Summary

While unassuming at a glance, Sudowoodo defies the odds and finds a realistically usable niche as a cheap Normal/Flying resist with Explosion. Since Sudowoodo should never be integral to any gameplan, Explosion will always allow for him to hit above his weight class -- generating momentum by trading with something your opponent cares about much more than you care about Sudowoodo. Do not expect much beyond this however, as Sudowoodo's set variety is so sad that it makes Magneton look as flexible as Gengar. You are looking at Sudowoodo for one move above all else: Explosion. Sudowoodo gets decent filler moves in Rock Slide, Earthquake, Double Edge, and Focus Punch, but unfortunately its Rock typing, 65 Special Defense, and a miserable 30 Speed means that Sudowoodo will often not survive long enough to get more than one hit off unless you are playing very carefully. The fake tree does, however, have a few things working in its favor.

First is simple shock value -- 9/10 matchups are not worth bringing Sudowoodo over another Pokemon, so your opponent may not have prepared a plan for it. As strange as it sounds, this then allows for a Jolly set to outspeed some interesting bulky threats, capping out at uninvested base 65 Spe Pokemon despite Sudowoodo's much lower base speed stat. This includes Vaporeon, Umbreon, Blissey, Swampert, and Weezing, still securing a OHKO on all of these with Explosion with 252 Atk EVs. It is strongly recommended to attempt to scout for Protect beforehand though, as this nullifies Explosion and wastes a team slot. Sudowoodo is also a fantastic Toxic switch in due to its short lifespan, which further improves its matchup vs many sets on these threats.

The other thing that Sudowoodo has going for it is a shockingly good Snorlax matchup that does not require it to use Explosion to win. As soon as Snorlax hits the field, send in an Adamant Choice Band Sudowoodo invested in HP and Attack with Low Kick, and you will always 2HKO standard Curse-boosting Snorlax and OHKO Choice Band Snorlax. It does not matter if Curselax doubles up on Curse, uses Earthquake after one Curse, or uses Earthquake on your switch in - Sudowoodo will only lose this interaction via a critical hit.

Unfortunately, this is the extent of Sudowoodo's niche in draft, and all of its other move options are wasted on it. It is a rare Block user, but it does not have the bulk to effectively trap much. In an act of nothing less than pure malice and comedy, someone at Game Freak decided Sudowoodo should have access to Calm Mind and all elemental punches, but at a whopping 30 Special Attack, he is outperformed by such special attacking powerhouses as: Tyrogue, Machop, and the meta defining Spearow. Even if by some act of God, Sudowoodo manages to get to +6 SpAtk with a Modest nature, Fire Punch is only 12.5% likely to KO standard Skarmory, who was able to set 3 layers of Spikes, complete his Bachelor's degree, start a family, and solve world peace while you were setting up Calm Mind boosts (and you will still be roared out).

Overall, Sudowoodo does certainly have value as a momentum generator and as a late pick normal resist on standard or 8-Mon drafts, but you should absolutely not place your hopes and dreams on Sudowoodo's success or pick it earlier than your main team. In most matchups the best you can hope for is a positive trade with Explosion, but just the threat of this is often enough to force switches, which pairs nicely with slower paced Spikes teams that may struggle to break through certain bulkier threats.

Summary written by Forte

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