Is Greninja with Hydro Cannon good in Pokemon GO?

greninja attack stats
Froakie Community Day will give Hydro Cannon to Greninja (Image via Niantic)

Pokemon GO’s next Community Day is just around the corner. The Froakie Community Day event is going to start on August 13, 2023, at 2 pm local time and will end on the same day at 5 pm local time. With less than a day left, you should start preparing yourself for this 3-hour-long event in Pokemon GO, as it will greatly benefit you.

Greninja will be getting a new move called Water Shuriken through Community Day. Along with this Fast Move, it will also be receiving Hydro Cannon, which is its Community Day exclusive move. So, a question that begs to be answered is, is Greninja with Hydro Cannon any good?

In this article, we will walk you through an analysis of Hydro Cannon Greninja in Pokemon GO, both PvP and PvE.


Is Hydro Cannon a good move for Greninja in Pokemon GO?

Greninja as seen in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)
Greninja as seen in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Hydro Cannon is a Charged Water-type move and can only be learned by starter Pokemon of the same elemental typing.

While a lot of creatures can learn this move in the game, Hydro Cannon Greninja is the best non-Mega Water-type attacker with a base Attack statistic of 223. The only creatures to outperform Greninja with Hydro Cannon are Mega Blastoise and Mega Swampert.

Base stats of Greninja:

  • Attack: 223
  • Defense: 152
  • Stamina: 176

Now that we have a brief idea about Hydro Cannon Greninja, let's dive deeper into the combat analysis.


PvE analysis of Hydro Cannon Greninja in Pokemon GO

ash greninja in battle

Greninja as seen in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Best offensive moves:

  • Water Shuriken
  • Hydro Cannon
  • Night Slash
  • Surf

Best defensive moves:

  • Bubble
  • Night Slash
  • Aerial Ace
  • Stab

Greninja is one of the most popular Water-type critters in the main series. Arising from the Kalos region, this critter has always been outclassed by other Water-type attackers with better moves or stats or both.

With the introduction of Water Shuriken and Hydro Cannon, Greninja will wash away all its competitors, save a few. Origin Pulse Kyogre will be the only beast that will be better than Hydro Cannon Greninja.


Hydro Cannon has the following attributes in PvE:

  • Base Power: 90
  • Damage Per Second (DPS): 47.37
  • Damage Per Second (DPE): 1.80
  • DPS*DPE: 85.26

Since Water Shuriken generates 13.64 Energy Per Second (EPS), you can spam a lot of Hydro Cannons, resulting in a faster depletion of the enemy’s health.

If Ash Greninja, an alternate forme of Greninja, ever sees the light of day in Pokemon GO, it will be the best Water-type raid attacker in the game, even smoking the likes of Primal Kyogre and other Water-type Mega creatures.


PvP analysis of Hydro Cannon Greninja in Pokemon GO

Greninja is a great attacker in the Great and Ultra Leagues (Image via Sportskeeda)
Greninja is a great attacker in the Great and Ultra Leagues (Image via Sportskeeda)

As we discussed in this article, Water Shuriken is one of the best Fast moves in the game currently. With greater energy-generating abilities, this creature can put a lot of Shield Pressure on the enemy as you can spam Hydro Cannon Charged moves.

Water Shuriken generates 4.66 Energy Per Turn (EPT) while doing 2 Damage Per Turn (DPT). As a result, it charges up the Hydro Cannons really fast. Paired with a Dark-type move, Night Slash, Greninja also provides a decent elemental typing coverage in the competitive scene.


Greninja in the Great League

If you have a 2:1 shield advantage, you can smash a lot of Great League titans such as Registeel, Lickitung, Toxapex, and Sableye. However, Fast moves like Charm, Razor Leaf, Dragon Breath, and Counter will make short work of Greninja, even with two shields in your bag.

So, the lack of bulk does make it a glass cannon, but if you can avoid creatures like Altaria, Victreebel, Charm users, and Medicham, you can fare well with Greninja in the Great League.


Greninja in the Ultra League

Everyone gains a significant amount of bulk in the Ultra League. While you won’t rely too much on shields, Greninja will have a harder time knocking out your enemies.

The only major threats you need to be wary of are Virizion and Cobalion. These two Fighting type critters, with their spammy Sacred Swords and Double Kicks, can run at par with Greninja. With Virizion resisting all of Greninja’s Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB) moves, you will lose the matchup if you do not have a suitable counter.


Is it worth playing Froakie Community Day in Pokemon GO?

Froakie Community Day starts on August 13, 2023 (Image via Niantic)
Froakie Community Day starts on August 13, 2023 (Image via Niantic)

You might wonder if the Froakie Community Day is worth three hours of your precious time. Let us look at some of the bonuses:

  • You get increased Froakie spawns. So you will not have to walk around too much.
  • You enjoy 3x Catch Stardust. So, if you have Star Pieces running while playing the Community Day event, we are looking at upwards of 500K Stardust just from catching Pokemon.
  • You will get 3-Hour long Incense (Normal) and Lure durations.
  • You will get 2x Catch Candy for all creatures.
  • You will get an increased chance of getting XL Candies.
  • You can perform one additional Special Trade during the event.
  • Trades will be 50% cheaper. So, you will need half the amount of Stardust you otherwise would need.
  • Evolving Froakie into Greninja will give it Hydro Cannon, which is its Community Day exclusive move.

Given you get so many benefits, we feel it is totally worth spending three hours on this event in Pokemon GO.

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