Solid Rocks, Brother
taken over from pacattacc
[OVERVIEW]
Though Golem is a less used Pokemon in the RBY UU metagame, it certainly has its merits as a wallbreaker for a few reasons, with the biggest being Explosion. An Explosion coming from Golem is actually the strongest attack in the tier, having the power to put a massive dent in defensive stalwart Vaporeon or even OHKO Hypno. A properly timed Explosion can turn the tide of battle in your favor, but that's not all Golem has to offer. With proper paralysis support and good prediction, it can punch holes in enemy teams using STAB moves Earthquake and Rock Slide. Golem can do all this while also having good defensive utility due to its Rock / Ground typing, which gives it a resistance to Normal-type moves and an immunity to Electric-type moves. Wrap is a defining element of RBY UU, and Golem can be a useful part of an anti-Wrap core due to its resistance to the move. In addition, it can switch in on Dodrio or on another Pokemon's predicted Hyper Beam and punish both with impunity. Finally, its Electric immunity makes it easier to switch in on a predicted Thunder Wave or Thunderbolt, especially when paired with one of UU's many strong Water-types, such as Tentacruel.
Golem's most glaring weakness is its Speed. Golem is outsped by pretty much every Pokemon that sees play in UU, even Pokemon known for being slow like Omastar and Tangela. Not only does Golem have little special bulk, it also has a host of weaknesses. This means that it can be OHKOed by UU's aforementioned Water types, as well as by Pokemon like Articuno with Blizzard and even Raichu with Surf. Therefore, Golem is heavily reliant on support from its teammates and good predictions in order to make an impact.
[SET]
name: Standard
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Substitute / Body Slam
move 4: Explosion
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Earthquake and Rock Slide are Golem's go-to moves early in the game, weaker than Explosion but packing a big punch coming off its base 110 Attack. Due to its powerful STAB moves and Explosion, Golem can be used effectively as a wallbreaker, especially for punishing Pokemon that have just used Rest. For its final moveslot, Substitute is used to help scout moves and Pokemon as well as providing a layer of defense so Golem can get off an Explosion without being KOed first. However, Body Slam can be used over Substitute to help hinder your opponent's team through paralysis, meaning Golem doesn't need to rely on its teammates for paralysis support as much.
Explosion is used to deal extraordinary damage to every Pokemon in the tier, with a few exceptions such as Omastar and Haunter. Some notable calculations include a guaranteed OHKO on Persian and possible OHKOs on Tentacruel and Hypno. It is against your opponent's bulky Pokemon that Explosion really shines, taking out hard-to-KO team members or at least putting a huge dent in them so they can be revenge killed. A good example target is Kangaskhan, which Golem switches into and easily tanks a Body Slam from—barely minding potential paralysis due to its Speed—before dealing 72.8-85.7% damage with Explosion to set up a revenge kill. Deciding when to use Explosion can be hard, though, since your opponent can predict it and switch in a Pokemon that is already low on health or that resists it. Anticipate this counterplay and use a different move, such as a STAB move for instant damage, Substitute to scout, or Body Slam for a chance to spread paralysis. It is recommended to use Explosion when Golem is around half health or when you think you can catch Hypno on the switch, either OHKOing this top threat or priming it for a revenge killer like Dugtrio to follow up on.
Despite its flaws, Golem still manages to find a few different points of entry into the game. For instance, bringing in Golem is a great way to stop a Dodrio sweep, as Rock Slide deals super effective damage and Golem hard walls Dodrio. It is especially adept at switching into Hyper Beam and punishing Dodrio and Articuno with Rock Slide or Kangaskhan and Persian with Explosion. Golem can also be used as sleep fodder, since its defensive typing means it can freely switch in often on Normal-, Electric-, and Rock-type moves, allowing for easy pivoting. It can even wake up from short sleeps if switched in on Wrap or Hyper Beam enough times.
Golem can form an excellent immunity core with Gyarados, as it covers Gyarados's Electric weakness and Gyarados covers its Ground weakness, so both can be effective mid- or late-game by coming in freely on double switches. Pairing Golem with another effective anti-Wrap Pokemon such as Haunter or Omastar is also a valid strategy, as they can work together to PP stall Wrap without sustaining too much damage. Golem works especially well with either because Haunter's Thunderbolt handles its Water-type counters and Omastar's Blizzard dispatches its Grass-type counters. Especially if Golem doesn't run Body Slam, it appreciates paralysis-spreading teammates. A great example is Kadabra, which shrugs off special attacks surprisingly well for it with Recover, revenge kills threats to Golem, and appreciates it taking Normal-type attacks and the crippling Thunder Wave in return. Finally, Dugtrio takes advantage of Golem weakening or KOing an opponent's Ground-type checks to have a much easier time revenge killing or sweeping.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Golem's most useful alternative move is Toxic, which thwarts Dragonite's attempts to set up Agility and sweep with Wrap because it will take more damage from poison every turn than is worth dealing with Wrap. However, this comes at the cost of dropping Body Slam or Substitute. Since Golem is now unable to spread paralysis on its own or soak up damage with a Substitute, it will need paralysis support more from its teammates in order to get off its attacks, especially Explosion. Toxic isn't needed to deal with Dragonite anyway, as Golem can still help PP stall Wrap.
Rest can also work over Substitute or Body Slam as a way to keep Golem healthy. When Golem gets low on health, it can go for Rest as the opponent switches in a sleeping Pokemon to take the Explosion. As mentioned before, it can also burn off the sleep turns by coming in on Wrap and Hyper Beam, or on another sleeping Pokemon. Finally, Counter can be used after switching into Hyper Beam and or Body Slam, either hitting the recharging foe or punishing an Explosion switch-in.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types**: Due to Golem’s low Special, low Speed, and 4x weakness to Water, any Water-type can OHKO it. Vaporeon can tank anything Golem throws at it, even Explosion from full health. Gyarados can switch in on Earthquake for no damage and OHKO Golem, though it does need to watch out if Golem predicts the switch and uses Rock Slide. Omastar also outspeeds and OHKOes Golem, though Golem does over half of Omastar's health in damage with Earthquake. Tentacruel also takes huge damage from Earthquake and can even be OHKOed by Explosion, but it still maintains the upper hand, as it can OHKO Golem or halt its plans to use Explosion with Wrap. While Golem can be used with another Pokemon like Haunter or Omastar to form an anti-Wrap PP stalling core, it still needs to watch out for Tentacruel's Surf.
**Grass-types**: The two notable Grass-types in the tier, Tangela and Venusaur, are both solid checks to Golem. Tangela’s high Defense, resistance to Earthquake, and access to STAB Mega Drain make it an excellent check to Golem. Note that Mega Drain does not OHKO until Tangela has a Growth under its belt, meaning Tangela is still susceptible to taking massive damage from Explosion. In addition, if the Golem player predicts a Tangela switch-in, they can opt for Rock Slide, which Tangela has a harder time shrugging off since it hits for neutral damage. Venusaur is a little worse at switching into Golem, as it does not resist Earthquake and is 3HKOed. However, it easily outspeeds Golem and OHKOes it with Razor Leaf, unlike Tangela, meaning the Golem player has fewer options. In either case, both Tangela and Venusaur force Golem to switch out, meaning they can spread status to Golem's teammates.
**Articuno**: As a Flying-type, Articuno is able to switch in on Earthquake and take out Golem easily with STAB Blizzard. However, good prediction on the Golem user’s end can spell disaster for Articuno, as it is OHKOed by Rock Slide. Articuno also will be sent running if Golem uses Substitute or paralyzes it with Body Slam on the switch. While it is a risky play, Golem can even switch into a paralyzed Articuno while it attempts to use Agility. If full paralysis triggers either turn, Golem wins the interaction with Rock Slide. Finally, if Articuno gets unlucky and Blizzard misses while Rock Slide does not, it is KOed.
**Raichu**: Raichu has a hard time switching into Golem's attacks due to Earthquake hitting for super effective damage and Body Slam potentially paralyzing it. However, if it switches in on Rock Slide, Golem is in trouble. Raichu outspeeds it and OHKOes with Surf, forcing Golem out.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[pacattacc, 520967], [phoopes, 96315]]
- Quality checked by: [[Plague von Karma, 236353], [Sevi 7, 505149]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [, ]]
Last edited:
as a solid Golem check, especially if it has Bubblebeam or Surf
