GO Battle League analysis: Why you shouldn’t overlook Jirachi
Pokemon CompanyThere’s somewhat of a myth surrounding Mythical Pokemon (the irony) that they’re ineffective in Pokemon Go. Sometimes this is true but in the case of Jirachi it definitely isn’t – here’s why.
Jirachi was first introduced to Pokemon Go in August 2019. It was the reward for completing the A Thousand Year Slumber Special Research and if you haven’t done so already, can still be completed today.
Celebi, and to a lesser extent Mew, are Mythical Pokemon that aren’t particularly useful in Pokemon Go. There is a clear reason for this, though.
Superior typing
The Gen 3 Mythical ‘mon is an interesting combination of psychic and steel. This gives it far more resistances than weaknesses – something which can’t be said for Mew or Celebi.
Jirachi’s resistances include dragon, fairy, flying, grass, ice, normal, rock and steel. This is in addition to being doubly resistant to poison and psychic, bringing its total resistances to a huge 10 different types.
On the flip side, it is weak to dark, fire, ghost and ground. A resistance to weakness ratio of 10 to 4 puts Jirachi in a good spot, especially in random match-ups.
The Pokemon CompanyStats
Jirachi has some rounded stats which isn’t too common among other Pokemon. Usually, species have one certain strength or weakness but this isn’t the case here:
- Attack 210 – 184 of 827
- Defense 210 – 57 of 827
- Stamina 225 – 61 of 827
Interestingly, Jirachi shares the exact same stats with Mew and Celebi. This means the aforementioned typing is the difference as well as the quality of its moves.
Moves
Typing and stats aside, if a Pokemon has poor moves it won’t be of any use in Pokemon Go PvP. Fortunately though, Jirachi does have some useful moves to make the most of.
It has two Fast Moves available – Charge Beam and Confusion. The former offers better energy generation at 3.66 EPT but provides a minuscule 1.66 DPT. Comparatively, Confusion may only offer 3 EPT but does provide a formidable 4 DPT. As a result, many, and probably rightfully so, consider Confusion to be the superior of the two.
In terms of Charge Moves, Doom Desire is a clear inclusion. That’s because it requires just 40 energy and deals decent damage at 75.
Alternatively, Jirachi can use Psychic. We wouldn’t recommend using this in place of Doom Desire but it may offer the surprise element. It requires 55 energy for 90 damage.
Finally, its last Charge Move option is Dazzling Gleam. While the most powerful it has, it does need 70 energy and has the worst DPE of the three.
Jirachi can be used in any of Great, Ultra or Master League. Its weakest is probably the latter due to its max CP of 3,265. This means it’ll be expensive to get it there and there are plenty of Pokemon that will put it to task in GBL’s premium competition.
The Hoenn Mythical will most commonly be seen in Great League but is of a similar standard across both Great and Ultra. Try and keep some Protect Shields available to avoid those super-effective Charge Moves and you’ll be looking good on the battlefield.