[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 4 onwards
**Price Range**: 11-12 points
**Overview**: Alolan Muk is an extremely coveted defensive piece in teams, providing fantastic defensive typing, a great special tank, and it can be a Pursuit trapper for teams especially weak to Psychic- or Ghost-types. With a respectable Attack stat and access to Curse it is able to additionally provide offensive pressure if it so desires, however its Speed stat means that it is rarely outspeeding foes, and with no method of healing reliably, it has to be wary of its health, greatly reducing its efficacy as a tank.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Special Tank**: Alolan Muk is best when it can soak up special attacks without having to worry about tanking physical attacks. It should primarily be used with an Assault Vest in this capacity, greatly increasing its special bulk while letting it constantly fire off attacks.
**Bulky Setup Sweeper**: Using its natural special bulk with Curse boosting its physical bulk, Alolan Muk can also serve as a bulky setup sweeper. While it does lack a reliable healing move, it can cycle constant half health heals thanks to Recycle + pinch berry + Gluttony, having to be especially wary of Knock Off.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Knock Off, Gunk Shot, Poison Jab
**Setup Moves**: Curse, Acid Armor, Stockpile
**Utility Moves**: Brick Break, Clear Smog, Haze, Recycle, Taunt, Toxic
**Coverage**: Drain Punch, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Thunder Punch, Zen Headbutt
Niche Moves
========
**Special Coverage**: While Alolan Muk's Special Attack stat is pitiful compared to its physical Attack, it can use moves such as Giga Drain and Fire Blast to hit the physically defensive Ground- and Steel-types that are commonly used to switch into it.
**Explosion**: With Gluttony letting Alolan Muk proc its berries at much safer health thresholds, it can hold a Custap Berry to tank a hit and use Explosion the following turn to get a big hit off. It should be noted that it rarely wants to do this, however, as it often still wants to be around to tank hits.
**Memento**: In a similar vein as Explosion, Alolan Muk can also sacrifice itself with Memento to help the following teammate sweep while also getting momentum, with Memento being used when it wants to help a sweeper set up easier rather than get a big hit off.
Common Items
========
**Assault Vest**: Alolan Muk has a fairly unique role as a special tank, and with an Assault Vest it can lean more into this role, while Knock Off and Poison Touch still gives it the utility that tanks want.
**Pinch Berries**: Useful on both setup sets and general tank sets, Alolan Muk can use a pinch berry with or without Gluttony to give it a large health boost.
**Black Sludge**: Alolan Muk can also benefit from passive recovery from Black Sludge, especially useful if it expects to take chip damage.
Niche Items
========
**Chesto Berry**: Alolan Muk will often be statused from the likes of Scald and Discharge, so it can use Rest + Chesto Berry to give itself a full heal while removing this status. It can also use Recycle with this however it will likely take a key moveslot, and having the second life is usually enough for it to do what it needs to.
**Shuca Berry**: Alolan Muk boasts only one weakness, however it is to the extremely common Ground-type, so Shuca Berry can be useful in helping it soak up a Ground-type coverage move.
**Custap Berry**: Using Gluttony to allow Alolan Muk to more reliably proc it, Custap Berry can be a useful tool in allowing it to catch its foes out.
Draft Strategy
========
A wide variety of teams benefit from Pursuit trapping and the special bulk Alolan Muk provides, so it is an extremely flexible defensive piece on teams.
**Physical Wall**: Alolan Muk can theoretically tank physical attacks, however it would much prefer teammates such as Landorus-T, Steelix, and Celesteela to be there to tank physical attacks for it.
**Ground-type Immune Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Tornadus-T, Rotom-W, and Uxie that alleviate the pressure Ground-type moves put on Alolan Muk are an absolute must for it.
**Entry Hazard Removal**: Alolan Muk is very prone to getting worn down by hazard damage, so having Pokemon that can remove hazards like Zapdos, Mega Scizor, and Latios are helpful in letting it switch in more freely.
**Specially Frail Offensive Threats**: Pokemon such as Kartana, Blacephalon, and Mienshao that appreciate Alolan Muk's ability to soak up special attacks while breaking through walls that it struggles against pair well together.
Checks and Counters
========
**Ground-types**: Resisting Alolan Muk's Poison-type attacks and being able to strike back with its only super-effective type, Pokemon like Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Zygarde all provide the biggest threat to it.
**Physical Walls**: Walls such as Celesteela, Skarmory, and Zapdos can all shrug off Alolan Muk's attacks and punish back accordingly, with the former being especially notable as they are also immune to its Poison Touch.
**Physical Wallbreakers**: Pokemon like Mega Mawile, Kyurem-B, and Mega Gallade that can muscle through Alolan Muk's bulk often threaten it out.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user1.100000
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user2.200000
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.300000
Grammar checked by:
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**Draft Order**: Round 4 onwards
**Price Range**: 11-12 points
**Overview**: Alolan Muk is an extremely coveted defensive piece in teams, providing fantastic defensive typing, a great special tank, and it can be a Pursuit trapper for teams especially weak to Psychic- or Ghost-types. With a respectable Attack stat and access to Curse it is able to additionally provide offensive pressure if it so desires, however its Speed stat means that it is rarely outspeeding foes, and with no method of healing reliably, it has to be wary of its health, greatly reducing its efficacy as a tank.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Special Tank**: Alolan Muk is best when it can soak up special attacks without having to worry about tanking physical attacks. It should primarily be used with an Assault Vest in this capacity, greatly increasing its special bulk while letting it constantly fire off attacks.
**Bulky Setup Sweeper**: Using its natural special bulk with Curse boosting its physical bulk, Alolan Muk can also serve as a bulky setup sweeper. While it does lack a reliable healing move, it can cycle constant half health heals thanks to Recycle + pinch berry + Gluttony, having to be especially wary of Knock Off.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Knock Off, Gunk Shot, Poison Jab
**Setup Moves**: Curse, Acid Armor, Stockpile
**Utility Moves**: Brick Break, Clear Smog, Haze, Recycle, Taunt, Toxic
**Coverage**: Drain Punch, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Thunder Punch, Zen Headbutt
Niche Moves
========
**Special Coverage**: While Alolan Muk's Special Attack stat is pitiful compared to its physical Attack, it can use moves such as Giga Drain and Fire Blast to hit the physically defensive Ground- and Steel-types that are commonly used to switch into it.
**Explosion**: With Gluttony letting Alolan Muk proc its berries at much safer health thresholds, it can hold a Custap Berry to tank a hit and use Explosion the following turn to get a big hit off. It should be noted that it rarely wants to do this, however, as it often still wants to be around to tank hits.
**Memento**: In a similar vein as Explosion, Alolan Muk can also sacrifice itself with Memento to help the following teammate sweep while also getting momentum, with Memento being used when it wants to help a sweeper set up easier rather than get a big hit off.
Common Items
========
**Assault Vest**: Alolan Muk has a fairly unique role as a special tank, and with an Assault Vest it can lean more into this role, while Knock Off and Poison Touch still gives it the utility that tanks want.
**Pinch Berries**: Useful on both setup sets and general tank sets, Alolan Muk can use a pinch berry with or without Gluttony to give it a large health boost.
**Black Sludge**: Alolan Muk can also benefit from passive recovery from Black Sludge, especially useful if it expects to take chip damage.
Niche Items
========
**Chesto Berry**: Alolan Muk will often be statused from the likes of Scald and Discharge, so it can use Rest + Chesto Berry to give itself a full heal while removing this status. It can also use Recycle with this however it will likely take a key moveslot, and having the second life is usually enough for it to do what it needs to.
**Shuca Berry**: Alolan Muk boasts only one weakness, however it is to the extremely common Ground-type, so Shuca Berry can be useful in helping it soak up a Ground-type coverage move.
**Custap Berry**: Using Gluttony to allow Alolan Muk to more reliably proc it, Custap Berry can be a useful tool in allowing it to catch its foes out.
Draft Strategy
========
A wide variety of teams benefit from Pursuit trapping and the special bulk Alolan Muk provides, so it is an extremely flexible defensive piece on teams.
**Physical Wall**: Alolan Muk can theoretically tank physical attacks, however it would much prefer teammates such as Landorus-T, Steelix, and Celesteela to be there to tank physical attacks for it.
**Ground-type Immune Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Tornadus-T, Rotom-W, and Uxie that alleviate the pressure Ground-type moves put on Alolan Muk are an absolute must for it.
**Entry Hazard Removal**: Alolan Muk is very prone to getting worn down by hazard damage, so having Pokemon that can remove hazards like Zapdos, Mega Scizor, and Latios are helpful in letting it switch in more freely.
**Specially Frail Offensive Threats**: Pokemon such as Kartana, Blacephalon, and Mienshao that appreciate Alolan Muk's ability to soak up special attacks while breaking through walls that it struggles against pair well together.
Checks and Counters
========
**Ground-types**: Resisting Alolan Muk's Poison-type attacks and being able to strike back with its only super-effective type, Pokemon like Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Zygarde all provide the biggest threat to it.
**Physical Walls**: Walls such as Celesteela, Skarmory, and Zapdos can all shrug off Alolan Muk's attacks and punish back accordingly, with the former being especially notable as they are also immune to its Poison Touch.
**Physical Wallbreakers**: Pokemon like Mega Mawile, Kyurem-B, and Mega Gallade that can muscle through Alolan Muk's bulk often threaten it out.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user1.100000
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user2.200000
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.300000
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.400000
Last edited:
