[OVERVIEW]
Blissey is largely overshadowed by Snorlax due to Snorlax's incredible special bulk being complemented by tremendous offensive power. Blissey has even greater special bulk than Snorlax but pales in comparison in terms of the damage it can dish out. Its primary role outside of simply taking hits is to cure its team of status with Heal Bell, and its remaining moveslots tend to be used to deter foes that might otherwise try to take advantage of it. Blissey does have access to interesting options such as Counter and Thunder Wave, but unfortunately they are incompatible with Heal Bell, so Blissey can only make use of them when it has dropped what is arguably its most useful move. Nonetheless, it is possible to play Blissey aggressively by taking advantage of its access to coverage moves, status moves, and Counter. Blissey's biggest flaw overall is that it struggles to deter many dangerous Pokemon like Snorlax and Nidoking, as well as struggling to fit coverage for both Cloyster and Forretress on the same set. As long as Pokemon on the opposing team have Rest, it struggles to make any offensive progress whatsoever, unlike Snorlax and Raikou, with which Blissey competes for the role of special wall. Furthermore, it is susceptible to being OHKOed by Explosion from the special attackers it would ideally be walling like Exeggutor and Gengar. Despite its drawbacks, Blissey still takes special hits better than any other Pokemon by far and is therefore a worthy consideration for defensive teams.
[SET]
name: Cleric
move 1: Heal Bell
move 2: Flamethrower / Ice Beam / Toxic
move 3: Toxic / Light Screen / Present / Sing
move 4: Soft-Boiled
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Blissey's aims with this set are to keep its team healthy and to take strong special hits for its team. Its main form of utility is Heal Bell, which works well with teammates that use Rest, such as Snorlax and Skarmory. Blissey most often uses Flamethrower as its attacking move, which works well in combination with Toxic, since several notable Toxic-immune Pokemon, such as Skarmory, Steelix, and Forretress, are weak to Fire. Forretress in particular can put a lot of pressure on more defensive teams due to its access to Spikes and Rapid Spin and is therefore one of the main reasons for Blissey to choose Flamethrower over Ice Beam or Thunderbolt. However, Ice Beam can be used to make Zapdos less of a safe answer while simultaneously threatening Toxic-immune Nidoking. Additionally, the chance of inflicting a game-changing freeze is available should Ice Beam be chosen. Toxic is a common choice for Blissey to allow it to pose a significant threat to dangerous sweepers like Machamp and Marowak in the long term, and Toxic can also force Pokemon that have Rest—most commonly Snorlax—to use it. This can provide Blissey's teammates with the opportunity they need to set up a sweep.
An alternative to Toxic is Light Screen, which Blissey can use to better protect itself against Growth sweepers like Vaporeon and support its team. This can be particularly useful for reducing risk against Zapdos and Raikou when using powerful sweepers like Belly Drum Snorlax and Swords Dance Marowak, two Pokemon that significantly benefit from being able to find opportunities to set up from full health. Light Screen can also be used alongside Toxic by forgoing attacking moves entirely, although this can allow low HP Pokemon and dangerous Toxic-immune Pokemon like Nidoking and Gengar opportunities to recover their health with Leftovers and attack freely and is therefore a choice only suitable to particular teams, such as those that use Spikes with a Ghost-type to improve the matchup against Forretress and prevent free Leftovers recovery. Another option that Blissey can use to punish greedy opponents is Present, a move that is extremely dangerous to any Pokemon with a secondary or singular type that deals special damage, such as Cloyster, Raikou, Tyranitar, and Vaporeon. While it is not threatening at all to Pokemon like Snorlax and Zapdos, which have Normal and Flying as their singular and secondary types, it limits the number of Pokemon that can take Blissey on safely and can severely punish Pokemon that are threatened by it. Sing is useful as a surprise sleep move to catch Pokemon off guard, and its low accuracy is somewhat offset by the fact that Blissey can typically find opportunities to use it many times during any given game. However, it will inevitably miss on the first attempt a lot of the time, which unfortunately ruins the surprise factor entirely and allows the opponent to safely handle it with a Sleep Talk user. Lastly, Blissey uses Soft-Boiled to keep itself healthy, which works well with Heal Bell to ensure Blissey does not become permanently paralyzed or poisoned.
Team Options
========
Blissey works best with defensive teams due to their ability to better handle Pokemon that can take advantage of it, such as Snorlax. Pokemon such as Skarmory that can take on powerful physical attackers make very beneficial teammates. For mixed Snorlax variants, Rock-types such as Golem and Tyranitar can prove to be useful, and Blissey can provide them with Heal Bell support in the event that they become poisoned. Blissey can make a wide variety of strategies successful due to its unique support options and the fact that it takes dangerous special attackers on so effectively. Sweepers such as Machamp, Marowak, and Snorlax can take advantage of Blissey's support by running Rest alongside their boosting and attacking moves, allowing them to risk taking hits they might usually not be able to. Belly Drum Snorlax in particular is a great choice alongside Heal Bell Blissey with Flamethrower. Even 999 Attack Snorlax can sometimes struggle to overcome Skarmory, as Skarmory can boost with Curse and then try to heal off Snorlax's damage with Rest, leaving it walled. If its entry is timed correctly, Flamethrower Blissey can force Skarmory out before it can burn any sleep turns, which can lead to Snorlax getting to face an incapacitated Skarmory that can't protect itself with Defense boosts. However, it should be noted that a Skarmory with RestTalk or Heal Bell support can prevent this strategy from working. Pokemon such as Rhydon, Exeggutor, and Tyranitar are all crippled by status, so using Blissey alongside them can allow them to take risks they might normally be severely punished for. Pokemon that use instant recovery moves, such as Umbreon and Belly Drum Clefable, can also take advantage of Heal Bell support so they can be less afraid of status inflictions. However, the fact that these Pokemon share a Fighting weakness with Blissey can introduce a significant Machamp weakness, so this must be considered when building a team with Blissey. Starmie is another very popular choice for a Blissey teammate thanks to its excellent type synergy, instant recovery move, and access to Rapid Spin, which greatly benefits the defensively inclined teams Blissey tends to be a part of. In particular, Starmie's excellent matchup against Machamp is very useful to Blissey teams. Cloyster is also a great option to use alongside Heal Bell Blissey, since many Cloyster will try to trade poison inflictions when setting up Spikes. If Rapid Spin is used on Cloyster or a teammate, this can make it seriously difficult for the opponent to keep Spikes up. Aside from Starmie, Zapdos and Misdreavus are useful teammates to deal with Machamp should Cloyster be chosen. Zapdos is also solid against a variety of other troublesome offensive threats, including Nidoking, Vaporeon, and Tentacruel, while Misdreavus can check Snorlax alongside Skarmory, spinblock when used with Spikes, and nullify Explosion that may be used to target Blissey or its teammates. Moreover, both commonly run Rest and can be cured of sleep by Blissey.
[SET]
name: Counter
move 1: Thunder Wave / Sing / Thunder
move 2: Ice Beam / Flamethrower
move 3: Counter / Thunder
move 4: Soft-Boiled / Counter
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Blissey can choose to employ a more aggressive approach by forgoing its role as a cleric and taking advantage of its access to powerful status moves and coverage attacks. Despite its lack of attacking power with which to threaten Snorlax, it can retain efficacy in this role thanks to the threat of Counter, which makes any physical attacker think twice before attempting to take Blissey down. Thunder Wave allows Blissey to cripple any Pokemon that is not a Ground-type, which can be very useful in setting up slow but powerful Pokemon such as Marowak, Machamp, and Snorlax for a sweep. It pairs well with Ice Beam, which hits Thunder Wave-immune Ground-types super effectively and has a chance of inflicting freeze. Alternatively, Sing can be used as Blissey's status move, which can incapacitate threats such as Snorlax, Cloyster, and Forretress for extended periods of time. However, Sing's effectiveness is somewhat contingent on the opponent not expecting it, and it is inconsistent due to its very low accuracy. Nevertheless, the potential effectiveness of the move and the opportunities to use it generated by the prevalence of special attackers makes it a worthwhile consideration. Thunder can also be used as a pseudo-status move if one's aim is to maximize coverage and include multiple of Blissey's high utility moves on the same set all at once. It does massive damage to Pokemon like Cloyster and Skarmory and has a decent chance of inflicting paralysis. An alternative option for an attacking move is Flamethrower, which hits Steelix, Forretress, and Skarmory for heavy damage. If Blissey is only running one attacking move, Ice Beam and Flamethrower are the preferred options due to no Pokemon being immune to them. However, it is worthwhile considering using a Blissey with Thunder as a second attack, as Cloyster, a very important target, will often try to set Spikes against Blissey and will be significantly impaired if Thunder lands.
Other than status moves and Heal Bell, by far the highest utility move Blissey can take advantage of is Counter. Counter allows Blissey to threaten the physical attackers that target Blissey's awful Defense. It is most effective when the opponent is not expecting it, although even after it has been revealed, the opponent will be hard-pressed to take Blissey down without resorting to physical attacks, which can make Blissey quite awkward to deal with for more offensive teams. Unfortunately, Counter is incompatible with Heal Bell, which leaves Counter Blissey rather susceptible to status and inhibits its ability to pose a longer term threat against defensive teams whether it runs Soft-Boiled or not. Lastly, while it might seem like an alien idea to drop Soft-Boiled, Blissey's huge special bulk and its Leftovers can allow it to last a surprisingly long time even without its trademark healing move, and if Blissey manages to catch just one Pokemon with Counter, the opponent will often be at a large disadvantage.
Team Options
========
Counter Blissey fits less well on ultra-defensive teams and is instead best placed alongside powerful attackers that can take better advantage of the status inflictions and forced switches it can provide. Some of these include Snorlax, Marowak, and Machamp; however, there are many possible options available. It is important to be able to deal with or threaten Curse Snorlax, as while Counter Blissey can dissuade it from attacking immediately, Blissey can do little to prevent it from setting up. Machamp is one of the only Pokemon that can offensively threaten a Curse-boosted Snorlax and greatly benefits from Counter Blissey's ability to discourage unboosted Snorlax from hitting it as it switches in. Phazers such as Steelix, Rhydon, and Skarmory can also deal with Curse Snorlax with varying degrees of effectiveness depending on Snorlax's coverage attacks. These Pokemon also benefit from Blissey's ability to paralyze Snorlax, since they will outspeed a paralyzed Snorlax after setting up their own Curse boosts. Machamp is another Pokemon that is critical for a Blissey team to be able to handle, as it is one of the only Pokemon that can take out Blissey with a single unboosted attack other than Explosion and Self-Destruct. Some checks that go well alongside offensive Blissey include Exeggutor and Nidoking, although they are fearful of Hidden Power Bug and Earthquake. Starmie can also be used, although using it will typically cause your team to have to take a more defensive approach to Snorlax, which can then result in Counter Blissey being a poor fit due to its inability to cure Starmie and itself of status. Another option is Heracross, which checks most Machamp and Nidoking fairly well but struggles in the long term against Snorlax and often struggles to get past Skarmory and Zapdos. Lastly, it is often a good idea to bring a Spiker such as Cloyster or Forretress to assist Blissey and its team with wearing down the opposition.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
========
Reflect can be used to give Blissey's teammates an easier time switching into Snorlax and allow Blissey to potentially take on mixed attackers like Nidoking and Tyranitar and Explosion users like Gengar and Cloyster. However, it is illegal with Heal Bell, and Blissey risks being OHKOed by a critical hit from Snorlax's unboosted Double-Edge at any given time. Growl is attainable alongside Heal Bell and can be used in a similar capacity to Reflect. It can be used to prevent Snorlax from setting up Curse against Blissey and encourage foes to switch out, and it also has a lot of PP, which can be useful for PP stalling in some scenarios. However, Blissey may not be able to punish the switches it encourages effectively, it remains susceptible to critical hits from Snorlax and other Pokemon, and using Growl turns Blissey into an ideal setup opportunity for Belly Drum Snorlax variants. Thunderbolt is an option on Blissey that hits both Skarmory and Cloyster super effectively and has perfect accuracy, although Blissey tends to prefer either Thunder's paralysis chance or Flamethrower's super effective damage against Forretress and Steelix.
Checks and Counters
========
**Snorlax**: Snorlax is the primary reason for Blissey not being common, as it can shrug off anything that Blissey can do to it bar Counter and can easily use Blissey as setup fodder or hit it for massive damage with its STAB attacks. Curse Snorlax is a massive threat to offensive teams and Belly Drum Snorlax is a huge threat to defensive teams, and Blissey can do little to prevent either from setting up freely against it.
**Machamp**: Machamp is the only Pokemon that can outright OHKO Blissey with an unboosted attack other than Explosion and Self-Destruct, and no matter what Blissey does, Machamp retains the ability to OHKO with a critical hit Cross Chop. However, most Machamp despise being inflicted with status, so they must be wary when switching into Blissey.
**Physical Attackers**: Most strong physical attackers can severely threaten Blissey with their STAB attacks. Marowak and Heracross both 2HKO Blissey, while Golem and Rhydon usually 3HKO.
**Explosion**: Pokemon with high Special Attack stats can lure in Blissey and then use Explosion to remove it. Even weaker Explosion users such as Gengar can OHKO Blissey due to its low Defense, and once Blissey is removed, special attackers such as Zapdos, Raikou, and Jynx become much more threatening.
**Poison-types**: Poison-types such as Nidoking, Tentacruel, and Muk can switch into Toxic Blissey with relative impunity, as they will usually take very little damage from Blissey's attacks. They do have to beware of Blissey having the correct coverage move or a less common move such as Sing, Thunder Wave, or Counter, however.
**Mixed Attackers**: Mixed attackers such as Gengar, Dragonite, and Tyranitar can be quite threatening to Blissey. They can run Dynamic Punch to deal massive damage to Blissey and potentially prevent it from recovering with the accompanying confusion. Although uncommon as a mixed attacker, Zapdos can also use Drill Peck to threaten a 4HKO against Blissey, which is enough to put it in danger of being taken out by a critical hit or force it to use up all of its Soft-Boiled PP.
**Status**: While Blissey is commonly seen as one of the best Pokemon to counter status thanks to Heal Bell, it too must be wary of some status afflictions. Blissey is highly susceptible to sleep moves, and once it is put to sleep, it will be unable to cure its teammates of status. Pokemon such as Jynx and Gengar can try to fish for a freeze against Blissey due to its low damage output, and if frozen, Blissey will be unable to cure itself. One should also keep in mind that Toxic has more PP than Heal Bell, which can lead to dangerous late-game situations if Blissey needs to cure particular teammates or itself. If Blissey lacks Heal Bell, it will need to be careful of poison and paralysis too, although its enormous special bulk will often allow it to take on special attackers even when afflicted with these.
**Setup Sweepers with Rest**: Setup sweepers with Rest can take Blissey's status attacks and take advantage of its passivity to set up boosts before curing themselves and attempting a sweep. Curse Snorlax, Curse Tyranitar, Growth Vaporeon, and Curse Heracross are some of the most common sweepers to use this combination, but others such as Skarmory, Steelix, Jolteon, and Kangaskhan can also pull this off if Blissey lacks the necessary coverage moves to deal with them.
**Belly Drum Users**: Blissey's meager attacking power affords Belly Drum users such as Charizard, Quagsire, Clefable, and the aforementioned Snorlax a great opportunity to set up for a sweep. While Blissey's Toxic can discourage these foes from switching in while its team is healthy, the passive damage alone cannot be depended upon to stop a sweep from these Pokemon, as damage is not taken by the poisoned foe on turns on
which a Pokemon is KOed. It's therefore crucial for Blissey to prioritize keeping key checks healthy with its Heal Bell support when facing Belly Drum users.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Earthworm, 15210]]
- Quality checked by: [[Jorgen, 53302], [BKC, 52012]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073], [Estronic, 240732]]
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