Gligar - The Flying Scorpion
Ever since Little Cup has started up until now, Gligar has been constantly used for its ability to threaten an opponent's team almost instantly. From the Novermeber stats, Gligar takes 2nd place as the most used Pokemon in Little Cup, right behind Misdreavus. Taking a usage score of 40.65, you will almost always see Gligar being used every two teams on the Ladder. What is it that makes Gligar such a wonderful Pokemon in the Little Cup metagame?
This thread will be held as a discussion thread for our beloved flying scorpion.
65 / 75 / 105 / 35 / 65 / 85
For a NFE Pokemon, that stat spread is pretty great. The stats that really stand out and make Gligar that little monster are its HP, Attack, Defense, and Speed. Let's scale these stats down to a Little Cup level.
HP: 23 - 26
Gligar is one of few Pokemon that boast a minumum HP stat of 23, most Pokemon tend to have HP stats in the 19-21 range. This number really helps it take hits quite well, as it doesn't need to invest in a lot of HP to do so. The only downside to this is that Gligar needs to use up 236 HP EVs in order to reach 26 HP, which doesn't leave it with a lot of EVs left for its Attack, Defense, and Speed stats.
Atk: 13--14 - 17--18
Gligar is almost always seen running around with 17 Attack with a Jolly nature or 18 Attack with an Adamant (usually only used when Gligar is Scarfed). That decently high Attack stat makes it hit very hard right off the bat with its STAB Earthquake, and it's really hard for defensively frail Pokemon to survive Gligar's assaults. However, like Gligar's HP, it needs to invest in 236 EVs to reach maximum Attack.
Def: 16--17 - 20--21
You can't disagree that Gligar's Defense is very good. With no investment at all, Gligar sits at 17 Defense, which is incredible for the LC metagame. Pack that with Gligar's unboosted 23 HP, you have a pretty physically defensive Gligar on your hands. Gligar can afford to switch into a huge amount of physical sweepers in the Little Cup metagame with general ease, as it can survive nearly any non-Ice-type attack they use against it and hit back for big damage. Again, Gligar needs to use 236 EVs to maximize its Defense.
SpA: 9--10 - 13--14
A very horrible stat indeed. Gligar's ridiculously poor Special Attack makes it incapable of using a mixed attaking set effectively. The only thing it can hope for is using Hidden power Ice to hit other Gligar, which is still a bit redundant when Gligar has Aqua Tail. Due to the pitiful Special Attack stat, Gligar has to be used physically at all times.
SpD: 12--13 - 16--17
Another lackluster stat Gligar has, and this what makes Gligar not as good as it should be. Now that its Special Defense is pretty pathetic, any powerful neutral attack will be hitting Gligar for some huge damage. Moves like Fire Blast from Houndour, Leaf Storm from Bulbasaur, or even Shadow Ball from Misdreavus will put a huge dent into Gligar. This really hinders Gligar's ability to keep switching into threats. All Gligar can do is switch into physical threats reliably, but needs to be very cautios when switching into special threats.
Spe: 14--15 - 18--19
The last stat Gligar is very proud of. When maximized, Gligar reaches the second highest Speed landmark in Little Cup, that being 19. This allows it to tie with Pokemon like Misdreavus, Aipom, Ponyta, and Staryu. It also becomes one of the fastest and reliable Choice Scarfers in LC. Just like Gligar's HP, Attack, and Defense, Gligar needs to use 236 EVs to maximize its Speed.
The only big problems with Gligar's stat spread are its pathetic Special Attack and Special Defense stats and the fact that it needs to use 236 EVs to maximize its important stats, which definitely sucks.
Ground / Flying
Gligar has one of the best type combinations in the game, not just in Little Cup. Although it has a defensive bias, it is still a great typing offensively. Let's see what each bias is like with that typing:
Offensively: The biggest thing Ground/Flying has going for it is having STAB on Earthquake. Ground is a common attacking type in Little Cup, and with Gligar having STAB on Earthquake makes it hit very hard. Although not used as much, Gligar's Flying typing gives it a bonus on its Aerial Ace, a move that is yet to be popularized. Aerial Ace helps it hit Grass-types that resist Gligar's Earthquake for super effective damage, most notably against Paras and Shroomish. It also hits Fighting-types, like Croagunk and Machop, super effectively, so it doesn't have to use Earthquake incase a Levitator or Flyer comes in.
Defensively: Ground/Flying is noticed as a wonderful defensive typing. That typing helps Gligar switch into Ground and Electric attacks for free, and like mentioned above, Ground is a common attacking type in Little Cup, as well as Electric. It also helps it switch right into Fighting-type attacks, another typing that is commonly seen in Little Cup. Those two little things help Gligar switch in without taking a considerable amount of damage. Also, Ground/Flying only packs two weaknesses to Water and Ice and has a large number of neutralities and resistances combined.
Weaknesses: Water- and Ice-type attacks are the only weaknesses Gligar has, and they are big ones. Those two types are commonly thrown about, particularly Water. With all of the Mantyke and Chinchou spamming Hydro Pump or Surf, it's difficult to keep Gligar in good health. Also, a huge problem is the fact that Ice Shard and Aqua Jet, two priority moves, hit it for big damage. These two moves are commonly held by Snover and Phanpy and Buizel and Carvanha, and they are death-inducing.
Hyper Cutter / Sand Veil
Sadly, Gligar has really crappy abilities available to it in the Little Cup metagame.
Intimidate using Pokemon are very rare in LC, so Hyper Cutter is usually never used on Gligar. It's just not helpful to Gligar at all, even though it may help against Pokemon who carry Intimidate, like Ekans, but it's not like they won't be taking a big chunk of damage from Earthquake already.
Sand Veil is another unhelpful ability, only helpful when paired up with Hippopotas, the only everlasting sandstreamer. That's a big downside to using that ability. If it does happen to activate, Gligar could be a really annoying threat to take down when your attacks keep missing.
All in all, Gligar has crappy abilities to choose from.
Gligar does have access to wonderful moves in its movepool. Let's see the notable moves it has both offensively and defensively.
Offensive: Aerial Ace, Aqua Tail, Earthquake, Night Slash, Quick Attack, Rock Polish, Stone Edge, Swords Dance, and U-turn.
Defensive: Knock Off, Rain Dance, Roost, Stealth Rock, Sunny Day, and Taunt.
As you can see, Gligar has various options to choose from that are all good to use. Now let's take a look at Gligar's most prominent sets in Little Cup, ordered from most used to least used.
Scarfed Sweeper
Gligar (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 236 Atk/236 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Aqua Tail / Stone Edge
- Night Slash / Aqua Tail / Stone Edge
Gligar (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 236 Atk/236 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Aqua Tail / Stone Edge
- Night Slash / Aqua Tail / Stone Edge
This is Gligar's most commonly seen set in Little Cup. It reaches a high Speed stat of 27 with a Choice Scarf and Adamant nature, allowing it to outpace a huge amount of Pokemon. Earthquake is obviously the main move for this set's success, hitting very hard right off the bat. U-turn acts as a fantastic scouting move, as Gligar tends to force a ton of switches. Aqua Tail and Stone Edge are both great moves in the third slot, the former hitting opposing Gligar, while the latter hitting Flying-types, particularly Mantyke. The last moveslot is used for Night Slash and the two aforementioned moves. Night Slash hits Misdreavus for super effective damage, a common switch-in to Gligar, and you know what the last two moves were for.
Rock Polish Sweeper
Gligar (M) @ Life Orb / Oran Berry
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 236 HP/236 Atk
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Rock Polish
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail
- Stone Edge
Gligar (M) @ Life Orb / Oran Berry
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 236 HP/236 Atk
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Rock Polish
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail
- Stone Edge
Second most used set, and this is definitely dangerous if your team is physically frail. After just one Rock Polish, Gligar reaches an enormous Speed stat of 30, outpacing every single Choice Scarfer except Diglett, Elekid, and Voltorb, who are literally never seen holding that item. Since Speed is not necessary, the 236 EVs are put into HP to give Gligar the bulk it needs to sweep. The attacking moves provide perfect coverage and hit very hard with a Life Orb increasing their power, should you run Life Orb instead of Oran Berry. Some RP Gligar run Roost or Night Slash over one of the last two moves if they want Gligar to have longer survivability (Roost) or to hit Ghost-types super effectively (Night Slash).
Swords Dance Sweeper
Gligar (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 236 Atk/236 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Tail / Quick Attack
Gligar (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 236 Atk/236 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Tail / Quick Attack
This is one of Gligar's most terrifying sets to run, as one simple Swords Dance can be devestating. If your team has nothing faster nor defensive enough to survive one of Gligar's attacks and hit back hard, you're in trouble. This set uses the same moves as the Rock Polish set, as they offer perfect coverage; however, Quick Attack is an option in the last slot. Quick Attack helps Gligar hit very hard against frail priority users, such as Cravanha or Snover, as they can possibly KO Gligar with their STAB super effective priority moves.
Stealth Rock Lead
Gligar (M) @ Oran Berry
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 156 HP/76 Atk/236 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Earthquake
- U-turn
Gligar (M) @ Oran Berry
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 156 HP/76 Atk/236 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Earthquake
- U-turn
Although not as common as the above three sets, Gligar can play a very reliable Stealth Rock lead. It has the HP, Attack, Defense, and Speed to move first and take a couple of hits before dying. Since Gligar reaches 19 Speed, Taunt is especially useful in stopping the opponent from setting up Stealth Rock, or any other supporting move. Earthquake is obviously for attacking purposes, hitting for a reasonable amount of damage with just 76 Attack EVs. U-turn rounds off the set by allowing Gligar to scout and deal respectable damage at the same time.
The Great Wall
Gligar (M) @ Oran Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 236 HP/76 Atk/156 Def
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Tail / Stealth Rock
- Roost
Gligar (M) @ Oran Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 236 HP/76 Atk/156 Def
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Tail / Stealth Rock
- Roost
This type of Gligar is commonly seen on defensive-oriented teams, commonly paired up with Hippopotas to actiave Sand Veil. It must be said that physical sweepers will have an incredibly hard time breaking through Gligar without any STAB super effective attacks. 26 HP and 20 Defense is definitely nothing to scoff at; that's bulkier than Hippopotas. Earthquake and Stone Edge provide great overall coverage, while Aqua Tail makes it have perfect coverage. Although, Stealth Rock can be used instead of Aqua Tail if none of your Pokemon carry it. Roost completes the set by giving Gligar an excellent way to recover 50% of its HP.
Gligar has numerous checks, but it doesn't have many solid counters. Many of Gligar's counters are incapable of handling Swords Dance Gligar for example, because Gligar will be strong enough to break through their defenses. Gligar is usually disposed of by checks.
Checks
Basically, any Pokemon that has access to Ice Shard or Aqua Jet or any Pokemon that has a STAB Water- or Ice-type attack and uses a Choice Scarf can beat Gligar. The above Pokemon are just the more common ones.
Counters
As you can see, the list of Gligar counters is much, much shorter than the list of checks. This is why Gligar is mostly brought down by its checks, rather than counters. Also, sometimes Gligar can break through its counters by using Swords Dance or catching them off guard with a super effective move.
Gligar's been often said to be a broken Pokemon in LC because of its ability to threaten teams instantly; however, Gligar is not as broken as it may seem. It's pitiful Special Attack and Special Defense, weakness to Water- and Ice-type attacks, and the fact that two common priority moves completely destroy it, Gligar is easy to handle.
All in all, Gligar still plays a huge role in Little Cup and is a very good Pokemon to use on almost any team. If you have any comments to share about Gligar, feel free to post them!
Approved by Gen. Empoleon