Amaranth
UPL Champion
[OVERVIEW]
Snorlax is a centerpiece of the RBY metagame. It is present on almost every team due to its incredible strength, bulk, and versatility, in spite of its terrible Speed. Its Body Slam is incredibly difficult to switch into, and on top of that, Snorlax itself is one of the best switch-ins against it, which results in most early-game scenarios revolving around Snorlax on both sides of the field. Snorlax is one of the biggest offensive threats and one of the hardest Pokemon to KO at the same time, which means it's usually hard to find reasons not to run Snorlax on your team.
[SET]
name: Reflect
move 1: Body Slam
move 2: Reflect
move 3: Rest
move 4: Ice Beam / Self-Destruct / Hyper Beam / Earthquake
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Snorlax's Body Slam is one of the most difficult attacks to switch into in the tier due to its sheer power, its paralysis chance, and the relative lack of Normal-type switch-ins in the tier. Reflect allows Snorlax to take on physical attackers, most importantly opposing Snorlax, much more comfortably. Rest gives Snorlax the ability to remain healthy throughout the game. A lot of moves can fit in the last moveslot. The most common one is Ice Beam, as it allows Snorlax to potentially freeze opposing Reflect users, which can otherwise neutralize its Body Slam; however, this leaves Snorlax unable to threaten large amounts of damage in one turn, which means its matchup against many important Pokemon such as Exeggutor, Zapdos, Cloyster, and Lapras goes from bad to worse, and even its ability to power through a paralyzed Starmie or Chansey goes down significantly. Self-Destruct allows Snorlax to function as a wallbreaker if needed, as well as a defensive piece thanks to Reflect and Rest if preferred, while Hyper Beam provides some of Self-Destruct's wallbreaking power without you having to sacrifice your Snorlax for it; however, a Snorlax that is only carrying Normal-type attacks will struggle against Rock-types and will be entirely unable to damage Ghost-types. Lastly, although Earthquake doesn't provide the freeze threat of Ice Beam or the immediate power of the other moves, it allows Snorlax to beat Gengar and Counter Chansey, two Pokemon that, albeit rare, are usually specifically devised to beat it.
Using Reflect Snorlax is particularly nuanced due to having to balance Snorlax as both an offensive and defensive tool. If used too aggressively, it might take a KO but subsequently struggle to find turns to heal back up with Rest, making it a trade that is not always worth taking. On the other hand, if used too passively, it will invite too much offensive pressure and eventually collapse without achieving much of anything. Optimal usage of Reflect Snorlax requires careful analysis of the game state as well as appropriate prediction, but when properly managed, it is incredibly potent, as the special attackers that can threaten it lack either recovery or physical bulk, meaning that teams will generally resort to various stalling tactics to force Snorlax to use Rest first and then pressure it during its sleep turns. Reflect Snorlax is at its best early-game when the opponent has one or more paralyzed Pokemon to take advantage of, most commonly Alakazam and Chansey, and when its teammates can offer the necessary defensive cover against special attackers, but it is no slouch late-game either, as it can trade one-for-one with most Pokemon and has an important positive matchup against Tauros.
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Body Slam
move 2: Hyper Beam / Counter
move 3: Self-Destruct
move 4: Earthquake / Counter
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
This moveset is fairly straightforward: maximize offensive prowess to wallbreak as well as possible. Body Slam is the go-to attack to inflict damage, and combined with Hyper Beam, it makes Snorlax particularly dangerous and hard to switch into, especially for paralyzed foes. Self-Destruct is an incredibly potent move to take down an extra Pokemon with Snorlax's last breath or even to take opposing Pokemon by surprise earlier on if the situation calls for it. The last moveslot is a toss-up: Earthquake allows Snorlax to play around Counter Chansey much more comfortably, as well as hitting Gengar and threatening Rhydon, but it can be dropped in favor of Counter, a tool that allows this Snorlax set to muscle through an opponent's Reflect Snorlax with correct prediction. Counter may also be used in conjunction with Earthquake and in place of Hyper Beam; the lack of Hyper Beam is quite noticeable, as it makes Snorlax much less threatening as a wallbreaker, but Earthquake offers unique coverage that could be worth keeping for specific matchups.
The absence of recovery on this Snorlax set makes it far riskier to utilize, as it can only take a few hits before being forced to use Self-Destruct. Therefore, this Snorlax set needs to be considered as a tool to accelerate the game and little else, as its defensive capabilities are very limited. This often just means using an early-game Self-Destruct on the opponent's Reflect user to remove them from the situation before they get a chance to set up Reflect. It must be noted that this is a one-for-one trade, which is not always advantageous, but it is often the best that can be achieved with this set, as it is often endlessly walled by Reflect users otherwise; recognizing when to be greedy and when to accept a simple Self-Destruct trade is key to achieving good results with this Snorlax set.
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Body Slam
move 2: Blizzard / Ice Beam
move 3: Amnesia
move 4: Rest / Self-Destruct
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Body Slam is the main attack to create pressure on the opposition and hopefully bait in Reflect Snorlax, which this set can take advantage of thanks to the combination of Amnesia and Blizzard. The last move defines the type of game you want to play with this set: Self-Destruct means hard and fast wallbreaking, as Snorlax simply doesn't have the durability to set up Amnesia multiple times throughout the game, while Rest gives Snorlax those opportunities to set up but leaves it notably vulnerable to Tauros. Ice Beam is an option over Blizzard for the higher PP, which is especially relevant on Rest sets, but Blizzard's considerably greater damage output is generally preferred.
This set is quite dangerous to play against due to how difficult it is to answer if your Chansey is paralyzed. Nearly every other common Pokemon is threatened by either Body Slam or a boosted Blizzard, with Water-types like Starmie and Lapras being the best answers defensively but struggling to deal significant damage in return thanks to the Special boost. However, a healthy Chansey usually has no issues switching in and walling this Snorlax variant until it's forced to use Rest, which, in turn, leaves it vulnerable against Tauros. The conditions for this set to excel are difficult to set up, but when they are achieved, this Snorlax set can decide games on its own.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Snorlax can drop Body Slam entirely to run an Ice Beam / Reflect / Amnesia / Rest set that simply aims to soak up damage and spam Ice Beam until it manages to freeze a foe, but it generally needs to be on very specific types of teams to function, is completely helpless against Ice-types, and needs some luck to break through paralyzed Starmie and Chansey, as Ice Beam's limited PP means so Snorlax cannot fish for consecutive paralysis for long.
Surf is the best option available to Snorlax to hit Rhydon and Golem, but given that most Snorlax sets run either Reflect or an Ice-type attack, if not both, the situations where Surf is useful are rare.
Harden is sometimes preferred over Reflect for the higher PP count and ability to reapply the Speed drop on paralyzed foes, but it is considerably weaker at answering physical attackers, which is usually the primary duty of Reflect Snorlax.
Another unusual set is Amnesia / Blizzard / Thunderbolt / Self-Destruct or Rest: given that Starmie is a common switch-in once Amnesia is revealed and that Thunderbolt is a very, very uncommon attack on Snorlax, this set can attempt to lure it in and cripple it with a strong super-effective attack. However, it struggles incredibly against Chansey and Alakazam. Self-Destruct is preferred in the final slot as an emergency option that allows Snorlax to bail out of those matchups with an even trade, but it is possible to use Rest instead in an attempt to preserve Snorlax as a long-term defensive answer.
Body Slam / Reflect / Rest sets can afford a few more options in the fourth moveslot. Toxic can allow partial trappers such as Cloyster, Moltres, Victreebel, and Dragonite to be significantly more dangerous, as any poisoned Pokemon attempting to stall out their PP will run out of HP much more quickly, and Snorlax is particularly good at luring in optimal Toxic targets such as Reflect Chansey. Another move that can fill that slot is Amnesia, making Snorlax incredibly difficult to threaten via special attacks alone but ultimately leaving it relatively powerless, with Body Slam as its only attack. Counter is also viable, as after Reflect has been revealed, opponents will most likely stop playing around Counter, giving you some opportunities to net surprise KOs with it.
Other Normal-type attacks such as Mega Kick and Double-Edge are rarely seen due to their drawbacks and overall lack of usefulness when Body Slam is such a reliable move and Hyper Beam is a much stronger one, but the ability to repeatedly hit with a greater Base Power can occasionally come in handy.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Reflect Users**: Reflect users, particularly Chansey and opposing Snorlax, can switch in on Body Slam and neutralize the damage output from Snorlax fairly efficiently. They are by far the most reliable defensive answers to Snorlax, and a vast majority of RBY teams are forced to include one of the two, if not both, to check it.
**Gengar**: Gengar deserves a special mention due to its unique Ghost typing, which allows it to wall all Snorlax sets that lack Earthquake and use Snorlax as an opportunity to threaten either status with Hypnosis or damage with Thunderbolt. It is especially useful against Snorlax sets that only run Normal-type attacks, but it also performs well against any set that lacks Earthquake or Amnesia (unless Snorlax gets a lucky freeze with Ice Beam).
**Cloyster and Slowbro**: Cloyster and Slowbro are the next best options to switch into Body Slam. Their high defensive stats allow them to come out of the one-on-one matchup on top, but their reliance on Rest to stay healthy and failure to pose a significant immediate threat mean they aren't always the most reliable answers to Snorlax. Slowbro is especially notable, as it can use a sleeping Snorlax as a golden opportunity to set up Amnesia; however, Cloyster has better physical bulk, allowing it to avoid a 4HKO from Body Slam, as well as the ability to use Explosion in case things start to go wrong after paralysis from Body Slam.
**Other Special Attackers**: Although there aren't many special attackers that enjoy taking a Body Slam to the face, many of them are powerful enough to 3HKO Snorlax, which means they can exert a lot of pressure over it, especially when it's forced to use Rest and sit still for a few turns. Starmie, Lapras, Exeggutor, and Zapdos are some good examples of Pokemon that can force Snorlax out with their strong STAB attacks.
**Porygon**: Although Porygon's base stats are pitiful, it has access to a very specific set of qualities that make it just good enough to handle Snorlax: it is faster, it is immune to Body Slam's paralysis due to its typing, and Recover's 32 PP allow it to outstall Body Slam's 24 PP. Snorlax's only hopes of breaking down Porygon usually rest on the possibility of landing either a critical hit with Body Slam or a freeze with Ice Beam; however, Porygon is very weak, and it is incredibly easy for the Snorlax player to simply switch out.
**Rock-types Carrying Rest**: Another very specific countermeasure, Rock-types carrying Rest are generally able to outstall any Snorlax variant that isn't carrying the specific coverage for them. As long as the Rock-type has Rest to stall out repeated Body Slams, there are quite a few of them that can win the one-on-one matchup: non-Earthquake Snorlax will be unable to break through Omastar and Kabutops, non-Ice Beam Snorlax will struggle to wear down Aerodactyl, and even Rhydon can beat a Snorlax in the long run if Snorlax is only carrying Normal-type moves.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Amaranth, 265630]]
- Quality checked by: [[Lusch, 254408], [FriendOfMrGolem120, 424525]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Empress, 175616], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
Snorlax is a centerpiece of the RBY metagame. It is present on almost every team due to its incredible strength, bulk, and versatility, in spite of its terrible Speed. Its Body Slam is incredibly difficult to switch into, and on top of that, Snorlax itself is one of the best switch-ins against it, which results in most early-game scenarios revolving around Snorlax on both sides of the field. Snorlax is one of the biggest offensive threats and one of the hardest Pokemon to KO at the same time, which means it's usually hard to find reasons not to run Snorlax on your team.
[SET]
name: Reflect
move 1: Body Slam
move 2: Reflect
move 3: Rest
move 4: Ice Beam / Self-Destruct / Hyper Beam / Earthquake
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Snorlax's Body Slam is one of the most difficult attacks to switch into in the tier due to its sheer power, its paralysis chance, and the relative lack of Normal-type switch-ins in the tier. Reflect allows Snorlax to take on physical attackers, most importantly opposing Snorlax, much more comfortably. Rest gives Snorlax the ability to remain healthy throughout the game. A lot of moves can fit in the last moveslot. The most common one is Ice Beam, as it allows Snorlax to potentially freeze opposing Reflect users, which can otherwise neutralize its Body Slam; however, this leaves Snorlax unable to threaten large amounts of damage in one turn, which means its matchup against many important Pokemon such as Exeggutor, Zapdos, Cloyster, and Lapras goes from bad to worse, and even its ability to power through a paralyzed Starmie or Chansey goes down significantly. Self-Destruct allows Snorlax to function as a wallbreaker if needed, as well as a defensive piece thanks to Reflect and Rest if preferred, while Hyper Beam provides some of Self-Destruct's wallbreaking power without you having to sacrifice your Snorlax for it; however, a Snorlax that is only carrying Normal-type attacks will struggle against Rock-types and will be entirely unable to damage Ghost-types. Lastly, although Earthquake doesn't provide the freeze threat of Ice Beam or the immediate power of the other moves, it allows Snorlax to beat Gengar and Counter Chansey, two Pokemon that, albeit rare, are usually specifically devised to beat it.
Using Reflect Snorlax is particularly nuanced due to having to balance Snorlax as both an offensive and defensive tool. If used too aggressively, it might take a KO but subsequently struggle to find turns to heal back up with Rest, making it a trade that is not always worth taking. On the other hand, if used too passively, it will invite too much offensive pressure and eventually collapse without achieving much of anything. Optimal usage of Reflect Snorlax requires careful analysis of the game state as well as appropriate prediction, but when properly managed, it is incredibly potent, as the special attackers that can threaten it lack either recovery or physical bulk, meaning that teams will generally resort to various stalling tactics to force Snorlax to use Rest first and then pressure it during its sleep turns. Reflect Snorlax is at its best early-game when the opponent has one or more paralyzed Pokemon to take advantage of, most commonly Alakazam and Chansey, and when its teammates can offer the necessary defensive cover against special attackers, but it is no slouch late-game either, as it can trade one-for-one with most Pokemon and has an important positive matchup against Tauros.
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Body Slam
move 2: Hyper Beam / Counter
move 3: Self-Destruct
move 4: Earthquake / Counter
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
This moveset is fairly straightforward: maximize offensive prowess to wallbreak as well as possible. Body Slam is the go-to attack to inflict damage, and combined with Hyper Beam, it makes Snorlax particularly dangerous and hard to switch into, especially for paralyzed foes. Self-Destruct is an incredibly potent move to take down an extra Pokemon with Snorlax's last breath or even to take opposing Pokemon by surprise earlier on if the situation calls for it. The last moveslot is a toss-up: Earthquake allows Snorlax to play around Counter Chansey much more comfortably, as well as hitting Gengar and threatening Rhydon, but it can be dropped in favor of Counter, a tool that allows this Snorlax set to muscle through an opponent's Reflect Snorlax with correct prediction. Counter may also be used in conjunction with Earthquake and in place of Hyper Beam; the lack of Hyper Beam is quite noticeable, as it makes Snorlax much less threatening as a wallbreaker, but Earthquake offers unique coverage that could be worth keeping for specific matchups.
The absence of recovery on this Snorlax set makes it far riskier to utilize, as it can only take a few hits before being forced to use Self-Destruct. Therefore, this Snorlax set needs to be considered as a tool to accelerate the game and little else, as its defensive capabilities are very limited. This often just means using an early-game Self-Destruct on the opponent's Reflect user to remove them from the situation before they get a chance to set up Reflect. It must be noted that this is a one-for-one trade, which is not always advantageous, but it is often the best that can be achieved with this set, as it is often endlessly walled by Reflect users otherwise; recognizing when to be greedy and when to accept a simple Self-Destruct trade is key to achieving good results with this Snorlax set.
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Body Slam
move 2: Blizzard / Ice Beam
move 3: Amnesia
move 4: Rest / Self-Destruct
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Body Slam is the main attack to create pressure on the opposition and hopefully bait in Reflect Snorlax, which this set can take advantage of thanks to the combination of Amnesia and Blizzard. The last move defines the type of game you want to play with this set: Self-Destruct means hard and fast wallbreaking, as Snorlax simply doesn't have the durability to set up Amnesia multiple times throughout the game, while Rest gives Snorlax those opportunities to set up but leaves it notably vulnerable to Tauros. Ice Beam is an option over Blizzard for the higher PP, which is especially relevant on Rest sets, but Blizzard's considerably greater damage output is generally preferred.
This set is quite dangerous to play against due to how difficult it is to answer if your Chansey is paralyzed. Nearly every other common Pokemon is threatened by either Body Slam or a boosted Blizzard, with Water-types like Starmie and Lapras being the best answers defensively but struggling to deal significant damage in return thanks to the Special boost. However, a healthy Chansey usually has no issues switching in and walling this Snorlax variant until it's forced to use Rest, which, in turn, leaves it vulnerable against Tauros. The conditions for this set to excel are difficult to set up, but when they are achieved, this Snorlax set can decide games on its own.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Snorlax can drop Body Slam entirely to run an Ice Beam / Reflect / Amnesia / Rest set that simply aims to soak up damage and spam Ice Beam until it manages to freeze a foe, but it generally needs to be on very specific types of teams to function, is completely helpless against Ice-types, and needs some luck to break through paralyzed Starmie and Chansey, as Ice Beam's limited PP means so Snorlax cannot fish for consecutive paralysis for long.
Surf is the best option available to Snorlax to hit Rhydon and Golem, but given that most Snorlax sets run either Reflect or an Ice-type attack, if not both, the situations where Surf is useful are rare.
Harden is sometimes preferred over Reflect for the higher PP count and ability to reapply the Speed drop on paralyzed foes, but it is considerably weaker at answering physical attackers, which is usually the primary duty of Reflect Snorlax.
Another unusual set is Amnesia / Blizzard / Thunderbolt / Self-Destruct or Rest: given that Starmie is a common switch-in once Amnesia is revealed and that Thunderbolt is a very, very uncommon attack on Snorlax, this set can attempt to lure it in and cripple it with a strong super-effective attack. However, it struggles incredibly against Chansey and Alakazam. Self-Destruct is preferred in the final slot as an emergency option that allows Snorlax to bail out of those matchups with an even trade, but it is possible to use Rest instead in an attempt to preserve Snorlax as a long-term defensive answer.
Body Slam / Reflect / Rest sets can afford a few more options in the fourth moveslot. Toxic can allow partial trappers such as Cloyster, Moltres, Victreebel, and Dragonite to be significantly more dangerous, as any poisoned Pokemon attempting to stall out their PP will run out of HP much more quickly, and Snorlax is particularly good at luring in optimal Toxic targets such as Reflect Chansey. Another move that can fill that slot is Amnesia, making Snorlax incredibly difficult to threaten via special attacks alone but ultimately leaving it relatively powerless, with Body Slam as its only attack. Counter is also viable, as after Reflect has been revealed, opponents will most likely stop playing around Counter, giving you some opportunities to net surprise KOs with it.
Other Normal-type attacks such as Mega Kick and Double-Edge are rarely seen due to their drawbacks and overall lack of usefulness when Body Slam is such a reliable move and Hyper Beam is a much stronger one, but the ability to repeatedly hit with a greater Base Power can occasionally come in handy.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Reflect Users**: Reflect users, particularly Chansey and opposing Snorlax, can switch in on Body Slam and neutralize the damage output from Snorlax fairly efficiently. They are by far the most reliable defensive answers to Snorlax, and a vast majority of RBY teams are forced to include one of the two, if not both, to check it.
**Gengar**: Gengar deserves a special mention due to its unique Ghost typing, which allows it to wall all Snorlax sets that lack Earthquake and use Snorlax as an opportunity to threaten either status with Hypnosis or damage with Thunderbolt. It is especially useful against Snorlax sets that only run Normal-type attacks, but it also performs well against any set that lacks Earthquake or Amnesia (unless Snorlax gets a lucky freeze with Ice Beam).
**Cloyster and Slowbro**: Cloyster and Slowbro are the next best options to switch into Body Slam. Their high defensive stats allow them to come out of the one-on-one matchup on top, but their reliance on Rest to stay healthy and failure to pose a significant immediate threat mean they aren't always the most reliable answers to Snorlax. Slowbro is especially notable, as it can use a sleeping Snorlax as a golden opportunity to set up Amnesia; however, Cloyster has better physical bulk, allowing it to avoid a 4HKO from Body Slam, as well as the ability to use Explosion in case things start to go wrong after paralysis from Body Slam.
**Other Special Attackers**: Although there aren't many special attackers that enjoy taking a Body Slam to the face, many of them are powerful enough to 3HKO Snorlax, which means they can exert a lot of pressure over it, especially when it's forced to use Rest and sit still for a few turns. Starmie, Lapras, Exeggutor, and Zapdos are some good examples of Pokemon that can force Snorlax out with their strong STAB attacks.
**Porygon**: Although Porygon's base stats are pitiful, it has access to a very specific set of qualities that make it just good enough to handle Snorlax: it is faster, it is immune to Body Slam's paralysis due to its typing, and Recover's 32 PP allow it to outstall Body Slam's 24 PP. Snorlax's only hopes of breaking down Porygon usually rest on the possibility of landing either a critical hit with Body Slam or a freeze with Ice Beam; however, Porygon is very weak, and it is incredibly easy for the Snorlax player to simply switch out.
**Rock-types Carrying Rest**: Another very specific countermeasure, Rock-types carrying Rest are generally able to outstall any Snorlax variant that isn't carrying the specific coverage for them. As long as the Rock-type has Rest to stall out repeated Body Slams, there are quite a few of them that can win the one-on-one matchup: non-Earthquake Snorlax will be unable to break through Omastar and Kabutops, non-Ice Beam Snorlax will struggle to wear down Aerodactyl, and even Rhydon can beat a Snorlax in the long run if Snorlax is only carrying Normal-type moves.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Amaranth, 265630]]
- Quality checked by: [[Lusch, 254408], [FriendOfMrGolem120, 424525]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Empress, 175616], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
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