[Overview]
<p>With a base Attack stat of 124, Golurk is the most powerful physical attacking Ghost-type in the game. Its Ghost / Ground typing is a godsend, allowing it to switch in on any move Terrakion uses, with the exception of the rarely seen Earthquake. It also receives No Guard from the Dream World, allowing it to abuse the notorious EdgeQuake combination without fear of Stone Edge missing. However, Golurk is not without its flaws. Despite having the bulk to switch in on resisted hits without getting 2HKOed, it will take heavy damage from neutral hits, and most super effective hits will OHKO Golurk. To make matters even worse for our robot, it has a meager base 55 Speed, allowing nearly the entire Dream World metagame to outspeed and OHKO it before it can pose an immediate threat. However, Golurk gets Rock Polish to make up for its mediocre Speed stat, allowing it to sweep weakened teams; furthermore, the ability to switch in on Terrakion with ease is valuable for nearly any Dream World OU team.</p>
[SET]
name: Rock Polish
move 1: Rock Polish
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: DynamicPunch
item: Life Orb
ability: No Guard
nature: Jolly
evs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 232 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Golurk's biggest problem is its low Speed stat, which it can compensate for by using Rock Polish. With a Rock Polish boost, Golurk is capable of steamrolling through a weakened team, as it becomes capable of outspeeding a vast majority of the metagame, barring very fast Choice Scarf users. With some prediction, it won't be too difficult for Golurk to obtain a Rock Polish boost, either, as it can abuse its Electric- and Fighting-type immunities to switch into a Choice-locked Volt Switch or Close Combat, and set up a Rock Polish as the opponent switches. Earthquake is the preferred STAB move for Golurk to use, hitting the likes of Terrakion, Chandelure, and Heatran for super effective damage. Stone Edge complements Earthquake well, and, thanks to Golurk's No Guard ability, will not miss. With Stone Edge, Golurk can get a hit on the Flying-types that are immune to Earthquake, such as Dragonite, Thundurus, and Zapdos. In the last slot, DynamicPunch—another move that benefits from No Guard—is used to deal heavy damage to Air Balloon users such as Heatran; as an added plus, it also confuses the target.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>With the given EVs and nature, Golurk outspeeds Timid Choice Scarf Rotom-W after a boost, the fastest common Choice Scarf user Golurk can outspeed after using Rock Polish. An EV spread of 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe is viable if you really want more Speed, but more often than not the extra Speed EVs will be a waste. Having teammates that lure in Terrakion is useful, as this is the easiest way for Golurk to set up. Using Volcarona is thus a great idea, as Terrakion resists both of Volcarona's STAB moves and can OHKO with Stone Edge. In turn, Golurk can handle Heatran and Dragonite, two Pokemon that give Volcarona trouble. Alternatively, you can opt to use Genesect because it is not 4x weak to Stealth Rock, though it cannot lure Terrakion as easily as Vocarona. Because physical walls such as Skarmory and Gliscor will cut Golurk's sweep short, running a Pokemon capable of beating these two will make it easier for Golurk to sweep. Chandelure can trap these Pokemon and hit them on their weak Special Defense stat.</p>
<p>Although Golurk benefits from No Guard due to receiving 100% accuracy on Stone Edge and DynamicPunch, it isn't just Golurk that benefits from No Guard, which has an undesirable side effect: it also makes the opponent's attacks always hit. This side effect is especially deadly because it means that Will-O-Wisp from the likes of Prankster Sableye and defensive Jellicent will always hit Golurk. Specially defensive Heatran makes a good switch-in to both of these threats because it benefits from Will-O-Wisp thanks to Flash Fire, and Jellicent's Scald only manages to 4HKO Heatran outside of rain, assuming Heatran holds Leftovers. Life Orb Starmie can switch in on anything Jellicent commonly carries and 2HKO it with Thunderbolt. Another option is using Golurk's Iron Fist ability and running Shadow Punch over DynamicPunch, because an Iron Fist-boosted Shadow Punch always 2HKOes Jellicent. However, should you choose to do this, Air Balloon users such as Heatran might become a problem.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Other than the options already listed, Golurk does not have many other viable sets. A SubPunch set can be considered with Golurk's Iron Fist ability. However, this set is outclassed by Iron Fist Conkeldurr, who gets STAB on Focus Punch and 2HKOes even the most physically defensive of Skarmory with Focus Punch. To top it off, Conkeldurr can even create 101 HP Substitutes, something Golurk cannot do. Golurk can use a Choice Band set to hit hard right away, but it cannot force any relevant Pokemon out due to its low Speed. With its low Speed stat, you might think Golurk would be an excellent user of Curse; however, because Golurk is a Ghost-type, Curse will instead cut Golurk's HP in half.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Gliscor stands out as the best counter to Golurk in the game. Due to Gliscor's massive Defense and access to Poison Heal, even Choice Band Golurk will only manage a 3HKO. Slowbro and Tangrowth have great physical bulk as well, and can also hit Golurk for super effective damage and heal themselves upon switching out thanks to Regenerator. Even after Golurk uses Rock Polish, its low Speed can still be taken advantage of by any Choice Scarf user with 90 base Speed or higher, such as Garchomp or Landorus.</p>
<p>If Golurk has not set up Rock Polish, two of the biggest Grass-type threats in the metagame, Breloom and Serperior, can force Golurk out and make it a liability, OHKOing it with their Grass-type STAB attacks if it stays in. Keldeo is a very shaky check because it can be OHKOed by a Choice Band Earthquake, but it can still threaten Golurk with Hydro Pump or Surf. Azumarill doesn't care if Golurk has set up Rock Polish because it can revenge kill with Aqua Jet.</p>
