Pokémon Sun and Moon Guides

7th Generation Pokémon Battling Viability (Singles)

Find out what the PokéCommunity thinks of the new Pokémon in generation seven in the Singles world! We’ve got analysis and sample sets for all the new Pokémon and Alolan forms.

Dhelmise

70/131/100/86/90/40

This possessed anchor packs a punch, albeit a slow one. It has some viability in Trick Room as a bulky physical attacker. It only has one ability that grants it an extra STAB in Steel. This pairs well with Anchor Shot, which traps any unfortunate switches and provides safety to your own.

A Choice Band is ideal for wrecking as much as possible, while an Assault Vest bulks up its Special Defense and allows freedom in attack selection. The latter may encourage a different nature and spread. With Shadow Claw and Power Whip filling out the STAB options, the last slot is left up to you and your team. Rapid Spin provides useful hazard control, Earthquake hits Heatran and Magearna, Rock Slide hits Zapdos and Mega Pinsir, Brick Break hits Ferrothorn and Bisharp, and Switcheroo can cripple other Pokémon with Choice Band.

Dhelmise

Held Item Choice Band / Assault Vest
Ability Steelworker
EVs 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Nature Adamant
Moves
  • Power Whip
  • Anchor Shot
  • Shadow Claw
  • Rapid Spin / Earthquake

Alolan Exeggutor

95/105/85/125/75/45

Alolan Exeggutor has less speed than its counterpart but has more Attack and Special Attack. With its Dragon typing, its able to resist more moves as well. It can be an effective Trick Room attacker, having the ability to set up Trick Room while dealing as much damage as it can. It’s your preference to have Draco Meteor along with Dragonium Z or Leaf Storm / Energy Ball with Grassium Z. Both are STAB moves that, along with Alolan Exeggutor’s good Special Attack, can deal a massive nuke to try and begin a sweep. Flamethrower is added coverage against Steel-type Pokémon who resist Grass- and Dragon-type moves like Scizor or Skarmory.

Having slow Pokémon on your team is beneficial with Trick Room. For example, Alolan Marowak can cover Alolan Exeggutor’s Fire and Ice weakness, while it has Alolan Exeggutor to cover its Ground weakness in turn. You can also utilize Tapu Bulu to increase the power of Grass-type moves – Energy Ball can be used over Leaf Storm thanks to this.

Alolan Exeggutor

Held Item Life Orb / Grassium Z / Dragonium Z
Ability Frisk
EVs 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Nature Quiet
Moves
  • Draco Meteor
  • Leaf Storm / Energy Ball / Giga Drain
  • Flamethrower
  • Trick Room

Kommo-o

75/110/125/100/105/85

Kommo-o is this generation’s pseudo-legendary, joining the likes of Dragonite, Tyranitar and Garchomp to name a few. It has a Base Stat Total (BST) of 600. As its stats are spread out, it’s an incredibly bulky Pokémon.

This Pokémon is a very versatile sweeper with access to both Belly Drum as well as Dragon Dance. It has a 4x weakness to Fairy, but with the Soundproof ability, it is at least immune to Pixilate Hyper Voice. However, Bulletproof protects it from more relevant moves such as Shadow Ball, Focus Blast, Gyro Ball and Sludge Bomb.

Substitute is a more reliable way of helping Kommo-o get a Belly Drum off, given its vulnerability to status and lack of priority. It is also useful for triggering Salac Berry at 25% so Kommo-o can actually outspeed things – the alternate option is Dragon Dance. Of course, you need to get Fairy Pokémon out of the way before even bringing in Kommo-o, as they wall its STABs. Poison Jab or Flash Cannon are also viable options.

Kommo-o

Held Item Salac Berry / Sitrus Berry
Ability Bulletproof
EVs 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature Jolly
Moves
  • Belly Drum
  • Dragon Claw
  • Sky Uppercut
  • Substitute / Poison Jab

 

Kommo-o

Held Item Life Orb / Lum Berry
Ability Bulletproof
EVs 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature Jolly
Moves
  • Dragon Dance
  • Dragon Claw / Outrage
  • Sky Uppercut
  • Poison Jab

Kommo-o also has access to Autotomize, which allows it to fix its average Speed in a different way. While Dragon Dance sets can use physical sets, Autotomize can make special Kommo-o just as viable. As mentioned before, Kommo-o’s STABs are resisted by Fairy Pokémon, which is why it needs Poison Jab or Flash Cannon for them.

Kommo-o

Held Item Life Orb
Ability Bulletproof
EVs 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature Modest
Moves
  • Autotomize
  • Clanging Scales
  • Focus Blast
  • Flamethrower / Flash Cannon

Tapu Koko

70/115/85/95/75/130

Tapu Koko provides a lot to offer when considering whether to use it on your team. It boasts a fantastic 130 base Speed, meaning it outspeeds almost anything that lacks a Choice Scarf. To accompany that speed, it sports a good 115 base Attack and an acceptable 95 base Special Attack. This may seem weak at a first glance, but Tapu Koko has another trick up its sleeve in the form of its ability, Electric Surge, which summons Electric Terrain to the field whenever it is summoned into battle.

In addition to the rather niche ability to stop RestTalk users, it also increases the power of Tapu Koko’s Electric-type moves by 50%. However, while Tapu Koko does have a lot to offer, it also suffers from some flaws. Its 70/85/75 defenses are poor at best and any neutral hit is likely to take a huge chunk out of its HP. In addition, its movepool is quite predictable and it struggles to deal with Ground-types. Overall, Tapu Koko is an excellent contender to be one of your six Pokémon.

Tapu Koko

Held Item Magnet / Life Orb
Ability Electric Surge
EVs 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature Timid
Moves
  • Thunderbolt
  • Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Fire
  • U-turn / Dazzling Gleam
  • Taunt / Roost

Tapu Lele

70/85/75/130/115/95

Tapu Lele has a useful ability that grants useful support to fast, frail sweepers that despise priority. This makes it a useful Pokémon to build a team around. It also can pack a punch when holding Choice Specs, becoming an obscenely strong wallbreaker with good coverage and powerful STABs. Not to mention it can strengthen other Psychic-types such as Mega Alakazam.

Maximum Speed and Special Attack investment is the way to go – you want to hit hard and fast rather than sit in and take attacks. It also enjoys a powerful STAB Moonblast, something Tapu Koko would have liked to have.

Tapu Lele

Held Item Choice Specs
Ability Psychic Surge
EVs 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs 0 Atk
Nature Timid / Modest
Moves
  • Psychic
  • Moonblast
  • Hidden Power Fire
  • Psyshock / Focus Blast

Tapu Bulu

70/130/115/85/95/75

Tapu Bulu is an excellent Pokémon for bulky offense, with its 115 base Defense and great sustain through Grassy Terrain and Horn Leech. Its Grass/Fairy typing gives it an array of useful resistances as well as a notable immunity against Dragon-types, which provides Tapu Bulu plenty of opportunities to switch into a variety of threats such as Garchomp and Landorus-T. Additionally, Bulu functions well as a wallbreaker with its lethal 130 base Attack stat, capable of OHKOing a multitude of Pokémon with Wood Hammer when equipped with a Choice Band. Poison-type attacks are its downfall, however.

The last two moves in the set below depend on which coverage your team needs. Megahorn allows Tapu Bulu deal with Tyranitar, Amoonguss, and Tangrowth; Superpower nails Heatran and Ferrothorn; Zen Headbutt helps against Mega Venusaur and Fighting-types; while Stone Edge or Rock Slide deals with Flying- and Bug-types on the switch. Tapu Bulu can also opt to run a build that is more suited to bulky offense by forgoing Choice Band and going for a more bulky, setup sweeper role by utilizing either Swords Dance or Bulk Up. Furthermore, Leech Seed can be used to deal with common switch-ins.

Although it lacks a physical Fairy-type move, Tapu Bulu is still capable of checking a multitude of threats while hitting as hard as possible. Overall, Tapu Bulu is an amazing Pokémon that will surely impact the metagame.

Tapu Bulu

Held Item Choice Band
Ability Grassy Surge
EVs 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Nature Adamant
Moves
  • Wood Hammer
  • Horn Leech
  • Superpower
  • Stone Edge / Megahorn / Zen Headbutt

Tapu Fini

70/75/115/95/130/85

Tapu Fini has very good bulk. Thanks to its typing, it’s able to not take any damage at all against Dragon-type moves. Not to mention it resists Fire-, Water-, Fighting-, and Dark-type moves. Taunt prevents Pokémon like Skarmory, Toxapex, or Chansey from setting hazards, inflicting status, or healing. Nature’s Madness cuts the opposing Pokémon’s current HP by half, so it’s very effective against bulky Pokémon like Chansey, Toxapex, Mega Venusaur, or Ferrothorn if they decide to switch in. Moonblast is its STAB move to deal super effective damage against Dark-type Pokémon like Weavile or Hydregion. Scald can deal super effective damage against Pokémon like Heatran or Volcarona. You can also choose to swap out either of those two moves for Defog to clear out hazards for your other Pokémon.

Certain Pokémon like Volcarona appreciate Tapu Fini’s ability to remove hazards and apply pressure to more defensive teams. Celesteela and Ferrothorn can cover Tapu Fini’s Grass weakness. While Celesteela has access to Flamethrower, Ferrothorn can set up hazards for your own team.

Tapu Fini

Held Item Leftovers
Ability Misty Surge
EVs 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Nature Bold
Moves
  • Taunt
  • Nature’s Madness
  • Moonblast
  • Defog / Scald

Solgaleo

137/137/107/113/89/97

Solgaleo arguably shines best in Doubles, combining well with Primal Kyogre. However, in the world of Singles Ubers, it has a good offensive presence. Slap a Life Orb on this bad boy and you’ve got yourself a powerhouse. It tanks and outpaces Rayquaza, gets un-Intimidated Stone Edges off against Salamence, and can take any hit that Magearna can dish out.

It does suffer against Yveltal with Foul Play, so it requires some team support to help check that threat.

Solgaleo

Held Item Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability Full Metal Body
EVs 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature Jolly
Moves
  • Sunsteel Strike
  • Earthquake
  • Flare Blitz
  • Stone Edge / Toxic

Lunala

137/113/89/137/107/97

With a Choice Scarf Lunala becomes very effective against offensive teams. At full HP, Lunala can reduce the damage it takes thanks to its Shadow Shield ability, allowing it to dish out damage while tanking hits in return. Moongeist Beam is its main Ghost STAB move, which also ignores the abilities of the opposing Pokémon. Psyshock is its secondary STAB move to hit specially defensive Pokémon. Since it has a x4 weakness to Dark, using Focus Blast can allow it to hit Dark-type Pokémon. Ice Beam is good coverage against Mega Salamence or Zygarde-Complete.

Having hazards for this set is a good idea to rack up as much damage as possible, so try packing Pokémon like Dialga or Ferrothorn to provide Stealth Rock.  Use good Dark-type resists like Mega Lucario or Arceus-Steel to cover for Lunala as well. You must also be weary of hazards in order to avoid negating its ability. A way of clearing these hazards early can increase Lunala’s longevity and ability to take a hit.

Lunala

Held Item  Choice Scarf
Ability Shadow Shield
EVs  4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature  Modest
Moves
  • Moongeist Beam
  • Psyshock
  • Focus Blast
  • Ice Beam / Moonblast

Nihilego

109/53/47/127/131/103

Nihilego is quite a fast Ultra Beast. With a Choice Scarf, it is able to reach around 458 speed. Power Gem being its Rock-type STAB move allows it to hit super effective damage against Kyruem and Mandibuzz. Sludge Wave, another STAB move it has, is notably super effective against Tapu Fini or Tapu Koko. Hidden Power Ice deals x4 super effective damage against Landorus-T, Zygarde, or Garchomp. Thunderbolt allows it to deal good damage against Greninja, Manaphy, or even Celesteela.

You can use Choice Scarf Nihilego to outspeed +1 Pokémon like Jolly Gyarados and Choice Scarf users such as Tapu Lele. It can also become a late-game cleaner thanks to Beast Boost increasing its Special Attack whenever it KOs an opposing Pokémon, but it is recommended to remove checks and counters to Nihilego’s STAB moves beforehand.

 

Nihilego

Held Item Choice Scarf
Ability Beast Boost
EVs  252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature  Timid
Moves
  • Power Gem
  • Sludge Wave
  • Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Fire
  • Thunderbolt

Buzzwole

107/139/139/53/53/79

Buzzwole is an interesting coin toss. His high Defence and Leech Life makes him near unstoppable against plenty of physical attackers. However, its fragility on the special side is an obvious drawback. Although it’s fairly fast for a Alolan Pokémon, it wishes it had more Speed. The Fire weakness and double weakness to Flying does not help either, but the Ground resistance is welcome.

Buzzwole

Held Item Leftovers
Ability Beast Boost
EVs 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Nature Adamant / Jolly
Moves
  • Bulk Up
  • Leech Life
  • Hammer Arm
  • Ice Punch / Poison Jab

Pheromosa

71/137/37/137/37/151

Pheromosa was one of the most common Ultra Beasts in OU before it was banned and with good reason. It is the definition of the glass cannon, with the ability to run both physical and special attacking sets combined with a crazy Speed stat.

U-turn lets Pheromosa pivot out of its checks, such as Mega Gengar and Giratina-O. High Jump Kick is Pheromosa’s best STAB attack that rips through anything weak to it. It has a number of additional options, such as Poison Jab, which lets Pheromosa hit Fairy-types that would otherwise wall it. This thing can easily sweep late-game if its checks, such as Ghost- and Fairy-types, have been removed.

Pheromosa

Held Item Life Orb
Ability Beast Boost
EVs 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature Naughty / Naive
Moves
  • Low Kick
  • U-turn
  • Ice Beam
  • Rapid Spin / Poison Jab

Xurkitree

83/89/71/173/71/83
Xurkitree is rather slow and has frail defenses, so it won’t like to take many hits. On the upside, its Special Attack stat is extremely high. While it has a shallow movepool, its Special Attack can compensate it by delivering powerful Thunderbolts, Energy Balls, or Hidden Powers. With Psychium Z, it can raise its Speed by 1.5 by using Z-Hypnosis and even has a chance of sending the opponent to sleep.

It is not recommended to try sweeping until Xurkitree’s counters and checks, such as Ferrothorn, Excadrill, and Alolan Marowak, are removed or weakened. Try Water- or Grass-type Pokémon such as Mantine or Tapu Bulu to cover for Xurkitree’s ground weakness, with the latter being able to set up Grassy Terrain to weaken Ground-type moves. Tapu Koko can also set up Electric Terrain to increase Xurkitree’s Electric-type moves even more.

Xurkitree

Held Item Psychium Z
Ability Beast Boost
EVs  4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature  Timid
Moves
  • Hypnosis
  • Thunderbolt
  • Energy Ball
  • Hidden Power Ice

Celesteela

97/101/103/107/101/61

Having solid stats all around, Celesteela has certainly become one of the top-tier threats in the OU metagame. Its great defensive typing, access to moves such as Leech Seed and Toxic, as well as the ability to force switches all come together to make Celesteela a top-tier defensive threat.

Celesteela’s offensive prowess is nothing to scoff at as well. With access to moves such as Autotomize, Air Slash, Fire Blast, Giga Drain, and Earthquake, Celesteela can serve as a late-game cleaner once everything else has been weakened. Unlike other Ultra Beasts, Celesteela does not benefit as much from Beast Boost since it will not be performing a sweeping role most of the time.

Celesteela

Defensive tank

Held Item Leftovers
Ability Beast Boost
EVs 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD or 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Nature Sassy / Relaxed
Moves
  • Leech Seed
  • Protect
  • Heavy Slam
  • Flamethrower / Earthquake

 

Celesteela

Offensive late-game cleaner

Held Item Flyinium Z
Ability Beast Boost
EVs 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature Modest
Moves
  • Autotomize
  • Air Slash
  • Fire Blast
  • Giga Drain / Earthquake

Kartana

59/181/131/59/31/109

While it is quite frail, Kartana possesses a massive Attack stat and a well-respected Speed stat that permits it to become a very effective wallbreaker and physical late-game sweeper. Leaf Blade is one of its STAB moves, allowing it to hit Quagsire and Tapu Fini hard. Smart Strike is its secondary STAB move, which is super effective against Tapu Bulu and Clefable. Sacred Sword is for added coverage against Ferrothorn, Magnezone, and Heatran. You can choose to opt for Steelium Z, which is able to OHKO even very defensive Pokémon like Mega Venusaur or physically defensive Tangrowth after a Swords Dance boost. Alternatively, you can use a Fightinium Z to deliver good burst damage to Skarmory or Celesteela.

Try using Kartana to set up a Swords Dance boost against Pokémon like Tapu Fini – Pokémon that Kartana can force out.

S

Kartana

Held Item Fightinium Z
Ability Beast Boost
EVs  252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature  Jolly
Moves
  • Swords Dance
  • Leaf Blade
  • Smart Strike
  • Sacred Sword

Guzzlord

223/101/53/97/53/43

Guzzlord has incredible HP and decent Attack and Special Attack, but lacks Defense, Special Defense, and Speed. Its typing can allow it to resist many moves, but in return it suffers from a x4 weakness to the common Fairy-type, as well as a weakness to Bug, Dragon, Ice, and Fighting. However, it does have a varied movepool, allowing it to use Sludge Bomb to hit super effective damage against Fairy-type Pokémon and Fire Blast to hit bulky steel Pokémon like Ferrothorn or Skarmory. Plus it receives a STAB bonus with Dark Pulse and Draco Meteor. Thanks to a Modest nature and its ability, it can increase its Special Attack whenever it KOs a Pokémon.

Its main purpose is to tank resisted hits, and deal as much damage as possible for its teammates. Having it on a Trick Room team can allow it to benefit from its poor Speed, and it can cover Dark weaknesses for Psychic-type Trick Room users such as Cresselia or Uxie.

Guzzlord

Held Item Leftovers
Ability Beast Boost
EVs 252 SpA / 108 SpD / 148 Spe
Nature  Modest
Moves
  • Draco Meteor
  • Dark Pulse
  • Fire Blast
  • Sludge Bomb

Necrozma

97/107/101/127/89/79

Necrozma has great bulk. Thanks to its ability Prism Armor, it’s able to take less damage against super effective hits. It can become a very effective Stored Power and Calm Mind user because of this. Moonlight is in its moveset for recovery, and Iron Defense can increase its bulk and increase the power of Stored Power. You can opt for Leftovers to negate damage from Sandstorm or Hail or a Maranga Berry to increase its Special Defense when it’s hit with a special move, only adding more boosts for Stored Power.

Since Necrozma can not deal any damage against Dark-type Pokémon with this set, it is recommended to wait until every Dark-type has been removed from play. Dugtrio can trap Dark-type Pokémon like Bisharp or Tyranitar and hit them with a super effective Earthquake. Pokémon like Mega Mawile or Keldeo can handle Dark-types as well.

Necrozma

Held Item Leftovers / Weakness Policy / Maranga Berry
Ability Prism Armor
EVs  252 HP / 144 Def / 112 Spe
Nature  Bold
Moves
  • Calm Mind
  • Stored Power
  • Morning Sun
  • Iron Defense

Magearna

80/95/115/130/115/65

Magearna is a unique Fairy- and Steel-type Pokémon that resists or is immune to a good number of common types like Psychic-, Dragon, and Dark-types. Magearna also has the potential to be a very powerful late-game cleaner thanks to Shift Gear, which is able to double its rather lackluster speed. Furthermore, Soul-Heart is able to increase its Special Attack whenever a Pokémon gets KOed while it is on the field. Flash Cannon is one of its STAB moves, which can hit Tapu Lele or Clefable for super effective damage. Fleur Cannon is its secondary STAB move, being a very powerful Fairy-type move that gives it a 2 stage decrease in Special Attack after it’s used. You can use Fairium Z in conjunction with Fleur Cannon to give out a powerful blast to try and activate Soul-Heart and begin a sweep, or a Steelium Z with Flash Cannon can also be effective. Aura Sphere grants coverage against Ferrothorn and Heatran, two Pokémon that resist Steel- and Fairy-type moves.

Entry hazards are always useful to have, so try Pokémon like Landorus-T to set them up. Landorus-T can also cover Magearna’s Ground weakness thanks to its Flying-type, as well as having moves like Hidden Power Ice or Earthquake to deal with Magearna’s checks such as Garchomp or Alolan Marowak, respectively. Using U-turn or Volt Switch with Pokémon like Tapu Koko or Mega Beedrill can allow Magearna to come in more safely.

 

Magearna

Held Item Electrium Z / Fightinium Z / Steelium Z / Fairium Z
Ability Soul-Heart
EVs  252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature  Timid
Moves
  • Shift Gear
  • Flash Cannon / Ice Beam / Fleur Cannon
  • Thunderbolt
  • Aura Sphere / Focus Blast

Zygarde-Complete

80/95/115/130/115/65

Last but not least is the Complete form of Zygarde! It is one of the go-to Pokémon in Ubers Singles right now. Investment in its bulk and Coil allows you to safely activate Power Construct as long as you keep it away from the likes of Xerneas, Primal Kyogre, and most Pokémon with relatively powerful Fairy and Ice attacks. Once Zygarde has achieved its 100% true power, it becomes a monstrous physical wall, boasting absurd bulk thanks to its enormous HP stat, Coil, and Rest. Rest also means that it does not need to worry about status screwing it over.

Thousand Arrows is the only attacking move that you really need since it bypasses Flying-types and Levitate. Swapping Coil with Dragon Dance may be a possibility if you are willing to sacrifice some physical bulk for Speed.

Zygarde-Complete

Held Item Leftovers
Ability Power Construct
EVs 104 HP / 152 Def / 252 SpD
Nature Careful
Moves
  • Thousand Arrows
  • Rest
  • Sleep Talk
  • Coil

If you have an alternate suggestion, let us know in the comments! We plan to make more in-depth articles on competitive battling and other styles down the track, and we welcome your own contributions too!