"brb saving ubers" -muk
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[OVERVIEW]
* Respectable special bulk and good defensive typing allow Alolan Muk to carve a niche for itself as a reliable Pursuit trapper.
* Alolan Muk can switch into most Ghost- and Psychic-types such as Lunala, Mega Gengar, Deoxys-A, and Mewtwo without too much risk to itself and dispose of them efficiently. Because these Pokemon are often used to break defensive cores, Alolan Muk makes a solid choice for defensive teams that need a safeguard against these threats.
* Alolan Muk's typing also allows it to act as a soft check for offensive Dark- and Fairy-types such as Yveltal, Xerneas, and Arceus-Dark in a pinch.
* Poison Touch is a fairly useful ability that makes Alolan Muk's offense better than it seems on paper.
* Alolan Muk is very slow and relies on Assault Vest to tank hits comfortably, making it vulnerable to being worn down by passive damage and repeated attacks over the course of a match.
* Alolan Muk's mediocre Defense and weakness to Ground-type attacks leave it vulnerable to top offensive threats such as Primal Groudon, Arceus-Ground, and Mega Lucario, not having many options to stop them from switching in and setting up in its face.
[SET]
name: Pursuit Trapper
move 1: Pursuit
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Poison Jab / Clear Smog
move 4: Shadow Sneak
item: Assault Vest
ability: Poison Touch
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 80 Atk / 176 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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* Pursuit allows Alolan Muk to trap and KO most offensive Ghost- and Psychic-types such as Lunala, Mega Gengar, Deoxys-A, and Mewtwo, being able to switch into them with relative ease.
* Knock Off provides a stronger Dark-type STAB attack to use against Ghost- and Psychic-types that opt not to switch out, also giving Alolan Muk a way to harass walls by removing their items or potentially poisoning them with Poison Touch.
* Poison Jab gives Alolan Muk a STAB move to use against Fairy-types, also having a cool 51% chance to poison the enemy thanks to Poison Touch.
* Clear Smog can be used instead to stop most sweepers from setting up on Alolan Muk, being most useful against Geomancy Xerneas and Calm Mind Arceus formes. However, Clear Smog is very weak, does not affect certain sweepers such as Mega Lucario, and leaves Alolan Muk without a good way to hit Pokemon that resist Dark-type attacks such as Yveltal, so use it carefully.
* Shadow Sneak allows Alolan Muk to OHKO Deoxys-A before it can attack, finish off weakened Mega Gengar and Lunala, and anti-lead some variants of Deoxys-S, KOing variants that don't invest in Defense with Knock Off + Shadow Sneak. Because Shadow Sneak makes contact with the foe, Alolan Muk can use it to try to poison an enemy before going down in a pinch.
Set Details
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* 80 Attack EVs and an Adamant nature give Alolan Muk just enough power to OHKO Mega Gengar with Pursuit if it attempts to switch out.
* The remaining EVs go towards maximizing Alolan Muk's special bulk.
* Assault Vest pumps up Alolan Muk's Special Defense even further, giving it an easy time switching into the Pokemon it checks. It also allows Alolan Mulk to soft check Xerneas, enabling it to survive a +2 Moonblast after switching into Stealth Rock twice and either hit Xerneas with Poison Jab or remove its boosts with Clear Smog.
* If so desired, Alolan Muk can take 100 EVs out of Special Defense and instead put them into Defense, allowing it to survive two consecutive Superpowers from 4 Attack Life Orb Deoxys-A at full HP.
Usage Tips
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* Alolan Muk fits best on stall or balanced teams that need a reliable Pursuit trapper and can compensate for its defensive shortcomings in return.
* Alolan Muk's primary targets for Pursuit trapping are offensive Ghost- and Psychic-types such as Mega Gengar, Deoxys-A, Lunala, and Mewtwo. It can usually switch into these threats comfortably, though be aware that Deoxys-A can inflict heavy damage onto Alolan Muk with Superpower and Mega Gengar can make use of Will-O-Wisp or Substitute to survive a Pursuit trapping attempt.
* Alolan Muk can also be used to trap special variants of Giratina-O if its relatively healthy. However, Earthquake and Dragon Tail from the physical set will do a lot of damage, so scout Giratina-O's set first before switching in Alolan Muk.
* If there is nothing for Alolan Muk to Pursuit trap on the opposing team, it can be used aggressively to wear down the foe's checks with Knock Off and Poison Touch or conserved to act as an emergency check to sweepers such as Xerneas if needed.
* Try to catch Ground-types switching in with Poison Jab—the high poison rate is often Alolan Muk's best way to punish them, as the most common Ground-types in the metagame (Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground) care little for Knock Off.
* Poison Touch and Knock Off can be turned against Alolan Muk by offensive threats such as Facade Mega Salamence and Justified Lucario respectively, so don't just blindly spam Knock Off and/or Poison Jab if these Pokemon threaten Alolan Muk's team.
Team Options
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* Walls that appreciate Mega Gengar and Lunala being removed from the game make excellent partners. Mega Slowbro, Buzzwole, and Lugia adore the removal of strong Ghost-types and check Ground-types such as Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground in return. All three also help against Mega Lucario to varying extents.
* Chansey and Clefable also appreciate the removal of Mega Gengar and can make use of Wish to keep Alolan Muk healthy over the course of a match.
* Giratina-O and Arceus-Water handle Ground-types while also providing Defog support to keep entry hazards from chipping away at Alolan Muk's health. Arceus-Ground also works for this purpose, providing a strong check to Mega Lucario and Primal Groudon.
* Primal Groudon helps against strong attackers that can potentially overwhelm Alolan Muk, checking Primal Kyogre and helping keep Ho-Oh at bay with Stealth Rock. Primal Groudon can also take on Spikes users such as Klefki and Ferrothorn, which can set up on Alolan Muk fairly comfortably.
* Backup checks to Yveltal, Arceus-Dark, and Xerneas are advised, as Alolan Muk can only soft check them. Ho-Oh is useful for handling Xerneas and Arceus-Dark, while Fairy-types such as Xerneas, Clefable, Klefki, and Magearna can take on Yveltal.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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* Fire Blast allows Alolan Muk to 2HKO Mega Lucario and fight back against Spikes users such as Klefki, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory.
* Gunk Shot is more powerful than Poison Jab, but it suffers from inaccuracy and a lower poison rate.
* Lum Berry increases Alolan Muk's reliability at trapping Will-O-Wisp Mega Gengar and Hypnosis Lunala in exchange for lower special bulk.
* Leftovers gives Alolan Muk passive recovery at the cost of a chunk of its special bulk. It also enables Alolan Muk to use non-attacking moves such as Taunt and Toxic to take down Arceus-Dark or Rest to extend its own longevity.
Checks and Counters
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**Ground-types**: Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground take little damage from Alolan Muk's attacks, are not affected by Knock Off's item removal, and OHKO it with their STAB moves. Neither particularly enjoys getting poisoned, though Arceus-Ground has Recover to compensate for it. Excadrill, Landorus-T, and Zygarde also handle Alolan Muk with ease, although none of them appreciate losing their item to Knock Off. Dugtrio can come in after Alolan Muk Pursuits something and trap it, OHKOing with Tectonic Rage.
**Steel-types**: Mega Lucario and Mega Scizor can set up Swords Dance with ease against Alolan Muk and quickly take it down with boosted attacks, and neither will lose their item to Knock Off. Klefki, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn can easily set up Spikes against Alolan Muk, chipping it down with attacks or Leech Seed in the process.
**Mega Salamence**: Mega Salamence doesn't take too much damage from Alolan Muk's attacks courtesy of Intimidate and high Defense, setting up Dragon Dances with ease. Mega Salamence can also make use of Facade to turn Poison Touch against Alolan Muk.
**Primal Kyogre**: Primal Kyogre can overwhelm Alolan Muk with rain boosted Water-type STAB attacks, notably being immune to Knock Off's item removal and able to stave off poison damage with Rest.
**Strong Physical Attackers**: While attackers such as Ho-Oh, Rayquaza, Zekrom, Pheromosa, and Extreme Killer Arceus might be wary about switching in due to the threat of Knock Off or getting poisoned, they can usually overpower Alolan Muk with powerful physical attacks.
**Entry Hazards**: Alolan Muk has no means to recover health, so Stealth Rock and Spikes damage add up quickly, potentially leaving it too weak to check threats on the enemy team.
**Burn**: Burn status significantly reduces Alolan Muk's efficacy as a Pursuit trapper, which can give threats it could ordinarily KO such as Mega Gengar and Lunala more breathing room against it.
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