"Alolan Muk is a real MVP in Battle Royal"

So I've found that playing Battle Royal is the easiest way of racking up Battle Points to purchase items at Royal Avenue and the Battle Tree. When I first began Battle Royal, it really frustrated me a lot but I leaned a few things since then; namely how NPCs seem to choose their targets. And I've figured out a pretty excellent way to leverage that knowledge against them.At the onset of a battle, NPCs are looking for easy kills. Generally this means they are looking for either a Super Effective attack, or for targets that are close to fainting. If there are no super vulnerable targets, they will choose a target that doesn't resist their move. Now, there is a third calculation they'll make later during the match, but I'll get to that in a little bit.We can use this knowledge to avoid becoming a target in the early stages of the match. Generally, we want our lead to be a Pokemon who has as few weaknesses as possible. This is where Alolan Muk comes into play. As many of you know, Muk has only 1 weakness - Ground - and this greatly helps his odds in avoiding the wrath of his opponents. The fact that the weakness is specifically Ground is also advantageous to us, since common Ground-type moves, namely Earthquake and Bulldoze, are spread moves. Damaging spread moves are generally worthless in most instances of Battle Royal (status spread moves are not - more on this very shortly).Okay, so we have Alolan Muk. He's well poised to avoid the crosshairs of our opponents. What else does he have to offer? Well, let's get into the build, shall we?Alolan Muk @ Black SludgeAbility: Poison TouchEVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpDImpish Nature (+Def, -SpA)SubstitutePoison GasCurseShadow SneakSubstitute is your designated turn 1. I am not entirely sure an active Substitute reduces the likelihood that a Pokemon be attacked by your opponents, but a foe with a Sub certainly makes me seek out greener pastures elsewhere. In any case, the Sub protects you from status and unexpected attacks - especially Z-Moves. You'd be surprised how often someone throws out a attack at you one turn and then switches their target the next, allowing you to throw down another Sub and keep on trucking.Poison Gas is your second slot. Far from its abysmal status back in Red and Blue with its 55% accuracy, Poison Gas now has 90% accuracy and hits all opponents. Yep, you heard that right. All opponents. In any case, this is terribly efficient for Battle Royal, since it allows Muk to whittle down your opponents on the field and wait for an opportune time to strike. As an added bonus, whenever a Pokemon dies of poison that you inflicted, you gain a kill. I've gotten lots of clutch poison kills when the enemy's focus sash proc'd, when a weak enemy avoided the ire of the entire field with Protect, and have hence sometimes achieved multiple kills on the same turn.When to use Poison Gas is really situational, however. While I put a high priority on using it turn 2, it really depends what the current battlefield looks like. Generally, if it looks like you have a good chance of poisoning at least 2 mons, its a great idea to throw it out. Are there any Poison or Steel types on the field? Who used Protect last turn, who didn't? Does the new Pokemon who entered the field have a Mega, who will likely use Protect on their first turn?Curse is your third slot and really important for both survive-ability and getting the kills you need to win the Game. Your sole attack is terribly weak, especially without STAB, and you need a few stages to boost its damage. Curse's defensive boosts also let your Substitute take physical attacks like Earthquake easily, and give Muk added staying power. As an added benefit, if anyone sets up Trick Room you'll find yourself the primary beneficiary, being able to throw up Subs and Curses before your opponents have a chance at hitting you. Curse should be your go-to move as you wait for opportunities to Gas or Sneak up on your opponents.Shadow Sneak access really gives Alolan Muk an edge over a competitor for its role like Eelektross. Despite your cursed into oblivion Speed, you'll always hit first (barring no one else used a priority move), allowing you to claim the title of Kill Stealing King of Battle Royal. The most important guiding principle of using this move is patience. Wait, Curse up, and wait for a target to appear. Do not use it to whittle down an opponent. This is only asking for other opponents to steal your kill and claim the title. Optimally, every Shadow Sneak should be your killing blow.That's essentially it. Pretty simple, and I've been able to farm Battle Points extremely efficiently without having to up put up with Battle Tree bullshit. At the Master level of Battle Royal, victories grant you 5 Battle Points, 2nd place grants you 3, 3rd place grants 2, and last place grants 1. With Muk as my lead, if I don't win I almost always achieve 2nd place because all my Pokemon are still healthy.As a final note, beyond looking for Super Effective hits or easy kills, NPCs will begin targeting you with a vengeance once its become clear that you are winning. This generally occurs later in the battle, however, since the passive play style of your Alolan Muk isn't likely to get you many kills early on. This is a massive benefit to you because by that time you'll be a physically defensive monster and will likely be able to tank for a round or two as you as you spam Shadow Sneak to try and get a final kill in before being overwhelmed. While you might be tempted to switch out, its generally better to let Muk faint here to preserve your switch in from the wrath of three attacks at once. Once Muk is dead, send in a Starmie or Shiinotic and use Spotlight to direct their ire away. You can use this to great effect to end the Battle with you in the lead by having Spotlight target an NPC with only 1 remaining Pokemon. If there is someone who is challenging you for victory, however, its better to target them instead so that you don't reward them with the final kill they need to beat you.Hope this helps. There are a few other Pokemon I am interested in trying, namely Burn Up Aranine and of course Eelectross. Water/Ground types might also be worth a try, although the 4x weakness to Grass means you've got especially red target on your back. Good luck!EDIT: It just occurred to me that some people might be interested in running Minimize over Substitute. I haven't tested it, but its worth a try, since it would give Muk added staying power once the entire field is out for your blood. Keep in mind that it does delay your Cursing by as many as three turns, which might mean you lose a few killing opportunities that you might have made otherwise. via /r/pokemon http://ift.tt/2iMxAbz