[OVERVIEW]
* Arbok can act as a threatening sweeper in the PU metagame thanks to its access to Coil, which boosts its otherwise meagre Attack and Defense stats as well as its accuracy, allowing to run its most powerful available STAB in Gunk Shot more safely
* Arbok also benefits from its mono-Poison typing, which gives Arbok useful resistances to Fighting- and Fairy-type moves
* Arbok is also aided by its ability, Intimidate, which allows it to switch into and set up on Pokemon such as Hitmonchan
* unfortunately, Arbok suffers greatly from its mediocre overall stats; it is fairly weak before a boost, as it is forced to run a Z-Crystal to circumvent bulky Pokemon such as Regirock that it would otherwise struggle to break through
* Arbok is also somewhat physically frail if it is not facing a Pokemon affected by Intimidate or if it has not accumulated any Coil boosts, and it has no way of boosting its mediocre Special Defense
* while Sucker Punch allows Arbok to circumvent its mediocre Speed, Pokemon such as Substitute + Calm Mind Mesprit can play around this
* burdensome weaknesses to common Psychic- and Ground-type moves further cripple Arbok, and it can greatly struggle against common Pokemon such as Colbur Berry Mesprit, Weezing, and Ferroseed
[SET]
name: Coil
move 1: Coil
move 2: Gunk Shot
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Earthquake / Aqua Tail
item: Groundium Z / Waterium Z
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Coil boosts Arbok's Attack and Defense, making it stronger and bulkier, as well as its accuracy, eliminating Gunk Shot's chance to miss
* Gunk Shot is Arbok's most powerful STAB move that has a useful chance to poison
* Sucker Punch allows Arbok to circumvent its average Speed tier and punish foolhardy Psychic-types, such as non-Colbur Berry Mesprit and Alolan Raichu, as well as faster offensive Pokemon, such as Magmortar and Pyroar
* Earthquake provides valuable coverage, allowing Arbok to hit Pokemon such as Regirock, Carracosta, Aurorus, and Skuntank super effectively
* Earthquake becomes Tectonic Rage if Arbok is holding Groundium Z, which lets Arbok do significant damage to bulky Pokemon that would otherwise wall it, such as Spiritomb and Ferroseed, after a Coil boost
* Aqua Tail provides similar coverage to Earthquake, but it, when augmented by Waterium Z, allows Arbok to also chunk non-Pain Split Weezing and OHKO Colbur Berry Palossand at the expense of having no way of hitting Ferroseed
Set Details
========
* maximum investment in Attack with an Adamant nature makes Arbok as strong as possible, as it cannot viably hold a boosting item
* maximum investment in Speed allows Arbok to Speed tie with Passimian and Stoutland as well as outspeed Pokemon such as max Speed Adamant Hitmonchan and Aurorus
* Intimidate makes it easier for Arbok to set up by lowering the Attack of Pokemon it switches into
* the Z-Crystal Arbok runs depends on your team's needs
* Groundium Z allows Arbok to get around Carracosta, Aurorus, Skuntank, Regirock, and to an extent Ferroseed while providing a stronger Z-move against neutral targets than Waterium Z
* on the other hand, Waterium Z hits similar targets as well as Weezing and Palossand while having the caveat of leaving Arbok helpless against Ferroseed
Usage Tips
========
* Arbok should be mostly conserved for the later stages of matches, as it has no reliable recovery and can easily be whittled down to the point of being useless if forced to switch in too often
* if Arbok has to come into play earlier than necessary for to sweep, do not attempt to boost; if Arbok's checks, such as Ferroseed and Weezing, are still reasonably healthy, boosting will render Arbok setup bait
* instead, predict what will switch in and either switch out into an appropriate check or attempt to damage the switch-in
* keep in mind that Arbok can revenge kill faster foes with Sucker Punch, such as Choice Scarf Oricorio-G, Mesprit lacking Colbur Berry, Pyroar, and Archeops, if they are sufficiently weakened, so do not waste Arbok if it may be needed to do this
* switch Arbok into opponents that it has a type advantage against and cannot hit it super effectively, such as Hitmonchan and Clefairy
* once Arbok's various checks are sufficiently weakened, it can begin to set up with Coil
Team Options
========
* Arbok appreciates entry hazard support due to its somewhat lacking power; Pokemon such as Mesprit, Probopass, and Ferroseed can provide Stealth Rock for Arbok
* Mesprit is also an excellent teammate in general, as it provides Arbok's team with a Ground immunity a means of breaking through Weezing and, depending on the set, Healing Wish support, which can potentially allow Arbok to play more aggressively
* Entry hazard removal from the likes of Hitmonchan and Swanna ensures Arbok is kept safe from chip damage from Spikes and Stealth Rock
* Checks to Mesprit, such as Shiftry and Spiritomb, are essential due to Mesprit's omnipresence and Arbok's poor matchup against it
* Shiftry and Spiritomb, among other Dark-types, can also deal with Pokemon such as Misdreavus that cause problems for Arbok
* Shiftry and other Grass-types such as Lilligant can check Ground-types if Arbok is not running Waterium Z
* Fire-types, such as Pyroar and Magmortar, can defeat Ferroseed, one of Arbok's hardest stops; this is especially useful if Arbok is running Aqua Tail
* Fast Pokemon, such as Archeops and Choice Scarf Oricorio-G, can remove or weaken faster Pokemon that Arbok would be forced to resort to using Sucker Punch against
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Shed Skin can be run over Intimidate to protect Arbok from burns, but this deprives Arbok of opportunities to switch in
* sets with Rest and Shed Skin are even worse, as they deprive Arbok of valuable coverage and rely too heavily on luck to function consistently
* Fire Fang can be run to 2HKO Ferroseed switch-ins, but it provides little other coverage and consigns Arbok to being very easily walled by Rock- and Ground-types
* Seed Bomb lets Arbok get past Gastrodon but suffers similar issues as Fire Fang in that it leaves Arbok totally walled by Poison- and Steel-types
Checks and Counters
===================
**Weezing**: Weezing walls Groundium Z Arbok and neuters it with Will-O-Wisp. A boosted Hydro Vortex can deal a significant amount of damage to Weezing, however.
**Ferroseed**: Ferroseed shakes off most things Arbok can throw at it and easily stall out Arbok with Leech Seed and Protect or use it as setup fodder for entry hazards. Waterium Z Arbok in particular has no way of defeating Ferroseed. Ferroseed takes significant damage from a boosted Tectonic Rage, however.
**Psychic-types**: While Arbok has Sucker Punch to hit Psychic-types super effectively and discourage them from attacking it, some can play around this. For instance, Colbur Berry Mesprit and Musharna can take a Sucker Punch and easily OHKO Arbok with Psychic, while Focus Sash Kadabra can revenge kill Arbok.
**Ground-types**: If Arbok lacks Hydro Vortex, Ground-types, such as Palossand, Golurk, Gastrodon, and Mudsdale, wall Arbok and can either remove it or use it as setup fodder. Gastrodon is the worst Ground-type for Arbok to face, as it hard counters Arbok due to its immunity to Hydro Vortex and ability to easily shake off a +1 Tectonic Rage.
**Ghost-types**: Misdreavus, Spiritomb, and Gourgeist-XL can burn Arbok with Will-O-Wisp, and all of these either resist or can take a Gunk Shot. However, while Misdreavus is immune to Tectonic Rage and outspeeds Arbok, allowing it to burn Arbok before it takes a boosted Hydro Vortex, Spiritomb will take a hefty amount of damage if it switches into Arbok as it is boosting and takes either one of Arbok's Z-moves.
**Faster Pokemon**: Arbok's middling Speed means that many of the tier's offensive Pokemon, such as Pyroar, Magmortar, Articuno, Mr. Mime, and Swanna, can easily revenge kill Arbok. This is especially true for special attackers, as Coil does not protect Arbok against them. However, they must watch out for Sucker Punch, particularly if Arbok has boosted.
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