Concerning Delphox

[Sceptile987]

Now I like Delphox, from it's cute little (or rather large) ears to it's fluffy tail, Delphox is one of my favourite starters and I would happily have it as an option in a competitive team, apart from one rather glaring elephant in the room: It's not very good in the metagame

Now I say such a vague thing because Delphox needs buffing in multiple areas:

Shallow Movepool Delphox definitely has some potential, and can pack a rather devastating punch with just one calm mind, but it can only really use fire, psychic or ghost moves, which still leaves it extremely vulnerable to a tanky/speedy enough pokemon with a supereffective move, of which the latter can easily take out delphox before delphox can even take out anything.

My suggestion, have Delphox able to learn either/and/or:

• Aura Sphere and Thunder/Thunderbolt, as these two moves alone (which could be learned by breeding) greatly give delphox the coverage it needs
• All of the Pulse moves, as this would also give coverage, but the coverage would have to be learned by breeding, which helps counterbalance this potential buff as it would make it difficult to give a Delphox this coverage
• Give it a special move, much like how Greninja has Mat Block, give Delphox a Dual type move that it could learn

Hidden ability Lets face it, Magician isn't the best ability there is, it means that Delphox has to go out without an item (or with an inert ability) and hope to high hell that the target has a useful item to steal and that Delphox can steal it and stay alive.

My Suggestion: Telepathy or Multiscale, as these would greatly increase Delphox's longevity in single or multiple battles without being something that would be directly OP such as wonder guard or magic guard (especially a magic guard-life orb combo).

So what do you think, any suggestions are welcome

[Specstile]

There is always chance for a mega delphox in the future where it can shine! Though at the moment it doesn't really have a niche which sets it apart from other pokemon apart from its gimmicky ability.
I just wish bulletbroof on chesnaughty blocked a wider range of hits.

[Hahex and Oshawott]

Not every pokemon has to be super strong and OU. I have a feeling that Delphox has a good chance in whatever tier it gets put in (RU/NU I'm guessing? Not an expert on tiering at all so IDK) on account of its support options as well as its offensive prowess. Certainly, I feel that its typing will let it hold its own against threats like Heracross in UU.

[SirBlaziken]

I chose fennekin, it's not bad, but leave something to be desired. Give it a better move pool like, moonblast seems right. A lot more special moves would be nice. Then, a better hidden ability, like magic guard (I know, op maybe), and maybe up the speed a little bit. That would be really nice.

[Richard and Blaziken]

Delphox should have gotten Magic Guard. It wouldn't be OP at all without a Fighting attack to round out its coverage. At the moment is has a small niche in that it's faster than Victini and a little more powerful in terms of stats, but Victini is still the better choice due to a much better movepool and a better ability with moves to take advantage of it.

Delphox will be a solid choice for a lower tiers, but in any tier that Victini is also an option, Delphox is outclassed. Victini also has the Attack and movepool to go physical (and often does), so on every front, Victini is just better. There is room for improvement, however. Z tutors could possibly do wonders for it, so be patient.

As for suggestions, if you're looking for the best way to use Delphox, check this out!

[Captain Jigglypuff]

My Delphox has done wonders in my X version. I gave it Power-Up Punch which made things interesting during my Elite Four challenge and also gave it Psychic, Flamethrower, and Mystic Fire. I know Mystic Fire's not the best move but if a Pokemon has a signature move, I always try to include it if I like how it works. I like signature moves but there are a few I don't like so much. They are Mat Block (I normally HATE protection moves aside from Magic Coat but I love this gen's protect moves. I just hate how Mat Block ONLY works the first turn Greninja is sent out), Geomancy (annoying it takes TWO turns to work and even then Xerneas has a high chance of being taken out during the process or even after the move is completed. Only used it once and my Xerneas was taken out before I could use Moonblast.) There are others but I can't think of them now.

[Raphetty]

Geomancy (annoying it takes TWO turns to work and even then Xerneas has a high chance of being taken out during the process or even after the move is completed. Only used it once and my Xerneas was taken out before I could use Moonblast.) There are others but I can't think of them now.

If it's being used in a competitive environment where the item will not be used up after the battle, Xerneas should be holding Power Herb to make Geomancy take one turn.

[Captain Jigglypuff]

^I didn't have one at the time and this was during my first battle with Drasna and her Dralange.

[Raphetty]

^I didn't have one at the time and this was during my first battle with Drasna and her Dralange.

Not a criticism, my Xerneas is level 90 and I've never used a Power Herb. I mean when doing on-line battles. In fact, Geomancy is great for stalling out turns when battling in the restaurants.. I use rotation battles to level up low level Pokémon very quickly, and a strong Pokémon like Xerneas will do all the fighting.

[SirBlaziken]

^I do the same with the restaurants.

I chose fenne. I stumbled at first, but after gym 2, I never looked back.