Weezing, The Poison Gas Pokémon. This Pokémon consumes particles that contaminate the air. Instead of leaving droppings, it expels clean air. Long ago, during a time when droves of factories fouled the air with pollution, Weezing changed into this form for some reason.
Overview
One of the new Galarian forms given out, Galarian Weezing is an interesting Pokemon that breathes new life into an old rather subpar Pokemon. Despite bearing resemblance to a character who owns an ice rink, Galarian Weezing gains a new Fairy typing instead of Ice which is a huge benefit, as Fairy is one of the best types in the game. This in combination with Weezing's good bases and Poison typing aren't going to shape any standard metagame, but it's enough to make for a flexible and fairly unique addition to most Singles formats.
Positives
Good typing allows Galarian Weezing to threaten a lot of Pokemon offensively while being a strong pivot for common types such as Ground, Fighting, and Dragon.
Weezing has a strong movepool allowing it to be an offensive threat, a defensive pivot, or allow a hybrid of the two.
120 base defense allows Galarian Weezing to find a way in on many physical attackers
Negatives
65 base health and a lack of recover outside Pain Split makes Galarian Weezing vulnerable to being chipped away at.
As with regular Weezing, the Galarian form is a bit lacking in power even with its good movepool, so it will struggle to break through bulky foes without effectiveness.
Abilities
Misty Surge - Changes the terrain to Misty Terrain - Misty Terrain is nice as it prevents status. but if Weezing wants to spread some with its access to Will-O-Wisp and Toxic, this is a hindrance.
Levitate - Prevents Ground moves - Solid as it removes Weezing's Ground weakness, this is arguably its best ability in Singles.
Neutralizing Gas - Prevents Abilities - This ability creates many interesting situations for Galarian Weezing, especially in Doubles. Solid ability overall but is far more situational in Singles.
Movesets
Offensive
-Sludge Bomb
-Strange Steam
-Fire Blast
-Toxic Spikes / Defog
Item Attached: Choice Specs / Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 252 SpAtk / 4 Speed
Modest Nature
With decent Special Attack, Galarian Weezing is an interesting Choice Specs user. Sludge Bomb is a strong STAB option that hits Fairy and Grass types quite hard as well as having a 30% chance to poison. Strange Steam falls in a similar area as Sludge Bomb having similar base power and a 20% chance to confuse, but is more spammable due to it being Fairy type. Fire Blast rounds out the set to hit Steels that resist both of Weezing's STABs, allowing for strong neutral coverage. Flamethrower is an option if one would prefer more accuracy in exchange for power. Toxic Spikes or Defog take the final slot for utility, Defog being very rare and thus having a lot of value, while Toxic Spikes can hinder teams with the continued chip damage.
Levitate is the ideal ability choice to give Weezing an immunity to what would otherwise be a Ground weakness. The utility move is difficult to use with a Choice Specs but still has validity, though if this is a problem then Black Sludge is more favorable of an item choice. Otherwise Weezing is your typical bulky attacker with heavy investment in HP and Special Attack. Weezing can opt for further Speed investment if you need to creep any bulky attackers though.
Defensive
-Strange Steam
-Will-O-Wisp
-Defog
-Toxic / Flamethrower
Item Attached: Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs and Nature:
252 HP/ 212 Def / 44 Speed
Bold Nature
Strange Steam makes an appearance as the STAB of the set and has good defensive utility with its 20% confusion chance as well as being Fairy typing. Will-O-Wisp is a nice option as it hinders physical attackers such as Terrakion and Rillaboom that Galarian Weezing switches into. Defog has a lot of value due to Defog being more rare and can really help some teammates such as Frosmoth. The final slot is open for Flamethrower for coverage or Toxic to hinder walls. Both have plenty of merit but it depends on what your team needs.
Bold Nature with maximum physical bulk investment lets Weezing function as a dedicated physical wall, and Levitate is even more important to give it as few weaknesses as possible. Black Sludge is the best item to increase Weezing's longevity, though Sitrus Berry is the preferred choice in a 3v3 setting due to the shorter battles.
Partners
Escavalier is an excellent partner with its ability to check things such as Gardevoir and Roserade that can answer Galarian Weezing. Meanwhile Weezing can use Will-O-Wisp to hinder walls to Escavalier such as Doublade and Rhyperior.
Noivern's high Speed and wide movepool pair nicely with things that Weezing will lure in such as the aforementioned Roserade. Meanwhile Noivern will lure in Pokemon that Galarin Weezing preys on such as other Weezing and Gigalith.
VGC & Double Battle Options
Galarian Weezing is a Pokemon entirely defined by its fantastic ability, Neutralizing Gas, which in general means that it's not very good. And before you say it, no, Regigigas and Slaking will not become good because of this ability either. Relying on another middling Pokemon to make them usable is not going to be a very desirable strategy considering you cannot expect Weezing to be out alongside them at all times, so strategies like this that require two Pokemon to coexist at all times tend to fall flat. However, there are many opposing Pokemon that also rely on their own abilities to be effective, so Neutralizing Gas as an ability can be enough to make Galarian Weezing a valid consideration in some circumstances to hinder the opposing team. That being said, being a slow bulky Pokemon with middling offensive presence is not a great thing when you're weak to Ground-type moves and lack support moves to help the team. Despite being designed with the intent to use it in Doubles, Galarian Weezing is really not something you'll want to consider in most cases. If you do run into it though you should respect the effects of Neutralizing Gas because it is undoubtedly a powerful ability.
Poison Circle
- Strange Steam
- Clear Smog / Sludge Bomb
- Will-O-Wisp / Taunt
- Protect
Item Attached: Sitrus Berry / Wiki Berry
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 252 SpDef / 4 Speed
Calm Nature
Galarian Weezing does not have that many support options, Strange Steam is the most useful Fairy-type STAB it has due to its high power and chance to confuse the foe. Clear Smog is a useful support move to clear stat boosts on the foe which can provide some emergency damage control against Weakness Policy users. Note that Weakness Policy activates after a hit though so you can't use this to immediately cancel a Weakness Policy. Sludge Bomb can be used if you simply want a stronger Poison-type STAB to deal with Togekiss though. Will-O-Wisp is useful for shutting down physical attackers like Excadrill and Dragapult, though the former beats Weezing handily so this is more useful for forcing the Excadrill to deal with Weezing directly. Taunt can be useful for preventing the use of Trick Room or other support moves like Follow Me, and the last slot is naturally for Protect because we're talking about Doubles here. Weezing doesn't have many alternatives here anyway.
Galarian Weezing's most useful resists are special oriented so a specially defensive build is helpful for preventing Togekiss from bullying you with critical hits. However, Weezing is such a niche Pokemon that you can go with just about anything, there's not really a standard spread to recommend for it. While Levitate or Misty Surge sound like solid abilities for Weezing, Neutralizing Gas is the only way to justify using it at all in Doubles. Mold Breaker is common on Excadrill anyway, which makes Levitate useless in such scenarios, and Misty Surge is not worth using Weezing for when some Max Moves can force terrain changes as well. Meanwhile, Sitrus Berry or a pinch berry are recommended to give Weezing some added longevity.
Other Options & Team Ideas
- Be careful when picking Galarian Weezing for a team because Neutralizing Gas disables abilities of allies as well. Pokemon like Dragapult and Lapras who don't rely on their abilities to function are teammates to consider in this case, though otherwise be mindful of Neutralizing Gas and its effect on your teammates as well as the opponent.
- Excadrill completely shuts down Galarian Weezing unless you call a lucky switch with Will-O-Wisp, so it needs teammates that can threaten Excadrill. Rotom-Wash, Gyarados, and Conkeldurr are teammates to consider, though all of these make solid use of their abilities so be careful of this. Of course, Mold Breaker Excadrill shuts down Rotom-Wash as well, so another teammate would be recommended in that case.
- Oh, don't use Kantonian Weezing either. It does also get Neutralizing Gas but it offers nothing else otherwise, and is also straight-up not legal in VGC since it's currently impossible to obtain a Kantonian Weezing without transfer.
Countering Weezing
Lucario can force out Galarian Weezing with its good Steel STAB options and look to grab a boost. Special based Lucario can just set up on defensive Weezing as well as Will-O-Wisp doesn't matter too much to it.
Machamp with Heavy Slam can be a big threat as with Guts it can just get more damage from a burn or poison and threaten more Pokemon on Weezing's team.
Haxorus is a soft check as Mold Breaker makes Weezing susceptible to Earthquake and thus can force it out or KO, especially with a Lum Berry for security to Will-O-Wisp.
Weezing, The Poison Gas Pokémon. It mixes gases between its two bodies. It's said that these Pokémon were seen all over the Galar region back in the day. It can't suck in air quite as well as a Galarian Weezing, but the toxins it creates are more potent than those of its counterpart.
Overview
Made an iconic pokemon from the anime as James` main pokemon, Weezing has had an interesting run through its competitive history. Similar to Golem and Rhydon competing for a slot with each other, Muk and Weezing have shared this problem as well being comparable in RBY and then Muk making out better in the special change in GSC. However Adv gifted Weezing traits that make it still good today, that being Levitate and Will-O-Wisp, allowing it to pivot into Ground attacks with ease and hinder them. While Weezing has fallen off since its Adv glory days and is now in the shadow of its Galarian form, Weezing is still an excellent pivot for a bulky team.
Positives
Good defensive stats and typing in combination with decent move options makes Weezing a strong option as a defensive pivot for bulky and balanced teams
Poison typing is decent for a wall as it allows Weezing to check big threats such as Rillaboom and Fairy moves as well as gives access to a plethora of status options
Negatives
Weezing has quite low Special Defense meaning it is vulnerable to wall breakers
Abilities
Levitate - Negates Ground Moves - Removing one of Weezings weaknesses is always great for a defensive pivot and much like Galarian Weezing, this is the best option for SinglesMbr .<
Neutralizing Gas - Negates Abilities - Better in Doubles as it can make things such as Regigigas and Slaking usable in theory, Singles its match up dependent and as such as niche
Stench - Moves without a flinch chance gain a 10% flinch chance - A nice ability on paper but 10% is too unreliable to be used consistently
Movesets
Sludge Bomb
-Sludge Bomb
-Pain Split
-Will-O-Wisp
-Fire Blast/Taunt/Toxic Spikes
Item Attached: Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs and Nature:
252 HP/160 Def/96 Speed
Bold Nature
Sludge Bomb is a strong STAB option and has a high 30% chance to poison the target making it a nice spammable move. Pain Split allows Weezing an option to heal off damage and stay in the game for longer but is a bit unreliable. Will-O-Wisp takes the third slot as an option to hinder physical attackers and allows Weezing to more effectively check threats. The last slot is open for moves such as Fire Blast for coverage against things such as Copperajah, Taunt to act as a stall breaker, or Toxic Spikes to provide pressure for its team.
Teammates
-Copperajah is an excellent choice as it can answer Psychic threats such as Indeedee that can beat Weezing while providing another good bulky attacker as well as a Stealth Rocker for the team.
-Gastrodon is another great option due to Storm Drain and its Ground typing allow it to answer good Special Attackers such as Inteleon and Alolan Raichu that could muscle through Weezing while Weezing can pivot into Grass threats such as Rillaboom and Virizion
Checks & Counters
-Alolan Raichu is a nice answer as with its strong Psychic and Electric attacks it can easily break through Weezing
-Salazzle is a strong counter due to it resisting Sludge Bomb and the option for Fire Blast while having access to status to hinder something switching in or Nasty Plot to boost up and threaten a sweep due to its high base Speed
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Pokémon Mansion (Red/Blue)
Trade from Red/Blue (Yellow)
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Burned Tower (Crystal)
Evolve Koffing (Gold/Silver)
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Evolve Koffing
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Pokémon Mansion (FireRed)
Trade from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald/FireRed (LeafGreen)
Colosseum/XD:
Trade from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald/FireRed
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Route 227, Stark Mountain
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Safari Zone
Black/White:
Trade from Black 2/White 2
Black 2/White 2:
P2 Lab
X/Y:
Trade from Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Evolve Koffing
Sun/Moon:
Transfer from Generation VI
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Transfer from Generation VI
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Power Plant, Pokémon Mansion (Let's Go, Eevee)
Trade from Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! Let's Go, Pikachu)
Sword/Shield:
East Lake Axewell, Lake of Outrage, Slumbering Weald
Max Raid Battles: East Lake Axewell, Giant's Cap, Hammerlocke Hills, Motostoke Riverbank, North Lake Miloch
Animé Appearences
