Gigalith Analysis

[steel dragons]

This Pokemon is Gigalith, the Compressed Pokemon. Some information:

Pokemon: Gigalith
Type: Rock
Ablities: Sturdy, Sand Strength (Dream World)
Sturdy: "This Pokemon is unaffected by One Hit Knock Out moves and the Pokemon cannot be knocked out when it has full hit points." (from Serebii)
Sand Strength: "Ground-type, Rock-type, and Steel-type moves have their power increased by 33% in a Sandstorm." (from Serebii)
Base Stat Total: 85 HP, 135 Atk, 130 Def, 60 SpA, 70 SpD, 25 Spe

Go to this page to find Gigalith's move, stat, and other information.

Meet Gigalith, one of a select few Pokemon with a sole Rock typing. Its typing itself doesn't really do Gigalith any favors, as it gives Gigalith weaknesses to common moves, like Earthquake, Surf, and many priority moves such as Bullet Punch and Mach Punch. Life is not all bad for this Rocky Pokemon, however. Gigalith has a great Attack and Defense stat, as well as passable HP and Special Defense Stats, meaning that this "Compressed" Pokemon can take a hit or two. Its speed, while very low, is ideal for sweeping under Trick Room conditions. Gigalith is also blessed with the Sturdy ability, which can help Gigalith survive some fatal blows. (read the bolded section above)

Most people use Gigalith as a lead, specifically with Gigalith having the Sturdy ability and holding the Custap Berry. Gigalith also can have other uses, like being a Trick Room Sweeper. Gigalith's common weaknesses, combined with its low Speed and Special stats, can limit the amount of viable sets that Gigalith can run.

Now, for some possible move sets:


Sturdy-Custap Lead
Gigalith w/ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
Adamant nature
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spe, 4 SpD
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake
-Stealth Rock
-Rock Blast/Explosion

Summary
This is probably one of Gigalith's best uses, being a sturdy-custap lead. Just to restate the obvious, the improved mechanics of the Sturdy ability basically state that any Pokemon with the Sturdy ability will survive at least one hit. It is almost like that Pokemon is holding a Focus Sash. Also, the Custap Berry enables the recipent Pokemon to have increased move priority when in a pinch, or when its HP is low. This can really help Pokemon like Gigalith, who have low speed. The first three moves are the best choices for Gigalith, hands down. Stone Edge and Earthquake form the good Edge-Quake combo, and those moves are some of Gigalith's strongest attacking moves anyway. Stealth Rock is also required, as setting up Stealth Rock is this lead's main purpose. Rock Blast or Explosion can be used for the last slot. Rock Blast has the benefit of breaking Substitutes and Focus Sashes, and Rock Blast can beat Aerodactyl, Ninjask, and Voltolos leads. Explosion, on the other hand, is just a powerful move, and it can mean that Gigalith can literally go out with a bang. Explosion is also usually more powerful (or as powerful) as a super-effective Stone Edge or Earthquake.

The EVs and nature are pretty simple here. Gigalith wants an Adamant nature for maximum attacking
power. It also wants max Attack and Speed. Gigalith wants max speed because it can help to outspeed some leads that either are slow or that don't invest in speed.

Counters
In terms of other leads that can counter Gigalith, Gliscor and Skarmory do well here. They don't take much damage from Gigalith's attacks, and they both can Taunt Gigalith, forcing Gigalith to switch out if the Gigalith user wants Stealth Rocks for the match. Other leads that carry Taunt, such as Voltolos, Aerodactyl, and Azelf can stop Gigalith from setting up Stealth Rocks, but risk being hit by Stone Edge or Rock Blast. Some leads can use moves like U-turn or Volt Change to damage Gigalith, but not put it into Custap Berry activation range, and then switch to a Gigalith counter. Some leads like this can be Pokemon like Voltolos and Genosect. Keep in mind that Gigalith can't really stop other Pokemon from setting up their own entry hazards.

In terms of other Pokemon that can counter Gigalith, basically anything that is faster and that carries resistances to Rock and Ground moves can be considered a counter. Pokemon like Roopushin, Breloom, and Rankurusu can switch into Gigalith's attacks without much fear (barring Explosion) and proceed to severely damage Gigalith. The tricky part about taking down Gigalith can be when Gigalith's Custap Berry activates, but smart battlers can easily predict around this.


Trick Room Sweeper
Gigalith w/ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Strength/Sturdy
Brave nature
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 HP, 4 SpD (0 Spe IVs)
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake
-Explosion
-Rock Blast/Curse

Summary
Gigalith can also be a decent Trick Room Sweeper, because it has a high Attack stat, decent defenses, and a low speed stat. The first three moves are almost required for this set. Stone Edge and Earthquake form the good Edge-Quake move combination, and those moves are some of Gigalith's strongest move options anyway. Explosion is good for destroying a problematic Pokemon, as it still has a lot of power. Explosion has as much power as a (2X) super-effective Stone Edge, with Stab factored in. Sadly, Gigalith really doesn't have too many other good options besides the first three moves. Its best options for the last slot are Rock Blast or Substitute. Rock Blast is good for breaking Focus Sashes or Substitutes. Curse, on the other hand, boosts Gigalith's Attack and Defense to very high levels, and can be the difference in a battle.

Again, the EVs and nature are not hard to figure out for this type of set. Gigalith should have max Attack and HP, with a Brave nature, as well as a speed IV of 0 to boost its speed under Trick Room. Life Orb is probably the best option for this type of set, as this set aims to sweep under Trick Room with high-powered moves. Since Sandstorm is a common type of weather, Sand Strength is the preferred ability, since it boosts the power of Stone Edge and Earthquake by 33% under Sandstorm. Sturdy can still be used though, as it can allow Gigalith to survive a hit, given that it had not been damaged yet.

Counters
Gigalith can have a monstrous attack and be fast under Trick Room, but it does have its downfalls. Gigalith is weak to many forms of priority, like Bullet Punch, Mach Punch, Vacuum Wave, and Aqua Jet. A strong enough Pokemon, like Szicor, Roopushin, and Breloom can chip off a lot of Roopushin's health using one of those moves. Also, most physically defensive Pokemon can take a hit from Gigalith and can counter Gigalith. Pokemon like Swampert, Hippwodon, Skarmory, and Gliscor can all counter Gigalith well. Also, Pokemon that resist the Edge-Quake combo, like Breloom, can also be a good counter. Remember, Gigalith is only really deadly under Trick Room, and when Trick Room is not in effect, Gigalith becomes rather easy to take down.


Other Options
-Rock Slide can be used instead of Stone Edge for the sets if accuracy is a concern.
-Rock Polish/Body Purge can be used, but many Pokemon can still outspeed Gigalith even after the speed boost.
-Heavy Bomber is a "gimmick" option. Since Gigalith is fairly heavy, it can be used well against certain Pokemon. However, there is usually not a place for Heavy Bomber on the sets.
-A Choice Band set can be made, but other Pokemon really can use a Choice Band much better than Gigalith can.


Credits:
I give credit to Serebii for the move, stat, and other information concerning Gigalith. I also give credit to the page on Smogon concerning Gigalith also. I give credit to shaym.in.com(?) for the images. I give credit to Lovat for a grammar check.

If any of you have any thoughts, suggestions, or comments, please SPEAK UP! I appreciate all, thought out, suggestions, and I will add your set to this page if I think that it is good enough.

From,
Steel Dragons

[MikeDecIsHere]

this is a good lead set:
Gigaleth w/ Cusap berry
Ability: Sturdy
Evs 252 Atk; 252 SPDef; 4 Spe
-Stealth Rock
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake
-Explosion
The reason i didn't add anything into HP or defense is because I'd rather let this thing get down to Sturdy so the Cusap berry activates. I also am thinking that Cusap berry is the one that lets you go first in a pinch but im not entriely sure. if someone can vouch me on this it would be appreciated. The EV spread can also be changed, this is just a suggesiton

[Twistedspoon]

it's a shame he can't use trick room

sturdy is blessed on a lead trick room user, giving him a pseudo-banette trick room lead functionality with less of a suicide rate :/

[steel dragons]

Yes, it got Gravity, but not Trick Room...

Anyway, for the custap lead, I use Rock Blast over Explosion, since it helps against leads like Ninjask and Aerodactyl.

[DDwhiscash]

It can't use trick room but trick room can still be abused by it. (AMAZINGLY)

[steel dragons]

Ok, I have finished the Gigalith Analysis for now. I would appreciate it if someone grammar-checked this for me sometime.

Also, is a Curse set viable for Gigalith? I would appreciate thoughts on this.

[MikeDecIsHere]

With rain teams being so prevalent in the metagame, i don't think that Gigaleth can handle a Curse set. It just doesn't have the stats/has a crappy typing.

[Lovat]

I would appreciate it if someone grammar-checked this for me sometime.

Grammar check complete, and honestly? I only noted two very minor flaws.
It's definitely not worth making an exceedingly long post where I bold the mistakes in a quote, just to point out two very minimal mistakes/typos.

In the counters section on Gigalith's Lead set, at the end of the first paragraph, you missed out the full stop.

And in the counters section of the Trick Room set...

Gigalith is weak to many forms of priority, and it is weak to moves like Bullet Punch, Mach Punch, Vacuum Wave, and Aqua Jet.

The sentence doesn't really make much sense? The part which I underlined isn't necessary and only adds confusion.

This post actually makes me sound very tedious, but there really wasn't anything wrong with the analysis. With all of your analyses, I've found that they can be trusted not to require a grammar check.

[steel dragons]

Ok, thanks Lovat. I only thought that this particular one needed a grammar check because I felt like I rushed this analysis a little bit.