What is the best moveset for Hisuian Sneasel in Pokemon GO?

The most recent content rotation for Pokemon GO has brought the spirit of Hisui back into the mobile game. This is thanks to the spotlight creature on all the promotional artwork being the standard and Hisuian forms of Sneasel, a beloved species of Pocket Monster. The creatures also appear as Raid Bosses in the game.

Many trainers will have their first experience with the newest form of Sneasel during this upcoming event and will be eager to try their hand at using this creature for competitive play or even other Raid Battles. However, as they will quickly find out, the battle system for the popular mobile game is significantly different than that of the main series.

Since a lot of factors go into determining a creature's viability in Pokemon GO, the question of whether or not a monster is any good in the mobile game does not have a simple yes or no answer. Here's what you should know about Sneasel's Hisuian variant if you intend on using it in the game.

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What is the best moveset for Hisuian Sneasel in Pokemon GO?

Hisuian Sneasel as seen in Pokemon Legends: Arceus (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Sneasel's stat spread is offensively focused, so its best moveset is one that can adapt to this playstyle easily. Being a glass cannon, the best combination of moves it has access to is Posion Jab, Close Combat, and X-Scissor.

Close Combat is a great nuke that can clear weak targets with ease. However, this move does lower Sneasel's defense, so it should be used with caution. X-Scissor will give Sneasel a fighting chance against the Psychic-types that can quickly stomp it out. It is also incredibly spammable, making it great for baiting shields.

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Is Hisuian Sneasel any good in Pokemon GO PvP?

Since Sneasel is an unevolved Pokemon, you will have better luck holding off on adding it to your battle team until you evolve it into Sneasler. However, some players have hammered out a niche for the creature in the Great League. While it can be effective in the right environment, it is unviable more often than not.

Looking closer at Hisuian Sneasel's toolkit in Pokemon GO, it has some serious potential to dominate in the Little Cup league that appears on live servers from time to time. Since it has access to powerful Fighting-type attacks, it is the perfect counter to the Normal-type tanks, like Munchlax and Lickitung, that rule the tier.

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How to evolve Hisuian Sneasel in Pokemon GO

Thankfully, there are no outlandish requirements to evolve a Hisuian Sneasel. The only thing you need to evolve your Sneasel into the new Sneasler is 100 Sneasel candies. These can be easily accumulated through grinding encounters with Pinap Berries, granting you six Sneasel candies per capture instead of three.

You can also register a Hisuian Sneasel as your Buddy Pokemon to passively collect candies as you move around and play the game. However, you will have to walk an astonishing 700 kilometers to obtain the required 100 candies.