|
-
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 50 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
60
|
- |
135 |
167 |
- |
| Atk |
80
|
90 |
100 |
132 |
145 |
| Def |
110
|
117 |
130 |
162 |
178 |
| SpA |
50
|
63 |
70 |
102 |
112 |
| SpD |
80
|
90 |
100 |
132 |
145 |
| Spe |
45
|
58 |
65 |
97 |
106 |
Overview
With lower-than-average base stats, one may wonder why Marowak deserves to be used over other Pokemon in the VGC 2012 metagame. The answer is simple: Marowak's signature item, Thick Club, doubles Marowak's Attack stat, allowing the bone wrangler to enter the field with an enormous 289 Attack stat while still being able to switch moves. Combine this with its low base Speed, a fantastic ability in Lightningrod, and decent defenses to make up for its low HP stat, and you will find Marowak to be a great Trick Room abuser.
Marowak's low Speed and signature item allow it to distinguish itself as an exceptionally talented Trick Room attacker. Earthquake and Rock Slide are the bread and butter of the set, not only achieving great coverage, but also hitting multiple Pokemon at once. The third moveslot is dependent on the team's needs. Fire Punch enables Marowak to OHKO Ferrothorn outside of rainy weather, and grants perfect coverage, but leaves Marowak with a fairly weak move to use against the opposition when it has a partner vulnerable to Ground-type moves. Bonemerang fixes this problem; by providing Marowak with a powerful move that does not hit its partners and hits Ferrothorn for the same damage as Fire Punch in the rain. Lastly, Marowak's immense power virtually forces its opponents to use Protect. This makes Swords Dance a fine option, as it is an excellent way to take advantage of a predicted free turn; nothing will be able to take Marowak's attacks after a boost. If you find prediction too difficult, then you may opt to use Detect, a staple move in doubles that protects the user, scouts, stalls, and allows Marowak's partner to use a spread move that would otherwise hit Marowak.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Marowak requires Trick Room support to be able to maim its opponents, so partners that can twist the dimensions are appreciated. Cresselia, Musharna, and Bronzong make fine partners as their bulk and typing allow Trick Room to be set up with ease. All three deserve a special mention as their abilities allow them to avoid the tremors Marowak produces, while Musharna can also boost the power of Earthquake with Helping Hand.
Marowak's ability, Lightningrod, allows it to absorb Electric-type attacks from its enemies. This makes Pokemon such as Jellicent and Gyarados great partners as they no longer have to fear being hit by Electric-type moves—barring Discharge. The former is capable of setting up Trick Room for Marowak and discourages the use of Surf, while the latter not only avoids Earthquake, but also increases Marowak's physical bulk with its fabulous ability, Intimidate. Speaking of Intimidate, Marowak cannot bear to be hit with it, as it cuts Marowak's Attack stat. Due to the fast paced nature of the VGC metagame, chances are Marowak will be unable to switch out to remove the stat drop. This makes Amoonguss a good partner for Marowak, as it is capable of sending the opponent's Pokemon to sleep, making it easier for Marowak to switch and remove the stat drop. Amoonguss is also capable of utilizing Rage Powder to lure in all Water-type moves not named Surf. Lastly, Marowak loves Gravity support if it can be provided along with Trick Room, as it enables Marowak to now nab Levitating Pokemon and Flying-types with Earthquake. However, it is far from necessary and can be a burden, as it forces Marowak's partners to Protect or have the Telepathy ability.
Marowak receives the ability Battle Armor from Dream World, which prevents critical hits. Since Marowak's bulk is by no means impressive and it already has a fantastic ability in Lightningrod, there should be no reason to use Battle Armor.
Other Options
Marowak has few moves it can utilize successfully in the VGC metagame aside those already listed. For one, Marowak can utilize ThunderPunch to hit Water-types, most notably Gyarados, but the move does not provide much additional coverage as Bonemerang already hits most Water-types for the same amount of damage. Double-Edge can be used in conjunction with Rock Head over another move for good coverage, but losing Lightningrod means Marowak provides no support for its partners. Lastly, Marowak can utilize Low Kick to hit one of its counters, Bronzong, for a decent amount of damage in rain, but outside that it has relatively no use.
Checks and Counters
Although Marowak's attacking power is immense and it will likely 2HKO anything that dares switch into it, Marowak is not perfect and has a few easy-to-exploit flaws. Marowak's Speed stat leaves much to be desired. It is easily outsped outside of Trick Room, meaning if you can prevent Trick Room from going up, you will have effectively quashed any hope it has of sweeping. If Trick Room does happen to go up, Ferrothorn can outspeed and OHKO Marowak with Power Whip. Alternatively, you can utilize Intimidate against Marowak to make its attacks bearable. Hitmontop does a fantastic job at this role as it can Fake Out and Intimidate Marowak, use its Eject Button, and come back in again to do the same thing.
Even in Trick Room, Marowak's low bulk often makes it victim to attacks that will OHKO it since it cannot OHKO all of the VGC metagame. While Marowak may be capable of surviving a few neutral STAB attacks, it cannot take virtually any strong Water-type move. Rotom-W fills this role well, since the washing machine can easily stomach any attack and retaliate with a super effective Hydro Pump. Should you lack access to these moves or Pokemon in a match, you may as well just try to simply stall out Trick Room. The move Wide Guard deserves a special mention, as it blocks Marowak's Earthquake and Rock Slide, forcing it to use Fire Punch or Bonemerang. Be careful about attempting to stall out Trick Room with Protect though, for if Marowak manages to predict correctly and nab a Swords Dance, it will OHKO all Pokemon on the field that do not Protect themselves. Should you be placed in such a situation, then your only hope is to continue stalling out Trick Room, as it will become a sitting duck when the dimensions revert to their original state.
