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.

Chikorita, Bayleef and Meganium
The pure Grass Meganium remains as one of the least popular starter Pokemon when it comes to battles. Meganium has an obvious focus on defense and regeneration. It has useful resistances owing to its typing, nice bulk physically and specially, and learns a variety of healing and support moves that makes it a fairly resilient Pokemon. Unfortunately, it is outclassed by a lot of other Pokemon whether it comes to sponging hits or supporting teammates, even by its fellow Grass-types. Meganium's offenses are pretty poor, so it is forced to be fairly passive in battle, giving the opponent a chance to set up or bring frailer threats on to the field. Its pure Grass typing is a mixed bag defensively, with Flying and Ice types being more prevalent than ever and U-turn being a staple of offensive teams, and struggles to compete with other Grass-types. To add salt in the wound, Meganium's newly-released Hidden Ability is the worst of the Johto starters, requiring too much support for its rather unimpressive effect.

Giga Drain is Meganium's best STAB move, since Meganium's offenses are too poor to utilize stronger Grass moves effectively, so Giga Drain's life leeching is more helpful to it. Dragon Tail is a must for a secondary attack, since it keeps enemies from setting up on Meganium due to its poor damage output. Toxic is usually Meganium's best option for wearing down bulkier foes, keeping them from staying on the field for long and weakening them for the rest of the match. Synthesis is a quick and reliable recovery move to keep Meganium healthy. Leech Seed is another form of recovery that also hurts the opponent and encourages them to switch out. Aromatherapy gives Meganium a form of team support by removing status ailments. Finally, Meganium can set up both Light Screen and Reflect to reduce incoming damage.

Cyndaquil, Quilava and Typhlosion
Typhlosion shares its stats with regular Charizard, and plays pretty much the same, being a swift specially attacking Fire-type. The game has no shortage of Fire-types of its archetype, but Typhlosion stands out with its nearly exclusive combination of Flash Fire and Eruption. Flash Fire helps Typhlosion switch in despite its frailty, while powering up its STAB moves ar the same time. At full health, Eruption reaches a brutal 150 Base Power, which lets it severely dent its targets even with resisted hits. Unfortunately, its weakness to Stealth Rock, susceptibility to all entry hazards, middling speed and the prevalence of priority moves all makes it difficult for Typhlosion to keep its HP full, which undermines the strength of its strongest attack. Its special attack isn't exceptionally high, so it has trouble breaking through bulky Pokemon if it can't hit them super effectively, which is compounded by its lackluster movepool. Finally, Typhlosion is fairly frail, and its typing leaves it weak to common attacking types like Ground, Rock and Water.

As stated before, Typhlosion is one of the few Pokemon that can learn Eruption, and this move is pretty much the entire reason to use it in the first place. Eruption has extreme power at full health, but its damage drops off dramatically the less HP Typhlosion has, so it is definitely necessary to keep it healthy. Flamethrower or Fire Blast are good backup STAB moves that maintain their power when Typhlosion is close to fainting. Focus Blast is the only other notable coverage move Typhlosion gets, useful for crushing Rock-types. The rest of Typhlosion's attacks are mostly physical, though it can use Hidden Power to cover any type weaknesses it desperately needs.

Totodile, Croconaw and Feraligatr
Out of all the Johto starters, Feraligatr benefits the most from receiving its Hidden Ability in this generation. Sheer Force boosts the power of any moves with a secondary effect but prevents said effects from triggering, and Feraligatr has the stats and moveset to become the top physical Sheer Force user. Like other users of Sheer Force, Feraligatr can also use Life Orb to increase its damage without inflicting any recoil on any Sheer Force enhanced move, making it strike much harder than its base 105 Attack might suggest. It also has access to a variety of boosting moves that help it sweep or break down bulky Pokemon. However, Feraligatr suffers from poor Speed, necessitating several boosts to sweep comfortably. Other than speed issues, Feraligatr's Special Defense is also lackluster, which further hinders setting up.

Feraligatr's main STAB move is Waterfall. This Water move not only uses its superior Attack stat, but is also affected by Sheer Force, resulting in a respectably strong primary attack. Ice Punch is also affected by Sheer Force, providing useful coverage against Grass and Dragon types, though it is a bit weaker than Feraligatr's other attacks. Crunch is another strong Sheer Force boosted move that provides extra coverage against Ghosts and Psychics. Earthquake and Superpower are not boosted by Sheer Force, but they provide Feraligatr with further coverage. Aqua Jet gives Feraligatr useful priority, particularly on sets that don't run speed boosting moves. Speaking of boosting moves, Feraligatr has three to choose from. Dragon Dance makes it a formidable sweeper, while Swords Dance makes it a brutal wallbreaker. Agility is the least used boosting move, but it does let Feraligatr clean up enemy teams late in the game.

Sentret and Furret
Being an early-game mammal, Furret is terribly uninteresting with nothing that really makes it worth using in battles. Its only useful ability is Frisk, which at least lets it reveal the items, and consequently the sets, of its opponents. Otherwise, Furret is a heavily outclassed Normal-type with terrible stats. Its only good stat is Speed, which is still rather poor, it struggles to deal damage with a puny base 76 Attack, while it is incredibly frail. To make the best of Furret's limited stat spread, it's advisable to build it as a speedy physical attacker.

Furret's STAB move is pretty standard, a choice between Return and Double-Edge. Return is fairly strong and has no drawbacks at max happiness, while Double-Edge does significantly more damage but does recoil damage. Knock Off is a great utility move, letting Furret weaken opponents it doesn't have the power to actually take down. U-turn is another must-have move, giving Furret the ability to maintain the team's offensive momentum while doing chip damage. Quick Attack and Sucker Punch are both priority attacks to finish off Pokemon, especially faster foes. Furret also has a range of coverage moves such as Brick Break, the three elemental punches and Aqua Tail, but their damage is rather lacking.

Hoothoot and Noctowl
Noctowl has a pretty common Normal/Flying type combination, though oddly for a Pokemon of its typing, it leans more toward the special side. Unfortunately, being specially bulky is about the only thing Noctowl is good at, as the rest of its stats are pretty bad. It relies on a poor Special Attack stat for offense, which also gives it a weaker selection of STAB moves, is very frail physically, while its bad Speed hinders its viability on both offense or support. Noctowl does have the uncommon Insomnia, giving a helpful Sleep immunity. It gets Tinted Lens and a bunch of uncommon coverage moves for a Flying-type, but its Special Attack is too weak to be a dedicated attacker. It can also learn the standard Flying-type support moves like Defog or Tailwind, but as far as Flying-types go it is quite outclassed.

Hyper Voice is a powerful STAB move for Noctowl that hits through Substitutes, while Air Slash is its strongest Flying STAB that has a helpful chance to cause flinching. However, considering that Noctowl has as much Special Attack as Blissey, the fixed damage Night Shade may be its best bet at dealing damage at higher levels. Defog removes entry hazards from the field, good for single battles, while Tailwind provides adequate team support in doubles by boosting your side's Speed. Roost keeps Noctowl healthy, helping it sponge special attacks while doing its support duties. Toxic gives Noctowl a way to wear down enemy walls that it has no chance of harming otherwise with its poor damage output. Noctowl also has some coverage moves in Shadow Ball, Psychic and Heat Wave, but its Special Attack is so mediocre the extra damage rarely matters.

Ledyba and Ledian
Ledian is simply an unfortunate joke of a Pokemon. Its only good stat is a pretty high Special Defense, though its support movepool is really lacking. It gets a wide variety of punching moves, and it even gets the Iron Fist ability to power them up, but it has the one of the worst physical Attack stats of any fully evolved Pokemon. Not that its Special Attack is any better, making it limited to a pure support role. Ledian still faces trouble even then, as its physical Defense is terrible, it is vulnerable to Taunt due to its middling Speed, and it loses half of its health when switching into Stealth Rock.

U-turn is the only damaging move worth using on Ledian, and even then it's only because of its utility, letting Ledian switch out against dangerous foes while dealing chip damage. Knock Off is another utility move that could be used, although the damage boost when knocking off an item would be much more significant on a Pokemon with a usable attack stat. Ledian's can support its team with Light Screen, Reflect, Safeguard and Tailwind, while it can mess with the enemy with Swagger or Encore. It could also be a dedicated Baton Passer passing Agility or Swords Dance boosts.

Spinarak and Ariados
As an arachnid Pokemon, Ariados is one of the few Pokemon in the game that learns Sticky Web, a rare but strong entry hazard that lowers the speed of any grounded enemy Pokemon that switches in. It also has an exclusive combination of Sticky Web and Toxic Spikes, making it a unique hazard setting lead. Unfortunately, it is one of the worst Sticky Web users in the game, since it is very slow, making it easy to shut down with Taunt, and doesn't have the bulk to make up for it. It at least has a usable Attack stat that is powered up by Swarm, which can let it deal surprising damage when sporting a Focus Sash. Alternatively, it also has Insomnia to block Sleep, which can be handy against certain other dedicated leads.

Sticky Web is the biggest reason to use Ariados, and your primary priority when sending it out. Its Speed lowering effect can severely hinder heavily offensive teams, as they typically depend on their speed to control the match. Toxic Spikes is Ariados's secondary entry hazard that has the useful effect of poisoning any Pokemon that switches in, effective against defensive foes. Megahorn is its strongest STAB move that deals good damage with its decent Attack, but can be a bit inaccurate. Poison Jab is much weaker but has perfect accuracy and high Poison chance. Shadow Sneak and Sucker Punch gives Ariados some priority, letting it bypass its horrendous Speed.

Chinchou and Lanturn
Lanturn is known for having one of the best defensive typings in the game, a combination of Water/Electric, which gives it 5 resistances to common moves for only two weaknesses. This strong typing is further enhanced by two abilities that give it an extra immunity, Volt Absorb and Water Absorb, with Volt Absorb being the more common choice. It also packs a variety of excellent utility moves, making it a nice support Pokemon. While Lanturn has a huge HP stat, it has poor defenses, particularly against physical moves, so it often has to rely on its typing to wall Pokemon. It also lacks any form of recovery outside of Rest, so it can be slowly worn down by chip damage. Finally, Lanturn is almost completely outshined by the only other Water/Electric type in the game, Rotom-Wash, which happens to be one of the most popular battling Pokemon online.

Lanturn has pretty weak offenses, so any attacks it runs is usually chosen for utility over damage. Scald is the best Water-type STAB move for this purpose, as it is a spammable move with a high burn chance that can render physical attackers useless. Volt Switch is its Electric STAB, and it makes excellent use of the move due to its amazing typing and low Speed, letting it function as an effective pivot. Heal Bell is a must-have support move on Lanturn, curing the whole team of status ailments. Toxic is a helpful status move for whittling down bulky Pokemon that Lanturn's weak attacks can't break. Meanwhile, Thunder Wave is a status move meant for crippling offensive foes by cutting their Speed.

Togepi, Togetic and Togekiss
Togekiss is one of several existing Pokemon that benefitted from the introduction of the Fairy-type, gaining the exclusive type combination of Fairy and Flying. However, it still plays pretty much the same as in the past, only with a slew of new resistances. Togekiss is known for being one of the most annoying Pokemon to fight, due to what is known as the paraflinch tactic. It has the ability Serene Grace, which gives Air Slash a ridiculous 60% chance to flinch, while it can also paralyze foes with Thunder Wave, all-in-all letting it stunlock foes to death with good enough luck. Other than that, Togekiss also sports excellent bulk and a variety of utility moves that lets it play a support role as well. While Togekiss's typing is quite good, it is still weak to 5 types, some of which are pretty common offensively. Electric-types in particular are a big pain, since they resist Air Slash and are immune to Thunder Wave, while being able to strike back super effectively.

As mentioned above, Togekiss is well-known for two moves: Air Slash and Thunder Wave. When used with Serene Grace, Air Slash will cause the opponent to flinch very often, so Togekiss can just wear its foes down with repeated flinches if it is faster. Thunder Wave helps it maintain the advantage in Speed by paralyzing its target, while the occasional full paralysis can be even more of a nuisance for the enemy. Dazzling Gleam is its strongest Fairy move, and can give it some extra coverage. In doubles, Togekiss is also a good user of Follow Me, redirecting attacks away from teammates and sponging them with its bulk and typing. When it comes to support moves other than Thunder Wave, Roost is a vital move that maintains Togekiss's health. Heal Bell rids its team of status ailments while Tailwind grants its whole team a speed boost. It is also a great user of Nasty Plot due to the switches caused by its typing, and can sharply increase its damage output.

Natu and Xatu
Xatu is one of the few Pokemon in the game to receive the powerful Magic Bounce ability, which makes it a solid support Pokemon whenever a team needs to deflect status ailments or entry hazards. It is built fairly offensively, with decent Special Attack and Speed. It also has a nice movepool, having numerous options for attacking and utility. However, Xatu is pretty frail both physically and specially, so while it has total protection against status moves it must beware of strong attacks. Its type combination also makes it weak to several common attacks while doesn't providing it with many useful resistances. Xatu also faces competition from other Magic Bounce users, particularly Espeon, which trades a wide movepool for better offensive stats.

Without learning any decently strong special Flying moves, Xatu's primary STAB options are either Psychic or Psyshock. Psychic is the de facto Psychic-type move and deals good damage, while Psyshock is better at handling special walls but has lower power. Heat Wave provides good coverage, particularly when it comes to roasting Steel-types. Dazzling Gleam and Grass Knot both give Xatu additional coverage, although they're not too valuable for support sets. U-turn helps Xatu function as a pivot, as it will need to switch in and out often to make use of Magic Bounce. Roost lets Xatu survive longer to provide more team support. Thunder Wave cripples offensive Pokemon while Toxic wears down defensive enemies. Tailwind, Reflect and Light Screen benefits all Pokemon on your side. Lastly, Xatu can use a dedicated Baton Pass set with Calm Mind and Stored Power, but Espeon is a much better fit for this role.

Mareep, Flaffy and Ampharos
Ampharos is quite different from conventional Electric-types, trading high Speed for more bulk. Its poor movepool and rather unimpressive stat spread made it an overlooked Pokemon, but getting a Mega Evolution has renewed its use. Mega Ampharos gains the Dragon type, giving it a slew of new resistances, as well as better bulk and greatly increased Special Attack, for slightly worse Speed. Mega Ampharos is a fearsome bulky attacker, having the highest Special Attack of any Electric-type, but can also become a deadly sweeper when used in Trick Room. Its Mold Breaker ability is rather situational, being mainly used to bypass Electric immunities from abilities like Volt Absorb and Lightning Rod. As mentioned before, Mega Ampharos's main weakness is its poor movepool, having limited coverage options or utility moves. Its terrible Speed is easily exploitable, so it has difficulty taking on faster attackers. Mega Ampharos's Dragon sub-type is also a double-edged sword, giving it additional weaknesses to Dragon, Ice and Fairy.

Thunderbolt is Ampharos's primary STAB move, having a combination of great power and perfect accuracy. Volt Switch is more of a utility option, letting Mega Ampharos maintain a matchup advantage and bringing frailer teammates in. Its good bulk and poor Speed benefits it in this regard, as it lets Mega Ampharos sponge a hit for the incoming ally before the switch. Dragon Pulse is a new addition to its moveset and is a perfect secondary STAB move for Mega Ampharos, giving it excellent neutral coverage. Focus Blast has great super effective coverage in general, but suffers from poor accuracy. Signal Beam specifically hits Electric resistant Grass-types, but has little use outside of that. Agility buffs Mega Ampharos's Speed to acceptable levels. Rest and Sleep Talk gives Mega Ampharos a form of recovery on more defensive sets, while Cotton Guard more than doubles its Defense. It is also one of the few Electric-types that learn Heal Bell, letting it serve as an offensive support.

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.

Bonsly and Sudowoodo
Sudowoodo is a pretty mediocre Rock-type that suffers from the same problem as many other Rock-types. Its best stats are its Attack and Defense, but is severely lacking when it comes to Special Defense and Speed. Furthermore, it is weak to many attacks, and without a secondary typing to nullify some of its weaknesses, makes it very easy to bring down. However, Sudowoodo does have a trick up its sleeve. It learns the Wood Hammer attack, a Grass-type move that can catch typical Rock-type answers off guard. Sudowoodo also has the Sturdy ability, which guarantees that it will survive one attack and retaliate. In the end, Sudowoodo has a few unique aspects that separate it from other Rock-types, but is just outclassed due to its weak stats.

Stone Edge is Sudowoodo's main STAB move, dealing a load of damage but having a tendency to miss. Wood Hammer is Sudowoodo's specialty as a Rock-type, being able to take on Ground and Water-types as well as opposing Rock-types super effectively. Earthquake provides incredible coverage with Stone Edge, particularly for taking on Steel-types. Sucker Punch is a strong priority attack that ignores Sudowoodo's poor Speed. Sudowoodo can be a Stealth Rock setter, using Sturdy and Custap Berry to help it pull the move off. Sturdy also makes it a good user for Counter, striking back with enough damage to take out any attacker. Explosion can be a powerful last-ditch resort, especially for suicide lead sets. Lastly, Sudowoodo can learn Taunt, but it is even slower than the support Pokemon Taunt is supposed to shut down.

Hoppip, Skiploom and Jumpluff
Jumpluff is a pretty decent support Pokemon due to both its high Speed, an incredible movepool and two good abilities in Chlorophyll and Infiltrator. Its attacking stats are too poor to mount any sort of offense, so it should only be used for utility. Jumpluff certainly has no lack of status moves, able to inflict Sleep, heal its teammates, cripple its foes or redirect attacks depending on the moves it uses. Its Infiltrator ability means that enemy Substitutes offer no protection against its support moves, while Chlorophyll makes it the fastest supporter under the sun. Jumpluff's main flaws are its middling bulk and terrible typing, making it weak to omnipresent Flying and Rock moves and a horrible double weakness to Ice. It also as to compete with Whimsicott as a fast Grass-type supporter, as Whimsicott can ignore Speed differences entirely with Prankster.

Sleep Powder is an attack that can be found on almost any set, as a quick Sleep infliction can render enemy Pokemon useless before they even get a chance to move. With 75% accuracy, it is one of the better Sleep moves in the game. Encore is another way to incapacitate the enemy, forcing Jumpluff's target to repeat a move for five turns, which can be excellent if it catches them using a status or boosting move. Rage Powder lets Jumpluff redirect attacks in doubles and triples, though its poor bulk means it will likely sacrifice itself doing so. Another strong sacrificial move is Memento, knocking out Jumpluff but cutting the attacking stats of the enemy, giving a teammate a free switch-in and turns to set up. Helping Hand powers up a teammates attack in doubles and triples formats. For attacks, Acrobatics is the best fit for Jumpluff, as it usually run consumable items like Focus Sash or Mental Herb which powers up Acrobatics after they are used, and it hits Grass-types immune to Jumpluff's powder moves super effectively.

Aipom and Ambipom
Ambipom is an offensively-oriented Normal-type, having nice Attack and the highest Speed of any pure Normal Pokemon, tying with several other Normal-types. It is well known for having a powerful priority attack in the form of Technician Fake Out, which gives it consistent and considerable free damage every time it switches in. This gives Ambipom a great head start for taking down Pokemon compared to other Normal-types, as its target cannot heal or strike back until the following turn. As with other Normal-types, Ambipom can also cleanly round up its neutral coverage with a few attacks, making it a straightforward Pokemon to use. Unfortunately, its simplicity works against it, as Ambipom's main gimmick relies on Fake Out, which can be played around with moves like Protect. It is also very frail, having trouble switching in or surviving moderately powerful moves. Finally, Ambipom's power is lackluster relative to other Normal-types outside of Fake Out, so it has difficulty breaking down bulkier teams.

Fake Out is Ambipom's greatest niche, as it is one of the few Pokemon that can boost it with Technician, and gets STAB on the move to boot. The attack can only be used on the turn Ambipom switches in, but since it has higher priority than most attacks and causes a guaranteed flinch, it effectively gives Ambipom a free turn to dish out damage. Return is the primary STAB move Ambipom uses, being a powerful Normal-type move at max happiness without any drawbacks. Double Hit has slightly lower accuracy but comparable power with Technician, and has the advantage of bypassing Sturdy and hitting the target after destroying a Substitute. Brick Break or Low Kick give it nice coverage against Rock and Steel Pokemon, while Knock Off lets it take on Ghost-types immune to its other moves. Alternatively, Ambipom can also use only Fake Out and Last Resort for a powerful two-hit combo, but this setup is really gimmicky since it limits Ambipom to only Normal-type moves, one of which has low PP.

Sunkern and Sunflora
Sunflora is a Grass-type special attacker themed around sunny weather, with either Chlorophyll to boost its Speed or Solar Power to power up its attacks in the sun. Unfortunately, several Pokemon like Venusaur and Victreebel already function as strong Grass-type sun users, so Sunflora is never the first pick for a sun team. However, it is the only Grass-type other than Tropius that gets Solar Power, and has a high Special Attack to make use of it, giving it its only edge over other Grass-types as a brutal powerhouse under the sun. Sunflora is also plagued with plenty of other problems. Its pure Grass typing is not very good defensively, while its pitiful Defense means even resisted physical hits can deal a lot of damage, compounded with the recoil damage from Solar Power making it very frail overall. Sunflora is also extremely slow, even under the effects of Chlorophyll.

For its STAB move, Sunflora can choose between Giga Drain, Energy Ball, Leaf Storm and Solar Beam. Giga Drain heals Sunflora to counteract Solar Power recoil but has low damage, while Energy Ball solid damage with no drawbacks, but no additional effects either. Leaf Storm is very powerful but effectively forces Sunflora out due to its Special Attack drop, while Solar Beam is ludicrously strong but unwieldy outside of the sun. Earth Power gives Sunflora Ground-type coverage to take on Fire, Poison, and Steel types, an uncommon feature for Grass-types. Sludge Bomb is another respectably strong coverage move for taking on other Grass-types. Outside of these moves, Sunflora has to rely on Hidden Power to cover any additional types. Lastly, Synthesis is a reliable healing move that is enhanced in the sun, and is especially helpful for healing off the self-damage from Solar Power.

Yanma and Yanmega
Although Yanmega has a very common Bug/Flying type, it stands out from the rest with its nearly exclusive Speed Boost ability, which boosts its Speed every turn it is in battle, and being the only user that relies on its Special Attack. Starting off with a great base 95 Speed, it needs just one Speed Boost to clean house. Alternatively, Yanmega can make use of Tinted Lens instead for stronger neutral coverage. Yanmega's main issue is its typing, which leaves it weak to 5 types including a double weakness to Rock, causing it to lose half of its health when switching into Stealth Rock. Yanmega also has middling physical bulk and horrendous Special Defense, so even weaker special hits can potentially do fatal damage. Its base 95 Speed is also relatively low without a boost, which gives the Tinted Lens some trouble facing offensive teams.

Bug Buzz is Yanmega's main STAB move, being a straightforward special Bug-type move with solid damage. Air Slash is a nice secondary STAB move that is weaker but with a high flinch chance, which may be Yanmega's best bet for wearing down bulkier Pokemon. Shadow Ball, Psychic and Giga Drain are its strongest coverage moves, chosen depending on which threat Yanmega needs to face. Ancient Power is fairly weak but highly effective against opposing Fire and Flying types, and the rare boost is certainly appreciated. U-turn lets Yanmega switch out against disadvantageous matchups while dealing chip damage. Protect is a great fit on Speed Boost sets to guarantee a single turn of Speed Boost. Finally, Tailwind can be used in doubles or triples to boost the whole team's Speed.

Wooper and Quagsire
At first glance, Quagsire is a fairly forgettable Pokemon with a somewhat defensive stat spread and abilities. However, its strength lies in the face that it gets the Unaware ability, backed up by an incredible defensive typing that gives it 4 resistances, an immunity, and a lone uncommon weakness. The coveted Unaware ignores all stat boosts on the opponent, making it a solid choice to take on powerful sweepers even after they have set up. It also has a nice movepool that increases its defensive utility, making it a solid wall overall. Despite all of these strong traits, Quagsire is held back by its mediocre stats, and it does especially poorly against special moves. It also fear Grass attacks, and can fall from even surprise Grass-type coverage moves.

As with any bulky Water-type in the game, Scald is Quagsire's best choice for its STAB attack, having utility in its high burn chance while still dealing considerable damage. Earthquake is nice secondary STAB move used for its higher damage and greater coverage. Recover is essential for Quagsire as a defensive Pokemon, letting it sponge more hits from its foes. Toxic lets Quagsire wear down bulkier Pokemon that don't take much damage from its weak attacks. Yawn can force the foe to switch outright lest they become incapacitated by Sleep. Lastly, Curse lets Quagsire play the role of a setup sweeper itself, building up its physical stats to break down the opposing team.

Murkrow and Honchkrow
Honchkrow is similar in design to many other avian Flying-types in the game, being a frail but powerful Pokemon. However, it differentiates itself by having great mixed offenses, an uncommon but handy offensive type combination as well as a dangerous hidden ability with Moxie. Its Dark/Flying STAB combo gives it respectable coverage, while it has some nice utility due to learning various moves of both types. Honchkrow's defenses are really poor, even for an offensive Pokemon, and its low Speed gives it difficulty fighting other offensive teams, as well as limiting its ability to sweep using Moxie. This glaring issue means that Honchkrow is most suited for taking on slower, bulkier Pokemon, using its sheer power to bring them down.

Brave Bird is the obvious Flying STAB move for Honchkrow, with it being one of the strongest learners of the move, hitting harder than other powerful birds like Staraptor and Braviary. Sucker Punch is Honchkrow's strongest Dark STAB move and provides it with a priority attack, extremely valuable given its low speed, and gives Honchkrow the potential to clean weakened teams by the end of the game. Pursuit lets Honchkrow trap Dark-weak Pokemon and take them down decisively. Dark Pulse is a special Dark move that might surprise more physically-defensive foes, but doesn't provide much utility otherwise. Superpower and Heat Wave are nice coverage moves that complement its other attacks. For status moves, Honchkrow has Roost to heal off recoil and chip damage, as well as Taunt to shut down opposing supports.

Misdreavus and Mismagius
As a Ghost-type, Mismagius's stat spread most resembles that of Gengar's, having poor physical states for good special states and Speed. It also has Levitate as well for a useful Ground immunity. Unfortunately, barring a higher Special Defense, Mismagius is mostly inferior to Gengar stats-wise and thus live under the shadow of its Ghost-type predecessor. Despite being outclassed, Mismagius still has merits of its own. Being a Ghost-type, it learns a ton of disruptive moves to function as a tricky support Pokemon. It also has nice speed and power that lets it go on the offensive. Mismagius's paper thin physical defense is still its major weakness, especially given the omnipresence of physical Dark-type moves.

Shadow Ball is a strong and standard STAB move for Mismagius, though a support set can get more damage out of Hex if it's going to be spreading status. Dazzling Gleam helps it handle Dark-types, while Psychic, Energy Ball, Power Gem or Thunderbolt deal with more specific enemies. Offensive variants can use Nasty Plot to turn Mismagius into a special powerhouse. On the support side, Mismagius's good Speed and decent special bulk lends it well to spreading status moves like Will-o-Wisp, Thunder Wave, and Toxic, and can cure statused teammates using Heal Bell. Taunt is an excellent way to render other supports useless, while Trick on Choice-item sets can cripple them for the rest of the match. Pain Split provides Mismagius with a form of recovery, although the health it gains depends on its target. Lastly, Destiny Bond and Perish Song lets Mismagius pressure its target with the threat of instant KO, at the cost of its own life.

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.

Girafarig
Girafarig is a really odd Pokemon whose most notable feature when it comes to battles is its unique typing. It is the only non-legendary Pokemon with the type combination of Normal and Psychic, which grants it a handy immunity to Ghost and a neutrality to Fighting. Unfortunately, Girafarig doesn't have much else to offer, given its middling stat spread. Being a Normal-type, Girafarig has a great movepool, and its abilities, while situational, are really not too shabby. Girafarig's relatively high offense and speed combined with its frailty suggests that it's meant to be played as an aggressive attacker, but it is ultimately outclassed by many other Psychic-types simply due to its poor stats.

While Girafarig has a variety of both physical and special moves, it is best to focus on special moves due to its higher Special Attack and the ability to boost it using Nasty Plot. Its STAB moves are pretty standard for a special attacker; Hyper Voice is a strong move that bypasses Substitutes and has broad neutral type coverage, while Psychic hits Fighting and Poison types harder, though Psyshock is also an option to take on specially defensive foes. Signal Beam takes on Dark-types while Shadow Ball rounds out Girafarig's neutral coverage and is effective against other Psychics. Thunderbolt, Energy Ball and Dazzling Gleam are some other coverage options. Girafarig also learns Calm Mind, Agility and Nasty Plot to boost its stats, and it can use Baton Pass to transfer boosts to a better teammate.

Pineco and Forretress
Forretress is a Pokemon designed entirely around soaking up hits and supporting its team. Its typing gives it a monstrous amount of resistances and only one weakness, while its humongous Defense stat lets it sponge many attacks. Its abilities complement its stats well, with Sturdy to take any single powerful hit, while Overcoat for a handy immunity to powder moves, particularly those that inflict Sleep. Its movepool is another one of Forretress's strengths, able to set up and remove entry hazards, as well as making use of its poor Speed to its benefit. All of this makes Forretress one of the best Pokemon there is for playing with entry hazards, either to litter the opponent's side with them or to clear your half of the battlefield. Forretress's biggest flaws are its terrible Special Defense stat, meaning weaker special hits can still do a lot to it, as well as a severe weakness to Fire.

Forretress gives you plenty of variety when setting up entry hazards, able to learn any combination of Stealth Rock, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes. It also learns Rapid Spin, providing valuable utility for removing entry hazards from your own side, and its bulk and resistances give it plenty of opportunities to do so. Oddly, Forretress can learn Volt Switch instead of U-turn despite its Bug typing and poor Special Attack, but it still makes good use of this utility move. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, Volt Switch lets Forretress bring in a teammate safely, using its low Speed to take a hit from the faster foe before switching out. Gyro Ball is the only attack Forretress really needs, having both STAB and a high base power due to Forretress's horrendous Speed. Explosion can also be used to deal massive damage once Forretress is no longer needed for setting or spinning.

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.

Gligar and Gliscor
Gliscor is a unique Pokemon with a combination of some very rare traits that make it a tough nut to crack. It is one of three Pokemon that possesses a Ground/Flying type combination, a great defensive typing with two immunities and only two weaknesses. It is also one of three Pokemon that gets Poison Heal, restoring an eighth of its health per turn when poisoned. This ability lets Gliscor equip a Toxic Orb as a potent defensive item, healing more HP than Leftovers, granting an immunity to other status moves, retains it's effect after being removed and can harm enemies using Trick or Thief on it. The end result is a Pokemon that is really frustrating to take down, especially given its high physical Defense. Additionally, Gliscor also has a nice movepool that lets it either play defensively or offensively. Despite its many defensive perks, Gliscor is still weak to extremely common Water and Ice type moves, and its low Special Defense means it still fears strong special attackers. Lastly, Gliscor faces some competition from Landorus, who shares its typing but packs more power and utility.

Earthquake is Gliscor's best choice for an STAB move, dealing high damage with good type coverage. Since Gliscor wants to be poisoned constantly, it can use a permanently boosted Facade to hit Flying-types, although it is often inferior in damage to Earthquake. Knock Off is a great utility attack that gets rid of enemy items while dealing appreciable damage. Substitute and Toxic is particularly notorious for how good it is at wearing down foes. Roost gives Gliscor a burst heal, while Taunt lets Gliscor cripple enemy supports. Swords Dance can be used to power its attacks up significantly, while Baton Pass lets it potentially pass both attack boosts, Agility boosts and Substitutes to its teammates. U-turn lets Gliscor switch out against foes it has trouble dealing with, but it's not as good at maintaining momentum as other U-turn users due to its slower-paced playstyle. Finally, Fling and Acrobatics is a gimmicky but usable combo that lets Gliscor Toxic a foe once and gives it strong Flying coverage for the rest of the match.

Snubbull and Granbull
Granbull is another one of several Normal-types that became a Fairy from the generational shift, and readily distinguishes itself from other Fairy-types with its physical focus. Its high Attack stat makes it one of the few physically attacking Fairy-types in the game, while Intimidate weakens enemies and helps it sponge opposing physical hits. It also has an excellent movepool from its time as a Normal-type, learning a wide variety of attacks and even some support moves to give it surprising utility. Unfortunately, Granbull has a dismal Special Defense and Speed, so it has difficulty taking on special attackers and has trouble with both heavily offensive teams and fast walls. Like with any physical attacker, Granbull can also be neutered by an attack-cutting burn.

Granbull is one of the few Pokemon in the game that really makes use of Play Rough, a strong and moderately accurate Fairy STAB move that has a small chance of lowering the target's Attack even further. Earthquake complements Play Rough nearly perfectly, dealing heavy damage to Poison, Steel and Fire types that don't fear its Fairy moves. Close Combat and Fire Punch are other attacks with good type coverage with Fairy, while Wild Charge, Stone Edge and Crunch can surprise specific Pokemon. On the support side, Granbull can use Roar to force out the opposing Pokemon, stopping the enemy from setting up stat boosts, and dealing additional damage from entry hazards. It can also use Thunder Wave to shut down opposing offensive Pokemon, while Heal Bell rids its teammates of status ailments.

Qwilfish
Qwilfish is a solid support Pokemon with a combination of useful traits focused around defense and utility. It has a very uncommon Water/Poison type combination, which gives it an impressive 8 resistances. A combination of passable Defense and the attack-lowering Intimidate ability also makes it fairly tough on the physical side, while differentiating it from the more specially bulky Water/Poison Tentacruel. It also has a very good movepool that complements this defensive focus, able to disrupt enemy teams while sponging hits. Qwilfish does really poor at taking special hits due to its terrible Special Defense, so it's best to stick with physical foes with this Pokemon.

One of the highlights of Qwilfish's moveset is that it readily learns two helpful entry hazard moves: Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Its strong defensive typing and Intimidate makes it a nice fit for an entry hazard setter, making these moves a staple on Qwilfish. Thunder Wave is very effective at dealing with offensive Pokemon by cutting their Speed, while Taunt is a nasty tool to disable enemy utility moves. Pain Split is another useful support move that lets Qwilfish sustain itself by leeching off high HP enemies. For attacks, Waterfall makes use of Qwilfish's stronger attack stat and has a decent flinch chance, though Scald fits Qwilfish's defensive and irritating game plan more with its threat of burning its target, reducing their Attack even more. Explosion does brutal damage once Qwilfish is needed no more, and can block an enemy's Rapid Spin if it doesn't faint them outright.

Shuckle
Shuckle is notorious for being a Pokemon of extremes. This unassuming creature boasts the absolute highest defenses of any Pokemon in the game, exceeding that of most legendaries and other dedicated bulky Pokemon. As a tradeoff, it also has the worst offenses and Speed of any Pokemon that cannot further evolve. Obviously, this means Shuckle is practically locked into a purely defensive support role that is a pain to get rid of, as it won't be KOing any Pokemon with its pathetic attacks. Unfortunately, Shuckle has some pretty big flaws that keeps it from being the top defensive mon in the game. It has a ridiculously poor HP, which severely undermines the bulk its incredible defenses provide. It also has a mediocre defensive typing that only gives it 2 resistances for 3 common weaknesses. Lastly, its terrible offensive stats and Speed invites enemy Pokemon to set up on it, while making it extremely vulnerable to Taunt.

In this generation, Shuckle has gained two moves that complement its playstyle beautifully. The first move is Sticky Web, a unique entry hazard that lowers the Speed of all enemies that switch in. Shuckle's ridiculous bulk happens to make it one of the best Sticky Web setters in the game, so it pairs well with any offensive Pokemon with lackluster Speed. The other move is Infestation, one of the few attacks worth using on Shuckle. This move does chip damage for several turns and more importantly keeps the target from switching out while it's in effect, letting Shuckle slowly grind its foe down. Shuckle has no lack of good moves outside of these two, of course. Toxic is its best way of dealing damage, while it can set up Stealth Rock alongside Sticky Web to punish switches further. Encore is another important move, keeping opposing sweepers from setting up mindlessly against it.

Shuckle is also particularly well-known for the number of gimmicky sets it has due to how extreme its stat distribution is. It can use Shell Smash with its Contrary ability to strengthen its defenses even further while lowering its unneeded stats. Power Split lets it average its offensive stats with its opponent, which usually results in the target getting their offenses neutered. It can even use Power Trick to turn it into a brutal physical attacker, at the cost of falling to the weakest physical hits from the enemy. Ultimately, while these moves can be fun to surprise inexperienced players, they can be easily played around by simply switching out or using Taunt to prevent Shuckle from using these moves in the first place. Power Trick in particular is also decisively countered by the myriad of Pokemon with priority attacks, as almost all of them are physical hits.

Heracross
Heracross has always been a solid offensive Pokemon. It possesses a completely unique Bug/Fighting type combination and a high Attack stat, which is accompanied by a good movepool and excellent offensive abilities. It is one of several Pokemon with Guts, letting it take status ailments like burns for a sizable attack boost, either by equipping a Flame or Toxic Orb, or absorbing them from a foe. It also has Moxie that can turn it into a threatening sweeper, gaining power with each Pokemon it faints. While it has a bunch of strong traits, it didn't really stand out from other offensive Pokemon until it got a Mega Evolution in this generation. Mega Heracross gets one of the highest Attack stats in the game, solid bulk and additional coverage moves with Skill Link, all at the cost of only a little Speed.

In the same vein as Mega Mawile and Mega Medicham, Mega Heracross provides its team with sheer power, though Skill Link gives it an edge over its competitors. This ability makes all multi-hit moves like Pin Missile hit the maximum number of times, which not only gives Mega Heracross several exclusive 125 base power moves, but also lets it hit Pokemon after triggering Sturdy or breaking a Substitute. Mega Heracross is also a Pokemon that can benefit from its abilities before Mega Evolving, capable of getting an attack boost or two from Moxie. Heracross's main drawback is its severe weakness to Flying, troublesome given the number of fearsome Flying-type attackers there are. Its Speed is also rather mediocre especially when Mega Evolved, so it has difficulty against faster offensive teams.

Close Combat is Heracross's main STAB move, being a powerful Fighting-type attack with good type coverage. Regular Heracross relies on Megahorn for its Bug-type STAB move, which is respectably powerful in its own right, though Mega Heracross prefers using Pin Missile due to its higher base power and accuracy. Rock Blast and Bullet Seed are two other attacks that gets high base power due to Skill Link. While Bullet Seed doesn't provide much useful coverage, Rock Blast is absolutely vital to threaten Flying-types trying to target Heracross's Flying weakness. Knock Off is a nice utility move for removing the items of Pokemon Heracross can't outright KO. Lastly, Swords Dance boosts Heracross's Attack stat even further, aiding it in dismantling tougher defensive Pokemon.

Sneasel and Weavile
Weavile is an archetypal glass cannon, and one of the most potent Pokemon of this type. It has incredible Speed, a high Attack stat, an amazing offensive STAB combination and priority to boot, but has terrible defenses. Being one of the few offensively-built Ice-types in the game gives Weavile an STAB move with incredible coverage, while being part Dark lets it strike heavily with common Dark-type utility attacks, serving as an effective offensive support. Weavile's Speed is also an important asset, being one of the fastest non-legendary and non-Mega Pokemon in the game, and packs priority moves to take on the few Pokemon that can outspeed it. As stated before, Weavile is very frail and is wracked by tons of type weaknesses, so it is best used to secure KOs or force out weakened Pokemon that has no chance of retaliating. Be especially careful of priority moves, since Weavile is weak to three of them: Bullet Punch, Mach Punch and Vacuum Wave.

Knock Off is Weavile's preferred Dark-type STAB move, dealing sizable damage while removing the items of its enemies, which can strongly hinder any Pokemon that manages to survive a hit. Weavile can also use Pursuit to trap Pokemon weak to Dark, where its high Speed benefits it should the target choose to fight back. Icicle Crash is the best Ice-type STAB move for Weavile, dealing consistent damage and having a good chance of flinching, which Weavile can abuse thanks to its Speed. Ice Shard gives Weavile valuable priority to take on Pokemon faster than itself. Alternatively, Fake Out guarantees that Weavile strikes first for one turn, deals safe chip damage and is a staple for team support in doubles or triples. Low Kick, Poison Jab and Iron Tail are coverage attacks that covers some of Weavile's type weaknesses. Lastly, Swords Dance boosts Weavile's Attack, turning it into a menacing sweeper, but its frailty means it has virtually no chance to set up.

Teddiursa and Ursaring
There is certainly no lack of Normal-types that play as physical bruisers, but Ursaring stands out from the rest due to its high focus on status ailments. It has two great abilities that only come into effect when it is afflicted with status, letting it boost its Attack or Speed with Guts or Quick Feet respectively. While these two abilities are equally enticing, Ursaring usually runs Quick Feet to patch up its terrible Speed, as it has too much competition as a Guts user. Ursaring also has a monstrous Attack stat, so it is naturally a hard-hitter regardless of its abilities. While Ursaring is great at dishing out damage, it doesn't take them well due to its mediocre defenses, compounded by gradual damage from status ailments. Its Speed is also terrible without a Quick Feet boost and only middling with the boost, so it's usually used to break down slower enemy walls.

Facade is an attack that's perfect for this Pokemon. Since Ursaring should always be statused to utilize its abilities, Facade's damage will be constantly double the normal amount, hitting 140 Base Power before STAB! Other than that, Ursaring's moves are standard Normal-type fare. Close Combat offers excellent coverage with Normal-type moves, hitting Rock and Steel types hard. Meanwhile, Crunch lets Ursaring threaten Ghost-types immune to its main attacks. Swords Dance lets Ursaring boost its Attack to fearsome heights, which makes up for the lack of Guts boost when using a Quick Feet set.

Slugma and Magcargo
Magcargo is a very unremarkable Pokemon whose most notable feature is being the only Pokemon in the game that has a Fire/Rock typing. Its stat spread is pretty standard for Rock-types, with excellent defenses and poor Speed, though Magcargo is more specially-focused in its attacks. Given its lackluster offensive stats and having Defense being its best attribute, Magcargo is severely limited to a bulky support role, which complements its movepool and Flame Body. Even so, Magcargo's typing is its downfall, as despite having many resistances, its 4 weaknesses are very common and severely undermines its bulk. It is also susceptible to chip damage from entry hazards, especially Stealth Rock, while its terrible Speed makes it vulnerable to Taunt.

As with many other Rock-types, Magcargo can set up Stealth Rock, easily the most commonly used entry hazard in the game, though there are frankly plenty of better entry hazard setters. Recover gives Magcargo a quick burst of health, which is extremely handy to heal off residual damage and to cushion enemy hits. Memento is a powerful move that sacrifices Magcargo to bring in a menacing setup sweeper while leaving the opponent offensively crippled. Both Toxic and Will-o-wisp are effective status moves to weaken the enemy, with Toxic taking on bulky walls while Will-o-wisp hinders physical attackers. Magcargo even has Shell Smash for playing offensively, but its Speed is too low for that to be effective. When it comes to attacks, Flamethrower, Fire Blast and Earth Power are some of Magcargo's strongest moves and gives it well-rounded coverage. However, if its utility you're seeking, Lava Plume would be the best option due to its high Burn chance. Unfortunately, Magcargo doesn't have a special Rock-type STAB move outside of Ancient Power, though the rare buff is always handy if you insist on using the move.

Swinub, Piloswine and Mamoswine
Mamoswine is one of the most popular Ice-types in the game due to its strong offensive focus. Its unique Ice/Ground typing offers it an STAB combination that provides impressive super effective type coverage. It also has a massive Attack stat and a varied movepool to further cement itself as a potent offensive powerhouse. Mamoswine's gameplan is pretty simple in most cases: send it out to smash foes with its immense power and deadly coverage, as well as to set up hazards or finish off weakened foes with priority attacks. For all of its might, Mamoswine falters when it comes to its defenses. Its typing barely gives it any resistances, but makes it weak to 4 types, though Thick Fat alleviates this issue by removing its Fire weakness. Its poor Special Defense also makes it very vulnerable to special attackers, while its Speed is poor for an offensive Pokemon, so it tends to rely heavily on Ice Shard against other offensive threats.

Icicle Crash is Mamoswine's best Ice-type STAB move, having high Base Power and the ability to flinch without any significant drawbacks. Ice Shard is also a staple in Mamoswine's moveset, giving it a valuable priority attack to circumvent its poor Speed, and can help Mamoswine clean up entire weakened teams later in the game. Earthquake is the obvious Ground-type STAB move for Mamoswine, and it provides excellent coverage with Mamoswine's Ice-type attacks. Superpower is another strong coverage move that lets Mamoswine deal more damage to certain Steel-types neutral to Ground. Knock Off is a common utility attack that lets Mamoswine remove its targets' items. Mamoswine can also take advantage of the offensive pressure it exudes to set up Stealth Rock while scaring the opponent into switching.

Corsola
Corsola is a pretty mediocre defensive Pokemon. While most Water/Rock type Pokemon are powerhouses that depend on Shell Smash or rain for their strength, Corsola is completely restricted to playing a support role due to its terrible offensive stats. Corsola certainly has the right traits for a defensive Pokemon, having a well-rounded set of utility moves and two helpful abilities in Natural Cure and Regenerator. While the status curing of Natural Cure is helpful, Regenerator is the preferred ability as it lets Corsola switch around more freely to make use of its resistances. Unfortunately, Corsola's stats are lackluster and it's outclassed defensively by many other Rock or Water types, so it's almost never seen on serious teams. Its typing also gives it four weaknesses to common attacks, so many Pokemon can hit it hard with just their standard coverage moves.

Corsola really only needs Scald when it comes to attacks. Its attacking stats are so poor that the damage it deals is minimal, but Scald's high burn chance can seriously weaken enemy physical attackers. Stealth Rock is simply the best entry hazard around and while there are better dedicated hazard setters, Corsola's usable for the job. Recover is an excellent move for any defensive Pokemon, and helps to greatly extend Corsola's sustainability in conjunction with Regenerator. Lastly, Toxic gives Corsola a chance to wear down bulky walls and to keep sweepers from setting up, which it cannot accomplish otherwise with its weak attacks.

Remoraid and Octillery
Octillery is a straightforward Pokemon whose main feature is its wide movepool. Modeled after a cannon, Octillery learns a wealth of projectile and beam moves spanning a variety of types, so its type coverage is nearly unmatched. It also has excellent mixed attacking stats, letting Octillery dish out heavy damage with any of its powerful attacks. It also gets big rewards from just having good luck, either having extra strong critical hits with Sniper or massive unpredictable stat boosts with Moody. Unfortunately, Octillery has a terrible Speed stat, which severely hinders its offensive capabilities unless used in Trick Room. It is also rather frail to both physical and special attacks, so other offensive Pokemon will have an easy time taking it down before it has a chance to attack.

While Octillery's two attacking stats are equal, it is better to fully invest in its Special Attack, since Octillery learns more high base power and varied special moves. Hydro Pump is Octillery's best STAB move as it deals massive amounts of damage, though Surf or Scald can be used instead for their higher accuracy and secondary effects. Ice Beam is the a great coverage move that hits many Pokemon that resist Water, as well as having good coverage in general. Energy Ball lets Octillery take on opposing Water-types, the most common typing in the game. Lastly, Octillery is one of the few Water-types to learn Fire Blast and Flamethrower, primarily used for roasting Steel-types, though Fire Blast in particular also hits Grass-types harder than Ice Beam.

Delibird
Delibird was one of the worst Pokemon in the game that cannot further evolve ever since its introduction, and not much has changed since then. None of its base stats go over 80, with its best stat, Speed, being pretty poor relative to other Pokemon in the game. It is incredibly frail, and its terrible defensive typing does it no favors, giving it a severe Rock weakness and three other weaknesses to common attacking types. It learns no moves outside of Present naturally, having to rely on other means to teach it useful moves, and its attacks barely leave a scratch with its poor offensive stats. It somehow even has two abilities that do the exact same thing! Delibird is barely used at all, but when it is, it's usually either used as a physical attacker trying to get the most out of Hustle, or a hazard setter with sleep immunity to support the team as much as it can before it inevitably faints.

Delibird actually has some decent coverage to use with Hustle, though it's not going to be a physical threat any time soon. Ice Punch is its strongest single turn STAB move, having a middling 75 Base Power, though it can also use Ice Shard instead to bypass its poor Speed. Aerial Ace isn't affected by Hustle's accuracy drop, making it a good fit for Delibird's Flying STAB. It also has Seed Bomb to deal with Water-types. If not using Hustle, Ice Beam is the better STAB move as it has higher base power and utilizes Delibird's superior Special Attack stat. Delibird can set up Spikes, which is probably the best chance it has at leaving a lasting impact on the match. It can also provide Rapid Spin support, though a double weakness to Stealth Rock makes it one of the worst spinners around. Lastly, Delibird can try to take an enemy with it using Destiny Bond, likely the only hope it has of KOing any decently bulky foe.

Mantyke and Mantine
Mantine and Skarmory were made to be counterparts, with Mantine having superior special stats while Skarmory boasting higher physical attributes. Unfortunately, Mantine has never achieved the popularity of its Steel-type relative, due to a combination of its typing having less defensive utility than Skarmory's, and competition from other special walls and bulky Water-types. Nevertheless, Mantine is a solid specially defensive Pokemon with a great range of resistances as well as Water Absorb. It can take many special hits with its naturally monstrous Special Defense stat, while retaining respectable power in its attacks. Mantine's main weakness is its lack of a recovery move outside of Rest, so it can be worn down by repeated chip damage. It's lower Defense makes it a target for physical attackers, and it has a major weakness to Electric as well.

As with any bulky Water-type, Scald makes for a great STAB move on Mantine. Its burn chance is especially useful for crippling physical attackers that Mantine has a harder time sponging hits from. Air Slash is a decent secondary STAB move with a chance to flinch, though not too useful given Mantine's middling Speed. Defog lets Mantine remove hazards from both sides of the field, which is handy as well given its weakness to Stealth Rock. Toxic wears down bulky Pokemon that aren't threatened by Mantine's modestly damaging attacks. Finally, Rest and Sleep Talk can be used to give Mantine the option to heal up, but uses up a lot of moveslots.

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.

Houndour and Houndoom
Houndoom's unique typing and great mixed attacking stats have always made it a pretty threatening offensive Pokemon, but now it can Mega Evolve to turn into a deadly beast under harsh sunlight. Mega Houndoom has great Special Attack and Speed while having well-rounded bulk, but its most notable feature is Solar Power. This ability boosts Mega Houndoom's special moves under the sun, at the cost of a bit of its health, making it a truly frightening weather-based attacker. Even without weather, Mega Houndoom's excellent offensive typing and movepool makes it a well-rounded offensive mega, and it can even grab a potential Flash Fire boost prior to Mega Evolving. Mega Houndoom's main issue is competition with Mega Charizard Y, as both benefits greatly from sunny weather but the latter sets it up more easily and has more immediate power. While Houndoom's typing offers it a great number of resistances, it still has some common weaknesses it has to beware of as well.

Fire Blast or Flamethrower is Houndoom's primary STAB move, depending on whether power or accuracy is valued more. These are Houndoom's main forms of dealing damage against Pokemon that doesn't resist it, and they can get powered up from both Flash Fire and sunny weather. Dark Pulse is a good secondary STAB move with a helpful flinch chance that Mega Houndoom can abuse using its great Speed. Sun-based sets can also use Solar Beam for a powerful Grass-type nuke against Water, Ground and Rock types. Mega Houndoom has two good ways to boost itself. It can set up Sunny Day independently for a ludicrous boost to its Fire attacks, while potentially supporting allies and lowering the power of Water moves. Meanwhile, Nasty Plot gives a bigger boost to Houndoom's attacks overall and turns it into a menacing sweeper without triggering Solar Power's HP drain, though lacks the numerous secondary effects of sunny weather. Other than these moves, Houndoom can still provide useful utility to the team. Knock Off or Pursuit still hit hard due to Houndoom's nice Attack stat. A speedy Taunt keeps enemy supports in check, while Will-o-wisp is a threat to any physical attacker.

Phanpy and Donphan
Donphan is a pretty standard and straightforward Ground-type Pokemon. It has an obvious physical focus, having great Attack and Defense, while having poor special stats and low Speed. It is good at absorbing Electric moves including Thunder Wave due to its typing. It has a nice movepool for both attacking and support, as well as Sturdy to ensure it accomplishes its role at least once. Notably, it is one of the few non-Ice types to learn Ice Shard, giving it a unique edge over other Ground-types. Donphan's poor Special Defense and Speed are all glaring flaws, while its three weaknesses are fairly easy to come by.

Earthquake is the obvious STAB move for Donphan, having high base power without any drawbacks. Ice Shard gives Donphan a priority attack, a useful tool given its poor Speed, and hits Grass and Flying types hard. Stone Edge is a stronger option with similar coverage to Ice Shard, but no priority and lower accuracy. Knock Off is an easily spammable attack that gives Donphan some extra type coverage while letting it weaken foes by removing their items. Donphan's Sturdy and bulk makes it a good Stealth Rock setter, while it makes for a decent user of Rapid Spin as well. Toxic wears down bulky Pokemon that Donphan might have difficulty breaking through, while Roar can mess up setup sweepers as well as rack up hazard damage.

Stantler
Stantler is a generally forgettable physically attacking Normal-type without many outstanding qualities. Its stats are all-around mediocre, though noticeably inclined toward offense. It has a wide movepool as expected of Normal-types, giving it well-rounded type coverage. Its Intimidate ability is always handy for cutting the Attack of the opposing Pokemon, though Stantler is too frail to make much out of it. It can also use Sap Sipper instead to safely switch in to Grass moves and nab a free Attack boost, but this ability is much more situational. All in all, Stantler simply doesn't hit hard nor fast enough to warrant a spot on serious teams, and its terrible bulk only hurts it more.

Return is Stantler's strongest STAB attack without drawbacks, but Stantler prefers Double-Edge to deal as much damage as possible with its middling Attack. The recoil isn't much of an issue considering how frail Stantler is to begin with. Earthquake is an excellent coverage move that deals with most Rock and Steel-types that resist Normal. Sucker Punch is a strong attack against Ghost-types, while providing Stantler with a priority move against faster opponents. Stantler has numerous other coverage moves depending on what kind of Pokemon it wants to hit hard, such as Zen Headbutt, Wild Charge or Iron Tail. It also has a passable Special Attack stat, so it can make use of special moves like Shadow Ball, Energy Ball or Flamethrower as well. Lastly, Toxic lets Stantler wear down Pokemon too bulky for it to take down, as well as putting pressure on enemy setup sweepers.

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.

Miltank
Miltank is a Normal-type with great physical bulk, decent abilities, and surprising Speed. Miltank is a standard bulky utility Pokemon, and she is certainly not bad at her role. She has a nice support movepool including her own, nearly exclusive recovery move, as well as several options to annoy the opposing team, and she has the Speed to put them to good use. She also has two great defensive abilities: Thick Fat to give her two additional resistances, or Sap Sipper for a Grass immunity. While her Defense is certainly respectable, Miltank's Special Defense is rather poor, so avoid enemy special attackers. Miltank also has lackluster Attack, giving an opportunity for bulky enemies to set up.

For a utility Pokemon, Body Slam is the only attack Miltank needs. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, its high chance of paralysis makes it a nuisance to the enemy team. Toxic is an obvious status move for wearing down enemy walls, though Miltank can also use Thunder Wave for a more reliable paralysis method. Miltank can learn Stealth Rock and certainly has the bulk to set it up, which is useful in switch-heavy singles formats. On the other hand, Helping Hand is an excellent move only for doubles and triples, powering up the attacks of Miltank's partner. Milk Drink is a necessary move for a defensive Pokemon like Miltank, giving her a quick form of health recovery. Lastly, Heal Bell provides support to Miltank's whole team, curing them of status ailments.

Raikou
Raikou is a strong Electric-type with high Special Attack and Speed, while having respectable special bulk. It stands out from other strong Pokemon of its type by being the only Electric Pokemon that learns Calm Mind, as well as its access to both defensive screen moves. While Raikou can certainly function as a standard special attacker, it can also employ a slower-paced setup playstyle, using Calm Mind boosts to sweep the opposing team, or use its high speed and special bulk to provide extra utility to the team. Raikou's main weakness is its poor Defense, making it vulnerable to physical attackers. It's also at a disadvantage against fast Ground-types both defensively and offensively.

Thunderbolt is Raikou's best STAB attack, providing both high damage and reliable accuracy, as well as great neutral coverage. Volt Switch is another excellent Electric move that switches Raikou out upon hitting, which is very valuable on heavily offensive teams to maintain their momentum. Hidden Power Ice gives excellent type coverage with Electric, particularly when it comes to taking on Ground-types. Extrasensory and Shadow Ball lets Raikou hit a few more Pokemon super effectively, while Snarl is a great utility attack in doubles and triples for weakening enemy special attackers. Calm Mind augments two of Raikou's best stats, giving it the potential to sweep, and pairs well with Substitute to block status ailments and sponge enemy hits. Thunder Wave is an excellent status move for crippling speedy enemies. Lastly, Reflect and Light Screen provide temporary defense buffs to Raikou's team, whether its teammates on the field or the ally it's Volt Switching out to.

Entei
Entei is a physical Fire-type attacker, boasting good offensive stats and Speed. While it used to be overshadowed by other physical Fire Pokemon, it has received a mighty blessing from its creator Ho-Oh, in the form of Sacred Fire, what was once Ho-Oh's signature attack. While most physical Fire-types rely on Flare Blitz as their main move, Entei has access to this nearly-exclusive attack that doesn't do recoil damage and has a ridiculously high chance to burn. Unfortunately, the remainder of Entei's movepool is rather lacking, giving it limited attack options. Its Fire typing also gives it several common weaknesses, including the omnipresent Stealth Rock. Stats-wise, Entei's Speed is somewhat poor for an offensive Pokemon, and it fears special attackers as they don't fear burns and target its lower Special Defense.

As mentioned before, Sacred Fire is Entei's claim to fame. While this move is slightly weaker than Flare Blitz, it doesn't hurt Entei for using it, and comes with a 50% burn chance. The high burn chance is especially tricky for the opponent, as enemy walls dislike the chip damage while physical attackers want to avoid the Attack drop. Flare Blitz is still an option if Entei needs raw power. Entei doesn't have much in the way of coverage moves. Stone Edge is deadly to common Flying-types and helps against enemy Fire-types as well. Bulldoze provides some Ground coverage, and though it is weak it can make the enemy more manageable by lowering their Speed. Iron Head hits Rock-types hard and is a strong option against Fairy-types as well. Finally, Extreme Speed is an excellent priority move for finishing off faster foes, but it's difficult to get due to being exclusive to an old event.

Suicune
Suicune is one of the most infamous bulky Water-types in the game, and it's tried and true standard playstyle remains a force to be reckoned with after so many generations. Suicune has incredible bulk, with its best stats all being defensive, and its pure Water typing gives it few weaknesses and a handful of resistances. It has a small but solid movepool including its most well-known setup move: Calm Mind, to make it a dangerous bulky sweeper, and can make good use of its Pressure ability to stall out the PP of its opponents' attacks. While Suicune itself hasn't changed much over the generations, it does struggle against the looming power creep, as more and more offensive powerhouses are able to wear it down effectively. The lack of a reliable recovery move is also a major issue for a defensive Pokemon, forcing Suicune to rely on Rest to heal up.

Scald is easily Suicune's primary attack, and at times its only damaging move. This move fits Suicune's playstyle perfectly, dealing steady damage along with the ability to spread burns to the enemy team, weakening their physical attackers while wearing down their walls. Ice Beam is occasionally used on more offensive movesets to widen Suicune's coverage. Calm Mind gives Suicune the ability to sweep, making it nigh unkillable from special attacks while raising its own damage with each use. Rest is vital to Suicune's survivability, bringing it back to full health while removing harmful status effects. Sleep Talk is used in conjunction with Rest to keep Suicune from being a sitting duck while asleep. Against opposing bulky setup sweepers, Roar lets Suicune force them out and gets rid of their stat boosts. In doubles or triples, Suicune can use its bulk for a more supportive role, boosting its team's Speed with Tailwind or weakening the enemy with Icy Wind and Snarl.

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.

Celebi
Being a mythical Pokemon, Celebi has excellent all-around stats combined with a varied movepool that lets it support allies or hit hard. Celebi's Psychic/Grass typing is a mixed bag, but gives it several useful resistances and decent STAB coverage, letting it wall or threaten some popular Pokemon. It also has the Natural Cure ability, which lets it freely take status moves for its team. Celebi's main weakness is its typing, as it gives Celebi a worrying 7 weaknesses, including types commonly found in utility and coverage attacks.

Celebi has an impressive range of support moves to choose from. It can set up Stealth Rock, spread status with Thunder Wave or Toxic, cure status conditions with Heal Bell, completely restore a teammate with Healing Wish, boost its stats with Swords Dance, Calm Mind or Nasty Plot, and even pass them on with Baton Pass. It also has other miscellaneous status moves such as Reflect, Light Screen, Safeguard, Helping Hand, Leech Seed, and Perish Song. It also has a reliable healing move in the form of Recover. For attacks, Celebi typically doesn't run more than one damaging move so that it has space for more support moves. Giga Drain is preferred for its health leeching, though Energy Ball and Leaf Storm are stronger choices. Psychic is strong against Poison and Fighting types. Earth Power and Hidden Power Fire both grant coverage against foes that resist both of Celebi's STAB moves. For a more surprising physical moveset, Celebi has Seed Bomb and Zen Headbutt for STAB, Sucker Punch for priority and U-turn to preserve momentum, though overall it's inferior to using a support or special attacking moveset.