Sandaconda, The Sand Snake Pokémon. When it contracts its body, over 220 pounds of sand sprays from its nose. If it ever runs out of sand, it becomes disheartened. Its unique style of coiling allows it to blast sand out of its sand sac more efficiently..

Overview

Sandaconda is one of the new Pokemon introduced in Generation 8. While its stats have nothing to stand out, Sandaconda possesses one of the most unique abilities in Gen 8: Sand Spit. After being attacked, Sandaconda will trigger an automatic Sandstorm which makes it a valuable asset for Sand teams to check on opposing weather teams as it can trigger its own weather even after being hit even by a Max move that is able to change the weather and due to Sand Spit's unique mechanics, the game only counts the turn after Sandaconda is attacked as the first turn of Sandstorm which makes it last longer than Sand Stream's automatic Sandstorm.

Sandaconda is also one of the Pokemons that gains access to a G-max Forme which allows it to trap opponents on a Sand Tomb for 4-5 turns.

However, while Sandaconda has a niche on setting up Sand, it is difficult to justify its slot on a team compared to Hippowdon who's arguably bulkier and can set up an automatic sandstorm, Gastrodon who packs an immunity to Water attacks or Mamoswine & Excadrill who are faster and stronger.
Positives
A respectable base Attack and Defense stat makes it very resilient from the physical side while strong enough to dish out respectable damage.
Sand Spit allows Sandaconda to set up a sandstorm when attacked, overriding the weather from effects of opposing Max moves like Max Hailstorm, Max Flare or Max Geyser which benefits Pokemon that rely on Sand like Excadrill. Since Sand Spit does not counts the turn in which its Sandstorm is not activated, it makes it last for more time.
Sandaconda gains access to decent utility moves like Stealth Rock and Glare to stop opposing sweepers like Gyarados, Mimikyu or Dragapult trying to take advantage of it.

Negatives
Its base HP is kinda low which makes it less bulky than Hippowdown who's a superior option due to its higher bulk, ability to recover its own HP and higher Attack.
It's lack of recovery hurts a lot for a Pokemon with decent bulk which makes it easy to wear down.
It's weak Special Defense means that any super-effective special attack will nail down Sandaconda quite easily. Pokemon like Rotom-Wash, Primarina or Roserade will easily destroy it.
Sandaconda is incredibly vulnerable to status ailments like burn or poison unless it is using Shed Skin.

Movesets

THERE'S A SNAKE ON MY BOOTS

- Glare
- Rock Tomb
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock / Fire Fang
Item Attached: Focus Sash / Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Spit
EVs and Nature:
6 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature

Glare allows Sandaconda to hinder Pokemon like Gyarados, Hydreigon or Mimikyu attempting to set-up against it, providing support for its teammates. Rock Tomb provides additional speed control while providing coverage against Pokemon like Rotom-Heat. Earthquake is Sandaconda's main STAB allowing to hit anything that does not resist it for decent damage and the last move will depend on what your team will benefit the most from: Stealth Rock allows it to set up hazards on the opposing side of the field while Fire Fang provides coverage against Ferrothorn preventing it from walling this set..

DYNAMAX:
Sandaconda does benefit from Dynamaxing, however, it prefers its regular Dynamax form over its Gigantomax due to the fact that Max Quake increases a Pokemon's Special Defense which benefits Sandaconda much more on the long run over the ability to trap an opponent since most of Sandaconda's switch-ins will be Flying types or Pokemon immune to Ground.

EV and Item Description:
Max Attack and Speed allows Sandaconda to provide excellent offensive presence while being able to outspeed Pokemon like Bisharp. If Jolly Bisharp is a concern, you can use a Jolly nature which also comes with the extra benefit of being able to outspeed a +2 Cloyster and Choice Scarf Hydreigon after a paralysis. A Focus Sash will allow Sandaconda to always survive a hit from full health which allows it to tank a move that would otherwise KO it and guarantee the activation of its sandstorm once triggered. Smooth Rock on the other hand, will allow Sandaconda's sandstorm to last for longer.

Partners

Ferrothorn: Thanks to its Water resistance, it can handle the Water types Sandaconda doesn't wants to face like Dracovish and Primarina while also providing Leech Seed utility and Spikes if needed.
Rotom-Wash: Its ability to threaten Corviknight and Water types like Gyarados makes it an excellent partner who can also benefit from the paralysis utility Sandaconda gives to its team in order to set up a sweep with Nasty Plot.
Excadrill: With Sand Spit triggering sandstorm, it only makes sense Excadrill is present on Sandaconda's side since it allows it to outspeed almost every foe thanks to Sand Rush.
Togekiss: Togekiss craves the paralysis support Sandaconda offers with Glare which allows it to exploit Serene Grace to the fullest of its ability with its signature Air Slash flinches. Sandaconda provides a useful resistance to Rock and an immunity to Electric while Togekiss threatens Grass types away.
Hydreigon: A reliable teammate who is able to set up thanks to the paralysis support Sandaconda can provide while being able to handle the Grass types Sandaconda hates to face.
Rotom-Cutter: It is a good teammate since it can threaten both Water and Flying types.

I'M FED UP OF THESE SNAKES ON THIS PLANE

- Coil
- Stone Edge / Body Press
- Earthquake
- Glare / Substitute
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs and Nature:
236 HP / 36 Atk / 84 Def / 4 SpD / 148 Spe
Adamant Nature

Coil allows Sandaconda to increase its Attack, Defense and accuracy stats making it a threatening late-game sweeper most opponents will not expect. Thanks to the accuracy boost from Coil, Stone Edge becomes the most reliable coverage move Sandaconda gains access to, hitting Gyarados and Togekiss for super-effective coverage while preventing Corviknight from walling it. Body Press is also an option that becomes stronger thanks to Coil's defense boost allowing it to 2HKO Ferrothorn at +1 while gaining coverage against Hydreigon. Earthquake is once again, the most reliable STAB Sandaconda gets. Finally, Sandaconda massively benefits from paralysis not only because of the utility it can provide for other teammates but because it also opens up opportunities to set up against paralyzed foes.

DYNAMAX:
Sandaconda does benefit from Dynamaxing, however, it prefers its regular Dynamax form over its Gigantomax due to the fact that Max Quake increases a Pokemon's Special Defense which benefits Sandaconda much more on the long run over the ability to trap an opponent since most of Sandaconda's switch-ins will be Flying types or Pokemon immune to Ground.

EV and Item Description:
236 HP and 84 Def EVs allows Sandaconda to survive two Earthquakes from unboosted Adamant Excadrill and a +2 Play Rough from Adamant Mimikyu while maximizing Leftover's recovery. 148 Spe EVs allows Sandaconda to outrun a +1 Gyarados after paralysis and smack it with Stone Edge. 36 Atk EVs provides a small chunk of power while the rest goes in Special Defense.

Partners

Ferrothorn: Thanks to its Water resistance, it can handle the Water types Sandaconda doesn't wants to face like Dracovish and Primarina while also providing Leech Seed utility and Spikes if needed.
Rotom-Wash: Its ability to threaten Corviknight and Water types like Gyarados makes it an excellent partner who can also benefit from the paralysis utility Sandaconda gives to its team in order to set up a sweep with Nasty Plot.
Excadrill: With Sand Spit triggering sandstorm, it only makes sense Excadrill is present on Sandaconda's side since it allows it to outspeed almost every foe thanks to Sand Rush.
Togekiss: Togekiss craves the paralysis support Sandaconda offers with Glare which allows it to exploit Serene Grace to the fullest of its ability with its signature Air Slash flinches. Sandaconda provides a useful resistance to Rock and an immunity to Electric while Togekiss threatens Grass types away.
Hydreigon: A reliable teammate who is able to set up thanks to the paralysis support Sandaconda can provide while being able to handle the Grass types Sandaconda hates to face.
Rotom-Cutter: It is a good teammate since it can threaten both Water and Flying types.

Other Options

Rest with Shed Skin is a fun gimmick Sandaconda can attempt to recover its lost health. However, since Shed Skin only has a 33% of curing its status ailments, it becomes quite unreliable.

Countering Sandaconda

Strong Water types like Keldeo, Cloyster, Gyarados, Primarina and Dracovish are able to get rid of Sandaconda quite easily. However, take into account that these Pokemon must be wary of switching into paralysis which can heavily hinder them through the match. Rotom-Wash deserves a special mention since due to its Electric typing it is immune to paralysis and it pretty much walls Sandaconda to death while being able to dispatch it thanks to its strong STAB Hydro Pump.

Grass types like Rillaboom and Rotom-C do a great job on checking Sandaconda. While Rillaboom wants to avoid Glare, Rotom-C is another Rotom forme that will wall Sandaconda and threaten it with Leaf Storm. Celebi deserves another shout-out since thanks to Natural Care, it doesn't cares about Glare and it can use Sandaconda as set-up fodder as it even takes a pittance from Fire Fang.

Ice types like Kyurem and Mamoswine will destroy Sandaconda until kingdom comes.

Strong physical walls like Hippowdown don't really fear a lot of what Sandaconda can do against them.

Animé Appearences

Sandaconda has yet to make an appearance # -English Episode Name- -Jp. Episode Name- Pics 1202 Chasing to the Finish! Last Mission! Get Regieleki & Regidrago!! Pics