Golem
Typing: Rock/Ground -----> Rock
Abilities: Rock Head / Sturdy / Sand Veil -----> Bulletproof
BST: 80/120/130/55/65/45 -----> 80/140/190/65/95/25
New moves: Rock Wrecker (Head Smash? Would like some feedback about this one)
Oooh, this one was fun. I didn't think Golem would be very interesting to work with, but I was proven wrong; I really enjoyed working on this one (might even be up there with Starmie from the beginning of this project as my favorite), and I hope you enjoy reading, and hopefully using, it as well.
Alright, so Golem is what one generally pictures when someone says, "Rock-type": great on the physical side, but poor on the special side; high defense and attack, but low speed; powerful attacks, but inaccurate ones as well. This makes sense; after all, the Geodude family is the archetypal Rock-type, found in nearly every cave and trained by nearly every Rock-type specialist. That being said, it isn't exactly amazing in battle. While it can fill many roles--Stealth Rocker, defensive wall, physical tank--three things in particular let it down and prevent it from being anything particularly notable:
1. It's typing, which grants it double weaknesses to both Water- and Grass-type moves, among others.
2. It's poor speed.
3. It's low Special Defense.
Now, given that this is a Mega Evolution, the first bullet is by far the easiest to fix. Dropping the Ground- typing removes both of its double weaknesses, and while one may argue that Ground is in fact a better monotype than Rock, Golem is far too associated with the Rock typing for it to drop it, from a flavor standpoint. However, pure Rock still left it with 5 weaknesses: Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground, and Steel. Of these, Water, Fighting, and Ground are all relatively common, with Steel and Grass being present, but not as prevalent. On a defensive Pokemon like Golem, this many weaknesses is not a good sign. How could these weaknesses be managed?
Well, the fact that Mega Golem has 190 Defense enables it to soak up even super-effective attacks; though it certainly won't like them, its high defense will keep physical super-effective attacks from totally neutering him. The specially-defensive side, on the other hand, was another story. That would be much tougher to fix.
Its boulder-like body is extremely hard. It can easily withstand dynamite blasts without taking damage.
-RB Pokedex
Enter Bulletproof. Currently only owned by the Chespin line, the ability involves a shell or carapace of some sort preventing bullet- or bomb-based moves from damaging the holder. Golem happens to have a carapace, which also happens to be rock-hard (since it's, you know, a golem, and a Rock-type). Bulletproof would be perfect for it! What moves in particular would Bulletproof help Golem with? There are three separate categories.
1. Super-effective moves that don't see much use
- Mud Bomb
- Magnet Bomb
- Octazooka
2. Super-effective moves found in competitive play
- Aura Sphere
- Gyro Ball
- Bullet Seed
- Seed Bomb
- Focus Blast
- Energy Ball
3. Other commonly-found moves in competitive play
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
Note number 2 in particular. Bulletproof virtually gets rid of Golem's weakness to Fighting on the special side, making it immune to the most commonly used special Fighting attacks (Focus Blast and Aura Sphere). Grass also is hindered by immunities to Bullet Seed, Seed Bomb, and Energy Ball. Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb immunities notably give Golem the perfect opportunity to switch in on the likes of Gengar, of all Pokemon. Bulletproof aids Golem by making it immune to some common attacks that would otherwise completely wreck it. That isn't to say that it is unstoppable by any means, however. Noticeably absent from the list of attacks Bulletproof blocks are Water- and Ground-type moves other than Octazooka and Mud Bomb, respectively. This means that Golem still has two common weaknesses without any useful immunities to specific moves from them. Additionally, Golem lacks any sort of reliable recovery, especially with Golemite instead of Leftovers, so it can be whittled down eventually even from the physical side.
Golem's Mega Evolution turns him into a very heavily defensive (physically), very slow, powerful attacker. Bulletproof helps it overcome its middling Special Defense and suboptimal defensive typing by making it immune to some of the common attacks that would normally scare it away. Mega Golem was a real treat to design, and I was wholeheartedly surprised when the movelist that Bulletproof blocked matched so well with weaknesses of a pure-Rock type. I think that it would be a great ability on Golem, regardless of what final spread is chosen in the voting.
