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[OVERVIEW]
Golem stands out in RBY Ubers as a Ground-type with access to Explosion. This gives it a significant niche over Rhydon, letting it deal up to 80% to tier king Mewtwo. With unresisted QuakeSlide coverage, it's not just an Explosion that it offers; its coverage helps immensely against Rhydon, Zapdos, Gengar, and Jolteon. With adequate paralysis support, Golem can deal massive damage and blow up on a high-value Pokemon, providing its teammates with incredible momentum. Golem's typing also gives it a valuable Normal resistance and an Electric immunity, helping to check threats like Tauros and Snorlax and soundly beating Zapdos and Jolteon.
However, Golem is only favored over Rhydon on offensive teams that look to overwhelm the opponent with Explosion. Rhydon fits on more team styles and offers added consistency that Golem simply can’t muster. Self-Destruct Snorlax and Explosion Mew, while great partners on offensive teams, are also capable of compressing Golem's role while having potential surprise value and allowing for more consistent team options; notably, Snorlax also possesses a stronger self-KO move thanks to STAB. Ergo, the bulkier and harder-hitting Rhydon can often fill Golem's place just fine, 3HKOing Mewtwo with Earthquake, while Golem can only do so inconsistently. Additionally, Rhydon is capable of walling non-Earthquake Mew sets and making 103 HP Substitutes, which can absorb a Seismic Toss from Chansey. Thus, Rhydon is often recommended if Golem's Explosion isn't required. Furthermore, Golem shares all of Rhydon's flaws: it's slow, specially frail, and has common weaknesses to Ice and Water. Without paralysis support, Golem struggles to win consistently in one-on-one battles, which can't always be afforded in the harsh world of RBY Ubers.
[SET]
name: Explosion
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Explosion
move 4: Substitute / Body Slam
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
The combination of Earthquake and Rock Slide gives Golem unresisted physical coverage; when factoring in the threat of Explosion, this makes Golem very difficult to switch into. Golem's Earthquake may OHKO Gengar and Jolteon and 2HKOes Alakazam and—rarely—Chansey. It also serves as Golem's best option against Mewtwo and Mew, 3HKOing Mewtwo about a quarter of the time and 3HKOing Mew if it's taken minor damage prior. Furthermore, just a single Earthquake puts Mewtwo in range for Explosion. Golem has a fair shot at wearing down any non-Ice Beam Mewtwo if it's paralyzed, though it's also 2HKOed by Psychic. Rock Slide potentially OHKOes Jynx and 2HKOes Zapdos, ensuring the latter can be consistently dealt with. It is also Golem's best option against Exeggutor, which likes to switch in on it and threaten with sleep. Substitute can allow Golem to place itself in a favorable position if it can set up against paralyzed foes, such as Mewtwo and Chansey. Alternatively, Body Slam allows Golem to be more self-sufficient in spreading paralysis, which can let it turn the tables on switch-ins.
Explosion is Golem's claim to fame and should not be taken lightly. It OHKOes non-Reflect Chansey, Jynx, and Alakazam, as well as Starmie 38% of the time. It also deals up to 80% to Mewtwo and up to 75.9% to Mew. Golem itself holds little value once the opposing team's Electric-type has been removed, so using Explosion to incapacitate Mewtwo or Mew is very desirable. In practice, however, this is very difficult, as the threat of Explosion can be enough to force out Mewtwo and Mew if they're in range. Snorlax and Mew often succeed with their self-KO moves because of their set variety, allowing for more effective bluffs, which Golem cannot afford. Another ideal situation for Explosion is when threatened with an Amnesia Snorlax or Slowbro sweep, as it's one of the only consistent ways to prevent them from sweeping once they set up. Landing Explosion on Chansey can enable Mewtwo, and removing Snorlax can be similarly useful for preventing its powerful early-game offense, but this isn't ideal, as it may leave Golem’s team vulnerable to opposing Electric-types late-game. It's recommended to account for opposing Gengar, Rock-types, and frozen or sleeping Pokemon that can switch in to absorb Explosion. Thus, it may be appropriate to keep Golem unrevealed for extended periods of time, whereas Mew and Snorlax generally don't imply their self-KO moves until they actually use them. As a rule of thumb, using Explosion should be a game of trades; understanding the value that each Pokemon holds to the opposing team is pivotal to succeeding.
Golem is best played on offensive teams with multiple self-KO move users, such as Self-Destruct Snorlax, Explosion Mew, and Exeggutor; while prediction-heavy and thus inconsistent, these teams are capable of closing out games very quickly. In other cases, Rhydon tends to outclass Golem and should be looked to first. Golem also pairs well with Water-types like Slowbro and the rarer Starmie and Lapras, which appreciate its Electric immunity. Slowbro notably punishes non-Thunderbolt Mewtwo, and the combination of Slowbro and Golem is capable of muscling past it without compromising your own Mewtwo. However, both are painfully slow, which can be problematic on a poorly built team. Paralysis support is paramount so that the opposition doesn't recover out of KO range, so Pokemon like Chansey, Starmie, Stun Spore Exeggutor, and the aforementioned Slowbro are recommended. Golem tends to hold little value to a team due to its disposable nature, so sacrificing it against sleepers like Exeggutor and Sing Chansey isn't unusual. In fact, against Chansey, it's plausible to cut your losses and have Golem use Explosion in response to a missed Sing, potentially OHKOing it and enabling Mewtwo.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
When customizing Golem's set, it's best to replace Rock Slide, Substitute, or Body Slam, but these come with caveats. Removing Rock Slide makes it difficult for Golem to damage Exeggutor and Zapdos, removing Substitute makes it impossible for Golem to set up in front of paralyzed foes, and removing Body Slam leaves Golem without a midground option while becoming more reliant on its team for paralysis. With this in mind, attempts to customize Golem are not recommended.
If you must customize Golem, using Defense Curl or Harden isn't terrible, as these allow Golem to consistently wall non-Earthquake Snorlax variants. In the long run, however, this doesn't pan out, as most non-Earthquake Snorlax variants use Reflect + Rest or Amnesia, which overwhelm Golem through sheer longevity and firepower, respectively. Against the latter, Golem is likely to use Explosion anyway, as Amnesia Snorlax threatens severe damage to its team. Outside of this, Fire Blast is plausible for hitting Exeggutor slightly harder when it switches in and potentially burning it, removing the threat of its Explosion, but the risk of thawing a Pokemon and lack of utility outside of this makes it hard to justify.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Mewtwo**: While Mewtwo does not appreciate taking Explosion—which is a guaranteed KO after a single Earthquake—unboosted Psychic 2HKOes Golem and can force Explosion much earlier than desired. If Mewtwo has used Amnesia even once, it must be paralyzed for Golem to do anything. Ice Beam variants completely incapacitate Golem; high damage rolls do enough to even let Zapdos win out. While rare, an unboosted Blizzard from Mewtwo OHKOes Golem half the time. If Mewtwo is paralyzed, however, a single full paralysis lets Golem attempt to 3HKO it with Earthquake, which works a quarter of the time but otherwise leaves Mewtwo easily revenge killed. Furthermore, Thunderbolt + Submission Mewtwo sets actually struggle against Golem, failing to 3HKO it and getting 2HKOed in return by Earthquake + Explosion; thus, it is forced to repeatedly use Recover or switch out. Finally, Barrier Mewtwo completely stops Golem in its tracks, as after a single Defense boost, Earthquake becomes a 6HKO at best, while Explosion deals less than 40%. However, both aforementioned Mewtwo sets are rare.
**Reflect Users**: Reflect throws a spanner in the works for Golem, swiftly taking a Pokemon out of Explosion KO range; faster Pokemon using Reflect as Golem uses Explosion is particularly depressing. Mew isn't completely incapacitated by an Explosion if it's at full HP and walls Golem if using Reflect sets. If using Earthquake, Mew 3HKOes Golem consistently without having to boost. Golem cannot 3HKO non-Reflect Mew without prior chip damage. Thus, Golem is largely limited to using Explosion and hoping Mew doesn't switch out. Chansey isn't always OHKOed by Explosion, and if it's running Reflect Golem has no hope of winning outside of luck. Moreover, if Chansey is using Ice Beam, it can 2HKO Golem, and this is sometimes run on the same set. Reflect Snorlax is a similarly unfeasible matchup for Golem unless it gets extreme luck, especially if Snorlax is using Earthquake.
**Exeggutor**: Exeggutor can switch in on Golem without much fear and put it to sleep. In the event sleep isn't an option, Exeggutor still 2HKOes Golem with Psychic a quarter of the time. However, Exeggutor can't repeatedly switch in on Rock Slide, as it tends to lose out against Seismic Toss users such as Chansey later or otherwise get forced into using Explosion sooner. If Exeggutor is paralyzed and at around half HP, Golem can win with Rock Slide.
**Water-types**: Slowbro and the rarer Starmie and Lapras can all OHKO Golem with Surf. However, Slowbro dislikes having Golem switch in on a predicted Rest, as it forces it to Rest stall with repeated Earthquakes by threat of a 4HKO; a single critical hit can mean it loses outright. If Slowbro has set up prior, Earthquake + Explosion is a viable route to dispatch it.
**Super Effective Coverage**: If Golem takes a super effective hit, it is normally forced into Explosion, which is a less than ideal situation. Mega Drain Exeggutor adores any opportunity to use it against Golem, recovering a minimum of 37.6%. Blizzard users such as Tauros, Jynx, Cloyster, and the rare Dragonite and Articuno also mortally threaten Golem, with the latter even OHKOing it. Tauros can switch in on Golem's Body Slam and threaten a 2HKO with Blizzard. Snorlax may use Blizzard alongside Amnesia to try to sweep, which OHKOes Golem at +2. The rare Victreebel can OHKO Golem with Razor Leaf or put it to sleep with Sleep Powder. While it's not likely to win the interaction, Jolteon's Double Kick deals up to 19.8% each time, which can wear Golem down and force an early Explosion.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/may.236353/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ltg.473639/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ctown6.509438/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
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