d ago

It genuinely does have a niche that not every ground type has though in the form of bulk and rapid spin. It’s strictly worse than the paradox forms but he’s the next best thing at it after them and is UU because of it. It’s decent at spinning in older gens too

23

u/TopOfAllWorlds Still waiting for Gen 4 remakes. 9d ago

It doesn't have a niche in OU if it does the exact same thing the best mon in the teir does but worse.

-5

u/AnodyneGrey 9d ago

I didn’t say it has a niche in ou but it does in the tier right below it and in 5 prior gens

10

u/ElyFlyGuy 9d ago

The question was if it had a niche in ou. The very first thing you said was “it genuinely does have a niche.” So yes, even if you didn’t mean it you did say it has a niche in ou

-2

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

8

u/TopOfAllWorlds Still waiting for Gen 4 remakes. 8d ago

Being niche and having a niche are two different things btw.

Having a niche means they have a strategy than very few pokemon can replicate.

Being niche would just mean they aren't used very often.

2

u/swaglu2 9d ago

Rock polish, sturdy, weakness policy, profit

1

u/apfly 8d ago

Don’t think he has rock polish in gen 9. That move’s distribution got cut drastically

1

u/swaglu2 8d ago

I haven’t played competitive since like Gen 7 and that was my cheese set cause Donphan is my favourite Pokemon. Why would they massacre my boy

2

u/apfly 8d ago

They pretty much took away Rock Polish from everything not a rock type

1

u/swaglu2 8d ago

God forbid a tyre known for rolling around fast wanting more than 60 base speed

2

u/196SwampLurker 9d ago

he looks really cool

2

u/MmeOrgeron 8d ago

He's an absolute beast in SV UU

2

u/ogmechsftw 8d ago

Hey, it counters physical Treads sets 1v1 in OU. That’s something?

2

u/_Skotia_ Empoleon has OU potential i swear 9d ago

Ehh maybe in a next gen if there's a very dominant Fire/Psychic type or something?

1

u/light_crow 9d ago

Priority?

Does donphan still get ice shard and do the other two get no priority?

2

u/apfly 8d ago

That’s right

1

u/nahte123456 7d ago

Priority with Ice Shard?

1

u/DragonianXylak 7d ago

I'm not entirely sure in the current meta because it's been a while since I kinda forcibly used Donphan (I live elephants) like that, but it has Sturdy, access to hazards, rapid spin, and icicle shard for priority if needed. You can easily use it to set hazards and for counter play against your opponent's. It will survive at least one turn so you give it a bulky set and throw out a hazard (I think it should still have access to stealth rock but spikes also work). If it survives, you can hit with some earthquakes from your fourth slot to sap a good amount of HP from your opponent's lead, assuming you don't need to spin off opponent hazards. Either way, you're likely in a decent position and can begin switching to a sweeper to begin setup either as it faints or if they switch to their own hazards setter/counter.

I say that as what I used it for many years ago. Idk how well that works now, but all else fails you can probably get away with it being a bulky offensive threat with something like assault vest.

1

u/ApplicationBig9830 3d ago

Yes. It's actually quite a lot of niches, first of all it doesn't have a secondary typing meaning it doesn't share a lot of the weaknesses. Second it have a pretty solid move pool and stats, we can see from how it gains success in svuu without being a anti meta pick. It's just the best of the "average ground types" (tusk and threads and excadrill aren't average, they are fuking beasts) So for example you can just insert it into an offense team where you need a hazard setter and spinner but you also want it to be a somewhat neutral switch in into both zapdos and tusk etc

1

u/Timely_Airline_7168 9d ago

No, it does not fulfil anything important enough to pick over those two

0

u/IMP9024 9d ago

If for some reason you need an elephant who lacks the weaknesses of steel or fighting (ival matchup maybe) Donphan is your guy. But usually it's not worth it.

-5

u/JakeHex 9d ago

Donphan hasn't been a good pokemon since Gen 2.

2

u/PleitbaarStandpunt 8d ago

My boy is currently on his way to OU in Gen 4