OU Alolan Muk

earl

(EVIOLITE COMPATIBLE)
is a Community Contributor
Muk (Alolan)
QC 3/3


[OVERVIEW]

* Alolan Muk has an excellent typing that provides 4 useful resistances and an immunity to Psychic, which combined with its good 100/105 special bulk makes it a safe switch-in to many Psychic-type Pokemon such as Tapu Lele and Mega Alakazam.
* STAB Pursuit allows Alolan Muk to effectively trap Psychic-types and either KO or severely cripple them on the switch.
* STAB Knock Off hits hard and complements Alolan Muk's Poison-type STAB moves by being able to cripple Steel-types.
* Muk has a respectable chance to spread poison by virtue of Poison Touch. This allows it to potentially cripple normally safe switch-ins before being forced out.
* It's incredibly weak to Ground-types, and has no real way to threaten them outside of removing their items with Knock Off.
* A lack of reliable recovery limits how much Alolan Muk can switch in, which hurts it as a pivot.

[SET]
name: Assault Vest
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: Adamant / Brave
evs: 252 HP / 240 Atk / 16 SpD

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

* STAB Knock Off hits very hard when removing an item.
* Pursuit can trap prominent Psychic-types such as Latios, Mega Alakazam, and Tapu Lele.
* Poison Jab is Alolan Muk's secondary reliable STAB and has approximately a 50% chance to poison thanks to Poison Touch.
* Gunk Shot hits harder than Poison Jab, can KO earlier and avoids Rocky Helmet damage from Pokemon such as tank Garchomp and defensive Landorus-T to keep Alolan Muk healthier throughout the match, but has shaky accuracy and misses out on Poison Touch's additional poison chance.
* Shadow Sneak allows Alolan Muk to come in on severely weakened foes to revenge kill.
* Fire Blast specifically takes out Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory, which would otherwise wall Alolan Muk, and threatens Steel-types in general.

Set Details
========

* Assault Vest allows Alolan Muk to easily switch in on special hits then cripple or KO the opponent in various ways.
* Poison Touch is vastly superior to Muk's other abilities, and allows all of Alolan Muk's contact moves to potentially poison.
* Poison Jab can OHKO all four the Tapu group outside of maximum HP Tapu Fini, which is OHKOed by Gunk Shot.
*Alolan Muk's ability to force switches with Pursuit and Knock Off benefits from entry hazards on the opponent's side.
* An Adamant nature should be run unless Alolan Muk is running Fire Blast, where a Brave nature is more beneficial.
* 16 Special Defense EVs allow Alolan Muk to avoid the chance of being 2HKOed by a Choice Specs Timid Tapu Lele's Moonblast after Stealth Rock damage as well as boost its special bulk that much more.

Usage Tips
========

* Bring in Alolan Muk on resisted special attacks, optimally a predicted Psychic-type move, such as Tapu Lele's Psychic.
* Avoid switching directly into neutral STAB moves, as Alolan Muk will take quite a bit of damage and cannot afford to lose the HP due to its lack of any recovery.
* Knock Off should almost always be the go-to attack unless either Shadow Sneak is required for the revenge kill or a switch is likely, in which case Pursuit is a good choice.

Team Options
========

* Tapu Bulu is a great teammate for Alolan Muk, as Grassy Terrain halves the power of Earthquake and provides Alolan Muk with a minor amount of recovery. Any Pokémon that can reliably take out Ground types, like Tapu-Bulu, mitigates Alolan Muk's huge weakness to the type.
* Bulky Wish passers such as Chansey and Alomomola can keep Alolan Muk healthy and are able to switch into most of its checks safely.
* Offensive Pokemon such as Nihilego, Breloom, and Nidoking greatly appreciate Alolan Muk's ability to trap and KO fast Psychic-types such as Choice Scarf Tapu Lele and Latios.
* Buzzwole in particular covers Alolan Muk's weaknesses very well, resisting Ground-type attacks and easily beating Steel-types while Alolan Muk covers the fast Pyschic-types that threaten Buzzwole. It's Substitute + Drain Punch set also appreciates Alolan Muk's poison helping it whittle down Pokemon such as Landorus-T while setting up.
* Dragon- and Dark-type Pokemon such as Garchomp and Greninja appreciate Alolan Muk's ability to easily handle Fairy-types, in particular the Tapu group.
* Rotom-W can be a helpful teammate for Alolan Muk, as it can switch into predicted Ground-type attacks and proceed to KO with Hydro Pump or cripple with Will-O-Wisp.
* Flying-types and Pokemon with Levitate can use Alolan Muk's ability to lure Ground-type moves to get a free switch in.
* Magnezone's and Dugtrio's ability to trap and KO Pokemon such as Heatran and Scizor is a huge help to Alolan Muk, as these Pokemon would otherwise wall it. These trappers should not be run solely to aid Muk, however, as its pivoting role doesn't require the complete removal of Steel-types.


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

* While a Choice Band set similar to normal Muk's may seem appealing, Alolan Muk lacks Ice Punch and any way to deter Ground-types from switching in outside of the initial Knock Off.
* A Curse set can be run to boost Muk's weaker Defense while making it more threatening, but Muk functions much better as a pivot and is outclassed by other bulky set up sweepers such as Zygarde and Buzzwole.
* Air Balloon can be run to basically guarantee a Knock Off on a Ground-type, but Alolan Muk should not be directly challenging a Ground-type in the first place.
* Brick Break can be run if Bisharp is a problem, but Fire Blast is typically better for its ability to hit Steel-types harder.
* Poison Fang can be run as Alolan Muk's Poison-type STAB move if a high poison chance is desired, but it has underwhelming Base Power.

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

**Ground-types**: Alolan Muk has no coverage moves to super effectively hit Pokemon like Landorus-T and Garchomp, and Ground-type moves, particularly Earthquake, can easily KO it. Alolan Muk can poison them before switching out, though, wearing them down over the match. Excadrill in particular fears almost nothing from Alolan Muk, being immune to its poison.

**Dugtrio**: Dugtrio can trap and KO Alolan Muk with Earthquake by virtue of its weak Defense and low Speed. However, Dugtrio should be wary of Shadow Sneak if brought down to its Focus Sash.

**Mega Scizor**: Without Fire Blast, Mega Scizor is immune to or takes very little from all of Alolan Muk's STAB moves and takes no bonus Knock Off damage, and can proceed to set up or threaten Alolan Muk with its strong physical attacks.

**Bisharp**: Bisharp, like Scizor, takes little from both of Alolan Muk's STAB moves and can easily set up if it lacks Fire Blast or Brick Break.

**Steel-types**: Outside of the initial Knock Off, Alolan Muk without Fire Blast poses little threat to Steel-types such as Skarmory and Celesteela. Knock Off is particularly effective when removing Celesteela's Leftovers, as it has no form of reliable recovery.

**Burns**: While Alolan Muk is immune to poison, sets without Rest are easily crippled by burns from Will-O-Wisp and Scald.
 
Last edited:
One important thing to note with Gunk Shot over Poison Jab is that Gunk Shot is NOT a contact move, so while that's better versus Rocky Helmet Garchomp and Lando-T, it also means you don't get the 30% Poison Touch boost when using it.
 

earl

(EVIOLITE COMPATIBLE)
is a Community Contributor
One important thing to note with Gunk Shot over Poison Jab is that Gunk Shot is NOT a contact move, so while that's better versus Rocky Helmet Garchomp and Lando-T, it also means you don't get the 30% Poison Touch boost when using it.
Thanks, I edited to make that more clear.
 

Colonel M

I COULD BE BORED!
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
Not a big fan of Poison Fang in the first set. Honestly when using A Muk you should either go ham with Gunk Shot or go with consistency with Poison Jab. Poison Fan CAN screw up some walls, but it also means Muk has a shakier time with more offensive Pokemon with the missing Base Power.

There's other things to nitpick IMO, but I'll start there.
 

earl

(EVIOLITE COMPATIBLE)
is a Community Contributor
Not a big fan of Poison Fang in the first set. Honestly when using A Muk you should either go ham with Gunk Shot or go with consistency with Poison Jab. Poison Fan CAN screw up some walls, but it also means Muk has a shakier time with more offensive Pokemon with the missing Base Power.

There's other things to nitpick IMO, but I'll start there.
Yeah, I added last second without really testing, after test it does kinda suck
 

earl

(EVIOLITE COMPATIBLE)
is a Community Contributor
Edited the analysis to include more options on OO, wondering if Brick Break warrants a slash on the first set, and if some of the moves in OO are even worth a mention.
 

LucarioOfLegends

Master Procraster
is a CAP Contributor
Brick Break should stay in OO, since Fire Blast can hit most ground-types neutrally (which reminds me Brick Break can also hit Tran super effective).

Could Air Baloon be in OO? It temporarily migates the Ground weakness, giving Muk a possible free turn to cripple or damage the opponent if executed correctly.
 
Edited the analysis to include more options on OO, wondering if Brick Break warrants a slash on the first set, and if some of the moves in OO are even worth a mention.
Not QC so take this whole post with a grain of salt, but I don't think Brick Break is worth more than OO. If you really want to lure in Ttar, it's there. Otherwise Knock Off and Fire Blast deal with most Steel types about as efficiently.

I don't think Acid Spray or Poison Fang will ever see use on any serious set either, so I would remove them. Rock Polish is also really awful on Muk (speed is just way too low and investing in it takes away from one of Muk's greatest attributes, his bulk). Just like with the aforementioned two moves I don't think a serious set would ever bother with it so it's probably not worth a mention.

For what it's worth I also think Curse would fit better in OO than as its own set, but I haven't personally used it so I'll refrain from saying much more.
 

earl

(EVIOLITE COMPATIBLE)
is a Community Contributor
Not QC so take this whole post with a grain of salt, but I don't think Brick Break is worth more than OO. If you really want to lure in Ttar, it's there. Otherwise Knock Off and Fire Blast deal with most Steel types about as efficiently.

I don't think Acid Spray or Poison Fang will ever see use on any serious set either, so I would remove them. Rock Polish is also really awful on Muk (speed is just way too low and investing in it takes away from one of Muk's greatest attributes, his bulk). Just like with the aforementioned two moves I don't think a serious set would ever bother with it so it's probably not worth a mention.

For what it's worth I also think Curse would fit better in OO than as its own set, but I haven't personally used it so I'll refrain from saying much more.
Thanks for the feedback, I basically just threw a bunch of somewhat fathomable options in that section. The curse set has worked reasonably well for me, working off of the CroMuk set that popular with normal Muk, except more reliable. I'll see what others thinks of it and work from there.
 

earl

(EVIOLITE COMPATIBLE)
is a Community Contributor
Brick Break should stay in OO, since Fire Blast can hit most ground-types neutrally (which reminds me Brick Break can also hit Tran super effective).

Could Air Baloon be in OO? It temporarily migates the Ground weakness, giving Muk a possible free turn to cripple or damage the opponent if executed correctly.
Eh, I feel that Muk gains a much greater benefit from AV/Black Sludge. It could allow for a free knock off though, I'll test it a bit and see how it works out.
 

HotFuzzBall

fuzzy-chan \(ㆁヮㆁ✿)
is an Artist
Usage Tips
========
  • Bring in Muk on special attackers, optimally a predicted Psychic move.
  • Attempt to force a switch on a choice locked Pokémon or a psychic move, then proceed to set up.
  • As Muk has no attack investment, setting up Curse is required to do any significant damage.
Include that CroMuk gets shut down by TrickScarf (or some other choice item),Taunt and I guess Encore as well, so that's something for the player to be aware of.
 
Poison Touch's poison chance doesn't stack additively with Poison Jab's, it activates independently. So the game checks whether Poison Jab poisons, and then checks whether Poison Touch activates.

So the chance for poisoning isn't 60%, it's 51%.
 

earl

(EVIOLITE COMPATIBLE)
is a Community Contributor
Poison Touch's poison chance doesn't stack additively with Poison Jab's, it activates independently. So the game checks whether Poison Jab poisons, and then checks whether Poison Touch activates.

So the chance for poisoning isn't 60%, it's 51%.
Oh, that makes sense. I'll update the analysis to reflect that
 
252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 248 HP / 24 SpD Assault Vest Muk-Alola: 153-180 (37 - 43.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
(153, 154, 156, 157, 159, 162, 163, 165, 166, 168, 171, 172, 174, 175, 177, 180)

252 SpA Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 248 HP / 24 SpD Assault Vest Muk-Alola: 102-120 (24.6 - 29%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Stealth Rock
(102, 102, 103, 105, 106, 108, 108, 109, 111, 112, 114, 114, 115, 117, 118, 120)


252 SpA Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Muk-Alola: 103-123 (24.9 - 29.7%) -- 0.9% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock
(103, 105, 106, 108, 108, 109, 111, 112, 114, 115, 115, 117, 118, 120, 121, 123)

252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Muk-Alola: 156-184 (37.7 - 44.5%) -- 3.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
(156, 157, 160, 162, 163, 165, 166, 169, 171, 172, 174, 177, 178, 180, 181, 184)
 

earl

(EVIOLITE COMPATIBLE)
is a Community Contributor
A little bit more Spdef helps vs Tapu Lele : ]
Running clacs against the other Tapus, the lowered attack really doesn't prevent any meaningful KOs, only really hurting Muk's OHKO chance on Fini with Gunk Shot, and barely at that. I'll update, many thanks!
 

LucarioOfLegends

Master Procraster
is a CAP Contributor
Not QC, but would add Heatran to checks somewhere, as it is immune to or does not care for Muk's moves, and can easily force it out with Earth Power
 

earl

(EVIOLITE COMPATIBLE)
is a Community Contributor
Not QC, but would add Heatran to checks somewhere, as it is immune to or does not care for Muk's moves, and can easily force it out with Earth Power
While heatran has an easier time killing Muk than some other steels, I feel like it doesn't particularly deserve a mention as it falls under the "Muk cannot scratch steels outside of the first Knock Off" category. Unless it's the bloom doom variant, that really fears nothing from Muk.
 
I think you should add a description to the EV-Split of the Assault Vest set. Why did you go for the 232 Attack EVs and the 24 SpDef EVs? You should make this clear in the set details :)
 

earl

(EVIOLITE COMPATIBLE)
is a Community Contributor
I think you should add a description to the EV-Split of the Assault Vest set. Why did you go for the 232 Attack EVs and the 24 SpDef EVs? You should make this clear in the set details :)
Yeah, I should add that in. Thanks
 
Can I suggest Alomomola in team options. Momo has great physical bulk and typing that can safely switch into threats like non boosted Excadrill or Garchomp that scare Alolan-Muk, and can form a dual physdef/spdef core, and it can pass gigantic heals to it via Wish which It absolutely loves since its only viable recovery is Rest.
 

PK Gaming

Persona 5
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Past SPL Champion
Overview

* Immunity to Psychic-type attacks, along with it's special bulk, makes it a safe switch in to many Psychic-type Pokemon.
You need to list examples.

STAB Knock Off hits hard while removing items, and can poison due to Muk's ability.
I'd first note that Dark-STAB makes up tremendously for Poison's poor coverage, preventing Steel-types from being a free switch into Muk.

Easily spreads poison, virtue of Poison Touch.
This is inaccurate, since it's only a 20% chance. Write something along the lines of "can potentially spread poison to common ground-type checks like Zygarde and Hippowdon which could potentially be devastating to them.

You should mention that it's lack of reliable recovery makes it easier to wear down as well.

Assault Vest

* 24 Special Defense IVs helps Muk take Tapu Lele's coverage options much more easily, as well as boosting its special bulk that much more.
You need to be more specific.

Bring in Muk on special attackers, optimally a predicted Psychic-type move, such as Tapu Lele's Psychic.
You should also advice that the player shouldn't directly switch Muk into neutral STAB moves. Specs Tapu Lele in particular does a ton with Moonblast, meaning Muk can only switch into it once at most. Muk's presence should deter Tapu Lele from spamming Psychic, which is something to keep in mind.

The Team Options should be placed directly under Usage Tips. It's also slightly lacking since you only mention Pokemon that can switch into Ground-types / Pokemon that remove its counters. What are some of the Pokemon that benefit from Muk's presence? Muk can switch into Psychic-types like Latios and Tapu Lele and trap them. Pokemon that want them gone make for good partners. Also worth nothing; Alolan Muk is a pivot. You don't need to go out of your way to run Magnezone / Dugtrio just to help it out.

CroMuk

The QC team has rejected this set on the basis that there are better bulky sweepers available in addition to the fact that it's incredibly difficult for Muk to power through teams with Dark-STAB alone.
 

earl

(EVIOLITE COMPATIBLE)
is a Community Contributor
Overview



You need to list examples.



I'd first note that Dark-STAB makes up tremendously for Poison's poor coverage, preventing Steel-types from being a free switch into Muk.



This is inaccurate, since it's only a 20% chance. Write something along the lines of "can potentially spread poison to common ground-type checks like Zygarde and Hippowdon which could potentially be devastating to them.

You should mention that it's lack of reliable recovery makes it easier to wear down as well.

Assault Vest



You need to be more specific.



You should also advice that the player shouldn't directly switch Muk into neutral STAB moves. Specs Tapu Lele in particular does a ton with Moonblast, meaning Muk can only switch into it once at most. Muk's presence should deter Tapu Lele from spamming Psychic, which is something to keep in mind.

The Team Options should be placed directly under Usage Tips. It's also slightly lacking since you only mention Pokemon that can switch into Ground-types / Pokemon that remove its counters. What are some of the Pokemon that benefit from Muk's presence? Muk can switch into Psychic-types like Latios and Tapu Lele and trap them. Pokemon that want them gone make for good partners. Also worth nothing; Alolan Muk is a pivot. You don't need to go out of your way to run Magnezone / Dugtrio just to help it out.

CroMuk

The QC team has rejected this set on the basis that there are better bulky sweepers available in addition to the fact that it's incredibly difficult for Muk to power through teams with Dark-STAB alone.
Thanks for all the input, implemented your suggestions. Are you saying I should drop the Team Options sections altogether and just merge it with Usage Tips? I also don't mean to nitpick but Poison Touch has a 30% chance, not a 20%.
 

Colonel M

I COULD BE BORED!
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
Thanks for all the input, implemented your suggestions. Are you saying I should drop the Team Options sections altogether and just merge it with Usage Tips? I also don't mean to nitpick but Poison Touch has a 30% chance, not a 20%.
Team Options need to remain in the main set.

Basically they go right under Usage Tips as a separate section. See other analyses or seek me on Discord if you need clarification.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top