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[Overview]
<p>Gliscor ranks among the best Pokemon in OU thanks to its ability to reliably counter many prominent new physical threats, including the monstrous Excadrill and Conkeldurr. Its stellar defenses and handy resistances and immunities give Gliscor ample opportunities to switch in, and make Gliscor very difficult to break. Gliscor also happens to receive one of the best Dream World abilities in Poison Heal, effectively giving it double Leftovers recovery each turn. Its wide movepool means Gliscor can play a variety of roles, making it quite difficult to counter without knowing its exact set. Although Gliscor's miserable Special Defense and the prevalence of Drizzle Politoed can sometimes make things difficult, it has the overall stats and typing to merit consideration for any team, especially in a tier dominated by sandstorm sweepers.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Ice Fang / Facade
move 4: Taunt / Protect
item: Toxic Orb
ability: Poison Heal
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Despite its defensively leaning stats, Gliscor functions superbly as a bulky sweeper. Swords Dance allows Gliscor to boost its Attack to sky-high levels in just one turn, and its great natural bulk makes it easy to shrug off hits as Gliscor is setting up. Even with such an offensive moveset, Gliscor is still one of the few Pokemon who is able to counter some menacing physical threats, namely Excadrill and Conkeldurr. As such, being able to function as both a stallbreaker and reliable wall at the same time is a unique quality that separates Gliscor from most other Pokemon.</p>
<p>Earthquake is Gliscor's STAB attack of choice, and it has some surprising power behind it after a Swords Dance. For example, after Stealth Rock damage it will always 2HKO Bold Jellicent, who is often considered one of the best Gliscor switch-ins. Ice Fang is used to hit Levitate users and Flying-types who are immune to Earthquake, and gives nice overall coverage alongside Earthquake. Facade is a solid alternative, since a neutral Facade is actually stronger than a super effective Ice Fang, and lets Gliscor hit problematic Pokemon such as Rotom-W harder. However, Ice Fang is almost necessary to allow Swords Dance Gliscor to muscle its way past other Gliscor variants who are unable to boost their Attack. Taunt is a standard support move for Gliscor to prevent Pokemon such as Swords Dance Scizor from setting up alongside him, and also to stop Skarmory and Hippowdon from phazing with Whirlwind and Roar, respectively. It's also incredibly helpful when Gliscor is duking it out against Ferrothorn, since Taunt prevents it from setting up the dreaded Spikes or healing itself with Leech Seed. Protect is an option to scout opponents, and works well with Poison Heal if Gliscor needs a bit more recovery to survive an oncoming attack. The EV spread is used to outpace max Speed Tyranitar and all Adamant Breloom, while still maintaining Gliscor's amazing physical bulk to counter Excadrill and Conkeldurr.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Although Gliscor can use Pokemon such as Skarmory as setup fodder even if he lacks a powerful attack to hurt it, Gliscor will run into trouble against Pokemon that resist its attacks and retaliate with super effective moves. Rotom-W is Gliscor's greatest nemesis, as it is takes nothing or little from Gliscor's attacks, and can OHKO Gliscor with a STAB Hydro Pump. Slowbro is another bulky Water-type that can shrug off boosted Earthquakes and hit Gliscor hard with Scald or Ice Beam. Bronzong is also a big issue since it commonly carries Hidden Power Ice to 2HKO Gliscor while Gliscor can do nothing back. Fast special attackers like Latios and Thundurus must avoid Ice Fang, but they can come in on anything else and threaten to OHKO Gliscor. Disable Gengar is an obscure threat, but it can effectively wall Gliscor by preventing the use of Ice Fang. Blissey makes a good partner for Gliscor, since it can sponge special attacks that Gliscor can't deal with, and comfortably counters Rotom-W, Bronzong, and Latios. Jirachi has amazing synergy with Gliscor, and it can also counter special threats such as Latios with ease. Tyranitar is often seen paired with Gliscor because it can set up Stealth Rock to help facilitate a sweep, while Gliscor appreciates Sand Stream wearing down its counters. Tyranitar also commonly carries Fire Blast to roast opposing Bronzong and other Steel-types, and it still has the bulk to take a Focus Blast from Gengar and OHKO back. Tyranitar can usually force out Slowbro as well or hit it hard with Crunch, but must watch out for a burn from Scald. For more offensive partners, Latios makes a fine choice, since it can take anything Rotom-W throws at it and Choice Specs variants can lure and 2HKO Bronzong.</p>
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Toxic
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Ice Fang / Facade
move 4: Protect
item: Toxic Orb
ability: Poison Heal
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Gliscor is often seen as a sturdy physical wall, and this set lets it fulfill that role extremely well. This Gliscor serves as a fantastic defensive pivot for teams that find themselves needing insurance against some of the most prevalent physical threats in Black and White, such as Excadrill and Jirachi. Oddly enough, with Toxic and Protect, Gliscor is also a competent stallbreaker in its own right, as common Gliscor counters such as Rotom-W and Jellicent will be crippled as a result of being badly poisoned.</p>
<p>As always, Earthquake and Ice Fang are Gliscor's attacks of choice due to the excellent coverage they provide. Earthquake will keep most Steel-types at bay, while Ice Fang is excellent for nailing common Flying- and Dragon-type Pokemon. Between the two, Gliscor will hard counter any variant of Excadrill, as Ice Fang lets Gliscor break Excadrill's Air Balloon and proceed to KO the next turn with Earthquake. A +2 Frustration from an Air Balloon Excadrill to Gliscor only does a maximum of 54%, which is nothing more than a scratch after Poison Heal's recovery. Facade is an option over Ice Fang, although Ice Fang is ideal for hitting the likes of Dragonite, Salamence, and of course, opposing Gliscor. Protect is a move seemingly made for Gliscor, as it allows Gliscor to scout, rack up Toxic damage, and heal an extra 12% with Poison Heal all in one moveslot.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>This set is difficult to wall since Toxic deals with a lot of Gliscor's common counters. However, Gliscor does become setup bait for various Pokemon since it lacks Taunt, especially Spikes users such as Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Forretress. Bronzong is also very problematic because it is immune to Toxic and will hit Gliscor hard with Hidden Power Ice. Without Swords Dance, Conkeldurr can also present a problem, since Gliscor must wear it down with Toxic, which in turn activates Conkeldurr's Guts ability. Rotom-W is a solid partner for Gliscor, because it can defeat most users of Spikes through either Thunderbolt or Will-O-Wisp, while simultaneously walling Bronzong with ease. Although they share a similar weakness to Water-type attacks, Fire-types such as Heatran still have solid synergy with Gliscor, as they can clear out opposing Steel-types that are immune to Toxic. Since fast special attackers such as Latios and Thundurus can come in for free on Gliscor's Earthquakes, it may be wise to pair it with your own specially defensive Steel-type. Jirachi fits the bill perfectly thanks to its good synergy with Gliscor, access to Stealth Rock, and its ability to take most special attacks aimed at Gliscor. A bulky Reuniclus is also a decent choice for a teammate because it deals with Conkeldurr much better than Toxic Gliscor.</p>
[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Protect
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Toxic / Taunt / Ice Fang
item: Toxic Orb
ability: Poison Heal
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Move over Jirachi and Breloom; Gliscor is here to make its case for the most annoying Pokemon in the game with this set. By alternating between Protect and Substitute, Gliscor can effectively stall out its opponent's PP without losing any health since Poison Heal heals one-eighths of its health each turn. This strategy can be incredibly hard to stop if Gliscor nabs a Substitute and your opponent isn't running a Taunt user or a phazer. For instance, most bulky Rotom-W will fail to outpace Gliscor, meaning Gliscor can quickly stall out Hydro Pump's meager 8 PP and then wear it down with Toxic. Earthquake is Gliscor's only attack, but it should see limited use as Gliscor will mainly focus on stalling its opponents. Toxic will help kill off Pokemon that are immune to Earthquake after they have been sufficiently stalled, and is crucial for defeating the aforementioned Rotom-W. However, Taunt is an option to prevent phazing, while Ice Fang will make Dragon- and Flying-types think twice before switching in.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Gliscor needs a bit of team support in order for it to reach its maximum effectiveness (in layman's terms: for it to be as annoying as possible). Most of Gliscor's teammates should revolve around helping it outstall opposing Pokemon. The first place you should look is a weather inducer in the form of either Tyranitar and Hippowdon. Tyranitar is the ideal partner, because it can defeat special attackers such as Heatran that Gliscor will have trouble with, and its ability, Sand Stream, will summon a permanent sandstorm to help wear down Gliscor's counters. Tentacruel is also an extremely effective partner for Gliscor, not only because of their great synergy, but also because it can set up Toxic Spikes to slowly kill grounded Pokemon that aren't Steel-type. Since Gliscor is likely to be found on more defensive and stall-based teams, Tentacruel's ability to use Rapid Spin and to absorb opposing Toxic Spikes can be very useful for the entire team. Although Gliscor can outstall it a bit, Bronzong will almost always come out on top by burning some useless PP and then killing Gliscor with Hidden Power Ice. Skarmory is also troublesome, because Gliscor lacks any way of damaging it, and it can easily phaze Gliscor out in return. Rotom-W is a fine way of dealing with Bronzong and Skarmory, while Heatran is also a solid choice assuming you avoid switching into Bronzong's Earthquake. They are also both solid ways of dealing with Swords Dance Scizor, who can use Gliscor as fodder to set up. Strong special attackers that are faster than Gliscor can break its Substitute and then threaten to OHKO it, so it is advisable to pack something to deal with common threats such as Latios. Blissey makes a fine choice thanks to her ability to take virtually any special attack, and she can also directly support Gliscor with Wish.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Although it may seem strange that a Fling + Acrobatics set was omitted, it is generally outclassed by the Defensive and Substitute sets because it only gives Gliscor the chance to poison one Pokemon. This set is still useful because it hits Fighting-types incredibly hard, and so it is still worth considering. Unfortunately Stealth Rock is illegal with Poison Heal, but Gliscor can still run a support set with Stealth Rock and Sand Veil if needed. Finally, a Baton Pass set is a viable choice to run on Gliscor, although its real claim to fame is being one of the few Pokemon to counter the likes of Excadrill, which is what it should primarily focus on doing.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Bronzong is a Pokemon that will almost assuredly give Gliscor problems since it is immune to Earthquake and Toxic, and takes pitiful damage from Ice Fang. In turn, it can take Gliscor out in two hits with Hidden Power Ice. Rotom-W will hate getting hit with Toxic, but it is an excellent counter for the Swords Dance set, as it will OHKO Gliscor with a STAB Hydro Pump. Without Taunt, Gliscor will find itself unable to deal with Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Forretress, as they will be able to set up Spikes in Gliscor's face with little to no fear. Bulky Water-types can counter Gliscor fairly well even if it does pack Swords Dance. Slowbro and Suicune have the bulk to shrug off boosted Eathquakes, and they have access to STAB Water-type attacks and Ice Beam to quickly dispose of Gliscor. Gyarados gets a special mention since it is immune to Earthquake and hits Gliscor very hard with Waterfall. Fast special attackers such as Latios, Latias, Thundurus, and Tornadus can all come in on Gliscor's Earthquake and threaten with their powerful special attacks.</p>
