Cobblemon Tips for Advanced Players

Cobblemon offers much more depth than just capturing and battling with your favorite Cobblemon. For advanced players, understanding the game’s hidden mechanics can give you the edge you need in competitive battles, team-building, and maximizing your Cobblemon’s potential. In this article, we’ll delve into some of Cobblemon’s lesser-known mechanics and provide tips to help you become a master trainer.

1. Understanding IVs (Individual Values) and How to Maximize Them

Individual Values (IVs) are hidden stats that play a critical role in how strong your Cobblemon becomes as it levels up. Each Cobblemon has six IVs, corresponding to HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed, ranging from 0 to 31. A higher IV in a stat means that stat will reach its full potential at level 100.

How IVs Work:

• IVs are determined when you catch or breed a Cobblemon.
• IVs cannot be changed naturally, but they affect the maximum possible stat values at higher levels.

Tips to Maximize IVs:

• Breeding: Breeding Cobblemon is the best way to control IV inheritance. If breeding becomes available in the future, using a Destiny Knot will allow five IVs to be passed down from the parents to the offspring, making it easier to breed perfect IV Cobblemon.
• Check IVs Regularly: Many servers offer IV-checker tools or NPCs that can give you information about your Cobblemon’s IVs. Make use of these to track your Cobblemon’s potential.

2. EV Training for Optimal Stat Distribution

Effort Values (EVs) determine how your Cobblemon’s stats grow with each level, and focusing on specific EVs allows you to customize your Cobblemon’s strengths. Each Cobblemon can receive a maximum of 510 EVs, with no more than 252 EVs in a single stat.

EV Training Breakdown:

• Speed and Attack for physical sweepers.
• Defense and HP for tanks and walls.
• Special Attack and Speed for special attackers.

Advanced EV Training Tips:

• Power Items: Items like Power Bracer or Power Anklet boost EV gains in specific stats, making EV training much faster.
• Vitamins: Use vitamins like Protein or Carbos to directly add 10 EVs to a stat.
• Target Wild Cobblemon: Find areas with wild Cobblemon that grant specific EVs. For example, training against Zubat grants Speed EVs, while Geodude provides Defense EVs.

By focusing on EV training, you can turn an already strong Cobblemon into a perfectly optimized battler with precise stat allocation.

3. Cobblemon Natures and Their Hidden Power

Every Cobblemon has a Nature, which affects how its stats grow by increasing one stat by 10% while decreasing another by 10%. Choosing the right Nature is essential for maximizing your Cobblemon’s performance in battle.

Nature Breakdown:

• Adamant: Increases Attack, decreases Special Attack (perfect for physical attackers like Garchomp).
• Timid: Increases Speed, decreases Attack (ideal for special sweepers like Alakazam).
• Bold: Increases Defense, decreases Attack (great for defensive Cobblemon like Toxapex).

Advanced Nature Tips:

• Everstone for Breeding: Once breeding is added, you can use an Everstone to pass down the parent’s Nature to the offspring, ensuring you get the perfect Nature for each role.
• Consider Team Roles: Tailor each Cobblemon’s Nature to its specific role on the team. A tank needs a Nature that boosts its defenses, while a sweeper should focus on Speed and Attack or Special Attack.

4. Ability Synergies for Advanced Team Strategies

Abilities are one of the most important factors in shaping how a Cobblemon performs in battle. Each Cobblemon has an ability, and some even have access to Hidden Abilities that are much stronger than their regular counterparts.

Key Abilities to Watch:

• Intimidate: Lowers the opponent’s Attack when switching in, making it a great ability for defensive Cobblemon like Arcanine.
• Swift Swim: Doubles the Speed of Cobblemon in rain, which can turn Kingdra into a deadly sweeper on rain teams.
• Prankster: Gives priority to status moves, allowing Cobblemon like Whimsicott to disrupt opponents with Taunt or Encore before they can react.

Ability Synergy Tips:

• Team Synergy: Use abilities that complement your team’s strategy. For example, if you run a rain team, use Drizzle to set up rain automatically, allowing your Swift Swim Cobblemon to sweep.
• Ability Capsules: If your Cobblemon has more than one possible ability, Ability Capsules (if available) allow you to switch between them. This can be helpful if you want to experiment with different strategies.

5. Cobblemon Held Items: The Hidden Power Boosters

Held items can make or break a strategy, as they provide powerful boosts that can significantly affect battle outcomes. Choosing the right item for each Cobblemon is essential for maximizing their role in battle.

Key Held Items:

• Leftovers: Restores a portion of HP at the end of each turn, perfect for tanky Cobblemon like Blissey or Umbreon.
• Choice Band/Specs: Increases Attack (Choice Band) or Special Attack (Choice Specs) by 50% but locks you into one move. Great for sweepers like Excadrill or Alakazam.
• Focus Sash: Allows the holder to survive a one-hit KO if at full HP, ideal for fragile sweepers like Weavile that rely on Speed.

Advanced Item Tips:

• Berry Usage: Use berries to counter specific weaknesses. For example, a Rindo Berry reduces damage from super-effective Grass-type moves, perfect for Water-type Cobblemon like Swampert.
• Eviolite: If your Cobblemon isn’t fully evolved, the Eviolite boosts its Defense and Special Defense, making it an excellent option for Cobblemon like Dusclops or Chansey.

6. Move Priority and Speed Control

Understanding move priority is crucial in competitive Cobblemon battles. Some moves have a higher priority than others, allowing your Cobblemon to act before faster opponents.

Key Priority Moves:

• Quick Attack: A +1 priority move that lets slower Cobblemon land the first hit.
• Extreme Speed: A +2 priority move with higher damage, perfect for revenge killing or finishing off weakened opponents.
• Sucker Punch: A Dark-type move that only works if the opponent uses an attack move, allowing slower Cobblemon to land a hit first.

Advanced Speed Control Tips:

• Tailwind: Doubles the Speed of your team for four turns, giving your team a significant advantage in battle. Combine it with slower, hard-hitting Cobblemon to maximize damage output.
• Sticky Web: Lowers the Speed of opposing Cobblemon when they switch in, allowing your team to outspeed them and take control of the battle.

7. Move Synergies for Powerful Combos

Combining certain moves and abilities can lead to devastating combos that your opponent might not see coming. Understanding how moves interact can give you the upper hand in battle.

Key Move Synergies:

• Paralysis and Flinch: Using a move like Thunder Wave to paralyze an opponent and following it up with Air Slash (which has a high chance to flinch) can lock opponents into inaction.
• Weather and Moves: Using Rain Dance to boost Water-type moves (like Hydro Pump) while also activating abilities like Swift Swim creates a potent combo for rain teams.
• Baton Pass: Allows one Cobblemon to pass stat boosts to another. Use moves like Swords Dance to boost Attack, then pass it to a sweeper for massive damage output.

8. Advanced Status Effect Management

Status conditions like Burn, Paralysis, and Toxic Poison can cripple even the strongest Cobblemon. Knowing how to manage these conditions is key to surviving long battles.

Status Effect Tips:

• Rest: This move heals your Cobblemon fully but puts it to sleep for two turns. It pairs well with Chesto Berry, which wakes the Cobblemon up immediately after using Rest.
• Substitute: Creates a decoy that absorbs damage and status effects, giving you time to set up stat boosts or whittle down opponents without taking direct hits.

Conclusion

Mastering Cobblemon’s hidden mechanics is essential for advanced players looking to dominate in competitive battles or challenging raids. By focusing on IVs, EVs, Natures, Abilities, and move synergies, you can build teams that not only excel individually but also complement each other in strategy and execution. With the right knowledge, you can take your game to the next level and become a true Cobblemon master.

Do you have any advanced tips or mechanics that you’ve mastered? Share them in our Discord!