Flapple is one of the many evolutions of the popular Galar Pokémon Applin. It isn’t the first Grass-Dragon type in the series, but it’s still fairly rare to see, which can make going against Flapple in battle pretty scary if you don’t know its weakness beforehand.
Compared to Applin’s other final evolutions, Hydrapple and Appletun, Flapple is a fast but frail sweeper who’s meant to hit hard and hit first. It definitely has the stats to back that up, but its lower defense means one super-effective hit will knock it out just about every time.
Flapple’s type weaknesses in Pokémon
While Dragon and Grass-types are considered fairly defensive typings on their own, particularly within competitive Pokémon, pairing them together is a disaster. Flapple comes out worse for wear with a whopping six different weaknesses to Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Poison, and a double weakness to Ice. With only 18 types in the game, that means you can pick a move with a random type out of a hat and still have a one-in-three shot at hitting Flapple with a fatal blow.
When facing Flapple, whether it be in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet or a fan game like PokéRogue, its high base speed and attack stats mean priority moves could be key to hitting a weakness first and taking Flapple out of the picture. Ice Shard is without a doubt the best option because it’s a priority move that exploits Flapple’s dreaded double-weakness to Ice.
For any players wanting to use Flapple, the Focus Sash item is likely the only thing that will keep it alive and in the fight long enough to at least hit a few good shots, if not a couple of knockout blows thanks to its high base attack.
