[OVERVIEW]
Ever since the dawn of time, Snorlax has been one of the best and most threatening Pokemon in GSC. This holds true even in Ubers, where its absurd power, unpredictability, and hard-to-kill nature are second to none, granting Snorlax a spot on every single competitive Ubers team. Snorlax's sole presence warps the entire metagame around it, forcing teams to pack not only one but multiple answers for it while Snorlax simultaneously checks a wide array of very threatening Pokemon like Mewtwo, Zapdos, and Jolteon. Snorlax is one of the best progress makers in the format with its Curse set, relentlessly forcing its way through the opposition with absurd power and bulk alike, while also having other options like Belly Drum to annihilate defensive or paralyzed teams. Snorlax can do whatever its team needs it to do and does with unmatched game-to-game consistency.
However, because of how metagame-warping Snorlax is, teams pack a lot of answers to it, such as Tyranitar, Golem, and Steelix; all three can phaze Snorlax with Roar, with Golem and Steelix even having access to Explosion to make a huge dent in Snorlax's HP- Other ways of dealing with Snorlax include Explosion from Pokemon like Mewtwo, Mew, and Gengar, all of which can KO Snorlax after some chip damage, although Snorlax can survive Explosion if it has enough Curse boosts. More defensive teams pack sturdy checks to Snorlax such as Barrier Mewtwo, Skarmory, and Lugia. Lastly, Snorlax doesn't commonly run Sleep Talk, meaning that once it's been forced to use Rest or put to sleep with Lovely Kiss or Sleep Powder, foes can use this opportunity to freely take advantage of it, as Snorlax won't have ways to punish them.
[SET]
name: Monolax
move 1: Double-Edge / Body Slam
move 2: Curse
move 3: Rest
move 4: Lovely Kiss / Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Monolax combines consistency and power to be the standard Snorlax set in Ubers. Double-Edge is the default choice as Snorlax's STAB move. It is vastly preferred over the other options due to its high damage output against threats like Mewtwo, Zapdos, and Mew, Pokemon that Snorlax 3HKOes unboosted and 2HKOes at +1. Body Slam is the other option, allowing Snorlax to spread paralysis against common switch-ins to it, giving room for teammates like Mew and Marowak to benefit from it. However, it must be noted that Body Slam is an inferior option in terms of damage, missing the benchmarks that Double-Edge achieves; Body Slam Snorlax also cannot 3HKO opposing Snorlax in the mirror matchup and thus relies on paralyzing it to beat it, unlike Double-Edge, which consistently 3HKOes opposing Snorlax. Furthermore Body Slam versions of Snorlax are completely helpess against Tyranitar and are reliant on slower teammates that appreciate paralysis like Golem, Exeggutor, and Marowak to beat it, whereas Double-Edge variants can potentially overwhelm it with Lovely Kiss. Curse allows Snorlax to dish out powerful attacks, nearly 2HKOing common switch-ins to it, such as Cloyster, Celebi, and Mewtwo, at +1; Curse also makes Snorlax significantly bulkier, allowing it to tank hits more easily while also increasing Snorlax's firepower, forcing its opponent to react quickly to it before it gets out of hand, with common answers being phazing it or poisoning it with Toxic to force it to use Rest. Rest allows Snorlax to stay healthy and consistently check threatening Pokemon, like Zapdos and Mewtwo. Lastly, Lovely Kiss gives Snorlax a tool to put opposing Pokemon to sleep, potentially allowing it to power through its checks with boosted attacks. Snorlax has a very potent sleep-inducing role because common users of Sleep Talk in the format, like Zapdos, don't appreciate tanking Snorlax's hits, meaning that there are no good absorbers of Lovely Kiss and thus no good checks to it.
Sleep Talk is an option over Lovely Kiss, sacrificing Snorlax's ability to induce sleep but giving it a massive advantage against very powerful attackers, like Zapdos and opposing Lovely Kiss Snorlax. Sleep Talk Snorlax is one of the very few Pokemon that can deal with an opposing Lovely Kiss Snorlax, as it can tank hits while benefitting from each and every one of the Sleep Talk rolls being favorable for it, either by getting stronger and bulkier with Curse, recovering HP with Rest, of by attacking.
Monolax can be played both offensively and defensively, depending on what its team needs. Snorlax's attacks are tough for foes to tank without consistent walls, so one should try and scout what the opponent's main switch-in to Snorlax is, either by using Curse or by attacking. If the situation demands it, however, Snorlax should fearlessly use its other moves to counter-attack the threats it has in front of it; for example, against Growth + Baton Pass teams, Snorlax should utilize its superb bulk and access to Lovely Kiss to put a stop to the opposing Mewtwo that has been passed Growth for a teammate to phaze it afterwards.
Team Options
========
Snorlax is extremely flexible, being able to fit on all kinds of teams. Pokemon that can deal with the Rock- and Steel-types that annoy Monolax, like Celebi and Zapdos, respectively, are good teammates for it. Additionally, Explosion and Self-Destruct are also used to take down Snorlax, with every team having one or more Explosion users; because of this, Pokemon that can take these hits, like Steelix and Gengar, pair nicely with Snorlax on offensive teams. Tyranitar and Steelix are especially nice alongside Monolax, as they all share common checks in Barrier Mewtwo, Skarmory, and Cloyster, meaning that they can work together to take them down; Tyranitar additionally can potentially lure in checks to Monolax, like Skarmory and Forretress, and heavily damage them with Fire Blast. Other Pokemon that carry Fire-type moves, like Mewtwo and Exeggutor, are also good partners for Monolax, as they can help Snorlax by taking out checks to it like Steelix, and Exeggutor also helps against Tyranitar, Golem, Cloyster, and Gengar. Monolax appreciates Spikes support from Cloyster or Forretress because most of its checks are grounded. Pursuit users like Tyranitar and Houndoom are also good teammates, as Monolax appreciates Ghost-types like Gengar being taken down.
[SET]
name: Curselax
move 1: Double-Edge / Body Slam
move 2: Curse
move 3: Earthquake / Flamethrower / Fire Blast
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Curselax can bait and lure in checks to itself and hit them with super e ffective moves, where Monolax must land Lovely Kiss to beat them. This allows Snorlax to deal with common checks to itself without using up other team slots or hoping the opposing Pokemon stays asleep for long enough. Double-Edge is the preferred STAB option, as it 3HKOes Mewtwo, Zapdos, Mew, and Ho-Oh even when unboosted while giving Curselax a consistent high-damage move to use against opposing Snorlax. Body Slam is the other option if paralyzing checks to Snorlax, like Tyranitar, Steelix, Mewtwo, Cloyster, and Forretress, is preferred. The choice of coverage move depends on what Snorlax wants to beat, and what its team needs. Earthquake hits Tyranitar, Golem, and Steelix quite hard and works perfectly alongside Body Slam's chance of paralysis, as the aforementioned Pokemon will be slower than Curselax after paralysis; this allows Snorlax to outspeed and 2HKO Tyranitar and Golem while dealing up to 46% to Steelix at +1. Earthquake also targets Gengar, an otherwise hard counter to Snorlax, for devastating damage, 2HKOing it unboosted and OHKOing it at +1.
One of Flamethrower or Fire Blast can be used over Earthquake in case Snorlax wants to lure in other Pokemon. Flamethrower allows Snorlax to deal critical damage to Forretress, a Pokemon that usually stays in on Snorlax to use either Spikes or Toxic; however, it barely stops short of OHKOing it. Flamethrower also hits Skarmory, one of the best counters to Snorlax, for a 3HKO and retains the super effective hit on Steelix. Fire Blast is a more powerful move that outright OHKOes Forretress and 2HKOes Skarmory and Steelix, but the low accuracy might be off-putting; Fire Blast also only has 8 PP, which makes it prone to getting PP stalled after it's been revealed. Furthermore, Forretress can be potentially taken down with the combination of Double-Edge and Flamethrower, rendering Fire Blast an inferior option. Overall, Fire-type coverage Curselax is better against defensive or stall teams due to these carrying one of Forretress or Skarmory to check Monolax, both of which get cooked by Fire-type coverage, while Earthquake Curselax is better against offensive teams due to them oftentimes having only Tyranitar and Cloyster as defensive Snorlax checks, both of which get heavily damaged by +1 Earthquake and Double-Edge, respectively.
Team Options
========
Curselax's best teammates depend on what coverage option it's running, although there are Pokemon that enjoy having any Curselax variant as a teammate. For example, Pokemon like Tyranitar and Mew are good teammates because they share common checks with Snorlax, namely Cloyster, Steelix, and Barrier Mewtwo. Earthquake Snorlax can take out Steelix with boosted attacks, while Tyranitar beats Barrier Mewtwo one-on-one with the combination of Curse, Roar, and Rest while also 3HKOing Cloyster with Rock Slide. Mew, on the other hand, can break through Snorlax's checks with either a booster Explosion or a boosted Earthquake. Ideally, Curselax will want to be paired with strong attackers or setup sweepers like Marowak, Mewtwo, and Jolteon that can double down on the offensive presence that Curselax offers. Cloyster and Forretress are also good teammates, as Curselax appreciates Spikes wearing down its checks. Both of them can also support Curselax via Toxic and Explosion. Rapid Spin support from Golem and Forretress is also appreciated, as Curselax might be troubled switching into Zapdos if Spikes are up; Golem's Electric immunity can also help with pivoting.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/corvere.306317/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/aurora.109385/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
Ever since the dawn of time, Snorlax has been one of the best and most threatening Pokemon in GSC. This holds true even in Ubers, where its absurd power, unpredictability, and hard-to-kill nature are second to none, granting Snorlax a spot on every single competitive Ubers team. Snorlax's sole presence warps the entire metagame around it, forcing teams to pack not only one but multiple answers for it while Snorlax simultaneously checks a wide array of very threatening Pokemon like Mewtwo, Zapdos, and Jolteon. Snorlax is one of the best progress makers in the format with its Curse set, relentlessly forcing its way through the opposition with absurd power and bulk alike, while also having other options like Belly Drum to annihilate defensive or paralyzed teams. Snorlax can do whatever its team needs it to do and does with unmatched game-to-game consistency.
However, because of how metagame-warping Snorlax is, teams pack a lot of answers to it, such as Tyranitar, Golem, and Steelix; all three can phaze Snorlax with Roar, with Golem and Steelix even having access to Explosion to make a huge dent in Snorlax's HP- Other ways of dealing with Snorlax include Explosion from Pokemon like Mewtwo, Mew, and Gengar, all of which can KO Snorlax after some chip damage, although Snorlax can survive Explosion if it has enough Curse boosts. More defensive teams pack sturdy checks to Snorlax such as Barrier Mewtwo, Skarmory, and Lugia. Lastly, Snorlax doesn't commonly run Sleep Talk, meaning that once it's been forced to use Rest or put to sleep with Lovely Kiss or Sleep Powder, foes can use this opportunity to freely take advantage of it, as Snorlax won't have ways to punish them.
[SET]
name: Monolax
move 1: Double-Edge / Body Slam
move 2: Curse
move 3: Rest
move 4: Lovely Kiss / Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Monolax combines consistency and power to be the standard Snorlax set in Ubers. Double-Edge is the default choice as Snorlax's STAB move. It is vastly preferred over the other options due to its high damage output against threats like Mewtwo, Zapdos, and Mew, Pokemon that Snorlax 3HKOes unboosted and 2HKOes at +1. Body Slam is the other option, allowing Snorlax to spread paralysis against common switch-ins to it, giving room for teammates like Mew and Marowak to benefit from it. However, it must be noted that Body Slam is an inferior option in terms of damage, missing the benchmarks that Double-Edge achieves; Body Slam Snorlax also cannot 3HKO opposing Snorlax in the mirror matchup and thus relies on paralyzing it to beat it, unlike Double-Edge, which consistently 3HKOes opposing Snorlax. Furthermore Body Slam versions of Snorlax are completely helpess against Tyranitar and are reliant on slower teammates that appreciate paralysis like Golem, Exeggutor, and Marowak to beat it, whereas Double-Edge variants can potentially overwhelm it with Lovely Kiss. Curse allows Snorlax to dish out powerful attacks, nearly 2HKOing common switch-ins to it, such as Cloyster, Celebi, and Mewtwo, at +1; Curse also makes Snorlax significantly bulkier, allowing it to tank hits more easily while also increasing Snorlax's firepower, forcing its opponent to react quickly to it before it gets out of hand, with common answers being phazing it or poisoning it with Toxic to force it to use Rest. Rest allows Snorlax to stay healthy and consistently check threatening Pokemon, like Zapdos and Mewtwo. Lastly, Lovely Kiss gives Snorlax a tool to put opposing Pokemon to sleep, potentially allowing it to power through its checks with boosted attacks. Snorlax has a very potent sleep-inducing role because common users of Sleep Talk in the format, like Zapdos, don't appreciate tanking Snorlax's hits, meaning that there are no good absorbers of Lovely Kiss and thus no good checks to it.
Sleep Talk is an option over Lovely Kiss, sacrificing Snorlax's ability to induce sleep but giving it a massive advantage against very powerful attackers, like Zapdos and opposing Lovely Kiss Snorlax. Sleep Talk Snorlax is one of the very few Pokemon that can deal with an opposing Lovely Kiss Snorlax, as it can tank hits while benefitting from each and every one of the Sleep Talk rolls being favorable for it, either by getting stronger and bulkier with Curse, recovering HP with Rest, of by attacking.
Monolax can be played both offensively and defensively, depending on what its team needs. Snorlax's attacks are tough for foes to tank without consistent walls, so one should try and scout what the opponent's main switch-in to Snorlax is, either by using Curse or by attacking. If the situation demands it, however, Snorlax should fearlessly use its other moves to counter-attack the threats it has in front of it; for example, against Growth + Baton Pass teams, Snorlax should utilize its superb bulk and access to Lovely Kiss to put a stop to the opposing Mewtwo that has been passed Growth for a teammate to phaze it afterwards.
Team Options
========
Snorlax is extremely flexible, being able to fit on all kinds of teams. Pokemon that can deal with the Rock- and Steel-types that annoy Monolax, like Celebi and Zapdos, respectively, are good teammates for it. Additionally, Explosion and Self-Destruct are also used to take down Snorlax, with every team having one or more Explosion users; because of this, Pokemon that can take these hits, like Steelix and Gengar, pair nicely with Snorlax on offensive teams. Tyranitar and Steelix are especially nice alongside Monolax, as they all share common checks in Barrier Mewtwo, Skarmory, and Cloyster, meaning that they can work together to take them down; Tyranitar additionally can potentially lure in checks to Monolax, like Skarmory and Forretress, and heavily damage them with Fire Blast. Other Pokemon that carry Fire-type moves, like Mewtwo and Exeggutor, are also good partners for Monolax, as they can help Snorlax by taking out checks to it like Steelix, and Exeggutor also helps against Tyranitar, Golem, Cloyster, and Gengar. Monolax appreciates Spikes support from Cloyster or Forretress because most of its checks are grounded. Pursuit users like Tyranitar and Houndoom are also good teammates, as Monolax appreciates Ghost-types like Gengar being taken down.
[SET]
name: Curselax
move 1: Double-Edge / Body Slam
move 2: Curse
move 3: Earthquake / Flamethrower / Fire Blast
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Curselax can bait and lure in checks to itself and hit them with super e ffective moves, where Monolax must land Lovely Kiss to beat them. This allows Snorlax to deal with common checks to itself without using up other team slots or hoping the opposing Pokemon stays asleep for long enough. Double-Edge is the preferred STAB option, as it 3HKOes Mewtwo, Zapdos, Mew, and Ho-Oh even when unboosted while giving Curselax a consistent high-damage move to use against opposing Snorlax. Body Slam is the other option if paralyzing checks to Snorlax, like Tyranitar, Steelix, Mewtwo, Cloyster, and Forretress, is preferred. The choice of coverage move depends on what Snorlax wants to beat, and what its team needs. Earthquake hits Tyranitar, Golem, and Steelix quite hard and works perfectly alongside Body Slam's chance of paralysis, as the aforementioned Pokemon will be slower than Curselax after paralysis; this allows Snorlax to outspeed and 2HKO Tyranitar and Golem while dealing up to 46% to Steelix at +1. Earthquake also targets Gengar, an otherwise hard counter to Snorlax, for devastating damage, 2HKOing it unboosted and OHKOing it at +1.
One of Flamethrower or Fire Blast can be used over Earthquake in case Snorlax wants to lure in other Pokemon. Flamethrower allows Snorlax to deal critical damage to Forretress, a Pokemon that usually stays in on Snorlax to use either Spikes or Toxic; however, it barely stops short of OHKOing it. Flamethrower also hits Skarmory, one of the best counters to Snorlax, for a 3HKO and retains the super effective hit on Steelix. Fire Blast is a more powerful move that outright OHKOes Forretress and 2HKOes Skarmory and Steelix, but the low accuracy might be off-putting; Fire Blast also only has 8 PP, which makes it prone to getting PP stalled after it's been revealed. Furthermore, Forretress can be potentially taken down with the combination of Double-Edge and Flamethrower, rendering Fire Blast an inferior option. Overall, Fire-type coverage Curselax is better against defensive or stall teams due to these carrying one of Forretress or Skarmory to check Monolax, both of which get cooked by Fire-type coverage, while Earthquake Curselax is better against offensive teams due to them oftentimes having only Tyranitar and Cloyster as defensive Snorlax checks, both of which get heavily damaged by +1 Earthquake and Double-Edge, respectively.
Team Options
========
Curselax's best teammates depend on what coverage option it's running, although there are Pokemon that enjoy having any Curselax variant as a teammate. For example, Pokemon like Tyranitar and Mew are good teammates because they share common checks with Snorlax, namely Cloyster, Steelix, and Barrier Mewtwo. Earthquake Snorlax can take out Steelix with boosted attacks, while Tyranitar beats Barrier Mewtwo one-on-one with the combination of Curse, Roar, and Rest while also 3HKOing Cloyster with Rock Slide. Mew, on the other hand, can break through Snorlax's checks with either a booster Explosion or a boosted Earthquake. Ideally, Curselax will want to be paired with strong attackers or setup sweepers like Marowak, Mewtwo, and Jolteon that can double down on the offensive presence that Curselax offers. Cloyster and Forretress are also good teammates, as Curselax appreciates Spikes wearing down its checks. Both of them can also support Curselax via Toxic and Explosion. Rapid Spin support from Golem and Forretress is also appreciated, as Curselax might be troubled switching into Zapdos if Spikes are up; Golem's Electric immunity can also help with pivoting.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/corvere.306317/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/aurora.109385/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
Last edited:
