Bug type Pokémon offer a good range of type combo variety, along with a huge range of both useless Pokémon and strong Pokémon. In reality, competitive Bug types are rare, and effective use of any bug type requires extensive knowledge and strategy.
Read this beginner's guide on bug pokemon for an overview of bug types, and proceed on towards the article's end for more advanced strategies and techniques.
Bug Type Pokémon FAQ
What are Bug Pokémon attacks strong against?
- Super-effective (x2): Dark, Psychic, Grass
- Weak (x0.5): Fight, Fire, Flying, Ghost, Poison, Steel
What attack types are strong against Bug Pokémon?
- Super-Effective (x2): Fire, Flying, Rock
- Resistant (x0.5): Fighting, Grass, Ground
What are some common characteristics of Bug type Pokémon?
- Quick to level-up and evolve
- Weak stats
- Bug/Flying, Bug/Poison are common type combos
General Hints and Tips on Bug Type Pokémon
Simply put, most Bug type Pokémon serve little purpose other than to temporarily occupy party slots in the beginning of the game. While some - such as Butterfree - are better than others, most bug types (particularly those found in the beginning) are ineffective against the Elite Four or in competitive battles.
Made worse is the fact that strong Bug attacks and moves are fairly rare. Stronger and more varied moves have been added in newer generations (U-Turn, Bug Buzz, X-Attack), but the amount of bug Pokémon that receive these stronger moves is still pretty rare.
Even mediocre bug Pokémon, such as Kricketune, will struggle to keep up with other Pokémon in a party. The biggest handicap is the painfully low stats. No matter how much a Pokémon is loved and cared for, low stats will result in weak hits and frail defenses.
Most bug Pokémon should only be used as temporary partners in the single-player game. Check a bug Pokémon's stats after it's fully evolved, and if they appear drastically lower than other Pokémon in the party, it's probably time to find a replacement. Also be sure to look into the bug Pokémon's movepool, and if the moves aren't varied or strong enough, the Pokémon will simply be ineffective in combat.
Bug Type Pokémon - Best Type Combos
As aforementioned, the two most common bug type combos are Bug/Flying, and Bug/Poison, neither of which are particularly good. Their incredible defenses against Grass and Fighting types is good to note, but their numerous weaknesses and typically abysmal stats hold back their potential.
Strong type combos include Bug/Steel, Bug/Fighting, and Bug/Rock. All three are fairly peculiar and somewhat rare, but each has at least one strong Pokémon associated with it.
Strong Bug Type Pokémon
Some of the best Bug types are the following: Armaldo, Forretress, Heracross, Ninjask, Scizor, Shedinja, Vespiquen, Yanmega.
Forretress is an excellent Bug/Steel type with immense defensive potential. Armaldo, Heracross, Scizor, and Vespiquen all offer incredible offensive potential, albeit with differing strategies to use effectively. Ninjask and Yanmega can both learn baton pass, for use to boost another Pokémon's strength, but also work well as offensive types with high speed (though frightfully frail defenses).
And, finally, Shedinja, the only Bug/Ghost in the game, is a completely unique case that requires an entire guide to explain. The unique Wonder Guard ability makes it completely immune to anything not supereffective, but it only ever has 1 HP.
Advanced Bug Type Pokémon Strategies
Offensive bug types should be given as great a move variety as possible, since quite a few Pokémon types resist Bug attacks. Defensive Bug Pokémon need to watch out for super-effective attacks (most Bug combos have at least one 4x weakness).
Ninjask and Yanmega both offer great speed and baton pass, and both can get the Speed Boost ability, which automatically raises speed each turn. Baton passing speed and attack to a strong offensive Pokémon can result in an easy victory. But both Pokémon are weak defensively, and are particularly weak against Rock attacks (and, in turn Stealth Rock).
For both single player and competitive battling, Shedinja should only be attempted by the truly dedicated or advanced players. The patience and dedication, however, can pay off immensely, as Shedinja's invulnerability against a large number of types can ensure victory.
Bug Type Pokémon Conclusion
Few Bug Pokémon are effective in either the single-player or in competitive battling. However, a small group of strong Bug types do exist, and can be a true asset to a Pokémon team. Bug Pokémon require a keen mind for strategy and, sometimes, patience and dedication to unlock the potential.
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Bradley Kairis - Bradley Kairis loves games, comedy, technology, politics, news and journalism. From the endlessly intricate strategies of Magic the ...
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