Lapras
Attack
Defense
Stamina
Best Movesets
Analysis
When Pokemon Go first dropped in 2016, Lapras was one of the most important Pokemon in the game. This thing was one of only a very few counters to the ubiquitous Dragonite, and it had a good overall presence in Gyms as defender.
However, nowadays it's genuinely not advised to invest in this classical Pokemon. Its raid performance doesn't really even register anymore, and Gym Defense isn't a meta that we can advise investing in. If you happen to find a high-leveled Lapras, then definitely add it to your team of defenders, but don't bother giving it your stardust.
Offense
- Frost Breath and Ice Shard* are both great go-to Ice-type options for offense.
- Water Gun should be paired with Sparkling Aria, but is undesired, as Lapras’s niche is in its STAB Ice-type moves.
- Blizzard is on par with Ice Beam* on paper, but Ice Beam will pull ahead more often than not due to its higher average performance. Still, it's probably best to not drop an Elite TM on Lapras.
- Hydro Pump performs similarly to Surf, akin to the above Ice-type charge moves.
- Dragon Pulse*, Psywave, and Skull Bash are clearly the worst options due to lack of STAB and meaningful coverage.
- Surf and Hydro Pump fall behind.
Defense
- If you've got Elite Moves on Lapras, then go for Ice Shard* and Sparkling Aria or Dragon Pulse
- If you're not packing Elite Moves, then Frost Breath is your go-to Fast Move, while Water Gun is... okay.
- Ice Beam* seems like it should be a great choice, but pairing it with Lapras' best Fast Move options leaves it easily walled out, and Water Gun isn't great. Surf is a weaker Sparkling Aria.
- Blizzard, Hydro Pump, and Skull Bash all take too much energy to be useful, as Lapras will probably go down before using them.
- Psywave is too weak on defense to be useful.
Psywave offers the most energy generation out of Lapras's moves while outputting decent damage overall. It outclasses Ice Shard*, Water Gun, and Frost Breath by a good margin despite lacking STAB.
Sparkling Aria is Lapras's bread and butter STAB Charged Attack, dealing 5 more damage than Surf for the same energy cost. Ice Beam threatens Grass-, Dragon-, and Flying-type Pokemon and benefits from STAB. Skull Bash, on the other hand, is handy for opposing Water-type Pokemon that would otherwise resist its STAB combo; it is an expensive move, but Lapras's bulk makes it reasonably attainable. Blizzard is generally too expensive, but it does have greater DPE than Ice Beam and can surprise opponents. Hydro Pump is too expensive and isn't worth running when Sparkling Aria exists. Return is slightly cheaper than Skull Bash, but it doesn't have Skull Bash's guaranteed Defense boost.
What about Dragon Pulse
Dragon Pulse was made a legacy move starting February 21, 2017, and now available through Elite TMs. Demanding 60 energy to use, it's slightly slower than Ice Beam, but does offer the perk of neutral damage against opponents that would resist Water or Ice-type attacks (AKA other Water-types). It's also handy in the Lapras mirror match, and easier to get to than Skull Bash, but does not offer a DEF self-buff.
A bulky Water/Ice Pokemon, Lapras's performance in Great League has at times been great, and at other times outclassed. It often competed with other options such as Dewgong and Walrein. In the Might and Mastery Season, Lapras received Psywave to help separate its identity from its competitors. This amazing addition not only gave Lapras a high energy generating Fast Attack, it also provided Lapras coverage against Fighting-type Pokemon that would otherwise strike its rather exploitable typing. Lapras also has the best matchup into opposing Water/Ice Pokemon, especially if it runs Skull Bash.
