Gligar: A New Approach

[Heysup]

Introduction

When you think of Gligar, what do you think of? I personally think "Oh boy, is it going to Swords Dance, Rock Polish, Set up Stealth Rock, or OHKO me with Earthquake....". I'm sure most of us agree, that's whats usually going on in our heads when Gligar makes its appearance. However, Gligar is quite amazing at doing other things that aren't usually talked about, or haven't been talked about. I was having doubts about Gligar's suspect status before, but these sets all sealed the deal for me. These set's also don't rely on your opponent's being "surprised", but it's definitely a nice bonus.

Lets start with the "Weather Support" sets:

​

Gligar (M) @ Damp/Heat Rock / Oran Berry
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 236 HP/236 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rain Dance / Sunny Day
---

When I was looking around for a replacement for a lead on my Sunny Day team, I couldn't figure out what to use.....so I searched up which Pokemon learned Stealth Rock AND Sunny Day. Guess who came up, Gligar. Gligar has one of the best defensive typings, can avoid OHKOes from even 4x weak Physical Ice Attacks (Phanpy's Ice Shard is a 3HKO with Oran), and even the odd HP Ice from Diglett. It reliably gets both SR and Weather up as a lead (with Oran Berry), while breaking the opponent's sash.

However, this set really shines when not in a lead position. Sending Gligar out mid-game can really turn the tide of a battle, getting Stealth Rock and weather up for your team to finish theirs off.

Obviously you look at this set and think "Bronzor can do this just as good or better", but really, it can't. Gligar's main advantage is the Speed. It can set up its own weather versus ANY non-Scarfer (even Elekid!), while Bronzor has trouble versus basically any Fire-type. Gligar also has a powerful STAB EQ, while it's only coming off of 14 Attack, it still OHKOes what it needs to, like Houndour, Croagunk, Aron, etc. The best Bronzor can do is what? STAB Psychic from 10 or 11 SpA? That's really going to hurt isn't it? (not really)

Now lets look at the "Support Lead" set:

Gligar (M) @ Oran Berry
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 236 HP/236 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Taunt
---

Why no one uses this set, I don't know, but people should really start. Beating almost every lead (seriously), and being able to U-turn out when it can't is amazing. Not to mention it stops Bulky SR leads like Phanpy, Turtwig, Onix, etc. from setting up Stealth Rock, and easily getting its own set up in the process. Gligar really doesn't "lose" vs any lead, it survives an Overheat from Houndour, Aqua Jet is a 3HKO at best from Kabuto, Ice Shard is a 3HKO from Phanpy....what else do you need to know?

Gligar can really shine in almost any spot on your team, and lead / weather support are no exceptions.

Conclusion

Gligar definitely can do more than people think. While Gligar has suspect status from its RP set mostly, which falls under the "Offensive Characteristic of Uber", I really think the "support characteristic" would be more accurate with these sets in mind. Obviously, these sets in addition to the All-in-One set.

EDIT: This isn't a "ban Gligar" post, it's a "look at Gligar's diverse roles in the metagame / here are some of them thread".
​

 

[Black Buddha]

Adamant Phanpy Ice Shard still OHKOes non Max/max Gligar even through Oran Berry

I have been using the LeadGligar set for quite a while on my sash abusing team, as it prevents basically all leads but Diglett from setting up SR, while setting up my own. It does have rpoblems against Phanpy leads though

Weather: eh, for Rain Dance Voltorb is a much better option, but this does work very well for Sunny Day, and Gligar appreciates the drop in Water power moves when trying to set up SR or Sunny Day another time

Gligar is also quite good as a Scarfer, you can U-Turn as you come in to see what their Gligar counter is and proceed to beat it, and then later return for a STAB EQ clean up lategame

I still dont think Gligar is a suspect though, but it is surely one of the more powerful pokemon in the Little Cup metagame

 

[Heysup]

Adamant Phanpy Ice Shard still OHKOes non Max/max Gligar even through Oran Berry.

Not true at all, these calcs are done using Max HP / Min Def:

16 Atk vs 17 Def & 26 HP (40 Base Power): 16 - 20 (61.54% - 76.92%)

That's without Oran Berry...with Oran the Calc is:

16 Atk vs 17 Def & 36 HP (40 Base Power): 16 - 20 (44.44% - 55.56%)

That's 5% chance for a 2HKO, so basically a 3HKO.

 

[Banryu]

Now lets look at the "Support Lead" set:
Gligar (M) @ Oran Berry
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 236 HP/236 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Taunt
---

Why no one uses this set, I don't know, but people should really start. Beating almost every lead (seriously), and being able to U-turn out when it can't is amazing. Not to mention it stops Bulky SR leads like Phanpy, Turtwig, Onix, etc. from setting up Stealth Rock, and easily getting its own set up in the process. Gligar really doesn't "lose" vs any lead, it survives an Overheat from Houndour, Aqua Jet is a 3HKO at best from Kabuto, Ice Shard is a 3HKO from Phanpy....what else do you need to know?

Gligar can really shine in almost any spot on your team, and lead / weather support are no exceptions.

Conclusion​

Gligar definitely can do more than people think. While Gligar has suspect status from its RP set mostly, which falls under the "Offensive Characteristic of Uber", I really think the "support characteristic" would be more accurate with these sets in mind. Obviously, these sets in addition to the All-in-One set. ​

EDIT: This isn't a "ban Gligar" post, it's a "look at Gligar's diverse roles in the metagame / here are some of them thread". ​

I find this set somewhat hilarious, in part because it's exactly identical to a set that I run on my Gliscor, and also because I've been trying to make a team that fits in a mini-me of said Gliscor. LOLL...

Nice set! =D