Hydrapple has finally arrived in Pokémon GO, introducing a new Grass and Dragon-type contender to the PvP scene. With strong overall stats, solid typing, and a familiar move pool, many Trainers are wondering if Hydrapple can outperform its relatives like Flapple and Alolan Exeggutor, or if it is just another sweet apple that falls short.
In this quick analysis, we explore Hydrapple’s best PvP stats, moves, and performance across Great League, Ultra League, and Master League. Learn how it compares to other Grass and Dragon Pokémon, what its resistances and weaknesses really mean in battle, and whether it has any real meta potential in Pokémon GO… or not.
Since Hydrapple has already arrived in Pokémon GO, so let’s take a quick look at it, shall we?
Hydrapple’s best Great League Stats
| Attack | Defense | HP |
|---|---|---|
| 122 (118 High Stat Product) | 111 (144 High Stat Product) | 136 (138 High Stat Product) |
- (Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-14-12, 1499 CP, Level 17.5)
Hydrapple’s best Ultra League Stats
| Attack | Defense | HP |
|---|---|---|
| 158 (155 High Stat Product) | 141 (145 High Stat Product) | 178 (179 High Stat Product) |
- (Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-15-14, 2500 CP, Level 29)
Hydrapple’s best Master League Stats
| Attack | Defense | HP |
|---|---|---|
| 194 | 169 | 210 |
- (Assuming 15-15-15 IVs; 3656 CP at Level 50)
So our last Community Day analysis was on Florges, and Hydrapple’s stats are actually pretty close overall. Hydrapple has very slightly more Attack (about 2 in Great League and roughly 4 in UL and ML) and basically flips Defense and HP (Hydrapple usually has the same Defense as Florges has HP, and Florges’ HP is roughly equal to Hydrapple’s Defense plus a half dozen or so (on average).
Florges has a slightly higher total stat product, but in the end their maxed out CP in Master League is literally one single number apart (3656 for Hydrapple, 3657 for Florges). It actually has better stats than other fully evolved Grassy Dragons (Flapple and Alolan Exeggutor), in the same neighborhood as Regidrago and Kingdra in CP-capped Leagues, but it pales in comparison to other Dragons in terms of stats in Master League, falling to 25th in stat product among Dragons. (The closest ML comparison I can find among all viable Pokémon is Annihilape, with all three stats tracking very closely.)
As for the typing, it’s not new. (Note the mention of Alolan Exeggutor and Flapple above.) It’s not the greatest typing in the world, but also far from terrible, resisting Ground and double resisting Grass, Water, and Electric, but also being double weak to Ice and having a single-level vulnerability to Dragon, Fairy, Poison, Flying, and Bug.
But you want the moves, I know. So here they are….
Fast Moves
- Dragon Tail – Dragon type, 3.0 DPT, 4.0 EPT, 1.5 CoolDown
- Bullet Seed – Grass type, 1.66 DPT, 4.33 EPT, 1.5 CD
- Rollout – Rock type, 2.33 DPT, 4.33 EPT, 1.5 CD
Rollout is at least interesting in theory, but trust me (for now) when I tell you it doesn’t work very well. Neither does Bullet Seed. It turns out that Hydrapple is consistently at its best with Dragon Tail, relatively dull as it is. You’ll see what I mean when we bring in the charge moves.
Charge Moves
- Seed Bomb – Grass type, 90 damage, 55 energy
- Outrage – Dragon type, 110 damage, 60 energy
Seed Bomb is a must for a couple obvious reasons: coverage as the only way Hydrapple has to really pressure with non-Dragon damage, and speed, as the other charge moves are 15 and 20 more energy, respectively.
As for which of those other moves to run with, I think Outrage is probably your best bet. For one thing, each Dragon Tail generates 12 energy, and thus you hit exactly 60 energy after 5 Tails. But despite Pulse getting a nice boost this season, Outrage is still a superior move with far more Damage Per Energy (DPE): 1.83 as opposed to Pulse’s 1.63 DPE. It just works better.
Now let’s put it all together and see if this might finally be the Grassy Dragon breakout we’ve been waiting for….
So at the time of this writing, Hydrapple has still not been added to PvPoke despite now being released, one big reason why I haven’t pushed out this analysis until now. So instead of linking to simulations as I normally would, I’ll have to just link to some screenshots through this analysis, as I was able to add it to a custom gamemaster (but can’t link to said results). And here it our first one, which kind of tells you everything you need to know.
In Great League, Hydrapple gets wins you would expect with its moves and resistances, such as Ground and/or Water types (Feraligatr, Blastoise, Gastrodon, Marowak, Stunfisk, Diggersby, Steelix) and Electrics like Morpeko and Charjabug. Beyond that, just a couple bonuses like Furret, Dunsparce, and Shadow Annihilape… and that’s about all she wrote. Even LOTS of Waters escape (Jellicent, Empoleon, Azumarill, Golisopod, and of course Icy Lapras and Dewgong and such) along with basically the rest of the meta.
And perhaps even worse, it’s no better than existing (and basically unviable) Grassy Dragons, and in fact notably worse than cousin Flapple… who seems a better use of Applin candy to me! Despite Flapple coming with less bulk, what it has going for it is Dragon Breath rather than Dragon Tail (Breath is strictly better due to having 3x less cooldown time) and also coming with more versatility with the potential of Fly (the charge move) for coverage. Make no mistake: Flapple isn’t good either, but it’s at least superior to poor Hydrapple in its current state.
And yeah, same story here. Hydrapple keeps relative pace with the others here, but consistently trails a little bit. While it seems to usually take down Drapion, Nidoqueen, Runerigus, Lapras, and Armored Mewtwo that Flapple and Alolan Eggy cannot, it drops things those other two can beat instead like Virizion, Skeledirge, Talonflame, Feraligatr, and then either Annihilape and Regidrago, or Steelix, Kingdra, and Galarian Moltres.
And once again, the wins are almost entirely against Water and/or Ground types where something like Hydrapple is an obvious, hard counter. The only non-Water, non-Ground wins it scratches out are Bellibolt (Electric is resisted), Drapion, and (barely) Armored Mewtwo. That’s it. Very far from impressive.
One thing Hydrapple CAN flex over both Alolan Exeggutor (max CP 3407) and especially Flapple (max CP 2788) is its high CP (3656 for Hydrapple). So yes, in Master League specifically, Hydrapple finally outpaces the others, but uh… that’s not saying much. Wins over Kyogre, Zarude, Rhyperior, Landorus, Zekrom, and Kyurem Black. Beyond that last one, all things hard countered by Grass/Dragon… again.
Is there any hope for Hydrapple?
Well, salvation certainly doesn’t come with Hydrapple’s other fast moves. Dragon Tail is the high bar, which is a statement in and of itself, eh? So what about a different fast move?
There are a few legit interesting ones that Hydrapple can learn in other games in the franchise, such as Magical Leaf, Astonish, Sucker Punch, and of course, Dragon Breath. However, while there are interesting things that some of those moves can do, the only one that really seems appreciably better is Dragon Breath.
I think what Hydrapple (and really, Flapple too) needs to make something of itself is at least one of its signature moves. Those would be Grass type move Syrup Bomb or Dragon move Fickle Beam, but other non-signature moves like Grassy Glide or Dragon Cheer could help out too. So yes, there’s SOME reason to hold out hope… but not so much with this initial release, with none of those moves in sight.
Summary: Hydrapple is not great
So, sorry for returning after over a week away with kind of a downer, but especially with Hydrapple missing from PvPoke, I figured people would be wondering. At least now you know, right?
Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with regular GO analysis nuggets or Patreon. Good luck on your grind, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!
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