It’s important to have the Ground-type on one’s Pokemon team. It’s one of the few types blessed with an immunity (Electric), and its moves provide easily accessible coverage to some of the strongest types in the game (Steel, Fire, Electric). With that said, how well does it perform as the only type on a Pokemon?
There are a few, but not all of them really stood out to have regular appearances in the competitive scene. Some of them have put their single-typing to good use, while others have lacked the necessary attributes to succeed. These eight are all the fully-evolved pure Ground-type Pokemon in the game, and they’ll be ranked from worst to best.
8 Sandslash
Though it is iconic to some extent thanks to Generation I osmosis, Sandslash is quite unremarkable for competitive battling. Aside from good Attack and Defense (100 and 110, respectively), its other stats are simply not up to snuff at 450 total.
That’s unfortunate, as it fits the mold to be a pretty good sand team Pokemon thanks its two ability choices (Sand Veil and Sand Rush). It also has access to a bunch of good utility moves like Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic, and Rapid Spin. In terms of attacking moves, it has the standard Earthquake as well as a surprising amount of coverage.
7 Sandaconda
The newest entrant into this list isn’t that interesting aside from its marginally useful signature ability. The new Sand Spit is essentially Sand Stream that requires you to take a hit before it activates. Aside from that, it also has access to Shed Skin and Sand Veil, both of which are very situationally useful.
In terms of stats, it’s solid on the physical side but horrid on the special side, and it’s also quite slow at 71 Speed. If there’s one thing that’s going to make Sandaconda stand out, it’s its Gigantamax Form, which gives it access to G-Max Sandblast, so take that into account in formats where Dynamaxing is allowed. Otherwise, it’s underwhelming, and other Pokemon can play its role much better.
6 Mudsdale
Mudsdale is one of the more interesting Ground-types out there. It made its mark as soon as it was introduced in Generation VII thanks to its signature ability, Stamina, that boosts its Defense with every physical hit it takes.
While that seems like an incredible defensive ability on paper, it can be easily maneuvered around by any player with a special attacker. It’s pretty solid regardless, having good bulk, decent defenses on both ends, and a great 125 Attack stat. What gives it a definite ceiling is its movepool, as its array of coverage moves is pretty slim save for a few Fighting-type attacks. It also can’t really do much besides that, other than setting up Stealth Rock or Toxic.
5 Marowak
While it’s recently been overtaken by its Alolan counterpart in terms of viability, the original Marowak has had some time in the competitive spotlight, particularly in the earliest days of Pokemon.
Its stats aren’t great aside from its physical Defense at 110, but it does have a few interesting abilities in Battle Armor and Rock Head. It also a signature held item, the Thick Club, which doubles its Attack and gives physical moves like Earthquake, Stone Edge, and Double-Edge a little extra punch. That said, the dual-typing of the Alolan regional variant has given it much more usage than this pure Ground-type variant, to go along with a more practical use for its third ability choice, Lightning Rod.
4 Donphan
Donphan’s been pretty decent for a while now. It has managed to gain some usability despite having terrible Speed and only being good on the physical side. If you’re sensing a pattern here, that’s not just you.
What differentiates Donphan above the others mentioned so far is its ability, Sturdy, and access to several moves that make it quite useful. It has surprising coverage, including Gunk Shot, Superpower, and Seed Bomb for straight up power, and especially Ice Shard for some much needed priority offense. It works best in a utility role, with its additional access to Rapid Spin, Knock Off, Stealth Rock, and Toxic. It can’t really take special hits, though, so be wary of that.
3 Dugtrio
To break the streak of slow, bulky Pokemon filling out this list, Dugtrio rushes into third place with its 120 Speed. However, to say Dugtrio’s been on a roller-coaster is an understatement.
The main thing that gave Dugtrio a niche was gaining its ability, Arena Trap, in Generation III. Dugtrio made its money by trapping type-disadvantaged opponents with said Ability, then picking them off with a quick Earthquake. That ability’s since been banned from every tier except Ubers, and it’s been untiered by Smogon. Without Arena Trap, it’s just a fast bulk of mass with mediocre Attack, and it can’t really be helped by its other abilities (Sand Veil or Sand Force).
2 Hippowdon
We’re back to the big bulky Pokemon here for second place, and Hippowdon is the best in that class among the pure Ground-types. While its stat spread follows the same prototype of the others on this list (sans Dugtrio), there are a few things that just put it over the top.
First is its ability, Sand Stream. While others rely on the sandstorm weather to activate their abilities, Hippowdon actually gets that ball rolling, and is much more viable for it. Second is its access to a recovery move, Slack Off, which allows Hippowdon to just heal back up its HP after taking a lot of hits. All that, plus its access to multiple support moves and Earthquake, makes Hippowdon a regular in competitive play.
1 Groudon
You’d be a fool to expect anyone else to end up here. Groudon, the god of the land, rightfully takes its throne here as the best pure Ground-type ever, and it’s obviously leaps and bounds ahead of everyone on this list.
In fact, it was one of the most commonly used Pokemon in the Ubers tier thanks to its Primal Groudon form, which rocks with Desolate Land as its ability. Of course, that’s no longer the case in Generation VIII, but it’s still plenty powerful with the regular version of Desolate Land: Drought. It also has a sick Ground-type signature move, the indominable Precipice Blades, which is essentially a stronger but less accurate version of Earthquake.
NEXT: The 10 Best Pure Normal-Type Pokemon
