Typing Review: Psychic

Back when Pokemon Go launched, Dragonite basically ruled the game as an attacker due to the way that STAB and Super Effective damage worked. You could basically do anything if you had a good Dragonite, as it was the first true generalist in the game... but it's not the most well-known, is it? Bring up the term "generalist" to most older players, and the first Pokemon on their mind may not be Dragonite, because another Pokemon would eventually come to usurp it as the de-facto catch-all Pokemon; none other than Mewtwo.

While it's true that Mewtwo was primarily known for its use of Shadow Ball due to the fact that Psychic was an objectively bad move at the start of Pokemon Go and Psystrike didn't exist, this marked the rise of Psychic Types, and they've really never fallen from grace from that point on.

From the start of Pokemon Go, Psychic was projected to be the single strongest type in the game long-term, and it's largely held up. However, just how strong is Psychic as a type currently, and just what kind of potential does it have now that we're so far into the game's life? Let's take a look at Psychic Type in the PvE meta, and see what we can expect from the future.

State of the Type

The Current Psychic Type Meta

Psychic is a type known for its raw power, but looking at the list above, one fact should stand out; most of these Pokemon aren't truly outstanding. The Mega Evolutions on offer are a bit lackluster when compared to the big-names (for now), and the power for non-Mega counters actually drops off relatively quickly after the infamous Shadow Mewtwo and maybe Shadow Metagross. This leaves the type extremely polarized at this point in time; it's either an outstandingly strong type if you're using the optimal counters, or it's actually a bit lackluster. Note; it's not BAD outside of the big-names, just that it's a pretty big step down.

Regardless of this observation, Psychic remains a very, very strong type. If a Pokemon has a Psychic weakness, then chances are that Psychic is going to be on top of the counter list, as few types can keep up with monsters like Shadow Mewtwo.

The Current Psychic Type Moves

Good Psychic Type Moves

The best Psychic Type Fast Move in Pokemon Go is generally going to be Psywave. This move has power similar to or slightly better than Confusion, but is substantially easier to use due to its shorter animation. And speaking of Confusion; this is the traditional "good" Psychic Type fast move. While its damage window is long, as stated, its sheer power allows it to stay very relevant. Next up is Psycho Cut. This move is definitely weaker than Psywave and Confusion, but it's also very fast and capable of quick energy generation. This makes it an ideal move when combined with specific moves, though most of the time it won't quite be able to keep up with the competition. Finally, Extrasensory is a fairly unimpressive move, but it's not an outright death-sentence for Psychic Types.

The good Psychic Type Charged Move list has to start with Mewtwo's Signature Move; Psytrike. This is a power-house of an attack with outstanding damage output and reasonable flexibility. Next up is Psychic, which was once a legitimately bad move, but is now the objectively strongest non-signature Psychic Type Charged Move in the game. Finally.... that's about it. As of right now, basically any other Psychic Type Charged Move is a disappointment, sadly.

Bad Psychic Type Moves

The less-than-stellar Psychic Type Fast Move list starts with Zen Headbutt. While it's not outright horrid, it is definitely a step down from the competition. And then we have the ever-present pariah that is Hidden Power. Not only is this the single weakest Psychic Type Fast Move, it's Psychic Type variant is also not even a guaranteed move on any Pokemon that has access to it. Few things are worse than getting a Pokemon that you want with good IVs, only to learn that their Hidden Power type is entirely irrelevant....

To start off our bad Charged Moves, we have Synchronoise. This is arguably an okay move given the right Pokemon, but it's objectively worse than Psychic by a fair bit, and far more starkly distributed. Next, we're going to go a bit out of order and look at Luster Purge and Mist Ball together. These are the Signature Moves of Latios and Latias, respectively, and are examples of signature moves not always working out on the PvE side of things. Seriously; why did these two deserve to have such weak signature moves? Anyway; next is Future Sight, which is the old-school best Psychic Type move, but now it's pretty unimpressive. After that we have Psyshock, Psybeam, Mirror Coat, Psychic Fangs, and Heart Stamp..... all are bad moves not worth using. But let's talk about Psycho Boost! How do you keep a Pokemon that once had the potential to have the highest DPS in the game to date down? By giving it the weakest signature move in the game! Seriously; Psycho Boost is a horrible move, and it's the one reason that Deoxys - Attack Forme is entirely off of the map now. If there's a Psychic Type move that needs a buff, it's definitely Psycho Boost.

Unreleased Pokemon & Moves

Unreleased Psychic Type Pokemon

Among the fully evolved Pokemon on this list we can probably rule out Darmanitan - Zen Mode, Meloetta - Pirouette Forme, Silvally, Orbeetle, Indeedee - Male and Female, Rabsca, Veluza , Scream Tail, and Munkidori as future threats on the PvE side. This is due to low Atttack stats and/or a lack of relevant Signature Moves. Even Arceus is unlikely to make waves in this meta unless its signature Judgment turns out to be broken beyond broken.

Unreleased Psychic Type Moves

The Future of the Psychic Type

Among the Pokemon above, we have a number of fully evolved options that likely won't end up extremely useful, as stated. This is due to a mix of a poor Attack stat and/or poor Moveset options that likely won't be strong enough to compete with the current meta. However, Niantic could very well release unexpectedly powerful moves that prove our predictions incorrect at any time. Regardless, these are what we consider to be the most likely candidates for power-shifts given current precedent:

The Currently Available Threats

This section will focus on Pokemon that are currently available in Pokemon Go in one way or another, but have better potential moves available in the main series and/or another forme that can potentially catapult them to new heights if everything goes well in the future.

Note that we're counting Necrozma and its various formes on this list, as it's already slated to become available globally soon.

Among all Psychic Type Pokemon across all generations, nothing has been hyped up quite as much as Mega Mewtwo Y. This monster of a Pokemon is currently set to rule the Psychic Type meta with an iron fist when it finally drops thanks to a mix of an insanely high Attack stat and a destructive Psychic Type moveset. At this point it's not a matter of "if" Mega Mewtwo Y will take the meta for itself, but "when".

But what about Mega Mewtwo X? Well, things are a bit harder on this Psychic/Fighting Type variant. Psychic/Fighting is okay for a Fighting Type attacker, minus when it wants to take down Dark Types. However, its Fighting Type moveset is... very lackluster. It can work, but it's unlikely to ever become the top of the meta unless it gets a better moveset; which is very much possible. But how does it compare with its Y variant as a Psychic Type attacker? Well, we can pretty much blow it out of the water with one statement: Mega Mewtwo Y has the same moveset and a better Attack stat. Honestly, the only real hope on that side of the spectrum is when we get occasional raids where its Fighting sub-typing gives it important resistances, but Pokemon that throw around a lot of Bug or Dark Type moves in particular tend to not be weak to Psychic. It definitely happens, but it's not super-common.

If Mega Mewtwo Y is the Monarch of Psychic Types, then Ultra Necrozma may just be the Usurper.

As it sits, Ultra Necrozma's trajectory makes it potentially great, but not the apex of the type. Even if Niantic gives it access to Confusion and Psychic, it's still worse than Shadow Mewtwo in terms of DPS. But to make matters worse, this thing's unique forme-change requirement in the main series is borderline identical to Mega Evolution, so it may just be treated as a Mega Evolution in a manner similar to the Primals when it drops in Pokemon Go... and if this thing can't keep up with Shadow Mewtwo, what hope can it possibly have to compete with the likes of Mega Mewtwo Y?

Because while Mega Mewtwo Y has more power, Ultra Necrozma has more potential.

Recently, the signature moves of Solgaleo and Lunala/Dusk Mane and Dawn Wings were datamined; Sunsteel Strike and Moongeist Beam. These moves are massively powerful, and the two fused formes of Necrozma were also given new Fast Moves to correspond with them in the form of Metal Claw and Shadow Claw. And what else did Necrozma get at the same time? Psycho Cut. Using this knowledge, it's definitely not inconceivable that Necrozma could get a new Psychic Type Charged Move, which it has two Signature candidates for in Primatic Laser and Photon Geyser, to overshadow Future Sight. And if this new move used the same stat-line as Sunsteel Strike or Moongeist Beam, then Ultra Necrozma not only has the power to potentially dethrone Mega Mewtwo Y, it has the power to dethrone every Pokemon in the game in terms of neutral damage.

In this regard, no Pokemon on this list has quite the raw potential as Ultra Necrozma, a Pokemon that could out-shine the entire game for the foreseeable future.... or it could fall short of the heights to which it now aspires. Only time will tell.

So we've covered what could happen with Ultra Necrozma, but it's pretty easy to forget that any changes to that monster will likely trickle down to these two as well. With the best existing Psychic Type moveset, Dusk Mane and Dawn Wings would be... pretty good. But if you add in the Signature Move that we theorycrafted in the Ultra Necrozma section, then they have the potential to rival Shadow Mewtwo, but with slightly higher TDO/lower DSP, and potentially useful sub-typings. And even if we don't get access to an obscenely broken Prismatic Laser, a genuinely good Photon Geyser could very well rocket these two quite a bit as well. Though when it comes to comparing the two for this role, let's be honest: Dusk Mane Necrozma's Steel sub-typing is generally superior to Dawn Wings Necrozma's Ghost sub-typing.

We've already covered Necrozma's more advanced formes, so what about its basic forme? Well, if the above variants get access to a powerful Signature Move, then it stands to reason that basic Necrozma would as well. And if that's the case, then it has the potential to sit a bit higher than Shadow Alakazam on the DPS side, with substantially higher TDO to back it up.

Mega Metagross is slated to rule the Mega Steel meta, but it's easy to forget that it's also a Psychic Type. And given the sheer power of this thing, it's easy to see that it's destined to be.... kind of mediocre. Even if given the best possible moveset, it's still never going to be able to compete with the heavy hitters of the type. Still, it can work in a pinch, and can utilize its Steel sub-typing to situationally act as a great TDO pick.

Hoopa's Confined forme seems like the under-dog of the two, as this little Psychic/Ghost Type Mythical Pokemon is objectively weaker than its Unbound forme, but don't be fooled. As a Psychic Type, Hoopa's Confined forme has the raw potential surpasses its Unbound forme for one reason: Hyperspace Hole. This is its signature Psychic Type move, and has the potential to rocket it into genuine utility in the future.... if it turns out to be a really strong move. And in case you're thinking about it now, Unbound's Signature Move, Hyperspace Fury, is Dark Type.

It's pretty easy to overlook this trio, and for a long time the only hope that they had came from their access to Psychic in the main series. However, Legends Arceus gave a brand new Signature Move to the Lake Guardians in the form of Mystical Power. This move has the potential to boost them to new heights, though only Azelf will stand a real chance at raid utility with it due to its higher Attack stat.

Not only does Galarian Articuno have access to Psychic in the Main Series, it's also got a Signature Move by the name of Freezing Glare. While this move would have to be absolutely outstanding to rocket Galarian Articuno into optimal status, it's still got the potential to at least make it a good Psychic Type attacker in the future... for the dozen or so players who have actually managed to catch it.

Alakazam was the original "good" Psychic Type, and it's managed to just barely hold on due to its Shadow and Mega formes. It's largely peaked out now, but it does have one ace up its sleeve: Kinesis. This is the Signature Move of the Alakazam line, and it could potentially breathe new life into Shadow/Mega Alakazam in the future.

Mega Gallade will exist someday, and it will be... a thing. It's set to be okay, but not outstanding.

Hisuian Braviary has the same deal as Galarian Articuno, but it's got a harder mountain to climb in order to be good as a Psychic Type. Yes, it has a Signature Move in Esper Wing, but it also has a lower Attack stat and a worse Fast Move.

The Future Threats

The Pokemon in this section are currently unavailable in any form in Pokemon Go. They may be entirely new Pokemon or evolutions to existing Pokemon, but the fact remains that no version of them can currently be obtained.

Among the not-yet-available Pokemon, none have quite as much potential as Calyrex - Shadow Rider. This monster has a tremendous Attack stat and access to one of the best possible Psychic Type movesets, so it's sure to be an outstanding Pokemon when it drops if nothing changes.

Meanwhile, Ice Rider and base Calyrex... exist. They're here because we may as well cover all three variants, but they're unlikely to make a big difference.

The Future Paradox versions of the Swords of Justice, every member of this trio is Psychic Type, though they don't have the best Attack stats. Iron Leaves should have the most potential of the trio, as it's the only one with a Psychic Type Signature Move in Psyblade. However, its lack of a Psychic Type Fast Move means that it's unlikely to make waves unless we get some new options added to the pool Seriously; this thing is a Physical Psychic Type attacker that primarily uses sharp horns in the main series, how can it not learn Psycho Cut? Still, Niantic could go the Xerneas route and just make it a Fast Move.... but then Iron Leaves doesn't have access to any Psychic Type Charged Moves! On the other hand, Iron Crown and Iron Boulder can both potentially sport Confusion (OR PSYCHO CUT)/Psychic, though this basic moveset alone won't be enough for them to become extremely relevant.

For simplicity's sake, we're going to mash all of these Pokemon into one entry, as their cases are all pretty similar. They're all fairly mediocre with good moveset potential and Signature Moves, so the potential is there to varying degrees. Still, it's going to be an up-hill battle for them due to their low Attack stats. The biggest outlier is probably Manaphy, as Niantic does have a history of giving strong Signature Moves to Mythical Pokemon.

The Other Potential Powers

The Looming Shadows

Most of the strongest Psychic Types in the game actually already have their Shadow formes, so future Shadow Psychic Types are a bit more limited at the moment. Shadow Galarian Articuno, Espeon, Hisuian Braviary, Tapu Lele, Lunala, Solgaleo, Necrozma, Dawn Wings & Dusk Mane Necrozma, Calyrex - Shadow Rider, Iron Boulder, and Iron Crown all have the potential to be good to varying degrees, though many of these Pokemon would need to win the Moveset lottery and/or be given access to good Signature Moves to make waves, while others may not ever be possible as Shadow Pokemon given their unique status. It's also worth mentioning that it's not even a sure-thing that fused Pokemon will ever have shadow formes, so Necrozma and Clayrex may just be out of luck.

Regional Gimmicks

Every single generation post-Unova has a unique mechanic that powers up Pokemon in one way or another. The first of these gimmicks was Mega Evolution in Generation 6, but there are definitely others worth looking at in order to see what sort of Farfetch'd future we may end up seeing if Niantic wants to jump the Sharpedo:

Z-Moves are the regional gimmick of Alola/Generation 7, and they basically turn normal moves into super-powered versions of themelves for a single use. Unfortunately, we have no real precedent for this in Pokemon Go, and the gimmick itself seems to have been completely buried by Gamefreak/The Pokemon Company, so we won't really be visiting them here due to just how unlikely they are to show up in Pokemon Go as of right now. However, we will mention relevant signature Z-Moves that are slightly more likely to show up in some forme in the future... though that likelihood is still pretty low:

• Genesis Supernova - Mew
• Light that Burns the Sky - Dawn Wings/Dusk Mane/Ultra Necrozma

Dynamax/Gigantamax is the Regional Gimmick of Galar/Generation 8. In essence, this is something of kin to a fusion of Mega Evolution and Z-Moves, as the result is a temporarily souped-up Pokemon with an HP stat that puts Blissey to shame and super-powered attacks of kin to Z-Moves. While every Pokemon in the game can potentially Dynamax, Gigantamax is a unique variation that gives the subject Pokemon unique formes aside from just turning into giants. While Dynamax in general seems very unlikely to ever enter Pokemon Go as a feature that players can utilize, here are the relevant Gigantamax formes, just in case they ever show up in any form:

• Gigantamax Orbeetle

Terastallization is the unique gimmick of our current generation, Paldea/Generation 9. This gimmick changes a Pokemon's typing to one of any of the 18 types in the game, and gives them a power-boost when using an attack that matches their Tera Type. This is admittedly the most likely to show up someday among the gimmicks listed here, as it would be relatively easy to implement. However, it would also make raids a bit easier to prep for, as any Pokemon could potentially become any type at any time, so something like Shadow Mewtwo could potentially turn into a Ghost/Fire/Ice/Electric Type, and suddenly become much better when using its coverage moves. In this way, any high-powered attacker could potentially work in any type if they have the coverage moves to back it up.

It's also worth mentioning that there's a 19th Tera Type by the name of Stellar also exists, which is its own unique can of worms. Fortunately, the only Pokemon that's currently capable of obtaining this elusive 19th type is Terapagos in its Stellar Forme

Closing

At the end of the day, Psychic is the type. It has some of the strongest current Pokemon in the game, and one of the brightest futures as well. This is a type that doesn't really need help, though it would definitely be nice if Niantic dropped a few more strong non-Signature Psychic Type Charged Moves. But, regardless, nothing in the game has quite the sheer power of Psychic Type, and it's possible that it will remain as the top neutral DPS type in the game for the foreseeable future.