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

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

Bulbasaur, Ivysaur and Venusaur
The original Grass starter doesn't have much going for it in its base form. One of its best traits was its hidden ability Chlorophyll, which makes Venusaur one of the fastest Pokémon in sunny weather. However, Venusaur still suffered from average stats, which didn't make it stand out enough to be a popular Pokémon in battle. This generation further reduced Cholrophyll Venusaur's usefulness due to the reworked weather mechanics, but it gave Venusaur a powerful new tool, the Mega Evolution.

While regular Venusaur is mainly a special attacker that relies on Chlorophyll to become a significant threat, Mega Venusaur is a defensive behemoth, boasting excellent defenses on both the physical and special fronts. It gains Thick Fat, which complements its Grass/Poison typing amazingly well, outright neutralizing two of Venusaur's weaknesses. With Thick Fat and its normal typing, Mega Venusaur gets useful resistances to Grass, Water, Electric, Fighting and Fairy, while only having to fear Flying and Psychic attacks. It also has a respectable 122 Special Attack, so it can do more than just soak up attacks. With an array of healing and status moves, Mega Venusaur can be one tough foe to take down. The fact that Mega Stones can't be removed through Knock Off also makes Mega Venusaur a great fit for purely defensive teams, which are often reliant on held items like Eviolite or Leftovers for maximum survivability.

Giga Drain is doubtlessly the ideal STAB move for Mega Venusaur. While there are stronger alternatives, the life-leeching aspect of the move keeps Mega Venusaur alive as long as possible. Sludge Bomb is its Poison-type STAB, useful for knocking out Fairy-types that dare stand against it. Synthesis is a common status move on Mega Venusaur, extending its lifespan instantly by refilling half of its maximum health. Leech Seed and Sleep Powder are also useful status moves for a defensive Mega Venusaur. Leech Seed provides yet some more additional healing as well as chip damage on the opposing Pokémon, while Sleep Powder can temporarily shut down a potential counter, although it has poor accuracy.

Charmander, Charmeleon and Charizard
As the final evolution of Charmander, Charizard is definitely one of the most popular and recognizable Pokémon of the first generation. However, it was always considered mediocre in battle, with a crippling Rock-type weakness and being outclassed by other fire special attackers. In the sixth generation, it doesn't get one, but two Mega Evolutions, not only greatly increasing its viability, but also giving it an element of unpredictability, since foes will never know which Mega Evolution this draconian fire-breather will run until it actually Mega Evolves. Without evolutions, Charizard is still hampered by its usual weaknesses, though it can be a fairly powerful sweeper in Sunny weather with Solar Power.

Strategies
Ability: Solar Power/Tough Claws (Mega Evolution), Item: Charizardite X, Nature: Adamant/Jolly, EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spe, 4 Def
 * Mega Charizard X
 * Moveset
 * Dragon Dance
 * Flare Blitz
 * Dragon Claw/Outrage
 * Earthquake/Roost

With Mega Charizard X for the X version, Charizard becomes a Fire and Dragon-type Pokémon and can become a powerful physical sweeper thanks to it Tough Claws ability, which boosts the power of contact moves. This lets it take advantage of its great physical movepool, including the amazing Dragon Dance. After a Dragon Dance boost, Mega Charizard X becomes extremely dangerous and it only takes a OHKO or a few hits to KO many Pokémon who aren't good at being physically defensive. It's Flare Blitz, coming off from a STAB 120 base power, hits immensely hard on anything that doesn't resist but at the cost of some recoil damage. Roost can be an option to recover some of that lost health. Defensively, Mega Charizard X's Fire/Dragon typing is also a blessing, nullifying its infamous 4x weakness to Stealth Rock as well as removing the Dragon-type's weakness to Ice and Fairy.

Ability: Solar Power/Drought (Mega Evolution), Item: Charizardite Y, Nature: Timid, EVs: 252 Sp. Atk, 252 Spe, 4 HP
 * Mega Charizard Y
 * Moveset
 * Fire Blast
 * Solar Beam
 * Air Slash/Roost
 * Focus Blast/Dragon Pulse

With Mega Charizard Y for the Y version, Charizard keeps it's typing but it's Special Attack is now gigantic (even a bit higher than a regular Mewtwo's Special Attack per se). With Drought ability on its side (which makes the weather Sunny), Mega Charizard Y is also a terrifying special sweeper. STAB Fire Blast, backed by a Sunny weather, disintegrates many that don't resist Fire-type attacks, while a Solar Beam, which skips the charging turn and attacks on the turn selected due to Drought, will tear apart Water and Rock-type Pokémon traditionally used to counter Charizard. However, Mega Charizard Y is still extremely vulnerable to Rock-type attacks, including Stealth Rock, so it can be hard getting it in battle without using it as a lead. Fortunately, it can learn the newly-buffed Defog, which lets it clear away entry hazards on both sides, giving it more opportunities to switch in and wreak havoc.

Squirtle, Wartortle and Blastoise
While Mega Venusaur is a supreme wall and Mega Charizard boasts atomic strength, Mega Blastoise is more of a balance between power and utility. In fact, Mega Blastoise is pretty much played like an extension of normal Blastoise, which is as a bulky hazard remover. Normal Blastoise has good bulk, a nice typing and a good movepool to deal with both hazard setters and Rapid Spin blockers, but faces too much competition from other bulky Water-types. Mega Blastoise stands out from the competition with Mega Launcher, which increases the power of Pulse and Sphere moves by 50%. This ability makes Mega Blastoise's coverage moves stronger, which when combined with its improved defenses, augments its role as a Rapid Spinner. Unfortunately, Mega Blastoise suffers from poor speed like its normal form, and the lack of recovery means it's prone to being worn down by status and entry hazards, which is especially problematic for a utility Pokemon.

As stated repeatedly before, Rapid Spin is a great utility move for Mega Blastoise due to its combination of bulk and power, letting Mega Blastoise remove entry hazards comfortably. For Blastoise's STAB move, Hydro Pump is very strong, but Scald provides additional utility due to its high chance of causing burns. Mega Blastoise also happens to be the strongest Pokemon that learns the powerful Water Spout other than Kyogre, but the move is a bit impractical as its power diminished when Blastoise's health drops low. Dark Pulse is an excellent coverage move to keep Ghost-types from switching in, since they are typically used to stop the Normal-type Rapid Spin. It is also boosted by Mega Launcher, making it especially threatening. Aura Sphere is another attack powered up by Mega Launcher, and has good type coverage alongside Dark Pulse. Dragon Pulse is another Mega Launcher boosted move, but doesn't offer much other than its sheer power. Lastly, Ice Beam allows Mega Blastoise to strike Grass and Dragon Pokemon which would resist its Water-type attacks.

Caterpie, Metapod and Butterfree
As an early-game Bug Pokemon, one of the first in the series in fact, Butterfree is pretty much doomed to mediocrity. It is very frail and lacks speed, while it struggles to do damage with its middiling base 90 Special Attack. It is one of the few Pokemon that can learn Quiver Dance, but it is also unfortunately among the weakest. Butterfree also has Tinted Lens which effectively ignores resistances on enemies, but once again it shares this ability with better Pokemon. Butterfree's Bug/Flying type is vulnerable to common attacks, including a x4 weakness to Rock which causes it to lose half of its health alone from Stealth Rock. Butterfree is a heavily outclassed Pokemon, and while there are certainly worse fully-evolved Pokemon, Butterfree won't likely find itself on any serious teams.

Quiver Dance is a necessary move on Butterfree, as it is too weak and far too slow to be used effectively otherwise. Setting up Quiver Dance in the first place is a difficult task due to Butterfree's poor stats, but it could find an opportunity to do so by setting up a Substitute or incapacitating an opponent with Sleep Powder. Bug Buzz is the strongest STAB move Butterfree can learn, while the only strong coverage moves it gets are Psychic and Energy Ball. Psychic is effective against Fighting and Poison types that resist Bug Buzz, while Energy Ball hits Rock-types hard.

Weedle, Kakuna and Beedrill
Beedrill was originally another terrible and forgettable Bug-type, but then Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire gave it a Mega Evolution, turning it into a deadly threat in one transformation. Mega Beedrill sacrifices its useless Special Attack stat to go all out on offense, having an incredibly high Attack and Speed stat to make it a glass cannon. It even gets Adaptability to double the power of its STAB attacks, making it deal ludicrous damage that can seriously dent tough walls. However, don't forget that a glass cannon is still made of glass, and Mega Beedrill might as well be made of paper due to how frail it is. In spite of its high speed, it can still be outsped by decently quick Choice Scarf users or simple priority attacks, and if Mega Beedrill doesn't get the first hit in, it will likely be KO'd soon after.

Due to Beedrill's poor initial Speed and frailty, Protect is an absolutely mandatory move to have, as it gives Beedrill a free turn to Mega Evolve. U-turn is an awesome utility move for scouting out the enemy and maintaining offensive momentum, but Mega Beedrill's U-turn has the bonus of being extremely powerful, so it can severely weaken the enemy team while pivoting in and out. When brute force is needed, Mega Beedrill's Poison Jab is its strongest attack. Drill Run is a popular coverage move on Mega Beedrill, as it hits Steel-types that resist both Bug and Poison super effectively. Knock Off is a utility-focused alternative, and fits well with a U-turn-heavy Mega Beedrill so that it can weaken its foes in more ways than one when it enters the field.

Pidgey, Pidgeotto and Pidgeot
Pidgeot is another one of many forgotten Pokemon that was elevated back to relevancy with the introduction of Mega Evolution. Mega Pidgeot has great Speed and great Special Attack, which lets it take on a unique role of special-based Flying-type fighter. It also gets No Guard, which functions incredibly well with the strongest special Flying move it gets: Hurricane. Hurricane is normally an unreliable attack due to its poor accuracy, but No Guard ensures it will always hit, letting Pidgeot consistently buffet foes with 110 Base Power attacks. Unfortunately Mega Pidgeot's movepool is poor, so it can be walled out by some popular defensive Pokemon due to lacking the proper coverage. It also faces a lot of competition from other powerful Mega Pokemon. Lastly, No Guard is a double-edged sword, since it also guarantees that all attacks will hit Mega Pidgeot, worrisome considering its average bulk, particularly Stone Edge, which normally has a high miss chance.

Hurricane can be considered Mega Pidgeot's signature move, as its normally 70% accuracy is increased to 100%. This move is almost as strong as its physical equivalent, Brave Bird, but doesn't deal recoil damage and even has a 30% chance of inflicting confusion. Therefore, Mega Pidgeot has better survivability than most popular Flying-type attackers, since it doesn't expend health when using its attacks. Heat Wave has nice type coverage with Hurricane, mainly used to incinerate Steel-types that resist Hurricane. That's where Mega Pidgeot's coverage moves end however, as none of its other special moves are strong enough. If you're willing to go through the trouble of fiddling with IVs, Hidden Power can give Mega Pidgeot some extra coverage. Hyper Beam is a surprisingly common sight on Mega Pidgeot, as its sheer power can take down enemies Hurricane has no hope of breaking through, though its recharge turn means that it should only be used as a last resort. Roost and U-turn are two good utility moves to keep Mega Pidgeot alive, while Defog and Tailwind are usable support options.

Rattata and Raticate
As a common nuisance in many past regions, you wouldn't expect Rattata or Raticate to be anything more than mediocre in battle, and you'd be right. Raticate is rather uninteresting even for a Normal-type, with middling Speed and Attack as well as terrible defenses. It has both the Guts ability and STAB Facade, which is its main selling point, but there are many Pokemon that can use Guts better. Guts still gives it a helpful immunity to status moves while holding a Flame Orb or Toxic Orb, which is certainly useful for a physical attacker, but consequently puts a timer on how long Raticate can remain on the field. Raticate also has some trouble breaking past Rock, Steel and Ghost types, as well as sufficiently bulky walls due to its poor Attack.

The aforementioned Guts and Facade combo is pretty much necessary to make Raticate usable, with Flame Orb or Toxic Orb to trigger Guts automatically. Guts boost Raticate's Attack when statused, while Facade gains Base Power while statused, so a status condition provides multiple boosts to this one move. Raticate is the only Guts user that has Sucker Punch, giving it a useful tool to hit Ghost-types and makes up for its average Speed. Unfortunately, the only coverage moves Raticate has against Rock and Steel types are Reversal and Revenge, but it may also use Super Fang to deal fixed damage to them. U-turn allows Raticate to maintain offensive momentum and bring in better allies. Raticate might be able to use Pursuit to trap Pokemon, and Swords Dance could actually make it a respectably powerful threat, that is, if it ever gets the chance to set up.

Spearow and Fearow
Being an offensive Flying-type, Fearow is badly outclassed by a lot of popular Pokemon. Its Attack and Speed stats are both decent, but it has terrible bulk. Its Normal/Flying type is very generic, and gives it an undesirable weakness to Stealth Rock. Its movepool is also pretty disappointing, lacking the signature Brave Bird attack most offensive birds carry, but its access to Drill Run makes it one of the few birds with good answer to Rock and Steel-types. It also has the hidden ability Sniper which, while luck-based and unreliable, gives it a chance to deal big damage and bring down Pokemon it can't usually faint. Still, with the lack of a strong Flying-type move or outstanding Speed, Fearow is not going to find itself on teams over the more popular Flying-type Pokemon any time soon.

Drill Peck is Fearow's strongest Flying-type STAB move, although 80 Base Power is rather disappointing compared to Brave Bird. Double-Edge is the better choice for dealing massive damage to foes that don't resist it, as it also gains STAB and has more power, but the recoil makes Fearow even more frail. Return is a good alternative STAB move that doesn't deal recoil at the cost of some damage. Drill Run is Fearow's best coverage move, targeting Rock and Steel types that resist its STAB attacks. While not as strong as Earthquake, Drill Run has a high critical hit rate, so it could potentially be very powerful when boosted by Sniper. U-turn is a nice utility move to smoothly switch out into more favorable matchups, while Fearow can also be used to Pursuit trap, although its poor bulk means this tactic could backfire if the victim decides to fight back.

Ekans and Arbok
With a range of balanced, mediocre stats, Arbok is not exactly a powerful Pokemon. However, it is one of the very few Pokemon in the game that can learn the boosting move Coil, which increases its Attack, Defense and accuracy in one turn. It also has some fairly good abilities, with Intimidate to weaken physical attackers or Shed Skin to give it a chance to shrug off burns and use Rest more effectively. Arbok's movepool is also quite decent, as it has several coverage moves to get around Pokemon that resist Poison. Arbok's poor Speed is its biggest weakness, since it keeps it from sweeping after some Coil boosts. Its Poison typing also makes it weak to common Ground-type moves, while its poor bulk means it is easy to wear down or outright KO without a couple of Coil boosts.

Coil is the star attraction here, raising Arbok's Attack to passable levels, while patching up its Defense. Gunk Shot is Arbok's strongest STAB move, benefiting from the accuracy boost from Coil to hit consistently and reliably. Earthquake deals with both the Steel-types that can effortlessly absorb Gunk Shot as well as fellow Poison-types. Seed Bomb can be used to hit Rock and Ground types instead, a helpful tool due to Arbok's own Ground-type weakness. Sucker Punch ignores Arbok's mediocre Speed and lets it bring down faster but frailer offensive threats. While Intimidate is the most commonly used ability on Arbok, Shed Skin may be used in conjunction of Rest to give Arbok a strong recovery move that leaves it incapacitated for a shorter time.

Pichu, Pikachu and Raichu
There's no doubt that the Pikachu line is the most popular line of Pokemon ever, but the electric mice are not very suited for battle. Pikachu actually deals more damage than Raichu if holding a Light Ball, but Raichu's slightly better defenses, superior speed and ability to hold other items make it the superior choice, as it needs every bit of help to contribute to the battle. As is standard for Electric-types, Raichu is a fast but very frail attacker. Its Lightning Rod ability is not uncommon, but still useful for keeping teammates safe from Electric moves while giving Raichu a free power-up. With access to Nasty Plot and a decent base Special Attack of 90, Raichu can actually hit fairly hard, but its abysmal bulk gives it a lot of difficulty to set up, and it is vulnerable to numerous faster Pokemon and priority attacks, which limits the contributions it can make before getting fainted.

Thunderbolt is Raichu's most reliable Electric STAB attack, doing nice and consistent damage. Alternatively, Raichu can use its signature Volt Tackle for a more physical set, but the recoil damage further hampers Raichu's terrible survivability. Focus Blast is a powerful move for hitting Steel and Rock-types, many of which usually threatens Raichu with strong attacks. Grass Knot is a somewhat unreliable move to deal with Ground-types as it deals damage depending on the opposing Pokemon's weight, but Signal Beam is reasonably effective against Grass-types that resist Electric. If you manage to obtain an event Pikachu with Surf, that Water-type move would be the best answer to Ground-types overall due to its constant Base Power and super effective damage. Nasty Plot is a good boosting move if Raichu can find the space to set up. Finally, Knock Off and Volt Switch can be added on for utility.

Sandshrew and Sandslash
When it comes to strong Ground-type Pokemon, Sandslash isn't exactly the first Pokemon to come to mind. While it has decent Attack and good physical bulk, its poor Speed keeps it from being a strong physical attacker, and it falls easily to special moves. Its Ground-typing also gives it common weaknesses to Grass, Ice and Water types. However, Sandslash can be made much better in a Sandstorm. Sand Veil raises its evasion in sand, which nullifies its poor special bulk a bit, while Sand Rush makes it respectfully fast. Sadly, Sandslash is the slowest fully-evolved Pokemon with Sand Rush, so it is outclassed by other Ground-types, particularly Excadrill.

Earthquake is naturally Sandslash's STAB move of choice. Stone Edge has great coverage with Earthquake, with its main use being to hit Flying types immune to Earthquake. X-Scissor is also an option for dealing with Grass-types. Rapid Spin lets Sandslash clear away hazards, and though it's not even the best Ground-type for the role, Sandslash has sufficient Defense to work as a Rapid Spinner. Sandslash happens to learn Stealth Rock as well. Knock Off is an excellent utility move on any Pokemon, and Sandslash is no exception, especially if the opponent attempts to use Ghost-types to block Rapid Spin. Sandslash also gets Swords Dance, but it has trouble sweeping due to its frailty and slowness unless boosted by Sand Rush.

Nidoran♀, Nidorina and Nidoqueen
As opposite gender counterparts of each other, Nidoqueen and Nidoking play fairly similarly. Nidoqueen has an advantage in bulk, while Nidoking has the advantage in offense. Nidoqueen has Sheer Force and an excellent movepool to use it, which gives her deceptive power with a Life Orb despite her middling offensive stats. She also has nice bulk and a great Poison/Ground typing, which grants her important resistances to Rock, Fighting and Fairy attacks as well as a total immunity to Electric moves and Toxic. Nidoqueen also has a wide support movepool which works well with her good bulk. However, Nidoqueen's Speed is quite poor, and she is prone to getting setup on by special walls since her power, while usable, is not outstanding. Her typing gives her weaknesses to common Water, Ice and Ground types, and she lacks a good recovery move, so she is prone to getting worn down.

While Nidoqueen's Attack is higher than its Special Attack, its can take advantage of Sheer Force better using its special movepool. As with all Sheer Force users, Nidoqueen can equip a Life Orb without any drawbacks, as she will not receive any recoil damage if using an attack boosted by Sheer Force. Her primary STAB moves are Earth Power and Sludge Wave, although Sludge Wave can be replaced with a coverage move unless you really want to get rid of Fairies. Ice Beam, Flamethrower and Thunderbolt are all good coverage moves boosted by Sheer Force. She can use both Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock, while coincidentally having a resistance to either move, so she can be serve as a hazard setter. Nidoqueen also has Taunt to disrupt enemy support Pokemon, as well as Roar to stop foes from setting up while racking up entry hazard damage.

Nidoran♂, Nidorino and Nidoking
As opposite gender counterparts of each other, Nidoqueen and Nidoking play fairly similarly. Nidoqueen has an advantage in bulk, while Nidoking has the advantage in offense. Nidoking has Sheer Force and an excellent movepool to use it, which lets him boost his strength significantly when equipped with a Life Orb. His great Poison/Ground typing grants him important resistances to Rock, Fighting and Fairy attacks, and keeps him from getting crippled by Thunder Wave or worn down by Toxic. However, Nidoking's Speed and bulk is below average, so he has difficulty holding his own against stronger offensive Pokemon. His typing also gives him weaknesses to common Water, Ice and Ground types, so he is more suited to break down more defensive Pokemon with his sheer power.

While Nidoking's Attack is higher than his Special Attack, he can take advantage of Sheer Force better using his special movepool. As with all Sheer Force users, Nidoking can equip a Life Orb without any drawbacks, as he will not receive any recoil damage if using an attack boosted by Sheer Force. Earth Power is Nidoking's primary STAB move, accomplishing the purpose of Earthquake for other Ground-type Pokemon. Sludge Wave is the preferred Poison STAB move for dealing with Fairies. Ice Beam has amazing coverage with Earth Power, while Thunderbolt gives Nidoking even greater coverage in conjunction with Ice Beam. Flamethrower or Fire Blast can be used to hit Steel-types with a neutrality to Earth Power, such as Scizor and Ferrothorn. In the physical department, Nidoking can use Superpower to surprise special walls, while Sucker Punch helps it against offensive Pokemon by circumventing its middling Speed. Lastly, Nidoking can play more of a support role by setting up Stealth Rock or Toxic Spikes, using its respectable strength to keep hazard removers at bay.

Zubat, Golbat and Crobat
Hailing from a family that caused much frustration to trainers trekking through caves, Crobat is a highly effective support Pokemon. It is one of the faster Pokemon in the game with 130 base Speed and its bulk, while not amazing, is sufficient for a speedy annoyer. Crobat even gets the Infiltrator, letting it inflict status moves on foes hiding behind Substitutes. Its rare Poison/Flying type gives it double resistances to Bug, Fighting and Grass-types, so it can find may opportunities to switch in and set up. Its movepool is excellent for a support Pokemon as well, while its Attack stat is high enough to soften tanks with the right moves. Crobat's stats, while balanced enough it let it do its thing, means it has trouble smashing down hardy walls or to survive attacks, so it must still be used carefully and intelligently.

One of Crobat's best traits is that it can learn both Defog and Taunt for strong hazard control. Defog removes any entry hazards on the field, while Taunt serves to keep entry hazards from being set down at all. Fitting for a Poison-type, Crobat can make use of an always accurate Toxic to stop defensive teams. U-turn lets Crobat's team maintain offensive momentum, while Roost is its preferred method of healing. For attacks, Crobat really only needs Brave Bird to intimidate the Grass and Fighting types it switches into. Cross Poison is its strongest Poison-type STAB, but it's weaker, and doesn't fit well into a support Crobat's moveset.

Diglett and Dugtrio
Diglett and Dugtrio are unique Ground-type Pokémon, as their stat distributions are very different from most Ground-types. While the typical Ground-type is strong, tough but slow, Dugtrio has blazing Speed, average Attack and horrible defenses, having one of the lowest HP stat of any fully evolved Pokémon. While its frailty and lack of power doesn't make it very appealing, it has the excellent Arena Trap ability, which prevents foes other than Flying-types or Pokémon with Levitate from escaping when it is in battle. Although it could work well in a sandstorm with its other abilities, extending its longevity with Sand Veil or its power through Sand Force, Arena Trap is definitely its best option.

The strategy to using Dugtrio is simple. It should be use to trap an enemy threat, hopefully one that is weak to Ground-type attacks due to Dugtrio's otherwise poor damage output, then eliminate its target with Earthquake. Its Speed lets it attack most Pokémon before they can hit back and severely injure it, letting it hopefully faint the opponent in one hit. However, its average Attack stat can make it difficult to do so, meaning that you must give it Attack boosting items or something like a Focus Sash so it gets another chance to KO. Dugtrio can't do much else outside of trapping and KOing its opponents. Stone Edge has excellent coverage with Earthquake, but Dugtrio shouldn't be fighting Flying-types due to their immunity to Arena Trap. Since Dugtrio will likely become useless once it has taken out one target, sacrificial moves can be quite effective. Reversal, learned through breeding, is a pretty nice option when used with a Focus Sash, as Dugtrio will often be left with 1 HP if hit by any strong attack. Memento, another egg move, is also usable if you don't need Dugtrio after it has done its work, letting it severely weaken an incoming Pokémon from the opposing team.

Abra, Kadabra and Alakazam
The Abra family has always been one of the stronger Psychic-types ever since their creation, being a perfect example of a frail but powerful special attacker. It has all of the tools it needs to play its role effectively, with excellent Special Attack and high Speed to get the first hit and take the opponent down quickly, a narrow but effective movepool that covers types that resist Psychic, and a wonderful ability in Magic Guard, which prevents opponents from chipping at its health with entry hazards, weather or status ailments. Magic Guard not only protects Alakazam from common sources of residual damage, which it does not appreciate due to its poor survivability, but also enables Alakazam to boost its moves with a Life Orb without suffering from Life Orb's recoil like other Pokémon.

However, Alakazam does have noticeable flaws. As stated before, it can't survive a lot of attacks, and a moderately strong physical attack can easily bring it down in one hit due to its poor Defense. Users of priority attacks are also quite common, which ignores Alakazam's speed advantage and mostly aim at its weaker Defense stat. Sucker Punch and Shadow Sneak in particular are also super effective on Alakazam, so it must definitely avoid potential users of these moves. Alakazam has no problems making an impact offensively, as it has Psychic or Psyshock as its main STAB attack, Shadow Ball to bring down Ghost-types and fellow Psychic-types, and finally Focus Blast as a slightly inaccurate but usable attack against Dark and Steel types. It also learns moves of other types as well as few useful status moves like Recover and Calm Mind, but they aren't too needed due to the coverage it already gains with Psychic, Shadow Ball and Focus Blast, while it is too frail too afford to use up turns for utilizing status moves.

Alakazam gets a nice Mega Evolution that further increases its Special Attack and Speed, while slightly patching up its subpar Defense. It becomes almost impossible to outspeed without any Speed-boosting items or moves, and even its neutral attacks will be extremely painful. However, it is still vulnerable to priority attacks and frail as ever despite the minor Defense boost. Even worse, it loses Magic Guard for the pretty good but more situational Trace, meaning it must be more careful switching into entry hazards and status-inducers. Alakazam is even more of a glass cannon in this Mega form, so while you could freely bring a normal Alakazam in to destroy its opponents with Life Orb-boosted attacks, you need to be more conservative with letting Mega Alakazam out into battle. However, if you can still work around its flaws, it is certainly one of the deadliest special attackers around.

Farfetch'd
Farfetch'd is one of the Pokémon in the series infamous for being terrible. None of its stats are good, it has a common typing without any particular benefits and is hopelessly outclassed by tons of better Pokémon. Farfetch'd is based on a Japanese proverb meaning a rare and fortunate occurance, and encountering one in player battles is certainly one such occurance...for Farfetch'd's opponents. While it has never been good ever since its inception, it does gain an interesting gimmick with the revamped mechanics of this generation.

Farfetch'd has a signature item associated with it, the Stick, which can very rarely be found on wild Farfetch'd. When held, it increases Farfetch'd's critical hit ratio by two. The new critical mechanics of Gen VI makes all of a Pokémon's attacks be critical hits if its critical hit ratio is raised by 3 or more, and Farfetch'd gets a bunch of increased critical hit ratio moves, learning Slash, Air Cutter and Night Slash by level-up as well as Leaf Blade through breeding. Using any of these moves with a Stick equipped is absolutely guaranteed to become a critical hit, effectively making all of these attacks do 150% damage while ignoring the foe's Defense boosts. This feature certainly sounds exciting, as Farfetch'd attacks would actually do marginally threatening damage, but its terrible defenses and poor Speed means that Farfetch'd is still likely to get outsped by just about any fully evolved Pokémon, then get fainted in one hit.

Gastly, Haunter and Gengar
Gengar is still one of the best Ghost-type Pokemon available, and it only got better this generation. The introduction of Fairy-types makes its secondary Poison type more useful, and Gengar even gets a Mega Evolution, considered one of the deadliest Mega Evolutions in the game. Mega Gengar's Special Attack and Speed and raised sky high, but most importantly is the Shadow Tag ability it gains. While Mega Gengar has a newfound Ground weakness, Shadow Tag lets it trap a non-Ghost type and take its target out, either with brute force or by taking the foe down with it using Destiny Bond or Perish Song. The normal form of Gengar is still very useful, being a fast and powerful special attacker in its own right, while having plenty of nasty support options. Despite its strengths, Gengar is still a glass cannon weak to Dark and Ghost types, and even Mega Gengar has to fear a strong Shadow Sneak, Pursuit or Sucker Punch.

Shadow Ball and Sludge Wave covers both of Gengar's STAB choices. Shadow Ball would be Gengar's primary move, while Sludge Wave is used to threaten popular Fairy-types. Gengar may also sometimes use Focus Blast to deal with Dark-types. When using Mega Gengar, Protect is occasionally used to let Gengar Mega Evolve safely. When trapping Pokemon, Mega Gengar can either use Destiny Bond or Perish Song to take down threats it can't normally defeat with its attacks alone. Destiny Bond is the more offensive option to bring down an otherwise stronger threat, while Perish Song requires a more defensive playstyle to stall out the perish turns. Substitute, Protect and Disable are sometimes used with Perish Song, as it lets Mega Gengar survive long enough for the song to take effect. Taunt is a great status move overall on both Gengar and Mega Gengar due to their speed, which lets it stop both walls and setup sweepers. Will-O-Wisp is another excellent status to cripple physical attackers, and lets Gengar run Hex to hit harder than Shadow Ball.

Happiny, Chansey and Blissey
Looking at the Blissey family's stats, their extremely high HP and great Special Defense are immediate highlights. Their poor Defense and severe lack of offensive potential is also highly apparent. It is easily obvious that this line is best suited for the role of a special wall, being able to tank countless hits from special attackers. They have an excellent defensive and support movepool, with reliable status inducing and healing moves. They also sport the excellent Natural Cure ability, which means they can shrug off status effects aimed at them by switching out, as well as letting them act as effective status absorbers for the whole team. Due to Eviolite, both Chansey and Blissey are equally usable, with Chansey arguably better at this specific role. While Blissey gets to hold Leftovers for some passive healing, Chansey's defenses exceeds Blissey with an eviolite, making it one of the bulkiest Pokémon in the game. Both pink blobs still have exploitable weaknesses. Their lack of power means that they are vulnerable to setup sweepers and other walls, who can use boosting moves or support moves respectively if Chansey or Blissey does not pose enough of a threat to their survival. They also have abysmal physical Defense and a weakness to common Fighting-type attacks, but this problem can be alleviated with the right teammates.

Chansey and Blissey have an impressive array of support moves that ensure they can perform their jobs well. They have Soft-Boiled to keep themselves healthy, Aromatherapy or Heal Bell to cure the entire team of status ailments, effective status affliction moves with Thunder Wave and Toxic, as well as a sadistic evasion-boosting move with Minimize. More uncommon support moves are Stealth Rock, Light Screen and Reflect. Wish is a difficult to obtain event move, but it is amazing on Chansey and Blissey due to their immense HP, ensuring the Pokémon on the receiving end to almost always be fully healed. For more direct forms of damage, Seismic Toss is probably capable of doing more damage than any other move, especially at high levels, while Counter can surprise and certainly take down any physical attackers that try to muscle past them. They also have some use in double or triple battles, with Heal Pulse and Helping Hand to support their teammates.

Kangaskhan
Kangaskhan used to be a pretty forgettable Pokémon, being one of the many decent but not outstanding Normal-types with fairly decent balanced stats. The main draw to using her was the ability Scrappy, which let her hit Ghost-types with her STAb attacks, but even then there were other Scrappy users she had to compete with. However, with the introduction of Mega Evolutions, Kangaskhan is thrust straight into the limelight. Mega Evolving Kangaskhan lets her child fight alongside her, gaining much better stats as well as the unique ability Parental Bonds, which lets Kangaskhan hit twice with a non-multihit or spread attack in one turn, the second attack dealing 50% of the initial attack's damage.

Mega Kangaskhan has many perks, the most obvious of which is her high power, with 125 base Attack and the bonus damage caused by Parental Bond, making her one of the hardest hitting Normal-types in the game, causing a max happiness Return to hit extremely hard. Parental Bond's double-hitting nature lets it hit an opponent after breaking its Substitute, and enables it to bypass Sturdy and Focus Sash users. With above average defensive stats and a typing that gives it very few weaknesses and one immunity, it can be difficult to take out before it KOs back.

Parental Bond also gives Kangaskhan some unique move interactions, turning normally manageable moves into threatening attacks. It can learn the new Power-Up Punch by TM, which effectively becomes a 60 Base Power damage-dealing Swords Dance, chipping away a fair amount of the opponent's health while boosting Kangaskhan's high Attack to unstoppable heights. Additionally, if you trade a Gen III Kangaskhan that has learned Seismic Toss from Move Tutor, it can be a borderline broken attack. Since Seismic Toss does set damage, it isn't reduced by Parental Bond. At level 100, Kangaskhan can easily do 200 damage in one turn regardless of the foe's Defense, making her very hard to wall. In a nutshell, Kangaskhan is an excellent choice for any team's Mega Evolution spot, providing a balance of both extreme power and good defense to turn it into a nearly unstoppable threat.

Staryu and Starmie
Despite its odd appearance, Starmie has always been a consistently good Pokémon for battles. Boasting a good Special Attack stat and a high Speed, second only to Greninja among Water-types, Starmie is no doubt a good offensive Pokémon. However, what makes it stand out among the sea of Water-type attackers is its access to Rapid Spin, giving it some utility to go along with its nice attacks. Its movepool is also one of its great attributes, with Water-type being a reliable STAB and access to the Thunderbolt and Ice Beam combination to expand its coverage. Starmie's abilities help it even further, with Natural Cure letting it shrug off status effects and Analytic to capitalize hard on predicted switches.

Starmie does have its fair share of weaknesses. While it maintains an offensive presence for a rapid spinner, its defenses are pretty average, and its Psychic-typing leaves it vulnerable to Pursuit users, hindering its ability to switch in and out to remove hazards, as well as Ghost-types that are usually used to counter Rapid Spin. It is also rather outclassed if it doesn't have Rapid Spin, since there are certainly other Water-types that can hit harder.

Starmie's moveset will often include both Thunderbolt and Ice Beam due to the excellent type coverage they provide. In fact, you can get away with not using STAB moves at all, though Water-type attacks have pretty good coverage themselves. It's a choice between Surf or Hydro Pump if you do want to use a Water-type attack, whether you want accuracy or power. Rapid Spin is a must for Starmie as stated before, letting it support the team by removing hazards, as well as scaring off opposing Pokémon that try to prevent that with its other attacks. Recover is another option for more defensive Starmie, letting you keep it alive so that you have the option to remove hazards again later in the battle. For your ability, Analytic is the preferred choice despite Starmie's high Speed, since its coverage and power can often cause switches, boosting the strength of its attacks if it predicts a switch correctly. Natural Cure is a valid alternative if you're not good at prediction though, and it synergizes well with Starmie's role as a hazard remover, given that it often switches in and out.

Scyther and Scizor
Scizor is one of the few Pokemon with a Mega Evolution that doesn't need its Mega to perform well. With an amazing Bug/Steel typing that leaves it with only one weakness, high attack stat, good priority moves and the Technician ability, it is both hard to wear down Scizor and hard to weather hits from it. While Mega Scizor gains a sizable increase in Attack and bulk, the only real benefit to using its Mega form is for its bulk, since regular Scizor can hit harder if it equips a Life Orb or Choice Band instead. Scizor also has an excellent movepool, being one of the most popular Pokemon that uses Bullet Punch, and learning a variety of utility and support moves. Scizor's main weakness is obviously its double weakness to Fire, so it must be wary of any Pokemon that might carry Fire-type moves for coverage. For a Pokemon that relies heavily on its Attack stat, Scizor can also be neutered by burns, so try to avoid Will-O-Wisp and Scald as well.

Bullet Punch seems like a move made specifically for Scizor. It is boosted both by STAB and the Technician ability, so it can hit very hard. It is also a priority attack, circumventing Scizor's poor speed. Bug Bite is Scizor's strongest Bug attack after being boosted by Technician, but U-turn is more useful on support sets as it lets Scizor bring in other Pokemon safely. Scizor's poor Speed is actually beneficial when using U-turn, as it can take a hit from the enemy before bringing in its teammate on the same turn. Superpower is all the coverage Scizor needs, useful for hitting enemy Steel-types. Scizor's high bulk and power makes it an excellent user of Swords Dance, as it can stay alive long enough to rack up boosts and sweep with Bullet Punch. Knock Off and Pursuit are good utility moves if you find the space to use it. It has Roost to restore its health, a handy tool on both bulky offensive sets and support sets. Scizor also both learns Defog and lacks a weakness to Stealth Rock, so it is a great defogger especially in its Mega form.

Ditto
Ditto is an extremely simple Pokemon in battle. It is one of the few Pokemon that learns Transform, in fact it's the only move Ditto has, which can turn it into the opposing Pokemon, copying all the target's stats except HP, the target's moves, as well as the boosts the target has accumulated. However, Ditto should never need to use the move, as its hidden ability Imposter does that automatically so that Ditto doesn't have to waste a turn transforming. Since Ditto's HP is carried over, it will always be more frail than the Pokemon it mimics, so Ditto's role is mainly limited to revenge killing. Equipped with a Choice Scarf, Ditto can come in after a Pokemon on your team is KO'd, copy all the enemy's boosts, then retaliate first due to Choice Scarf's speed increase. Ditto's use is limited to this role and it can be played around, such as by using a Substitute, but it is a gimmick that works effectively

Articuno
Articuno is the first of the legendary birds, but its flaws make it difficult to use effectively, even against non-legendary foes. It is the most defensive of the three legendary birds, but it is stuck with the worst typing out of the three. Its type combination gives it a terrible quad resistance to Rock-type attacks, causing it to lose half of its health if it switches into Stealth Rock, not to mention weaknesses to common Fire and Steel types. Its attacking stats are also pretty poor for a legendary Pokémon, though both of its STABs actually give it a fair amount of type coverage.

In terms of movepool, Articuno has Ice Beam or Blizzard for Ice STAB and Hurricane as its most reliable Flying STAB. Unfortunately, Blizzard and Hurricane are all rather inaccurate without being boosted by hail or rain respectively. Freeze Dry is an interesting option that can surprise Water-types. Sadly, it lacks an attack that can help it deal with Steel-types, which not only resist both of its STABs but can also hit back super effectively. However, Articuno does have the interesting combination of Mind Reader and Sheer Cold. Sheer Cold always OHKOs regardless of the opponent's defenses but has horrible accuracy, while Mind Reader ensures an attack will hit on the following turn. This means that Articuno can OHKO almost any Pokémon if it gets to set up this combination, since nothing is immune to Sheer Cold other than those with the Sturdy ability. Don't expect this combo to sweep any time soon, as you always need two turns to pull it off, during which an opponent can easily knock Articuno out with a super effective attack. For status moves, Articuno has Roost to heal off damage, and Substitute, Tailwind, Toxic, Roar, Haze, Defog and Heal Bell, but its poor defensive typing means that there are many Pokémon that are better at running those attacks.

Mewtwo
Mewtwo is a Pokemon designed to be a killing machine, and it has only gotten better with the introduction of two new Mega Evolutions. Mega Mewtwo X gains a Fighting sub-type, improved defenses and and massive boost in physical Attack. Meanwhile, Mega Mewtwo Y is faster and has heavily increased Special Attack. The ability to choose between a powerful physical set and a deadly special one makes Mewtwo very unpredictable, and bringing out the wrong counter against the wrong moveset could spell disaster. Even regular Mewtwo is still a threat, able to hit harder than Mega Mewtwo Y with a Life Orb while preserving its Defense. Combined with a wide physical and special movepool, Mewtwo is easily one of the most flexible and deadly Pokemon in the game. However, as strong as it is, its defenses are still poor for a legendary, and its Psychic typing gives it some undesirable weaknesses, especially to Sucker Punch, so don't get too carried away with its power.

For a historically special-based attacker, Mewtwo learns a surprising range of physical attacks that Mega Mewtwo can make good use of. Its physical STAB moves are a bit dissapointing, as the most reliable Fighting and Psychic moves Mewtwo has are Brick Break and Zen Headbutt. However, Low Kick is actually quite effective if you're regularly taking on other legendary Pokemon, which are often heavyweight behemoths. Mewtwo also learns the Earthquake and Stone Edge combo for wide type coverage. Ice Punch is highly effective against the numerous Flying and Dragon types that rival Mewtwo's strength. It even gets Poison Jab and Iron Tail to give Fairy-types targeting its new weakness a nasty surprise.

Regular Mewtwo and Mega Mewtwo Y play very similarly, given that both are powerful special attackers with a lot of speed. Psystike is the best STAB move Mewtwo gets, dealing tons of damage and preventing special walls from freely sponging Mewtwo's attacks. Focus Blast has nice coverage with Psystrike, letting Mewtwo break through Steel and Dark types that can resist Psystrike. Shadow Ball rounds up its coverage for Ghost types and the rare Psychic type. Fire Blast is an alternative for hitting some Steel-types like Scizor and Ferrothorn harder, while Ice Beam brings down the myriad of powerful Dragon types in the game. Mewtwo can use Calm Mind to increase its power and bulk much more, and it can use Recover to keep it alive on more bulky sets. Finally, Mewtwo is one of the fastest users of Taunt there is, which can stop opposing defensive Pokemon and keep it from being afflicted with a crippling paralysis or burn.

Mew
As the first mythical Pokemon ever introduced, Mew is the series' classic jack-of-all-trades, capable of learning any TM and HM, as well as being able to learn attacks from most move tutors. This trait has caused it to amass an impressive array of attacks over the years, making Mew a very versatile Pokemon. It also has great balanced stats, with base 100 stats all across. Unfortunately, Mew has gradually found itself outclassed by more specialized Pokemon, mainly due to the power creep of each successive generation. Its Psychic typing is also pretty poor both offensively and defensively, leaving it with weaknesses to common attacks, particularly Knock Off. Nevertheless, Mew still finds use as a flexible support Pokemon, owing to its massive movepool and excellent stats.

Since Mew's movepool is so big, it can be hard to pick just four for battle. While Mew learns many attacks across multiple types, its true highlight is its range of status moves. Taunt and Will-O-Wisp are excellent support moves that disrupts defensive and offensive teams, respectively. Mew can also both set up hazards with Stealth Rock and remove them with Defog, though running both together is a bit self-defeating. Soft-Boiled lets Mew keep itself healthy so it can get more opportunities to support the team. Additionally, Mew can use Substitute to use set up moves like Rock Polish, Swords Dance or Nasty Plot safely, then Baton Pass it to another teammate. Mew often has to carry at least one attack to account for the occasional fast Taunt. Psychic and Psyshock are Mew's best STAB options, while Knock Off gives Mew further utility.