[OVERVIEW]
Electric
========
Alolan Golem can opt to use a trapper set centered around Magnet Pull and Air Balloon to greatly help in the Ground, Grass, and Steel matchups, where it can reliably KO Excadrill and Ferrothorn, two of Electric's greatest threats. Specifically, trapping and removing Excadrill lets Alolan Raichu wreak havoc on the opposing team. Additionally, by compressing the roles of Stealth Rock setter and trapper onto Alolan Golem, Electric is free to omit Magnezone from its team, opening up a teamslot for other Pokemon like Zeraora and Thundurus. However, against teams lacking a Steel-type to trap, Alolan Golem often finds itself only setting up Stealth Rock at best. That said, most teams do carry a Steel-type to help with the prevalence of Fairy, so Alolan Golem usually has the opportunity to trap something at some point.
[SET]
name: Trapper
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Fire Punch
move 4: Stone Edge
item: Air Balloon
ability: Magnet Pull
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Stealth Rock is useful in problematic matchups, namely Dragon, and since Alolan Golem is the best Stealth Rock setter on Electric, this move is mandatory on such a set. It also lets Alolan Golem be useful outside of trapping threats. Earthquake allows Alolan Golem to OHKO Excadrill most of the time, a potent threat that can outspeed and OHKO many Electric-type Pokemon. Fire Punch serves as Alolan Golem's secondary coverage move and deals great damage to another common threat to Electric in Ferrothorn. Stone Edge is the preferred STAB move, as it allows Alolan Golem to hit common threats like Volcarona and Kyurem-B while also pressuring or KOing opposing Defoggers and spinners, such as Latios and Armaldo, that try to get rid of its Stealth Rock.
Set Details
========
Magnet Pull is what makes this set work, as it allows Alolan Golem to trap threatening Steel-types, namely Excadrill and Ferrothorn. Air Balloon, along with Magnet Pull, enables Alolan Golem to beat all Excadrill variants as long as it doesn't flinch from Iron Head. It also provides the Electric team with a Ground immunity. Maximum investment in Attack and Speed coupled with an Adamant nature makes Alolan Golem as strong as possible and lets it OHKO Excadrill while outspeeding uninvested Mantine, Klefki, and Mega Scizor.
Usage Tips
========
Since this set's main purpose is to trap and KO dangerous Steel-types, Alolan Golem should be brought on the field after a teammate has fainted or via a slow Volt Switch or U-turn to prevent it from taking too much damage or having its Air Balloon popped. Preserve Alolan Golem's Air Balloon when facing an Excadrill team, as it absolutely needs its item in order to reliably KO Excadrill. Therefore, against Steel teams, Alolan Golem should trap Excadrill before attempting to trap another Steel-type like Ferrothorn. In order to trap Excadrill in the Ground matchup, play aggressively against it, even if it means sacrificing a Pokemon, in order to get Alolan Golem on the field for free and trap it. In fact, Alolan Golem puts a great amount of pressure on Ground teams, since Excadrill cannot possibly KO a Pokemon without being trapped in return. Another notable Steel-type Alolan Golem can trap, besides Excadrill and Ferrothorn, is Klefki in the Fairy matchup, as Alolan Golem can stall screen turns and slowly wear Klefki down before KOing it when one of the screens has a single turn remaining. If the opposing team doesn't carry any Steel-type Pokemon, Alolan Golem can then be used to switch into resisted hits, weak damaging moves, or predicted switches to set up Stealth Rock and damage the opposing team as much as possible before it's KOed. Once Alolan Golem fulfills its purposes of trapping Steel-types and setting up Stealth Rock or if it becomes deadweight, namely against Water teams, it can be sacrificed to a strong opposing hit so that a teammate can safely come onto the field and revenge kill the opposing threat. Avoid burns as much as possible, as they halve Alolan Golem's damage output, and at that point, it won't be able to effectively trap Ferrothorn or beat Zapdos anymore.
Team Options
========
All of Alolan Golem's teammates appreciate its ability to trap and KO problematic threats like Excadrill and Ferrothorn. Zeraora greatly eases the would-be painful Normal matchup with Choice Band-boosted Close Combat and heavily pressures Steel teams when used in combination with Alolan Golem. Zapdos can beat Grass-types like Breloom and Tapu Bulu with Heat Wave, while Rotom-W deals with Ground-types that trouble Alolan Golem, such as Mamoswine and Gliscor. Both Zapdos and Rotom-W can remove entry hazards away with Defog and provide another Ground immunity to the team. Tapu Koko can give Alolan Golem the chance to be safely brought on the field with Volt Switch or U-turn so that it can trap Steel-types unharmed. With Taunt, Tapu Koko can also prevent Defoggers like Zapdos from clearing Alolan Golem's Stealth Rock away after it's been KOed. Alolan Raichu can sweep late-game with the continuous chip damage from Alolan Golem's Stealth Rock. Examples of guaranteed OHKOs after Stealth Rock damage include those against Kyurem-B and, after a Nasty Plot Boost, Assault Vest Alolan Muk. With Alolan Golem taking out Excadrill, Alolan Raichu might even be able to drop Focus Blast for Grass Knot to let it swiftly beat Ground teams. Thundurus is a secondary physical attacker that nicely helps Alolan Golem by dealing with Mega Venusaur and Normal teams.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Electric
--------
A specially defensive spread of 248 HP / 56 SpD / 204 Spe with a Careful nature can be used to offer Electric teams a secondary switch-in to special moves, letting Alolan Golem set up Stealth Rock multiple times throughout the game while retaining some offensive presence with Galvanize. Unfortunately, this Alolan Golem variant doesn't provide anything that's really valuable for Electric, as it is OHKOed by any Ground-type move and unable to seriously harm or pressure any notable Steel-types, and despite it's defensive investments, it can only afford to switch into resisted special moves and some weaker neutral moves, making this set outclassed in almost every way.
Checks and Counters
===================
Electric
--------
**Water-types**: If Alolan Golem doesn't carry any Electric-type moves, such as with the trapper set, it easily falls prey to most Water-types.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[GnralLao]]
- Electric analysis by: [[GnralLao]]
- Quality checked by: [[maroon, 305839], [Eien, 100418], [Moosical, 215618]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Electrolyte, 148071]]
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