Ultra Beasts Inbound! A PvP Analysis on Blacephalon, Stakataka, and Naganadel

Contents

We got reports of more Ultra Beasts ripping through portals into our communities, folks! As the header image asks, how do they stack up in PvP? Worth grinding for? Well, let’s let our Bottom Line Up Front answer that and then get into the deets. Here we go!

B.L.U.F.

Let’s not string this out: Blacephalon and Stakataka both enter the game too late to likely overtake other options already in use in PvP, and even big hyped-all-season Naganadel fails to overcome the one other Poisonous Dragon we already have.
Blacephalon may have the most promise of the three, as it’s roughly on the same level as Chandelure, which sounds good until you consider other Ghostly Fires like Skeledirge and Alolan Marowak in front of it, and that’s not to even mention the other Incinerate users out there too. If I were to consider building one of these up, Blacephalon would probably be it… but it’s far from necessary.
Stakataka is basically a worse Aggron, not to even mention stuff like Bastiodon and Probopass (if Staka ever becomes Great League eligible). Awesome design, but it is otherwise very flawed.
Naganadel has been teased for months now, but its typing and moves leave much to be desired. It doesn’t really have a place in PvP, and where eligible, Dragalge is flat out better.

Well isn’t ol’ JRE just a ray of sunshine! Sorry about that, just telling it like it is. If you’re still here after THAT rainy intro, come with me as we examine the facts and figures.

BLACEPHALON Stats and Moves

Blacephalon FireGhost

Ultra League Stats

Attack	Defense	HP
227 (224 High Stat Product)	115 (114 High Stat Product)	106 (109 High Stat Product)

(Highest Stat Product IVs {Best Friend Trade}: 5-14-14, 2496 CP, Level 27.5)

Master League Stats

Attack	Defense	HP
277	137	131

(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs; CP 3727 at Level 50)

We’ve had several Fiery Ghosts in the game already — Skeledirge, Alolan Marowak, Chandelure among them and all with a history of PvP success — but I think many still don’t understand how good a typing combination Fire and Ghost is. Yes, there are single-level weaknesses to Water, Ground, Rock, Dark, and Ghost, but look at all the resistances! There are nine of them, in fact: Fairy, Fire, Grass, Ice, Poison, Steel, and 2x resistances to Normal, Fighting, and Bug damage.

That strong overall defensive typing is certainly noticable with Skeledirge and Alolan Marowak, who have good bulk to go with it. But on the other end, we have Chandelure with poor bulk… and now Blacephalon which makes Chandelure look downright tanky in comparison. In Ultra League, Chandelure has about 13 more HP, and over 20 more Defense. In Master League, it’s “only” 11 more HP, but nearly 30 more Defense. Blacephalon’s overall stat product is so low that it doesn’t even make the list in Ultra League when sorting by stat product, putting it outside the top 700! This thing is made of wet tissue paper, folks. And I mean the single ply kind you find in the bathrooms of cheap restaurants, government buildings, and most middle schools. 🚽

Fast Moves

Incinerate – Fire type, 4.0 DPT, 4.0 EPT, 2.5 CoolDown
Astonish – Ghost type, 3.0 DPT, 3.33 EPT, 1.5 CD

Yes, Astonish is a better move these days, finally viable! But you know that given this choice, it HAS to be Incinerate. It’s a little awkward to use with that longest-in-the-game cooldown, but I mean, it’s 4.0 DPT and 4.0 EPT. It’s an abusive fast move that can shred things without even needing charge moves in many circumstances.

But of course, we DO have charge moves to consider, so let’s get right to them.

Charge Moves

Mystical Fire – Fire type, 60 damage, 45 energy, Reduces Opponent Attack -1 Stage
Shadow Ball – Ghost type, 100 damage, 55 energy
Overheat – Fire type, 130 damage, 55 energy, Reduces User Attack -2 Stages

Been a little while since we got a new Pokémon with only three charge moves, eh? We’re long past the days when that was the norm!

All three can work too, though considering Blacephalon’s glassy nature, you probably ALWAYS want Mystical Fire slotted in. Not only does its lower cost allow your best shot at stringing multiple charge moves together, but the nerf to the opponent’s Attack power means you’re essentially propping up Blace’s awful (complete lack of) bulk.

I can absolutely see the case for Overheat as charge move #2, and I won’t say it’s wrong. I am sure there are cases where it will gets wins that Shadow Ball cannot. But Shadow Ball, of course, provides great coverage and comes with no drawback at all. And when you’re sporting more Attack power than even things like Mewtwo, Thundurus, and Hoopa Unbound, does the lower on-paper damage of Shadow Ball REALLY matter, especially considering that Incincerate has already softened targets up first? Again, if you wanna run Overheat instead, go for it. But for my money, it’s Shadow Ball or bust, and I will be using it in most sims below.

IS THERE EVEN A PLACE FOR BLACEPHALON?

Normally I’d break down the sims by League, but this is going to be relatively quick, so I’m just going to kind of mush it all together.

Because there’s a big problem Blacephalon has, and its name is Chandelure.

No, they’re not exactly the same. Both run off of Incinerate and Shadow Ball, but Chandie comes with the 50-energy Flame Charge that buffs its own Attack, while Blace comes with the 45-energy Mystical Fire that instead slashes the opponent’s Attack. Blace, in may ways, should have the advantage with 45 energy nicely setting up the 55-energy Shadow Ball (or Overheat). But for the most part, that’s just not the case.

Let’s start with the best realm for most big Legendaries/Mythicals/Ultra Beasts like this: Master League. Chandelure isn’t great, but Blacephalon is no better. There ARE differences — Blace beats Excadrill and Zacian, and Chandie instead overcomes Dialga and Ursaluna — but they’re basically the same.

And actually, that’s not even true. Chandelure has more upside… as a Shadow. It’s able to beat Excadrill too, leaving Zacian as Blacephalon’s only unique win, and manages to overcome Ursaluna, Snorlax, Yveltal, and Ho-Oh too. Speaking of which, it’s worth a reminder that Ho-Oh blows BOTH Chandelure and Blacephalon away, beating everything they can except Lugia, and carving out half a dozen wins that neither Ghostly Incinerate users can replicate.

Maybe Ultra League is kinder to Blacephalon?

At first, the comparison between Blace and Chandie looks favorable for Blacephalon, with a loss to Gliscor that Chandelure can beat, but exclusive wins versus Talonflame, Skeledirge, and even Tentacruel. But the Chandelure you want to be using in Ultra League is ShadowLure, and now Blacephalon is no better than a sidegrade, beating Talonflame, Skeledirge, and DDeoxys while Shadow Chandie instead takes down Pidgeot, Toxicroak, and Trevenant. Thanks to Mystical Fire, Blace does pull ahead a bit in 2v2 shielding, taking down Pidgeot, Poliwrath, Obstagoon, and DDeoxys (while ShadowLure instead has only Trevenant and Ampharos as unique wins), but with shields down, Shadow Chandelure is ALL upside, beating everything Blacephalon can PLUS Walrein, DDeoxys, and Altered Giratina (with Dragon Breath, that is).

And of course, they both still mostly pale in comparison to other established Fire types like Talonflame, Charizard, and fellow Ghostly Fire type Skeledirge. All of those are just better and more versatile, and of course are available in Premier formats whereas Blacephalon would be on the outside looking in, making it an even shakier investment in my eyes.

So where does that leave us? I think there’s enough good going on to say that building up a Blacephalon for PvP is not a waste, but I think it’s probably fair to say that it’s unnecessary, and it arrives to GO behind several other, better options that exist in the game already. When even Chandelure is pacing or outright outclassing you, that’s not a great place to be.