[OVERVIEW]
Alolan Muk's useful defensive typing and high Special Defense allow it to be one of the top threats in the metagame. Common special attackers like Chandelure, Munkidori, and Reuniclus are stopped in their tracks and forced out by it. On top of this, Alolan Muk isn't useless against bulkier Pokemon either; thanks to its access to Knock Off in combination with Poison Touch, it can slowly beat Sylveon, Talonflame, and Gastrodon. Poison Touch along with Poison Jab allow it to spread poison nearly uninhibited, letting it chip away at opposing teams quite easily. However, Alolan Muk is quite frail physically, often being forced out by pivots like Mienshao and Flygon and losing momentum. It is also weak to fairly common Ground-types like Flygon, Krookodile, and Rhyperior, which then get free turns to set entry hazards or boost their offensive stats. Also, its reliance on unreliable and passive forms of recovery can let it be overwhelmed and taken advantage of.
[SET]
name: Special Wall
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Poison Jab / Poison Fang
move 3: Rest / Drain Punch
move 4: Sleep Talk / Protect
item: Leftovers
ability: Poison Touch
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
tera type: Water / Dragon
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Poison Jab is preferred for damage, but Poison Fang can be used to spread poison more easily. Rest + Sleep Talk offers recovery but is sometimes unreliable; alternatively, Drain Punch + Protect allows Alolan Muk to regain health while threatening Steel-types like Magnezone and Lucario. Tera Water can be used to better take Fire-type attacks from Hisuian Typhlosion and Chandelure, and it gifts Alolan Muk a strong defensive Tera type that can take on tons of Pokemon well. However, Tera Dragon improves the sun matchup, retains a good rain matchup, and helps Alolan Muk check other special attackers like Thundurus and Rotom-H better than Tera Water does. Both Tera Water and Dragon help Alolan Muk when facing Ground-types, but they tend to leave it more susceptible to other physical wallbreakers like Tsareena and Brambleghast.
Alolan Muk fails against physical attackers, especially Ground- and Fighting-types such as Krookodile, Flygon, Lucario, and Mienshao. So, Pokemon like Slowbro, Swampert, and Talonflame help to form a strong defensive core for the team. After using Knock Off, Alolan Muk is almost helpless against Steel-types like Registeel and Klefki as they set entry hazards or boost; its Drain Punch is just too weak. To counter this, teammates that can handle these foes such as Infernape, Krookodile, and Flygon pair well with Alolan Muk. Since it can deal with Psychic- and Ghost-types easily, Pokemon such as Mienshao, Mew, and Munkidori greatly appreciate Alolan Muk's presence. Because of how easily Alolan Muk can remove items, hazard setters like Klefki, Rhyperior, and Quagsire have great synergy with it. On the flip side, with how many times Alolan Muk is forced to switch into an attack, hazards become an issue for it, jeopardizing its ability to take on Chandelure and Munkidori. To clear these hazards, Pokemon like Talonflame, Noivern, and Tsareena pair perfectly.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
A more offensive Alolan Muk with an Assault Vest and a moveset of Knock Off / Poison Jab / Drain Punch / and one of Ice Punch, Rock Slide, Giga Drain, or Shadow Sneak can be used to take special hits while also pressuring foes, but, in doing so, it sacrifices a lot of longevity.
Checks and Counters
====
**Ground-types**: Ground-type Pokemon like Krookodile, Flygon, and Rhyperior easily OHKO Alolan Muk with a super effective Earthquake, and they can capitalize on a forced switch by setting Stealth Rock or boosting.
**Fighting-types**: Fighting-types like Mienshao, Gallade, and Lucario, while not having a way to hit Alolan Muk super effectively, overwhelm it, taking advantage of its low Defense with their powerful Fighting-type attacks.
**Poison-types**: Poison-types like Vileplume and Tera Poison Slowbro can wall Alolan Muk due to their immunity to poison. On top of that, Vileplume is able to set up Leech Seed or use Growth, while Slowbro freely sets up with Calm Mind and threatens it with a burn.
**Physical Wallbreakers**: Physical wallbreakers like Lycanroc-D and Feraligatr easily overwhelm Alolan Muk with their Choice Band- and Life Orb-boosted attacks due to its low Defense.
**Setup Pokemon**: With how passive Alolan Muk can be, especially with Rest, it can be setup fodder for Pokemon like Cloyster, Gallade, and Flygon.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/powerofmemes.583607/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/rabia.336073/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/lucario.189361/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/rabia.336073/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sunny004.197240/
Alolan Muk's useful defensive typing and high Special Defense allow it to be one of the top threats in the metagame. Common special attackers like Chandelure, Munkidori, and Reuniclus are stopped in their tracks and forced out by it. On top of this, Alolan Muk isn't useless against bulkier Pokemon either; thanks to its access to Knock Off in combination with Poison Touch, it can slowly beat Sylveon, Talonflame, and Gastrodon. Poison Touch along with Poison Jab allow it to spread poison nearly uninhibited, letting it chip away at opposing teams quite easily. However, Alolan Muk is quite frail physically, often being forced out by pivots like Mienshao and Flygon and losing momentum. It is also weak to fairly common Ground-types like Flygon, Krookodile, and Rhyperior, which then get free turns to set entry hazards or boost their offensive stats. Also, its reliance on unreliable and passive forms of recovery can let it be overwhelmed and taken advantage of.
[SET]
name: Special Wall
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Poison Jab / Poison Fang
move 3: Rest / Drain Punch
move 4: Sleep Talk / Protect
item: Leftovers
ability: Poison Touch
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
tera type: Water / Dragon
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Poison Jab is preferred for damage, but Poison Fang can be used to spread poison more easily. Rest + Sleep Talk offers recovery but is sometimes unreliable; alternatively, Drain Punch + Protect allows Alolan Muk to regain health while threatening Steel-types like Magnezone and Lucario. Tera Water can be used to better take Fire-type attacks from Hisuian Typhlosion and Chandelure, and it gifts Alolan Muk a strong defensive Tera type that can take on tons of Pokemon well. However, Tera Dragon improves the sun matchup, retains a good rain matchup, and helps Alolan Muk check other special attackers like Thundurus and Rotom-H better than Tera Water does. Both Tera Water and Dragon help Alolan Muk when facing Ground-types, but they tend to leave it more susceptible to other physical wallbreakers like Tsareena and Brambleghast.
Alolan Muk fails against physical attackers, especially Ground- and Fighting-types such as Krookodile, Flygon, Lucario, and Mienshao. So, Pokemon like Slowbro, Swampert, and Talonflame help to form a strong defensive core for the team. After using Knock Off, Alolan Muk is almost helpless against Steel-types like Registeel and Klefki as they set entry hazards or boost; its Drain Punch is just too weak. To counter this, teammates that can handle these foes such as Infernape, Krookodile, and Flygon pair well with Alolan Muk. Since it can deal with Psychic- and Ghost-types easily, Pokemon such as Mienshao, Mew, and Munkidori greatly appreciate Alolan Muk's presence. Because of how easily Alolan Muk can remove items, hazard setters like Klefki, Rhyperior, and Quagsire have great synergy with it. On the flip side, with how many times Alolan Muk is forced to switch into an attack, hazards become an issue for it, jeopardizing its ability to take on Chandelure and Munkidori. To clear these hazards, Pokemon like Talonflame, Noivern, and Tsareena pair perfectly.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
A more offensive Alolan Muk with an Assault Vest and a moveset of Knock Off / Poison Jab / Drain Punch / and one of Ice Punch, Rock Slide, Giga Drain, or Shadow Sneak can be used to take special hits while also pressuring foes, but, in doing so, it sacrifices a lot of longevity.
Checks and Counters
====
**Ground-types**: Ground-type Pokemon like Krookodile, Flygon, and Rhyperior easily OHKO Alolan Muk with a super effective Earthquake, and they can capitalize on a forced switch by setting Stealth Rock or boosting.
**Fighting-types**: Fighting-types like Mienshao, Gallade, and Lucario, while not having a way to hit Alolan Muk super effectively, overwhelm it, taking advantage of its low Defense with their powerful Fighting-type attacks.
**Poison-types**: Poison-types like Vileplume and Tera Poison Slowbro can wall Alolan Muk due to their immunity to poison. On top of that, Vileplume is able to set up Leech Seed or use Growth, while Slowbro freely sets up with Calm Mind and threatens it with a burn.
**Physical Wallbreakers**: Physical wallbreakers like Lycanroc-D and Feraligatr easily overwhelm Alolan Muk with their Choice Band- and Life Orb-boosted attacks due to its low Defense.
**Setup Pokemon**: With how passive Alolan Muk can be, especially with Rest, it can be setup fodder for Pokemon like Cloyster, Gallade, and Flygon.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/powerofmemes.583607/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/rabia.336073/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/lucario.189361/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/rabia.336073/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sunny004.197240/
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