Pokemon GO Dedenne PvP and PvE guide: Best moveset, counters, and more

With the Festival of Lights event in full swing for many players, Pokemon GO is full of fresh new encounters for players to collect. One of these creatures that players can encounter is one that debuted during another rendition of the Festival of Lights, Dedenne. This critter debuted in the sixth generation as Kalos' take on Pikachu.

With so many players now having access to this lovable rodent once again, many may be wondering if there is any potential behind those beady little eyes. However, viability in Pokemon GO is much more complicated than it is in the main series due to the many different aspects of gameplay.

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Is Dedenne good in Pokemon GO PvP?

Dedenne's Pokedex picture in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Dedenne's low max combat power leaves it only able to participate in the Great League. Here, it serves a surprisingly decent niche as it is the only Electric and Fairy-type in the game able to participate in that tier of play. However, it lacks significant damage output with its Fast Attacks, and thus relies heavily on the usage of Charged Attacks in order to dish damage.

Dedenne may not serve well at the moment due to the metagame revolving heavily around Ground-types. However, if you need a Fairy-type to deal with Fighting-types like Medicham or Scrafty, Dedenne may prove to be a valuable asset. Dedenne also has access to a powerful Fairy-type attack, Play Rough, making it a serious threat to these common contenders.

For those who want to try their hand at using Dedenne for their competitive battles in Pokemon GO, it does best with a moveset of Thunder Shock, Play Rough, and Discharge. Since Dedenne's Fast Attack is incredibly weak, you should only use it after baiting the opponent into using all of their shields.

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Is Dedenne good in Pokemon GO PvE?

Dedenne as seen in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

One would think that giving players the ability to choose what battles they participate in for PvE would help Dedenne's viability. Sadly, Dedenne's low combat power max and relatively terrible stats compared to top contenders leave it outclassed in every way. However, this does not mean it is completely worthless.

Dedenne could serve as a decent Electric-type if a new player is in need of one for a Raid Battle. In this context, it is not a terrible choice, but that is because a new player will not have access to the Thundurus or Zekrom that a more experienced player would have. Even then, Dedenne's low stats only leave it as a decent choice for 1-Star Raids.

Those wanting to use Dedenne for Raid Battles and other forms of PvE should do so with a moveset of Thunder Shock and Discharge. While this moveset does not utilize its Fairy typing offensively, it maximizes Dedenne's damage output in situations where it would be used optimally. These situations are against creatures that are weak to Electric-type damage.