Sableye
Attack
Defense
Stamina
Best Movesets
Analysis
Looking at it here, you probably wouldn’t believe it if I told you that Sableye was once one of the most threatening Pokemon in the console games. In Pokemon Black and White, Sableye gained the ability “Prankster” which allowed it to use its massive arsenal of utility moves to great effect. It didn’t matter that Sableye had extremely low stats, because if someone wasn’t prepared to deal with it then they literally couldn’t. Later down the line, Sableye gained a Mega Evolution, taking its abysmal defenses to the next level while improving its quality as a tricky, utility Pokemon with the ability “Magic Bounce” which nullified and reflected opponent’s own utility moves right back at them! Unfortunately, none of these wonderful abilities, utility moves, or mega evolutions exist yet in Pokemon GO.
As with its debut in Ruby and Sapphire, Sableye is all around a very underwhelming Pokemon in Pokemon GO. As with earlier generations of Pokemon, Sableye is just a collectable fan favorite rather than a potent threat. While Sableye is a pretty mediocre Pokemon now, looking at its performance in later generations, it certainly has room to grow!
Offense
- Shadow Claw is slightly superior to Feint Attack, offering slightly higher DPS, slightly less energy gains, and similar coverage.
- Foul Play is strictly superior to both Shadow Sneak and Power Gem, offering significantly better damage and more relevant coverage respectively.
Defense
- Feint Attack is better than Shadow Claw, with higher damage and energy gains.
- Foul Play is strictly superior to both Shadow Sneak and Power Gem, offering better damage, lower charge times, and an earlier damage window.
- Power Gem can offer better coverage against Dragonite and offending Fairy-type Pokemon.
- Dazzling Gleam has good raw power and neutral coverage.
Shadow Claw is much better than Feint Attack. It deals the same damage and has significantly better energy generation. Additionally, Ghost has much better coverage than Dark does.
Foul Play is Sableye's best charged move. It's cheap, spammy, and has solid coverage. Dazzling Gleam is an excellent coverage option to punish opposing Dark-type Pokemon that would otherwise wall Sableye. Power Gem is now a viable (and good!) option on Sableye thanks to its buff in Pokemon GO: Max Out. Return is only available on Purified Sableye, but it can be incredibly helpful. Notably, it actually lets Sableye have a potentially winning matchup against Azumarill! In other matchups, it can just be nice to have that high-damage nuke, or just to deal meaningful damage to Dark-types. Shadow Sneak is terrible.
Sableye is an incredibly strong Pokémon in Great League. Its fantastic typing leaves it only weak to Fairy-type damage, and its strong, spammy moveset lets it damage a significant portion of the metagame.
Shadow Sableye is sometimes preferred over its regular version, as Sableye's damage is reliable enough to make use of the Shadow Boost. The Shadow version of Sableye can reach breakpoints that are otherwise unattainable by regular Sableye; for example, an Attack weighted Shadow Sableye can score a breakpoint against Azumarill, a common answer to Sableye. This breakpoint can allow Sableye to flip this matchup in the 2-shield - and potentially even the 1-shield with a Shadow Claw lead.
As Return remains a viable option on regular Sableye, Trainers who wish to power up a Power Gem or Dazzling Gleam Sableye should consider raising a Purified one. Although being Purified is not necessary to have access to Power Gem, the white aura surrounding Sableye can be used to bluff the possibility of Return. However, in tournament formats where moveset information is revealed to the opponent, such as the Play! Pokemon Circuit, this bluff is not necessary.
