[Overview]
<p>When looking for a defensive Poison-type in RU, Weezing is often the first choice and Muk is overlooked. However, Muk has many desirable defensive—and even offensive—traits that allow him to compete just as effectively. He boasts a base HP stat 50 points higher, a base 100 Special Defense, and the wonderful ability Sticky Hold over Weezing. With resistances to common Grass-, Bug-, and Fighting-type moves, Muk can effectively wall many different attackers in RU while retaining the ability to deal massive amounts of damage thanks to his oft-forgotten base 105 Attack. His extensive movepool also allows for several viable sets, and he can serve as a consistent Toxic Spikes absorber. Unfortunately, all is not roses when you smell as bad as Muk; his weakness to Psychic-type moves and the common Ground-type attacks can make tanking difficult, and despite his good Attack stat, there are many Pokemon that can wall him due to his terrible Poison-type STAB. His Speed isn't helping his sweeping potential either. Play him right and his strengths greatly overshadow his flaws. Give Muk a chance and some support; he can certainly carry his weight.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Gunk Shot / Poison Jab
move 2: Focus Punch / Fire Punch
move 3: Ice Punch
move 4: Shadow Sneak
item: Choice Band
ability: Sticky Hold
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Perhaps surprisingly, this might be Muk's best set for RU; it is also the easiest to use. Wait until any Steel- and Ground-types have been removed, and then pound your opponent into the ground with STAB Gunk Shots. Muk's natural bulk lets him take a hit and retaliate, making his poor Speed less of an issue. Poison Jab has better accuracy but disappointing power for a Choice Band-boosted attack. The other moves work well for general coverage. Fire Punch can be used if your team has problems with Scolipede and Ferroseed, while Focus Punch is notable as Muk's biggest answer to his counters. Steel-types expecting a Gunk Shot are obvious switch-ins, so when Steelix takes 56.6–66.7% and standard defensive Aggron, Magneton, and Kabutops are all OHKOed, the appeal of Focus Punch is obvious. Finally, Muk also packs emergency priority in Shadow Sneak, which lets him pick off the last bit of HP on a threatening sweeper.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>252 HP EVs give Muk the best mixed bulk and 252 Attack EVs provide the much-needed power. Other EV spreads are usually not as useful, but if a little investment can stop the OHKO or 2HKO from a particular threat, feel free to take some EVs from Attack. Dry Focus Punches are almost taboo and a little tricky to pull off consistently, so Brick Break can be used to hit Kabutops and Omastar harder than Fire Punch would. Even with the huge nerf, Explosion does respectable damage on this set, and it can help a frail sweeper get a free switch-in. Stench can be used for the rare but useful flinch on Steelix or other slow walls, but Sticky Hold is much more consistent and allows Muk to be used as a counter to a predicted Trick. With a little prediction, this set is excellent as a defensive pivot against some Choice-locked special sweepers, such as Galvantula, Rotom-C, and Accelgor.</p>
<p>Steelix is Muk's biggest counter in RU; he can do major damage with Earthquake or use Roar to force Muk out, so having a team member that can help remove Steelix will help tremendously. Due to his ability to take hits aimed at Muk's lower Defense stat, as well as his good type synergy with Muk, Tangrowth makes an excellent partner; additionally, Muk can tank Bug Buzzes that Tangrowth fears. On the offensive side of things, Honchkrow is unparalleled as a teammate. Immunities to both of Muk's weaknesses give him several opportunities to switch in and do what he does best. Mandibuzz shares Honchkrow's typing and is also a wonderful companion; she usually carries Toxic and Whirlwind, which in conjunction with entry hazards can help bring the opposition into Shadow Sneak KO range. Last, but not least, Sigilyph can spread around burns to supplement Muk's physical bulk, and it can switch into attacks that he is weak to.</p>
[SET]
name: Tank
move 1: Gunk Shot / Poison Jab
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Ice Punch / Shadow Sneak
move 4: Fire Punch / Pain Split
item: Leftovers
ability: Sticky Hold
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Although this set looks similar to the Choice Band set, it plays very differently. The ability to switch moves gives Muk several opportunities to dish out respectable damage while still sponging many common special attacks. Poison Jab and Gunk Shot are equally viable on this set; Gunk Shot will, in the long run, do more overall damage than Poison Jab would, but 100% accuracy is always nice. Muk's STAB will lure out most Steel-types, so Focus Punch is often a good move to follow up with if there is a likely switch. Ice Punch beats Gligar and Claydol, and Fire Punch deals with Ferroseed; as coverage moves, they complement Poison and Fighting well in RU. Shadow Sneak is pretty weak here, but it can still pick off a weakened sweeper. Pain Split can help improve Muk's longevity. Muk should be used on a team that can best capitalize on his unique traits and advantages over other special walls: Sticky Hold, immunity to Toxic, and the ability to absorb Toxic Spikes.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>RU is an offensively biased tier, and the EV spread reflects this. As a tank, EVs can certainly be taken from Attack to boost Defenses. Keep in mind that 200 HP EVs give Muk a Leftovers number, so that should be the lowest mark that you put HP. Brick Break shares coverage with Focus Punch and can be used more reliably; however, Muk should probably be switching out when facing threats that Brick Break would hurt more than his other moves. The recommended moves provide impressive coverage in RU, with only Qwilfish resisting all of them. Taunt can be somewhat useful in preventing hazards or status. Although extremely situational, Muk boasts resistances to the STAB attacks of the most common sleep users in RU, namely Butterfree, Lilligant, and Amoonguss, so Sleep Talk can be used over Focus Punch to make him an excellent sleep absorber. Good general teammates include Tangrowth, Mandibuzz, Sigilyph, Uxie, Lilligant, Ludicolo, Slowking, and any Pokemon that doesn't like Toxic Spikes.</p>
[SET]
name: SubPunch
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Gunk Shot / Ice Punch
move 4: Shadow Sneak / Pain Split
item: Leftovers
ability: Sticky Hold
nature: Adamant
evs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 40 Def / 4 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Focus Punch is Muk's best answer to his enemies and allows him to cripple common counters. Substitute makes Focus Punch much more reliable and eases the need for prediction; hence, a SubPunch set is obvious. Gunk Shot is preferred as the STAB attack for its sheer power; additionally, on this set, Muk usually has the safety of a Substitute to buffer an untimely miss. The combination of Poison- and Fighting-type attacks only misses neutral coverage on Poison- and Ghost-types, which Muk's fourth move should provide. Ice Punch decimates Gligar, Claydol, and Roselia, and Pain Split provides semi-reliable recovery; however, Muk's rather large HP stat makes Pain Split difficult to use.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>As always, Steelix is public enemy number one in Muk's book. Focus Punch is a 3HKO on the standard Steelix, who can break Muk's Substitute with Earthquake or use Roar to rack up hazard damage. However, the listed EVs do well against most other checks. Focus Punch is a clean OHKO on common Aggron sets after Stealth Rock breaks Sturdy, and also does heavy damage to Magneton. 212 HP EVs give Muk 101 HP Substitutes that cannot be broken by Seismic Toss or Night Shade. However, the use of these moves in BW RU is fairly rare, with Clefable being the only common user of Seismic Toss, so this standard and somewhat aged benchmark could be disregarded and EVs can be moved to Speed as desired (44 Speed EVs beats the standard support Omastar).</p>
<p>Alternatively, an EV spread of 212 HP / 96 Atk / 200 SpD can be used for better special tanking. Fire Blast and a Brave nature is specifically useful for Tangrowth, Scolipede, and Ferroseed, letting Muk 2HKO after Stealth Rock, 2HKO without hazards, and circumvent Iron Barbs damage, respectively. This still leaves Muk with enough power to 2HKO standard Magneton after Stealth Rock with Focus Punch followed by Fire Blast, and the boost in Muk's Special Defense means Magneton will only do 32-38% to Muk with a Modest Thunderbolt, and a Choice Scarf Volt Switch will manage to break his Substitute less than 20% of the time.</p>
<p>Tangrowth and Honchkrow make excellent teammates to Muk due to their typing and stat spread. Choice Scarf Galvantula and Accelgor can help eliminate Psychic-types that resist Focus Punch with their super effective STAB. Accelgor can also lay Spikes that ensure certain KOs for Muk.</p>
[SET]
name: Curse
move 1: Curse
move 2: Poison Jab
move 3: Fire Punch
move 4: Shadow Sneak / Pain Split
item: Leftovers
ability: Sticky Hold
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>What sets Muk apart from other Curse users is his excellent ability, Sticky Hold. With no fear of being Tricked a Choice item, Muk can switch in on a wall or weaker special attacker and start to Curse up. After two or three Curse boosts, only a strong Earth Power or Psychic will take Muk out. Poison Jab is preferred on this set for its higher PP and consistent damage. Fire Punch and Shadow Sneak provide additional coverage and become respectably powerful after a few Curses. Shadow Sneak also leaves even the normally dirt-slow Muk with a means of attacking quickly.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>More Defense EVs can be used to survive certain attacks, but Muk should begin his setup against offensively weak walls that lack Will-O-Wisp or Haze. It is perfectly fine (and to some preferable) to place only 200 EVs in HP to give a Leftovers number, with the remaining 56 EVs going into Defense. Setting up on Pokemon such as defensive Omastar and even Choice Scarf Galvantula can be possible, but be sure a +2 (or so) Shadow Sneak can finish the opponent off.</p>
<p>Different moves can be swapped in this set, but note that Muk should not attempt to run a mono-attacking set of Rest, Sleep Talk, Curse, and a STAB move because Poison-type STAB has garbage coverage—pardon the pun. Rest is certainly useful to nullify damage and status, but Muk will rarely find space for it. Ice Punch or Fire Punch are better moves to use on a mono-attacking Curse set, but Muk likes coverage and is generally outclassed when using a Curse set with moves other than the recommended ones. Brick Break can be considered over Fire Punch for the utility of breaking dual screens and the excellent neutral coverage with Shadow Sneak.</p>
<p>Good team members for Muk are somewhat situational for this set; he does not fear Toxic, Trick, or even hazards as this set won't be switching out very often. Although Magneton shares a Ground-type weakness, he can trap and remove the opponent's Steelix, a common phazer. Uxie can provide dual screens support to protect Muk as the Curse-fest begins.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Muk has a respectable offensive movepool and a few usable support moves. While Thief, Taunt, Torment, and Toxic make a nifty alliteration, Muk usually shouldn't be using them. He can summon sun and rain for your team, but Muk has a pretty bad case of four moveslot syndrome as it stands, and can't really spare a spot on any of the listed sets. Muk can force switches with Screech and surprise stat boosters with Haze; he can also use Pain Split for semi-reliable recovery. Memento can allow a frail sweeper a free switch in, but can be hard to use effectively with such low Speed. Other notable offensive moves include: Thunder, Thunderbolt, ThunderPunch, Focus Blast, Sludge Wave, Facade, Dark Pulse, Rock Slide, Shadow Ball, Giga Drain, and Explosion, but the listed moves generally offer better coverage. As a Poison-type, Muk has access to Black Sludge which can be used similarly to Leftovers due to Sticky Hold. For sheer surprise factor, Muk can equip a Choice Scarf to outpace all base 97 Speed foes, such as Sigilyph.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Steelix, Steelix, and Steelix again. Bulky Steel-, Rock-, and Ground-types will usually counter Muk to some extent. Aggron and Gligar are good examples, but the former must watch for boosted Focus Punches, and the latter for Ice Punch. Maintaining physically offensive pressure will leave Muk with few opportunities to switch in, and sleep will completely shut down all but the odd Sleep Talk variants. Will-O-Wisp will also cripple Muk and severely undermine his bulk. Hazers and phazers such as Steelix, Cofagrigus, Hariyama, and Drapion stop Curse sets, and smart switching will limit the effectiveness of Choice sets. Muk is exceedingly easy to revenge kill if he lacks a Substitute or a boosted Shadow Sneak, so any strong Psychic- or Ground-type attack will usually lead to his demise.</p>
[Unreleased]
<p>Muk receives Poison Touch from the Dream World. If Muk's team doesn't have many other status users, Poison Touch is competitive on the Choice Band set. On the other hand, regular poison is often more of a gift than a hindrance to opponents, as they can avoid Toxic poison or other more crippling status. Sticky Hold is one of the few advantages Muk has to offer over his peers and should always be considered first.</p>
