Double striking palm tails of fury, it’s time to train an Ambipom. This mad monkey will throw many of its wrenches into your opponent’s team. Take to the trees and remember your ‘E’ ‘V’s, let’s get started.

Ability: Pick Up
Type: Normal
Nature: Adamant
Weakness: Fighting
Item: Poison Barb
Classification: Physical Sweeper

Base Stats:
Hp-75
Atk-100
Def-66
Sp.Atk-60
Sp.Def-66
Spd-115

Ev Spread:
Hp-14
Atk-248
Def-0
Sp.Atk-0
Sp.Def-0
Spd-248

Moveset Suggestion:
- Frustration
- Dig
-Brick Break
-Fling
Additional Valuable Moves: Shadow Claw/ Aerial Ace/ Low Sweep/ U-Turn

Moveset Sidenotes:
With this set, you need your simian steaming! Decrease its happiness fully with cheap herbal medicines that are distasteful and bitter. Normally trainers rarely consider deteriorating their relationship with their top tier fighters, but for Ambipom it’s optimal. The move dependent on this low happiness is “Frustration,” maxing out at 102 base power. Being a physical blow, “Frustration” will flatten foes fast. Dig dominates Electric, Steel, Poison, and Fire types while giving your Pokemon a short dodge respite underground. “Brick Break” bashes barrier defenses like light screen to disable opponents walling tactics.

“Fling” works fantastic for Ambipom’s ability “Pick Up.” As the title intends, this ability enables you to use “Fling” more than once, up-taking the thrown held item. Holding different items vary the effectiveness, damaging power, and stat altering effects, however my best recommendation is Poison Barb. With a solid striking force of 70 base power, this item additionally poisons foes ill prepared. Disabling this move can be done with an attack that switches items or robs your opponent of it completely, i.e. “Thief.”

Additional valuable moves to pay attention to particularly would be “Aerial Ace.” Since Fighting types are Ambipom’s only weakness, you’ll have an easy time preparing for retaliation. Ideally your invested speed Evs will give you the boost needed to attack Fighting types first, and possibly land the satisfying “one-hit KO.” “Low Sweep” may be fifteen power points less than “Brick Break,” but it has the added bonus of diminishing opponents’ speed. This move works well against counter sweeper Pokemon harboring huge amounts of speed Ev investment. “Shadow Claw” should only be considered if your team overall lacks a good ghost move against Phsychic and other Ghost types. “U-Turn” is a good strategy for switching. Perhaps you leave “Aerial Ace” off your set; then you’ll need a swift escape to avoid serious damage from Fighting types. With high speed Ambipom bounces off the foe with “U-Turn” and damages them whilst dodging super effective strikes.

Conclusion:
Ambipom is an awesome addition to anyone’s team. Having a sufficient move pool and ability arrangement makes this a fun Pokemon to train. Resisting many super effective blows from a variety of types, allow this monkey massive manipulation over outcomes. Keeping an enraged ape will also increase your chances of success, but only with “Frustration” included. Experiment with surprising tactics that trick your foes into miss direction.

Seeing into the future, Xatu shocks foes with formidable psychic maneuvers. Normally depended upon for predicting weather, Xatu knows the outcome of your match before you! Grab your spoons and notepads, because it’s time to train this psychic fiend.

Ability: Magic Bounce (Dream World Only)
Type: Psychic/ Flying
Nature: Modest
Weakness: Rock/ Ghost/ Ice/ Electric/ Dark
Item: Black Belt or Heat Rock
Classification: Standard Special Attacker

Base Stats:
Hp-65
Atk-75
Def-70
Sp.Atk-95
Sp.Def-70
Spd-90

Ev Spread: (510)
Hp-14
Atk-0
Def-0
Sp.Atk-248
Sp.Def-0
Spd-248

Moveset Suggestion:
-Shadow Ball
-Psychic
-Solarbeam
-Hidden Power (Fight)
Additional Valuable Moves: Hyper Beam/ Grass Knot/ Psycho Shock

Moveset Sidenotes:
Not harboring humongous Special Attack, Xatu cannot be classified as a Sweeper. Thankfully its Dream World ability allows for calm, cool, and collected battles, buffering any stat altering moves foes may launch. Keeping Xatu in play depends on retaliation moves of super effectiveness. “Hidden Power” helps tremendously against Dark, Ice, and Rock types, attempting to shut down your telepathic pal. Be sure to double check that its attribute is Fighting type; otherwise it’s a waste of a move slot. Standard on most Psychic types is the STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) move “Psychic.” Being a base of 90, gives this move plenty of power for any foe not resistant to the type.

Last week we mentioned a Pokemon dependent on the sunshine. This week, Xatu seems compatible with that particular set, possessing “Solarbeam.” A staggering 120 base damage can be unleashed rapidly when “Sunny Day” is activated in previous turns. The item you make Xatu hold will depend on your play style. “Black Belt” will boost determination and Fighting moves, while “Heat Rock” extends the time of sunshine on the field. “Hidden Power” benefits from holding the belt, but having a “Sunny Day” team requires the extension of sun through “Heat Rock.” The rest is up to you!

Shadow Ball is a solid Ghost Special Attack that may also weaken the opponents Special Defense on occasion. Remember, Ghost defeats Ghost, so never hesitate when a ghoul is on the field, with potential to pwn your Pokemon. Hyper Beam is included by default of a shallow move pool. I stray from this high powered (Base 150) move, because it’s impractical for low Hp Pokes, like Xatu. You may knock out an opponent’s member, but the retaliation of your now completely defenseless Pokemon is not worth sacrificing its Special Attacking attributes. “Grass Knot” is a good option only when facing heavy opponents. Seeing that it’s rather difficult to predict how many hefty Pokemon your opponent has, “Solarbeam” could be a more sound option. “Grass Knot” gives you usability, without the need for sunlight thankfully. Psycho Shock while being affected in power by Special Attack stats, hits the opponents physical defense. This devious tactic will confuse knowledgeable foes. People predicting a Special Attack onslaught, will put weak physical defense Pokemon up front, only to be thwarted by the shock!

Conclusion:
This admirable addition to your team must not be mistaken as a Sweeper. Slightly higher Special Attack only aids your team; Xatu is not a front runner. Scope out the field and use Xatu when vulnerabilities present themselves. “Hidden Power” makes this member far more feasible and functional with retaliation capabilities. In UU matches (Under Used) this Pokemon can reign supreme. Its forceful Psychic tactics can trick and trap opponents into a hard spot. Can you see your future in training this Pokemon?