Bastiodon
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Abilities
Sturdy / Soundproof
Movepool Additions
Body Press, Foul Play, Hard Press, Meteor Beam, Power Gem, Reflect, Reversal, Scorching Sands, Steel Beam, Tera Blast, Trailblaze
Movepool Losses
Frustration, Hidden Power, Iron Tail, Magic Coat, Magnet Rise, Natural Gift, Rock Polish, Torment, Toxic
Competitively Usable Moves
Offensive (Physical)
Avalanche, Body Press, Counter, Earthquake, Foul Play, Hard Press, Heavy Slam, Iron Head, Metal Burst, Outrage, Rock Blast, Rock Slide, Stone Edge
Offensive (Special)
Earth Power, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Flash Cannon, Ice Beam, Meteor Beam, Power Gem, Scorching Sands, Thunder, Thunderbolt
Utility
Curse, Endure, Iron Defense, Protect, Rest, Reflect, Roar, Sleep Talk, Stealth Rock, Substitute, Taunt
Abilities
Sturdy / Soundproof
Movepool Additions
Body Press, Foul Play, Hard Press, Meteor Beam, Power Gem, Reflect, Reversal, Scorching Sands, Steel Beam, Tera Blast, Trailblaze
Movepool Losses
Frustration, Hidden Power, Iron Tail, Magic Coat, Magnet Rise, Natural Gift, Rock Polish, Torment, Toxic
Competitively Usable Moves
Offensive (Physical)
Avalanche, Body Press, Counter, Earthquake, Foul Play, Hard Press, Heavy Slam, Iron Head, Metal Burst, Outrage, Rock Blast, Rock Slide, Stone Edge
Offensive (Special)
Earth Power, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Flash Cannon, Ice Beam, Meteor Beam, Power Gem, Scorching Sands, Thunder, Thunderbolt
Utility
Curse, Endure, Iron Defense, Protect, Rest, Reflect, Roar, Sleep Talk, Stealth Rock, Substitute, Taunt
Base Stat Total | 495 |
|---|---|
Base Stats | Level 100 Base Stat Range |
HP 62 | 230 - 324 |
Attack 52 | 98 - 223 |
Defense 168 | 306 - 478 |
Sp. Atk 47 | 89 - 212 |
Sp. Def 138 | 252 - 412 |
Speed 30 | 58 - 174 |
Initial Thoughts (12/15/23)
Bastiodon got more buffs on its return than any Pokemon from Gen 4 could have ever asked for. Body Press and Foul Play are both stellar moves on Bastiodon, and the ability to get rid of its 4x Fighting and Ground weaknesses with Tera is superb. Bastiodon has some actual depth to its movepool now - while it does have some considerable flaws (and the loss of access to Toxic really isn't fun), it's far better Pokemon now than it has been in any of its previous generational outings.
Pros
- Having base defenses of 168/138 with a Rock/Steel typing is surprisingly potent in the meta, giving Bastiodon useful resistances to Normal, Flying, Rock, Bug, Psychic, Ice, Dragon, and Fairy-type attacks.
- Bastiodon's newfound access to Body Press means that, if fully invested, it can OHKO Kingambit along with exerting some actual offensive presence thanks to its gargantuan base 168 Defense stat - combined with Bastiodon's newfound access to Foul Play (Dark/Fighting coverage), and you have a utility setter that has a variety of unique traits that no other Pokemon can mimic.
- Bastiodon's ability Sturdy in combination with access to Stealth Rock, Roar, and the rare move Metal Burst (where Bastiodon's low speed works in its favor) means that Bastiodon has some additional variety in its moveset options.
- The combination of Sturdy and Metal Burst in particular is a niche "last-ditch" option to turn the tables on setup sweepers regardless of whether they are physical or special.
- Bastiodon can circumvent the pitfalls of its 4x weaknesses to Fighting and Ground with access to Tera, which allows it to stay in on Pokemon that would otherwise check or counter it.
Cons
- Bastiodon has non-existent offensive stats, so it's incredibly reliant on Body Press, Foul Play, and Metal Burst to exert offensive presence. While some offensive moves can be suitable as well (Scorching Sands for the burn chance), understand that no amount of investment otherwise will allow Bastiodon to deal reliable damage without its specific options.
- If you're using Bastiodon, understand that you will very likely be terastallizing it as often as you need to handle Fighting/Ground-type Pokemon with it (in particular, Great Tusk). It is quite possibly one of the most tera-dependent defensive Pokemon in its potential roles.
- Bastiodon has no access to reliable recovery outside of Rest, meaning that it finds itself worn down in the mid-late game which is further compounded by its lackluster base 62 HP stat. If you want to keep Bastiodon alive, Wish support is generally required.
- Bastiodon has 4MSS thanks to the new options that it wants to run, it generally wishes it could have five moves rather than four.
- Bastiodon is agonizingly slow, sharing the same base 30-speed stat as Amoonguss/Slowking-Galar and only outpacing Hatterene - this is great for Metal Burst, but that's a silver lining rather than an overall benefit to having such low speed.
Potential Sets
Sturdy Stealth Rock Phaser
Bastiodon @ Leftovers/Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
Tera Type: Flying/Fighting/Ghost
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Body Press
- Foul Play/Metal Burst
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
Offensive Utility Sweep Stopper
Bastiodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Tera Type: Flying/Fighting/Ghost
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Body Press
- Foul Play
- Metal Burst
- Roar
This set is unique to Bastiodon and no other Pokemon can pull it off - the combination of Sturdy and Metal Burst allows you to OHKO powerful setup sweepers from full HP, as Metal Burst is both Counter and Mirror Coat in a single move (although Metal Burst returns x1.5 damage compared to x2 damage). This means that, no matter whether the sweeper is Physical or Special, Bastiodon's Metal Burst will always return x1.5 damage off of any of its attacks if the hit connects with Bastiodon. Body Press and Foul Play are additional consistent options for high damage output, and Roar is to phase out any particularly troubling matchups.
