Despite the stereotypes surrounding free-to-play mobile games,Pokemon Mastersproves to be a greatPokemonspin-off through its intuitive 3v3 combat system. Between Move Gauges, MP, and selective targeting, players must keep track of many technical aspects to ensure their success.
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Each Master available in the game comes with a designated role; the Tech role focuses on disrupting opponents while benefitting teammates. This occurs through anything from stat reduction to status infliction. Altogether, these can add significant leverage in the long run. For those just picking up the game, several great Tech options await through the random Scout pulls and story progression. Many pairs exist, but which ones are some of the best available outside of five-star scouts?
13Brawly/Hariyama
Brawly and Hariyama aren’t that bad of a Tech pair. They can raise their Attack and defenses and heal themselves with Potions. Not only that, but they can also whittle down the opponent’s defenses through Brick Break and Rock Smash.
What holds them back is their lack of strength compared to other Fighting-type sync pairs, as well as a lack of Speed to fill the Move Gauge. As far as Fighting-types go,Strike pairs Machamp and Lucario are much better choices.
12Crasher Wake/Floatzel
Powering up one’s critical hit chance, alongside offensive stats, are essential for dealing loads of damage to opponents. This rings true for every sync pair, and luckily, Floatzel can deliver on both fronts. What’s more, Waterfall and Water Pulse’s chances to inflict Flinch and Confusion respectively increase thanks to Floatzel’s passive ability.
Similar to Hariyama, though, Floatzel has no way of boosting its Speed to help fill the Move Gauge. It needs another Pokemon to set up rain to counteract this, and good weather-setting sync pairs are uncommon thus far.
11Nanu/Persian
The laid-back police officer from Alola can prove to be quite a hassle for opponents. For starters, Persian can raise its evasiveness to become a harder target to hit with “Just Warming Up…”. This makes its Bite a guaranteed critical hit at the same time, which increases the likelihood of inflicting the ever-helpful Flinch status.
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Screech sharply lowers the target’s Defense at the same time, making all physical hits deal more damage. All things considered, Nanu isn’t all that bad of a partner to start with.
10Will/Xatu
On their own, Will and Xatu are rather subpar. Given the right support, however,they outclass even a few Strike pairs. Xatu’s main form of attack is Stored Power, which increases in strength with each stat buff it receives. Thanks to its Impervious passive ability, these stat boosts won’t go away.
One way to maximize boosts is to pair Will with Skyla and Liza, as they increase five different stats altogether. It’s a situational strategy, but one that helps greatly in tough places like the Battle Villa.
9Brock/Onix
The first gym leader for many veteranPokemonplayers, Brock makes for a pretty decent Tech pair with Onix. His gimmick is raising his physical Attack and Defense to become a solid tank. His moves aren’t very powerful, but Rock Tomb comes with the added bonus of lowering the opponent’s Speed.
Brock can increase his strength further with his sync grid, even making moves deal more damage with each Defense increase. He also comes with Potions, which are always useful in combat. Despite not being a Support pair, he proves to be an effective wall in certain situations.
8Flannery/Torkoal
Flannery is Hoenn’s Fire-type gym leader, so it only makes sense that her playstyle revolves around burning her opponents. Torkoal’s only offensive move is the pitiful Ember, but a more useful move in her kit is Will-O-Wisp, which burns opponents when it hits. Along with causing damage over time, the Burn status cuts physical attack power in half.
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Using this alongside “Too Hot to Handle!”, which increases Defense, her Torkoal becomes its own sort of physical wall. Its sync grid also has Fortuitous 4, which can increase a stat at random after her attacks hit an opponent.While more powerful Fire types exist in the game, she does a serviceable job early on.
7Calem/Meowstic
Calem’s Meowstic,true to its Prankster roots, loves dishing out Thunder Waves to disrupt opponents. Its Psybeam can also confuse enemies, and it has an increased chance of doing so thanks to one of its passive abilities.
When Meowstic’s health depletes, Calem can use “We’re Not Done Yet!” to heal and increase Special Attack simultaneously. The combination of paralysis and confusion is great for keeping other Pokemon inactive during the fight. Calem is definitely one sync pair that embodies the Tech role well.
6Viola/Masquerain
Whereas some previous Tech pairs focus on physical bulk, Viola and Masquerain deal with special bulk. She can increase her Special Defense and give herself HP Regen at the same time. Her Struggle Bug also lowers all opponents' Special Attack with each hit.
Another special move of hers is Infestation, which traps its target to deal damage after each move they use. Investing in Viola’s sync grid can increase this damage, as well as the damage of any attack she lands on a trapped opponent. Viola is great for whittling opponents down and nerfing special threats.
5Erika/Vileplume
Erika and Vileplume are a bulky sync pair that can increase both defenses, as well as Special Attack. Thanks to Piercing Gaze, Vileplume’s moves never miss. This guarantees paralysis from Stun Spore and damage from Energy Ball.
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Energy Ball also has a chance of lowering Special Defense, which increases Vileplume’s (and her teammates') damage output even further. With her sync grid, she becomes especially good in sunny weather. Try pairing Erika with Blaine and Rapidash so that her power can be in full bloom.
4Ramos/Victreebel
While Paralysis is a good status effect, it doesn’t guarantee that the opponent will miss their turn. One status effect that does do this, however, is Sleep. Ramos and his evolved Victreebel do well in this regard, as they come with Sleep Powder as one of their moves.
Having an enemy fall asleep completely negates their turn for a period of time. If it hits multiple times in a row, the enemy can even miss out entirely on the battle. Ramos may not be the whippersnapper that he once was, but he still knows how tomake the most of his plant Pokemon.
