Dondozo Movesets & Competitive Sets

Dondozo is a solid physical wall due to its incredible physical bulk and Unaware. Dondozo fits well on bulky teams where it can switch into physical attackers such as Koraidon, Great Tusk, and Chien-Pao. Liquidation hits Ground- and Fire-types such as Great Tusk, Iron Treads, and Skeledirge. Earthquake lets Dondozo lure in and deal huge damage to Miraidon. Curse makes Dondozo less passive and gives it sweeping potential. Protect lets Dondozo scout for Choice item users such as Koraidon, Miraidon, and Iron Bundle while also recovering health. Rest is the only recovery option for Dondozo and can be used with Sleep Talk to deal with physical attackers such as Koraidon and Chien-Pao better. However, Miraidon's extensive presence in the metagame makes Rest unreliable. Tera Steel lets Dondozo resist Moonblast from Flutter Mane and Freeze-Dry from Iron Bundle. Alternatively, Tera Fairy allows Dondozo to resist Fighting- and Dark-type moves from Koraidon and Chien-Pao while it also gains an immunity to Dragon-type moves. Tera Ground gives Dondozo an immunity to Electric-type moves and can allow it to catch Miraidon by surprise and KO it using a boosted Earthquake. Entry hazard removal options such as Corviknight, Iron Treads, and Great Tusk are great teammates, as foes can take advantage of Dondozo being worn down due to hazards. Dugtrio is a good teammate, as it can trap and KO Miraidon, making Dondozo incredibly tough to stop. Dondozo appreciates special walls such as Ting-Lu, Corviknight, and Blissey that can switch into threats such as Miraidon and Flutter Mane. In return, Dondozo checks their threats in Koraidon, Chien-Pao and Great Tusk.

Dondozo takes advantage of Unaware and its good natural bulk to boast a good matchup against metagame staples such as Calyrex-I and Zamazenta-C while picking away at the opponent's team for Calyrex-S to clean it up. Order Up boosts Dondozo's Body Press when paired with Tatsugiri-D and hits Dragon-types such as Tera Dragon Zamazenta-C. Body Press threatens foes such as Zamazenta-C and Terapagos, and Order Up's Defense boosts leave Dondozo untouchable to physical attackers like Calyrex-I after a few Defense boosts. Earthquake can be used over Wave Crash for a spread move. Thanks to Dondozo's heightened defenses after a Commander boost, Leftovers becomes even more valuable, making Dondozo even bulkier with passive recovery and allowing it to easily stall turns with Protect. With a Commander boost, the Defense investment lets Dondozo comfortably 2HKO Zamazenta-C and OHKO Incineroar at +3 most of the time. The Special Defense investment and Commander boost lets Dondozo survive two Thunderbolts from Raging Bolt. The Speed investment allows Dondozo to outpace Adamant Urshifu formes after Commander boosts. Tera Grass lets Dondozo resist Electric- and Grass-type attacks like Wood Hammer from Rillaboom and Thunderclap while also giving Dondozo an immunity to Spore and Rage Powder. Dondozo tends to struggle with Fake Out users like Rillaboom, Incineroar, and Iron Hands; they can easily cycle in and out to spam Fake Out and catch Dondozo a turn after it uses Protect, forcing it to use Protect again, preventing it from dealing damage, and letting foes rack up damage. The Urshifu formes can significantly chunk Dondozo with powerful Wicked Blows and Surging Strikes that hit through its boosts with critical hits. Miraidon also threatens Dondozo with big hits like Draco Meteor and Electro Drift. Removing the aforementioned Fake Out users and the Urshifu formes allows Dondozo to come in safely and chip foes for Calyrex-S to clean up. Galarian Weezing can help by setting up Toxic Spikes and chipping foes before Dondozo gets on the field, allowing it to rack up Toxic damage with Protect and picking off foes for Calyrex-S. Galarian Weezing can also significantly chunk the Urshifu formes with Strange Steam. Calyrex-S is able to come in after Dondozo weakens the opposing team, cleaning up the game while helping Dondozo by being able to outspeed and KO Miraidon.

Dondozo can utilize its strong natural bulk and typing to function as a supportive wall with Yawn. Yawn Dondozo pairs best with Ting-Lu, as a combination of Sand Tomb and Yawn can reliably slow down foes and Ting-Lu's Vessel of Ruin helps with Dondozo's frailer Special Defense. Dondozo struggles against Rillaboom and Amoonguss, as both resist Wave Crash, and it is harder to make damage over time stick with Grassy Terrain and Pollen Puff respectively. Additionally, the former threatens super effective damage on Dondozo and the latter threatens Spore. Leftovers recovery gives Dondozo additional staying power in slower-paced battles compared to recovery Berries. Oblivious prevents Dondozo from being shut down with Taunt from Pokémon such as Tornadus or affected by Intimidate from foes like Incineroar. The invested bulk allows Dondozo to survive Thunderbolt from Raging Bolt, as well as surviving two Earth Powers from Landorus and OHKOing in return with Wave Crash. Heavy Slam is used to OHKO Flutter Mane.

Wave Crash is Dondozo's strongest Water-type move, OHKOing Pokemon like Tornadus and Gholdengo. Earthquake bypasses Follow Me from Ogerpon-W, and provides it a strong spread move thats picks off weakened foes. Rocky Helmet breaks Focus Sash on Chien-Pao and Urshifu, allowing for an OHKO. It also allows for big damage on Urshifu-R using Surging Strikes. Leftovers allows Dondozo to recover swathes of health, even more so by stalling with Protect. However, its harder to use now, as most threats to Dondozo can outdamage Leftovers recovery, especially so considering the Urshifu formes ignore Protect. Clear Amulet can be used to remove ways to weaken Dondozo, primarily Incineroar and Gouging Fire. 20 Defense EVs ensure that Sacred Sword from Chien-Pao is a 4HKO and allow Dondozo to survive two Wicked Blows from Urshifu-S. 76 Special Defense EVs allow Dondozo to survive two Moonblasts from Tera Fairy Choice Specs Flutter Mane. The Attack investment ensures Wave Crash OHKOes Urshifu-S after Rocky Helmet damage and that Order Up 2HKOes Ogerpon-W and Urshifu-R. Tera Grass provides resistances to Grass- and Electric-type attacks, as well as giving an immunity to Spore from Amoonguss, which is otherwise difficult to deal with.

This Dondozo set aims to be a much bulkier supporting piece that is used without Tatsugiri while still managing to provide a bit of offensive pressure thanks to its attacking options. Yawn is Dondozo's main supporting tool, allowing it to force switches or put the enemy to sleep depending on what it goes for. This can put the opponent into an awkward position, which generates free turns for your partner Pokemon. Wave Crash is Dondozo's strongest attacking move. Alternatively, Liquidation can be used to circumvent the recoil of Wave Crash and give Dondozo more longevity. Fissure is used in situations where Dondozo isn't providing any pressure on the field, as Dondozo tends to be extremely passive against Pokemon naturally immune to its sleep move like Electabuzz and Gholdengo or Pokemon that like to pivot a lot naturally and don't mind taking its Water-type attack like Amoonguss, Porygon2, and other supportive Dondozo. Fissure gives Dondozo a way to provide pressure against these Pokemon that can normally wall it, and since Dondozo is so bulky, a miss often won't lose you the game. Unaware allows Dondozo to check setup sweepers that could otherwise beat it such as Volcarona, Gholdengo, Kingambit and Archaludon, allowing it to take their boosted attacks and force them out with Yawn. Tera Poison allows Dondozo to resist Grass-type attacks as well as gaining important resistances to Fighting and Poison, allowing it to wall Sneasler. Tera Bug and Grass allow Dondozo to resist Ground-type attacks rather than being weak to it, unlike Tera Poison; while Tera Grass allows it to gain an immunity to Rage Powder and Spore from Amoonguss, Tera Bug allows Dondozo to not be weak to Ice-type moves from Alolan Ninetales and Baxcalibur as well as Poison-type moves from Sneasler. The EVs on this set allow Dondozo to survive two Electro Shots from Archaludon after Dondozo uses Protect for a turn if Grassy Terrain is up.

Set Details Dondozo is a powerful tool, able to utilize its bulk to stay on the battlefield for long periods, chip foes down, and set up a favorable late-game scenario for Tatsugiri-D and a partner Restricted Pokemon. Dondozo matches up well against many physical attackers, including Incineroar, Zamazenta-C, and Koraidon, as its Defense stat already keeps it healthy, all the while using Order Up to continue to raise its Defense when combined with Tatsugiri-D. Substitute further increases Dondozo's longevity, which buys critical time via leftovers recovery to damage key threats. Substitute also critically blocks Spore, meaning Dondozo does not have to Terastallize because of it. Earthquake provides Dondozo with strong spread damage, notably good against targets like Miraidon and Raging Bolt, which are typically difficult for Dondozo to handle, while Wave Crash offers massive single-target damage, though its recoil can severely damage Dondozo's longevity. Leftovers recovery, when combined with the bulk that Commander offers, makes Dondozo extremely hard to take down without a super effective hit. Alternating Protect and an attack can often take Dondozo out of rolls that would otherwise KO it thanks to the HP regained while using Protect. The EV investment is done with the Commander boost in mind. The Special Defense investment allows Dondozo to always survive two Draco Meteors from Assault Vest Miraidon, while the Defense investment often lets Dondozo OHKO Incineroar and 2HKO Zamazenta-C with Body Press after one Order Up Defense boost. This Dondozo set is also able to outspeed maximum Speed Adamant Urshifu. Tera Grass on Dondozo removes critical weaknesses to the Electric- and Grass-type moves from Miraidon, Raging Bolt, and Rillaboom while also giving Dondozo a Spore immunity. Teambuilding The biggest threat to Dondozo is Miraidon, as most sets often OHKO Dondozo with Electro Drift, even with the Commander boost, which forces Dondozo to Terastallize in order to take Electro Drift. Even after Terastallizing, Miraidon's Choice Specs sets' Draco Meteors often threatens 2HKOs. Lunala poses an issue, as it offers consistent damage unfazed by the Order Up boosts, is naturally bulky, and, depending on the Dondozo set, sometimes cannot even be touched. The Calyrex-I matchup is potentially dangerous, as Leech Seed sets cripple Dondozo's recovery and make Calyrex-I very hard to kill. Because of this interaction, it is encouraged to Terastallize and accept being weak to Glacial Lance, since Order Up boosts can help Dondozo to endure the attacks. Any teams that can cycle Fake Out, such as teams that utilize one or more of Rillaboom, Iron Hands, and Incineroar, can be disastrous for Dondozo, as being the only Pokemon on the field, preventing it from dealing damage is extremely brutal. Both Urshifu formes are threatening, as both Surging Strikes and Wicked Blow do huge damage due to the critical hits ignoring the Commander boosts. Ursaluna often uses Tera Ghost to escape being weak to Body Press and does huge damage with Guts-boosted Facades, even with Commander and Order Up boosts. Galarian Weezing's Neutralizing Gas prevents Tatsugiri-D from activating its Commander ability, while Galarian Weezing itself threatens to chip down Dondozo with Poison. Calyrex-S is a great ally for Dondozo, as it can capitalize off of the damage Dondozo has done to sweep late-game. Calyrex-S can also support Dondozo earlier on by outspeeding and dealing huge damage to Miraidon, Lunala, and Calyrex-I. Koraidon is another good Restricted Pokemon as a partner, as it can use its Speed to threaten Miraidon as well while using its Fire- and Fighting-type moves to threaten foes such as Rillaboom, Amoonguss, Calyrex-I, and Incineroar. Tatsugiri-D is a mandatory partner for Dondozo, as the Commander boosts allow Dondozo to reach nearly all of its KOs and gain critical bulk. Galarian Weezing is a natural ally to Dondozo, as its ability to spread status via Toxic Spikes and Poison Gas helps Dondozo to chip foes down, as well as further giving Dondozo a reason to use Protect.

Combining with Tatsugiri-C allows Dondozo to become a threatening sweeper, being able to pose a significant threat to the majority of teams. Its significant bulk and attacking prowess allow it to rip through unprepared teams and make it hard to remove without consistent answers. Wave Crash is Dondozo's strongest attacking move, providing a great source of damage to neutral targets such as Gholdengo and Annihilape. Earthquake provides a spread attack that can get around redirection users such as Electabuzz, Magmar, Clefable, and Amoonguss. Order Up provides a way for Dondozo to boost its Attack without Coaching, allowing it to become even more threatening if the opponent attempts to play around it passively. Order Up also provides a way to hit Dragon-types like Dragonite and Baxcalibur. Heavy Slam allows Dondozo to hit Fairy-types that can otherwise check it like Primarina, Alolan Ninetales and Clefable, and it can be boosted even further by Tera Steel. Tera Steel allows Dondozo to become immune to Clear Smog from opposing Amoonguss as well as boosting the power of Dondozo's Heavy Slam, allowing it to OHKO physically defensive Amoonguss at +3. Tera Grass allows Dondozo to become immune to Spore from Amoonguss as well as allowing Dondozo to resist Ground-type attacks from Garchomp, Ursaluna, and Ursaluna-B. Unaware is used to ignore setup threats such as Volcarona, Gholdengo and Archaludon who could otherwise give Dondozo some issues, it also allows Dondozo to defeat other Commander Dondozo. Leftovers provides Dondozo with a little bit more longevity, as its naturally high bulk paired with the +2 Defense and Special Defense boosts lets it shrug off attacks and heal them off, and this recovery tends to rack up very quickly if it's alternating between attacking and using Protect. The Speed investment on this set allows it to outspeed maximum Speed Garchomp after combining with Tatsugiri-C and threaten it greatly with Wave Crash or Order Up. The Attack investment allows +3 Tera Steel Heavy Slam to get a OHKO on physically defensive Amoonguss and allows +1 Earthquake to 2HKO most Sitrus Berry Incineroar.

Dondozo is the gold standard for shutting down physical setup sweepers. Its tremendous physical bulk and Unaware ability make it almost impossible for most physical attackers to get past without super effective moves, which, with the rarity of powerful physical Electric- and Grass-type moves, makes it nearly invulnerable on the physical side. This also means Dondozo can become impossible to remove if the opponent loses their powerful special attackers, such as Iron Valiant on Fighting or Landorus-I on Ground, making it a potent late-game sweeper. Rest allows Dondozo to last almost indefinitely against any Pokemon that cannot 3HKO it; something that isn’t even achieved by the likes of Life Orb Close Combat Scizor or Choice Scarf Great Tusk. Sleep Talk makes sure that Dondozo doesn't get trapped in a cycle of using Rest every three turns by Pokemon that can 4HKO it, allowing it to use Rest and Sleep Talk until it rolls Curse, at which point it no longer needs to Rest every three turns to avoid being KOed. Sleep Talk also makes Dondozo less passive by wearing down the Pokemon it is walling and forcing the opponent to risk taking damage when switching a special attacker such as Volcarona or Flutter Mane in. Curse allows Dondozo to beat physical attackers that could otherwise 3HKO it, such as Thunder Punch Iron Hands, and ensures Dondozo doesn't have to use up all its PP to get past Pokemon with recovery moves like Corviknight. Curse also enables Dondozo to function as a late-game sweeper, and prevents Dondozo from being stopped by most physical walls, pressuring the opponent to switch in their special attackers and risk taking damage. Waterfall is used because it hits reasonably hard and has relatively few immunities in comparison to Body Press as well as enough PP that Dondozo is difficult to PP stall. The majority of Dondozo's EVs go to HP and Defense, as the most important thing is its ability to take physical hits. However, Dondozo's high base HP means it can sacrifice some HP EVs without its ability to take physical hits suffering significantly, allowing Dondozo to invest 108 EVs in Special Defense. These EVs allow Dondozo to function as a last line of defense to finish off special attackers like Spectrier and Galarian Moltres that have boosted out of control, wall weaker special attackers like Pecharunt entirely, and enables Dondozo to get past special attackers trying to stop its sweeps. The trade-off for Dondozo’s defensive prowess is that many powerful special attackers, such as Raging Bolt and Darkrai, can switch in easily on it, so it's important to pair Dondozo with specially defensive Pokemon that can handle the threats it invites in. Dondozo is cripplingly weak to entry hazards because, unlike walls with access to Recover, it cannot reliably heal hazard damage after switching in. This makes keeping hold of its Heavy-Duty Boots crucial in many matchups, so it greatly benefits from the assistance of physically defensive Gastrodon to absorb Knock Off. Gastrodon additionally switches into the Electric-type moves that threaten out Dondozo and sets up Spikes to chip down Pokemon that try to wear Dondozo down with hit-and-run tactics, such as Swords Dance Scizor and Azumarill. Specially defensive Gastrodon is a valuable partner for its ability to switch into many of the special attackers that threaten Dondozo such as Flutter Mane, Raging Bolt, and Darkrai. Alomomola keeps Dondozo healthy with Wish, letting it avoid sleep turns, which allows it to more reliably answer Pokemon that would 3HKO it. This also supports Dondozo’s sweeping capacity by allowing it to come back if it was brought to low HP by trading to remove a special attacker, such as Iron Valiant on Fighting-type teams. Physically defensive Alomomola in particular can scout physical threats to prevent Dondozo from losing health unnecessarily and handle Choice Band attackers such as Scizor and Excadrill, as well as switching into Knock Off in emergencies and across many matchups to avoid Dondozo losing its item. Toxapex can switch into the Grass-type moves that threaten Dondozo, such as Gallade’s Leaf Blade and Meowscarada’s Flower Trick, and, like Alomomola, is invaluable for scouting and handling Choice Band Pokemon such as Sneasler and Urshifu-R. Empoleon switches in on special Grass-type moves and Freeze-Dry and provides a reliable special wall to complement Dondozo’s reliable checking of physical threats, as well as using Knock Off to remove Leftovers and Heavy-Duty Boots, damaging the longevity of Dondozo’s checks. Because Dondozo is commonly paired with Alomomola and Toxapex, and all three cannot typically hit Water Absorb Clodsire, Dondozo appreciates teammates that can put pressure on Clodsire to strengthen the Ground matchup. Choice Specs Greninja can revenge kill many of the Pokemon that take advantage of Dondozo to set up, like Gholdengo, or can break past Dondozo, like the Ogerpon formes, and its Ice Beams are devastating in the Ground matchup.

With outstanding physical bulk, a superb defensive typing, and access to Unaware and Curse, Dondozo is one of the tankiest walls in the tier, capable of taking on most physical attackers like Garchomp, Kingambit, Zamazenta, and Swords Dance Cinderace. Body Press is normally used over a STAB move, as it allows Dondozo to hit Ogerpon-W and Mega Gyarados, the latter being especially important due to its infamous stallbreaking nature; however, it can use Waterfall if those Pokemon are checked by a teammate. Heavy-Duty Boots lets Dondozo ignore entry hazards entirely, which would otherwise greatly hinder its ability to sit on the plethora of physical attackers present in the tier. Dondozo's ability is crucial for the role it provides, as, alongside Curse, Unaware allows it to ignore foes' boosts as it accumulates its own, enabling it to blanket major physical setup sweepers like Swords Dance Iron Valiant, Landorus-T, and Hisuian Samurott. This allows Dondozo to serve a wall that thrives against offense and hyper offense teams that rely heavily on physical attackers, making it a solid pillar in defensive cores that can compensate for its lack of utility. Despite Dondozo's amazing defensive capabilities, its lack of reliable recovery, situational ability, and weak offensive presence without multiple boosts make it extremely exploitable and easy to play around, thus only finding its place on dedicated stall teams that don't mind being passive. Clodsire and Blissey are stellar teammates, as they cover for Dondozo's low Special Defense. Clodsire's typing, amazing special bulk, and Unaware let it wall Dondozo counters like Gholdengo and Tapu Koko, the latter being especially important to answer, as it disables Rest and hits Dondozo super effectively. In return, Dondozo walls Pokemon that threaten to KO Clodsire like Urshifu-R, Great Tusk, and Melmetal. Blissey's ridiculous bulk lets it serve a similar role to Clodsire, checking even boosted special attackers with relative ease while also handling Mega Charizard Y and Special Attack Protosynthesis Raging Bolt more efficiently. Shedinja is another good teammate, as it deals with Ogerpon-W lacking Knock Off and spreads Will-O-Wisp to further aid Dondozo in walling physical attackers, while Dondozo can sit on physical attackers that can hit Shedinja for super effective damage like Kingambit and Zamazenta. Corviknight and Mega Sableye can also be considered due to their ability to control entry hazards effectively with Defog and Magic Bounce, respectively, meaning Dondozo doesn't mind losing Heavy-Duty Boots as much. Both Pokemon also check offensive behemoths, with Corviknight taking on Tapu Lele and Kartana, while Mega Sableye handles Mega Medicham and Mega Latios. Meanwhile, both appreciate that Dondozo can check powerful physical Fire-types like Ceruledge and Blaziken.

Avalanche provides Dondozo with a method to hit Pokemon such as Koraidon and Tera Flying Ho-Oh. Fissure makes Dondozo much less passive, allowing it to hit defensive Arceus formes like Arceus-Fairy and Arceus-Water while simultaneously deterring Miraidon from switching in, as well as being much more useful against Taunt Arceus formes. While unreliable and prevented by Miraidon's Hadron Engine, Rest is Dondozo's only method of healing. Sleep Talk prevents Pokemon from exploiting Dondozo while it is asleep, and also gives Dondozo a chance to use Fissure even after it runs out of PP. Tera Fairy provides Dondozo an immunity to Dragon-type moves, specifically Koraidon's Scale Shot and Outrage and Eternatus’s Dynamax Cannon, while also giving Dondozo a resistance to Fighting-type attacks like Koraidon's Low Kick. However, Tera Fairy leaves Dondozo vulnerable to Steel-type attacks like Necrozma-DM’s Sunsteel Strike and Zacian-C’s Behemoth Blade. Tera Flying also gives Dondozo the same resistance to Fighting-type moves while also allowing Dondozo to use Rest while Electric Terrain is active. Tera Electric provides Dondozo a resistance to Zacian-C's Wild Charge and Ho-Oh's Brave Bird. Teammates like Gliscor and Blissey appreciate Dondozo's presence as a fallback option when powerful setup Pokemon like Swords Dance Arceus and Swords Dance Koraidon threaten a sweep. Although very bulky on the physical side, Dondozo's poor special bulk and bad matchups against the tier's most popular special attackers in Miraidon, Calyrex-S, and Kyogre render it extremely vulnerable to their attacks. Therefore, specially defensive teammates like Blissey, Clodsire, and Tera Grass Ho-Oh are excellent teammates for Dondozo, as Dondozo helps deal with powerful physical threats. In contrast, they help deal with powerful special attackers. Alomomola is also an excellent teammate for Dondozo, as Alomomola helps take a lot of pressure off of it by providing Wish support, also giving Dondozo a method of healing while Electric Terrain is active. Additionally, Gliscor's ability to absorb Knock Off from Pokemon like Alolan Muk, Mandibuzz, Necrozma-DM, and opposing Gliscor, which could otherwise significantly cripple Dondozo, is helpful. Alolan Muk also works very well with Dondozo due to being one of the only reliable Calyrex-S checks, and Garganacl is also helpful when Dondozo is dealing with Tera Flying Ho-Oh.

Fur Coat Dondozo uses its massive physical bulk and solid typing to check powerful physical wallbreakers including Mega Garchomp, non-mixed Mega Lucario, and Ash-Greninja. Strength Sap is the preferred recovery option to also slow down setup sweepers like Mega Garchomp, but Shore Up cannot be blocked by Magic Bounce or be limited by Pokemon like Blissey. Dondozo's extremely low Speed also makes it a great pivot capable of underspeeding common defensive staples like Parting Shot Mega Audino. Glare cripples all physical attackers excluding Jungle Healing users as well as deterring most special wallbreakers, while Knock Off provides support by removing crucial items like Assault Vest. Stone Axe and Spikes help reduce Dondozo's passivity against Teleport users and Take Heart Arceus formes. Covert Cloak prevents annoying secondary effects from moves like Salt Cure and Mortal Spin, which is valuable because Dondozo can be 2HKOed by coverage moves after slight chip damage; alternatively, Rocky Helmet punishes otherwise safe U-turns and prevents foes like Mega Garchomp from simply PP stalling Dondozo's healing. Dondozo cannot answer mixed threats such as Electro Drift Mega Garchomp, and thus checks to these Pokemon such as Fur Coat Arceus-Ghost are good teammates. Powerful special wallbreakers like Mega Alakazam and Mega Sceptile appreciate the slow pivoting and entry hazards Dondozo provides and in return can offensively Imposter-proof Dondozo. Dondozo can also be Imposter-proofed by Take Heart users and Electric-types.

Thanks to its setup-stopping ability in Unaware and excellent physical bulk, Dondozo is an excellent physical wall for stall teams that stops threats such as Zygarde, physical Arceus-Ground, and Zacian-C in their tracks. Avalanche takes advantage of Dondozo’s low Speed and allows it to hit Pokemon such as Mega Salamence, Arceus Ground, Rayquaza, and Ultra Necrozma super effectively while allowing it to hit Primal Groudon neutrally. Its ability to OHKO Rayquaza is invaluable, as Choice Band sets greatly threaten stall teams. Body Press takes advantage of Curse boosts and hits Necrozma-DM and Zacian-C neutrally. Sleep Talk can be used to reduce passivity after using Rest, but it is usually unnecessary with Aromatherapy support from Chansey. *Leftovers is another option to provide passive recovery. As stall teams run double Defog support, entry hazard damage is less of a concern. Ability Shield allows Dondozo to wall Ultra Necrozma without running Tera Dark, since it prevents Unaware from being bypassed by Photon Geyser. Tera Fairy allows Dondozo to wall Calm Mind Arceus-Dark, Focus Blast Mega Mewtwo Y more efficiently, and counter Dragon Dance Zygarde. Tera Dark allows Dondozo to wall Necrozma-DM and Ultra Necrozma by blocking Photon Geyser, which would otherwise bypass Unaware. This is unnecessary if Dondozo holds Ability Shield as its item. Dondozo must constantly conserve its HP early-game in order to check threats such as Zacian-C, Arceus-Ground, and Mega Salamence until they are worn down. Dondozo is able to check Rayquaza and Mega Salamence with Avalanche, although it cannot directly switch into Rayquaza, as Choice Band Tera Flying Dragon Ascent 2HKOes it. Once special threats such as Primal Kyogre, Yveltal, and Calm Mind Arceus formes have been removed, Dondozo makes for an excellent win condition thanks to Curse and Unaware. Dondozo is best used to stifle setup sweepers that have weaker initial power such as Zygarde and Arceus by using Curse. While Dondozo certainly can switch into attacks from threats such as Zacian-C, Primal Groudon, and Arceus-Ground, it must be aware of its HP, or else it will not be able to check these threats late-game. On its own, Dondozo can be overwhelmed by the wide amount of physical threats in the tier such as Zacian-C, Ultra Necrozma, and Primal Groudon. Therefore, teammates such as Arceus-Dark and Giratina are helpful. Arceus-Dark is able to punish Tera Ghost Arceus that try to avoid Body Press; Ultra Necrozma, thanks to its immunity to Photon Geyser; and Zekrom, which overwhelms Dondozo due to Teravolt. In addition, Arceus-Dark is useful against Taunt Arceus Ground, which can slowly wear Dondozo down. Giratina can scout Primal Groudon sets, preventing Dondozo from being sniped by Overheat or Eruption. It also wastes Rayquaza’s Dragon Ascent PP thanks to Pressure, allowing Dondozo to more easily deal with Rayquaza late-game. Dondozo is easily beat by special threats such as Primal Kyogre, Arceus-Fairy, and Eternatus. Chansey, Eternatus, and Ho-Oh make excellent teammates, as they check these threats well. Dondozo appreciates Aromatherapy support from Chansey to remove sleep after using Rest. Leftovers Dondozo can be more easily pressured while entry hazards are on the field, so Defog support from Giratina and Ho-Oh is appreciated. In addition, Ho-Oh checks Primal Groudon sets that would beat Dondozo, while Giratina provides Toxic support, allowing Dondozo to beat threats such as Primal Groudon and Arceus faster.

This is the sample set before we work on new analyses. This will be updated as the metagame continues to develop. Stay tuned!

With Unaware, Dondozo becomes an effective and difficult to break Curse user. Fissure: Even with Curse being the point of this set, Dondozo can still effectively fish for OHKOs with Fissure when it's not in a favorable set-up position. Avalanche: Many foes will Terrastallize into a Flying-type to avoid an expected Fissure, which makes Avalanche a particularly useful coverage move. Earthquake: Earthquake helps against Magnezone and common users of Tera Electric such as Baxcalibur. Tera Types Tera Dependency - Low: Water is an excellent defensive typing, so Dondozo won't need to Terastallize often. Grass: With a Grass Tera Type, Dondozo can effectively set up on Breloom and Brute Bonnet. Fairy: The Dragon immunity that Tera Fairy provides makes setting up on powerful foes like Choice Band Dragapult and Roaring Moon much easier. Flying: If using Fissure, Tera Flying is a good choice for potentially beating other Dondozo.

With immense bulk, Yawn, and Unaware, Dondozo is not only an impressive defensive Pokemon but also one of the most dangerous OHKO fishers in the game. Avalanche versus Wave Crash: Avalanche deals more consistent damage against Dragon-types like Dragonite, which often forces Terastallization and makes it vulnerable to Fissure. If a Water-type STAB attack is desired instead, Wave Crash is the preferred option over Liquidation in most cases, purely for the damage output. Protect: Not only is Protect useful for scouting for unexpected Tera types, but it also pairs well with Yawn and Leftovers to give Dondozo more longevity. Rest and Sleep Talk: When using Rocky Helmet, these two moves are an alternative way to keep Dondozo healthy. It also makes it much easier for Dondozo to deal with debilitating status conditions. Earthquake: Earthquake has good offensive synergy with Avalanche and punishes some Tera Electric Pokemon that may attempt to mess with Dondozo, such as Chien-Pao. EV Spread: This spread maximizes Dondozo's stopping power against physical threats and helps against powerful Tera users, with the ability to avoid a 2HKO from Adamant Chien-Pao's Tera Blast Electric with Leftovers and Protect. Other Options Curse: Curse can be used to get around Substitute users like Punching Glove Urshifu-R, increasing Dondozo's already incredible bulk and gaining enough power to knock out Substitute in one attack. Tera Types Tera Dependency - Low / Medium: Dondozo's defensive typing is fantastic, so Terastallization is usually only needed against the metagame's most fearsome wallbreakers. Fairy: A Fairy Tera type lets Dondozo take on powerful Dark- and Dragon-type attacks much more easily, and it's just a good defensive typing in general. Choice Band Koraidon's Outrage is one of the biggest targets, but blocking Scale Shot is also good for forcing Rocky Helmet contact damage. Fire: A Fire Tera type throws a wrench in the plans of Tera Electric attackers like Zacian-C and Chien-Pao while still resisting their best STAB attacks. It also makes dealing with Ogerpon-H much easier. Alternate EV Spread 252 HP / 196 Def / 60 SpD with Impish: By shifting some investment into special bulk, Dondozo can guarantee that it avoids an OHKO from Tera Fairy Moonblast coming from Timid Choice Specs Flutter Mane.

Dondozo's good power and bulk lend it nicely to an Assault Vest set, and is particularly good at punishing otherwise troublesome special attackers such as Flutter Mane and Chi-Yu Avalanche: Avalanche punishes Flying- and Dragon-types with super effective coverage. Body Press: This is valuable Fighting-type coverage for most foes that would otherwise be a good switch in to Dondozo, such as Meowscarada, Wo-Chien, Magnezone, Kingambit, and Brute Bonnet. Fissure: Fissure allows Dondozo to potentially cheese its way through something that might otherwise wall it. Heavy Slam: Dondozo is heavy enough to deal serious damage to Fairy-types such as Mimikyu and Flutter Mane. Just note that Chien-Pao is shockingly heavy, so Body Press or Wave Crash is preferred against that threat. Earthquake: Earthquake offers more reliable Ground-type coverage at the cost of not being an instant KO like Fissure. Tera Types Tera Dependency - Low: While Terastallization will help against some specific checks to Dondozo, it's typing is great for general purposes. Grass: Tera Grass removes Dondozo’s usual set of weaknesses and allows it to absorb spore from the likes of Amoonguss, Breloom, and Brute Bonnet. Fairy: Tera Fairy grants Dondozo a new set of resistances to take advantage of with its phenomenal bulk and also grants it a powerful STAB to hit Dragon- and Fighting-types with if it runs Tera Blast. Steel: When paired with Heavy Slam, Dondozo can now 2HKO Iron Bundle without Stealth Rock support, in addition to gaining a fantastic defensive typing. Ground: Terastallizing into a Ground-type allows Dondozo to block the Electric-type attacks commonly aimed at it while also giving it STAB on Earthquake. Dragon: Tera Dragon gives Dondozo a resistance to both Electric- and Water-type attacks, allowing it to stand up to Rotom-W much better. EV Spreads 44 HP / 212 Atk / 252 SpD with Careful: This EV spread avoids a 2HKO from Choice Specs Chi-Yu's Dark Pulse. 252 Atk / 252 SpD / 4 Spe with Adamant: This more offensive spread makes sense if you have better options for Chi-Yu.