[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 7-8
**Price Range**: 3-4 points
**Overview**: So you want to be building with the building? Here's some tips! Duraludon is a decently useful support Pokemon that can assist in rounding out any key elements of a draft. Its high physical bulk paired with Eviolite makes it a useful sponge against many attackers. Eviolite also helps offset Duraludon’s abysmal Special Defense, allowing it to chew resisted hits. Oftentimes, Duraludon finds its best use either as a dedicated lead with Stealth Rock or a dedicated check to a specific threat, stopping setup Pokemon with Thunder Wave and phazing foes with Dragon Tail. Duraludon can maintain offensive pressure in spite of its bulk by using powerful Draco Meteors, which most Fairy-types fear switching into due to Duraludon's secondary Steel-type STAB moves. Despite all of these upsides, a lack of recovery, susceptibility to Knock Off, and a still relatively poor Special Defense stat make it difficult for Duraludon to stick around on the field for long.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Dedicated Lead**: Duraludon can function as a useful bulky dedicated lead with Stealth Rock and Draco Meteor, allowing it to exert immediate pressure after setting up entry hazards. Duraludon can be comfortably invested to live hits from common spinners such as Great Tusk and Terapagos and fire back with Draco Meteor and Thunder Wave respectively.
**Defensive Wall or Check**: Due to Duraludon’s great deal of resistances and bulk with Eviolite, it can oftentimes be held in the back of a team to prevent a sweep from a possible setup threat. Using Dragon Tail and Thunder Wave, Duraludon stops opposing sweepers in their tracks, allowing its offensive teammates to clean the game.
**Wallbreaker**: While Duraludon is most useful because of its Eviolite-boosted bulk, Duraludon can utilize damage-boosting items such as Choice Specs in niche matchups to exert early-game pressure.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Draco Meteor, Dragon Pulse, Flash Cannon, Steel Beam
**Setup Moves**: Iron Defense
**Utility Moves**: Stealth Rock, Dragon Tail, Thunder Wave, Foul Play, Roar
**Coverage**: Body Press, Dark Pulse, Stone Edge, Thunderbolt
Niche Moves
========
**Physical Moves + Swords Dance**: Usually special attacks are far more useful, but against dedicated specially defensive threats like Primarina and Goodra, the combination of Swords Dance and Heavy Metal-boosted Heavy Slam can be a surprise bait for the opponent. These moves can be used alongside physical Dragon-type moves like Dragon Claw and Outrage.
**Mirror Coat and Metal Burst**: Moves that return damage such as Mirror Coat and Metal Burst are risky moves to use but highly rewarding if the opponent's action is called correctly. These can be particularly effective on Duraludon, as Eviolite can often allow it to never go down to one sole attack.
Common Items
========
**Eviolite**: Duraludon should almost exclusively be using this item. It significantly betters its bulk and fixes its poor Special Defense. Eviolite allows Duraludon to take hits from powerful physical threats and fire back with status or a powerful STAB attack.
Niche Items
========
**Choice Specs**: With the proper support, including sufficient momentum to bring Duraludon on the field safely, Choice Specs has niche usage against teams lacking Draco Meteor switch-ins.
**Eject Pack**: Draco Meteor paired with Eject Pack allows Duraludon a one-time momentum option to pivot to a bigger threat against a bulky Steel-type at the sacrifice of its bulk.
**Choice Scarf**: The surprise Speed boost from Choice Scarf could allow Duraludon to score a surprise KO against a faster foe.
**Resistance Berries**: While Eviolite outclasses it generally, resistance Berries such as Shuca Berry could help Duraludon better tank a specific single hit at the cost of improving its bulk overall.
Tera
========
Duraludon doesn’t need to Terastallize to do what it does best. Most of the time, other Pokemon will better benefit from access to Terastallization. However, if you do elect Duraludon as your Tera Captain, Tera Fairy and Flying are useful options to flip its weaknesses. Tera Fighting is also useful for powerful Body Presses, and Tera Dragon can be useful for stronger Draco Meteors.
Draft Strategy
========
While Duraludon is a decent Steel-type and a decent Stealth Rock user, it should never be drafted as the main Pokemon to fill both roles. Oftentimes, Duraludon is best drafted as a secondary Stealth Rock setter to free up your higher-tier Stealth Rock setter to do other things. Duraludon also functions as a useful Round 8 pick to add increased bulk and added resistances to a more offensive-based team.
**Offense Drafts**: Offense drafts with a plethora of wallbreakers or cleaners greatly benefit from Duraludon’s early-game Stealth Rock, paralysis spreading, and early-game wallbreaking. The damage Duraludon applies early-game can be useful for Pokemon like Iron Valiant, Darkrai, and Meowscarada to clean games. Duraludon is also incredibly useful on frailer offensive teams as a one-time stop to being swept by opposing sweepers.
**Other Entry Hazard Setters**: Oftentimes, Duraludon will come to games where hazards are needed, but the main hazard setter wants to be doing other things. Pokemon like Great Tusk and Iron Treads are freed up to wallbreak or sweep when Duraludon is there to set Stealth Rock. Conversely, Duraludon might not want to run hazards if it is not running a lead or early-game wallbreaking set, so having a stronger Stealth Rock setter to accomplish this is equally useful.
Checks and Counters
========
**Steel-type Pokemon**: Steel-types, particularly those that do not fear damage from Body Press, are quite difficult for Duraludon to break through. Gholdengo, Scizor, and Metagross are just a few Pokemon that generally take Duraludon's dual STAB moves easily, and they have enough natural bulk to sponge any coverage Duraludon might dish out against them.
**Specially Defensive Tanks**: Specially defensive Pokemon such as Primarina, Ting-Lu, and Galarian Slowking chew Duraludon’s hits with ease and can recover the following turn.
**Knock Off**: Removing Duraludon’s Eviolite devastates its ability to take hits. A Knock Off into a subsequent special attack will bring Duraludon to low and unrecoverable health.
**Strong Special Attackers**: Even with an Eviolite boost, Duraludon will fall over backwards to most special wallbreakers that have at least neutral-hitting STAB attacks such as Chi-Yu, Kyurem, and Iron Bundle. Threats with super effective STAB moves, such as Landorus or Keldeo, will obliterate Duraludon.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/addison0727.514695/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jscurf.608304/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scionicle.599989/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
**Draft Order**: Round 7-8
**Price Range**: 3-4 points
**Overview**: So you want to be building with the building? Here's some tips! Duraludon is a decently useful support Pokemon that can assist in rounding out any key elements of a draft. Its high physical bulk paired with Eviolite makes it a useful sponge against many attackers. Eviolite also helps offset Duraludon’s abysmal Special Defense, allowing it to chew resisted hits. Oftentimes, Duraludon finds its best use either as a dedicated lead with Stealth Rock or a dedicated check to a specific threat, stopping setup Pokemon with Thunder Wave and phazing foes with Dragon Tail. Duraludon can maintain offensive pressure in spite of its bulk by using powerful Draco Meteors, which most Fairy-types fear switching into due to Duraludon's secondary Steel-type STAB moves. Despite all of these upsides, a lack of recovery, susceptibility to Knock Off, and a still relatively poor Special Defense stat make it difficult for Duraludon to stick around on the field for long.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Dedicated Lead**: Duraludon can function as a useful bulky dedicated lead with Stealth Rock and Draco Meteor, allowing it to exert immediate pressure after setting up entry hazards. Duraludon can be comfortably invested to live hits from common spinners such as Great Tusk and Terapagos and fire back with Draco Meteor and Thunder Wave respectively.
**Defensive Wall or Check**: Due to Duraludon’s great deal of resistances and bulk with Eviolite, it can oftentimes be held in the back of a team to prevent a sweep from a possible setup threat. Using Dragon Tail and Thunder Wave, Duraludon stops opposing sweepers in their tracks, allowing its offensive teammates to clean the game.
**Wallbreaker**: While Duraludon is most useful because of its Eviolite-boosted bulk, Duraludon can utilize damage-boosting items such as Choice Specs in niche matchups to exert early-game pressure.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Draco Meteor, Dragon Pulse, Flash Cannon, Steel Beam
**Setup Moves**: Iron Defense
**Utility Moves**: Stealth Rock, Dragon Tail, Thunder Wave, Foul Play, Roar
**Coverage**: Body Press, Dark Pulse, Stone Edge, Thunderbolt
Niche Moves
========
**Physical Moves + Swords Dance**: Usually special attacks are far more useful, but against dedicated specially defensive threats like Primarina and Goodra, the combination of Swords Dance and Heavy Metal-boosted Heavy Slam can be a surprise bait for the opponent. These moves can be used alongside physical Dragon-type moves like Dragon Claw and Outrage.
**Mirror Coat and Metal Burst**: Moves that return damage such as Mirror Coat and Metal Burst are risky moves to use but highly rewarding if the opponent's action is called correctly. These can be particularly effective on Duraludon, as Eviolite can often allow it to never go down to one sole attack.
Common Items
========
**Eviolite**: Duraludon should almost exclusively be using this item. It significantly betters its bulk and fixes its poor Special Defense. Eviolite allows Duraludon to take hits from powerful physical threats and fire back with status or a powerful STAB attack.
Niche Items
========
**Choice Specs**: With the proper support, including sufficient momentum to bring Duraludon on the field safely, Choice Specs has niche usage against teams lacking Draco Meteor switch-ins.
**Eject Pack**: Draco Meteor paired with Eject Pack allows Duraludon a one-time momentum option to pivot to a bigger threat against a bulky Steel-type at the sacrifice of its bulk.
**Choice Scarf**: The surprise Speed boost from Choice Scarf could allow Duraludon to score a surprise KO against a faster foe.
**Resistance Berries**: While Eviolite outclasses it generally, resistance Berries such as Shuca Berry could help Duraludon better tank a specific single hit at the cost of improving its bulk overall.
Tera
========
Duraludon doesn’t need to Terastallize to do what it does best. Most of the time, other Pokemon will better benefit from access to Terastallization. However, if you do elect Duraludon as your Tera Captain, Tera Fairy and Flying are useful options to flip its weaknesses. Tera Fighting is also useful for powerful Body Presses, and Tera Dragon can be useful for stronger Draco Meteors.
Draft Strategy
========
While Duraludon is a decent Steel-type and a decent Stealth Rock user, it should never be drafted as the main Pokemon to fill both roles. Oftentimes, Duraludon is best drafted as a secondary Stealth Rock setter to free up your higher-tier Stealth Rock setter to do other things. Duraludon also functions as a useful Round 8 pick to add increased bulk and added resistances to a more offensive-based team.
**Offense Drafts**: Offense drafts with a plethora of wallbreakers or cleaners greatly benefit from Duraludon’s early-game Stealth Rock, paralysis spreading, and early-game wallbreaking. The damage Duraludon applies early-game can be useful for Pokemon like Iron Valiant, Darkrai, and Meowscarada to clean games. Duraludon is also incredibly useful on frailer offensive teams as a one-time stop to being swept by opposing sweepers.
**Other Entry Hazard Setters**: Oftentimes, Duraludon will come to games where hazards are needed, but the main hazard setter wants to be doing other things. Pokemon like Great Tusk and Iron Treads are freed up to wallbreak or sweep when Duraludon is there to set Stealth Rock. Conversely, Duraludon might not want to run hazards if it is not running a lead or early-game wallbreaking set, so having a stronger Stealth Rock setter to accomplish this is equally useful.
Checks and Counters
========
**Steel-type Pokemon**: Steel-types, particularly those that do not fear damage from Body Press, are quite difficult for Duraludon to break through. Gholdengo, Scizor, and Metagross are just a few Pokemon that generally take Duraludon's dual STAB moves easily, and they have enough natural bulk to sponge any coverage Duraludon might dish out against them.
**Specially Defensive Tanks**: Specially defensive Pokemon such as Primarina, Ting-Lu, and Galarian Slowking chew Duraludon’s hits with ease and can recover the following turn.
**Knock Off**: Removing Duraludon’s Eviolite devastates its ability to take hits. A Knock Off into a subsequent special attack will bring Duraludon to low and unrecoverable health.
**Strong Special Attackers**: Even with an Eviolite boost, Duraludon will fall over backwards to most special wallbreakers that have at least neutral-hitting STAB attacks such as Chi-Yu, Kyurem, and Iron Bundle. Threats with super effective STAB moves, such as Landorus or Keldeo, will obliterate Duraludon.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/addison0727.514695/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jscurf.608304/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scionicle.599989/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
Last edited:
