We’ve had CHALK in VGC 2015, and the Weather Wars in VGC 2016. VGC 2017 will no doubt be remembered as the one that “introduced” players to the concept of Terrain Wars, no thanks to the metagame centralizing influence of the Alolan Guardians.
In VGC 2017, many teams need to either establish a more beneficial Terrain, nullify the opposing Terrain setter, or both. In this article, we shall look at how players can better handle the combined threat of the Alolan Guardians.
Since the Alolan Guardians are all Fairy Type Pokemon, the job of containing them is made easier, as players can fall back on the Poison and Steel Type Pokemon available in the season.
Poison Type
Alolan Muk
Alolan Muk, being a Dark Type Pokemon, is extremely useful as an option against Tapu Lele, since it is immune to the latter’s Psychic Type STAB moves. Not a lot of Pokemon can gobble up a Psychic Terrain boosted Psychic, so being able to switch in to the predicted hit is a huge bonus.
It has the highest Base Attack out of all eligible Poison Type Pokemon in VGC 2017, and the second highest Base HP among its brethren. Due to Gluttony, Alolan Muk’s impressive overall bulk makes it very hard to eliminate within one to two turns without Tectonic Rage.
Players opting to base a team around Alolan Muk can also make use of its signature Ability, Power of Alchemy, for some strategic plays. Suitable partners include Haunter, Alolan Exeggutor, and Celesteela. This strategy revolves around having the partner use Explosion while Alolan Muk uses Protect. At the end of the turn, heavy damage is ideally dealt to the opponent, and Alolan Muk picks up the Ability of its fallen comrade. Haunter’s sacrifice grants Alolan Muk Levitate, removing its sole Type weakness. Alolan Exeggutor helps to set up Trick Room, and can pass Harvest, meaning Alolan Muk can recycle a Pinch Berry half of the time. Celesteela gives Beast Boost, which can make Alolan Muk really scary when it starts racking up the KOs.
Nihilego
Nihilego is a faster option that can better handle multiple threats commonly seen in VGC 2017. Power Gem threatens Arcanine, Hidden Power [Fire] and [Ice] are capable of chunking Kartana and Garchomp respectively, while Sludge Bomb is the STAB move of choice.
Common items that players use on Nihilego include Choice Scarf, Focus Sash, and Life Orb. Choice Scarf allows Nihilego to outspeed even Naive Pheromosa and OHKO it with either Power Gem or Sludge Bomb, while Focus Sash helps the Ultra Beast to better handle Choice Scarf Garchomp. Lastly, Life Orb is the crucial Held Item that helps Nihilego get the crucial OHKO it needs on certain Pokemon.
Players can also opt to use Poisonium Z to assure the first OHKO, and trigger Beast Boost. As Nihilego is efficient against most of the commonly seen Pokemon in VGC 2017, snowballing Beast Boost makes the Ultra Beast a really scary prospect for the opponent.
Steel Type
Magnezone
Magnezone, the original Electric and Steel Type Pokemon, is a rather unique choice in terms of countering the Alolan Guardians. It walls Tapu Koko that lack Hidden Power [Fire], and can threaten the rest with the combination of STAB Flash Cannon and Thunderbolt. Being a Steel Type also allows Magnezone to resist the majority of what the Alolan Guardians can muster.
While early sets featured Magnet Pull to stop Celesteela, players can opt for either of Magnezone’s other Abilities, Sturdy and Analytic. The former can come in handy, considering that Magnezone is extremely weak to Ground Type moves. The latter utilizes Magnezone’s rather low Base Speed to allow it to hit harder off its Base 130 Special Attack.
Players can opt to let Magnezone hold Focus Sash to replace Sturdy, effectively giving it two Abilities in return for the Held Item slot. Sample Magnezone spreads can be located on the in house Guide, located here.
Kartana
Kartana and Celesteela would both work as Steel Type Pokemon, when talking about suppressing Alolan Guardians. However, Kartana is chosen as the main example here for as it can OHKO Tapu Fini outright, unlike Celesteela, which relies more on Leech Seed stalling to get around the particular Alolan Guardian. It is also not a momentum sink, something that Celesteela is often guilty of being.
While players have managed to develop multiple methods of dealing with Kartana by this stage of the season, it is also just as easy for players to support Kartana. As the season reaches its conclusion, more players are opting to use Kartana as a devastating Pokemon to sweep the late game, especially after threats like Arcanine have already been taken care of.
Held Items that Kartana commonly carry have also increased from just Focus Sash, to Assault Vest, Choice Scarf, and Grassium Z. Likewise, players have also opted to spice up their Kartana’s movesets, with alternatives like Substitute and Swords Dance rising to the fore. Sample Kartana spreads can be located on the in-house Guide, located here.
OTHER POSSIBILITIES
There are more ways than one to skin a cat. Hence, it would be a folly to think that only Poison or Steel Type Pokemon should be considered when choosing a Pokemon to counter the Alolan Guardians. Here are some alternatives to consider:
Alolan Marowak
Alolan Marowak was a popular pick at the start of VGC 2017, due to the combination of its Ability and Type. Lightningrod effectively reduces Tapu Koko to using Dazzling Gleam and/or supporting moves like Hidden Power [Fire] and Sky Drop. It also walls Kartana variants that lack Night Slash, which itself is getting rarer and rarer as time goes on. The only drawback would be it being weak to Garchomp and Tapu Fini, two very popular Pokemon in the metagame.
That said, being able to neuter a variety of Pokemon in the metagame is an attribute that should not be underestimated. Besides the aforementioned Tapu Koko and Kartana, Alolan Marowak is also fantastic against Tapu Bulu, Buzzwole, Pheromosa, Xurkitree, Celesteela, and can eliminate Tapu Lele with STAB Shadow Bone.
The key issue around utilizing Alolan Marowak is the perennial struggle against its archnemesis, Alolan Muk. Knock Off badly hurts the former if it lands first, while Bonemerang can wreck the latter if it strikes earlier. The Speed creeping is something that players have to keep in mind, and can prove to be a stumbling block.
Dhelmise
Dhelmise, like to Alolan Marowak as a Ghost Type Pokemon. Both are rather slow, immune to Fake Out and Fighting Type moves, and has access to moves that can strike the Alolan Guardians for super effective damage. Unfortunately, Dhelmise is just as weak to Alolan Muk, if not weaker.
While Dhelmise does not resist the Alolan Guardians’ Fairy Type STAB, it does handle Tapu Fini much better through STAB Power Whip. On the Ultra Beasts’ side, Dhelmise can OHKO Nihilego with Steelworker boosted Anchor Shot without the threat of being smashed first, since being Ghost Type, it takes neutral damage from Sludge Bomb.
Players opting to use Dhelmise instead of Alolan Marowak have to keep in mind that the former lacks the power to threaten opposing Steel Type Pokemon. Hence, they have to consider whether being OHKO Tapu Fini is more important to the team than covering the likes of Kartana and Celesteela.
PARTNERS IN CRIME
As much as players would like to have a Pokemon that dominates the field the way Primal Groudon and Xerneas did for VGC 2016, none of the Pokemon listed above are equipped to do so. Hence, it is very important that the player supplements the team with Pokemon that can help them perform and/or survive long enough to do its job. Candidates are listed below:
Tapu Bulu
4 out of the 6 options listed above are vulnerable to Earthquake. This means that Tapu Bulu, by virtue of setting up Grassy Terrain upon entry, is highly appreciated as a partner. As the slowest member of the Alolan Guardians quartet, Tapu Bulu can be expected to win most of the Terrain Wars it enters, meaning that its partners will take less damage from Thunderbolt and Psychic from Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele. Tapu Bulu, being built to perform as a Physical attacker, can also be a makeshift option against opposing Alolan Guardians due to them not resisting STAB Wood Hammer, made to hurt even more with Grassy Terrain.
Braviary
4 out of the 6 options listed above deal damage off their higher Base Attack. Therefore, Intimidate can cause problems when it leads to missed OHKOs. Hence, Pokemon that can deter Intimidate leads and switches go a long way in reducing the impact that Intimidate brings. Out of the Defiant and Competitive Pokemon available, Braviary comes of as the most useful, as it is one of the few to not overtly rely on its Ability to perform. It can set up Tailwind, deal damage with STAB Brave Bird, or Sky Drop certain annoying targets.
Porygon2
4 out of the options listed above live around the lower rungs of the Speed ladder. Hence, having a solid Trick Room setter can help them land the hits they need before they go down to a double target. Porygon2 fits the bill as a bulky Trick Room setter with reliable recovery, capable of smashing the likes of Garchomp with Download boosted Ice Beam, though it struggles to deliver significant damage output without the right Download boost.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
The 6 Pokemon listed above are by no means the only ways to cover the Alolan Guardians. However, they would be a good start for players who are still struggling to find suitable candidates to fit into their teams. Ultimately, readers are encouraged to build upon this article and their own personal experiences to develop the best option for their own teams.
MYSVGC 