Welcome to the land of the dead.And nerdy.
More the latter than the former.
LET ME TALK ABOUT DURANT SOME MORE.
Durant (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Hustle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Iron Head
- Superpower
- Crunch
- Hone Claws
With this build, Durant has an Attack stat of 618 as soon as she hits the field. After one Hone Claws to correct the accuracy drop, her attack becomes 927. She’s already very fast, with a Speed stat on par with Infernape. And now with Superpower, there isn’t a Pokemon in the game Durant can’t hit for at least neutral damage, and right away take a huge bite out of their health.
Superpower suddenly turns Durant from an underused danger to a serious threat, and I can’t wait to start abusing her.
Durant gets Superpower as a Tutor move in BW2.
Fuck yes.
Now that the tiers are feeling more stable, I’m gonna start branching out more!
I’ve been working on an RU/NU team lately, but there has been a lot of switching in and out. I like these three as the core though, they’ve been a lot of fun!
Just running some numbers on a whim; put together a Durant set.
Durant @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Hustle
6 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spd
Jolly/Adamant nature (+Spd/Atk, -SAtk)
- Iron Head
- X-Scissor
- Crunch
- Rock Smash
I don’t like using Rock Smash either, but it’s either that or Thunder Fang, and opting for Thunder Fang means Durant can’t do a damn thing against Magnezone or Steelix, the former of which is a big problem with Magnet Pull. At any rate…
There are a lot of variables you could tamper with here, but with Hustle and a Choice Scarf, Durant becomes a living bullet. One of its stats will hit 522, depending on which nature you pick (I would probably go with Adamant myself, since there are only so many reasons you could need to be that damn fast). The only downside is the accuracy of all these moves goes down to just 80% thanks to Hustle, which can be a big deal in a difficult situation.
I should probably find a spot on my team for this thing, or else this crush I have on it will just come off as weird.
I don’t think Durant gets the appreciation it deserves.
Gen 5 did a lot of good things for the Bug-type; not a single one of the new Bugs introduced is completely useless, which is a big deal compared to previous generations where Bug was almost wholly a throw-away type. But now not only do we have a legendary in the form of Genesect, we have a very unique pseudo-legendary in the form of Volcarona, and both of these Pokemon are major threats and difficult to fight against.
And then we have Durant, the third member of the Steel/Bug Club, joining Scizor and Forretress along with her fellow rookie Genesect. Durant might be the bottom of the pile, but that’s like being the diamond with the least amount of sparkle. Durant has a powerful stat spread; Speed that just beats out Infernape, placing her in her own unique Speed bracket. Her Attack and Defense are nothing spectacular, but still very good. Though she is let down by her pitifully low HP and Special Defense.
Further, her movepool isn’t terribly deep, but she can do a few things reliably; Durant makes good use of a Choice Band or Scarf, and has the ability to augment her stats with useful moves like Hone Claws or Agility. Baton Pass is available via breeding, and allows her to provide further support for her team. Swarm and Hustle are two above-average abilities, certainly not the worst thing she could’ve been given. Her biggest problem is her movepool doesn’t allow her to hit other Steel-types; her best option is Rock Smash, which isn’t much of an option at all unless you’re trying to play a waiting game.
In short, while Durant is far from the best Bug-type, she’s also far from the worst, and has a lot of potential in the UnderUsed tier once Gen V’s metagame is more stable.
(A small sidenote, Scizor is still the shiniest diamond in their exclusive little club.)
P.S.: Durant is also the name of a town here in Texas, which I will always find funny.