Pokemon GO Grafaiai: Best moveset, counters, and is it any good?

Pokemon GO's Fashion Week Taken Over event is in full swing, and along with all the Shadow Pokemon, a new creature has entered the roster. Grafaiai, one of the first creatures from the Paldea region to be revealed to main series fans, has come to Pokemon GO. Graafaiai is accompanied by its pre-evolved form, Shroodle, which is exclusive to 12 kilometer eggs throughout the event's duration.

Players can obtain Grafaiai by collecting 50 Shroodle candies and evolving a Shroodle in their collection. Being a new creature, many trainers will want to try using it in competitive play or Raid Battles. However, Grafaiai might not be the best battler for a variety of reasons.

Here is everything players should know about Grafaiai for competitive use in Pokemon GO.

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Grafaiai's best moveset in Pokemon GO

Grafaiai's lack of coverage options could prove troublesome for competitive builds (Image via Game Freak)

Grafaiai might not be the heaviest hitter, but it can be quite spammy and has access to debuffs, which can be helpful if Grafaiai is used early in a match. Its best moveset is Poison Jab, Acid Spray, and Poison Fang. If players would like to trade some speed for more damage, they can replace Poison Fang with Sludge Bomb.

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Best counters for Grafaiai in Pokemon GO

Grafaiai is a frail Poison and Normal-type. It is weak to Psychic and Ground-type attacks, which can be found in abundance across the Great League. With this in mind, options like Galarian Stunfisk, Clodsire, and Diggersby will be the best for taking Grafaiai down.

Outside of the Great League, practically everything else can take down Grafaiai with ease. If the creature ever becomes a Raid Boss, it will not give experienced players much of a challenge as they have access to counters like Primal Groudon, which could solo a Three-Star Grafaiai on its own.

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Is Grafaiai any good in Pokemon GO?

Grafaiai is one of the worst Poison-types players can use in Pokemon GO's Great League (Image via Niantic)

Grafaiai's low stat pool and poor defensive typing leave much to be desired from the new arrival. The Normal secondary typing does little to improve the Poison element, granting it resistance to Ghost-type attacks in exchange for the Poison typing's inherent resistance to Fighting-type attacks.

With Grafaiai also having no Normal-type attacks in its movepool, one could argue that Grafaiai's Normal typing might as well not be there at all. Despite debuting during an event themed around Shadow Pokemon, Grafaiai did not receive one of these variants. If it did, the Shadow Boost would make Grafaiai interesting to see in competitive play, as it would make it a much better glass cannon attacker.

With much better Poison-types players can use in the Great League, like Clodsire, Toxapex, and Drapion, there is no reason to use Grafaiai. Since its shiny form has yet to be added to Pokemon GO, even collectors have very little reason to engage with Grafaiai or its pre-evolved form, Shroodle, outside of Pokedex completion.

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For more information on the game, check out the articles below:

• Ditto disguises
• Sierra counters
• Cliff counters
• Arlo counters
• Giovanni counters
• Team GO Rocket Grunts