The best moveset for Hoothoot in Pokemon GO

Skilled players in Pokemon GO might want to try picking up a few wins with Hoothoot.

This Pokemon will be available through the New Year’s Day event, so plenty of trainers will be able to catch it. Flying-types are always good to add to any team, even ones as weak as Hoothoot (with 67 Attack, this Pokemon will barely do any damage).

Trainers can always evolve it into Noctowl, but Hoothoot can be a surprise pick in events with small CP caps, like the Holiday Cup.

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Which moves should this Johto Pokemon be using?

The options that Hoothoot has for fast moves, Feint Attack and Peck, are so similar that it’s hard to say which one is preferable. Technically, Feint Attack charges one more energy per use in PvP, which would typically make it the better option.

This difference is so tiny, though, that Peck is probably the way to go since it gets a STAB boost. With this move, Hoothoot is essentially sacrificing one EPS for an increase in damage output.

Again, Hoothoot will barely do damage with either move, but Peck will help it farm down opponents more easily.

Hoothoot will be available through the New Years Eve Event (Image via Niantic)

For charge moves, Hoothoot will definitely want Aerial Ace. With only a 45 energy requirement, it can spam this move several times during a battle. This move can also be used to bait shields, provided that the opponent doesn’t have a Pokemon that can simply tank Aerial Ace regardless.

Hoothoot’s secondary charge move should certainly be Sky Attack. This might seem counterintuitive since a Ghost-move would give Hoothoot decent coverage, but there are zero reasons ever to use Night Shade.

This move takes up more energy than Sky Attack, doesn’t have STAB, like Sky Attack does, has less base power, which therefore does less damage, and even has a longer animation.

If Hoothoot had access to a better Ghost move, like Shadow Ball, it would be a strong answer to opposing Ghost-type Pokemon. Since it only gets Night Shade, Hoothoot is relegated to being a Flying-type move spammer.