[OVERVIEW]
Gliscor holds an excellent niche in Battle Spot Singles as both a stall Pokemon and stallbreaker, often being used for both roles at at the same time. The combination of Poison Heal and its decent Speed tier makes it very difficult to break through Gliscor once it sets up a Substitute, allowing it to effectively shut down offensive and defensive foes alike with Guillotine or Toxic. Gliscor's Ground/Flying typing also grants it very useful immunities to Electric- and Ground-type moves, as well as a Fighting-type resistance, at the cost of two common weaknesses to Water- and Ice-type moves. Access to Roost also gives Gliscor more flexibility and consistency in its defensive roles, allowing it to focus more heavily on stalling foes if necessary. Gliscor still struggles against strong Ice-type moves and is completely shut down by sound-based moves and multi-hit moves such as Icicle Spear and Bullet Seed, but if the foe lacks these things, Gliscor can easily wall an entire team.
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Roost
move 3: Protect / Rock Tomb
move 4: Guillotine / Toxic
item: Toxic Orb
ability: Poison Heal
nature: Careful
evs: 212 HP / 44 Atk / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earthquake is Gliscor's primary means of dealing damage, hitting decently hard even with minimal Attack investment. Roost allows Gliscor to heal off a huge amount of damage in combination with Poison Heal, making it very resilient. Protect allows Gliscor to stall out a turn for Poison Heal and extra Toxic damage while avoiding taking an extra hit. However, Rock Tomb can provide useful speed control so that Gliscor can use Roost first against faster foes, and it also lets Gliscor threaten Volcarona and Mega Charizard Y without relying on Guillotine. Running Guillotine allows Gliscor to break through passive foes that are immune to Toxic or fish for an immediate OHKO and is typically the ideal stallbreaking tool despite its low PP and accuracy. Toxic can be used instead of Guillotine, though, if the consistency is desired and Toxic support cannot be fit elsewhere on the team. Running both moves is also an option but it comes at the cost of Protect or Rock Tomb, which can be risky without proper support.
Set Details
========
The given EV spread optimizes Poison Heal recovery while giving Gliscor the maximum possible special bulk with a Careful nature, with the leftover EVs being placed into Attack to give Earthquake some extra power, which is useful for securing KOs against threats such as Mega Gengar and Tapu Koko. In particular, this specially defensive spread allows Gliscor to take on powerful special attackers such as Volcarona, Mega Gengar, and Firium Z Rotom-H as well as weaker Hidden Power Ice users such as Tapu Koko. The Attack EVs can also be placed in Speed, though this is less useful if Rock Tomb isn't being used, since Gliscor doesn't outspeed many relevant threats with those Speed EVs. Toxic Orb is necessary in order to activate Poison Heal consistently, which is a crucial part of how Gliscor functions.
Usage Tips
========
Gliscor relies heavily on Poison Heal, so making sure it can get Toxic Orb to activate safely is crucial. Leading with Gliscor or sending it in against a foe that can't threaten it is ideal for this, especially since this can give Gliscor a free turn to use Guillotine against a potential switch-in. Even with heavy defensive investment Gliscor can be worn down quickly due to its short list of resistances, so playing defensively and using Roost to stay healthy should always be a priority. However, Gliscor also doesn't want to stay in against powerful wallbreakers that haven't been hit with Toxic since this can force it into a stalemate with Roost, so be proactive with switching it out against strong wallbreakers and only bringing it in against foes it can easily take advantage of, such as Landorus-T or Heatran. Likewise, Guillotine is primarily meant to break through passive foes more quickly rather than snag a surprise kill, so avoid fishing for a lucky hit against a powerful foe unless you have no other choice.
Team Options
========
Gliscor wants teammates such as Toxapex and Tapu Fini, which can comfortably deal with Ice- and Water-type attacks, though note that the latter's Misty Terrain can clash with Gliscor if it's running Toxic. Toxapex in particular is a popular teammate that also appreciates Gliscor's Electric- and Ground-type immunities and can reliably keep up switching in longer battles due to Regenerator. These two are often paired with Mega Metagross on bulky offense teams due to the excellent defensive backbone this trio forms without becoming too passive. Gliscor can just as easily be used on stall teams with the likes of Chansey and Skarmory as well, though this specially defensive set is most commonly used on bulky offense teams. Bulky Normal-types such as Porygon2 and Snorlax also appreciate Gliscor's Fighting-type resistance and can also shrug off most common Water- and Ice-type moves due to their high Special Defense.
[SET]
name: Fast Substitute
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Protect
move 4: Guillotine / Toxic
item: Toxic Orb
ability: Poison Heal
nature: Jolly
evs: 212 HP / 44 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earthquake is a powerful STAB move even without investment, allowing Gliscor to chunk away at foes without relying on stalling the foe. Substitute makes Gliscor very annoying to deal with for teams that lack a proper countermeasure, since the combination of Substitute, Protect, and Poison Heal allow it to reliably stall out any foe it can hit with Toxic. Protect also generally allows Gliscor to safely stall out a turn for recovery or Toxic damage, though powerful setup sweepers can take advantage of predictable Protects. Guillotine allows Gliscor to try to instantly remove a passive foe that can't reliably break its Substitute and punish switches to an otherwise reliable check. It can also be used to try and fish for a surprise KO against a dangerous foe if Gliscor is safely behind a Substitute. Toxic is a lower-risk alternative to Guillotine that allows Gliscor to stall foes more self-sufficiently, though this comes at the cost of being walled by defensive foes that are immune to Toxic such as Mega Venusaur, Ferrothorn, and Celesteela, which makes it harder to stallbreak.
Set Details
========
The given EV spread with a Jolly nature makes Gliscor as fast as possible, allowing it to Substitute stall as many foes as possible while also optimizing Poison Heal recovery. The remaining EVs are placed into Special Defense to give Gliscor some extra bulk against a stray Hidden Power Ice, though these EVs can also be placed elsewhere if extra power, physical bulk, or speed is desired. Toxic Orb and Poison Heal are also necessary, as Gliscor needs these in order to effectively stall out foes.
Usage Tips
========
This Gliscor is often used on stall teams in order to stallbreak other annoying passive threats, such as Celesteela and Mega Venusaur. This means Gliscor will ideally be brought against other slow and passive teams in order to take advantage of its Speed to Substitute stall or fish for Guillotine hits. If a team is filled with many powerful wallbreakers or Pokemon that can bypass Substitute via multi-hit or sound moves, Gliscor is typically best left on the bench. However, Gliscor can still be effective against more offensive teams if you can bring it in against a passive foe or something that it forces out, such as Landorus-T or Hippowdon. If Gliscor can get a free turn to use Substitute, faster foes can also struggle to break Gliscor as it tries to land a Toxic or Guillotine and stall out on appropriate turns. Keep in mind that this Gliscor set is not very bulky overall, so being proactive with Protect and Substitute is important. If Gliscor can't safely heal enough damage in between Substitute turns and attempting to break through a foe, try to find an opportunity to safely switch out with enough HP in case it needs to come back in later.
Team Options
========
Toxapex is a primary consideration for Gliscor's teammates, since the two of them can comfortably switch into most of each other's weaknesses, though other bulky Water-types such as Tapu Fini are similarly effective for this role. Normal-types such as Snorlax, Chansey, and Porygon2 also benefit from having a teammate that can safely switch into Fighting-type attacks and are bulky enough to handle Water- and Ice-type attacks aimed at Gliscor. Steel-types such as Mega Metagross and Skarmory also handle Ice-type moves aimed at Gliscor and pair well with the aforementioned Water-type as well. This Gliscor set fits particularly well on stall teams that may be lacking in tools to break through opposing stall teams or similarly bulky teams, which may be forced to risk losing something to Guillotine if they're too passive. However, this Gliscor can still function outside of stall teams as long as it has bulky teammates to fall back on to make up for the lack of bulk on this set.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Due to its high base Speed for a defensive Pokemon, Gliscor can make effective use of Taunt to hone in on the stallbreaking role and completely shut down defensive foes or prevent setup sweepers from setting up on it. However, this usually means giving up Protect, which makes it more difficult to deal with more immediately powerful wallbreakers.
* Gliscor can fill the role of the Stealth Rock user if the team has nowhere else to fit it, though it has difficulty making room for this on most teams. This is best used on Focus Sash sets with Taunt in order to anti-lead opposing Stealth Rock setters such as Landorus-T and Hippowdon. Hyper Cutter is used in these cases, since the Intimidate immunity is still consistently useful.
* Ice Fang is useful for dealing with Flying-types such as Mega Salamence, Landorus-T, and Zapdos, though it's often difficult to justify dropping another move for it. It also mandates an Adamant nature with 148 Atk EVs in order to consistently break bulky Mega Salamence's Substitute, which can be too much investment for some teams to afford.
* A Swords Dance set is an unconventional way to wallbreak with Gliscor, since it doesn't fear status moves, making it harder to use Gliscor as setup bait. This is often paired with Baton Pass to set up an unexpected sweep for a teammate, though this is a very specific niche and most teams are better off with a usual Gliscor set, a stronger Baton Pass user such as Blaziken, or another Ground-type wallbreaker.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ice-type Moves**: Any Pokemon with a powerful Ice-type move will typically make short work of Gliscor. Mamoswine in particular forces Gliscor out every time, since it will break through Gliscor's Substitute with Icicle Spear, though other common users of Ice-type moves such as Porygon2, Greninja, Mega Gengar, Thundurus-T, and Mega Metagross can easily force it out if it's not safely behind a Substitute. Hidden Power Ice users tend to be less effective against specially defensive Gliscor, though, since it can usually cycle with Protect and switching to keep itself healthy.
**Multi-hit Moves**: Gliscor is punished heavily by multi-hit moves, since it doesn't resist any of the common ones and is weak to Icicle Spear and Water Shuriken. In addition to the aforementioned Mamoswine and Greninja, Gliscor struggles with most users of multi-hit moves such as Breloom, Mega Heracross, Ferrothorn, and Cloyster.
**Powerful Wallbreakers**: Strong wallbreakers that can immediately outspeed and overpower Gliscor are problematic, since Gliscor doesn't have many resistances. Choice Specs Tapu Lele, Mega Gyarados, Mega Salamence, and Mega Charizard Y are all very dangerous wallbreakers that can break through even specially defensive sets due to Gliscor's lack of resistances, provided Gliscor doesn't get an opportunity to hide behind a Substitute beforehand.
**Sound Moves**: Users of sound-based moves such as Kommo-o, Mega Salamence, Mega Gardevoir, and Primarina can make quick work of Gliscor as long as they avoid Guillotine, with the latter's Sparkling Aria notably being super effective against Gliscor. It's important Kommo-o's Clangorous Soulblaze also goes through Gliscor's Substitute, though Primarina's Oceanic Operetta does not.
**Skarmory**: Skarmory is the only relevant Sturdy Pokemon in the metagame that is immune to Toxic, Guillotine, and Earthquake, which means it puts a complete stop to Gliscor in combination with Taunt. While Skarmory can't do much back in most scenarios beyond Taunting it, this alone will often force Gliscor out, which can help regain a lot of leverage against it.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Psynergy, 248085]]
- Quality checked by: [[Theorymon, 29010], [Jhon, 159382]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [JockeMS, 53214]]
Gliscor holds an excellent niche in Battle Spot Singles as both a stall Pokemon and stallbreaker, often being used for both roles at at the same time. The combination of Poison Heal and its decent Speed tier makes it very difficult to break through Gliscor once it sets up a Substitute, allowing it to effectively shut down offensive and defensive foes alike with Guillotine or Toxic. Gliscor's Ground/Flying typing also grants it very useful immunities to Electric- and Ground-type moves, as well as a Fighting-type resistance, at the cost of two common weaknesses to Water- and Ice-type moves. Access to Roost also gives Gliscor more flexibility and consistency in its defensive roles, allowing it to focus more heavily on stalling foes if necessary. Gliscor still struggles against strong Ice-type moves and is completely shut down by sound-based moves and multi-hit moves such as Icicle Spear and Bullet Seed, but if the foe lacks these things, Gliscor can easily wall an entire team.
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Roost
move 3: Protect / Rock Tomb
move 4: Guillotine / Toxic
item: Toxic Orb
ability: Poison Heal
nature: Careful
evs: 212 HP / 44 Atk / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earthquake is Gliscor's primary means of dealing damage, hitting decently hard even with minimal Attack investment. Roost allows Gliscor to heal off a huge amount of damage in combination with Poison Heal, making it very resilient. Protect allows Gliscor to stall out a turn for Poison Heal and extra Toxic damage while avoiding taking an extra hit. However, Rock Tomb can provide useful speed control so that Gliscor can use Roost first against faster foes, and it also lets Gliscor threaten Volcarona and Mega Charizard Y without relying on Guillotine. Running Guillotine allows Gliscor to break through passive foes that are immune to Toxic or fish for an immediate OHKO and is typically the ideal stallbreaking tool despite its low PP and accuracy. Toxic can be used instead of Guillotine, though, if the consistency is desired and Toxic support cannot be fit elsewhere on the team. Running both moves is also an option but it comes at the cost of Protect or Rock Tomb, which can be risky without proper support.
Set Details
========
The given EV spread optimizes Poison Heal recovery while giving Gliscor the maximum possible special bulk with a Careful nature, with the leftover EVs being placed into Attack to give Earthquake some extra power, which is useful for securing KOs against threats such as Mega Gengar and Tapu Koko. In particular, this specially defensive spread allows Gliscor to take on powerful special attackers such as Volcarona, Mega Gengar, and Firium Z Rotom-H as well as weaker Hidden Power Ice users such as Tapu Koko. The Attack EVs can also be placed in Speed, though this is less useful if Rock Tomb isn't being used, since Gliscor doesn't outspeed many relevant threats with those Speed EVs. Toxic Orb is necessary in order to activate Poison Heal consistently, which is a crucial part of how Gliscor functions.
Usage Tips
========
Gliscor relies heavily on Poison Heal, so making sure it can get Toxic Orb to activate safely is crucial. Leading with Gliscor or sending it in against a foe that can't threaten it is ideal for this, especially since this can give Gliscor a free turn to use Guillotine against a potential switch-in. Even with heavy defensive investment Gliscor can be worn down quickly due to its short list of resistances, so playing defensively and using Roost to stay healthy should always be a priority. However, Gliscor also doesn't want to stay in against powerful wallbreakers that haven't been hit with Toxic since this can force it into a stalemate with Roost, so be proactive with switching it out against strong wallbreakers and only bringing it in against foes it can easily take advantage of, such as Landorus-T or Heatran. Likewise, Guillotine is primarily meant to break through passive foes more quickly rather than snag a surprise kill, so avoid fishing for a lucky hit against a powerful foe unless you have no other choice.
Team Options
========
Gliscor wants teammates such as Toxapex and Tapu Fini, which can comfortably deal with Ice- and Water-type attacks, though note that the latter's Misty Terrain can clash with Gliscor if it's running Toxic. Toxapex in particular is a popular teammate that also appreciates Gliscor's Electric- and Ground-type immunities and can reliably keep up switching in longer battles due to Regenerator. These two are often paired with Mega Metagross on bulky offense teams due to the excellent defensive backbone this trio forms without becoming too passive. Gliscor can just as easily be used on stall teams with the likes of Chansey and Skarmory as well, though this specially defensive set is most commonly used on bulky offense teams. Bulky Normal-types such as Porygon2 and Snorlax also appreciate Gliscor's Fighting-type resistance and can also shrug off most common Water- and Ice-type moves due to their high Special Defense.
[SET]
name: Fast Substitute
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Protect
move 4: Guillotine / Toxic
item: Toxic Orb
ability: Poison Heal
nature: Jolly
evs: 212 HP / 44 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earthquake is a powerful STAB move even without investment, allowing Gliscor to chunk away at foes without relying on stalling the foe. Substitute makes Gliscor very annoying to deal with for teams that lack a proper countermeasure, since the combination of Substitute, Protect, and Poison Heal allow it to reliably stall out any foe it can hit with Toxic. Protect also generally allows Gliscor to safely stall out a turn for recovery or Toxic damage, though powerful setup sweepers can take advantage of predictable Protects. Guillotine allows Gliscor to try to instantly remove a passive foe that can't reliably break its Substitute and punish switches to an otherwise reliable check. It can also be used to try and fish for a surprise KO against a dangerous foe if Gliscor is safely behind a Substitute. Toxic is a lower-risk alternative to Guillotine that allows Gliscor to stall foes more self-sufficiently, though this comes at the cost of being walled by defensive foes that are immune to Toxic such as Mega Venusaur, Ferrothorn, and Celesteela, which makes it harder to stallbreak.
Set Details
========
The given EV spread with a Jolly nature makes Gliscor as fast as possible, allowing it to Substitute stall as many foes as possible while also optimizing Poison Heal recovery. The remaining EVs are placed into Special Defense to give Gliscor some extra bulk against a stray Hidden Power Ice, though these EVs can also be placed elsewhere if extra power, physical bulk, or speed is desired. Toxic Orb and Poison Heal are also necessary, as Gliscor needs these in order to effectively stall out foes.
Usage Tips
========
This Gliscor is often used on stall teams in order to stallbreak other annoying passive threats, such as Celesteela and Mega Venusaur. This means Gliscor will ideally be brought against other slow and passive teams in order to take advantage of its Speed to Substitute stall or fish for Guillotine hits. If a team is filled with many powerful wallbreakers or Pokemon that can bypass Substitute via multi-hit or sound moves, Gliscor is typically best left on the bench. However, Gliscor can still be effective against more offensive teams if you can bring it in against a passive foe or something that it forces out, such as Landorus-T or Hippowdon. If Gliscor can get a free turn to use Substitute, faster foes can also struggle to break Gliscor as it tries to land a Toxic or Guillotine and stall out on appropriate turns. Keep in mind that this Gliscor set is not very bulky overall, so being proactive with Protect and Substitute is important. If Gliscor can't safely heal enough damage in between Substitute turns and attempting to break through a foe, try to find an opportunity to safely switch out with enough HP in case it needs to come back in later.
Team Options
========
Toxapex is a primary consideration for Gliscor's teammates, since the two of them can comfortably switch into most of each other's weaknesses, though other bulky Water-types such as Tapu Fini are similarly effective for this role. Normal-types such as Snorlax, Chansey, and Porygon2 also benefit from having a teammate that can safely switch into Fighting-type attacks and are bulky enough to handle Water- and Ice-type attacks aimed at Gliscor. Steel-types such as Mega Metagross and Skarmory also handle Ice-type moves aimed at Gliscor and pair well with the aforementioned Water-type as well. This Gliscor set fits particularly well on stall teams that may be lacking in tools to break through opposing stall teams or similarly bulky teams, which may be forced to risk losing something to Guillotine if they're too passive. However, this Gliscor can still function outside of stall teams as long as it has bulky teammates to fall back on to make up for the lack of bulk on this set.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Due to its high base Speed for a defensive Pokemon, Gliscor can make effective use of Taunt to hone in on the stallbreaking role and completely shut down defensive foes or prevent setup sweepers from setting up on it. However, this usually means giving up Protect, which makes it more difficult to deal with more immediately powerful wallbreakers.
* Gliscor can fill the role of the Stealth Rock user if the team has nowhere else to fit it, though it has difficulty making room for this on most teams. This is best used on Focus Sash sets with Taunt in order to anti-lead opposing Stealth Rock setters such as Landorus-T and Hippowdon. Hyper Cutter is used in these cases, since the Intimidate immunity is still consistently useful.
* Ice Fang is useful for dealing with Flying-types such as Mega Salamence, Landorus-T, and Zapdos, though it's often difficult to justify dropping another move for it. It also mandates an Adamant nature with 148 Atk EVs in order to consistently break bulky Mega Salamence's Substitute, which can be too much investment for some teams to afford.
* A Swords Dance set is an unconventional way to wallbreak with Gliscor, since it doesn't fear status moves, making it harder to use Gliscor as setup bait. This is often paired with Baton Pass to set up an unexpected sweep for a teammate, though this is a very specific niche and most teams are better off with a usual Gliscor set, a stronger Baton Pass user such as Blaziken, or another Ground-type wallbreaker.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ice-type Moves**: Any Pokemon with a powerful Ice-type move will typically make short work of Gliscor. Mamoswine in particular forces Gliscor out every time, since it will break through Gliscor's Substitute with Icicle Spear, though other common users of Ice-type moves such as Porygon2, Greninja, Mega Gengar, Thundurus-T, and Mega Metagross can easily force it out if it's not safely behind a Substitute. Hidden Power Ice users tend to be less effective against specially defensive Gliscor, though, since it can usually cycle with Protect and switching to keep itself healthy.
**Multi-hit Moves**: Gliscor is punished heavily by multi-hit moves, since it doesn't resist any of the common ones and is weak to Icicle Spear and Water Shuriken. In addition to the aforementioned Mamoswine and Greninja, Gliscor struggles with most users of multi-hit moves such as Breloom, Mega Heracross, Ferrothorn, and Cloyster.
**Powerful Wallbreakers**: Strong wallbreakers that can immediately outspeed and overpower Gliscor are problematic, since Gliscor doesn't have many resistances. Choice Specs Tapu Lele, Mega Gyarados, Mega Salamence, and Mega Charizard Y are all very dangerous wallbreakers that can break through even specially defensive sets due to Gliscor's lack of resistances, provided Gliscor doesn't get an opportunity to hide behind a Substitute beforehand.
**Sound Moves**: Users of sound-based moves such as Kommo-o, Mega Salamence, Mega Gardevoir, and Primarina can make quick work of Gliscor as long as they avoid Guillotine, with the latter's Sparkling Aria notably being super effective against Gliscor. It's important Kommo-o's Clangorous Soulblaze also goes through Gliscor's Substitute, though Primarina's Oceanic Operetta does not.
**Skarmory**: Skarmory is the only relevant Sturdy Pokemon in the metagame that is immune to Toxic, Guillotine, and Earthquake, which means it puts a complete stop to Gliscor in combination with Taunt. While Skarmory can't do much back in most scenarios beyond Taunting it, this alone will often force Gliscor out, which can help regain a lot of leverage against it.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Psynergy, 248085]]
- Quality checked by: [[Theorymon, 29010], [Jhon, 159382]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [JockeMS, 53214]]
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