Base Stats
HP: 60
Attack: 75
Defense: 85
Special Attack: 100
Special Defense: 85
Speed: 115
Abilities
Illuminate: Raises the likelihood of meeting wild Pokémon.
Natural Cure: All status problems are healed upon switching out.
Analytic (Hidden Ability): If you are last to attack, the move becomes more powerful.
Starmie has been a Pokémon that has seen competitive play since Generation I, which makes it a huge favorite for many. Personally, I love Starmie for its access to Rapid Spin, its base Speed of 115, which allows it to outspeed the majority of any tier, and last but not least its amazing Special move pool. Generation VI hasn’t been kind to our favorite starfish, however. A new special-attacker, Greninja, brought too much competition to the table with Protean-boosted, lightning-quick special attacks. With Defog now clearing entry hazards from the battlefield, spinners are less of a necessity, and the metagame moves away from a format dominated by Stealth Rock and Spikes.
However, some dangerous Pokémon are still very much destroyed by a quad-weakness to Stealth Rock, such as Charizard and Talonflame, both of which see a fair share of play in Overused. Additionally, entry hazards make Focus Sash users less reliable unless you’re Alakazam with Magic Guard. These factors are what make Rapid Spin and Defog a necessity still on a majority of teams, and what differentiates Starmie from the rising star (hehe), Greninja.
Patrick Star Gets Down and Dirty
Hold Item: Expert belt/Life Orb
Ability: Analytic/Natural Cure
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 Special Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Hydro Pump
Psychic/Psyshock
Rapid Spin
Thunderbolt/Ice Beam
Let’s start from the top. I prefer Expert Belt over Life Orb due to Starmie already being frail as it is. On the opposite side, the damage gain from Expert Belt is still enough to be the difference between a clean OHKO or leaving something at 10% HP. A lot of the success Starmie has is thanks to prediction, which brings us to its many different abilities. Natural Cure is the safe choice, giving Starmie the ability to switch into status and shrug it off, Rapid Spin and get out, so long as its not a crippling paralysis at an inopportune time. Analytic is my personal favorite, as it plays a little more aggressively, and it gives Starmie the much-needed boost in power. As decent as 100 base Special Attack is, it's fairly underwhelming, especially in Overused.
Timid nature and maximum investment in Speed and Special Attack are there to bring out the best of Starmie, that being its fantastic sweeping capabilities and Special-attacking movepool. Hydro Pump is your STAB of choice on this set, and does massive damage with an Analytic boost. Psychic was actually not a move commonly used by Starmie last generation, but this generation, Psychic-type coverage is great for shutting down problem Pokémon like Mega Venusaur. Psyshock is not preferred but can be rewarding if you predict a dedicated Special wall like Blissey or Chansey will switch in to wall you. Again, with an Analytic boost, this cripples them severely, forcing another switch out, and making the opponent look like a pinhead.
Starmie does a great job of keeping entry hazards away and whittling down the opposing team. The objective with Starmie is to bring it in on a Pokémon you know will use a move Starmie resists, and a Pokémon you know Starmie can OHKO. Once that has been accomplished, you scare it away and try to predict a move that will be super-effective on what they switch into. With an Analytic boost, even neutral hits will leave a mark.
As mentioned above, Charizard and Talonflame make excellent teammates because Starmie covers their weaknesses, and keeps the field clear of their crippling weakness to Stealth Rock. Pokémon Starmie is great against are Landorus, Mega Venusaur, Conkeldurr, Gengar, Breloom, and Gliscor. These Pokémon should all be scared of Starmie’s two respective STABs.
Starmie isn’t all sunshine and rainbows though, and life in Bikini Bottom can get tricky. Starmie is frail: plain and simple. It might be able to take two neutral hits in the tier from powerful Pokémon, and if they ever out-predict the starfish it’s likely over with one super-effective strike. On top of that, some Pokémon that Starmie counters are also its weakness. For example, Landorus can outspeed Starmie if holding Choice Scarf - which is common enough to worry about it - and OHKO with U-turn. Conkeldurr, if holding Assault Vest, can survive Psychic and one hit with Knock Off. The standard Mega Venusaur only takes ~80% damage from Timid, max-investment Starmie’s Psychic, and OHKOs back with Giga Drain. Overall, while playing Starmie you should be aware of how frail it is and watch out for the rare naturally faster Pokémon in the tier (i.e. Mega Aerodactyl, Jolteon), as well as common Scarf users.
Starmie is great at harassment, and against certain teams it can straight-up win you the game because of its great movepool. There have been games where I have led with my Patrick Star and simply destroyed three Pokémon in a row and caused a forfeit. There have also been games where I have mispredicted and lost Starmie right away thanks to a Choice Scarf user, leaving Starmie a fainted Pokémon who achieved nothing in the battle.
Starmie lacks the bulk to stay in the Overused tier like it has in the past, but in the right hands and with enough knowledge of the tier Starmie can be a deadly threat that can take your team to higher heights. If you’re looking for Special coverage as well as a speedy Rapid Spinner, you’ve found the treasure trove in our purple starfish. So don’t be afraid to team up with Patrick, because in this instance it’s not a bumbling buffoon, but a speed demon ready to cause some mayhem.
- JaydenSilver
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