Name: Alomomola
Availability: Late. Alomomola is available in Azure Bay, but it requires a Super Rod to encounter.
Stats: Alomomola has excellent HP and decent Attack and Defense. Its other stats leave lots to be desired, though.
Typing: Alomomola has a good typing, leaving it with only two weaknesses for which both Gyms have already been completed upon its capture.
Movepool: Aqua Jet and Wake-Up Slap are Alomomola's starting attacks, but both are very weak. Alomomola can utilize moves like Wish, Protect, Toxic, and Soak to become a very effective staller, but this strategy causes battles to drag out. Surf and Waterfall can be put to good use by Alomomola, but the former comes off its weaker Special Attack stat.
Major Battles: Alomomola has no real bad matchups, but the only real work it can put in is inflicting toxic poison on foes, healing teammates with Wish, and using weak attacks. It does well against Malva's Fire-types, though.
Additional Comments: Although Alomomola can put in lots of work, its lack of offensive presence holds it back.
Name: Ariados
Availability: Late. Ariados drops from the ceiling in Terminus Cave.
Stats: Ariados has good Attack, but its other stats are subpar.
Typing: Bug/Poison is okay defensively, giving Ariados many weaknesses but some resistances to types like Fairy, Grass, and Fighting. On the other hand, it provides poor offensive coverage.
Movepool: Poison Jab by TM and Pin Missile by level-up provide decent STAB moves, and Dig helps Ariados against Steel-types such as Klefki. Sticky Web by level-up offers useful support against important opponents by lowering their Pokemon's Speed, but Ariados is generally too slow to take advantage of this itself without setting up Agility.
Major Battles: Ariados can contribute in the final Gym if given a bit of experience. In the Elite Four, Ariados can help by setting up Sticky Web and knocking out miscellaneous foes with Dig or a STAB move. Be aware that Malva's lead can easily KO Ariados, but it can set up Sticky Web in all other major battles.
Additional Comments: Ariados drops from the ceiling, so it can only be encountered in designated spots.
Name: Audino
Availability: Early. Audino has a small chance to jump out of the grass patches on Route 6.
Stats: Audino is impressively bulky, but its attacking stats and Speed leave lots to be desired.
Typing: Audino's Normal typing unfortunately means that nothing is weak to its STAB moves. However, Fighting is its only weakness.
Movepool: Audino naturally learns several decent STAB moves, including Secret Power and Take Down. Return can be used later for more power. It can learn many special moves by TM, including Thunderbolt, Fire Blast, and Surf. Calm Mind and Charge Beam open up possibilities for Audino to sweep, while Dig and Power-up Punch provide early-game coverage moves.
Major Battles: Audino needs coverage moves to contribute anything in the second Gym, and the third is even worse for it. It doesn't suffer any bad matchups after that, but its passivity holds it back until the Calm Mind TM after the seventh Gym. Audino struggles against Lysandre's Mienshao, but it performs well against his other Pokemon. After that, it can potentially sweep opponents like Malva with Calm Mind.
Additional Comments: Regenerator is the preferred ability for Audino, because it allows it to recover health without the need for healing items. There are not many ways to tell the ability of a wild Audino, though.
Name: Barboach
Availability: Late. Barboach can be fished with a Good Rod on Routes 14 and 19.
Stats: Barboach has a high HP stat, but low Speed. Its other stats are average.
Typing: Water/Ground is a very good typing for Barboach. It only leaves it with one weakness to Grass, and it gives it the upper hand against common types like Electric, Fire, and Rock.
Movepool: Barboach can put the Bulldoze TM and Surf HM to very good use, getting STAB on both and being able to outspeed foes after using Bulldoze. Earthquake at level 45 serves as a more powerful STAB move. If needed, Barboach can use the Waterfall HM to assist in the field.
Major Battles: Barboach does well against Team Flare's Fire- and Poison-types, and it has a good type matchup against two Elite Four members. All of its remaining Gym matchups are neutral.
Additional Comments: Barboach requires the Good Rod, which can be found in Coumarine City, to catch.
Name: Carbink
Availability: Early. Carbink is an uncommon encounter in Reflection Cave.
Stats: Carbink has low Speed and attacking stats, but impressive bulk.
Typing: Carbink's Rock/Fairy typing gives it weaknesses to Steel, Ground, Grass, and Water, but it also grants resistances to types like Normal, Fire, and Bug.
Movepool: Carbink is unfortunately stuck with a lackluster movepool. Its powerful STAB moves, like Moonblast, come very late, forcing it to rely on weak moves such as Ancient Power for much of the game. However, Carbink can support its team with Reflect, and the Dazzling Gleam TM from the sixth Gym is a welcome power boost for it.
Major Battles: Carbink doesn't have many good matchups early-game except against Team Flare. Later on, it can take on the eighth Gym and two Elite Four members, but it loses to the other two. Carbink performs best against foes that can't hit it super effectively.
Additional Comments: Thanks to Carbink's relatively high ratio of defenses to HP, it doesn't require expensive healing items.
Name: Carnivine
Availability: Late. Carnivine can be found on Route 14.
Stats: Carnivine is slow, but it has passable bulk. It's attacking stats aren't bad either.
Typing: Carnivine's Grass typing riddles it with weaknesses to types like Fire, Flying, and Bug, but it gives it useful advantages against Rock-, Water-, and Ground-types as well, the latter an extremely good matchup for Carnivine thanks to its Levitate ability.
Movepool: Carnivine's movepool is where it really struggles. Leaf Tornado and a Dark-type attack are its only real options until Power Whip at level 50. Even TMs give it only support options like Toxic, Infestation, and Swords Dance. A Stockpile + Swallow + Spit Up combination can be used because of a lack of better options, but it takes a while to set up.
Major Battles: Carnivine underperforms in many major battles because of its disadvantageous typing. In Gyms, its STAB moves are generally unresisted, but the Ice-types in the final Gym hit it super effectively. Carnivine does well against one Elite Four member but fails to contribute much against the other three.
Additional Comments: Carnivine isn't really a bad Pokemon once it learns Power Whip. However, its shallow movepool and unhelpful Ability cause it to be uninteresting.
Name: Chingling
Availability: Early. Chingling can be found in Reflection Cave or in the grass outside it.
Stats: Chingling and its evolved form have decent stats all around, with an emphasis on Special Attack.
Typing: Chingling's Psychic typing gives it three weaknesses, but it isn't without advantages as well.
Movepool: Chingling is stuck with only weak attacks in the forms of Confusion and Uproar for much of the game. After evolving, it gets a strong STAB move in the form of Extrasensory at level 46, and later Gyms provide it with the useful moves Dazzling Gleam and Calm Mind. Support options like Heal Bell and Healing Wish can also be helpful.
Major Battles: Chingling does well against the third Gym because of a good type matchup as well as the Eviolite giving it a useful boost to its bulk. However, even the Eviolite doesn't help it in subsequent fights, where its stats are simply too underwhelming to keep up. Evolution gives Chingling a needed stat boost, but it isn't enough to help Chingling overpower strong opponents such as the Elite Four.
Additional Comments: High Happiness is necessary for Chingling to evolve, so keeping it in your party helps it evolve at a lower level and have access to more moves.
Name: Dugtrio
Availability: Middle. Dugtrio is a common encounter on Route 13.
Stats: Dugtrio has high Speed and decent Attack, but its other stats are very mediocre.
Typing: Dugtrio can hit many foes super effectively with its STAB Ground-type attacks.
Movepool: Dugtrio can obtain good coverage early on with Bulldoze + Rock Tomb. It gets other STAB moves by level-up, including Sand Tomb, Magnitude, and later the strong Earthquake. Sucker Punch is useful against faster foes.
Major Battles: Dugtrio can sweep the fifth Gym with a bit of experience under its belt. After that, its low bulk and inadequate Attack stat can let it down against strong foes, but it can slow them down with Rock Tomb or Bulldoze so a teammate that would normally be outsped can land a hit first.
Additional Comments: Either Ability works fine for Dugtrio. A useful boon Dugtrio offers is the ability to escape from almost any wild Pokemon thanks to its impressive Speed stat.
Name: Eevee (Glaceon)
Availability: Eevee can be found on Route 10.
Stats: Eevee has average stats all around. After it evolves into Glaceon, Eevee's Special Attack increases along with its bulk, but its Speed and Attack stats remain mediocre.
Typing: Eevee's pure Normal typing is bad in early Gyms but decent outside of that. After it evolves, it gains many weaknesses because of its Ice typing, but its STAB moves hit many late-game foes super effectively.
Movepool: Eevee has a decent level-up movepool, which consists of progressively more powerful STAB moves such as Quick Attack, Swift, and Take Down, as well as supportive options including Baby-Doll Eyes and Charm. After it evolves, Eevee can't use any of these moves very well because of its different typing and emphasis on special attacks, but it can utilize TMs like Frost Breath from the Frost Cavern, Blizzard from Anistar City, and Ice Beam from the final Gym as powerful STAB moves. Unfortunately, Eevee is lacking in coverage save for Dig, which comes off its weaker Attack stat.
Major Battles: Eevee suffers from a type disadvantage in the first Gym in which it can be used. After that, it can pull its weight to some extent with Eviolite along with decently powerful Normal-type attacks. After it evolves, Eevee does well against Drasna's Dragon-types, but its attacks are resisted by the other three members of the Elite Four.
Additional Comments: Thanks to its strong Ice-type attacks, Eevee isn't that bad of a Pokemon once it evolves; however, it significantly holds back its team in the mid-game before evolution. Adaptability is the more useful of Eevee's abilities, because Eevee needs the extra power it provides, but Run Away can be useful on slower teams.
Name: Exeggcute
Availability: Middle. Exeggcute appears on Route 12.
Stats: Exeggcute has good Defense. After it evolves, its stat distribution focuses more on Special Attack. Exeggcute is held back by its poor Speed, though.
Typing: Exeggcute's Grass/Psychic typing gives it many weaknesses. Its offensive typing is useful against foes like Water-types, but it isn't the best.
Movepool: Exeggcute has a good movepool. Stun Spore and Sleep Powder early on are a big help against dangerous foes, and access to two decent STAB moves in Confusion and Bullet Seed further helps its case. However, in the midgame it doesn't learn any more useful moves until Wood Hammer at level 37 after evolution. The Move Reminder grants Exeggcute access to Psyshock after it has evolved, and the Energy Ball TM in Route 20 gives it another reliable STAB move.
Major Battles: Exeggcute performs well for three consecutive Gyms after it is caught, but its matchups after that are more questionable. It does horribly against Team Flare, and three of its Elite Four matchups are hopeless. Even in Exeggcute's good matchups, it needs a fair amount of experience to take the hits it needs to, and many foes can deal lots of damage to Exeggcute with super effective attacks before it can move.
Additional Comments: Exeggcute evolves using a Leaf Stone, which can be bought in Lumiose City.
Name: Foongus
Availability: Mid- to late-game, Route 15 or Route 16.
Stats: Except for its dismal Speed, Foongus has decent stats all around, with its HP being particularly high.
Typing: Foongus has a few weaknesses because of its Grass/Poison typing, but with them come useful resistances to types like Fighting, Grass, and Fairy.
Movepool: Giga Drain, which Foongus learns early on, is a good all-purpose STAB move. However, the rest of Foongus's movepool leans not towards offensive strategies but instead towards defensive ones. Toxic and Synthesis, for example, are useful against foes with less offensive presence; however, they cause battles to drag on. Foongus can use the Sludge Bomb TM from Route 19 as a Poison-type STAB move. Spore at level 50 is amazing for incapacitating strong foes, but it requires that Foongus be kept from evolving until it learns the move.
Major Battles: Past the sixth Gym, neither of Foongus's two remaining Gym matchups are in its favor. Foongus can put in work by taking care of Team Flare's many Mightyena, and many miscellaneous Pokemon fail to break it. In the Elite Four, Foongus can put in work against Siebold, but it has to watch out for Starmie's Psychic-type moves.
Additional Comments: Be sure to pick up the Eviolite in Shalour City, because the boost to Foongus's bulk can be useful.
Name: Geodude (No Trade)
Availability: Late. Geodude and its evolved form, Graveler, can be found in Route 18 or Terminus Cave.
Stats: Geodude has good physical bulk and Attack, but mediocre specially based stats and low Speed.
Typing: Geodude's Rock/Ground typing helps it endlessly wall some foes, like physical Normal-types, but renders it completely helpless against Grass- and Water-types. Offensively, it provides impressive coverage.
Movepool: Luckily, Geodude has no shortage of good STAB moves. Attacks like Rock Blast, Dig, Magnitude, and Rock Tomb help it hit nearly any foe hard. Geodude eventually learns the very powerful Earthquake and Stone Edge, but these come very late.
Major Battles: Geodude's Ice weakness holds it back in the final Gym, but at the same time its Rock-type attacks hit super effectively as well. Geodude does decently against Malva and Wikstrom, but its Steel weakness, as well as its low Special Defense and Speed, hold it back in these matchups. Sturdy means that it can usually take down at least one of these foes with it.
Additional Comments: Sturdy is necessary for Geodude, because it gives it a chance against fast, frail foes. Items like Eviolite and Hard Stone help Geodude perform better.
Name: Hoppip
Availability: Early, Route 7
Stats: The Hoppip line has average stats all around except for its blazing Speed.
Typing: Hoppip has tons of weaknesses because of its Grass/Flying typing. Offensively, Grass/Flying isn't the best, but it helps Hoppip hit some foes super effectively.
Movepool: Hoppip's movepool provides it with numerous useful options. It can put Sleep Powder to good use thanks to its high Speed stat, and if given the opportunity it can sweep with Swords Dance, Bullet Seed, and Acrobatics. Stun Spore can slow dangerous foes that Hoppip can't handle without the risk of them waking up. Unfortunately, Hoppip doesn't learn any attacks more powerful than Bullet Seed and Acrobatics, with Giga Drain not boosted by Swords Dance and Bounce weaker than Acrobatics with no item.
Major Battles: Hoppip doesn't do very well in the second Gym; it's not strong enough to threaten to KO opposing Rock-types before evolution, and it takes massive damage in return. It can still help with Stun Spore, though. Hoppip's matchup in the third Gym is better with an evolution, a super effective attack in Aerial Ace, a boosting move in Swords Dance, and an Eviolite backing it up. The rest of Hoppip's Gyms are mostly neutral matchups for it. Hoppip struggles against Team Flare because Fire-types, Poison-types, and Intimidate Mightyena are prevalent.
Additional Comments: Either Ability is fine for Hoppip.
Name: Larvitar (Y)
Availability: Late. Larvitar and Pupitar, its evolved form, appear on Route 18 and in Terminus Cave.
Stats: Larvitar is a well-rounded Pokemon, with its only shortcomings being its unimpressive Speed and slightly subpar Special Attack. Worth noting is the fact that it gains the Sand Stream ability upon its second evolution, giving a helpful boost to its Special Defense.
Typing: Larvitar's Rock/Ground typing is useful against foes like Normal- and Fire-types, but it falls flat against Water- and Grass-types among others. After it evolves into its final form, it sheds its Ground typing in favor of a Dark one, changing its set of matchups.
Movepool: Larvitar can use the TMs for moves like Bulldoze, Dig, and Rock Tomb as STAB moves, and it naturally learns Dark-type moves like Crunch for its evolution. Its movepool gets a big improvement upon evolving into Tyranitar, with attacks like Ice Beam providing excellent coverage.
Major Battles: Larvitar is practically dead weight in the final Gym unless it is given enough experience to evolve into Tyranitar, removing its Ice weakness. Larvitar only has one outright good matchup in the Elite Four, but its high stats can help it muscle past Drasna's Dragon-types, and it can use coverage moves to take down one or two of Wikstrom's Pokemon.
Additional Comments: Larvitar has three shortcomings: it comes too late, it requires lots of experience to evolve, and its Speed stat is low. Besides that, though, its incredible battle prowess is not to be overlooked.
Name: Liepard (Y)
Availability: Late, Route 15 (Y only)
Stats: Liepard's offensive stats are decent, and it has good Speed. Its defenses are below average.
Typing: Pure Dark typing doesn't land super effective hits on many foes, and it gives Liepard weaknesses to common types like Fairy.
Movepool: Liepard doesn't have access to strong attacks until it learns Night Slash at level 43. Before that, it can utilize Nasty Plot + Snarl to do decent damage. Hone Claws provides physical setup, although slow, and U-turn and Play Rough are good coverage moves.
Major Battles: Liepard can perform pretty well against the seventh Gym thanks to Snarl dealing super effective damage while decreasing the power of coverage moves like Dazzling Gleam. However, Liepard's relatively low stats and weak STAB coverage mean that it rarely contributes outside of that.
Additional Comments: Limber is the preferred Ability for Liepard, but neither one is really that useful.
Name: Masquerain
Availability: Masquerain can be found by using Surf on Route 3.
Stats: Decent stats all around, with an emphasis on specially based stats.
Typing: Bug/Flying is somewhat of a hindrance for Masquerain because of its poor offensive coverage and many weaknesses.
Movepool: Two of Masquerain's best moves, Quiver Dance and Bug Buzz, come very late. However, a Heart Scale or two can fix this problem, because Masquerain can also access these moves through the Move Reminder. Masquerain can also use a few TMs for well. Scald and Shadow Ball provide some coverage, while Struggle Bug can act as a discount Bug Buzz.
Major Battles: Masquerain does best in the seventh Gym, and its matchups are mostly neutral outside of that. Unfortunately, it does poorly against the Elite Four because two of their types resist Bug.
Additional Comments:
Name: Mightyena (X)
Availability: Late, Route 15 (X only)
Stats: Mightyena has middling stats for the most part, with its Attack being the highest of the six.
Typing: Mightyena's Dark typing doesn't hit many foes super effectively, but it's almost unresisted.
Movepool: Mightyena requires tons of experience to learn its best attack, Crunch, but it can also have early access to the move thanks to the Move Reminder. Unfortunately, its coverage is rather limited, with Dig, Rock Smash, and Return being its best options.
Major Battles: Mightyena's low defenses mean that it often struggles in major fights, but Crunch can help it almost solo the seventh Gym thanks to its Psychic immunity and super effective STAB. Past that, it can deal with miscellaneous foes like Wikstrom's Aegislash.
Additional Comments: Intimidate is by far the better Ability for Mightyena, because it allows it to weaken any physical attacker purely by switching in on it.
Name: Minun
Availability: Early, Route 5
Stats: Minun has good Speed and decent Special Defense, but its other stats are average at best.
Typing: Minun's Electric typing leaves it with only a single weakness, but its STAB moves hit only two types super effectively.
Movepool: During the early-game period where Minun would normally be useful, its lack of attacks other than Quick Attack before level 15 mean that it weighs down the team until then. Thunderbolt from the fifth Gym is Minun's main attack, because it gets a STAB boost on top of an impressive base power. While Minun learns many support moves like Nasty Plot, Baton Pass, Thunder Wave, and Charm, its offensive movepool is very lacking, featuring only Grass Knot for coverage.
Major Battles: Because of its less interactive typing, Minun doesn't really have any good or bad type matchups. This is more of a curse than a blessing for it, because it can't usually win in simple tests of strength because of its low stats. On the other hand, Minun's passable bulk, high Speed, and lack of weaknesses help it cripple most foes with moves like Thunder Wave and Charm.
Additional Comments:
Name: Nosepass
Availability: Middle, Route 10 (Horde Encounter)
Stats: Nosepass has good physical bulk, but it does poorly against special moves. Evolution fixes that issue; however, it still leaves Nosepass with low attacking stats and Speed.
Typing: Nosepass's Rock typing helps it wall foes like Normal-types, but it has many weaknesses. Evolution adds a Steel typing, leaving it 4x weak to Ground and Fighting but giving it more resistances.
Movepool: Nosepass gains a powerful STAB move early on in Rock Blast, and it learns Power Gem later on. While it learns some useful coverage and utility moves like Thunder Wave, Thunderbolt, Earth Power, and Dazzling Gleam, it can only learn a Steel-type STAB through the Move Reminder.
Major Battles: Nosepass has a bad matchup against the third and fourth Gyms, but it can put in work with Sturdy + Thunder Wave. If evolved, it can take on the fifth Gym thanks to its increased Special Defense, and it performs well in the remaining three Gyms thanks to its Steel typing. Nosepass does well against Team Flare grunts because none of their Pokemon can significantly damage it save for Scraggy, but its low attacking stats prevent it from taking them out quickly.
Additional Comments: Nosepass evolves when leveled up on Route 13. Sturdy is the better ability for Nosepass, because it allows it to survive at least one hit from any foe.
Name: Roggenrola
Availability: Early, Reflection Cave
Stats: High Attack and great physical bulk, but low Special Defense and abysmal Speed.
Typing: Roggenrola has lots of weaknesses because of its Rock typing, but at the same time it has several resistances as well.
Movepool: Roggenrola has no shortage of strong STAB moves: Rock Blast, Smack Down, and Rock Slide are examples of viable attacks Roggenrola learns naturally. Bulldoze from TM gives Roggenrola a good coverage option. Explosion has tremendous power, allowing Roggenrola to take down almost any foe that doesn't resist it, but it KOs Roggenrola too.
Major Battles: Roggenrola has no shortage of bad matchups, unfortunately. The first two Gyms encountered after it is caught have favorable type matchups against it, and many important opponents after that have Pokemon that target Roggenrola's lower Special Defense. However, Roggenrola takes on Team Flare well thanks to its strong attacks and high Defense.
Additional Comments: It is recommended to catch a Roggenrola with the Sturdy ability. Sturdy helps Roggenrola survive even a strong super effective hit to retaliate with its own attack.
Name: Sandslash
Availability: Late, Route 18 and Terminus Cave.
Stats: Sandslash has well-rounded stats with particularly high Attack and Defense.
Typing: Sandslash's Ground typing is lackluster defensively, but it hits many foes super effectively.
Movepool: Sandslash's strongest attack is Earthquake, and if caught at or above level 46 it starts with the move. Swords Dance raises Sandslash's Attack, helping it sweep teams by setting up on nonthreatening foes. Coverage moves like Aerial Ace and Rock Tomb ensure that Sandslash's moves are unresisted.
Major Battles: Sandslash does poorly in the final Gym because all the foes can hit it super effectively, but it does well against two Elite Four members because their Pokemon are weak to Earthquake. It needs to be at a decent level to perform well, though, because its bulk is below average overall.
Additional Comments: The biggest thing holding Sandslash back in-game is just how late it's found. Barely any foes are left for Sandslash to take on.
Name: Scyther
Availability: Late, Route 21 (Rare)
Stats: Scyther has high Attack and Speed. Evolution improves its Defense and Attack at the cost of its Speed.
Typing: Scyther's Bug/Flying typing provides poor offensive coverage and has many weaknesses. However, evolution replaces its Flying subtype with a much more useful Steel one, leaving it with a harsh but singular weakness to Fire.
Movepool: Scyther starts with a strong STAB move in X-Scissor. It can increase its Attack using the Swords Dance TM, and the Aerial Ace TM provides it with a Flying-type STAB move. After it evolves, it has many options, including Iron Head at level 50 and Bullet Punch and Metal Claw from the Move Reminder.
Major Battles: Scyther's usefulness in the final Gym depends on whether or not it can evolve; if it can, it can sweep through the whole thing with its STAB Steel-type moves. In the Elite Four, Scyther does poorly against Malva and Wikstrom, but it performs decently well against the other two as well as the Champion.
Additional Comments: If trading is inaccessible so Scyther can't evolve, it is highly recommended to hunt for one with Technician to boost the power of Aerial Ace. Thanks to Scizor naturally learning Iron Head, it has greater viability without Technician; however, it is still the recommended ability thanks to the boost it gives to Bullet Punch.
Name: Skitty
Availability: Early, Route 4
Stats: Decent stats all around, but they start to fall off later on.
Typing: Pure Normal typing is bad for Skitty, because no foes are weak to its STAB moves. However, only three types resist its attacks.
Movepool: Skitty has quite an expansive movepool. Double Slap is a decent STAB move, and later on stronger options like Return and Double-Edge are available, although the latter requires that Skitty not be evolved until the late game. TMs like Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Dig, and Thunder Wave can also be used.
Major Battles: Unfortunately for Skitty, it is unable to contribute against Grant because the Dig TM is unavailable until after the Gym; its type matchup against Korrina is similarly bad because her Fighting-types can easily take it out with their super effective attacks. If evolved, it can put in work against the next few Gyms, but after that its relatively low stats start to let it down.
Additional Comments: The Normalize ability hinders Skitty by preventing it from getting around Pokemon that resist its STAB moves. Because of this, it is recommended to use a Skitty with Cute Charm.
Name: Slowpoke (Slowbro)
Availability: Middle, Route 12 and Azure Bay
Stats: Slowpoke outspeeds nothing, but it has an impressive HP stat. Evolution turns it into a physical tank that can hit hard with special attacks.
Typing: Slowpoke's Water/Psychic typing is good enough offensively, but it's held back by five crippling weaknesses.
Movepool: Slowpoke's early movepool is mostly confined to Surf and Confusion, but as access to TMs increases, its movepool expands to an impressive degree. Brick Break, Grass Knot, Calm Mind, Fire Blast, and Dig are just a few examples of the massive amounts of TMs Slowpoke can learn. Slack Off helps it recover its health, and Psychic is a very strong attack.
Major Battles: Slowpoke is useless against the fourth and fifth Gyms because of its low stats before evolution and its type disadvantage. After this, though, it starts to really get going: many physical attackers, including Valerie's Mawile and Lysandre's Mienshao, can't do much damage to Slowpoke, and after the seventh Gym it can take advantage of this by setting up with Calm Mind.
Additional Comments: Although Slowpoke definitely pulls its weight late-game, it requires a lot of patience to support initially.
Name: Slowpoke (Slowking)
Availability: Middle. Slowpoke can be found on Route 12 or in Azure Bay by surfing.
Stats: Slowpoke starts out as a slow physical tank, but Slowking specializes in taking and dishing out special attacks.
Typing: Water/Psychic has a few weaknesses, but also gives Slowpoke its share of useful resistances to types like Fire, Steel, and Fighting.
Movepool: Unlike its physically defensive counterpart, Slowking's movepool is more focused on offense. Nasty Plot at level 36 turns it into an immediate threat, and Slowking learns strong STAB moves like Psychic and Surf. It can learn coverage moves like Power Gem and Blizzard to take out frail foes after surviving a hit.
Major Battles: Slowking only does well in Gyms if it has already evolved, because its stats before evolution are generally too low for it to contribute meaningfully. After it evolves, though, it can do well in most major battles thanks to the fact that its weaknesses are rarely seen later on in the game.
Additional Comments: A King's Rock, which is needed to evolve Slowpoke, is obtained in Lysandre Labs. However, wild Pokemon like Hawlucha and Poliwhirl also have a chance of carrying it, meaning that with patience Slowpoke can be evolved as soon as it is caught.
Name: Slugma
Availability: Middle, Route 13 (Rock Smash)
Stats: Slugma has decent Special Attack, and after evolving its Defense becomes good as well. However, its Speed is horrible and its Special Defense is mediocre.
Typing: Slugma's Fire typing is average overall. It gains a Rock subtype after it evolves, leaving it with many more weaknesses but greatly improving its offensive coverage.
Movepool: Slugma gains progressively stronger Fire-type moves as it levels up, culminating in Lava Plume at level 38. It also learns Rock-type attacks like Ancient Power, which should be kept because they gain STAB after Slugma evolves. After Slugma's evolution, it gains the incredible Shell Smash, which helps it outrun and deal major damage to many foes at the cost of its defenses. Earth Power and Yawn, which are accessible for Magcargo through the Move Reminder, are usable but unnecessary options. Overall, Slugma only needs its STAB moves and Shell Smash to succeed.
Major Battles: Slugma needs to watch out for coverage moves in the fourth Gym like Gogoat's Bulldoze, but it performs well outside of that. It struggles in the fifth Gym because of its bad Special Defense. However, it does very well in the remaining Gyms thanks to Shell Smash and the type advantages it has. Sometimes Slugma can sweep late-game, but super effective coverage moves are common at that point.
Additional Comments: Either ability works well for Slugma, although if given the choice Flame Body is the more useful of the two.
Name: Sneasel
Availability: Late, Route 17
Stats: Sneasel has good Attack and Speed, but low defenses.
Typing: Sneasel's Ice/Dark typing is bad defensively, but Sneasel can hit many foes super effectively thanks to it.
Movepool: Sneasel's best attacks are Dark-type moves like Beat Up and Feint Attack. It can use Ice-type moves to hit some foes super effectively, but save for Ice Shard they come off its much lower Special Attack. Sneasel can use coverage moves like Brick Break, Dig, and Poison Jab, and Swords Dance gives it a helpful Attack boost.
Major Battles: Sneasel doesn't do that well in major battles, because its Attack is insufficient to OHKO most Pokemon without a super effective STAB move. Without significant amounts of experience, the best it can do is outspeed and 2HKO a foe while avoiding the OHKO in return, and even that can be difficult because of Sneasel's low bulk and numerous weaknesses.
Additional Comments: The thing that really holds Sneasel back is its inability to evolve during the main story because of Razor Claw's unavailability.
Name: Spritzee (No Trade)
Availability: Early, Route 7 (Y)
Stats: Spritzee has well-rounded stats except for its low Speed.
Typing: Spritzee's Fairy typing is advantageous both defensively and offensively.
Movepool: Spritzee can play the role of either a bulky supporter or a Calm Mind sweeper. A Fairy-type STAB move like Draining Kiss or Moonblast is a must. Charm, Confide, Aromatherapy, and Trick Room are examples of ways Spritzee can support the team, although they are inefficient choices. Coverage moves like Energy Ball, Thunderbolt, and Psychic can be used on offensive builds to hit more foes super effectively, although Thunderbolt is the only one that comes before the seventh Gym.
Major Battles: Spritzee does decently against Grant thanks to its average stats, and it reaches its high point at Shalour City—not only does it have a type advantage against the Gym there, but it also receives an extremely useful item in Eviolite. After that, Spritzee can still contribute thanks to the bulk it has with Eviolite, putting it at a level similar to many fully evolved Pokemon, but its lack of offensive presence means that most battles with it will be slow.
Additional Comments: Thanks to Spritzee's lower HP stat, it doesn't require many items to heal.
Name: Swirlix (No Trade)
Availability: Early, Route 7 (X)
Stats: Swirlix has decent stats all around.
Typing: Swirlix has a pure Fairy typing, which is useful in-game.
Movepool: Swirlix's movepool is unfortunately disappointing for a large part of the game. Fairy Wind and Round are its best attacks until Draining Kiss at level 31, and the good TMs it can learn, like Flamethrower and Thunderbolt, come too late to be of much use. Later on it can put in some work with Play Rough.
Major Battles: Swirlix does poorly against Grant because of how weak its attacks are, but a type advantage along with an Eviolite helps it against Korrina. After that, though, its weak movepool and relatively low stats prevent it from doing much.
Additional Comments: this should legit be f. at least spritzee gets early game cm + draining kiss
Name: Torkoal
Availability: Late, Route 18
Stats: Torkoal has fairly well-rounded stats. Its high Defense stands out, but so does its terrible Speed.
Typing: Torkoal has more resistances than it has weaknesses, and its Fire typing isn't bad offensively either.
Movepool: Torkoal starts with a reliable STAB move with a useful burn chance in Lava Plume. Other STAB moves like Flamethrower, Heat Wave, and Inferno are available through level-up or the Move Reminder. Bulldoze, Earthquake, and Rock Tomb through TM provide type coverage, and Shell Smash increases Torkoal's Speed and attacking stats but still leaves it outsped by many threats. Will-O-Wisp helps against physical attackers by dealing damage every turn and decreasing the power of their moves.
Major Battles: Torkoal has a good matchup against Wulfric and Wikstrom, but it should be kept away from Drasna and Siebold. It can perform well against pretty much any physical attacker by withstanding even a super effective hit and retaliating with its own attacks.
Additional Comments: Torkoal does better in major battles than in routes like Victory Road, because its low Speed holds it back in such a setting.
Name: Trubbish
Availability: Late, Lost Hotel and Pokemon Village (trash cans)
Stats: Trubbish has average stats all around, and even after evolving none of its stats are really that bad.
Typing: Trubbish's Poison typing has relatively few interactions with other types. It does best against Grass- and Fairy-types, but besides that it has some useful resistances like Fighting.
Movepool: Trubbish has a relatively shallow movepool, having only Dark- and Normal-type attacks available through TM for the most part. Sludge Bomb, which Trubbish starts with, is a very good STAB move all around. Gunk Shot has low PP and is inaccurate, but it packs lots of power. Stockpile and Swallow allow Trubbish to recover its health. After Trubbish evolves, it gains access to other options like Thunderbolt, Toxic Spikes, and Psychic.
Major Battles: Trubbish has an unfortunate typing for the time it is obtained—the seventh Gym contains Psychic-types that hit it super effectively, and after that its matchups are neutral at best. However, Trubbish offers a useful late-game tool in Toxic Spikes, which it can usually set up thanks to its good typing and bulk.
Additional Comments: Trubbish does best in dungeons like the Team Flare HQ, because its decent stats give it an edge against many foes.
Name: Vanillite
Availability: Late, Frost Cavern. Vanillite appears exclusively in hordes.
Stats: Vanillite has decent stats with especially good Special Attack.
Typing: Vanillite's Ice typing is bad defensively but good offensively.
Movepool: Vanillite's movepool is quite shallow, with only Ice- and Normal-type attacks except for the odd move like Mirror Shot. Ice Beam at level 36 is a very reliable STAB move, with good power, guaranteed accuracy, and decent PP. Freeze-Dry, learned through the Move Reminder, is weaker than Ice Beam, but it has the benefit of hitting Water-types super effectively.
Major Battles: Vanillite does well in the eighth Gym because it resists Ice-type moves and can hit their users back with Mirror Shot. It falls flat against two Elite Four members, but handles the other two with Freeze-Dry and Ice Beam.
Additional Comments: Vanillite is mainly held back by how late it comes in-game and how much effort it takes to get it to a good level. If given this effort, though, it can definitely put in work.
Name: Volbeat
Availability: Early, Route 7
Stats: Volbeat has decent stats all around.
Typing: Bug typing is unfortunate offensively because many types resist it. Defensively it provides a couple useful resistances against types like Fighting.
Movepool: Volbeat's claim to fame is Tail Glow, which quadruples its Special Attack stat after just two uses. Good special moves like Thunderbolt, Bug Buzz, Struggle Bug, and Dazzling Gleam are useful to OHKO different foes after a boost. Volbeat can utilize moves like Brick Break, Aerial Ace, and U-turn, which come off its higher Attack, but save for Power-Up Punch it has no way of boosting its power.
Major Battles: Volbeat does well in the third and fourth Gyms, although it has to watch out for super effective moves like Jumpluff's Acrobatics. After that, though, it struggles due to its lack of resistances. This makes it harder for Volbeat to sweep because of the damage it takes while setting up. However, with enough experience or a supporter backing it up, Volbeat can still Tail Glow its way past even the toughest opponents.
Additional Comments: Be sure to pick up the Struggle Bug TM from the Lumiose City Poke Mart.
Name: Wailmer
Availability: Middle. Wailmer appears in Ambrette Town, Cyllage City, and the route connecting it. However, it requires Surf to find.
Stats: Wailmer has a very large HP stat, with average stats outside of that.
Typing: Wailmer's Water typing leaves it with only two weaknesses and three types weak to it.
Movepool: Wailmer starts out with a solid STAB move in Surf. At level 34, it learns Water Spout, which has much more power than Surf but requires that Wailmer be kept healthy. Bounce, Blizzard, Ice Beam, and Bulldoze provide coverage for Wailmer, although the former three come quite late. Wailmer can use the Waterfall HM if needed, dealing less damage than Surf but providing the team a way to bypass waterfalls.
Major Battles: Wailmer contributes almost nothing against the fifth Gym. Most of its other matchups are neutral, with its resistance to Ice being particularly notable. In general, Wailmer performs best against foes either slower than it or unable to deal major damage, because it can hit them very hard with STAB Water Spout.
Additional Comments: The Blizzard TM can be bought in Anistar City.
Name: Watchog
Availability: Late, Route 15
Stats: Watchog's stats are slightly subpar all around.
Typing: Watchog's Normal typing is disadvantageous because it doesn't give it any good type matchups.
Movepool: Watchog starts out with only Hyper Fang to deal damage, but Dig from TM and Low Kick and Crunch from the Move Reminder patch up its coverage somewhat. Hypnosis and Confuse Ray give Watchog a shot at beating more powerful Pokemon. Miscellaneous TMs including Grass Knot, Thunderbolt, and Flamethrower are also viable options.
Major Battles: Watchog doesn't do well in major battles because of its disappointing stats and typing. However, its wide array of coverage moves can help it take down foes like Siebold's Gyarados and Wikstrom's Scizor and Probopass. In a neutral matchup, though, Watchog usually won't come out on top.
Additional Comments: Unfortunately, Watchog simply comes too late to be of much use.