Golem

[Bullet]

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[Species Name] (M/F) @ [Hold Item]
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[AZKnight]

Second Chance at Life
Golem (M/F) @ Leftovers / Expert Belt / Red Card
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Heavy Slam / Hammer Arm / Counter
- Sucker Punch / Explosion

I love the design of Golem and would be inclined to use it more often in the games if it weren't for the fact you have to trade to evolve it. That was the worst back before wifi. Now Golem is clearly not the best of Pokemon as Rock / Ground is not the best of type combinations being weak six types, several of which are mainly Special types which Golem cannot take. It often cannot survive neutral hits if it is Special sadly. But Golem does have some things going for it. 110 Attack and 130 Defense are solid stats on the physical side and 80 HP is decent to go along with it. Golem will not be outrunning much of anything with 45 Speed which is why the Defense helps. The big hindrance is its lackluster Special Defense as that is what will usually kill it. One great thing that happened for Golem with the 5th generation is the Sturdy ability, meaning Golem has a built in Focus Sash. Often that is enough for many Pokemon to do [i]something[/i], though it's not going to make Golem or most other Sturdy Pokemon suddenly awesome. The items are a bit weird. You don't want to use Life Orb because you are counting on Sturdy to help you survive one attack so either you will break Sturdy from the recoil, or you'll have just survived with 1 HP and now die from the recoil. Leftovers is there just because it is a standard item to give Pokemon. Expert Belt is a weaker version of Life Orb where you can at least boost your super effective hits without taking recoil damage. Red Card will force the opponent to switch, often something that will murder you or is faster. If it's say Swampert, it will most likely bring you down to your Sturdy, be forced to switch out, and then you can hit something else on their team with a Powerful attack. Really it just lets you spread damage around more. Items are a bit tough for Golem. Choice Band could work with its massive Attack stat, though Golem cannot really afford to be locked into a single move most of the time.


For the EVs, you definitely want to max out Attack. I am inclined to then max out Speed, even if it does seem pointless. You might be able to outspeed something else that is extremely slow and didn't bother to invest in Speed. If you don't think Golem will be very fast no matter what, you could instead invest another 252 in either Defense or HP. The last 4-6 EVs should then be put in either Defense or HP just to provide that microscopic boost. Nature has the same speed dilemma. Adamant boosts the great Attack even further which, again, you want Golem to hit hard while it can. Jolly will help its pathetic Speed and maybe with enough help actually go first for once. Probably only use Jolly if you decide to max out Speed EVs. Moves are pretty standard. Stone Edge and Earthquake are the two most powerful and reliable STAB moves that Golem can learn. Heavy Slam could actually have a lot of power as Golem is ranked as #22 heaviest Pokemon, and most of the Pokemon above it are Uber Legendaries so you probably won't seem them. The heavier you are compared to your opponent, which Golem has a good chance at, the more damage. Obvious downside is the unreliable damage because it is based on weight and that Steel is not the best offensive type. Hammer Arm provides good damage as Fighting is good at offense. The downside is that your speed is lowered, but Golem is so slow it probably will not matter. The last move used to be Explosion on Golems, then it got nerfed. It can still do some decent damage as a last ditch move, though I do not blame anyone who says otherwise as I've seen Explosions in the 5th generation do nothing when in the same situation in generation 4 it would OHKO. Instead you can use Sucker Punch which has two advantages. It gets you around Golem's horrible Speed and as such can help finish off a Pokemon. First attack from the opponent could bring you down to Sturdy, you retaliate with a strong attack, then finish it off with the surprise Sucker Punch. You could mix these last four attacks around to how they suit you and only Stone Edge and Earthquake should remain as anchors.

Overall Golem has the potential to put the hurt on, but is unlikely to. Thanks to Sturdy it should be able to take out at least one Pokemon or at the very least severely weaken it. With prediction and switching, Golem can survive several encounters thanks to its high Defense. What really brings it down is the many types that just murder is as well as its pathetic Special Defense and Speed. Like I said, you won't see any sweeps, but Golem can take a hit and throw a few good punches.

Edit: Added Counter. Golem can learn it from a Tutor in FRLG, which can be transferred to DPPl and HGSS, which can [i]then [/i]be transferred to B&W. It can be a decent one time move when coupled with Sturdy and can take out a troublesome Pokemon that does not expect it. Since it deals double the damage received, probably max out HP to make sure you're dealing the most damage possible before hitting your Sturdy mark. At least that's how I think it would work.

[Ikaru]

Edited very slightly; Cell Battery wouldn't work, because the attack has to do damage for the battery to activate. In this case... It won't. Also fixed a small typo where you said Shadow Punch instead of Sucker Punch << >>

Since you mentioned Golem's speed is an issue, this can be resolved with the move Autotomize; If you use an Adamant Nature and max both stats, its speed would be boosted from 189 to a respectable 378. That outspeeds base 120s, actually, since their max is 372. Taking advantage of Sturdy, you could also use a Liechi Berry, giving you +2 Speed and +1 Attack, which is nice, resulting in 378 speed and 525 attack.

...This doesn't change the fact that you'll get owned by any form of Priority, but, that's not just Golem.

[Hyouka]

Can't you just keep Sucker Punch and use Rock Polish and a Salac Berry and out speed their priority with your yours
Like this

Golem (M) @ Salac Berry/Liechi Berry
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant/Jolly
- Rock Polish
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Sucker Punch

with salac berry and Rock Polish Adamant your speed is 473 and Jolly its 518
And if you want you can lower the Ivs to be sure the berry is used
And if anything like Ferrothorn or Skarmory take fire punch
even you know Iron barbs would kill the Golem.
Correct me if I messed anything up

[Zen]

A non-Sturdy golem! Gimmicky and luck-reliant, but it's worked several times before

Golem (M) @ BrightPowder
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 216 Atk / 36 Def / 255 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Rock Tomb
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Substitute

If you get the Substitute up, Rock Tomb can make it annoying for the opponent, since golem might actually lower their speed to the point that it can get in its attacks first.

[Neo]

[b][i][u][size=6]THIS IS A GEN 1 SET. DO NOT ASK ABOUT ITEMS OR EVS![/size][/u][/i][/b]

Golem (F) @ (No Item)
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Explosion
- Body Slam

If you're looking for a complete substitute for Rhydon, turn around now. They do the same job (deterring Zapdos), but Rhydon has better attack. I'm assuming the only reason you'd even want to use this, is for explosion. This things job is to switch into an attack from Zapdos, kill it, gtfo. If you leave it out any longer, you're just begging for a Kingler to come out, and set up on you. The way you exit is purely up to you. You can go out with a bang, or simply switch out.

[Zen]

Hmm, something I've seen of late in OU on the other servers:

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Golem (F) @ Custap Berry
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Fire Punch/Ice Punch
- ThunderPunch/Rock Slide/Stone Edge

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So, it basically dishes out a nasty hit to whatever's bugging it, and takes a hit with Sturdy (of course, it'd need a Spinner on the team). Then, once it's down to its last HP, cue the deathstrike.