Alolan Muk Strategy Guide - The Ghost Deleter · 5:12am Dec 6th, 2016
Many Alolan forms from the new Pokémon Sun and Moon games have raised the possibility for many Pokémon that were usually pretty bad to shine and do well. Marowak is an exceptional example of this, as Marowak's new Ghost and Fire typing, along with its immense movepool and access to its special item Thick Club, have put it in the current Overused Tier. Overused is what we like to call Tapu Haven. Every single game is going to have either Tapu Fini, Tapu Lele, Tapu Bulu, or Tapu Koko. Every single one of those Pokémon is a fairy type in some way. What that means is pumping Special Defense evs into Marowak can really help deal with those, and with Lightningrod ability, Tapu Koko stands no chance vs Marowak.
However, while Marowak takes the spotlight, another greatly enhanced Alolan form sits in the back. Alolan Muk. Muk has gained a Dark typing to add to its Poison, as well as gaining 2 useful moves: Pursuit and Knock Off (Though Pursuit isn't technically legal yet. Only on Pokémon Showdown really. Still worth keeping in mind as it is usable like so at this moment regardless). Dark type might seem like a nice little uplift for Muk, but it actually sends him soaring in the sky. To remind you, Dark/Poison is the same type as Drapion. Anyone remember Drapion? Go ahead and think about what weaknesses it has. Go on. Tell me.
That's right.
Just Ground.
That is just insane. Muk having only one weakness in a tier with special attacking Tapu Fairy types are running rampant and Pursuit for the psychics is absolutely ridiculous. This makes Muk nearly as viable as Marowak, and they work very well on a team together, which is very cool. Without further ado, let me inform you why you should give ol' de blob a go.
First let's have a look at its stats and see what it is capable of.
Taking a quick glance, we can see that it shines in physically attacking and specially defensive bulk, but kinda falls flat on physical defense and especially speed. What this means for you is you need a ground resist or two, because Earthquake will eat Muk up like it's nothing. Other than that, just be wary of powerful Physical attackers like Mimikyu and Dragonite.
Here's a list of what Muk CAN do very well:
-Trap Ghosts and Psychics like no tomorrow
-1v1 all the Tapu Guardian Faeries
-Knock Off reliably
-Take safe strong special attacks
-Scare out grass and fairies into a free Knock Off
-1v1 any and all Psychic types that don't run Earthquake (Necrozma for example runs Earthquake)
-Finish off weak opponents that aren't Normal type
-Poison Pokémon with a reliable ~52% chance with Poison Jab + Poison Touch ability
Here's a list of what Muk CAN'T do very well:
-1v1 bulky Poisons like Toxapex
-1v1 Steels such as Skarmory
-1v1 Bulky Grounds like Krookadile
-Handle Intimidate
-Stay in for very long, usually
-Recover any HP without Wish support from another Pokémon
Here is the current best moveset for Muk in the Pokémon Sun and Moon competitive Battle Spot/Showdown metagame!
Alolan Muk
Item: Assault Vest
252 HP EVs/212 Attack EVs/44 Sp. Defense EVs
Nature: Adamant
-Poison Jab
-Knock Off
-Pursuit
-Shadow Sneak
Let's go in depth with this bad boy. First and foremost, it's nature must be ADAMANT. There is no other option. Muk is a pure physical attacker and it has the moves to make use of it's good 105 base Attack. If you do not get an Adamant nature, you are shaming Muk's best role; a Ghost Buster and fairy killer. For items, we chose Assault Vest. This allows Muk to take certain hits from powerful opponents like it is nothing. For example: Tapu Lele's not very effective Psychic in boosted Psychic terrain with Choice Specs does 75% to specially defensive Skarmory. Tapu Lele's neutral hit Moonblast does 42%-48% to Muk. That means Muk can 1v1 Tapu Lele, the biggest threat in the current metagame, above 50% health. That bulk is very important.
As for Knock Off, just use that when you've got the opponent scared. They'll switch out and lose an item. No reason not to. Pursuit is possibly the most important move on Muk's toolkit however. This traps Ghost types such as Gengar and Mismagius and kills them instantly. If you spam pursuit, Gengar cannot escape. It will die, and you will win cause Assault Vest makes you tank anything Gengar wants to throw at you. Shadow Sneak is there to pick off opponents at 5% or so that aren't normal. Granted, not a lot of normals in OU so you should be fine.
A few good partners for Alolan Muk are:
-Tapu Fini. It's just a good physical wall
-Alolan Marowak. Marowak can take on certain threats easier than Muk can like Celesteela and Scizor, though not always reliably.
-Tapu Bulu. Grassy Terrain, which comes up automatically with its ability, makes Earthquake less of a problem.
-Tapu Lele, Alakazam, and other powerful Psychics helps deal with the Poisons and Steels that Muk can't really handle.
-Skarmory and Mandibuzz, to help take Earthquakes.
Overall, in both casual and competitive play, Muk has proven to be an absolute monster when people know how to use him, but underwhelming in the wrong hands. Here are some fine examples of the destruction Alolan Muk can bring. I hope I helped you pick out Alolan Muk for your team to try and kill some Ghosts.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-490696429
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-490683803
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-490567185
Very impressive and also that pic is adorable.
lotsa people are forgetting alolan muk is the only pokemon that can have the Power of Alchemy ability, which can lead to a lot of interesting strategies
my personal strategy is to get muk loaded on health EVs, use a bottlecap to max its health IVs and finally get a ditto with the Imposter ability
ditto isnt really a great lead but alchemy muk and imposter ditto work wonderfully together. its important to know that imposter copies every last detail of the other pokemon, including EVs and IVs, with the exception of health. That's where ditto falls flat, its only got like 48 health, like damn
Muk on the other hand got 105 fucking health, so when ditto dies muk automatically steals it's imposter ability and basically becomes a better ditto. And if the pokemon you're copying hasnt invested in any health EVs then you basically get 3 stats with maxed EVs. might be more gimmicky than viable but I like it
4331042 While that gimmick COULD work, I agree, I personally think it's better to just be a special brick wall and make sure that Gengar that's gonna kill your Tapu Lele or Tapu Bulu or never gets the chance to shine. I find that to be easier. Plus, Poison Touch Knock off is actually really freaking good. You'd have to do some serious planning to get some use out of Power of Alchemy. Shedinja is a really good partner, cause only 1 weakness. and cant be burnt. If you can set that up right, you're literally unbeatable, which is funny, I'll admit.
role swap wonder guard to it with it holding an air balloon. There's nothing that can harm it then. fuk you attacks. I'm gonna beat you down and you can't touch me!
4331791 Well in VGC sure. It doesn't work in single battles cause Power of Alchemy is doubles exclusive.