Malamar
Overturning Pokémon
It wields the most compelling hypnotic powers of any Pokémon, and it forces others to do whatever it wants.
Base Stats
Type Effectiveness
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Evolution Chain
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Details
Sprites
Competitive
Strategy Overview
Malamar is an excellent stallbreaker thanks to its access to Contrary and Superpower, allowing it to quickly gain boosts when attacking and making it a major threat for the opponent to deal with after just a few turns. Malamar has decent bulk with investment, granting it easy setup opportunities against slower walls; it also has coverage options which aid it greatly once it has set up. Its ability allows it to take advantage of Defog, Intimidate and random Defense or Special Defense drops. Knock Off lets Malamar remove choice items and Life Orb allows Malamar to better check special attackers and gives it an advantage mid-game by removing Leftovers. However, Malamar's lackluster typing, extreme susceptibility to Bug-type moves, such as U-turn, disappointing speed, and average bulk hurt it a lot.
Most Used Moves
Common Teammates
Competitive data from Smogon University via data.pkmn.cc