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

This page contains information on every Pokémon family first introduced in Generation IV, 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.

Turtwig, Grotle and Torterra
Torterra is a solid bulky attacker that sports a unique Grass/Ground typing, giving it rather uncommon coverage with its STAB moves. It has moderately balanced defenses and a respectable Attack stat at the cost of Speed, so it is well suited for dishing out heavy hits while sponging up enemy attacks. It has a nice movepool that includes a well-rounded range of physical attacks, boosting moves as well as important status moves. Torterra's typing is slightly below average defensively, as it is weak to very common offensive and utility attacks with Bug, Flying and most severely Ice moves being its bane. Its STAB combination is also totally resisted by Bug, Flying and Grass-types, making coverage moves a necessity.

For it Grass-type STAB move, Wood Hammer is a strong choice, having very high base power without sacrificing accuracy, though it inflicts recoil damage on itself. Seed Bomb is an alternative that lacks any negative effects, but has a major drop in damage compared to Wood Hammer. Earthquake is the obvious choice for its Ground STAB move, smashing Fire, Poison and Steel types that Wood Hammer has trouble breaking down. Stone Edge is a vital coverage move for Torterra, letting it hit Bugs and Flying-types that resist both of its STAB moves. Synthesis helps Torterra tank attacks, healing away some of the damage it sustained. Rock Polish and Swords Dance are excellent boosting moves to patch up Torterra's Speed or overwhelm bulky foes respectively. Stealth Rock provides a strong entry hazard for Torterra's team, while Wide Guard protects against common spread moves in doubles and triples.

Chimchar, Monferno and Infernape
With balanced mixed attacking stats and excellent Speed, Infernape is a versatile and threatening offensive Pokemon. It has an uncommon Fire/Fighting typing that grants it a range of helpful resistances and excellent STAB coverage. It also has an amazing movepool, featuring plenty of useful attacks both physical and special not to mention boosting moves for sweeping, and it has the Iron Fist ability to give some attacks some extra oomph. Given the sheer variety of Infernape's movepool, it can pull off a dedicated physical set, a mostly special set and even a mixed set, making it quite unpredictable for the opponent at the start of any match. Infernape suffers from the same issue as many other fast but frail attackers, in that any Pokemon that moves before it can easily take it out due to its terrible defenses.

For Inferhape's Fire move, Flare Blitz is the physical move of choice while Fire Blast is the best special attack. They have comparable power, with Flare Blitz dealing recoil damage while Fire Blast having slight issues with accuracy. For its Fighting move, Close Combat is often preferred for being a high power move with a negligible drawback, as Infernape isn't affected much by the defense drop. Focus Blast is rarely used even on special sets as it has similar power but poor accuracy. Mach Punch or Vacuum Wave are other valuable Fighting moves that give Infernape a priority move to take on faster Pokemon. On the physical side, Infernape has Gunk Shot, Earthquake or Stone Edge as coverage moves, while Grass Knot is its best special coverage move. U-turn lets it maintain momentum on predicted enemy switches. Swords Dance and Nasty Plot boosts its physical and special attacking stats respectively, facilitating its sweep. It also has several support moves like Stealth Rock, Taunt, Will-O-Wisp, Quick Guard and Fake Out, though Infernape's moveslots are typically at a premium, so it has trouble fitting these moves in.

Piplup, Prinplup and Empoleon
Empoleon is a Pokemon used primarily due to its strong defensive typing, an exclusive combination of Water and Steel. In addition to a Poison immunity, this typing gives Empoleon a whopping 10 resistances, two of which, Ice and Steel, are doubly resisted. Empoleon also has appreciable bulk particularly on the special side, so it is suited for a bulky support role focused on sponging moves it resists. Empoleon also has a usable Special Attack stat, giving it some offensive presence for a support. Unfortunately, Empoleon lacks a form of reliable recovery, so it can get chipped down after repeatedly taking hits. Its low Speed doesn't do it any favors, and as good as its typing is, it still has weaknesses to fairly common Electric, Fighting and Ground moves.

Scald is Empoleon's primary STAB attack, being the preferred Water move of every specially attacking Water-type. While it's not too strong, its propensity to spread burns is a powerful perk, and weakening physical attackers always helps due to Empoleon's inferior Defense stat. Flash Cannon is its best Steel move, though it doesn't hit anything Empoleon is particularly weak to. Ice Beam is a much better coverage move, blasting Dragons, Ground and Flying-types. Grass Knot is another coverage move that lets Empoleon hit other Water-types hard. Stealth Rock is an excellent entry hazard, and Empoleon is a good candidate for setting it due to its typing. Roar lets Empoleon force out its foe, which can help cut a sweep short or rack up entry hazard damage. Defog is cumbersome to obtain, but Empoleon is a great user of it compared to many other Defoggers due to its Rock resistance.

Starly, Staravia and Staraptor
Despite being the early-game bird of the Sinnoh region, Staraptor separates itself from its counterparts with its sheer power. It has fairly high Attack and Speed stats, but what really makes Staraptor great is its excellent movepool. It has strong STAB options for both of its types, getting Brave Bird through leveling up and Double-Edge as an egg move. Combined with its hidden ability Reckless, and Staraptor's attacks will really hurt, at the cost of doing high recoil damage to itself as well. While two Reckless boosted recoil attacks are good enough, Staraptor also gets the wonderful Close Combat by leveling up, letting it punch holes in Rock and Steel types that resists its STAB move. Finally, it can learn Roost if it can find a turn to heal off its recoil damage, Quick Attack as an option against faster threats and U-turn for efficiently switching out when it encounters a foe it has difficulty with.

Staraptor's weakness, like any other fast attacker, is its poor survivability. Its defensive stats are average at best, its Normal/Flying is quite average defensively and it relies heavily on two attacks that deal recoil damage, as well as one that lowers it defenses. This means that Staraptor can lose a lot of its health quickly, most of which is dealt by itself, and will likely go down if it can't manage to defeat its foe quickly enough. Staraptor is also slower than a few common offensive threats like Garchomp, and its Speed doesn't matter at all against strong priority attackers, which can limit it can deal as it can't hit first. All in all, Staraptor is a strong but also almost suicidal Pokémon. Fainting is an inevitable fate for the bird with the mohawk, but it will most certainly take down a few of its opponents with it.

Bidoof and Bibarel
Bibarel is a thoroughly mediocre Pokemon that happens to have some of the best abilities in the game, all of which has to do with modifying its stats. It has Simple to double any stat changes it has, which makes boosting moves much more potent, Unaware to ignore enemy stat changes, useful against setup sweepers, and the wildly unpredictable Moody, which can win games with its automatic stat boosts. Unfortunately, Bibarel's base stats are simply too poor to make use of any of its abilities, having middling strength, poor defenses and bad Speed. Its unique typing is decent defensively and it has a decent movepool, but Bibarel is still never a good choice on any serious teams.

For STAB moves, Bibarel's best options are Return and Waterfall. Double-Edge is stronger than Return but deals sizable recoil damage, and Bibarel has neither the speed nor the bulk to take the extra damage. Quick Attack is a crucial move as it gives Bibarel a priority move, letting it get a hit in against faster offensive Pokemon. Scald can be used on more supportive builds for spreading burns. For moves that take advantage of Simple, it has Curse for a well-rounded physical boost at the cost of cutting its Speed, which can be alleviated with Quick Attack, or Work Up for a sharp attack increase to function as a passable mixed attacker. For team support, it can set up Stealth Rock or spread status with Thunder Wave or Toxic. Taunt could also be used to disable slower support Pokemon.

Kricketot and Kricketune
Kricketune is one of several weak Bug-types that gained access to a very helpful niche in the form of Sticky Web. This move is an entry hazard that lowers the Speed of any enemy that switches in, giving Kriketune a very useful form of team support. Kricketune distinguishes itself from other Sticky Web users with its access to Taunt and Endeavor, which benefits it as a hazard setting lead Pokemon. It also has the uncommon Technician ability, though it doesn't have many good moves to use it with outside of Bug Bite. Unfortunately, Kricketune suffers from competition against other Sticky Web users for a team slot, with Galvantula and Shuckle being far better users. Kricketune is also nearly unusable outside of setting Sticky Web, doing low damage, having paper-thin defenses and terrible Speed.

Sticky Web is the only reason to use Kricketune, as it is far too weak to fulfill any role other than the hazard lead. Getting Sticky Web out would always be Kricketune's main priority. X-Scissor is its strongest STAB move, although Bug Bite is stronger with Technician and can potentially steal enemy berries for itself. Endeavor works well with Focus Sash lead sets to severely weaken Kricketune's foe after it has been brought down to near death. Taunt is a handy option against other hazard or support leads by locking away their status moves. Heal Bell lets Kricketune provide additional team support by curing status ailments, but that's assuming it manages to live past the first few turns. Knock Off has great utility as always and makes for a strong coverage move against item-holding Pokemon. Lastly, Swords Dance can give Kricketune a sharp Attack boost, though its Speed is too poor for sweeping.

Shinx, Luxio and Luxray
Luxray is a solid but forgettable Electric-type, one of the few that prefers dishing out physical hits over special strikes. It has a respectably high base Attack and it has pretty good coverage from its movepool, as well as a strong set of abilities. Intimidate is an excellent defensive and supportive ability for weakening enemy physical attackers while making up for Luxray's middling Defense. On the other hand, Guts gives it a sizable Attack boost while letting it absorb statuses from the enemy, and turns Flame or Toxic Orbs into Attack-enhancing items. Luxray's main weakness is its poor Speed, which is very uncommon for Electric-types. It also has issues with survival due to its moderate defenses and high self-inflicted damage as a side effect of Guts and Wild Charge.

Being a physical Electric-type, Luxray's best STAB move is without a doubt Wild Charge. While fairly strong, do note that it does recoil damage that may shorten Luxray's longevity. Another popular Electric-type move for Luxray is Volt Switch, which uses its lower Special Attack stat but has nice utility especially with Intimidate, giving Luxray the mobility to switch around on to the field. Ice Fang isn't very strong, but provides the best coverage with its main STAB attacks, hitting many Electric resists super effectively. Superpower is another move that expands Luxray's super effective coverage, though it inflicts some mildly undesirable stat drops after use. Crunch is yet another coverage move, but it's only really worth using if Psychic or Ghost-types are really problematic. Lastly, Facade is a powerful choice for Guts sets, as it has ridiculously high base power when Luxray is statused.

Cranidos and Rampardos
Rampardos is a ludicrously powerful physical attacker doomed by its extremely lopsided stat distribution. Its physical Attack stat rivals legendaries, and holds the honor of having the highest Attack of any Pokemon that isn't a legendary or a Mega Evolution. It also has good coverage moves and an excellent pair of abilities. Mold Breaker ignores the effects of abilities such as Sturdy and Multiscale, forcing Rampardos's foes to take the full brunt of its attack. Sheer Force instead increases the damage dealt by certain attacks as well as removing recoil damage from Life Orb, giving Rampardos a significant power boost at a nearly negligible cost. With its massive power, Rampardos will be knocking out almost everything it hits, but its biggest trouble is getting a hit off in the first place. Rampardos has horrible bulk and Speed, so any Pokemon that goes first easily takes it down, and it is frailty makes it troublesome to switch it in against slower foes without taking heavy damage.

Rampardos's strongest STAB attack is Head Smash, a move with a whopping 150 Base Power. Unfortunately it also deals heavy recoil damage, so it is very likely for Rampardos to faint itself just by using the attack. Stone Edge is a lot weaker but retains Head Smash's shaky accuracy. Rock Slide is much weaker but benefits from Sheer Force, making it a safe and accurate STAB attack on Sheer Force sets. Earthquake and Superpower both help Rampardos smash Steel-types, but offer additional coverage of their own depending on the move chosen. Zen Headbutt targets Fighting-types that resist Rock, and benefits from Sheer Force as well. Rampardos can learn Stealth Rock, and its high damage and Mold Breaker ability gives it an edge against other Sturdy hazard setting leads, but there are usually better users for setting your hazards.

Shieldon and Bastiodon
Bastiodon is a Pokemon that's singularly built around sponging hits. It has incredible bulk, having some of the highest Defense and Special Defense stats in the game, as well as a wonderful type combination that gives it 8 resistances and a Toxic immunity. It also has the handy Sturdy ability as well as access to Roar, making it a reliable emergency stop against setup sweepers as long as it's at full HP. Unfortunately, all that bulk comes at the cost of any offensive presence Bastiodon might have had. Bastiodon's terrible offensive stats restricts it from playing any role outside of defensive support, and makes it extremely vulnerable to Taunt. While its typing offers it a massive range of resistances, it makes Bastiodon extremely weak to popular Fighting and Ground coverage moves. It also lacks any form of recovery outside of Rest, so it is prone to getting worn down by chip damage.

Given Bastiodon's pathetic attacking stats, its best bet at dealing considerable damage to its opponent is through Toxic damage. Metal Burst can also be used to counter physical attacks for massive damage, but a foe is unlikely to fall for it more than once. Stealth Rock is a great entry hazard as always, and Bastiodon's bulk makes it a suitable candidate for setting it up. Roar is an important move to have on Bastiodon, as it prevents setup sweepers from taking advantage of Bastiodon's lack of offensive presence by setting up. It also forces the enemy team to take more hazard damage. Magic Coat bounces back any status moves headed for Bastiodon, particularly Taunt but also opposing hazards and status. While it only has an effect in double or triple battles, Wide Guard is also handy for blocking spread moves from the enemy team.

Burmy, Wormadam and Mothim
The Burmy line are unique species with up to 4 potential evolutions, but unfortunately neither of them are any good. Female Burmy evolve into three different types of Wormadam depending on their surrounding environment during evolution. Plant Cloak Wormadam boasts the best special stats but is by far the worst form due to its terrible typing, doing poorly on both the offensive and defensive fronts. Sandy Cloak Wormadam has the best physical stats of the three Wormadam, and it has a slightly better defensive typing as well as getting more useful support moves. Trash Cloak Wormadam is probably the most useful of the three, having the best typing and balanced stats. A common trait all Wormadam share is terrible offensive presence and Speed, not to mention lackluster defensive stats and no reliable recovery for a primarily defensive Pokemon. They're best used to provide team support, but there are many better utility Pokemon available.

Male Burmy can only evolve into Mothim, a more traditional Bug/Flying type with access to Quiver Dance. It has a very strong offensive focus compared to other Quiver Dance users, having solid mixed attacking stats and a great ability in Tinted Lens, letting it do much more damage on resisted hits. Unfortunately, like most Quiver Dancers, it almost never sees use due to its frailty, terrible defensive typing and horrendous Speed. As a Tinted Lens user, it is also overshadowed by Venomoth, which has better stats and also gets Quiver Dance. If one must use Mothim, it is best to focus on its stronger special attacks, with Bug Buzz and Air Slash being its best STAB moves. Hidden Power Ground or Fighting is usually used to cover Rock and Steel types.

When it comes to Wormadam's moves, each form has significant variations in its move pool. Plant Cloak Wormadam has the least useful support moves, so it depends heavily on its shabby Special Attack. Giga Drain, Energy Ball and Leaf Storm are all fairly powerful Grass moves, while Signal Beam gives it some extra coverage. It has an instant form of recovery in Synthesis, but outside of Toxic it lacks ways to abuse its improved longevity. Sandy and Trash Cloak Wormadam both get Stealth Rock, with Trash Cloak Wormadam having a better typing for setting it up, while Sandy Cloak Wormadam gets Rock Blast to take on enemy sashed hazard setters. For their respective STAB moves, Sandy Cloak gets a fairly powerful Earthquake, while Trash Cloak Wormadam can make use of Iron Head or Gyro Ball.

Combee and Vespiquen
Vespiquen is an oft-forgotten Pokemon with decent bulk and three moves exclusive to it, but stuck in mediocrity due to its poor typing and terrible Speed. The most interesting thing about Vespiquen is its odd movepool, getting a variety of attacks and utility moves that are quite uncommon for a Bug/Flying type. It also has the three "Order" moves available only to itself, which lets it either boost its defensive stats simultaneously, heal half of its max HP instantly, or perform a strong physical Bug-type attack with a high crit chance. For more heavily defensive sets, Vespiquen also benefits from the Pressure ability, which causes the PP of the moves used against it to drain faster. As mentioned before, Vespiquen's biggest weakness is its bad typing that gives it a lot of common weaknesses, with Rock-type moves being a particular menace. It is also extremely slow, which often forces it to sponge attacks before being able to retaliate.

Attack Order is Vespiquen's unique attack, being one of the strongest physical Bug moves while keeping perfect accuracy and having a great secondary effect. However, using Bug Buzz gives Vespiquen a special move with equivalent power, while also letting it use a strong coverage move in Air Slash due to higher Special Attack investment. Vespiquen can also choose between Roost and Heal Order for healing, with Roost able to alter its type advantages and disadvantages by removing its Flying-type on the turn it uses it. For team support, it gets Toxic to whittle down the enemy team and Tailwind to boost the speed of teammates. Lastly, it gets Destiny Bond for taking out powerful or bulky foes.

Pachirisu
Pachirisu is just another electric rodent that enjoyed a brief moment of fame as part of the team used by the World Champion of VGC 2014. What separates Pachirisu from its fellow Pikachu-lookalikes is its increased defensive focus. It eschews offensive power for better bulk while still keeping decent Speed, which lets it better function as a utility Pokemon. Its moveset isn't particularly large but acceptable, with both a reliable source of paralysis from Nuzzle and the valuable Follow Me move to protect teammates. It also has a decent typing with few weaknesses and gets the handy Volt Absorb ability that lets it heal from taking Electric moves. While Pachirisu does have some niche usefulness, it is still mostly as bad as its fellow rodents, dealing low damage and being vulnerable to Taunt as a result. Its bulk is also below average as far as defensive supports go, so make very careful considerations before deciding to fit Pachirisu into a team.

There isn't any point to running attacking moves on Pachirisu, since its offensive stats are so poor even the strongest moves it learns will barely leave a scratch. Focus on utility moves with damage only being a minor secondary effect. Nuzzle is a great move with low distribution, being a completely accurate paralysis spreader that also does slight damage, which means it can't be blocked by Taunt. Pachirisu is the only Electric-type that gets Follow Me, letting provide redirection support for teammates, particularly those weak to Electric moves. Toxic or Super Fang is Pachirisu's best bet for wearing enemies down, both dealing a fixed percentage of the enemy's HP. U-Turn lets Pachirisu maintain a matchup advantage against predicted switch-ins, while Helping Hand is useful in doubles and triples for buffing teammates.

Buizel and Floatzel
Floatzel is a very uncommon but passable offensive Water-type. It has excellent Speed as well as nice mixed attacking stats. It's also notable for being the fastest Swift Swim user in the game. On the other hand, it is also one of the few physical attackers that don't fear burns, when protected by its Water Veil ability. Floatzel's movepool is also fairly varied, having a range of odd coverage and status moves. Floatzel suffers from a problem common to many offensive Pokemon: its frailty, so it has difficulty taking on anything that outspeeds it. It also lacks power for bringing down bulky Pokemon, being more suited to pressuring and finishing off frail or weakened foes.

Floatzel has the stats and moveset to function as either a physical or special attacker. While it has a higher Attack stat, it has better coverage from its special moves. Special Water moves it can use to good effect are Hydro Pump for damage and Surf for accuracy. On the physical side, it gets Waterfall for nice damage and a flinching effect that it can abuse with its Speed, as well as Aqua Jet for faster foes. Either Ice Beam or Ice Punch can be used for coverage, letting Floatzel hit a large number of Pokemon super effectively, namely Grass-types. Focus Blast and Hidden Power Electric are other good special coverage moves, while physical sets could go for Crunch and Low Kick. Floatzel can also make use of Taunt due to its high Speed, an effective measure against bulkier foes that like to switch in against it. When equipped with a Choice item, Switcharoo can be used instead to saddle support Pokemon with a debilitating move restriction.

Cherubi and Cherrim
Cherrim is primarily a support Pokemon built around a gimmick that has never been effective enough to warrant its use since its inception. The gimmick in question is Flower Gift, an exclusive ability that raises the Attack and Special Defense of Cherrim and its teammates on the field under harsh sunlight. Unfortunately, this requires Cherrim to be alive and in battle to take effect, which automatically makes Cherrim a priority target. With Cherrim's mediocre bulk and poor defensive typing, it's certainly not hard to quickly remove it from play. At least it still has a variety of support moves, but it is still outclassed by many Grass-types as well as Sunny Day supporters.

If you really want to make use of Flower Gift, it's best to set the weather with Cherrim itself using Sunny Day, as a support Pokemon shouldn't need additional support from its allies to function. Leech Seed drains HP from Cherrim's target every turn to heal itself, while Synthesis instantly restores a lot of HP, up to a full bar in sunny weather. Aromatherapy removes status conditions from Cherrim's party, while Heal Pulse can keep a teammate healthy. It can also sacrifice itself using Healing Wish to fully restore another teammate. For attacks, Giga Drain and Energy Ball are solid choices while Solar Beam can work in sun teams. It also gets Dazzling Gleam and can use Hidden Power for additional type coverage.

Shellos and Gastrodon
While it's not exactly commonplace, Gastrodon is a Pokemon that tends to find a defensive niche in many formats due to its unique combination of attributes. It is one of few Pokemon that has the Water/Ground type combination, which gives it useful resistances and an Electric immunity for a major Grass weakness, which is an uncommon type for coverage moves. It also has the rare Storm Drain ability, which gives it an additional Water immunity and provides passive team support as it protects teammates from Water moves, while gaining a handy Special Attack raise whenever it absorbs a Water move. It also has usable attacking stats and moves, so it maintains an offensive presence against its foes. Gastrodon's weaknesses lie in its stats. For all of its useful defensive traits, Gastrodon's defense stats are actually pretty mediocre.

Being a bulky Water-type, Gastrodon is a natural Scald user, being able to threaten its foes with burns while chipping away at their health. Earthquake and Earth Power are the best Ground moves it gets and give it a powerful coverage move against a variety of types. Ice Beam provides a lot of extra coverage, including Grass-types, Gastrodon's greatest foes. Recover greatly increases Gastrodon's longevity and gives it a valuable edge over other Water/Ground types. Toxic gives it a way to wear down bulky Pokemon while putting sweepers on a timer. It also gets Clear Smog and Yawn as further measures against setup sweepers. Lastly, Gastrodon can also attempt to sweep by using Curse, boosting its physical stats for a barely discernible Speed drop.

Drifloon and Drifblim
Drifblim is an unusual offensive Pokemon with a unique typing. It is a frail mixed attacker that distinguishes itself from other Pokemon due to Unburden, which doubles its otherwise middling Speed when its held item is lost, making Drifblim a scary sweeper. It also gets the exclusive Flare Boost ability, letting it dish out massive damage instead when burned. It has solid offensive stats and gets many of the Ghost-type's tricky status moves, giving it an element of unpredictability. Drifblim's exclusive typing is also worth noting for its incredible 3 immunities and 3 resistances, though it also has a fairly high list of 5 weaknesses to worry about. Drifblim's defensive stats are horrendous despite its high HP, so faster offensive Pokemon is a big threat especially before it gets its Unburden boost. It also lacks power for a sweeper, having difficulty beating many defensive Pokemon, especially due to its lackluster coverage..

Acrobatics is a perfect fit for an Unburden using Drifblim, being powered-up by both STAB and an empty item slot, making it a standard on physical sets. For its Ghost move, Shadow Ball is typically used to hit physically defensive Pokemon, as it lacks strong physical Ghost attacks outside of the unwieldy Phantom Force. It has physical Dark-type moves for coverage like Knock Off and various special attacks like Thunderbolt, Psychic and Hidden Power, but attack type variety certainly isn't Drifblim's strong suit. Substitute is common on Unburden sets that uses berries to trigger the ability, as Drifblim can use the move to safely lower its HP enough to consume the berry. A combination of Will-o-Wisp and Hex lets it both weaken enemy physical attackers as well as do heavy special damage. It can also use Destiny Bond or Parting Shot as a spiteful last resort when fainting is inevitable. Drifblim gets plenty of other status moves like Tailwind, Baton Pass, Trick, and Disable, but it lacks bulk to play as a support so these moves are only useful for their surprise factor.

Buneary and Lopunny
Lopunny used to be a mediocre Pokemon that is only notable for its gimmicky Klutz and Switcharoo combo, but a Mega Evolution has transformed it into a threatening and capable physical attacker. Mega Lopunny's stat boosts are standard for a physically-inclined Mega Evolution, boasting greatly increased Attack and Speed. What really stands out is Mega Lopunny's secondary Fighting-type and Scrappy ability, which grants it perfect neutral coverage using just its STAB moves. Since Mega Lopunny doesn't need to worry about enemy resistances, it can afford to run more utility moves and niche coverage attacks instead, giving it more versatility over the standard physically attacking Mega. The main issue holding Mega Lopunny back is simply the existence of other Mega Evolutions, as it simply can't compete with other dominant physically attacking Megas like Kangaskhan or Salamence for a team slot due to their sheer power. It also doesn't have the best defenses, so strong Pokemon that can move before it or survive its attacks will likely faint it in return.

Mega Lopunny's main attacks are Return and High Jump Kick. These two moves alone are all it needs for dealing heavy damage to most Pokemon, as no Pokemon can resist both attacks due to the effects of Scrappy. Return tends to be the safer option, but High Jump Kick offers more extreme damage. Lopunny has fairly good freedom in its remaining move slots. Fake Out is a staple attack for free damage, as well as breaking Sturdy and potential Focus Sashes. Power-Up Punch sacrifices coverage for an Attack boost, and Lopunny can even pass them on with Baton Pass. Ice Punch is Lopunny's most common coverage move, able to hit a lot of things super effectively, Flying-types being the main threat. Substitute protects Lopunny from crippling status moves like burns and paralysis. Mega Lopunny can also abuse its high Speed with Encore to lock foes into undesirable moves. It can even use Heal Bell or Healing Wish as team support, though Mega Lopunny is more suited to the role of a team's backbone and main damage dealer.

Glameow and Purugly
Purugly is one of several housecat Pokemon that simply aren't really good, with low power and bulk compared to most Pokemon. Purugly does have some redeeming traits, having high Speed and the Defiant ability, which lets it gain Attack boosts from enemies attempting to drop its stats. It's particularly helpful given Defog's improvement in this generation, using hazard removing Pokemon to power itself up with negligible drawbacks. Unfortunately, Purugly still has terrible stats and mediocre typing, so even with Defiant it fails to threaten many common Defog users. Additionally, it is outclassed by most other Defiant users, making Purugly another Pokemon that's best kept forgotten.

Purugly's moveset is pretty straightforward for a Normal-type physical attacker, with Return being its main STAB move. Fake Out is a nice move to deal extra damage and break Sturdy and Focus Sash users. It has Dark-type moves to deal with Ghosts, having both Knock Off for damage and utility as well as Sucker Punch for priority. Unfortunately, the best moves it has for Rocks and Steels are Bulldoze or Wake-Up Slap, both being fairly weak moves. It also gets U-turn to simply switch out into a more suitable teammate against a foe it can't beat. Hypnosis, Swagger and Taunt are some status moves Purugly uses quite well due to its high Speed, but there are obviously better speedy supports out there.

Stunky and Skuntank
Skuntank can boast as one of the two evolutionary families in the game with the Poison/Dark typing, a rare type combination that offers a great range of resistances for only one weakness. Its stat spread makes it suited for a frail physical attacking playstyle, but it also has the movepool to provide support for its team. It's not bad on the offensive front either, getting the many utility attacks the Dark-type is known for while having Poison moves to deal with one of Dark's main foes: Fairies. While it has some solid attributes, this Pokemon is severely held back by its poor Speed, which is way too low for a frail attacker, and its middling Attack stat is lacking for some of the bulkier foes one will commonly face.

Poison Jab and Crunch are Skuntank's strongest and most reliable STAB moves. Crunch would be Skuntank's primary attack due to having wider coverage overall, with Poison Jab solely used to hit Fairy and Grass-types. Acid Spray is weak, but lets Skuntank assist its team's special attackers by lowering its opponents' Special Defenses. Skuntank can Pursuit trap Dark-weak Pokemon and finish off weakened foes. Sucker Punch is a pain to get on Skuntank but is extremely helpful for bypassing its poor Speed due to the move's priority. Notable coverage moves for Skuntank are Flamethrower and Play Rough, for taking on Steel and Fighting-types respectively. Taunt renders enemy support Pokemon useless, while Memento and Explosion lets it sacrifice it self to weaken its foe either offensively or defensively. Lastly, Skuntank is one of the few non-Flying types that gets Defog, though its Ground weakness is not good against common hazard setters.

Bronzor and Bronzong
A solid defensive Pokemon since its debut, Bronzong has endured the numerous changes and additions to the game over the years and still finds a niche in many formats due to a combination of great bulk, excellent typing and helpful abilities. Its typing is really its main strength, sporting 9 resistances and immunity to Poison, which is supplemented by either Levitate or Heatproof to remove one of its weaknesses. While Heatproof its exclusive to it, Levitate is more often used as it grants a full immunity instead of simply negating a weakness. It also has huge defenses on both sides, and a great support movepool that can take advantage of its horrendous Speed.

While Bronzong's attack stats are pretty decent, Bronzong lacks an offensive presence, and its Speed leads to its taking a lot of damage before it can use its moves. For a Pokemon that focuses on sponging hits, it lacks a recovery move outside of Rest, which limits how many attacks it can take as the match drags on. While the type matchup changes gives it a hugely favorable Fairy resistance, it is terribly affected by its newfound Ghost and Dark weaknesses, two very popular offensive types.

Bronzong has a huge movepool that lets it perform a myriad of roles depending on format. It is most well-known for being a great Trick Room setter, boasting one of the lowest Speeds of any fully-evolved Pokemon, letting it abuse the effects of Trick Room to the fullest. In singles, it is also often used for setting up Stealth Rock. Gyro Ball is Bronzong's best STAB move since it gains power the slower Bronzong is compared to its target, and Bronzong is very, very slow. Earthquake is a straightforward coverage move that can hit a lot of Pokemon super effectively. Toxic is often Bronzong's best option for taking down a bulky foe. Lastly, Explosion knocks out Bronzong but also does heavy damage to its opponents while letting teammates an opportunity to switch in.

Chatot
Chatot's one of the more obscure Pokémon that doesn't really stand out, with an uninteresting stat spread and generic typing. However, it did gain some minor buffs in this generation to make it slightly more usable. Its signature move, Chatter, can no longer record and playback voices, but has gained the ability to always confuse. It also receives Boomburst as an egg move, giving it a very strong STAB move that uses its fairly high Special Attack. Unfortunately, Chatot is still riddled with weaknesses, being terribly frail and having poor Speed to compete with many offensive threats. Its typing also leaves it with some common weaknesses, including to Stealth Rock. While Chatot has certainly gotten a bit better, it still has a long way to go before it can match the power and reputation of some of its fellow Flying-types.

Chatot has two essential moves, Chatter and Boomburst. Boomburst is Chatot's main attack, with an excellent 140 Base Power and the ability to hit through Substitutes, it is without a doubt the strongest and most reliable move Chatot can use. Chatter is the strongest special Flying-type attack Chatot can learn, but its main use is to inflict confusion status. For coverage options, Chatot's movepool is pretty disappointing. It can learn Heat Wave from a move tutor in a previous generation, which is valuable against Steel-types, and U-Turn as more of a utility move to let it scout and switch efficiently. It can also use Roost for longevity, Defog and Tailwind for team support, and Nasty Plot or Agility for a potential sweep, but its bulk is too poor for it to do any of these things reasonably effectively.

Spiritomb
Spiritomb is primarily known for being one of two Pokemon in the entire game with the Ghost and Dark type combination. While this type combination has gained a single weakness in Fairy, it gives Spiritomb a resistance and three whole immunities. It has great mixed attacking stats and bulk, as well as some key support moves to assist its team. Spiritomb also has a nice selection of abilities, from Pressure to better stall out the PP of enemy moves, or Infiltrator to hit foes hiding behind Substitutes. While it has balanced offenses and defenses, this comes at the cost of Speed, and Spiritomb is one of the slowest Pokemon in the game. It is also often overshadowed by Sableye, which has both Prankster for priority support moves in its normal form as well as being a dominating defensive threat in its Mega form.

Since Ghost and Dark moves have redundant coverage, Spiritomb often exclusively use Dark-type moves as its STAB attacks for their higher base power or additional effects. Dark Pulse is its most straightforward STAB move for just dealing damage, while Sucker Punch has equivalent power but comes with priority, which is crucial for overcoming Spiritomb's horrendous Speed. Pursuit is great for trapping Pokemon particularly if they're weak to Dark, while Foul Play gives Spiritomb a powerful option against physical attackers. Will-o-Wisp is a great status move for dealing incremental damage as well as weakening physical foes, while Pain Split lets Spiritomb replenish its HP depending on how much health its target has left. Taunt stops enemy status moves, but Spiritomb's Speed makes it a lackluster Taunt user. It can set up with Curse, Calm Mind or Nasty Plot for a bulky sweeping set as well. Lastly, Memento can be used to cripple its opponents while bringing in a teammate at the cost of Spiritomb's life.

Gible, Gabite and Garchomp
Ever since its conception, Garchomp has been consistently one of the best and most used Pokémon for battling. The reasons its a huge threat are quite obvious. With high Attack and Speed, as well as awesome STAB coverage, its a threatening offensive Pokémon that is fully capable of sweeping. It is not too bad in the defensive side either, with good stats for survivability and an awesome Dragon/Ground typing that leaves it with few weaknesses. Additionally, it has a wonderful array of moves to let it run a variety of sets, and Rough Skin is just icing on the cake. As powerful as it is, Garchomp's type weaknesses are a major flaw, with Ice, Dragon and Fairy types all being commonly-used attacking types.

As if Garchomp wasn't scary enough, it even gained a Mega Evolution, raising its stats to legendary levels, but giving it a significant 10-point drop in base Speed. This minor reduction is enough to stop Mega Garchomp from sweeping teams, but grants it frightening power instead. 170 Attack means Garchomp can hit as hard as Black Kyurem, and it also has a usable 120 Special Attack to turn it into a capable mixed attacker. Its defenses also got an overall buff, and it also gained the ability Sand Force, which powers up some of its moves to obscene levels during Sandstorms.

Owing to its good overall stats, Garchomp is quite versatile with the moves it can run. Earthquake is a staple STAB attack, giving it good Super Effective coverage. Outrage is another common STAB move, with its high base power and excellent coverage that can let Garchomp sweep unprepared teams. Dragon Claw can also be used if you're wary of Fairy or Steel-types, but does noticeably less damage. Stone Edge and Fire Blast are good coverage moves, even though the latter uses Garchomp's lower Special Attack. Swords Dance can often be found on sweeper Garchomps to double their Attack given the opportunity.

Riolu and Lucario
Lucario is a pretty popular Pokémon, and its stats are nothing to scoff at. With great offensive stats, good Speed, an awesome movepool and, in this generation, a devastating Mega Evolution. It has access to the coveted Extreme Speed, letting it get the first attack against just about any Pokémon, Swords Dance for sweeping, Close Combat as a deadly STAB option and useful coverage moves like Bullet Punch, Crunch and Ice Punch. If you want to use its rich special movepool, it has Aura Sphere as a main STAB option, Vacuum Wave as a substitute to Extreme Speed, Nasty Plot as a boosting move, and Dark Pulse, Dragon Pulse and Psychic for coverage. In double or triple battles, it has Quick Guard and Heal Pulse for added utility.

Defensively, its type combination gives it useful neutralities to Psychic, Flying and Fairy, along with a quad resistance to Bug and Rock, and an immunity to Poison. A resistance to Dark-type attacks helps it secure an Attack boost from Justified by switching into a predicted Dark-type attack. Watch out for other Fighting-types as well as Ground and Fire types, as they can easily break through Lucario's mediocre defenses. If you have a free mega slot on your team, Mega Lucario is an excellent choice, giving it a boost in its offensive stats as well as the ability Adaptability, which means an Aura Sphere or Close Combat will hit even harder. All in all, Lucario is an amazing sweeper, with the right typing and strong priority attacks to make it an extremely dangerous foe.

Hippopotas and Hippowdon
Hippowdon is one of two Sand Stream users in the game, the other being Tyranitar. While it has nowhere near the power and unpredictability of Tyranitar, it brings some strong perks of its own, such as a solid typing, incredible bulk and an excellent movepool. It has huge HP and Defense stats, while a high Attack stat ensures that it can dish out as much damage as it can take. Sand Stream summons a Sandstorm every time it switches in, which can benefit its allies while chipping away at the foe, though it may be better to use Sand Force if its team can't take advantage of Sand Stream much. Hippowdon's main defensive weakness is its subpar Special Defense while it is also weak to a couple of common types, and it suffers from terrible Speed.

Earthquake is Hippowdon's STAB move, being the de facto attack for many Ground-types. Stone Edge is its best coverage move, having excellent type coverage with Earthquake. Its high bulk makes it suitable for setting up Stealth Rock, while it gets Whirlwind to force switches and accumulate damage from foes switching in. Whirlwind is also very helpful for stopping setup sweepers, though Yawn can also accomplish the same thing in addition with the threat of inflicting Sleep. Toxic is handy against bulky foes that don't fear Hippowdon's attacks much. Lastly, Slack Off restores half of Hippowdon's HP, which lets it stay alive for much longer.

Phione and Manaphy
Manaphy is a mythical Pokemon with great all-around stats, with its most notable feature being one of the only two Pokemon to learn Tail Glow. This powerful boosting move boosts Manaphy's Special Attack by 3 stages, or 2.5 times, in a single turn, instantly making it an exceedingly powerful Special Attacker that can tear through teams. Manaphy also has a solid movepool that grants it amazing coverage. It's not too shabby defensively either, being one of the best users of Hydration that can use rain to both boost its attacks and effortlessly shrug off status, while its pure Water typing gives it plenty of nice resistances. Manaphy's main weakness is its rather average Speed, which it can't boost with an item if it's using Tail Glow, so most faster attackers can take it down before Manaphy starts launching its powered-up attacks.

Tail Glow is a mainstay on Manaphy's moveset, being the only offensive boosting move that boosts a stat by three stages, and Manaphy can find ample opportunities to set up with its solid bulk and typing. Scald is Manaphy's main STAB move, since its usually middling Base Power becomes stronger than most Hydro Pumps after a boost, and it has a very helpful burn chance to weaken any Pokemon that manages to survive a hit. Ice Beam has excellent coverage with Scald, being highly effective against Grass and Dragon-types. Being one of the few Water-types to learn Energy Ball lets it hit other Water-types hard too. It can also mix up its attacks for specific targets, the common candidates being Psychic, Hidden Power Fire, and Shadow Ball. Rain Dance is a great move on more defensive Manaphy sets, activating Hydration to protect Manaphy from status ailments. Rest can also be used to great effect with Hydration, letting Manaphy completely restore its health for no cost. Keep in mind that the more moves Manaphy runs to improve its survivability, the less coverage moves it can use.

Darkrai
Darkrai fits into the archetype of a Dark-type glass cannon, with incredible Special Attack and great Speed, making it a capable attacker. However, its true danger comes from its signature move, Dark Void, a move deemed so powerful it has seen bans in official competitions due to the possibility of Smeargle learning it. This debilitating status move has great accuracy for a sleep-inducing move, just behind Spore, and it's the only Sleep move that can affect multiple foes in a double or triple battle. This gives it the potential to incapacitate a huge chunk of the opponent's team, and Darkrai's excellent Speed makes it a great status spreader. Darkrai can take advantage of sleeping foes well, able to boost with Nasty Plot or rapidly wear them down with attacks and Bad Dreams. Darkrai is a glass cannon and its typing is not very good defensively, so a decently strong attack can quickly bring it down, assuming the foe isn't hit by sleep. It also relies heavily on its speed for its offense and sleep-spreading, so paralysis can render it virtually useless.

Dark Void is Darkrai's signature move and what seperates it from other fast but frail attackers. Having a fairly accurate Sleep move on such a fast Pokemon is a huge boon, and can dramatically cripple the enemy team with a bit of luck. Dark Pulse is its main STAB move, being a decently strong special Dark attack with a very helpful chance to flinch. Darkrai has a decent selection of coverage moves to choose from. Psychic stops Fighting-types, Focus Blast is effective against opposing Dark-types and Sludge Bomb deals with Fairies. Ice Beam and Thunderbolt provides good coverage overall. For utility moves, Darkrai can use Nasty Plot to heavily boost its Special Attack, while a fast Taunt is useful for shutting down opposing utility Pokemon. Thunder Wave and Will-O-Wisp are more permanent status effects for crippling powerful foes, but they are rather situational.

Shaymin
Shaymin is a mythical pixie Pokemon with a twist. While it has the usual balanced stat spread in its Land Forme, it can change into its Sky Forme for increased offense at the cost of bulk. Land Shaymin is a nice special attacker with a good range of attacks to make use of, appreciable speed, good bulk and capable of being a status absorber due to its Grass type and Natural Cure. In its Sky Forme, Shaymin is a threatening offensive Pokemon with high attacking stats and excellent speed, not to mention gaining the powerful and annoying Serene Grace ability. Another great feature of Shaymin is its Seed Flare attack, which does a lot of damage and has a huge chance of lowering Special Defense, up to a whopping 80% with Serene Grace. Land Forme Shaymin lacks power to wear down special walls and also has trouble dealing with faster offensive Pokemon, especially due to its numerous weaknesses. Meanwhile, Sky Forme Shaymin suffers from horrendous bulk, and losing Natural Cure makes it much more susceptible to status, particularly paralysis.

No matter which Shaymin forme is used, Seed Flare is its go-to STAB move. This attack has great Base Power, but more importantly a high 40% chance to lower Special Defense, so Shaymin can potentially muscle through Pokemon that can otherwise comfortably sponge its attacks. Due to Seed Flare's poor accuracy and limited PP, Energy Ball is a nice alternative or addition. Air Slash is Sky Shaymin's secondary STAB with a high 60% flinch chance, though it can still be used by Land Shaymin to defeat other Grass-types. Earth Power deals with Fire and Steel types that resist Ground, Psychic takes down Poison-types, and Dazzling Gleam can be used for fighting Dragons. For more defensive builds, Leech Seed and Synthesis can be used to keep Shaymin healthy. Shaymin also has several support options. Aromatherapy and Healing Wish heals teammates, while Tailwind boosts the speed of Shaymin and its teammates.

Arceus
As the creator of the Pokemon universe, one would be correct to assume that Arceus would be a mighty force. With impressive stats in every category and the ability to change its typing according to its held item, even the newly-added Fairy, Arceus is an extremely versatile Pokemon that can fit into practically every team. A massive movepool gives Arceus impressive coverage no matter if it's playing as a physical or special attacker, while great bulk and speed enable it to be a potent support Pokemon as well. Perhaps Arceus's greatest strength is its Multitype ability, letting it change its type to cover its team's defensive or offensive shortcomings, while having no indication of its altered type to the opponent until it is actually sent into battle. Even without a type change Arceus is still a major threat, with the notorious Extreme Killer set being one of the most infamous among Arceus archetypes.

For special attacking sets, Arceus will be using Judgement as its STAB move in most cases. This useful move has 100 power, higher than most standard special moves, and changes its type along with Arceus. Other notable special moves it gets are Flamethrower, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Energy Ball, Surf, Earth Power, Shadow Ball, Dark Pulse, Psychic, Focus Blast, and so forth. Physical attacking Arceus is more uncommon, most of them using Extreme Speed as Normal Arceus while with a power boosting item and Swords Dance. Its physical movepool is not as large as its special one, with Earthquake, Stone Edge, Shadow Claw, Poison Jab, Iron Head and Outrage being some notable ones. Support Arceus have plenty of choices as well, getting Recover and Refresh for healing itself. Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave and Toxic are all good status spreading moves. It can set up Stealth Rock, though Defog to remove hazards entirely is also a common choice.