Miltank Pokémon

Introduced in generation two, with the Pokemon Gold and Silver games, Miltank is a monotype normal Pokemon. It is a standalone Pokemon which means that it does not have any pre-evolutions nor does it evolve into any other Pokemon. Miltank is classified by the Pokedex as the “Milk Cow” Pokemon, an apt name considering its bovine appearance. This guide will showcase Miltank’s capabilities in battle, its appearances in the anime, as well as other general facts about Miltank.

About Miltank

While most Pokemon have evolutions prior or subsequent evolutions, Miltank continued the trend of a powerful Pokemon with a one stage evolution alongside Tauros. Miltank first appeared in the original series of the Pokemon anime with the episode A Goldenrod Opportunity. The Pokedex reveals that Miltank’s role in the Pokemon universe is very similar to cows in real life. Their milk is farmed on a daily basis and kids in the Pokemon world tend to grow up drinking Miltank milk.

Miltank Base Stats

Appearance

Miltank is a bipedal, bovine Pokemon and most of its body is pink with a cream colored mid-riff and black around its head. On top of Miltank’s head are two horns and what resembles a black hood. As the Pokemon universe’s cow, it also has four udders on its belly with a tail that ends in a rounded ball. It is fairly short for a cow at only 3 feet and 11 inches, or 1.2 meters, tall.

Behavior

Miltank’s appearances in the anime are fairly limited for a generation two Pokemon. Most of what we know about Miltank’s behavior comes from its appearance on Gym Leader Whitney’s team as her ace Pokemon. It is shown to be a fierce Pokemon with strong capabilities in battle. The Pokedex implies that Miltank are farmed much like real life cows, being capable of producing over five gallons of milk on a daily basis.

Strengths and Weaknesses

As a standalone evolution, Miltank has higher base stats than what you would expect from a single stage Pokemon. It has very strong physical defense, a more than decent HP and a somewhat surprising speed stat. As a monotype normal Pokemon, Miltank is only weak to fighting type moves while being completely immune to ghost type moves. All other moves in the game will deal regular damage to Miltank.

Whitney’s Miltank

Fans of the franchise who grew up playing generation two may recall the roadblock they faced with Whitney’s Miltank. Since Miltank is a one stage evolution Pokemon, it has higher than normal base stats for the early game and to make things even worse, Whitney’s Miltank is the gym leader’s ace Pokemon. With its powerful base stats and its aptitude for using Rollout, a lot of players had to rethink their strategies upon reaching Goldenrod City. While Whitney’s Miltank is weak to fighting moves, many players may not have considered a strong fighting type Pokemon on their team. That made it quite a menace to face in battle for casual play.

Best Moveset

While Miltank’s strength in the early generations was quite respectable as it was near the top of competitive brackets for generation two but things have changed since. It has fallen down the pecking order with the release of much more powerful Pokemon in recent generations and is close to the bottom with the release of recent generations. It, however, has powerful bulk and a good defensive ability helped by Thick Fat as an ability. Consider running Body Slam, Milk Drink, Toxic/Thunder Wave, and Stealth Rock/Heal Bell. Body Slam will benefit from STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus, Milk Drink will ensure Miltank’s longevity in battle while Toxic and Thunder Wave are interchangeable as ways to disable your opponent’s Pokemon. Likewise, Stealth Rock and Heal Bell are interchangeable depending on whether you want to be more aggressive or more supportive with your Miltank.

How to Catch Miltank in Pokemon Go

If you want to obtain a Miltank in Pokemon Go, the easiest way would be to keep your eyes peeled for a tier two or tier three raid in Pokemon Gyms. While Miltank can appear in the wild, it is a rare spawn for a one stage evolution. Certain events can increase the odds of Miltank spawning, but that may complicate things as it conflicts with Tauros spawns that appear as its counterpart in many regions of the world. Thus the easiest way would certainly be to find one in a Pokemon Gym raid. As a standalone Pokemon, you can save any candies you gather for powering up your Miltank.

Trivia

1. Miltank is often seen as a counterpart to Tauros, both are normal type Pokemon, both have one stage evolution lines, and Miltank are female only while Tauros are male only.
2. The inspiration for Miltank likely comes from dairy cows, its appearance is shared with Jersey cattle and Holstein Friesians.
3. The name Miltank is a portmanteau of the words milk and tank.

Video

FAQ

Is Miltank only Female?

Miltank are 100% female Pokemon. You cannot encounter a male Miltank and thus you will need to use a Pokemon within the same Egg Group or a Ditto in order to breed Miltanks at a Pokemon Daycare. This is one of the reasons why Miltank is considered a counterpart to Tauros as Miltanks are only female and Tauros are only male.

Why is Miltank so hard to beat?

Miltank has a decent amount of bulk to it, so the longer the battle lasts, the more likely Miltank can ramp up the damage from set up moves or Rollout. Many players recall a difficult encounter with Miltank if they played generation two. This is likely due to the lack of fighting types you can encounter before Goldenrod City which makes the battle against Miltank even more difficult.

Why is Miltank so fast?

Miltank does have a surprising speed stat for a bulky Pokemon. It is likely that its speed is high in game to balance out its rather lower physical and special attack. As a standalone Pokemon, and a gym leader’s ace Pokemon, it would be difficult to balance a very strong physical attack instead of just making sure the Miltank gains move priority.

Conclusion

Congratulations, you now know just about everything there is to know about this “Milk Cow Pokemon”. Miltank’s competitive history is a little tragic but like most standalone Pokemon, it is meant to be a powerful adversary in casual play and not necessarily for the min-max environment of competitive battle. Miltank’s inclusion into the franchise also answers some questions about the culture of the universe and it is clear to see that it is very similar to our own.