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[OVERVIEW]

Being extremely fast and hitting as hard as Snorlax, Dodrio has the potential to be a frightening foe in RBY OU, acting as a strong revenge killer and late-game sweeper. Dodrio's offensive prowess is no joke, with Body Slam + Hyper Beam 2HKOing many Pokemon in the tier, including Chansey and Starmie. Being a Flying-type also has its perks, giving Dodrio a valuable immunity to Earthquake and thus a point of entry. Additionally, with STAB Drill Peck under its belt, it has the potential to even OHKO Exeggutor with a critical hit, as well as play around Counter users like Chansey. Overall, when used alongside Tauros, Dodrio is very capable of tearing holes in the opposing team that can leave them ripe for exploitation from its teammates.

However, Dodrio is by no means a standard, and there are many reasons why it's not seen OU prominence. For starters, Dodrio is extremely frail, struggling to even stomach neutral hits and being OHKOed by Zapdos, Articuno, and even Cloyster. This fragility, combined with getting incapacitated by paralysis, makes it very difficult to utilize Dodrio outside of late-game scenarios, which many teams will struggle to facilitate. Furthermore, similar to Zapdos, Dodrio is completely hopeless against Rhydon, getting effortlessly stonewalled. Finally, like many Normal-type attackers, Dodrio is strictly outclassed by Tauros, which possesses superior coverage and Speed; ergo, Dodrio must be used alongside it. Overall, while it has merit for a skilled player, Dodrio's flaws make it difficult to recommend for conventional RBY OU teams.

[SET]
name: Agility Sweeper
move 1: Body Slam
move 2: Drill Peck
move 3: Hyper Beam
move 4: Agility

[SET COMMENTS]

Dodrio is fairly straightforward, aiming to simply deal as much damage as possible while not sustaining damage or paralysis itself. Body Slam makes Dodrio extremely difficult to switch into, with the paralysis chance ruining faster Pokemon like Alakazam and Starmie while leaving them wide open to a KO the following turn. Drill Peck allows Dodrio to duel Gengar and Exeggutor far more effectively, the latter of which is normally a team's check to usual physical attackers. It also cannot be countered, which lets Dodrio scout users like Chansey while not losing any offensive pressure. Hyper Beam can potentially OHKO Jynx and Alakazam, as well as secure 2HKOs on Chansey, Starmie, and the rare Porygon. With critical hits, Dodrio can 2HKO any Pokemon in the tier barring Gengar. Finally, Agility allows Dodrio to outrun the entire unboosted metagame, giving it a more secure late-game sweep while bypassing the Speed drop from paralysis.

Dodrio's movepool is quite barren, but it has some niche options worth exploring. While it doesn't protect from status in RBY, Substitute is a viable choice to stomach harder hits than it otherwise could, which can be set up for free in the event the opponent tries to switch in death fodder. It's also viable to use Substitute against paralyzed Pokemon, which in the event of full paralysis can let Dodrio muscle past for a 2HKO that's otherwise risky. However, Substitute's HP cost makes Dodrio much easier to revenge kill later, cutting into its already poor bulk. Mimic is a serviceable option, giving Dodrio a potential coverage move like Earthquake to better handle Rhydon.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Plague von Karma, 236353]]
- Quality checked by: [[name, id], [name, id]]
- Grammar checked by: [[name, id]]