Pokemon Sword and Shield

Durant - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle

Durant.png

This is a strategy guide for using Durant in competitive play for the games Pokemon Sword and Shield. Read on for tips on the best Nature, EV spreads, Movesets, Builds, and Held Items to use with Durant, as well as its strengths and weak points.

Durant - Related Guides
Pokemon SWSH - Durant Evolution and LearnsetEvolution and Learnset Pokemon SWSH - Durant Best BuildBuild for Ranked Battle

Basic Information for Durant

Types and Abilities

Pokemon Type 1 Type 2
Pokemon Sword and Shield - Bug Type Pokemon Sword and Shield - Steel Type
Abilities
Hustle Boosts the Attack stat, but lowers accuracy.
Swarm Powers up Bug-type moves in a pinch.
Truant (Hidden) Pokemon can't attack on consecutive turns.

Durant Weaknesses and Resistances

Type
Takes 4x damage
Pokemon Fire Image
Takes 2x damage
-
Takes 0.5x damage
Pokemon Normal Image Pokemon Ice Image Pokemon Psychic Image Pokemon Bug Image Pokemon Dragon Image Pokemon Steel Image Pokemon Fairy Image
Takes 1/4x damage
Pokemon Grass Image
Takes 0x damage
Pokemon Poison Image

What is Type Effectiveness?

Base Stats

HP Attack Defense Sp. Atk Sp. Def Speed
58 109 112 48 48 109

Best Nature for Durant

Best Natures
Jolly
(+Spd, -SpAtk)
Adamant
(+Atk, -SpAtk)

What are Natures?

How to Learn Durant's Egg Moves

First Impression Inherit from Golisopod (learnable on evolution)

Singles Movesets for Durant

Hustle Moveset & Best Build

Standard Durant.png

Nature Jolly (+Spd, -SpAtk)
EV Spread HP 4 / Atk. 252 / Spd. 252
Final Stat Values HP 134 / Atk. 161 / Def. 132 / Sp.Def. 68 / Spd. 177
Ability Hustle
Held Item Life Orb
Focus Sash
Moveset Iron Head
First Impression
Stone Edge
Thunder Fang

Hustle and Dynamax are a powerful combination

Durant's ability Hustle has the drawback of detracting from its accuracy, but as all Max Moves have perfect accuracy, Durant can use Dynamax to attack with 1.5x Attack power with no penalty. This build has Durant hold the Life Orb to further push its damage higher.

Learns a variety of moves

Because of its ability to learn not just powerful STAB moves such as Iron Head and First Impression, but also Thunder Fang to strike the Bug and Steel-resistent Corviknight and Toxapex, as well as Superpower to use against Steel-type Pokemon. Having attacking moves in four different types will allow Durant to hit most Pokemon with super effective or at least neutral damage.

Get STAB priority with First Impression

Having a priority move with First Impression allows it to knock out fast foes like Hydreigon with the Choice Scarf without worrying about taking a hit. Although you can usually only use it on the first turn after switching in, this downside can also be removed by Dynamaxing Durant.

Other Viable Moves

Superpower Fighting-type move that is also useful while Dynamaxed.
Stomping Tantrum Great for Steel- and Fire-types. Will raise Special Defense if used while Dynamaxed.
Rock Slide A more accurate Rock-type move than Stone Edge.
X-Scissor An alternate choice for First Impression. Can take down a Dynamaxed Hydreigon with 252 HP EVs in one hit, as well as a Dynamaxed Mow Rotom.
Crunch Can take down a Dragapult with no EVs in Defense in one hit. When Dynamaxed with the ability Hustle, Max Darkness has medium odds of taking down a Aegislash with 252 HP EVs in one hit (dealing 91.6%~108.9% damage)

Truant + Entrainment Moveset & Best Build

Truant + Entrainment Durant.png

Nature Jolly (+Spd, -SpAtk)
EV Spread HP 252 / Def. 4 / Spd. 252
Final Stat Values HP 165 / Atk. 129 / Def. 133 / Sp.Def. 68 / Spd. 177
Ability Truant
Held Item Eject Button
Moveset Entrainment
Baton Pass
Guillotine
Rock Tomb

Creates an opportunity for its teammate

Durant is the only Pokemon who can carry both the Truant ability and the move Entrainment. With its high speed, it can use Entrainment to share its purely-negative ability with the opponent, then on being hit by an attack, it will automatically be switched out by the Eject Button. On the next turn, the opponent will either by unable to move due to Truant, or they will switch out, either way allowing one free turn where the foe cannot attack.

Good for pairing with Gothitelle or Dugtrio

After switching out Durant with the Eject Button, possible candidates for the switch-in include Gothitelle and Dugtrio. These Pokemon have abilities that prevent the opponent from switching out and removing the Truant ability. The Pokemon can then use the opponent's missed turns to boost their stats without fear, while using Protect on the opponent's active turns.

Other Viable Moves

Iron Head
X-Scissor
Powerful attacks with STAB
Thunder Wave For setting up other teammates to fight the opponent

How to Use Durant Effectively

A powerful attacker with Hustle

Durant's ability Hustle increases the power of its attacks by 50% while also lowering the accuracy of all its moves to 0.8x their normal rate. As long as its attacks land, it's able to deal massive damage. On top of that, because all Max Moves have perfect accuracy, Durant can overcome Hustle's accuracy drop while Dynamaxed. And because it boasts a high Base Speed of 109, it can serve as a ruthless Physical attacker in the current metagame.

Can set up for a sweep with Truant and Entrainment

Durant's Hidden Ability Truant prevents it from using a move every other turn. It's an ability with nothing but disadvantages, but can be paired with Entrainment to pass Truant to an unfortunate opponent. When the opponent switches out to restore their ability to normal, Durant can take the opportunity to disadvantage the switching-in Pokemon with moves like Rock Tomb and Thunder Wave.

Counters for Durant

Durant
Weakness Pokemon Fire Image

Use Fire to barbecue it

Durant is host to a 4x weakness to Fire-type moves. However, because of Durant's incredibly high Attacking power, it's no piece of cake to survive a hit and strike back after. Instead of switching in a Pokemon to take a hit, it's best to send a Pokemon faster than Durant as the switch-in after one of your Pokemon is knocked out.

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon Description
Pokemon SWSH - Dragapult ImageDragapult Ranking: ★★★★★
・Faster than Durant and can score 1HKO with Fire Blast
Needs Focus Sash to survive a hit on switch-in
Moveset & Best Build for Dragapult
Pokemon SWSH - Cinderace ImageCinderace Ranking: ★★★★★
・Can take Iron Head with reduced damage.
・A Fire-type Pokemon with greater Speed than Durant.
Moveset & Best Build for Cinderace
Pokemon SWSH - Heat Rotom ImageHeat Rotom Ranking: ★★★★
・Can take Iron Head with 1/4x damage
・Can be safely switched in to take a hit from Iron Head, then outspeed with Choice Scarf for the knock out
Moveset & Best Build for Heat Rotom
Pokemon SWSH - Naganadel ImageNaganadel Ranking: ★★★★
・Faster than Durant.
・Defeat Durant and raise stat with Beast Boost.
Moveset & Best Build for Naganadel

Take a hit with a Defense wall

Pokemon who take reduced damage from Durant's STAB attacks and do not take super effective damage from its other attacks have the potential to withstand its attacks. Even if these Pokemon cannot take Durant down, they may be able to survive 3 turns of Dynamax, giving the next Pokemon in line a better shot.

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon Description
Pokemon SWSH - Aegislash ImageAegislash Ranking: ★★★★★
Must watch out for the super-effective Crunch
・Can stall to outlast Durant's Dynamax
・If Special-oriented, can use Special attacks to hit Durant's weak Special Defense
Best Ranked Battle Build for Aegislash

Best Teams Featuring Durant

Best Durant Team for Ranked Battle
Grimmsnarl ImageGrimmsnarl Durant ImageDurant Ditto ImageDitto
Hydreigon ImageHydreigon Mimikyu ImageMimikyu Snorlax ImageSnorlax

This is the team that made Durant, a minor Pokemon unseen in the metagame, into a superstar. Even ignoring all the trends, it's notable for its highly aggressive attacking style.

This team is available for free rental, and usable in Ranked Battle with no EV Training necessary. You can try out this team to get a feel for using Durant, or even use it as your go-to team if it fits your play style.
Best Durant Team for Ranked Battle

Related Links

Pokemon Sword and Shield - Best Builds for Ranked Battle

All Competitive Builds for Ranked Battle

Competitive Guides for Pokemon Sword and Shield

Competitive Pokemon Battle Guides
Pokemon SWSH - Tier ListTier List Pokemon SWSH - Best BuildsBest Builds Pokemon Sword and Shield - Ranked Battle Series 10 Contenders.pngSeries 10 List of Contenders
Pokemon SWSH - Doubles Tier ListDoubles Tier List Pokemon SWSH - Competitive Team BuildingTeam Building Pokemon SWSH - Rental TeamsRental Teams

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