Pokemon GO: Best Moves for Greninja in PvP

With the release of Pokemon from the sixth generation of Pokemon games in Pokemon GO, Greninja has joined the roster of Pokemon that players can catch and use in battle.

Players who have a Greninja and want to use it in the Player versus Player Pokemon GO Battle League may not know where to start regarding the best combination of moves to use on their Greninja. They may also not know what Pokemon counter and are countered by Greninja.

Best Moves for Greninja in Pokemon GO

Greninja as it appeared in its announcement for Super Smash Brothers (Image via Nintendo)

The first thing to know about Greninja is that it is a Water and Dark-type Pokemon. Greninja is weak to Fighting, Bug, Grass, Electric, and Fairy-type attacks because of its dual typing. However, Greninja takes less damage from more types than it is weak to. Greninja resists Ghost, Steel, Fire, Water, Ice, Dark, and Psychic-type attacks.

Greninja has the advantage against Pokemon that are weak to Water and Dark-type attacks. Greninja even has access to a Flying-type move for better coverage. Greninja has an advantage over Fire, Rock, Ground, Psychic, Ghost, Fighting, Bug, and Grass-type Pokemon.

For fast attacks, Greninja has access to Bubble and Feint Attack. While both attacks are boosted by Greninja's type, which move players use depends on which charged attack they choose to have on Greninja. Feint Attack has a higher damage output rate of 13.3 HP per second, but Bubble generates more energy for charged attacks.

For charged attacks, Greninja has a lot more options. For Water type attacks, Greninja has access to Surf and Hydro Pump. Hydro Pump has a higher damage output of the two, but Surf consumes less energy. Offensive builds found online tend to recommend Surf as it can be used more often but depending on how players use their Greninja in Pokemon GO, the quick, strong one-shot from Hydro Pump could secure a knock-out on weaker opponents.

Night Slash is another charged attack. Night Slash is a Dark-type move that is a good option for coverage when players do not want to run Feint Attack as a fast move. Night Slash consumes less energy than the two Water-type attacks. Greninja's last charged move in Pokemon GO is Aerial Ace. Aerial Ace is a Flying-type move that counters 3 of Greninja's weaknesses. However, Aerial Ace is not boosted by Greninja's typing and it deals the least amount of damage out of all the other charged attacks.

The best moves for Greninja in Pokemon GO depend heavily on the player's playstyle. For an offensive playstyle, Feint Attack and Hydro Pump are the best moves but for a more reserved and defensive playstyle, Bubble and Surf is a more viable combination.