Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Trainer's Choice - Chansey

Benzo

Benzo

Front Page News Editor<br>Forum Moderator
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This time around, we are going to look into one of the most loved or hated "Walls" that just does not knock-out so easily. From the glory days of Red and Blue, here is:

Chansey!

Chansey is one of those Pokemon that sends shivers down an unprepared opponent's spine who has no way to handle the mass that is known as Chansey. Let's investigate why this battler is such a chunk of massive bulk.

Base stats:
Hit point: 250
Attack: 5
Defense: 5
Special attack: 35
Special defense: 105
speed: 50

So, you might be wondering why anyone would want this Pokemon in a battle with such pathetic attack stat, a severe case of no defense, and a so-so special attack stat. Yet, this Pokemon sees the battlefield more often then you would wonder. Why won't this Pokemon just go away? Am I to take this egg-wielding, not so hard hitting, giant mass of pink cuteness seriously?


Here is one reason this Pokemon is so desired on the battlefield: Bulk. Ranking among the best "walls" in the game, this pink beast will yolk you in a heartbeat if it is raised right. Let's build one now!

Starting with a nature that boosts bulkiness is a great start. Abusing a 250 base stat that screams "I have beautiful curves" is nothing to scoff at.

Chansey
Bold nature + defense, - attack

Ability: Natural cure - Got a status problem? Switch out to heal it away!

Hold item: Eviolite - boosts defense and special defense stats with +50% increase.

Effort value placement: 252 in hit point, 252 in defense, 4 in special defense.

With a Hit Point base stat of 250, Chansey can easily have a Hit Point total of 600+, making it stick around like a bad habit. Chansey does have a weak defense stat, so investing those Effort Values into the stat will assist in compensating that severely low base stat. The Eviolite hold item will boost it as well, so invest to impress.

Move set:

Seismic Toss
Toxic
Soft boiled
Wish

Because Chansey does hit like a fly trying to knock out Mike Tyson, Seismic toss will guarantee damage equal to it's level. Vary solid attack, and hit's all but one opposing type: Ghost Pokemon.

Toxic. Nothing like watching your opponent struggle to KO you while suffering from this hit point draining status infliction. A KO is imminent, and it hits everything but Poison type or stopped by an ability or move.

Soft Boiled is there for creating the best annoying thing ever! Replenishing your health! From an opposing point of view, seeing a Pokemon in the red zone on health gives the impression that "I am going to KO that thing!"- yet Chansey is vary deceiving. Get low on health? EAT THE EGG!

Wish is interesting and useful in so many ways when timed right. More health recovery please! I don't mind the wait. Beat up on me all you want, I brought back-up!

So, let's see what can pose a threat to this monster. Ghost type Pokemon. One in particular can ruin the day for Chansey: Gangar! Gangar can avoid Toxic, can't be touched by Seismic Toss, and, well, just knows how to do just what Chansey is best at: stall and KO. Ghost Pokemon are the biggest threat to Chansey in so many ways, it down right gives Chansey nightmares. If your looking to use Chansey in double battles: Pick a partner that will handle the Ghosts.

Fighting type Pokemon can deal a great amount of damage against Chansey. But with a well built Chansey- you have a fighting chance, but do not count on a solid victory unless you play smart. In double battles, select a partner that can handle Ghost type and Fighting type opponents.

Chansey can be built in a good number of ways. It has access to a move pool that can be switched up to create chaos or just be the Pink wall of resistance. It also has two other abilities, and can stand alone or be partnered up to hit the battlefield and assist or annoy.

This review is simple, it is designed to give a look into Chansey as a great choice to use in competitive or casual play. This Pokemon can carry it's weight in single or double battles with the example above.

How do you take your "Chanseys" in battle with Chansey? (Yup, a Chansey pun!)
 
I've personally never tried it, but Chansey can run a mean Counter set. Chansey's Defense stat is poor, even when boosted by Eviolite - meaning it will take a lot of HP damage from physical attacks - but its HP stat is so high that even after a massive hit it can still be up and standing. If she uses Counter afterward, all of that damage will be bounced back double to the target - a very likely OHKO.


Eviolite is required on this set to get Chansey's Defense stat to be passable. You don't want her KO'd!


Chansey @ Eviolite
Natural Cure
252 Def/252 HP/4 Speed
- Counter
- Softboiled
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic


Chansey has a wide variety of supporting options:
  • Wish doesn't just heal Chansey. If you switch out after using it, the switch-in will recieve Chansey's wish - meaning it will recover half of Chansey's hp... which is a number usually in the 330-350 range. That's a full heal on most Pokemon, with ease.
  • Worried that your opponent will predict your switch? Or that they are deceiving you with a Pokemon that is packing a Physical move to destroy you? Running a Wish-only set and need some guaranteed recovery? Then Protect is the move for you. Protect allows you to see what your opponent's going to do with virtually no risk to yourself. It combos well with Wish, too, stalling out the turn of delay on Wish's recovery.
  • Heal Bell can be run alongside Wish or Softboiled to keep your team status-free - a game winner in long, stally Singles matches!
  • Stealth Rock isn't frequently seen on Chansey, but it's a great move for her partially because of that rarity, and partially because of her awesome bulk that gives her countless opportunities to switch in and set it up.
  • Thunder Wave can be used over Toxic - TWave Chansey relies more on your team to KO things, but provides them a huge service in the process by paralyzing fast threats and making everything slower.

Good article Benzo. ^ ^ I wasn't aware that Chansey saw much VGC play?
 
^It does see enough playtime on the field now that Eviolite is a hold item that will keep it in the competitive scene. You might see it a bit more often in the casual scene or on Wi-Fi battles.
 
I have never had a problem with Chansey. My Conkeldurr says hi every time she tries to wall me. IMO, something like Regirock, Registeel or Mandibuzz would be better, because they can actually KO more than a Magikarp. Great reveiw though, very interesting to read! I don't play the VG competitively, but I do play over WiFi sometimes, and this gives me something new to try out! Thanks!
 
^That is what Chansey does best, and that is a great example of how Chansey just trolls those special attackers that self reduce the special attack stat.
 
It's really cool to see a non-evolved Pokemon being used and being popular, but how is it better than it's evolution Blissey? Does Chancey change from a HP wall to something different when it evolves?
 
Prime said:
It's really cool to see a non-evolved Pokemon being used and being popular, but how is it better than it's evolution Blissey? Does Chancey change from a HP wall to something different when it evolves?
Click to expand...

Excellent question, Prime. :)


The choice between Chansey and Blissey is a hard one. Blissey boasts greater base stats in every area: 255 HP, 135 SDef, 55 Speed, even 10 Attack and 10 Defense, and most notably, a Special Attack of 75, which is actually usable. It can use Flamethrower or Ice Beam to hit Pokemon 4x weak to them very hard (this is more of a Singles thing, but I'm first and foremost a Singles guy). It seems strange that Chansey would be considered over Blissey, and it definitely wasn't before Eviolite came out, but Eviolite makes things a little different. I'm going to assume maximum IVs for the following calculations, but it shouldn't matter in the long run.


Blissey's most standard defensive stats are:
714 HP
130 Defense
306 Special Defense

Chansey's are only:
704 HP
109 Defense
246 Special Defense

...However, bear in mind that Chansey can now hold Eviolite, giving the following stats for Chansey:

704 HP
163 Defense
369 Special Defense

With Eviolite, Chansey's defenses are actually higher, making Chansey better overall at taking hits. This is not a negligible difference, either; Chansey survives some very surprising Physical attacks that Blissey would have to switch out of, such as Scizor's Superpower, Victini's Choice Banded V-Create, and Choice Scarf Terrakion's Close Combat.

Other than having poor offensive options, the other downside to Chansey is that it does not possess Leftovers, meaning that Sandstorm and Hail will steadily wear it down. In Singles play it also leaves Chansey vulnerable to entry hazards. Recovering 6% of your HP every turn is quite a bit more than it sounds like, and players transitioning from Blissey to Chansey on their teams will find the difference to be frustrating. Also, Blissey is reliant upon its item, but Chansey is even moreso; where Blissey can still function effectively after having been Tricked a useless item, Chansey is completely ruined by Trick.

So in short, Blissey does possess multiple advantages over its pre-evolution, but when you want sheer, absurd Special bulk, Eviolited Chansey is the one for the job.
 
Chansey isn't the only Pokemon capable of taking advantage of Eviolite. Dusclops has actually completely eclipsed its evolved form, Dusknoir, due to its vastly superior defensive stats on both ends of the attacking spectrum, while maintaining respectable offense via Night Shade and Pain Split. Porygon2 is also popular, sharing the largely-neutral Normal typing with Chansey, and possessing enough natural bulk to serve as an excellent 'wall' on one side or the other depending on how you train it. But unlike the others, it actually possesses an impressive Special Attack stat of 105, giving it a great deal of raw power to work with even with no "investment", especially thanks to the awesome coverage offered by Ice Beam and Thunderbolt.

Heck, we could write an article on all the Pokemon that benefit from Eviolite!
 
So, just to clarify, Eviolite, in the VG, boosts the stats on Pokemon that are not at their highest stage of evolution, while the TCG version of Eviolite only helps Basic Pokemon. So, even stage 1s can benefit in the VG!
 
Prime said:
So, just to clarify, Eviolite, in the VG, boosts the stats on Pokemon that are not at their highest stage of evolution, while the TCG version of Eviolite only helps Basic Pokemon. So, even stage 1s can benefit in the VG!
Click to expand...

That is true but Pokemon like Chansey, Dusclops and Porygon2 really benefit from it. The best this is they don't have to worry about Tool Scraper. Their main threat is the attack knock Off, which discards any held item.
 
^Knock off really does not see much of the battle field, at least from what I see. It should see more battle time in my opinion, since some Pokemon are able to abuse/benefit from Eviolite.
 
Yeah, I know. I seem to run into that attack a lot. Good thing for me I don't use Eviolite on my pokes but I do have a Starly in babies thats a beast with it.
 
Knock Off is well-known and well-respected in Singles. The problem with it is that so few Pokemon learn it, and can still actually take advantage of it - or could justify it over another move slot. Most walls really need the standard spread of recovery/status/attack/support and Knock Off doesn't really fit any of those descriptions.
 
I always liked Vigoroth and Whirlipede. Perhaps I should try them with Eviolite.
 
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