Summary

Lanturn is a very unusual Pokemon with a unique set of attributes that can help bolster certain teams that struggle against BoltBeam attackers, however, all of its positive attributes come with serious caveats that restrict it greatly. Its serviceable special bulk, access to Volt Absorb, and plethora of resistances make it a potent defensive piece. However, its Grass weakness limits its ability to check Electric-type attackers. Its Electric/Water STAB and complementary Ice Beam hit many Pokemon for super effective damage, but its low special attack stat of 76 ensures that even with investment, it often fails to knock out its opponents. It has access to the relatively uncommon Thunder Wave, but cannot seriously threaten common clerics. Its movepool is as deep as a puddle, yet it still has a handful of interesting sets that can surprise opponents. All in all, Lanturn is a niche late-draft pick suitable for specific teams with stacked BoltBeam weaknesses that were unable to get a more robust special wall in their first few picks.

Lanturn’s immunity to Electric and resistance to Water, Fire, and Ice combine with its exceptionally high HP stat to make it very hard for many special attackers to break if they do not have Grass coverage. Most of the time, Lanturn needs special defense investment to do its job: with a little investment it can avoid 2HKOs from most Hidden Power Grasses, and with near-maximum investment, it can prevent most 3HKOs. It can bolster its special defense further with Amnesia, but it does not have enough move slots for this move in most cases, especially with how easily it can be forced out. Its physical bulk is much less impressive -- while its Flying and quadruple Steel resistances are helpful, these attacking types are often paired with Ground coverage that will decimate Lanturn. Unfortunately, due to its atrocious base stats, Lanturn will usually not have many spare EVs to put into physical bulk, so it usually needs to retreat from physical attackers. This Pokemon is also somewhat vulnerable to status and chip damage, with Rest being its only way to heal itself. Rest sets with a Heal Bell user, or RestTalk sets with either two attacks or one attack and a status move, have decent longevity but they require high amounts of special defense investment in order to do their job and thus end up being a bit passive. Substitute is an extremely helpful move on Lanturn, as it can block status moves from the slow walls it tends to outrun and capitalize on the switches it often forces. Lanturn can make 101 HP substitutes and safely set them on special attackers that cannot hit it for super-effective damage. When behind a substitute, Lanturn is safe from many of its usual checks, which tend to be weak to Lanturn’s attacks.

Offensively, Lanturn is a mixed bag. Its Electric, Water, and Ice attacks are very widely threatening, but base 76 special attack is simply not enough in most cases. Even with maximum investment and a Modest nature, Lanturn’s Surf and Thunderbolt will often fall short of OHKOing opposing Pokemon weak to them. Its Thunderbolts additionally struggle to reliably 2HKO opposing bulky Waters like Milotic, but its Ice Beams with maximum investment are at least able to delete most quad-weak dragons such as Salamence and Flygon in a single hit. More offensive Lanturns may opt for Hydro Pump and/or Thunder instead if even more power is needed to hit certain kill benchmarks. Lanturn is bulky enough that it often has a second chance to attack if it misses, but this is far from ideal. Finally, Hidden Power Grass can be used to 2HKO annoying Water/Ground types should the need arise -- with Lanturn's plethora of coverage moves, there’s very little reason to run a different Hidden Power type. Another issue with Lanturn’s offenses is its mediocre base 67 speed. With how much it needs Special Defense and Special Attack EVs, Lanturn will usually find itself with very little speed investment and generally trying to outspeed uninvested walls and slow wallbreakers only. However, if Lanturn’s defensive profile is not as needed, it can run heavy speed investment to get the jump on certain Pokemon such as max speed Tyranitar. However, a Timid nature reduces Lanturn’s limited offenses even further, so this is generally not recommended without heavy support.

In terms of utility moves, Lanturn has very little to offer beyond Toxic and Thunder Wave. Toxic is a decent midground move, especially if Lanturn is only running one attacking move, and is also Lanturn’s best option against opposing walls -- especially if paired with Substitute. It can also work on very bulky RestTalk sets that hope to play the long game. Lanturn is a decent Thunder Wave user, as it is an Electric-type that most Ground-types cannot safely switch into. However, Thunder Wave Lanturn should not be used in matchups where the opponent has a Water/Ground type. Thunder Wave can be paired with Confuse Ray to annoy opponents even further, with Substitute punishing switch-outs or failed attacks further. However, this style of set is more of a gimmick, as it leaves Lanturn with only 1 move to attack things. With how common Heal Bell users are in ADV Draft, building fully into status is generally not recommended. Most of the time, defensive Lanturn sets will use Leftovers, while more offensive ones will utilize Lum Berry. Lanturn is not a great user of pinch berries, though Salac Berry can be used to help Lanturn get one final hit off and potentially trade with a specific target. While Petaya Berry may seem tempting to fix Lanturn’s low special attack, it is usually far too slow to make use of it. Unfortunately, Lanturn has plenty of bad matchups, and tends to fare poorly against opposing special walls which it cannot hurt except with Toxic. Fast special threats with Toxic or grass coverage are also a pain to deal with, unless Lanturn is supported by teammates. Bulky Grass-types are also a problem for Lanturn - its puny Ice Beam often struggles to even 3HKO them. Fast Ground-types force out Lanturn if it isn’t behind a substitute, and Water/Ground types usually beat it. Any fast or bulky physical attacker, especially those with Earthquake, ruin Lanturn. Finally, it is a bad idea to bring Lanturn if your opponent has Dugtrio as it can easily be trapped and eliminated. However, Lanturn tends to match up extremely well into specially-oriented teams. It also matches up decently well into most spikers and spinners. Its status-spreading sets are also strong against teams without a solid Heal Bell user. Notably, it completely walls a top Pokemon in the format, Raikou, without Hidden Power Grass and can often stall it out of PP with a Bubble set.

Lanturn synergizes incredibly well with Flying-types, notably Gyarados. It provides immunity to Electric-type moves, while they provide their immunity to Ground-type moves. It also appreciates being paired with a second answer to Electric-type moves that is unafraid of Grass coverage, such as Flygon or a bulky Grass type (which coincidentally also helps with Lanturn’s Ground weakness). Drafts relying on Lanturn as a BoltBeam answer likely do not have a solid dedicated special wall, so it may be a good idea to pair it with something that can handle the Psychic-type threats that Lanturn struggles against. Heal Bell and Wish support also help Lanturn with its longevity issues. Finally, Lanturn makes a decent Calm Mind recipient, especially if it has Substitute, as the special attack boost helps it actually kill things while the special defense boost improves its resilience as a wall.

Summary written by Mezzoloth

Go back to main page