by Surely you all know that the Pokémon Articuno is back in the 8th generation and also with the peculiarity of having a way of showing off, something that I think no one expected until it was announced a little while ago.
The fact is that this galar form changes Articuno a lot, in fact we could say that it is a kind of version of the Pokémon more oriented towards offense as well as having a different type, other abilities… which ultimately means that at least in the field competitive change its performance a lot and of course, its strategy, that’s what we’re going to do.
I’ll tell you in advance that although Articuno Galar doesn’t seem like a bad Pokémon to me… it’s also true that I don’t think it’s incredible or anything like that; but anyway, I’ll explain how you can get the most out of this legendary bird with a new look hahaha. Let’s go there!
? STATS OF ARTICUNO GALAR
His base stats add up to a total of 570 points , so he’s kidding… you know I usually say that his thing is to exceed 500, so luxury. But come on, pseudo-legendaries like Garchomp or Dragapult have 600 (I say this more than anything because he’s a legendary, but hey hahaha).
- Health: 80.
- Attack: 85.
- Defense: 85.
- Special Attack: 125 .
- Special Defense: 100.
- Speed: 95.
Not bad huh, although I’m already seeing a major problem. It’s clearly offensively oriented, 125 Special Attack is crazy not to take advantage of that, but… we ran into a problem that many Pokémon that aspire to be a good offensive sufferer, and that is that great offensive potential is not very useful if you are not fast enough to overtake the rival.
95 speed although it is not low… well, it is not high either. In fact, he is outnumbered by lots of Pokémon that can put him in serious trouble and that is a problem that Articuno Galar will surely have.
Defensively, it’s not bad at all considering its clear offensive focus (obviously wall Pokémon like Ferrothorn give it a thousand laps in that regard). A decent health, a decent defense as well and a pretty good special defense (I insist, considering that he is an offensive player), so at least we can say that despite the fact that he is not fast… well, at least he is somewhat resistant. But wait… Let’s see his type, because maybe not so much hahaha.
TYPE: PSYCHIC ? FLYING ?
Flying Psychic’s typing is pretty meh, it loses a lot of Articuno’s potential here. Interesting resistances, but some weaknesses that will weigh heavily in my opinion.
RESISTORS
- He is immune to Earth.
- It is very resistant to Fighting.
- It is resistant to Grass and Psychic.
I already repeat myself too much, but I like to explain things because new people always come to the blog who may be starting out in competitive Pokémon and others. The case, that the immunity to Earth is cool because it is one of the most present types in the competitive, that is something that is very cool about the flying Pokémon, without a doubt one of the best immunities that you can have with you, period for Articuno Galar and for all birds actually.
The double resistance to Fighting is also appreciated because the fighting moves take a lot as a coverage move, in fact if you go through more strategies on this blog you will realize it… that is because Fighting Type covers many types and In addition, many Pokémon usually have movements of this Type.
And as for the normal resistors, well, the truth is a bit meh… they are not obvious, but it is not to throw a party either. Psychic can come in handy against Pokémon like Alakazam or Indeedee (more present in doubles with Vast Strength and others) and Grass against Rillaboom or Venusaur (to give examples), but they are not as common types as others.
WEAKNESSES
- It is weak to Electric, Dark, Rock, Ice, and Ghost.
They are frankly dangerous weaknesses , that’s why I told you to resist as such, well, actually not so much for this reason…
- Electric would be the least dangerous because it is not so common, but we will have to watch out for Pokémon like Zeraora , Magnezone, and now Tapu-Koko is back, so pff. Oh yes, and let’s not forget the almighty Regieleki , who will turn us into fried chicken if he touches us.
- Sinister I always mention it, it’s not cool at all because they catch you with a chase and that’s disgusting, there’s also the disarm movement, which is already annoying enough for it to hit us effectively.
- Rock is the worst weakness you can have for rock trap and also Ground-types usually carry movements of this type, and let’s not talk about Tyranitar , the beating it would give us would be epic.
- Articuno being weak to ice… curious to say the least. Another horrible weakness, it is carried by tons of Pokémon for coverage, the water ones (which are super common) carry it 90% of the time… badly.
- Ghost as far as it goes isn’t that bad, at least compared to others it has, but it’s still not very cool because it’s also a fairly common type (especially because of the immunities of ghosts and for being able to prevent them from removing our spikes, rock trap and others, that’s cool).
Come on, you see that it will be easy for them to knock you down, and more on the physical side (because of the stats, I mean) and an offensive player who doesn’t hold up well or isn’t fast is… an m.
ABILITY: TENACITY
Ok, I’m going to stop bashing Articuno Galar because this ability is cool. Tenacity will increase our special attack by two levels when a rival Pokémon lowers our statistics. It comes in luxury especially considering the high presence of Intimidation in competitive (especially in doubles, and more with the return of Landorus-Therian).
It only applies when it is an opponent’s Pokémon that causes the stat drop, not if it is applied by a partner or the Pokémon itself. And suffice it to say that the double boost of the special attack, by the face, is a joke.
FROST GAZE: SIGNATURE MOVE
Frozen Gaze is Articuno Galar’s signature move and the truth is that it’s very interesting. It is a special category Psychic attack that has 90 power, 100% accuracy and a 10% chance to freeze the enemy (remember that freezing is the best altered state, a 10 is not enough, but when it jumps it is incredibly epic).
We have lost the ice attacks, which the truth is that they are missed, but at least we have this one with the option to freeze… which is something I suppose hahaha.
IVS, EVS AND NATURE
We are going to boost his offensive side for the special attack and obviously his speed.
- Nature : Fearful (+ speed / – attack) or Modest (+ special attack / – attack). It depends if you want to boost his special attack or his speed more. Speed needs it a lot, but if you wear it with a scarf, not so much.
- EVs : All in Special Attack and Speed, the rest in defense.
We want it to be a Pokémon that deals good damage and is faster, since many times hitting first means victory or defeat.
RECOMMENDED ITEM
As for objects, I recommend the following, it will depend on where you want to focus it more:
- Choice Scarf : 50% more speed comes in handy and he needs it a lot to perform his role well. But as with the choice objects, when using a movement we will have to continue using it and that is quite annoying in a Pokémon with recovery.
- Glasses Choice : As bandana but improving the special attack.
- Vidasfera : It does not have the problem that the choice ones have but it will increase the damage by 30% (of all types, but 30) and we will lose 10% of health when using damaging movements. Quite good and more so having recovery to restore health, but since it is a Pokémon that is easy to knock down… well, it is somewhat risky.
- Insurance Weakness : Ideal if you take it in Dinamax. When they cause us an effective hit, we will increase our special attack and attack (although this does not matter to us) by two levels.
- Thick Boots : Any Pokémon weak to rock is good for this to avoid the damage of Rock Trap, which in singles is day to day, and by the way the spikes and others.
BEST MOVES OR ATTACKS FOR ARTICUNO GALAR
These are the movements that I recommend the most for Articuno Galar:
- Frost Gaze : I’ve already explained it above, it’s his signature skill.
- Psychocharge : STAB Psychic, special, 80 power, 1oo% accuracy, and will calculate damage based on enemy defense, not special defense. An interesting option against Pokemon with high Special Defense like Snorlax or Blissey. Psychic is effective against Fighting and Poison.
- Gale : STAB Flying, special, 110 power, 70% accuracy, and a 30% chance to confuse the target. In rain it cannot fail. Tremendous movement but with low precision and therefore risky, in the rain it is the key, yes. Flying is effective against Grass, Fighting and Bug.
- Air Slash: STAB Flying, special, 75 power, 95 accuracy, and a 30% chance to knock back the enemy. A less risky, but less powerful Flying STAB. It is also true that if we are faster it can spread much more due to the probability of going back.
- Shadow Ball : STAB Ghost, 80 power, special, 100% accuracy, and a 20% chance to lower the target’s Special Defense. Good coverage move to hit Ghosts and other Psychics hard.
- Round Trip : Bug, Physical, 70 power, 100 accuracy. The cool thing is that you attack and then switch to the Pokémon, which is great for gaining momentum, but when you’re fast, it really takes off.
- Recovery : You restore 50% of your health.
- Peace of Mind : Boost with which you increase your special attack and your special defense by one level.
- Reflect : Puts up a barrier that lasts 5 turns and remains even if you change that reduces by 50% the damage of physical attacks that your Pokémon receive.
- Light Screen : Same as reflection but with special attacks.
As you can see, we have a lot of great moves to create interesting sets.
ARTICUNO GALAR STRATEGIES
With all this information I will create a few sets of strategies that I think may be interesting. If you create one that you like, feel free to share it:
ARTICUNO GALAR LIFESPHERE
- IVs: Perfect.
- EVs: All on special attack and speed, remaining on defense.
- Nature: Fearful.
- Item: Lifesphere.
- Ability: Tenacity.
- Movements:
- Frosty look.
- Gale.
- Shadow ball.
- Recovery.
We’ll have pretty decent coverage with our moves and won’t be restricted by item choice. We can also recover health (something that is great if we go with Vidasfera) to hold out better in the field.
Its problem is that it lacks speed (despite having invested so much in it) and against Pokémon faster than us that can hit us effectively and deal great damage (example: Dragapult), we will be in serious trouble.
ARTICUNO GALAR CHOICE SCARF
- IVs: Perfect.
- EVs: All on special attack and speed, remaining on defense.
- Nature: Modest.
- Item: Election Handkerchief.
- Ability: Tenacity.
- Movements:
- Frosty look.
- Air Cut.
- Shadow ball.
- Round trip.
In this set , speed will not be so much of a problem , we will only have to watch out for other Pokémon that are faster than us and that carry Election Scarf or are boosted. Without taking that into account we will surely be the fastest Pokémon on the field.
Obviously we will lose some power during the process and also sustainability due to the loss of recovery, which with a chosen object does not spread at all.
It should also be noted that this object spreads much more Air Slash due to the probability of making the enemy retreat, that 30% is quite good and can save us on more than one occasion since we may not be able to weaken the enemy with one blow but If we have moved him back, surely from the next one, he will die (this depends on many things, but you understand me). And let’s not forget Round Trip, that being fast is going to come in handy to hit and change to a more suitable Pokémon if we want to get out by legs.
ARTICUNO GALAR MORE DEFENSIVE
- IVs: Perfect.
- EVs: All on special attack and health, remaining on defense.
- Nature: Modest.
- Object: Remains.
- Ability: Tenacity.
- Movements:
- Frosty look.
- Peace of mind.
- Reflection.
- Recovery.
We will lose a lot of power, but the good thing is that Articuno Galar already hits pretty well as standard. In return we will have a much more resistant Pokémon. We can boost our special attack and special defense with Peace of Mind, we can protect ourselves from physical attacks (we have less Defense) with Reflect and heal ourselves with Recovery + the healing of Leftovers.
Offensively we will lose a lot of potential, I mean coverage right now since we will only have a psychic move (the cool thing is that it can freeze). In that sense, watch out against sinister Pokémon because we won’t be able to hit them with anything.
Of course, not many Pokémon will be able to lower him.
