Orthworm

Orthworm sits at 0.67% usage in the 1760+ singles bracket (rank 95), with 1.21% across all ratings. Two appearances in the top-300 ladder teams and 10 tournament appearances confirm modest but genuine competitive presence. Its value is not offensive but structural: a 145 base Defense with 12 Steel resistances, combined with Shed Tail's ability to transfer a Substitute to a partner, makes it a premier setup platform in a Mega-heavy offense meta. Commentaries from top builders explicitly frame it as the best Shed Tail user for enabling Blastoise-Mega or Aegislash sweeps.

Playstyle：Singles Orthworm runs Sitrus Berry at an overwhelming 85.7% to maximize its ability to absorb hits and complete its support functions. Earth Eater (100%) provides an automatic Ground immunity, enabling safe pairing with Garchomp or Excadrill-Mega that might otherwise Earthquake its own team. The core moveset of Shed Tail (22.2%), Body Press (21.7%), Stealth Rock (15.1%), and Iron Defense (12.8%) creates a complete gameplan: set rocks, transfer a Substitute to a sweeper via Shed Tail, then optionally serve as a secondary Body Press sweeper after Iron Defense boosts. Builder commentary confirms it specifically targets Dragonite-Mega and Lopunny-Mega with Iron Tail and Metal Burst when operating as a wildcard disruptor. With Blastoise-Mega, the transferred Substitute directly enables Shell Smash setup on switch-in.

Orthworm achieves 0.39% usage at 1760+ in doubles (rank 106), with 1.08% all-ratings. The same support identity carries over: Shed Tail (20.0%) and Body Press (24.1%) remain core alongside Protect (15.6%), which doubles offer as a safe-turn option that singles cannot. Its most common doubles partners—Garchomp (11.1%), Basculegion (5.6%), and Sneasler (5.5%)—are all high-physical-damage sweepers who benefit from receiving Substitute support before launching their offense.

Playstyle：Doubles Orthworm shifts its item split toward Sitrus Berry (68.0%) and Leftovers (23.8%)—Leftovers becomes more valuable in the extended doubles format where passive healing compounds over multiple turns. Earth Eater (100%) is unchanged. Stealth Rock disappears from the doubles moveset, replaced by a small Helping Hand (2.6%) slot for flexible support. EV spreads are divided between physical bulk (Impish) and special bulk (Careful), with max HP in both, reflecting the need to survive diverse threats in the doubles field. Common partners Sinistcha, Whimsicott, and Incineroar are all speed-control or utility-focused, building a slow-and-steady attrition-based team structure around Orthworm's Shed Tail pivot.

✅ Favorable matchups3

Charizard-Mega-YSneaslerSinistcha

⚠️ Unfavorable matchups2

IncineroarCharizard-Mega-X