Single Strike Urshifu vs Rapid Strike Urshifu in Pokemon GO: Which is the best form?

Which style should you choose in the Single Strike Urshifu vs Rapid Strike Urshifu in Pokemon GO debate? This is a question many players will be faced with as the Final Strike: GO Battle Week event introduces this much-awaited creature to the mobile game on May 21, 2025.

Both Single Strike Urshifu and Rapid Strike Urshifu have made their mark in the main series games as offensive powerhouses. However, where do they stand when it comes to the Pokemon GO PvP and PvE arena? This article discusses that in detail.

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Single Strike Urshifu vs Rapid Strike Urshifu in Pokemon GO: A comparative analysis

It is important to distinguish between the two Urshifu Styles before getting into further analysis. The following table will give you an idea of where they differ from each other:

	Single Strike Urshifu	Rapid Strike Urshifu
Evolution requirement	200 Candy + Defeat 30 Dark-type Pokemon in Max Battles or raids	200 Candy + Defeat 30 Dark-type Pokemon in Max Battles or raids
Attack	231	231
Defense	162	162
Stamina	205	205
Fast Attacks	Counter, Rock Smash, and Sucker Punch	Counter, Rock Smash, and Waterfall
Charged Attacks	Brick Break, Close Combat, Dynamic Punch, and Payback	Brick Break, Close Combat, Dynamic Punch, and Aqua Jet
Max move upgrade costs	Level 1 - 400 MP and 80 Candy; Level 2 - 600 MP and 130 Candy; Level Max - 800 MP and 55 Candy XL	Level 1 - 400 MP and 80 Candy; Level 2 - 600 MP and 130 Candy; Level Max - 800 MP and 55 Candy XL

Single Strike Urshifu vs Rapid Strike Urshifu in Pokemon GO PvP

In GO Battle League, Urshifu's Single Strike Style emerges head and shoulders above its Rapid Strike counterpart in all three main formats. This is primarily owing to it getting Sucker Punch as its unique Fast Move. On the other hand, Rapid Strike Urshifu is stuck with the at-best mediocre Waterfall.

Even though both Urshifus are pretty frail, they can dish out a large amount of damage. Sucker Punch's high damage and high energy generation allows the Single Strike Style to shine in both shielded and non-shielded scenarios, especially in the Master League.

The relative absence of Fighting- and Flying-type damage in the Master League also helps Single Strike Urshifu's case. Additionally, Fighting- and Dark-type attacks give this creature optimal coverage.

Single Strike Urshifu vs Rapid Strike Urshifu in Pokemon GO PvE

Neither form of Urshifu will be very PvE relevant. They can't defend Gyms owing to their Legendary status. Even when it comes to raiding, Single Strike and Rapid Strike Urshifu face competition from extremely overpowered Megas like Mega Lucario, Mega Tyranitar, and Primal Kyogre.

When it comes to Max Battle utility, Single Strike Urshifu is the best Dark-type Dynamax attacker for now, while the Rapido Strike Style is the second best, trailing behind Dynamax Inteleon. However, given Dark and Ghost's overlapping offensive capabilities, Single Strike Urshifu is outclassed by Dynamax Gengar.

The same principle applies when considering the Gigantamax forms of the aforementioned creatures. Gigantamax Single Strike Urshifu is the second-best attacker to use against Ghost and Psychic Power Spot bosses (G-Max Gengar is #1), while the Rapid Style version is the second-best against Ground-, Rock-, and Fire-types (G-Max Inteleon is #1).

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Conclusion: Should you get Single Strike Urshifu or Rapid Strike Urshifu?

In the Single Strike Urshifu vs Rapid Strike Urshifu in Pokemon GO debate, the former is the best choice by a large margin.

The Water-type arena is highly saturated, and with its current moves, the Rapid Strike Style will find it hard to break into the meta. The addition of Surging Strikes in the future might change things up for this version of Urshifu, but in their current state, the Dark-type variant has a significant edge in the PvP arena.

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In other news, Zacian and Zamazenta's form change mechanics have been announced.

Check out our other Pokemon GO guides:

• Ditto disguises
• Buddy Evolution Adventure Together guide
• Best Fast Attacks in Pokemon GO
• Sierra counters
• Cliff counters
• Arlo counters
• Giovanni counters
• Team GO Rocket Grunts