POKE-FOCUS #12: GOLEM

Introduction

Ahh, Golem. One of the very first Rock-types in the history of Pokemon. Golem is considered to be the "megaton Pokemon" because...well, just look at him. He is all muscle and no finesse, but that's the very thing that makes him the sturdy physical powerhouse that he is.





Certainly, he is not the best Rock/Ground type on the market, but he has certain advantages over his similarly-typed brethren...namely, Explosion. Unfortunately though, the physical and special split in Generation 4 DESTROYED this advantage.

Golem is just a big, tough, rocky ball of first generation goodness, and that's the bottom line (cause Cullination said so :D). In all honesty, though, we can't help but feel for Golem. He is just a boulder with T-Rex arms. How does he eat? How does he go to the bathroom? These are all burning questions (and also sad ones), but at the end of the day we fear that the following picture describes what it feels like to be Golem.

Capture/Training

Geodude and Graveler are Golem's pre-evolutions, neither of which are very difficult to find. Most of the time, Geodudes are found in caves in the early part of nearly any Pokemon game.

Geodude evolves into Graveler at level 25, and then into Golem via trade, similar to the likes of Kadabra, Haunter, and Machoke. No held-item is required for the evolution, but it can still be drag to have to trade and then trade back to get your Golem.

Statistics

80 HP, 110 Att, 130 Def, 55 Sp Att, 65 Sp Def, 45 Spd

Clearly, the main strengths lie in Golem's physical attack and defense numbers. Golem can absorb almost any physical type attack with its huge defense stat, even supereffective Earthquakes or Cross Chops, and dish out massive damage with Earthquakes of his own.

A low Special Attack stat normally would not be too much of a problem, other than the fact that Selfdestruct and Explosion have both become Special Attacks. Golem's horrid Special Defense makes him easy pickings for most Water and Grass types, which inevitably will exploit his quadruple weaknesses to those types. An even lower Speed stat make Golem a tricky choice, but there are a few ways to combat all of these weaknesses.

Moves

Golem has a wide movepool compared to your average Rock/Ground type. Unfortunately, a lot of the wacky moves that Golem can pick up are shot down by his horrendous Special Attack, and an inability to compensate for it. Moves like Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Focus Blast, Hyper Beam, Ancientpower, and Earth Power go completely to waste because of this setback and should NOT be used unless you are content with doing miniscule amounts of damage!

The last, albeit large, setback in Golem's movepool is the inability to utilize Explosion to its fullest. In Generation 3 and prior, Explosion was a physical attack solely because of its Normal typing, and as such Golem could unleash it with its huge attack power to devastate the battlefield. No longer is this an option as a result of the split in Generation 4 causing Explosion to be switched to a Special move. This change hurts Golem immensely, as many popular strategies revolved around a powerful Golem Explosion.

On to the positives. Stone Edge and Earthquake are your staples for STAB moves. Rock Slide and Rollout are other options. If Rollout is chosen, it should be paired with Defense Curl for the 2x power. With the ability Rock Head to prevent recoil damage, Double Edge can be used recklessly without penalty.

Substitute isn't a very common choice on Golem, but can be used most effectively after Rock Polish negates the Speed issue. Protect can work wonders if other team members know Earthquake or Explosion, and Focus Punch is best paired behind a protective Substitute for guaranteed hits.

Giga Impact is always good as a last resort, and Superpower can be used in conjunction with Curse and even Rock Polish to negate all of the stat changes. Perhaps Golem's biggest surprise moves can come via the Move Tutor in HeartGold and SoulSilver, where he can be taught Fire Punch and Thunderpunch to rid himself of pesky Grass and Water types, respectively.

One last effective combination would be Gyro Ball after Curse (Gyro Ball's power increases the slower you are compared to your opponent).

It's hard to say what a general moveset would be for Golem because of its strange possibilities, so let's just jump into the Effective Movesets section.

Effective Movesets

1. Punchem

- Fire Punch

- Thunderpunch

- Stone Edge

- Earthquake

2. Rollem

- Rollout

- Defense Curl

- Curse

- Earthquake/Stone Edge

3. (Focus) Punchem

- Focus Punch

- Substitute

- Earthquake

- Rock Polish/Stone Edge

4. Cursem

- Curse

- Gyro Ball

- Superpower/Hammer Arm/Earthquake/Stone Edge

- Rock Polish

Items

The Hard Stone and Soft Sand are great for increasing the power of Golem's STAB moves, but the Quick Claw can be especially deadly in Golem's case, where a first strike can be the difference in setting up a Substitute wall, getting a Rock Polish boost, or unleashing an early Earthquake before your opponent can react. 

Choice Scarf is also an option, though be careful when locking yourself into Earthquake, as a switch to any Flying-type will leave you with no choice but to switch and lose a turn.

Conclusion

Golem has just about as many strengths as he does weaknesses, and thus can be a tricky choice for many people. If you have a firm grasp on how you can manipulate Golem's stat changing moves into something similar to the movesets above, there is little standing in the way of this boulder, monster, creature. Thingy.





Remember to vote on the last Fan Choice Poke-Focus for who you want to see in the spotlight. Only one more Poke-Focus release until the next Fan Choice, so go vote!

Link to last Fan Choice Poke-Focus: http://cullination.blogspot.com/2012/05/fan-choice-poke-focus-11-typhlosion.html



WE ARE...CULLINATION!