Pokémon Battle Team Setup: Protect and Sweep

We are back this month with another Pokémon battle team. This one wasn’t the team I was trying to find, but it is fun nonetheless. This team brought to you by a Japanese player Mosgis was able to reach the number 1 spot on the Master Ball Tier. I usually write about double battles-based teams, but today we are doing a singles team instead. Today I bring to you a Durant-based Pokémon team that I have named Protect and Sweep.

Team Characteristics

The Pokémon singles battle team I call Protect and Sweep is mostly based around Durant. Durant is a Bug/Steel type that isn’t shown much love really. When this team got really popular there were counters for it, but it can be viable again potentially. You want to lead with Grimmsnarl so you can set up Reflect and Light Screen on the first 2 turns. You will want to switch out after setting up when you can to Durant to Dynamax and sweep the other team. Durant is going to be your ace in the hole, so utilize him when you can.

Ditto allows you to copy opposing Pokémon and is particularly good at taking Tyranitar and Togekiss out. You can see those 2 Pokémon lot which makes Ditto good. Hydreigon is good at weathering dynamaxed Pokémon and surviving. Mimikyu is a good damage dealer while being able to survive with the disguise ability. Lastly, Snorlax can be used in a variety of situations thanks to Thick Fat and is a useful target to Dynamax as well.

Grimmsnarl

First starting off this singles team is the Dark/Fairy-type Pokémon Grimmsnarl. For this party, Grimmsnarl is an excellent support Pokémon to set up Reflect and Light Screen and can even paralyze foes. Grimmsnarl is a male with the Prankster ability which allows priority to status moves. A very useful ability for this strategy. He is holding Light Clay which makes protective moves like Reflect and Light Screen effective longer. See where we are going here? Important stats are Hit Points and Attack for this Pokémon.

The moves that Grimmsnarl has are Spirit Break, Thunder Wave, Light Screen, and Reflect. Spirit Break is the only attacking move here and has a chance to lower the target’s Special Attack. Thunder Wave paralyzes that Pokémon it hits when successful. Light Screen is a protective move that reduces damage from special attacks for 5 turns. Then Reflect is a protective move that reduces damage from physical attacks for 5 turns. Grimmsnarl is weak to Poison, Steel, and Fairy-type Pokémon.

Durant

The second Pokémon we have and our ace in the hole is the Bug/Steel-type Durant. He is a male and has the Pokémon ability of Hustle. Hustle boosts the Attack stat, but lowers accuracy. Dynamaxing him is the best because its moves while dynamaxed has perfect accuracy. He is holding the Life Orb which boosts the power of moves. It only costs some Hit Points on each hit. Durant has all the tools with these to potentially sweep, we just gotta be smart. Important stats for him are Speed and Attack.

Our moves for Durant are Iron Head, Super Power, Thunder Fang, and Stone Edge. Iron Head is a strong steel move that may cause that target to flinch. Super Power is a super strong fighting move but lowers the user’s Attack and Defense stat. Thunder Fang is an attack that can cause the target to flinch or leave them paralyzed. The final move is Stone Edge which is a strong attack and allows critical hits to land more easily. Durant should have no problem catching some people off guard. He is extremely weak to fire-type Pokémon.

Hydreigon

Next up, we have the Dark/Dragon-type, Hydreigon. Now, we have a female Pokémon with the ability of Levitate. This ability grants the Pokémon full immunity to all Ground-type moves. Hydreigon is holding a Salac Berry which will increase the Speed stat if she’s in a pinch. It’s nice to bring her out after a Grimmsnarl Thunder Wave sometimes. With a great timing of substitute, it can help waste opponents Dynamaxed Pokémon. The important stats we have here are Special Attack, Speed, and Hit Points.

Pokémon moves that Hydreigon uses are Dark Pulse, Substitute, Nasty Plot, and Flash Cannon. Dark Pulse is a dark-type move that may cause the target to flinch. Substitute allows the user to create a substitute of itself using some of its Hit Points. This will serve as a temporary decoy. Nasty Plot is a stat boost move that will raise the user’s Special Attack immensely. Lastly, Flash Cannon is a steel-type move that lowers the targets Special Defense stat. Hydreigon is weak to Ice, Fighting, Bug, and Dragon-type Pokémon. She is weak to Fairy-type moves.

Ditto

Our fourth Pokémon is the very unique Normal-type Ditto. Ditto is genderless and pretty much has no identity till it transforms into a Pokémon. Ditto is holding Focus Sash which if he is at full health will allow him to survive a one-hit KO. The item only has one use though for the battle. Ditto’s ability is Imposter and allows him to transform into the Pokémon he’s facing. The only notable stat that we have here is our Hit Points.

Unlike other Pokémon, Ditto only has 1 move and that is Transform. Transform allows Ditto to transform into the target and become a copy of the Pokémon. From appearance all the way down to the same move set of that Pokémon. This is really good for copying Pokémon who have their Weakness Policy active for the increased stats. He is very useful, especially against Tyranitar and Togekiss, because they get used a lot. Ditto is weak to Fighting-type Pokémon.

Mimikyu

Now we have the interesting Pokémon that kind of looks like Pikachu known as Mimikyu. Mimikyu is a Ghost/Fairy-type Pokémon and we have this one as a male for our team. He has the Disguise ability which is a shroud that protects it from an attack. We are holding an Expert Belt to utilize the fact it boosts super effective moves. Mimikyu can be a useful asset to the team but isn’t one of the main ones I have used. Speed and Attack are the most important stats here.

Mimikyu should learn the following moves: Shadow Claw, Shadow Sneak, Play Rough, and Swords Dance. Shadow Claw is a Ghost-type move that allows critical hits to land more easily. Shadow Sneak is a lower power Ghost move but always goes first. Play Rough is an attacking move that may lower the target’s Attack stat. Swords Dance is a stat-increasing move that drastically raises the user’s Attack stat, Mimikyu is weak to Ghost and Fairy-type Pokémon.

Snorlax

Our last Pokémon is the big and fluffy Normal-type Snorlax. Snorlax here is a male that has the Thick Fat ability which halves damage taken from Fire and Ice-type moves. He is also holding a Figy Berry which will restore some Hit Points in a pinch. If the user doesn’t like the taste they will become confused. Snorlax tends to be useful in a wide variety of situations thanks to his ability and can be dynamaxed if needed. The best stats here are Hit Points, Special Defense, and Defense.

The moves this Pokémon requires are Body Slam, Heavy Slam, Curse, and Fire Punch. Body Slam is an attack that can leave the target with paralysis. Heavy Slam is a Steel-type move that deals more damage based on how much the user outweighs the target. Curse is a move that is different depending if the user is a Ghost Pokémon or not. The move lowers Snorlax’s Speed but raises Attack and Defense. Fire Punch is a decent attacking move that can leave the target with a burn. Snorlax is weak to Fighting-type Pokémon.

Wrap-Up

Durant and Grimmsnarl are the 2 important Pokémon for this team. Unlike when you play in Doubles and get to pick 4 Pokémon, in singles you only get to pick 3. So you pick your third based on what you wanna do for that match. Look at their team and decide what is gonna be most useful. This was a really fun team to play with and I am a fan of Durant for sure. Next month we will be back with another Doubles Battle team, so if there is a team you wanna see and have a rental code for let me know in the comments or on Twitter.