Pokémon Black and White/Species Strategies (Gen III Families)

This page contains information on every Pokémon family first introduced in Generation I, including stats, 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.

Slakoth, Vigoroth and Slaking
If not for its awful Traunt Ability, Slaking would probably be a Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon. Phenomenal Attack power and a surprisingly high amount of Speed are both held back by the fact that it has to rest on each turn after it uses an attack. Worse still it cannot learn Skill Swap and it has no Hidden Ability. Slaking can take Physical hits well and send them back with Counter thanks to its very high HP and good Defense but is vulnerable to Special Attacks.

It could be argued that Slaking's pre-evolved form, Vigoroth, is actually the superior fighter out of the two of them, simply because Vigoroth doesn't have to recharge after each turn, although Vigoroth doesn't have as much brute strength as Slaking. Vigoroth also doesn't need to worry about being put to sleep thanks to Vital Spirit. Slaking evolves from Vigoroth at level 36 and Vigoroth evolves from Slakoth, who is also cursed with Traunt, at level 18.

Moveset 1 (Vigoroth)

 * Slash
 * Shadow Claw
 * Encore
 * Focus Punch

Moveset 2 (Vigoroth)

 * Slash
 * Shadow Claw
 * Endure
 * Reversal

Moveset 3 (Vigoroth)

 * Slash
 * Faint Attack
 * Counter
 * Seismic Toss

Moveset 4 (Slaking)

 * Giga Impact
 * Faint Attack
 * Hammer Arm
 * Counter

Moveset 5 (Slaking)

 * Giga Impact
 * Faint Attack
 * Yawn
 * Focus Punch

Moveset 6 (Slaking)

 * Giga Impact
 * Shadow Claw
 * Swagger
 * Counter

Nincada, Ninjask and Shedinja
Nincada, Ninjask and Shedinja are a very interesting evolutionary family, if not a particularly powerful one. Nincada evolves into Ninjask, and from a certain point of view Shedinja, at level 20, but Shedinja can only be obtained if there is a free space in the users party and if the player owns at least one ordinary Poke Ball.

Nincada may be the first evolutionary member of the trio, but that doesn't necessarily mean its the weakest. Which one of these three Bugs are the weakest is debatable but Nincada does have at least one advantage over Ninjask; it's immunity to Electric type moves. Compoundeyes raises Nincada's accuracy so you won't have to worry about the 5% chance of a Metal Claw missing. It's Hidden Ability is Run Away. Nincada is the strongest of the trio as far as Defense is concerned but its other stats are rather bad, although if you're lucky Metal Claw might give it an Attack boost.

Ninjask is probably the strongest of the trio due to its amazing Speed and good Attack, although it suffers from appalling defensive stats. Ninjask is one of the best Baton Passer's you will ever find, being able to pass many different stats, most notably Speed due to Speed Boost which it doesn't need for itself since it's the fastest Pokémon in existence apart from Speed form Deoxys, but it does need it to pass its Speed onto other Pokémon, unless you want to waste a move slot by teaching it Agility. Ninjask's Hidden Ability is Infiltrator which means it can pass through Reflect, Light Screen, Safeguard and Mist as if they aren't there. If you want to use Ninjask as a direct fighter use Infiltrator but a Baton Passer should have Speed Boost.

Shedinja is unique due to it being impossible to raise its HP above one and it has no defenses except its Special Ability, Wonder Guard. A blessing and a curse, Wonder Guard makes Shedinja completely immune to any attack that is not super effective against it, but indirect damage from moves such as Leech Seed, Toxic, Sandstorm or Stealth Rock will instantly knock it out. Shedinja is slow, but has a fairly good Attack stat and can learn Shadow Sneak to make up for its lack of Speed. Ninjask and Shedinja should work well together with Ninjask Baton Passing its stats to Shedinja and giving Shedinja a better chance of overwhelming the enemy before they can break through Wonder Guard.

Moveset 1 (Nincada)

 * X-Scissor
 * Metal Claw
 * Dig
 * Mud Slap

Moveset 2 (Ninjask)

 * X-Scissor
 * Baton Pass
 * Swords Dance
 * Double Team

Moveset 3 (Ninjask)

 * X-Scissor
 * Aerial Ace
 * Swords Dance
 * Cut

Moveset 4 (Ninjask)

 * X-Scissor
 * Aerial Ace
 * Swords Dance
 * Metal Claw

Moveset 5 (Shedinja)

 * X-Scissor
 * Aerial Ace
 * Grudge
 * Shadow Sneak

Moveset 6 (Shedinja)

 * Confuse Ray
 * Toxic
 * Fury Cutter
 * Shadow Sneak

Moveset 7 (Shedinja)

 * Protect
 * Toxic
 * Endure
 * Shadow Sneak

Trapinch, Vibrava and Flygon
Trapinch is a unique Pokémon. It evolves into Vibrava at level 35 but it has some useful moves that neither Vibrava nor Flygon can learn. Not only that but it's final move, Fissure, can only be learned at level 89 which is outrageously high, especially for a Pokémon that has not yet evolved. One could argue that it's not worth the effort, due to the fact that Fissure is extremely inaccurate and many Pokémon are immune to it, but it really is the only way you are going to get a Flygon that can use the move. Trapinch also has two Abilities that its evolved forms lack; Hyper Cutter which means that, apart from burns, it is impossible to lower its high Attack stat, and Arena Trap which means that any Pokémon that can't fly, Levitate, or disable Abilities will be Trapinch's prisoner until the fight is over. Trapinch's Hidden Ability is Sheer Force which gives it more raw power but means there won't be any side effects from moves like Crunch. Unfortunately Trapinch's only strong stat is its Attack although it can learn Quick Attack through breeding to make up for its terrible Speed.

Vibrava lacks any unique traits, unlike Trapinch, so it's best to just get it to level 45, the level it evolves at, as quickly as possible, unless you're going the long way around in order to get a Flygon with Fissure in which case you'll have to wait until level 90 before you can get Flygon. As a Dragon type, Flygon has access to Draco Meteor but don't forget about the loss of Special Attack. Although it is not a Flying type, Flygon has wings and unlike Pokémon such as Venomoth and Volcarona it actually makes use of them and its Levitate makes it immune to Ground type moves. Flygon is also far more agile and resilient than Trapinch, but it does suffer from a massive weakness to Ice types due to being a Dragon and Ground type. Fortunately it can learn a variety of moves to deal with them such as Stone Edge, Flamethrower and Steel Wing and its offensive stats are pretty good, although they aren't brilliant. Unlike most Pokémon, Flygon doesn't have a Hidden Ability but if it did then its very noticeable wings wouldn't save it from Ground type moves.

Moveset 1 (Trapinch)
Fissure

Dig

Crunch

Quick Attack

Moveset 2 (Flygon)
Fissure

Draco Meteor

Stone Edge

Earthquake

Moveset 3 (Flygon)
Dragon Claw

Steel Wing

Hyper Beam

Earth Power

Moveset 4 (Flygon)
Dragon Claw

U-Turn

Hyper Beam

Flamethrower

Feebas and Milotic
Feebas had a unique method of evolution, although in Generation 5 it is much easier to evolve. Despite seeming similar to Magikarp, Feebas can learn a fairly wide variety of moves. Unfortunately its stats are terrible.

Milotic can be quite formidable thanks to its high Special Defence, reliable healing techniques, and its Special Ability Marvel Scale which raises its Defence if it is under the effects of any status condition apart from confusion. It's Hidden Ability is Cute Charm, which sometimes acts like a free Attract when it is hit with Physical Attacks, but Marvel Scale is probably the better ability.

Milotic also has a strong Special Attack stat, and although it doesn't have a tremendously wide variety of moves, it has enough to get the job done.

Moveset 1 (Feebas)

 * Surf
 * Ice Beam
 * Protect
 * Toxic

Moveset 2 (Milotic)

 * Surf
 * Dragon Pulse
 * Recover
 * Mirror Coat

Moveset 3 (Milotic)

 * Hydro Pump
 * Ice Beam
 * Recover
 * Toxic

Moveset 4 (Milotic)

 * Hydro Pump
 * Ice Beam
 * Aqua Ring
 * Mirror Coat

Moveset 5 (Milotic)

 * Surf
 * Icy Wind
 * Recover
 * Twister

Luvdisc
Luvdisc is simply a terrible Pokémon. It has subpar defenses and horrendous attack stats, with its only decent stat being Speed. Both of its abilities depend on the rain, and don't make much of a difference. Swift Swim boosts its Speed stat in the rain, which really doesn't need a boost as much as any of its other stats. Its hidden ability Hydration lets it restore any status conditions in the rain, but it is way more likely to be knocked out by a normal damaging move due to its lackluster defense. It does learn Rain Dance to take advantage of either ability.

Your best bet is to teach it a strong Water-type move and Rain Dance, and hope it survives long enough to do considerable damage. Alternatively, you could give it Toxic and Protect as well as a few other stalling moves like Attract, as Luvdisc would probably accomplish more with Toxic than with direct attacks. There are better Pokémon for using either strategy, and no shortage of good Water-types in the game, so there's really no reason to use it for battling.

Bagon, Shelgon and Salamence
Bagon evolves into Shelgon at level 30 and Shelgon evolves into Salamence at level 50. While Bagon and Shelgon can both use Double-Edge safely thanks to Rock Head, Salamence has more raw power, although it does suffer from a severe weakness to Ice types. Salamence has Intimidate as its Special Ability, lowing the opponents Attack when it's brought into battle, and its Hidden Ability is Moxie which can make it a deadly sweeper since it's Attack power automatically gets higher when it defeats an opponent. Bagon's Hidden Ability is Sheer Force which powers up moves with secondary effects, such as Flamethrower, but the secondary effects will never activate. Shelgon's Hidden Ability is Overcoat so it won't take damage from Hail or Sandstorm.

Salamence is often compared with Dragonite due to the fact they are both Pseudo-Legendaries and have the same type combination. While Dragonite has the higher Defense stat, Salamence's Intimidate allows it to absorb physical blows with more ease. However Dragonite has a superior Hidden Ability, Multiscale, which halves the power of moves that are super effective, as long as it's at full strength, so it can take Ice type moves more easily. Therefore it is hard to say which one of them is stronger.

Moveset 1 (Shelgon)

 * Dragon Claw
 * Double-Edge
 * Crunch
 * DragonBreath

Moveset 2 (Salamence)

 * Dragon Claw
 * Thunder Fang
 * Fire Fang
 * Draco Meteor

Moveset 3 (Salamence)

 * Dragon Claw
 * Shadow Claw
 * Fly
 * Rock Slide

Moveset 4 (Salamence)

 * Dragon Rush
 * Hyper Beam
 * Fly
 * Flamethrower

Beldum, Metang and Metagross
Metagross is notable for being the only Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon that has absolutely no relation to a Dragon; even Tyranitar can learn several Dragon type moves. Beldum, a Pokémon that is capable of only learning four moves, evolves into Metang at level 20 and Metang evolves into Metagross at level 45. Metang is one of the few Pokémon that doesn't need to be in its final stage of evolution in order to learn Hyper Beam. All three of them have Clear Body as their Special Ability, meaning that the opponent can't lower their stats although it doesn't protect Metagross from loosing Speed if it uses Hammer Arm. Their Hidden Ability is Light Metal which merely means they won't be bothered much by moves like Low Kick.

Metagross and Metang are the only Pokémon apart from Clefairy, Clefable and Smeargle that can learn Meteor Mash. This powerful move has a chance of raising the users Attack power, and Metagross is already a powerful Physical Attacker anyway, so it can become an even more lethal opponent than it already is. Metagross also has various ways of making up for its unimpressive Speed, the most reliable being Bullet Punch. Metagross also has an amazing Defense stat, almost as high as its devastating Attack, so in physical combat the opponent will be hard pressed to defeat it. However Metagross is not so good at taking or using Special Attacks.

Moveset 1 (Beldum)

 * Take Down
 * Iron Head
 * Zen Headbutt
 * Iron Defence

Moveset 2 (Metagross)

 * Meteor Mash
 * Bullet Punch
 * Hammer Arm
 * Psychic

Moveset 3 (Metagross)

 * Meteor Mash
 * Bullet Punch
 * Hammer Arm
 * Shadow Ball

Moveset 4 (Metagross)

 * Meteor Mash
 * Earthquake
 * Hyper Beam
 * Psychic

Latias
Although Latios is often portrayed as being overprotective of Latias, the female member of the Eon duo is no damsel in distress. A very high Special Defense stat and a slightly lower Special Attack stat makes her one of the best Special combatants around. Although she lacks Latios' offensive power her defensive capabilities make her a formidable opponent. Furthermore Latias is very agile and she can use Recover to restore energy.

Latias has Levitate as her Special Ability making her immune to Ground type moves. She has no Hidden Ability. Latias' signature move is Mist Ball which can lower the Special Attack stat of the opponent.

Moveset 1

 * Mist Ball
 * Dragon Claw
 * Hyper Beam
 * Recover

Moveset 2

 * Mist Ball
 * Draco Meteor
 * Fly
 * Recover

Moveset 3

 * Mist Ball
 * Ice Beam
 * Thunderbolt
 * Recover

Moveset 4

 * Mist Ball
 * Dragon Pulse
 * Calm Mind
 * Shadow Ball

Latios
Latios is the more aggressive member of the Eon duo, having a very high Special Attack stat, slightly lower Special Defense, great Speed and enough Attack to allow physical moves to hit fairly hard. Like Latias he can use Recover to restore half of his energy and therefore have a better chance of giving pain to the enemy.

Latios has Levitate as his Special Ability and no Hidden Ability. His signature move is Luster Purge which can lower the Special Defense of the opponent.

Moveset 1

 * Luster Purge
 * Dragon Pulse
 * Giga Impact
 * Recover

Moveset 2

 * Luster Purge
 * Draco Meteor
 * Fly
 * Recover

Moveset 3

 * Luster Purge
 * Ice Beam
 * Thunderbolt
 * Recover

Moveset 4

 * Luster Purge
 * Dragon Claw
 * Dragon Dance
 * Shadow Claw