[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 8
**Price Range**: 1 point
**Overview**: Compared to similarly-priced options, Munchlax has surprising bulk and a few very specific tools that make it a decent fit for certain types of teams but relatively useless for most others. It is a one-dimensional answer to special attackers that rely primarily on Ghost-, Fire-, and Ice-type attacks. As a bottom-tier option, Munchlax has many flaws, including its reliance on Eviolite, unhelpful typing, dependence on Rest to heal, and need for more than four moves to be effective in many matchups.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Special Wall**: Using Munchlax as a wall to specific threats allows it to run more coverage or disruption to deal with varying team compositions. Yawn can force switches or put foes to sleep, Encore can lock foes into a move to slow their progress, and super effective coverage can deal some chip damage to obvious switch-ins.
**Bulky Setup**: Munchlax's bread-and-butter set involves Eviolite to maximize its bulk, Curse to boost its mediocre Attack and Defense, and RestTalk to stay healthy while continuing to set up while typically being reliant on either a STAB move or a weaker coverage option as its only attacking move. RestTalk can be replaced with more coverage, but it inevitably gets worn down without a way to heal.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Body Slam, Double-Edge, Facade
**Setup Moves**: Curse
**Utility Moves**: Yawn, Encore, Rest, Sleep Talk, Substitute, Brick Break
**Coverage**: Earthquake, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Crunch, Gunk Shot, Rock Slide, Seed Bomb, Zen Headbutt
Niche Moves
========
**Counter**: Munchlax can survive a strong physical attack due to its high HP and Eviolite and deal massive damage to non-Ghost-types in return with Counter.
**Rock Tomb / Bulldoze**: Although Munchlax is unlikely to outspeed anything even after multiple Speed reductions, its teammates might benefit from slower foes on switch-in. This can also prevent a foe from setting up to sweep.
**Belly Drum**: If Curse is too slow and Munchlax can find a passive foe to take advantage of, it can use Belly Drum with or without Gluttony and a pinch Berry to instantly become an offensive threat.
**Stockpile**: If Munchlax needs additional Special Defense to check specific foes, Stockpile can allow it to take more hits both physically and specially at the cost of not boosting its Attack.
Common Items
========
**Eviolite**: Munchlax's bulk is amplified by Eviolite, allowing it to take more hits and give itself time to set up, deal damage, spread status, and heal itself. This necessary item provides massive value at no cost.
Tera
========
Having Munchlax as a Tera Captain is almost never a good idea. If a draft somehow has literally no other better options, it can benefit from Tera Ghost and Poison to flip its weakness to Fighting and Tera Fire to help it avoid burns while hitting problematic Steel-types harder.
Draft Strategy
========
Munchlax has a few very positive matchups while losing in the vast majority of others, so it should fit on teams that are already complete with entry hazard control, pivoting, offenses, and defenses. Its only other strength is potentially getting ignored by the opponent when teambuilding, allowing it space to set up or spread status to support its team.
**Fire-, Ghost-, and Ice-weak Teams**: Teams that are weak to Fire, Ghost, or Ice appreciate Munchlax's bulk with Eviolite combined with Thick Fat, making it take comically low damage from prominent special attackers like Chi-Yu, Primarina, and Gengar and forcing foes like Heatran and Kyurem to run physical coverage.
**Fighting-resistant Pokemon**: If a team has multiple teammates that resist or are immune to Fighting like Gholdengo, Landorus-T, and Latios before picking up Munchlax, opponents are much less likely to bring coverage specifically for a one-point Pokemon, which provides it more room to be useful.
Checks and Counters
========
**Physical Attackers**: Even with Eviolite, Munchlax can struggle to take strong physical attacks before getting a chance to use Curse or Stockpile.
**Disruption / Phazing**: Munchlax is relatively predictable and cannot do very much meaningful damage without setting up, so disruptive moves like Taunt, Encore, Roar, and Dragon Tail can nullify its effectiveness and make it much less impactful to games. These counters are easy to pull off as well due to its abysmal Speed.
**Chip Damage**: Munchlax prefers to use Curse at least once before spending turns on Rest and Sleep Talk, so being forced to switch and take repeated damage from entry hazards, Rocky Helmet, and multiple attacks limits its effectiveness.
**Knock Off**: Munchlax's usefulness is heavily reduced if it loses the additional bulk from Eviolite.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/xand.614716/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jscurf.608304/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
**Draft Order**: Round 8
**Price Range**: 1 point
**Overview**: Compared to similarly-priced options, Munchlax has surprising bulk and a few very specific tools that make it a decent fit for certain types of teams but relatively useless for most others. It is a one-dimensional answer to special attackers that rely primarily on Ghost-, Fire-, and Ice-type attacks. As a bottom-tier option, Munchlax has many flaws, including its reliance on Eviolite, unhelpful typing, dependence on Rest to heal, and need for more than four moves to be effective in many matchups.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Special Wall**: Using Munchlax as a wall to specific threats allows it to run more coverage or disruption to deal with varying team compositions. Yawn can force switches or put foes to sleep, Encore can lock foes into a move to slow their progress, and super effective coverage can deal some chip damage to obvious switch-ins.
**Bulky Setup**: Munchlax's bread-and-butter set involves Eviolite to maximize its bulk, Curse to boost its mediocre Attack and Defense, and RestTalk to stay healthy while continuing to set up while typically being reliant on either a STAB move or a weaker coverage option as its only attacking move. RestTalk can be replaced with more coverage, but it inevitably gets worn down without a way to heal.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Body Slam, Double-Edge, Facade
**Setup Moves**: Curse
**Utility Moves**: Yawn, Encore, Rest, Sleep Talk, Substitute, Brick Break
**Coverage**: Earthquake, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Crunch, Gunk Shot, Rock Slide, Seed Bomb, Zen Headbutt
Niche Moves
========
**Counter**: Munchlax can survive a strong physical attack due to its high HP and Eviolite and deal massive damage to non-Ghost-types in return with Counter.
**Rock Tomb / Bulldoze**: Although Munchlax is unlikely to outspeed anything even after multiple Speed reductions, its teammates might benefit from slower foes on switch-in. This can also prevent a foe from setting up to sweep.
**Belly Drum**: If Curse is too slow and Munchlax can find a passive foe to take advantage of, it can use Belly Drum with or without Gluttony and a pinch Berry to instantly become an offensive threat.
**Stockpile**: If Munchlax needs additional Special Defense to check specific foes, Stockpile can allow it to take more hits both physically and specially at the cost of not boosting its Attack.
Common Items
========
**Eviolite**: Munchlax's bulk is amplified by Eviolite, allowing it to take more hits and give itself time to set up, deal damage, spread status, and heal itself. This necessary item provides massive value at no cost.
Tera
========
Having Munchlax as a Tera Captain is almost never a good idea. If a draft somehow has literally no other better options, it can benefit from Tera Ghost and Poison to flip its weakness to Fighting and Tera Fire to help it avoid burns while hitting problematic Steel-types harder.
Draft Strategy
========
Munchlax has a few very positive matchups while losing in the vast majority of others, so it should fit on teams that are already complete with entry hazard control, pivoting, offenses, and defenses. Its only other strength is potentially getting ignored by the opponent when teambuilding, allowing it space to set up or spread status to support its team.
**Fire-, Ghost-, and Ice-weak Teams**: Teams that are weak to Fire, Ghost, or Ice appreciate Munchlax's bulk with Eviolite combined with Thick Fat, making it take comically low damage from prominent special attackers like Chi-Yu, Primarina, and Gengar and forcing foes like Heatran and Kyurem to run physical coverage.
**Fighting-resistant Pokemon**: If a team has multiple teammates that resist or are immune to Fighting like Gholdengo, Landorus-T, and Latios before picking up Munchlax, opponents are much less likely to bring coverage specifically for a one-point Pokemon, which provides it more room to be useful.
Checks and Counters
========
**Physical Attackers**: Even with Eviolite, Munchlax can struggle to take strong physical attacks before getting a chance to use Curse or Stockpile.
**Disruption / Phazing**: Munchlax is relatively predictable and cannot do very much meaningful damage without setting up, so disruptive moves like Taunt, Encore, Roar, and Dragon Tail can nullify its effectiveness and make it much less impactful to games. These counters are easy to pull off as well due to its abysmal Speed.
**Chip Damage**: Munchlax prefers to use Curse at least once before spending turns on Rest and Sleep Talk, so being forced to switch and take repeated damage from entry hazards, Rocky Helmet, and multiple attacks limits its effectiveness.
**Knock Off**: Munchlax's usefulness is heavily reduced if it loses the additional bulk from Eviolite.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/xand.614716/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jscurf.608304/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
Last edited:
