Snorlax - Moveset & Best Build | Pokemon Sword Shield

Find out how to breed Snorlax in Pokemon Sword and Shield! Learn about Snorlax's best competitive movesets, best builds, best nature, counters, Gigantamax & the breeding process!!!

Table of Contents

Best Movesets & Builds
Best Gigantamax Moveset & Build
Best Moves
Best Items
Best Nature And EVs
Counters
Competitive Breeding Process

Snorlax Related Articles

Location & Stats

Competitive Build

Snorlax Moveset & Best Builds

Total Base Stats	545
Type

Press the buttons below to toggle between different builds!

Physical Atk. Build Yawn
Build Thick Fat
Build

#1 - Physical Attack Build

Best Nature	Best Item
Impish (Def↑ / Sp. Atk↓)	Iapapa or Figy Berry
Best Ability
Gluttony The Pokemon eats certain HP restoring berries when at 50% health.
Best Moveset
Recycle / Earthquake / Belly Drum / Fire Punch ▼Check Move Info Here
Best EV Spread
HP 252, Defense 252, Attack 4

Snorlax Strengths

Snorlax is known for its extreme damage sustainability, & its ability to utilize moves such as Belly Drum without much of a drawback thanks to its Hidden Ability "Gluttony".

Hidden Ability Further Boosts Tankiness

The Hidden Ability "Gluttony" paired with the move Recycle and items such as berries will make this Pokemon extremely hard to take down due to its impressive durability & healing.

Recommended Moves

Move/Type	Reason
Earthquake	Ground Type Physical Attack with high damage & hit chance.
Darkest Lariat	Used as an alternative move, to counter specific Pokemon, namely Dragapult.
Fire Punch	Another alternative move to counter specific Pokemon Type.
Recycle	Allows Snorlax to recover used items to use again, especially powerful coupled with Gluttony Nature & HP reducing support moves.

Other Viable Moves

Move/Type	Reason
Belly Drum	Loses 1/2 of the user's maximum HP, maximizes Attack.
Curse	Lowers Speed, increases Attack & Defense.

#2 - Yawn Build

Best Nature	Best Item
Impish (Def↑ / Sp.Atk)	Iapapa or Figy Berry
Best Ability
Gluttony The Pokemon eats certain HP restoring berries when at 50% health.
Best Moveset
Yawn / Curse / Crunch / Hammer Arm ▼Check Move Info Here
Best EV Spread
HP 252, Defense 252, Atk 4

Put Enemies To Sleep

Yawn is a great way to buy time during an opponent's Dynamax. Force your opponent to switch out Pokemon that have set up buffs.

Recommended Moves

Move/Type	Reason
Crunch	Dark Type Physical Attack, good coverage vs. Ghost types that might try to wall you.
Curse	Lowers Speed, increases Attack & Defense. Amazing on Snorlax.
Hammer Arm	Fighting type move, great for Rock and Steel types.
Yawn	Force enemy sweepers to swap out.

#3 - Thick Fat Special Defensive Build

Best Nature	Best Item
Careful (Sp.Def↑ / Sp.Atk↓)	Leftovers
Best Ability
Thick Fat Halves the damage of Fire and Ice moves used against it.
Best Moveset
Rest / Sleep Talk / Curse / Body Slam ▼Check Move Info Here
Best EV Spread
Sp.Def 252, HP 252, Def 4

Switch In To Fire Moves

As Fire-type Pokemon like Arcanine, Charizard, Heat Rotom, etc, are very common in the current meta, a fire resistant Snorlax is a great idea. This build focuses on overpowering threats with Curse / Body Slam, while also being able to survive while asleep with Sleep Talk.

Recommended Moves

Move/Type	Reason
Rest	Restores all health but falls asleep. Allows the use of Sleep Talk.
Sleep Talk	Uses one of its other moves. Slightly random, but gives you a chance to become unstoppable by stacking Curse.
Curse	Drops speed by 1 stage, but increases Attack and Defense by 1 each. Great move to set up.
Body Slam	Powerful STAB move. May paralyze.

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Gigantamax Snorlax Moveset & Build

Gigantamax Snorlax Gluttony Moveset & Build

Best Nature	Best Item
Impish (Def ↑ / Sp. Atk ↓)	Iapapa or Figy Berry
Best Ability
Gluttony The Pokemon eats certain HP restoring berries when at 50% health.
Best Moveset
Yawn / Body Slam / Earthquake / Darkest Lariat ▼Check Move Info Here
Best EV Spread
Def 252, HP 252, Atk 4

Has A Totally Unique G-Max Move!

Move	G-Max Replenish
Effect	All of Snorlax's Normal moves become this. Can restore a previously eaten Berry.

G-Max Replenish allows Snorlax to reuse a Berry it has already consumed. Although it's not a 100% chance, it is preferable to Recycle because it also deals damage. In order to maximize this, use Gigantamax after consuming your Berry.

Only Three Turns Of Recovery

Since Dynamax & Gigantamax only last 3 turns, you won't always be able to restore your HP. After the effect ends, your recovering days will be over. Make sure to have a plan for when this happens.

Recommended Moves

Move/Type	Reason
Darkest Lariat	Dark Type Physical Attack, good coverage vs. Ghost types that might try to wall you.
Yawn	Force enemy sweepers to swap out.
Earthquake	Ground Type Physical Attack with high damage & hit chance.
Body Slam	Powerful STAB move. May paralyze. Becomes G-Max Replenish.

Other Viable Moves

Move/Type	Reason
Curse	Lowers Speed, increases Attack & Defense.
Belly Drum	Loses 1/2 of the user's maximum HP, maximizes Attack.
Hammer Arm	Fighting type move, great for Rock and Steel types.
Facade	Deals double damage if the user has a status condition. Useful alternate normal move.

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Snorlax - Best Item to Hold

Item	Traits
Iapapa or Figy Berry	Recovers self-damage from Belly Drum or other means. The Gluttony Nature will also allow it to kick in at 1/2 max HP, and can be reused with the Recycle move.
Leftovers	For prolonged HP sustainability throughout multiple turns.

Click To Learn Where To Find Items For Battle

Snorlax - Best Nature And EVs

Snorlax - Recommended Natures

Nature	Traits
Relaxed	Def ↑ / Speed ↓ Relaxed nature further strengthens the Defense stats while taking negligible Speed drawback.
Impish	Def ↑ / Sp.Atk ↓ Same idea as above, but instead lowering the Sp.Atk, due to Snorlax utilizing Physical moves
Sassy	Sp. Def ↑ / Speed ↓ Used for builds leaning more on fighting against Special attackers.

Which Nature Would You Recommend?

Recommended Base Point (EV) Allocation

Offensive Variant

Stat	Base Point
HP	252 points (max)
Defense	252 points (max)
Attack	4 points

This Snorlax will focus on soaking up damage while counter attacking with a high power Earthquake. Darkest Lariat is included for countering specific Pokemon such as Dragapult, but it can be swapped out with other moves depending on your opponent. EVs in Attack are not prioritized because you will be relying on Curse to buff up damage anyway.

Special Defensive Variant

Stat	Base Point
HP	252 points (max)
Sp. Defense	252 points (max)
Defense	4 points

This spread is not as common as others, but can be used to boost your Special Defense capabilities. This can bolster Snorlax's already great Sp. Def.

Check Out The EV (Base Point) Guide Here!

Snorlax Counters

Recommended Pokemon To Counter Snorlax

Pokemon	Explanation
Conkeldurr	Pros - Can two shot with Drain Punch Cons - None
Hippowdon	Pros - Can two shot with Hydro Pump - Can take hits from Snorlax - Can Roar away a buffed up Snorlax Cons - Could risk running out of PP in an extended stall war
Kommo-o	Pros - Can two shot with Close Combat Cons - Lowers defenses by spamming Close Combat

How To Play Against Snorlax

Bring Strong Physical Attackers

Snorlax is a tricky opponent with a lot of health. Some builds might run Facade or the ability Immunity, so you never know if Toxic will be an effective strategy. Due to this, strong physical attacks are preferable.

Knock Off Berries

A Snorlax which constantly recycles berries can be an irritating opponent, so it might be good to bring a Pokemon with Knock Off, such as Rillaboom.

Snorlax - Competitive Breeding Process

Breeding Process Flow Chart

1	Get a Munchlax in Motostoke Riverbank.
2	Hatch Eggs until you get a High IV Munchlax
3	Breed that Munchlax until you get one with an Impish Nature
4	Breed a Munchlax with the hidden ability Gluttony
5	Put 252 EVs in HP and Defense
6	Feed it 10 Dynamax Candies to max out its Dynamax Level
7	Raise its friendship to evolve to Snorlax.
8	Teach Recycle (Obtained as Munchlax), Earthquake, Fire Punch and Belly Drum
9	Equip a Iapapa / Figy Berry