Monotype Alolan Muk (Poison)

[Arash]

[OVERVIEW]

Poison
========

* Alolan Muk's amazing Poison / Dark typing allows it to switch into Psychic attacks with impunity, which is crucial for Poison types. Its amazing bulk makes it the best Poison / Dark type available for this role, and also allows it to function as a special pivot for Poison teams.
* Alolan Muk makes an excellent Pursuit trapper, ensuring that threats like Alolan Raichu are swiftly dealt with.
* Poison Touch allows it to spread poison passively through its contact moves, which is especially effective when using Poison-type moves that can stack poison chance with its ability.
* Alolan Muk's access to Knock Off is crucial for removing critical items like Eviolite, and makes many would-be switch ins think twice about the possibility of losing their item.
* However, Alolan Muk's base 50 Speed is very slow and will result in it getting outsped often.
* Alolan Muk's lack of reliable recovery means that it can be worn down with repeated hits and entry hazard damage, which limit its opportunities to switch in.
* Apart from Poison / Dark moves, it lacks powerful coverage to hit opponents that can threaten it.
* Despite great special bulk, Alolan Muk's Defense stat is middling at best, which hampers its ability to check physical Psychic-types such as Victini.

[SET]
name: Assault Vest (Poison)
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Pursuit
move 3: Poison Jab / Gunk Shot
move 4: Shadow Sneak / Fire Blast
item: Assault Vest
ability: Poison Touch
nature: Careful / Sassy
EVs: 248 HP / 12 Def / 248 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

* Knock Off is Alolan Muk's most reliable and powerful Dark move and has the added utility of removing items like Choice Scarf and Eviolite that would otherwise prove difficult to deal with.
* Pursuit helps Alolan Muk eliminate Psychic-types from the opposing team, OHKOing Alolan Raichu and heavily damaging Victini and Latios.
* Poison Jab is a STAB move that hits neutral targets hard with 100% accuracy. It also comes with a 30% poison chance that stacks with Poison Touch.
* Gunk Shot can replace Poison Jab for the added power at the cost of a lower poison chance and lower accuracy; it secures the OHKO on Tapu Koko and Azumarill, among other threats.
* Shadow Sneak is mainly for priority, as many of the targets Alolan Muk will trap are faster. This will prevent Alolan Muk from having to take an extra hit trying to finish off weakened threats like Victini and Mega Alakazam.
* Fire Blast with a Sassy nature hits Steel-types for decent damage and 2HKOes Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor, but is held back by Alolan Muk's poor Special Attack stat.

Set Details
========

* 248 EVs in HP and 12 EVs in Defense allow Alolan Muk to avoid the OHKO from Victini’s V-Create after Stealth Rock damage.
* With the HP and Special Defense EVs, a Careful nature, and an Assault Vest, Alolan Muk can switch into many special attacks, specifically avoiding the 2HKO from Mega Charizard Y's Fire Blast after Stealth Rock damage. Alolan Muk can also more reliably cripple Nidoking and Landorus with Knock Off, as it is able to sometimes survive two Earth Powers from Nidoking after Knocking Off its Life Orb.
* A Sassy nature should be used with Fire Blast to preserve power while maintaining Special Defense. Alolan Muk's speed is already poor, so a hindering nature isn't going to affect the set.
* Poison Touch is the ability of choice to help spread poison and rack up residual damage. This stacks with Poison Jab to cause a poison chance rate of about 50%, while moves like Knock Off and Pursuit can now poison the opponent.

Usage Tips
========

* Early in the game, Knock Off should be spammed to remove as many items as possible; removing Eviolite from Porygon 2 and Chansey or Life Orb from Nidoking and Landorus makes them much easier for the rest of the team to handle.
* Walls like Rotom-W or Toxapex that attempt to switch into Alolan Muk should be hit with Knock Off on the switch before Alolan Muk retreats; Alolan Muk cannot dent them otherwise and needs to avoid getting a burn.
* Alolan Muk needs to avoid burns at all costs, as this makes it ineffective at Pursuit trapping, allowing threats like Alolan Raichu to switch out and survive Pursuit.
* Poison Jab should be used to spread status if you anticipate a switch-in that cannot lose its item, such as Mega Sharpedo or Mega Charizard X. Otherwise, the utility of removing items with Knock Off far exceeds that of inflicting Poison status.
* Shadow Sneak helps compensate for Alolan Muk's poor speed, and while it should not be relied upon to deal substantial damage, it should always go for Shadow Sneak before fainting as a way to deal extra chip damage and a chance to poison the opponent thanks to Poison Touch.
* Alolan Muk's main role is to switch into a predicted Psychic attack from huge threats like Alolan Raichu and Mega Alakazam and trap and KO them with Pursuit. This is crucial for the team, since these threats would sweep with Psychic moves otherwise.
* Although Alolan Muk can take a few hits, it lacks recovery and can be worn down if it is not careful. Alolan Muk should also be careful around entry hazards and kept healthy to be able to adequately deal with Psychic-type threats when they are sent out in battle.
* Alolan Muk should focus on trapping Psychic-types that have lower defense such as Alakazam and Latios; others such as Slowbro and Mew will be able to withstand Alolan Muk's attacks and burn it, making it ineffective for the rest of the match.

Team Options
========

* All Poison-types enjoy having Alolan Muk as a teammate because it switches into Psychic attacks and traps Psychic-types with Pursuit.
* Mega Venusaur is perhaps the best teammate for Alolan Muk, as it is very bulky on the physical side and is neutral to Ground moves, which are Alolan Muk's sole weakness. It can also help check many Steel-types with a combination of Hidden Power Fire and Earthquake.
* Crobat is a suitable teammate because it is immune to Ground moves. It also has access to Taunt, U-Turn, and Defog, which all help Alolan Muk by preventing setup, pivoting as needed, and removing hazards that would otherwise wear Alolan Muk down.
* Although Alolan Muk specializes in fighting Psychic-types, it is slower than almost all of them. As a result, it appreciates the support of Gengar, who is a speedy and powerful wallbreaker that can beat the likes of Slowbro and Mew, preventing Alolan Muk from taking unnecessary damage and burns.
* As Alolan Muk will cause many switches, Stealth Rock support from Nidoking and Nidoqueen is appreciated to rack up more damage. Nidoking will also provide offensive support and help KO Steel- and Ground-types that Alolan Muk has trouble with.
* Physical attackers like Scolipede will take pressure off of Alolan Muk by being the main physical threat on the team and helping Alolan Muk conserve its health. In return, Alolan Muk deals massive damage to bulkier Psychic-types such as Mew and Slowbro to assist Scolipede in sweeping.
* Toxapex has amazing bulk and recovery and can soak up physical hits directed at Alolan Muk while using Haze on setup sweepers or Scald to burn physical attackers.
* Choice Scarf Nihilego is a great cleaner and enjoys Alolan Muk's ability to remove items and trap Alolan Raichu, who would otherwise outspeed and KO Nihilego.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

Poison
--------

* Alolan Muk has access to Memento to lower stats at the cost of its own life. While there are a few teammates that would appreciate a free turn to setup, like Scolipede, Salazzle, and Toxicroak, ultimately it isn't worth sacrificing the main switch-in to Psychic attacks.
* An Air Balloon can be used to eliminate Alolan Muk's Ground weakness temporarily, but it usually has enough team support to forgo this in favor of more useful items for the team as a whole.
* Alolan Muk can also run an effective Curse set with Rest and Sleep Talk, but this prevents it from utilizing Pursuit to trap opposing Psychic-types, and it offers far less utility for the team in general.

Checks and Counters
===================

Poison
--------

**Magearna**: Magearna can switch in freely against Alolan Muk due to its typing. It risks losing its item to Knock Off if it's not running a Z-Crystal, but after that, Magearna isn't threatened at all and can set up freely with Shift Gear or Trick Room and threaten the rest of the team. If allowed to KO Alolan Muk, it will also garner a +1 Special Attack boost thanks to its ability, which makes it that much more dangerous for the team to face.

**Physical Walls**: Most physical walls that aren't weak to Poison or Dark attacks with recovery can take on Alolan Muk easily, paving the way for a Psychic-type to cause major damage later. Skarmory, Mega Venusaur, and Toxapex all receive special mention, as they are all immune to the poison status and have reliable recovery, with Mega Venusaur also immune to losing its Mega Stone.

**Steel-Types**: Steel-types don't enjoy losing their item to Knock Off, but because they are immune to Poison moves, after losing their item Alolan Muk doesn't have a reliable way to deal large amounts of damage. Pokemon such as Excadrill and Celesteela can switch in with minimal risk and proceed to OHKO Alolan Muk or set up. Mega Scizor is also immune to losing its item and can set up on sets that lack Fire Blast.

**Ground-Types**: Ground-types resist Poison attacks and typically boast sizeable physical bulk while hitting Alolan Muk hard with STAB Ground moves. Excadrill and Mega Garchomp are especially dangerous for Alolan Muk to face, as Excadrill is immune to Poison status, and Mega Garchomp takes reduced damage from Knock Off. In general, however, Alolan Muk is usually forced to switch, as almost all Ground-types outspeed and OHKO it with their main STAB move.

**Physical Attackers**: Alolan Muk will usually be built to sponge special attacks, so it will take heavy damage from most strong physical attackers that can hit Alolan Muk for neutral damage, such as Buzzwole, Dragonite, and Tyranitar. While very few of these can risk losing their item, once on the field, they can either set up or throw out powerful physical moves without fear.

**Burns**: Despite Alolan Muk's special bulk, it does not enjoy switching into Scald or walls like Rotom-W, Mew, and Mega-Sableye known to carry Will-O-Wisp, as a burn will halve Alolan Muk's Attack and make it much weaker. The extra damage caused by a burn also hurts Alolan Muk's longevity.

 

[Quantum Tesseract]

AM QC check, this does not count for 1/3

[OVERVIEW]

Poison
========
* Alolan Muk's amazing Poison/Dark typing allows it to switch into Psychic attacks with impunity, which is crucial for Poison types. With its attack and special bulk stats that exceed its competition (Skuntank and Drapion), Alolan Muk is the premiere switch-in to Psychic-type attacks. You don't need a parenthetical clause here; if it's important enough list it anyway, and if it isn't don't have it. I also feel that stats should be folded into the next bullet.
* Aside from Psychic immunity, its great special defense makes it a good switch-in to many special attackers that lack Ground moves or powerful neutral moves. Remove first clause, just talk about special defense
* Poison Touch allows it to spread poison passively through its contact moves, which is especially effective when using Poison-typed moves that can stack poisoning chance with its ability.
* While Alolan Muk has great stats for attack power and bulk, base 50 speed is very slow. This, coupled with its lack of recovery outside of Rest, means that Muk can be worn down with repeated hits.speed doesn't have that much to do with being work down; since it's bulky invested, even a high speed wouldn't help. Just talk about being worn down.
* Its coverage is also sort of lacking; apart from Poison/Dark moves, it gets Rock-type moves, Brick Break, Shadow Sneak, Explosion, and an assortment of special moves that run off of its poor special-attacking stat. Just lacking, not sort of lacking.
* Despite great special bulk, its defense stat is middling at best, which hampers its ability to check and counter physical Psychic-types.

[SET]
name: Assault Vest (Poison)
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Poison Jab / Gunk Shot
move 3: Pursuit
move 4: Brick Break / Rock Slide / Stone Edge / Fire Blast
item: Assault Vest
ability: Poison Touch
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 120 Atk / 136 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Knock Off is Alolan Muk's most reliable and powerful Dark move, and has the added utility of removing items (and can even spread poison status via ability). Remove parenthetical clause; either cut or fold in.
* Poison STAB in order to hit neutral targets hard. Poison Jab vs. Gunk Shot is a choice between accuracy and power, but both come with a 30% poison chance that stacks with Alolan Muk's ability. What KOes does Gunk shot get?
* Pursuit helps Alolan Muk eliminate Psychic types from the opposing team and punishes them for trying to switch out.
* The last slot is for coverage depending on team needs; Brick Break and Fire Blast help with steel types (who cannot be poisoned), while Rock moves are the strongest coverage options available. Same as above, remove parenthetical clause

Set Details
========

* Maximum HP with the rest divided between Attack and Special Defense help Muk soak up special attacks while also hitting hard in return.Why these particular numbers; explain more. If there's particular hits, I see no reason to deviate from the standard 248 HP 100 ATK 160 SPD
* With an Assault Vest, Alolan Muk can switch into many special attacks, and since many special attackers have poor physical defense, Alolan Muk can hit hard in return.
* Poison Touch is the ability of choice to help spread poison and rack up residual damage. Power of Alchemy is useless in a Single Battle setting, and while Gluttony has some niche uses it is not as useful overall as Poison Touch. Just mention little use, their details aren't really relevant unless they're on the set.

Usage Tips
========

* Switch Alolan Muk in on predicted Psychic attacks and use Pursuit to trap and kill the foe. KO, not kill
* If Alolan Muk is facing an opponent that can't dent it, Knock Off and Poison Jab are useful to remove items or spread poison, respectively.
* Although Alolan Muk can take a few hits, it lacks recovery and can be worn down if it is not careful. If there is a specific Pokemon that needs to be Pursuit-trapped, it may be prudent to save Alolan Muk to remove that Pokemon.
A little more would be nice here; probably give some examples of what it traps, and when in the game, as well as anything else relevant.

Team Options
========

* All Poison-types enjoy having Alolan Muk as a teammate because it switches into Psychic attacks and traps Psychic types with Pursuit.
* Mega-Venusaur is perhaps the best teammate for Alolan Muk, as it is very bulky on the physical side and is neutral to Ground moves, which are Alolan Muk's sole weakness.
* Crobat is a suitable teammate because it is immune to Ground moves. Crobat also has access to Taunt, U-Turn, and Defog which all help Alolan Muk by preventing set-up, pivoting into Alolan Muk as needed, and removing hazards that would otherwise wear Alolan Muk down.
* Although Alolan Muk specializes in fighting Psychic types, it appreciates the support of Gengar and Scolipede, who are much faster and can take out Psychic types that are faster than Muk and could cause major damage. Mention physical attackers especially, and how they take pressure off Muk.
* While Toxapex doesn't cover any of Alolan Muk's shortcomings, it has amazing bulk and recovery, and can soak up hits directed at Alolan Muk while using Haze on set-up sweepers or Scald to burn physical attackers. If it soaks up physical hits, that's a shortcoming overcome right there.

[SET] I'm not really sure what this set does for poison, and would suggest moving it to other options as a single sentence or two unless I'm missing something really obvious.
name: Curse (Poison)
move 1: Curse
move 2: Poison Jab / Gunk Shot
move 3: Knock Off / Assurance / Rest
move 4: Brick Break / Sleep Talk
item: Black Sludge
ability: Poison Touch
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 54 Atk / 56 Def / 148 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Curse boosts attack and defense at the cost of lowering Alolan Muk's already horrible speed. After a few uses of Curse, the opponent will be hard-pressed to find something to deal with Alolan Muk's bulk and power. Try to avoid th
* Poison STAB is Alolan Muk's most reliable source of damage. Poison Jab vs. Gunk Shot is again a choice between accuracy and power, but both come with a 30% poison chance that stacks with Alolan Muk's ability. Don't really say again because seperate sets, and list the difference in KOes
* Knock Off is very useful for removing items and being a strong secondary STAB attack, but Assurance becomes 120 power if Muk takes damage before using it. This synergizes well with Curse as Alolan Muk will be very slow and can take all sorts of hits comfortably after a Curse or two. Seperate bullets probably
* Brick Break is in the last slot as Fighting coverage is Alolan Muk's best option to damage opposing Steel types. or assurance/Koff t1? I'm not seeing when brick break would ever be a good option, except vs like ttar; move to other options.
* Alolan Muk can also opt to use Rest and Sleep Talk to stay healthy and burn-free, but it will then have only one attack and become much easier to wall. Rest can be used without Sleep Talk, but without a few Curses under its belt, Alolan Muk will struggle to stay healthy during the two turns it is asleep.

Set Details
========

* Maximum HP and EVs invested in Special Defense help Alolan Muk stay bulky on the special side. The EV spread above allows its Defense to match Special Defense after one Curse, with the rest dumped into Attack for extra damage. Why would that matter, give some calculations. Is there a reason to use that investment?
* Black Sludge helps Alolan Muk stay healthy and punishes opponents who would Trick a choice item to prevent setup, as non-Poison types lose health upon gaining Black Sludge.
* Poison Touch is still the ability of choice to help spread poison and rack up residual damage.

Usage Tips
========

* Switch Alolan Muk in on a special attacker or opponent that cannot do much damage, and start using Curse to boost attack and defense.
* Unless Alolan Muk is running Rest, it will be difficult to keep it healthy in the face of powerful attackers without a few Curses under its belt. Elaborate; what does this mean in terms of using it?
* Pokemon with Haze and pseudo-hazing moves (Roar, Dragon Tail, etc.) can erase all of Alolan Muk's boosts, and should be dealt with prior to setting up. Just say phase.
This is really bare bones; if you don't end up ditching this entirely, expand this.

Team Options
========

* Mega-Venusaur is again among the best teammates possible for Alolan Muk due to its ability to soak up Ground attacks and recover off any damage.
* Despite being a Dark type, Alolan Muk will want to stay as healthy as possible until it finds an opportunity to set up. As such, faster offensive pokemon such as Gengar and Scolipede help keep Psychic pokemon off the field until Alolan Muk is ready to boost.
* Wall-breakers and other pokemon that can boost faster than Alolan Muk can power through it even after one Curse boost, and as a result Alolan Muk appreciates teammates that can force these opponents out, such as Nihilego or Scarf Nidoking.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Poison
--------
* Alolan Muk can utilize Explosion to deliver a powerful blow to enemies that don't take much damage from its other attacks at the cost of its own life. However, it is too slow to utilize this effectively, and Alolan Muk is generally too useful to blow up.
* In the same vein, Alolan Muk also has access to Memento to lower stats at the cost of its own life. However, there aren't many Poison teammates that can turn into game-winning threats with only one turn of set-up, so this is a sub-optimal strategy. Are there any? If not, remove; else list
* Shadow Sneak, while it doesn't provide much in the way of coverage or power, provides Alolan Muk with priority in case its attacks leave the opponent with only a sliver of health left.
* Alolan Muk also has access to some interesting special attacking options (Thunder, Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, Belch, Focus Blast, Acid Spray) but it cannot use them effectively with 65 base special attack and no reliable boosting method. Fire Blast is the only special move that should be considered to hit the likes of Mega-Scizor or Skarmory, who would otherwise wall it completely.
* An Air Balloon can be used to eliminate Alolan Muk's only weakness temporarily, but it has enough team support to forgo this in favor of more useful items for the team as a whole.
If you took curse out of sets, but it here, otherwise, move brick break here or remove.

Checks and Counters
===================

Poison
--------
**Magearna**: Magearna can switch in freely to Alolan Muk due to its typing. It risks losing its item to Knock Off, but after that Magearna isn't threatened at all and can set up freely to threaten the rest of the team.

**Physical Walls**: Most physical walls that aren't weak to Poison or Dark attacks with recovery can take on Alolan Muk easily. Skarmory, Mega-Venusaur and Toxapex are all immune to the poison status and have reliable recovery, with Mega-Venusaur also immune to losing its mega stone; these are among the best switch-ins available.last clause isn't rlly needed

**Ground Moves**: Ground moves hit Alolan Muk super effectively, and as Earthquake is a widely distributed physical move, it is easy to add to many Pokemon to have something to damage Alolan Muk greatly.

**Steel Types**: Steel types don't enjoy losing their item to Knock Off, but as they are immune to Poison moves, after losing their item Muk doesn't have a way to deal large amounts of damage (short of a double weakness to Fire Blast or Brick Break). Put this above ground moves

**Burns**: Despite Alolan Muk's special bulk, it does not enjoy switching into Scald or special attackers known to carry Will-o-Wisp as a burn will halve Alolan Muk's attack and make it much weaker. The extra damage caused by burn also hurts Alolan Muk's staying power.

Consider physical attackers and ground types

All in all, this seems pretty good, but I'm curious; what utility does Curse provide that makes it worth the team support and lack of a pursuiter? I can't definitively say it's bad because I haven't used it, but it seems really iffy.

 

[Arash]

^Implemented for the most part. The Curse set is more of a win-con and fits in well with more defensive / stall teams, and as such I beefed up the descriptions more. Also, on the Curse set, Brick Break hits specific targets and also is Muk's strongest physical coverage move that can activate Poison Touch and was left in the set for that reason. However, if the general consensus is that the Curse set is OO material only, I have no problem removing it.

Thanks! Ready for QC

 

[Quantum Tesseract]

A few more edits that I missed time 1

[OVERVIEW]

Poison
========
* Alolan Muk's amazing Poison/Dark typing allows it to switch into Psychic attacks with impunity, which is crucial for Poison types.
* With its attack and special bulk stats that exceed its Poison/Dark typed competition, Alolan Muk is an excellent switch-in to Psychic-type attacks and many special attackers that lack Ground moves.
* Poison Touch allows it to spread poison passively through its contact moves, which is especially effective when using Poison-typed moves that can stack poisoning chance with its ability.
* While Alolan Muk has great stats for attack power and bulk, base 50 speed is very slow.
* Alolan Muk's lack of recovery outside of Rest means that it can be worn down with repeated hits.
* Its coverage is also lacking; apart from Poison/Dark moves, it gets Rock-type moves, Brick Break, Shadow Sneak, Explosion, and an assortment of special moves that run off of its poor special-attacking stat. Don't mention OO moves in overview
* Despite great special bulk, its defense stat is middling at best, which hampers its ability to check and counter physical Psychic-types.

[SET]
name: Assault Vest (Poison)
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Poison Jab / Gunk Shot
move 3: Pursuit
move 4: Brick Break / Rock Slide / Stone Edge / Fire Blast 4 slashes is far too much, drop some to Other Options. Also I feel that shadow sneak is probably the best option here.
item: Assault Vest
ability: Poison Touch
nature: Careful
evs: 248 HP / 100 Atk / 162 SpD 160, not 162. the last 2 do nothing

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Knock Off is Alolan Muk's most reliable and powerful Dark move, and has the added utility of removing items and can even spread poison status via ability.
* Poison Jab STAB in order to hit neutral targets hard while being 100% accurate. also fix this, this isn't well worded
* Gunk Shot can replace Poison Jab for the added power (secures the OHKO on Tapu Koko and Azumarill, and 2HKO on defensive Tapu Fini and Mega-Charizard X, among other threats) at the cost of accuracy. Both poison attakcs come with a 30% poison chance that stacks with Alolan Muk's ability. Remove parenthetical clauses; either insert them normally, or remove them outright. Also probably remove Charizard-X, because you aren't staying in on that unless you are desperate.
* Pursuit helps Alolan Muk eliminate Psychic types from the opposing team and punishes them for trying to switch out.
* The last slot is for coverage depending on team needs; Brick Break and Fire Blast help with steel types immune to Poison, while Rock moves are the strongest coverage options available. again move some to OO, and give each move a bullet point

Set Details
========

* Maximum HP with the rest divided between Attack and Special Defense help Muk soak up special attacks while also hitting hard in return. Why 100 attack in specific, why 162 spd in specific. Also list attack and bulk separately, and set 162 to 160.
* With an Assault Vest, Alolan Muk can switch into many special attacks, and since many special attackers have poor physical defense, Alolan Muk can hit hard in return.
* Poison Touch is the ability of choice to help spread poison and rack up residual damage. Power of Alchemy is useless in a Single Battle setting, and Gluttony has little practical use.

Usage Tips
========

* Switch Alolan Muk in on predicted Psychic attacks and use Pursuit to trap and KO the foe.
* If Alolan Muk is facing an opponent that can't dent it, Knock Off and Poison Jab are useful to remove items or spread poison, respectively.
* Although Alolan Muk can take a few hits, it lacks recovery and can be worn down if it is not careful. Many teams often have one source of Psychic attacks that can otherwise take a huge chunk of Alolan-Muk's health (examples include Alolan Raichu, Victini, Gardevoir, and Latios), and Alolan Muk should be kept healthy to be able to adequately deal with these threats when they are sent out in battle. Again remove parenthetical clauses
Mention which psychic types you should prioritize trapping (ie pokes like alakazam and celebi) and which ones you shouldn't (ie slowbro and mew)

Team Options
========

* All Poison-types enjoy having Alolan Muk as a teammate because it switches into Psychic attacks and traps Psychic types with Pursuit.
* Mega-Venusaur is perhaps the best teammate for Alolan Muk, as it is very bulky on the physical side and is neutral to Ground moves, which are Alolan Muk's sole weakness.
* Crobat is a suitable teammate because it is immune to Ground moves. Crobat also has access to Taunt, U-Turn, and Defog which all help Alolan Muk by preventing set-up, pivoting into Alolan Muk as needed, and removing hazards that would otherwise wear Alolan Muk down.
* Although Alolan Muk specializes in fighting Psychic types, it appreciates the support of Gengar who is speedy and can take out Psychic types that are faster than Muk and could cause major damage.
* Physical attackers like Scolipede will take pressure off of Alolan Muk from being the main physical threat on the team and help Alolan Muk conserve its health.
* Toxapex has amazing bulk and recovery, and can soak up physical hits directed at Alolan Muk while using Haze on set-up sweepers or Scald to burn physical attackers.

[SET]
name: Curse (Poison)
move 1: Curse
move 2: Poison Jab / Gunk Shot
move 3: Knock Off / Assurance / Rest
move 4: Brick Break / Sleep Talk
item: Black Sludge
ability: Poison Touch
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 54 Atk / 56 Def / 148 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Curse boosts attack and defense at the cost of lowering Alolan Muk's already poor speed.
* Poison STAB is Alolan Muk's most reliable source of damage. Poison Jab vs. Gunk Shot is a choice between accuracy and power, but both come with a 30% poison chance that stacks with Alolan Muk's ability.
* Knock Off is very useful for removing items and being a strong secondary STAB attack.
* Assurance becomes 120 power if Muk takes damage before using it. This synergizes well with Curse as Alolan Muk will be very slow and can take all sorts of hits comfortably after a Curse or two.
* Brick Break is in the last slot as Fighting coverage is Alolan Muk's strongest contact coverage move (to activate Poison Touch) and its best option to damage pokemon that resist Poison and Dark attacks (Tyranitar, Terrakion, Bisharp, etc.) that can otherwise boost in its face and threaten the team. Remove parenthetical clauses
* Alolan Muk can also opt to use Rest and Sleep Talk to stay healthy and burn-free, but it will then have only one attack and become much easier to wall. Rest can be used without Sleep Talk, but without a few Curses under its belt, Alolan Muk will struggle to stay healthy during the two turns it is asleep.

Set Details
========

* Maximum HP and EVs invested in Special Defense help Alolan Muk stay bulky on the special side. The EV spread above allows its Defense to match Special Defense after one Curse; as most opponents will instictively switch in a physical threat during Alolan Muk's first turn out, this helps it stay bulky enough to continue boosting and taking hits. The rest of the EVs are dumped into Attack for extra damage.
* Black Sludge helps Alolan Muk stay healthy and punishes opponents who would Trick a choice item to prevent setup, as non-Poison types lose health upon gaining Black Sludge.
* Poison Touch is still the ability of choice to help spread poison and rack up residual damage.

Usage Tips
========

* Switch Alolan Muk in on a special attacker or opponent that cannot do much damage, and start using Curse to boost attack and defense.
* Unless Alolan Muk is running Rest, it will be difficult to keep it healthy in the face of powerful attackers without a few Curses under its belt. Black Sludge won't heal Alolan Muk fast enough in the face of repeated powerful attacks, and will limit opportunities to set up.
* Pokemon with Haze and phazing moves can erase all of Alolan Muk's boosts, and should be dealt with prior to setting up.
* The Curse set is more of a win condition than a Psychic-trapper; it is recommended to include other ways of dealing with Psychic types as Alolan Muk won't be able to utilize Pursuit on this set to trap them.

Team Options
========

* Mega-Venusaur is again among the best teammates possible for Alolan Muk due to its ability to soak up Ground attacks and recover off any damage.
* Despite being a Dark type, Alolan Muk will want to stay as healthy as possible until it finds an opportunity to set up. As such, faster offensive pokemon such as Gengar and Scolipede help keep Psychic pokemon off the field until Alolan Muk is ready to boost. Mention how they take on psychic types for the team as well
* Wall-breakers and other pokemon that can boost faster than Alolan Muk can power through it even after one Curse boost, and as a result Alolan Muk appreciates teammates that can force these opponents out, such as Nihilego or Scarf Nidoking.
Potentiall include skuntank, as you need a pursuit trapper for psychic and this set doesn't include that

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Poison
--------
* Alolan Muk can utilize Explosion to deliver a powerful blow to enemies that don't take much damage from its other attacks at the cost of its own life. However, it is too slow to utilize this effectively, and Alolan Muk is generally too useful to blow up.
* In the same vein, Alolan Muk also has access to Memento to lower stats at the cost of its own life. While there are a few teammates that would appreciate a free turn to set-up (Scolipede, Salazzle, Toxicroak), ultimately it isn't worth sacrificing the main switch-in to Psychic attacks.
* Shadow Sneak, while it doesn't provide much in the way of coverage or power, provides Alolan Muk with priority in case its attacks leave the opponent with only a sliver of health left.
* Alolan Muk also has access to some interesting special attacking options (Thunder, Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, Belch, Focus Blast, Acid Spray) but it cannot use them effectively with 65 base special attack and no reliable boosting method. Fire Blast is the only special move that should be considered to hit the likes of Mega-Scizor or Skarmory, who would otherwise wall it completely. Remove parenthetical clause. also if they arent options, dont list them
* An Air Balloon can be used to eliminate Alolan Muk's only weakness temporarily, but it Usually has enough team support to forgo this in favor of more useful items for the team as a whole. Also mention how its rlly bad

Checks and Counters
===================

Poison
--------
**Magearna**: Magearna can switch in freely to Alolan Muk due to its typing. It risks losing its item to Knock Off, but after that Magearna isn't threatened at all and can set up freely to threaten the rest of the team.

**Physical Walls**: Most physical walls that aren't weak to Poison or Dark attacks with recovery can take on Alolan Muk easily. Skarmory, Mega-Venusaur and Toxapex are all immune to the poison status and have reliable recovery, with Mega-Venusaur also immune to losing its mega stone.

**Steel Types**: Steel types don't enjoy losing their item to Knock Off, but as they are immune to Poison moves, after losing their item Muk doesn't have a way to deal large amounts of damage (short of a double weakness to Fire Blast or Brick Break). Don't rlly mention those, or at the very least remove the parenthetical clause

**Ground Types**: Ground types resist Poison attacks and typically boast sizeable physical bulk while hitting Alolan Muk hard with STAB Ground moves. Krookodile (resists Dark) and Excadrill (immune to poison status) are especially dangerous for Alolan Muk to face. Remove parenthical clause

**Ground Moves**: Earthquake is a widely distributed physical move, and it is easy to add to many Pokemon to have something to damage Alolan Muk greatly.

**Physical Attackers**: Alolan Muk will usually be built to sponge special attacks, and it will take heavy damage from most strong physical attackers that can hit Alolan Muk neutrally.

**Burns**: Despite Alolan Muk's special bulk, it does not enjoy switching into Scald or special attackers known to carry Will-o-Wisp as a burn will halve Alolan Muk's attack and make it much weaker. The extra damage caused by a Burn also hurts Alolan Muk's staying power.

That's it for now until QC weighs in on set 2.

 

[Swaggy-G]

* Gunk Shot can replace Poison Jab for the added power (secures the OHKO on Tapu Koko and Azumarill, and 2HKO on defensive Tapu Fini and Mega-Charizard X, among other threats) at the cost of accuracy. Both poison attakcs come with a 30% poison chance that stacks with Alolan Muk's ability.

Not a QC, but Gunk Shot doesn't make contact, so it doesn't stack with Poison touch. Might want to edit this sentence.

 

[Arash]

Implemented; not sure how I forgot Gunk Shot doesn't make contact....

Also I left the bit about Char-X in, as it cannot be allowed to set up even 1 DD for free, and if it comes in after say Victini gets trapped, it might be game over unless Muk can cause some serious damage.

Again, if QC insists I would be fine with editing

 

[Eien]

Going to agree with QT here (Good work btw!), I'm not convinced the Curse set is good enough. It pretty much does nothing other than beat Psychic. This means you lose your Pursuit trapper and ability to switch into Alolan Raichu, you lose the ability to survive one hit from Landorus, and only really get a sweeper that beats Psychic. Not really worth it in my opinion. Let's move that to OO. (Just for the record, defensive/stall Poison teams really don't work right now. There are too many big threats that Poison just cannot check defensively, so teams are often balance.)

Overview:
- These two lines can be combined:
* Alolan Muk's amazing Poison/Dark typing allows it to switch into Psychic attacks with impunity, which is crucial for Poison types.
* With its attack and special bulk stats that exceed its Poison/Dark typed competition, Alolan Muk is an excellent switch-in to Psychic-type attacks and many special attackers that lack Ground moves.
I would make it clear that Alolan Muk's superior bulk makes it the best Poison / Dark type available.
- Add that Alolan Muk is a great Pursuit trapper. One of its biggest roles is switching into Pokemon like Alolan Raichu and Hoopa-U to Pursuit trap them.
- Definitely mention its access to Knock Off, allowing it to remove critical items like Eviolite.

Set:
- I'm not really sure what these EVs do to be honest. I know this sounds inefficient but I actually use almost max HP and max Special Defense to make Alolan Muk as specially defensive as possible. The Attack doesn't really matter, all you really care about is making sure Alolan Muk can survive hits.
- 12 Def is used to avoid the OHKO from Victini's V-create after Stealth Rock damage. This is such a small investment that it's really worth it. This lets Alolan Muk really pressure Victini, since Toxapex has a hard time switching into Bolt Strike and Mega Venusaur into V-create when Stealth Rock is up. I mean it's really just so minor you might as well, even if you think it's a rare case (it is).
- 248 SpD is used to make sure Alolan Muk can always avoid the 2HKO from Mega Charizard Y after Stealth Rock damage. Yes, Poison has Toxapex, but if Stealth Rock is up, Toxapex can be seriously pressured by Fire Blast. (It can't be 2HKOed, but it really takes minor chip to get into range). It technically only takes 244 EVs, but there's nothing you really need the other 4 for.
- In addition to this, 248 SpD improves Alolan Muk's odds of surviving 2 Earth Powers from Nidoking after Stealth Rock damage as well, assuming the Life Orb is Knocked Off after the first hit. It also minimizes the damage taken from Landorus's Earth Power, allowing Alolan Muk to more reliably Knock Off its Life Orb. Knocked Off Nidoking and Landorus are much, much less threatening.
- Brick Break is pretty awful, I don't see a good use for it. Breaking Klefki's Reflect and Light Screen is a thing, but Fairy's really going to struggle to beat Poison anyway.
- Fire Blast is a fine slash behind Shadow Sneak. It 2HKOes Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor.
- Switching 2 and 3 because Pursuit trapping is much more useful than the Poison-type STAB attack of choice.

[SET]
name: Assault Vest (Poison)
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Pursuit
move 3: Poison Jab / Gunk Shot
move 4: Shadow Sneak / Fire Blast
item: Assault Vest
ability: Poison Touch
nature: Careful / Sassy
evs: 248 HP / 12 Def / 248 SpD

Moves:
- Change ordering to reflect the moveset.
- Remove the poison effect from Knock Off and elaborate more on removing items.
- The main tradeoff between Poison Jab and Gunk Shot is the poison % vs. damage. Accuracy is kind of whatever.
- I think you should remove Mega Charizard X. It's almost impossible for Alolan Muk to be able to survive a Flare Blitz from Mega Charizard X (realistically, Alolan Muk won't be 100% HP if Mega Charizard X got a free switch in). Toxapex can also easily switch into Mega Charizard X too, so it's pretty hard to justify losing Alolan Muk. The damage Alolan Muk does barely scratches Mega Charizard X, so it really doesn't matter that much. If you want a replacement example, how about Mega Charizard Y?

By the way, it's not a 2HKO:
0 Atk Muk-Alola Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Charizard-Mega-X: 123-145 (41.4 - 48.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

- List key examples for Pursuit trapping: Alolan Raichu and Hoopa-U.
- Remove Brick Break line.
- Add that Fire Blast hits Steel-types for decent damage, but is held back by Alolan Muk's horrible Special Attack.

Set Details:
- I said a lot earlier about the EVs, so let me condense the information you need to give:
248 HP and 12 Defense EVs avoids the Victini V-create OHKO after Stealth Rock damage
248 Special Defense EVs, Assault Vest, and a Careful nature are used to avoid the 2HKO from Mega Charizard Y's Fire Blast after Stealth Rock damage and allow Alolan Muk to more reliably cripple Nidoking and Landorus.
- Add that Sassy can be used with Fire Blast.
- I think we can just remove Power of Alchemy and Gluttony here.

Usage Tips:
- Should definitely expand a lot more on using Knock Off and Poison Jab's utility.
Early-game, Knock Off is pretty much spammable. You want to be removing as many items as you can. Specifically mention removing Eviolite from Chansey and Porygon2 here.
Also you should mention using Alolan Muk to remove Life Orb from Nidoking and Landorus, as it can easily survive an Earth Power (or even two from Nidoking!). Doing so makes them much easier to handle.
Poison Jab really should only be used to spread status if you expect to not be able to Knock Off an item, such as when you predict a Mega Evolution to switch in or a Pokemon you've previously Knocked Off. The utility of removing items far exceeds that of poison.
- Talk more about using Alolan Muk to Pursuit trap, since that's one of its main roles. Importantly, it switches into and traps Alolan Raichu. (You can tell this is super important because I've said this like 5 times now haha)
- "others such as Slowbro and Mew will be able to withstand Alolan Muk's attacks and take off large amounts of health in return." how? I think you mean they can status Alolan Muk in return.
- Speaking of status, you should note that Alolan Muk absolutely cannot be burned. Being burned will allow its targets such as Alolan Raichu to avoid being KOed by Pursuit.
- "Many teams often have one source of Psychic attacks that can otherwise take a huge chunk of Alolan-Muk's health; examples include Alolan Raichu, Victini, Gardevoir, and Latios." I don't think this is needed.
- Talk about how to approach walls. Alolan Muk should try to hit them with Knock Off as they switch into it and then retreat, as often Alolan Muk can't touch them and really doesn't want to get burned by Will-O-Wisp or Scald from the likes of Rotom-W or Toxapex.
- In the line about keeping Alolan Muk healthy, maybe add a small comment in about being careful around entry hazards.

Team Options:
- Add that Mega Venusaur can help check many Steel-types with a combination of Hidden Power Fire and Earthquake.
- Basically every Psychic-type other than Slowbro is faster than Alolan Muk, so make it clear that Gengar's support comes from being a powerful wallbreaker that can beat Pokemon like Slowbro and Mew that Alolan Muk has trouble with.
- You should definitely add Stealth Rock support from Nidoking and Nidoqueen, as Stealth Rock makes Alolan Muk's ability to force switches even more powerful.
- I would even add Choice Scarf Nihilego here. It's a great cleaner, and Alolan Muk's ability to Knock Off items and Pursuit trap Alolan Raichu makes it very dangerous.

Other Options:
- Explosion should be removed. Anything that Alolan Muk cannot beat doesn't take enough from Explosion to matter anyway.
- The only target for Stone Edge would be exactly Mega Pinsir. I'd just remove this honestly.
- Shadow Sneak is on the set, why's it here?
- Remove Fire Blast from the list, it's on the set now (By the way, Skarmory beats Fire Blast anyway)
- Add the CroMuk set here (Curse + RestTalk).

Checks and Counters:
- Remove Ground Moves.
- Add examples to everything.

You did a pretty good job of hitting all the necessary points, but the detail is seriously lacking. It's especially poor in the Checks and Counters section. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt, so please go over this very carefully. Tag me after you do so and I'll just do a very quick once over to make sure it's fine.

 

[Arash]

^Implemented Eien, thanks for the feedback! I did leave Brick Break on as screens from Klefki and friends are a major annoyance, but it is relegated to OO now.

 

[Eien]

Set Details:
Rework these two lines:
* The EV spread maximizes Alolan Muk’s ability to sponge special attacks, with 12 EVs in defense to avoid the OHKO from Victini’s V-Create after Stealth Rock damage. Additionally, this set avoids the 2HKO from Mega Charizard Y’s Fire Blast after Stealth Rock damage, and allows Alolan Muk to more reliably cripple Nidoking and Landorus-I.
* With the Special Defense EVs, a Careful nature and an Assault Vest, Alolan Muk can switch into many special attacks. Since many special attackers have poor physical defense, Alolan Muk can hit hard in return.

They should be:
* The EV spread maximizes Alolan Muk’s ability to sponge special attacks, with 12 EVs in defense to avoid the OHKO from Victini’s V-Create after Stealth Rock damage.
* With the Special Defense EVs, a Careful nature and an Assault Vest, Alolan Muk can switch into many special attacks, specifically avoiding the 2HKO from Mega Charizard Y’s Fire Blast after Stealth Rock damage. Alolan Muk can also more reliably cripple Nidoking and Landorus, able to sometimes survive two uses of Earth Power from Nidoking. Since many special attackers have poor physical defense, Alolan Muk can hit hard in return

Other Options:
Remove these lines. Brick Break really doesn't help because Fairy doesn't really do anything to Poison anyway. And I don't think any special attacks other than Fire Blast are viable.
* Brick Break can be utilized to remove screens for the team, but otherwise does not provide much utility as opposed to Alolan Muk’s other options.
* Alolan Muk also has access to some interesting special attacking options, but it cannot use them effectively with 65 base special attack and no reliable boosting method.

Checks and Counters:
Skarmory is repeated from before in this line, so please change the example:
Pokemon such as Excadrill and Skarmory can switch in with minimal risk and proceed to OHKO or set hazards.

Nicely done and thanks for the quick work! QC 1/3

 

[Arash]

Set Details:
Rework these two lines:
* The EV spread maximizes Alolan Muk’s ability to sponge special attacks, with 12 EVs in defense to avoid the OHKO from Victini’s V-Create after Stealth Rock damage. Additionally, this set avoids the 2HKO from Mega Charizard Y’s Fire Blast after Stealth Rock damage, and allows Alolan Muk to more reliably cripple Nidoking and Landorus-I.
* With the Special Defense EVs, a Careful nature and an Assault Vest, Alolan Muk can switch into many special attacks. Since many special attackers have poor physical defense, Alolan Muk can hit hard in return.

They should be:
* The EV spread maximizes Alolan Muk’s ability to sponge special attacks, with 12 EVs in defense to avoid the OHKO from Victini’s V-Create after Stealth Rock damage.
* With the Special Defense EVs, a Careful nature and an Assault Vest, Alolan Muk can switch into many special attacks, specifically avoiding the 2HKO from Mega Charizard Y’s Fire Blast after Stealth Rock damage. Alolan Muk can also more reliably cripple Nidoking and Landorus, able to sometimes survive two uses of Earth Power from Nidoking. Since many special attackers have poor physical defense, Alolan Muk can hit hard in return

Other Options:
Remove these lines. Brick Break really doesn't help because Fairy doesn't really do anything to Poison anyway. And I don't think any special attacks other than Fire Blast are viable.
* Brick Break can be utilized to remove screens for the team, but otherwise does not provide much utility as opposed to Alolan Muk’s other options.
* Alolan Muk also has access to some interesting special attacking options, but it cannot use them effectively with 65 base special attack and no reliable boosting method.

Checks and Counters:
Skarmory is repeated from before in this line, so please change the example:
Pokemon such as Excadrill and Skarmory can switch in with minimal risk and proceed to OHKO or set hazards.

Nicely done and thanks for the quick work! QC 1/3

Changes made. Thanks again!

Ready for QC2

 

[Arash]

I went ahead and removed any mention of Hoopa due to the recent ban..

Still ready for QC#2 :)

 

[Vid]

Comments omit

[OVERVIEW]

Poison
========

* Alolan Muk's amazing Poison/Dark typing allows it to switch into Psychic attacks with impunity, which is crucial for Poison types. Its superior bulk makes it the best Poison/Dark type available for this role.
* Alolan Muk makes an excellent Pursuit-trapper, ensuring that threats like Alolan Raichu are swiftly dealt with.
* Poison Touch allows it to spread poison passively through its contact moves, which is especially effective when using Poison-typed moves that can stack poisoning chance with its ability.
* Access to Knock Off is crucial for removing critical items like Eviolite, and makes many would-be switch ins think twice about the possibility of losing their item.
* While Alolan Muk has great stats for attack power and bulk, base 50 speed is very slow and will result in it getting outsped often.
* Alolan Muk's lack of recovery outside of Rest means that it can be worn down with repeated hits. I would just say lack of reliable recovery because rest is only really used on curse muk which is not the best set
* Its coverage is also lacking; apart from Poison/Dark moves, it lacks powerful coverage to hit opponents that can threaten it.
* Despite great special bulk, its defense stat is middling at best, which hampers its ability to check and counter physical Psychic-types. wouldn't use counter in this situation, check is better

[SET]

name: Assault Vest (Poison)
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Pursuit
move 3: Poison Jab / Gunk Shot
move 4: Shadow Sneak / Fire Blast
Get rid of this line
item: Assault Vest
ability: Poison Touch
nature: Careful / Sassy
EVs: 248 HP / 12 Def / 248 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

* Knock Off is Alolan Muk's most reliable and powerful Dark move, and has the added utility of removing items like Choice Scarf and Berries, and defensive items like Eviolite and Assault Vest that would otherwise prove difficult to deal with. Eviolite is the best example out of those
* Pursuit helps Alolan Muk eliminate Psychic types from the opposing team (such as Alolan Raichu and Victini) and punishes them for trying to switch out. be a bit more specific it Pursuit OHKOs Alolan Raichu and takes a huge chunk of Victini's health
* Poison Jab is STAB and hits neutral targets hard with 100% accuracy. It also comes with a 30% poison chance that stacks with Alolan Muk's ability Poison Touch. simply saying Poison Touch would be better here
* Gunk Shot can replace Poison Jab for the added power at the cost of a lower poison chance and lower accuracy; it secures the OHKO on Tapu Koko and Azumarill among other threats.
* Shadow Sneak is mainly for priority, as many of the threats Alolan Muk will trap are faster, and this will prevent Alolan Muk from having to take an extra hit trying to finish off a weakened foe. maybe provide a situation Victini would be a perfect Example
* Fire Blast with a Sassy nature hits Steel types for decent damage and 2HKOs Ferrothorn and Mega-Scizor, but is held back by Alolan Muk’s poor Special Attack stat.

Set Details
========

* The EV spread maximizes Alolan Muk’s ability to sponge special attacks, with 12 EVs in defense to avoid the OHKO from Victini’s V-Create after Stealth Rock damage.
* With the Special Defense EVs, a Careful nature and an Assault Vest, Alolan Muk can switch into many special attacks, specifically avoiding the 2HKO from Mega Charizard Y’s Fire Blast after Stealth Rock damage. Alolan Muk can also more reliably cripple Nidoking and Landorus, able to sometimes survive two uses of Earth Power from Nidoking after a Knock Off? very confusing. Since many special attackers have poor physical defense, Alolan Muk can hit hard in return. This last sentence is unnecessary
* A Sassy nature should be used with Fire Blast to preserve power while maintaining Special Defense. Alolan Muk’s speed is already poor, so a hindering nature isn’t going to affect the set.
* Poison Touch is the ability of choice to help spread poison and rack up residual damage. This stacks with Poison Jab to cause a poison rate of about 50%, while even moves like Knock Off and Pursuit can now poison the opponent.
* Explain the 248 HP EVs

Usage Tips
========

* Early in the game, Knock-Off should be spammed to remove as many items as possible. Removing Eviolite from Porygon 2 or Chansey, or Life Orb from Nidoking and Landorus-I makes them much easier for the rest of the team to handle.
* Walls like Rotom-W or Toxapex that attempt to switch in to Alolan Muk should be hit with Knock Off on the switch before Alolan Muk retreats. Alolan Muk cannot dent them otherwise and needs to avoid getting a burn.
* Alolan Muk needs to avoid the Burn status at all costs as this makes it ineffective at Pursuit-trapping, allowing threats like Alolan Raichu to switch out and survive Pursuit.
* Poison Jab should be used to spread status if you anticipate a switch-in that cannot lose its item example?. Otherwise, the utility of removing items with Knock Off far exceeds that of inflicting Poison status.
* Switch Alolan Muk in on predicted Psychic attacks and use Pursuit to trap and KO the foe What predicted Psychic-type attacks most common psychic types don't carry STAB. This is Alolan Muk’s main role unnecessary , and the ability to switch into a predicted Psychic attack and trap huge threats like Alolan Raichu and Victini Victini doesn't carry Psychic-type STAB is crucial for the team, since these threats would sweep with Psychic moves otherwise.
* Although Alolan Muk can take a few hits, it lacks recovery and can be worn down if it is not careful. Alolan Muk should also be careful around entry hazards and otherwise kept healthy to be able to adequately deal with Psychic-typed threats when they are sent out in battle.
* Alolan Muk should focus on trapping Psychic types that have lower defense such as Alakazam and Latios; others such as Slowbro and Mew will be able to withstand Alolan Muk's attacks and inflict it with Burn status, making it ineffective for the rest of the match.

Team Options
========

* All Poison-types enjoy having Alolan Muk as a teammate because it switches into Psychic attacks and traps Psychic types with Pursuit.
* Mega-Venusaur is perhaps the best teammate for Alolan Muk, as it is very bulky on the physical side and is neutral to Ground moves, which are Alolan Muk's sole weakness. It can also help check many Steel types with a combination of Hidden Power Fire and Earthquake.
* Crobat is a suitable teammate because it is immune to Ground moves. Crobat also has access to Taunt, U-Turn, and Defog which all help Alolan Muk by preventing set-up, pivoting into Alolan Muk as needed, and removing hazards that would otherwise wear Alolan Muk down.
* Although Alolan Muk specializes in fighting Psychic types, it is slower than almost all of them. As a result, it appreciates the support of Gengar who is a speedy and powerful wall-breaker that can beat the likes of Slowbro and Mew, preventing Alolan Muk from taking unnecessary damage and burns.
* As Alolan Muk will cause many switches, Stealth Rock support from Nidoking and Nidoqueen is appreciated to rack up more damage. Elaborate more on Nidoking as a teammate
* Physical attackers like Scolipede will take pressure off of Alolan Muk from being the main physical threat on the team and help Alolan Muk conserve its health. Also mention how it deals massive damage Bulkier Psychic types such as Mew and Slowbro
* Toxapex has amazing bulk and recovery, and can soak up physical hits directed at Alolan Muk while using Haze on set-up sweepers or Scald to burn physical attackers.
* Nihilego with a Choice Scarf is a great cleaner, and enjoys Alolan Muk’s ability to remove items and trap Alolan Raichu, who would otherwise outspeed and KO Nihilego.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

Poison
--------

* Alolan Muk has access to Memento to lower stats at the cost of its own life. While there are a few teammates that would appreciate a free turn to set-up (Scolipede, Salazzle, Toxicroak), ultimately it isn't worth sacrificing the main switch-in to Psychic attacks.
* An Air Balloon can be used to eliminate Alolan Muk's only weakness temporarily, but it usually has enough team support to forgo this in favor of more useful items for the team as a whole.
* Alolan Muk can also run an effective Curse set (with Rest and Sleep Talk) but this prevents it from utilizing Pursuit to trap opposing Psychic-types, and offers far less utility for the team in general.


Checks and Counters
===================

Poison
--------

**Magearna**: Magearna can switch in freely to Alolan Muk due to its typing. It risks losing its item to Knock Off (if it's not running a Z-crystal), but after that Magearna isn't threatened at all and can set up freely with Shift Gear or Trick Room and threaten the rest of the team. If allowed to KO Alolan Muk, it will also garner a +1 boost in power thanks to its ability, which makes it that much more dangerous for the team to face.

**Physical Walls**: Most physical walls that aren't weak to Poison or Dark attacks with recovery can take on Alolan Muk easily, paving the way for a Psychic-type to cause major damage later. Skarmory, Mega-Venusaur and Toxapex all receive special mention as they are all immune to the poison status and have reliable recovery, with Mega-Venusaur also immune to losing its mega stone.

**Steel Types**: Steel types don't enjoy losing their item to Knock Off, but as they are immune to Poison moves, after losing their item Alolan Muk doesn't have a reliable way to deal large amounts of damage. Pokemon such as Excadrill and Celesteela can switch in with minimal risk and proceed to OHKO or set up. Mega-Scizor is also immune to losing its item and can set up on sets that lack Fire Blast.

**Ground Types**: Ground types resist Poison attacks and typically boast sizeable physical bulk while hitting Alolan Muk hard with STAB Ground moves. Krookodile, Excadrill and Mega Garchomp are especially dangerous for Alolan Muk to face as they are resistant to dark, immune to Poison status, and take reduced damage from Knock Off, respectively. In general, however, Alolan Muk is usually forced to switch as almost all Ground types outspeed and OHKO with their main STAB move. Krookodile isn't that common on ground like exaca and mega chomp are. same on dark because hoopa-u is gone

**Physical Attackers**: Alolan Muk will usually be built to sponge special attacks, and it will take heavy damage from most strong physical attackers that can hit Alolan Muk for neutral damage, such as Buzzwole, Dragonite, and Tyranitar. While very few of these can risk losing their item, once on the field they can either set-up or throw out powerful physical moves without fear.

**Burns**: Despite Alolan Muk's special bulk, it does not enjoy switching into Scald or walls like Rotom-W, Mew or Mega-Sableye known to carry Will-o-Wisp as a burn will halve Alolan Muk's attack and make it much weaker. The extra damage caused by a burn also hurts Alolan Muk's staying power.

Overall content is fine just minor details. Side note avoid using parenthesis in an analysis
QC 2/3

 

[Arash]

Comments omitOverall content is fine just minor details. Side note avoid using parenthesis in an analysis
QC 2/3

Implemented, thanks! I also reworked the sentences that had parenthetical clauses in order to remove them (bad habit, I know..)

Ready for QC#3:)

 

[Misaka Mikoto]

[Overview]
+ Add that Alolan Muk's special bulk allow it to function as a special pivot for Poison teams.
"* Alolan Muk's lack of reliable recovery means that it can be worn down with repeated hits."
+ I'd also add it can be worn down from entry hazards as well (I know you mentioned it in Usage Tips but I see it as a way to reiterate the importance of some things mentioned in the overview just like you did with the lack of recovery comment). With Alolan Muk being your specially defensive mon with no recovery, it doesn't appreciate switching into that as well and this would also limit its opportunities to switch-in and has to rely on Crobat to remove them.

[Usage Tips]
+ I'd add Shadow Sneak as well and put it under Poison Jab. With Alolan Muk's Speed being pretty bad and it's up against a faster threat, it should always go for Shadow Sneak before fainting as a way to get a bit of chip damage and or poison the them thanks to Poison Touch. Just another way in providing support for its team.

Just minor nitpicks, well done!
QC 3/3

 

[Arash]

[Overview]
+ Add that Alolan Muk's special bulk allow it to function as a special pivot for Poison teams.
"* Alolan Muk's lack of reliable recovery means that it can be worn down with repeated hits."
+ I'd also add it can be worn down from entry hazards as well (I know you mentioned it in Usage Tips but I see it as a way to reiterate the importance of some things mentioned in the overview just like you did with the lack of recovery comment). With Alolan Muk being your specially defensive mon with no recovery, it doesn't appreciate switching into that as well and this would also limit its opportunities to switch-in and has to rely on Crobat to remove them.

[Usage Tips]
+ I'd add Shadow Sneak as well and put it under Poison Jab. With Alolan Muk's Speed being pretty bad and it's up against a faster threat, it should always go for Shadow Sneak before fainting as a way to get a bit of chip damage and or poison the them thanks to Poison Touch. Just another way in providing support for its team.

Just minor nitpicks, well done!
QC 3/3

Implemented, thank you!! Ready for GP:)

 

[Fireflame]

Remove Add Comments (AC)= add comma (RC)= remove comma (AH)= add hyphen (RH)= remove hyphen

Hide

Note: Please be sure to change all slanted apostrophes ( ’ ) to straight ones ( ' ). There were a couple of slanted ones that I saw as I was checking. Just F3 and replace them.

[OVERVIEW]

Poison
========

* Alolan Muk's amazing Poison/Dark Poison / Dark typing allows it to switch into Psychic attacks with impunity, which is crucial for Poison types. Its superior (superior to what? If you want to say superior you need to compare it to something else. You can just say "Its amazing bulk" instead) bulk makes it the best Poison/Dark Poison / Dark type available for this role.
* Alolan Muk makes an excellent Pursuit-(RH)trapper, ensuring that threats like Alolan Raichu are swiftly dealt with.
* Poison Touch allows it to spread poison passively through its contact moves, which is especially effective when using Poison-typed Poison-type moves that can stack poisoning poison chance with its ability.
* Alolan Muk's access Access to Knock Off is crucial for removing critical items like Eviolite, and makes many would-be switch ins think twice about the possibility of losing their item.
* Alolan Muk's special bulk also allows it to function as a special pivot for Poison teams. (combine this sentence with the first bullet after you reword it)
* While Alolan Muk has great stats for attack power and bulk,(RC) However,(AC) Alolan Muk's base 50 speed Speed is very slow and will result in it getting outsped often.
* Alolan Muk's lack of reliable recovery means that it can be worn down with repeated hits and entry hazards hazard damage, which limit its opportunities to switch in.
* Its coverage is also lacking; apart Apart from Poison/Dark Poison and Dark moves, it lacks powerful coverage to hit opponents that can threaten it.
* Despite great special bulk, its defense Alolan Muk's Defense stat is middling at best, which hampers its ability to check physical Psychic-types. (examples)

[SET]
[remove line break]
name: Assault Vest (Poison)
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Pursuit
move 3: Poison Jab / Gunk Shot
move 4: Shadow Sneak / Fire Blast
item: Assault Vest
ability: Poison Touch
nature: Careful / Sassy
EVs: 248 HP / 12 Def / 248 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

* Knock Off is Alolan Muk's most reliable and powerful Dark move,(RC) and has the added utility of removing items like Choice Scarf and Eviolite that would otherwise prove difficult to deal with.
* Pursuit helps Alolan Muk eliminate Psychic-(AH)types from the opposing team, OHKOing Alolan Raichu and heavily damaging Victini and Latios.
* Poison Jab is a STAB move that and hits neutral targets hard with 100% accuracy. It also comes with a 30% poison chance that stacks with Poison Touch.
* Gunk Shot can replace Poison Jab for the added power at the cost of a lower poison chance and lower accuracy; it secures the OHKO on Tapu Koko and Azumarill,(AC) among other threats.
* Shadow Sneak is mainly for priority, as many of the targets Alolan Muk will trap are faster. This will prevent Alolan Muk from having to take an extra hit trying to finish off weakened threats like Victini and Mega-(RH)Alakazam.
* Fire Blast with a Sassy nature hits Steel-(AH)types for decent damage and 2HKOs 2HKOes Ferrothorn and Mega-(RH)Scizor, but is held back by Alolan Muk’s poor Special Attack stat.

Set Details
========

* 248 EVs in HP and 12 EVs in defense Defense allow Alolan Muk to avoid the OHKO from Victini’s V-Create after Stealth Rock damage.(period),(RC) with the rest allocated to special defense to maximize Alolan Muk’s ability to sponge special attacks. (This is said in the next bullet)
* With the HP and Special Defense EVs, a Careful nature,(AC) and an Assault Vest, Alolan Muk can switch into many special attacks, specifically avoiding the 2HKO from Mega Charizard Y’s Fire Blast after Stealth Rock damage. Alolan Muk can also more reliably cripple Nidoking and Landorus, as it is able to sometimes survive two uses of Earth Power Power from Nidoking after Knocking Off its Life Orb. (why is Landorus here then? Specify what Alolan Muk does to it, otherwise don't mention Landorus)
* A Sassy nature should be used with Fire Blast to preserve power while maintaining Special Defense. Alolan Muk’s speed is already poor, so a hindering nature isn’t going to affect the set.
* Poison Touch is the ability of choice to help spread poison and rack up residual damage. This stacks with Poison Jab to cause a poison chance rate of about 50%, while even moves like Knock Off and Pursuit can now poison the opponent.

Usage Tips
========

* Early in the game, Knock-(RH)Off should be spammed to remove as many items as possible;(add semicolon) removing.(remove period) Removing Eviolite from Porygon 2 or and Chansey,(RC) or Life Orb from Nidoking and Landorus-I Landorus makes them much easier for the rest of the team to handle.
* Walls like Rotom-W or Toxapex that attempt to switch in to into Alolan Muk should be hit with Knock Off on the switch before Alolan Muk retreats;(add semicolon).(remove period) Alolan Muk cannot dent them otherwise and needs to avoid getting a burn.
* Alolan Muk needs to avoid the Burn status burns at all costs,(AC) as this makes it ineffective at Pursuit-(RH)trapping, allowing threats like Alolan Raichu to switch out and survive Pursuit.
* Poison Jab should be used to spread status if you anticipate a switch-in that cannot lose its item, such as Mega-(RH)Sharpedo or Mega-(RH)Charizard X. Otherwise, the utility of removing items with Knock Off far exceeds that of inflicting Poison status.
* Shadow Sneak helps compensate for Alolan Muk's poor speed, and while it should not be relied upon to deal substantial damage, it should always go for Shadow Sneak before fainting as a way to deal extra chip damage and a chance to poison the opponent thanks to Poison Touch.
* Alolan Muk’s main role is to switch into a predicted Psychic attack from huge threats like Alolan Raichu and Mega-(RH)Alakazam,(RC) and trap and KO them with Pursuit. This is crucial for the team, since these threats would sweep with Psychic moves otherwise.
* Although Alolan Muk can take a few hits, it lacks recovery and can be worn down if it is not careful. Alolan Muk should also be careful around entry hazards and otherwise kept healthy to be able to adequately deal with Psychic-typed Psychic-type threats when they are sent out in battle.
* Alolan Muk should focus on trapping Psychic-(AH)types that have lower defense such as Alakazam and Latios; others such as Slowbro and Mew will be able to withstand Alolan Muk's attacks and inflict burn it with Burn status, making it ineffective for the rest of the match.

Team Options
========

* All Poison-types enjoy having Alolan Muk as a teammate because it switches into Psychic attacks and traps Psychic-(AH)types with Pursuit.
* Mega-(RH)Venusaur is perhaps the best teammate for Alolan Muk, as it is very bulky on the physical side and is neutral to Ground moves, which are Alolan Muk's sole weakness. It can also help check many Steel-(AH)types with a combination of Hidden Power Fire and Earthquake.
* Crobat is a suitable teammate because it is immune to Ground moves. Crobat It also has access to Taunt, U-Turn, and Defog,(AC) which all help Alolan Muk by preventing set-up setup, pivoting into Alolan Muk as needed, and removing hazards that would otherwise wear Alolan Muk down.
* Although Alolan Muk specializes in fighting Psychic-(AH)types, it is slower than almost all of them. As a result, it appreciates the support of Gengar,(AC) who is a speedy and powerful wall-(RH)breaker that can beat the likes of Slowbro and Mew, preventing Alolan Muk from taking unnecessary damage and burns.
* As Alolan Muk will cause many switches, Stealth Rock support from Nidoking and Nidoqueen is appreciated to rack up more damage. Nidoking will also provide offensive support and help KO Steel-(AH) and Ground-(AH)types that Alolan Muk has trouble with.
* Physical attackers like Scolipede will take pressure off of Alolan Muk from by being the main physical threat on the team and help helping Alolan Muk conserve its health. In return, Alolan Muk deals massive damage to bulkier Psychic-(AH)types such as Mew and Slowbro to assist Scolipede in sweeping.
* Toxapex has amazing bulk and recovery,(RC) and can soak up physical hits directed at Alolan Muk while using Haze on set-(RH)up sweepers or Scald to burn physical attackers.
* Nihilego with a Choice Scarf Nihilego is a great cleaner,(RC) and enjoys Alolan Muk’s ability to remove items and trap Alolan Raichu, who would otherwise outspeed and KO Nihilego.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

Poison
--------

* Alolan Muk has access to Memento to lower stats at the cost of its own life. While there are a few teammates that would appreciate a free turn to set-up set up, like Scolipede, Salazzle, and Toxicroak, ultimately it isn't worth sacrificing the main switch-in to Psychic attacks.
* An Air Balloon can be used to eliminate Alolan Muk's only Ground weakness temporarily, but it usually has enough team support to forgo this in favor of more useful items for the team as a whole.
* Alolan Muk can also run an effective Curse set with Rest and Sleep Talk, but this prevents it from utilizing Pursuit to trap opposing Psychic-(AH)types, and it offers far less utility for the team in general.
[remove line break]
Checks and Counters
===================

Poison
--------

**Magearna**: Magearna can switch in freely to against Alolan Muk due to its typing. It risks losing its item to Knock Off if it's not running a Z-crystal Z-Crystal, but after that,(AC) Magearna isn't threatened at all and can set up freely with Shift Gear or Trick Room and threaten the rest of the team. If allowed to KO Alolan Muk, it will also garner a +1 Special Attack boost in power thanks to its ability, which makes it that much more dangerous for the team to face.

**Physical Walls**: Most physical walls that aren't weak to Poison or Dark attacks with recovery can take on Alolan Muk easily, paving the way for a Psychic-type to cause major damage later. Skarmory, Mega-(RH)Venusaur,(AC) and Toxapex all receive special mention,(AC) as they are all immune to the poison status and have reliable recovery, with Mega-(RH)Venusaur also immune to losing its Mega Stone mega stone.

**Steel Types Steel-types**: Steel-(AH)types don't enjoy losing their item to Knock Off, but as because they are immune to Poison moves, after losing their item Alolan Muk doesn't have a reliable way to deal large amounts of damage. Pokemon such as Excadrill and Celesteela can switch in with minimal risk and proceed to OHKO Alolan Muk or set up. Mega-(RH)Scizor is also immune to losing its item and can set up on sets that lack Fire Blast.

**Ground Types Ground-types**: Ground-(AH)types resist Poison attacks and typically boast sizeable physical bulk while hitting Alolan Muk hard with STAB Ground moves. Excadrill and Mega Garchomp are especially dangerous for Alolan Muk to face,(AC) as they are Excadrill is resistant to dark,(RC) Dark and immune to Poison status, and Mega Garchomp takes take reduced damage from Knock Off,(RC) respectively (you had 2 Pokemon listed and then 3 characteristics, so it was unclear even with "respectively"). In general, however, Alolan Muk is usually forced to switch,(AC) as almost all Ground-(AH)types outspeed and OHKO it with their main STAB move.

**Physical Attackers**: Alolan Muk will usually be built to sponge special attacks, and so it will take heavy damage from most strong physical attackers that can hit Alolan Muk for neutral damage, such as Buzzwole, Dragonite, and Tyranitar. While very few of these can risk losing their item, once on the field,(AC) they can either set-up set up or throw out powerful physical moves without fear.

**Burns**: Despite Alolan Muk's special bulk, it does not enjoy switching into Scald or walls like Rotom-W, Mew,(AC) and or Mega-Sableye known to carry Will-O-Wisp,(AC) Will-o-Wisp as a burn will halve Alolan Muk's attack Attack and make it much weaker. The extra damage caused by a burn also hurts Alolan Muk's staying power longevity.

GP 1/1

A couple of notes:
If a type is followed by the word "type", there should be a hyphen (Poison-type; NOT Poison type or Poison Type)
Mega Pokemon should not be written with a hyphen (Mega Scizor; not Mega-Scizor)
If "as" or "since" is being used to mean "because", a comma should precede it.

 

[Arash]

Remove Add Comments (AC)= add comma (RC)= remove comma (AH)= add hyphen (RH)= remove hyphen

Hide

Note: Please be sure to change all slanted apostrophes ( ’ ) to straight ones ( ' ). There were a couple of slanted ones that I saw as I was checking. Just F3 and replace them.

[OVERVIEW]

Poison
========

* Alolan Muk's amazing Poison/Dark Poison / Dark typing allows it to switch into Psychic attacks with impunity, which is crucial for Poison types. Its superior (superior to what? If you want to say superior you need to compare it to something else. You can just say "Its amazing bulk" instead) bulk makes it the best Poison/Dark Poison / Dark type available for this role.
* Alolan Muk makes an excellent Pursuit-(RH)trapper, ensuring that threats like Alolan Raichu are swiftly dealt with.
* Poison Touch allows it to spread poison passively through its contact moves, which is especially effective when using Poison-typed Poison-type moves that can stack poisoning poison chance with its ability.
* Alolan Muk's access Access to Knock Off is crucial for removing critical items like Eviolite, and makes many would-be switch ins think twice about the possibility of losing their item.
* Alolan Muk's special bulk also allows it to function as a special pivot for Poison teams. (combine this sentence with the first bullet after you reword it)
* While Alolan Muk has great stats for attack power and bulk,(RC) However,(AC) Alolan Muk's base 50 speed Speed is very slow and will result in it getting outsped often.
* Alolan Muk's lack of reliable recovery means that it can be worn down with repeated hits and entry hazards hazard damage, which limit its opportunities to switch in.
* Its coverage is also lacking; apart Apart from Poison/Dark Poison and Dark moves, it lacks powerful coverage to hit opponents that can threaten it.
* Despite great special bulk, its defense Alolan Muk's Defense stat is middling at best, which hampers its ability to check physical Psychic-types. (examples)

[SET]
[remove line break]
name: Assault Vest (Poison)
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Pursuit
move 3: Poison Jab / Gunk Shot
move 4: Shadow Sneak / Fire Blast
item: Assault Vest
ability: Poison Touch
nature: Careful / Sassy
EVs: 248 HP / 12 Def / 248 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

* Knock Off is Alolan Muk's most reliable and powerful Dark move,(RC) and has the added utility of removing items like Choice Scarf and Eviolite that would otherwise prove difficult to deal with.
* Pursuit helps Alolan Muk eliminate Psychic-(AH)types from the opposing team, OHKOing Alolan Raichu and heavily damaging Victini and Latios.
* Poison Jab is a STAB move that and hits neutral targets hard with 100% accuracy. It also comes with a 30% poison chance that stacks with Poison Touch.
* Gunk Shot can replace Poison Jab for the added power at the cost of a lower poison chance and lower accuracy; it secures the OHKO on Tapu Koko and Azumarill,(AC) among other threats.
* Shadow Sneak is mainly for priority, as many of the targets Alolan Muk will trap are faster. This will prevent Alolan Muk from having to take an extra hit trying to finish off weakened threats like Victini and Mega-(RH)Alakazam.
* Fire Blast with a Sassy nature hits Steel-(AH)types for decent damage and 2HKOs 2HKOes Ferrothorn and Mega-(RH)Scizor, but is held back by Alolan Muk’s poor Special Attack stat.

Set Details
========

* 248 EVs in HP and 12 EVs in defense Defense allow Alolan Muk to avoid the OHKO from Victini’s V-Create after Stealth Rock damage.(period),(RC) with the rest allocated to special defense to maximize Alolan Muk’s ability to sponge special attacks. (This is said in the next bullet)
* With the HP and Special Defense EVs, a Careful nature,(AC) and an Assault Vest, Alolan Muk can switch into many special attacks, specifically avoiding the 2HKO from Mega Charizard Y’s Fire Blast after Stealth Rock damage. Alolan Muk can also more reliably cripple Nidoking and Landorus, as it is able to sometimes survive two uses of Earth Power Power from Nidoking after Knocking Off its Life Orb. (why is Landorus here then? Specify what Alolan Muk does to it, otherwise don't mention Landorus)
* A Sassy nature should be used with Fire Blast to preserve power while maintaining Special Defense. Alolan Muk’s speed is already poor, so a hindering nature isn’t going to affect the set.
* Poison Touch is the ability of choice to help spread poison and rack up residual damage. This stacks with Poison Jab to cause a poison chance rate of about 50%, while even moves like Knock Off and Pursuit can now poison the opponent.

Usage Tips
========

* Early in the game, Knock-(RH)Off should be spammed to remove as many items as possible;(add semicolon) removing.(remove period) Removing Eviolite from Porygon 2 or and Chansey,(RC) or Life Orb from Nidoking and Landorus-I Landorus makes them much easier for the rest of the team to handle.
* Walls like Rotom-W or Toxapex that attempt to switch in to into Alolan Muk should be hit with Knock Off on the switch before Alolan Muk retreats;(add semicolon).(remove period) Alolan Muk cannot dent them otherwise and needs to avoid getting a burn.
* Alolan Muk needs to avoid the Burn status burns at all costs,(AC) as this makes it ineffective at Pursuit-(RH)trapping, allowing threats like Alolan Raichu to switch out and survive Pursuit.
* Poison Jab should be used to spread status if you anticipate a switch-in that cannot lose its item, such as Mega-(RH)Sharpedo or Mega-(RH)Charizard X. Otherwise, the utility of removing items with Knock Off far exceeds that of inflicting Poison status.
* Shadow Sneak helps compensate for Alolan Muk's poor speed, and while it should not be relied upon to deal substantial damage, it should always go for Shadow Sneak before fainting as a way to deal extra chip damage and a chance to poison the opponent thanks to Poison Touch.
* Alolan Muk’s main role is to switch into a predicted Psychic attack from huge threats like Alolan Raichu and Mega-(RH)Alakazam,(RC) and trap and KO them with Pursuit. This is crucial for the team, since these threats would sweep with Psychic moves otherwise.
* Although Alolan Muk can take a few hits, it lacks recovery and can be worn down if it is not careful. Alolan Muk should also be careful around entry hazards and otherwise kept healthy to be able to adequately deal with Psychic-typed Psychic-type threats when they are sent out in battle.
* Alolan Muk should focus on trapping Psychic-(AH)types that have lower defense such as Alakazam and Latios; others such as Slowbro and Mew will be able to withstand Alolan Muk's attacks and inflict burn it with Burn status, making it ineffective for the rest of the match.

Team Options
========

* All Poison-types enjoy having Alolan Muk as a teammate because it switches into Psychic attacks and traps Psychic-(AH)types with Pursuit.
* Mega-(RH)Venusaur is perhaps the best teammate for Alolan Muk, as it is very bulky on the physical side and is neutral to Ground moves, which are Alolan Muk's sole weakness. It can also help check many Steel-(AH)types with a combination of Hidden Power Fire and Earthquake.
* Crobat is a suitable teammate because it is immune to Ground moves. Crobat It also has access to Taunt, U-Turn, and Defog,(AC) which all help Alolan Muk by preventing set-up setup, pivoting into Alolan Muk as needed, and removing hazards that would otherwise wear Alolan Muk down.
* Although Alolan Muk specializes in fighting Psychic-(AH)types, it is slower than almost all of them. As a result, it appreciates the support of Gengar,(AC) who is a speedy and powerful wall-(RH)breaker that can beat the likes of Slowbro and Mew, preventing Alolan Muk from taking unnecessary damage and burns.
* As Alolan Muk will cause many switches, Stealth Rock support from Nidoking and Nidoqueen is appreciated to rack up more damage. Nidoking will also provide offensive support and help KO Steel-(AH) and Ground-(AH)types that Alolan Muk has trouble with.
* Physical attackers like Scolipede will take pressure off of Alolan Muk from by being the main physical threat on the team and help helping Alolan Muk conserve its health. In return, Alolan Muk deals massive damage to bulkier Psychic-(AH)types such as Mew and Slowbro to assist Scolipede in sweeping.
* Toxapex has amazing bulk and recovery,(RC) and can soak up physical hits directed at Alolan Muk while using Haze on set-(RH)up sweepers or Scald to burn physical attackers.
* Nihilego with a Choice Scarf Nihilego is a great cleaner,(RC) and enjoys Alolan Muk’s ability to remove items and trap Alolan Raichu, who would otherwise outspeed and KO Nihilego.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

Poison
--------

* Alolan Muk has access to Memento to lower stats at the cost of its own life. While there are a few teammates that would appreciate a free turn to set-up set up, like Scolipede, Salazzle, and Toxicroak, ultimately it isn't worth sacrificing the main switch-in to Psychic attacks.
* An Air Balloon can be used to eliminate Alolan Muk's only Ground weakness temporarily, but it usually has enough team support to forgo this in favor of more useful items for the team as a whole.
* Alolan Muk can also run an effective Curse set with Rest and Sleep Talk, but this prevents it from utilizing Pursuit to trap opposing Psychic-(AH)types, and it offers far less utility for the team in general.
[remove line break]
Checks and Counters
===================

Poison
--------

**Magearna**: Magearna can switch in freely to against Alolan Muk due to its typing. It risks losing its item to Knock Off if it's not running a Z-crystal Z-Crystal, but after that,(AC) Magearna isn't threatened at all and can set up freely with Shift Gear or Trick Room and threaten the rest of the team. If allowed to KO Alolan Muk, it will also garner a +1 Special Attack boost in power thanks to its ability, which makes it that much more dangerous for the team to face.

**Physical Walls**: Most physical walls that aren't weak to Poison or Dark attacks with recovery can take on Alolan Muk easily, paving the way for a Psychic-type to cause major damage later. Skarmory, Mega-(RH)Venusaur,(AC) and Toxapex all receive special mention,(AC) as they are all immune to the poison status and have reliable recovery, with Mega-(RH)Venusaur also immune to losing its Mega Stone mega stone.

**Steel Types Steel-types**: Steel-(AH)types don't enjoy losing their item to Knock Off, but as because they are immune to Poison moves, after losing their item Alolan Muk doesn't have a reliable way to deal large amounts of damage. Pokemon such as Excadrill and Celesteela can switch in with minimal risk and proceed to OHKO Alolan Muk or set up. Mega-(RH)Scizor is also immune to losing its item and can set up on sets that lack Fire Blast.

**Ground Types Ground-types**: Ground-(AH)types resist Poison attacks and typically boast sizeable physical bulk while hitting Alolan Muk hard with STAB Ground moves. Excadrill and Mega Garchomp are especially dangerous for Alolan Muk to face,(AC) as they are Excadrill is resistant to dark,(RC) Dark and immune to Poison status, and Mega Garchomp takes take reduced damage from Knock Off,(RC) respectively (you had 2 Pokemon listed and then 3 characteristics, so it was unclear even with "respectively"). In general, however, Alolan Muk is usually forced to switch,(AC) as almost all Ground-(AH)types outspeed and OHKO it with their main STAB move.

**Physical Attackers**: Alolan Muk will usually be built to sponge special attacks, and so it will take heavy damage from most strong physical attackers that can hit Alolan Muk for neutral damage, such as Buzzwole, Dragonite, and Tyranitar. While very few of these can risk losing their item, once on the field,(AC) they can either set-up set up or throw out powerful physical moves without fear.

**Burns**: Despite Alolan Muk's special bulk, it does not enjoy switching into Scald or walls like Rotom-W, Mew,(AC) and or Mega-Sableye known to carry Will-O-Wisp,(AC) Will-o-Wisp as a burn will halve Alolan Muk's attack Attack and make it much weaker. The extra damage caused by a burn also hurts Alolan Muk's staying power longevity.

GP 1/1

A couple of notes:
If a type is followed by the word "type", there should be a hyphen (Poison-type; NOT Poison type or Poison Type)
Mega Pokemon should not be written with a hyphen (Mega Scizor; not Mega-Scizor)
If "as" or "since" is being used to mean "because", a comma should precede it.

Implemented in full, thank you! wishes

 

[Fireflame]

You forgot some things:

However,(AC) Alolan Muk's base 50 speed Speed is very slow and will result in it getting outsped often.

Please capitalize Speed.

Fire Blast with a Sassy nature hits Steel-types for decent damage and 2HKOs Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor

It's 2HKOes, with an E.

Please make sure to reread my check and make sure that you did everything there. I just saw those two, but there may be more.

 

[Arash]

You forgot some things:

Please capitalize Speed.

It's 2HKOes, with an E.

Please make sure to reread my check and make sure that you did everything there. I just saw those two, but there may be more.

Apologies; I corrected those and went over the whole thing again.. it should all be implemented now :)

 

[Eien]

Uploaded!