ShuckleDeath
They call me the kign of typos
[OVERVIEW]
Golem was once in high competition with Rhydon over which Rock-type was the superior choice for teams. In the current metagame, the decision goes over to Rhydon with its higher damage output and a better matchup against Chansey, as Rhydon has a guaranteed 2HKO against Chansey without a Reflect up, while Golem is unlikely to 2HKO. Rhydon also has 101 HP Substitutes, which means it has a good chance to beat a paralyzed Reflect + Seismic Toss Chansey, whereas Golem does not. Golem, however, still manages to carve itself a niche with its access to Explosion, which is the second strongest attack in the game behind Snorlax's Self-Destruct. Explosion does massive amounts of damage to the majority of the metagame, and Golem has Earthquake for the Pokemon that resist it. This makes Golem likely to be able to trade with threats or at least severely weaken them to the point of being easily revenged killed. Golem's ability to outpace Rhydon gives it an advantage against teams using Rhydon, as it has a good matchup against them, and Golem can find its way in against Rhydon if you can predict a Rock Slide. This can be risky, however, as Rhydon 2HKOes Golem with Earthquake. Golem, just like Rhydon, offers a hard counter to the two most common Electric-types in the tier, Zapdos and Jolteon, as they do not have any coverage that touches Golem.
[SET]
name: Tank
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Explosion
move 4: Body Slam
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Earthquake and Rock Slide are powerful STAB moves unresisted together by any Pokemon in the metagame. Earthquake hits Jolteon and opposing Rock-types for massive damage. Rock Slide hits Flying-types like Zapdos and Articuno that are immune to Earthquake. Explosion is useful for inflicting massive damage to most of the metagame barring Gengar and opposing Golem and Rhydon, but this comes at the cost of Golem itself. Body Slam is useful to fish for paralysis and can be used to help Golem's matchup against Starmie, as a paralyzed Starmie is much easier to deal with. Otherwise, Starmie could just use Recover to heal off any damage inflicted to it or go for Blizzard, which will OHKO on a critical hit. Paralyzing Exeggutor also benefits Golem.
When using Golem, it is wise to scout the opponent a bit and see how Golem can be used to the greatest effect. It may not be good to use Explosion too early, as the opponent could potentially have an unrevealed Zapdos in their team. If enough turns have passed and you are sure Golem is not needed for any defensive utility, it should be considered for an optimal time to use Explosion to open a hole for your team. Golem can also be used on very aggressive Explosion-heavy teams. These types of teams, however, have yet to proven effective in top play.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Fire Blast can be used over Body Slam, as it hits Exeggutor harder than Rock Slide and has a chance to burn it, weakening Exeggutor's Explosion. It also can burn and severely cripple Pokemon like Tauros and Snorlax. It has to be careful of burning Starmie or Chansey, however, as that would prevent them from being inflicted with more devastating status like sleep, paralysis, or freeze. It also will cure any frozen target it hits from freeze. Substitute can make prediction easier and can help fish for paralysis, but Golem has trouble fitting it in on its moveset, and it is done better by Rhydon due to it having 404 HP, which will prevent its Substitutes from being broken with one Seismic Toss.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Exeggutor**: Exeggutor can switch in and survive any move Golem can muster and retaliate with a powerful Psychic or a 4x super effective Mega Drain. It can also choose to go for a status-inducing move such as Sleep Powder or Stun Spore.
**Tauros**: While Tauros does not like taking damage from Golem, it does force you to make decisions like using Explosion or switching, as Blizzard can 2HKO or OHKO with a critical hit. Tauros can also easily finish off a weakened Golem.
**Water-types**: Starmie can only be OHKOed by Explosion, which is not a guarantee, and it can recover any other damage inflicted. It does, however, have to be wary of paralysis from Body Slam. Slowbro can be taken out by an Earthquake into an Explosion, but this is not guaranteed, and Slowbro gets a clean KO with Surf.
**Ice-types**: While they do not like to switch into a Rock Slide, Articuno, Lapras, and Cloyster can all outpace Golem and proceed to go for Blizzard or, in Cloyster's case, Clamp.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[ShuckleDeath, 273347]]
- Quality checked by: [[FriendOfMrGolem120, 424525], [The Idiot Ninja, 265630]
- Grammar checked by: [[Estronic, 240732], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
Golem was once in high competition with Rhydon over which Rock-type was the superior choice for teams. In the current metagame, the decision goes over to Rhydon with its higher damage output and a better matchup against Chansey, as Rhydon has a guaranteed 2HKO against Chansey without a Reflect up, while Golem is unlikely to 2HKO. Rhydon also has 101 HP Substitutes, which means it has a good chance to beat a paralyzed Reflect + Seismic Toss Chansey, whereas Golem does not. Golem, however, still manages to carve itself a niche with its access to Explosion, which is the second strongest attack in the game behind Snorlax's Self-Destruct. Explosion does massive amounts of damage to the majority of the metagame, and Golem has Earthquake for the Pokemon that resist it. This makes Golem likely to be able to trade with threats or at least severely weaken them to the point of being easily revenged killed. Golem's ability to outpace Rhydon gives it an advantage against teams using Rhydon, as it has a good matchup against them, and Golem can find its way in against Rhydon if you can predict a Rock Slide. This can be risky, however, as Rhydon 2HKOes Golem with Earthquake. Golem, just like Rhydon, offers a hard counter to the two most common Electric-types in the tier, Zapdos and Jolteon, as they do not have any coverage that touches Golem.
[SET]
name: Tank
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Explosion
move 4: Body Slam
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Earthquake and Rock Slide are powerful STAB moves unresisted together by any Pokemon in the metagame. Earthquake hits Jolteon and opposing Rock-types for massive damage. Rock Slide hits Flying-types like Zapdos and Articuno that are immune to Earthquake. Explosion is useful for inflicting massive damage to most of the metagame barring Gengar and opposing Golem and Rhydon, but this comes at the cost of Golem itself. Body Slam is useful to fish for paralysis and can be used to help Golem's matchup against Starmie, as a paralyzed Starmie is much easier to deal with. Otherwise, Starmie could just use Recover to heal off any damage inflicted to it or go for Blizzard, which will OHKO on a critical hit. Paralyzing Exeggutor also benefits Golem.
When using Golem, it is wise to scout the opponent a bit and see how Golem can be used to the greatest effect. It may not be good to use Explosion too early, as the opponent could potentially have an unrevealed Zapdos in their team. If enough turns have passed and you are sure Golem is not needed for any defensive utility, it should be considered for an optimal time to use Explosion to open a hole for your team. Golem can also be used on very aggressive Explosion-heavy teams. These types of teams, however, have yet to proven effective in top play.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Fire Blast can be used over Body Slam, as it hits Exeggutor harder than Rock Slide and has a chance to burn it, weakening Exeggutor's Explosion. It also can burn and severely cripple Pokemon like Tauros and Snorlax. It has to be careful of burning Starmie or Chansey, however, as that would prevent them from being inflicted with more devastating status like sleep, paralysis, or freeze. It also will cure any frozen target it hits from freeze. Substitute can make prediction easier and can help fish for paralysis, but Golem has trouble fitting it in on its moveset, and it is done better by Rhydon due to it having 404 HP, which will prevent its Substitutes from being broken with one Seismic Toss.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Exeggutor**: Exeggutor can switch in and survive any move Golem can muster and retaliate with a powerful Psychic or a 4x super effective Mega Drain. It can also choose to go for a status-inducing move such as Sleep Powder or Stun Spore.
**Tauros**: While Tauros does not like taking damage from Golem, it does force you to make decisions like using Explosion or switching, as Blizzard can 2HKO or OHKO with a critical hit. Tauros can also easily finish off a weakened Golem.
**Water-types**: Starmie can only be OHKOed by Explosion, which is not a guarantee, and it can recover any other damage inflicted. It does, however, have to be wary of paralysis from Body Slam. Slowbro can be taken out by an Earthquake into an Explosion, but this is not guaranteed, and Slowbro gets a clean KO with Surf.
**Ice-types**: While they do not like to switch into a Rock Slide, Articuno, Lapras, and Cloyster can all outpace Golem and proceed to go for Blizzard or, in Cloyster's case, Clamp.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[ShuckleDeath, 273347]]
- Quality checked by: [[FriendOfMrGolem120, 424525], [The Idiot Ninja, 265630]
- Grammar checked by: [[Estronic, 240732], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
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