Golem

Golem was once well known as a legendary bird killer, preying on their pervasive Rock-type weakness. It benefits from strong stats, excellent moves, and a specialized typing. Golem has now fallen from grace, as its fate was sealed by the release of Smack Down Tyranitar, relegating its fate to little more than a small niche as a tank counter against Zapdos when and if it returns. Still, many long-term players probably still have this Pokemon sitting in their box, remembering a time when it was one of the most important Pokemon in the game for raids.

On defense, Golem has some hard-hitting attacks, but a pair of crippling weaknesses to Grass and Water-types severely hamstring its performance.

Best PvE Offensive Moveset

• Rock Throw is Golem’s best fast move due to its Rock-type coverage.

• Mud Slap and Mud Shot are roughly on par with each other.

• Stone Edge is on par with Rock Blast. Stone Edge performs worse only if Golem faints with a partially charged bar.

• Earthquake is best paired with either of Golem's Ground-type fast moves.

• Ancient Power is inferior to Golem's other Rock-type charge moves.

Best PvE Defensive Moveset

• Rock Throw is better than Mud Slap. The former has much better type coverage on Golem’s Grass-type counters and Gyarados.

• Mud Shot only tickles attackers.

• Rock Blast is superior to Stone Edge due to having more charge bars to work with. Golem may not be able to get off a Stone Edge against its best counters.

• Ancient Power is slightly inferior to Rock Blast. It's more easily reactable, but it does more damage.

• Earthquake is Golem’s worst defensive charge move.

If you're lucky enough to have a legacy Golem, this is its best moveset. Mud Shot is valuable for its fast energy generation and cannot be obtained with Elite TMs.

The nerf to Ancient Power following the April 2020 rebalance makes it no longer viable, and Rock Blast is now recommended instead for its cheaper energy cost. Earthquake rounds out Golem's moveset, giving it a valuable Ground type STAB to take own most of what it's intended to counter. Stone Edge hits hard with STAB, and may be preferable in very specific formats. 

The only reason this moveset is here is to make note of the best moveset that Golem can muster without its legacy move. Mud Slap and Rock Throw both offer poor energy generation but strong STAB damage output; either can be chosen depending on the coverage needed.