Name - Golisopod
Type -
Resists:
Weaknesses:
Base Stats - 75 HP / 125 Atk / 140 Def / 60 SpAtk / 90 SpDef / 40 Spe
Ability - Emergency Exit: The Pokémon, sensing danger, switches out when its HP becomes half or less.
Notable moves bolded.
Level Up
L0 - First Impression (Bug, BP 90, Physical, +2 Priority, can only be used first turn [Fake Out without the flinch])
L1 - First Impression
L1 - Struggle Bug
L1 - Sand Attack
L1 - Fury Cutter
L1 - Rock Smash
L4 - Fury Cutter
L7 - Rock Smash
L10 - Bug Bite
L13 - Spite
L16 - Swords Dance
L21 - Slash
L26 - Razor Shell
L31 - Sucker Punch
L36 - Iron Defense
L41 - Pin Missile
L48 - Liquidation (Water, BP 85, Physical, 20% chance to lower Defense 1 stage)
TMs
TM06 - Toxic
TM07 - Hail
TM08 - Bulk Up
TM09 - Venoshock
TM10 - Hidden Power
TM12 - Taunt
TM13 - Ice Beam
TM14 - Blizzard
TM17 - Protect
TM18 - Rain Dance
TM21 - Frustration
TM27 - Return
TM28 - Leech Life (Bug, BP 80, Physical, heals 50% of damage done)
TM31 - Brick Break
TM32 - Double Team
TM34 - Sludge Wave
TM36 - Sludge Bomb
TM39 - Rock Tomb
TM40 - Aerial Ace
TM42 - Facade
TM44 - Rest
TM45 - Attract
TM48 - Round
TM52 - Focus Blast
TM54 - False Swipe
TM55 - Scald
TM56 - Fling
TM65 - Shadow Claw
TM66 - Payback
TM68 - Giga Impact
TM75 - Swords Dance
TM77 - Psych Up
TM79 - Frost Breath
TM80 - Rock Slide
TM81 - X-Scissor
TM84 - Poison Jab
TM87 - Swagger
TM88 - Sleep Talk
TM90 - Substitute
TM94 - Surf
TM95 - Snarl
TM97 - Dark Pulse
TM98 - Waterfall
TM100 - Confide
Egg moves
Egg - Spikes
Egg - Metal Claw
Egg - Wide Guard
Egg - Harden
Egg - Aqua Jet
L0 - First Impression (Bug, BP 90, Physical, +2 Priority, can only be used first turn [Fake Out without the flinch])
L1 - First Impression
L1 - Struggle Bug
L1 - Sand Attack
L1 - Fury Cutter
L1 - Rock Smash
L4 - Fury Cutter
L7 - Rock Smash
L10 - Bug Bite
L13 - Spite
L16 - Swords Dance
L21 - Slash
L26 - Razor Shell
L31 - Sucker Punch
L36 - Iron Defense
L41 - Pin Missile
L48 - Liquidation (Water, BP 85, Physical, 20% chance to lower Defense 1 stage)
TMs
TM06 - Toxic
TM07 - Hail
TM08 - Bulk Up
TM09 - Venoshock
TM10 - Hidden Power
TM12 - Taunt
TM13 - Ice Beam
TM14 - Blizzard
TM17 - Protect
TM18 - Rain Dance
TM21 - Frustration
TM27 - Return
TM28 - Leech Life (Bug, BP 80, Physical, heals 50% of damage done)
TM31 - Brick Break
TM32 - Double Team
TM34 - Sludge Wave
TM36 - Sludge Bomb
TM39 - Rock Tomb
TM40 - Aerial Ace
TM42 - Facade
TM44 - Rest
TM45 - Attract
TM48 - Round
TM52 - Focus Blast
TM54 - False Swipe
TM55 - Scald
TM56 - Fling
TM65 - Shadow Claw
TM66 - Payback
TM68 - Giga Impact
TM75 - Swords Dance
TM77 - Psych Up
TM79 - Frost Breath
TM80 - Rock Slide
TM81 - X-Scissor
TM84 - Poison Jab
TM87 - Swagger
TM88 - Sleep Talk
TM90 - Substitute
TM94 - Surf
TM95 - Snarl
TM97 - Dark Pulse
TM98 - Waterfall
TM100 - Confide
Egg moves
Egg - Spikes
Egg - Metal Claw
Egg - Wide Guard
Egg - Harden
Egg - Aqua Jet
Overview: Much like Gyarados, Golisopod is a monster that comes from a very unexpected source. Being Water/Bug, Golisopod has a fairly solid defensive typing. Weaknesses to Rock, Flying, and Electricity are bad, especially with how prevalent Electric-type moves will be with Tapu Koko running around, but Golisopod has key resistances to Fighting, Ice, Water, Ground, and Steel, making it resistant to almost all priority moves found in OU (sans Sucker Punch, which is now only BP 70) and many common moves like Earthquake, Close Combat, Scald, and so on. More importantly, Golisopod has very good bulk at 75/140/90 defensive stats. While base 75 HP is a bit of a letdown, base 140 defense is the same as Skarmory's and base 90 special defense is just 10 behind Mega Scizor's (in fact, Golisopod's bulk is almost exactly the same as Mega Scizor's: 75/140/90 versus 70/140/100).
Golisopod's special attack is lackluster, but a base attack of 125 is nothing to sneeze at, especially with high base power moves like Liquidation and Leech Life, along with the strongest priority in the game in the form of First Impression (base 90 power folks, even though it's on turn one only) and other options like Aqua Jet and Sucker Punch. Golisopod also gets strong boosting moves like Bulk Up and Swords Dance, which are hard to pull off but still important to note, and having semi-reliable recovery in the form of the newly-buffed STAB Leech Life is fantastic for this monster.
Sadly, Golisopod's speed is utter garbage, at base 40. This means it's outsped by mons like Clefable, Tyranitar, and Tangrowth, none of which (sans Scarf) are speed demons. At least it outspeeds Chansey and Slowbro.
Overall, Golisopod is a mixed bag. It's ability is....variable. On the right teams in the right game, it can give the user a huge momentum swing, but it's more likely that Golisopod can be relegated to doing nothing for much of a match except firing off a Fake Impression or two. Luckily for Golisopod, even one or two Fake Impressions can just win a game.
Emergency Exit mechanics: This is a weird ability. When you get below 50% HP due to LO recoil or taking a hit or due to entry hazards, you are automatically switched out into a teammate of your choosing. This occurs immediately after the damage, so unless you used priority, you probably won't get to attack (and will instead just switch out). If you heal Golisopod back up over 50% (say with Z-Parting Shot), Emergency Exit will re-trigger.
This ability does seem pretty bad, but it can actually be amazing when paired with a powerful wallbreaker, since you can effectively get in something for free at least once. In addition, if Volt Switch or U-Turn triggers Emergency Exit, your opponent does not get to switch and instead, you get the switch advantage (as you can bring in something for free).
Sample sets
Golisopod @ Life Orb
Ability: Emergency Exit
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- Aqua Jet
- Sucker Punch
- Razor Shell/Liquidation
Life Orb for the power, Max HP/Atk for bulk and hitting as hard as you can. Razor Shell over Liquidation for the 50% chance to drop defense, but if you prefer the accuracy and reliable greater power of Liquidation, go for that. Sucker Punch lets you hit Psychics like Alakazam and with LO, it does good damage. Aqua Jet is STAB priority coming off of 383 Atk and lets you revenge kill things like Phermosa after First Impression. This set is very vulnerable and damn near useless against Psychic Terrain though (3 priority moves negated!), so watch out for that and have your own terrain user to compensate (Bulu is great for extra recovery, since this set doesn't have Leech Life to heal up).
Golisopod @ Assault Vest
Ability: Emergency Exit
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- Liquidation
- Leech Life
- Poison Jab/Aqua Jet/Sucker Punch/Rock Tomb
My preferred Golisopod set, AV makes you a special tank (remember, 75/90 on the special side before AV is nothing to laugh at) that hits hard and has good priority options. First Impression is basically mandatory due to the insane base power, while Leech Life gives you strong STAB recovery versus a lot of mons. Liquidation is consistent damage and is your hardest hitting water STAB (5 more base power than Waterfall), while your last slot is basically coverage or priority. If you worry about Tapu Bulu and the like switching in (Band Tapu Bulu OHKOs you), Poison Jab lets you obliterate them on the switch. Aqua Jet/Sucker are priority (self-explanatory) and Rock Tomb lets you catch mons like Charizard on the switch and do heavy damage while slowing them down (you can also run Rock Slide over Rock Tomb if you don't care about the speed drop).
Golisopod @ Leftovers
Ability: Emergency Exit
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Bulk Up/Swords Dance
- Liquidation
- Leech Life
- Aqua Jet
This set abuses Golisopod's natural bulk (75/140/90) and recovery in the form of Leech Life to set up on mons that can't really threaten you, like Hippowdon, Phermosa, Mamoswine, and anything that has its STAB resisted by you in general. Aqua Jet is your priority of choice over First Impression since that only works on turn 1, while Liquidation becomes very scary after a couple of boosts. There are probably more optimal EVs for this, but I'm just theorycrafting here.
Golisopod @ Leftovers
Ability: Emergency Exit
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def/SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Liquidation
- Leech Life
- First Impression/Aqua Jet
Spikes set. Force out something that's weak to Bug/Water, set up a Spike, rinse and repeat as you see fit. EVs are as you see fit, although max HP is basically mandatory and the rest is whatever benchmarks you want to hit. There are better Spikers, but hey, if you don't need the last slot for priority/whatever, then feel free to use it and free up a spot on Ferro or Skarm.
Golisopod @ Choice Band
Ability: Emergency Exit
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- Aqua Jet
- Liquidation
- Spikes/Poison Jab/Leech Life
chimpact first gave this set (well, detailing it at least), and it's worth mentioning. Choice Band Golisopod seems like a weird set because of the way First Impression works (essentially Fake Out), and because Emergency Exit means you often can't retaliate if you're hit first.
Basically though, you abuse your insane priority and the fact that you get auto-switched out via Emergency Exit after taking most hits to just fire off First Impression, do massive damage, and get the switch advantage with Emergency Exit.
Banded First Impression is also really strong, doing a minimum of 70% to max HP Tapu Bulu, having a 30% chance to OHKO standard Bisharp, OHKOing max HP Tyranitar, doing 48% minimum to Tapu Koko, OHKOing Xurkitree, and so on.
"It just uses priority to chip away at the opponent and if you do get swapped out via emergency exit, its because you set it up to do so. You have two priority moves so you wont waste a turn not hitting your opponent if you switch out via your ability. And spikes is cool so that if you get hit out when using spikes you are one turn ahead of your opponent if they have defog / spin. You can go to a set up sweeper and start setting up or force some switches with a very heavy hitter. I put max speed on there so that spikes and liquidation are used before you get hit by emergency exit. IT's still pretty slow but its better than being really slow and getting outsped by stuff like marowak and not being able to hit it at all."-chimpact
"It's actually opportune to take advantage of Emergency Exit if you expect First Impression to score a huge hit without OHKOing so that you're not locked into it and forced to confer an opportunity for the foe to switch/set up/get a free hit. Pretty high risk but can be rewarding if played properly."- antemortem
Good teammates: Golisopod loves slow Volt-Turn mons that can bring it in for free, since you don't risk just popping out due to Emergency Exit and getting nothing done the first time around. On this level, Rotom-Wash is amazing due to resisting Flying (one of Golisopod's weaknesses) and being neutral to electric. Rotom-Heat is even better since it resists Electric too, but that's stacking a Stealth Rock weakness. Defensive Lando-T is great since it's immune to Electric moves, and can Intimidate physical attackers with Rock and Flying attacks (such as Staraptor, Talonflame [LOL], Terrakion, Tyranitar, and so on). In addition, it sets up Stealth Rock which is very nice for Golisopod, who can secure OHKOs on Mega Medicham, the Lati twins, and more with First Impression after SR damage. Heatran is also another great option, resisting Flying moves while being neutral to Rock and Electric. Heatran also can set up SR and appreciates Golisopod's resistance to Ground and Fighting moves. Rhyperior is another good partner, resisting Flying and Rock type moves while being flat-out immune to Electric, while appreciating Golisopod's resistances to Fighting, Steel, Ground, Ice, and Water type moves. Rhyperior can also set up Stealth Rock and phaze physical threats with Roar/Dragon Tail.
Tapu Bulu is another amazing partner for Golisopod, as although it stacks a Flying weakness, it helps the Electric Weakness and also gives Golisopod recovery with Grassy Terrain (and possibly Leech Seed). In addition, Tapu Bulu can often break past the bulky waters that stop Golisopod (with Horn Leech/Wood Hammer).
Defoggers/Spinners/Hazard removal is critical for Golisopod, who is weak to Stealth Rock and is grounded (and therefore vulnerable to Spikes and Toxic Spikes, which might become more prevalent in this gen as the latter gained a great user in Toxapex). Excadrill, especially SpDef Lefties variants, might be one of the best options, as Excadrill resists (and quad resists in the case of Rock) or is immune to all of Golisopod's weaknesses, while Golisopod covers Excadrill's Fighting and Ground weaknesses. Zapdos is another decent option, as while it's weak to Stealth Rock and Rock-type attacks, it's neutral to electric attacks (while possessing solid bulk) and resists Flying type moves. In addition, Zapdos can act as a slow Volt Switch pivot and give Golisopod an easier type of getting in without getting chipped first.
Checks and counters: Looking at defensive Pokemon, Toxapex walls Golisopod with ease due to its typing, insane bulk, and access to Regenerator (and Scald), while being able to set up hazards in its face or just Toxic it. Mantine is another hard counter to Golisopod, as it's immune to Water-STAB and resists Bug and can chip away with Toxic, Air Slash, or Scald. Tapu Fini also resists your STAB combination (though Poison Jab hurts a lot) and can slowly wear you down (and provided it has any chip damage on you at all, Nature's Madness will automatically force you out). TankChomp also doesn't really care about you, and worse off, it can just set up Rocks as you do little damage and force yourself out with recoil damage+Emergency Exit. PhysDef Skarmory is also great at stopping Golisopod, and threatens to KO back with Brave Bird or Counter, or just set up Spikes/SR in Golisopod's face. Even support Tyranitar outspeeds Golisopod and can OHKO with Stone Edge.
Golisopod is not too hard to force out either, because even though it has great bulk and a decent defensive typing, super-effective moves often will proc Emergency Exit, meaning Golisopod can't retaliate before it's forced out. Terrakion, Tornadus-T, Mega Manectric, Tapu Koko, Tapu Bulu, and other fast attackers with super effective coverage have little issue revenge-killing Golisopod, but must be wary of taking extra chip damage from Aqua Jet/Sucker Punch, or switching in recklessly due to First Impression and high base power moves like Liquidation and Leech Life.
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