USER GUIDE | Submitted by JovJov14
Donphan in Pokémon GO
I remember seeing a Donphan for the first time when I watched Mewtwo Strikes Back. It was at the beginning of the movie, and I remember feeling so excited knowing that there are a lot more Pokémon that would appear in the series. After watching the brief battle between Ash’s Bulbasaur and Raymond’s Donphan, Donphan left an impression of being fast (because of its wheel-like appearance) and powerful (because it looked bulky, and the way it used Roll Out looked awesome). I also remember seeing its pre-evolved form Phanpy for the first time when it hatched from a light blue Pokémon egg that Ash was carrying during their travels in the Johto region.
In Pokémon Go, since the release of the Second Generation Pokémon, it was not very difficult to catch and collect Phanpy and Donphan in my area. I usually see them in the morning until the afternoon, and I catch around 2-5 a day.
Donphan Max CP and Stats
You gotta admit, Donphan looks strong. This look is backed up with incredible stats as well.
- A Donphan can have 3022 CP.
- It has equally high ATK and DEF.
- It is a Ground type Pokémon which means it very effective against Electric, Fire, Rock, and Steel type Pokémon.
- With that said, Donphan is weak against Grass, and Water type Pokémon.
- Donphan receives minimal damage against Electric type moves, and it causes minimal damage to Flying type Pokémon as well.
- Here’s something interesting I recently found out: Donphan has a variety of possible moves, and some of which are not even Ground types. (Fast move Tackle is a Normal type move, Fast move Counter is a Fighting type, Charge move Heavy Slam is a Steel type, and Charge move Play Rough is a Fairy type move)
Donphan best moveset
| 232 |  DonphanGROUND |
COUNTER12EARTHQUAKE120
|
Donphan the good parts
Like always, here are some things to consider if you are thinking about Donphan for your team:
- As an attacker, Donphan has a great ATK and causes a big damage to some favorite Grass type defenders like Exeggutor, Venusaur, and Meganium (Yes. I saw plenty of those too.)
- Donphan can take damage and remain in battle for about 2-4 rounds.
- As for its dodge, it was a big surprise for me. I was amazed how fast Donphan’s dodge was. It can dodge most attacks and make a fast move in between dodges.
- Fast move has a quick cooldown time so you can execute them continuously.
- The charge moves have high damage and are backed up with Donphan’s high ATK which make them very powerful when used.
- As a defender, Donphan has a very high CP which can get you the upper and top tiers.
- Its high DEF would make it last long enough to either defeat the challenger or forfeit for running out of time.
- With the right combination of moves, if Donphan continuously receives small damage, it would use its charge moves often.
Donphan, the bad parts
- Despite having high ATK and DEF, Donphan’s HP isn’t that good.
- Having a weakness against Water type Pokémon, if Donphan is defending a gym, Vaporeon, Gyarados, and other Water type attackers can easily defeat it.
Having a Water type as its weakness makes Donphan vulnerable as a defender. That’s the biggest set-back I can tell, and it’s very difficult to find a way around it.
Donphan in battle
During the gym battles, Donphan was able to take down lots of opponents, even those with 2000-2400 CP. Donphan was able to last 1-3 rounds on average. Donphan’s Counter was quick to execute and having a quick dodge made it easy to alternately use both.
Here’s something very awesome: Donphan can take Water type defender out. The dodge-attack combination is pretty smooth if you’re using Donphan to attack a gym, even if that gym is defended by the favorite Water type defenders. The problem is when those Water type attacks land. If you manage to dodge them, you’ll take some damage, but if you don’t, you’ll be surprised how weak Donphan can be against Water type attacks.
I’d say Donphan is best placed on your attack team. Its dodge and quick attacks are more useful with you behind it. If you get used to the timing of using Donphan’s attack/dodge, your team would have a very formidable member.
Best of luck, trainers!
