With the addition of Double Kick to Cobalion’s movepool, Cobalion has become a powerful core-breaker in the Ultra League. Given that Cobalion had recently returned to Raids, now is a better time than ever to put Cobalion’s PvP IVs under the microscope. The Cobalion PvP IV Deep Dive aims to highlight Cobalion’s most important stat checks and their associated IV spreads for the Ultra League. It also breaks down the amount of trades you’ll likely have to do to further improve your Cobalion’s IVs beyond the Raid IV floor. The good news is, Cobalion has excellent Raid IV spreads for PvP and trading to improve them is far more forgiving than most other species!
Note: this guide discusses the hidden true stats of Pokemon in Pokemon GO. In order to see these true stats you need to use an IV checking app (CalcyIV, Pokegenie) or an IV checking website (GOStadium, PvPIVs.com, or PvPoke itself). To make things simple, the guide also features standard PvP IV tables.
If you’re not familiar with PvP IVs, check out this PvP IVs Simplified video.
PvP IV Tables
The tables below feature the IV spreads that meet some of the more important stat checks highlighted in the article. It’s important to review the guide itself to make sure you’re getting what you want out of your Cobalion. For example, you may want a slightly higher Def or HP weight for more consistency.
- Generally Atk>Def>HP for Raid weighted Cobalion, to double down on CMP
Traded Slight Bulk (175.98 Def, 164 HP)
- This list is a solid stopping point if you want a more bulky Cobalion but don’t want to trade indefinitely to maybe get a “better” one
Traded High Bulk (177.22 Def, 164 HP)
- For tie breakers, keep the 144.42-145.73 Atk Breakpoint on Gyarados and for Walrein CMP in mind
- Aside from that, Def>Atk>HP
Cobalion - Ultra League
Cobalion is perfectly functional in the Ultra League with raid IVs, as the 0-0 and 1-1 mirror come down to Charge Move Priority and having at least 176 Def protects it for most matchups. That said, outside of Charge Move Priority, Atk weights above ~145 don’t do much for Cobalion. Trading for even greater Def will fortify Cobalion that much more, and hitting at least 164 HP enables the 2-2 mirror, among other things. So trading for a lower Atk IV Cobalion is a good idea if you have the stardust for it.
To help you decide which Cobalion to choose, below are Cobalion’s more relevant stat checks (based on the Rank 1 opponent unless stated otherwise).
Cobalion’s relevant Atk Breakpoints include:
- 147.4+, Poliwrath CMP, no matchup changes
- ~145-146, Walrein CMP 0-1
- 144.42-145.73, Gyarados 0-1
- Based on Rank 1-Rank 32 (0/15/5)
- 144.3, Aurorus CMP, no matchup changes
Cobalion’s relevant Def Breakpoints include:
- 174.67+, Walrein 0-1 (if Walrein has prior energy so you can’t CMP tie)
- 175.98 Def is a safe spot, but it could require up >177.22 Def for our recommended Atk weighted Walrein
- 175.81+, Shadow Swampert farm-down risk
- 180.38+, Scrafty 0-0 & 1-1
- 180.89 for the 10/15/15
- 181.2-183.82, Cobalion 2-2
- Based on 4/15/12 and 11/15/15
- 164 HP is more easy to obtain and has better consistency for the 2-2 mirror
As for the HP, 163 stands out for the Tapu Fini 2-2 without baiting and 164 HP stands out for the 2-2 mirror matchup. Having the minimum recommended Def and at least 163 HP may also enable the Cresselia 2-1, Virizion 2-1, and Dragon Breath Giratina 2-1, depending on the opponent’s IVs.
Cobalion Trade Probability
Trading Legendary/Mythic Tier Pokemon to improve IVs has 2 complications: 1) You can only do 1 special trade per day 2) You’re never guaranteed to get what you want. Usually this is a pretty baleful process; however, Cobalion is quite forgiving with its trade probability.
To help better gauge your expectations, here are the amount of trades to have a 50-75% probability of getting the higher bulk weighted IVs:
- Good Friend, 15-29
- Great Friend, 18-37
- Ultra Friend, 25-50
- Best Friend, 66-131
If you’re just looking for a slight upgrade to Raid IVs:
- Good Friend, 9-18
- Great Friend, 11-21
- Ultra Friend, 13-27
- Best Friend, 28-55
Overall, Ultra Friend appears to be the sweet spot for probability vs stardust. An added benefit is the Ultra Friend IV floor will guarantee the Gyarados Breakpoint and Walrein CMP on top of it. So if you’re interested in getting a bulk Cobalion, hit your friends up. It doesn’t appear to be much of a hassle to hit the desired stat range (compared to other species).
Closing
Double Kick did a lot to enable many Pokemon in PvP. In the Ultra League, it has enabled Virizion and Cobalion to finally use their powerful Sacred Sword effectively. Given that they’re Raid Only type Pokemon, it can be difficult to get “better” IV spreads. As it stands, both Cobalion and Virizion have a relatively easy time achieving good trade IVs.
