No fancy intros here... I'm already a little behind! So let's just jump straight into today's "Quick Bites" analysis on ESPATHRA, the featured new release during this current Spring Marathon event. And by way of introduction, I'll just say right up front that this is one of those "let's examine what makes something bad and other things good" type of analysis.... 😬

ESPATHRA Stats and Stuff

Psychic Type

GREAT LEAGUE:

Attack: 132 (on average)

Defense: 90 (on average)

HP: 143 (on average)

(Highest Stat Product IVs: 2-15-15 1498 CP, Level 22.5)

ULTRA LEAGUE:

Attack: 170 (on average)

Defense: 115 (on average)

HP: 187 (on average)

(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-15-12, 2500 CP, Level 47)

As often happens in PvP, a lot of the discussion here comes down to stats, and I won't sugarcoat it: they are not in Espathra's favor. Among Psychic types, Espathra has about the same Defense and less HP than Hisuian Braviary, and less Defense and HP than even Reuniclus. It has a lower stat product than such Great League superstars (cough) as Entei, Electabuzz, Octillery, Vanilluxe, and Seadra. No, not Kingdra... Seadra.

Now in fairness, that sort of stat product neighborhood also includes Scolipede, Qwilfish, Garchomp, Hisuian Samurott, Togedemaru, Primarina, Fearow... several things with Cup or even Open play. They're able to overcome their inherent flaws with some combination of a good dual typing, solid and spammy moves, and/or excellent coverage. (Fearow having Drill Run to directly counter Electric and Rock types that otherwise terrify Flying types, for instance.) But uh... Espathra, at least in its current form, really has none of those.

It isn't so much the fault of the fast moves, which both have above average energy generation. Peck lacks STAB and deals only the average Damage Per Turn (3.0), but has 4.0 Energy Per Turn, making it an exact (albeit type-shifted) clone of good PvP moves Powder Snow, Leafage, and Shadow Claw, and superior to 2.5 DPT/4.0 EPT moves like Quick Attack, Vine Whip, Metal Sound, Wing Attack, and the recently buffed Low Kick. And those are obviously all more than viable fast moves in their own right; Peck is very solid, even without the Same Type Attack Bonus. But even better is Confusion, which does get STAB on Espathra that pushes it even higher than its listed 4.0 DPT, and maintains a solid 3.5 EPT as well. (Remember it was pushed to that from its original 3.0 EPT just a few months ago.)

Where things fall apart is the charge moves. Yes, we have Psyshock (Psychic type, 40 energy, 70 damage), which is Espathra's only saving grace at this point. But it obviously provides no coverage, and is particuarly awkward with high Psychic-type damage Confusion, just dealing more of the same. And it only gets worse from there, as two of Espathra's other charge moves are just worse Psychic-type options: Psybeam (the same 70 damage as Psyshock, but costing 60 energy), and Psychic (the move... there's the JRE meme, longtime readers!) which deals only 5 more damage for 55 energy (75d/55e)... a move that was once mighty but was brought low to get Medicham out of the Play!Pokemon circuit. (Let's just be honest about that!) There's just no reason to run either when Psyshock is right there. So that leaves it with Door #4: Dazzling Gleam, the only non-Psychic (the type) charge move available. Technically it provides badly needed coverage, specifically against Dark types which famously resist Psychic damage. But it's a bit slow at 55 energy for 90 Fairy-type damage, and that combined with Espathra's poor bulk means that Dazzling Gleam rarely if ever actually beats any Dark types, with the very rare exceptions being double-weak-to-Fairy things like Scrafty, Pangoro, and Guzzlord, and usually only when they don't shield anything at all. (Also helped by the fact that none of them run with a super effective Dark-type fast move.) Worse, Dazzling Gleam is resisted by Steel, which also resists Espathra's Psychic moves (and even Peck!), and so the only Steel type it can sometimes overcome is half-Fighting (and similarly bulk-less) Lucario.

You can probably see where this is going, but let's get into some sims to demonstrate the issues more fully....

PvP PERFORMANCE

So here we go: the best that Espathra can do in Great League. Sure, it clobbers Fighters, even the scary Rage Fisting Apes. Most Posion types crumble before Confusion and Psyshock, not surprisingly, with the notable exception of the Dark/Poisons (Drapion most notably). Sheer power means it can blow through some big names like Talonflame, Togekiss, Florges, Clefable, Wigglytuff, Alolan Ninetales, Swampert, Shadow Quagsire (but non-Shadow outlasts it), Politoed, and perhaps most impressively, half-Ghost Gourgeist. That list shrinks further in other even-shield matchups, such as 0v0 shield (Dazzling Gleam does blow away Altaria, Shelgon, and Guzzlord, but the only notable non-Fighting/Poison wins aside from that are Shadow Swampert, ShadowToed, Florges, Togekiss, and Fearow, and its lowest win percentage yet in 2v2 shielding with special wins against only Altaria, Fearow, Diggersby, Stunfisk, and ShadowQuag and ShadowToed.

For comparison, let's look at a handful of other mono-Psychic (the type) Confusion users. Cresselia dances circles around it, not surprisingly, and happens to come with a Fairy-type coverage move (Moonblast) as well, leaving little reason to ever even consider Espathra instead. Hypno lacks the Fairy coverage but has an all-around better closing option with Shadow Ball (though that does it no favors against Darks, of course). Heck, when even things like Uxie and freaking Espurr are putting you to shame, that is not a good place to be... and that's where Espathra sits. This is Gothitelle levels of bad, folks. And that, of course, doesn't even mention the many dual-type Psychics with Confusion that are far better as well.

Not any better in Ultra League either, where Espathra is at least slightly better not with Confusion, but now with Peck instead... though with only a 25% winrate that again includes little of note beyond Fighting types (Togekiss, ShadowQueen, Armored Mewtwo, and a small handful of Darks and/or Dragons thanks to Peck + Gleam), there's hardly reason to celebrate the "improvement" with Peck. Because again, other better Confusioners (even several pretty bad ones) leave Espathra in the dust.

Put simply: there is just no place for Espathra in today's metas, including even Limited formats I can think of. Psychic Cup? Has no advantages versus other Psychics. Mono-type formats? Other mono-Psychic-types I pointed out are far superior. I just don't see a place where Espathra can ever really emerge... with current moves.

Now, there IS the potential of its exclusive move, Lumina Crash, changing that one day. But that's yet ANOTHER Psychic-type charge move, so even if it ends up being a pretty good move (I simmed it as a clone of Nature's Madness, which feels about right for what Lumina Crash is in MSG), I don't see siginificant enough improvement to justify running it rather than the staple of still-better-and-more-versatile Psychic types we already have.

IN SUMMATION

I usually try and paint an optimistic picture on these spotlight analyses, but honestly, I can't really do that in any fair way this time. Espathra is just a bad PvP Pokemon with flaws that seem too much to overcome without the kind of specialized treatment usually reserved for certain Legendaries and exlusive stuff. This here is your run-of-the-mill 'dex filler, and that's okay! They can't all be winners, right?

Alright, that's it for today, folks. Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with regular GO analysis nuggets or Patreon.

Catch you next time, Pokéfriends!

Sorry ol' JRE has been quieter of late, Pokéfriends. Just been a very busy (and occasionally very stressful) couple of months as we approach the midway point of 2026 (already?!), and the time to write with now three high schoolers and all else going on has just taken a hit. I haven't covered all the weekly metas this season, despite best intentions. But at the very least, I want to make sure big PvP-relevant events don't pass us by, so here's the latest: May Community Day!

OINKOLOGNE (FEMALE)

Normal Type

GREAT LEAGUE:

Attack: 110 (108 High Stat Product)

Defense: 112 (113 High Stat Product)

HP: 167 (170 High Stat Product)

(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-14-15, 1500 CP, Level 23)

ULTRA LEAGUE:

Attack: 142 (139 High Stat Product)

Defense: 144 (146 High Stat Product)

HP: 215 (219 High Stat Product)

(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-15-15, 2497 CP, Level 47)

MASTER LEAGUE:

Don't be a greedy pig.

Okay, right off the bat with some discussion. Why did I only highlight the female version, you might ask? It simply comes down to stats, where the Female has (to use the overused phrase) strictly better PvP stats than the Male, outpacing it by about 10 Defense and HP in both Great League and Ultra League; the Male has 8-10 more Attack instead. And that is literally the only difference between them, with both having the same typing and moves right on down the line. Are there things that the higher Attack of the Male can beat that the Female cannot? Sure, but very few of note, whereas the notably higher bulk of the Female means that is consistently outpaces the Male in the win/loss column with multiple additional wins. I WILL show a couple sims of the Male later just to highlight this, but until that bit, we'll be focusing in on just the superior Female version for this analysis... including those stats all listed above.

And speaking of those stats, the Female is not just bulkier than the Male, it's also truly bulky in general. Among Normal types, while not in the uppermost bulk tier, it's still up there with more bulk than stuff like Oranguru and Dubwool, and in Ultra League in particular, only Blissey, Lickilicky, Miltank, Greedent, and Snorlax rank higher. As compared to the wider field, Female Oinkologne's overall bulk is nearly identical to Great League bulkmeisters Marowak, Forretress, Tentacruel and Toesdcruel, and ahead of Serperior, and in Ultra League, Oinker sits with basically the same bulk as Jellicent, is just behind Ferrothorn and Tenta/Toesdcruel, Cradily, and Tinkaton, and ahead of things known primarily for their bulk like Meganium and Blastoise. Particularly noticable is the high HP/stamina, which puts Female Oinkologne in the Top 40 Pokémon in the entire game.

Yeah... baby got back. 🐖

As for the Normal typing, shouldn't be a big mystery by now, but you have a weakness to Fighting, a double resistances to Ghost, and neutral damage from everything else. The Ghost bit in particular will come up again, as we live in a Ghost-heavy meta right now....

But first, we have the moves!

ᴱ - Exclusive (Community Day) Move

Fast Moves

• Tackle (Normal, 3.0 DPT, 3.0 EPT, 0.5 CoolDown)

• Take Down (Normal, 1.67 DPT, 2.67 EPT, 1.5 CD)

• Mud Slapᴱ (Ground, 3.67 DPT, 3.33 EPT, 1.5 CD)

This is where Oinker has always been held back the most. Good charge moves (we'll get there in a sec, hang tight) but about as dull as you can get in the fast move department. Tackle can work, but it's a poor man's... well, everything. Normal moves are never super effective and awkwardly resisted by the Ghosts that Normal types are otherwise well equipped to counter. Tackle gets the job done, but only just barely with completely average damage and energy generation, but it has all the bland stigma of many other Normal-type moves, and has left Oinkologne rooting around for success and mostly not finding it to this point.

Enter the new exclusive Community Day move Mud Slap. Obviously this move has a storied history over the last few seasons, rising from obscurity in Season 20 and never really looking back since, even after its slight nerf (from 4.0 DPT to now 3.67 DPT) just this season. Yes, Mud Slappers have come back down to earth a bit, but the good ones like Gastrodon, Marowak, and others haven't dropped out of any metas where they were prominent over the last years and a half. Mud Slap is still one of the best fast moves in the game with above average damage and energy generation, and still brings tremendous meta pressure all on its own. And now Oinkologne gets a crack at it. Now Mud Slap has an admittedly spotty history on non-Ground types (where it lacks the Same Type Attack Bonus that makes it really scary), but as we saw in one of very few analyses I have gotten out over the last couple weeks, spotlighting Orthworm, Mud Slap CAN do good things even for non-Ground types that have good bulk. Orthworm even finds success without any charge moves costing less than 50 energy, which is hardly ideal. Thankfully, Oinkologne does NOT have that particular problem....

Charge Moves

• Body Slam (Normal, 55 damage, 35 energy)

• Trailblaze (Grass, 65 damage, 45 energy, Raises User Attack +1 Stage)

• Dig (Ground, 70 damage, 50 energy)

While Orthie is perhaps only held back by needing to reach 50 energy to fire off any charge moves at all, as you can see, it's a whole different story for Oinkologne: 50 energy represents not its cheapest move, but its most expensive, and — spoiler alert — its one 50-energy move is one you probably don't want to be running anyway! Not when you have 45-energy Trailblaze sitting there. Yes, it deals a bit less damage than Dig (65 instead of 70), but still has a respectable 1.44 Damage Per Energy which is actually higher than Dig (1.40 DPE) AND nice coverage (being a Grass move, as opposed to Dig doubling up Ground damage on top of Mud Slap) AND a guaranteed Attack boost to make all subsequent Mud Slaps that much more powerful.

But what really makes Oinkologne go is a spammy Normal-type charge move (which DOES get S.T.A.B.!)... good old Body Spam Slam, in this case. Most of the best Normal types in PvP rely on Slam or Swift these days — a list that includes heavyweights of the present like Lickilicky, Furret, Miltank, Dubwool, Greedent and those of the past like Vigoroth and Snorlax — along with other modern (but non-Normal) stars like Kingdra, Sealeo, Dragonair, and of course, fellow Mud Slapping, Body Slammin' superstar Gastrodon. Oinkologne has always had the same (if not better) potential, it's just been locked behind mediocre Tackle. Let's set it free now with Mud Slap and see how high it can go!

GREAT LEAGUE

So comparing Tackle to the new Mud Slap is SUCH an improvement I almost feel I could rest my case right here. Yes, Tackle can uniquely take down Flying (and Mud Slap resistant) Fearow and, interestingly, Shelgon, but otherwise it's ALL Mud Slap with extra wins over a boatload of Steels (Aegislash, Galarian Stunfisk, Shadow Steelix, Shadow and non-Shadow Empoleon, Tinkaton), Poisons (Galarian Weezing, Clodsire), Tackle-resistant Ghosts (Galarian Corsola, Shadow and non-Shadow Sableye), and other big names that include Lickilicky, Charjabug, and Shadow Swampert. This is a clear and nearly unequivocal upgrade that I really don't need to embellish... it speaks for itself with a now-winning record against a number of obvious (Steels, Poisons) and not-so-obvious big names. And the lack of STAB on Mud Slap doesn't matter all that much; consider Donphan, a Ground type that DOES get STAB Mud Slap and carries the same Body Slam/Trailblaze moveset, and is left entirely in Oinkologne's dust due to having far worse bulk. STAB and Attack prowess aren't everything... stats generally matter more.

I'll just take a further moment to highlight that Female Oinkologne's remarkable improvement isn't limited to 1v1 shielding matchups. While things are a little closer in 0v0 shielding (Tackle scrapes out unique wins against Talonflame, Wigglytuff, Lickilicky, and Furret, though Mud Slap is still superior with wins instead against Morpeko, Galarian Weezing, and the Shadow versions of Steelix, Empoleon, Drapion, and even Talonflame), in 2v2 shielding, Mud Slap is a straight upgrade, beating literally everything that Tackle can while adding on (I'll just stick with alphabetical) Azumarill, Clefable, Cradily, Cresselia, Diggersby, Alolan Ninetales, Quagsire, G-Weezing, and Wigglytuff. I mean, there's really no further commentary or analysis necessary here, is there?

The only other thing I WILL highlight is the superiority of Trailblaze as compared to Dig. While Dig CAN bury a few things that Trailblaze cannot (Shadow Scizor there in 1shield, and Tinkaton, Empoleon, Shadow G-Weezing, and SScizor again with shields down), it consistently... well, trails Trailblaze, which not only brings in that important Grass coverage and wins that come with it like Mud Boys, Azumarill, Feraligatr, Diggersby and others, but is FAR better even when Grass is not super effective in long, pitched battles, shown most clearly by the 2v2 shielding comparison between Trailblaze and Dig, with Trailblaze beating everything Dig can, adding on those Grassy wins I just mentioned, and then a bunch of bonuses like Alolan Ninetales, Wigglytuff, Clefable, Galarian Weezing, and Cresselia thanks to the stacking Attack buffs from Trailblaze. Just run that and Body Slam and don't look back.

ULTRA LEAGUE

While Oinker doesn't quite get to a winning record in Ultra League, the improvement is even more impressive and consistent at this level. In 1shield, Mud Slap clowns on Tackle completely by matching ALL of its same wins while tacking on Ampharos (including Shadow), Bellibolt, Skeledirge, Shadow Dusknoir, Shadow and non-Shadow Empoleon, Steelix, Tinkaton, G-Weezing, and Tentacruel.

With shields down, Tackle scores its first unique win (over Talonflame), but Mud Slap strikes back with unique wins versus Tentacthulhu, G-Weeze, Shadow Nidoqueen, Steelix, Empoleon, Bellibolt, Shadow Ampharos, and Lickilicky. And finally, in 2v2 shielding, Tackle scores two standout wins (Golisopod and Togekiss, both of which resist Ground), but the advantage for Mud Slap remains clear cut with all of the following sliding into the win column: Ampharos (regular and Shadow), Empoleon (regular and Shadow), Nidoqueen (regular and Shadow), Steelix, Tinkaton, G-Weezing, ShadowNoir, Tentacthulhu, Cobalion, and Zygarde Complete.

NO BOYS ALLOWED?

I mentioned I would circle back on the male model of Oinkologne, so let's wrap up with a quick discussion on it and why stats matter so much in PvP. As I said in the opening portion of this analysis, the ONLY difference between the Female and Male variants is the stats... the moves and typing are identical. Now the Male benefits from Mud Slap (as compared to Tackle) just as much as the Female does, so I certainly WOULD try and get a couple Males with the exclusive move while you can. But it just can't keep up with the Female. While its higher Attack means it can overpower things the Female cannot such as Scizor in 1shield, Politoed in 2v2 shielding, and Empoleon, Shadow G-Weezing, Wigglytuff, and Lickilicky with shields down, it consistently trails 3-6 wins behind the Female overall, and only ever sneaks away with one or two meta wins that the Female cannot match (aside from that 0shield comparison in Great League). The ONLY even shield scenario where it gets any closer to replicating the Female's success is in 1v1 shield matchups in Ultra League, where the Male gets a unique win over Cresselia and the Female instead outlasts Tentacruel and Ludicolo. (In other even shield matchups in Ultra, the Male again trails 4-5 wins behind.) Again, get them, because you never know what a future move tweak could do, and the two forms DO have their own, separate coded movesets, so the Male could end up with moves the Female doesn't have one day. But your priority absolutely should be the Female during this particular event.

IN SUMMATION

If I didn't already make it plain, yes, you absolutely want Oinkologne with its exclusive Community Day move (Mud Slap) for PvP... it's nearly irrelevant without Mud Slap, and very impactful with Mud Slap. I can see it popping up even in Open play moving forward, at least the Female version, which has far better stats for PvP, translating to consistently superior results that makes it almost strictly better than the Male (and even other Pokémon with the exact same moveset that get the Same Type Attack Bonus on Mud Slap... see Donphan).

So that's it for now. Hope this is a help! Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with regular GO analysis nuggets or Patreon.

Good luck on your grind! Have some fun out there with your local communities, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!

Hello again, Pokéfriends! It's time once again for Team GO Rocket to blast off and bring with them our next batch of Shadow Pokémon! So let's dive RIGHT into the analysis on which ones you want to grind for, and for which Leagues. Here we go!

LANDO? MORE LIKE LAND-NO ⛰️💨

So the Incarnate we got during the last Shadow event was actually pretty good. I noted at the time that "Incarnate Forme Thundurus is THE most successful of the Forces of Nature trio in Great League". So uh... yeah, that doesn't bode well for INCARNATE FORME LANDORUS, does it?

It's not all bad, but no, Shadow Lando isn't great at Great League level. But if they ever give us a research-level Lando-I, it would be better than the Shadow, with extra wins like Morpeko, Forretress, Diggersby, both Rage Fisting Apes, and the Shadow versions of Scizor, Galarian Weezing, and Talonflame. By contrast, the only unique wins for Shadow Lando are Togekiss and the Shadow versions of Forret, Feraligatr, and Empoleon. This is a Flying type that struggles versus most Grasses and even Fighters, as well as many Ground types, and is itself a Ground type that struggles against several notable Electrics and Steels. If you want a Flying Ground type to find success, you just stick with what you know with Gligar or even Gliscor. Thundurus had some nice unique things going for it compared to other Flying Electric types. Landorus is just far outclassed in Great League.

The Shadow version is technically an improvement over the non-Shadow in Ultra League, but no, I still don't think you want it, and it is STILL badly outclassed by Gliscor (which is a much cheaper build, too!). Heck, Gliscor even flies circles around Landorus Incarnate (regular and Shadow) in Master League, where Lando crosses 4000 CP and Gliscor barely clears 3000. That's BAD. Invest those XL Candy into Therian Landorus instead... or hold on for hopefully the future release of Shadow Lando-T and its extra wins like Crowned Zacian, Origin Dialga, Kyurem Black, and Fairies like Togekiss and Primarina. 👀

Sure, grab Shadow Incarnate Landorus for the collection... I'll never NOT recommend that, because any of these seasonal move rebalances can shift the landscape significantly at a moment's notice. But I would also understand those of you who want to even skip this rotation and hold an extra Super Rocket Radar for whatever comes next Shadow event. Like I said, there's probably always a better option than Landourus Incarnate at all levels and very likely always will be... including the other Landorus.

ARACHNOPHOBES UNITE! 🕷️

Yep, that's me. I appreciate spiders and how them being around means keeping other bugs suppressed. I have seen legit cute videos of pet spiders and appreciate their seeming intelligence and even cognizance. But dangit, I had one descend right onto my face when I was 10 as I was hiding (in a good spot, too!) during a game of hide and seek with my friends, and the terror and then embarrassment at my reaction still sticks with me all these decades later. I am an admitted arachnophobe.

In the same way, I can appreciate how good ARAQUANID and DEWPIDER are in PvP, and have even made use of them myself, but I often hate facing them. They just grind you down and are hard to work around with anything but a dedicated Flyer or Electric type, with a type combination weak to only those and Rock, and key resistances to Ground, Fighting, and Water, among others. And they've only gotten scarier over time as Water Pulse — once a joke of a move at a basically unusable 60 energy for only 70 damage before going to 55e/80d in 2024 and then 50e/80d just last autumn — has gotten better and better. With that and often Bubble Beam for baits and more annoying grinding potential, all powered out by an also-improved Bug Bite (which got its major 33% power buff last June), Araquanid remains a fixture in Great League, while Dewpider is dominant in Little League.

So what if I told you that ShadowNid is even better. While the drop in bulk does mean a couple new losses (Electric-spewing Charjabug and Shadow Steelix with Thunder Fang), but several more new wins that include Annihilape, Shadow Empoleon (which resists ALL of Araquanid's damage, BTW), Lickilicky (despite scary Rollout), Clefable, Wigglytuff, and even Flying Togekiss! Shadow is similarly better with shields down, getting Sableye, Shadow Steelix, Quagsire, Shelgon, and Cradily that non-Shadow cannot, dropping only Wiggly and Shadow Talonflame in the process. Now as with many Shadows, the slashed bulk does catch up to Araquanid in 2v2 shielding, with Shadow overpowering Corviknight, Tinkaton, and the Shadow versions of Galarian Weezing and Empoleon, but dropping a bunch of things that non-Shadow can outlast, including Annihilape, Stunfisk, Furret, Lickilicky, Galarian Moltres, and the non-Shadow versions of Empoleon and G-Weeze. But still, overall, I think I'd rather have a Shadow Araquanid than non-Shadow now on most team compositions. With that good defensive typing and excellent bulk (Top 20 in Great League, third-best among Waters behind only Toxapex and Azumarill, and highest by far among Bugs), Araquanid can afford the downside of being a Shadow and benefits nicely from an even grindier, more damaging Bug Bite.

That said, Shadow Dewpider is slightly worse in Little League. While it does pick up some key wins that regular Dewpider cannot match (Cottonee, Skarmory, and Chinchou), it has a higher number of new losses that include Nidoqueen, Onix, Igglybuff, Vullaby, and Drifloon. That said, we're looking at a straight sidegrade in other even shield matchups, with Shadow Dewpider beating Shelmet, Igglybuff, and Mandibuzz with shields down while non-Shadow gets Vukpix, Deino, and Drifloon instead, and in 2v2 shielding, Shadow takes down Mandibuzz, while non-Shadow maintains that Igglybuff win instead. Shadow Dewpider is viable, though I would prioritize your good Shadows be turned into Araquanid instead, where possible.

BEWARE BEWEAR 🧸

Oftentimes I go into these Shadow event analyses kind of knowing what I'll find. Araquanid is a Pokémon built for success as a Shadow with its great bulk and typing and the extra Attack making Bug Bite truly scary. Landorus Incarnate is built for... well, not success when shrunk down to 1500 CP or less. 😅 But I love it when I'm left completely pleasantly surprised, and such is the case with BEWEAR.

In its current form, I feel like we should be talking about it more than we do. Thanks to recent buffs to Low Kick and Drain Punch, it's only gotten better over time, and actually stands tall as one of the better on-paper Fighting types in Great League these days (though ironically without Low Kick or Drain Punch, running with Shadow Claw and Superpower instead). While its Normal subtyping comes with a glaring weakness to other Fighting damage, in today's meta, I think Normal's resistance to Ghost damage (combined with Claw) and resulting special penchant for turning the tables on opposing Ghosts like Jellicent, Sableye, and Galarian Corsola more than makes up for the downside. All of its meta losses come against opposing Fighters, Flyers, Fairies, or other typical Fighting counters like Charjabug, Cresselia, and Clodsire... about the only loss that really sticks out is Stunfisk, which is mostly attributed to just having shaky bulk. I would argue that Bewear is perhaps a little underrated already.

And now we apply the Shadow bonus, and see a surprising jump in performance! As with any Shadow variant, there ARE new losses — Morpeko, Diggersby, Shadow Swampert, and Shadow Scizor — but the gains more than exceed them, with Alolan Ninetales, Annihilape, Corviknight, Cradily, Drapion, Malamar, Forretress, Politoed, Quagsire, and Shadow Talonflame ALL moving into the win column, a six-win positive swing that gives it an overall record up there with other top Fighting options like Medicham, Poliwrath, Kommo-o, Machamp, and even Annihilape. I'm not advocating you run out and replace all those with Shadow Bewear or anything... some of those other Fighters are top of their class for reasons beyond simple win/loss numbers. But Shadow Bewear's wins over Ghosts (Jelli, Sable, Gorsola, and usually Annihilape too) are very unique among those top Fighters, and interestingly, so is that sneaky win over Shadow Talonflame, as well as Feraligatr (Primeape can match that one, but others like Anni, Medi, and Kommo cannot) and Malamar (the Apes can sometimes with this one, but not the other Fighters). On the downside, ShadoWear will often give up things those other Fighters can beat instead, including Shadow Swampert, Stunfisk, Galarian Moltres, Morpeko, and Shadow Sczior. Additionally, the gap between Shadow Bewear and other top Fighters widens in other even shield matchups, with Medicham and Primeape pulling pretty far ahead with shields down, and both Apes swinging way past it in 2v2 shielding. Bringing in Drain Punch can somewhat help in 2shield, though it's notably worse in other scenarios and you're really better off going for broke with Superpower instead.

So, no, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. But could Shadow Bewear actually rise up and compete? At least moreso than it has to this point, I think it absolutely can, having some really cool standout wins that this new Shadow variant allows it to fully flex. I think it's worth chasing to tbe best of your ability during this Shadow event. (Not quite so much for Ultra League, however, which is a slight improvement or sidegrade to non-Shadow but still subpar overall.)

PILE OF SHIIIIII-NOTIC 🍄

Hey, they can't all be winners. And yes, that is a bit of a double entendre, with the risqué-for-JRE section title and for the Pokémon in this section itself: SHIINOTIC.

It's not a bad Pokémon, really. I've used Shii to some success myself in Limited metas of the not-too-distant past. But it's just not a great fit for today's meta. In theory, Astonish should shred Ghosts, but other than Annihilape and Jellicent (which, as a good Fairy/Grass, it should be beating already anyway), the only one that really stands out is Galarian Corsola, and the other big names like Sableye, Aegislash/Doublade, and of course Gourgeist (and even others that show up here and there like Shadow Dusknoir, Spiritomb, and Trevenant) all remain in the loss column. Medicham outduels it. It loses straight up to Empoleon and even Feraligatr, and other things you'd hope for your Grass type to handle like Cradily and Diggersby. It's also a Fairy that loses to most Darks, with only Malamar standing out as a particularly notable win while Sableye, Guzzlord, Galarian Moltres, Drapion (okay, no huge surprise there, honestly), and even freaking Morpeko all tracking as typical losses... and keep in mind that Shiinotic rather uniquely resists BOTH flavors of Aura Wheel! It has a fun moveset and fun on-paper potential, but in the end, it's very much a "jack of all trades, master of none" type, usually trying to do too much and failing in at least one critial area along the way.

And Shadow is really no different. It at least manages to carve out some wins you would have hoped to get before (Furret, Medicham, and finally Morpeko) and a couple that come as surprises (Forretress and even Gourgeist, which is pretty sweet). But it suffers just as many compensating losses, all of which you feel like it really should be handling with names like Azumarill, Politoed, Galarian Stunfisk, Galarian Corsola, and Shelgon.

And with Shadow being a downgrade in 0shield (Shadow v non-Shadow and 2v2 shielding (Shadow a bit behind non-Shadow... well, I'll never say to outright skip any new Shadow Pokémon, but this is one you definitely don't need to prioritize, I don't think. Shiinotic may still shine in the sun again, but I don't think hanging back in the Shadows will do much for it when that moment of glory comes again.

HELIOLESS 🦎

And finally, HELIOLISK. This is a Pokémon I WANT to love, and have tried to use several times, but honestly, it never seems to live up to its potential, despite multiple intriguing movesets, including an odd Mud Slap variant. (Too bad that has led to it always being banned from Electric Cup. 😔)

And just to keep this simple: the new Shadow variant is not any better. We're looking at a sidegrade at best with new wins like Togekiss, Fearow, and Galarian Moltres, but also counterbalancing losses like Florges, Alolan Ninetales, and Shadow Forretress, among others. And it's the same sad tale in Ultra League too, with ShadowLisk failing to overcome Corviknight, G-Moltres, Togekiss, Drapion, Golisopod, or Ludicolo like non-Shadow can, feebily replacing those losses with new wins over only Ampharos, Shadoe Scizor, Galarian Weezing, and Florges.

Again, I'll never say to NOT go out and get a new Shadow, but this one is really a reach, IMO. I would consider Shadow Heliolisk a collector's item only for now, and one you can afford to pass up in favor of the others up above.

IN SUMMATION

So just to rack and stack them here as a little TL;DR, I would grind these in order:

• Araquanid and Dewpider first. They are already very meta in Great and Little Leagues (respectively), and while Dewpider's standing remains about the same as a Shadow, Araquanid's stock is likely pointing up in its new Shadow form. It's just the perfect kind of target for Shadowification with its crazy god bulk (buffed further with every Bubble Beam it shoots out there) and grindy fast move.

• Bewear surprises even me as the pretty clear #2, at least for Great League, with a number of new wins in Shadow form that seem legit. If you see Bewear in future formats, it will likely be at its best as a Shadow... though it sees (and should continue to see) far less Open play than Araquanid, remaining more of a Cup specialist.

• The rest are not notably better as Shadows (or in Great League for the first time, in the case of Landorus), but there's nothing wrong with picking up Shiinotic, Heliolisk, and of course Landorus, probably in that priority order. Shiinotic in particular HAS had some Cup play, so it would be a nice bonus Shadow to pick up once you've secured Araquanid, Bewear, and Dewpider.

Alright, that's it for this batch. Hopefully this is a help to you as you hunt! Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with regular GO analysis nuggets or Patreon.

Stay safe out there, Pokéfriends, and beware what lurks in the shadows! 🌑 Catch you next time.

It's been a hit or miss year for new releases in Pokémon GO. Yes, we've had some excitement with Mimikyu (if we ever get to use it!) and Flamigo... but also a lot of disappointment with Klawf, Kilowattrel, Glimmora, Orbeetle, and most recently, the whole debacle of the regional-but-not-but-yes-actually-a-regional Sandaconda. Well I'm happy to say that the rather quiet upcoming release (on the other side of the weekend) of ORTHWORM looks like it's one of the good ones! How good? Let's dive in and see with today's "Quick Bites" PvP analysis, shall we?

ORTHWORM Stats and Stuff

Steel Type

GREAT LEAGUE:

Attack: 108 (on average)

Defense: 154 (on average)

HP: 122 (on average)

(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-15-14 1498 CP, Level 25)

ULTRA LEAGUE:

Attack: 144 (on average)

Defense: 195 (on average)

HP: 154 (on average)

(Highest Stat Product IVs: 8-15-15, 2496 CP, Level 50)

Our last Quick Bites solo spotlight was on Orbeetle, which was, frankly, a total bust in PvP. But the one thing it got right was having excellent bulk, behind only three other bulky Bugs in Great League and notably THE bulkiest Bug now in Ultra League. Well, Orthworm's total stat product and overall bulk are nearly identical. At a quick glance, however, as compared to where Orbeetle ranks among other Bugs, Orthworm ranks much lower than its Steel contemporaries, with a stat product lower than a dozen other Steels in Great League (behind Bastiodon, Aegislash, Registeel, Probopass, Steelix, Galarian Stunfisk, Trashadam, Skarmory, Corviknight, Tinkaton, and Ferrothorn) and eighth in Ultra League (behind all of those besides Basti, Aegis, Probo, Trashy, and Skarm). Stil, it's within the Top 75 (viable) Pokémon overall in Great League, and the Top 40 in Ultra, so obviously it's plenty thicc. In Great League, other than Orbeetle, its closest comparisons are Amoonguss, Sealeo, Gligar, Tentacruel/Toedscruel, and fellow Steels Forretress and Metang, while in Ultra it's right up there with Blastoise, Serperior, Avalugg, and again Forretress. Pretty good company!

And unlike everything mentioned above aside from Registeel, Orthworm is a mono-Steel Pokémon. That means weaknesses to Fire, Fighting, and Ground, but also no less than eleven resistances... in order, Bug , Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, Normal, Psychic, Rock, Steel, and 2x to Poison.

In other words, all the pieces are there with its stats and typing to find PvP success. But Orbeetle and so many other seemingly promising Pokémon are undone by poor moves. Is Orthworm among them too? Well, I'm happy to say that NO, Orthworm does not suffer this same ignominious fate! While its only STAB fast move is the thematic but PvP-unviable Iron Tail (3.33 Damage Per Turn but only 2.33 Energy Per Turn), it also comes with Mud Slap (3.66 DPT and 3.33 EPT), clearly a MUCH better way to go even without Same Type Attack Bonus damage. Even better, in Limited formats with lots of Steels, Mud Slap gives it a big le--er, tail up on the competition with super effective slapping.

And thankfully there's no real dropoff with the charge moves either. Rock Tomb (50 energy, 75 damage + guaranteed Attack debuff to the opponent) is again not STAB, but who cares when you can reach it in exactly five fast moves (each Mud Slap generates 10 energy) with no energy waste? You also have Iron Head which is okay, if a bit dull at the same 50 energy for only 70 damage... on paper, though it usually ends up dealing more damage than Rock Tomb anyway thanks to benefitting from STAB, and of course offers what could be key coverage, particularly against Fairies which neither Mud Slap nor Rock Tomb hit super effectively like Iron Head does. (And there's plenty of overlap, such as Mud Slap and Rock Tomb hitting Fire types super effectively, Rock Tomb and Iron Head both smashing Ice types super effectively, and Mud Slap and Iron Head both cracking open Rock types with super effective damage.) There is very, very little that resists Ground, Rock, and Steel damage. (And this is the part of the analysis where the readers hammer that reply button to tell me all the Pokémon that DO. 🤓 Love you too, dear readers!) There's also Earthquake, which has some legit use as well, but it's a bit more awkward at 65 damage and of course offers no additional coverage with Mud Slap driving things.

So, good bulk, a good defensive typings, and good moves? How does it all shake out?

PvP PERFORMANCE

So a couple fun facts before we get to all the numbers. First off, Orthworm is the only mono-Steel type to sport Mud Slap (the only other Steel types with it at all are half-Ground Excadrill and Alolan Dugtrio), and is also the only Mud Slapper that also has Rock Tomb other than Claydol and understandably-little-seen Klawf.

But anyway, enough teasing... time for some sims! Starting in Great League, where Orthworm comes out of the gate with a decent record. It's at least an improvement on other Steely Mud Slappers Excadrill and Alolan Duggie, as well as fellow Mud Slap/Rock Tomb user Claydol, though it admittedly falls short of the top Mud Slap users like Gastrodon and Toedscruel, though it does stand tall alongside Mud Slapper staple Marowak, which is actually pretty impressive seeing as how Marowak has cheaper moves, comparable bulk, and STAB on Mud Slap. I would even call ShadoWak and Orthworm sidegrades to each other, with Marowak getting wins like Forretress, both Stunfisks, Sableye, Drapion, Quagsire, Togekiss, Fearow, and of course, Fighting-type Shadow Annihilape, but Orthworm instead outlasting Guzzlord, Shelgon, Wigglytuff, Florgres, Furret, and Cradilly thanks to its resistances, as well as Water types like Azumarill, Empoleon, and Shadow Feraligatr that terrorize Ground type Marowak, but not so much a Steel type like Orthworm! The two stay neck and neck with each other in other even shield scenarios as well, with a similar spread of differing wins that mostly come down to their typings and associated resistances (or not). Orthie is pretty good at Great League level, folks!

But it is perhaps even more impressive if you push one deep into XL territory for Ultra League, with a legit winning record now! And that's actually the best record for ANY Mud Slapper at this level... better than Golurk, better than Toedscruel and Torterra, better than Nidoqueen, better now than even Gastrodon! While others like Queen and Gastro can tackle things that plague Steely Orthworm like Dusknoir, Stunfisk, Skeledirge, Nidoqueen, Watery Shadow Claw users (Feraligatr and/or Golisopod), and Fighters like Kommo-o, Virizion, Cobalion, and Annihilape, they cannot handle stuff Orthie can like Regidrago, Giratina, Jellicent, Drifblim, Articuno, Scizor, Lapras, Alolan Ninetales, and more. (A more complete comparison can be found here.) And Orthworm maintains that superiority in other even shield matchups as well, consistently outpacing Gastrodon and Nidoqueen by 6-7 wins (blame my daughter for picking up on the fact that I accidentally stumbled into THAT meme.. got her old man's bad sense of humor)... at least.

...and it may be able to get even better than that. At Ultra League level, you can replace the underwhelming Iron Head with Earthquake to add on Stunfisk in 1v1 shielding, and Guzzlord, Malamar, Shadow Nidoqueen, and at least a tie with Greninja with shields down. In terms of winning record among Steel types, Orthworm is right up there with Corviknight, fellow mono-Steel bulkster Registeel, and fellow snek-like Steelix. I can't promise Orthworm will suddenly move up into the meta as a top performer... but it legit has the potential to do so.

IN SUMMATION

It's funny how we've had numerous Pokémon arrive with a lot of hooplah only to end up collecting dust, and then things like Orthworm that seem to be underhyped and then send out far more ripples in the meta. I don't see this steely snek redefining any metas on its own, but could it slide its way into existing meta play? I think it certainly has that potential, and it well worth a grind during this event, even (and perhaps especially) for Ultra League!

Alright, that's it for today, folks. Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with regular GO analysis nuggets or Patreon.

Good hunting, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!