|
-
Rock Head
- Recoil moves deal no recoil damage.
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Lightningrod
- When hit with an Electric-type move, Special Attack is boosted by one stage. All Electric-type attacks are drawn to this Pokemon.
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Battle Armor
- Prevents critical hits.
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Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
60
|
- |
261 |
324 |
- |
| Atk |
80
|
176 |
196 |
259 |
284 |
| Def |
110
|
230 |
256 |
319 |
350 |
| SpA |
50
|
122 |
136 |
199 |
218 |
| SpD |
80
|
176 |
196 |
259 |
284 |
| Spe |
45
|
113 |
126 |
189 |
207 |
Overview
His name is Marowak, king of kings. Forget that middling Attack and horrendous Speed do not usually add up to a threatening sweeper. When equipped with his trademark item, Thick Club, Marowak is truly a menace to be feared. Thick Club doubles his Attack stat, turning this mediocre Pokemon into an absolute monster. His physical bulk is not too shabby either, allowing him to take a hit or two before slamming back with a vengeance. When provided with Trick Room support, his low Speed is a blessing, making him one of the "fastest" sweepers around. With Substitute and Swords Dance to keep him safe and beef him up, he has just the right tools to plow through almost any team. The mighty Bonemerang allows Marowak to tear down foes that sport a Focus Sash, Substitute, or the ability Sturdy. This monstrous king can even summon the dangerous Stealth Rock onto the field and has the ability to tear apart NU's best spinner, Armaldo, when it attempts to get in his way. Look on his Thick Club, ye mighty, and despair.
Due to his high Attack stat, Marowak forces many switches. On these switches, Marowak can set up Substitute, giving him a buffer against status and, most importantly, faster Pokemon, of which there are many. This set is essentially a death sentence to most stall teams if their Alomomola, Tangela, or Weezing is dead. Offensive teams are threatened because they usually are not very bulky and thus are unable to take an attack from the beast that is Marowak. Generally, Marowak can switch in on any physical move not super effective against him, proceeding to wreak havoc on any foe unfortunate enough to face him.
Exclusive to Marowak and his pre-evolution Cubone, Bonemerang is the preferred STAB, as it ignores Sturdy, Focus Sash, and Substitute due to being a multi-hit attack; however, Earthquake is slightly more reliable and is therefore usable as well. Stone Edge has excellent coverage with Marowak's STAB, hitting Flying-types immune to it. Speaking of coverage, Double-Edge has no recoil thanks to Rock Head and provides coverage on Pokemon that resist EdgeQuake, such as Torterra. With this set, Marowak has perfect coverage, meaning only the bulkiest of walls can beat Marowak, as he has the ability to OHKO and 2HKO almost the entire NU tier.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The given EVs are simple; maximum investment in Attack so that Marowak hits extremely hard and an Adamant nature is chosen to supplement this. The same investment in Speed ensures that Marowak will outspeed most walls and other Pokemon near his Speed tier. Alternatively, 212 EVs could be taken from Speed and moved to HP, leaving 44 EVs remaining in Speed so that Marowak can tie with Golem and outspeed uninvested Regirock. These HP EVs give Marowak some bulk that he can use to switch into numerous physical attacks, though the loss in Speed is fairly significant. Fire Punch is an option for super effective coverage on Grass-types such as Vileplume, Exeggutor, and Torterra. Swords Dance is an option because it allows Marowak to break through stall more easily, and nothing enjoys taking a boosted attack from Marowak, but Double-Edge provides coverage against key Pokemon.
One of biggest hurdles Marowak has to overcome is his low Speed stat. Because of this, it is almost essential to have a Pokemon to beat faster switch-ins to Marowak, such as Choice Scarf Braviary, who is an excellent revenge killer and beats Tangela, one of Marowak's premier counters; Sawk is a decent teammate for similar reasons. Speaking of Braviary, Choice Band variants do just as well because they lack reliable switch-ins and weaken Marowak's checks even more. Paralysis support from the likes of Audino and Musharna will go a long way towards solving Marowak's Speed issues, while Ninjask is able to Baton Pass him Speed boosts if one would like to go that route. One last option to solve Marowak's Speed struggles is Articuno, who can set up Tailwind, has decent type synergy with Marowak, and benefits from Marowak beating most Rock- and Steel-types, who often set up the Stealth Rock that Articuno hates; Articuno also beats bulky Grass-types that Marowak struggles with. As Marowak struggles with bulky Water-types, Rotom-S and Exeggutor are excellent partners, both being able to break through said bulky Water-types with ease. Tangela walls Marowak if he does not run Swords Dance and Fire Punch, so a Fire-type, such as Rapidash, Torkoal, or Charizard, or the aforementioned Rotom-S, is helpful to remove it.
While the previous set aims to take advantage of the switches Marowak forces to set up Substitute, this one abuses those switches by setting up Stealth Rock, a required utility for every team. This set is bulkier than others, being less focused on sweeping and wallbreaking and more focused on supporting Marowak's teammates and taking physical attacks before dishing out his own powerful ones. However, besides providing team support, this is still the same extremely powerful Marowak, so he does not play much different from any other set. Marowak's STAB and Stone Edge combination provides him with excellent coverage against a variety of threats, while the last slot is a choice between two things that Marowak has the opportunity to beat: bulky Water- and Grass-types. Toxic cripples bulky Water-types such as Alomomola and Seismitoad, and is a generally safe move to go for given that no Pokemon enjoys having to take Toxic damage, as it puts a time limit on the opposing Pokemon that even further increases the number of switches that Marowak forces. Fire Punch deals super effective damage to Grass-types such as Vileplume, Exeggutor, and Tangela, as well as a perfectly accurate way to hit Regice. Out of these, only Vileplume is immune to Toxic, but reliably KOing Vileplume is well worth it. The choice of move is based on what concerns you most.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The given EVs and nature allow Marowak to take hits and dish them out. 44 Speed EVs allow Marowak to tie with most Golem and outspeed uninvested Regirock, both of which Marowak can deal heavy damage to and KO if they are weakened, preventing opposing setup of Stealth Rock. ThunderPunch is another option for the last slot to hit bulky Water-types super effectively, but a neutral Earthquake has the same amount of power as super effective a ThunderPunch, not to mention that Toxic is more crippling to said bulky Water-types in the long run; therefore, it is inferior to Marowak's other options for the last slot.
Especially due to the fact that this set lacks Substitute, a Choice Scarf user such as Braviary, Sawk, or Rotom-S is recommended to beat any faster Pokemon. Rotom-S is particularly useful, as it can remove bulky Water-types with ease. Exeggutor is another option for bulky Water-types if one would like to take an offensive approach to the issue, while Vileplume is the premier choice for a defensive approach. If Marowak lacks Fire Punch, Vileplume becomes a major issue, with the aforementioned Rotom-S and Eelektross carrying Flamethrower being excellent solutions. If one wants Marowak to set up Stealth Rock and switch into attacks multiple times, Wish support is helpful, with Audino being the best choice. Likewise, Toxic and burn status wear Marowak down easily, the latter making Marowak completely useless, so cleric support from the likes of Lickilicky and Altaria is useful. Due to the fact that Marowak sets up Stealth Rock and would like it to stay up, a spinblocker such as Golurk or Haunter is handy to prevent Stealth Rock from being spun away.
Under normal conditions, Marowak struggles to outspeed much of anything thanks to his mediocre Speed stat; however, under Trick Room he is one of the fastest Pokemon in NU. Being faster than everything gives him more room to dish out powerful attacks left and right. When Marowak cannot be outsped, every opposing Pokemon is at risk of being heavily maimed or KOed, with only the bulkiest of walls able to switch in and live to tell the tale. On this set, Bonemerang is still preferred due its ignorance of Sturdy, Focus Sash, and Substitute, but there is more of a case for Earthquake, as a miss under Trick Room can spell doom for Marowak. Stone Edge has the same excellent coverage with Marowak's STAB as ever, though its low accuracy means that it should be used sparingly and only when absolutely required. Double-Edge patches up the holes in Marowak's coverage. Substitute is the superior choice in the last slot, allowing Marowak to function after Trick Room runs out and avoid being burned by the few walls slower than him. Swords Dance is also an excellent choice, giving Marowak three turns to murder every Pokemon in existence, including the walls that he could not beat before. Generally, Substitute does better against offensive teams and Swords Dance does better against defensive teams.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
With the given EVs, Marowak is quite bulky and powerful, while 0 Speed IVs and a Brave nature optimize Marowak for Trick Room. Fire Punch can be used in the last slot over Double-Edge to OHKO Vileplume and Tangela. While there isn't much else to say in the way of other options, there is a decent amount to say for partners. Obviously as this set is made for Trick Room, Pokemon that can use the move are required. Musharna, Beheeyem, Banette, Duosion, Audino, and Exeggutor are all excellent choices. Bulky Water-types need to be removed for Marowak to work effectively, with Rotom-S and Exeggutor being excellent at doing so. Entry hazards, including Stealth Rock from Regirock, Armaldo, or Golem, and Spikes from Cacturne or Garbodor, are heavily beneficial due to how much Marowak relies on the four turns of Trick Room to deal the most possible damage. Octillery makes an excellent partner, working excellently under Trick Room and possessing the ability to break down Marowak's counters and vice versa. Due to the fact that Marowak only has a limited time to function at his greatest potential, at least one Choice Scarf Braviary, Choice Scarf Sawk, Skuntank, or Zangoose is recommended to clean up once Marowak's bone wreck is over.
Other Options
ThunderPunch is an option to smack bulky Water-types hard, and could be used over Stone Edge on any set due to also hitting Flying-types. Focus Punch can be used in tandem with Substitute, but the coverage of Focus Punch is redundant with Earthquake. Knock Off might see some potential use to remove the Eviolite that the numerous NFEs populating NU tend to hold. A set consisting of Substitute, Belly Drum, Bonemerang, and Stone Edge is fairly viable, but requires Marowak to be at full health, which necessitates Rapid Spin support, as well as paralysis support so that Marowak can actually outspeed a majority of common Pokemon. Also, Marowak must get a free switch-in against something slower that he can set up on; therefore, such a set is very situational and takes great care to work effectively. The last useful move that Marowak has access to is Perish Song, which can be used to force out walls, such as Vileplume and Tangela; however, Marowak is not bulky enough to abuse it effectively. Outside of these moves, Marowak's fairly sparse movepool does not contain much else useful and the given moves on the sets are generally the best choices.
Checks and Counters
Due to Marowak's extraordinary power, it is imperative that one notes that resists are not usually the best way to defeat him. However, even the colossal might that is Marowak has its counters. Alomomola and Seismitoad, the premier bulky Water-types of NU, are unfazed by any move not named Toxic that Marowak might throw at them, with the latter not even able to be circumvented via ThunderPunch. Tangela, while not all that common due to the dominance of Vileplume, is a near-perfect counter bar Fire Punch, and even if Marowak carries it Tangela has a decent chance of winning thanks to its award-winning bulk. Weezing is an excellent counter, taking little from any attack and boasting immunities to Toxic and Marowak's deathly powerful STAB. Weezing is also able to burn Marowak with Will-O-Wisp and henceforth render him useless. Misdreavus is a decent check, as although it cannot take repeated Stone Edges it is immune to Earthquake and Double-Edge. It also outspeeds Marowak and can burn him with Will-O-Wisp. Haunter is also immune to Earthquake and Double-Edge and can deal heavy damage thanks to Marowak's poor Special Defense, but it has laughable defenses that allow Stone Edge to OHKO it. Frillish can also take a hit from Marowak and burn him. Skuntank's Sucker Punch, Samurott's Aqua Jet and other similar priority moves are an excellent way to revenge kill a weakened Marowak if he is under Trick Room. However, one of these Pokemon is not necessarily required to beat Marowak, as assuming one can prevent him from setting up a Substitute and he is not under Trick Room, he will be much easier to defeat. Pokemon such as Gorebyss, Sawk, and Braviary are good choices for revenge killing Marowak, although it should be noted that Marowak's solid Defense stat allows him to take at least one neutral physical hit, so using a special attack is more effective. Most teams have at least one way of beating Marowak, although one must watch and make sure that the king does not whack them with his club and proceed to dominate.
