InPokémonRed, Blue, and Yellow, thePsychic typeruled. Of course, it’s still around, but it’s not so intimidating these days. Since Generation 1, Game Freak has greatly expanded the three types that keep Psychic Pokémon in check. These are theBug,Dark, andGhost types.
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Does that mean Psychic Pokémon are bad now? Absolutely not! Psychic Pokémon have generally high special attack skills and unique abilities. In terms of offense, Psychic hits most common types for neutral damage. It’s also the primary counter for Fighting, which is great. Fighting-types are everywhere, and they can be scary. Players looking to balance out their team with a Psychic Pokémon should start their search with these, the strongest (non-legendary) ones in the series!
10Medicham
Medicham’s dual Fighting/Psychic type gives it some good coverage against the Dark type, and its ability Pure Power effectively doubles its attack stat. It’s a rare example of a good physical psychic attacker. However, its relatively poor overall stats, including its middling speed and disappointing bulk, hold it back against the competition.
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With moves likeHigh Jump KickandZen Headbutt, Medicham can take full advantage of its same-type attack bonus (STAB) to deal out some great damage. Back in the days of mega evolution, Medicham’s second form gave it the extra burst of speed and attack power it needed to be a dominant threat in the meta-game.
Bronzong is a Psychic/Steel type with admittedly mediocre stats, including an abysmal base speed stat. However, its good defensive stats coupled with its excellent defensive typing give it the longevity it needs to survive in most situations. Psychic and Steel go hand in hand with the ability Levitate, defensively covering almost every type. In fact, Bronzong only has one weakness: theFire-type.
When equipped with some utility moves inStealth RockandToxic, Bronzong becomes a respectable wall. It’s held back by its slow speed and below-average base HP stats, but remains a useful Pokémon to keep on a team.
8Gardevoir
Gardevoir’s unique Psychic/Fairy typing gives it a helpful leg up over Dark-type Pokémon. It also gets access to some odd, but useful moves, and two great abilities in Trace and Synchronize. Trace is arguably the better of the two — it copies the ability of the opposing Pokémon, which can lead to some interesting situations.
Gardevoir also gets access to the moveTrick, which swaps held items. This can be used to swap something like a Choice Scarf onto an opponent, locking them into one move. Unfortunately, Gardevoir’s slow speed means it can be tough to take full advantage of Trick. Alternatively, Gardevoir can runMoonblast,Psychic,Focus Blast, andShadow Ballfor all-around great coverage.
7Reuniclus
Reuniclus is an interesting Pokémon. It’s a tiny little thing, encased in gel, that uses psychic powers to control its massive arms. But don’t be fooled by its cuteness; it has the potential to become an intimidating wall in competitive play.
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Reuniclus has average base defense and special defense stats, but high HP and outstanding special attack. It also gets some great abilities—it can be tough to pick between Magic Guard and Regenerator. And with moves likePsyshock,Focus Blast, andCalm Mind, it’s no slouch in the damage department either. Unfortunately, its slow speed and lack of a second type leave it vulnerable to heavy hits.
6Metagross
As we’ve discussed with Bronzong, Psychic/Steel is a very solid type combination. Metagross is perhaps the premier Psychic/Steel type. It’s decent all-around, with standout base attack and defense stats. It is slow, but that’s common for steel types. Metagross makes up for its slowness by accruing bulk over time.
Metagross can useCosmic Powerto bolster each of its defenses by one stage, andRestto recover HP. Not only that, it has access to the Fighting moveBody Press, which uses its buffed defense stat to calculate damage, rather than its attack stat. It’s a very fun moveset. However, Metagross is still vulnerable to counters from Fire- and Ground-type moves, especially while resting.
5Hatterene
Introduced in Pokémon Sword & Shield, Hatterene is another Psychic/Fairy type. As we’ve discussed with Gardevoir, this is a solid combination that covers the Dark type, though it does leave it open to Poison-type attacks. Its ability Magic Bounce protects it from status effects like Poison and Paralysis. This gives Hatterene some extra time to buff its very high special attack stat even further withCalm Mind.
Once it’s set up, Hatterene has good coverage options in the special attack department with moves likePsychicandMystical Fire. Its biggest drawback is its abysmally poor speed, though it can somewhat make up for this by usingDraining Kissfor recovery.
Alakazam is a classic Pokémon. It was one of the strongest Pokémon in Generation 1, and it’s still a fairly potent threat. It doesn’t use tricks or gimmicks—rather relying on its intense speed and naturally high special attack stats to quickly KO opponents.
With Magic Guard, Alakazam can shrug off statuses and entry hazards. It can then be set up withNasty PlotorCalm Mindbefore it moves into wreck shop withPsychic,Shadow Ball, or evenFocus Blast. Players might consider arming Alakazam with a Focus Sash. Alakazam has negligible bulk and is vulnerable to one-hit KOs. A Focus Sash ensures it’ll have at least one turn to set up before it starts sweeping.
Slowbro is another classic Gen 1 Pokémon that still holds prominence in the meta today. It has solid HP and defense stats, and a pretty good defensive dual typing in Water/Psychic. What sets it apart is its access to the ability Regenerator, as well as the moveTeleport. This gives it the ability to easily switch in and out, taking physical hits while restoring its HP.
Slowbro also has access to some good STAB moves, includingScaldandFuture Sight. It can even use one of the best recovery moves in the game,Slack Off, to further bolster its status as a physical wall. Its main drawback is, of course, its slow speed. But who needs speed when you may take hits and recover like a champ?
2Galarian Slowking
Galarian Slowking is great for all the same reasons as Slowbro, but has some key differences that set it apart. For starters, its Water typing is replaced with Poison, giving it a solid answer to dominant Fairy-type Pokémon. Second, it swaps Slowbro’s standout defense for special defense, making it a special wall. Third and finally, it has a wider movepool with more interesting coverage options.
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Galarian Slowking can surprise common counters withFlamethrowerorIce Beam, shut down Fairy-types withSludge Bomb, or just wear down opponents withPsychic. And like normal Slowbro, it gets that powerful combination ofRegeneratorandSlack Off. It’s a wall with good coverage—what more could one possibly want?
1Wobbuffet
Wobbuffet is the closest thing to a broken Pokémon we have. In competitive play, Wobbuffet isnot allowedbecause it’s so broken. It can take out virtually any Pokémon. Here’s how. Wobbuffet’s ability Shadow Tag prevents its opponents from switching out, trapping them. It can then useEncoreto trap foes into the same move. If this is a damaging move, Wobbuffet can probably take it.
At 190, it has one of the highest base HP stats in the series. Then, it can useCounterto deal back double damage on physical attacks, orMirror Coatfor special attacks. If that fails, Wobbuffet can useDestiny Bondto take its opponent down with it. It essentially allows trainers to choose one of their opponent’s Pokémon and simply remove them from battle. Its Psychic typing is actually incidental to its greatness, but it’s still the best non-legendary Psychic-type in the series.
