Pokémon X and Y/Species Strategies (Generation II Families)

This page contains information on every Pokémon family first introduced in Generation II, including stats, recommended movesets and evolutionary lines. All evolutionary lines are put together, even if an evolution or pre-evolution was not introduced in the same Generation as other members of its evolutionary family.

Azurill, Marill and Azumarill
The original pikaclone, the Azumarill line has been getting gradual buffs ever since its introduction, finally becoming a major threat in Gen VI. Azumarill's stats are mediocre at a glance, being a below average defensive Pokémon with terrible offenses. However, it is one of the very few that gets the ability Huge Power, turning it into a respectably bulky powerhouse. With a unique Water/Fairy-type, it has a bunch of resistances, few weaknesses and great STAB coverage. Revised breeding mechanics let Azumarill use move combinations not previously possible. All of these small benefits combine to make Azumarill one of the most threatening physical sweepers there is.

Azumarill is most notorious for its Belly Drum and Aqua Jet combination. While most users of Belly Drum lack the Speed or general viability to make full use of it, Azumarill has Aqua Jet to negate its lackluster Speed. In just one turn, Azumarill can become extremely deadly, fainting most Pokémon with a fully-boosted Aqua Jet before they can even respond. Play Rough is Azumarill's Fairy-type STAB, which can deal massive damage to Pokémon that Aqua Jet cannot threaten. Aqua Tail is the strongest physical Water-type move Azumarill learns, and is used to hit harder than Aqua Jet. Waterfall is less powerful, but more accurate than Aqua Tail. Superpower is a neat coverage move that is especially useful against Steel-types. Knock Off is another good option for physical attacker, letting Azumarill support while leaving a dent in the opposing team.

Unown
Unown is a mysterious Pokemon, said to have immense power when large number of them congregate. Unfortunately, a singular Unown is very weak, one of the most useless Pokemon in the game that cannot evolve further. Its strongest stats are its Attack and Special Attack, which are well below average, while it has abysmal bulk and poor Speed, which means that Unown will have trouble even pulling an attack off. A Psychic typing doesn't help in its survival at all, as Bug, Dark and Ghost type attacks are all common attacking and utility moves.

Unown's strength is that it has Levitate, so it can at least switch into Ground attacks without instantly getting KO'd. Furthermore, Unown only learns one move, Hidden Power, which can become any type except Fairy. Since it doesn't have any other moves to choose from, it can comfortably hold Choice Specs or a Choice Scarf to augment its power or speed. Hidden Power Psychic hits the hardest due to STAB, but Unown can use other types of Hidden Power instead to deal with specific threats. Of course, with a base Special Attack of 72 on a move with a Base Power of 60, Unown struggles to KO even Pokemon weak to its attack.

Wynaut and Wobbuffet
Wobbuffet looks like a punching bag, and its role is quite similar to one too. It has one of the most limited movepools of any fully evolved Pokémon, but these few moves let it play this role as good as it can. Wobbuffet gets both no attacking moves, but it does get Counter and Mirror Coat which, in conjunction with its high HP, lets it counter both physical and special attacks back at its opponent, and it can learn Encore as Wynaut to ease prediction. It also gets the very rare Shadow Tag, which prevents opposing Pokémon other than Ghost-types and Shadow Tag users from switching out, meaning it can easily trap a foe, encore an attack and counter all of those attacks. It also gets Destiny Bond so that it can take down a major threat on the opponent's team, meaning that a Shadow Tagged foe will likely be knocked out either way.

Wobbuffet's playstyle is simple and effective, but it's also extremely predictable due to the limited moves it can learn. Hence, any moderately experienced opponents will know exactly what your strategy is once Wobbuffet appears on the team preview. Even when trapped, opponents can always use a status move to avoid getting Encored and countered to fainting. Ghost-types and any other Pokémon that possesses Shadow Tag also have the obvious advantage of being able to switch out at any time. Despite these flaws, Wobbuffet is still a respectable threat, and it's almost guaranteed to KO a Pokémon or two if switched in against the right target.

Dunsparce
Dunsparce is just one of the many obscure Johto Pokémon that is odd-looking and mediocre in battle. Its stats are bad but just not bad enough to turn it into a joke Pokémon. With so many Normal-types with better power or different niches, Dunsparce lacks anything that makes it stand out. Its defenses are slightly above average, it has mediocre offensive stats and its Speed is pretty terrible. It does have a cool ability in Serene Grace, which increases the chance of secondary effects of a move to occur, but it is far from the best user of it. If you really want to use Dunsparce for whatever reason, Serene Grace is probably the best feature to base your strategy around.

For moves that can take advantage of Serene Grace, Rock Slide or Headbutt can have a pretty high flinch chance, although Dunsparce will rarely outspeed a foe. Body Slam can only be learned from a previous generation game, but it boasts a pretty high chance of paralysis with Serene Grace, making it arguably your best STAB option. Ancient Power is gimmicky, but the occasional boost will make Dunsparce much more usable. For coverage, Earthquake can be used to hit Pokémon that resist Normal-types, Zen Headbutt can surprise Fighting-types and Shadow Ball is your best option against Ghost-types, though it uses Dunsparce's worse Special Attack. Dunsparce can also learn Roost, Coil and Substitute, which can be part of a defensive or boosting set, but there is nothing it can do that a better Pokémon can't.

Skarmory
Five generations after its introduction, Skarmory remains as one of the best physical walls in the game. With 140 Defense and an amazing defensive typing, Skarmory is a natural fit in defensive teams, while being a great support Pokémon for any kind of team. Its Steel/Flying type leaves it with only two weaknesses, Fire and Electric, 8 resistances and immunities to Ground and Poison. This makes it unable to be worn down by Toxic poison and sandstorm damage, as well as giving it a neutrality to Stealth Rock and immunity to every other entry hazard. Skarmory's main flaw is its subpar Special Defense, and there are more than a few popular special attackers that carry attacks it is weak to. Nevertheless, Skarmory is among the best walls you can have when going up against any physical attacker.

Skarmory has plenty of support options. Toxic is an obvious choice to wear down opposing Pokémon. It is one of the few users of Defog that isn't weak to Stealth Rock, so the move is great on it for hazard removal. It has access to entry hazards itself in Spikes and Stealth Rock, but these moves shouldn't be used with Defog as it removes your own entry hazards too. Brave Bird is the only attack Skarmory needs, putting some offensive pressure on the opponent and as an emergency move if Skarmory is Taunted. Roost lets Skarmory do its job better, healing off any damage it has taken as well as the recoil from Brave Bird. Whirlwind can be used to shuffle the opponent's Pokémon, forcing them to take entry hazard damage. It can also be used as an emergency stop to an enemy setup sweeper if Sturdy is intact by sponging a hit and using Whirlwind to force the sweeper out, making it lose its boosts. Lastly, Tailwind is another usable support option, but it has to compete with the aforementioned moves for a move slot.

Smeargle
Smeargle is one of the most unique Pokémon in the game, and one of the few gimmick Pokémon that can actually make use of its designated gimmick in a serious battle. The gimmick is question is the move Sketch, Smeargle's signature move. It lets Smeargle permanently learn a move its opponent uses, which effectively means Smeargle can learn any move in the game. This feature certainly sounds amazing, even overpowered, until you take a look at Smeargle's stats. Its abysmal offenses prevent it from running any useful attacking moves, its poor bulk means it's not likely to survive more than two turns and its mediocre Speed means it's forced to use a Focus Sash if it wishes to even pull off a move. Smeargle can still be an excellent support Pokémon due to its infinite movepool, which lets it find a space on many teams with move combination exclusive to it.

Smeargle is most commonly seen running two types of sets, setting up hazards or baton passing boosts. Regardless of which set it runs, it should always have a sleep-inducing move, as it gives Smeargle more time to use its support moves. Spore is the most accurate move for this purpose, while Dark Void can affect Grass-types and potentially incapacitate multiple Pokémon in double or triple battles. Stealth Rock and Spikes are obvious entry hazards, while Sticky Web is a great choice against offensive teams. For Baton Passing movesets, Shell Smash would be the best move for this purpose, giving its recipient an awesome attack and speed boost. Ingrain is also a good choice for more dedicated Baton Pass teams, as it lets your team rack up boosts without having to worry about getting forced out by something like Whirlwind or Roar. Finally, Smeargle can also keep a move like Memento or Endeavor, giving it some more use after it has done its intended job and will soon get KO'd.

Ho-Oh
Part of the first pair of cover legendaries, the guardian of the skies is still a force to be reckoned with. With 154 Special Defense, Ho-Oh can shrug off plenty of specially attacks which, combined with its great HP and excellent Regenerator ability, makes Ho-Oh a very bulky Pokémon. Ho-Oh is no slouch offensively either. With an 130 Attack and an awesome offensive typing, it can do some serious damage. While it is no longer the only Pokémon that learns Sacred Fire, it is still an amazing user of the move, being able to inflict crippling burns on any physical attackers trying to exploit its weaker Defense. As big of a threat Ho-Oh is, it still has some flaws, the biggest of which being a double weakness to Rock. It especially fears Stealth Rock, losing half of its health every time it enters the battle with the entry hazard on the field. Its Speed is also rather average, but its other stats more than make up for this.

For STAB attacks, Brave Bird and Sacred Fire is your best choice. Brave Bird has wonderful coverage and can hit anything that doesn't resist it very hard. Sacred Fire is the strongest Fire type attack in Ho-Oh's movepool that uses its superior Attack stat, and its high 50% burn chance can discourage physical attackers from facing it due to the threat of burns halving the power of their attacks. It also makes up for Ho-Oh's relatively poor Defense stat, and can be used to destroy Steel-types that resist Brave Bird. For other attacks, Earthquake is a wonderful choice as it can break down Rock-types that can threaten to KO it with Rock attacks while resisting Ho-Oh's STABs. For its final slot, you can choose from two recovery moves, Recover and Roost. Roost makes it less vulnerable to Rock attacks and removes some of its other weaknesses, but exposes it to Ground-type moves. Recover keeps it in the air, but still leaves it with its usual weaknesses.