Sandslash, the Mouse Pokémon. It is adept at attacking with the spines on its back and its sharp claws while quickly scurrying about. The spikes on its body are made up of its hardened hide. It rolls up and attacks foes with its spikes.
Overview
Sandslash could be considered the epitome of the standard Ground type Pokémon, having many of the same traits that are common and valued among Ground types. Good Defense along with valuable resistance to Rock and immunity to Electric give Sandslash plenty of hit taking ability, able to pivot in on strong physical or Electric attacks. Sandslash uses this hit taking ability to great effect, with good Attack alongside the amazing Earthquake and Rock coverage to hit just about everything hard. Add access to hazard setting in Spikes and Stealth Rock as well as hazard control in Rapid Spin and Sandslash’s utility just skyrockets. Physical offense, physical defense and hazard control all in one team slot is an incredible amount of role compression and would allow Sandslash to fit onto many teams.
However, Sandslash has crippling flaws that keep it out of consideration. 55 Special Defense is pathetic, and pure Ground typing adds a lot of specially oriented weaknesses in Water, Grass and Ice, making Sandslash rather easy to remove on its weaker defense. Add in a paltry base 65 Speed and it becomes much easier to eliminate Sandslash with the numerous naturally faster Special Attackers. While Sandslash can overcome this flaw with either Sand Rush or Rapid Spin, it leads to the most damaging flaw of all; Sandslash simply finds itself outclassed by other Ground types. Most Ground types share many of Sandslash’s strengths, often to greater extents than Sandslash itself and boast secondary typings that greatly expand their defensive and offensive profiles. Excadrill is especially troubling, between its greater Speed, Attack and Steel typing while possessing the same Sand Rush and Rapid Spin has it outclass Sandslash at just about every turn. Even discounting Excadrill, other Ground types like Donphan, Hippowdon, Swampert, Gliscor, and Muddsdale all fulfill similar niches to Sandslash to greater degrees. While Sandslash is emblematic of Ground’s many strengths and weaknesses, its limited ability to stand out from the crowd hurts it more often than not.
Positives
Base 110 Defense is good, allowing Sandslash to absorb a physical blow or two.
Base 100 Attack plus Earthquake ensures that even without Swords Dance, Sandslash hits hard.
Decent coverage in Stone Edge, Gunk Shot and Leech Life allows Sandslash to cover for Ground resists and immunitiesv
Offers fantastic role compression with Knock Off, Rapid Spin and access to two entry hazards in Spikes and Stealth Rocks.
Negatives
Horrid Special Defense and commonly Special weaknesses leave it simple to take Sandslash down with Special Attacks.
No reliable recovery hurts potential as a physical wall.
Base 65 Speed means that bar Rapid Spin or Sand Rush boosts Sandslash is getting hit before acting.
Movesets
Sand Sword Shrew
-Swords Dance
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Rapid Spin
Ability: Sand Rush
Item: Heavy-Duty Boots
EVs and Nature:
252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Swords Dance Sandslash can act as a poor man's Excadrill, being a weather sweeper and defensive utility all in one set. Swords Dance pushes Sandslash's power to respectable levels, allowing it to ravage everything in its path. Earthquake is the primary STAB and a very good one, with its high base power allowing Sandslash to deal considerable damage unboosted, let alone after a Swords Dance. Stone Edge compliments Earthquake nicely hitting Ground resistant Bug and immune Flying types, leaving very little that resists both. Rapid Spin is great utility, removing hazards from your side of the field while not disrupting the hazards on the opponent's side unlike Defog. Rapid Spin can also be used in a pinch if Sandslash is out of the Sand for a vital Speed boost, allowing Sandslash to act as a Double Dance sweeper while still boasting the utility of Rapid Spin.
Tera Types:
Sandslash often finds itself wanting for resistances with its relatively common Water, Grass and Ice weaknesses doing it no favors. Tera Steel is a good option, granting resistances to Grass and Ice while maintaining Sandslash's immunity to Sandstorm damage. Other defensive Tera types are more flawed, sharing a base weakness with Ground. Tera Fire maintains the weakness to Water but protects against Burns on top of resisting Grass and Ice as well. Tera Water grants resistances to Water and Ice but is best paired when Sandslash has anti-Grass coverage like Gunk Shot or Leech Life. Tera Dragon wards against Water and Grass types and in theory Sandslash can threaten most Ice types with Stone Edge, though many Ice users are Water types themselves. Offensive Tera types can also be considered for closing a game out quicker. Tera Ground synergizes incredibly with Earthquake, dealing obscene damage especially after a Swords Dance boost. Even without a Swords Dance boost, Tera Ground Sandslash can OHKO neutral targets like Espeon, Tatsugiri, and Inteleon. With Swords Dance, Tera Ground Sandslash can KO targets as bulky as Spiritomb, Farigiraf, and Dudunsparce./p>
EVs and Items:
As with many sweepers, max Speed and Attack EV investment is recommended for Sandslash to hit as hard as possible and outspeed as many targets as possible. Jolly is recommended for the times Sandslash isn't in Sand, allowing it to outrun neutral Toxtricity, as well as outrun up to base 120s, including targets like Cinncino, Raikou and Inteleon. With Adamant, Sandslash falls just short of base 108s like Infernape at +1. However, if one is able to reliably guarantee Sand, then Adamant is more justifiable as even Adamant Sand Rush Sandslash outruns Hisuian Electrode and the boost from Adamant does a lot in helping secure knockouts. Heavy-Duty Boots is recommended as the item if running Rapid Spin, allowing Sandslash to play support before going on the offense. Otherwise, Life Orb is good for the general power boost it provides which Sandslash badly needs.
Partners:
Given how powerful Sand setters are with Sand Rush, Sandaconda, Hippowdon and Tyranitar make for natural enablers of Sandslash for many of the same reasons they work well with Excadrill, especially as Sandstorm chip does a lot to push foes into knock out range. However, the shared weaknesses is a pain point, that one must have solid answers to Water, Grass and Ice moves if going down this route.
Given Sandslash lacks native answers to Water types (bar STAB Earthquake) and can struggle to fit in the coverage for Grass types, answers to both are ideal. Ironically other Grass types can work well in this role, able to soak Grass and Water attacks sent Sandslash's way. In turn Sandslash deals with the Fire and Steel types that often give Grass types a lot of trouble. Whimsicott is especially emblematic of that, its Fairy STAB great against Fairy weak Grasses like Cacturne, Brute Bonnet, Virizion, and Appletun. Cacturne is also worth noting given its access to Water Absorb making it a reliable pivot into Water types and being an adept Spikes setter that helps Sandslash get knockouts. If running a Sand setter, Lilligant becomes potent thanks to its access to Weather Ball offering it direct coverage against Flying types that it struggles against. Lanturn can also work as an anti Water Pokémon, thanks to its resistance to Ice coverage and immunity to Water STAB with Water Absorb while threatening them directly with its own Electric STAB.
Other Options:
Knock Off is powerful disruption and damage in one package. Any Pokémon that gets Knock Off should consider it and Sandslash is no exception.
Gunk Shot is Sandslash's best option into the Grass types that resist its Earthquake, especially Whimsicott.
Leech Life is Sandslash's only recovery option, though the fact it doubles as Grass coverage is nice, giving offensive sets extra staying power.
Low Kick is Sandslash's best option into Orthworm, but otherwise doesn't hit anything that isn't covered by Earthquake.
Spin to Win
-Rapid Spin
-Spikes
-Knock Off
-Earthquake
Ability: Sand Rush
Item: Leftovers
EVs and Nature:
252 HP /252 Def /4 SDef
Impish Nature
Utility Sandslash trades in power for the ability to dictate the pace of the battle. Rapid Spin and Spikes make up a potent package of hazard control. Rapid Spin wipes away entry hazards on Sandslash’s side of the field, preserving Sandslash’s own progress while warding its teammates. Spikes helps Sandslash pressure the opposing team with residual damage, punishing them for repositioning, an act that Sandslash easily provokes with its great physical bulk. Knock Off synergizes with both moves wonderfully. Opposing hazard remover comes in to undo Sandslash’s work? Knock Off removes their Heavy-Duty Boots, making future switch-ins far more painful. Ghost type or Tera Ghost type comes in to block Rapid Spin? Now they are threatened by a big hit from Knock Off on top of losing their item. The power and utility of Knock Off can’t be denied and with all three moves together, it is a lose-lose-lose situation for the opponent. Earthquake ensures that Sandslash isn’t entirely passive and between STAB and its high base power does that job quite well.
Tera Types:
Sandslash often finds itself wanting for resistances with its relatively common Water, Grass and Ice weaknesses doing it no favors though most Tera types are flawed, sharing a base weakness with Ground. Tera Fire maintains the weakness to Water but protects against Burns on top of resisting Grass and Ice as well. Tera Water grants resistances to Water and Ice on top of being a solid defensive type with Sandslash’s Ground STAB making Electric types think twice about switching in. Tera Dragon wards against Water and Grass types though the shared Ice weakness is far from ideal. Tera Ghost also works well as an emergency shield against an opponent’s Rapid Spin to preserve Sandslash’s hard won hazards.
EVs and Items:
Max HP and Defense are recommended, to accentuate Sandslash’s role as a physical wall and improve its hit taking ability on that end of the spectrum. Item selection is where this gets interesting Leftovers gives Sandslash further staying power, providing badly needed passive recovery so it can clear hazards repeatedly. Heavy-Duty Boots is a strong alternative, protecting Sandslash from the hazards it is expected to clear. Rocky Helmet is a more offensive option that makes the most of Sandslash’s good physical bulk, allowing it to play offense while on defense and chipping opponents using physical attacks while pivoting in. Finally, Red Card can be used as a one-time answer against setup sweepers, forcing them out and wiping their boosts.
Partners:
Given Sandslash lacks native answers to Water types (bar STAB Earthquake) and can struggle to fit in the coverage for Grass types, answers to both are ideal. Ironically other Grass types can work well in this role, able to soak Grass and Water attacks sent Sandslash’s way. In turn Sandslash deals with the Fire and Steel types that often give Grass types a lot of trouble. Whimsicott is especially emblematic of that, its Fairy STAB great against Fairy weak Grasses like Cacturne, Brute Bonnet, Virizion, and Appletun. Lanturn can also work as an anti Water Pokémon, thanks to its resistance to Ice coverage and immunity to Water STAB with Water Absorb while threatening them directly with its own Electric STAB.
Given this set’s inability to directly answer Flying types outside the potential of Stealth Rocks and Knock Off, allies that can handle them are invaluable. Electric types stand out here, especially given their advantageous matchup into Water types as well. Magnezone does a lot, including trapping Orthworm looking to use Sandslash as setup fodder while comfortably tanking the Grass and Ice attacks thrown Sandslash’s way. Jolteon is a directly offensive option, loving the hazards Sandslash sets for getting knockouts.
Other Options:
Stealth Rocks is an alternative to Spikes, requiring far less setup.
Countering Sandslash
While Sandslash can be an utter nightmare both offensively and defensively, it is rarely both and is only impressive on the physical end of the spectrum.
Arboliva should be noted as a headache for any Sandslash thanks to its Seed Sower blunting Sandslash’s fearsome Earthquake and greatly cutting down on what offensive pressure Sandslash can provide.
For Swords Dance Sandslash, Orthworm is a brick wall. Barring the extremely rare Low Kick, Orthworm absorbs all Sandslash’s coverage with ease and can outrace Sandslash with Iron Defense. Levitate Weezing is also a hard wall, with Sandslash lacking direct coverage for it and can permanently cripple Sandslash with Will-O-Wisp. Max HP Max Defense Hisuian Decuideye fears nothing but Gunk Shot and can absorb a boosted Earthquake, while ruining hazard setting Sandslash with Defog though it does need Grass STAB to quickly threaten Sandslash back. Avalugg also boasts the bulk to avoid a OHKO from Earthquake and threatens back with Avalanche or can outboost with Iron Defense.
Sand Rush sets loathe having their weather taken away, as it does make them far easier to handle. While neither Ninetails can switch in safely, their high natural speed and access to super effective coverage makes them great at revenge killing Sandslash or forcing it out. This is not iron clad as Sandslash can make up the difference with Rapid Spin.
Support sets are more difficult to deal with as the combination of Hazards, Rapid Spin, and Knock Off all but ensures Sandslash can make progress. Ghost types for example would be great at blocking Rapid Spin, but take severe damage from Knock Off. Mismagius is perhaps the most troublesome natural Rapid Spin blocker for Sandslash, given its immunity to Ground with Levitate, while naturally outspeeding, but it can’t OHKO defensive sets without Energy Ball and an item boost. Brambleghast similarly absorbs Earthquake thanks to its Grass typing and Banded sets can OHKO with Power Whip, but falls into the same issue. Physically defensive Spiritomb may be the best answer; preying on the lower offenses of the utility sets and taking mere pittance from Knock Off and Earthquake while crippling with Will-O-Wisp.
Another method to limit support sets damage is to overwhelm them with offense or punish their lacking power and coverage. Virizion has little to fear from Knock Off or Earthquake and can use Sandslash as free setup fodder. Ground resists that don’t fear Knock Off are especially apt, with Abomasnow, Rotom-Mow, and Shaymin all freely switching into any of Sandslash’s moves and threatening it out. Flying and Levitate users like Articuno, Mesprit, Charizard, Vikavolt, all threaten considerable damage and freely switch into Earthquake though none of them like eating Knock Off and being exposed to Stealth Rocks.
Alolan Sandslash, the Mouse Pokémon. This Pokémon's steel spikes are sheathed in ice. Stabs from these spikes cause deep wounds and severe frostbite as well. A long, long time ago, it lived in the desert. With its sharp claws fully extended, it can run right up an iceberg without slipping.
Overview
Sandslash’s icy variant, Alolan Sandslash despite the vastly different typing manages to be very much the same. Not that is directly a bad thing. Alolan Sandslash’s combination of hazards, Rapid Spin and Knock Off is quite potent and Ice STAB fares even better in warding off opposing Flying types looking to Defog Alolan Sandslash’s hard work away. Utility is not the only way Alolan Sandslash mimics its Kantonian counterpart; it can also act as a potent weather sweeper being one of the three available Slush Rush users in the game. Slush Rush is arguably even more dangerous than Sand Rush given the sheer offensive prowess of the Ice typing as other speedy Ice types like Weavile and Chien-Pao have proven time and time again. Throw in Swords Dance to boost to terrifying levels and Earthquake to cover most of the holes in its STABs and Alolan Sandslash fares quite well. The Steel subtyping is quite a boon in either role, with the numerous resistances it provides along with the slightly increased defenses gives Alolan Sandsalsh respectable staying power, opening opportunities to setup.
Alolan Sandslash also suffers from many of the same curses as its Kantonian counterpart. While Base 65 Special Defense is better than Kantonian Sandslash’s, it is still rather pitiful and a notable achilles heel without extra investment. Poor Base 65 Speed barring Slush Rush or Rapid Spin also means that Alolan Sandslash is very reliant on its defenses to excel. Defenses that can’t hold up given Ice-Steel’s crippling quadruple weaknesses to Fire and Fighting alongside a common weakness to Ground. Even on the offense, Alolan Sandslash falls short. Base 100 Attack is only usable and requires boosting or type effectiveness to excel, the latter being a tall order given Alolan Sandslash’s lack of direct answers for the Water types that resist both STABs. Alolan Sandslash in the end is largely an old favorite given a fresh coat of paint yet held back by nostalgia all the same.
Positives
Base 120 Defense is good, allowing Alolan Sandslash to absorb a physical blow or two.
Base 100 Attack plus Ice STAB and Swords Dance makes Alolan Sandslash a competent attacker.
Offers fantastic role compression with Knock Off, Rapid Spin and access to two entry hazards in Spikes and Stealth Rocks.
Ice-Steel typing offers a litany of resistances, increasing Alolan Sandslash’s staying power.
Negatives
Ice-Steel typing also offers a horrendous four times weakness to Fire and Fighting, making it easy to remove Alolan Sandslash with such moves.
No reliable recovery hurts staying potention.
Base 65 Speed means that bar Rapid Spin or Sand Rush boosts Alolan Sandslash is getting hit before acting.
Movesets
Spin to Win
-Rapid Spin
-Spikes
-Knock Off
-Triple Axel
Ability: Slush Rush
Item: Leftovers
EVs and Nature:
252 HP /4 Def /252 SDef
Careful Nature
Utility Alolan Sandslash trades in power for the ability to dictate the pace of the battle. Rapid Spin and Spikes make up a potent package of hazard control. Rapid Spin wipes away entry hazards on Alolan Sandslash's side of the field, preserving Alolan Sandslash's own progress while warding its teammates. Spikes helps Alolan Sandslash pressure the opposing team with residual damage, punishing them for repositioning, an act that Alolan Sandslash easily provokes with its myriad of resistances. Knock Off synergizes with both moves wonderfully. Opposing hazard remover comes in to undo Alolan Sandslash's work? Knock Off removes their Heavy-Duty Boots, making future switch-ins far more painful. Ghost type or Tera Ghost type comes in to block Rapid Spin? Now they are threatened by a big hit from Knock Off on top of losing their item. The power and utility of Knock Off can't be denied and with all three moves together, it is a lose-lose-lose situation for the opponent. Triple Axel ensures that Alolan Sandslash isn't entirely passive and again synergizes with Spikes. The Flying types immune to it don't want to come in for fear of a brutal Ice attack and such Pokémon are commonly a team's Defog user further delaying hazard removal.
Tera Types:
While Ice-Steel offers a lot of resistances, the crippling weaknesses to Fire and Fighting often means that Alolan Sandslash will gravitate to Tera types that resist such weaknesses. Tera Water is a popular option given its general excellence as a defensive typing and providing Alolan Sandslash a vital Fire resist. Tera Ghost is more utilitarian, granting an immunity to Fighting and more importantly, blocking opposing Rapid Spin users. Tera Flying wards against both Ground and Fighting moves, giving Alolan Sandslash a great matchup against STAB users of the former in addition protecting against residual damage from Spikes.
EVs and Items:
Max HP and Special Defense investment are recommended. Alolan Sandslash's Defense is quite good, so patching up its Special Defense covers the cracks in its aegis. Some Speed investment can be useful in getting the jump on a few troublesome Pokémon. 52 Speed EVs outruns Sandaconda, bulky Houndstone and Wo-Chien, while 68 Speed EVs gets Alolan Sandslash ahead of bulky Malamar. Item choice is a bit more flexible. Leftovers offers persistent healing, great for keeping Alolan Sandslash around for longer, while Heavy-Duty Boots ensures Alolan Sandslash isn't ravaged by the entry hazards it is slated to remove. If willing to drop entry hazard support, Assault Vest goes a long way in patching up Alolan Sandslash's lesser defense, with the ability to fit more coverage on Alolan Sandslash in return.
Partners:
It is inevitable that Special Attackers are going to be sent Alolan Sandslash's way, so packing a special sponge or two to compliment Alolan Sandslash's physical wall can be the start of defensive core. Milotic is an excellent example, absorbing Fire attacks all day and threatening them and Ground types back with its own Water STAB. Goodra is another excellent special sponge, absorbing Fire attacks with ease and can handily dispatch opposing Water types that give Alolan Sandslash a lot of trouble. Alolan Sandslash in turn offers them valuable quadruple Grass and Ice resistances as well as a solid Fairy resistance, using their weaknesses as entry points.
Given Alolan Sandslash's onerous Fighting weakness, allies that can cover that aspect are invaluable as well. Espeon works as this and anti-Hazard support, taking pressure off Alolan Sandslash to keep hazards off the field. Galarian-Articuno on the other hand adores Alolan Sandslash's own anti-Hazard support and packs an invaluable Ground immunity as well. Both being swift attackers that benefit from Spikes chip is just icing on the proverbial cake.
Other Options:
Ice Spinner is a weaker, but far more reliable Ice STAB in comparison to Triple Axel.
Icicle Crash is in the middle of Ice STABs being slightly stronger than Ice Spinner, and slightly more reliable than Triple Axel, but not as much as both. It is notable that it is not contact, bypassing Houndstone's Fluffy and Coalossal's Flame Body.
Stealth Rocks is an alternative to Spikes, requiring far less setup.
Earthquake is popular for coverage, hitting the Fire and Steel types that normally wall Alolan Sandslash, though best fits on Assault Vest sets.
Super Fang is more utility, taking a page from the Treasures of Ruin and ripping out half a target's HP for easily cleanup later.
Snow Sword Shrew
-Swords Dance
-Triple Axel
-Earthquake
-Rapid Spin
Ability: Slush Rush
Item: Heavy-Duty Boots
EVs and Nature:
252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Swords Dance Alolan Sandslash can be a deadly cleaner, using its native Ice typing to wicked effect, on top of being a weather sweeper and defensive utility all in one set. Swords Dance pushes Alolan Sandslash’s power to respectable levels, allowing it to ravage everything in its path. Tripe Axel is absurdly good STAB, being an incredibly strong multi-hit attack that bypasses Focus Sash and Sturdy, though the imperfect accuracy can cause Alolan Sandslash days. Earthquake is here for coverage hitting the Steel and Fire types that normally resist both STABs. Ice STAB compliments Earthquake nicely, hitting the Flying and Grass types that would normally be called to tank such attacks. Rapid Spin is great utility, removing hazards from your side of the field while not disrupting the hazards on the opponent’s side unlike Defog. Rapid Spin can also be used in a pinch if Sandslash is out of the Sand for a vital Speed boost, allowing Sandslash to act as a Double Dance sweeper while still boasting the utility of Rapid Spin.
Tera Types:
Alolan Sandslash’s relation with its typing is a rocky one, loving the numerous resistances but loathing the dual quadruple weaknesses that all but necessitate it Terastalize in some instances. Tera Fire is a good option, granting a valuable Fire resistance and Burn immunity. Tera Ghost is great for the emergency Fighting immunity, preventing the likes of Breloom from picking Alolan Sandslash off as well as the added utility of blocking Rapid Spin attempts. Tera Ground funnily enough is a popular offensive option, allowing Alolan Sandslash to become a miniature Mamoswine with STAB Earthquakes to back up its already potent Ice STAB.
EVs and Items:
As with many sweepers, max Speed and Attack EV investment is recommended for Alolan Sandslash to hit as hard as possible and outspeed as many targets as possible. Jolly is recommended for the times Alolan Sandslash isn’t in Snow, allowing it to outrun neutral Toxtricity, as well as outrun up to base 120s, including targets like Cinncino, Raikou and Inteleon. With Adamant, Alolan Sandslash falls just short of base 108s like Infernape at +1. However, if one is able to reliably guarantee Snow, then Adamant is more justifiable as even Adamant Slush Rush Alolan Sandslash outruns Hisuian Electrode and the boost from Adamant does a lot in helping secure knockouts. Heavy-Duty Boots is recommended as the item if running Rapid Spin, allowing Alolan Sandslash to play support before going on the offense. Otherwise, Life Orb is good for the general power boost it provides which Alolan Sandslash badly needs.
Partners:
As this set is a weather sweeper through and through, passive Snow setters are invaluable to have Alolan Sandslash hit the ground running. Both Alolan Ninetales and Abomasnow make for excellent partners as a result, even facilitating Swords Dance setup with their access to Aurora Veil, making up for the lesser investment in defenses. Going even beyond that, their secondary STABs are great in handling Fighting and Water types respectively, that Alolan Sandslash naturally struggles with.
Other Options:
Ice Spinner is a weaker, but far more reliable Ice STAB in comparison to Triple Axel.
Icicle Crash is in the middle of Ice STABs being slightly stronger than Ice Spinner, and slightly more reliable than Triple Axel, but not as much as both. It is notable that it is not contact, bypassing Houndstone’s Fluffy and Coalossal’s Flame Body.
Knock Off is powerful disruption and damage in one package. Any Pokémon that gets Knock Off should consider it and Sandslash is no exception.
Iron Head is secondary STAB and good for thrashing Diancie, and Avalugg where Alolan Sandslash’s Ice STAB may fail.
Countering Alolan Sandslash
Alolan Sandslash’s poor Speed, lacking Special Defense and crippling weaknesses alongside flawed coverage build up to a package that can be quite easy to subvert. For offensive Slush Rush sets, Orthworm is as difficult to subvert as is its Kantonian counterpart. Bar the rare Low Kick, Orthworm comfortably tanks any boosted attack and threatens back immediately with a quad effective Body Press. While Fluffy Houndstone takes well over half from most Swords Dance boosted attacks, it is guaranteed to survive at least one and cripple with Will-O-Wisp if not one hit KO with Body Press. Ironically if in the Snow, Glastrier is merely 3HKO’d by anything except Low Kick and Iron head while dispatching Alolan Sandslash with Close Combat. Scarf Pawmot also outruns Slush Rush Alolan Sandslash and OHKOs with its own Fighting STAB. Zoroark deserves special mention, thanks to Illusion allowing it to act as an effective lure for Alolan Sandslash. Scarf Zoroark outspeeds even Slush Rush Alolan Sandslash, while able to land a decisive surprise OHKO with Flamethrower making defensive Teras to dodge a killing blow unlikely. Do note that Low Kick isn’t a guaranteed KO in the Snow however. Support sets are in theory easy to remove thanks to Alolan Sandslash’s crippling weaknesses, though it invariably carries a defensive Tera or pivot for such circumstances. Yet Alolan Sandslash’s passivity can be used against it. Bulk-Up Paldaen-Tauros breeds, Curse Snorlax, Bulk Up Poliwrath and more can all use Alolan Sandslash as setup fodder. If not running Earthquake, Magnet Pull Magnezone can trap Alolan Sandslash outright and dispatch it with little difficulty. If not concerned about Tera or Switching, just about any Fire or Fighting attacker will do provided they can outrun Alolan Sandslash.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Route 23, Cerulean Cave( Blue)
Cerulean Cave (Yellow)
Trade from Blue/Yellow (Red)
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Rock Route 26, Route 27, Mt. Moon (Gold)
Evolve Sandshrew (Silver)
Route 26, Victory Road (Crystal)
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Evolve Sandshrew
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Route 23, Victory Road (FireRed)
Trade from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald/FireRed (LeafGreen)
Colosseum/XD:
Evolve Sandshrew (XD)
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Evolve Cubone
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Route 228
Black/White:
Relic Castle
Black 2/White 2:
Route 15, Relic Castle
X/Y:
Route 18, Terminus Cave
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Evolve Sandshrew
Sun/Moon:
Evolve Sandshrew (Moon)
Trade from Moon/Ultra Moon (Sun)
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Evolve Sandshrew (Ultra Moon)
Trade from Moon/Ultra Moon (Ultra Sun)
Totem Size: Heahea City
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Evolve Sandshrew (Let's Go, Pikachu)
Trade from Let's Go, Pikachu/Pokémon GO (Let's Go, Eevee)
Sword/Shield:
Forest of Focus, Potbottom Desert
Max Raid Battles: Challenge Beach, Courageous Cavern, Potbottom Desert, Stepping-Stone Sea
Dynamax Adventures (Alolan Form)
Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl:
Grand Underground (Shining Pearl)
Legends: Arceus:
Not in game
Scarlet/Violet:
Kantonian: Kitakami Wilds, Oni Mountain, Paradise Barrens | Fixed: Paradise Barrens, Reveler's Road
Alolan: Evolve Sandshrew | Tera Raid Battles: 6 Star Raid Battles (Violet)
Anime Appearences
