Plague von Karma
Banned deucer.
[OVERVIEW]
While in heavy competition with Rhydon for a spot on a team, Golem has merit for its access to Explosion, letting it blow holes in opposing teams for its allies to exploit. Golem's higher Speed compared to Rhydon also pays dividends in Stadium, giving it a 12% critical hit rate that helps it break through opposing Reflect Snorlax and Chansey. These traits make Golem a fair pick on teams weak to Rhydon that need a consistent way to beat bulkier Pokemon like the aforementioned Normal-types, as well as Slowbro and Rest Exeggutor. When provided with paralysis support, Golem is a serious threat, dealing massive damage with its STAB moves while still maintaining the threat of Explosion, often securing the late-game for its team as a result.
However, Golem's Explosion and Speed are all it has over Rhydon. Rhydon has superior overall bulk, 103-HP Substitutes to consistently beat Seismic Toss Chansey, and a better Attack stat that gives it more consistent KO ranges. Because of this, on top of Snorlax having a superior self-KO move in STAB Self-Destruct, Golem is very hard to fit onto teams. Golem still has Rhydon's flaws as well: it's very slow and specially frail, making it take mortal damage against special attackers like Starmie, Alakazam, and Lapras, forcing it to use Explosion earlier than one would expect. Its slowness also causes it to lose one-on-one matchups surprisingly frequently, such as against Tauros and Exeggutor. Like Rhydon’s, while Golem's defensive typing does provide a useful Electric immunity for combatting Zapdos and Jolteon, it also gives massive weaknesses to Ice- and Water-type coverage from Pokemon like Chansey and Snorlax, making it very difficult for Golem to successfully enter battle and do its job. These problems make Golem a rare sight in Stadium OU, but it’s still a serviceable pick for teams that need a better Rhydon matchup in addition to an Explosion user.
[SET]
name: Explosion
move 1: Rock Slide
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Body Slam
move 4: Explosion
[SET COMMENTS]
The combination of Rock Slide and Earthquake lets Golem hit the entire tier for at least neutral damage. Rock Slide particularly hits Exeggutor for neutral damage, ensuring it can't repeatedly switch in, lest it be forced to use Rest early. It also hits Flying-types like Articuno and Zapdos for heavy damage, forcing them out and letting Golem scout with Body Slam. Earthquake has the potential to OHKO Gengar and Jolteon while serving as its strongest attack without a drawback. Body Slam serves as a midground option, letting Golem spread paralysis for itself while punishing potential switch-ins. Explosion allows Golem to trade with an important Pokemon; note, however, that it doesn't let Golem survive breaking a Substitute, unlike in regular RBY. This means that scouting the target for Substitute or paralyzing it is recommended.
Stadium's Team Preview benefits Golem’s Explosion, as you will always know whether the opponent has a Zapdos, Jolteon, or Gengar on their team. If Zapdos or Jolteon is present, it's best to hold back the Explosion until late-game, where Golem can check them more effectively. Still, remember that Golem struggles to actually get in to check them, as it can be somewhat predictable. Similarly, in Gengar's case, saving Explosion until it’s used its own Explosion or otherwise been crippled is recommended, or it can be used to nullify Explosion completely. Rhydon poses a risk for similar reasons, but it struggles to switch in due to the threat of Earthquake, though it's notable regardless. If none of these Pokemon are present, Explosion can be used much earlier to KO important mid-game Pokemon like Snorlax and Chansey. It's also perfectly viable to use it as an emergency check to Slowbro if it's picked up too many Amnesia boosts.
Golem has room for customization to further differentiate itself from Rhydon, but this is often a misguided effort, as it has to drop Body Slam or Rock Slide, opening it up to exploitation. Defense Curl or Harden can be used to make Golem more consistently check Snorlax, but this still loses to Amnesia variants. Fire Blast is a somewhat viable option for hitting Exeggutor and burning switch-ins, but this can backfire against Pokemon that prefer being burned, such as Starmie and Chansey. Substitute can potentially be used to guard against status and get more hits in, but Rhydon does this better by a long shot and it makes Golem inclined to use Explosion earlier, so it's not recommended.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Plague von Karma, 236353]]
- Quality checked by: [[Ctown6, 509438], [Oiseau Bleu, 431020]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]
While in heavy competition with Rhydon for a spot on a team, Golem has merit for its access to Explosion, letting it blow holes in opposing teams for its allies to exploit. Golem's higher Speed compared to Rhydon also pays dividends in Stadium, giving it a 12% critical hit rate that helps it break through opposing Reflect Snorlax and Chansey. These traits make Golem a fair pick on teams weak to Rhydon that need a consistent way to beat bulkier Pokemon like the aforementioned Normal-types, as well as Slowbro and Rest Exeggutor. When provided with paralysis support, Golem is a serious threat, dealing massive damage with its STAB moves while still maintaining the threat of Explosion, often securing the late-game for its team as a result.
However, Golem's Explosion and Speed are all it has over Rhydon. Rhydon has superior overall bulk, 103-HP Substitutes to consistently beat Seismic Toss Chansey, and a better Attack stat that gives it more consistent KO ranges. Because of this, on top of Snorlax having a superior self-KO move in STAB Self-Destruct, Golem is very hard to fit onto teams. Golem still has Rhydon's flaws as well: it's very slow and specially frail, making it take mortal damage against special attackers like Starmie, Alakazam, and Lapras, forcing it to use Explosion earlier than one would expect. Its slowness also causes it to lose one-on-one matchups surprisingly frequently, such as against Tauros and Exeggutor. Like Rhydon’s, while Golem's defensive typing does provide a useful Electric immunity for combatting Zapdos and Jolteon, it also gives massive weaknesses to Ice- and Water-type coverage from Pokemon like Chansey and Snorlax, making it very difficult for Golem to successfully enter battle and do its job. These problems make Golem a rare sight in Stadium OU, but it’s still a serviceable pick for teams that need a better Rhydon matchup in addition to an Explosion user.
[SET]
name: Explosion
move 1: Rock Slide
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Body Slam
move 4: Explosion
[SET COMMENTS]
The combination of Rock Slide and Earthquake lets Golem hit the entire tier for at least neutral damage. Rock Slide particularly hits Exeggutor for neutral damage, ensuring it can't repeatedly switch in, lest it be forced to use Rest early. It also hits Flying-types like Articuno and Zapdos for heavy damage, forcing them out and letting Golem scout with Body Slam. Earthquake has the potential to OHKO Gengar and Jolteon while serving as its strongest attack without a drawback. Body Slam serves as a midground option, letting Golem spread paralysis for itself while punishing potential switch-ins. Explosion allows Golem to trade with an important Pokemon; note, however, that it doesn't let Golem survive breaking a Substitute, unlike in regular RBY. This means that scouting the target for Substitute or paralyzing it is recommended.
Stadium's Team Preview benefits Golem’s Explosion, as you will always know whether the opponent has a Zapdos, Jolteon, or Gengar on their team. If Zapdos or Jolteon is present, it's best to hold back the Explosion until late-game, where Golem can check them more effectively. Still, remember that Golem struggles to actually get in to check them, as it can be somewhat predictable. Similarly, in Gengar's case, saving Explosion until it’s used its own Explosion or otherwise been crippled is recommended, or it can be used to nullify Explosion completely. Rhydon poses a risk for similar reasons, but it struggles to switch in due to the threat of Earthquake, though it's notable regardless. If none of these Pokemon are present, Explosion can be used much earlier to KO important mid-game Pokemon like Snorlax and Chansey. It's also perfectly viable to use it as an emergency check to Slowbro if it's picked up too many Amnesia boosts.
Golem has room for customization to further differentiate itself from Rhydon, but this is often a misguided effort, as it has to drop Body Slam or Rock Slide, opening it up to exploitation. Defense Curl or Harden can be used to make Golem more consistently check Snorlax, but this still loses to Amnesia variants. Fire Blast is a somewhat viable option for hitting Exeggutor and burning switch-ins, but this can backfire against Pokemon that prefer being burned, such as Starmie and Chansey. Substitute can potentially be used to guard against status and get more hits in, but Rhydon does this better by a long shot and it makes Golem inclined to use Explosion earlier, so it's not recommended.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Plague von Karma, 236353]]
- Quality checked by: [[Ctown6, 509438], [Oiseau Bleu, 431020]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]
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