There are all kinds of competitive strategies in the Pokémon world. Today, however, we’re bringing you details about one that you may not know about: the FEAR strategy.
This name refers to the following: F stands for Focus Sash, E for Endeavour, A for Quick Attack and R for Rattata. In fact, any low-level Pokémon can be used for this strategy, but Rattata is the star of the show. However, the Pokémon must be able to learn Effort and Quick Attack or Quickness.
From this, the strategy is based on the following:
- With Focus Band, as with Bounce, the Pokémon holding this item will survive any attack that takes all of its full health with a single hit point. Effort is a
- Normal-type move that forces the enemy’s HP to match the user’s, and Quick Attack will activate before a slower move.
- After you’ve got this down, you should have a Rattata or other Pokémon with Effort and Quick Attack learned and a Focus Band equipped.
- Then, enter the battle, let your Pokémon get hit, which will lose all but 1 HP, which it will manage to keep thanks to the Focus Band, then use Effort to match the enemy’s HP to yours (1 HP), and on the next turn use Quick Attack, which has priority, to finish off the opponent.
However, while it’s pretty foolproof, there are some exceptions:
- It doesn’t work on Ghost-type Pokémon, as they are immune to Normal-type moves, unless the FEAR user has the Fearless Ability.
- Weather effects can also weaken Rattata before using Quick Attack.
- It is not recommended for multi-Pokémon battles.
Finally, it’s worth noting that this strategy is actually officially included with an NPC Cottonee in Pokémon Sword and Shield.