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Following the announcement of Pokemon GO's Season of Mischief event, the Sinnoh lake trio of Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie have been made available as 5-Star raid bosses for players to take on.
Many players interested in Pokemon GO's Battle League may want to use the more offense-oriented member of the trio, Azelf, in their battles but may not know where to start.
Best Movesets for Azelf in Pokemon GO
The first thing to know before constructing a competitive build for a Pokemon is its type. Azelf is a Psychic-type Pokemon which means it gets a boost to the Psychic-type attacks it uses in battle.
This is very important to know in any battle, as attacks of the same type can help maximize a Pokemon's damage output.
Psychic-type Pokemon like Azelf take more damage from Ghost, Bug, and Dark-type attacks. This means that Azelf has to watch out for powerful Pokemon like Darkrai, Gengar, and Genesect. In terms of resistance, Azelf resists Fighting and other Psychic-type attacks.
Azelf has access to a couple of different fast attacks. Confusion is the more powerful option, while Extrasensory is the option that generates the most energy with every use. Both of these attacks are Psychic types which means they deal more damage to Fighting and Poison-type Pokemon.
To maximize Azelf's damaged output, confusion should always be run over Extrasensory. Given Confusion's strong base power of 20 on top of Azelf's monsterous attack stat of 270, Azelf will be dealing plenty of damage without the use of charged attacks. But while they are nice to have and should always be used when available, they do not have to be prioritized.
Azelf has a lot of coverage options for its charged attack in Pokemon GO. For a powerful Psychic-type attack, Azelf can use Future Sight. Future Sight is a great Psychic-type move that most often runs on offensive sets for Azelf in Pokemon GO.
Azelf also has access to Fire Blast, which is a powerful Fire-type move that would be great to run on some Fire-type Pokemon that have access to it in Pokemon GO. However, the only benefit Azelf has is in running Fire Blast is coverage for its Bug weakness.
Bug-type Pokemon would not be a common sight in tiers where Azelf are usable. Even if they were, they would be powerful enough to break through Azelf's frail defensive stats and K.O. it before it has the chance to use a Fire Blast.
Swift is the last move Azelf has access to. This move is simply a waste to run. With options like Fire Blast and Future Sight, the only reason a player would have to use Swift over the other two options is because Swift requires less energy than the rest of the other charged moves.
Being a Normal type move, it does not hit any of the Pokemon in the entirety of not just Pokemon GO, but the entire franchise for super effective damage.
In summary, the best moveset to run for Azelf, both offensively and defensively, in Pokemon GO is Confusion and Future Sight. While the set does not provide much coverage, Azelf's attack stat combined with neutral coverage of Psychic-type attacks, provide the most optimal damage output for Pokemon GO's Battle League.
