Bethany Plays: Pokemon Alola Po Town Bonus: Guzma

Let's see if Guzma's as good as his word in this reality.

This time, Hawkeye came prepared. Mago Berry Acrobatics doesn't give him an Unburden boost, but it still lets him have some benefit from the item slot while still using full power Acrobatics.

Shade is a lot better for this fight than she was before Ula'ula Beach, and her dual-resist to Bug remains her greatest asset. And this still a fraction of Mawile's power.

Consilia still wishes she were not neutral to Bug for Tailwind to be a good setup move overall. Very little we can do about that- Guzma is very good at preventing Xatu in specific from being in his presence for long.

Moss is no longer resistant to Bug, but upgrading to the Punch attacks gave her that much extra power to bear in exchange.

Captain Nemo is still short the ability to tank as hard as he'd wish, but Rock Slide is a good enough improvement to win points. But still, I'm not counting on him.

Genevieve was amazing last time we fought Guzma, and now she's got a move that's SE on Bug inherently. Choice Specs rob her of the ability to pick her fights- or even reliably paralyse- but between Static and Electroweb, she's got the tools to be annoying.

Guzma wishes Ailey's primary motivation to win this fight was to get revenge for losing last time.

As previously alluded to, Po Town Guzma in USUM has gained a third Pokemon, in addition to Ariados having been replaced by the more competent Masquerain.

Like in SM, Golisopod's only buff other than the extra levels (and even then, USUM Golisopod is +7 stronger than the Malie Garden one, rather than +6 like in SM) is upgrading 252 of the missing EVs. Unlike SM, however, this means Golisopod is running 252 EVs in both Atk and Def, alongside the Adamant Nature, flat 30 IVs and moves of First Impression, Razor Shell and Sucker Punch.

And here I am leading with my physical attacker.

Acrobatics while holding an item clearly didn't do as much as I wanted it to.

Fortunately, Razor Shell did not KO Hawkeye.

And did manage to bring Hawkeye to the correct HP threshold to use the Mago Berry.

That went loads better, although certainly not as good as I may have hoped. I definitely think going Acrobatics first was either a plan to hit Emergency Exit or to chip, then drop Golisopod to 0 on the second hit.

Either way, it doesn't seem to have gone according to plan.

Masquerain, like Ariados, is running the same kit as last time. Unlike Ariados, Masquerain's kit the first time was good, so he gets a pass. It's not like he had upward potential from 30 IVs, 252 EVs in Sp. Atk/Spd, Modest Nature and Air Slash/Bug Buzz/Icy Wind. Maybe a fourth move.

Well that sucks. Hawkeye can probably pull off the outspeed, but I worry about the oneshot. Maybe turn 1 should've been spent using Hone Claws.

Well, it's best to switch Hawkeye out. I know a Flying move is incoming, but I'm not exactly running a ton of Flying resists. Genevieve, certainly.

...Well that helps. Go Moss!

Did not get the outspeed, and pretty much proved I needed that dodge to not go down like a chump.

Amazing, the line between "I lose" and "he loses".

I bet you would. Sadly, not a move that fits in your kit.

Of course the Golisopod came back next turn. Hawkeye dispenses with it.

Guzma's third Pokemon is Pinsir, a pure Bug type with a weird plan. 30 IVs, 252 EVs in Def/Sp. Def, an Impish (+Def/-Sp. Atk) Nature, and the moves Throat Chop, Storm Throw and X-Scissor. Throat Chop is an 80 BP Physical Dark move that prevents the target from using sound-based moves for two turns, while Storm Throw is a 60 BP Physical Fighting move that always lands a critical hit if possible. Bit of a "whoever's in reach" sort of kit.

Pity that Mold Breaker doesn't block Intimidate, huh?

That's also the only neutral option he has. So much for the -Atk...

Shade is having fun in return, at least.

Although Shade is clearly not staying in here long. A Fake Tears is in order.

Because Genevieve is going to be the one to finish this.

...Oh wow, not even half HP from Storm Throw. Yeah, Genevieve's got this.

I don't think a non-STAB attack could be more effective than that.

I'm glad I didn't have to worry about Ailey this time. Now then... the boys.

Archeops (Ultra Moon): Said to be an ancestor of bird Pokémon, the muscles it uses to flap its wings are still weak, so it needs a long runway in order to take off.

During the runup to Guzma, Noah evolved Taion into Archeops. The murderbird is now online. I think this says plenty about Guzma's odds.

So much so that Noah's not even going to use him as his plan A. Ethel's cool too.

Sometimes, you look at a matchup and just know things are about to go swimmingly.

I have hopes.

This is not encouraging.

...OK, I do have more of a brain than it looks. Remember, Golisopod only has First Impression and Razor Shell- right now, the only thing it can do to me is NVE. But still, this is a bold strategy.

With Swords Dance, Razor Shell is still doing an uncomfortably large amount of Nimue's health.

Right, Sleep Powder and Leech Seed, because that's the only way this situation makes any sense.

And going for the Giga Drain, so I can make sure I can take a hit.

With this coming at the cost of my easy setup. Nimue was not supposed to work in this fight, can you tell?

...Didn't you have Insomnia earlier, or was I thinking of a different Ariados? Either way, thank goodness this one has Swarm!

I did go in for the Leech Seed, but because Ariados is a Poison type and dual-resists Grass, I decided setting up for a sweep was going nowhere from the start.

So it is now Arsena's turn with the free switch.

As good moves go, that is certainly one of them.

You're on fire, Arsena. You too, Ariados, but in a different way.

Now then, can Arsena take Golisopod?

It turns out the answer is "It don't matter, it's still asleep from when Nimue was dealing with it.

I didn't have "pure Grass cannon was linchpin of Bug type boss fight" on my bingo card, did you?

Now for Ray. Wiingo will never get any less practical, even if its kit hasn't meaningfully changed in ages.

Theodore says, throwing from a house made of glass. I haven't changed Theo's kit since I got him. I'll tell you when he needs an update.

Candy will be setting up Sandstorm, and I actually plan to use the +50 Sp. Def for Rock types to deal with Masquerain.

Dawn doesn't have Accelerock, which would trivialise him. What she does have will certainly make a splash.

Alena is here to show off the fact that she can block Golisopod again. Whether it will help her remains to be seen.

I'll be honest, I'm not 100% sure what Brave Bernie's plan is, but if I need her, I brought her.

Funny how a team with a bunch of Rock types and the Marowak is the one actually somewhat scared of the Bug type expert. Noah was clowning on him with a Grass type!

An important switcheroo, to help Candy stick around.

And also because it means Candy's not taking a Razor Shell for being on the field. Don't worry, First Impression did a bit more than this.

Enough that I think Candy might not take the Razor Shell.

She did. I am proud.

And now setting up Stealth Rocks.

Alena had to switch in, owing to the incoming Razor Shell. I'd have preferred someone else, but I don't know who could've handled it.

That is unfortunate. Although the Atk drop is welcome... not that it will last after Emergency Exit.

At that HP, though, I could see Golisopod either falling immediately to Stealth Rock, or being easily handled subsequently.

Now that is how you Stealth Rock. Although perhaps I should've considered U-Turn to knock Golisopod into Emergency Exit. No matter. I wouldn't know what I was switching into.