[SET]
name: Stealth Rock Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Rapid Spin
move 4: Rock Tomb
item: Focus Sash
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Lead Excadrill serves as an important member on hyper offense teams to set up Stealth Rock, as well as keep opposing entry hazards off the field for Pokemon like Volcarona and Gyarados. Adding onto the fact that there are not many Electric-type immunities featured on hyper offense, Excadrill's inclusion is all the more important. However, even with this advantage, it still finds itself outclassed by Mew and Landorus-T due to it being unable to prevent Pokemon like Corviknight and Tapu Fini from using Defog and it not having a good defensive typing like the other two do. Setting up Stealth Rock is Excadrill's main role, and when paired with Mold Breaker, it can even set up Stealth Rock against Magic Bounce users like Mega Diancie and Mega Sableye. Mold Breaker also lets Excadrill's Earthquake hit Levitate users like Hydreigon, Rotom-W, and Mega Latias, letting Excadrill not be complete setup fodder against them. Rapid Spin defines Excadrill's niche over other entry hazard leads like Landorus-T and Mew, letting it keep hazards off the field before it gets KOed. Rock Tomb can slow down faster Stealth Rock users like Garchomp and Landorus-T so that Excadrill can use Rapid Spin before they KO it. It can also slow down setup Pokemon that might try to take advantage of Excadrill like Mega Gyarados and Thundurus-T. Focus Sash is chosen as the item so that Excadrill is usually able to get up Stealth Rock before getting KOed.
Lead Excadrill exclusively fits on hyper offense teams and, as such, has teammates that are commonly found there. Pokemon that appreciate Excadrill's ability to keep entry hazards off the field such as Gyarados and non-Heavy-Duty Boots variants of Volcarona, Weavile, and Thundurus-T serve as great teammates to pair with it. Excadrill can also function on Sticky Web teams to provide Stealth Rock when the Sticky Web setter is Ribombee while also giving the team a form of entry hazard removal, which Shuckle cannot do. Additionally, due to the nature of hyper offense being rather slow at first, Tapu Koko is especially threatening to the archetype, making Excadrill an important teammate because it resists or is immune to both of Tapu Koko's STAB moves. Pokemon like Weavile and Greninja who have multi-hit moves are also invited in by Excadrill, so it appreciates partners like Mega Gyarados, Mega Scizor, and Kommo-o that can pivot into these Pokemon.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Steel Beam may seem like a nice option over Rock Tomb to perform more as a suicide lead, but due to it needing Excadrill to be at a lower HP to effectively work, it is rather undesirable, and it still struggles to keep Stealth Rock up versus Corviknight. Toxic is another option that can cripple bulky switch-ins like Tangrowth and Zapdos, but both it and Steel Beam come at the cost of losing Rock Tomb, which opens up a lot of faster Pokemon to be less threatened by Excadrill.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Exploiting Focus Sash**: Fake Out users like Mega Medicham and Mega Lopunny are able to break Excadrill's Focus Sash without Excadrill being able to do anything and can immediately OHKO it in the following turn. Water Shuriken from Greninja can be troublesome, as it lets Greninja transform into Ash-Greninja and it denies Stealth Rock, provided it gets enough hits. On a similar note, Weavile's Triple Axel bypasses Focus Sash and KOes Excadrill before it can do anything.
**Grass-types**: Amoonguss, Tangrowth, and Ferrothorn are not bothered by Excadrill and can wear it down. Ferrothorn, in particular, can use it as an opportunity to set-up Spikes, as Rapid Spin will eventually falter due to Iron Barbs. Offensive Grass-types like Kartana and Rillaboom can use Excadrill as setup fodder, although Rock Tomb can foil Kartana's sweeping attempts.
**Flying-types**: Corviknight, Skarmory, and Gliscor don't fear anything from Excadrill. Corviknight, in particular, has the ability Pressure, and can PP stall Excadrill's Stealth Rock. Meanwhile, Skarmory and Gliscor can use Excadrill as setup fodder to boost with Iron Defense and Swords Dance, respectively. Skarmory can also set up Spikes while wearing down Excadrill with its Rocky Helmet.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Kaede, 483087]]
- Quality checked by: [[adem, 529732], [The Dragon Master, 521275]]
- Grammar checked by: [[dex, 277988]]
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