Doduo Movesets & Competitive Sets

Item

Choice Scarf

Ability

Early Bird

Nature

Jolly

EVs

Attack 236 / Speed 236

Moves

Analysis

Moves Brave Bird is Doduo's most powerful and spammable move, dealing enormous damage to anything that doesn't resist it. Knock Off removes defensive items, such as Eviolite and Berry Juice, from switch-ins to Doduo, allowing Doduo or its teammates to beat them more easily late in the match. Jump Kick hits the Steel- and Rock-types that resist Brave Bird for super effective damage and makes Doduo very hard to switch into. Return is another powerful STAB move that doesn't inflict recoil damage on Doduo while still hitting what doesn't resist it for good damage. Quick Attack is an alternative that lets Doduo act as an emergency revenge killer against weakened faster Pokemon or weakened Pokemon with priority. Set Details The given EV spread maximizes Doduo's Attack and Speed stats so it can clean as well as possible. With a Jolly nature and a Choice Scarf, Doduo hits 27 Speed, tying with Choice Scarf Gastly and outspeeding Choice Scarf users such as Chinchou and Mienfoo as well as boosted Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Scraggy and most Shell Smash Omanyte and Shellder. Choice Scarf Doduo also outspeeds Adamant Alolan Sandshrew in hail and Modest Bellsprout in sun, so it can check weather teams if necessary. An Adamant nature can be run to increase Doduo's attacking power, but it will Speed tie with some of the aforementioned threats and lose to the weather sweepers. Early Bird is used because Doduo's other two abilities are more or less competitively useless. Usage Tips Use this set as a revenge killer or a late-game cleaner. Avoid switching Doduo into attacks, as it has poor bulk and already is worn down quickly due to its reliance on Brave Bird to clean opposing teams. Once it is in, Doduo can spam its powerful Brave Bird, or, if Rock-type checks have yet to be weakened, lure them in and KO or weaken them with Knock Off or Jump Kick. If Doduo is attempting to clean late-game, be wary of Brave Bird recoil damage, and lock Doduo into Return if possible. Team Options Entry hazards are extremely helpful to wear down Pokemon so Doduo can take them out. Teammates such as Onix, Omanyte, and Dwebble can set Stealth Rock effectively and have good synergy with Doduo. This Doduo set can't wear down its own checks and counters very well due to its inability to switch moves, so Pokemon that can wear these checks and counters down for it make good partners. Meowth, Vullaby, and Rufflet all bring in common checks to Doduo and can wear them down for Doduo to sweep later in a game. Slow pivots allow Doduo to enter the match safely. Mienfoo does this well, as it can also beat the Rock- and Steel-types that threaten Doduo while wearing down teams with Knock Off, as does Chinchou, which checks the Electric-type Pokemon that resist Brave Bird. Finally, Diglett makes a good partner to Doduo, able to trap and remove Rock-, Steel-, and Electric-type Pokemon that aim to check it.

Item

Berry Juice

Ability

Early Bird

Nature

Jolly

EVs

Attack 236 / Speed 236

Moves

Analysis

Moves Brave Bird is an incredibly powerful STAB attack that does significant damage to anything that doesn't resist it, though at the cost of dealing significant recoil damage to Doduo. Knock Off can be used to remove the items of Pokemon that switch into Doduo, softening them up for Doduo or its teammates to better deal with them. Jump Kick hits Rock- and Steel-type Pokemon for super effective damage, making it risky for these Pokemon to switch into a predicted Brave Bird. Quick Attack gives Doduo a priority move that hits fairly hard thanks to its high Attack. Return is an alternative that gives Doduo another powerful STAB move that hits Pokemon that resist Brave Bird and don't mind Jump Kick, such as Chinchou, without causing recoil damage, but most Pokemon are hit plenty hard by Doduo's first three moves. Substitute is a possibility as well, which lets Doduo activate Berry Juice when necessary and play around Pawniard's Sucker Punch. Set Details The given EV spread maximizes Doduo's Attack, to allow it to hit as hard as possible, and its Speed, to allow it to outspeed a majority of the metagame while breaking it down. With a Jolly nature, Doduo hits 18 Speed, allowing it to become even harder to switch into and reliably outspeed the likes of Cottonee, Snivy, and Chinchou. Berry Juice is useful to allow Doduo to take weak priority attacks or switch into Stealth Rock more times during a match, making it less prone to getting worn down. Early Bird is the preferred ability, as both of Doduo's other abilities are practically useless competitively. Usage Tips Doduo should be brought in either by a slow pivot or after a Pokemon faints, as it doesn't have the bulk to take even most resisted hits reliably. After it comes in, Doduo can spam its powerful attacks. Knock Off is a good choice early-game to wear down Doduo's checks and counters. After Pokemon that resist Flying have been worn down or picked off with Jump Kick, Doduo can spam Brave Bird to clean up opposing teams. Scouting for opposing Choice Scarf users is helpful so Doduo isn't unexpectedly outsped while attempting to attack. Team Options Slow pivots allow Doduo to enter the match safely. Mienfoo does this well, as it can also beat the Rock- and Steel-types that threaten Doduo while wearing down teams with Knock Off, as does Chinchou, which checks the Electric-type Pokemon that resist Brave Bird. Pokemon such as Onix, Omanyte, and Archen synergize with Doduo fairly well and can set up entry hazards that wear down opposing teams and make Doduo even more difficult to switch into. Entry hazard control is also appreciated; Staryu and Drilbur can spin away Stealth Rock that wears Doduo down. Offensive Pokemon that share checks and counters with Doduo can wear down said Pokemon. Other Flying-types work especially well, including Vullaby and Rufflet. Diglett also makes a very good partner to Doduo, being able to trap and remove Rock-, Steel-, and Electric-type Pokemon that aim to check it. Lastly, Healing Wish and Z-Memento users, such as Cottonee, make good partners for Doduo, allowing it to wear down its own checks and counters and then healing it to sweep late in the game.

Item

Berry Juice

Ability

Early Bird

Nature

Jolly

EVs

Attack 236 / Speed 240

Moves

Item

Choice Band

Ability

Tangled Feet

Nature

Jolly

EVs

Attack 236 / Speed 236

Moves

Item

Life Orb

Ability

Early Bird

Nature

Naughty

EVs

Attack 240 / Speed 240

Moves

Analysis

Doduo boasts decent Speed and Attack, useful STAB moves, and decent coverage, allowing it to function as a fast, physical sweeper. This variant of Doduo aims to sweep, clearing up weakened teams late-game with its powerful STAB moves, while relying on priority to prevent revenge kills by faster foes. Return is the standard Normal-type STAB move, and is a good one at that: with reasonable power, perfect accuracy, and no recoil effects, you will find Doduo using it more than any of its other moves, not only because it has a great deal of neutral coverage, but also because it is Doduo's most reliable attack. Double-Edge is a more powerful but also more risky alternative to Return; it can make the difference between an OHKO and a 2HKO, but lacks Return's long-term reliability. However, it is illegal alongside Brave Bird, and as Brave Bird does not have as reliable an alternative as Double-Edge has, it is usually the more worthwhile investment. For a secondary STAB option, Brave Bird is Doduo's most powerful choice, and as mentioned previously there are few worthwhile alternatives. Pluck is one, allowing you to steal Oran Berries from walls such as Bronzor and Gligar that come in to make your life difficult. While not as powerful as Brave Bird, it can make your life much easier should you happen to catch them on the switch, not only preventing them from healing, but also healing Doduo in the process. Quick Attack allows Doduo to escape the priority death trap from Pokemon such as Croagunk and Machop that may try to bait Doduo into using Brave Bird, and also allows for an assured end to weakened foes that may be carrying priority. STAB Quick Attack from Doduo can really hurt, and can allow Doduo to act as a fairly good revenge killer. Doduo shares the pain of many Normal / Flying Pokemon in that the Steel- and Rock-types that inhabit Little Cup really make its life a trial, since they resist both of its STAB moves while being naturally very defensive, and Doduo has barely anything to hit back at them with. However, given the low Special Defense of most of the Rock-types in Little Cup, Hidden Power Fighting, even off Doduo's pathetic Special Attack stat, does a lot of damage to many of them, most importantly Aron, who 4x resists both of Doduo's STAB moves. Aron is OHKOed and other Pokemon, such as Onix and offensive Rhyhorn, are 2HKOed. On the other hand, Hidden Power Grass OHKOes Onix and Rhydon, as well as almost always OHKOing Omanyte and Kabuto, though it does not do as much to Aron. Hidden Power Ice is also an option if you are worried about Gligar, OHKOing offensive variants and almost always doing the same to defensive ones. The EVs and nature are incredibly straightforward, with simple sweeper EVs for maximum effectiveness at its job, and a defense-lowering nature to avoid spoiling the power of Hidden Power Fighting. Naughty grants greater attacking power, but Naive grants greater Speed, which can make the difference between death and survival, though the choice is really up to personal preference. Ordinarily, 236 EVs would be sufficient to maximize both Attack and Speed on Doduo; however, due to the lowered IVs from using Hidden Power, 240 EVs are given in each stat to ensure that, whatever Hidden Power you decide to use, Doduo's Attack and Speed are always maximized. Stealth Rock, despite being resisted by most of Doduo's counters, is as useful as ever to break the common Focus Sashes seen around Little Cup. Doduo is frail even without a defense-lowering nature, and taking into account Stealth Rock damage, Life Orb damage, and Brave Bird recoil, Doduo will not be surviving for long against a team that can potentially hit back. Rapid Spin support can help salvage some bulk, allowing Doduo to come in unscathed, and thus giving it more of a lifeline to hang on should it be struck by a weaker attack or require extra turns of Life Orb recoil in which to do damage. This cannot disguise the fact that Doduo is very prone to revenge killing, particularly from Pokemon such as Scarf Gastly or Scarf Cranidos, both of whom do not mind Quick Attack. You should make sure that you can deal with these threats to Doduo, as being unable to do so is often fatal to both Doduo and your team. As for what Doduo cannot take down through sheer force, Pokemon that resist its STAB moves are the main culprits, in particular those Rock- and Steel-types that do not mind Hidden Power Fighting. Bronzor is the best check around, and Doduo does not like being on the receiving end of a Hidden Power Ice or Psychic. To deal with it, you should take advantage of its sole weakness, Fire-type moves; Houndour beats Bronzor that lack Earthquake. Krabby can take any of its attacks and reply in kind with STAB Crabhammer, as well as easily taking on the Rock-types that also plague Doduo. In the case of Magnemite, Diglett can trap and easily OHKO assuming it does not use Magnet Rise on the switch.

Item

Life Orb

Ability

Early Bird

Nature

Adamant

EVs

Attack 236 / Speed 236

IVs

HP 29

Moves

Analysis

While Roost may seem like a waste of a moveslot on Doduo given its lack of bulk, running Roost comes with a lot of bonuses to Doduo that more than make up for the lost coverage. It is an extremely useful move in the right circumstances, as Doduo often accumulates a very large amount of residual damage thanks to Stealth Rock, Life Orb, and recoil from Brave Bird or Double-Edge. Furthermore, Roost removes Doduo's unfortunate weaknesses to Rock-, Electric-, and Ice-type moves, and provides it with a non-damaging move to avoid Sucker Punch. For the other three moves, Brave Bird and Double-Edge are very powerful and their recoil effect is negated by Roost, as previously mentioned, although since you can only use one of them as they are illegal together, Pluck and Return are still perfectly viable options. The EV spread is the standard max Attack and Speed. The choice of an Adamant or Jolly nature is entirely up to whether you feel the need for more Speed or more Attack. Lastly, if you decide to run a 29 HP IV, Doduo reaches 19 HP, which means that Life Orb will only deduct 1 HP per attack. However, this loss in HP can be critical against Bronzor that invest in Special Attack as well as for taking other neutral hits. The most obvious benefit of Roost is negating the residual damage built up on Doduo. While healing with Roost wastes a turn, it allows Doduo to remain a force for much longer in the battle. While it may seem optimistic to the point of foolishness to try to heal a weakened Doduo at any point, it should be noted that Doduo's presence will often force the opponent to switch, usually to a Pokemon such as Bronzor, whom Doduo can do very little against, and thus it is often a better policy to Roost on the switch. Aside from this, Roost can allow Doduo to beat its usual counters, most notably Bronzor, who has a good chance to fail to 2HKO with Gyro Ball, Psychic, or Hidden Power Ice, allowing Doduo to outstall it with Roost and slowly wear it down over time with repeated attacks. Another great advantage gained by using Roost is the ability to evade Sucker Punch, one of the most common forms of priority. While Doduo has priority of its own, it may not always be enough to avoid a revenge kill, especially with Pokemon such as Diglett. Lastly, although by using Roost you remove Doduo's Rock, Ice, and Electric weaknesses, enabling Doduo to occasionally heal on unSTABed attacks of these types from slower Pokemon, this is a rare occurrence and the users of these moves will often have enough power to cause serious injury to the frail Doduo even without a weakness to prey on. Stealth Rock support helps greatly to stop Focus Sash teams from interfering. The biggest difference between this Doduo and most others is the presence of Roost and the absence of a last coverage move. This fact makes Doduo a lot more vulnerable to Pokemon that resist its STAB moves, particularly Rock-type Pokemon such as Geodude and Onix. While these are not commonly seen, it may be wise to accompany Doduo with something that has little trouble against them, such as Staryu or Machop, both of whom can OHKO most Rock-types with their STAB moves.

Item

Sitrus Berry

Ability

Early Bird

Nature

Jolly

EVs

Attack 236 / Speed 236

IVs

HP 29

Moves

Item

Choice Band

Ability

Early Bird

Nature

Jolly

EVs

Attack 236 / Speed 236

Moves

Item

Polkadot Bow

Moves

Item

Leftovers

Moves

Moves