Golbat
[Overview]
<p>Everything about Golbat just screams defensive Pokemon. It has a great defensive typing, being 4x resistant to the common Grass-, Fighting-, and Bug-type moves in the RU tier, as well as having immunities to both Ground-type moves and Toxic. Eviolite boosts Golbat's already decent defenses to great levels, and when in conjunction with Roost, Golbat becomes nigh impossible to kill. A good Speed stat allows Golbat to outspeed most of the common walls in the tier, Taunting them before they can retaliate. However, Golbat suffers from a crippling weakness to the common Psychic-, Electric-, Ice-, and Rock-type moves, and also Stealth Rock. However, this won't stop Golbat, as it's still one of the best checks to Fighting-, Grass-, and Bug-types in the tier, and makes for a solid defensive threat.</p>
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Roost
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Super Fang / Toxic
item: Eviolite
ability: Inner Focus
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set's main job is to check the common Grass-, Fighting-, and Bug-types in the tier, and Golbat does it well. With its great typing and Eviolite, Golbat will take hits with ease. Brave Bird is Golbat's most powerful move, and is the main course of action against Fighting-, Grass-, and Bug-types. Roost recovers lost health, while removing three of its four weaknesses for one turn. Taunt will shut down most walls, preventing them from setting up, spreading status, or healing themselves. Super Fang is Golbat's best move against Steel-types, such as Ferroseed and Aggron, quickly halving their health. Toxic is another good option to use, as the poison status can make certain Pokemon easier to deal with. However, if you opt to use Toxic, Golbat will be completely walled by Steel-types.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Haze can be used to remove the opponent's boosts. Whirlwind also does this, but forces your opponent out in the process. The listed EVs give Golbat ample defenses for taking physical and special hits. Golbat can easily survive a +6 Petal Dance from Lilligant, while taking next to nothing from Medicham's Hi Jump Kick. Grass-type Pokemon, such as Lilligant and Sceptile, make for good teammates, as they will greatly benefit from having faster Bug-types, such as Scyther and Accelgor, removed. Normal- and Rock-type Pokemon, such as Bouffalant and Aggron, hate Fighting-types, so they really appreciate Golbat's support. Dark-types such as Krookodile will also benefit from the aforementioned Pokemon being removed. Water- and Ground-types, such as Kabutops and Claydol, also benefit from the removal of faster Grass-types. If Golbat lacks Toxic, Toxic Spikes support really helps. Qwilfish and Scolipede are the best choices to pair with Golbat, as Qwilfish can check Ice- and Rock-types, while Scolipede can take care of those pesky Psychic-types.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Hypnosis is a viable option for Golbat to use, as putting something to sleep can be beneficial. However, Hypnosis's shaky accuracy is off-putting. Confuse Ray is an option if you're feeling lucky, but confusion is unreliable overall. Mean Look can be used to trap something Golbat is supposed to check, as well as preventing poisoned opponents from switching. Screech can help Golbat's teammates take down certain defensive behemoths, such as Cofagrigus and Steelix, or force switches. Golbat can also make use of its bulk to set up with Nasty Plot. Thanks to its great resistances, Golbat has no trouble setting up, but its Speed lets it down, often leading it to be KOed before it can do anything. However, if Golbat uses Nasty Plot, it can utilize a set consisting of Air Slash, Hidden Power Ground, and Roost alongside Nasty Plot. Infiltrator is also viable with Nasty Plot, as it allows Golbat to bypass Light Screen. Infiltrator can also be used on the main set to bypass Reflect, but it is illegal with Super Fang.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Aggron is the number one counter to Golbat. Aggron resists Brave Bird, doesn't care much about neither Super Fang nor Taunt, and is immune to Toxic, while easily KOing Golbat with STAB Head Smash. While Golbat is supposed to check Fighting-types, Medicham and Gallade can still beat it with their STAB Psychic-type moves. However, Medicham can't do anything to Golbat if it's locked into Hi Jump Kick. Golbat can take a Bug Buzz from Galvantula with ease, but a STAB Thunder can be incredibly dangerous. Rotom-F resists Brave Bird, and can hit hard with Blizzard. Rotom not only resists Brave Bird, it is also immune to Super Fang and can hide behind Substitute to avoid Toxic, before severely denting it with a STAB Thunderbolt.</p>
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