A PvP Analysis on Community Day Togekiss

Howdy folks! Our next Community Day is just about here, so let’s not waste any more of your time and get right into an analysis on TOGEKISS and its exclusive Community Day move!

But first, as per usual, our Bottom Line Up Front…

B.L.U.F.

• While Aura Sphere is a great PvP move, it’s a little… awkward on Togekiss.
• Togekiss is very slightly better with its new move but isn’t moving drastically up the ranks from where it is now.
• There IS still definitely a place for its current, non-Legacy moves, so don’t feel bad about the Togekiss you already maxed out. It’s still good too!

Alright, now for the deeper dive…

TOGEKISS Stats and Moves

Togekiss FairyFlying

Great League Stats

Ultra League Stats

Master League Stats

Togekiss’ stats are actually pretty close to Noivern from a couple of Community Days ago (at least in Great and Ultra Leagues), with basically the same Attack and Defense and HP just being swapped. Togekiss has ever-so-slightly more bulk and creeps ahead in total stat product 1783 to Noivern’s 1777 in GL, and 3844 to Noivern’s 3840 in UL). Its closest comparisons in Great League (again, just in terms of stats) are Mawile and Golem (either one), and Empoleon, and in Ultra League the comparison is again very close to the Golems and Empoleon, as well as Donphan, Ursaluna, and just behind Talonflame. In Master League, the only truly close comparison is Kommo-O, but Togekiss is slightly bulkier than Dragonite and Gyarados (another ‘mon in the same Total Stat Product ballpark as Togekiss), and roughly equivalent to Dialga. Its Attack stat is in line with things like Melmetal and Bewear, and virtually identical to Origin Giratina.

All in all… not bad. A little flimsier than you might like in lower Leagues, but solid enough in Master League where it has made its biggest mark to date.

The typing comes with big pros and cons. Its Flying side makes it susceptible to the same Electric, Rock, and especially Ice moves you’ll see dotted throughout Master League, and it has to dodge Steel damage also. (And Poison, though that’s still rather rare in Master League especially.) On the plus side, being a Flyer means resisting Grass and double resisting Ground, as well as a double resist to Fighting and Bug thanks to its Fairy side, which also brings in additional handy resistances to Dragon and Dark damage.

Fast Moves

• Charm – Fairy type, 5.0 DPT, 2.0 EPT, 1.5 CoolDown
• Air Slash – Flying type, 3.0 DPT, 3.0 EPT, 1.5 CD
• Hidden Power – Various types, 3.0 DPT, 2.67 EPT, 1.5 CD

I’ve actually seen Air Slash Togekiss run successfully before, but let’s be honest… if you’re using Togekiss, you’re running Charm. Yes, it lags behind in energy generation, but it’s an incredible move overall, tied for the highest damage output in the game (even after its famous nerf a couple of seasons ago). Some Fairies have learned new tricks with Fairy Wind (which was rumoured for Togekiss itself) or buffed Quick Attack, but Kiss still wants to just stick with the tried and true.

How does that synergize with the charge moves? Weeeeeeell…

ᴱ – Exclusive (Community Day) Move

Charge Moves

• Ancient Power – Rock type, 60 damage, 45 energy, 10% Chance to Increase User Attack/Defense +1 Stage
• Aerial Ace – Flying type, 55 damage, 45 energy
• Flamethrower – Fire type, 90 damage, 55 energy
• Aura Sphereᴱ – Fighting type, 100 damage, 55 energy
• Dazzling Gleam – Fairy type, 110 damage, 70 energy

So as mentioned, the big downside to Charm is the lack of energy gains. As just a couple of many examples, Togekiss cannot reach any charge moves before Vigoroth, Swampert, Powder Snow Alolan Ninetales and others each reach two, and something like Politoed is able to reach three before Togekiss can bring either of its 55-energy moves to bear. Charmers wear you down, but they’re not exactly known for shield pressure.

As a result, Dazzling Gleam is frankly too expensive to ever reach a meaningful spot at 70 energy. It takes 12 Charms — equal to 18 seconds of real-time! — to reach Gleam. Heck, even Flamethrower and new Community Day addition Aura Sphere take 10 Charms (15 seconds), since nine of them agonizingly falls ONE energy short (54… aaaaaugh!). The fastest by far is Ancient Power, for “only” 8 Charms (12 seconds)… and technically Aerial Ace, though it barely deals more damage than Ancient Power against neutral targets and provides no real coverage… at least Ancient Power can hit Ices and Fires hard that give it trouble otherwise, and hit Electrics for at least neutral (while Ace is resisted). Generally, Ancient Power is the one you’re going to want, alongside Flamethrower for closing power and further coverage… or new move Aura Sphere, potentially.

Just real quick on Sphere… it’s actually a really good PvP move, with the same cost and damage as Shadow Ball and Stone Edge, and an awesome 1.82 Damage Per Energy. The reason you probably haven’t seen it much (if ever) in PvP before is that literally, only one other Pokémon has it: Lucario, who typically relies on Power-Up Punch, Shadow Ball, or sometimes Close Combat instead. It just doesn’t really have room for Aura Sphere. Does Togekiss?

Let’s get to some numbers and find out!

GREAT LEAGUE

I can make this one really easy…Aura Sphere makes little discernable difference in Great League. With the relative lack of bulk that comes with everything being 1500 CP or less, Charmers do their best work because of the percentage of life that Charm alone rips away. Even 55 energy charge moves just aren’t going to come into play very often at this level. I combed through even shield results against the most meta Pokémon in Great League and there just isn’t anything of note that Aura Sphere does that Flamethrower doesn’t do already. The key, it would seem, actually appears to be Ancient Power. Paired with either Aura Sphere or Flamethrower, the cheaper cost of Ancient Power brings in wins versus Vigoroth and Noctowl that Togekiss doesn’t get otherwise.

Outside of sims, both Flamethrower and Aura Sphere hit things like Galarian Stunfisk and Registeel hard. The biggest differences between them are versus things like Skarmory and Froslass (which Flamethrower hits super effectively and Aura Sphere hits for neutral) and then things like Bastiodon which Aura Sphere hits hard (85 damage if it connects, which is actually a lot when you consider Bastie’s ridonkulous Defense) and Flamethrower hits only for neutral (a paltry 30 damage, on average). Of course, Aura Sphere has the slight advantage in matchups where it and Flamethrower are equally effective (for example, 7 more damage against Registeel and 10 additional damage versus G-Fisk), so I DO lean that way a little bit if you pin me to a wall about it. I don’t consider getting Aura Sphere Togekiss a high priority in Great League, but if you find a good candidate and have plenty of candy to go around? Sure, go for it.

ULTRA LEAGUE

Similarly in Ultra League, it is Ancient Power that seems to be the most key component, with the choice between Aura Sphere and Flamethrower not making much apparent difference. Ancient Power is required to beat Escavalier (it just cannot consistently be done without it). And again, there is basically no difference between Flamethrower and Aura Sphere in 2v2 shielding.

However, we finally have a clear-cut case for Aura Sphere over Flamethrower: Aura Sphere overcomes Snorlax. However, there is yet again a case to be made for keeping Ancient Power too, as it is only with that Rock move that Kiss can overcome Pidgeot with shields down.

So in the end… Aura Sphere/Ancient Power for the win? By the slightest of margins… yeah, I guess so? Hardly an overwhelming case for it, though. Maybe Master League will finally seal the deal…?

MASTER LEAGUE

So there ARE some very good cases for having a big Fighting move here. The biggest is probably Dialga, which takes neutral damage from Flamethrower (just over 60 damage), but super effective damage from Aura Sphere (about 111 damage on average), which doesn’t show up in even shield simulations but could easily flip that match-up to a surprise win depending on how shielding plays out.

That said, when things are even Stephen in 1v1 and 2v2 shielding, there are no real differences between Aura Sphere and Flamethrower. But there are some notable differences with shields down. Unlike in Great or even Ultra League, at Master League level, Togekiss — now at its maximum bulk potential — can outlast stuff long enough to bring Flamethrower or Aura Sphere to bear in truly meaningful and realistic scenarios (such as the Iron Head of the aforementioned Dialga). In the end, this translates to wins that only Aura Sphere can achieve versus Snorlax and Swampert and wins that only Flamethrower can reliably achieve versus Fighting-resistant Sylveon and Zacian. Also note that Ancient Power is specifically needed to outrace Origin Giratina and, less surprisingly, Ho-Oh. So once again, my recommendation is easily Aura Sphere/Ancient Power, right?

Maybe. There’s another major player in Master League to consider: Metagross. Here, the inverse of Dialga is true, as Aura Sphere is left dealing only neutral damage and it is Flamethrower that instead deals super effective damage. As with Dialga in simulations, this doesn’t ever show up as new wins (or losses) for one move and not the other when both are starting out with even energy and shields. But Flamethrower deals about 50% more damage to Metagross than does Aura Sphere, which could easily flip that matchup in Togekiss’ favour in the right circumstance. Yes, the effectiveness of Sphere versus Dialga (and things like Snorlax as well) makes it very tempting and gets my vote (barely) overall… but Flamethrower doesn’t just up and leave the discussion. There are still cases for both, which hopefully I’ve helped tease out a bit.

IN CONCLUSION

Yes, I think it is worth it to try to get a good Aura Sphere Togekiss for any league where you intend to use it — Master League especially, as Kiss does its best work there — but don’t toss out your old Flamethrower versions. Both do good work and if you have to choose just one for Master League, you do NOT necessarily need this new exclusive move. It helps versus Dialga and other things weak to Fighting, and technically Aura Sphere deals more damage when both it and Flamethrower are equally effective, but it is NOT strictly necessary by any means.

That said… obviously this is a great opportunity to grind for XL Candy to max at least one Kiss, and a lot of stardust too thanks to each Togetic caught in the wild rewarding 300 dust, so you should be able to emerge from this weekend with at least one Level 50 Togekiss if you want to. And, of course, it’s also a fantastic opportunity to find a good shiny one and/or hundo. It may have fallen off a bit in Open Master League over time, but Togekiss is still pretty handy in Master League Premier, at least… which is coming back in less than two weeks.

Alright, that’s it for today! Sorry this comes so late in the game… Community Day is mere hours away from our APAC friends! At least I got this out before Community Three Hour Tour Day started, eh? Eh? 🥺

Hope this is a help to you, and have a great Community Day! Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with near-daily PvP analysis nuggets or Patreon.

Good hunting! Stay safe out there, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!