Noivern, the Sound Wave Pokémon. Aggressive and cruel, this Pokémon will ruthlessly torment enemies that are helpless in the dark. Flying through the darkness, it weakens enemies with ultrasonic waves that could crush stone. Its fangs finish the fight.
Overview
Noivern is ridiculously fast and has a very interesting movepool allowing it to act either as a decent support Pokemon or a fast revenge killer. It also has decent bulk allowing it to switch into resisted attacks and do its job. Unfortunately that's where the praise ends because unlike its Dragon bethren, Noivern is outclassed by other Dragon types such as Dragonite and Salamence either because of their higher offensive stats, better abilities and having similar movepools.
Positives
It's base 123 Speed is the biggest standout attribute Noivern has. Thanks to its high Speed stat, it can easily revenge kill opponents such as Dragonite or Volcarona.
Noivern has respectable bulk and a decent Special Attack that does well enough with high powered STABs such as Draco Meteor and Hurricane.
Access to moves such as Defog, Roost, Switcheroo and Taunt along with other decent coverage moves such as Flamethrower gives him enough tools to pull out its main niche.
Negatives
Base 97 Special Attack is average at best and other Dragon Pokemon such as Dragapult, Hydreigon and Latios possess higher offensive stats which allows them to outclass Noivern. Dragapult deserves a mention because it has a higher Speed stat than Noivern while also boasting a higher Special Attack stat outclassing Noivern on almost every possible way.
Noivern relies a lot on having hazards off the field. Without Heavy-Duty Boots or another Defogger on the team, it cannot take advantage of its decent typing and bulk to switch into the opponent.
It's weakness to Ice and Dragon attacks makes it vulnerable against Pokemon like Weavile and Mamoswine who can bypass its Speed stat with priority Ice Shard and Pokemon that can easily wall it such as Tapu Fini.
Movesets
SKY IS THE LIMIT
- Hurricane
- Draco Meteor
- U-turn / Defog
- Switcheroo
Item Attached: Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs and Nature:
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
Hurricane and Draco Meteor are the most powerful STABs Noivern can get access to, allowing it to drop powerful attacks and revenge kill weakened opponents thanks to its high Speed stat. U-turn allows Noivern to regain momentum against an unfavorable match-up while scouting the opponent. Defog is also another option Noivern can use if your team desperately cannot fit a Defogger. Switcheroo gives Noivern a nice niche as it allows to crip a wall like Blissey or Ferrothorn on the switch. This move prevents Noivern from being absolute dead-weight against stall teams, which helps a lot on 6v6 formats.
EVs and Items:
Noivern wants max Speed and Special Attack to do as much damage as possible while outspeeding as many opponents as it can. Thanks to its unique speed tier, Noivern has the ability to outspeed Pokemon such as Hawlucha, Alakazam, Kartana and Garchomp.
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Partners:
Noivern appreciates wallbreakers such as Bisharp as it can reliably bring them safely with U-turn while taking advantage of common switch-ins such as Clefable. Weavile pairs very well with it as it appreciates the momentum Noivern can get with U-turn while being able to put Dragapult under control and the ability to hinder switch-ins from bulky Waters by removing their items with Knock Off. Pokemon that can take care of Fairy types such as Kartana and Corviknight are good partners. Volcanion pairs very nicely with it as it can beat Ice types with its STAB Fire attacks while being able to scare Rock types with Steam Eruption.
THERE IS A BOOT ON THE SKY
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Roost
- U-turn
Item Attached: Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs and Nature:
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
Draco Meteor threatens common Pokemon such as Flygon, Xurkitree, and Volcanion . Flamethrower hits Steel-types such as Cobalion, Steelix, and Metagross for good damage while chipping away at sturdier Steel-types like Registeel. U-turn takes advantage of Noivern's switch-ins to provide a free switch for its teammates. Noivern can opt for Defog if the team is in need of entry hazard removal. Heavy-Duty Boots is necessary because Noivern is held down by Stealth Rock otherwise. With Infiltrator, Noivern can ignore Substitute from Volcanion and rare Chandelure sets. .
EVs and Items:
Noivern wants max Speed and Special Attack to do as much damage as possible while outspeeding as many opponents as it can. Thanks to its unique speed tier, Noivern has the ability to outspeed Pokemon such as Hawlucha, Alakazam, Kartana and Garchomp.
Partners:
Ground types like Landorus Therian and Quagsire make great partners for Noivern, answering problematic Steel types like Heatran and Zacian Crowned. Landorus Therian and Quagsire can both drop the attack of opposing targets via Intimidate or Scald, giving it more opportunities to setup. Ho-oh also fits most of the same benefits thanks to the high Burn chance Sacred Fire and access to Earthquake for Heatran.
Partners:
Noivern appreciates wallbreakers such as Bisharp as it can reliably bring them safely with U-turn while taking advantage of common switch-ins such as Clefable. Weavile pairs very well with it as it appreciates the momentum Noivern can get with U-turn while being able to put Dragapult under control and the ability to hinder switch-ins from bulky Waters by removing their items with Knock Off. Pokemon that can take care of Fairy types such as Kartana and Corviknight are good partners. Volcanion pairs very nicely with it as it can beat Ice types with its STAB Fire attacks while being able to scare Rock types with Steam Eruption..
Other Options:
Noiven gets access to Boomburst which is a decently strong attack that can easily hit Fairy types harder than any of its other moves without relying on Hurricane's accuracy. However, it adds nothing coverage-wise so sticking to Hurricane or Flamethrower is usually the better idea.
Countering Noivern
Bulky Fairy types like Clefable and Tapu Fini are usually bulky enough to tank a Hurricane and they can easily dispatch Noivern with their STAB moves. However, take into account that Specs boosted Hurricane will do a lot of damage. For this reason, Diancie is a really good check as it pretty much walls its moveset and can also set up Stealth Rock.
Ice types with access to priority moves such as Weavile and Mamoswine will easily beat Noivern with Ice Shard.
Steel types such as Jirachi, Corviknight and Celesteela are usually bulky enough to tank Flamethrower and either hinder it or set up on it.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Not in game
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game
Colosseum/XD:
Not in game
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Not in game
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Not in game
Black/White:
Not in game
Black 2/White 2:
Not in game
X/Y:
Evolve Noibat
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Trade from X/Y
Sun/Moon:
Trade from Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Resolution Cave
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game
Sword/Shield:
Bridge Field, Lake of Outrage, Ballimere Lake, Lakeside Cave
Max Raid Battles: Axew's Eye, Workout Sea, Honeycalm Sea, Frostpoint Field, Giant's Bed, Frigid Sea, Ballimere Lake, Dyna Tree Hill
Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl:
Not in game
Legends: Arceus:
Not in game
Anime Appearences
