Read this Blastoise guide in Pokemon Sword and Shield! Learn about the best competitive Blastoise movesets, best builds, best nature, Shell Smash, and counters for ranked battles!!
Table of Contents
Blastoise Best Moveset & Build
The following is a part of our upcoming series of builds provided by Japanese Pro players! This guide is provided by Konoe!!
| Total Base Stats | 530 |
|---|---|
| Type | |
Shell Smash Build
| Best Nature | Best Item |
|---|---|
| Special Variant ・Modest (Sp.Atk↑ / Atk ↓) ・Timid (Speed↑ / Atk ↓) Physical Variant ・Adamant (Atk↑ / Sp.Atk ↓) ・Jolly (Speed↑ / Sp.Atk ↓) | White Herb / Life Orb ↓ Other Items |
| Best Ability | |
| Torrent Increases damage of Water moves when at low health | |
| Best EV Spread | |
| Special Variant Sp. Attack 252, Speed 252, HP 4 Physical Variant Attack 252, Speed 252, HP 4 | |
Blastoise Overview
Blastoise has gained the move Shell Smash in Sword and Shield, meaning its offensive capabilities have significantly improved. As with most other Shell Smash users, Blastoise now aims to be a full sweeper, but it also has an excellent movepool to help support it in its endeavors.
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Best Moves
Special Build Moves
| Recommended | ・Shell Smash ・Hydro Pump or Surf |
|---|---|
| Optional | ・Ice Beam ・Dark Pulse ・Dragon Pulse ・Aura Sphere ・Yawn ・Aqua Jet |
Physical Build Moves
| Recommended | ・Shell Smash ・Liquidation |
|---|---|
| Optional | ・Crunch ・Ice Punch ・Outrage ・Brick Break ・Fake Out ・Rock Tomb |
Role And How To Use
Aim For A Full Sweep With Wide Move Coverage
Shell Smash Blastoise's main strength is its incredibly wide range of moves, which can cover many weaknesses. Your goal here will be to go for a full sweep. Since Blastoise is also defensively quite strong, it has a little more leeway when using Shell Smash.
White Herb To Recover Stat Decreases
Using Shell Smash will cause your Defense and Sp. Def to drop significantly. If you happen to have a White Herb however, you won't suffer these stat changes the first time you use Shell Break, which is excellent.
Adjust Speed EVs For Certain Matchups
It's totally fine to just max out Speed, but you can also adjust EVs so you have just enough to outspeed a particularly threatening Pokemon. If you do so, put the leftover EVs into HP.
Blastoise Counters
Main Ways To Counter Blastoise
- Fire off a Taunt first
- Use Pokemon with the ability Unaware
- Hit its weakness with a high damage Pokemon
Outspeed It And Use Taunt
Blastoise builds tend to rely exclusively on Shell Smash for their damage output. If you can get a Taunt off before it uses Shell Smash, you'll be able to effectively shut it down completely.
Use Pokemon With "Unaware"
The ability Unaware lets your Pokemon ignore the opponent's stat changes, meaning you don't have to worry about Blastoise's increased damage due to Shell Smash!
Recommended Pokemon
| Pokemon | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Clefable | ・Ignores stat changes with Unaware ・Can learn Thunderbolt |
| Quagsire | ・Ignores stat changes with Unaware ・Can win a war of attrition vs. Blastoise with non-Water moves |
Use High Damage Pokemon
Unless Blastoise has a Focus Sash equipped, using high damage super-effective moves is another great way to take it out. Hit it the same turn it uses Shell Smash and take it out in 1 hit!
Recommended Pokemon
| Pokemon | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Dracozolt | ・Bolt Beak can one shot it ・vs. Focus Sash builds, has to watch out not to die to Ice Beam |
Blastoise - Best Item to Hold
| Item | Traits |
|---|---|
| White Herb | Prevents your defense from dropping when using Shell Smash |
| Life Orb | Deal more damage, but take damage on hit. A kind of all-in build, riskier than White Herb |
| Any HP Recovery Berry | Heal health when low. Can often save you in close encounters. |
| Lum Berry | Cure a status condition. Deals with burns and paralysis. |
| Petaya Berry | Increases your Sp.Atk when your HP drops below 25% health. Stacks with Torrent, making you incredibly powerful. |
All of the information in this article, including EV distribution, counters, and moves, has been provided to us by the Japanese Pro Player Konoe.
Source: Konoe's Youtube Channel!!
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