Marowak, The Bone Keeper Pokémon. It is small and was originally very weak. Its temperament turned ferocious when it began using bones.From its birth, this savage Pokémon constantly holds bones. It is skilled in using them as weapons.The bone it holds is its key weapon. It throws the bone skillfully like a boomerang to KO targets. Some whisper that a Marowak graveyard exists somewhere in the world.
Overview
Marowak is a Pokémon that we all just want to be good. It has a decent design and a really heartbreaking backstory through the original in Lavender Town. However, there are some elements where Marowak really doesn't hold up, but despite that it has its own niche that can easily decimate a team and even help it sweep. It has its own unique item that can double its already passable Attack stat and it has a couple of bone related moves that can break through Sturdy Pokémon with ease. It has decent defences to allow it to hold off for a while, but it has two areas that are lacking: Hit Points which can be seriously detrimental, and Speed, which is detrimental usually but in a Trick Room, Marowak can be a brutal Pokémon.
Positives
- Its Defense is very high and Special Defense is passable.
- Its Attack stat gets brutally high if it's holding the Thick Club item
Negatives
- It has very low Speed which could be detrimental outside of a Trick Room team
- It is weak to the common types
- Its abilities don't really fit what Marowak needs
- Its weakest defence stat, Special Defense, is the one that is needed the most
Abilities
Rock Head: Does not receive recoil damage from recoil-causing damages. - This can actually work well if you use Double-Edge on Marowak. With its high Attack stat with Thick Club, it's very brutal. However, that's Marowak's only recoil move
Lightningrod: Electric-type moves are drawn to this Pokémon. Electric-type moves will do no damage and the Pokémon's Special Attack is raised one stage. - This would be useful in a gimmick set, but Marowak's Special Attack is so low and its Special movepool is so shallow that it's just not worth it
Hidden Ability (Available):
Battle Armor: Opponent’s moves cannot Critical Hit. - Always handy, especially as you want Marowak to survive in order to get a hit in
Movesets
We all need some Bone Marowak
- Double-Edge
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Bonemerang
Item Attached: Thick Club
Ability: Rock Head
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
This is essentially a very standard Marowak set. Double-Edge takes advantage of the ability Rock Head which means it can hit really hard. Stone Edge deals with the pesky Ice-type Pokémon that are likely to give Marowak some grief, as well as Flying-type ones that Marowak can't hit with Ground-type moves while Stealth Rock is self-explanatory due to its ability to do serious damage to a variety of teams, especially now Mega Charizard Y is becoming very common. Bonemerang is the unique choice here. While you may originally feel you should go for Earthquake, Bonemerang has the unique feature of being able to hit twice, breaking through Sturdy, Focus Sash and probably even Substitutes so it is clearly the top choice.
A Marowak To The Head
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance / Stone Edge
Item Attached: Thick Club
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
This set is specifically focused in being used in a Trick Room team. With that in effect, this set fully capitalises on Marowak's beastly Attack brought on by the Thick Club. Earthquake is powerful and accurate, with STAB making it even more brutal. Fire Punch & Knock Off are both currently only available through transfer so this set can't be used in the XY native metagame just yet, but Fire Punch gives decent coverage against Ice & Grass-type Pokémon while Knock Off, especially now it has been buffed, can ruin so many Pokémon's strategies. Swords Dance can increase Marowak's Attack even more, but requires Marowak to stay alive and Stone Edge can do some decent damage
Other Options
Belly Drum, Brick Break, Iron Head, Iron Tail, Special, Substitute, Toxic
Belly Drum can boost Marowak's Attack to godly levels, making it capable of OHKOing practically anything that gets in its path
Brick Break gives more coverage, and can break through Reflect & Light Screen, which is always handy
Iron Head & Iron Tail can give some decent coverage against a variety of Pokémon, including Fairy-types
You can run a Special set with Lightningrod using moves like Flamethrower in order to catch an opponent off-guard
Substitute is a decent way to make sure that Marowak survives a hit and can do damage
Toxic works as we all know it does, and can be a decent thing to include on a Marowak set
Double & Triple Battle Options
Marowak has a niche in doubles. It's a ground type with lightning rod to redirect electric attacks, but still can do nothing to hit Rotom-W. Rock Head is there, but Double Edge is the only move Marowak gets that benefits from it. Marowak also has a specialized item in Thick club that doubles its attack, allowing it to reach a staggering 568, though, that still isn' the strongest Earthquake in the game. Choice Band Huge Power Diggersby gets the strongest Earthquake with a gargantuan 696 attack.
Unfortunately, using anything besides Thick Club on Marowak means that something else could do Marowak's job better, like Rhyperior. So for this suggestion, we'll proceed with Thick Club and Lightning Rod.
-Trick Room Attacker-
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide/Stone Edge
-Knock Off/Brick Break
-Protect
Item Attached: Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Atk/ 252 HP/ 4 Def
Brave Nature
This set functions best under Trick Room, as base 45 speed means that we're out sped by Azumarill and (Mega) Mawile, not good! Under Trick Room, Rock Slide might get a flinch or two, however if flinches aren't your thing but raw power is, the Stone Edge is there. Knock Off is very powerful and useful this Generation, though if you're unable to transfer Marowak from an older game then Brick Break is your next best bet. And lastly its hard to go wrong with Protect.
It's also worth mentioning that Marowak gets Perish Song. Why? Perish Trap teams featuring Mega Gengar and Gothitelle are becoming more common and Marowak offers very niche support for this playstyle in not only being a Perish Singer but can redirect unwanted Thunder Waves AND stop Pokemon trying to Volt Switch out of Perish Song dead in their tracks.
Overall, Marowak has its stats in the right places, but it's movepool feels limited, and it isn't exactly splashable on many teams. I fully recommend giving it a shot if you're running Trick Room or Perish Trap team.
Countering Marowak
Marowak is a slow Pokémon, so it's hard not to outspeed it, so what you want to do is hit it with powerful Special moves. Many Water-type Pokémon and Water moves such as Surf and Hydro Pump will likely take Marowak out with ease. Rotom-W, for example, is resistant to Marowak's STAB and can easily wall it, and take it down with Hydro Pump. Grass & Ice-type moves like Energy Ball and Ice Beam can also be used with great success. In addition to this, if you try and inflict Marowak with a Burn, such as through Will-O-Wisp, you will destroy all Marowak strategies.
Locations in Games
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Trade from FireRed/LeafGreen/XD
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Seavault Canyon, Victory Road
Colosseum/XD:
Snagged from Cipher Admin Eldes in Citadark Isle (XD)
Trade from FireRed/LeafGreen (Colosseum)
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Evolve Cubone
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Rock Tunnel, Safari Zone
Black/White:
Route 15
Black 2/White 2:
Trade from Black & White
X/Y:
Friend Safari
Animé Appearences
