Pokemon GO Alolan Golem has shed out its Ground typing in favor of the arguably better Electric typing. Because of this, like Probopass, its face has attracted iron sand, creating the appearance of a mustache, eyebrows and a large black beard. It also added a massive rock cannon on its back that can throw Rocks and sometimes poor little Geodudes.
Pokedex entry: It fires rocks charged with electricity. Even if the rock isn’t fired that accurately, just grazing an opponent will cause numbness and fainting. Tremendous electric shocks are flung out across the whole area of impact. Because it can’t fire boulders at a rapid pace, it’s been known to seize nearby Geodude and fire them from its back. It’s grumpy and stubborn. If you upset it, it discharges electricity from the surface of its body and growls with a voice like thunder.
Stats in Pokémon GO
 |
 |
|
| Typing | Rock Ground | Rock Electric |
|---|---|---|
| Max CP | 2916 | |
| Attack | 211 | |
| Defense | 229 | |
| Stamina | 160 | |
| Weather boost | Partly Cloudy Sunny | Partly Cloudy Rainy |
| Move differences | ||
| Fast Moves |
|
|
| Charged Moves |
|
|
| Type Charts | ||
| Weaknesses | Fighting Ground Steel Water x2 Grass x2 Ice |
Fighting
Ground x2 Water Grass |
| Resistances | Normal
Poison x2 Rock Fire |
Normal
x2 Poison Fire Electric |
Alolan Golem in the meta
On the Electric type side, Volt Switch might be the worst Electric Fast Move on an offensive standpoint., but Alolan Golem has two saving graces in the meta:
- learning Wild Charge, the best Electric Charge move,
- on the defensive end, Volt Switch is one of the best Fast Moves in the game
The only problem is that because of its Rock typing, it won’t be a great counter to Water types. However, it does fare better against types. Even if Jolteon is slightly better on a damage standpoint (7.75% better) because of its higher Attack stat, Alolan Golem’s combination of higher bulk and better resistance to moves will make it last longer than Jolteon.
| Pokemon | Fast Move | Charge Move | Overall Cycle DPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raikou | Thunder Shock | Wild Charge | 15.47 |
| Zapdos | Charge Beam | Zap Cannon | 14.94 |
| Jolteon | Thunder Shock | Thunderbolt | 13.98 |
| Alolan-Golem | Volt Switch | Wild Charge | 12.98 |
| Golem | Rock Throw | Stone Edge | 12.88 |
*vs Blissey, accounting for each Pokemon’s Best Moveset and Attack stat, and Blissey’s Defense Stat
On the Rock type side, because it no longer has a secondary Ground typing, Alolan Golem can now be used against Ice types, which are weak against Rock. Other than that, its offense is still the same as normal Golem.
It will be a great attacker on certain Legendary Raids, like Articuno, Ho-Oh, and Lugia. It is also great on Rayquaza, Moltres and Zapdos, but normal Golem actually fares better especially against the last two.
It might be tempting to use Alolan Golem versus Regice because I mentioned earlier that it fares better than normal Golem against Ice types, but… don’t use Alolan Golem against Regice. Regice learns not only Rock Smash and Focus Blast, two Fighting moves, it also learns Earthquake, a Ground move that will hit Alolan Golem for double weakness.
It does boast a better defensive moveset than normal Golem. Volt Switch scares off Water type attackers that would otherwise hit Alolan Golem with supereffective damage while Rock Blast serves as a better defensive move compare to Wild Charge not only by DPS, but also on coverage. It doesn’t have double weakness to Grass and Water anymore, but it does have a double weakness to Ground type which is not that common of an attacker right now, but it will be in the future.
Speaking of the future, because it doesn’t have much improvement over normal Golem, once the power creep of Generation IV and V sets in, Alolan Golem usage will easily fall to just a secondary option to Pokemon like Electivire on the Electric side, and Rhyperior on the Rock side, so it’s not really wise to power it up to max level when we’re close to Generation IV.
Parting words
I hope you already followed my advice on my last article regarding hoarding a lot of Geodude candy during Adventure Week, because if you have, you’ll easily get access to a great Rock attacker that’s better than normal Golem on some matchups, and currently one of the best non-Legendary Electric attacker. Once Alolan Geodude hits the streets, better grab one while you can.
