Alright, no beating around the bush… a new crop of Galarian Pokémon is here, and at least one of them looks quite promising for PvP! (Not so much the rest, though… spoiler alert?) I know we’re all still recovering from the massive changes that just hit PvP with the start of this season (believe me: I’m still recovering!), but stick with me a for blissfully much shorter article today. Let’s just dive right in and see what we’ve got!
READY TO LAUNCH
Let’s start with the most exciting one of the batch, the only non-starter: DRAGAPULT. As someone who didn’t grow up on Pokémon and is largely learning about these more recent generations as they are introduced into GO, I love the design of this silly thing: a ghostly version of a prehistoric aquatic creature that shoots its own pre-evolutions from its head like supersonic missiles. Like, you can’t tell me whoever designs some of these isn’t on SOME kind of prohibited substance when they come up with ideas like this, but you know what? It works, and I loves it.
ANYway, it’s a Dragon/Ghost, same as the Giratinas… and that’s the extent of the Dragon/Ghost types in the Pokémon series so far. You probably don’t need me to tell you the enduring viability of the Giratinas in PvP, so should we be similarly excited about this new addition that shoots its own children out of its noggin?! Sorry, sorry… got carried away again. But seriously, does Dragapult capture any of the same goodness as the Giratinas?
Well… sorta. One piece of good news is that you can bring it into Great League where at least one of the Giratinas had yet to trod (and other requires a tough-to-get trade). It lacks the Shadow Claw that largely drives the Giratinas (and doesn’t learn it in MSG either), but does have Astonish and Dragon Tail, very good fast moves in their own right, along with Shadow Ball to close things out, and Breaking Swipe, a move either Giratina would drool over, for baiting and busting shields. It’s actually a very nice move package, one of the better ones Niantic could cobble together from MSG, so props to them for that.
And in Great League, as compared to the Giratina that can sneak in, Dragapult The Child Launcher actually does alright for itself. While Origin Giratina can overcome a couple things Dragapult cannot (Machamp, Cresselia), Dragapult excels with its own unique wins over Sableye, Trevenant, Dewgong, and Jumpluff. And in 2v2 shielding, it again outperforms Giratina-O a bit with special wins over Clodsire, Malamar, Talonflame, and now Cresselia, losing out to Bastiodon, Gastrodon, and Whimsicott that Giratina can finish off instead. Just uh… don’t look at 0shield. It’s quite good for Giratina, and comparatively disastrous for Dragapult.
There are some favorable comparisons in other Leagues too, holding its own when stacked up against Origin Giratina in Ultra League, particularly in 1shield and 2shield, beating things Giratina-O cannot like Greninja, Decidueye, Skeledirge, Tapu Fini, Tentacruel, and Gastrodon in 1shield (Tina beats Drifblim, Golisopod, and Giratina-A instead) and then Dragapult shoots down (with its children, surely) Greninja, Tentacruel, Ampharos, and Trevenant in 2shield (while Tina-O gets only Golisopod as a unique win). Giratina gets the last laugh with shields down again, however, beating Blim, Deci, Skele, Fini, Gastrodon, and Registeel while Dragapult manages only Tina-A, Talonflame, and Shadow Dragonite as unique wins.
Even in Master League, Dragapult does alright for itself (outside of 0shield again), beating things Giratina-O struggles with like Xerneas and Garchomp, and beating Tina-O head to head. But UNlike Giratina, it tends to lose to Giratina Altered and sometimes stuff like Ho-Oh and Groudon, and it beats only about half of what Giratina Origin can with shields down, as mentioned.
That all said, while Dragapult can mostly keep up with Giratina’s Origin Forme, the Altered Form tends to dance circles around it, especially with Shadow Force in the picture, both in Master League and especially in Ultra League. There are a couple standout wins that Dragapult still carves out (Greninja and Trevenant in Ultra, Xerneas in Master), but mostly it’s Giratina-A that holds all the card with its own unique wins like Feraligatr, Golisopod, and Shadow Dragonite in Ultra, and Palkia, Dragonite, Ho-Oh, Groudon, and even Togekiss in Master.
But hold on, there’s one other BIG advantage Dragapult has that I haven’t touched on at all yet. Unlike the Giratinas, Dragapult is NOT a Legendary, and that means that of the three of them, it alone can compete in Premier formats! And while there is unfortunately not currently an Ultra League Premier live in PvPoke to simulate against, I can tell you that in Master League Premier, Dragapult looks pretty good! Obviously you have to avoid Charmers (and now Fairy Wind users too), Ice types, and a couple other Dragons like ‘Nite and Goodra, but overall this is an encouraging performance. Dragapult’s Ghost damage can break down things that trouble other Dragons (like Steel types) and overcome them with relative ease, especially famed Dragon/Fairy slayer Metagross (dealing not only unresisted damage, but mostly super effective damage). Do note that this meta still needs a little post-rebalance shaking up (switching Fighters from Counter to Karate Chop, giving Primarina Hydro Cannon, even Volt Switch instead of Spark to Magnezone… stuff like that), but overall there are encouraging things here. I think Dragapult will make at least some name for itself in Premier Cups where the Giratinas cannot even enter.
So in short: yes, I think this is a worthy Pokémon to chase for PvP, at whatever level(s) you like to dabble in. And there are NO other Ghostly Dragons on the horizon, so no further competition coming to knock Dragapult any further down in the future. Well, unless they decide to give the bulkier but currently stymied DRAKLOAK something like Breaking Swipe as well….
NON–STARTERS
In the interest of time and retaining the few brain cells I have left 🤪, I’m going to go through the three starters in short form. And honestly, at least in their current iterations, there’s really no need for a deeper dive than this anyway. Put simply: there are better versions of ALL of them out there already. Usually multiple better versions.
- The entire GROOKEY line is locked behind the just-nerfed Razor Leaf, and with only Grass Knot and Energy Ball for charge moves except for final evolution RILLABOOM, who at least has Earth Power, for (mostly theoretical) coverage versus Fire and Poison and Steel types and such that give Grasses problems. The issue, again, is… Razor Leaf. With its painfully slow energy generation, it’s hard to even reach Earth Power in any meaningful spot, so unless you already have some energy built up it is extremely unlikely to change the course of any major battles. It does get PLENTY big for Master League, unlike many Grass types, owing to its high Attack stat, but performs no better than much lower CP Torterra, who at least has a subtyping and coverage moves that make it a bit more interesting. And not even Frenzy Plant down the line is really going to save Rilla
boombust. PvE is another story, but in PvP? Rillaboom needs something like Magical Leaf to even attempt to break out, but even then it’s not looking too hot. Unless you plan to throw it into raids, this is just one for the ‘dex entry, it would seem.
- Bulk and lack of good coverage are also issues for CINDERACE. It’s the glassiest Fire starter other than Blaziken, and actually the glassiest starter period aside from Blaze and (just barely) Greninja. Of course, those two still find at least occasional PvP success due to lightning fast move pressure and some good coverage options. Cinderace has none of that, with Fire Spin as its only truly viable fast move, which DID get buffed this season, but in terms of damage rather than the energy that Ace so desperately needs. (Fire Spin now deals 3.66 Damage Per Turn, but an above average but still comparatively slow 3.33 Energy Per Turn.) Combined with big slow Focus Blast as its only coverage move (and even then, what are you really covering against? Just Rocks?), that’s just not going to cut it, at any level. There are numerous better options here, including even Blaziken itself. Yet again, Cinderace has issues far beyond getting a powerful STAB charge move, so Blast Burn won’t save it in PvP either. Next!
- Believe it or not, the bulk is even LOWER for new Water starter INTELEON. This thing has Gengar/Alakazam-like bulk, folks, far outdone by other glassy Waters like Crawdaunt, Bruxish, Kingler, and lest we forget, Greninja, who has about 10 more HP and a Defense stat a dozen points higher than Inteleon. That completely undermines the fact that it comes with arguably the most intriguing coverage of the Galarian starters with Shadow Ball. But uh… that just makes it a much worse wannabe of Jellicent. It’s SO bad that Inteleon is projected to get ZERO wins versus the Ultra League meta. That is not a misprint or an error. Zip, zero, nada. With Hydro Cannon it gets one, versus Swampert, so… yay? Please, do not build this for PvP. I beg of you!
So yeah. Usually the release of new starters is cause for some celebration in PvP, for thrifty lovers like myself especially, as even if they’re just okay upon release, you know they’re due for big upgrades with their Community Day moves in the future. But with these little guys and gals… I dunno. I LOVE all of their designs and wish they were better, but they’re just… not. Their stats just don’t translate well into the way Pokémon GO PvP works, and sometimes that is just too much to overcome. See Exhibits R, C, and I above. 🙁
IN SUMMATION….
Grind those Dreepy! Dragapult has some real promise in PvP and is quite futureproof. Its closest direct competition in the Dragon/Ghost slot is already here, and Dragapult has some advantages (including when and where it can enter the battlefield at all) over its Legendary comrades.
But uh… don’t worry so much about the three starters, beyond just collecting and enjoying the grind itself. They’re not looking like anything you’re want in PvP anytime soon… or perhaps ever.
So that’s all we got for today! Next time we’ll take a short look back at the move rebalance, as it seems even three full articles wasn’t quite enough with the final stats of some moves coming out better than expected, requiring another look! A writer’s work is never done, it would seem! ✍️
But until then, you can find me on Twitter or Patreon. Or please feel free to comment here with your own thoughts or questions and I’ll get back to you when I can!
Good luck with your grind! Stay safe out there, Pokéfriends, and catch you next time!
