Alolan Marowak Discussion

The OP not having Cubone's Learnset limits what we know about what Alolan Marowak can do considering they would likely learn different moves. I'm not sure of what reliable sources there are to double-check this, however from what I was able to find online, Cubone in Sun and Moon learns the following moves by level up:

Start - Growl
L3 - Tail Whip
L7 - Bone Club
L11 - Headbutt
L13 - Leer
L17 - Focus Energy
L21 - Bonemerang
L23 - Rage
L27 - False Swipe
L31 - Thrash
L33 - Fling
L37 - Stomping Tantrum
L41 - Endeavor
L43 - Double-Edge
L47 - Retaliate
L51 - Bone Rush

Headbutt, Focus Energy, False Swipe, Rage, and Double-Edge seem to be included in Cubone's level up moves but replaced with other moves in Marowak's. Can somebody who knows where to do so confirm if this is the case? I would but i don't know where exactly I should look to reference accurately...

Edit: I found the Mine Resource thread. Can the OP be updated with this information?
 
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MegaFlareon said:
It may not be OU but it can still be a solid contender in UU/RU.

It counters banded Entei by being immune to Extreme Speed and Sacred Fire burns + 110 Defense to tank Flare Blitz/SF. Other than that, it gets 10 resistances/immunities so it can check a lot of Pokemon and hit their switch-ins hard.
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It REALLY won't like Stone Edge, though. Also, to a lesser degree, Bulldoze.

Still, this thing is interesting. I just know that someone will try and run a (likely unsuccessful) Mixed Wallbreaker set on a Doubles team with a Discharger. Access to Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, and Focus Blast just makes it oh so tempting, albeit probably ineffective.
 
Some random freak said:
I think people are undervaluing how much Lightningrod synergizes with Marowak's type. Most notable Electric Pokemon don't have the necessary coverage to deal with Marowak as Ghost/Fire resists or is immune to their coverage.

Mega Manectric, Zapdos and Magnezone are completely walled as they don't have any move that hits Marowak for at least neutral damage and Thundurus is walled unless it's running the Mixed Attacker set. The only Electric types in ORAS OU that can actually beat Marowak are the aforementioned Mixed Thundurus, Rotom-W and Raikou that decide to run Shadow Ball. Looking at the new additions, Tapu Koko has to run Brave Bird or it's walled and Xurkitree is completely walled.

Electric types aren't the only things Marowak can switch into either. Clefable can't Thunder Wave it and even a +1 Moonblast is only a 3HKO assuming rocks aren't up. Chansey is an even easier switch in as it has nothing to hit you with other than Toxic. Passive Steel Types such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory and Klefki can be switched in on as well as Choice locked Pokemon like Scizor, Jirachi and Keldeo.

So what can Marowak actually accomplish once it has switched in? Well if you play your cards right then hardly anything is safe.

252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak Shadow Bone vs. 252 HP / 232+ Def Slowbro: 302-356 (76.6 - 90.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery.
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 144+ Def Hippowdon: 217-256 (51.6 - 60.9%) -- 94.1% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 112 Def Mega Sableye: 234-276 (76.9 - 90.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Shadow Bone also 2HKOs if you want to avoid recoil)
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 248 HP / 100+ Def Mega Charizard X: 264-312 (73.5 - 86.9%) -- approx. 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak Shadow Bone vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Rotom-W: 151-178 (49.8 - 58.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak Shadow Bone vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Azumarill: 264-312 (68.7 - 81.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak Shadow Bone vs. 240 HP / 176+ Def Garchomp: 175-207 (41.9 - 49.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
-1 252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Landorus-T: 160-190 (41.8 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Note that the only things that can reliably switch into Marowak are severely crippled by Will-O-Wisp so a set of

Marowak @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 252 Att/ 252 Spe/ 4 Def
Adamant Nature
-Flare Blitz
-Shadow Bone
-Bonemerang/Earthquake
-Will-O-Wisp

Can be devastating if played correctly. Don't get me wrong I don't think Marowak is going to be an OU staple or anything like that but I do think that with the correct support it can be very effective.
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Yeah dude, I've become more and more impressed with this mon as I've thought about it. Its stats may not be mindblowing, but that typing paired with Lightningrod is sooo clutch. Its defensive capabilities are looking really impressive. Which is a cool trait for something that hits harder than... like, maybe literally everything else? My feeling is that this thing is being severely underappreciated.
 
Fizz said:
Yeah dude, I've become more and more impressed with this mon as I've thought about it. Its stats may not be mindblowing, but that typing paired with Lightningrod is sooo clutch. Its defensive capabilities are looking really impressive. Which is a cool trait for something that hits harder than... like, maybe literally everything else? My feeling is that this thing is being severely underappreciated.
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I guess Stakeout Gumshoos actually has the distinction of hitting harder than literally anything else, at least physically and when stakeout actually triggers.
 
Bugzy said:
I guess Stakeout Gumshoos actually has the distinction of hitting harder than literally anything else, at least physically and when stakeout actually triggers.
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Yeah, it's probably not actually the hardest-hitting mon, but it's definitely up there. And that defensive typing. This mon straight-up counters almost every electric-type out there. Like Nasty Plot Thundurus-I. That's not a thing.
 
Fizz said:
Yeah, it's probably not actually the hardest-hitting mon, but it's definitely up there. And that defensive typing. This mon straight-up counters almost every electric-type out there. Like Nasty Plot Thundurus-I. That's not a thing.
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Unless it's the hp flying variant. Aside from that, yeah he is doneskies.
 
Oh, so it does keep Rock Head. And it learns Flare Blitz! No stat changes so right to the moves.

Since Alolan Marowak got an entire type change it got quite a number of new moves. I mentioned Flare Blitz but also got a new decent physical Ghost-type move, Shadow Bone. It also got Will-O-Wisp which is always nice. Yet oddly no dancing moves aside from ones it already got.
 
Speaking of Dancing, I had been hoping his HA would be Dancer, since he is based off of a traditional fire dancer after all, but alas, I guess free Dragon Dances would be too good.
 
Now that I'm thinking of it... isn't Lightningrod Alolan Marowak the non-Steel-type Pokemon with the most resistances/immunities (not counting Shedinja)? I mean, ten resistances/immunities is enormous for a non-Steel-type... which is compensated by an also high amount of bad weaknesses, anyways.
 
Something worth noting: once transfers are legal, you will be able to transfer Cubone with past gen tutor moves to Alola and evolve it into Alolan Marowak. This lets it get Fire Punch as an alternate STAB, Thunder Punch for Water types potentially, Knock Off for utility, Low Kick for Dark types, Power-Up Punch, Stealth Rock, as well as some more niche moves.

So yeah this thing could be even more versatile than you think.
 
readytolose said:
Something worth noting: once transfers are legal, you will be able to transfer Cubone with past gen tutor moves to Alola and evolve it into Alolan Marowak. This lets it get Fire Punch as an alternate STAB, Thunder Punch for Water types potentially, Knock Off for utility, Low Kick for Dark types, Power-Up Punch, Stealth Rock, as well as some more niche moves.

So yeah this thing could be even more versatile than you think.
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Uh no I don't think so. In the traditional Pokemon games all Pokemon are marked by what region they were caught in. If you catch a Cubone that isn't on Alola it should be marked as a Kanto/etc Cubone and will not turn into an Alolan Marowak, because it hasn't descended from the region, from what I understand.
 
What do you guys think about Marowak on a Grassy Terrain team? Lots of grass types don't like steel types and he destroys those, grass types handle the water types he's weak to, grassy terrain cuts down ground moves that he's weak to, and he gets some passive healing. Grassy terrain would also mean he wouldn't want to run earthquake himself but I don't think that's a huge deal.
 
Bugzy said:
What do you guys think about Marowak on a Grassy Terrain team? Lots of grass types don't like steel types and he destroys those, grass types handle the water types he's weak to, grassy terrain cuts down ground moves that he's weak to, and he gets some passive healing. Grassy terrain would also mean he wouldn't want to run earthquake himself but I don't think that's a huge deal.
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If Marowak still wants a Ground attack under Grassy Terrain, it still has its signature Bonemerang. ;):mad:
 
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MegaFlareon said:
If Marowak still wants a Ground STAB under Grassy Terrain, it still has its signature Bonemerang. ;):mad:
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True. So the earthquake reduced power would really only be good for him.

Also worth noting this guy is almost certainly gonna see VGC play if for no other reason than that he is one of few fire types available in the region. Looking at the Aloladex there's only Incineroar, Marowak, Talonflame (lol), Magmortar, Flareon (lol), Torkoal, and Turnator.
 
Tapu Bulu and Marowak have pretty good synergy. Marowak can take the Fire, Poison, Ice and Steel moves that Tapu Bulu is weak to and in return, Bulu resists the Dark, Water and Ground moves aimed at Marowak. The damage reduction on Earthquake is also great for Marowak as it makes taking on Garchomp and Landorus-T a far easier task. Pair this duo with something like Empoleon and you have a decent F+W+G core.
 
Some random freak said:
Tapu Bulu and Marowak have pretty good synergy. Marowak can take the Fire, Poison, Ice and Steel moves that Tapu Bulu is weak to and in return, Bulu resists the Dark, Water and Ground moves aimed at Marowak. The damage reduction on Earthquake is also great for Marowak as it makes taking on Garchomp and Landorus-T a far easier task. Pair this duo with something like Empoleon and you have a decent F+W+G core.
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Plus, giving Marowak Leftovers is nice since it's SR weak and has no recovery options.
 
TURBODERP said:
Plus, giving Marowak Leftovers is nice since it's SR weak and has no recovery options.
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Marowak desperately needs Thick Club if you want to keep its offenses relevant.

I see it as a cool offensive shut down vs Electric-types. Bonus points to shunning out Thundurs-I too since it would need to run Dark Pulse to be remotely threatening to Alolan Marowak.
 
Yeah... Like, I know it is hard to switch into, but, really, what does this thing do that other Pokemon don't already do and probably do better?
 
Siggu said:
Uhm... ruthlessly hard-counter Electric-types?

Alolan Marowak has that sweet Attack with a Thick Club and a surprisingly solid movepool and typing... but yeah, competition will dictate where it will end.
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So it walls Zapdos, Mancectric, Magnezone, and Tapu Koko with Lightning Rod and sacrifices power by dropping Rock Head Flare Blitz and has garbage speed and mediocre defenses, while still getting smashed hard by Raikou's Shadow Ball. And? Bulky Rotom-W out-speeds it, is immune to Bonemarang, resists Flare Blitz/Fire Punch, and Shadow Bone will only do about 50-60% with an Adamant Nature MAX ATK (if it switches in), so the most common Volt Switch user laughs at it since it has a 50% chance to just straight OHKO with Hydro Pump without Rocks up and with A-Marowak with MAX HP. I am sorry, but this thing just isn't going to do a whole lot in the meta. Heck, not even UU just because there are so many potent Dark and Water types in that tier that this thing would have little chance to do anything against.
 
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Honestly I think this thing might be more effective in high tier play than low tier play lol. Other than the glaring exception of Rotom-Wash and some other fringe cases like Knock Off Thundurus-I, I can't think of any good electric Pokemon that can even touch A-Marowak. Tapu Koko, Xurkitree, Raikou, Mega Manectric, Zapdos, Magnezone and most Thundurus sets are completely walled. I don't think it will be a metagame staple by any means but it might make an interesting niche choice for creative teambuilders.

However a lot of lower tier Electric pokemon surprisingly have options to deal with A-Marowak. Heliolisk and Raichu have Surf, Rotom and Jolteon have Shadow Ball, Electivire has Earthquake, Eelektross has Knock Off, Stunfisk has Earth Power, etc. There are definitely a few low tier electrics it maches up well against like the non-wash or standard Rotom formes, regular Manectric, and Zebstrika, but as a whole I think its electric-countering shtick is less appealing in lower tiers. Definitely seems like a pokemon whose effectiveness is heavily reliant on the metagame it finds itself in.

edit: lol the post that ninja'd me reminded me that Raikou actually has access to Shadow Ball too, oops. At least A-Marowak still counters calm mind sets?
 
steviestar said:
Honestly I think this thing might be more effective in high tier play than low tier play lol. Other than the glaring exception of Rotom-Wash and some other fringe cases like Knock Off Thundurus-I, I can't think of any good electric Pokemon that can even touch A-Marowak. Tapu Koko, Xurkitree, Raikou, Mega Manectric, Zapdos, Magnezone and most Thundurus sets are completely walled. I don't think it will be a metagame staple by any means but it might make an interesting niche choice for creative teambuilders.

However a lot of lower tier Electric pokemon surprisingly have options to deal with A-Marowak. Heliolisk and Raichu have Surf, Rotom and Jolteon have Shadow Ball, Electivire has Earthquake, Eelektross has Knock Off, Stunfisk has Earth Power, etc. There are definitely a few low tier electrics it maches up well against like the non-wash or standard Rotom formes, regular Manectric, and Zebstrika, but as a whole I think its electric-countering shtick is less appealing in lower tiers. Definitely seems like a pokemon whose effectiveness is heavily reliant on the metagame it finds itself in.

edit: lol the post that ninja'd me reminded me that Raikou actually has access to Shadow Ball too, oops. At least A-Marowak still counters calm mind sets?
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Here is the thing. It just means there will be more hard switching if they see A-Marowak in the team builder. There are so many powerful water, ground, and dark pokemon in OU that it will be hard pressed to do much of anything effectively without having massive pressure put on it. It is so slow that it literally doesn't matter how strong it is.
 
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