The 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokémon world, as fans know, is very set in its ways. While some mecha🍒nics ﷽have changed since the days of Generation I, a lot of things remain exactly as they’ve always been. For one thing, a series of tough trainers that specialize in particular Pokémon types will pop up throughout the game to test the player. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Gym Leaders, Kahunas… whatever you call 𓂃them, they’re not messing around.
In 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokémon Sword & Shield, the resident 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Water-type Gym Leader is Hulbury’s 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Nessa. This fan favorite battler appears in four matches with the player throughout the game, using a total of nine different Pokémon spe꧃cies along the way. Taking into account how ‘repeat’ Pokémon changed and improved between battl🌠es, let’s rank every critter in her arsenal!
9 Goldeen
That’s right, friends. In terms of overall not-being-pathetic factor, a humble Goldeen is probably the weakest Pokémon Nessa brings to a♛ battle. It a🔯ppears only once before it evolves, however, so it’s good to see that she learns the error of her ways quite quickly.
Nessa uses her Goldeen during the original gym bat👍t🎃le with the player, as part of her three-Pokémon team. It’s level 22 and boasts the distinctly questionable moveset of Water Pulse, Horn Attack, Agility and Whirlpool.
8 Arrokuda
In the Galar region, there are a lot of unique new Pokémon to be found, as well as some that are decide💛dly less so. Arrokuda may look like quite the generic fi🍰shy Pokémon, but that’s only because… well, it is.
With base 63 Attack and 66 Speed, it’s a decently offensive physical🤡 Water-type for this stage in the game. On evolution, it’s actually a force to be reckoned with, but Nessa doesn’t get her hands on a Barrask𝓀ewda until a later rematch. For now, her Aqua Jet, Fury Attack, Whirlpool and Bite Arrokuda is a cut above Goldeen, but not really much of one.
7 Seaking
In Nessa’s second Sword & Shield battle, the Pokémon from her original team have certainly done a lot of growing up. That feeble Goldeen from the gym battle? That’s now a majesti💟c Seaking, friends.
Let’s all be honest with ourselves, though: a Seaking is still a Seaking. Criminally sub-par since Generation I, this thing has been completely overshadowed by 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:a lot of powerful Kanto Pokémon for over ❀two decades. Still, Nessa’s is level 52 in this battle and has a decent moveset of Waterfall, Aqua Ring, Smart Strike and Megahorn, so it could potentially deal a surprising amount of damage.
6 Quagsire
Nessa uses a Quagsire just once, in her second Wyndon Stadium match (at the Champion Tournament). By virtue of its typing, it’s actually immune to Electric, which is a huge asꦗset to any Water-type team. Sadly, it’s also 4x weak to Grass in return, so that defensive bonus to the team is kind of eradicated.
What does Nessa’s Quagsire bring to the table? A solid offensive moveset of Scald, Earthquake, Ice Punch and Toxic, though this critter doesn’t really have the offensive clout to pull that off. It’ll struggle to poison things for its a💜llies’ benefit (more on that in the next entry), too, because it’ll be inadvertently burning them with Scald instead most of the time. After 𒈔all, if there’s one thing Scald loves to do, it’s burn things.
5 Toxapex
We see you, Nessa. We see you trying to synergize your Toxic-ing Quagsire with your Venoshock-ing Toxapex, and we appreciate it. If you had the AI to actually take advantage of such a strategy (Venoshock doubles in power if the target ꧋is poisoned), we’d be both impressed and terrified. Mostly because it woul෴d mean that Game Freak had developed a Skynet-level robotic intelligence. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s just gotten too old to bail us out again.
All of this aside, Nessa’s Toxapex was also added to her team for that final Champion Tournament match. It’s a standard infuriating tanky set, almost like you’d see in a competitive match: Liquidation, the aforementioned Venoshock, Baneful Bunker and Recover. A solid effort, but the player should be able to quickly dispose of it with 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:a suitably strong Electric move, as usual. Psychic and Ground are also options here, with Toxapex’s additional Po🐟i♍son typing.
4 Golisopod
You wouldn’t think it to look at the tiny little speck of nothing that is Wimpod, but its evolution is one of the most powerful Water-types to be a﷽dded to the mix in some time. Golisopod is a Water/Bug Pokémon with high Attack and Defense, solid Special Defense and🎐 a nice arsenal of strong STAB moves.
This powerhouse Pokémon makes two appearances on Nessa’s teams: In her first and second matches at Wyndon Stadium. It’s level 51 in the first and level 60 in the sec𒀰ond, sporting an unchanged moveset in both: Swords Dance, Liquidation, First Impression, Shadow Claw. A solid team member for sure (lacking a Grass weakness), though Nessa’s final three Pokémon are arguably stronℱger.
3 Pelipper
Unless you happen to be Mr. Briney, you were probably largely indifferent to Wingull and Pelipper unti🍃l recently. These Water/Flying Pokémon weren’t particularly bad, but their super average stats meant that there was always a better team choice for♓ whatever role you wanted it to fulfil.
What changed? Pelipper gained the Drizzle Ability, that’s what. As an automatic rain setter, it’s become very valuable in the metagame (though Politoed’s return in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the Isle of Armor expansion will clip its wings somewhat), and Nessa’s Pelipper boasts a surprisingly competitive set. She uses it in both of her Wyndon Stadium matches (like Golisopod, it’s at level 51 in the first and 60 in the second), with her tweaking its moveset for maximum destruction –at least, that’s probably t༺he idea—in the second. It originally boasted Water Pulse, Air Slash, Tailwind and Roost, but Nessa swapped out Air Slash for Hurricane (which never misses in rain) for the second battle. If anybody tells this supposed Water-type expert that Surf exists (she clearly knows that Scald does), we’d really be in trouble.
2 Barraske🉐wda
Earlier in this rundown, we were a little snarky about Arrokuda. That’s only because, at first glance, it looks like the most generic marine Pokémon a trainer could possibly fish up. Don’t d🍸isrespect or underestimate it, t♚hough, because once it evolves, it’s a monstrous creature that could presumably swallow your entire family tree in a single gulp.
Barraskewda is not to be messed with. It’s a real glass cannon, with its 123 base Attack and blistering 136 Speed, and Nessa’s moveset of Liquidation, Throat Chop, Drill Run and Ice Fang could be deadly to unsuspecting players. Oddly, though, she only uses Barraskewda once, in the first Wyndon Stadi⭕um battle. All things considered꧙, though, it’s still one of the most potent Pokémon she uses. Only her ace in the hole really tops it.
1 Drednaw
All Sword & Shield’s Gym Leaders have their signature Pokémon. For Nessa, it’s Drednaw, which she always unleashes when battles get dicey. As you’d expect, she uses it in all four battles she p🐈articipates in throughout the main game (including the Max Raid against Gyarados in her gy♔m).
In her Gym Battle, her Drednaw is level 24, uses Water Gun, Bite, Razor Shell and Headbutt, and can only Dynamax. In later battles, it’s level 53, then 62. Its moveset becomes Liquidation, Rock Tomb, Crunch and its exclusive move Jaw Lock (which☂ prevents switching), though in the Max Raid battle it had Body Slam over Crunch for some reason. In these later battles, it’s capable of Gigantamaxing, proving its status as Nessa’s ace and very best Pokémon.