Yanmega, The Ogre Darner Pokémon. This six-legged Pokémon is easily capable of transporting an adult in flight. The wings on its tail help it stay balanced. It prefers to battle by biting apart foes' heads instantly while flying by at high speed. The beat of its wings is so powerful that it accidentally dislodges full-grown trees when it takes off in flight.
Overview
Yanmega looks like something out of a horror movie, a dragonfly the size of a tall adult that prefers to bite at a foe's head doesn't sound like anything out of a kid-friendly game, and certainly not anything you want to mess around with. Yanma's terrifying nightmare of an evolution definitely gives the little bug a the chance to pose a realistic threat to more than someone with a bug phobia, granting it the Special Attack boost it needed and just enough bulk to no longer be as frail as wet paper. However, despite a much appreciated boost what was otherwise another hopelessly weak Bug-type, Yanmega is far from a top threat. Its typing is a very mixed bag loaded with huge weaknesses to Fire-, Flying-, Ice-, Electric-, and Rock-type moves, on top of very few resistances, makes it very difficult for Yanmega to switch in safely. It's still not particularly bulky either despite a significant increase to its physical bulk. To round out the curse of being a Bug/Flying type, its STAB combination is not particularly great offensively, and it lacks a Flying-type STAB stronger than Air Slash, making it difficult for Yanmega to KO threats without a boosting item and support. That being said, Yanmega is not a terrible Bug-type by any means. Access to amazing abilities in Speed Boost and Tinted Lens help it either sweep or break through foes despite its awkward STAB combination, so while it's not quite the nightmare that it looks like, Yanmega is definitely not a Pokémon you should underestimate.
Positives
+ Yanmega boasts a decent base 116 Special Attack and base 95 Speed, which coupled with Speed Boost lets it function as a solid sweeper late-game
+ Access to Tinted Lens allows Yanmega to function as a wallbreaker that can work past the many foes that resist Bug- or Flying-type moves.
+ While no single move fixes Yanmega's coverage problems, it has a solid range of moves such as Giga Drain and Shadow Ball that it can run to complement its coverage depending on what its team struggles against.
Negatives
- Yanmega's stats are decent at best overall, while its Special Attack is solid and Speed is decent, it isn't very bulky and has huge difficulty taking even resisted special attacks.
- While both Tinted Lens and Speed Boost are amazing abilities for Yanmega, it really wishes it could run both since it really needs both the Speed and wallbreaking power but can't have both at once.
- The huge amount of common weaknesses, including a massive Stealth Rock weakness, makes it difficult for Yanmega to switch in or even take hits in the first place. A lack of useful resistances or resistances outside of Fighting-, Grass-, and Ground-type moves doesn't help this problem.
Abilities
Speed Boost: Speed increases by one stage at the end of each turn. Needless to say, this is an amazing ability for something on the upper end of decent Speed tiers. This turns Yanmega from decent to fast in an instant, making it a very effective cleaner late-game.
Tinted Lens: The power of “not very effective” moves is doubled. This effectively means that resistances mean nothing to Yanmega unless the foe has a x4 resistance, fixing the issue of its STAB combination offering very awkward coverage. This is a great ability if you want Yanmega to function as a wallbreaker.
Hidden Ability (Available):
Frisk: Reveals the foe’s held item. This is about as unimpressive as it sounds, not much else to say here. There is really no reason to ever consider this over Yanmega's other abilities, just pick Speed Boost or Tinted Lens and move on.
Movesets
Moriyana
- Bug Buzz
- Air Slash
- Giga Drain / Ancient Power
- Protect / U-turn
Item Attached: Life Orb / Choice Specs
Ability: Speed Boost / Tinted Lens
EVs and Nature:
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid Nature
Yanmega functions best as a wallbreaker or sweeper, taking advantage of its amazing abilities depending on what role fits the team better. Bug Buzz is Yanmega's strongest STAB move, making it the ideal option in most circumstances unless the opposing team has too many Bug-type resists. Air Slash offers super Flying-type coverage and a sneaky chance to flinch the foe, but its lower power will let Yanmega down more often than you'd like. Giga Drain hits Rock-types like Rhyperior and also hits Gastrodon and Swampert, which pairs well with Life Orb to heal off recoil from Life Orb. However, Ancient Power allows Yanmega to hit Fire-types such as Chandelure and Rotom-H that don't usually mind its moves, though this is only really useful for Speed Boost variants. Protect allows Yanmega to get its first turn of Speed safely, which is necessary so that it can reliably clean late-game against otherwise faster foes, though U-turn should be used on Choice Specs variants so that Yanmega can pivot out of bad matchups.
Both abilities are great options, though it completely depends on the item you use. Life Orb variants function best as late-game sweepers, so Speed Boost is best on these sets in order to actually outspeed fast opponents. Choice Specs is better with Tinted Lens so that Yanmega isn't quite as easily punished by the awkward coverage that its STAB combination provides. In terms of EV spreads, Yanmega is a simple bug so maximizing Special Attack and Speed is as straightforward as Yanmega needs. A Modest nature is preferred on the Speed Boost variants since Timid doesn't offer anything useful compared to the extra power. However, Choice Specs variants prefer Timid because without Speed Boost, Yanmega needs all the Speed it can get.
Other Options
- Sleep Talk is a viable option on the Choice Specs set if your team needs a sleep absorber, though this is only particularly useful if you're playing with Sleep Clause.
- Hidden Power can be used to hit specific threats depending on the metagame you're using Yanmega for, such as Ice for hitting Garchomp or Fire for hitting Scizor. However, this is very metagame-dependent and often times isn't worth the move slot.
- Shadow Ball can be used to hit Ghost-types such as Chandelure harder, though this can be harder justify when compared to the coverage that Giga Drain or Ancient Power provide.
- Hypnosis can be used as a last-resort option to put a dangerous foe to sleep, which can be particularly useful since a fast sleep inducer can put huge pressure on your opponent, though it's always a risky move and gives up useful coverage.
VGC, Double, & Triple Battle Options
Well, let's keep this simple...Yanmega is not good in VGC 2016. *Blah blah* Primals and Xerneas, *blah blah* squashed bug.
In Battle Spot Doubles and other formats where the restricted legends are banned, however, Yanmega can be quite fun to use. A great ability, good special attack, and a nice movepool make Yanmega a potential threat to a variety of Pokemon. Both Trick Room and priority moves give it some problems since its bulk is bad, but it can really put in some good work against teams that won't mess with its speed.
"I wanna go fast!"
-Protect
-Air Slash
-Hidden Power Ice
-Bug Buzz / Ancient Power
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs and Nature:
28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe
Modest Nature
With a Modest nature and holding a Life Orb, Yanmega can hit fairly hard with its base 116 special attack. The key to this set, however, is Speed Boost, which allows Yanmega to get its attack off before getting hit in return. 236 Speed EVs allow Yanmega to outspeed Adamant Choice Scarf Landorus-T by 1 after 1 Speed Boost, which will be key to the rest of the set. Reaching this speed tier allows it outspeed nearly the entire unboosted metagame, and after 2 boosts nothing without speed control or speed boosts of its own can hope to outspeed. 28 EVs in HP gives it a bit more bulk, though it doesn't make a big difference in the long run due to its mediocre bulk and defensive typing.
Protect is even more necessary on Yanmega than it usually is on a Pokemon in doubles, as Yanmega needs it to safely get to +1. Air Slash is its best flying move, and the chance to flinch the opponent works well with its high speed. Hidden Power Ice is mainly for Landorus-T, one of the most common threats in the game. As mentioned before, Yanmega can outspeed the Choice Scarf variant after 1 Speed Boost to OHKO Landorus-T, making it a great partner for Pokemon who hate Landorus, like Mega Charizard Y. Even if the Landorus is holding the Assault Vest, Yanmega can have a chance to OHKO, depending on the spread. Ancient Power is mainly to surprise opposing Mega Charizard Y (as well as Talonflame if you can protect Yanmega from Brave Bird) for the OHKO, while Bug Buzz is Yanmega's strongest STAB move, but has less coverage than Air Slash.
Other Options
-Giga Drain can hit Pokemon weak to grass for good damage. If Yanmega is on a Mega Charizard-Y team like previously mentioned, Solarbeam is even stronger if you can trust to keep the sun up.
-Tailwind speeds up Yanmega's partner, and can also help match Tailwind by an opponent hoping to outspeed Yanmega with it up.
-Psychic and Shadow Ball are additional coverage moves should the team need them.
-Hypnosis works great with Yanmega's speed, though the accuracy is poor without Gravity support.
-Feint is very weak, but can break Protect, Wide Guard, and Quick Guard, and also help Yanmega avoid Sucker Punch.
Countering Yanmega
Yanmega thankfully isn't a bug that takes any special insect repellent to get rid of despite being a six foot long dragonfly. Yanmega has no shortage of weaknesses, so exploiting one of those weaknesses is usually not too difficult. Rock-type moves are Yanmega's biggest weakness, so common users of Rock-type moves like Mega Aerodactyl or even simply Stealth Rock can bring Yanmega down very quickly. Ice-, Electric-, Fire-, and Flying-type moves are also very common, so Pokémon such as Mamoswine, Kyurem, Heliolisk, Rotom-H, Chandelure, Entei, Arcanine, Crobat, Fletchinder, Talonflame and many others can all easily deal with Yanmega under most circumstances, with the last two having Gale Wings to bypass any and all Speed boosts that Yanmega may have accumulated. These two and Crobat in particular still maintain a resistance to Bug-type moves as well, so they aren't completely ruined by Tinted Lens either. Aside from the many offensive threats that can comfortably deal with Yanmega, it also has a lot of trouble breaking through special walls and generally specially bulky foes such as Blissey, Chansey, Florges, and Snorlax, which can easily tank any of Yanmega's attack and stall it out. Most Bug-types are generally pretty simple to cover, and Yanmega is definitely no exception. While it has the potential to be a very potent wallbreaker and sweeper, Yanmega has no shortage of issues that you can take advantage of, so don't be intimidated by its horrifying appearance and massive size for a bug.
Locations in Games
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game
Colosseum/XD:
Not in game
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Evolve Yanma
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Evolve Yanma
Black/White:
Evolve Yanma
Black 2/White 2:
Route 3, Pinwheel Forest
X/Y:
Evolve Yanma
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Trade from X/Y
Animé Appearences
