[OVERVIEW]
Gurdurr makes for a decent option as a bulky physical attacker in the metagame that can break through many bulky Pokemon such as Type: Null and Gigalith. It also gets STAB Drain Punch, which allows for some recovery, and STAB priority Mach Punch, which allows it to beat faster threats such as Sneasel, Heliolisk, Zangoose, and Vanilluxe. Gurdurr has relatively poor special bulk and is vulnerable to neutral special attacks, even with Eviolite. Gurdurr has limited moveslots for coverage, which means it can have trouble with Flying-, Fairy-, and Poison-types depending on the coverage move it decides to run. Other Fighting-types in the tier such as Virizion, Hariyama, and Hitmonlee give Gurdurr stiff competition due to their Speed and raw power.
[SET]
name: Bulky Physical Attacker
move 1: Drain Punch
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Mach Punch
move 4: Knock Off
item: Eviolite
ability: Iron Fist / Guts
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 224 Atk / 32 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Drain Punch allows Gurdurr to regain health while doing damage to foes. Mach Punch provides Gurdurr with a good priority attack to make up for its low Speed to beat faster, frailer threats once they are damaged. Ice Punch allows Gurdurr to hit the Flying-types that threaten it, as well as hitting Grass-types like Venusaur and Whimsicott that resist Gurdurr's Fighting-type STAB moves. Knock Off hits Ghost- and Psychic-types, and it is also a great move for removing crucial items such as Golbat's Eviolite and Venusaur's Leftovers, allowing Gurdurr to beat these foes more easily.
Set Details
========
Eviolite makes Gurdurr quite bulky on the physical side and helps with its poor special bulk. The given EV spread allows Gurdurr to survive a +1 Corkscrew Crash from Klinklang after Stealth Rock damage. The remaining EVs are placed into Attack along with an Adamant nature to allow Gurdurr to hit as hard as possible, being able to 2HKO bulky Venusaur with Ice Punch. Iron Fist gives Gurdurr's punch moves a slight boost in power, allowing it to secure KOs, such as the OHKO on Heliolisk after Stealth Rock. Guts can be run as an option to turn Gurdurr into a status absorber that can wallbreak better at the cost of being less reliable, as Guts gives a higher boost but requires status; Iron Fist gives a boost right off the bat.
Usage Tips
========
Gurdurr can sufficiently use Knock Off throughout the early-game, as it has almost no drawbacks and can surprise common Gurdurr checks. Drain Punch makes for a good way for Gurdurr to recover some of its HP, as well as being its primary STAB attack. Gurdurr can be used to threaten many common Normal-, Rock-, and Steel-types and has the bulk to come in on these Pokemon. Mach Punch is useful for revenge killing Pokemon such as Heliolisk, Zangoose, Klinklang, and Sneasel.
Team Options
========
In order to deal with Psychic-types that Gurdurr struggles with, Dark- and Ghost-type attackers such as Sneasel and Mismagius are quite beneficial. Sneasel in particular can Pursuit trap the Psychic-types which threaten Gurdurr, which is especially useful. In return, Gurdurr provides them with a check to bulky Dark-types like Incineroar that they struggle with. Poison-types such as Toxicroak and Garbador help Gurdurr deal with Fairy-types, which resist most of Gurdurr's moves, and Garbador can also set Spikes to help wear down Gurdurr's checks. Gurdurr appreciates the support of Pokemon that threaten Slowbro like Heliolisk and Guzzlord, as Slowbro is a severe threat to Gurdurr as well as a good switch-in. Steelix, Sneasel, and Rhydon all provide answers to Flying-types that bother Gurdurr. Togedemaru is a useful teammate, as it can provide both Wish and U-turn support. Steelix and Rhydon also give helpful Ground coverage that helps Gurdurr defeat the Poison-types that resist its primary attacks. Psychic-types like Slowbro and Delphox help Gurdurr deal with Poison-types as well.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Stone Edge is an interesting option that can be used to surprise Flying-types such as Vikavolt and Xatu that would normally threaten Gurdurr. Thunder Punch can be used instead of Ice Punch, which trades the ability to hit Grass-types super effectively for the ability to 2HKO Slowking. Toxic is a useful option to cripple bulky Pokemon like Slowbro, Slowking, and Vaporeon. Poison Jab can be used to hit Aromatisse and Mega Audino, as both would normally wall it. Bulk Up can be run to increase Gurdurr's offensive and defensive presence, as it finds a lot of Pokemon to set up on.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Poison-types**: Bulky Poison-types like Weezing, Vileplume, and Garbodor can chip Gurdurr down or take advantage of Gurdurr's low Special Defense.
**Flying-types**: Flying-types such as Vivillon, Golbat, and Scyther resist Gurdurr's STAB attacks, can use Gurdurr as setup fodder, and threaten it with a 2HKO or an OHKO.
**Psychic-types**: While none can switch in comfortably due to the presence of Knock Off, Psychic-types such as Xatu, Delphox, and Mesprit can deal huge amounts of damage to Gurdurr before it can respond.
**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types such as Aromatisse, Whimsicott, and Granbull resist all of Gurdurr's moves except for Ice Punch, making Gurdurr nearly useless versus them.
**Special Attackers**: Strong special attackers such as Delphox, Vanilluxe, and Sceptile can take advantage of Gurdurr's low Special Defense and KO it with even neutral hits.
**Slowbro**: Slowbro takes very little damage from Gurdurr's attacks, even from a super effective coverage move.
Gurdurr makes for a decent option as a bulky physical attacker in the metagame that can break through many bulky Pokemon such as Type: Null and Gigalith. It also gets STAB Drain Punch, which allows for some recovery, and STAB priority Mach Punch, which allows it to beat faster threats such as Sneasel, Heliolisk, Zangoose, and Vanilluxe. Gurdurr has relatively poor special bulk and is vulnerable to neutral special attacks, even with Eviolite. Gurdurr has limited moveslots for coverage, which means it can have trouble with Flying-, Fairy-, and Poison-types depending on the coverage move it decides to run. Other Fighting-types in the tier such as Virizion, Hariyama, and Hitmonlee give Gurdurr stiff competition due to their Speed and raw power.
[SET]
name: Bulky Physical Attacker
move 1: Drain Punch
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Mach Punch
move 4: Knock Off
item: Eviolite
ability: Iron Fist / Guts
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 224 Atk / 32 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Drain Punch allows Gurdurr to regain health while doing damage to foes. Mach Punch provides Gurdurr with a good priority attack to make up for its low Speed to beat faster, frailer threats once they are damaged. Ice Punch allows Gurdurr to hit the Flying-types that threaten it, as well as hitting Grass-types like Venusaur and Whimsicott that resist Gurdurr's Fighting-type STAB moves. Knock Off hits Ghost- and Psychic-types, and it is also a great move for removing crucial items such as Golbat's Eviolite and Venusaur's Leftovers, allowing Gurdurr to beat these foes more easily.
Set Details
========
Eviolite makes Gurdurr quite bulky on the physical side and helps with its poor special bulk. The given EV spread allows Gurdurr to survive a +1 Corkscrew Crash from Klinklang after Stealth Rock damage. The remaining EVs are placed into Attack along with an Adamant nature to allow Gurdurr to hit as hard as possible, being able to 2HKO bulky Venusaur with Ice Punch. Iron Fist gives Gurdurr's punch moves a slight boost in power, allowing it to secure KOs, such as the OHKO on Heliolisk after Stealth Rock. Guts can be run as an option to turn Gurdurr into a status absorber that can wallbreak better at the cost of being less reliable, as Guts gives a higher boost but requires status; Iron Fist gives a boost right off the bat.
Usage Tips
========
Gurdurr can sufficiently use Knock Off throughout the early-game, as it has almost no drawbacks and can surprise common Gurdurr checks. Drain Punch makes for a good way for Gurdurr to recover some of its HP, as well as being its primary STAB attack. Gurdurr can be used to threaten many common Normal-, Rock-, and Steel-types and has the bulk to come in on these Pokemon. Mach Punch is useful for revenge killing Pokemon such as Heliolisk, Zangoose, Klinklang, and Sneasel.
Team Options
========
In order to deal with Psychic-types that Gurdurr struggles with, Dark- and Ghost-type attackers such as Sneasel and Mismagius are quite beneficial. Sneasel in particular can Pursuit trap the Psychic-types which threaten Gurdurr, which is especially useful. In return, Gurdurr provides them with a check to bulky Dark-types like Incineroar that they struggle with. Poison-types such as Toxicroak and Garbador help Gurdurr deal with Fairy-types, which resist most of Gurdurr's moves, and Garbador can also set Spikes to help wear down Gurdurr's checks. Gurdurr appreciates the support of Pokemon that threaten Slowbro like Heliolisk and Guzzlord, as Slowbro is a severe threat to Gurdurr as well as a good switch-in. Steelix, Sneasel, and Rhydon all provide answers to Flying-types that bother Gurdurr. Togedemaru is a useful teammate, as it can provide both Wish and U-turn support. Steelix and Rhydon also give helpful Ground coverage that helps Gurdurr defeat the Poison-types that resist its primary attacks. Psychic-types like Slowbro and Delphox help Gurdurr deal with Poison-types as well.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Stone Edge is an interesting option that can be used to surprise Flying-types such as Vikavolt and Xatu that would normally threaten Gurdurr. Thunder Punch can be used instead of Ice Punch, which trades the ability to hit Grass-types super effectively for the ability to 2HKO Slowking. Toxic is a useful option to cripple bulky Pokemon like Slowbro, Slowking, and Vaporeon. Poison Jab can be used to hit Aromatisse and Mega Audino, as both would normally wall it. Bulk Up can be run to increase Gurdurr's offensive and defensive presence, as it finds a lot of Pokemon to set up on.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Poison-types**: Bulky Poison-types like Weezing, Vileplume, and Garbodor can chip Gurdurr down or take advantage of Gurdurr's low Special Defense.
**Flying-types**: Flying-types such as Vivillon, Golbat, and Scyther resist Gurdurr's STAB attacks, can use Gurdurr as setup fodder, and threaten it with a 2HKO or an OHKO.
**Psychic-types**: While none can switch in comfortably due to the presence of Knock Off, Psychic-types such as Xatu, Delphox, and Mesprit can deal huge amounts of damage to Gurdurr before it can respond.
**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types such as Aromatisse, Whimsicott, and Granbull resist all of Gurdurr's moves except for Ice Punch, making Gurdurr nearly useless versus them.
**Special Attackers**: Strong special attackers such as Delphox, Vanilluxe, and Sceptile can take advantage of Gurdurr's low Special Defense and KO it with even neutral hits.
**Slowbro**: Slowbro takes very little damage from Gurdurr's attacks, even from a super effective coverage move.
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