[OVERVIEW]
Snorlax is the single most central and defining Pokemon in the tier; the addition of a reliable sleep move to its already wide movepool pushes it to even further heights than before. Nothing switches into Snorlax with complete safety, even Pokemon that resist or are immune to its STAB such as Rhydon and Gengar are at the mercy of one of its many coverage moves. Snorlax is also incredibly bulky, shrugging off hits from the likes of Tauros and Starmie with ease, and being able to hit back even harder with an awe-inspiring STAB Body Slam or Hyper Beam. It can also explode on the opposing Pokemon with its STAB Self-Destruct, which demolishes non-resists. Snorlax is on nearly every single serious team in the tier and cannot afford to be dropped in most circumstances.
However, Snorlax isn't flawless, it has an abysmal base 30 Speed, tying it with Slowbro for slowest Pokemon in the tier, combined with having to rely on Rest for recovery makes it exploitable and easily forced out by Pokemon with high crit rates such as Alakazam, Starmie, or Tauros. It also lacks enough moveslots to hit everything that it wants to, with Snorlax lacking Hyper Beam struggling to break Cloyster and unparalyzed Chansey, and Snorlax lacking coverage being walled by Rock-types and Gengar.
[SET]
name: Offensive Sleeper
move 1: Lovely Kiss
move 2: Body Slam
move 3: Earthquake/Hyper Beam
move 4: Self-Destruct/Hyper Beam
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Lovely Kiss is a terrifying new addition to Snorlax's arsenal, being able to push sleep past usual sleep blockers such as Chansey, Alakazam, and Starmie with ease thanks to Snorlax's powerful STAB Body Slam, that 2HKOes Alakazam and Jynx, 3HKOes Chansey and Starmie, and does good damage to the likes of Tauros, Exeggecutor, and Zapdos. Earthquake is Snorlax's best coverage option, 2HKOing Gengar and Jolteon, 3HKOing Rhydon, as well as scouting for Counter on the likes of Chansey and opposing Snorlax while still doing serviceable damage. Hyper Beam is an amazing finisher, allowing Snorlax to KO Chansey with only one Body Slam beforehand, and allowing it to KO foes such as Tauros, Exeggecutor, and Zapdos after only two Body Slams. Self-Destruct allows Snorlax to demolish non-resists and explode when in a pinch or when it wants to force progress, OHKOing physically frailer foes such as Chansey, Starmie, and Alakazam, and heavily chipping even physically bulky threats, doing a minimum of 72.2% minimim to Slowbro, and 64% minimum to Cloyster. However, Snorlax is usually forced to explode rather early, due to normally having to take a hit before it can explode due to its awful base Speed.
This set single handedly makes the entire tier much faster-paced, with paralysis being able to be exchanged with minimal risk at the start of the game with a lead such as Starmie or Alakazam as Snorlax can guarantee pushing sleep past any usual sleep blocker such as Chansey, Starmie or Alakazam with ease thanks to its hard hitting STAB Body Slam and Hyper Beam making these Pokemon completely unable to switch in and block it. Snorlax is also incredibly hard to switch into after it sleeps something, with nothing switching into it with complete safety. This set needs to be paired with some type of defensive backbone, such as Starmie or Cloyster, due to it not normally sticking around long enough to be able to check opposing physical attackers such as Tauros and opposing Snorlax.
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Amnesia
move 2: Body Slam
move 3: Blizzard/Ice Punch
move 4: Lovely Kiss/Rest/Self-Destruct
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Amnesia doubles Snorlax's meager 60 Special in a single turn, which can let it perform not only as a good special wall, but also an amazing mixed attacker. Body Slam's immense power lets Snorlax break through special walls that might otherwise threaten to wall it, such as Starmie, Chansey, and Alakazam.
Amnesia Snorlax can play both the role of immediately threatening offensive wall-breaker, or the role of less immediatly threatening, but longer lasting mixed attacker depending on what set its running. With the offensive set using Blizzard and either Lovely Kiss or Self-Destruct to pose a more immediate threat to the opposition. +2 Blizzard OHKOes Rhydon and Golem, 2HKOes Zapdos, Persian, and Exeggutor, and has a 76.2% chance to 2HKO Tauros. It also 3HKOes Gengar and opposing Snorlax, which allows it to break through enemy Reflect Snorlax. Lovely Kiss allows Snorlax to sleep a foe it might otherwise struggle against, it also gives it a good opportunity to set up an Amnesia, which it otherwise struggles to find opportunities to do so. Self-Destruct can allow Snorlax to KO or heavily chip something when in a pinch, although without Lovely Kiss its much harder to get an Amnesia boost up.
The less immediately threatening but longer lasting set forgoes Blizzard for Ice Punch and runs Rest in place of Lovely Kiss/Self-Destruct to take advantage of the higher PP of Ice Punch. Ice Beam hits much weaker than Blizzard, 3HKOing Tauros, Exeggutor, and Zapdos, and 4HKOing opposing Snorlax at +2, but has more PP and higher accuracy, which allows Snorlax to stick around longer, and also fish for freeze against foes it may otherwise struggle breaking with Blizzard such as Starmie and Slowbro. Rest allows Snorlax to become a good special wall, letting it heal off stray hits, it also allows Snorlax to wall Slowbro, with a Snorlax at +6 being 5HKOed by a +6 Surf, while Body Slam has an 82.3% chance to 4HKO.
Amnesia Snorlax requires decent paralysis support to sweep effectively, with foes such as Chansey, Exeggutor, and Starmie threatening to thwart its sweeping plans if left unparalyzed. Cloyster also poses a major issue to most variants of Amnesia Snorlax, meaning it has to be thoroughly dealt with beforehand. The immediatly threatening wall-breaking Amnesia Snorlax set should try switch in on either a Pokemon using a recovery move or an attack that will deal minimal damage, as it needs to be at or near max HP to sweep effectively. The longer lasting one should also attempt to do the same, but can afford to switch into a stray special attack from the likes of a paralyzed Starmie or Exeggutor if needs be. The longer lasting one can also attempt to get past the likes of Starmie, Slowbro, and Chansey by attempting to freeze them. such as Reflect Chansey and Slowbro. Amnesia Snorlax is quite hard to get moving, but once the ball starts rolling, it is incredibly hard to stop and can end games on the spot if positioned well.
[SET]
name: Reflect
move 1: Body Slam
move 2: Reflect
move 3: Rest
move 4: Earthquake/Hyper Beam/Ice Punch/Self-Destruct/Lovely Kiss
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Reflect lets Snorlax take full advantage of its great physical bulk, allowing it to shrug off hits with ease from the likes of Tauros and opposing Snorlax, allowing Snorlax to take up to seven Body Slams from Tauros before being KOed by Hyper Beam, opposing Snorlax also 7HKOes a Snorlax with Reflect up, and Rhydon 6HKOes Reflect Snorlax, which allows it to Rest off the damage from these foes with ease. However, Tauros can usually break through Snorlax with Reflect up thanks to its high crit rate, and Rhydon can break through Reflect Snorlax with Tail Whip.
The 4th move on Reflect sets can change depending on what coverage a team needs its Snorlax to have. Earthquake covers Gengar, Rhydon, and Jolteon, as well as scouting for Counter on Chansey, although it lacks offensive breaking power compared to Hyper Beam and Self-Destruct. Hyper Beam is an amazing finisher against chipped foes. Ice Punch can freeze opposing Reflect Snorlax and Reflect Chansey, as well as 3HKOing Rhydon and Golem, however, it does negligible damage to even neutral targets and isn't very useful after it freezes something. Self-Destruct is a good suprise factor and is also a good option to KO something in an emergency, it also provides an alternative method of wallbreaking, making Reflect Snorlax less reliant on its teammates to force progress. Lovely Kiss allows Reflect Snorlax to push sleep past paralyzed Chansey, Alakazam, and Starmie without giving up the defensive capability and longevity of Reflect. It also allows it to inflict sleep onto foes it may have trouble breaking otherwise, such as opposing Reflect Snorlax and Cloyster.
Reflect Snorlax is appreciated over the more offensive sets on some teams because it allows Snorlax to be a durable check to the tiers best physically offensive threats. Reflect is crucial to Reflect Snorlax's longevity as it gives Snorlax enough bulk to be able to reliably Rest off damage and paralysis; without Reflect it is much harder to find opportunities to wake up safely as while Snorlax's bulk is great, it's not good enough in most situations to reliably wake up and pressure the opponent offensively without Reflect to cushion it. Reflect Snorlax is one of the tiers best switchins to most opposing Snorlax sets, although this depends on if sleep clause is activated and if Reflect Snorlax is paralyzed, as it becomes much riskier to attempt to switch in; it can also switch into Tauros if needs be, but Tauros' high crit rate makes it unreliable at switching in consistently. Reflect Snorlax has to perform a careful balancing act of still being a Snorlax, an offensive powerhouse that threatens foes with hard hitting physical attacks, while also being a durable physical tank that can last throughout the game and not just a blob that gets crit through or forced out by special attackers; it is important to keep up offensive pressure even with Reflect Snorlax's durability. While Reflect Snorlax doesn't love getting paralyzed, it is much more willing than sets lacking Rest to take it if needs be as it can reliably Rest it off later point in the game; paralyzed Snorlax also still pressures the vast majority of the tier even when paralyzed.
[SET]
name: PhysLax (All-Out Attacker)
move 1: Body Slam
move 2: Hyper Beam
move 3: Earthquake/Counter
move 4: Self-Destruct
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Snorlax's great bulk and amazing Attack also allows it to function well as an all-out physical attacker, being able to KO nearly every single foe in the game with the combination of Body Slam, Hyper Beam, Earthquake, and Self-Destruct. Earthquake can be dropped in favor of Counter to be able to have a much easier time breaking opposing Reflect Snorlax and Tauros, with a Countered Body Slam into a Hyper Beam KO'ing Tauros, and a countered Snorlax Body Slam doing at least 50% to opposing Snorlax. Once PhysLax is low on HP, it can explode to KO a key foe and punch an even deeper hole in the enemy team.
PhysLax doesnt tend to stick around as long as Rest sets, due to not being able to heal of any hits it may take. It also needs to be play around the threat of paralysis, with a paralyzed PhysLax losing much of its offensive pressure and struggling to break many foes without exploding.
PhysLax tends to be more appreciated over the Offensive Sleeper set on teams that already have a reliable sleeper, such as Exeggutor or Jynx, that also want the extra coverage Hyper Beam, Earthquake, or Self-Destruct brings. To pilot PhysLax to its full potential it's imperative to know when to preserve your PhysLax and when to cut your losses and explode to force progress or eliminate a key foe. With PhysLax usually wanting to explode when either backed into a corner or when its relatively low on HP.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A set with 3 attacks + Rest can be used to let Snorlax be more offensive than regular Reflect or Amnesia sets and attempt to heal off the damage or paralysis later, although it is hard to wake Snorlax up without Reflect or Amnesia as many Pokemon such as Tauros, Exeggutor, and Alakazam threaten to KO it while it's resting. A set consisting of 2 attacks, Lovely Kiss, and Rest can also be used to let Snorlax be a threatening sleeper and also heal off the damage later while not falling short in the coverage department, unlike Reflect + Lovely Kiss. Thunderbolt can be used in the 4th moveslot on Amnesia sets, with a +4 Thunderbolt OHKOing Cloyster and being favored to OHKO Starmie. However, it's generally preferred to run something else in the fourth slot as it doesnt do much else aside from that. Thunderbolt can also be ran over Body Slam, but without Body Slam Snorlax struggles to break foes such as Alakazam and Chansey. Amnesia can be used in conjunction with Reflect to make a Snorlax that is an amazing wall both physically and specially. However, it only has one moves worth of attacking PP. Headbutt can be used on Amnesia sets to reapply the enemys status and attempt to ParaFlinch the foe, however, it is unreliable and is weaker than Body Slam.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Snorlax**: Snorlax being on every competitive team means it will usually end up facing itself. Snorlax with Lovely Kiss can induce sleep on opposing Snorlax if sleep clause has not been activated; if sleep clause has been activated, Lovely Kiss Snorlax losses much of its means to pressure Reflect Snorlax unless it has Amnesia. Reflect Snorlax switches into all Snorlax sets aside from Amnesia variants. However, Reflect Snorlax is forced to Rest to recover off the damage if switching in frequently, letting it be forced out by strong special attackers. Amnesia Snorlax can break through Reflect Snorlax, with +2 Blizzard 3HKOing opposing Snorlax while opposing Snorlax can only 4HKO Snorlax with Body Slam.
**Cloyster**: Cloyster switches into Snorlax's Body Slam with ease, thanks to its staggering 180 base Defense; it also walls most variants of Amnesia Snorlax thanks to its 4x resistance to Ice. Cloyster 4HKOes Snorlax with Blizzard, and can chip it with Clamp. However, Cloyster has to be weary about getting slept by Lovely Kiss, as well as repeatedly switching in on Body Slam, as it hates getting paralyzed.
**Slowbro**: Slowbro switches into Snorlax's Body Slam with relative ease, being 4HKOed most of the time and threatening it with paralysis and Amnesia boosted Surfs. Slowbro can also set up a Reflect to become even better at tanking Snorlax's hits. However, Slowbro has to fear getting worn down into Hyper Beam KO range and getting slept by Lovely Kiss.
**Special Attackers**: While there aren't many special attackers which enjoy taking a Body Slam, many special attackers — such as Alakazam, Starmie, Exeggutor, and Zapdos — can 3HKO Snorlax with their STAB attacks, applying significant amounts of pressure on the giant bear. This is especially true if Snorlax has used Rest, since it will not be able to retaliate while it is forced to burn turns of sleep.
**Gengar**: Gengar walls non-Amnesia variants Snorlax without Earthquake, with it being nigh helpless and forced to switch out, although it has to fear freeze from Ice Punch, Gengar is also a great absorber of Snorlax's Lovely Kiss, as even if it's asleep it can freely attempt to wake up in front of Snorlax without Earthquake.
**Porygon**: the passive and unassuming Porygon finds itself a niche for completely stonewalling non-Amnesia variants of Snorlax if sleep clause has been activated, with it being 3HKOed by Body Slam and stalling Snorlax out of Body Slam PP with Recover. Snorlax can explode on it to OHKO it with Self-Destruct, but trading a Snorlax for a Porygon is an awful trade for Snorlax in most circumstances.
**Chansey**: Unparalyzed Chansey switches into Snorlax and sets up a Reflect with very little issue if sleep clause has been activated, while Counter Chansey can OHKO Snorlax by countering Body Slam. If Reflect or Counter Chansey is paralyzed, it finds it much harder to reliably check Snorlax, as it can no longer switch in safely as Snorlax now outspeeds it and full paralysis making it unreliable.
**Rock-types**: Rock-types, such as Rhydon and Golem wall Snorlax lacking coverage, taking minimal damage from Snorlax's Body Slam or Hyper Beam. Rock-types with Rest prevent them from getting worn down over time or offensively crippled by paralysis from Body Slam.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/notverycake.625260/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/shellnuts.491544/
Grammar checked by:
Last edited:
