Pokémon Sword & Shield Surprise Trade Week 31: Silicobra

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Meta375

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Published on August 8, 2020 9:00:16 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7ST7N1HKGY

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Pokémon Sword and Shield (2019)

Duration: 20:28

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6

For this week's Surprise Trade, and the first that I will be trading Pokémon that can Gigantamax when evolved since before the Isle of Armor update. That Pokémon is Silicobra, a Ground-type Pokémon introduced in this game, and it has a special Ability called Sand Spit, which can summon a sandstorm if Silicobra is hit by a move.
Like with previous Surprise Trades, I breed for 31 IVs in at least 4 or 5 stats, but in rare cases, I can end up getting one with flawless IVs, because I have a 6 IV French Shiny Ditto, which normally I don't keep Shiny Pokémon obtained through Surprise Trade, as they are most likely hacked, but I couldn't bring myself to release it, because 6 IV Ditto is the most valuable Pokémon ever, and with that, this will allow an easier time to breed for competitive IVs on male exclusive Pokémon or Genderless Pokémon, and with a foreign Pokémon, there is a trick called the Masuda Method where the odds of hatching Shiny Pokémon are increased.
Back to Silicobra, these ones have a Careful Nature, Adamant can work too, as its evolved form Sandaconda can be used as an attacker or a defensive wall. For Egg Moves, I went with Dragon Rush, Poison Tail, Mud-Slap, and Last Resort, it can get Belch as well, but I felt it wasn't necessary on Silicobra. I will list the parents from the Field and Dragon Egg Groups that can learn those moves.
Belch: Stunky, Skuntank, Skwovet, Greedent
Dragon Rush: Dunsparce, Vibrava, Flygon, Deino, Zweilous, Hydreigon, Flapple, Drakloak, Dragapult
Last Resort: Eevee, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon, Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, Glaceon, Lillipup, Herdier, Stoutland, Minccino, Cinccino, Sylveon, Dubwool, Drakloak, Dragapult
Mud-Slap: Diglett, A-Diglett, Dugtrio, A-Dugtrio, Dunsparce, Swinub, Piloswine, Trapinch, Vibrava, Flygon, Mamoswine, Drilbur, Excadrill, Bunnelby, Diggersby, Helioptile, Heliolisk, Mudbray, Mudsdale
Poison Tail: Skrelp, Dragalge, Goodra

While some of these moves are nice, they are not commonly used on Silicobra or its evolved form Sandaconda, so the best you can do is pass these moves on through breeding. Some of these Silicobra have Shed Skin, this is good on some Sandaconda sets that use Rest and Coil.
Then for Silicobra's level up moves, it can get Wrap as a starting move, and for level up moves, it can learn Brutal Swing, Bulldoze, Headbutt, Glare, Dig, Sandstorm, Coil, and Sand Tomb, and when evolved into Sandaconda, it can relearn Skull Bash.
For TM and TR moves, starting with TMs, it can learn Screech, Rest, Rock Slide, Rock Blast, Rock Tomb, Fire Fang, Mud Shot, and a few others, and for TRs, it can get Earthquake, Stone Edge, Iron Defense, Outrage, Zen Headbutt, Iron Head, Drill Run, High Horsepower, Stealth Rock, Body Press, and a few other moves.
Then to go over Sandaconda in the competitive scene, or online battles, its Hidden Ability of Sand Veil should never be taken over Sand Spit or Shed Skin. Sand Spit is nice for sandstorm-themed teams that use Sand Rush Excadrill, although I find that Hippowdon and Tyranitar are better options, as they have Sand Stream, and to activate sandstorm through Sand Spit, Sandaconda has to be hit by a move. Glare is a noteworthy move for it, and it can use Coil to boost its Attack, Defense, and Accuracy to ensure it can hit with inaccurate moves like Stone Edge, while Earthquake can fill in for its main move. Iron Defense and Body Press is a good combo on a defensive Pokémon like Sandaconda, and it can set up Stealth Rock. Sandaconda is one of few Pokémon that can Gigantamax, its Ground-type moves become G-Max Sandblast, which will trap Pokémon for 4 to 5 turns, so it will have the effect of Sand Tomb on the opponent's side.
In Double Battles, Sandaconda's G-Max Sandblast can trap both targets, this can be great if it has a teammate with Perish Song, like Lapras, Gengar, or Politoed, or if it has Cursola as a teammate, which has Perish Body for the Ability. For its moves, High Horsepower and Rock Slide are preferred, while Glare fills in for one of its main attacks, and some Sandaconda sets have used Attract, I have checked Pikalytics on what the most common moves for it are, and I am surprised to see Attract being one of them. Sandaconda is a good user of the Binding Band, specially for its Gigantamax form to make sure the effects of Sand Tomb deal 1/6 of the target's HP instead of 1/8. It can use the new Bug-type Tutor move Skitter Smack to drop the target's Special Attack, and that can be good on Sandaconda, which has good Physical Defense, and Careful is a popular nature so it can take Special hits better. Coil does see use in Double Battles so that it can get good Accuracy with Rock Slide and High Horsepower. While it does face competition with Hippowdon as a Ground-type, Sandaconda is a Pokémon with a unique Ability that sets it apart.

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