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My name is Adam Watkins. I am an English Literature and Media major who absolutely loves video games. Some of my favorites are Super Mario Bros. 3,... Read more
Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
Fairy-type Pokémon are still the newest type added to the Pokémon series and it is still one of the strongest types in the game. Most Fairy-types have decent base stat totals, great, abilities, and diverse move pools. These facts make adding a Fairy-type to your team a no-brainer, but which one should you run? Not to worry, we here at High Ground Gaming have got you covered with our picks for the 6 best Fairy-types in base Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. This list will not include legendary Pokémon but will feature Paradox Pokémon.
Ranking from Good to Best Dark Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet
Even though our first Pokémon on this list is technically #6, all the Pokémon below are relatively strong compared to the other fairy Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet.
This list will not include legendary Pokémon because they are in a whole class of their own.
Hatterene the Silent Pokemon
Hatterene has a base stat total of 510. Its stat distribution places an emphasis on its Special Attack, which has a remarkable base value of 136. It also has a great Special Defense at 103 along with good values for its Physical Attack and Defense at 90 and 95 respectively. However, it’s notably slow with a Speed stat of 29 and a relatively low HP stat of 57.
Hatterene has the duel typing of Psychic and Fairy, making it vulnerable to Poison, Steel, and Ghost-type attacks moves. On the flip side, it has a 1/4x resistance to the Fighting-type and a 1/2x resistance to Psychic-type moves. It is also completely immune to all Dragon-type moves. This Stat spread and typing make Hatterene a pretty defensive Pokémon, capable of taking a few non-Superfective hits before going down.
In terms of abilities, Hatterene can possess the ‘Healer’ ability, which occasionally cures an ally’s status condition. This is actually pretty useful given how common status moves like Will-O-Wisp and Thunder Wave are in PvP. ‘Anticipation’ is its other normal ability and it allows Hatterene to reveal dangerous moves from the opponent. This is also pretty good since information like this can help you play around dangerous moves. Its Hidden Ability, ‘Magic Bounce’, allows it to reflect status moves used against it back at the opponent. This is probably the most useful ability Hatterene has at its disposal given how common status moves are.
Some of Hatterene’s best moves include ‘Dazzling Gleam’ and ‘Psychic’ for strong STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) attacks. ‘Mystical Fire’ for its coverage and ‘Trick Room’ for its ability to flip the speed dynamics of the battle in the user’s favor. ‘Calm Mind’ is also a great choice since it allows Hatterene to boost both its Special Attack and Special Defense.
Tinkaton the Hammer Pokémon
Tinkaton’s base stat total is 506. Its highest stat is Special Defense at a base of 105. Its second highest stat is its speed stat at 94. This actually makes it one of the faster Steel-types in the game, and one of the best Special Defensive walls. Its two Attack stats are its lowest stats at 75 for Physical and 70 for Special. Both stats are relatively middle of the road so it can deal decent damage if you invest EVs in them.
As mentioned before, Tinkaton is part Steel-type which gives it a bunch of extra resistances that a pure Fairy-type would lack. It has a 1/2x resistance to Normal, Grass, Ice, Flying, Psychic, Rock, Dark, and Fairy-type attacks. It only takes 1/4x damage from Bug-type attacks and is completely immune to Dragon and Poision-type attacks. Unfortunately, it isn’t without its weaknesses. Tinkaton suffers from a 2x weakness to both Fire and Ground-type attacks, both of which are fairly common in PvP.
Tinkaton has access to three abilities. The first is called Mold Breaker. This ability allows the user to ignore the ability of the enemy Pokémon which may prevent the user from using specific moves. An example of this ability at work would be a Pokémon with Mold Breaker being able to hit a Pokémon with the ability Levitate using a Ground-type move. This can be useful on occasion but Tinkaton’s best moves don’t really benefit from this ability too often.
Its second ability is called Own Tempo and it simply prevents the user from becoming confused. This one is probably the least useful of the three abilities since Confusion is not a common status effect used in PvP. Tinkaton’s final ability is actually its hidden ability Pickpocket. This ability allows the user to steal an attacking Pokémon’s held item whenever it is hit by an attacking Pokémon.
Tinkaton has a lot of offensive moves that also have some built-in utility. Moves like Play Rough, Skitter Sack, Fake Out, Knock Off, and Draining Kiss all have a useful secondary effect. When looking for moves that deal big damage, Gigaton Hammer and Ice Hammer are Tinkaton’s best options alongside Stone Edge and Steel Beam. Looking for more utility/set-up moves? Try running Swords Dance, Encore, or Thunder Wave. Tinkaton’s high Defense and defensive typing almost guarantees it will get to use at least a few moves before fainting, assuming it doesn’t get hit with a super effective move.
Sylveon the Intertwining Pokémon
Sylveon has a base stat total of 525. It is known for its impressive Special Defense stat, which sits at a base value of 130. Its Special Attack stat is also not worthy with a base value of 110. Its lowest stats are its Attack, Defense, and Speed stats all of which sit at 60,60, and 65 respectively. Sylveon is generally used as a Special Attacking powerhouse, throwing ‘Moon Blasts’ out left and right. Its High Special Defense and HP stats allow it to do just that while also taking a few hits.
Because Sylveon is a pure Fairy type, it has weaknesses to Poison and Steel-type moves. However, it enjoys 1/2x resistances to Bug, Dark, and Fighting-type moves. It also has full immunity to Dragon-types moves. Terra Steal is a pretty good defensive type for Sylveon but really its pure Fairy-typing generally does it a lot of favors when it comes to its offense and defense.
Sylveon’s abilities include ‘Cute Charm’, which may cause an opponent to become infatuated if they make physical contact. This ability is okay and it can make up for Sylveon’s relatively low Defense stat by infatuating opponents. Its other standard ability is ‘Pixilate’, which converts Sylveon’s Normal-type moves into Fairy-type, while also boosting their power. Definitely worth running if you’re using Normal-type moves. It’s Hidden Ability, ‘Anticipation’, this can definitely be helpful for spotting opponents running Poison Jab, which is a weirdly common move that’s super effective against Sylveon.
Notable moves for Sylveon include ‘Hyper Voice’, which becomes particularly potent when combined with Pixilate, ‘Moonblast’ for a strong Fairy STAB, ‘Psyshock’ for varied coverage, ‘Shadow Ball’ for ghost types, and ‘Calm Mind’ for boosting its Special stats.
Klefki the Key Ring Pokémon
Klefki has a base stat total of 470. It has a balanced stat distribution with an emphasis on Defense at a base of 91. All of its other stats float around the 75 to 87 range, with the only exception being its HP stat which sits at a low base value of 57. That low HP stat isn’t too bad given its strong defensive typing.
As a Steel/Fairy type, Klefki is weak to Ground and Fire-type moves but that’s it. It resists a lot of other types including Bug, Dark, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, Normal, Psychic, and Rock, and is entirely immune to Poison and Dragon-type moves. This means most moves won’t be dealing that much damage to Klefki unless they are Ground, Fire, Water, Electric, Fighting, Ghost, or Steel-type moves.
Klefki’s best ability is definitely ‘Prankster’, which grants priority to its status moves, making it a popular choice for status and set-up moves. Trainers can also run ‘Magician’ on Klefki which allows it to steal the held item of a Pokémon it attacks. Both abilities are good but Prankster definitely wins out in PvP since status moves are so strong.
Klefki’s top moves are ‘Foul Play’, which has a high base power value and uses the opponent’s Attack stat against them. ‘Thunder Wave’ for speed control and paralysis. ‘Play Rough’ for a Fairy STAB move, and ‘Spikes’ for hazards. It can also employ dual screens with ‘Reflect’ and ‘Light Screen’ to boost team defenses. It isn’t really an offensive Pokémon but it can dish out some decent damage if need be.
Grimmsnarl the Bulk Up Pokémon
Grimmsnarl has a base stat total of 510. It’s a very physically offensive Pokémon with a solid base Attack value of 120. This value is followed closely by its HP and Special Attack stats which both sit at a base value of 95. Its two lowest stats are its Defense and Speed stats, which sit at a base value of 65 and 60 respectively. Don’t be fooled by its lower stats, this thing is an absolute monster thanks to its move pool and abilities.
Being a Dark/Fairy type makes Grimmsnarl susceptible to Fairy, Steel, and Poison-type attacks. Conversely, it resists Dark and Ghost moves and is immune to Dragon and Psychic types. You can always terastallize Grimmsnarl into a Steel-type to reduce its vulnerabilities.
Among its abilities, ‘Prankster’ is the standout. This ability gives the user priority to all status moves used. This is perfect given Grimmsnarl’s mediocre Speed stat. ‘Frisk’ allows it to scout out an opponent’s held item, this kind of information is always really useful when battling in PvP. Its Hidden Ability is ‘Pickpocket’, which can allow Grimmsnarl to steal an item from the opponent’s Pokémon whenever the user hits it.
Some of Grimmsnarl’s most effective moves are ‘Darkest Lariat’, which ignores stat changes and has a high base power, ‘Play Rough’ for Fairy STAB, ‘Bulk Up’ to raise its Attack and Defense by one stage, ‘Taunt’ to prevent opponents from using status moves, and ‘Thunder Wave’ to paralyze and slow down foes.
Flutter Mane the Paradox Pokémon
Flutter Mane is a Ghost/Fairy-type Pokémon and one of the few Paradox Pokémon available in Pokémon Scarlet’s base game. It has a base stat total of 570 which is very close to many sudo legendaries like Garchomp and Dragonite. Flutter Mane’s highest stats are its Speed, Special Attack, and Special Defense stats, all of which are tied at a base value of 135. Similarly, all of its lowest stats are tied at a base value of 55, those stats being HP, Attack, and Defense. This makes Flutter Mane the perfect example of a Special Attacking glass cannon. It hits really hard and can out-speed pretty much any Pokemon that isn’t stat or Chloraphil boosted, but it really can’t take a hit very well.
Flutter Mane’s typing of Ghost and Fairy is actually a bit more defensive than you might initially think. This duel typing gants Flutter Mane a 1/4x resistance to Bug-type moves. It also has an immunity to Normal, Fighting, and Dragon-type moves. Its only weakness are Ghost and Steel-type moves.
Flutter Mane’s only ability is Protosynthesis. This ability is shared amongst all Paradox Pokémon and has the effect to boost the user’s highest stat by one stage while in Harsh Sunlight. This ability will also trigger if the user is holding the Booster Energy held item. This ability is best used to boost either Flutter Mane’s Speed or Special Attack stats. You’ll need to make use of Natures, IVs, or EVs to break the tie Flutter Mane’s three highest stats share.
When it comes to moves, Flutter Mane has a rather large selection to choose from. Its strongest Special Attacking moves are Dazzling Gleam, Shadow Ball, Moon Blast, Power Gem, and Thunderbolt. It also has access to some great utility moves like Thunder Wave, Calm Mind, Trick Room (You’ll probably never use this), and Perish Song. Two other really powerful moves at Flutter Mane’s disposal are Draining Kiss and Whish. Both of these moves are used to heal Flutter Man and keep it in the fight longer.
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That wraps up our best fairy Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet list. What are your picks for best/favorite Fairy-types? Are you looking for more Pokémon guides? Consider signing up for our newsletter today and join the high ground!
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