Best moveset for Sunflora in Pokemon GO

Sunflora has been an addition to Pokemon GO since Pokemon from the Johto region were introduced. Since then, many Pokemon GO players have experimented with different roles it can take, and a variety of different move combinations with the moves it has access to.

For players who are serious about using Sunflora in either PvP battles or Raid Battles, knowing some of these different builds could make a difference in Sunflora's performance.

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Sunflora in Pokemon GO: An analysis

Sunflora closes the petals around its face when it sleeps. (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Sunflora is a Grass-type Pokemon; this is one of the first challenges with using Sunflora as Grass-type Pokemon have a lot of weaknesses. Pure Grass-type Pokemon are weak to Flying, Poison, Fire, Ice, and Bug-type attacks while only resisting Ground, Water, Electric, and other Grass-type attacks.

Sunflora's stats in Pokemon GO, while not being terrible, can also prove to be an issue in certain situations. With an average attack stat of 185, Sunflora can make quick work against Pokemon it has the advantage over. Sunflora also has pretty decent bulk with a stamina stat of 181 and a defense stat of 135; however, while it appears to have the attributes for a bulky HP pseudo-tank, it will not be surviving many super-effective hits.

Sunflora's moveset is also considered by some to be a weakness given the current state of the metagame for both Pokemon GO's Great and Ultra League. Given the abundance of Steel-type Pokemon and Dragon-type Pokemon, Sunflora's moveset of purely Grass-type attacks (excluding Sludge Bomb, a Poison-type attack) can leave it vulnerable and quickly checked in battle.

The optimal moveset for Sunflora in Pokemon GO offensively sees it prioritize its damage output with its fast attacks. With the move Razor Leaf, Sunflora maximizes its damage per second (or DPS) value, almost doubling that if it had Bullet Seed as a fast attack at nearly 16 damage every second.

Bullet Seed is the optimal fast attack for a defensive moveset used primarily in Pokemon GO when challenging Raid Bosses or defending Gyms. Bullet Seed is used to quickly generate energy for using charged attacks which can be crucial in Gym battles and Raids. Quick energy generation allows the player to deal large bursts of damage consistently and rapidly. Bullet Seed generates close to 13 energy per second.

For a charged attack, Sunflora almost exclusively runs Solar Beam both offensively and defensively. Solar Beam can be used nearly every 2 seconds on a defensive set, while on an offensive set, it can be used almost every 3 to 4 seconds. This is compensated for by Sunflora having a more powerful fast attack.

While Sunflora may not be a very optimal Pokemon for the current state of the metagame, this could quickly change as all of the Pokemon in the franchise have yet to become available. Pokemon GO's metagame could soon switch to one more oriented towards Fairy type Pokemon when Pokemon from the Alola region are finally added to the game.