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Pokemon Sword and Shield

Cobalion - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle

4

★ Tier List / Doubles Tier List / Movesets / Rental Teams
☆ Competitive Battle Guide

Cobalion - Movesets and Counters.png
This is a strategy guide for using Cobalion in competitive play for the games Pokemon Sword and Shield. Read on for tips on the best Nature, EV spreads, Movesets, and Held Items to use with Cobalion, as well as its strengths and weak points.

Cobalion - Related Guides
Pokemon SWSH - Cobalion Evolution and LearnsetEvolution and Learnset Pokemon SWSH - Cobalion Best BuildBuild for Ranked Battle

List of Contents

Basic Information for Cobalion

Types and Abilities

Pokemon Type 1 Type 2
Cobalion ImageCobalion
 Pokemon Sword and Shield - Steel Type Pokemon Sword and Shield - Fighting Type
Abilities
Justified Raises Attack when hit by a Dark-type move.

Cobalion Weaknesses and Resistances

Type
Takes 4x damage
-
Takes 2x damage
Pokemon Fire Image Pokemon Fighting Image Pokemon Ground Image
Takes 0.5x damage
Pokemon Normal Image Pokemon Grass Image Pokemon Ice Image Pokemon Dragon Image Pokemon Dark Image Pokemon Steel Image
Takes 1/4x damage
Pokemon Bug Image Pokemon Rock Image
Takes 0x damage
Pokemon Poison Image

What is Type Effectiveness?

Base Stats

HP Attack Defense Sp. Atk Sp. Def Speed
91 90 129 90 72 108

Best Nature for Cobalion

Best Natures
Jolly
(+Spd, -SpAtk)		 Adamant
(+Atk, -SpAtk)

What are Natures?

Singles Movesets for Cobalion

Weakness Policy Moveset & Best Build

Weakness Policy Cobalion.png

Nature Jolly (+Spd, -SpAtk)
EV Spread HP 4 / Atk 252 / Spd 252
Final Stat Values HP 167 / Atk 142 / Def 149 / SpDef 92 / Spd 176
Ability Justified
Held Item Weakness Policy
Moveset ・Iron Head
・Close Combat
・Bounce
・Stone Edge

This build revolves around Cobalion's high defense, which allows it to take super effective hits safely while Dynamaxed to boost its attack with a Weakness Policy. Cobalion can increase its speed with Max Airstream as well as defense with Max Steelspike and its Steel-typing allows it to take on Fairy-types, too.

Other Viable Moves

Sacred Sword Can be chosen over Close Combat. Deals damage to a target that ignores any defense or evasion stat changes.
Zen Headbutt Good for dealing with Fighting types. Has a 20% chance of making its target flinch.
Volt Switch Can do a bit of damage while switching out away from Pokemon that put it at a disadvantage. As it's a special attack be warned it won't hit very hard.

Support Moveset & Best Build

Support Cobalion.png

Nature Jolly (+Spd, -SpAtk)
EV Spread HP 4 / Atk 252 / Spd 252
Final Stat Values HP 167 / Atk 142 / Def 149 / SpDef 92 / Spd 176
Ability Justified
Held Item Focus Sash
Moveset ・Close Combat
・Thunder Wave
・Stealth Rock
・Taunt

With its high physical defense and speed, this build focuses on Cobalion's ability to setup Stealth Rocks or paralyze foes with Thunder Wave effectively. By opening with Taunt it can even prevent opponents from spreading Stealth Rocks across the field.

Other Viable Moves

Iron Head Counter for Fairy-type Pokemon. Max Steelspike will also raise its defense by 1 stage.
Volt Switch Can do a bit of damage while switching out away from Pokemon that put it at a disadvantage. As it's a special attack be warned it won't hit very hard.

How to Use Cobalion Effectively

Great for Dynamaxing

With its high defense, Cobalion is great for Dynamaxing and taking attacks from other Pokemon, and equipped with a Weakness Policy it can raise its damage even more. Due to getting STAB with Steel-type moves, it is also perfect for taking out bulkier Fairy-types.

A Great Support as Well

Since Cobalion can learn moves like Stealth Rock or Taunt, it has the ability to prevent enemies actions and can support its team.

Counters for Cobalion

Cobalion
Weakness Pokemon Fire Image Pokemon Fighting Image Pokemon Ground Image

Hit it With Special Attacks

While Cobalion has a high defense of 129, its special defense is on the lower end at 72, making it susceptible to special attackers. Bring Fire or Ground-type special attack users to take Cobalion down a notch.

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon Description
Pokemon SWSH - Zapdos ImageZapdos Ranking：★★★★★
・Fire-type moves such as Heat Wave work well against Cobalion.
・Zapdos' high stats and diverse movepool make it an easy fit for most teams.
Zapdos - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle
Pokemon SWSH - Chandelure ImageChandelure Ranking：★★★★★
・If Cobalion hasn't been buffed, one shot of Overheat can take it out (if given Choice Specs, even Dynamaxed Cobalion will go down in one hit)
・Takes half damage from Cobalion's Steel-type moves and is completely immune to Fighting
Chandelure - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle
Pokemon SWSH - Heat Rotom ImageHeat Rotom Ranking：★★★★★
・Pierces Cobalion's weakness with special Fire-type attacks
・Can take some hits
Heat Rotom - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle
Pokemon SWSH - Naganadel ImageNaganadel Ranking：★★★★
・Fire-type moves such as Fire Blast work well against Cobalion.
・Landing a KO will activate Beast Boost.
Naganadel - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle
Pokemon SWSH - Primarina ImagePrimarina Ranking：★★★★
・2 hits of Moonblast can take out an unbuffed Cobalion
・Takes half damage from Fighting-type moves
Primarina - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle
Pokemon SWSH - Dragapult ImageDragapult Ranking：★★★★
・One shot of Max Flare will take down an unbuffed Cobalion (powered up from Fire Blast)
・Dragapult can easily fit into any team due to its versatility
Dragapult - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle

Related Links

Pokemon Sword and Shield - Best Builds for Ranked Battle

All Competitive Builds for Ranked Battle

Competitive Guides for Pokemon Sword and Shield

Competitive Pokemon Battle Guides
Pokemon SWSH - Tier ListTier List Pokemon SWSH - Best BuildsBest Builds Pokemon Sword and Shield - Ranked Battle Series 10 Contenders.pngSeries 10 List of Contenders
Pokemon SWSH - Doubles Tier ListDoubles Tier List Pokemon SWSH - Competitive Team BuildingTeam Building Pokemon SWSH - Rental TeamsRental Teams

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