Annihilape Movesets and Best Builds

This is a guide to movesets and best builds for using Annihilape in competitive play for the games Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (SV). Read on for tips on the best Nature, EV spreads, Movesets, Tera Type, and Held Items to use with Annihilape, as well as its strengths and weaknesses.

Annihilape - Related Guides
Evolution and Learnset	Moveset for Ranked Battle	Tera Raid Build

Annihilape Base Stats, Type, Abilities and Weaknesses

Paldea #160 Kitakami #101		Type
Annihilape
		Abilities
		Vital Spirit Inner Focus Defiant (Hidden)
Weak to:
	(2x)
Damaged Normally By:	(1x)
Resists:	(0.5x)
	(0.25x)
Immune to:	(0x)

What is Type Effectiveness?

Base Stats

Best Nature for Annihilape

What are Natures?

Singles Movesets for Annihilape

Hazard Setter Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Jolly (+Spe, -Sp. Atk)
EV Spread	HP 252 / Atk 4 / Spe 252
Final Stat Values	HP 217 / Atk 136 / Def 100 / Sp. Def 110 / Spe 156
Ability	Vital Spirit
Tera Type
Held Item	Sitrus Berry
Moveset	・ Rage Fist ・ Drain Punch ・ Stealth Rock ・ Taunt

Summary

Good bulk that helps it tank hits to boost Rage Fist's damage. Can self sustain with Sitrus Berry and Drain Punch. Can surprise opposing leads if they expect a Bulk Up set.

Ability and Held Item

Ability	Held Item
Vital Spirit	Sitrus Berry

Vital Spirit is the ability used on this build to prevent Annihilape from being put to sleep.

Sitrus Berry allows Annihilape to heal back some of its HP when it is brought down to half health.

Moves Breakdown

Rage Fist is Annihilape's signature move. It's a Ghost-type STAB move that increases in damage the more Annihilape is hit.

Drain Punch is a Fighting-type STAB move that allows Annihilape to heal itself. This helps it tank more hits and increase Rage Fist's damage.

Stealth Rock is used so that Annihilape can setup hazards on the opponent's side. When a Pokemon on the opponent's side switches in, they will take chip damage which disables items and abilities like Focus Sash or Multiscale.

Taunt is used to shut down opposing setup sweepers and hazard setters.

Best Tera Type: Poison

Poison Tera Type Matchup
Weak to:
	(2x)
Damaged Normally By:	(1x)
Resists:	(0.5x)

Poison is the best Tera Type for this build because it turns Annihilape's Fairy weakness into a resist.

Poison is also one of the best defensive types in the game that isn't weak to common Fighting and Fire-types in the current meta.

Best Poison Type Pokemon

EV Spread and Nature

A full 252 EVs are put into its HP and Speed to boost its bulk, which in turn means that it can threaten quick knockouts with boosted Rage Fists. The extra 4 EVs are put into its Attack to slightly increase its damage output.

A Jolly nature is preferred to help Annihilape outspeed Pokemon that are normally faster than it.

Other Viable Moves

Key Damage Calculations

Damage Dealt by Annihilape
55 HP｜55 Def No Defensive EV Investment (Timid) Item: Booster Energy	Rage Fist 102-122 (78.4 - 93.8%) Guaranteed 2HKO
113 HP｜120 Def Defensive EV Investment: 252 HP (Modest) Item: Assault Vest	Drain Punch 84-102 (38.1 - 46.3%) Guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery 19.3 - 23.5% HP Recovered
Damage Received by Annihilape
120 Atk Offensive EV Investment: 252 Atk (Jolly) Item: Hearthflame Mask	Ivy Cudgel 117-138 (53.9 - 63.5%) Guaranteed 2HKO OHKO if Terastallized
135 Sp. Atk Offensive EV Investment: 252 Sp. Atk (Timid) Item: Booster Energy	Moonblast 186-218 (85.7 - 100.4%) 6.3% Chance to OHKO Moonblast Annihilape: 46-54 (21.1 - 24.8%) Guaranteed 5HKO
135 Sp. Atk Offensive EV Investment: 252 Sp. Atk (Modest) Item: Assault Vest	Blood Moon 123-145 (56.6 - 66.8%) Guaranteed 3HKO after Sitrus recovery and Blood Moon recharge
133 Sp. Atk Offensive EV Investment: 252 Sp. Atk (Modest) Item: Choice Specs	Shadow Ball 252-296 (116.1 - 136.4%) Guaranteed OHKO 2HKO if not Choice Specs Shadow Ball Annihilape: 126-148 (58 - 68.2%) Guaranteed 2HKO
130. Atk Offensive EV Investment: 252 Atk (Jolly) Item: Punching Glove	Surging Strikes 135-162 (62.2 - 74.6%) Approx. 2HKO

Game8's Competitive Damage Calculator

Bulk Up + Rage Fist Moveset and Best Build

Nature	Jolly (+Spe, -Sp. Atk)
EV Spread	252 HP / 68 Atk / 4 Def / 68 Sp. Def / 116 Spe
Final Stat Values	217 HP / 144 Atk / 101 Def / 119 Sp. Def / 137 Spe
Ability	Vital Spirit
Tera Type	or ・Turns Annihilape's Fairy, Psychic and Flying weaknesses into resistances. ・Steel Tera allows Annihilape to resist Dragon Type leads such as Dragapult. ・Fire Tera gives it immunity to burns from Will-O-Wisp.
Held Item	Sitrus Berry
Moveset	・ Rage Fist ・ Drain Punch ・ Bulk Up ・ Taunt

After setting up one Bulk Up, can OHKO Hydreigon with 4 Def EVs invested using Drain Punch.

Rage Fist's power increases each time Annihilape takes a hit making its EVs best spread defensively. Each time you use Bulk Up, not only are you boosting your Defense, but also taking hits and powering up Annihilape's Rage Fist. After a few turns of Bulk Up and taking hits, Annihilape should be ready to take out even the bulkier Pokemon.

Other Viable Items

Final Gambit Moveset and Best Build

Nature	Jolly (+Spe, -Sp. Atk)
EV Spread	252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Final Stat Values	217 HP / 136 Atk / 100 Def / 110 Sp. Def / 156 Spe
Ability	Vital Spirit
Tera Type
Held Item	Choice Scarf
Moveset	・ Close Combat ・ Shadow Claw ・ U-turn ・ Final Gambit

With 252 HP EVs, Annihilape has 2 more HP than Hippowdon, allowing it to OHKO it with Final Gambit.

Outspeed and One-Shot Any Pokemon with Final Gambit

Annihilape has access to the move Final Gambit, a move which deals an equal amount of damage to your opponent as your current HP, at the expense of the user fainting. If it is able to outspeed the opponent with Choice Scarf, it can use this move while at full HP, knocking out any Pokemon with 215 HP or less.

Perfect Compatibility with Choice Scarf

Not only can you take advantage of Choice Scarf to outspeed most opponents and knock them out with Final Gambit, but you can also use U-Turn to get out of unfavourable matchups or get a better read of the situation and position yourself better. Annihilape has access to a wide range of moves that have good compatibility with Choice Scarf, so there is lots of room for customization.

Other Viable Moves

Doubles Movesets for Annihilape

Final Gambit Moveset and Best Build

Nature	Jolly (+Spe, -Sp. Atk)
EV Spread	252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Final Stat Values	217 HP / 136 Atk / 100 Def / 110 Sp. Def / 156 Spe
Ability	Defiant
Tera Type	Can deal large damage with a Tera STAB boosted Close Combat
Held Item	Choice Scarf
Moveset	・ Close Combat ・ Shadow Claw ・ Drain Punch ・ Final Gambit

With 252 HP EVs, Annihilape has 2 more HP than Hippowdon, allowing it to OHKO it with Final Gambit.

Final Gambit Annihilape in Doubles is useful for trading Pokemon 1-to-1. This is great for enabling strategies like Trick Room for your team, by taking out a key Pokemon from your opponent's side of the field.

Other Viable Moves

Bulky Tera Fire Annihilape and Best Build

Nature	Adamant (+Atk, -Sp. Atk)
EV Spread	220 HP / 92 Def / 196 Sp. Def
Final Stat Values	213 HP / 148 Atk / 112 Def / 135 Sp. Def / 110 Spe
Ability	Defiant
Tera Type
Held Item	Leftovers
Moveset	・ Bulk Up ・ Drain Punch ・ Rage Fist ・ Protect

Bulky Annihilape can usually get KOs with Rage Fist when partnered with Maushold with Beat Up. This is a powerful combination called Maus-Ape, which makes use of these two Pokemon with high synergy with each other. Maushold can protect Annihilape from Status, especially if it has Safety Goggles. It can also make Annihilape bulkier with Friend Guard. It is also useful for redirecting Shadow Balls away into itself with Follow Me, which it is immune to because of its Normal typing.

Annihilape makes use of Tera Fire to give it a resistance to Flutter Mane's Moonblast, and also an immunity to Will-O-Wisp.

With Friend Guard, good EV investment in defenses, Leftovers, and Drain Punch, Annihilape becomes a very difficult Pokemon to take down.

Other Viable Moves

How to Use Annihilape Effectively

Use Bulk Up Against Slower Matchups

First, square up against a slower Pokemon and use Bulk Up on the first turn. If you use it too much and let the opponent bring down your HP too low, you can be easily finished off by any sweepers in the back, so make sure you only setup 1 ~ 3 times.

Reverse Bad Type Matchups With Terastalization

By Terastallizing when faced with unfavourable matchups, you can reverse the matchup and safely set up a Bulk Up. How well you can take damage after your first Bulk Up will make a large difference in Annihilape's performance for the rest of the match, so make sure you choose a Tera Type that can resist Annihilape's weaknesses.

How to Build a Team with Annihilape

Sample Singles Team

Lead	Physical Attacker	Physical Attacker
Rillaboom	Annihilape	Ogerpon (Hearthflame Mask)

Rillaboom can setup Grassy Terrain and U-Turn out to allow Annihilape to start tanking hits and stacking up Rage Fist boosts.

Hearthflame Ogerpon is in the back to sweep whatever Pokemon is left that Annihilape hasn't dealt with.

Sample Doubles Team

Offensive Lead	Physical Attacker
Maushold	Annihilape
Physical Attacker	Special Attacker
Dondozo	Tatsugiri

Maushold with Safety Goggles can set up Annihilape's Rage Fist by attacking it with Beat Up. It can also redirect Spores and Shadow Balls away from Annihilape, allowing it to stay in the battle longer.

Dondozo and Tatsugiri make for a powerful back end to this team, who would be difficult to take out.

Counters for Annihilape

Best Pokemon

Strategy	Best Pokemon
Powerful Special Attackers (OR) Guaranteed Critical Hits	・Can easily deal with Annihilape even after Bulk set up. ・Useful counters for other Pokemon as well. ・Meowscarada's Flower Trick guarantees a critical hit, bypassing Annihilape's Bulk Up Defense boosts.
Ghost Types	Crucial! ・Immune to Drain Punch, preventing health restoration.

Counter Annihilape's Drain Punch With Ghost Type Special Attackers

After taking some damage and setting up some Bulk Ups, Annihilape will try to recover that HP with its now powered up Drain Punch. If you utilize a Special Attacking Ghost Type you can bypass Annihilape's bulky Defense and hit it for STAB Ghost super-effective damage, all while preventing it from recovering HP with Drain Punch, thanks to Fighting Type Immunity.

Prevent Final Gambit with a Priority Move

As Annihilape is a ghost type, the Ghost Type priority move Shadow Sneak is extremely effective against it. By knocking it out or bringing it down to low HP before it gets a chance to use Final Gambit, you can nullify its Choice Scarf Speed boost.

Counter With High HP Pokemon

As the maximum damage Final Gambit can deal is 215, Using a Pokemon with at least 216 HP is a very effective counter to Annihilape.

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