Shadow Alolan Muk
Attack
Defense
Stamina
Best Movesets
Analysis
Alolan Muk was always a bit of an underwhelming attacker given the period in which it was released. But Shadow Alolan Muk is... pretty okay. While not a game-changing attacker, it has the advantage of being able to hit from both the Poison and Dark Type sides of the spectrum for solid damage for both, so it's not the worst investment for an attacker? No. Poison is still trash, and Shadow Alolan Muk is vastly behind the top Dark Types.
Offense
- Poison Jab should be paired with Gunk Shot. This set is better against neutral targets. Plus, Gunk Shot has the added bonus of throwing a garbage can.
- Bite should be paired with Dark Pulse. This set is better against targets weak to Dark.
- Snarl is just ever so slightly slightly weaker than Bite, and harder to dodge with too. Stick with Bite if you use Shadow Alolan Muk as a Dark type attacker
- Sludge Wave is strictly inferior to Gunk Shot, having worse power and no garbage can.
- Acid Spray is a terrible move in raids and also has no garbage can.
Defense
- Snarl is the preferred fast move on defense, having higher damage and energy gains, while also hitting Metagross pretty hard.
- Poison Jab is slightly weaker than Snarl and is double-resisted by Metagross, but has the advantage of off-typing with Dark Pulse and isn’t resisted by Machamp.
- Bite is strictly inferior to Snarl on defense.
- Dark Pulse is the superior defensive charge move, with multiple bars.
- Gunk Shot is strong, and it literally throws a garbage can.
- Sludge Wave is weaker than Gunk Shot, and it has no garbage can.
- Acid Spray is a three-bar move, but its damage is abysmal. Also; no garbage can.
This set offers greater consistent damage than the Snarl set thanks to Poison Jab's fairly high DPT. Dark Pulse is necessary coverage, hitting most Poison-resistant Pokemon for neutral damage. Acid Spray is Shadow Alolan Muk's cheapest attack and helps amplify its consistent damage to oppressive levels, especially in more lengthy matchups. It is chosen over Gunk Shot and Sludge Wave as Shadow Alolan Muk already deals good enough Poison-type damage, and its ability to debuff through shields is more valuable.
Snarl's great energy generation allows it to leverage a fairly expensive set of charged moves with very solid coverage. Dark Pulse is mandatory as SA-Muk's Dark-type move. Sludge Wave and Gunk Shot are both totally viable options for your secondary. Sludge Wave's lower energy cost can make it a little less punishing if it gets shielded and is generally the preferred choice, though Gunk Shot's stronger if it lands (and also has a funny trash can animation).
Passable bulk, a single weakness to Ground, and great neutral coverage make Alolan Muk a totally solid choice in the Great League format. Not much actually walls it out, and it has pretty good matchups against many of the top Pokémon in the format! It's not, and likely never will be, top tier, but that doesn't stop it from being perfectly usable a lot of the time.
Note that Drapion, Skuntank, and XL Alolan Grimer compete for similar roles as Alolan Muk. Their access to cheaper moves and/or wider coverage can make it harder to justify picking Alolan Muk over them.
