Normal pokemon have been around since the dawn of time in the pokemon series. Pidgey and Rattata were in fact, the first two Pokémon you encounter after leaving Pallet Town. In each subsequent game, these two Pokémon have reincarnated via some sort of Normal-type vermin Pokémon and a bird. Zigazoon, Starly, Hoothoot, and even now, we have Yungoos and Pikipek. While usually fairly generic, normal-type pokemon are fantastic additions to your party early on. They are perfect here where type matchups and other factors have not yet come into play.
That is not to say that all normal types are duds though and Slaking is a beast and dominates the upper tiers with its power. Generation seven has also given us new pokemon, but what are the best normal-types? Let’s take a look!
5. Toucannon
- National Pokedex: 733
Toucannon actually flies in at fifth place. The latest invention of the original Pidgey line, Toucannon is the final form of Pikipek and really suits the image of alola well. This time, unlike previous generations, you can get Toucannon really early at level 28. Since the death of the HMs, may they never return, this is not the game’s standard Normal/Flying-type that you are forced to carry around. You actually get to make the choice as to whether or not you want to use it. As expected of Flying-types, to Electric, Ice, and Rock. It does however, get two fantastic abilities. One is Skill Link which makes all moves that hit 2-5 times always hit 5 times, and its Hidden Ability, Sheer Force, which drops secondary effects from moves, but powers them up 33%. Let’s talk about what else is has changed in this game too: Stats.
Toucannon has a very good 120 in Attack. Toucannon is the only other standard Flying-type Pokemon to have ever gotten this good of an Attack. The other one is the beloved Staraptor in Generation IV. However, unlike Staraptor, its Speed is terrible. It only gets a 60 in Speed so you have to rely on your two defenses, both at 75, to play. You can Roost your way to staying alive, but you have to be careful. With Skill Link, Bullet Seed and Rock Blast will always hit five times which can be good since not everything resists Rock and you can infuriate your foes with nonstop, constant damage. Though, if you are going to do that, you need Swords Dance at least a turn or two to make your Attack stat viable while not being taken out. You can skip over Swords Dance for Beak Blast, but then for anything that resists Flying type, this move is wasted. Either way though, be prepared to do some work with this pokemon.
4. Bewear
Careful! Bewear gives crushing bear hugs! #PokemonSunMoon pic.twitter.com/v5Bnp7RmmC
— Pokémon (@Pokemon) July 19, 2016
- National Pokedex: 760
Bewear is the adorable teddy bear Pokémon that you can get if you kill yourself on the second island getting a Stufful. Introduced in this generation, Bewear is another Normal/Fighting-type, but it is anything but standard. While you may want to hug it, don’t. It’s Pokedex entry talks about how it has killed multiple trainers by hugging them so hard that their spines break. For its weaknesses, it has to beware of Fighting, Flying, Psychic and Fairy while nulling Ghost. We will say it again here: It does not really make sense why a Fighting-type Pokémon is weak to Fighting, but okay, Game Freak. We know the Normal-typing is also present, but just why? Bewear looks like it would actually make sense as a Fairy-type but this is what we have. It is just a slow attacker with a good 125 in Attack and a 120 in HP. However it’s unique, or rather somewhat good, point is its ability Fluffy. While it can come with Klutz and can have Unnerve as its hidden ability, don’t do it. Fluffy is the ability that you want. Why? Fluffy reduces all contact moves by 50% while doubling that of Fire-type moves only. This then turns its 80 in Defense to a 160 against all physical moves.
You want to max out its Attack EVs while splitting the rest between HP and its Sp. Defense. While you could put some in its equally bad Speed (60), there is no need since Bewear is designed to take damage. An Assault Vest is also a good idea. Max out its happiness to cash in on Return and then give it either Superpower or Hammer Arm. Ice Punch is good with either Shadow Claw to protect from Ghosts or Earthquake to obliterate everything. You do run the risk though of getting a foe with Levitate, so bewear.
3. Komala
- National Pokedex: 775
Komala is the first ever Koala pokemon that we have ever gotten! Cute and adorable, this thing is a pain in the butt to kill. Using it though, can be done easily. Game Freak made it easy on us with this pokemon not having a hidden ability and the inability to S.O.S. call. It only comes with Comatose. This keeps it in a pseudo-sleep state which means that statuses cannot be put on it. This is another double-edged sword as it does mean then that moves like Dream Eater, Nightmare, etc, do not need to be set up, but will be hitting immediately. Komala is also pure Normal-type which means it only has to watch out for fighting pokemon.
Oddly, Komala makes a good Battle Tree pokemon as well with Yawn, Sucker Punch, Bulk Up and more! Komala excels in Attack at 115 and Sp. Defense at 95. The rest of its stats are 75 and under so it is really not too amazing. Or is it? Komala has access to Bulk Up which can fix its mediocre Defense and make it able to take hits well. That and Wish, which is an egg move, will really give Komala that push that it needs to survive. Sadly though, that does only leave it with two other slots for moves. U-turn can be good to get Komala out of bad situations. However, Shadow Claw will fix that nasty Ghost-type problem while still allowing it to hit hard. Sucker Punch is another option for it, but then you run the risk of encountering a foe that only has one or two attack moves making it hard for you. Return is the obvious final move that you need on Komala. STAB Return is terrifying which is unlike how cute this pokemon actually is!
2. Drampa
Drampa are very gentle and often appear at schools and parks. #PokemonSunMoon pic.twitter.com/otDfzX5v5u
— Pokémon (@Pokemon) July 1, 2016
- National Pokedex: 780
Drampa is a Normal/Dragon-type Pokémon that looks like it walked right out of a Chinese fantasy tale. Drampa is weak to Fighting, Dragon, Fairy, and Ice. This is good news as it has good defenses at 85 for Defense and 91 for Sp. Defense. It does have an excellent 135 in Special Attack which means it can hit heavy. Also, Drampa is Moon exclusive. Sun players must trade, possibly Turtonator, to get him. While Drampa does have Sap Sipper which is great to protect you against all grass-based status moves and grass moves while boosting your attack, Berserk is better. Berserk which raises its special attack when his HP becomes half or less. Good news for those relying in those special moves.
Speaking of moves, its Attack is less than half of its Sp. Attack power, so just do not even bother. Drampa does get Hyper Voice for Normal STAB as well as Dragon Pulse for that Dragon STAB. Roost is indispensable as it lets you heal yourself. Calm Mind will really mess with others trying to take you down. So, look into it. It does learn Outrage and Fly, but why bother? They are tied to that physical attack power. After that though, it has, oddly, access to many TMS allowing it to become very versatile. Flamethrower/Fire Blast for those Ice-types, Focus Blast, Shadow Ball, Toxic, Thunderbolt and Thunder, Surf, Ice Beam and more. Honestly how you run Drampa is up to you. While Drampa’s Speed may not be the best, it still is very useful and will serve players best in post-game events when you have access to all of the TMs.
1. Silvally
Silvally can change its own type by holding items that correspond to a Pokémon type! #PokemonSunMoon pic.twitter.com/hw7Lv09klp
— Pokémon (@Pokemon) October 14, 2016
- National Pokedex: 773
Silvally is what you get when you max out Type: Null’s happiness and level it up. Silvally is Pseudo-Arceus but more on that later. Silvally sheds the helmet that Type: Null had and gets a nice stat boost as well to fix that bad Speed. Silvally is unique in that much like Arceus, it can hold an item that changes the one of its attacks to any type in the game! Arceus gets the full type change as well which is the difference. Silvally holds on to its Normal-typing. The spikes on the back of its head though, change colors.
For stats, this one is easy. Silvally runs a 95 across the board in every stat which is okay for its Attacks, good for its Defenses, but not so good for its Speed. A lot of pokemon can outspeed it. While the jury is still officially out, it seems that this pokemon will fall somewhere in UU versus OU. Multi-Attack can give you everything you want though allowing you to do with it as you please. The Poison Memory will help with the explosion of Fairies while the Fairy Memory will help you deal with all those Fighting-types. Parting Shot is a MUST with this pokemon and one would be a fool to overlook it. After that though, Silvally could do Crunch and Fire Fang or Ice Fang. Return is another option though Double Edge will hit for more. The only true downside of Silvally is that it cannot Recover meaning that Parting Shot will help it get out of bad situations. Silvally would definitely go good on a doubles team with Togekiss or any other pokemon that can use Follow Me. This lets Silvally set up with Toxic and more creating a lot of damage. You only get one from Gladion and it cannot be bred, so have fun with it!
Final Thoughts
There you have it. Normal pokes are back again in this generation as expected but at least they do not suck this round. There are many that are quite viable and useful and will find themselves on teams and some even make good stallers and others sweepers. Silvally looks cool and fun, so do you have it on your team? Who are you using? What about online battling? Let us know below!
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