Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s first part of the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, the Teal Mask, introduced a handful of new Pokemon that all have their strengths and weaknesses. Among them is a new variant of Ursaluna, the Peat Pokemon. Ursaluna was originally introduced in Pokemon Legends: Arceus as an ancient evolution of Ursaring, acting as a ride Pokemon that could sniff out hidden items. When it made its debut in classical Pokemon games in Scarlet and Violet, Ursaluna was a slow but mighty physical attacker that tore through the competitive before trainers learned its weaknesses. In the Teal Mask, we encountered the Bloodmoon Beast – formally known as Bloodmoon Ursaluna.
Bloodmoon Ursaluna shares many characteristics with its standard variant, being a slow and bulky tank with powerful offensive options. However, Bloodmoon flips its offensive options by becoming a special attacker, trading its high attack stat for a slightly lower special attack as well as some extra physical bulk. Bloodmoon Ursaluna also recieves a brand new signature ability and a signature move, both of which bring Bloodmoon Ursaluna into the realm of overpowered. Let’s go into detail and examine the Bloodmoon Beast’s strengths and weaknesses so you can make the most out of this terrifying bear Pokemon.
Normal Immunity? No Problem
Bloodmoon Ursaluna shares Ursaluna’s Normal- and Ground-typing, which would normally provide some problems. Special options for the Normal- and Ground-typing are traditionally limited, being mostly limited to moves like Earth Power and Hyper Voice. Despite some level of predictability, Bloodmoon is able to hit nearly every type combination with its STAB combo. But wait, I hear you ask, Ghost-types are immune to Normal, and Flying-types are immune to Ground! Well, worry not, as Bloodmoon’s new ability, Mind’s Eye, allows it to bypass the immunities to Normal- and Fighting-type moves that Ghost grants. On top of its signature Blood Moon, Bloodmoon Ursaluna learns moves like Vacuum Wave, Moonblast, and Focus Blast, which cover up the holes in Ursaluna’s coverage thanks to Mind’s Eye.
That’s One Tough Bear
Ursaluna is a Pokemon that traditionally has very good HP, and Bloodmoon is no different. Though Bloodmoon loses some of its base health, it gains quite a bit of base defense – going from 130 and 105 to 113 and 120, respectively. Of course, Ursaluna’s special defense provides a potential weakness, being only 65 – that is, if Ursaluna didn’t have ways around that. Calm Mind, a move that boosts Ursaluna’s Special Attack and Special Defense by one stage each, is a fantastic move that will not only augment Ursaluna’s insane damage, but also patch up its poor special bulk with each use. What might have been a hole in Ursaluna’s defense has now been filled – and very few Pokemon are able to pierce this bear’s frightening durability.
Back & Forth
Ursaluna’s signature move is Blood Moon – a special Normal-type attack with 140 base power – with the only caveat being that it can’t be used twice in a row. This caveat is barely a caveat at all, as Ursaluna can alternate between boosting its stats with Calm Mind or recovering health with Moonlight in between blasting enemies with Blood Moon, an attack only 10 points weaker than Hyper Beam. Using Ursaluna in battle will often have you use Blood Moon, then another move, then Blood Moon, and so on.
Potential Builds
Now that we’ve covered what makes Ursaluna tick, let’s take a look at some potential builds you can run.
Ursaluna-Bloodmoon @ Leftovers
- Ability: Mind’s Eye
- EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Tera Type: Normal
- Nature: Modest
- Calm Mind
- Blood Moon
- Hyper Voice / Moonlight
- Earth Power / Moonlight
This build is meant primarily for singles battles. This set is very basic, but works very well – we have all of Ursaluna’s major tools; Blood Moon, Calm Mind, and Earth Power. Moonlight can be run for large bursts of healing if the passive healing from Leftovers isn’t cutting it, and Hyper Voice can supplant Blood Moon as a STAB option if Earth Power doesn’t work.
Ursaluna-Bloodmoon @ Life Orb / Throat Spray / Weakness Policy
- Level: 50
- Ability: Mind’s Eye
- EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 196 SpA / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
- IVs: 0 Atk
- Tera Type: Normal / Grass
- Nature: Modest
- Blood Moon
- Earth Power
- Hyper Voice
- Protect
Next, let’s cover a build meant for VGC. Ursaluna can run multiple different items – Life Orb is always a good way to bolster your damage, and Throat Spray can boost your Special Attack after using Hyper Voice. The Weakness Policy is risky, but Ursaluna’s bulk and clever planning can turn Ursaluna into a killing machine. Tera Normal is your best bet for your Tera Type, but Grass is useful for avoiding Spore from Amoonguss or dealing with Water-types.
[ad_2]
