Howdy folks! Today marks the fourth and final entry in a series of articles looking at the Guardian Deities (the “Tapu”s) with their new, shared signature move. Koko, Lele, and Bulu have already been covered, so it’s time for le fini, as the French would say: TAPU FINI, to be precise. Let’s begin with our customary Bottom Line Up Front and then dive deep into this analysis!
B.L.U.F.
- Yes, Nature’s Madness improves Tapu Fini’s performance, as it has for all the Guardian Deities.
- That said, the improvement is only readily apparent in certain shielding scenarios. I think I still lean Madness most of the time, but it’s more than close enough that Moonblast is still quite viable and sometimes even a touch better. Don’t throw out your Monnblast Finis just yet!
- As far as priority of what League I would recommend grinding for a Nature’s Madness Tapu Fini, it would go Master > Great > Ultra, though the gap between the last two especially is very close.
- In short, both new AND old Tapu Fini are still the best of the Guardian Deities, in my opinion. Good news for everyone!
Now the analysis….
TAPU FINI Stats and Moves
Tapu Fini
WaterFairy
Great League Stats
| Attack | Defense | HP |
|---|---|---|
| 115 (116 High Stat Product) | 158 (158 High Stat Product) | 127 (128 High Stat Product) |
(Highest Stat Product IVs {Best Friend Trade}: 5-10-6, 2500 CP, Level 20)
Ultra League Stats
| Attack | Defense | HP |
|---|---|---|
| 148 (147 High Stat Product) | 202 (204 High Stat Product) | 141 (141 High Stat Product) |
(Highest Stat Product IVs {Best Friend Trade}: 5-15-14, 2497 CP, Level 34.5)
Master League Stats
| Attack | Defense | HP |
|---|---|---|
| 171 | 226 | 157 |
(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs; 3230 CP at Level 50)
As I’ve noted before, we’ve gotten better and better with the stats with each passing Tapu review. All have 157 HP when maxed out, but the Defense and Attack stats vary between them all. Tapu Koko had slightly more Attack than Bulu (about 223 as opposed to Bulu’s 222), but about 30 less Defense. Lele had about 8 more Attack and 6 less Defense. And Tapu Fini is by far the bulkiest, with over 30 more Defense than even Bulu!.
As for the typing, Water is a bit of a mixed bag. Ultra and Great Leagues are stuffed with things that hate on Water, since it’s SO prevalent there. But in Master League, nearly all Grass and Electric types that prey on Waters fall away, leaving its resistances to Steel, Fire, and Ice especially much more relevant than those weaknesses. In the end, Tapu Fini (as a Water/Fairy type) is left weak to ONLY Grass, Electric, and Poison, and ends up with seven resistances: Fire and Ice, as mentioned, as well as Water, and then Dark, Fighting, Bug, and Dragon (x2!) from the Fairy side. Water’s resistance to Steel is important too, as I’ve written about in my last glowing review of Fini, because it leaves Tapu Fini as a Fairy NOT weak to that traditional counter. This is no easy prey for things like Excadrill and Dialga!
Fast Moves
- Water Gun – Water type, 3.0 DPT, 3.0 EPT, 1.0 CoolDown
- Hidden Power – Various types, 3.0 DPT, 2.66 EPT, 1.5 CD
Hidden Power remains an underpowered move. It deals average damage, but generates below average energy. And especially in this case, there’s just no need for it. Water Gun deals the same damage and generates more energy than would even a STAB Hidden Power, and has a faster cooldown, making it less clumsy to use. And of course, the only Hidden Power that could even get STAB with Fini would be Water, as there is no Fairy type Hidden Power. Water Gun is the way to go in every scenario I can think of.
ᴱ – Exclusive Move
Charge Moves
- Surf – Water type, 65 damage, 40 energy
- Nature’s Madnessᴱ – Fairy type, 80 damage, 50 energy, Reduces Opponent Defense -1 Stage
- Ice Beam – Ice type, 90 damage, 55 energy
- Moonblast – Fairy type, 110 damage, 60 energy, 10% Chance: Reduce Opponent Attack -1 Stage
- Hydro Pump – Water type, 130 damage, 75 energy
Now unlike the other Guardian Deities, Tapu Fini HAS made a name for itself already in PvP. Part of that is due to its bulk and positive defensive typing. But a good portion of it is also having moves that work quite well for it. While some Tapus have been stuck with Dazzling Gleam as their Fairy charge move, Fini gets the strictly better Moonblast, which deals the same damage as Gleam for 10 less energy, and comes with that nice Attack debuff that can trigger on the opponent at a moment’s notice. Fini also comes with the spammiest charge move of ANY of the Guardian Deities: Surf, costing only 40 energy and making Water Gun’s average energy generation feel faster than it is.
And thus it has carried itself very well in PvP since its arrival, particularly in Ultra League, but also in Great League for those who have been lucky enough to trade for one that came in at 1500 CP or less.
But like the other Tapus, it’s had a hard time breaking out in Master League, at least to this point. Here its higher bulk and low Attack have actually held it back a bit, making it viable but not great.
Now comes the new move to shake things up… so we’ll start there, in Master League, where it has perhaps the greatest need for improvement. How does Fini fare?
MASTER LEAGUE
So once again, here is Fini today. Even in this League with so many things weak to Ice, you still don’t really want Ice Beam as much as you want Moonblast. But now? I think you can forgo both of them and run with Nature’s Madness and (mostly) not need to look back. It’s not a straight upgrade, as the pure power of Moonblast better guarantees wins like Earth Power Garchomp (with shields down) and Yveltal, but the gains do seem more than worth it. Things like Therian Landorus, Lugia, and even Dialga (regular and Origin!) in 1shield, and Reshiram, Kyogre, and Altered Giratina with shields down.
How does it stack up to other established Water types? Well, overall Kyoge is better, but with a big caveat: it stinks versus Dragons. While Kyogre can wash away thing Tapu Fini still struggles with like Ho-Oh, Solgaleo, Metagross, Melmetal, Snorlax, Xerneas, Wild Charge Zacian, Ursaluna, and Mewtwo, Fini still handles the big Ground and/or Rock types other than Ursaluna and boatload of Dragons that Kyogre has no real shot against, to include Zygarde, Dragonite, Palkia, and Diagla (both forms). Gyarados (who, yes, I know is much bigger in Premier than in Open) has more bite against Dragons, beating some like the Origin Forms of Giratina and Palkia, but Fini still pulls out far more Dragon wins and beats Fairies (Togekiss, Sylveon) as well. And while Swampert is not as fair a comparison, it’s known for being especially tough on Steels and of course Electric damage, but struggles mightily versus the Dragons and things like Groudon, Lugia, and Yveltal that Fini can beat… and loses to Fini in the head to head.
Overall I think Kyogre still reigns supreme among Waters… but Fini is very close behind. And there are certainly teams with more weaknesses to Dragons that will absolutely prefer what Tapu Fini can do for them. I think Fini is going to get the recognition it deserves now in Master League moving forward and be a true three-League competitor.
ULTRA LEAGUE
Again, Tapu Fini is already an UL superstar, handling nearly two thirds of the estabished meta, effectively countered only by some notable Grass, Electric, Poison, and Steel types and a small handful of others like Pidgeot, Cresselia, Jellicent, and sometimes Walrein.
On the surface, it would appear Nature’s Madness is actually a downgrade, but that’s not quite the case. While it DOES lose things Moonblast can beat in 1shield like Altered Giratina, Golisopod, and Feraligatr, it shines out brighter in other shielding scenarios. in 2v2 shielding, Madness overcomes Greninja, Poliwrath, and even Cobalion, while Moonblast manages unique wins over only Altered Giratina and Walrein. And with shields down, a scenario where you might expect Moonblast to win out, instead it gets unique wins versus only Ampharos and Shadow Swampert, whereas Nature’s Madness punches out Walrein, Feraligatr, and Golisopod.
In the end, I think it’s fair to call Nature’s Madness a viable sidegrade at this level, despite the initially ugly numbers in 1v1 shielding. That’s good news for those who already built up a good Ultra League Fini… your gal is still fine to keep on using!
GREAT LEAGUE
Fini is the only Guardian Deity we can currently sneak into Great League, as thanks to its high bulk but lower Attack, there are 31 IV combinations after trading with a Best Friend, and 300 Ultra Friend trade IV combinations, that allow a Level 20 Tapu Fini to hit 1500 CP or less. And of course, many players have already succeeded in this. So for those of you that have a GL Fini already, the question now, of course, is this: how much better is it with Nature’s Madness? Do you need to burn another Elite TM?
Well, I have good news and bad news, but what type of news you get depends on your playstyle… and shields in play.
In short, Nature’s Madness gets better and better the more shields you have. With no shields around, Nature’s Madness is still good overall, but far inferior to Moonblast, which can overpower stuff like Vigoroth, Wigglytuff, Trevenant, Feraligatr, and even Shadow Alolan Sandslash that Nature’s Madness just can’t. But then it gets better and better for Madness from there. In 1v1 shielding, Madness can overcome Feraligatr and fellow wet Fairy Azumarill, while Moonblast lags slightly behind with only a single unique win, over Dewgong. But then Madness REALLY goes mad in 2v2 shielding, beating everything that Moonblast can plus Cresselia, Swampert, and Annihilape.
Overall, I think the story is similar to Ultra League: Nature’s Madness seems like a good sidegrade (perhaps a slight upgrade overall) to Moonblast, making new AND old Tapu Finis a part of the meta. So no, you do not necessarily have to Elite TM any existing GL Fini you have unless you just want to… or if you play it in the back with shields, in which case Madness certainly merits consideration!
IN SUMMATION
Tapu Fini remains the best of the Tapus, and Nature’s Madness gives it a fun new toy to play with… but one that is more optional than required in Ultra and Great Leagues. In Master League, I DO think Nature’s Madness is now the default best way to go, but existing Moonblast variants ARE still useable too. Good news for everyone, right? Huzzah!
Alright, that’s it for today! I hope this was insightful for Tapu Fini, and that this now ended series looking at all the Guardian Deities was useful too!
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 going out! Stay safe out there, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!
