[SET]
name: Sun Lead
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Stealth Rock
move 3: Explosion
move 4: Earthquake / Stone Edge
item: Heat Rock
ability: Sturdy
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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Sunny Day gives an appreciated Speed boost to teammates that carry Chlorophyll, such as Victreebel and Leafeon, and powers up Fire-type moves, making Pokemon such as Ninetales and Simisear more threatening. Stealth Rock wears down foes and breaks Sturdy and Focus Sashes and therefore is fundamental to further support teammates. Explosion is the strongest move at Golem's disposal and can heavily damage the target, though it is mainly used to not waste Sunny Day turns, gain momentum, and block Defog and Rapid Spin after setting up Stealth Rock. Earthquake can be used to deal with opposing leads such as opposing Golem and Probopass or threatening setup sweepers without having to resort to Explosion. Stone Edge can be used over Earthquake if the team needs different coverage, and while less reliable, it's useful to hit Ghost-types such as Misdreavus and Flying-types such as Dodrio and Togetic.
Set Details
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The given spread along with a Jolly nature is used to deal as much damage as possible and set up Sunny Day and Stealth Rock as fast as possible, outspeeding Defog users such as Pelipper and Togetic and Speed tying against Jolly Armaldo. Sturdy allows Golem to survive a strong hit and set up one of Sunny Day and Stealth Rock safely. Heat Rock is used to make Sunny Day's duration last as long as possible, letting teammates take advantage of it.
Usage Tips
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This Golem set has to be used has a lead, as it has a good matchup against most other leads and it has to set up both Sunny Day and Stealth Rock as soon as possible. Golem's main tasks are setting up Sunny Day and Stealth Rock to support its teammates. Golem should give more priority to setting up Stealth Rock than Sunny Day in order to waste fewer Sunny Day turns. After setting up Stealth Rock and possibly Sunny Day, Golem should use Explosion to not waste Sunny Day turns and to block Defog and Rapid Spin attempts from opponents. Earthquake or Stone Edge could be used when up against setup sweepers that don't fear Explosion such as Pawniard, Misdreavus, Carracosta, and Barbaracle. Golem should be wary of faster Taunt users such as Misdreavus, as they can prevent it from setting up Sunny Day and Stealth Rock. Golem has to be careful when facing other anti-leads such as Mold Breaker Rampardos and Bullet Seed Torterra, as they can KO it swiftly, nullifying its attempt to set up Sunny Day and Stealth Rock.
Team Options
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Sun lead Golem fits only on dedicated sun teams because of its offensive presence and the support it is able to provide to Chlorophyll users and Fire-types. As Golem will most of the time be gone during early-game, a secondary Sunny Day setter, such as Volbeat, is appreciated to support teammates more extensively. Chlorophyll users such as Victreebel, Leafeon, and Sawsbuck greatly appreciate the Sunny Day support provided by Golem, as it gives them a big boost in Speed, allowing them to open holes into the opposing team from the start. They also appreciate Stealth Rock support to wear down foes and score more KOs on Pokemon such as Rapidash, Raichu, Rotom-F, and Pelipper. Fire-types such as Ninetales and Simisear also like the Sunny Day support, as it powers up their STAB moves, making them even more threatening on the offensive side along with Stealth Rock. Ghost-types such as Misdreavus are able to block Rapid Spin and keep Stealth Rock on the opposing field and therefore are good choices as partners for Golem. Defiant users such as Pawniard are also good partners for Golem, as they deter the use of Defog from the opponent.
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