A PvP Analysis on Necrozma’s Fusion Forms

Pardon my tardiness, as Necrozma is already here! The first GOFest is underway, and players have already begun playing around with the new Fuse mechanic and getting themselves the new Dawn Wings and Dusk Mane forms of Necrozma, the Prism Pokémon. I won’t insult your intelligence, dear readers… everybody already knows these things look great in GO, so I’m just here today to break down what exactly separates them from their unfused forms. How good ARE they for it? Let’s begin with our customary Bottom Line Up Front and then see if we can answer your questions….

B.L.U.F.

• The key question: which Fusion is better? In general, I’m going to say Dawn Wings wins out, along with having the more desirable exclusive move. A good Ghost can go a LONG way in Master… all Dawn Wings really needs to avoid is Dark types and a couple Normal and Ghost types and it can mostly rake otherwise. If I had to pick one form and one special move to chase, that would be it.
• That said, Dusk Mane is no slouch either! It more consistently handles enemy Ghosts and stuff like Palkia and Mewtwo, thanks largely to its Steel subtyping. But its exclusive move does a bit less for it (Steel is a great defensive typings, but not so much offensive) and while still very good, it seems a little less dynamic and impactful as Dawn Wings.
• Base form Necrozma is just overall worse than both, and while this is not necessarily a death knell for Solgaleo (who remains unique), Dawn Wings and Dusk Mane are both clearly better overall than their base, pre-fused forms.

Alright, on to the details!

NECROZMA FUSIONS Stats and Moves

Ultra League Stats

Master League Stats

The typing is, of course, different, with Dusk Mane tacking on Steel and Dawn Wings instead coming with Ghost. But both Fused forms have the exact same stats. This shouldn’t be too surprising though, as the “base form” SOLGALEO and LUNALA have the the same stats as each other as well. What is more notable is that the Fused forms of Solgaleo (Dusk Mane) and Lunala (Dawn Wings) both have worse stats overall. Yes, the max CP is higher (though only by a mere 64 CP), but that’s because the stat balance is pushed more into Attack, which rises by about 20 in Master League. Defense also rises by about 25, which is good, but all of that has to come from somewhere, and in this case that means HP/Stamina. The unfused forms top out at 234 HP, but the Fused forms only reach 180. That is a big drop, which drives the unfused forms reaching an overall stat product of 9190 (well within the Top 10 in all of Master League), and the Fused forms getting to only 8722 (still good, but now sitting at #20 overall).

In the end, though, that matters little, as the moves for the Fused forms are far more impactful overall….

Fast Moves

• Shadow Claw – Ghost type, 3.0 DPT, 4.0 EPT, 1.0 CoolDown
• Psycho Cut – Psychic type, 1.5 DPT, 4.5 EPT, 1.0 CD
• Metal Claw – Steel type, 2.5 DPT, 3.0 EPT, 1.0 CD

Yep, those both have the exact same fast moves. I was half-expecting Niantic to do something with that just before release but they let it be, so here we are.

Psycho Cut isn’t a bad move, it really isn’t. You like Mud Shot? Fairy Wind? Thunder Shock? Psycho Cut is an underused clone of those.

But I mean, when you have Shadow Claw, you run Shadow Claw. It generates nearly as much energy as Psycho Cut and literally DOUBLE the damage. It’s also a better fit in PvP in general, and Master League especially where there are a number of prominent Steel and Psychic types that resist Psychic damage, but not Ghost, which is resisted only by Normal types and Dark (which also resists Psycho Cut anyway).

And uh… we don’t talk about Bruno fast moves with DPT and EPT adding up to less than 6. That means you, Metal Claw.

ᴱ – Exclusive Move

Charge Moves

• Iron Head – Steel type, 70 damage, 50 energy
• Dark Pulse – Dark type, 80 damage, 50 energy
• Outrage – Dragon type, 110 damage, 60 energy
• Future Sight – Psychic type, 120 damage, 65 energy
• Dusk Mane: Sunsteel Strikeᴱ – Steel type, 135 damage, 65 energy
• Dawn Wings: Moongeist Beamᴱ – Ghost type, 135 damage, 65 energy

Andusk dawn d again, other than the all-new exclusive moves, both Dusk Mane and Dawn Wings share the same charge moves as well. And at least in terms of pure win/loss numbers, they both seem to be at their peak without needing their exclusive moves at all, running well with Dark Pulse as its best 50-energy move, and STAB Future Sight as their best closer.

Dusk Mane can actually beat a few big names with Future Sight that it cannot with Sunsteel Strike, namely Kyogre, Reshiram, and Zekrom, and the reason is simple: they all resist Steel damage, but not Psychic damage. Conversely, Sunsteel Strike DOES overcome Rhyperior and Zarude, the former being weak to Steel but taking neutral from Psychic, and the latter resisting Psychic damage but taking neutral from Steel.

With Dawn Wings, we’re in more of a sidegrade situation, with the new Moongeist Beam beating Origin Dialga, and Future Sight instead overcoming Ghost-resistant Ursaluna. No notable differences in 2v2 shielding, though there is a BIG jump for Moongeist with shields down, taking down Ho-Oh, Garchomp, Altered Giratina, and both forms of Dialga, while Ursaluna remaisn the only unique win for Future Sight.

But I’m getting a little ahead of myself! The main purpose of this analysis was not just to show that both Fusions are good (everybody already knows that!), but what makes them better than the base forms from which they originate. So let’s back up a little and do that.

MASTER LEAGUE

Starting from the top down, because let’s be honest… no matter how good Necrozma may or may not be in other Leagues, Master League is the one everybody has circled to try it out in.

Necrozma Psychic

Let’s set our barometers by looking at the base forms. We of course have the base form of NECROZMA itself, which is basically just a worse form of both of its Fusions. Necrozma comes in with 16 more HP, but also over 20 less Attack and Defense, as well as now subtyping… it’s a mono-Psychic type. In the end, it just doesn’t do enough, losing to things its Fusion forms can handle like Dialga, Palkia, Zekrom, Garchomp, Dragonite, Kyogre, and several others. When it comes to PvP, Necrozma’s primary purpose is just to fuse.

Lunala PsychicGhost

As we’ve discussed before, Lunala broke our hearts when we saw the moves Niantic chose to gave it… or more appropriately, NOT give it. Lunala’s biggest issue is being stuck with Confusion as its best fast move, rather than the far more interesting Shadow Claw. Yes yes, maybe that seems a little overpowered… but then you consider the fused version of Lunala, Dawn Wings Necrozma, which DOES get Shadow Claw and does a lot with it! A theoretical Shadow Claw Lunala would give Dawn Wings a real run for its money, but as is, it’s no contest. The only thing Confusion Lunala can beat that Dawn Wings Necrozma cannot is Ursaluna (when Dawn Wings has Moongeist Beam, at least, as mentioned earlier), whereas Dawn Wings is able to beat a ton of things that Lunala is incapable of keeping up with like (in order) Dialga, Dragonite, Excadrill, Garchomp, Groudon, Ho-Oh, Kyogre, Landorus-T, Lugia, Mamoswine, Melmetal, Metagross, Palkia, Reshiram, Rhyperior, Zekrom and, as Niantic would say, “and more!” And that lopsided difference is just as extreme in 0v0 shielding and 2v2 shielding as well.

No contest here, folks: Dawn Wings Necrozma is (almost) strictly better than both Necrozma base form and Lunala.

Solgaleo PsychicSteel

Now with Solgaleo, while Dawn Wings is still clearly better (and with mulitple closing options, as discused earlier), there’s a little more to discuss. Lunala and Dawn Wings Necrozma operate rather similarly overall, with similar coverage but just a massive disparity between quality of moves. In the case of Solgaleo vs Dusk Mane we have some fundamental differences. Solgaleo, of course, runs a Fire-type fast move, which gives it some wins that Dusk Mane cannot consistently replicate like Mamoswine, Excadrill, and Zarude. It also doesn’t rely on long-drawn out charge moves, with Psychic Fangs and even Iron Head being as fast (or often faster) than anything Necrozma of any form can bring to bear. But of course, that’s not considering the amazing Shadow Claw and its 4.0 EPT, so in the end, it’s still a relative blowout for Dawn Wings, with its own unique wins like Palkia (both forms), Mewtwo, the Giratinas, and then Kyogre, Reshiram, and Zekrom (with Future Sight) or Rhyperior (with Sunsteel Strike), as well as beating Solgaleo in the head-to-head. Many of those carry over into the 0shield matchups as well, though if there’s a bright spot for Solgaleo wearing things down with Psychic Fangs, it is found in 2v2 shielding, where Solgaleo turns the tables in putting Dusk Mane now to shame with special wins like Excadrill, Ursaluna, Snorlax, Yveltal, Dragonite, and Therian Landorus, whereas Dusk Mane can only manage Reshiram and Altered Giratina instead.

Overall, I think Solgaleo still has a place in Master League, but Dawn Mane Necrozma is clearly more powerful overall in a conclusion that surely surprises nobody. You’re all smart already, dear readers!

ULTRA LEAGUE

Any reason to save a Necrozma for Ultra League and NOT level them up for Master? Well, put simply, no, not really. None of them exceed even a 25% winrate against the established meta. Here their made-for-Master-League stats betray them, and their comparative bulk now puts them in Scizor/Luxray/Jolteon territory, which is a baaaaaaaad place to be. There’s a reason that big Legendaries like Dialga and Reshiram (both of whom have overall bulk almost identical to the Necrozma Fusions) do so well in Master League but struggle mightily in Ultra, and the Necrozmas suffer the same fate. They’re built for one thing and one thing only in PvP: Master League. Anything else is just trying to get too cute.

IN SUMMATION

Same conslusion that you likely came in with: both fused forms of Necrozma enter the game as top notch Master League options that leave little (if any) reason to hold onto your existing Solgaleos or especially Lunalas, and they’re both superior to unfused Necrozma too. But now, hopefully it’s a little clearer as to WHY.

The other interesting conclusion: you do NOT necessarily need the exclusive moves! If I had to pick one, I think Dawn Wings with Moongeist Beam has more going for it, but Steel moves are not that great in Master League, so there’s ample room for Future Sight instead of Sunsteel Strike on Dusk Mane. If I had to pick one to get with its exclusive move, it’s Dawn Wings as the clear winner for me.

Thanks for reading! Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with regular Pokémon GO analysis nuggets, or Patreon, if you’re feeling extra generous.

Happy raiding for those able to go after Necrozma during these initial GOFestivities! Stay safe out there, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!