Wimpod, Golisopod Discussion

Deck Knight

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Golisopod is one of those mons that will require hazard removal to be used effectively, but man oh man does this have a lot of upside, especially with the bulk.

Consider if you will, Rocky Helmet. You can switch Golisopod in on a resisted attack (say Azumarill Aqua Jet), get the damage from RH, and then if you have a more offensive check you can immediately switch to that if G-Pod falls below 50% HP. It's the same against weak U-turns really. Emergency Exit really prevents G-Pod from being an effective setup sweeper though, so Band/ Life Orb/Bug Plate/AV/Rocky Helmet seem like the go-to items.
 
Honestly this thing sounds really promising, even in singles. Its ability, while potentially a double edged sword, synergizes really well with its bulk and abundance of priority moves and sounds awesome for maintaining momentum, especially when combined with trapping support (for at least how long Buffedtrio is allowed in OU).

Pretty worried about Psychic Terrain though... Tapu Lele is sure to be everywhere because of how stupidly good it is, and Emergency Exit goes from being an awesome perk to a pretty big detriment when Golisopod loses access to all of his priority moves. Really will have to see how this thing works in practice.
 
This looks like one of those Pokemon that are infinitely better in an in-game environment rather than a competitive one. Since Shifting is a thing in-game and hazards are no where to be found, Golisopod gets significantly more opportunities to use its signature move and is less hampered by its ability. However, competitive battles are not as kind and give Golisopod less opportunities to use first impression in addition to making its ability more of a liability.

While Golisopod seems a lot worse in a competitive environment, I think it has a lot of potential. First Impression's priority allows Golisopod to scare off a lot of Psychic and Dark-types, giving it several opportunities to set up Swords Dance or Spikes. Priority Aqua Jet and Sucker Punch can also aid Golisopod in setting up. Like others have said, Psychic terrain seems to be a huge issue for Golisopod, as most of its priority moves become completely useless.
 
What does Liquidation do?
A wonderful Attack stat with decent defensive presence from both sides really makes this thing a threat; just the matter of if First Impression has priority or not.
 
What does Liquidation do?
A wonderful Attack stat with decent defensive presence from both sides really makes this thing a threat; just the matter of if First Impression has priority or not.
Liquidation is a 85 BP water move that has a chance to lower Def.
First Imp. is +2.
 

Deck Knight

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A good partner to GPod that might arise is Tapu Bulu, which can tank the Electric attacks sent its way, set Grassy Terrain to nullify Psychic Terrain interfering with First Impression, and GPod won't mind the grounded healing and even further EQ resistance. Their types are fairly complementary, with GPod resisting Steel attacks and being able to threaten Fire types with Water STAB at least. Bulu would probably have to run AV because it's not particularly bulky, but it restores HP from Grassy Terrain's effect and it's got a high attack and Smart Strike to hit Lele.

Overall I think GPod is going to find its place in the metagame fairly quickly, as there are few things that can hit quite as hard and fast reliably. Its ability is nowhere near as crippling as something like Defeatist, Slow Start, or Truant and is in some ways actually strategically helpful.

Incidentally, GPod actually has more physical bulk than Skarmory and pretty good resistances: Fighting, Ground, Ice, Steel, and Water. It's quite cool.
 
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Here's the great thing about Golisopod: You easily win momentum wars. Emergency Switch comes with a hidden ace up it's sleeve; It prevents U-Turn and Volt Switch from working after activating. So basically, you can first impression, take a volt switch from something like mega manectric or something and then bring in Dugtrio to trap it. It'll take a while to get used to, but Emergency Switch has quite a few interesting pros to it while the cons are able to be worked around unlike other crippling abilities.
 
I think this thing is going to be freaking strong.

Assault Vest with First Impression/Aqua Jet/Leech Life/coverage move.

Think of it as a Conkeldurr that stops VoltTurn and gives you switch priority when it hits 50%. That's insanely valuable. This is a bulky tactical skirmisher and revenge killer, not a set-up sweeper. But it will be damn good at what it does.
 
This is probably a silly question to make an account for, but its confirmed that First Impression works the exact same way as Fake Out right? Just the first turn Golisopod is IN battle and not the first turn period? So it can actually switch in and out with Emergency Exit to use First Impression over and over again? Forgive me if this sounds overly skeptical, but I'm not sure how much I can trust the descriptions in this Gen and I haven't seen much talk of Golisopod's signature move elsewhere since everyone is focused on its ability.
 
This is probably a silly question to make an account for, but its confirmed that First Impression works the exact same way as Fake Out right? Just the first turn Golisopod is IN battle and not the first turn period? So it can actually switch in and out with Emergency Exit to use First Impression over and over again? Forgive me if this sounds overly skeptical, but I'm not sure how much I can trust the descriptions in this Gen and I haven't seen much talk of Golisopod's signature move elsewhere since everyone is focused on its ability.
First impression is a 90bp +2 priority move that only works on the first turn Golisopod is IN battle, yes. Golisopod's entire moveset revolves around it's ability which is something i'm glad(ion)about. They actually made a gimmick mon who's ability is bad at first glance but actually has a few useful niches.
 
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First impression is a 90bp +2 priority move that only works on the first turn Golisopod is IN battle, yes. Golisopod's entire moveset revolves around it's ability which is something i'm glad. They actually made a gimmick mon who's ability is bad at first glance but actually has a few useful niches.
That's a relief, I really like that aspect of Golisopod as well. To be honest I was expecting it to still keep Wimp Out in some shape or form when I first heard about it since Pokemon with unique abilities hardly ever lose them even after evolving. The fact that they tried to build it into an interesting concept was a pleasant surprise. It's probably why I'm a bit too anxious about making absolutely sure its going to work the way I'm expecting it to. Thanks for easing my doubts! Looking forward to trying Golisopod out for myself once the game comes out.
 
Adamant, 252 atk EVs is a given. I THINK you'll then want to split EVs between HP and sp def while having an HP number that can switch into SR four times (someone smarter than me do the math, please). This is also so that each hit point drained with Leech Life gets more mileage (as opposed to having max HP) + getting as many free stats from Assault Vest as possible.

First Impression and Leech Life WILL be run. The question is, what are the other two moves? Liquidate, Aqua Jet, and Sucker Punch are all reasonable choices. Sucker Punch in particular guarantees you'll get off a 70 BP attack on the turn your passive activates, but the THREAT of Liquidate is massive. Aqua Jet/Liquidate lacks coverage, Liquidate/Sucker Punch lacks reliable priority, and Aqua Jet/Sucker Punch lacks a strong water move. I'm tempted to think it will run Aqua Jet to put the hurt on stuff like offensive Heatran and boosted Volcarona, but I'm really not sure.

Golisopod will enjoy having a slow, bulky U-turner that can pivot to it after taking a hit. On that score bulky M-Scizor may be a good partner, as it can also keep hazards off the field.
 
Adamant, 252 atk EVs is a given. I THINK you'll then want to split EVs between HP and sp def while having an HP number that can switch into SR four times (someone smarter than me do the math, please). This is also so that each hit point drained with Leech Life gets more mileage (as opposed to having max HP) + getting as many free stats from Assault Vest as possible.

First Impression and Leech Life WILL be run. The question is, what are the other two moves? Liquidate, Aqua Jet, and Sucker Punch are all reasonable choices. Sucker Punch in particular guarantees you'll get off a 70 BP attack on the turn your passive activates, but the THREAT of Liquidate is massive. Aqua Jet/Liquidate lacks coverage, Liquidate/Sucker Punch lacks reliable priority, and Aqua Jet/Sucker Punch lacks a strong water move. I'm tempted to think it will run Aqua Jet to put the hurt on stuff like offensive Heatran and boosted Volcarona, but I'm really not sure.

Golisopod will enjoy having a slow, bulky U-turner that can pivot to it after taking a hit. On that score bulky M-Scizor may be a good partner, as it can also keep hazards off the field.
Since your base HP is lower than your SpDef, if you're running AV isn't it better just to dump it all in HP since it'll also boost your Defense as well?

Regardless, movepool choice is gonna be tricky. I think it'll be a team-dependent thing, but one thing to note is that if Tapu Lele stays unbanned, it WILL be commonly used and thus running a lot of priority isn't a good idea with Psychic terrain running around (even though you can run Tapu Bulu to override it).
 
Since your base HP is lower than your SpDef, if you're running AV isn't it better just to dump it all in HP since it'll also boost your Defense as well?

Regardless, movepool choice is gonna be tricky. I think it'll be a team-dependent thing, but one thing to note is that if Tapu Lele stays unbanned, it WILL be commonly used and thus running a lot of priority isn't a good idea with Psychic terrain running around (even though you can run Tapu Bulu to override it).
Think he means like 248/244 HP EVs, since he's talking about having a specific number of hit points. Then dump the remaining handful of EVs into S.Def.
 
Think he means like 248/244 HP EVs, since he's talking about having a specific number of hit points. Then dump the remaining handful of EVs into S.Def.
Ah. Makes sense. Pretty minor, but good god this thing is bulky. More physical bulk than Skarmory but with respectable base SpDef. Low Base HP, but it's not abysmal.
 
Nah, I literally mean splitting like 168 in HP then the rest in spdef. It gives you less physical bulk but the def stat is already really good and drain tanks benefit from having lower HP. That's close to a spread that Conkeldurr used to run.

Maybe Emergency Exit/Leech Life/Aqua Jet/Liquidate. What actually walls its STABs anyway? Gyarados? Empoleon?
 
Nah, I literally mean splitting like 168 in HP then the rest in spdef. It gives you less physical bulk but the def stat is already really good and drain tanks benefit from having lower HP. That's close to a spread that Conkeldurr used to run.

Maybe Emergency Exit/Leech Life/Aqua Jet/Liquidate. What actually walls its STABs anyway? Gyarados? Empoleon?
Mantine might be relevant, but I don't think you're hitting that anyways.

Tentacruel does too, as do Dragon/Flying types.

Keldeo resists but can't do shit back and it gets 3hkoed by Liquidate anyways.
 
Everyone is talking about Assualt Vest, but this thing learns Spikes. This Mon seems like a solid Spike setter.
 
The preevo/evo abilities are the exact same, but with different flavor text?

I though the "sensing danger" part would be like wimp out + anticipation, so it would only go back if is sensing any danger at all

Also, if you send it with already less than 50% of health, when does it switch back?
 
The preevo/evo abilities are the exact same, but with different flavor text?

I though the "sensing danger" part would be like wimp out + anticipation, so it would only go back if is sensing any danger at all

Also, if you send it with already less than 50% of health, when does it switch back?
It doesn't, according to eworm's post on page 3 of this thread.
 

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