Moves
Earthquake is Gligar's primary attacking move, letting it threaten foes like Terrakion, Infernape, and Nihilego. Roost provides Gligar with reliable recovery, keeping it healthy throughout a given match. Defog removes all entry hazards on the field, aiding teammates that may be vulnerable to them. Stealth Rock is a necessity on any competitive team, putting pressure on foes by punishing their switches with residual damage. U-turn lets Gligar effectively act as a bulky pivot, getting hard-hitting teammates in safely to do damage. Toxic pressures bulky foes like Swampert and Alomomola, as well as Ground-immune Pokemon such as Mega Aerodactyl, Hydreigon, and Togekiss. Alternatively, Knock Off cripples item-reliant Pokemon like Suicune, Kyurem, and Sylveon while scouting whether others, like Latias and Celebi, are carrying a Z-Crystal. Wing Attack is an additional option that allows Gligar to offensively check Heracross, a huge threat to bulky teams.
Set Details
Maximum HP investment in tandem with Eviolite makes Gligar as bulky as possible. 156 Defense EVs in combination with an Impish Nature let Gligar avoid the 2HKO from Choice Band Terrakion's Stone Edge after Stealth Rock damage, letting Gligar act as one of its only reliable answers in the tier. The remaining EVs are dumped into Special Defense, aiding Gligar's matchup against threats like Hydreigon, Celebi, and Gengar while giving it a good chance to avoid the OHKO from +2 Nasty Plot Infernape's Fire Blast after Stealth Rock. Alternatively, Gligar can viably run a set with more Defense investment, further improving its one-on-one matchup against Pokemon such as Cobalion, Heracross, and the aforementioned Terrakion. Immunity is Gligar's preferred ability, letting it effectively wall bulky Steel-type Stealth Rock setters in Mega Aggron, Mega Steelix, and Stakataka, and easily remove their entry hazards with Defog if need be.
Usage Tips
Gligar is best used early- to mid-game as a bulky pivot capable of either setting Stealth Rock or removing entry hazards with Defog when presented with the opportunity. These opportunities are often found by Gligar switching into threats that it matches up well against like Infernape, Terrakion, Nihilego, and Mega Manectric. Gligar also fares well against bulky Steel-types, most notably when it is running Defog to counteract Stealth Rock setters like Mega Aggron and Cobalion. U-turn can either be used when predicting an opposing switch to gain momentum or when stomaching a hit to bring in a teammate into a favorable position more safely. Keep Gligar healthy if it is necessary in order to keep a threat in check, but play more aggressively with U-turn if health is not a priority. Use Toxic and Knock Off to cripple Pokemon like Swampert, Suicune, and Mantine as they attempt to switch in safely on Gligar. Be wary of Knock Off users such as Krookodile and Alolan Muk, as while Gligar can beat them one-on-one if needed, it heavily relies on its Eviolite to remain as bulky as possible to check the threats it is meant to.
Team Options
Gligar fits well on a variety of playstyles ranging from bulky offense to stall; they all appreciate its utility and overall pivoting ability. Water-types like Empoleon, Slowbro, and Primarina make natural partners, covering Gligar's only weaknesses while it absorbs the Electric-type attacks aimed at them. Nihilego, Blissey, and the aforementioned Empoleon and Primarina can also act as special sponges, aiding Gligar by taking on many of strong special attackers that threaten it. Gligar can get offensive Grass-types like Celebi, Tsareena, and Rotom-C into favorable positions against bulky Water-types with U-turn. Additionally, the latter two can form momentum-based cores with Gligar through their respective moves, U-turn and Volt Switch. Other Electric-types such as Mega Manectric and Rotom-H offer similar synergy with Volt Switch while threatening Water-types as well. Fighting-type wallbreakers like Terrakion, Heracross, and Kommo-o make for great partners, taking advantage of Gligar's ability to bring them in safely to do big damage. They also double down as solid Knock Off switch-ins, something essential alongside Gligar due to its reliance on Eviolite. Finally, Gligar helps out Choice Scarf users like Hydreigon, Infernape, and Latias, providing them free switch ins by getting off slow U-turns on Pokemon that they threaten such as Celebi and opposing Hydreigon and Latias.