Alright, no beating around the bush, dear readers. Today is Part 2 of what will end up being THREE full articles covering all the move changes in GBL Season 20, this time filling an entire article with analysis on all the buffed fast moves! (Last time was about all the nerfs, if you missed it.)

I hate to do it, but there’s SO much to get into even with just the fast moves that I’m skipping out customary Bottom Line Up Front just to leave room for it all! So strap in and let’s GO!

CHOP CHOP! 

In the Part 1 analysis on nerfs, I spent a good part of the beginning of the article talking about the nerf to Counter, the move that largely defined Fighting types in PvP through its first 19 seasons. Basically everything with Counter drops in the rankings.

But that’s far from the end of the story. Fighting is obviously still an important typing for what it keeps in check. The difference moving forward is that higher energy fast moves rise to the top. That includes things with Double Kick, which deals slightly below average damage (2.66 Damage Per Turn) and above average energy generation (4.0 Energy Per Turn), but also now the buffed KARATE CHOP. Until now, it’s been a clone of very good PvP moves Powder Snow, Quick Attack, Vine Whip, and (formerly… RIP) Wing Attack, at 2.5 DPT and 4.0 EPT. But now, it becomes one of the best fast moves in the game, with the same 2.5 DPT but now 4.5 EPT. To put that in persepctive, there are NO other moves that generate 4.5 or more Energy Per Turn that deal any higher than 2.0 DPT. Thunder Shock and Psycho Cup have 4.5 EPT and deal only 1.5 EPT, and even the buffed Fairy Wind and Poison Sting (spoiler alert!) deal only 2.0 DPT. The amazing Water Shuriken that generates 4.66 EPT also tops out at 2.0 DPT. Karate Chop is overall now better than any of those.

However, it comes with very limited distribution. Only the MACHOP/MACHOKE/MACHAMP, MANKEY/PRIMEAPE, and MAGBY/MAGMAR/MAGMORTAR lines learn it in GO, and this season PANGORO gains it as well. And for Machamp and Primeape, it’s a Legacy move! Unless you’re a collector, there’s a very good chance you don’t have any Champs or Apes with it right now. But if you can afford to do so, they are absolutely worth using some Elite Fast TMs now.

Machamp

Fighting

• MACHAMP is suddenly the #2 ranked Fighter in Great League, and ranked #3 in Ultra League, behind only Pangoro (more on that in a minute) and Cobalion. It still wants to usually run Cross Chop as always, but with the nerf to Rock Slide and the awesome energy generation, Stone Edge (also Legacy) is now the coverage move of choice, bringing in wins like Sableye, Alolan Marowak, Trevenant, Venusaur, Goodra, and Feraligatr in GL (it’s now quite a monster at that level), and Skeledirge, Golisopod, and Ampharos in UL. Payback becomes an intriguing alternative in Ultra specifically, able to take out Gatr, Trev, and rising Decidueye in exchange for giving up Talonflame, Dragonite, and Golisopod that Stone Edge can beat instead. Payback also allows for beating both Necrozma Fusions in Master League, though Stone Edge has… well, the edge overall with wins over Ho-Oh, Reshiram, Dragonite, and the rising Yveltal instead, though it remains just so-so overall in that meta, still behind stuff like Marshadow and The Swords Of Justice. (Pretty sure that band charted in the 80s!) But overall, The Champ is right back where many would say he belongs: in the highest tier of Fighters in PvP. Provided you have the Elite TMs to get it ready, of course.

  Primeape

  Fighting

• PRIMEAPE also requires an Elite TM to get Karate Chop now, but thankfully it generally doesn’t need or want its Legacy charge move Cross Chop, as the Angry Ape has both Night Slash and Ice Punch as cheap bait/coverage moves, and then generally relies on Close Combat for its closing power. Both variants are pretty equally viable, with Ice Punch beating Mandibuzz and Night Slash instead getting Skeledirge in GL, and Night Slash being slightly better in Ultra by outracing things like Pangoro and Feraligatr, and Ice Punch being better for Dragons like Dragonite. As you can see, though, it’s a step behind Machamp, and will need certain Limited metas to overcome its four-armed competition on most teams.

  Pangoro

  FightingDark

• Now the new one: PANGORO. A complete afterthought ranked outside the Top 250 in GL and UL in the past (and not really worth even mentioning in ML), that ALL changes now that it is the only Fighting type with Karate Chop as a non-Legacy move. And boy, does it ever make use of it. Running with one of Primeape’s same movesets of Chop/Night Slash/Close Combat, it does better with it in all three major Leagues. Being half-Dark is obviously a liability against other Fighters, but again, remember that Fighters generally now deal less fast move damage and shift over to more charge move pressure, so Pangoro can stand up to their assault a bit better than Scrafty ever could in past metas. (But uh… it will generally still lose those.) The Dark side is more of a boon than bust, however, with the resistances to Psychic and Ghost and extra resistance to Dark all coming in quite handy (with wins like Trevenant, Sableye, Feraligatr, and Malamar to show for it). It IS a little bit of a “sim hero” with the double=edged sword of Close Combat maiming the opponent but also hobbling Pangoro whenever used, but with a little practice on the timing, Pangoro is sure to emerge as a big player in the Season 20 metas.

  Magmar

  Fire

• That just leaves MAGMAR and MAGMORTAR, who suddenly become very unpredictable wild cards in Great League. (Both can get to the right size for Ultra, and Magmortar can get plenty big enough for Master, but they’re more spice than meta there even with this improvement.) The best play seems to be running Magmar with Chop, Fire Punch, and Scorching Sands (bet you didn’t even know they could learn Sands now!) or Magmortar with Chop, Punch, and Legacy Thunderbolt (for unique coverage… with Sands it’s basically a less bulky and just plain worse Magmar). ANd the best overall is Magmar as a Shadow in GL, where it beats not just things you’d expect like Steel, Grass, Fairy, and (most) Ice types, but also Darks, fellow Fires, Pangoro, and even Feraligar and very nearly Lanturn too. Magmar new meta? Eh, probably not, but certainly better than mere spice. I am sure it’s going to make some noise in SOME meta this season.

WINDS OF CHANGE 

Another fast move change with wide-reaching impact is that FAIRY WIND is getting a straight damage buff, retaining its 4.5 EPT but moving from 1.5 to now a flat 2.0 DPT. This makes it very nearly the exact inverse of Charm’s 5.0 DPT/2.0 EPT statline. Charmers aren’t going anywhere (sorry!), but now more than ever, Fairies can survive and even thrive without it.

Clefable

Fairy

• The biggest beneficiary is clearly CLEFABLE, rising nearly 160 slots in the GL rankings up to #8, and 75 slots up to #3 in Ultra! In fairness, it also gets a much-improved new bait charge move as well, SWIFT, which I may as well talk about now too. Last season Swift was a clone of all the Elemental Punches (Fire, Ice, Thunder), Aerial Ace, and fellow Normal move Stomp at 40 energy for 55 damage. But now Swift has dropped to only 35 energy, making it basically the new pre-Season 20 Body Slam. (Minus 5 energy, but hey, still really good.) ANYway, Clefable now learns that too, and while it’s also set with Moonblast and Meteor Mash, there’s no denying that the neutral spam of Swift looks mighty tasty too. Moonblast you probably always want to keep, so then it’s a choice of Meteor Mash to smack other Fairies (probably most useful in Limited metas), or Swift for general beats and wins like Ampharos, Golisopod, and a diminished Tapu Fini in Ultra, and Lickilicky, Charjabug, and even Normal-resistant Trevenant and Alolan Sandslash in GL (whereas Mash instead beats Galarian Weezing, Whimsicott, and Carbink where they are relevant). But put that and the buffed Fairy Wind together, and Clefable now adds wins like Drapion, Shadow Quagsire, Wigglytuff, Trevenant, Cresselia and others. It deserves its lofty, #1 Fairy rank. And good news: you can build a 15-15-15 for Ultra League and it’s just about as good (missing out only on Cobalion) as high XL varieties. Watch out!

  Weezing (Galarian)

  PoisonFairy

• GALARIAN WEEZING also sees an impressive jump, up over 100 in the rankings to #38 in Great League, and from #97 all the way up to #20 in Ultra League, and it’s not hard to see why in either of those Leagues! However, as with Clefable, there is a charge move that is largely responsible for this too: a cost (and damage) reduction for BRUTAL SWING, likely from a former 40 energy for 65 damage to now 35 energy for 55 damage, the same as newfangled Swift. While Dark is resisted by more things than Normal, the effects are the same. I will save further analysis for when we get to reviewing Brutal Swing proper, as it has far greater distribution than does Swift and definitely deserves its own separate analysis section.

  Florges

  Fairy

• FLORGES could be a player in all Leagues, jumping over 100 slots (to #40) in Great League, over 40 slots (up to #13) in Ultra, and from a previous #34 now all the way to inside the Top 10 in Master League! The only really notable win it picks up is Kyogre, but it gets much more effective in beating things like Garchomp and Xerneas too. And that last win hints at a large part of what makes it special… while it of course handles most all Dark and Dragon types, it also has the edge versus other ML Fairies. This also holds true elsewere, such as beating Wigglytuff (and forcing at least a tie with Clefable) in Great League, as well as the extra power of Fairy Wind now adding wins versus Lickilicky and Quagsire as well.

  Enamorus

  FairyFlying

• Speaking of Master League, while I would not yet put it into the upper echelon of Fairy types, ENAMORUS moves up to #27 overall, and is at least interesting now with new wins over Reshiram, Kyogre, Altered Giratina, and Dialga. Not bad! It even looks intriguing in Ulra if you’re feeling spicy.

  Whimsicott

  GrassFairy

• Also putting on a surprisingly good showing in Ultra is WHIMSICOTT, though honestly I’m not sure I recommend it beyond Great League, where it really shows its stuff now by adding on critical wins versus Mandibuzz and Feraligatr. Gatr is going to be HUGE in Season 20, and while it could limp away with single digit HP in Season 19, taking out Whimsie with a last ditch Ice Beam, now it’s never able to get there thanks to each Fairy Wind dealing 1 extra damage. Mandibuzz should be on the rise too, so taking them both out now has the needle pointing way up in Whimsicott in Season 20 and beyond.

  Jumpluff

  GrassFlying

• That all said, there is another Grass type that jumps (oh, the early puns FTW!) up the rankings farther than any other Fairy Wind user other than Clefable… and it’s not even a Fairy! JUMPLUFF (now the horrible, horrible pun payoff … hey, it’s late as I’m writing this and I am tired and cracking myself up here) shoots up over 100 slots all the way to the Top 20! And, like, how do you even argue with that? It too now outraces Feraligatr (and ShadowGatr), plus Sableye, Shadow Drapion (another big riser this season), and Alolan Ninetales! (With Charm, but still.) This all in addition to already handing all the big Waters (except ones like Dewgong, for obvious reasons), Grounds, Fighters, Grasses, and Darks (aside from Mandi) around, plus even things like Goodra, Wigglytuff, Charjabug, and Lickilicky too. Jumpluff is set up to be a top player this season, and I would not be at all surprised to see it even in Play!Pokémon regionals moving forward.

• Togetic

  FairyFlying

• Slurpuff

  Fairy

• Mawile

  SteelFairy

Other nice spicy picks include TOGETIC (which, in fairness, is somewhere above mere spice), SLUFPUFF (the uptick in Fairy damage frees it to use BOTH coverage moves if it wants to), and MAWILE.

A SUCKER BORN EVERY MINUTE 

Now coming off of Fighters and Fairies, here’s something that looks awesome but usually has to contend directly with both of those groups: SUCKER PUNCH is now a clone of (former) Counter, getting a massive damage boost from 5 to now 8, nearly double, without losing its already solid 3.5 EPT. Being a 2 turn move, that means it’s now 4.0 DPT/3.5 EPT, which is, as I said, what Counter was for the first 19 GBL Seasons and five and a half years of PvP.

That all said, this is not going to suddenly define Dark types as Counter did for Fighters for so long, simply because there’s not a ton of things that even have it….

Moltres (Galarian)

DarkFlying

• Probably the biggest jump is by one of the most exclusive Pokemon in the game: GALARIAN MOLTRES. To this point it hasn’t even wanted Sucker Punch, running Wing Attack instead, but obviously the fortunes of those two moves have flipped dramatically in Season 20. It shoots up to about #30 in Ultra League, over 200 slots in Great League up to #73, and from about #150 in Master League all the way up now into the Top 20! It picks up wins like Dialga, Dragonite, Garchomp, Palkia, Kyogre, and Solgaleo in Master League, and then Feraligatr, Cresselia, A-Giratina, Tentacruel, and even Ampharos in Ultra League (though it does drop a couple Fighters). I think it’s still a bit too flimsy for GL, but it it CLEARLY better across the board. Good luck with your D.A.I. catches, Pokefriends!

  Yveltal

  DarkFlying

• Sticking with Master League, we also have likely a new favorite fast move for YVELTAL. Sucker Punch isn’t on Snarl level of energy generation, obviously, but it does fine for Yvette’s relatively cheap 50-energy Oblivion Wing and/or Dark Pulse, and obviously deals a LOT more damage on its own. In the end, Sucker Punch Yveltal adds on wins like Dialga (regular and Origin), Palkia, Kyogre, Landorus, and even scary Melmetal. Quite the improvement! And the rankings show it, with Yvette moving from a previous #44 all the way up to #3!

  Marshadow

  FightingGhost

• STILL staying with Master League, we have MARSHADOW to consider. I spent some time when it was initially released comparing it to Annihilape. Of course, that was before the Counter nerf. Anni has no great fast move to fall back on and is tumbling out of metas everywhere (shoutout to Jon Kelly!), but Marshadow happens to have Sucker Punch, which was clearly worse at the time and just as clearly better now (as compared to Counter). One of the things we lamented with Marshie on initial release was its lack of good Ghost/Dark damage, and this takes care of that nicely and turns Marshadow into a well-rounded threat that can now beat things it couldn’t before like Landorus, Zygarde, Dawn Wings Necrozma, Solgaleo, Reshiram, and Dragonite. If its new #15 ranking surprises you, THIS is why it’s like that.

  Lokix

  BugDark

• For our last Sucker Punch highlight, we finally dip into the lower Leagues with a real wild card: LOKIX. In Great League and especially Ultra League, it’s got some major spice potential with Sucker Punch (and the improved Trailblaze… more on that later), taking down not just the Grasses and Psychics and Darks and Ghosts you’d expect, but some impressive stuff like Lickilicky, Goodra, Gastrodon (being a Bug is oh so useful against Muds), Feraligatr, Lanturn, Dewgong, and even Skeledirge (witt only resisted charge moves!) in Great League, and many of those same things plus Ampharos, Golisopod, Swampert, Registeel, and Giratina in Ultra. It won’t be confused for a new meta pick, but a spicy disruptor on the right team? Absolutely has that potential now despite being in Shiftry/Metagross territory in terms of glassiness. This seems to work better than old-stats Counter did for it, folks.

ROCK AND ROLL! 

Similarly to Sucker Punch, ROLLOUT is also getting a significant damage increase from 5 to 8, the difference being that Rollout is a three turn move (instead of Sucker Punch’s two) and it’s starting down at only 1.66 DPT, whereas Sucker Punch used to at least deal 2.5 DPT in the past. The end result? Rollout now deals a much more respectable 2.66 DPT (just below average), +1 DPT from Season 19, and still has an excellent 4.33 EPT. It may be a small step behind the very best fast moves in the game, but this is a MASSIVE upgrade for anything that has Rollout. Some cases in point:

Lickilicky

Normal

• There are a couple BIG moves associated with this buff, but the biggest of all has to be LICKILICKY. A complete afterthought in PvP to this point (basically strictly worse than its more famous — or should I say infamous — little bro Lickitung), oh how the turn tables, with Lickitung dropping far below Lickilicky as it rises 250 slots in the rankings all the way up to #18 in Great League and #6 in Ultra, despite the nerf to Body Slam that has largely defined the Lickis to this point. Why? Simply because Lickilicky can now learn Rollout, which deals only 0.33 less damage per turn, and generates a whopping 1.33 more energy per turn. It also doesn’t hurt that Rollout is unresisted by its fellow Normal types, while previous best fast move Lick is, giving Licky a big boost in Normal-heavy Limited metas. But it’s a beast even in Open, beating things it never could before like Drapion, Dewgong, Talonflame, Mandibuzz, and Charjabug. Perhaps even better, the excellent energy generation of Rollout allows Licky to reach behind the 55-energy Shadow Ball and shoot for the ultimate nukes of Solar Beam or Hyper Beam, giving up a couple Ghosts (like Sableye and Skeledirge) but gaining stuff like Clefable, Wigglytuff, Azumarill, Umbreon, Gastrondon, Lanturn (Solar Beam), and Guzzlord and G-Weezing (Hyper Beam). It would seem Shadow Ball is overall still best for Ultra League, however, important for taking out the Giratinas, Decidueye, and Skeledirge, and outracing Swampert and Dragonite too. Hyper Beam seems like your best alternative for how it can win the mirror and beat things like Guzzlord, Gastrodon, and Greninja, but I lean Shadow Ball overall for those scary Ghosts. The bottom line, however you play it, is that Lickilicky is something you definitely now want prepped, even with the Body Slam nerf. Rollout is just that good.

  Dunsparce

  Normal

• Unlike Licky, DUNSPARCE was already running Rollout, so this is just a straight upgrade… and a really good one, with Dundun rising from its old #168 ALL the way up to #6 in the new Great League. New wins include Cresselia, Guzzlord, Drapion, Whimsicott, Shadow Alolan Sandslash (even with the unresisted Powder Snow it may favor this season instead of Shadow Claw), Azumarill, and Lickilicky itself (with Shadow Ball, at least). Even with the nerf to Rock Slide this season, Dunsparce is going to be a beast, folks. Limited superstar no longer… expect to see it all over in Open play now too. I am more excited than ever for the future release of Dundunsparce.

  Miltank

  Normal

• Last one to really highlight is MILTANK, though in fairness it’s really just a step down from the others. The thing to particularly note is that you may want to run Stomp now rather than the weakened Body Slam, which can sneak in an extra win over Whimsicott, so there’s that. And while Thunderbolt is (probably) best in Great League, make sure to switch out to Ice Beam if you run it in Ultra.

  Golem (Alola)

  RockElectric

• Okay, I lied. ONE more which has always been close to this “thrifty” lover’s heart: ALOLAN GOLEM. Yes, I razzed on it when it initially got Rollout, since at the time it made NO sense when Volt Switch was already right there. But now, of course, that’s all changed with Rollout being a legit great move. Not only does this allow for Golem to finally distinguish itself from the bulkier (and typically better) Alolan Graveler, but now it is Golem that looks to be on top (at least in Shadow form), adding wins it couldn’t achieve before like Umbreon, Venusaur, Trevenant, Lanturn, Dragonair, and the much-improved Alolan Marowak (though moving away from Volt Switch DOES mean giving up Feraligatr). A-Golem does remain disappointingly tepid in Ultra League, but in Great League it’s the kind of thrifty, fun spice I can get behind.

ASTOUNDING ASTONISH

I’ve been doing this a long time, long enough that I had YEARS in which I could beat up on poor ASTONISH, and by extension, Niantic for putting out such an awful fast move in the first place and locking several otherwise good PvP Pokémon behind it. As recently as a year ago, this was a 3 EPT but only 1.66 DPT fast move, folks. That’s an overall worse fast move than anything in the game but Take Down and 0-damage moves Yawn and Splash. Seriously, it was as bad as it could get. Niantic upped the energy gains to 3.33 EPT last September, but didn’t REALLY attempt to address the issue until last December, raising the damage to 3.0 DPT, a significant bump, but one that still left Astonish as a strictly worse Shadow Claw and usually even unfavorable as compared to 4.0 EPT Hex. It showed up here and there, but often wasn’t used even then.

So I guess someone at Niantic was finally fed up with this move being left out in the cold, and they have now made it the fast move Ghosts can use to mess you up all on its own, retaining the agreeable 3.33 EPT but raising the damage all the way up to 4.0 DPT, which is 33% more damage output than anything else Ghost has to offer (Shadow Claw and Lick).

So what has this new power move that stands to benefit?

Drifblim

GhostFlying

Well, first off, I think anything that has the choice between Astonish and Hex now has a clear winner in Astonish. To some degree this shift already began, with many players that ran DRIFBLIM last season already making the swap. Now it’s a no-brainer. While it’s still so-so in Great League, Drifblim is now an Ultra League terror, and one that can be built as a near-hundo, saving a ton of dust and XL Candy, and still be just as good, and in multiple configurations. (Icy Wind is better for the mirror, by the way, while Mystical Fire can instead beat Registeel.) Either way, Astonish now enables a TON of wins that Hex cannot achieve, including Poliwrath, Golisopod, Swampert, Tapu Fini, G-Weezing, Talonflame, A-Giratina, and even Ampharos… with its own buffed, super effective Brutal Swing! You have a new XL grind to consider, folks!

Dusknoir

Ghost

• But moving up even higher is DUSKNOIR. It’s been three years since it had its Community Day, one in which I spent most of my analysis energy lamenting that it was getting Shadow Ball instead of Dusclops. I mean, it was just bad. Now it too gets Astonish, and moves up from being outside the Top 400 in Ultra League to within the Top 20! That said, I’m going to be a bit of a tease and save further analysis on this one for the next, charge move centric article, because its success is tied closely to finally, FINALLY, getting the bait move it’s been needing. So moving on….

  Decidueye

  GrassGhost

• DECIDUEYE already has the charge moves it needs thanks to the addition of Frenzy Plant and Spirit Shackle earlier this year. It’s been okay with Leafage and Magical Leaf, both added in 2023. But now it all comes together with the buff to Astonish. Yes, a couple of Water types with their own advantages slip away (Greninja and Golisopod), but look at the gains: Cresselia, Cobalion, Registeel, Trevenant, Virizion, Tentacruel, A-Giratina, Clefable, and even Skeledirge all go down to Deci’s new assault prowess. Deci goes from complete afterthought to legit meta option, just like that. Trevenant finally has some real — and much cheaper! — competition.

• Tapu Lele

  PsychicFairy

• Gholdengo

  SteelGhost

• Astonish is a surprising boon to a couple things in Master League as well. I’ve written before about how TAPU LELE was a bit underrated running Astonish in that meta, and that’s even more so now, with Kyogre and Dawn Wing Necrozma sliding onto the win list, a list already loaded with Dragons, Fairies, Darks, and Psychics from across the core meta. It moves from #94 then to #27 now. GHOLDENGO makes a similarly nice move up the ranks, from #90 to #47, and also picks up new wins over Mewtwo and Kyogre, creeping closer to the meta.

  Amoonguss

  Grass

Generally, though, everything not listed above that has Astonish is still likely to prefer other fast moves. Those with Shadow Claw (Runerigus, Palossand, Haunter) will likely still stick with it, and others like Golurk and Dunsparce now have other, even better fast moves, and others beyond THAT are still not quite good enough with it. And I’m sorry, I truly am, but this is still unlikely to really make AMOONGUSS a thing… at least in Great League. Ultra League Guss suddenly looking spicy though? HMMMMM. Take that as you will, folks.

THAT STINGS! 

This article is pretty huge already! So keeping this one simple: everything with POISON STING (keeps its 4.5 EPT and gets a straight damage buff to 2.0 DPT) is much better, and even fringe stuff from the past is suddenly quite interesting, gaining a bit more chip damage and much better farm down potential. The main highlights, in short:

Clodsire

PoisonGround

• CLODSIRE is now your #1 Pokemon in Great League. And I mean, I see no reason to argue. It was already very good last Season, but now it adds on Goodra, Dewgong, and Azumarill! Say hello to the new Registeel, folks. Clodsire has nearly identical bulk and stat product, and while Stone Edge and Earthquake obviously don’t deal as much straight damage as Regi’s moves, the coverage Clod provides is a great fit for this new meta. And you even have legit alternatives depending on your team and different Limited metas. Got one? Good. Don’t got one? Go build it. Like, right now!

  Drapion

  PoisonDark

• Another big mover is DRAPION. As with Clod, there are no notable changes here except the slight damage increase to Poison Sting, and yet it rises well over 100 slots to the Top 20, working as great anti-meta tech with new wins over Feraligatr, Lickilicky, Jumpluff, Umbreon, and even Registeel despite having no notable typing advantages over Regi whatsoever (and with Sting being resisted!). The improvement is more muted in Ultra League (just a new win over Dragonite), but Drapula is again well-positioned with wins over all the major Ghosts new and old, Fairies that are also on the rise, and several other big name Grasses and Psychics and such too.

  Qwilfish

  WaterPoison

• Surprisingly, perhaps even a better anti-meta play is now humble QWILFISH. With straight resistances to Fighting and Fairy (unlike Drap, who takes neutral), it beats them all hard even without any super effective charge moves (running best now with Aqua Tail and Ice Beam), whereas Drap struggles versus Fighters and Fairies like Azumarill and Carbink that Peter Qwil takes down. I’m not sure how much it may actually show up in Open, but it has plenty of potential with new wins like Feraligatr and Guzzlord to its name, and will absolutely be a big part of Limited metas now. Don’t sleep on it! (There’s also the Hisuian version, though at that point I’d probably just want Drap instead.)

  Ariados

  BugPoison

• Last one I’ll highlight is ARIADOS. Not sure it will actually hold these kind of numbers, but man, the potential is quite huge. I had forgotten it learns Trailblaze now, which gives it an awesome move kit overall. I’ll probably try this one out myself in the new season!

SLAPPED AROUND

And here, standing in the way of all these buffed Poisons, we have the double buffed MUD SLAP. Once almost a joke of a move compared to Mud Shot, now it’s Mud Slap that gets the last laugh. It was already quietly pretty good last season at only 3.0 EPT but a very nice 3.66 DPT, but now Niantic is going for broke with a 4.0 DPT/3.33 EPT line, the same as the now-incredible Astonish. That is DOUBLE the damage of Ground’s other two fast moves while being only 0.66 EPT behind them. Somehow, Mud Slap returned is now THE best Ground fast move. Wild!

As time is short, I will simply go through the highlights here.

• Golurk

  GroundGhost

• Marowak

  Ground

• GOLURK and MAROWAK (the OG one!) are suddenly very meta! But I’m going to save them for next time, as they each get a charge move buff that is a large part of their newfound success too. For now, try and acquire (or build) good ones. They’re gonna be worth it!

  Gastrodon

  WaterGround

• GASTRODON may have just become the best Mud Boy. I’m not even kidding. It’s ranked that way now in Great League and even Ultra League (not even caring about the Body Slam nerf), though I’d probably only rush to build a GL one for now, where it looks amazing. New wins include Machamp, Wigglytuff, Talonflame, Sableye, CharmTales, Dewgong, Dragonair, and oh yeah… the OG Mud Boy trio. You might dismiss this as an aberration, but considering how much of this is coming from just fast move pressure, this is actually more legit and reliable than many other sims, I think. The hype is very real with this one.

• Donphan

  Ground

• Grimer

  Poison

• Dugtrio (Alola)

  GroundSteel

• Not as likely to rush out and use them, but DONPHAN (another quiet recent recipient of Trailblaze last season) and GRIMER just became much spicier for sure. Sadly I still don’t really see it for the Dugtrios, though this is at least as good as any of them ALOLAN DUGTRIO, in this case) has ever looked before!

  Rhyperior

  RockGround

• In Master League, could this be the big boost RHYPERIOR has been waiting for? The new ranking of #6 would certainly indicate so, as would the new win/loss record with Focus Blast Mewtwo and both Necrozma Fusions moving into the win column. Go, Rhyno, go!

A WAVE OR A WHIMPER?

Malamar

DarkPsychic

There’s a lot of debate on how much of an energy boost PSYWAVE and METAL CLAW will be getting. My assumption is just +1 for each, which would put Psywave at an average 3.0 DPT/3.0 EPT line, and Metal Claw at an okay 2.5 DPT/3.5 EPT. However, a LOT of folks are clamouring for extra energy for at least Psywave, and PvPoke went with this crowd midweek and now shows Psywave at 4.0 EPT in the new season. IF that happens, MALAMAR could become very interesting. If not… well, it sticks with Psycho Cut and current mediocrity outside of Psychic Cup. A similar +2 buff to Metal Claw would also make Empoleon ridiculous, up to potentially #1 in Great League. (No exaggeration!) But I’m gonna punt and wait for the final numbers from Niantic on these, and assume the modest, even boring, +1 bump instead. We shall see!

ODDS AND ENDS

• Solgaleo

  PsychicSteel

• Heatran

  FireSteel

• Ninetales

  Fire

• Charizard

  FireFlying

• FIRE SPIN is getting a small damage buff, from 3.33 DPT to 3.66. Not much really cares, but sure, SOLGALEO and HEATRAN appreciate it in Master League (the former now beating Focus Blast Mewtwo, the latter adding Zacian, and both beating other current wins harder), but this doesn’t really justify any new investments. NINETALES and CHARIZARD too, I guess? Not feeling this one.

  Ledian

  BugFlying

• LEDIAN finally learns Counter now! One season too late. BRUH.

  Forretress

  BugSteel

• And in a Bug update nobody was asking for or expecting, FORRETRESS now gets VOLT SWITCH. This doesn’t necessarily make it better, but it certainly gives it exciting new options. Without Bug Bite it starts losing stuff like Sableye, Umbreon, and Guzzlord (weak to Bug), Goodra (resists Electric), and Malamar and Jumpluff. Volt Switch replaces them with Waters (Azu, Dewgong, Feraligatr), and then Drapion, Dragonair somehow, and Registeel. In those lists, I think the new meta slightly favors Volt Switch. Nothing meta shattering, but the kind of fun little “huh, that’s neat” update I can get behind!

• Hariyama

  Fighting

• Breloom

  GrassFighting

• Mienshao

  Fighting

• And finally, a word on Force Palm. Yes, it’s better than Counter (and probably even much-improved Karate Chop) now. Unfortunately, that still only really matters for Lucario thus far. HARIYAMA, BRELOOM, and MIENSHAO all gain it, but don’t really gain much else… they’re all still subpar Fighters. Rats.

Alright, that’s it for Part 2! Next time we’ll wrap things up with the buffed charge moves and some commentary on the new metas about to hit (if I have the mental capacity left at that point!). Until then, you can always find me on Twitter with regular GO analysis nuggets or Patreon.

Look for Part 3 this weekend! I look forward to walking through the last bits with you, Pokéfriends. Catch you next time!

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