Alolan Marowak Analysis



Alolan-Marowak, despite being currently overshadowed by other fire types such as Heatran and Incineroar, as well as other Lightning Rod users such as Manectric and Raichu, Marowak finds its niche in dishing out heavy damage under Trick Room while providing Lightning Rod support.
Pros -Thick Club creates a sky-high Attack stat combined with decent coverage allowing for super-effective/neutral attacks on the entire metagame -Effectively two useful abilities; can often bluff Lightning Rod and run Rock head instead to allow for more damage output -Ghost typing allows a pseudo counter to GothLax or CressLax, the most common Trick Room set ups; also allows for switching out of Shadow Tag -Ally Switch Mind Games Cons -60/110/80 Defensive stats are not terrible, but doubles into Marowak often knock it out -Surge in Choice Specs Tapu Fini can KO Marowak with spread moves -Reliance on Snarl to survive majority of special attacks -Marowak lacks item flexibility, without Thick Club damage becomes laughable -Landorus-Therian is in the format.

Set #1 - Lightning Rod Support

Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 28 Atk / 4 Def / 236 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful / Sassy Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Low Kick / Ally Switch / Substitute
- Protect

An incredibly Defensive Spread, this Marowak Spread aims at sustaining Marowak's longevity on the field to provide Lightning Rod support for as long as possible.
*28 Atk EVs allow Marowak to guarantee KO's on bulky Aegislash, Celesteela, and Metagross with Flare Blitz
*236 HP / 4 Def allows Marowak to survive +252 Atk Landorus Earthquake and +252 Atk Tyranitar Crunch
*236 HP / 236+ SpD allows Marowak to survive +252 SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball and +252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Lele Psychic in Terrain
*However, after taking these attacks, Marowak will likely faint due to Flare Blitz recoil or weather damage
*Flare Blitz and Shadow Bone are Marowak's bread and butter moves, providing STAB coverage of many Pokemon in the metagame.
*The Third moveslot is up to personal preference;
*Low Kick threatens common TR sweepers such as Snorlax and Tyranitar
*Ally Switch can be used to redirect taunts or receive +6 Snorlax Returns in place of your other mons
*Substitute can be run to stall out attacks without Protecting, keeping Marowak alive for longer periods of time to redirect Electric moves
*This set especially loves pairing with Landorus deterrents such as Porygon 2 or Milotic, as it has much lowest attack investment than usual.

Set #2 - Bluffing Lightning Rod
Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Rock Head
Level: 50
EVs: 140 HP / 252 Atk / 60 Def / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Low Kick
- Protect

Pastebin of Calcs:

Based around bluffing Lightning Rod and running Rock Head; this second set allows multiple uses of Flare Blitz as a Trick Room Sweeper, while surviving numerous attacks
*Flare Blitz is incredibly powerful netting KO’s on most super effective targets (Metagross, Celesteela, Ferrothorn, Aegislash, Amoongus) even at -1
*Shadow Bone allows for coverage and threatens the common Cresselia, Tapu Lele, Aegislash
*Shadow Bone isn’t a contact move so attack is not lowered by King’s Shield!
*Low Kick allows Marowak to cover and knock out heavily defensive mons such as Tyranitar, Heatran, Kangaskhan, and Snorlax that might otherwise wall it

Using Marowak
*While generally Trick Room reliant to get massive damage off, Marowak is still undersped by notable threats such as Amoongus (Spore), Mega Camerupt, and Snorlax
*The best Trick Room Setter for Marowak would be Porygon2, as it covers Landorus weaknesses while simultaneously setting up Trick Room
*Porygon 2 can also Ally Switch Ghost/Z moves away from Marowak
*Tapu Fini is almost a requirement for Marowak, as Misty Terrain prevents Amoongus from completely neutering Marowak with Spore
*Fini also threatens Incineroar, Landorus, and Scrafty, three off Marowak’s least favorite matchups
*It is generally not a good idea to lead with Alolan Marowak, as having Alolan Marowak hidden away from opponents provides extra pressure and scares them from using Electric type attacks
*Because of Alolan Marowak's immunity to both Electric and Normal types, as well as resisting Fairy and Fire types, you can switch Marowak safely into common Pokemon such as Tapu Koko, Snorlax, Heatran, and Charizard Y
*Take note that Charizard Y still does hefty damage with Sun Boosted Fire type moves, especially if you are not running bulky Alolan Marowak
*Alolan Marowak also matches up poorly against sand, however with Trick Room up Marowak can easily KO Tyranitar and Excadrill with a Low Kick

In general, Alolan Marowak should always be the third or fourth Pokemon you select, switching in Marowak only to redirect Electric moves, receive hefty Snorlax Returns, or to resist Fairy / Ice / Fire type attacks. However, against Hard-Trick Room teams, Marowak can be led immediately to put pressure on Trick Room setters and Trick Room sweepers from turn one.

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