PALAFIN STRATEGY IN COMPETITIVE POKÉMON

Each generation of Pokémon brings new mechanics to Competitive Pokémon . Pokémon that change the weather/field or change their type can make a Pokémon that doesn’t seem very powerful decisive, but today we bring you something different. Palafin goes from being a normal dolphin to a superhero with Legendary abilities. In addition to changing his body and being an image of Superman himself.

A Pokémon that reminds us of Mega Evolutions; with a good type, tremendous movements and one of our newsroom’s favorite designs. Palafin has all the earmarks of ending up in Uber for Singles and being a determining factor in VGC Doubles for a long time, he may even eclipse many legendaries. We teach you how to use this wonder of Pokémon.

? PALAFIN STATS

Palafin is… special. As we will see in its ability, this Pokémon has 2 forms; each with different stats. In its normal form this Pokémon has:

Health: 100.
Attack: 70.
Defense: 72.
Special Attack: 53.
Special Defense: 62.
Speed: 100.

Here we only care about those 100 Speed, because they are the important ones. It is his stats in his Hero form that we are going to use and analyze:

PALAFIN HERO

Health: 100.
Attack: 160.
Defense: 97.
Special Attack: 106.
Special Defense: 87.
Speed: 100.

Its statistics add up to 650 points , a nonsense that places it among legendary Pokémon (in fact they only have more than Koraidon and Miraidon).

Defensively, this is a good Pokémon, especially considering that it is an Attacker (sweeper). With 100 Health and its Defenses with very respectable values (97 and 87 respectively) this Pokémon will withstand hits that are not very effective quite well.

100 Speed is not very high, but it is not bad at all and we can pass several Pokémon. Finally, the biggest bestiality 160 Attack!. This Pokemon hits like the Man of Steel.

TYPE, RESISTANCES AND WEAKNESSES

Palafin is a unitary Water Type just like Inteleon . Let’s see its resistances and weaknesses:

It is resistant to Water, Fire, Ice and Steel.
It is weak to Electric and Grass.

Water is a great defensive type, with only 2 weaknesses and 4 resistances. In addition, the latter are very common types, especially after the changes to the Ice type.

Just two types that do very effective damage to him. Let’s look at some examples of dangerous Pokémon to watch out for:

Electric : This weakness is the most dangerous, since they are usually Pokémon with a speed greater than that of the superhero dolphin. Pay attention to Pawmot , Rotom Wash or Kilowattrel for example.
Plant : Something less dangerous, but we must not neglect ourselves. Pokemon like Meowscarade and Rillaboom are very uncomfortable for Palafin.

PALAFIN ABILITIES

A single ability for our dolphin and the reason it is so powerful. New ability, unique to Palafin and with a different mechanic:

HEROIC CHANGE

If Palafin enters combat and returns to his Poke Ball he will change into his heroic form, changing his stats. Our precious dolphin goes into a phone booth, changes and the real Superman comes out.

IVS, EVS AND NATURE

The perfect Iv’s, and we will see that we will use classic EV’s for an attacker:

EV’s : The already standard 252 in Attack, 252 in Speed and 4 in Health.
Nature : We will carry Cheerful Nature (+Speed, -Special Attack).

BEST MOVES FOR PALAFIN

Not only does he have good typing and tremendous stats, he also has good options for his moves. Let’s see what we recommend:

Turn : Water STAB, Physical, 60 power and 100% accuracy. After hitting the Pokémon it returns to its Poke Ball. This allows us to hit and return, activating our heroic form. It’s a great first move. Hits Fire, Rock, and Ground types very effectively. It will do massive damage to Pokemon like Armarouge , Skeledirge , or Ceruledge .
Aquatic Blitz : Water STAB, 120 power and 100% accuracy. The user takes 1/3 of the damage dealt. This move hits tremendously hard, knocking down Pokemon that don’t resist Water damage. A tremendous option.
Jet Punch: Water STAB, Physical, 60 Power, 100% Accuracy and having priority. It’s our pick against faster Pokemon or to finish off safely.
Point Blank : Fighting, Physical, 120 Power and 100% Accuracy. After hitting it will reduce our Defense and Special Defense by one level. Once we are in hero form, this movement will hit a nonsense, destroying everything that is not resistant. It is very effective damage to Steel, Ice, Normal, Rock and Dark types. Very useful against Pokémon like Meowscarada, Galar Darmanitan or Lucario .
Bulk : Fighting, Status, Increases the Pokémon’s Attack and Defense by one level. It is our move to buff ourselves when the opponent has to switch. It will give us more survivability and will increase our damage even more.
Drain Fist : Fighting, Physical, 75 Power and 100% Accuracy. Recover 50% health from the damage this move deals. It gives us great survivability and with Life Orb we will generally heal much more than we lose.
Ice Punch : Ice, Physical, 75 power and 100% accuracy. 10% chance to freeze the target. It’s our coverage for Dragon, Grass, Ground, and Flying-type Pokémon. Fantastic against Pokemon like Thundermoon (Salamence Paradox) and Salamence itself , as well as Amoonguss .

PALAFIN STRATEGIES

This Pokémon is capable of cleaning the opponent by itself. Let’s see how to play it:

PALAFIN SUPERMAN SWEEPER (SINGLES)

IVs: Perfect.
EVs: 252 Attack, 4 Defense, 252 Speed.
Nature: Cheerful.
Item: Election / Life Orb Scarf.
Skill: Heroic Change.
Movements:
- Water Bash/Jet Punch.
- Point Blank/Drain Punch.
- Ice Fist.
- Turn / Corpulence.

The objective with Palafin is clear: to get our Pokémon to return to its ball and activate Heroic Change . Once it’s Superman, his damage will destroy the opponent, so it’s important that he doesn’t lose too much life the turn he’s on the field. If we are not sure of being faster than the rival, a direct change is the best option.

The choice of object will determine the movements to be selected. If we use the Choice Scarf we don’t need priority moves like Jet Punch, we can opt for more damage in Water Bash. A Mouth and Drain Punch is the choice, although if we carry Life Orb the Drain Punch helps us a lot in longer games or more resistant opponents.

For the last slot Corpulencia we will not take it in case of taking the Scarf.

PALFIN SWEEPER MAN OF STEEL (VGC DOUBLES)

IVs: Perfect.
EVs: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, and 4 Health.
Nature: Cheerful.
Object: Life Orb / Mystic Water / Pure Amulet / Choice Scarf.
Skill: Heroic Change.
Movements:
- Water Bash/Jet Punch.
- Point blank.
- Ice Fist.
- Turn/Protection.

In the same way as in the previous set, our goal is the same. If we manage to use a turn to activate our ability, our superhero Palafin will be able to do massive damage to the opponent . Of course, keep in mind that the changes in Doubles can be punished a lot by double attacking the Palafin hole, since it is obvious that at some point we will remove it.

In Doubles we can control Speed in more ways, which is very important due to the presence of very fast Pokémon like Maneleteo (Misdreavus Paradox) or Chien-Pao. If we’re not sure we can control it, the Bandana can be a very hard surprise for our opponent, as well as allowing us to use Turn safely.

In the Ice Punch slot we can include Water Bash in case of carrying Jet Punch, both movements are very good in different situations, while we can have Ice type damage on other Pokémon.

PALAFIN TERACRYSTALLIZATION

Teracrystallization: Water.

With a STAB in Water x2 our Palafin will deal excessive damage and moves like Water Bash will be unstoppable. With Jet Punch we will hit faster Pokémon a lot, being able to finish off the aforementioned Fluttermane before it knows what is happening.

HOW TO DEFEAT PALAFIN AND COUNTERS

Once this Pokémon is in hero mode it will be a real threat. Let’s see what we can do so that it does not sweep us:

Intimidation : Lowering the Attack level with a Pokémon with Intimidation will reduce its damage, but remember that it must be once you are on the field as a hero, because when you return to the ball it disappears. Great options for this are Arcanine and Incineroar .
Burn : If we burn him we will reduce his damage by 50%. For this, Wildfire is a great option (you can use Dragapult, which is very fast).
Take advantage of his guaranteed exit from the field : Especially in VGC Doubles, where we only have 4 Pokémon, if we take a lot of advantage in the turn that Palafin must withdraw, it may be too late when he enters again. Predicting which Pokémon will come in and hit it very effectively, or attacking your opponent in Doubles can be decisive.

PALAFIN STRATEGY IN COMPETITIVE POKÉMON