For a long time, Electric pokemon have been at or near the top of the heap for speed- and speedy offense. From Electrode and Jolteon to the lowly Electrike, most pokemon of the Electric type are speedy creatures with frail defenses who can dish out the hits with their Special Attack- and usually their Attack as well.
And then there’s the giraffe-sheep.
Ampharos is a very remarkable Electric pokemon. With HP and Special Defense of 90 and a Defense of 75, it totes around defenses that can pass the 250 mark and HP around 350 at level 100- an unprecedented level of durability for an Electric-type. With Special Attack that nears its HP it can work destructive wonders- but its 55 speed seems to cripple it, leaving it at less than half the speed of many of its co-Electrics.
However, this leaves it in an interesting position. An Ampharos with amped-up Defense and HP can survive nearly any unboosted Earthquake in the game, a level of durability no other Electric type can quite manage (excepting maybe Zapdos, who laughs at Ground moves all day long- until someone hits it with Rock Slide). This endurance is matched with a very interesting movepool that includes things like Focus Blast and Cotton Guard- the former to devastate the Rock and Steel types that are often attached to Earthquakers, and the latter to bring its physical defense beyond anything seen on any other Electric type. Signal Beam lets it cut into Rock types without the low accuracy that can hinder Focus Blast, and since it’s clearly sticking around for a few turns, Ampharos’ massive Special Attack benefits greatly from the TM move Charge Beam.
This durability also lets Ampharos act as a strange form of trickster pokemon, wielding Cotton Spore, Light Screen, Toxic, Thunder Wave, and even Flatter to twist combat into strange and unrecognizable forms. Agility can be obtained through breeding, letting a Leftovers Ampharos ramp itself up to the Electric Pokemon standard while retaining some of its defenses for any counters, and alternating Charge with Charge Beam will turn the thing into a horrifying Special-oriented monster.
All of these tactics hinge on a pokemon that sticks around, and unlike most Electric pokemon, Ampharos can do just that, outlasting almost any other Electric type and wielding movesets that can cripple the things that its co-shockers have to run from.
So while it’s slow and hefty instead of light and quick, Ampharos is still a very usable Electric pokemon- and something that can catch most opponents completely off-guard.
