Pokemon Focus: #492 - Shaymin

Introduction

The other Grass event legendary, Shaymin seems for the most part to play kind of like Celebi... until the Sky Forme makes its appearance. Whereas Land Forme Shaymin plays with a very balanced style that adapts to many situations, Sky Forme is an all-out sweeper capable of abusing Serene Grace to demolish teams before they have the chance to touch it. Overall, Shaymin is yet another event-legendary with a variety of options to choose from, although it is its Sky Forme that really steals the spotlight competitively.

Capture/Training

Event Pokemon, so unless an event occurs, you'll have to trade for it.

A note is to be made about Shaymin's Sky Forme, as it has specific conditions for activating, and has different moves it can learn (which can be kept in Land Forme). Sky Forme can be activated using a Key Item called the Gracidea Flower, which the Goldenrod Flower Shop girl will give you. It is only available from 8am to 5pm, and will revert back to Land Forme if frozen or put in the Box.

Shaymin in both forms is a little difficult to train, thanks to the high levels at which it learns moves, not learning its signature Seed Flare until level 100. As such, it is more of an exhibition Pokemon that should hopefully make training easier for your lower-level Pokemon.

Stats

Land Forme:
100 HP, 100 Atk, 100 Def, 100 SpA, 100 SpD, 100 Spe

Sky Forme:
100 HP, 103 Atk, 75 Def, 120 SpA, 75 SpD, 127 Spe

Two different forms, two different stat spreads. Whereas Land Forme Shaymin has the same spread as pretty much every other "fairy" event Legendary, Sky Forme is much more offensively built, with a strong Special Attack stat and the tenth highest Speed Stat of any Pokemon. It's much more frail, though, so be careful.

EV-ing this Pokemon is somewhat tricky, since once it learns Seed Flare, it won't be able to gain any more EVs, so be careful how you go about it. Since Celebi works better as a defensive Grass fairy, it might be best to just go all-out offense for Shaymin.

Abilities

This Pokemon's abilities also change with its form changes. In Land Forme, Shaymin only has access to Natural Cure. This ability works just as well on Shaymin as it does on Celebi in curing it of its status simply with a switch-out.

Upon attaining Sky Forme, Shaymin switches out Natural Cure for Serene Grace. This is where Shaymin starts to get deadly. Seed Flare's 40% chance to drop Special Defense becomes a ridiculous 80% chance. Not only that, but Shaymin also gets access to Air Slash with a 60% flinch rate. Needless to say, both are quite fearsome ways to turn the tides of a battle, and really highlight Shaymin-S's offensive qualities.

Moves

One cannot start reviewing Shaymin's offensive options without mentioning its signature move, Seed Flare. This attack is monstrous. 120 Base Power and 85% accuracy is generally considered the balancing point between massive power and workable accuracy, but what really makes the move dangerous is its secondary effect: a 40% chance of dropping the opponent's Special Defense two levels. This makes it hard to just resist a hit, as even the hardiest of special walls (read: Blissey) can fall to two of these flares after the first cuts its Special Defense in half. And that's before you factor in Sky Forme, whose Serene Grace kicks the chance of this happening to a whopping 80%! The only downside, really, is that Shaymin does not learn this move until level 100. Until then, it will have to make do with the usual assortment of special Grass toys: Energy Ball, Grass Knot, Leaf Storm, and SolarBeam (in sunlight). Due to Seed Flare's low PP, Shaymin can also use one of these moves in addition to Seed Flare. Physical Grass attacks are also something of an option, thanks to decent Attack stats: Seed Bomb is your only option here, though.

Sky Forme Shaymin gains the Flying-type and a few Special STAB moves to go with it; the move can be kept on Land Forme Shaymin, despite it not really being Flying-type. That said, the only real notable move here is Air Slash. Decent power and a 30% chance to flinch works well with both forms, but especially Sky Forme who can abuse Serene Grace for 60% flinch rates.

As for Shaymin's other moves, the best is by far Earth Power. Covering Shaymin's Fire weakness and inability to hit Steels, as well as many of Shaymin's other weaknesses, it really rounds out its coverage... and there's nothing wrong with that 20% chance of a (single-level) Special Defense drop, either. As for other moves, there is just Psychic (basically a Psychic-typed Earth Power), and Ominous Wind, for a 20% chance of a full-stat boost. And, if it works out, Hidden Power. Despite its decent physical power, it really does not get much in the way of physical attacks. Your best bet here is to make the most of Serene Grace: abuse Headbutt's and Zen Headbutt's flinch rate and Secret Power's... all sorts of secondary effects.

Quick Attack isn't much, but it might mess up someone. And there's probably nothing funnier than a Shaymin pulling off the infamous Focus Sash-Endeavor-Quick Attack combo. Snore is another joke move to be used with Rest, especially if you can successfully pull off two flinches (and at 30% flinch rate, 60% with Serene Grace, that is possible).

Leech Seed is a great move to have on a Pokemon with Shaymin's speed. In addition to being a very successful SubSeeder, it also works as a good way to cripple an opponent and/or force a switch. Worry Seed is a more situational way of messing someone up. Of course, Toxic is also available.

Aromatherapy is a great support move. It generally works better on Land Forme, with its better bulk.

GrassWhistle is an unreliable but potentially useful way to completely mess up an opponent. However, there is a catch; it only learns the move in Diamond/Pearl. Be sure to trade Shaymin over to Diamond version before teaching it this move.

Synthesis heals, and is great in sunlight. Rest works on Land Forme, where a simple switch cures Shaymin of its sleep.

Growth is Shaymin's main way of powering up. Swords Dance is the main outlet for a physical Shaymin.

Psych Up is another situationally useful move.

Safeguard protects Shaymin from status for a while.

Healing Wish allows Shaymin to give one last gift to a teammate.

Effective Movesets

1. Choice
- Seed Flare
- Air Slash
- Earth Power
- Psychic/Rest
Item: Choice Scarf/Choice Specs
Note: The first three moves are pretty much necessary, but the last is flexible. Rest should only be used on Land Forme.

2. Rest-Sweeper (Land Forme)
- Seed Flare
- Earth Power
- Leech Seed
- Rest
Item: Life Orb

3. Support (Land Forme)
- Seed Flare
- Rest
- Aromatherapy
- Leech Seed
Note: Due to Sky Forme not really being built to take hits, this set works best as Land Forme.

4. SubSeed
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Seed Flare
- Air Slash/Earth Power
Note: Air Slash is preferable for hitting Grass-types hard, but Earth Power is acceptable, particularly on Land Forme.

5. Growth
- Growth
- Seed Flare
- Earth Power
- Air Slash

6. Healing Wish
- Seed Flare
- Earth Power
- Air Slash
- Healing Wish

7. Serene Grace Abuse
- Seed Flare
- Air Slash
- Secret Power
- Ominous Wind/Earth Power

Closing Notes

Seed Flare is a powerful attack, but that's about where the distinctions between Land Forme Shaymin and Celebi stop, really. Thankfully, Sky Forme brings a whole new level of pain, thanks to its ability to cripple teams with Serene Grace-boosted moves and great offensive stats. When the Gracidea Flower blooms, do not underestimate the Pokemon of Gratitude.

Future Sight

The only notable change for Shaymin is that Growth now increases both Attack and Special Attack by 1 stage, and by 2 stages in sunlight. This will be more useful on the generally bulkier Land Forme.

Ability Review, Part 3: Early Bird - Gluttony

(Quick note: the ability comparison rankings are now numbered as follows:
0 - only ability
1 - no competition: other ability is worthless or next-to-worthless.
2 - mild competition: other ability has its rare usages
3 - moderate competition: other ability has some uses
4 - fair competition: about a 50-50 toss-up
5 - some competition: other ability is generally more useful
6 - major competition: other ability is significantly more useful
7 - serious competition: ability is worthless compared to other ability

Early Bird

Effect: Halves the number of turns Pokemon stays asleep, rounding down. This means there is a chance a Pokemon wakes up without ever wasting any turns, Rest only lasts 1 turn, and the Pokemon will never be asleep more than 3 turns.

How to use: Ideally, the way to use this is one-turn Rests. Next to HydraRest abuse, it's one of the best ways to mess with your opponents, by sleeping off your damage and status and being right back in the game after just one turn of possible Sleep Talk bad luck. However, only one Pokemon is even close to having the defensive stats for that to work, so instead, the ability's main draw is helping you against anyone who might try to Sleep you.

Users:

1: Dodrio (Run Away)
2: Ledian (Swarm)
4: Girafarig (Inner Focus), Shiftry (Chlorophyll, okay choice if sun support is not expected)
5: Xatu (Synchronize)
6: Kangaskhan (Scrappy), Houndoom (Flash Fire)

Overall: Not a horrible ability. Maybe one day, we'll get a Pokemon who can really abuse Early Bird Rest.

Effect Spore

Effect: When hit with a contact move, the Pokemon has a 10% chance of releasing spores that will poison, paralyze, or sleep the enemy.

How to use: Hope it triggers and hope it triggers a status you want.

Users:

7: Parasect (Dry Skin), Breloom (Poison Heal)

Overall: The lack of control and the low chance of triggering makes this ability near worthless as it is... not only that, but its users all have abilities that are far superior to this one.

Filter/Solid Rock

Effect: Super-effective attacks do 25% less damage. The net effect is that a x2 SE move becomes x1.5, while a x4 SE move becomes x3.

How to use: In general, it's nice to know that your Pokemon won't die as easily to a super-effective move; however, it does not make the Pokemon "no weak". While it certainly prolongs its longevity, you'd still be a fool to switch it into a super-effective attack on purpose. That said, at least if you do so by a prediction mistake, you might be spared somewhat.

Users:

1: Rhyperior (S: Lightningrod; increased competition if to be used in Doubles)

2: Camerupt (S: Magma Armor)

4: Mr. Mime (F: Soundproof; Soundproof is more useful on Baton Pass teams, but other than that it's a toss-up)

Overall: Overhyped as it was, the ability is still decent for softening those x2 blows a bit. Just remember, though: you will still die to a double-weakness.

Flame Body

Effect: Contact moves have a 30% chance of burning the opponent.

Outside Effect: Approximately halves the number of steps needed to hatch an egg (every 256 steps has twice the effect).

How to use: In many ways, this is the best of the contact moves; if a Pokemon made contact with you, it likely is a physical (or mixed) attacker, and that Attack cut is going to hurt. However, Earthquake and Stone Edge are not affected, limiting its usefulness. Trying to invite such hits can be hard, but when it is triggered, it will usually be a good thing. Oh, and do use this ability to hatch Eggs.

Users:

0: Magmortar

1: Magcargo (Magma Armor)

Overall: The best of the contact abilities, if that says anything. Oh, and it's great for hatching Eggs. Could be improved, though, namely by giving it to something that can actually take hits.

Flash Fire

Effect: When the Pokemon is hit with a Fire-type attack (including Will-o-Wisp), the Pokemon takes no damage, and powers up its own Fire attacks by 1.5x until it switches out (does not stack with additional Fire attacks). Non-Fire types can still be burned by Will-o-Wisp. The ability activates even through a Substitute. Being frozen blocks this ability until a Fire attack melts the ice.

How to use: For maximum effectiveness, draw out or predict a Fire-type attack and switch out to the Flash Fire Pokemon to get the boost.

Users:

0: Ninetales, Flareon, Heatran*

1: Rapidash (Run Away)

2: Houndoom (Early Bird)

4: Arcanine (Intimidate)

*Heatran gets special notice as, without the ability, it takes neutral damage to Fire, meaning the ability adds Fire to its list of resistances and immunities.

Overall: One of the game's great abilities, Flash Fire provides an immunity and an opportunity to wreak real havoc upon switching in.

Flower Gift

Effect: In strong sunlight, both the user and its teammate in a Double Battle get an Attack and Special Defense boost (1.5x) in strong sunlight.

How to use: Primarily in Double Battles, apparently. The description should give you an idea of how to use it.

Users:

0: Cherrim

Overall: I have no idea how to use this ability, or if it's even worth using. It's certainly the only reason to use Cherrim, and it doesn't have anything else to use for an ability, so...

Forecast

Effect: Changes the Pokemon's type according to the weather: Fire-type for sunlight, Water-type for rain, and Ice-type for hail. Notably, it currently only works for the Pokemon that naturally holds the ability.

How to use: The ability seems to be designed to maximize the damage done by Weather Ball by ensuring its STAB. (Although Blizzard is still better in Hail form.)

Users:

0: Castform

Overall: Another gimmick ability that's hard to judge its overall usefulness. It makes Castform interesting, for sure... now if only Castform had better stats.

Forewarn

Effect: Notifies the user of one of the moves of the opponents' with the highest Base Power, not counting STAB, and including certain moves like Counter that don't come with Base Power on their own.

How to use: If it brings up useful info, good for you!

Users:

1: Jynx (Oblivious, which is useless)

6: Hypno (Insomnia, which is far better)

Overall: With some fixes, it might be more useful, but most of the time it tells you what you already know, or doesn't tell you what you need to know. But hey, it's better than Oblivious, at least...

Frisk

Effect: Checks and reveals the opponent's held item.

How to use: In addition to potentially revealing info about an opponent, this has most of its use off the field, where it can be used to check at a glance whether a Pokemon has an item to take.

Users:

5: Banette (Insomnia)

6: Stantler (Intimidate)

Overall: Could be useful on Pokemon with more useless alternate abilities... as it is, its users have better abilities to be taking advantage of. Still, keep at least one Frisker around to check for items on wild Pokemon.

Gluttony

Effect: Consumes a "pinch" berry at 50% health instead of at 25% health.

How to use: Ah, how to use an ability with this kind of weird effect, you may ask? Well, here's a recipe for success:

Belly Drum to get to 50% health instantly -> Ability activates a Salac berry -> Sweep

Watch out for this one.

Users:

1: Linoone (Pickup)

2: Shuckle (Sturdy, only in-game)

Infamous users: Linoone - Linoone can Belly Drum and instantly activate a Salac berry to sweep. Think priority will stop it? A certain Zigzagoon from the Pokemon Box carries ExtremeSpeed to deal with that...

Overall: What seems like a strange and useless ability is what ended up turning Linoone into a surprisingly dangerous Pokemon. Go figure.

Pokemon Focus: #135 - Jolteon

Introduction

In this column, we cover the first of the Eevee evolutions. Eevee's evolutions have long been popular in some form or another, and Jolteon is among the most popular. Its biggest asset is a massive Speed stat; base 130 Speed will outrun almost any Pokemon, tie with several others, and can even outpace some Pokemon who have boosted their Speed. Add in a strong Special Attack stat and the excellent Volt Absorb ability, and throw in the ability to Baton Pass stuff, and you have a Pokemon with a very useful niche on many teams.

It's biggest problem is that training it in-game is a pain, especially now as it hardly learns anything in the way of special attacks. Get a Thunderbolt TM from somewhere pronto to maximize its effectiveness.

Capture/Training

Eevee. It's practically handed to you as a gift, so take it.

Jolteon's key move, Baton Pass, is learned at Level 36. Evolve it with a Thunderstone then, and prepare to teach it some good Electric moves, as I doubt you'd want to wait until Discharge at Level 78 to have one...

Stats

65 HP, 65 Atk, 60 Def, 110 SpA, 95 SpD, 130 Spe

You'll see this come up again. With any Eeveelution, one stat will get a strong 130 base stat, one will get a nice 110, one will get a decent 95, two will get 65, and one will get 60. Any Eeveelution will likely be judged on which stats get the powerful stats, so keep that in mind.

With that in mind, Jolteon's forte is clearly Speed. Jolteon is tied for the sixth-fastest Pokemon out there, being outsped only by three Deoxys forms, Ninjask, and Electrode, and tying speed with Aerodactyl, Crobat, and Mewtwo. Its Speed is high enough to even outrun many Pokemon after they raise their own Speed a level or two. Not only that, but it also has the Special Attack to seriously wound opponents with its moves. Essentially, Jolteon hits fast, and it can hit hard. And if that weren't enough, it also has the ability to sneak into battle, throw up a Substitute, then Baton Pass out before the opponent can even touch it, at which point a teammate essentially got in for free... and if you switch well, that Sub, weak as it might be, might still be intact after your opponent's attack... which gives you a free turn to set up. This is Jolteon's most infamous role, and it is extremely difficult to stop.

Abilities

Volt Absorb is your only choice. In many ways, it's a great choice. Jolteon needs a good way to sneak into a battle, and Volt Absorb provides a handy immunity with which, if a teammate can draw the Electric attack, it can switch in and start wreaking havoc. The extra healing helps, too, especially with a Pokemon as frail as it is that likely needs as much health as it can get back to make Substitutes with.

Moves

Jolteon possesses one of the fastest and hardest-hitting Thunderbolts in the game. It is Jolteon's primary attack, plain and simple. The only reason you would ever use something else is if you want the paralysis chance of Discharge or are running a Rain team and thus using Thunder.

Jolteon doesn't have much in the way of secondary attacks, either: it gets Shadow Ball, Signal Beam, and if you can manage a good one, Hidden Power. And that's it, really. I mean, you could play with Hyper Beam in-game, where a KO with Shift rules allows you to switch out, or a single-use base-200-power Trump Card...

Jolteon has one other attack option, Charge Beam. While it's not bad at all for increasing Jolteon's Special Attack to ridiculous levels, it's even better as a Baton Pass move to power up special sweepers.

Speaking of cards, Jolteon's true ace in the hole is Baton Pass. It might not have much to pass, but it really needs to pass little more than Substitutes. Fast Sub-Passing will be covered in-depth later. It can also pass the aforementioned Charge Beams, and Agility boosts. In general, it can scout-pass, (called dry-passing), scouting the opposing team for a switch-in and sending in an appropriate counter.

(At this point, I should mention that since Eevee itself gets Baton Pass, so does every one of its evolutions, and is oftentimes a key component in any Eeveelution.)

Jolteon can learn Thunder Wave to paralyze enemies. Jolteon himself might not need the Speed drop, but his teammates certainly might.

Roar is an option on Jolteon, albeit somewhat of an unappealing one due to being unreplenishable as a TM and pretty much negating its high Speed. Its main use would be to Roar away an opponent before they Roar your Subs and stat boosts out, or to screw up a Ninjask (one of the few Pokemon definitively faster than Jolteon in base speed).

Light Screen is situational, but can help against special attackers in keeping your Sub intact once it is passed.

Jolteon fits pretty well on Rain Dance teams thanks to an Electric immunity and access to Thunder. It can also start its own Rain Dance if you so choose.

A couple of options are available to all Eeveelutions, involving one Move Tutor move and several Egg Moves. (Hint: use Smeargle to breed Egg Moves onto Eevee more easily.) Wish is a good way to support the team (Jolteon is a bit frail to be using it himself). Charm, Tickle, Yawn, and Fake Tears all generally do the same thing: force the opponent to switch. Tickle is a bit less useful for Jolteon; as for the other three, if the opponent decides to stay in, Charm lowers Attack and allows Jolteon to take hits a little better, Yawn can put the opponent to sleep, and Fake Tears allows you to hit your opponent harder. Heal Bell is another team support option.

Effective Movesets

1. Standard SubPasser
- Substitute
- Baton Pass
- Thunderbolt/Charge Beam
- Shadow Ball/Charge Beam
Note: Here's the theory behind SubPassing. You switch Jolteon in on an Electric attack. While it switches to something that can hurt you, you Sub. Next turn, you Pass out, preferably to something that resists whatever attack you think is coming your way. (For example, pass it to a Gyarados or Salamence, who dodge incoming Ground attacks.) Then, behind that sub, that Pokemon can set up safely and start dismantling the opposing team.
This strategy works well against human players; however, keep in mind that many computer players don't switch and will simply keep going with their current Pokemon. (Also, many computer players don't use Choice items that would force them to switch.) When using against a CPU trainer, you will have to judge whether your opponent's "backup attack" can break your Sub. If it can, you might be better off just striking with Thunderbolt/Shadow Ball. Or, you might predict a status attack... in which case, sub away. Careful planning should allow you to pull off a successful SubPass even against CPU foes.
Charge Beam is available if you want to pass some Special Attack boosts before you pass on.

2. Choice Specs
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Signal Beam
- Baton Pass
Item: Choice Specs
Note: This Jolteon is obviously more offensive, and with base 130 Speed and base 110 Special Attack, it can be quite a fearsome threat. Or, at least, if you don't think so, Baton Pass out to scout.

3. Charge Beam Sweeper/Passer
- Charge Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Baton Pass/Signal Beam
Item: Life Orb
Note: Once you get the Charge Beam boost, this set can sweep nicely. Baton Pass allows you to throw those boosts to a teammate if you so choose.

4. Pure Baton Pass
- Baton Pass
- Charge Beam
- Agility
- Substitute
Note: This Jolteon is designed to fit on dedicated Baton Pass teams. Its goal is to simply pass as much as possible; as such, it won't pose an offensive threat on its own.

5. AgilityPass
- Baton Pass
- Agility
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball/Substitute
Note: Some sites say Zapdos does it better. Zapdos only gets Baton Pass from XD, which I have no access to at the moment. At any rate, Jolteon functions fine as an Agility-passer, and if you don't care about the whole "outclassing" thing, then here it is. Unlike other Jolteon, this one doesn't really need that much Speed, since Agility takes care of that, although Speed is still an option.

6. Wish Jolteon
- Thunderbolt/Discharge
- Wish
- Substitute
- Baton Pass
Note: This Jolteon is team support. As such, Discharge is an option for the higher paralysis chance.

7. Switch-Forcing SubPassing
- Charm/Yawn/Fake Tears
- Thunderbolt
- Substitute
- Baton Pass
Note: You can force a switch against human foes with your choice of the first three moves. Charm works well in-game, due to it reducing opponent attack power and increasing the chances that your Sub stays intact. Yawn is to be used strategically; in-game the opponent likely won't switch, so you may want to wait until after the opponent falls asleep before throwing up the Sub. Fake Tears offers a pseudo-offensive route: if the opponent doesn't switch, they're going to be facing some nasty Thunderbolts. Since the first three moves are not readily interchangeable, this set is really three different sets with a common goal.

8. Offensive Fake Tears
- Fake Tears
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Signal Beam
Note: This is best as an in-game team, to prey on opponents who don't switch out much. After a Fake Tears, your other attacks will hit hard. Against human foes, it will force switches, and is best when paired with a Pokemon that can abuse entry hazards.

9. Status
- Thunder Wave/Discharge
- Thunderbolt/Shadow Ball
- Yawn
- Shadow Ball/Signal Beam/Heal Bell
Note: Thunder Wave and Thunderbolt allows for more reliable paralysis and a more powerful primary attack, while Discharge combines the two to open up a moveslot for further options. This is the best moveset I can fit Heal Bell on; the set is mostly team support anyways, and Heal Bell can relieve Jolteon if it accidentally paralyzed a Synchronize Pokemon. Baton Pass is another option that can be thrown on there if Jolteon accidentally paralyzed the wrong Pokemon.

10. Rain Dance
- Rain Dance
- Thunder
- Shadow Ball
- Signal Beam
Note: Really, though, the last two slots are filler. They can be replaced by elements of any previous Jolteon set, such as Substitute/Baton Pass.

Overview

Despite a sparse movepool, Jolteon functions well as a team supporter and a fast offensive threat. Used well, it can definitely secure the victory for you.

Postscript: SubPassing in Action

Here's an example of how SubPassing might work.
- You have a Gyarados out. Opponent has a Magnezone out.
- Magnezone trys to slay Gyarados with a Thunderbolt. You switch out to Jolteon first. Jolteon absorbs the Thunderbolt.
- Magnezone has a Choice item, and thus is in no position to harm Jolteon, so it switches out to a Gliscor. During the switch, Jolteon throws up a Substitute.
- Jolteon Baton Passes back to Gyarados. Gliscor, thinking Jolteon will stay in, tries hitting it with an Earthquake, which Gyarados obviously dodges.
- Gliscor hits Gyarados with a Stone Edge to break the Sub, but it's too late: Gyarados got in a Dragon Dance safely, and now nothing is going to be in its way...

Here's an in-game example:
- You have a Gyarados out. Opponent has an Electrode out.
- Gyarados is switched for Jolteon, who absorbs the Electrode's Thunderbolt.
- Jolteon has been EV-trained, so it's faster than the Electrode. Having some knowledge of the Electrode's moveset, it knows the Electrode will either hit it with a weak attack or a status move, so it Subs. Electrode uses Screech... nope, that won't work.
- Jolteon passes back to Gyarados. Electrode tries a Rollout. No matter how super-effective the move is, it just isn't that powerful, and the Sub stays.
- Gyarados Dragon Dances. Game over.

Gyarados is a great example of a classic Jolteon teammate. Not only is Gyarados a veritable lightning rod for opponents' Electric attacks, but it also dodges the Ground-type attacks likely to be launched at Jolteon after it goes in. In general, any Pokemon that has a set-up move, or can resist/is immune to a Ground attack can pair up with Jolteon. Here are some examples of Pokemon to pair with Jolteon:

Salamence: Avoids Ground attacks. Can use the Sub to Dragon Dance.
Gengar: Avoids Ground attacks. Already likes Subs behind which to attack from.
Azelf: Avoids Ground attacks. Can use Sub to Nasty Plot.
Metagross: Resists many non-Ground/Fire attacks. Can use Sub to use Agility.
Infernape: Uses Sub to Nasty Plot.
Lucario: Uses Sub to Swords Dance.
Vaporeon: Draws Electric attacks. Can Baton Pass between each other.
Breloom: Resists Ground attacks, draws Flying attacks which Jolteon resists. Hides behind Sub to Focus Punch.
Latias: Avoids Ground attacks. Can Calm Mind behind Sub.
Aerodactyl: Draws Electric attacks, avoids Ground attacks.
Skarmory: Draws Electric attacks, avoids Ground attacks. Uses Spikes to take advantage of opponents switching around a lot.
Snorlax: Good defenses allow it to survive Ground attacks. Can Curse behind Sub.
Kingdra: Can Rain Dance or Dragon Dance behind Sub.
Ludicolo: Resists Ground attacks. Can use Rain Dance behind Sub.
Heracross: Resists Ground attacks, draws Flying attacks which Jolteon resists.

This is just a start. Jolteon has many potential partners in the game of SubPassing.

Pokemon Focus: #230 - Kingdra

Introduction

Kingdra. Its name implies it is the king of dragons... quite a lofty title to live up to. And unfortunately, for the first two generations for which it was out, it could not, what with Dragonbreath being the most powerful Dragon attack it had.

D/P changed this, giving Kingdra access to Dragon Pulse and Draco Meteor as well as giving it a physical Waterfall to play around with if it wanted to Dragon Dance. Platinum sealed the deal by giving it Outrage on top of all that. The end result is that Kingdra is quite threatening; while its actual movepool isn't particularly huge, it is very focused and allows for quite a few combinations for the King of Dragons to run.

This is, of course, on top of what Kingdra was already famous for: having a typing that only had a weakness to Dragon (which most users of are going to be weak to Kingdra's own such moves anyways), as well as the fun fact that no Pokemon not named Empoleon or Shedinja will resist the Water+Dragon combo. All this makes Kingdra extremely difficult to counter. Not bad for the Pokemon who can create maelstroms by yawning, eh?

Capture/Training

Surf around Whirl Islands or Seafoam Islands for them.

Horsea evolves into Seadra at Level 32. Horsea learns Dragon Pulse at Level 42. Seadra learns it at Level 57. That is a 10-level delay to avoid having to learn a move 15 levels later, or, in other words, a good idea. No difference in Kingdra's learn levels, so once you're ready, just trade with the Dragon Scale and claim your Kingdra.

Stats

75 HP, 95 Atk, 95 Def, 95 SpA, 95 SpD, 85 Spd

Very average stats across the board, but no particularly weak stat. That means there are numerous ways to make the most out of those stats, giving Kingdra a fair amount of versatility in what role it plays. It also makes it that much more difficult to attempt to prey on Kingdra's weaknesses (especially considering how few it has type-wise as it is).

Abilities

Swift Swim is the most notable ability here. In rain, the move grants an instant doubling of speed, making Kingdra extremely fast and thus extremely difficult to stop.

If Rain support is not expected, Sniper is an okay option. A 3x-powered critical, as any Fire Emblem player can attest to, is not something to laugh at. For best results, combine with Focus Energy.

Moves

Kingdra's moveset is small, but focused. It might not have a lot, but arguably it has everything it needs to do its job.

Offensively, it gets a lot of mileage out of its dual-STAB. Water and Dragon are a combination currently resisted only by Empoleon and Shedinja, meaning Kingdra can pretty much always get in a strong neutral hit on anyone. The first thing that the new generation did to Kingdra was open up its physical movepool a bit with Waterfall, a great consistent physical Water attack with an added flinch rate that works well in Rain with both the Water boost and Swift Swim's speed boost. This is all well and good, but then Platinum came along and gave it Outrage for a Dragon-type Physical complement. Despite the locking side-effect, it's extremely destructive, and after a Dragon Dance, it's nearly unstoppable.

On the special side, Kingdra has a few more options, reflecting the choice between power and reliability. For power, go with Hydro Pump and Draco Meteor. For reliability, go with Surf and Dragon Pulse. You can also mix and match, or even use both of one type on one set. Muddy Water is a novelty option.

Kingdra is extremely limited in its other attacking options, though arguably it doesn't need them, with Water and Dragon giving such good coverage as it is. Moves like Ice Beam, Signal Beam, and Hidden Power, nice as they are, are really more afterthoughts than anything.

Kingdra has a small but dedicated support moveset. The first move to mention right off the top is Rain Dance, which synergizes well with Swift Swim. In rain, Kingdra is a nearly unstoppable sweeper capable of destroying teams before they have a chance to even touch it. And while it can certainly rely on its teammates to set up rain, it is no slouch at setting it up itself.

Dragon Dance is Kingdra's other way of powering itself up. It can also raise its Speed to ridiculously high levels, and kick up its Attack power in the process. Dragon Dance + Outrage is a combo used often by many Dragons, and Kingdra is certainly no exception.

Yawn will cause whirlpools to form, trapping your opponent for 2-5 turns while inflicting 1/16th-HP damage for each of those turns... oh wait, never mind. It just makes the opponent fall asleep next turn, either incapacitating it or forcing a switch.

Kingdra is a great user of Substitute. It can also make use of Rest-Sleep Talk strategies. (Chain-breed Sleep Talk through a Ground+Water 1 Pokemon such as Psyduck or Wooper who learned it through Smeargle.) The nice thing about Sleep Talk is that if Outrage is chosen, Kingdra won't be locked into the move.

Focus Energy works on a novelty Sniper set, giving the dragon a 25% chance of a "Fire Emblem critical", much like giving a Swordmaster a Killing Edge in that game, and probably just as deadly.

And that's really it for Kingdra's movepool. Again, it really isn't much on its own, but it combines well, as you'll see...

Effective Movesets

Note: Except where noted, Surf can be interchanged with Hydro Pump (or Muddy Water), and Dragon Pulse and Draco Meteor are interchangeable.

1. Mixed Rain Dancer
- Rain Dance
- Waterfall
- Surf
- Draco Meteor
Ability: Swift Swim
Notes: A potentially extremely destructive set. In addition to "traditional" items, Damp Rock is an option if the rest of the team is also based around Rain Dance.

2. Physical Dragon Dancer
- Waterfall
- Outrage
- Substitute/Yawn
- Dragon Dance

3. Mixed Dragon Dancer
- Waterfall
- Outrage
- Surf/Dragon Pulse
- Dragon Dance

4. Twin Dancer
- Dragon Dance
- Rain Dance
- Waterfall
- Outrage
Ability: Swift Swim

5. Special Rain Dancer
- Rain Dance
- Surf
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam/Signal Beam/Yawn
Ability: Swift Swim

6. Rest-Talk Dragon Dancer
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Note: As a bonus, if selected during Sleep Talk, Outrage will not lock Kingdra into the move.

7. Physical Sniper
- Focus Energy
- Waterfall
- Outrage
- Substitute/Yawn/Draco Meteor
Item: Scope Lens
Ability: Sniper
Note: Scope Lens + Focus Energy makes the critical hit rate 33%, which is quite good when going for those 3x hits.

8. Special Sniper
- Focus Energy
- Surf
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Pulse/Substitute/Yawn
Item: Scope Lens
Ability: Sniper

9. Mixed Sniper
- Focus Energy
- Surf
- Waterfall
- Draco Meteor
Item: Scope Lens
Ability: Sniper

Closing Remarks
Kingdra has really evolved, so to speak, throughout the last generation into a dangerous threat. As it is, it is a Pokemon who, despite having limited moves, can hit hard from either side of the physical/special spectrum, with a type coverage unresisted by most Pokemon, while at the same time being of a great defensive type that carries few weaknesses. In rain, it becomes a monstrous beast that hits hard and fast and is near impossible to counter.

Pokemon Focus: #479 - Rotom

Introduction

Ah, Rotom. What started out as a strange little Electric/Ghost-type that didn't fear Ground-types thanks to Levitate became a truly threatening force thanks to the presence of alternate forms that give it a stat boost and five possible powerful secondary attacks. Its versatility allows it to fulfill all sorts of roles, and it can also be fun to use for playing mind-games with opponents.

Capture/Training

Rotom has to be traded over from Diamond/Pearl/Platinum. Once done so, take it over to Silph Co. where you can access a secret room for form-changing.

Rotom is not a Legendary Pokemon, and can be bred with Ditto.

Stats

Base:
50 HP, 50 Atk, 77 Def, 95 SpA, 77 SpD, 91 Spd

Alternate:
50 HP, 65 Atk, 107 Def, 105 SpA, 107 SpD, 86 Spd

The base form doesn't have particularly special stats to take advantage of. The Alternates, though, have solid defenses as well as solid Special Attack, making them great on both defensive and offensive fronts. The slight drop in Speed is, really, almost negligible.

As far as EV-training goes, defensive sets will gain much mileage out of HP EVs, as they go well with Rotom-A's solid defenses. Offensive sets will be more likely to just go all-out Special Attack and Speed.

Abilities

Rotom has the distinction of being the only Electric-type with Levitate. In fact, it's probably simpler to say that Rotom is a Levitating Ghost with Electric-type resistances. All-in-all, you have a Pokemon that is immune to Normal, Fighting, and Ground moves while resisting Electric, Flying, Bug, and Steel. Just watch out for Gravity.

Moves

Rotom's core attacks are its Electric and Ghost moves. On the Electric side, you have the basic quadruplet: Thunderbolt for one of the best moves in the game, Discharge if you'd rather have a higher chance of paralysis, Thunder if Rain is active, and Charge Beam, which can fit on certain sets well thanks to Rotom's good defenses. Rotom then gets Shadow Ball to compliment those moves with a good, consistent Ghost attack, or it can use Ominous Wind for that chance at the stat boost.

However, Rotom's true trump card is its access to additional powerful secondary attacks, thanks to its alternate forms. Keep in mind only one of the following five attacks can be active at one time.

Cut Forme (Rotom-C) gets Leaf Storm, which gives Rotom a powerful attack to obliterate Ground-types with, especially the Water-based types that resist its other forms' moves. Freeze Forme (Rotom-F) gets Blizzard; though inaccurate, it gives Rotom something resembling the infamous BoltBeam combination (which no Pokemon not named Magnezone, Shedinja, or Lanturn resists, and the latter two don't resist Shadow Ball), and works well on a Hail team, where the move has perfect accuracy. Heat Rotom (Rotom-H) gets Overheat, which comes with one of the best special attack types in the game, destroying everything from Ice-types to those pesky Steel-types. Spin Rotom (Rotom-S) gets Air Slash, arguably the worst of the special moves, although that 30% flinch rate could be useful on an annoyer set thanks to access to paralysis and confusion-inducing moves. Finally, Wash Rotom (Rotom-W) gets Hydro Pump, which really turns Rotom into a wild-card that can punish Ground-types as well as get in a nice neutral hit on many Pokemon; in fact, with the move, combined with its Electric and Ghost moves, only Dialga and the Grass/Dark types resist all its moves. Just watch out for the times it misses.

All these moves are much fun to play with, but they aren't absolutely required on their respective forms. In fact, one fun thing to try if facing a human opponent familiar with these Rotom forms is to use a certain form without using its associated move, trying to bluff your way past an opponent. After all, even if your Rotom-C doesn't actually have Leaf Storm, your opponent doesn't know that, and he still probably won't leave his Swampert in on it.

Other than these moves, though, Rotom only has one other non-Hidden Power secondary attack: Signal Beam, which overall isn't that useful. Hidden Power is an option, though.

Rotom's other trump card is the wide variety of ways it can cripple its opponents. Want to paralyze a fast foe without having to rely on Discharge? Thunder Wave has you covered. Want to compound that with confusion? Confuse Ray away. Want to burn a dangerous physical threat? Will-o-Wisp will be right up your alley. Want to Toxic an opponent? ...Well, okay, any Pokemon can do that, but still. Want to steal your opponent's item and give them some painful Choice item in return? You're in luck, because all Rotom needs is a Heart Scale to learn Trick. Want to heal Rotom while putting the hurt on high-HP opponents? Rotom can learn Pain Split thanks to the HG/SS Move Tutors, and is Rotom's best way to heal.

Rotom also gets the distinction of being one of the few Pokemon to learn Substitute on its own, and it can certainly make good use of it.

Aside from the usual goods, Rotom can also use Reflect and Light Screen. It can also provide Sunny Day and Rain Dance support, the former of which could be interesting with the Heat form and the latter of which works particularly well with the Wash form.

Effective Movesets

Note: On all sets with Thunderbolt, the move can be replaced with Discharge.

1. All-Purpose Rotom
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Leaf Storm/Blizzard/Overheat/Air Slash/Hydro Pump
- Will-o-Wisp/Reflect
Note: Want a Rotom that can adapt to any situation by changing forms readily? Here it is. The last attack can easily be replaced by a number of other possible support moves, so just choose one listed in the above analysis.

2. All-Purpose Choice
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- (Forme Attack)
- Will-o-Wisp/Trick (Battle Frontier only)
Item: Choice Specs/Choice Scarf
Note: This Rotom is notably more offensive. Trick is only to be used in the Battle Frontier. If you absolutely cannot do anything to an opponent, Will-o-Wisp for the burn and switch out.

3. SubCharge
- Substitute
- Charge Beam
- Shadow Ball/Ominous Wind
- Thunderbolt/(Forme Attack)/Will-o-Wisp

4. Status
- Discharge
- Will-o-Wisp/Toxic
- Toxic/(Forme Attack)
- Shadow Ball/Confuse Ray/Pain Split

5. Defensive Substitute
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball/Ominous Wind
- Will-o-Wisp

6. Annoyer (Spin)
- Discharge/Thunder Wave
- Confuse Ray
- Air Slash
- Shadow Ball
Note: Paralysis+confusion+flinch = parafuseflinch = opponent only has a 26% chance of attacking. Brutal. Spin Rotom is the worst of the Rotom forms, so it's nice that it has access to this kind of moveset that allows it to have something to have fun with.

7. Dual Screens
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Discharge/Shadow Ball
- (Forme Attack)/Shadow Ball/Discharge
Item: Light Clay

8. Washing in the Rain (Wash)
- Rain Dance
- Thunder
- Hydro Pump
- Shadow Ball
Item: Damp Rock
Note: With solid defenses and great attacking type coverage, Rotom-W makes a great Rain Dance supporter.

9. Cooking in the Sun (Heat)
- Sunny Day
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
Item: Heat Rock
Note: Sunny Day, Overheat something, then switch to another Pokemon to keep the heat on. Could be fun.

Closing Notes

Rotom is such a fun Pokemon to play around with. Have fun with its alternate forms, for sure, whether you're using those alternate attacks to smack various foes around, or you're just using the forms to try to bluff your way past suspicious human foes.

Future Sight

Oh goodness. A major change has occurred to the way Rotom works with its alternate forms: said alternate forms now replace its Ghost-type! (It makes sense; when Rotom is possessing an appliance, it's not like the appliance suddenly becomes intangible...) This has both good and bad points for each form, so let's go over each.

Heat Forme is now a Fire-Electric type, which means it's 4x weak to Ground... or would be if it didn't have Levitate. (Which means Heat Forme Rotom is now the new winner of the Pokemon Who Loves Levitate The Most Award.) That said, be careful with Water-types, who can now hit you as hard as you hit them... Also, this Rotom form is Stealth Rock-weak, so be careful of that. Still, it has potential. Interestingly enough, this Rotom form resists BoltBeam, although since many BoltBeam users carry Water attacks...

Mow Forme is a Grass-Electric type; alas, not the Christmas Tree Pokemon we wanted, but not bad. It resists both Water and Electric, a combination seen on many Pokemon.

Frost Forme is an Ice-Electric type, which means it is the first Pokemon to get STAB on Boltbeam... except it has to use Blizzard instead of Ice Beam, so it's more of a BoltBlizzard. This Rotom form is as effective as ever in hail (moreso with it not affected by Hail itself), but it's not too effective outside of Hail. Also, it's Ice-typing gives it a fair amount of weaknesses, although at least Steel isn't one of them... and at least it resists BoltBeam.

Spin Forme was trolled. Flying-Electric type is great, except... it's a Flying-type... with Levitate. What.

Of all the changed forms, the form to arguably have gotten the best end of this change is the Wash Forme. Wash Forme Rotom now officially joins Lanturn in the unique group of Water-Electric types. However, instead of an Electric immunity, it now has a Ground immunity... which means it's only weak to Grass. And while it is neutral to Electric, it still resists a large number of common types, namely Fire, Water, Ice, and a 4x Steel-resist.

Overall, losing its Ghost-type means it can no longer block Rapid Spin and is no longer immune to Fighting-types. On the flip side, it is now no longer Pursuit-weak. Overall, the changes go multiple ways, but one thing's for sure: Rotom has completely changed in the way it is played.

Voltorb Flip: Row Permutations

0 Extra Points Left: Row is cleared. All remaining cards are 1s or Voltorbs.

1 Extra Point: One 2 is left in the row. No cards can be 3s. Rows where only 1 extra point is left are called 2-rows.
- 2P, 4V: One 2 is in the row; rest are Voltorbs. If a card is part of a null row, it is a Voltorb. Also applies if V is one less than the number of remaining cards (3P, 3V, and one card revealed to be a 1).

2 Extra Points: Either one 3 is left, or two 2s are left.
- If only two active cards are left in the row, and one of those cards is in a 2-row, the other card cannot be a Voltorb. Either that card will have a 3 (which will clear the row), or both cards have 2s.
- 3P, 4V: One 3 is in the row. Cards part of null rows or 2 rows must be Voltorbs. Also applies if V = RC - 1. Called 3-rows.

3 Extra Points: Either one 3 and one 2 are left, or three 2s are left.
- If only 2 active cards are left, both are safe and can be opened. One will be a 3, the other a 2.
- If 3 active cards are left, and two are in 2-rows, the third is safe. If it is a 3, one of the other cards is a 2; if it is a 2, both other cards are 2s.

4 Extra Points: Either two 3s are left, one 3 and two 2s are left, or four 2s are left.
- If only 2 active cards are left, both must be 3s.
- If 3 active cards are left, and two of them are in 2 rows, all three cards are safe.
- 6P, 3V: Two 3s in the row. Cards part of null or 2 rows must be Voltorbs. Similar situations can apply depending on revealed cards (7P, 2V with a 1 revealed). Also called 3-rows.

5 Extra Points: Either two 3s and a 2 are left, or one 3 and three 2s are left. If only 3 cards are left, all three are safe.

6 Extra Points: Either three 3s are left, or two 3s and two 2s are left.
- 9P, 2V: 3-row.

7 Extra Points: Three 3s and one 2 are left.

8 Extra Points: Four 3s are left; only of concern if the non-3 card is a Voltorb, so it is a 3-row.

Pokemon Focus: #407 - Roserade

Introduction

Because a rose by any other name could quite possibly fight completely differently.

Roserade was a much-needed evolution to Roselia. With much-improved stats and an expansive movepool, Roserade can wreak havoc in many different ways.

Capture/Training

There are a couple ways to get either a Budew or a Roselia.

Budew is fairly easy to get: use the Sinnoh Sound in Ilex Forest or Viridian Forest. Budew evolves by happiness during daylight hours, and due to its inability to learn significant moves on its own, it is recommended to do so as quickly as possible.

Roselia can be caught at the Safari Zone, if 25 forest blocks are used in the Marshland and 20 days are waited out.

Either way, Roselia evolves into Roserade when a Shiny Stone is used. Roserade cannot learn new attacks, so make sure any important attacks like Toxic Spikes (Lv. 28) or Aromatherapy (Lv. 43) are learned first.

Stats

60 HP, 70 Atk, 55 Def, 125 Sp. Atk, 105 Sp. Def, 90 Spd

Great Special Attack, good Special Defense, decent Speed.

Abilities

Poison Point is okay, but it pales in comparison to Natural Cure, which cures Roserade of status simply by switching. A hugely-handy ability to have.

Moves

Special attacking is the name of Roserade's game. Energy Ball, Grass Knot, and Leaf Storm represents the core of Roserade's Grass offensive, whether it be reliable damage, situationally-powerful damage, or lunacy-inducing single-strike power. Solarbeam can be used on a Sunny Day set. Roserade also gets Sludge Bomb for Poison STAB.

Check out Shadow Ball and Extrasensory (egg move on Budew) for additional Special Attacks. Weather Ball can be used to great effect on a weather-based set. Hidden Power might work out, too.

Toxic Spikes is a fun move to play around with, and can really make it hard for some Pokemon to switch in. Roserade also has access to regular Spikes as an egg move. Beware, as Spikes cannot co-exist with some of Roserade's other Egg Moves, like Sleep Powder and Leaf Storm.

Sleep Powder is great for shutting down a Pokemon, but if breeding limitations prevent you from having the move, GrassWhistle is okay as a substitute. Roserade can also throw out Stun Spore to paralyze foes. Toxic is a more direct way to inflict poison damage, and Leech Seed rounds out the package.

Aromatherapy cures your own team of status, which can be extremely helpful.

Synthesis is a good way to heal HP. If inclimate weather is getting in your way, though, you can consider using Rest, then switching out to let Natural Cure wake it up.

Substitute works well with Leech Seed for the infamous SubSeeding strategy.

Roserade can offer Sunny Day and Rain Dance support. The former goes well with Synthesis and Solarbeam, while both also work well with Weather Ball.

Roserade can use Growth for a SpA boost. It can also Swords Dance, if you want a novelty physical attacking set.

Effective Movesets

1. Toxic Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Sleep Powder
- Leaf Storm/Grass Knot/Energy Ball
- Shadow Ball/Weather Ball

2. Spikes
- Spikes
- Energy Ball/Grass Knot
- Shadow Ball/Weather Ball
- Stun Spore/Synthesis/Rest
Note: This Roserade is to be played more defensively, if possible.

3. Choice
- Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Shadow Ball/Weather Ball
- Sleep Powder
Item: Choice Specs/Choice Scarf
Note: Try having a Speed-boosting nature with Specs, and a SpA boosting nature for Scarf. Use Sleep Powder and switch if you absolutely cannot hurt something.

4. SubSeed
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Sludge Bomb
- Spikes
Note: Sludge Bomb is great here for hitting Grass-types immune to Leech Seed. Spikes punish foes trying to switch out of Leech Seed.

5. Sunny Day Support
- Sunny Day
- Solarbeam
- Weather Ball
- Synthesis
Item: Heat Rock
Note: This variation plays more defensively than the Lead variant below.

6. Sunny Day Lead
- Sunny Day
- Solarbeam
- Weather Ball
- Sleep Powder
Item: Heat Rock
Note: This set works best as a lead. Separate from the above because Sleep Powder cannot be re-taught once forgotten, so the two sets are not interchangeable.

7. Rain Dance
- Rain Dance
- Energy Ball/Grass Knot/Leaf Storm
- Weather Ball
- Sleep Powder
Item: Damp Rock

8. Aromatherapy Support
- Aromatherapy
- Leaf Storm
- Sleep Powder
- Rest
Note: The strategy here is a bit unusual. Put a Pokemon to Sleep, use Aromatherapy, hit someone hard with Leaf Storm, Rest off any damage taken, then switch to cure sleep.

9. Toxic Spikes Variant
- Toxic Spikes
- Energy Ball/Grass Knot/Leaf Storm
- Extrasensory
- Synthesis/GrassWhistle
Note: The key here is to hit any Poison-types trying to switch in to absorb Toxic Spikes with a super-effective Extrasensory. As this set is more defensive, Energy Ball and Synthesis are preferable.

10. Double Status
- Sleep Powder
- Stun Spore
- Energy Ball/Grass Knot/Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
Note: Works best on human opponents, who tend to switch after getting put to sleep.

11. Growth
- Growth
- Sleep Powder
- Energy Ball
- Sludge Bomb/Shadow Ball

Pokemon Focus: #448 - Lucario

Introduction

Lucario is arguably the true star of 4th Generation. It was among the first 4th-generation Pokemon to be introduced (thanks to the 8th movie), it is the only playable 4th-gen Pokemon in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and it has attained Gardevoir-level popularity as far as "human-like" Pokemon go.

It's no slouch at battling, either. Fighting/Steel is a great typing, and it has access to powerful moves on both the physical and special sides of the split, with great attacking stats to go either way. All these make Lucario quite unpredictable and a dangerous offensive threat, as well as an awesome-looking Steel Jackal Pokemon.

Capture/Training

It's easy to bring over a Riolu from Diamond/Pearl. Catching one is a different story, as it requires at least 70 days' time and some Safari Zone luck (it's not horribly hard to capture, but 15% isn't a whole lot, and it's probably fairly rare).

Riolu evolves from happiness, so it's beneficial to evolve it as soon as possible.

Stats

70 HP, 110 Atk, 70 Def, 115 Sp. Atk, 70 Sp. Def, 90 Spd

Strangely enough, those are quite low defensive stats for a Steel-type. Even Mawile has better Defense than it does! Of course, it makes up for it by having a great typing that gives it ten resistances. It's also the fastest non-legendary Steel-type, which says something.

But anyways, it's those offensive stats that are really something. Being able to hit so hard on both sides means it's just that much harder to send in a proper counter against it.

Abilities

Lucario is, in some ways, an anti-Flinch Pokemon. It isn't scared of any attack, or at least, if it is, it will gather courage to fight back even harder. Inner Focus outright prevents flinches, and is useful against Fake Out users and flinch-abusers. Meanwhile, Steadfast will increase Lucario's Speed 1 level upon flinching, which theoretically will allow it to avoid being flinched later, as well as helping it sweep. Both are useful.

Moves

Lucario has one of the most expansive movesets around, in that it covers a lot of offensive ground. It is first and foremost a Fighting-type, and it gets several great moves on that end. On the physical side, Close Combat is Lucario's deadliest weapon, landing a 120 BP (with STAB) hit on enemies extremely reliably with its only drawback being a drop of its Defenses afterwards. While it gets a number of other Fighting-type attacks, really, none are quite as good as that on the physical end. Meanwhile, on the Special side, Lucario has access to the rare and valuable Aura Sphere. Being able to hit 100% of the time with a 90 BP move (with STAB) is amazing. As a lesser move, Lucario can learn Flash Cannon to hit from the special Steel side, though Steel isn't that good of an attacking type. It gets nothing in the way of notable physical Steel moves.

The secondary movepool of Lucario is massive. On the physical side, Crunch works extremely well with its Fighting attacks to hit Ghosts. Stone Edge hits Flying-types. Ice Punch can also knock Flying-types from the sky, as well as do a number on Dragon-types. Thunderpunch does the same, but hurts Water-types instead. Earthquake is hardly necessary on this Pokemon, but it's a strong move nonetheless. Zen Headbutt is an odd move that can be used to hurt Poison-types. Lucario is one of the few Pokemon to learn Blaze Kick; the move is most useful for putting the hurt on Bug-types. Return is always available.

As for special attacks, choose either Shadow Ball or Dark Pulse to compliment Aura Sphere and hit Ghosts. One won't affect Normal-types but can drop Special Defense, another will be not-so-effective on Fighting-types but can Flinch. Dragon Pulse can put the hurt on Dragon-types. Psychic does more damage to Poison-types. And, of course, Hidden Power is always an option.

Lucario's true trump card, though, is its selection of powerful priority attacks. ExtremeSpeed is rare and powerful in almost all circumstances. Meanwhile, Lucario can make much use of a STAB Vacuum Wave, the only Special-type priority attack in the game. And it can also Bullet Punch holes in the opponent's team (also with STAB).

For other moves, try Counter and Reversal.

As for its support moveset, Swords Dance comes to mind. One use and it becomes a physical menace. Access to ExtremeSpeed means opponents can't just quickly pick it off, either. Calm Mind is a somewhat more unusual option if a Special Lucario is in order. Agility can increase Lucario's otherwise not-that-impressive Speed. Iron Defense can raise its own Defense, making it harder to take down.

Follow Me can be used in 2 vs. 2 to draw not-very-effective attacks to it.

Effective Movesets

1. Swords Dancer
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- ExtremeSpeed
- Crunch
Item: Life Orb

2. Choice Specs
- Aura Sphere
- Dark Pulse/Shadow Ball
- Vacuum Wave
- Dragon Pulse/Flash Cannon/Close Combat
Item: Choice Specs
Note: Close Combat is there if certain specially-defensive Pokemon are giving you trouble.

3. Choice Band
- Close Combat
- ExtremeSpeed
- Crunch
- Ice Punch
Item: Choice Band

4. Mixed Fighter
- Aura Sphere
- Close Combat
- Dark Pulse
- ExtremeSpeed
Item: Black Belt/Choice Scarf

5. Mixed Priority
- Close Combat
- ExtremeSpeed
- Bullet Punch
- Vacuum Wave

6. Reversal
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Reversal
- Crunch

7. Calm Mind
- Calm Mind
- Aura Sphere
- Dark Pulse/Shadow Ball
- Vacuum Wave