Psyduck Guide: Best Builds and Moveset

The best guide on how to play Psyduck in Pokemon UNITE for Nintendo Switch and Mobile. Check here for Psyduck best build, its price, cost, and role, Held and Battle items, moveset and skills, as well as the latest nerfs, buffs, counters, matchups, and more!

Psyduck Pages
Release Date	Builds & Guide
Commemorative Event Pass	Event Pass Missions

How to Get Psyduck

Obtain in Psyduck Commemorative Event Pass

Currently, the only way to obtain Psyduck is in the Psyduck Commemorative Event Pass. Players must buy the Premium Event Pass and collect 2000 event points to obtain the Pokemon's license.

Psyduck Commemorative Event Pass Event Guide

Obtain Event Pass Points in Event Pass Missions

To obtain event pass points, players must complete missions in the Event Pass Missions.

Psyduck Event Pass Missions Event Guide

Psyduck Basic Info

Psyduck
	Tier Rating: Role: Supporter Attack Type: Ranged Damage Type: Special Difficulty: Novice
"Harness the mysterious power and unleash psychic energy on the battlefield with this psychic Supporter!"

Pokemon Unite Tier List

Psyduck Best Lanes

Top	Jungle	Bottom

Tips & Strategies for Every Lane

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths	Weaknesses
✔︎ Lots of crowd control ✔︎ Early scaling ✔︎ High durability (for a Supporter)	✖︎ Low attack damage

Best Builds for Psyduck

Psyduck Builds
Surf-Psychic Build
Disable-Beam Build	-

Surf-Psychic Build

Surf-Psychic Build
Moveset			Held Items
Surf Psychic			Exp. Share Focus Band Resonant Guard
Battle Item
Eject Button
Item Effects (at Level 30)			Recommended Lane
Defense: +30 Sp. Def: +30 Movement Speed: +150 HP: +690 HP Recovery: +18			Top Lane Bot Lane
Emblem Color Combination			Target Emblem Stats
Green x6 White x6			Positive Stats: • HP • Sp. Atk Free Negative Stats: • Attack • Critical-Hit Rate
Note: The emblem color and stats here are suggestions only. The builds are still viable even without the suggested emblems.

Surf-Psychic Build

This is a semi-tank build that revolves around using Surf to disable opponents and Psychic to pull them. It's important to take note that Psyduck can use Psychic during Surf, allowing the Pokemon to easily stun the target with the wave from Surf.

• Exp. Share is a staple support item during the laning phase. It provides Psyduck with a decent amount of HP and Movement speed.
• Focus Band improves Psyduck's durability via increased defenses and gives it a survivability tool.
• Resonant Guard allows Psyduck to generate shield for its allies whenever it deals damage and gives a nice amount of HP and HP Recovery.
• Aeos Cookiecan be a replacement for Slick Spoon for a purely tank build.
• Eject Button gives Psyduck a reliable repositioning tool that can also be used during Surf.
• X Speed can also work just as well for the build.
• The build's Boost Emblem loadout should consist of 6 Green Emblems for more damage and 6 White Emblems for more HP. This can be achieved by equipping at least three (2) Emblems that are both Green and White.
• Equip Emblems that improve Sp. Atk. or HP to further boost Psyduck's damage and durability, respectively.
• Attack, and Critical-Hit Rate can be freely traded for the other stats.

Disable-Beam Build

Disable-Beam Build
Moveset			Held Items
Bubble Beam Disable			Exp. Share Resonant Guard Slick Spoon
Battle Item
Eject Button
Item Effects (at Level 30)			Recommended Lane
Sp. Atk: +30 Movement Speed: +150 HP: +900 HP Recovery: +18			Top Lane Bot Lane
Emblem Color Combination			Target Emblem Stats
Green x6 Black x7			Positive Stats: • HP • Sp. Atk Free Negative Stats: • Attack • Critical-Hit Rate
Note: The emblem color and stats here are suggestions only. The builds are still viable even without the suggested emblems.

Disable-Beam Build

This is a support build utilizing the disruptive effect of Disable and the extra damage from Bubble Beam. They key to this build is taking advantage of the moves' long cast range to provide support for Psyduck's allies during fights, allowing the Pokemon to stay at a safe distance.

• Exp. Share is a staple support item during the laning phase. It provides Psyduck with a decent amount of HP and Movement speed.
• Resonant Guard allows Psyduck to generate shields for its allies whenever it deals damage and gives a nice amount of HP and HP Recovery.
• Slick Spoon gives Psyduck Sp. Atk. and HP, which are vital stats for the Pokemon. It also allows Psyduck to ignore a portion of its target's Sp. Def., increasing the damage it deals to them.
• Curse Incense can be a replacement for Slick Spoon for more damage or Shell Bell for more cooldown reduction and a bit of healing.
• Eject Button gives Psyduck a reliable repositioning tool in case it gets out of position.
• X Speed can also work just as well for the build.
• The build's Boost Emblem loadout should consist of 6 Green Emblems for more damage and 7 Black Emblems for cooldown reduction. This can be achieved by equipping at least three (3) Emblems that are both Green and Black.
• Equip Emblems that improve Sp. Atk. or HP to further boost Psyduck's damage and durability, respectively.
• Attack, and Critical-Hit Rate can be freely traded for the other stats.

Psyduck Best Items & Moveset

Best Held Items

Item	Explanation
Exp. Share	Exp. Share is a staple item for Supporters such as Psyduck for better laning. It provides a decent amount of HP and Movement speed that solves a Supporter's common weaknesses.
Aeos Cookie	Aeos Cookie can further improve Psyduck's durability via a hefty amount of HP boost.
Focus Band	Focus Band improves Psyduck's durability via increased defenses and acts as a survivability tool, which goes well with its Swift Swim Ability.
Shell Bell	Shell Bell gives Psyduck Sp. Atk., cooldown reduction, and the ability to recover HP when it uses a move.
Slick Spoon	Slick Spoon provides Psyduck with a nice amount Sp. Atk. and HP, which are vital stats for the Pokemon, and allows it to ignore a portion of its target's Sp. Def, resulting to more damage.
Curse Incense	Curse Incense provides Psyduck with a decent amount of Sp. Atk. and allows the Pokemon to reduce a target's HP recovery.
Resonant Guard	Resonant Guard gives Psyduck HP and HP Recovery and allows Psyduck to generate shields for its allies, which is useful during teamfights.

Held Item Tier List

Best Battle Items

Item	Explanation
Eject Button	Eject Button gives Psyduck a reliable repositioning tool that can also be used during Surf.
X Speed	X Speed greatly improves Psyduck's mobility via increased Movement Speed, which can be useful in certain situations.
Potion	Potion provides Psyduck a means of sustaining HP given how it needs to take damage for its Headache gauge.

Battle Item Tier List

Best Moveset

Move	Explanation
Surf	Surf is a great crowd control move that also deals a decent amount of damage. It becomes even more powerful when Psyduck's Headache gauge fills up.
Psychic	Psychic allows Psyduck to isolate a target by shoving it towards any direction. It's also a great setup for its other moves.

This moveset gives Psyduck two strong crowd control moves. Surf can slow and shove opponents and reduce their damage. It can also increase allies' movement speed if they touch a wave. The move becomes a strong damage move when the Headache gauge fills up. Psychic can isolate targets and displace them, allowing Psyduck to easily setup fights.

Which Moveset Do You Think is Best for Psyduck?

Let us know why in the comments!

How to Play Psyduck

• Utilize Early Scaling
• Utilize the Headache Gauge
• Set Up Surf with Psychic
• Pump Up Damage with Bubble Beam
• Disrupt Opponents with Disable
• Weaken the Opponents' Damage with the Unite Move

Utilize Early Scaling

Psyduck gets both of its primary moves at level 4 and level 6. Try to reach level 6 as fast as possible and utilize this early scaling to put pressure on the lane. Even at level 4 Psyduck can start to apply pressure on opponents, especially if they're late bloomers.

Utilize the Headache Gauge

When Psyduck or nearby ally Pokemon takes damage, Psyduck's Headache guage fills up. Once the gauge is full, Psyduck triggers a mysterious power, shoving nearby opposing Pokemon as a result and boosting its moves and their cooldowns.

The shove effect can be useful during teamfights as it's another form of crowd control. Make sure to also use the boosted version of Psyduck's moves to deal more damage.

Get to Safety When the Effect Expires

After the effects of the Headache gauge expires, Psyduck won't be able to perform anything other than move, so it's best to get to a safe position when the effect wears off as the Pokemon will become very vulnerable.

Set Up Surf with Psychic

One way to make hitting Surf easier is by using Psychic first. By using Psychic first, Psyduck can tether a target and pull it towards it and set up Surf.

Use Psychic first and make sure to hit the target. Once Psyduck is tethered, pull the target, then immediately follow up with Surf.

Pump Up Damage with Bubble Beam

Aside from simply dealing damage, Bubble Beam attaches bubbles on the targets it hits. When allied Pokemon deal damage to opponents that have bubbles attached to them, the bubbles burst, dealing damage and slowing the target.

Bubble Beam's effects can make picking off targets faster for Psyduck's allies, which is extremely effective during teamfights. Moreover, it's best to hit as many opponents as possible when using Bubble Beam to maximize its effectiveness.

Disrupt Opponents with Disable

Disable bounces to nearby enemies, dealing damage and prolonging their move cooldowns. This move can be extremely disruptive during fights as opponents are forced to scatter to avoid getting hit.

Additionally, having the opponents' move cooldowns increased gives Psyduck and its allies more time to push the offense as the opponents are waiting for their move to go off cooldown.

Weaken the Opponents' Damage with Full-Power Psy-ay-ay!

Psyduck's Unite Move, Full-Power Psy-ay-ay!, unleashes waves of mysterious power around Psyduck, dealing damage and reducing the amount of damage opponents deal. The move's damage reduction effect is a powerful effect during teamfights as it essentially gives Psyduck and its allies a huge damage advantage.

It's best to save Full-Power Psy-ay-ay! for important teamfights, such as when trying to get Rayquaza or Zapdos.

Utilize the Headache Gauge Increase

After using Full-Power Psy-ay-ay!, Psyduck's Headache gauge greatly increases, so if Psyduck's gauge becomes full because of this effect, make sure to utilize it.

Psyduck Progression and Leveling Guide

Top and Bottom Guide

Level 1 to 4

• Learn Confusion to quickly clear out the Bunnelbies in the lane.
• Keep farming wild Pokemon in the lane to reach level 4 and learn Surf or Bubble Beam.
• At bottom lane, prioritize taking Indeedees for more exp.
• Try to get early kills or score when possible but don't overextend.

Level 5 to 8

• Upon reaching level 6, pair Psychic with Surf and Disable with Bubble Beam and start to get aggressive.
• Keep hunting Wild Pokemon to gain more EXP from farming Altaria and Swablus.
• Help allies secure Regice, Registeel, or Regirock when it spawns at bottom lane, otherwise secure Regieleki at top lane.
• Upon reaching level 8, learn Full-Power Psy-ay-ay!.

Level 9+

• Roam around and assist allies in hunting down targets, securing objectives, and pushing lanes.
• Reach level 13 before or when Rayquaza spawns for a fully-upgraded moveset
• Make sure to have Full-Power Psy-ay-ay! available when Rayquaza spawns.
• Help allies win a teamfight and secure Rayquaza.

Psyduck Combos

Main Combos

These are combos that Psyduck can use during fights to disrupt its opponents.

Psy-Surf Combo

Psy-Surf Combo
► ► (Pull) ►
Psychic ► Surf ► Psychic (Pull) ► Surf
Start the combo using Psychic, making sure to hit the target. Once the target is tethered, use Surf to shoot one wave towards it. Afterwards, use Psychic again to pull the target towards Psyduck, then immediately follow up with another Surf.

Psy-Beam Combo

Psy-Beam Combo
► (Pull) ►
Psychic ► Psychic (Pull) ► Bubble Beam
Start the combo using Psychic, making sure to hit the target. Once the target is tethered, pull it towards Psyduck, then follow up with Bubble Beam. Afterwards, burst the bubbles attached to the target for more damage and a stun.

Matchups & Counters for Psyduck

Psyduck Matchups

Matchup Notes
Hard Counter	Even Matchup	Easy Matchup
1. The chart is based on our own experience playing Psyduck. 2. Pokemon within each tier are unordered 3. Any Pokemon not shown here are still under investigation.

Hard Couner Burst Damage

Although Psyduck's Headache gauge fills up whenever it or its allies take damage from opponents, it takes quite a bit of attacks to fill it up. Pokemon that can deal high amounts of damage in a single attack can quickly knock out Psyduck before its Headache gauge fills up.

Best Counters

Pokemon	Explanation
Darkrai	Rating: ★★★★★ • Can constantly put Psyduck to sleep and burst it down. • Can isolate Psyduck and burst it down with Worst Nightmare.
Zacian	Rating: ★★★★★ • Can overpower Psyduck with its attacks and moves.
Alolan Ninetales	Rating: ★★★★ • Can constanty freeze Psyduck and burst it down with Avalanche, Blizzard, and Snow Globe.

Even Matchups

Psyduck will mostly stick together with its allies as it's a Supporter. However, the Pokemon's moves are highly disruptive during fights and allows it to get the upper hand against these Pokemon, even in a 1v1 situation.

Displace Them with Psychic or Disrupt Their Moves with Disable

Ranged, Fragile Pokemon with High Damage
How to Beat
• These Pokemon prefer to keep their distance from opponents when fighting. They also have high damage potential that can be dangerous for Psyduck. • Use Psychic to damage them and displace them towards an unsafe position, allowing Psyduck's allies to burst them down. • Use Disable to prolong their move cooldowns and render them vulnerable. • Use Full-Power Psy-ay-ay! to reduce the damage they deal and damage them for a decent amount.

Disrupt Their Combos

All-Rounders
How to Beat
• These Pokemon excel in close combat and rely mostly on their attacks or combos to deal damage. They are also durable enough to tank Psyduck's damage. • Use Disable to prolong their move cooldowns and also deal damage. • Use Surf and/or Psychic to disrupt their combos and attacks. • Use Bubble Beam to attach bubbles on them and allow allies to burst the bubbles and deal additional damage. • Use Full-Power Psy-ay-ay! to reduce the damage they deal.

Group Up with Allies

Highly Durable Pokemon
How to Beat
• These Pokemon are extremely durable, making it hard for Psyduck to take them out alone. With that, it's best to group up with allies to bring them down with the help of Psyduck. • Use Psychic to pull them closer to the team or prevent them from escaping. • Use Disable to prolong their move cooldowns and slow them. • Use Bubble Beam to attach bubbles on them and allow allies to deal more damage when they attack.

Easy Matchups

These Pokemon can easily fall victim to Psyduck's disruptive moves.

Displace Them with Psychic or Disrupt Their Moves with Disable

Damage Dealers
How to Beat
• These Pokemon have high damage potential that can be dangerous for Psyduck but can easily fall victim to its crowd control moves. • Use Psychic to damage them and displace them towards an unsafe position, allowing Psyduck's allies to burst them down. • Use Disable to prolong their move cooldowns and render them vulnerable. • Use Full-Power Psy-ay-ay! to reduce the damage they deal and damage them for a decent amount.

Best Teammates for Psyduck

Pokemon	Explanation
Meowscarada Absol	Pokemon with High Burst Damage
	Pokemon with high burst damage can take advantage of Psyduck's Bubble Beam effect, allowing them to deal even more damage when they attack targets hit by the move.
Cinderace Dragapult	Attack-Damage Attackers
	Attackers that rely on their attack damage and have a fast attack speed can benefit from Psyduck's disruptive moves, especially Bubble Beam.

Looking for teammates to synergize with you? Head over to our Friend Request Board to find other trainers to join you in your grind or just to hang out with!

Friend Request Board

Psyduck Moves

Move Slot 1 (R)

Confusion (Lv. 1 or 3)	Move Type: Ranged Damage Type: Sp. Atk. Cooldown: 6s Starting Damage: 415 Final Damage: 452
Has the user release weak telekinetic force toward opposing Pokemon, dealing damage and leaving them unable to act. While the mysterious power is active, damage dealt to opposing Pokemon is increased.
Bubble Beam (Lv. 4) Upgrade Lv. 11	Move Type: Ranged Damage Type: Sp. Atk. Cooldown: 6s Starting Damage: 468 Bubble Burst Damage: 234 Final Damage: 936 Bubble Burst Damage: 468
Has the user forcefully eject a spray of bubbles, dealing damage to opposing Pokemon it hits and attaching 3 bubbles. When ally Pokemon hit a bubbled opposing Pokemon with a basic attack, a bubble bursts, dealing damage. When all bubbles are burst, the opposing Pokemon is left unable to act. While the mysterious power is active, the damage dealt when the bubbles burst is increased. Upgrade: Also applies a slowing effect when this move hits.
Surf (Lv. 4) Upgrade Lv. 11	Move Type: Hindrance Damage Type: Sp. Atk. Cooldown: 6s Starting Damage: 546 Damage per wave: 546, Nuumber of Waves:2, Number of Waves (Boosted): 4 Final Damage: 1089 Damage per wave: 1089, Nuumber of Waves:2, Number of Waves (Boosted): 4
Has the user create a wave in the designated direction, dealing damage and applying a slowing effect to opposing Pokemon it hits. If opposing Pokemon hit by this move already have a slowing effect applied, they are shoved. The user can ride the wave for a short time and use basic attacks and moves while moving. Ally Pokemon who touch the wave have their movement speed increased. If this move is used again, the user stops in place and creates another wave. While the mysterious power is active, the user will create two waves. Upgrade: Decreases the damage dealt by opposing Pokemon that are hit by this move.

Move Slot 2 (ZR)

Tail Whip (Lv. 1 or 3)	Move Type: Sure Hit Damage Type: Sp. Atk. Cooldown: 6s Starting Damage: 350 Final Damage: 417
Has the user wag its tail, dealing damage, applying a slowing effect, and decreasing the Sp. Def. of the designated opposing Pokemon. While the mysterious power is active, the opposing Pokemon's Sp. Def. is decreased by a greater amount.
Psychic (Lv. 6) Upgrade Lv. 13	Move Type: Hindrance Damage Type: Sp. Atk. Cooldown: 7.5s Starting Damage: 807 Final Damage: 1437
Has the user release a strong telekinetic force in the designated area, dealing damage to opposing Pokemon it hits and leaving them unable to act. The user continues to release a telekinetic force at the opposing Pokemon that took damage closest to the center of the area of effect. If this move is used again, the user pulls the opposing Pokemon receiving the telekinetic force in the designatedd direction. While the mysterious power is active, the user leaves the opposing Pokemon unable to act after pulling them. Upgrade: Decreases the Sp. Def. of opposing Pokemon hit by the telekinetic force.
Disable (Lv. 6) Upgrade Lv. 13	Move Type: Hindrance, Sure Hit Damage Type: Sp. Atk. Cooldown: 6s Starting Damage: 549 Damage per bounce: 549, Number of Bounces: 6 Final Damage: 970 Damage per bounce: 970, Number of Bounces: 6
Has the user release electricity that limits the designated opposing Pokemon's moves while dealing damage and leaving them unable to act. The electricity spreads to nearby Pokemon 5 times. (The electricity can only spread to the same Pokemon up to 2 times.) Opposing Pokemon hit by the electricity will have the cooldown of their last used move increased. If an opposing Pokemon haas no move on cooldown, the cooldown of the next move it uses will be increased. When an effect to increase a move's cooldown is applied, a slowing effect is also applied. While the mysterious power is active, the number of times the electricity spreads will increase. Upgrade: Increases the duration that opposing Pokemon are left unable to act.

Unite Moves (ZL)

Full-Power Psy-ay-ay! (Lv. 8)	Move Type: Hindrance Damage Type: Sp. Atk. Cooldown: 111s Starting Damage: 1,479 Damage per Pulse: 493, Number of Pulses: 3 Final Damage: 2,322 Damage per Pulse: 774, Number of Pulses: 3
Has the user release three mysterious psychic waves around itself, dealing damage and decreasing the damage dealt by opposing Pokemon they hit. After using this move, the user's headache gauge greatly increases as a consequence of it unleashing its full power.

Standard Attack

Standard Attack	Attacks with a shot of water.

Ability (Passive)

Swift Swim

Psyduck When the Pokemon is damaged by an opposing Pokemon, its movement speed is increased for a short time. This effect goes on cooldown after it's triggered. When this Pokemon or neaarby ally Pokemon take damage, the headache gauge increases. When the headache gauge is full, a mysterious power is triggered, shoving nearby opposing Pokemon. While the mysterious power is active, moves are boosted and their cooldowns are reduced.

Psyduck Stats & Evolutions

Psyduck Evolutions

Psyduck This Pokemon does not evolve.

Psyduck Stats

Level	HP	Defense	Special Defense	Attack Damage
1	3300	80	70	130
2	3503	90	79	137
3	3726	101	88	144
4	3971	113	98	152
5	4240	127	109	161
6	4537	142	122	171
7	4864	159	136	182
8	5224	177	151	194
9	5621	197	168	207
10	6058	219	186	222
11	6539	244	206	238
12	7068	271	228	256
13	7651	301	253	275
14	8293	334	280	296
15	9000	370	310	320

Attack Damage is the damage of the Basic Attack as tested against the Training Dummy.

Psyduck In-Game Stat Listings

Offense	Endurance	Mobility	Scoring	Support

Psyduck Skins (Holowear)

Holowear
Beach Style Event: Psyduck Commemorative Event Pass

All Pokemon Skins (Holowear)

Pokemon UNITE Related Guides

List of All Pokemon

All Pokemon Guides and Builds

Best Build for Each Pokemon

Pokemon Roster
Absol	Aegislash	Alolan Ninetales	Armarougue
Azumarill	Blastoise	Blaziken	Blissey
Buzzwole	Ceruledge	Chandelure	Charizard
Cinderace	Clefable	Comfey	Cramorant
Crustle	Darkrai	Decidueye	Delphox
Dodrio	Dragapult	Dragonite	Duraludon
Eldegoss	Espeon	Falinks	Garchomp
Gardevoir	Gengar	Glaceon	Goodra
Greedent	Greninja	Gyarados	Ho-Oh
Hoopa	Inteleon	Lapras	Leafeon
Lucario	Machamp	Mamoswine	Mega Mewtwo X
Mega Mewtwo Y	Meowscarada	Metagross	Mew
Mimikyu	Miraidon	Mr. Mime	Pikachu
Psyduck	Sableye	Scizor	Slowbro
Snorlax	Sylveon	Talonflame	Tsareena
Tyranitar	Umbreon	Trevenant	Urshifu
Wigglytuff	Venusaur	Zeraora	Zoroark

Upcoming Pokemon

Upcoming Pokemon
There are currently no upcoming Pokemon.

Upcoming and New Pokemon

Pokemon by Role

All Pokemon Roles
Attackers		All-Rounders		Defenders
Speedsters			Supporters

Pokemon by Characteristics

Attack Type
Melee Pokemon	Ranged Pokemon
Physical Pokemon	Special Pokemon
Stat Rankings
HP Ranking	Defense Ranking
Sp. Def. Ranking	Basic Attack Ranking