A PvP Analysis on Community Day Eelektross

It’s Community Day time again, and ol’ JRE (still shaking off the rust of a hectic summer) is here to take a look at Volt Switch EELEKTROS in PvP. How does it look? (Or perhaps I should ask… how does it sound? Does it… shriek, by chance? 😜) Anyway, our Bottom Line Up Front will probably answer that….

B.L.U.F.

• Volt Switch is clearly a big upgrade for Eelektross in PvP anywhere you’d want to use it. That’s the good news.
• The not-so-good news? Electric is a rather crowded field these days, and even with the help of Volt Switch, the “EleFish Pokémon” looks like it may have trouble breaking out from the pack. It’s usable now, just not exceptional.
• One more bit of good news: it looks useable in Great AND Ultra Leagues, so at least that gives it some more options in future Cups and such.

Yeah, not much else to say in summary, so let’s get into the details!

EELEKTROSS Stats and Moves

Eelektross Electric

Great League Stats

Ultra League Stats

Master League

…no. Just no.

Okay, so this is pretty simple. As a mono-Electric type, Eelektross actually has only one weakness — Ground — matched up against three resistances: Flying, Steel, and other Electrics. It’s a shockingly good defensive typing, really.

The issue most Electrics have is just a lack of bulk. There are exceptions, of course, such as Stunfisk, Lanturn, Charjabug… you know, some of the very few truly successful Electric types in PvP, with all of those also coming with useful secondary typings. About the only mono-Electric with bulk that really handles itself great in PvP is Pachirisu. Eelektross is down in Raichu territory, slightly ahead of things like Magnezone, Zapdos, and Galvantula, and slightly behind others like Togedemaru.

Unfortunately, performance-wise, Eelektross still trails all of those, despite a number of things going in its favor. Such as its new fast move….

ᴱ – Exclusive (Community Day) Move

FAST MOVES

• Volt Switchᴱ – Electric type, 3.0 DPT, 4.0 EPT, 2.0 CoolDown
• Spark – Electric type, 2.5 DPT, 3.5 EPT, 1.0 CD
• Acid – Poison type, 3.0 DPT, 2.5 EPT, 1.0 CD

Spark isn’t a bad move, but just ask Charjabug or Magnezone what an upgrade Volt Switch can be. Most of the analysis after the introduction of the charge moves will be directly comparing the two, so for now, I’ll just highlight the subpar stats for Acid, which is why you just never see it in PvP (or anyone else).

CHARGE MOVES

• Dragon Claw – Dragon type, 50 damage, 35 energy
• Liquidation – Water type, 70 damage, 45 energy, 30% Chance: Reduce Opponent Defense -1 Stage
• Crunch – Dark type, 70 damage, 45 energy, 30% Chance: Reduce Opponent Defense -1 Stage
• Acid Spray – Poison type, 20 damage, 45 energy, Reduces Opponent Defense -2 Stages
• Thunderbolt – Electric type, 90 damage, 55 energy

So at least in theory, there are a slew of moves that could pair well with Volt Switch, softening up the opponent’s Defense and making Switch hit extra hard. But in actual practice, I think you do not often want to actually run Liquidation, Crunch, or even Acid Spray, but instead the two moves that do NOT mess around with the opponent’s stats. Dragon Claw is not only super speedy (the only move that Volt Switch Eelektross can throw after just two fast moves), but also provides fantastic coverage, hitting everything that resists Electric for at least neutral damage (Ground, Electric, Grass) or even super effective damage (Dragons). And at the other end of the scale, any moveset that does not include Thunderbolt‘s closing power just falls flat, missing out on a ton of things like Electric-weak Mandibuzz, Poliwrath, Dewgong, and Azumarill, and big neutral targets like Lickitung, Wigglytuff, and Sableye too. About the only standout case for the other moves is something like Trevenant losing (sometimes) to Crunch. Similar results in Ultra League (to take a quick peek there), with Claw/Bolt taking down Mandi, Poliwrath, Walrein, Tentacruel, Tapu Fini, and then stuff like Granbull, Umbreon, Alolan Ninetales, and Registeel, while the very few cases for Crunch (Altered Giratina?) are… well, very few.

But I’m getting a little ahead of myself. Just go with me for now that Dragon Claw/Thunderbolt are generally going to be your best bet for success (outside of perhaps some funky Limited metas), and let’s look a little more at Great and Ultra and the effects of Volt Switch.

GREAT LEAGUE

With Spark… yeah, it’s easy to see why you may have never ever seen one of these eelectric eeels in combat. Volt Switch leads directly to a big jump in performance, with new wins coming against (in order) Altaria, Charjabug, Dragonair, Feraligatr, Lickitung, Sableye, and Wigglytuff, stacked against NO new losses (not surprisingly). And that remains true in other even shield scenarios too, with 0shield showing new wins like Registeel, Mandibuzz, (Spark) Lanturn, and Annihilape, and Volt Switch adding on Poliwrath, Sableye, Medicham, and Talonflame in 2v2 shielding, all with no notable new losses. It’s an overused phrase in PvP analysis, but this really is a pretty clear straight upgrade, folks. The problem is that, as mentioned earlier, it’s a performance that still trails Electric stars like Lanturn and Charjabug, and even a pack of more “spicy” Electrics like Emolga, Magnezone, Raichu, and Hisuian Electrode. Well, in fairness, that last one is sort of on the same level as Eelektross, so MAYBE some Limited meta will allow it to shine? Some meta with… uh… a lot of Dragons and Electrics or something? I dunno. There’s enough good here to grab one while you can, sure, because it would feel especially bad to have to burn Elite TMs on this later, but I don’t know that you’ll need it very often, if at all. Just being honest! Electrics as a group have seen some nice shakeups over time, and this seems to just fall in an ever-growing, almost overcrowded tier of spice to me.

ULTRA LEAGUE

Same story here, basically. Does Volt Switch outperform Spark? Oh yes, undoubtedly, with new wins like Charizard, Mandibuzz, Talonflame, and Registeel to brag about. Is it enough to catapult the eelectric eel into sudden PvP relevance? Meeeeeeh. It’s certainly closer in overall performance to some of the top Electric options like Magnezone, Stunfisk, Galvantula, and Ampharos. But it’s also not markedly better. Its one niche — being an Electric with a Dragon move in a format with a decent number of relevant Dragons — isn’t even unique… Heliolisk and its Breaking Swipe (Dragon Claw + a potential debuff for the opponent) is already right there and doesn’t require any exclusive moves. (Though Eelektross is a little bulkier and slightly cheaper to build, in fairness.)

IN SUMMATION

In the end, Eelektross enters the discussion as a viable Electric type… but it doesn’t do enough to break out from an already decently-sized pack of OTHER viable Electric types. Fans of the EleFish Pokémon (or just eels in general, shrieking or otherwise!) can rejoice that their eelectric eel can be fun spice now and may even show up in some future Cup, but overall, I don’t think there will be any shocking new ripples (yes, the puns abound!) with this new arrival. But hey, I’ve always been all about that spice, so at least we have that to celebrate!

Alright, my friends, that’s all I got for today. I know I’ve been posting MUCH less than usual over the last several weeks, but I’ve had a LOT of real life stuff sapping my time and available brain cells, including a major health scare in my family (getting better and better now, thankfully), much turmoil at my RL job (starting a new one in three weeks, so yay), and now a search for a new car as my current one slowly fades away. But each day is a little easier, and the future is brighter, so hopefully I’ll be back to a regular-ish pace soon. Right now it’s on to analyzing the coming Fantasy Cup, and some other stuff down the line as well. w00t!

Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with regular Pokémon GO analysis nuggets, or Patreon if you like.

Good hunting fishing, folks. Do stay safe out there, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!