Ampharos, a.k.a. "Miss Lighthouse", is a personal favorite of mine from 2nd Gen. It was somewhat of an unusual Electric-type: it wasn't very fast--in fact, it's actually really slow, but on the other hand, it had good defenses. The generation shift hurt it a bit by making many previously special moves in its movepool physical, and only giving back a handful of new special moves to use, but overall it is still a very effective Pokemon.
Capture/Training
Mareep can be caught really early; in fact, you can get one before fighting Falkner! After that, it's a matter of training it up. Evolving it into Flaafy at Level 15 is fine, but if so, wait one level to Level 31 before evolving it into Ampharos, to learn Discharge a couple levels early (Ampharos won't miss ThunderPunch now that it's physical).
Stats
90 HP, 75 Atk, 75 Def, 115 SpA, 90 SpD, 55 Spe
Ampharos broke the mold for Electric-types, presenting one that was slow but bulky. It's unfortunately not quite enough to go up against the big boys of the metagame, but in-game it works perfectly fine.
Abilities
Static: While on many Pokemon the move is at best a consolation prize if your Pokemon gets knocked out by anything not named Earthquake, on the relatively bulky Ampharos it could actually have use. However, it does not strictly need the ability, with plenty of ways to spread paralysis around itself.
Moves
No Ampharos is complete without its obligatory Electric attacks. Running off base 115 Special Attack, such moves are guaranteed to hurt. Thunderbolt is the obligatory mention, but with Ampharos's bulk, it can make good use of Discharge and its 30% paralysis chance. The third obligatory mention is Thunder, to be used in rain. Charge Beam could work as a SubCharge set.
Ampharos has the following secondary attacks to use. Focus Blast is probably the big one. 70% accuracy is hard to work with, but a Base 120 power Fighting attack off Base 115 Special Attack is hard to argue against. Signal Beam is somewhat filler but could work. Power Gem does not really get significant coverage with Ampharos's Electric attacks, but it is an option. Of course, Hidden Power could also be an option.
Ampharos's base 75 physical attack isn't breaking through walls anytime soon, but that does not mean physical attacks are completely out of the question. The big one is Focus Punch; a powerful 150 base power makes up for the lack of raw physical power here.
Ampharos can set up both screens, a.k.a. Reflect and Light Screen; his bulk makes him a decent screener. Safeguard is also an option.
Thunder Wave allows Ampharos to inflict status more directly, if you don't want to rely on Static and Discharge. Toxic is obviously another status option.
On the contrary, Heal Bell allows Ampharos to heal status, namely its teammates'.
Substitute is a classic move and has plenty of uses.
Effective Movesets
1. Why Ampharos Don't Have Wool
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power/Signal Beam/Power Gem
- Substitute
Item: Life Orb
2. AmpharoBoah
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power/Signal Beam/Power Gem
3. Lighthouse on the Horizon
- Discharge
- Heal Bell
- Reflect/Light Screen
- Focus Blast/Light Screen/Reflect
4. Bespecticled Lighthouse
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Signal Beam
- Power Gem/Hidden Power
5. Lighthouse in the Rain
- Rain Dance
- Thunder
- Heal Bell/Safeguard/Reflect/Light Screen
- Heal Bell/Safeguard/Reflect/Light Screen
Item: Damp Rock/Leftovers
Note: If Hidden Power is Water, go ahead and use that.
Closing Notes
Ampharos is not a massive presence in the metagame, but it is still a fun Pokemon to play with, especially in-game.
Future Sight
Not much will change for Ampharos. Volt Change is a fun new move, and Cotton Guard could be interesting on defensive sets.
