USER GUIDE | Submitted by Chateranga on May 09 2017Before the launch of Generation 2, the hype around Pokémon GO Blissey and what it would do to the current gym meta was the one thing that most players agreed on.
Blissey was going to be a problem. Many thought Niantic would nerf her incredible health, or provide new tools to combat her insane stats and type advantages, while others were convinced that she would be the ultimate defender and gyms would be filled with Blissey.
Now that the dust has settled, this guide will attempt to help by providing an in depth breakdown of the attackers you should consider when attacking Blissey.
Know Your Enemy
Blissey is a normal Pokemon, which means her only weakness is tofighting type. However, two of her three possible charge moves are Super Effective against Fighting Types, and her third (Hyper Beam) is a Normal Attack, meaning Blissey gets Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB) when using it.
Most are familiar with Zen Headbutt but in the case of Blissey most fighting Types have to avoid the damage from it if they want to defeat her. For these reasons you must identify which moves Blissey is using and choose Attackers that can do the most damage without taking a lot in return. You need to dodge all of the Charge Moves but in some cases her Quick Moves can actually deal more damage depending on the match up.
When powering up or placing a Blissey in a gym, the moveset does not matter as her health allows her to be tough for any single opponent. However, when attacking Blissey it is important to know what you are dealing with so you can choose the right Pokemon to effectively defeat her.
* Fighting Types are weak to psychic and fairy type so choosing a Machamp is not always the best option.
| Move | Type | Power | DPS | STAB DPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pound Normal | Hyper beam Normal | 7/150 | 25.60 | 31.95 |
| Zen headbutt Psychic | Hyper beam Normal | 12/150 | 25.20 | 30.10 |
| Pound Normal | Psychic Psychic | 7/100 | 23.70 | 25.15 |
| Zen headbutt Psychic | Psychic Psychic | 12/100 | 23.30 | 23.30 |
| Pound Normal | Dazzling gleam Fairy | 7/100 | 20.15 | 21.60 |
| Zen headbutt Psychic | Dazzling gleam Fairy | 12/100 | 19.75 | 19.75 |
Tools of the Trade
Generation 2 introduced 38 new moves to Pokemon Go. The quick move “Counter” and the charge moves “Close Combat” and “Dynamic Punch”, are a must have for anyone wanting to challenge Blissey. Legacy moves like “Karate Chop” or “Low Kick” do not deal enough damage or provide enough energy gain to defeat Blissey consistently.
Machamp’s Legacy moveset (Karate Chop/Cross Chop) is barely viable and relies a lot on your ability to dodge in a fight or a moveset that does not counter Fighting Types. No other Fighting Type with Gen 1 fighting movesets comes close to beating Blissey and in most cases they are actually weaker than non-fighting types with higher DPS movesets.
- Recommend evolving a new Machamp, Primape, Poliwrath, or even try to use a newly hatched/evolved Hitmonchan that has Counter/Close Combat, most Gen 1 Fighting types received better movesets in Gen 2
Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!
Best Blissey counters
Number One Contenders – these Pokemon provide the most damage against Blissey based on either type advantages or just general high attack stats with movesets that Blissey is weak against.
Majority of Blissey movesets deal Super Effective damage to these Pokemon and require you to dodge Charge or Special Attacks.
- Machamp: Counter/Close Combat or Dynamic Punch (Karate Chop/Cross Chop will work as well but requires a lot more time and relies on dodging charge moves)
- Heracross: Counter/Close Combat (Counter/Megahorn will provide decent damage but will take more time and dodging)
- Dragonite: Dragon Tail/Any Charge Move (Not a good choice for Dazzling Gleam Blissey)
- Alakazam: Confusion or Psycho Cut/Focus Blast or Future Sight (Any pairing of these movesets will work against Blissey especially against Zen Headbutt/Psychic Blissey)
Unorthodox Blissey counters
These Pokemon either deal general high DPS or have some movesets that benefits them against Blissey but generally are not considered counter picks to Blissey:
- Espeon: Confusion or Zen Headbutt/Future Sight (Same concept as Alakazam, especially against Zen Headbutt/Psychic Blissey)
- Exeggutor: Confusion or Extrasensory/Solar Beam (Dodging Zen Headbutt will allow you to fight longer but overall Exeggutor is much more durable than Espeon or Alakazam)
- Flareon: Any moveset with Fire Spin or Overheat but the best moveset is Fire Spin/Overheat (No weaknesses to any of Blissey movesets and has some of the highest DPS in the game)
- Primape/Hitmonchan: Counter/Close Combat (Requires excellent dodging but these are common prestigers and can actually deal significant damage to Blissey, prioritize against Blissey using Pound)
Low tier Blissey counters
These Pokemon have type advantages, moveset advantages, and generally known for their attacking benefits, yet they are left out of most conversations when considering attackers against Blissey.
- Poliwrath: Bubble/Dynamic Punch or Rock Smash/Dynamic Punch (With decent Defensive and HP Stats, along with the additional Water Type to help against the Psychic and Fairy type moves, Poliwrath can hang around and deal good damage even at a much lower CP. Example – 2000 CP Poliwrath vs 2700 CP Blissey)
- Ursaring: Counter/Close Combat or Hyper Beam (One of the easiest Pokemon to find or evolve in this list, Ursaring has no weakness to any Blissey moveset while his own movesets are Super Effective to Blissey. His high Attack stats make up for a lack of STAB)
- Gyarados: Dragon Tail or Bite/Hydro Pump (Blissey does the least amount of damage to Gyarados when compared to others on this list, to the point that you can use your quick moves with ease and get your Charge move powered up. Gyarados has a high attack stat and with this moveset he will deal significant damage to Blissey)
- Gengar: Any Quick Move/Focus Blast or Sludge Bomb (Ghost moves do little or no damage to Blissey but Gengars high attack stat makes Focus Blast really strong. You will have to dodge well but if you can get off your charge moves you have a chance at beating Blissey)
* Avoid using Machamp, Dragonite, Alakazam, or Espeon against a Blissey with Zen Headbutt/Dazzling Gleam. Double types like Exeggutor, Poliwrath, and Gyarados, or neutral types like Flareon and Ursaring, will actually survive longer and deal more damage.
The Aftermath
Most defenders have a wide variety of attackers that will work well against them. Even type advantages or counter picks are not always the best option for most defending Pokemon. Blissey is the exception to the rule.
You need specific Pokemon with specific movesets to have a chance at defeating her. The majority of these Pokemon take multiple evolutions and candies, or they are just rare in general.
Providing choices like Exeggutor, Ursaring, Espeon or Flareon, show how you can still be affective against Blissey even without investing a lot of effort into hunting down counter picks.
Blissey will always be a tough opponent but hopefully this guide has highlighted some new choices or better movesets to use when picking that fight.
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
