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 | |
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Evolution and Learnset | Build for Ranked Battle |
List of Contents
Pokemon | Type 1 | Type 2 |
---|---|---|
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. |
Type | |
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Takes 4x damage | |
Takes 2x damage |
|
Takes 0.5x damage | |
Takes 1/4x damage | |
Takes 0x damage |
HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
58 | 109 | 112 | 48 | 48 | 109 |
Best Natures | ||
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Jolly (+Spd, -SpAtk) |
Adamant (+Atk, -SpAtk) |
First Impression | Inherit from Golisopod (learnable on evolution) |
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Nature | Jolly (+Spd, -SpAtk) |
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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 |
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.
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.
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.
Superpower | Fighting-type move that is also useful while Dynamaxed. |
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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) |
Nature | Jolly (+Spd, -SpAtk) |
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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 |
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.
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.
Iron Head X-Scissor |
Powerful attacks with STAB |
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Thunder Wave | For setting up other teammates to fight the opponent |
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.
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.
Weakness |
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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.
Pokemon | Description |
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Dragapult | 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 |
Cinderace | Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Can take Iron Head with reduced damage. ・A Fire-type Pokemon with greater Speed than Durant. Moveset & Best Build for Cinderace |
Heat 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 |
Naganadel | Ranking: ★★★★
・Faster than Durant. ・Defeat Durant and raise stat with Beast Boost. Moveset & Best Build for Naganadel |
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.
Pokemon | Description |
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Aegislash | 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 Durant Team for Ranked Battle | ||
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Grimmsnarl | Durant | Ditto |
Hydreigon | Mimikyu | Snorlax |
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
All Competitive Builds for Ranked Battle
Competitive Pokemon Battle Guides | |||||
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Tier List | Best Builds | Series 10 List of Contenders | |||
Doubles Tier List | Team Building | Rental Teams |
Durant - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle
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