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

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

Turtwig, Grotle and Torterra

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
387	Turtwig	Grass	55	68	64	45	55	31	Overgrow / Shell Armor
388	Grotle	Grass	75	89	85	55	65	36	Overgrow / Shell Armor
389	Torterra	Grass/Ground	95	109	105	75	85	56	Overgrow / Shell Armor

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

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

Chimchar, Monferno and Infernape

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
390	Chimchar	Fire	44	58	44	58	44	61	Blaze / Iron Fist
391	Monferno	Fire/Fighting	64	78	52	78	52	81	Blaze / Iron Fist
392	Infernape	Fire/Fighting	76	104	71	104	71	108	Blaze / Iron Fist

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

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

Piplup, Prinplup and Empoleon

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
393	Piplup	Water	53	51	53	61	56	40	Torrent / Defiant
394	Prinplup	Water	64	66	68	81	76	50	Torrent / Defiant
395	Empoleon	Water/Steel	84	86	88	111	101	60	Torrent / Defiant

Starly, Staravia and Staraptor

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
396	Starly	Normal/Flying	40	55	30	30	30	60	Keen Eye / Reckless
397	Staravia	Normal/Flying	55	75	50	40	40	80	Intimidate / Reckless
398	Staraptor	Normal/Flying	85	120	70	50	60	100	Intimidate / Reckless

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

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

Bidoof and Bibarel

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
399	Bidoof	Normal	59	45	40	35	40	31	Simple / Unaware / Moody
400	Bibarel	Normal/Water	79	85	60	55	60	71	Simple / Unaware / Moody

Kricketot and Kricketune

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
401	Kricketot	Bug	37	25	41	25	41	25	Shed Skin / Run Away
402	Kricketune	Bug	77	85	51	55	51	65	Swarm / Technician

Shinx, Luxio and Luxray

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
403	Shinx	Electric	45	65	34	40	34	45	Rivalry / Intimidate / Guts
404	Luxio	Electric	60	85	49	60	49	60	Rivalry / Intimidate / Guts
405	Luxray	Electric	80	120	79	95	79	70	Rivalry / Intimidate / Guts

Cranidos and Rampardos

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
408	Cranidos	Rock	67	125	40	30	30	58	Mold Breaker / Sheer Force
409	Rampardos	Rock	97	165	60	65	50	58	Mold Breaker / Sheer Force

Shieldon and Bastiodon

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
410	Shieldon	Rock/Steel	30	42	118	42	88	30	Sturdy / Soundproof
411	Bastiodon	Rock/Steel	60	52	168	47	138	30	Sturdy / Soundproof

Burmy, Wormadam and Mothim

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
412	Burmy	Bug	40	29	45	29	45	36	Shed Skin / Overcoat
413	Wormadam (Plant)	Bug/Grass	60	59	85	79	105	36	Anticipation / Overcoat
	Wormadam (Sand)	Bug/Ground	60	79	105	59	85	36
	Wormadam (Trash)	Bug/Steel	60	69	95	69	95	36
414	Mothim	Bug/Flying	70	94	50	94	50	66	Swarm / Tinted Lens

Combee and Vespiquen

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
415	Combee	Bug/Flying	30	30	42	30	42	70	Honey Gather / Hustle
416	Vespiquen	Bug/Flying	70	80	102	80	102	40	Pressure / Unnerve

Pachirisu

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
417	Pachirisu	Electric	60	45	70	45	90	95	Run Away / Pickup / Volt Absorb

Buizel and Floatzel

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
418	Buizel	Water	55	65	35	60	30	85	Swift Swim / Water Veil
419	Floatzel	Water	85	105	55	85	50	115	Swift Swim / Water Veil

Cherubi and Cherrim

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
420	Cherubi	Grass	45	35	45	62	53	35	Chlorophyll
421	Cherrim	Grass	70	60	70	87	78	85	Flower Gift

Shellos and Gastrodon

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
422	Shellos	Water	76	48	48	57	62	34	Sticky Hold / Storm Drain / Sand Force
423	Gastrodon	Water/Ground	111	83	68	92	82	39	Sticky Hold / Storm Drain / Sand Force

Drifloon and Drifblim

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
425	Drifloon	Ghost/Flying	90	50	34	60	44	70	Aftermath / Unburden / Flare Boost
426	Drifblim	Ghost/Flying	150	80	44	90	54	80	Aftermath / Unburden / Flare Boost

Buneary and Lopunny

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
427	Buneary	Normal	55	66	44	44	56	85	Run Away / Klutz / Limber
428	Lopunny	Normal	65	76	84	54	96	105	Cute Charm / Klutz / Limber
	Mega Lopunny	Normal/Fighting	65	136	94	54	96	135	Scrappy

Glameow and Purugly

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
431	Glameow	Normal	49	55	42	42	37	85	Limber / Own Tempo / Keen Eye
432	Purugly	Normal	71	82	64	64	59	112	Thick Fat / Own Tempo / Defiant

Stunky and Skuntank

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
434	Stunky	Poison/Dark	63	63	47	41	41	74	Stench / Aftermath / Keen Eye
435	Skuntank	Poison/Dark	103	93	67	71	61	84	Stench / Aftermath / Keen Eye

Bronzor and Bronzong

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
436	Bronzor	Steel/Psychic	57	24	86	24	86	23	Levitate / Heatproof / Heavy Metal
437	Bronzong	Steel/Psychic	67	89	116	79	116	33	Levitate / Heatproof / Heavy Metal

Chatot

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
441	Chatot	Normal/Flying	76	65	45	92	42	91	Keen Eye / Tangled Feet / Big Pecks

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

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

Spiritomb

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
442	Spiritomb	Ghost/Dark	50	92	108	92	108	35	Pressure / Infiltrator

Gible, Gabite and Garchomp

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
443	Gible	Dragon/Ground	58	70	45	40	45	42	Sand Veil / Rough Skin
444	Gabite	Dragon/Ground	68	90	65	50	55	82	Sand Veil / Rough Skin
445	Garchomp	Dragon/Ground	108	130	95	80	85	102	Sand Veil / Rough Skin
	Mega Garchomp		108	170	115	120	95	92	Sand Force

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

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

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

Riolu and Lucario

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
447	Riolu	Fighting	40	70	40	35	40	60	Steadfast / Inner Focus / Prankster
448	Lucario	Fighting/Steel	70	110	70	115	70	90	Steadfast / Inner Focus / Justified
	Mega Lucario		70	145	88	140	70	112	Adaptability

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

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

Hippopotas and Hippowdon

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
449	Hippopotas	Ground	68	72	78	38	42	32	Sand Stream / Sand Force
450	Hippowdon	Ground	108	112	118	68	72	47	Sand Stream / Sand Force

Skorupi and Drapion

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
451	Skorupi	Poison/Bug	40	50	90	30	55	65	Battle Armor / Sniper / Keen Eye
452	Drapion	Poison/Dark	70	90	110	60	75	95	Battle Armor / Sniper / Keen Eye

Croagunk and Toxicroak

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
453	Croagunk	Poison/Fighting	48	61	40	61	40	50	Anticipation / Dry Skin / Poison Touch
454	Toxicroak	Poison/Fighting	83	106	65	86	65	85	Anticipation / Dry Skin / Poison Touch

Carnivine

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
455	Carnivine	Grass	74	100	72	90	72	46	Levitate

Finneon and Lumineon

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
456	Finneon	Water	49	49	56	49	61	66	Swift Swim / Storm Drain / Water Veil
457	Lumineon	Water	69	69	76	69	86	91	Swift Swim / Storm Drain / Water Veil

Snover and Abomasnow

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
459	Snover	Grass/Ice	60	62	50	62	60	40	Snow Warning / Soundproof
460	Abomasnow	Grass/Ice	90	92	75	92	85	60	Snow Warning / Soundproof
	Mega Abomasnow		90	132	105	132	105	30	Snow Warning

Rotom

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
479	Rotom	Electric/Ghost	50	50	77	95	77	91	Levitate
	Heat Rotom	Electric/Fire	50	65	107	105	107	86
	Wash Rotom	Electric/Water
	Frost Rotom	Electric/Ice
	Fan Rotom	Electric/Flying
	Mow Rotom	Electric/Grass

Uxie

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
480	Uxie	Psychic	75	75	130	75	130	95	Levitate

Mesprit

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
481	Mesprit	Psychic	80	105	105	105	105	80	Levitate

Azelf

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
482	Azelf	75	125	70	125	70	115	Levitate

Dialga

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
483	Dialga	Steel/Dragon	100	120	120	150	100	90	Pressure / Telepathy

Palkia

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
484	Palkia	Water/Dragon	90	120	100	150	120	100	Pressure / Telepathy

Heatran

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
485	Heatran	Fire/Steel	91	90	106	130	106	77	Flash Fire / Flame Body

Regigigas

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
486	Regigigas	Normal	110	160	110	80	110	100	Slow Start

Giratina

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
487	Giratina (Altered)	Ghost/Dragon	150	100	120	100	120	90	Pressure / Telepathy
	Giratina (Origin)		150	120	100	120	100	90	Levitate

Cresselia

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
488	Cresselia	Psychic	120	70	120	75	130	85	Levitate

Phione and Manaphy

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
489	Phione	Water	80	80	80	80	80	80	Hydration
490	Manaphy	Water	100	100	100	100	100	100	Hydration

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

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

Darkrai

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
491	Darkrai	Dark	70	90	90	135	90	125	Bad Dreams

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

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

Shaymin

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
492	Shaymin (Land)	Grass	100	100	100	100	100	100	Natural Cure
	Shaymin (Sky)	Grass/Flying	100	103	75	120	75	127	Serene Grace

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

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

Arceus

Dex No.	Name	Typing	Statistics						Abilities
			HP	Attack	Defense	Special Attack	Special Defense	Speed
493	Arceus	Normal	120	120	120	120	120	120	Multitype

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

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