What are the best movesets and counters for Excadrill in Pokemon GO?

Since its Pokemon GO debut in September 2019, Excadrill has been a beloved battle pick in both PvE and PvP. Thanks to its high maximum attack and stamina stats, the Ground/Steel-type creature can deal plenty of damage and is sturdy enough to take quite a bit itself.

Thanks to the Sustainability Week event on April 20, 2023, trainers have a great opportunity to catch Drilbur, Excadrill's prior evolution.

By accruing enough Drilbur candies, players can evolve an Excadrill of their own and use it in battles as they see fit. However, for optimal use of Excadrill in battle, they will want to outfit it with the ideal moveset.

It's also worth examining how to best counter Excadrill in Pokemon GO battles.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the opinions of the writer

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What to know about outfitting and countering Excadrill in Pokemon GO

As a Ground/Steel-type species in Pokemon GO, Excadrill naturally benefits from using Ground and Steel-type moves. This is due to the in-game Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB), where a Pokemon receives a boost to its damage output when it uses moves that match its elemental types.

It's unsurprising, then, that the best movesets to use for Excadrill in both PvE and PvP environments involve Steel and Ground-type attacks. However, in PvP, it's best to diversify the Pocket Monster's moveset to deal with the wide swath of opponents that may appear.

Here are the recommended movesets for Excadrill in Pokemon GO:

• PvE - Mud Slap and Drill Run or Mud Slap and Earthquake
• PvP - Mud Shot, Rock Slide, and Drill Run

The movesets outlined above should allow Excadrill to provide great damage output and quality energy generation.

The PvE movesets lean into Excadrill's Ground-type STAB damage since Pokemon GO players tend to know the opponents they'll be battling in those environments. Conversely, the opponents in PvP are much more unpredictable, so adding a Rock-type move like Rock Slide gives Excadrill the ability to perform well in additional elemental type matchups.

However, when it comes to countering Excadrill in Pokemon GO, trainers will want to center on its elemental weaknesses. The creature has four weaknesses as a Ground/Steel-type. Specifically, it is weak to Fighting, Fire, Ground, and Water-type moves.

Using these Pokemon types will allow players to take advantage of STAB, dealing more damage to Excadrill and whittling down its large health pool at a faster rate.

Here are the recommended counters to beat Excadrill in Pokemon GO:

• Kyogre
• Groudon
• Keldeo
• Landorus (Incarnate or Therian Forme)
• Conkeldurr
• Galarian Zapdos
• Moltres (if Excadrill has no Rock-type moves)
• Swampert
• Garchomp
• Breloom
• Feraligatr
• Machamp
• Kingler
• Pheromosa
• Samurott
• Mamoswine (if Excadrill has no Steel-type moves)

When using the likes of Fire-type Pokemon to counter Excadrill, players will want to be cautious. Excadrill can easily counter many different Fire-type monsters using its Ground-type attacks, so trainers will have to use the right Fire-type creatures to avoid Ground-type damage.

Moltres is a perfect example, as it is a partial Flying-type creature, giving it protection against Ground-type moves. However, as both a Fire and Flying-type Pocket Monster, it's doubly weak to Rock-type attacks, so trainers must always be wary of the ongoing type matchup.