The fabulous-looking Coin Entity Pokémon Gholdengo is visually a joy to look at Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. However, Trainers might not be too thrilled if they meet this golden cheese stick-shaped monster in battle. This Shiny evolution of Gimmighoul wields a Special Attack IV of 133, one of the highest of its elemental types. Needless to say, players will likely find Gholdengo in the top 5 of many community-made Steel- and Ghost-type tier lists. Accordingly, knowing this Coin Entity Pokémon‘s weaknesses and optimal counters is essential if players want to defeat it during PvP Trainer Battles in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
How to Counter Gholdengo in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
To counter Gholdengo, Trainers must first make a note of the Coin Entity Pokémon’s weaknesses in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which include Fire-, Ground-, Ghost-, and Dark-type Movesets. Conversely, this Steel- and Ghost-type golden cheese stick is immune to any Normal-, Fighting-, and Poison-type attacks.
Related:
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Best Baxcalibur Counters and Weaknesses
Sources at Game8 state that Gholdengo is equipped with an Ability known as Good as Gold, which enables it to withstand all Status Moves in Scarlet and Violet. For example, if Dragonite uses Thunder Wave to paralyze Gholdengo, the Coin Entity Pokémon will not be stunned. Likewise, nothing will happen if Cetoddle attempts to lower Gholdengo’s Attack stat with Growl. However, Game8 claims that Good as Gold does not apply to the “secondary effects of Physical or Special Moves.” For instance, Skeledirge could cast Flamethrower and still burn Gholdengo since Flamethrower is a Special Move, not a Status Move. This knowledge regarding how Good as Gold functions is crucial when battling Gholdengo.
As for the best counters for Gholdengo in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Attack of the Fanboy recommends that Trainers use Great Tusk or Iron Treads. Scarlet users will have Great Tusk at their disposal, while Iron Treads is available exclusively for Violet players. Whatever the case, both are extremely formidable combatants against Gholdengo. However, since both of these are only obtainable near the end of the game, those facing Gholdengo in the mid-game portion of their playthrough can use the Ground-type Dugtrio. The goal will be to take out Gholdengo before it can land any of its high-damage Moves.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are available on the Nintendo Switch.
Source: Game8 | Attack of the Fanboy