Group Day Greninja and the FASTEST Hydro Cannon in PvP!

Properly, we simply had a Group Day centered on Water varieties, and right here we go once more with one other Water kind, this time the ultimate Gen VI starter, and never solely does it get the usual Group Day starter transfer, however one other key transfer addition that actually pushes it over the sting. Let's examine our Backside Line Up Entrance for a fast abstract after which get into the deep evaluation!

B.L.U.F.

• Greninja is, in fact, significantly better with its unique Group Day transfer Hydro Cannon, like all the pieces else blessed with it. It's actually a strict improve over one in every of its present most popular cost strikes.
• That every one stated, it's the different, much less heralded new transfer it's getting that actually makes Greninja's efficiency bounce!
• With these two strikes mixed, Greninja finally ends up with the brand new quickest Hydro Cannon within the recreation (leapfrogging Swampert… get it? JRE with the jokes ) by way of sheer velocity and pulling up nearer to Swampie in each its Nice and Extremely League performances.
• Its frailty nonetheless holds it again, however Greninja will certainly pop up right here and there — particularly in Restricted metas — transferring ahead. It's value getting a pair good ones when you can!

GRENINJA Stats and Strikes

Greninja

WaterDarkish

Nice League Stats

Extremely League Stats

Water/Darkish shouldn't be a very new typing in GO, as each Crawdaunt and Sharpedo (and Little League's Carvanha) share it. The excellent news is that Greninja is the bulkiest of these. The dangerous information is that it's nonetheless fairly glassy, with the bottom bulk of ALL Water starters (to incorporate all absolutely advanced ones and even all the center evolutions!) within the recreation… and truly the bottom bulk of ANY (absolutely advanced, in fact) starter apart from Blaziken. Ooooof.

The typing itself is a blended bag. There's truly no overlap between Water and Darkish, so Greninja is left with all the great and dangerous of every particular person typing. Which means resistances to Fireplace, Ice, Metal, and Water and vulnerabilities to Grass and Electrical on its Water facet, and resistances to Darkish, Ghost, and Psychic (2x) and vulnerabilities to Bug, Fairy, and Combating on its Darkish facet. Or to place it in a pleasant, neat desk:

Resistances	Vulnerabilities
Darkish	Bug
Fireplace	Electrical
Ghost	Fairy
Ice	Combating
Psychic (x2)	Grass
Metal	–
Water	–

 

Whereas having seven resistances is definitely very nice, the weaknesses are worrying, with Fairy, Combating, and Grass particularly being quite common issues to search out on opposing groups. As frail as Greninja already is, encountering tremendous efficient harm is a fast loss of life sentence. You are taking the great with the dangerous.

So the nutshell: Greninja is the very definition of glassy. It NEEDS velocity (or ridiculous harm output) to have any actual likelihood at making an influence in PvP, and contemplating the actual fact most of you have got possible by no means seen one in PvP battles, I don't suppose you want me to inform you that its strikes up till now have NOT lower it. May that be about to alter? Let's piece all of it collectively and see!

ᴺ – New Transfer (beginning with Group Day)

Quick Strikes

• Bubble – Water kind, 2.33 DPT, 3.67 EPT, 1.5 CD
• Feint Assault – Darkish kind, 3.0 DPT, 3.0 EPT, 1.0 CD
• Water Shurikenᴺ – Water kind, 2.0 DPT, 4.67 EPT, 1.5 CD

While you're glassy, there are two methods you wish to go along with your quick strikes: very excessive harm to easily outrace issues earlier than your lack of bulk catches as much as you (see: Shadow Victreebel, Sharpedo, Chandelure, and so on.), or very excessive vitality to spam cost strikes like there's no tomorrow (see: Haunter/Gengar, Excadrill, Magnezone/Magneton, Honchkrow, and so on.). Greninja opts for the second possibility… or at the least, has tried to. The three.67 Vitality Per Flip of Bubble is ok, I suppose, however not precisely as excessive as it could like. By comparability, all of these examples I simply listed are higher: Haunter and Gengar with Shadow Claw's 4.0 EPT, and Honch, the Magneboys, and Excadrill all with much more than that. So something below 4 is a bit underwhelming. Feint Assault is true out, and Bubble is… nicely, on the bubble. (Hurr hurr, JRE so humorous punny.)

Enter a transfer that's not a brand new unique transfer, however only a transfer coming into Greninja's movepool beginning on Group Day: signature transfer (at the least as of Gen IX) Water Shuriken.

Accelgor

Bug

I say “as of Gen IX” as a result of, up till that time, it was additionally a transfer utilized by Accelgor. Individuals have already identified to me that it's the one different Pokémon that learns this transfer, so I'll take a really fast detour to throw it on Accelgor in PvP and see what occurs. Right here's the excellent news: it greater than doubles Accelgor's win complete! The dangerous information: that win complete used to be 4 wins and 39 losses in opposition to the Nice League core meta… and with Water Shuriken continues to be solely 9 wins and 34 losses. Can't even break into double digits… dang. And uh… that's all I've to say about Accelgor. Now please cease asking! (No, severely, I really like your questions. Simply… ask a unique query now, please. ) Now again to the topic at hand….

This evaluation is about Greninja and fortunately NOT a 9-win Bug, and I'm pleased to report that, in some methods, it's Water Shuriken that results in Greninja's newfound success, nearly extra than the precise unique transfer. I really want to herald the cost strikes earlier than I can present how improved it's, however for now, simply put a pin in that assertion: Water Shuriken is important to Greninja's success, maybe even moreso than the Group Day transfer. We'll come again up to now.

ᴱ – Unique (Group Day) Transfer

Cost Strikes

• Evening Slash – Darkish kind, 50 harm, 35 vitality, 12.5% Likelihood: Increase Person Assault +2 Levels
• Surf – Water kind, 65 harm, 40 vitality
• Hydro Cannonᴱ – Water kind, 80 harm, 40 vitality
• Aerial Ace – Flying kind, 55 harm, 45 vitality
• Hydro Pump – Water kind, 130 harm, 75 vitality

Fortunately, apart from the plain Hydro Pump, Greninja has a budget strikes you'd hope for with its flimsy body. Evening Slash is tied for most cost-effective cost transfer within the recreation, and Surf is eminently inexpensive. The truth is, with both Bubble or Water Shuriken, by the point Greninja has sufficient vitality for its first cost transfer, it has sufficient vitality for Evening Slash OR the 40-energy Surf. Now that's not essentially true with the second cost transfer (as we'll see in a second), however the level stays that Surf is proper there as an simply inexpensive transfer, which is sweet.

Past that, issues get slightly messy. Hydro Pump is principally proper out, as hinted earlier. Aerial Ace shouldn't be solely one of the vital boring, barely-viable strikes within the recreation, but it surely additionally prices 5 further vitality than Surf and gums up the works, requiring an additional quick transfer earlier than it's prepared to make use of and solely being higher when it's tremendous efficient and Water/Darkish strikes or not.

…besides even THAT is not true with the addition of Hydro Cannon, which is — and pardon the overused phrase, but it surely's true right here — actually strictly higher than Surf. Identical value, similar typing, 15 extra harm. Now, even in battles the place Aerial Ace is tremendous efficient and Hydro Cannon offers impartial harm, akin to versus a Combating kind like Medicham, Hydro Cannon deals more damage. Sure sure, it's a shedding battle with Counter choosing aside half Darkish Greninja with tremendous efficient harm, however the level is that Hydro Cannon IS your finest likelihood to get in some harm there on the way in which out, NOT Ace. And even in a foul matchup like that, dealing NO tremendous efficient harm alongside the way in which, Greninja DOES do some good work, getting Medicham all the way down to a 3rd of its beginning HP and stealing a defend within the course of. Not preferrred, however lots higher than most Darkish and/or glassy ‘mons can do in opposition to Medi.

So in case it wasn't already apparent… our new preferrred cost strikes are Evening Slash and Hydro Cannon. You in all probability knew that with out me having to even say something, however now maybe you higher know why… which is the entire level of Professor JRE's verbose evaluation!

Now, keep in mind how I stated earlier that Water Shuriken was simply as key to Greninja's new success as Hydro Cannon? Listed here are some the reason why….

First off, it synergizes REALLY nicely with Evening Slash. The primary three Shurikens reaches 42 vitality, which is clearly sufficient for Slash or Cannon, however should you select Evening Slash, an additional two Shuriken afterwards reaches precisely 35 vitality… sufficient for an additional Evening Slash! That's TWO cost strikes within the first 5 quick strikes/15 PvP turns/7.5 real-time seconds. And remember that that's additionally two probabilities at that highly effective Assault buff, which may flip a match round fast. (Simply ask anybody who's confronted down a number of Obstagoon!) Bubble doesn't come near that, needing 4 (somewhat than three like Shuriken) to achieve the primary Evening Slash, and nonetheless one other three (somewhat than two like Shuriken) past that to achieve a second Slash. MUCH slower.

Secondly, Water Shuriken results in the quickest Hydro Cannon within the recreation. You understand how spammy Hydro Cannon is with Swampert and its Mud Shot, however Greninja with Water Shuriken is even sooner. It consistently outraces Swampert, which is a big purpose it wins the face to face. Swampert principally HAS to land an Earthquake to have a shot, and that's actually robust to do with cost strikes coming in sooner than even Swampie can sustain with.

However largely there's this: should you have been so as to add JUST Hydro Cannon to Greninja's arsenal, it could improve from this old high bar performance to this new high bar, choosing up a handful of recent wins, however nonetheless a disappointing efficiency total. In different phrases… we'd be lamenting how even Group Day didn't make Greninja value utilizing as greater than a gimmick. And maybe it nonetheless will likely be, however at the least with Water Shuriken also in the mix, NOW it's wanting fairly attention-grabbing. From its pre-Group Day efficiency till now, you acquire wins over (so as) Charizard, Protection Deoxys (regardless of that scary Counter harm!), Lanturn (with Water Gun, however nonetheless!), Lickitung, Alolan Ninetales (solely with Powder Snow, in fact), Pelipper, Skarmory, and Shadow Walrein. This along with already dealing with Galarian Stunfisk, Bastiodon, Swampert, Dunsparce, and naturally a slew of Ghost and/or Ice varieties because of resistances, to incorporate Froslass and Jellicent (resisting ALL of their strikes!), Alolan Sandslash, Sableye, and principally something Fireplace (Alolan Marowak, Talonflame, and so on.).

As an excellent clearer signal of Water Shuriken being completely important to Greninja's usefulness, take a look at Extremely League, the place Bubble Greninja with Surf or with Hydro Cannon have the very same checklist of wins and losses! Sure, Hydro Cannon clearly wins a few of these matchups extra successfully, in lots of circumstances coming away with single digit HP with Surf versus excessive double digit (and even TRIPLE digit versus issues like Aurorus) HP with Hydro Cannon, however nonetheless. No new wins with Hydro Cannon in 1v1 shielding, which is fairly superb. It isn't till you add Water Shuriken that you simply begin seeing enchancment. Shuriken/Slash/Surf is okay, however clearly your finest outcomes include changing Surf with Hydro Cannon, almost doubling the outdated win complete with (once more, so as) Cresselia, Dubwool, Empoleon, Escavalier (dealing Counter harm all through, keep in mind… this one shocked me!), Altered Giratina (with Shadow Claw), Jellicent, Mandibuzz, Alolan Muk (even the worst-case Poison Jab/Acid Spray model), Umbreon, and even Trevenant! (Oh man, that Seed Bomb nerf actually hurts now!) All of that's ONLY doable because of Water Shuriken. With out it, we'd be lamenting how Greninja principally gained nothing in Extremely League.

And I do know I'm sort of leaping round — sorry for that — however going again all the way down to Nice League for a second to assessment a selected quirk with Pokémon like this new and undoubtedly improved Greninja. Earlier I tossed out Hydro Pump, as even with the excessive vitality positive factors from Water Shuriken, it simply isn't a transfer you're going to achieve in lots of impactful conditions. Even in a shieldless matchup, Pump just isn't reliable enough, being barely higher than Night Slash/Hydro Cannon, which itself is a little bit of a letdown from the 1v1 shielding matchups. As superior as Hydro Cannon is (particularly for the associated fee), 80 harm continues to be an enormous underwhelming as a closing transfer. The rationale Swampert is as superb as it's is that, not like different Hydro Cannon customers, it comes packing a closing transfer that's each low-cost sufficient and damaging sufficient to shut out matches that many different good-in-PvP Water varieties merely can't. Greninja, good because it now could be, falls within the camp of a number of spam with few methods to actually slam the door on the opponent.

Now the place that may be a profit is on the different finish of the spectrum. In 2v2 shielding, Greninja can be quite a beast, even better than Swampert total. (Properly, im Nice League anyway… in Extremely, Greninja and Swampert are on way more equal footing.)

IN SUMMATION….

Greninja is PvP viable transferring ahead. And that's NOT one thing it may say with out each of those new strikes working in live performance. Take both away, and Greninja stays fringey spice at finest. Even with them each, it's not precisely the second coming of Swampert… but it surely's not TOO far off. Greninja simply may be the second most enjoyable Hydro Cannon person on the market now (with apologies to Blastoise and Empoleon), and that's value celebrating by itself deserves, no?

Alright, that's all I obtained for at the moment. For as soon as, you have got a number of days to prep between this evaluation and the precise occasion (almost per week!), so use So till subsequent time, you possibly can at all times discover me on Twitter and Threads (@JRESeawolf for every) with common evaluation nuggets or Patreon, should you're feeling additional beneficiant.

Good searching, people! Do keep protected on the market, and catch you subsequent time, Pokéfriends!

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