Discussion Best Golisopod GX Partner

[GhostXEmpire]

Maybe you could combine Golispod with Solgaleo. Free retreat every turn.

Volcanion still laughs at them both D:

 

[CaptZero]

Some of my friends and I were talking about this very thing last week. I feel like there's nothing in Standard that pairs well with it. Sure, Zoroark's great and all, but not if your opponent is smart and doesn't fill up their Bench. If you know what you're doing, you can keep them hitting from 40-70 damage most of the game. And since Golisopod doesn't have a lot of OHKO potential, whatever you pair it with needs to be able to hit big numbers consistently. But the card has great potential, I feel like we'll get something in a future set that makes this card extremely more playable, but as for now, keep this card in your binders.

Zoroark isn't an attacker in this deck though? It's so you can't consistently switch, like how Keldeo EX used to be used.

Gardy scoops itself up, Metagross uses Max Potion, Volcanion is an auto-loss lol, it's just not the time for the big bug right now.

I wouldn't say Volc is an auto loss, especially with the Garb Variant. It's not an easy MU that's for sure... but not an auto loss. As for Gardy and Metagross is both those situations you're going to be locking them out of their abilities and forcing them to slow attach all while attacking for a single energy. Sure they can scoop... but you can too and they can't do it forever. If you can keep them locked and pick off weak benched basic and stage 1 pokemon you can win the war of attrition. Plus I personally like to use Tapu Koko because A) Free retreat pairs well with Golisopod, and B) The spread damage makes it easier to hit certain numbers. Two Flying Flips and and a bunch of stuff is in range of a one shot from First Impression with a Choice Band. If anything I think Post rotation favors Golisopod MORE than worlds.

 

[Mora]

You being up some good points, but allow me to add to the discussion.

Golisopod isn't meant to OHKO Stage 2s. What it does do though is rush in for 120 damage (150 with a Choice Band), get scooped up with Acerola next turn after it gets heavily damaged, and then rush back in after you evolve your Wimpod on the bench or bring out another Golisopod that was already on the bench for another 120-150 damage, which does get the KO on many Stage 2s. You also deny your opponent prize cards and they have to deal with a fresh non-damaged Golisopod

I agree. It has its niche. A lot of damage for one Energy. If your opponent can't OHKO, all you need is Acerola. It's good, not going to refute that.

Zoroark isn't an attacker in this deck though? It's so you can't consistently switch, like how Keldeo EX used to be used.

I'd say Zoroark's in there for both. His attack is good in the right circumstances, there's no reason not to play DCE and plan to attack with Zoroark sometimes. But really either way, you lack a way to consistently OHKO things, which I still believe is an issue for the deck in this format, even though it has great prize denial.

I wouldn't say Volc is an auto loss, especially with the Garb Variant. It's not an easy MU that's for sure... but not an auto loss. As for Gardy and Metagross is both those situations you're going to be locking them out of their abilities and forcing them to slow attach all while attacking for a single energy. Sure they can scoop... but you can too and they can't do it forever. If you can keep them locked and pick off weak benched basic and stage 1 pokemon you can win the war of attrition. Plus I personally like to use Tapu Koko because A) Free retreat pairs well with Golisopod, and B) The spread damage makes it easier to hit certain numbers. Two Flying Flips and and a bunch of stuff is in range of a one shot from First Impression with a Choice Band. If anything I think Post rotation favors Golisopod MORE than worlds.

All decks that use Abilities also play Field Blower and if you play them conservatively, those decks can still do okay against Garbodor. Especially in Gardevoir's case. Thanks to Gardevoir's low attack cost, the deck doesn't stall or anything if you can't attach extra Energy, unlike say Blastoise.

 

[CaptZero]

I'd say Zoroark's in there for both. His attack is good in the right circumstances, there's no reason not to play DCE and plan to attack with Zoroark sometimes. But really either way, you lack a way to consistently OHKO things, which I still believe is an issue for the deck in this format, even though it has great prize denial.

Eh, I really don't see OHKOs as a necessity in this meta. It's all the rage and people are going to be playing tons of prize denial BUT, if you can consistently strong attackers I don't think prize denial is such a big deal. It's pretty easy to string attackers when you only need one energy to do 120 damage. Plus baby Tapu Koko is amazing at butter up the field for knockouts later in the game.

All decks that use Abilities also play Field Blower and if you play them conservatively, those decks can still do okay against Garbodor. Especially in Gardevoir's case. Thanks to Gardevoir's low attack cost, the deck doesn't stall or anything if you can't attach extra Energy, unlike say Blastoise.

Yes field blower is certainly an issue, but if you can put yourself in a position where your opponent is spending more resources getting their abilities back online than they are devoting them to getting KOs then you're in a solid spot. I agree that Gardy doesn't care AS much about losing abilities as, say, Metagross but with only its single energy attack it's not doing much damage, especially against Golisopod. The ability letting you ramp up damage is what makes that deck so solid.

 

[Sabaku]

The Eeveelutions that add their type to all Stage 1 Pokemon is a good option for pushing the offensive against Metagross and Volcanion, but that's only for Expanded. If you're running Rainbow Energy, there's also a lot of potential to include Acerolas and other tech Pokemon into your builds such as Drampa-GX.