[OVERVIEW]
Golurk boasts a top-tier offensive STAB combination along with a useful pool of utility moves, making it very difficult to identify the set and safely play around. Additionally, its one of the few viable Ground-types in the tier, letting it check Aerodactyl and Tyrantrum in a pinch as well as block Rotom-C's Volt Switch. Despite Golurk's colorful movepool and great Attack stat, its poor Speed and middling bulk make it quite easy to find midgrounds for once its set is successfully identified. Golurk also faces competition from the much superior Silvally-Ground and Mudsdale for a teamslot because they have significant fewer flaws and are easier to build around; with Golurk, you lose a ton of defensive utility and cannot easily run item displacement such as Knock Off. As a wallbreaker, Golurk is slower than the likes of Exploud and Sylveon while only matching their damage output. Golurk's reliance on Poltergeist and Earthquake, two moves with common immunities in the tier, can make it quite prediction reliant to accomplish the same damage that the aforementioned wallbreakers and others accomplish simply by using their STAB moves.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Poltergeist
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Close Combat
move 4: Stone Edge / Heat Crash
item: Choice Band
ability: No Guard
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Choice Band Golurk hits like a train and 2HKOes almost everything assuming it locks into the right move, making it incredibly scary. Close Combat pairs perfectly with Poltergeist, nailing defensive Dark-types like Guzzlord and Scrafty as well as Snorlax, which can be 2HKOed even after a Curse boost. The final coverage move is often irrelevant due to the high-Base Power and flawless coverage Golurk's three main moves provide, although Stone Edge can OHKO Talonflame even if Golurk is burned and nails other Flying-types like Mantine and Braviary a little harder than Poltergeist or Close Combat would. Alternatively, Heat Crash hits itemless Grass-types such as Vileplume, Rotom-C, and Dhelmise.
Due to Golurk's poor Speed and bulk, it greatly appreciates the momentum provided by great pivots such as Rotom-C and Choice Scarf Passimian, both of which can also easily clean up teams after Golurk punches holes in them. Despite being a Ground-type, it fails to check many Poison-types such as Toxicroak and Drapion, making alternative defensive pivots like Talonflame and Arcanine very useful. Physical attackers like Tauros and Toxicroak appreciate Golurk weakening physical walls like Mudsdale and Weezing. Tauros also provides a Ghost immunity, and Toxicroak's Dry Skin allows it to pivot into Water-type attacks.
[SET]
name: TrickyBarb
move 1: Trick
move 2: Stealth Rock
move 3: Poltergeist
move 4: Earthquake
item: Sticky Barb
ability: Klutz
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Golurk makes use of its Klutz ability and Trick to bestow a nasty surprise upon unsuspecting physical walls such as Weezing, Mudsdale, and Vileplume, which can otherwise serve as a decent midground to Golurk's attacks. Golurk's offensive presence is enough to force switches against common Steel-types to set up Stealth Rock while deterring Xatu from attempting to deflect it for fear of a Poltergeist OHKO.
Golurk's Trick + Sticky Barb combination both helps it wallbreak and supports other physical attackers like Tauros, Passimian, and Drapion that share checks with it. Although Golurk is quite strong without a Choice Band, its certainly noticeably weaker and appreciates stronger teammates like Exploud and Alolan Exeggutor to compensate. Similarly, Golurk's poor Speed makes it easy to take advantage of with faster attackers like Inteleon and Starmie, so good defensive teammates like Mantine and Guzzlord are a must.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Golurk's middling bulk can be supplemented by an Assault Vest, allowing it to effectively beat Pokemon like Rotom-C and Starmie one-on-one that it would otherwise lose to. The loss of wallbreaking power from not using a Choice Band is often not worth sacrificing Golurk's viability and most of its HP just to beat some special attackers. Just like its Sticky Barb and Assault Vest sets, Golurk can use a Choice Scarf to catch its foes off guard, although this has similar drawbacks to the Assault Vest set. Rock Polish Golurk makes for a solid late-game sweeper, although even after a Rock Polish it can find itself too weak and slower than some Choice Scarf users. Rindo Berry can be used with Rock Polish to always win the matchup against Choice Scarf Rotom-C.
Checks and Counters
====
**Protect Scouting**: Protect users such as Vaporeon, Sylveon, and Mudsdale, defensive pieces that Golurk would typically prey upon, can simply scout to see what Golurk will use and switch into an according check, as all of Golurk's moves, despite their great power, have common type resistances.
**Itemless Pokemon**: Although its Trick set can somewhat bypass this issue, Golurk's heavy reliance on Poltergeist makes it quite vulnerable to common itemless Pokemon such as Dhelmise and Vileplume.
**Faster Wallbreakers**: Golurk is certainly on the slower end, even for wallbreaker standards, and with middling bulk, other wallbreakers such as Choice Specs Sylveon and Exploud coast past it and threaten an easy OHKO on it as well.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Togkey, 400664]]
- Quality checked by: [[Rabia, 336073]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073]]
Golurk boasts a top-tier offensive STAB combination along with a useful pool of utility moves, making it very difficult to identify the set and safely play around. Additionally, its one of the few viable Ground-types in the tier, letting it check Aerodactyl and Tyrantrum in a pinch as well as block Rotom-C's Volt Switch. Despite Golurk's colorful movepool and great Attack stat, its poor Speed and middling bulk make it quite easy to find midgrounds for once its set is successfully identified. Golurk also faces competition from the much superior Silvally-Ground and Mudsdale for a teamslot because they have significant fewer flaws and are easier to build around; with Golurk, you lose a ton of defensive utility and cannot easily run item displacement such as Knock Off. As a wallbreaker, Golurk is slower than the likes of Exploud and Sylveon while only matching their damage output. Golurk's reliance on Poltergeist and Earthquake, two moves with common immunities in the tier, can make it quite prediction reliant to accomplish the same damage that the aforementioned wallbreakers and others accomplish simply by using their STAB moves.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Poltergeist
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Close Combat
move 4: Stone Edge / Heat Crash
item: Choice Band
ability: No Guard
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Choice Band Golurk hits like a train and 2HKOes almost everything assuming it locks into the right move, making it incredibly scary. Close Combat pairs perfectly with Poltergeist, nailing defensive Dark-types like Guzzlord and Scrafty as well as Snorlax, which can be 2HKOed even after a Curse boost. The final coverage move is often irrelevant due to the high-Base Power and flawless coverage Golurk's three main moves provide, although Stone Edge can OHKO Talonflame even if Golurk is burned and nails other Flying-types like Mantine and Braviary a little harder than Poltergeist or Close Combat would. Alternatively, Heat Crash hits itemless Grass-types such as Vileplume, Rotom-C, and Dhelmise.
Due to Golurk's poor Speed and bulk, it greatly appreciates the momentum provided by great pivots such as Rotom-C and Choice Scarf Passimian, both of which can also easily clean up teams after Golurk punches holes in them. Despite being a Ground-type, it fails to check many Poison-types such as Toxicroak and Drapion, making alternative defensive pivots like Talonflame and Arcanine very useful. Physical attackers like Tauros and Toxicroak appreciate Golurk weakening physical walls like Mudsdale and Weezing. Tauros also provides a Ghost immunity, and Toxicroak's Dry Skin allows it to pivot into Water-type attacks.
[SET]
name: TrickyBarb
move 1: Trick
move 2: Stealth Rock
move 3: Poltergeist
move 4: Earthquake
item: Sticky Barb
ability: Klutz
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Golurk makes use of its Klutz ability and Trick to bestow a nasty surprise upon unsuspecting physical walls such as Weezing, Mudsdale, and Vileplume, which can otherwise serve as a decent midground to Golurk's attacks. Golurk's offensive presence is enough to force switches against common Steel-types to set up Stealth Rock while deterring Xatu from attempting to deflect it for fear of a Poltergeist OHKO.
Golurk's Trick + Sticky Barb combination both helps it wallbreak and supports other physical attackers like Tauros, Passimian, and Drapion that share checks with it. Although Golurk is quite strong without a Choice Band, its certainly noticeably weaker and appreciates stronger teammates like Exploud and Alolan Exeggutor to compensate. Similarly, Golurk's poor Speed makes it easy to take advantage of with faster attackers like Inteleon and Starmie, so good defensive teammates like Mantine and Guzzlord are a must.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Golurk's middling bulk can be supplemented by an Assault Vest, allowing it to effectively beat Pokemon like Rotom-C and Starmie one-on-one that it would otherwise lose to. The loss of wallbreaking power from not using a Choice Band is often not worth sacrificing Golurk's viability and most of its HP just to beat some special attackers. Just like its Sticky Barb and Assault Vest sets, Golurk can use a Choice Scarf to catch its foes off guard, although this has similar drawbacks to the Assault Vest set. Rock Polish Golurk makes for a solid late-game sweeper, although even after a Rock Polish it can find itself too weak and slower than some Choice Scarf users. Rindo Berry can be used with Rock Polish to always win the matchup against Choice Scarf Rotom-C.
Checks and Counters
====
**Protect Scouting**: Protect users such as Vaporeon, Sylveon, and Mudsdale, defensive pieces that Golurk would typically prey upon, can simply scout to see what Golurk will use and switch into an according check, as all of Golurk's moves, despite their great power, have common type resistances.
**Itemless Pokemon**: Although its Trick set can somewhat bypass this issue, Golurk's heavy reliance on Poltergeist makes it quite vulnerable to common itemless Pokemon such as Dhelmise and Vileplume.
**Faster Wallbreakers**: Golurk is certainly on the slower end, even for wallbreaker standards, and with middling bulk, other wallbreakers such as Choice Specs Sylveon and Exploud coast past it and threaten an easy OHKO on it as well.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Togkey, 400664]]
- Quality checked by: [[Rabia, 336073]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073]]
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