Poor Popplio, we’ve all seen the jokes and memes around this sea lion Pokémon. Its evolution line caused even more of a stir after it was revealed but even the fantastic Water/Fairy-typing, it was not saved from being the least loved 7th generation starter Pokémon.

With a great 126 special attack and 116 special defence, this locks Primarina into being a special wall or tank Pokémon. Its typing also helps with this as it is able to be a nice check to the Ultra Beasts who are everywhere in competitive play.

Another issue is Azumarill, another Water/Fairy-type available in Sun and Moon, who is just a better Pokémon overall. Combine this with Primarina’s low 74 defence and average health pool and its special unique move being average at best, it’s unlikely we will be seeing a lot of this Pokémon about. But if we did:

Hold Item: Assault Vest
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
– Hydro Pump
– Moonblast
– Ice Beam
– Psychic

This set is designed to make Primarina as bulky as possible, hence the full EV investment into Health, so you can safely switch in on a special attack from your opponent and threaten them out with a powerful STAB move such as Hydro Pump and Moonblast. Ice Beam is here to deal with Grass and Flying-types which would love to counter switch into Primarina. Psychic then allows you to hit Pokemon that would normally wall this Soloist creature such as the popular Toxapex.

This set is as basic as it comes; take a hit and deal some massive damage when you can. The problem is the abundance of fast and strong electric-type Pokémon that are popular right now such as Alolan Raichu and Tapu Koko which make short work of this bulky mermaid. This is even with the item Assault Vest boosting Primarina’s special defence by 150%! Primarina also has no real defence against status users and Pokémon that just outspeed it. For those who want to hit even harder, you could also think about using Choice Specs as an item instead. Just remember, this item locks you into using just one move, but boosts its power by 150% so use at your own risk.

This is one ripped kitty; when players first saw Litten it would be unfair to say that more than a few fans expected this Pokémon to receive the dreaded Fire-Fighting-typing. However, Incineroar got a Dark-type in addition to its Fire along with a special move, called Darkest Lariat, which can allow this top cat Pokémon to be able to dish out some massive damage.

Incineroar’s stats are also well rounded with its 115 attack standing out above the rest. In combination with its versatile movepool, Incineroar can fulfil a few more roles than its water counterpart. Depending on how you train this Pokémon, it can break through wall Pokémon, Tank and even, thanks to it learning Nasty Plot, became a dual physical /special attacker.

The biggest issue this battling cat has is its poor 60 base speed; for a Pokémon that needs to hit hard and fast, it only covers one of these areas. You should expect to see Incineroar around but perhaps not until people settle on what role this Pokemon can really shine in. Here’s the set-up we’ve been using:

Hold item: Incinium Z
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Flare Blitz
– Darkest Lariat
– Earthquake
– Leech Life

This EV spread comes from the clever folks over at Smogon, a fantastic competitive battling forum. With it, Incineroar can outspeed Pokémon with 80 speed and hit them hard. Flare Blitz does this well despite taking out a chunk of Incineroar’s health as well and its unique move Darkest Lariat, which ignores all stat boosts when hitting the opposing Pokémon. Earthquake is here to hit bulky Poison-types (Toxapex, I’m looking at you again) and Leech Life to finish things off. You may be thinking, why leech life? In Sun and Moon, Leech Life had its base power increased from 20 to a whopping 80. Considering that you are healed for 50% of the damage done with the move, it makes sense to put it on Incineroar so he has access to a reliable form of self-healing.

Finally, there are a few items you can put on Incineroar but Incinium Z is perhaps the strongest and most flashy choice. With its raw power fuelled by Flare Blitz, the attack will do massive damage to anything that your opponent could switch into thus making Incineroar the wallbreaker he was meant to be.

No doubt about it, Rowlet was the fan favourite starter Pokémon of generation 7. Everyone fell in love with this adorable owl from the get go and as we found out its evolution line, these feelings increased until we were left with the Robin Hood Pokémon Decidueye. Perhaps even cooler was that on reaching its final stage, Decidueye became a Grass/Ghost-type and gained a rather useful unique move called Spirit Shackle. If this move lands on a Pokémon it is not allowed to leave the battle. This gave Decidueye an interesting niche in competitive battling and got a lot of players looking its way.

With 107 attack and 100 special defence, compared to its 100 special attack and 75 defence, Decidueye was obviously best suited to a utility role. Its balanced stats and very wide move pool allow him to fill many roles on a variety of teams. Also due to its similar attacking stats, it allows the Arrow Quill Pokémon to attack in any way you choose allowing for some surprising movesets.

Still, with all these plus points, Decidueye suffers from the 4 move issue; there are so many good moves to have on this Pokémon it is incredibly hard to nail down which ones you should use. Its 75 health also makes having some sort of healing on this Pokemon mandatory which in turn locks out another move. Its 70 speed is also not that impressive. That being said, here is the set we have been using with a fair amount of success:

Hold item: Leftovers
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD /4 Spe
Careful Nature
– Roost
– Toxic or Defog
– Spirit Shackle
– Leaf Blade

Not going to lie, this Pokémon is a little complex to use well. Roost is here so we can heal off a lot of damage along with leftovers, which heal about 5-7% of a Pokémon’s health each turn. The goal here is to Spirit Shackle an opposing Pokémon which cannot outright knock out Decidueye, poison it with Toxic and/or wear it down with Leaf Blade or more Spirit Shackles. Thanks to Decidueye’s typing, you can wall popular attacking Pokemon with ease such as some of the Ultra Beasts and Tapu’s. This is also why the EV spread is focused on maximising its health and special defence; it allows for Decidueye to stay around longer and take more damage. This is also why the last few EV’s have been put into Decidueye’s speed stat; it allows it to outspeed other Decidueye along with various support Pokémon currently being used.

Another benefit is Decidueye’s Ghost-typing; if an opponent would bring in another utility Pokémon to try and heal, remove any field hazards etc, Decidueye can stop them in their tracks and force them to stick around with Spirit Shackle. Then moves like Rapid Spin, an attack which removes field hazards like Stealth Rocks, will fail to work and you can take out the offending Pokémon with ease. This ability to mess around with other Pokémon is also why you can swap out Toxic for Defog; this move removes all hazards from the battlefield and can be a lifesaver if you Spirit Shackle in a Pokémon who loves to set up these nasty threats.

This is all for now, but are there any Pokémon you want to be given the competitive treatment? Have you seen any sets you think are better? Let us know and it may be the next Pokémon we look at next time. Until then, give these sets a try, I think you will be surprised just how good they can be whether online or in the Battle Tree. If you are looking for more advice, read our Pokemon Sun and Moon Tips and Tricks Guide.