Snorlax
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Status: all finished
[Overview]
<p>Although blessed with OU status across every previous generation, Snorlax now suffers from declining popularity in the face of the BW metagame. With new foes such as Conkeldurr, Ferrothorn, and a number of huge special threats, Snorlax struggles to make the same impact on the battlefield as he has in past generations. Despite these hindrances, nothing has taken away what Snorlax is renowned for: fantastic special bulk, high Attack, and a threatening movepool. This means Snorlax remains one of the best special tanks and Curse users in the game, while more modernized all-out offensive sets let him keep up with the big boys in such a fast paced metagame. Snorlax may not be as dominant or influential as he was in his glory days, but he's still a very solid Pokemon that you should always be on the lookout for.</p>
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Body Slam / Return
move 2: Fire Punch / Crunch
move 3: Earthquake / Crunch
move 4: Pursuit
item: Choice Band / Leftovers
ability: Thick Fat
nature: Adamant
evs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 40 Def / 176 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With an often-overlooked 110 base Attack stat and fantastic bulk, Snorlax makes a formidable offensive tank. In a metagame as fast paced as BW, going the offensive route is one of the best ways for him to remain a relevant threat. Choice Band places emphasis on a hit-and-run style while abusing Pursuit to eliminate special attacking threats, whereas Leftovers takes a slightly more conservative approach.</p>
<p>Body Slam and Return are obligatory STAB attacks; the former offers a nice paralysis chance to assist Snorlax's terrible Speed, while the latter sacrifices that bonus for extra firepower. Fire Punch, unlike last generation, is very important on Snorlax to avoid letting Ferrothorn set up Spikes or drain his HP with Leech Seed. Earthquake is the other recommended coverage attack to hit Tyranitar, Heatran, and Excadrill. Depending on the rest of your team, it may be worthwhile to replace either Fire Punch or Earthquake with Crunch to hit Ghost- and Psychic-types harder. Pursuit acts as a useful tool to trap and KO frail sweepers such as Latios, Gengar, and Starmie who will want to escape from Snorlax.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Besides maximizing offensive power, the EV spread also maintains Snorlax's special bulk while giving him enough physical bulk to survive powerful hits like Choice Band Tyranitar's Stone Edge. Pursuit can be replaced in favor of Crunch; this is a more viable option if running Leftovers, as Pursuit relies on Choice Band to achieve some important OHKOs.</p>
<p>Snorlax is very vulnerable to powerful physical attackers, especially Fighting-types; as such, it's essential that Snorlax is paired with defensively inclined Pokemon that resist Fighting. Gliscor, Gyarados, and Reuniclus are perfect examples, as they can all switch into prominent Fighting-types such as Conkeldurr relatively safely. Bulky Ghost-types and Pokemon with amazing physical bulk such as Skarmory can also fulfill this role. Speaking of which, Skarmory can easily take advantage of Snorlax to set up Spikes; the same also applies to Ferrothorn and Forretress if Snorlax is locked into a move other than Fire Punch. To avoid this problem, support from a Rapid Spinner, Magnet Pull Magnezone, or a powerful wallbreaker can greatly aid Snorlax.</p>
<p>If you opt for Return, or if Body Slam's paralysis rate is unappealing, additional paralysis support to bypass his low Speed can make offensive Snorlax much more threatening. It makes Pokemon who could otherwise switch in and outspeed Snorlax suffer a possible 2HKO. Snorlax also pairs well with Pokemon who appreciate opposing threats trapped and eliminated with Pursuit; for example, Hydreigon, Breloom, and Infernape will have a much easier time ripping holes in teams without the risk of being revenge killed by Latios, Starmie, or Gengar.</p>
[SET]
name: Curse
move 1: Curse
move 2: Return / Body Slam
move 3: Fire Punch / Earthquake / Crunch
move 4: Rest / Earthquake
item: Leftovers
ability: Thick Fat
nature: Careful
evs: 188 HP / 104 Def / 216 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Curse Snorlax is a very familiar face, and for good reason. With pitiful Speed, high Attack, and wonderful special bulk, Snorlax possesses the perfect qualities to take advantage of Curse. The basic concept hasn't changed from previous generations; by switching in on weak defensive Pokemon or special attackers, Snorlax can use the opportunity afforded by a switch to set up a Curse to further bolster his Defense and Attack in order to sweep.</p>
<p>Body Slam is slightly less effective here due to the fact that even moderately slow Pokemon will outspeed Snorlax if he has a Curse or two under his belt, even if they're paralyzed. Unfortunately, no matter which coverage move is used, there will be certain Pokemon that wall this set, so the choice is dependant on your team. Fire Punch melts Steel-types (most importantly, Ferrothorn), but leaves Snorlax walled by Jellicent and Chandelure. Earthquake also hammers most Steel-types as well as Tyranitar and Heatran, but means Skarmory and Gengar can switch in with impunity. Crunch, finally, destroys Ghost-types but makes Snorlax vulnerable to almost every Steel-type. Rest helps accumulate Curse boosts and stall out would-be counters, but it can be replaced by Earthquake for much better coverage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread remains the same as its DPP counterpart, maximizing Snorlax's enormous special bulk while patching up its weaker Defense stat with some leftover EVs. Alternatively, 252 HP / 4 Defense / 252 Special Defense can be run to focus entirely on tanking blows from powerful special attackers.</p>
<p>Even with an improved Defense stat after Curse, Fighting-types are still a huge pain in the neck for Snorlax. Gyarados, Gliscor, and Jellicent are among some excellent teammate considerations to sponge these Fighting-type attacks. Skarmory also synergizes fantastically with Snorlax thanks to its gigantic physical bulk, Roost, and the ability to aid Curse sweeps with Spikes support. If you opt for Rest, cleric support from the likes of Heal Bell Celebi is helpful, as Snorlax doesn't want to end up in an endless coma due to the new sleep mechanics. Chesto Berry is another option to avoid this problem, although the loss of longevity without Leftovers is rather discouraging.</p>
<p>Snorlax will also want specific teammates depending on the holes in its coverage. If Steel-types are an issue, especially Skarmory and Ferrothorn, Magnezone is an obvious choice to trap and remove them. Likewise, a Pursuit user can get rid of Gengar and Chandelure if Snorlax lacks Crunch or Earthquake, respectively. Toxic Spikes are valuable to help stall out Pokemon like Jellicent, Hippowdon, and Whimsicott who otherwise give Snorlax major headaches. Tentacruel and Forretress are great candidates for this; Tentacruel provides a nice resistance to Fighting, while Forretress offers immense physical bulk and the ability to employ other entry hazards if need be.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>A Rest + Sleep Talk set is certainly viable (as it has been in previous generations), concentrating on walling specially-orientated sweepers and racking up entry hazard damage with Whirlwind. However, it's not quite as effective as it used to be, because of the new sleep mechanics which reset the sleep counter when Snorlax switches out, and the introduction of more special attacking powerhouses in the BW metagame. Yawn is worth mentioning as Snorlax's only sleep move, as well as an alternative to Whirlwind for phazing. This could find use on offensive sets to scare away counters as they switch in. Immunity may replace Thick Fat, but it is inferior for the most part unless Snorlax doesn't have Rest or your team is rather susceptible to Toxic stalling.</p>
<p>Snorlax has quite a robust physical movepool, including ThunderPunch, Ice Punch, Superpower, Focus Punch, Seed Bomb, Outrage, and Wild Charge. These moves are, however, generally inferior to the attacks listed in the above mentioned sets, being outclassed in power and coverage except against a few very specific targets. Selfdestruct, like Explosion, received an unfortunate nerf this generation and no longer cuts the opponents Defense stat in half, essentially halving its power and hampering its use to Snorlax. Smack Down, while somewhat gimmicky, is an interesting option allowing Snorlax to hit Pokemon like Skarmory with Earthquake instead of the weaker Fire Punch.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Fighting-types are the best answer to Snorlax. Conkeldurr and Scrafty, with access to Bulk Up, can negate Snorlax's Curse boosts and hit back hard with Drain Punch to replenish health. Machamp can also ruin Snorlax's day, not caring about Curse boosts thanks to his frustrating 100% accurate DynamicPunch and its confusion rate. Breloom can put Snorlax to sleep with Spore, drain his health with Leech Seed, or threaten him with Substitute + Focus Punch. Lucario, Terrakion, and Infernape can destroy Snorlax with Close Combat, or set up a Swords Dance on the predicted switch out. Throh, while uncommon, has a great Defense stat, and Mountain Storm lets him break through Snorlax with ease. Apart from Fighting-types, the usual mighty physical attackers in OU like Tyranitar, Scizor, Metagross, and the very powerful Dragon-types can muscle their way through Snorlax, especially with an increased Attack stat by virtue of Choice Band or Swords Dance.</p>
<p>There are also plenty of ways to counter Snorlax from a defensive perspective. Hippowdon and Skarmory cannot be 2HKOed by any of Snorlax's Choice Band-boosted attacks, can phaze him with Roar or Whirlwind, respectively, and both have access to instant recovery. Ferrothorn, like Skarmory, can use Snorlax to lay down Spikes, although he must watch out for Fire Punch; additionally, he can cripple Snorlax with Leech Seed to help stall him out. Bulky Ghost-types such as Jelllicent and Cofagrigus can outspeed Snorlax and proceed to cut his attack with Will-O-Wisp, thus preventing him from causing any significant damage with Crunch. Taunt and Encore users such as Gliscor and Whimsicott, respectively, are excellent at messing up Snorlax's plans of using Curse.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Snorlax receives Gluttony as his Dream World ability. However, Gluttony is difficult to take advantage of on such a slow Pokemon, and Snorlax generally does not want to forgo the use of Leftovers or his other two great abilities.</p>
