How to Raise Pokemon: Snivy

Snivy. I think he's the fan favorite. It's all in that facial expression. Always smug and unamused. Well let's get started on training Snivy! First of all:


Is Snivy Good?


In a word: yes. However, Snivy is a bit tricky to use. By that I mean he's a defense Pokémon. If you have ever used Chikorita in Heartgold or Soulsilver you probably know what I'm talking about. You can't send Snivy in and expect him to one-hit KO everything in sight like you can with Tepig, and to a lesser extent, Oshawott. 


Snivy lacks the offensive movepool and attack stats to sweep down opponents. Instead he uses status moves to wear opponents down to a point where he can win, or buffs himself up until he can shrug off anything/deal major damage.




When/How Does Snivy Evolve?


Snivy evolves into Servine at level 17. Servine evolves again, into Serperior, at level 36


What Moves Should I Teach Snivy?


Typically, a good moveset on Snivy consists of a grass type attack, a normal type attack, and two support moves. Snivy can get most of his necessary moves just by leveling up, but he also has some good TMs.


Moves You Should Teach Snivy
Slot 1: Level 1, Tackle > Level 28, Slam > TM, Aerial Ace/TM, Return
Slot 2: Level 4, Leer > Level 13, Growth > Level 36, Coil
Slot 3: Level 7, Vine Whip > Level 16, Leaf Tornado > Level 32, Leaf Blade
Slot 4: Level 10, Wrap > Level 20, Leech Seed/TM, Toxic


Having a normal type attack on Snivy is really important because it will let Snivy hit other grass types he normally couldn't. Aerial Ace also fills the role pretty well, getting super effective hits on grass, bug and fighting types.


Growth is a great move to have in the earlier half of the game. It not only fixes Snivy's lack of attack power, but it boosts the power of Leaf Tornado and Tackle at the same time. Coil's even better, because it also boosts Serperior's defense as well as attack. The loss of the special attack boost is rectified by using Leaf Blade as your main grass move.



Leech Seed was good back in 1998 and it's still good now. It takes one turn to set up, hurts your opponent, heals Servine/Serperior, and does not wear off until the other Pokémon faints or switches. Toxic on the other hand deals more damage and hits grass types, but doesn't heal Serperior constantly. The choice is up to you, but both of them are excellent moves.


Alternative Moves


Level 20, Mega Drain/Level 44 Giga Drain


Mega Drain Can be used in place of Leaf Tornado, and work with Leech Seed to give Servine a kind of perpetual HP. However Mega Drain is a lot weaker then Leaf Tornado, so using it pretty much means stallmania. Giga Drain makes a similar case to Leaf Blade on Serperior. You could also replace Leech Seed with Giga Drain to get instant health as opposed to gradual.

Level 62, Leaf Storm


Leaf Storm is a special attack, which deals a whopping 140 base damage at the cost of severely lowereing Serperior's Special Attack each time it's used. The downside is actually pretty negligible as long as you don't replace Leaf Blade or Aerial Ace for this. I'd put it down on Leech Seeds Slot.


TM, Reflect/Light Screen


Reflect and Light Screen are just awesome moves to have on Servine/Serperior. Reflect halves the amount of damage your team (not just Servine, but the whole party) takes from physical attacks for 5 turns, and Light Screen does the same for special attacks. Use both of them in tandem, and Servine becomes the ultimate tank in as little as two turns. 



Keep in mind though, without Growth or Coil, Servine's attacks will be doing a lot less damage. You can keep Leech Seed and sacrifice your normal type attack to keep up your damge output, but then you get stopped by enemy grass types.


Overall


Snivy is a pretty cool guy. I know not everyone is going to enjoy using him. But for those who persist anyway, I hope this guide helped you. Well there's two other starter Pokémon for us to cover. How to Raise Tepig. And How to Raise Oshawott. Leave a comment saying which stater is your favorite!