Movatterモバイル変換

Each and every day we'll be taking a close and personal look atone of these unique creatures called Pokémon. Here you'll find allthe moves you could ever want (learned, hereditary and all compatible TMs/HMsfrom G/S/C and R/B/Y, if applicable), breeding chains for hereditary moves,Pokédex entries, general descriptions, max stats, in-game locations,weaknesses and resistances, gameplay tips and one or more suggested movesets(SUGGESTED, people; I'm not telling you what to do) to get the most bangfor your Pokébuck.

===============================INTRODUCTION==============================

You asked for it, you begged for it, and now you've got it! Overthe last couple of weeks I've had a surprising amount of requests for themighty Golem, the poster child of the overpopulated Rock/Ground brigadewho is far more popular than one might expect, given his ho-hum stats andmove options. I personally don't know why anyone would use something withtwo quad weaknesses to popular special type attacks and suck wretched Speedand Special Defense with which to compensate for them, though. Well actually,I suppose I DO have an inkling...KABLOOEY!! Heh heh.

Anyway, if nothing else I suppose Golem is a decent enough partyfiller should you find yourself training that Geodude you caught five minutesafter beginning the game longer than you had anticipated.
 

AVAILIBLE IN: Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, Crystal

LOCATION: Golem can't be found in the wild, but you can finda Graveler to evolve in Victory Road in every version, the Unknown Dungeonin Yellow, Route 45 and inside Mt. Silver in GSC, and in Dark cave andMt. Mortar solely in Crystal.

==================================MOVES==================================

Rock Slide: Breed with a male Sudowoodo.

Flamethrower: Graveler can also learn Flamethrower via theMove Tutor in Goldenrod City (Crystal only).

===============================IN BATTLE================================
Max stats at level 100
HP: 363
Attack: 318
Defense: 358
Special (RBY): 208
Special Attack (GCS): 208
Special Defense (GSC): 228
Speed: 188
Effective against: Fire, Ice, Flying, Bug, Electric, Poison,Rock, Steel
Not effective against: Grass, Fighting, Ground
Resistant to: Normal, Fire, Electric (immune), Poison (4x),Flying, Rock
Weak against: Water (4x), Grass (4x), Ice, Fighting, Ground,Steel
Suggested moveset
Held Item (GSC): Quick Claw
Substitute
Earthquake
Rock Slide
Explosion

After much internal debate, I've decided to go with the same exactmoveset I suggested for Graveler. I looked back to that article specificallyso I could take Golem in a different direction and be somewhat original,but there really is no better moveset for this particular evolutionarychain. The Golem family isn't about using finesse to outwit their opponent;they're all about hitting hard with powerful STABed attacks and then takingtheir own lives in order to inflict massive damage on the opposition asthe icing on the cake. Golem does have a few other viable move option whichwe'll talk about in a bit, but this is for the most part the only set youshould be using on any Graveler/Golem in a serious battle.

Substitute gives Golem a fighting chance against those horrid Waterand Grass types he's exceptionally weak to, in addition to the understatedIce types out there. I'm not usually too worried about Fighting, Groundand Steel types as Graveler's Defense is amazing, but with a 228 max SpecialDefense those elemental attackers will very likely pose a problem for him(well, at least they raised his Special Defense a bit from RBY's pathetic208). Use Substitute when your opponent has something on the field thatisn't capable of killing Golem outright; this will give you an opportunityto decide whether you want attack, attack or...uh...attack. Okay, so Golem'smoves aren't exactly varied in nature (read: they're all designed to flat-outkick but, with no fancy-schmancy side effects), but at least they're allextremely effective in various situations. If nothing else Substitute willbuy you the time you need to Explode once your opponent DOES send out theirmain Water or Grass type.

Earthquake is a happy little move for Golem; you'll never hear mecomplaining about STAB, power or accuracy, and Golem's Attack is top notch.So long as he actually survives long enough to use Earthquake, Golem isgoing to be rattling quite a few heads with the move. Aside from beingGolem's "standard" attack, you'll probably find yourself using Earthquaketo fend off Steel types and your fellow Rock/Ground types who want to takeadvantage of a Rock type's weakness to Ground type moves (even though theyknow Golem itself is just as effective against their Pokemon as it is againsthim...eh; you'll find logic seldom comes into play with some people). Ifyou can find a Fire or Electric type stupid enough to stay in against Golemthen Earthquake should be exceptionally fun (one-hit KO's usually are!),but don't count on seeing any.

You're going to need Rock Slide for the Flying types that are outof the reach of Golem's Ground side, in addition to the Bug types thatare resistant to Ground type moves and the Ice types that Ground type Pokemonare weak against. Though the compounded weaknesses resulting from a marriagesuch as Rock/Ground are altogether hideous, I must admit their offensivecapabilities compliment one another nicely. This is another attack whichGolem receives STAB for and should be at least moderately useful againstanything that happens to be resistant to Ground type moves. And hey, ifyou get lucky with Quick Claw you might even land a flinch on your opponent.Okay, so that isn't too likely, but it's interesting to consider.

And now we come to the "KABLOOEY!!" part of the analysis. Explosionis a fun move, it truly is. I never enjoy seeing one of my own Pokemonbite the dust but, as we all know, dust-biting is ultimately inevitablein the Pokemon universe so you might as well go out with a bang, no? Explosionis by far the most powerful purely offensive attack in the game, not tomention it looks really cool in Pokemon Stadium 2 (heh). The time to useExplosion is after your Substitute is toast and you know your opponent'snext attack will KO Golem (actually you'll be wanting to take all of thisinto account the turn before to compensate for Golem's incredible lackof Speed)...deny them the satisfaction! Bwahahahahaaa. Of course everyonekinda EXPECTS to see an Exploding Golem these days, so make sure you'vedispatched your opponent's Steel type/Ghost type/Shuckle/etc. before attemptingto employ the move (or bringing Golem out at all) if you have a choice.

If I actually have to explain Quick Claw I'm going to be incrediblydisappointed in you :p. Golem is slow as a rock (who woulda thunk it?);Quick Claw might actually give him a chance to see what going first inbattle is like. Really, Quick Claw is the only item I personally woulduse on Golem, though if you're dead set against it for some reason I supposeI would recommend Focus Band or Bright Powder. As impressive as Golem'smammoth Defense may be, he'll never live long enough to make use of Leftoversunless you have the insane luck to face off against someone with NO elementalattackers on their team (or if their only elemental attackers are Fireor Electric types, naturally).

As for alternate moves, there are only two that immediately springto mind for Golem: Submission and Double-Edge. You see (SPOILER), in Rubyand Sapphire Golem has a new characteristic called "Rock Head" which eliminatesthe recoil damage from moves such as Double-Edge and Submission (END SPOILER).Both attacks are powerful and useful in their own right, though Submission'spoor accuracy happens to turn me off. I suppose you might also considerCounter given Golem's weakness to the popular Ground type, but his Defenseis so high that Counter likely won't do as much damage as you would expect.Truly, I wasn't lying when I said this was just about the ONLY great Golemset...but heck, at least it does what it's supposed to, which is more thanone can say for a surprising number of Pokemon.

What have we learned today, ladies and gentlemen? Easy; we've learnedthat the Pokemon of the Day Chick is an expert at rehashing old articlesto make them seem new. Don't blame me; I ain't the one who wanted to seethis thing analyzed. I suppose we've also learned that Golem is a no-nonsensepowerhouse who will die quickly (most likely by his own hand) but willprobably dish out quite a bit of punishment as long as he's actually around.Golem happens to be a tad too boring for my particular taste (plus I haveMarowak for all my Ground type needs), but I guess Golem is a decent enoughPokemon if you feel you HAVE to have a Rock/Ground type. I mean, at leasthe's better than Rhydon or Onix...err, IMHO *wards off indignant emails*.

Have fun getting to know this ponderous overgrown pebble, and I'llsee you all tomorrow with another brand new Pokemon of the Day!

Please email any questions or comments topokemonofthedaychick@ign.com,or drop me a line if you just wanna say hello! I'm always up for a rousingPokémon chat. And, as always, feel free to visit us on IGN's dedicatedPokémonBoard. See you there!