Pokemon Focus #251: Celebi

Introduction
We now introduce the true final Pokemon of the HeartGold/SoulSilver coverage series, this time featuring the generation's special event Pokemon. Celebi is a time-traveler, before Dialga was around to actually mess with time. Celebi, for the most part, just takes people into different time periods. It's definitely a cool Pokemon, and like its cousins Mew, Jirachi, Manaphy, and Shaymin, it has great stats across the board, as well as a huge movepool that allow it to cover a large amount of possible movesets, even when limited to replenishable moves.

Capture/Training

Not available in-game, normally. We just have to wait for Nintendo to hand one out at an event, or otherwise get one from a trade.

Stats

100 HP, 100 Atk, 100 Def, 100 Sp. Atk, 100 Sp. Def, 100 Spd

You'll see these stats come up again later. For now, know that they allow Celebi to cover a large number of bases, from powerful attacker on either side of the damage spectrum to defensive fairy that shakes off even super-effective hits (which it, unfortunately, has a lot of, which really says something about how it manages to be a favorite even three generations later).

Abilities

Natural Cure is Celebi's only option; thankfully, it is a great ability. Being able to instantly cure status just by switching is great, and really gives this fairy staying power.

Moves

As for straight-up attacks, Celebi's moveset has all it really needs. The classics fill its special Grass needs, with Energy Ball being the reliable move, Grass Knot to deal with heavyweights, Leaf Storm to hit hard to start, and Solarbeam if the sun is out. Meanwhile, Psychic gives it all the special Psychic-type power it needs. A strong base Attack and access to Swords Dance means it can ride along the Physical side of the spectrum as well, where it will rely on Seed Bomb and Zen Headbutt to cover its STAB moves.

The big secondary attack worth mentioning is Earth Power. In addition to providing a move that actually deals damage to Steel-types, it also provides coverage against Fire-types. Shadow Ball provides a move to use against other Psychics as well as Ghosts. If you're lucky, you might get a nice Hidden Power, too.

Other than that, its attacks are very specialized. Magical Leaf hits without fail. Ancientpower is there for that possible 6-stat boost. Charge Beam might give you a Special Attack boost, which is good for Baton Passing. U-Turn is a quick one-way trip out of a tough situation, which also inflicts damage in the process.

If that doesn't seem much for straight-up attacks, Celebi more than makes up for that with its support moveset. Remember, Celebi is a healing fairy, and every healing fairy needs a healing move, namely Recover. If you want your healing to be more offensive, you can use Leech Seed. Meanwhile, Heal Bell is Celebi's way of curing the team of status.

Thunder Wave is Celebi's favorite way to cripple opponents. That's not to say it doesn't have other ways; it can also use Toxic and Worry Seed, as well as Trick.

Perish Song is an unusual move, but quite effective in basically putting the opponent on a timer. Have fun with it.

Celebi makes a great Baton Passer. It has the stats to attack with its stat boosts before throwing them to a teammate when it is done. The fact that Baton Pass dodges Pursuit is an added bonus.

So what are the stat boosts it can use? Calm Mind works great, and allows Celebi to become a truly dangerous fairy both offensively and defensively. Swords Dance is what makes Celebi a potential physical threat. Again, once Celebi feels it can't hit enemies with its moves, it can Pass out to a teammate.

Access to Light Screen and Reflect allows Celebi to set up dual-screens, which in turn can help a teammate set up. Bonus points if you sacrifice Celebi with Healing Wish to get a weakened sweeper back up to full health.

Somehow, Stealth Rock is an option. Clearly, Celebi's rocks hide in the Time dimension, thus are extra stealthy... anyways, it's a good move for any occasion.

Substitute is always great.

At this point, it's probably easier to just list all the moves that might be somewhat viable on Celebi, because it has a ton of these moves: Safeguard, Heal Block, Sunny Day, Protect, Double Team, Rest, Psych Up, Trick Room, Helping Hand, and Magic Coat.

Effective Movesets

Due to Celebi being a one-shot Pokemon that has access to a ridiculous movepool with a ridiculous amount of possibilities, a Celebi effective moveset can pretty much consist of choosing four moves from the above list, and it could work. Specific ideas to play around with include Baton Passing variants with either Calm Mind or Swords Dance, and the time-honored tradition of SubSeeding (Substitute + Leech Seed).