GoldCat
BOSSARU CUP WINNER
[OVERVIEW]
Snorlax either sweeps entire teams at team preview or does nothing of note, with the latter happening more frequently than the former. Simply put, Snorlax struggles against common top-tier Pokemon such as Metagross, Reuniclus, and Rhyperior, so pulling off a sweep will often be an uphill battle. Snorlax does, however, have some amazing upsides to justify building a team around it. Mainly, Snorlax is a behemoth of a special tank and can check and set up against some of the tier's most dangerous special attackers such as Nidoqueen, Calm Mind Raikou, and Chandelure. However, Snorlax's reliance on Rest somewhat negates this, as it's often forced out immediately after using Rest by the likes of Heracross, meaning it's hard to successfully burn sleep turns without taking significant damage in the process. If left unchecked, this can spiral out of control until Snorlax is overwhelmed, or it will be stuck in a Rest cycle and unable to set up and sweep. Entry hazards quickly rack up damage on Snorlax too, which only exacerbates the problem further with each time it's forced out. However, cleric support and entry hazard removal coupled with mindful teambuilding can remedy most of Snorlax's inherent flaws.
[SET]
name: CurseLax
move 1: Curse
move 2: Body Slam
move 3: Earthquake / Darkest Lariat
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers
ability: Thick Fat
nature: Careful
evs: 208 HP / 36 Atk / 172 Def / 84 SpD / 8 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
A paralysis from Body Slam slightly increases the odds Snorlax beats Calm Mind Reuniclus and Nasty Plot Togekiss. Earthquake ensures Snorlax has a shot at defeating Steel- and Rock-types such as Lucario, Rhyperior, and Diancie. Darkest Lariat, on the other hand, gives Snorlax a fighting chance against Cosmic Power Metagross and 2HKOes Reuniclus at +2. Rest heals off any otherwise crippling status condition like a burn or Toxic poison, which not only makes it harder to stop Snorlax in its tracks but also makes it a far more reliable counter to Pokemon such as Nidoqueen and Chandelure. Leftovers is crucial for avoiding the 3HKO from Nidoqueen so Snorlax can safely set up and use Rest against it. The EV spread is to avoid the OHKO from Flame Orb Heracross after a Curse and never be 2HKOed by Modest Choice Specs Toxtricity's Boomburst, which more importantly means that no special attacker can 2HKO Snorlax with a non-super effective move. 8 Speed EVs are to outspeed paralyzed Reuniclus even after using Curse twice, which gives Snorlax the highest odds to win the exchange. The leftover EVs are invested in Attack for a slight increase in damage.
The key to successfully teambuild with Snorlax is redundancy. Snorlax eats up a lot of resources, and one might get the idea to use it as team compression to make up for that; however, Snorlax will crumble if it's assigned too many roles like the team's primary special wall, status absorber, and sweeper. With this in mind, Snorlax can be paired with other special walls such as Registeel and Diancie because they can check special attackers like Gardevoir, Noivern, and, in the latter's case, Chandelure all while Snorlax acts as a backup. Cleric support from Diancie, Togekiss, and Umbreon is another crucial puzzle piece to teambuilding with Snorlax, letting it use Rest more freely and less often because it can easily be woken up and cured of a burn or poison with Heal Bell. Togekiss also helps Snorlax by weakening shared checks like Rhyperior while also checking Fighting-types. Umbreon stands out because it can Wish pass to Snorlax, which doesn't heal it for much but still keeps it healthy enough to not need to use Rest. Likewise, entry hazard removal provided by Crobat, Flygon, and Dhelmise is a must to prevent it from being quickly overwhelmed. Crobat is also an excellent check to the many Fighting-types threatening Snorlax. Ground- and Grass-types such as Flygon, Gastrodon, and Celebi are crucial because Snorlax can't effectively handle Electric-types such as Xurkitree, Raikou, and Rotom-C due to them easily whittling it down with Volt Switch when aided by entry hazards. Bulky Water-types like Milotic, Gastrodon, and Jellicent are needed to answer Steel- and Rock-types like Escavalier and Rhyperior that Snorlax can struggle to get through. Jellicent is also particularly noteworthy for hard countering Lucario and Cosmic Power Metagross.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Double-Edge and Facade are other feasible STAB options. The extra power of Double-Edge lets Snorlax 2HKO Reuniclus, but the recoil forces it to use Rest much more often. With Facade, Snorlax won't have to worry about healing a burn, but it's an even less reliable option against Reuniclus than Body Slam, as Snorlax needs to be statused to 2HKO and can't paralyze it. Sleep Talk lets Snorlax act when asleep but gives up coverage, so it can't break Steel- and Rock-types and lets Mimikyu set up for free. Snorlax has a wide movepool with a colorful arrange of coverage options that more offensive sets such as Choice Band and offensive Curse can take full advantage of. For example, Seed Bomb can lure in and heavily damage Rhyperior, which can check standard CurseLax sets. Despite Thick Fat giving it a different yet useful defensive profile, Choice Band sets face stiff competition from Bewear, which is much faster, has more opportunities to wallbreak, and is harder to revenge kill thanks to Fluffy. Snorlax's low Speed also greatly hinders how effective it is as a wallbreaker. Offensive Curse sets such as Curse + three Attacks focus on wallbreaking rather than attempting to sweep but are even easier to wear down with entry hazards and are almost entirely shut down by a burn or Toxic poison.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fighting-types and Wallbreakers**: Common Fighting-types such as Heracross, Lucario, Pangoro, and Bewear are the most straightforward answers to Snorlax. They might not outright KO Snorlax after a Curse boost, but they'll leave it low enough for their teammates to pick it off. Bewear can switch in and set up on Snorlax thanks to Fluffy. Other physical wallbreakers such as Grimmsnarl, Choice Band Metagross, and Golurk pack strong enough of a punch to overwhelm Snorlax. Grimmsnarl and Golurk can even use Trick to give Snorlax a Choice Band. Likewise, powerful special wallbreakers such as Choice Specs Gardevoir and Toxtricity can 2HKO Snorlax after Stealth Rock.
**Jellicent**: Jellicent completely shuts Snorlax down with Taunt and will slowly but surely defeat it with Scald. However, not all Jellicent carry a move to hit Snorlax with, but burning it with Will-O-Wisp and preventing it from setting up or using Rest will go a long way in beating it.
**Bulky Setup Pokemon**: Rhyperior more commonly handles Snorlax by forcing a Rest with Toxic and its strong Earthquake so a teammate can take advantage of the sleeping Snorlax, but Swords Dance Rhyperior is one of the best checks to Snorlax. The rarer Escavalier and Doublade can similarly comfortably withstand even boosted attacks from Snorlax and set up alongside it to overwhelm it with Swords Dance-boosted moves. However, all of them lack reliable recovery and thus can't check Snorlax for too long. Cosmic Power Metagross stands out as a hard counter to any Curse Snorlax without Darkest Lariat due to it avoiding the 3HKO from Earthquake and 3HKOing back with Body Press, guaranteeing it wins the exchange even when factoring in Rest turns. Nasty Plot Togekiss isn't 2HKOed by +1 Body Slam and induce flinching with +2 Air Slash to beat Snorlax. Reuniclus avoids the 2HKO from even +2 Body Slam and 2HKOes in return with 2+ Focus Blast. But, an untimely full paralysis will lead to Snorlax winning against either of them. Substitute + Protect Suicune can PP stall Snorlax and will 3HKO and beat it before it wakes up with +4 Scald if Snorlax ever uses Rest.
**Entry Hazards**: Snorlax is susceptible to all forms of entry hazards and is often forced out multiple times in any given game, so the damage will quickly rack up and can put Snorlax in a foe's KO range.
**Item Displacement**: Leftovers plays a crucial role in keeping Snorlax healthy, and it'll be much easier to pressure Snorlax with weaker attacks and residual damage once removed. Knock Off users such as Tornadus, Seismitoad, and Incineroar don't immediately scare Snorlax out, which makes it more willing to take the Knock Off. In a similar vein, Galarian Weezing and Vileplume can remove Leftovers with Corrosive Gas. Vileplume can also keep Snorlax at bay with Strength Sap. Pokemon such as Chandelure, Gardevoir, and Togekiss can Trick and hamper Snorlax with a Choice item.
**Haze and Clear Smog**: Haze Milotic can PP stall and eventually beat Snorlax with Toxic or pivot out to a teammate with Flip Turn once it's asleep. A paralysis from Body Slam can't even save it; not only is Milotic still faster, its Defense is also boosted by Marvel Scale. Similarly, Gastrodon can remove Snorlax's stat boosts with Clear Smog. Still, if paralyzed, it's outsped by Snorlax even after a Curse, which makes it a much shakier answer.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[GoldCat, 359771]]
- Quality checked by: [[Yourwelcomethanku, 541847], [zizalith, 410251]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073]]
Snorlax either sweeps entire teams at team preview or does nothing of note, with the latter happening more frequently than the former. Simply put, Snorlax struggles against common top-tier Pokemon such as Metagross, Reuniclus, and Rhyperior, so pulling off a sweep will often be an uphill battle. Snorlax does, however, have some amazing upsides to justify building a team around it. Mainly, Snorlax is a behemoth of a special tank and can check and set up against some of the tier's most dangerous special attackers such as Nidoqueen, Calm Mind Raikou, and Chandelure. However, Snorlax's reliance on Rest somewhat negates this, as it's often forced out immediately after using Rest by the likes of Heracross, meaning it's hard to successfully burn sleep turns without taking significant damage in the process. If left unchecked, this can spiral out of control until Snorlax is overwhelmed, or it will be stuck in a Rest cycle and unable to set up and sweep. Entry hazards quickly rack up damage on Snorlax too, which only exacerbates the problem further with each time it's forced out. However, cleric support and entry hazard removal coupled with mindful teambuilding can remedy most of Snorlax's inherent flaws.
[SET]
name: CurseLax
move 1: Curse
move 2: Body Slam
move 3: Earthquake / Darkest Lariat
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers
ability: Thick Fat
nature: Careful
evs: 208 HP / 36 Atk / 172 Def / 84 SpD / 8 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
A paralysis from Body Slam slightly increases the odds Snorlax beats Calm Mind Reuniclus and Nasty Plot Togekiss. Earthquake ensures Snorlax has a shot at defeating Steel- and Rock-types such as Lucario, Rhyperior, and Diancie. Darkest Lariat, on the other hand, gives Snorlax a fighting chance against Cosmic Power Metagross and 2HKOes Reuniclus at +2. Rest heals off any otherwise crippling status condition like a burn or Toxic poison, which not only makes it harder to stop Snorlax in its tracks but also makes it a far more reliable counter to Pokemon such as Nidoqueen and Chandelure. Leftovers is crucial for avoiding the 3HKO from Nidoqueen so Snorlax can safely set up and use Rest against it. The EV spread is to avoid the OHKO from Flame Orb Heracross after a Curse and never be 2HKOed by Modest Choice Specs Toxtricity's Boomburst, which more importantly means that no special attacker can 2HKO Snorlax with a non-super effective move. 8 Speed EVs are to outspeed paralyzed Reuniclus even after using Curse twice, which gives Snorlax the highest odds to win the exchange. The leftover EVs are invested in Attack for a slight increase in damage.
The key to successfully teambuild with Snorlax is redundancy. Snorlax eats up a lot of resources, and one might get the idea to use it as team compression to make up for that; however, Snorlax will crumble if it's assigned too many roles like the team's primary special wall, status absorber, and sweeper. With this in mind, Snorlax can be paired with other special walls such as Registeel and Diancie because they can check special attackers like Gardevoir, Noivern, and, in the latter's case, Chandelure all while Snorlax acts as a backup. Cleric support from Diancie, Togekiss, and Umbreon is another crucial puzzle piece to teambuilding with Snorlax, letting it use Rest more freely and less often because it can easily be woken up and cured of a burn or poison with Heal Bell. Togekiss also helps Snorlax by weakening shared checks like Rhyperior while also checking Fighting-types. Umbreon stands out because it can Wish pass to Snorlax, which doesn't heal it for much but still keeps it healthy enough to not need to use Rest. Likewise, entry hazard removal provided by Crobat, Flygon, and Dhelmise is a must to prevent it from being quickly overwhelmed. Crobat is also an excellent check to the many Fighting-types threatening Snorlax. Ground- and Grass-types such as Flygon, Gastrodon, and Celebi are crucial because Snorlax can't effectively handle Electric-types such as Xurkitree, Raikou, and Rotom-C due to them easily whittling it down with Volt Switch when aided by entry hazards. Bulky Water-types like Milotic, Gastrodon, and Jellicent are needed to answer Steel- and Rock-types like Escavalier and Rhyperior that Snorlax can struggle to get through. Jellicent is also particularly noteworthy for hard countering Lucario and Cosmic Power Metagross.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Double-Edge and Facade are other feasible STAB options. The extra power of Double-Edge lets Snorlax 2HKO Reuniclus, but the recoil forces it to use Rest much more often. With Facade, Snorlax won't have to worry about healing a burn, but it's an even less reliable option against Reuniclus than Body Slam, as Snorlax needs to be statused to 2HKO and can't paralyze it. Sleep Talk lets Snorlax act when asleep but gives up coverage, so it can't break Steel- and Rock-types and lets Mimikyu set up for free. Snorlax has a wide movepool with a colorful arrange of coverage options that more offensive sets such as Choice Band and offensive Curse can take full advantage of. For example, Seed Bomb can lure in and heavily damage Rhyperior, which can check standard CurseLax sets. Despite Thick Fat giving it a different yet useful defensive profile, Choice Band sets face stiff competition from Bewear, which is much faster, has more opportunities to wallbreak, and is harder to revenge kill thanks to Fluffy. Snorlax's low Speed also greatly hinders how effective it is as a wallbreaker. Offensive Curse sets such as Curse + three Attacks focus on wallbreaking rather than attempting to sweep but are even easier to wear down with entry hazards and are almost entirely shut down by a burn or Toxic poison.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fighting-types and Wallbreakers**: Common Fighting-types such as Heracross, Lucario, Pangoro, and Bewear are the most straightforward answers to Snorlax. They might not outright KO Snorlax after a Curse boost, but they'll leave it low enough for their teammates to pick it off. Bewear can switch in and set up on Snorlax thanks to Fluffy. Other physical wallbreakers such as Grimmsnarl, Choice Band Metagross, and Golurk pack strong enough of a punch to overwhelm Snorlax. Grimmsnarl and Golurk can even use Trick to give Snorlax a Choice Band. Likewise, powerful special wallbreakers such as Choice Specs Gardevoir and Toxtricity can 2HKO Snorlax after Stealth Rock.
**Jellicent**: Jellicent completely shuts Snorlax down with Taunt and will slowly but surely defeat it with Scald. However, not all Jellicent carry a move to hit Snorlax with, but burning it with Will-O-Wisp and preventing it from setting up or using Rest will go a long way in beating it.
**Bulky Setup Pokemon**: Rhyperior more commonly handles Snorlax by forcing a Rest with Toxic and its strong Earthquake so a teammate can take advantage of the sleeping Snorlax, but Swords Dance Rhyperior is one of the best checks to Snorlax. The rarer Escavalier and Doublade can similarly comfortably withstand even boosted attacks from Snorlax and set up alongside it to overwhelm it with Swords Dance-boosted moves. However, all of them lack reliable recovery and thus can't check Snorlax for too long. Cosmic Power Metagross stands out as a hard counter to any Curse Snorlax without Darkest Lariat due to it avoiding the 3HKO from Earthquake and 3HKOing back with Body Press, guaranteeing it wins the exchange even when factoring in Rest turns. Nasty Plot Togekiss isn't 2HKOed by +1 Body Slam and induce flinching with +2 Air Slash to beat Snorlax. Reuniclus avoids the 2HKO from even +2 Body Slam and 2HKOes in return with 2+ Focus Blast. But, an untimely full paralysis will lead to Snorlax winning against either of them. Substitute + Protect Suicune can PP stall Snorlax and will 3HKO and beat it before it wakes up with +4 Scald if Snorlax ever uses Rest.
**Entry Hazards**: Snorlax is susceptible to all forms of entry hazards and is often forced out multiple times in any given game, so the damage will quickly rack up and can put Snorlax in a foe's KO range.
**Item Displacement**: Leftovers plays a crucial role in keeping Snorlax healthy, and it'll be much easier to pressure Snorlax with weaker attacks and residual damage once removed. Knock Off users such as Tornadus, Seismitoad, and Incineroar don't immediately scare Snorlax out, which makes it more willing to take the Knock Off. In a similar vein, Galarian Weezing and Vileplume can remove Leftovers with Corrosive Gas. Vileplume can also keep Snorlax at bay with Strength Sap. Pokemon such as Chandelure, Gardevoir, and Togekiss can Trick and hamper Snorlax with a Choice item.
**Haze and Clear Smog**: Haze Milotic can PP stall and eventually beat Snorlax with Toxic or pivot out to a teammate with Flip Turn once it's asleep. A paralysis from Body Slam can't even save it; not only is Milotic still faster, its Defense is also boosted by Marvel Scale. Similarly, Gastrodon can remove Snorlax's stat boosts with Clear Smog. Still, if paralyzed, it's outsped by Snorlax even after a Curse, which makes it a much shakier answer.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[GoldCat, 359771]]
- Quality checked by: [[Yourwelcomethanku, 541847], [zizalith, 410251]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073]]
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