Blissey, The Happiness Pokémon. Anyone who takes a bite of Blissey's Egg immediately becomes caring and pleasent to everyone. If it sees a sick Pokémon it will nurse it until it is fully back to health. It senses sadness with it's fluffy coat of fur. If it does so, Blissey runs over to the Sad Pokémon or Person, however far it may be and shares an egg of happiness which always brings a smile to people's faces. This kindhearted Pokémon nurses sick Pokémon to health. It senses feelings of sadness.
Overview
Blissey is quite simply one of the top Pokémon in the game. Snorlax has fell behind and Blissey is now undoubtedly the top Special Wall available, with a massive Base 255 HP stat, a large Base 135 Special Defence stat and the large difference maker: Softboiled. Very few Special Sweepers can brag the ability to defeat Blissey one on one.
Blissey's negatives are its abysmally low Defence, Attack and Speed stats as well as a mediocre Special Attack stat. However, despite having a ridiculously low Defence Base stat, its huge HP helps make for it and allows it to stand up to a handful of physical attacks. Its Attack stat however cannot be salvaged, forcing Blissey to rely on its mediocre Special Attack and Seismic Toss to make up for the bulk of its direct offence.
Offence was never Blissey's primary purpose though. Alongside its Special Walling capabilities, it also has a vast array of supportive moves, including the sparsely spread Aromatherapy and Heal Bell. Alongside those it has Thunder Wave and Sing to give its team-mates status support and has several other supportive moves (such as Stealth Rock, Light Screen and Gravity).
In general, expect to see a lot of Blissey when it comes to competitive battling. The 4th generation competitive battling scene is only just warming up and already plenty of 'serious' teams are using it. Snorlax and Regice simply can't keep up with the power of Choice Specs and Nasty Plot because they lack a recovery move, whilst Cresselia is primarily being used as a physical wall (and has difficulty matching Softboiled with Moonlight during Sandstorms). The fact that Blissey is arguably the best user of Aromatherapy (or Heal Bell) also increases its popularity, as does its fairly wide array of supportive moves.
Trait
Natural Cure: is the trait to use when it comes to Blissey. Each time Blissey switches, any status affecting it is automatically cured. This means it can't be stopped by Toxic and can freely absorb Thunder Waves and Will-o-Wisps. It also doesn't need to be concerned by the possibility of chance statuses from attacks (such as the 10% chance of burn from Flamethrower). Even when you're using Aromatherapy, stick with Natural Cure. Aromatherapy PP can be burned out pretty quickly and Natural Cure helps to limit the amount of PP spent.
Serene Grace: is a really good trait, and if it wasn't for the superiority of Natural Cure, it would be a hugely viable option.
Aside from the major bonuses gained from Natural Cure, several things also have to be considered which knock Serene Grace out of favour. Blissey usually can't take advantage of the boost. Seismic Toss has no side-effect and moves like Ice Beam and Thunderbolt only have a 10% chance of a status (which is boosted to 20%). This is then further reduced by the likelihood of Blissey inflicting a status on the opponent beforehand (such as Sing or Thunder Wave).
It's a good trait but when a fantastic one like Natural Cure is available, there's little reason to bother.
Move Sets
The Special Wall and Aromatherapist
- Seismic Toss
- Softboiled
- Aromatherapy
- Thunder Wave / Sing / Ice Beam
Item Attached: Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
The classic Blissey set. Seismic Toss wears down Special Sweepers whilst Softboiled keeps Blissey healthy. Aromatherapy provides its team with status healing whilst the final move is used to contribute to its Special Walling capabilities.
Thunder Wave paralyses the opponent (provided they aren't immune). In many situations this is of great use. Paralysing an Azelf or Manaphy will usually slow them to the point that they can't even consider sweeping. The downside however is that opponents such as Garchomp and Dugtrio will see this move as a free switch-in.
Sing has been seeing some popularity (sparked by SePh258 of Smogon). It puts the foe to sleep, which is always useful. The downside however is that competitive battles are held with a Sleep Clause, limiting Sing to putting only one opponent to sleep at a time. Sing also has unreliable accuracy and on occasion, will need to be used several times to be successful.
Ice Beam gives Blissey an additional offensive move. It stops Ghosts with Substitute from walling Blissey completely (such as Gengar), makes Dugtrio and Garchomp think twice about switching into Blissey and will occasionally cause a freeze. The main downside is that it can't do much to opponents using Calm Mind (or opponents with a good Special Defence) and is only really useful when it has a type advantage against the opponent.
EVs and Nature:
A lot of new players question why a Special Wall has max defence. The reasons are twofold. Firstly, Blissey doesn't need Special Defence EVs. Without a single EV in its Special Defence it has a Special Defence stat of over 300 (assuming good IVs of course). Secondly, maxing Blissey's defence essentially doubles its resistance to physical attacks.
The best demonstration for this reasoning is with an example:
An Adamant Dugtrio equipped with a Choice Band, using Earthquake against a Min Def/Max HP Blissey will do well over 100% damage to Blissey, a straightforward KO. The same Dugtrio against a Max Def/Max HP Blissey on the other hand does 49%-58%. In other words, the Defence EVs give Blissey the ability to viably take a physical hit or two when necessary. This is particularly important for stopping Blissey from being beaten by weaker attacks (such as a Gengar's Focus Punch or a Claydol's Earthquake) as well as giving Blissey a last ditch opportunity to strike back at an opponent should a situation call for it.
Max HP is unnecessary. It gives Blissey a slight bit more durability against physical and special attacks but with such a massive HP stat, the difference is fairly minimal. When using Thunder Wave or Sing, there isn't anywhere else to place the EVs but with Ice Beam (or any other Special Attack for that matter), some people choose to boost Blissey's Special Attack. As a result, the following spread is also acceptable:
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
The only time to truly consider giving Blissey a focus on its Special Defence is in the Uber environment. The reasoning is two-fold once again. Physically offensive Ubers have a tendency to trounce over Blissey regardless of Defence EV investments whilst Specially offensive Ubers reach offensive stats that merit the extra focus on Blissey's Special Defence.
Pure Special Wall
- Seismic Toss
- Softboiled
- Ice Beam
- Thunder Wave / Sing
Item Attached: Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
As the name would imply, this move set is a pure Special Wall. It functions just like the Aromatherapist but with an additional move-slot available to grant more coverage. Ice Beam will continue to fend off Dugtrio and Garchomp whilst allowing Blissey to damage Ghosts. The status attack will handle Special Sweepers as well as give Blissey's team some support.
EVs and Nature:
The EV spread follows similar guidelines to the Aromatherapist. Since Ice Beam is already included on the move set it's probably worth the effort to maximise Blissey's Special Attack (possibly considering a Modest Nature) rather than maxing HP, although Max HP is a viable option nonetheless.
Bolt-Beam Aromatherapist
- Softboiled
- Aromatherapy
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
Item Attached: Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk) / Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
A variant of the normal Aromatherpist with a bit more of an offensive twist. Thunderbolt and Ice Beam form a combination that is only resisted by a few Pokémon and give Blissey fairly decent type coverage.
Without a status attack or Seismic Toss, this Blissey variant will have a handful of troubles with certain Special Sweepers, so a back-up is advised, especially to deal with opposing Pokémon who use Calm Mind.
EVs and Nature:
With two offensive moves there is more than enough justification to boost Blissey's Special Attack instead of its HP. As a result, there's also plenty of justification to consider a Modest nature.
Calm Mind Blissey
- Softboiled
- Calm Mind
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
Item Attached: Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk) / Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
Calm Mind Blissey. A set that has been growing increasingly popular for it's offensive and defensive capabilities. The 'Classic' set can no longer brag being able to take on all Special Attackers with ease, but the Calm Mind variation can stand up to them (provided its healthy).
Calm Mind boosts Blissey's Special Attack and Special Defence, making Blissey's Special Attacks fairly formidable whilst making its Special Defence practically unbreakable when combined with Softboiled. Ice Beam and Thunderbolt work well in tandem and are arguably Blissey's best two offensive moves.
EVs and Nature:
Once again, with such an added focus on offensive capabilities, maxing Special Attack is an obvious bonus. Bold continues to be helpful for the boost it gives to Defence but it can easily be overlooked for a Modest Nature.
Choice Specs Blissey
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Rest
Item Attached: Choice Specs
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk) / Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
The only real reason to give this variation of Blissey serious consideration is for a Choice Item themed team. Whilst it certainly won't match non-Choice Blissey's at Special Walling prowess, it can still be a formidable Special Wall.
Ice Beam and Thunderbolt form a combination that is resisted by few and hits many for super-effective damage. Flamethrower is a nice move to fill up the third option, hitting Steel, Bug and Grass types for super-effective damage as well as severely hurting Blissey's nemesis, Heracross.
Rest gains precedent over Softboiled. Combined with Natural Cure, it grants Blissey a 'free' full heal. With Softboiled, Blissey would have to spend two turns to receive the same healing whilst being forced to switch regardless (because of the Choice Specs).
EVs and Nature:
Much like the Calm Mind set, the added focus on offensive capabilities warrants a focus on Blissey's Special Attack.
Wish Bliss
- Seismic Toss
- Protect
- Wish
- Thunder Wave / Sing / Ice Beam
Item Attached: Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
Wish Blissey is another one of those thinly spread treats from the NYPC. If you're lucky enough to obtain one, Wish Blissey provides fantastic support for its team-mates through Wish passing whilst maintaining similar Special Walling capabilities.
Wish and Protect work in tandem to create a similar result to Softboiled. As an added bonus, Protect grants Blissey an extra turn of Leftovers recovery and can be used to scout a Choice equipped opponent's next attack. Seismic Toss is Blissey's most consistent source of damage whilst Thunder Wave, Sing and Ice Beam are options for the same reason as they would be on the Aromatherapy move set. EVs and Nature:
The EV spread is the same as the Aromatherapy move set, and much like the Aromatherapy set, Max Special Attack is an option available to take advantage of Ice Beam. When it comes to natures, my understanding is that the NYPC Blisseys had a set nature, which would of course limit the possible natures available. If Bold is possible however, it would be the preferred nature.
Other Options
Psych Up, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Grass Rope, Psychic, Shadow Ball, Focus Blast, Counter, Gravity, Stealth Rock, Light Screen, Charm, Heal Bell, Charge Beam, Thunder, Helping Hand.
Psych Up is a popular option on Blissey, utilised in a similar way to the Calm Mind set. Its main use is against Ubers, copying opponents Calm Minds (such as Kyogre's or Mewtwo's).
Wherever a special attack has been mentioned: Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Grass Rope, Psychic, Shadow Ball, and Focus Blast are all viable options, with their ups and downs.
Flamethrower deals with Steel types (like Metagross) as well as Bug types (like Heracross) very nicely but leaves Blissey fairly exposed to Garchomp and Tyranitar, among others.
Thunderbolt deals with opposing Water types (and some Flying types), Manaphy in particular (who would defeat a Seismic Toss Blissey). However, Thunderbolt leaves Blissey completely exposed to Dugtrio and Garchomp.
Grass Rope can deal with Tyranitar and does reasonable damage to a lot of opposing Pokémon, but Gengar and Heracross see it as a free switch-in.
Psychic can deal with Heracross (and other Fighting types), and can also deal with Gengar (and other Poison types) but leaves Blissey completely exposed to Metagross, Weavile and Tyranitar.
Shadow Ball handles Gengar (and other Ghosts) and Azelf (as well as other Psychics), and on the off chance that it's used with Serene Grace, it has a very respectable chance of dropping the opponents Special Defence. However, once again, Tyranitar sees it as a free switch in.
Focus Blast takes out Tyranitar and Weavile (as well as others) but has unreliable accuracy and gives Heracross and Gengar a free switch-in.
Counter works very nicely on Blissey when combined with appropriate prediction. Very few un-boosted attacks can actually OHKO Blissey, so Blissey can usually take out at least one physical attacker with the move. Softboiled allows Blissey to recover its lost HP fairly easily as well.
Gravity makes all Flying Types and Levitators exposed to Ground attacks. This can be combined with Spikes or Toxic Spikes for additional damage or open up a good sweeping opportunity for a strong attacker with a Ground move (such as Garchomp). Keep in mind however, that this will also affect your own team-mates.
Stealth Rock is a useful move and Blissey will have many opportunities to set it up, however many other Pokémon have access to it and Blissey has other options available.
Light Screen can give Blissey's team-mates some Special Defence support, but Blissey itself doesn't benefit from the effects hugely, since its Special Defence is already difficult to breach.
Charm drops the opponents Attack stat by two levels (essentially halving it). Considering Blissey's main nemeses are physical attackers, this move can help Blissey overcome them (and can force a lot of switches, racking up a lot of additional damage from Spikes and Stealth Rock). The main thing going against Charm is the fact that it can't be combined with Seismic Toss, since Seismic Toss is obtained from the 3rd Generation Move Tutors whilst Charm is obtained from Blissey's new pre-evolution.
Heal Bell has the same effect as Aromatherapy but it doesn't affect team-mates with Soundproof. In other words, Aromatherapy is better.
Charge Beam and Thunder are examples of moves that work very nicely with Serene Grace, assuming you were to use that trait. With Serene Grace, Charge Beam will always grant a Special Attack boost whilst Thunder gets its chance of paralysis bumped up to 60%. Whether they can be considered reason enough to use Serene Grace is questionable but they are options. When incorporated into Blissey move sets they would be used in place of Thunderbolt. Thunder has a notable advantage in Rain, a common occurrence in the Uber environment because of Kyogre's Drizzle.
Countering Blissey
Being that Blissey may very well become the most frequently used Pokémon in competitive battling, countering it merits a great deal of consideration. Many counters are dependant on the move set that is used however.
First and foremost, Blissey's Defence is very under whelming, and whilst it can take physical hits, it doesn't take them well. Heracross is Blissey's biggest nemesis since it will happily absorb Thunder Waves for a Guts boost whilst beating it up with STAB Fighting attacks. Machamp and Hariyama are also nemeses for the same reasons, although they are a lesser seen nemeses. Other Fighting types, provided they can circumnavigate Thunder Wave (or aren't bothered by it), will also scare Blissey with their STAB Fighting moves.
Electivire benefits from Thunder Wave since it sets off Motor Drive (which also makes it immune to Thunder Wave). It has a good attack stat and Cross Chop which is more than enough to frighten Blissey. Many Ground types can freely switch into Thunder Wave, however, most fear Ice Beam, which is a common move on Blissey. Assuming Ice Beam is absent though, Adamant Choice Band Dugtrio can trap Blissey and KO it in two hits whilst Garchomp can set-up a Swords Dance and go for a sweep.
Assuming Thunder Wave (or Sing) isn't an issue, Manaphy can set-up Tail Glows and proceed to KO Blissey, protected from Seismic Toss by its rather bulky HP stat. Most Pokémon with Nasty Plot can do a similar thing, setting up multiple levels of Nasty Plot whilst enduring Seismic Toss.
Any Pokémon using Calm Mind and a recovery move can also defeat the Seismic Toss and Ice Beam combination over a long period of time, however opportunities to do so are limited (as most Blissey users would be intelligent enough to recognise their inability to succeed in such a situation).
Assuming Seismic Toss is absent, most Calm Mind and Substitute users can defeat Blissey, barring Blissey using a Calm Mind of its own (or Psych Up).
Tyranitar beats most variations of Blissey. It can Taunt any attempts to status whilst beating it down with physical attacks. Its HP stat is large enough to survive any Seismic Tosses or Ice Beams that Blissey attempts to throw at it. If Ice Beam is absent, Rhyperior can happily destroy Blissey as well, as can many Pokémon with bulky HP.
Ghost types are immune to Seismic Toss. Bulkier ones can shrug off any damage from Ice Beam whilst Substitute users can block any attempts to inflict a status. Many also possess Pain Split, which has the two-fold effect of recovering HP and damaging Blissey.
Just about anything with a recovery move can force Blissey into a long stall battle. Sleep Talk and Rest combined are good examples, since Rest can eliminate any status troubles. Recover also works well for this purpose, as does Leech Seed. If Pressure is an additional factor, it's possible to drain Blissey's Seismic Toss of PP very quickly.
Most Focus Punches can 2KO Blissey, although landing two in a row is difficult. Explosion can also 1KO Blissey, although at the expense of a Pokémon.
Although it will not directly eliminate Blissey, disruptive moves are very effective. Thief (or Covet), Knock Off and Trick (or Switcheroo) can severely hinder Blissey. Without its Leftovers, Blissey is a lot less durable (especially during a Sandstorm), and if an item can be sent to it that hinders it further, Blissey is much less frightening.
Preventing Softboiled severely reduces Blissey's durability. Heal Block prevents the use of recovery moves. Taunt stops attempts to heal (as well as preventing the use of status attacks and supportive moves). Snatch can steal Softboiled as well as steal any attempts to use Aromatherapy (or other supportive moves). Spite can chip off Softboiled PP very quickly.
With its huge HP stat, Blissey really despises Spikes, Stealth Rock and Sandstorm (or Hail) damage. Even though it loses the effects by switching out, Burn and Poison damage also frustrate it greatly.
Aside from the aforementioned counters, Blissey can be beaten the 'simple way'. If an attack can do over 50% damage to Blissey then the Pokémon using it can counter Blissey, provided that it isn't severely damaged by one of Blissey's moves. The main examples of this are Pokémon equipped with Choice Band.
All of these counters have exceptions however.
- If the Blissey has Sing, the only reliable counters are those with Insomnia or Vital Spirit whilst reaching one of the above merits, or Pokémon with Sleep Talk and hard hitting physical attacks. Otherwise, one Pokémon will need to be 'sacrificed' and absorb the Sing to allow its team-mates to function.
- If Counter is being used, physical attackers need to tread carefully and good prediction is required.
- If one of Blissey's lesser seen Special Attacks is being used, some of the above counters won't work too well because they are hit for super-effective damage.
Despite being a huge pain to take down, a couple of things have to be remembered when facing Blissey.
- Firstly, Blissey is an open invitation to many attackers, especially if it lacks certain moves to deal with them (part of the reason why Blissey usually carries Ice Beam is to stop Salamence and Garchomp from seeing it as an open invitation). Seismic Toss alone is usually not enough. It suffices against opponents who can barely damage it but against Pokémon that threaten it, Seismic Toss isn't a particularly frightening prospect.
- The second thing to remember is that many Blissey users are using it as their answer to all Special Attacking threats. Once Blissey has been taken down, most teams have a tendency to fall apart when it comes to dealing with Special Sweepers.
Blissey may be a troublesome Pokémon to deal with, but if those two things can be used to your advantage, it can significantly alter the game and will greatly increase the odds of defeating an opponent who uses Blissey. Likewise, any person using Blissey should always be aware of those two factors and prepare their team to deal with them.
Locations in Games
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Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald Trade from FRLGXD Colosseum/XD Trade from FRLGXD (Col) Evolve Chansey (XD) Fire Red/Leaf Green Evolve Chansey Diamond/Pearl Evolve Chansey
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Animé Appearences
| Blissey has had a couple of Animé Appearences. All in Pokémon Centers, it is in the service of Nurse Joy and it helps in the Daily Pokémon Center routine. |
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