Overview
########
Arbok is a rather uncommon Pokemon, but it has some niches that allow it to be viable, such as its versatility, which enables it to fit on balanced and defensively oriented teams that can support it as well as on bulky offensive teams for its ability to set up on Pokemon such as Roselia and Tangela. Its rare Poison typing allows it to remove Toxic Spikes from the field, therefore making it useful against entry hazard stacking. Another niche comes from one of its abilities, Intimidate, and access to Coil, which make up most of the time for its mediocre Defense on offensive sets, allowing it to be a decent setup sweeper late-game; Nevertheless it needs support to weaken its checks and counters. Its other ability, Shed Skin, allows it to run defensive sets, which are somewhat durable thanks to its access to Rest while still hitting almost everything in the tier thanks to Gunk Shot along with a coverage move.
Offensive Coil
########
name: Offensive Coil
move 1: Coil
move 2: Gunk Shot
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Earthquake / Aqua Tail
ability: Intimidate
item: Black Sludge
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
Coil boosts Arbok's Attack, Defense, and accuracy, making it a viable setup sweeper by increasing its damage output and making it harder to bring down. Gunk Shot is Arbok's main STAB move and attacking tool, as it decimates everything that doesn't resist it or isn't a dedicated physical tank, which can still be crippled by poison. Sucker Punch is a priority move that makes Arbok difficult to revenge kill for Pokemon that outspeed it, such as Kadabra, Ninetales, and Mr. Mime. Earthquake gives Arbok greater coverage, letting it hit Steel- and Rock-types for high damage, as well as basically everything that tanks Gunk Shot. Aqua Tail instead is mainly used to hit Piloswine and be sort of a threat to Levitate users and Air Balloon Pokemon such as Haunter and Probopass.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed investment with an Adamant nature provides the highest damage output possible and allows Arbok to outspeed common Pokemon such as Torterra, Pawniard, Flareon, and Golem. Intimidate gives to Arbok plenty of opportunities to set up on or drop the Attack of physical attackers, most of the time forcing their switch. Black Sludge is Arbok's only source of recovery.
Usage Tips
========
Arbok is only viable as a late-game sweeper, so bring it in on the field after foes, especially physical tanks, have been weakened, or it won't be as effective. Arbok can also be used early- and mid-game as a wallbreaker or to simply wear down the opposing team. Arbok is mainly used for its ability to set up on common Grass-types such as Roselia and Tangela, so don't hesitate to switch in or set up a Coil on them; however, Arbok should also be wary about moves such as Sleep Powder. Because of its lack of recovery, Arbok is easily worn down and shouldn't take unnecessary damage, so only bring it in if strictly necessary. Arbok should be careful about switching into Defiant users such as Pawniard, as Intimidate raises their Attack by two stages. Intimidate allows Arbok to set up on physical attackers, such as Jumpluff and Mightyena, more easily and makes it a decent revenge killer to them if brought in after a teammate is KOed. Thanks to Intimidate, Arbok can also switch in on physical attackers and minimize the damage taken, finding more chances to set up a Coil.
Team Options
========
Arbok appreciates entry hazard support to wear down the opposing team with residual damage every time a foe switches, therefore getting precious KOs on Pokemon such as Ninetales, which gets OHKOed after Stealth Rock damage. Toxic and Thunder Wave support from Pokemon such as Grumpig and Togetic is appreciated to cripple opposing Pokemon, especially physical walls such as Carracosta and fast threats such as Simipour, to clean up the opposing team with ease, or find more opportunities to set up a Coil. Slow VoltTurn cores are decent in tandem with Arbok to bring it in with safety and prevent it from taking unnecessary damage. Arbok also appreciates Sticky Web support to slow down the opposing team, becoming more difficult to revenge kill for fast Pokemon such as Simipour and Zebstrika. Water- and Grass-types such as Poliwrath, Pelipper, Tangela, and Leafeon are good partners, as they can deal with bulky Ground-types such as Piloswine, Hippopotas, and Golem. Arbok struggles against Ghost-types such as Haunter and Misdreavus, so Pursuit trappers such as Pawniard are valid on offensive teams. Rotom-F can be a good teammate thanks to Levitate and Volt Switch, which allow it to check Pokemon with Ground-type coverage bring in Arbok safely, respectively. Burn severely cripples Arbok, so clerics such as Grumpig are good partners.
Defensive Coil
########
name: Defensive Coil
move 1: Coil
move 2: Rest
move 3: Gunk Shot
move 4: Earthquake
ability: Shed Skin
item: Black Sludge
evs: 252 HP / 192 SpD / 64 Spe
nature: Careful
Moves
========
Coil boosts Arbok's Attack, Defense, and accuracy, giving it a good mix of offensive and defensive stats. Rest gets Arbok to full health when it's in danger, making it more durable and harder to bring down in tandem with Coil. Gunk Shot is Arbok's most powerful STAB move and hits most of the tier hard thanks to its high 120 Base Power and a possible Coil boost; it also has good chance to poison the foe. Earthquake is used principally for coverage purposes, allowing Arbok to hit Steel- and Rock-types such as Probopass, Pawniard, Golem, Carracosta, and Barbaracle.
Set Details
========
Maximum HP investment allows Arbok tank some more hits and set up Coil with more safety. 192 EVs in Special Defense with a Careful nature are used to mitigate damage from special attacks, allowing Arbok to find more times to set up and making it hard to bring down with Defense boosts. 64 EVs in Speed are useful to outspeed some common base 45 to base 70 Speed Pokemon such as Torterra and Regice. 84 EVs investment in Speed can also be used to outspeed base 58 Speed Pokemon such as Aurorus and Rampardos. Shed Skin gives Arbok a chance to recover from status, and it's one of the main reasons it is viable with Rest. Black Sludge provides passive recovery so Arbok doesn't have to rely on Rest too much.
Usage Tips
========
Arbok is only viable as a setup sweeper, so bring it in on Pokemon that don't threaten it much, such as Lickilicky and Togetic. Arbok tends to perform better mid- or late-game, as it needs the opposing team weakened before it can do something concrete because of its low Speed. Don't hesitate to set up a Coil against slow teams, because Arbok can tear them apart with Gunk Shot after a boost, or against Grass-types such as Roselia and Tangela, because Arbok can switch in and deal with them well without fearing Sleep Powder that much thanks to its ability. Shed Skin is unreliable, so Arbok should use Rest only when it is at low health and against Pokemon that can't threaten or at least can't 2HKO it, such as Tangela and Gourgeist. Be wary of strong special attackers such as Simipour, Life Orb Poliwrath, and Regice, because even with Special Defense investment, Arbok won't appreciate getting hit by moves such as a STAB Hydro Pump.
Team Options
========
This defensive set fits best on defensive and balanced teams, as it needs a lot of support in weakening and crippling opposing Pokemon to succeed. Its Poison typing makes Arbok a good choice in teams that are vulnerable to Toxic Spikes. Water- and Grass-types such as Poliwrath, Pelipper, Tangela, and Leafeon are good options to pair up with Arbok, as they provide a reliable way to handle Ground-types such as Piloswine, Hippopotas, and Golem. Because Arbok works well against slow teams, it also appreciates teammates that can slow down foes, such as Thunder Wave users; Grumpig and Stunfisk are good options. Arbok pairs well with special walls such as Lickilicky, as they can take on strong special attackers and Ghost-types and provide a lot of utility to Arbok, especially if they run Knock Off or Thunder Wave. Fighting-types such as Machoke can deal well with Steel-types, especially the ones that commonly carry Air Balloon, such as Probopass, as Arbok cannot touch them. Poliwrath is another great example of a Fighting-type that can work well along with Arbok, as it can also threaten Ground-types such as Hippopotas and Golem. If you want to have a more offensive alternative to remove Ghost-types, run Pawniard, as it can Pursuit trap or KO them directly with ease, though it has to be careful of Hidden Power Fighting.
Other Options
########
Arbok can run Seed Bomb over Earthquake or Aqua Tail to hit bulky Ground-types without risking a miss, in exchange for a lower Base Power. Substitute and Coil can both be used to make Arbok lethal if it manages to set both of them up, but this limits its coverage, making it easier to check. Running a Choice set and Switcheroo is feasible, as it allows Arbok to bait Piloswine and other physical walls such as Avalugg, or to hit even harder with Gunk Shot, in the case a Choice Band is chosen.
Checks & Counters
########
**Ground-types**: Bulky Ground-types such as Golem, Piloswine, Stunfisk, and Torterra can switch in safely on Arbok thanks to their alright bulk and resistance to Poison-type moves, forcing Arbok to switch out or directly KOing it with their STAB moves; However, they don't really appreciate being hit by an Aqua Tail, though most of them are still able to tank it at least one time.
**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types such as Misdreavus take little damage from Arbok, as they resist Poison and most of them have Levitate, rendering them unaffected by Earthquake, and can Taunt or directly threaten Arbok with their STAB moves. Haunter is another good example of a Ghost-type that can trouble Arbok, as thanks to its 4x resistance to Gunk Shot, immunity to Earthquake, and access to Trick, it can to cripple Arbok if carrying a Choice Scarf or KO Arbok if Arbok is not running Sucker Punch.
**Psychic-types**: Psychic-types such as Kadabra and Grumpig can't switch in on physical attacks such as Gunk Shot and Earthquake and have to be wary of Sucker Punch, but thanks to their high Special Attack and super effective STAB moves, they can revenge kill Arbok well.
**Offensive Pressure**: Arbok is frail, especially without Special Defense investment, and its typing isn't that great either, as it leaves Arbok with few resistances and susceptible to common types such as Water. Running a defensive set makes Arbok bulkier, but then it lacks a priority move and important coverage to be truly effective offensively. Therefore, it still can be easily worn down and struggles with many strong attackers such as Carracosta and Simipour.
Last edited:
