Groudon, The Continent Pokémon. Said to have expanded the lands by evaporating water with raging heat. It battled titanically with Kyogre It had been asleep in underground magma ever since it fiercely fought Kyogre long ago. Groudon is said to be the personification of the land itself. Legends tell of its many clashes against Kyogre, as each sought to gain the power of nature. Through Primal Reversion and with nature's full power, it will take back its true form. It can cause magma to erupt and expand the landmass of the world.
Overview
Groudon has always been a bit of a weird Pokémon to me. When it was first shown, I didn't know what to think of it, it just looked bizarre and the concept of it made no sense because its counterpart, Kyogre, could easily destroy it. Though Primal Reversion has made Groudon a fair bit more useful, its base form is still perfectly valid. It is a solid Pokémon with great moves and great potential
Positives
+It has ridiculously high Attack and Defense of 150 and 140 respectively. This makes it an absolute physical beast
+Auto sun is always incredibly handy
+Investing a little into Groudon’s Physical Defense allows it to stand up to and Phaze out Physical sweepers like the popular “Extreme Killer” Arceus, even after a Swords Dance.
+Excellent supporting movepool, featuring Thunder Wave, Roar and Stealth Rock
+Its physical movepool is amazing
+Its Special Attack is decent enough to run Special sets
Negatives
-Its Special Defense and Speed are barely adequate for a Pokémon of its stature. 90/90 is just too low for the sorts of threads Groudon encounters
-It doesn't really have many resistances and is weak to the common types of Water, Ice and Grass
-Kyogre destroys this version of it
Abilities
Drought: Weather changes to Intense Sunshine when the Pokémon enters the battle. As of X & Y, this lasts 5 turns. - Groudon's only option, but it's quite handy. It brings sunlight for five turns to boost Fire-type move power and weaken Water. Very useful
Movesets
Pangea Cometh
-Earthquake / Precipice Blades
-Toxic/Thunder Wave/Bulk Up
-Stealth Rock
-Dragon Tail/Roar
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Drought
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Impish or Carfeful Nature
A rather standard set for Groudon, this set monopolises on its physical bulk and can do decent damage and annoy. Earthquake and Precipice Blades are the key STAB moves, with Earthquake having better accuracy and Precipice Blades having more power. Toxic & Thunder Wave allow for Groudon to take down many threats, with Bulk Up being an option to boost up Groudon even further. Stealth Rock is an absolute must as it can just screw with many Pokémon and finally, Dragon Tail & Roar can be used to either deal with Flying-types who are immune to its main moves, or to force an opponent out, which is quite handy if you have Stealth Rock set up
Gaining Groudon
-Earthquake / Precipice Blades
-Rock Polish
-Stone Edge
-Dragon Claw / Fire Punch
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Drought
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
This is your general bog-standard Groudon set. Rock Polish can be used to greatly boost Groudon's Speed to make it a threat again. Earthquake & Precipice Blades work the same as before. Stone Edge can utterly destroy Flying-type Pokémon while Dragon Claw & Fire Punch can give somem much needed coverage, especially, with the former, against Ice-types that may plague it.
Other Options
Eruption, Flamethrower, Lava Plume, Rock Slide, Solar Beam, Sunny DayThunderbolt, Thunder Punch
-Eruption can do decent damage, but chances are that Groudon will be hit first, potentially losing a good chunk of health, causing it to be far less useful
-Flamethrower & Thunderbolt are decent coverage options if you wish to go with a special set.
-Lava Plume can do decent damage and has a decent chance of burning the opponent.
-Rock Slide is a decent move that can take out the Flying-types and potentially cause flinching
-Solar Beam is a good option, considering Groudon is almost guaranteed to have sunlight. This makes it be one-turn and, even with Groudon's aggressively mediocre Special Attack, can do decent damage
-Sunny Day is good to reignite the sun
-Swords Dance can boost Groudon's Attack to make it unstoppable
-Thunder Punch is a decent physical Electric-type option to help deal with those pesky Flying-types
Countering Groudon
Kyogre. Enough said. Ok, you want more? Kyogre is essentially the ultimate Groudon counter. It is more Special focused, which is Groudon's achille's heel, and with added rain, it hits harder. Even when in sunshine, Kyogre can take off the vast majority of Groudon's health in one hit. Alternatively, going for Pokémon such as Giratina and Lugia, who both have decent physical bulk, is a good bet. Just go for hard hitting Special moves, especially Water & Ice, and Groudon will collapse like a cliffside in a storm
Overview
And with ORAS comes the ultimate Groudon. Groudon has been improved in every way in thanks to its Primal Reversion. Attach a Red Orb to it and as soon as you send it into battle, it evolves, without even taking your Mega Slot. Primal Groudon has received excellent boosts in nearly all of its stats and has gained an extra type of Fire-type to get that extra STAB boost. Now, you may say that getting the Fire-type just means that Water-types will kill it quicker, its ability completely renders any Water-type move useless. Plus, its Special Attack stat is now level to what its Attack was in its standard form meaning you can use it in any way you want. Yowzah.
Positives
+ Its Attack is ridiculous, making its movepool even more brutal
+ Its ability completely negates its main weakness
+ Its new type means it only has one other weakness while its ability is in effect, Ground-type, and it gets powerful STAB moves
+ It can now be used as a brutal Special Attacker
+ It can't be burned now.
Negatives
- Its gets all these boosts and yet its Special Defense and Speed aren't touched
- Its defences are still poor. It is quite frail
- Mega Rayquaza exists.
Abilities
Desolate Land: Creates the Strong Sun weather. This lasts until the Pokémon exits battle, and renders Water-type moves useless - Absolutely brutal. Removes Groudon's 4* Water weakness while in effect. It can also only be deactivated by Primal Kyogre, Mega Rayquaza and Pokémon with Cloud Nine
Movesets
Let's Get Physical
-Rock Polish
-Precipice Blades
-Stone Edge
-Fire Punch / Swords Dance / Dragon Claw
Item Attached: Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
So pretty basic Rock Polish set here. Preicipice Blades and Stone Edge get pretty good neutral coverage together, and Fire Punch is the best physical Fire STAB Groudon has. Swords Dance is there to boost power and muscle past really bulky stuffs while Dragon Claw better handles stuff like Giratina's Origin FormE and Mega Rayquaza, the latter of which is definitely going to be a brutal threat to Primal Groudon.
Ancient Volcanic Power
-Fire Blast / Flamethrower
-Precipice Blades
-Dragon Pulse
- Solar Beam / Thunderbolt
Item Attached: Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
Now it has the boost, a Special Primal Groudon is an absolute must to try, and this set provides just that. Precipice Blades is a good option to get past Special Walls, despite being a Physical Move. Fire Blast and Flamethrower now get STAB meaning that they hit even harder. Choice is yours on whether you want more power or more accuracy. Dragon Pulse is useful to take out Dragon-type enemies and for the final move, Solar Beam takes advantage of the perpetual sunlight, doing ridiculous damage, and Thunderbolt provides decent coverage.
Primal Power
-Precipice Blades
-Fire Blast
-Stealth Rock
-Dragon Tail / Stone Edge
Item Attached: Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
This is a rather basic offensive tank set here. It has powerful STAB moves in Precipice Blades and Fire Blast, with Stealth Rock to set in entry hazards that can decimate foes, and Dragon Tail which is useful for phazing. You could also run Stone Edge in that last slot for better physical coverage. Naughty or Lonely natures are an option if you want to maintain Groudon's speed, but it just seems like such a shame to give up such great bulk as Groudon excels with its bulk.
Other Options
Earth Power, Eruption, Lava Plume, Rock Slide, Solar Beam, Sunny DayThunderbolt, Thunder Punch
-Earth Power is a great Ground-type STAB move if you wish to use a Special set
-Eruption can do decent damage, but chances are that Groudon will be hit first, potentially losing a good chunk of health, causing it to be far less useful, but it hits harder now
-Lava Plume can do decent damage and has a decent chance of burning the opponent.
-Rock Slide is a decent move that can take out the Flying-types and potentially cause flinching
-Swords Dance can boost Groudon's Attack to make it even more unstoppable
-Thunder Punch is a decent physical Electric-type option to help deal with those pesky Flying-types
-Thunderbolt are decent coverage options if you wish to go with a special set.
Double & Triple Battle Options
Primal Groudon is a treat for Doubles for sure, but does Vanilla Groudon have anything to offer? For now, it's beyond difficult to justify running any Item on Groudon that isn't the Red Orb. Essentially it's a free and instant Mega Evolution with many many more bonuses than drawbacks. Infinite Sun, Immunity to water, this will be the focus of the next set.
Golden Sun
Precipice Blades
Overheat/Fire Blast/Eruption
Rock Slide
Protect / Rock Polish / Swords Dance
Item Attached: Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs and Nature:
EVs:
252 Atk, 252 Speed, 4 SAtk
Hardy, Jolly, or Brave Nature
For lack of a better pun, this set brings the heat. Precipice Blades is a risky but powerful spread move that won't hit Groudon's Partner. The fire move is dependent on what your team does to funtion. If you've a handle on speed control through Tailwind or Trick Room, then Eruption will be your best means of dishing out insane damage if you can move first reliably. Rock Slide is nice coverage, but flinching once in a critical moment can decide games. Protect is arguably the best move in Doubles/Triples but if you can get away with setting up and sealing the game in your favor through Swords Dane or Rock Polish, by all means go for it.
The best Partners for Groudon have to appreciate the sun and take advantage of the granted Water immunity. Mega Houndoom comes to mind first, finally being able to use Solar Power reliably and effectively with Primal Reversion not stopping the trainer from Mega Evolving. Cherim is gimmicky, but Groudon won't turn down a Flower Gift boost. Various Chlorophyl, Harvest and Solar Power Pokemon will want to be at Primal Groudon's side, there isn't realy an incorrect choice here for Partners. You can even have a Pokemon with water moves ready to launch the same turn you have Primal Groudon switch out.
Regular Groudon is terribly overshadowed by its Primal Form, taking the most damage from Grass Knot and having several weaknesses, while Primal Groudon finds itself weak to the wildly popular Earthquake and Special Attacks in general. Both have base 90 speed so many Pokemon outrun them too. So speed control is more or less necessary if you want Groudon to exceed in battle performance. Those flaws however are minor compared to what Primal Groudon brings to the table in sheer power and support. Never underestimate this Pokemon.
Countering Primal Groudon
Again, you'll want to go with Primal Kyogre. If sent out after Primal Groudon, then its Primordial Sea will overwrite Desolate Land, and thus make Primal Groudon 4* weak to Water-type moves once more. Similarly, Mega Rayquaza's Delta Stream and Golduck's Cloud Nine does this rather expertly too. From there, just hit with Water-type moves and Primal Groudon will go down with ease. Alternatively, you need to go with Pokémon that resist Primal Groudon's STABs, Flygon, Salamence and Rayquaza, for example, resist both and can hit rather hard. Go for the Special attacks and it should fall before too long.
Locations in Games
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Cave of Origin (Ruby)
Terra Cave (Emerald)
Trade from Ruby/Emerald (Sapphire)
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Trade from Ruby/Emerald
Colosseum/XD:
Trade from Ruby/Emerald
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Trade from Soul Silver
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Embedded Tower (Soul Silver)
Trade from Soul Silver (Heart Gold)
Black/White:
Transfer
Black 2/White 2:
Transfer
X/Y:
Trade from Omega Ruby
OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphire:
Cave of Origin (Omega Ruby)
Trade from Omega Ruby (Alpha Sapphire)
Animé Appearences
