Sun / Moon In-Game Tier List

I've finished two playthroughs using Primarina/Vikavolt/Salamence/Mudsdale/Salazzle/Pangoro and Decidueye/Magnezone/Crobat/Arcanine/Starmie/Bewear.

Primarina: S tier. Brilliant movepool (Scald, Sparkling Aria, Moonblast), great stats, great typing and early availability.
Vikavolt: Up to C tier. Grubbin and Charjabug are both pretty good with early access to Bug Bite, Spark and Acrobatics by level 20. Charjabug also has decent Attack and great bulk with Eviolite. Unfortunately its Attack stat becomes underwhelming by island 3 and it doesn't evolve until Vast Poni Canyon. When it evolves into Vikavolt, it learns Thunderbolt and has enough Special Attack to OHKO/2HKO any non-Steel Pokemon with Thunderbolt/Energy Ball/Flash Cannon. Great later on in the game, can easily single-handedly sweep with an X Speed/Agility. It's weak around the Sophocles - Vast Poni Canyon phase, but even then it's strong against Nanu and Faba.
Salamence: D tier. Comes early but with a 1% encounter rate. Weak as a Bagon, decent as a Shelgon, strong as a Salamence. However, it hits very few Pokemon for super effective and I never found that I needed it. It contributed little to the team despite being difficult to find and catch. It's not worth the investment.
Mudsdale: A tier. All has been said about this Pokemon. Fairly early availability, great stats and ability, good movepool.
Salazzle: A tier. Again, all has been said. This was probably the MVP of my team, just the fact that it can outspeed and clean up any non-Rock Pokemon made it very useful.
Pangoro: B tier. Hits hard and has great type matchups against a lot of Pokemon in the game. It is also one of the few not-garbage Dark types.

Decidueye: B tier. Decent offence and bulk. I didn't end up using it all that much but it's guaranteed to beat at least one Pokemon on the enemy team in every fight thanks to its Z-move and Sucker Punch.
Magnezone: S tier. Overpowered.
Crobat: Down to B tier. Early availability and superb for the first two islands. Early evolution (around Lana/Kiawe trial) and access to Acrobatics and Cross Poison means its strong early. However, its mediocre Attack and average typing make it underwhelming for the rest of the game. Great for E4 Hala, B tier material for the rest of the fights.
Arcanine: A/B tier. Early availability, great stats but poor typing and average movepool. I evolved it at level 34, though I would recommend waiting for Flare Blitz if you actually want a useful Pokemon past Po Town. Growlithe itself is great, but it lacks strong moves outside of Flare Blitz. Its typing means it has no good matchups after Guzma. Extremespeed is not very useful unless you happen to have a team with no fast Pokemon. Without Flare Blitz it's probably a B tier Pokemon.
Starmie: A tier. Reasonable availability, good typing, great stats, insane movepool. Early Scald and Psychic access let it hit hard and later access to Ice Beam and Thunderbolt are just extras. It doesn't hit as hard as the Pokemon in S tier however, and its bulk is also only average.
Bewear: A tier. Fairly early availability and hits really damn hard. Great from the moment you get it (vs Olivia) and maintains usefulness due to great physical bulk and OHKO/2HKO most Pokemon with Hammer Arm and Return. It also makes Acerola easy thanks to Payback/Shadow Claw and immunity to Ghost. It's not good against every fight in the game but its great at what it does.
 
Last edited:
Pichu is definitely too high, from my experience.

A-Raichu is pretty great, but the problem is you're near the end of island 2 before you get the Thunder Stone. Until then, you're using Pichu/Pikachu, and both of them are pretty awful.

Pichu dies to everything, gets further from evolution with each death, and hits like a damp noodle. Pikachu is... marginally better?

But the lack of a decent Electric STAB really hurts the pair of them. Nasty Plot is neat but only really practical for bosses - Pikachu just can't do much of anything against route trash. Thunder Wave is neat utility, at least, I guess?

But, like: there's not really any scenario where Pikachu is worth using until the Thunder Stone comes.

I wouldn't put A-Raichu too low, even with all this in mind, because it's pretty great once it finally does evolve! Psychic is pretty nasty, and Nasty Plot is a lot of fun. But even after it evolves, Raichu doesn't actually have a workable Electric attack until goddamn Seafolk Village and the Thunder TM. And you need Psychic and Raichu's non-trash stats as soon as possible, so you can't exactly wait for Discharge or Thunderbolt to evolve Pikachu. Even once it gets good, Raichu still isn't really top-tier material; it has a bad habit of missing kills that you really, really need it to make. It's reasonably powerful, and it outruns just about everything... but it's definitely not a top-tier mon. From my ingame party, Grimer, Mudbray, and Wishiwashi were all better mons overall.
Yeah... no. Don't get Nasty Plot. Evolve your Pichu as fast as possible, get the Soothe Bell on Route 3, Refresh, grind for an hour or so, and level up once. Why so fast you say? Two words. Electro. Mothaf*king. Ball. Pikachu learns this godsent move at Lv 13. Pikachu's Speed is 90. Alola is slow as living hell. Do the math.

High Speed stat + Electro Ball + Alola = GENOCIDE.

-or sos chain and there is no problem-
 
Last edited:
Yeah... no. Don't get Nasty Plot. Evolve your Pichu as fast as possible, get the Soothe Bell on Route 3, Refresh, grind for an hour or so, and level up once. Why so fast you say? Two words. Electro. Mothaf*king. Ball. Pikachu learns this godsent move at Lv 13. Pikachu's Speed is 90. Alola is slow as living hell. Do the math.

High Speed stat + Electro Ball + Alola = GENOCIDE.

**or sos chain and there is no problem**
The only problem could be an Alolan Dugtrio, which aren't seen much. Alolan Diglett speedties with Pikachu. Ground types OVERALL should be avoided (unless you transferred Surfing Pikachu using Pokémon Bank). TWave is learnt early. Quick Attack and Nuzzle don't come late either. Its amazing early gen 3 movepool is gone, so Slam and Thunderbolt are learnt at 37 and 42 respectively.
 
Totally agree with Magnemite at Top. It has a ton of good matchups for important fights (e.g. cheeses Totem Mimikyu with Corkscrew Crash), is available super early, and carries its weight for the entire game.
Too bad it isn't like BW2... (if you know what I mean)
 
I'm still interested in this tier list, and might restart my game because I feel I'm in a rut at the end.

Any requests for a runthrough? I'll note I'm playing Sun.
 
Last edited:
Try using only mons that are D Rank or lower if you want a challenge. (you'll have to ditch your starter as soon as you catch something else)
 
I would move Morelull up just a smidgeon. You get it relatively early, and it's an excellent player during the Wishiwashi trial. Sleep Powder on capture turns it into a cakewalk, and access to Giga Drain lets it keep healthy without potions if that appeals to you. It can learn Dream Eater in tandem with Spore, with the latter being the more important thing. It can be used for major battles very nicely, or for capturing Mons.

Its STAB beats Hala (though he does have Poison Jab coverage), Nanu, Wishiwashi (as mentioned), Olivia, and Hapu. It gets a precise movepool with good STABs and unique coverage moves. Of course, if there is objection to this, I wouldn't complain. It is slow, cripplingly weak to Poison and other common moves, has generally meh stats, and anything it can do as a Grass type could likely be done by at least Decidueye.

Personally when I used Shiinotic, it turned out a lot more nicely than it looks on paper with those stats. Spore and draining moves alongside an affable Fairy STAB in Moonblast help its case, and again, at the time of capture, it's excellent. Also noteworthy that it evolves very early.
 
Well, this thread is sort of dead, so I feel perhaps it would be a good time to propose a rank for the Island Scan mons... specifically, Marril.


Marill for A or B

Availability:
Saturday on Brooklet Hill with Island Scan. Being available pretty early is nice, but having to change your 3DS clock to Saturday and doing Island Scan is a bit inconvenient.
Stats: Don't let Marills stats deceive you. Its only good stat, on paper, is its HP: Everything else is 50 or lower, and with a paltry 20 attack power, you'd be thinking this thing would be incapable of killing anything. Thanks to Huge Power, its attack stat doubles, so what was once a weak water bunny turns into an offensive juggernaut that can take a few hits, especially thanks to its amazing typing, and dish it out even worse. The real crippler here is Marill's speed. If someone outspeeds it and Aqua Jet can't drop it, you're going to suffer.
Typing: As we've seen with Primarina, Water/Fairy is divine and does wonders against so many things. You pack 6 resistances and an immunity, which goes a long way to keeping Marill healthy and strong.
Movepool: Since Island Scan pokemon come with a free egg move, Marill is obviously blessed with one as well, and it couldn't be a better pick. Aqua Jet combined with Huge Power means Marill is going to rip chunks out of anything that isn't bulky or resists water, and it only gets better. You can slap Brick Break onto it immediately, and at lv. 20, it picks up Aqua Tail, and at 23, it gains Play Rough. Congratulations, you already have a perfect movepool for Marill, and you're not even halfway through the game yet. Double Edge is also an option to bull over grass types, and even if you find yourself with a sub-par Marill thanks to Thick Fat, you can try Scald on it to cripple attackers (though Primarina and most other water types do it better)
Major Battles:
Totem Wishiwashi: You can outmuscle it and beat it down at its own game, but Marill is going to be hurting.
Totem Salazzle: Hydro Votrex murders it, and the worst you suffer is a simple toxic ailment.
Totem Lurantis: NO
Plumeria: Golbat and Salandit just don't stand a chance. Golbat later on packs Poison Fang, so beware.
Olivia: Azumarill cleans up here, but beware of the paralysis.
UB-01: Beware the Venoshock, but otherwise Azumarill can deal with it.
Hau: Don't even bother trying to take on the Raichu. Leafeon and Decidueye are jerks as well, and Komala can live a hit and nuke you hard, but otherwise you should be okay.
Molayne: Azumarill can blow through him with ease.
Totem Vikavolt: NO
Guzma: Golisopod can't break through you, and Ariados dies. Pinsir also has a bad day, but beware the flinch hax from Masquerain.
Totem Mimikyu: This is a rough fight for everyone, and Azumarill is no exception. You will hate the Haunters and Gengars with a fiery passion.
Gladion: Golbat is risky to take on, but doable. Sneasel dies, and Type Null gets wrecked regardless. Silvally can either be easier or too dangerous to take on depending on your starter. Lucario is also doable, but Azu will be hurting.
Team Skull: Easy cleanup
Nanu: Uh, there was a Kahuna here?
Team Aether: Azumarill has enough coverage and power to mangle almost everything here, but beware anything with electric or grass moves, or poison.
Lusamine: Everything she packs gets horribly mangled by Azumarril, but Mismagius outspeeds and can really hurt Azu back, and Lilligant is NO.
Hapu: Another Kahuna Azumarill destroys.
Totem Kommo-o: Azumarill destroys it.
Elite 4: Kahili doesn't like how hard Azumarill hits, but Azu isn't soloing her, not with how fast her mons are and how hard they hit. Mandibuzz and Ori are definitely doable, though. Olivia gets wrecked again, but beware the Golem. Acerola's ghosts are too dangerous to solo, but Passoland and Sableye die fast. and Hala gets wrecked.
Professor Kukui: Lycanroc dies, Ninetails dies but not without doing some damage first, Snorlax is too risky, Magnezone is NO, Braviary nukes you after surviving an Aqua Jet, and starter depends.
Additional Comments: Marill's biggest issue is not so much the availability, which does hinder how efficient it is but not by much, but rather its low speed, even by Aslowla standards. You're forced to rely on Aqua Jet so as to not get outsped, and especially as the late game comes in, it gets a little too weak to use except for cleaning up. However, Azumarill's typing, ability, and movepool gives it more than enough leeway to hold its own and clear through the game.
 

Conni

katharsis
btw this was approved
Sun & Moon Pokémon Write Up Reservation Index
====================================
For people who are still interested, here's the all the ingame write-ups that are finished, this post will also contain Pokemon that have already been deserved, there is no unreserved list because you can just see which Pokemon on the OP aren't here yet, hopefully this clears everything up to make things less confusing. I'm only counting the write ups that follow the correct format which is displayed in the OP, if you did a write up but didn't follow the correct formatting, please do and let me know so I can update the list, thanks. If you think that the quality of the following completed write ups need changes or needs to be revamped in some sort, please post in this thread and we'll see if there should be something done although there needs to be a sufficient reason to why you want to revamp the write up, although I for certain cannot guarantee revamps, but it would be nice if someone who has good ingame knowledge can point some stuff out. Also please do tell me if I'm missing something from the list!

Popplio
Wishiwashi
Morellul
Paras
Bagon
Gastly
Surskit
Alolan Meowth
Pyukumuku
Crabrawler
Ledyba
Mudbray
Lillipup
Marill
Magikarp
Magnemite
Togedemaru
Makuhita
Staryu
Happiny
Dewpider
Minior
Pikipek
Rowlet
Sandile
Aerodactyl
Rockruff
Growlithe
Magnemite
Stufful
Petilil
Cutiefly
Oricorio
Misdreavus
Cranidos
Salandit
Turtonator
Alolan Grimer
Snorlax
Torkoal
Goomy
Ledyba
Alolan Diglett
Bonsly
Cutiefly
Exeggcute


nothing is reserved... yet :blobthumbsup:


Be careful when reserving write ups because you might not be able to complete all of them if you reserve like 5 or more, so just be aware of how much you're doing and if you can handle that, because we wouldn't want to pester you, also, someone might be waiting as well if you still haven't completed your reserved Pokemon in a reasonable time, so just be wary of that.

Just wanted to point out that if you're lazy and you don't want to write out the whole format because you can't c/p the code on the OP correctly I made an easily copy pastable format, remember to not bold the writing that goes after the topic, it is bolded to emphasize the subject of the paragraph which makes it clearer, hope this helps you with your write ups!

Name:
Availability:
Stats:
Typing:
Movepool:
Major Battles:
Additional Comments:
Expect more information to come out soon as this project is currently being added on to regarding past threads and if rules and regulations will come over etc., there won't be any drastic changes but stay tuned, you might learn something new by doing this and checking this thread!
 
Last edited:

Conni

katharsis
Im taking Magikarp, Magnemite, Makuhita, and Staryu!


Name: Magikarp & Gyarados
Availability: Magikarp is available at almost all bodies of water around Alola although you'll need an Old Rod to find one.
Stats: Magikarp's stats are quite poor aside from its Defense and Speed, but once it evolves it gains great Attack and Speed making it quite offensive, it also has adequate defenses which can allow it to tank multiple moves.
Typing: Magikarp's single Water typing can resist an adequate amount of types and is weak to Electric and Grass which are quite early and common types. Gyarados now resists Grass but is 4x weak to Electric which can still be quite common, Rock-type moves can also be threatening. Gyarados' Flying-type doesn't really benefit anything else since it gets few STAB with it.
Movepool: Magikarp's infamous movepool only contains a few moves where most of the good ones are unaccessible before it evolves. Gyarados has a myriad of moves which it can use to its great benefit as it has many STAB and coverage moves which can hit multiple targets.
Major Battles: Magikarp isn't really helpful in most battles due to its bare movepool, but when it evolves it is very effective against the Fire-type trial and the Totem Salazzle as it can bulk hits and spam STAB moves on Salazzle. It also is good against the Akala Island Grand Trial and Olivia in the Elite For, but it needs to watch out for high damaging Rock-type moves and Alolan Golem. It also proves effective against Hapu's Grand Trial as it can take out Mudbray. It can be useful in the Champion battle with its coverage moves but its main targets are Lycanroc and Incineroar if you chose Rowlet.
Additional Comments:
Gyarados is just a very good Pokemon overall in terms of availability, stats, movepool, and usability in battles and will help you in most ingame situations.



Name: Magnemite
Availability: Magnemite is found very early in the game at Hau'Oli city and later at Malie City.
Stats: Magnemite's defenses are very good as it can tank many hits with them, and its Special Attack is very high which can be very useful early game which makes it one of your main Special Attackers, but its Speed is lacking.
Typing: Magnemite has many resistances such as Grass and Rock thanks to its good defensive typing. Magnemite is 4x weak to Ground, which can be quite common throughout the game, other notable weaknesses include Fire and Fighting which are also very common.
Movepool: Magnemite has any
Major Battles: Magnemite is very useful at the Normal-type trial, Water-type trial, and Olivia's grand trial and Elite four match thanks to its defensive and offensive typing. It also proves useful against Kukui as it can take out Braviary, Lycanroc, and Alolan Ninetales all together. Magnemite excels at almost all battles where it can utilize its STAB moves to the fullest.
Additional Comments: Magnemite and its evolutions are heavily useful from the start to the finish of the game thanks to its great defensive typing and high special attack.



Name: Makuhita
Availability: Makuhita can be found very early in the game straight at Route 2 which is the only place you'll find it.
Stats: Makuhita's stats except for its HP and Attack are pretty disappointing although when it evolves, it remains the same although its HP and Attack are increased drastically which gives you a solid physical attacker early in the game.
Typing: Its Fighting typing can help you against many types such as Normal, Rock, Steel, Dark, and Ice. It also resists Bug, Dark, and Rock which are somewhat common. Makuhita needs to stay away from the common Psychic- and Flying-types and the somewhat rare Fairy-type as well as it is weak to them. Makuhita's typing is very useful early in the game.
Movepool: Makuhita receives nice Normal- and Fighting-type moves early in the game with a few coverage moves like Knock Off as well, its moveset allows it to fare well against almost all Pokemon that it isn't weak to.
Major Battles: Makuhita and Hariyama fare very well against the Normal trial, Olivia's grand trial, Nanu's grand trial, and Olivia again at the Elite Four. It can also take out Kukui's Snorlax, Lycanroc, and Incineroar if he has one. Hariyama fares badly against most of the Aether Foundation battles except against Lusamine's Bewear.
Additional Comments: Makuhita is very useful at the early parts of the game and is still a formidable partner at the end of the game, so make sure you have a solid physical attacker on your team by picking up Makuhita as it is always a good choice against trials like Ilima's, Olivia's, and Nanu's, which are all important battles.



Name: Staryu
Availability: Staryu is available relatively early in the game because you can find it by fishing at Route 7 or at Hano Beach.
Stats: Staryu's Special Attack and Speed make it a relatively fast special attacker which is good this early in the game, although its other stats are quite medicore and it can be quite frail.
Typing: Staryu's single Water typing is good offensively and defensively as it can resist up to 4 types and take out the common Fire-, Ground-, and Rock-types. However, Staryu is weak to two quite common types: Electric and Grass.
Movepool: Staryu has a nice mix between powerful STAB moves and decent coverage which can hit unexpected targets in a case of backup. Its coverage includes Thunderbolt and Signal Beam which can hit other Water- and Psychic-types.
Major Battles: Staryu excels against the Fire trial, and against Olivia. It also does quite well against 2 of Hapu's Pokemon and takes out some Pokemon in other Elite Four Member's teams and can take out at least two of Kukui's Pokemon.
Additional Comments: Staryu is a great early special attacker and surfer which will benefit your team from the very start as it is fast and powerful, just be careful not to exploit its frailness as that can be taken advantage of.


Input on the finished write ups (i marked them regarding their status on the hide tags) are much appreciated as I know there is always something I can improve on or fix. :heart:

edit. trimmed down Magnemite and Magikarp sections as per to DHR's suggestions
 
Last edited:
I can do Togedemaru and Stufful.

edit: I cleaned up Togedemaru's writeup.

Name: Togedemaru
Availability: Togedemaru comes a bit late at blush mountain. Sadly it has a disappointingly low encounter rate of 10%, so catching it can take some time.
Stats: Togedemaru has fairly unimpressive stats. It´s speed and attack are pretty good, but it´s bulk is a bit disappointing. Togedemaru gets the bare minimum it needs to function well, but not much more.
Typing: Steel/electric is a phenomenal defensive typing. It grants Togedemaru eleven resistances, which really helps it survive strong attacks with its average defenses. Offensively, electric has good neutral coverage in this game, and it's super effective against water and flying, which are two of the most common typings. Its typing is probably its best asset.
Movepool: Togedemaru gets everything it needs and nothing more. Zing Zap, poison jab and u-turn are its only decent offensive moves. Luckily, togedemaru also gets some decent utility moves trough level up like nuzzle, magnet rise and spiky shield.
Major Battles: Togedemaru performs really well against pretty much the entirety of team skull and the aether foundations due to its typing. It's not particularly great against nanu and totem mimickyu, but not dead weight either. Togedemaru struggles against Hapu and the Kommo-o trial, but at that point in the game there should be plenty of other pokemon you can use to defeat it. Togedemaru has decent matchups against the elite four, especially against Kahili and Olivia. The mathup against Kukui's Lycanrock, Ninetails, and Braviary, and (if you chose litten) Primarina are favorable as well.
Additional Comments: the electric z-crystal is the preferred item because Togedemaru tends to lack power sometimes.


Name: Stufful
Availability: Stufful comes fairly early on at route 8, and later at Akala outskirts, though it has an unfortunate 5% encounter rate.
Stats: Very great bulk and attack, but fairly slow. special defense is also somewhat low, though Bewear's 120 base HP mitigates this to an extend.
Typing: Normal/Fighting is very decent. It gets good neutral coverage with STAB moves, few but useful resistances, but quite a lot of weaknesses, some of which are somewhat mitigated by fluffy.
Movepool: Very good. Early game brick break allows Stufful to contribute right when you catch it. Bewear get powerful STABs in double-edge and hammer arm and a lot of coverage moves such as earthquake, payback, shadow claw, rock slide and even dragon claw.
Major Battles: Stufful runs all over kahuna Olivia, Nanu and Hapu. It's not particularly great against totem lurantis, Vikivolt,Mimickyu and Kommo-o, but it can contribute in all of them. Stufful has some difficulties against the aether foundation and team skull, with mostly bad matchups (Faba/Lusamine/plumeria) and some good ones (Gladion). Bewear generally performs well against the entire elite four, except for Kahili.
Additional Comments: You definitely want a stufful with fluffy, and not with klutz. Cathing Stufful can take time, but it's definitely worth it because Bewear is an incredibly useful pokemon.
 
Last edited:

Conni

katharsis
I'm reserving Abra, Alolan Grimer, and Wingull next!

I'm dropping these three
 
Last edited:

DHR-107

Robot from the Future
is a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Pokemon Researcheris a Smogon Media Contributor
Orange Islands
Just want to throw out here that these write ups are supposed to be concise and clear.


Name: Drilbur
Availability: Early-Mid Game, Relic Passage, 80% (Dust Cloud)
Stats: Great Attack coupled with good Speed. Gains nice bulk upon evolving.
Typing: Starts out as a pure Ground-type, which gives a good STAB to work with. An additional Steel typing upon evolution grants more resistances and better matchups.
Movepool: Will start out with Dig or learn it soon after capture. It also has access to Metal Claw, and later, Slash and Rock Slide. Waiting two levels before evolving it grants Drilbur early Earthquake.
Major battles: Won't do extremely well against Burgh, but can beat Dwebble. Elesa is child's play for it, but needs to be careful around Emolga. If evolved, it can be used to defeat Clay's Excadrill easily. Due to its good offensive capabilities, no major battle should be tough for it. However, stay away from Pokemon with potential super effective moves.
This is Drilbur's from the BW2 thread. This is a very clear and short way of writing about its perks. Clear about its availability, general stat line and then some notes on its typing and movepool. The largest part of any of these things should be the "Major Battles" section, which in SM is likely just the Kahuna's, Totem mons, Guzma, Lusamine, Hau and the E4. Please go and look at some of the write ups there if you need some ideas. 2/3 lines is more than enough to explain whats good/bad about a mon.

Name: Happiny
Availability:
Early, but with a huge draw back. It only gets called in by other Baby Pokemon like Pichu in an SOS battle. It could take some time to get a decent one.
Stats: Extremely specially based. If you manage to get Chansey/Blissey before Wishiwashi you wall it decently even with the rain up. Blissey walls all but the most potent special attackers. Obviously, avoid anything physical.
Typing: Normal. Great defensively as you're not going to be battling any Fighting - types anyway. Unfortunately, it does leave it somewhat lacking on STAB options.
Movepool: If you get lucky with Hidden Power then you might be able to do work with it. Thunder Wave is useful for slowing opponents, while Charm can help shore up your low Defence. The lack of Softboiled being able to heal allies is a shame, and its damaging moves are few and far between. Charge Beam is another option which is available early.
Major Battles: Works decently against Wishiwashi and Salazzle, but gets hurt badly by Lurantis and Kommo-O. Blissey can take on Hau's infamous Alolan Raichu and batter it with Hidden Power. Keep it away from the Kahuna battles as Blissey has bad matchups with all of them but might help Vs Nanu. Blissey shines against Lusamine (while avoiding Bewear), as with healing Blissey can wall all of her other Pokemon, barring bad Metronome rolls from Clefable. Watch out for Leech Seed and Pain Split in the second battle from Lilligant and Mismagius respectively. During the Elite 4, it does well against Acerola, but otherwise keep it in the back line as a wall for revive spam.
Additional Comments: Evolve it into Chansey before level 16 using the Oval Stone found at Paniola Ranch to get Softboiled. Blissey will come soon after. You will need to augment its rather limited movepool with TMs to make the most of it.

I might see if I can cut down the major battles section a bit more... I don't mention Guzma as its a horrible matchup throughout.
 
I've been following these in-game tierlists since BW2, I guess, and I finally made an account here, haha...So if it was possible, I'd like to reserve Rowlet and Sandile... As far as I've seen write-ups for those two haven't been done or reserved yet.
 
Well, since we're supposed to go small instead of hefty sized... Might as well go small then for Dewpider

Name: Dewpider
Availability:
Brooklet Hill, with a 40% chance if surfing, and up to 20% chance in grass.
Stats:
The stats look bad offensively, but thanks to Water Bubble, Dewpider's water moves hit hard. Once evolved, it's also a great special wall, albeit slow.
Typing: Water/Bug. This gives Dewpider some decent resistances and thanks to its ability, it resists fire. It is, however, weak to common coverage moves and some STABS, and Water/Bug STAB does okay.
Movepool: Dewpider is mostly going to be banking on its water moves thanks to Water Bubble, but Bug Bite into Leech Life helps handle grass types, and gives it some sustain. Bite into Crunch also helps, and Toxic is available later on for wearing down bulky targets. Scald into Liquidate is your primary STAB, however.
Major Battles: Thanks to the rain, Dewpider can outmuscle Totem Wishiwashi, but needs help. Salazzle is hosed down, and Lurantis and the remaining totems are better left to other mons. Olivia is a difficult fight, Nanu is better left to other mons, and Dewpider can deal with Hapu thanks to how powerful its water moves are. Against Lusamine, Dewpider handles her Milotic wonderfully and her Lilligant, but the other three mons are more difficult and should be avoided. For the Elite 4, Dewpider's best matchup is against Hala (because of typing) and Acerola thanks to its special defense.
Additional Comments: With Waterium Z, Dewpider hits incredibly hard, and can one-shot even somewhat bulky neutrals. However, with non-water moves, it hits incredibly weak.
 
Sorry this is a bit late. Will add sprites in a bit. Also, if anyone could give me feedback on what I could shorten, that would be nice.

Name: Minior
Availability:
Mid-game (Mount Hokulani). Very common at 30% availability.
Stats: Meteor Forme has good 60/100/100 defenses and low offenses, but its Core Forme, accessible at 50% HP, gives it good 100/100 offenses and an amazing 120 Speed, making it one of the fastest Pokemon in-game
Typing: Rock/Flying has a healthy amount of resistances and is generally good offensively
Movepool: Shallow. Minior's main STAB upon arrival will be AncientPower, which is not very strong, has low PP, and will be coming off of base 60 SpA unless you can consistently get Minior into its Core form. It also has Rock Tomb, which helps remedy Meteor Form's low speed and the PP problem but is still very weak. Its only Flying-type STAB move is Acrobatics, which is available but requires Minior to not hold an item. AncientPower will be upgraded into Power Gem at level 38, while Rock Slide becomes available once Sharpedo Jet is obtained. Minior has a couple of boosting options in Calm Mind and Autotomize, but the real gem comes in Shell Smash. Unfortunately, it can only be accessed at level 50.
Major Battles: Minior is best left out against Sophocles and Molayne due to its natural type disadvantage. It has a neutral matchup vs. Mimikyu, but must be careful not to let its Rock-type moves get Mimiced. Ghost-type STAB moves and Play Rough can also dent it. All of Nanu's Pokemon carry Rock-type moves and Krokorok resists its main STAB, so Minior struggles. Minior also struggles heavily against Hapu as all of her Pokemon can beat it 1v1. Guzma's Golisopod can be troublesome with Water-type moves but his other Bug-types are easy pickings. Against Lusamine, Minior loses to Hydro Pump but can take on Lilligant with Acrobatics and potentially set up on Clefable. Against the Elite Four, Minior can pick off individual Pokemon vs. Hala but struggles to sweep due to strong coverage moves and Poliwrath. Olivia beats it while it matches up neutrally against Acerola, and it beats Kahili once Skarmory is beaten. Against Kukui, Minior loses to everything except Braviary and Incineroar or Decidueye, although it can beat Ninetales if boosted.
Additional Notes: Minior is most potent when in its Core Forme and with a boost. This will cause a drain on healing items as keeping it in its Core Forme leaves it with low defenses.

Pikipek:
Availability:
Early at Route 1. Common at 30% availability in the grass
Stats: In all 3 stages, Pikipek boasts high Attack, with Toucannon capping out at a great 120 Attack. Unfortunately, the rest of its stats are subpar and Toucannon's speed drops upon evolution.
Typing: Normal/Flying is pretty bread-and-butter. Flying is a great offensive type. Pikipek unfortunately loses out on a Fighting-type resistance.
Movepool: Good. Pikipek has strong physical Flying-type STAB early with Peck and Pluck, and Fighting-type coverage via Rock Smash and Brick Break through TM. Beak Blast is the strongest move available and can snatch a burn off of common contact moves, but it has a charge turn. Drill Peck is slightly weaker, but more reliable and lacks recoil. Return and Frustration are good Normal-type STAB while Swords Dance can boost attack. Toucannon has great coverage through Bullet Seed and Rock Blast.
Major Battles: Pikipek matches up neutrally against Alolan Raticate and Gumshoos, and it should have access to Pluck to beat Hala's Fighting-types. Wishiwashi and Salazzle are best left to other Pokemon, although Trumbeak can hit Salazzle hard on its low Defense. Lurantis is still not an easy matchup due to its powerful Solar Blade, but if Castform is beaten Trumbeak can take it on. Olivia, Sophocles, and Molayne should all be avoided. Toucannon is a good matchup vs Mimikyu thanks to its Ghost-type immunity, and it can take on Nanu's Sableye and Krokorok, although Persian's Fur Coat thwarts its physical attacks. Toucannon is immune to Hapu's Ground-type moves and can beat most of her Pokemon 1v1, barring Dugtrio. Lusamine is a neutral matchup: if Toucannon can avoid getting hit, it can boost up and sweep her team. Guzma is an easy matchup as none of his Pokemon can hit Toucannon more than neutrally. Against the Elite Four, Toucannon matches up well vs. Hala (watch out for Rock Slide and Crabominable), Acerola barring Froslass, and Kahili if it has Rock Blast. Olivia should be avoided. Against Kukui, Toucannon loses to Magnezone, Ninetales, Snorlax and Lycanroc but it can beat all of the starters and Braviary with the appropriate coverage move or STAB.
Notes: Toucannon is quite slow, so be prepared to take a hit before attacking. Make use of its good coverage to beat foes most Flying-types would struggle against.
 
Last edited:
Name: Rowlet
Availabilty: first pokemon you'll get as it's your starter
Stats: Good Attack and Special Attack, unfortunately kinda slow with only 70 base speed
Typing: Grass/Ghost. Losing its flying type and gaining Ghost honestly hurt it more than helped. Especially late-game it seems like basically every Pokémon has Ghost/Dark moves.
Movepool: Bad beginning movepool, gets access to better moves later on. Early on Razor Leaf/Pluck are decent enough to go with but having to stay with those two moves until Level 44 or even 55 really hurts it. It's a shame Leaf Blade and Brave Bird come so late. You could always consider running Acrobatics but that'd mean losing Z-attack boost on Spirit Shackle. Getting Spirit Shackle via evolving into Decidueye obviously helps as it's a great move. Decidueye also gets U-turn. (His pre-evolutions don't, though) Sucker Punch is also a great option as it provides the speed Decidueye is desperately missing. It's kind of unreliable, however.
Major Battles: The trainer school's magnemite is obviously bad, as is Ilima's Technican Ember Smeargle. Neutral against Totem Raticate. You can tackle Hala's fighting mons with Peck but prepare to take a hit. Hau and his Litten/Pikachu are obviously a no-go. Good against Wishiwashi. Stay away from Salazzle. Lurantis is a mixed bag. You need to watch out Trumbeak and Lurantis still hits you hard with Solar blade. Useful for Olivia, watch out for her Lycancroc, though. Can't do much against Sophocles and Molayne, stay away from Mimikyu as it'll slaughter you. Nanu and his dark mons wreck you. Good against Hapu. Can beat Lusamine's Bewear (it has no move to hit you with), Lilligant, Milotic and maybe Mismagius (but be careful with that one, it might outspeed and kill you) You have a hard time against Guzma. Kahili should also be avoided. You can try taking on Acerola but she might kill you in return if you fail to OHKO. Good against Olivia, could take on Hala but unfortunately a lot of his pokemon have Dark coverage moves so you need to watch out here. Bad against Kukui's Ninetales and Braviary, Magnezone should also be avoided as well as Incineroar. You can consider taking on Lycanroc and Relaxo but their crunch will hit you very hard.

So overall, mediocre performance. The Rowlet line is unfortunately by far the worst of the three starters even though it can have its uses. Popplio and Litten are still the better starter choices.


__
Name: Sandile
Availabilty: Kinda late at Haina Desert, Ula'Ula (the third) Island
Stats: Good attack and Speed (especially for Alola).
Additionally, its abilities are both great. Moxie and Intimidate are really, really useful.
Typing: Ground/Dark. Not an overwhelmingly good typing ingame as its good matchups have already passed when you catch Sandile (e.g. Molayne, Salazzle...) Dark is still useful to beat all those Ghost types and Ground typing is always a solid option to add to your team.
Movepool: Crunch and Dig are useful STABs. Unfortunately Earthquake comes fairly late. You'll get additional coverage in Brick Break, Rock Slide and later on Outrage.
Major Battles: As you get it fairly late it can't help with battles it otherwise would be useful in (e.g. Salazzle, Molayne...) However, it can easily take on Hau's Raichu which is always an advantage. It's a mixed bag against Aether Foundation and bad against Lusamine. Obviously avoid Lilligant, Milotic, Bewear and Clefable so you can only beat Mismagius. Guzma is also problematic. You beat Acerola (watch out for her Dhelmise and Froslass, though) You can take on Kahili with the exception of Scarmory. Hala is a no-go. Useful against Kukui's Magnezone. You can try tackle Braviary. Stay away from Ninetales, it wrecks you. Starter depends on your choice - you can take on Incineroar and maybe Decidueye but avoid Primarina. You can beat Lycanroc.

So, overall, Sandile is not the best ground pokemon to go with, Mudsdale comes earlier, evolves earlier and wrecks the game with Stamina. Still, Sandile can pull it's uses as its abilities are both great, its stats are good and the
 
Last edited:
Reserving Aerodactyl and Rockruff.

Aerodactyl
Availability:
Late. Aerodactyl is a gift Pokemon from an NPC in the Steelix boat at Seafolk Village.
Stats: Good. Aerodactyl has an above average 105 Attack and an amazing 130 Speed. Its other stats are mostly mediocre.
Typing: Rock/Flying is good offensively although it gives up some key resistances and is weak to notable attacking types like Water.
Movepool: Shallow. Aerodactyl's level up movepool is dry. When it arrives at level 40 it knows Crunch, AncientPower, Roar and Agility. Rock Slide is available as a TM and Take Down comes a level later, although Return will beat it for power. Aerodactyl has access to the elemental fangs and Iron Head via relearner. In terms of Flying-type STAB, Fly is its strongest option and available immediately via TM. Aerial Ace and Wing Attack are alternatives. If power is desired, Stone Edge can be purchased, although its accuracy is less reliable and its PP is low. Aerodactyl can also run Fire Blast to surprise Steel-types. Giga Impact is available via level-up but its coverage and recharge turn is undesirable. Aerodactyl can use Taunt and a Darkinium-Z to boost its Attack one stage, but this is a gimmicky option at best.
Major Battles: Aerodactyl can potentially take on the totem Kommo-o immediately, but Flash Cannon and the presence of a partner Scizor means another Pokemon is a better choice. Hapu is also a difficult matchup due to Dugtrio and Gastrodon. Aerodactyl can beat Guzma fairly easily, although it should watch out for Water-type moves from Golisopod. It can also handle most of Lusamine's team, though Milotic is problematic. Against the Elite Four, Aerodactyl matches up well against Hala barring Poliwrath and Crabominable, Kahili barring Skarmory, and Acerola if it knows Crunch. Against Kukui, Aerodactyl loses to Lycanroc, Snorlax, Magnezone and Primarina and is a 50/50 against Ninetales, but it can beat Incineroar/Decidueye and Braviary. Hau's Raichu, Primarina and Vaporeon will cause problems for Aerodactyl but the rest of his team is an easy matchup. Gladion's Lucario, Weavile, and Silvally-Water are difficult for Aerodactyl, but it can beat the other Silvally formes and Crobat easily.
Notes: Neither of Aerodactyl's abilities are particularly useful, but Rock Head enables it to use Take Down without suffering recoil. However, soft-resetting for it is inefficient as Aerodactyl can survive without it.

Rockruff
Availability:
Early, from Ten Carat Hill. Requires Tauros Charge to get to the Farthest Hollow where it's common at a 30% availability. Both Lycanroc formes can also be found in Vast Poni Canyon.
Typing: Mono-Rock is good offensively as it hits common Bug-type and Flying-types for super-effective damage as well as Fire-types and Ice-types. However, it is marked with many common weaknesses to Fighting and Ground.
Stats: Rockruff has a good Attack and Speed stat. Midday Forme has an impressive 115 Attack and 112 Speed. Midnight Forme only has 82 Speed, which is still decent in-game, but has slightly better defenses to make up for it.
Movepool: Shallow. Rockruff has early STAB with Rock Throw and Rock Tomb. Rock Slide and Stone Edge are more powerful options later on, although Stone Edge's accuracy and PP can be undesirable. Accelerock is an option for Lycanroc-Midday, but it is usually fast enough to not need it. Lycanroc's coverage extends to Crunch, Return/Frustration, and Brick Break as it does not have many options. Swords Dance and Bulk Up are both available for boosts. Midnight Forme has Reversal and Counter, but both are very situational.
Major Battles: Rockruff suffers against Wishiwashi and Lurantis but can easily break past Salazzle. Lycanroc can beat Vikavolt, but loses to Molayne's Steel-types. Mimikyu is a fairly easy matchup, especially if Lycanroc has Bite for the ally Gengar and Haunter. Nanu is a neutral matchup, although Lycanroc loses to Krokorok. Kommo-o and Hapu are both nightmare matchups as Lycanroc can't touch them and gets KOed in return. Lusamine's Lilligant and Milotic are problematic but the rest of her team can get handled if Lycanroc has a boost. Against the Elite Four, Lycanroc loses to Hala and Olivia but can beat Acerola and Kahili. Lycanroc can beat Kukui's Lycanroc, Ninetales, Braviary and Incineroar or Decidueye but loses to Magnezone and Snorlax.
Notes: Lycanroc cannot often beat bulky mons without Swords Dance due to its shallow movepool. Both formes are equally powerful, but as neither are particularly bulky, Midday Forme's extra speed means that it is less likely to take a hit in return if it can hit first.
 
Last edited:
I actually did the Wishiwashi writeup back in November, but it's not really concise, so I went and cleaned it up a bit?



Name: Wishiwashi:
Availability: Brooklet Hill. It's a mandatory event encounter early into the game, so you may as well catch it - you have to fight it either way. Wishiwashi has no time cost and no opportunity cost whatsoever.
Stats: As long as Schooling is active, Wishiwashi is very durable and features offenses very little can come close to. Toward endgame, its bulk gets less impressive, but remains serviceable, and its offensive presence is top-tier from the moment you obtain it until the credits roll. It is, however, slow enough that - as a general rule - it'll always move second. Additionally, Wishiwashi is on the Fast experience curve, which is valuable - it will consistently require substantially less experience than anything else on your team to gain a level, and by endgame will get the benefit of an easy six or seven levels on the rest of your team even if you aren't especially favoring it.
Typing: Mono-Water. Boring but practical - weaknesses aren't a problem and your STAB is good and spammable.
Movepool: Adequate. Level-up moves suck, but Scald is all you really need for the bulk of the game anyway, Feint Attack is surprisingly useful side coverage, and your TM options (Bulldoze, Blizzard, etc.) provide you with just the set of tools you need. U-turn is surprisingly handy - because of the way Schooling works, Wishiwashi appreciates the ability to U-turn out on a hit it expects to put it under 25% HP.
Major Battles: Wishiwashi handles Totem Wishiwashi and Salazzle very well with Scald, but doesn't like fighting Lurantis. Olivia, Plumeria and Molayne go down easily, but Vikavolt hits hard on a weakness and is best avoided. You beat Guzma through sheer brute force, but your speed gets you slept against Mimikyu. Skulls and Nanu aren't any problem, and the Aether Foundation goes down easily as long as you avoid strong Electrics or Grasses. Lusamine is bad, Hapu goes down without a problem, Kommo-o dies to Blizzard, and Gladion shouldn't be an issue unless Silvally is Grass-type, and if Silvally is Grass-type you're probably not using Wishiwashi. Hau is bad news. Kahili and Olivia go down easily, and you can't solo Acerola, Hala, or Kukui, but you should be able to score three or four kills on each of them.
Additional Comments: Early on, Waterium-Z is a good item pick, but as Wishiwashi's statistical advantage over opponents starts to shrink, Leftovers or the Shell Bell make a huge difference in Wishiwashi's survivability by wiping away the chip damage it accumulates throughout a battle. You should aim to give it one of the two by the start of island 3.
 
Reposting my Ledyba analysis.

Name: Ledyba
Availability: Route 1 during Daytime. You practically have to go out of your way to miss this mon as well, being pretty common.

Typing: Bug/Flying is somewhat good for the first island, especially the Hala fight, but it drops off in utility immediately after that. The typing lets you cheese Totem Lurantis, so it's not all bad.

Stats: Good Special Defense at the point in the game you get it, and is also pretty fast, ESPECIALLY for the part of the game where you get it. However its physical bulk and attack are kinda bad, and these qualities are only accentuated when it evolves.

Movepool: Gets Swift at level 8 and the screens at level 12. Both of these are really useful early-game, i.e. the part of the game where Ledyba is not a burden. Gets Acrobatics via TM, and Silver Wind before it loses usefulness. However, until you hit level 8, you'll be stuck with the extremely weak Tackle and the unreliable Supersonic to deal damage.

Major Battles:

Ledyba can take on Hau's Pichu and Ilima's Yungoos in a pinch, or can be foddered to deal significant damage to them with Swift before going down. Against Gumshoos, Reflect allows Ledyba to be a great supporter, but this isn't as useful against Raticate due to Focus Energy. Ledyba straight-up beats Hala's Makuhita due to its typing and Swift, and can set up Reflect against Crabrawler to ease the pain of its Z-move. Ledyba sets up Light Screen versus Wishiwashi, but is annoyed by the SOS summons. It immediately faints against Salazzle, and Acrobatics can be used to effectively cheese Lurantis.


Additional comments: Ledyba is a good filler for an early-game team while waiting for some later island Pokemon to show up. It has a decent early-game, with the ability to cheese some difficult fights, but is almost completely useless after Totem Lurantis and should be boxed immediately following that fight.
 
Last edited:
Name: Growlithe
Availability: Very early, on Route 2, first island
Stats: good speed (especially for Alola), good attack/special attack, good stats overall
Typing: Fire. Useful early on as it beats bug types which are incredibly common on the first few routes. Later on it's typing doesn't particularly shine but still has its uses e.g. grass types (Lurantis), steel (Molayne) or bug types.
Movepool: Shallow until lategame. Unfortunately you have to keep Growlithe unevolved for a very long time (level 45 actually) to get it's best moves with Crunch/Flare Blitz/Outrage. However, Arcanine is an absolute beast with these moves, once you get it. You could also consider evolving it at 34 for it to get Flamethrower. Obviously weaker than Flare Blitz but you get Arcanine's good stats earlier. Wild charge is also good to beat water mons.
Major Battles: It does okay against Hala but will certainly need backup. Good against Lurantis but keep it as far away as you can from Wishiwashi. Salazzle is also kind of problematic as it's faster and hits you hard. You can take on Molayne, but you won't be able to defeat Vikavolt alone. You can beat Mimikyu's allies with Bite. Nanu's Krokorok and his Persian with Powergem are problematic. Hapu is a nightmare. If you have Outrage by then you can try take on Kommo-o. You can beat Lusamine's Lilligant and maybe Mismagius with Crunch. It's decent enough against the Elite four. Olivia is obviously a no-go, Hala hits you very hard though you might be able to take out a few of his mones, you can beat Acerola's Dhelmise and maybe her other mons with Crunch. Kahili's Skarmory will die to your fire attack and you can take on her other mons with Wild Charge. You can take on Kukui's Ninetales, Magnezone and Decidueye and maybe Braviary with Wild Charge. Stay away from Lycanroc and Relaxo can also be a problem.
Additional Comments: If you want to keep Growlithe unevolved until level 45, it's absolutely necessary to give him an Eviolite or it will start dying to everything, especially late game. However, if you don't want to wait that long or need your Eviolite for another pokemon, just evolve Growlithe at Level 34 and you'll get a good moveset of Flamethrower/Wild Charge/Extreme Speed/Filler.
 
Last edited:

Conni

katharsis
__
Name: Sandile
Availabilty: Kinda late at Haina Desert, Ula'Ula (the third) Island
Stats: Good attack and Speed (especially for Alola).
Additionally, its abilities are both great. Moxie and Intimidate are really, really useful.
Movepool: Crunch and Dig are useful STABs. Unfortunately Earthquake comes fairly late. You'll get additional coverage in Brick Break, Rock Slide and later on Outrage.
Major Battles: As you get it fairly late it can't help with battles it otherwise would be useful in (e.g. Salazzle, Molayne...) However, it can easily take on Hau's Raichu which is always an advantage. It's a mixed bag against Aether Foundation and bad against Lusamine. Obviously avoid Lilligant, Milotic, Bewear and Clefable so you can only beat Mismagius. Guzma is also problematic. You beat Acerola (watch out for her Dhelmise and Froslass, though) You can take on Kahili with the exception of Scarmory. Hala is a no-go. Useful against Kukui's Magnezone. You can try tackle Braviary. Stay away from Ninetales, it wrecks you. Starter depends on your choice - you can take on Incineroar and maybe Decidueye but avoid Primarina. You can beat Lycanroc.

So, overall, Sandile is not the best ground pokemon to go with, Mudsdale comes earlier, evolves earlier and wrecks the game with Stamina. Still, Sandile can pull it's uses as its abilities are both great, its stats are good and the
btw you forgot to include the typing section for sandile

also for your growlithe typing line I think you can do better than just stating that its a Fire-type.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 1)

Top