Pokémon Primarina
- Thread starter oversway
- Start date
- Status
You pretty much always want max special attack investment
I'm a big fan of Primarina, and I think its typing should serve it well, though Tapu Fini does outclass it mostly defensively. I still think it has great potential in OU, or UU at the very worst. I do think Specs or AV is probably the best option to make use of it, and most other viable sets I think have already been posted at this point, but I did want to share an idea that was something different.
Primarina @ Light Clay
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP/168 Sp.Att/88 Speed EVs
Jolly Nature/Modest Nature
- Sparkling Aria
- Moonblast
- Light Screen
- Reflect
I figure Primarina can work as an offensively minded dual screen setter, though I do think there are better things it can be doing. Reflect will compensate for your poor defense, and then Light Screen will allow you to take sp. hits a lot better. Sort of combines some of the benefits of the AV set. Maxing out your HP will be good for your overall bulk, with a lot of Sp.Attack investment to ensure you still hit hard, but enough Speed to outrun up to skamory which from what I have read from others is generally a good benchmark. But if you want to hit harder or be faster to ensure you can get screens off easier, then feel free to adjust. Once you've got screens, you just sparkling aria/moonblast till you go down, or, if your team is built around dual screens, you switch to something frail that needs it. It depends on your team build, really. But Primarina can definitely provide that degree of support, if you need it.
Primarina @ Light Clay
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP/168 Sp.Att/88 Speed EVs
Jolly Nature/Modest Nature
- Sparkling Aria
- Moonblast
- Light Screen
- Reflect
I figure Primarina can work as an offensively minded dual screen setter, though I do think there are better things it can be doing. Reflect will compensate for your poor defense, and then Light Screen will allow you to take sp. hits a lot better. Sort of combines some of the benefits of the AV set. Maxing out your HP will be good for your overall bulk, with a lot of Sp.Attack investment to ensure you still hit hard, but enough Speed to outrun up to skamory which from what I have read from others is generally a good benchmark. But if you want to hit harder or be faster to ensure you can get screens off easier, then feel free to adjust. Once you've got screens, you just sparkling aria/moonblast till you go down, or, if your team is built around dual screens, you switch to something frail that needs it. It depends on your team build, really. But Primarina can definitely provide that degree of support, if you need it.
you're so right! i knew that too, but i was so focused on the hp-defenses balance that i completely forgot to factor that in somehow. derp!
let me try this again:
204 hp
252 spa
52 def
would this be a good spread then? esp. an av set?
Yep looks absolutely fine, I prefer Specs to AV though.
I think people underestimate Sparkling Aria's ability to give you an extreemly powerful Unique Z move. The other 2 starters only have 180 power, but Primarina's is 195, just 5 BP lower then Hydro pumps, but you get more PP and more Acc for Aria over Hydro. I Myself have a Gental natured one in game because its the female I got as a starter, but even then it hits like a tank with that neutral nature. I do think Modest would be better, but I wanna use the starter I got in game. Plus the calm nature has been letting her be a pretty decent Special Wall
Primarina @ Prima-Z
Modest/Calm Nature. 252 SpA, 200 HP, 58 SpD
Sparkling Aria
Moonblast
Psychic/Work Up
Ice Beam/Work Up
You can either go full attack, or throw a work up to hit just slightly harder. I prefer full attack.
Primarina @ Prima-Z
Modest/Calm Nature. 252 SpA, 200 HP, 58 SpD
Sparkling Aria
Moonblast
Psychic/Work Up
Ice Beam/Work Up
You can either go full attack, or throw a work up to hit just slightly harder. I prefer full attack.
Quick correction; Hydro Pump becomes an 185 BP Hydro Vortex, so Oceanic Operetta is actually 10 points stronger.
AH my bad. that most be from the water version of hyper beam then
With Primarina in the UU meta, it's easy to see how dominant a threat she can be. Specs STAB Hydro Pump off of 126 spatk is nothing to sneeze at, and she has the tools she needs to hit most switch-ins very hard- even your typical Blissey gets hit for over 30%. Fairy/Water is a fantastic type for both offense and defense, making it almost mindless how often Primarina can switch in and take chunks off most of the tier.
In practice, Primarina's biggest fear is longevity. Her bulk is respectable, but as a specs user she can't recover any health outside of team support. Primarina can handily take hits, but she needs to take one if she's going to even attack, thanks to her middling speed. With the right mindgames and enough chip damage, it's easy to finish her off with attackers with even average speed.
In a team comp, Primarina is a huge boon to anything that needs its checks weakened. Since she needs to be healthy to reliably do damage, you'll want a slow volturn user to give her opportunities to break the opponent's momentum and fire off heavy damage before switching back out. Golisopod could in theory work as a "volturn," but you'd be stacking a weakness to electric and fast mons. Since Primarina can intimidate others to switch out, hazard support is also very important. To round things out, should be the main reason you carry Primarina - paving the way for a sweeper. It could be a setup sweeper, a choice user, a mega, it doesn't matter which one in particular. If their common checks are reduced to rubble by a specs Primarina, then they can come in and clean up.
The special toy syndrome may be an explanation to Primarina's presence in UU, but I think it'd last much longer. In fact, the biggest thing Primarina has to worry about are offensive poison types, and even they have to respect the raw damage she can do.
In practice, Primarina's biggest fear is longevity. Her bulk is respectable, but as a specs user she can't recover any health outside of team support. Primarina can handily take hits, but she needs to take one if she's going to even attack, thanks to her middling speed. With the right mindgames and enough chip damage, it's easy to finish her off with attackers with even average speed.
In a team comp, Primarina is a huge boon to anything that needs its checks weakened. Since she needs to be healthy to reliably do damage, you'll want a slow volturn user to give her opportunities to break the opponent's momentum and fire off heavy damage before switching back out. Golisopod could in theory work as a "volturn," but you'd be stacking a weakness to electric and fast mons. Since Primarina can intimidate others to switch out, hazard support is also very important. To round things out, should be the main reason you carry Primarina - paving the way for a sweeper. It could be a setup sweeper, a choice user, a mega, it doesn't matter which one in particular. If their common checks are reduced to rubble by a specs Primarina, then they can come in and clean up.
The special toy syndrome may be an explanation to Primarina's presence in UU, but I think it'd last much longer. In fact, the biggest thing Primarina has to worry about are offensive poison types, and even they have to respect the raw damage she can do.
Pretty sure you meant Timid instead of Jolly, Jolly drops your Special Attack.
I don't know if we are talking only about Primarina's Singles capabilities, but once its HA Liquid Voice is released, Primarina has access to the ONLY water type Perish Song. Pairing this with a ally pokemon with Water Absorb or Storm Drain means they aren't effected. Last Gen, people were using Electrify Perish Song on Mega-Sceptile teams. I wonder if Water-type Perish Song has any use in the 7th Generation Doubles Metagames?
Surprised that I've only seen people talk about Primarina's sets instead of how absolutely amazing this thing is when used in a bulky FWG core.
Primarina obviously breaks down walls with its scary Dual STAB typing and coverage in Psychic, HP Fire, Ice Beam, Energy Ball, etc. But when put on a Bulky Offense / Balance core, especially a FWG, it's simply absurd the pressure you can put on your opponent. Specs hits like a truck, we've been over that, but when paired with Mega Venusaur that can just tank hits for days directed at Primarina, Prima has a LOT less to worry about when coming in and can just fire off Hydro Pumps and Moonblasts constantly. Pairing this with something like Scarf Heatran and you've got yourself a core pressuring all forms of Offense and a ton of fat teams with two hard hitting special attackers that cover each other VERY nicely.
tl;dr Primarina + Mega Venusaur + Heatran is the truth. Give it a shot.
Primarina obviously breaks down walls with its scary Dual STAB typing and coverage in Psychic, HP Fire, Ice Beam, Energy Ball, etc. But when put on a Bulky Offense / Balance core, especially a FWG, it's simply absurd the pressure you can put on your opponent. Specs hits like a truck, we've been over that, but when paired with Mega Venusaur that can just tank hits for days directed at Primarina, Prima has a LOT less to worry about when coming in and can just fire off Hydro Pumps and Moonblasts constantly. Pairing this with something like Scarf Heatran and you've got yourself a core pressuring all forms of Offense and a ton of fat teams with two hard hitting special attackers that cover each other VERY nicely.
tl;dr Primarina + Mega Venusaur + Heatran is the truth. Give it a shot.
No way will it be better than azumarill. Azumarill can run more than one set...
I will. Now I just need 3 other Pokemon to go with them. Also what sets do you recommend for Heatran and Mega Venusaur?
I think Landorus-Therian's Defensive set might go well with this team.
Last edited:
Two STAB spread moves (gleam, LV Hyper Voice) that don't hit your ally are also quite nice, and HV of course will go through subs. Of course, the question is when this will be released...
So I've been testing out Liquid Voice Perish Song in Doubles lately. Here's an overview of what such a strategy could look like:
So you lead Primarina/Gastrodon. Primarina uses Perish Song; Gastrodon goes to plus 2 with Storm Drain+Absorb Bulb. Primarina gets hit and gets ejected into Gengar. Gengar Mega-Evolves and traps. Let me know what you guys think about it.
So you lead Primarina/Gastrodon. Primarina uses Perish Song; Gastrodon goes to plus 2 with Storm Drain+Absorb Bulb. Primarina gets hit and gets ejected into Gengar. Gengar Mega-Evolves and traps. Let me know what you guys think about it.
First, unless they changed it, Absorb Bulb doesn't activate if the Pokemon is immune to water (though according to the research thread, the order in which immunities are checked was changed, so it may very well work now). Second, the opponent will still be able to switch on the turn Gengar goes Mega, so you'll have to have to do that before going for Perish Song. Lastly, Primarina isn't all that fast, especially without any investment at all, so it's very likely that the Eject Button will trigger before she gets a chance to Perish Song. Here's what I would do instead: get rid of the Eject Button, and replace Gastrodon with either Vaporeon or Poliwrath, with Water Absorb and Roar or Circle Throw. Preferably Vaporeon, since Roar can go through Protect, letting Gengar safely Mega Evolve beforehand.
Here, the sets I'd use personally
Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 232 HP / 180 Def / 80 SpD / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Leech Seed
- Synthesis
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
ALTERNATIVELY
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Electric] / Flamethrower / Fire Blast
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 232 HP / 180 Def / 80 SpD / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Leech Seed
- Synthesis
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
ALTERNATIVELY
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Electric] / Flamethrower / Fire Blast
Last edited:
Personal set I am running:
Primarina @ Assault Vest
Calm Nature
-Torrent
Moves:
-Psychic
-Scald
-Moonblast
-Energy Ball
Seeing as the forum pretty much unanimously agrees that Primarina will be sh
t in OU, i designed this set for dealing with UU mons.
-Psychic for Toxicroak, the biggest counter for Primarina in UU
-Scald for fire Pokemon (Infernape, R-Heat and if he gets to it, Incineroar)
-Moonblast for M-Absol, M-Sharpedo & Machamp
-Energy Ball for M-Swampert, M-Blastoise & Feraligatr
Let me know if my set is decent or complete horesht pls 
Primarina @ Assault Vest
Calm Nature
-Torrent
Moves:
-Psychic
-Scald
-Moonblast
-Energy Ball
Seeing as the forum pretty much unanimously agrees that Primarina will be sh
t in OU, i designed this set for dealing with UU mons.-Psychic for Toxicroak, the biggest counter for Primarina in UU
-Scald for fire Pokemon (Infernape, R-Heat and if he gets to it, Incineroar)
-Moonblast for M-Absol, M-Sharpedo & Machamp
-Energy Ball for M-Swampert, M-Blastoise & Feraligatr
Let me know if my set is decent or complete horesh
t pls 
Seeing as the forum pretty much unanimously agrees that Primarina will be sh
Ehhh? A UU Pokemon doesn't mean its bad in OU. It just means that its usage isn't high enough (not OVERused) and then in the UU metagame, it doesn't overcentralize things (not BL). Mainly, Primarina's role as water-type Nuke is handled marvelously by Keldeo, sitting at 108 speed tier, and Manaphy with holy wtf Tail Glow. So its hard to see Primarina breaking through to OU usage with so much competition between water-nukes.
Primarina has a few bonuses over Keldeo and Manaphy. Fairy Typing is great, it has a touch more bulk than Keldeo and seems to have more coverage options than Manaphy. As far as I'm concerned, Primarina is going to fall to UU but will have a solid niche in the OU metagame.
Tapu Fini just doesn't have the punching power than Primarina (or Azumarill) have. Keldeo doesn't pivot as well as Primarina. Manaphy doesn't have as good coverage.
252 SpA Choice Specs Primarina Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Toxicroak: 322-379 (104.8 - 123.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Toxicroak is not a counter, even without Psychic. Without Specs, Toxicroak still eats like 80% damage or so. If you predict wrong, Toxicroak outspeeds you anyway... but Moonblast spam is quite reliable. In any case, I don't think Psychic is worth it.
Those are all physical and/or mixed attackers... except for Rotom and Blastoise. Primarina doesn't really like taking physical hits. The assault-vest isn't doing anything for you. I don't play UU, but if that's the threat-list, I don't think Primarina is who you should be using... and certainly not an assault-vest.
Last edited by a moderator:
This lovely lady is a freaking GOD with an assult vest. No matter what my opponents throw at it, it just doesn't die. I actually used the exact assault vest set before even reading this so clearly its usefulness is immediately obvious. I've tied out energy ball too but it's not really strong aganist anything Primarina's other moves can't handle.
Assault Vest fits better than Specs/Orb. Weakness Policy could have some use, still need to test that.
Yeah I have to agree on the usually way-too-often-misused-Ass-Vest set.
Primarina basically "feels" like a much more effective version of Assault Vest Goodra: A powerful Attacker which is a blank check to most special attacker. Like Goodra however, Primarina packs quite a punch:
252+ SpA Goodra Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 207-244 (60.7 - 71.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Primarina Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 195-229 (57.1 - 67.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
(Note: Hydro Pump has no downside like Draco Meteor AND Primarina is a dual-stab Pokemon!)
If you seriously didn't consider using Primarina(for whatever reason) and tried Goodra in the past, try out Assault Vest Primarina.
Primarina basically "feels" like a much more effective version of Assault Vest Goodra: A powerful Attacker which is a blank check to most special attacker. Like Goodra however, Primarina packs quite a punch:
252+ SpA Goodra Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 207-244 (60.7 - 71.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Primarina Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 195-229 (57.1 - 67.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
(Note: Hydro Pump has no downside like Draco Meteor AND Primarina is a dual-stab Pokemon!)
If you seriously didn't consider using Primarina(for whatever reason) and tried Goodra in the past, try out Assault Vest Primarina.
- Status