[OVERVIEW]
Arbok's unassuming stats belie one of the most interesting setup Pokemon in PU. Coil elevates Arbok to a surprisingly hard-hitting wallbreaker that can be difficult to deal with. Arbok has the great abilities; Intimidate gives it plenty of opportunities to set up, while Shed Skin grants it longevity. A useful Poison typing allows Arbok to set up on certain would-be threats like Vileplume and Close Combat Monferno. Arbok can also utilize a Choice Scarf to become a revenge killer with interesting utility in the form of Switcheroo while bluffing the much more common Coil set. Arbok's stats do keep it down however, as without a Coil boost or Choice Scarf, it can be underwhelming both offensively and defensively.
[SET]
name: Coil
move 1: Coil
move 2: Gunk Shot
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Sucker Punch / Fire Fang
item: Leftovers / Life Orb / Shuca Berry
ability: Intimidate / Shed Skin
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Coil's increases to Attack and accuracy synergizes well with Gunk Shot, which becomes a powerful, accurate STAB attack and with a high poison chance. Earthquake is a good coverage move for Gunk Shot, as it hits common switch-ins like Klang and Stunfisk for heavy damage. The last move is recommended to be Sucker Punch to give Arbok a priority option, but Fire Fang is useful for hitting certain threats like Bronzor. Both abilities help with consistency; Intimidate gives Arbok more opportunities to set up, while Shed Skin lets it shake off status that could cripple it otherwise such as paralysis from Stunfisk and Vileplume. Intimidate is recommended due to its more versatile utility and potential to make Arbok a useful switch-in to threats like Monferno and Simisage. Leftovers is the preferred item to make Arbok harder to KO, let it bank more on Coil's Defense boost, and make switching into the aforementioned threats slightly easier, but the power advantage of Life Orb is high enough that it allows Arbok to hit as if it had an additional Coil already set up. Shuca Berry can be used to mitigate Arbok's Ground weakness, allowing it to live attacks from threats like Stunfisk and Torterra and potentially beat or set up against them.
Coil Arbok finds itself on balance and bulky offense teams that want a blanket check to some threats like Monferno that can also threaten walls like Vileplume. As such, Arbok makes for a good teammate to Pokemon that appreciate having those threats taken care of such as Shiftry, Marowak, and Zebstrika. Arbok also appreciates partners that cover its Psychic- and Ground-type weakness such as Scraggy or Torterra. Arbok also really enjoys the entry hazards set by Pokemon such as Rampardos, Torterra, and Dwebble. Arbok's Speed is just shy of the base 81 Speed benchmark, making it into a slightly slower offensive Pokemon, so Pokemon like Stunfisk and Clefairy that can spread paralysis are appreciated for their ability to slow the opposing team down for a potential Arbok sweep later.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Poison Jab / Gunk Shot
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Switcheroo
move 4: Fire Fang / Coil / Sucker Punch
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Shed Skin
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Poison Jab is the preferred STAB option due to its 100% accuracy, but Gunk Shot is significantly stronger at the cost of accuracy. Earthquake rounds out coverage by letting Arbok hit Steel-types like Klang as well as hitting a potential counter in Stunfisk. Switcheroo gives Arbok's Choice Scarf to common walls that usually beat it like Bronzor, crippling them. The last slot goes largely unused, but there are a few options that are worthwhile after Switcheroo is used: Fire Fang allows Arbok to damage Bronzor after giving it the Choice Scarf, Coil lets Arbok set up, and Sucker Punch can be used to continue revenge killing even after the Choice Scarf is lost. Shed Skin is the preferred ability to have a chance to shake off any unfortunate burns or paralysis that would cripple Arbok otherwise.
It is very important to note that while Arbok can adequately fulfill the role of revenge killer with a Choice Scarf, it is the slowest common option for a Choice Scarf user by the tier's standards. As such, the decision to choose Choice Scarf Arbok hinges more on its ability to cripple walls with Switcheroo than anything else. Because of this, teammates like Torterra, Beheeyem, and Monferno that love having Arbok's common checks and counters like Stunfisk and Bronzor crippled are excellent choices for a potential follow-up sweep. Arbok needs a lot of help to fully finish off threats, so entry hazard setters like Dwebble, Stunfisk, and Maractus can be good choices. Pokemon such as Bronzor, Maractus, and Scraggy also make for good partners, as they can take on common Ground- and Psychic-type attacks from Marowak and Beheeyem that are directed at Arbok. Arbok can take Fighting- and Grass-type attacks from threats like Monferno and Simisage for teammates like Scraggy and Stunfisk for some light defensive synergy as well.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/akir.231726/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bella.567483/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
Arbok's unassuming stats belie one of the most interesting setup Pokemon in PU. Coil elevates Arbok to a surprisingly hard-hitting wallbreaker that can be difficult to deal with. Arbok has the great abilities; Intimidate gives it plenty of opportunities to set up, while Shed Skin grants it longevity. A useful Poison typing allows Arbok to set up on certain would-be threats like Vileplume and Close Combat Monferno. Arbok can also utilize a Choice Scarf to become a revenge killer with interesting utility in the form of Switcheroo while bluffing the much more common Coil set. Arbok's stats do keep it down however, as without a Coil boost or Choice Scarf, it can be underwhelming both offensively and defensively.
[SET]
name: Coil
move 1: Coil
move 2: Gunk Shot
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Sucker Punch / Fire Fang
item: Leftovers / Life Orb / Shuca Berry
ability: Intimidate / Shed Skin
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Coil's increases to Attack and accuracy synergizes well with Gunk Shot, which becomes a powerful, accurate STAB attack and with a high poison chance. Earthquake is a good coverage move for Gunk Shot, as it hits common switch-ins like Klang and Stunfisk for heavy damage. The last move is recommended to be Sucker Punch to give Arbok a priority option, but Fire Fang is useful for hitting certain threats like Bronzor. Both abilities help with consistency; Intimidate gives Arbok more opportunities to set up, while Shed Skin lets it shake off status that could cripple it otherwise such as paralysis from Stunfisk and Vileplume. Intimidate is recommended due to its more versatile utility and potential to make Arbok a useful switch-in to threats like Monferno and Simisage. Leftovers is the preferred item to make Arbok harder to KO, let it bank more on Coil's Defense boost, and make switching into the aforementioned threats slightly easier, but the power advantage of Life Orb is high enough that it allows Arbok to hit as if it had an additional Coil already set up. Shuca Berry can be used to mitigate Arbok's Ground weakness, allowing it to live attacks from threats like Stunfisk and Torterra and potentially beat or set up against them.
Coil Arbok finds itself on balance and bulky offense teams that want a blanket check to some threats like Monferno that can also threaten walls like Vileplume. As such, Arbok makes for a good teammate to Pokemon that appreciate having those threats taken care of such as Shiftry, Marowak, and Zebstrika. Arbok also appreciates partners that cover its Psychic- and Ground-type weakness such as Scraggy or Torterra. Arbok also really enjoys the entry hazards set by Pokemon such as Rampardos, Torterra, and Dwebble. Arbok's Speed is just shy of the base 81 Speed benchmark, making it into a slightly slower offensive Pokemon, so Pokemon like Stunfisk and Clefairy that can spread paralysis are appreciated for their ability to slow the opposing team down for a potential Arbok sweep later.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Poison Jab / Gunk Shot
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Switcheroo
move 4: Fire Fang / Coil / Sucker Punch
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Shed Skin
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Poison Jab is the preferred STAB option due to its 100% accuracy, but Gunk Shot is significantly stronger at the cost of accuracy. Earthquake rounds out coverage by letting Arbok hit Steel-types like Klang as well as hitting a potential counter in Stunfisk. Switcheroo gives Arbok's Choice Scarf to common walls that usually beat it like Bronzor, crippling them. The last slot goes largely unused, but there are a few options that are worthwhile after Switcheroo is used: Fire Fang allows Arbok to damage Bronzor after giving it the Choice Scarf, Coil lets Arbok set up, and Sucker Punch can be used to continue revenge killing even after the Choice Scarf is lost. Shed Skin is the preferred ability to have a chance to shake off any unfortunate burns or paralysis that would cripple Arbok otherwise.
It is very important to note that while Arbok can adequately fulfill the role of revenge killer with a Choice Scarf, it is the slowest common option for a Choice Scarf user by the tier's standards. As such, the decision to choose Choice Scarf Arbok hinges more on its ability to cripple walls with Switcheroo than anything else. Because of this, teammates like Torterra, Beheeyem, and Monferno that love having Arbok's common checks and counters like Stunfisk and Bronzor crippled are excellent choices for a potential follow-up sweep. Arbok needs a lot of help to fully finish off threats, so entry hazard setters like Dwebble, Stunfisk, and Maractus can be good choices. Pokemon such as Bronzor, Maractus, and Scraggy also make for good partners, as they can take on common Ground- and Psychic-type attacks from Marowak and Beheeyem that are directed at Arbok. Arbok can take Fighting- and Grass-type attacks from threats like Monferno and Simisage for teammates like Scraggy and Stunfisk for some light defensive synergy as well.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/akir.231726/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bella.567483/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
Last edited:
